Chapter Text
Sonic ran through the city, the cold, brisk air going through his quills. It was around 10 PM; the time when Sonic usually turned into his vigilante counterpart: Blue. He wasn't the one who had come up with the name, it was the community. He had been fighting crime for them for a while now (a year to be exact) and had only gotten positive feedback from all of them. They were extremely grateful for what he was doing which had only driven him to do it more. However, the government was a completely different story.
The government hated Sonic (well, Blue technically speaking) and he knew exactly why. It wasn't because he had caused havoc or caused millions of dollars in damage but because he was helping people. The government was very classist to lower class people and always had been. They had always seen any and all lower class as animals who didn't deserve basic respect so they bunched them all into a district in the city and blocked them off from the public eye. They never sent any type of police down there so whenever any type of crime would happen they'd just be able to get away with it. If you were to want a police officer you'd need to pay at least $100 and the government knew they didn't have that.
It had always disgusted Sonic that people could treat someone so differently because of their money. He had always wanted to do something about it but his final strike was when his friend, Amy, shop had gotten robbed. It was her pride and joy and seeing the pain in her eyes knowing she wouldn't be able to get her hard work back had finally made up his mind.
So, Sonic had become Blue. His superspeed had proven very helpful in stopping crimes and scaring the crap out of criminals. Ever since he had started this whole vigilante ordeal, the crime rate had gone down immensely. Everyone in the district was happy, but the government, very clearly, was not. They were so mad that they had put a bounty on his head for about $500,000.
He had one of the many bounty posters in his room. He had found it quite funny that they thought anyone would be able to catch him, the fastest thing alive. Honestly, he was shocked that more people hadn't tried to trick him and turn him in for the money since he regularly goes on nightly patrols and even walks people home so they don't get hurt. Then again, he is the fastest thing alive and if Shadow couldn't catch him, neither could a regular civilian.
Sonic smiled when he thought of him.
Shadow the Hedgehog. From what Sonic had seen and stalked on the internet, Shadow was a very well-known bounty hunter. He had caught some of the biggest criminals out there in a matter of 5 minutes. Shadow had been trying to catch Sonic for about 8 months, 5 days, and 3 minutes now but who's counting? Now, normally, it would be abnormal that Shadow hadn't caught Sonic by now considering he had stopped literal war criminals, but there was an explanation that had completely satisfied Sonic.
They were best friends. Well, Shadow is Sonic's second best friend since Tails was his first and always will be. I mean, it made perfect sense to him. Shadow had been so impressed by his super speed and fighting skills that he wanted to befriend Sonic so he could teach him! Although Shadow hadn't said it out loud and had said he wanted Sonic dead on multiple occasions he knew was he truly meant. He was just a little shy is all, but he was okay with that. Sonic had always been the more talkative one.
He always loved whenever he came face to face with Shadow. The butterflies he got, the way his face always got red, the way his heart started pumping faster than normal, which was clearly all from adrenaline. It reminds him of when he first started doing this.
Sonic twisted through the almost quiet city, quickly reaching the building he had been running to this entire time. Tails had told him there were rumors of a break-in tonight and Sonic couldn't have that; it was bad for his image. So he put on his shoes and bandana that he wrapped around his face to conceal his identity and took off to stop it.
He crouched on top of a nearby building, wondering if he had gotten there too early since there were no signs of a break-in. He hummed while putting a finger on his chin. Tails told him that the break-in was going to happen around 10 and he had gotten there at 10:02. Not his proudest timing but hey, there was traffic.
Sonic tapped the watch on his wrist a few times, a ringing sound emitting from it. It rang about 3 times before Tails picked up.
"Hello?" Tails answered, confused as to why Sonic was calling him since he should've been stopping the robbers.
"I'm here at the building and I don't see any signs of a break-in," Sonic responded. "Are you sure it was gonna happen tonight?"
"I'm 99% sure." Tails sighed. "Maybe they're running late? You are the fastest thing alive after all."
Sonic scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I guess? If they're not here in the next 5 minutes I'm probably just gonna do a quick sweep of the city then head back-"
Sonic's ears twitched as he heard some glass shatter inside. His eyes snapped over to the building, his eyes noticing the door was slightly open. He smirked, starting to stretch.
"I think they just got here buddy!" Sonic spoke. "I'm sure this won't take any more than 10 minutes."
"Okay, just be careful Sonic!" Tails scolded. "Don't let your ego be the reason you get hurt!"
"I've been doing this for a while Tails!" Sonic brushed him off. "You have nothing to worry about, I doubt they're going to be able to touch a single quill on my head, let alone hurt me."
"That's what you said when Shadow sent you home with a broken rib and a sprained ankle." Tails mumbled. "I just don't want you getting hurt worse than that, that was scary!"
Sonic nodded. "I understand buddy. I promise I'll be extra careful. I'll even pick you up a snack on the way home, okay?"
"Okay! Be careful, Sonic." He said. "I'm only a call away if you need backup!"
Sonic quickly thanked his little brother and hung up. He took a deep breath and jumped around a little bit, hyping himself up before running down to the building and through the door. He quickly came to a stop and looked around, trying to see if there was anyone there. He walked through the building, trying to be as quiet as possible.
He walked to the middle, very confused as to where the robbers could've gone in 2 minutes. As he continued to venture into the building, his foot got caught on a wire. The wire triggered something, as the door he had previously entered quickly slammed shut with multiple layers of metal slamming one after the other. He mentally face-palmed and crossed his arms.
"That's... definitely a predicament." Sonic groaned, preparing himself for the headache that was ahead of him.
Sonic looked around while 4 people walked out of the shadows, holding various weapons. He tilted his head, feeling a bit underwhelmed considering the door he had just triggered 5 seconds beforehand.
"Woah, a surprise party?" Sonic teased. "You guys shouldn't have! You're a little late but hey, it's the thought that counts, right?"
"You have a big mouth for someone who's about to die." The leader hissed. "This isn't a stupid birthday party, it's a trap! We're going to capture you, kill you, then turn you into the government for the money."
He proceeded to pull out a bounty poster with Sonic's 'face' on it. Sonic bent over slightly and scratched his chin, smirking under his bandana.
"That is one handsome hedgehog!" He replied. "Is his crime being too attractive?"
The leader had an unimpressed look on his face, quickly crumpling the paper and tossing it behind him. He turned to the others and nodded his head, all of them quickly turning their weapons on and pointing them at him.
Sonic smirked, watching them start to charge at him. He yawned and quickly dodged and weaved between the four, leaving them confused. They quickly turned around, only realizing they had simply just switched spots with the speedster.
"Listen, I understand," Sonic spoke. "$500,000 is a lot of money! But let's face it, you're not going to be able to catch me. So how about you let me out of here and we can all go home without kicking each other's butts."
"We're not leaving unless you're either captured or dead." The leader spat. "There's no way you're going to be able to leave this building; you triggered the old security system. We'll just tire you out then kill you!"
They charged at him again and he ran up the wall to a little balcony overlay where he could still see them. He crouched down and started to brainstorm. He was right; Sonic couldn't run forever, especially in such a confined place. He could try to spin dash a wall down, but then again the security system is activated and he doesn't know how fragile the walls are.
Calling Tails was also an option, but he didn't want him to get hurt. He was only 8.
Sonic peeked over, taking a look at their weapons. They were all close range so they'd be able to get a few hits on him. Nothing he couldn't handle though.
Sonic took a deep breath and jumped down, landing in front of them. They all glared at him, getting into a fighting position. Sonic sighed, putting his hands on his hips.
"I really didn't want to have to resort to violence." He sighed. "But you're not giving me much of a choice here."
Just as they were about to start fighting, a huge bang echoed throughout the building. Everyone stopped in their tracks, looking towards the door. It fell silent for a few seconds, then another band hit against the door. Then another. Sonic furrowed his brows, lowering his arms in confusion. Had Tails somehow sensed he was in danger and came with one of his many inventions?
Sonic barely had time to zip out of the way before the door came flying his way, knocking 3 of the four gang members out. The fourth one dropped her weapon out of shock but quickly got kicked in the head by a flash of light that appeared behind her, sending her flying toward Sonic. He dodged, quickly looking to see who his knight in shining armor was.
"Shads!" Sonic smiled. "Long time no see buddy! How ya been?"
Shadow rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, looking unamused with the azure hedgehog.
"Just come with me," Shadow told him. "Don't make it harder than it has to be."
Sonic smiles, pretending to think about it. "That sounds very tempting because you are my second best friend but I'd rather not."
He quickly zips over to Shadow and grabs his cheek while smirking. "Thanks for saving me, I'll see you soon!"
Sonic zipped out of the now open door. Shadow quickly snapped out of it and snarled, kicking his rocket boots on and running after him. Sonic laughed as he ran up the side of the building, doing a little pose toward Shadow before running across the multiple rooftops in the city. Sonic took a peek behind him and saw Shadow was only a few feet behind him. He smirked then stopped on the edge of a building, putting his hands behind his head. Shadow stopped a few feet in front of him, pulling his gun out of his quills.
"Are you finally turning yourself in, Blue?" Shadow asks, pointing his gun at Sonic.
Sonic smirks then shrugs. "You and I both know I can't do that, Shads. Plus, if you really wanted to turn me in, you would've done it already. Just admit it, we're friends!"
Shadow narrowed his eyes, not saying anything.
Sonic laughed. "I knew it! We're friends! Hey, maybe next time when we both meet up we can have a nice little picnic or something! Later!" Then he zipped off, already across the city in 2 seconds. Shadow balled up his hands and slightly cracked his gun handle. Sonic was right; if he wanted to turn him in he would've done it already.
In all honesty, Shadow had become infatuated with the hedgehog. The way he could be so snarky, even faced with death. The way he knew he was the best and had no shame in showing it. It had impressed him and left his guts a jumbled mess. He pinched the bridge of his nose, the ringing of his phone filling the silence of the cold night. He picked his phone up and looked at the caller; Rouge.
He begrudgingly answered it. "What."
"Hey Hon!" She replied. "How's catching Blue going?"
He grumbled, knowing she was teasing him. She had known about everything going on, considering she was his roommate. "The same it always goes. He... got away."
"Got away?" Rouge hummed. "Sure. Well, I got you your favorite for dinner, so hurry up and get home and you can tell me all about your encounter with him this time."
Shadow rolled his eyes, hung up, then zipped away.
-
Sonic ran through the forest, weaving and dodging animals and trees. Before he ran home, he stopped by two shops, one to get some chili dogs and another to pick up some mint candies for Tails. He didn't know why he enjoyed those candies so much but he did, so obviously he got his little brother some.
He zoomed into the cabin, slamming the door behind him. He startled Tails, who almost dropped the trinket he was working on. He looked back and his face brightened instantly. He ran over and hugged him, relieved that Sonic was still in one piece. Sonic laughed and ruffled his head.
"Calm down kiddo!" He joked. "I got you a little something."
Sonic reached into the bag and pulled out one of the bags of mint candies he got for him. Tails tried to grab it but Sonic quickly put it out of his reach, pointing a finger at him.
"Go easy on these now, I don't want you to get sick again!" He lectured him.
"Fine, whatever." Tails rolled his eyes. Sonic smiled, ruffling his hair again and then giving him the candy. Tails silently cheered then ran over to his work bench, opening the bag and stuffing a few pieces into his mouth. Sonic placed the rest of the bag on the kitchen table and yawned.
"I'm gonna hit the hay, don't stay up too late tinkering again," Sonic told the fox. He nodded, reaching into his rusty toolbox and pulling out a screwdriver. Sonic chuckled a little before walking into their shared room and falling onto his bed. He pulled his blanket over him and started to doze off.
This vigilante stuff was just too easy.