Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The last year had been…interesting to say the least for the Wachowskis. The idea of kids had never been one on the forefront of their minds, enjoying time spent together and with their lovable mutt Ozzie.

And then Sonic the hedgehog had dropped into their lives. Most would agree that hedgehogs are small, round, and possess quills, Sonic on the other hand… Well, he was bipedal, blue, as big as a young child, and couldn’t stop talking about Keanu Reeves.

So there were some differences, to say the least.

Tom, the husband of the husband/wife duo had ended up spending a couple of days with the hyperactive kid on a cross-country road trip while being chased by a robotics-based scientist with an admittedly impressive mustache.

That trip had resulted in bonding, arguments, a fainting aunt, a couple of hundred smashed robots, and one screaming madman thrown into a portal to a world of mushrooms. That, and Sonic had ended up staying with Tom and his wife Maddie following that adventure. It was a little odd at first for them to welcome this apparent alien into their home and their town, but he blended in quickly.

Active in the community and beloved by its citizens, and Tom and Maddie were more than happy to have them in their home, starting to look at him as less of a friendly roommate, and more of a…well-we’ll get there in a minute.

But see all of that had been two years ago. Because last year, the crazy that was having Sonic the Hedgehog as a child got ramped up, twofold. See, Maddie and Tom had, after a year of teaching Sonic responsibilities and helping him grow(or at least trying to), they had decided it would be perfectly fine to leave him alone in the house for a weekend while they went to Maddie’s sister's wedding.

It wasn’t a mistake per se…

But there were consequences. That kind of consequence that involved the same robotic madman, a fanboy twin-tailed fox, some magic rocks, a handful of government agents, an angry red echidna, and a GINORMOUS TOWN DESTROYING MECH. So a few consequences.

But the biggest consequences were that following that encounter, Maddie and Tom were now faced with their son, Sonic, and his two close and very clearly lonely friends. Maddie and Tom figured that: ‘hey, we’ve already been raising one anthropomorphic alien son, what’s two more?’

And so Tails and Knuckles came to live with them.

The next year had been harder, so much harder.

It was a year filled with new things, new lives, new personalities, new experiences, new technologies, and new ways of thinking. It was a lot for the Wachowskis to handle. All of the Wachowskis.

Knuckles probably had it the hardest. He was a little older than Sonic or Tails and learning to be an older brother alongside all of human customs and technologies was a lot to cram in the head of one echidna who previously was only interested in finding the Master Emerald, a big magic rock of sorts.

Knuckles had had to learn how to babysit Sonic and Tails when Maddie and Tom went out, how to use the toaster, that the TV did not have people stuck inside, what sarcasm was, that people tended to lie and that because he weighed over 300 lbs and could break cars in half with his gloved hands, he could, in fact, not play football.

The imagined screams of shattered bones from the opponent’s team haunted Tom and Maddie’s nightmares as an energetic Knuckles tackled innocent high schoolers. School had been especially hard for him too. Knuckles had never received any formal education and was still having a tough time trying to catch up in school, but he was admittedly doing exceptionally well in English and Art classes. Teachers talked about what had been a hard-boiled student had blossomed into a creative and beautiful poet and artist.

Tails was faring a little bit better. The academic side of school was a breeze for him, they had known he was smart, but third-grade math had literally put him to sleep. So he had been set up with a middle school teacher, and then two days later a high school teacher, and then a week later a college professor, and then a month later top of their field scientists and mathematicians the eight-year-old fox sent them packing with their heads spinning trying to wrap their brains around Tails’ inventions.

Tails had received honorary degrees from MIT, CalTech, Stanford, Cambridge, Yale, and Princeton as well as over a hundred job offers from tech companies asking him to show them his designs. But technology and science were nothing new to Tails, that was his groove, but human history and writing essays, and more than that…making friends? Still very new to him. So after a quick discussion with a patent lawyer to make sure whatever Tails made wasn’t stolen from him, Tails was more than happy to be sitting in third-grade learning about the U.S. bill of rights with the other kids.

Sonic was doing okay too, as he had more human and earth knowledge than the other two combined having lived on earth for 10 years. He’d already had a little less than a year of schooling, but he too was trying to do a little bit of catch-up. Sonic had taught himself to read and write, but math and sciences were trickier. What was even trickier though was learning to share. Share his room with Tails, share his stuff with his new brothers, and more than that, share his parents with the fox and echidna. It had been a rough adjustment going from only child to middle child.

Sonic getting left behind had caused angst and a rebellious streak like nothing they’d seen before and even ended up with the dreaded microwave incident. It had been hard on their first kid, but somewhere down the line, he learned that while he was losing time with his parents, he was gaining time with brothers. It made the bitterness a little sweeter.

Tom and Maddie were having issues themselves, jobs were fine and they were more than excited to fill their home with happy and healthy children, there were still stresses. Learning to juggle Sonic’s baseball games with Tails’ practically daily meetings with his patent lawyer(poor Mr. Richard couldn’t keep up) and Knuckles’ drama rehearsals. The cooking for five, the getting everyone to bed on time, and the different arguments about who couldn’t do what and why. The scuff marks from Sonic’s running in the house, Tails’ fur somehow being in every single edible object in the house, the drywall repair from when Knuckles just leaned on the wall. It was…a lot.

And then there were the things boiling under the surface.

They slipped through every now and then.

Sonic being nervous when Maddie and Tom left just for a second, the way Tails flinched for a second when people mentioned his extra tail, how Knuckles left the classroom anytime the mention of killing came up. Things that needed to be addressed, that Tom and Maddie had slowly tried to pull out of their kids because they knew that their sweet boys were struggling with the pain of whatever it fully was hiding beneath their big eyes and soft smiles.

A therapist had been called in to help. Dr. Nightly was very kind and she worked to be as understanding as possible. The boys all saw her individually and then as a group and sometimes Tom and Maddie would be there too.

It- helped. But it didn’t fix.

Tom and Maddie saw improvement, fewer fears, bigger smiles, and more hugs. And more importantly more tears, more heart to hearts, and more opening up of those fears. Sonic not wanting to be alone, Tails being nervous around new people, Knuckles not liking the discussion of death. Their boys had seemed embarrassed to talk about these things, a sentiment Tom and Maddie worked to dispel.

And yet there was still pain hiding underneath. Dr. Nightly worked with their boys and while she was beholden to doctor/patient confidentiality, she did comment that Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles did little to open up to her and talk. Tom and Maddie felt somewhat helpless watching as three wonderful children they’d learned to love with everything they had still struggled with who they were and what they had been through. And all Tom and Maddie could do was wait for their boys to come to them, or be there when they couldn’t.

It was agony.

Finally, there was the rest of the world.

Two years ago, Sonic had defeated the mad doctor, Dr. Robotnik. While Tom’s face appeared on the news briefly during that time and there was a brief ‘round the world chase between Sonic and Dr. Eggman as Sonic called him. The world, besides their lovely hometown of Green Hills had more or less no idea of the blue blur.

Last year’s million-ton robot on the other hand…a little bit harder to hide from the public. A large swath of destroyed forest couldn’t be contained from view and the mechanical monstrosity that caused it was soon all over the news. People around the world suddenly became aware of that giant power, and the little furry creatures that destroyed it.

Quick snapshot videos or pictures from out-of-towners showed Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. While they were at first proclaimed a hoax by the government, their consistency and the lack of an answer for how something like the Wachowski brothers could be photoshopped told the world that aliens were real. And that they had an affinity for chili dogs.

News outlets and world governments scrambled to try and get as much information on the aliens as they could. Stories of them eating people or plans for world domination filling the news cycle. Tom and Maddie couldn't look at the weather without their kids' faces plastered next to some new conspiracy theory. Wackadoos and nutjobs invaded the town trying to get photos, speeches, or fur from Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles to the point that the boys were starting to get nervous to go outside.

And that’s when G.U.N. for once stepped up.

The black ops group was made from a few various governments around the world and the Guardian Units of Nations was designed to capture, contain and quell any extraterrestrial threats. They had initially hoped to capture Sonic and Tails but when Robotnik came back, the need for their kids proved too great and G.U.N. was left a little unsure of what to do.

Tom and Maddie had initially hoped that the task force would just go away and leave them alone, but there had definitely been spies in the town over the last year. Watching where their kids went and what they did. The parents made many calls to the government in the hopes of putting a stop to it, but the U.S. government proclaimed no such agency existed as a guy with night vision goggles sat in their bushes.

So they dealt with it, showing their kids to be the sweetest children you’d ever meet and planting rose bushes instead. But as the crazies descended on the town, Maddie and Tom built tentative respect with G.U.N.

Agents turned conspiracy theorists away at the door. Their calls were screened for contact, which wasn’t great, but now they never received calls from 25-year-olds that lived in their mother's basements. Or robo calls. A loose perimeter was set up around the town that checked for the business of anyone entering it.

There was the feeling of claustrophobia settled on the family as they were nervous about the people watching the town and worried to leave it. But at least it became a lot more peaceful. And thus a year later, things were very different post the second coming of Robotnik. On the anniversary of Tails and Knuckles’ arrival, everyone settled down for dinner and watched the front door, eager to have their boys, but worried about what break down their door next.

And then dinner came and went. No one burst open their front door. Their house stayed intact and Maddie and Tom steered their children off to bed. They kissed Knuckles’ forehead as he went into his room, gave Sonic a big hug as he crawled into bed, and tucked Tails into his, his big blue eyes already closing.

And then the day ended, and the new normal began.

…

Beedle Beedle! Beedle Beedle!

“Hello?” Maddie asked into the landline. She listened to the person on the other end before turning around to the kitchen island to face Sonic and Knuckles. Sonic was in the middle of trying to break his record for how many pancakes he could stuff in his mouth while Knuckles ate grapes and cheered whenever he managed another one. The echidna’s big fist was starting to crack the countertop as he slammed it as Sonic managed a fifth.

“Ha ha ha ha! Mother! It is a new record! Truly you have raised a champion!” Her red son turned to her. Maddie gave a weak smile,

“That’s rather impressive, do either of you know where you’re brother is?” Knuckles shook his head.

“Wfffffefafmfms.” Sonic said helpfully. Maddie frowned.

“Sonic swallow.” She commanded with a hand on her hip. The blue blur complied, choking slightly as the dry mass of baked sugar and flour slid down his throat.

“Where he always is.” Sonic shrugged. Maddie clicked her tongue.

“Can’t you stop him?” She asked. Sonic shook his head.

“I’ve tried!” Sonic gestured to Knuckles. “Knuckles has tried!”

“This is true mother.” The echidna nodded shamefully. “I have tried to keep the young one contained, but he is a slippery one and very determined. He is truly a powerful warrior.” Maddie sighed and stomped over to the door adjoining their garage and wrenched it open.

“Miles!-” She called before placing a hand over her mouth.

In the wake of an extremely active science kid, Tom and Maddie had allowed their garage to be turned into a sort of laboratory or workshop. Their incredibly intelligent child using the space to craft all kinds of impressive inventions devices and somewhat more concerningly, weapons. The child was now currently asleep in said workshop, his face fur mashed as he was asleep on top of one of his current projects.

Maddie put the cordless landline under her armpit and picked up her youngest with both arms. He was still asleep, the fur on the right side of his face all flattened and his head lolling slightly as he snored softly. Maddie pulled him close and whispered into his left ear.

“Miles…” The ear twitched. “It’s time to wake up Tails.” The ear twitched again and his eyes shifted open a crack as he tried to wake. Maddie cradled him with one arm and began to lightly tickle his soft white belly. She was rewarded with a giggle that sounded like bells and her fox boy’s eyes opening wider to reveal his baby blues.

“I’m up, I’m up.” He said although the way his body moved slowly in her arms and how his eyelids still drooped proved that wasn’t fully the case.

“Do we need to have a talk again about staying up late to work on science projects?” Maddie raised an eyebrow and Tails had the audacity to look innocent as he blinked at her.

“But I wanna work on stuff!” He complained. “I’m a big boy and can stay up late!” He protested while being cradled by his mother. Maddie just rolled her eyes.

“You can’t work on stuff if you don’t get a full night's rest, you know Sonic can’t run as well if he doesn’t get his full eight hours.” Maddie said bopping his nose. She didn’t make the comment to insinuate that Sonic was a better child, but it was a tactic that Maddie and Tom had picked up when working with Tails. He was extremely fond of his middle brother and did anything to try and be more like him. So it provided useful for when their youngest stayed up half the night working on god knows what. “Now here.” Maddie set Tails down and handed him the phone. “Neil’s calling again, now you can talk to him a little bit, but then go brush your fur and come to breakfast before Sonic eats all the pancakes.”

Tails nodded and Maddie left the garage, the yellow fox following her, “I’m not gonna explain cold-fusion again to you right now Dr. Tyson, there’s pancakes for breakfast!” He said as he rounded the kitchen corner and disappeared upstairs to fix his fur.

“Y’know I think it’s time to start trying tranquilizers in his dinner.” Sonic smirked as Maddie returned to the stovetop to get another set of pancakes going. Sonic might be able to fit the most in his mouth(he’s certainly got one big enough), but Knuckles could really put ‘em away. So the morning was filled with dozens of pancake flips or several bowls of cereal or a carton of eggs.

“I’m not tranqing in Tails' dinner Sonic.” Maddie rolled her eyes at the pancakes.

“It’s just a suggestion Mom.” Maddie could hear her blue son’s giggling at the prospect and while it was appealing the thought of Tails actually sleeping for once, she figured moms weren’t supposed to make their kids unconscious.

“So what are you boys up to today?” She asked turning over a selection of flapjacks.

“We’ve got practice again today!” Sonic called happily. “We really need to train up if we’re gonna be county champs. Our offense is pretty good, but we could use more d. Marcus can’t seem to catch, and I keep telling coach it’d be best to put him in the outfield but Marcus keeps saying he wants to be an infielder even though he’s not even paying attention half the time. And I’m like you can’t expect to be close to the ball if you’re not even watching it and-” Maddie happily listened to him ramble on for a time as she shifted from the stove back to her kids, stacking Knuckles’ plate high with pancakes. She was about to turn back when she notice him only picking at them rather than trying to eat them as fast as possible.

“Hey what’s up, sweetie?” Maddie asked Knuckles as Sonic tapered off. Knuckles’ head snapped up

“The roof-” Knuckles stopped himself as he realized the expression, “Nothing is up mother, I am fine.” He said shutting his mouth with a pancake. Maddie squinted at him and tried to detect what was wrong using her mom vision. Knuckles sweated under her perceptive gaze before finally relenting. “I am still rather unhappy with my role in the tale of Romeo and Juliet.”

Maddie didn’t know why in the 21st-century schools were still doing plays that were out of date, depressing, and morally wrong, and nevertheless, Green Hills High was doing Romeo and Juliet and casting her dramatic son as Tybalt.

“If you didn’t want to play Tybalt why continue to work on it?” Maddie asked returning to the batter bowl and hot stove.

“Mother you do not understand, these human children are ruthless! I have met kinder foes in gladiatorial colosseums! I must prove myself to them and gain their respect as an actor!” Maddie had never been a drama kid, but she had heard tales of the viciousness of drama students and was hoping that perhaps that particular act had died out after she was done with high school.

“Honey, I’m just saying that if you’re not having a good time, it’s okay to say so, I’m sure there are other roles you could take.” Maddie offered and heard the slam of her slowly disintegrating countertop as Knuckles slammed his fist on it.

“I will NOT be relegated to an extra!”

“Still not excited to be Tybalt bucko?” Tom said entering the kitchen, dressed in his work uniform. Tails was on his shoulder, fur fixed and eyelids drooping again the phone slackening in his hand. Maddie could hear the confused questions of the physicist on the other end of the line. Tom pulled the phone from Tails’ hand and placed it back on the charger, hanging up the call. He sat Tails down in his baby seat before coming over to Maddie and giving her a kiss.

“Eeugh.” Sonic commented.

“Oh, you don’t like kisses bud?” Tom taunted before wheeling around to their middle child and dotting his head with kisses.

“Agh! No!” Sonic floundered weakly, clearly not too upset by it.

“Father! I shall accept kisses!” Knuckles called and was rewarded with his prize.

“You want some pancakes before you leave?” Maddie offered a pancake on the edge of a spatula. Tom waved it off.

“I wish. But I gotta head out, Wade’s probably already losing his head without me.” He grasped Knuckles’ and Sonic’s shoulders. “You guys?” They nodded and scarfed down a few more pancakes before getting up to leave.

“Don’t forget your lunches.” Maddie called and the group spun on their heels returning to the fridge and extracting a trio of lunch boxes and turning to go out the door.

“Bye honey!”

“See you later mom!”

“Goodbye, Mother! I will tell you the successes of the day later!”

And thus the day went on.

Maddie was able to put some food and energy into Miles and get him off to elementary school before heading off to work herself.

It was a bizarre world for all of them, each coming from different corners of creation to be together as a family of sorts. But it was their world now. It would still have its ups and downs but it settled into something simple, digestible, and understandable.

At least until that evening that is.

They should’ve expected it really. The Sonic’s baseball practice getting rained out that is. The news had been tracking a large storm that had been rolling through the west and making its way across the country. Nothing too serious but a couple of downed powerlines and heavy rains were to be expected.

Knuckles sniffed and smelled the rain before it actually started falling and pulled on Tom’s sleeve to try to get his attention.

“Father, rains will fall soon.”

“Are you sure big guy? It’s been a little overcast all day.” Just then a grumbled of thunder made itself known above their heads.

“Yes.” Deciding to trust the nose of his son more so than his own intuition the duo started packing up their stuff, ready for when the sky opened up on them. Sonic hit the ball with a crack of the bat and the sky responded in tandem, opening up the rains on the players. Teens scattered and Tom led his eldest two back to their truck, shuttling the wet aliens into the back seat.

“Ugh! Why do I need a booster seat? I’m fifteen!” Sonic complained from the back seat as he buckled in.

“Because most fifteen-year-olds aren’t the size of a large toddler,” Tom responded handing a few towels from the glove box to the wet children in the back.

“Ha ha! Yes, he does act like a toddler sometimes.” Knuckles laughed to himself as he began to dry using the towel.

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up, Clifford. Well, I know how to get my revenge…” Tom’s eyes widened as Sonic sat up in his seat.

“Sonic no…” Tom warned, pointing a finger as Sonic raised his arms and shot a shit-eating grin at Tom.

“Brother! Father has asked you not to-” Knuckles began as Sonic shook with ferocity, the rainwater being flung from his body, and scattering the interior of the car with a rain/hedgehog stew.

“Blech!” Tom gagged as he knew he got a little hedgehog water in his mouth. “Now it’ll smell like wet hedgehog in here for weeks!”

“Well, that’s what you get for the booster seat.” Sonic upturned his nose at Tom. “Maybe if we ditch the booster seat, I’ll stop shaking in here.”

“Hey, better here than the house.” Tom turned around in his seat and started the car. And then under his breath: “I don’t think we could pay you not to shake in here.”

“I knew you’d pay me to stop shaking!” Sonic cheered and Tom mentally slapped himself for continuously forgetting the impressive hearing of his kids.

“Father, since Sonic has shaken, can I as well?” Knuckles asked good-naturedly.

“Might as well, it’s already wet in here.” Tom said sarcastically before forgetting that the tribal warrior had still not mastered sarcasm.

“Oh, man! Now I’m wet again.” Sonic groaned as Knuckles did his own shake. Sonic responded by shaking once more, trying to rid the water that Knuckles had just splashed onto him. And then Knuckles shook, and then Sonic and as Tom drove home through the rain he watched his two eldest vibrate in the back seat.

…

“You guys got the hairdryers?” Tom asked as he prepped lasagna in the kitchen. Sonic and Knuckles responded by lifting the four appliances in their hands. “Alright go help out your brother.” The hedgehog and echidna moved to the foyer where Tails stood shivering in his soaking wet fur.

“A-alr-r-right g-g-g-guys, h-h-it m-m-me.” The tiny fox quaked as Sonic, Knuckles, and Maddie all plugged in the hair dryers and doused the youngest with warm air. Tails breathed a sigh of relief as his bones began to unfreeze and he warmed up. “You guys are so lucky you don’t have thick fur.”

“Puh-lease, at least you don’t have to go to bed worrying about whether or not you’ll stab yourself in your sleep.” Sonic rolled his eyes as he moved onto Tails’ legs.

“Okay boys,” Maddie scolded lightly as she ran a brush through Tails’ namesakes. “You’ve all got different things that require extra care, but I don’t get superpowers.”

“Well, that is untrue.” Knuckles said and everyone looked at him with confusion. “You have the power of being the best mother in the galaxy, unmatched in your care and proper grape acquisition.”

“Uh-huh!”

“Knux is right mom!” Maddie beamed at her three boys and pulled them into a group hug.

“Oh thank you boys, but I only have those powers because of how wonderful you guys are!” Light cheers and notes of confirmation echoed through the group hug.

“Hey, you guys better not be having a group hug without me!” Tom called the kitchen. Maddie pulled away and winked at her boys.

“This’ll just be our little secret then.” Sonic and Tails giggled lightly while Knuckles nodded.

Dinner was served as the sun dipped below the horizon and the family settled down to eat, the sky darkening as the rain continued to pound on the Wachowski roof, unable to touch the warm family inside. The lasagna was prepared expertly by Tom and his family was kind enough to bite back their sarcasm enough to compliment him on it. And the events of the day were shared.

Tom talked about the continued nothingness at the speed trap, although a family of geese did walk by so that was a highlight, Sonic shared how he hit a homer at the baseball field, Tails talked about how he and Tommy were gonna do their report on George Washington together. Knuckles discussed that he was attempting to make nice with the drama students or at least let him play Benvolio and Maddie was excited that Spike the chihuahua’s(an actual earth dog) cast came off today. It was a happy moment for the family.

And that’s when it all came crumbling down.

It started with a flash of light. There was no magic, no high-tech science here, just the sky making itself known as thunder rolled into lightning, brightening the outside world in a haze of energy.

The family at the table jumped, Ozzie fled and Tails’ fur floofed to maximum size. He was breathing heavily and staring out at the now darkened world. His eyes were frozen with fear and his body was still. The aliens all had their darker fears but Tails was more known for his phobia of lightning the wild energy being scary for anything that soared high.

“Tails you okay buddy?” Sonic leaned toward his younger brother. Tails looked to him and for a second tried to remain strong before the lightning made itself known again and Tails dashed from the table. The family watched him go before Sonic and Knuckles sped after their brother to try and comfort him. Tom got up too.

And that’s when there was a knock at the door.

No one thought it was odd, Tails was afraid of the lightning, Sonic and Knuckles were rushing to be with him, and Tom and Maddie were doing mental jumping jacks trying to figure out the best way to help their youngest. No one thought to ask why there was a knock at the door at night, during a thunderstorm.

Tom looked to his fleeing children before turning to the door to try and answer it, a little torn. “You get it, I’ll start cleaning up and then tend to Miles.” Maddie said, the sadness of feeling unhelpful to their children an emotion they’d been having for a while now. Tom nodded and moved over to the foyer, opening the front door.

And then he froze. The kind of freeze that comes with life-changing news. The kind where you learn you’ve been accepted to SFPD, the kind that comes with aliens being real, the kind that comes with there are crazy robotics experts bent on world domination, the kind that came with adopting three aliens and suddenly having to ask, am I taking in a fourth?

Outside the door stood a hedgehog. From what Tom quickly gathered, this hedgehog was a girl. Her red dress and pink quills that curled around her head and a headband kept them in place giving him an indication.

And she was soaked. Head to her little red boots. Her bangs, which might normally have been poofy, were stuck and matted to her face. Giant jade green eyes stared up at Tom, concern, and mistrust, and hope all in one. A pair of gold bangles on each of her wrists rattled as she shivered.

“I-is Sonic home?” She asked. And with that Tom snapped out of it, he rushed into parent mode which he was pleased to say was always getting better. Here was a young woman and she was currently freezing to death while he stared at her.

“Y-yeah of course, but why don’t you come in, we can dry you off and maybe find something dry for you to- uh wear.” The fact that she wore more than gloves, shoes, and socks was a little surprising for Tom, considering he had three boys and never had to go anywhere for their clothes beyond Dick’s Sporting Goods. “Uhhh, Maddie! Can you bring some towels?”

Tom ushered the small hedgehog in with a hand and she entered, taking each step slowly, looking to her left and right. She was probably looking for Sonic, but something about her face told him she was also looking for danger. Maddie entered the foyer, a bundle of dry towels in her hands.

“Did Ozzie get out in the rain again? I told you that-” Maddie stopped upon seeing the soaking pink hedgehog staring giant globes of worry up at her. “Oh my gosh! W-where did you come from? And you’re soaking wet!” Maddie rushed down to the girl with a towel.

“Y-yeah, I’m so-sorry about getting your home wet.” But Maddie wasn’t really listening anymore. She threw the towel over the girl and began to dry her off. The girl flinched briefly at the touch and Maddie felt a touch of shame for assuming this girl was okay to be touched, but the young hedgehog settled into it as Maddie continued to dry her. “You’re really good at this…” The girl seemed surprised and the Wachowski parents saw this girl’s first smile.

“I oughta be, I’ve got two boys with spines and another one with so much fur he sheds more than our dog.”

“Thank you for the towel.” The girl said softly, she held the rough fabric closely to herself, trying to cradle herself.

“Mooom, Daad! Tails is feeling better now! Can we finally show Tails Speed tonight?” Sonic called as he and his brothers came downstairs. Maddie and Tom turned to see their sons enter the foyer and make eye contact with this girl. His eyes widened and he blinked a few times. Tails and Knuckles seemed surprised as well.

“Hey…who’s she?” Sonic said, seeming to lean back and forward at the same time.

“Hi, Amy.” Tails gave a quick wave as he hid behind his middle brother a little.

“Hey, Tails.” Amy returned the wave but looked away slightly from Tails. Was there some shame there?

“Tails, you know this…Amy?” Tom asked.

“Y-yeah she’s- she’s from my old village.” The young inventor said quietly, not moving from behind Sonic’s legs.

“Oh.” Sonic growled and he moved in front of Tails more so, his eyebrows creasing into anger. Why was he protecting Tails from this seemingly innocent girl? But then again, what did Tom and Maddie really know about where these guys all came from?

“N-no Sonic it’s okay, she’s…nice enough.” Tails tugged on Sonic’s arm and Sonic dropped his expression slightly, but his stance was still guarding Tails.

“Miss Amy, perhaps you could inform us of why you have chosen to come to our home?” Knuckles said, crossing his arms. Amy nodded and everyone returned their attention to her.

“Right. I just wanted to warn everyone.”

A mix of fear, determination, and prepped anger filled the room.

“Oh no! I am not dealing with another crazy warrior. One as a brother is more than another.” Sonic shot a thumb at Knuckles who just huffed and rolled his eyes.

“No it’s not like that- it’s-” Amy bit her thumb, deep in thought. “-it’s hard to explain.”

. . .

The six of them settled into the kitchen where Maddie had made Amy a cup of tea and gotten her a new towel. Amy took a few sips as she drank her tea.

“Do you know where we come from?” She asked the group.

“Another planet?” Tom said sarcastically and Maddie elbowed him.

“R-right.” Amy gave a light smile. “Planet Mobius. It’s a nice enough world, but it’s- it’s got…problems.”

“They’ve got war here Amy. Humans have fought enough of them in their history.” Tom and Maddie’s heads snapped to Tails, the dark words concerning coming from their youngest.

“Oh, then they understand what it’s like-” A temporary relief washed over Amy.

“Not exactly.” Tails stopped her. “I think the word they use for it is…total war? I believe?”

“Woah woah, war? What’s this all about? And it’s been a while since I’ve taken a history class.” Tom gestured for everyone to slow down.

“Crops and houses burn, homes are torn down for supplies, food is siphoned for soldiers, and the young and able-bodied are sent to fight from early ages. Families are shredded. Everything goes towards the war effort.” Knuckles answered. He had been getting better at school, but from the way he answered the question, Knuckles' history teacher hadn't taught him that. “How early are they taking children now?” Amy didn’t answer for a while.

“7. They’re taking children to fight at age 7 now.” Tom and Maddie were ready to throw up. This girl looked just a little younger than Sonic. Knuckles was 16 and Tails was 8! He’d have to fight in a war back home?! Sonic looked shocked as well, but Tails and Knuckles just nodded solemnly, as if this was normal.

“Someone’s gonna have to explain! No one’s taking 7-year-olds to go fight in a dumb war!” Sonic exclaimed looking angry.

“Has Angel Island got involved yet?” Tails asked, ignoring Sonic.

“You know of Angel Island?” Knuckles seemed surprised.

“It’s where mine and Amy’s village was, it seemed safe enough, separated from the rest of the world.” Knuckles just nodded.

“It got taken over somewhat recently, I was on the run for a little while.” Mournful looks came from Tails and Knuckles, their heads shaking. Tom, Maddie, and Sonic’s heads were spinning. War? 7-year-old fighters? Angel Island?

“Can someone speak slowly?!” Sonic exclaimed, jumping on the kitchen counter not noticing the irony of his statement. It was a while before anyone spoke, then Amy opened her mouth.

“We just call it the Great War. But at this point, most just find it easier to refer to it as…as the apocalypse.”

“How long has it been going on?” Maddie asked softly, trying to decide whether or not to put a comforting hand on Amy’s shoulder. Amy gulped quietly.

“Generations. It spans the entirety of the planet now. People scream in the streets, homes burn and children cry. Bombs fall daily and nightly, and people are slaughtered in droves. Nobody really knows who’s on who’s side anymore and it’s been going on so long that nobody remembers how it started. Battles are fought in neighborhoods and in city centers. Blood floods the streets. Bodies coat the paths. Fires rage and smoke clogs the sky. Nowhere is safe. No one is safe.”

No one spoke. Tears fell down Maddie’s face and Tom covered his mouth. This girl had seen horrors unimaginable by them. Looking at the unsurprised faces of Tails and Knuckles, they had seen it too. What was this nightmare planet that they came from? Tails and Knuckles had seemed so happy here, so joyful. But they were hiding darker things, memories they wanted to be buried. And now their parents could see why. Why they never even mention returning, what would there be to return to?

“Why do you think your power was so sought after Sonic? Longclaw kept you safe from those that would use it to escalate the fighting.” Knuckles said.

“What do I have to do to stop this?” Sonic stood again, determination and anger building in his face, he wanted to stop this war, and save their home planet. Make it safe again. Amy just looked at him and shook her head.

“There’s nothing you can do to stop it. I know you’re a hero, Tails told me as much-” Amy gestured to the young genius who sent her a weak smile. “-if you were to go there, there’d be nothing to save. That’s why I came to warn you!”

“Oh god! No, they’re coming here, aren’t they?! How will we stay safe?” Maddie looked at Tom, holding him close, she reached for Sonic and pulled him into a hug.

“No no! You don’t understand!” Amy held her hands out and Maddie stopped. “No warriors would dare come here!”

“Then help me understand.” Maddie’s voice began to go from nervous to cautious, a change from fear to immediate and all-consuming protection. “Why warn us then?”

“Because a few days ago, a colossal burst of energy washed over the whole planet, originating from earth from about a year ago.”

“A year ago…that’s when Eggman had the Master Emerald.” Tails offered.

“And when I became Super Sonic.” Sonic said, his eyes jolting around, some pieces of what Amy was saying were starting to come together. Amy nodded at his words.

“C-can you tell me what you were feeling when Super Sonic was born?”

“I was- I was scared I guess, but more than anything I just loved my family-” Sonic stared up at his parents, “-and I wanted more than anything to protect them.” Amy nodded again.

“Those emotions. That love and protection are what washed over our planet. You created a wave that sent the opposite of what the whole of Mobius was feeling over the last century. That there was something out there besides war! You told people that are scared.”

A beetle hid from the storm under a picnic table.

“Worried.”

A mother bunny wandered through an unknown city.

“Hungry.”

Her child was clutching her mother’s leg.

“Hopeless.”

A red fox hid under a parked truck.

“Pained.”

An armadillo curled up tight as thunder roared around him.

“Terrified.”

The flying squirrel sailed through the air as lightning flashed beside him.

“Alone.”

The bat took cover in the awning of a jewelry store.

“You told them that there was a place out there. A place amongst the horrors of space and war-”

A raccoon saw an open door on a small boat and dove in.

“-that had hope-”

A lemur tried to nestle further into the hollowed-out tree.

“-that had love-”

The wolf just covered her ears and eyes as the rain beat her side.

“-that was protected from strife-”

A white hedgehog looked out at the storm from under the porch.

“-that was safe.”

The purple cat tried to keep the logs lit, but the endless rain snuffed it out.

“Your world is going to be invaded, I did come to warn you of that. But there are no armies, no warlords, no monsters.”

The chipmunk cried as she held the blanket close, it was wet and soaked.

“It’s going to be invaded by the scarred-”

The green hedgehog burrowed deeper under the scrap metal, his chest bleeding.

“-the hopeless and damned-”

The hawk ran under a gazebo as the rain bounced off its roof.

“-those with no friends-”

The large albatross wandered through the forests.

“-those with no family-”

The swallow attempted to find enough leaves to cover herself from the rains.

“-those that have nowhere left to run.”

Amy looked up at them, there were a million emotions visible in those eyes, but the biggest one, the clearest was expectation. An emotion that held itself a million possibilities. An unknown, that was eager to know what happened next.

“Earth is going to be invaded, but not by enemies, but by refugees.”

Chapter Text

Wade was pretty sure his porch wasn’t supposed to squeak. Well, he knew it squeaked. It was old and dire in need of repair. Years of Montana snowy winters and heavy rains and dry summers had pulled on the wood to the point of strain. The wood, once white had been stripped away to reveal a dull brown, the wood pulling away from itself revealing dark slats between the boards.

Dark slats and…something else. Something that had squeaked. Now the raccoons of Green Hills were pretty well known. The town was completely encapsulated by dense forests that made for excellent homes and with the town itself being an easy source of food, the trash pandas ran rampant. Not to mention the viscous storm that had swept through the town last night it might make sense that one had slipped under Wade’s porch.

“Alright, c’mon you guys, you know you’re not supposed to be under Mom’s porch, you better skedaddle before she comes out here.” Wade gave a few brief stomps on the porch to try to encourage the animal to scatter. Some more squeaks came from under the porch.

But…well Wade had lived in Green Hills his whole life, he knew it like the back of his hand. And more than that, he knew its critters like the back of his hand. The squeak that came from the porch didn’t exactly sound like a raccoon. More- if Wade had to put his finger on it, more like a child. But that was crazy, or was it? Wade smiled to himself.

“Alright Sonic, it’s a school day, you better not scare me and head to school.” Wade taunted. The porch did not respond. So Wade carefully descended the steps of the porch and rounded the side before leaning down fast, attempting to scare the blue blur. “Okay then! Guess I’ll have to just-”

Wade stopped. And his blue eyes met sparkling gold.

There was a hedgehog under Wade’s porch, but it wasn’t Sonic. This hedgehog was a light gray, fur seemingly streaked with dirt and soot. His quills shot out from his head in an almost star pattern, reaching upward. He wore boots and gloves like Knuckles but blue highlights contrasted and seemingly glowed.

And he looked afraid, very very afraid.

As Wade had descended rapidly to look under the porch, the hedgehog had shot backwards, trying to put as much distance between himself and Wade his body scrunched under the height of the small crawlspace.

Wade too leapt back a little, he knew Sonic, Knuckles and Tails pretty well, but still seeing a completely different alien was a little jarring. The two just waited for a while, breathing heavily. The gray hedgehog and Wade both scared. Well, Wade was scared, but the hedgehog…there was no other word than terrified. Wade frowned to himself.

He was the deputy of Green Hills, and had at one point been the sheriff for at least 18 hours. Green Hills had already been home to three aliens and Wade had found them to be pretty nice guys, so why couldn’t this one be nice too?

“H-hey? I’m-I’m Wade…it’s nice to meet you.” Wade gave a little wave to the hedgehog. It didn’t show any signs of acknowledgement, just heavy breathing and watching Wade carefully with large eyes. “Are you hungry?” No answer. “Cold?” Still nothing. “Do you at least like playing Fortnight?” The hedgehog had the decency to look confused. “Alright…uhh well how ‘bout I get you something to eat, I’ll be right back okay?”

As Wade moved back up the porch and into the house, he could feel the gold eyes of the hedgehog track him. Wade moved through the house quickly, grabbing some blankets and a pair of twinkies. The previous three aliens had liked all different things, who knows, maybe this one had a fondness for twinkies.

“Wade, I thought you were off to work?” Wade’s mom said from her seat in the living room as he passed by.

“Later mom, right now there’s a hedgehog under our porch.” Wade responded as he passed by.

“Well don’t feed it! You’ll attract more.” And then Wade was back out the door. He descended the porch steps quickly and swiveled down to the crawlspace. Feeling bad as the hedgehog flinched again at his return.

“I’m back. Hi.” Wade tried again. The hedgehog just continued to watch him. Wade unwrapped the twinkies and placed them on top of the blankets before pushing them forward closer to the hedgehog. It tried to scrunch up a little bit as Wade pushed the items into its space. “Oh, uh sorry. Do you want me to move back?” Wade asked and something in the hedgehog’s eyes ticked. Yes. The gold eyes seemed to say.

Wade took a few steps back. And wonderfully, hopefully, the gray hedgehog moved forward. Just a few tight, careful crawls but enough to reach out and grab one of the two twinkies. It shot back, the prize clutched tightly in its hands. It sniffed the confection before taking a big bite.

And then another and another, and then the twinkie was gone. It shot forward and grabbed the other one, this time without moving back and ate the second in only two bites. Wade gave a slight smile in watching the hedgehog’s eyes roll back in enjoyment of the treat. It licked its fingers and turned to Wade, and then spoke:

“Can I have more food?” It asked. Wade was taken aback a little, the shift from total quiet to full sentences a little jarring. The concept of talking anthropomorphic animals still a wowing feature.

“Sure. I can make you a sandwich or something. But do you think I could have your name?” Wade tried for a comforting smile, but he was starting to get cramped from leaning over this crawlspace. The hedgehog watched him for a while, trying to detect something in Wade’s face, searching for signs of sinister intent.

“Silver.” He said trusting Wade enough with his name. Wade stuck his hand out.

“Hey Silver nice to meet you!” Silver jumped back at Wade’s suddenly excited energy. Wade pulled away sheepishly. Right. Nervous hedgehog. Wade got up and reentered his house, before moving back to his kitchen to make Silver the Hedgehog a PB&J. As he worked he pulled out his phone and dialed. It rang three times and Wade thought he was going to get voicemail before the other person answered.

“Heeeey Toooom…” Wade began as he struggled to open the jelly jar.

“Ye-yeah Wade, what’s up? Kinda busy right now.” Tom sounded a little stressed and out of breath, not usually his mood.

“Sorry to bother you, just wondering if Sonic decided to dye and restyle his quills. And…is having an identity crisis?” Wade began to slather the jelly on the sandwich.

“Noooo…why do you ask Wade?” Tom had that authoritative dad voice. Tom swore it only started when Sonic came around, but Wade knew that he’d heard it directed at him a few times when he’d done something stupid.

“I just found a gray hedgehog under my porch and was wondering if you’d lost one.”

“Shit.” Well that was a little unusual.

“Everything okay Tom?” Wade slathered on some peanut butter, a little concerned.

“Look-just-okay? Wade. I need you to watch it. Do you think you could watch it, at least for today?”

“I-I’m mean sure, but I was supposed to drive the beat today.” Wade finished up the sandwich.

“That’s fine, just make sure you watch…uh…”

“He says his name’s Silver.” Wade answered.

“Silver. Please just make sure you watch Silver, Wade.”

“Okay Tom, I’ll take him on a ride-along! It’ll be fun.” Tom sighed on the other end.

“Wade. This is serious I need you to focus up.” Wade had been moving from the kitchen back outside and stopped.

“Yeah, okay Tom, what’s up?”

“Silver, he’s-he’s probably not going to be the only one you might encounter, but I dunno. And look Wade, these Aliens. Mobians…Kids, they’re kids Wade and the place they come from…I’m trying to think of a better word than dreaded. They’re really scared Wade, like to the point that they might be…I dunno, volatile?”

“Y’know we had a raccoon in the attic a year ago and all I had to do was treat it with respect and it moved away on its own. I’m sure Silver will be a good kid and I can respect him well enough.” Wade offered moving towards the porch again. Tom gave a half laugh,

“Yeah okay, just be careful Wade, but I get the feeling these guys might be leaving so soon. And Wade?”

“Yeah Tom?”

“You got this.” And then Tom hung up.

“I got this.” Wade said to himself.

“How much are you feeding that hedgehog?” His mom asked, apparently eaves dropping on Wade’s conversation and looking at the plate in his hands with concern. Wade looked between the sandwich and his mother.

“Well he’s been very polite.” And then he walked out the door.

…

Wade sat criss cross on the wet grass as he watched Silver devour his now fourth PB&J. Each one had gone down faster than Sonic at the all you can eat buffet place that opened and then immediately closed thanks to the hungry appetites of the Wachowski brothers. But this fourth one was savored a little more, slower to be consumed.

Wade took in Silver. He was smaller than Sonic and as mentioned had different fur style and grayish white quills. His boots and gloves were less natural than Sonic’s some kind of metal or plastic thrown in there that highlighted the, in fact, glowing areas. When Wade had returned with the first sandwich Silver had gotten a little closer to the exit of the crawlspace and wrapped the blankets around himself.

Whenever Wade had returned with another sandwich, he’d caught Silver rubbing the soft blankets on his face, enjoying the soft fabric. He seemed to find it luxurious, which didn’t really seem to fit with whatever Wade got on clearance at Homegoods, but Silver acted like he’d never experienced something like that before. And Wade was starting to get the idea that he hadn’t. The skitishness and the fact that he began to shiver whenever Wade got close combined Silver smelling like a radioactive campfire, made Wade get nervous about where these little aliens came from.

After all, what kind of place would make kids comfortable under an old wet porch.

“So where are you frooom?” Wade tried to make small talk.

“Mobius.” Silver said finishing the sandwich.

“I’m guessing that’s your home planet then, that’s cool. I’m from earth. Duh I guess you could tell that. Heh. But what I meant is what’s your town like?” Wade felt a bead of nervousness mover through him. Silver shrugged.

“It’s like every other town I guess. I’m on-I was on the front lines though.” The word ‘front lines’ only had one connotation in Wade’s mind and he really wasn’t ready to explore that path.

“Cool Cool Okay…Okay um, I have to go to work, but I also need to watch you, do you think you’d be willing to come along with me?”

Silver shook his head.

Didn’t think so. Wade thought.

“Do you think you’d be willing to come along if we got some donuts?”

“W-what’s a donut?”

“Oh! Uhh, it’s a little like a twinkie, that first thing I gave you to eat, but the pastry is firmer and there’s no sugary filling.” Wade gestured the shape of a donut with his hands. Silver tilted his head.

“But the filling was the best part. Why would you eat it without the filling?”

“W-what?! The cake is the best part of the pastry, it’s moist and melts in your mouth.” Wade countered. Silver just shook his head. Wade sighed, he wasn’t going to argue with an alien with an unrefined pallet. “Okay, so deal? You come with me, I get you donuts?” Silver took a long time to answer but eventually nodded.

Sweet! Now to get a skittish hedgehog in my car… Wade contemplated.

“Okay, so for my job, I have to get in my car.” Wade pointed to the squadcar in the parkinglot. “C-A-R. Car. It’s-”

“I know what a car is Wade.” Silver frowned.

“Well how am I supposed to know what you do or do not know if you don’t know what a donut is?” Wade suddenly smiled to himself. “Do not. Heh.” Wade shook off the pun. “So, car?”

Silver shook his head again. Wade sighed. Then sat up straight a look of concentration on his face.

“Alright I guess we’ll just sit here all day. Without donuts.” Wade appeared stoic.

“But I thought you had a job…?” Silver held the blanket closer, his eyes flicking between Wade and the copcar.

“I do, but my boss told me that all I have to do today is watch you. So I will, all day…just two dudes sitting on the wet ground thinking about donuts.”

Silver shifted a little.

“You know what’s great about donuts? How they can come in packs of 12. And there’s so many great options.”

Wade internally smiled as Silver smacked his lips.

“I mean you got your standard, but then there’s chocolate and glazed and sprinkles. You know what sprinkles are? They’re little bits of extra sugar coating the top of the donut.”

Silver wiped a line of drool that began to slip from his mouth.

“You can get chocolate on top of the donut too, so you could have like chocolate on chocolate. Actually now that I think of it, you can find donuts that have a filling in them, so they are like twinkies but like twice the size-”

“Okay!” Silver relented. “I’ll go in the car.” Wade held in a smirk of victory. He stepped aside as Silver held his blankets close and exited the crawlspace, looking around. He seemed to be checking every corner, nervous about the possibly dangerous open space of Wade’s front yard. Then when he determined the coast was clear, sprinted over to the passenger door of the copcar.

Silver reached up yanked on the door, but it wouldn’t open and he plastered himself to the door, eyes flicking around.

“Oop yeah sorry forgot to unlock it.” Wade pulled out his keys and unlocked the car and Silver opened the door and shot inside. The continuously odd acts left Wade’s head spinning, was this nervousness natural for his species? Sonic certainly didn’t seem that way. Or was Silver just a weird exception.

Or worse, he was acting perfectly normal in the worst way.

Wade got in the car to find Silver buckling his seatbelt. He was having a little trouble considering his size, but he understood the mechanics well enough to tell Wade that he had certainly been in a car before.

“Ready to go?” Wade asked as Silver finished buckling and Wade copied him. Silver nodded and looked out the window, Wade couldn’t help but notice that he had slidden to as far away from Wade as possible.

“You’re mean.” Wade was about to get frustrated, he was helping this kid and he didn’t feel like dealing with whatever pre-teen angst this was. He was about to get harsh, when something in Silver’s tone stopped him. A kind of flourish that hadn’t been present in anything Silver had previously said. A joke. It was a joke. Wade smiled.

“I’m literally buying you donuts little dude.” Wade rolled his eyes and started the car.

…

“I told you filling was superior!” Silver said excitedly his face smeared with white filling. Wade gave a half-nod as he turned the corner in the car heading down mainstreet.

“Okay, fair, but these are Boston Cream donuts. They’re not filled with frosting, it’s a custard, it’s different.” Wade countered, licking the custard that had also found its way onto his face.

“But it’s still filling.” Silver bounced in his seat a little.

“But it’s different.”

“But it’s still filling!”

“Silver-”

“But it’s still filling!” The gray hedgehog had a big grin on his face for the first time and Wade found it infectious.

“Okay! Okay! You win, filling is better.” Wade relented and smirked at the little fist bump that Silver made.

Wade was finding sugar to be an excellent social lubricant. What had been a scared nervous hedgehog a few hours ago, had turned into an eager and excited kid who after about four donuts started rating them on sweetness, texture, presentation, and wowness. Wade had asked what determined wowness and Silver had just said, what was the most wow. Which did not answer Wade’s question, but he rolled with it.

Silver had also been a lot less scared after being in the car for a while, he seemed excited and surprised by the town, the whole concept of an earth town totally new to him. He fired off a billion questions about everything he saw.

“What’s that?”

“A lamp post.”

“What’s that?”

“A mail box.”

“What’s that?”

“Mr. Snuffles.”

Mr. Snuffles was in fact a dog, and at first Wade had tried to explain what each thing Silver asked about was, but quickly discovered that Silver wasn’t so much interested in the item as was just talking and conversing.

Silver reached for another donut, but Wade stuck his hand out and Silver shot away, moving into his corner of the front of the car.

“Oh-uh sorry little dude, didn’t mean to scare you there. But we should hold off on the donuts, we gotta ration them-”

“Right ration, gotta be careful don’t know when we’ll have food again.” Silver cut in terrifyingly.

“Uhh. N-no I just meant that we gotta ration them for today, I am not buying another dozen donuts, my wallet and waistline can’t take it.” Wade tried to shake off Silver’s words with a laugh.

“O-oh okay.” Silver nodded and then went back to looking out the window. “What’s th-”

“Okay Silver, I’ve gotta job to do, you wanna help?” Silver turned a little away from the window to look at Wade.

“Okay.”

“So we’re just watching the town, looking for anything wrong that’s happening, and trying to help out.”

“How do I know what’s wrong?” It was a fair question and Wade didn’t know if he needed explain every earth law to Silver, he could barely keep police codes in his head himself.

“I’m not fully sure myself, but it’s less about looking for what’s wrong and checking to make sure things are right.” Wade tried to explain to the extent he understood.

“How do I know what’s right?”

“It’s-it’s about what your gut says I guess? If you look around town, does everything seem right?” Wade was starting to confuse himself.

“My gut says it wants more donuts.” Silver looked longingly at the box on the dash.

“Yeah, mine too.” Wade said under his breath. “But, okay, look-” Wade pointed to a young girl and her dad. They were walking down the road, an ice cream cone in one hand and her dad’s in the other. “-does that seem right to you?”

“Y-yes…no?” Wade raised an eyebrow. “Well there’s nothing wrong, I think? I mean they should be nervous about being outside with no protection, I-I-I’m not sure…” Silver trailed off and followed the girl and father with his eyes as the squadcar passed by.

“Okay, let’s look at it like this-” Wade finally found the words, “In this moment- right now- are they happy, healthy, and safe? Are the people around them happy, healthy and safe?” Silver took this in and watched the girl and father disappear as the car rounded a corner to the right.

“Y-yes? I think so…Yes! Yes they are!” Silver exclaimed happily turning back to Wade. “So that’s your job, to make sure people are happy, healthy, and safe? That’s awesome!” Wade felt a smile crease his cheeks.

“Yeah it’s pretty cool.” But they he turned to SIlver, serious. “It’s what myself and my buddy Tom try to do, but we can’t always accomplish all three at the same time. It’s tricky.”

“So what do you do if you can’t do all three?” Silver tilted his head.

“You take them one at a time, if you can’t get them happy, healthy and safe, you get them healthy and safe. If you can’t get them healthy and safe, you get them safe. Tom and I fail at our jobs if everyone’s not safe.”

“That’s tough.” Silver commented.

“Ehh not really here, people are pretty healthy and safe, so we just try to keep people happy and things running smooth.” Wade shrugged. “But occasionally we do get troublemakers.”

Wade pulled over the car next to a park and turned it off quickly, opening the door and slinking out. He crouched low and gestured for Silver to follow him. Silver looked nervous, eyes flicking around before undoing his own seatbelt, climbing over the center console and diving out, rolling before landing on his belly.

“What are we doing?” He whispered and a deadly serious look came over him. Wade moved over to a bush and Silver followed him, moving into a crouch of his own. Wade peered over the top of the bush and Silver stood to do the same.

“Checking out a local troublemaker.” Wade squinted.

“Where?” Silver looked around. And Wade pointed past the bush. Silver tilted his head as he examined the creature that Wade had pointed to. It was not a human as was Silver’s first thought or Mobian, it was much smaller and had a body shaped a little like a boat. A small neck stretched up from the front to a round head with black eyes, A long bill extruded from its face. It stood on a pair of stick thin legs that reached down to wide flat webbed feat. In its mouth was a dry looking donut.

“Quack.” It said.

“What’s that?” Silver asked.

“Nina…” Wade responded. “She ornery, fast, and has an insatiable appetite for cinnamon raisin bagels.”

“She doesn’t look so bad.” Silver said.

“That’s what you think, she’ll come at you with so many pecks, all you’ll see it her vicious orange bill.”

“Hmm”

“Okay so what we gotta do is-”

And that’s when Silver started to float.

Wade leaned back and gasped, as teal light flowed from Silver’s hands and enveloped him. He raised from the bush, hands out stretched. His gaze turned dark. In the park the same glow came over Nina and the duck was wrenched from the ground. It spun through the air, flapping about distressed as it was forcibly moved over to Silver and Wade.

“Return the dry donut Nina!” Silver commanded. The duck quacked hysterically.

“Woah Silver, kid what-what?”

“Don’t feel like complying?” And then things got worse. Silver began to his hands together and Wade saw a similar effect being placed on the duck. It wasn’t like Star Wars where Wade could see force applied to the ducks neck, but instead more horrifying. It was like watching a trash compactor. From all sides Wade could see glowing light compress on the duck, crushing its body inward, legs and head forced at awkward angles.

“Silver- Silver stop!” Wade tried.

“Sir we must defeat our enemies! Take back what is ours!” Silver didn’t look at Wade, his hands closing and the duck made terrible squeaking noises. It had long since dropped the bagel.

“Silver look at me, Silver!” Silver kept applying force, but managed to look at Wade with an expression he never hoped to see on a kid. Murderous intent. “Silver is Nina happy?” He tried.

“Sir I don’t understand?” Silver frowned at Wade.

“Is she healthy?”

“We must defeat her…” Silver’s hand began to loosen and the duck showed few signs of crushing. The hedgehog’s face twitched, gaze unfocused.

“Is she safe, right now? Does that duck look safe, do I look safe?” Wade reached his hands out, trying to calm the powerful child.

“You’re safe, and the duck…but the duck did bad? Are you not safe? I’ll keep you safe…” Silver returned to the ground, but still held the duck with an outstretched hand. He looked confused and scared, his eyes becoming glassy with the beginnings of tears. His limbs twitched with nervous energy.

“But I don’t feel safe Silver, safe is not just physical it’s mental too. And everyone has to be safe and feel safe for me to do my job, please let me do my job Silver.”

“Sir-I-Wade-I’m s- I’m sorry.” Silver looked up at him, shaking and he let the duck go, it quacked once and flew away. Silver stood there and Wade watched as he hunched his head and few tears dripped onto the ground. He looked so small. So very very small. Wade let him have a moment or two to himself.

“Are you okay?” Wade asked, getting close to Silver. Silver moved away quickly.

“S-stay away, I’m not making you safe.” He cried.

“Nah I’m all safe now.” Wade tried for a calming smile. Silver just looked confused.

“But you said…”

“That was then and this is now. What you did to that duck didn’t make me feel safe, but you’re not doing that now are you?”

“N-no.” Silver moved a little bit closer, sitting on the ground now and hugging his knees.

“That’s the thing about people, at first you might not feel safe, but after you get to know them, you can feel safe around them.” Wade stood up and reached a hand for Silver to take.

“That’s pretty cool I guess.” Silver took the hand and stood up.

“But how about no more crushing things with powers okay?”

“O-okay.” Silver managed a smile.

“That was pretty cool that you could float though, how’d you do that?” Wade asked.

“Oh it’s called psychokinesis and-” As Silver explained his abilities to Wade as they walked back to the car, Wade didn’t even notice that Silver was still holding his hand.

…

“Mom, this is Silver.” Wade gestured to the nervous hedgehog beside him. Wade’s mom looked up from the dish she was making to take in the dirty hedgehog. She raised an eyebrow at him. Silver looked nervous, seeming unsure of what to do with his hands.

The rest of the ride-along had gone pretty much normally, as much as can be said when a psychokinetic hedgehog is one’s partner. They’d rolled around the town a little more and finished eating the entire thing of donuts, most of which Silver had consumed. And Wade got to hear more about Silver, and how his powers worked. But far too little about how he got them, used them, or where he came from. It was unnerving to say the least.

Following the end of his shift, Wade had invited Silver back to his house. Silver had seemed disappointed at first before being told that he would be allowed inside, and not back under the porch.

“Wade is this what you meant by hedgehog?” Wade’s mother put a hand on her hip.

“Err, yes?” Wade tried. His mother tsk-tsk-tsked him.

“No no, this simply won’t do.” She said, pulling off her oven mitts after pulling a delicious smelling something from the oven.

“C’mon mom, he’s probably just staying her for a day or two.” Wade’s mother walked past him and moved deeper into the house, rather than gesturing for Silver to leave. She pointed at them and did a come here gesture with one finger. Silver and Wade started to move a little closer, but awkwardly moved not sure who was supposed to go.

“Not you.” Wade’s mom pointed at Wade, then her finger moved to Silver. “Him.” Silver gulped and moved nervously towards Mrs. Whipple. Mrs. Whipple rounded the corner in the house and Silver started to follow her before looking back briefly at Wade. Wade made an ‘I-dunno’ gesture before Silver turned back and followed Wade’s mom around the corner.

Wade heard water running for a few minutes and then-

“C’mon here you!”

“N-no!”

“You’re not having any dinner till you have a bath first!”

“Agh! It’s wet!”

“That’s how you get clean sweetie.”

Wade looked down at his hands which were dirty and grubby from work and after touching Silver. He sped over to the sink to wash them.

A few minutes later Wade, his mother and a now cleaned and slightly grumpy Silver were situated at the dinner table. Following his surprise bath, Silver had been dolled up in a selection of towels, his thick fur needing the extra warmth to dry. Wade and his mother found that Silver’s fur was actually brighter than first understood, it was practically white and was thicker than what Wade had seen on on Sonic or Knuckles.

Silver looked eager to dig in to dinner, a selection of potatoes and meats and noodles that Wade’s mother had lovingly cooked up, not even expecting an extra mouth to feed.

“Silver use your fork dear.” Wade’s mom said as Silver started to dig in to his food. Silver looked up and took in the metallic silverware beside him. He picked it up gingerly before using the fork to stab at his potato, trying to stuff the whole thing in his mouth at once. Wade smirked a little. “No, use your knife as well to cut it.” Wade’s mother demonstrated with her own potato. Silver looked to Wade and he copied the motion. Silver placed the potato back down on his plate and began to grab the knife with his other hand an successfully cut into the potato. The hedgehog gave an excited squeal.

Wade chuckled at the motion, the idea of excitement from using a fork an knife surprising to someone that had experienced it his entire life.

“Look at him eat his broccoli! Wade, why can’t you eat your broccoli too?” Wade was no longer amused as he plopped the vegetable in his mouth.

Wade’s mom was wowed as Silver levitated all of the dishes from the kitchen table back to the kitchen, carefully placing them in the sink where Wade and his mother worked to rinse them before placing them in the dishwasher.

“He’s a nice kid.” Wade’s mom said.

“Yeah, I like him.” Wade responded.

“So you think he’s gonna stay a couple days?”

“I think so, is that okay mom?”

“Sure sure, it’ll be nice to have someone else at dinner. But are you sure that’s all you want?”

“What’dya mean?” Wade looked at his mother in confusion and noticed a flicker of amusement in her eyes.

“I’m just saying you’re already awfully attached to that kid, I saw how you looked when you came in here. Even though this is my house, I don’t think if I said he couldn’t stay, you wouldn’t have take no for an answer.” She shrugged.

“He’s not my pet mom, I can’t just keep him.” Wade said placing the last plate in the dishwasher.

“Oh don’t say that sweetie,” She patted his cheek. “we usually call them our kids.” And then she had the nerve to walk off.

…

“Okay do you want the lights on or off?” Wade said as he pulled the blanket over Silver. The hedgehog was situated on the couch for now, a couple of big pillows and blankets placed on top of him. He pulled them close to his chin.

“Off please.” Silver said.

“Alrighty then. I’m off to bed, have a good sleep, you can come with me to work tomorrow too if you’d like.” Wade stood up and turned away as Silver nodded. Wade got to the light switched at the edge of the living room before Silver spoke again.

“Hey Wade?” He asked.

“Yeah Silver?” Wade turned back.

“You did a really good job at work today.” Silver blinked at him and Wade smiled.

“Yeah I like to think so.” Wade put his hands on his hips in a superhero pose.

“No I know you did a good job.”

“Pfff, how’s that?” Wade laughed to himself.

“You made me feel safe.” Silver said simply, as if didn’t completely blindside Wade. A true moment of honesty that warmed Wade and made him feel fulfilled. It held a note of caution as if Silver had never felt safe before, but beyond that, Wade couldn’t stop the broad smile the creased his cheeks.

“Happy to do so. Goodnight Silver.”

“Goodnight Wade.”

Chapter Text

Crazy Carl cursed as he dropped the tank. It bounced on the ground once before tipping over and rolling for a beat before stopping. He tested his old fingers a couple of times before bending back over painfully to pick up the tank to check that it was still sealed. The biohazard logo glaring warningly at him.

Confident it was still sealed, Carl picked it up in his right hand again and continued to walk through the forest. He took in a deep breath, enjoying the spring air as it moved through the trees. A stronger hint of warmth cut through the earthy natural smell, the oncoming of summer still a couple of months away. But for the most part, the forests smelled like dirt and rain, fresh and earthy. The forest had been churned up from the storm the previous night and now it felt like walking into a world freshly washed.

A few loose leaves and pines shuffled under the old man’s feet as he walked, leftover remains from the previous fall, hidden by snow for months. The trees swayed in the spring winds, the remaining raindrops being flung from the trees and into Carl’s face and the ground below. This was what peace was, nature at its freshest and finest.

Or it would be, if not for whatever was following him.

It seemed to think that it could spy on him, trying to move stealthily on the ground and between trees. But it was either sloppy or hadn’t ever been in the Montana woods before. Carl could hear every creak of a branch or leaf it stepped on, and see every large leap it made between trees. Carl didn’t have a great grasp of what it was, whatever it was moved pretty quickly. Not like the blue dev- err- Sonic, just with precision and tact. Whatever it was knew how to move, just not here.

Whatever this thing was, it was still an amateur and Carl had nearly caught Sonic a few times, this would be a cakewalk.

The Montana woods were beautiful but they held their share of predators. Wolves, grizzly bears, and rattlesnakes all called this place their home. It was one of the reasons why Carl familiarized himself with the woods for all of its nooks, crannies, hiding spots, and choke points. It was also why he carried a hunting rifle. But he wouldn’t be needing that right now. Just the choke point.

Carl moved between the two large rocks that made up the path he walked and took an extra fraction of a second to take an extra fraction of a larger step.

Right over his hidden snare.

Carl continued on for about a minute or two, acting as if he had no idea that there was something following him and was swiftly rewarded with the springing sound of his snare being tripped and a squeak of whatever followed him.

Carl allowed himself the briefest smile and a bit of an excited chuckle before moving back to see what tripped his snare. And he found…nothing. Despite the fact that his snare had been tripped, there was nothing in it. It just hung limply from the tree branch overhead.

Was Carl actually losing it? Had he just imagined something following him? But then what tripped the snare? No, no it had to be-

“Hey!” A young voice called. Carl whipped around to find he was staring at a lemur…in the middle of Northern America. The lemur didn’t look much like the critters from Madagascar, maybe similar fur patterns but that was about it. This one looked an awful lot like Sonic or his brothers. Big eyes set into an even bigger head that traveled down to a small body and thin limbs that ended in large hands and feet.

It wore what appeared to be a kind of bodysuit, simple and black but with an orange stripe down each side. A short yellow tanktop was placed over it and its hands were equipped with fingerless gloves that wrapped down to its forearms. On the ends of its feet, it wore…were those high-tops?

But the strangest thing was its tail. Not only was it prehensile, but it appeared to change shape and mass, and the fur at the end curled into a fist. The fist matched well with the rest of the attack pose the lemur seemed to be in when facing Carl. The lemur was not smiling and its eyes were cautious and aggressive, but a high-energy light curled deep inside.

“Hey! Are you listening to me? I can fight you know!” It said. Carl blinked at it for a few seconds, taking in its stance and seemingly angry nature.

“No, you can’t.” Instantly the lemur’s guard dropped and it looked, not necessarily scared but worried like it had done something wrong. It put a finger to its lip and its tail curled around it slightly. Its fighting stance all but gone.

“W-what do you mean? Of course, I can fight!” It protested but the fight in the voice was as weak as the actual fight in the lemur.

“Not like that you can’t. Besides the fact that you instantly dropped your guard, you also had your elbows too far out. Keep them close to protect your scrawny body there and widen your feet, you don’t want to be off balance when you're in a fight.” The lemur took this in and readjusted its pose. Taking in its body again trying to adjust its pose.

“Like this?” It peered up at him, eyes wide with anticipation and the search for approval.

“Widen your feet a little bit more, and get lower, the smaller a target you can make yourself, the better. As for yer tail, I dunno about that, I don’t have one myself.” The lemur followed his advice and looked back up at Carl, a smile beginning to form on its muzzle. “Yeah, like that.”

There was a pause.

“Alright bye.” And then Carl walked off. As he left, he felt the lemur’s gaze on him.

…

“So why are you following me?” Carl asked the woods behind him without turning around. The woods chose not to answer. Carl kept walking, he was close to his destination, if he could get this done, he’d be able to go home and put his feet up. They really began to ache these days. Getting older was a pain. Each new day something else creaked and groaned. “I know yer still there. I spotted you on a tree branch a ways back.”

The wind rustled through the trees.

“I’m not following you…just happen to also be going this way!” The woods responded.

“What’s the difference?” Carl called. The woods didn’t have an answer for that. “So what do I call you? Cause poor-fighting-stance devil just ain’t that catchy.”

“I-it wasn’t that bad, right? I mean you’ve never even seen me fight though…” The woods said nervously. Carl turned through a different section of the woods, making a quick turn.

“I boxed all through college, I know poor footwork when I see it.” Carl noted coming around the bend.

“Well…could you teach me then..hello?” The lemur asked as Carl came up behind it. It was still hiding behind a tree and Carl had made a U-turn through a tight section of woods to make a quick loop and move up behind the lemur.

“Nah, why would I teach a kid to fight?” The lemur jumped and spun around. It leapt up on its coiled tail like a spring and shot up into a branch of the tree. It stood on the branch and wobbled dangerously for a moment before regaining its balance. It clutched its hand over its heart for a second before frowning at Carl.

“Cause it’s all I know, I’m nothing if I can’t do that!” It complained.

“Then learn something else.” Carl said. And then he set to work. Carl groaned down to his knees and set down the tank and placed his rifle to the side. He then pulled off his backpack and pulled out the nozzle and hose. He began to attach the nozzle and hose together.

“GAS! You’re gonna gas me!” The lemur said from above him. He heard the sound of it springing off the branch and landing on the ground behind him in a roll. Fast retreating footsteps sounded. Carl paid them no mind. With the hose now attached to the nozzle, Carl began to unscrew the access point of the tank carefully. Slower footsteps began to approach Carl. “You’re not chasing me? Why are you not chasing me?”

“Why would I chase you?” Carl said simply, starting to get a little frustrated with this hot and cold little kid. At least he assumed it was a little kid, no adult could be this paradoxically nervous and confident at the same time.

“To…gas me?”

“It’d be a waste of gas. And besides this is actually a spray.” Carl finished attaching the hose to the tank and moved back over to his bag, rooting around in it.

“So what are you doing?” The lemur asked moving closer. Carl sighed. Without looking up, he pointed to a branch lower than what the lemur had just jumped from.

“You see that hive there, that grayish ball?” There was a second as Carl assumed the lemur was examining what he was talking about. “That there is a woodwasp hive. They’re an invasive species of sorts, they came here accidentally and now eat up the forests. I’m using pest control to get rid of ‘em.”

“So those woodwasps are your enemy, not me.” The lemur said slowly.

“Eh, I wouldn’t say that either. I don’t really wanna hurt them, but it’s gotta be done, or else there won’t be any place for critters like you to live in. Or I assume you live in a tree. Maybe you got a nice house somewhere.”

“I- don’t have a house…” The lemur was a little confused like it was trying to catch up with Carl’s words. Carl pulled from his bag his prize, a woodworking mask and a pair of safety goggles, as well as a pair of the same for the question-heavy lemur.

“Here take these.” Carl said handing them over. The lemur seemed nervous to approach, but quickly snatched them from Carl and moved back. It looked like it was going to ask a question again, but Carl put on the mask and goggles and the lemur took it in before doing the same.

It was a little weird as the lemur’s eyes were so big they almost didn’t fit in the goggles and the ears being on top of its head required it to hold the mask in place. But it managed. Carl began to spray down the woodwasp nest, taking big strokes and making sure to be careful with the application so as not to rattle the nest.

Carl could feel the lemur’s gaze on him as he sprayed, still slightly nervous but more curious than anything. Seeing what he did, how he did it, and probably trying to figure out why he did it. Carl took a few more strokes before stopping the spray. He removed his goggles and mask and placed them back in the bag.

The lemur removed its as well and tried to communicate it wanted to give it back to Carl. Its pose was awkward, unsure if it wanted to throw or hand the items back to Carl. Carl reached forward and grabbed the items from the lemur and felt a touch of humor at the relief in the lemur’s eyes. He placed the lemur’s pair back in his bag and began to disassemble the pesticide sprayer.

“So you destroy things that are invasive species?”

“I do what I can to help the forest. It’s a rather nice one, would like to keep it that way.” As Carl worked the lemur stood there awkwardly, rocking on its heels and clapping its hands together. “Why? You worried you’re an invasive species?”

“M-maybe a little…I’m…just looking to get away from a bad situation.”

“Well, an invasive species has two factors. One, it has to be non-native to the region it currently resides in.” Carl said calmly as he sealed off the pesticide tank.

“Ch-check.” The lemur had a nervous smile on its face.

“I figured as much. Two, you being here is going to cause harm to the environment or humans.”

“Oh, well I’m not gonna do that!” The lemur smiled happily.

“Ya did try to fight me when we first met.” The lemur’s smile dropped.

“So are y-you gonna get rid of me?” The lemur started to take a few cautious steps back from Carl and he saw it try to ready its, admittedly, improved fighting stance.

“I’m not sure, you seem like you wanna fight me rather than just try to speak calmly.” Carl finished up and moved to stand.

“I-I don’t really want to fight you-”

“Then don’t.” The lemur blinked at that, the option seemingly not crossing its brain. The idea that things can be resolved peacefully apparently a new concept. “Besides, I don’t think I could get rid of you if I tried, at least not with this.” Carl gestured to the canister of pesticide. “I think I’d have better luck with giving you a bowl of soup and sending you on your way.” The lemur fully dropped its fight pose, its ears perking as it leaned closer to Carl.

“You have food? Can I have some?” Big soft eyes stared at Carl. Carl sniffed.

“I suppose, but first I need something from you. A name. I don’t let nobody into my home that I don’t know.” Carl squinted at the lemur.

“Oh, yeah duh!” It knocked on its head. “I’m Tangle, Tangle the Lemur!” She said.

“Mmm. Suits you, now let's get outta here. I don’t wanna be near this stuff longer than I have to.” Carl gestured to the pesticide-laden nest.

“Yeah! See you later woodwasps!” Tangle taunted the bland nest. And then she turned around and shot her tail at it. “Take this!”

“NO DON’T!-”

…

“Ow. Ow. OW! Ow. Owwwwww.” Tangle groaned as Carl tried to apply the Sting Relief pad to the various spots on her tail.

“Well if you stopped twitching so much we could’ve gone and had this over with. You’re lucky that pesticide was pretty fast acting and you only got a few coming after us.” Carl grumbled.

After Tangle had attacked the wasp hive, it had predictably broken and a few dozen angry bees burst out, giving Tangle and Carl a chase through the woods. Carl had pretty thick clothes and knew to protect his face and neck so he only got a couple in his hands. Tangle on the other hand had over a dozen in her tail alone.

A painful walk in the woods later, the two had arrived at Carl’s cabin where Carl had sat Tangle down on the couch. She’d seemed a little nervous when he came at her with the tweezers, but he wasn’t having it. One intense look-through of her fur and an update on his glasses later, he’d pulled 20 stingers out of her hide. From there he’d dumped a mountain of icepacks on her to reduce swelling. And now as his soup was finishing up boiling on the stovetop, he was trying to get Tangle to sit still as he applied relief pads to her various mistakes.

“Why’d they attack me?” Tangle hissed as Carl wiped the pad on a particularly bad sting.

“Cause you attacked them first. It’s like you weren’t even listening to me.” Carl spat. Tangle looked down, and her ears drooped.

“I’m sorry for not listening.”

“It’s fine, besides after what happened I don’t think you’ll ever be smacking any wasp nests again.” Tangle managed a laugh at that, it was a nice one.

“Oh for sure!” She gestured broadly. “I can learn!”

“I’d rather you just listen.” Carl said as he finished up throwing the last of the relief pads away. The energy died from Tangle again.

“Yeah, I’m-not so good at that.” It held the weight of past mistakes, of failures to understand what was being told to her, and the consequences great and small that came with it. Carl made a note of acknowledgment before moving back to the kitchen and procuring a couple of bowls. Tangle got up slowly from the couch where she had been sitting and moved over to Carl’s kitchen table.

Carl wasn’t poor by any means, a life well lived led him to have enough for a nice cabin and a vehicle to get around town. Besides that, he wasn’t frugal with his money that he did have and was careful with what he needed. So it led to him having a rather small kitchen table that didn’t see more than one place setting at a time. It was weird needing a second, but not unwelcome.

“Do you think I need to listen?” Tangle asked nervously climbing onto the only other chair at the table. From over at the stove Carl poured a pair of bowls and started to move over to the table.

“Of course, you need to listen, why else would you have those things on top of your head?”

“Oh.”

“But it’s up to you to decide what you wanna do with what you hear.”

“What do you mean?” Tangle asked as Carl set the bowl in front of her and she began to sniff at it.

“You always gotta listen to what others say, but whether or not you accept it, that’s still up to you. But maybe it’s a good idea to accept what an old man says about wasps that he knows a lot more about than you.”

“Heh. Okay.” Tangle smiled brightly at him. “Hey, this smells pretty good! What is it?”

“It’s just chicken soup. It’s good for you and helps out when you’re not feeling great.” Carl gestured with a spoon to Tangle’s sting-laden tail. Tangle picked up the bowl with both hands and started to slurp up the soup. “You wanna use a spoon there?” Carl pointed to the spoon beside the lemur’s bowl. Tangle smiled sheepishly and put the bowl down. She then picked up the spoon and then stopped. She looked at it for a moment and then put it back down, before continuing to drink from the bowl.

“Nah.” She said. Carl rolled his eyes.

…

“Just be careful placing them back in the cabinet.” Carl noted as he worked on washing Tangle’s bowl. The lemur nodded and having finished drying Carl’s bowl handed it off to her tail which stretched upward to the dishes cabinet. Carl was impressed with the long appendage’s dextrousness, the bowl carefully being placed back in its correct spot without so much as a light clatter.

Following their impromptu linner Carl had gone to wash their bowls and the soup pots when Tangle had followed him. She seemed to like doing that. It had been a simple affair, Carl had washed, and Tangle had dried. It was nice. Despite the lemur’s initial annoyance and over-eager energy, Carl had found it nice to have someone else in his home. He’d been alone for the most part for a while, just little visits into town for anybody willing to listen to him. Having another living body made his house seem more like a home.

And then it was over.

They finished cleaning, Tangle’s stings had been swabbed it was the end of their transaction. But in the end, if Carl was reading the heart on her sleeve kind of person Tangle was, she wasn’t exactly excited to leave. And him?

“I guess this is it then.” Tangle said, standing outside Carl’s cabin door. Carl made a note of approval. “I’ll just be off then. Goodbye…” Tangle turned and a few words escaped from Carl’s mouth. He hadn’t expected them, he wasn’t the kind of person to make impulsive decisions. His moniker of ‘Crazy’ still meant he did wild things, but whatever he did was carefully thought out.

“Hold on, I need you for a second.” The lemur turned back, excitement perking her ears and eyes, her whole body seemed to vibrate, slightly magnetized to Carl. Carl held up a finger for her to wait, before retrieving some tools and his backpack. He placed inside the items he would need and put a few of the ready-made boxes in as well. As he turned back to Tangle he saw her stretching her neck and body trying to take a peek inside of what Carl was doing.

Curious little sneak.

Carl picked up the backpack, now quite a bit heftier, and grunted. He was having a little trouble moving it. Damn his back. He gave another grunt but had to set the pack back down, the wind struggling to get in his lungs.

“You okay?” Tangle asked nervously, she was curled in on herself again. There was concern about Carl’s health but mostly she seemed nervous about herself. It was unnerving, she wasn’t scared for herself because she was necessarily selfish, but because she thought she’d done something wrong. It began to worry Carl as his back was in pain and his breathing was a little ragged.

“Y-yeah, just fine. A bit heavier than an old timer like me is used to.” Carl wheezed.

“D-do you want some help?” Tangle sounded very small but hopeful, eager for an opportunity to be useful.

“No, n-” Carl stopped himself, he didn’t want to bother the girl, but there was no way he was hefting this thing on his own. “Yeah, do you think you’d mind?” Tangle shook her head and sped over to Carl, taking huge steps. Tangle looked into the bag Carl was having trouble with, and Carl reached in and pulled out two of the ready-made boxes inside. Tangle tilted her head.

“What are those?” Carl handed the two over to Tangle.

“They’re birdhouses, you’re gonna help me put them up.”

“Okay!” Tangle said simply, a contented note reverberating through the whole word. Carl attempted to pick up the bag again. And then dropped it back down. Still too heavy. Tangle peered inside for a moment then looked up at Carl with a smile. “I’ve got a tail y’know.” She said pulling out the final birdhouse with her long tail. It was a little awkward seeing what appeared to be fur-fingers gripping the birdhouse, but the lemur managed it well. Carl zipped up the bag and shouldered it.

“Thank you.” He said and Tangle beamed.

…

The two romped through the woods for a bit the wetness from the previous night’s storm starting to dry off and the slowly setting sun shining through the spring trees. It was supposed to be peaceful. But unfortunately, Tangle didn’t seem to have an off button. She danced, leapt, and at times even cartwheeled through the forest, all three birdhouses precariously clutched in her tail. One by the end and the other two curled up by the length of the tail.

“Woooow! Earth is super pretty! How do you get it like this?” She asked examining a group of flowers as Carl strolled by.

“This is natural.”

“What?! That’s crazy! You can’t get plants like this naturally. You’ve got to grow them carefully in a greenhouse, or else they’ll get destroyed.” Another sentence, another equally disturbing thought.

“Some try, but there’s protection against deforesting.”

“That’s really cool, I wish Mobius had that. And how do you protect forests?” Carl chose to ignore the new vocabulary word.

“There’s lotsa ways. We protected it earlier today, but mostly there are laws that prevent people from just destroying trees.”

“So why do people not just take the trees?”

“I said there are laws preventing that.”

“But why do those stop people from taking the trees?”

“You’ve lost me.” Carl was starting to get fed up with the lemur again, did she not have laws where they came from? She got the context of them alright, so what was there not to understand?

“Why do people listen to the laws?” Tangle huffed, apparently equally agitated with Carl.

“Because there are consequences for not following the law. Do you not know what laws are girl?” There was an apparent disconnect between what human laws were and…whatever laws she followed.

“Yeah, they’re a set of rules made up by one person to benefit them. People don’t like that so they don’t follow them and take down whoever made them!” There was a smile on her face. An innocent, innocent smile.

“N-not here they’re not.” Carl squinted at the lemur, disturbed. “They are a set of rules, but they’re rules that are supposed to be fair and keep people from ‘taking out' other people as you put. And they work because everybody agrees to them.”

“I didn’t agree to them!” Tangle put her hands on her chest, a frown creasing her lips.

“Yes, you did.”

“Pffff!” She waved a hand. “When?!”

“When you came here.” Carl gestured to the world.

“Uhh, what?” Tangle blinked.

“When you came to earth, or at least specifically Montana. You agreed to live by the rules that everyone else does. It’s how it is.”

“And if I don’t?” Tangle put a hand on her hips still keeping pace with Carl as he walked.

“Then you don’t get to live here, that’s the price of being here.”

“Ughhhh.” Tangle sighed dramatically. “It’s just like Mobius then. What’s the point of coming here if I gotta follow everyone else’s rules?!” Carl shrugged.

“You chose to come here for whatever reason. But from what I’ve gleaned, at least we have trees.” Tangle took a moment to look at her surroundings again, taking in the fresh air and bright world.

“Yeah. I guess you do.”

Sunset was starting as they started putting up the last birdhouse. Carl reached up and handed the hammer to Tangle’s tail. She reeled in her tail, making it shorter and closer. She was sitting high on a branch leaning over the main trunk of the tree. Between her hands was a large nail.

“Now remember, big strong clear strokes.” Carl called up to her. She nodded and held her tail back before slamming it forward with the hammer directly onto the head of the nail. The nail shot forward and buried itself in the tree. It was still pretty far out there so Carl called again, “Give it another wack!” Tangle did so and the nail moved forward again, now just the head sticking out.

“Ha-ha! I did it, and not like last time!” Tangle frowned at her right thumb, clearly a little swollen from a misplaced wack. Carl gave a quick laugh, this girl was a riot. Tangle returned the hammer and Carl took it and traded it for the last birdhouse. Tangle took it and placed it over the nail, the premade birdhouses slotting right over the metal nail’s head. Tangle leaped down, bending her knees and standing up fine. She raised her hands as if she’d just done a trapeze feat, which Carl supposed, she had.

“Geez, that was like 12 feet, you got springs in your legs?” Tangle just gave a laugh, it was big and loud, a small snort coming in at the end.

“No, that’s nothing, you should see me jump out of an airplane.” Carl just shook his head. “So why are we putting up birdhouses?”

“Well remember how I sprayed that hive to get rid of the invasive species?” Carl finally got a chance to ask Tangle a question.

“Yeah.”

“Well, this is kind of the opposite. Those wasps are pushing out the animals that we want to stay, so by giving the birds houses, we can encourage them to stick around. They make the forest nicer.”

“Oh! That’s pretty cool. Nice of you.”

“I have the occasional moment. You got a home right now?” Carl perked an eyebrow at her.

“Uhh, well there’s this nice tree I found with a hole big enough for me to crawl into, that wasn’t too bad.” Tangle put a finger to her lips in thought.

“So not really.”

“No, not really.”

“Would you like to sleep in my cabin for a little while?” Carl found there was a smile on his lips.

“Really?!” Tangle hopped a little as they began to walk back to Carl’s home.

“Sure. Nice having someone to talk to, even if she won’t listen to me.”

“Sounds like you found an animal you want to stick around.” Tangle pointed some fingers at him in a joking manner and Carl felt his smile grow wider, Tangle’s energy infectious to his old bones.

“Something like that. Just don’t get too excited, I got plenty of things you can do to earn your keep.”

Carl’s smile stayed wide as Tangle stopped walking to groan.

Chapter Text

“Sorry Randall, you’ll have to do better than that.” Rachel teased as she hung up the phone on the handsome former government agent. The woman placed the phone down right as her daughter walked in.

“I thought you liked Randall again?” Jojo asked, the confusion of an innocent clear.

“Oh I do sweetie, but messing with him for messing with me is just too fun. I’ll let him have the pleasure of dating me when I feel like it.” Rachel smirked as her daughter rolled her eyes. Jojo kept moving through their kitchen before putting her backpack bag down on the kitchen island and taking out some papers. “How was school today honey?” Her mother asked before thinking that she should begin starting dinner.

“Eh, it was fine. Billy got in trouble for bringing his legos to school though, he accidentally dropped them and Mrs. Finebill slipped on them. She was okay but he got detention for a week.” Jojo said as she began to work on her homework.

“That’s nice honey. You know today I was at the store and there was this other woman, and she was looking at the same facial cream I was interested in and-” Jojo began to tune her mother out as she worked on her pre-algebra. She loved her mother but definitely understood that the woman could be…a lot.

Jojo worked for a while as her mother cooked and talked, but after about 10 minutes was already having trouble focusing and turned her head to see something…off. She was looking out the window, beyond it was the next house over. It was a nice house, two-story that was a calm yellow with a garage and clean trim. A rather pricy place right outside of San Fransico. But the odd part, which under normal circumstances wouldn’t be that odd.

The lights were on.

“Hey, mom?” Jojo cut in. “Did someone move into the house next door?” Her mother looked up and stopped talking. She leaned back from the stove where she was cooking to take in the house that her daughter was looking back.

“I don’t know honey, I thought people were still looking at it. I didn’t see a sold sign on it…No moving trucks either.” Rachel shrugged. “Maybe the realtor just forgot to turn the lights off.”

...

It wasn’t until the next afternoon that Jojo thought about the house next door again. And that’s only because it threw something at her.

Despite the invention of phones and their tight grasp on humanity and its youth specifically, there was still a fair bit of physical activity going on around the recess schoolyard. Namely, the well-respected and violent yelling sport known as kickball. It was a game that everybody seemed to know the rules for and yet somehow everyone’s rules were different.

Fights could be started over whether a ball was out of bounds or not, screaming matches began at the topic of Anais’ slide to home plate. And whether or not home plate had moved three inches to the right or not since the last throw of the bright red ball. Teachers would intervene if things ended up getting too heated, but none would dare actually enter the warzone that was the brutal playground sport to try to compile an actual set of rules.

Jojo herself was a frequenter of the game. It got her up and active and allowed her to prove herself superior to any boy that thought to come and step to her. She knew she wasn’t the best player and games never lasted long enough for anyone to keep a proper score or get enough practice. Kids would walk off to talk to their other friends or look at phones or heaven-forbid recess would end. But Jojo did alright.

Most of the time. When she wasn’t being watched by Alex Cohen.

Alex Cohen was the typical crush. A bright smile, athletic build, a clear laugh, and wild messy hair that looked far too natural to actually be natural. But nonetheless, whenever Alex came out to play, Jojo had a hard time focusing on the game. Well her and everyone else with a crush on the kid.

That led Jojo to her backyard this afternoon, trying to sort out her kickball skills and ignoring Alex’s cute smile. She’d gotten a good rhythm going, her foot impacting the red rubber ball against the backyard fence a number of times. She tried a few different angles with the ball, her breath huffing and puffing in order to suck in oxygen so that she could pound the ball with her foot. The ball would subsequently distort with the shape of her foot before remembering its elasticity and continuing the momentum set by Jojo and go flying off and smacking into the stereotypical white picket fence in Jojo’s mother’s backyard.

It worked to get her energy and anger out, her failures at kickball frustrating. But then of course Alex Cohen popped back into her head and she mistimed her kick. It led to her foot impacting the ball at a lower angle than in previous attempts. This then caused the ball to gain more height than distance. But Jojo had still hit it pretty hard, and Jojo watched as Alex Cohen caused her ball to sail right over her fence and into the yard next door.

The one with the mysterious new neighbors.

Jojo had seen this movie before, that ball was not coming back. A vicious dog or a mean old grump surely had it now and Jojo would never see it again. Although Jojo never had finished The Sandlot. Jojo gave a sigh and started to move back into her house, it wasn’t her first choice but homework awaited.

And then her red rubber ball popped back over.

Jojo followed the ball’s arc as it moved over the top of her fence, hovering for a moment before gravity took back over and bounced once, and then twice back into her yard.

Oh.

Jojo blinked, then a brief smile crossed her face. She’d seen this movie too. A friendly throw-and-catch sort of game with a mysterious stranger before a friendship formed. Well, this would be fun. The mysterious ball tosser would turn out to be super ugly but with a heart of gold, it would just be like Sonic, except this thing would stay when Sonic had to go back to Green Hills.

Jojo picked up the ball and not wanting to seem too threatening gave the ball a light toss back over the fence. She managed to hear it bounce on the ground a couple of times but little else. Jojo smiled as she waited for the ball to return, eager for this mysterious person to throw it back to her.

“Thank you.” Came a very young voice.

Well, that was…nice. Jojo guessed this stranger didn’t get to play catch often, they never did in stories. A bit odd phrasing though. And then Jojo heard the sound of a sliding glass door opening and closing. And the ball didn’t come back.

…
…
…

Did they just steal her ball?

That was not how this game was supposed to be played. Did they think Jojo was giving them her ball? Not cool. Jojo was going to get that ball back, her day had been frustrating enough. And she knew just how to do it.

“I can’t BELIEVE they thought they could just take my baby’s ball.” Rachel said as Jojo tried to follow her to the front of the neighbor's house. Her smaller legs had a little trouble keeping up with the determined woman. “If they think just because they’re new they can get away with this sort of thing, then they’ve got another thing coming!”

Yeah, it wasn’t super nice that Jojo had sicked her mother on these poor innocent people, but they stole her ball dammit. She followed her mother up to the house’s front door, the ‘for sale’ sign still up on the lawn.

There was no sold sign.

“Excuse me! My daughter would like her ball back! She did not give it for you to take!” Rachel pounded on the door ferociously. The mother and daughter heard the scuffling of feet and soft voices. There was some tension in the voices. Not arguing per se, but question and answering, a mild interrogation of sorts. “Hello?!” Rachel pounded on the door.

There were sounds of more movement within the house and through a side window, Jojo saw…something. It looked furry, could’ve been a dog, but a small one. It must’ve peeked through the window to see them. Jojo was just about to call her mother’s attention to it when the door opened.

And Jojo’s ball rolled out. And then the door slammed shut.

“Hmmph! Little rude of these people.” Rachel commented as Jojo picked up her ball. “I bet it's all these young college students. Getting rich on science projects or whatever and then coming into our neighborhood like they don’t got a responsibility to it.” Rachel chatted on as she walked back to their house, Jojo in tow. Jojo looked back at the house trying to catch a glimpse of the dog or whoever was in the house. But by the time Jojo and her mother were back in the kitchen, Rachel still babbling, Jojo looked back through their own windows at the other house to find unlike the previous nights; the other house’s lights were off. The home was dark.

…

It was close to Jojo’s bedtime when the knock came. She’d been trying to finish up her work, a big history project coming up and she needed to finish her report on Nikola Tesla. She had a lot to redo because she had been pretty sure that he had invented the car, but how could he have done that if he died like a billion years ago? But she was having trouble getting it done when her thoughts were stuffed with questions about the neighbors.

Why were they there? When did they move in? Why didn’t they come to the door? Her head was full of them. Jojo wasn’t a huge fan of questions, they always required answers and it always seemed to be her problem to give them. So instead she focused on what she did know.

The young voice.

There wasn’t much to glean from something that consisted only of two words, but Jojo took what she could get. She knew it was young, the high-pitched and the stuttered but careful annunciation was of someone that knew the language well enough but hadn’t yet realized there were no consequences to letting their lips flap.

She was also pretty sure it was female. Jojo had heard some high-pitched boys that sounded a little like a girl, her cousin Tails for instance was a lot like that. But the voice was so high and sounded so much like windchimes, clear and sharp that Jojo was having a hard time seeing it on a boy.

Each word was also clear and precise, again that could be contributed to the user being young, but those from SF had a tendency to string bunches of words together. But the young girl’s voice had said ‘thank’ and ‘you’ completely separately. So it was more than likely this was an out-of-towner. Jojo was starting to think that her mother might’ve had a decent idea about it being a college student, but would a college student have a kid? Jojo figured it wasn’t unreasonable, just more likely uncommon.

And that’s when there were raps on the front door.

“Jojo sweetie can you check that?” Rachel called from deep in the house. Jojo needed a break anyway so getting up from the kitchen where she was working she moved to the foyer and looked through the side window.

There was no one there.

“Mom! No one’s out there!” Jojo called.

“What?!”

“I said there’s no one-”

“What?!”

“Why don’t you just come here!”

“Hold on! I’ll come to you!” Jojo just rolled her eyes. Rachel moved through the house and came up on Jojo, hands on her hips. “Why didn’t you check?”

“Cause there’s no one out there.”

“What?”

Jojo was speaking English right? She shrugged. Rachel huffed and open the door to find the empty night air greeting her.

Mostly.

After a quick look about, Jojo and her mother looked down. And below them was a bouquet of flowers. It was a tad strange, but it appeared as if the bouquet was completely handmade. The flowers were local, Jojo swore she’d seen them at the park and they were wrapped up in newspaper of all things.

And yet it was nice. The flowers were bright and bold, clearly, time was put into selecting them and the wrapping job was held tight by a simple piece of string, each piece of newsprint crisp. And the knot was done in a sort of bow that was large and elegant. It was the work of someone giving their best with limited options.

“Well, this is interesting.” Rachel said picking up the flowers. “I have a sneaking suspicion some rude neighbors are trying to make up for their theft.”

“Mom there’s a note!” There was. On the backside of the bouquet, a simple piece of paper was attached, and the string was forcefully punched through the paper. The paper itself seemed to be the most high-quality item of the whole bouquet. It was a business card for the realtor of the house next door. On the back was one line of text:

We apologize for taking your ball.

The handwriting was very neat and very fancy. Whoever wrote it was unlikely to be the young voiced girl Jojo had ‘encountered.’ This fact doubled down when below the text was a simple child’s drawing. It just showed two stick figures hugging. It was a token of peace. That was nice, even Jojo’s mom smiled at it. But did one of the stick figures have…bunny ears?

“Mmm, perhaps I’ve misjudged our stuck-up neighbors,” Rachel spoke hesitantly, the possibility that she was wrong seemingly impossible to her. “I think we’ll have to return this olive branch, Jojo.”

…

It was a little before dinner time the next day when Jojo and her mother made their second trip to the neighbor’s front door. This time with a plate of cookies. It was meant to be a housewarming gift. Something to bridge the tenuous gap that had started the two houses’ relationship. So after sneaking a few, mother and daughter had piled the chocolate chip goodness high on a nice plate, wrapped it with cling wrap, and walked outside to the house next door.

But now it had been five minutes of knocking and Jojo’s mother was starting to get a little upset.

“YOU WANT THESE COOKIES OR NOT?!”

Just a little upset.

“Maybe they’re not home mom.” Jojo tugged on her mother’s sleeve. The woman whipped around on her.

“Nonsense! You said you saw them in the house right?” Jojo nodded, she had indeed seen a figure walking the house. But the shades had been drawn, it could’ve just been a shadow. “Well they did something nice for us, so now they’re gonna good and take these LOVINGLY PREPARED COOKIES from us whether they like it or not.” Rachel had yelled the keywords towards the door. The woman went to knock on the door again when it finally opened. The door creaked just a sliver, the house still hidden behind its mass.

“Thank you, but we don’t want any cookies.” A quiet voice called. Jojo recognized it enough, it was similar to the one she’d heard yesterday but this one was a little deeper and the words flowed smooth and silky, perfectly twinged with mild age. It was most likely the young voice’s mother.

“Don’t want our cookies? Hey, we put time into these and now you’re refusing? We’re just trying to return the favor!” Jojo’s mother huffed. The door didn’t respond for a moment and Jojo could tell a breath was being held. The taking of cookies seemingly a weighty decision.

“I also brought the ball back if you’d like it?” Jojo offered more calmly. It was ultimately just a kickball, it could be replaced easily enough and the young voice seemed to like having it.

“Would you be willing to just put them outside the door?” The voice asked politely. Jojo found it odd but not unreasonable, but the decision wasn’t up to her, it was up to her mother. Jojo watched the flow of emotions cross her mother’s face. Confusion, agitation, maybe even a touch of worry or understanding. She moved briefly to follow the request, slowly lowering the plate of cookies to the doormat.

“Oh, this is ridiculous!” And then she banged open the door. And two bunnies looked back at Jojo and her mother. “Oh, dear heavens above.” And then Rachel dropped the plate of cookies. It shattered on impact with the ground the cookies lost amidst a sea of broken ceramic.

The bunnies were not bunnies. They could only be called so because they shared base similar features, long large ears that cascaded over the back of their heads, and short fluffy tails. Beyond that, they were mostly humanoid but much shorter. They looked an awful lot like Jojo’s cousins…

The taller of the two wore a very fancy dress. Jojo had seen the cover of a book in the library called Little House on the Prarie, she never read it, but minus the bonnet she seemed to be wearing exactly what the women in that book had worn. A lick of brown fur dropped over her forehead and she’d decided to change her style from the prairie people by donning a brown vest. And while she was, Jojo assumed it was a she from the voice and outfit choice, taller than the smaller one, she was only as big as Jojo was.

The smaller of the two was very much just that. She was barely bigger than an infant, Jojo’s cousin Tails had height on this little girl. She too wore a dress but it was a simple thing, a pale orange that just hung over her shoulders, shielding her body.

Both had large brown eyes that were filled with fear as they took in Jojo and her mother. Jojo took the time to notice that while both seemed relatively cleaned up, whatever fur care the two took very comprehensive, their dresses were ragged and torn in places, patches covered up various spots and the shoes were threadbare and as the two took a step back she could see soles flapping.

Following suit with her mother Jojo dropped her ball. It bounced a couple of times before rolling into the house, directly into the hands of the smaller rabbit. She stopped looking fearful and picked up the ball, enormous against her tiny form. She smiled at them.

“Thank you.” And then everything snapped into action.

“Not more of them!” Rachel screamed. The larger rabbit…the mother rabbit slammed the door shut. Rachel picked up Jojo and carted her off back to their home, taking large determined steps. Jojo was still blindsided. This was crazy! Just a couple of years ago she’d met Sonic and he was super cool and an alien and really nice. Then last year she met Tails and later Knuckles, and they ended up being really nice too. And now more of these really nice aliens were Jojo’s neighbors. This was going to be great!

“Mom, why don’t you like our neighbors?” Jojo asked as her mother set her down once they reentered their own house.

“Those things are not our neighbors! They’re-they’re an invasion force! Yeah, that’s it! Thomas’ kids were the scouts and now a whole army of them are coming! That must be it! I’m going to call Maddie, I’m going to call the police, no-no- I’m going to call Randall! He’ll be able to deal with this. Him and all his crazy government friends!” Jojo just frowned and let her mother rant moving to look out the window with the hopes of seeing those two bunny aliens that had moved in.

Although Jojo had to ask, had they moved in? Jojo had seen the house briefly when it was still being sold, and it looked the same as how the bunny people had it. Did the realtor lady just let them have all that furniture? Jojo had moved into the house they lived in now when she was still very little, but she remembered that there wasn’t any furniture at all when they first started unpacking.

The house had been unsold for a while now, was anyone allowed to just start living there for free? That seemed unfair. Unless of course, the bunny people were just borrowing it. But if they were just borrowing it, then where did they actually live? And they seemed so secretive too, trying to act as if they weren’t there. Were they trying to act like no one was living there?

Were they stealing it?

That was definitely not okay. Jojo knew that much and she was starting to think that her mother might actually be right for once. And yet their clothes were so ragged, they didn’t seem like robbers, just desperate. And then another thought came.

Jojo had seen the streets of SF for herself, the homeless and starved were everywhere. It was hard to watch. Taking a house still wasn’t right, but Jojo could at least understand why they’d done it. And they were so nice too. And thinking back on it…very thin. Homeless asked for money and food, but these people hadn’t done either, in fact, they’d only given to Jojo and her mom. And now Jojo’s mom was just gonna call the space police on them?

No. Maybe Jojo and her mom could guide the bunnies to a homeless shelter, although Jojo didn’t know if they took bunny people. But she could at least stop her mom from calling Randall. And that’s when she saw them.

Not the bunny people, the shades of the house were still drawn tight. Possible buyers.

Coming up the path of the house next door was the realtor and a couple, wearing plaid and beanies, so hipster chic Jojo wanted to roll her eyes. But they were going to enter the house, and if they did that, they’d find the bunny people and probably have them arrested. The nice bunny people didn’t deserve that.

Jojo had to save them.

She flew out the back door finding herself in her own backyard. Running over to the side of the yard she found herself next to their fence, it wasn’t particularly high and each slat was a pointed smooth plastic, it would still be a bit of an effort to hoist herself over.

But Jojo had taken gymnastics.

Once.

For like two classes before she’d gotten bored.

After some huffing and puffing, she found herself on the other side of the fence, sprawled on the ground. She took half a second to catch her breath before finding her feet under her and crossing the backyard to the neighbor’s backdoor. She rapped on it aggressively with her knuckles, desperate to get the bunny people’s attention before the realtor and the hipsters entered the house.

Finally, the door opened and Jojo was face to face again with the tiny bunny. The rubber kickball was still in her tiny hands. “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought again that you were giving this to me, you can have it back.” Jojo was about to tell the tiny bunny to forget about it when the bigger bunny came into view behind her and picked up the tiny bunny.

“I’m sorry about your ball, but please don’t hurt us, we’d just like to be left alone.” Jojo was confused, why would she hurt them, she wanted to help them. Was asking for a ball hurtful? But Jojo didn’t have time to consider that.

“No, there are people coming!” The bunny…woman?-tilted her head. The people that are coming to buy this house are right at the front door, you need to get out!” Jojo watched as the bunny woman’s eyes widened in the understanding at least that someone who had a claim to this house was coming to take it back. She set the tiny bunny down and rushed back inside briefly, reemerging with a backpack. It was ragged and worn just like the bunnies’ clothes. Jojo ran over to the shared fence and gestured for them to follow.

The tiny bunny’s eyes widened with glee and started to move toward Jojo, but the older bunny stopped her looking at Jojo nervously.

“C’mon! It’s okay, I’m sorry for my mom scaring you guys earlier, but I’m really nice, I promise!” Jojo watched as the bunny woman bit her lip and she looked back briefly at the house before nodding and following Jojo. With some more huffing and puffing, Jojo popped back over the fence to her side and got up spinning around to see the bunny woman struggling to get over.

She could probably get over as okay as Jojo could, but at that moment she was trying to do it with the tiny bunny in her hands.

“I’ve got her!” Jojo said reaching up to take the tiny bunny. The tiny bunny reeled back as the arms carrying her moved away quickly from Jojo. The fence was too high to see the older bunny’s face but Jojo knew enough about these two to know…they didn’t trust her. “I got her, I promise you she’ll be safe.” Jojo said into the void. It was a shot in the dark, the house people would come outside soon enough and this bunny woman didn’t know Jojo and couldn’t even see her expression to read if she was being truthful. If Jojo was in the same position, she didn’t know if she’d surrender her daughter like that.

“Ok.” Came the soft voice of the bunny woman, the trust of the thing she loved dearest held in that one word. The tiny bunny came back up, its face a little confused about what was happening and Jojo carefully, oh so carefully took her from her mother.

She was soft. And oh so small. Jojo held her tight to her chest and the tiny bunny just leaned her head against Jojo, the rubber ball still clutched in her tiny hands. Big brown eyes looked up at Jojo with the most trust she’d ever seen.

“I like hugs too.” Said the tiny bunny. Jojo smiled at her.

“Yeah, they’re pretty great.”
As the bunny woman leapt over the fence, having a little trouble herself and Jojo took the time to appreciate the irony of a bunny not being able to jump high, the bunny woman reached for her daughter back.

And Jojo handed the tiny bunny back.

“Thank you.” Said the bunny woman. The words held weight, an appreciation beyond what was needed so that she could climb a fence.

“Jojo honey are you out here?!” Jojo flipped around to see her mother at their own back door. Rachel’s eyes pierced Jojo and the girl moved to try and cover the bunny people.

“Mom, don’t make them go away, they don’t have a place to live!” Jojo pleaded. She waited for the screaming demands of her mother, but…they never came.

“I know.” The normally yelling woman said. “Bring them inside, we’ve got some things to discuss.”

…

Jojo had been playing with the tiny bunny for about an hour when her mother and the tiny bunny’s mother came back into the living room. Jojo learned that the tiny bunny’s name was Cream and that she loved ice cream and hugs and her mother Vanilla and these little floating creatures named Chao that apparently aren’t around anymore.

For the most part, the two were playing with Jojo’s older dolls. She didn’t use them as much anymore but she was glad to bust them out for Cream. It was nice having another young girl in the house to play with. And Cream was really good at brushing the doll’s hair. The bunny was also super surprised at Jojo’s assortment of dolls, never having seen so many before. The fact that they were humans was also a little weird for the bunny but she took it in stride and made up a whole bunch of really cool backgrounds for the dolls. It was…fun.

“Are you girls having a good time?” Jojo’s mom asked from the edge of the living room. Jojo and Cream turned to her mother and nodded vigorously. And then Vanilla entered the room, Jojo couldn’t help but notice her mother gave the older rabbit a wide birth.

“Cream deary, why don’t you come with me for a moment, give Josephine and her mother a chance to talk?” Vanilla said in that calm, rich-as-can-be voice.

“Okay, mother.” Cream got to her tiny legs and hustled over to her mom, taking her hand and waving to Rachel as the two exited the room. Mother and daughter stopped to watch mother and daughter walk off, heading up the stairs to the second floor of the house. And then Rachel came over to Jojo and sat down beside her with a groan. She picked up one of the dolls and considered it for a moment.

“Did you enjoy hanging out with the bunny?” Rachel asked.

“Yeah! Her name’s Cream and she’s really nice. Her mom seemed really nice too.” Jojo watched as a brief smile crossed her mother’s face for a second or two.

“That’s the impression I got too.” The words were short, tightened with the agitation she might be wrong. “Do you want them to stick around?” Jojo’s eyes widened, it was exactly what she wanted but seeing her mother take in someone out of the niceness of her own heart seemed a little…odd.

“Yeah of course I do! But…do you want them too?” Jojo was cautious, not wanting her mother to shift her decision.

“Not really.” Her mother sighed. “But I don’t think I can really say no.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Earlier I called Randall…and he didn’t answer which is risky of that man to not answer me. But it was a little weird considering he hasn’t missed any of my calls since our ‘wedding.’ So I called Aunt Maddie. And she…informed me that these animal people…Mobians is what they’re called I guess. They don’t-they don’t-” Jojo watched as her mother paused, her fast-talking loud mouthiness paused so that she could choose her words carefully. “They don’t have a home and they can’t really go home.”

“So they get to stay?!” Jojo asked eagerly.

“For now!” Her mother emphasized so hard that Jojo leaned back. “For now. Because I don’t think we can really get rid of them anyway.” Jojo shot her mother a confused look. “Baby, I want to tell you how proud I am of you for being so nice and supportive of these people, because- because- it’s looking like they might not be the last.”

“You mean more bunny people are going to move in?!”

“No. No. Nonono. No more bunny people in this house sweetie. But. It looks like there is going to be more of these animal, alien, Mobians here, as in on earth.” Rachel held her daughter's shoulders.

“So we might actually end up with animal people next door? Cause I don’t like the looks of the people actually looking moving in there.”

“What? No- I-.” Rachel sighed. “I love that you’re so open and supportive, it’s a lot more than I give, I know that much. But…these people are coming from rough…dangerous places and might be bringing that some of that danger with them.”

“Are they going to hurt us?” Suddenly Jojo was feeling nervous.

“No. No sweetie, I won’t let them hurt us. But what I’m saying is they might be hurting and the things they…say…think. I don’t know everything about where they come from, they come with pain, and I just want you to be careful that they don’t push that onto you.”

“How would they do that?” Jojo didn’t fully understand what they were saying, Cream and Vanilla seemed so nice.

“I…don’t fully know sweetheart. I just want you to be safe.” And then Jojo finally noticed it. The haunted look in her mother’s eyes. She’d seen it when they’d moved. She’d seen it right before she told Jojo her father had died. It was the look of someone who knew too much and was struggling to hold it from Jojo.

“I will be mom.” Jojo promised. And the look faded slightly.

“Good, that’s what I like to hear.” A soft smile. “Now let’s go serve our guests some dinner.”

Chapter Text

Grant Mason liked walking. He didn’t get to do a lot of it, most of his job involved sitting or standing so it felt good to use his legs for the reason he had them. He had been lucky enough that he could drop off the truck at a nearby depot rather than having to drive it across the country again. And it allowed him to be home again.

Grant loved Seattle. It was a beautiful city and had a strong culture and for a driver like him, stronger coffee helped. The city could be dreary every now and then, and the spring weather didn’t help. But after the vicious storm that tore through the city last night and most of the pacific northwest, it had been a bright and sunny day. It allowed him to enjoy the last rays of light reflecting off the high rises behind him as he moved into Belltown.

Grant was a pretty lucky guy, his friends called him out for it all the time. Coinflips worked out for him, at poker nights he always ended up with the best hand. He’d had the foresight to buy and own his apartment 15 years ago and was now reaping the benefits of up-and-coming areas of Seattle with none of the steadily increasing rent costs.

And then there was his wife.

It was one of those things that just seemed too crazy, too lucky, too unbelievable that a wider, shorter guy like him had ended up with a beautiful gorgeous, and kind woman that was his wife. Grant had met Elaine 18 years ago when he started his job. He’d just kept running into her at the bank. He’d be dropping off or picking up and she was just there, she’d wanted to help out before he’d had to explain she couldn’t handle the bags. And then one conversation had started, and then another and another and then he’d had to leave. But then his job brought him back, and they’d talked again and again and again.

And then she’d asked him out.

Him.

The chubby guy with the unkept beard and a rapidly increasing bald patch he was constantly trying to cover up with a hat. And somehow his nonexistent charm had wowed her enough to give him the courage after 3 years to ask her to marry him. And she’d said yes. And then they’d been married for 15 years since then. The day he’d asked her was the day he bought that apartment. Yeah, he was a pretty lucky dude.

And then they’d started trying for a kid.

It wasn’t crazy feasible considering neither made huge amounts on their separate salaries, but it would’ve been enough to provide for the kid’s childhood and decent schooling. So they tried. And tried. And tried. But no kid ever seemed to want to enter their lives.

It seemed like this was the one thing Grant’s luck couldn’t touch.

They’d stopped trying about five years ago, and decided to put their time and effort into their own lives, and the lives of the people around them. They took trips and put extra money into the community and donating to homeless shelters and food pantries. That money for the kid that didn’t seem to come instead spent on the less fortunate. But it wasn’t a replacement.

At night Grant and Elaine would kiss each other good night and turn off the lights and listen to the cold silence of their empty apartment, the extra room that Grant had bought that specific apartment for-painfully, painfully empty.

And then there was a whimper.

Grant probably wouldn’t have noticed it if it wasn’t so different. The steel and sharp sounds of a Seattle afternoon broken by a soft, scared sound. There were people walking and yelling. The cars rolling, squeaking, and honking. The pounding and forging of construction projects going up all around him.

And then there was that whimper.

Grant was actually a little surprised he could hear it all things considered. But it grabbed his attention, a desperate plea out to a world uncaring to those in need. Well, Grant would. For once it was someone else’s lucky day.

But why did the whimper have to come from a creepy alley?

The alley was long and thin, separating a cafe and a fitness studio. Concrete and steel rose upward creating the dark space where rats clearly strutted and criminals exchanged various substances.

Grant didn’t really know why he now found himself taking cautious steps into this alley. He was a nice enough guy, but being a hero? Not his forte, he’d found that out last year…after the incident. He ultimately wasn’t to blame and they’d cleared him of any suspicion allowing him to keep doing his job. But being hijacked had been terrifying, along with his odd…savior? But it had told Grant he was perfectly fine with life in the slow, happy family lane.

Not whatever he was doing now.

After giving the second dumpster a wide berth so as to not let any would-be stabbers that could be hiding behind it have a free shot at him, Grant was thoroughly into the alley now. Why was he here again? And then came that soft whimper. Oh yeah. That.

Looking in the far corner of the alley, Grant saw something shivering. From his perspective, it looked like a lump, some kind of person wrapped up in a burlap shawl. And they were small, very small. They must’ve been a child and an extremely young one at that. Who the HELL left a child out like that? Now Grant knew he had to help. But he had to be careful, he didn’t want to scare them off.

He approached carefully, getting low and keeping his body non-threatening. “Hello? Are you okay?” He said softly, and then the lump turned around.

And the blue eyes of a red fox stared back at him. They were wide and scared. She held the shawl tight around her body shivering slightly. Deep red fur-coated her body and a tan muzzle held a quivering lip. There were the beginnings of tears in the edges of her eyes.

Grant sat back, stunned at seeing what appeared to be a humanoid fox girl. And the weirder thing was that this wasn’t his first encounter with an animal person. The blue hedgehog that had ‘saved’ him when those robbers hijacked his truck looked a little like this girl. Small bodies, big heads, and huge expressive eyes were all the same. She looked to be about the hedgehog’s size.

“Can you help me?” She asked, taking a few steps closer to Grant. His expression hardened. It didn’t matter if this girl was a weird alien or whatever, she was a child and clearly in distress. He was no hero, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t help. Give her a place to sleep and something to eat, she looked rather thin. Grant brushed himself off and stood up, reaching out to the fox girl.

“Yes, I can.” And she took it.

…

Fiona had been in a lot of different places in her short lifetime. They varied pretty greatly, but there was one thing that each place she went to shared in common. No matter where she went…

There were always suckers.

It might’ve been a struggle to get to earth, but now that she was here? This was a gilded land for her to wrap around her little finger. The first night had been rough, but after the rains stopped Fiona had gotten a better look at the place she had ended up. It was a city and a big one at that. Tall structures loomed and people went about their days. And no one was afraid.

That was, ultimately the best part she had to admit. If people were afraid they were often immune to her charms. It made scamming them all that harder. Fiona had to be careful though, if she stuck around too long, people got wind of her antics and pushed her away. It was hard when you were as beautiful as she was. That was the other thing.

Fiona had been cute before, but now she had to get used to being cute. She’d been concerned that with all these humans, she couldn’t turn up the sexiness and get them to feed, house, and dip her in luxury. But it had turned out to be so much better.

She’d tested her persuasion prowess on a few homeless she’d come across(better to start with people that won’t remember you). She’d found that they weren’t interested in her as something to lay with(thank Chaos), but rather something to cuddle and protect. To them she was adorable. A tiny fluffy fox with big eyes? No one could resist her now.

Back on Mobius when Fiona was a little girl she remembered people fawning all over her, thinking about how adorable and precious she was. Food and shelter were easy then. But as she grew, people stopped thinking she was so huggable and started seeing her…differently. She’d gotten places to sleep by letting boys have their way with her, but now she didn’t have to do that.

Those nights on Mobius were…fun, but each morning was filled with regret and a desperate desire to brave the warzones rather than stay any longer in so and so’s place. But being cute again?

It was perfect.

Fiona was never gonna stop being cute in human eyes which gave her a free pass to take whatever she wanted until she died perched atop a mountain of fine dining and luxury goods. Which led to her current mark.

Gary.

Or was it Garth?

Didn’t matter, right now his name was meal ticket. Fiona followed Garth through the streets of the city holding his hand tightly and walking close to his legs. Every so often he’d look down at Fiona and she’d turn the charm back up to 11 and shoot him a pair of the biggest, wettest eyes she could manage and watch him melt right into her hands. Then Garth would look back up and they’d keep going to where ever he was taking her.

Fiona had to admit, that being led to an unknown place by a being four times her size was not the most comfortable of situations. But Fiona had seen these humans and they seemed fairly fragile, heck, if she wanted to she could just take from this guy and be on her way. Who’d stop her? But she wasn’t in the mood for a fight, even if it was one-sided, this was easier and there was less chance her food could end up poisoned.

Eventually, Garth led Fiona to a huge building. It was of fairly simple design, concrete and steel and rows and rows of windows, but if this guy owned this building…

Jackpot.

Fiona followed Garth inside, her hand still clutching his, not gripping, not holding. The right amount of force to show that she was scared but meant no harm. Fiona was pulling on his heartstrings like a puppet. Inside was a series of elevators and people were coming in and out of them.

Wait. Did this guy not own the building?

The two went to one of the elevators and Fiona tried not to bask in the attention various passersby were giving her as they walked. She hoped she looked pitiable. The elevator took them up 5 floors to which Garth took Fiona out and into a long stretch of hallway. Luckily they only had a short distance to go before arriving at a door labeled: 506. Although the five looked a lot more like an S.

“Just a second kid.” Garth let go of Fiona’s hand and started reaching into his pockets. Fiona was so close to sealing the deal that she didn’t want to trip at the finish line so as he let go, Fiona grasped his leg tightly, giving him the kit eyes. Garth smiled at her and fished out his keys. He inserted them into the lock, turning the tumblers over and opening the door. He then put his keys away and reached for Fiona’s hand again. “Elaine! I’m home!” He called.

Elaine? Did this guy have a roommate? Fiona would not be fighting for attention. She’d have to convince Garth to get rid of her. And then Elaine walked in, and Fiona realized that might be more difficult than she thought.

Fiona might not have liked humans but she knew attractiveness when she saw it. She saw it in the mirror all the time after all. But this human was definitely out of Garth’s league. She was tall with long black fur at the top of her head that cascaded down over her shoulders. She had a thin waist and a bust that made Fiona start to feel a little jealous. A symmetrical face with strong cheekbones jutted out and perky lips created a smile contrasted against her rich dark skin as she walked in.

Perhaps Fiona had misjudged Garth. The dude apparently had some game.

“Hey, babe…” Elaine trailed off as she spotted Fiona, who was too shocked to try and work her charm. “Uhhhh, what the fuck is that?”

“I’m sorry Elaine, I just found her. She’s like that hedgehog thing I told you about! But she seemed so scared and alone. I thought we could care for her for a little bit maybe?” Garth tried for a smile, but it seemed a little awkward on him, like he’d forgotten how to do it.

“I thought you were kidding babe…wow, she really is a tiny animal person.” Elaine got close and Fiona could smell a citrus perfume waft over her, like fresh oranges. “Hello. What’s your name?”

“Fiona.” Fiona said. Shit. She’d forgotten to use a cutesy voice. She was worried Elaine might see through her, but she just smiled.

“That’s a lovely name for a cute little fox like you.” Fiona managed to nod and hoped it looked cute and not awkward like it felt. Elaine stood up to approach Garth, she was a little taller than him. “Well, she seems nice. But are you sure she’s okay with staying here? Should we report her?” Fuck. Fiona grasped Garth’s leg again. There’s no way this dude held any power in this relationship, but Fiona had to try. Garth looked down at her.

“I dunno Ellie, she seems really scared, maybe we just give her a place to sleep for the night and something to eat?” Fiona tried to read Elaine’s expression as she gave it some thought. Elaine looked down to meet Fiona’s gaze and she took the opportunity to hide her face in Garth’s pant leg, she gave a sniffle.

“Okay babe, if you want to. Plus she’s so cute I can’t say no.” And to the victor go the spoils.

…

Dinner was probably the best meal Fiona had eaten in years. Meats, grains, vegetables, it was amazing! Fiona had been dubious of something called a Sloppy Joe, but it had turned out delicious! Whoever this Joe was, Fiona had to thank him for being so sloppy. There was potato salad and a regular salad and potato chips, apparently humans liked renaming their foods. This was a meal that Fiona could only get on the rarest of rare occasions. And she got the feeling this was a pretty common occurrence.

There was also wine, which Fiona hadn’t been offered, she’d tried giving the big eyes again to Garth, but he’d just laughed her off and said she could have more food if she wanted. Apparently even something as cute as Fiona wasn’t getting booze anytime soon. Oh well, food was good enough.

Fiona had done the best she could to stuff her face, could be a while before food again. Three of the sloppiest of joes, two helpings of potato salad, and she’d pushed down some salad that wasn’t the best. But she’d had to do it because Elaine offered it to her and she couldn’t drop her desperateness ruse around her.

After the dinner concluded Fiona sat back in her chair and sighed happily, this was the best. Humans were so gullible and they had tons of food. Fiona wasn’t just going to survive here, she’d thrive. Fiona would spend some of the night here, take whatever she could find as valuables(and maybe the leftover sloppy joes too), and then book it before these idiots woke up.

It was a great plan. And then she noticed the humans were chuckling at her. What? What had she done? Crap. Had she messed up. And Fiona watched with scared eyes as Garth got up from the table, went to the sink and took out a paper towel. He turned on the tap and water flowed from it. He then brought the paper towel under the water, got it wet and turned off the tap. Garth approached Fiona’s face with it.

What? Were they going to make her eat wet paper? What kind of sick fucks were these people? She’d already gotten food, maybe she should dip early.

And then he wiped her face with it. Slow, smooth strokes that damped her fur and silked it back. The cooling felt nice on her dry muzzle. And then he took the paper away and it came away red.

Blood?!

No, it was from the sloppy joe. She’d gotten it all over her face. She looked down at her gloves to notice they had been reddened by the slightly liquidy substance as well. How was she going to get clean? Humans liked cute and dirty was not cute!

“Sorry Fiona, you just had a little bit of dinner left on your face.” Garth said. “Do you still want some more?” Oh. He helped her get clean. Fiona shook her head at the question before realizing she oughta eat as much as possible. “You also got your gloves dirty, do you want me to wash those?” Fiona looked down at the stained gloves and nodded taking them off. Garth held out his hand for the gloves and Fiona gave them to him. And then he walked off into their home, presumably to clean her gloves.

How gullible were humans? She was clearly taking them for granted and they didn’t care. Fiona might actually feel a little bad. But probably not.

Fiona had to snap out of her surprise at Garth’s helpfulness because now Elaine was moving, picking up the plates from dinner and moving over to the sink to wash the remains of the food off and into the drain below.

What a waste of food.

But Fiona couldn’t say anything, she didn’t want to alert Elaine. So she watched as Elaine cleaned up from dinner. Garth came back and helped her. The two worked calmly and whispered to each other, little warm laughs and chuckles came as they talked. It was too weird. They didn’t pay Fiona any attention? WHY?! She was adorable! But they seemed too caught up in each other. Fiona would kill for Garth and Elaine to fawn all over her. They didn’t even seem cautious of her. What world had Fiona stumbled into where no one was nervous about having an unknown Mobian just in their house?!

Eventually, they stopped cleaning and Garth and Elaine sat down back at the table. Garth reached for Fiona’s hand but she didn’t give it. It was his punishment for not paying attention to her, not to mention, that she just felt weird being so trusted. Garth didn’t seem upset.

“Fiona, would you like some ice cream? It’s a delicious treat and we were wondering if we could ask you some questions?” He said softly.

Okay, now they were back to Fiona’s area of territory. Bribes in exchange for information were more her speed. She could do this. Fiona gave a cute slow nod. Garth gave a smile and stood up, he went back to the cold place where they put the food and reached lower and took out a cylinder. He then obtained a spoon and brought the whole cylinder to Fiona, it was as big as her head. Garth removed the lid and something very cold and sweet-smelling wafted up from the cylinder. Fiona took the spoon and tried to shovel the ice cream into her mouth.

It was difficult at first, the ice cream very hard, but the feeling on her tongue of the rich flavor of it was like nothing she’d ever eaten before. Truly earth was a luxury. And then came the questions.

“Fiona, I was wondering if you’d tell us where you came from.” Garth asked. Well, that wasn’t too pressing, Fiona could give at least the general info there.

“Planet Mobius.” She said through a mouthful of ice cream. She watched as the eyes of Garth and Elaine widened to be nearly as big as hers.

“And why did you come here?” Elaine asked. Now that was trickier, too much talk of war, pain, and death and she might scare off her meal tickets. Time to play the innocent card.

“Because he asked me too…” Fiona said sweetly as she ate another bite of ice cream. Garth and Elaine looked at each other.

“Do you have a family? A place to stay?” Garth asked her. Fiona shook her head, both true, both old news. “Would you like to stay here?” Fuck no. Fiona nodded her head eagerly. And Garth gave her a big smile. He seemed really happy. Fiona felt a little bad.

Even if marks were easy and she took what she could, Fiona didn’t love ditching them. But she knew it would turn bad as soon as she revealed who she really was, that she was using them. It was the game of life, wasn’t her problem that they sucked at it and she was an expert.

“Elaine, what do you think?” Garth turned to his wife. Fiona guessed that's what she was? She seemed deep in thought and Fiona took the opportunity to take another bite of ice cream and tried to turn it up to maximum cuteness. And then there was pain.

A sharp biting pain that jutted through her brain and encased it in agony. Poison! They’d poisoned her! She should’ve known! Been more careful. Fiona dropped the spoon and clutched her head.

“Oop, yeah sorry about that Fiona, don’t eat ice cream too fast or you’ll give yourself brain freeze. It’ll pass in a moment.” Fiona was about to curse him out when he was apparently right. The pain passed and all of a sudden she was fine again. Fiona blinked and pushed the ice cream away from herself.

“Why would you eat something that hurts?” Fiona asked, with all truthfulness, innocently. Elaine chuckled.

“Yeah, you can stay kid.”

…

They’d set Fiona up on the couch. She’d gotten her gloves back and noticed they were perfectly clean, to an extent that she’d never had them before. The wonders of earth were still an amazement to her. It had been a while since they’d put her in their living room, and left her there with some blankets to curl up in. The room was now dark, leave for the window.

Outside the lights of the city twinkled, possibility and excitement waiting for her to take. And high above it was earth’s moon. The white circle hovered in the sky, putting all the city’s lights to shame. She’d watched it rise for a bit, letting time pass and her marks sleep. But now was the time to get while the getting was good.

Fiona got up and took one of the blankets, something to keep her warm, and let the next person think she was some kid to take in. Fiona hadn’t had time to find where Garth and Elaine kept their valuables which was sad, but at least Fiona knew where they kept their food.

Fiona wrapped the blanket around herself and stalked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge, and there it was. The glory of food for days, weeks! But Fiona only had eyes for one thing. She snatched the leftover sloppy joe makings and closed the fridge. And then it was time to go. Fiona took her prizes and left the kitchen for the foyer, reaching for the door handle.

“I’ve got some jewlery that you might want to look at before you leave.” Shit.

Fiona whipped around to find Elaine leaning against the foyer exit door jam, glaring at Fiona. Fiona returned the look.

“Nah I think I’ll just go while I have the chance. How long could you tell?” Fiona sneered.

“As soon as I saw you. I know a fake 'pity me' look when I see one.”

“What?! How could you-” The words died in Fiona’s throat, and then a devilish smile creased her perfect features. “How long have you been scamming Garth over there?” Elaine set her jaw.

“His name’s Grant, and I’m not scamming him.”

“Oh, I’m sorry is that too harsh of a word for you? Would taking advantage of be a better word? I knew that dummy couldn’t land someone like you.”

“I’m not taking advantage of him either, he’s my husband, I love him.” Elaine said, a touch of desperation in her voice.

“HA! Puh-lease, I know you, 'cause you’re just like me! You don’t love him, there’s no such thing! He’s an easy mark.” Fiona smirked, then relaxed the smile. “I get it, you got tired of playing the game, and just took the most gullible option, some of us just can’t keep up with the best.” Fiona gestured to herself.

“I don’t- I’m not- I like Grant, he’s nice to me.” Elaine was retreating, so Fiona pressed her advantage.

“Nice? Nice?! That’s not a reason to be with a guy, that’s a reason to not kick him in the Chaos Emeralds after you take all of his shit. Garth over there would believe you if you told him ‘gullible’ was written on the ceiling. Face it, you stuck with him because he’s got a good job, and doesn’t ask too many questions.” Fiona’s face was a mask of glowering pride, the larger woman retreating at the small fox’s steps.

“You’re right.” Fiona’s grin doubled as she felt the taste of victory. “He doesn’t ask too many questions. Because he trusts me.” Fiona’s grin dropped. “You know I cheated on him 14 times? Never noticed, not a clue. By the end, I wasn’t even hiding it. I told him I was going out with my boyfriend and he just laughed, thought it was a joke. He always sees the best in people and is overly optimistic, it’s fucking infuriating! I tried being a bitch, being shitty, he just thought I was having an off day, and made me dinner, rubbed my feet, and told me tomorrow was going to be better.

It wasn’t. I was still cheating on him, still being a bitch. Eventually, I realized I was doing it on purpose. I was trying to be the worst wife imaginable because I couldn’t imagine breaking up with him. I’d rather he see me as a terrible person and ditch me than have to look at his face when I left him.”

“I’m sorry you didn’t have the guts to get out of an unhappy marriage because of some weird nice-guy guilt.” Fiona snarled, but it was weak, it was baiting. She wanted Elaine to keep talking.

“I was unhappy. But not with Grant. With myself. I had turned myself into a shitty person to try and get him to hate me and it only made him care more. I didn’t like being a shitty person. So I told him who I really was. What I did, what I wanted him to feel because of it and you know what?”

“What?” Fiona had stopped being angry, just curious.

“He forgave me.”

“He’s an idiot.” Fiona did a double take, flabbergasted at a person so stupid as Garth. Grant.

“Sometimes it feels like it.” Elaine gave a short laugh. “But he’s my idiot. I don’t know if I love him. I honestly don’t. And I may never love him. But I certainly like him. And I’ve wanted to cheat or swindle to get my way since I told him, and I tell him again. And he just sits there and listens to me. Tells me it’s okay, tells me that he accepts me, tells me that he still loves me. I don’t know why, never had the courage to ask…yeah he’s kind of an idiot, but he’s my idiot. Do you know what that means?” And then Elaine’s eyes which had been unfocused and lost in a haze of memory snapped onto Fiona, razor-sharp, and pierced her in the heart. The fox took a few steps back.

“It means that I also make sure no one else tries to swindle him. So what’s your play here Fiona?”

“No play- I told you, I’m getting out of here.” Fiona’s voice cracked.

“No I mean here on Earth.” Elaine gestured with her arms. “You just going to go between different suckers, stealing their food and dipping the next day?”

“I thought I might stay a night or two.” Fiona tried for some swagger, but it didn’t work.

“I bet you think at the end of your life you’ll be rich and have people waiting on you hand and foot as you drift away. Well, you won’t. You’ll just be alone and sad and hate yourself. I got a touch of that, it sucks big time.”

“With a face like this-” Fiona gave her best cute fox face. “-I will! And besides what else am I gonna do?”

“You could stick around. This is a whole new world for you right? Stay and see what it’s like.”

“Ugh.” Fiona rolled her eyes. “You can’t play a player. I’m 16 I know how the world works, how any world works.” Something broke in Elaine’s eyes and Fiona thought the battle was won.

“You’re only 16?” Elaine’s voice was a whisper. Fiona stopped. Was that so bad? Fiona was old enough to know how things worked, right? “I’m so sorry the world did this to you.” Pity. Elaine pitied her?! She was Fiona Fox! She didn’t need pity!

But hadn’t she wanted it? Didn’t she want to be pitied? Working on pity was going to be her whole life. It was going to be so easy…right?

Something wet rolled down Fiona’s face.

Tears.

She hadn’t cried in years. A decade at least. But now, with this stupid human and her gullible idiot, she was shedding tears?

“So what?!” Fiona cried. “You just want me to stay here? I saw how Grant looks at me! How you did too at first. You want me to be some kind of weird daughter. A little doll to dress up in cute clothes! Well, that’s not me. It’s not me! It can’t be me!”

“Did you- do you want it to be?” Fiona didn’t say anything, couldn’t meet Elaine’s eyes anymore. “Fiona. Being with Grant…you learn a lot about both your partner and yourself when you’re married. But the biggest thing I learned…you see…” She sighed. “The world is a rough place, I think you’re right about that, and it teaches you how to be tough, how to survive. But it holds back this one little critical piece of information. Hides it from you in order to try and break you. Turn you into me, into who you think you are right now.

"Fiona, you don’t have to go through life alone. It’s okay to let people care about you.”

They stood there for a while. Neither spoke. The sound of the fridge humming, an earth-shattering sound.

“You really think Grant cares about me?”

“You don’t?” Fiona looked up to see a confident smirk on Elaine’s face. Bitch.

“I still want my freedom to come and go, be me. Do what I wanna do.” Fiona made demands, her voice still cracked and choked.

“And you’ll get it. No one’s stopping you from being yourself, you just don’t have to be yourself by yourself.” Elaine’s voice was soft, and she got down to one knee trying to catch Fiona’s eye line, but Fiona was just looking at the floor.

“Okay…I’ll stay, for now, I guess.” Fiona put the leftovers back in the fridge and took her blanket back to the couch, but stopped for a second. She turned back to Elaine. “Y’know he’s pretty lucky to have me staying with him…and you I guess.” Fiona was clutching the blanket.

“Heh, he is pretty lucky.”

Chapter Text

Abigail was starting to think that the cat stalking her shop, wasn’t actually a cat. For one, it was bigger than any cat she’d ever seen. Two she was almost positive cats couldn’t fly. But nonetheless, something had soared away as she came out with the cat food. And three: The timing with all of the other Mobians coming into Green Hills was far too coincidental.

It had been the talk of the town for about a week now. What had just started as Sonic had morphed into the Wachowski brothers and now people were starting to see little animal people walking down the street. Abigail couldn’t go to the post office without seeing a young rabbit or cat or bird holding tightly to the leg of another human. Abigail wasn’t sure if people were seeing them as pets or just the local animals that roamed the streets like Venice with its pigeons or New York City with its rats.

Not that Abigail thought they were pests, it was just starting to be weird to see someone holding up the shipping line because they couldn’t reach the counter. Green Hills citizens seemed to take a real shine to the critter people, and so Abigail hadn’t yet seen a Mobian on its own. But maybe that was just a lack of sample size. Maybe the only Mobians that were in Green Hills were the ones that liked humans? How much did Mobians know about humans? How much did humans know about Mobians?

Very few of these questions were answered in the email blast. Late in the day after the big thunderstorm Sheriff Wachowski had sent a mass email to anyone that was on the official alert email chain. It was short but described that they might be seeing more of Sonic and Tails and Knuckles’ kind. That they would be small like them and more than likely very scared.

The people of Green Hills were a nice bunch so they welcomed their galactic visitors. Abigail heard stories of folks that had taken in a pair of rats, another had a young squirrel. They seemed so eager and energetic about it. But Abigail wasn’t convinced. This was some kind of honeymoon period, the easy part full of fresh and new that was exciting. Mobians were by nature, cute to humans, of course, citizens would like them. It was the same kind of like that when someone saw a cute cat on social media they’d want it.

But then things start to slip through, you realize that the cat needs to be fed a lot and has a litterbox to clean out and knocks over your stuff, and vomits a hairball every other day. The other shoe was going to drop and it had Abigail worried. Not just for herself, but for the Green Hills citizens and the Mobians. Abigail had seen Sonic a couple of years ago take down that crazy doctor and again when the same doctor used a giant robot to try and destroy the town.

Abigail didn’t think the Mobians by any means wanted to hurt anybody. But they were also very powerful. And why were they so scared? You weren’t scared unless you had a reason to be afraid. What could scare these powerful beings? How long until their fear accidentally got someone killed?!

These were the thoughts that worried Abigail as she picked up the cat food dish for the third day in a row to find it untouched. She probably should be feeding the Mobian actual food because that’s what Sonic and his brothers ate, but who knows maybe it was a cat…an earth cat.

Abigail also didn’t know why she was putting out the food, she didn’t want to attract a Mobian, but she was a nice person dammit. And she felt that it probably wasn’t earth’s best foot forward if she didn’t at least try to welcome these ticking time bombs. But whatever time bomb was stalking Abigail’s shop didn’t seem to go off. Hell, it didn’t even seem armed.

She’d been worried that this Mobian was stalking her and so she’d taken odd routes home, locked her windows, and gone to sleep with one eye open. And yet. She still felt safe at home. The trips home and to work were weird, but that was her own making, she never felt like she was being watched.

Except at work that is.

Abigail was never a fan of the big city. She’d lived in one as a young white kid and been into fashion getting a B.A. in Jewelry design after high school. And while she liked jewelry design, she wasn’t half bad at it either if she said so herself, the idea of being in a big stinky city never appealed to her. So she’d moved to Green Hills. The big open spaces, the small town charm. Plus, she’d quickly found how nice the people were here and how safe it was. Safe it was.

So she’d enjoyed her time. She was coming up on a decade now of being here and last year she’d taken over the jewelry shop.

Emerald Hills was Green Hills’ local jewelry shop. Before Abigail, it was run by Ms. Anita. An older woman from India. She’d followed a similar path as Abigail, good schooling but not a fan of huge cities so Ms. Anita had moved here as well and started the jewelry shop. It had been a tough sell, trying to get so few people to buy enough to keep it in business, but Ms. Anita was a wizard. Abigail had only seen better designs in magazines, they were simple and elegant and wonderful.

Abigail’s favorite was displayed on a stand atop one of the glass cases. A beautiful ruby heart necklace surrounded by a ring of small diamonds. All set into black gold. The ruby was fake and the diamonds were man-made, but it was still Abigail’s favorite piece. It hung on a fake neck when Abigail secretly wished it would hang on hers.

But she had a job to do. Ms. Anita had left to move to Florida and given the shop to Abigail to run. And she was going to do just that. She kept inventory flowing in and out and did her best to make her own which was even a fraction of the skill of Ms. Anita’s. And she could do it a lot better if she wasn’t so worried about being jumped by an alien from another world.

“I know you’re there! Please don’t hurt me! I just want to be left alone!” Abigail called to the empty void of the alleyway.

Nothing responded.

And then Abigail turned around to see a Mobian standing in the back doorway. All Abigail could catch of it was the most smug smirk she’d ever seen and a dainty hand waving fingers at Abigail before the door slammed shut and locked Abigail outside.

Abigail blinked.

“WHAT?!” She screamed to no one in particular.

She tossed the cat food dish to the ground, not caring as it shattered on impact with the hard asphalt of the alley. Abigail clutched the doorknob handle and yanked on it, trying to wrench it open. It was locked, which Abigail knew, but she had some frustration to get out.

She huffed twice before marching out of the alley and onto the main street before turning left. Coming around to the front, she reached for the front doors…just in time to see the Mobian locking those as well. It…she flashed that extremely smug smirk again.

Abigail was now certain it wasn’t a cat, its ears were far too large for that. Two giant upside-down cones stretched up from the Mobian’s head capturing every sound around her. White fur covered its body and between its lips were a set of teeth complete with a pair of small fangs. But the big feature was her wings. Two black articulated wings stretched outward from her back, coiling ever so slightly around her body. They twitched and flapped, moving with the rest of the Mobian’s body as it sassed Abigail.

A bat. Abigail was looking at a sassy bat. And it appeared to be a sexy?-bat as well? From what Abigail had seen of Mobians, for the most part, they didn’t wear clothes. At a minimum, they wore shoes and gloves, and socks. Not much to cover the body. A few touched up with accessories; bracelets or larger boots. The women tended to have whole outfits. Dresses and shirts and pants. But this bat? She had an eye for fashion.

Working from the ground up, a pair of stiletto boots coated her feet. They were rich black leather and a bright pink heart wrapped around the toe section of each boot. Those traveled up her legs to a skin-tight body suit that wrapped her from the waist down and displayed her…assets. Wide hips and a large bust stuck out from the small creature, the latter only guarded by another pink heart…a big pink heart. At the ends of her hands were bright white opera gloves that protected her hands. The bat’s hair wasn’t very long, just avoiding touching her exposed shoulders, but it was perfectly styled, each glossy fur perfectly in place. On her thick lips was a rich coating of pink lipstick that shined against the pearly whites of her teeth in that stupid grin. On top of it, all was her eyes, a pair of gleeful turquoise gems that laughed at Abigail and mocked her with their perfectly applied blue eyeshadow and mascara.

Abigail instantly hated her. Which is why she took such glee when she got to return the bats’ smug smirk.

Abigail reached into her pockets and pulled out her keys, she never went anywhere without them. She unlocked the door and threw it open, murder in her eyes. The bat didn’t even seem fazed.

“Well, I thought you’d just leave them inside.” The bat had the nerve to shrug. Each word out of her mouth was slow and articulated, sultry for maximum appeal. Breathy and on the verge of being a moan.

“Get out of my store.” Abigail glowered at the intruder. The bat tapped at her cheek and popped a hip out, thinking to herself.

“Pass. But thanks for the offer.” The bat gave a slow turn and flew over to one of the glass cases, landing on top of its stomach down. She pressed her face to the glass and looked inside, the gemstones and jewelry below shining up at her. “So why do you guard all these gorgeous beauties?” The bat asked, not taking her eyes off the jewelry.

“I told you it’s my store. I run it. I took over from the previous owner-” Abigail stopped when she realized the bat wasn’t listening.

“Fake. Fake. Fake. Real. Created. Real. Fake. Created. Created. Created. Created. Real. Fake. Fake. Fake. Fake. Real. Created.” Abigail watched as the bat pointed at each gem in the case noting which were real gemstones, fake or artificial, with scary accuracy. Abigail steamed. This chick breaks into her store, asks questions, flouts about like she owns the place and doesn’t have the decency to pay attention? Abigail had grown up around girls like her, she was true city folk, and the nice girl small-town gloves were coming off.

“Y’know I wouldn’t lean on that case if I were you, it’s strong stuff, but it wasn’t meant to hold someone of…your weight.” Abigail popped out her own chest and gestured to her boobs, sending a shit-eating grin at the bat she wished would eat shit. That got the bat’s attention and she glared back at Abigail, the first crack in her suave confidence appearing.

“Actual it’s more likely this glass will break from having to be around your ugly face all day.” The bat returned, sliding o so elegantly from the case. Abigail set her jaw.

“Who are you?!” She demanded. The bat put a hand on her chest.

“Oh me? I’m Rouge the Bat, and if it wasn’t clear…I’m robbing you.” The bat flashed a sultry smirk.

“No, you-”

“Are you sure you want to go down that route? I’m a dangerous alien and criminal. You have no idea what I’m capable of…” The bat stepped toward Abigail and she felt her worst fears settle in. But she couldn’t be bullied, this wasn’t her shop to surrender to this fear monger.

“No…” Abigail felt her voice crack, the small bat becoming very very intimidating.

“‘No?’ Well I think I’ll have to punish you then…” Abigail stepped back, suddenly afraid, but the bat spun on her heels and flew back over to the jewelry, and snagged something.

Abigail gasped as the bat hovered in the air, the necklace dangling on the bat’s finger. “Not sure why you were so interested in this piece as to put it on display, but it would certainly be a shame if it was…damaged.” The bat twirled it on her finger.

“You wouldn’t dare…I can’t…it’s not your jewelry to take.” Abigail was stumbling on her words, eyes locked on Ms. Anita’s necklace, its heart shining brightly at her. The bat frowned.

“Okay.” And then she tossed it. Abigail watched as it soared through the air and smacked into the granite floors.

Undamaged. Abigail breathed a sigh of relief.

And then the bat smashed her foot down on it. Heart-shattering into a million pieces. Abigail just stared at it, mouth agape the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes.

Abigail had let Ms. Anita down. The shop hadn’t been doing amazingly, she’d had an intruder break in, threaten to rob the place, and had now broken Abigail’s favorite work. She’d be so disappointed in Abigail.

“Let’s try this again.” The bat snarled at her. “I’m robbing you and you’re going to cooperate.” Abigail picked up the broken pieces of the smashed jewelry.

“What do you want?” Abigail’s voice was broken.

“The big one. I can smell it.” Abigail looked up at the bat, blood boiling in her ears as she nodded. The bat would get what was coming to her all right.

Abigail led her to the back room. From there she moved to the workshop. The workshop was where all the polishing, inspecting, and creating was done for the inventory that came into Emerald Hills. It was also where it was stored. Over a hundred thousand dollars worth of precious metals and gemstones. Because of this, the whole thing was protected by a steel cage placed inside the backroom. There was a cage door with a keypad that Abigail punched in the access code to, opening the door. Abigail entered and let the bat follow her in, and the two approached the safe. She flashed a glance at the bat to find a child-like glee in her eyes, the safe reflected in her bright turquoise orbs.

On the left side of the safe was a small button, Abigail pushed it. And from the front, a metal panel slid open and behind plexiglass, it was revealed.

The Master Emerald.

Abigail watched the bat admire the green gemstone as big as her head for a while before the bat snapped out of it and sent a glaring look at Abigail.

“Open it.” She snarled.

“Can’t.” Abigail shrugged. The bat narrowed her eyes.

“What do you mean can’t? Do we need to have a discussion again?”

“I mean I can’t.” Abigail pointed at the safe. “That safe was designed by one of the owners of that emerald. It’s got a 16-digit alphanumeric code, three separate handprint scanners for three different people, and requires three special keys to all be turned at the same time. It’s also bolted to the floor by four huge screws as big as you are that descend into the ground four feet below that. And beyond that, it’s designed from a super dense alloy that I don’t understand that makes it heavier than the building. And even if you got all the passwords and keys and hand prints, there’s a camera that apparently can detect if the person opening it is in distress and then it’ll just lock itself down.

"Long story short, I can’t open it.” Abigail blinked calmly at the bat. The bat snarled.

“We’ll see about that.” And then she reached in between her cleavage and pulled out some lock-breaking tools. Abigail watched as the bat approached the safe touched one of her tools to the safe and was blasted back, slamming into the opposite wall, completely dazed.

Abigail turned around, exited the cage, and locked the bat inside. “Oh yeah, and it’s also electrified.” The bat struggled to her feet and approached the edge of the cage and placed her hands on the bars and was immediately blasted back again. “The cage is electrified too.” The bat got up again, her makeup mussed as her feet were placed under her drunkenly. Abigail watched satisfactorily as her head lolled dazily.

“WHY would you lock the inside of the cage?!” The bat tried to regain her confidence.

“Oh I dunno, maybe because the owners of that emerald were worried about it getting stolen?” Abigail finally let a smile cross her face again. The bat growled. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go tell the owners there was a break-in.”

“Okay, go ahead…” Abigail had begun walking to leave the back room but slowed as the bat’s voice regained its confidence. Abigail turned slowly her smirk wiped from her face. The bat was now checking her gloved hands. Each motion slow and methodical, setting the pace of the conversation, totally in control. “...I’m sure everyone will be so excited to know that the cute animal people are all really criminals and thieves.”

“People have a right to know who they’re letting into their homes. I won’t be upset if people don’t like me for telling the truth. And besides, there’s no way that all Mobians are criminals.” Abigail countered reapproaching the bat and her stupid suave smug mug.

“Liars, thieves, smugglers, thugs, spies…killers.” Everyone’s someone. I guarantee there’s not a single child of our planet that hasn’t done one of those things. We all have to…eventually.” The bat had started the statement with confidence but it had gone from cocky to just…flat. A gruesome truth that for as tricky as this bat was, Abigail knew she wasn’t lying.

“So what?! You do that on your planet, but you have to do it here too?! Is this some kind of invasion? Every Mobian around town is some kind of sleeper agent?” Abigail started to feel like she was getting a glimpse within the mind of Crazy Carl.

“Oh no, I’m sure they really do want a better life here…” There was a mirror for working on projects in the workshop and the bat had taken out a small makeup kit and was fixing and reapplying. “But war makes monsters of us all. And you know what they say, you can take the kid from the bloodshed, but you can’t take the bloodshed from the kid.” The bat finished up to turn to back to Abigail, everything perfectly perfect on her face. “I’d just rather skip the rigamarole of hiding it. I’m a thief and I like beautiful gems. Diamonds are forever, baby.”

Abigail’s stomach churned and her head spun. War? Bloodshed? What were these Mobians? What had happened to them? What was still happening to them? This bat didn’t even try to hide it. Abigail didn’t like her, but at least she was honest. She was starting to realize that the façade of suave and confidence and sultry appeal wasn’t actually a façade. Just the acts of someone that truly knew who they were in life, and were happy with it.

But why did she have to be a jewel thief?

“I’ve got to tell people. Warn them! You’re gonna get us all killed.” Abigail turned to leave again when the bat called out to her.

“Stop you can’t! Haven’t you been listening?!” Abigail turned back, confused.

“Yeah, I got it, you’re all terrible.” The bat rolled her eyes.

“No. We’ve all been forced to be something we’re not. I got lucky, I like what I do and I’m good at it. But everyone else, my entire people, from young ages we were forced to fight, hurt. Every day is a battle for survival. A literal battle. No chance to grow or become who we wanted to be! I get to be who I want to be. Do you?”

Abigail was struck by Rouge’s words. Her life wasn’t perfect, but she was living in a good town had fun and supportive job, and got to go to bed happy and excited to do it again. Abigail nodded.

“Well they never have, this is their first chance ever to try and be themselves without a war to fight. Find out who they are! Please, don’t take that from them.” Abigail blinked at Rouge, the sudden plead to seem different, another layer to someone that was confident, but deeper than the dozen pounds of makeup and clothing covering her.

“So you just want me to not tell everyone about the damage and hurt that these people of yours are dealing with and could inflict on humans?” Rouge bit her lip.

“For a while. Let them live in a happy dream world before they’re awoken to the nightmare of their pasts.” Abigail set her jaw. Then set it again. She looked into the big eyes of Rouge, the deep pools pulling her in. Hopeful and begging…and dramatic…

“Hey stop trying to guilt me into not telling on you!” Abigail demanded and Rouge blinked going back to her normal half-lidded gaze of confidence.

“Sorry, had to try, you humans really are softies for the big eyes huh?” Abigail huffed. “But I’m serious about not telling everyone about us, punish me if you wanna, but don’t ruin it for everyone else.”

Abigail was more than torn. Letting cute but potentially very dangerous rugrats run around the town was not a responsible thing to do and she was very responsible. But this girl was a jewel thief she was probably lying about the war. Just like all those other times she hadn’t lied in any capacity to Abigail. And if she wasn’t lying about how potentially dangerous Mobians could be…

She probably also wasn’t lying about how free devoid all the other Mobians were. Abigail had had a good life so far, and her actions could limit that for tons of people. People…Mobians were people too. Abigail let out a sigh.

“Fine.” She hissed out. “I’ll keep the dangerousness of your people under wraps for now. But someone so much as skins a knee from being around a Mobian, everyone gets an email from their favorite jeweler.”

“So not you?” Abigail growled. “Okay, okay, fine, sounds good. But the real question is…what are you going to do with little ol’ me?” Rouge batted her eyelashes at Abigail. Abigail’s smile returned.

“I dunno yet. I’ll figure it out tomorrow.” And then Abigail turned to leave the back room but caught Rouge’s eyes widening in surprise. Her face was a look of disbelief that sent a warm feeling all throughout Abigail.

“You can’t leave me in here!”

“I’ll see you tomorrow Rouge, hey do you want the lights on or off?” Abigail waggled her fingers daintily as she left.

"LET ME OUT!”

…

“I’d love a steak, sauteed in butter and topped with a homemade citrus glaze.” Rouge demanded. Abigail looked down at the roast beef sandwich on the plate.

“It’s either this or I bring back the catfood.” She said flatly. Rouge blinked at her.

“A sandwich sounds good too.” Abigail passed the plate with the sandwich through the bars and Rouge took it. She began to dig into it. “So, have you figured out what to do with me yet?” Abigail grumbled. “Well, you better figure it out quick, because I have been in her for 12 hours and I may be a lady, but I’m about to pee all over your floor.”

“Fine. Fine. I suppose you’ve been in there long enough.” Abigail unlocked the cage and opened the door. Rouge exited and placed down her sandwich. Abigail pointed to a door in the backroom. Rouge mocked her with courtesy and ran into the room. Abigail took the time to rub her temples. She’d thought of a punishment last night, but hadn’t figured out a way to force Rouge to follow it. How do you force someone to do something when they’re perfectly capable of escaping the punishment?

Abigail could threaten to tell, but Rouge probably wouldn’t go for that, and Abigail had no interest in making other people’s lives more difficult. Rouge was so darn confident in herself that there was no way Abigail could get her to do anything she didn’t want to do.

Unless it was something Rouge exactly would want to do. Rouge exited the bathroom, pulling her gloves back on and stepping back towards Abigail, each foot perfectly placed in front of the other. She approached the sandwich again and began to eat from it, each bite dainty and ladylike.

“So why do you like stealing jewels?” Abigail asked and Rouge perked an eyebrow.

“Well that was a little out of left field, but I don’t mind telling people about my hobbies. I do it because I like jewels.”

“So what is it a thrill thing? The excitement of stealing what is prohibited?”

“Not really…If I can’t steal a jewel then I can’t steal a jewel. I move on.” Rouge shrugged and finished off her sandwich. She handed the plate back to Abigail who just stared at it. Rouge blinked at her before shrugging again and putting the plate on a table.

“You wanted the Master Emerald, I hear it’s all powerful, do you want power?”

“Is it? I really just want the jewel. What’s with all the questions about my intentions lady?” Rouge crossed her arms and tapped her foot, suspicious. Abigail just raised her hands in surrender.

“Sorry, just finally came up with your punishment.” Abigail smirked. Rouge smirked back and separated her arms, gesturing for Abigail to come at her.

“Alright, let’s hear it. How are you gonna punish me, now that I’m out of your cage?”

“You…are going to get to look at all of my gemstones.” Rouge’s smile dropped.

“Umm, what?”

“Fake’s are pretty common when it comes to jewelry making, I saw you yesterday, you can tell if they’re fake or not. I also am going to have you clean and wash the jewelry and make it shine bright. Your punishment is to spend your days admiring and maintaining gemstones until you pay off the cost of the piece you broke.”

“That’s not really a punishment for me.” Rouge’s killer smirk returned.

“I know, that’s why you’ll do it. I’m a busy lady, I don’t always have time to make sure all of the products are in tip-top shape. You can. Come on, I’ll show you how to do it.” Abigail reentered the cage again. Rouge did not.

“Oh no, I’m not falling for that play again, and besides, what’s to stop me from just yanking all your goods when your back’s turned?”

“Because for one, I keep an inventory of everything that goes in and out of the store. And two, if you do snag them you’ll leave, which means you’ll never get to see ‘the big one’ again.” Abigail pointed at the Master Emerald, which floated lazily in its safe. Abigail watched Rouge’s eyes flick between her and the Master Emerald. Finally, she threw up her hands.

“Fine, you’ve convinced me. Teach me your ways, Old Master.” Rouge entered the cage.

“Yeah yeah, welcome to Emerald Hills, and it’s Abigail by the way.”

“Really? Old Master is so much more fitting.”

“I hate you.”

Chapter Text

Arthur was a man of routine. He got up at 5:00 in the morning. Had his coffee and a bagel with cream cheese. Drove his truck to work at the lumber yard. Worked for 8 hours, got off, and went home to eat a microwave dinner and have a beer in front of the TV before falling asleep in his chair to do it again the next day.

It wasn’t a particularly exciting life, but it let the days pass by without much trouble or complications. He wouldn’t say he was happy, but he was at least content. His job suited him as well. Logs came in on a huge truck every day, he’d slice ‘em down into beams or planks or whatever. And then he’d move them to a different section of the yard. Simple as can be.

Usually.

But it had rained hard last night which meant the wood was a little slipperier and the big rigs lost some traction. He had to go slower in order to not get himself or someone else hurt. It was slower and meant less got done, but it was safer. Arthur liked being safe.

Well not safe per se, but assured in how things worked. He liked knowing what was going to happen, when, and why. It was just part of his routine. Knowing how things worked out means that he could plan for it better and not be surprised, a desire to control a chaotic world around him. So he worked slower, methodical, everything as it should be.

Well, it would, if not for the skittering of something in the yard.

It was Saturday. Which meant the lumber yard was closed. But Arthur was number 2 at the yard and he had a pair of keys to get in and he wasn’t going to stop his routine for the weekend. So he got up like usual and went to work. And he’d do it a lot better if he didn’t have to think about whoever else was in here with him.

Whoever it was hadn’t bothered him yet and hadn’t messed with anything in the yard yet so Arthur didn’t really care. But the fact that they were there when he knew that people normally didn’t come to the yard on Saturdays irked him. Put an itch in his brain that he couldn’t scratch. Hopefully, it would go away soon.

It didn’t.

In fact, its timing for confronting him was so bad he was starting to believe that the reason it approached him was to get on his nerves.

He’d been using the band saw.

A massive machine perched atop four steel legs. A horizontal blade of serrated steel vibrated loudly as it moved up and down at insane speeds, splitting in twain anything that came in front of it. For a while now, Arthur had been cutting up the pine logs that had been coming in. Small ones that he could personally feed through the machine, most of the work was done by machines nowadays anyway, but Arthur liked the feel of doing the work on a more personal level.

And she thought it was a good idea to interrupt his work now.

He caught her out of the corner of his eye as he pushed the wood through the saw, the whirring sound deafening and the reason why Arthur wore ear protection. She did not. He was honestly a little impressed she hadn’t been flinching as the saw whirred and forced itself between the grains of the wood.

“EXCUSE ME! HELLO!” She tried to call over the sound of the saw. Arthur kept working. But he did keep her in the corner of his sight. It was a little surprising to see one of these creatures here at the lumber yard. Arthur knew there were a few that hung around the sheriff but didn’t know there were more.

“I AM AN ALIEN FROM ANOTHER PLANET!”

No shit.

“I WANTED TO INFORM YOU THAT-” Whatever she was going to say was cut off by the earsplitting sound of Arthur’s sigh. He clearly wasn’t going to get anything done while this alien was around, so he turned off the saw and turned to her. “I MEAN YOU No…Oh, thank you for turning off the saw. Sorry, as I was saying I wanted to inform you that I am an alien from another planet.”

“Okay.”

“And that I mean you no harm. My people can be quite friendly!”

“Okay.”

“My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. Hello! I am Princess Sally Acorn!”

“Okay.” Arthur took a second to finally take in the ‘princess.’ She was primarily small. Barely came up to his mid-thigh. She had a large head and big blue eyes that twinkled with an energetic light. Despite her tan-orange fur coloring(yes, fur) she seemed to be a fan of blue. A blue vest and blue boots and blue bracelets and navy blue shorts. There was also the manner of the blue blanket she’d wrapped around her waist. An older well-loved baby blue that looked thinned out over time and stringy. Other than that she seemed to be in good condition.

Oh, and she was a chipmunk, that too.

“I am from the planet Mobius! I wish to start diplomatic relations with your people.” She said chipperly.

“Okay.”

“My planet is far away, but we sought out yours for its peaceful ways and natural resources.”

“Okay.”

“Wait…no that came out wrong, hold on let me restate that.” She suddenly seemed a little nervous.

“Okay.”

“We’re not here to take your natural resources, we just want to live off them.”

“Okay.”

“And not take them from you! Oh no! Just…we’d like to live beside you.” She was floundering now.

“Okay.”

“Oh, you must be so shell-shocked! I’m sure you’ve never seen anything like me before!” She laughed nervously. “This is just how my people…evolved.”

“Okay.”

“I mean…not evolved, I mean yes evolved…”

“Okay.”

“I mean we- It’s important to us to predetermine how we look.”

“Okay.”

“Do you ever say anything besides okay?!” She cocked her hands on her hips, a frown creasing her lips.

“Yup.” Arthur blinked at her.

“Well can you say more than one word?! It’s very hard to begin diplomacy if I can’t communicate with you!”

“Okay.”

“Oh no! I’ve messed up again, I’ve assumed something about your people! Okay Sally, let’s calm down.” She started talking to herself. “First we figure out proper communication then we begin proper peace talks and societal integration. So how to go about this…?” She seemed like she might be talking to herself for a while so Arthur turned the band saw back on.

He’d barely gotten a minute to work before she started waving him down again, jumping in place to try and get his attention. Arthur sighed again and turned off the bandsaw once more.

“Hello again! Hi.” She smiled brightly at him. “I would like to direct your attention to this.” ‘Sally’ pointed at the ground where a pair of stick figures, one smaller than the others with ears and a tail. “This is my way of communicating friendship between species.” She said each word as if talking to an infant.

“Your artistic skills need work.” Arthur told her. Her jaw dropped and a look of betrayal crossed her face.

“So you can communicate clearly!” She huffed now, her face reddening and she looked ready to stomp her feet. “It’s rather hard to begin talks between peoples if you’re unwilling to! You know you’re not doing a great job of representing your people right now!”

“It’s not my job to represent humans.” Arthur wondered if he turned the bandsaw back on now, she’d get the hint.

“Well, it’s my job to represent the Mobians of the Kingdom of Acorn!”

“You do that.” She growled and paced in a small circle.

“Could you tell who I should talk to in order to represent my people?!”

“Sheriff Wachowski.” Arthur said and watched as her eye twitched.

“AND JUST WHERE IS THIS SHERIFF?!” She yelled, her cool completely gone.

“At the sheriff’s office.” She let out a laugh, then a second one, high-pitched and wild. Then she sat down in the dirt and put her head in her hands.

“Of course, he is…why wouldn’t he be…but if he’s as difficult to talk to as you, what’s the point?”

“Quite the pity party you’re throwing yourself there.” Arthur perked an eyebrow. An indication that this chipmunk had finally piqued his interest.

“Well, gee, I wonder why?! I’m on an alien planet, all alone, I’m hungry and cold, and talking to a human that isn’t at least mildly surprised that there’s an alien about to cry in front of him.”

“You’re about to cry?”

“...no.” She sniffled.

“Mmm. Well, I’m not surprised because I’ve seen a few of you before.” Sally’s ears perked up and she looked at him with confusion.

“You have?”

“Yup.” Sally waited and then frowned.

“Has anyone told you, you are extraordinarily difficult to talk to?!” She stood back up, raised on her tiptoes trying to seem as big as possible. Now she came up to his hip.

“Most people don’t talk to me.” Sally turned around and raised her hands high.

“SHOCKER!”

“Are you done?” Arthur asked. She whipped back around to face him.

“I dunno, I’d like this conversation to keep going, but it seems like I’m having to do most of the work!” Arthur blinked at her. She glared at him for a moment before softening her eyes and sitting back down. She threw an arm out to gesture for him to talk.

“Some aliens like you have lived her for a little while now, one a couple of years and another two a year. They live with the sheriff. They got my car totaled.” Sally looked up at him, with a brief look of confusion.

“How’d they total it?”

“Got it stepped on by a giant robot.” Sally blinked at him.

“I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not.” Arthur didn’t say anything. “Do you think you would be willing to take me to this sheriff?” Arthur nodded. “Yes…” She breathed out a sigh. “Great, let’s go!”

“After work.” Arthur turned back on the bandsaw. Its sound tuned out her scream of rage.

…

The day had passed slowly. Which was unheard of for Arthur. He’d spent years doing the same thing day in and day out. It allowed his mind to go slack, focused entirely on the moment of working the yard. Each act played out a million times before. It provided a calmness and serenity to him. Everything is in its proper place, everything as it should be.

But now there was a chipmunk stalking him.

She had been his shadow, and not a very strong one either. Following him wherever he went and at the same time wandering off to who knows where touching things that she shouldn’t. He’d work the bandsaw, she was standing around right out of his line of sight. He’d work the forklift to move the 2 x 4s, she was just standing a little too close. Sometimes he’d be working in a groove, look up and not know where she was. He’d have to stop and look around to make sure she hadn’t just disappeared on him. He didn’t really care if she left, but he wanted to know. And then it was lunchtime.

At exactly 1:00 Arthur stopped working. He turned off his equipment, made sure it was clean and usable and then he went to his locker…Sally following him. He tried to ignore her. It wasn’t doing much. From his locker, he removed his lunchbox. Inside of the plain blue soft-sided container was a sub roll wrapped in parchment paper. His sandwich was what he always made himself for lunch. Four slices of deli turkey, three slices of provolone cheese, four half-sour pickle slices, and then a single line of both spicy mustard and barbecue sauce. The lunch box also had a small bag of grapes. Making sure his lunch was healthy was also important.

The locker was stationed in the breakroom, which wasn’t much. The lockers, a mini fridge, a couple of tables with random, old folding chairs, none of which seemed to belong to the same set, and a vending machine. Arthur hadn’t looked much into the vending machine, but he was pretty sure the pack of gummy bears that were on D4, had been there when he started working there 10 years ago.

Arthur sat down at the table and opened his lunchbox, the zipper making a satisfying sound as he pulled it all the way around in one go. He opened it and began to unwrap his lunch, a single piece of masking tape holding together the parchment cover. He then took the parchment and placed it on the table, creating a simple plate to rest his food on.

He looked at the sandwich. The bread was dry and the sauces were wet, the turkey perfectly folded on itself and the pickles neatly arranged in the center one after another. Arthur nodded at it. Then he began to pick it up and eat it. And promptly noticed Sally sitting across the table from him, her eyes glued to the sandwich. She opened her mouth to talk and Arthur raised his hand.

“If you don’t say anything for the entirety of the meal, I’ll get some food from the vending machine.” Sally closed her mouth and nodded. Arthur made a grunt and got up from the table and marched over to the vending machine, looking for options on what an alien princess might like to eat.

He hoped she liked off-brand Oreos. Arthur pulled out his wallet and examined the contents. There was exactly $30. A ten, three fives, four ones, a pair of quarters, four dimes, and a pair of nickels. Good, just as he left it. Arthur removed two ones to pair for the outrageous cost of the Oreos-scratch that, Chaos Sandwich Cookies, and put them into the machine. He then punched in B2 and the machine whirred to life as it spat out the cookies, dumping them into the tray below. Arthur bent down to pick them up and retrieved his change.

For some unknown reason, the cookies cost $1.85, not $2, not $1.75. The awkward number resulted in Arthur getting back a dime and five pennies. An odd assortment that did not belong in his wallet. He frowned, discomfort settling in, but shrugged it away, confident that he could fix the anomaly in his wallet when he got home. With cookies in hand, he turned around to find Sally…eating his sandwich.

“What are you doing?!” She stopped mid-bite and turned to look at him with her large eyes, confusion, and worry flowing between her deep blues. Arthur waited for her to finish swallowing, but then she didn’t say anything, just held the sandwich in her paws, facing him and his knockoff Oreos. Then Arthur realized the confusion and groaned. “You can talk now.”

“You said you were getting food from the vending machine, I thought the sandwich was for me!” The words burst from her like she had had to restrain them, not used to letting the silence between conversations be just that.

“Food for you to eat. You are eating my lunch!” Arthur felt his rage boiling up inside, his voice had already been rising, and it was close to a yell.

“I-I-I’m s-sorry, here you have it b-back!” She looked scared. She held the sandwich out to him, hands shaking. Arthur looked at it with disgust, the idea of sharing germs with another person sent a shiver down my spine. Arthur set his jaw and walked back over to the table, sandwich cookies cracking in his tight fist. “No you already bit into it, you can eat it.” Arthur sat down at the table and began to open the cookies, the idea of eating the ultimate in American consumerism in the form of chemical-rich sugar cylinders made something churn in his stomach.

He began to bite into them, finding them tasting purely of fake sugar and nothing else, sawdust and slime in his mouth. And then he noticed Sally wasn’t eating his-her sandwich. She’d set it back down on the parchment paper.

“Eat the sandwich.” He said. Sally shook her head.

“I’m not really hungry anymore.” Arthur sighed.

“I’m not angry at you, now eat it, a growing girl like you needs good food.”

“How’d you know I’m not an adult?” Sally asked, but her attention had returned to the sandwich.

“No adult feels guilty about taking a sandwich to the point you did, now eat it. I will be more upset if you don’t finish it.” Sally nodded, briefly meeting his gaze, and picked up the remains of the sandwich, taking big bites into it. She smiled at him and talked with her mouth full.

“It’s a really good-”

“No more talking.” Arthur commanded. Sally shut up and ate. Arthur took out another cookie and bit into it, a fresh coating of sugar bile spread over his tongue. He sighed. At least he still had his grapes.

…

Arthur’s watch beeped at him. 5:00 on the dot. He nodded at it and worked to wrap up. He put all of his equipment away and closed and locked the offices. He did a final lap of the facility to make sure it was okay to close and exited the lumber yard. Sally in tow. She watched as he put in the passcode for the front gate, locking up for the night. From there they walked to the parking lot and entered Arthur’s new car.

The truck was…fine. And his insurance had somehow been willing to cover the cost of a giant robot stepping on it, but…it wasn’t his car.

He’d had the previous truck since he was twenty, it had served him well and he’d taken good care of it, making monthly tire, wheel, suspension, transmission, and other engine checks to keep her running smoothly. Every time he drove it, he was rewarded with the sound of years of dedication and care.

But the new one had built-in GPS, so there were some upsides. Arthur got in and waited as Sally opened the passenger door and scrambled into the passenger seat, having to literally climb to get in. From there she had to reach out of the car to close the door. Arthur then gripped the steering wheel tightly as he watch her put her dirty boots on his seats to grab the seatbelt and buckle herself in.

“This car is…really big.” She gave a loose chuckle.

“It’s sized for adult humans.” Arthur said flatly, Sally nodded slowly, seemingly unsure how to respond to that.

They drove in silence, Arthur weaving the car through the sideroads that made up the path to the lumber yard before turning onto the main roads that led into town. Sally pressed herself up to look at the surroundings, he caught a glimpse of her expression. Wonder and excitement and confusion all rolled into one.

“This is your village?” She asked.

“It’s a town, it’s small but the people who live here…they’re good.”

“It’s wonderful!” Sally laughed, a huge grin on her face as she watched the world go by her window, trying to consume it all with her eyes before it blurred behind her as the car drove past.

“I thought you were a princess? Don’t princesses live in castles?” Arthur raised an eyebrow as he stopped for a red light.

“Well, sure…but there’s no town beyond the castle.” Arthur didn’t remember much of history class, but he was pretty sure whenever castles popped up in the dark ages, towns sprouted around them to support the castle with food and servants. And then during times of war, citizens would enter the castle to use as a refuge until the fighting stopped outside so they could rebuild.

“If you say so. But this is the town of Green Hills, hope you enjoy your stay.” Arthur said simply.

They pulled into the police station parking lot, the station itself was small so the parking lot reflected that. There was a slot for the sheriff, the deputy, and then three others. But shockingly they were all full. They were never full. Confused Arthur was forced to park on the street, but that was mostly full too.

Curious.

“Alright here’s your stop, that’s the police station there, Sheriff Wachowski will be inside.” Arthur pointed to the building. Sally didn’t move.

“Do you think you could go in with me?” Sally looked pleading at him.

“...No.” Arthur said. “Just go in, they’ll help you.”

“Please! I don’t even know what the sheriff looks like!”

“Inside there is a receptionist, she’ll help guide you to the sheriff.” Arthur kept his hands on the wheel, eyes forward.

When Sally didn’t move, Arthur looked at her to find big pleading eyes and she was pressing her lips. She looked uncertain, wanting to press him further, but not wanting him to snap at her. Arthur relented.

“Fine. I’ll take you inside to the sheriff, but then I’ve got to go.” A smile grew on Sally’s face and she nodded eagerly. He and Sally got out and Arthur fed the meter, dropping some coins in as Sally approached him. She stuck close, suddenly afraid. Arthur didn’t give it much thought as they moved towards the police station. Arthur pulled open the front door to reveal the reception area, a few chairs arranged neatly against the wall, and a receptionist at the reception desk typing furiously at her computer.

As Arthur and Sally walked up to the reception desk, the older lady at the computer looked up noticing Arthur, and then quickly looked down to notice Sally. The receptionist's face showed no surprise, which was…odd upon seeing no longer impossible, but still improbable animal people. But instead-pity and worry, and even before that-for just a flash-frustration? She looked back to Arthur and held up one finger to him.

“Tom? Could you come out here quickly? We’ve got another one.”

Another one?

Arthur and Sally shared a look. Arthur was mostly confused but Sally held a note of understanding, that this was to be expected. Arthur turned back to say something when a side door to the offices opened and a ragged-looking Thomas Wachowski came out, back first. He was talking to someone or someones within the offices. His voice was calm yet strained, the others in the offices were not. Yelling and demands erupted from the door as the sheriff backed out, trying to soothe them.

He turned around and Arthur noted he’d never seen him look so stressed. His hair was mussed and some bags dangled from his eyes, he looked like he hadn’t shaved and his shirt was fully buttoned, not to mention he’d missed one. Wrinkled pants covered his legs and one shoe wasn’t tied. But he wore a smile and looked down at Sally.

“Hello! Welcome to earth! Are you okay? Have you had something to eat?” Sally blinked at the sheriff’s instant friendliness and nodded quickly. “What’s your name?”

“Sally Acorn…Princess of the Kingdom of Acorn.” Sally said the words quietly, intimidated by the quick and interested responses of sheriff Wachowski. It was probably a bit of a shock compared to Arthur.

“Ooo Princess? Well, welcome your majesty.” Tom bowed then turned to the receptionist. “You’re getting this Bonnie?” The receptionist nodded, she had been typing into her computer during the entire conversation.

“Just need her age and species.” Bonnie said.

“Uhh, 16. And I’m a chipmunk…” The words slipped from Sally, as she examined herself, checking to make sure she hadn’t turned into a rabbit since she last checked. Bonnie nodded again.

“Okay and staying with…” Bonnie held out her hand for Arthur to give his name. He shook his head and waved her off.

“Woah Woah, I’m not-”

“Arthur Sultz.” Tom finished. Arthur wheeled on him.

“I’m sorry, what’s going on sheriff?” Arthur growled.

“Sorry Arthur, but I really need you to take her tonight, just for tonight.” Tom apologized.

“What? Why?”

“Because she hasn’t any place to go.”

“Can’t she stay with you? You’ve already got three, what’s another?” The words were harsh, but Arthur was not excited about a small furry body shedding in his home. Tom’s eyes hardened.

“Firstly, right now I’ve got four. And that’s because these Mobians are currently fleeing here to earth. Bonnie and I have been trying to just get them all documented right now. Basic stuff like name, age, species, defining features, other notes, that kind of thing. And we’re doing it on ten-year-old computers and Windows 95. We want to get something set up at the high school for them to all sleep in soon, but not tonight. And Sally isn’t the only one.” Tom turned to Bonnie. “She’s what? Number 50 something?”

“89.” Arthur’s eyebrows shot up. Tom sighed and turned back to Arthur, a look of see what I mean? In his eyes.

“But most importantly, we’re just trying to track them, make sure we know they’re safe and have somewhere to sleep. I know you’re not excited about having someone else in your home, but a lot of other people aren’t exactly excited either.” Tom pushed on the side door a little and sounds of unhappiness floated out from some humans, and Arthur managed to catch a glimpse of some small furry bipedals inside. “And there are no adults to watch them. We’ve been finding these kids all day. Just kids. As of right now the oldest we’ve found is an 18-year-old dog kid, and he was scared of his own shadow. Do you think you could just feed her and take care of her tonight?” Arthur set his jaw and opened his mouth to say something. But Sally beat him to it.

“I’m sorry we’re such a bother…” Arthur and Tom looked down at Sally, her huge blue eyes full of shame and regret, and apology. Arthur felt something shift in his heart, a disdain. Not at Sally, but at Tom…and himself, for brushing her off, acting like she wasn’t there like she didn’t matter. He noticed a similar look in Tom’s eyes. The sheriff bent down.

“Oh, I’m sorry sweetheart. No no, you’re not a bother. We’re just…a little swamped right now. I promise you’ll be very welcome here, it just might…take some time.”

“I’m umm, I’m here to create diplomatic ties and…”

“That’s really great, and I want to hear about that, but I can’t right now. I’m sorry Sally.” Tom apologized and Arthur watched her nod weakly.

“I’ll take her tonight.” Arthur looked confused as he felt the words slip from his mouth. Unexpected and cautious. But insistent and determined, a command that had been issued. Sally and Tom looked up at him. Arthur was mostly looking at Tom but he didn’t fail to see the look of hope and excitement that crossed Sally’s face.

“Thanks, Arthur, I’ll try to get her some other place to stay as soon as I can.” Arthur just nodded. “I’ll see you both around.” He looked at Arthur then sent a grin at Sally before sighing and reentering the offices, groans, and grumbles leaking as the door closed behind him.

Arthur turned around to leave and got to the door before stopping and looking back to notice Sally was still standing in the middle of the room. She looked at him, unsure of what to do. Arthur gave her the briefest jerk of his head and she popped to life, a big grin as she followed him out.

“Thanks for taking me in. I promise I’ll be a great house guest!”

“Okay.” Arthur said as they walked to the car.

“Really! I’m really good at it, always clean up after myself, I know my table manners perfectly!”

“Okay.”

“It took me three different tutors before I learned it. I’m not one for fancy stuff, but my dad told me I had to know it.”

“Okay.”

“Hey, do you think we could get some food? I’m kinda hungry!” Arthur sighed as he got in the car and turned the ignition, noting Sally once again had to stand on his seats to buckle herself in.

“...O…kay.”

Chapter Text

It was around midday when Jet the Hawk woke up. He was curled up on the floor of a small open-air wooden structure. It was old and rotted, the ceiling having barely held together through last night’s massive rainstorm. He groaned as he got up from the floor, sharp splinters and broken wood digging into his palms. Putting his feet under him he stretched, feeling his back crack and stretch. He breathed in and out, looking at the world around him.

He laughed cause it had no idea what amazingness had landed on this planet.

Jet was the coolest.

Everyone that he knew agreed. What was not to like? His suave look, his bright and shiny feathers, or his killer personality. Who wouldn’t want to hang out with him? But Jet was so cool and so well loved by people that he had to be careful with who he hung out with. If he let too many people in then he wouldn’t be as cool. So he kept his inner circle pretty tight, and at that moment, so far no one had managed to be allowed in yet.

Just him.

But this new planet brought a fresh start and anyone that also thought it was a good idea to come here also had to be pretty cool. But the first task of the day would be finding food and water, the rumbling of his belly and the dry air in his throat told him so. The structure was parked on the edge of a forest, its back to a field that led to…a town maybe? Jet didn’t need to try that clusterfuck, so the forest was the better option.

Jet had never really seen forests back on Mobius. Small scraggly trees popped up every now and then trying to stick together but they were either cut down or decayed by explosives before they could really garner any strength. But this? Jet the Hawk Forest was quite the place to see.

It had tall trees and green grasses. Tall mountains rose to the heavens in the distance and the sound of flickies could be heard in the trees. Jet hadn’t seen any flickies yet, just weird little flying things. Jet didn’t like to admit it, but he’d always admired flickies. The ability to fly wherever and be as free as the wind sounded like a good deal. But they were stupid so he didn’t want to be one.

Jet took his time as he strolled through the trees, breathing in the clean air. It really was a pretty great place here, no one in charge of him, he didn’t have to flee for his life all the time. Well, he never fled, he just made tactical retreats. Jet had been walking for an hour or so when he finally heard it.

Flowing water.

He picked up the pace, running through the woods under branches and over ditches until he saw it. A small river. A stream might be a better word, but it had definitely swelled to the size it was now, the previous night’s storm bloating it into a faster and larger river. Jet smacked his beak and approached the river. The river showed signs of being here for a while, it was set into the earth, a few rocks on both sides peeking out, which meant he’d have to climb down.

Well if he was lame!

Jet jumped from the raised edge of the river and in a few hops was right at the shoreline, he bowed for the crowd and then lowered himself to the water’s edge taking a few precious sips. The cool water relaxed his throat.

“Hey! You! Stop drinking from my river!” A strong voice demanded. Jet froze. This could spell trouble. He could totally take whoever this was, but he didn’t like to fight on an empty stomach. Jet looked up cautiously to find the eyes of an Albatross staring at him from across the river. His eyes were angry but lacked malice, whatever happened here, it wouldn’t be an act of hate. Jet’s thoughts scrambled to think of a way out of this. He had time, the size of the river making the jump tricky for either of them without having to get wet.

So Jet took in the albatross. First and foremost, he was a big dude, Jet was pretty strong but he had enough sense to get that trying to outmuscle this guy, while possible, would be more difficult than outrunning or outsmarting. His gray feathers were contrasted by a large white chest that stuck out, either naturally or from boasting, Jet wasn’t quite sure. His bright yellow gloves, beak, and darker boots contrasted the gray of his feathers and made them visibly pop. His small eyes were inset and looked out at Jet through dark gray rings. A necklace of silvery metal pieces hung around his neck.

“I’ll have you know that this is actually my river!” Jet called from the other side. The albatross blinked as if he had not thought of that. Then he shook his head, common sense returning.

“Uh no way, I found it first, therefore it’s mine! I’ll fight you for it.” The thought of having to take on this huge brawler sent a shiver down Jet’s spine. Because he was cold. No other reason.

“Well it’s in Jet the Hawk Forest, therefore it belongs to me!” Jet told the albatross, his reasoning indisputable.

“Who’s Jet the Hawk?” Jet did a double-take both at this guy’s buffoonery and his lack of knowledge of the greatest person of their generation, Jet.

“ME, YOU RIVER STEALER!” Jet yelled.

“I ONLY SEE ONE RIVER STEALER HERE AND IT’S THE STEALER ACROSS THE RIVER!” Jet had to get out of his angry mindset to translate what the albatross just said. “By the way, I’m Storm the Albatross! Now get out of my river!” Jet was starting to get mixed messages.

“Are you greeting me and then telling me to go away?” Jet had stopped yelling. Storm squinted and Jet could see the cogs turning in his brain.

“...yes?” Jet didn’t know how to respond to that. “How ‘bout you stay on that side of the river, and I’ll stay on this side?” Jet didn’t love the idea of sharing something that was his and his alone, but if it got him out of this conversation then he supposed it was fine. “But all the fish in it are mine!”

Jet looked into the river closer and noticed that there were indeed fish. Nothing huge, but they were substantial enough for him. They swam lazily by, more so moving with the current than by their own power. He spent a moment or two tracking them, watching their movements carefully. And then as one approached, quick as can be he darted his arm in and snatched one out.

“Ha HA!” He proclaimed. It wriggled in his grasp, clearly alarmed at not being in the water, but he gripped it tight and quickly ended its life by biting into it. It was pretty good, very fresh of course. But it lacked that overly metallic taste of dust and radiation that had permeated the few living food sources that still wandered the dwindling waters of Mobius. Jet found he liked this fish better.

“HEY! I said all the fish were mine!” Storm shouted. Jet sighed.

“I don’t see your name on it!” Jet taunted before taking another bite of the raw fish. Jet smiled as he felt the rumble in his stomach lessen.

“Well, I-er! Argh!” Jet looked up to see Storm sputtering before he himself approached the river and darted his hand in and came out with…nothing. And he did it again and again, all times, no fish ever left the river. But he did succeed in splashing himself. Jet shook his head at this guy, pitiful that he was. “Give me a second! I’m just rusty, I can do this!” Jet happily ate his fish as he watched the big guy struggle.

Jet finished off his breakfast and set the carcass of the dead fish aside as Storm collapsed on the other bank, sweaty and wet and exhausted. Jet could hear the rumble of his stomach from the other side of the river. Jet rolled his eyes and took his time once more. Waiting for a fish to come into view, he darted his hand in once more and pulled out another fish. This one was equally alarmed at being out of its natural environment.

He was about ready to dig into the second one when he noticed Storm’s gaze. The larger boy’s hungry eyes and drooping posture. He looked starved.

Too bad it wasn’t Jet’s problem.

And yet. Jet had been there, everyone had been there at one point or another. Jet was pretty good at catching fish, maybe he could slip one Storm’s way. Maybe he’d hang around Jet then. Not that Jet wanted someone else to be around, just that having a little extra muscle could be helpful. Jet examined the fish once more, debating whether its place was in his stomach or with Storm.

Jet tossed the fish over to the other bank. It landed in Storm’s lap and quickly hopped off, flopping about trying to get back to the water. Storm stumbled for it and floundered a bit before grasping onto it. He began to eat it while Jet searched for his own second helping. He soon found it and the forest was filled only with the sounds of happy eating and flowing water.

“Hey so why’d you help me?” Storm asked from across the river. Jet nearly coughed on the last bite, surprised at the question. He was nervous about answering, mainly because he didn’t have an answer. Well, there was an answer, the true answer. A darker one, that screamed out for attention. A desire to be liked by others that was hidden beneath a veil of overconfidence and swagger. But Storm didn’t need to know that.

“Well, I can’t have you starving to death if you’re going to guard my forest.” Jet sweated.

“Guard your forest?” Storm’s eyebrows locked together.

“Yeah…” Jet said, coming into the idea. “You help guard my forest against others, and I’ll teach you how to fish.” Jet watched as the Albatross considered this. He ‘hmm’d’ before finally looking back at Jet.

“Okay, you’ve got yourself a deal, but you gotta teach me to fish first!” Storm decided. Jet shrugged.

“Fair enough, you’re a shrewd businessman Storm. Now is there any place we can meet up?” Jet was getting sick of yelling across the river. Storm nodded and pointed downstream.

“Yeah, it thins up a little way that way.” He said looking at the flowing water. Jet smiled at him.

“Hey! Race you there?” Storm smiled back.

…

The two boys laughed to themselves as they wandered through the forest, arms loaded with a feast for kings, and to them, it kind of was. They had become rulers, unstoppable and fueled by a child-like excitement and energy.

“Okay Storm, now we’ve gotta find a place to stash these goods, someplace all our own.”

“So a man cave huh, boss?” Storm offered.

“Yeah exactly- wait, boss?” Jet asked.

“Yeah, you said I gotta work for you now right?” Storm tilted his head.

“Right…” Jet said, suddenly the idea of Storm working for him a little sourer in his mouth. But it didn’t matter, he liked Storm well enough. He was big and strong and had a good attitude. Not to mention he hung around Jet so he had good taste, so Jet just had to be a good enough boss. Easy enough for him.

“So whatcha thinking then? Where are we gonna stash our goods?” Storm asked. Jet was worried for a second, being put on the spot to come up with an idea is always a little nervewracking even for cool guys like him. But Jet was a quick thinker and after pacing in a circle for a second looking at the trees…

“I like the thought Storm, but I bet our best bet is actually somewhere up high. If we got the height advantage, we can defend ourselves and our spoils easily. And since there’s no one around here, we’ve got the pick of trees!”

“Great idea boss! Wait, what about her?”

“About who now?” Jet spun around to see another Mobian.

She was a swallow. On the taller thinner side, her dark purple feathers contrasted the white bellbottoms and crop top she wore. A white bandana topped her head and preceded her trailing head feathers which lowered down to her legs. Her sharp beak frowned as she jumped up, trying to climb a tree.

Jet’s gaze followed up the trunk of the tree, a large sturdy looking one that branched out wide at the top, and nestled between its branches-a small house. The treehouse was smaller than the gazebo Jet had slept in and it was clearly water damaged and rotting. Sections sagged and what might have been an open window had been boarded up. As the wind blew through the forest, Jet could see the house jostle ever so slightly. The thing was a death trap.

It was perfect.

“Storm, Storm, Storm.” Jet absentmindedly tapped at the albatross’ shoulder. “That’s our stash house. Look at it! It’s amazing.”

“Ohh you’re totally right boss! But how’re we gonna get it from her?” Storm bent down to be eye-level with Jet.

“Pfff forget about that! This is my forest remember? Just like the river, I own that treehouse too!” Jet said snarkily.

“We share the river.” Storm frowned.

“Sure sure.” Jet waved him off, and he moved to approach the swallow and the treehouse that was his. “Excuse me! But I believe you are encroaching on my tree house!” Jet swaggered over to the tree with the swallow beneath it. Upon hearing his voice, Jet watched as the swallow jumped a foot in the air and spun around. She stumbled backward and clutched the trunk of the tree. She sent a glare of annoyance at Jet.

“Hey, you can’t sneak up on a girl like that! How dare you! I oughta smack you! Didn’t anyone ever teach you manners? Surely not with how you act.” Jet opened his mouth and then quickly shut it. “And how is this your tree? I don’t see anything that says that an annoying sneaky hawk guy lives here! This is my tree, I found it first! So you better shove off.” Jet went to speak again. “Well, aren’t you gonna say anything?! You come barging in here demanding this is yours and now you don’t got anything to say? What kinda guy are you? An inconsistent one that’s what! Well, I hope you know better in the future than to sneak up on me now, huh? Well, I think you should just go now. Any decent Mobian would know when to get when the getting’s-”

“CAN IT WOULDYA?!” Jet yelled. He was huffing and puffing, his head spinning as he tried to digest the swallow’s word vomit. The swallow looked like she was ready to yell back, but then her eyes flickered to Jet’s hands and she suddenly took on a cutesy smile.

“Hey you’ve got food, do you think I could have-”

“IF YOU SHUT UP FOR FIVE SECONDS THEN YES!” Jet cut her off and dumped his entire pile of fish on top of the swallow. She stood up from the pile, a little bit slimy from the fish. She shot Jet another glare but played by his rules. She huffed once and took a fish before turning around to eat it.

“Uhhhh, you okay boss?” Storm came up behind Jet.

“I don’t know! I’m still trying to recover from having my ears blown out!” Jet spat at the swallow. She didn’t react. Jet took two deep breaths, then sent a hand through his feathers to smooth them down. They had perked up from his yelling and Jet had to appear as cool as a cucumber. “I’m good now, I’m good now. Now let’s see about our new tree.” Jet looked up at the treehouse and noticed a problem.

It was high up, like really high up.

Not to mention the tree was rather isolated, and the trunk was straight up with no branches, all of which meant…

There was no way to get to the treehouse.

“There’s a rope ladder tucked up high.” Jet and Storm turned to face the swallow, who had somehow finished her meal in record time and was now back to facing them. The boys recoiled slightly from her, fearful of another blast of scolding from her motor mouth. “It’s wrapped around that branch there, I’ve been trying to get it down for a couple of hours. But it’s fully wrapped around, I can’t just throw a rock at it. I’m Wave the Swallow by the way, not that anyone-”

“Yeah okay great. So how are we gonna get it down Storm?” Jet asked his second in command, ignoring Wave. Jet smiled internally hearing her frustrated grunt.

“Mmm, we could try throwing a rock at it?” Storm offered. Wave threw a mini tantrum. She stomped her feet and paced a quick circle mumbling to herself. Jet didn’t know if Storm was just not very bright or also enjoyed making Wave upset, but either way got the same result as Jet watched the loudmouthed swallow throw her hands up and cross them, repeatedly.

“Well she already tried that, but we could give it a shot.” Jet said, not really to Storm, watching as Wave’s eyebrow twitched.

“Oh right, well I could throw you?” Storm tried scratching at his head. A sickening grin grew on Wave’s face.

“Oh yes! Let’s try that. A big guy like you could really throw an eensy-weensy guy like Meany the Hawk over here.” Wave leaned forward, an excited glee dancing in her eyes. Jet waved them both off.

“We’re not throwing me, and I’m not teensy-teeny, and it’s Jet by the way!” Jet snapped at Wave and Storm.

“I said eensy-weensy, not teensy-teeny-”

“The plan is:” Jet spoke over Wave, “We’re gonna find a buncha sticks and tie them together, and then we’ll push the rope ladder opposite around the branch, and BOOM. Storm and I have totally got our awesome secret stash house.”

“How is it secret? I know where it is.” Wave asked, a look of confusion aimed at Jet.

“You don’t count.”

“Wha-? What does that mean?”

“It means that no one will even listen to a naggy blabbermouth like you.” Jet waved her off and failed to notice her increasingly rageful glare.

“I’m sorry?! Am I gonna have to take you down?!” Wave growled.

“No need to apologize.” Jet shot her a shit-eating grin. “Besides the only way you’d beat me in a fight is by talking my ears off!”

“That’s IT! I’m gonna pluck your feathers off one by one!” Wave started to move towards Jet, arms outstretched.

“HA! A weakling like you doesn’t have the strength to do so!”

“Shows what you know! I’ve beaten dozens of guys twice my size in fights, you’ll be like squishing a bug! A very annoying bug!”

“That’s nothing! I’ve beaten hundreds- no, thousands of enemies hundreds of times my size while barely lifting a finger!”

“It seems like the only thing bigger than my mouth is your EGO!” Jet and Wave had been moving towards each other for a little bit, ready to throw down, and right as Jet was about to throw the first punch, both of them felt the sudden pull of gravity. Their feet floated uselessly under them and their arms flailed aimlessly as they were held by the scruffs of their necks by Storm.

“Ah, good Storm! Let’s take her down together! But first put me down!” Jet commanded.

“Mmm hold up boss, I’m thinking we might need to take a breather here. Some nasty things were said on both sides. Maybe some apologies are in order here.” Storm said calmly and both Jet and Wave shot him looks of disbelief.

“No way!”

“There’s not enough food in the world!”

Storm sighed. He looked between the two birds, both growling and staring daggers at the other. Storm was a big dude and he could handle himself well in a fight, but this was a new world, a new way of life. If he didn’t have to fight, he didn’t want to.

“Well, she’s kinda right boss.” Jet glared at him.

“WHAT?!”

“I mean she does know where our base is, we can’t have that secret getting out.”

And there it was. The dark threat. The three birds hadn’t been on Earth very long but they could feel the change. It was lighter and happier here. Arguments were playful and threats weren’t promises. It was a place of brighter tomorrows and warmer nights.

As long as they didn’t pull from the other side of the ring portal.

“Storm you’re not suggesting we…” On this planet, just saying the word felt like breaking some kind of command that was put in place. Wave looked between the two of them, her eyes suddenly very afraid. Storm quickly shook his head, denying the thought, not wanting to dive into that rabbit hole any more than they already had.

“Nah boss, just thought she might be a good addition to this team.” Storm gave a big smile, trying to use it as a way to persuade the two upset birds. Their eyes widened in realization before hardening in denial.

“Hang with him?”

“Hang with her?”

“NO WAY!” They both said at the same time.

“Why would I ever work with her?” Jet pointed an angry finger at the equally angry swallow.

“Uhh maybe because I have an actual idea on how to get the rope ladder down!” Wave said in a mocking voice.

“Yeah right! What is it?!” Jet asked equally mockingly, but he was genuinely curious, a touch of the real question slipping into his voice.

“Like I’d tell you! You’d just steal it and call it your idea.” Wave jerked her head away from Jet, turning her beak up. Jet growled for a moment.

“Fine! If I let you be part of the team, will you tell us the idea?” Jet sighed. Wave considered the response. She didn’t really need these dum-dums and there was no way they were going to get into that treehouse without her. Not to mention how rude Jet was.

And yet. Wave had spent last night alone and in a storm. She’d done that the night before that back on Mobius, and the night before that, and the night before that. She didn’t really want any more nights alone. Even if she had to deal with these guys.

Wave turned her head back, thought for a moment, and nodded, she reached her hand out to make the deal. Jet went to reach his out too, but stopped inches short and pulled his hand back. “But I get to be the team leader!” Wave frowned, then set her jaw.

“Fine, but when you run this team into the ground, I get to be leader.” Wave stuck her hand out again. This time Jet took it. Then they both turned to Storm.

“Now put us down Storm!” They said in unison. The big guy rolled his eyes and dropped the argumentative duo. Both fell on their butts and struggled to their feet.

“Now what’s your idea?” Jet asked as he tried to get some feeling back in his ass.

They were stacked on top of each other. Jet was on Storm’s shoulders and Wave was on Jet’s. From there they were able to reach the ladder and Wave was carefully working to unwrap the rope ladder from the branch.

“Wouldya hurry it up?” Jet called.

“If you two stopped wobbling so much, I would’ve had it by now!” Wave yelled down from above him.

“Why isn’t the leader on top?!” Jet demanded.

“You’re going to make a helpless girl hold you up? Besides I thought you were stronger than guys thousands of times your size?” Wave asked, Jet could hear the snark in her voice.

“Doesn’t help that she’s thousands of times heavier than me.” Jet whispered down to Storm and the two chuckled to themselves.

“WHAT WAS THAT?!” Wave yelled.

“Nothing!” The two boys said fearfully. And then the rope ladder came down, knocking on both of the boys’ beaks.

The rope ladder creaked wearily as Jet and Wave pulled Storm up into the entrance of the tree house. The two smaller birds huffed until they pulled the big guy through, his huge body nearly not making it through the door. Upon his arrival, the three collapsed onto the rotted wooden floor of the treehouse, breathing heavily. Weak cheers went up as they succeeded in getting this far.

After that moment’s rest, they got up to check around the space.

Taking in their new home.

It wasn’t much. The space was barely big enough for them to lie down in, plus a little more. But it did have its rewards. Storm pulled out some kind of snack item from one corner, trying to figure out how to open them and having a little trouble. From another corner, Wave found a small pile of blankets, old and a little musty from the rains but still good. But something else had caught Jet’s eye.

In the back of the tiny tree house was the only non-boarded-up window. There was no glass pane and because it had been positioned in the back, none of them had really noticed it. But there was something outside it. It was positioned just outside the window, elevated by a small hook.

“Whatcha got there boss?” Storm stomped over, the treehouse’s foundation shaking ever so slightly.

“Anything good?" Wave slid over.

It was a planter. It couldn’t have been any bigger than Jet’s fist. The pot was cracked and dirty and a weak metal mesh held the planter up by the hook so it hung freely. It waved in the wind, the fragility of the setup could break any minute.

But within the pot was a flower.

A bright beautiful pink flower grew from the pot. Small and simple it stood out from the browns of the treehouse and branches. Its life could’ve been forfeit to any number of factors. Age, wind, flickies, angsty teen Mobians, the brutal storm that came through last night. And yet.

And yet…

Amongst the struggles and pain, it bloomed.

Chapter Text

To Jewel the beetle, everything stunk. No, it literally stunk. She’d woken up from sleeping under the picnic table to a terrible stink. It was strong and worked its way up her nostrils and into her brain. She had been pretty sure last night the smell hadn’t been there, but she had also been mostly working on not drowning in rainwater. She’d found her way under a large table sitting in a field. It hadn’t fully held back the rain but it’d done an okay job.

But last night the field had been empty, Jewel had figured it to be a safe space to sleep in. And now it stunk. And Jewel was pretty sure it had something to do with the giant beasts that were roaming the fields.

She was terrified and didn’t dare leave the safety of the table. Outside of it were enormous black and white quadrupeds that roamed the fields and munched on the grasses in it. The beasts had large barrel-like bodies that were covered in black spots, and they stood on spindly stiff legs that moved slowly. Their heads were generally cylinder-shaped, a big pink muzzle traipsing up to a wide head with pointed ears that flicked around. A long whip-like tail with a tuft of black fur on the end swung around, occasionally hitting the beasts themselves as if they weren’t even aware of it. And right now, one of them was looking at Jewel.

It had bent its head down to get at the taller grasses under the picnic table and Jewel came eye to eye with the beast. Its large brown irises regarding Jewel cautiously, trying to determine if she was a threat.

Jewel whimpered.

The beast ate at the grasses.

Jewel didn’t dare move an inch as the beast munched on the vegetation, its eyes watching Jewel with boredom. Jewel was pretty sure it wished she was a threat, that way it would have something to do. But the idea of getting attacked by one of these beasts was currently #1 on Jewel’s list of things not to do. So she and the beast regarded one another until it apparently had its fill of the picnic table grasses and moved on, giving an odd moan as it got up and walked off.

Jewel didn’t really have a great grasp of what to do here. She couldn’t very well live under this picnic table her whole life. She was getting hungry and thirsty, not to mention her suit was all wrinkled and dirty. Not a great look for her. But these beasts made her very nervous. There were at least a couple dozen and she got the feeling that the only reason they hadn’t pushed the picnic table off and attacked Jewel was simply that they didn’t want to. At least they seemed to be herbivores.

They snorted and huffed, ate and defecated, and were in general possibly one of the worst things Jewel had ever encountered.

On Earth.

The idea of living under the picnic table for the rest of her natural life was starting to look pretty good to Jewel. A table there, put the kitchen here, maybe a nice flower arrangement. It would’ve been a good home for the next three days until she died of dehydration. Unfortunately, the world had other plans.

Plans that came in the form of a beast.

This beast was very different from the other ones. For one, it was a fraction of their size, bigger than Jewel, but not by too much. Interestingly enough it did share fur color with the big beasts but it was more black with a few white accents than the black with occasional white parts that the big beasts were. It was far faster too, running around and in between the big beasts. It made loud sharp noises from a mouthful of sharp teeth, and a pink tongue lolled out. It ran around and in between the big beasts, alerting them. Jewel was fearful that they’d stampede, or heck, just crush the smaller one, but instead, the big beasts seemed to listen to the smaller one moving in the opposite direction that it barked in.

Jewel quickly realized that it was herding them, the big slow beasts starting to cluster as the smaller one ran a circle around them, making those loud sharp barks. The big beasts didn’t even seem nervous, bored if anything. Upon having fully organized the big beasts into a loose circle the smaller beast settled down, breathing heavily and standing at attention. But for what? Jewel didn’t-

“Oh, good work Mutt!” Came a voice. It was smooth and low, each word flowing calmly from one to the next. It was broken only by the rust of age, a little rattle in the back of an old throat. And then there was a human.

An older human by the looks of it. A shorter-looking man, with a big stomach that was contained by a shirt, tucked into his pants. His old face was creased by wrinkles and broken by a big smile. Bright twinkling eyes danced and looked at the small beast with excitement. Simple blue pants lead down to long shoes that are pointed at the toes and lifted at the heels. A tall, wide-brimmed hat sat upon his head, white wispy hair only barely escaping.

“Y’know I told Lily to check the fences after that storm before letting the cows out, but you know she doesn’t listen to me.” The old man said with a laugh as he approached the small beast giving its head some pats and scratching behind its big pointed ears. The small beast seemed to enjoy it and eventually rolled over exposing its white belly. “Now you know we don’t have time for that right now girl. How ‘bout some belly rubs after we get the cows home?” The old man jerked a thumb and the beast seemed to understand, getting up and beginning to move towards the big beasts again.

It gave a couple of those loud short barks and then stopped.

And then it looked directly at Jewel.

Jewel whimpered and tried to look small, curling into her shell as much as she could.

It didn’t seem to help as the beast took a few steps forward and then bounded towards the picnic table at top speed, stopping short inches from the edge. And then it bent down and Jewel got a faceful of beast breath. It wasn’t as bad as the stink from the larger beasts, but it still was far from pleasant. Jewel skittered back as the small beast made those sharp barks at her and tried to get further under the table, breathing heavily with its tongue flapping about.

Was it enjoying it? What sick world had Jewel come to? Jewel was about to try and make a break for it when:

“Mutt girl? What are you doing over there, come on out!” The small beast made a motion to leave, but stopped, far too interested in its torture of Jewel. Jewel’s eyes flicked to the voice, trying to encourage the beast to listen to its master. “Mutt! What are you doing over there?” The voice seemed more insistent now.

And closer.

Jewel tried to shoo off the beast, waving her hand at it. But that only seemed to encourage it as it tried to get closer and made more of those barks.

“Mutt! Get outta there! Leave whatever poor critter you found alone.” Jewel watched, heart palpitating as the boots of the human became visible from underneath the bench. Then there were hands. Old, wrinkled hands. Scarred and calloused with decades of use. They reached under the bench and grabbed the collar around the beast's neck and slowly dragged it out. Finally leaving Jewel alone. “C’mon girl, we gotta get the cows back.” Jewel breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the small beast sprint far away…

Just for it to make a wide circle and plant itself back underneath the picnic table, back in Jewel’s face.

“Oh for the love of…” And then the human bent down. And Jewel met his eyes.

“H-hi.” Jewel gave a slight wave of her hand. The human’s eyebrows popped up. Big things, that reached up his forehead towards the remains of his hair.

“Hello.” The human gave a slow nod of his head. “Are you okay miss?”

“N-no, not really.” Jewel said honestly, “Your beast is scaring me.” Jewel pointed a loose finger at the beast. The human seemed to be in a state of daze, but shook at of it when Jewel pointed to the beast, he dragged at the beast’s collar again with a huff, and with a mild whimper it slid away—leaving Jewel with the human.

“Sorry ‘bout that. Mutt’s just being friendly. You know how dogs be.”

That was a dog?!

It was certainly the least dog-like dog Jewel had ever seen, but this was an alien planet.

“Uhh, yeah…” Jewel just agreed, hoping that would keep the conversation passive.

“Now if you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing underneath this picnic table?” The man said simply.

“Umm, there was a storm, and then I was scared, so I went under this table.” The man made a note of confirmation and nodded his head.

“Well it’s not raining anymore, do you want to come out from under there?” The man asked. Jewel shook her head. The man pursed his lips. “If I hold onto Mutt’s collar do you want to come out of there?” Jewel shook her head again. The man nodded and moved to stand. “Well, if you’re interested in having something to eat, my home is just a little ways that way.” The man pointed to Jewel’s left. “I’m Calvin Westwood, but most people call me Doc by the way.”

“W-wait!” Jewel blurted out. Doc stopped and got back to a half crouch. “I’m Jewel the Beetle.” Jewel let the words slip from her mouth. She didn’t know why, she knew better than to trust people. The man nodded once more and moved to stand. “Wait!” She called again. Doc stopped once more and raised one of his magnificent eyebrows again. “W-why aren’t y-you scared of me?” The man blinked a few times and smacked his lips, taking in the question, slow to formulate his answer.

“Well, it’s because I don’t really see much to be scared of if I’m being honest. I just see a small girl who herself is very scared, which makes me more worried than scared. Is there someone you want me to call? The sheriff perhaps? I know he’s got a few boys that look an awful lot like you.”

That last comment sent a note of worry down Jewel’s spine. Were there already other Mobians here? Jewel figured she’d gotten here pretty quick, but who knows? But Jewel didn’t have time to mull that over. The man had said something else.

“W-what?” Jewel asked.

“I said, should I be scared of you?” Jewel vigorously shook her head.

“N-no sir, not at all, I’m of no threat to you.” Jewel said quickly. The man’s eyebrows linked together, confusion and alarm crossing his face. Had she said something to upset him? How much trouble was Jewel in?!

“Are you sure you don’t want to tag along for some breakfast? I promise Mutt’s a real good girl, won’t hurt you or nothing.” Jewel watched his face. Looked for danger, lies, threats, and pain.

She found none. But it still probably wasn’t a good idea to follow this dangerous alien back to his home.

Which is why it was so darn confusing to her when she crawled out from under the picnic table, suit dirtied, and followed him, his dog, and the big beasts back to his home.

…

Jewel stood nervously in the threshold of the man’s home. It had been an odd walk for her to get here. First, they’d traipsed through grassy fields and mud, Jewel’s heels coming off more than once. Then there was a tall red building that Doc had led the big beasts-cows into. They’d made their odd moans and huffs but settled into the structure calmly if a little crowded. And now Jewel stood in the doorway while the older man inside moved about. He was concocting something in the room, delicious smells emanating toward Jewel’s nose.

It was a bit of a bizarre experience, gross smells at her back, yummy smells forward.

Jewel chose to go forward.

She entered the kitchen of Doc’s home, unsure of what to do with her hands so she just held them together in front of her. She made a few cautious steps, turning her head left and right, trying to get an understanding of her surroundings when Doc stopped her.

“Wouldya mind removing your shoes? Don’t want to track mud in the house. My wife’s not a fan of a dirty home.” Jewel quickly looked down at her heels, mud and slime clung to them, tracking into the house.

Gross.

Jewel felt terrible, she’d hate it if someone tracked mud into her home…if she had one. Jewel spat up a dozen apologies and quickly removed her shoes. And then she noticed her suit. It too was covered in dirt, tears and other matter she couldn’t identify.

What was Jewel doing?! She couldn’t make good first impressions looking like this!

“Oh my Chaos, I’m so sorry. I slept in the dirt and have no way to clean up. Excuse my appearance.” Jewel was now sweating, chills in her spine. This guy was going to throw her out. Or kill her. One of the two. But Doc only frowned, a note of acceptance made its way past his lips.

“Well that is a pickle, we can worry about getting you cleaned up later though. Although I might have something else for you to wear if you’re concerned about getting my house too dirty.” Jewel was surprised at the man’s immediate kindness, something not often encountered. But looking at herself, Jewel could not in confidence communicate with this stranger while covered in a dirty outfit. Jewel nodded and asked for whatever the man could spare.

Jewel immediately regretted this decision. She found herself in a pair of overalls. The jean fabric thick and rough. It shuffled about as she walked, a tad too big on her. It was nice to have pockets, but one on the front was not Jewel’s idea of high fashion. Suspenders ran over her shoulders and down to the butt, trapping her wings. But nevertheless, it was clean.

Apparently, the man didn’t have stockings in her size which was a shame, and none of the holes for the head fit her, which meant Jewel had to continue to have to wear her dirty suit under the overalls. All of which led her to believe that she was wearing toddler clothing. The rubber duck patches on the overalls gave it away.

It wasn’t Jewel’s most prideful moment. But she appreciated the man’s attempt at making her feel a little less gross. It was definitely odd that he was being so kind to her. Jewel was simply waiting for the other shoe to drop. For him to ask something of her, a job or a request. And when he placed the amazing-smelling food in front of her face as she sat at the table, Jewel knew that this was a transaction. If she ate this food, she would be asked to do something.

Jewel picked up her fork and held it in her hand twirling it as she considered the meal in front of her. She was hungry, but she also didn’t know anything about this man. Was this poison? What would she be asked to do? Jewel couldn’t eat it, it was too risky.

“Not hungry?” Doc asked as he ate his food. It was the same as Jewel’s so it probably wasn’t poison, but it didn’t mean she was out of the woods yet. Jewel looked at him and felt a churn of apprehension in her gut.

“I-I’m not-I don’t think I can eat this.” She whispered.

“Not a fan of sausage and eggs?” Jewel just gulped. He was joking with her, she could tell that much. It was a ploy, to get her to loosen up so he could make her do things afterward. Jewel wasn’t ready to play that game.

“No-no, I just-” Jewel searched for the words, “-don’t want to be indebted to you…” Jewel wanted to take the words back, they seemed harsh to her. But it didn’t mean they were true. Doc set down his fork and knife and addressed her. His eyes locked onto hers and he rested his hands on his chin.

“Giving someone a meal who really needs one is not about debt, it’s about proving you deserve the life you are given.” And then he went back to eating his breakfast. Jewel was a little taken aback. Not just by the words, because if she had to be honest, she didn’t fully understand them. But by the way, he spoke. At that moment, she had been his full attention. To him, nothing mattered more than talking to her.

Jewel had never mattered like that.

It was weird and scary, but comforting. And maybe gave her a glimpse into what he had just said. The whole thing was still an illusion, but she saw a fraction of it. Doc had let her identify that she indeed had a life. She existed. Not background to be used and forgotten. Jewel looked at the meal in front of her.

It wasn’t fueled to run a machine so she could do tasks, it was sustenance to keep not just a living thing, but a person alive.

Jewel ate.

…

“Gramps, I’m off to the park with Mikey and Aleena.” A voice called from the stairs. Jewel’s attention snapped up from her food to notice a girl coming down the stairs. She was tall and thin, the antithesis of her grandfather. She wore a simple purple t-shirt and a pair of pants made of the same material that Jewel was now forced to wear, but it had various holes in it. A black helmet adorned her head, matte and domed shaped. In her arms was a small board with wheels attached to it. A flaming skull adorned the bottom.

Jewel shivered at it slightly. Was this girl a threat, first impressions pointed to yes, but a closer glance revealed more.

Her toned arms and skin were darkened, a warm brown that reminded Jewel of the drink Doc had been drinking and bright brown eyes and large white smile showed off a child-like excitement that Jewel hadn’t experienced in a while. Long dark hair fell from the rear of her head, tied together in a braid. She didn’t even seem to notice Jewel as she practically threw herself down the stairs. Doc stood up from the table.

“Not looking like that you’re not!” Doc said firmly. It was the most aggressive Jewel had seen him. Jewel took in the girl again, trying to find what was wrong with how she looked, she didn’t see anything wrong. But it wasn’t a fair assessment, Jewel knew nothing about this world or how people were supposed to look here, and if Jewel was being fair, she did think this girl should fix her ripped pants.

The girl sputtered a little and looked down at herself before looking back at her grandfather finding nothing wrong, and pouted.

“What’s wrong?” she said flustered.

“Where are your knee and elbow pads?” Doc gestured to the girl’s body. The girl blinked a little, possibly surprised at the response before huffing, and taking a journey back up the stairs. And then she noticed Jewel and blinked some more.

Jewel waved at her.

She waved back.

“Are you wearing my old baby clothes?” The girl asked. Jewel set her jaw. She knew she was wearing toddler wear. But she put on a smile, determined to make a good impression on the offspring of the person who just fed her.

“My clothes were a little dirty.” Jewel said softly.

“I found this one hiding under a park bench earlier this morning.” Doc gestured to Jewel while talking to the girl. The girl put on a confused expression.

“Why were you in the park?”

“Because someone didn’t check the fences after the storm and when they let the herd out they decided to go for an early morning stroll.” Doc returned and Jewel held in a smile as she watched some of the snark and excitement drain from the girl’s face. “Any idea who could’ve done that Lily?” The girl kissed her teeth.

“Uhh nope, got no idea, who, uhhh, could’ve done that.” Lily said with a chuckle. She wasn’t very good at lying and Jewel could tell that she had indeed been responsible for not checking the fences before letting the cows out. And yet, despite her mistake, Doc didn’t seem particularly upset. Curious. Doc simply made a note of disbelief, and then Lily’s eyes widened and a smile crossed her face. “Heeey, y’know what? That’s where my knee and elbow pads are, I left them by the barn. Just let me go get them and-”

“Oh no no no.” Lily had moved to the door where Jewel and Doc had entered, but Doc moved in the way. “I’m not having you just duck out like that. We’ll see if your equipment’s there or not.” Doc put on his boots and hat and exited the door, looking carefully at Lily as he exited. Leaving Jewel alone with his granddaughter. Jewel gulped and opened her mouth to begin to attempt conversation when Lily spoke first.

“Okay, while he’s out there, I’m gonna go out the front.” Lily came back down the steps and moved in the opposite direction that her grandfather left. “By the way, you’re adorable and I totally want to meet you later, but right now, I gotta go!” Jewel did a double take as she tried to catch up with Lily’s quick actions and speedy attitude. “Also I’m Lily!” Lily said as she began to disappear into parts of the home Jewel hadn’t been in.

“I’m Jewel.” Jewel managed to say as she heard a door open and close further in the house. And then Jewel was alone again. Which sucked. Jewel wasn’t very good at being alone. That was when the dark thoughts closed in and she got desperate, desperate to be around people no matter what. To do what they say as long as she didn’t get hurt and wasn’t alone. It was her most vulnerable. Oh, Chaos! How long was she going to be alone-

And then the back door opened and Doc reentered.

“Well I didn’t find your equipment, but I did find some tools you can use to fix the fence…” Doc trailed off as he noticed that his home was once again empty leave for a scared beetle. He took in the sights, chewing on his lip for a moment. “Either she’s getting too smart or I’m getting too old.” The man breathed a sigh and sat down at the table across from Jewel, his jaw cradled in one hand. “I reckon it’s probably a bit of both.”

“Sh-she went out the front door.” Jewel said, trying to be helpful as she pointed deeper into the house. Doc waved Jewel off, the information apparently very clear to him. Jewel looked at Doc’s face, trying to read an emotion beyond the general contentedness that he seemed to have at all times. Whereas Jewel’s base state was nervously agreeable, Doc seemed to always be just perfectly fine. Accepting life as it was.

But now?

There was an annoyance in his eyes, Jewel had seen that look on the faces of many people that she’d worked for before. The slight squint of the eyes and how the whole face scrunched inward ever so slightly soured at the frustration of how Jewel messed up.

“Is she going to be in trouble?” Jewel managed to say. She looked down at the remains of her breakfast, not daring to meet Doc’s gaze. But she saw a flash of surprise in his face as he removed his head from his hand and sat up a little straighter.

“Oh, I’m not really sure.”

“B-but she disobeyed you.” Jewel had the nerve to point out. She winced at the harsher tone of her words. As if she had any command over what Doc did.

“True…” Doc said slowly, tasting the words, uncertain if he liked them. “But I’m not exactly in charge of her or what she does. Right now, she’s more like…on loan under my care.”

“But wouldn’t that mean that you’re still in charge of her and what she does?” Jewel said again before realizing that she should just shut her trap.

“Again true, but I don’t think I’m in charge of what anyone does but myself, and even then, it’s not like she did anything wrong.” Doc said back. Jewel was worried he’d yell at her for asking too many questions, but he stayed calm. Almost happy for the act of conversation, rather than unhappy with Jewel.”

“But she didn’t check to see if the fences were fine, and she let the cows out, and she didn’t take her equipment when she left.” Jewel now looked up at, curious as to why he wouldn’t get mad. People got mad at Jewel all the time, and now Lily just got off scot-free? It wasn’t fair!

“Well, how was Lily supposed to know to check the fences? I never told her. And it’s her job to let the cows out in the morning so she did what she was supposed to.” Doc shrugged. Jewel’s lip flapped, confused at the pass this girl was getting. Jewel had been punished all the time for not predicting things. Jewel was right. It wasn’t fair.

“But she still didn’t take her equipment as you asked! Why will she not receive punishment?!” Jewel huffed. Doc rubbed the back of his head.

“Well, she’s been skateboarding for a couple of years now, I guess she knows what she’s doing. I’d still love for her to be as safe as possible, but it’s not fully up to me to try and force her to do something she doesn’t want to do. She says her parents don’t make her wear them, so I’m not going to contradict that.”

That’s it. Jewel was finally angry. She glared at the man who just let someone who wasn’t doing what they were supposed to do without punishment. She loathed him for letting someone choose what they wanted to do. Jewel was right. It wasn’t fair! It wasn’t fair that she’d had to do what other people told her to do all her life. It wasn’t fair that she’d been hurt for disobeying. It wasn’t fair that she’d had to be born on Mobius, with its pain while Lily got to be born on Earth with joy.

It wasn’t fair.

It wasn’t fair!

“What’s not fair?” Doc asked. And Jewel looked up at the man. Had she said that out loud? Jewel let out a sniffle and rubbed at her eye. “Jewel, are you okay? You look like you’ve sprung a leak.” The man gave a half laugh. And then he frowned, his eyebrows coming together. “Do you want me to punish her?” His question was suspicious, nervous Jewel for the first time.

“No, no, not at all.” Jewel shook her head vigorously. “I’m glad that you’re not punishing her for things she didn’t know to do. That’s really cool of you. It’s…” Jewel thought for a moment. “It proves that you’ve earned the life you were given.” Jewel tried for a smile. The man returned it and gave a small nod. “But if she’s doing something that requires more equipment to be done, then she should wear them.” Doc popped up from his seat, a big grin on his face, and waved a hand at Jewel.

“This is what I’ve been saying. Don’t do a job if you don’t get all the right tools!” Jewel giggled at his exclamation, the old man’s positive energy contagious.

“What tools do you need to fix a fence?” Jewel asked. Doc looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

“Are you saying you’d like to help me repair the fence, you don’t have to you know. I don’t expect you to.” Jewel smiled at him and nodded.

“I know I don’t have to, I want to.”

Chapter Text

“Lookin’ good dollface!” The drunk man said as he slapped Sadie’s ass. His equally drunken buddies around him laughed. The woman set her jaw and reeled in her temper to prevent herself from decking the idiot who had just touched her. She looked to her manager, who as per usual hadn’t even looked up from his beer to register that the event had happened, much less done anything to stop it. Wait. Sadie squinted at the man and noticed that he was actually asleep.

Sitting up.

Beer in hand.

Why not?

Sadie should’ve been mad that the man had dared to assault her. She should’ve been mad that neither her manager nor anyone else had thought to try and stop the man or call him out. But those were all pretty par for the course for anyone working at the Piston Pit.

Ah yes, the Piston Pit, the redneckiest bar in northern Nevada. Complete with a mechanical bull and idiots spouting conspiracy theories. Sadie got paid $10.50 an hour to serve greasy burgers and burnt fries to people that hadn’t learned enough in English class to understand the meaning of the word ‘no.’

Sadie knew that most people weren’t like that, but then why did the bad ones have to come here?

So it wasn’t the slap that whitened Sadie’s knuckles as she tightened her grip on the serving tray. No, it was the use of the word ‘dollface.’ Seriously?! Dollface? Who did these guys think they were? 1920s gangsters?

Unfortunately like all 20-something women trying to get out of bumfuck nowhere she didn’t have much choice but to suck it up, save up and get out as soon as fucking possible. And what was she to do, really? Tell her manager. Like he’d give a shit. Tell the cops? Who happened to be two tables away and made enough sexist comments that they were one step away from being the problem? And ask the guys to stop? Well, she’d get more done by beating her head against a wall.

You’d think after being here three years Sadie would get used to it by now. The cat calls, the caresses, the comments. It seemed pretty standard for women these days.

But no. Some prideful part of herself told her she didn’t deserve this.

Stupid standard of care.

It wasn’t really Sadie’s fault she had a standard for how she should be treated as a person. Her parents had been good people. Despite the fact that she’d been raised in this no-nothing town, they’d treated her right, and told her she could do amazing things. That all people no matter who they were deserved respect and to be cared for. It had instilled a faith in Sadie at a young age.

And she’d followed that faith all the way to California. It had been an amazing ride for her at CalArts. Four wonderful years of bliss, good grades, fun parties, insightful if not snobby art professors and students. Every summer Sadie had come home full of stories to her parents and a love for her work and what she would do with it in the future.

But it had all been a dream. A haze that Sadie had told herself was real. And soon the fog was lifted.

Sadie’s parents had gotten a divorce following her graduation, apparently, it’d been a long time coming, they’d just wanted to wait for her to be done with school beforehand. But Sadie had had no idea, far too wrapped up in fantasy land to see it coming.

But they’d left her the house. That was nice, she supposed. Both had wanted to get out of Nevada and see the world, electing to place themselves on opposite coasts of the country with Sadie stuck in the middle.

The house was nice enough, and her dad had done well to take good care of it. Always a remodel or something that he had been working on. But now Sadie’s on-staff plumber, carpenter, electrician, and gardener had left to be with his girlfriend in Los Angeles, leaving Sadie with youtube videos and a roll of duct tape to fix the sink.

She’d tried calling him a few times to ask how to fix it, but she’d gotten a long-winded explanation that really didn’t answer her question so now Sadie just slept dealing with the constant dripping of the sink. It was only a matter of time before something in the house broke and Sadie didn’t really have the know-how on how to repair it. And her $10.50 an hour slog through the worst of humanity couldn’t cover hiring a repair man and keeping the lights on.

And then there was the lack of homeowner’s insurance that Sadie didn’t really want to think about.

Finally, there was the job or lack thereof. Finding a job for illustrators isn’t really a thing. It’s not like if Sadie majored in physics, she’d become a physicist. No, illustrators had to scrape and scramble for commission work, none of which seemed to find their way to Sadie. And it’s not like she hadn’t tried. But there was only so much dust that she could draw for reference outside her window and her childhood didn’t seem traumatic enough to bring out a good enough artist in her. And there were only so many emails she could send out into the void begging, trying to get someone, anyone to buy her art.

All of which led to her getting her ass beaten like a bongo by some ham-fisted ape, who like all ham-fisted apes was about one drink from vomiting on the floor.

Any guess who’d have to clean it up?

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath while envisioning her fists buried deep in ham-hands’ face, Sadie looked up at the clock. Mercifully it read 11:30. Only another half-hour before she could get out of here, flip off all the people still inside for when the bar closed at 2 and take off the ridiculous uniform she wore.

Like seriously? Cowboy hat and red and white checkerboard shirt? Could they try to tone down the stereotype at least a little?!

“EY Sadie! Dump the trash!” A rough voice called from across the bar. Sadie’s head whipped around to spot her manager who, now that ham hands was done getting ham-handsier, was awake to berate her about doing her job.

But Sadie wasn’t going to complain. The trash might be gross, but it was still cleaner than the inside of the bar and got her away from everyone. So she faked a smile, gathered up the store-brand trash bag that was leaking some steaming liquid, and hurried outside.

Bashing open the back door, Sadie breathed in fresh air. Now normally just heading outside wouldn’t provide the woman with a lungful of clean oxygen, but a rainstorm had just passed through. It was a big one too. Passed all the way up the west coast and now was moving over the northern midwest. And now all that was left for northern Nevada was the remains of the rain. Loose drops still fell, wetting the dust, and hung a fresh mist in the air, finally overpowering the bar stink from behind her.

Sadie looked out in the dark beyond, a scraggly forest trying to take root. The rains would hopefully do it well. Sadie regarded it for a second more, imagining herself running through it, away from her life as it was now. And then she turned to the trash.

Every city on earth has its share of pests. There’s no escaping that when you have a large enough portion of humans they’re going to produce waste. Waste that still has nutritional value to some life form or another. Dark beasts that scramble and crawl, disease-carrying and disgusting. And Nevada was no exception. But most of it was a little different. The deserts didn’t provide the same kind of homes for larger things, which left the room only for insects.

Cockroaches and beetles and scorpions. All of which sent a shiver down Sadie’s spine. And they could be pretty big too, scaring the bejesus out of the woman.

But none of them were big enough to rattle the dumpster.

A twist ran through Sadie’s heart. She knew that whatever was in that dumpster was trouble, be it a homeless person or a dangerous animal. Sadie didn’t have enough hope left to believe it was anything but.

That was the one upside of working at the piston pit. It really shouldn’t get any worse. Sure she got paid pennies and had to deal with the scuz at the bottom of humanity, but that was just it, it was the bottom. Somehow, Sadie knew this was worse.

And then an armadillo leapt from the dumpster.

For as desert-like Nevada was, it wasn’t home to armadillos, and not certainly whatever this thing was. It was bipedal for one, standing upright on two black-furred legs. It wore gloves and shoes, and toned musculature rippled under its torso. A large red shell ran from its head down to its back, floating just above the spine. Two harsh pale blue eyes regarded Sadie. A smelly burger hung in its mouth.

Sadie felt like her scream was reasonable.

She dropped the trash bag and spun around for the back door, wrenching it open and leaping inside. She ran into the dining room flustered and spouting, admittedly, nonsense.

“There’s a- outside!-creature!” She yelled. No one so much as paused their conversations. “MONSTER!” She called. One of the waitresses had the decency to look at her and immediately give an eye roll. Sadie looked at the lot of them, uncaring enough to know that there was a beast outside. One that Sadie was pretty sure she’d seen before.

A couple of years ago, this guy had come in with his kid. Kids weren’t allowed in the Piston Pit, but no one really gave a shit. But the kid had been wearing some kind of costume, but it was strangely life-like. As if the costume they had been wearing was real, an actual beast with blue fur, huge eyes, and spines. The man and his son started a bar fight, which had looked to be bad, but it stopped all of a sudden, and the man and his animal son were gone. Sadie had shaken it off as she’d just been too exhausted to think straight, but then last year she’d seen the thing again.

This time on the news. The creature had been real! An actual alien with alien pals that ended up taking on a giant town-wrecking robot. It had sent Sadie for a spin. She’d tried to tell her coworkers about it, that that thing had come through their town before, but no one seemed to care. So neither did she.

And now there was another one, eating the Piston Pit’s trash.

There had to be better places to eat. But Sadie couldn’t think about that now. She had to see if an alien invasion was imminent. And if they were going to abduct people, she had a few ideas on who could get probed. Let’s see if ham-hands likes having his ass touched!

That came out wrong.

Sadie grabbed a spare broom, they were mostly unused anyway, and once more faced the back door. She reached out and grabbed the handle of the back door, pulling on it slowly. The door creaked slightly, but it sounded like a gunshot to Sadie as it opened. She stepped out slowly, eyes scanning up, down, left, right, and every direction in between for the alien.

She found that it had indeed moved, but not by much. It had merely relocated a few feet from where Sadie last saw it, now rummaging through the trash bag Sadie had left, its back was turned to her. Sadie carefully let the back door close behind her as she approached the rear of the…armadillo. Taking the very end of the broom, Sadie let the very end tap into the top of the armadillo’s head. The broom bounced off the alien’s shell and it seemed to barely notice, waving a hand at Sadie to go away.

It was eating something. Gross.

Sadie let the broom knock into the armadillo’s shell again, this time a little harder. It once again bounced off harmlessly, but this time the alien made a grunt and briefly grabbed at the broom, shoving it away from itself.

Sadie moved back that time, it was clear the armadillo was not a fan of the broom but didn’t really seem to care if Sadie was there. Now Sadie had no love for where she worked, but there was a good chance she’d get fired if this thing continued to eat their trash, so it had to go. So Sadie once more approached the armadillo, and let the broom fall on its head.

As soon as it bonked on the creature’s head, it shot up and spun around and quick as a flash, yanked the broom from Sadie’s hands. Its eyes glared daggers at her.

“WHAT?!” It yelled. “You wanna hit people on the head?! Do it once more and find out what happens!” The creature took the broom and snapped it in half like it was a toothpick. “Oops, now you can’t!” Sadie stood still as the armadillo breathed heavily, raising its body up to look more intimidating. “Get outta here!” It threw an arm out for Sadie to head back inside.

Sadie was shell-shocked.

How had her life gotten to this point? She’d had such a bright future, everything was going great. She was going to get out of this town and be somebody. Then her parents got divorced, she couldn’t find work, and she got jostled around by morons all day long. And now this-this- thing had the audacity to try and tell her to get out.

Sadie was done.

“WHAT?! No, fuck you! You don’t get to tell me what to do! I work here! This shithole is how I make a fucking living! And I have to deal with the shitheads that roam its insides all day, I sure as hell ain’t gonna take crap outside from some weirdo alien with a red mullet!” Sadie was breathing heavily, her head still spinning from the bizarreness of the fact that she had just the mother of all vents to an anthropomorphic wheel.

The armadillo snorted. At first, Sadie thought it was just huffing like it was going to charge her. And then she realized it was laughing. A quiet little thing, trying to hide in its mouth, it escaped in little fits and starts as the alien chuckled to itself.

“Really?!” Sadie spat. She threw her hands up, was she really that pitiful that even aliens laughed at her? The armadillo raised a hand up and waved her off.

“No, no, I’m not-I.” The armadillo trailed off as it continued to laugh to itself.

“Yeah take your time, I’ll be here when you’re done laughing at me.” The armadillo gave up on hiding it, a big belly laugh escaping and crescendoing through the misty night air, breaking the quiet of the desert. Finally, it began to reel itself back in and regarded Sadie, joy still dancing in its eyes.

“I’m sorry-really!” The little notes of laughter that still slipped from the armadillo’s mouth made Sadie think otherwise. “I just-I forget that no one knows me on this planet. A lot of people are normally intimidated by me.”

“You’re intimidating? Again I repeat-mullet.” Another laugh came from the armadillo.

“Are all humans as wonderfully witty as you?” It asked as it wiped a tear from its eye. “I’m Mighty the Armadillo in case you were curious.”

“I’m Sadie…the human? In case you wanna stop laughing.” Mighty did not stop laughing. “But in all seriousness, are you intimidating for your…species?” Sadie hoped the conversation would stop the consistent laughter emanating from the armadillo.

“Maybe not in appearance, but reputation. Back on Mobius, I was known as Mighty the Undefeated. Absolute champion of the battle ring, I am a powerful gladiator!” Mighty did a quick pose for Sadie, showing off his muscles and tough shell.

“So you like fighting then?” Sadie began to get the basis of an idea. Watching ham-hands have his ass beaten by a tiny little creature sounded pretty good.

“Well…maybe not like per se…But I am awfully good at it…” Mighty said slowly.

“Do you think you could take on a couple of rowdy creeps?” Sadie perked an eyebrow, a smile glittering down at the armadillo. Mighty now took the time to look Sadie up and down, suspicion crossing his eyes.

“Look, I don’t know what your beef is with these…creeps…but I’m not hired muscle okay? You seem like a nice enough person, but I’m not just going to go beat people up for you.” Mighty took a step back from her. The color drained from Sadie’s face as she realized her faux pas. What was she doing?! Getting an innocent alien to go get revenge for her? That was not her style. She really needed to get out of this town.

It had a dreadful attitude, one powered by the might is right mentality and reinforced by decades of being saturated with toxic masculinity and a lack of good-hearted people. One of which was now Sadie.

“I-I- Oh my god, y-yeah, sorry I don’t think I should’ve-”

“HEY, BITCH! Get your pussy back in here and mop up! Mark just hurled over the floors!” Sadie’s manager smashed open the back door to launch his raging voice at her before returning inside, the door rattling on its hinges as it slowed to a close.

Sadie stared at Mighty. Mighty stared at Sadie.

“I-I should probably get back to work-”

“That’s your boss? You work for that sleazebag?” Mighty stared at her in disbelief. Sadie grinned sheepishly.

“It’s a living.”

“Liar.” Mighty said flatly. Sadie shrugged.

“Then it’s a method of existence.”

“You let him disrespect you like that? Talk to you like that?!” Mighty’s voice was raising and something flared in his eyes. A form of rage. Distilled and tightened. Sadie had seen it before. In some of the patrons of the bar.

It was no secret that people around here had their tempers. The men walked around like they owned the place, and more often than not, they did. Thought it meant they could…hurt people when they got their way. Hurt their ‘loved’ ones. Most wore it on their sleeves, you could smell asshole a mile away.

But some.

Some kept that power tight. Let their rage and frustration build purposefully. All smiles and grins on the outside. And then when they were alone with another…

Monsters.

Beat their wives, and children to inches of their lives. Holed up in a hospital for months because of a “fall down the stairs.”

Mighty’s eyes flared like nothing she’d seen before.

He was going to kill someone. Didn’t matter who. Sadie had to get out of his way or she’d be the one six feet under.

Sadie stepped aside as Mighty stomped past her and kicked the back door in.

The back door pushed out. Or rather had pushed out. Now it shot inwards breaking into pieces under the strength of the alien.

“HEY FUCKFACE! You wanna try that again?!” Mighty yelled and stomped inward. Sadie should leave. Now. Go home, go to sleep and deal with the ramifications of this tomorrow. This wasn’t her problem.

But she had unleashed Mighty. And Mighty was about to do something he couldn’t undo. Sadie turned around to the scraggly forest.

Go home. Just go home. Forget you ever saw an alien armadillo.

“What the fuck are you?” Sadie heard her manager tease.

“I’m the Mobian that’s gonna turn you inside out!” Mighty retorted.

Ignore it! Ignore it! Your manager’s finally gonna get his just desserts!

But Sadie turned back around and reentered the bar. And found she was the chef of a recipe for disaster.

Her manager was standing in the middle of the room, his back to the bar. He was very much relaxed, some combination of confidence and booze. He looked dazed and his words slurred as a lopsided smile floated around his greasy face. His bleary half-lidded eyes wobbled and regarded Mighty.

The armadillo for his part was breathing heavily, his back to Sadie so she couldn’t see his face, but his posture was that of a beast. Arms raised slightly with his fists down, feet in a wide stance, body tilted forward.

“You’re a what now? You kinda look like an armadillo!” Sadie’s manager belched.

“I am an armadillo! I’m Mighty the Armadillo!” Mighty told the manager.

“Well make up yer mind Mini! Can’t be both!” The manager laughed to himself and a few other drunk bar attendants joined in, Mighty beginning to draw a crowd.

“Get ready to say goodnight! I’ma bout to punch your lights out!” Mighty was beginning to seethe, his voice getting higher and raspy.

“What you’re gonna tuck me in?! Pfff awww, little bugger thinks he’s big time!” The manager laughed some more and more people joined in. Homophobic human slurs were thrown Mighty’s way. The attempt to demean the alien, ridiculous.

The armadillo probably didn’t know them specifically, but he definitely got the gist, a vicious growl beginning to emanate from him.

“Mighty! Forget them, they’re drunk and idiots, you should probably just leave!” Sadie tried to de-escalate the situation. She knew that Mighty was angry, but it seemed so far out of left field and Sadie had spent her life just avoiding conflict, not stopping it. Mighty’s tall ears twitched at her words but he didn’t turn away from the manager.

“First they disrespect you! Now they disrespect me! No way I’m letting them off like that!” Mighty barked as he cracked his knuckles.

“Yeahh…why don’t you go run along with that cunt. Ain’t worth an ass-whooping from me.” The manager hissed.

“Mighty!” Sadie tried one last time to call out to him. His head turned to look at Sadie and for a moment she felt her heart leap. He wouldn’t attack them, they’d get out of there, but then she saw his eyes. The rage was still there, overflowing and titanic. It consumed him, became him. And through it all, the tiniest flicker of sorrow.

I’m sorry.

And then Mighty smashed the manager’s face.

The manager did nothing to block it, still too wrapped up in laughing to himself. And in all fairness probably wasn’t expecting a three-foot-tall armadillo to jump and sock him in the face. The manager collapsed to the ground in a heap.

There was the barest moment of a pause as the room processed what had just happened, and then chaos followed. The first to move was Mighty, going on the offensive to knee one opponent in the solar plexus. He stumbled backward fighting for air.

A second man with a long goatee moved through the chairs and got a hold of Mighty, lifting the alien up. It was a loose grab, just around the armadillo’s middle, giving Mighty free rein to wail on the man with his elbow. It wasn’t pretty but Sadie had to admit Goatee could take a hit. A third man who was led by his gut stomped forward arms outstretched. Mighty stopped elbowing Goatee long enough to reel his feet inward and push off from Gut’s gut forcing the whole grouping apart. Gut slipped awkwardly into a chair and Goatee and Mighty fell backward into a table, crushing it under their combined weight.

Goatee released Mighty and didn’t get up, allowing the gladiator to roll backward into a cat-like crouch and spring forward. Mighty soared through the air spinning into a ball and smacking Gut’s face as he tried to get up. Gut stayed down.

This was enough time for guy #1 to recover. He tried to stay low and throw out a couple of haymakers at the armadillo. But mighty could get lower and was small, to begin with, he barely ducked to dodge the drunken man’s attacks and quickly finished him off with a vicious uppercut where Sadie could hear something crack.

But this was just the beginning of the brawl. While Mighty had dealt with the scouts, a loose circle had formed around the gladiator, fists ready and testosterone boiling. A group of at least 12 drunken men covered Mighty’s every escape.

They attempted a sort of dog pile, but the armadillo wasn’t having it. One would leap and he’d just catch the man and hurl him into the next one. Mighty wouldn’t let them have an opportunity to get a hit on him. Various bargoers punched, kicked, and threw things at Mighty, but he’d either evade, counterattack, redirect or just straight up tank the hit. A bar stool smashed against Mighty’s back and the armadillo barely flinched.

A particularly large man was taking stomps at Mighty and for once seemed to be giving the untouchable gladiator a spot of trouble. But eventually Mighty rolled into the stomp, letting his shell take the hit, before popping up fast, throwing the man off balance. Mighty pushed him forward, letting his head slam onto the wooden floors.

Finally, there was only one challenger remaining: Ham-hands. His real name was Mark, and he was the definition of a moron, his baseball mitt-sized hands and swinging dick doing the talking for him. Apparently, though he had enough knowledge in that head of his to actually try and fight Mighty properly, taking a defensive stance and throwing out tight, protective jabs.

But having good foresight was not the same as good skill, for every small jab Mark landed, Mighty released a flurry of punches, kicks, and charges that all sent the big man stumbling.

“Oh no, I am not letting a second freak make a fool outta me.” Mark managed to say through a mixture of punch-drunk and real drunk. Sadie had stood outside of the fight the whole time, along with the more intelligent customers and wait staff. They all watched as a new fire lit in Mighty’s eyes.

“YOU MEAN I’M GETTING SOMEONE’S SLOPPY SECONDS?!” And then Mighty flew at Mark, taking the man down in a vicious tackle. Mighty’s oversized fists wailed on the drunken downed man. Blow after blow rained down, bloodied and loud. The thud of Mighty’s fists turned to wet smacks, turned to disturbing crunches.

“MIGHTY!” Sadie called, her voice cracked and scared. Mighty didn’t seem to hear. “MIGHTY! STOP!” Sadie risked moving closer, and Mighty’s fists slowed. Sadie had no idea why she was doing this, Mighty could easily turn around, backhand her once and send Sadie to the ER. But something about the fight had just been so…wrong. So weirdly twisted.

It had started so…fast…

“MIGHTY PLEASE STOP! YOU WON!” Sadie put her hands around Mighty, pulling him off the bleeding man. Mighty struggled a little, his hands and feet kicking about. “You won!” Sadie said again, putting the armadillo down and spinning him around. She looked into his eyes and watched the fire die and be replaced by a hollowness. Not fear or anger, a dark acceptance.

Sadie looked up to see people beginning to move about, getting up from various hiding spots to look at the carnage. They had to go.

Grabbing Mighty’s wrist, Sadie pulled him along, through the front door of the bar and to her car. And old beat-up blue jeep. Mighty followed along, running loosely, his body practically a ragdoll in her arm. She pushed him into the passenger side and shut the door. Then Sadie ran around and jumped in the driver's seat. She peeled out of the Piston Pit parking lot and drove off into the night.

It was a while before anyone said anything. Sadie wasn’t even really sure where she had been driving…just going. Mighty managed to speak first.

“I…should probably go.”

“THE FUCK WAS THA-HAT?!” Sadie yelled to the dash. Mighty winced. “Don’t like fighting huh? You’re awful good at it!” Mighty stared off into the night.

“I told you that I’m good at it…doesn’t mean I enjoy it.” Mighty whispered.

“Then why the fuck did you keep beating on that guy?” Sadie spat and then reeled back in a little, watching the glow return to Mighty’s eyes.

“He disrespected me. And those other guys disrespected you! I don’t let that slide EVER!” Mighty turned to Sadie and through the dim lighting of the car, Sadie noticed the blood splattering the gladiator’s body. Sadie was afraid, very afraid. But she injected steel into her words.

“Doesn’t mean you should beat them to an inch of their lives.” Mighty’s eyes softened at that, but he didn’t say anything. “Like seriously what happened? We were laughing outside and then you just go all sicko-mode on them?” Mighty looked away, he had the gall to look sheepish.

“I have a bit of a temper. I lose it when people disrespect me…or people I call my friends.” Mighty twiddled his thumbs…his bloody, bloody thumbs. Sadie was tempted to say that they were by no means friends, especially after what Mighty just did, but she didn’t want to set him off again. “I was hoping to avoid some of…that…by coming here. Getting away from conflict.”

“Well newsflash pal, no matter where you go in the world, people are going to hate you for one reason or another. And then they’ll make sure to tell you as such.” Sadie threw up a hand as if to state the obvious and Mighty put an elbow on the edge of the jeep door, placing his fist into his face.

“Yeah, I’m starting to get that. Look…just let me out and I’ll go and disappear, you’ll never see me again.” Mighty reached for the door handle.

Sadie locked it.

Mighty spun around to face her, his face confused.

“Okay. One, this is a moving car, don’t fucking tuck and roll on me out the door. And two, you’re not going anywhere. Just because people suck doesn’t mean you have to buy into what they say. You give them the power in that scenario.” Mighty considered this, then raised an eyebrow.

“Doesn’t mean you should also just roll over and take it.” Sadie jostled her head around at that.

“Yeah okay, fine. So we’re both not great at dealing with assholes…Maybe we should deal with them…together.” Sadie offered a compromise, not really sure what she was saying.

“So what? You help me not beat people’s faces in, I help you not be a push-over?” Mighty crossed his arms, but a smirk snuck its way onto his face.

“I was simply thinking along the lines of making sure a misunderstood alien doesn’t kill anybody, but sure.” Sadie nodded.

“Well, that sounds like a plan to me!” Mighty leaned back into his seat, letting his head rest in front of his hands.

“Don’t put your gloves on my seats! You’re getting blood on the headrests!”

Chapter Text

Marine the Raccoon was finally starting to settle into her new home. It was a nice boat, but very small. At least compared to the vessels she’d captained before. Nevertheless, it was a pretty little thing. About 30 feet long, with a large mainsail and jib and even a backup motor in the rear. A few nights ago while trying to flee the storm on Earth she’d come across this particular vessel. It was situated at the end of a small dock, the large body of water before it inviting.

Marine had also found it abandoned, no one was in it or guarding it, so Marine took it over. It was a little surprising considering the watercraft was in excellent shape. Marine had spent the night on the vessel listening to the thundering of the storm above. The boat had rocked, rain, and wind creating waves that had lulled Marine to sleep. Despite the vicious storm outside, Marine had fallen into a restful slumber.

Marine had then woken to find that the boat and she had survived the storm perfectly fine. Earth’s sun rose and glittered off the lake and the boat shone like diamonds, sunlight bouncing off the dew that clung to the fiberglass deck. Marine had just sat there on the bow for a while watching the sunrise, unsure of what to do with herself.

She’d never been fully in charge of her actions, or a vessel either. Always the first mate, never the captain.

But now that she was…she wasn’t sure what to do. She’d ended up sitting on the deck till the sun rose till mid-morning waiting for orders that never came. Eventually, her stomach and the call of nature came to a fever pitch, causing Marine to make a quick trip to the woods just past the dock and then back into the ship in search of rations.

Water was the easy part. It came in various containers all throughout the ship. It was odd to see them packaged as such, but it did provide plenty of hydration, Marine counting 12 bottles in all. 11 after she had her fill. Food was a little trickier. There did end up being food on board as well. Nothing perishable but instead a supply of various brightly colored rations protected in boxes and bags. It proved to be…hazardous.

After finding something called “Oreos” Marine had opened the shiny blue container to find dozens of small black and white sweet-smelling cylinders. They were delicious so Marine ATE THE WHOLE THING. 15 minutes later as Marine laid on the deck of the ship once more hoping that it would soothe the sickness that had made its way into her stomach. Marine wanted to believe that she had been poisoned, but she knew her lack of impulse control was solely responsible for her current situation.

A few hours and a quick trip back into the forest later Marine was ready to do a more thorough check of the boat. She noted all of the lines, and the contents of the cabin, and took a more official stock of food supplies rather than just eating it. Marine found there was a backup mainsail, a good selection of extra lines, and even a small head. There was also the captain’s quarters…

The boat was small enough that the captain’s quarters was the only quarters, but Marine still felt like an intruder. She hadn’t even slept in there the previous night during the storm, instead choosing to sleep in the main area.

And once the inventory check was done, it was onto the cleaning step. In her examination of the ship’s supplies, Marine had located a mop, some soap, paper towels, a bucket, and some cleaning supplies. Now Marine had long since moved past the Cabin Girl stage of her sailing career, but she remembered those days and used them to scrub the ship like the dickens.

The decks, the hull, the cabin, the captain’s quarters, every surface inside and out was scrubbed till it shone. By the time Marine was finished making the ship into a diamond, the sun was starting to dip behind the horizon. As Marine cleaned up her cleaning up supplies she frowned as the sun burned the waves in the distance. It was a shame that the day was already over, but everyone knew it was dangerous to sail at night.

Truly it was. And it wasn’t like Marine had stalled all day so that she wouldn’t sail. No sir-ree. She wasn’t terrified to be in command, not her! So with the boat looking beautiful and the day gone, Marine went back below deck.

She looked at the boat’s interior for a moment taking in her new home.

But was it hers?

Not only in the fact that it was suspicious that a completely intact and fully stocked boat was just sitting here for the taking. But Marine was having a hard time calling it home. She’d never really been left in charge of things before, always a captain above her. Telling her what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. Sure she never liked what she was told to do, especially when it included firing on seemingly innocent civilians, but what was she gonna do? Besides, Marine was always more afraid of what she might do when she was in charge.

And now that had come to pass. And if Marine was being honest, she wasn’t handling it…terribly? Just more confused than anything. So Marine strutted about her ship. It was hers! She was in command and would become an amazing captain!

Which is exactly why after eating an entire bag of “Doritos,” Marine slept outside under the cold stars, rather than in the warm bed of the captain’s quarters.

…

Day two began with another run into the woods to relieve herself. Marine was starting to think that this food was poison, considering how fast it was running through her. But then why would someone spend time making poison delicious?

She’d been about to run back to the boat when she got a glimpse of a human. Between the forest and the dock, there was a small strip of road. It extended far in both directions but seemed little traveled. Marine had gotten a glance at it all of yesterday to find that only about 5 cars passed by the entire time. It seemed a little strange since Marine was aware this planet’s sentient species were humans and there were barely any. But Marine chalked that up to her just being in a rather uninhabited section of the Earth.

The stranger thing was that no one else seemed interested in the boat! It was a perfectly good, unguarded seafaring vessel! Marine had watched the car pass by and blinked as the driver didn’t so much as turn their head to look at the boat.

To Marine, and other sea-savvy Mobians, a perfectly intact boat like that was priceless! Why would these humans live near this lake if they weren’t intent on taking a boat on it?! Marine shook the thoughts away, it was futile to try and understand another species. Oh well, their loss.

Either way, it was time to stop stalling. Marine quickly crossed over the road and hopped back on the boat.

It was time to sail, she was the captain now, and she was damn well gonna sail! Marine attached the mainsail to the main halyard and hoisted the sail, grunting under the difficulty. Then she let it luff as she went to hoist the jib. Once that was done, Marine carefully undid the lines connecting the boat from the dock, hauled in the sheets, and off she went!

Now if only she knew how to sail.

Okay, so Marine knew how to sail. She wasn’t just going out into open water with no idea what she was doing. Learning how to sail under wind power had been part of her early training should her and her crew find themselves aboard an older sailing vessel. Unfortunately, she’d never ended up using any of those skills. Throughout her maritime career, Marine had consistently found herself aboard massive, steel-hulled warships. Boats designed to find and destroy other boats just like them. Not exactly great hands-on training for getting the hang of sailing perfectly close-hauled to the wind.

She’d been able to get out of dock, okay a light wind coming down from the mountains giving just enough push to get her into clearer waters. But from there, Marine had started to struggle. Getting the boat into proper alignment with the wind was tough, pulling on the sheets to trim the sails was tough, hell getting around the boat was tough. The craft was clearly made for humans, not for small and short Mobians like Marine. There had been numerous times where Marine had had to let go of the tiller in order to free the jib sheets, which only made the problem worse when she was trying to tack. The whole thing was a bit of a mess.

But that didn’t mean it wasn’t exhilarating. For once Marine was the captain of the vessel and it was under her control, mostly. Now she was only subservient to the wind, which as it was seemed to change a lot. Just as Marine would get the boat going, the wind would die, or flip on her and she’d have to scramble to let out the sheets, or pull them in, or flip the boat around to get the wind back in the sails. But at least it was her boat and her struggles. And for one beautiful moment, she’d gotten the boat in a perfect close-haul to the wind, just shy of into the wind, allowing the sails to fully catch a bounty of air. The sails were full and Marine felt the power in the tiller, the wind whipped through Marine’s fur, and fresh air and water filled her nose. The boat began to heel ever so slightly, the boat tipping just so in the waves. Marine had had to adjust her stance to remain balanced, but it was amazing.

For once, Marine truly was free.

And then the wind immediately died on her.

“OH C’MON!” She’d yelled to the heavens.

After a long drawn-out struggle to get the boat back to shore which nearly involved crashing back into the dock, Marine began to take down the boat. She lowered and put away the sails, tied up all the lines, and double-checked to make sure the boat was tied up to the dock.

Marine was in pain, and hungry. The task of working on a boat all day activating muscles rarely used. She was sore and her belly rumbled. This time Marine invested in a set of small snack crackers, crunchy and cheesy goodness that soothed the hunger in her gut. But after pulling on lines all day Marine barely made it through half of them before her eyelids betrayed her and Marine drifted off to sleep.

Resting comfortably in the captain’s quarters.

…

The sound of feet stomping above is what had awoken Marine. She’d scrambled awake and moved to hide. Marine cursed herself for getting so comfortable. She’d let herself relax on the boat, the feeling of the rocking of waves calming. But now she was ill-prepared to face a threat.

Marine backed herself up against the door jam of the captain’s quarters and strained her ears to listen for the sound of the intruder. They were human that much was clear, the sounds of heavier footfalls and curious mumbles and grunts making it obvious. Noting the sounds of the steps coming down into the cabin, Marine made a careful glance around the edge of the door to note the intruder.

It was a human woman, on the shorter side of humans Marine suspected, but still towered over the raccoon. Her large form took up a good space in the main area of the cabin and the dark skin of her face creased as she took in the mess of inside of the cabin.

“Who left all these wrappers out?” The heavy-set woman bent over and picked up the remains of some of Marine’s previous meals. Snack wrappers and empty Splash Hills Water bottles littering the floor. Marine resisted the urge to smack her forehead. Not only did she leave evidence of taking food, but she had left a mess, that was not proper boat care or captain-like behavior.

The woman looked up and Marine ducked back around the edge of the door, uncertain of what to do. Should she try and fight for her home? How would she do that? Marine was a tactician, not a hand-to-hand fighter!

“Hello? Is there someone here…?” The woman’s voice began to get nervous and Marine knew she had to do something. This was to be her home, she knew it deep inside. But first, she had to get this person out. Which meant taking the fight to this human. Marine jumped out and made herself as big as possible, her face twisted in a form of rage.

“Behold human! I am a powerful warrior from the stars! Your boat is mine for the taking!” Marine was pretty sure her statement would’ve been more worrisome if her voice hadn’t cracked halfway through. The human, which at first had jumped at her reveal now just looked at her, eyebrows drawing together.

“You’re adorable.” The human said flatly. Marine sputtered and looked at herself. She was a proud and strong naval officer…it wasn’t her fault that she was small and fluffy. Marine stamped her feet and glared at the human.

“I am not adorable! I am an excellent tactician and well-traveled sailor!” Marine huffed. The human rolled her eyes and cocked a hip.

“Those are not mutually exclusive terms.”

“Well! Well- I- The naval officer thing takes priority!” Marine tried to stand up taller, pushing her chest out. She gained a whole inch of height. The human woman’s eyes scanned Marine up and down, taking her in. Marine felt the gaze like target sights, powerful lasers attached to a dangerous vessel.

“I don’t think so, hun.”

“50/50?” Marine shrunk a little under the woman’s gaze.

“Try again.”

“40/60?”

“How ‘bout I give you 30/70 and we chart a course for a new topic of conversation sailor? Like for instance, what the heck are you doing on my boat?” The woman gestured to Marine and then the mess of the boat’s cabin.

“Your boat?!” Marine said in a mixture of both denial and surprise. “Oh no no no lady, this is my boat now! You leave it unattended and it becomes finders keepers!”

“Look I don’t know what corner of Mobius you crawled out of, but finders keepers isn’t really a thing here.” The large woman wiggled her fingers at Marine. Marine stepped back a little and blinked in shock.

“How-how do you know about Mobius?” Marine was pretty sure humanity had little to no idea about the surrounding galaxy of life that waited just outside of their solar neighborhood.

“Mmmm the sheriff gave a heads up, beats me how he knew you little buggers were coming though. So you showing up isn’t really that surprising, now you showing up on my boat, however- did you eat an entire package of Oreos?!”

“Maybe.” Marine looked at the empty blue container, a few dark crumbs fell to the floor having escaped Marine’s ravenous destruction previously. “I’m guessing those are a special food item and not to be eaten at high volumes?” The woman snorted and glanced at the package.

“Something like that. Probably good that you ate ‘em and not me…” The woman took in her large form.

“Okay well thanks for stopping in, but I’m politely asking you to leave my home now.” Marine approached the woman and began to shoo her away.

“Don’t shoo me! You take my boat and eat my food and now you’re trying to force me away?” Marine looked up at the taller being, a look of frustration crossing the woman’s face. “Okay hun, it’s time for you to go.”

“No, wait!-” And then Marine was picked up and placed under the arm of the woman. Marine began to kick and beat at the woman, but it seemed futile. “Hey put me down! This is not how you’re supposed to treat guests!”

“I thought this was your house?” There was an agitating level of snark in the woman’s voice as she carried Marine like a sack of potatoes out of the cabin and up on deck. Marine stopped beating her fists for a moment.

“It is! I just-mean guest on this planet! Yeah!” Marine told the woman, her voice becoming high and reedy.

“Alright then.” The woman stepped off the boat and placed Marine down on the dock. “Well hope you’ve enjoyed your stay on Earth, and since you’re leaving, I’ll just take this boat off your hands. I’m sure interplanetary customs is a pain.” The woman turned around and got back on her boat leaving Marine alone on the docks, her home, and choice taken from her once more. Darkness crept in around Marine, unknowable and omnipresent.

Marine shook her head and jumped from the dock back onto the deck of the boat, a ways away from the woman.

“NO!” She demanded. “This is my home now and I am the captain and I will not let you take it from me!” Marine shouted, her voice raw and real. The woman showed little pity, but a hint of respect glimmered there. But her eyes mostly held annoyance and frustration for Marine.

“You seriously gonna make me chase you around the boat?” The woman said lowly.

“Or you could just surrender your claim to my vessel!” Marine growled back. The two locked eyes for a moment, a standoff brewing as they took each other in. One a small raccoon alien with little understanding of the danger of Oreos, and the other a large human with too much of an understanding of Oreos.

And then the tension broke.

“C’mon here you little monster!” The woman ambled after Marine.

“NO!” Marine took off, sprinting away from the woman.

The two ran around the boat bobbing and weaving, each keeping the other in sight, trying to gauge the other’s next move. The woman was big and had long arms. But Marine was very small and very fast. By the time the woman could zig, Marine had already zig zagged ziggaly-doo’d and moved far away. This went on for a while, inside the boat, outside the boat, to the bow, and then the stern and back. A ridiculous back and forth that Marine wouldn’t lose as she ducked and weaved another grab.

“So what’s the play here?” Marine taunted. “You can’t catch me, so you’ll just have to give up.”

The woman stopped chasing to rest her hands on her knees, breathing heavily, gasping for air. She held up one finger to Marine. Eventually, having caught her breath she stood up.

“Fine, I can’t catch you. But this is still my boat and I will use it when I want to use it, like now for instance!” The woman sauntered over to the edge of the boat and began to untie the boat from the dock…before getting the sails ready.

“Hey this is totally my boat now, but just curious, do you actually know how to sail a boat?” Marine smiled sheepishly as the woman removed the sails from their storage and began, unsuccessfully to try and attach it to the halyard.

“Nope!” She replied with a grin. “Better get off before you get hurt hun!” Marine stood frozen in place, unsure of what to do. Unable to stop the woman, but Marine didn’t dare leave her new home.

“Umm, I think you’re more in danger of getting hurt if you don’t know what you’re doing…” Marine warned lowly as she noted the boat had begun to float away from the dock, completely at the mercy of the waves.

“I’ll be fine.” The woman brushed Marine’s words off as she managed to get the head of the sail into the halyard and haphazardly began to hoist it. The sail quickly began to move up, the woman able to yank it quickly. Marine watched the waters now, flipping around to watch the stern of the boat as it drifted, searching for anything the boat might hit.

“You really should be more careful! Sailing can be dangerous!” Marine was starting to get nervous, she was trapped on a boat with a madwoman! The woman didn’t answer. Marine’s head swam with jagged and incomplete ideas. Ways to get this woman to let Marine take control of the ship and get them back to shore.

This wasn’t what was supposed to happen! Marine was supposed to be the captain, and the first person she ever encountered on Earth immediately took that from her. She couldn’t catch a break and now she feared the boat would sink.

At least she could swim.

And be homeless on dry land.

“Hey did you hear me?” Marine said louder as she looked through the waters.

And then she heard the woman’s steps.

Her loud steps…right behind Marine.

“Gotcha!” The woman exclaimed as she grabbed Marine and lifted her. The raccoon gasped as the floor fell away from her as the woman held Marine in her arms. The woman spun her around. “You thought you could run forever huh? Well, that’s the thing about boats, you’re trapped on them!” The line was cheesy and not very witty, but it still frustrated Marine. She was a tactician she was supposed to be smart! And she got tricked by this random human. Not a great spot in Marine’s career.

“H-hey! Let me down!” Marine struggled in the woman’s strong arms, her legs kicking. This was twice now Marine had been snagged by this same person, the consistent pattern of Marine being out muscled had to stop!

“Okay kid, you’ve had your fun. Now it’s actually time to calm down and have my boat back, didn’t anyone ever tell you stealing’s wrong?” The woman’s voice was filled with sarcasm, but it wasn’t at Marine’s expense. It was different, the line throw away, nonchalant, and almost bored.

“What are you talking about?! You have to steal everything to just survive!” Marine spat as she struggled. It took her a moment but she realized the woman’s grip had slipped a little and she worked to make eye contact with Marine, there was confusion and worry there. A level of uncertainty.

“What did you just say?” The words were concerned, confused.

“Y-you heard m-me.” Marine stammered, worried she’d just crossed a line. The woman had been messing with her all this time, but if she wanted to she could really hurt Marine.

“Hun…I’m sorry, I should’ve looked more into what you are going through…Oh god, the food, the place to sleep…” Marine was suddenly very confused. What was happening? Was she no longer taking her boat back, had Marine talked her into it? She should really remember what she said for the future. “I thought you were just going for a joy ride. I didn’t realize you had nowhere else…ugh!” The woman winced but Marine hadn’t hurt her. “You were looking for shelter and food!”

“Uhhh, duh! Isn’t that what everyone’s looking for?! It’s kinda a hard thing to do!” Marine rolled her eyes, this woman didn’t seem to understand how life worked.

“Not…not in the way I think you’re used to kid. Look, I-I’m sorry, this is still my boat, but uh, I mean I guess-”

Marine’s ears perked up, and her nose twitched. There it was…she’d spent all of yesterday dealing with these waters and already had a knack for predicting them. Marine looked up at the sail, now fully raised, luffing in the wind, the wind blowing through it.

The wrong way.

“Duck.” Marine said low, her eyes wide.

“Uhhh goose?” The woman said clearly still not understanding.

“NO DUCK NOW!” Marine yelled, and the woman’s eyes flashed with understanding, or at least acknowledgment and the two dropped, the woman landing hard on the deck, Marine on top of her.

The boom of the boat, now under the command of the sail whipped about, bringing about a skull-crushing injury to the ghost of the woman and Marine who had been standing there moments before. The boat began to list to the side, heading downwind.

“Ughh, my back…” The woman complained as she sat up rubbing her back. Marine ignored her and hopped to her feet. She leaped over to the main sheet and began to yank on it, trying to get it back into the proper rigging. But the wind had come on strong and Marine was having a lot of trouble pulling in the sail.

“C’mooooon.” Marine closed her eyes and groaned. She was losing grip as the sail continued to move outward, now the wind just spilling from the sail as the boat began to lose all control. And then the mainsheet moved in, and then more and then more. Marine found herself being able to pull the line in suddenly very easily.

She opened her eyes to find the woman pulling on the rope for her, trimming the sail.

“I’m guessing you wanted this in?” She said, clearly still very confused about the mechanics of sailing.

“Yes!” A big smile bloomed on Marine’s face as she let go of the line and scrambled to the stern and took control of the tiller. “Heading up!” Marine called out and pushed on the tiller, pointing it towards the sail.

“What’s happening?!” The woman exclaimed as she ducked, expecting the boom to come around again. As if Marine was just gonna jibe and then head up with a rookie on board.

“Trim the mainsheet first mate!” Marine called from the tiller. The woman blinked at her. “Pull on the rope a little bit.” Marine said flatly. The woman complied and soon they were sailing close-hauled to the wind, moving at a steady pace through the lake.

“Umm, just Brianna will do…and by the way what are we doing?” First Mate Brianna asked.

“We’re sailing!” Marine exclaimed happily. “Isn’t it exciting?!”

“I’m tugging on a rough rope while being yelled at by a talking raccoon after almost being taken out by a big pole-”

“Is that not exciting?!” Marine shouted once more as she adjusted the tiller. First Mate Brianna laughed.

“I guess so hun. Got me there…”

…

After a little while, First Mate Brianna insisted they return to shore, and Marine was willing to comply, didn’t want to make her crew too nervous. Marine’s first mate wasn’t ready for high seas conquest. First Mate Brianna stepped off the boat and onto the dock.

“Okay here’s the deal hun, you can stay here for as long as you like-”

“Of course, I can, it’s my boat!” Marine huffed.

“It’s my boat.” First Mate Brianna’s eyes narrowed and Marine gulped. “But you can keep captaining it and living on it if you’d like.” A smile returned to Marine’s face, her home was truly hers! “But! You gotta take good care of it, and try to eat something other than junk, you can’t live off it. You sure you wouldn’t want to come home with me for a meal or something?” Marine waved her off.

“No way! I stick to the vast oceans and make those my homes!”

“Well this is a lake, but I see your point.”

“And…I see yours.” Marine said softly. “I promise I’ll take good care of it, and…try to find something else to eat every now and then.” A grin built on both faces. “Hey, maybe you’ll come sailing with me again!” Marine said as First Mate Brianna began to walk off.

“Ohhh nooo, I am not a boat person, I prefer to stay on dry land.” First Mate Brianna waved a hand.

“Then why do you own a boat?” Marine asked, bewildered. First Mate Brianna turned back for a moment.

“Ehh, it was inheritance it was passed down to me, I was just gonna sell it.” First Mate Brianna shrugged.

“You mean someone just gave it to you?!” Marine gasped at the luck on this lady.

“I guess so…and now I’m passing it onto you, see you around Captain Marine!” First Mate Brianna got into her car and drove away.

Captain Marine…that sounded pretty good.

Chapter Text

Carl had always been more on the soft-spoken side, he said what he believed needed to be said and that was about it. But he knew that he certainly wasn’t a quiet man, loudly shouting about the blue devil or engaging in placing loud traps or even readying his chainsaw to take down a robotics expert with a serious mustache. So he knew loud.

Or at least he thought he knew loud.

And then he met Tangle. The young lemur girl had dropped into his life rather literally, after coming down from a tree and surprising him by avoiding his traps. She’d been a bit brash, but clearly had a heart of gold and just wanted to live her life to the fullest.

Which often excluded doing the chores that Carl had designated for her.

Sweep the porch, wash the pots, make her bed, all concepts left by the wayside so that she could go running off into the forest swinging from the trees and lounging in the spring sunshine.

Carl was slowly getting the full picture of what Tangle had gone through back on Mobius, but obviously, she kept a lot of it to herself. Most of what Carl got was along the lines of being forced into a roll, which came with its own set of tedious and agitating tasks. So Carl got not wanting to do what ‘the man’ told her to do.

But come on! He was giving her free food and housing, the least she could do was learn to be quiet past 10:00.

Tangle would always wander in late, clanking and clambering about the kitchen, rooting through Carl’s fridge and making a ruckus. Carl had no idea what she could be doing that involved running, jumping, laughing, and stomping at 10:30 at night in the living room. Carl chalked it up to some kind of late-at-night teen energy. He didn’t really want to force her to stop, she was still his guest and he had a certain level of hospitality to show.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t get his revenge.

Carl was getting up there in the years, he turned 70 a couple of months ago and along with the aches, pains, and various bathroom trips, there was the fact that he always ended up waking a little before the sun. 5:00 to be precise.

Which was usually juuuuust a little after Tangle finally conked out.

Carl got up and traipsed through the kitchen, which was right next to the living room where Tangle had curled up on the couch. Carl loudly began to make his coffee, making sure to rattle the pot around and bang the ceramic cups on the countertops he was worried he’d break them for a moment.

Carl looked to the couch and watched from under a blanket as the lemur’s ear twitched.

He hummed to himself, an annoying repetitive tune. It made for good background noise as he pulled out the chair to the dining table, the legs scraping against the floor. It would leave scratches but the face Tangle made as she rose from the couch made it all worth it.

It was somewhere between pure malevolence and the face of the walking dead. A groggy hatred that couldn’t quite pin Carl down as the head the look was set into waved about dazily.

“Morning sleeping beauty.” Carl raised a hand to her as the coffee machine turned on.

“Ggggghhh.” She responded and flopped backward, pulling her blanket back over her head.

Carl went back to getting ready for the day.

Loudly.

A stomp there, a whistling tune here all part of the orchestra of a kitchen warming up for the day. Carl looked over at the couch to see a curled-up lump, Tangle no doubt holding her ears to try and block out the kitchen noises. Carl let himself have one laugh before finally transferring from the stick to the carrot.

Ultimately he found that Tangle, as well as the other Mobians he’d encountered in recent days, had more or less one thing in common. They were still kids, often teens. And just like human kids, they were motivated by food.

And the smell of fluffy scallion and red pepper omelets with freshly buttered toast was too much for Tired Tangle to stay asleep. A slight smile crossed Carl’s face as a fluffy and messed-fur lemur girl trudged from the couch to the dining room and sat in the chair that would be opposite Carl’s. She looked up at him through bleary eyes and raised her hands, making grabbing motions at the air.

Carl placed the food in front of her and the immediately went for it with her hands, Carl yanked the plate back.

“Fork, knife.” He stated and handed her the appropriate silverware. Tangle made a few more grumbles but took up the utensils and began to slowly dig into her food. The tired teen’s motions were almost humorous as she stabbed aimlessly at the yellow half-circle, trying to bring it up to her mouth and missing, only accomplishing getting egg in her muzzle fur. Carl rolled his eyes at her theatrics and got up from the table.

“So this is how it’s gonna be huh Tangle?” Carl asked as he got another mug down, but instead of pouring her coffee as one might expect, he returned to the fridge.

“You woke me up…I’m sleepy.” She mumbled, a weak grin creasing her features.

After a moment Carl took the mug from the microwave and finished prepping it before returning the chocolatey goodness to the sleepy lemur.

“Mmmm…cocoa.” She sighed and wrapped her hands around the warm mug. “Sooo much better than that bitter stuff you-” Tangle stopped having looked at the contents of the mug and then looked up at Carl, her big eyes full of deep and consuming sadness. “No whipped cream?”

“You know I pamper you right Tangle?” Carl raised an eyebrow as he sat down at the table and began to eat his own omelet.

“Then why no whipped cream?” The big sad eyes continued.

“Well whipped cream is for people that don’t keep me up all night.” Carl shot her a brief glare and watched as the tiredness dissolved and was replaced by a flash of fear and shame. And…something else.

“I…was doing stuff…” Tangle averted her gaze and sipped her cocoa.

“Well, why was stuff so loud?” Carl huffed, his voice raising the slightest of octaves. Tangle didn’t answer, looking down at her food and eating it silently.

“I-I’m sorry.” She said weakly, her voice quiet between small bites. Carl sighed and felt bad.

One of the other things he’d learned about Mobians, both from his time with Tangle and the Wachowski brothers is that they’d associated mistakes with disaster. It was something lots of kids developed either by proxy when ‘disaster’ constituted toys being taken, or in the case of Mobian children: actual dangerous, life-threatening disasters.

All of which meant that when Carl was mildly unhappy that Tangle had been loud, she thought he was going to kick her out…or at least Carl hoped that was the darkest place her thoughts went.

“It’s fine Tangle, just think you’d do better with a little more sleep, after all, lemurs aren’t noc-” Carl’s eyebrows knitted together. “Are lemurs nocturnal?”

“Yup! Totally nocturnal…I’m a nocturnal kinda gal! I love being nocturnal!” Tangle grinned a huge fake grin at Carl as she finished up her breakfast. Carl blinked at her, eyes half-lidded.

“Tangle, it’s okay if you don’t know what a word means.” Tangle’s smile faltered, and she nodded slowly, clearly not believing him.

“W-well thanks for breakfast Carl, b-but I’m gonna go back to sleep now! Gotta rest from being all nocturnal and stuff!” Tangle hopped off her seat, posing big, her smile fake and forced, as she walked away her gait was big and happy, but her drooping tail gave her away.

Carl had found that the appendage practically had a mind of its own, reaching for things Tangle wanted even if she didn’t mean to grab them, or wandering off when Tangle was in the midst of another project. At one point it had even woke Carl up in the night and pulled him over to Tangle in the living room to find she had fallen asleep on the coffee table rather than the couch. After Carl had placed the lemur back on the couch and put a blanket over her, the tail had promptly saluted him and then collapsed, acting like it was just a normal tail once more.

“Hold up!” Carl commanded the escaping lemur, she looked somewhat nervous as she turned back around, fearful for a scolding or…something of the sort. But her tail once more gave her away, perking up, eager to be under Carl’s attention. It was kind of nice to have a clear indicator of how someone was feeling, and Tangle was already someone who wore her heart on her sleeve.

Carl moved to the living room ahead of Tangle and took the big red and blue book down from the shelf and handed it to Tangle. She sighed and started to flip through it. Carl moved back to the kitchen table and began to clean up Tangle’s plate that he knew she wouldn’t clean up.

“How do you spell it?” Tangle groaned.

“Sound it out.” Carl responded as he brought the plates to the kitchen and started to clean up breakfast. Carl heard the sound of Tangle flopping to the floor and the ruffling of pages as she looked through the book.

“No-noc-nook-nocteernal.” She mumbled. “N-O-K-”

“C.” Carl course corrected.

“N-O-C-T…Nocturnal? N-O-C-T-U-R-N-A-L?”

“That’s the one.” Carl confirmed. Carl heard the sound of Tangle clearing her throat dramatically and she spoke in a dramatic accent.

“Nocturnal. Adjective. One: of: relating to, or occurring in the night. Two: active at night.”

Carl cleaned as he heard the pause of Tangle digesting the information. It was kind of weird the more he thought about Mobians and language. As far as he could understand it, Mobians, despite being an entirely different culture spoke English and even used English words. Carl found that Tangle could read and write English, although she called it Planet-Tongue. It was more that she was incompletely educated and bigger or more complex words were unknown to her. It was a little bizarre that the same language had developed the same way across the universe, but it did mean that all Tangle needed to learn words was a dictionary.

“I would say I’m nocturnal! But then who isn’t nocturnal? You’re active at night too!” Carl heard Tangle clap the book closed and raise it back onto the high shelf with her tail.

“Mmm, it’s a little more complex than that. Uhm a nocturnal animal is a creature that sleeps in the day and is awake at night. Do you sleep in the day and wake up at night?” Carl finished up and dried off his hands, turning back to the lemur.

“I’d say so! After all you woke me up in the dead of night! Most people sleep at this hour!” Tangle huffed, putting her hands on her hips.

“It’s 5:30 in the morning.” Carl raised an eyebrow.

“Exactly!” Tangle threw up her hands. “Most people sleep at this time!”

“Most people aren’t me. I’ll let you get a few more minutes of shut-eye, but then we’ve got to get to work, things to do today, and only so much day to do it.” Tangle groaned and collapsed against the couch. She was asleep before her head hit the cushions.

…

Tangle groggily woke up against the bouncing of Carl’s car. It was a big vehicle, tricked out with lights and raised to avoid water and rocks hitting the undercarriage. The bouncing of the suspension slowly shook her out of her sleep.

“Wha…?” She mumbled out.

“It’s 7:30. I let you sleep a while longer, but we got things to do kid.” Carl said to the windshield.

“Oh-okay.” Tangle tried to shake off the last of her tiredness. “Suh, what are we doing today?”

“The usual, got some more hives to spray, I want to check that the trails are still clearly marked now that the snow’s fully thawed. We could use some groceries…” Carl trailed off. He was unsure of whether or not Tangle was fully listening to him and didn’t want to have to repeat himself.

Not to mention it delayed the question he really wanted to ask.

“I like checking the trails…it’s fun to run through them.” Tangle mumbled to herself a little more awake. She looked outside at the trees whizzing past, the thick forest surrounding the trees. “Hey…wait, this isn’t the way to the grocery store! Where are we going?!” Tangle moved to back away from Carl, her instilled fear making her cautious. But she was restrained by the seatbelt locking her in.

Carl gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, his own nervousness creeping in after seeing hers. One might think that after being around as long as he was, and faced dangers that he had, he wouldn’t be afraid around a little girl, but big questions created big fear. This wasn’t life-threatening, this was interpersonal. This was the interaction of people, the ability to communicate a message to another being using sounds. It didn’t matter how much experience you had, and Carl had a life’s worth. It could make anyone slightly nervous.

“We’re going to the lumber yard. I wanted to pick up some wood to build something.” Carl found there was the slightest hitch in his voice.

“What are we building?” Tangle’s fear had seemingly subsided, now she leaned towards Carl, her curiosity and excitement building.

“Well, you’ve been living on my couch for a little while now. And you’re pretty loud. You jump about and make noise and talk to yourself all throughout the night.”

“Oh…” Tangle seemed crestfallen and Carl, who had been through the Vietnam war, was now sweating nervously. Tangle’s sadness wearing on him. Why did it wear on him so? The thought was there, the reason buried under decades of cynicism and distrust.

“Well, I thought I might build you something to help with that…” Carl risked a glance at Tangle, and saw her eyes, wide and scared…and sad. Carl cleared his throat, trying to level his shaky voice. “But I wanted to know if we should build you a house…” Tangle looked away from Carl and her tail flopped to the seat, a puppet with cut strings. “...or a room?”

The tail reassured Carl first, popping up eagerly, an excited attention making it vibrate just so. And then Tangle followed, her head whipping around and she had a grin so wide Carl was worried she’d hurt herself. So very excited, and Carl breathed a sigh of relief at already knowing her request.

“You mean a room attached to yours?” She exclaimed, her voice reaching higher pitches as she stretched out the seatbelt trying to get closer to Carl.

“Attached to the cabin. If-if that’s what you would like?” The nervousness Carl was feeling returned as he offered up the possibility of a decline.

“Oh for sure! That’d be so much fun! I could decorate with plants or bright wallpapers and I could have a big pile of blankets to sleep on!” Tangle listed off a whole bunch more ideas of what she wanted her room to look like, but Carl was having a bit of a difficult time listening, trying to relax the beating of his heart. It was both calming and nerve-racking to know that she wanted to stay.

Tangle wanted to stay with him. The person he cared about wanted to stay. Was that it? The thought that had been lurking in the depths of his mind, that he cared for her? Well of course he cared for her, he was a nice enough guy and she was a sweet kid. But why was it that every time she wandered off, his thoughts wouldn’t leave concerns about her safety? Why was it that he was determined that she eat her vegetables and finish her chores? Why was he so pissed that she didn’t worry enough to make sure she got enough sleep?

She mattered to him. Her needs and desires had begun to matter more than his own.

By leaps and bounds.

Only one other person had been that way.

…

The rest of the day had gone pretty smoothly, they’d made it to the lumber yard, talked with one of the foremen there, and gotten some wood. Then there was the trip to the hardware store to pick up cement and screws and nails and a few power tools Carl didn’t already own.

The rest of the day's chores had been forgotten as Tangle and Carl worked in tandem to dig the room’s foundation and fill it with cement. They’d eaten simple sandwiches for lunch, they’d also forgotten to go to the grocery store. And Carl smiled to himself when Tangle sat close to Carl as she ate. The sun had begun to set as the two erected the last wall, Carl pushing it up as Tangle heaved with her tail from the outside. They’d high-fived and Tangle had danced around him as she marveled at her room slowly going up. He’d ruffled her head fur.

Why had he done that? She’d looked up at him happily.

Dinner was an equally similar affair, but it was filled with the sounds of Tangle eating happily and chatting animatedly about how cool her room was going to be and the animals that she’d seen as they’d worked and how grumpy the foreman had been. Carl had just sat there-taking in her childhood.

As the evening had wound down Carl had ended up tucking Tangle into bed on the couch, wrapping her in the blankets, hopeful that she’d actually go to bed on time this time. Carl had walked into his room and made a call.

“Whuzzuh?” The voice answered.

“Leo? H-hey how you been?”

“Dad? What are you calling me about?”

“J-just checking in wanted to say hi.” Carl’s voice was degrading, falling apart in his mouth.

“Dad it’s 11:30 here. I’m asleep.” The voice sounded agitated.

“O-oh! Right…sorry about that son…I just wanted to know how you’ve been…?” There was a long pause.

“I’m fine dad. I need to go back to sleep now, long day of work ahead.” Carl couldn’t miss the agitation leaking into his son’s voice.

“Yes…okay! Right! You do that, maybe we’ll catch up another time.” Carl tried to keep a sense of excitement in his voice.

“Sure. Goodnight dad, love you.” Leo said monotony.

“Goodnight, love-” The call was ended.

…

“OW!” Tangle couldn’t stop her voice as she tripped, banging her head on the hardwood floor. She’d yelled out, her voice coming to a rise in the night. Louder than anything around. She stood up from the floor, the pot rolling in front of her face, clanging as the handles interrupted the smooth roll of the cylinder. She hadn’t heard a crash, so she knew the plate hadn’t broken, that was good enough.

Tangle rubbed her head as she tried to make sense of the living room again, her eyes coming back into focus as she saw stars.

“Tangle!” She heard a voice yell. A lot of voices yelled her name, there had never been a good reason that someone had yelled her name. But this one at least seemed…concerned. For her…which was weird.

Carl.

He seemed concerned for her. Right? But wait. That, at this moment, was bad.

Tangle’s brain finally rebooted just in time to see Carl enter the room, his hunting rifle in hand, a wild, concerned look in his eyes.

“Why do you have a gun?” Tangle managed wearily, the last notes of her head trauma showing themselves. Carl looked down, seeming to notice the weapon for the first time and he sneered at it, seeming upset.

“Old habits.” He spat, then approached Tangle for a moment, and got down on one knee, hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay Tangle?” He was worried about her…why? He cared…why? The pieces didn’t seem to line up. And then his eyes widened and looked beyond Tangle. Tangle turned and remembered why him coming out here at 2:00 in the morning was a bad idea.

Right.

Whisper.

The wolf was currently hiding behind the arm of the couch. Only her ears and the very edges of her eyes showed. Her eyes were mostly closed, but still showed fear and worry strongly. They seemed directed at Carl. Tangle turned back to the man and saw confusion and a touch of worry.

Tangle had seen plenty of worry before. People were worried about how she’d hurt someone, about how she’d wreck stuff, about how’d she be too loud. But something about Carl’s worry never seemed intended that way. It was more pointed, direct. The worry that Tangle was used to floated around her, enveloping her in a coat of incompetence and shame. But Carl’s pierced through her, filling her veins and heart. It did not concern itself with Tangle’s actions, but with Tangle, it was very confusing.

“Who’s-” Carl started.

“This is Whisper!” Tangle said quickly. “She’s my friend! I…was wondering if she could stay over tonight?” What was Tangle doing?! She was asking too much! For sure he’d-

“Oh. Okay, umm nice to meet you…um, Whisper?” Carl raised a light hand to the wolf and she stepped away from the couch approaching slowly. Tangle turned back to Carl after looking to Whisper.

“She…doesn’t say much, I’ve been trying to get her to talk.” Tangle explained, divulging everything about the interactions that she’d had with Whisper. “I met her a few days ago…she seemed cold in the woods, I just wanted her to be somewhere warm at night.”

“Is that why you’ve been banging around so much at night?!” There was that worry again, stronger…but less hurtful.

“I just thought I could make her laugh…” Tangle picked up the pot and put it on her head like a hat, and spun the plate on its rim with her tail. Tangle looked over at Whisper and felt a warmth in her chest at seeing the wolf’s smile. Carl snatched the plate from her tail and shot Tangle the briefest look of frustration. The warmth dissipated.

“Okay then. Well, it’s good to meet you Whisper.” Carl said, holding out his hand to the wolf girl. She didn’t take it. “Are you doing okay? Got enough to eat?” Whisper made no attempt to respond. Carl looked to Tangle, “Does she speak at all?”

“Sometimes, but never more than a few words and always at the lowest whisper possible.” Carl nodded.

“Hense the name. I got it…well you girls have a fun…sleepover, I suppose. And Whisper if you want to tell me anything-”

Whisper, quick as a wink, snatched the rifle from Carl.

“This is a simple weapon. Tight rifling and strong steel make it reliable, but the length of the weapon and slow fire rate create effectiveness issues. Reload and bullet dimensions are both too long and big respectively, while not creating enough speed on the bullet. This is most likely used as a showpiece or better yet not at all, and will not be good at defending your home. Ultimately-it is useless.” Whisper finished examining the rifle and held it out for Carl to take back. She didn’t meet his eyes.

“You’re right. That information is useless-you should forget it.” Carl’s voice was steely and gruff as he took the weapon back from Whisper. Tangle stood straight up, her tail bushy as she was flabbergasted at Whisper's words. She’d never heard the girl say so much. Carl turned to Tangle.

“Are-are you sure you’ll be okay with…her for the night?” Once more there was the worry, the indescribable, confusing, bone-deep worry.

Tangle nodded.

“Okay. Well, you can stay for the night Whisper, but…well…I think we’ll need to talk about this in the morning.” Carl seemed reluctant to leave, but Tangle and Whisper watched as he trudged away from the two, turning into his bedroom. It wasn’t till they heard the close of his door that Tangle dared move.

“Uggggh!” Tangle dropped to the floor on her back, hands covering her face. “I’m such an idiot! Why do I keep doing this to myself?!” Tangle groaned a little more before she heard a slight whimper. She opened her eyes to see Whisper curled up on the floor, hugging her knees, eyes barely looking over them.

“Trouble.” She whispered. Tangle’s eyes widened and she felt a pang of guilt.

“No, no! You didn’t get me in trouble. I shouldn’t have brought you here.” There was a flash of pain in Whisper’s eyes. “No, wait! I do want you here! Really, I just…I- ugh!” Tangle copied Whisper’s pose, putting her face into her knees and curling her tail around herself until it wound up to her chin. “I don’t know why I just keep self-sabotaging. I…I did it all the time back home too. I-can’t seem to stay out of trouble, whether it's breaking stuff or failing to follow the rules…I just…” Tangle looked to Whisper’s face, which gave nothing away. “I really like it here. Carl’s super nice to me, it’s crazy how nice he is to someone who sucks as much as I do.

And I know he doesn’t actually like having me here, he’s so worried I’m gonna break something, or get hurt and then he’ll have to heal me. It’s only a matter of time before he kicks me out for being too much work. So why do I keep trying to speed it up?! Am I crazy or something?!” Tangle flopped backward, starfishing on the ground looking at the cabin’s ceiling. She stared at it for a while, trying to find all of the grooves in the log roofing.

“Innocent.” Tangle’s ears flicked at the word. She sat up and looked at Whisper, the wolf wasn’t staring at her, but looking past, towards Carl’s room. Tangle nodded slowly.

“Yeah…I guess so. He doesn’t realize how fucked up we are, huh? I was in a militia for this tiny little town called Spiral Hill, but it had good walls. Good foundation and really high up, tough to get into. But as I said, it was small. Not much water, even less food. Travelers could come in, but if they wanted to stay…someone had to leave.

We had this…fight pit I guess. If someone wanted to stay, they had to prove they were tough, that they could fight. And then someone from the town would go in too. If the town person won, they’d stay, and we’d throw the traveler outside the walls. And if the traveler won…you get the picture.

But how do you choose who from the town goes in the pit?!” Tangle said with a weak smirk. Whisper didn’t smile. “Well I’ll tell you my friend!” Tangle decided to drop the joking tone. “Whoever pulled the least weight in town went in. If you couldn’t make food, in the pit. If you wasted water, in the pit. If you couldn’t load your weapon fast, in the pit. And if you messed up a lot, like for instance wasting food or spilling water or accidentally getting rid of the bullets…” Tangle looked away from Whisper.

“In the pit.

I went in…45 times. But I guess I’m a good scrapper so I never lost…yay me. E-heh-eventually they just kicked me out for complete incompetence.” Tangle laughed, Whisper didn’t.

“How ‘bout that huh? I did as they wanted, and I still lost…” Tangle cursed herself as she began to feel the beginnings of tears find their way down her cheeks. A strangled sob worked its way out of her throat.

But just one. She was strong, she never lost a fight, and she wouldn’t cry more now. There was a shuffling sound and Tangle looked up to see Whisper had moved closer now. Very close.

They made no moves to touch Tangle, but sat there, right across from her, looking at each other. Tangle wiped at her eyes and tried for a laugh.

“S-so how ‘bout you? What did you do?”

“Kill.” Whisper responded quickly, quietly, and painfully. Tangle gulped.

“H-how many?” As soon as she saw Whisper’s face, Tangle knew she shouldn’t have asked. The way Whisper’s face twisted in agony Tangle knew that the answer was a lot. Too many. Far too many.

“S-sorry. Shouldn’t have asked, must’ve been hard.”

Whisper laughed.

No, it wasn’t a laugh, just a louder noise, a choke. Somewhere between a laugh and a cry.

And then there were tears coming down her face. But she spoke clearly.

“Not usually. Most of the time I’m shooting from so far away, It’s different. Disconnected. Like shooting nothing more than shooting a person. A living thing, with a life, that I’m responsible for cutting short.

And yet, most of the time I didn’t care.” More tears flowed from Whisper’s face.

“Most of the time?” Tangle couldn’t stop her stupid mouth.

“Executions.” Whisper growled to herself. “Public, close and so…so much worse. The way they look at you as I held the gun to their heads.

Most look at you with hatred or beggingly. But a few have this…acceptance. Like it’s okay that I’m doing this to them. Like, ‘I would do the same thing if I was in your place.’ That’s hard, that’s…so so terrible. Why is it like that? Why is our home like that?!” Tangle didn’t answer. So struck by Whisper’s words that had never been as loud or multitudinous. Whisper just cried silently now, her pain brought into the open. It would be better if Tangle just stayed quiet and-

“But it’s not our home.” Tangle’s mouth moved and Whisper looked up. “It’s just a place where we were born and lived for a while. And it sucked! But we’re not there now. We’re here. And maybe it’s not home yet, but it can be, maybe? I still don’t think Carl’s gonna let me stay much longer, but when I have to leave…do you want to come with me?” Tangle reached out her hand to the wolf, voice shaky and raw.

Whisper took it and nodded.

Chapter Text

“Are…are you sure this is what you want to do?” Sadie looked down at Mighty. The armadillo didn’t look back at her, his hands tensing and untensing as he looked up at the sign. The red glow of the piston pit’s illuminated sign bathing the two of them in blood. This was probably a really bad idea.

It had been a few days since Sadie had brought an alien into her home. Not a sentence she thought she’d have to consider in her life, but this was reality now, might as well get used to it. They’d spent those days tiptoeing around one another, you’d think the large two-story home Sadie grew up in was enough to avoid one another, but somehow interactions happened. Sadie still had no idea how to talk to Mighty, the concept of an anthropomorphic armadillo hard to wrap her head around.

He walked, talked, and was a little shorter than a 12-year-old, it was a little weird. But Mighty didn’t seem to think so, strolling about the place like he owned it. He ate Sadie’s food and left messes all over the place. He broke her coffee table but lied saying it just fell apart. Sadie was getting ready to kick the alien to the curb when he finally started to come in use.

It began with a call. Now Sadie hadn’t officially been fired from the Piston Pit, but when you bring someone in that beats up the manager and a whole host of guests, Sade was pretty sure she shouldn’t show up for her next shift. Besides trying to avoid Mighty, she’d been making calls and searches online for jobs with little to no luck. So when the call came in with a job offer Sadie was excited.

Too bad it was her old one.

“I’m sorry, you want to give me my job back?” Sadie had told the receiver.

“That’s right! We’d love to have you back on the Piston Pit team.” Tanner told her through the phone. The Piston Pit’s owner’s voice sickly sweet.

“Umm, why?” Sadie probably should’ve been more excited about having a source of income again, but her suspicion triumphed.

“We thought that you just ended your employment prematurely and that it’d be a good idea for you to come back.” Right. Cause it was Sadie’s fault she was in a toxic work environment.

“Uh, okay…”

“Hey would you be willing to bring your friend in, I’d love to meet him.” And there it was. They wanted something with Mighty. Sadie currently didn’t have the best relation with the armadillo, but that didn’t mean she wanted him hauled off to a science lab and ripped apart.

“You can’t have Mighty.” Sadie gritted her teeth.

“Oh we don’t want him…just thought he’d like to come in.” Sadie could hear Tanner’s back peddling.

“So what? A whole buncha goons can jump him? You won’t win.”

“No- no! Just a little get-together with friends!” Sadie sighed it was time to drop all pretense.

“Then what do you want with Mighty, Tanner? Cause I know that everyone from a few nights ago isn’t about to slap him on the back and buy him a beer.” Sadie hoped that Tanner would get the picture and leave her alone, but the guy didn’t seem to get the picture.

“Look, Sadie-” Tanner’s voice dropped the saccharine tone, “-the boys have been calling for that kid’s head, I won’t lie. They…wanted to know your address and I have it as the owner…” Sadie suddenly felt a shiver of true fear shoot through her whole body. Images of huge hulking brutes smashing her home and beating her to a pulp passed through her mind. “But I wouldn’t let them-I’m not a monster Sadie.” Sadie breathed a sigh of relief.

“But I have to do something, or they’ll go at me.” Tanner’s voice was steely. Sadie’s eyes narrowed at the phone.

“What did you promise them Tanner?”

“A competition. Arm wrestling. You know how it is here, it’s all about testosterone and manliness. Ultimately they don’t actually want to kill the kid, just want a shot at beating him at something. You bring the kid, everyone gets a shot at beating him at arm wrestling and everyone goes home with nothing more than a tweaked muscle. Okay?” Sadie set her jaw. It seemed simple enough, no big deal. But it was also far too easy.

“What’s in it for you? Besides not having your ass handed to you.” There was a pause and the sounds of talking that Sadie couldn’t quite make out.

“I got a little something on the side, a few bets made here and there betting on whose gonna win. Got a bit of a pot going…I uh could cut you in for a percentage?” Sadie rolled her eyes, the concept of betting on a fight stupid to her, but some extra cash never hurt.

“How much?” There was more whispering through the phone.

“We can cut you in for 10%.” 10% for what Sadie was bringing to the table. What a joke.

“C’mon Tanner, it’s gotta be 50/50. I’m not stupid.” Sadie growled.

“I can still give them your address Sadie…” Sadie could hear Tanner’s smirk.

“25%.”

“That’s more reasonable, you’ll get 20%.” And then he hung up. Sadie shoved her phone into her pocket and sighed. She couldn’t believe that she would be getting a fraction of what she was bringing to this fight.

What Mighty was bringing to this fight.

Oh wow, she was stupid. She promised an arm-wrestling competition with someone that might not even want to fight. Not to mention Mighty had said something about not liking fighting. This was going to be tricky.

“I’ll do it.” Mighty had said.

“Uhhh, what?”

“I said I’ll do it, I’ll participate in this arm-wrestling competition.”

“R-really? Just like that?” Sadie was shocked at how easily it went over. “You know you’ll be going against those bar guys again and it’ll be for money, right?” Mighty rubbed the back of his head.

“Yeah…I kinda got you in trouble with your job, so making you some money to make up for it seems like a good idea. Not to mention I kinda wanna apologize to those guys for beating them up.”

“Why? They totally deserved it.” Sadie noted.

“Yeah, but as I said…I’m really trying to move away from fighting, apologizing seems like a good idea.” Mighty shrugged. Sadie shook her head.

“Well, then you’re better than I.” She smiled. “But it does seem like a good thing to do. Alright, get ready, we gotta go soon.”

And that was how they ended up outside the bar, it emanate an aura of sleazy, booze, and bad decisions.

They decided to go inside.

The bar itself had recovered well from Mighty’s rampage, tables and chairs replaced after Mighty had broken them and broke glass swept away. Sadie was pretty sure the floor had actually been cleaned!

But the patrons had not recovered as well. Sadie and Mighty spotted a number of people in casts and bandages. Broken legs and cracked ribs were the styles of the day and black eyes and bruises were the accessories. Mighty and Sadie smiled sheepishly.

The patrons did not.

Sadie looked around for her manager and didn’t spot him, which was surprising…but not unwelcome, if he was gone then good riddance. And if he was taking a day off…well Sadie wouldn’t be here tomorrow.

“Hello, there competitors! It’s good to have you back!” Sadie spotted Tanner as he approached, arms wide and non-threatening. She didn’t buy it. His freshly-pressed suit, slicked blond hair and stiff, skinny body all made her nervous. His face was forced into a big smile, his long nose and small eyes not fitting right.

“Yeah…okay…um, look Mighty’s just here to apologize and get this over with. Do you think we could speed through this a little bit?” Sadie tried her own breed of non-threatening, passive, weak damsel act in need of a big strong man to save her.

“But of course! I know everyone here is excited for a little bit of competitive spirit, no?” Tanner gestured to the crowd and a lukewarm response came. People are either too out of it to care, or not interested in hyping up the Mobian that beat them to a pulp. “Come this way, uhhh, Mighty was it?” Tanner gave a brilliant watt smile.

Mighty just nodded.

They followed Tanner over to a table. It was a high chair, which made it better for arm wrestling-if you were a human that is. Mighty however couldn’t even see over it, the tips of his ears barely reaching the top of the table. The three considered the table and Tanner set his jaw, apparently, he hadn’t thought this far.

“I can stand on a chair.” MIghty huffed.

“Uhh, are you sure, I think you’ll be at a disadvantage…” Tanner had the decency to look cautious. Mighty waved him off.

“I really just want to be done with this. Let’s do this thing.”

A chair was brought over for Mighty to stand on and the first of the competitors was brought over, Sadie recognized him as Gut from the previous bar brawl. His nose was a lovely shade of royal purple from where Mighty had slammed into him at high speed.

“I don’t remember your nose looking like that.” Mighty gave a sheepish laugh.

“You broke it.” Gut growled.

“Eheh, yeah…look, about that.” Mighty was standing on the stool, looking down at his hands. He seemed nervous. “I just wanted to apologize for that, I lost my temper and…I’m sorry okay.” Mighty looked up at the man.

“The fuck? You some kinda pussy? Get your fucking arm out!” Gut spat. Sadie looked to Mighty and saw him seething, the rage below filling up. Sadie put a hand on his shoulder, he spun quickly and Sadie got a glimpse at the fury before it mellowed slightly at seeing her.

“Relax dude, he’s an idiot, don’t listen to them, it’s annoying sure, but more than that…it’s just exhausting. Besides you can beat this guy no sweat, don’t worry about what he’s saying.” Mighty gave a slight nod at her words and Sadie watched the rage sink away.

“Hey, I’m no idiot bit-”

“Shut up dumbass. Honestly, I’m kinda surprised Mighty was able to hit you in the face with how big of a target your waistline is.” Sadie shot. Mighty snickered. Gut growled.

“OKAY!” Tanner tried to move the conversation towards a more productive line of fighting. “Is everyone ready?! For now, you all face…MIGHTY!” Sadie saw Mighty stiffen for a second at those words before human and mobian gripped hands, elbows on the table, eyes locked in a duel of their own. “GO!”

Gut’s hand was on the table before Tanner could finish saying the word ‘go.’ The big man cried out, clutching his shoulder.

“ACK! Fuck!” Gut yelled. Mighty reeled back.

“Oh, Chaos! Sorry, I thought we had started.” Mighty had the gall to look sheepish.

“We did…” Gut growled.

And that’s how most of the night went. An opponent would approach, Mighty would apologize and then he’d promptly smash their hand into the table. Sadie was starting to enjoy watching the slowly gaining crack that was appearing on the left side of the table. Eventually, all of the competitors had been bested, leave for one.

Mark stepped up to the table, his expression stone between a mummy’s worth of bandages and wraps that covered his face reddened and turned purple with blood and bruises. Mighty and Mark took each other’s hands and set their elbows on the table. Mighty opened his mouth.

“Hey, I’m really sorry about the other night I-” Mark held up a hand.

“Forget it kid. Honestly, I was kinda an asshole to someone that looked a little like you. What goes around comes around. We’re good.” Sadie's eyebrows shot up at the big man, surprised at the, well, honor that came out of the same guy that had once hit on her while his mouth was full of five-alarm nachos. Mighty gave a brief nod to Sadie, and Mark sighed. “And sorry…uh…”

“Sadie.” Sadie gave the fakest smile.

“Sorry for being a grade-A fuck.” Sadie rolled her eyes but nodded, more eager to get this over than anything.

“GO!” Tanner called.

Mighty carefully brought Mark’s hand down to the table’s surface. And then they let go.

“And that’s it, folks!” Tanner called, giving his announcer voice an extra boost. “And there you have it, Mighty the Undefeated!” There was some weak clapping from around the bar and Tanner walked in a circle trying to build hype where there was none.

“THAT’S IT!” Sadie’s head whipped around to see Mighty looking more upset than she’d seen him all night. Mark was standing across from him looking scared, but Mighty didn’t go for him. The armadillo jumped down from the seat and crossed the room over to Tanner. The owner looked terrified as Mighty grabbed him by the collar of his suit and brought him down to Mighty’s height.

“Woah Woah! Mighty what happened? Relax dude!” Sadie called and tried to approach Mighty, but he waved her off. Sadie looked around and saw the patrons of the bar beginning to get that glow of nervousness, booze, and anger. The perfect cocktail for another bar brawl.

“‘NOW YOU FACE MIGHTY?!’ ‘MIGHTY THE UNDEFEATED?!’ Those are specific terms that only he would know! Where is he?! I swear to CHAOS if you hurt him, I’ll-”

“MIGHTY!” A voice called. Sadie looked up and coming from the backroom, she saw him.

A flying squirrel.

His fur was a mostly yellowish-tan, shiny and clean. A quaft of it slicked up at the top of his head. Blue boots protected his feat and a big bushy tail stuck out from his butt. But the big thing was the large sheets of skin that swung down from his arms to his hips.

Wings. They were wings. Sadie blinked. Tanner removed himself from Mighty’s grasp, the armadillo apparently shell-shocked at seeing the flying squirrel. Tanner stood straight and dusted himself off before clearing his throat.

“I’d like you to meet, or in your case Mighty re-meet, Ray the Flying Squirrel. The new manager.”

“Uhhh, new manager?” Sadie’s lips flapped emptily.

“Yes, well, there were some issues with the previous position holder and Ray came to the bar and told of Mighty’s prowess. That there might be money to be made there. It seems he was right.” Tanner nodded at Ray.

“Mighty always wins.” Ray nodded back.

“Ray, what are you doing here?” Mighty spread his arms in confusion, completely ignoring Tanner now.

“I came to find you! You were done battling in Mobius, I get it. But here’s a whole new playground for you to dominate! We’ll be amazing here!” Ray spread his arms too, but his was in a hug as he approached Mighty. Mighty stepped back.

“Hey Mighty, little context here maybe?” Sadie said sweetly. Mighty huffed.

“Ray meet Sadie, Sadie meet Ray…my old booking agent.”

“Like for fights and stuff back on your home planet?” Sadie looked between the two, still trying to wrap her head around little animal people in gladiatorial arenas.

“Yup! And I was darn good at it too! But it’s not like it was really necessary, Mighty’s skills booked the fights themselves!” Ray gestured to Mighty, a big smile on his face. “Now let’s figure out our next steps Mighty. I’m thinking first we do some small fights here, and Tanner said there is a world stage we can work up to, but these humans are easy peasy. You’ll be the best in the world in no time!” Ray grinned some more, fists pumping the air.

“No.” Mighty waved him off and started walking for the door.

“No?!”

“No. Ray, I’m done.” Sadie looked between the two and decided to follow Mighty’s lead, carefully going to the door behind the armadillo.

“What do you mean you’re done?!” Sadie turned back to see Ray, now angry, moving towards them. His face twitched as the flying squirrel began to breathe heavily.

“I mean I’m done, I’m done fighting, tonight was just cleaning up a mess I made.” Mighty reached the front door and began to push it open.

“You know what they call you back home?” Ray’s voice had lost the rage, now steely cold anger. Mighty stopped.

“Don’t say it-”

“Mighty the Once-Defeated.” As soon as the words left Ray’s mouth, Mighty ripped the front door off its hinges and was now crushing the handle in his fists. “Clunky name, but it’s accurate.”

“I thought you were called Mighty the Undefeated.” Sadie couldn’t help butting in, even as she realized she was literally standing between Mighty and Ray.

“Oh, he was.” Ray clarified. “Until he lost. It was just once, but it was all it took to ruin his reputation.” Sadie could tell Ray was trying to manipulate Mighty and while she wanted to put a stop to Ray’s speeding up of a ticking time-bomb, she couldn’t help but know more.

“Wha-?”

“Years. YEARS-” Mighty threw the door through the parking lot. It soared over the road and disappeared into the scraggly trees beyond. “Of being the best, the top, undefeated…

-And then that fucking echidna walks in like he owns the place.”

“Who-?” Sadie tried again.

“Knuckles the Echidna. Last of his people and the greatest warrior in the galaxy.” Ray stared daggers at Mighty and the armadillo turned, his eyes aflame. “Even better than Mighty. He took you to the ground like you were nothing.” Sadie watched as Mighty gritted his teeth so hard, she was worried he’d break them. “But that wasn’t the worst part, was it? Huh? After he beat your ass so hard you were tasting your tail he walked it off like it was nothing. Like he didn’t care that he beat the all-time 8-year running champion of Mobius. And then he fucking disappeared.” Ray looked to Sadie. “Didn’t even give Mighty a shot at a rematch.”

“ARRRGH!” Patrons ducked as Mighty picked up a barstool and threw it in the general direction of Ray. It sailed over everyone’s head and shattered against a wall.

“So what did Mighty do, huh? You also ran away. Well, I finally found you, on this backwater planet no less. Why are we here Mighty?!” Ray huffed and let his hands slap to his sides.

“CAUSE I’M FUCKING DONE RAY! I lost! That’s it. I never even liked it that much anyway…” Mighty trailed off and as good for people’s intact necks as it was, it still was somewhat disheartening to watch the rage die in Mighty’s eyes.

“Okay!” Ray tried for an upbeat tone. “So you lost on Mobius. But that’s just Mobius. This is what I’m talking about Mighty! It’s fresh here, you could become the best and no one could take that from you. The echidna’s long gone. You are the true champion!” Ray was calling out to Mighty now, a desperate smile on his face. Mighty scowled at Ray.

And then he turned around and walked out of the bar.

Sadie probably should’ve followed him. But something held her in place.

A memory.

Something Mighty and Ray had said sent a flicker of recognition through her mind. She just couldn’t sort it out yet.

“Mighty!” Ray called. He jumped into the air and flew forward. No, he literally flew forward, his wings allowing him to glide at a speedy pace. Sadie watched them go, having to lean out of the way as Ray soared past. She turned around to look at the bar, expressions of confusion more numerous than anger.

“So you’ll just mail me the prize money?” Sadie tried for a smile. Tanner frowned.

“Oh, yeah, sure. I’ll just make sure to take out the cost of the door.” Sadie nodded and swallowed hard before following the two mobians outside. She spotted them just as Ray was flying into Mighty. The armadillo caught him by the neck and lifted him up. Sadie’s eyes widened and she started running to catch up to them.

“What are you gonna do? You won’t hurt me.” Ray choked. Mighty scowled and tossed Ray to the ground before walking off to Sadie’s car. Sadie approached the downed flying squirrel who was coughing lightly.

“Hey, you okay kid?” Sadie asked, helping Ray to his feet. Ray waved her off, his legs shaking lightly.

“Y-yeah, just not much of a fighter, y’know? Usually…well usually I rely on Mighty to do the fighting.” Ray gave a brief smile, but Sadie could see a flash of sadness, disappointment. She decided to press it.

“Yeah, I can tell. I get the idea things aren’t great on Mobius, but did you have to use Mighty as your meal ticket?” Sadie spat at Ray. His eyes widened and he shook his head speedily.

“No, no, it’s not like that at all. Mighty saved me a while back. I was always a little shrimpy and he just threw off my attackers like they were nothing, he’s my hero!” Sadie looked in Ray’s eyes and saw that the sadness, along with the flash of manipulation she’d seen early was gone. Replaced by awe and wonder. “He’s such an amazing fighter and can take on anyone! But that fight with Knuckles…broke him I guess?” Ray tilted his head, unsure of his own words. “He never liked fighting, but afterward, he just…despised it. Wanted nothing to do with it. But I helped him become a world-renowned name! People would look to their screens no matter what warzone they were in and see a champion. People love Mighty! I-I-”

“You just wanted to get him back into the mood of a champion.” Sadie finished. Ray nodded.

“I mean he was the best…ever! I was just hoping he could have a shot at that here.” Sadie nodded at his words and thought of her own shot at her art career. The ability to do what she loved and make money off it too. Become who she wanted to be on her terms.

But maybe she just wasn’t that good at art, but Mighty was certainly good at fighting. Sadie looked to her car and saw the armadillo sitting in the passenger seat looking ahead. An intense frown commanded his face.

But just cause he was good at it, didn’t mean he enjoyed it.

“Hey Ray, can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.” Ray said, but he wasn’t looking at her, his eyes focused on the gravel parking lot.

“How did Mighty get into fighting in the first place?” Ray perked up at that, his face filled with a child-like excitement once more.

“Oh! That’s a cool story! I wanted to pay him back for saving me, so I took him to this bunker I was staying at and got him a meal. There was this whole fight ring thing and I told him how cool he was in the fight and that he’d totally wipe the floor with those fight guys. And then he did! One of the most awesome things I’ve ever seen, easily one of his top 5 matches.” Sadie nodded again, but a frown grew on her face and she told Ray the truth that had been formulating in her mind.

“Ray, I don’t think Mighty likes fighting, I don’t think he ever did. But when he saved you, you…practically worshipped him, you made him feel good and believed in him. I get the feeling that doesn’t happen a lot on Mobius.” Ray looked up at Sadie, worry and an eagerness in his eyes drawing him closer to her. “And then you told him how cool he was, I think he just wanted to make you see him in that cool way again. I think he fought for you to keep seeing him as your hero.” Ray’s eyes dropped once more, he dug his boot into the gravel. The rocks made a slight shuffling sound as he moved them. His voice was barely a whisper.

“I just want people to respect him as I do…he’s my best friend.” Sadie didn’t know how to respond to that. How do you help a friendship that was built on pride? Can you? Sadie decided to walk towards her car, she looked back at Ray as she approached the vehicle.

“I’ve got room in my house if you want to try and work out your friendship with Mighty?” Ray didn’t look up but nodded and trudged over to the car, opening the back door and climbing in.

Sadie got in the car and looked at her now two house guests. Both silent, both unhappy. Sadie sighed and turned on the car and began to pull out. The radio was playing some late-night news station that was recapping the day's events.

“-and the number of reported little alien dudes on earth seems to keep rising.”

“That’s right Mick, and it seems like the epicenter is right over that crazy town, Green Hills.”

“Must be a tough place to live right now-” Sadie turned the radio station to some country rock music, generic and loud. Enough sound to fill up the silent car.

And yet.

Something in her brain twitched…that memory from earlier. Green Hills. Knuckles. Hey…

Wasn’t Knuckles one of those kids that destroyed that giant robot?! And didn’t that mean he was here on Earth?

Fuck.

Chapter Text

“Are they gone now?” Sally peered out from her hiding spot, eyes flashing all around looking for the lumber customers that had just been there.

“Yup.” Arthur said.

“Sorry if I worried you by disappearing.”

“Not at all.” The smallest twitch of a smirk formed on Arthur’s face. Sally huffed, pouting at him.

“You could at least be worried about me, as you are my protective detail.” Sally placed her hands on her hips.

“Ok.”

“Argh!”

Arthur had taken Sally in five days ago.

Five days ago. Not five hours, or five minutes, or a merciful five seconds, but five whole days. When it should’ve barely been one.

But that one night hadn’t just been one night. It had been one night and a morning, then the day, then the night again, and so on. Arthur had called up the sheriff the very next morning so that he could dump Sally on them, to which the sheriff had replied,

“Huzuh, wha?”

It constantly shocked Arthur that most people didn’t get up at 5:00 am to get their days going. So much more work could be done if people just learned to get up earlier. All of which meant that Arthur couldn’t drive over to the sheriff’s residence and dump the ‘Princess of the Acorn Kingdom’ off on someone who was more prepared to deal with her.

Arthur's second surprise was that Sally was in fact, not one of those people. He’d gotten out of the shower to find the princess literally bright-eyed and bushy-tailed sitting at Arthur’s small kitchen island. He’d figured that a spoiled brat of a princess would sleep till noon, get up for three hours and then go back to sleep. Arthur had just figured he could’ve left her here while he went to work and she’d be too dazed to mess up his home.

“You’re…awake.” Arthur had noted with surprise. Sally had nodded eagerly.

“My dad made sure I was always able to get up on time to work on my studies.”

“Uh huh.”

Father had come up a lot, often followed quickly by Mother in the few days that Arthur had known Sally, almost always in a respectful, if not worshipping tone.

“Father and Mother tucked me in every night, could you?”

“Father and Mother loved walking the castle grounds with us!”

“Father and Mother never yelled at me for leaving the fridge open.”

Arthur was starting to get sick of being compared to a couple of squirrels he’d never met. Sally may have proper manners and an upbeat attitude and always looked on the bright side…where was Arthur going with this?

Right. She never fucking shut up! Arthur wasn’t heartless, he supposed Sally was nice enough, but she never stopped talking and she clearly was looking to Arthur to be her parent.

Well, he wasn’t. He was just a guy trying to make it through his days and he didn’t need someone eating his food and asking constant questions.

She seemed to still have it in her head that she was some kind of diplomat and not a scared little kid and Arthur was trying to figure out what his standard of care was here. All he was supposed to do was watch her for one night, not wade through her purpose and past. And yet there he was feeding her his bagels in the morning and packing her lunch for when he had to take her to work and having to change the TV channel at night to something more kid-friendly when she couldn’t handle watching Saw.

He was her fucking nanny and he was going to blow a fuse.

Soon.

Probably.

That was the big issue. As much as Sally grated on his nerves and never stopped comparing whatever he did to her parents…he didn’t dislike her. She was ultimately a good kid and fine, he’d admit it, rather cute. So as sure as he was that he’d blow his temper anytime now, it never did.

But he got the feeling he should’ve.

Part of that came from the perfect way Sally acted. She really wasn’t as much of a kid as she’d been that first day. She’d gone from scared Sally to perfect princess. Perfect manners and was perfectly clean and perfectly responsible for making sure she was careful around power tools.

And these were all things that Arthur actually liked about Sally, she started to act like him…

And that’s what worried him. Was she acting like him because she was trying to copy him because she wanted him to be her new dad? Or because she was now playing the role of diplomat?

Arthur still had no idea what a teenager was supposed to act like, but he knew it wasn’t that. Which is why, for as much as Arthur detested her blabber-mouth, it was the only part of Sally that still felt right.

“So you’re just gonna go back to saying one-word answers, huh?” Sally was still checking to make sure the older man had actually left.

“Yup.” Now Arthur was actually smiling.

“You just like messing with me!”

“Yup.”

“Protective detail isn’t supposed to make fun of who they’re protecting!” Sally put her hands on her hips.

“Well, I’m not your protective detail.”

I’m your babysitter. Arthur thought but decided to keep that to himself.

“Well then who are you…besides Arthur Sultz! Don’t try and give me that crap!” Arthur held in his smirk this time.

“I’m the guy currently stuck with you.” Arthur turned back to what he was working on, slicing up a large piece of pine into 2 x 4s.

“Well did you try calling the sheriff yet?”

Arthur turned on the power saw drowning out Sally’s demands. But to answer her question, yes he had.

Once. The sheriff hadn’t picked up.

And then he’d been busy making Sally her dinner or explaining to her how US politics worked and watching as she winced as he discussed them.

Yeah, no shit kid.

Or reading to her from his collection of spy novels, occasionally glancing up and catching a glimpse of her wowed face.

God, he was so confused. That especially was something he was not used to. Arthur had always been very determined in life, knowing where he wanted to go, when, and why. It had made existence easier when he was sure of what he was doing. But with Sally? No answer seemed right.

“Yup, didn’t pick up.” Arthur said, halting the buzz saw. Sally didn’t say anything after that, finally starting to grasp Arthur’s lack of desire to answer questions, so he decided to ask one of her, just to keep her guessing about his personality. “Are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?” Sally’s eyes flicked around nervously.

“There’s an elephant here?!” Arthur rolled his eyes.

“I’m talking about how you ran for the hills when you saw that lemur girl coming.” Arthur turned to her, eyebrow raised.

“Wh-what do you mean? I just figured m-most people aren’t interested in seeing mobians.” Sally stuttered, holding that blue blanket close.

“Do you mean other humans aren’t interested, or other mobians aren’t interested?” Arthur watched as Sally bristled, a full body shiver that ruffled her short fur.

“Y-yes, no…maybe both…” Arthur blinked at her. “Okay, so mobians…are…always nervous to see other mobians.”

“Okay.”

“It’s not like we dislike each other, just…life’s…a warzone back home.”

“Okay.”

“And that means you can’t trust other mobians! I mean you can! I just…argh!” Sally held her face in her hands. Arthur looked at her for a minute and then spoke.

“Take your time, choose your words carefully and then speak.” Sally looked up from her hands and nodded. She took a deep breath in, held it and Arthur watched as the gears turned in her brain.

“Life’s a battle for survival for us, often at the cost of others. Which means that when you see another mobian, you don’t know their intent. Other mobians means possible danger, no matter who they are.” Sally spoke clearly and calmly. Arthur nodded, for once something she said made sense and was articulated.

“Okay. But I thought you were trying to make diplomatic ties on behalf of your people?” Arthur pointed out.

“I am.” The words were calm like her previous thoughts, but they were too short, too small. Her eye had twitched ever so slightly when she spoke.

She was lying.

“Would that not mean you should meet your people like that lemur girl? She seemed…fine. If loud, and that’s coming from someone that’s dealt with you for the past few days.” A smile threatened Arthur’s face.

“Yes, I shall do that more in the future.” Another lie. She wasn’t just lying, she was using the calmness of her tone as a form of apathy. Drowning out her clear fears with directness and a robotic inflection. Arthur was going to get nowhere like this.

Not that he cared enough to help her.

Turning back to the buzzsaw, Arthur flicked it on.

Nothing happened.

He turned it back off and on again.

Still nothing.

Fuck.

…

Arthur had been talking to Sally on and off all morning, which meant he had been turning the saw on and off all morning, which meant he’d burnt out one of the cables powering it. Now, most would see the burnt copper wiring and get a new saw, or have it fixed, or just buy a new cable. Arthur knew better than everyone else.

“Why am I here?!” Sally called from atop a pile of junk.

“Cause I don’t trust you to leave you alone with a bunch of dangerous power tools.”

“I’m standing next to a rusty hacksaw!” She exclaimed.

“Then don’t touch it.” Arthur said flatly.

They were at the Green Hills junkyard. It wasn’t a huge place, but the town was isolated enough that the recycling center in Kalispell was too far away for the trucks to make here on a regular basis. Which meant that a lot of the metal, technology, and plastics ended up here under Arthur and Sally’s feet. Some of which would be good for replacing the burnt cable.

Arthur just had to find it.

Arthur had never found the phrase ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure to be fairly accurate. What was more accurate however was ‘a million men’s trash is another man’s treasure.’ The issue was just sorting through all of that trash to find the gilded center.

“Why don’t you just buy a new one? Or a new cable?!” Sally carefully maneuvered her way down the slide of rusty blades over to him.

“Because I have no need to. Why would I spend money if I can just find a replacement part?” Arthur said not turning to her.

“Because then I don’t need to be here.” Sally grumbled. “Besides I thought getting things was no problem on this planet?”

“If everyone just ‘got’ stuff then the whole world would be like this scrapyard.” Arthur raised his hands, illustrating his point.

“Yeah, okay, whatever.” Arthur looked at Sally briefly and noticed her eyes on the yard, imagining the world as a land of garbage. Something told Arthur she didn’t need to try very hard. “Can you just find this part and we can get out of here?” Arthur smiled at her frustration, a tone of agitation, her teen angst finally shining through.

Too bad it was cut short by Arthur actually finding the part he needed.

“You’re in luck kid. Looks like we’ll be leaving soon.” Arthur found the end of what might’ve once been a spool of copper wire. Most of it was buried under a rather large mound, so Arthur pulled carefully on the wire, trying to find its source. He followed the wire as it went around the far side of the pile as pulled.

Upon reaching the other side the wire dug inward, lodged deeper in the pile. Arthur had to bend down to get a good look at where the wire went. There was a small airgap, an enclosure created by two large plastic panels. Scrap metal and hardware left a tiny crawl space where the copper wire was.

And it lead right to a pair of cold blue eyes.

Arthur froze as the eyes considered him. They were harsh, weary, and very much unfocused. But they were big.

Mobian eyes.

The eyes were breathing heavily, the breaths ragged and choked, even as the eyes glared at him the eyelids flapped, threatening to close on the mobian. Arthur couldn’t get a good look at them, but he knew what blood looked like, and this kid’s whole front was covered in it.

Arthur had to get them out now.

“SALLY! GET OVER HERE!” He yelled. His words were harsh and demanding, not a request. He’d feel bad about it later after he helped this kid. Sally came running over, she looked very scared over his command.

“Did I do-”

“There’s a kid trapped under here, I’m gonna open up the space, you pull them out!” Sally’s eyes flashed, suddenly very aware of the scenario. She still looked concerned but knew the danger now. Arthur moved closer to the recycling and hefted it upward, the unstable mound threatening to topple and shred him and Sally in broken glass and metal.

Sally ducked under him and he strained under the weight, he heard her shuffling and the dragging of a body. Arthur gritted his teeth as his legs and arms shook under the weight of the mound, he was lifting the waste of a town. Arthur glanced down to notice Sally had pulled the kid’s body out from under the trash. Arthur dropped the pile as carefully as he could, his arms screaming.

Wincing, Arthur stepped back as something caught him and sliced a gash through his forearm. He went to take a look at it, check how deep the cut was when-

Sally screamed.

Arthur whipped around to look at her. She seemed fine, but her face had gone slack in horror. She dropped to her butt and was now backing up, scuttling away from the other mobian. Fear filled her face. Arthur looked at the kid and saw why.

The new mobian had passed out, eyes now hidden behind lids, green fur covering his body. A pair of ragged boots and gloves covered his hands and feet, but otherwise, he wore no clothes. Quills coated the back of his head. Another hedgehog. And then there was his torso. Arthur wasn’t a squeamish person, but the cuts on his chest made him want to throw up.

Two massive cuts sliced from his left shoulder to his right hip. They were at least half an inch deep and Arthur got a glimpse of bone beneath them. The blood had dried and coagulated his whole front stiffened by the plasma bodily fluid. With his green fur and spiky quills, he looked like a Christmas tree in a horror movie.

“My god…” was all Arthur could say. Arthur had to get this kid to a doctor, hell, wasn’t the sheriff’s wife a vet? Arthur moved in to try and pick him up when Sally spoke again.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” She screamed. Arthur flinched at her words and spun his head over to look at her, her eyes still wide and terrified. She looked between him and the hurt mobian. Arthur squinted at her for a second, waiting for more information, but she just flapped her lips, uncertain of what to say. Arthur breathed heavily, he didn’t have time for this, this kid was very clearly injured and he didn’t know how best to deal with it. Arthur had to get him to the sheriff’s wife. He went to pick him up when Sally screamed again, “STOP, DON’T GET NEAR IT!”

Arthur stopped once more, but as she continued to fail to elaborate, Arthur picked up the kid and started running as fast as he could to his car.

“Let’s go Sally! Now!” Arthur looked behind to see Sally following him, but at a great distance. Arthur weaved between the trash, and nearly slipped, trying to keep the injured mobian’s head and body elevated as much as he could. Upon reaching his car, he threw open the backseat door and placed the kid inside, laying him across both seats. Arthur watched as Sally came running from behind. “Okay, get in the passenger door, we need to get this kid some help.”

Sally stopped. She looked to the backseat door where Arthur had just placed the injured mobian. And then she took a step back.

“No.” Arthur’s eye twitched.

“What do you mean, ‘no?’ We need to go, now! Get in!” Arthur hissed. Sally’s eyes turned fearful and sad, she looked at Arthur longingly, clearly wanting to come. But something held her back. She looked once more to the backseat door and squeezed her blanket. And then her eyes hardened and she looked more determined than Arthur had ever seen her.

“As long as that thing is in the car, I’m not going anywhere in it.” Arthur was taken aback for a moment, stunned by her words. He knew he was missing something, but he also wasn’t just gonna let this kid die.

“Fine.” He spat. “I’ll be back later.” And then Arthur got in his car and drove off. Leaving Sally alone amongst the trash.

…

Arthur threw open the front door of the Green Hills Veterinary Clinic and stomped inside. His head whipped around till it landed on a receptionist. Arthur moved to her, crossing the room in two huge strides.

“Hi, how can-”

“Get me a vet now!” Arthur commanded, and tilted the injured mobian towards the receptionist. A note of confusion crossed her face, before spotting the kid and her eyes widened into saucers, worry, disgust, and fear all in one. She ejected herself from her chair and flew behind a closed doorway. “You’re gonna be fine kid, Maddie’s helped kids like you before.”

The mobian did not respond. In fact, he hadn’t done much of anything. His shredded chest barely rising and falling. Arthur was being pretty calm right now all things considered, but the idea of this kid dying on him? He didn’t know if he could handle that. He wasn’t prepared for that.

These mobians…kids…what was the world that they came from? That was even assuming this kid had gotten these wounds there. Arthur didn’t lie and tell himself no human would do this. But this was just too much. Who could hurt someone like this? How could someone hurt someone like this?

The door shot open and Arthur was faced with Maddie Wachowski, vet, wife, and mother. A combination Arthur didn’t dare challenge. Her face looked grim and without a word grabbed Arthur’s arm and turned him to get a good look at the mobian.

“What the…?” Confusion commanded her face, followed by a pang of sadness, then both replaced by determination. She looked up at Arthur. “Do you know what happened?” Arthur shook his head.

“I’ve got no idea, I just found him like this. Maybe he got hit by a car?” It seemed like a fairly decent possibility. The kid looked like roadkill. Maddie looked down at the kid again, and after a moment shook her head. She spun around and moved back to the doorway.

“Bring him this way.” Arthur nodded, to who he wasn’t sure, and followed. She led him to an examination room and had Arthur place the mobian on it. Maddie came over and placed on a pair of gloves. She checked out the kid very quickly, hissing and tutting every second or so, apparently finding something wrong at every turn. Eventually, she came back to the massive cuts on his chest. “I-I’m not even sure what I can do about these…the skin’s just…gone.” Maddie pursed her lips and moved over to a cabinet and took out a massive sheet of gauze. Using a pair of scissors, she sliced it into two longer sheets, and placed them carefully over each cut. Before turning back to the cabinet.

“Any idea what made those, doc?” To Arthur’s surprise, she nodded.

“I call them speed slices. Sometimes when Sonic runs fast, he doesn’t look where he’s going and will run into something at Mach 3 or whatever. It’ll cut his skin. But did you notice the cauterization on the cuts?” Arthur shook his head as Maddie came back over with a roll of medical tape, she gestured for Arthur to lift the kid’s body up. He did and she began to wrap the gauze to the mobian’s chest. “He goes so fast, that it burns the wound and cauterizes it. It’s possible that this boy can run at supersonic speeds as well.” Arthur’s eyebrows furrowed.

“But wouldn’t that mean the cuts would be on his sides, rather than the front of his chest?” Maddie said nothing, but after a while…she nodded.

“Also…speed slices are usually very clean. These were jagged and jutted out in the middle awkwardly. Almost…” Maddie harumphed, unsure of her next words. “They…well they kind of reminded me of electrical burns.”

…

Arthur ran a hand through his hair as he went to pick up Sally. The fact that he’d had to leave her started to tear him up inside. Why the fuck had he done that? But he also couldn’t not take the kid to the doctor. Geez, he really was roadkill.

They’d counted over 5 dozen different injuries. Besides the two massive slashes in his chest. There were cuts and bruises up and down his arms and legs, he had two broken ribs and another 3 cracked ones. His right orbital socket was cracked and his nose was broken. His right femur was cracked and his left ulna was broken. Multiple breaks were found in his right tibia. And two of the fingers on his right hand were broken. His left foot was smashed into nothingness, even if he healed, Maddie wasn’t sure he’d ever walk properly again.

“Take a look at this.” Maddie had said. Arthur had leaned over and noticed that Maddie had opened the kid's mouth. A set of sharp, shark teeth lined his mouth. Snapped perfectly together. But a couple were missing and there was more bleeding in his mouth.

“Woah…have you seen any other mobians like that?” Arthur had asked, eyebrow raised. Maddie had shaken her head.

“No, but I still don’t know much about these guys, I don’t know how their bodies work or what their organs do. If this guy had damaged internal organs or needs a transplant…” She’d said the next words very slowly, choked them out. “I don’t think there’s anything I can do. He might even be a different kind of mobian…a-a-a sub-species, maybe? I really just don’t know.”

“Is he gonna be okay?” Arthur had asked voice low. Maddie had looked at Arthur for a while, then back to the mobian.

“We’ll see if he makes it through the night.” She’d said.

Arthur pulled back into the scrapyard and was relieved to see Sally still there, standing stock still. Arthur was pretty sure she hadn’t moved an inch from when he’d left over an hour ago. She still looked very afraid, but her eyes flashed with a modicum of relief at seeing Arthur pull up. Arthur stopped the car and got out before walking over to her.

“Are you okay?” He asked her. She looked down.

“Is it still with you?” She spat, clearly upset. Arthur felt something churn in his stomach. He’d always thought Sally to be relatively respectful and level-headed. But…but she called that kid it. What was he missing here?

“He’s not here, and he’s not doing great no, thanks for asking. What happened to the girl that wanted the best for her people?” Arthur huffed.

“THAT-THAT GENETIC MONSTROSITY IS NOT ONE OF MY PEOPLE!” Sally yelled in Arthur’s face. Arthur felt ice in his blood and poured it into his words.

“Do not talk about other people like that, ever.” Sally’s mask of anger faded and the briefest glimpse of shame appeared before turning to desperation and fear. “Get in the car, hopefully, Tom can find somewhere to put you.” Sally looked like she wanted to say more, but Arthur didn’t want to hear it and he got into the driver’s seat. Sally wordlessly got in the car and looked at her feet.

Arthur turned on the car and drove, unsure of where to go. Eventually, he found himself driving back toward the clinic. He wanted to check on the kid but was now nervous to bring Sally in front of him, worried about what she might say or do.

“You can’t let that thing live…” She said quietly. Arthur gripped the steering wheel tightly, his teeth grinding. What was he supposed to do? Had he misjudged Sally this whole time? A member of the mobian bourgeoisie that found themselves above others.

What was this?! Arthur asked himself. But he feared he already knew. Some kind of racial superiority between other mobians. Arthur just didn’t know. Were chipmunks seen as above other mobians? Arthur was ready to throw up, the idea that this cute little chipmunk girl believed she was above others sickening.

And what did she think of him?

“I don’t want to hear from you right now.” Arthur hissed. Sally stopped for a second, but just couldn’t keep her tiny mouth shut.

“Please, that thing…it’s a monster. It’s different from other mobians-” Arthur slammed on the brakes and wheeled on her.

“What is this huh?! You don’t like other mobians?! Is that why you didn’t want to talk to that lemur? Is she below your royalness too?! I am not going to have someone living with me that doesn’t know to treat others with respect even if they look different! I don’t care if you don’t think they're good enough to lick your boots, but that kid is in the hospital right now clinging to life and I don’t want to hear any more racist shit come out of your mouth!” Arthur was breathing heavily. Sally just stared at him.

And then she burst into tears. Long loud cries filled the sound of the car. Tear tracks coated her cheeks and she clutched her blanket tight. But Arthur just scowled at her and turned on the radio.

When they arrived at the clinic Arthur turned off the car and got out. Sally had apparently finished crying herself out and hadn’t said another word. She just sat there silently, looking at the floormats, making the occasional sniffle.

Arthur entered the clinic and looked at the receptionist, she nodded at him and pointed to the door. Arthur went through the door and searched through the rooms till he found what he was looking for.

The kid looked like a mummy, wrapped in bandages and now fitted with a selection of casts. He was still unconscious, but his breaths were clearer now. A heart monitor beeped out his heart rate, a fast consistent tone. Maddie was still there, finishing up a cut on his arm.

“Any better?” Arthur asked. She looked up and Arthur watched as surprise crossed her face.

“Not since a little bit ago, but I think he’s resting more comfortably now, poor kid. But I gotta be honest, I’m kinda surprised you came back. I was under the impression you stuck to your own business.” Maddie raised an eyebrow and Arthur swallowed.

“Well, I’m not heartless, not just gonna leave a kid to die.” Arthur rubbed the back of his head and Maddie smiled.

“Well, you can stick around till the clinic closes at 5.” Maddie then left the room. Arthur approached the kid and looked at his bruised and battered form. From here he looked so small and innocent.

What did she find wrong with you? Arthur asked himself. The heart monitor beeped on.

“Is he okay…?” A voice asked. Arthur turned to see Sally standing in the doorway of the room, looking very scared. Both of the broken kid in the bed and of the man standing in the room. Arthur looked at her for a moment before nodding slowly. “I-I shouldn’t have said those things, I’ve had bad…experiences with what he is…everyone has…” Arthur felt another tick in his jaw, but Sally spoke on, making slow careful steps into the room. “I did judge him on how he looks…” Sally looked at Arthur, “but even he knows he’s not supposed to look like that.” Arthur squinted at her, confusion building.

“What do you mean?” His words were calmer, a question and not an accusation. But Sally moved back again, nervous of him. Arthur couldn’t yet decide if his heart broke over that.

“He’s…what we call the Altered. It’s a voluntary procedure that mobians can undergo. It makes you stronger, faster, more durable…but also…” Sally’s eyes flashed and Arthur got a glimpse at the hurt and anger buried behind her upbeat personality. “Angrier, more volatile. You’re no longer your own person, but to be bought and sold as a living weapon.”

“Okay…you thought he was going to hurt you?” Arthur asked, more desperate, realizing there was something he was missing. The kid in the bed might have been hurt, but that didn’t mean he was innocent. And it looked like…Sally had been hurt too.

“But I still shouldn’t have just asked you to leave him. It’s so scary to be on your own!” Sally sniffled, tears threatening her eyes.”

“Okay. It’s-” Arthur started.

“And I’m so sorry, but-but you were right!”

“Okay?”

“I didn’t want to talk to that girl.” Tears began to fall through Sally’s furred cheeks, and sobs built in her throat.

“Okay.”

“I was scared and-and trying to delay communicating with my people!”

“Okay.”

“Because-because, I lied! I’m not here on a diplomatic mission!” Sally’s cries raised, rising above the beeps of the heart monitor.

“Okay.”

“Altereds invaded the castle, we-we h-had to run.” Sally’s eyes became clear for a second through her tears and she looked to the broken form in the bed.

“O-okay.” Arthur’s voice hitched, he wanted to hold Sally, tell her it was okay. That it was actually okay. But that-that wasn’t true, she needed to speak, and he needed to listen.

“M-mother was lost somewhere along the passageways, father gave me-me a warp ring and he went b-back to look for her.” Tears flowed down her cheeks in rivers, dropping to the floor and darkening her blanket.

“Okay.”

“He t-told me to go! I didn’t want to, but he said he’d be along soon! But it’s been days!”

“O-kay.”

“Where’s my father? W-where’s my mother?”

Arthur said nothing.

“I-I want my mommy and dad-” Arthur held her close, his body moving swiftly to pull her into a tight hug. He didn’t know what he was doing, he’d never had to comfort someone like this before. But as she returned the hug and her wails subsided slightly, he figured he was doing something right. He held her like that for while, her sniffles and cries the only sound in the room beside the beeping of the heart monitor.

“Did this kid invade your home?” Arthur asked very calmly and quietly. Sally continued to cry, but mumbled something that sounded like, ‘don’t know.’ “Okay, well I’ll tell Maddie we need to keep an eye on him.” Sally nodded into his shirt. “But we’ve got to talk about you lying and assuming at some point okay?” Sally nodded again. “Okay. Let’s go home.”

“Can you read me more of that story?” Sally whispered and Arthur felt himself smile.

“Sure.”

“I wanna know what happens with Evan and Joey.”

“Okay.”

Arthur stood up, Sally in his arms, and walked out of the room.

…

Scourge watched them leave through a barely opened eyelid. He didn’t want to convey he was conscious. He had to get out of here and find someplace to hide. It was the most important thing. But first, he’d have to figure out how to get out of here, but his arms and legs, and chest were bandaged in casts and gauze. He was nigh-immobile. His mind raced as he thought of different escape plans. And yet…

As he watched Princess Acorn and the human leave-Scourge couldn’t feel a touch of shame.

Chapter Text

Blaze wasn’t sure why she was standing there. For the most part, she was sure she wouldn’t be standing there much longer. Her knees wobbled and she could barely lift her arms. Her head lolled with exhaustion and her stomach gnawed with hunger.

But her eyes were alert.

Her amber orbs stared straight out through drooping eyelids at the field before her. It was green, bright green, the morning sun bouncing off the still damp grass making it shine like diamonds. There were people in it.

They seemed happy. They ran, jumped, played, relaxed, and ate. Couples, kids, and friendly neighbors all talking and chatting. Blaze was floored. How could this world exist? All the travesties back on Mobius and these people had no idea, they were ignorant and happy. It both sickened Blaze and brought a smile to her face. They would never have to know what she and many others had gone through, and Blaze didn’t dare take that from them.

The humans continued to mill about, but none seemed to notice her as she stood at the edge of the field, shrouded by the shade of the trees, the sun casting shadows behind her, leaving her in the dark.

There was one grouping however that really sent Blaze for a loop though. The human man was of average height for what Blaze could tell from what she’d seen so far. He had a bit of pudge to him but seemed overall healthy. Short dark brown hair sat on top of his head, raising slightly and a short patchy beard hung on his face. Smiling eyes and a goofy grin commanded his face. He was crouched slightly with his arms outstretched.

And across from him stood…a hedgehog.

The fact that there were already humans and mobians interacting was already a bit of a surprise, but it-well it almost seemed like the human and hedgehog were…playing?

The hedgehog was a very light gray, almost white in coloration, and gold eyes similar to Blaze’s own were wide and eager looking at the human. Long quills arced up from his head and down his back. Thick fur blew in the wind as he stood there. On his hands glowed teal sigils. Blaze’s eyebrows furrowed, she’d seen those symbols before somewhere… In the hedgehog’s right hand was a small white sphere.

The human was gesturing to the hedgehog, seemingly to get him to throw it. Why would he do that? But the hedgehog acknowledged-wait no, he didn’t throw it, it floated towards the human under the power of psychokinesis.

Psychokinesis.

That’s where Blaze had seen those symbols on the hedgehog’s hands before. They were the symbol of psychokinetics. Blaze wasn’t aware there were any natural-born psychokinetics left. Last she had heard they had all either been hunted for their power or used till extinction. Was it possible this one was part of the Altered? Had the technology gotten that far?

And then the human caught the ball. He uttered some encouraging words and Blaze watched, wide-eyed, as the hedgehog smiled and laughed. It was pure and clean…happy. Blaze hadn’t heard a sound like that in a decade, she was sure laughter like that was as extinct as Psychokinetics, but it seemed like both were still very much alive. The hedgehog’s laughter gave Blaze a clear look at his teeth. Fine, even rows proved he wasn’t an Altered.

“They look like they’re having fun, no?” Blaze whipped her head around and immediately regretted it. The starvation, dehydration, and exhaustion caused spots to dance in her eyes and a stab of pain made itself known in her brain. Blaze stumbled back, struggling to stay on her feet. “Oop, sorry didn’t mean to scare you, sweetie. Are you alright?” The voice called again.

“‘Mm fine.” Blaze managed. Her sight cleared and she found herself looking at an older human woman. She was leaning over slightly, trying to get closer to Blaze’s height, but she was relatively short. Steel-colored hair flowed in big curls around her head and a pair of simple, frameless glasses rested on her nose, a purple nose piece connecting the two lenses. A thick deep maroon sweater covered her body and lead down to a set of simple pants that ended above her ankles. Nice, but practical shoes covered her feet and a kingdom’s worth of jewelry hung from her neck and wrists. Blaze blinked and realized where she was and that she was talking to a human and took a few quick steps back.

Once more, her body betrayed her and she stumbled again, barely able to keep herself upright.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Would you like something to eat?” Blaze shook her head again, her eyes screwed tight as the headache flared again and she waited for it to cease. “Well okay then. Now did you want to go join them?” Blaze made a note of confusion before opening her eyes to see that the woman was pointing to the human man and the hedgehog.

“N-no, just…observing I guess.” Blaze managed. The woman nodded.

“People watching is fun. As you start to get to my age, it is one of few things you can still do.”

“I’m sorry.” Blaze said, now confused as to why this human was talking to her. Blaze should probably leave, she was intruding on this woman’s ‘people watching’ time.

“Oh pish-posh, it’s perfectly fine, I like the company. Besides, you can help me critique my son’s outfit. Look at him, he barely brushed his hair!” The woman stood up straight and placed her hands on her hips. A look of judgment was clear on her face.

“Your son?” The woman talked pretty fast and Blaze was having a little trouble keeping up, her head fuzzy and the world was starting to spin, why was it spinning?

“Yes, the man is my son Wade and that’s my grandson Silver.” The woman said happily. Blaze squinted at the hedgehog, the woman said that was her grandson, but Blaze was pretty sure that was a hedgehog. “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, where are my manners? I’m June by the way, it’s nice to meet you…?” The woman held out both hands to Blaze, wanting to take Blaze’s own. Through Blaze’s deficiency induce haze, she remembered enough of her manners training to make a proper introduction.

“I am Blaze-” Blaze took a step forward and her foot got a shock. Pins and needles shot up it. It had gone to sleep entirely. But that wasn’t the weirdest part, it had seemed that the world had stopped spinning and was now tilting. Blaze watched as the ground moved sideways, coming up on the left side of her face. It was coming up very fast actually. Actually-

And then Blaze saw nothing at all.

…

Blaze was finally getting a good night’s sleep. The last few nights in the cold woods had left her tossing and turning on rough roots and jagged rocks. But now she was sleeping somewhere warm and soft. Through her light sleep, Blaze could feel she was on her stomach, her head resting on a slightly raised pillow. Blaze’s mother was petting her head very softly, long smooth strokes comforted Blaze as she slept.

If only that annoying buzzing would stop. It was consistent and strong. It seemed to be coming from under her and rumbling her body ever so slightly. Blaze grumbled to herself, wishing the noise would subside. When it didn’t Blaze picked her head up slightly and the noise ended.

“It’s okay sweetie, you’re fine, go back to sleep.” Blaze’s mother called. It seemed like a good idea so Blaze complied, laying her head back down on the pillow. It was once more comforting and Blaze began to drift off into a deeper sleep, her mother making those long smooth pets on her head.

But then the buzzing started up again! Blaze’s body shook ever so slightly, shaking her out of her slumber once more. She picked her head up again and the buzzing stopped again, the petting with it. “Do you want to get up?” Blaze’s mother’s voice whispered in her ear. Blaze didn’t really want to get up, she was so comfortable, so she laid her head back down. And the pets resumed. Now if only that buzzing would stay away-

The buzzing came back.

Okay, what the hell was that buzzing? Why was Blaze purring?

Purring. Blaze was purring. That’s what it was. It had been so long since Blaze had last purred that she’d forgotten the sensation, the rumble in her chest accented with a beat of a full heart. She hadn’t purred since her mother died.

Mother died…

Wait.

Blaze’s eyes snapped open and she stumbled onto her back and scooted away from the person daring to lay their hands on her. She moved back until she hit the arm of the couch she found herself on. Blaze’s eyes locked onto the woman from the field earlier. She still wore the same outfit, but the sweater had been changed to a lilac color.

“Wh-what are you doing? Why am I here?!” Blaze demanded as she looked at the building she found herself in.

It was a home. Nothing too special, but a small fireplace laid dormant in the room and Blaze was on a long brown couch. A plain ceiling and dull beige carpeting made up its top and bottom. But little features showed the care in the home. Everything was perfectly dusted and lots of framed photographs were placed on various end tables and the small mantle. Decorative pillows lined the couch, threatening to push Blaze off. A blanket lined Blaze’s shoulders.

“Well you passed out at the park, so I thought you could get a little better sleep here. I didn’t mean to pet you, but I just sat on the couch and you laid your head on my lap. So I just started to pet you and you began to purr. You have a wonderful purr, I just thought you should know. I don’t know any other children that can purr.”

“I-I’m not a child…” Blaze said, blinking and holding her head, noting that her headache had subsided greatly. “14 is old enough to be reigning monarch.” Blaze told her before realizing that was not information she should share. But the woman hardly noted.

“Monarch, huh? Well, that’s very good for you, but is 14 still young enough to have dino nuggets?” The woman had moved to the kitchen and returned with a plate. On it, bizarrely shaped orange-brown blobs rested, warmth drifted off them and a greasy, fatty smell wafted into Blaze’s nose. Blaze could tell it probably wasn’t good for her, as princess she was to eat a healthy diet of greens and lean meats.

Her stomach rumbled. Blaze made a whimper and said screw it, taking one of the blobs and putting it in her mouth. It was crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, rich juices squirted inside Blaze’s mouth as she bit into it, coating her tongue in a bready, meaty flavor. Blaze savored that first one, enjoying it immensely.

“You like them?” The woman had a soft smile. And then Blaze realized that she was still holding the plate out and offering the rest to Blaze. Blaze glanced once more at the woman’s face to check for confirmation before inhaling the rest of the ‘dino-nuggets.’

About halfway through Blaze started to choke on one, the dryness of the breading getting to her. She coughed a few times and the woman made a note of worry before setting the plate down on the table in front of the couch and disappearing into the kitchen. Blaze felt the rest of the nugget slide down her through roughly before the woman returned, a tall glass of clear water in her hand. She offered it to Blaze and the lavender cat drank deeply, emptying the glass.

“My, my, you were awful thirsty, weren’t you sweetie?” The woman said taking the glass and going back to the kitchen before returning with it full once more. Blaze nodded as she polished off the last of the dino nuggets. Blaze then once more took the offered water glass from June and sucked it dry. Blaze went to offer her thanks, but then something churned in her stomach. Blaze’s eyes widened, was she poisoned?

And then she belched.

Blaze slapped her hands over her mouth and stared up at June with wide apologetic eyes.

“I’m so sorry madam, I don’t know what happened.” Blaze apologized. June laughed. It was a little odd seeing such a big laugh coming from the smaller woman, but it sent some relief into Blaze’s surplus of shame.

“Oh don’t worry about it sweetie, it’s just a sign of a well-loved meal. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.” The woman patted Blaze’s head twice and the cat leaned back a little. June seemed rather nice, but Blaze knew enough about appearances that she wasn’t sure how truthful June’s actions were. Plus…being touched? Blaze wasn’t sure she was ready for that. But June didn’t seem to notice, and just continued to smile at Blaze. “Are you still hungry? If you’re anything like Silver I’m inclined to believe it’s been a while since you’ve had a proper meal.” June got up and moved back towards the kitchen.

“Please madam, I thank you for your kindness, but I don’t want to put you out. You needn’t exploit your resources further.” The woman waved a hand from the kitchen.

“Forget about it, sweetie. And cut the fancy talk, you’re not a gala here.”

“I’ve never been to a gala…” Blaze trailed off, unsure of June’s confident and upbeat words for not the first time.

At that moment the front door opened and the man and hedgehog Blaze had seen earlier at the field…park…walked in. The man had two large bags in each of his arms. The hedgehog was close at his heels, sticking close to his legs and looking up at the man with wide eager eyes. The man laughed at the hedgehog, the two sharing some kind of joke. He looked up and Blaze could see the family resemblance that June had touched on earlier at the park. They had the same kind eyes and semi-curly hair. The same warm smile and shorter stature. The man however had a more paled look, not stupid, just unsure and unworldly.

“Hey!” He smiled wider at seeing Blaze. “The cat’s awake!”

“Her name’s Blaze as I told you Wade and she’s a princess, you’ll treat her with respect.” June called from the kitchen. Blaze winced at her words and Blaze’s eyes flashed to Silver, she caught the edge of his glance as the hedgehog turned to the kitchen. Blaze started to feel her spine tinger with fear, already scared to be around another mobian now that he knew she was Princess and her name was Blaze. There were a lot of people on mobius, but she was pretty sure she was the only Princess Blaze.

“Uh oh.” The hedgehog said. The fear jumped further up Blaze’s spine and then subsided as she realized that the hedgehog’s worry was not directed at her but at the kitchen. He pulled on Wade’s leg and Wade turned from Blaze to look at the kitchen and his mother. Wade snapped back to Blaze, eyebrow raised.

“Did you get my mother cooking again?” Blaze blinked a few times, and then swallowed hard feeling like she had entered a scenario where she didn’t know the rules. What was so wrong with getting Wade’s mother cooking again? Blaze simply nodded, a little afraid to speak.

“Oh don’t scare the poor girl Wade, she’s half-starved, she needs a strong meal!”

“So was I and I’m still full from last night.” Blaze heard Silver mumble to himself. She giggled, which was odd, but the goofiness of the white hog caught her off guard.

“So what do you boys want for lunch?” June’s head popped out from the kitchen.

“Mom, Please, we’re not hungry.” Wade tried to wave her off.

“Uhhh, a single piece of lettuce?” Silver tried, a dorky grin on his face.

“Y’know what? I think we’ve still got some gnocchi I can make into a chicken alfredo soup.” June said with a smile and disappeared into the kitchen once more. The three watched her disappear and Wade put his hands on his hips before handing the two bags off to Silver.

“Here, why don’t you go bring these over to Blaze, while I see if I can stop my mom from putting us all into a food coma.” Silver nodded and took the bags before watching Wade disappear into the kitchen. Then with a big smile, he turned toward Blaze.

The fear returned, it shot up and down her spine and into her tail which flicked about wildly as the bright white hedgehog approached the couch. Blaze leaned back slightly as he hopped up and placed the two bags beside him and began to rustle through them. Blaze simply watched him, eyes wide and worried. She had to be ready. June seemed nice enough, but it was a really bad idea to bring her and another mobian under the same roof. But these people seemed nice, so Blaze better try to keep things civil. Blaze opened her mouth and prepared to formally greet the hedgehog when-

“Okay, so we got you the essentials!” He began and turned away from the bags, several items in hand. “Toothbrush, toothpaste, some deodorant, a fur brush-uh this one’s pretty big, didn’t know if you prefer a fine brush or not. Got you some shampoo-” The hedgehog stopped and placed the items in front of Blaze before turning back to the bags and retrieving more stuff. “A couple of blankets-”

“Woah, woah.” Blaze stopped him, by holding his wrists, then realized what she was doing and yanked them back. “-I don’t understand? Wh-what is all this stuff, are you…wanting me to stay here?” Blaze’s head was reeling, the kindness and generosity of the people before her…unknown to her. Silver the hedgehog smiled at her.

“If you want to. June and Wade talked about it with me if it was okay if you stayed here too, I said sure…But- if you don’t want to that’s okay too, and that’s why we got you a sleeping bag and a backpack, a map too and-”

“W-wait! You…want me to stay?” Blaze’s face twitched with confusion, hope bloomed in her stomach and she tried to stamp it out, it was a bad idea to be hopeful, Blaze had learned that rather recently.

“Yeah, sure! Could be really fun. You seem like a cool person and everything.” Silver looked down at the floor, the hope in his voice reflecting Blaze’s own. Blaze’s mouth smiled for a moment before dying, Silver’s ignorance at who she was the only reason he was being kind to her.

“You don’t really know who I am do you?” Blaze said softly, looking at the same spot on the floor that Silver was. Silver then turned to her, the ghost of a smile teasing his lips.

“Sure I do…you’re princess Blaze of the Kingdom of Sol.” Blaze’s head whipped to Silver and she scooted back once more on the couch, confusion seeming to be the most prominent emotion she could manage today.

“Wha? How? You know who I am? Then…then why do you treat me so kindly…especially with what I chose to do?” Silver tilted his head. Now her confusion passed to him.

“Uhhh, yeah. You made a choice and you stuck to it. Not your fault not everyone agrees.” Silver just shrugged his shoulders. Blaze relaxed a little and moved back closer to the hedgehog.

“Forget about agreeing, most think it was the wrong thing to do…All think it was the wrong thing to do…” Blaze looked at the floor once more, but she felt Silver’s gaze on her, his golden eyes looking through her darkened exterior.

“Hey…can I tell you something?” Blaze turned to look at him, amber meeting gold, and she nodded. Silver began slowly, “I was on the frontlines. It was…terrifying. People shouting, bombs going off, constant gunfire…and the screams…You can’t hear, you can’t think. You can barely see. Mobians dying to the left and right of me. To my front and to my back. From high above and-” Silver swallowed. “-below me as I was forced to march over their bodies.” Silver stopped talking and looked forward for a moment, his eyes now back on Mobius, Blaze’s eyes locked onto his face. Then he turned back to Blaze, those piercing eyes at it again. “Knowing there was one less army there to have to fight, makes more of a difference than you know.” Blaze nodded and actually she felt better. Knowing there was one mobian who seemed to get it, or at least valued her choice.

“I just wished my advisors shared your opinion. It seems like I was the only one who wanted our kingdom to remain neutral in the war.” Blaze’s eyes turned harsh. “And I really thought I was getting to the people too…but I guess not…” Blaze took a deep breath. “And now I’m here.”

“With me!” Silver spread his arms wide, a goofy grin on his face once more, and Blaze couldn’t hold in her laugh, the sudden change in conversation flipping her mood. Silver clapped his hand together and dipped once more into the huge bags and Blaze found herself leaning over, eager to see what else the wonder of this world had granted her. Silver spun back around and Blaze found she was nearly nose to nose with him. “I found this little doll of a cat! Apparently, there are animals that bare resemblances to us Mobians, but are like…not smart, kind of how flickies or rickies are.” Silver thrust the cat plush in Blaze’s face as she looked at Silver's dorky grin. He was cute-

The cat was cute!

THE CAT WAS CUTE!

The cat was cute…

Blaze took the plush in her hands and felt a similar blaze in her cheeks as she looked away from Silver.

“We also got you these…I’m not sure what they’re for? June told Wade to get them, but he seemed super weird buying them, he said they’re girl stuff. So what do they do?”

Blaze’s eyes turned to saucers as she snatched the box of tampons out of Silver’s hands.

…

Blaze had only been on Earth for a very short time, but she’d already decided her favorite thing about the planet.

Wade had called them Tums.

Blaze thought that they were some kind of strength enhancer or super drug, but it turned out they were a simple kind of medicine to deal with stomach issues. Blaze had been shocked that there was time to develop medicine to deal with tummy troubles, but after Blaze’s fourth helping of June’s Chicken Alfredo with Gnocchi Soup, she was eternally grateful for the crumbly multi-colored discs.

Blaze had been okay to stop at one helping, but in all fairness, she’d still been a little hungry so she’d had two. Upon which she was full, but June seemed so nice and Blaze hadn’t wanted to be rude, so she’d had a third and now she had been really full. But somehow June had forced a fourth bowl on Blaze and the woman’s insistence was so strong that Blaze wouldn’t grow up well without good food that the cat had stuffed down a fourth bowl.

And now she was riding in Wade’s vehicle, her tongue sticking out of her mouth and her stomach threatening to rebel and heave up at least two of the four helpings.

“I told you to declare that you were done at two. If you’re not firm, mom will force another one on you.” Wade called from the front seat.

“Thank you for the future advice, Wade.” Blaze said and then held in a burp as she felt helping number four creep its way into the bottom of her esophagus.

“Are you sure you want to do this now? There’ll be plenty of time in the future to meet with Tom.” Wade said.

“Yeah! Sheriff Tom is super nice!” Silver cheered from his booster seat next to Blaze. Blaze smiled at him.

“I’m sure he is, but…I have a responsibility to introduce myself properly now that I’m no longer hiding in the woods. It’ll be good to let…myself know that I’m really here.” Silver smiled back at her. Blaze looked away quickly at Wade. “Will…will I need one of those seats as well?” Blaze didn’t really care, the seat seemed comfortable enough, but it got her looking away from Silver.

“Uhhh, probably? Tom told me I should get them for you guys, being all small and stuff, but I’ll confirm it with him when we get there.

The sheriff’s office was a simple space, and Blaze had seen many a war room stronger stocked than this space, but it was nice enough. It portrayed a kind of familial strength, care, and devotion over the brutality and raw power that she had seen in previous days. But Blaze was here now, better to get acclimated to this calmer type of energy.

It was still crazy to Blaze that there was a place that was so devoid of the anger and hate that plagued Mobius. Blaze knew she wasn’t the first to come here and she certainly hoped that she wouldn’t be the last. Blaze hoped that all citizens of Mobius would come to find Earth and make it their home.

But Blaze couldn’t lie there was probably going to be an adjustment period for mobians to get used to this whole new way of life, Blaze herself had barely been with humans for a few hours and already felt more at…well Blaze would get there, she was sure of it. She risked a look at Silver as they entered the office and Wade disappeared briefly into the back office.

“How long have you been here Silver?” The question had been nagging at her mind after seeing the hedgehog and Wade already so close with each other. Silver tapped a finger to his chin.

“Mmm, actually I think it’s a week today.” Blaze’s eyebrows shot up. “Yeah…it’s been a pretty crazy week. It’s really crazy how scared and afraid I was just a few days ago.” Blaze watched a dark cloud cover Silver’s face and then he took a deep breath and it passed. “But it’s getting better, every day a little less fear, a little more wow. This world is sooo cool! TV is endlessly entertaining and there are no people that try to attack me…like ever.”

“And Wade?” Blaze asked and watched as Silver’s eyes flashed with emotion, unsteady and intense.

“He’s…the best part actually. A little goofy and unsure of himself-” Blaze smirked at Silver's apparent ignorance at his own irony. “-but super nice. Mrs. Whipple is kind and all, but I’ve been hanging out a whole lot with Wade mostly, he takes me to work and shows me all about Earth. He’s a police officer so his job is to keep people safe, it’s a nice job, I really look up to him for it, I guess.” Silver was rubbing his arm now, looking at the floor.

“That’s…really cool Silver.” Blaze smiled brightly at him and Silver smiled back.

Just then the office door swung open and Wade and Sheriff Tom exited. Blaze and Silver approached and Blaze got herself ready to make an introduction. She straightened her back and ran through her formal training in her head. Blaze stepped forward and stuck her hand out.

“Greetings, I am-” Sheriff Tom took a few steps back, a flash of fear on his face. Blaze felt her heart sink. What had she done wrong? Was she going to be kicked out of the town, forced to leave from the few friends she had just made? “M-my apologies! I want to-” Blaze moved forward again, but Sheriff Tom held his hand out.

“W-wait! Stop!” Blaze’s heart broke. Surely this was the end, and she would have to find refuge in the forest. But she wouldn’t cry, and she wouldn’t give up on living on Earth, even if she had to leave June and Wade…and Silver.

“Please, just let me know what I did wrong-”

And then Sheriff Tom sneezed in her face.

Blaze screwed up her face, the particulates wetting her fur. Gross. Blaze stepped back and wiped at her muzzle, trying to rid herself of the snot.

“Is this some kind of Earthen shame ritual?” Blaze asked, now more confused and if she was being honest, infuriated than sad.

“Ohhh, right….” Wade smacked his forehead. “I forgot your cat allergy.”

“Cat…allergy?” Blaze mumbled aloud. Tom glared at Wade.

“Uhh, yah, I’m dorry Blade. Didn’ mean ta sneeze on yo.” Sheriff Tom said in an odd nasally accent. He sniffled a few times and gestured for Blaze to step back, she complied, worry returning. “Sorry about that kid, cat uhh…dandruff…makes me sneezy.” Blaze blanched. She had never in her life been accused of having dandruff.

“It has been a while since I’ve been able to…bathe.” Blaze admitted. Sheriff Tom smiled at her and waved off the comment.

“Hey no sweat kid, seriously. I’m just sorry we got off on the wrong foot. Let’s start over…a few feet apart. I’m Sheriff Tom Wachowski, but you can just call me Tom.” Blaze felt immediate relief knowing that she was only at fault for being a little dry-skinned.

“Thank you, I am princess Blaze of the kingdom of Sol, very pleased to meet your acquaintance.” Blaze curtseyed, pulling up the edges of her purple tunic. Silver bowed at her. “S-Silver there’s no need-”

“Another princess huh? Geez, how many kingdoms are there on Mobius?” Tom rubbed his chin.

Another Princess?! Blaze’s mind thought fast. And Sheriff Tom unknowingly had struck close to the mark, there really weren’t many actual kingdoms on Mobius. Blaze prayed to Chaos that it wasn’t Sally.

“J-just a few.” Blaze stammered out. Sheriff Tom smiled down at her.

“Well, then I’m sure you and Princess Sally will get along great!”

Well, fuck.

“Okay, let’s get you registered for our databases. Do you mind? We’ve just had a lot of you over the last week and we want to make sure we don’t lose anyone.” Sheriff Tom returned Blaze to the conversation. Blaze nodded but now her mind was elsewhere.

She hadn’t realized it but somehow Blaze had wound up back in the car, headed back to the Whipple residence. She thought of Sally and Blaze felt her headache come back, foggy and strong. She suddenly wasn’t feeling too good.

And then…

Well, then she started to feel bad.

Blaze’s nose started to dry out and get stuffy, her eyes itched and a cold wind seemed to encompass her body. As she and Silver reentered the house, the hedgehog beside her sneezed.

“Umm, are cat allergies contagious?” Silver asked as he sneezed again. He was shivering and she found that she was doing the same. A sneeze found its way into her own nose. Blaze’s headache worsened and she was suddenly struggling on her feet again. Wade turned around with a confused expression on his face, looking between her and Silver.

“What? No…I mean I don’t think so…” Blaze felt like she didn’t have the energy to respond, now she felt awful, shivering and sneezing and stuffy and her headache now pounded at her head. What was happening?! She and Silver struggled over to the couch and Wade draped a blanket over the two of them.

“W-w-Wade?” A glassy film settled over Silver’s golden eyes. “I don’t feel so good.” Blaze was starting to fade in and out, but she managed to look up at the man and found his eyes had turned to saucers, wide and afraid.

“Allergies aren’t…but colds are…”

Chapter Text

Tom

It had been one fucking hell of a week for Thomas Wachowski. What had started as one mobian became three became four became a whole town’s worth of them. And cataloging and creating a database for all of them had been Tom’s whole week. Helping get them food and water and a roof over their heads for a night or two had kept Tom awake. He and his wife Maddie had helped scared and cornered mobians out of holes and back alleys all throughout the town. Bring them to a diner for a meal or to someone’s house to stay the night.

But not all of them had stayed the night, too afraid to sleep, and Tom had had to get up and find them again, assure them they were safe. It never ended and Tom was having a hard time helping them all. To his surprise, or rather less and less to his surprise each and every day, Sonic had helped out too, following close to Tom, reaching out to mobians and assuring them Earth was a great place to be. It seemed to help more that he was there.

But now it was finally Friday evening and Tom was taking the night off. He needed it. With Princess Blaze being mobian #120 it seemed a good time to stop. Tom plopped down on the couch with a sigh, noting Sonic, his son was sitting on the other side. Tom just popped off his shoes when Sonic first detected it.

He sniffed the air, once, twice, three times. Then the blue hedgehog turned to Tom.

“Uh, oh.” Tom’s head lolled to look at his son, eyebrows furrowing.

“No.” Sonic just nodded. “Noo….” Tom tried to deny it, and a rather child-like whine left his mouth. Sonic nodded again, more sheepishly this time.

“Daddy!” Tails entered the room under his propellor-like name-sakes. Tom struggled off the couch and held out a hand to stop the young mobian. Tails must’ve recognized his expression because Tom’s youngest’s eager expression immediately died and he nearly fell to the ground, his tails barely keeping him aloft. “Noooo, not again!” Tom pursed his lips.

“Yeah, bud, sorry…again. Why don’t you find Knuckles and we’ll have you boys settled on the couch.”

“Umm, is everything alright?” Tom turned to notice Amy had entered the room. The new young pink hedgehog nervous to do anything that might upset the dynamic of the Wachowski household. Tom wanted to find a way to relieve that as it seemed like she might be living here a while but wasn’t sure what to do about it. Something about Amy was just…different. Tom sighed.

“You’re all about to get sick, we’re just trying to get ahead of it.” Amy looked taken aback at his words and checked herself.

“R-really? I feel fine.”

…

They dropped like flies.

There were 120 documented mobians in all of Green Hills, Montana. 119 of them were bedridden. It took less than four hours for the entire population to receive runny noses, hacking coughs, stuffed sinuses, itchy eyes, and most concerningly, intense fevers.

Tom had been spending the week trying to get a place for all of the homeless mobians to sleep in and just yesterday he’d finally been able to get access to the high school’s gymnasium. A few of the small town’s daycare’s donated blankets and cots, but now it wasn’t enough. It had been acceptable when it was just a few loose kids with no host family to take them in, but now there what was now an eighth of the town’s entire population groaning and sniffling and shivering in one small gymnasium.

The town’s daycare didn’t have that quantity of cots and the gymnasium was small. Kids were packed in tight and often rested on the hard floor. Tom had thought it was a good idea to try and bring all the kids together, having contacted all the host families, but this was definitely biting off more than he could chew.

But luckily, he wasn’t about to give up. And neither was the town, members from the host families, volunteers, and anyone else asked to pitch in. They brought blankets and food and water, a few air mattresses were donated and more than anything, people’s time was donated as Tom found himself in charge of operations that Saturday evening, talking with parents and host family leaders and volunteers about who needed what, where can bedding be found, how best to keep fevers low.

That last bit was actually more inclined toward Tom’s wife. Maddie had designated herself as chief medical lead in this endeavor to help out these kids. Tom knew she could handle it, that he could handle it. After all, this wasn’t the first time they’d dealt with a fast-moving cold.

That was the other thing. This wasn’t even really a cold, it was little more than a test run. Humanity had been dealing with the plague of the common cold for centuries, it took a rather strong one to make it through generations of well-practiced immune systems.

Mobians had no such immunities.

This cold could’ve come from anywhere, Tom himself was worried some bug from him had been sneezed onto Blaze earlier today, but he couldn’t think of that right now. Either way, this was more than likely a weak cold and passed under the radar of the humans, that’s why none of them were sick.

But this was the first time a lot of these kids would have to deal with this, and the citizens of Green Hills wanted to help them through it. God knew that Tom and Maddie had seen what it was like a lot already.

Tails and Knuckles had barely been living in Green Hills for a year and they’d already been sick 6, now 7 times. Tom and Maddie were pleased to note that each time was a little better, but they still insisted that the two get bedrest at home, while the couple helped everyone else. That had been the compromise. Tom and Maddie had wanted to stay home to help, but their oldest and youngest had insisted that they go to help everyone else through their first cold.

Besides Sonic was watching them and he didn’t get hardly as sick as other mobians, he was the only one upright. So he’d watch his brothers, which was exactly why he was helping Amy drink some water in the gymnasium right now.

“SONIC!” Tom stomped over to his middle child. The blue hedgehog looked up, surprised, and nearly spilled the water glass on Amy. “What are you doing here?! I thought you were watching your brothers?” Sonic grinned sheepishly at him.

“I was dad but they insisted that they were fine! I was better suited here, helping out everyone else that’s never had a cold before.” Tom frowned at his son. “Really I’m fine, just a little sniffly!” Sonic sniffled to emphasize his point. Tom’s eyes narrowed. “Please, I wanna stay…I’m really worried about everyone, I’ve barely met any of them, and…they need to know from one of their own that they’ll be okay. I want to know they’re okay.” Tom’s expression relaxed and he felt his heart give in, there was no way he could send Sonic home now, better to have him here and help out if he was indeed willing. Tom got on one knee and placed a hand on his son’s shoulder.

“Okay, fine, you can stay, we need someone to make grocery runs anyway, but if you start feeling any worse-go home- I mean it.” Sonic nodded eagerly.

“Yes! Besides, I’ll be fine! This is just a baby cold anyway.” Tom felt a lump in his throat as he considered Sonic’s words and how true they rang. This cold really was nothing.

Maddie

Maddelyn Wachowski was probably the nearest thing the Earth had to a Mobian biology expert, which wasn’t a lot of information, but she had had many experiences in helping them through colds. For mobians a lot of the symptoms of the common cold were the same as it was for humans. Clogged sinuses, runny noses, chills, coughs, headaches, and of course fever. But because none of them had any immunity to the infection, all those symptoms were dialed up to eleven. They had trouble breathing, felt like they were freezing, coughs racked their whole bodies, headaches were pounding, and the fevers…reached a, well, feverish pitch.

But there were also a couple of other mobian-specific symptoms. Ear pain was one of them. Tails specifically had claimed a few times that his ears hurt when he was sick and Maddie had seen the symptom pop up a whole bunch in the various refugees that now littered the floor of the high-school gymnasium. And humans could get that too, but that was only for…children. As Maddie looked out at the sick kids, she still couldn’t determine if that symptom was because they were animals people with big ears, or just because they were kids.

The other symptom was eye itchiness. This too was technically a symptom that humans could get as well while under the effects of a cold but it was rare. With these guys? Not so much. Their giant eyes reacted poorly to the infection and itched terribly, all of the mobians that Maddie could see were currently blind, eyes screwed shut as they rubbed at them. Maddie and others trying to dissuade them from itching.

Overall they reminded Maddie of newborn puppies, blind, deaf, shivering lumps of fur that wriggled and whined.

Completely helpless.

Maddie shivered as she considered a world where she and others weren’t there to take care of these kids. But even with her and volunteers helping, there was only so much they could do to slow these colds from wreaking havoc on mobian bodies. Again, Maddie thought back to their fevers.

104.0 degrees Fahrenheit was the average body temperature for all of the sick. A terrifying statistic that had to be lowered as quickly as possible. Ice packs were in short supply, so sandwich bags were filled with ice and passed around to each kid. The grocery store had been raided for water bottles and each volunteer was commanded to ensure the kids consumed plenty of fluids as they worked to get better.

There was some cold and flu medicine that was passed around as an idea to be used, but there was so little of it, the small town was not used to needing a high quantity of Dayquil or Tylenol. And beyond that, that was for adults and Maddie was just not comfortable giving a population whose average age was 12 drugs for adults. The children’s Tylenol was in even less supply.

The best that could be done was one fever reducer per kid every 12 hours. Most colds passed within 48, but again, the victims of this cold were not normal. Their uneducated immune systems often had to deal with the infection for usually double the amount of time.

“My god, this is something else entirely Maddie.” Calvin tried to finagle a straw into a mobian’s mouth the far end of which was in a tall water glass. “C’mon Jewel, I need you to drink up.”

“Mmm, gotta fix pens…Bessie got out…gotta file these reports…they’ll hit me…” Maddie watched horror flash over Calvin’s face as Jewel let that nugget of terror slip. Maddie had started, as disturbingly as it sounded, to get used to these unconscious outbursts. Her own boys were sensitive to it, as Maddie and Tom had gotten their fair share of nightmare fuel when Tails and Knuckles were sick.

They knew Tails had been bullied to an extreme, at what point was it stopped being called bullying and just prejudice? They’d gathered that he’d lived similarly alone to how Sonic had, but he ended up having to look over his shoulder a lot more than his blue brother. Knuckles had to hurt people, and they’d feared worse. They knew that he’d had to bury his father and his family after some violent encounter of some kind. Tom and Maddie had wanted to know more but didn’t want to push, and if they were being honest, were scared to push. What more disturbing information would be learned from that endeavor?

Maddie watched as Calvin swallowed this information from the beetle he had been taking care of and moved back in with the straw, trying to get the squirming, feverish, delirious mobian to drink some water. Eventually, he succeeded, Jewel taking the straw and drinking deeply. Calvin visibly relaxed.

“It’s okay honey, we can fix the pens after you get better, okay?” Maddie had known Calvin a long time, his animals were one of Maddie’s most frequent visits. But she’d never seen him as shaken as this. He was visibly sweating and his normally perfectly pressed shirt was wrinkled and a suspender wasn’t clipped. And she’d never seen him without his hat.

“Geez, I’ve been around a while, I’ve never seen a cold hit like this.” Maddie noted Calvin’s shaking hands.

“Well, neither have they. That’s the problem, their bodies aren’t used to this kind of viral infection.” Maddie brought over the singular children’s Tylenol that Jewel could have for now.

“I-I-I got it.” Calvin said. Maddie looked up at his eyes and saw a thoroughly scared, but determined person. She nodded and handed the gilded drug over to the man. He turned to Jewel and began to struggle once more to get her to take something he was offering her. “Well, at least it can’t get any worse right?” The man had a nervous smile on her face.

Maddie pursed her lips.

“Right?”

“I need to make sure other kids are doing alright.” With his free hand, Calving grabbed Maddie’s arm as she turned to leave.

“And I need to make sure Jewel’s gonna be alright. Now you tell me now Maddie, is this gonna take a turn for the worse?” Calvin’s eyes had turned hard and they skewered Maddie. She carefully placed her free hand on his and tried to remove his grip.

“You need to let go of me Calvin.” Calvin’s eyes softened and he wrenched his arm away as if he had just touched a hot stove.

“I-I’m sorry! I just-”

“For now…yes, I think so. Right now they’re dealing with the worst of this round. But this won’t be the only round. We’re likely to see them get sick many more times before the year’s out. But then there’s the winter and the colds that come with that. People get colds then! And what might just have one of us bedridden for a day…it’ll hit them that much worse.” Calvin’s eyes widened into saucers, his gaze locked onto Maddie’s.

“How much worse?” The million Tylenol question.

Maddie watched Calvin struggle to medicate Jewel for a moment.

“It was Christmas Eve. Knuckles, Tails, and Sonic were all so excited. Sonic had never had any other kids to spend it with and it was only his second anyway. And Knuckles and Tails? They’d never known that a day could just be for celebration and that they would receive gifts. We got…uhhm, we got Tails a whole new set of these power tools, like black and decker good shit. And for Knuckles we got him, like this rock polishing set, he wanted to clean the emerald-it’s like this big rock he has-and so we got him that to clean it with…

And then Tom came home sniffling. He’d been outside all day shoveling, I just thought he could use a cup of coffee or some cocoa or whatever. But turns out he’d caught something. It wasn’t terrible for him, a bit of a runny nose, a headache, and some chills. But Knuckles and Tails…

Knuckles stopped moving. He was in bed and we could barely get him to eat or drink anything. He didn’t toss, or turn, or speak. Just lay there breathing shallowing, his body burning up. We were so excited when he tried to get out of bed Christmas morning, nothing was gonna stop him from getting his first-ever gift.” Maddie stopped to give the weakest of smiles.

“But Tails…his fever…I’d never seen one so high, it was approaching 107, which is the threshold for…brain damage…” Maddie swallowed trying to wet her dried tongue. Calvin wiped at Jewel’s leaky nose and tried to get the blanket back on her after she’d kicked them away.

“W- what did you do?” Maddie gave the weakest of laughs.

“We shaved him. We let the heat pour off his body and placed him in a lukewarm bath, ice packs on his head and under his arms, between his legs. We were so scared-” Maddie felt her throat close up as pinpricks of tears bit her cheeks. “Our smart beautiful golden-furred boy reduced to a pink rat-dying-in our bathtub. He’d stopped shivering, his body given up. Tom and I just sat there through that first night, and the second day…Christmas morning-at possible deathbed.” Maddie wiped at her cheeks and straightened up, taking in a deep breath. “But then by that evening, he began to shiver again, and his fever had dropped a few degrees and we were able to get him out of that tub and promised ourselves never again! No more shaved kids in bathtubs.”

“No more shaved kids in bathtubs…” Calvin copied Maddie’s weak laugh.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go check on some other of my patients.” Maddie held her head high but knew that this was a facade, on the edge of a breakdown. She looked out at the sea of children before her, sniffling and burning up and whining. They’d already faced so much, Maddie couldn’t let there be anything worse than this. They’d come from war into disease, how was that fair? Maddie knew life wasn’t fair, but as a mother and veterinarian and now mobian doctor, she had to try.

She approached her husband, determined to ask to make a deal with the devil.

Arthur

Arthur had always been a bit of a loner, he’d never felt the need for much companionship and didn’t try very hard for friends. The idea of hanging out with a bunch of bros never seemed like the best time to him. And even if he did end up having bros to hang out with, he always figured it would be at a bar with a beer in hand. Not at an Old Navy one town over with a bumbling idiot and a guy practically twice his age.

“This is ridiculous! I should be back home making sure Tangle’s not trying to get out of bed.” Crazy Observant Carl threw up his hands and turned to leave.

“Up bup bup.” The town’s simple-minded deputy tutted. “Maddie said that we’re to get clothes.”

“Forget that, Tangle and Whisper already have clothing!” Crazy Observant Carl tried to leave again.

“I thought you were only watching one kid?” Arthur raised an eyebrow as he looked over at some children's clothes. It all looked the same to him.

“I did! Do! Just…there’s another one now…temporarily.” The old man didn’t seem convinced of his own words.

“Also, do they have any spare clothes? I saw Tangle twice this week and she was wearing the same thing both times.” The deputy noted.

“Spare clothes?” Arthur and Crazy Observant Carl asked.

“Well sure, you’re not gonna make them wear the same thing every day, are you? Their clothes are gonna stink!” Arthur and Crazy Observant Carl looked at each other, the idea that clothes get dirty if they’re not washed somehow slipped through their minds.

“I thought that Tangle just wasn’t getting behind her ears…” Crazy Observant Carl said sheepishly.

“Are you sure they don’t just have like a…wet dog smell?” Arthur asked.

“Pretty sure they smell if their clothes aren’t clean…” The deputy turned back to the racks.

Arthur, Crazy Observant Carl, and the Deputy had just come from the Green Hills High School Gymnasium. Arthur had brought Sally, she’d come down with a nasty cold and he hadn’t known what to do about it. He didn’t get sick and definitely didn’t know how to treat a child’s cold. Apparently, Crazy Observant Carl had had a similar situation bring in a lemur and a wolf named…it would come to Arthur. The Deputy did know how to take care of a cold, or at least his mother did(Arthur couldn’t fathom how full-grown adults still lived with their parents) but he had apparently brought his wards simply because it had been requested by the Sheriff.

Arthur figured he had been doing well enough with taking care of Sally, getting her water, forcing her to take the medicine, and throwing the blankets back on her whenever she threw them off in her sleep. Hell, he dealt with listening to her moans and groans. He figured that he was doing an okay job of watching her. And he supposed the other two men were doing fine as well.

And then Mrs. Whipple and Mrs. Wachowski had come over. They had pointed out the smallest things, the tears in Sally’s top, the burn marks on Blaze’s dress, and the dirt and scrapes on Tangle’s and Whisper’s outfits. They’d insisted that Arthur and the others could do better and get them nicer cleaner clothes. Arthur didn’t know why they needed full outfits, they had fur, what were they covering up? The boy mobian that the Deputy had wore only shoes, gloves, and socks, like the kids the Sheriff and Mrs. Wachowski had, so why did Arthur need to spend his own money on Sally?

So now he was at an Old Navy trying to find kids clothes for kids that were not his.

“I hardly know Tangle, ‘m not sure what Whisper would even wear…” Crazy Observant Carl leafed through some skirts.

“I wouldn’t worry about it too too much.” The Deputy said cheerily. “Silver was so excited when I bought him new socks a few days ago, these kids haven’t had much. I’m sure that whatever we get them, they’ll be excited.” Arthur snorted. The Deputy looked over with a raised eyebrow.

“Well Sally’s different, she’s picky about everything. How she likes her food, what the state of the room is like when she goes to sleep, how fast I read to her, it goes on and on!”

“Sounds like you know an awful lot about her.” Arthur ignored the smirk on Crazy Observant Carl’s face.

“Well, she’s a teenager, right? Did you think she wouldn’t try to do the opposite of what authority tells her to do at every turn?” The Deputy offered.

“I know Tangle does.” Crazy Observant Carl snorted. “Every time I try to help her with something, high shelf stuff, or when I try to help her clear the trails she blows me off, demanding that she knows how to do it. Like I haven’t been around long enough to have the best experience.”

“Blaze has been super kind so far, trying not to step on any toes, but I’ve barely known her since this morning.” The Deputy pulled out a pair of small jeans, decided they were wrong, and put them back. “I’m sure she’ll grow into a rebellious teen soon enough.”

“Must be, I cannot be the only one dealing with a kid who won’t listen to them. Not to mention I’ve got Whisper now, I mean, I don’t…but you know what I mean. She’s been nice enough too I guess, now that she sticks around the house. Soft-spoken though, blends in a little into the background. I feel like I’d be able to get a better read on her if she would talk to me though.” Crazy Observant Carl spoke as he found a pair of matching outfits that he didn’t seem to hate.

“That’s probably the stage I’m at right now with Blaze, she’s too nervous about her past to tell me about it, I mean with Silver I was-”

“Can we not talk about them like we have a future with them?! We’re just their babysitters!” Arthur tried to derail this weird train of thought that the other two men had gotten into. They weren’t these kids' parents, why were they talking about them like they were at a cookout sharing a beer? It’s not like a year from now they’d still be talking about how Sally was having boy trouble or Blaze wanted to try out for a sport, or whatever Tangle and the other one were doing, Arthur still had no idea which of Crazy Observant Carl’s two were which.

“Well then who are we babysitting for?” Wade asked.

Arthur blinked at him. Crazy Observant Carl scratched his head.

“Do Sally or Tangle or Whisper have parents?”

Crazy Observant Carl made a note of disaffirmation. Arthur choked.

“Guardians?”

This time Crazy Observant Carl shook his head. Arthur looked at the floor, he knew that Sally had parents, but he didn’t know how past tense that ‘had’ was.

“Well then for now it’s our job to take care of them, there’s no mobian orphanage, and if there was…” Wade trailed off. “Well Silver’s already gone through that, I’m not making him do that again. So at the bare minimum, we’re their foster parents. And that still has the word parent in it. That means we’re responsible for feeding them, putting a roof over their heads, teaching them the ways of the world and…” Wade pulled out a flowy shirt with frills on the sleeves, that Arthur had to admit, the purple cat would look cute in. “...clothing them. So as deputy of Green Hills, I command that you both find something for your foster children to wear.”

“How are we supposed to teach them about the world when they’ve gone through trials we haven’t.” Arthur found himself saying. Wade and Crazy Observant Carl looked at him. “S-Sally lost her parents…just recently, like really recently. H-how am I su-supposed to help her through that? How do help someone when I have no idea how it feels to go through that?” Arthur’s throat had closed up and the words were choked.

“Silver’s killed people.” Arthur and Crazy Observant Carl whipped their heads to look at Wade who was now leaning against the racks for support. He suddenly looked 10 years older, his eyes a million miles away. “I think he thinks that I don’t know, but he talks in his sleep, he lets things slip. We watched an action movie and he noted that what was happening on screen wasn’t ‘the best way to kill someone.’ There’s the best way to kill someone?! I’ve never hurt anyone! And now I’ve got this kid in my house that’s killed people?! What am I supposed to do?!”

“Sometimes that’s all they are…kids.” Arthur looked back to Crazy Observant Carl and noted that somehow Wade had the strength to look up. “Wade…did I ever tell you I was in the same Regiment as your dad?” Wade didn’t respond but his eyes changed, acknowledgment and confirmation in one. “I-I wasn’t there when…” Carl swallowed. “But I heard and I thought to myself…we were so young, we had a whole life and this is how we were spending it? Hurting people and getting hurt? And these mobians…these children are in battle zones worse than what we've faced as a species. When I first met Whisper, she described in detail the elements and utility of my old rifle. I hadn’t used the thing in a decade, didn’t even know if I could still fire it, and she knew like the back of her hand. I think she’s…done terrible things too, both her and Tangle.”

No one spoke for a while. The Old Navy played out top 40 songs like it mattered fucking at all.

“So what do we do?” Arthur asked.

One pop song faded out into the next.

Arthur looked to Wade, then to Carl, but neither said anything nor met his gaze. The pop song continued its upbeat repetitive nonsense.

And then there was a blouse. It was light blue and flowy at the bottom. Its sleeves were short and it was loose around the neckline. It placed itself on Sally’s frame. Arthur saw Sally wear it to a friend's house, or at high school between classes, he saw her wear it in her room as she laid on a bed he had yet to buy her as she talked on a phone she also didn’t have.

There were so many things Sally didn’t have.

Sally wore it to a party or the Green Hills fall festival where she tried a caramel apple for the first time. She wore it on her next birthday. She wore it when Arthur read her books.

Arthur took the blouse off the hook and he examined its future. And his place beside the teenage girl who wore it.

“Find something Sally’ll need?” Wade said to the floor.

“No.” Arthur looked back at the rack, wondering if he could find some pants to accompany the blouse. “I found something she’ll want. Sally…and the others even more so have lived on the edges. We don’t know their pasts and I don’t know if we ever will. And I think…I’m okay with that, I don’t need to know, and I don’t want to know. But I think…I think I want to take care of her. In the most full sense, be there when she needs me and not be there when she doesn’t.”

“You can’t avoid what they’ve been.” Wade’s voice took on a dark tone, graveled and hard, but hurt and scared even.

“True. And that’s something that we’ll have to deal with, whatever sense that is. But we can shape who they will be. Or at least try.” Arthur finally located a small pair of jeans he hoped would fit Sally.

“And I suppose that starts with finding them something to wear?” Carl’s voice had the tiniest bit of humor in it, a hope rekindling.

“I guess so.” Arthur shrugged. “Sally, Silver, Blaze, Tangle, Whisper…Scourge, they’ve all gone through these terrible things and I don’t think they realize that’s not normal, that normal is being warm, fed, and safe. And that it’s not fair that they’ve been in these terrible places their whole lives and helping them out of these dark places…it’s-it’s gonna be a lot of work.

So I don’t think the question is 'what do we do?' That's not yet knowable.” Arthur turned to the parents, children’s clothes in hand. “The question is, when you look at these kids, refugees, orphans, whatever…and you see their pasts, and their futures… the question you’ve got to ask yourselves is…

‘How much do I give a shit?’”

Abigail

“Your planet sucks.” Abigail ignored Rouge’s comment as she refilled the bat’s water glass and tried tucking her back in. The bat threw off the sheets. Abigail pulled them back over. Rouge threw them off again. Abigail pulled them nice and neatly back up to Rouge’s chin, all cozy and-

Rouge threw them off again.

“Fine, we’ll leave them off. You can just be cold.” Abigail huffed. She turned to leave, to see if she can find some food for the shivering bat to eat.

“W-wait!” Rouge called out and reached blindly for Abigail, her eyes squeezed shut.

“Fine.” Abigail reached for the blanket once more and began to pull it back onto Rouge. “But if you throw it off again, I swear to god I’m leaving.” Rouge nodded and Abigail pulled the blanket back over Rouge’s quivering mass, this time it stayed. “I’m gonna check your temperature now, open up. The bat opened her mouth and Abigail stuck in a thermometer. After a moment it beeped and Abigail pulled it out: 102.9. From what Abigail had seen of the other mobians, Rouge had gotten off pretty lucky.

Relatively low fever, no ear pain, was sniffling a little but not too runny, mild headache, and unfortunately for Abigail, totally lucid.

“Stop itching your eyes.” Abigail pulled Rouge’s hand away from her face.

“But they itch!” She complained.

“And you’ll only make it worse by scratching. Plus…you’ll ruin your makeup.” Rouge halted at those last words…and then kept scratching.

“Ehh, I’ll risk it.” Abigail rolled her eyes.

As Abigail had been getting ready to close down Emerald Hills, Rouge had dipped into the back saying she wasn’t feeling well. A few minutes later Abigail had gone into the back and found the bat collapsed on the floor, quaking. She had somehow changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants, which Abigail didn’t even know she had. The woman hadn’t been sure what to do, it was clear that the bat was sick. After a quick email check, Abigail had brought Rouge to the high-school gymnasium where the bat now refused to stop itching her eyes.

“So why are you still here?” The bat asked-mid itch.

“Oh, I don’t know, obligation I guess? Most people are here helping out your buddies anyway. Felt like the thing to do.” Abigail handed Rouge the water glass who stopped itching long enough to take it and drink deeply.

“You too huh?” Abigail spun around to find a large woman holding out a compostable cup with a baby Tylenol in it. She took the cup from her dark-skinned hands and looked up to find a strong, but empathetic face. “I found this raccoon-uh mobian raccoon I should clarify, on my boat, tried to steal it from me actually.”

“Oh, no way! This bat tried to rob my store.” Abigail gestured to Rouge, who managed to give Abigail a death glare, despite her shut eyes.

“I have a name you know.” Rouge said.

“Whatever, here take this.” Abigail brought the cup to Rouge’s face. She sniffed it and scrunched up her nose a little.

“What is it?”

“Edible gems, now swallow it.”

“...Okay I know you’re lying, but I’m going to pretend that’s what this actually is because I like the idea.” Rouge opened her mouth and Abigail dumped the contents before bringing Rouge’s hand with the water glass back around and having her drink.

“I’m Brianna by the way.” The woman reached out her hand and Abigail took it.

“Abigail. And the bat burglar over here is Rouge.” Rouge made a grunting noise.

“Wait till she discovers rock candy, now those basically are edible gems.” Brianna shoved her hands in her pockets. Rouge’s ears perked up at her words.

“Wait, are they actually a thing? Where can I get them? Don’t keep a girl in the dark!” Rouge turned desperate real fast.

“Geez, calm down. I’ll get you some if you try to get some sleep. Relax.” Abigail leaned away from the suddenly distress bat. Rouge gave a few weak nods as she’d tried to get up, but now turned over to her side and within a minute Abigail heard the light breaths of sleep.

“They’re pretty crazy, huh? I’m pretty sure if you told my younger self that I’d be helping ward off an epidemic of colds from a bunch of animal people I think I would’ve told you you were crazy and ran the other direction.” Abigail noted with a shake of her head

“I think I would’ve been excited actually, I loved animals as a kid. Now? Maybe less so.” Abigail and Brianna shared a laugh. “So which one took over your boat?” Brianna raised her head a little over the crowd and looked around before pointing to a mess of blankets with a few people around it, trying to get close.

“Stay back! All of you! Where’s my ship?! We must shove off for departure! I be the dread pirate Squishy! I serve under the great captain Marine! Now ransom off some Oreos or you’ll never see yer blankets again!”

“I’m not sure if Marine is actually that delirious or if she’s just hamming it up.” Brianna leaned to Abigail a little.

“Well they better get her those Oreos or they are not getting those blankets back.” Abigail shook her head.

“No, they are not.” Brianna gave another light chuckle. “Anyway, I better see if I can get that girl some water. See you around okay?” Abigail nodded.

“Good luck with your boat commandeerer.”

“Good luck with your jewel thief.”

Scourge

Scourge had always been a faster healer. Bruises never stuck around, cuts were quick to close. Bones mended relatively fast.

And then he’d undergone Altering. It was the most painful...second most painful experience of his life. But he’d gotten through it and now he healed even faster on the other side of that experience. Cuts could heal in days, bruises faded like nothing, and bones snapped back together in a month.

But whatever these humans were doing was way better than just lying in a ditch, hoping his body would piece itself back together. He barely hurt at all now. He’d been lying in this rather comfy bed for only a few days and he could already tell he was mostly back to fighting shape. All the cuts and bruises were gone, leaving only his fur to regrow. His nose and eye were still a little sore along with his upper right leg, but they’d probably be fine by tomorrow at this rate. His left arm and lower right leg and right hand still hurt but he’d deal. The fact that he couldn’t feel his left foot was a little concerning though.

Scourge attributed the lack of pain though to whatever they’d stuck in his arm, a fluid entering his body at an almost constant rate, or whatever they’d jabbed in it when they thought he was asleep. But Scourge could tell the difference between healing and the absence of pain, whatever drug they’d put into his system flushing the agony away.

Too bad it did nothing for his chest.

He could still feel the marks, the mind-melting shred of the energy he’d been hit with. The flesh and skin weren’t healing properly, seemingly wanting to stay separated and unhealed. The wounds burned with pain and tingled with energy. It was almost as if the wounds were increasing, trying to tear themselves apart.

Scourge knew they’d heal eventually, especially with all the special medical technology these humans seemed to have. But it was curious as to why they were putting up special plastic curtains now. The curtains were placed around Scourge’s bed. They completely sealed him off and had odd orange and black markings on them. There was a kind of door for the plastic room but it didn’t seem to have a lock, just an easily openable zipper.

Was this a cage? If it was then it was a shitty one and he could bust out of here and knock heads.

“Sorry about this Scourge-” Scourge hissed under his breath at the woman that came in to set up the cage. He didn’t know when he’d given them his name, it certainly wasn’t to this random human. Back when they first brought him in, he’d been a little out of it, his whole body racked with pain. He must’ve let it slip either to the man that brought him in or the woman that had poked and prodded and wrapped up his body. “-but there’s a cold going around and we don’t want you to get sick while you’re still healing.” Scourge just blinked at her and tried to turn his head.

So it was for his protection. That was odd. The whole thing was odd. Was he important to them? He must be, otherwise, why would they spend so much time taking care of him? Scourge knew he was important of course, but this much healing time and- dare he say it-care? It made no logical sense.

But it didn’t matter. As soon as these dense wraps came off, Scourge was out of here. He had to find some hole to hide in and pray she didn’t find him.

Tails and Knuckles

Beep Beep.

Tails removed the thermometer from his mouth and examined the numbers.

“Ha! Take that Knuckles. 103.8! I’m winning.” Tails waved the thermometer at the echidna on the other side of the couch. Knuckles blew his nose and tossed it over the side of the couch.

“Very well brother. You have earned the title of highest fever. But look! I have amassed a greater quantity of used tissues!” Tails looked beside the couch he and Knuckles were laying on, blankets raised tight over their bodies to the trash can on Knuckles’ side. Before their parents-still such a crazy concept to Tails-had left to help others they’d wrapped the two in blankets and given water and set out snacks and baby Tylenol. And a couple of trashcans for the boys to throw their used tissues in. Trashcans that had now overflowed and were slowly being buried under a mountain of tissues. To his credit, Knuckles’ was indeed higher.

“I’m impressed Knuckles, I can’t even see the trashcan.” Tails found it helpful to draw on Sonic’s sense of humor when he had what his mother lovingly called, the sniffles.

“Yes, the cold has cursed me with a very productive nose this time around.” Knuckles blew once more and increased the size of his tissue mountain. “How many more times must we endure this wretched sickness?” Knuckles turned back to Tails. The fox blinked blearily at him, the young child’s mind clouded slightly with sickness.

“Uhh, not sure. Our bodies have to get used to fighting them, hopefully not too many more.”

“I still do not understand how I am fighting this.” Knuckles shook his head, then seemingly regretted it, holding the side of his head with a massive fist. “There is nothing for me to punch.”

“It’s not that kind of fight Knuckles.” Tails managed a smile. “But don’t worry, I’m sure your white blood cells are doing all kinds of punching and kicking right now.”

“Well, why wouldn’t they?! They are part of me! If they are not fighting at a million percent then I will have them removed!” Knuckles huffed. Tails debated whether or not to try and educate Knuckles on all of the wrong things in that sentence, but decided he was too tired and his head hurt too much.

There was silence for a while, only filled with the sound of Knuckles’ heavy mouth breathing and Tails blowing his nose.

“How strong has the cold cursed you this time brother?” Knuckles asked. Tails gave a sniffle.

“Well besides the stuffed nose and high fever and chills and generally feeling crummy, not too bad. My ears don’t hurt this time around.” Tails pointed to his large fox ears. Knuckles nodded.

“How is it that you are not dealing with these wretched itchy eyes?!” Knuckles rubbed at his violet eyes for emphasis. Tails shrugged. “And how is it that Sonic doesn’t have to deal with this sickness?”

“Well, he did, before…” Tails trailed off, the topic of conversation drifting to a dangerous place.

Knuckles stopped itching his eyes and looked at his brother.

“Has Sonic told you of his time before us…before mother and father?” Tails swallowed at the words, his mouth drier than his cold should make it.

“Some. I…I know he was alone, very alone. It was…terrible for him I think, but he doesn’t talk about it, just lets things slip sometimes.” Knuckles stared Tails down.

“‘Terrible for him,’ you say. But it would not have been terrible for you?” Tails narrowed his eyes and sniffled, pulling a blanket more over his small body.

“You’re not Dr. Nightly. Stop trying to get inside of my head.”

“This is true, I am not the doctor of the night, but I am your brother. And someone who has a better understanding of Mobius.” Knuckles took the opportunity to blow his nose.

“I…I was bullied, what more do you need to know?” Tails’ voice had reached a pitch that he wasn’t used to.

“What kind of bullying?”

“Excuse me?” Tails found a little bit of anger in his gut.

“Earth bullying, or Mobius bullying?”

“What’s the difference Knuckles?” Tails spat.

“I have seen Earth’s understanding of bullying from their movies and TV, getting pushed around, called insults…I would describe it as…trivial. So I ask you again brother, how were you bullied?” It was Knuckles' turn to narrow his eyes, slightly bloodshot from itching and they stared through Tails, to a hell he had called home.

“Getting insulted and pushed was probably the best I could’ve asked for…But more often than not it was getting punched and kicked…threatened with a knife, I had to cross streets when passing people. Getting food was risky…I had to go into the market, but they wouldn’t take my money, and kicked me out.” Tails felt his eyes itch, but he knew it had nothing to do with the cold. “I slept under rocks and in abandoned homes.” Tails could feel his voice begin to get louder. “People were disgusted by me! They-hated me! And I for the longest time didn’t know why…what did I do wrong?! What had I done to deserve being hated?!” Tails was yelling now but stopped to take a breath, lowering his voice. “And then I found out it was because of how I looked.”

“Mobians do not care for genetic deformities.” Knuckles said quietly.

“‘Do not care,’ is a nice way of putting it. And is that how you see it too?” Tails glared at Knuckles. Knuckles did not react. He simply looked at Tails calmly. No pity, no sympathy, but no hate or anger either.

“It is what it is and that’s all that it is. But that does not make you any less of a person to me, brother.” Tails looked away from Knuckles. “It is called prejudice.” Tails turned his head back slightly to Knuckles, eyebrow raised. “I am learning about it in the U.S. History learning period. Humans did…do it sometimes. There was a time when what you’ve described it…it could’ve happened to someone like mother…” Tails noticed Knuckles’ fists were clenching. He held nothing, but Tails knew from the lightning starting to come off the echidna that if there was something in his fist, it would’ve been crushed into powder. “Just because of how she looks. Humans do it because of the color of their skin, it makes no sense, they’re not even different species and yet they hurt each other over it. It’s stupid. They are stupid.” Knuckles was huffing now. The electricity stronger. His eyes itched more, springing the beginnings of tears.

“You-you ever notice that sometimes…when people think she’s not looking they glare at mommy?” Tails said softly. He watched as Knuckles squeezed his eyes tighter and a few loose tears rolled down his face. The lightning dissipated and Knuckles released his fist.

“Yes.”

The room was filled with silence once more.

“But I cannot make them change their glares, nor enact my rage on them…mother would not approve, and-and I wish more to make her proud of me than to hurt those that ‘do not care’ for her.” Knuckles looked at his fists. Weapons that had been used to punch and destroy buildings and monsters, were useless against the hate of the masses.

“Y-y’know I was so hungry once, I needed food bad…” Tails felt tears now begin to roll down his own face, wetting the blanket and clogging his throat as he reached for his namesakes. “I-I thought since they hated me so much for having two tails…” Tails held one of his tails low, and began to push back the fur on it. “I thought…If I got rid of it, they’d let me eat.” And revealed a scar, close to the base of the silky golden appendage. Knuckles looked at it with horror.

“Miles…no…” Knuckles whispered. Tails nodded.

“I got pretty close too. The nerves are still weird in that area…but Amy actually found me, made me stop, got me some food…” Tails trailed off.

“She was a friend?” Knuckles asked hopefully.

“Chaos no!” Tails laughed a sad empty thing. “Being my friend would’ve been a death sentence. She could’ve been tortured just as badly as me, or worse. But she stepped in a few times, slipped me food, and made sure I was still alive…just-only when no one was looking. I don’t blame her for not always being there…I don’t know if I would’ve.” Knuckles gave a weak nod, understanding.

“I would’ve helped you, brother.”

“Thanks, Knuckles.” Tails said, but both knew-the offer was meaningless. “Y’know every time I mess up here, fly too close to the ceiling fans or accidentally take apart an appliance I’m not supposed to it’s always okay. It’s so weird that my mistakes and who I am don’t have any long-term damage. I learn and then move past it.”

“But the pain of Mobius remains.” Knuckles offered. Tails nodded. “I noticed that as well. I worry so often that the troubles I cause for our parents will inconvenience them greatly, but that never seems to last, it’s-refreshing. But the choices I made on Mobius still burden me. Those I hurt in the name of retrieving the Master Emerald. And I-” Knuckles swallowed and dried his eyes, his gaze far off. “-I don’t even remember them at all. I could not even tell you how many I-” Knuckles’ throat closed up and he couldn’t finish. He simply looked at his fists and saw the blood that had long since been forgotten.

“Mommy and daddy want me to talk to them.” Tails changed the subject. Knuckles looked up. “At that town hall meeting their planning.” Tails crossed his arms, “And the crazy thing is…since being here…I finally started to like myself. Being me was finally…okay…and now with all these other mobians…” Tails looked away once more. Knuckles let him sit, and watched the cocktail of emotions ransack his face. Before he spoke, taking an upbeat tone.

“Yes, I remember. They want me to talk too, tell the other mobians of our time here, how it is a home. I’m…actually excited, I think it will be wonderful to welcome others to Earth more formally…” Knuckles noted Tails' nervous and angry and scared expression, his face twisting painfully. “You will welcome them too brother, and if they are not ready to receive your welcome…then perhaps I can disappoint mother just this once in order to support you.” Knuckles raised his fist and gave Tails a soft grin. Tails smirked back. “I love you brother.”

“I love you too Knuckles.”

“But of course! Now pass the tissues, I am out.”

Sonic

“Anyone ever tell you you’re kinda cute?” Sonic blinked at Amy’s delirious words as her hands tried to grab at his body. He fought off the weak grabs and tried for the billionth time to try and get her to take the Tylenol.

“Yes many times, I’m very adorable I know, now can you just take this Amy? I’m trying to help you!” Sonic brought the cup with the pill close to her face many times but she just rolled her head around, avoiding his attempts and trying to push the cup away.

“Nnnnoo! No, I’m fine, all good.” Amy giggled to herself. Sonic sighed. And put the cup down, there was no way he was gonna get Amy to take the medicine as she was now.

“Will you at least have some water? It might help your brain stop being on fire.” Sonic waggled Amy’s bedside water glass in front of her face. Sonic was smiling, but Amy was not. She flipped over on the cot and her hand knocked into the glass sending it flying. It sailed through the air and landed on the ground.

Shattering.

Sonic flicked his gaze from the smashed glass back to Amy with a huff. Her eyes changed for a second, clearer. But they quickly glazed over again and she curled the blanket over herself flipping onto her side. Sonic watched her for a second, her sudden change from giggly to sleepy strange. But eventually, he sighed and quickly ran around the room, cleaning up the mess. He located a broom, swept up the glass, and wiped up the remaining water.

And then he was back at Amy’s side, a fresh water glass in hand.

“Okay, let’s try this again. Have some water, Amy. Look! This time I got you a crazy straw.” Sonic pointed to the colorful straw that possessed multiple loops and twists sticking out of the glass. Amy did not move. “Yo, Ames, are you asleep?” Amy did not respond.

Something was wrong.

Sonic sped around to her side and watched as her open eyes widened and then quickly shut, squeezed tight. Loud, faux snoring sounds emanate from her.

She was awake. And…completely lucid?

Sonic set the water glass down and got onto his belly, now face level with Amy.

“Heeeey Amy? Why are you pretending to be asleep?”

“Cause I am asleep, go away.” Amy said, clearly annoyed in her ‘sleep’.

“Most sleeping people can’t talk.” Amy didn’t respond. “Although I did hear about this one guy that got up and left his house to buy donuts in his sleep.

“You’re making that up…” Amy peeked one eye.

“No, I’m not! I’m serious! People thought he was a zombie! They were all like ‘Ahh! Zombie!’ but he was just like, ‘a dozen glazed-SNORE!’”

Amy snorted. And then she laughed. It was a small little thing, but it was clear and melodic, rising up from inside and bubbling out, a little moment of joy. Sonic smiled.

And then she coughed. And coughed again. And kept coughing.

“Okay…okay…let’s get you upright.” Sonic got up and helped Amy into a sitting position before trying to offer her the water glass once more. She took it and drank deeply, her cough subsiding.

“Thank you…” She mumbled, her face darkening all of a sudden.

“No problem! Sonic’s the name and helping out’s my game!” Sonic smiled again, but Amy just nodded. Sonic’s smile fell, and then he frowned, blowing out a sigh. He sat down in front of Amy, crosslegged and looked at her face. Soft features, bright pink quills, jade eyes. Nervous, shameful eyes. “Okay, so what’s your deal?” Sonic cocked an eyebrow. Amy’s eyes flicked to his for a second before looking away.

“W-what are you talking about?”

“What’s the reason you think you don’t deserve help?” Amy’s eyes shot back to Sonic and she curled in on herself a little bit, gripping the water glass tighter. The crazy straw’s joyful presence seemed out of place amongst her anxiety.

“I-I don’t, I’m not. I mean I don’t want to put you out, it’s nice…I just…” Amy’s eyes focused on the straw, letting it swirl in the glass.

“Look we’ve all been there, my brothers Tails and Knuckles too.” Sonic smiled again. Amy looked back up, eyes eager to hear more. Sonic found himself starting to get sucked into them. They commanded his attention, glittering and aware, a life of sights ahead of them. “Okay, well, it’s probably not my place to talk about what my brothers are dealing with…” Sonic ran a hand through his quills, suddenly feeling nervous. “...b-but as for me…well, I had to flee from Mobius too and when I came here I was so scared to talk to anyone or ask for help because…” Sonic swallowed and felt his past rise up behind him, ready to wash him away.

But he took a breath and tried again.

“...because the last time someone helped me-they got hurt, and it’s my fault…” Sonic’s gaze was locked onto Amy’s, her jade eyes hypnotic and beautiful. “But now I’ve got my family and I learned that getting help is okay! They can’t fight my battles for me, but they can help where they need to. It’s nice.” Sonic shrugged. Amy had finally broken his gaze, her attention focused back on her water glass, sucking it dry. Sonic poked her shoulder. “So what’s your deal? C’mon, you can tell me, I can totally keep a secret! Promise.” Sonic joked and he was rewarded with another one of Amy’s crystal-like giggles.

“It’s about Tails…” Sonic’s face went numb and Amy’s face darkened. “I…back home, I watched him get hurt…over and over again.” Sonic watched as tears formed in Amy’s eyes, they looked out of place there-he wanted them gone. “And I did nothing! I just…sat on the sidelines and watched it happen! And now I’m here and your family’s taking care of me and being so nice…and I just don’t deserve it! Why should I be rewarded for letting people get hurt?!” A few tears traced paths in her cheeks, darkening the soft fur.

Sonic raised a hand and wiped them away. Amy froze at his touch, their eyes locked. Sonic was scared to look away, to break whatever this moment was. His heart beat faster than normal and his skin felt all tingly. And then he removed his hand and the moment was gone.

“Amy? You’re not responsible for the sucky things people did to my brother.” Sonic said calmly.

“But I didn’t help either!” Amy exclaimed. Sonic huffed, not at her words, but at the fact that it had brought the tears back.

“...yes, but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve help.” Sonic reasoned, “And besides you can make it up to Tails.”

“H-how would I do that?” Sonic smiled, finally noting that the tears were subsiding.

“Well first you can get some rest and get better, you can’t make it up to him if you’re still sick. And then…well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Oh! Hold on.” Sonic took the now-empty water glass and ran it back to the water cooler in the gym and refilled it, before running back. “Whew! Sorry, it’s a little low, had to take a drink, all this running around can tire a guy out y’know?”

Amy stared at Sonic blankly as she took the glass back, eyes wide.

“Y-you took a sip…from the straw?” She asked quietly.

“Oh! Yeah, sorry, do you want me to get you a new one?” Sonic rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Amy let out a little ‘eep!’ noise and vigorously shook her head before quickly drinking from the straw.

“O-okay…good…well then, how about you finally take that medicine?”

Tom

Tom swallowed a few times as he heard the phone ring on the other end of the call. He shot a nervous glance at his wife Maddie, she was chewing her fingernails as she looked at him. She made a gesture for him to explain, but he just shrugged. Four rings…five rings…on the sixth ring-the line picked up.

“Hello, you’ve reached the Olive Garden, how many I help you?” Tom blinked a few times at the overly cheery woman’s voice and looked at the phone, checking to make sure he had the right number.

“Umm, can I speak to your boss please?” Tom asked a little confused.

“Sir, my boss is out right now, can I ask what this is in regards to?” The cheery woman asked.

“This is Thomas Wachowski.” Tom said.

“And how many is your party Mr. Wackowski?” The voice asked. Tom sighed.

“This is Tom Wachowski and I’d like to speak with G.U.N. Commander Walters.” There was a beat of silence from the other end of the line, and then:

“Just a second, transferring you now.” The woman’s voice lost all cheer and became hard and edged. The line rang a few more times and then picked up once more, and Tom felt the slightest of shivers at the voice who answered.

“Mr. Wachowski, now is not a great time, what do you need?” Tom was taken aback at the words, figuring the commander would be eager to hear from him.

“Uhh, what?”

“I’m very busy right now Mr. Wachowski, as I’m sure you’re aware, there’s a small alien invasion going on right now.” Walters said nonchalantly.

“They’re not an invasion! They're just refugees! Don’t hurt them, any of them!” Tom’s voice strained.

“I’m aware. It was an attempt at humor, please don’t yell in my ear.”

“Oh.”

“Now as I said, I’m very busy trying to locate, and safely house all of these aliens, why are you calling me?”

“You’re taking care of them? Not caging them?” Tom was surprised.

“We’re not monsters Mr. Wachowski. Besides after the Hawaii fiasco, G.U.N. needs a win, helping out the cute aliens that the world has fallen in love with looks good for us. So we’re giving them food, water, and shelter, but we are not their caretakers Mr. Wachowski. Now for the third time, why are you calling me?” Commander Walters huffed.

“I-I-” Tom was at a loss for words, and then he noticed Maddie’s worried expression and took a breath, shifting the conversation. “All of the mobians are sick here. It’s just a cold, but there’s over a hundred of them and we’re a small town…”

“Your point?”

“We…we need food too, water, blankets, clothes, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. Furbrushes! We need supplies to care for these sick kids now and in the longer term, and Green Hills…just doesn’t have it.”

There was silence on the other end of the line.

“I suppose G.U.N. could get together a rather substantial care package for the town, if-”

“There’s more.” Tom’s voice became steely. And he could hear the look of surprise come over the commander’s face. “This cold…it’s basically nothing to us. But to them…Earth has…a lot of diseases and…”

“You want vaccines.” Walters deduced. “Which ones?”

“All of them. For every disease humanity’s ever created a vaccine for. For everyone, a whole town’s worth!”

Walters was silent. And then Tom heard a breath that sent a shiver renewed through his spine.

“Okay…” Tom could see the grin on Walter’s face. “But we’ll need to know how many vaccines to bring.”

“What else do you want?” Tom spat.

“I want a full headcount, I want names and photos and species and genders. And any…special abilities these new visitors might possess.” Tom leaned away from the phone. He couldn’t give this information, it was too much. They’d be able to track and identify any of the mobian kids with this information. It would be a complete invasion of the population's new and fragile sense of safety.

But then Tom looked out across the gymnasium. An ocean of children coughing and sneezing and itching and burning with fever. He looked at Maddie, in desperation, and fear. But also a sense of shame and…acceptance. Tom put the phone back to his face.

“Fine.”

Chapter Text

“Okay! Okay! Let everyone settle down! Could I have everyone’s attention up here please?” Tom Wachowski called from the podium as he looked out over the assembled people in Green Hills’ town hall. It took a minute but slowly voices settled and eyes were raised to Tom, eyes both human and mobian.

Tom had gone through life being mostly unprepared for things. He hadn’t been prepared for first grade, the idea that he’d have to work shocking. He hadn’t been prepared for his crush on his 8th English teacher Mrs. Parkins. He hadn’t been prepared for college and meeting the love of his life. He subsequently hadn’t been prepared for their second date to end with him spilling a beer on her. He hadn’t been prepared for her to say yes…he hadn’t been prepared to be sheriff, or to be accepted to SFPD.

And of course, he hadn’t been prepared to be a dad, no less a dad to a speedy, anthropomorphic blue hedgehog, or his sudden brothers. No, Tom hadn’t been prepared for any of those things, but that didn’t stop him then and now as he faced a good population of Green Hills’ human citizens and the entire population of mobian citizens, he wouldn’t let his unpreparedness stop him from helping this meeting.

Even if he probably should’ve made at least an attempt at putting together a speech.

“Uh, Okay, hello everyone!” Tom cleared his throat. “I’m Thomas Wachowski, I’m the sheriff of the town, but you can just call me Tom. Oh! And I’m also the dad to this guy!” Tom looked down at his son and smiled as Sonic looked up at him with a wide cheesy grin, his emerald eyes sparkling. Tom ran a hand over Sonic’s head, ruffling the fur there. “So this is the first um, official meeting of the Town of Green Hills’ in regards to our new citizens.” As Sonic tried to fix the fur that Tom had mussed a hand shot up, a man in the back. “Yes, sorry, could you just keep questions till I get to the end in a sec?”

“Yeah, okay, but I just want to know, are they citizens or visitors, how long are they staying?” The man blurted, ignoring Tom’s request, and the sheriff watched as a wave of unease washed over the various mobians in the building.

“How much food do they need?” Someone else asked.

“Are they going to be staying in my home much longer?” Another person spouted. Things were getting way out of hand quickly and Tom needed to reign things in. He didn’t fear a mob per se, but he could definitely tell this attitude would not do well for building human/mobian relations.

“Please! Can we-? Save the questions-” Tom tried, but quickly was drowned out by the murmurs and questions of the assembled people. Sonic beside Tom was also trying to get everyone’s attention once more but seemed to be having similar problems.

And then an ear splitting whistle bounced around the room, ricocheting and causing everyone to slap their hands over their ears. Various whimpers followed the noise from both mobian and humans alike. Tom turned his head to see Amy removing her fingers from her mouth. She was standing off to the side alongside Maddie. He blinked emptily a few times at her and she grinned wide at him. He offered her a sheepish nod of thanks.

“Thank you Amy, alright then, let’s bring this meeting to order.”

It had been a week since the town’s population of extraterrestrials had come down with a serious case of the sniffles. Slowly but surely the group had recovered, fevers died, sniffles stopped and headaches ceased. There was still a fair amount of coughing, but that was to be expected after a couple of days of throat-destroying coughs.

And now it was time to deal with the aftermath of the world’s least threatening alien invasion. The meeting also marked the two-week anniversary of said invasion and people were starting to get antsy with the situation. Mobians still didn’t know the rules of society here and the humans were starting to feel the same way Tom did after Rachel stayed at the house too long.

They’d overstayed their welcome.

That’s not to say there weren’t some that had bonded deeply with their new furry companions. Tom happened to notice that Wade’s mom was currently holding Blaze. The young princess looked a mixture of nervous, uncomfortable, and deeply at ease all at the same time as the woman held the cat under her armpits. Silver, a hedgehog seemed to be also enjoying his time here too, currently sitting on the shoulders of Tom’s deputy Wade who was also standing off to the side next to Maddie.

Beyond that, there were various other people very fond of the town’s new citizens, unsurprisingly Crazy Observant Carl Acton was deeply interested in the mobians, and yet Tom was greatly relieved to see his interest was more…natural than crazed. Alongside all the others that had taken mobians in, Tom was most surprised by that of Arthur Sultz.

Tom had always known Arthur to be a mostly insufferable workaholic. They’d gone to high school together and the man had always seemed uncomfortable and unhappy at any time he wasn’t using his hands to build something. And yet he too had taken in a mobian, or at this point…two.

Scourge. That was the name Tom had been given for the deeply injured green hedgehog currently staring out the window. He seemed to not be paying Tom any attention, nor seemed at all interested in anything else happening. Apparently, his wounds had healed shockingly fast leave for his foot which was still broken, but no longer crushed which had sent Maddie reeling at the time and she believed he’d get away very lucky on that front, now walking on a pair of small crutches. And there was still his chest wounds, which had confused Maddie even more. They were healing, but at nowhere near the rate of the rest of his wounds, they were even healing slower than what a human would normally heal at.

Besides his injuries, Tom had been told he was different, some kind of more aggressive version of a mobian, but seeing as how nice and kind the mobians Tom had met had been, he wasn’t too worried. The green hedgehog had been given a simple zip-up sweatshirt to cover up and had somehow acquired a pair of wayfarer sunglasses, which Tom had to admit, looked really cool.

But the part that got him the most was the fact that he was alone. Well, Arthur was there and the other princess-Sally sat beside Arthur, Tom noticed that the room was…lopsided. Almost every single mobian was on the complete other side of the room, shooting nervous looks at Scourge and trying to get as close to the far wall as possible. Tom…wasn’t sure what that was about, Sally herself looked extremely nervous to be that close to the green hedgehog.

This brought Tom back to his main concern, not everybody was super okay with a fuzzy houseguest, which now meant it was Tom’s problem. He hated thinking like that. These were kids not problems, but the fact that they had nowhere to stay and were unsure of where their next meal was coming from. That was his problem, one that he now had to remedy.

“The first order of business is of course to discuss where certain mobians will be living.” Tom announced. “My wife Maddie is going to be passing around sheets for you all to fill out. It’s going to ask you for your name and if you have any mobians currently with you, or if you would like to have one or more living with you. If you don’t believe you are up to their care, there’s a spot for that too and we can have someone else take care of them instead of you.

If you intend to care for the mobian we are going to have to have you agree to weekly check-ins by our own Brianna Johnson.” Tom paused to gesture to the woman who currently had a very unhappy-looking raccoon beside her. “Brianna is a former foster parent and currently works at social services so she will be coming by to examine the home and ask questions of the mobians in your care to make sure that they are happy and healthy.” Tom stressed the last couple of words, more for the still traumatized refugees than for the humans.

“Brianna will be around after the meeting to be asked questions and we will also be sending out emails containing information about caring for them. This includes any mobian…specific information, trust me, I would know.” Tom felt a nervous laugh exit his throat as he barely caught Sonic rolling his eyes beside him. “A-anyway that concludes our first order of business. If there are no questions we can just move onto point two-” Tom held in a sigh at the salute of hands that shot up.

“How long are they going to be here?”

“On Earth? For as long as they choose to be. In your home? That is up to you. As for the age of adulthood…we’re not sure, we’ll get back to you."

“What are mobian-specific pieces of information?”

“We’ll be sending an email about that as I mentioned, but the fact that they need fur brushes and gloves and that kind of thing.”

“Are they house trained?”

“H-have they not been using your bathroom these last couple of weeks sir?”

“What can you tell us about where they came from?” Tom swallowed hard at that last question as it was one that despite having his kids for a long time now, he himself could not fully answer. Tom coughed.

“W-well we know that Mobius, the planet they come from, is currently undergoing a war.” Tom felt his heart drop as he saw the various mobians throughout the room flinch and shiver and squeeze their eyes shut as Tom was forced to remind them of the terrible home they’d had to escape. “And because of that, they’ve come here for a new start. So we’re trying to meet them with open arms-”

“But why now?” The same citizen asked. Tom…didn’t know how to answer that question. How does he bring up magic crystal energy without sounding crazy?

“Because I’m super awesome and totally told them that they should come here, cause it’s super cool here and safe and the people are really nice and-” Tom threw a hand over Sonic’s mouth and pulled him back down from the podium which he had quickly jumped up on top of.

“It’s his fault I was awoken by night terrors?”

“Yo, the one I have hides all of the food!”

“Why doesn’t Sonic have to deal with the fact that the sheep I have keeps going to bed with a butter knife?”

Things were quickly getting out of hand again and Tom went to open his mouth when-

“I’LL WHISTLE AGAIN, I SWEAR TO CHAOS!” Tom spun his head to notice Amy once more, raised onto her tiptoes, exclaiming at the top of her lungs. Her face was flushed and she glowered at the group.

They quickly settled down.

“Th-thank you Amy.” Tom stuttered. She smiled brightly at him.

“You’re welcome, Mr. Wachowski.” Tom nodded and turned back to everyone, still in a little bit of shock from the young girl’s authoritative command.

“M-moving onto point two of the meeting. As sheriff of Green Hills, Montana, let me officially welcome all of our new mobian friends to Earth and our town. We’re really happy to have you here and I’m hoping we can calmly transition into whatever comes next for all of you.” Tom spread his hands wide in what he hoped was a welcoming gesture as he looked at the sea of nervous expressions. “I’d like to talk about your place here and then I’ll turn it over to my sons one by one so that they can talk to you about their experiences here. Hopefully, that will help you understand a little bit more about what Earth’s like so that you can feel safer and heard here.

You are mobians, and from what I understand you’ve been forced and pushed around for the majority of your lives. Forced to do things that you didn’t want to do. Took actions out of survival rather than out of choice. We hope to alleviate a lot of that here. We want you to feel safe. I’m not sure if you understand what that truly means. It means going to bed with a full belly. It means sleeping soundly. It means feeling comfortable with being out in the open. It means not feeling like you have to carry around a weapon. It means being okay with who you are and what you like.” Tom wasn’t fully sure what he was saying, but he knew it was having an impact as he captured the attention of every mobian, confusion and surprise the emotion of the day. Even Scourge looked away from the window towards him.

“Now we can’t guarantee those feelings and Earth is not a place where you can just get what you want. But we can try. Anyone that takes you in knows that Earth is a place of compromise and I can assure you that we’ll work with you to try and help you feel safer and more at home here. But this will be a two-way street. You need to try and work with us too, and I don’t mean just do what we say, I mean understand that you deserve to be treated better, but not at our expense and vice-versa.

As such you are expected to listen to your caretaker. Understand the rules of the home. We will also be setting up a learning program for all of you. We’re hoping to have a few teachers from our schools able to take some time out of their days to help educate you on Earth customs and concepts. You will be required to attend. I would like to make it clear this is not a punishment, it is a method of helping us understand each other. We’re also hoping that if you have any customs or cultural activities that you’d like to share with us, you feel comfortable doing so. I’d like to now turn it over to you all, are there any questions that you all have?”

The salute of hands returned.

“Any questions from mobians?” Tom clarified. The hands dropped and the room was silent. Tom waited for the sound of a pin dropping. Finally, one hand, one very eager hand shot up and waved around. Tom pointed to it, gesturing for its question.

“What happens if we don’t attend this program?” Tangle the Lemur asked, raising herself above the crowd on her tail. Tom watched as Carl beside her mumbled to her, something about her having to attend school.

“Well, there is nothing we can do to force any of you to attend this educational program. But we do have the ability to take privileges away from you.” Tom stated.

“What privileges could you take?” Tangle asked again, one eyebrow raised jauntily. Tom took a deep breath and then leaned carefully over the podium.

“I know you’ve all only been here a short time, but I’m guessing you’ve all become familiar with the luxury known as dessert?” Tom watched the shiver ripple through the mobian population and Tom allowed a ghost of a smile cross his face, certain that every mobian would be attending ‘human school.’

“What will the program be like?” A soft pleasant voice asked and Tom looked over the podium to notice Jewel the Beetle standing beside Doc.

“Well you’ll be taught various lessons, as determined by your teachers. But as far as I’m aware it will include worksheets to fill out and information about our world and how to act in it. Human concepts and that kind of thing. It will be a couple of hours every day. There is a similar version of this that human children go through for a large period of their lives. All it is is sitting in a room with other students learning about Earth.”

“You’re crazy if you think we’re all gonna sit in a room together without turning on each other.” A voice said.

“I’m sorry?” Tom turned his head to the other side of the room. To the voice sitting by the window.

“I said you’re crazy if you think we won’t try to kill each other.” Scourge said. His voice was rough like he’d spent his toddler days gargling gravel. He smiled wide at Tom, a grimace really, and Tom got a view of a set of knashed-together shark teeth, razor sharp and pointed. Arthur turned to the green hedgehog and glared at him, Tom followed the action, but couldn’t ignore the wave of fear that rolled over every other mobian in the room. Each one of them squirmed and tried to inch away from the green hedgehog even more so.

Even the ones that had been rather happy on Earth suddenly looked very uncomfortable. Blaze wriggled out of June Whipple’s grasp and took a defensive stance. Silver ducked behind Wade’s head. Tangle and Whisper got close and moved slightly behind Carl and every other mobian made similar motions. And Sally…She scooted far away from Scourge, her eyes frozen in fear.

“Scourge, violence will not be tolerated.” Tom’s voice was rock solid and immovable. It was a command. Scourge put his hands up in mock surrender, as Tom now realized his smile was not a grimace, but a shit-eating grin.

“Oh I won’t lift a finger, I’m just saying that you don’t have to look like me to be willing to hurt.” Scourge then had the audacity to lower his shades and wink at the assembled group of mobians. The group shiver renewed. He turned back to the window and Tom caught the lightest of chuckles from the cruel hedgehog. Tom was starting to understand why he had been told that Scourge might be violent.

And then Arthur ripped off Scourge’s shades and Tom watched as the hedgehog looked flustered momentarily and tried a few times to recover his shades but the caretaker wouldn’t return them. Scourge quickly gave up and huffed, turning back to the window. But maybe Scourge wasn’t cruel but rude, and that could be worked on.

“And with that, I think I’ll turn things over to my son, Sonic Wachowski.” There was a smattering of applause as Tom moved away from the podium and Sonic jumped up on top of it and snatched the provided microphone off the stand.

“WHAT’S UP MY PARTY PEOPLE? IS EVERYONE HAVING A GOOD TIME TONIGHT? IT’S YOUR BOY SONIC THE HEDGEHOG IN THE HOUUUSE!” Tom facepalmed as those inside the town hall were forced to cover their ears for the third time that day.

“Sonic? Please bring it down by about five notches?” Sonic leaned away from the mic and gave Tom a sheepish grin.

“Uhh, hi everyone, I’m uhh Sonic…it’s really good to meet all of you.” Sonic settled down a little and sat on the podium, feet dangling from the front. “I’ve been living on earth for…11 years now and I love it! I’m the first of our kind to be here and I want you all to know how cool and welcoming Earth is! There’s yummy food here and super nice people and lots of fun activities, and absolutely no egg-based supervillains.” Tom resisted the urge to facepalm again. “We got rid of the last one a year ago, so that’s a plus! But seriously, I think you’ll all have a great time here, and I totally want to talk to all of you, 'cause you’re all awesome, and I…just want you to know that.” Tom blinked as he caught Sonic’s gaze flash to the right for a second, making the briefest of eye contact with Amy.

Huh.

“And with that, I’m out! Mic drop-”

“Do not drop the mic Sonic.”

“And with that, I’m out! Mic pass off.” Sonic jumped off the podium and carefully handed the mic back to Tom. Sonic looked up at Tom, his face unsure and eager. Looking for approval. Tom smiled at him and got down in a hug, bringing his son to his body. “Daaaad. You’re ruining my reputation with all my new friends.”

“Sorry about that. I’m just really proud of you kid.” Sonic, who had been resisting, stopped and completed the hug before stepping away. Tom sniffed quickly and moved back to the podium addressing the group again. “And now you’ll all hear from my eldest son Knuckles, whom I’m told some of you are aware of.” There were murmurs coming from the crowd at his words and Knuckles, who along with Tails, had been situated in an alcove hidden from view of the rest of the crowd, emerged. He approached the podium and took the mic from Tom.

“HELLO! I AM KNUCKLES!-”

“Knuckles! DUDE! Move the mic away from your mouth!” Sonic tried to save the ears of the already deafened group. Knuckles made a note of acknowledgment and moved the mic away from his face.

“Hello, I am Knuckles the Echidna. I am a powerful warrior from Mobius, unmatched in my power and searcher of the Master Emerald…Or rather I was. Upon coming to this weak planet I accomplished my task and was unsure of my next steps. Beyond the guarding of the Master Emerald, I no longer had purpose. And then I found my family.” Knuckles paused to gesture to Tom, to Sonic and Maddie, and Tails, who was still hidden in the alcove.

“Family was a concept that I had forgotten, the struggles of Mobius and the galaxy driving me from that possibility. Earth has given me that chance again. I now rest easy with the knowledge that it is something I have taken hold of tightly with both hands. Earth has many struggles and customs that are difficult to understand and I myself still do not possess the knowledge of all of them. But you have all survived Mobius and are here now. And unlike Mobius, the struggles of Earth are worth fighting for. Thank you and welcome.” Knuckles gave one nod to the crowd and opened his arms for a hug as well. Tom granted it to him.

“That was so good Knuckles, well spoken.” Knuckles nodded again and passed the mic back to Tom.

“Thank you, father. I just said what I wished someone had said to me when I first got here.” Tom held back some tears as he watched Knuckles approach his mother, Maddie already crying as she held her red son tightly in her arms. Tom took a breath, trying to clear the sob trying to build in his throat.

“Okay. Lastly, you’ll hear from my youngest, Tails, and his experience coming to Earth.” Tom turned and offered the mic to Tails. But the boy didn’t move from his spot. He looked out at Tom with big nervous eyes. Tom gestured for him to come out. Tails shook his head. And he backed up more, trying to squeeze his body to the wall more. Tom’s face dropped and he looked to Sonic for clarification. Sonic just looked at him and swallowed before going over to Tails.

Sonic said something to Tails, Tails said something to Sonic. And then Sonic carefully brought Tails out of the alcove, arm over his shoulder. Tails said nothing as he took the mic from Tom, and Sonic offered a hand for Tails to step onto, raising him up onto the podium. And Tails stood on top of it and fluffed a tail, one to each side.

There was a gasp. Mobians covered their mouths and some turned away from Tails, Tom looked out at them with confusion.

“I know how you all see me.” Tom’s youngest began. “To you I’m…disturbing, having a genetic deformity did not help me make friends. I was insulted and harassed in the streets. It was really hard going through life like that. No one should have to.

And I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one. Cause back on Mobius, you didn’t need to have an extra tail to be pushed around and called names. You had to force people not to. Prove you were strong or useful in order for people to not hurt you, to like you…to accept you.

My tails allowed me to fly, they allowed me to experience the world from above and I have to tell you…it’s amazing. But no one ever saw that, they only saw that it made me different. And in that sense, Earth is not so different.

People here do see what makes you different, what makes you unique and wonderful, and you. But it’s not a bad thing, it’s an opportunity. An opportunity to prove who you are and what you can do, the thing that only you can do, is one of he best parts of yourself.

People like my tails here…I like my tails here. And I hope to encourage you all to embrace yourself and love yourself because…there’s a good chance someone else likes you too.” Tails stood stock still, his tails fluffed. While speaking his voice had started stiff but softened out as he had truly believed and acknowledged that what he was saying was the truth. But now that it was over, he was once again very terrified of the crowd, over a hundred sets of Mobian eyes locked onto him and his tails.

No one said anything, but a few murmurs made their way through the crowd, aliens suddenly looking at Tails with a mixture of emotions, concern, fear, hope, distrust, and even hatred. And then a laugh was heard, a laugh like steel grating across rocks.

“And I thought I’d be the most hated person in this town.” Scourge butted in again. Tails flinched at this and shrunk down, very conscious of how visible he was on the podium.

“Hey you wanna can it jerk?!” Sonic stepped forward, glaring at the green hedgehog.

“No need to get snippy with me tough guy, I just call ‘em like I see ‘em.” Scourge shot his shit-eating grin at Sonic again.

“Well if you’re gonna be rude Scourge, why don’t you just leave?” Sonic spat. Scourge glared back, a growl building in his throat.

“Why don’t you make me? You couldn’t take me on if I had both hands behind my back!” Scourge bit the air in front of him. Every single mobian in the room flinched.

Except for Sonic. Scourge blinked at this, unsure of what to do after his failed intimidation.

“So what? Just because you got here first you think you can just boss us around?!” Scourge tried to get up, most likely to try and attempt to intimidate Sonic again, but his foot gave out on him and he had to slump back down.

“I think it lets me know a lot more about how you’re supposed to act, Snot.” Sonic sneered at the bully and watched as a wave of gasps echoed throughout the room. Scourge’s face turned red, and with his green quills, he looked like he was trying to imitate a Christmas tree.

“I am so outta here!” Scourge huffed. Scourge went to stand again and failed once more, but this time he was caught by an outstretched arm.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Humans couldn’t growl as mobians could, but Arthur Sultz gave it his best shot as he was shooting daggers at Scourge with his eyes. The green hedgehog recoiled slightly. “Are we done here Sheriff Wachowski?” The man asked. From back at the podium Tom sighed.

“Yeah, we’re good here, just hold on a moment so we can pass around the housing documents. Do you have them Maddie?” Tom turned to his wife. She shook her head.

“No they’re still in the car, there’s a lot of them.” Tom sighed again and nodded, noting that Sonic and Scourge were still staring at each other.

“Knuckles could you help your mother retrieve them?” Knuckles looked down at his shoes sheepishly then moved over to Sonic.

“Perhaps I should remain here in order to halt any possible conflicts that might occur.” Besides the two hedgehogs looking to go at each other’s throats the rest of the mobians were looking between the two and Tom noticed they were clenching and unclenching their fists, looking around for exits or weapons, and overall getting ready to fight. To them, combat was expected. Tom relented and nodded.

“Okay then, you boys remain here, and let’s keep things calm while mom and I go to get the forms.” Tom nodded to his wife and the two walked out the back towards their car.

Tails meanwhile was still very very nervous as he looked at his brother and the green hedgehog that had been blurting out comments during the meeting. Tails didn’t think he was all that rude, the fact that he was honest about people not liking Tails was ultimately preferable to anyone talking behind his back.

But that didn’t mean Tails liked being around him. Tails understood what Altereds were capable of. Violent, strong aggressors that could rip through towns and trample anything in their paths. They often teamed up into odd gangs for hire, their power exploitable for money. Tails approached his eldest brother and tapped him on the thigh.

“Knuckles?” The echidna looked down at him. “Can I go with mommy and daddy? I really don’t want to be here right now.” Knuckles noticed Tails’ eyes flickering between the two angered hedgehogs, the scared mobians, and the humans caught in the middle.

“Yes, I understand, go now.” Tails nodded and dipped off.

And then returned.

“Mommy and daddy said they were just going to get the papers right?” Tails asked.

“That was my understanding.”

“Well, they weren’t by the car. And I checked around the building.” Tails shrugged. Sonic finally broke his staring contest with Scourge and turned slowly to Tails.

“Are you sure you checked the car?” Sonic felt a cold shiver go down his spine.

Something was wrong.

“I know how to check a car for people Sonic.” Tails frowned. “Is something the matter? Where are they?” Sonic began to hyperventilate a little. He ran outside to the car.

No mom and dad.

He ran around the building and checked all the rooms in it.

No mom and dad.

“Mom! Dad! Where are you?!” He called.

Sonic ran home.

No mom and dad.

He checked the police station and veterinary clinic.

“Mom? DAD?!”

He ran through the streets and to cliff tops.

“MOM! DAD!”

There was no sign of Thomas and Madeline Wachowski.

Chapter Text

1 year ago…

Sonic’s head was throbbing. It buzzed like an alarm and beat at his skull. The world was dark. Sonic panicked slightly but then just realized his eyes were closed. He tried to open them.

They didn’t open.

Sonic did a little more panicking. Then he tried again and this time his eyes did open, rendering out a very dark room for him. Except it wasn’t a room. More like a cave. But it wasn’t his cave, he’d left that behind nearly a year ago when he’d moved in with Tom and Maddie.

Tom and Maddie…

Where were they? They had been watching him for a long time now, about 9 months. They’d moved him into their house, they’d fed him, and got him new shoes when he melted the soles of his old ones by running. They’d given him a home. And how did he treat them?

By running off to Seattle and playing hero. How could he go and betray their trust like that? Sonic felt like he was the master of self-sabotage, getting into trouble and having his parents-

-Tom and Maddie…bail him out. Sonic didn’t know why he had that thought. They weren’t his parents…were they? Tom had sounded like it back on the boat just the other day. But they couldn’t be.

And yet Sonic wanted them to. That was his not-so-dark secret and at this point, if Sonic was being honest, they practically were, so why did he have such a hard time believing it? Saying it?

Because if they were his parents, they’d be responsible for him. And have to suffer the consequences of being around Sonic the Hedgehog and all the dangers that came with it. Like Dr. Eggman.

Eggman…

That’s what was happening! Sonic had nearly forgotten! He still had to stop Eggman…but no wait…Eggman just got his weird techno mitts on the Master Emerald, that couldn’t be good!

But then how did Sonic get here? Sonic took in the cave a little more carefully. He’d seen a lot of movies at this point and Sonic knew what a server room looked like. Tons of metal and flashing electronics and wires. But this looked like a server room that had been blown up. Ripped cables sparked and flashed, sheets of metal and plastic were melted and bent at odd angles, and the room glowed orange.

Fire.

It wasn’t a lot, but it did tell Sonic it was time to go. He had to find Tails and deal with Knuckles. Where were those guys even? Sonic really liked hanging with Tails and Knuckles didn’t seem so bad, so why did they ditch him? And how the hell did he end up in this weird server room-destroyed-cave thing?

And why couldn’t he move? Sonic began to panic again, but after some quick struggles, He found that his limbs did in fact start to respond, just slow and stuttering. But he was still restrained, something holding him back.

Well not back, but in place. Sonic pulled on his arms and felt them pop free of what ever was holding him. Then the same for his legs and he fell forward, his body still not working properly. With great difficulty, he turned onto his back and looked at a Sonic-shaped hole in the wall. It wasn’t like he’d ran through it like something out of a cartoon, but more like pulling a toy out of packaging, a shape perfect for displaying something Sonic-shaped.

Had Eggman captured him? That was starting to look like the most logical explanation. But if he had been captured, why was Eggman’s…facility(Sonic guessed), trashed?

Tails and Knuckles! Of course! After Eggman got the emerald, they must’ve teamed up with Tom and Maddie’s guidance to stop Eggman! Awesome!

But Tails was hurt. And Knuckles still hated him. And weren’t Tom and Maddie still in Hawaii with Rachel and her G.U.N. fiancée? So how the hell did Sonic get here? Sonic struggled to his feet, his limbs feeling like they were asleep, the buzzing in his head still…well it was agitating, but maybe no longer painful. Sonic took a few steps forward.

Tom! Maddie! Tails! He called…wait-no…he thought that. He tried again.

Knuckles! Rachel! Well, that was weird…Sonic couldn’t speak. Had he hurt his voice? Had Eggman done this to him?! But Sonic’s throat didn’t hurt, he didn’t even feel it try to vibrate as he attempted to talk. Geez, what did Eggman do, take his mouth? Sonic said as he touched his face.

And then dragged it across his muzzle…and then swept it around his muzzle. His mouth.

Where was his mouth?! Sonic began to panic again, this time larger, but he wasn’t even hyperventilating, there wasn’t a mouth to hyperventilate from! His face felt smooth, with no sign of his lips that he loved to flap so much. It was smooth, where was his fur?! And his fingers felt…sharp. Sonic carefully moved his hand away from his face and turned to look at it.

Talons.

His hand wasn’t his hand. It was that of an Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator. Five metal pistons ended in needle-like fingers, razor-sharp, built to hurt and kill. Sonic couldn’t breathe, and quickly realized he didn’t have to. He stumbled back from his hands, both of which were that of John Connor’s nightmares. Sonic fell over and looked down at his body.

It wasn’t his body.

Thick metal boots made up his feet and two too-spindly legs connected them to a small metallic blue body. And there was a hole in his chest, why was there a hole in his chest? Sonic’s monster hand approached the hole and held it just above, he could feel the heat emanating from it.

Feel. Oh, thank god he could still feel. But he couldn’t smell, the fires giving off no smoky olfactory triggers. There was no smell of metal either from this weird facility he was in. But then Sonic turned and found that he wanted to cry and couldn’t.

Before him stood a rather reflective piece of metal, lit up in the oranges of the fires. And it reflected a monster.

Its face resembled Sonic’s. Barely. A smooth blue metal shell in the rough shape of Sonic’s head and a silvery muzzle with two large bolts made up his cheeks. There was a tiny skewer where his nose was and a pair or small curved hoods made up his ears.

But there were no eyes.

There was a screen. A screen that reflected a pair of burning red ovals back at Sonic. Sonic felt very very afraid. The ovals did not. And yet Sonic knew, what he was seeing…was him. Sonic wanted to cry,

He couldn’t cry. He wanted to wail.

He couldn’t wail. Sonic wanted to call out for his parents…his parents!

But he couldn’t do that either.

“The Doctor really was obsessed with you.” A smooth voice called. Sonic spun around, his body-no this thing’s body-starting to respond more quickly to Sonic’s commands. Sonic turned and saw the Mean Bean’s owner looking at him. He was wearing a G.U.N. outfit as he stood in the weird metal cave. “Well him I guess. But you, truly are beautiful.” The man said, his warm-colored face blazing in the lighting of the fire. Sonic began to step back already more concerned, even with dealing with a robotic body. This guy might’ve been a G.U.N. agent all along too! How long had they been watching him. It was time to go, Sonic spun around to run-

“Wait! Stop-” Sonic stopped. Sonic didn’t want to stop. Sonic tried to move. And suddenly found he couldn’t. And then words scrolled in front of his robotic vision.

Voice Recognized: Commands Authorized.

No. NO! No no no no! This guy could control him?! And he mentioned the ‘Doctor.’ As in Dr. Eggman? This guy was working for Eggman! Well, as long as he didn’t figure out he could control him.

“Can I control you?” Crap. “Has the Doctor granted me access to you? Raise your right arm.” Sonic didn’t want to, he tried his hardest to keep his hand down, show his defiance.

His hand went up. The man let out a laugh. It wasn’t one of humor, nor a crazed one. It was a laugh of understanding, seeing Sonic as a science experiment that just became a breakthrough.

“Amazing, truly amazing.” The man said. “What can you do?” Sonic finally had a reason to smile as his body…no! This robot’s body…finally didn’t do as the man asked. “Hmm, guess you can’t answer me. Perhaps your instructions are in the manual still.” The man reached into a pocket and pulled out a booklet and leafed through. He made a few notes of confusion before a gasp. And then a smile.

“To my loyal servant-oh that’s so kind of him!” The man cleared his throat. “To my loyal servant, this is my subconscious speaking to you through this booklet. The power of the Master Emerald has allowed my already incomprehensible mind to become even more fantastic. While it has been under my power, I used it to create the weapon that you see before you. It is extremely fast, powerful, and most importantly, deadly. Its most important purpose is the destruction of that blue bother and you are to use it to carry out that goal. I made it in his image in order to show that I’m better at being him, than him! And as such, I have named it the same way he sought to mock me with the name ‘Dr. Eggman.’ So behold! Metal Sonic!” The man cheered the last words and looked at Sonic with terrible glee. Sonic simply looked at him, his body incapable of emoting his terror. The man returned to reading.

“But I have the Master Emerald, so what can Sonic even do to stop me? So you probably won’t even need it.” The man frowned at those last words as Sonic was caught up with what he had just been told. Sonic had been created to destroy Sonic? But he was Sonic! There couldn’t be another Sonic right? “Well, I’ll find you Doctor and we will use your creation to kill the hedgehog.” The man proclaimed and turned around, moving through the metal cave. When Sonic didn’t follow he turned back around.

“Come Metal Sonic, we have work to do.”

Metal Sonic followed.

…

Present

Metal Sonic was angry. But that was nothing new. He was always angry. It was about the only emotion that he could produce, a dip in the metallic shell of his forehead creating an angered brow of sorts.

“Soon Metal Sonic, soon…” The man said, his tone uneven and wobbly. Metal Sonic merely rolled his optical sensors, trying to show his discontent. The man was always promising soon, but soon never seemed to come. Which was fine with Metal Sonic, the soon the man promised was bad news.

Eggman’s flunkey still believed that Eggman was out there, waiting to be found. So the man that controlled Metal Sonic had devoted his limited resources to trying to find him. Searching the stars and the Earth for the mad doctor and in the process…becoming mad himself. On the first day that Metal Sonic had met him he’d been crazy then, but so much more put together. He’d worn crisp suits, had a trimmed beard, and walked with confidence and an air of superiority.

Now?

Metal Sonic watched as he struggled around the abandoned warehouse that the man had put himself and Metal Sonic in. He hobbled around, back arched and frame weak. He’d been thin a year ago, now he was stick-like, any and all money used in the service of finding Eggman. Metal Sonic had seen as he’d sold his suits and other belongings in order to fund his search. The clothes he wore now were mere rags and his beard and hair had grown out wildly, hanging limply and greasily over his head.

“We’ll find the Doctor and then we’ll get revenge on that hedgehog! Don’t you want revenge on Sonic for making the Doctor disappear?!” The man yelled, but not in the direction of Metal Sonic, just emptily to the room.

Metal Sonic had no intention of getting revenge for the disappearance and likely death of Eggman, but he did want revenge on Sonic.

Well, the other Sonic.

Metal Sonic still knew he was Sonic, the original Sonic of course, but somehow this copy had replaced him. Sonic had been taken out of his body and stuffed into this robotic one, forced to watch as the fake Sonic lived his life in his stead.

Metal Sonic had watched as the other Sonic had slept in his bed, eaten his food, and lived with his parents. Metal Sonic’s parents. And they’d all had the audacity to let those other two mobians into their home. Stupid Knuckles, and stupid Tails! Why would other him let those two take his parents from him? From Sonic? From Metal Sonic?! For the billionth time, Metal Sonic wanted to scream in rage, but of course, he couldn’t, the metal plate on his robotic muzzle gave no mouth for him to emote through.

The man still had spyware available to watch the Wachowski family, which Metal Sonic had used while the man allowed tiny amounts of time to sleep. He saw Knuckles spending time with mom and Tails working with dad on the car. And the other Sonic just let it happen. How could he?! Those were their…his parents!

But the worst thing was…none of them noticed. None of them could tell that it was Sonic that had been replaced with fake Sonic. Did none of them care? Sonic could understand Wade or Knuckles or even Tails not telling that Sonic had been replaced. But his parents? They just treated fake Sonic as if it was their son…and Metal Sonic was all alone.

With a slowly dying crazy person.

Metal Sonic had discovered a few of the attributes of his robotic body while being forced into slavery by Eggman’s flunkey. For one the vital sensor slowly showed a weakening body on the part of the flunkey. There was also an energy shield and thankfully, perhaps even mercifully, an engine in this body.

A small, high-powered, rocket engine was put into Metal Sonic’s chest, the hole the intake for the air as Metal Sonic was able to use it to blast around the world at high speeds. But he could never use it when he wanted to. For as crazy as the man was, he wasn’t stupid.

There were leashes…rules that he’d put in place that prevented Metal Sonic from doing what he wanted, like leaving, and taking back his rightful place alongside his parents. The biggest one was of course not being allowed to do anything unless the man said so. And Metal had tried to disobey orders, at practically every turn. But this robotic body’s programming prevented him from doing what he wanted.

So Metal Sonic had to sit there and wait for the man to continue his wild goose chase, sending Metal Sonic all over the world in search of a dead man. And the man couldn’t even see that he was becoming one.

“Metal! We have a new lead! Go to 33.676390, -117.768330, and tell me what you find!” Metal Sonic reeled back a little from the crazed look in the man’s eyes, but his legs and engine followed the man’s instructions and Metal Sonic was off and out of the warehouse, rocketing across the world in the near blink of an eye. He could tell he wasn’t as fast as he used to be, but it was still pretty darn fast, and about the only freeing experience he had left.

Upon arriving at the location, Metal Sonic discovered an old decrepit building. It seemed to be falling apart with cracks in its concrete walls and destroyed windows. Metal Sonic entered it and did a few quick scans, going through the motions like, well like a robot. His scanners picked up nothing, perhaps it had once been an old Eggman base once, but now it was nothing. Metal Sonic sped back and presented himself to the man.

The man let out a crazed giggle and pulled Metal Sonic over before jacking him into the man’s computer system. Metal Sonic let out a shiver as he felt himself connect to the computer, his brain being stripped of information as the man downloaded what Metal Sonic had seen.

“Not possible!” The man spat. “There’s nothing there! How is there nothing there?! It’s just an abandoned building for a failed game company! Where? Where are you, Doctor?! I’ll find you I’ll- I’ll-” The man stumbled, he clutched at his heart. He was gasping but taking very little breath. Metal Sonic looked at him and read that he was dying, his organs giving out on him from malnutrition and overwork. “Metal!” He gasped. “Metal! I- I need-!” The man tried but collapsed to the ground.

Metal Sonic watched him, waiting for the command, he had to follow commands.

“I need he-! I need he- He-” The man’s eyes began to glaze over as his limbs continued to slacken as Metal Sonic wanted for those last two letters to come out. “Hel-” The man was right, this was hell. And Metal Sonic watched it happen, standing over the man as he tried to say help. But Metal Sonic didn’t have to do anything if he wasn’t commanded to.

And Metal Sonic didn’t want to help.

“Doctor…” The man whispered as his eyes dulled and a shuttering breath exhaled from his lungs. Metal Sonic watched the heart monitor on his vitals tracker make a few final beeps, and then there was a flatline and Metal Sonic watched the man who had trapped him die.

Metal Sonic supposed he should be relieved, the man who gave commands was finally dead. But now there was nothing Metal Sonic could do, he wasn’t allowed to do anything. The previous commands were still in place, existing beyond Eggman’s flunky’s death. Metal would have to stay in this abandoned building with a corpse until the sun burnt out.

Metal Sonic walked away from the dead man and to the surveillance software. It was the one thing he was allowed to use. He could watch the town he’d been taken from and the family that he’d been forced to leave behind. He could watch them live their lives, grow up, get jobs, and have families, all without him.

And now there were new people…new mobians. Fresh furry faces had been wandering around town the last couple of weeks, all without him. Metal had watched as they’d practically invaded the town occupying and distracting Green Hills’ citizens from going about their lives. Why did people put up with them? And now his parents were welcoming them too. Metal Sonic watched as they got into their car with fake Sonic and stupid Tails and stupid Knuckles and drove off somewhere, all to welcome a bunch of invaders.

It was starting to drive Metal Sonic crazy! How could they not see?! Their lives were being stolen by these needy little furry monsters! Why did the humans feel the need to care for them?! Let them figure out how to survive on their own, after all, Metal Sonic had. But instead, they were cared for, welcomed, and given food and clothes and…and attention by people that liked them.

Metal Sonic had had that. And now he didn’t. He couldn’t watch anymore. Too disgusted by the ignorance of everyone involved in that town…the town with his parents…

But what else was Metal Sonic to do? Sit around, not being able to talk to a corpse? Metal glared at the corpse, his word law to Metal Sonic. Metal turned back to the surveillance and switched it over to the local data, and recordings of what happened in the building. They were mostly full of the man’s crazed rants and desire to locate Eggman.

“Metal Sonic, go now!”

“You’re going to help me find the Doctor!”

“Freedom will be pointless under the Doctor’s rule!”

More of that. It was a lot of that. Metal Sonic’s sensors felt like they were glazing over as he watched and rewatched the information, bored out of his metallic skull. They were starting to blend together, each one practically the same, the man talking, but not actually saying anything. And then Metal Sonic heard something. His robotic ears perked and he played the information back once more.

“Metal Sonic, go now!”

“You’re going to help me find the Doctor!”

“Freedom will be pointless under the Doctor’s rule!”

Metal Sonic’s robotic brain spun, trying to identify what he’d heard, hidden between the lines of ramblings. Metal Sonic played them again and then stopped them partway.

“Metal Sonic, go-”

“You’re going to-”

“Freedom will be pointless-”

Metal Sonic stood up straighter, there it was…he’d found it, his way out of these commands, a way out of this prison of a structure. Metal rewound the dialogue and played it one more time, cutting off the dialogue sooner, and playing each clip right after the other.

“Metal Sonic-”

“You’re-”

“Free-”

For the first time in a year, Metal Sonic felt the desire to smile as he rocketed out of the building. His parents would be so excited to finally see him!

…

Metal Sonic wanted to meet with his parents alone, if that fake Sonic and his annoying friends were there then there was a good chance they’d lie and say that they were real and Metal Sonic was fake as ridiculous as that was. So Metal Sonic would have to wait for them to separate from those no-good freeloaders.

Metal Sonic had followed the group from their home all the way to town hall, sticking close to the shadows like he used to, having to hide from people he cared about once more. Metal Sonic hated it, forced to play second fiddle to this so called Sonic.

As Metal Sonic’s parents and the furry parent-stealers arrived, they exited the car smiling and laughing and generally having a good time. It was starting to piss Metal Sonic off. It was also the first time Metal Sonic had seen his parents in person in over a year. They looked…happy.

But also very tired. And it was no wonder, three kids and having to help out a town suddenly bursting at the seams with refugees? They needed a rest! How could this fake Sonic let them do this? Clearly, he didn’t care about them as Metal Sonic did. It was also the first time Metal Sonic got a good look at his faker.

He had to admit, this duplicate was pretty good. Eggman must’ve made him when he transferred Sonic’s consciousness into Metal Sonic. Or at least Metal Sonic was pretty sure that’s how it happened.

Fake Sonic had the right shade of blue fur, the same emerald green eyes, the same red and white shoes, and the length of quills. Hell even the same smart-aleck smirk as Fake Sonic said something and everyone but Knuckles let out a laugh, the bright red echidna choosing instead to roll his eyes.

Metal Sonic couldn’t realize why they kept the buffoon around, he was clumsy and destructive and actually stupid. He didn’t understand what TV was. He got angry when he licked the ice cream off the cone. He broke water glasses just by holding them. And all of that was without mentioning the fact that he’d helped Eggman. Or the fact that his tribe had killed Longclaw, Metal Sonic’s childhood caretaker before he became Metal Sonic, and before the Wachowskis had taken him in.

But they still kept him around, why? Who would want someone that just caused chaos and pain? It didn’t make sense to Metal Sonic.

Finally, there was Tails, the tiny fox that was currently following right behind Fake Sonic, his hand holding the faker's. The boy beamed brightly and laughed at the joke Fake Sonic had made.

Suck up.

Metal Sonic had watched him too. Following Fake Sonic where ever he went, trying to copy him and act like him, all the while spouting random bits of information about things nobody cared about! Like seriously! Who cared about how planes worked or the history of cars? Nobody, that’s who.

They were probably all just hoping he’d talk so long that his tongue would fall out. But why try to have that patience when you could just kick him out? He’d been on his own before, he could handle it.

But Metal Sonic would deal with all of those fake kids and stupid friends another time, first, he’d have to get his parents back. It had been so long for him, it was his turn to be cared for! His turn to be loved! And no one was going to take that from him any longer!

However.

Metal Sonic had waited a whole year to be with them again, he could wait a few more minutes. He watched as they entered the town hall, as he hid in the bushes. Several groups of people began to enter the building one after another.

Almost all of them had a mobian with them. A furry freeloader that looked extremely nervous and scared. Metal Sonic would be willing to feel a pang of sympathy for them, after all, he’d been on his own before.

Oh, wait.

They weren’t alone!

Most of the humans were careful with the mobian or mobians that accompanied them, words of encouragement and careful handholds abundant. They all filed inside and soon Metal Sonic heard the beginning of the meeting, his father’s words coming in loud and clear even from outside.

Metal Sonic moved across the parking lot to one of the windows and saw his parents inside along with their fake kids. Each kid slowly got up to the podium and spoke, spouting some kind of nonsense, each more ridiculous than the last. Metal Sonic was about to roll his optics when he saw that his parents were leaving.

Without the idiot gang.

This was his chance. Metal Sonic moved from the side of the building and got up behind his parents. He was so overjoyed! Metal Sonic wanted to beam at the thought of their happy faces greeting their real son after all this time!

“I thought you said you put them in the back?” His dad said.

“No, I said Knuckles wanted to put them in the back. They’re in a bin in the passenger footwell- of for the love of- I’ve got them.” His mother said retrieving a box from inside the car. Metal Sonic felt excitement upon hearing their voices again. And then he was right behind his father. He tugged on his shirt. The man spun around and Metal Sonic finally got to see his dad’s face up close after a whole year.

“W-what the…?” The man when through a flash of emotions, first surprise then confusion, and finally…was that…unease? “Geez, Tails is that you?” The man tapped at Metal Sonic’s forehead. “Did you build a Sonic robot? We’ve got to talk about your obsession with your older brother.” Tails? Older brother? What was this?! Tails wasn’t Sonic’s…wasn’t Metal Sonic’s younger brother. And Metal Sonic definitely didn’t want to think about them right now.

“Why did you give it claws Tails, sweetie? It’s kind of creepy.” Metal Sonic’s mother said, also wearing a look of unease. Creepy?! Was Metal Sonic’s body that creepy? He went and hugged his father, wanting to be close to him, to feel his comforting presence after so long.

“Uhh, okay, how ‘bout we go inside and I hug you for real Tails? Not this proxy.” NO! Metal Sonic wasn’t Tails! He wasn’t Knuckles and he definitely wasn’t SONIC! NO NO NO! He didn’t want to think about them as he let go and glared at his father.

“Alright…well let’s go back inside and finish this meeting.” Tom turned away. Metal Sonic grabbed his wrist and didn’t let go. “Umm, Tails can you make this thing let go of me? Its grip kind of hurts.” Tom’s voice was starting to be strained. Metal Sonic felt bad about that, but he wasn’t listening anymore. He’d done a whole year of listening to someone tell him what to do. Now it was his turn.

And he decided his parents were coming with him.

Chapter Text

Sonic skitted back into the town hall breathing heavily, his eyes flicking about wildly as he looked for his brothers among the people slowly getting up to leave. Eventually, he spotted Tails and Knuckles talking to a few others. Sonic ran up to them and Tails turned around to greet him.

“Oh hey, Sonic! Glad you’re back, we actually all came up with this really great idea to welcome all the new mobians. We’re calling it project-”

“Mom and Dad are missing!” Sonic cut Tails off. His brother flinched back and Sonic watched as a shiver went through the fox as well as Knuckles. The echidna gripped Sonic’s shoulders.

“Do not jest about this kind of thing brother! What do you mean Mother and Father are missing?”

“I mean- I got a weird feeling after Tails said they weren’t at the car and I went everywhere, home, their works, the grocery store, even my old cave, and nothing! They’re just gone.”

“Okay relax guys.” Sonic and his brothers looked up to see Wade, giving a calming gesture. Sonic hadn’t even realized that that was who his brothers were talking to. Wade was there alongside his mom and the two mobians that they had taken in. Silver was still perched atop Wade’s shoulders and Blaze had been wrangled back into Wade’s mom’s arms. The cat still looked unsure of this act.

Amy was also there. She looked scared for Sonic, her bright jade eyes capturing him as he tried to listen to Wade.

“They’re probably just out getting some more stuff to give to us new caretakers.” Wade looked up at Silver who smiled down at the man, oblivious to the fact that SONIC’S PARENTS WERE MISSING! “Look I’ll get him over the radio.” Wade then pulled out his radio and pressed the talk button. “Hey there Tom, it’s Wade! Look you’re scaring your kids by dipping, where are you guys at?” Silence filled the man’s words.

And then the silence continued. Sonic watched a bead of sweat roll down Wade’s face as a look of nervousness finally began to build for Wade as well.

“Well that’s weird, Tom always has his radio on.” Wade’s words were wobbly and uneven. “Look even if Tom isn’t picking up, that doesn’t mean that he’s gone missing, we shouldn’t panic.” Wade was clearly beginning to panic.

“S-Sonic?” Tails’ eyes were wide. “You don’t think Eggman’s back do you?” The mere thought had Sonic’s heart beating faster than normal, the idea that Sonic’s terrible foe had returned the stuff of nightmares. But Sonic ultimately shook his head.

“Taking our parents does seem like something he might do, but there’s no flare to it. He’d need to announce it to the world in 50 languages with fireworks blasting all while dissing me. Mom and Dad just vanished.”

“Is it possible that Tails could concoct a contraption to locate Mother and Father?” Knuckles offered. But Tails shook his head.

“I wouldn’t know where to begin, I could look into security cameras, but if Eggman is involved, he’d probably just overwrite my controls.”

“I’m telling you Eggman’s not involved.” Sonic reiterated.

“Are you sure you want to stick to that belief brother? You thought he was gone once before.” Knuckles’ voice was threatening, but it wasn’t intended to hurt Sonic, just a reminder of forgetting the pain the wretched man had inflicted as the echidna’s eyes flicked to their youngest brother.

“Are there any mobians that are strong olfactory trackers?” A voice offered, and the three brothers looked to the lavender cat, still held in Mrs. Whipple’s arms. “June could you put me down? I appreciate the care, but I feel it is at the cost of my dignity.” Blaze looked up at the elder woman.

“Oh alright, but I’m not sure what you boys are so worried about. There probably just getting you all a surprise for helping out with this meeting.” The woman gave a smile as she set Blaze down, and while Sonic appreciated the sentiment, something told him that whatever this was, it was bad news.

“I do not know, I have not yet acquainted myself personally with the other mobians.” Knuckles commented.

“What’s an olfactory tracker?” Sonic’s eyebrows clenched.

“It’s a person who’s really good at smelling for stuff. They can sniff out enemies from dozens of miles.” Silver offered with an uncanny smile, and then as Wade sent him a nervous smile, the white hog redoubled his smile, now just looking sheepish and strained. “Or you know, missing people.”

“Oh, like Mr. Acton’s girl?” Mrs. Whipple’s comment was greeted with an onslaught of raised eyebrows. She tutted at them all. “You know, Carl Acton, he’s got that little girl, Whisper. Says he can’t buy any sweets anymore as she sniffs them out super quick.”

“Sounds like an olfactory tracker to me!” Silver beamed.

“Do we know where Whisper is now?” Blaze questioned.

“Crazy Carl’s last name is Acton?” Sonic said.

“The meeting just ended.” Wade pounded his hand with his fist. “They might not have left yet, let’s go see if they can be of help.” The group started to move to the exit of the town hall, Sonic in tow when suddenly he felt someone grab hold of his wrist. Sonic spun around and was once more trapped by Amy’s jade eyes.

“Sonic I want to help.” She pleaded, her eyes somehow growing larger as Sonic was swallowed up by them.

“F-for sure Ames, we just gotta find Whisper and she’ll help-” Amy shook her head.

“No, I think I know how to find your parents.” She said letting go of Sonic’s wrist and reaching into her quills, pulling out a small deep brown wooden box. It was engraved with old markings, but the words ‘Property of Amy Rose’ was written in a bright pink pen marker on the front.

“Amy we don’t have time for that!” A cynical voice called from behind Sonic, he turned and was surprised to see that it was Tails. The young boy frowned at Amy, she shrunk under his gaze.

“R-right, bad idea, we should just-”

“Are those Tarot Cards?” Knuckles had reapproached the group, a wide smile on his face. It was a bit of a role reversal for Sonic to see Tails frowning and Knuckles smiling. “You are a mystic?” Amy blushed a little and looked only at the box.

“Not really, b-but I know how to read the cards.” She mumbled.

“There’s no science behind those things Amy, I’m going with the others to find Whisper.” Tails huffed and moved back to the rest of the group that was exiting the town hall. Amy slumped visibly further.

“Tails is right, this is a waste of time.”

“Do not doubt your power, Amy Rose the Mystic. If you believe you can locate mother and father, I implore you to try.” Knuckles gave a nod of his head as he crossed his arms. Amy perked up a little at that and looked back to Sonic who ran a hand through his quills.

“Look Amy, I’ve seen crazy mustached guys, space portal things, magic emeralds, and once my dad without his clothes on, so I’ve seen some pretty crazy stuff. If you think you can magic your way into telling me where my mom and dad is, go for it. I believe in you!” Sonic tried for a soft smile. Amy returned it, but looked to the closing door, a bright orange fox tail dipping behind it. “Hey, don’t worry about Tails, he’ll come around. You wanted to make it up to him? This is how you do it.” Amy nodded brighter and opened the box.

She took out the set of cards, a rather massive deck at that, inlaid with symbols and even some gold etching. She shuffled them once, twice, three times, and began to flip a few. She huffed at those and took one out, before reshuffling the deck.

“Is this gonna take too long?” Sonic was getting antsy and the idea of waiting too much longer felt like it was putting his parents in danger. Knuckles put a hand across Sonic’s chest and moved him back from Amy.

“You cannot rush a mystic, Sonic. She will tell us the location of mother and father in good time.”

Amy redealt three cards and frowned again, removing one from that sat and reshuffling the remainder of the deck twice more. Finally, she dealt three cards and removed two, and finally, there was a smile as she pulled the other two cards she’d set aside from previous deals.

“This is what the cards are telling me.” She looked up at them beaming, her face aglow with energy. “They say that family is in a place of heart.”

“A place of heart?” Sonic was starting to think that Tails might’ve been on the right track. Amy smiled sheepishly.

“Okay, I might be reading into that one a bit much. But I’m sticking to it. What that means is that it’s a place where your heart has been most affected. I got the chariot twice, once reversed, once not. So it’s more like a place where your heart was fullest, and where it was emptiest.”

“Well there are a lot of places like that-” Sonic began when Knuckles grabbed both sides of his face.

“THINK BROTHER! Where has your heart been the weakest and the strongest?! Surely the strongest is when I’ve been around!” Sonic just shook his head trying to remove Knuckles’ enormous mitts from his face.

“I-I don’t know! P-please Knuckles st-stop!”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I should’ve stayed back on Mobius if I had to witness this.” A gravely voice echoed throughout the chamber. Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy spun around to see the cruel green hedgehog Scourge reentering the town hall, Mr. Sultz, and the chipmunk girl ahead of him. The chipmunk girl moved ahead to one of the seats while Mr. Sultz just stood back glaring at Scourge.

“What do you want Snot?” Sonic huffed.

“Honestly nothing wimp, although I am a little surprised you're already back. I thought you’d run off with those two humans to go play pattycake somewhere?” Scourge shot Sonic a sleazy grin. Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy’s heads all shot up at his words.

“Wait, I did what?! But I’ve been here the whole time.” Sonic shook his head at the confused stares of Knuckles and Amy.

“You’re telling me, wimp, I thought one of you was enough, but then you’ve got a double that ran off that way.” Scourge pointed in a direction. Knuckles growled and moved to Scourge, picking him up by his chest.

“You witnessed our parent’s abduction and chose not to inform us?!” The echidna demanded. Scourge had the decency to look nervous, and tried to loosen Knuckles’ tight grasp, but to no avail.

“Geez man, I didn’t know they were being abducted, let go of me!” Scourge spat and flashed his sharp shark teeth. Knuckles’ eyes flashed fear for a second but didn’t let go of Scourge until Mr. Sultz put a hand on Knuckles’ arm.

“Kid, let go of him, he didn’t know. But I’ll make sure he knows for the future.” Knuckles glared up at the man, but blinked and sighed, putting the hedgehog down. He nodded at Mr. Sultz’s words and backed away.

Sonic meanwhile was looking off in the direction that Scourge had pointed, trying to figure out why some weird double of him had taken his parents that way.

“Why go that way? There’s nothing there except-” Sonic froze, steel shooting into his bones, making him go ramrod straight.

Two days, close to a year apart. One, a dark night, a lonely night. He’d tried to run it off. He’d really tried to run it off. He’d only succeeded in making things darker.

On a second day, he’d never thought he’d be that happy. He’d played with his brothers for the first time. He’d called his dad, dad for the first time.

Both at the baseball field. And without another word, Sonic sped off.

…

Sonic had no idea what he was seeing. But if he had to put his finger on it, a robotic version of himself was playing baseball with his parents.

While hidden in the trees to the side of the baseball diamond Sonic watched as his father threw a ball at his robotic double on the diamond. The robot had a bat at the ready and in a stiff batting, position hit the ball with a resounding crack. Sonic’s father and mother, who had elected to station herself on shortstop, watched as the ball soared over their heads and disappeared into the trees beyond the back of the field.

His double threw down the bat and Sonic watched in awe as his double used what appeared to be some kind of super-fast engine to rocket around the bases turning on a dime, by leaning over and clawing at the dirt to make the turns. He was back at home before the ball even crested the top of its flight.

His robot, now back on base, proceeded to celebrate…by flossing. Sonic hadn’t really ever been on the outside of the activity looking in, but he was starting to think that might be a little weird. It was doubly weird by how stiff the movement was, the double’s robotic arms and hips not able to move as fluidly as Sonic himself.

“W-well the ball disappeared into the woods so maybe we could play another time…” Sonic’s mother said. Her voice was tense and high-pitched. Sonic had been so shocked at the robotic version of himself that he hadn’t realized that the robot was probably his parent's kidnapper!

Sonic took in their faces from his spot in the woods and noticed their fear and worry. They kept glancing at the robot’s hands and Sonic noticed the terrifying, needle-like claws that made up its fingers. This thing was deadly. And Sonic’s parents were scared for their lives.

Sonic felt something churn in his stomach and then it got spiky and painful. The pain burned away into electricity that built on the surface of Sonic’s skin, building in his quills and lighting up his eyes.

He was angry. Very angry.

This thing looked like him, acted like him, took his parents, and more than that, scared them. Sonic was feeling the urge to tear this thing apart and ship it back to whatever hack toy factory it came from.

The double held up one finger at Sonic’s mother’s words and rocketed into the forest, surely in search of the disappeared ball. Shaking away the electrical energy, Sonic exited from the trees and ran over to his parents. He tried for a smile, but it was weak, he too was shaken by the sudden appearance of the robot.

“Mom, Dad! Are you guys okay?!” Sonic blurted out and took each of their hands in his.

“Sonic?!” They said at the same time.

“Yeah, it’s really me, I got a glimpse at the terminator over there, what’s going on?!” Sonic demanded but was now pulling on his parent’s arms, determined to get them away from here.

“We dunno, that robo-you just showed and abducted us! We thought Tails made it.” Sonic’s dad said.

“What? No way, Tails wouldn’t…probably. And besides, that thing reeks of Eggman.”

“You don’t think he’s back, do you, sweetheart?” Sonic’s mother kept flipping her head about looking for the robot.

“I-I don’t know. Yes. No? Maybe? We can deal with that guy right after…” Sonic trailed off as the robotic version of himself made its grand re-entrance, making fast loops around the group before stopping in front of them. Baseball in hand. Sonic let go of his parents’ hands and took a loose fighting stance. Sonic swallowed and looked into the robot's eyes, and was shocked to find rage billowing out beneath the unfeeling CRT screen of its face.

Sonic had faced a lot of robots before, eggdrones, beebots, and of course the giant ego bot Eggman made for himself to pilot, but this one was different. It seemed to think, think like Sonic. How much of Sonic did Eggman put in this robot?

“So you’re a robotic clone of myself? Gotta say Eggman has good taste when it comes to models for his designs.” Sonic stuck out his chest and at the mention of Eggman, the robotic duplicate’s engine fired up and Sonic felt the robot's rage increased.

Well, add hating Eggman to the list of things the two had in common.

“So what do I call you huh? Robo-Sonic? Mecha Sonic? Silver Sonic? Are you made of silver? I know a guy named Silver now, he’s pretty nice actually.” The robot made no recognition of Sonic’s words. “Ooo! How about Metal Sonic?” The robot twitched and Sonic watched as it clutched the baseball tighter. But it didn’t have crushing hands, it had stabbing hands. Each of the needle-like fingers pressed into the ball and went through it like a hot knife through butter until it resembled a pincushion. “Metal Sonic it is. So you want to explain why you tried to steal my parents?”

And then Sonic was on the ground. He’d barely had time to register that the robot had shot forward and pinned him to the earth, the needle fingers stabbing the dirt around his neck. Sonic blinked barely registering the seething blood-red eyes that glowered at him as he tried to make sense of the situation.

Sonic was fooling around at first, he’d never known an Eggman robot to outspeed him, but this thing wasn’t messing, so neither should he. Bunching his legs up, Sonic kicked up, throwing Metal Sonic off of him and sending the robot flying backward. Sonic then popped to his feet and spun around just in time to watch Metal Sonic hit the grass and tear it up, before bouncing. Sonic took note of how easily he’d kicked off the robot, it wasn’t particularly heavy.

Good to know.

Sonic, still in bullet time, shot forward as Metal Sonic was still mid-bounce and gave it some rapid jabs to its hollow chest, increasing the robot’s moment. As he came to a stop, Metal Sonic did not, his bounce now increased to a fly, which sent him smashing through the scoreboard…which had just been repaired from Knuckles’ baseball hit a year prior.

“Sonic! Are you okay?!” His dad called out. Both parents were running towards him. But he spun around and held his hand out.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I promise! Just stay back, I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“We didn’t leave you when you were up against Eggman, we’re not leaving you now!” Sonic’s mom had that determined mom look that told Sonic when he was going to eat his brussel sprouts.

“Which could’ve gotten you killed!” Sonic pointed out, still not approving of the way they had thrown themselves in danger for his sake last year. “Besides I was really tired then and that was a HUGE emerald-powered robot, this is one tiny little- GAH!” Sonic was cut off as Metal Sonic flew through his own hole in the scoreboard and headfirst into Sonic’s gut, the two flew across the field and into the batting cage.

The cage subsequently managed to hold, which now meant that Sonic was pinned a few feet off the ground between it and Metal Sonic. Sonic pushed the rage-filled eyes of his double with his right hand and held the robot’s right-clawed hand with his left. The claw hand that was currently trying to make its way toward Sonic’s eyeballs.

“Hey, why don’t we talk about this Metal?” Sonic gave a sheepish grin before noticing the increased pressure put on himself. Probably not a good idea to mention talking to a guy with no mouth. Sonic huffed and let Metal Sonic’s hand’s moment go through, but directing it over his head sending the robot off balance, its engine now pointing no longer in the direction of Sonic and Metal Sonic’s claws through the mesh of the batting cage, slicing through the metal.

Sonic pushed the robot to the side before dropping to the ground, rolling into a quick ball before popping to his feet and turning around to watch as Metal Sonic got up. And then Sonic’s eyes widened.

“Oh…man sorry bout that? You okay?” The robot actually managed a note of confusion before looking down at its left hand. To notice there was no longer a left hand. Metal Sonic’s gaze moved to the ground and Sonic’s eyes followed to notice a small pile of scrap metal.

Metal Sonic’s hand.

The robot reeled back in…terror? It was hard to tell and it instead collapsed to the ground, bringing its wrist inward and glaring up at Sonic, hurt somehow visible beneath Metal Sonic’s optics.

It got to its feet and got into a position to fight one-handed. And then found it was no longer one-handed. The pieces of its sliced hand flew from the ground and locked back onto Metal Sonic’s wrist like they were magnetized, hell they probably were magnetized.

“Well that’s strange, isn’t it?” Sonic blinked. The robot tested out its hand and found that each finger was completely workable and fine like it’d never been sliced off. And then it looked up at Sonic with what could only be a sinister glee. “Uh oh.”

Sonic was subsequently sent flying as the robot’s now repaired fist collided with Sonic’s stomach. He let out a gasp of air and tumbled along the ground. Sonic’s vision was hazy as he tried to suck air, the wind knocked out of his lungs. Through his blurry sight, he managed to spot Metal Sonic approaching him, foot raised to stomp on Sonic’s head. Sonic managed to roll away just in time as the robot’s foot smashed into the ground, denting the earth. Curling up in a spin dash, Sonic felt the energy churn in his stomach before settling in his quills turning electric blue before shooting his body forward, directly into Metal Sonic’s chest.

And then he was through Metal Sonic’s chest. As Sonic came to a stop and uncurled, ending up on his hands in knees, he noticed the robot had completely broken apart.

But not for long. Pieces began to shoot together and the robot slowly reassembled, like a puppet being pulled back on its strings.

“Oh, come on.” Sonic hissed through his teeth as two sets of hands grabbed at his arms and helped him to his feet.

“Let’s get you out of here kid.” Sonic managed to turn his head to notice his parents slowly lifting him up.

“N-no.” Sonic choked out, still having trouble breathing after Metal Sonic’s punch. “Get out of here! Call Tails and Knuckles. Stay safe!” Sonic shook off their hold and tried to focus, Metal Sonic was now fully repaired. The robot’s hands clenched and unclenched, claws seemingly eager to draw blood. “Any chance we can resolve this peacefully? I’m actually not that into smashing robots!” Sonic’s voice was still strained and didn’t have as much bravado as he’d like.

The robot obviously didn’t speak. But a slow shake of its head answered Sonic’s question. “Fine.” Sonic hissed. And then they were off. Sonic shot away from the diamond and off into town, the robot hot on his heels. Sonic swerved around cars and buildings, taking his double on a goose chase through neighborhoods. He took a leap over a set of picket fences and landed on his feet before looking behind to spot Metal Sonic simply crashing through them.

“REALLY?! Mrs. Patinkins is gonna make me rebuild her fence!” Sonic taunted before realizing how close Metal Sonic got and had to leap to the side as the robot’s claws swiped at the air, right where he’d just been.

Sonic led the robot further, making sure that they were far away from his parents. Unfortunately, the robot seemed to figure that out too. As soon as they got to the town’s borders, Sonic checked over his shoulder to find that Metal Sonic was now rocketing away from him, back in the direction of the baseball field. Sonic skitted to a stop and spun around, feeling the energy build within him as he ran back.

He caught up with Metal just as the robot was approaching the field. Sonic bashed into the robot’s side and sent it careening off course, slamming face-first into one of the large metal poles that made up the batting cage. Sonic came to a stop to see that the pole had actually dented Metal’s face in, distorting it and glitching it, the robot getting to its feet but moving in weird circles and sparking.

Sonic allowed himself a second to breathe, hands on his knees before running over to his parents, more determined now than ever to get them out of there. He took hold of each of their hands.

“Okay, no more delay! We’ve gotta go before it repairs-” And then there was pain, and cold, and screaming, but not his screaming. And then Sonic slumped to the ground, the world darkening around him.

…

Metal Sonic had won. Victory was his as he watched his fake collapse to the ground, defeated. Metal Sonic should smile, he should feel happy, and everyone should feel happier now that the identity stealer had lost, now on his stomach as red slowly overtook his blue quills and fur.

But if he won, then why was mom screaming? Why was dad picking up his fake holding him close trying to talk to him? Wrap up his bleeding back in a shirt?

His bleeding back…

Him.

Metal Sonic watched as he was picked up and cared for, words of pain and desire and care cried out in his name. His real name. Metal Sonic was Sonic, but so was this other Sonic. They were both Sonic at heart, Metal wanted to believe…this one had just been lucky enough to be able to be with his parents, with his brothers, with all of the lovely people in town that like him and wanted him around.

If the roles had been reversed if this Sonic had been Metal Sonic and he had been actual Sonic, would he have done the same? Metal Sonic held up his claws, his terrible, nightmare hands, and watched as his own blood dripped from them.

Metal Sonic took a step forward, he wanted to help, he did. But as he moved, blood still fresh on his talons, the couple saw him and curled around their son, protecting him from further harm by the killer robot. Metal flinched and stepped back staring at the family, the real family that he had hurt.

And maybe Metal was the duplicate and this Sonic was the real one as he slowly bled on the ground from Metal’s attack. Maybe Metal Sonic’s parents had never even been his parents in the first place. And now all he’d tried to do was kill a lovely couple’s son.

He wanted to apologize, he wanted to cry, he wanted to beg for forgiveness and do anything to make it right. He wanted to throw up at his actions. He wanted to say,

I’m sorry, but please don’t leave me alone, I don’t want to be alone anymore.

But he couldn’t.

The lack of a mouth that this infernal body crafted by a monster prevented him from doing so. But Metal Sonic was still Sonic, and so he did what Sonic does best.

He ran.

He ran through forests and towns and cities and the lives of others free from the pain that they felt and the pain that they’d caused. From a family that he hoped he had once been a part of but had now betrayed beyond forgiveness.

Eventually, his rocket engine overheated and sputtered out and Metal Sonic lost all control, thrown forward under its remaining momentum as his body crashed through trees and bounced off rocks, denting and scraping. But he barely felt it, his body trying to repair itself as he tumbled through the air. Finally, his body smacked into some kind of rocky ground and rolled to a stop with a splash.

Water.

Metal Sonic hated water. But this wasn’t enough to even phase him too much. The water barely rising above his left optic as he lay sideways in the pond. Metal Sonic was done. He shut off his optics and waited for the world to be done with him too.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t.

As soon as he’d shut off his optics there was a bonk. Someone hitting his head, at least he thought they were hitting his head, the blows so weak he could barely register it. And then there was another bonk and another and then a whole bunch of them as they knocked at his side and back. Was Metal Sonic getting a massage?

And then there were pushes, what felt like a dozen tiny hands shoving at his back, trying to roll him out of the water with no success. And then there was a voice.

“Hey you should probably move, they don’t like it when you dirty their water.” The voice was young, maybe around Tails’ age, but even more high-pitched, like a girl. But the voice wasn’t tame, it held a degree of sass, demanding even. Following the girl’s words, there was a chorus of sounds, animal-like, but also not quite. It actually kind of reminded Metal Sonic of Pokemon.

“CHAO CHAO CHAO CHAO CHAO CHAO!” The animals went. Metal Sonic opened his eyes and found a creature before him, the last one he’d hoped to ever see again.

The hedgehog was young but looked like she was already ready to take on the world. She glared at him through aggressive purple eyes that pierced through Metal Sonic’s hard shell. She held no weapon but acted like she didn’t need one, one hand on a tiny hip. Aqua-colored quills stuck up around her head and flowed down like she hadn’t been groomed in weeks…years. She wore a simple brown dress that covered her whole body and had various holes in it. It didn’t look very comfortable. Equally uncomfortable-looking red shoes covered her feet.

She clearly came from a life of squalor but that didn’t seem to affect her attitude as Metal Sonic actually felt a note of surprise and was somewhat paralyzed by the girl’s attitude and stance.

“Well?! Are you gonna move? Cause if you don’t then I’m gonna have to do it for you!” She huffed and Metal Sonic, still in shock, did not move. So true to her word, she entered the small pool of water and picked up Metal Sonic’s hand, and began to try and tug him out of the water. She made no progress, the act of lifting Metal Sonic’s arm seemingly a challenge in itself. The animals behind Metal Sonic made themselves known again.

“CHAO CHAO CHAO CHAO!” They called. The aqua-colored hedgehog dropped Metal Sonic’s arm and looked behind him at the animals and shook her tiny fist at them.

“Hey! I’m trying to get him out of your water, chill wouldya?” She looked down at Metal Sonic again. “Honesty, they have no respect for a lady do they?” She ran a hand through her tangled mess of quills. “Now you’re not gonna make a young girl like me try to haul you are you?” She put her hands together and made a pair of hoglet eyes at Metal Sonic.

Metal Sonic was in no mood to deal with this girl or whatever was trying to push him out of the water, but if it made them stop, he’d move. Pushing up from the water, Metal Sonic got to his feet and moved a few steps until he left the pond and dropped back to the ground resting his head and body on a rock, now facing the pond.

Metal Sonic had seen a lot of crazy things, but he’d never seen whatever these creatures were. They reminded him faintly of onions if onions were baby blue and could fly. Little tiny wings carried the bodies of tiny humanoids with onion-shaped heads and tiny legs and hands. Six sets of eyes glared at Metal Sonic as he noted the blood that now tainted the water of the pond.

Oops.

Metal Sonic shrugged, his care for these things waning, what were they even called anyway? He’d probably just name them-

“I call ‘em Chao, 'cause y’know that’s all they say.” Metal Sonic tilted his head to look at the young hedgehog and saw her eager personality and go-getter attitude. She was similar to himself in that way, but she had this hardness to her, a strength that nothing was going to stop her from doing what she wanted. It was impressive, considering that she seemed to be all alone out here. “So what had you crashing through the forest?” She turned to him, purple eyes scanning him.

Metal Sonic said nothing.

“Not talking huh?” She frowned. “Well, I’ll figure out a way to make you talk! But first I gotta eat something. You want anything?”

Metal Sonic still said nothing.

“No? Okay, more for me!” And then she clapped her hands together and the Chao finally stopped looking angry and fluttered disappearing into the woods where Metal Sonic found himself. They soon came back and dropped a whole bunch of berries and fruits at the young hedgehog girl’s feet. Metal Sonic managed to look impressed. She winked at him. “I help ‘em keep their water and they bring me fresh fruit to eat, it’s a good business deal. Oh! I’m Breezie by the way.” She stuck her hand out to Metal Sonic, hand covered in juices from the fruits she’d already partaken in.

Metal Sonic took it.

“So do you want to be a bodyguard to these guys? I’ll split the fruit with you! 80/20. A deal can be made for 70/30 but I’m not going any higher.” Metal Sonic just stared at the young businesswoman, her demands irrefutable. Metal Sonic decided he did, cause why not, he had nothing better to do. “Good, now as your boss we’ve got to set some ground rules…” The child said, even before Metal Sonic was able to nod his head.

Like she understood him.

…

As Sonic came to, his head was pounding and his back was aching, four slash marks making themselves known. He was on his stomach and began to get to his knees when the world wobbled beneath him.

“I wouldn’t try to get up tough guy. Wouldn’t want to make yourself any uglier than you already are.” A gravely voice sounded off.

“It takes one to know one, Scourge.” Sonic said, his voice scratchy and tired. He turned his head to notice the green hedgehog in a bed beside him sitting upright as Sonic’s mother held a saw over his foot. She looked at Sonic, eyes wide in awe, and dropped the saw running over to Sonic and holding his face in her hands.

“Mwah mwah mwah.” She kissed his face and Sonic tried to wave her off.

“Mom, mom! I’m fine, really!” He said but was more than pleased to enjoy her company.

“Oh baby, you scared the living daylights out of us! How dare you take on that robot!” Sonic felt himself shrivel a little under her gaze which had gone from loving to rage-filled in a fraction of a second.

“It was just one robot! I didn’t realize it would be that powerful. All though it was made in my image…” Sonic trailed off as he wondered how similar the robot was to him. “What happened to it anyway. Wait! Is dad alright?! Tails?! Knuckles?!” Sonic tried to get up again, but his back protested.

“Lay back down, now! And your father and brothers are fine.” Sonic’s mom soothed and Sonic still got up, but slower. His mother seeing that he was refusing to lie down, helped him into a sitting position carefully.

“Yeah, you were the only one stupid enough to take on a killer robot.” Scourge snickered. Maddie flashed him a look and he stopped laughing.

“I can let you keep that cast on mister.” Scourge chose to look at his cast.

“Wait his cast is coming off? How long was I out?!” Sonic was starting to panic, wondering if he was waking up like Rick Grimes at the beginning of the Walking Dead. Was there a whole hoard of robotic doubles waiting just outside the clinic he found himself in?

“The robot is long gone, it disappeared after it hurt you. And you’ve only been out for a little over a day. Scourge just heals really fast.”

“Comes with having these babies!” Scourge flashed his shark-toothed smile. Sonic’s mom rolled her eyes and looked back at her son.

“As for you. You need to get some rest, and if you ever make me have to put stitches in you again I swear I’ll ground you for life mister!” Sonic nodded vigorously and tried for a sheepish smile as he considered the very real threat she’d leveled at him. Sonic’s mom’s anger turned into a smile. “Now let me call up your father, he and your brothers are gonna be eager to see you’re awake.” It was Sonic’s turn to smile. But as his mother went to make the call, he frowned and pulled on her doctor’s coat.

“M-mom? Did the…did the robot me seem, I don’t know, upset? Like when he hurt me? Or when he ran away?” Sonic’s voice was small, he didn’t love reminding his mother of things that made her sad or angry, but something in Sonic’s head told him he had to know. Sonic’s mom predictably frowned at Sonic’s mention of the double.

“I don’t know, I wasn’t focused on it, I was focused on you and how you got yourself injured. Besides it was just a robot, why would it emote?” His mom turned away and began to call the rest of Sonic’s family. His mom was probably right, it was just a robot.

A robot that was a lot like him.

The door to the clinic’s recovery room burst open just as Sonic’s mom finished getting Scourge’s cast off. And with it came more people than Sonic expected.

First was Tails, the young boy shot forward already in flight, and grabbed Sonic around his neck holding him tight and wailing. Knuckles was behind him, far less emotional but a strong smile and a nod told Sonic that the Echidna was glad he was safe. Sonic’s dad was next, more than relieved to see Sonic upright and awake, giving Sonic a safety lecture similar to the one he’d just gotten from his mother.

But there were more people too. Wade and his Mom showed up along with the two mobians they were taking care of. Silver and Blaze seemed perfectly nice but were wary of Scourge and just seemed like they were a little nervous interacting with all of the people that were filing into the recovery room.

Following them was Crazy Observant Carl and the two mobians he was watching. Tangle and Whisper seemed like opposites, but seemed to get along very well and it was nice of them to wish Sonic a quick recovery. Tangle in an over-the-top display and outburst. Whisper in a quick and quiet two-word sentence of ‘get well.’

Sonic really hoped to get to know them all better soon, after all, they’d be his neighbors and schoolmates soon, right? Not to mention Sonic was told that all four mobians had helped in locating Sonic after his battle with Metal Sonic.

Finally, there was that quiet gruff man…Mr. Sultz! And he had the other princess, Sally in tow. Sonic didn’t yet know what to make of Sally. She seemed fine, but her presence around Scourge was weird. Most were afraid of the guy, but she just dealt with him, not to mention she was currently staring daggers at Blaze across the room. The lavender cat subsequently was trying not to make eye contact with the chipmunk.

“He ready to go?” Mr. Sultz asked Sonic’s mom after the excitement of Sonic being awake died down. She nodded and the man turned to leave, gesturing for Scourge to move. The hedgehog barely acknowledged and jumped off the bed. But as soon as his previously casted foot hit the ground it didn’t hold and Scourge crumpled forward. Right into the arms of Mr. Sultz as he caught him.

“I’m fine!” Scourge snapped, and pushed off Mr. Sultz's aid. The man simply stared at Scourge as he managed to stand, his posture tilted as he clearly savored his left foot.

“He might do well with some physical therapy, just to figure out how to walk again.” Sonic’s mom mentioned, and Sonic wasn’t sure if she was offering. The man hmm’d and Scourge just growled. Then the turned to leave and Sonic called out once more to the green hedgehog, hoping to build some kind of nicety.

“Hey, Scourge! Look, now we’re slash buddies!” It was in poor taste and Sonic’s parents flinched at the words, but Scourge just scowled at him.

“These are different injuries.” Scourge’s words were harsh, as all things out of his mouth. But these words had changed. They were starved and desperate. He wasn’t trying to mock Sonic or put himself about Sonic, it was more like stating a fact. A painful one. And then they were gone.

“Well, they’re cheery.” Sonic’s dad commented and a mixture of chuckles and eye rolls filled the room. “But how ‘bout we get out of here, anyone interested in something to eat?”

“You payin’ for all of us, Tom?” Crazy Observant Carl knocked a bushy eyebrow and Sonic watched as Tangle bounced on her feet.

“Oh, no way! I know how much mobians eat, and I’ve already got three of them! We can split the bill how’s that sound?” Sonic’s dad smirked.

“Oh, Chaos! Not more food!” Silver exclaimed, pulling on his ears and making a barfy face.

“Two weeks ago, I would’ve said you were crazy Silver.” Blaze shook her head at Silver, the two sharing a laugh. Soon giggles and cheers refilled the room as people began to funnel out, Sonic’s mom helping him down from the bed. And Sonic trailed behind all of them as they left the recovery room.

“Hi, Sonic.” A quiet but sweet voice said. “I’m really glad you’re okay.” Sonic spun around and regretted it, the pain in his back flaring up as his eyes spotted Amy. He hadn’t even seen her come in, hidden behind everyone else.

“Amy…it’s really good to see you, but why didn’t you say hi earlier?” Sonic questioned and he turned his head, seeing the rest of the group getting ready to leave the clinic altogether. Amy looked at her feet.

“I…didn’t want to steal any attention.” She mumbled.

“Whaaat? You wouldn’t have stolen any attention, especially not with me around!” Sonic forced a smile as he tried to hype himself up. Why was he doing that, why was he trying to make himself seem more impressive around Amy? Amy made a small giggle and Sonic’s smile became real.

“Yeah, I know.”

“So what’s up?” Sonic tried to lean against a wall, going for a natural cool pose. His back complained and he was pretty sure he couldn’t look lamer.

“I-” Amy gulped and tried to meet Sonic’s eyes. “-I’m not going to lunch with you guys.”

“Oh…well alright, I guess I’ll see you at home.” Sonic’s smile began to fade, and something in Amy’s words began to make his heart sink.

“N-no, I’m- I’m not going back to your home.” Amy’s voice had gotten very quiet.

“What-?” Sonic’s throat closed up.

“I-I need to find my own home Sonic, with my own family.” Amy finally met Sonic’s eyes and for the first time, Sonic wanted to turn away from them.

“What? Why? We’re your family now!” Amy just shook her head slowly.

“Your parents are really nice, but…but I’m not their kid Sonic, you and Tails and Knuckles are…I’m just taking up space.”

“No you’re not! My parents are taking care of you! They can be your parents too!” Amy shook her head again as Sonic started to feel a sense of desperation.

“Sonic they just said they had three kids, not four.” Sonic could only swallow his heart. “I know they’ll feed me and stuff, but, but they’re not my parents. When you were out, they held and cared and talked to your brothers. Tails was crying, Knuckles was pacing and they were just- just so there for them. You really are their children. They care for you more than anyone else. I want that too.” Sonic was frozen as he watched tears build in the edge of Amy’s eyes.

“And I know that’s selfish and I’m sorry about that! But I need to know someone who really, really cares about me and who I am and what I like and who I want to be. And want to be able to return that too!” Amy was fully crying now, her voice beginning to sob and Sonic just stood there like an idiot, ignorant of how to help her. How useless he was. “So I have to leave and find my own people, my own loved ones. Because I get it now! Earth really is a place where love is possible in all its forms. So I need to find it, and what that is to Amy Rose, citizen of Earth.” Amy finished and wiped away her tears, a weak smile crossing her face as she stood strong.

“Goodbye Sonic the Hedgehog.” And then she kissed his cheek and walked out.

There were so many things wanted to say, to argue, to make Amy stay, but the words died in his throat. He just wanted to say...

'I really, really care about you.'

Sonic couldn’t even find the strength to turn around and watch her walk out of his life.

…

The bag made heavy smacking sounds as it was repeatedly hit, strong fast punches impacting and sending the punching bag spinning around, raising up before coming back down just to be impacted once more by a brutal fist.

“He’s improved.” The tall man noted. Commander Walters looked at him and noticed a look of satisfaction appearing on the man’s face, but not a smile. Walters had never seen him smile.

His height was one of a few distinct features about the man that anyone could notice. The 6’ 6” giant only one of them. It could be the stiff, slick-backed gray hair or the way his military outfit was pressed into a flat steel plate, wrinkles eradicated from the outfit. It could be the stone of the man’s face, a strong jaw, and features, practically devoid of the man’s age. Slight wrinkling in the cheeks and eyes the only show of the man’s age. But most were drawn to the rare attribute of heterochromia. A brown and green eye was the only way someone could tell the man was human and not a symmetrical robot.

Walters took in his own wrinkled shirt and outfit, his slightly unshaven face, and the slight mussing of his hair and felt like a slob next to the man.

“Yes, Agent Handel has worked alongside him all year improving his fighting, honing his powers-”

“What of his spy work?” The man cut Walters off.

“Uhh, I’m told it’s not perfect, that wasn’t the training we assigned Handel to give to him. There’s some in there but we’re told that he isn’t big on emotion, and has trouble conveying himself in the same natural body language that most can.” The man narrowed his eyes and Walters turned and watched as the punching bag was beaten heavily, it was starting to fray, and the chains that held it started to groan and complain. Agent Handel was beside him calling out words of encouragement and commands

“Harder! Faster! Left hook! Right jab!” Walters watched as the bag was hit with perfect response and heavy aggression.

“What were you thinking Comma-”

“It’s Director now. And as head of G.U.N., I expect you to acknowledge rank.” The man said.

“Of course…Director.” Walters tried hard to not spit the words as he remembered how his control of G.U.N. had been greatly removed and a position above himself had been filled. But why ask of his spy work?”

“Handel will have some time.”

“For what?”

“To improve the agent’s spy work, have you not been listening Commander Walters?” The Director finally turned to look at Walters and Walters felt the desire to find a hole to crawl into and die. They turned back to watch the punching bag’s destruction. “You’ll give Handel a few months to improve his spy work and then we’ll send the agent along with all of the other prisoners as well as the supplies they requested. We can get a better read on what our enemies are planning there.”

“Director, Green Hills requested those supplies as soon as possible, not to mention sending more refugees-er-prisoners?...might overwhelm the town.” The Director waved a hand at Walters.

“They can wait, and it’s not really our problem, besides if we can overwhelm then perhaps we can delay whatever strategies the invaders are planning. Set up some cover stories if you need to, just make sure the agent arrives under the radar. He could get intel no other agents could.”

“Yes sir.” Walters swallowed hard. Then the Director made a none verbal signal to Agent Handel and the agent nodded before turning.

“Finish it!” He commanded. And then Walters felt the room bend as he was sucked towards the beaten bag, losing his footing briefly. Walters heard an unearthly roar and the room shook with a shockwave.

“CHAOS BLAST!”

Walters felt his lip tremble slightly as the shredded remains of the punching bag floated down like ash around the black and red hedgehog, a pair of burning red eyes turning to face the Director. Walters turned too and saw the Director smile for the very first time.

“Good work Agent Shadow.”

Chapter Text

Five Months Later…

“Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!” Sonic shook Tom awake. The man groaned and began to rise, knowing full well that trying to go back to sleep when his son was this excited was an exercise in futility. Sonic was bouncing around with a huge smile on his face and Tom noted that Knuckles and Tails were standing by the door of the bedroom looking sheepish. Eager to share Sonic’s emotion, but still nervous about entering their parent’s private space.

Tom turned to see that the space beside him was empty and he looked around bleary-eyed before he spotted his wife peeking her head into the bedroom, spatula in hand.

“Time to get up slowpoke, you’re lucky I was able to persuade them to let you sleep this long.” Maddie grinned at him. Tom was slowly dragged from bed and put himself together before sitting down at the kitchen island with his family. Tom sat there nursing a cup of coffee as he watched Knuckles wolf down pancake after pancake while making small talk with Maddie, the beginning of the school year bring a new play that the red boy was preparing for.

“The unknown case of the canine at twilight will be my best performance yet!” The boy shouted.

“Are you sure you’re okay to play Christopher in that sweetie?” Maddie worried as she placed a few more pancakes on the Knuckles’ plate.

“What do you mean mother? I am finally the lead! Others will know my acting prowess!” Knuckles smiled broadly and Maddie managed one too, hoping Knuckles was fully prepared for the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.

“Aaaaaand done!” Tails cheered as he finished tightening the last screw on whatever he was working on, setting it on the kitchen counter.

“Tails…we said no inventions on the counter.” Tom took a slow sip from his coffee cup.

“B-b-but it’s clean! I promise!” The boy protested.

“And it won’t blow up?” Tom tweaked an eyebrow while looking at a patch of scorching on the kitchen wall that he still had to fix from one of Tails’ previous inventions. Tails waved him off.

“No way! Besides, it’s just a new housing for Unit. And a new toast feature, and a new flight navigation system and-” Tom held up a hand and thought about the supplies he’d need to fix the counter when Tails’ new invention exploded.

“Awww, it looks like you Tails!” Maddie cooed. Tom looked at the previous Eggman robot and found that it was now dog shaped with orange and white markings that did indeed reflect Tails’ fur patterns.

“Why do we have need of another Tails? One is already far too much.” Knuckles smirked and Tails pouted.

“He’s still Unit, just I thought we’d all do better if he didn’t look like a flying egg.” Notes of affirmation filled the room.

“Well, I think you should call him Tails Puppy! Like an even smaller version of you.” Maddie bobbled the small ball-like tail the robot possessed and watch it bounce like a spring door stop.

“I did not think they could get tinier than you.” Knuckles said with all seriousness and Tails huffed.

“You’re just jealous I didn’t make it shaped like an echidna! But I do like the sound of Tails Puppy, or-or T-Pup for short! Do you want to be called T-Pup, Unit?” The small robot whirred and Tom feared it was going to explode but instead the robot’s jaw opened and it spoke.

“T-Pup designation: Accepted. I will now produce a haiku.

Once an Eggman bot
Now I write poems for fam
My name is T-Pup”

Tails clapped eagerly at the robot’s poem and Tom admitted the robot did bring a sense of serenity to a chaotic household of three active boys.

“You’re the master of nicknames, what do you think Sonic?” Tom turned to his middle child who didn’t seem to be eating, a small stack of pancakes getting soggy in front of him. The blue boy’s attention was focused on the empty chair beside him.

A year and a half ago, Tom had come home to find his home partially destroyed by what would become his eldest son. And so a remodel was in order one of which included a new set of chairs for the kitchen counter. There were now five in the house but Tom could only find them in a set of six. For most of that sixth chair’s lifetime, it had sat empty.

But for a couple of weeks, six months ago it had been filled by a sweet and perky pink hedgehog. And Sonic had seemingly found himself attached to her, how exactly, Tom wasn’t sure. But he had an idea. Either way she wasn’t here now. Tom and Maddie had been worried for the girl of course, but Sonic had brushed off their worries. He’d put on a brave face and told them she’d be fine. They knew he worried though.

“Sonic?” Tom tried again putting a hand on his son’s shoulder. The boy stiffened and spun around now facing his father.

“Uhh, yeah, T-Pup. Good-good name Tails.” Sonic smiled sheepishly then shook off whatever nervousness he was feeling and stuffed some pancakes into his mouth. “So when are they all arriving?” He said through a mouthful of food. Tom sighed.

“It won’t be till later, probably around three. You guys still gotta go to school, it’s your first year with all of the other mobians!” Tom tried for a smile.

“And my final year.” A gruff voice huffed. Tom turned to Knuckles who had now crossed his arms looking crestfallen. Somehow between all of the innocence and struggles of pasts and learning new environments the Wachowski family had forgotten that Knuckles would be turning 18 in February, which made this his senior year. And amazingly he was ready for it, the past year and a half was spent working his tail off to learn concepts and catch up with the rest of his class. He’d taken summer courses and loaded up his schedule to an extreme. But it also meant that if he kept up with his extra courses, he’d graduate in the spring.

And then what?

“You could hold back a little this year Knux, and then finish next year?” Sonic tired. Knuckles shot him a glance.

“And have to be in the same senior classes as you? Not a chance brother.” Knuckles gave a short laugh.

“Oh, oh god, how am I a junior this year?!” Sonic pulled on his ears.

“Have you thought about college?” Tails looked up from T-pup who he was fiddling with.

“More school? Why the heck would he do that?” Sonic rolled his eyes.

“Sonic, if Knuckles wants to go to college, that’s his choice.” Maddie scolded but then turned to her eldest and swallowed hard. “But only if he really wants to.” Knuckles didn’t meet her gaze, his choices for the upcoming next phase of his life still unknown to him.

The Wachowskis had become a strong and connected family. They looked out for each other and took an interest in each other’s likes and dislikes. They spent time together and dealt with each other during arguments. They had truly become a family.

But they hadn’t been one for very long. Knuckles and Tails had been a part of the family for under a year and a half, Sonic around two years. And now they only had one more year with Knuckles? It seemed unfair. Time together stolen by age. The kitchen got very quiet.

“Okay.” Tom said finally. “I should probably get going, get to the office, and see how Wade’s doing.” A few nods were made and Tom got up from his chair the warm kitchen now colder and solemn.

“Say hi to Silver for me.” Sonic mumbled. Tom turned around as he exited the kitchen.

“How do you know Silver will be there?”

“Silver’s always there.”

…

Silver was indeed at the station. A loud shredder went as the white hedgehog fed paper into it.

“HELLO MR. WACHOWSKI!” He called yelling over the shredder. Tom managed a weak smile and waved at the boy as he walked past him in the waiting room and shot Bonnie a sympathetic look as she covered her ears from the sound of the shredder. She glowered at him.

Moving into the back Tom sat down at his desk next to Wade and began to boot up the computer.

"You couldn't have gotten some ear plugs for Bonnie too?"

“I only got them for Silver...But I’m glad you could show up sheriff.” Wade snarked. Tom rolled his eyes.

“Yes, and as sheriff, I think I’m entitled to a little extra morning time with my family.” Tom snarked back and Wade held his hands up in surrender. “Anything new with your…extended guests?” Tom pushed slightly. Wade tapped a pen to the papers he was looking over and gnawed at his lip.

“Well, Blaze is really excited the school’s letting her take classes beyond Earth 101.” Tom nodded at this, he’d seen a bit of Blaze the last few months, the girl was quiet for the most part, but clearly very studious and eager to learn about the new world she was in. “Yeah, she’s got the basics of math and science and stuff, but I think she’s bitten off more than she can chew trying to catch up to human students that enter with a basic understanding of chemistry. But my Mom’s been told that she loves geology, her and that uhh…umm…” Tom understood as Wade searched for the name. A deeply expanded population required considerable catchup time. “Doc’s kid…Jewel!” Wade snapped his fingers as the name came to him.

“Jewel’s taking regular classes too?” Tom booted the computer and logged in, checking over report files and going through the tasks of the day.

“I guess so, a few other kids are too I think. But…not all of them.” The way Wade trailed off Tom knew what this was about. He leaned sideways in his chair to the door with shredding sounds coming from it.

“Silver still not willing to take anything other than Earth 101?” Tom’s eyes slid back over to his deputy, a mild look of frustration on the man’s face.

“I-I mean I haven’t forced him to take anything else, and I don’t want to force him to…but I’m worried he’s missing out on education, y’know learning stuff for the future. I mean shouldn’t we be getting all of these kids into proper schooling?” Wade was starting to huff, a look of worry overtaking his frustration. Tom could only smile.

“Chill Wade, we will, we will. But so far only Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails are taking full class schedules, and that’s only because they’ve been here the longest. It took a half year to get Sonic into school and a few months for Knuckles and Tails. Not to mention we’re dealing with a much larger quantity of kids, not a few that can just slip into classes.” Wade nodded but Tom could tell he wasn’t convinced, a foot tapping and sweat moving down the man’s face. And beyond it all, there was a heaviness, a sense of responsibility that Tom himself had only known recently in the grand scheme of things. He narrowed his eyes at his deputy and spoke: “When did he start calling you dad?” Wade froze and looked up, he sputtered a little and tried to deny it, but clearly knew he was caught.

“Last night. He let it slip, I’m not even sure he realized it. Just: ‘Hey Silver could you take out the trash?’ ‘Okay, dad.’ And then that was it. And the rest of the time I’ve been Wade to him. Dad? DAD?! I’m so not dad material! I’m the guy who puts pizza in the toaster. I get overwhelmed ordering from Mcdonald's, and now I’m someone’s dad?! No way.”

“Then submit a form giving up care of Silver.” Tom said calmly knowing exactly what Wade’s reaction would be. The man shot Tom a murderous glare and scowled.

“Not a chance.” Wade’s voice became gravely and defensive. Tom smiled at it.

“Then you’re dad. You have to fully accept it, and then you can learn how to do it.” Tom snarked. Wade blinked and his glare died.

“Why do you have to mess with me like that?” Wade grumbled.

“I’m not messing, just helping you realize you like or at least know that you are, in fact, Silver’s dad.” Wade had no response to that. “And Blaze? Any dad slips?” Wade shook his head.

“Nope, besides she likes hanging out with my mom more anyway. But it’s still different, I don’t think she sees us as parents, more like really nice roommates.” Tom shrugged at that.

“Well Sonic was that way for a while, maybe it’s only a matter of time.”

“Maybe…but…well maybe. She also likes spending time around Silver.” Tom nodded again. “Like a lot of time around Silver.” Tom’s fingers slowed on his keyboard. “And Silver likes spending time with her…so my mom had me put them in different rooms…and I’m wondering if they…like each other?” Tom’s fingers stopped. “Did-did you ever have to have a…uh…a talk with-”

“Wade. Please don’t. There are literally so many things on our plates right now I cannot think about whether or not we need to create a mobian health class.” Tom put his head in his hands.

“So you’d trust it to a teacher more than talking about it yourself?” Wade asked rather innocently.

“WADE! I know nothing about mobian biology, for all I know they reproduce asexually and at some point, Sonic will divide, and then there will be two Sonics.”

“That sounds like a nightmare.”

“I’ve literally had that nightmare.” Tom and Wade shared a laugh, a nervous, heavy laugh. And then there was a heavy pause.

“They are still teenagers Tom, we’ve…gotta figure out something sooner rather than later if various mobians get…romantic.” Tom nodded slowly, knowing that Wade was right, but his earlier sentiments were still right. They knew next to nothing about mobian biology and trying to figure out how their changing bodies if they were even changing, would be like comparing apples and beans. Still food, but completely different. Tom thought of how he’d try to explain puberty to a species that might not even undergo puberty. Would there be a point?

But Tom also knew that mobians were similar to humans mentally. They thought, acted, and spoke just like people, in all forms of it. Tom thought of his blue son, staring at an empty chair this morning. Almost like…like he was brokenhearted.

“Any reports of Amy?” Tom tried to change the subject, while not really changing the subject. Wade flinched a little at the shift, not prepared for Tom to totally not check on his son’s crush. Wade shuffled through some reports.

“Yeah, she’s still around town. I mean she regularly attends Earth 101, and never misses a class. But that’s the only class she’s taking.”

“Has she found a family to live with?” Tom leaned in his chair towards Wade. The man frowned and didn’t shake his head, but didn’t not shake his head.

“Yes? No? I mean she’s been all over town. Multiple times. She’s crashed in different homes with different families but doesn’t seem to stick with any one person. But I don’t think she’s just dining and dashing. She’s…what’s that old camping sentiment? Leaving a place better than she found it? She’s left thank you notes, made breakfast for her hosts, left flowers, and cleaned up. But she’s always gone by the morning.”

“What the heck is she doing?” Tom’s eyebrows creased, trying to figure out the girl’s motivations.

“She’s making bank is what she’s doing. She’s also taken odd jobs all throughout the town. Sweeping porches, and mowing lawns, she helps out at the flower shop and a couple of restaurants as the hostess, most recently she’s been seen doing a lot of leaf raking as the trees start to drop. Here check this out.” Wade typed on his keyboard and Tom received an email with a file attached. Tom opened and both eyebrows shot up.

“She’s got a library card?” Wade nodded.

“The librarian says that she spends a lot of time reading. We get more reports of her there than anywhere else. And what’s even crazier is her report card.” Tom got another email with another file attached, he opened it and his eyebrows disappeared into his hair.

“A perfect score?” Wade nodded.

“So far she’s the only mobian to do it. The next highest is Blaze and she’s still only got a 108, Twelve points behind Amy. The girl’s nuts!” Tom chewed his lower lip and tapped his foot, an idea coming to him.

“Hey, are we able to pull up the books she’s checked out from the library?” Wade shook his head.

“Uh, no, but I think the librarian did put in her report a few of the books she checked out for Amy. Let’s see. Coming to America: The Story of Immigration, A Simple Guide to U.S. Immigration and Citizenship, Immigration Guide to the USA. It goes on and on like that, geez. I guess she’s trying to be a citizen?” Tom chewed his lip a little more.

“I read somewhere that immigrants have better knowledge of the U.S. constitution than citizens do. Amy’s not necessarily trying to be a citizen, she’s trying to be a human as fast as possible. She’s basically taking AP Earth 101.”

“I hate APs.”

“She’s trying to be independent. You said she’s doing jobs right, for money? I think she’s gonna try and find her own place soon. Assert herself as a person rather than a refugee to be watched over.” Tom had gotten out of his chair at this point and had begun pacing, a detective cracking the case of the self-sufficient child.

“Okay, but why not just stay with a host family? It doesn’t look like she’s been rejected from any.” Tom shrugged.

“Maybe she just likes being self-sufficient. I think mobians are mostly used to that, she’s just figuring out how to be self-sufficient on Earth. Or maybe…” Tom felt himself swallow as a sense of shame built in his chest. “...maybe she just didn't feel comfortable with any host families she’s been with.”

“But wouldn’t that include y- Oh. Sorry, Tom.” Tom sighed and got back into his chair, waving off Wade’s faux pas. “Well, I’m glad Amy’s not causing any trouble…” As Wade trailed off, Tom dropped his head to his keyboard realizing where this conversation was going.

“Another store was broken into. A bakery was robbed of its leftover pastries. And we’ve got camera footage this time.”

“Please tell me it’s just a random teenager.”

“They call themselves the Babylon Rogues. They left a note this time.” Tom groaned. “And the footage confirms other eyewitness reports, it’s a bunch of mobians Tom. Bird mobians by the looks of things.” Tom slowly picked his head up from the keyboard noting the key smash that now covered the report he was working on.

“There are 120 of them, but I don’t remember cataloging any birds.”

“That’s because there are no cataloged bird mobians. These three have slipped past the radar and either don’t have a host family or are pulling an Amy and being ‘self-sufficient.’”

“I guess thievery still counts as self-sufficency.” Tom sighed.

“We’ve got to find them, Tom, some people in town still don’t love the idea of mobians being part of their everyday lives. A group of them being thieves isn’t going to do the rest of the population any favors.”

“I know!” Tom shouted and felt bad as Wade flinched. “I know…” Tom said softer. “But one thing at a time Wade, please.” Wade nodded and went back to doing his own work.

For about a second.

“Maybe your boys’ special project will bring everyone together?” Wade tried for a smile.

“Project Homerun is really just for the mobians, it’s not gonna stop people from being upset or dealing with shortages or just all the unknowns…”

“You still worried about the ‘delivery’ later today?”

“Yes , of course, I’m worried about the ‘deliverly’ later! Why wouldn’t I be?! It’s a care package we needed months ago. What if there are not enough supplies with it?! And it’s got a whole bunch more kids to take care of?! How are we gonna help them all?! The school isn’t big enough, the grocery store doesn’t carry enough food, not enough people want to watch them!” Tom was shouting as he vented to a person that just had his best interests at heart. “And I’m supposed to be in charge of all of it?! I’m-I’m just one guy…” Tom sighed and slumped in his chair, hand to his forehead. “I’m just a dad trying to figure out how to help other people’s kids.”

“Other people will take care of the kids, Tom.” Wade said softly and Tom’s gaze slowly rose to meet his.

“But they shouldn’t have to. All these kids had to have had parents at one point. Why? Why did they leave them? Why not care for them? Why make the kids deal with that fallout?”

Wade had no answer.

Tom had no answer.

“Well I should drive Silver to school, he’s got the 10-12 block today. I’ll be back.” Wade mumbled and left the room. Tom couldn’t even nod, all his strength gone.

…

Huge didn’t do the truck justice as it rumbled down the main street taking up both lanes. A massive G.U.N. logo sat proudly in front, compensating for something. It rounded the corner and came to a stop, hydraulics hissing and tires squeaking.

“Everyone ready?” Tom turned around to face the assembled volunteers as the truck’s cabin doors opened and a few people got out, having to climb a small ladder to reach the ground. The group before Tom consisted of friends and his family alike and more heartwarmingly, mobians. The kids were finally starting to understand what home was and wanted to share that sentiment with new refugees.

Maddie, Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Wade, Mrs. Whipple, Blaze, Silver, Carl, Tangle, Doc, Jewel, Brianna, and even the jewelry shop owner had managed to drag out the bat she was watching. And dozens of others were there to help as well.

Unsurprisingly, Arthur was not present, and neither was Scourge. But Sally did end up making it, trying her best to help out new people, even if she did it while glaring at Blaze.

What was more surprising however was the lack of Whisper. Tom had even less contact with her, but it was his understanding from a quick talk with Carl wasn’t that she didn’t want to help, but that she was too nervous to. Tom understood that well enough but would’ve really appreciated more hands on deck.

“Okay, people we’ve only got one chance at a second first impression, let’s make it a good one.” The group gave a quick cheer at that and disbanded moving off to E-Z up tents prepared to welcome mobians with maps and pamphlets and food and water and blankets and clothes. A few people stood around as guides to direct any new mobians that might arrive. Brianna and a couple of local therapists stood on standby should any of the new refugees feel overwhelmed. There were quiet places and small enclosed spaces for the mobians to hide in if the ‘Refugee Fair’ as it were was too overwhelming. And luckily, there were a few sets of people still willing and eager to accept new mobians into their homes.

Meanwhile, Tom went to meet with the devil he made this deal with.

“Mr. Wachowski!” Commander Walters spread his arms wide in a faux welcoming gesture. “It’s so very nice to see you again.” Tom set his jaw and weighed the pros and cons of socking the man in the face.

On one hand, he’d probably go to prison for life and never see his family again.

On the other, he’d absolutely lay out this government asshole.

It was a tough call.

“Walters, thank you for agreeing to deliver these supplies, but you don’t really need to be here to do that do you?”

“Well, I had to make sure it was all delivered safely. Not to mention I wouldn’t want any of these refugees to go anywhere else.” Walters was grinning.

“...I’m sure you don’t…” Tom said under his breath as he imagined all of the new kids being locked up in some government facility for the past few months.

“Relax Thomas, I mean no ill will, I would be responsible if anything happened to them.”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure it’d really suck for you to get demoted while these kids got lost in a ditch somewhere, starving and dehydrated.” Tom spat. Walters’ grin dropped.

“Fine, you want to get down to brass tacks, we can do that too.” Walters snapped his fingers and one of the few agents accompanying him moved over and handed a large file to the commander who in turn handed it over to Tom. “You may think we’re some kind of big brother organization, but that still means we’re responsible for the care and well-being of anyone in the nations we watch over, which now includes all of these mobians.” With a raised eyebrow Tom began to look over the files he was handed. “So we’ve done a few things for them and for you as well. You’re welcome.

Firstly, we’ve established Green Hills as a safe space. In the U.S. government’s eyes, it’s somewhere between a nature preserve and a Native American reservation. We’re hoping it will incentivize any mobians to come here.”

“So you can watch them all easier?” Tom sneered, but felt his anger lessen as he noted that what he was finding in all of the files was…not bad.

“I suppose, but more like we’re trying to put all of our eggs in one basket so that we can better make sure they don’t slip between the cracks. We’re also putting up large cash incentives for people to move here, either to bring their own mobians that they’ve found or to take care of mobians when they arrive here. Along those lines, we’ll be building homes to help house any new residents, be they with fur or otherwise. We’re increasing food deliveries to grocery stores and other large-name vendors along with a large monthly care package of food, water, blankets, and the like, similar to what we’ve brought today. We were planning to drive them to your police station, but if the sight of G.U.N. is too much trouble we can just air drop them to you out of a plane.” Tom frowned at the man’s passive-aggression, but Tom had to admit it, for all the things G.U.N. was doing, he might’ve deserved it.

“I’d also offer the services of other people, teachers, caretakers, therapists.” Tom watched Walters’ eyes scan over to the big truck as it opened and dozens of fresh and terrified mobians began to exit into the welcoming arms of Green Hills’ citizens. “But seeing as you want as little help from us as possible-”

“N-no.” Tom stopped him and sighed. “If you could get in touch with all of those groups…we really need it.” Walters raised an eyebrow but his eyes softened an olive branch trying to form between the two men.

“Very well. Now know this is all in exchange for taking in the 76 new refugees we’re bringing you. You lose one…and we’ll have to renegotiate the terms of this deal.” The olive branch shriveled a little bit. But Tom nodded and Walters began to turn away, and then stopped. “Oh Thomas, one more thing…” Walters turned back and Tom felt his stomach bunch up in preparation for whatever demands the man next made. “Following the defeat of…someone who doesn’t exist anymore, we noticed a massive decrease in crime globally. No one’s singing kumbaya but there’s been fewer murders, fewer petty crimes, that kind of thing. You and…your family wouldn’t have any knowledge of that would you?”

Tom inhaled trying to figure out if he needed to lie or not. Because honestly, he really did know nothing about how the powers of magic space rocks worked. And yet some of Amy’s first words to Tom tickled at the back of his brain.

Those emotions. That love and protection are what washed over our planet. Well if Sonic’s power reached Mobius, it would hit Earth first right? Making people less susceptible to their worst instincts? It certainly made some sort of sense.

“No idea.” Tom smacked his lips. Walters stared at him for a while before giving Tom an ‘uh-huh’ and began to turn away. Tom went back to looking at the file he’d been handed when he noticed something at the bottom of the file, three somethings.

“Walters, wait! W-what is this?” Tom’s voice was weak and he started to feel tears in his eyes. Three sets of documents with confirmed information that Tom and Maddie had been denied several times. The man turned, his face still stiff, but a ghost of a smile danced on his lips.

“Oh, I was aware you’d been denied, consider that one a freebie. Congratulation Mr. Wachowski, it’s a boy, well three of them.” And then he walked off as Tom looked at official U.S. certificates of adoption and birth certificates for Sonic, Miles, and Knuckles Wachowski.

…

As Sonic’s dad walked off to talk to Olive Garden Guy, he’d stayed with his brothers and helped all the new mobians as they exited the truck, looking scared and unsure.

“C’mon, it’s okay, I promise you you’re safe.” Sonic told a small cat that was hiding underneath one of the rows and rows of seats the huge truck had been filled with. Each having held a mobian. The cat shook his head a few times but eventually was managed to be coaxed out and quickly given food and water and a large blanket that he wrapped himself up in before being sent to be processed for identification.

It was a lot of that. Just helping out. It made Sonic feel good. And it helped him take his mind off…well that was a hole that Sonic did not want to climb into. After a bit, all the kids had been moved out of the truck, and supplies unloaded from it.

“Well, Tails looks like that’s the last of them. Any idea how most of them are doing?” Sonic turned to his younger brother who was tapping away at an Ipad as T-Pup floated beside him, a small rotor keeping him aloft.

“Looks like it.” The fox said slowly. “Things are moving along swiftly and there have been no violent outbursts and only a couple of them broke down in tears!” Sonic wasn’t sure that any of them breaking down in tears was a good thing, but it definitely could’ve been worse.

“Well that’s a good day's work then-” And then Sonic stopped. A pair of eyes caught his own.

Red.

They seemed to glow with power, one similar to Sonic’s own. They were attached to a black hedgehog, red highlights broke up the dark coloring and a scowl seemed fixed on his face. He wore an odd pair of shoes and seemed to carry himself with a certain strength that the other mobians lacked. Every other mobian was scared.

Not him. Weird.

Sonic started to move to meet him as he didn’t seem to be around too many people and didn’t seem to have any of the free supplies that were offered to the new mobians. Sonic wanted to go bring him some, maybe he just wasn’t feeling welcome. But as the crowd moved around Sonic, the black hedgehog disappeared. Vanishing into the crowd.

Scratching his head Sonic made his way back over to Tails just as their father came back, looking overwhelmed at a set of files that he now held under his arm.

“Everything go smoothly?” Their dad asked. The two nodded. “Sheesh 76 new refugees.” Tom rubbed the back of his head. “We’ll get through it somehow-”

“77 Mobians.” T-Pup sounded.

“What?” Tom said, clearly still a little flustered by the robot.

“Oh, he said that there were 77 mobians on the truck.” Tails cleared up. Tom frowned and his eyebrows pinched together as he pulled out one of the files from under his arm.

“Walters said there were 76, I guess he miscounted.” Tom flipped through the files.

“77 Mobians.” T-Pup repeated.

“Well, the files have only 76 names along with identification for each of them. Y’know names and stuff. Are you sure your robot counted correctly?” Tails seemed to take offense to that and started lecturing their father about his robotics skills. But Sonic could only look at T-Pup.

“77 Mobians exited the truck.” T-Pup noted once more and Sonic’s eyes scanned the slowly dissipating crowd for the black and red hedgehog that seemed to vanish into thin air.

Chapter Text

Shadow the Hedgehog stared straight ahead as the truck rumbled to a stop. Its mechanics whirring and hissing. The mobians around Shadow gasped and shook, each terrified of another. But there was very little room for them to create space so they all dealt. Well, they dealt and Shadow sat there calmly, waiting for his mission to really begin.

He supposed he should’ve been more terrified. Well acted terrified. But he had no idea how to do that, he’d never been scared in his life. Shadow attempted a look of fear and tried to quiver like the other mobians but it felt wrong and didn’t come naturally to him. So he went back to sitting there calmly, looking at all of the refugees for possible threats.

Each of them could be dangerous, possessing powers or skills that Shadow didn’t have or understand. Each could attack him or other humans which would cause him to fail his mission.

And Shadow couldn’t fail his mission.

He was to report back any plans, objectives, or strategies that other mobians could come up with that could endanger humanity. And step in should those plans come into effect while he was stationed here. His mission was to last just a few weeks. He’d mingle with other mobians, interact and learn more about the ‘refugees’ and get out ASAP.

It should be simple.

Should being the operative word.

But Shadow had been trained in combat, he’d been given the designation as the Ultimate Lifeform, and he knew how to take someone down in a hundred different ways. It had been boiled into his blood from birth…Of what he could remember. Shadow couldn’t recall much beyond a year and a half ago. He’d been told that it was a byproduct of his cryosleep.

Shadow remembered a mostly empty facility, run by a few scientists, he remembered his early days of education, problem-solving, situation awareness, and threat analysis, and he remembered a doctor. A rather tall man with a large mustache, he’d been kind. Mostly.

But then one day he’d been put into cryosleep, and he had been told that it was just for a couple of days. But it instead was 50 years. Shadow hadn’t known what to do with that information. Did they mean for him to sleep that long? Was he still working on becoming the Ultimate Lifeform?

Had they forgotten him?

Shadow shook his head, trying to get it back in the game as the truck’s rear doors opened and light spilled in. Shadow resisted flinching, his eyes used to the darker gloom of the truck and before that, the facility he’d grown up in. Shadow tried to resist the urge to delve into memories that had long since been buried, but his first real experience of light had been one that was seared into his brain.

The doctor had helped Shadow out of his cryosleep pod and walked in front of him, guiding him through the facility.

“You’ve been doing wonderfully recently Shadow, so I thought I’d grant you a treat.” The tall man had said. Shadow had been silent, curious, and cautious at the sudden change in routine from tests, training, and teachings. He’d followed the man up a set of stairs, the hard plastic bottoms of Shadow’s air shoes making loud clanks on the metal grate steps. They went up one staircase, then another and another, and then one final one. It was small and cramped, the walls tight on either side.

Cramped spaces weren’t Shadow’s favorite and the walls seemed to close in on him, but he couldn’t make a fuss, so he’d dealt. The doctor approached the door at the end of the small staircase where a large metal wheel sealed the door. He pushed on it and grunted, then pushed again, seeming to get nowhere. The man stepped back and huffed before turning to Shadow, an uncommon look of sheepishness crossing his face.

“Apologies Shadow, but do you think you could turn this for me?” Shadow had made no acknowledgment of his words but moved forward and turned the wheel. Shadow was prepared for some resistance, but it moved extremely easily, a result of an increased level of strength Shadow was told he had. “That’s a good lad.” The doctor had said and patted Shadow’s shoulder a flurry of something entered Shadow’s belly, both discomfort and desire at the touch, a cocktail of paradoxes that confused him.

Shadow didn’t do confused. He was thought and action, each choice he made was carefully calculated based on results, risk, and his own abilities. How he did anything was how he did everything.

The doctor turned the wheel the rest of the way and pushed the door forward and Shadow had for the first time, truly used his sense of sight. The brightness had shot from the opening of the door right into Shadow’s eyes and he’d instinctively closed them, holding his arms in front of his face to shield himself from the light.

“Come now Shadow, time for you to see what you’re training to protect.” The doctor had then grabbed one of Shadow’s arms and pulled him through the door. The doctor’s touch had made Shadow uncomfortable again, but he let him touch him and Shadow stepped outside. And his boots stepped onto something soft. Shadow’s eyes slowly adjusted to the light and he audibly gasped at the world before him.

Trees, plants, grass, sky, sun, birds, leaves, air, sun, rocks, mountains, wind. The list of new things in front of his face was near incalculable. Shadow suddenly felt very small. He’d been used to a darker, enclosed facility all his life and now he felt like he was going to fall into the sky. He’d dropped down to the ground and clutched at the weird softness of the grasp and barely made out what the doctor had said.

“The summers are short up here Shadow, but there’s nothing like the Alaskan wilderness, huh?”

Shadow had tried to pay attention, but the sensory overload was too much. His eyes which had been trained for threats couldn’t determine what part of nature was a threat. Ears that had been trained to listen for footsteps and eavesdropping were now clogged with birds chirping, water running somewhere, and wind rushing past. His nose that had learned to distinguish between a hundred different poisons, chemical gases, and individuals now only could smell fresh dew, aromatic plants, and wet dirt.

Shadow had run.

He’d stumbled back into the facility, clomping downstairs quickly and pushing past other scientists. Eventually, he’d found what he was looking for, and entered the bathroom.

He’d vomited heavily into a toilet.

After removing the contents of his simple breakfast, Shadow sat back from the toilet and cursed himself. Why the fuck had he run? There were no threats there! And besides, even if there were, he had been trained to deal with them offensively, he didn’t run. He was Shadow the Hedgehog! The Ultimate Lifeform! And he was pretty sure the Ultimate Lifeform didn’t vomit into a toilet at the sight of flowers.

And then Shadow had noticed his boots.

Dirt had been stuck to them. A remnant of the world he’d just fled from, staying with him. Still trying to suck him back into that overload of new concepts, Shadow had quickly vomited again.

But that had all been over 50 years ago. Since his wake up, G.U.N. had educated him more on the content of the world, taking him out of the Alaskan facility and having him interact with reality more, what life was like and what people did. All per the request of Commander Walters.

Shadow didn’t really understand how that would help him protect the world more, but the man was second in command at G.U.N. so he did as he was told. Shadow always did as he was told. And what he’d been told by the Director was to spy on Green Hills. Which meant he’d have to go undercover. And figure out how to act like a scared mobian.

Following the lead of the other mobians in the truck as the giant rear doors opened to the town, Shadow moved to the back and crouched down. He looked to his right and left, noting Mobians with wide, fearful eyes, ears splayed back, and tails limp or between legs. Shadow once again attempted the same, but it still felt wrong, his impression poor.

Shadow had wished he’d had more time with Agent Handel on how to go undercover, the skill very useful for this mission. But every time they’d trained Shadow had a tough time mastering how to walk, talk, and act like a different person. He had been born to fight, not to cower and make scared hoglet eyes at humans.

That was the other thing that bothered him about this mission. He was supposed to be protecting them! So why should his mission include being protected by them? Well, Shadow didn’t need to have a host family, so it was probably best if he didn’t get one. Acting needy and scared all the time seemed like a hassle.

Eventually, the mobians started to exit, being coaxed out by humans and a few other friendly-looking mobians that were already integrating into the town. Shadow followed in their wake, trying to stick to the back so he could get away from the crowds and set up his temporary base of operations here.

He slid around the outskirts of the crowd, trying for a compromise between sticking close to people and keeping his distance. It worked well for the most part until he was spotted. Shadow knew when eyes were on him. It was that little tickle in the back of his brain that had formed from his training, a little threat alarm bell that told him he was being watched. His eyes scanned the crowd and then he froze.

It was another hedgehog. Same build as Shadow and even similar features, but there were distinct differences. His fur and quills were cobalt blue, a brightness that contrasted Shadow’s dark coloring. The hedgehog’s green eyes were wide and bright, but not afraid, curious, and interested. They had a level of magnetism to them, a charisma that commanded attention. It was weird seeing a mobian so wholly unafraid after what Shadow had seen for the last 12 hours that he was in that truck. Shadow would have to watch this mobian in the future. If there was a plot being conducted it would be created by a leader.

And clearly Sonic the Hedgehog was a leader.

Shadow didn’t know all of the mobians in Green Hills, but he had significantly been informed of its pioneer mobians. Sonic, Knuckles, and Miles ‘Tails’ Prower were all to be watched with extreme care. But for Shadow to do that, he needed to watch them, not the other way around.

And with a pull of his power, Shadow vanished as the crowd moved in front of him. The world blurred in front of Shadow as he teleported, moving across space in the blink of an eye. He didn’t go very far, just enough that he was now a good few hundred feet beyond the set-up the townsfolk had created for the new mobians.

Shadow took a deep breath as he looked around the corner to make sure Sonic didn’t see him. Using his powers took serious energy, but Shadow had worked hard to build up resilience to the drain he felt. And besides teleporting a couple of hundred feet was nothing. Satisfied that he had disappeared from the crowd undetected, Shadow turned around to begin looking for a place to stash himself and immediately bumped into someone.

“Oh!” A soft voice made a note of surprise and Shadow stumbled back to take in the person he’d just run into.

She wasn’t particularly tall, but compared to Shadow everyone was taller. Silky dark black hair encircled her head and rested at her shoulders. Dark brown eyes glittered at Shadow crinkling ever so slightly as she smiled softly at him. Smooth features were encapsulated by a round face that pulled Shadow into an odd kind of lock. She wore a pink coat and simple jeans. Her hands were similarly smooth, devoid of calluses that Shadow had seen on almost every soldier at G.U.N. Clearly she’d never worked much in her life, but she was old enough and carried herself in a way that had an air of humility. A deep rich scent emanated from her that enticed Shadow. Coffee. It was a luxury he’d smelt a lot of back at the facility, and always been denied. The richness of the drink always kept from him.

“I’m so sorry about that.” She gasped. “Oh look at you! You must be one of the new mobians, what’s your name?”

“Shadow.” Shadow said before mentally slapping himself. He shouldn’t be giving out any information about himself, he should leave now before this woman learned more about himself.

“That’s a lovely name, I think it suits you.” The woman commented. “Earth must be pretty different for you.”

“I don’t know much about it.” Shadow said in all truthfulness. Shadow was having a hard time concentrating, his gaze tunnel-visioning to the woman that had immediately struck up a conversation with him. She seemed interested in him. Which was weird. Shadow’s experience with people had mostly been that they were interested in what he could do for them.

She’d said something. He’d missed it.

“What?” Shadow leaned back ever so slightly, prepared for an angered yell that he wasn’t paying attention. But it never came, she just repeated the question.

“Shadow, what do you think it’s like on Earth?” It was a prying question. To test whether or not he was an agent. Shadow’s knowledge of Earth was mostly…militaristic. And he couldn’t divulge that so he made up whatever he could think of.

“Less…Mobius-like?” Well, that was a shitty response. But the woman merely smiled at him. This time a bit of a smirk, mistaking Shadow’s lack of a quality cover for a joke.

“Well, I would hope so. Different folks here from there, and even then, everybody’s different here too. If everything were the same, no one would experience anything new.” Shadow nodded at her words, platitudes they might be.

“I’m Maria by the way. It’s good to meet you Shadow the Hedgehog.” The woman extended her arms for a hug, trying to be welcoming, but Shadow wasn’t ready for that. Instead, he chose to take her hand and shake it. “Oh! What a nice gentleman you are. Honey, look how kind he is.” Shadow blinked and finally looked beyond the nice woman to the man standing behind her.

He was taller and wore a blank expression. Dull eyes and a stony face built up a surplus of wrinkles on his older cheeks and brow, and limp salt and pepper hair covered his head. He wore a plain blue and white plaid shirt and plain tan slacks and plain brown shoes and a belt. The most surprising thing about him was that he was apparently married to Maria. “Hello, I’m Bob.” The man said, flatly. And just when Shadow was sure he couldn’t get any more boring too. How could one man be so plain?

“Don’t mind his bluntness, he’s the mayor, not much into emoting a lot.” Well, that did explain it. “Would…Well, this is awkward, but were you looking for a host family? Because you seem so nice and respectful…” The woman mumbled her discomfort, unsure of how to approach a question that Shadow absolutely could not say yes to. “Would you like us to be your host family?”

“Yes.” Shadow said instantly.

Why?

Why the fuck had he said yes?! He absolutely could not have his attention divided between spying on mobians and being a-a-a pet to these people.

And yet…

Something bloomed in Shadow’s chest as the woman’s eyes crinkled in joy and she let out a note of excitement and wonder.

He had made her happy.

Shadow liked making people happy. But he was used to making people happy by doing well at punching or attacking or following orders. Not just by being with someone. It was…refreshing. A part of Shadow wanted to keep doing that. Spend his time here making sure Maria was happy.

But he still had his mission. Despite his immediate liking of this person, Shadow hadn’t yet forgotten his goal. He’d just have to do it in between spending time with his host family. Besides, it would be a good cover. It’d grant him a place to stay, frequent meals. Company…

That way he wouldn’t be alone.

Shadow shook off the thought and tried to formulate a plan on how to spend his time here when Maria started talking again.

“Well come on then, let’s get you registered with us.” Maria stuck out her hand again, and Shadow absentmindedly took it. He was so engrossed with the concept of her calming touch that he nearly missed the ‘register’ part of her sentence.

He couldn’t be registered! If he was registered, they would know that there were more mobians on that truck than in the manifest! Shadow stopped walking but held onto Maria’s hand. It was so abrupt that she nearly fell over, catching herself just in time. Shadow’s stomach lurched, and the thought of her getting hurt because of him making him feel sick. Maria turned around, confusion on her face at Shadow’s halting.

“What’s going on Shadow? Don’t you want to stay with us?” Shadow nodded and frowned, trying to figure out how to stay with Maria without letting people know he was staying with Maria.

“Well, then we have to register you.” Maria smiled again, but it was strained, as she was seemingly coming to realize an alien had her hand in its tight grip. Shadow shook his head. Maria frowned. Shadow felt his ears go back in shame as he disappointed her.

They never did that. Shadow never felt like he had enough control of his more animal-like features to emote with them, and yet he felt so bad that they did. He hated that he disappointed Maria, but it was kind of surprising and different that he’d been able to emote it. Either way, Maria noticed.

“No need to look so sad Shadow. It’ll be fine.” Shadow shook his head again. Maria pursed her lips before seemingly coming to a conclusion. “Are you nervous to be around other mobians and that’s why you don’t want to go back there?” Shadow nodded. It technically wasn’t a lie. “Okay well…” Maria looked up at Bob, which Shadow had completely forgotten was there. Bob looked like he wanted to resist Maria’s gaze but sighed and gave a slow nod.

“I’ll talk to Tom, and see if we can register him another time.” Bob said in his flat voice. It seems that Shadow wasn’t the only one who couldn’t say no to Maria. Maria sent the man a big smile and Shadow watched as Bob visibly relaxed and Shadow did as well. The effect of her serenity caused a smile to wash over them.

“Thank you dear.” Maria said to him, before returning her full attention to Shadow. “This way then Shadow, it’s time to see your new home.”

…

Shadow’s new home was relatively large. To be fair, he’d grown up in a massive underground facility, but he was pretty sure a three-story manor with a sprawling front lawn was still a rather large home. To get here, Shadow had entered a large silvery-gray SUV, where he’d climbed in the back. And by climbing in the back, he literally had to climb in the back, the height of the vehicle’s entrance requiring him to make a bit of a jump. He’d quietly buckled in, listening to the sound of Maria singing along to songs on the radio and before he knew it they were pulling into a three-car garage.

Inside were two other vehicles, both of which were smaller than the SUV. One was a sturdy-looking, but rather beaten-up hatchback sedan. Its gold paint was less gold and more decayed yellow and various scratch marks and a few dents showed its age. A few bumper stickers spouting platitudes marked its rear bumper.

The other vehicle was a bright red sportscar. It was smaller even than the sedan and unlike the sedan showed no signs of decay. Its red covering gleamed even in the dying light of autumn. Dark black tires kissed the ground and its windows gleamed. It didn’t look just well taken care of, it looked untouched.

Shadow stepped-leaped out of the car, nearly having to tuck and roll. But he managed and shut the door behind him, waiting for his next orders from his host family. The orders came in the form of Shadow being led through the house and given a tour. He saw the kitchen, the living room, the family room, the study, the sunroom, the lounge, the master bedroom, a glimpse at the basement and attic, all 3 and 2 half baths, and finally-his room.

Maria and Bob left him for a moment so that he could explore the space.

It was big.

Too big.

Shadow had lived in a facility larger than the home, but he’d never had a space as big as this room. Two SUVs the size of the one Shadow had arrived here in, could fit in this room with space to spare. There were large windows that opened to a backyard that opened to the woods beyond. A few posters and wall decorations were put up, nothing gender or interest-specific, more like maps of the world and scientific quotes and ideas. A couple of boxes of toys sat in a corner, brand new. Just for him. A dresser with a mirror held dozens of drawers for kids that wore more than he did. The mirror reflected a hedgehog with a strong frown, and yet there was wonder in his eyes.

And then there was the bed. It was, like most of the things in this home, large. Shadow had only seen other soldiers sleeping on cots barely big enough for them to lay on their backs. This bed was three or four times that width. It had sheets with cartoon spaceships on it. Two large soft pillows were placed by the headboard.

Shadow swallowed hard at the sight of the bed. He’d never slept in one, hell he’d never slept horizontally. His vertical cryosleep tube kept him upright. Shadow elected to exit the bedroom. He was then guided back into the kitchen where Maria began to make dinner.

“Okay Shadow, I think it’s time we set some ground rules.” Shadow did a double take before realizing that Bob had addressed him, Shadow’s attention solely focused on Maria. Shadow managed a nod.

“Yes, sir.” He said. Maria scoffed.

“There’s no need for sirs or madams, you can just call us by our names.” Maria turned with a smile. But Bob held up a hand.

“Well now hold on, my father had me call him sir and I think if our houseguest feels the need to show respect, I don’t mind being called sir.” Bob said in that flat tone of his, it might’ve seemed sarcastic on others, but Shadow could tell for all the man’s plainness, he appreciated Shadow’s formality.

“Well, you can just call me Maria.” Maria said with only the lightest of scoffs at her husband. Shadow just nodded again.

“Rule 1:” Bob began. “No going into our bedroom or the study without permission.” Shadow nodded, it seemed like a fair rule. And yet something churned in his stomach, the idea that he might have to break that rule or any of Maria and Bob’s rules if his mission demanded it. “Rule 2: You will be expected to attend Earth 101 as all the mobians are. If you need a day to adjust that’s fine, but you will go. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.” Shadow didn’t know what Earth 101 was, but if all the other mobians were there, it was to his benefit to go.

“Rule 3: You are going to be living under our roof so you will be expected to do some chores. Nothing too difficult, but taking out the trash and wiping the counters after dinner, that kind of thing. Rule 4: There is going to be a schedule that you’ll need to stick to. Breakfast at 6:30, Lunch at 12:30, Dinner at 6:30, and then you are to go to bed by 9:00. If there are things you have to do or would like to do at those times you can talk to us and we will adjust. Rule 5: You are not to hurt anyone or break anything during your time here, including these rules, if you do, you must own up to it and be prepared to accept the punishment. So do you understand and accept these rules Shadow the Hedgehog?” Bob managed to perk an eyebrow.

“Yes, sir.” Bob nodded thoughtfully.

“Any questions then?”

“What’s burning?” Shadow turned his head toward the stove where an acrid smell belched out towards the group. Bob turned to Maria who had been so focused on watching Bob and Shadow that whatever she was working on had begun to burn.

“Ack!” She exclaimed and quickly turned off the stove and began to beat at it with a towel. This seemed to make the smoke worse and Maria began to titter with worry while Bob sat there blinking. Seeing that no one was going to do anything about it. Shadow moved from where he had been standing and took the towel from Maria and placed it in the sink, turning the water on to kill any heat that had built on it. He then opened a window and turned on the fan above the stove, working double to bring in the fresh air and filter the smoke. Finally, he removed the pot which had somehow been burning with smoke from the hot burner, and pulled it to the side. He then backed up and simply stared at the couple.

They blinked.

He blinked.

“T-thank you Shadow.” Maria said softly. Shadow nodded.

“Well I’m going to order a pizza, you like olives on your pizza right Shadow?” Bob pulled out his phone.

“No one likes olives on their pizza! Don’t ruin his first pizza with olives.” Maria huffed.

Shadow simply stayed quiet, he was used to bland high-caloric meals that were for sustenance only, and he was sure he wouldn’t have an issue with toppings.

Shadow quickly found he didn’t like olives.

He loved them. It meant no disrespect to Maria, but Shadow thoroughly enjoyed the cheesy circle that had the small black circles on it far more than the cheesy circle without it. But that wasn’t saying much as the part without the olives was also delicious. Shadow supposed the couple was either big spenders or they had knowledge of how much a mobian could eat because they’d ordered three large pies. Shadow ate two of them.

And that was when he made his first mistake. He’d been eating quietly when he enjoyed it so much that a note of appreciation escaped his lips. He happened to be eating olive pizza.

“How could you betray me like this?” Maria had said. Shadow immediately dropped the slice and looked at her with horror. He hadn’t meant to betray her. He hadn’t betrayed her! His taste buds had done it, they were to blame! He’d cut them out and- “Woah, no need to look so scared Shadow, I’m just jesting. I shouldn’t have scared you like that.” And suddenly she looked sad. He had done that. It was his fault she was sad. He betrayed her and then made her sad. She seemed to brush it off as if it didn’t matter, but it did.

Shadow didn’t eat any more of the olive pizza.

Eventually, dinner finished up and Shadow quickly followed part of the instructions of Rule 3. Shadow cleaned up the remains of dinner, put away the remaining pizza in the fridge using Tupperware provided to him by the couple, wiped down the counters, and quickly took the trash out without a word. Bob seemed pleased. Maria…just nodded. Shadow felt his ears go back and his tail droop, she was still upset at him for his betrayal.

From there the night wound down and Shadow elected to go to bed. Or at least tried to. Maria came in and wished him a good night and a good sleep and Shadow had laid down in the big bed with its comfy rocketship sheets and tossed and turned and closed his eyes, trying to get himself rested for tomorrow, but the sleep never came.

It was all too comforting, it was a sugarcoated fantasyland that he wasn’t used to. So he got out of bed, and instead crawled under it. The darkness of the under-bed was somehow more relaxing, the enclosed, protected space finally allowing Shadow to drift off to sleep, the hardwood floors digging into his back.

…

Shadow woke up around 2 am. He got out from under the bed and exited the room. The door made no sound, he made no sound. Shadow went down the stairs carefully, making sure his boots didn’t thumb loudly. He got to the front door of the home where a keypad sat. It was a high-tech alarm system rigged to go off if the doors were opened during late hours or it sensed a break-in. It had a 12-digit passcode that changed weekly and was sent to the owner via email. Shadow had seen many like it in his training.

He pried off the panel and carefully nudged at the wiring, disconnecting the sensors to the front door. Shadow then left the panel hanging open and opened the front door, exiting into the cold autumn night. He ran through the darkened streets of Green Hills, ears perking for any noise as his air shoes helped him glide quickly and silently over asphalt. He detected no one following him. Shadow moved to the main street, second street, side street, and finally one more side street. An old booth greeted him. He entered it.

And then he picked up the phone. There was a dial tone sound, and then Shadow imputed a long string of numbers into the keypad. There were three rings and then:

“Hello! You’ve reached the Olive Garden, now open late. How may I help you?” A cheery voice said.

“I’d like to order the never-ending pasta bowl, I hear it never ends.” Shadow said flatly. The line dropped and Shadow heard the sound of the dial tone. He then put the phone back on the stand and waited. Exactly 30 seconds later the phone rang. Shadow picked it up on the fourth ring.

“Agent Shadow, report.” Came the smooth voice of Agent Handel.

“I have infiltrated Green Hills, no one suspects my involvement with G.U.N.” Shadow said.

“Have you been able to gain any intel on any mobian operations?” Handel asked.

“Not yet, the day was spent…asserting myself into the populace.” Shadow felt something churn in his stomach…he didn’t like it.

“Explain.”

“I…have obtained a host family.” There was silence on the other end of the line. “It’s good for my cover!” Shadow felt his voice rise, a desire to defend himself welling up inside, defend Maria. “My actions will seem less suspicious.”

“Your actions should be unseen altogether.” Handel’s voice became low and hard. Shadow leaned away from the home and took a shaky breath, his heart racing in a way he’d never experienced.

“I am undercover, my actions should be seen, but their relevance will not be discovered. I’m going to attend school tomorrow, there will be many mobians there that I can engage with. I will pry their secrets there.” Handel was quiet for a while longer.

“Very well.” He eventually said. “But work quickly Agent Shadow, the Director expects results, or you will be pulled from this mission.” Shadow swallowed hard.

“Understood.” Agent Handel then hung up with Shadow holding the phone in his hand…it was shaking.

Shadow hung the phone back up and left the booth. He sped through the dark and quiet streets, not checking as hard as when he left. He arrived back at the house at which he was staying and opened the front door. He repaired the alarm panel and put it back to its original configuration. He went back up the steps, completely silently, and crawled into bed.

This time, the sheets and blankets, and pillows were more comforting than the darkness of the underside.

Chapter Text

Jojo had sat in the same car for a day and a half straight. To say she was antsy was an understatement. She’d started the drive optimistic, but by hour six she’d been ready to be done. Six more hours later they’d all stopped for the night in the middle of nowhere, Oregon for a restless sleep on uncomfortable beds while her mother made jabs and arguments at the tired-looking teenager in check-in of the motel they’d stayed at. Then they were immediately up in the morning at the crack of dawn and shuttled into the car and back on the road for another six. The only thing that made the drive bearable was Cream the Rabbit.

She’d kept Jojo entertained with her sugar-sweet optimism and child-driven excitement for the world around her. Every time there was the littlest new thing the young rabbit would squeal and point it out, bouncing in her baby seat before her mother told her to calm down and sit quietly. Cream would always obey, not out of some kind of fear or control, but because she’d just believed her mother was always in the right.

But then they’d pass some horses and Cream would be squealing again and pointing out the window. But in all fairness, so was Jojo.

“Settle down girls, they’re just a bunch of smelly farm animals.” Jojo’s mom called from the driver’s seat.

“What! No way! They’re so pretty and majestic!” Jojo countered.

“Pretty majestically smelly.” Jojo’s mom said under her breath.

“Now Rachel you must admit this is truly a wonder for us, we’ve never seen beasts such as these.” Ms. Vanilla said from the passenger seat. The older rabbit was sitting calmly in a booster seat, her small form requiring her to use one. But she had her hands in her lap and sat still as she turned her head to gaze out at the horses running and grazing in the field. Jojo mother merely grunted. “I would like to make sure that these beasts are not hostile though, do you know of their danger?” Jojo watched as Vanilla’s head turned to look at Jojo’s mom, a look of concern just ever so slightly creasing her features.

“Well one time and I swear Maddie won’t admit it but-” Jojo’s mom trailed off as she saw the very real concern in Vanilla’s eyes and smacked her lips. “No, not really, as long as you respect their space.” Vanilla had that calming effect on Jojo’s mother. A sense of naivete and lack of knowledge of Earth forced her mother to tamp down her extreme outbursts. Vanilla smiled.

“Very well, Cream these beasts are to be seen and not touched.” Vanilla wagged a finger and Jojo watched as Cream took note, nodding eagerly.

“Okay, mother!” And then the young girl went back to watching the horses as the car and trailer rolled by.

They were moving.

To Green Hills!

Which was a thought that Jojo was positive would never come true. Her mother’s hatred of Uncle Thomas maintaining a thousand-mile distance between them. But things had changed as things do. The two rabbits had been the center of that change. And they’d literally caused Jojo and her mother to uproot their lives and move to the once sleepy town and the man that Jojo’s mother had once described as: a cesspool of no good manipulative righteousness. Jojo had to look at a dictionary for some of those words.

But neither Jojo nor her mother could deny that the move was needed, things were so different with Cream and Vanilla in their lives. Vanilla had practically overhauled the kitchen, much to Jojo’s mother’s chagrin. She’d reoriented where small appliances went, where the Tupperware was, and how it was decorated. But Jojo’s mom couldn’t argue with the bunny woman’s cooking. New food items and the extensive time that Vanilla had on her hands left her with a desire to experiment. And by experiment, she decided to make every single recipe in the cookbook that Jojo’s mother had on hand. There were good dishes and bad ones. Sometimes there was not a single leftover to be had, plates licked clean, and sometimes windows were opened and a formal apology was made to the fire department.

Even though Jojo and her mother were perfectly happy with Vanilla just cooking, she also felt the need to clean, during the school year mother and daughter had come home to a completely spotless home that smelled like, well, vanilla. Somehow between all the cooking and cleaning the woman had also tried to educate herself and Cream. But after they’d found her talking about the earth being flat, they discovered that she’d been using the internet to learn and quickly steered the woman away and tried to do damage control on anything else she might’ve ‘learned.’

Cream had caused a lot of changes for Jojo that she wasn’t prepared for at first. Sharing toys and waiting her turn and having to be careful what she said or watched while the young girl was in the room. She hadn’t had to share her mother luckily, the young bunny running off to Vanilla whenever…whenever Jojo made her cry.

She wasn’t proud of it, but the tiny bunny’s enthusiasm and desire to be around Jojo a lot of the time occasionally grated on her nerves. Sometimes she’d yell at Cream and the little girl would burst into tears. Jojo always wanted to swallow her tongue in shame after that. She’d feel so bad that she’d give Cream her dessert or let her pick what they wanted to watch. But the thing was Cream was always so confused when Jojo gave her special treatment, as she never even remembered that Jojo was mean to her.

Jojo often felt like she didn’t deserve the kindness of the precious rabbit child, tossing and turning at night over her own harsh words, despite the fact that Cream had long since forgotten and forgiven. And on those nights Jojo found that she wasn’t alone. The young rabbit would come from her room and stand by Jojo’s bed and ask,

“Could I sleep with you tonight?” Jojo would nod, slow and cautiously, not wanting to scare Cream away. Cream would then struggle to get up the bed, it was practically twice her height after all. Jojo would then pick her up and the tiny rabbit would crawl under the covers and hold Jojo as she fell asleep. And soon Jojo would too.

“Look! Look!” Cream squealed from her baby seat as another new thing grasped her attention. Jojo rolled her eyes with affection and a laugh and was somewhat shocked to see something that interested her too.

Green Hills: The Little Town with a Big Heart

“We’re finally here?!” Jojo’s sense of euphoria was all-consuming, salvation from this car mere minutes away.

“Yup.” Jojo’s mom said. “I can smell Thomas from here…” She trailed off creepily. The car and trailer rumbled on and into the small town and Jojo were shocked at how much the town had changed. She’d been very young the last time she’d visited(her mother didn’t like making trips up here for more than the drive) but there still seemed like a lot had changed. Things, for the most part, were new. New homes were being put up, new streets and fixtures, new buildings in town, heck, even the sidewalks were new. It probably had a few things to do with the fact the town’s center had been trashed twice by the same guy, but it seemed things went beyond replacement into improvement.

But the biggest change, of course, was its citizens.

Mobians seemed to be common. They certainly didn’t outnumber the humans but no matter what street the car drove down there was one or more furry animal people strolling along. At one point the car stopped in the center of town and all four members of the car watched as a man and a beetle crossed the street.

The beetle waved to them.

They waved back. And then they kept driving.

“There sure are a lot of mobians here…Rachel are you sure it’s safe here?” Vanilla quivered ever so slightly while Cream just kept looking out the window and waving to anyone that so much as glanced at the car rolling down the street. Jojo watched her mother set her jaw, and she knew what she was thinking about.

Jojo and her mother had only noticed it from Vanilla. There seemed to be this latent fear of-well maybe not herself-but anyone that even remotely looked like her. Mobians. They’d literally caught her once scared of her own shadow. She’d thought a different mobian had invaded their home back in San Francisco. Jojo’s mom had told her that she’d called aunt Maddie to ask about it once and apparently most mobians weren’t very nice back on their planet. But they’d been assured they’d only find nice ones here.

“Sure.” Jojo’s mom said sharply and quickly. Confirming to both Vanilla and herself and her daughter. “Only nice mobians are allowed here. But if one ever gets snippy with you, send them my way and you know I’ll smack ‘em around.” Jojo rolled her eyes at her mother’s hyperbole but It seemed to set Vanilla at ease, the woman smiling weakly.

The car exited the town center and drove through a few neighborhoods and once again Jojo was struck by the number of homes going up. They all seemed relatively the same, short and replicable split-level structures that easily could be mistaken one for another. The only difference was that the more complete ones had a different shade of the same bland color.

“Guess a lot of people seem to like Green Hills recently…” Jojo trailed off seeing the same building for the 10th time.

The car ended up driving into the driveway of one of these Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V’ed homes, but this one had people already in it. Jojo’s eyes lit up at the people waiting on the home’s front lawn.

“Uncle Thomas! Aunt Maddie! Sonic, Tails, Knuckles!” She exclaimed while getting out of the car. She ran over to the group and got lots of hugs and affection, eager to see her slowly growing extended family.

“I just drove for 18 hours and you can’t even come to the car to greet me Thomas?!” Jojo’s mother shot a frown from the car as Knuckles approached and opened the door for her. She nodded at him. “Thank you Knuckles.” Then immediately returned her glare to Uncle Thomas. “Well, at least one male Wachowski has some sense.” Uncle Thomas blinked and shook his head at Aunt Maddie.

“So it’s just me then? Just me?” Aunt Maddie snickered.

“My sister can hold a grudge, and you did crash her wedding.”

“One time! And Sonic was in danger!” No one seemed to give Uncle Thomas the time of day as Sonic went over to the passenger side and began to open the door for Vanilla when the woman opened it and recoiled slightly at seeing the hedgehog.

“Ah! Uh…N-no thank you, I-I’m okay…really.” Sonic smiled sadly at her, understanding in his eyes.

“I get that you’ve been through some really tough things, and that’s really sucky. But I promise you I’m nice and so are my brothers. We wouldn’t do anything to harm you. Promise.” The words were simple and offered no real evidence of their truthfulness, but something about the way Sonic said them, it was obvious he meant them. Vanilla visibly relaxed and nodded. She was nervous but carefully took Sonic’s hand as he helped her down from the car, the height a bit much for mobians.

“Thank you…um, Sonic, right? Your cousin talks an awful lot about you.” Sonic smiled broadly at her and nodded.

“Yeah, that’s me! Sonic Wachowski. And really? Not sure what Jojo has to talk about, but I’m a pretty cool guy, I guess.”

“Nonsense, I heard you helped save this town, twice.” Vanilla closed the door behind her and took in the hedgehog.

“Yyyyyeah, I did do that, but it’s all in the past now. That was then this is now, and now involves helping you and Aunt Rachel and Jojo move in here.” Sonic rubbed at the back of his head and flicked an ear, looking a little nervous.

“Why so modest?” Vanilla tilted her head slightly, ears flopping, but they turned slightly, eager to take in the hedgehog’s next words.

“I dunno, don’t really need the ego boosted. It helped when I was all alone, but I’ve got a better understanding of who I am now…I think. I’d rather just help people than go looking for praise. Been there, done that, and seen what happens to people with too big of an ego. I’ve got people that care about me, and I care about them. What more do I need?” Sonic finished with a shrug. Vanilla blinked at the words, a sense of serenity coming from them that would normally come from someone five to six times Sonic’s age.

“That’s…awfully mature of you Sonic.” Vanilla nodded and Sonic shook his head with a laugh.

“Ooooh no, not yet. I’m gonna milk being a kid for as long as I can. You can’t beat cooking made by a mom.” Sonic jammed a thumb at his chest and smirked. The woman let loose a little giggle, Sonic’s ego maybe not fully matured. “So wow, you’re really an adult mobian huh?” Sonic looked her up and down and then exclaimed: “So I’m gonna be short my whole life?!” Vanilla then blinked in confusion.

“Umm, yes, and I suppose so…? I’m of average height, why what’s the matter?” Sonic looked at Vanilla like she’d just grown a second head.

“The matter is I’m gonna have to wear a booster seat forever!” Sonic clawed at his cheeks while looking to the passenger door, the booster seat Vanilla had sat in taunting him. Vanilla shook her head in a motherly way as if to say, ‘kids, whatcha gonna do?’ Truly, Sonic was fully matured.

Tails had decided to come over and help too, getting the door for the last passenger of the car. Vanilla left the wailing Sonic and gave Tails a nod of thanks as she reached in and unbuckled Cream from her baby seat, and set her down on the ground, right in front of Tails.

“Hello!” Tails gave a friendly if nervous wave at the bunny.

Cream just stared at him. It went on that Tails began to get uncomfortable. He tried being nice, but as usual, another mobian just saw his tails and-

“YOU’RE SO FLUFFY!” The tiny rabbit exclaimed.

“W-what?” Tails flinched in confusion more than anything, Cream’s outburst shocking. She ran on her tiny legs and jumped at Tails, and latched onto him in a strong hug. “A-ack! What?!” Tails was extremely confused at her touch, the instant affection unknown to him. He’d had to work for any affection he’d ever gotten. Even with his family who cared for him unconditionally, he’d still had to make himself known and prove he wanted to be their kid. But this bunny just seemed so eager to show she liked him. It was…off-putting, but maybe not unwelcome.

“S-sorry.” Vanilla said. “She’s never seen another mobian before, you’re a bit of an exciting new experience for her.”

“She’s never seen another mobian before?” Tails looked down at the bunny who was rubbing her face into his soft fur. She looked up at him with unjudging rich brown eyes that had never known prejudice or stereotype. Expectations had never been placed on her besides an everpresent law to never be anything but herself, whoever that ended up being.

“I’m gonna marry you one day!” She exclaimed and showed Tails a wide gap-toothed smile. It was beaming and Tails probably would’ve returned it if he wasn’t so confused and shocked by her determined words.

“Wha-ha-ha-t?” Tails felt a bit of a bubble of a laugh build in his chest, the bunny’s energy infectious.

“Cream! Do not force people to do things they don’t want to do. Now let Tails go.” Vanilla huffed and seemed surprised she had to say this to Cream, the girl’s desire to hold Tails perhaps stronger than expected. Cream frowned and Tails felt a part of himself grow colder as the bunny let go and trudged back to her mother. “Tails is it?” Vanilla addressed Tails and he noticed her eyes lingering ever so slightly on his twin appendages. Oh well. It was to be expected ultimately, but Tails was confident it wouldn’t last. “Sorry about her.”

“No, it’s fine, really.” Tails brushed it off with a laugh and leaned down a little to be more even with Cream’s height. “Hey, maybe one day…I’ll marry you too.” Tails gave a quick smile and watched as Cream’s face lit up again, a big smile crossing her features. Tails turned back to Vanilla. “Besides she’s what, seven? She’ll probably forget about this in a couple of days.” The fox waved it off.

“Probably…” Vanilla looked into the distance, squinting slightly. Then Cream squealed again.

“Mother! Look at his tails! They’re even fluffier!” Cream ran back over to Tails and grabbed hold of one of Tails’ namesakes and began to pet it. “Soft…” She whispered to herself.

“Cream!-” Vanilla began again and Tails laughed again, it was unexpected. He didn’t think he’d have to much fun with this bunny mother and daughter, but it was a nice surprise.

“Please, it’s fine, I insist. I-don’t normally get this kind of attention from other mobians.” Vanilla stopped and nodded but still seemed unsure. Tails tried to give the mother a comforting smile but soon found his legs shot out from under him and he was flat on his butt. “O-ow?” Tails felt a pull on his rear and found that Cream was now dragging him by said tail and the rest of him was just along for the ride.

“Come fluffy, I wanna go see our new home!” Cream said as she dragged Tails on his butt across the driveway.

“Uh…help?” Tails reached out to Sonic as he passed him still moaning over his booster seat dilemma. The blue hedgehog turned to his youngest brother with a smirk.

“Sorry little bro, but you’re on your own. I ain’t challenging that.” Tails frowned and turned his head to his tiny warden.

“Hey I’m Miles by the way, but you can call me-”

“Okay Miles! We should start thinking about our wedding now! Can we do a wedding on the moon?!” Tails chose to accept his fate.

Trusting Cream to Tails, Vanilla went over to the rest of the adults, huffing angrily, one person on her mind.

“You have a lot of nerve putting Rachel through all of that Mr. Wachowski. That’s awfully rude of you ruining her wedding.” Tom blinked at the bunny woman’s angered expression and slowly turned to his sister-in-law.

“How many people have you corrupted?” Rachel just cocked a hip.

“Shown the truth is more like it, and now that I live here, the whole town will know it too, give me till the end of the year.” Tom stared off into space before slowly putting his head in his hands.

“I’m doomed. I’m actually doomed.” Maddie rubbed at his back and made notes of understanding.

“Well are you just going to stand there feeling sorry for yourself, or are you gonna help unload our trailer?” Rachel waved a hand at the trailer attached to the back of her car, presumably loaded with the scornful woman’s items. Tom pulled his head out of his hands and nodded, clearly still a little distraught.

“Yup yup, we’re just waiting on one more person to help…” Tom raised himself up and looked beyond the group, to a car pulling up to the side of the road. “And there he is now.”

Wade Whipple pulled up to the curb and stumbled out, nearly face-planting into the ground trying to get his seatbelt off. From the back seat of his car, a nearly white hedgehog did something similar. The hedgehog tripped out of the car and nearly avoided smacking into the dirt, but he did not catch himself. Instead, he simply started to float away, a teal light surrounding him. He floated on by the group waving at them before approaching Sonic and the other mobians.

Rachel and Vanilla waved at him as he went by.

“So that’s just a natural occurrence in this town huh?” Rachel pointed at the floating hedgehog now talking animatedly with Sonic and Knuckles.

“Welcome to Green Hills sis.” Maddie made a, ‘what are you gonna do?’ gesture. Wade came stumbling up the path to the other adults, brushing what Tom was sure were some unauthorized donut sprinkles off his shirt as he approached.

“Sorry, sorry. I know I’m late, got…caught up getting here.” Tom perked an eyebrow and examined Wade, the deputy stiffened. “Seriously! I had to drop Blaze back at home, she’s got a lot of homework.” Maddie’s eyebrows creased at that.

“She’s taking extra classes right, like regular classes?” Wade nodded a sense of pride for the lavender cat there. Maddie now frowned and called in the direction of her sons.

“Boys do you have homework?” Both Knuckles and Sonic froze. And then Sonic turned to his mother.

“Uhhhh, we’re gonna go check out the backyard, we’ll be back!” Sonic and all the other mobians quickly ran around the side of the house, the last glimpse of them being Tails’ slightly worried expression as Cream dragged him around. Rachel just shook her head.

“Y’know it’s your husband’s fault for letting them get so…” Rachel trailed off as she realized that Tom wasn’t listening to her scolding. The man had taken on a serious expression, his eyes hard and face firm. Rachel noted that Wade had a similar expression. Rachel looked to Maddie for an explanation as the two men approached the front door and Tom pulled out a key. Maddie shot her sister a ‘trust me’ expression and the sisters and Vanilla followed the men.

Tom turned the key in the lock of the front door, it was the house key. Rachel’s house key. She was about to make a fuss when Tom finished unlocking the door and tossed her the key. Rachel floundered a little bit, not prepared, but she was able to catch it. She tried to tell him off again, but this time he turned to all of them and put a finger to his lips. Once more Rachel wanted to complain but the look Maddie shot her told her to shut up.

Tom led the group through the house and into the kitchen. He got up on the kitchen counter and Rachel just stared at the group in total confusion as he unscrewed one of the hanging bulbs. And then he pulled something from the bulb’s socket.

A wire.

And then there was a little box attached to the end of it. With a bright blinking red light.

Rachel knew enough about spy movies to know what a bug was.

Tom dropped it to the ground and stepped on it, crushing it beneath his boot. Everyone released a breath they didn’t know they were holding and Rachel lost it.

“WHAT THE FUCK?! Why is there a spy gadget in our new home?!” She was breathing heavily and had a crazed look in her eyes. Vanilla’s expression was more concerned, but she was also clearly distressed.

“It’s not in just your home, it’s in every home.” Wade shook his head. Rachel looked between the three other humans and broadly gestured for them to elaborate. Maddie sighed and tried to calm her sister.

“G.U.N. builds the homes. You got this whole house for free right? This is the actual price.”

“And this is just the one we found.” Tom nodded to the light fixture. “And we only know about it because Mr. Gordon’s Squirrel accidentally broke the fixture. There could be dozens more in the walls for all we know. G.U.N.’s acting like they’re all nice now, but we’re not stupid. They’re giving out all this free stuff, like food and clothes and houses but it’s all a facade to drop our guard. Keep all the mobians in one place and keep a close eye on them. It’s like the town has become a zoo. Let me guess, there was also a big cash incentive to move here, right?”

“Yes…” Rachel nodded slowly, the magnitude of what Tom and the others were saying starting to hit her. “$100,000 and I didn’t want to admit it, but-” She turned to Vanilla. “-my salary wasn’t up to caring for four people.” The adult rabbit turned away in shame, feeling as though she was once again a burden. Rachel tried to reach out to her but wasn’t sure how to approach.

“You’re not gonna end up paying for water or power either, bet they’ll even set you up with a TV sports package.” Tom just shook his head.

“So they’re spending all this money just to keep us what? Fat and happy? It’s getting a little 1984 in here.” Rachel felt the desire to bite her fingernails. Wade shrugged.

“Essentially, better the carrot and not the stick at least…”

“What…what do you mean by that?” Vanilla had turned back to the group her eyes wide, afraid. The humans looked at each other.

“Got a host family that tried to leave town with their mobians, just a weekend away kind of thing. There was a roadblock, something about construction. On every exit to town. The next day, when he left to go buy something in Kalispell? Nothing. They’re letting you guys in, but not out.” Tom shook his head.

“So now we’re trapped?!” Vanilla started to claw at her cheeks and pace. “Why didn’t you warn us?!”

“It’s still nice here.” Wade tried for a weak smile, but Maddie shot him an agitated look.

“A gilded cage is still a cage, Wade.” She sighed and turned to her sister and Vanilla.

“Our phone lines are still being watched, so any way we might’ve contacted you could’ve been watched and besides, for as great as Wade’s platitudes are…” Maddie glared at him for a second. “We do still think it’s better for you to be here. Cream can meet other mobians, and we might be on the cutting edge of human/mobian relations, but we’re the only ones there too.”

“And besides-” Tom glared down at the now crushed bug. “-we’re all just a bunch of people going about our lives. We’ve got nothing to hide.”

“Also, we need your help, Vanilla.” Wade twiddled his thumbs and started to look nervous. Tom’s head shot up and he glared at his deputy and shook his head vigorously. “What?! She’s the only adult we’ve ever seen. She’s gotta know at least…more than other mobians.”

“She just got here Wade. Give her some time before you spring that on her!” Vanilla looked between the two men, clearly confused from the shift of talk of spying to the sudden embarrassment they seemed to have.

“W-what do you need from me? I’d like to help, really! If I can prove my worth, perhaps these G.U.N. individuals will leave us alone.” Wade, Tom, and Maddie shared a look. And then Tom took a deep breath and let it out.

“We…were wondering if…maybe if you’re willing to…possibly…are you able to…could-could you teach a mobian health class?”

“Oh good heavens, catch me Maddie.” Rachel passed out and fell backward.

No one caught her.

“Uh…umm, I’m sorry, I don’t-? Is she going to be okay?” Vanilla did a few slow double-takes between looking from the unconscious Rachel and the rest of the humans. Maddie waved a hand.

“Oh, she’ll be fine. But what these boys-” She lengthened the word and glared at the men before pushing them back. “-can’t seem to talk about is…well a lot of these mobians are growing up and…well we…don’t know how you guys reproduce.” Even Maddie seemed to have a tough time saying the last few words as Vanilla’s eyebrows shot up.

“You’d like me to teach you about how we…make babies?”

“No, them.”

“EXCUSE ME?!” Blood drained from Maddie’s face as she realized what she’d just said.

“Wait no! I mean! Gah, this is tricky to explain!” Tom pushed aside his wife and tried for another stab at it.

“Humans, when they start to grow up, go through a class that educates them on a period of their lives called…puberty. It’s a time of uncertainty where our bodies grow and change at a rapid pace. We get bigger and voices can get deeper as we become…sexually mature?” Tom trailed off as he too began to get a little lost.

“We don’t want you to teach them the act, we want you to teach them why it happens, what exactly is happening in their bodies. How they might feel, desires, and fears they might have while it happens if it even happens at all.” Wade smiled softly at Vanilla as the bunny woman began to calm down. “It’s a scary time in a human’s life, we can’t imagine how it is for kids that have superpowers. We just want you to help them understand what they’re going through and urge them to make choices that are both responsible and their own.” Maddie and Tom blinked at the deputy’s wise words, a power that had welled up inside the man from need. Need to make sure the child he cared for was prepared for life.

Vanilla seemed to sense this and nodded slowly. She looked to her right and a pair of glass doors to the back framed Cream, the young child still pulling Tails along.

“I…am willing to explore this. But I make no promises, and I’m not a doctor, I don’t know everything or even much at all. I will, however, try my very best.” The humans let out a sigh of relief, another issue brought up by the sudden invasion of the animal people being worked to be resolved.

“Thank you Vanilla, we appreciate it, really.” Tom reached out to shake Vanilla’s hand, she took it. “So do you guys go through puberty? And is that when superpowers happen?” Vanilla smiled cheekily at him and patted his cheek.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

Chapter Text

Rouge was standing on the show floor of Emerald Hills tapping her foot and biting her lip. For the hundredth time in the same 10 seconds, she checked the clock. She swore it was getting slower. Normally she wasn’t this impatient, but when it came to objects of her desire, she didn’t like to wait.

She’d been doing okay since being on Earth, getting by. It wasn’t her usual kind of scene, she didn’t get to go to bed on a mound of jewels or regularly break her way into the private vaults of various rich thugs and monsters, but there were perks.

For one, those same thugs and monsters didn’t try to track her down and put her into the long sleep all the time. The not looking over her shoulder was an unexpected added plus to Earth. Or so Rouge first thought.

It’d taken less than a day for her to notice them. The humans on the edge. The ones that lurked in corners and hid in the shadows, the ones that talked into their sleeves or with a finger to their ears when they thought Rouge wasn’t looking.

Spies.

A whole bunch of them she had to guess. And ultimately Rouge didn’t blame the humans. She’d probably want to do the same thing if a whole bunch of aliens invaded her home and walked around like they owned the place.

And Rouge most certainly strutted like she owned the place. And she would if Abigail wasn’t so hard to crack. Rouge had made wonderful suggestions on how to improve Emerald Hills, like giving her control and letting her ‘hold on’ to certain jewels for safekeeping. But the woman continued to be stubborn, keeping Rouge at an annoyingly safe arm’s length.

But that didn’t mean she didn’t respect Abigail. Anyone that didn’t take Rouge’s shit was okay in her books. Which brought Rouge to item two of why Earth wasn’t as shitty as Mobius. The people were nice. Abigail gave Rouge a cot and warm blankets and food and offered to repair Rouge’s clothes when they tore. It wasn’t the same treatment as she got when she was feeling up a guy back on Mobius, but it was…genuine. Abigail would stab Rouge in the back with a snappy comment rather than a serrated knife.

People on the streets would ask her if she had a host family, and if she was fed well and taken care of. It was weird and there was definitely some pity in the words, but Rouge had never been pitied before, it was like they cared about her. And while Rouge wasn’t sure if they did, she’d never given them a reason to. They just talked nicely to her without wanting anything in return. For as sassy and snarky as Rouge could be, and took great pride in, it was hard to be rude to people that started with their best foot forward.

Finally, the shop's front door opened and a nice little bell chimed out and Rouge remembered the third reason Earth was better than Mobius.

“Rouge.” Knuckles the Echidna nodded to Rouge as he walked in.

“Hi, Knuckie.” Rouge waggled her fingers at him. The echidna seemed a little confused at her gesture but nodded again before coughing lightly into his fist and approaching the counter from which Rouge stood behind.

“I am here for my daily meeting with the Master Emerald.” Knuckles said, all business.

“But of course! Right this way, don’t want to delay the guardian from his duties.” Rouge batted her eyelids at Knuckles. He didn’t seem to notice. Rouge led him into the back and opened up the cage to the special safe(Abigail had finally given her the password). Rouge then opened the door and led a hand for Knuckles to enter.

The big mobian entered the cage and approached the safe, pushing the reveal button on its side. The large metal door opened and the Master Emerald was revealed. A little whimper escaped Rouge as its green glow permeated the room, casting everything in a glittering hue.

“Knuckles, now you don’t mind if I watch your ritual? I just think your culture is just super interesting.” Rouge made little circles in the glass of the safe while she faced Knuckles, eyes pointed at the ground and crouching ever so slightly to appear smaller. Knuckles regarded her for a second and then nodded once more.

“Very well, but stand back, the Master Emerald’s power is not to be trifled with.”

“Of course, of course!” Rouge kept her eyes low and then moved behind Knuckles, placing her hands oh so delicately on his shoulders, moving them just slowly enough to ruffle the fur there. And then Knuckles shrugged her hands off. A frown slipped onto Rouge’s features, but Knuckles wasn’t looking at her.

“I need my arms for this, ready yourself.” Rouge put on a smile again and moved a step back from Knuckles as he began the ritual. He raised his hands high above his head and slowly spread them out, before bringing them together in a sort of prayer gesture, and then he spoke:

“The servers are the 7 Chaos.” From within its safe housing, the Master Emerald began to rumble, shaking ever so slightly as energy began to emanate from it.

“Chaos is power... Power enriched by the heart.” The Master Emerald now began to glow, a brighter-than-bright green glow that seemed to cause all other lights in the room to fade, all things bowing to its beauty and majesty. Rouge more than all of them.

“The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.” As Knuckles finished the ritual a small burst of energy billowed out from the emerald washing over the two, creating a warm and comforting feeling, almost like coming home. But Rouge wasn’t focused on that, she was focused on how the emerald glittered and glowed upon the ritual’s completion. Its shine even brighter than before. It was beautiful, it was perfect, it was to be hers.

And then Knuckles pushed the button on the side of the safe and the emerald was sealed off from her gaze once more. Rouge ground her teeth. How could Knuckles hide its beauty from her?! It was just unfair. She was about to say something when he left the cage. Rouge did a quick double-take as he didn’t even seem to acknowledge her.

Growling ever so slightly, Rouge closed the cage behind her as she left and moved to catch up with Knuckles. She got behind him as he was crossing the show floor to the exit and tapped him on the shoulder and tilted her head down ever so slightly, looking up at him. She brought her hands together at her waist so that her arms squeezed slightly at her chest, pushing up her breasts.

“Hey Knuckie, I was wondering if you’d…take me out?” She said sweetly and slowly.

“Hmm?” The echidna said turning around.

“I-I, was wondering…?” She trailed off as he looked confused…he hadn’t even heard her?! Rouge pushed down her agitation and tried again. “Maybe you could show me around town?”

“You have been living here for a few months, do you not already know the layout of the town?” Rouge knew everything about the town, where each building was, when they closed, what the exits of the town were, and any choke points. She knew everything when it came to if she needed to make a quick exit.

“Nope! Sorry, I just…” Rouge bit her lower lip. “...feel so helpless in this big town.”

Knuckles cocked an eyebrow and Rouge reeled it in a bit.

“Maybe we could get something to eat together?” Rouge tried for a more natural smile. Knuckles blinked twice at her.

“Very well. I shall grant you a tour of the town as I know it. Shall I return here at 6?” Knuckles had already moved to leave for the door.

“Sure! Sounds good! I’ll see you then Knuckie!” Rouge waved a hand as the echidna exited the shop. She sighed slightly and watched through the store’s windows as he turned right and walked down the street.

“Knuckie? Wow, you really like this guy don’t you?” Rouge whipped around to find Abigail with a small rectangular box of jewelry. She reached for her keys and unlocked one of the display cases moving to put the jewelry inside.

“Pffff! HA! Oh please, the guy’s a moron! But if I can wrap him around my finger I can get him to bring his stupid brothers here and then I can get at that emerald. And I’m going to have that emerald.” A sly smirk worked its way onto the bat’s face. Abigail stopped putting jewelry away to look above the case at Rouge, and frown commanding her face.

“Yeah, I know. You’re not very subtle.” Rouge rolled her eyes.

“Well excuse me, I’m a little out of practice. I haven’t needed to scam my way for food in a while.”

“Thank you?” A cross between confusion and disdain rearranged Abigail’s facial features. “Although I have a bit of a hard time believing you’re out of practice, you’ve been trying to slowly work your way into Knuckles giving you the Master Emerald for the past four months.”

“Well, it’s hard when the guy’s so fucking dense!” Rouge spread her arms in emphasis.

“Sure…sure…” Abigail muttered, but Rouge’s large ears picked it up, the conical shapes flicking ever so slightly.

“What?” Rouge placed both hands on her hips, putting on a sneer.

“Well either you’re out of practice…or you’re actually getting a little flustered by the guy. As in maybe, you like him?” Abigail brought both hands up in a look of mock confusion, her shit-eating grin giving it away.

“Oh please! What’s there to like about him? Besides his huge biceps and rippling pectorals…” Rouge trailed off as she considered the echidna’s massive form. “Yummy.” She whispered to herself.

“I don’t want to think about this anymore.” Abigail was now frowning, an intense look of disgust pulling Rouge’s thoughts from the echidna’s body.

“Hey, you brought it up!”

“Nonono. I brought up a cute high school romance, you made it gross.”

“Are you saying I’m gross?!”

“I’m saying I’m now leaving, tell me when you’ve swindled him out of his emerald so I don’t have to see your smug face anymore.” Abigail turned to leave, going into the back.

“After I do that, do I actually have to tell you? Or will leaving a note suffice?” Rouge leaned forward, calling after the human retreating from the conversation.

Rouge barely contained her snicker as Abigail flipped her off.

…

Rouge was a fan of being fashionably late, it made guys wait and desire her more. She could use it to gain intel on someone, watching them as they waited, letting them stew as she figured out how they dealt with stress.

But Rouge figured that if she was more than a minute late past 6, Knuckles would probably just leave so at 5:59 Rouge waited just outside of Emerald hills for her mark to show up. She wore a pair of high heels, it was standard for her, but beyond that, she started to take some fashion from humanity. A long sleeve crop top coated her arms in a slightly glittery purple fabric, exposing her navel and making her arms shine. A simple pair of black leggings hugged her legs displaying her curves. She wore earrings, she’d loved to use real diamonds as she had access to that kind of thing now, but her ears were awful sensitive so she just used some pressure earrings that hugged her ears rather than punctured them.

And lastly was an actual piece of diamond jewelry. Abigail had let her borrow it, but she probably wouldn’t be able to find it the next day, weird. It was a necklace that draped low and rested just so on her chest, threatening to dip into her cleavage. A strong silver chain led to an octagonal-shaped pendant, a small diamond resting in each of the eight points. A bright emerald completed the piece as its center stone. A proxy of sorts until Rouge could get the Master Emerald.

At exactly 6 on the dot, Knuckles turned the corner and appeared in view stopping in front of Emerald Hills. He walked toward Rouge before stopping, his body stopping awfully close to her, just inside her bubble of personal space. He smelled of grape-scented shampoo and…something warm. Something baked, like a pie cooling on a window sill just begging to be snatched.

“Hello.” He greeted.

“Hiya handsome.” Rouge waggled her fingers at him. There was an awkward beat of silence following the greetings. Knuckles wasn’t a big talker and Rouge wasn’t used to sturdy straightforward guys like Knuckles, she’d have to recalibrate. “You were going to give me a tour?” Knuckles gave a brief nod and turned to the store.

“This here is Emerald Hills, it is an establishment where weak-willed humans spend their hard-earned income on fruitless things such as jewelry.” Rouge gave him a weak smack on the arm. Knuckles turned his hard gaze on her, glancing between his slapped arm and her hand. He looked like he was going to say something, but Rouge beat him to it.

“Hey! I like jewelry! And I know what Emerald Hills is, I work here!” Knuckles raised an eyebrow at her outburst. Rouge realized the raise in her voice and took a breath. “Maybe you could just show me your favorite places?” Knuckles searched her eyes for a moment, and Rouge hoped she was still being suave.

“Very well. Come along with me.” Knuckles turned and started down the street and Rouge followed, having a touch of trouble keeping up with his faster pace.

“So you’ve lived here a while now, huh? People must know you pretty well.”

“Sonic’s lived here more than all of us combined, but yes I have been on Earth for almost a year and a half now, it’s been…enlightening. Welcome to Earth, in case anyone hasn’t offered it yet.” Knuckles dipped a hand in greeting as they walked.

“Well thank you.” Rouge placed a hand on her chest. “But you dodged my second question.” Rouge batted her eyelashes at him. But he wasn’t meeting her gaze, staring straight ahead, although a soft chuckle left his mouth.

“Yes people do know me, but their impression of me varies. I’ve heard people call me a savior, some an aggressor, and others say I’m but an animal to them.” Knuckles spoke plainly, the words simply that, he gave them no emotion.

“Geez, a bit of a double-edged sword, no? I guess the savior thing’s not too bad.” Rouge now placed her hands behind her head taking in his words, the question of how people saw her starting to form in her mind.

“I don’t see it that way. What people think of me is not my concern, that was something I was always good at. But how they think of me has agitated me in some ways recently.”

“Oh yeah? It’s hard to imagine you getting angry at something.” Rouge snickered to herself. Knuckles stopped walking and turned to her. Rouge froze.

“I do not care for people only seeing me as one thing. I was the hunter of the Master Emerald all my life, I would like to be seen as more.” Knuckles’ eyes were scanning her.

“That’s…fair.” Rouge found she couldn’t meet Knuckles’ gaze, a metal mail dropbox less rigid than his eyes “So what are you now?” Knuckles finally stopped staring Rouge down and looked forward and continued walking.

“Now? Now I am a tour guide, as you requested if you remember.” Knuckles gave a flick of a finger for emphasis. “But more than that I am now a brother and a son. I am a citizen of this town and a senior at Green Hills High School. Earth has given me the chance to be many things beyond my original purpose. Most recently I have become a greeter, trying to welcome fellow mobians to this town and planet.”

“And do you like all those things?” Rouge was prying, for sure, but it was more so that she was genuinely curious, rather than trying to scam him at this point. Knuckles frowned and his eyebrows creased in thought.

“...Yes, I think so.”

“Well that’s lucky, most of our kind don’t get that.” Rouge shrugged.

“Is that not the point of coming here? A fresh start where there is hope for a life lived doing what you love?” Rouge frowned at the words. They rang a certain truth, just…not for her. She loved stealing and hunting treasure and getting her hands on priceless jewels…right? “This reminds me, I wanted to offer. Would you be interested in joining Project Homerun? My brothers…and I are awfully excited about it.”

“Mmmmm, I’ll think about it, I’m not much of a team player kind of woman.”

“As you wish, I do not wish to force you into anything. But I must ask, why all the questions?”

“Whatever do you mean? We’re getting to know each other! Questions are to be expected, in fact, you just asked one, actually you asked two!” Knuckles laughed at that, a big thing that commanded the space.

“That I did. Go on, ask away.” Rouge grinned, but it faded as she started down a path that she didn’t know where it would go.

“So brothers huh? You really see Sonic and Tails as your brothers?” Knuckles inhaled deeply before answering.

“I do. They are my brothers in everything but blood, and the more I consider blood the more I reject it.”

“How so?”

“I’ve spilled blood. And I’ve spilled blood in the name of blood. Looking back, I do not find either of those fond memories.”

“So you really have no connection to your old family?” Rouge was surprised. She knew of echidna culture and their drive to be connected to their gods, to familial units, steeped and rooted in tradition.

“I remember warm days hunting with my father and peaceful afternoons, but I do not wish to hold too tightly to those bonds. After all, my father did kill my brother’s mother.” Rouge’s jaw dropped.

“Uhhh, WHAT?!”

“Sonic’s first parent was a noble owl named Longclaw, she died fighting my father and my father died fighting her. And in doing so they left us both orphans…I do not forgive them for that. They caused my brother to lead the loneliest of lives here on Earth and myself to engage in what is just a hair’s shy of a fool's errand.”

“Hadn’t thought about it that way.” Rouge’s eyes met with the sidewalk, passing gum stains the only indication that time still ticked on.

“The best thing to come out of my journey was my family. I do not guard the Master Emerald because it holds a place in my tribe’s history, I guard it because not doing so could bring ruin to a family I have come to love.” Knuckles’ voice had become steely and unbreakable. His words now a promise.

“So why do the ritual then?” Knuckles raised a confused eyebrow. “The ritual with the whole, the seven servers are the seven- blah blah blah.” Rouge rolled her hand and Knuckles’ eyes widened in understanding.

“It’s an old prayer. I may not care for the Master Emerald as I once did, but I still respect it. It knows more than I think we give it credit for. Sometimes…it tells me things.” Knuckles’ face distorted in thought. What was mostly a strong-spoken and self-assured person made a face with a touch of unease and unknowability. “I…I have come to trust its guidance is what I’m trying to say.”

“Well, that’s something we have in common I suppose.” It was Knuckles’ turn to turn to Rouge and make a gesture for elaboration. “Things are so fleeting, especially back on Mobius. But diamonds? They’re forever baby.”

“Trust is a valuable thing.” Rouge had no response to that. One wasn’t needed. But it did give her pause, Knuckles seemed to give trust so easily, allowing people into his life and granting them a certain level of respect. He gave Rouge respect, she wasn’t used to having that.

And what did Rouge really trust? Diamonds, jewels, a big honking emerald? She trusted them all right, but only to last and to be beautiful. They didn’t keep her warm, feed her, or be there for her when she was alone. Images of a slightly sassy and frustrating jewelry shopkeeper flashed in Rouge’s mind. And perhaps a large red echidna.

…

“You have poor judgment in ice cream flavors.” Knuckles said flatly while going at his rum raisin like it was going out of business.

“The woman said that pumpkin is here for a limited time and that it’s her favorite flavor, I’m just…exploring the town, remember?” Rouge gave a long slow lick at her cone, eyes locked onto Knuckles.

“It was to be under my guidance though.”

“Sorry big boy, but I do things my way.” Rouge flicked at his face, a hairs width from his nose. He did not flinch. “And how ‘bout you? Do you do things your way, or just follow along with your brothers?” Rouge was done dancing around with Knuckles, it was time to put the squeeze on and make steps to getting her prize.

“I trust in my brothers.”

“Sure…sure. It just seems like they’ve got more clout than you do in your relationship. Sonic makes all the plans, Tails builds all the cool gadgets, and what? You get to punch things?” Rouge had stopped licking her cone and now stared Knuckles up and down, sliding slightly closer to him on the bench they sat at.

“I like punching things, I am very good at it.”

“The best.” Rouge smiled sweetly, looking up at Knuckles. “But it just seems like maybe you should take more charge, it’s your family too. Perhaps you should take full control of the Master Emerald’s care.”

“Why?”

“It was yours first, plus you know it better than anyone.” Rouge started to dance her fingers up Knuckles’ chest

“No, I mean why do you put up this ruse?” Rouge blinked.

“What?” Knuckles sighed and pulled Rouge’s hand off his chest.

“I am no fool Rouge, I know full well that you are more than interested in getting your hands on the Master Emerald. I was simply…playing along, letting you see the fool that most take me for.” Rouge pouted, and then she frowned, dropping her cone into the dirt and sliding away from Knuckles. She huffed and looked away. She was mad at him but more than that she was pissed at herself. She was putting on such a stupid young woman act so much that she actually fell into the role and got played herself.

“That’s not very trusting.” She spat.

“I’ve put my trust in those that do not deserve it before and it has gotten those I care for hurt. I will not be fooled again. I have come to learn from my mistakes.” Rouge had no response. She chose to sit there and pout. But after a while, she noticed that Knuckles was still there, waiting for her on the other side of the bench.

“Well…go! Why are you still here?” She whipped around to face him, putting on her angriest face. He didn’t seem fazed.

“I am to take you on a tour of the town, I said I would.” Knuckles’ tone was annoyingly flat and calm.

“That was a ploy to get you to try and give me the Master Emerald, you knucklehead!” Rouge stood up from the bench, strong energy not letting her sit still any longer.

“I’m aware.”

“Wh-?” Rouge couldn’t grasp the echidna’s attention. His actions seemingly paradoxical. “If you knew I was trying to play you, why take me out?!”

“Because I would like to trust you.” Rouge recoiled at the words. They were a promise of a future. An understanding that she could become trustworthy, even to the mobian that had been betrayed in the most colossal way. “And because you asked. I hoped that it would be enjoyable.” Rouge slumped back on the bench, defeated. She was so worn out. She’d tried harder to get this dummy to fall for her and only succeeded in driving herself in circles, torn by his words and hopes. Such a person was nigh inconceivable to Rouge and yet here he sat, finishing off the last of his ice cream in one giant bite.

“I don’t understand you…” Rouge whispered to herself. And then she turned to look at him and found his bright purple eyes looking at her. They’d turned soft and welcoming, offering only support as Rouge felt like a fraud in her nice clothes and jewelry, just another hurt mobian struggling to find her footing in this new world. “Did you at least enjoy the date?”

“I did.” Knuckles did not hesitate. But then he pursed his lips and looked away for a second and when he turned back, his muzzle was slightly reddened. “So this was indeed a date?” Rouge gave a half laugh.

“Sure Red. What was your favorite part? The part where I tried to swindle you or when I threw a temper tantrum?”

“I’m partial to the part where we talked about our pasts, and how we won’t let them define our futures.” Knuckles’ blush had faded slightly, giving way to honest words. And Rouge gave a brief nod.

“Yeah…that wasn’t bad.”

“You look very beautiful.”

“I’m sorry?”

“When I first approached you, I forgot to say you looked beautiful. I thought I’d do so now.” Rouge sat upright, trying to smooth out her shirt and check to see if she’d gotten any ice cream stains on her leggings, suddenly a little flustered.

“Th-thanks.”

“Shall we continue the tour?” Knuckles said and Rouge smiled a real smile.

“Sure.”

…

It was starting to get late when Knuckles walked Rouge back to Emerald Hills. Sun had long since set and a chill had settled on the night.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” Rouge asked as he let her hand go. Knuckles gave a brief nod. “Thanks for the date Red…I had fun. And thanks for at least trying to trust me.”

“Oh, I’m sure I will. After all, the Master Emerald trusts you. It wouldn’t let you be around it if it didn’t.” Knuckles gave her one last nod and turned away.

“Hey Knuckles?” He turned back.

“Hmm?”

And then she kissed him. One long strong kiss that ended with an audible pop. She pulled away and watched as she finally seemed to have an effect on the unflappable echidna, a slightly dazed look in his eyes and a strong blush dotting his cheeks. Rouge was rather proud of the lipstick stain she’d left on his lips.

“See ya around Knuckie.” And then Rouge walked into Emerald Hills.

…

It was late when Rouge woke up. Far too late. The kind of late where nothing good ever happens. Someone was up to something at this late hour. And it was kind of insulting that it wasn’t Rouge. Her eyes snapped open, but her body didn’t move. Ears not daring to flick, trying to gain any sound that they could. She lay on the cot she slept on in the back, just breathing slowly, waiting for something to make a move on her.

It never did. But there was a sound. It mostly sounded like shuffling. Things moving around, the tiniest clank of metal or tools moving around. It was coming from a little ways away, hidden around the corner, just out of sight.

It was coming from the cage. Where the Master Emerald slept. No one was getting their hands on it before Rouge did!

So she moved. Slowly, imperceptibly. She was a stone moving only under the shifting of the earth. Rouge rose from her cot and crept from it towards the cage, slinking along the walls and letting herself melt into shadow. Rouge came up to the edge of the cage, a hair's movement from being able to see inside. She twisted her ears and listened for a change in movement, an indication that her rise from sleep had been detected.

There wasn’t any.

So she moved that last hair’s width and spotted who was in the cage.

And then she kissed her teeth.

“Tails?! What the hell are you doing here this late? It’s like 2:00 in the morning!” The tiny fox jumped and swiveled around from the crouching position he’d been in. His face full of shock.

“S-s-sorry! I didn’t mean to wake you! I-I was just doing some late-night work.” The little fox flustered and coiled his tails around himself looking scared.

“Late night is right sweetie, shouldn’t you be in bed, what are you? Four?” Tails frowned.

“I’m nine, I’ll be ten in November!” Rouge rolled her eyes.

“Okay, well can you go be ‘ten in November’ elsewhere?” Tails smiled sheepishly at her.

“Yeah…let me finish doing a check-up on the safe, make sure it’s still secure.”

“Fine, just hurry up, I don’t think most kids are awake at this hour.”

“Oh, they aren’t…” Tails trailed off and Rouge watched as something overtook the child’s face. “But I don’t sleep when I’m worried for my family’s safety.”

“W-what? Are you talking about those humans watching the town?” Tails shrugged.

“Eh, not really, my brothers and I aren’t scared of them, plus I know what they’re doing. Here look, I just pulled this one from the grid to put in an upgraded one.” And then Tails turned and tossed something to Rouge, she caught it. It was a small cube, no bigger than a marble. There was a lens on one side.

It was a camera. Rouge knew that much, but the part that was most confusing, and disturbing, was that it was bright orange.

“You’re watching them?” Rouge squinted at the device and looked up at the young fox, still going about his check-up.

“Someone has to watch the watchers. Those are my own design, they’ve got long battery lives, can store and transmit footage wirelessly, and are placed in key spots throughout town. I see everything.” Tails’ voice had gotten steely cold, each word he made a threat.

“The FUCK?!”

“Don’t say that, that’s a bad word.”

“So what? You’re some kind of little big brother? Why tell me this?” Rouge’s voice had gotten a little hysterical, the actions of the cute psychopath before her sending her for a loop. Tails stopped working and hung his head. And then turned to Rouge slowly.

“I have cameras in here too, ones that pick up your admittance that you just want to steal the Master Emerald. It would hurt Knuckles to know that.”

“Knuckles already knows, we’re moving past that!” Rouge growled.

“Are you? Both of you? Together? Knuckles talked about his date with you over dinner, he likes you a lot you know.” Tails finished his check-up and started to pack up his bag.

“He…does?” Rouge’s face slackened as she tried to imagine the gruff echidna speaking fondly of her.

“Yes, and I…don’t.” Tails exited the cage and turned to Rouge, his eyes flaring with deep cold anger. “So here’s the deal. I’m not going to try and interfere with whatever your relationship is with Knuckles. But!” Tails searched Rouge’s eyes and she felt an interrogation like never before. “If you break his heart,

I’ll rip your wings off.” And then Tails walked past her, moving towards the back exit. Rouge slowly turned jaw agape, and watched him as he calmly strolled onwards.

“Who…who hurt you?” Tails grabbed at the back door and paused, tilting his head just so that his words carried to Rouge.

“Her name was Fiona. She gave me my nickname. She was my friend, and then she wasn’t. I think you’re a lot like her, Knuckles disagrees.

Prove me wrong.” And then Tails left.

Rouge moved away from the cage and the backroom, she couldn’t sleep here tonight. She walked to the show floor, the glittering jewels having a modicum of a calming effect on her. But she wanted more than that, she wanted to be held, to feel safe. Tails had made her feel very unsafe.

Rouge lay down on the carpet of the show floor, giving herself plenty of space between anything so that she could run in any direction should something attack her. And then she just laid there. And slowly her eyes began to close, sleep finally coming to her.

And then something rattled the windows.

A blur of some kind, the color of a burning inferno. If she’d blinked she would’ve missed it. But her eyes had been open. Grasped just the briefest of glimpses.

Rouge didn’t close her eyes for the rest of the night.

Chapter Text

Sadie tapped at the steering wheel of her car, nerves frayed beyond frayed. She bit her lip and tapped her foot as the car rumbled past the welcome sign for Green Hills, Montana. It was a nice sign, large and worn with the kind of age that shows love. Too bad that the sign could spell disaster as much as it could the town’s name.

Moving to Green Hills, on paper, was a great idea. Sadie could finally get away from bum-fuck nowhere Nevada, she could be around more like-minded people, hell she was even making some money. Some kind of government service had paid her a boatload of money to move here and even bought her old house on top of it. Sadie had never been in a position where she didn’t have to figure out where her next check was coming from.

It even seemed like a good idea for the two aliens that were currently arguing in the back seat.

“He’s in my space!”

“No, I’m not!”

“Yes, you are! You crossed the centerline!”

“Only cause you’ve got all the snacks Ray!”

“You could’ve asked!”

“I did! Multiple times! But you wouldn’t share, I thought you were a squirrel, not a pack rat!”

“Sadie! He insulted me!”

“He deserved it!”

“SHUT IT!” Sadie yelled at the rearview mirror. “Hey dum dums, just split the snacks! We’re almost there anyway, can’t the two of you get along for five minutes?” Sadie caught Mighty and Ray glancing at each other and then turned to her.

“NO!” They said in unison.

Sadie never had a sibling, and if she had to guess, what she was experiencing right now was probably why her parents decided that she would be an only child.

Sadie had figured that bringing them here would be good for them to be near other mobians that were going through the same kind of culture shock that Mighty and Ray were. She had been starting to get sick of the two of them taking shifts on watching the house at night, and then subsequently arguing about who took what shift when, even though there was no need to watch the house. Like seriously? Who gained from breaking into Sadie’s house?

In Green Hills, they’d attend a school, meet with other mobians, get out of Sadie’s hair for a few hours and Sadie would get a boatload of money. It was a win-win.

-Lose.

There was of course the elephant in the room as it were, the elephant that Mighty and Ray didn’t know about.

Knuckles.

After a year, the news cycles talking about Green Hills had started to die down, talk of aliens and giant robots and nearly leveled towns all being put in the rearview mirror for humanity. Unfortunately, the fresh batch of traumatized aliens five months ago brought the town back into the spotlight, and thus the mention of Knuckles was to come sooner rather than later.

Sadie had acted as a media blocker these last few months, trying to keep Mighty and Ray’s knowledge of the echidna’s existence on Earth a secret. Mighty had a bit of a history with Knuckles, and by a bit of history, Sadie meant the echidna essentially derailed Mighty’s whole life and sent him into a self-destructive spiral full of anger, shame, and regret.

Which is how Sadie ended up with him as her roommate.

All of this had left Sadie to act as a point guard against any media depicting the town from reaching the large ears of the mobian. But she couldn’t do that anymore, she had her own life to live and she couldn’t play babysitter to someone with anger issues. Therefore it made total and perfect sense to bring him here.

It wasn’t Sadie’s best plan, but she also hoped that Mighty and Knuckles could resolve this dispute calmly and rationally and-

“Owowow! Sadie! He’s twisting my arm!”

“You were asking for it!”

“No, I wasn’t!”

“Yes, you were!”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yeah-huh!”

Maybe if Sadie turned the car around now she could get home before her head exploded.

And then there was Ray.

As far as Sadie knew he was a really good friend to Mighty, they had been close, brothers even. And even now, despite their arguments, Sadie definitely got the feeling that nothing they were saying was meant to be hurtful. There was just a gap that had formed between the two of them.

Trust had been broken under the weight of expectations.

It was a tricky thing no doubt and Sadie was the last person to be able to figure out how to repair that kind of friendship, never having many friends herself. And yet, it seemed almost wrong to just let it fall apart. As crazy as it was, she was now responsible for making sure these two didn’t kill anyone or get themselves killed and along those lines, she felt responsible for who they became.

Sadie had been one of the first experiences of humanity for both of them, some part of Sadie told her that she was responsible for how they turned out as people, and knowing how to repair a friendship was included in that.

Now if only she knew how to do that.

“Guys, guys! Chill! What happened, I thought you two were getting along?”

It wasn’t a completely untrue statement. For the past few months, both had been living in Sadie’s childhood home alongside her. It was a big enough place and she had the rooms, plus having two more people in the house had made it feel…less lonely. Sadie hadn’t even realized she’d been feeling lonely until she’d had two people to take it off her shoulders. She’d been able to bond with them.

Mighty was probably the mobian she was closer with. She’d known him first and he’d taken a strong interest in new things. It was part of his desire to get away from the fighting, but he’d found an interest in a lot that Earth had to offer. He’d tried cooking, a few different sports, and most impactfully, painting. Sadie had been doing odd jobs after leaving the Piston-Pit and had often come home to Mighty covered in paint as he’d worked on a canvas. It had started as him just floundering on paper with markers, but after some encouragement from Sadie and a careful selection of YouTube videos, he’d made a marked improvement. If Sadie didn’t practice her own art, she was pretty sure he’d surpass her sooner rather than later.

When packing up her home, Sadie had hired a moving service that would be in the town later, and on that truck were some of Mighty’s paintings. He was no Van Gogh, but there was also no way his painting of the sunset over the desert wasn’t going up on the wall.

Ray had been trickier to be with. For one, she still didn’t fully trust the guy. He just held that air of sleaze around him, like when he looked at people he was always just seeing the best way to squeeze money out of them. Sadie didn’t think he’d always been like that, but instead, he’d kind of done it to himself. He’d been a manager for Mighty’s fight career back on Mobius and Sadie supposed that came with some sleaze. He was a nice enough kid, just she didn’t like the way that something toxic boiled behind his eyes.

Unsurprisingly, he’d been a huge fan of professional wrestling. After all, he’d essentially been a manager for a professional wrestler. Sadie should’ve just let him watch it and be done with it. After all, a bunch of guys wailing at each other in front of a screaming crowd? What was there to like? Except for the part where she’d gotten sucked in. There was something about it that had been taken to an odd art form, there was showmanship and drama beyond the beatdown. And Sadie loved it. She knew that it was fake, but she and Ray had far too much fun watching it for her to really care.

She’d been worried that when she told Ray that it wasn’t real that he’d be heartbroken about it, but Ray had actually been excited. Apparently, real fights weren’t brutal slug matches, but more slow careful punches and kicks and then pressing the advantage when you have it. The dramatization of professional wrestling was far more entertaining.

Mighty hadn’t been a fan of Sadie and Ray’s violent hobby and had immediately turned his nose up at it and proclaimed it was: ‘overdone sloppy bullshit.’ But Mighty hadn’t seen Randy Orton’s glistening abs so what did he know?

Ray and Sadie had ultimately decided that they should stick to watching when Mighty was distracted with something else. He’d said that he’d be okay to watch it with them, but every time he did, Mighty always either pointed out every weak point in an opponent’s defense or scoffed half the time. So they tried to watch it without them.

Ultimately, Sadie got along with Mighty and Ray. They were fun and brought some spice to a life she knew she was missing. Unfortunately, they only did that one-on-one. Every time they hung out together, or even with Sadie, it quickly dissolved into a yelling contest. Each one tried to talk over the other and point out how the other was wrong about something petty and small and stupid. It was a big enough house that that didn’t happen incredibly often, but a cramped car ride up to Montana for the last 13 hours certainly hadn’t helped them get along.

The complaints over snacks were just the most recent argument to come out of this road trip. They’d yelled over who got what room in the house, who had cooler stuff, and which one of them was better at puzzles. Like seriously? How much do you need to argue with someone to get to the point that puzzles come up as a topic? And after 13 hours, the two of them were really starting to grate on Sadie’s last nerve.

Sadie was just really glad that Ray, out of spite, hadn’t yet spilled the beans.

He’d called her out on it back when she was refilling the gas tank several hours ago. Mighty had gone into the gas station to buy some snacks. Sadie had been nervous about letting a mobian just walk into a public shop, worried that the owner might freak. But Mighty had said he’d be fine. And Sadie had watched him walk into the gas station with $10. She was just hoping he wasn’t chased out with a shotgun.

“So whatchu hiding?” Ray’s voice had snapped Sadie out of it.

“What?” She’d done a double take.

“You’re hiding something. I’ve noticed it for a while, but you’ve certainly gotten tenser on this car ride.” Ray caught a breeze with his wings and flew onto the top of Sadie’s car.

“I’m not hiding anything, you two are just driving me nuts. Can’t you both get along?”

“Hey, I’m trying, but Mighty’s always angsty around me. And don’t dodge the question.”

“He is pretty angsty.” Sadie conceded. “And I’m not dodging it, I told you, I’m frustrated from your bickering.”

“Nah you’re definitely hiding something, and it has to do with Mighty, there’s a twitch in your eye when you’re talking with him.”

“I don’t have a twitch in my eye!” Sadie huffed.

“Oh! There it is!”

“What? No, I don’t, and even if I did, me talking with you and having it would then invalidate your argument!”

“Sounds to me like you’re trying to dodge the question.”

“Oh my god, now I know why Mighty wanted to leave you back on Mobius.” Sadie sighed as the nozzle finished filling the gas tank.

“C’mon! Tell me! I can keep a secret, really! I’ve never told anyone that Mighty has an irrational fear of tassels.”

“OH MY GOD!” Sadie blinked in shock. “You’re so bad at this!”

“Uhh oops. Hold on, forget I said that.” Ray fumbled and tried for a sheepish smile.

“How were you his manager?” Sadie just shook her head.

“I’m charismatic! People love talking to me. So come on, I know you want to tell me.” Ray blinked slowly at Sadie and gave her a smile that was a hair’s shy of a shit-eating grin. Sadie set her jaw and thought. And looked away from Ray…and then back to him. And then away from him and then…

“Fine. And I’m only telling you this because I need to get this off my chest…and I’m hoping maybe for some advice, okay? What I’m about to tell you is serious business, no fooling around Ray, got it?” Sadie fixed Ray with a hard stare. Ray’s eyes widened and a look of understanding crossed his face.

“Yeah, yeah, yup. Okay. Sorry, didn’t realize this was real shit.” The flying squirrel got off the roof of Sadie’s car and stood on the ground looking up at her with what Sadie hoped was his serious face.

“Okay. So…so you know that guy you and Mighty talked about? The one…the one that beat him?” Sadie whispered the last few words.

“Knuckles…and yeah, what about him?” Ray leaned a bit away from Sadie.

“Well…he may or may not be here on Earth.” Ray’s jaw dropped. “And he also may or may not be in the town we’re moving to.” Ray now clawed at his face.

“Noooo. Noooo, that’s-that’s really bad! That’s really bad Sadie!” Ray was gripping his jaw.

“Like…how bad? I mean Mighty might get some closure right? And how bad is this Knuckles guy anyway?” Sadie was smiling sheepishly now. Ray looked at her like she’d sprouted a second head.

“It’s stupid bad Sadie! Knuckles is not a guy we want to be anywhere near! He’s an incredibly powerful warrior that will stop at nothing to get his hands on the Master Emerald. Plus Mighty will go ballistic at seeing him!” Ray was now pacing, looking deeply concerned. But Sadie wasn’t convinced.

“Well, if he’s looking for…whatever you just said, why would he be in Green Hills for the last year and a half?” Ray stopped and looked away, now unsure.

“I…don’t know, but it doesn’t change the fact that Mighty will not react well to seeing Knuckles.”

“Are you sure? Cause he’s a lot calmer now, plus he wants to put all that stuff in the past, he’s not a fighter anymore.” Ray’s eyes widened and he looked a little crestfallen, but also shameful, his part in forging Mighty into someone the armadillo himself didn’t like having an impact.

“You’re right, he’s not, and I do feel bad about that and-”

“Then maybe you should tell him.” Sadie cut Ray off as she moved to get back into the driver’s seat. Ray swallowed hard.

“Yeah.” The words were choked and tight, an acknowledgment of what he needed to do, but the unknowingness of how to do it. “But that still doesn’t change the fact that he still has a major temper and whether he liked his life or not, Knuckles ruined Mighty’s. Eight years of work, gone in a 30-second match. Mighty’s just not going to let that go.” Sadie got in the car and put her hand on the door to close it.

“So what do you suggest we do?” Sadie huffed.

“Well, I for one suggest we drive to the other side of the planet and never mention this again, but seeing as that will never happen…maybe control the fight?” Ray squeaked out the last words and Sadie raised an eyebrow. “Look this fight is going to go down anyway, it’s a long time coming, but maybe we can steer it towards a carefully controlled battle, rather than a no holds bared grudge match.”

“You think it’s our best bet?” Sadie asked, eyeing the gas station to see Mighty coming out with an armful of snacks. Ray nodded. “Okay, well then let’s just hope Knuckles is as accommodating.

So now Sadie and Ray had the plan to negotiate careful combat with Knuckles in order to help Mighty get over his anger. They’d meet with Knuckles ask him for a battle and plan out a safe, calm, and fair bout that would allow Mighty another go at Knuckles.

Shame that their car passed Knuckles on the street.

Sadie figured that at first Mighty didn’t even register it, Sadie herself barely did. All they did was turn the corner towards their new home and there he was, walking a dog. Knuckles seemed happy, or at least mildly content, as he walked alongside a small fox and a blue hedgehog the three chatting while the dog sniffed around. Sadie’s car came upon them, and then drove past, and suddenly they were in the rearview mirror.

And that’s when Mighty noticed.

“Stop the car!” Mighty demanded.

“Uhh, what?” Sadie tried for faux innocence, but as Mighty opened the door of the moving car and then tucked and rolled out, she figured he didn’t fall for it. Sadie hit the brakes bringing the car to a full stop and quickly got out, Ray quickly behind her, he too had noticed the presence of Mighty’s rival.

Mighty already had a major lead on them. Knuckles was about 200 feet away when the car stopped and Mighty had tucked and rolled about a 100 feet out, the fact that he was far faster and stronger meant he was already closing in on Knuckles.

“KNUCKLES!” Mighty roared in the street his voice rattling the windows and drawing the eye of civilians. Mighty jabbed a finger in the direction of the echidna who now swiveled around to face the armadillo, a look of confusion and worry mixing on his face.

From what Sadie could see, Knuckles was built like a brick house. A rock-hard head dangled spiked dreadlocks down to an extremely thick and sturdy torso with huge arms and fists the size of cantaloupes. All of which was built onto two sturdy, thinner legs and feet that crushed the ground as he walked.

But for all of that, he looked calm, and dare Sadie say it? Passive and even harmless.

“I don’t know why you’ve tracked me here!” Mighty called making now an imposing strut towards Knuckles. “But now that you have, it’s time for a rematch, bring it on!” Mighty was growling face steeled in a grimace and his body lowered into a fighting position.

Sadie was finally starting to close in and noticed that the hedgehog and fox were talking to Knuckles, trying to tell him something. But he didn’t seem to hear them. The large echidna turned to his companions and said something else that Sadie missed. The companions looked nervous but nodded and Knuckles handed off the leash of the dog to the hedgehog.

Knuckles finally approached Mighty. His mere presence was imposing, the wide stiff stance he walked at portraying a sense of earned pride. He knew who he was and what was about to go down. Sadie was just worried that this fight would end with-

“No.” Knuckles spoke. And then he began to turn back to his compatriots.

“I’m sorry?!” Mighty did a double take, nearly dropping his battle stance.

“Whatever for? You simply asked for a fight and I have declined.” Every word out of Knuckles’ mouth was calculated, the words clear and distinct.

“No? What?! No! I’m here to fight! It’s time to fight!” Mighty was huffing now, the rage that boiled deep starting to rear its ugly head. Sadie and Ray finally caught up to the group but held back, Mighty possibly past the point of no return.

“I decline.”

“Why?!” Sadie and Ray took a step back as Mighty tightened his fists and made a few loose stomps at the ground.

“I do not do that anymore.” Knuckles shrugged, either not noticing or not caring that there was practically steam coming out of Mighty’s ears.

“WHY?!”

“My mother would not approve, therefore I will not engage in a match, not now, not ever.” Knuckles looked back to Mighty, his gaze narrowing as if he was finally noticing Mighty, daring him to challenge Knuckles’ mother’s rules.

“No! You can’t deny me a rematch! You ruined my life! You ruined my reputation! You can’t just be allowed to take me down and then just leave! That’s not fair!” Knuckles looked at Mighty having this temper tantrum and Sadie watched as he set his jaw. Mighty watched Knuckles and then his face twisted up. “Y-you…you don’t even remember me do you?”

“I-” Knuckles choked up, it was the first Sadie had seen him make a slip. “-I do not. And for that, I apologize-”

Mighty punched him hard in the face. The echidna’s head was forced to the side with the force of the punch, but his body did not move.

“I’m Mighty the Armadillo! I was the undefeated 8-year champion of Mobius! And you took that from me! And then you left, making my past pointless and shattering my future!” Mighty’s voice was getting strained, something more sad than angry building in his throat. Knuckles slowly turned his head back to Mighty.

“I will give you that one, I deserve as much. But I will still not engage in a battle, my-”

“Yeah, I get it! Your mommy won’t let you, well maybe I’ll just-”

“You’ll hurt our mom?” The blue hedgehog spoke and his voice was like ice.

Sadie had seen anger before, she knew it well, and she was practically an expert in it. She’d seen quick anger and long slow burning anger. Loud anger and quiet anger. But something in the hedgehog’s eyes was like nothing she’d seen before. His green eyes flashed blue and Sadie got a glimpse at what hell was like.

There was no fire and brimstone, no demons or whips or evil cackles. Hell was endlessness. A never-ending run through cold and time itself. Chasing something that will never be caught, chasing something that can never be caught. A chase that will break someone down into nothingness, strip skin from flesh, flesh from bone, bone from soul. And then it will force you to keep going, pulled along by the very thing you might chase. Until it is realized that you are not chasing it, it is dragging you along, pulled by a tether of desire as your form is ground against the plane of existence itself.

And then the anger was gone. And it wasn’t just gone, it never even existed.

“N-no I…no. Of course, I wouldn’t hurt…no, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have even thought that.” Sadie and Ray breathed a sigh of relief as Mighty seemed to calm down. Knuckles snorted.

“Good. But I understand your anger, I know how that can drive someone to dangerous acts. You seek closure, no?” Mighty gave a small nod. “Very well.” Knuckles then turned to the small fox. “Brother!” The fox perked up and did a small double take, clearly not expecting to be a part of this conversation. “Prepare the great battleground, Mighty and I must engage in its trials and tribulations.”

“Uhh, okay…” The fox looked between Knuckles and Mighty. “But it might take me a bit of time…” Knuckles nodded.

“You shall have it!” Knuckles turned back to Mighty. “Armadillo! Come to our home after the fall festival, we shall engage in the greatest of battles then, steel your mind and body.” And then the echidna retrieved the leash from his brother and they walked off, the hedgehog’s gaze lingering on them for just a moment longer.

“What just happened?” Sadie asked and simply got some confused headshakes from the armadillo and flying squirrel.

As the three of them started moving back toward the car, Ray turned to Mighty.

“So…looks like you’re getting your rematch.”

“Bet you’re excited.” Mighty huffed.

“Are you?” Mighty stopped for a second and then continued forward.

“What do you mean?”

“I…I know you don’t like fighting Mighty…I guess I’ve always known. But you’re amazing at it and I thought that if I pushed you to continue at it, you’d love it too. I should’ve realized it was making you miserable. I’m…I’m sorry for pushing you and for…uh…well…”

“Manipulating me?” Mighty managed a quick smile.

“Weeeell, I don’t know if I’d call it that…but yes, I’m sorry. I care about you and I want to do what I can to make it up to you for saving me all those years ago.” Mighty stared blankly at Ray.

“That’s why you encouraged me to fight so much? Cause you thought you owed me? Dude, you paid me back when you kept hanging out with me. It got pretty lonely back on Mobius, I was glad to have someone else with me. It was…one the of the things I was most nervous about coming to Earth, I thought I wouldn’t have you.” The two approached the car and got in, the silence of the car starting to creep.

“Friends?” Ray held up a fist for Mighty to bump.

“Best friends.” Mighty returned it, and there was a small crunch.

“Yow! Dude you still fistbump way too hard.” Ray cradled his hand.

“Sorry, sorry!” Ray waved off Mighty’s apology, then turned to him, a worried look in his eyes.

“So…you still gonna fight Knuckles?” The car rumbled to life and started back towards their new home. It was quiet for a while.

“Yes.” Mighty declared. “One more fight.”

Chapter Text

As Fiona sat in her booster seat she grumbled lightly as the small bounces of the truck messed up her dress. She ran her hands over its big poofy ruffles and tried to smooth them out. The dress was enormous and pink, it started with a low neckline, the top covering her bust and exposing her clavicles. From there it immediately exploded outward in folds and ruffles and frills and sparkles. The princess gown even came with a pair of nice pink gloves. It originally was for a human toddler but Fiona, with some help from Elaine had transformed it from a magical princess to a beautiful royal.

And that’s exactly what Fiona felt like in it. She’d never gotten to wear something this fancy, even if it was for an originally different purpose. A big stupid grin was permanently fixed on Fiona’s face as she wore it from the day into bed into the next day. She basically never wanted to take it off. It was always such a shame when Elaine forced her to in order to wash it.

Fiona would wait by the washer and dryer, ears flicking as it spun and splashed ridding the garment of Fiona’s scent until a strong buzz would go off and Fiona would throw open the lid of the dryer and put on her dress as soon as possible. Once back in it, a little laugh would exit Fiona’s mouth and she’d suddenly feel euphoric again, the world taking on bright colors once more as she became a princess once more.

Fiona loved wearing that dress.

Fiona couldn’t not wear that dress.

A couple of weeks after Grant and Elaine had given Fiona the dress she’d accidentally torn the dress. The three of them were going to an outdoor market for the weekend, taking Fiona to see one of the sights and Fiona had forgotten one of her gloves. She’d run back to her room, snagged it, and run back, right into the coffee table.

The dress hadn’t just torn a gash, one of the folds had been caught, which had pulled on the next fold and the next, and the dress nearly came apart altogether.

Fiona had nearly freaked on the spot. She’d wanted to hyperventilate, she’d wanted to scream, wanted to cry and wail her head off, but she’d just stared at the gash in her once-perfect dress and thought, oh, I guess that’s that.

“Fiona, are you okay sweetie?” Grant had gotten low, Fiona’s face had been blank and emotionless, almost broken.

“My dress tore…” She’d said. Not knowing what her next steps should be.

“Do you want us to help you fix it?” Grant had then asked. Fiona had blinked.

“You can do that?” And someone had breathed life back into Fiona and a broad smile crossed her delicate features.

“Sure, although Elaine knows more than I do. Honey, are you able to fix Fiona’s dress?” Grant had turned around. Elaine had nodded slowly, cautiously.

“Yeah, but can it wait till after we hit the market? It’s only open for a few more hours-”

“No!” The demand had slipped past Fiona’s lips. She’d slapped a hand over her mouth. Elaine had fixed her with a hard stare and Grant had looked back at Fiona with confusion.

“Sweetie are you okay?” Grant had run a hand across Fiona’s cheek. She’d flinched. Grant had pulled back, looking…hurt. But Fiona hadn’t cared.

“Fix my dress-” Fiona shut her mouth and then again. “Please fix my dress.” Fiona looked up at Grant and Elaine who shared a quick look and then Elaine had nodded. The whole day had then been stopped as Elaine went and got her sowing kit, took Fiona’s dress, and slowly made repairs. Careful stitching and color picks were the play of the day as a couple of hours later the dress looked a hair shy of good as new. Fiona had then smiled wide again and threw the big poofy pink dress back on and she was a princess once more.

And it was also the day Fiona realized why she loved the dress so much.

Because the Fiona that wore the dress wasn’t the same Fiona that didn’t.

Dress Fiona was nice and sweet and cared about people and their feelings and knew that how she acted affected others.

Non-Dress Fiona didn’t give a shit about others, she was only out for herself and she always had been.

Dress Fiona got fed warm meals and had a big bed in a room with a view and got to go to movies and see beautiful sights.

Non-Dress Fiona dug for scraps in garbage cans and slept in ruins to escape storms and bombs and watched as the world burned despite her.

Dress Fiona had a family. People that cared about her and wanted to make sure she was happy too. They leaned on her and she leaned on them. They tucked her in at night and asked how her day was and what she wanted to do.

Non-Dress Fiona had no one.

And she was a bitch. She was a no-good, rotten, terrible person that had existed for far too long and hurt too many people. She used people and then spit them out. She ruined lives.

But now she was gone.

And the perfect and nice Dress Fiona had replaced her. She became happy smiles and warm hugs and she was here to stay.

As long as the dress did too.

That’s why Fiona didn’t ever want to take it off. If she did, Non-Dress Fiona would come back and Fiona didn’t want to be Non-Dress Fiona anymore. She didn’t want to be a bitch. She wanted to be happy! Dress Fiona was finally, finally happy.

So the dress stayed.

And so did Dress Fiona.

And now Dress Fiona was sitting happily in the truck as it drove into the lovely town of Green Hills, Montana. The family as it was now had decided to move to Green Hills for Fiona’s sake, the large number of mobians here would hopefully provide Fiona with friends that went through similar things that she had. And she’d create lasting friendships over that bond.

So Grant and Elaine had sold their apartment and bought one of the new homes that had been built in the mobian-rich town as well as a pickup truck to bring their lives with them. They’d rented a trailer that rumbled behind the pickup which as Fiona made a glance through the rear window, held the couple’s life inside. Fiona liked to check to make sure it was still there over the course of the last 8 and a half hours.

But now the ride was almost over and the group of them would together begin to start unpacking the trailer and truck and build their new home. They’d sit on a couch and watch movies. Fiona would help Elaine cook in the kitchen. Fiona would run and greet Grant after he came home from work.

They’d be exactly like Miles’ family.

The internet was an amazing invention, having access to knowledge about anything at any time was the most useful and exploitative tool Fiona had ever come across. And with it, she quickly discovered the history of mobians on Earth. Most recently, the Wachowski family. They were seemingly kind people that were a hallmark of what a perfect family looked like. They ate dinners together and hung out together and laughed and played. The parents worked stable, nine-to-five jobs and their kids did well in school.

And the kids were mobians. And more than that, Fiona recognized one of them.

From what Fiona remembered of Miles Prower is that he was a sweet little kid, very young but incredibly smart. He talked about science and planes and engineering, he was an incredible kid with a bright future.

Until Fiona smeared it with dirt by using him and then tossing him out like trash.

She’d been on the run from the latest group of thick-headed testosterone-laden idiots and needed to crash somewhere for a couple of weeks.

And then she’d heard about Angel Island.

A remote destination far removed from the rest of the world. It was magically powered by some leftover laden energy from a millennia ago and floated high in the sky. This gifted it a disconnect from the rest of Mobius and its war-torn ways. It would be the perfect place for Fiona to stick her head in the sand and wait for the heat to pass.

It had been tricky and she’d had to bribe more than a few people, but eventually, she’d stashed herself on a cargo supply to the floating island and slipped into the village. She’d been more than prepared to keep at her scamming ways, but something about the village made it hard. The people seemed to look through her and knew that she was up to no good, not wanting to bring possible danger into their homes.

How was Fiona supposed to scam them for all they were worth when they knew what she was all about from the moment they saw her?

And then she’d knocked on the door of Miles Prower.

Miles was extremely young when Fiona had met him, maybe 4 or 5, but he already had his own home. It was a tiny little thing, the ceilings low and built just for him. The house was mostly made of random wooden planks and sheets of metal, but it was laced with electrical wiring. It had been filled with screens and buttons and keyboards and beeps and boops and an electrical hum filled the home.

Seeing as no one had been willing to take Fiona in, Miles had. He ‘knew’ her pain of no one wanting to take her in, as apparently, no one had wanted him at the orphanage he’d been found at. Of course, he had been born with no one wanting him, Fiona had built her own cage of dislike. But Miles hadn’t needed to know that.

Miles had shared his limited food with Fiona and showed her all the cool stuff he’d been working on. He introduced her to the people in town and called her his friend. Fiona had of course played along the whole thing a ruse to her, not realizing how this meant everything to Miles.

Unfortunately, even with Miles introducing her, people in town still didn’t fully like Fiona, and that was a problem because even if Miles was nice, he had shit stuff and Fiona wanted to be treated like a princess.

So how do you go from being the most hated person in town to becoming the talk of the town? By talking shit about the next hated person in town.

Miles Prower.

It started with her calling him Tails off-handily, a nickname to point out his genetic abnormality. Something for people to latch onto and associate Miles with, forcing him to become the genetic abnormality in people’s eyes. Fiona told him it was all in good fun.

It wasn’t.

Then she started calling him weird or gross behind his back, telling people that he was a weirdo that did mad scientist experiments back in his home.

Then she started doing it to his face, and the people of the village started liking her, and agreeing with her. The fact that Miles was getting hurt by it? Not her problem. To her, it was his fault that he was who he was and that he should be punished for it.

Well, non-dress Fiona thought all that.

Dress Fiona was horrified. The fact that she had done that to the sweetest kid she’d ever met shook her to her core. And now he was on the front of a million news stories, smiling alongside a blue hedgehog, and…was that Knuckles the Echidna?

So Fiona kept looking into it. And found that Miles had become a hero, he was well loved here on Earth, both by its people, more importantly by his newfound family. Miles had brothers now and a mother and father that greatly cared for him.

That was the only solace. That despite what non-dress Fiona had done, Miles had still ended up thriving. He was now a happy kid with a bright future. But it made what Fiona had to do now all the more worrying.

She wanted to apologize.

To say sorry for all the terrible and horrible things she’d done to him when she’d first met him. She wanted to beg for his forgiveness and rid her of this sickly feeling. But would Miles seeing her make things worse? Would it dig up a past he was ready to bury?

She’d have to find out.

…

Fiona didn’t know what to do with her hands as she approached the front door of the Wachowski home. She walked up each step hoping the further she got, the quicker she’d know what to do.

Fiona walked her from the new house. It was close enough and after excusing herself from Grant and Elaine she’d strolled through the small town seeing it in its suburban/rural glory before coming here.

Fiona rang the bell. And then she immediately knew that was a bad idea.

A dog barked. A voice called. Other voices chimed in. There were feet walking and shuffling bodies. And as Fiona backed up on the front porch, the door opened, and a cobalt blue hedgehog answered the door.

He was smiling, a cheeky grin on his face so inset he could’ve been born with it. Bright green eyes glowed at Fiona and perfect blue quills shot back from his head, not a single one out of place. He had a lithe body, but seemingly vibrated with endless energy. Simple white gloves covered his hands and red and white shoes contrasted his fur in such a way that Fiona wondered if he was considering being an American flag.

Sonic the Hedgehog. Miles’ older brother. Miles’ extremely handsome older brother.

“Hey! Hello! I’m Sonic, are you new? You must be new! Have you gotten a host family yet? This place is pretty full but I’m sure we could help you out. What’s your name?” Fiona did a double take and shook away her own thoughts and tried to sort through Sonic’s barrage of questions. Ultimately she settled on his final question.

“I-I’m Fiona.” Fiona said.

“Sweet. Nice to meet you, Fiona. So do you need help finding a host family?” Sonic’s grin was still front and center.

“N-no, I-I already have one, but I think we need to be registered…Ummm. Is your younger brother around…I need to speak with him. It’s kind of important.” Sonic’s expression changed for half of a second, the mildest bit of suspicion but then it was gone and Sonic’s happy-go-lucky attitude was back.

“Sure. I think he’s working on some big sciency thing in the garage, c’mon.” Sonic exited the house, moving past Fiona. She followed him as he moved down the steps of the porch and over to the garage, where he had to jump up a little to reach a set of buttons and inputted the code to open the garage door.

As the giant door lifted, Fiona slowly got a look at the child she had tortured for the first time in almost five years.

He’d grown. That was the first thing Fiona noticed. The tiny, almost ball-like body had begun its first stages of maturity. His legs had lengthened and he was physically bigger. He’d put on weight too, healthy weight, no longer the skinny almost rail-thin starved frame he’d had back in the village. His fur had thickened and the beginning of a winter coat was fluffing his body.

Miles was true, working on something. A large ring sat in the center rear of the garage. Metal and electricity filled the room around it, and several siblings of the ring sat. He did not turn around as the door opened, too enraptured in his work to notice. As Fiona and Sonic approached, the hedgehog called out to his brother three times before Fiona finally got to see his face.

Hatred.

Instantaneously, red hot, and all-consuming. Miles’ eyes took one look at Fiona and she immediately knew coming here was a bad idea. But then Miles must’ve realized that his brother was there and the hatred vanished, quickly replaced by a look of contentment. Apparently, his dislike for Fiona was so great Miles couldn’t manage a full smile.

“Hi, Sonic! I see you brought a new mobian over.” Miles’ voice was one step shy of sugary sweet.

“Yeah, she said she’s got some business with you? Do you guys know each other?” Sonic’s suspicions flashed again, but Miles merely shrugged.

“Maybe, I’ll talk with her, why don’t you go back inside.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah! You better hurry, I think Knuckles was planning on watching TV.” Miles tapped a finger to his chin thoughtfully. Sonic’s eyes widened at that and he shot away into the house, his voice trailing behind him.

“No way! There’s a John Wick marathon on tonight!” Miles and Fiona watched him go, and as he disappeared, Fiona turned to Miles.

“Miles I-”

“Get out.” His voice was like icy steel, painful to the touch and beyond immovable. He turned around and went back to working on his project. Fiona just watched him for a moment, and then she spoke.

“I’d like to apologize to you Miles.” No reaction. “What I did to you back in the village was wrong and foolish and I have no excuse.” Miles still did not react, but picked up a hammer and began to bang on the metal ring with it. Fiona tried to talk over it. “I’m sorry that I called you names, and ended up making the people of the village hate you.” Miles banged harder. “I’M SORRY THAT YOU GOT HURT BECAUSE OF ME AND THAT YOU SUFFERED AND I TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT!” Miles was now slamming the hammer into the ring, denting it inward until it snapped. Miles let out a yell and tossed the hammer across the room, it banged again some sheet metal making a ringing sound that filled the room before Miles spun on his heels and faced Fiona with a monster of a glare.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY, HUH?! I FORGIVE YOU?! OKAY, FINE, I FORGIVE YOU, NOW WILL YOU GO AWAY?! Get out of the garage and never come back! I hate you! I hate you Fiona the Fox…I hate you so much…” Miles had started out yelling and now tears pricked at the edge of his eyes. Fiona had initially recoiled at his yell but now approached again, arms reaching towards the small fox.

“Miles, I’m so so sorry, I know what I did was inexcusable but-” Miles flinched at her arms and slapped them away.

“Don’t touch me! And it’s Tails now, that much has stuck, at least I made it my own now. And you’ve said you’re sorry, why are you still here?” Miles’ tears dried away and the hatred returned in full force, burning through Fiona’s soul.

“I-I don’t know I…I just wanted to tell you I’m trying to be better. I’ve got people that I care about now and they care about me and-”

“Wow! It’s so nice to know that even the scum of Mobius can get better lives, for free.” Miles scoffed.

“It wasn’t for free…I had to work hard…” Fiona frowned.

“Yeah, I’m sure you put a lot of effort into scamming the set of dummies you got to feed you caviar.”

“They’re not dummies!” Fiona huffed.

“Anyone willing to give you a second chance is moronic in my opinion.” Miles spat. And Fiona lost it.

“They’re not stupid! They’re kind people who gave someone we both know didn’t deserve it a nice life! And you’re just a whiny little brat who’s too caught up in his poindexter science projects to know when people are trying to be nice! You’re still the same snot-nosed little puppy that follows around the first person you see that is nice to you. All those brains and you can’t even think for yourself! Do you think what I did was bad? That was nothing! I could’ve made your life so much worse! And I wanted to! It would’ve been easy, I thought about getting the townsfolk to remove the nooses from your tails and put them around your-”

Fiona threw her hands over her mouth before that last word could come out. She backed up from Tails so fast she tripped over some tools and fell on her back. The audible sound of the ripping of her dress could be heard and tears threatened Fiona’s eyes. But she wouldn’t cry, she didn’t deserve to.

No.

No no no.

No, she couldn’t be this person anymore! She was Dress Fiona! She was kind and thoughtful and cared about people, especially those she hurt. Miles scowled at her as she lay on the floor. His tiny form imposing.

“Looks like we’re both the same then. And that’s why I can’t forgive you.

Not because you think I’ve got some grudge against you. But because you’re still the same.

Do you like to think you’re a good person now? Well, you’re not, and you never will be. Now get out.”

Fiona pushed herself to her feet, her dress ripped and dirtied on the floor of the garage. She gave one nod to Tails’ words and turned around, her feet taking her out of the garage, one after another as Fiona’s brain froze up, forever the bitch.

She made it to the edge of the Wachowski driveway when there was suddenly someone at her side. Sonic.

“Hey, what happened? I heard some yelling. Are you both okay? Tails didn’t say anything.” Fiona answered his questions flatly as she stared ahead, too exhausted to put regret into her voice.

“I hurt him a while ago. I tried to apologize. To tell him I’m trying to be better. He didn’t believe me.”

“Are you?”

“Hmm?” Fiona slowly turned her head to face Sonic.

“Are you trying to be better?” Fiona nodded. She was, she was trying but it didn’t seem to be working.

“Then you’ll get there. Someday. Just got take it one day after the other.” Fiona didn’t respond. “Hey, look why don’t you come back after Tails has cooled off a bit? Actually, he’s doing this thing with Knuckles in a few weeks, after the Fall Festival, why don’t you join him? Promise you it will go better.” Fiona didn’t respond as Sonic put out a fist to bump. He held it. She didn’t reciprocate. “Okay cool! See you later!” And then he sped back to the house, and Fiona walked to her new home.

…

Fiona opened the front door of the plain house. Its plain walls and plain floors and plain ceilings were still devoid of the homeliness that was gained by the items of life that were yet to be put up. Grant and Elaine were in the kitchen unpacking the dishes and kitchenware as Fiona trudged in. Grant perked up as she entered.

“Hey, sweetie! How’d the meet-up go with your friend?”

“It was good! We had a nice talk, I’m gonna see them again at school.” Fiona put on a smile for Grant, the nice man deserving of it. “I’m gonna go unpack my room!” As Fiona dipped around the corner and entered her room she first dropped the smile and then collapsed into a heap on the floor, the cheap rug scratching at her nose and face. She lay there for 10 minutes before there was a knock at her door.

She didn’t answer it.

“Hey, it’s Elaine. Wanted to see how you were doing.” Fiona didn’t respond. Her tall ears picked up Elaine’s breathing, signifying that the woman was still outside Fiona’s door. “Fiona?” Elaine knocked on the door again. Fiona still did not respond. After another minute or so, the door opened and Fiona heard the woman’s footsteps as she entered.

“I thought getting my own room would mean privacy.” Fiona mumbled into the carpet.

“Yeah, that kinda goes away when you don’t respond.” Elaine snarked as she sat on the floor, back to the bed.

“Ugghhh.” Fiona grumbled.

“I’m glad the teen angst is in full force, means you’re settling into being a kid.”

“Why do I have to be a bitch though?” Fiona finally began to pick her face up from the carpet.

“You’re not a bitch.”

“I am! I was back on Mobius, I was back in Seattle, and I’m one here too.” Fiona stared the beautiful woman in the eyes.

“So what?” Elaine shrugged. “So you’re a bitch, big deal. That doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.”

“Uhh, yeah big deal! I’m not a good person and news flash: people don’t like bitches, that’s why it’s an insult!” Fiona spat and got into a sitting position where she could actually cross her arms. Elaine watched her for a while. Fiona looked up a few times at the woman to see if she was getting a reaction.

“You done throwing yourself a pity party?” Fiona dropped her arms and nodded slowly, mentally facepalming for trying to guilt trip this particular woman. “Good. Now let me put some stuff into perspective. How long were you a shitty person, not on Earth, but back on Mobius.” Fiona shrugged.

“Dunno, a while. As long as I could walk and talk practically.”

“Okay, that’s a really long time.” Fiona raised an eyebrow, not understanding. “You’ve only been trying to not be that for five months. It’s going to be a while before it starts to stick. You’ve tried to change so fast that you’re just scamming people, including yourself, into thinking you’re all sugary sweet now. But you’re not, and maybe you never will be.”

“So I’ll never be a good person, always the bitch?” Elaine sighed and pinched her temples.

“Firstly, stop using that word. You’re not a bitch and I don’t want to hear it come out of your mouth anymore. Got it?!” Elaine snapped and Fiona nodded speedily. “And two, if you want to actually change for the better, stop pretending to be different people. Be yourself first, and then make little changes, until you can smile at the person in the mirror.” Fiona sat still as she soaked in the words and nodded slowly as she dragged herself across the carpet to sit beside Elaine.

“Do you smile at the person in the mirror?” Fiona looked up at the woman. Elaine stared straight ahead.

“...no, but I no longer frown.”

“Do you love Grant yet?”

“Maybe? I don’t know. I care about him a lot. So…yes?”

“Hey, Elaine?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“Are you my mom now?” There was a pause. It wasn’t a dangerous one, or full of hesitation, it was more along the lines of shock, and confusion.

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

“Okay.” Fiona now stared ahead as she heard the lightest of crying coming from the woman beside her. And then Fiona hugged her mother.

Chapter Text

A choked grunt of pain exited Scourge’s mouth as he awoke. With an extreme effort, he extracted himself from his bed, stumbling and tripping. He limped from his bedroom, his eyes blurring as he made his way to the bathroom. He shoved open the door and slammed it behind him, the door rattling on its hinges.

He lowered himself to the cabinet under the sink, his knees shaking as they threatened to give out. His hands flew over the various items, toothpaste and shaving cream and moisturizer and fur brushes before finding what he was looking for. With hands shaking he opened the cap to the tube and squeezed out a generous glob. He then set the tube down and pulled at the two bandages with his now free hand.

A nightmare world was revealed beneath. Scar tissue and red, unhealed flesh marked Scourge’s chest. It glared angrily at him, all stacked on top of itself. Scourge took a deep breath and slapped the aloe to his chest, grunting and hissing through teeth bared so tightly he thought they’d crack.

But soon the sting lessened and the cooling of the aloe began to take effect Scourge took a rattly sigh, slumping to the floor of the bathroom. Scourge wasn’t sure how long he sat there just breathing, trying to will the pain to go away, but it burned on. A sharp consistent static that ate at his body and left him helpless.

Eventually, something lifted him up by his arms and set him on his feet.

Arthur.

“Get off me man!” Scourge flailed his arms and pushed the human off him. Scourge nearly tripped, his bad foot putting him off balance. But he regained his balance and glared at Arthur, who simply sighed.

“Are you ready for school?” Scourge sneered at him, showing off his shark teeth which hadn’t worked well as intimidation on day one of knowing the man, and certainly didn’t work well several months later. “Good, let’s get going. And try to learn something today.” Scourge ignored him and hobbled out of the room, limping. He tried to hide it, but at this point, Arthur could spot it a mile away. “You’re still limping? Mrs. Wachowski said your foot’s fully healed at this point. She said it could be a psychosomatic injury.” Scourge wheeled on the man and stuck out his chest.

“YEAH WELL DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A PSYCHOSTUPID INJURY TO YOU?!” He yelled. Arthur flinched, and Scourge wished it was at his words but he knew it was the gashes. The cuts and scar tissue struggling to heal, blood stacking on blood in a horrifying and painful mess. Scourge huffed at the man whose gaze had floated ever so slightly away from Scourge’s hurt body before the pain reached a feverish pitch again and Scourge gagged. Clutching at his arms, digging his nails in to try and block out the pain. Scourge watched lights dance in his eyes as he stumbled around.

Eventually, something came back to him, hands reached his face and opened his jaws. Scourge could bite down if he wanted to, sever the fingers as if they were hot dogs. But something held him back. A pair of pills entered his mouth followed by a sip of water. Scourge swallowed and quickly felt the pain begin to lessen.

Slightly.

“I’ll figure out where you stash that Vicodin someday and then I’ll eat it all.” Scourge said through a gritted smile. Arthur sighed and approached the angry green hedgehog once more, starting to place new bandages over his massive wounds.

“You’ll die.” Arthur said flatly. He said things like that. There was no sugar-coating with the man. He didn’t hyperbole for fear and he didn’t make anything sound nicer than it was. It was what it was and that’s all that it was. And somehow that could be far scarier. “And I won't let you.” Scourge growled softly.

“Better that than this.” Scourge tried the same bluntness but Arthur’s eyes could tell the hedgehog was bluffing.

“And what exactly is this?” Arthur pointed to Scourge’s chest. “Who did this to you?” Scourge’s eyes widened and dropped, not looking at the man. He sighed. “We’ve done this song and dance before Scourge. I’ve been told it’s good to talk about these things.”

“Well, that’s all the incentive I need then!” Scourge spat and then turned to leave. A few minutes later Scourge along with Arthur and Sally, who was already in the car, exited the driveway and turned onto the main road. The car rumbled along silently moving through the early morning hours.

“What are you guys learning about now?” Arthur called from the front.

“The last few days have all been about public transportation! It’s so cool that humans can just go to different places just by paying money! And everyone just goes together, like no fights break out and stuff!” Sally said eagerly from the back seat, nodding her head with a sense of pride. Scourge rolled his eyes.

“Well if they did then no one would take the bus.” Arthur shrugged as the car turned down a different street. Sally’s eyes widened and she put both hands on the sides of her face.

“Then the bus wouldn’t get money and it wouldn’t run in the first place! Whoa, that’s so crazy how it’s all connected! You humans really care about money, huh?”

“It’s an-”

“Exchange for goods and services, yeah I know, that was, like, the first lesson we ever learned. I never thought we’d move past learning about money.” Sally slumped a little in her seat, rolling her eyes toward Scourge who as much as he was loathe to admit it, had a point. School’s first 4 weeks were nothing but talking about the concept of money. Not that he remembered anything about it being a currency that assigns value to different things and is used as a go between that everyone agrees upon to use. Cause that would be lame.

“Wait what happens when the bus company runs out of money?” Sally questioned.

“Then the bus company goes out of business and people, unfortunately, lose their jobs.” Arthur noted.

“I thought everyone lost their jobs and the money all disappears.”

“You’re thinking of an economic recession where money is lost due to a sudden issue, like a bubble bursting or sudden trade loss.” Scourge huffed.

“I know, just wanted to see if you remembered.” Scourge was looking out the window but he could hear Sally’s smirk. He sneered at his own reflection in the window.

“Well I’m glad you’ll both be great economists, now we’re here, time for you guys to go. I’ll see you guys after I get home from work. You’ll both be okay to get home from school by yourselves?” Arthur turned in his seat to look at them. Sally nodded, and Scourge grunted. “Good, now Scourge apply yourself more, if you remember this much just off the top of your head, I’m eager to see what you’ll learn if you start trying. And Sally?” Arthur’s eyes flickered to the chipmunk and skewered her. She stiffened. “Please be good today, I don’t want another talk with the principal, I get pulled out of work for that.” Sally nodded slowly, a touch of shame there. But it was held back by a deeper anger that wouldn’t let the shame process correctly. She got out of the car and Scourge reached for the handle to leave when Arthur placed his hand on his. “Will you watch her? Maybe try to steer her away from-”

“From arguing with Blaze? But it’s so much fun! I swear they’re always just a hair away from actually fighting. Maybe this time the teacher won’t intervene in time!” Scourge smiled dreamily, imagining the two ripping each other’s fur out.

Arthur’s intense frown pulled him out of it.

“I’m asking you nicely Scourge. Just…watch her while I can’t.” There was a desperation in the man’s eyes. It was rare, Arthur was always so independent, determined to do everything himself with his own two hands. He didn’t often ask for help. Scourge found that the word ‘no’ didn’t exit his mouth. He instead settled for a grunt and exited the car moving to join Sally. “Hey!” Arthur’s voice called and they both turned to see his window down. “I care about you guys.” Scourge rolled his eyes.

“We care about you as well Arthur!” Sally gave a brief wave and they watched the man drive off. The hedgehog and chipmunk turned around and moved to merge with the mobians and humans alike entering the school.

Scourge snagged his seat in the far back of the room, hoping to grab as little attention from the teacher as possible.

There was someone in it.

“That’s my seat ebony darkness.” Scourge hissed. The black and red hedgehog looked up. His crimson eyes flashed at Scourge with immediate hostility. There wasn’t anger there, but threat analysis and concern over how dangerous Scourge was. Whoever this guy was, he was a soldier.

“Do we have assigned seats?” Scourge’s voice was pretty ragged, ripped to shreds by the Altering process, but it wasn’t necessarily deep. This kid’s voice rumbled, practically vibrating Scourge with its bass. And he wasn’t even an altered, although there was something off about him. Did he seem almost…perfect?

Like a model, everything about him was perfectly symmetrical. His fur patterns were crisp and his quills were all the right length, arcing outward and back with each bunch. His teeth were too straight and his eyes too sharp and bright. Tight muscles bunched under his skin and his longer fur ruffled as he moved.

“No, but that’s my spot.” Scourge growled.

“It was your spot, but you didn’t get it, now it’s mine.” The black hedgehog said flatly. The only indication he was unhappy with Scourge’s presence, was a strong frown. Scourge scoffed and picked a different seat. It wasn’t that he couldn’t deal with this guy if he had to, but it would just be too much work.

This guy might’ve been a soldier, but he was certainly a new one. The bravado and the way he carried himself spoke of unearned confidence. He might’ve been powerful, but he clearly was never in an actual battle, looking at Scourge without an ounce of concern. Even the most powerful warriors, if they were experienced, knew enough to speak with caution. This guy was just a cocky prick.

Scourge instantly liked him. An idiot who would throw themselves into battles because they think they’re all-powerful? Perfect cannon-fodder.

But Scourge wasn’t here to make an army. Apparently, he was here to learn.

The green hedgehog took a seat next to the black one and as the rest of the mobians settled into their seats, the teacher at the front called attention.

His name was Mr. Wilson. Scourge figured he had a first name, but Mr. Wilson was all they were given. He was middle age, all their teachers were, and he had short-cropped brown hair that spiked ever so slightly at the top. A pair of rectangular glasses rested on his nose and wrinkles creased his eyes and cheeks. He wore a button-down white shirt with some simple square designs on it and a pair of tan slacks. Glossy, dark brown dress shoes clacked the ground as he walked.

Mild murmurs filled the room as he took front and center in the room. Which meant he stood in the middle. Mr. Wilson was…hard to describe, but Scourge might go with: Crazy Person. Which also meant he was the class favorite.

His boisterous way of speaking and care for what students were learning and the importance of that learning was clear and rubbed off on a lot of the impressionable young mobians. His presence meant that today’s lesson would be in history. Scourge had never been one to understand the importance of history. It was in the past, why would it matter now? But Mr. Wilson’s analysis of events and realism did not allow for embellishment. He was not a man that liked to tell the tale of history as told by the winners.

Each lesson was presented with focus on why something happened and its impacts and ripple effects, rather than just the actions of the event itself.

Mr. Wilson had divided the room in two. Desks packed together on either side allowing for a walkway for Mr. Wilson to stomp down, before flicking around with a laser pointer to point at something on the board at the front, and stomping back to the front and flicking around with a laser pointer to point at something on the board in the back. All the while, mobian heads watching this bizarre back and forth like a tennis match.

Now normally Scourge would have to try his very best to act like he wasn’t paying attention to the lesson, but with the black hedgehog’s presence, he was having a hard time paying attention to his acting like he wasn’t paying attention. It was starting to grate on Scourge’s nerves. Who was this guy and why did he seem to have an aura of danger around him?

Scourge had gotten pretty good at telling what kind of threat a person was. It came with being a killer for hire back on Mobius. You had to know what someone’s skills were, their powers, connections, and motives. All of which factored into how dangerous someone was. And Scourge knew none of this guy’s. Which meant he was setting off alarm bells like crazy in Scourge’s mind. Scourge had gotten pretty comfortable on Earth, no one setting off those alarm bells.

Well except for…

Doesn’t matter. This black and red hedgehog was the second to do it. He’d have to watch him very carefully. Hell, Scourge didn’t even know his name.

And then Mr. Wilson halted his pacing and turned his gaze on the black and red hedgehog.

“I don’t recognize you. Who are you?” Mr. Wilson said quickly, clearly eager to return to teaching.

“Shadow.” The hedgehog said quietly. Mr. Wilson nodded slowly.

“Have you been understanding the lesson?” Shadow nodded. “Good.” And then Mr. Wilson continued teaching.

Shadow…well that was one piece of information.

…

Sally had to increase her pace to keep up with Scourge as the two walked through town looking for lunch. Part of her wanted to find her own place to eat, but she figured it wasn’t a good idea to separate from the grumbly green hog. She’d grown a sort of attachment to him in the past five months, trying to watch over him. Sally knew that he didn’t need to be cared for, he’d certainly done it enough on Mobius, but he was definitely not a people person and it would be Sally’s job to help translate the world for him.

“You can eat somewhere else Sally.” Scourge huffed, not even willing to turn around to face Sally as he walked.

“Well…I’m keeping an eye on you. I don’t want you to get in trouble, Arthur might be upset.” Sally looked both ways before crossing the street as Scourge just walked across.

“Why do you give a shit if I get in trouble with the human? Don’t you all want to get rid of me?”

“Because Arthur wants me to watch over you, and we don’t want to get rid of you.” Sally now had to run to get back to Scourge as he strolled the streets.

“Actually Arthur wants me to watch over you. By the way, the way you told off Blaze as being a house pet? Fucking hilarious.”

“I-I didn’t it-” Sally started.

“‘I bet you eat out of a bowl on the floor! Enjoy shitting in a litterbox later!’ HAHAHA! GOLD!” Scourge laughed to himself.

“Well I-!” Sally gulped and felt heat rise to her face as she thought about the detention she would be having for that comment…And the tears in the edges of Blaze’s eyes. “-I shouldn’t have said those things…She just…makes me so mad! Why did she have to be such a-a-. I mean she’s not-, but-”

“She’s a coward, call it like it is Sal.” Scourge huffed as he turned to enter a shop, the bell ringing as he entered. “I just don’t understand why you don’t just say it.” Sally swallowed and didn’t open her mouth again till they were in line at the sandwich shop, a few humans and even a mobian or two in line.

“Ugh…why do you always eat here? There’s a whole bunch of different places to try in town!” Sally sighed.

“But I like this place, why would I eat anywhere else? Besides, as I said, why don’t you go eat elsewhere?” Scourge flicked his fingers at Sally. She rolled her eyes and stood behind him to order.

Eventually, the line before them disappeared and Scourge moved forward to order when the lady behind the counter saw him her eyes flashed in recognition and she spoke before him.

“Let me guess: Salami, roast beef, turkey, bacon, ham, buffalo chicken, and pastrami all on sourdough?” She said flatly.

“Duh.” Scourge shrugged. “Why would anyone eat anything else?”

“Carnivore.” Sally mumbled and Scourge held a hand behind his back, one particular finger pointing at her.

“Can I interest you in a vegetable? Maybe a sauce? Cheese?” Scourge scoffed. “Clogged artery sandwich it is. And what would you like young lady?” The woman turned her attention to Sally. Sally considered the menu and got a little lost.

“Uhh, any recommendations?”

“Anything besides what your brother just ordered.” The woman rolled her eyes and Scourge and Sally jumped in.

“We are not siblings!” They said in unison.

“Right.” The woman corrected herself, with a smile that made Sally suspicious that she didn’t believe them. “Well I’ve always been a fan of a good Reuben, maybe throw a little avocado in there if you’d like.” Sally nodded. “Cool, all right, you both got your meal tickets?” Once more Sally nodded and she and Scourge handed over a bright green slip of paper.

Green Hills High had a cafeteria but in order to help the mobians get adjusted to modern society they were required to get food in the town. Various eateries within the town had agreed to make a deal with the school where the school would give out slips that allowed mobians to go into town, pay for their meals like a customer, and receive food. The eatery would then bill the school, which would then bill each host family.

After Sally got her Reuben and Scourge his meat-a-palooza, the two walked to a nearby park, a few mobians and other humans milling about. As per usual as soon as they caught wind of Scourge, all the mobians began to clear out, moving far away from the green hog.

“Ahhh, gotta love prime seating.” Scourge smirked as he sat down at a now free bench.

“It doesn’t bother you that they all clear out when they spot you?” Scourge scoffed.

“No way, it means they respect me.” A grin showed off Scourge’s canines.

“It means they fear you.” Sally corrected and Scourge shrugged.

“Eh, makes no difference to me. Either way, they see a guy who’s all-powerful.” Scourge continued to grin as he began to eat, chunks of meat flying as he chewed with his mouth open. Sally frowned.

“You’re not all-powerful. Those scars in your chest are the proof.” Scourge whipped around to glare at Sally, but she didn’t flinch. Not anymore. She’d seen what Altereds could do, but she knew that Scourge wouldn’t hurt her. Scourge looked like he wanted to say more, and snap at Sally, but it seemed merely mentioning his wounds caused a flare-up.

Scourge doubled over and grasped at the bandages covering his chest, Sally could see the redness shining through, angry and inflamed.

“Scourge! Scourge are you okay?! Do you want me to find Arthur?” Sally hovered over Scourge, not sure what to do as the hedgehog breathed shallowly, his breath rattling. But Scourge waved her off and slowly sat upright from the near fetal position he’d scrunched up into as the waves of pain had rolled over him.

“It’s fine! There’s nothing that can be done about it anyway.” Scourge sighed as his breath came back to him, his voice defeated. There was silence for a moment.

“She’s really that powerful huh?” Sally asked, her voice like a knife, cutting through Scourge. He stiffened and snapped his head around to look at her.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Scourge said far too quickly, Sally resisted rolling her eyes.

“I’ve seen her wake. Fields of tilled bodies.” Sally pointed to Scourge’s chest where two cuts of exploded flesh shifted and churned, like fresh soil for plants to bloom from death. “The person that did that to you, it was S-” Scourge slapped a hand over her mouth.

“DON’T!-Don’t say her name, names hold power, you oughta know this. Just call her by her code name…Iblis.” Scourge thumbed at the paper that his sandwich had been wrapped up in, clearly not hungry anymore.

“...Like the old fire god?” Scourge nodded. “So Iblis did do this, do you…Did-did she…did she invade the castle? My castle?” Sally started to feel something churn in her chest, her voice getting strained. “Scourge, I have to know…did she kill my parents?!” Scourge who had gotten quiet wheeled on her, his voice loud and hoarse.

“How do you know I didn’t lead the attack on your castle? I dealt the final blow! It was me!” Scourge was huffing, but Sally stared him down.

“Where did they enter?”

“Huh?” Scourge’s eyes widened.

“The invaders, where was their first target? The throne room, or the barracks?” Scourge scanned Sally’s eyes, his eyes suddenly more afraid than hers. Scourge licked at his lips nervously.

“The barracks, take out the soldiers, and then there’s no one left to fight back.” Scourge nodded at his answer.

“They attacked the servant’s quarters where all the citizens were staying first. They thought if they killed our people then they’d break the royal family’s spirit.” Sally spoke the words flatly, steely, and hard. Her answer made Scourge whip his head around to avoid looking at her. “You weren’t there, but was she? Please, did S-” Scourge shot a look at Sally, “-did Iblis lead the group that attacked the castle?” Scourge looked into Sally’s eyes and Sally saw fear there.

But not just fear. Shame. Regret, and pain. So much pain. He was hiding something, a missing piece in the attack. Something that Sally hadn’t known, hadn’t seen…or maybe she’d just blocked it out.

“She…didn’t lead the attack.” Sally deduced and something from the day broke free in her mind, tumbling into her memories, but she was hiding it from herself, from her mind’s eye because she didn’t want to look at it.

“No…but she-she ordered us to follow the man who did. We-” Scourge’s voice broke. “We were part of her platoon, and he had paid for Altered soldiers so we went under his leadership.”

“No…” Sally whispered as the face of the man who killed her parents started to come clear.

“He told us of who our target was…and-and for once I-I didn’t want to carry out the mission. Your parents always seemed decent, for once…I didn’t want to kill.”

“No…nonono.” Sally began to curl away from Scourge but his voice still was oh-so clear in her ears.

“I said I wouldn’t follow, and…Iblis did this to me. Left me for dead, and the soldiers marched to the castle under his command to commit regicide.”

“Nonononno! NO!” Sally began to cry as she tried to cover her ears but Scourge’s grating, rough voice still came clear.

“I didn’t want to do it because despite who I am and even forgetting your parents were good people. The man didn’t want to wait any longer and…I couldn’t aid in patricide.”

“NO NO NO NO!” Sally was wailing now as the face of the man who killed her parents became clear and she wailed out on the park bench, the park now clearing out at her crying.

“Sally…I’m sorry but- it was your brother.” Scourge finished and Sally whipped up and stood, imposing over the dangerous Altered.

“NO! No, it wasn’t! My brother is caring and nice! He-he wouldn’t!” Full tears fell down her cheeks as she stood over Scourge. “You’re wrong! Say you’re wrong! You got the leader wrong! It was someone else! SAY YOU’RE WRONG!”

“I-I’m wrong…” Scourge spoke quietly his voice clear. He managed to meet Sally’s gaze and she wailed all the harder that he was, only now, lying. Sally cried out and punched him in the chest, he crumpled like a sack of potatoes, clutching his injured chest.

“I HATE you! You could’ve stopped them! But you’re weak! That’s why people like you become Altered’s! Because you’re weak! Well, guess what? Pumping poison into your body doesn’t make you strong! And don’t you dare think about coming back to the house! You’re scum and you should lie in the ditches you boiled up from.”

And then Sally walked off, leaving Scourge to try and breathe through his injured body, but he just wished he would stop breathing altogether.

…

It was nearly an hour when Scourge could finally stand up from the pain. He wobbled to his feet, his injured leg making him limp. He hobbled away from the park, not sure where he was going. He certainly couldn’t go back to living with Arthur, Sally had made that perfectly clear. He’d be fine on his own anyway. That was his original plan anyway when he’d arrived on Earth. His home with Arthur had been temporary from day one.

Scourge hobbled down the streets, just focusing on putting one leg in front of the other when he noticed something. A hedgehog. A black and red hedgehog. The one from Earth 101. Shadow.

He was standing outside a pizza joint, his green meal ticket grasped tightly in his hand.

“You still not eaten lunch?” Scourge asked a touch of snark in his voice. He didn’t know why he was being snarky, he didn’t know why he was talking at all. Shadow ignored Scourge if he even noticed him at all. Scourge was about to keep walking when the black and red hedgehog finally said something.

“I don’t understand.”

“Lunch? Yeah, it’s a pretty foreign concept to me too, having another meal in the middle of the day is pretty wild. Don’t try to hoard those tickets, by the way, they just get upset if you don’t eat three meals a day.” Shadow finally turned to face Scourge.

“No, I…don’t understand what we’re doing here. What’s our…objective?” Scourge gave a half-laugh, his body, and mind not capable of more. There was something in the hedgehog’s eyes, a probe, a hunt beyond just a simple ask.

“Wow, you really were a soldier back on Mobius, huh?” Shadow’s eyes widened.

“No! No…yes, yes I was a soldier.” Scourge heard a weakness in the black and red hedgehog’s voice for the first time.

“Well, news flash soldier boy, there is no purpose here. We’re all meaningless until we figure out our own purpose in life…or give up along the way.” And then Scourge pushed past Shadow, leaving him to contemplate his choice of pizza.

Chapter Text

Jet and his crew stood at the edge of the forest. Their breaths were baited and muscles were tense as they stood together, ready for their moment to strike. They watched the humans go by, up and down, up and down, all completely unaware that the most badass group of birds was about to blast through them all with their unbridled awesomeness.

And so the humans continued to do their thing, happy and naive, and when their blissfulness was at its greatest, the Babylon Rogues struck. Jet gave a flick of his wrist and he, Storm, and Wave all burst from the bushes and charged the humans. Storm gave a little call to grasp the attention of the humans and the Rogues were greeted with some fast head turns and glances of fear.

The humans were now at their most vulnerable, they would be easy to defeat.

In the great skill of skateboarding that is.

Jet threw down the board he ‘found,’ and hopped on it propelling himself forward towards the small skatepark, the humans already in awe of his skills. They reeled back as he and his crew approached taking long laps around the small humans that were totally wowed by the skills of the Babylon Rogues. Jet was of course the most skilled, able to take smoother, cleaner turns as Wave and Storm were still a little shaky on their boards. What could Jet say?

He was just the coolest.

“Are you not entertained?!” Jet called. “Check out our totally rad skills!” The humans looked blankly at Jet and he brought his board to a stop in front of Wave who immediately fell off her board as he approached and quickly struggled to get back on. “I did say that correct? Rad skills is proper slang here?” He whispered to her, Wave shrugged and nodded.

“That’s what I heard on the screen at that electronics store.” It was Jet’s turn to shrug, maybe these humans just weren’t very up-to-date with the lingo of the greatest group of skateboarders on the planet.

The Rogues had been on Earth for a while now, the moons above showing a passing of time as the days got longer and hotter for a bit and now were moving to a shorter, cooler period of time. And in those past few months, the Rogues had been building their resources. Snatching what they could from the town and incorporating it into their totally awesome treehouse base.

What had started out as an abandoned deathtrap wobbly tree house base, was now a lived-in deathtrap wobbly tree house base. The Babylon Rogues as they’d been named after a thorough brainstorming session that had involved a screaming match, a handful of flowers, mud, a box of pencils, and Jet being thrown out the window, had spent the last month well.

They’d been able to do well stealing from the humans, there were things like blankets and the essentials, but the Rogues had done much more than that. They’d reinforced the base so that Storm didn’t have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the other side in order to balance out the unstable house, they’d gotten a generator, a mini fridge, amassed enough snack food to feed three consecutive 8-year-old birthday parties, snatched a gaming device and even had their own snocone machine.

Jet had been hesitant at first when Storm suggested they snatch it, but after his first blue raspberry/cherry snocone, he now trusted the albatross with his life.

But of course, the most important thing they’d snatched were their boards. The Rogues almost never agreed on anything. What to eat, where to go, what to steal, but when they’d first run past that skatepark, all three of them simultaneously knew that those small planks of wood with wheels were the coolest things in the universe.

Maybe even cooler than Jet.

So after snagging a trio of them, the Rogues had spent the last five months figuring out how to board. It had been a slow process, for the most part, the uneven ground of the forest along with the coating of wet leaves made it impossible to learn how to board, and going to the skatepark at night had its own challenges, since those were peak thieving hours. All of which left little time for the group to work on becoming the best skateboarders in the world.

But they’d put in the time where they could and were already the best boarders in the town, probably the country. Wave could get on her board and ride it, Storm was starting to make turns, and Jet could even come to a quick stop and pick up his board quickly by stepping on the end of it.

They’d become world champs in no time.

But while they worked on becoming the best, the group was more than happy to bask in the glow of the admiration of the small group of humans that came to the skatepark. Jet rolled up a ramp and back down it, able to take a quick turn back towards the group.

The park itself was pretty cool. Nice smooth concrete surfaces were perfect for practicing boarding. The Rogues had no idea what the space was actually for, they’d only ever seen people having fun skateboarding there. But why would resources be wasted on a pure entertainment activity?

The park was mostly flat, with a few rises and lowers, and a couple of ramps here and there. And of course, the coup de grâce, a quarter pipe on the edges. It extended the back of the park, creating an edge and so far, none of the Rogues had been able to do much with it. It was truly the ultimate test. Jet had once been able to go up it a little but had quickly fallen, scraping his elbow in the process. The Rogues knew once they could go up and back down, they’d be the best in the world, but that was truly a nigh-impossible task. It was nearly two feet up, the top almost vertical, it would be a true struggle.

There was but one that they’d seen be able to accomplish the task. She was a human and a cocky one at that. From what Jet and his crew had picked up her name was Lily. She was an expert, moving faster, taking quicker turns, and even doing some impressive tricks. Many a time the Rogues had watched her go up the quarter pipe, spin around on the board, and come back down, all without falling.

The rogues knew that if they were able to do the things she could do, they were but one step from being the best in the world. But something about the quarter pipe brought a sense of fear. It was a new experience and despite the Rogues’ dedication to putting in the work, they fell every time.

But today would be the day. As Jet maneuvered around the beginner boarders he approached the quarter pipe and for once he had his speed right. Not too fast, not too slow. He’d be able to approach the pipe with just enough inertia to crest it and come back down. And then, he crossed the point of no return. Immediately, Jet felt himself begin to slow. The angle of the ramp getting steeper and steeper. Jet bent his knees just a little to keep his speed and lower his center of gravity. He got higher and higher and slower and slower.

And then he was at the peak of the pipe. He was in the space between seconds, his body a hair’s shy of horizontal, two feet in the air. If he messed up now, it would be a painful smack into the concrete. And then he remembered the hours he’d put in, the glances at Lily and her flaming skull board, and quickly pressed weight onto his back foot. Now he was more than horizontal as the board pitched away from the ramp. Now Jet was falling and it was up to him to control how he fell. Using his upper body and hips Jet angled downward, the board beneath him coming about. Jet was actively falling now, the ground rushing up to greet him. Then the front of his board touched the concrete, his foot touched against the board, Jet’s knees bent to absorb the impact and he landed the trick.

Perfectly.

Jet stood up on the board and cheered. He’d done it! He was the greatest skateboarder around. Now all Jet had to do was bask in the glory. Bringing his board to a stop with a quick stomp on its tail Jet raised the board high and closed his eyes, leaning back for his adoring fans.

A cheer went up. Because of course, it did. But…it sounded far away. It should’ve been coming from all around, but it seemed to be coming from one spot further away. That was weird.

Jet opened his eyes to see the awe in his fans when he noticed there was some cheering, but it was coming from the other end of the park. A small crowd had gathered to watch someone, and it wasn’t him?! Even Wave and Storm were there. Jet stomped over to see who had taken the spotlight from him and his beak grated at the sight of Lily.

“Okay, okay! But I’m only gonna do it one more time, I wanna practice other stuff.” The young teen waved off the attention of the crowd. And Jet watched as she performed the coolest trick he’d ever seen.

She started off being offset from the center of the board. Rather than having her feet placed evenly over the trucks, her front foot was a little behind the front truck and her back foot was placed on the back of the board. Lily bent down and then…she jumped. Her back foot pressed on the rear of the board pushing the front upward, in doing so she turned her front foot to the side, letting the side of her front sneaker slide up from the middle towards the top, rebending her front knee. As she did, the back of the board kicked up from the ground following Lily’s feet like the board was magnetized to them.

The board was flying, Lily was flying.

And then gravity kicked in and the board started to arc back toward the Earth, Lily’s feet now magnetizing to the board as she prepared for impact. The front of the board made contact with the ground, but there was something wrong. Jet could see it. Lily was too far forward, the front gaining too much power. Lily landed on the board, but it had entered at the wrong angle, too sharp, too fast. Lily went forward, the board went back and once more Lily was flying or falling depending on one’s view.

As Lily’s front foot tried to follow the board, her body went forward and started to awfully close to the ground. But something in the primal brain activated and Lily’s backfoot, which up till now had been dangling uselessly as it waited for the finish of a trick that would never come, was brought around. Lily threw it forward, ahead of her previous front foot, and caught herself. From there it was an awkward stumble but the girl managed to become fully upright and not fall.

“I’m okay!” Lily called to the audience which had seemingly held their breath. Lily made her way back to the group as her stumble had taken her away from it and was handed her board by some smaller human. “It’s called an Ollie, hard but really cool. I’m still working on it if you hadn’t guessed.” A few small chuckles emanated from the group. Storm and Wave exited the group and made their way over to Jet.

“Pfff, she’s a poser boss, ain’t got nothing on us.” Storm scoffed and leaned on Jet.

“If she can’t even do an Ollie, how can she call herself a skateboarder.” Wave laughed.

“Are you guys kidding?” Jet shrugged them off. “That was the coolest thing we’ve ever seen and you know it!” Jet allowed his angry excitement to bypass his monstrous ego for once. He pointed at the other members of the rogues and watched as they nodded at his outburst. “We’ve gotta learn that trick. Totally nuts.”

“Totally nuts.” Storm echoed.

“‘Kay, but how do we learn that? I’m not even sure how to start, she frickin’ flew!” Wave made a gesture with her hand to symbolize flight.

“Gimme a sec.” Jet closed his eyes and put a hand to his chin, letting the sounds of the skatepark wash over him as he tried to figure out how to learn the trick. Soon the answer was obvious. “Well, we gotta get her to teach us.” Jet snapped his fingers.

“I don’t think an enemy boarder is just gonna give away all her techniques, dummy.” Wave knocked on his head. Jet waved her off.

“Obviously! But if she’s not an enemy, or at least she thinks she’s not an enemy…”

“You wanna let her into our crew?” Storm scratched at his head.

“Nah nah nah.” Jet clarified. “I want her to think I let her into the crew.”

“And then she’ll spill her secrets!” Wave figured it out. And Jet nodded.

“C’mon guys, let’s meet our new member.” Jet snickered.

And so the Rogues strode over to Lily who was currently in the middle of positioning herself over the board in order to begin skating when they came over.

“Hey!” Jet called and got the attention of Lily who almost immediately fell off the skateboard. “You’re a pretty good skater.” Jet nodded at her, and the rest of the rogues followed his motion. Lily smiled at them.

“Thanks! Yeah, I’ve been trying to practice for a while, just…hard to find time for it, y’know?”

Jet did know. It was hard to work in boarding time between sleeping, stealing, and eating. He made of note of affirmation before letting a smile split his beak.

“Just so you know…heh, we’re the best boarders around, thought you might want to join our crew. We teach you some things, you teach us some things. A real your scratch our back, we scratch yours kinda sitch.” Jet waved his arms around to illustrate his point.

“Crew? What are you talking about?” Lily gave a scoff/laugh hybrid noise. How did she now know what a crew was, how dumb was this girl?

“Yeah, crew! Like you work together and do stuff together, help each other out. And of course, do your best to support the boss.” Jet gestured to himself and tried to ignore the feeling of Wave rolling her eyes behind his back. Lily raised an eyebrow.

“Ummm…thanks but no thanks then. That kinda sounds more like a toxic friendship. Been there, done that. I can give you guys some pointers if you want, but I’d really suggest just looking up some YouTube tutorials, that’s how I’ve learned.”

There was a lot in the girl’s sentence that confused Jet, but the biggest thing was that Lily didn’t want to be part of their crew?! What?! They were the coolest people around, and even if their offer was technically fake, anyone would jump at the opportunity to hang with the Babylon Rogues!

“WHAT?!” Jet exclaimed and the girl looked taken aback. “We’re the Babylon Rogues! We’re totally awesome! You’re just super lame then.” Jet smiled at his takedown of the girl, but to his surprise and suddenly crushed pride, she just rolled her eyes.

“Whatever, man. If you say so.” And then she began to skate off. Jet sputtered and called after her.

“Well, then I challenge you to a skate-off!” Jet smiled, knowing he’d be able to take Lily…even if she could do way cooler tricks than he could. Lily stopped and looked back at Jet, confused.

“What are you talking about? What is a skate-off?” Lily called from a few feet away, their argument beginning to draw stares. Jet licked his beak and swallowed, suddenly a little nervous.

“Y’know, a skate-off! We both do a bunch of cool tricks and whoever does worse has to leave and never come back!” Jet laughed, finally in control of the situation again.

“What?! Why would I ever agree to that? That’s dumb. Stop being toxic dude.” Lily just shook her head. Toxic? What did that mean?

“S-so you forfeit then! And we win! Babylon Rogues on top once again!” Jet spun around, high-five ready, to face Wave and Storm who for as much as he could tell were on his side, seemed equally confused at Lily’s lack of accepting Jet’s challenge.

“That’s not very nice.” One kid said.

“Who are these guys again?” Someone else added. And suddenly the Rogues felt like they were out of this element. They came to the park as kings and now were suddenly unwelcome in their kingdom.

“I thought the school was teaching you guys acceptance and stuff?” Lily was suddenly in front of Jet and the other Rogues, much bigger than them, and…pitying them? They weren’t to be pitied! They were the coolest around! Jet would show her!

“School?” Was instead the only thing that came out of his mouth.

“Yeah, y’know school, where you’re supposed to go to learn about Earth. Do you guys know Jewel by the way? Your host family does make you go to school right?” All eyes were on the Rogues as Lily interrogated them. Jet actually felt himself take a step back and bumped right into Storm.

“Host family?” It was Wave’s turn to ask. Lily perked up.

“Yeah y’know the people taking care of you…” Lily trailed off as she scanned the Rogues’ eyes and saw only blank stares. “You guys don’t have a host family?” She actually took a step back and Jet saw this as their opportunity to advance on the girl.

“Yeah! And we don’t need one! We’re the Babylon Rogues and we can take care of ourselves! Screw your host families and screw your school and screw your skatepark!”

“Yeah!” Storm and Wave echoed Jet’s sentiment.

“Let’s scram guys! We’ll be back when the park isn’t so lame.” Jet scowled at the skatepark goers before he and the rest of the Rogues vanished into the trees, the pitying eyes of the park’s best boarder still on them.

…

Jet had walked in silence as the Rogues had made their way back to the tree house, Lily’s words still ringing in his head.

“That girl ain’t got nuthin’ on you boss! She didn’t know what she was saying!” Storm slapped Jet’s back.

But she did know what she was saying. There was no bravado in her words. It was analytical and calm. The words were strong and selected, meant to hit Jet with their meaning rather than their power.

“And that attitude of hers! Like she thought she owned the park and could tell us how to be!” Wave laughed.

But she didn’t act like she owned the park. She acted like she was a part of it, eager to interact and co-mingle with the other boarders. She wasn’t above it, she was equal to it.

“Yeah…” Jet mumbled as the fallen leaves on the ground shuffled between his feet. A static that copied the static burning out his brain.

The other Rogues continued to chatter on as the treehouse base came into view, expanded to have more space and rooms for all of the new stuff they’d jammed into it. Rooms were added in with random wooden planks and hastily hammered nails.

Jet sighed as he grabbed at the rope ladder, feeling as though he’d somehow, and this was impossible, lost his argument with Lily. He moved his way up, taking each step, finally feeling some excitement about being home and away from the park. Jet grasped the treehouse floor and hauled himself up, finally back home, where a green hedgehog sat on a bean bag chair.

“Nice place you got here.” He said while licking a blue raspberry snocone, jagged, sharp teeth on display. An Altered. He wore sneakers and a jacket, open to reveal bandages that were stained red. A pair of sunglasses crested his head. Jet’s heart went into free fall as his stomach shot into his throat as his eyes blurred and fear saturated his body.

“Y-y–y-you like it? I-it’s all yours if you want-t?” Jet was breathing heavily, his mind debating what was more life-threatening, being in the tree house with an Altered or jumping from this height to the ground. Jet noticed that Wave and Storm were coming up the ladder behind him, and while he believed in working together as a team, he wasn’t about to drag others under the bus made of knives alongside him. He tried as nonchalantly to wave at them to get down and run, but they were merely confused, simply stopping on the ladder.

“I’m thinking about it, got a real nice set of stuff.” The Altered looked around at the various things in the room a smile showing off his canines.

“We worked h-hard trying to get it.” Jet nodded at each of the items in the room, thinking about each theft and the time he put in with the crew to get them all.

“I bet you did.” The hedgehog turned his pale blue gaze back to Jet. “That’s actually what I’m interested in talking to you about.”

“Oh?” Jet was quaking now, his body shriveling to seem small against the Altered. He smiled at Jet and stood up, throwing the unfished snocone out the window. He strolled over to Jet and walked around him, examining Jet like he was a piece of meat before getting close to Jet’s face where he got a far too close look at the Altered’s teeth.

“Reeeelax flyboy. I ain’t gonna hurt you, it’s a big no-no on Earth if you hadn’t gotten that picture. That whole positive chaos wave really makes you think twice about it.” The hedgehog patted Jet’s face, Jet flinching under each light slap, before flopping back in the bean bag chair. “And yet…you didn’t seem to get that memo now didya?”

“Hmm?” Jet mumbled, uncurling slightly as confusion replaced fear.

“You’ve been hurting people, a lot actually. You and your whole crew.” The hedgehog waggled a finger at Jet and then pointed lower, clearly aware of the rest of the Rogues’ presence.

“We haven’t hurt anyone!” Jet huffed, agitated that this rando came in, used their snocone machine, and accused them of hurting people. They were thieves, not fighters.

“No?” The hedgehog raised an eyebrow. “Shall we recap the day’s events? You start out by crashing into where a bunch of humans are just hanging out. Then you act like you own the place and finally, you try to insult and belittle some poor girl. You really are top-notch at not hurting people aren’t you?”

“That’s not hurting people!” Jet defended.

“It is here. You don’t get to get away with that kinda shit to people who don’t deserve it.” The hedgehog stretched out on the beanbag chair, still showing off his sharp teeth in the form of a shit-eating grin.

“Then why are you insulting me?!”

“‘Cause you deserve it. Am I not getting through your beaked skull?”

“Right, and like you haven’t done worse.” Jet narrowed his eyes at the Altered, who for once during this conversation dropped his terrible smile and took in Jet’s words, nodding ever so slightly.

“Not here I haven’t. Gotta say it’s kinda interesting being the good guy. Lot more work, but I do sleep better at night. Which brings me back to my first point. Where’d you get all this shit?” The hedgehog gestured broadly to the contents of the room.

“Stole it.” Jet said quickly, really starting to wonder if he might actually be able to take this guy, the pansy that he seemed to be.

“Figured as much. You can’t do that either.” The hedgehog waggled his finger.

“Enough of this! Why do you think you get to tell me or my crew what we can and can’t do? This is a new world full of possibilities, we get to do what we want!” Jet squawked and started towards the hedgehog.

Big mistake.

The hedgehog moved so fast, Jet barely registered him getting up from the chair. He crossed over to Jet, grabbed him by the arm, and threw him around. Jet sailed across the room, landing in the bean bag chair. Jet moved to get up but was quickly pinned to it, each of his wrists clamped down by the Altered hedgehog.

“See now that’s where you’re wrong.” He said oh so calmly as Jet struggled under his grip. “This isn’t a world of possibilities. It’s a world of second chances. Similar, I’ll give you that much, but not the same. You don’t get to do whatever you want. That’s how we ended up with Mobius. There are rules here, and stipulations that are put in by society with only good intentions that work to better the population as a whole. They get tripped up along the way, but the world works to be better than it was yesterday.”

“W-what?” Jet shook his head, confused between the hedgehog’s words and trying to free himself from his grip. The hedgehog rolled his eyes and sighed.

“I don’t know why I’m trying to explain social customs to someone who thought stealing a Switch without the charging cable was a smart idea.” Jet just looked on in fear and confusion. “My point is: You guys stealing shit, is going to hurt other mobians trying to live here.” The Altered let go of Jet and reared back and breathed in. “SO KNOCK IT OFF!” Jet winced as spittle splattered his face and his eyes got awfully close to those terrible fangs. The Altered began to walk away.

“You think you’re some kinda ‘good guy?’ Well, most good people don’t threaten others!” Jet managed as he tried to get out of the bean bag chair but he’d sunk too far into it and it took two tries to get out of it.

“I think your bad choices shouldn’t hurt people that don’t deserve it.” The Altered narrowed his eyes. “But I never said I was going to hurt you, and I won’t.” And then he moved to leave the treehouse.

“Yeah right!” Jet huffed, so fed up with this hedgehog’s bullshit that it overwrote his fear. “Like an Altered could ever be good.” And then the hedgehog turned back-

And he smiled a real smile.

“Maybe. But you’d be surprised where some selflessness and a little bit of decency can get you.” And then his smile vanished and his eyes turned steely cold and harsh. “But if you fuck this up for everyone. A lot more powerful people than me might get their hands on you.” Jet swallowed and his mind went to dark places with powerful figures.

“L-like Iblis?” The hedgehog shrugged.

“Yeah, although the thought of Sonic being angry is the only thing that still keeps me up at night.” And then the shit-eating grin returned. “See you around, Jet.” And then the hedgehog jumped out the window.

Jet stood there in his treehouse, a home filled with enough things that he’d stolen that he didn’t even own the home anymore. As Storm and Wave climbed up the ladder, looking behind them at the green hedgehog running off into the woods, clearly confused Jet called out to him.

“Who the fuck is Sonic?!”

Chapter Text

Tangle was having a hard time believing what she was doing. The day was gorgeous, a beautiful temperature out and there was a lovely breeze and the trees had changed into bright colors. There were wonderful foods and tons of people milling about all going about their days in the best of ways.

And she was about to spend it inside.

Tangle couldn’t fully figure out why. Well, she knew why, she just didn’t know why. Tangle was about to spend this entire beautiful day inside of a library looking at books and paper because…well because of a number.

Tangle was fairly familiar with tests. They were a way to examine skills and determine how valuable someone was to a community. Tangle had enough experience with them back in Spiral Hill on Mobius. She’d failed enough engine repair, bomb defusal, endurance, and strength tests there to deal with the fallout.

But the weird thing was when Tangle failed the ‘economics’ test here on Earth, they didn’t kick her out of the community. A 32 was apparently a failing grade and yet she was supposed to do it again. Why were they giving her another shot? The teachers were also suggesting ways to help Tangle learn and understand the content. Tangle had even been told that she’d still be welcome at the school and given aid for her to learn better.

It was almost like they wouldn’t let her fail. It was immensely frustrating.

Ultimately Tangle figured that if she just beat the test then they’d forget about her and she could move on. Which now brought her to the Green Hills Public Library. It was a building on the bigger side of the ones she’d seen in town. Low lying but long and wide. A bright sign stood out front, seeming to insult Tangle.

Tangle turned around to look at Carl in his car.

“Please don’t make me do this.” Tangle groaned, her big tail swishing about unhappily. “Who cares what number they wrote on my piece of paper.” Carl raised a bushy eyebrow.

“I care. It’s important that you know these things.” Carl ran a hand over Tangle’s head and she pulled away. Not upset at the touch…but now he’d messed up her fur. Tangle looked over at her test, markings in blue pen pointed out gaps where Tangle hadn’t answered questions or where she’d put poor answers in.

“But seriously what’s the point of learning these things? When will I ever need to know what minimum wage is? Or how budgeting works? I can just live in the forest!” Tangle gave a big smile, hoping it would persuade Carl. From his frown, it didn’t seem to work.

“Well, the forest doesn’t have health care or ice cream or marathons of old sitcoms. All of which cost money, so you need to know how it works. Now go on, the others are waiting for you.” Tangle huffed and jumped up to the rear door of the car, her eyes locking on Whisper in the back.

“C’mon Whisp! Tell him I don’t need to do this! We can work on painting our room today!”

“Tangle, last time I let you near the paint, you had it in your fur for a week.” Carl called from the front.

“Hey! This is a bestie conversation only!” Tangle shook her tail at the man. Who mumbled and turned away from them.

“Assigning things value is preferable to hurting people in order to get resources.” Whisper said in a voice that just reached Tangle’s ears. Tangle slumped from the car door, pooling on the sidewalk.

“I thought you liked me…” Tangle grumbled.

“I…do…”

Tangle swallowed and flinched, her tail curling in on itself.

“N-no I…ugh!” Tangle beat at her head, a sudden flurry of nervousness overtaking her frustration.

“Okay! We should get going!” Carl announced from the front in a voice louder than usual. And then he coughed into his fist and spoke more calmly. “I’d like for us to paint your room before you get home and end up painting everything but the walls. You got your lunch and study materials?” Tangle held up her lunch and bag and nodded, not looking at either car passenger. “Okay, we’ll see you in a few hours, okay?” Tangle nodded again and watched as the car drove off, all but stranding her in a place she didn’t want to be.

Tangle turned around and faced the library. Her prison for the next few hours. She’d been through worse so she knew she could handle it. But why did she have to? What was so useful about school that she had to go? Tangle looked down the road, the whole of town just a few steps away. All she’d have to do was walk that way and she’d be able to have fun.

But then Carl would be upset.

No. Not upset.

Disappointed, sad. Which was somehow so much worse! It was weird, despite how much she messed up he was never angry at her, just that disappointment. Like he saw a Tangle that wasn’t there. Well, maybe not one that wasn’t there, just a Tangle that was deeper inside her. He was seeing someone he thought Tangle could be.

It made Tangle squirm. It made her toss and turn at night, his disappointment flowed onto her, and made her disappointed in herself. She looked at the 34 on her paper and beyond it. The notes made suggestions and pointed out how she could’ve done better.

It all made her want to do better.

She’d never wanted to do better. Doing better always meant the possibility of something bigger and then the failure of that. And if Tangle failed whatever that bigger thing was…

Well, it scared her.

So Tangle had never gone out of her way to do better and no one…well no one on Mobius ever seemed to expect her to do better. So she hadn’t. And yet on Earth, where ever she turned there were people that believed she could be more.

Again. Frustrating.

So Tangle pulled her gaze from the sidewalk and its world of entertainment and turned toward the library and its prison of knowledge.

Tangle approached the front desk where an older man with a thick pair of glasses typed away at a computer. He had bags under his eyes and greasy, thinning hair. He looked like he was always one step away from quitting his job.

“Um hello?” Tangle tried. The man didn’t answer. “Yo.” Tangle said a little louder. This time the man’s eyes flashed to Tangle and a brief look of annoyance was visible but he quickly looked back towards his computer screen. Tangle pouted and reached up with her tail tapping him on the shoulder. He flinched and spun his gaze back to Tangle, finally grabbing his attention. “Hey, did you see any other girls come in here? I’m looking for a study group?” The man simply glared at her.

“I don’t know, it’s not my job to keep tabs on alien girls. Look around, it’s not that big of a library.” Tangle sputtered at his words and tried to come up with a response.

“Yeah well uh…uhh…at least I’ve got fur!” Tangle spread her arms wide, her come back clearly affecting the psyche of species that didn’t have fur, to begin with. Tangle walked away, giving the man a, ‘come at me’ look before she entered the main room of the library. As she finally turned away, her ears caught the man’s last remark.

“Tourist.”

Well, she’d been called far worse. And it was no longer just on Mobius either. A string of insults and slurs had slowly formed across the planet as humans began to notice, avoid and dislike the new sentient species that had started to pop up on Earth. The remarks were few and far between and Carl had made sure to give anyone that made remarks at Tangle or Whisper a piece of his mind, but they could still hurt. ‘Talking flea-condo’ was a special kind of creativity.

And speaking as a Lemur that had indeed had fleas at one point in the five months she’d been on Earth, it sucked that it had been accurate. That had been a sucky couple of weeks.

Still, insults were far preferable to actually being in a fight or having to struggle for food. On Mobius, she just would’ve dealt with it. But here? Something about it felt more wrong. That sense of betterment that had started to be instilled into Tangle fought back against the insults and name-calling, it told her. Demanded of her, that she be treated better.

Tangle needed to figure out a way to shut that thing up.

Tangle walked through the stacks of books, navigating around the library in the hopes of finding the other mobians that were supposed to be here for this study session.

Apparently, some of the host families had been noticing that there was some trouble with learning the content of the lessons in Earth 101 and the teachers had noticed as well. A study group had been one of the solutions set up to combat this.

Various mobian host families had been put into contact and plans had been made to get the kids together to learn and interact. Helping them get more used to Earth society and to get used to each other.

Tangle liked Whisper…well of course she liked Whisper, Whisper was her friend and they liked hanging out together…as friends…Tangle was friendly with Whisper, that’s what she meant.

But being around other mobians could be tricky. There was no doubt that every time Tangle walked into the classroom there was tension so thick that you could cut it with a knife. And then everyone would scramble for that knife to try to protect themselves from being stabbed by everyone else. And then everyone else would be so afraid of the person with the knife and so on and so on.

Moving around one more bookshelf Tangle finally spotted a couple of pairs of furry ears and made her way over but quickly stopped.

What are they doing here? Tangle thought. It wasn’t an insult, more of an actual question as it didn’t seem to make sense that some of the smartest mobians needed to be in a study group.

Tangle cautiously walked over as Blaze and Jewel looked up from an ocean of different papers they had in front of them. They first looked at Tangle with a degree of caution, as all mobians did, but as Tangle approached with her best attempt at joyous confidence, Blaze and Jewel broke out in big smiles.

“Kinda surprised you two are here? Aren’t you both like-crazy smart?” Blaze and Jewel looked at each other.

“I-maybe? Just wanted some more practice…” Jewel looked a little downtrodden and Tangle was worried she’d insulted the beetle. But Blaze waved it all off, fixing a strong, but not harsh stare onto Tangle.

“Don’t belittle yourself. We’re all here to learn. It’s possible Jewel and I were in more administrative positions on Mobius so we have some background knowledge in learning, but it does not mean we are more intelligent than yourself.”

“Oh, so Earth 101 is hard for you guys?” Tangle perked up a little her tail waving happily and both girls looked at each other again.

“N-no, we’re taking extra classes and aren’t used to the more rigorous learning curriculum.” Blaze smiled sheepishly.

“Oh.” Tangle slumped forward tail dropping like a cut puppet. But Jewel gave a soft smile and patted the chair next to her.

“It’s okay, Earth is a lot, we’ll help you.” Tangle gave a small smile at Jewel’s words and climbed up into the chair next to her. “You’re Tangle right?” Tangle nodded. “You weren’t a big fan of school from the beginning were you?”

“How’d you know?” Tangle raised an eyebrow.

“I remember you from the very first official meeting several months ago.” Jewel smiled at Tangle.

“What?! How do you remember that? I barely remember what I had for breakfast this morning!”

“Heart-healthy cereal and a tall glass of orange juice.” Jewel said.

“Breakfast casserole with eggs, sausage, hashbrowns at least four kinds of cheese, potatoes, and a biscuit. Twice.” Blaze spoke into a piece of paper she was writing on and Tangle happened to notice there was some green on her muzzle. Tangle and Jewel just blinked at her. “I didn’t eat this much when I was a princess.” There was a pause as the past flashed into the conversation. “I’m getting fat you guys.” The three girls burst out in a flurry of chuckles the idea of body image concerns so foreign and hilarious to who they used to be.

“I think my breakfast was mostly… toast-based?” Tangle tapped at her chin trying to recollect any event beyond 15 minutes ago.

“You’ve gotta do better than that.” Jewel crossed her arms and shook her head. “Doc says that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

“I’m pretty sure every meal is the most important meal of the day to June. All five of them.” Blaze sent the other girls a knowing smirk and Tangle was only mostly sure she was joking. Tangle leaned back in her chair and looked at the ceiling.

“Ugh, you guys sound like Carl. Always wanting me to eat more.” Tangle breathed out.

“Eating appropriate portions is healthy. We were definitely malnourished back on Mobius.” Blaze wrote some kind of chicken scratch on her paper that Tangle couldn’t understand.

“What does that mean?” Blaze and Jewel looked at Tangle and once again she felt…stupid. She was never going to learn more than these two girls, so why try? They can be the brainiacs of society and Tangle could go have fun. Tangle knew they didn’t mean to make her feel less-than and their soft expressions gave off more pity than mockery, but Tangle still wanted to curl her tail around herself and disappear.

“It means…” Jewel thought for a moment. “...that your health is suffering from not eating enough. You feel weaker and more tired and become very thin and sickly.”

“Isn’t feeling weak and tired all the time normal? It’s been weird being so active…” And then Tangle stopped and realized that the feeling of being tired and weak all the time on Mobius was indeed a form of normal, but it wasn’t right. It was her perspective that had been forced to change from time on Earth. “...how…how do you guys adapt to being here so easily?” Tangle put her feet on the chair and wrapped her arms around them.

“I…don’t know, I’ve just been trying to follow what Silver’s been doing, he’s so goofy about it though.” There was a mild blush on Blaze’s face. “I don’t really know what’s him not knowing about Earth, or him not knowing about life.” The blush on Blaze’s face deepened and Tangle saw that she wasn’t really in the room anymore, her gaze a few miles away on a white hedgehog that Tangle had seen around before. They hung out a few times, both excitable free spirits. Oh, and he was really cute. But Tangle hadn’t ever felt interested in him, strange.

“Doc’s made it really easy, always being there for me and working with me to understand that mistakes are okay when I don’t know that the mailman isn’t a threat or that I’ll get to sleep in my bed every night.” Jewel smiled and twiddled her thumbs. Her gaze was far away as well, somewhere warm and inviting and fulfilling.

“But…but how do you just…accept that? Like how do you just take that day and think the next one will be the same?” Jewel swallowed and dropped Tangle’s gaze and looked at her papers, wondering about the viability of her understanding the content of them.

“I…didn’t. Not at first, I guess. Nor at second, third, or fourth. But…as the days passed and they stayed warm and full of food and fun things and kind words…I don’t know, I’ve just accepted that that’s how it is.” Jewel looked back at Tangle a small happy smile making her cheeks glitter brighter than her shell.

“I get to wake up in a place that I know the status of when I went to sleep. I don’t have to worry about whether it will be bombed or raided. I don’t have to worry about rationing food or settling disputes. I’m not even entrusted with my own care half the time.” Blaze chuckled and ran a hand through her fur. “It’s…freeing. I’ve never had my main concern be my own happiness.”

“Well some of us don’t have the luxury of not caring about our people.” Sally Acorn hissed as she sat down at one of the chairs at the table.

“S-s-Sally! You’re in this study g-group too?” Blaze whimpered as all eyes turned to the princess of the Acorn Kingdom.

“Mmhmm.” Was all Sally said as she took out her bag and began to pull out some papers and began to look over them, frowning at the occasional error or note on the pages.

Classes swapped around a lot so Tangle wasn’t always in a class with Sally and Blaze and Sally and Blaze weren’t always in the same class so it didn’t always happen, but Tangle had heard horror stories of the verbal beatdown that Sally would give Blaze on a regular basis. Mobians used to the worst of things had turned what were normal arguments into the nightmare of a rumor mill but it still was never pretty and always ended up with Blaze holding in a tear or two and Sally getting chewed out by the teacher and sent to the principal of the school. Even getting sent home a few times.

The worst part? Some mobians encouraged it.

Everyone came here from Mobius with their own set of biases, Tangle herself was not immune. Tails Wachowski had been a bit of a shock to her at first, but when she looked at her own tail, she realized how ridiculous she’d been. But it meant that people had a lot of impressions of Blaze before they’d even met her.

Most of them? Not good.

Tangle didn’t know enough about Blaze to fully understand it, but from the context, Tangle had been able to gather over the past few months it ultimately stemmed from Blaze refusing to side with any group and stay as neutral as possible through all conflicts. And Tangle could respect that. One less angry, weapon-toting country to worry about. But clearly, not everyone did.

Sally, the queen of them all.

It was bizarre even, the whole thing a scale model of actual conflict. The Acorn kingdom launched an offensive as Sally would say hurtful things to Blaze, and then The Sol Kingdom remained neutral as Blaze just stood there and took it.

Tangle supposed it wasn’t the same, The Acorn Kingdom never had launched an attack at The Sol Kingdom.

But others had.

And Blaze had never taken offensive action to defend her country or people.

Tangle definitely respected Blaze’s decision, but she could see where Sally was coming from.

But she definitely didn’t need to be an ass about it.

“Maybe we should start by taking a look at the last Earth 101 test? See where everyone is?” Jewel spread her hands as she tried to bring the four girls together.

“And who put you in charge?” Sally immediately jerked up, eyes already aflame. Tangle frowned at her, tail whipping behind her, tensing and un-tensing. Why was she being so rude? Jewel was nothing but nice and Sally had no reason to be cruel to her. Sure she had beef with Blaze, but she just seemed on edge, like something else was bothering her.

“Sally…” Blaze tried, but her voice was even quieter than Whisper’s.

“Are you interested in being a leader? That’d be a first!”

“Hey!” Tangle finally spoke up, tired of feeling like she was watching someone getting kicked while they were down.

“What? I’m just asking if the fatcat in her holier-than-thou ivory tower wants to get her hands dirty!” While Tangle and Jewel could only flap their jaws aimlessly at Sally’s words, the chipmunk took the time to stare daggers at Blaze. “Huh, you really are a fat cat aren’t you? Too bad it did nothing for your tiny tits.”

“Sally stop!” Jewel sputtered, her soft voice clearly not getting through to Sally. Blaze tried to turn away from Sally as she crossed her arms over her body and her tail curled around herself.

She was trying not to cry.

“This is nothing! She deserves worse! Why does she get a free pass to come to this haven while everyone else is still suffering back home?!”

“And what about you, huh?!” Tangle stood up from her chair and raised her body up above Sally, the girl suddenly becoming wide-eyed at the quick movement. “You’re so used to pushing these two around that you don’t know what to do around someone who won’t take your shit, huh?” Sally sputtered a little but recovered.

“No, I’m just having a hard time believing someone so irrelevant even understands this situation properly.”

“I understand that you’re a bully! I understand that just like the rest of us you lucked into a warp ring, or maybe your family’s got a stash of them someone, who knows?!” Tangle threw up her hands and advanced on the chipmunk. “And I understand that that was then and this is now and you don’t have the right to-”

And then Tangle’s face was sideways and her right cheek stung. Pain flowed across as blood rushed to the affected area.

Sally had slapped her.

“I am the Princess of the Acorn Kingdom and you do not have the right to talk to me-”

“NO!” Heads whipped around as all eyes were on Blaze. She’d stood up from her chair and was now pressing her palms into the table as her eyes burned into Sally’s. “YOU ARE NOTHING! You’re just a kid now, and you were hardly a royal back on Mobius. A spoiled brat running between mommy and daddy and trying not to see the psychopath your brother was turning into. You were never a ruler and you never will be. I have! And guess what?! It’s hard! Everything you do has ups and downs and sideways that you can’t even begin to imagine! Your choices are critiqued and criticized and shat on till you drown in so many arguments you can’t even remember what your original point was.

AND NONE OF IT MEANS YOU GET TO HIT SOMEONE!” Blaze was breathing heavily now, spittle forming at the edge of her mouth, she opened her mouth to spit another volley-

“Hey! This is a library. Shh!” The librarian from the front came over, shot them all a look, and then left.

“Sorry.” Jewel said sheepishly. Tangle took a second to look from Blaze’s awesome display to see that Sally had shrunk so far into her chair that it threatened to swallow her.

“It also means that I do know how to take your shit. But they don’t deserve it.” Blaze’s eyes flicked to Tangle and Jewel. “Got it?”

“I-”

“Got it?!” Sally nodded vigorously.

There was a beat of silence as Sally attempted to extract herself from her chair, and Tangle rubbed at the mark on her face, tail twisting in confusion and surprise, Jewel flicked a look between all the girls and Blaze just stood there, breathing heavily.

“Does someone smell smoke?” Tangle cocked her head.

“GAH!” Blaze ripped her hands from the table and shook them vigorously, smoke was emanating from them. And on the table, in the exact shape where her hands just were:

Were two scorch marks. The table was now blackened.

Three sets of eyes looked to the table and then up to Sally. Tangle spoke first.

“‘Blaze,’ huh?”

“Quiet.” The cat shot a quick glare at Tangle and Tangle threw her hands up in surrender.

“Oh…We’re gonna be in so much trouble.” Jewel said, putting her hands to the sides of her face.

“You’ve got powers too?! So, so rigged.” Sally crossed her arms over her chest.

“What’s your deal today?” Blaze narrowed her eyes at Sally.

“Nothing. I just don’t like you.” Sally huffed.

“I know. But you seem…more spiteful today than usual. And I’d know.” Blaze sat back down, clearly trying not to look at the burned handprints on the table.

“I’m fine! I- just- I’m having a hard time…accepting that you’re right.” Blaze’s eyebrows shot up. Sally turned her gaze onto Tangle and Jewel.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been cruel and I’m really sorry I hit you Tangle.” Tangle merely nodded, not an acceptance of the apology, but an acknowledgement. There were a few moments of silence as papers shuffled around and the girls tried to study and learn.

Tangle eventually made a glance over at Sally and noticed she wasn’t studying and had her lips pursed, cheeks puffed out. Her arms were still crossed, but they looked tenser like they were squeezing her rather than guarding her. She had something more to say. To ask.

“You good?” Tangle glanced her up and down.

“What do you do if you’re the bad guy, even if you know you’re right?” Sally burst out, the words were desperate. Tangle looked to Blaze and Jewel who shared similar looks.

“Does this pertain to anything in particular? Because if this is about earlier, then you weren’t right then either.” Blaze frowned.

“N-no! I just…I hurt someone and they deserved it.” Sally’s eyebrows furrowed in thought. “But, now I feel like was a bad guy in that scenario.”

“Well…” Jewel peeped in, looking nervous to engage in conversation with Sally again. “I think Blaze’s offhand comment is more correct than she might’ve thought. If you’re the bad guy-then you’re not right.” Sally moved her jaw a few times but no sound came out and she eventually nodded.

“Is-is the opposite true?” Tangle mumbled. Eyes turned to her. “If you’re wrong, does that make you a bad person?” Blaze and Jewel’s eyes turned soft and concerned.

“No! Looks just because you didn’t do well on your test doesn’t mean that-” Blaze waved her hands to try and dissuade Tangle’s thoughts.

“I’m not talking about the test…I just- you guys were talking about your host families and how you just go along with what they do… and I don’t.”

“You…don’t like your host family? I think you can request a new one…” Sally tried with a smile.

“No! I-I do I-I just don’t follow their rules. Always. And then I feel bad. And then I’m a burden. And then I…I should leave…because I’m nothing but trouble.” Tangle was now wrapping her tail around herself, trying to disappear into it. Maybe if she could get it tight enough maybe she’d finally fall into it and no one would ever have to worry about her again.

She stayed that way for a while, just feeling the soft fur of her tails brush against her face. It’d gotten soft since being on Earth, Carl encouraging her to brush and condition it more often.

“Tangle?” Jewel pulled on the top of the stack that made up the coil of Tangle tail cocoon. She looked up at the beetle and saw a sense of understanding there, that they’d both been in the same scary, dingy boat. “Do you think you are not wanted?” Tangle shook her head and then nodded it and then shook it again.

“I dunno. Why would anyone want me?” Tangle whispered and Jewel smiled.

“Because you’re worth wanting.”

Tangle didn’t know what to do with that. It was a platitude, it held no evidence or reasoning or explanation for why Tangle might be wanted. And yet she felt just a little better. Tangle uncoiled her tail and sat at the table and looked out at the miasma of words that held a meaning of some kind. A meaning that had been determined important. Not by her, but by others. Others that were worth her attention. And that meant that these words were worth her attention.

Because even if she didn’t know if she was wanted, she had to let others know she wanted them.

…

The next few hours passed with snacks and jokes and complaints and too many words and numbers for Tangle to actually understand, but they stuck in her head a little better than when she’d entered the library.

Tangle talked with Jewel and Blaze and Sally the whole time, each of them trying their best to wrap their heads around the struggle that was human school. Jewel talked about geology and Blaze had a stake in that. Sally talked about politics and Blaze had a stake in that. Meanwhile, Tangle just sat there and let it all pass over her. She was passive in the conversations, but she didn’t feel left out.

Eventually, the session was over and they all agreed to meet again next week Tangle walked out the library doors, Jewel at her side still talking about rocks. But wasn’t Geography the study of rocks? Or was that the study of shapes? Didn’t matter, it was fun to see Jewel so excitable. Tangle promised to go over to her house soon enough to hang out, Tangle really wanted to see something called a cow.

Tangle waved goodbye to them all as she got into the passenger seat of Carl’s car still giggling over a joke about rocks, rocks of all things!

“Looks like you had a fun time, huh? You learn anything?” Tangle nodded and pulled out some of her papers, her own notes, and understandings scribbled in the margins, all worked out between books and help from Blaze and Jewel.

“Good. I’m glad. Are you excited to see your newly painted room? Whisper’s finishing up back at the house.” Tangle nodded again and bounced in her seat a little. “Thank you for agreeing to do this by the way.” Tangle looked up at him, ears alert. “I know this wasn’t your favorite thing to do, but it’s important because school is important. It’s the best we can do to prepare you for life on Earth, and I want you to have a good life on Earth.”

“Okay.” Tangle said, but the word was choked, Tangle’s head swimming with Carl’s words. With Jewel’s words. “C-Carl? Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course. That’s how you learn.”

“Do you want me?” Tangle asked and then proceeded to grip the seat tightly as the car suddenly swerved abruptly. She looked at Carl who was wrestling with the steering wheel and maneuvered the car into a parking spot on the side of the street. The car bumped into the sidewalk and the front wheel went up before it came to a full stop. Carl swiveled on her, eyes locked onto her. “I-I-I’m sorry! I just-”

Carl reached across the center console and held her close to him.

“Of course I want you! I love you, you crazy little ringtail! Don’t you dare think otherwise!” Carl pulled away and put Tangle's face in his older hands. She felt the callouses in his thumbs as he ran them through her cheeks.

There was a wetness in his eyes. And Tangle found she couldn’t speak, the man’s old tired eyes locking her in place.

“I know I’ve got some rules that you don’t like. Like cleaning and not staying out late and keeping off the mountains. But I do them because they’re the best way for me to take care of you. That’s my job. Because there’s one more rule I need to add, okay?” tears built at the edges of Carl’s eyes and threatened to spill. Tangle could only focus on them as they finally spilled over and rolled through the cracks and roughness of his face.

Tangle nodded.

“Because from now on you’re my daughter and I’m your father, okay?”

Tangle nodded again, more vigorously, her tail frozen in shock.

“Okay.” Carl pulled away from Tangle sniffling a little as he wiped at the few tears loose on his face. He went to put his hands back on the steering wheel but found his right hand was still held. Tangle had gripped her father’s large hand and held it close. He could feel her heart beating quickly as she leaned against his arm, her eyes closed as a few tears dripped silently down her face and her tail lay open across the seat.

She wouldn’t let go. He didn’t want her to.

Carl could drive home with one hand anyway.

Chapter Text

Shadow had Maria’s hand in his left hand and Bob’s hand in his right as they walked through the center of town. And Shadow was shocked at the blatant waste of resources.

The center of town had turned into a chaotic mess as the Green Hills Fall Festival was beginning. It was still early so there weren’t very many people around but Shadow could see there was a high turnout rate expected. Stalls and stands lined Mainstreet as easy ups and tables were laid out.

There would be all kinds of festivities to come, Shadow had been told. Candied apples and face painting and a couple of rides brought in from out of town. Vendors selling all kinds of food. Various knick-knacks and tchotchkes, live music, there was even going to be a hall of mirrors.

Shadow had no idea what any of those things were.

But Maria had talked about them with such vigor that Shadow assumed that they must all be amazing. As such Shadow had been very excited to see what they were all about…

Because it was vital intel. Of course.

But it had ended with him begging the couple to take him to the fair as soon as possible. Even before it opened.

Still, the town’s center was so drastically different from the little Shadow was already used to that it was quite a shock and he was having trouble…adjusting.

Adjusting was something he seemed to take quite a bit of issue with. Being in Green Hills was so far off from being in the facility where he’d grown up in that it felt like getting whiplash. It harkened back to his first experience outside. That one warm day in Alaska 50 years ago. He could still feel the bile in his throat.

Shadow was abhorrent to change, it was a necessity in the face of battle. Adjusting plans to take on an opponent that had various battle strategies that could counteract Shadow’s skills. But that didn’t mean Shadow liked change.

And Green Hills just had so damn much of it.

As soon as the day started Shadow could tell it was different. There was no alarm in his room telling him to get up. He just promptly woke up at 0500 hours and stood around waiting for instruction. Instruction then wouldn’t come till 0830 hours when breakfast was served.

That was always different too. There were some repeats, but Shadow had for the most part been receiving many different forms of breakfast from pancakes to eggs to smoothies to cereal. He liked cereal the best, it had a crunch that was satisfying but it wasn’t always served. Maria would just make him something and he would eat it. Trying to show off he enjoyed the meal to please her.

There were…issues with that, however. Shadow was mostly used to a specific diet of hard, near-flavorless nutrient supplements and the sudden variety…well he was using the bathroom an awful lot.

From there Shadow would be instructed to attend an educational program at a small facility within the town. It was only for a couple of hours as various facts and information on a wide range of topics were communicated to Shadow. Shadow would then instantly memorize it all as cataloging and retrieving various data was part of his training.

Unfortunately, none of the data seemed relevant to any nefarious plans that the mobians were cooking up. In fact, Shadow hadn’t been able to intercept any plans at all. The classroom was mostly filled with terrified, quiet civilians that spent just as much time nervously looking at one another as they did the instructor.

There were a few that Shadow liked to keep his eye on. The first was Blaze the Cat. She was a ruling princess back on Mobius, so if there was an invasion, should be the most likely candidate. But she was so soft-spoken and hardly drew attention to her past that Shadow had a hard time getting any kind of malevolence from her. So she either wasn’t planning anything or a very good liar.

Next was Sally Acorn, another princess and one of the reasons Shadow had discounted Blaze. The princess of the Acorn Kingdom was loud, angry, and had one hell of an ax to grind with Blaze. There very well might be mobian conflict in Green Hills, but it seemed more likely to be between mobians than between mobians and humans. Still, Shadow had to report this information to G.U.N.

And then there was Scourge. He was made to be malevolent. Shadow had to pick up what an Altered was from eavesdropping on other conversations but it seemed like the guy was essentially a ticking time bomb. Built to hurt and kill and destroy anything in his path with little to no emotion besides a bloodlust glee. For the most part that was who Shadow would pick to be a harbinger of death and destruction. But for the most part, the mobian had seemed more…bored than anything else. Rolling with the punches as it were. It seemed unlikely that he was this monster that other mobians had pegged him to be. Shadow would have to dig more, and his suspicions were not sated by the fact that Scourge hadn’t been in attendance at school the last few days.

Even then…Scourge would only be a peon. Hired muscle. There was still the leader, of that Shadow was sure.

Sonic the Hedgehog.

Shadow had yet to make close personal contact with the leader of the mobians, nor had he discovered how he communicated his messages to other mobians. Shadow was having a hard time even figuring out what the plan was. He’d tried talking to other mobians, making contact, and attempting to learn what the invasion/attack/conquering strategy was…And yet there was nothing.

If these mobians were planning to take control of Earth, they were doing a terrible job of it. Were they just hoping to outgun Earth? None of it made any sense to Shadow and that frustrated the hell out of him! How was he supposed to protect Earth! G.U.N.! Maria! From the mobians if he couldn’t discover what they were all doing.

To him, and he was the first to admit he wasn’t the best judge of motives, they seemed to be milling about. Living pointless lives in a pointless town. All the mobians were outsiders. But he was an outsider among outsiders.

Most mobians were liquid-spined and unsure. Not Shadow.

Most mobians had lived their whole lives on Mobius. Not Shadow.

Most mobians weren’t created in a lab. Not Shadow.

Shadow had no reference point. And it was starting to get in the way of his mission to protect Earth…G.U.N….Maria…

It was all starting to blend. He couldn’t figure out what he was supposed to do anymore. Being in Green Hills had flipped his world view and he was underwater unsure of which was up.

And Shadow absolutely did not do ‘unsure.’

And if he didn’t figure out his direction…he’d drown.

But he was also the Ultimate Lifeform. Created to be absolute and incorruptible. He’d determine his exact mission and carry it out to the letter. It was what he was born to do.

And right now his mission deemed that he was going to enjoy the fair with the family that was hosting him. However, he did that.

“So what would you like to do Shadow?” Shadow looked up at Maria’s calming brown eyes and felt himself get sucked in again, wanting to do all he could to keep her safe, but he tried to reel back, and understand her question. Realize that he had to come up with a response.

He shrugged.

Nailed it.

“Well, there’s got to be something that interests you! There are lots of fun things to do here.” Maria gave off a laugh and gave Shadow’s hand a squeeze. She was probably right, but Shadow didn’t know enough about fairs to know what was fun. What would other mobians like? What would Maria like? He had to say the right thing. Something churned in Shadow’s stomach as the unsure nature of the whole scenario made him uncomfortable.

“If the kid doesn’t want to do anything, no need to make him.” Bob huffed and looked at each of the stands in the town. He scoured them with a frugal eye, trying to predetermine how much money each of them would take from him.

“Ignore him Shadow.” Maria smiled. “He’s just trying to suck all the fun out of this!”

“I’m not! I just…I…” He sighed as he looked at Maria and sent Shadow a nervous smile. Shadow wanted to let go of his hand. “Whatever you’re interested in kid we can do.”

Shadow nodded slowly, but still had no answer for what he wanted to do. “Why is there a fair at all?” Maria’s eyebrows knit together and she looked at Bob, who caught her gaze and looked skyward trying to draw the answer from it.

“It’s a…kind of replication of harvest festivals. Hundred-plus years ago towns in the midwest would celebrate harvest time. When there was fresh food and surplus to store for the winter. That morphed into more modern versions that looked a lot like this.” Bob exclaimed. Shadow let out an ‘oh’ but then he was still confused.

“But Green Hills is more in the pacific northwest.” Shadow looked up at him and Bob seemed surprised about Shadow’s intimate knowledge of the town…oops.

“True. Besides the town never really harvested much. The town was for the most part founded on lumber, and that’s died out somewhat. In years past we do it just to try and pull up some level of community or pretend we’ve got that midwest history.” Bob said flatly as he glared out at a candied apple that from what Shadow had learned about money, was deeply overpriced.

“So why do it at all?” Bob sighed at Shadow’s question and opened his mouth to answer when Maria beat him to it.

“Because this year, it’s not really at all about the harvest festival. We’ve all got something else worth celebrating.” She booped Shadow’s nose. Shadow was still confused, but then he saw it. The little changes, the edits to everyday human life.

The food tables were set lower. All of the rides were for small children. There was only quiet music being played. The paints for face painting were all for furred animals. Gift shirts came with stretchy collars and pants with holes over the butts.

It wasn’t just a fair. It was a mobian-specific one. Called out to welcome and celebrate the new townsfolk. It was inclusion for a people that had been anything but, even on their own homeworld. Green Hills doing what it does best, showing that they cared. It was nice.

But it wasn’t for Shadow.

Shadow wasn’t really a mobian, just his body was. This was a gift that he didn’t deserve. Shadow suddenly felt even more like he didn’t belong. He didn’t earn this. He didn’t earn Maria. All these nice things and they were for a people that were going to stab them in the back.

“Shadow?”

Right?

“Shadow?!”

Shadow flinched as he looked up at Bob and Maria, torn from his slowly imploding thoughts. He had to think this through. Maybe get some input from G.U.N. They’d know what to do. But they weren’t here right now.

It was just him, trying to find his way.

“You okay? You looked like you were a million miles away.” Maria got low and looked Shadow in the eyes. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to look away or not. “Is this all a bit much for you?” She tilted her head a little. Shadow nodded, her ability to see right through him in this scenario somewhat comforting. “Alright, how about we get you somewhere a little more out of the way? Maybe something to drink?” Shadow nodded again.

So the group moved to the side. Letting other townspeople take up the main drag as they watched them go by. Shadow sat on the steps of a building, a paper cup full of warm cider heating his hands through the cup and his gloves.

Shadow decided he liked people-watching. It was an interesting experience being on the outside of the world looking in. He saw other families walking by. Some indeed with mobians. They all looked relatively happy. It was hard to imagine that the mobians were bent on taking over the world.

It was strange. Despite all the differences. Height, weight, fur, powers, eye and head size, limbs, the species. The mobians actually seemed to be blending in with humanity. Walking and talking and mixing and blending with people about things that didn’t matter. And mattered more than anything else.

Shadow looked at that all and…accepted it. It all seemed interesting, but he was more content on the sidelines. He had no need to jump in and be surrounded by crowds and the noise of everything. He enjoyed watching people enjoy themselves, just as much as the people enjoyed whatever they were doing. Not to mention it helped distract him from the argument Bob and Maria were having.

“We should go home!”

“But he should enjoy the fair! It’s his first one.”

“He’s not interested, he just wants to sit here!”

“He’s overwhelmed by it all! Give him some time.”

“I’ve got things to do! I can’t just sit and wait for him to be ready!”

And on and on it went. Shadow rolled his eyes at the petty conversation. He enjoyed both of their company, but they didn’t seem to enjoy each others for the most part. It was thoroughly confusing, but what did Shadow know about human relations? He just tried to stay out of the various arguments they seem to have.

Shadow figured he’d let them finish arguing. He’d sat by long enough, and while not everything interested him, he wasn’t just going to pass on everything the fair had to offer. Entertainment was entertainment. Specifically, there was one thing that interested Shadow more than anything else.

Shadow waved to himself as he entered the weird long and tall structure on wheels that made up the hall of mirrors. A million other Shadows waved back to him.

Shadow had always been intrigued by his reflection. It’s not that he was vain per se, although he did care a good bit about grooming and making sure his fur and quills were in top shape. It showed cleanliness and proper hygiene. But it was interesting that there was a way to see all of himself at once, see his eyes. It’s bizarre. His eyes let him see everything but themselves, the whole reason for mirrors.

Shadow had looked himself over in mirrors as much as he could back on the base. He didn’t really know why. It was just always important to him to be able to see himself, to know he existed.

It was weird being what Shadow was in a world full of humans. He had powers and fur and was weirdly short compared to everyone else. You hang around that enough, you start to realize that you’re the implausible one. The thing that doesn’t belong.

So Shadow would look in mirrors. At his black fur and red highlights and eyes. The big eyes and strong hands and identify that he was there, that he was real. The concept of realness had come to the forefront of Shadow’s mind recently.

He didn’t know what was real anymore, what to trust. He trusted G.U.N. of course, they’d made him after all. He trusted Maria for sure, she knew what was best and fed him and gave him a place to sleep. He trusted Bob enough and the instructors at school. And when he trusted them, that meant he believed what they were saying, that what they said were facts built on reason.

And yet, their information conflicted at times. Their beliefs conflicted at times. They spouted off different stances on things. That they were right and others were wrong. But if G.U.N. was wrong, then he shouldn’t trust them. But he did, and they would say that staying with Maria was wrong and shouldn’t be trusted. But he did. It was a paradox that made his head spin.

So he wandered through the mirrored hallways still more confused than ever about what he was supposed to do with his time, and what was his mission. Who was he really? And what did he mean to the people he trusted? A soldier? A student? A…child?

Could it all be true? Possibly. But then it all got very complicated and it was already far too complicated. Shadow decided it would be better to focus on the task at hand than to get trapped in his thoughts. Time to get through this maze of mirrors.

Shadow’s ears flicked and twisted as the sounds of air bounced off the various reflections in the room. The sounds guided him without requiring him to halt to check if he was walking into a mirror or not. He swiftly moved through the halls, various other Shadows following alongside him.

Would the mobians really want to hurt a people that did all these nice things for them?

Shadow turned one corner, then another. The other Shadows looked deep in thought, brows furrowed.

Would the humans of Green Hills throw a fair for a people that they didn’t trust?

Shadow continued walking forward, he could smell the scent of the outside world through his nose and he frowned as he noticed the other Shadows crossing their arms unhappily.

Did they trust the mobians?

Shadow made a swift left, then a right, then right, then straight, straight, straight, left. A frown deeper than the Mariana Trench commanded the other Shadows’ faces.

Did he?

SMACK!

Shadow stumbled back from the mirror he’d just slammed into and held his head before shaking off the small throb of pain in his forehead. He looked up and around checking all around him to see if anyone else had seen the Ultimate Lifeform bang his head on a mirror. All he saw were the other Shadows looking at him, they were the only person there and yet they did seem to be judging him.

Shadow went back to rubbing his forehead and looked at the Shadow behind the glass.

He didn’t look happy. But that didn’t matter. Shadow didn’t need to be happy, so neither did the other Shadow. Shadow changed another Shadow’s face to look more determined and he made a decision.

The mobian presence in Green Hills had become extremely strong. They weren’t a rare occurrence anymore. You could hardly walk down the street without seeing at least one. The mobians were all doing different things too. Playing, learning, exploring, and assimilating themselves into human society. It meant one of two things.

One: This was the greatest spy force in the whole universe, implanting themselves in every possible contact point in the town and gaining any skills they needed to take over the world. Or...

Two: They were just people. Spreading out and figuring out their own lives. Trying to become something new, more, better. There was no plan for them, they were trying to make one for their lives.

Shadow wasn’t ready to rule out option one, but he was starting to bet the answer was more along the lines of option two.

Shadow gave a wave to the other Shadows as he exited the hall of mirrors, jumping down from the exit as the other Shadows waved goodbye to him.

Shadow didn’t get very far before he ran into Maria and Bob, the two seemed to still be arguing somewhat but stopped immediately upon seeing Shadow.

“Shadow! Where’d you go?!” Maria exclaimed. Shadow tilted his head and pointed at the hall of mirrors. “Without telling us?!” Maria huffed. Now she looked upset. Oh no.

Oh no.

Shadow had messed up. He’d messed up so badly. He’d left the people in charge without telling them, he’d made Maria upset! He was so very terrible!

“You can’t disappear on us Shadow!” Maria continued her beratement and Shadow took it willingly, he deserved it after all. “We were worried about where you went!” Shadow hung his head and felt his ears and tail droop, shame commanding his body and limbs.

“I…apologize. I didn’t mean- I shouldn’t have left your side. I shouldn’t have caused you stress.” Shadow heard Maria sigh and he just wanted to disappear into nothingness. He felt her hand on his chin and she pulled his head to look up at him.

“It’s going to be okay Shadow. No need to dwell on it, right? You made a mistake that you didn’t even know you shouldn’t do. I’m sorry too. It’s not fair of me to get frustrated with you.”

“But I still did something that I shouldn’t do.” Shadow’s eyebrows knit together in confusion.

“Yes, but if you didn’t know you shouldn’t do it, there’s some leeway there. Now not knowing things doesn’t let you get away with everything, but it does here. After all, you’re safe, and back here with me. So it’s okay.”

“It’s okay?” Shadow breathed.

“It’s okay.” Maria repeated.

Shadow had messed up and things weren’t worse off. That was new. That was different. That was…better?

If Shadow messed up with G.U.N. then he would receive a punishment. Extra work, for the most part, practices and spars and extra training drilled into his head until when he closed his eyes he saw mission codes and reports. Shadow…didn’t like those things. But it was what he was commanded to do, so he did it.

And not having consequences for making mistakes was a slippery slope. If Shadow wasn’t always checking to make sure he was operating at peak efficiency cause he didn’t have a healthy respect for what might happen if he didn’t…more mistakes could occur. More errors could get people hurt. Or worse.

Shadow couldn’t go around just believing everything would just be ‘okay.’ He couldn’t! It just wasn’t how he was born, it wasn’t how he acted!

And yet…

This was Maria. He trusted her. He trusted her a lot.

But did he trust her more than G.U.N.?

“So did you enjoy the hall of mirrors?” Shadow’s ears perked as he caught Maria’s question, pulling himself out of his own thoughts. Shadow gave a slow nod. He did. It was refreshing being alone with just himself. “Did you bang into the walls a lot? Cause I swear I can’t walk two feet in those things without bonking into a wall.”

How dare those walls hurt Maria! He should’ve shattered every mirror in that structure.

“Shadow?” Shadow’s ears perked and he felt some embarrassment build for a moment in his body.

“Once.” Shadow muttered.

“Wow, that’s impressive! How do you get away with that?” Shadow shrugged. “Not going to spill the beans, huh? Trade secret?” Maria perked an eyebrow. Shadow let a ghost of a smile cross his features. It was a joke, she was making a joke. He found it funny.

“Something like that.” Shadow joked back.

“I bet you just smell your way back to the hot dogs.” Bob interjected with a small smile and gestured to the warm greasy smells blowing off the various eateries that were finishing setting up for the fair.

“Close.” Shadow nodded. “I feel the air through the hall as it blows.” Maria and Bob raised their eyebrows. Uh oh. Had he messed up again?...no…they were just impressed. He had done something worth them being impressed. Shadow smiled.

“Wow…how’d you know how to do that?” Bob blinked at him. Shadow shrugged.

“It what I was tr-” Shadow stopped, unsure of how to keep his cover. But he supposed that the green hedgehog’s guess of being a soldier, just one on Mobius was a decent falsified backstory. “-trained to do…on Mobius…feel wind patterns…”

“What’s that for?” Bob pried and Maria gave him a light elbowing, merciful as Shadow tried to think of a reason beyond ‘to detect any wind resistance when using a high-powered rifle.’ Shadow’s brain locked up and he merely shrugged.

“Just what I was trained to do…part of my purpose…” He mumbled.

“Purpose…?” Maria breathed with some level of confusion.

“My reason for existing. Now that I am here I am…confused as to what my purpose is…” Shadow accidentally let his real thoughts slip into his words. Shadow caught a look of concern on Maria’s face and he worried he’d somehow messed up again, but it was gone just as quickly and she leaned down and gave Shadow some smooth, long quick pets on his head. He smiled as a warm tingle ran down his spine.

“Your purpose is just to be you. No need to worry about wind or whatever. Now come on, let's try one of those hot dogs, I figure that’s a good snack to have.” Maria pulled on Shadow’s hand and while he was eager enough to try a hot dog, his thoughts took command of his body once more as he followed along, slackened.

What part of me institute my purpose? How do I be me?

Chapter Text

“Whatdya mean you don’t have any Lemurs?!” Tangle huffed at the human running the Meet your Earth Double booth.

“They’re like an endangered species and only live on like one island, so we couldn’t really get one here to look at.” The man explained. Tangle frowned, but nodded.

“So you’re saying we’re special.” She grinned. The man smiled nervously back.

“Something like that.”

“I can live with that, now-” Then Tangle felt a pull on her arm and turned around to see Whisper looking in awe at something. “Wazzup?” Tangle followed Whisper’s pull and the two saw Lanolin the sheep giving food to…a sheep.

“This is sooo weird!” The sheep girl gave a nervous laugh as the farm animal ate out of her hand.

One of the extra special activities that had been set up for the Fall Fair was a special series of booths titled the Meet your Earth Double experience. It was a weird, fun, maybe slightly in poor taste activity where a bunch of mobians could see and interact with the Earth versions of themselves.

Mobians came in many different species so it was difficult for the town to obtain many of the different animals that were present in the animal people community. For the most part, the fair stuck to smaller creatures like rodents and the like. Mice, chipmunks, hedgehogs, and the like. And there were enough dogs and cats as pets within the town that the mobians didn’t need to see those. However, there were a few larger animals present. An Earth fox and sheep had pens or special spaces for the mobians to gawk at their animal-minded doppelgangers.

“Maybe I don’t want to meet an Earth lemur…” Tangle trailed off as she watched the encounter with a weird mix of surprise, curiosity, confusion, and embarrassment swirling in her guts. Whisper merely giggled at the comment as the two watched the sheep lick up the last of the food pellets from Lanolin’s hand. The sheep girl looked a little spooked, but in good spirits nonetheless.

Tangle turned to Whisper, smiling at the wolf girl’s enjoyment of the bizarre experience. Tangle was glad that she’d been able to drag Whisper out here. She really wanted to show the girl all the cool stuff the fair had.

Tangle had come here yesterday with Carl-her dad…that was still weird and Tangle would have to find time to unpack that all later. Father and…daughter had spent the day at the fair doing the small rides and enjoying the food. Tangle had come back from it her face painted like a tiger’s which was another weird identity crisis/bizarre Earth experience she still couldn’t decide whether or not she liked.

But either way, it had been fun and Whisper had decided not to come. Tangle wasn’t gonna let that stand two days in a row. So she’d all but dragged the wolf out of their shared bedroom to the fair and was now trying to show her a good time. It had been trickier than Tangle first imagined. But that probably had something to do with the fact that Tangle’s face had come back looking more like a tiger than a lemur.

But after enough persuasion and borderline begging, Whisper had agreed to come. And Tangle was doing her best to show her all the cool activities the fall fair had.

They tried out the hall of mirrors and got various cider-flavored foods and did something called bobbing for apples and now they were meeting weird Earth versions of themselves. Even if they didn’t have any lemurs! Tangle would totally become queen of the lemurs if there were any. She’d be like, ‘look how fun I am!’ and they’d be like, ‘wow!’ And it would be totally epic.

Stupid endangered species.

“I don’t think they have any wolves either…” Tangle trailed off while raising herself above the crowds by using her tail as a spring. Whisper mumbled something from below her that Tangle missed.

Crap. Tangle cursed herself.

Whisper hardly talked. And when she did it was always very quiet. And beyond that still, she almost never repeated herself. If you weren’t listening carefully, whatever she said was lost to the winds.

Which totally sucked because everything out of Whisper’s mouth was worth listening to. Most of Tangle’s attention was spent trying to hear what Whisper was going to say next. It was a tough and patience-testing process, but Tangle was willing to try.

And it had taken a while, but Tangle had finally figured out why she wanted to hang onto every one of Whisper’s precious, select words.

It was no surprise to anyone that had known her for very long, but Tangle had a bit of a mouth on her. It wasn’t necessarily that she talked smack or shot her lip off at people, it’s just that she couldn’t really keep her thoughts in her head. They tended to explode out of her, stream-of-consciousness style.

Whatever was going through Tangle’s head skipped past the higher-thinking part of her brain and onto her tongue. Tangle had tried for years to curb that, as she found that people weren’t a fan of her motor mouth, but she’d never been able to learn to shut up.

But Whisper didn’t seem to care. Scratch that. She did care.

That was the thing. Whisper didn’t just not talk. She listened. No matter what random junk Tangle was talking about, Whisper seemed to hang onto every word. Tangle was still shocked that once she’d been talking about a rock for 30 minutes that looked like their teacher’s face, and when Tangle had looked up-Whisper was still listening, still engaged, still there.

If Whisper could listen to Tangle talk about nothing for that long, the least Tangle could do was try to hold onto the few precious syllables that the wolf uttered.

Tangle shot back down to the ground, eyes locked onto Whisper’s mouth.

“What you say? Sorry I was high up.” Tangle gave a nervous laugh and tried to put on the most welcoming smile she could, desperate for Whisper to say something, anything.

Whisper looked at Tangle for a moment, then another moment, suspicion, and worry crossing her face. Before finally looking away, to the ground, the sky, anything but Tangle.

Tangle was crushed. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid! She’d missed her window. Now whatever Whisper had said was gone forever. Whisper moved to turn away.

“No! Wait, what-” Tangle reached for Whisper and the wolf flinched away. STUPID! Tangle flinched in response and put her hands behind her back, tying them in place with her tail. And Tangle bit her lip.

That was the other thing. Whisper didn’t like to be touched. Which was hard when all Tangle wanted to do was touch her…

Wait- no. Wait!

Not like that!

Tangle…wanted to hug her.

Because she truly believed that Whisper could do with one. Tangle had been a little touch-starved back on Mobius so maybe she was coming at this with a warped perspective now that she could get all the hugs and affection she wanted from Carl-her dad. But…

But anyone that cries in the night probably couldn’t hurt to have a hug.

It had become the sound Tangle now associated most with Whisper. As much as that broke the lemur’s heart.

It happened on most nights in fact. The two shared a room. A room that they had only recently finished. On each side was a bed, and the space in the middle was a shared space and about five feet across, so a good size room.

But Tangle had pretty good ears, even for a mobian. And as quiet as Whisper was…Tangle couldn’t block the sound out. Anguish and sorrow and regret in stifled sniffles and tortured sobs. Tangle wanted to rip her ears off and bury them every time she went to bed, so very afraid that one of the people she cared about wouldn’t be sleeping again.

Apparently, though there were people that could help with this. Therapists or something along those lines. They just talked to you, but it seemed to be helpful. A few mobians Tangle had met at school had gotten some of the help provided by the school and gone in terribly scared and had come out…well still scared, but maybe…more open? Each time, a little better.

Tangle was hoping that one day Whisper would go to these therapists and come out more open so that Tangle could hear more of her precious words.

But it hadn’t happened.

Whisper was quiet and Tangle was loud and that’s how it was. They were friends and that’s how it was. It wasn’t Tangle’s job to try and force Whisper to open up, was it?

“S-sorry!” Tangle back peddled. “Sorry, sorry. I…didn’t mean to.” Whisper looked at Tangle. “Well I did mean to, but I didn’t want to hurt you!” Whisper blinked. “But that’s not an excuse! I shouldn’t have-” Tangle cursed and put and hand to her face. She was breathing heavily and looking at the ground, frustrated with herself for not knowing how to help Whisper.

Then Whisper’s face appeared in Tangle’s vision. “Okay.” She said. And Tangle let out a sigh of relief, acceptance contained within the single word. “I…just want to know what you’re thinking…but I’m really sorry if I forced you into something you’re not comfortable with. I just want you to feel comfortable…around me…” Was it suddenly very warm outside? Tangle’s fur felt itchy and overly thick.

“I do.” Whisper said even as she moved away from Tangle, running a hand multiple times through the fur covering part of her face.

“Oh. Cool cool cool cool co-co-co cool coolcoolcool coooool.” The itchiness had turned into pins and needles as Tangle’s heart began to race. Whisper smiled at her.

“Funny.”

“Me? No. No I’m not funny! Not funny at all…I’m just stupid! I don’t tell jokes, I am the joke! Just stupid that’s all!” Tangle was giggling like a maniac a nervous twitch forming in her right eye. The twitch only worsened when Whisper put her freaking hand on Tangle’s shoulder, her eyes getting hard.

“Not stupid.” Her words, while soft as always, held a commanding firmness. And Tangle nodded.

“Okay, alright. I’m-I’m not stupid.” Whisper nodded at this. And then she turned away. Tangle stood there and watched, head slightly tilted as the wolf slowly sauntered away from her, Tangle’s eyes locked onto her silky tail as it sashayed behind her.

Pretty…

Whisper turned around confused and Tangle shot into such a straight position that the drill sergeants back on Spiral Hill might actually be proud of her. Whisper made the slightest twist of her head, a desire for Tangle to follow.

Dogs had nothing on the way Tangle zipped right up to Whisper and followed her like a shadow.

…

They’d soon left the fairgrounds, Tangle grabbing a cotton candy on the way out. She’d offered some to Whisper, who had politely passed. But as Tangle took a second to look at the falling leaves managed to see the wolf snag a bit of the brightly colored tread off of the cone.

It took all of Tangle’s willpower to hold in a massive grin of excitement.

They’d walked for a while, moving through the town, Tangle had finished her cotton candy and tossed the cone in a trash bin. They reached the woods after a few minutes. It wasn’t anything unusual, the two often took walks in the woods. Along with Tangle’s dad, they set traps or checked trees for disease or posted signs for hikers, that kind of thing. So Tangle had gotten pretty familiar with the woods.

But what was weird was how close Whisper was walking to Tangle. Like, she shouldn’t be that close right? Right?! Tangle couldn’t help but notice that as they walked, with Tangle on the left and Whisper on the right their hands seemed to be perfectly in sync, Tangle’s hand mere millimeters away from Whisper’s. She couldn’t stop looking at it.

She really wanted to hold it.

As much as she tried to give herself crap for it. Tangle knew that she wasn’t stupid. Clumsy and maybe a little lacking in common sense at times, but not stupid.

And that’s how she knew she liked Whisper.

In that weird, hard to understand…feelingsy way.

Tangle had never really been interested in anyone before. She’d look at a guy or a girl and be like, ‘oh they’re cute.’ or ‘oh they’re really nice.’ But never really liked anyone. Wanted to be with anyone. Every moment was worsened by their absence. Every moment was bettered by their presence. It was…a lot.

And Tangle was still trying to deal with the fact that she now had a dad. She’d never had a dad before. It was nice.

But it was still…a lot. And Tangle was still trying to sort through it all. Being nervous to say or do anything that could deteriorate her friendship with Whisper did not help.

Friendship…

Tangle was about to work her way through that roadblock…? Status? When she realized that she was in a part of the forest she hardly recognized.

Emphasis on hardly.

Cause she’d been here once before. Only once.

It had been the early days of being on Earth. Carl was just a guy with food. Tangle was still unwanted. She hadn’t run away per se…more like took a long walk away from Carl’s cabin without the explicit intent to return.

Now Tangle loved the woods. Fresh air, big trees, bright leaves. But at the time it was getting late. The sun was at a weird angle, you know! She’d walked pretty far! Anyone could’ve-

Tangle was lost.

Tangle began to walk in circles trying to figure out which way the mountains were, the town was…Carl-her dad’s-her home was and had begun to panic as the sun descended and the early spring nights were still quite cool.

Which was why she was pretty sure she was hallucinating when a big ole bush leaped up and pulled a gun on her. There was no way that was real, right? So Tangle had approached the situation as she did most things, with little to no common sense.

“Woah, I wouldn’t give that to me buddy. I have no idea how to use those things.” The bush tilted slightly, almost as if it was confused. “Yeah…they tried to teach me how to use them a buncha times, but they’re so unwieldy to me. Why bother with a gun when I can just bop ‘em in the face? Bam! Bam!” Tangle accented each ‘bam’ with a quick shadow box. The bush leapt back, gun still pointed at Tangle, very steadily. “What does a bush even need a gun for? Root space that tricky to find these days?” The bush started shaking. “You’re-heh-shaking like a leaf there. You okay?” Then a sound emanated from the bush.

A giggle. Tangle felt warm inside, the offering of joy, not something she knew she could do.

And then the bush pulled its leafy covering off. And revealed a beautiful wolf.

A wolf with a very big gun. Tangle did a double take, not unsure if she was still hallucinating or had gotten herself in a very dangerous situation. The wolf considered Tangle, kind, but very suspicious eyes looked out at her through near-closed eyelids and a waft of fur over her right eye.

“Uhh…I’m Tangle the Lemur, ms…shrub wolf?” Tangle tried for a smile.

“Whisper.” The wolf responded.

And then Tangle invited Whisper back to Carl’s home after she herself found her way back and the two became good friends…friends…

But Tangle hadn’t seen the gun again! She figured that Whisper had gotten rid of it. This is why Tangle felt herself step back when Whisper pulled it out from behind a tree. Tangle swallowed hard.

Why would Whisper keep that? Now Tangle knew she wasn’t the best at taking care of equipment, but she knew what regularly inspected and cleaned rifles looked like. And as Whisper showed her the gun Tangle knew that this wasn’t the first time Whisper had been back here.

It was taller than they were and came with its own tripod and heavy buttstock. The kickback on that thing must be astronomical. Tangle spied the clip put into the front middle of the rifle, it was as long as her hand, and each bullet must’ve been as big as a fully grown carrot.

“Wh-Whisper…why do you have that?” Tangle managed to point at it like it was going to bite her finger off. Whisper looked from Tangle to the weapon.

“Protection.” She said, shrugging ever so slightly. Tangle looked back at the gun trying to imagine the size of the bear that would need to be big enough not for this thing to kill.

“...From what?” Tangle was suddenly having some trouble breathing, unsure of this side of Whisper. She knew it existed, but she’d just…forgotten.

“Anything that’d hurt you.” Whisper’s eyes narrowed as she tucked the weapon back into the place behind the tree where she’d hidden it.

Hurt Tangle? Who was going to hurt Tangle? Why would anyone hurt Tangle? She hadn’t done anything too wrong had she? Or…was Whisper just…overly nervous?

“I’m not sure that’s necessary, I mean it’s pretty peaceful here.” Tangle shrugged, still eyeing the tree with the tank-piercing gun behind it.

“Just in case…don’t tell.” Whisper began to move away, in the direction of home.

“What?! Who would I tell?! Dad? Noooo…” Whisper turned around and shot Tangle a confused look. “Promise. I won’t tell. Nope. Not gonna do it…won’t tell…” Tangle swallowed hard and looked at the fallen leaves on the forest floor, a faraway look on her face.

It stayed on her face as they walked home. It stayed as they entered the cabin. It stayed as they walked past Tangle’s dad. Totally oblivious that Whisper had a weapon of extreme caliber just behind a random tree in the woods.

Why would I tell my dad? Tangle thought. No need to inform him that an extremely paranoid and also cute wolf has an emergency boom stick. I got this! No need to worry anyone else! I…I’ll figure out a way to help her feel like she won’t need it. Right?

Tangle moved into their shared room and Tangle looked it over. They’d only finished it recently. Tangle and Whisper had decided to split the room in half. Tangle’s mess was full of plants and magazines and strewn about clothing and random posters she’d found on one half. And Whisper’s extremely minimalist white bed with white sheets and tidied space without a hair out of place on the other half.

The room was painted a terrible shade of orange that blinded the two of them. They’d picked it because it was the only color they could agree on would be terrible for their room. They couldn’t come up with a color they both liked, it was one of their few arguments and finally they just chose to compromise on the worst option.

“So…you’ve got a gun in the woods. A really big gun.” Whisper nodded. “Why?”

“It’s mine.” Whisper sat on her bed.

“But why do you need it? You don’t really need it, do you? Do you not feel safe?” Tangle was hyperventilating a little. Whisper got up from the bed and approached Tangle.

“I do. But I need to know you’re safe.”

“I am safe. I feel totally safe. Safe about your…really big gun. So safe, I don’t think you actually need that. Maybe we should tell my dad and he can get rid of it for you.” Even Tangle knew her smile wasn’t even close to real enough.

“No.”

“C’mon my dad will understand.” Tangle tried.

“No.”

“Please Whisper. If you don’t feel safe there are people to talk to. Maybe-”

“No!”

There was a pause as Whisper raised her voice, Tangle felt her fur stand on end and tail lash about as she got a glimpse at Whisper’s canines raised in a light snarl. She seemed to realize what she was doing and settled, seeming to wait for Tangle to make the next move.

Tangle held her breath. And held it. And held it. And then-

“Whisper…this is nuts! You can’t just hold these secrets! I can’t hold these secrets!” Tangle looked into Whisper’s eyes. Her soft blue eyes alluring and drawing Tangle in.

“Please…you said just us…” Whisper breathed and for once reached out. Tangle felt electricity roll through her fur as Whisper held her arms.

And then Whisper hugged her. “Just us…” She breathed. And Tangle remembered the night her dad had met Whisper. When Tangle had still thought she hadn’t been wanted. That she’d have to flee again. That it would just be them…

Whisper pulled away from Tangle and yet they were still so close. So very close. Noses millimeters apart. Tangle could feel Whisper’s breath on her lips-

-and then Whisper closed that gap.

All of Tangle’s bones melted into a puddle in her feet as Whisper kissed her. Some residual part of her body remembered to kiss back and Tangle moved into it, taking Whisper’s head in her hands, feeling her silky blond hair and fur. Finally able to touch her, be with her. She’d wanted it for a while, Tangle realized.

After like- a fucking minute- Whisper and Tangle pulled away from each other, breathing heavily, foreheads against each other, giggling nervously.

“Please…just us…” Whisper repeated looking into Tangle’s eyes and something in Tangle threatened to give.

Give in. Give in. Give in. It said. You can take care of her. She only needs you! Be with her. It urged. It was begging, a selfish desire welling up in Tangle to watch over and protect the girl she was falling for. It would be so easy. Just be with Whisper and not worry about it. The tears in the night, the gun in the woods, all forgotten.

You know how to take care of her. Something else commanded. Still Tangle, but a different voice. Stronger, more mature, and more loving. It was harsh, and rough, and mean…but it was right.

Tangle screwed her eyes tight and then opened them, pulling away from Whisper.

“No…” Tangle choked out. Whisper’s eyes widened in shock and she flinched away, nervous and afraid. It was Tangle’s turn to grab Whisper, to let her know how she felt. “Whisper, please! I’m sorry, but it can’t just be me and you, you need help! From people that know how to help you. I’m just a kid, a pretty stupid kid sometimes…but I’m learning, and trying! It’s scary, but…it’s better. I’m better! And you can be too!

I-like you. Like, like you like you. And I want whatever this-” Tangle waved a hand between them, “-is to develop and become awesome. Cause you’re awesome, and I’m awesome and together we’d be super duper amazingly awesome! But-

-I don’t know how to help you. You need to talk to someone…someone…” Tangle swallowed hard, “someone that’s not me.” Tangle searched Whisper’s eyes for acknowledgment, for understanding, even for anger.

But they’d just turned hard and cold…distant.

Tangle dropped her hands from Whisper and the wolf silently moved past her and climbed into her bed, facing away.

Completely silently.

Tangle walked out of their bedroom. She was now a husk. Her heart and brain left in a moment she’d rejected. She flopped down on the couch beside her dad as he watched some fishing show.

Tangle was in the past now. Back to a week ago. In a library, with what had become new friends, real friends.

“What do you do if you’re the bad guy, even if you know you’re right?” Sally had said.

“If you’re the bad guy-then you’re not right.” Jewel had responded.

So…Tangle was just in the wrong then? She should’ve just let Whisper suffer in her silence? That was right? That was better? Was Tangle the bad guy?

“Ringtail? Tangle, you okay?” Tangle was snapped out of the past as her father placed a hand on her shoulder. Tangle looked up at her father with his open, caring eyes. She opened her mouth. Closed it.

And then she burst into tears.

“Dad I messed up so bad!” Tangle wrapped her arms around her father. He seemed surprised for a moment but Tangle could hardly tell, her tears and snot wetting his shirt. Soon his hands found her back. “Whisper was all sad so I took her to the fair, but then she just was more sad and has all these secrets she keeps inside and wanted to share with just me and then she kissed me and it was awesome but then I made her stop cause I think she should talk to someone about it and now she hates me!” Tangle wailed and wailed.

This went on for a while. Her dad attempted some soothing words or maybe a suggestion, but Tangle wasn’t really listening. She was just being there, letting her father’s care soothe her.

Tangle’s heart was in agony and she was so torn on what to do all of it was so painful and troubling, Tangle felt like she was back in Spiral Hill, so nervous to do anything, so afraid to fail because this was what happened. But despite all of that her heartache, her nervousness, her decisions…her failure...Tangle knew.

This was better.

Chapter Text

Blaze’s claws were going to leave marks on the desk if she didn’t let go soon. But she really had to finish this homework assignment. She was already so behind on Earth schoolwork that she was doing two to three times the amount that others were doing if she wanted to catch up to her year. The amount that high school sophomores had to do was ridiculous.

But there was no way that any level of psychokinesis was going to stop her from finishing her biology homework.

“C’mon Blaze! You’ve been doing homework all week! This is the last day of the fair, you’re going to miss it if you don’t come now. There are only a few hours left anyway!” Silver waved his hand up and down, Blaze’s body responding with the motion as he attempted to pry her from the desk in her room.

“I’ve got to finish this Silver!” Blaze wailed as she nearly lost her grip on the desk. Blaze looked at the paper she was writing, wondering if she’d be able to hold onto the desk with one hand and write with the other.

“Okay, but if you do, then you’ll just start working on the next thing! Let’s go to the fair! You’ve got to try the candied apples!” Blaze’s stomach rumbled at the sound of that. Despite June Whipple’s incessant need to feed anyone that walked into her house. Blaze’s workaholism occasionally meant that she…forgot…to eat.

“Silver…” Wade Whipple popped his head into Blaze’s room. “If she doesn’t want to go, you can’t make her…even if she is missing out.” The kind man winked at the purple cat and Silver relented, Blaze barely managing to catch herself as the psychokinesis switched off and Blaze dropped to the floor.

“Oh! Sorry, Blaze!” Silver face palmed hard, screwing his eyes tight. Blaze got up and brushed herself off, giving Silver a nervous smile.

“It’s okay Silver, no need to punish yourself.”

“But I-” Blaze just held up a hand. She wouldn’t see Silver beat himself up over it. She couldn’t stand his big sad eyes. “Okay, well then will you come to the fair with me?!” Silver’s golden eyes shone and Blaze felt herself get sucked into them, a warmth flaring up in her body, into her limbs…her hands. She quickly tightened them into fists and sealed off the heat, hoping it would die.

“Silver…really…I…” Silver’s eyes only got wider, but they changed into sad ones. “I…I…must…” His eyes glimmered and begged, his bottom lip quivering ever so slightly.

Fuck. Blaze thought and her willpower crumbled.

“Just for a little, okay!” Silver pumped his fist. “Then I’ve got to get back to this.” Blaze pointed back to her work, but Silver was no longer paying attention, his excitement nearly had him bouncing off the walls.

“C’mon Blaze!” Silver grabbed Blaze’s wrist and he yanked her out of her room and through the house. “Bye Wade, Bye June! We’ll be back soon!” Silver waved his free hand as Blaze tried to put her feet back under her, Silver rushing them out the door.

“You want me to come with?” A mildly hopeful Wade Whipple was left behind as Silver pulled Blaze out of their home and into the cool Autumn evening. It was chilly, but Blaze was warm, a fire heating her cheeks looking at Silver’s excited grin…And heating her hands to a fiery temperature.

…
For as wonderful as the carnival was, Blaze was mostly taken with the dome of the night sky above. Thick smog and cloud cover blocked the stars for the most part back on Mobius, the diamonds of the sky shrouded. But here they were bright and glimmering in the small town, threatening to drown out even the bright lights of the carnival.

Blaze had barely a moment to consider them as Silver dragged her through the people milling about the event, laughing, playing, and seeing the sights. Blaze had hardly ever been around this many people before.

It reminded her of the days when her mother was still alive, the festivities within the castle courtyard. The war would rage outside. But at that moment. That one, fleeting moment, she was happy. She could hardly remember times when she was happy.

But now, on Earth…it got harder to remember the times she was sad.

“Wha?” Silver mumbled through a mouthful of candied apple. Blaze snapped out of her own thoughts as Silver addressed her, a dumbfounded grin on his face. A dollop of caramel went unnoticed on his cheek.

She really wanted to touch it.

“Uhh…you got a little caramel on your face.” Silver touched his cheek to find it. “O-other side.” Silver found it and did a mixture of pulling it off and licking it away. Blaze smiled at him, trying to hold in a snicker and failing.

“Heh…” Silver seemed embarrassed. “N-no I was wondering what was up with you?”

“Me?”

“Yeah…you were crying a little. Are you okay?” Blaze’s eyes widened and she touched her cheeks, finding the fur there slightly damp.

“Oh…um, I am fine. I just…was remembering something…good.”

“Oh.” Silver continued to crunch on his apple. The sounds of the carnival washed over them. Sickly sweet smells and oiled hydraulics flowed through their noses. Silver offered a bite of his apple. Blaze politely declined.

“I don’t know why I was crying! I just-” Blaze suddenly panicked feeling like she had to explain herself.

“-I get it.”

“You do?” Blaze stopped, unsure of what to do with her hands as she flopped them at her sides.

“Yeah-well maybe…no. I don’t know. But…you don’t have to explain yourself. You’re Blaze the Cat. Don’t worry about what others say.” Silver shrugged.

“Easy for you to say.” Blaze grinned as she pointed out another glob of caramel that had made its way onto his other cheek. “You’ve got no shame.”

“What?! I’ve got plenty of shame!” Silver defended himself as he moved the caramel glob from his face to his glove and then licked it off. “See! If I wasn’t shameful, I’d probably just leave that there.” Silver grinned and Blaze spied the caramel still in his teeth.

She doubled over laughing.

“Really? I’m trying to be cool here.” Through her laughter, Blaze managed to spy an unimpressed look from Silver and she nearly fell over from laughing. “Well, that’s the last time I eat one of these.” Silver tossed the remains of his apple into a nearby garbage can.

“I-I-heh-I’m sorry Silver, you’re very cute.”

Blaze stopped laughing.

Silver stiffened.

“I-”

“You wanna check out the hall of mirrors?” Silver smiled nervously and Blaze tamped down the heat in her face and the burning that was appearing on her palms.

“Uh-” Blaze choked, the words stuck in her throat. So she nodded. Silver grabbed her hand and Blaze hoped that it wasn’t too hot.

The hall of mirrors was in a word: Bizarre.

To be constantly looking at yourself no matter where you turned had Blaze sweating a little. She didn’t like to look at her reflection that much. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the way she looked. Supposedly she had her mother’s looks. The great and beautiful queen of the Sol Empire. As commanding with her words as she was with her beauty.

Blaze didn’t really see the similarities. But she knew she didn’t look…awful. Although the bags under her eyes certainly didn’t do the cat any favors.

No, the issue was more with Blaze still sharing the same face with the girl that had failed her kingdom. The girl that had been rejected by her people for her choices. And Blaze always would have that face it was a part of her. And yet…

And yet she grew. She’d grown from the scared royal who had arrived five months ago, into an intelligent if nervous student who had at least decent social skills if she did say so herself.

And Blaze would keep growing, it was the nature of time. Little by little who she was would be built on and accumulated into something new. Hopefully something more mature and self-confident. As Blaze looked out at all of the other Blazes in the room, each one looking back at her she had to wonder if someday they’d smile at her.

But that might take a while though, and Blaze was perfectly welcome to wait, but she figured she’d make the first move. So she smiled at them, hoping she was conveying understanding and acceptance. And to her surprise-

They smiled back.

“Ow!” Silver grumbled from somewhere else in the structure. Blaze moved a little, hands in front of her before her she caught sight of Silver. He was rubbing his nose, clearly, he’d bonked his face on one of the mirrors. “Ow.” Multiple of the mirrors.

“Silver-” Blaze held in a giggle. “Walk with your hands out, try to catch yourself.” Blaze moved around a few mirrors seeing more duplicates of Silver, now rubbing his forehead.

“R-right. I knew that…just wanted to see if I could do without it…okay, I didn’t think of that.” Silver admitted.

“I know you goof.” Blaze rolled her eyes seeing the Silvers turning trying to find her.

“Goof? Is…is that bad?” Silver worried, he was spinning around now, clearly seeing the multiple Blazes.

“No it’s not bad…it’s endear-” And then Blaze grabbed Silver’s shoulders and their noses touched. They both instinctively flinched away from each other, surprised at finding the other.

“I-it’s what?” Silver asked and Blaze felt heat in her face at realizing what she was just about to say.

“N-nothing, sorry for saying that.”

“No it’s-it’s okay. I…liked it…” There was an awkward beat of silence. “What if we…uh held…hands? Y’know to not get separated?” Blaze pursed her lips and nodded, the two taking each other’s hands and moving through the maze as one. Silver only banged into a mirror a couple more times.

“I don’t think I am a fan of that. Too bizarre and I couldn’t see the night sky.” Blaze shook her head as they exited the structure.

“You like to see the stars?” Silver was suddenly very eager.

“Y-yes. I quite like them.” Blaze looked up now.

“Me too! I think that’s one of the coolest things about Earth. Well…besides being cared for and not having to run for my life all the time and not struggling to find something to eat.” Silver was listing things off on his fingers now.

“I-” Blaze held in a chuckle as Silver kept listing. “-I like those things too.”

“But you’re totally right about the stars though. There’s something about them. With them up there I feel…less isolated, I guess?” Silver scratched at his head.

“Mobius is so boxed in by smog and fires you forget that there’s a whole great universe out there. That there are people and places that can call to you because even with the vastness of everything…they still want you, specifically you. Even if it’s only one-special-person. And no matter how far away someone or something is, you know they're still out there…

You just have to find them.” Blaze watched the stars twinkle.

“Wow.” Silver breathed. “You’re awesome.” Blaze looked at him and found his face was in shock, eyes sparkling as they looked at her. Blaze curled her fists, hoping to contain the heat that was building there.

“Yes.” Blaze coughed into her fist, unnerved by how hot it felt. “But that’s just why I think the stars are interesting…no need to also believe that, I thought I’d just share my opinion-”

“Oh! I totally know where we can get a good look at the stars-if you want to that is.” Blaze gave a curt nod, thankful that the conversation was once again no longer in her court. Although she was eager to see where Silver wanted to take her.

They found themselves at the bottom of a Ferris wheel. A rather large circular structure with various small carriages attached at multiple points on the wheel. It was a deep blue coloration and looked relatively safe. The movement smooth and slow. A few bright lights twinkled and flashed on it, inviting.

But there was something about it that tickled at Blaze’s brain, a warning of some kind. The wheel unnerved her and seemed to say that she shouldn’t enter. She should just take Silver and go back home and finish her homework. The wheel certainly was big, perhaps it just intimidated her. No…it wasn’t just big, it was tall.

And then Silver pulled her forward and they moved into the line for the Ferris wheel.

The Ferris wheel attendant put the crossbar in front of them and the ride started. Blaze knew it wouldn’t take them very high but it would still be cool to get a little closer and then look out at the town below them.

Blaze was eager, looking upward but noticed from the corner of her eye that Silver was shifting, nervous.

“Are you okay?” Blaze raised an eyebrow. Silver nodded vigorously and seemed to look anywhere but Blaze.

“Yup! Uh-huh, tooootally fine. Just…I think maybe that candy apple didn’t agree with me?” Silver gave a nervous laugh as he finally looked at Blaze. He certainly seemed uncomfortable but didn’t look too green in the face-just nervous.

“Oh-okay. Are you going to be sick?” Blaze asked.

“NO! No. No. Totally fine, mouth is fine, not gonna be gross…” Blaze’s eyebrows furrowed but figured Silver was just being goofy. She turned back to the skies enjoying the slow ride. It was rather nice.

And then she looked down.

And remembered her fear of heights.

Blaze’s hands shot out and gripped the crossbar. Her eyes widened into dinner plates and her breathing rapidly increased. And of course- of course, her powers kicked in.

An ability passed down through the Sol empire’s royal line, and even then a rare ability.

Pyrokinesis.

The ability to-at will-create devastating flames that could burn what little of Mobius that hadn’t already been turned to ash.

At will.

Ha. That was a good joke.

Blaze could barely make a spark when she wanted to, let alone actual flames that no one would want to deal with anyway. And when she didn’t want to?

Heat. Like no other spilled from her palms, irradiating anything near her. The fire within trying to get out. But Blaze was a professional. She’d held her powers tight. Let almost none know of her flames.

When she was in control of herself that was.

When she was in a tiny carriage slowly rising above the planet below? Not so much.

“Look I-I’m not sick, but I-I’m a little nervous. See I wanted to talk to you…” Silver spoke his voice very far away.

Blaze was full-on hyperventilating now her breaths shallow and quick, oxygen not fully reaching her lungs.

“See it’s been really cool hanging out with you. And I really like youuuur outfit today…Wait-no-wait!”

Blaze was going to die. She was going to die. The carriage was going to fall off and crash to the ground killing her. The heat was radiating off her palms into the metal bar. She gripped it tighter. Its redness blurring in her vision. Had it always been red?

“I mean I do like your outfit. You’re really good at…fashion? Yes. No. What I mean to say is that you’re really cool and I want to hang out with you more.”

Blaze was shaking now, something churning in her gut, threatening to spill upward. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t think. The Ferris wheel was going to crash and kill her.

“But more than just hang out with you! I mean I like doing that too. But I want to do it in a different sense and I-I-I-”

The world was spinning and suddenly Blaze wasn’t gripping the bar very tightly anymore. No. Wait. She was. The bar was just…moving. Because it was soft. The metal bar was soft.

“I’m kind of freaking out right now cause your super pretty tonight and you called me cute earlier I just wanted to take you out to this carnival because I wanted to ask you out on a proper date cause I totally like you a lot Blaze!”

The bar melted in Blaze’s hands. And Blaze…just sort of…slid off the carriage.

People screamed, and Blaze fell.

And fell. And fell. And fell.

She was falling for so long, that she was pretty sure she should’ve hit the ground by now. Made into a cat pancake. Through the haze of her blurring vision Blaze noticed that she was no longer falling. A warm teal light surrounded her, flashes of electricity running through it. They danced like fish, peaceful and majestic as if trying to say,

You’re going to be okay. You’re safe. You’re not going to die.

Then Blaze was moving through the air again, this time sideways and her body was shifted around to see Silver ahead of her, wreathed in the same teal light, his hands outstretched to her. She was held under his power as he guided them both from the wheel. Blaze got a glimpse at his face, steely and determined. His eyes were bright as they flashed to look at Blaze, care, and resilience there.

Blaze had pyrokinesis so she definitely knew when someone was hot.

Silver carried them to a nearby hill, a few loose trees and shrubs dotting it. Where he set Blaze down and she immediately curled inward, her body still shaking, her stomach doing backflips and a haze still partially obscuring her vision. It didn’t matter that she was off the wheel, she was still going to-

“Blaze you’re okay!” Silver gripped Blaze’s shoulders And she snapped around on him, gripping his arms. “You’re okay. You’re having a panic attack. It’s okay. You’re going to be okay. You should breathe. Take deep breaths. You’ll get through this. Breathe in for four seconds, hold for seven and then exhale for eight. You can do this, okay? You’re crazy strong and awesome. All you gotta do is breathe. Ready, in for four seconds.”

Blaze managed to focus enough on Silver’s golden eyes enough to listen. She breathed in letting it build as Silver counted off to her.

“Okay, now hold for seven.” Silver directed and Blaze managed a nod, holding her breath for seven seconds. “Now long slow exhale for eight seconds, you got this. You’re okay.” Blaze exhaled slowly letting the dread leave her body. “Now do it all again.”

And she did. Breathing in for four seconds, holding it for seven, and exhaling for eight.

And then she did it again, and again, and again.

And as the last set of exhaling finished Blaze was starting to feel much better. Her breathing returned to normal, the chills fading, her stomach settling and her eyes clearing as they focused on her savior as he sat down in the grass next to her.

“H-how’d you know how to do that? I-I thought I was going to die.” Blaze looked at the fair below them, people were confused about the disappearing cat and the melted carriage.

“Yeah…that’s…that’s a panic attack. Not much you can do about it besides wait it out…and breathe. Sorry I didn’t notice it earlier.” Silver stared off into space, the stars bright above.

“But how’d you know how to help me?”

“I asked.” Blaze raised an eyebrow and Silver noticed it and continued. “I nearly had one when I first met my dad, so I asked him about it. He told me about panic attacks and how scary they can be you feel like you know you’re gonna die. But I…I knew that last bit.” Blaze’s expression turned confused and she moved closer to Silver. “On…on the battlefield I’d seen other soldiers go through similar things…they just shut down and say they know they’re gonna die and because they can’t move…

-they do. So I wanted to know how to deal with one. Guess it came in handy.” Silver tried for a smile, it was weak, and they both knew it. There was a pause. “You…you’ve got hot hands.” Blaze’s eyes widened and she suddenly stiffened.

“Oh, my Chaos! Your arms! Did I burn you when I grabbed them?!” Blaze was looking over him to see how she’d hurt him. Silver lifted his arms to show her and let out a short laugh.

“I’m fine! I’m fine! Your hands weren’t hot then…I-I was talking about earlier. With the bar.”

“Oh. It’s…yeah…I can’t really control it. It’s just something I inherited.” Blaze mumbled looking at the grass below her shoes, her tail flicking about.

“Well, I’m sure you’d be great if you tried.”

“Thanks…” Blaze said flatly, accepting the platitude, and then she noticed Silver’s face. His bright eyes, strong nod, and a small grin.

He believed it. He knew Blaze would be great, even if she didn’t.

“Dad?” Blaze changed the subject as she absorbed his unwavering belief. Silver groaned.

“Ugh…You just had a panic attack, don’t give me one by making me think about my relationship with my dad…Wade…I meant Wade.” Silver coughed into his fist and Blaze withheld a smirk.

“I’m sure.” she caught Silver’s fast breath as she let out a touch of mockery.

“Romantically.” Silver’s face got nervous again, and it twitched, and flinched like he was remembering an embarrassing memory.

“What?!”

“Earlier-I don’t know if you heard me…the panic attack and stuff…but I said I like you. I mean…” Silver swallowed hard. “I like you romantically. D-do…do you feel the same way?” Blaze’s face heated up and her hand also threatened to flame, already extremely hot as Silver spoke.

No. She’d already freaked out once today, time to take charge of her body and her mind.

She hoped.

“Maybe…and if I did…what then?” Blaze looked to Silver seeing hope bloom in his eyes and she let a smile cross her features.

“Then…then I-I’d ask if…if I could kiss you. What-what would you say?” Silver had a nervous smile on his face. Like a wild animal, it could flee at any moment, or Blaze could carefully coax something greater out.

“Then…then I’d say I would like you to kiss me.” Blaze looked into his golden eyes, her own amber ones perfectly reflected.

“Oh. Blaze can-”

“Yes please, you goof.”

They brought their faces together, tilting and moving around one another like flickies looking for a snack. But finally, they found each other’s lips, pressing against each other.

It was awkward. Neither knew what they were doing, Both just trying to mash their lips into the others’.

So yeah, it was a pretty awesome first kiss.

“Wow.” Silver managed that pearl of eloquence as he pulled away.

“Yup.” Blaze suddenly found the grasses very interesting. They sat there for a moment, both finding the stars above, twinkling high and shining down on them. A spotlight, just for them. And then she let out a giggle. The color drained from SIlver’s face.

“What?” Blaze started laughing. “WHAT?!” Silver panicked. She looked at his cute face and tried to stifle her laughter. “Whahahat? What did I do wrong? I’ve never kissed anyone before!” Blaze continued to laugh.

“It’s-heheh-it’s okay, you-you-heheheh-you still have caramel in your teeth.”

“Wha-?!” Silver spun away from her and began to pick at his teeth, determined to get any remaining out of them. He spun back. “Did I get it all?”

“Yup.” He did not. “It’s okay…I’ve never kissed anyone before either.”

“Oh…” There was a long pause. “Do you want to kiss again?”

It took them a few tries, but they eventually figured out what they were doing.

Chapter Text

Mighty was starting to get upset.

He’d been waiting for nearly thirty minutes and he still hadn’t had the chance to put his fist through Knuckles’ perfectly stoic face. He’d come alone, no need to drag Ray and Sadie into this. He’d insisted that he could handle his anger and besides this match would be nothing interesting. Just settling an old debt.

But instead, he’d arrived at the prompted time that he’d been informed of after his interaction with Knuckles on the street, all ready to fight and been told he’d have to wait.

“Why can’t we just fight out here?” Mighty had scoffed.

“Father has just mowed the lawn, it is pristine. We shall simply wait for the battlefield to be ready. I am eager as well but my brother did not manage his time well and needs a little more to ready our fight.” Knuckles had said with finality. Mighty had set his jaw and huffed, but held up his hands agreeing to wait.

And then he noticed Knuckles was crossing his arms as he stood on the porch of the house. He looked really tough. Not that Mighty would admit.

He crossed his arms too.

But now thirty minutes had passed and the armadillo was getting antsy. His foot tapped impatiently and he could feel the rage building up as Knuckles simpled stared ahead and blinked slowly, clearly completely at ease. Smug fucker. Mighty huffed,

“Hey are we going to-”

“Oh Chaos, shit, didn’t mean to be late.” Mighty turned to see a red fox running up the driveway, clearly out of breath and a little disheveled. But it wasn’t Knuckles’ brother.

“Hi, I’m Fiona.” She stuck her hand out. Mighty glanced at it, ready to shake, but noticed how Knuckles hadn’t moved at all, so he stiffened and didn’t move. Fiona blinked. “Geez, okay asshole. Fuckin’ whatever then.” She flipped her hair and Mighty took her in. She was about his age, maybe a little older and clearly knew that she was attractive. A strong smirk was front and center followed by black pants and a black crop top, all rather tight. A loose white cardigan contrasted the black outfit and covered her arms. A few bright pink bracelets twisted on her wrists and crisp white gloves covered her hands.

Mighty might think her the asshole but she seemed more confident of herself rather than egotistical. She was trying to draw her own attention rather than someone else's.

“Sorry.” Mighty managed and Fiona raised an eyebrow at him before nodding. And then Mighty tilted his head before snapping back to Knuckles. “Wait, why is she here? This is our fight!”

“I do not know, but she is welcome. There is no rule that says she cannot join our battle.” Knuckles shrugged.

“Um, you boys do realize I’m still here, right? And what is this about a battle? I’m just here to make nice with Miles. There’s no way I’m fighting you two muscleheads.” Fiona cocked a hip.

“Tails is here, he’s simply setting up, he will be commanding our battle.” Knuckles nodded.

“Commanding?”

“Oh, so I don’t have to actually fight, cool, although watching you guys beat each other up will be hilarious.” Fiona grinned and fluttered her eyelashes.

Ok. Mighty decided. She is an asshole.

“It will be noble.” Knuckles narrowed his eyes, this girl getting to him more than Mighty ever could.

“Whatever. So when are we starting?” And then the front door opened, and out walked…a teeny-tiny bunny.

“Hello! Oh, it’s nice to meet you all! I’m Cream!” The bunny said, and then she turned to Knuckles. “Oh, Miles said that he’s ready for you and that you should come through the…rainy doors?” Cream tilted her head at those last words, so young she’d translated some other word into something she could understand.

“Ah! The storm doors! A proper entrance. Come combatants, this will be incredible!” Knuckles beamed and a deep laugh echoed from his body as he leapt down the steps and started to move toward the side of the house. Mighty quickly followed.

“Umm, wait, is she joining as well?” Fiona watched the boys take off as Cream started to move down the porch steps very slowly. Having to turn around and essentially climb down each step. Fiona sighed and helped her down, holding the little girl’s hand as she hopped down.

“Hi! I’m Cream.” The tiny bunny beamed a gap-toothed smile.

“Yes I know, you said that already.”

“Who are you?” The bunny asked still holding Fiona’s hand as the two moved around to the side of the house following Knuckles and Mighty.

“Fiona.” Fiona said, trying to not go blind from the sunniness that seemed to roll off in waves from Cream.

“That’s a nice name. How do you know Miles?”

Miles? Only Fiona called him Miles. She frowned.

“Old… acquaintances.” Fiona admitted as they closed in on Knuckles and Mighty, the former of which was now looking like he had the same personality as the bunny holding Fiona’s hand.

“Oh. That’s nice. I’m going to be his wife!” Cream said, now skipping. Fiona burst out laughing. Cream stopped skipping. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” Fiona wiped a tear from her eye. “I just don’t think you’re his type.” Cream now frowned at her. And took away her hand from Fiona’s.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Nothing honestly, you’re a sweet girl, but Miles is more in love with his machines than any little girl.” Fiona cocked a hip as she taunted the tiny bunny. Cream gave a pout so powerful she’d have beaten Fiona in her younger days and put both hands on her tiny hips.

“Well, I’m gonna prove you wrong you meanie. Humph!” And then Cream turned her head away from Fiona as the fox rolled her eyes.

“Quiet! It is time for battle!” Knuckles’ eyes shown as the group approached the storm doors at the side of the house.

“Finally!” Mighty exclaimed as Knuckles leaned down for the door’s handle, twisted it, and heaved both metal doors up rattling on their hinges.

“Prepare yourselves…” Knuckles whispered, his eyes locked onto the dark gloom of the basement.

And then fog started to roll out from the basement.

“Come…” A deep-voiced echoed out from the darkness and fog. It reverberated and shook, seeming to come from somewhere more ethereal than the basement. Knuckles began to stomp down into the basement, Cream waddled after him.

“Uhhh…” Echoed the sentiments of Mighty and Fiona.

“Come to the greatest battle you will ever face…” The voice continued and Mighty and Fiona shared confused looks, the challenging voice out of place on this fall day.

“To the victor…untold glory.” Mighty started to move down the steps, the darkness swallowing him up.

“The loser…a fate worse than death…” Fiona swallowed as she too started down the basement steps, her sight lost in the darkness as the bright sky disappeared behind her.

“Welcome challengers…welcome to-” And then the voice coughed and coughed, and slowly changed into Tails’ voice. He coughed some more and then a light switch flicked on and the basement was illuminated in yellow fluorescent. “Ugh, too heavy on the fog machine. Gotta adjust that in the future.”

The yellow fox turned to the group with a big smile on his face as he sat at the head of a folding table. In front of him was a small barricade and beyond that, paper, pencils, and…dice?

“So you guys ready to play some Dungeons and Dragons?” Mighty and Fiona shared another look before turning back to Tails.

“The what and the what now?”

…

“So we won’t actually be fighting?!” Mighty stood up from the table.

“Well, no.” Tails clarified. “But you will be exploring a vast and intricate world where you can do various and complex things to accomplish great feats!”

“With make-believe?” Mighty slumped his posture.

“It’s about exploring a different mind from your own! Seeing the world from someone else’s experience and turning them into a great warrior and person!” Knuckles shook his fist at the sky, wonder on his face.

“And we do this with…dice?” Fiona cocked an eyebrow and Tails set his jaw.

“That and the bonuses from who your characters are. Along with how you command your character.” Tails turned away from Fiona to Knuckles. “Why is she here again?” Knuckles merely shrugged.

“I was invited by Sonic.” Fiona huffed, agitated that people were still acting like she wasn’t there. “Is he going to be joining us by the way?”

“No.” Knuckles noted. “Our brother finds this experience…childish.”

“He’s ‘too cool’ to play DnD with us.” Tails put up air quotes.

“Mmm. I share his sentiment.” Fiona said as she leaned back in her chair and examined one of the figurines on the table.

“Well if you don’t want to play you don’t have to.” Cream piped up, before picking up a pencil and doodling on her character sheet.

“Oh, no I’ll play, I’m great at make-believe.” Fiona shot back.

“You sure are.” Tails snarled from behind his barrier.

“Okay, fine, we’ll play. But how does this help me and Knuckles settle our beef?!” Mighty flopped in his chair.

“Well…” Tails put on a grin and settled into his chair, “Then let me set the scene…A mysterious forest has emerged in a once desert plain, no one lays claim to it but a voice has been calling from deep within-”

“Just tell us how this works!” Mighty threw up his hands. Tails sighed.

“You’ll be entering my dungeon as teams of two. Knuckles and Cream.” Tails gestured to one side of the table. “And Mighty and Fiona.” Tails gestured to the other side of the table. “Whoever reaches the center and finds the reward first, wins.” A few nods went around the table, the simple goal understandable and tangible. “I could’ve created a sweeping story, but noooo you guys just want big fight pits…” Tails mumbled to himself. “Now as I was saying, the forest calls to all, and you-”

“Wait so how do we do things?” Mighty examined his paper ignoring Tails’ sigh, the overwhelming quantity of numbers and information making his brain melt. This was a lot more complicated than wrestling.

“You can do whatever you can think of, within the restrictions of your character.” Tails clarified.

“Well, why didn’t you tell us about our characters?” Fiona asked.

“I was gonna set the scene first!” Tails exclaimed, clearly frustrated. “Newbies…” He shuffled some papers behind his barrier and then passed a sheet out to Fiona. “Okay, I put this one together because I didn’t know…” He sent a stink-eye to Knuckles. “That we would be having a fourth member today. Alright then, let’s talk characters…

Knuckles will be playing his own character, Sir Knuckles, a Dragon-Born Oath of Devotion Paladin. Strong of heart and even stronger of blade.

Mighty will be playing Gruumtarr the Half-Orc Path of Berserker Barbarian. Headstrong and more than a little peeved more often than not, but enjoys the finer things in life, like tea and the crunching of bone.

Cream will be playing Veena Lumira of the Southern Islands, an Elven Circle of the Shepard Druid. She is a friend to all and loves taking care of animals. With her trusty and powerful familiar Cheese the Raven, she’s ready to explore the world.” Tails smiled as Cream bounced in her seat, clearly excited about having an animal companion. And then he turned to Fiona.

“Finally we have Malrana, the dark witch, a Warlock who made a pact with a Fiend. You derive pleasure from the suffering of others and like to manipulate those around you to get what you want.” There was a taunting look in Tails’ eye, he wanted Fiona to react, to cuss him out, to act like a-

No. She wasn’t that anymore.

“Do we have to act like…your descriptions?” Fiona asked, already disliking the supposed similarities between her and Malrana.

“Well…no. It’s still your character, if you want to play like you that’s fine. It’s essentially what Knuckles does.” Tails explained.

“Pardon? My favorite food is grapes, Sir Knuckles’ favorite food is raisins. We are hardly the same!” Everyone ignored Knuckles.

“But I will mention that you still have to perform evil acts. It’s part of your character’s power. If you don’t, you’ll lose your powers.” Tails elaborated, rolling his hand like he was a professor.

“Can’t I be someone else?” Fiona raised an eyebrow. Tails blinked at her.

“No.” And then under his breath. “Besides, I don’t think there will be much of a difference.” Tails then gestured wide. “Okay, so who’s ready to play the greatest game humans ever invented?!” Cheers came from one side and grumbles from the other. “Okay! Now as I was saying…”

…

And thus the greatest game humanity had ever devised began. There was much puzzle-solving, combat, and dice rolling. Fiona, Mighty, and Cream had never played so the game was awfully confusing at first, each coming into the complexity of the game with varied reactions.

“Veena is sliced by the direwolves’ claws and you take…12 damage.”

“Ok!”

“You’ve just been greatly injured Cream.”

“Ok!”

“Gruumtarr rolled a 12 on your strength check so you’re not going to be able to bash down the door.”

“Then I’d like to smash it harder!”

“You just did, and you weren’t able to.”

“What if I was punching it?” Mighty jabbed a finger at himself. Tails sighed.

“And that’s how I’d threaten the messenger.”

“Ok now roll.”

“But I just threatened him, that was really intimidating, that should succeed.”

“But the game’s based on rolls.” Fiona blinked at Tails.

“Dumb.” Tails rubbed his temples.

But despite the lack of understanding about role-playing or character limitations or game mechanics the appeal of the game did start to build in the players. An eagerness to get their hands back on the dice, or pop in with a suggestion for how to proceed with a puzzle. Mighty and Fiona, despite their hesitance to the game, were…having fun.

“You bring your great ax down on the spider, slicing it in twain and freeing Malrana!” Fiona and Mighty cheered and high-fived then felt awkward about it.

“You call on the creatures of the forest and a mighty stag appears to show you the way. His coat shiny and his body strong.”

“I would like to ride it!” Cream squealed. She got to ride it.

“Let me get this straight.” Tails rubbed his eyes. “You are standing in front of this priest…covered head to toe in the blood of his coworker…and you want to convince him it’s strawberry jelly so he’ll let you have access to the book of the ancient ones.”

“Yes.” Fiona pursed her lips. Tails blinked at her.

“Roll persuasion.”

“I rolled a 20.”

“This is a terrible game.” Tails contradicted himself.

But all the excitement meant that everything was coming to a head.

“Both teams enter the great central chamber at the same time. It is truly massive and raises above you in a dome, glittering crystals glow with power like stalactites from the ceiling. And from below, tall trees have grown strong under their light. Soft, mossy earth gives slightly under your feet It looks like the maw of a great beast, and within this maw…is a great beast itself.”

“Wait wait wait. How did we get here at the same time? We were so much faster with our section of the forest, how did we not get here earlier?” Mighty huffed.

“Yeah, also how come you didn’t give us any healers? And they can just heal each other left and right? We’re on our last legs.” Fiona pointed out.

“All outcomes are dependant on your decisions.” Knuckles raised a holier-than-thou finger skyward while Cream played with her druid figurine.

“Does anyone want to know what the great beast is?” Tails looked out from his DM screen, a dangerous look of satisfaction on his face. There were some grumbles of annoyance, but the group quickly settled down and leaned in, the anticipation of the next plot point irresistible. Tails looked over the group and spoke. “Before you, at nearly the height of the massive chamber itself is a beast with many tails. They whip to and fro, glittering in the chamber’s light. A mouth full of razor-sharp teeth nash as its glowing red eyes fix onto you all. Pure white scales cover its body. As you all are bathed in its shadow, the powerful Kitsune-Dragon Looms!”

Notes of wow or worry filled the table, the anticipation of battle prominent.

Except for Knuckles. He pursed his lips and set Tails with a curious stare.

“Brother…I have read the great tome of the manual of monsters and I...do not recall a ‘Kitsune-Dragon.’”

“Yeah.” Tails blinked at his brother, clearly eager to get back to storytelling. “It’s not there.”

“Oh, then you scoured the waves of the internet for this beast’s design?”

“Well…no.”

“Brother…did you…brew this monster yourself?”

“Yeah! It’s pretty cool, right?!” Knuckles nodded, but it was stiff and anyone could tell that he did not think the monster was cool.

“Friends, foes, may I perhaps take you aside, I have some information that we should share before taking on this fight.” Confused looks were fixed on Knuckles, but everyone was having a good time for the most part so they humored him and moved away from Tails, huddling in a circle on the far side of the basement.

“Make this quick Knuckles, we’re gonna take that dragon down first and totally smoke you!” Mighty grinned, but Knuckles did not return it, looking rather grim.

“Yes, about that…well you see my brother is a great manipulator of the dungeons but when he…when he’s able to manipulate the game’s laws-”

“-He made it so that thing’s basically unkillable even by the highest level players so that he wins and everyone else has to deal with his genius design?” Fiona finished, and Knuckles nodded mouth agape. “If Miles has the ability to out-think and out-prepare someone, he will, and then gloat about it.”

“Wait, wait, wait, so we’re just..dead?” Mighty interjected looking between the fox and echidna.

“Unless your luck is the greatest in the galaxy and you roll organic twenties for several rounds of combat.” Knuckles shook his head.

“What if we talked to it?” Cream piped up. Heads turned to her. “It’s just protecting its nest, perhaps we can persuade it to let us have some of its treasure?” Knuckles put a hand to his chin.

“Dragons are not known for sharing their wealth, but if we engage it in combat we will most certainly perish, but if we talk to it, then we will only most likely perish, this plan holds merit!”

“Sooo anyone have any idea on how to persuade a massive dragon into giving up its treasure?” Fiona asked the group.

No one responded.

“So you guys ready to roll initiative?” Tails asked as the group came back to the table.

“Wait! Veena wants to ask it a question!” Tails blinked but nodded slowly at Cream. “Mr. Dragon! We were wondering if we could have some of your treasure?” Tails considered the question and then spoke for the dragon.

“What foolishness, why would I even consider sharing some of my treasure with all of you?!”

“Because we earned it your dragonness.” Sir Knuckles spoke. “We traveled through this mysterious forest and faced its dangers and puzzles and come out stronger. We have proven ourselves!”

“You entered of your own accord, any suffering you put yourselves through is your own.”

“But we did it all the same.” Gruumtarr noted. “It was hard and we didn’t like it, but we did it together and grew as people, and maybe even as friends.” Gruumtarr looked over at Sir Knuckles.

“And what do I have to gain from this? Maybe you are worthy, but I would not give up my treasure for nothing. I have more gold than all the kings in the world, more diamonds than any jeweler, more knowledge than any scholar, what could you possibly give me?!” The dragon huffed.

“Everything we have. It’s all we can give.” Malrana said. “Take my money, my food, my power, it’s all worth it to be equal to even a fraction of your greatness.” The dragon recoiled slightly, surprised.

“You would give up everything? Break your pact with the fiend and lose your abilities, for just a piece of what I have?” The dragon snarled, clearly in disbelief.

“Yes.” Malrana spoke, of stern voice and firm sight.

“Roll a persuasion check.” Tails nodded at Fiona and she picked up the die, juggled it twice in her hand, and let it loose. It bounced off the table, its rattles the loudest sound in the room as everyone held their breath. It skidded to a stop in front of Tails’ DM Screen and everyone leaned over it, their characters’ fates in the balance. Fiona checked the number, then went over to her character sheet, looking for modifiers, all eyes on her. She looked up at the group.

“21. Not natural.” All eyes swiveled over to Tails.

And he sighed.

They got the Kitsune-Dragon’s treasure. Malrana was stripped of her powers, but the rest of the teams, now one party, helped lead the weakened warlock out of the forest and into the next adventure.

“Okay, that was pretty fun.” Mighty stood up from the table stretching out. “Although I’m not sure I like the fighting, feels kinda fake.”

“Yes! I rather disliked that too at first, but now I just imagine that these truly are warriors fighting their hardest. Here, let me walk you out. Cream come along, Ms. Vanilla should be here soon to pick you up.” Knuckles spoke and Cream followed him and Mighty out of the basement, the two warriors chatting about the experience.

“Cool game Miles.” Fiona grinned at Tails.

“Mmhmm.” He said and began packing up all the sheets and equipment.

“Thanks for letting me play, I know that was hard for you.” Fiona played with the sleeve of her cardigan.

“Yup.” Tails said flatly as he closed up the DM screen.

“Really? You’re not going to forgive me? Even still?! Don’t tell me the parallels of that last fight didn’t feel more than game deep!”

“What? You manipulating someone into giving up everything while you get away practically scot-free? You’re right it does feel like there’s another layer there. The same layer you always do. Why would I ever forgive you?” Tails spat, already huffing and his fur standing on end. Fiona’s jaw dropped.

“C’mon Miles, that’s definitely not what that ending was about! Fine, don’t forgive me, but can we at least move beyond the past?”

“I am moving on. I’m learning to be part of a family and working to forget you. You’re the one who keeps bringing up the past. Goodbye Fiona.” And Tails headed into the house starting up the steps, but he stopped just before the top. “Not that I’ll like having you, but Knuckles always wants more players to play DnD with, if you want to.” He said the last words matter-of-factly, all emotion drained from him. Fiona scoffed to the now empty room and left through the storm doors, moving past Knuckles, Mighty, and Cream. The last of which bounded after Fiona as she walked past.

“Well did you have fun?” The bunny asked and Fiona turned to her, considering the question.

“I guess, not how I’d spend my day, but I didn’t hate it. Some advice bunny, don’t date Miles, that brat’s only going to hurt you. What do you even see in him?” Fiona cocked a hip.

“He’s kind.” Cream blinked up at her.

“Oh, he is not nice. That much I know for sure.”

“But he’s kind.” Fiona blinked at her words as they settled into her brain, so very similar and yet so different. They didn’t sit right, something was lost to her. An understanding incompatible with who she was, but maybe with time, she could become. She hoped she could agree with Cream one day. But for now…

“Whatever kid.” And then she walked away, pulling the cardigan a little closer as a cold autumn wind blew.

Chapter Text

Leo downed the can of beer in one enormous sip. The random brand metallic and flavorless, pure alcohol. He swallowed hard and began the wait for the booze to kick in. He tossed the tin can into the campfire before him staring angrily into the flames as his camping buddies around him laughed and joked.

Ridiculous. He thought. Completely ridiculous.

Leo pulled out his phone and stared at the photo. The happy faces, the taunting caption. If his phone wasn’t top of the line, he’d chuck it into the fire too.

I mean he was always crazy. Leo snarled. But this is top-of-the-line, tin-foil-hat-raving-in-a-park crazy.

“Hey man, what’s got you all fucked in the head?” Darnell gave Leo’s arm a light slap. Leo turned to the man ready to attack him the alcohol inside of him raging to get out. But he held it back. Darnell was a nice enough guy. Leo showed him his phone and watched as Darnell’s face went from buzzed contentment to near-angry disgust. “The fuck?! That’s so gross. Shit man…just shit…” Leo nodded at him and squeezed his phone, wishing it was someone’s neck.

“Hey, Acton! What’s got your panties in a twist?” One of Leo’s coworkers called from across the fire. Leo stood up and rolled his eyes, starting to move away from the fire.

“Piss off, I’m gonna hit the hay.”

“Aww, too much of a lightweight to hang with the big boys?” The man taunted. Leo turned around and walked back to his tent.

“How’s that latest sexual harassment claim from HR going?” The man shut up and glowered at Leo.

…

Leo couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned in his sleeping bag the photo on his phone taunting him. It was around three AM when he finally gave up and pulled out his phone once more. The photo was still there. And it was still completely infuriating. He should just delete and say good riddance, and follow it up by deleting the contact too, getting the man out of his life forever.

But he didn’t.

He just lay there in his sleeping bag, the hard rocky ground poking up beneath the tent, staring at the photo. Infuriated by it of course, but more than that, perplexed. It was so beyond him, so bizarre that it left his head spinning. It was human nature it seemed to be angry at what he didn’t understand.

Not that he wanted to understand.

He wanted to be angry, to be furious, to march down to that stupid tiny town and yell and scream at the man, call him an idiot and fool and disturbed.

But he just lay there, angry and staring at the phone’s screen, tensing and un-tensing his jaw.

“I gotta take a piss.” He said to the photo.

Exiting the tent, Leo lumbered off into the woods, the alcohol finally starting to pass through his brain and into his bladder. A good 30 feet from the camp Leo found a good tree on the downhill and unzipped his pants, relieving himself on it. A mild note of satisfaction left his lips and he soon finished up, shaking off and zipping his pants back up.

He moved back to his tent, and that’s when he heard it.

Whispering.

Shuffling.

Something was moving in the campground.

“If this is you guys pranking me, not fucking funny.” Leo called out into the darkness of the late-night camp.

No one answered back.

Leo dove into his tent and rummaged around in his camping supplies and pulled out his flashlight whipping back out of the tent and whizzing it around, determined to blind anything and everything.

“I swear guys, I’ll fucking shine this directly into your eyes.” He called once more.

Still, there was no answer.

But the shuffling continued. It was coming from Darnell’s tent. Leo carefully moved towards it, it was probably nothing, just a raccoon so he could scare it away. But still, something churned in Leo’s stomach. There was another layer to this situation, something was about to happen.

Something big.

And then something small appeared.

It zipped open Darnell’s tent and walked out. And Leo’s jaw dropped. His first guess was a gremlin. It was small, Leo was a relatively big guy but this thing still only came up to about his knee. It was also carrying a veritable bounty of food. Chips, marshmallows, hotdogs, and most concerningly, beer. Leo whipped his flashlight onto it and it turned and hissed at him. Beady eyes glared at him. And then it shot away, running on two legs toward the forest.

“H-hey! Get back here!” Leo called, not sure what he was doing as he gave chase. It certainly knew the forest better than Leo did, but it’s legs were clearly very small it it was bogged down by its haul. Leo gained ground on it quickly, and he took some satisfaction from the squeal of fright it gave as it looked back and saw him getting closer.

And then it tripped.

There was a root, not a very big one, but again the creature was rather small. With its load of camping goodies, it tripped over the root and tumbled down a small hill, flipping end over end before it bonked into a tree.

A grin split Leo’s face at the creature’s misfortune and he moved down the hill, picking up the various items it had dropped as it rolled. Upon retrieving all but the marshmallows. He approached the creature and shined his light on it.

And then he sneered.

It was one of those things. The aliens. It was tiny and clearly an adolescent if not younger. Some higher part of Leo wondered where its parent was. Most animals still have a parent looking after them, but maybe the aliens were left to fend for themselves at a young age. But that higher part of Leo wasn’t in control.

An angry and upset Leo was in control. These aliens invade, destroy a town, take food and resources, and seemingly brainwash his father, and they just get off scot-free? No way.

Leo was going to make sure this one knew his pain.

And then he made a mistake.

He reached for the alien with ill intent and nearly lost his arm.

He didn’t even see it happen. He did hear a faint ‘whoosh’ but other than that first there wasn’t an arm there, and then there was a metallic arm gripping his wrist with near-crushing force. Leo grunted under the pain and winced as he turned to follow up the arm’s length to find it was attached to a robot.

One with fury in its red eyes.

It looked similar to the aliens but was made in the robotic shape of one. Smooth blue metal lead to sharp edges. It was bigger than the one that rolled down the hill, but still about half Leo’s height. But it was clearly very strong, and very fast.

And it didn’t like the way Leo tried to grab for the smaller one.

Leo pulled and tried to wrench his arm away from the robot but it didn’t even give an inch.

“H-hey! Leggo!” he demanded of the terminator. It did not let go. “Let me go right now or-” And then the robot seemed to remember it had another hand. Quicker than Leo could blink, its free hand swung around and stopped millimeters from Leo’s eyeball. Where he got far too close to its fingers, each like a needle. The warning was clear: Stay away from the tiny alien. “I-I-I-I got it. I g-got it!” Leo floundered. The robot considered him for a long time, its glowing red eyes boring into him.

And then it tossed him to the ground.

Leo scrambled to put his feet under him and get the fuck away from that robot. He got about five feet before there was a faint squeak.

A note of pain.

And then the robot was in front of him again. Leo backed away from it back in the direction of the tiny alien. The robot came around Leo and pointed to the tiny alien.

“What? What do you want?” Leo swallowed looking at the alien. The robot pointed again and Leo realized it was pointing at the alien’s leg. It seemed…swollen.

It tripped on a root. It fell down a hill. It probably twisted its ankle.

It was hurt.

“Okay! Okay! Look I-I-I’ll call for help look!” Leo fumbled for his phone and took it out, ready to call park services when the robot, quick as can be, snatched it out of his hand. “What the fuck?! I-” Leo’s words were cut off as the tiny alien was picked up by the robot and thrust in his face.

It was wearing a dress. A ratty, torn, brown dress that looked rather small on it. It had no shoes and its legs were covered in cuts and scratches. It was a hedgehog, that much became clear a mess of turquoise quills covering its head and back, mussy and knotted. And it had eyes. Bright, purple eyes stared up at Leo. They were far too intelligent and looked scared…so very scared. It curled up slightly, the pain from its swollen leg clearly a lot for the small creature. Leo looked beyond it, to the robot, and once more, the message became clear.

She’s hurt. And it’s your fault. Yours to fix.

“Okay…okay fine. I’ll help…for real.” The robot looked at him once more, and back to the little girl. And nodded.

Leo led them back to the camp, still quiet, still asleep. He dug some ice out of a cooler and found a plastic bag and some tape. Making a quick ice pack he fashioned it around the little girl’s leg and stood back admiring his handiwork.

“I’m sorry.” He said simply. There was nothing more to say. The tiny hedgehog nodded and curled inward around the robot. And then they both stood there…staring at one another…for a while. “Uhh, aren’t you gonna go back into the forest?” The robot shook his head and then thrust the girl back in Leo’s face, her hurt leg disappeared behind the ice pack. “What? I helped!” The robot gave a ‘more’ gesture and Leo scoffed. “What do you want me to do, take her home and sit bedside with soup until she’s better?!”

The robot nodded.

Oops.

“That was sarcasm!” Leo huffed.

The robot nodded again. It understood, it just made the statement earnest. Leo set his jaw. “I’m not gonna-” The robot moved again, over to the cooler, and slashed a hand across it, and the plastic cooler was sliced into four distinct sections, water and ice spilling from it. The robot looked back to Leo.

The cooler? You. The water and ice? Your blood and organs. Leo got the memo.

“F-fine. But I don’t live near here. My apartment’s back in NYC, it’s like a four-hour drive.” The robot seemed to get frustrated, but it was more with the situation, not with Leo. It nodded in understanding and gestured for Leo to take them away. So with everyone still asleep, and all of his stuff still there, Leo and the robot walked from the campground back to his car and they all jumped in his Range Rover and started their road trip.

…

They were closing in on NYC when Leo heard some giggling from the back seat. Leo had spent the last few hours trying not to freak out as he stared off at the slowly lightening road in front of him, the two beings in the back making him nervous.

The small girl had slept most of the time. She’d seemed initially eager to be in the car, wowed, but as the car rumbled along her eyes had quickly closed and she’d nodded off, head lolling. The robot on the other hand had seemingly only gained energy.

At first, it had been still, its eyes fixed onto Leo, those red CRT eyes trying to burn through the back of his headrest and into Leo’s brain. But as the ride stretched on the robot seemed…anxious? It’s foot was tapping and it was constantly adjusting itself, looking out the window, shifting in its seat, looking at Leo, shifting in its seat, playing with the cupholder, and so on. No…it wasn’t anxious.

It was bored.

Robots had always seemed unflappable to Leo, the idea of a limitless stamina creation that could do the same mind-numbing task over and over again. But leave for its body, and the intimidation game it had first played with Leo, it acted…well rather like a kid. If it could talk, Leo imagined it would be constantly asking him if they were there yet.

But the giggling was new. Something had changed. Leo looked up in his rearview mirror to see that the little girl alien was playing with a phone…wait…that was his phone! That’s right! The robot never gave it back!

“Hey! Give me my phone back!” Leo demanded, throwing his arm into the back, waving it around to try and grab at the phone while he simultaneously looked forward and tried to keep driving. All of which meant that he had forgotten something. Mainly the killer robot with the needle fingers.

It once more grabbed his arm, and Leo got a look at its furious red eyes and he swallowed hard.

“Okay. Keep calm, she can keep the phone.” The robot stared at him for a while longer, but eventually released his arm and Leo gripped the steering wheel like he was holding on for dear life. Leo focused on the road for a few more seconds before glancing once more in the rearview mirror, trying to spy on what the robot and alien were doing with his phone.

There was more giggling. The sound of tapping. A light whirring of servos.

The robot was leaning over the girl, both sets of eyes glued to the hypnotic power of a screen.

Leo laughed to himself.

Kids. He thought.

Kids.

Kids.

They were kids. Foolish and stupid and scared and excitable and angry kids. Was that all they were? And if they were kids…who left that little girl in the woods alone? And how did she find a murderbot that was seemingly also a kid?

“C-c-con-ta-tacts.” The girl squeaked out. It was the first he’d heard her talk. She was young, so it was high-pitched, but a certain level of suave, sass, and authority was in her range that made her word, as broken as it was more powerful.

Wait. Contacts?!

“Are you going through my phone’s contacts?!” Leo called to the backseat.

“Yup. You know a lotta people.” The girl squeaked.

“That’s a serious invasion of privacy!” Leo spat.

“It’s part of the debt you owe.”

Debt? Who did this girl think she was?

“You’ve got a smart mouth…” Leo trailed off as he realized the robot’s attention, was not happy.

“Dad?” The girl questioned. “Who failed to raise you smart enough not to mess with tough mobians like me?” Leo caught sight of her smirk and was beginning to wonder how injured she really was. “Let’s see what your old man’s been saying-”

“Hey! Wait-” Leo growled, ignoring the death glare of the robot.

“I’ll be quick just wanna-”

“No! Stop!”

“What are you so…woah…that’s…nuts. Does that just…happen? Isn’t it weird?” At that last word, the girl seemed almost accusatory and that’s when the robot snatched the phone out of her hands. He looked at it, clearly drawn into what was on the screen.

Leo knew what was on the screen.

He hated it enough already. He didn’t need this robot’s shit too-

“What?! Apologize? Why?” The girl glared up at the robot, who simply stared at her. “No.” The robot looked at her. “No.” It kept looking. “No. No no no. I don’t wanna.” The robot’s head tilted slightly. “Fine…” And then the girl turned to Leo. “I’m sorry for calling it weird, that was rude of me.” She crossed her arms and sat back in the seat, turning to look out the window.

Leo was dumbstruck. The robot. The blue beast. It came to his side. And what’s more, it leaned towards the front of the car, and placed Leo’s phone on the center console, and looked up at him, almost calm, almost…understanding.

“Th-thanks?” Leo mumbled. The robot nodded.

…

Getting into the city had been shockingly easy. Early morning was probably the only time of the day New York City wasn’t absolutely bustling with people and cars. Driving to his apartment near the Battery was a quick morning drive. Getting into his apartment’s parking garage and pulling into his spot, a snap. Getting a robot and an alien little girl passed the building’s late-night security guard, the man was already asleep.

But getting that same robot and alien little girl undetected and into his apartment from some of the most perceptive and nosy neighbors, Leo had ever had the displeasure of knowing?

Nigh-impossible.

But Leo had a plan. A plan that mostly revolved around his briefcase, and persuading a touchy robot and sassy toddler into getting said toddler into the briefcase.

“No.” The hedgehog said shaking her head, “Who’d let themselves be stuffed into a small bag?” She said putting her hands on her hips. Curiously the robot no longer made eye contact, looking at the floor instead.

“It’ll just be for a moment!” Leo begged, and the robot actually looked like it was considering it. The tiny hedgehog on the other hand had one of the strongest looks of stubbornness he’d ever seen. She was the kind of person Leo would dread dealing with.

“Are you embarrassed to be seen with someone you got injured?” She perked a tiny eyebrow. Leo flapped his lips at her.

“Amongst other things!” He waved up and down at the two of them. The girl sighed.

“Aren’t mobians all over the Earth now?” She questioned. “Why would anyone be surprised to see us?”

“Because you’re surprising to see, you guys are still relatively uncommon, and that’s the only time I’ve heard of one being a robot!” Leo jabbed his finger in the direction of the robot, who seemed to give a weird nod of the head in understanding. The girl looked back at the robot, the robot at her. Some kind of conversation happened.

“Ffffffine.” She relented and Leo thanked her. He got out the briefcase and she held out a hand. “Wait, what about Metal?”

“Who.”

“Metal." She spoke like…well talking to a toddler. "How’s he gonna get in?” Leo blinked at Metal.

“I…dunno. I figured he was like a transformer and could change into a refrigerator or a toy car. Can he do that?”

“No he can’t do that!” The hedgehog huffed and pouted, putting her tiny hands on her hips as she sat in Metal’s hands. Her brow furrowed and she looked up at him. “Can you do that?” The robot seemed to think for a moment and set the girl on the open trunk of Leo’s car and curled up, and curled up, and curled up until the robot was replaced with a perfect blue sphere the size of a basketball.

“Huh.” Leo and the girl said in unison. The robot uncurled and posed for them, seeming rather proud of itself.

“Let’s move it then, the sun’s coming up and there will definitely be people awake in the building.” Leo gestured for the girl to get in his briefcase and she started moving, but then the robot, Metal, stopped her. It looked up at Leo.

She would be in the briefcase, and Metal would be a large bowling ball, she was in Leo’s hands.

“I’ll be careful. I promise.” Leo told Metal. He nodded. The girl entered the suitcase and Leo closed it up, one last stink-eye look shot at him as it closed. Leo then took a quickly sphered Metal in his other hand and started into the building.

The ride from the garage to the lobby was uneventful, but as soon as the doors opened for the lobby, a mob of people entered, and Leo started to sweat.

Mrs. Nausbaum of the 5th floor. A dangerously perceptive old widow that made other people’s business hers.

Linda Windwell of the 8th floor. One of those influencer types that was always on her phone showing off her fake body to the world

Thomas and Carter Buckler of the 6th floor. A couple of trust fund infants had decided to go into business together on whatever peeked their fancy of late.

Nina Lord and her son Jake of the 3rd floor. A nice enough woman. Single mother to an overactive 8-year-old. Does 25 hours of work in a 24-hour day. She was also on her phone talking to someone while Jake looked up at Leo.

And then the elevator doors closed.

With a merciful ding, the elevator doors opened on the 12th floor and Leo stepped out, exhausted from the last few minutes. Ms. Nausbaum wondering why his bowling ball had no finger holes. Thomas and Carter wanting some business advice. Linda accusing his normally perfect wardrobe when he was still in his pajamas from camping. Jake’s grubby fingers dangerously close to Metal.

But he’d made it and he fumbled for his keys, pulling them out, opening his door, and rushing in. Setting down Metal who promptly uncurled and opening his briefcase to let out the girl. And then he flopped down on his couch, exhausted.

“Woah! This is all yours?!” The girl asked taking a look at his 2,500 sqft apartment. The modern, sleek couches, the marble countertops, the fridge that could map out Leo’s diet so well it could tell within minutes when he was going to poop. The wall was a TV. Leo nodded. “How?!” She gasped, walking on his countertops. Leo shrugged.

“I’m good with money, I tell other people where to spend theirs.”

“I’m totally gonna be good with money…whatever that is…” She mumbled and looked up at the modern lighting appliance that always reminded Leo of one of those models of molecules.

“I’m sure you will.” Leo mumbled to himself, too tired to notice as she, on her ‘injured’ leg, ran into his bedroom. Metal came up to him. Leo dragged his eyes up to the killer robot. “You like it?” He joked. The robot looked at him and then handed him something.

His phone.

He’d forgotten it in the car.

It was open to the picture again. Leo sighed and didn’t know what to do about the photo anymore. It was too confusing, and somehow…so simple. Metal looked at him a while longer, urging him to act on the photo. Somehow, it understood. Somehow.

And then Metal walked away. And Leo was left with the picture.

His dad was in it. He was smiling in it, his bushy beard trimmed into a neatness Leo hadn’t seen in a long time. His hair was freshly combed and his shirt was pressed. He was more together than when Leo was a child.

And his father’s arm was around one of-

A mobian. A young girl one by the looks of it. She was smiling too. In her hands, a fishing rod as Leo’s dad seemingly taught her how to fish. A large tail behind her twisted and turned, wrapped around Leo’s dad.

Your little sister.

Leo read the text again and again. Sister. A mobian. She was so different. And yet…

And yet she was a kid all the same.

Leo dialed his dad.

The phone rang. Once. Twice. It picked up on the third ring.

“Hello!” A perky voice answered that was certainly not his dad. It’s hello wasn’t a question, but an excited greeting. “You’ve got Carl Abbot’s phone, Tangle speaking!” Leo tried to breathe, failed, and tried again.

“H-hi. This is Leo…” Leo said.

“Hi, Leo! Although I know your name is Leo, that’s what the phone said before I answered it. That’s…caller ID right?” Tangle just seemed eager to talk.

“Uh, yeah. Umm…does-does Carl know you’re answering his phone for him?” The line went deadly silent and Leo could hear Tangle sweating on the other line. Leo gave a chuckle.

“Dad doesn’t let you answer his phone for him, does he?”

“...Maybe…” Tangle whispered. Leo laughed some more. “Wait…how’d you know he’s my dad?” Leo froze. And then he swallowed hard and sighed.

“No, I uhh, well I know he’s your dad 'cause he told me. But…I said dad because…because he’s my dad too. I’m…I’m your brother Tangle.”

Chapter Text

Shadow checked the wall clock again.

12:05

Five minutes late. The instructor was five minutes late. Shadow looked around the room.

It was empty.

Everyone was five minutes late. Something wasn’t right.

The school wasn’t closed, he’d seen various other human students wandering the halls as he’d entered. Although they’d looked at him with some level of confusion. Not like he didn’t belong, more like, they were surprised he was there. Shadow had brushed it off as some level of suspicion and done his best to act like a scared refugee.

But now he’d been sitting in the classroom for a while now, and no one but him was there.

Why? What had he missed? Did the instructor mention there would be no class today? Maria would have informed him of it.

Unless she didn’t find him trustworthy…If she didn’t that could be a serious problem, how would he get information? And would she still…did she care about him? Shadow’s head was still spinning and something was building in his gut. It happened a lot more since he’d come to Green Hills.

Fear.

Shadow didn’t fear death. Or pain. Or any number of villains or foes he might face in his life, drilled out of his head from a young age.

But disappointment? Failure?

Fear had found his weakness and stabbed through it past his tough exterior to his heart.

And he didn’t like it. Not one bit.

“Amy? You here?!” A head popped into the classroom, it looked excited, eager, hopeful…wanting. And more than that, anxious.

It was Sonic’s head. The leader of them all.

Sonic slapped his forehead. “Oh right, duh!” And then Sonic left. He left. Shadow’s brain took a second to recalibrate as he realized that he had finally been alone with the leader of all the mobians and he’d wasted it. He had to get to Sonic, now! Shadow shot up from his seat, rushing to the door.

And then Sonic’s head popped back in. A look of confusion on his face.

“Why are you here?” Sonic’s brow was totally furrowed as he examined Shadow from head to toe. Shadow was definitely missing a piece of information, a social norm he didn’t know. He thought Agent Handel had prepared him for this!

“There’s instruction. I’m here to learn.” Sonic’s face twitched.

“No there’s not. Again, why are you here? Better yet, how are you here?” Sonic moved into the room and started walking around Shadow, looking him up and down. Shadow felt like he was being examined by the Director of G.U.N. again, any possible flaw pointed out to be sanded down until Shadow was a perfect agent again.

“I walked.” Shadow spoke clearly and calmly, determined to not give any possible information to the Mobian leader.

“Walking? I’m surprised you’re upright dude. How’d you not get sick?” Sonic questioned.

“Sick?” Shadow’s eyebrows twitched for a moment.

“Yeah, everyone’s got a cold again, happens every other month or as they start to get used to them. Once one kid gets it, every mobian does. Guess they call the school and cancel class.”

“I was not informed.”

“Maybe they didn’t think it was necessary to call, figured everyone was sick anyway.” Sonic shrugged.

“I…don’t get sick.” Shadow thought back to the lessons he’d learned back on the base, about his biology and immunity to disease. Technically, Shadow was more closely related to a refrigerator than a living thing. But how to explain that to Sonic, make him not suspicious of who he was and where he-

“Cool.”

Nailed it.

“Well, enjoy your day off I guess.” Sonic waved a hand and started to walk off.

“Wait-” Shadow blurted, taking a step towards the exiting hedgehog. “You’re the leader of the mobians…” Shadow had no idea what he was saying, “could I talk to you…about us…being here? On…On Earth, I mean.”

“Leader? Pfff, I’m no leader, pioneer maybe, but leader? No way, not my style. But if you wanna hang we can do that.” Sonic smiled at Shadow.

“Good. Let us do that.” Shadow started moving with Sonic towards the door. Sonic stopped him with a hand. He shouldn’t touch Shadow. A knot of frustration built in Shadow’s chest.

“Whoa, not now!”

“Why not?”

“Cause unlike you, I do have class, see you in like three hours dude, meet me in front of the school, see you then.” Sonic started jogging backwards. Then he stopped and moved back, sticking out his hand. “Sorry, I never caught your name, I’m Sonic. Sonic Wachowski.” Shadow examined the hand and determined this would be a good way to build Sonic’s trust, and learn about his enemy.

He took the hand.

“Shadow the Hedgehog.”

…

At 2:45 on the dot a bell rang within the school and Shadow waited patiently as students streamed out of the building.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Shadow was about to go into to look for Sonic when he noticed the blue hedgehog finally leaving the school chatting it up with various humans. All grins and smiles and laughs. They laughed back and there was a long goodbye before Sonic finally made his way over to Shadow.

What are you planning Sonic the Hedgehog? Shadow thought. Trying to figure out how best to glean information out of the mobian leader.

“He-he-hey! Shadow!” Sonic waved as he sped over moving almost too fast to track. That speed would be a problem if Shadow ever engaged in a fight with Sonic. He could probably outsmart the hedgehog, but he’d still have to be wary. Shadow was confident, but he placed no stock in being cocky. “So whatchu been up to while I had to finish school?” Sonic sighed as the idea of instruction seemed to pain him.

“I waited.”

“I know, but what did you do while you waited?”

“I waited.” Sonic blinked emptily at him.

“Okay man, wow…” Sonic breathed out.

“What?!” Shadow felt some agitation at the possible jab Sonic had just dished out. Sonic held up his hands.

“N-nothing Shadow, just that’s rather impressive, I can’t do nothing for that long. Hell, I can’t do nothing for more than five minutes. Wish I had that much self-control.”

“Oh.” Shadow grunted and nodded. “Yes, well I’ve had many years of training.”

“Yeah, about that, I heard you were a soldier of some kind. But no one’s said from what part of the planet.” Shadow panicked slightly as he tried to drum up a ruse, and then realized he might not have to.

“I…don’t like to talk about it.” He said, which wasn’t untrue, it’s just his perceived past was different from his real past. Sonic nodded and began walking, gesturing for Shadow to follow.

“I get that man, the past is in the past, too bad it doesn’t tend to stay there.” Sonic shrugged.

“The past is important though, how would we learn without it?” Sonic shook his hand, brushing off the thought.

“No no, I get that. I mean as much as school bores the life outta me, I get the importance of learning, I just wish people didn’t dwell on the past so much. Let it hold them back from what they’re doing at any moment.” Shadow’s eyebrows furrowed. He and Sonic couldn’t be any more different. All Shadow did was think about his past. How he could learn from it, the skill he had learned during it, and the mistakes he had made and needed to correct because of it.

“So you are always seeking the future?” Sonic scrunched up his face in thought and shook his head again.

“Nah, I’m more about the now. I mean don’t get me wrong, the future’s gonna be awesome!”

“It will?”

“Sure! I’m in it after all!” Shadow, for all his training to suppress his instincts, couldn’t stop from rolling his eyes. “But how can I know what’s going to happen? You wanna talk future? Talk to Silver. He can’t get his head out of the future. ‘What’ll I do if I do this?’ ‘How can I prevent this?’ He gets so worried about what’s next he nearly missed his chance with Blaze!”

“The princess?” Shadow raised an eyebrow. “What was he doing?” What was the plot here? What scheme had the psychokinetic and the princess of Sol Kingdom been working on?!

“He almost didn’t make out with her!” Sonic spread his arms wide.

Oh.

“He…made out with her?” Shadow blinked and thought back to a class a few days ago where Silver and Blaze had sat next to one another and resembled the coloration more of Sonic’s brother Knuckles than normal.

“Yup. And that’s all this guy!” Sonic jabbed a thumb at his own chest. “He was all like, ‘I’m gonna wait till she’s done with homework,’ ‘I’m gonna wait for next year’s fall festival.’ The dude would’ve missed his chance. I told him to take her to the festival and BOOM! They’re sucking face under the stars.”

“How do you know all this? Why do you know all this?” Shadow shook his head in confusion.

“He told me.” Shadow raised an eyebrow. “Dude canNOT keep a secret. I just asked him if he ended up taking her to the festival and he told me the whole story…in extreme detail.” Shadow recoiled a little.

“Gross.”

“Right?! Like dude, keep some things to yourself! Where’s the mystery in romance if you tell me exactly how Blaze’s tongue tasted?” Sonic let out a laugh and Shadow found himself chuckling and then shivering at imagining the nervous psychokinetic spilling his story as Sonic tried to get away…

If Silver was unable to hold in secrets, it’s unlikely he knows any of Sonic’s plans. Now how best to find out information about Sonic? What buttons could Shadow press in order to gain more information…

“Do you have any interest in romance?” Shadow asked. Sonic whipped around on him, confused.

“Uhh, you’re a nice enough guy, but I really don’t swing that way-” Shadow held up a hand, mentally facepalming

“Not I, others?” Sonic nodded at Shadow’s words and then started shaking his head.

“Oh, no…no…no…” Sonic started nodding his head again and then shaking it than just rolling it around in a circle. “I dunno man! I’ve never really been into girls. I didn’t even know there were mobian girls until a few months ago.”

“So…you do have interest?” Sonic shrugged. “Is there anyone in particular?”

“...maybe. I mean…there’s this one girl…she’s really pretty I guess…not that that matters. But she’s fun and she’s bubbly and energetic. And I really like being around her and every time I’m not the world feels darker and every time I see her the whole world feels like chilidogs and fireworks and I just wanna touch her perfect pink quills and hold her close and I saw her the other day and I totally followed her, but she didn’t know it, and I fucking STALKED HER SHADOW AND I’M TOTALLY GROSS FOR DOING THAT AND SHE’LL HATE ME FOR IT AND-” Sonic finally realized what he was saying and darted away from Shadow and into an alley as they had made their way from the school into town. Shadow followed after Sonic slowly and found him sitting on the ground, back to the wall of a commercial structure. “But that doesn’t mean I like her, right?” Sonic spoke to the opposite wall.

“You are speaking of Amelia Rose?” Shadow pried carefully, remembering the name Sonic said when he first entered the classroom, suddenly very aware of how nervous Sonic could be. Sonic whipped his head around, seeming to finally notice Shadow. The blue hog swallowed twice.

“...no.” Shadow nodded, realizing that that was probably the very first-time Sonic had ever lied since Shadow had known him. Sonic then popped up from his sitting position into a stand and slapped at his cheeks twice. “Okay, let’s go, I don’t know about you but I’m starving. I haven’t eaten since lunch.” Shadow stumbled back from Sonic’s sudden change from being stuck in his own thoughts, back to excited and suave.

“But…it’s only 3:15…” Shadow guestimated. “You’re…fine?”

“Well yeah, I gotta eat a lot to keep up this speed!” Sonic demonstrated by running in place for a moment. “And of course, I’ll be fine, why wouldn’t I be?”

“You…were so…lost…” Shadow’s eyebrows furrowed as he couldn’t understand how Sonic moved past his own mental block so quickly. Sonic shrugged.

“I guess so. But it’s in the past now, gotta keep moving, y’know?” Shadow blinked heavily and nodded. He supposed it made sense, he was the fastest thing alive, and no struggle could keep him down for long.

…

“Sooo, what’dya think?” Sonic asked as Shadow chewed on his chilidog. He squinted as he looked off into space, considering the flavor and texture of the ‘food’ product.

“It’s…good.” Shadow decided.

“Good? Just good? How is it just good?!” Sonic huffed and Shadow’s jaw twitched. He was annoyed that this hedgehog couldn’t seem to accept his answer.

“Is it not…a lot?”

“Yeah it’s a lot! That’s the whole point!” Sonic threw up his hands.

“But bread, meat, beans, cheese, various spices, it’s too much for the palette to comprehend at once, no?” Shadow reasoned.

“But it’s an explosion of flavor!” Sonic demonstrated the explosion by throwing his hands wide.

It’s going to cause me an explosion later. Shadow thought as he still dealt with his digestive system not used to Earth food yet.

“I can’t decipher one flavor from another.”

“Well, what’s good food to you, Mr. Picky?” Sonic teased and Shadow felt veins tighten in his forehead.

“I personally enjoy a good steak. Seasoned with salt and grilled for a nice smoky flavor on the outside with a soft, reddish-pink in the middle.” Shadow explained as he thought of the Steak Saturdays he would receive since coming to Earth. Sonic’s jaw dropped. And then he smiled.

“Ohhhh right! You live in the fancy mayor's house on the hill.” Sonic stepped out of the seat he was sitting in at the restaurant that they had entered to eat at. “Oh I’m Shadow the Hedgehog, I talk like I’m always right and eat caviar as a midnight snack.” Sonic mocked.

“I don’t sound like that.” Shadow growled.

“I don’t sound like that.” Sonic over-huffed, pouting his lip.

“I do not!”

“Bring me your finest wines even though they all taste like poison!” Sonic struck a pose.

“Cease Sonic!” Shadow now stood from the table, eyes burning into Sonic.

“I cannot sleep unless it’s upon a bed of plucked goose feathers- ACK!” Sonic let out a grunt as he suddenly stumbled backward. Shadow’s brows furrowed in confusion, what had just happened? Sonic gasped for air twice then looked up through a pained expression at Shadow.

“Geez man, you’ve got a mean right hook.” He laughed. What? Shadow hadn’t hit him. And then Shadow looked down and saw his right hand stuck out, fist curled.

He’d punched him. Shadow had punched him. Shadow hadn’t even realized he’d done it.

“I-I’m I’m sorry.” Shadow wanted to stick both fists in his mouth and swallow them. “I apologize, I never-” Sonic waved him off.

“Forget it dude, I was teasing you pretty hard, I deserve it. But wow. You hit like a tank. Ouch.” Shadow swallowed unsure of what to do. He’d never lost control of his body like that before. He’d been nervous before, but never hurt anyone like that. Something about Sonic just sent a trill of annoyance and determination through Shadow’s spine. A desire to beat him. No, not to beat him…

To best him.

“I was asking for it. Plus, must be pretty cool. I know the food was hard to come by back on Mobius. You should enjoy fancy food if you can get it. Guess I’m a little jealous is all.”

“You…were.” Shadow decided, a ghost of a smile creasing his features that he was in the right. And then his face filled with shock as he realized that Sonic’s impression might’ve held a kernel of truth. Sonic let out a laugh and paid for their meal, Shadow had no money so he’d owe Sonic…for now. The two walked out of the establishment and started walking toward the lake.

“Did you have access to food on Mobius?” Shadow began to steer the questioning back in the spy direction. Sonic shrugged.

“I guess so. Lot simpler stuff. Berries, root vegetables, occasionally Longclaw would have me eat a mouse…gross.” Shadow shared Sonic’s sentiment. “Food’s way better on Earth, as you now know.” Sonic bowed slightly at the eatery as they left it behind. “But I don’t remember much of it.”

“You have no connections to Mobius?” Shadow perked an eyebrow.

“When do I get to ask questions about you?” Sonic perked an eyebrow right back. Shadow held his stare. “But not really, don’t really remember much about it at all. There was my caretaker…Longclaw, and I ran around and that’s it. Not much to say, most of my memories are of Earth.” Sonic’s voice held a note of melancholy, but he was too busy looking into Shadow’s eyes.

And Shadow was looking back.

And then they were staring at each other. And staring. And they’d stopped walking. Shadow’s left eye twitched. It was drying up.

“BOO!” Sonic threw up his hands toward Shadow. He didn’t even flinch. “You’ve gotta give up soon.”

“Not on your life Sonic.” Now Shadow’s right eye was twitching, but he held firm.

Sonic blinked.

“DAMMIT!”

“Yes!” Shadow let out a note of triumph, a big smile on his face. He’d bested Sonic!

“Best two outta three!”

“Why would I do that, I’ve already won!”

“Wha-? That’s not fair!”

“Of course it is.”

“You mean you’re chicken to try again 'cause you know you’ll lose!”

“No, I won’t.”

“Sounds like a chicken to meeeee.” Sonic sing-sung.

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“Do I need to punch you again?!”

“Like you could! I wasn’t ready before, now? No shot!”

“Rrrgh!” Shadow swung at Sonic, who dodged, because of course he did. Shadow swung again, this time lower, and again Sonic swiveled around and dodged it.

“HA!”

“Stop moving!” Sonic blew a raspberry at him. “Has anyone told you that you are exceedingly annoying?!”

“Uhh, like every day of my life! Hasn’t stopped me yet!”

Shadow was going to hit him. He was going to hit him and it was going to be amazing. He was going to punch this hedgehog’s cocky lights out and it was going to be the best day of his life. He’d laugh and cheer cause he finally beat Sonic the Hedgehog.

“Wait! I got it.” Sonic stood out of Shadow’s punching range.

“What?” Shadow said eagerly, he was breathing a little heavily. His heart rate was up and his adrenaline was flowing, and he couldn’t seem to kill the smile on his face.

“Rock-skipping!”

“What?!” Confusion clouded Shadow’s face.

“Rock-skipping.” Sonic ran down to the water and Shadow followed him. Sonic was moving very fast so Shadow would have to use his rocket shoes to keep up. They thundered under him and he shot after Sonic, determined to catch up to him. He skated across the ground and was by Sonic mere moments later. “Woah, you’re fast!” Sonic said with a wicked grin.

“Rocket shoes.” Shadow said with a grin, still breathing heavily. Sonic looked down at his feet and then back up at Shadow’s face, a not of satisfaction creeping onto the black and red hedgehog’s features.

“So you’re cheating then basically?”

“What? No, I’m not! I’m just using the tools given to me. Cheating would be using my ability to teleport.” Shadow let slip.

Oops.

“You can teleport?!” Sonic’s eyes were wide and eager, in total awe of Shadow…as he should be.

“Yes…but I don’t use it often. But I…could totally beat you in a race if I wanted to.”

“Okay…after this, we’re totally racing.” Shadow was nervous that he’d let that piece of his skill set loose, but the excitement about racing Sonic somehow superseded it.

“Alright, how do I do this?” Shadow put his hands on his hips, facing the water. Sonic picked up a smooth flat rock from the pebbly beach at their feet and threw it sideways at the water. Shadow was having a hard time understanding the point until he saw the rock bounce off the water and then again, and again before dropping below the waves.

Rock…skipping. Makes enough sense.

“My record is seven skips.” Sonic grinned at him. “Beat that, Shadow.” Ohhhhh. Oh, he would! He’d be better than Sonic ever could at this game! Shadow picked up a rock and threw it into the water. It splashed into the waves and sunk like a…well, like a rock. Sonic laughed at him. Shadow grumbled. This was clearly a children’s game, why was he getting so frustrated at it?! “There’s some skill to this dude. Gotta find a smooth flat rock, kinda like a tiny pizza or a hockey puck.”

“I like pizza…” Shadow said intelligently.

“Yeah?”

“Olives are really good on it.” Sonic scrunched up his face.

“Gross.” Shadow rolled his eyes. “And then you’ve gotta throw it sideways so the flat side bounces with the water. Easy-peasy.”

“Easy-peasy…” Shadow repeated as he bent down and found a pizza-shaped rock on the ground. Picking it up in one hand, he tossed it at the water as he’d seen Sonic do and to his satisfaction, it did bounce…once.

“It takes some practice.” Sonic shrugged and picked up a rock, tossing it at the water, and watching it bounce twice. He frowned.

Shadow tossed another, three bounces. He turned to Sonic and threw up an eyebrow in competition. Sonic set his jaw and picked up a rock and sent it at the water, five bounces. Sonic returned the look of competition. Shadow breathed fast out of his nose and picked up a rock.

He examined it and found it perfect for skipping. He readied his arm, taking his time and patience to determine the exact angle and speed he would need to achieve perfect bouncability.

“We ain’t got all day…” Sonic teased. Shadow ignored him and focused on the lake. He waited for one last wave to pass and then sent the rock at the water.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight bounces. Sonic’s jaw dropped.

“Well, that was rather fun. Perhaps I should find a real competitor though?” Shadow teased and Sonic turned to him, huffing, a touch of anger in his eyes.

“Okay. Playtime’s over. Now onto the real games. Race to the top of Swan Peak. The first one there wins.” Sonic narrowed his eyes.

“Isn’t that 10 miles away…and nearly 10,000 feet high?”

“Are you saying your cheater shoes can’t get you there fast enough?” Sonic cocked an eyebrow and Shadow narrowed his.

“No, I’m just asking if you’ll be able to keep running for that long.” Sonic smiled at him.

“Okay then…three, two…onego!” Sonic said the last bit fast and the two shot off. Shadow’s rocket shoes gave him an initial boost, the burst propulsion allowing for faster acceleration than Sonic.

They zipped through town dodging bystanders and vehicles that moved at a snail's pace as they rushed by. As Shadow rocked down the street he turned to his left to spot Sonic leaping from the tops of buildings and taking extra loops.

He was showing off. Shadow felt a tic in his jaw.

No matter. Sonic could goof off all he wanted, but Shadow’s victory would come all the sooner. Shadow began to put his power into his movement, fiery orange electricity coiling off him and running through his boots.

“WOAH! Cool!” Sonic called from the rooftops. Shadow smiled.

Yes. He was the coolest.

And like that, they were beyond the town and into the forest. They ducked beneath trees and over roots. Sonic started to gain speed and was nearly catching up to Shadow. He knew the forest and all of its turns and twists better but Shadow had skill.

He calculated the exact speed and timing he needed for leaps or stretches, not expending any extra energy or time on unnecessary movements. Sonic could put all the power he wanted into this race, Shadow would outsmart him. Unfortunately, it still wasn’t enough. The unpredictability of the forest floor caused Shadow to make mistakes and suddenly Sonic was in front of him.

Blasting beyond the forest they were in the low-lying hills of Swan Peak. The trees were thinning and becoming smaller. From ahead Shadow could see Sonic breathing harder. Having to extend more energy to move upward. Meanwhile, Shadow’s shoes didn’t need to breathe. He started to make the climb and was gaining ground back on Sonic.

The blue hedgehog looked behind him and Shadow took immense satisfaction from the look of surprise that showed on Sonic’s face as Shadow became even with him. Shadow shoulder-checked into him, sending Sonic wide, and having to scramble to keep his feet under him.

“No fair!” Shadow heard Sonic call from behind him.

“All’s fair against ‘the fastest thing alive.’” Shadow felt confident enough to actually put up air quotes for that remark.

The final stretch came into view. A steep uphill shot towards a snowy peak. There were no obstacles here. Just Shadow, a mountain, and Sonic.

And Shadow was going to win.

Shadow kicked it into high gear, moving his legs double time, just to really put himself above Sonic.

Unfortunately, so was Sonic. Shadow was sure he’d left him behind, but suddenly Sonic was there again, shoulder to shoulder as the two made a mad dash for the white cap at the top. It was close, far too close and Shadow could tell despite the hill, despite his training…

Sonic was faster. He was pulling ahead.

Shadow reared away and shoved his shoulder once more into…nothing. He looked up to see Sonic leaping over him, body starfished in the air above him as Shadow kept going to the side and not looking where he was going.

A large rock leapt up from the earth out of nowhere and caught the tip of Shadow’s boot, sending him flying through the air. He spun twice before catching himself on the ground with his hands and pushing forward back onto his feet without losing momentum.

Now all I have to do is get ahead of-

“WHOOHOOO!” Sonic called from the tip top of the peak. He laughed some more as Shadow approached before plopping down in the cold snow.

Shadow joined him.

They sat there for a while, breathing heavily, faces pink with exertion. Laughs bubbled up from the both of them before Sonic flopped back into the snow.

“Okay…you’re no slouch…” Sonic said through heavy breaths.

“Fine…I admit it. You’re faster than me.” Shadow relented, running a hand through his quills. “But I had you for a moment, I could’ve just teleported and-”

PFFF-

Anger built on Shadow’s face as he wiped the snowball from his face.

“Couldn’t let it be a nice moment? Just had to one-up me, didn’tya?” Sonic said, holding another snowball.

“I swear, if you throw another snowball at me, I will punch you!”

“Well, we know you can’t do that slowpoke.” Sonic threw another snowball and Shadow dodged it by leaning to one side.

“Well, I can take solace in the fact that I’ll always beat you at stone-skipping.” Shadow let a smirk creep onto his lips. Sonic rolled his eyes. “I bet I could beat you in a race this time, you got lucky with that dodge at the end.”

“Lucky? Lucky?!” Sonic held a hand to his chest in mock hurt. “All skill. I’ll for sure race you again, anytime, any place.” Shadow nodded and grinned. He turned and looked out over the forest below. The town and lake beyond it. All the people there living simple happy lives. It’s like they didn’t know a threat from mobian invaders existed just below the surface.

Invisible…

Or maybe Shadow just couldn’t see it…cause it didn’t exist at all.

He looked at Sonic, the Blue Blur, the fastest thing alive. All the kids at school talked about him. That he was powerful, they had all felt his wave of love and protection. They admired him, looked up to him, idolized him.

But here he was laughing and having fun like a kid.

Maybe that’s just what he was…a kid.

Like Shadow.

“Okay then.” Shadow stood up. “First back to the lake. Get yourself ready, Sonic!” Shadow got into a running position. Sonic grinned and stood up, taking his own running pose.

“On the downhill? Man, you must really wanna lose!”

Chapter Text

Today had been already very productive for Amy. Things were finally going her way for once. She’d gotten up bright and early to go and bury her little secret in the forest where she’d hoped it would stay. Then she’d met with a landlord and convinced her to rent Amy an apartment.

Getting Mrs. Rosenbaum to agree to let Amy sign a lease with no credit and little proof of income: not easy. Amy had really had to bust out her cutest face in order to make that happen.

Next, she’d picked up her first paycheck from her job at the local flower shop. She’d finally found a full-time job there and soon she’d have a steady income…probably…as long as the shop did well come winter time. Amy hadn’t yet experienced winter, she hoped it wouldn’t be too bad, but photos she’d seen of Green Hills in late winter did not keep her hopes up.

But the shop would most likely be fine and as long as Amy made sure she had the early 8 to 10 Earth 101 class she could get to work by 10:15, work till closing, and then she could go to her other part-time job in the evening and work till around 10 at night. And if she kept her spending low for food, and made sure not to turn the heat on and keep the lights off most of the time, if everything went smoothly.

She’d be able to make rent next month.

But all of that would start tomorrow. Amy would deal with life on Earth after she celebrated today. A paycheck? Her own roof? Total win. And that’s why she decided to walk into the local pastry shop.

Donut Zone was popular amongst the cops of Green Hills, namely only Mr. Wachowski and Mr. Whipple for their donuts. There was quite the variety and the owner, a twenty-something college dropout that had found a love for baking and opened up his own shop in town was one of the sweetest people Amy had ever met.

“Amelia!” Chester grinned at Amy, a glimmering grin on his face. Chester Renaldo was a one-man baking machine. Amy strived to have his energy as he greeted her and dipped into the back to work on something else before popping back out to lightly powder some donuts.

Amy had worked a few odd jobs for him when she was still bouncing around and she’d even crashed in the shop once or twice. They found each other good company and Amy had often spent the odd dollar that she found on the ground in his shop.

In good theme, Chester resembled an enormous gingerbread man. Cinnamon skinned with a big smile permanently plastered on his face. His head was shaved to almost no hair and despite being a baker for a living, he was paper thin.

“It’s just Amy, Chester.” Amy scolded lightly as her eyes drifted to his case of goodies, various frosted and sugar confections that Amy’s sweet tooth wept for.

“Oh, so you’re calling me Chester now?” He smirked at her.

“Well, you insisted that I shouldn’t call you Mr. Renaldo. Would you prefer I call you Chuck?” Chester’s smile dropped.

“Please don’t call me Chuck…” Chester frowned. Amy turned her attention away from Chester and fully focused on the case, cakes, cupcakes, brownies, donuts, bear claws, and turnovers of all fruits. Amy’s mouth began to water slightly.

While sugar did exist on Mobius, it was more than a hot commodity. It was to be protected and defended at all costs. Nobody really ate it, it was more of something to be traded and displayed. A symbol of wealth more than anything. No one actually used it.

But on Earth? You couldn’t get away from sugar.

And Amy L-O-V-E- Loved it!

“So what are you in the market for, pink Powerpuff?” Amy would buy and eat it all if she could, and while she was splurging today, she couldn’t just go all out. She’d have to pick one and only one thing. But what?

Amy’s eyes scanned over everything trying to figure out how to get the most bang for her buck. She had to be careful, and selective she couldn’t just choose the-

OMG there was a gorgeous strawberry shortcake cupcake that was positively golden with a tall swirl of perfectly white and red frosting. Silvery sprinkles glittered in the dips and valleys of the cream and silver balls rested in the soft confection. And to top it all off, a half strawberry lay atop the mountain of cream, practically winking at her to get it. Now all she had to do was…

Five dollars?!

For one cupcake? Amy couldn’t get that, do you know how much beans and rice she could buy with that money? How many meals could that get her? It just wasn’t economical. She had to be practical. The world wasn’t a fantasy and she wasn’t its princess.

“I-...I think I’ll-” Amy started.

“You’ll have the cupcake.” Chester smiled at her as he rested his head on his hands atop the very case Amy was looking into.

“No…I really can’t spend that kind of-”

“You know I’m not gonna make you pay for that.” Chester’s eyes got hard for a fraction of a second, his will stronger than hers at this moment.

“But-but- I-”

“-I know how it feels to be a broke college student.” Chester set his hands on his hips. “Now do you want that in a box to go, or just eat it here?” Amy pursed her lips, unsure of how much of Chester’s generosity to fight.

“To go.” Amy said in a very small voice. Chester nodded and removed the cupcake from the case and placed it in a plastic container that protected the cupcake and its tower of frosting. Amy made grabby hands for it and Chester handed it off to her. She admired her prize for a moment before thanking Chester and waving goodbye as she left. “Thanks, Chester! I’ll pay you back!”

“No, you won’t Amelia.” Chester said with a happy confidence. Okay…since he gave Amy that cupcake for free, he got one pass at calling her, Amelia.

For the rest of the day, Amy was going to put her feet up, devour this cupcake and do nothing at all.

And that’s when she nearly tripped over the gutter.

And that’s only because she did trip over what was laying in it.

Amy stumbled forward and nearly lost her cupcake, it rattled in her hands as she shot forward into the street. It was a side street so luckily there were no cars to hit her, but it was still a shock. Checking once more to make sure her cupcake was still in perfect shape, Amy spun around to see what she had tripped over.

“Scourge?!” Amy’s eyes widened at the Altered. Once a supposed menace, now literally lying in the gutter of a street.

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.” Came an even raspier than normal voice. Amy sputtered a little.

“Where have you been?! You’ve missed like…a week of school!” Scourge did not respond and instead turned over in the gutter, pulling his leather jacket a little tighter around himself. “Sally and Mr. Sultz have been looking all over for you!” That got Scourge’s attention, the green hog rolling over slightly, a teal eye glancing slightly at Amy.

“Nah, you got your info mixed up cotton candy quills.” Scourge turned back to face the gutter. Amy looked at the pitiful lump and moved to help him. She leaned down and wrapped one of his arms around her neck and tried to bring him to his feet while making sure her cupcake was fine of course... “ARRRGH!”

Amy leapt back, dropping the hog, in which he rolled onto his back and Amy got a look at his chest.

Bandages. Long since bled through and now were starting to smell.

“Oh…Chaos…” Amy breathed. Scourge whined on the ground.

“Geez…tell a guy when you’re gonna do that.” Scourge hissed out, now facing the sky.

“We need to get you to Mrs. Wachowski! You’re hurt-bad!”

“Gee, where’d you get that idea?” Scourge let out a laugh, and then clearly regretted it as he winced. Amy huffed and moved to try and pick him up again. With great difficulty and numerous swears from Scourge, they managed to get him standing.

“I-I meant to ask..how did this happen to you?” Scourge smiled weakly.

“Oh, you know, disagreed with Iblis…she didn’t like that.” Amy felt the urge to curl away from Scourge’s cuts like they might leap out and do the same to her.

“Okay, come on, let’s get you to the clinic.” Scourge waved Amy off.

“Don’t bother Cotton-candy quills, just get me some pain meds and I’ll be right as rain.”

“I-” Amy wanted to protest, but Scourge seemed far too stubborn and bull-headed to reason with. She pulled out her school bag and dug around, before finding what she was looking for. “Here.” She handed over a bottle of Ibuprofen. Scourge examined it.

“Oh, this…this will do nothing at all. Unless of course I take them all and never feel the pain again.” Scourge let out another laugh. Amy glowered at him and wrenched the bottle away from him.

“That’s not funny.” She fixed him a hard stare and he swallowed, a touch of nervousness creeping into his eyes.

“Sorry. Bad joke.” Amy pulled his arm back over her shoulder and started to move. “What are you doing?”

“If you won’t go to a doctor, I’m at least giving you a place to crash for a day.”

“No, you’re not.” Scourge glared at her as they started walking. He seemed unable to stop, only barely able to keep up.

“Yes, I am.”

“I’m sorry, has everyone forgotten I’m a big bad Altered? I’m immensely powerful and could rip your head off with just my pinkie!” Scourge boasted and Amy rolled her eyes.

“Okay then, do it.”

“Wha-?”

And then Amy dropped him. And the ‘big bad Altered’ crumpled like a sack of bricks to the ground. A pitiful whimper emanated from his collapsed form.

“I’m waiting.” Amy cocked a hip as she watched Scourge whine some more. “You want to take my offer now? Or should I just let you lie on the sidewalk to be run over by baby strollers?”

Scourge let out a pained squeak.

“Oh, you’ll take my offer? Sounds good.” And then Amy picked up the wounded hog and nearly dropped him again as he let out a pained wail right in her ear.

…

Fumbling with her keys, Amy managed to open the door to her one-bedroom apartment. Placing her cupcake on the counter she had to practically drag Scourge in.

“Nice place, I really dig the ‘absolutely-no-furniture-at-all’ aesthetic you’ve got going on here.” Scourge teased.

“I just moved in!... And I don’t have any.” Amy mumbled the last bit.

“Oh! Perfect! So I’ll just sleep on the nice hard-wood floors.” Scourge gave a faux grin.

“Big step up from the asphalt gutter.” Amy cocked an eyebrow. Scourge gave a reluctant note of agreement.

“So who owns this place?” Scourge leaned against the counter as Amy went to the coat closet.

“I do.” Scourge sent her a confused look that she missed. “Well technically, Mrs. Rosenbaum owns it, but I’m renting. Pay for it and everything…hopefully.” Amy opened the coat closet door and let out a squeak of fear.

She felt her heart rate tic up as she spotted the thing she despised the most in the closet. Of course. Of fucking course!

“All good?” Scourge asked from the kitchen.

“Y-yes!” Amy lied and grabbed her first aid kit and some blankets from the closet. She moved over to Scourge. “Okay, I got you some blankets to sleep on and, I’ve got a small first aid kit from Mrs. Wachowski, maybe I can help…” Amy started to reach for Scourge’s bandages.

“Oh, maybe you shouldn’t-” Amy pulled back the bandages and nearly vomited. Scourge had green fur, but now his skin matched. Pus and blood created a cracked landscape that resembled photos of dead planets if they were angry and swollen. The foul smell of rotting, infected skin rolled off him, into Amy’s nose, and lodged in her brain.

“Fuck…” Amy whispered.

“Oh good, it’s getting better.” Scourge mumbled as she spied tears of pain in his eyes.

“Scourge…you need to go to hospital, seriously.” Scourge did not reply. Amy began to dig into her first-aid kit, but she didn’t have much. Amy hadn’t expected it to be this bad. She pulled out some gauze and began to apply it, pulling her ears back as Scourge cried out in pain. “Or at least find Sally and Mr. Sultz. Please. They’re looking for you, they want to know if you’re okay.” Scourge shook his head.

“No, they don’t. Not Sally.” Scourge persisted.

“They do!” Amy insisted as she began to wrap bandages tightly around Scourge’s chest, pausing slightly every time Scourge’s cries reached a fevered pitch.

“How do you know?”

“Because I just do.” Amy told him as she finished up and looked into his teal-blue eyes.

He was afraid. Not of pain, or death. “Everyone knows she said some hurtful things to you. But she feels really bad, I know she does.” Scourge turned away from Amy. “She got in huge trouble, you know?” Scourge turned back. “Mr. Sultz wanted to take her to the Fall Festival, it’s what he wanted to do more than anything. But he grounded her instead.”

“So I’m to blame? Nice.” Scourge growled at her.

“No, they did it so they could look for you instead. Because your safety matters more. So please, at least tell them you’re safe…” Amy looked at his fresh bandaged wounds, the blood already beginning to leak through. “Or at least still alive.” Amy looked back into his eyes and saw something threatening to break there.

He was afraid of what Sally would say to him. That she’d reject him as a friend, family, hurt him worse than the cuts on his chest. That Mr. Sultz would take a look at him, his angry expression, his scars, and sharp teeth, and see a monster, rather than a hurt kid.

“I-I’ll think about it.”

“Okay.” Amy said after a while. She handed him some blankets and a pillow and gestured over to a space on the floor for him to lie on. She stepped back and looked at him as he settled into his makeshift sleeping bag. “Do you have everything you need?” Amy brought her hands together and Scourge waved her off as he rested on the hard floor, pulling the blanket over himself.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine cotton-candy quills, now buzz off.” Scourge ignored her huff of agitation as he settled his head into the pillow he’d been offered, sure to try and puncture it with his quills as much as he could. Amy pulled her cupcake from the kitchen counter and moved toward the bedroom, sure to give Scourge a glare as she did so.

He chuckled to himself as she slammed the door. He’d apologize later, it was nice of her to give an asshole like him a place to rest his head so she deserved as much. But her agitation was too much fun not to enjoy now.

But then…something in the room changed.

Scourge furrowed his eyebrows at the ceiling, unsure of what was different. He sat up and looked around, unsure if Amy had exited the bedroom or not. She hadn’t. What was different?

There was a power here now. One that wasn’t there just moments ago. Scourge got up from his makeshift bed and took a few steps toward the center of the main living space and did a slow spin. Then another, and another.

You didn’t get to live as long as Scourge did in the company that he kept without being able to detect power and its sources at least a little bit. And finally, he found it.

The coat closet. Either the power was weak, or Scourge wasn’t the best at detecting it. Probably both, and yet Scourge wasn’t gonna let what was in there either hurt himself or the nice woman that let him crash here. He owed her now. Time to earn his place.

He approached it with caution, readying himself for whatever or whoever was in there. As he got closer the power felt stronger and…well not hostile but perhaps dismissive. It rejected Scourge and wanted him out of the apartment. Well, add annoying powers in addition to people to the list of things Scourge liked to do.

He reached for the door handle and wrenched it open, fangs bared and fists coiled. But as his eyes gazed at the artifact before him, his jaw dropped.

Amy huffed as she slammed the bedroom door behind her, Scourge grating on her nerves. He bore a similar resemblance to Sonic in facial structure, but his attitude, walk and of course, the cuts on his chest made him so very different.

Sonic.

She’d been working all day, trying to get things done on her own and become her own person, getting this apartment, working at that flower shop, school, even her early morning dig in the dirt, and still! She couldn’t get that blue hedgehog out of her head. She couldn’t lie, she was infatuated with him.

Amy examined the cupcake she’d bought. It was a splurge and Amy definitely couldn’t afford splurges right now, but she couldn’t help herself. After all, the cupcake was strawberry shortcake!

Amy still couldn’t put her finger on what she liked about Sonic. She’d barely seen him since leaving the Wachowski household, much less hung out with him. He’d just been so free and excited to see the world and meet with everyone he could.

Amy removed the cupcake from its plastic packaging, placing it on the floor of the apartment. She’d have to put buying a mattress on her list of must-haves. Amy tilted her head and examined the cupcake. There were many reasons she could’ve gotten it.

Sonic was just the kind of person Amy always wanted to explore the world with. He loved new things and talking with people and connecting with others. He would be just her perfect boyfriend. And more than that, he just felt like her other half. Amy began to sniffle, a longing building.

After all, Amy had signed the lease on this apartment, and she’d gotten a more permanent job! She even got another perfect on her most recent test in Earth 101, why shouldn’t she celebrate?

Sonic was a part of herself she didn’t know she was missing. She thought she could live without him. Be a person on her own! She’d done it before! Practically her whole life! She didn’t need anyone else to live! Look at her! Amy Rose: Homeowner! Tears welled in her eyes and she choked back a sob, after all, she’d need her voice in a moment.

But of course, there was one reason above all others for Amy to get this cupcake. She was now 14. And Amy began to sing.

Happy birthday to me

Happy birthday to me

Happy birthday dear Amelia

Happy birthday…to…me…

The tears were flowing freely as she cried in the empty room, the fluorescents above casting a sickly yellow glow throughout the room. Amy’s voice was split with sobs as she spent another birthday all alone.

She’d done it so many times now, she figured she’d be used to it, but it still hurt.

Still cut her.

Still made her cry, wishing that someone…someone she loved…was there with her.

And then someone was.

He clapped slowly, sarcastically. Amy spun around to see a mocking smirk on Scourge’s face. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she glared at him for invading her room. And then she saw what he was holding and wanted to curl up and die.

“Who would’ve known you’ve got such a good singing voice…Rosie the Rascal?!” Scourge laughed as he lifted the Piko Hammer above his head.

A three-foot long, double-ended flat-headed hammer colored red and yellow and made of an unknown, indestructible material. It was Amy’s…and she hated it with everything she had.

“I can’t believe you’re Rosie the Rascal! You’re a legend! I heard you killed every tutor they gave you with this thing! That swathes of enemies would have their heads smashed in by this thing! You’re awesome!” Scourge laughed and grinned looking over the massive hammer with dangerous glee.

“It’s a lie!” Amy hissed as she ripped the hammer from Scourge’s grasp. She sneered at the hammer hoping it would disintegrate under her gaze. Sadly, it remained indestructible and loudly colored.

“Oh, come on! Don’t be modest! You are a famous murderer, be proud!” Scourge blinked at her, confused at her dislike of his words.

“I’m not! None of those stories you’ve heard are true.” Amy groaned as she opened the bedroom’s closet door and threw the hammer inside, slamming the door behind it.

“Not even the mashing people’s heads for fun?! But that’s my favorite story!” Scourge sighed as Amy shook her head.

“None of it’s true. The Rosie the Rascal thing just started cause I did like to cause a ruckus by running around with the hammer through the family manor when I was younger. But it’s just Amy, okay?” Scourge rolled his eyes but nodded at her words.

And then an eyebrow perked and his eyes snapped to Amy’s.

“Well, at least its prophecies are true, huh Rosie?” Amy stiffened and moved to deny it, but she knew he’d seen her reaction and she sighed before catching his gaze and looking at something on the floor. Amy followed it and growled at the Piko Hammer as it lay at her feet.

…Even though she’d just thrown it in the closet.

“They’re not prophecies, more like curses!” Amy picked up the hammer and threw it across the room where it sailed through the air and embedded itself in the wall.

“Heh heh heh. I can’t believe you’re Rosie the Rascal, you know your whole family’s been looking for you for what? Six years now?” Scourge chuckled at the hammer in the wall.

“Seven years today. As of now, I’ve lived more away from them, than with them.” Amy just stood and glared at the hammer in the wall.

“Rosie the Rascal…” Scourge breathed out. “Daughter to the royal family of Mobius, and the first wielder of the Piko hammer in a thousand years.” Scourge just sent a shit-eating grin at Amy. “When you leave them?” Amy let out one laugh.

“When I realized we weren’t royalty and we weren’t a family, and we were a bunch of drug lords.” Amy now glared at Scourge hoping he’d drop the subject and leave.

“Ooh, touchie touchie aren’t we Rosie? I’d figure a princess like you would have a little more class, although I’ve met Sally and she ain’t the sweetest. So…” Scourge finally dropped his shitty attitude and really looked at Amy, through her. Did he seem…concerned? “What happened? I’m a war guy, not much of a history one.”

“Really?” Amy crossed her arms and perked an eyebrow. “I’ve seen your history scores, I think you like it more than you let on.”

“Don’t try me, Rosie, I can still go around letting people know who you are. People won’t exactly be excited to know you’re part of those Roses.” Amy rolled her eyes and sat on the floor, contemplating her cupcake.

“Fine. Long story short, my family sucks so I left. The end.” Scourge perked an eyebrow and slid down the floor. He gestured for her to keep going. She grumbled something unladylike and started over.

“Okay, so like a billion years ago, there was indeed one royal family of Mobius. They ruled over it peacefully and everyone sang in harmony. It was nice. And then the war began and everything fell apart. The line of the royal family was lost amongst warlords and other new kingdoms and killers and so on. Or so it was thought.

See the first queen of the royal family for helping bring the world together in the first place was given a gift by Gaia herself.” Amy paused to point at the pain in the wall. “The hammer was indestructible and would always come to the side of the queen of all mobians. And through the different queens, the hammer was passed. And then with the war, the Piko Hammer was lost.”

“Until you.” Scourge pointed an accusatory finger at Amy. She nodded slowly.

“My family was pretty rich and they believed they had a connection to the original royal family, but when I was born, the hammer suddenly appeared beside my cradle. And then they knew. They began announcing to the world that they were to be the true royal family and that every kingdom and warlord should begin bowing to them.

Of course, no one did. My family should’ve just taken being ignored and been done with it. But they felt that my birth proved they deserved power and every member began to hunt for ways to do it. Wealth, firepower, soldiers, and even each other. You know of the Bloody Rose incident?” Amy looked up at Scourge.

“I thought you just killed half your family with your hammer! You mean they killed each other?!” Scourge giggled to himself. Amy nodded again more solemnly.

“But they settled on drugs. Selling poison around the planet to people, either to make them forget the pain of the war…or…”

“Making them into soldiers to continue it…” Scourge sighed as he remembered the Rose dealer that he originally paid for his own dose of Altered serum.

“Sorry by the way.” Amy gestured up and down at Scourge’s body. He waved her off.

“Hey forget it, it was my choice, not your family’s, and definitely not you.”

“So when I finally was old enough to understand what they were doing, I ran away. Learned to live on my own, by myself. I couldn’t be with those people anymore. It’s why I came here. I figured that if I was finally on another planet, the Piko Hammer wouldn’t be able to follow me and my family would stop looking for the person they believed gave them the right to rule.” Amy beat her fists on the floor, letting a few angry tears that had bubbled up spill down her cheeks.

“But it still follows me. Distance slows it, but it’s cursed to always be at my side. It showed up a couple of months ago and now I can’t get rid of it.” Scourge nodded at her words, but then that stupid shit-eating grin returned.

“And what of its prophecy?” Amy felt her blood turn to ice as she turned her head slowly to look at the Piko Hammer, its mere existence deciding her fate. She wanted to ignore it. Proclaim it wasn’t true, that she could deny it!

“The original royal family was…strong…all of them powerful and honorable…The hammer was intended to continue that…” Amy swallowed hard as Scourge leaned over to her, a slow laugh emanating from him.

“The wielder of the Piko Hammer shall be the queen of all mobians…and shall love the most powerful of us.” Scourge whispered the prophecy into Amy’s ear, the one she’d heard since she could barely walk. Over and over again. She’d want to proclaim it wasn’t true. That she could love whoever she wanted, unbound by the laws of the hammer. But fate had come all the same.

“Which means that you do love the blue blob!” Scourge laughed to himself some more.

“No! I don’t! It’s not true! I can’t…I can’t be forced to love someone just because I’m supposed to…I…” Amy let a few more tears fall as her voice trailed off, her cheeks hot with both shame and infatuation.

Curse that hammer. She loved Sonic the Hedgehog.

“Okay okay Rosie, turn off the waterworks, sorry for teasing you. Look, so a hammer made you fall in love with a total idiot. Could be worse.” Amy just rolled her eyes. “At least it’s an idiot who loves you back.” Amy looked up at Scourge her eyes wide. She scooted towards him, suddenly eager for more.

“...Loves me back?”

“You do know that he always rushes into the classroom right after you leave to try and catch you right? We hate each other and you do know he’s asked even me to try and leave you notes. The idiot’s head over heels for you. But you keep dodging him. I mean he is a dumbass so I understand why.” Amy felt her cheeks blush as she imagined Sonic’s cute face looking for her as she was out the door, somehow just a little faster than the fastest thing alive.

“Besides…” Scourge’s voice turned as cold as the grave. “He’s not the most powerful mobian. That title still belongs to Iblis.” Amy’s blush vanished, replaced by fear as the name of the most terrifying being was uttered in her home. She looked around, hoping the name hadn’t stuck to her walls, cursing the apartment. “If you love Sonic…” Scourge stood up and went to the exit door of her bedroom. “That means the prophecy of the hammer didn’t come true.” Scourge opened the door and moved to leave. “Happy birthday Rosie.”

Chapter Text

The bat gave a metal tearing sound as Knuckles slammed it into the stand. It crumbled around the ball shape and gave way, splitting in two.

“Brother! Another one of your flimsy bats has died shamefully!” Knuckles called out to Tails. He came running over, T-Pup beside him, and took the torn bat from Knuckles hands, nearly dropping them from the weight.

“Still? How am I gonna adjust for your strength compared to…” Tails mumbled some technobabble as he wandered over to the 3D printer they had on the baseball diamond. Tails tossed the broken bat in the trash and moved over to the computer attached to it and began typing away, T-Pup occasionally making notes. Knuckles watched for a while before he became bored and moved to his other brother, who was currently hucking baseballs at high speeds at a target.

The target was placed inside a cage that resembled a carnival stand, the target was exactly 46 feet away. with each throw, he was relatively close to the center, but a red light above Sonic blared out and flashed red.

BEEP!

“Darn it.”

BEEP!

“Darn it.”

BEEP!

“Darn it.” BEEP!

“Darn it.” BEEP!

“Darn it.” BEEP!

“Darn it.” BEEP! “Darn it.” BEEP! “Darn it.” BEEP! “Darn it.” BEEP!

“FUCK!” Sonic stomped the ground. Knuckles slapped a hand over Sonic’s mouth, and the two slowly turned, hoping their little brother hadn’t heard that profanity.

He’d totally blab to their mom.

For a while the two just blinked silently as Tails typed away on his keyboard, waiting for him to turn around and call Sonic out on his swear. But he didn’t and with a huge sigh of relief, Knuckles removed his hand from Sonic’s mouth.

“Thanks, Knux.” Sonic breathed.

“Do not mention it, I am only seeking to protect you from our brother’s…tattling.” Knuckles slapped Sonic’s shoulder. Sonic winced.

“Guess we’re even now.” Sonic shrugged.

“How so? I have now done you a favor.” Knuckles spread his arms. Sonic ready a ball and threw it at the target. BEEP!

“Darn it.” Sonic looked back at his older brother. “Yeah, and I did you the favor of not telling mom and dad about how you snuck out at 2:00 AM last Friday.” Knuckles immediately started sweating and redness began to spread from his fur into his cheeks.

“You…know about that?” Knuckles swallowed hard.

“I was getting a midnight snack when I…” Sonic flapped his hands. “...heard bat wings.” Knuckles swallowed again.

“Even it is brother of mine!” Knuckles laughed a little too hard and gave Sonic a noogie. And then spoke very closely into his brother’s ear. “Promise you won’t tell mother, please!” Sonic pushed his older brother off of him.

“I wasn’t! Geez bro, keep it together!” Sonic hardly recognized the pleading echidna. “Dang, this girl really has you wrapped around her little finger doesn’t she?” Sonic smirked.

“Rouge has done nothing of the sort!” Knuckles huffed.

“You sure she’s not making you do anything you’re…uncomfortable with?” Sonic raised an eyebrow, suddenly a little concerned for his brother’s wellbeing.

“Like thievery?” Knuckles questioned.

Sonic just shrugged.

“No no. Nothing like that. I believe she is just…bored. We’re simply running around, burning off energy, and exploring the land around Green Hills. She’s not used to the quiet existence. Adjustment is required.”

“And if she can’t? Or won’t?”

“She will.” Knuckles said defensively, but Sonic kept his tone calm, not trying to anger the echidna.

“Humor me.” Sonic fixed his stare on Knuckles.

“Then she’ll leave, she has told me as much…” Knuckles explained and Sonic nodded.

And then Knuckles mumbled something under his breath. Sonic’s ear flicked and he spun around as he was prepared to throw another ball back to face Knuckles.

“What was that?” Sonic’s eyebrows furrowed. Knuckles wouldn’t meet his gaze. The big red echidna sighed.

“And I shall follow her.” Sonic blinked a few times.

“WHAT THE F-” Sonic stopped himself as both brothers glanced once more at their younger brother. They waited for Tails to hear, Sonic’s eyes drifting back towards Knuckles, frustration starting to build in his chest. Satisfied the young fox hadn’t heard Sonic wheeled back on Knuckles. “What the fuck?” he whispered as low as possible.

“Brother….Sonic…Green Hills is…it’s only so big. There’s a whole planet out there. Rouge has seen none of it, I’ve hardly seen any. Don’t tell me you have no desire to explore beyond this town?” Knuckles’ eyes fixed on Sonic’s and Sonic felt unable to breathe.

When Sonic had first come to Green Hills as a toddler the town seemed enormous, with hundreds of people, and so many places to find, hide, and run. And yet as he grew…the town seemed…smaller. It seemed to be getting smaller faster and faster too, soon Sonic wouldn’t be able to outrun it…

And it would crush him.

“N-no!” Sonic shook his head. “Green Hills is great! Mom and Dad live here, and so do Tails and I. And you want to leave? You just got here a year and a half ago!” Sonic felt some panic rise up in his chest but it was quickly clenched as his older brother put his hands on Sonic’s shoulders and gave Sonic a calming grin.

“Relax brother. I’m not going anywhere soon. I still have one more year of education. Not to mention the play.” Sonic began to breathe out calmly. “But we can’t stay here forever brother. And someday we’ll all see everything everywhere.” Sonic nodded stiffly. “However, mother and father will always be my parents, and Tails and yourself…will always be my brothers.” Knuckles pulled Sonic into a big hug.

Crushing even.

“Wow…getting sappy aren’t we?” Sonic choked out. Knuckles released him and let out a big laugh. “Guess…guess we’re all doing a little growing up, huh?”

“You set the pace brother with how welcoming you’ve been to everyone. Very mature…shockingly mature.” Sonic rolled his eyes.

“I have my moments.” And then Sonic caught Tails finishing up and coming over to them, a new bat in hand. “But not everyone has been.” Sonic narrowed his eyes at his youngest brother. Knuckles followed his gaze and nodded.

“You’ve noticed it as well?”

“How could I not? He’s been snippy for months now.”

“Perhaps we should determine a time to talk to him about it?”

“How about right now?”

“Now?!”

“Yes now!” Sonic hissed the last words under his breath as Tails approached. “Heh-hey little bro, how’s it going?!” Sonic fixed his brother with a strained smile. Tails raised an eyebrow.

“I’m…good.” Tails’ gaze lingered on Sonic but he turned to Knuckles, bat out-stretched. “Here you are Knuckles, this should hold up better-”

“Are you sure everything is…peachy?” Knuckles pulled a word out of his father’s book. “You’ve seemed…stressed by the…” Knuckles looked to Sonic for support and then back to Tails. “...new citizens of the town.”

Tails’ gaze dropped and he began to examine the bat closely, scratching at its metal surface aimlessly.

“I’m fine.” He mumbled. Sonic and Knuckles shared another look.

“It’s okay if you’re not buddy. New people can be tricky.”

“I’m fine.” Tails repeated at the same tone, but Sonic noticed he now scratched faster and a hard expression angled his eyebrows. T-Pup began to sit low and back away.

“Truly young one, it was certainly most difficult to adjust to living with this one.” Knuckles offered a weak smile and jabbed a thumb at Sonic.

Tails said nothing.

“Tails…maybe we should talk about-”

“I said I’M FINE!” Tails shouted the last words and swung the bat toward his brothers. Sonic reeled back, his super speed the only thing saving him from the world’s most expensive dentist visit.

“T-Tails?” Sonic sputtered. Tails looked at Sonic in horror, and then at the bat. He dropped it like it was molten and grabbed for his wrist, seemingly unsure of his own control of his body. He looked back at Sonic, eyes big and suddenly very scared. “Tails?” Sonic began again.

And then Tails burst into tears.

Big loud wracking sobs, he began to rub at his eyes and Sonic and Knuckles shared a look, a little put off by their little brother’s normally logical and happy demeanor broken by this overflow of emotion. T-Pup began to whimper slightly and looked between Tails and his brothers.

And then his tails began to spin. Sonic and Knuckles just watched Tails for a moment, and then they realized what was happening.

Too slow.

Sonic was too slow as Tails began to fly away, his grasp reaching up for his upset little brother as he soared away from the baseball diamond.

“Looks like he’s going home.” Sonic noted the direction Tails fled in. “I’ll go after him, you stay here in case he comes back-” Knuckles shoved Sonic, an angry glare fixed on him.

“You’re insane if you think I won’t be there for Tails too!” He huffed. Sonic was struck again and then cursed himself for his suggestion.

“Right. Sorry Knux. Let’s go find our little bro.”

…

The shed.

It wasn’t the first time Tails had ever been upset, but it was quite possibly the most intense. And whenever Tails got really upset, he always hid in the shed. Sonic had asked him once why he liked the shed so much and Tails had told him:

“Knuckles and I kinda destroyed it, so I fixed it. It’s the first thing I built here on Earth and the first time I really felt like I built something constructive rather than destructive.”

Sonic hoped he could build some constructive bridges as he and Knuckles approached the shed.

Loud crying could be heard inside.

“Tails…?” Sonic whispered at the door. The crying continued. Sonic swallowed. “Miles?” The crying halted slightly.

“I-i-it’s open.” Came a strangled voice and Sonic felt his heart break in two. Sonic and Knuckles entered slowly, seeing their little brother, smaller than ever curled up on the floor, hugging his knees.

They sat down beside him.

Sonic had brought T-Pup with them and the robot squirmed out of Sonic’s hands and settled at Tails’ feet looking up at the young fox kit.

“You okay little bro?” Sonic began. Tails sniffled some more and didn’t speak, but shook his head. “Do you…wanna talk about it with us?” Another shake of his head. “How about mom, or dad?” Another shake. “Dr. Nightly?” Still a shake. Sonic and Knuckles shared a concerned look, unsure of how to proceed.

Sonic noted T-Pup was now nudging at Tails’ feet. Sonic got an idea.

He picked up the small robot and placed it in front of my face.

“Well, how about me Tails?” Sonic spoke in a mock upbeat robot voice. “Will you talk to your loyal robo-hound?”

“Unhand me Sonic. I have a functioning voice chip.” T-Pup spoke for itself. Tails let out a little laugh through his tears and took T-Pup carefully from Sonic stroking the robot’s smooth metallic shell. Tails pulled T-Pup close and held him tight.

“Everyone always defends her.” Tails spoke, anger beginning to creep back over his sorrow. Sonic and Knuckles shared a confused look.

“Who Tails?” Tails didn’t speak. “We can’t help if we don’t know what’s wrong.” Tails pursed his lips and closed his eyes, his namesakes curling around him.

“Fiona.” Tails hissed the name like it was a curse. “No one ever sees who she really is. It’s like she can do no wrong. Everyone loves her, and hates me.” Knuckles swallowed and Sonic sat confused, Tails’ statement about someone hating him, incomprehensible.

“This is the fox we played Dungeons and Dragons with?” Knuckles clarified and Tails nodded slightly.

“Tails…no one hates you.” Sonic tried to rub Tails’ back but he winced away, squeezing T-Pup tighter.

“They will. You will. Everyone always does. That’s what she does. Take what she wants and turn people against one another.” Sonic’s expression got hard.

“Tails. I could never hate you.” Tails looked up at Sonic and his heart broke at Tails’ expression.

He didn’t believe him.

“You don’t know Fiona. She may act all nice now, but that’s all it is: an act. Soon enough she’ll start lying and pointing fingers and getting everyone at everyone else’s throat…And then she’ll turn everyone against me.” Tears began to flow harder down Tails’ face. Sonic felt something rise up inside, vile and cold. He tamped it down, not needing whatever that was right now. Right now, he needed to be there for his brother.

“Look, forget Fiona she’s-”

“I’ve tried!” Tails cried. “I was so happy to move here. I thought that finally, I wouldn’t have to be afraid of her, that I finally had everything I could ever want. Family, friends, and a home. But she just came back…and now she’s going to take it all.”

“We won’t let that happen buddy…promise.” Sonic put his hand on his brother’s shoulder and this time Tails didn’t recoil. Tails nodded slowly.

“Okay, but you have to be careful. Everything out of her mouth is a lie! She’s cold-hearted and only looks out for herself. She’s cruel and heartless and a total…B word!” Tails huffed and coiled his fists. Sonic looked to Knuckles, once more surprised at Tails' outburst, but found his older brother in a state of confusion.

“Knux, you good?” Knuckles scratched at one of his gloves as his two younger brothers turned to him.

“Y-yes. Just…I…I have to wonder if perhaps Tails is…blowing things out of proportion.” Sonic’s jaw dropped. Tails’ expression turned fiery red.

“I am NOT! She was my torturer! She made my life a living hell! I am-”

“On Mobius.” Knuckles interrupted. Tails choked. “She made things terrible for you back on Mobius, no? Perhaps things are different here?”

“What? Why?!” Tails hissed and Knuckles felt the desire to inch away from his tiny brother.

“The wave Super Sonic put out. Did it not only allow those with good intentions through? Those that seek love and safety?” Tails’ angry expression flickered. “Additionally, people…people can change if given the time and willingness.” Knuckles gestured to himself. But there was something laced under his words. An additional person.

“L-like who?” Knuckles found his gloves interesting once more.

“Like Rouge.”

“W-what’s wrong with Rouge?” Tails flustered. Knuckles fixed him with a hard stare.

“Do not lie little brother. I know you threatened Rouge.”

“He did what now?!” Sonic interjected.

“S-she told you about that?!” Shame quickly built on Tails’ face. Knuckles raised an eyebrow.

“But of course she did. You threatened to pull her wings off. She was worried!”

“Tails!” Sonic huffed. Tails’ eyes began to ball with tears again. He cried loudly and Sonic and Knuckles winced and began to try and comfort their little brother again. The three brothers shared a big hug as Tails cried.

“S-s-see! This is what Fiona d-does! Makes you hate me!” Through the hug, Sonic looked at Knuckles and gave a brief nod.

Perhaps Tails was overdoing it. Not intentionally, of course, just some level of young childishness. An immaturity that when combined with his great intelligence manifested some level of paranoia.

“Okay, we don’t hate you Tails.” Sonic started. “We love you. But Fiona’s not here. She had nothing to do with this. You threatened Rouge all on your own buddy. And I get the feeling you’ve not been very welcoming to Fiona when she first got here either.” Tails looked like he wanted to say something but Knuckles spoke first.

“And we know she was terrible to you back on Mobius. But she is here now, trying to do better, we should give her that chance. And none of that makes it okay for you to threaten others Tails.” The brothers pulled back from the hug, seeing Tails’ tears had dried, and now were somewhat replaced with an unhappy expression.

“Okay…” He mumbled, petting T-Pup once more.

“Hey! What if you just talked to her? Listened to what she had to say? A lot of these new mobian can be really good friends.” Sonic rubbed Tails’ back.

“Like Rouge or Mighty.” Knuckles grinned.

“Or Shadow.” Knuckles and Tails looked up at Sonic confused.

“Oh, he’s a new friend I made, we had a race, he’s only kinda fast but-” Tails shook his head.

“No, no, I don’t remember a Shadow.”

“Well…you haven’t met him yet."

“No, I mean, I remember the name of every mobian on the list Commander Walters gave daddy. There’s no Shadow.”

“Well…”

“77 mobians.” T-Pup spoke up. Sonic smiled at it.

“See, he must’ve been the one not on the list.” Tails and Knuckles shared another look.

“And he managed to meet you brother? And…you raced with him?” Knuckles’ expression became…tight.

“Hold on…give me a list of his attributes.” Tails pulled out his Miles Electric. Sonic looked between his two brothers.

“Well sure, we talked for a while, he asked me about Earth and what I do here. He’s about my height. Black with red highlights. Runs with these rockets boots and has this fiery orange glow as he does. Also, he can teleport.” Knuckles suddenly recoiled as he’d just touched something hot. Sonic was about to ask about it.

“Red highlights…rocket shoes…teleportation…” Tails mumbled. “Powerful guy…A soldier maybe?”

“That’s what he said, kind of secretive though, doesn’t like to talk about himself much.” Sonic scratched his head and trailed off as Knuckles waved his hands in between them all, trying to re-enter the conversation.

“You said he has orange electricity?!” Knuckles suddenly looked very worried.

“Y-yeah…Why?” Sonic and Tails looked at their eldest brother who was now beginning to bite at his thumb worriedly.

“Rouge…has seen that energy before. It runs by the jewelry building most nights.” The brothers all exchanged glances.

“Okay…so Shadow likes a midnight run, so what?” Sonic shrugged.

“Brother…it scares her. It’s why she and I go out of town at night.”

“You what now?” Tails asked and his brothers ignored him.

“So just ask Shadow not to run by there late at night.” Sonic raised an eyebrow, confused as to why Knuckles is so suspicious. Then Tails’ brows furrowed.

“He’s powerful, not noted by Walters, asked questions about you, and is doing mysterious things at night?” Tails looked at Sonic and Knuckles did the same.

“I…guess so.”

“That’s a little suspicious Sonic, isn’t it?” Tails shrugged.

“I mean when you put it like that. But it’s not like he’s out to do anything malevolent! He’s just learning his surroundings.” Sonic flustered. Knuckles got up.

“I’m calling father.”

“Wait! Wasn’t Rouge trying to steal the Master Emerald at one point?” Tails now got up and walked after his oldest brother, T-Pup in tow. “Tails was sneaking around threatening people and Shadow is suspicious?” Sonic’s brothers left the shed. “We’re not done talking about this guys!

Guys?”

…

Scourge rasped and wheezed as he turned the corner, putting a hand up against a building to steady himself as he stopped. He looked down at his leg and growled at it. It still hurt and made him limp, making him unable to run. Well, the leg and the shocking, searing pain of the cuts on his chest. Scourge tried for one more breath and started to move again, but at this pace…

There was no way he was going to outrun Sally.

“Scourge! Come back!” She called. Scourge felt blood in his mouth but choked it back and put his feet back under power pushing through the pain even as it began to blind him.

He was pretty proud of how far he made it.

A whole 10 feet before slumping against a merciful bench. Its hard wooden bench was very comforting. He collapsed into it, body sideways but feet still on the ground. He was resting, that was all. He’d run in just a moment. As soon as the world stopped being filled with white-hot burning spikes.

“Scourge!” Crap. Time to move. Scourge stood up and ran…

At least that’s what he wanted to do. Instead, he managed to lift his head and almost vomited his near-empty stomach contents onto the sidewalk. Dumpster dives as of late hadn’t been the most fulfilling meals.

“Scourge!” Sally called again and suddenly Scourge felt her hands on him, checking him over and lifting him into a sitting position. Scourge felt a burst of strength and slapped her hands away, balling his fists and fixing her with the most furious stare he could muster.

“Stay away from me! I swear you hit me again and this time I’ll hit back. I’ll do it!” Scourge huffed and waited for Sally to retaliate.

But she didn’t. She just stood there, a few feet from him. Hands clasped in front of her at her waist looking sorrowful. She blinked at him. He blinked at her.

“What do you want?” Scourge hissed, not dropping his fists. Sally opened her mouth. Closed it. Then opened it again.

“I…want to apologize. I didn’t want to believe you.” Sally began to sniffle. “When you said those things about my brother. I thought that they couldn’t be true.” A few tears began to build in Sally’s eyes but she seemed determined to hold them in. “Because I knew it was true. I knew my brother had a dark, wretched side. I just couldn’t believe that he’d…do that.”

Scourge swallowed hard as tears began to flow down Sally’s cheeks, but she spoke through them, getting stumbled every so often on a sob. “But I shouldn’t have hit you. I knew you were-are in pain and I wanted you to hurt worse so you could feel like I did.” Sally was fully bawling now, the words split and separated between bursts of emotion and sorrow.

Scourge had no idea how to deal with this, so he sat there, hands now at his sides as she continued. “I didn’t even consider how you felt…how betrayed you must’ve felt, you finally had a home and I tried…I did…kick you out of it. You tried to help me, open up to me, and… I…know that’s hard for you…I just hurt you for it. And you don’t have to forgive me, but…” Sally had officially melted into a puddle. Any semblance of the angry, vengeful royal that had hit him a little over a week ago was replaced by a crying little girl as she tried to wipe at tears that wouldn’t stop.

“But I’m sorry! I’m so…so sorry! For everything!” Sally cried loudly and openly in the street as Scourge just sat there on the bench watching her. She…she really was suffering for what she did to him.

Good.

Right?

Right.

Good. This was good.

Sally continued to cry.

Finally, retribution!...? She was pained, he liked when others were in pain. He should be happy.

Sally let out a wail that made Scourge flinch.

Happy…he was…n’t happy. This didn’t feel good, why didn’t he like that she was in pain? Maybe because Scourge knew what pain was and that it sucked. So what? Let her cry!

Sally did so. Tears continued and stained the ground and snot was wiped onto her fur.

Cry…let…let her cry.

The tears didn’t stop.

Cry…please stop crying.

Sally didn’t.

Maybe Scourge…NO! Let her suffer! Feel our pain!

And she did. Cries of anguish that Scourge wanted to belt out himself.

Just leave her be! Let her…cry…please…just…stop……

Suffering…

And then Scourge hugged her. Tight.

It hurt his chest. Bad. But he didn’t care. He’d hurt Sally too. He’d made her cry. And no one, not even him-

-got away with making his little sister cry.

“Okay Sal, let’s turn off the waterworks. You’ve…” Scourge stopped as Sally’s blue eyes opened up and looked up at Scourge and then she hugged him back the tears intensifying. “You’re gonna get dehydrated crying like that.” Scourge sat her down on the bench and rubbed at her back as she cried some more.

Was this right? Was he comforting her correctly? How did he do this?

It took a while but it finally started to seem like Sally began to cry herself out. Eventually, She pulled away from Scourge, wiping at the last of her tears.

“Th-thanks for forgiving me, Scourge.” Sally blubbered. Scourge raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, I didn’t say I forgive you, just couldn’t stand to see you all weepy anymore. If you want me to forgive you, well I’m thinking you owe me some favors.” Scourge put his arms behind his head and leaned back on the bench grinning at the autumn sky.

“Favors?” Sally froze, a touch of worry back in her eyes.

“Yeah…real waiting on me hand and foot stuff, I’m curious how you royals did it up in those big castles.” Sally scoffed and rolled her eyes. Scourge smiled as he noted there were finally no more tears. Sally crossed her arms.

“Really? Well, I’ve been hearing that you’ve actually been doing a lot of people different favors.” Sally smirked and raised an eyebrow.

“Hmm?” Scourge pursed his lips.

“Yeah, I heard that the Babylon Rogues got themselves documented after talking to you. That you helped rake leaves for a few different homes. But my favorite story is that you helped an old woman cross the street. Can you get any more good samaritan than that?”

“Hey, we just happen to be going the same way.” Scourge pointed a jabbing finger in Sally’s direction as she started to giggle.

“Sure. Sure.” Sally clearly didn’t believe his totally true statement. “Or maybe you’re just a nice guy under all those scars.” Sally trailed off as she got a good look at Scourge’s chest. Horror filled her eyes. “Oh…no…that looks really bad. We gotta get you to a hospital!” Scourge was starting to get tired of hearing that.

“I’m…fine. Besides I needed to help out.”

“Wha? Why?” Sally said, not really listening as she tried to figure out a way to get Scourge to willingly seek medical attention.

“Because Iblis is coming.” Sally shot straight up and felt the urge to leap back from Scourge, the words terrifying beyond terrifying. “The ‘niceness’ wave that dummy Sonic put out that’s been keeping her and the other assholes from home back? It’s starting to fade. I can feel it. And once it does…

She’ll be the first through.

I thought if I could do some nice things I could hold her arrival back a little, but it’s like trying to hold back an angry ocean with a spoon.”

“Wh-what do we do?” Sally’s voice got very small.

“We get off this rock. Find a warp ring and dip. Find another planet to hide on.” Scourge swept a hand through the air.

“What? No! We can’t!”

“Why not?” Scourge growled.

“Because we live here now Scourge! People live here! If…she’s coming, then we have to help them, or at least warn them!” Sally huffed, getting upset with Scourge all over again.

“You do, me? Not so much. We’re good now, but you wanted me gone, so I’m gone.” Sally was in shock at his statement, that he really thought that.

“What are you talking about?! Me and Arthur don’t want you gone!”

“Sorry, I’m having a hard time believing that.” Scourge looked at the ground. “Why would you want me to live in your house?”

“Because we love you, you idiot!” Sally yelled. She flinched temporarily at her own words, surprised them. And then she realized how true they were. “Sorry, but you don’t get to disappear for a week and not have us search the town for you without us loving you. And you also don’t get to just fuck off to another planet because you’re scared. We’re here for you dumbass! Stop…stop running and just accept that we care about you…”

Scourge laughed. No.

He choked. No.

He sobbed.

Sally stood in shock as a few tears began to water the concrete sidewalk below him. He looked up at Sally, and she finally saw a look in his eye she’d never seen him have before.

Hope.

“...You do?” Scourge sniffled and wiped a few tears that rolled down his dirty cheeks. Sally was frozen in place, so worried she’d hurt him again.

“Yeah.” She managed with a nod. “We love you Scourge, promise.” Scourge nodded at her words and continued to cry softly.

“Thank you…thank you, Sally.” He said hanging his head. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome Scourge…” Sally didn’t fully know what to say. “Now let’s get you home.”

Scourge continued to cry softly.

“Do you need a minute?” Sally asked as Scourge’s cries subsided. “Scourge?”

Scourge didn’t respond.

"Scourge? Are you okay?”

He still didn’t respond.

“Scourge?!” He slumped forward and Sally barely managed to catch him before he fell to the ground.

“SCOURGE?!”

Chapter Text

Shadow mumbled to himself as he shuffled through papers at the police station. He was looking for anything that might signify any kind of coordinated assault. The sheriff was a powerful figure in town and had convinced Sonic that he was his child.

The sheriff manipulating the mobian population for some sort of assault on the rest of Earth was Shadow’s latest theory. It made some sort of sense. Everyone trusted the sheriff and did what he said, so why not even his orders of war? After all, the hostile power wasn’t the majority of mobians, and now Shadow was sure it wasn’t even Sonic, so who else could it be? Which led Shadow to rifle through the documents at the sheriff’s office, looking for any hidden agendas.

Shadow had gotten lucky. The deputy was currently out on patrol and the receptionist was on break. Now normally that would leave the sheriff himself in the building but while waiting outside he saw the sheriff leave, talking into his phone and looking somewhat concerned. Shadow wasn’t sure what he’d been called away on, but it left his main base of operations completely unguarded. Which meant Shadow was free to look for the sheriff’s plans for the mobians.

Shadow watched as the sheriff got into his car and drove off. The direction he headed gave Shadow somewhat of a pause, as it wasn’t in the direction of his home. But the sheriff could’ve been called on business anywhere in town so Shadow didn’t stop to give it too much consideration.

Instead, with everyone gone…he entered the sheriff’s station.

The front door was easy enough. The sheriff hadn’t locked it, giving Shadow easy access to the main building. The front atrium was a waiting area of sorts with a door to the main offices off to the side. This door was unfortunately locked.

Well unfortunate for someone who didn’t have teleportation powers.

Still, Shadow couldn’t just teleport anywhere in the world, the distance was short range and he had to be able to see where he was going in order to teleport. The door to the offices had no window, but there was a crack under the door that provided sight into the room.

Awkwardly, Shadow put his face to the ground, getting a look at the floor on the other side of the door. He blinked. And then he was in the offices.

Standing up from the ground Shadow looked around. There was no clear sign of a plan for immediate inspection. Some loose papers, A whole bunch of filing cabinets, a small table with what looked like day-old food on it, and a pair of desks arranged opposite each other.

Finding the sheriff’s desk, Shadow did a quick look at the papers and notes on the man’s desk. Basic ordinances, building plans, noise complaints, and what appeared to be a long, ongoing duck chase. Shadow tapped at his chin, surprised by the lack of large-scale plans that the sheriff had. It seemed as if he did so little, and yet people seemed to trust him so much. Shadow couldn’t understand it.

Still, this was just the stuff on top. This could all be a ruse to dissuade people like Shadow. The real plot could be hidden deeper. Shadow was going to have to search everything to uncover what the sheriff was hiding.

Starting with his desk drawers.

The first one Shadow checked was a junk drawer. Nothing in it but spare pencils a few pieces of scrap paper, and random clips, and office supplies. Then came the side drawers. Shadow tugged on the first. It didn’t open.

Fuck.

Shadow could just wrench it open, but then the sheriff would definitely know someone had snooped. He’d have to pick the lock.

Examining the lock, Shadow found it to be a simple key lock, mass-produced and easy enough to deal with. All Shadow would need is something to turn the tumblers inside. Perhaps those random office supplies in the first drawer.

Finding a couple of small paper clips in the junk drawer Shadow unfolded them and set to placing them inside the keyhole of the first drawer. He made sure they were slotted in and began to turn. And only managed to succeed in bending the paper clips. Shadow cursed and tried again. Same issue. Shadow went for a third, placed them inside the keyhole and-

“Try choking up on the clips, might make it easier.” A voice snarked.

Shadow froze and tried to identify the voice. He’d heard the sheriff and anyone he was closely connected to enough times to know it wasn’t him. Still, he felt like he’d heard it once or twice before.

Primarily it was sassy. But also suave, subtle, and sultry. Shadow growled.

“Rouge.” Shadow remembered the showy bat from educational classes at the school. They hadn’t interacted much, but Shadow always felt uncomfortable around her. She seemed to always be watching him. Which wasn’t helpful when he was trying to watch everyone else.

“If that doesn’t work, make sure you’re sticking them all the way in, might be missing the back row.”

“Graah!” Shadow spun around throwing his fist behind him in the hopes of knocking into Rouge, or at least intimidating her.

His fist found only air.

“Really?” A voice called from above. Shadow looked up to see the girl lounging on one of the hanging overhead lights, an eyebrow perked at him.

“Get out.” Shadow growled.

“Now why would I do a thing like that?” Rouge said, sugary sweet. For all his training, Shadow had no answer for that. He’d never been trained to ask questions, to look for alternatives. Part of that was why it was so hard for Shadow to figure out the real culprit in whatever was going on in Green Hills.

“Because I said so.” Shadow said. It was an easy enough response and worked well enough on him. Bob had said it, Commander Walters had said it, and the Director of G.U.N. had said it. It always worked.

“Hmm. Pass.” Rouge blinked at him.

Well, now what?

“Why won’t you leave?” Shadow growled. Rouge yawned big and zipped down from the light, wings fluttering as she landed.

“Because I’m curious as to what you’re up to Shadow the Edgehog.” Rouge snarked. Shadow looked behind him at the drawer, he tried to be discreet about it, but it was clear Rouge caught him looking.

“Nothing.” Shadow lied.

“Oh, no need to be so secretive, even if you told me the truth, it’s not like anyone would believe me. Untrustworthy jewel thief and all that.” Rouge laid a hand on her breastbone, looking full of woe.

“I’m…investigating.” Shadow spoke, the bat’s way of moving just putting him off guard. Rouge raised an eyebrow. “There’s…a plot in this town…someone’s planning an invasion…” That got Rouge’s attention, and she stalled for a moment, looking Shadow up and down.

“And…you think the sheriff has something to do with this?” Shadow nodded.

“It has to be…I’ve ruled out most other mobians, and Sonic himself, so it has to be the sheriff…it has to be.” Rouge nodded at him, eyes ever so slightly narrowed.

“Well good luck with your investigating.” Rouge waved a hand at Shadow and moved to the office door, opening it.

How did she get in here? Shadow thought to himself.

“You’re…okay with this?” Shadow asked.

“Sure.” Rouge shrugged. “I’ve got no stake in whatever invasion you’re looking into and hey! If the sheriff really is behind it, maybe I can finally get that echidna to open up that safe and let me at my prize…” Rouge cooed as she put a finger to her lips.

“What prize?” Shadow eyed the bat warily as she left.

“Oh, come now soldier boy. Don’t tell me a smart guy like you can’t feel its overwhelming power.” And then she walked out.

Indeed Shadow had. The Master Emerald. Shadow didn’t really understand it, but neither did he understand his own powers. There was some latent connection there, his own powers were tied to the Master Emerald or at least ran through it. And the Master Emerald had a lot of it. The fact that Rouge wanted to get her hands on it? Not great. But he’d have to deal with that later or at least inform G.U.N. of it. But for now…

She was an ally.

Shadow would have to trust her. It felt good to have someone he could trust. Despite Maria, despite Sonic, Shadow had felt…alone. The secret side that worked with G.U.N. was incredibly lonely. Maybe just a little less so now.

Shadow watched the door that Rouge had left through for a moment longer, and then he turned back to the locked drawer.

…

Shadow was pissed. He was pissed beyond pissed. There was nothing. Nothing!

Not a single shred of evidence proposed that Sheriff Wachowski had larger plans for the mobians of Green Hills and the larger world. Just a bunch of random local documents and reports. He’d checked every single file as fast as he could in that building and the closest he got to any level of secrecy was that the sheriff was preparing his son Tails a surprise birthday in a couple of months.

As Shadow walked up the driveway back to Bob and Maria’s home, he found himself kicking a pebble down the sidewalk. He wasn’t sure why he was kicking it. Maybe he was pretending it was the sheriff or Sonic or even Agent Handel. Maybe even himself. It didn’t matter. Shadow was furious and this pebble was going to get it.

But his anger turned to ice-cold fear when he noticed what car was in the driveway.

The sheriff’s.

Why was he here? Is this why he had been called away? Was he arresting someone? Bob? Maria?...Shadow?

Shadow felt a note of panic creep into his chest, it got tight and Shadow had to consciously take deep breaths to keep moving. He quickly found himself at the front door. This was bad. This was very bad. What was going to happen? Did Shadow have to defeat the sheriff? Arrest him, himself? Shadow had no orders!

And then Shadow was calm.

He set his jaw. Breathed twice. And opened the front door.

“I am home.” Shadow called quietly into the house. There were voices in the kitchen. They stopped at Shadow’s call. Shadow walked towards the kitchen. The sound of his boots on the hardwood floors was like gunshots in a canyon.

The kitchen was full of people.

Bob. Maria. Sheriff Wachowski. Tails. Knuckles…Sonic.

Six pairs of eyes swiveled to Shadow as he entered. Their attention? His. Their faces? A mixture of emotions ranging from concern to suspicion.

“Hello.” Shadow greeted his own gaze bouncing from person to person. “I’m curious. What are you all doing in Maria’s home?” Bob made the first move.

“Firstly, this is my home.”

“Yes, sir.” Shadow cut off Bob.

“...yes, well the sheriff had a few questions for you.” Bob finished. Shadow swiveled to the sheriff. He blinked up at him. The sheriff immediately seemed nervous, and uncomfortable. Why exactly Shadow couldn’t pinpoint.

“How have you been settling in, kid?” The sheriff asked. Well, that was certainly…surprising. Shadow had expected an interrogation and now felt as though he was being coddled.

“I’m…fine. Earth…is a large adjustment.” Not an untrue statement.

“Why did you interrogate my brother?! And speed around at the darkest of hours!” Knuckles burst out, trying to push past his father. Shadow leaned back a little and tried to put on his most terrified face.

“Sheriff! Get Knuckles under control, you’re scaring Shadow!” Maria came over to Shadow and put her arms around him. A peaceful wave settled over Shadow…with a dark cloud hanging high above. He hadn’t earned this care, he’d lied for it. The sheriff put a hand on Knuckles’ chest and guided him back, speaking softly to him. Knuckles seemed to settle at this and moved away, but crossed his arms, sending Shadow a death glare. The sheriff then turned back to Shadow and sighed.

“Is this true Shadow?” The man asked, mostly bored, but there was tightness there. Like he was okay to seem relaxed and passive, but more than ready to snap into action.

“I talked with Sonic the other day. He seemed more than eager to.” The sheriff did let a quick smirk slip at that. “I wanted to know about Earth. We talked. We played a game. We raced.” Shadow shrugged. The sheriff looked back at Sonic who nodded.

“Yeah, it was fun! He’s pretty good at running. Total cheater at rock skipping though.” Sonic smiled. Shadow frowned.

“Am not.”

“Are too!”

“Am not!”

“Are-”

“Boys.” The sheriff cut them off, his attention focused back on Shadow. “And the other thing?”

“What other thing?” Shadow asked.

“The running late at night…snooping.” Shadow had done that. Beyond his calls to G.U.N. he checked homes, looked for clues, and practiced his skills.

“No.” Shadow spoke.

“LIAR!” Knuckles interjected again. Shadow growled at him, the echidna returning the grimace.

“Cut that out now.” Bob snapped. Shadow did. Knuckles continued for a moment longer and then stopped.

“Knuckles, it’s not okay to accuse someone if you don’t know for sure-” The sheriff began.

“But I do know! I was told-” Knuckles started.

“By who?” The sheriff cut him off, hands on his hips. Knuckles shut up and looked at the ground, a barking dog put in his place. The sheriff watched him a little longer and then turned back to Bob and Maria. “I’m sorry about this. They’ve been through trouble before, the idea that someone might be up to something makes them…overly cautious.” Maria gave a light nod, still nervous and the sheriff turned back to his sons. “Come on boys, let’s go home. And Knuckles, we’re going to have to talk about this later, okay?” Knuckles nodded and the three moved off.

The three did. The sheriff, Knuckles, and Sonic.

Tails did not move.

Well, that’s not entirely true. He looked very nervous and was fiddling with his personal device, some kind of tech he’d crafted himself. But he wasn’t even looking at it, in fact, he seemed to be looking at everything but it.

“Tails, let’s go.” The sheriff asked. Tails mumbled something. “What was that?” The sheriff asked. Tails mumbled something again. The sheriff leaned in a little. “You’ve gotta speak up kiddo.”

“I…may have installed secret cameras all over town…” Tails spoke clearly.

Jaws dropped. Eyes widened. Double takes were had.

Shadow raised an eyebrow.

“You did WHAT?!” The sheriff yelled. Tails flinched. “That’s not okay Tails! That’s a huge invasion of privacy!”

“Not to mention illegal!” Bob interjected. “Sheriff! Discipline this boy!” The sheriff spluttered a little caught between his youngest and the mayor.

“Y-yes, sir. I’ll make sure Tails knows what he did was wrong and make sure to have him remove them all. I’m so so sorry sir!” The sheriff all but prostrated himself before Bob. The sheriff then wheeled back on Tails. “Tails why would you do such a thing?!” The sheriff seemed confused, angry, alarmed…betrayed. He could see Tails’ face and knew the young fox’s emotion all too well.

Shame.

“I…I just wanted to make sure everyone was safe. That my family was safe…I know it’s…too much, but I had to be sure…” The tiny fox sniffled a little and Sonic moved over. Clearly upset in his own right, but worried too, and held Tails close. The sheriff’s eyes softened and he seemed torn between disciplining and protecting the fox.

“If you’ve been watching the town…then Shadow will be seen on those recordings…” Knuckles spoke up, eyes flashing to Shadow. “We have you now! Prepare to be exposed.” Knuckles gave a laugh and moved over to Tails, ripping the device from his hands and trying to figure out how to work it.

“Sheriff! This is still an invasion of privacy, you have no right to try and force Shadow into some kind of criminal position.” Bob huffed. Although Shadow wasn’t sure how much he was actually defending Shadow or just trying to prove himself right.

“Don’t worry Shadow, they’re just trying to scare you. I don’t know why, but everything’s going to be okay. Understand?” Maria got low and looked into Shadow’s eyes. He nodded, as he was trapped within her vision.

“Okay.”

“The mayor’s right. Knuckles, we can’t try and…prosecute a kid, especially with illegally obtained evidence.” The sheriff said the last words at Tails rather than Knuckles.

“Father…” Knuckles breathed. “You can’t just let him go…he’s up to something! I can feel it! He interrogated our brother! He’s stalking the night! He’s-”

“He’s just a kid Knuckles.” The sheriff spoke. Getting low and putting a hand on Knuckles shoulder. “He’s not up to anything. He’s just trying to figure his way out in this world, just like you. Maybe cut him a little slack.”

The sheriff stood up for Shadow. Against his own family. He did what he believed was right and tried to help someone learn in the process. He de-escalated a situation and made things better.

“But the videos on Tails’ cameras!”

How could the sheriff be the bad guy?

“Aren’t okay. I’m glad you’re both trying to stand up for Sonic, but Shadow’s not-”

“What’s the harm?” A voice spoke. Shadow was surprised by it.

It was his own. All eyes returned to him. Maria and Bob looked confused. The Wachowskis even more so.

“You’re okay with this?” The sheriff asked. Shadow nodded. The sheriff looked at him a moment longer and then looked to Tails gesturing for him to bring up the footage. This was okay. Maria said it would all be okay.

Even if Shadow was on those tapes. Snooping, talking to G.U.N., or lurking in the night. It would be okay because Maria said so. It would be okay because…

Shadow knew he wasn’t on those recordings.

“I-I-I-I don’t understand!” Knuckles blurted. He seemed distraught and confused. Maybe even…betrayed? “How is he not there?!”

“Because he’s not up to anything! He’s a quiet sweet child.” Maria huffed and Shadow smiled as her warm voice washed over him.

“But-but-but she told me-” Knuckles floundered.

“Who told you?” Bob huffed.

“That would be me.” A new voice called. No. A recent voice. One making her second dramatic entrance of the day. Shadow watched with pure shock as Rouge walked from the foyer past Shadow towards the Wachowskis. “Good running into you again soldier boy.” She winked at him as she passed.

“Rouge?!” Knuckles and Shadow asked at the same time.

“Wait! How do you know Rouge?!” Knuckles flustered.

“Oh, I ran into him while he was breaking and entering the sheriff’s station.” Rouge flicked an eye over to Shadow as she approached sheriff Wachowski.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” The sheriff raised an eyebrow.

“And how did you get into our house?!” Bob demanded. Rouge ignored the latter, raising a hand to sheriff Wachowski.

“Hello, I’m Rouge the Bat. I’m dating your son…” Rouge looked over at the three Wachowski brothers. “...the big red one.” Shadow caught Knuckles swallowing hard. The sheriff flicked his eyes over the bat and narrowed them slightly.

“Not dressed like that you’re not.” He said firmly. Shadow hadn’t seen much of the bat, but this was certainly the first time he actually saw her nervous. Her tight spandex and revealing outfit probably feeling a little too tight right now. Rouge gave a nervous laugh. “And why did you pick now to tell me this?” Rouge cleared her throat and her suave attitude was back.

“Because your youngest is awfully intelligent-” Rouge looked over at Tails, who eyed her warily. “But he’s not very smart.” Tails spluttered a little and looked like he wanted to argue, but Rouge continued. “Satellites are an awfully clever source of holding data. Far out of reach, high quantities, accessible from anywhere to upload and download…” Rouge looked once more at Tails who was eyeing Rouge more curiously now, trying to figure out what game she was playing. What she was trying to get at. “...if you own them of course.” Rouge smirked at Tails. And Shadow watched the young inventor get it as everyone else was left behind.

But Shadow knew.

Tails had placed cameras all over Green Hills. They were wireless and had long battery lives and could upload the data to cloud satellite servers all over the night sky. But Tails didn’t own the satellites. He was just borrowing them. The satellites were owned by a variety of people, governments, and organizations.

All of which answered to G.U.N.

G.U.N. was using Tails’ own cameras to spy on the town. Track movements and edit out any of Shadow’s operations. That’s how Shadow knew he wouldn’t appear on them. Shadow felt a little stab of guilt as he watched Tails’ eyes widen in fear and acknowledgment of his screw-up. The fact that his own protection had been used against him.

“G-G-G.U.N. owns them. Y-you work for G.U.N.?” Tails shook slightly in fear as he looked to Shadow and all eyes turned to him. His face gave away nothing. The sheriff began to narrow his eyes though and a bead of sweat trickled down Shadow’s neck. “All of my cameras…G.U.N. owns them all.” Tails held the sides of his head, his error in judgment crushing him.

“Well…all but one.” And Rouge was back. She held out her empty hand open palmed, twisted it into a fist, and opened it again and in it…

Was one. Tiny. Camera.

Shadow swallowed. Something was wrong. What was Rouge doing? Was…was she betraying him?!

“You pulled this one off the network, right Tails?” Rouge tossed the tiny camera to the equally tiny fox who barely caught it. Tails gave a wordless nod. He plugged it into his device and his brothers crowded around him. And Shadow began to hyperventilate as he watched their eyes widen.

“This…this isn’t my footage.” Tails mumbled.

“Oh, no. I decided to get up close and personal with our little G.U.N. spy.” Rouge narrowed her eyes. The room turned icy cold with dread. Frost settling in before a monstrous blizzard blew through.

Tails held up his device for all to see. And Shadow saw himself. Rifling through papers at the sheriff’s office. Peeking in the Wachowski windows. Talking on a pay phone.

“Yes sir. I’m watching them closely. I will report back to you tomorrow. I’m ready with…lethal force whenever you command Director.” The Shadow on the device spoke.

The room unfroze.

“I KNEW IT!” Knuckles yelled.

“Shadow, what the fuck?” Sonic scoffed.

“Stay away from my family!” Tails called.

“You’ve got some explaining to do, kid.” The sheriff scowled.

“What were you thinking boy?!” Bob demanded.

But Shadow ignored all of them. Their calls fell on deaf ears. He turned to Maria. And smiled.

“It’s okay right?” He asked her and she removed her hands from his shoulders and stepped back. “You said it would all be okay.” Maria stepped back again. And her face changed. Shadow moved forward, he wanted a hug, wanted to be told it was okay.

But he only saw her fear. She was afraid. She was very very afraid.

“It’s okay, right? Please tell me that even though I did that…it’s okay.” Shadow’s face twitched with confusion as Maria continued to step away from him.

Him. She was afraid of him. But why? His mission would never have been to hurt her. Why was she afraid of him?

“No Shadow. It’s not okay.” Maria breathed and shook her head ever so slowly. Shadow’s eyes narrowed.

“But you told me it would all be okay! You lied! Why?!” Bob moved in front of Maria.

“You need to move away now Shadow.” Shadow huffed and turned to Sonic.

“We’re…are we still friends Sonic?” Shadow asked and Sonic’s brothers flinched, moving to guard him against Shadow’s steps. Sonic swallowed and licked his lips.

“Shadow…what you did…that’s not cool. It was wrong. Do-do you understand that?” Sonic’s face twisted in confusion, trying to pass some message to Shadow that he couldn’t understand. A meaning that went over his head.

“H-how was it wrong?! I-I just did what I was ordered to do!” Shadow raised his voice. “It’s right because those were my orders!” Shadow’s voice became strained. “I was ordered to do that! It…” Shadow’s voice cracked and something stung in the corners of his eyes. “I was just following orders…” Shadow looked at the ground for a moment and the room seemed to quiet, fading as it seemed to get smaller, the space tight. Shadow’s head whipped up and turned back to Maria. “Please, Maria! I don’t understand what I did wrong! Please tell me! Please make it okay! Tell me it’s going to be okay!” Maria looked out from behind Bob and Shadow saw an emotion he’d never seen on her face.

Disgust.

“Get away from me Shadow.”

The room crumbled around Shadow and exploded in fire and brimstone as the world imploded and he was swallowed by its center.

He’d messed up. He’d messed up like he’d never messed up before. Betrayed the trust and hurt the people that he’d wanted to hurt the least in the world. Of course, none of them would know if not for…

“You betrayed me.” He spat at Rouge. “I thought I could trust you!” He cried out. While he thought Rouge would spit something back at him, her expression caught him off guard. It looked…sorry.

“I know. And I’m sorry about that. But I couldn’t let you keep spying on everyone. I…decided I wanted to protect the people I care about.” Rouge’s eyes wandered, they passed over Knuckles, and finally settled on Tails. The young fox’s eyes widened slightly.

“What about wanting the Master Emerald?!” Shadow asked. Rouge smirked a sad smirk.

“Oh, I’m still getting that emerald. But I’m not going to hurt anyone to do it. And I’m certainly not doing it your way, soldier boy.”

“You still betrayed me!” Shadow spat. Rouge’s eyes softened.

“I…I know. But I know how it feels to be a spy. To lie so often when all you really want is, to tell the truth. I’m sorry you had to go through that Shadow. But I do want to help you. Even if you believe everyone in the world will be against you. Know that I’ll always remain on your side. Remember that.”

Shadow only sneered at her. Because the whole world hadn’t turned against Shadow. One group was still on his side. And Shadow rocked away out of the house.

“Where’d he go?!” The sheriff spun around.

“There’s a payphone on Lake Street that he often calls G.U.N. from.” Rouge sighed as she looked down the hall that Shadow had just fled through. Melancholy in her voice.

“After him!” Knuckles cried out and ran past Rouge after Shadow. Rouge swallowed, wondering if she’d done the right thing.

“Knuckles wait! We have to be careful here…I-I don’t think we should be too brash!” Sonic said, chasing after Knuckles. Odd, Rouge never figured him for the think first, leap second. But there was something in his expression like he’d seen something before and knew what was going to happen.

Rouge watched them leave as the sheriff sputtered to try and call out to them. And then there was a hand on Rouge’s arm. She looked at it.

“Thank you, Rouge…” Tails looked up at her, eyes wide. Rouge nodded, hoping she could help the little guy feel a little safer about his family. “And…I’m sorry…for what I said. I’m glad Knuckles likes you.” Rouge gave a shallow nod. Because she was too surprised by the sudden hug the tiny fox gave her. She patted his back once and let go. As he ran to go catch up with his brothers, he looked once more back at Rouge and gave a smile. And then he was gone.

“WAIT! No! Boys!” The sheriff called to the wind. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “This will not end well.”

No. Rouge figured. No, it probably wouldn’t.

…

Shadow put the phone back on the receiver as the dial tone rang in his ears. He turned away from the payphone as Sonic and his brothers approached, the latter looking very angry. Shadow should probably be angry too. But inside, he was hollow.

“G.U.N. has terminated me.” He said flatly. Sonic swallowed and tried to speak but Shadow cut him off. “The people that I trusted most have left me! I’m alone!”

“Shadow…you’re not alone…” Sonic said softly. He had the gall to show Shadow pity.

“They want you. Maybe if I bring you in, they’ll take me back!” Shadow spat.

“I…I don’t think so Shadow, that’s not…they don’t really care about you.” Sonic spoke, trying to reach a hand out to Shadow, but he slapped it away.

“I’m starting to understand that no one does.”

“No-that’s…that’s not what I meant-” Sonic huffed.

“Save it!” Shadow was now angry. The hollowness inside filled up with rage…with power. He glared out at Sonic and his brothers, the very reason he was now so alone. No G.U.N. No Maria. No friends. “If the world chooses to become my enemy, I will fight as I have been trained to do!” Shadow took a step forward towards them, his boots cracking the pavement, orange electricity coiling around him. Sonic took a step back, eyes widening in fear. Shadow continued.

“You want to know where I came from?! Who I am?! I AM THE ULTIMATE LIFE FORM, SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG. I WILL CRUSH ANYONE WHO STANDS IN MY WAY!”

And then Shadow’s rage exploded.

Chapter Text

“CHAOS BLAST!” Shadow screamed and Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails were blown away from the black and red hedgehog. Powerful chaos energy crackled through them, trying to rend flesh from bone. Sonic tried to get his bearings as he was blown through the air, his brain going a mile a minute as he tried to determine what was sky and what was hard, painful asphalt.

How had this gone south so fast?

Am I really going to fight Shadow?

How the fuck did he do that blast thingy?

And the question that tugged at his brain the hardest:

Why does this feel like deja vu?

And then Sonic smacked into the brick wall of a building and ragdolled onto the ground. A fight or flight response prompted Sonic to check his surroundings for the nearest method of escape, but his brain immediately went to his younger brother. Knuckles could take a hit, but Tails could get hurt-bad.

Still not taking the time to feel the pain of the impact, Sonic checked the skies and ground to find his little brother. A sigh of relief escaped him when he found Tails hovering a good 30 feet from the ground. He was spinning in circles, clearly a little dazed, but the fact that he was still airborne was a good sign.

A voice called out to Sonic, but he was having a little trouble deciphering it through the stars that were spinning around his head. Eventually, his eyes settled on Knuckles who was standing and pointing to something. Sonic managed to turn his head around in time to see Shadow rip the entire payphone from the ground and huck it at Sonic’s face.

Oh.

The world came to a standstill as Sonic cleared the fog of the hit from his brain and he entered bullet time, moving around the flying payphone and rocketing himself directly into Shadow with his shoulder. Shadow let out a grunt as Sonic carried him from the street and into the woods.

“Sorry Shadow, can’t let you destroy the town. We’ll have to work out your anger issues so that you can’t disrupt local businesses. Towns need that income to-ack!” Sonic’s taunt was cut short as Shadow’s fists were brought down on Sonic’s back and under his own momentum, Sonic’s face skidded on the ground before rolling over and letting out a pained groan. Sonic looked up to see Shadow quickly approaching, the black and red hedgehog’s fist coming right down on his face.

Sonic let out an ‘eep’ and right before the fist caved his face in Sonic found himself airlifted as Tails grabbed Sonic’s arms and lifted him.

“Pathetic coward!” Shadow yelled.

“Nope, just tagging in!” Sonic snarked and he watched Shadow’s confusion before he turned around just in time to get a Knuckles sandwich right in the kisser. Sonic gestured for Tails to take him back down to the ground and the three brothers surrounded Shadow as he got up from where he’d been smacked by Knuckles’ punch.

“Three on one?” Shadow growled. “If you double your numbers, maybe it will be a fair fight.”

“Shadow, c’mon man there’s no need to fight us. It’s going to be okay.” Sonic tried to de-escalate, appearing as small as he could.

“Okay? OKAY?! Nothing will ever be okay! Maria hates me! G.U.N. abandoned me! And no one will ever trust me again.” Shadow scowled as he finished. “So yes, there’s a need to fight you. G.U.N. will surely take me back, and I will show I am greater than you Sonic the Hedgehog! Now die!”

Shadow took some fast jabs at Sonic. Much faster than the weak punches he threw at Sonic the other day. One to the stomach, the shoulder, and the hip. Sonic managed to dodge them all-barely. He could feel the rush of the wind as Shadow moved near Sonic’s speed. Shadow was fast. Crazy fast.

Again, there was that deja vu…someone was fast…

Sonic wasn’t paying attention when the kick slammed his chin upwards and Sonic flew back, skidding on the dirt. Knuckles moved in and delivered another strong blow to Shadow’s back. The black and red hedgehog flew forward into the dirt. He got up quickly and spun around to face Knuckles.

“Two sucker punches? I thought you were an honorable warrior.” Knuckles choked at that, Shadow hitting home on both who Knuckles had been and who he was now.

“I-I am.” Shadow merely frowned and blasted forward delivering more fast jabs to Knuckles. Knuckles, to his credit, kept a good defense, using his forearms to block a lot of the blows. But he was being pushed back and soon was backed up to a tree where Shadow didn’t slow. It was becoming apparent that Knuckles’ defense was becoming sloppy as his hands started to drop and Shadow made wide haymakers that moved around the defense.

A few bolts of energy found their way into Shadow’s side and he recoiled, finally stopping his assault on Knuckles. The black hedgehog’s head swung around and spotted Tails, a good bit away, his small blaster aimed at Shadow.

He looked worried.

Shadow moved to this new target…and that’s when he forgot about Knuckles. The big echidna wrapped his arms around Shadow and began to apply crushing force. Shadow began to gasp for air and found he couldn’t move, his arms trapped and his legs useless as Knuckles held him off the ground.

Sonic got to his feet as Shadow began to black out, his brain not getting oxygen and pain filling his body as Knuckles squeezed.

“Wait! Don’t hurt him!” Sonic called out, still trying to figure out why this felt so painfully familiar.

Betrayal. The taking of a home. Sonic knew this pain.

“Wha?” Knuckles loosened his grip ever so slightly, which was a mistake. Shadow breathed deeply and threw his head back, slamming his quills and head into Knuckles’ face, loosening the grip further. Knuckles tried to hold on, but as Shadow used his rocket boots to shoot flames directly into Knuckles’ stomach, the echidna let go. Shadow bounced away and landed like a cat before throwing himself back toward Knuckles.

And that’s when Sonic took a page out of Shadow’s book and shoulder-checked him out of the way. Shadow tumbled on the ground as Sonic looked at his older brother.

“Knuckles! You okay?!” Sonic rushed over and Knuckles’ waved him off. He looked shaken and had a few quills sticking out of his face and some scorching on his red fur, but otherwise looked okay.

“PAY ATTENTION!” Shadow yelled as he punched Sonic straight in the head as he rocked through the air under the propulsion of his boots. Sonic rolled straight into a tree and through it, his body becoming an unintentional spindash before he lay in a heap on the ground. “HA!” Shadow cried, and once more forgot Knuckles, who grabbed Shadow’s leg and beat him on the ground, Hulk-style, once, twice, thr- wait where’d he go?

Shadow teleported out of Knuckles’ grip and in the air behind him where he delivered a side kick to the big kid’s head and spun him around, Knuckles barely staying on his feet, and looking wobbly. Shadow followed up with another strong right hook to-

Knuckles caught it with his left hand. Shadow struggled for a moment, and swung at Knuckles with his left fist-

Which Knuckles caught in his right hand. Shadow struggled some more. He pushed against Knuckles’ grip, he poured all of his strength into it and-nothing.

“You are very strong.” Knuckles growled. “But I’ve bested stronger.” And Shadow had a moment to look concerned before Knuckles head-butted Shadow with all his strength, sending the agent reeling backward clutching at his forehead, blood trickling down. Shadow’s eyes burned with fury and he shot after Knuckles again but was stopped as more bolts of energy peppered the ground around him, Shadow having to dodge as he tracked the flying fox high in the sky. Shadow tried to run to make some distance and found himself fenced in as Sonic ran a couple of tight circles around him.

Once more the three brothers surrounded Shadow. This time in a much worse position.

Knuckles had taken repeated heavy blows and was burned and beaten, Sonic had been thrown into many hard surfaces. Tails was okay, but one bad blow could seriously hurt him, or worse.

And Shadow? The head-butt had certainly hurt him, but otherwise, he just seemed a little worn out, having to do three times the fighting.

This was going to be a war of attrition. Could Sonic and his brothers endure Shadow’s fury, or would Shadow’s power overwhelm them?

The issue was that Shadow was clearly a master of none. He was smarter than Sonic and Knuckles, stronger than Tails and Sonic, and faster than Knuckles and Tails. Each advantage the brothers had alone was outnumbered by Shadow’s skill.

“Shadow, please! Don’t do this! This won’t end well.”

“I beg to differ.” The black hedgehog spat.

“Even if you beat us, you won’t win.” Shadow’s glower twitched at Sonic’s words. “You’ll still have betrayed the town, Maria still will be angry at you, G.U.N. will still have abandoned you. It’s…it’s like with Metal Sonic…fighting won’t…won’t bring everything back…” Knuckles and Tails’ eyes flickered to Sonic, not fully understanding, but getting the picture. Shadow…did not.

Metal Sonic…one of Sonic’s biggest regrets. He’d seen how Metal Sonic was just like him, maybe dangerously similar to him. But all that meant was that he was an excited, eager and energetic kid. He didn’t really want to fight and he certainly didn’t want to be torn away from people and places he cared about. Sonic didn’t want that to happen to Shadow, he had to find a way to de-escalate this. Unfortunately, Shadow didn’t give him the opportunity.

“Then we all go down together.” Shadow declared.

“No, I- I mean!-”

“CHAOS BLAST!” Shadow called once more and Sonic luckily had enough time to sprint away. Knuckles and Tails were not so lucky. Knuckles was sent hard into a rock where he slumped onto the ground and Sonic barely managed to catch Tails as the young fox fell from the sky. Shadow was slouching from the center of the blast radius, the effect of using whatever ability that was clearly starting to take its toll. Sonic carefully laid Tails on the ground, making sure he was comfortable as he didn’t seem up to more.

“W-wait! I can still help.” Tails mumbled as he tried to get into a sitting position. Sonic pushed on his face, making him lie on the ground.

“Nope. Sorry little bro, but you’re done.” Tails opened his mouth to complain. “As your older brother, I’m in charge, and I’m telling you to take a breather, got it?” Tails still looked like he wanted to protest, but stopped and nodded.

“Kick his ass Sonic.” Sonic smiled at his precious baby brother.

“Careful, or I’ll tell mom you swore.” Tails smiled at him before resting his head on some soft moss and closing his eyes. Sonic stood up as soft breaths exited Tails’ nose. Sonic turned to Shadow who was now breathing heavily, all his fury aimed at Sonic.

“You done having your brothers fight your battles?!” Shadow spat. Sonic put a finger to his lips and pointed to the now-sleeping Tails. Shadow merely narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t hurt my brothers anymore.” Sonic commanded and Shadow set his jaw. Sonic then pointed upward, through the trees, the highlands, to Swan Peak. “Rematch.” Shadow’s eyes flashed to the mountain and gave a slow nod.

“You won’t live to see the summit.”

And then they ran.

Sonic was able to take an early lead, dodging and weaving Shadow’s various punches and kicks, hoping the black hedgehog would wear himself out. Things got a lot harder when Shadow started calling out a different command.

“CHAOS SPEAR!” Sonic had to move double time as fiery-orange electric bolts shots from Shadow and peppered the air, seeming to come from all directions. Sonic was barely able to dodge them as they flew by, slicing trees in half. Sonic thought the forest would give him a good advantage, but Shadow had quickly learned how to use his surroundings to the best of his ability, the darkly colored hedgehog hard to find.

As Sonic dodged bolt after bolt, he started to feel like a rat trapped in a maze with a chaos-powered cat. The edge of the trees came in sight and Sonic blew through them…just as an arm stuck out behind the very last one and clotheslined him…at 200 miles per hour.

Sonic flipped uncontrollably through the air a few times before skidding and tumbling on the uphill, scraggly brush and sharp rocks scraping his skin and ripping out fur and quills. Sonic’s throat felt like it’d been sliced with a knife and he was having trouble breathing.

“Pathetic.” Shadow growled as he stepped toward Sonic. Sonic tried to say something, but his throat screamed at him in pain and he merely coughed. Shadow smirked. “Finally found a way to shut you up.”

Okay. Sonic was starting to get angry. Shadow called for another flurry of Chaos Spears and Sonic had had it. He curled up into a tight spin-dash and shot forward, the spears deflecting off his energized hide and flying off in different directions, some even back at Shadow. Which is why he had no defense when Sonic slammed fully into him.

Shadow was rocketed back and blasted through a few different sets of trees, limbs creaking and snapping as the G.U.N. spy was thrown through them. Sonic watched with a smirk as Shadow slowly emerged from the treeline, picking sticks and leaves out of his quills, never once taking his furious eyes off of Sonic.

“Not for very long.” Sonic wiped a finger on his nose as he spoke, his voice very raspy, but coming back quickly. Sonic’s moment of triumph lasted for about 2 seconds before Shadow got low, curled up-

-And spin dashed right back at him.

Sonic managed a weak spindash of his own, just enough to take the brunt of Shadow’s attack, only skidding back uphill slightly. Shadow recovered onto his own feet and looked over himself, a smug smile on his face.

“What a powerful technique, what do you call it?”

“A spindash.” Sonic grumbled, unhappy that Shadow had so easily attempted it on his first try.

“Stupid name.”

“Better than just putting the word ‘chaos’ before all of your attacks!” Shadow growled at Sonic. “Do mentally call out ‘chaos kick’ and ‘chaos punch’ too?”

“RAAAH!” Shadow roared and spindashed once more at Sonic, but this time Sonic was ready for him and put more of his power into the attack, knocking Shadow out of his attack. Shadow might have more skill, but Sonic still had experience on that particular move. As Shadow got to his feet Sonic shot off, toward the summit of Swan Peak.

He still had a race to win.

As Sonic moved, two things were troubling. One, Shadow was gaining on him, and Sonic didn’t do great on slow uphills. And two, he was still raining Chaos Spears all through the mountaintop as Sonic ran, having to take extra turns and dodges, giving Shadow more time to catch up.

Sonic skidded to dodge a particularly close bolt and just like that, Shadow was even with Sonic. Sonic watched wide-eyed as Shadow moved in, ready to shoulder-check him again. A brief smirk crossed Sonic’s lips as he jumped over Shadow and-

A note of fear dropped into Sonic’s gut as Shadow spun around, and grabbed him out of the air, and slammed him into the mountain, dirt flying and rock cracking.

“You pulled that dodge last time.” Shadow said matter-of-factly. “Accept defeat, this race is mine!” Shadow began to rain blows on Sonic and the blue blur managed a weak defense with his forearms, but he didn’t have Knuckles’ resistance or proper technique, the attacks landing most of the time, beating and bruising Sonic’s sides. A growl emanated from Sonic and he curled up, Shadow got ready to block it but was surprised as Sonic instead used both feet and kicked up, straight into Shadow’s chin, the black hog going flying.

“Sorry, but I don’t lose.” Sonic managed as he flipped onto his stomach and looked up, the peak within his eyesight. Snow was beginning to dot the ground as Sonic got to his feet and shot forward. He managed to get within 50 feet of the top when he was body-slammed to the ground, Shadow on top of him.

“You ruined my life!” Shadow slammed his fist into Sonic’s back. “You took the people that cared about me, trusted me!” A punch to Sonic’s shoulder. “And now I’ll do the same to those that you care about!” A punch to Sonic’s head.

“You ruined your own life!” Sonic roared, finding the strength to throw Shadow off his back and take a few more steps toward the top. Now 40 feet away.

Shadow snagged a grip on Sonic’s right leg, pulling him back to the ground, and Sonic face-planting. Shadow started to get back to his feet but Sonic started using his left leg to kick at Shadow’s face, the black hog stumbling and rolling down the hill slightly. Sonic got back to his feet and scrambled for the top. A rocket blasted behind him and Shadow flew uncontrollably toward the top, smacking into the ground 20 feet from the top as his boots gave up whatever power allowed that rocket jump and sputtered. Sonic jumped on top of him and started wailing on his head, whatever pain and damage he could inflict. Grabbing at his face, or arms.

“You think this pain and violence will solve anything?! That just because you beat me, it’ll make everything better?!” Sonic screamed at him. Shadow let out a roar and reached behind, grabbing and throwing Sonic up towards the top crumpling into a pile a mere 5 feet from the top.

“It will! IT HAS TO!” Shadow cried out and jumped toward Sonic, fist extended. It slammed into Sonic’s face and he felt bone strain. Sonic tried to push him away, hand pressed to his face. Shadow was now just punching randomly, their powers and skills spent as the two fought and struggled under willpower alone. “IT’S ALL I KNOW! IT’S ALL I AM!”

“THEN CHANGE IT!” Sonic swung from his defensive position and struck Shadow’s face, the black hedgehog was dazed and surprised by the attack. “You want things to be better? Then do better! Own up! Realize you made a mistake and accept it!” Sonic made punches to Shadow’s gut, his chest, and his shoulders. “Things will never get better if you do the same thing to solve all your problems! I love to run, but you never get anywhere if all you do is run in a circle!” Shadow attempted a defense as Sonic’s knuckles cracked against Shadow’s body. “You think you’re right, but you’re not!” Sonic punched Shadow’s nose. “You’re just-” His cheek. “-plain-” His chin. “-WRONG!” Sonic kicked up into Shadow’s chest and the dark hedgehog let out a grunt of pain as he was thrown off and landed beside Sonic, both starfished staring upward at the sky.

“How…” Shadow breathed heavily. “How do you know you’re right…” another set of breaths. “And I’m wrong?” Sonic breathed heavily, feeling pain all over.

“Because…” Sonic waited as his vision blurred and unblurred. “Because that’s apparently what’s been happening on Mobius. Everyone’s been using violence for hundreds of years and nothing’s changed…” Sonic swallowed blood. “If that’s not proof that violence solves nothing, I don’t know what does.”

No one said anything. Heavy breaths filled the air.

“Hey, Shadow?” Sonic asked.

“Y-yeah?”

“Can…can we take a five-minute break?” Sonic waited for Shadow to respond.

“Okay…but only because it’d be too easy to beat you without it.” The two lay there for those five minutes. Staring up at the slowly darkening autumn sky as they lay in the cold snow of the mountain, their blood staining it.

“Hey, Shadow?” Sonic asked again.

“Yeah?”

“I can’t move…can you?” Sonic still couldn’t seem to catch his breath, all of his energy drained. Shadow took a while to respond.

“Y-yes…but…I don’t want to.”

“Liar.”

“Maybe…” More heavy breaths from them both. “So…do you forfeit then?”

“Pfff. What?! No way dude.” Sonic rolled his eyes.

“Sounds like you’re too chicken to forfeit.” Shadow taunted.

“What are you talking about? That’s not how that taunt works!”

“Well, how am I supposed to know how your made-up taunts work?!” Shadow scoffed.

“Oh. My. God. You are so weird.”

“If that’s not the pot calling the kettle black.”

“That phrase he knows.” Sonic laughed to himself.

“Forfeit.”

“No way.”

“Forfeit or I’ll tell Amy you like her.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Sonic actually managed to turn his head to glare at Shadow.

“Try me.” Shadow turned towards Sonic and gave the most serious expression he’d ever given.

Sonic laughed. Shadow joined him. Weak laughter built from the two until pain reared its ugly head and it hurt for Sonic to laugh. But Shadow continued-

Until he didn’t.

“I’m sorry.” Tears built in Shadow’s eyes as his laughs turned to cries. “I’m so so sorry Sonic.” The tears began to flow freely and rolled down Shadow’s cheeks mixing with his blood and combining before landing in the freezing snow. “I couldn’t stop. I was just so angry and hurt. Maria hates me. G.U.N. left me too. And I hurt you and your brothers and ruined our friendship.” Shadow took a moment to cry for a while. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything!” Shadow sobbed and choked.

“Shadow!” Sonic managed and Shadow looked up, temporarily halted. “I’m still your friend. Promise. And…and I want you to know…I forgive you.”

Shadow stopped crying. And then he stood and wiped at his tears, drying his face. And then he glowered down at Sonic, still immobile on the ground.

“Then you’re a fool.” Sonic swallowed, unsure of what Shadow would do next. “Because I won’t allow myself such easy forgiveness. I must make a change, right? And first I must face my punishment.” Sonic didn’t know what to say to that.

And so he watched wordlessly as Shadow walked down the mountain.

One Week Later…

Commander Walters put his favorite Bermuda shirt into his box as his phone rang on the desk, now mostly cleared out. He picked it up.

“Hello Mr. Wachowski, how are you?” Walters asked almost cheerily.

“Overjoyed.” Came the strained tone of Thomas Wachowski.

“I’d imagine so. All your problems have gone away, no?” Walters sighed as he put the remainder of his stuff into his box. His desk now completely cleared out.

“I’m sorry, guess I’m just having a hard time believing the spy organization is actually gone for good.” Mr. Wachowski’s sarcasm was not subtle.

“G.U.N. was never a spy organization, we were dedicated to Earth’s protection and besides the actions depicted by our spy on the video you sent were deemed too extreme by the nations that formed G.U.N. in the first place. And therefore…G.U.N. has been officially disbanded.” There was a long pause on the other line.

“Uh-huh…but we only sent the video to G.U.N. I’m surprised it made it all the way to the leaders of those countries.”

“Yes, well…” As Walters picked up his box, a subtle smile crossed his face. “True most operatives would have tossed the evidence and just reeled back our operations. So it would’ve had to be intercepted by an official with a desire for change and a high enough security clearance to spread the video to various world leaders.”

“R-right…and why would this individual do that?” Mr. Wachowski’s voice slowed, curious.

“Perhaps he was unhappy with how things were done. Or…” Walters let a full smile cross his face as he looked at the empty office at the end of the hall. It was big, with a corner view. And it once held a perfect man with perfect posture and perfect composure…who lost it all in a fit of anger and rage upon learning that a video containing extreme spy actions had somehow gone around him and reached his higher-ups. “Perhaps he just wanted to see someone fall.”

“And what of the operator?”

“He would be fired alongside everyone else and-”

“No, I know that. I mean, what of the spy operator?” Walters paused. Swallowed. Unsure of what to do, a child’s fate was in his hands.

“The spy…the spy…for his own safety, should likely go into hiding with the knowledge that he was originally created as a cold war effort weapon and therefore is owned by the U.S. government and could be tested and experimented on.”

“R-right…okay, good to know. Alright, bye.”

“Wait!” Walters stopped Mr. Wachowski. “You should know, now that G.U.N. is gone, there will be no more handouts. No more food drops or vaccines or legal protection or protection from crazed individuals. You are on your own now Mr. Wachowski. Be careful.”

“Okay.” Came a shaky breath from the other end of the line.

“And one more thing Mr. Wachowski.” Walters exited the former G.U.N. HQ. “I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry about everything. Good luck.”

Tom ended the call with a shaky hand. G.U.N. was gone, it was truly truly gone. It was a dream he’d had for the last year and a half, and yet…now there was nothing. The world seemed ambiguous now. He’d felt he’d had one threat to protect his family and town from and now there was this darkness all around them all. And Tom had no idea from where the next threat might come.

Tom got up from his desk and waved a hand to Wade before making to leave. He had a meeting at the vet clinic that he had to go to. But first, he made a stop at the holding cells.

“Hi, Shadow.” Tom said to the black and red hedgehog sitting on the crummy cot in the cell.

Shadow said nothing.

“How are your wounds? Are you feeling okay?” Tom looked over the bandages covering Shadow’s body, the wounds courtesy of Sonic, and the bandages courtesy of Maddie.

Shadow said nothing.

“Are you…hungry?” Tom looked at the plate of food left on the ground at Shadow’s feet. Barely touched. And the plate next to that one, and the plate next to that one.

Shadow said nothing.

“Do you want to come out today?” Tom looked at the open cell door.

They’d never closed it. They’d never even put Shadow in the cell in the first place. He’d disappeared one day and appeared in the cell the next.

Shadow said nothing.

“Okay…well…I-I thought you should know something.” Tom squatted, hoping to catch Shadow’s attention. “After…after what happened at the mayor’s house…Maria-” There was the slightest flick of Shadow’s ear. “-Maria has…left Green Hills. She-she and the mayor are no longer together. Apparently, they’d been having problems for a little while now.” Shadow’s head lowered slightly. “Not that that’s your fault!” Tom spluttered quickly. “Just…just she’s gone now. Didn’t leave a forwarding address either, so…so we don’t really know where she went. Just-just thought you should know kid. Are…are you okay?”

Shadow.

Said.

Nothing.

Tom looked the young kid over for a while, a prisoner of his own mind.

“Okay. Well, I’m going out for a while. Tell Wade if you get hungry, or if you want to go for a walk.” Tom said, even though he knew-Shadow wouldn’t. Tom watched him for one more minute before he got up and walked out of the station and got into his car.

Tom arrived in the clinic room in chaos.

“Fuckin’ get off me!” Scourge floundered about in the bed.

“Hold him down! Please!” Maddie demanded of Knuckles, Sonic and Arthur. The three tried their best and managed to keep Scourge still enough for Maddie to stick an IV back into Scourge’s arm. “You’re lucky I was here when you yanked out the last one. You could’ve bled to death all over the place!”

“Well, I’ll just yank this one too!” Scourge laughed.

“No, you won’t!” Sally commanded from the end of the bed, eyes snapped to her. “You’ll stay here and heal or else!” Eyes flickered back to Scourge who nodded shyly.

“Uhh, knock knock?” Tom asked as he entered the room and everyone’s attention turned back to him. “Am I interrupting anyone?”

“Oh just someone who thinks it's a good idea to yank out his IV while nearly dying of starvation and dehydration while also still healing from a grievous torso injury.” Maddie grumbled as she walked over to Tom and then under her breath. “Still a better patient than when Sonic needs his flu shot.” Tom held in a laugh.

Tom looked at his boys which were sharing a room with the grumpy Scourge. All were sporting various bandages and injuries. And while Tom was still furious at Shadow for doing that to them, the smiles Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles gave Tom as they moved over to hug him made things a little better.

“Okay boys, back in bed, gotta heal up right? You’re lucky I’m letting you miss school over this.” Tom hugged them tight and ushered them back to various beds. “So how is he?” Tom moved over to the angry green hedgehog.

“Well he’s still completely stupid, and unfortunately, that’s incurable.” Sally smirked at Scourge who growled back at her.

“Enough.” Arthur rolled his eyes, but they settled back on Scourge, checking to make sure he was doing okay and resting comfortably.

“So what’s up?” Tom asked Arthur and the man raised an eyebrow. “I mean I was going to come to see my kids anyway, but you wanted to talk to me?” Arthur’s eyebrows furrowed and he began to shake my head when Sally raised a hand.

“Actually Mr. Wachowski…that was us.” Sally gestured to herself and Scourge. “We-we have something to tell you.”

“Alright, what’s up?” Tom shrugged. Sally and Scourge shared a look. Fear, uncertainty…dread. “Guys?”

“Well…you see…” Sally floundered a little. “You-you should know…I mean-”

“Iblis is coming.”

At Scourge’s words; the room changed.

Tails immediately burst into tears and Knuckles flinched and covered his head. Sally herself scooted away from Scourge. Tom, Sonic, Maddie, and Arthur didn’t understand why this had happened, but even they could feel there was a menace to the name. Maddie moved over to Tails and picked him up, the tiny fox clutching her and crying for dear life. Knuckles got out of bed and held onto her legs. Both were acting like it was the end of the world. Tom started to move over to his sons when Sally grabbed his pant leg and looked up at him, determination in her eyes.

“You need to hear this. All of you.” Sally’s eyes moved over to Sonic. She looked to Scourge.

“She…Iblis I mean-is one of the most powerful and malevolent beings on all of Mobius.” Scourge started and Tom felt something churn and twist in his stomach. He looked at Maddie and he could tell, she was feeling the same. “She leaves a wake of destruction wherever she goes and kills 'cause it’s fun.”

“I-I thought she couldn’t…couldn’t come here?” Tom asked now unsure. Scourge gave a slow nod.

“That positive Chaos wave blue blob put out over here did two things. It incentivized those seeking love and protection to come here, but it also pushed away those that wanted to cause pain and suffering. I saw it myself, right after the wave came, those that were truly menacing, vile…crumpled, could feel the power of that wave and collapsed under it. But…but Iblis is so powerful…” Scourge looked up at Tom.

“She barely flinched.” Scourge’s voice was laced with true fear.

“But yes…” Scourge continued. “It has kept her out. But it’s weakening, losing strength, and the first person that’s going to overpower it, is her. She’s…she’s a monster.”

“I-I thought that was her boss?” Sally interjected. Scourge shrugged.

“They both are. Doesn’t matter.”

“How do we beat her?” Sonic got out of bed, determination in his eyes. Scourge shrugged again.

“You don’t really. I mean, she did this to me.” Scourge pointed to his cuts and Tom could see Maddie’s fear now. Those cuts had evaded her healing. She was a vet and a mobian doctor of sorts. Being able to heal people was her job, what she was good at. And those injuries had persisted, rejected her desire to help. Tom knew they kept her up at night.

“Come on, she’s gotta have a weakness.” Sonic begged, now approaching Scourge’s bed. Scourge looked at him.

“She’s been beaten, shot, blown up, poisoned, set on fire, drowned, stabbed, and crushed. None of it phased her, let alone hurt her.”

“So you’re saying being electrocuted is still new ground?” Sonic tried for a smile and Scourge gave a sad laugh.

“Yeah, that’s the thing, I really don’t think that’s going to hurt her.”

“Wh-why?” Sonic’s smile faded.

“Because that’s her power, she controls electricity.”

“O-oh. I see.”

“Do you?!” Scourge growled. “Cause I’m not sure you understand the ramification of that. Chaos powers run through electricity.” Scourge demonstrated by dancing some green lighting across his fingers. “She controls that. She can steal that. Why do you think she’s one of the most feared beings on Mobius?! No one beats her because she’ll just take all of your energy. We’re…” Scourge’s voice broke. “We’re doomed…we’re dead.” There was a dark pause as no one spoke.

Sonic looked at his hands, and felt the power beneath his skin. Felt what it looked like, and what it felt like to use it. What it felt like to lose it. To have it taken from him and used for malevolent purposes.

“She’s gotta have a weakness, a way we can beat her. Or at least make her see reason.” Sonic’s eyes hardened and they stared into Scourge, daring him to say no. Scourge looked away. Sonic sighed and got ready to move away.

“She…tunnel-visions.” Sonic stopped and looked back. “She is very fast and very strong. But her senses are dulled. Compared to most mobians, her sense of smell, hearing, taste, and touch are weakened. An effect of making her as powerful as she is. But her eyes are very good. Except…except when she’s attacking one person. She can’t see her surroundings very well. If you can get her to focus on one person…then maybe others can attack her from behind. And even then, she’s still practically invulnerable to any attack, but I guess…it’s at least a shot.”

“Cool! So I’ll just get her attention and then my bros can-”

“There’s another problem.” Sonic sighed, because of course there was. “Mephiles.” Sonic raised an eyebrow. “For-for the most part, she works alone. But she does have a support unit. She never goes anywhere without him. He’s small and not all that strong, but he covers her weaknesses. His hearing and sense of smell are extremely good and he can cover many targets so when Iblis is focused on only 1% of her surroundings, he watches the other 99%. If you want to beat them both, you’ve got to take care of him first.”

“How long before she gets here?” Tom intercepted, his mind reeling on how to deal with such a powerful enemy. He was just a small-town cop. And his boys were just boys, how were they supposed to fight a one-woman army? Scourge shrugged.

“Dunno. A year at best, before the wave isn’t strong enough to keep her from coming here.”

“So we’ve got a year, that’s plenty of time! We’ll finish preparing for Project Homerun and then get ready to kick her ass-”

“One more thing.” Scourge looked up at Sonic. “Iblis…it’s just a code name. Names hold power so no one really likes to say her real name. But-but you should know. Her-her real name… Her real name is-”

11 months later…

The air churned and twisted. The heat of late summer turning the ground to scorching dirt and causing the horizon to blur. But something was causing the very air to blur.

And then a ring appeared.

And two figures walked through.

They took a moment to examine their surroundings, the green leaves, the bright sun, and the fresh air. And they breathed deeply. The taller of the two, a bright green tenrec with sharp eyes and even sharper quills looked down at the smaller one.

The small fennec fox flinched under her gaze, trying to hide his face behind his large ears and long bangs.

“T-th-there appears to be a s-s-sm-a-small town nearby-by-by. It’s-it- it was the epicenter of-of-of the ch-cha-chaos wave.” He mumbled, barely able to string his sentence together as his ears flicked and nose twitched picking up sounds and smells miles away. The tenrec smiled at him. A big, horrible smile; a promise of pain.

“C’mon Kit!” She said. “Crack a smile, we’ve got a whole new world to destroy!” She got close to his face, brushing his bangs aside to reveal his maroon eyes that wouldn’t meet hers.

“Y-y-yes ma’am.” Kitsunami managed the tiniest, weakest smile. The tenrec moved back into a stand, frowning at his smile… But then she burst into a grin that stretched from ear to ear as she looked out over the pristine Montana woods.

She’d have to change that.

Electricity began to arc through her body, jumping from various rings on her fingers and ears and metal studs that laced her bands and boots and hair tie, until it jumped off her all together…

Right onto dry leaves. They sparked. Sizzled.

And caught fire. The heat of the summer allowed the fire to spread, moving onto grasses and exploring the forest beyond. The tenrec watched it go, and smiled at it. But she couldn’t let the fire do damage all on its own.

No…she’d make sure a lot of the damage was caused by her. She’d tear this world apart…

Piece. By. Piece.

“This…” The tenrec breathed. “Is going to be so. Much. Fun.”

As she and Kitsunami began to walk towards the humble town of Green Hills it’s important to know they were created on Mobius. With Mobius’ atmospheric conditions. Mobius, while larger than Earth, has a much lighter atmosphere and as such has very little weather beyond a high, non-moving layer of smog. As such, weather was not considered in the tenrec’s creation.

It did not seem important to her creator, that she possessed so much power that she became an air pressure anomaly. Her body pushed air away from her at an extreme power such that she became a source of low air pressure on a large atmospheric scale. Warm and cold air alike then tries to rush back to her and is pushed away again, forcing it higher, coalescing into clouds, tight and powerful that rise up around her, churning and spinning.

Those clouds get larger, and mix together, so dense that rain began to fall. Saturating the dry Montana summer with fresh…heavy rainfall. The warm and cold air molecules in the clouds scrape against one another causing static, causing electricity…causing lighting. What this all means…

What this all means is that as Surge the Tenrec walked the Earth, her presence alone caused thunderstorms.

22:00:00 to Project Homerun

Chapter Text

24:00:00 to Project Homerun.

Tails checked his watch and officially set his timer. Only one more day before over a years worth of work, practice, and testing all culminated in the very best way to welcome all of the new mobians to Earth. Saying he was excited was an understatement. At 9:00 AM tomorrow, all of his and his brothers’ hard work will have paid off.

Now if only there was something to do.

Tails spun around the house aimlessly, his tails lazily lifting through the air as he loitered around, with nothing to do. He paused briefly at the door to the garage, his workshop just beyond it. He’d love to work on something, to build something. Unfortunately, he’d been restricted.

His near-mad scientist event last fall had earned him some strict punishments, the most trying of which was he was only allowed so much workshop time. And he’d blown through all 28 hours he was allowed per week in the first two days. And now it was Thursday and he could practically feel his brain turning to slag from lack of stimulation.

“C’mon bud. Move away from the door to the garage. I’m sure you can find something to do.” Tails’ dad rolled his eyes as the 10-year-old slumped and slid down the door, looking like it was the end of the world.

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhh.” He groaned and looked up at his father. “Puh-leeeeeeease daddy?” Tails brought out the big eyes. They were the biggest, wettest, most adorable baby blues on the face of the Earth. Only a will of titanium could resist their unimaginable power.

Luckily, Thomas Wachowski was a father.

“Sorry, kiddo.” Tom picked up his youngest, his face going from cute to grump in an instant. “But you know the rules. In the future perhaps you should try holding off a little and spacing out your workshop time throughout the week.” Tom received a groan for his suggestion. “Hey, I know!” Tom jittered the young fox a little. “Why don’t you come with me to Mr. O’ leary’s? I need to get around to fixing his pipes. You wanna help?” Tails’ head rolled back and he groaned some more.

“Can’t I just hang out at the sheriff’s office?” Tom flinched slightly and shook his head. Tails waved his hand pushing away from his dad. Tom shrugged. “Suit yourself, be bored.” Tom put his son down and moved to the door. “If you wanna help out, you know where to find me.”

Tails chose to starfish on the floor.

Tails eventually removed his face from the floor, a gross sticking sensation providing resistance, the heat of the summer permeating the house. He then trudged up the stairs and then up into the attic where he shared a room with his blue brother. Sonic was sitting cross-legged on his bed, nose in his new phone he got for his birthday a couple of months ago.

“Hey, Sonic.” Tails said with melancholy. Sonic grunted in response. “What are you up to?” Another grunt. “Do you wanna play a video game or something?” This time there was no response at all. “So I decided to take up juggling.” the sound of a digital keyboard filled the room. “Sonic!” Sonic’s head popped up and realized Tails had entered the room.

“S-sorry little bro, I was texting Amy.” Tails should’ve figured. It’s all he’d done since getting that phone. And Tails had had to hear every late-night clack of a digital keyboard and every bizarre noise of uncertainty that Sonic made as he tried to figure out the ‘right’ thing to text Amy.

“Right…well can we play games for a little bit?” Sonic slid off his bed and approached Tails with a sheepish smile and Tails already knew the answer.

“Sorry, buddy. But I gotta figure out what I should get Amy. After Project Homerun tomorrow, I’m finally gonna ask her out and we'll have a totally awesome date!”

“You mean like when you were ‘finally gonna ask her out’ on New Year’s Eve? Or like when you were ‘finally gonna ask her out’ on Valentine’s Day? Or like when-”

“Okay, I get it.” Sonic huffed, getting more and more unnerved with how sarcastic and…tween-like Tails had gotten over the last year. He was starting to grow up a little more. “I’m a coward, I know. But this time I swear!”

“Alright. So what are you going to do for this date?”

Sonic started to sweat.

“Ah yes. I can see the headline now. Sonic the Hedgehog dies of fear while trying to ask out a girl, and leaves behind a family of four. More at eleven.” Tails spread his hands in front of him to illustrate the news feed. Sonic rolled his eyes.

“Whatever Tails. I gotta get gone, why don’t you bug Knuckles? Maybe he’ll play some DnD with you?” Sonic quickly moved down the steps.

“Y’know you could play DnD with us! You’d make a great rogue and…and he’s gone.” Tails said to the now empty attic.

Moving down the steps to the basement Tails heard the sound of bodies shuffling. Knuckles working out. Although Tails couldn’t hear the clanking of equipment and maybe-

“Oh gross!” Tails exclaimed as he got a view of Rouge sticking her tongue down Knuckles’ throat. She’d pulled him close to her and wrapped her arms around his neck, bodies touching. Knuckles shot away from the bat and turned to Tails with anger in his eyes.

“Brother! Get out!” He huffed.

“Do you have to constantly be doing that? Don’t you get bored?” Tails cocked his head as Rouge leaned away from Knuckles and appeared to be holding in a laugh as Knuckles sputtered and foamed at the mouth.

“Hi, Tails.” She waved a hand.

“Hey Rouge.” Tails waved back. “Heeey aren’t you not supposed to be here anymore without our parent’s permission after you kept sneaking in late at night?” Knuckles and Rouge glanced at one another. “Wait…did you sleep here last night?! Oh, Chaos! What were-”

“Oh please-” Rouge rolled her eyes. “We weren’t going to do anything.”

“We weren’t?” Knuckles looked to Rouge with a very male sadness.

“You guys wanna play DnD?” Tails asked. Knuckles turned back to Tails and sneered slightly, gesturing to Rouge.

“Not now brother. I am busy!”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Puh-leeease.” Tails begged, slumping on the railing of the stairs.

“No! Now leave.” Tails looked to Rouge who merely shrugged and gave Tails a piting look. Tails looked back to Knuckles.

“Play with me or I’ll tell mom you let Rouge sneak in.” Knuckles narrowed his eyes.

“Brother…you do that and-”

“MOOOOMMY! ROUGE IS HERE AGAIN!” Tails yelled his head off.

“SHE’S WHAT?!” The very upset voice of Maddelyn Wachowski, Tails and Knuckles’ mother roared through the home. Knuckles stared at Tails with the utmost fury.

“Brother, if mother doesn’t kill me, I will throw you into the fires of the lava reef planet.” Tails smiled a shit-eating grin back at him.

“Shoulda hung out with me. Bye Rouge.” Tails waved to the bat.

“Bye Tails.” Rouge waved back rolling her eyes as Knuckles began to panic.

“Quickly Rouge, through the window!” Knuckles pointed to the tiny basement window. Rouge looked back at him with disdain.

“Okay, this…” Rouge waved her hands over her body. “Doesn’t go through tiny gross basement windows.” Tails and Knuckles’ mom tromped down the stairs past Tails.

“Knuckles! We said she can’t just come sneaking in here all the time!” Tails walked up the steps leaving his brother to his punishment.

“She is my girlfriend! And this is my room!”

“Well, it’s my house! And you have to follow my rules!”

“Well, I’m glad I won’t live here much longer!” Tails flinched at those last words as the argument went on. It was a pointless one and no one was really upset. Tails was pretty sure his mom and dad actually liked Rouge, so this was just a random argument to try and control boundaries. But Tails was still saddened at those last words. Besides Knuckles and Rouge, there wasn’t much in that basement. No posters, almost no workout equipment, empty shelves, and drawers.

But there were bags. Mostly packed bags.

Tails really did wish Knuckles had hung out with him. He’d miss him so much after he went off to college tomorrow after Project Homerun. Tails frowned as he left the argument of the basement behind.

Besides, what was so interesting about girls anyway? They were gross…well most of them anyway…

As Tails flopped on the couch, the basement argument fading, a bunny popped into his head. He turned on the TV, letting his brain vegetate. But he couldn’t seem to focus on the episode he was watching…

Cream wouldn’t seem to leave his head.

23:36:52 to Project Homerun.

…

21:47:23 to Project Homerun.

Tangle’s tail flicked about in anticipation as she looked at the front door of the cabin. Any minute now.

Any minute now Tangle’s dad and Whisper would walk through and with that, a whole bunch of possible scenarios. Tangle never knew which Whisper would come back from therapy.

There was Quiet Whisper. This was the one Tangle was the most used to. And the most difficult. She’d wordlessly enter the cabin, not look at anything and go to their room. More often than not Quiet Whisper wouldn’t even come to dinner. Quiet Whisper also lasted. Tangle would hope things would be better the next day, but usually not with Quiet Whisper. She stayed blank and empty. Would often spend the whole day in the forest and come back hours, sometimes even days later. Once Quiet Whisper lasted so long that she existed until her next therapy session two weeks later.

Then there was Sad Whisper. This one broke Tangle’s heart. She’d come back crying or trying to hide her crying. That was the thing about Sad Whisper, she had range. Sometimes it was tiny, nigh invisible tears, other times it was huge, big flows of tears that didn’t seem to stop. Tangle would hold her close and try to be with her but Sad Whisper was the one that frustrated Tangle the most. Tangle didn’t know how to help her. She was sad that she was alone, but whenever Tangle tried to hug her, Whisper pushed her away. Tangle would try to get her to eat something, and Whisper would act like she didn’t deserve food. It drove Tangle bonkers!

A shocking one was Angry Whisper. This was the one that scared Tangle. Whisper, no matter what she felt, was often soft-spoken or reeled in her actions. Not Angry Whisper. She often threw a fit. She’d snap at Tangle or her dad or turn her side of the room into a mess or refuse to do anything Tangle’s dad told her to do. Angry Whisper just overall acted like a child with a temper tantrum and was so different from the normal Whisper they were used to.

There was also a lonely Whisper, a scared Whisper, a Whisper that only spoke in grunts, a Whisper that liked to put her hair on the other side of her face-

And then there was the rarest Whisper of all. The one that Tangle had seen so little that she could count the number of times on one hand…

Happy Whisper.

Tangle was ecstatic and admittedly a little shocked to find that such a Whisper existed. And was without a doubt, Tangle’s favorite Whisper. Happy Whisper liked hugs. Happy Whisper could cook! Happy Whisper voiced her opinion. Happy Whisper made small talk! Like WHAT?! That’s crazy!

So of course, as the front door opened, this was the Whisper that Tangle was most hoping for. But she also knew that whatever Whisper walked through the front door-Tangle would be there for her.

It’s what girlfriends did.

Not that…that’s what they were…or…maybe they were? Tangle and Whisper had never defined their relationship…they…it was so hard to understand and Tangle was never sure where they stood.

Ugh. Why couldn’t there be a ‘this is exactly what I think we are to each other’ Whisper?

The front door opened and Tangle’s dad walked in first, clearly a little ahead of Whisper. He squatted in front of Tangle and ran a hand through the fur on her head.

“You didn’t start any fires while we were gone did you ringtail?” Tangle gave a laugh and then a scoff at his words. She couldn’t actually let her dad know that she liked him. That’s not what teenagers did. “Good girl.” He smiled at her and Tangle couldn’t help but smile back. Her dad looked back towards the front door where Whisper was taking off her boots. “She was pretty quiet coming back, looks like another rough couple days.” Tangle’s smile faded and she gave a slow nod.

Quiet Whisper. Not unexpected, just…hard.

But it didn’t matter, Tangle cared about all the different versions of Whisper, Quiet was just the hardest to help. Tangle’s dad moved to the kitchen and Tangle approached Whisper, the wolf girl’s head down and long bangs covering her face as she stood up from taking her boots off.

“Hey, Whisp…how…therapy go okay? Talk about…stuff?”

Whisper had been going to a local therapist for close to a year now. Tangle really hoped it was helping because she knew that Whisper was only going because of her suggestion. It really made Tangle feel like she was heard but she also feared…she feared that if Whisper hated it or got a bad experience from it, she’d come to hate Tangle too.

All of which meant that as Tangle waited with bated breath and biting nails for Whisper to come back from therapy each and every time, she feared the Whisper that walked in the door was ‘I hate Tangle’ Whisper.

Whisper had started with once a month. Then twice a month. And now once a week. She’d definitely disliked the process at first or at least resisted it, but with each new version of Whisper that walked through the cabin’s front door Tangle could tell…things… were actually getting better.

Little by little.

But maybe not today.

Whisper wouldn’t meet her gaze. There was some light sniffling from Whisper and she wiped at her eyes beneath her bangs. Oh boy. This was a double whammy. Quiet plus Sad Whisper.

“Whisp? You…okay?” Tangle tried again and reached for Whisper’s hand. She stopped mere millimeters though. Probably shouldn’t try for physical contact, Quiet Whisper did not like any physical contact at all. But something brushed at Tangle’s fingers.

Whisper’s hand. Tangle held it. And Whisper didn’t pull away. Tangle smiled a little.

Maybe…maybe this round of Quiet Whisper wouldn’t be too bad.

And then Whisper started walking, moving toward their shared bedroom. Tangle of course followed, not daring to risk breaking her hand-hold with Whisper. Whisper guided Tangle to the center of the room and turned to her, face still hidden behind her bangs.

“Do-do you wanna talk about it?” Tangle tried. Whisper didn’t say anything. “Whisper? Seriously are you okay?” Still nothing, but Tangle did notice an uptick in the tears rolling down Whisper’s face. “Whisper! What-what happened?!”

And then Whisper looked up. And she was still crying.

But there was a smile on her face.

Tangle’s brain shut down. It was hard to compute Whisper’s tears and smile. Were…was shy crying tears of…no…

Tangle had misjudged Whisper’s initial entry into the cabin. Mistaken Sad Whisper for…for Happy Whisper! This was great! This was amazing! This was…not right…no this wasn’t Happy Whisper this was…

More.

“I’m good.” Whisper wiped at her tears with one hand, her other hand still holding onto Tangle’s-tight. “I just…I was talking about everything I’ve been through and being here and…and I just realized you’ve been here for me the whole time.”

“Well…yeah. Duh, why wouldn’t I be?” Tangle gave a half-laugh not sure where this was going. Whisper’s smile softened slightly, becoming more natural.

“I don’t know. For some reason you…you put up with me and how difficult I can be.”

“Whaaaaat? You’re not difficult! Just…you’ve got a lot on your plate and I’m just…not sure how best to help and-” Whisper put a finger to Tangle’s lips and Tangle shut the fuck up.

“Thanks for all of that, really. But…but what I’m trying to tell you…what I wanna say…I realized…I-I realized…” Tangle couldn’t take her eyes off the beautiful, tortured, powerful, amazing wolf before her. “-Is that I love you.”

And that’s when Tangle knew. This wasn’t Happy Whisper. Nor was it Sad or Angry or Chaos forbid Quiet Whisper. No this…this was just Whisper. And Tangle loved her too.

Tangle rushed forward and pressed her lips into Whisper’s taking in her scent and the feel of her lips and tongue. The feel of her silky fur as it tickled Tangle’s face. Whisper was amazing. And somehow, by some miracle she loved Tangle. And there was no way Tangle wasn’t going to make sure she earned it.

“Do-does that mean you love me back?” Whisper pulled away momentarily a mildly confused and surprised look on her face.

Tangle was able to manage a nod before she went back, hungry for more of the taste of Whisper’s lips against her own. The two moved to Tangle’s bed sitting down and making out for a while, Tangle trying to sear this moment into her brain for all eternity.

But unfortunately, as all things do. It had to end.

There was a crack of thunder outside their bedroom window and both girls jumped, pulling apart. They looked outside and notice rain had begun to fall heavily battering the window and soaking the world outside. They looked at each other and chuckled.

“Geez, didn’t even notice it started raining. Came outta nowhere.” Tangle giggled and Whisper nodded. Tangle moved back in for more kisses but was only met with Whisper’s hand on her face. “Umm, are we done kissing for today?” Tangle was saddened but figured this burst of affection probably had a time limit to it. Tangle could only hope that Whisper would be willing in the future-

“Hardly.”

Oh. Well looks like everything’s finally coming up Tangle.

“But.” Uh oh. “I…I wanted to talk to you about something else first. I…I also realized it at therapy today and I wanted you to know. It’s something girlfriends share with each other, right?”

“R-right!” Tangle nodded ferociously. “Totally! I’m-I’m all ears.” Tangle pointed to her ears. Whisper smiled at her again and hugged her. For her bad joke? This was the best day.

“Yeah. So, I wanted to tell you that-”

“TANGLE! PHONE FOR YOU!”

FUCKING.

NOW?!

“JUST A SECOND DAD!” Tangle called from the bedroom. And then she turned back to Whisper, eager to hear what else she learned in therapy.

“IT’S LEO!”

Of course, it was. Tangle yanked on her ears, unsure of what to do. Of course, she wanted to hear what Whisper had to say. Tangle lived for Whisper’s few precious words. But…Leo also had limited time. He was pretty busy and Tangle really liked talking to him and could only do it on rare occasions. Tangle looked back to Whisper and then to the door of their room where Leo’s call was waiting. And then back to Whisper. Apparently, she was making a face cause Whisper was giggling at her.

“Go talk to your brother. We’ll talk after.” Tangle looked at Whisper with a note of suspicion. Whisper’s willingness to talk was limited. “Promise.” And then she kissed Tangle’s cheek.

Okay. Good enough for Tangle.

Tangle made the ‘one-moment’ gesture and left the room scrambling into the kitchen where her dad was waiting with the phone. Tangle snagged it from him and spoke into the receiver.

“HeyLeowhat’sup?!” She spoke fast. Foot tapping as she looked to the door to her bedroom where an open and affectionate Whisper was waiting.

“Uhhh I’m good…are..are you?”

“Yupyupgood.” Tangle sputtered.

“Are…are you sure? Maybe take a breather Tangle.” Tangle was ready to snap at him and then realized he might be right. Trying to be too energetic near Whisper might scare her off. She breathed deeply and then once more before answering.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just…some cool stuff going on…wanna get back to it.” Tangle felt her dad’s eyes on her as she said that and scooted with the phone away from him.

“Oh, nice. School going good?”

“Yeah! I guess so. Learnings are okay. But all us mobians are going to start full schedules once fall rolls around again, so that’ll be a lot.”

“Hey, stay in school. Learn stuff. There’s a big world waiting for you out there. Better be prepared to live in it.” Tangle scoffed.

“Why would I do that when I can live out in all the really cool forests here?”

“Okay. Okay. Just a thought.” There was some muffling from the other end of the line “Breezie get back here!” Tangle heard.

“Oh oh! How’s my niece?!” Tangle bubbled. And Leo’s distraught voice came from the other end of the line. “She’s not your niece…” And then clearly to someone else, “SHE’S JUST A LITTLE TIE-STEALING MONSTER THAT I CAN’T SEEM TO GET RID OF!” Tangle tried to stifle her laughter. “She’s fine. Metal too.”

“That’s good. Is she going to school yet?”

“Mmmm, not really. She’s really young and the city doesn’t really have much ability to care for mobians. I’ll figure it out. Maybe I’ll bring her to work and get her to stay still enough to act as a paperweight.” Tangle tried to imagine Breezie being willing to sit on a large stack of papers and her brain imploded from the sheer preposterousness of the situation. “And how’s Whisper? You guys a couple yet?”

Tangle’s face turned as red as Knuckles the echidna’s was.

“W-w-well may-may-no. I mean…” There was a breath on the other end of the line.

“Did…did I interrupt something?” A smug-sounding voice replaced Leo’s older brother tone.

“Uhhhhhh.”

“Well just be careful. And don’t do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing-”

“LEO!” Tangle somehow blushed harder. Leo laughed.

“Okay, well take care, little sis. I’ll try to call you soon.” Tangle’s embarrassment drained and discomfort replaced it.

“W-wait! Do…do you wanna talk to dad?” There was another pause on the line. A big one.

“I’m pretty busy…maybe another time.” He always said that.

“Oh-o-okay. Talk to you later.” The line went dead. Tangle approached her father and handed him back the phone. He took it wordlessly and put it into his pocket, staring at the heavy rain plastering the glass back door windows of the cabin. The rain and clouds were starting to get so heavy that despite the fact that the sun was rising, it was starting to look dark out.

“Geez. Rain’s really coming down. Didn’t see anything on the weather report. Maybe a sudden downburst?” Tangle’s dad mumbled to himself. But Tangle knew he wasn’t really talking, just trying to distract himself from the fact that Tangle had given him a hung-up phone.

“I’m sorry he doesn’t want to talk to you.” Tangle looked at the floor. Her dad stiffened for a moment and then she felt his hand on her head, his fingers running through her fur.

“D-don’t worry about it, ringtail. I…I did it to myself.” Tangle said nothing as she watched her dad punish himself once more. “I…I wasn’t in my right mind after I came home from Vietnam…and…well I stayed that way for a while. It was hard for Leo to deal with a dad that spouted nonsense most of the time. Guess I’m just at least lucky enough I never hurt him…at least not physically.” Tangle’s dad took a deep breath, rattly with held-back sobs. “But hey. He’s doing okay, despite that, and he’s got you to talk to and you’ve got him and it’s all good.”

“Are you sure?” Tangle looked up at her dad’s sad eyes, unsure if he was lying or not.

“I’ll be okay. It’s up to Leo if he’s ready to talk to me again. Now…what were you and Whisper talking about? Is she okay?” Tangle’s eyes widened. She’d totally forgotten about her totally hot and awesome wolf girlfriend waiting for her.

“Uh, yeah fine! Sorry dad, gotta get back to her and-”

And that’s when the glass back doors exploded inward, glass spraying everywhere, rain and wind on its tail.

There was a blast behind it and Tangle was thrown onto her butt, having to shield her eyes from the wind and rain that blew through the now opening in the home.

“Tangle! You okay?!” Her dad rushed over and helped her to her feet. She looked up at her dad. It looked like some glass had got him, a few cuts and scraps starting to bleed. He checked her over and seemed relieved to find that she was okay. Tangle couldn’t feel anything bleeding yet, so she got pretty lucky. The door to Tangle’s bedroom opened and an alarmed Whisper came out looking extremely concerned. She ran over to Tangle and checked her over. Tangle gave a laugh as the wolf examined her from ear to tail to tail to tail.

Dang, how lucky was Tangle that she had two amazing people that cared so deeply about-

And then footsteps crunched the broken glass. They were both heavy and light. Two sets of footprints. Lightning flashed and two figures were illuminated. One was small. A tiny blue fox even smaller than Tails. He hung his head low and bangs covered his face. He didn’t seem interested at all in anything in the room as he entered.

And then there was the other figure. A tall green tenrec who only seemed interested in the figures on the floor in front of her. There was a wicked grin on her face and sharp quills seemed to stick out from all directions on her head. Electric ice blue eyes bored into Tangle, immovable.

“Hey.” The tenrec said. It was nonchalant, yet strong, if anything, it looked friendly. The figure willing to give enough of her attention to plain old screw-up Tangle. But Tangle could still tell, she may have sounded friendly, but her intentions were anything but. The smile of someone just about to stab you in the back.

Tangle hadn’t noticed it at first but Whisper beside her had frozen to ice. Tangle looked over and saw fear in Whisper’s eyes. True, unbridled fear. She knew this figure and it rocked her to her core. There was no Whisper that Tangle could identify there, it was like all of them had been violently ripped out and left behind a terrified void.

“Hello.” Tangle’s dad greeted. He was cautious that much was clear. It was a thunderstorming out, glass was broken and two mysterious figures suddenly appeared. Not to mention Whisper’s fear. He knew enough to be wary. But of what? Tangle felt like she should know these people, but she didn’t. Couldn’t place them…at least not yet. “Can we help you?”

“Nah-” The tenrec paused mid-statement and put a hand to her chin, thinking for a moment. “Actually maybe.” She looked back to Tangle’s dad and then to Tangle, and finally to Whisper, her grin growing ever larger at Whisper’s fear. “I was wondering if you could go off into that little town of yours and tell people I’m coming.”

“And…you are?” Tangle’s dad got up and stood in front of his daughter, a father’s show of intimidation and defense for his child. The tenrec scoffed and made a show of agitation.

“Of course, you don’t know. Guess all the mobians that hid out here don’t love to talk about their terrorizer.” the tenrec looked back over to Whisper. “She knows…” The tenrec winked. “Kit?” The tiny fox’s ears perked ever so slightly but made no other motions. “Bind them.”

Faster than Tangle could blink, tendrils made of…water?...shot out from behind the tiny fox and wrapped up Tangle, her dad, and Whisper. Tangle had never considered water to be ‘tight’ but the crushing power of the water tentacles certainly was. Tangle and her dad thrashed against them, but Tangle could barely churn the water and her dad couldn’t even manage that much.

“Not that one.” The tenrec pointed to Tangle and she was instantly dropped. Well, not dropped.

Placed. And then she was shoved down to the ground. It was bizarre. She found herself back on the floor, and in the exact same position that she’d been in moments prior. It was like the fox tried to rewind time so that it was like Tangle had never been grabbed in the first place. She wasn’t even wet.

“I-I-I-I’m so-sorry ma’am.” The tiny fox spoke for the first time. The tenrec didn’t even seem to notice.

“So this is a human, huh?” the tenrec examined Tangle’s dad, all the man could manage was an angry glare. He couldn’t even speak, his mouth bound too. The only part of his body not wrapped up from the nose up. “Not much to them, eh Kit?” Kit said nothing. “Well they’re tall I guess, but ain’t got any powers to speak of. Waste of life?” The tenrec seemed to be asking Tangle’s dad, who of course couldn’t say anything but continued his murderous glare. “Maybe a little bit at least? Well, that’s just my opinion.” The tenrec clapped her hands. “Okay, so you have no idea who I am, which makes enough sense.” She shrugged while pointing to Tangle’s dad. “And you know exactly who I am.” The tenrec gave a laugh while pointing to Whisper. “But you...” She pointed to Tangle herself. “You’re the anomaly here. You’re a mobian, but you don’t know who I am.”

“Am I supposed to?” Tangle summoned her courage at this seemingly powerful intruder. She just gave a quick laugh.

“Maybe. How ‘bout a quick refresher.” The tenrec got very close to Tangle’s face and she got an up-close look at a pair of extremely sharp canines…an altered. “Hi. I’m Surge the Tenrec. Welcome to Chaos’ world now. See if you can survive the transition.”

Fear.

Fear.

Fear.

It laced through Tangle’s body and back. She didn’t know it was possible to be this afraid. It turned her blood to ice and made everything rigid. Her whole body tensed and her tail lashed about, completely not under Tangle’s control.

And then Surge smiled wide and Tangle’s fear doubled.

“See? This is what I live for. He doesn’t know who the hell I am at all.” Without looking Surge pointed to Tangle’s dad. “And she knows me all too well.” Pointed to Whisper. “But you…you’ve heard of me. And then when you realize who I am. Watching that transition. That fear come and boil to the surface? Best feeling in the world.” Surge moved away and leaned back, her smile becoming more natural.

She was happy. Tangle was more afraid than she’d ever been in her entire life and this girl was happy.

“I-I-I-I’m no-no-not afraid of-of y-you.” Tangle managed and tried to move to stand, her fists clenching. The tenrec raised an eyebrow.

“Somehow I doubt that. But you will. Everyone does.” Surge looked her over and smirked. “Ohhh, you wanna fight? Okay, we can do that, I’m always up to getting my hands dirty.” Surge moved over to Tangle and picked her up, brushing her off and posing her. Tangle didn’t resist. She didn’t have the strength to resist. She found herself in a battle position. Feet stanced and arms at the ready. Surge had even taken the care to get Tangle’s tail ready to defend or attack.

“Wh-wh-?” Tangle mumbled.

“You ready? Now keep your stance wide and your fists up. You’ve got that long tail so make sure to-” Surge was in her own fight position. Then her fist was in Tangle’s gut. And then she was back in her fight position. Tangle hadn’t even seen the motions in between. Tangle hadn’t even blinked. Surge had just moved so fast.

And then Tangle registered the punch.

Pain. So much pain.

Tangle was blasted into the wall behind her and slammed against it. She slumped to the ground and examined herself mentally. Nothing seemed broken or damaged, there was just agony and Tangle couldn’t seem to catch her breath. She managed to look up at Surge who was now approaching. Taking slow cocky steps toward her. Then Tangle realized.

She’d not broken anything on purpose. She’d hit Tangle hard enough to hurt, but not break. Tangle managed to look up and see her dad and Whisper fighting against Kit’s bindings harder than ever. Whisper managed to free her mouth.

“STAY AWAY FROM HER!” Whisper managed to scream before Kit got her back under control. Surge blinked, almost surprised. She paused and turned to look at Whisper.

“No.” She said in a mocking voice. “Why does everyone always seem to think that I’m not gonna do the very thing I want to do? I mean really? Some people just don’t get it.” Surge sighed. And then she turned on Kit. “Kit. Do better.” There was a growl from Surge so low it seemed to shake the room. Kit said nothing but Tangle was able to notice a quiver of fear. Surge turned back to Tangle. “Soooo? How bout it?”

“Wh-what?” Tangle managed.

“Will you go warn everyone? I wanna skip past the ‘oh no. It can’t be. Impossible!’ and get ready to see the fear. The shock is kinda boring.” Surge mocked. “So you go, and I’ll stay here and rip the skin from their flesh. You can then come back and tell me and I’ll kill you too, ‘kay?” Surge began to turn back to Whisper, her hands reaching toward Whisper’s beautiful face.

“N-No! I-I won’t!” Tangle managed, getting to her feet and glowering at Surge. Surge turned back and narrowed her eyes, taking in Tangle.

“You really won’t, will you? Okay.” She shrugged. “It was a nice thought, but I’ll just kill you now too.” Surge gave a quick laugh and started moving towards Tangle. This was an unbeatable enemy. More powerful than Tangle had ever known. She had to figure out a way to get everyone out of there safely.

“N-no! I-I mean I won’t do it if you kill them.” Tangle said. And Surge stopped. She paused. Looked to Tangle’s dad and Whisper, then back to Tangle.

“Okay. Whatever floats your boat. Kit.” Kit immediately tossed Tangle’s loved ones in the direction of Tangle, the water tendrils receding. Tangle grabbed onto her father and girlfriend holding them close, the whole family embracing.

“You’re letting us go?” Tangle stuttered. Surge shrugged.

“I mean not really. You’re still fish in a barrel whether or not I let go of the fish. I can be patient…sometimes…okay not really. So why don’t you hurry up and go warn everyone? I’m so excited for what comes next.” Surge laughed a little to herself and Tangle watched blankly as she was lifted to her feet by her father, and pulled along by Whisper. They were trying to run. To get her to flee and be safe. And Tangle would.

But first. Something welled up deep inside. A threat. Something so certain would actually rattle Surge and make her think twice about attacking her, her family, Green Hills, and Earth. No. Not a threat.

A challenge.

“Sonic the Hedgehog will stop you.” Tangle said with an assurance that she didn’t know she had while facing Surge. Surge stopped laughing and looked at Tangle. And something did change in Surge’s face. She wasn’t happy anymore she…she…

Was only annoyed.

“Ugh. A folk hero? Really? You know they’re all talk, right? As soon as they know it's me they’ll go running for the hills. Everyone’s got a folk hero.”

“Sonic won’t run away! He’s strong and looks out for everyone!” Tangle persisted despite her dad and Whisper trying to pull her from the home.

“They all are. And they all die.” Surge finally looked unhappy. Her joy was gone replaced by confusion and annoyance that there was someone that might actually be willing to stand up to her. To be unafraid of her.

“Sonic’s powerful. He stopped a madman from stealing his power and sent him to another world as punishment.” Surge smiled again.

“Then I look forward to sending him to hell as a warning.”

And then Whisper and Tangle’s dad pulled her out of their home. The three ran as Tangle looked behind. They’d come back. Sonic would stop her. Everything would be-

And then the home went up in flames.

Tangle’s feet rooted in place. She watched her home burn. It all came down. The walls, the ceiling…her room. Her dad was still pulling on her but she couldn’t move anymore so he picked her up, Tangle’s eyes burned with the image of her home being destroyed.

And Whisper watched it happen. Carl was more focused on Tangle being safe and Whisper had seen too many places burn for it to hurt her, but she understood.

That was Tangle’s home. She’d helped build that room with her own two hands. Set the foundation, put up the walls, painted the room, and decided on the furniture. It’s where she felt safe for the first time. It was where she and Whisper had kissed for the first time. It’s where she did her homework and watched TV and went to sleep warm and happy.

And Surge had taken it from her. The life she’d started over for abandoned Mobius for. Whisper wasn’t going to let that stand. Fury welled up deep inside for the girl that Whisper now knew she loved. Surge was going to pay.

Whisper would make sure of it.

21:24:37 to Project Homerun.

Chapter Text

21:23:46 to Project Homerun.

Surge had done it again. She’d been sparking up a storm. Excited to destroy this house and the building had caught on fire. Was this going to be a thing on Earth? Houses catching fire?

She’d never had this problem back on Mobius. People had long since learned that wooden buildings burned. Welp. Just another lesson she’d be excited to teach the people of Earth. But for now, she had to make sure she hadn’t turned her deadweight into deadweight.

The fire was starting to catch fast. The floor, the walls, all the furniture. Surge would have no problem, Kitsunami on the other hand? For being a hydromancer he was annoyingly flammable. Surge yanked him by the scruff and threw him through the broken glass windows into the storm beyond. He landed with a yelp and scrambled to his feet before stopping and becoming as still as a statue.

Ugh. Kit definitely got on Surge’s nerves. He was a constantly apologizing milquetoast yes man that did whatever she said.

And she hated him for it.

Of course, if he ever disobeyed her, she’d kill him…probably…maybe? Eh. Who knows. Good help was hard to find and for as weak-willed as Kit was, there was no one better. Maybe that’s why Chaos created him for Surge.

That’s the part she liked about Kit. He was hers to bully. The issue was…

No one else could.

Not even Chaos himself. And yet he acted like he had just as much say in what Kit could do as Surge. He was the one that felt the need to critique every little thing about Kit. How he walked, talked, stood, sat, ate. Like seriously, who gives a flying fuck how you eat? Like fuck off. Surge only gave a shit about what Kit did when it affected her. If he’s minding his own business, then Chaos should too. It made Surge mad just thinking about it. Surge should probably kill him when she got back to Mobius.

Wait! No, she couldn’t. He gave too many fun targets to destroy. Ugh, that was annoying.

Oh well. Not much Surge could do about it now. Now was time to destroy what was left of the house. Surge turned around and sighed at finding that most everything was up in flames. Some came to try and lick at her boots. She growled at them and the flames seemed to recede. Fire itself scared of her.

Still, it was starting to get pretty smoky in here and Surge could start to feel some burning in the edges of her large, sensitive eyes. She blinked them and squinted, turning around to get out of this house before she actually managed to get hurt by it.

And yet…something made her pause. Turn around. And look at the burning house. There was something there, fading or receding now, but it had been there.

Surge at first thought it was those other Mobians. But the power had persisted their leaving. It only started to disappear once the house was burning.

It was electricity.

The very energy Surge controlled as easily as breathing. Most buildings on Mobius had electricity. Hell, Chaos’ base ran on a huge reservoir of it. But…there was something about the electricity in the house had been different. Like it was a fraction.

A piece that was being siphoned off from something much, much, much larger.

And now that the home was burning, that connection had been cut. Something severed by the flames.

Another reason for Surge to destroy stuff personally. You didn’t miss things that were important when you did them yourself. Now the fire had removed whatever it was that called to Surge. Fuck.

Whatever, it didn’t matter now. Surge should probably get out of the house before something got in her-

She wasn’t paying attention. She’d really have to stop doing that. Someday, Kit wasn’t going to be around to watch what she couldn’t all the time.

Like that flaming beam with sparks flying off it. The flames were mere feet from her eyes. Inches. Millimeters. And then a tendril of water splashed by her face snuffing out the flames and shielding Surge’s sensitive eyes. Surge growled at the beam and stomped out of the house where Kit was receding his water tentacle and stood stock still. There he was again, Chaos’ perfect little statue, so afraid to do anything that might earn him a verbal assault, or worse.

“Look.” Surge stomped over to Kit and pushed his bangs aside, frustrated that he wouldn’t look her in the eyes. “I know you can hear and smell everything. But maybe if you cut these.” Surge gestured to his long bangs. “You could’ve seen that almost hit me.”

“But it didn’t.” Surge almost smiled at the spark of resistance in Kit. “And I don’t need to see. You’re the one with sight, I’m built to carry out your vision.”

Okay. Surge would smile at that.

“Heh-heh-heh. I’ll give you that one Kit. Right you are. We’ll make use outta you yet Drippy.” Surge stepped back and let his long bangs fall. And it was only because of her good vision that she managed to catch the tiniest sliver of a smile from Kit. “Now come this way. I see some things that could do with my vision of the world.” Surge began to walk back towards the forest, ripping trees and bushes from the ground. Sparks flying and catching leaves on fire.

“Yes, ma’am.” Kit followed her.

21:20:21 to Project Homerun.

…

19:47:22 to Project Homerun.

As much as Jet wanted to deny it. He could tell.

The forest fire was getting closer.

They’d been seeing lightning flashes since the storm had rolled in suddenly, something probably caught fire and now the trees were starting to burn. He and the rest of the Babylon Rogues had been watching the far-off fire, hoping the accompanying rains would put it out.

No such luck. Not only was it getting bigger, but it also seemed…disjointed?

Like they’d see the fire in one section and then suddenly it would also pop up in another section of the forest. It was odd, what were the chances that there were this many lightning strikes actually hitting trees and starting forest fires?

Jet didn’t buy it. Something was off.

Wave coughed behind him and played a card.

“UNO!” She coughed some more. She and Storm seemed to be having a good time, but if she was starting to feel the effects of the fires…well as leader of the Rogues, Jet had to do something.

“I propose we start flapping our wings to push away the smoke!” Jet declared with a wide grin. Storm leapt up from his position on the floor.

“Great idea boss!” Storm clambered over to the window and started flapping.

Boom. Problem solved.

Jet plopped himself on the floor and picked up Storm’s cards. Ugh. Garbage.

“Hey, swap hands with me.” He told Wave.

“What? Are you kidding? No way! I’m about to win!” Wave huffed.

“Duh, that’s why I want it!” Jet was confused, did she not understand he wanted to win?

“No shot! Win on your own!” Wave scoffed.

“Just gimme-” Jet started reaching for Wave’s hand. She held it away so he reached further and she put her shoe in his face. “GIMME!”

“NO WAY!” Jet shoved her foot away and stumbled over to reach for her card. Wave squirmed away. Getting to his feet Jet stepped over her and ripped the card out of her hand.

“HA-HA!” Jet celebrated. “Victory is mine!” Wave looked pissed. She opened her mouth to complain(as she did) and-

Coughed. And kept coughing and kept coughing. Jet looked up and noticed there was a stinging in his eyes. Storm had moved away from the window and some smoke started to pour in. How had the smoke moved in so fast? Jet pushed Storm out of the way and looked out.

Fire. So much fire.

Like a burning ring around their tree, fires blazed a smoldering canopy below them. Okay. Jet wasn’t crazy. It was time to get out of here. Maybe the town would give them a place to stay. They’d been pretty good the last year, right? They’d stolen at least 10% less stuff. But all of that meant it was time to pack up.

They’d start with the sheriff’s place. After Scourge had oh so rudely enforced his will on the Rogues. They’d gone to the sheriff and admitted what they’d done. From there he made them sit around and fill out paperwork(and only because he’d confiscated their skateboards). Then they were made to go to school for a couple of hours per day. It was a pain.

But…there were perks.

They were given food and some people had come and fixed up their treehouse so they didn’t have to sleep perfectly in the center so it didn’t fall out of the tree. They got blankets and were invited to stay places when it got really cold over the winter. As much as Jet hated to say it…the Rogues kinda sorta maybe owed the town. And tried to steal less stuff. So when Jet said they’d stolen 10% less stuff, it was more like 100% less stuff...99% less stuff.

Buuuuut…that didn’t mean they’d given back all the stuff they’d stolen previously. So as Jet called the order for the Rogues to pack up, they had a lot to grab. Sleeping bags, minifridge, generator, beanbag, game system, it all had to go.

The birds were scrambling to get everything out of the bottom hatch when Storm stopped over by the window and looked down. He paused, tilted his head, and called for Jet.

“Hey…uh boss? There’s a couple of mobians at the bottom.” Jet put down the TV and walked over to the window.

“Now? We’re busy! Also don’t they know there’s a forest fire?” Jet looked out the window and looked down. At first, he thought the sheriff had sent over his sons to help. Sonic and Tails. Jet had since met Sonic, and wasn’t impressed despite the stories he’d heard. He was cocky, not that good-looking, and kinda slow. But as Jet looked closer, he realized.

That was not Sonic and Tails.

It was a tenrec and a fennec fox. And Jet’s first impression? Not friendly.

The fox’s low-hung head and slouched posture and the altered tenrec’s vicious grin and glowing eyes gave it away.

“Hey! What are you doing here?! There’s a forest fire going on!” Jet called from the window.

“I know!” The tenrec called back, her grin not fading in the slightest. “Do you like it?!”

“What?!”

“It’s my handiwork! Do you like it?!” A trill of fear shot down Jet’s back. He recalled Scourge’s words last year. The fact that people like this didn’t exist on Earth. A fact that Jet was rather happy with. Not so much anymore.

“N-no! Of course not! It’s going to burn down our home!” The tenrec gave a laugh and shook her head.

“No, it won’t!”

“It-it won’t?” Jet was pretty sure the fire would eventually reach-

“I wouldn’t let it take the opportunity from me!”

Oh.

And then she slammed her shoulder into the base of the tree.

Immediately the tree shook violently and the sound of wood creaking and snapping filled the room as the floor moved under Jet’s feet. The other Rogues dropped things and fell to the floor, Jet barely able to hang on. The tree house couldn’t take another hit like that, it only survived that first one because of the reinforcements that the people of Green Hills had put into it. Jet had to stop her before the whole thing came down.

“HEY!” Jet was able to manage that much before she slammed her shoulder into the tree again.

Bolts ripped out of the wood and slats snapped. The structure lurched forward and then shot back with the recoil. The treehouse slipped on its admittedly weak foundation and began to slide from the tree altogether. Mobian and items alike began to shift towards the far side of the house as it began to fall. Slow now, but would kick up speed very quickly.

“GRAB YOUR BOARDS!” Jet commanded, not screwing around. Each Rogue held their board in the highest regard, besides each other(Jet gagged at the thought) it was their most important valuable. Enough sense made its way into Wave and Storm that they heard him and scrambled around the slowly collapsing tree house and managed to grab their skateboards.

Jet was now starting to slide back up the wood as the house went airborne. He caught a glimpse of his board and snagged it, holding it tight.

“JUMP FROM THE WINDOWS!” Jet next commanded and Wave and Storm gave a quick nod, trying to jump up and reach the window which was now on the ceiling as the house now flipped a full 90 degrees.

Jet would join them. Unfortunately, he had one more thing he had to grab.

He probably should forget it. It had never done anything for him nor the Rogues. But it had been here since before them, so if anyone was going to make it out-

It was going to be that flower in the tiny window box.

Jumping in the direction of the quickly approaching ground, Jet sailed through the air, now weightless as the whole structure fell. He reached for the flower and tried to grab at its pot. He missed on his first try, not used to grabbing things while falling. He managed to grab it the second time and yanked it close. Or he would if the shockingly strong hooks would let go. He pulled once, twice before the weak metal hooks gave loose and Jet held his prize close. Now all he would have to do is get to the other window and jump out.

And that’s when the treehouse shattered on the ground with Jet inside.

“JET!” Surge heard the swallow call as she and Kit moved from around the side of the tree to the fallen house. Surge couldn’t help laughing. I mean seriously, the whole thing was comedic. She’d just bonked the tree twice and the weak structure had slipped out like it was melting ice on a counter.

Surge was also starting to like wood. The way it shattered reminded Surge of breaking bones. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the same satisfaction as the pain people felt when she broke their bones. Oh, well. It was still a fun experience.

“Oh come on, don’t tell me any of you actually died!” Surge scoffed. “You’re mobians, there’s no way that fall actually killed you. Kit, you smelled what? Three?” The swallow and large albatross ignored her as they sifted through the wreckage to look for their third. Kit gave a quick and shallow nod and Surge turned back to the birds. “Well?” The birds continued to ignore her. “HEY! Don’t ignore me when I’m talking to you!” Surge roared and the birds ignored her still pulling away wood and random crap as they looked. “For fuck’s sake…” Surge breathed and stomped forward, pushing the swallow aside. She lifted huge parts of the structure with one hand and spotted a green hawk. She snagged his arm and threw him from the structure, his body ragdolling on the ground.

“JET!” The swallow called again and she ran over to him, he was clearly alive but very much dazed. She lifted him to his feet, but he wobbled there and Surge could see why.

“See, he’s alive. Although with that shaft of wood in his leg, not sure for how much longer.” Surge gestured to the food-long splinter of wood sticking out of the bird’s right leg. Blood dripped down it, turning the wood red. The swallow gasped and turned her attention back to Surge. She ran at Surge, some kind of personal transport in her hands. She rammed it on top of Surge’s head, the object splintering apart. Surge sighed. “Why is everything in this world made of wood? Did the whole planet get together and think it was a good idea?”

And then she grabbed the swallow by her face and started applying slow, crushing force. The swallow squeaked beneath and tried to pry Surge’s fingers from her face.

She made no progress.

“L-let her g-go.” A voice called. Surge looked up and spotted the albatross. He was holding Kit up and had a splinter of wood pointed at the fox’s throat. The albatross’ hands shook and the wood tickled at the fur on Kit’s neck, so close to cutting it.

Surge only raised an eyebrow.

“What are you doing Kit? Restrain him.” Water tendrils shot out from Kit’s pack and lashed around the albatross turning him from a victimizer into a victim in an instant. The wooden splinter was wrenched out of the albatross’s hand and he was thrown to the ground, water tentacles pressing his face into the dirt. “Seriously, Kit, you don’t have to wait for my signal to make sure you’re not milliseconds from being gutted. Take care of yourself, fuck!” Surge ran a hand through her quills as the swallow in her other hand still thrashed.

“So I may kill him then?”

Surge froze. Her quills bristled for a moment and her eyes skewered Kitsunami.

“What?” Her voice was as cold as the grave. Kitsunami shuddered, his water tentacles collapsed and he got very very small. Surge spiked the swallow, her head clonking on the ground as Surge stomped over to Kit, stepping over the albatross. Surge grabbed Kit and threw him against the tree. “DON’T YOU EVER EVEN DARE TO THINK ABOUT TAKING ONE OF MY KILLS-EVER!” Surge screamed in his face, Kit too scared to cover his sensitive ears from her loud voice. “WE’VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE! THOSE DEATHS ARE MINE AND MINE ALONE!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Kit whimpered over and over again as he curled up in the fetal position against the roots of the tree. Surge turned slowly to face the birds as they managed to get to their feet looking woozy as ever. The albatross and swallow were supporting the hawk.

“You won’t get away with this…” A weak voice coughed. And all eyes turned to Jet. “You think you can push us around, well you can’t. Sonic will stop you.” Jet managed a smile. Surge did not.

“Oh? Oh, he will?” Surge mocked.

“Yeah, he defeated a master of Chaos Energy. One that knew things like Chaos Blast and Spear. He’s nutso powerful!”

“Then where is he?!” Surge growled. Jet had no answer for that. “Fly away little birds.” Surge taunted. “I’ve got some reminders to teach my support unit.” Surge turned back to Kit, her sharp teeth flashing in the firelight.

19:29:32 to Project Homerun.

…

18:12:23 to Project Homerun.

Whisper couldn’t stay here any longer. Couldn’t just sit here in the sheriff’s house with his family and let Surge run around anymore.

Not after they brought Jet in.

The Rogues had come pounding on the Wachowski’s front door just a little while after Tangle, Carl and Whisper had come to take refuge. Whisper had been scared. No. Scared didn’t cover it.

Absolutely consumed with fear was more accurate. She’d never been more afraid in her life. She didn’t know it was possible to be this scared. But it wasn’t Surge that scared her. No, Whisper didn’t fear death or pain, she’d seen enough of it that the thought didn’t even phase her.

It was Tangle and Carl. Carl had taken her in despite Whisper’s dangerous tendencies and less-than-cooperative attitude. He’d fed her and given her a place to rest. He’d taken her to and paid for her therapy after G.U.N. left. He’d done so much for her and all Whisper had ever given him was the cold shoulder.

And Tangle. Sweet, innocent, adorable, and totally hot Tangle. Surge had broken her. Tangle hadn’t said a word since their home burned. She’d not eaten nor rested. Just stared off into space and shed the occasional tear. She…she reminded Whisper…well she reminded Whisper of…

Herself.

And the world…all the worlds did not need another Whisper the Wolf. One was already too much of a drag and there was no way Whisper was gonna let another person turn into her. And if Surge had her way…everyone would. Broken little dolls thrown away by the electric tenrec.

The three had entered the home and given some easy first aid to Carl. Set the three down on the couch and Carl told their story. Whisper all the while making soft, slow pets on Tangle’s head. Whisper could only imagine what was going through Tangle’s head. A safe place that had been built slowly over a year and a half, destroyed in mere moments…

Surge was a monster.

And then there were the fast, panicked knocks at the front door. There was hope that it wasn’t related, that there was just a turtle on the street or someone’s cat had gone missing…but as Whisper watched the thunderstorm continue to pound outside, she knew. Whatever was on the other side of the Wachowski front door had Surge’s name written all over it, written in blood.

And bleed it did.

The shaft of wood was deep in the back of Jet’s right leg, blood immediately staining the floor as they brought him in. He’d long since passed out and Whisper heard Mrs. Wachowski worrying over blood loss. The adults immediately were occupied as they worked to figure out how to take care of Jet.

“I-I-I mean it’s deep in his leg, I…I don’t know what’s in a mobian’s leg, I don’t know how to treat this!” Mrs. Wachowski’s voice came too loud from the kitchen where they’d placed Jet on the counter. All of the other mobians flinched at the words, fearing what implications they might have.

Sonic and Tails were treating Wave and Storm, the two featuring a nasty head wound and some abrasions on her face and the other had abrasions on his wrists and ankles that Whisper knew from personal experience just recently that came from Kit. Whisper checked up on them to make sure their first aid was good and was pleasantly unsurprised. It was no shock their mother made sure they knew good first aid.

Knuckles had walked out a while ago and people weren’t sure where he was.

No one would notice one little wolf sneaking out.

The storm had picked up speed and power, rain and thunder pounding the ground and homes. Everyone had luckily moved inside, maybe that might be able to keep them slightly safer from Surge, but…probably not. The storm was so powerful that it had begun to block out the now slowly setting sun. Light was scarce.

Except in one direction.

The fires of the forest illuminated the town from far away, an orange slowly growing stronger. Whisper headed right for it. She moved into the trees, dodging and weaving becoming a shadow against the darkening forest. Her eyes narrowed as she took stock of her surroundings, making sure she knew where she was. She’d taken a wrong turn or two, but this was still her element and she quickly found her prize.

But someone was already there.

“So you’re really gonna use this on her?” Tangle asked holding Whisper’s rifle on her lap as she sat cross-legged on the wet ground. Whisper froze, eyes wide as she took in her girlfriend with that massive weapon on her lap. It was so out of place, Tangle with a way to kill people. Tangle only sniffled.

“H-how did you beat me here?” Was all that Whisper could manage. Tangle looked upward, the rains making her bushy fur cling to her body, her usually lively tail turned into a stick.

“I still know the forest better than you…and I saw you leave.” Whisper swallowed. She approached Tangle and sat down in front of her and reached for her weapon. Tangle pulled it away slightly, eyes locked onto Whisper. “Are you really going to kill her?” Whisper wet her lips, unsure of what to say. Should she lie? Let Tangle down easy? How…how did she protect Tangle here? Whisper opened her mouth. “Don’t lie.” Tangle narrowed her eyes and Whisper sighed.

“Yes. I am going to take this gun and I’m going to shoot her in the head.” Tangle wanted the truth, Whisper wasn’t going to sugarcoat it. Whisper was a killer, she didn’t like that part of herself, but it was the truth, whether Tangle liked it or not. To Whisper’s surprise, Tangle didn’t even flinch. “This is an extremely powerful rifle and it might even be able to hurt her. It’s our only shot.” Tangle wiped her nose again and looked down, nodding.

She handed the rifle over to Whisper.

And Whisper took it. But Tangle kept one hand on it. And she looked up.

“Fine. But you’re not doing this alone! I know you want to protect me, but my home was just destroyed! I think I’ve earned a little vengeance. And if you think I’m going to watch you go out there against a force of death itself alone. Then you’re crazy. So I’m coming with you!” Tangle growled and held tight to the gun, her hand shaking and desperation in her eyes.

Who was Whisper kidding? Tangle wasn’t innocent, she’d seen terrible things, and had to do terrible things. All mobians did. She just…stayed upbeat. It was why Whisper had always seen her as so strong, so amazing! Nothing kept Tangle down, at least not for long. It was one of the reasons why Whisper loved her.

“Okay.” Whisper nodded. She checked her rifle. It had actually deteriorated a little bit. She’d stopped caring for it after last year. Tried to leave that part of her behind. But it was a highly well-made rifle and would be fine. Unfortunately, Whisper only had one clip. She checked it. Found all six enormous bolts ready and loaded.

Six shots.

They had six shots at killing Surge the Tenrec.

17:48:32 to Project Homerun.

Chapter Text

17:30:00 to Project Homerun.

“I’d like to see you all fill out your sheets with proper anatomy labeled and be prepared for tomorrow. We’ll be talking about feelings.” Vanilla took no pleasure in the shiver that ran through the mobians in her classroom as she spoke those last words, but she had to admit, it was kinda funny. “And be careful getting home! The storm’s looking very bad.” Vanilla took a moment to look outside and see the powerful storm that had set in seemingly out of nowhere early in the day.

A slew of mild grumbles and chatter between classmates filled the classroom momentarily as young mobians got up from their seats, talked between each other, and filed out of the room. Vanilla couldn’t kill the smile on her face as they all walked out laughing and smiling.

This was what was right. Vanilla was old as mobians go, most didn’t make it into their thirties and even she had never seen peace such as this. Mobian children were adapting well to Earth, it becoming their home, and had begun to treat it with a certain level of grantedness. They had begun to expect life to be peaceful and without fear or terror or survival at the forefront of their minds at all times. As it should.

Worries shifted to homework, to friends, to play dates-excuse Vanilla- hangouts. Multiple times Vanilla had been called out for her misuse of ‘teen lingo.’ But somehow Vanilla never learned…imagine that.

So maybe she took some pleasure in the groans of her students. Sue her.

Didn’t mean she didn’t care about them, especially since a lot of the young mobian population’s worries had started to revolve around each other and themselves. Who they were, what they liked, who they liked, all things that had been shoved down by larger worries now bubbled to the surface. And it was quite literally Vanilla’s job to help them figure it all out.

Again, Vanilla never figured she’d become a health teacher for confused teens, but she had begun to find it rewarding and important that she did so. She was the only one qualified enough to do so. She didn’t know everything, but she’d make sure that what she did was passed on to her students in a safe and healthy manner.

Vanilla began to pack up her desk, this was the last class of the day when she noted a nervous hand wave in front of her. Vanilla smiled at it. This happened on occasion, a student waited around till the end of the class, a question burning through their minds. Vanilla looked up at the student, and recognized her. Soft-spoken, but knowledgable and well-meaning. Some light confidence issues that Vanilla hoped she might be able to address one day.

“Yes Jewel, what may I do for you?” Vanilla put on her best ‘supporting teaching’ smile. Jewel started with a mumble as she struggled for the right words and Vanilla sat there patiently, letting the girl figure out her question.

“I have a…a question.” Well, there was a shock.

“Is it related to today’s material?” Vanilla figured she take a shot in the dark, maybe a lead could bring whatever Jewel was worrying over to the surface.

“Oh, uh, Chaos no!” Jewel blushed slightly as the drawn image of the internals of a female mobian’s sexual organs was still done in expo marker on the board behind Vanilla. Vanilla only nodded slightly and waited for Jewel to continue. “I…wanted advice on…on how you lead mobians.” Vanilla furrowed her brows.

“You want…to lead mobians?” Vanilla asked. Jewel sighed and pulled on her face, the question she asked not the one she wanted answered.

“No…I…I want to help people…mobians, understand who we are as a group…and I just wanted to…know how to get us all together to talk…?” Vanilla nodded starting to get the idea and she smiled wide.

“You want to represent us.” Vanilla pointed a finger at Jewel and the beetle nodded vigorously.

“Yeah! I mean…there are so many of us in Green Hills and I know there are others all over the world still and…we’re all just floundering around and nobody knows our past as a whole or why we came or what we want.” Jewel began to speak broadly, and clearly, a powerful speaker and thinker hid under layers of social anxiety and nervousness. “And I’m not saying I do.” Jewel shook her hands in front of her, backsliding slightly. “But if I could talk to everyone then I could share who we are with the world, with…governments? I suppose? We live on Earth now, I want us to have a stake in it.”

Vanilla was taken aback by Jewel’s words. Vanilla seeing this young woman’s future and place as an ambassador or leader of some kind of mobian population as a whole, united as she served its people. Jewel would be amazing.

“Well, I don’t know if I can help with all that.” Jewel’s dreams were slightly out of Vanilla’s wheelhouse and she felt bad as Jewel deflated a little. “But.” Jewel’s antennae perked up a little bit. “I’ll talk to the school, perhaps your class could at least do with a president.” Jewel smiled a little and nodded and she turned to leave. “However…” Jewel stopped again, looking nervous. “Perhaps it might be better if you yourself suggested it to the school. You asked for advice on leading, I am not a leader. I can only guide my students, yourself included, to answers and ideas. It is up to you, in whatever you do, to make choices. Do you think you can make choices, Jewel?”

Jewel swallowed and looked more nervous than ever. Her eyes wide and unfocused, pressure put on her by herself and now Vanilla.

Perhaps that was a bit much to push onto her. Vanilla thought to herself. Jewel flapped her lips and tried to find words but couldn’t seem to form any.

“All I’m saying is think it over. You’re still very much a child, enjoy it.” Vanilla soothed and Jewel seemed to shake herself out of her funk. She looked up and pointed to the board.

“Not anymore.” Vanilla rolled her eyes but smirked. “Thank you Ms. Vanilla.” Jewel nodded.

“Anytime Jewel. Now get home safe.” Vanilla waved to the girl as she exited the classroom to join the other students. Vanilla watched the doorway empty and smiled softly. She couldn’t believe it. All of these kids, just over a year and a half ago were terrified infants, struggling and crying, and now they were growing up, moving on.

Becoming more.

And to say Vanilla was excited to see that future was an understatement. The future would be wonderful…

If they all lived to see it.

It started with a scream.

Vanilla’s head snapped up and she was out of her chair in an instant. She ran from her seat and was in the hallway looking at her students as they all looked to the right, eyes focused in fear on something at the end of the hall. Vanilla turned to look and her heart leaped into her throat.

At the end of the hall was an exit, which had now been opened to reveal two beings. They were hidden in shadow, but as lightning flashed outside they became illuminated and Vanilla knew.

They were all going to die.

“Run.” Vanilla managed and her students listened to her. They turned and fled for another exit. At the end of the hall, Surge let loose a laugh and started making steps toward the group, clearly not in any rush. Her support unit followed close behind, trying not to call attention to himself.

Vanilla herself should probably run. She had her own life to live, her own new chance on Earth. But there were a few things holding her back. One of which was her students, now running for their very lives as Vanilla stood in the hall, Iblis and Mephiles walking towards her.

“Stay away from them.” Vanilla spoke clearly as Surge stopped in front of her, a cocky grin not dropping in the slightest.

“Kit…” Surge sing-sang and water tentacles shot from behind the small fox and gripped Vanilla by her limbs. The bunny woman let out a squeak as the water became painfully tight and she was thrown against the lockers opposite the door to her classroom. Surge approached Vanilla as she was immobile the tenrec’s bright, sharp teeth getting dangerously close to Vanilla’s face. “Wow-how-how…” The tenrec laughed. “You’re old as shit! Damn, didn’t realize they let you bunnies live this long!” Vanilla had no response. The tenrec merely shrugged and started to spark, electricity running up and down her body. The energy coiled and coalesced into her hand as it got closer and closer to Vanilla’s eyes. Just a few short inches away. “Welp, guess you’ve lived long enough!”

And then loud, long blares filled the hall blasting out notes that rang in Vanilla’s ears. Now she had pretty good ears, bunny and all that, but Kit’s were far better. Which meant those sounds hurt. The tiny fox let out a squeak and his water whips disintegrated, dropping Vanilla to the floor. Kit clutched at his ears and let out little yelps as the alarms didn’t cease. Vanilla managed to turn her head to the right and saw Jewel.