Chapter Text
Nine sits at his bedroom desk, fidgeting with a small piece of machinery as he reads over a bunch of text. The house was quiet, and everything had finally settled down. No war, no fighting. A life after the war. Although it had taken a while, Green Hill was finally back to normal, and he had never been happier. Finally, he felt safe and had a place to call…home.
Knock, knock. Nine’s ear twitches as someone knocks on his door. “Come in.” He says, not bothering to look up from his desk. “Have you seen the extension cords?” Tails asks, walking into the room. “Bottom drawer.” Nine replies, pointing at a large storage unit in one corner of the room. He listens as the other fox begins rummaging through the drawer, his ear twitching. “Aha! Got it!” Tails said triumphantly, holding up the extension cords. Nine looks up from his desk at last to look at his friend, raising a brow.
The two had grown a lot in five years. Both had grown much taller, no longer the shortest among their group. The tips of Tails' ears had turned both brown and white, while the top half of Nine’s ears had simply remained a dark chocolate brown, much like the fur on his hands and wrists, as well as his ankles, which both faded into light orange fur the further down the brown fur got.
Nine spins his chair around, crossing his burly, yet fluffy arms. “Why do you need extension cords?” He asks. “Our machine needs power.” Tails responded. “Well, one of them, at least.” He nods. “How’s it going on your end?” He asks. “Only three explosions today!” Tails says cheerfully, holding up his left hand, which was bandaged up. Tails then smiles. “How about you?”
Nine glances back at his desk, which was cluttered with paper. “It's getting along. But there's still so much to do and so much we don’t know.” He says, shrugging. “Are you going to be at the lab later? I could help you.” Tails asks. Shaking his head, Nine smiles. “Probably not. I'm babysitting today.” Tails grins. “Looking after Silver again?” The other fox asks.
He smiles. Just three years after the war had ended, Silver, a product of Professor Gerald Robotnik’s research, had been created. The process itself had taken around two years- studying the professor's research, gathering the proper materials, and fusing the two hedgehog’s DNA together.
Shadow liked to say that it was the easy part- raising Silver was the real challenge. Much like his counterpart, whom they had met previously, Silver was hyperactive and cheerful, constantly getting into trouble. Silver’s antics constantly kept Shadow and Sonic busy, always having to keep a close eye on him.
Nine of course was happy to see Silver again, and he often tried to spend time with his nephew often. He had been the only one to know the truth about Silver, and upon ‘finding out’ from Shadow and Sonic, he was happy to play along, content to keep the secret that he had promised to keep for the young hedgehog all those years ago.
Nine chuckles. “That kid is quite the handful. Especially with that telekinesis of his. I’m going to try to keep him out of trouble today.” He says. Tails laughs. “Well, good luck. Looking after a two-year-old with telekinesis isn't an easy task.”
———————
The boat rocked gently against the waves. Sails takes a deep breath. “Ah! Don't ya love the smell o’ seawater?” He asks, taking a bite out of his Sea Dog before handing the rest of it to Mangey. The other fox messily devours the Sea Dog, the condiments staining his white muzzle. Mangey looks up at Sails, leaning against him happily. Sails reaches down, petting the other fox's head.
Sails then begins to walk over to the boat's steering wheel, Mangey following close behind, panting happily. The wheel is set atop a raised platform, surrounded by a small console filled with various buttons and switches. He rests his hand on the steering wheel, looking out at the open sea and clear skies. “Let's see where the day takes us, lad!” Sails cheers. Mangey howls happily, his twin tails wagging.
Sails looks down at the small picture taped to the steering wheel. Nine stands happily in the middle of the photo, Sonic, Shadow, and Tails at his sides. Sails’ fingers brush against the photograph, and he smiles. “Don’t worry, lad. We’ll find ya. No matter what happens.”
———————
Nine sorts through the paperwork, placing them into their designated folders. His ears twitch as he hears the flutter of wings from behind, and he can’t help but smile as Birdie lands on his shoulder, chirping happily. Chuckling softly, Nine gently scratches under Birdie’s chin. “Hey, girl.” He says, looking over at the Flicky. “How are you?” He asks, gently nuzzling the bird.
Birdie had grown significantly over the last five years, and was roughly the size of an Eagle, with her large wingspan, sharp talons, and hooked beak. She had begun sprouting dark pink feathers, as well as having a few white ones along her body. The blue markings on her face had also grown darker and she had longer tail feathers, which aided her better in flight.
The Flicky lets out a soft chirp, affectionately nipping at Nine’s ears. He laughs, his ear flicking. “Okay, okay, I get it.” He says breathlessly. With Birdie still perched on his shoulder, Nine walks out of the room and down the hall, walking into the kitchen.
Birdie flies off Nine’s shoulder and lands on the countertop, her sharp talons clicking on the stone. Opening the fridge door, Nine reaches in and grabs an already open package of salmon. He grabs one of the fish and turns around, holding it up as he walks towards Birdie.
The Flicky chirps eagerly, her beak opening and closing excitedly. “Speak.” He says, holding the fish above her. Birdie lets out a high-pitched cry, and Nine hands over the fish. Birdie snaps it up in her beak and begins tearing into the flesh, hungrily devouring it.
Nine reaches into the cabinet and pulls out a few strawberries. He takes one for himself before dropping three of the red berries onto the counter beside Birdie. He leans against the counter. “Don’t get into too much trouble while I’m gone.” He says before taking a bite out of his strawberry.
As he eats the rest of the fruit, Birdie drops a piece of fish meat beside him and shifts closer to him as she eats. Nine smiles as he picks up the meat- Birdie had a habit of sharing her food with him, and he wonders if she had ever done anything like that with Amy. He eats the piece of meat, and reaches out to gently scratch the top of Birdie’s head.”Good girl.” He tells the bird. “Tails is next door if you need anything.”
Birdie looks at him with her beady brown eyes. She was smart enough to recognize faces and commands, and even names, which often amazed him. Nine often spent days testing the limits of her intelligence, which never seemed to end. Birdie pauses in her eating to snuggle up beside Nine for a moment, cooing softly, her own way of saying goodbye. “I’ll be back soon.” Nine promises. “So be good, and stay out of trouble.”