Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Nicholas Parlouzer — Nicky to his friends — was about as ordinary as you could get. He was a perfectly boring kid, and nothing interesting ever happened to him. Really, the only thing about him that was even remotely of note was his living situation. A few years ago, Nicky's parents had sent him to go live with his his aunt, uncle, and their daughter Tanya over in Hedgehog Town. They'd had something come up at work and weren't going to be around at all. As such, they sent Nicky to live with family until they were able to come back, and for the past five years, that was where he'd been.

Nicky had always known that someday he’d come back home to Station Square, but as the months stretched into years, that reality seemed further and further off. He somehow managed to make a lot of friends in Hedgehog Town. Even more miraculous was the fact that he got a girlfriend. Him! The most boring, wimpy, socially anxious kid in the entire town. And somehow, Amy Rose chose him . . .

Nicky sighed dreamily, sitting backwards on the couch in his family's living room, chin resting on his arms as he gazed out the window. Amy was the perfect girl. She was sweet, kind, feisty, and pretty, too! This year, she’d been elected class president, which only made sense, as she was super organized, motivated, and supportive. She helped push Nicky out of his comfort zone more times than he could count. This year, they were both Freshman in high school, and Nicky had planned on asking Amy to the Homecoming dance.

But with Nicky back in Station Square, there was no chance of that happening now. The school year started tomorrow, and he'd never get the chance to take Amy to the dance. She’d have to go with someone else. Well, at least she wouldn’t be going with Anton. That bully had moved years ago and no one was sorry to see him go, least of all Nicky. But then, who would Amy end up going with? Tails? No, he was a few years younger than them, so that would just be weird. Little John? Eh, Nicky couldn't see it. Charmy? Definitely not. Really, the only plausible option Nicky could think of . . . was Sonic.

Sonic the Hedgehog . . . The mysterious blue blur had first appeared about a month after Nicky had arrived in Hedgehog Town. The guy would show up, stop whatever nefarious plan the evil scientist Dr. Eggman had cooked up — don't ask — and then disappear without a trace. Nicky heavily suspected that Amy had a bit of a crush on him. Nicky would’ve confronted the blue hero, told him Amy was his girl, but there were two problems: First, the amount of confidence Nicky had was the equivalent of a drop of water, even after all his time in Hedgehog Town and accidentally getting wrapped up in Anton’s antics or Eggman’s schemes. He was still a coward. He was still weak. Second, Nicky had never actually seen Sonic face to face. Whenever the hero appeared, Nicky had just the unfortunate luck to never be there. Nicky only knew Sonic existed thanks to everyone else talking about him, and the town putting up all sorts of ‘Sonic promotional material.’ It kinda got on Nicky's nerves.

Nicky’s mother, Bernadette, walked into the room then. “Well, Nicky, tomorrow’s the big day, isn’t it?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah,” Nicky replied absently. In all honesty, Nicky wasn't that excited to be going back to school tomorrow. It would be the first time he'd gone to school in Station Square in five years and he couldn't really find anything to look forward to. He hadn’t left any friends here in Station Square, and even if he had, they probably didn’t go to Elevation Preparatory High School now.

Elevation Prep was a ‘smart kids school.’ It was clear to anyone who met him that Nicky was smart, even if he didn't see it himself. His parents had him take the entrance exam recently and even though he didn't understand how, he got in. Maybe he really was smart. Or maybe Nicky had just the insane luck to guess enough right answers. Either way, Nicky didn’t feel deserving of Elevation Prep. He just wanted to go to Hedgehog Town High School like all his friends. Why couldn't he just stay ordinary? He wasn't anything special.

"Hey, what's with the long face?" Bernie said, coming to sit next to him on the couch. "You'll do great tomorrow. I just know it."

"I dunno . . ." Nicky sighed. "What if . . . ? What if I can't do it? What if I can't make friends or get bullied?"

"Nicholas Parlouzer," Bernie said softly but firmly. "You can do anything you set your mind to. You can do this, alright?"

"But what if I'm not strong enough?" Nicky looked up at his mom pleadingly. He'd never been strong enough before . . .

"You have strength," Bernie promised. She pointed to his chest — to his heart. "You might not realize it, but it's there. You just have to find it."

Nicky looked down at his chest and then back up at Bernie. "If you say so . . ."

“I know so," Bernie said, giving him a hug. "Now, the reason I came in here. Do you want me to make you anything special for breakfast tomorrow?”

Nicky thought about it for a second. “Pancakes?” he suggested hopefully. “With chocolate chips?”

Bernie smiled. “Of course! Anything for my little angel!” She grabbed Nicky and pulled him closer to her, tickling him.

“Mom!” Nicky laughed. “Stop! I’m - hahaha - fifteen!”

“You’re never too old for tickle fights!” Bernie declared.

After a moment, Nicky managed to slip free of his mom’s grasp. He sat back with a giggle, straightening his hoodie. 

The red hoodie had a large capital ‘N’ on the front. Bernie actually made it for him before he went to Hedgehog Town. For years, the hoodie had been too big for Nicky, but now he'd finally grown into it. It was Nicky's favorite thing that he owned and you could seldom find him without it.

“Is Dad home yet?” Nicky asked.

Bernie shook her head. “He called me a few minutes ago and said he’d probably be late tonight.”

Jules worked at the Station Square Police Department, and up until recently, Bernie did, too. Nicky wasn’t allowed to know the details, but the two of them had gone deep undercover for a while. That was the real reason why Nicky had to go live in Hedgehog Town. Now that the mission was finally over, Bernie had decided to quit police work so she could take care of Nicky and the house. Jules however, was still on the force, working as the lead detective.

Nicky deflated a bit in disappointment at the news that his dad wouldn't be home before bedtime. Jules had promised that they’d look at his old comic book collection tonight. Five whole years was a long time to go without seeing someone, and Nicky couldn't help but feel like he didn't know his dad all that well anymore. He wanted to bond with him over something.

“Hey, cheer up okay? Why don’t we go have dinner and then watch a movie?” Bernie suggested with a smile. “I made pizza.”

Nicky brightened and looked up. “Homemade pizza?"

"You know it!" Bernie confirmed.

"Awesome!" If there was one thing that could lift Nicky's spirits no matter what, it was pizza.

Nicky took his glasses off, setting them on the nightstand and then proceeded to change into some pajamas. He turned off the light, turned on the lamp, and then just laid on top of his covers as he staring up at the ceiling for a while. Just last week, Nicky was still back in Hedgehog Town and he'd stayed up late with Tanya for a pillow fight in her room. When Aunt Brenda came in and told them to knock it off, they’d turned off the light and talked together in whispered voices as they curled up in sleeping bags on the floor.

“Are you really leaving?” Tanya had asked.

“I guess,” Nicky murmured, hugging a pillow. “I don’t want to though. I mean . . . yeah, I miss my parents, but I’m gonna miss everyone here too. What if . . . what if everyone forgets about me?”

“We’d never do that!” Tanya insisted. “Tell you what, Nicky, I’ll make sure we don’t forget you. I’ll post about you every day so everyone knows how awesome you are!”

Nicky laughed quietly, feeling his face heat up in embarrassment. “You don’t have to do that.”

“But I will! And then every month we’ll all write you a letter and I’ll send them to you together in one big envelope,” Tanya promised.

Nicky smiled and hugged his cousin. “Thanks, Tanya.” Even if it wasn't necessary, he was immensely thankful.

True to her word, Tanya had indeed posted about Nicky every day since he left Hedgehog Town and it made him want to die at the horror of being perceived every time. The massive influx of kind words in the comments didn't really help things, but there was nothing Nicky could do about it. He was sure he'd feel the same way once the first batch of monthly letters came in.

Nicky was suddenly startled out of his thoughts at the sound of a knock on his door. “Are you still awake, son?”

Nicky sat up, recognizing his dad's voice. “Yeah. Come in.”

Jules entered the room, hands in the pockets of his police jacket. He smiled sheepishly and came to sit on the bed next to Nicky. “I’m sorry I didn’t come home in time to look at the comics.”

“It’s okay. We can look at them tomorrow night,” Nicky said. “So . . . why did you have to stay late?”

Jules sighed heavily. “Remember that missing persons case I told you and Mom about? Well, we caught one of the guys involved. I had to stay to help with the interrogation.”

“Oh,” Nicky said. He fiddled with his hands as a scary thought that had been bugging him a lot recently came back to mind. “Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re gonna keep us safe, right?” Nicky whispered. “You’re gonna make sure Mom and I don’t get kidnapped?”

Jules leaned over and hugged Nicky firmly. “Of course. I’ll keep you and Mom safe. I promise.”

Nicky returned the hug, feeling much safer as he was enveloped in Jules' police jacket. “Thanks, Dad.”

“You have a good first day of school tomorrow, okay Buddy?” Jules said.

“I’ll try,” Nicky said. “I hope I’ll make friends.”

“You will,” Jules promised. “You’re a great kid. Just you wait. The kids’ll be lining up around the block to hang out with you.”

Somehow, Nicky wasn’t so sure about that. But he nodded. He pulled out of the hug with as much of a smile as he could manage. “Night, Dad. Love you.”

Jules placed a kiss on his forehead. “Love you too, Nicky. Goodnight.” As Nicky got into bed, Jules got up and turned off the lamp for him before leaving the room so he could go to sleep.

Once again, Nicky found himself staring up at the ceiling. It really was great to be back home. He had his parents back and they could actually hang out now. But Nicky would always miss his friends back in Hedgehog Town. In a way, that place felt more like home than Station Square at this point. 

Nicky felt his eyes starting to drift shut. I wonder if my friends are thinking about me right now.

Chapter Text

The next morning, the Parlouzer household was in chaos. Nicky and Jules both slept in, leaving Bernie — who had gotten up early to make the pancakes — to wake them up once she realized they were behind schedule. Once he was dressed an had all of his stuff ready in his backpack, Nicky sat at the table, snarfing down chocolate chip pancakes as fast as he could. Bernie was cooking the rest of the pancakes. They wouldn’t all get eaten today, but she liked to have leftovers.

“Have you seen my keys, Bernie?” Jules called from across the house.

“No, I don't think so,” Bernadette called back.

“They're in the bathroom, Dad!” Nicky said through a mouthful of pancake.

“Nicky, don’t talk with your mouth full,” Bernadette scolded lightly.

“Sorry,” Nicky said.

“Ah! Found 'em! Thanks, Nicky!” Jules said. A moment later, he walked into the kitchen, tucking his keys into his pocket. He came over to Bernadette and gave her a quick kiss. “Love you, Honey. See you after work.”

“See you,” Bernie said.

Jules came over to Nicky and rustled his quills as he walked past. “Have a good day, Buddy.”

“You too!” Nicky smiled and fixed his bangs.

Jules picked up his briefcase headed for the door. “Bye!” With that, he was gone.

Nicky picked up his cup and drank the last of his milk in one big gulp, before getting up and taking his dishes to the sink. “I should be heading out, too.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you?” Bernie asked for what was probably the fifth time that morning.

“I’ll be okay,” Nicky promised. “We walked to school every day in Hedgehog Town.”

“Oh. Alright then.” Bernie gave Nicky a quick goodbye hug and kiss. “Have a good day, sweetie.”

“I’ll try,” Nicky shrugged. He grabbed his backpack from the floor next to his chair and headed for the door. “Bye, Mom!”

“See you after school!” Bernie called.

Nicky didn’t see any other kids also walking to school as he made his way to Elevation Prep. Instantly, his mind spun together several reasons for why that was. First, the other students had left early and were already at school. Second, the other students let their parents drive them, or they drove themselves. Third, most students went to the other non ‘smart kid’ schools.

Whatever the reason was, Nicky was thankful for the lack of company. He wasn’t that great at carrying on a conversation and the silence would’ve been beyond awkward. When given the choice between talking with people he didn't know and being alone, Nicky would gladly choose being alone.

The universe must’ve wanted to spite Nicky, because as he approached the crosswalk, he spotted someone already waiting to cross the street. He was a pure black hedgehog with upturned quills and looked to be about Nicky’s age.

Nicky took a shaky breath and forced himself to walk up to the hedgehog and wait for the walk signal to turn on. He pretended to look at one of the businesses across the street, silently praying that the hedgehog wouldn’t say anything.

Nicky’s prayers were denied. The black hedgehog turned to him and instantly tried to strike up a conversation. “Are you heading to school?” he asked.

“Who, me?” Nicky scrambled, turning to look at the black hedgehog. Yeah, no duh he was talking to him. There was no one else around! “U-Uh, yeah.”

The black hedgehog smiled easily, looking so much more comfortable right now than Nicky did. “Me too. What’s your school?”

“E-Elevation Prep.”

“Really? Me too.”

Nicky managed a smile. Okay. Here was something they had in common. He could work with this. “Oh, really?”

“Yup! See?” The hedgehog indicated the clothes he was wearing.

Nicky instantly smacked himself internally. The black hedgehog was in the Elevation Prep uniform, just like him. White dress shirt, red sweater vest, black pants. How did Nicky not notice?? And for that matter, Nicky hoped the black hedgehog hadn’t noticed his extremely dumb question either.

“I’m actually kinda new here, so I don't entirely know my way around yet. That's why I'm kinda running behind today,” the black hedgehog went on. Thank Chaos, he didn't notice. “I just moved in along with my sister and my grandpa a few weeks ago.”

“Oh wow, really? I just moved in, too. Well, um, kinda,” Nicky amended. “I used to live here five years ago, but then I went to live with my aunt and my uncle and my cousin for a while, and now I’m back. So it kinda feels new, but it’s also kinda familiar, you know? It's weird.”

“Yeah, I bet,” the black hedgehog agreed. They noticed the walk signal finally turned on and the two of them started to cross the road. “I’m Dexter, by the way. Dexter Robotnik.”

“M-My name’s Nicholas Parlouzer. Everyone just calls me Nicky, though.”

“Cool! Nice to meet you, Nicky,” Dexter said.

“Nice to meet you too, Dexter,” Nicky replied, smiling. Surprisingly, it didn't feel forced, but 100% genuine.

Dexter turned out to be in a lot of Nicky’s classes, which was good since they were both the only person in Station Square that either of them knew. But, as Nicky quickly discovered, Dexter was actually a lot better at making friends than he was. He had one of those personalities that just drew people to him. Nicky almost expected half the girls in the whole school to have a crush on him by the end of the day, like how it worked in comics.

At lunch, Nicky decided trying to sit with Dexter would be worth the hoard of new people and tracked him down. Surprisingly, none of Dexter’s new friends were sitting with him. He was all alone at a table, poking at his food unenthusiastically.

“Where’s . . . everyone else?” Nicky asked, setting down his lunch tray and sitting down across from his . . . friend? Acquaintance?

“They all have other friends they wanted to sit with,” Dexter said with a shrug. “It’s fine, really. I’m used to being alone.”

“Oh, so, I guess my company doesn’t count for anything?” Immediately, Nicky regretted his choice of words. Oh please don’t let him take that seriously it was a joke does he realize it was a joke please let him realize that was a joke Nicky had never really joked with his friends did it even sound like a joke he really hoped that sounded like a joke!!!

Dexter laughed. Nicky let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Yeah. I think your company's good enough for me,” Dexter said. “You’re really cool, Nicky.”

Nicky scratched his head sheepishly. “Th-Thanks.”

Chapter Text

“So, how was your day, Nicky?” Jules asked that night at dinner. Bernie had made pasta.

“Y'know, it was really good!” Nicky said. “My classes look pretty cool so far. We didn’t get any homework, which is a relief. I was kinda worried this would be one of those crazy schools that gives out homework on the first day. And I uh . . . I made a friend!” Nicky smiled sheepishly.

“Oh, really?” Jules asked, a little surprised but mostly relieved. He'd always be supportive of his son, but Jules couldn't deny how shy Nicky was. It was good to hear about him making friends after just the first day. "See, Nicky? I told you it would all work out."

“Heh. Yeah, I guess,” Nicky shrugged self-consciously. “Anyway. His name is Dexter. Dexter Robotnik.”

The name made Jules stop in his tracks, fork half-way to his plate. There was no way. Trying to act casual, he asked, “Robotnik, huh? That's an interesting last name. Where's he from?”

“He's just from here,” Nicky said sheepishly. “Dexter says his ancestors got bored of their old last name so they made a new one up.”

“Is that so?” Bernadette asked, bringing the breadsticks to the table and sitting down. “You learn something new every day I guess.”

Jules tried to stay engaged with the conversation, but he found it hard to listen, his head spinning with the realization. It couldn’t be. It just couldn't. But it was, Jules knew it was. There were a million questions that spawned with that thought, and Jules knew immediately that he needed answers.

“I’ve gotta run an errand real quick, Nicky,” Jules said at bedtime.

Nicky’s face fell. “Oh. Okay.”

“Hey, don’t get all sad on me!” Jules bent down in front of his son and lifted his chin so he was looking at him. “I made you a promise. We’re not skipping out on comics again. Why don’t you get ready and we’ll start as soon as I get back?”

Nicky gasped slightly, gazing up at his dad in awe. “You mean . . . I can take them off the shelf without you being there?”

“As long as you’re careful,” Jules said. He lowered his voice ominously. “Because if you rip them, the comic monster will come for youuuuu!”

Nicky laughed. “I’ll be careful,” he promised.

“Good.” Jules ruffled his son's bangs before standing up. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

Once Jules left the house, it only took a moment for him to remember where it was he was heading towards. Though he'd only been there once or twice, he had the memory for these sorts of things.

Gerald Robotnik had left the city years ago, taking his two young grandchildren with him, though he never actually sold his house. Gerald just moved his family to a house far out in the countryside somewhere while he rented his city house out to whoever needed it. That was the plan they'd agreed upon.

So why was Gerald back? Why now? After what happened, Jules figured Gerald would stay away from Station Square for good. That was the plan. What had changed? Whatever the reason, it had better be good. Gerald was putting Nicky in danger just by being back.

Jules arrived at Gerald’s house and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the door opened about half-way. Two hedgehogs stood there — not the one Jules was looking for, but vaguely familiar all the same. One was black and looked about Nicky’s age. He must’ve been Dexter. The other was blonde and was a bit shorter, but looked to be the same age as her brother. They stared up at him blankly, probably wondering who he was and why he was there.

“Hi,” Jules said, keeping his tone friendly. “Is Gerald home?”

Dexter nodded. “Wait here.” He disappeared inside, leaving his sister at the door.

She continued to stare up at Jules, her big blue eyes almost not even blinking.

“I'm Jules. What’s your name?” Jules asked, not sure what to make of the girl.

"Maria,” she said simply.

“That’s a nice name.”

“Thanks,” Maria said.

Dexter came back then, bringing an elderly gray hedgehog with him who opened the door the rest of the way. The older hedgehog's eyes widened upon seeing who his visitor was. “Jules! It’s you! How wonderful to see you again.”

Jules nodded. “Can we talk?”

Gerald nodded. He turned to his grandchildren. “Go get ready for bed, you two. I’ll only be a minute.”

“Okay,” Dexter said. He took Maria’s hand and started to lead her inside, but she paused, looking back at Gerald.

“Are we still playing Fyreon tonight?” She asked.

Gerald chuckled. “Yes, Maria. I'll just be a moment. Get your pajamas on and I'll be with you two soon.”

Maria nodded firmly. She and Dexter then disappeared inside and Gerald closed the door behind them.

“Let’s go somewhere more private,” Gerald suggested.

“Yeah,” Jules said. Gerald led him around the house to the backyard, where they sat down on the porch swing. “You’re back,” Jules finally remarked after a long moment of tense silence.

“I am,” Gerald nodded.

“Why?” Jules asked. “What were you thinking? You know how dangerous it is! Everything would’ve been fine if you’d stayed away, but no. You not only came back, but you also enrolled Dexter in the same school as Nicky! They even met today! Did you know that?”

“I only learned that tonight.” Gerald said evenly. "Though I'll admit, I didn't expect it to happen so quickly."

“Why?” Jules repeated. “What about the plan? Why did you bring him back when you knew how dangerous it would be?”

"There were two reasons," Gerald began. "The first was because of Maria's health. With it being so unpredictable, I felt it would be better for her sake for us to be somewhere with an actual hospital. And the second reason was because I realized something. No matter how much we try to shield Dexter and Nicky from the truth, they’ll find out eventually. Sooner or later, trouble will come looking for them and the secret won’t be so secret anymore. They might as well have each other to depend on.”

Jules sighed in annoyance. It made sense, but it was immensely reckless. “But isn’t putting them in the same city together going to attract trouble prematurely?”

“Not necessarily,” Gerald said. “Not if we work to keep those with bad intentions from finding out about them.”

“We?” Jules asked, confused.

“Yes. The police department rehired me,” Gerald explained. “And restored me to my former position. I am once again the head of Research and Development. And with you as lead detective, I’m sure our boys will be well taken care of between the two of us.”

Jules sighed again and looked away. “I don't know . . . It still feels way too risky.”

Gerald's gaze softened sympathetically. "You need to put more faith in yourself, Jules. What happened wasn't your fault."

Jules didn't respond.

Gerald put a hand on the younger hedgehog's shoulder. "Just trust me, alright?"

Jules thought for a long moment. ". . . Fine," he replied faintly.

Gerald smiled. “Thank you. Everything will work out. You'll see.”

“I hope you're right,” Jules sighed, standing up. “I’d better be getting home. But to be clear. We're still not telling them.”

Gerald nodded. “Not until the time is right.”

Jules nodded back. “Have a good night, Gerald.” With that, he began to leave.

“I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” Gerald said.

Jules half-waved as he walked away to show he heard him. A cold dread followed Jules for his entire walk home. He hoped he was doing the right thing by allowing this.

Chapter Text

“Wait, you’re serious?” Dexter asked one day at lunch. They were around a week into the school year now. “There was a superhero in Hedgehog Town?”

Nicky nodded. “Yeah. His name is Sonic and he's got super speed. He fights this evil scientist guy named Eggman.”

Dexter laughed. “Eggman? Why's that his name?”

“He’s so fat and round, he looks like an egg,” Nicky explained. “Anyway, he builds giant robots and attacks Sonic with them.”

“Wow,” Dexter said, awestruck. “One guy taking down an entire mech like that! That must’ve been really cool to watch.”

Nicky laughed sheepishly and looked away. “Well, actually . . . I never really saw Sonic.”

Dexter eyes widened in shock. “What? How?”

“Somehow I was never around when he was,” Nicky said. “I really have the worst luck. Sometimes he’d literally be in the same part of town as me and I’d somehow still miss him.”

“Oh man,” Dexter said, shaking his head. “That’s crazy. But you at least saw pictures of him, right?”

“Yeah, I did.” Nicky took a sip from his milk. Honestly, Nicky wasn’t that upset about never meeting Sonic. The guy seemed way too full of himself and also a little annoying. Sure, he saved Hedgehog Town all the time, and Nicky was grateful for that, but the guy seemed like someone that made everyone around him feel like a third wheel. Useless, ignored, and pushed to the sidelines.

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Nicky and Dexter got up and threw away their empty lunch trays before heading to their next class.

“Next up, English,” Dexter said. “That assessment thing is today, isn't it?”

“Don't remind me," Nicky groaned. "I'm going to fail so bad . . ."

“Uh, who are you and what did you do with Nicky?” Dexter laughed. “Dude, you work harder than every other kid in our class combined. You're gonna blow this assessment out of the water, just you wait.”

“I dunno,” Nicky shrugged, deflating. “I’m just worried I passed the entrance exam by accident and I’m not really supposed to be here.”

“Nicky.” Dexter placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder and met his gaze sincerely. “You’re the smartest kid I know. Of course you’re meant to be here.”

Nicky smiled. “Thanks. I-I still don't know if I'll do okay but-”

"No buts," Dexter interrupted. "You'll do great. Got it?"

Nicky nodded. "I got it."

"I wanna hear you sayyyy it!" Dexter sang.

"I'll do great," Nicky laughed.

"That's right," Dexter nodded with a smirk.

They walked for almost two seconds more before they suddenly heard an explosion from somewhere outside. A tremor ran through the floor and Nicky nearly tripped over his own ankle.

“Wh-wh-what was that?” Nicky stammered.

“Dunno,” Dexter said, eyeing the door that led outside at the very end of the hall. “Let’s go check it out!”

“Wait, what?” Nicky said. As Dexter began to run forward, he caught his hand and pulled him back. “M-M-Maybe we shouldn’t?”

“Come on, just one quick look!” Dexter pleaded.

Nicky sighed, conflicted. “F-Fine . . . But then we’re coming right baaaaaa-?!”

“Let’s go!” Dexter grabbed Nicky’s hand and barrelled off down the hallway at top speed.

“Woah! Dexter! S-Slow down!!” Nicky held on for dear life and struggled not to trip.

As they ran, students and teachers alike fell in next to them, all eager to figure out what was going on. Finally, they exited the school, joining an even bigger crowd that had gathered outside. Everyone looked up with a mixture of awe and fear, some pointing, some crying, some recording, and some dialing 911 in a panic.

The source of the explosion was immediately apparent: A giant robot that was at least two stories tall by Nicky's estimate stood just off school grounds. Piloting the robot, just barely visible from this distance, was a short and fat man with an extremely puffy mustache.

Nicky gasped in shock as recognition clicked in his brain. “Eggman??? What’s he doing here???”

“Eggman? Isn’t he supposed to be in Hedgehog Town?” Dexter asked.

“Yeah!” Nicky nodded, absolutely dumbfounded. Staring up at the robot, he wasn't sure if he should run away or duck back into the school for shelter.

Eggman’s voice suddenly boomed from a speaker, startling Nicky. “Ah, how lovely! An audience! Well, Sonic? Is this enough danger for you?”

What was the madman talking about? Sonic was supposed to be in Hedgehog Town, too! Why on Earth would Eggman think he was here?

When nothing happened, Eggman tilted his head to the side. “No? Well, then. Why don’t we indulge in some good ol’ fashioned property damage?” Without any further ceremony, Eggman punched the side of the school with the robot’s fist. As rubble and debris rained down, a scream of terror rose up from the crowd.

“We gotta do something!” Dexter yelled over the cacophony.

“Wh-What can we do?” Nicky asked. “Sonic’s the hero, not us!”

Shadow dragged himself out of darkness and opened his eyes. He breathed in slowly, as if for the first time. He was standing on the top of a building. For half a second, he watched in muted confusion as a giant robot tore up a school nearby. His brain couldn't quite comprehend yet what was happening. What was he doing here?

“Well, this is new.” Shadow nearly jumped out of his skin as he realized someone was standing next to him. He turned to see a blue hedgehog with green eyes, staring confidently over at the robot. “Never woken up in a city before. I guess Eggman’s moved up.”

“What-? Who are you?! What’s going on?!” Shadow demanded.

The blue hedgehog looked over at Shadow with a smirk on his face and one hand resting on his hip. “First time? You must be new. Alright, I’ll give you the rundown. Basically, we’re like world guardian-protectors or something. Every time we wake up, it’s because that guy,” he pointed down to the man piloting the robot, “is causing trouble again. Our job is to stop him. Simple.”

“Okay . . .” Shadow said. “And you are?”

“The name’s Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog!” Sonic stuck out his hand for a handshake.

“Hm. Well, I’m Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog.” Shadow ignored Sonic’s hand.

Barely seeming to notice the rejection, Sonic smiled, a big toothy grin. “Hehe! Aw yeah, this is awesome! I have my own sidekick!”

“Excuse me?” Shadow said, bristling. “I am not your sidekick.”

"I've been at this whole guardian thing for much longer than you have," Sonic said, poking Shadow's chest fur. "If you're not my sidekick, then what are you?”

“Let’s just say we’re partners for now,” Shadow said. “We’ll discuss this more later.”

Sonic shrugged. “If you say so. You ready?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s do this!”

Nicky groaned as he opened his eyes. He was sore all over. “What happened?”

“Dunno . . . ” That was Dexter. Nicky looked over at his friend. They were on the ground up against a wall on the side of the school. “That robot must’ve rammed us and knocked us out.”

“Yeah.” Nicky pulled himself up, squinting through blurry vision. He had no idea where his glasses were. He offered a hand to Dexter, who took it, and Nicky pulled him to his feet. Once they were both upright, Nicky looked around, blindly searching for his glasses. "I can't see . . ." he muttered.

“Here.” Dexter grabbed Nicky's hand and placed his glasses into it.

“Thanks.” Nicky put them on and blinked, very grateful to have his sight back. He looked over at the street, discovering that the giant robot was now laying in ruins on the road. A crowd watched as the police loaded a handcuff-bound Eggman into a squad car.

“Wow,” Dexter remarked. “How long were we out for? What happened anyway?”

Nicky started jogging over to the street without responding.

“Where are you going?” Dexter asked.

“My dad’s a police officer!” Nicky called back. “I’m gonna see if he’s here and ask him what happened.”

“Good idea. I’ll come with you!” Dexter caught up with his friend quickly.

The crowd was blocking them from getting to the street, so Nicky looked around for his dad as they tried to fight their way through. Luckily, it only took about ten seconds before Jules found them first.

“Nicky!” Jules called, waving.

Nicky perked up at the sound of his name and spotted him. “Dad!”

Jules wove through the crowd and came over to them. “Are you boys alright?”

“I-I think so,” Nicky said. “What happened?”

A concerned look came onto Jules’ face. “What do you mean?”

“We woke up on the side of the school, Mr. Parlouzer." Dexter explained. "I wonder if the robot knocked us out or something."

“Maybe,” Nicky nodded. "I don't remember though."

"Me either," Dexter agreed.

The look of concern in Jules' eyes turned to panic, though Nicky could see him trying to hide it. “Let’s get you boys checked by a medic.” He started guiding them through the crowd and towards an ambulance where some paramedics were treating a few students and teachers.

“W-We’re fine, Dad,” Nicky promised. “I’m just sore.”

“I was a little dizzy, but I’m fine now,” Dexter said.

“No,” Jules said firmly. “We’re making sure you’re really okay.”

They arrived at the ambulance just as a sheep girl finished checking someone and sent them off.

“Will you please check these two over?” Jules asked the medic. “Just make sure they’re not hurt.”

She nodded. “Of course, officer.”

The sheep started with Dexter and Nicky watched as his dad walked out of earshot, pulling out his radio. He started talking to someone, a serious look on his face. Once or twice, Nicky saw Jules glance over at them nervously.

What was going on . . . ?

Chapter Text

It had now been one month since Nicky returned to Station Square. It was a Saturday morning, and Nicky once again found himself kneeling backwards on the couch, staring out the window. He wondered how Tanya would end up handling the letters she promised. Did she have everyone write them yesterday so they’d arrive today, or was she gathering them today and they’d arrive on Monday? So many variables for one simple little promise.

With Eggman’s weird return, Nicky needed something to distract him. After the attack, Nicky and Dexter learned that Eggman had been defeated by Sonic as well as a new hero calling himself Shadow. The duo disappeared as quickly as they showed up once they trashed the robot. No one even managed to get a picture.

Sighing, Nicky turned around, slumping against the couch. Did Eggman really track Sonic here to Station Square? If so, why was Sonic even here at all? And what about Shadow? Where did he come from? Where did Sonic come from for that matter? Was he always going to butt into Nicky's life, never giving him peace? Nicky never got an answer for why Jules had looked so freaked out either. So many questions and no way of getting any answers. There were too many thoughts in his head. Nicky pulled out his phone and after staring at his lock screen for probably too long, he opened it and pulled up his text messages.

Nicky: Morning. U up?

Tanya: yup how r u?

Nicky: Good. How’s everyone?

Tanya: alright, we miss u 

Tanya: espesialy amy 😉

Nicky smiled, blushing slightly at the thought of Amy. He’d tried to text her a few days ago, but she still hadn’t responded. Nicky figured that was because she was busy with class president things. Even still, it was good to know she hadn’t forgotten him.

Nicky: 😊😍

Nicky: Tell her hi for me

Tanya: 😂 ok

Tanya: u make any friends?

Nicky: Yeah. Dexter. Remember?

Tanya: o yea i 4got

Tanya: anything exxiting recently?

Nicky: Eggman attacked my school a few days ago.

Tanya: no way! rly?

Nicky: Yeah

Tanya: did sonic sho up?

Nicky: Yeah

Nicky: And a new hero 

Nicky: Shadow

Tanya: did u c thm?

Nicky: No

Tanya: bummr

Nicky: Shrug

Tanya: cmon cuz hes not tht bad

Nicky: Eh

Tanya: >:P

Nicky: 😆

Nicky chuckled to himself and then noticed he got a text from Dexter. Curious, he opened it to see what it was.

Dexter: morning 👋 any plans today?

Nicky: Not really

Dexter: wanna come over then?

Nicky: Sure!

Dexter was waiting outside his house when Nicky arrived, which he was very thankful for. He hated walking up to houses he'd never been to before and needing to knock on the door. “Hey, Nicky!” Dexter waved.

Nicky waved back. “Hi!” He ran the rest of the way to the front door, eager to see his friend. "How's it going?"

“Good!" Dexter grinned. “My grandpa’s at work, so it’ll be just us and my sister.”

“Oh yeah! I haven’t met her yet,” Nicky said. “You said her name’s Maria, right?”

“Yup! And we're twins, too.” Dexter nodded as he led Nicky inside. While Nicky took his shoes off, Dexter called for his sister. “Hey, Maria! Nicky’s here! Come meet him!”

A few seconds later, a blonde hedgehog appeared, coming upstairs from the basement. She stared at Nicky for a moment before waving with a smile. “Hi.”

“Hello,” Nicky replied, waving shyly.

“I like your hoodie,” Maria said.

Nicky smiled. “Thanks. My mom made it.”

“Sweet.”

“You hungry, Nicky?” Dexter asked from the kitchen. “I mean, I know it’s still pretty early. You probably just ate breakfast.”

“I did.” Nicky joined Dexter in the kitchen with Maria following close behind. “I'll be okay until lunch.” Dexter nodded and the three of them sat down at the table.

They started chatting and Nicky noticed that Maria had some kind of devices in her ears. They didn't quite look like earbuds. Were they hearing aids? For the next several minutes, Nicky warred with himself, trying to figure out if it would be rude to ask. Finally, he managed to work up to courage, reasoning that since Maria was Dexter's sister, she was probably nice and wouldn't mind an innocent question. Right . . . ?!

“Hey . . . Maria?” Nicky said slowly. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Maria said.

“Are those hearing aids?” Nicky pointed to the devices in her ears.

“Yup, they are.” Maria nodded, tilting her head slightly so Nicky could see them better. “I was born practically deaf, so these help me hear.”

“Woah, okay. So then, do you know sign language?” Nicky asked.

“We both do!” Dexter said proudly. “It’s really useful sometimes. We can talk if the hearing aids break, or if one of us gets sick and loses our voice, or if we’re on opposite ends of a noisy room!”

“Yeah, it's pretty useful- Oh! Wait, I just remembered!” Maria said. “Dex, guess what? There’s a new update for Fyreon!”

“What?” Dexter said. “When did that come out?”

“Literally just a few minutes ago,” Maria responded. “I’ve got the game updating downstairs.”

“What’s Fyreon?” Nicky asked in confusion, the sudden topic change catching him off guard.

“How do you not know what Fyreon is?” Dexter asked, shocked. “Where have you been the last few years?”

“Hedgehog Town,” Nicky said with a blink.

“Yeah, well, we lived out in the middle of nowhere and even we still heard about it,” Dexter shrugged with a smirk.

“It’s an action-rpg video game,” Maria explained. “You make a custom character and go out into the world doing quests, learning skills, and gathering items. Fyreon is the the kingdom you're in, which is where the game gets its name.”

“But there’s also a story, and that’s what everyone’s into,” Dexter said. “There’s basically a big mystery going on. Right now, what we know is the king is corrupt-”

“-Though he might be being mind controlled by his royal advisor,” Maria jumped in.

“The princess is organizing a secret rebellion,” Dexter continued.

“Which we’re a part of,” Maria said.

“But recently, the captain of the guard, who’s also a part of the rebellion-” Dexter said.

“Who the princess is secretly in love with!” Maria smirked.

“-Has gone missing. We’ve been sent out to find him, and that’s where this new update is going to pick up,” Dexter finishes.

“You guys finish each other’s sentences a lot,” Nicky remarked with a laugh.

“Yeah,” Dexter chuckled. “We have a connection. I think it’s some kind of twin telepathy.”

“Oh wow. I didn't know that was a real thing,” Nicky said. “That’s amazing. And that game sounds really cool, too!”

“It is,” Dexter agreed. Suddenly, he got a mischievous look on his face, like he just had an idea. He looked over at Maria. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Totally. And yes,” Maria said with a mischevious grin.

“What?” Nicky said, looking between the twins in confusion. Should he be concerned?

“Do you wanna play the new update with us?” Dexter asked. “We have an extra controller for when grandpa plays with us. You could create your own character and jump right in!”

“I’ve never really played video games before . . .” Nicky murmured.

“That’s fine!” Dexter said. “Fyreon is super easy to learn. And if you have any trouble in a fight, we’ll have your back.”

Maria smiled and nodded. "That's right."

“O-Okay then,” Nicky shrugged with a nervous smile. “Let’s do it!”

Not for the first time this week, Jules was tense. Just like he feared, it didn’t take long for trouble to come knocking once Nicky and Dexter were in the same city together. However, after the attack, something hadn’t sat well with Jules. The two mysterious hedgehog heroes, as well as Nicky and Dexter’s strange memory gap, were setting off all sorts of red flags. This wasn’t how Jules expected things to happen. He wasn't sure what he did expect, but the point still stood. On top of it all, Jules talked to a few of the witnesses after this ‘Eggman’ character had been arrested. They heard Eggman yelling for ‘Sonic’ before he attacked. Worried, Jules did some digging . . . and found something he didn’t like.

“I found something you need to see,” Jules said, not even bothering to knock as he entered Gerald’s office.

Gerald stopped typing at his computer and looked at Jules. “What is it?”

Jules walked up to the desk and slapped down a file folder that was close to bursting. “This.”

Gerald looked through the folder. As he did, his frown grew deeper and deeper. “How did you not hear about this before now?”

“I was undercover, remember? I didn’t hear anything about the outside world,” Jules said. “And from the looks of it, the mayor of Hedgehog Town kept things on the down-low. He didn’t want any unwanted attention coming to town because they were the favorite playground of a super villain and a superhero.”

“Hmm . . . Do you think Nicky knows?” Gerald asked.

“How could he? He didn’t remember Eggman’s attack a few days ago. It’s been five years. He’s probably just gotten used to the memory gaps by now; thinks it’s normal.” Jules started pacing agitatedly.

Gerald nodded, seeming a lot calmer than Jules though he should've been. He took off his glasses. “Then by that logic . . . Hmm . . . If the same is true with Dexter, then this is definitely his first time. I made sure to keep him completely safe back in the countryside.” Gerald paused with a sigh. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”

“The whole situation was an accident,” Jules said wearily, stopping his pacing and leaning back against a wall. “We shouldn’t have ‘expected’ anything.”

Gerald thought for a moment. “You should tell Bernadette.”

Jules barked a laugh, a sound that was laced with sarcasm and panic. “Tell her what? That the first time she trusted me with our son, I messed up? That I . . . I couldn’t protect him?”

“What would you rather lose, Jules?” Gerald asked firmly. “A lie you told almost fifteen years ago, or your whole family altogether? If you wait much longer, Bernadette won’t be ready when the truth comes out. She may react badly.”

Jules shook his head. “No. That won’t happen. I’ll find a way to fix this. I have to.”

"Jules-" Gerald tried, but it was too late. Jules picked up the file folder and left Gerald’s office without another word.

That night, Jules lay on the bed in his and Bernie’s room, feeling hopelessly conflicted. Nicky was in bed already, and Bernie was in the master bathroom, brushing her teeth. All Jules could think about was how he needed to keep danger away from Nicky. He needed to delay the inevitable. He needed to keep his son safe.

Bernie walked into the room, having just finished her nighttime routine. “Something bothering you?” She was scarily perceptive sometimes.

“Yeah,” Jules replied halfheartedly.

Bernie laid down on the bed next to him. “Police work can be really stressful sometimes.”

Jules nodded, glad she had assumed he just had work on his mind and wasn’t prying for details. He didn’t want to lie to her . . . again. Jules rolled over to face his wife. “Y’know, sometimes I really miss having you on the force.”

“Yeah,” Bernie murmured. “But I really missed Nicky. We were gone for so long. We almost missed him growing up. I just . . . I want to be here for him.”

“I know,” Jules said sadly. “I’d love to get a less demanding job, but I don’t feel like the police force is quite ready to be without me yet. Who would even replace me?” That much, at least, was true.

Bernie laughed softly. “It would be pretty hard. You are a master detective after all.”

Jules smiled, hoping it didn’t look forced. “That I am.”

Chapter Text

“Hm? What’s this?” Bernie said, going through the mail after school on Tuesday. “You’ve got a letter, Nicky. A big one, too.”

Nick perked up from his spot at the table across from his mom. He was working on some math homework on his laptop. "Is it from Tanya?”

“Sure is. And it’s also got a bunch of other names signed on it.” Bernie handed Nicky the oversized envelope. She smiled teasingly at him. "You gonna tell me what it is?"

Nicky blushed with a smile as he took the envelope. “Tanya promised she and my friends in Hedgehog Town would send me letters every month . . .”

“Aww, that's sweet!” As Nicky started to open the envelope, Bernie looked through the rest of the mail. She happened upon one letter and held it up, squinting in confusion. “What . . . ? I thought I paid this one. I’ll be right back, Nicky.”

“Okay,” Nicky called after her.

Bernie left the room with the bill in her hand, and Nicky set to work tearing open the envelope as carefully and cleanly as he could. Finally, he managed it and dumped the pile of letters onto the table, picking up the one on top. A quick glance at the bottom revealed it was from Tanya.

To my favorite cousin, Nicky,

Wow. It’s been a month already! It feels weird to wake up in the morning and not find you typing away on your laptop or accidentally burning your toast. I miss you. (I even miss the annoying things you do, like the way you talk in your sleep and tip the waitresses waaaay too much haha)

I really hope you visit soon. The house feels empty without you. I’ve heard my mom and dad talking about how we might come visit you for Christmas and I’d really like that. You've gotta stake out some good spots for sledding so we can go together!

Anyway. I don’t want this letter to be a downer, so I’ll just tell you what I’ve been up to. I joined the swim team! Our first practice is Friday. I’m gonna make some custom merch and send it to you. Hey, maybe if we end up competing in Station Square, you could come see me! (I know you don’t like getting wet, so I'll make sure to hug you before I get in the pool haha!)

Well, that’s all from me! I hope you have a good school year! Peace out!

~Tanya ♡

Nicky smiled. Tanya knew him so well; he really missed her. After five years spent together, she was practically his sister. He sighed. Nicky was once again reminded of just how much he missed everyone. He had to find a weekend where he could visit. Setting Tanya's letter to the side, Nicky picked up the next one. It was from Tails.

Hi, Nicky,

I don’t really know what to say. I miss you.

I’m in sort of a tough situation right now. Remember how when we first met I said I go where Sonic goes? Well, I don’t know if you heard, but he showed up in Station Square. I don’t know if I should follow him or stay here in Hedgehog Town. On one hand, I’d get to see him and you again, but on the other, I’d have to leave all my friends here. So, maybe I’ll see you in Station Square later. I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet.

Also, I've been working on some new inventions and I can't wait to show you!

-Tails

Nicky frowned contemplatively at the letter. It was true that Tails had originally shown up in Hedgehog Town on the hunt for Sonic - something that had bugged Nicky in the beginning, but wasn't that big a deal now. He wondered how Tails had managed to hear about the hero's appearance here so quickly. As far as he was aware, the battle at the school had happened too quickly for any news reporters to get on the scene. Nicky shrugged to himself. Maybe Tails had managed to get a tracker on the guy at some point. He wouldn't be surprised. Well, if Tails did decide to follow Sonic to Station Square, Nicky would be happy to see him again.

Nicky started searching through the pile of letters, looking for one in particular. Hearing from his other friends would be great, but he really wanted to find Amy’s letter. After a moment, he found it at the very bottom.

Hey, Nicky,

I saw your texts. I’m really sorry I didn’t respond. I just . . . I don’t know.

My life is honestly kind of a mess right now, Nicky. I’ve had to handle the brunt of all the planning for the freshman school activities since half the student gov doesn’t even care. They saw the elections as some sort of popularity contest. I’ve been put in charge of decorations for Homecoming. Most of the cheerleading squad got into a fight the first week of school and now they’re all mad at each other. Since then, it’s been just me and one other girl at practice. We don’t know what’s going to happen for the Homecoming game. And on top of it all . . . my parents are getting a divorce.

I feel so burnt out. I wish things could just go back to the way they were. I miss having you around. I really miss you.

Sorry for the depressing letter. I guess I just had to force myself to sit down and tell someone about it. I've been holding it all in all month. Text me when you can, okay? I promise I’ll respond this time. Love you.

~Amy

Nicky's eyes widened more and more as he read the letter. He read it for a second time after finishing it. He instantly felt horrible that he wasn't able to be there for Amy when she clearly needed him. He had to do whatever he could for her, right now. Upon finishing his second read-through of the letter, he immediately pulled out his phone and pulled up his text messages.

Nicky: Hi

Amy: Hi

Nicky: I read your letter

Amy: Yeah?

Nicky: Can I call you?

Amy: Yeah

Nicky switched to his phone app and pulled up Amy's contact, her profile picture smiling brightly in stark contrast to how she must've been feeling right now. He pressed call and stood up, heading upstairs to his room so they could talk in private.

After a few seconds, Amy picked up. “Hey, Nicky.” It felt good to hear Amy’s voice again, but she sounded tired and sad.

“Hey,” Nicky said. “I . . . I’m sorry about your parents. And your team. And everything at school.” Nicky sat down on his bed.

“It’s alright,” Amy said. She sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have burdened you with my problems. I don’t want you to feel responsible. I feel awful about it now.”

“No, Amy,” Nicky said, shaking his head. “I’m glad you told me. I’m your boyfriend and I want to be there for you. I want to help you. So what can I do to help?”

“Nicky, you don’t have to-”

“What can I do to help?” Nicky repeated firmly. If there was one thing in the universe that Nicky never hesitated with, it was Amy. He'd always be there for her, no matter what.

Amy hesitated. “I’d . . . like to see you again.”

“Okay. Where do you wanna meet?”

After a bit of discussion, they’d decided to meet at an ice cream shop on the edge of Hedgehog Town. It was close enough to Amy’s house that she could walk, which was good since she didn’t want to bother either of her parents with driving her. The location was also significant for another reason. This ice cream shop was where Nicky had taken Amy on their first date. It was full of a lot of happy memories and Nicky hoped it would help lift Amy's spirits.

They'd decided to meet that Friday, about an hour after school. Amy had said she’d be too busy during the week to meet up, but she was free as soon as school was out for the week. Since they were meeting in Hedgehog Town, Nicky was almost tempted to go visit his other friends, too, but he quickly decided against it. Today was for Amy. She needed him.

“Is this the place?” Bernie asked as they pulled up to the ice cream shop. Hedgehog Town was an hour away from Station Square, but she'd agreed to drive Nicky here since she had some errands to run and a couple of things to pick up from Aunt Brenda, her sister.

Nicky nodded and unbuckled, opening his door to get out. “Yup! Thanks, Mom!”

“No problem!” Bernie said with a smile. “I’ll be back in an hour or two to pick you up. Have fun!”

“Thanks! I will, bye!” Nicky closed the car door and waved as his mom drove away.

Nicky only had to wait for about a minute or two before he spotted Amy approaching the ice cream shop. She looked absolutely exhausted. Her normally perfectly styled quills were frazzled and she sore a simple shirt and skirt combo instead of the fun dresses she usually liked to wear. But even despite all that, she was still as pretty as ever.

As soon as Amy had crossed the street to the ice cream shop, Nicky raced over to her and gave her a big hug.

“Oof-! Nicky!” Amy said in surprise and then hugged him back. “You actually came!”

“Of course I did,” Nicky said, pulling back and smiling at her. “You needed me.”

Amy gave a sad smile. "You're too sweet. What did I do to deserve you?"

"I could say the same about you." Nicky leaned in and kissed Amy's cheek. Just one simple action and he was already blushing madly.

Amy giggled quietly, taking hold of Nicky's hand and squeezing slightly. “Let’s go get some ice cream before you explode.”

“Only if you let me buy,” Nicky said.

“Okay,” Amy nodded.

After getting their ice cream — chocolate peanut butter for Nicky and strawberry for Amy — they sat down at one of the tables.

“Tanya told me Eggman attacked your school,” Amy said. “Were you okay?”

“I got hit once and blacked out, but I was fine,” Nicky said. He decided not to mention the strange way his dad had acted in the aftermath. He still couldn't make any sense of it. “They arrested Eggman. Hopefully he won’t be causing any more trouble.”

Amy nodded. “That's good. And . . . how’s school?”

“Pretty good. I’ve been having a good time in my classes,” Nicky said. “Oh! We’ve got a project coming up in Chemistry! I’m really excited about that.”

Amy giggled, a sound that was music to Nicky's ears. It was good to hear her laugh. “Only you could get excited about a science project.”

“Well . . . yeah!” Nicky said. “We get to do some research about chemical reactions and even do a few ourselves! Who wouldn’t be excited about that?”

“Me, probably,” Amy said with a smile. “I’ve never really been a fan of science.”

Nicky shrugged with a smile. He was glad Amy seemed to be brightening up. They continued to talk about whatever Amy wanted as they ate their ice cream. Mostly, they talked about what Nicky had been up to since he left. He told Amy about Dexter and she was really happy that he’d made a friend. She hoped she'd be able to meet Dexter someday. Once they finished their ice cream, they migrated outside and sat on the edge of the curb.

“What’s it like to have your parents back?” Amy asked.

“A little weird,” Nicky admitted. “It's been so long and at first, I was worried they’d be completely different. But it turns out, they’re almost exactly like I remember them. They’re both really nice and super supportive of me. My dad even has a vintage comic book collection and we looked through it together!”

“Oh boy,” Amy rolled her eyes with a chuckle. She knew all about Nicky’s obsession for old comics. In fact, she'd been subject to Nicky's ramblings many times. “What does he have?” 

“He has some UltraBird, some King Krystal, a little bit of Jukebox, some miscellaneous ones . . .” Nicky smirked, side-eying Amy mischeviously. “Aaaand a first edition signed issue of Chao in Space.”

“Wait, what? Really?!” Amy's eyes widened and she leaned forward, very much interested now. Amy was obsessed with the Chao in Space film series. When she discovered that the movies were based off comics of the same name, she tracked some down and was instantly hooked. The thing was that a lot of the older issues were really rare nowadays and Amy had yet to read them.

“Yup,” Nicky nodded with a grin. “Signed by the author himself and still in pretty good condition too.”

“Wow . . .” Amy whispered. “How did your dad even get it?”

“He bought it back when he was in high school,” Nicky said. “Then a few days later, the author was doing a book signing at his library! That's some crazy luck.”

“Yeah!” Amy agreed.

“Hey, maybe you could come over to my house some time and look at it,” Nicky suggested. “I don’t think my dad would mind too much. He trusts me not to rip any of his comics. As long as I ask him beforehand, we should be fine.”

“That would be awesome,” Amy said. “I’d like that.”

They sat in silence for a second. “I’m really glad I got to see you again,” Nicky said.

“Me too,” Amy said. She turned her head to look straight at him. “Nicky . . . thank you for this. I still don't know what's going to happen but I feel a lot b— LOOK OUT!”

What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion. Amy suddenly pushed Nicky away, into the road. Nicky’s eyes widened in surprise, shock, and horror. He watched as a giant ball of fire fell from the sky on top of them.

Amy didn’t push him far enough.

Something was wrong. That was Shadow’s only thought as he woke up again.

But . . . wasn’t I just about to talk to Sonic? Just now, Shadow had finished destroying Eggman’s robot with the blue annoyance. Did he somehow fall asleep? None of that mattered though because Shadow felt that twinging feeling again. Sonic was in trouble. On instinct, Shadow teleported. He didn’t know how he was able to, but he didn’t question it. All he knew was that Sonic needed him.

“Chaos Control!”

Shadow looked around to see where he appeared and immediately spotted Sonic. He was lying on the sidewalk in front of a shop, surrounded by fire. Sonic held an unconscious pink hedgehog girl to his chest, as if he’d been protecting her. From the looks of it, the girl was unhurt. But Sonic . . . he was badly injured. His body was absolutely covered in burns.

“Sonic!” Shadow surged forward. He kneeled next to his partner and pulled him off the girl. Sonic groaned faintly. “Sonic! What happened? Answer me!”

Sonic opened his eyes a little and let out a short, weak laugh. “ ‘Bout time you . . . showed up. You’re . . . late.”

“Sonic, what happened?!” Shadow asked again. He could get after him for not taking the situation seriously later. Right now, Shadow needed to figure out what had done this and deal with it if necessary.

“Up . . .” Sonic whispered.

Shadow looked up and bore witness to what Sonic was talking about. High above them was a strange hovering vehicle, painted red. Driving it was a green duck wearing a red bandana.

“Guess Eggy was right!” the bird grinned, leaning over the side of his vehicle to stare at them. “Threaten the Parlouzer kid and super powered hedgehogs come to the rescue!” The duck laughed like a lunatic.

Parlouzer kid? That had to be the girl’s last name.

Shadow clenched his fists and stood up. “Who are you?” he yelled.

“Oh, you mean lil’ ol’ me?” the bird asked, as if trying to sound innocent. “You can call me Bean! And as for your next burning question, I’m attacking because I heard you and your buddy have a lot of power! I’m sure you're exactly what my boss is looking for. Buuuut if he doesn’t treat me with respect, I might just sell you off to the highest bidder. Either works for me.”

“You rotten . . .” Shadow growled.

“Awww. Not having fun?” Bean asked. “I can fix that!” The duck plopped down into his seat and pulled a lever. A compartment opened up on the bottom and five bombs were released, hurtling towards them.

With lightning speed and accuracy, Shadow punched and kicked each bomb as it got close, sending them back into the air. Each one exploded as they made contact with the underside of Bean’s hover-mobile.

“Woah!” Bean yelped as his vehicle rocked back and forth violently. When the explosions ended, the vehicle was battered, but Bean was somehow unscathed.

The words "Chaos Control," then slipped out of Shadow's mouth again and he teleported up to the vehicle. Standing on the hood in front of Bean, Shadow grabbed the duck by his bandana and lifted him out of his seat.

“You’ve got some nerve,” Shadow growled. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t—”

“Surprise!” Bean suddenly threw several smoke pellets at Shadow’s face. Temporarily blinded and coughing, Shadow let go of Bean and stumbled backward off the hover-mobile. He landed heavily next to Sonic.

Sonic made a sound that almost sounded like a laugh and mumbled something.

“Don’t talk,” Shadow scolded, pulling himself to his feet. His pride was already damaged; he didn't need Sonic exacerbating the issue. “Save your strength.”

“Y'know what? I think I’ve had enough fun for one day. I'm bored now,” Bean shrugged. “I’ll capture the two of you another day.” With that, Bean sat down and began to drive off in his heavily damaged hover-mobile.

Shadow stared after Bean, dumbfounded. He wanted to chase after the psychotic bird, but he had more pressing matters to attend to. Bean could be dealt with later.

He turned to his partner, kneeling down again. “Sonic. How bad is it? Are you alright?” Despite only knowing Sonic for less than a day, Shadow felt some kind of . . . unexplainable, deep bond with the hedgehog. It was like they were connected in some way.

Sonic didn’t respond. Instead, his eyes rolled back in his head and then closed as he finally succumbed to his injuries. A few seconds later, before Shadow had the chance to wonder what to do, something happened. Sonic’s body glowed with a blue light and he . . . changed. Where Sonic had once laid was now someone very different. His familiar blue quills were still present, but he now wore a tattered red hoodie marked with an ‘N,’ a pair of cracked glasses, and he also had bangs.

Shadow took a step back from his partner, eyes widening and heart dropping into his stomach. What just happened? What was going on?! Still in shock, Shadow almost didn't hear the sound of a car screeching to a halt behind him.

“NICKY!!” Shadow jumped at the sound of the scream and turned towards it. A car had stopped at the edge of the fire and an adult hedgehog woman was launching herself out. She raced over to the hedgehog, scooping him up into her arms. “Oh, Nicky! Nicky, can you hear me?? I’m sorry, so so so sorry!” she sobbed.

“Ma’am . . .” Shadow said, hand outstretched slightly. He wasn't quite sure what to do or say.

The woman jumped a bit and looked over her shoulder at him. “Are you . . . one of those heroes?”

Shadow nodded slowly. “I’m Shadow.”

“You saved him, didn’t you?” the woman asked, tears in her eyes. “You saved him from whatever happened?”

"I . . ."

"Thank you! I-! Oh, Nicky! J-Just hold on, Nicky, You're gonna be okay!" She turned back to . . . Sonic. Shadow started to back away slowly again, feeling numb. What was going on?

At that moment, the girl woke up. “What happened?” she groaned. She looked around, spotting the injured and unconscious hedgehog being cradled in the woman’s arms, and gasped. “Nicky!” She got to her knees and scooted closer, her face a perfect picture of distress.

“Nicky said your name is Amy, right?” the woman asked. “Can you call an ambulance?”

Amy nodded. “Of course!” She stared at the unconscious hedgehog for a moment with a look of guilt on her face and tears in her eyes. “Oh, Nicky . . . I’m sorry.”

As Amy pulled out her phone and the woman begged for her son to stay with her, Shadow felt confusion and dread warring inside him.

Something was very wrong.

Chapter Text

“This just in: Terrorist Bean ‘The Dynamite’ Tomson escaped from Station Square Jail today. After reclaiming his old ‘Bomb-O-Matic,’ The Dynamite strangely flew straight to Hedgehog Town, where he attacked high school students Nicholas Parlouzer and Amy Rose.

“Parlouzer lives in Station Square and had been visiting Rose at an ice cream shop when The Dynamite attacked. Thanks to the intervention of the mysterious new hero, Shadow the Hedgehog, the two were not killed. Rose was uninjured, but Parlouzer was badly hurt.

“After the arrival of Nicholas’s mother, Bernadette Parlouzer, Shadow disappeared and an ambulance was called to the scene. Nicholas is now stable in the ICU of Mountain View Children’s Hospital. His parents have refused further interviews.

“The Dynamite is still loose. We advise everyone to be vigilant and report any sightings to the authorities immediately-”

Jules turned off the TV that sat on the wall of the hospital waiting room. Bernadette was still in the ICU with Nicky, but Jules had needed to get out of there. He couldn’t stand it. His son was grievously injured. His son had been specifically targeted. Jules stood up and started pacing, thoughts whirling around his head like a hurricane. A moment later, he punched the wall with an angry, helpless shout.

It was all Jules' fault. All of it.

Slowly, Jules sank down to the ground and dissolved into tears. He pressed his head to the wall, feeling lower than dirt.

"I’m so sorry, Nicky," he sobbed. "All of this is my fault! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm so sorry!"

When Shadow snapped back awake, he found himself standing in front of a bank. Its alarms were blaring like crazy. A robbery?

Shadow had no idea how long it had been since Bean’s attack, but he couldn’t think about that quite yet. He had to stop the thieves first, then he could deal with whatever was going on. After dashing inside, he made quick work of the robbers, who weren’t very skilled and could never hope to be a real match for him. In the end, Shadow tied them up and left them for the police to find.

He had to be quick. Shadow didn’t really know how it worked, but based on the last two times he'd woken up, it seemed likely that he'd fall asleep again soon now that the danger was over. He could worry about untangling the mystery behind the why later. For now, Shadow was more concerned with what had happened the last time he was aware. Why had that woman called Sonic ‘Nicky’? Where had he come from? Some part of Shadow wondered if he the Parlouzer kid Bean had mentioned, but that didn’t make any kind of sense. There’s no way Sonic could be two people at once . . . right?

Shadow tapped a finger against leg in contemplation, but then a thought slowly occurred to him, making him pause. What proof did Sonic even have that they were some kind of spirit world-guardians? If Shadow only 'woke up' when there was danger, then logic said that the same was true for Sonic. In all likelihood, the story Sonic told Shadow was just the explanation he'd come up with himself, with very little actually backing it up. No, something else was going on here. Maybe . . . Maybe Sonic really was Nicky.

And if Sonic was Nicky . . . then who was Shadow?

Jules sat at his desk, desperately researching, scouring through every resource he could get his hands on both from the Station Square Police Department databases and the internet as a whole. How had Bean managed to escape? How had Bean escaped without anyone noticing?? Jules was supposed to keep threats away from Nicky. That was what he'd always promised. Something like this never would’ve happened if he’d been more careful. Why hadn't he been more careful??

Jules should’ve known Bean was free. He should’ve gone after him immediately. He should’ve captured the deranged terrorist before he could get anywhere near his son!

Jules was so engrossed in his work that he almost didn't hear the door to his office open. Regardless, he didn’t look up from his computer.

“Jules?” Gerald said.

“Sorry, I’m busy. You’ll have to come back later,” Jules muttered.

“We should talk, Jules-”

“I said: come back later!” Jules snapped, slamming his hands down on his desk. He glared up at Gerald.

Jules knew the older hedgehog could see the fear in his eyes mixed in with the anger, but he didn't comment on it. For a moment, Gerald didn’t move and neither did Jules. Then Gerald finally nodded. “Okay. I’ll be back later, then.”

Gerald left, and Jules went back to his work. Jules hunched over in front of his screen, eyes straining against the brightness he'd been desperately staring into for hours now. He tore his fingers into his bangs and pushed them aside when they fell into his face.

"I’m sorry, Nicky," he whispered to the void.

When Shadow awoke again, he found himself on top of a tall building, facing a cat in a black and cyan mechanized suit. The cat had his back turned and was typing something into a laptop.

“Doing something illegal?” Shadow asked dryly.

The cat turned to look at Shadow and rolled his eyes. “Oh great. My actions have been deemed dangerous enough to attract the attention of The Shadow . . .” He put his laptop away, closing it definitely harder than was necessary.

Shadow leapt forward and the battle began. The cat had some fancy gadgets, but either he wasn’t that skilled or the suit wasn’t very powerful because fighting it wasn’t nearly as hard as Eggman’s robot. They traded blows in rapid fashion, but in a little over a minute, the battle was over. Shadow knocked the cat out and his mech collapsed onto its side with a thud.

“Try picking up a less destructive hobby next time,” Shadow said. Judging by the cat's horrible position out in the open on top of a building, it wouldn't be long before someone caught him on security cameras and called the police. That meant Shadow could take advantage of what little time he had left before he fell asleep again. He walked up to the mech and found the cat’s laptop in the cockpit, pulling it out. He had some research to do.

Shadow sat down and pulled up an internet browser, searching up ‘Parlouzer.’ The first result was a news article on what happened that day, when Sonic turned into Nicky. From the looks of it, no one other than Shadow himself had seen Sonic change and this ‘Nicholas Parlouzer’ was still in the hospital.

The next result was for an ‘Officer Jules Parlouzer.’ He was the lead detective at the SSPD and Nicholas’ father. Now that was interesting. Shadow certainly didn't have time right now, but the next time he woke up, he had to find Officer Parlouzer. Perhaps he had some idea about what was going on.

The person didn’t knock when they came in, but Jules could tell from the footsteps that it wasn’t Gerald.

“Officer Parlouzer. I don’t have much time. I just need to ask you some questions,” a voice said.

“I’m not taking any new cases right now. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to go somewhere-” Jules looked up and instantly cut himself off.

Standing in the doorway was a black hedgehog with red stripes and red eyes. Despite the fact that the hedgehog was younger than Jules and shorter, he was intimidating. He had a sort of presence about him that spoke of confidence beyond his years. He gazed at Jules with a determined glare. Everything about him was different — his fur, his eyes, his face, the way he carried himself, even just his voice. But despite it all, Jules could tell immediately who he was. Or rather, who he really was. He was Dexter Robotnik.

“Come sit down,” Jules said faintly, gesturing to the chair facing his desk.

‘Dexter’ did as he was told and sat down, somehow managing to make the act look more attention holding than it had any right to be. The kid commanded respect even though all he'd done so far was ask to talk. “Officer Parlouzer, my name is Shadow the Hedgehog. I work with Sonic the Hedgehog.”

Jules nodded slowly. “I know who you are.”

“The last time I saw Sonic, something strange happened,” Shadow continued, barely skipping a beat. “He was hurt, and I watched him turn into your son.”

Jules looked away. So it really was true. And now Shadow knew.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?” Shadow asked. “Please, Officer. If you know anything, anything at all, I need to know.”

“What you think you need to know and what you should know are two different things,” Jules said. “It’s not time yet. In fact, it might never be time. I . . . I can still fix this. I have to.”

“With all due respect, Officer, I think I should know. This directly affects me and Sonic,” Shadow said, narrowing his eyes. “Despite what Sonic believes, I don’t think we’re spirit guardians of the world. I think we’re just people. Sonic is really your son, Nicholas. Officer . . . do you know who I am?” Jules detected the slightest hint of desperation in Shadow’s voice, cracking his otherwise perfectly put together exterior.

“No,” Jules lied.

“Don’t lie to me,” Shadow said bluntly. “I can see it in your eyes when you lie.”

Jules met Shadow’s gaze and they stared at each other. For several minutes, neither of them moved. Jules was flipping through different scenarios in his head, trying to figure out what he should do. Did he come clean? Shadow didn't look like he was going to settle for anything less than the truth. Then again, the thought of reliving what happened shook Jules to his very core. He dreaded it. Maybe he could get away with not saying anything if he just stalled for long enough. But Shadow’s patience surely wouldn't last forever and Jules had no way of knowing when he'd decide enough was enough. Then again-

Suddenly, Shadow stood up abruptly, accidentally knocking over his chair. Jules shot up, expecting the black hedgehog to attack, but . . . no. He wasn’t angry, not at all. His breaths were quick and his eyes were panicked even as they started to lose focus. 

“No . . . ! Not yet! Not now!” Shadow swayed and stumbled backwards on his feet, grabbing his head.

Jules got the picture that something was wrong and ran around his desk to catch Shadow before he fell. Just before Jules could reach him, Shadow suddenly glowed with a red light. A moment later, he was gone.

Chapter Text

Nicky groaned as he woke up. Every inch of his body was sore. He could almost comprehend the sensation of burns. “What . . . happened?” He murmured, his voice hoarse from disuse. 

From somewhere off to his side, he heard someone gasp. A moment later, Bernie appeared next to him at the side of the bed. “Nicky! Oh, thank Gaia!”

“Mom . . .” Nicky said, blinking open heavy eyelids to look at her. She seemed . . . tired. Her quills were messy and her eyes were slightly tinged red, like she'd been crying.

“It’s alright, Nicky,” Bernie said, taking his right hand and squeezing it gently. That arm had an IV in it, too. “Everything’s going to be alright. I promise.”

Nicky took a few minutes to ease himself back into waking up fully. A nurse paid them a visit eventually and called the doctor upon seeing he was awake. The doctor, a red wolf by the name of Dr. Alred, checked Nicky over to make sure he was healing okay and to touch base with him on how he was feeling. Dr. Alred reported that would still be a while before Nicky entirely recovered, but he was making good progress. In the meantime, Nicky was on a lot of painkillers and covered in a lot of bandages. Apparently, Nicky had been in the ICU for the past couple days and had only been moved to his own room yesterday, which he was very grateful for. He much preferred the privacy of his own room to whatever the environment in the ICU was like.

Bernie called Jules to let him know that Nicky was now awake, and as she got off the phone, Nicky spotted his glasses on the table next to his hospital bed. It was hard to tell through his blurred vision, but he was pretty sure they were broken. Both lenses were cracked, so much so that he'd probably get a headache if he tried to wear them.

“I’m sorry, Mom,” Nicky said, ears drooping. “I broke my glasses."

"Nicky . . ." Bernie smiled sadly. She placed her hand on top of his. "We can replace your glasses. What we can’t replace is you.”

Nicky felt tears in his eyes, which made it even harder to see. “Y-Yeah . . . I love you, Mom.” 

Bernie leaned forward in her chair and gave him a hug. “I love you too, Nicky.”

“Your friends sent you all sorts of get well cards,” Bernie said.

Nicky blushed. “Really?” His gut reaction was to say they didn't need to do that, but the more he thought about it . . . Honestly, what did he expect after landing himself in the hospital? Actually . . . what exactly had happened? Nicky remembered Amy pushing him away from a fireball, and then nothing. It was all one big blank until waking up in the hospital.

Bernie grabbed a basket full of cards and flowers from the other side of the room and held it up with a smile. “Take a look!” She passed him the basket.

Nicky started looking through the cards slowly. He couldn't move too abruptly right now, otherwise his soreness would increase to actual pain. He pulled out the various 'get well soon' cards and began sorting through them. There were cards from Dexter, Maria, Tanya, Tails, Charmy, Little John . . . and Amy.

A bolt of anxiety instantly ran through him. “Is Amy okay?” Nicky asked urgently. If he got hurt this bad, surely she must've been as well, right?

"Don't worry, she's okay," Bernie promised. "Not a scratch on her. She's been really worried about you, though. She’s asked us for updates almost every day that you were unconscious.”

Nicky sighed, both with relief and regret. “I feel so bad. I was supposed to be helping Amy. Now, she’s probably even more stressed than before.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Nicky,” Bernie said. “Neither of you could’ve predicted this would happen."

“I guess . . .” Nicky said.

“Hey,” Bernadette said, trying to lighten the mood. “We can give her a call in a bit, okay? I know she'll be thrilled to hear you're awake. And in the meantime, Dexter and his sister said they're coming to visit soon themselves.”

For the first time since waking up, Nicky's face lit up with a real, true smile. It felt like it had been years since he got to see his best friend.

Before long, Dexter and Maria arrived. Their grandpa dropped them off at the hospital before heading back to work. Dexter led the way into the room, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight of Nicky.

“Nicky! You’re awake!” Dexter said, overjoyed.

Nicky chuckled. “Surprise!”

“I’ll leave you kids to catch up,” Bernie said. “I have to go talk with Dr. Alred. Be back in a bit!”

“Okay. Bye Mom!” Nicky said.

“When did you wake up?” Dexter asked. He and Maria pulled up chairs next to the bed.

“This morning,” Nicky replied. “Since then it's been nonstop checkups and tests to make sure I'm doing okay. It's kinda exhausting.”

“I know what you mean,” Maria groaned sympathetically. “When I was little, I got sick a lot and had to go to the hospital. The doctors ran a bunch of tests on me to figure out what was wrong, but my health still isn't all too great.”

“They practically had a room reserved for you back then,” Dexter said. “You had to go so often the doctors all knew our . . . names . . .” Dexter interrupted himself as he let out a massive yawn.

“Did you get enough sleep last night, Dexter?” Nicky asked in concern.

“I thought I did,” Dexter said, perplexed as he rubbed one eye. “I’ve been tired for the past week or so, so I tried going to bed early last night. Maybe I was just worrying about you too much.”

“Well you don’t have to anymore,” Nicky said. “I think I’m gonna be just fine.”

Dexter grinned. "I know you are. You're too cool to die!"

Maria rolled her eyes with a laugh. "I'm really glad you're awake and okay, Nicky."

"Thanks," Nicky smiled. And for once, his face didn't heat up at the thought of others saying something nice to him.

As soon as Jules heard from Bernie that Nicky was awake, he wanted to go to the hospital right away, and he absolutely would have. However, he’d had some work that required his immediate attention. Shadow’s appearance in his office had been odd. More than odd, actually. It had been downright strange. Shadow demanded answers and before he could get them, he just disappeared. It was as if he existed on a time limit. 

Jules looked up all of Shadow’s known appearances, but there weren't many. Most of them had only been caught by security cameras. He usually showed up to stop bank robberies, cyber attacks, gang fights, and other such law breaking activities. Once he was done, Shadow disappeared. The day Shadow visited Jules’ office had been slightly different, but the end result was still the same. Jules had to understand how Shadow worked, but he just didn't have enough information.

Jules sighed and stood up. He wasn’t getting anywhere right now. He needed to go see Nicky. Quickly arriving at the hospital, Jules took a moment to check in at the front desk. As he was finishing up, Jules heard the elevator ding behind him.

“Oh, hey, Mr. Parlouzer!”

Jules turned around to find Dexter and his sister Maria walking towards him. Jules tried his best to act normal. It was jarring to see Dexter after experiencing first hand the differences in his counterpart, but he couldn't allow himself to give anything away. “Hello, Dexter, Maria,” Jules said, smiling. “What are you two doing here?”

“We were visiting Nicky,” Dexter replied happily. “He’s doing much better, Mr. Parlouzer.” Next to him, Maria simply nodded.

Jules smiled and nodded. “That’s good to hear. Thank you two for visiting him.” He gazed at Dexter, trying to disguise his curiosity. Did he really remember nothing from Shadow’s visit?

Dexter yawned. “Sorry, Mr. Parlouzer, but we’d better get going.”

Jules blinked. “Are you tired, Dexter?”

“A little,” Dexter shrugged. “I’m gonna go to bed early tonight since it’s school tomorrow. Oh! Will you tell Nicky I collected all the assignments he missed for him? I forgot to bring it up while we were up there and I don’t want him to panic about missing so much school."

“I’ll tell him. Thank you,” Jules said.

“You’re welcome. See you later!” Dexter and Maria took off, exiting the hospital.

Jules stared after Dexter for a moment. He lived such a normal life, unburdened by the weight Jules had to bear. The boy's exhaustion was clearly a result of Shadow doing things Dexter's body wasn't used to, but other than that, he didn't seem to be affected that much at all. Yet another reason why Jules couldn't tell him the truth. Why disrupt his happiness unnecessarily?

Or at least . . . that was what Jules told himself.

He shook his head. He'd figure this out. He'd find a way to fix this and then neither Nicky nor Dexter ever had to worry about what happened. Everything would be exactly how it was supposed to be. Jules would make it right.

He had to . . .

He had to.

Nicky sat on his hospital bed, idly flipping through channels on the TV. Yesterday had been pretty tiring between the visits from Dexter, Maria, and Jules and all the doctors, and then the phone call with Amy. Today, he just wanted to take it easy. It was going to be kinda difficult to watch TV since he didn’t have his glasses on, but he'd just have to deal with it for now. Nicky could put his broken glasses on anyway, but he tried that yesterday. They only succeeded in giving him a headache, just like he thought they would.

Finally, Nicky stumbled upon a news channel. Big red letters flew across the screen and Nicky squinted, trying to read them. He thought they said ‘Update.’ Next, the words were replaced with a picture of a hedgehog kid. He had pale gray fur, but Nicky couldn’t make out much else.

“Twelve-year-old Thomas Algra is still missing,” the reporter was saying. “He was reportedly kidnapped from his home three months ago, and Algra isn’t alone. Over a dozen other children ranging from ages three to seventeen have also gone missing since Algra's disappearance. The Station Square Police Department has deduced that the kidnappings are all the work of one entity, but exactly who is behind this has not yet been discovered. Parents are advised to keep a close watch on their children until the criminals can be brought to justice.”

Is this Dad’s case? Nicky wondered. It must be. Those poor kids. I hope they’re okay.

As the reporter continued to talk, Nicky stared at the picture of Thomas on the screen. There was something about him . . . Nicky couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but there was something . . .

Something . . .

“What’s all this?” Gerald asked, coming into Jules’ office. All his monitors were cluttered with as much information he could find about Sonic and Shadow. His bulletin board looked like it belonged to a conspiracy theorist, with pictures connected by red and blue yarn crowding every inch of space.

“I’m trying to figure it out,” Jules said. He looked up and locked eyes with Gerald. “Shadow came to visit me a few days ago.”

“What?” Gerald seemed confused and maybe a little distressed. “Why?”

“From the way he acted, he did some research of his own. He wanted answers,” Jules responded.

“But why would he come to you?” Gerald asked. “Wouldn’t it make more sense for him to try to approach me?”

“You're assuming he'd have Dexter's memories. He doesn't. 'Shadow' doesn't know you exist. He came to me because he figured out I’m Nicky’s father.” Jules hesitated. “He watched Sonic change back on the day of the attack.”

“So he knows?”

Jules shook his head. “Not quite. He knows something’s up, but he doesn’t quite know what to make of it all. As far as I’m aware, all he’s put together is that Sonic is really Nicky and he has another ‘self’ as well. He doesn’t know who, though.”

“And now he wants answers,” Gerald repeated. “And you didn't tell him what happened?”

“No. He disappeared before I could decide what to say to him. Just straight up vanished,” Jules said. “Since then, I’ve done some research. It seems like Sonic and Shadow only appear when something dangerous or lawbreaking is happening. After they’ve taken care of it, they only have a few minutes before they turn back into Nicky and Dexter.”

“So that means Dexter’s been turning into Shadow for the past few weeks and I haven’t noticed . . .” Gerald said with dread.

Jules nodded. “I ran into him at the hospital yesterday and he seemed tired. I think that’s because he’s been turning into Shadow so much recently. His body is doing more than it’s used to.”

“Dexter has seemed a little drained lately,” Gerald mused. “What can we do?”

“Not much,” Jules said with gritted teeth. “We can’t tell them and we can’t keep them away from danger without raising their suspicion. We just need to do our best to figure out what those people wanted and stop it before it’s too late.” Jules glared at Gerald. "If you hadn't brought Dexter back-"

"The Dynamite still would have escaped and gone after Nicky," Gerald replied coldly. "He could be dead or kidnapped right now. But he's not, because Shadow was there."

Jules thought about that for a moment and then nodded with a sigh. As much as he hated to admit it, Gerald was right. Bringing Dexter to Station Square and allowing him and Nicky to meet had been an ultimately good thing. Now all Jules could do was scramble to make sure nothing went horrifically wrong.

“I don’t get something, Mom,” Nicky said.

“Hm? What?” Bernie looked up from her phone.

“Right before I went unconscious, Amy tried to push me out of the way of the bomb,” Nicky said. “She didn’t push me far enough and she was still gonna get hit. But she’s completely fine. How did that happen?”

Bernie nodded. “That’s because of Shadow, that hero, remember? He saved Amy and you.”

“But I still got hurt.”

“If he hadn’t been there, it probably would’ve been worse. You . . .” Bernie took in a shaky breath. “You could’ve died.”

Nicky looked down. That was true. As much as he disliked Sonic, at least Shadow seemed okay. Nicky should be thankful things turned out the way they did. He really was lucky.

Chapter Text

“It’s about time, Bean. I've been waiting for ages. ” The mysterious figure Bean knew only as Bossman — he didn't care enough to learn the guy's real name — looked particularly threatening today. Bean understood why; he’d taken his sweet time coming back. What could he say? The police had been on his tail, the Bomb-O-Matic was damaged, and he’d taken a pitstop to pickpocket a carnival for a few days . . . Okay, maybe a week. Sue him. All you'd get was a face-full of bombs as compensation!

“I woulda been back sooner if you’d come and busted me outta jail yourself!” Bean strolled across the dimly lit room and plopped down on a chair, propping his legs up on the table between them. “But nooooo! You had to leave me to do it all on my lonesome!” Bean faked a sad face. Bossman didn’t look amused, so he stopped. “Anyway, I do have some news for ya! I met that Eggy-guy in jail and boy did he have a story to tell!”

“Oh?” Bossman didn’t sound interested at all, but Bean plowed ahead all the same.

“His main rival is this superpowered hedgehog named Sonic!” Bean said. “And he’s got a new buddy now: the oh-so-mysterious edgelord, Shadow the Hedgehog! They’ve got energy radiating offa them that’s off the charts! An’ all you gotta do to get them to come out is attack this highschool kid named Nicky Parlouzer! If you pay me right, I’ll nab ‘em for ya. I’m willing to bet he's one of them kids you've been looking for all this time!"

Bossman was silent for a moment. Then, he got up and walked over to the window, staring through the closed blinds. “You think I don’t already know this, Bean? Why do you think I called you here in the first place?"

“Huh?” Bean took his feet down from the table, staring in confusion at Bossman.

“Regaining my original test subjects has been on the forefront of my mind for the last fifteen years.” Bossman turned back to Bean. “I lost track of them for a while, but now their foolish guardians have brought them back to Station Square. Together, with my new star experiment, they will form the key to unlock the way towards the future!"

Bean got up and strolled over casually. "Like I said, I'm happy to go get them for ya. Just gotta pay me!" He grinned mischievously up at his employer.

Bossman sighed in exasperation. "Regrettably, you're my only option at the moment. However, I feel you're forgetting your place. You get paid after your missions are complete, and not a moment sooner. Keep that in mind and do your job. You know the power I hold over you. I'd hate to see you punished unnecessarily." Bossman held up his hand and pulled down on the cuff of his glove to accentuate his point.

Bean gulped, a drop of nervous sweat running down the side of his face. “Y-yes, sir! I'll get right on that. We can talk about payments . . . uh . . . later."

Nicky was still immensely sore, but he was very happy to be home. Bernie had ordered him new glasses and they were supposed to arrive in a few days. In the meantime, Nicky would just have to wear one of his old pairs. The lenses didn’t quite have the right prescription anymore, but they were close enough.

The thing Nicky was really upset about though, was the fact that his favorite hoodie was practically ruined. It had gotten burned pretty badly in the explosion and was now very close to falling apart completely. Nicky held it up and looked at it as he sat on his bed. He sighed. This hoodie had been one of his most prized possessions for the last five years. What would he do without it?

There was a knock on the door. “Come in,” Nicky called.

Bernie walked in. “Hey, buddy. How are you feeling?”

Nicky put down his hoodie. “Alright. I’m hungry, though. Is it gonna be lunch soon?”

“I was just about to get started,” Bernie said. She looked at Nicky’s hoodie sadly. Coming closer, she picked it up and examined it.

“Any chance you could fix it?” Nicky asked pleadingly, even though he knew what the answer would be.

Bernie shook her head sadly. “I don’t think so. Any repairs I’d try to make would just make it fall apart faster.”

Nicky’s shoulders slumped dejectedly. “Okay . . .”

“However,” Bernie said, her voice lightening. “I might be able to salvage some of it and repurpose it.”

“Repurpose it how?” Nicky asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“I could make you a T-shirt quilt,” Bernie explained. “Enough of the center part of the hoodie is still intact. I’d use this and a few other shirts you’ve grown out of to make a blanket. That way, you’d still get to keep it even though you can’t wear it.”

Nicky smiled. “That's sounds amazing. I think I'd like that." He looked at her hopefully. "Would you?”

Bernie laughed and ruffled his quills slightly. “Of course! Anything for you.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Nicky said. He was glad his prized possession could still live on, even if he couldn't wear it anymore.

Nicky adjusted his new glasses on his face, relieved that he could see clearly once again. After what seemed like an eternity, he was finally allowed to go back to school today. Nicky was immensely thankful to Dexter for getting him all the homework he missed, but he hoped he wouldn’t end up too behind. Nicky hated being behind in school. He'd been itching to get back to school ever since he was discharged from the hospital, but had to wait for the all clear from the doctors.

Pulling on his shoes, Nicky came downstairs just in time to see Bernie finish making his toast and set it at his spot at the table. “Thanks, Mom!” he said, and grabbed the milk to pour himself a cup.

“No problem,” she said.

“Did Dad already leave for work?” Nicky asked, starting to eat his breakfast.

“Yup.” Bernie started working on packing Nicky’s lunch. He could absolutely do it himself, but Bernie had been doing a lot of things for him since he got home. She was probably still worried about him, so he let her do it. She meant well. “They’ve got him on double duty this week, so he went in early.”

“So his kidnapping case and something else?”

“That’s right. They want his help in tracking down The Dynamite.”

Nicky shivered a bit at the name. That terrorist was the one who put Nicky in the hospital to begin with. He hadn't been able to bring himself to watch much of the news coverage, but what little he'd caught was unsettling. The guy seemed genuinely insane. Shaking himself free from the memory, Nicky quickly ate the rest of his breakfast and grabbed his backpack, making sure it had everything he needed.

“I really could drive you, Nicky,” Bernie said, handing him his lunch. “It’s no trouble.”

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine,” Nicky promised. He put his lunch into his backpack and zipped it up. “I’m meeting Dexter at the park and then we’ll walk the rest of the way together.”

“Alright then,” Bernie relented. “Be safe.”

“I will,” Nicky said. He put on his backpack and headed for the door. “Bye, Mom!”

“Bye, Nicky!”

Nicky soon met Dexter at the park and waved once he spotted his friend. “Hey, Dexter!”

“Nicky!” Dexter came over and gave him a fist bump. “Good to see you, dude. You ready?”

“Yup. I feel like I’ve been cooped up at home forever,” Nicky said. They set out towards the school.

“We started a project in history yesterday,” Dexter said. “Luckily, we’re allowed to have partners, so I signed you up as mine.”

“Okay,” Nicky nodded. “What’s the project about?”

“We have to research a different country and make a diorama for it,” Dexter explained. “Our teacher also wants us to make some food from that country as well to be part of the diorama. We’ll be presenting everything to the class in two months.”

“So, what country did you want to do?” Nicky asked.

“Chun Nan’s pretty cool,” Dexter said. “What do you think about that?”

“Yeah, I like that,” Nicky nodded. They came to a stop at the crosswalk of a busy street and Dexter pushed the walk button.

Suddenly, Nicky went rigid as he heard an explosion go off. There was a screech and several cars crashed into one another, all desperately trying to avoid the newly made crater in the middle of the intersection.

“What was-?!” Dexter asked in shock, turning towards the commotion.

Nicky turned to see what had caused the explosion and gasped. Sitting in the sky was the destructive Bomb-o-Matic, and inside was The Dynamite. Nicky's blood ran cold.

The duck laughed at the crash he’d just caused below him. “Why is it that civilians always crash? If they’d all just stopped, none of this would’ve happened. Then again, that’d be extremely boring for me, so never mind! Keep up the good work, everyone!”

Nicky kept his eyes fixed on The Dynamite and started to slowly back away. “We need to go,” he whispered to Dexter. “Maybe he hasn’t seen us yet,”

Dexter nodded mutely and Nicky was very thankful that his friend was following his lead this time. Wordlessly, the two turned and started running back the way they came. They could either circle around and get to school another way, or run back to Nicky’s house and wait out everything there.

“Hey, hey! Lookie what we have here! Did you miss me, kiddies?”

Nicky and Dexter froze in their tracks. The Dynamite had spotted them.

The Dynamite steered the Bomb-o-Matic over to them. He propped up his chin with his hand and stared at them through the windshield. “Nice to see you again, Parlouzer. Are you ready to go?”

“R-Ready to go where?” Nicky stuttered, scared.

“To see my boss!” The Dynamite declared. “Did you two know you’re somethin’ real special? My boss has been dying to see you again. He needs your help.”

“Well, tell him ‘too bad’!” Dexter yelled. “We’re not going anywhere, and especially not with you!”

The Dynamite sighed sadly and sat back in his chair. “I thought we could do this the easy way. Oh, well! Looks like we’ll have to do this the fun way instead!” He pushed a button on his dashboard with a kooky smile.

The underside of the Bomb-o-Matic opened up, revealing a missile at least as big as Nicky and Dexter. The missile was released and it shot towards them with terrifying speed.

Nicky’s eyes went wide and he was about to scream when-

-Shadow’s eyes shot open to the sight of a missile hurtling towards him. With impossibly fast reflexes, he managed to leap out of the way. Curling into a ball to cushion his fall, Shadow ended up in the middle of a road. The missile hit something behind him and exploded.

“Aw man! That was close!” a voice declared in excited triumph.

What? Shadow turned to see a familiar blue hedgehog had dodged out of the way of the impending danger with him. He was sitting sprawled out on the ground a few feet away.

“Sonic?!” Shadow said. “But you were-! I saw you-!”

“Take it easy, Shadz!” Sonic said, pulling himself up. The movement seemed a bit stiff. “We heal when we go back to sleep. I’m fine.”

Clearly, that wasn’t true. Shadow had seen first hand the injuries Nicky had sustained after Sonic disappeared. Besides that, Sonic still appeared to have a few leftover burns, and seemed to be favoring his right leg slightly.

“There we go!” Shadow looked up to see Bean confronting them once again, a wicked grin on his face. “Now, was that so hard?”

Sonic smirked. “I am gonna punch you in the beak as payback for what you did before.” He stepped forward, cracking his knuckles.

Shadow quickly grabbed Sonic by the arm. “Wait! You can’t!”

Sonic looked back at him. “Shadz, I told you, I’m fine. Now come on! Let’s teach this guy a lesson.”

“There’s something I need to talk to you about!” Shadow said. Sonic needed to know what he’d found out. It wasn’t much, but it was something, and Sonic deserved to know the truth.

“Can it wait? We’re kinda in the middle of something.” Sonic gestured to the green duck in his hover-ship.

“No! It’s too important to get interrupted by us ‘going back to sleep’ again!” Shadow insisted.

Sonic sighed. “Okay, how about we fight and talk. Deal?”

Shadow nodded reluctantly. “Deal.”

By this point, news vehicles and reporters were starting to arrive on the scene.

One reporter, a rabbit, rushed forward with her cameraman in tow. “Mr. Sonic! Mr. Shadow! Can you spare a few moments?”

Sonic winked at the rabbit girl. “Sorry, but we’ve got a duck to teach a lesson to. Catch ya later!” Sonic gave her a thumbs up and raced off towards Bean, leaving a streak of blue behind him.

Shadow followed after his partner with no word to the rabbit. Behind him, Shadow heard the rabbit’s cameraman, a green crocodile who towered over her, speak. “This is why we should’ve stuck to the studio, Vanilla.”

Flames erupting from his shoes, Shadow skated over to where Sonic was taunting Bean.

“Save the banter,” Shadow grunted. “Let’s go,”

“Oh, alright,” Sonic said, rolling his eyes. “Can you give me a boost?”

“Yes.” In one motion, Shadow picked Sonic up and threw him up to the hover mobile. It looked like talking and fighting was going to be easier said than done.

Sonic curled into a spindash and rammed into the side of the vehicle three times, each impact resulting in a nasty dent. Finally, Sonic uncurled and landed on the side of the hover mobile.

“That’s not fair!” Bean declared. “I can’t shoot you when you’re up here!”

“Oh, boo hoo,” Sonic deadpanned.

Meanwhile, Shadow teleported up to join Sonic on the hover mobile. He appeared behind Bean and was about to hit him in the back of the neck when the green menace ducked out of the way. Leaving his seat, Bean somehow managed to hoist himself up onto Shadow’s shoulders and started cheering like a maniac.

“Hedgehogs are so spiky! Why don’t you get a haircut?” Bean asked, pulling on Shadow's quills.

“Get off me!” Shadow yelled. He grabbed Bean’s ankles and threw him down to the street below with a shout of rage.

A gasp came up from the crowd, but before Bean could make contact with the ground, he pressed a button on his watch. A claw shot out from the bottom of the hover mobile, catching Bean and pulling him back up.

“Oh, so he’s not just some psycho with cool toys,” Sonic remarked. “He actually has some brains to back up his brawn.”

“Don’t give him that much credit,” Shadow growled.

Bean landed on the hood of the hover mobile and gave a theatrical bow. “Sorry, folks! I’d love to continue the show, but my boss really needs his package delivered.”

“And you decided to make a pit stop to entertain yourself by blowing up the street?” Shadow grunted. “How thoughtful of you.”

Bean burst into laughter, clutching his sides. “Oh no, you misunderstand, Mr. Edgehog! This wasn’t a pit stop. This was picking up the package: you two!”

“I’m honored, but I don’t think I’d fit in one of those delivery boxes,” Sonic said. “Plus, I don’t do well with tight spaces.”

“You think you have a choice in the matter?” Bean laughed. He stopped abruptly, suddenly serious. “How cute.” Bean leaped forward, back into the cockpit. He pressed a button and smoke pellets shot up from hidden compartments in the hover mobile. They made contact with Shadow and Sonic’s fur and exploded into heavy clouds.

Shadow’s eyes watered and he coughed roughly. Next to him, Sonic did the same. Shadow tried to wave away the smoke, but it was too thick. In the haze, Shadow suddenly found Bean kicking him in the stomach and he was sent hurtling down to street level. Shadow landed with a heavy thud, Sonic following a second later.

“Owww,” Sonic groaned. “Okay. Maybe I’m still a little sore.”

Shadow coughed the remaining smoke out of his lungs and stared up at the hover mobile. The smoke cloud quickly cleared thanks to some fans Bean deployed. Bean laughed down at them.

“You don’t seem very good at dodging! Care to prove me wrong?” Bean pressed several buttons and the lower compartment of the hover mobile opened, sending three missile-like bombs flying straight towards them.

Shadow shot to his feet, dragging Sonic up with him. They dove out of the way of the first missile, which exploded as it hit the ground behind them. Just in time, Sonic recovered enough to stand on his own, and the two of them jumped in opposite directions to avoid the second missile as it exploded. Finally, Shadow launched himself into the air and grabbed the final missile, turning it around and sending it back towards Bean.

At the last second, Bean activated a force field and was saved from his bomb, which exploded on impact with the shield. When the smoke cleared, the hover mobile was nowhere to be seen. The surrounding crowd was unharmed, but most had moved out of the way to avoid getting hit by the missiles.

“You all need to leave!” Shadow urged the people. “It’s not safe here. Go while you still can.”

“Are you kidding?” the tall camera-croc from before yelled. “This story is huge! We’re not missing this!”

Several other reporters and normal civilians yelled similar things. Shadow growled in frustration, clenching his fists. Did no one in this city possess common sense? He had half a mind to fire an energy spear at the crowd's feet to scare them off.

“Shadow, look out!” Sonic suddenly barreled into Shadow, pushing them both out of the way of another missile that came out of nowhere and exploded in the spot where Shadow had been standing mere seconds ago.

“Thanks,” Shadow said breathlessly, staring at the newly made crater. “How did you-?”

“Dunno,” Sonic said. “I sensed it, I guess.”

At that moment, Shadow remembered how he'd been trying to tell Sonic about what he'd learned. With Bean nowhere in sight, now was as good a time as ever to begin the conversation. “Sonic. Do you remember what you said before about us being guardian spirits?”

“Yeah. What about it?” Sonic asked.

“You were wrong. We’re not guardians, we’re-”

Shadow was cut off as Bean turned off whatever cloaking device he’d been using. “You guys don’t pay enough attention to me when you can’t see me! Let’s just cut to the chase and get this over with, shall we? Say goodnight, kids!”

Bean held out some kind of weapon at them that was vaguely shaped like a gun and shot a beam of sizzling white energy at them. It was lightning quick and before they could react, it hit them.

“AAAGGGHHH!” Shadow and Sonic yelled in pain. Fire raced through their bodies and forced them to their knees. Shadow’s insides were screaming. He tried to keep himself up, but he collapsed.

“Mr. Sonic! Mr. Shadow!” Vanilla, the reporter, rushed forward to try to help them, but was blocked as Bean’s hover mobile came down from the sky.

“Sorry, lady. No touchy.” Bean turned and smirked at the two hedgehogs. “Bossman was right about that laser! It’s the perfect thing to combat them. Look how pathetic your heroes are, folks!”

Bean picked up Sonic by the quills, and Sonic screamed in pain again. Shadow felt his limbs twitching slightly. He couldn’t get anything to move the way he wanted them to. Finally, Bean dropped Sonic back down to the ground. Sonic’s eyes started to sag closed and Shadow could feel himself losing consciousness as well.

A blue light started to engulf Sonic. It was happening again.

“Sonic . . .” Shadow whispered, almost out of strength. “We’re normal people. We’re just kids . . .”

Sonic’s eyes closed completely. The blue light brightened and disappeared, leaving Nicky in its place. The crowd gasped.

“Well, that sure is interesting, isn't it.” Shadow heard Bean say. “I guess that’s why Bossman had such a hard time finding you, huh?”

“You’ll . . . pay . . .” Shadow slurred. He couldn’t hold out any longer. He saw that red light from before flare up on the edges of his vision. A moment later, he was gone again.

It was on every news station. Every channel Jules picked showed the same footage and the same headline: Captured Superheroes are Actually High School Kids.

It had finally happened. Someone had come for Sonic and Shadow and they weren’t able to stand up to the threat. Nicky and Dexter were gone. Kidnapped. Jules buried his head in his hands, holding back tears. It was all his fault.

The door to Jules’ office slammed open and he jumped as he looked up. He’d known she’d come, and he’d dreaded it. The day Jules hoped would never come was here.

“You knew,” Bernie spat, fire in her eyes. “Didn’t you?”

Jules nodded in shame, unable to meet her gaze. “I did.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Bernie demanded. “We’re supposed to be honest with each other, Jules! We promised we would on our wedding day!”

“I know,” Jules whispered. “I’m sorry.”

Bernie took a deep breath to try to regain her composure. “When did it happen? When did he . . . get changed?”

Jules got up quietly and came to stand in front of his wife. He tenderly took her hands in his. He almost couldn't bring himself to say it, but there was no way to avoid it. He'd backed himself into a corner. Jules spoke softly, barely above a whisper. “Do you remember that day I took him to the new parents playdate?”

Bernie gasped in horror and pulled away from Jules. “That long? Practically his whole life?!”

“Some kind- some people showed up and kidnapped him,” Jules explained, desperately trying to make his wife understand. “They stole Nicky from me and Dexter from his parents. I went after them with Dexter’s parents, but there was a fight and-! By the time I found them it was too late. They did something to him, Bernie. Exactly what, I don’t know, but they created his other personality, his alter-ego!”

Bernie slapped him across the face. Jules stumbled back a step, trying not to flinch. “You lied to me. And now Nicky’s been kidnapped!"

Jules looked away shamefully. “I know. I’m sorry.” Every passing second threatened to choke him.

“Why didn’t you tell me??” Bernie demanded. She now sounded less angry and more hurt.

“I-I thought I could fix it,” Jules said. “I wanted to fix my mistake.”

“Well,” Bernie said. “Look where that got you.” She turned and started to walk out of the office.

“Wh-where are you going?” Jules stammered.

“I’m going to find him. One of us should be there for him.” Bernie stopped in the doorway, but didn’t look back at him. “And if we don’t come back, you’ll know why.” Without another word, she left, slamming the door behind her.

Jules reached out after her. After staring at the closed door for a moment, his hand dropped back to his side dejectedly. He fell to his knees, covered his face with his hands, and began to sob. He felt colder than a Holoskan winter.

"What have I done???"

Chapter Text

Nicky groaned as he pried his eyes open. Every part of his body was sore and buzzy. It was like his very cells were agitated. What happened? The last thing Nicky remembered was The Dynamite showing up and shooting a laser at him. Wait. No, that didn’t happen! The last thing was that missile . . . right? Nicky groaned at the strain of trying to think about it. He had a headache.

After taking a second, Nicky managed to roll onto his side and spotted Dexter next to him. They were both on the ground and Dexter still had his eyes closed.

“Dexter . . .” Nicky murmured. “Are you okay . . . ? What happened?”

Dexter stirred slightly and groaned. “Stop talking, hedgehog,” he grumbled.

Nicky blinked, entirely caught off guard. That . . . didn't sound like Dexter. It was his voice, yes, but the way he said it was off. It was snappy and impatient. And Dexter had never called Nicky "Hedgehog" before. A moment later, Dexter’s eyes blinked open and he seemed to realize what he said. He groaned and rubbed his head.

“What was . . . ? I-I’m sorry, Nicky. I don’t know where that came from.” Dexter rolled onto his back. “My brain feels all . . . scrambled.”

“Mine too,” Nicky agreed. “I feel sick.”

With great effort, Dexter managed to pull himself into sitting. When Nicky failed to do the same, Dexter helped him up. Every inch of Nicky's body screamed in discomfort. He wanted to pass out again, but he didn't feel faint.

“Where are we?” Nicky asked, gazing around. They were in a chilly dark gray room, illuminated by cold fluorescent lights. There was a door on one end of the room, but it was closed. There was also a vent up near the ceiling, but other than that, the room was completely barren.

“Dunno,” Dexter said. “I remember Bean The Dynamite and . . . reporters?”

“We either got blown up or electrocuted . . . I think.” Nicky said, trying to sort through his conflicting memories. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he remember for certain? “M-Maybe this place is a hospital?”

Dexter shook his head. “I don’t think so. If it was, we’d be in beds when we woke up. Also, this place doesn’t look very hospital-like.”

Nicky nodded. “You’re right. It . . . feels off.”

Dexter groaned again and lowered his head into his hands slowly. “We went unconscious when the missile hit us, didn’t we?”

“I-I think so.” But the more Nicky thought about it, the more he wasn’t sure.

“Then why do I remember stuff after that?” Dexter asked. “Why do I remember fighting Bean?”

“I think I was fighting him with you?” Nicky said. “It’s all so fuzzy . . .”

“Something really weird is going on,” Dexter said.

Suddenly, Nicky jumped as a loud bang sounded out from somewhere nearby. He looked around frantically. Was something coming for them? A moment later, the cover for the vent was kicked out of its place and clattered to the floor. Nicky scrambled away from the vent slightly, fighting his hardest to not hyperventilate. Dexter got up behind him and pulled him to his feet. Before either of them had a chance to say anything, a hedgehog boy with pale gray fur crawled out of the vent, looking to be about the same age as them. A cyan glow appeared around his body and he floated down from the ceiling, landing gently on the floor. The glow disappeared and he frowned, looking at Nicky and Dexter.

The boy sighed in disappointment. “I’m still in the facility.”

“Who are you?” Dexter asked.

“I’m Thomas,” the boy explained. “And I'm guessing since you're here, the company must've taken you guys, too?”

“What company?” Nicky asked. He took a deep breath, getting control over his lungs back. It was just some kid. He wasn't going to hurt them . . . probably.

“Envision Inc,” Thomas said. “They’re giving kids powers and testing them so everyone can have powers someday. At least . . . that’s their story. I'm not sure I believe that anymore.”

“Powers? What do you mean by ‘powers’?” Dexter asked skeptically.

“Powers like this!” The cyan glow returned to Thomas’ body. He floated upwards until he brought his legs in and sat cross legged in the air. “I can lift stuff with my mind.”

“Woah,” Nicky breathed. "Th-that's incredible! How does it work? How did they even give that to you? How-"

"Hold on, Nicky,” Dexter interjected. “It's really cool, but let’s back up for a second. You said you were assuming the company took us, too. What do you mean? Did Envision Inc. kidnap you?”

Thomas floated back down to the ground and nodded. “I think so. The last time I saw my parents, we were driving home from a day of testing. The next thing I knew, I was here. The doctors said we were moved here to live full time so we could concentrate, but I haven’t heard any word from my parents since. So . . . yeah.”

As they were talking, Nicky couldn't help but feel like there was something about Thomas that felt familiar. He was so close to figuring it out when it suddenly snapped into place and his eyes went wide. “Wait, hold on! Thomas, what’s your last name?”

“Algra,” Thomas said. “Why?”

“Oh my goodness,” Nicky said in awe before turning to his friend. “Dexter, this is my dad’s case!”

“What do you mean?” Dexter asked, raising an eyebrow.

“My dad’s been working on this elaborate kidnapping case ever since I got back to Station Square,” Nicky explained. “All sorts of kids have been going missing without a trace, and Thomas was the first to disappear! I saw him on the news when I was in the hospital.”

“So, they’re looking for us?” Thomas asked, a little bit of hope brightening his face. “That’s good to hear. I was worried we’d all just end up left here. That’s why I was looking for a way out.”

“Okay, so that's one part of this whole thing figured out. But this still doesn’t explain why we’re here,” Dexter said. “Me and Nicky just got attacked by that terrorist for no reason. Didn’t . . . didn't he keep talking about bringing us to his boss?”

“Maybe?” Nicky shrugged. Some of those memories were fuzzy and unclear. “But if his boss wanted us, wouldn't he be here right now? I-Interrogating us or something?”

“That would make the most sense,” Dexter said. He sighed. “I don’t know. This is really weird.”

“Well, why ever you guys are here,” Thomas said. “Maybe we can escape together. I’ve tried to convince the other kids to help, but they won’t listen. Most of them are too scared and the ones who aren't won't leave unless we can all go. But with the three of us using our powers together, we can get out and tell the police where everyone is!”

“'Our' powers? We don’t have any powers . . .” Dexter said, confused.

Thomas looked at them incredulously. “Uh, yes you do.”

“No . . . we don’t,” Nicky said. He felt utterly lost. He was just a normal kid! He didn't have superpowers.

“Then why are you glowing?” Thomas asked seriously, pointing at Nicky.

Nicky looked down at his body and was startled to find he was glowing with a faint blue light. Come to think of it, Dexter was too, except his glow was red. Holy crap, how did he not notice before now?? Then again, he had been kinda out of it ever since waking up . . . “Wh . . . What? What is this??” Nicky shivered. He rubbed his hands, as if that could make the glow go away.

“All the kids here do it,” Thomas shrugged. “They each have a glow that’s connected to their powers. When they glow is different for everyone though. Some only glow when they first get their powers, others glow when they’re using them, like me!”

Nicky stared at his hands for another couple of seconds before turning to Dexter. “But . . . when would they have given us powers?”

“I don’t know,” Dexter said. He stared at his own hand for a moment before putting it down. “Maybe it was while we were unconscious?”

Nicky didn’t respond, deep in thought. Did this have something to do with those weird, fuzzy, extra memories? Nicky knew for a fact that on his own, he couldn’t stand up to, let alone fight an terrorist. Was that the super powers? But still, when would Envision had given them to him, or Dexter for that matter?

“Maybe. I don't really know how the process works,” Thomas said. “For now, let’s get out of this room and find somewhere safe to hide before anyone comes to check on you guys.”

“How?” Dexter asked.

Thomas smiled mischievously and walked over to the door. “You’d be surprised how easy it is to pick a lock when you can get your mind inside the mechanisms.” Thomas pressed his hand to the lock on the door, both of which began to glow cyan. A moment later, Nicky heard a click, and Thomas opened the door. “After you.”

Nicky looked at Dexter anxiously. “A-Are we really doing this?”

“We need to get out.” Dexter smiled reassuringly, which was a relief. He'd been so serious since waking up. "Don't worry, Nicky. As long as we're together, we'll get through this."

Nicky nodded, taking a breath. “Okay.” They could do this. They'd get out. Hopefully they'd find some answers as well.

They started walking, following Thomas, but it took a while for Nicky and Dexter to get going at a decent pace. Nicky felt like little needles were poking all along his body every time he moved. What had that laser done to them? Had there really been a laser at all?

What had happened to them . . . ?

Bean skipped into one of Envision's many control rooms without a care in the world. After delivering the Parlouzer kid and his friend to Bossman, he’d messed around in the break room for a few hours, and now he felt like bugging people for the fun of it. He came over to one of his favorite scientist friends, Diane Cepler. She was a lovely fox with the most beautiful red hair and the sourest of personalities.

“Heya, Diane! Watcha doin’?” Bean asked sweetly.

“Please call me Miss Cepler, Mr. Tomson,” Diane replied coldly, without looking up from her computer. The sound of her typing was very satisfying and Bean liked it. Like the tick-tick-tick of a bomb countdown!

“Aw come on!” Bean said. He boosted himself up onto the table next to the computer. See, this was why he loved being short. It meant he could get away with stuff like this. (Not that he would've listened to anyone saying he was too tall, but still.) “I’ve known you for five years. I think I should get to call you by your first name.”

“And despite those five years, our relationship remains purely professional,” Diane said.

Bean shrugged. Diane had one of those personalities that refused to crack. That was one of the things he liked about her. She didn’t immediately relent to his teasing, and that made it so much more worth it when she finally did.

“So, whatcha working on?” Bean said, returning to his original reason for bugging Diane.

“I am monitoring Codename: Silver,” Diane said. “As his primary overseer, it is my duty.”

Bean leaned in front of the screen to take a look, blocking Diane's view. He was surprised to see that the tracker showed that Codename: Silver was currently running down a hallway with Nicky Parlouzer and Shadow’s alter-ego, whatever his name was.

“Uh, aren’t you concerned about that?” Bean asked, raising an eyebrow and looking back at the fox. Silver wasn’t in his room, and had clearly aided the other two in escaping. Bean had already been paid, so it didn't really matter to him, but he figured Diane would've cared more about the kids getting out.

“We are well aware. The Superior has ordered us not to apprehend them.” Diane brought up a notepad on the screen and typed something.

“Why?”

“That is classified.”

“Can’t you tell me just one teensy little detail?” Bean pleaded, eyes big.

Diane sighed in exasperation. “Fine.” She turned to actually look at him, her striking yellow eyes seeming to pierce his soul. “For now, The Superior wants to see how this plays out.”

Chapter Text

“Let’s take a break,” Thomas said. He stopped in the hallway and pulled open a door. “In here.”

“Uh," Nicky panted, out of breath. "That’s a broom closet . . . ?”

“I know,” Thomas said. “It’s cramped, but we won’t get spotted in here.”

“Alright,” Nicky said apprehensively. Together, the three of them ducked into the closet.

For the past thirty minutes, the three of them had been making their way through the winding hallways of Envision Inc. They darted between security cameras when they were turned away, and whenever a guard came down the hall, Thomas would lift them up to the ceiling with his powers where they were out of sight until the guard passed. Nicky was glad that Thomas knew this place so well. Otherwise, they would’ve gotten caught long before now.

Nicky sat down, leaning back heavily against the closet wall. He took a second to catch his breath. “You . . . okay, Dexter?”

Dexter sat down as well, though much more shakily. “I think so.”

“So,” Thomas said, keeping his voice low in case anyone was nearby outside. “Let's talk powers. Do you guys have any idea what yours are?”

“No,” Nicky shook his head. “You mentioning them was the first I’d heard anything.” Nicky stared at his hands. They were still glowing blue, and Dexter was still glowing red.

“It sounds familiar though,” Dexter said. “It’s like I know what you’re talking about and I don’t at the same time.” 

“Yeah . . .” Nicky agreed after a second, realizing he was right. The longer Nicky had to think about it, the more he realized that the concept of superpowers didn't really feel that foreign. It was strange.

Dexter sighed. “Why is my brain such a mess? What did Bean do to us?”

Nicky buried his face in his hands and tried to think. After the missile, his memories went in and out of focus. Some were clearer than others, but most were void of any sound and extremely blurry. Come on, think. What happened? Try as he might though, Nicky couldn't pin it down. However . . . he seemed to be getting some kind of sense of how he and Dexter had reacted, even if the events themselves were about as tangible as smoke. Nicky was . . . confident? Almost cocky? And Dexter was quiet and serious. But that couldn't be right . . . right? That didn't sound like the two of them at all! Nicky was shy and nervous and Dexter was upbeat and optimistic.

“Alright. Well . . . let's just get some rest for now. You guys especially.” Thomas said. “We’ll figure this out. I know we will.” The boy sat down with them. They sat in silence for a while, Nicky and Dexter thinking, and Thomas lifting a rag up and down in the air idly with his powers.

“When did they give you your powers, Thomas?” Dexter suddenly asked.

“I think it was when I was three or four?” Thomas said. “They wanted to start testing me as soon as possible.”

“Testing you on what exactly?” Dexter said.

“On what I could do,” Thomas said. “At first, I could only lift and move little things, but I’ve been working upwards ever since then.” Thomas’ somewhat proud tone suddenly changed to something more downcast. Almost like dread. “But when Envision took me from my parents, the testing changed. They started teaching me how to fight with my powers.”

“Fight? Why would they do that?” Nicky asked.

“I don’t know,” Thomas said. “But whatever the reason, I don’t think it’s good. The scientists here have never been the friendliest people, but now they’re acting even weirder. They get angry more easily and they punish us more.”

“Hmmm,” Nicky mused. “I might be crazy, but . . . It almost sounds like this is more than just a simple kidnapping scheme. It's like Envision is planning to do something with these powers they’re giving everyone. Something big.”

“Wow, what gave that away?” Dexter said dryly, rolling his eyes. A moment later, he caught himself. “I mean-! Agh! Sorry, Nicky. My brain’s being weird again.”

“It’s alright,” Nicky said. “Mine is, too. I-I think I was about to say something snarky back at you.” The retort had been right on the tip of his tongue, too. So immediate and natural and he would have said it if Dexter hadn't snapped out of . . . whatever that was first.

“This is so weird," Dexter sighed.

They fell into silence again then. After a few minutes, Thomas stood up. “Alright. We should get going. We’ve still got a while before we’re anywhere close to where I think the entrance is.”

“You-? You don’t know where the entrance is?” Dexter asked, shocked.

“I know roughly where it is?" Thomas said sheepishly. "Envision hasn’t let us leave since they moved us here from the old compound."

“And you just-? Ugh, no wonder you accidentally ended up in our room." Dexter cringed. "Sorry, that was mean. Let's just go."

Nicky and Dexter hauled themselves to their feet and then followed Thomas out of the broom closet and back out into the hallway. Soon, they were back to dodging security cameras as they slowly progressed through the halls.

“Does this seem too easy to you guys?” Dexter asked.

“Now that you mention it . . . Y-Yeah, kinda,” Nicky agreed.

“Most of the scientists are busy testing during this time of day,” Thomas explained. “Anyone else is probably in their offices.”

“Except for the ones watching the security feeds.” Nicky froze and felt his heart drop into his stomach as a tall red fox woman stepped out from around a corner. Her arms were crossed and she looked at them with a very unamused expression on her face. “Hello, Codename: Silver,” she said.

Thomas seemed to shrink under her gaze. “Hello, Miss Cepler.”

“You know her?” Dexter asked tensely.

“I’m his overseer,” Miss Cepler said, not even giving Thomas a chance to respond. “All three of you have had enough free time. It’s time for you to go back to your proper places.”

“N-No!” Thomas said, taking a daring step forward. “You can’t keep us here. We’re breaking out and telling the police about what you've done!”

“It’s funny that you think we’d ever allow you to do that,” Miss Cepler said, though her face showed no amusement. “If you won’t come willingly, then I’ll have to force you.” The fox unclipped some kind of baton from her belt. Pressing a button, it sparked to life, white electricity crackling from its end.

Nicky gasped in realization, memories rocketing to the forefront of his mind. That white energy was the same as that laser beam from before! Then . . . did it really happen? All those weird, contradicting memories . . . were they real?

Miss Cepler then suddenly lunged toward them, her weapon poised to strike. Nicky’s eyes widened as he felt something overtake him-

Though he was still in pain, Shadow had enough awareness to recognize the white energy as it barreled towards him. He dodged out of the way and took a moment to take in his surroundings. He was in a long, gray hallway. The owner of the white-energy weapon was a fox in a white lab coat with long red hair that was pulled back into a braid. She was glaring at him, but seemed largely unimpressed by everything going on around her, as if she had no emotions. Next to Shadow, having also dodged out of the way, was Sonic and Thomas.

Wait . . . Thomas? Shadow stared at the pale gray hedgehog in surprise. They’d never met before, and yet Shadow remembered him. At least . . . faintly.

“Guys?” Thomas said, noticing them. “What just happened? And . . . where did your clothes go???”

Realization dawned on Shadow all at once. Thomas knew who they really were! He’d just witnessed them change! He could tell them everything that Shadow had so desperately tried to figure out on his own!

“Sorry, dude, we can talk after we trounce this girl,” Sonic said, getting to his feet. “Name’s Sonic the Hedgehog, by the way. Nice to meetcha.”

Thomas stared at Sonic in utter confusion. Shadow wanted more than anything to talk to the boy, but they were clearly in danger at the moment. The fox lady looked like she was done letting them talk.

“You’ve spelled your own undoing,” she declared. “You’ve drawn on the one ability that is most affected by this.” She pointed her weapon at them.

“And if that’s true, you’ve just told us what we need to do to win this fight,” Sonic smirked. “Ready Shadow?”

Shadow hesitated. He wasn’t in nearly as much pain as before, but he still felt greatly weakened. If the fox was fresh and ready for battle, which she most likely was, Shadow wasn’t that confident that they could easily win this.

“Earth to Shadow!” Sonic called impatiently.

Shadow snapped back to attention. “Right.” Regardless of how he felt, Shadow knew he had to give this fight his all. Thomas knew something about them. He needed to talk to him.

Together, Shadow and Sonic launched towards the fox. She swiped her weapon at them, but Shadow managed to duck under it, following up with a kick to the fox’s legs from behind.

The fox was sent tumbling forwards, but without so much as a grunt. At the same time, she lost her grip on the weapon and dropped it. Noticing this, Sonic snuck around behind her and grabbed the strange baton. But immediately upon grasping it, Sonic dropped it sharply with a yelp, as if he’d been burned.

“Okay, what is that thing?” Sonic said, rubbing his hands.

“Your one weakness,” the fox said. She grabbed the weapon and stood back up, swinging it towards Sonic. 

Sonic didn’t seem to react, just standing there, staring at his hands with a far away look in his eyes. Shadow darted in front of the blue hedgehog to protect him when the fox suddenly stopped in her tracks, encased in a cyan glow.

“Diane, stop it!” Thomas pleaded, hands outstretched and glowing cyan. With a jolt, Shadow remembered. That’s right, Thomas had mind powers. Almost instantly, Shadow was caught in a wave of confusion. How did he know that? When did he learn that?

“This isn’t you!” Thomas begged. “I remember how you used to be. You were nice! Please don’t do this!”

Diane didn’t respond. She just glared at Thomas blankly. While she was distracted, Shadow took the opportunity to attack. He leapt forward and kicked Diane in the side. Thomas lost his focus and freed the fox as a result, subsequently causing her to get sent flying into the wall. Diane hit the wall with a sickening thud. Her eyes rolled back and then she slumped to the ground, unconscious. Thomas let out a cry of shock and rushed forward immediately, checking Diane to see if she was alright. Shadow just stood there, panting as he caught his breath, glad that his strength hadn’t failed him.

“I think she’s okay,” Thomas said. The boy turned and looked at Shadow with an accusatory glare in his eyes. “Why’d you do that?”

Shadow stared back, confused as to why Thomas was even asking. “She was a threat.”

Thomas sighed and looked down, not saying anything. 

It was then that Shadow realized that Sonic had been quiet, a trait that didn’t usually belong to him. Shadow turned and found Sonic still standing just standing there. He was still staring at his hands too, rubbing them absently like they hurt.

“Sonic?” Shadow asked in concern. “Are you okay?” No answer. "Hedgehog!"

“Huh?” Sonic looked up, snapping out of whatever stupor he’d been in. “Uh, yeah. What happened? Did we win?”

Shadow nodded. “Diane is unconscious, but there’s no telling how long it will take her to wake up. I suggest we keep moving and then get some answers from Thomas.”

“Right,” Sonic said. He motioned for Thomas to follow them. “Come on, dude.”

Thomas looked back at Diane, unsure.

“She’ll be fine,” Shadow said. “But we won’t be if we stay here.”

Finally, Thomas nodded. He got up and followed after them as they started sprinting down the hallway. Thankfully, Sonic didn’t use his full speed. Shadow thought he might’ve been able to keep up with the blue hedgehog, but Thomas definitely would’ve gotten left behind.

A few minutes later, they found a staircase and hid underneath it. Once they were all comfortable, Shadow turned to Thomas.

“Alright. I’m assuming you want an explanation,” he said. When Thomas nodded, he continued. “There’s something going on with my partner and I,” Shadow began. “While I don’t know the full story, I do know some details. We are normally regular kids, but when we are around danger, we change into the people you see before you. We have special abilities and we’re very powerful. However, we don’t have any memories of our regular selves. At least . . . not until recently that is.”

It was weird. Shadow now found himself able to access some memories that he knew for a fact he didn't have before. They were blurry and mostly unintelligible, but they were there. And something else was strange as well. Usually, Sonic was the talkative one while Shadow just sat back and observed. Now, it seemed their roles had reversed. Why was that?

Thomas looked awestruck. “Woah. Then I was right! You guys really do have powers!”

“One thing at a time,” Shadow said. He tried not to sound desperate. This was it. “Can you tell us our names? Our real names.”

Thomas nodded. He pointed at Sonic. “His name is Nicky.” He then pointed at Shadow. “And your name is Dexter.”

Chapter Text

Sonic had never really put much thought into why he existed. He didn’t really see a point to it. He knew what he was supposed to do, and he was content with that. Anything else beyond that didn’t really matter. 

While Sonic had barely been conscious when Shadow told him they were really just normal people, he had heard the revelation . . . and he’d been trying his best to ignore it. Shadow didn’t seem to really understand the implications of this. For the first time in Sonic’s life, nothing was certain.

If they were just normal kids, why didn’t Sonic remember any of that? How had he gotten these powers? What was his regular life like? Did he have friends, family, anything? Or was he constantly displacing himself when he did his work as Sonic? What had happened after Bean blew him up? How did he heal from that, even if it wasn’t all the way? Why did he and Shadow have such a connection to each other? Did they even know each other in their normal lives?

Sonic had shoved all of that into a mental box labeled ‘deal with this later’ and buried it as deep as he possibly could. He didn’t have time to think about all these reality shattering questions. At the time, he had to worry about fighting Diane. That was something he could focus on and anchor himself too. For just a moment, he’d been able to act like nothing was wrong and go back to his usual, carefree self. 

It was over in an instant.

The moment he touched Diane’s weapon, a shock was sent through his body, making him drop it. It made his hands sting, but it was more than that. The disjointed, hazy memories of his other life that had awakened when Bean hit them with that laser suddenly gained a lot more focus. Sonic could barely process it all. Not only was that other life actually real, but his other personality clashed deeply with the one he was used to. 

Sonic dropped into a daze, trying to sort everything out in his mind, and when he came back to reality, he discovered that he’d completely missed the ending of the battle. Sonic was furious with himself for that. He was always aware. That was how he always made sure the good side won and the bad side lost. These past few battles had been different. Lately, Sonic kept losing, and it made him feel almost sick. Bean blew him up, Bean shot him with that laser, and then he missed the fight with Diane. That wasn’t what was supposed to happen! 

Sonic wanted to act like his usual self as he led Shadow and Thomas away from Diane, but he was just unable to. All this uncertainty was overwhelming . . . and it scared him. When they took shelter underneath the staircase, Sonic found himself barely able to focus on Shadow’s explanation to Thomas of what was going on. He found himself jolted back to reality when he suddenly realized that Thomas was pointing at him.

“His name is Nicky.”

Nicky.

The name bounced around in Sonic’s head. That was his real name? His name was Nicky? It sounded both foreign and familiar at the same time.

Next to him, Shadow tried out his real name. “Dexter . . .” He looked up, urgently. “Do you know anything else about us?”

Thomas shook his head. “I just met you guys today. Wait. Actually, I know a little about you, Nicky.”

Sonic looked up in surprise. “Huh?”

“You mentioned something about your dad having a case about me and all the other kids going missing,” Thomas explained. “I think he’s a detective or something.”

Sonic thought about that for a second. So he did have a family, or at least a dad. And if his dad was a detective, did that mean he’d be coming to look for him? What would happen if he found them? Sonic didn’t entirely know what his dad looked like or if he was even aware of what was going on. Sonic didn’t want to be the one to drop the bombshell that was the fact that he had practically no memories of his father. All of those memories were still very confusing to him.

“He’s a police officer,” Shadow jumped in.

“How do you know that?” Sonic asked, skeptically.

“I managed to track him down while you were in the hospital,” Shadow explained. “His name is Jules Parlouzer.”

“Does he know about . . . all of this?” Sonic asked awkwardly.

“I think so,” Shadow said. “He didn't tell me anything, but it felt like he knew.”

“But if he knows . . .” Sonic said, “Then why didn’t he tell me?”

“Maybe he did but you just don’t remember when you're like this?” Thomas suggested. “I can ask . . . uh, you when you change back.”

Shadow held up a hand, inspecting it with a frown. His entire body was glowing red. “Why haven’t we changed back yet? Normally, we don’t have a lot of time once the danger has passed. Usually, the glowing means we’re about to change, but I don’t feel tired. Do you, Sonic?”

Sonic looked down at his own hands, realizing he was glowing blue. Or . . . he was still glowing blue. He kind of remembered noticing it before . . . as Nicky. “No. Well, at least not like I’m going to fall asleep. I’m just exhausted because of . . . everything that’s been happening.”

“Yeah,” Shadow nodded in agreement. “Me, too.”

“That white laser-electricity stuff was . . .” Sonic scrunched his eyes shut, shivering slightly. “Weird.”

Sonic was still feeling the effects of when Bean blasted them. Alone, he was sore, but if anything touched him too hard, it sent a weird feeling rippling through his body, like his insides were getting poked by hundreds of tiny little needles. Even now, just sitting here, he was in pain. The sensation of his legs on the floor was not pleasant. 

While Shadow and Thomas talked together, getting on the same page, Sonic just focused on breathing. He heard the gist of what was going on and why they were here, but he was mostly concerned with getting enough oxygen into his body. Maybe that would help with the pain.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Sonic?” Shadow suddenly asked.

Sonic opened his eyes to find Shadow and Thomas staring at him in concern. “Yeah. Fine.” Some part of Sonic believed that if he kept saying that, it would be true.

“Alright . . .” Shadow looked back at Thomas, but Sonic noticed that the dark hedgehog was still watching him out of the corner of his eye.

“We need to get out of here as soon as possible,” Thomas said.

“Agreed,” Shadow said. “However, Envision Inc. knowing we’ve escaped presents a problem. If they weren’t looking for us before, they certainly are now. We’ll need to be careful.”

“Well, now seems like a good time to ask you again what your powers are,” Thomas said. “Seeing as how you didn’t know before.”

“I’ve got super speed,” Sonic answered immediately, though mostly only so he could convince Shadow he was fine. “I’ve also summoned lightning and wind once or twice.”

“I’m less familiar with my powers,” Shadow said. “I can teleport, and I might have super strength, but beyond that I am unsure what my capabilities are.”

Thomas nodded. “That’s interesting. Most of the kids at Envision only get one power. I wonder why you’re different.”

“Beats me,” Sonic shrugged.

“We can figure that out later. Right now, we need to keep moving.” Shadow hauled himself to his feet with a slight grunt, Thomas following his lead. He then extended a hand to Sonic to help him up. “Come on, Sonic.”

Sonic stared at the hand blankly for half a second before his brain caught up and he nodded. “Right.” He took Shadow’s hand and stood up. It took more effort to do that than Sonic wanted to admit.

“Let’s go,” Shadow said. With that, the black hedgehog led them out from under the stairs and back out to the hall.

Sonic took up a spot at the back. Once again, he was just focusing on breathing. Breathe. Walk. Keep going.

Everything was going to be alright.

Jules was a nervous wreck.

It had now been twelve hours since Nicky had gotten kidnapped, eleven hours since Jules had last seen Bernadette, and ten hours since Jules had started scouring the city, looking for his son. Gerald had come to help since Dexter was missing as well, but he wasn’t much help. He wasn’t the detective. Jules was the detective and he was absolutely useless!

Currently, Jules was standing at one of the street corners of the intersection where The Dynamite had ambushed Nicky and Dexter. The area was still closed off with traffic cones and police tape. Several of Jules’ coworkers were busy redirecting traffic.

Jules tore a hand through his quills in stress. “It’s all my fault,” he said, repeating the same sentence he’d been saying over and over again since this morning.

From next to him, Gerald sighed. “No, it’s not, Jules.”

“I shouldn’t have let him walk to school this morning!” Jules continued, as if he didn’t hear the older hedgehog. “I should’ve gone after The Dynamite myself. I should never have let him come back from Hedgehog Town! We should’ve just moved there with him!”

“Jules!” Gerald suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders. “Get a hold of yourself. Nicky doesn’t need your guilt and regret right now. He needs you to focus. He needs you to find him. And he’s not the only one. Dexter was taken too, you know.”

“I-I know,” Jules stuttered. Gerald let go of Jules and he sighed, staring out at the ruined street in front of them. “But I was there, Gerald. I listened to Nicky’s screams as they changed him. They killed your son and his wife. I-I watched them die!”

Gerald let go and looked away, quiet sorrow his eyes.

“I just want to keep my son safe. And I’ve been failing. I’ve been failing ever since that day,” Jules said. “I don’t want to lose him. I already might be losing my wife. You were right, Gerald. I-I waited too long to tell her the truth and when she found out, she didn’t take it very well. I was so stupid and because of that, I’m losing the love of my life along with my son!" Good Gaia, he was shaking. His hands were shaking.

There was a moment of silence between them as both the hedgehogs thought. Finally, Gerald sighed, breaking the quiet. “Why don’t we take a break? You’re stressed and neither of us have eaten dinner. Let’s head over to my place and get something to eat. Then we can think up a better plan.”

Jules considered that, then nodded reluctantly. The two climbed into Jules’ car and drove to Gerald’s house. When they got there, the lights were on. It took Jules a second before he realized that meant Maria was home. He felt so bad for her. She’d probably spent the whole day worried about her twin brother.

They walked up to the front door and Gerald knocked. A moment later, the door opened, revealing Maria. She shot forward and hugged Gerald as soon as she saw him.

“Grandpa!” Maria looked up at Gerald desperately. “Did you find him?”

“I’m sorry, Angel,” Gerald said sadly. “Not yet.”

Maria’s face fell for a moment, but it wasn't long before she looked back up, eyes determined. “Okay. I’ll keep trying.”

Jules shared a confused look with Gerald, who only shrugged. Maybe Maria meant she’d keep trying to call Dexter. As good an idea as that was, Jules doubted it would work. He’d already tried calling Nicky about a hundred times today. He’d been met with the answering machine each time. The kidnappers had probably taken and destroyed the boys’ phones since Jules hadn’t been able to track Nicky’s phone either.

“Hi, Maria,” Jules said, trying not to sound as stressed as he felt.

Maria looked at Jules for only a moment. “Hi,” she said. With that, she disappeared back inside.

Gerald then led Jules inside and he shut the door behind them. Jules caught sight of Maria as she walked into the living room and disappeared. Meanwhile, Jules and Gerald went into the kitchen and the older hedgehog began preparing something for the two of them to eat.

“Does Maria know yet?” Jules asked in a low voice.

Gerald shook his head. “I don’t think so. We got the news of Dexter’s disappearance before she left for school. I don’t think she’s heard the part of the story about how Dexter is Shadow the Hedgehog.”

Jules thought for a moment. “I . . . I think you should tell her. It’s only right that she knows what’s really really going on with her brother.” What was the point in keeping the secret anymore anyway?

Gerald nodded. “Maria!” he called. “Come in here, please.”

“Okay!” A moment later, Maria came into the kitchen. “What is it?”

“There’s . . . something you need to know about Dexter’s kidnapping,” Gerald said awkwardly.

“Don’t worry, Grandpa,” Maria said. “I already know. I know Dexter turns into Shadow.”

“You do?” Gerald said, surprised. “When did you find out?”

Maria ducked her head sheepishly. “. . . A week or so ago.”

“How'd you find out?” Jules asked.

“I got suspicious after Nicky got put in the hospital,” Maria admitted. “Dex just started disappearing randomly. Sometimes, I’d be talking with him and then he’d go quiet. When I looked back, he was gone. I’d look for him for a few hours, and when I finally found him, he couldn’t quite tell me where he’d gone. He seemed really confused. Then he started being really tired all the time. That’s also when Shadow started showing up in the city more. I got curious, so I looked up a picture of him.” Maria then pulled her phone out and tapped it a few times to pull up a picture. She turned it around to let them see. “It wasn’t really that hard to figure it out. They don’t look that different.”

Honestly . . . Maria was right. Really, the only noticeable visual differences were the stripes and eye color. Well, the shoes and the general lack of clothes too, but other than that.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Gerald asked.

“I was about to. I was going to talk to Dexter when he got home today,” Maria said sadly. “So, now I’ve gotta find him.” With that, Maria turned and started to walk away.

“What exactly are you trying to do?” Jules asked, causing Maria to stop. It was clear that she was a smart kid. Surely, she knew that trying to call Dexter wasn't going to work, so what was her plan?

“It’s a long shot, but . . . I’m trying to sense where Dexter is,” Maria said, turning back to them. “Sometimes me and Dexter can kinda . . . get a sense of what the other is thinking and where the other is.”

“Like . . . twin telepathy?” Jules questioned.

“Yeah, kinda,” Maria said, pushing some stray quills out of her face. “I’ve never been able to do it on command before, but if there’s a chance it’ll work, I have to try.”

Jules nodded. “Alright, then.”

Without another word, Maria left. At first, Jules wasn’t sure he believed Maria. Then again, he did live in a world where . . . something . . . had created an alter-ego in his son and given him superpowers. Twin telepathy wasn’t really that big of a stretch in light of that. If Maria could use it to find Dexter, then they could find Nicky as well.

“Did you know about the twin telepathy?” Jules asked Gerald.

“For the most part,” Gerald said. "They finish each other's sentences a lot. And when they were little, they were both insanely good at finding each other during hide-and-seek. They’ve never told me outright, but I’ve had my guesses for a while.”

“Do you think Maria will be able to use it to find them?” Jules’ stomach was tied up in knots. He was so close to potentially being able to track his son down. He desperately wanted to believe it would work.

“I’m not sure,” Gerald admitted. “There isn’t a lot of research on twin telepathy, so I don’t really know how it works. Regardless, if Maria says she’s never been able to do it on command before, then we can’t count on it.”

Jules’ hope withered. “Oh. Right.”

“But,” Gerald gave Jules a small smile. “There’s always the possibility.”

Jules decided to busy himself by helping Gerald make dinner. Once it was done, they called Maria back in, since they figured she probably hadn’t eaten yet either. When she came in, she dejectedly reported that she wasn’t getting through.

They sat down at the table and ate in silence. Jules was glad that he was finally getting something to eat, but the food wasn’t doing much to calm his nerves. Eventually, Maria pulled her phone out and brought up another picture of Shadow. She stared at it for a long moment.

“Is Dex gonna recognize me?” Maria suddenly asked.

Jules shared a look with Gerald. “I don’t think so, Maria,” Gerald said. “It seems his two sets of memories are separate from each other.

Maria didn’t respond at first, instead looking through a few more pictures and videos on her phone. Jules was a little confused by the girl. He didn’t know her all that well, but it she seemed just a bit strange to him. He was probably overthinking it.

“Look at this,” Maria said, passing them her phone. She’d pulled up a three second video of Shadow that a security camera had caught. It showed Shadow standing in front of a brick wall, and then turning away. 

Jules raised an eyebrow in confusion. What was significant about this clip?

“Look at his hand,” Maria said, pointing. “Dexter taps his leg when he’s thinking hard about something.” Sure enough, Jules could just make out Shadow tapping his leg as he turned away from the camera. “He’s still Dexter,” Maria smiled. “Just a little different.”

Gerald smiled and ruffled her ears. “That’s very observant of you, Maria.”

Maria smiled at him and then went back to flipping through pictures and videos of Shadow. Jules guessed she was searching for more small habits Dexter had that she could identify in Shadow.

A few minutes passed. Jules was about to stand up and announce that he was going to go back out to look for clues, when suddenly, Maria gasped, nearly dropping her phone.

“What’s wrong?” Jules and Gerald asked at the same time. 

Maria’s eyes were wide, staring at nothing. After a few seconds, she blinked. “I can feel him,” she whispered.

“Really?” Jules felt his heart leap with desperate hope.

Maria closed her eyes in concentration. “He’s worried . . . and confused. He’s hurting, too.”

“Can you tell where he is?” Jules all but demanded.

“Give her some space, Jules,” Gerald said gently. He turned to Maria. “Focus, dear. You can do it.”

“He’s . . . far away . . . but close,” Maria said. “He’s hiding in a vent.”

A vent?! There were thousands of vents in Station Square!

Maria opened her eyes with a sigh. “He went to sleep. I won’t be able to feel anything else until he wakes up.”

Jules practically deflated. He rested his elbows on the table, fingers in his quills again. He was so frustrated and stressed and tired and-! He just wanted his son back . . .

Gerald placed a hand on Jules’ shoulder. “You need rest. Go home and get some sleep. We’ll keep looking in the morning.”

“But I-!”

“Go home and get some rest,” Gerald repeated, more firmly. “There’s nothing more we can do right now.”

Jules let out a massive sigh, nodding painfully. He got up. “Okay . . . See you tomorrow, Gerald,” he said.

“Goodnight, Jules,” Gerald said.

As Jules got into his car and began driving home, he was full of despair. He desperately hoped tomorrow would bring good news. He hoped Maria would be able to figure out where Nicky and Dexter were.

He hoped that soon, this would all be over, and his family would still be whole by the end.

Chapter Text

Bernie was too angry to go back home. She couldn’t believe her own husband had kept something this huge from her. For nearly fifteen years, he’d been lying to her! Part of her wanted to just forgive him and forget about it. She wanted to run home, throw her arms around him, and go find Nicky together. But how could she after everything that had happened? Jules had lied to her about something as monumentally important as their son. She just . . . couldn't trust him anymore. Besides, finding Nicky was what was really important right now. Bernie needed to find him. Everything else could wait.

Bernie spent the entire day searching for her son. When it got late, she checked into a motel instead of going home. As Bernie laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, she felt her phone buzz. She pulled it out and glared at the message.

Jules: I’m so sorry.

Bernie considered ignoring the message and going to sleep, but she decided against it. With a sigh, she texted back.

Bernie: Are you?

Jules: Yes. I never should have kept this from you.

Jules: Can we talk? Please?

Bernie: We are talking.

Jules: You know what I mean, Honey.

She did, but she didn’t really feel like cooperating right now.

Bernie: I’m not coming home and I don’t want you to call me.

Bernie: If you’ve got something to say, then say it here.

Jules: I'm so sorry. It was stupid of me not to tell you. Nicky’s your son too.

Jules: I just didn’t want you to worry.

Jules: And I wanted to fix my mistake.

Bernie: How?

Jules: I . . . don’t know.

Bernie felt her anger soften slightly. Jules was still the same person he was when she married him. He was an over-thinker and a worrier. He blamed himself for things that weren’t his fault and wanted to protect everyone. That was a big reason why he became a police officer in the first place. All of this had gotten him in trouble in the past, but it had never been as bad as this.

That was still no excuse for lying though. Bernie was now caught between being angry and forgiving Jules. She didn’t know what she felt anymore. He seemed genuinely remorseful, but . . . was that enough?

Bernie: We’ll talk more in the morning okay?

Jules: Does that mean you forgive me?

Bernie: We’ll see.

Bernie: Good night.

Jules: Good night. I love you.

Jules: I'm sorry.

Bernie turned off her phone and spent another hour or so staring at the ceiling before finally falling asleep. The next morning, she took a quick shower before gathering her stuff and checking out of the motel. She climbed into her car and drove out into the city.

Where could Nicky be? There were any number of places the kidnappers could have taken him and Dexter. They might’ve even left Station Square by now. Bernie felt panic closing in on that thought. If that was true, there was no way they’d ever be able to catch up. They had no leads and no hope of ever finding the boys if that didn't change.

And the whole alter-egos thing was a whole other can of worms that Bernie wasn’t quite ready to deal with yet. This whole time, Nicky had been unknowingly parading around as a superhero. Bernie had heard about how many times Hedgehog Town had been attacked by Eggman during the years she and Jules had been undercover. She’d always thanked her lucky stars that Nicky had always managed to stay away from the carnage. But the truth was that he hadn’t. He’d been in the middle of it every single time.

Bernie thought back to the day she drove Nicky to that ice cream shop so he could talk to his girlfriend. That was the day The Dynamite had randomly attacked, which resulted in Nicky being hospitalized. What if it wasn’t just a random attack? What if he’d been trying to capture her son so he could use his powers as Sonic for something?

The worst thing about it was that the truth had been staring her right in the face that day. Shadow had been there. Dexter had been there. Bernie had thanked him for saving Nicky, but she’d completely missed the big clue. Shadow had a horrified look on his face, like he’d just watched Nicky die. Bernie had been so busy stressing over Nicky that she didn't notice how shaken Shadow had been. That could only mean one thing.

Shadow knew. He’d seen Sonic change back into Nicky.

Bernie felt so bad for the boy. He must’ve been so confused. Even now, he and Nicky were probably under a lot of stress. Bernie had every intention to hug both boys as hard as she could as soon as she found them.

But that only brought Bernie right back to square one. How would she ever find them? She’d searched all the city streets yesterday and had found nothing. Bernie considered calling Jules. He was a better detective than she’d ever been, but she was still mad at him and-

Suddenly, Bernie saw someone familiar out of the corner of her eye. She screeched to a halt and looked back over her shoulder at the two kids talking with each other on the sidewalk. That pink hedgehog girl! That was Amy, Nicky’s girlfriend!

Bernie quickly put her car into park, grateful she wasn’t stopping in the middle of a busy street, and got out of the car to yell over to the two kids.

“Amy!” Bernie called.

Amy looked around for a second before spotting her, the yellow fox boy at her side doing the same. Amy’s eyes widened. “Mrs. Parlouzer?”

“What are you doing here? Ah, never mind. Come get in!” Bernie said, motioning for them to come over.

“That’s Nicky’s mom,” Amy said to the boy as they ran over and got in.

Once the kids were strapped in on the back row, Bernie continued driving, looking for a place she could properly pull over so they could talk. “What are you doing all the way here in Station Square, Amy? And who’s your friend?”

“This is Tails,” Amy explained. “He’s one of me and Nicky’s friends.”

The fox nodded. Glancing in the rear-view mirror, Bernie realized the boy actually had two tails, which was clearly where the name came from.

“We saw what happened on the news, and then Tails drove us here,” Amy continued. “Anyway, we came to help you find Nicky. Tails can track him!”

“How?” Bernie asked, pulling over the side of the road. She was instantly baffled as to how a kid who was clearly way too young to drive had gotten himself and Amy here, but that was the lowest thing on the list of priorities right now. Once the car was in park, Bernie turned around so she could face the kids.

Tails shifted, a bit uncomfortable. “I . . . knew about how Nicky turns into Sonic way before this. I never told him because I wanted to understand how it worked before I said anything. But I made a tracker just in case I ever needed to find him. I don't know everything, but what I do know is that Sonic gives off this really weird and unique energy.” Tails reached into the backpack he’d set on the floor and pulled out a sturdy looking tablet with a thick yellow case. “It took me a while to calibrate it, but I did it. I've got a signal that'll be able to lead us right to him.”

Bernie didn’t know what to ask first. The fact that Tails had known this whole time was crazy enough. In the end, her brain landed on a simpler question to ask first. “Y-You built that?”

“Yup!” Tails confirmed.

“He’s really good at inventing things,” Amy said.

Bernie nodded. “Okay . . . Okay! And it can really track him?”

“It can,” Tails confirmed. He turned on the tablet. A moment later, the screen displayed a map of Station Square. A blue dot appeared towards a corner of the map and Bernie’s heart nearly leaped out of her chest.

“This is . . .” Bernie held a hand to her mouth, feeling tears starting to form in her eyes.

“Are you okay, Mrs. Parlouzer?” Tails asked.

“Yes . . . Yes! This is great!” Bernie said. “Get ready, kids. Here we go.” She turned back around and grabbed her phone.

“We’re going to go rescue Nicky?” Amy said hopefully.

“We are. But first we’ve gotta pick someone up.” As Bernie pulled away from the curb, she dialed Jules.

A moment later, he picked up. “Bernie?? Listen, I-”

“Sorry Honey, but our talk is gonna have to wait,” Bernie said, hardly able to keep the excitement out of her voice. “I’ve got a way to find him!”

“You what???” Jules sounded ready to dash out the door right then and there.

“I’ll explain later. I’m heading home right now. Be ready so we can go as soon as I get there,” Bernie instructed.

“O-Okay,” Jules said, taking a breath to steady himself. “Just let me call Gerald. He’ll want to follow us.”

“Okay,” Bernie said. “See you in a bit.”

“See you.”

The call ended and Bernie set her phone down, gripping the wheel tighter. She was willing to completely ignore her argument with Jules for now if it was for Nicky’s sake. Nothing else mattered right now. They’d have plenty of time to sort everything out once Nicky was back home and safe. For the first time since yesterday morning, Bernie was feeling optimistic. Things were looking up.

She was going to get her son back.

When Dexter woke up, it took him a second to sort through everything in his head. He knew now that he and Nicky turned into Shadow and Sonic. That was beyond weird. He didn’t yet have all of his memories as Shadow, but it was clear that his two sets of memories were starting to merge. Dexter could only assume that it was the same with Nicky.

But . . . what happened last night? What made him finally change back? Dexter spent a couple of minutes to sort through his muddled memories. In the end, though it was mostly clouded and he couldn't remember the finer details, he had a good grasp on the broad strokes. He lead their little group through the hallways of Envision Inc., though it was much slower than it had been before they ran into Diane Cepler. All of Envision was after them now and they had to be even more careful to avoid getting seen. Finally, they’d taken shelter in a vent, where they’d fallen asleep for the night. Assuming he wasn't missing anything, that was all of it.

Dexter turned his head to see Nicky, awake and sitting up as best he could in the vent. He was hugging his knees and looked kind of angry.

“Nicky?” Dexter asked. “Are you okay?”

“I’m so stupid,” Nicky muttered.

“What?”

“A-All this time. And I never realized!” Nicky said. “For five years, I’ve been too dumb to figure out that I was Sonic the Hedgehog!”

“Nicky, it’s-”

“And apparently, my dad knew this the whole time??” Nicky nearly yelled. “Why didn’t he tell me? That seems like something kinda important to tell your only son!”

“Nicky, stop it!” Dexter said. Nicky fell silent and waited for Dexter to speak. He first shifted up into an uncomfortable sitting position. “We don’t know the full story yet. You shouldn't judge your dad until you’ve heard his side. Besides, this whole thing is really weird! Do you think that’s the kind of thing you want to hear about as a little kid? That your brain is all messed up and turns you into a different person every now and then?”

Nicky sighed. “I . . . I-I guess not. Probably would've freaked me out . . .”

“Look. I’m not happy about all this either,” Dexter admitted. “But we can’t worry about that right now. We need to focus on getting out of here, finding our families, and telling the police about what’s going on here. Then, we can figure out our alter-egos and what they mean.”

“Envision must’ve created them though, right?” Nicky reasoned. “There's no other options I can think of. The similarities to what Thomas has seen with other kids' powers can't be a coincidence. And Sonic's been-! I've . . . been turning into Sonic for years, s-so they couldn't have done this to us recently. This is part of something that's just been stewing for a long time. If we don’t figure this out now, we might never get the chance again.”

“Okay, fair point,” Dexter sighed. “We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, one thing at a time, okay? Don’t get mad at your dad until he can explain everything.”

“Okay . . .” Nicky said.

“How are you feeling today?” Dexter asked, changing the subject. “You didn’t seem like you were doing too good yesterday . . . I think.”

“Pretty sore still,” Nicky groaned. “At least I’m not in active pain anymore though.”

“Same here,” Dexter added.

“At least you’re both feeling better.” Dexter jumped at the sound of Thomas’ voice.

Dexter turned to look at the boy as he sat up. “How long have you been awake?”

“A while,” Thomas admitted with a shrug. He turned to Nicky. “I’m sorry about your dad, Nicky. Yesterday . . . I thought maybe he might have told you.”

Nicky shook his head mutely.

“We need to get out of the vents and keep moving,” Dexter said. They couldn't stay in here since they'd be navigating blind. Thomas' unexpected appearance in their room yesterday testified to how the vents weren't the way to go.

Thomas nodded. “Right. Follow me.” He started crawling, leading them back to where they’d entered the vents last night.

They crawled in silence for a bit, each left to their own thoughts. As they neared the vent cover, Dexter suddenly heard something in his head. A whisper. A faint impression. His sister’s voice.

We’re coming.

Dexter's eyes widened. Maria! Their connection, of course! He should've thought of this long before now! Thankfully, it looked like Maria had beaten him to it. Quickly, Dexter tried to send a message back. He wasn’t sure if it would work, as the two of them had never been able to read each other's minds. It was more like a radio frequency that they tuned into at random than anything else, but it was worth a try.

Dexter did all he could to send his thoughts hurling towards Maria, calling out to her as loud as he could. They were at a place called Envision Inc.! Some kind of facility! Envision! Envision, Maria! Please, she had to hear them. She just had to. Dexter had no idea if his message got through, but he had to hope it did. That was all he could do at this point. He decided to think about the message as much as he could just in case she managed to connect with him again. The chances were better that way.

From the sounds of it, it seemed like Maria had some kind of lead, so that was good at least. She said 'we're' coming, but who was we? Hopefully it was Gerald and Nicky's parents. That would be great. Regardless of the specifics of who was coming, Dexter hoped they'd be here fast. The quicker they got out, the better.

The little group arrived at the vent cover and Thomas quietly detached and lowered it down to the floor. After looking around, Thomas climbed out and silently motioned for Dexter and Nicky to follow him. Dexter climbed out and stretched, glad to be free of the cramped space.

“I think it’s still pretty early,” Thomas said. “With any luck, everyone’s still asleep. If we’re quick, we can get out before we’re spotted.” None of them had any watches or their phones thanks to Envision confiscating them, so hopefully their internal clocks were accurate.

Dexter nodded. “Let’s go then.” Much like yesterday, he began leading them down the hallway.

They walked in tense silence for several minutes before Nicky suddenly spoke up. “What are we going to do once all of this is over? How are we supposed to just . . . go back to normal?”

Dexter didn’t respond. He didn’t know. All he’d ever wanted was to live a happy life with Maria and his grandpa. It would be pretty hard to do that now, if not impossible. The news was there when Shadow and Sonic- er- he and Nicky had gone unconscious at the end of their fight with Bean. Assuming they transformed back right then, which they probably did, then the news caught all of that. There was no secret anymore. There would be no going back to normal after this.

“It’ll take some getting used to,” Thomas said. “But I’ve been living with my powers for a long time now. After a while, you sorta just forget they’re there. They just become part of your daily life.”

“You’re not the one with an alternate personality though,” Dexter pointed out quietly. He wasn’t trying to be mean, but his tone ended up sounding kinda like that.

“Oh. Yeah. Right . . .” Thomas said.

Dexter cringed, instantly guilty. He was frustrated with their situation, but he never meant to make his friend feel bad. “Wait, agh! I’m sorry, Thomas. I didn't mean-”

Dexter ears pricked up as heard a whirring sound. Suddenly, they were surrounded on all sides as people in white lab coats just straight up appeared. Dexter yelled in surprise. Did they have cloaking devices like Bean?

“That’s far enough,” a familiar voice said as it's owner stepped forward. Dexter's eyes met cold yellow ones and he recognized Diane Cepler. Dexter growled in annoyance. She was back. Dexter, Nicky, and Thomas huddled together to protect each other.

“Why are you doing this?” Thomas demanded, pain clearly evident in his voice. “Just let us go, Diane!”

“Apologies, Codename: Silver,” Diane replied. “I’m afraid you’re too powerful for that.” She raised her weapon, the same one as before, and pointed it at them. The rest of the accompanying people followed suit with various weapons of their own. Each one was different but they all crackled with familiar white energy.

Dexter snarled and then all at once, he felt something overtake him. Everything went blurry. The last thing he comprehended clearly was anger. Red hot, burning anger.