Chapter Text
It all started off like any other day, with the young hero speeding through the brisk nature of Green Hill Zone, passing through the loop-de-loops, the wooden bridges, taking all the shortcuts like the narrow tunnels he had dug over the years, jumping on the colorful springs just to spite his mustachioed nemesis who had installed them there, while destroying patrolling badniks on his way.
He took a deep breath, listening to the Flickies who cheerfully chirped around him, as palm trees, ancient statues, and red rose marrow bushes faded into a blur of greens, browns, greys and reds before his eyes, he let the rich scent of wild sunflowers and petunias overwhelm his senses, as the wind carried them along with him.
It was all familiar, safe. All thanks to him.
He tapped on the metallic sign at the end of his morning run, sending it spinning in place, until it stopped on the side he had childishly drawn his face onto. It was like a scoreboard between him and the old man. A flag, if you so prefer. The old egg can wreck havoc in his home as many times as he wants to, but he will always come and defend it, flipping the sign back to maintain the delicate balance between nature and Eggman's machines.
After taking a quick breather, Sonic was once again on his merry way, looking for something suitable for breakfast. His peace didn't last long however, as out of nowhere, an earthquake shook the ground so strongly, it almost sent the hedgehog tumbling off his feet.
He quickly skipped to a halt to look for a plausible cause, like a giant metal monster or a bomb, then promptly shrugged, when he had found none.
Green Hill was no stranger to earthquakes, but they were few and far between, always making Sonic worry about the state of his burrows.
He'd better go and find Tails quick. Hopefully he was already awake, and not crushed under dirt and twigs at their latest campsite. Even the thought of such thing had made Sonic shudder.
He didn't get far ahead before he was once again startled out of his step, this time by a deafening roar. By the time he twirled around, all he saw was a purplish beam before his vision turned white.
It was a beautiful morning in Green Hill Zone.
Sonic's friends and family were gathered in the shade of an old oak tree, delivering last-minute snacks and arranging last-minute decorations.
Excitement buzzed in the air as everyone anxiously waited for the man of the hour.
They chose this grassy clearing by a lake for their surprise. Tails had quite a few fond memories of the place from when he was little.
He and Sonic would come here sometimes when it was really hot or they really needed a bath. Sonic was always reluctant to go near the water, so Tails, like the good brother he was, had to splash him until he would join him in the shallows.
Tails woke up at dawn to try and keep his brother away from the scene, so that the others could set everything up in relative peace.
It was frankly exhausting, trying to keep up with him the entire morning. Tails had no trouble with it when they were younger, but now that he spent most of his days tinkering away in one of his various workshops, he had to admit he was a little bit out of shape.
Sonic's restless energy didn't help either. He could probably tell from pretty early on that they were keeping something from him, and that must make him a little bit frustrated, even if he didn't let it show. But all that meant he was definitely not going easy on Tails. Yaay.
Even if Tails was about ready to pass out right about now, he had to admit it felt nice to spend more time with Sonic once in a while.
When was the last time they went running together just for fun, and not because the fate of the entire world rested on their shoulders?
"Hey, you okay there, bud?" Sonic slowed down to match his pace, bringing him out of his daydreaming.
"Yepp." Tails huffed out.
"Cause you don't look very good." Sonic narrowed his eyes at him disbelievingly.
"Gee, thanks."
"I mean it's pretty admirable that you decided to join in on my morning run and all, but maybe you could use a little break."
"I'm fine. Just give me a minute." Tails stopped to catch his breath.
"If you say so..." Sonic hummed as he hopped down to a patch of grass near him.
Tails smirked.
That was his opportunity.
With a deep breath, he summoned all his willpower and flew ahead.
He faintly registered Sonic shouting something akin to "HEY! CHEATER!" after him, but he carried on.
His tails blurred behind him from the speed.
It didn't take long until their destination came into view.
It was beautiful. All the colorful balloons, plates, party flags and the chairs they seemingly pulled out of nowhere really brought the place together.
It wasn't much, but it was theirs.
That's what really mattered.
"He'll be here any second!" He warned the crowd once he got within an earshot, then joined them as they quickly gathered around the table.
He didn't need to look behind him to know Sonic was hot on his tails. Sure enough, by the time everyone took their place, the blue speedster arrived at the scene.
"Hey guys, what's going on? Are you having a party or something?" before he would even realize it, all eyes were on Tails as he counted down with his fingers, and by three, everyone shot forward with huge grins on their faces.
"SURPRISE!!!" they shouted in unison. Everyone except Charmy that is, who unfortunately for everyone's ears, was given a kazoo that he wasn't afraid to use..
Tails could see in the corner of his vision when a moment later everyone in the back row released a party popper, that made some members of the group flinch for various reasons.
Some may have found the sound triggering, others may have been disturbed by the pieces of paper openly falling on top of the food and drinks, and Vector, let's just say he was very lucky he had his headphones on and closed his eyes just in time to shield it from the offending confetti. It was perfect, almost as if they had practiced it beforehand. Tails turned to focus on his brother's face.
"Aww, you guys!" Sonic smiled as he was dragged to the table by Amy.
And so, the celebration began, with everyone happily chatting away and catching up with each other.
With all of their tight schedules, it was rare to see so many of their friends at the same place!
Amy was in her element, excitedly hovering around him and Sonic, but reluctant to disturb their brotherly moment just yet.
Rouge and Knuckles shared a chili dog between jabs.
The Chaotix made a bet, of how much Vector can chew at the same time, much to Espio's chagrin.
Blaze and Cream discussed the latest gossip from her royal court, while Cheese clumsily offered cupcakes to the guests.
The rest of the Chao flew in and out of view, glad to roam free from the nearby garden.
Sonic took a moment to breathe in the cheerful atmosphere, before turning to Tails. "Wow, bud, did ya plan all this?"
"It was a team effort. Amy handled most of the planning. I just helped out here and there, like trying to distract a certain somebody..." Sonic made a snort at that. "It's kinda impossible to surprise you!"
"Well, you totally got me this time, I had no idea!"
"Yeah, right." Tails chuckled disbelievingly.
"Either way, thank you all. You shouldn't have-" His words got stuck in his throat, as Tails pulled out a nicely wrapped chili dog on a fancy plate, that reminded him of the ancient structures of Seaside Hill.
"Happy Birthday, Sonic. I hope you like this." He smiled, and had to do a double take, when it was gone before he could blink.
"Like it? I LOVE it!" His brother beamed, rushing to take another bite, as Vector choked in the distance.
Seriously, was the guy okay? He sure hoped Rouge was calling Vanilla over to help back there on her receiver...
Unfortunately, no party of Sonic's is a party without an uninvited guest.
Unbeknownst to them, the sky was turning ominously dark, as something terrifying tore it's claws through the clouds like paper, in the shape of an eye.
A dark purple shockwave tore through the guests violently, sudden and strong, like the seaside wind before a storm. It nearly knocked everyone off their feet, and blew away everything that came to it's path.
The plates along with all the food and decorations, flew towards the lake.
It even tragically whisked away Sonic's birthday chili dog!!
Most regrettably, he didn't have much time to mourn it, because something sinister was unfolding right before their very eyes.
"Sonic, what's THAT???" Tails pointed at the pulsating magenta fog, from which the mysterious clawed hands pulled out their equally as horrifying body.
The thing's entire gigantic form was covered in a gloomy, smoke-like ooze, with a blue glowing face in the middle, that reminded some of the scenery of Pumpkin Hill. To top it all off, slowly spinning gears poked out of it's body, like it had just swallowed an entire clock tower.
"What is going on!??" Wha's that??" "What's it doing?!" The crowd murmured, moving into defensive stances, but to no avail. It quickly became apparent, that they stood no chance against it's ambush.
With a deafening roar, it spread it's claw-clad arms wide, opening dozens of portals to Gaia knows where!
The wind picked up once more, sweeping people in the opposite direction, right towards danger.
Screams echoed, along with strangled kazoo noises, as every single one of Sonic's friends was sucked in my the gateways.
"Hey! Not cool!" He bravely remarked, as he gained enough momentum to launch a spindash attack. Tails watched in horror, as it was easily deflected by the monster, sending the hero tumbling back in grunts of pain.
The rest of the crew slowly lost their grip on the terrain, that they were desperately holding onto.
The portals, having fulfilled their purpose, closed behind them.
When he was taken as well, the last thing Tails could do, was to scream for his brother, who went limp on the ground...
The grassland grew quiet, and empty, as if nothing had happened.
The only proof was an empty table, and the Flickies, Rickies and Pockies of the forest, who had a feast picking through the dropped plates.