Chapter Text
Sonic was stealing rings.
He sure wasn't being subtle about it either. Tails' blue brother must've gotten too used to being the only one with a heightened sense of hearing if he thought his nightly escapes would go unnoticed for long (although in his defence, Knuckles does tend to sleep like a log once he'd fallen asleep).
And it seemed like he was at least attempting to cover his tracks.
See after the whole Eclipse Cannon and Knuckles using their last ring to save their butt's, Tails had since somehow managed to not only order whole bags of rings on the intergalactic web???, but also get them HOME DELIVERED!!
And with a bit of instruction, both Sonic and Knuckles had learned how to order them too. Granted it took Sonic a bit, but it was similar enough to ordering on Uber Eats that he was able to catch on quick. And he still beat Knuckles (score for Sonic!)
But moving on.
Though Sonic was being pretty good at replacing his swiped goods, unbeknownst to the rest of the Wachowskis (except Ozzie. He was privy to an insurmountable number of secrets in that household) Tails actually kept count of all the rings in the house every day. He double checked after every purchase, just in case an emergency were to ever arise and to ensure they stayed well stocked.
And thanks to this, it was pretty obvious to Tails whenever the number of rings started dwindling or the bowl of rings somehow became suspiciously fuller after he came down for breakfast.
With all the evidence tied against him, Sonic was very clearly both stealing rings, and sneaking out using said rings on their living room floor.
Despite this, Tails was reluctant to raise an issue. There might not have even been an issue in the first place!
He trusted his big brother, and so would wait a bit to see if Sonic would open up on his own before alerting their parents. Besides, they'd been told numerous times about Sonic’s 'heroic' escapades of destruction before Knuckles and Tails had joined their family. They had been warned of the weeks of grounding they would receive for getting up to such shenanigans without at least making Tom and Maddie aware, ideally getting their approval first.
This could just be Sonic messing around or working on something...
But when his bed began to lay empty every 3 to 4 nights, then every other night, quickly remaining empty for numerous nights in a row, Tails decided he would at least tell Knuckles. Sonic was sneaking out of his bed so much, it was a wonder he could still function everyday as normal.
Well not entirely, he’d been sleeping in a lot more.
Another reason Tails was so hesitant to open up was that Sonic had seemed so much happier since he started using up rings. For a while after the eclipse cannon, Sonic had seemed...well, a little off. They chalked it up to being shaken by Tom's injury. Which they all were, six weeks after him being released from hospital still had the boys sleeping occasionally beside Tom and Maddie or in makeshift cots next to their bed. They all wanted, no needed that reassurance.
Seeing Sonic so happy, Tails didn't want to ruin that. Maybe Sonic was just going for late night runs?
But they were becoming so much more frequent now...
Until they knew more, they'd wait for 'tattling' on Sonic.
Mind made up, Tails climbed into bed the next night, feigning sleep until he heard Blue Justice sneak off.
He'd clued Knuckles in on his plan and what was going on earlier that day. Though he seriously doubted the echidna would be able to stay awake for that long. He supposed he'd just have to wake him up then. Carefully. Would kinda put a damper on their plans if he ended up getting an accidental concussion from trying to wake up the sleepy and jumpy warrior.
He'd caught Knuckles as he returned from his morning training while Sonic was still in bed. (No wonder he'd sleep in after so many late-night excursions). It was pretty easy for Sonic to get away with lying in though, as at some point after returning, he’d climbed into Tom and Maddie’s bed. While Maddie had gotten up earlier to make them all pancakes before she went to work, Tom had deigned to sleep in again, made even more comfortable with a small blue hedgehug cuddling into his side.
When they’d all went to bed, the three mobians had been tucked in on roll-up mattresses. Knuckles was the second to leave his as he was always sure to wake up nice and early for warrior training, occasionally accompanied by Wade – for some reason. Tails woke up around the time Maddie did, helping her with the pancakes and then reading a new physics article as he ate.
After bidding Maddie goodbye, Tails went down to the basement until Knuckles came back. Their parents had been kind enough to convert the basement into a workshop for Tails after Tom had been woken up one too many times from Tails’ tinkering.
Whilst Sonic had been secretive as of late, Tails had also been keeping a surprise from his family, for now. He’d been working on a device to track Chaos energy. Back in the forest when finally having their well-deserved family moment, Sonic had opened up about what happened with Shadow, from when he went after the Master Emerald to their talk on the moon and the exploding Eclipse Cannon. It was how they found out the Chaos Emeralds had been scattered across the galaxy, Sonic making a joke about how they made a great backdrop against the partially-destroyed moon. Tails knew how much the Master Emerald meant to Knuckles, and it seemed the whole event with Shadow…made Sonic feel guilty? He’d gotten quiet talking about it all. Either way, the young inventor was determined to track down the precious gems, and this device was a great first step.
He'd worked for just under 40 minutes when he picked up on trudging coming from the surrounding woods and went to go meet Knuckles. Making his way towards him, the two-tailed fox gave a small wave.
'Knuckles? Can I....talk to you about something? Its-its about Sonic.'
'Brother Fox. I see you too have noticed his change in behaviour as of late. Sit with me.' He gestured to some nearby trees, as Knuckles collapsed to the ground, leaning his back against one of his favourite oaks. Tails followed suit, sitting cross-legged on the grass in front of his oldest brother.
'Yeah. Sonic seems, well, happier lately. Which is great of course! But um, I think a large reason for that is he's kinda been sneaking out at night. A lot.'
'Hmm. Is he engaging in combat?'
'I don't know, I hope not! I'm just worried about him.'
'While I'm sure the hedgehog would appreciate your concern, do not forgot he is a seasoned warrior who has been on this planet for many years, even before meeting the Lord of Donuts and Pretzel lady. He knows the Earth very well, and is capable of looking after himself.'
'I guess you're right...I just wish he would tell us where he's going. We're a team!'
'Hmm. This is true. You have a plan then?'
Which led to right now, where Knuckles is currently snoring and Tails remained still under his covers, making sure to control his breathing. The three of them had great hearing after all. Somewhat luckily and unluckily, the young mobians were sleeping in their own bedroom tonight. Meaning it would be easier for them to sneak away without Tom or Maddie waking up. That also meant it was easier for Sonic to try sneaking away in the dead of night.
He didn't have to wait long, as after what felt like a few minutes but was more likely an hour, Tails heard the telltale creak of a certain hedgehog climbing out of bed. This was then preceded with the sound of the attic door being lifted and gently closed behind it. As soon as the latch had fallen back down, Tails carefully lifted his own covers and pulled his socks and shoes on before creeping over to Knuckles' bed, where the echidna warrior remained in a deep slumber, a small amount of drool pooling down the corner of his mouth.
Tails was about to shake his brother awake, before thinking better of it. Standing a safe distance away, Tails yelled in a whisper.
'Knuckles! Sonic is leaving now.'
Nothing.
'KNUCKLES!!!'
Tails was extremely thankful he'd had the foresight to step away, as upon waking, Knuckles flailed his limbs about, punching the air before suddenly sitting up straight.
'FEAR ME FOR I- ah, young fox. The hedgehog has left?'
'Yes, and we should try and catch him now before he's gone through the ring portal.'
Nodding in agreement, Knuckles followed Tails as they made their way down the attic stairs, making sure to be as quiet as possible when passing the Wachowski parents' room, before quietly hurrying to the ground floor. The two peeked their heads around the stairs corner into the living room, watching as Sonic snatched 2 rings from the bowl and threw one onto the living room carpet, opening a black hole into the floor as all that showed on the other side of the ring was pitch black.
'Sonic!'
The blue hedgehog stopped in his tracks, foot hovering midair as he was about to step into the darkness below. Glancing between the ring and his brother who had stepped into view, Sonic scratched the back of his head, stepping in front of the ring as if trying to hide it. He may as well not have made any attempt, the ring portals were big enough for at least two humans to fit through.
'Oh, hey guys! You wanted a late night run too, huh? Heh.' Sonic sheepishly asked, attempts to be inconspicuous absolutely failing. Tails furrowed his brows, pouting at Sonic to try and pry the truth out of him. It was usually very effective, Tails had the best puppy dog eyes and pout of the three of them.
'Sonic, we know you've been sneaking out for numerous nights in a row now. Where are you going? You know you can tell us anything, why does it have to be a secret?'
Sonic looked a little ashamed at this.
'Look I know it looks bad, but I can explain!' He waved his hands towards the fox and echidna.
'I was just waiting to tell you, its all a little complicated cause-'
Sonic got cut off, as just before the portal started to close, the three picked up on the quietest, hesitant '...Sonic? Why aren't you coming through?'
Knuckles raised his brows and fists at that, while Tails tried to place where he had heard that deep voice before...
Before something came through the portal.
And standing before them, was one black hedgehog with red highlights, deemed 'the more impressive hedgehog' by Knuckles previously.
Looking like a deer caught in headlights at seeing their audience, was someone the family had believed dead for weeks now.
Shadow.