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“Haha, today’s questions have been super fun!”
Tails gleefully smiled into the microphone, which was placed on a big round table, filled with nachos, guacamole and soda. Surrounding the table – Sonic, Amy, Knuckles and Shadow, all seated with their respective microphones. It may have been a little irregular, but when they could all get together to record a podcast episode, they had a lot of fun. It was fun interacting with fans - after all, everyone wanted to know the story of the legendary Sonic the Hedgehog.
Tails smiled and passed Sonic a piece of paper, motioning for him to read out the next question.
Sonic read aloud, in his usual confident tone, “This question is from 99SonicFan4Life. Sonic! Do you have a family…? What are they like…? Well, that’s kinda personal, don’tcha think?”
His normal exuberance had clearly trailed off as the question sunk in. The rest of the table stared at him, growing more curious at his cryptic response.
Knuckles chimed in, “Not really. Everyone knows about my proud Echidna heritage.”
Tails joined, “And I’ve told a couple of fans that I’m an only child.”
Shadow scoffed.
A little more panicked, Sonic exclaimed, “Yeah well, Amy doesn’t talk about hers either!”
She looked at him and gasped with a fake look of shock, playing it up for the episode.
“I totally do! I have two parents, two big brothers, three uncles, fifteen cousins-“
Sonic cut her off, “Okay, okay, we get it. Thanks for the question, 99SonicFan4Life!”
At that cue, Tails shuffled through the papers in front of him to check that he had the right question to ask next and began to read it out himself. Instead of listening to whatever question was being asked, Amy couldn’t help but notice Sonic - sat further upright in his chair, twiddling his thumbs, looking away.
The last of the plates had been cleared. After a job well done, everyone started leaving one by one. Normally, Sonic would be the first one to get up and run away, but he had remained sat in his chair, zoning out, not looking at anything in particular. As everyone else was leaving, Amy saw this as a perfect opportunity. She quietly moved towards him, pulling herself up to sit on the table in front of him, so there wasn't a chance that he could avoid her.
“Come to mention it… You never answered that question about family.”
He didn't acknowledge her presence. He sat further upright in his chair, crossed his arms and looked towards the wall away from her, not making eye contact.
Her voice pitched up.
“Oh Sonic, don’t tell me you don’t have a family?! ...Come here!”
She leaned towards him for a hug, but he just quickly swivelled the chair around so she would hug the back of it.
He spoke with confidence, “Hey, I’ve got a family. I just don’t want to talk about it.”
Amy smiled into the back of the chair. He was always like this. Perhaps some people would be put off with his constant avoidance of anything deep, but she couldn’t help but find it endearing. After all this time together, she had finally learned the best way to draw him out further – total silence.
It worked. He swivelled the chair back around to face her as she let go of it.
“Come on, who cares about that when I’ve got Egghead to deal with? And a whole bunch of friends? I’m the fastest thing alive, Amy.”
Amy kept smiling at him, thinking about the milestones they had all spent together. While Sonic liked being with his friends, he also liked doing things alone. Throughout every milestone though, not once could she think of a time that he had mentioned his family, going to visit them or even what kind of people they were… Maybe this was a real breakthrough. She wasn't going to let this slide.
Now they were finally making eye contact, she crossed her arms.
“Hmm. Well, I think, as your friend, that even if dealing with family can be difficult, now is a great time to face whatever it is that you’re clearly running away from.”
Sonic became more indignant, “I’m not running away from anything! You say that like I’m scared or something!”
She stayed calm.
“Are you?”
“No!”
A familiar, deeper voice boomed out from the dark doorway at the end of the room.
“Prove it.”
Both of them were a little startled, thinking they were alone. Sonic turned to face Shadow, but he had already left. Sonic growled quietly. Shadow could really get under his skin sometimes. Especially when he challenged Sonic to do anything. After a single deep breath, Sonic leapt out of his chair, his posture full of determination, as usual. At this, Amy got up too, gleefully clasping her hands together.
“So it’s official! And when you get back, I’ll make you as many chilli dogs as you want.”
He called out, “You better!”
And with that, he went into a spin dash and disappeared into the horizon.
“Thanks for coming! Come back tomorrow!”
The perky blue hedgehog shut the door behind the customer that had just left with their new purchases, the entry and exit bells chiming the town’s theme tune. She let out a happy sigh as the afternoon sun filtered through the trees, gently beaming into the shop through the slightly dusty windows. The hum of a sewing machine in the corner of the room was ever present in the background. Now that was the only noise left in the shop, Mabel dashed towards her sister, who was still diligently focusing on the piece of material in front of her, feeding it slowly through the machine.
“Isn’t that villager the best? They’ve even gotten to know you sis, looking all grumpy over there!”
Sable looked up to try to read Mabel’s expression, only to see her hovering over her, smiling gleefully like she was a little hedgehog all over again. Her enthusiasm to tease her big sister was as strong as ever. Sable sighed deeply.
“That’s not fair Mabel, I’m just trying to focus on my work. And I wouldn’t say that one villager is better than another, especially since you say that about everyone.”
Mabel rolled her eyes and laughed. Suddenly, there was a clatter from the kitchen upstairs. Someone shouted, “Drat!”
Mabel stood at the bottom of the ladder that lead up to a little hatch in the ceiling.
She called up, “Everything alright up there?”
Label’s very soft voice called back, apologetically, “Sorry, I think I broke one of your mugs, the orange one? I was just going to make Sable another cup of green tea…”
Mabel giggled and shouted back, “Aw, don’t worry, it’s not a big deal! We’re about to close for the day, anyway, so she can drink as much tea as she likes!”
Moving the clean dishes aside so she could properly clean up the mess of the broken mug, Label couldn’t help but look out through the window above the sink, the sunset beautifully shining over the small town. The leaves were so vibrantly green in the spring, yet they took on a new beauty in the golden sunlight. The grass and flowers moved softly in the afternoon breeze. The sight of it all was so peaceful and different to city life. Moments like these were to be cherished, Label thought. But as she looked into the horizon, into the faraway green grassy hills, she saw… something. Something moving incredibly fast, like a bolt of light moving from one end to the other. A blue light…
She muttered to herself, “It can’t be…”
Now sitting on top of the cash register table, kicking her feet, Mabel called up, “What was that?”
Label paused, unsure of what to say.
“Oh, it’s… it’s nothing!”
It was impossible. He wouldn’t, would he?
As she held onto that thought, the bell rang again and the door started to open slowly. Taken aback by the sound, Mabel shot to her feet, turning to see who had come into the shop, remembering to give them the usual greeting.
“Hey there, welcome to Able Sis-“
But her voice trailed off into silence when she saw who had hesitantly walked in. A little taller than most, he had to slightly bend down to get through the doorframe, but it was unmistakeably him. Blue quills and piercing green eyes, with a slightly awkward half-smile.
“Hey Mabes, Sabes.”
He said it so casually, as if he’d come back from a five minute walk to the town hall. The room was silent as Label slowly came down the ladder, so all three faced him as he stood in the doorway. Mabel was especially shocked, not saying a thing, but keeping her eyes fixed on him.
Label was the one to break the silence.
“Sonic?”
He shrugged, “The one and only.”
Mabel’s face slowly twisted into one of disgust as she angrily tilted her head down, still focusing her gaze on him. Everything bubbled up inside her like a shaken can of soda. Preparing herself to express everything she was feeling at once, she was ready to let loose until she felt a gentle presence standing behind her. Sable slightly shifted her out of the way to get to him first.
Sable’s voice betrayed the tears she was fighting hard to hold back. It quivered as she made her way towards him.
“It’s been so long…”
Mabel turned her head around to look at Label, who was clearly as confused as Mabel was angry. She snapped back to see her older sister, arms beginning to stretch out, as if she was going in for a hug. What was his reaction going to be? Was he just going to rush out again, the same as before?
His initial reaction was to move back slightly, but seeing what she wanted, without a word, he raised his arms to let her in. Sable didn't hold back and hugged him tightly, hiding her tears from him by burying her face in his chest as she shook. He let his arms drop, patting her back as they hugged. The other two girls stood silently in the last of the daylight, both in shock over Sable’s uncharacteristic show of strong emotion and even more uncharacteristically, the fact that he was allowing this hug to go on for so long.
Sable, through her tears, kept trying to form sentences.
“You… But I always knew that you… You were always special… I knew you couldn’t be here forever… But you… You’re here!”
Progressively she become more and more incoherent as the tears gave way. Even though that was the case, he simply closed his eyes and smiled.
Sable hadn't stopped for most of the preceding hour, excitedly talking all about the new town they were living in, giving him a guided tour of the whole house, pointing to their parent's photos and knickknacks that he would have recognised from his childhood. Through most of it, Sonic was smiling, letting her talk about whatever she liked. On the other hand, Mabel and Label tried to keep themselves busy in other parts of the house, still very on edge due to the evening's events. Mabel's quills were standing strong and hadn't gone back down for some time as she was aggressively scrubbing kitchen sink.
In the living area that was more of an attic than a second floor, Sable sat Sonic down on their little green sofa, overcrowded with various handstitched cushions. In the midst of their conversation, Sable called for the girls to come and sit beside them on the puffy floor cushions. Sonic instinctively moved forward to grab the TV remote, just like old times, but caught himself and sunk back into the sofa. Sable was still cheerfully looking at him while the other two stared blankly at him.
Sable continued, “We have a festival coming up in a few days, so I’ve been spending most of the day altering clothes instead of making them, which means we all have a little bit of work to do before we stop for the evening. But we can use the time to sit and talk altogether! Oh, we also have all the ingredients to make your old favourite, spaghetti napolitan, right Label?”
Mabel, sitting on the other side of the table, glared at Label, hoping that she wouldn’t give in.
Label stammered a little, very cautiously saying, “Yeah… Yeah we do. I’ll… get that started.”
As she stood up and then walked into the kitchen, Sonic called out, “Oh yeah, and-“
Label cut him off.
“No mushrooms, yeah, I know.”
Sonic grinned to himself. Label was somehow always the quiet one when they were younger, so it was always a little harder to figure out if she was upset with him or not. But since she obviously still remembered his likes and dislikes, he took it as a good sign.
He didn't think too hard about the actual work that Sable was asking him to do, he just replied in his usual perky tone, “You got it! Let’s get to work!”
As the time passed, Sonic listened intently to Sable’s direction, occasionally making quips and being generally quite confused by the pattern she was making him follow. Sable seemed to be soaking it all in, smiling and giggling at every word and watching his every move. The whole time, Mabel had been glancing up every so often to look at them, yet the sight of them made her feel sick to her stomach. After everything they'd been through together, Sable wasn't that sweet with her. How was she not angry with him? Mabel had stuck by her sister this whole time, yet her brother who’d abandoned them without a word was greeted so warmly after showing his face for the first time in years?!
“OW!”
Mabel accidentally pricked her finger on a pin as she let her thoughts run away with her. Now even more indignant at the two hedgehogs on the sofa, who were so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn’t noticed she'd hurt herself, Mabel flicked on the TV to watch her favourite drama.
Sonic turned to look at her and said, “Hey, since when did you like this show? You always complained when I watched it.”
Mabel instantly changed the channel.
She said pointedly, without making eye contact with him, “Oh, I forgot you liked it. It’s been a while.”
Sonic muttered, focused on the sewing, “Yeah, long time no see, sis…”
After a little while, Mabel glanced at them again, now sewing in silence, apart from the background noise of the TV. Sonic's expression was furrowed, clearly trying his best to stitch up the cotton fabric in front of him, but doing so in a very clumsy, very slow fashion.
She scoffed, "I thought you were supposed to be fast?"
He shot her a glare while still sounding as confident as ever.
“Hey, that’s mostly the legs. And I’ve kinda been out of practise since I’ve been out of town. You know, been busy saving the world and all?”
Mabel’s quills were really flaring up now. Sable, now feeling stuck on the sofa in the middle of two glaring hedgehogs, could see what was about to happen.
“Label’s cooking smells good, doesn’t it? Mabel, do you remember that time when you and Sonic had a race to see who could slurp up spaghetti noodles the fastest, and you-“
“Yeah, I remember, sis. I must’ve won because someone was too busy thinking about running around and beating up robots.”
Sonic saw she was getting more and more frustrated, but he couldn’t help but talk back.
“And I’m great at running around and beating up robots! Just because you still can’t sew…”
She stood up, face burning red as if an explosion was imminent.
“And look at that, you still can’t sew either! You’re only good at quilting, being annoying and running away from everything! Especially running away from us!”
With that, she quickly stormed down the ladder, rushing outside and slamming the door behind her. Label had clearly heard the loud outburst from the kitchen and quietly sat down on the arm of the sofa, next to Sonic. He stayed unnaturally quiet for a second, blankly staring at the hatch, a fact that wasn’t lost on the two remaining sisters.
“Don’t worry Sonic, I’ve been there. Like me and Sable, she’ll understand eventually and calm down.”
Sable nodded, happy to hear those words from her sister. Instead of showing any signs of being comforted however, Sonic stood up, looking ready to dash off at any moment.
“No Labes, I think I should bounce. Maybe I’ve really outrun this place for good.”
Before he could run off, Sable lifted herself off the sofa, moving towards the back wall. She tapped him on the shoulder, motioning for him to follow.
“Come, look at this.”
She walked up to a dark wooden chest of drawers set against the back wall. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a little golden key and unlocked it. As the wide top drawer pulled open, Sonic was a little taken aback to see its contents... Newspaper cuttings. Hundreds, maybe thousands, stacked on top of each other. From just the top layer, the subject of the clippings was obvious… “THE BLUE BLUR!” “EGGMAN DEFEATED BY SONIC!” “ANOTHER WIN FOR SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!”
He stared into the drawer, looking at the sheer amount of newspaper headlines that he’d never thought twice about.
“You guys… You’ve been checking up on me this whole time?”
Sable smiled. After digging towards the bottom of the drawer, underneath the stacks of papers, she found an old, weathered photo that she handed to him. Two very small blue hedgehogs, covered in plasters and bruises. They smiled so sincerely into the camera, in a way that only little kids can, as they held a big red snapper fish between them. Looking at the photo, he could see why most people mistook them for twins at that age. After giving him a moment to appreciate the photo, Sable continued.
“If there’s anything about you, she takes the paper as if we didn’t see it. She never throws a single one away.”
He let out an exasperated sigh.
“I doubt she’ll do that anymore.”
Sable couldn’t help but smile still. This lovely little brother of hers had clearly grown up a lot, but in this moment, being a lot more pouty than usual, he looked just like he did when he was small.
“Many years ago, after Mom and Dad died, I remember that you two had a big fight - over a comic book! She stormed off after you made a tear in the page. What did I tell you? That-“
Without missing a beat, he replied, “Just like how you and Label had to be strong for me, I had to be strong for Mabel, as her big brother.”
Label had snuck behind them, also smiling at their exchange.
“You know what you need to do, Ogilvie Able.”
He snapped his head around.
“Hey, nobody calls me that anymore! It’s Sonic, I go at super sonic speeds.”
Sable chuckled at his frustration.
“Then I have no doubt that you'll find her in no time!”
At that, Sonic smiled back and managed to roll into a dash and fly out of the house before the sisters could even register that he was leaving. On top of the dresser, Sable wistfully looked at one the few photos of them all together – Mom, Dad and the siblings. They were always so different, yet so similar. Somehow, they kept pulling apart from each other, but as she received a gentle hug from Label, she knew that they would all find a way back to each other.
Dashing through the peach trees and trying to avoid kicking up petals, Sonic looked everywhere in the unfamiliar town until he saw a familiar quilly outline in the night, sat on the beach and staring out into the ocean. He dashed over and sat beside her.
“Kinda a chilly night to be out in just an apron. Don’t you have a million coats back there?”
“I’m used to it. Besides, you don’t even wear pants.”
“Neither do you!”
She couldn’t help but let out a little chuckle. He grinned and lay back, resting his head in the sand to look up at the night sky. It was a sight to behold, full of stars as far as the eye could see. Mabel didn’t say a word and kept looking out into the horizon. After a moment’s hesitation, he spoke.
“Look Mabes, I can’t change the past-“
“I know you can’t. I’m sorry for running off like that. But this is just like you, you know? We’d always get up to mischief and you’d always find a way of running off, leaving us to deal with whatever you left behind. And then one day, you were just… Gone. You didn’t even send one letter. We have mail!”
She was clearly frustrated at him, matching his own frustration at trying to come up with the right words.
“Hey, that’s- Well- Look, I’m great at a lot of things, okay? Talking about feelings… Not so much. But I had to do what I did. I was… Different from you guys. Even if I didn't have a crazy villain and his robotic army to chase, I was never going to stick in the same spot forever. You get it, right?"
She felt that anger bubbling up inside her again, but to her surprise, it quickly turned into sadness and tears.
“I get it. I might not be as fast as you, but I’m different too, aren’t I? I love Label and Sable, but there were times when they didn’t understand me... Especially when we’d fight, then Label ran off to the city… Those times… I missed my big brother.”
Sonic sat up in the sand, putting his hand on her shoulder, bringing her in for a small hug. She gasped a little at the sudden touch, wiping the tears out of her eyes.
In the moment, he let out a tiny, barely audible: “My bad.”
Despite all the big confusing emotions, Mabel started to uncontrollably laugh. She involuntarily broke the hug as she held her sides and rolled around in the sand.
“All this time... You still never figured out how to say sorry!"
He couldn’t help himself but to laugh in tandem with her. On this beach, under these stars, it was just like it was back then – two blue hedgehogs laughing so hard they nearly cried.
After their laughing fit had died down, Sonic again took in the view.
“It's really peaceful here. Maybe too peaceful. You always said you wanted to see the world, Mabes. How about tagging along with me to Spagonia sometime?”
She snorted.
“Nope, I’m sticking with Sable from now on! Besides, I still see the world. We move around from time to time. We’re just a little slower than you, but who knows? We might catch up to you one day!”
“Good luck with that, little legs.”
She laughed at the mention of that silly childhood nickname. He said it so casually, like he never forgot. She looked into his eyes as he was still staring at the stars.
“Anyway, since when did you get so wise? Is it because you're hanging out with that pink hedgehog? What’s her name… Amy? Is she your girllllllfriend?”
He immediately reacted, “Hey, she’s not my girlfriend!”
With a menacing look on her face, she got close to his face.
“Suuuure, you keep telling yourself that.”
“Why you-“
With that, Sonic grabbed her and they started play fighting, like they did as kids. On impulse, Mabel got to her feet and dashed away across the beach, Sonic running after her. It took no time at all to catch up to her, but he was clearly enjoying running at her pace for a little while. Seeing how happy she was dashing around with her big brother, she looked just like that little girl from the photo.
Sable pouted, with a furrowed expression as she stood around Sonic, the sisters forming a tight circle.
“Are you sure we can’t convince you to stay for a little longer?”
He smiled, tapping his feet on the wooden floor.
“Sorry Sabes, but one night’s all I can do. There’s a whole wild world out there!”
Label, normally composed and quiet, got out her handkerchief from her pocket and started blubbering The whole group paused and looked at her - taken by surprise.
“I’m not here all the time, so when will I see you again?”
“Aw, don’t cry Labes! This time, I promise, I’ll come back for the holidays or if a giant robot tries to destroy the town. Or both.”
Label nodded, still blubbering into her handkerchief, her makeup getting more and more smudged. Mabel giggled at Label’s newfound emotional antics.
Sable looked around the shop interior, which thanks to a last-ditch team effort, was ready to open for the day. She hopped in the air slightly and scrambled upstairs, as if she had suddenly remembered something important. Sonic quizzically looked up as her fast fury as Mabel and Label shot each other knowing looks.
She called out from upstairs, “Sonic! Before you go!”
Descending down the ladder, she tightly held a dark blue garment across her left forearm. She stood proudly at the bottom of the ladder nd spread the garment out to reveal: a beautifully stitched dark blue athletic jacket with a hood, complete with lighter blue racing stripes and many different embroidered patches. As soon as he saw it, Sonic grabbed the jacket, immediately taken in by all the patches and what they represented. The girls stood around, pointing out every little detail.
Mable chimed, “Sable’s been sewing this all night, trying to figure out what you’d actually wear!”
As well as Label, “I made that one, the silhouette of your face!”
And Sable, “And there’s a chilli dog!”
Sonic was really grinning now.
“You guys… This is…”
Mabel flipped over the jacket in his hands to point out a wonky bit of embroidery on the right sleeve. It read “O.M.A”
“And I did that, just to remind you of where you came from, hotshot!”
Sonic shook his head even though he couldn’t lose the stupid grin.
“Try it on,” Label called out as she moved to the other end of the shop to get the full length mirror, “we want to see what it looks like on!”
He put his arms into the sleeves, pulling it up, making a pose as he grabbed the sides of the jacket. He spun around a little, checking it from all sides.
Finally, he turned to look at all three of them, who had huddled together and he gave them a big thumbs up.
“This is awesome, guys! Great job!”
They all smiled and giggled, seeing how happy he was with the design. After a little while though, he started to walk towards the door.
“Well, it’s nearly opening time. I’ve gotta run!”
Label scoffed and put her hands on her hips.
“Actually write us mail this time!”
He patted her head.
“I will, no worries. Next time, I’ll come back with some cool fabric or something.”
Sable smiled, though she was obviously pained by his soon departure. She and Label went in for one last hug, to which he begrudgingly obliged, before stepping back and opening the door.
“Hey, I’ve got a reputation to keep up. Which is only going to improve, thanks to this sweet new jacket!”
And with that, he was off. The sisters stood in the doorway, waving goodbye, but just as they moved to shut the door behind him, Mabel shot past the other two. She made a dash for it and called out to Sonic, who was already gaining speed.
With all her lungs, she yelled, “You come back now, you hear?!”
He turned to face her, without losing his balance as he kept running - this time, backwards.
“Will do! See ya!”
Mabel understood why they called him the Blue Blur as he turned into a dash of blue light, hopping between the hills at increasingly rapid speeds, getting further and further into the distance with each second. She stopped and turned back around to the shop, smiling at her sisters. Now she was ready to start another day in their peaceful town with the same positive energy as ever.
The spring really brought nature to life. Everywhere, there were flowers to dodge running into, endless green grass, cliffs, even loops…. Instead of heading straight back, Sonic spent most of the day taking it all in, running as much as he liked. As the sun began to set, he made one last sprint to a spot at the top of a cliff, where he could get a good view of the town. Villagers were going about their business, fishing, catching bugs, talking in the town square. There were even a few humans running around. But one building stood out amongst the others, replicating the same shop that he had grown up in, lovingly reconstructed down to the last detail. He stood there for a moment, watching the windows as the lights flickered on, the sign of the day being done. He smiled to himself. It was a strangely comforting feeling, one he realised he hadn’t felt in a long time. He was ready to get back to his adventures, safe in the knowledge that no matter how big, how spectacular life was, there was always that peaceful glow to come back to.