Month of Fanart - Day 16
Metamorphosis by WerewolfRiot
paper texture by dierat, grunge frame by tigers_stock
Out of all of the fics in this project, this is probably the one I read first, way back on FFN (but I've provided the AO3 link above). In this one, Robotnik captures Sonic and experiments on him with a mutagenic agent, and Sonic starts taking on feline features. The mental image is one that has stuck with me ever since I first read the story years ago.
I reblogged this on my alt but I have to bring it here too ‘cause it’s fanart of my very first and oldest fic, look at it! And it’s from a scene where so much changes in so many little hints ♥️
I re-watched Pirates of the Caribbean and got reminded of the greatest thing of all time: Pirate King Elizabeth Swann. So I leaned into that and other things hard to make this, please clap.
I got tagged by @kogarashi-art so fic writer’s bingo!
Fun ("fun") fact about the at least has one unpublished/unfinished story: I have one that I’ve been writing and re-writing for nearly 20 years now. And every time I re-write it I get stuck on the exact same spot.
It’s torture.
I’m not sure who to tag but I’m gonna at least tag @gojira007 But no pressure to do it.
For a prompt that's meant to have a lot of action, this one has almost zero action. It actually became a yapping session because for some reason my brain just wanted them to be semi-normal in a not-so-normal scenario.
I also recently rewatched Batman Beyond and I think the episodes where Terry joined the Justice League and everyone was being super weird to him pissed me off more than it should have so that might shine through a bit here oops.
The lunch time rush in the restaurant made everything sound more chaotic than it really was. With overlapping conversations, music from the overhead speakers filling in the few gaps between, and the almost rapidfire shouts of takeout orders ready to go from the counter, this Friday afternoon was buzzing with life all around them.
The pair sat in one of the smaller booths tucked away in the far corner of the restaurant, their only relief from the chaos being the almost serene scenery they could see through the massive window that was to their right. Their orders had just been set in front of them, and Sonic didn’t spare even a second before he was pulling his towards himself and tore into his chilidog.
Sally was a little more dignified with hers, taking a moment to unwrap her burger in a way so that the wrapper would still keep it together and catch anything that attempted to slip out. Though when she took a bite into the burger she gave a surprised miff of disapproval.
“Ah, they put pickles in this,” Sally protested around her mouthful, holding a hand to her lips so she didn’t drop anything.
“Didja say no pickles?” Sonic asked.
“I’m here all the time, they know I don’t like pickles,” Sally huffed.
“But didja say no pickles?” Sonic reiterated, before taking another bite of his chilidog.
“No. But they knew my order before I said it,” Sally sighed as she unwrapped her burger completely now so she could take it apart.
“‘nd that’s why you have pickles. Y’gotta tell ‘em here,” Sonic shrugged, his voice muffled by his mouthful of food.
He moved his plate closer to Sally, and wordlessly she extracted the pickles from her burger and set them on his plate, pulling out close to five slivered discs. While she worked on getting her burger back together Sonic slid the plate back towards him, grabbing a slice to flip it into his mouth like he was flipping a coin.
“How can you like pickles? They’re so sour and mushy,” Sally winced, her tongue sticking out slightly from between her teeth.
“They’re good for you. Th’ brine is good for immunity ‘nd healin’,” Sonic explained as he picked up another slice, this time placing it on his chilidog before he took another bite from it. “Plus they’re tasty.”
“I doubt all that salt they use for them is good for you,” Sally argued. “They just feel like something you have to mentally prepare yourself for a week in advance before you eat one.”
“Are you seriously gonna schedule yourself in for eatin’ a pickle, Sal?” Sonic teased, laughing as Sally rolled her eyes at him. “You can’t be that organised.”
“I just like knowing how my day is going to look, is all. Not all of us can live wild and free like the wind. Or can handle pickles unannounced,” Sally shrugged.
“I mean you could. Th’ disadvantage though is you can’t buy nothin’. ‘nd havin’ stuff is kinda nice, y’know?” Sonic pointed out. “‘nd next time just tell ‘em no pickles.”
A shockwave of an explosion suddenly sounded, rattling through the restaurant and the city street outside. Every mobian cried out almost in unison against the sound, some ducking under their tables or any other cover they could find, while the citizens outside looked around in confusion, trying to find the source of the sound.
Then everyone outside suddenly scattered, and seconds later a hovercraft the size of a bus blasted through the street, the hovercraft surrounded by a small army of flying robots that resembled missiles. The driver, a rotund man with a mustache that could be seen from space laughing maniacally as he ploughed through the street, sweeping up every parked car and fire hydrant on his way.
While everyone around them panicked, Sonic and Sally still focused on their meals. Sonic wore a bored, almost annoyed expression on his face, while Sally watched him, her eyebrows raised slightly with curiosity.
“Was that Eggman?” Sally asked.
“Yup,” Sonic answered simply.
Not even a few seconds later another figure cut through the street after the human, a vague black blur highlighted by streaks of red and orange.
“Was that Shadow?” Sally asked.
“Uh huh,” Sonic confirmed, his eyes half-lidding as he picked up his soda to take a loud draw from it.
Sally turned around in her seat to try to see where the two had gone, but the booth’s position didn’t give her much wriggle room to get a clear view of the street further down. The only clue she had were distant sounds of explosions and laughter that were punctured with the occasional scream of a civilian that was still a little too close to the epicentre of the current battle. From what she could hear the battle was slowly escalating.
“Aren’t you going to help him?” Sally asked as she turned back around.
“Nope,” Sonic answered.
“Nope?” Sally echoed.
“I hear a parrot,” Sonic mocked.
Sally had to pinch the bridge of her muzzle to stop herself from leaping across the booth to strangle the hedgehog.
“Now, why aren’t you helping him?” Sally pressed, unable to hide the mocking tone in her own voice.
“So last week I did help him, alon’ wit’ th’ others in th’ Hero Squad, right?” Sonic began, sitting up a little more in his seat so he could tell his story. “Remember that weird dude wit’ th’ long nose? He was tryin’ to bust into th’ nuclear facility."
“Snively, Eggman’s ex-lackey,” Sally offered.
“Yeah, him. Well they were tryin’ to flush him outta th’ place but kept bein’ pinned down by his robots. I was th’ only one that was able to get through so I went after him myself,” Sonic continued.
“Only problem was he holed himself up in th’ Control Centre like th’ li’l weasel he is, ‘nd had th’ whole thin’ locked down. So I had to bust th’ door down wit’ my Triple S move.”
“Sounds like the logical choice,” Sally agreed, pausing to take a bite out of her burger. Behind her another small explosion sounded, but she still kept her focus on Sonic as he continued his recollection.
“‘nd ‘cause he barracked th’ door wit’ practically cement or rocks or I dunno, some weird stuff that was super hard ‘nd heavy, I had to really crank up my speed to get through just th’ stupid door,” Sonic explained. “When I hit this hard stuff I bounced back ‘nd got rocketed right into their Server Room. I ended up knockin’ out all their systems.”
“Wouldn’t that be a good thing?” It would have stopped Snively from taking over the facility,” Sally questioned.
“You’d think so. But apparently if somethin’ happens to their servers it sets off another server somewhere off their base that basically puts th’ whole damn place into lockdown and starts filling everywhere wit’ some protective foam,” Sonic huffed. “So now we have a whole facility slowly bein’ turned into a bubble bath, buncha folks trapped in said bubble bath, ‘nd a weasel holed up in his own personal bubble bath.”
“Ohh..." Sally murmured, her face twisted with concern. “But that wasn’t your fault, you were the only one that could go after Snively if the others were tangled up with his robots.”
“That’s wha’ Rouge said!” Sonic exclaimed. “Oh, by th’ way Rouge says hi. ‘nd by hi to you she means to that fancy diamond necklace you were wearin’ to that charity ball you reported on last month.”
“Did you tell her not to even think about it?” Sally sighed.
“I told her not to think about it. She kinda did that li’l laugh she does when she says she’s jokin’ but she ain’t really,” Sonic explained.
“I should probably get that necklace insured, it was really expensive,” Sally mumbled.
“You can’t. There’s a clause in almost every insurance contract that if Rouge steals your jewels they’re not gonna cover it ‘cause it’s practically impossible to prevent her from stealin’ ‘em or recoverin’ ‘em. ‘nd they don’t wanna be at risk o’ coverin’ stuff that can be super expensive,” Sonic pointed out, pausing for a moment to have another drink from his soda. “I looked it up, it’s wild.”
“You’re kidding! Insurance companies really are a joke. Maybe I should do a report on that next,” Sally hissed. “But you still haven’t explained why you’re not helping Shadow.”
“Well we managed to get everythin’ under control, after a lot o’ scramblin’ ‘nd tryin’ to come up wit’ solutions that didn’t involve explosives ‘cause, y’know, nuclear facility,” Sonic continued. “But after all that Shadow just loses it at me. Tellin’ me that I was too rash ‘nd I should have known that Snively would have used a barricade, blah blah blah.”
Here Sonic’s muzzle scrunched up bitterly, and briefly he averted his eyes away from Sally as he quickly collected his thoughts. Though when he spoke up next his voice was low and hollow.
“Then he tells him that a punk ass wanna-be hero like me will never do anythin’ worthwhile ‘cause I’m just in it to be a show off.”
Sally’s face fell at those words, hearing how much they had cut into Sonic. The hedgehog had a thick skin, and in the year she had known him Sally had never seen Sonic get shaken up by anything that was thrown at him, including insults or misguided anger.
Yet somehow Shadow did manage to find his one weak spot that went straight for the jugular. Whether it was intentional or not, it had gotten the result the dark hedgehog had wanted.
“So no, I ain’t helpin’ him. ‘nd I dunno if I should keep at this gig anyway,” Sonic muttered as he flopped back into his seat, still keeping his eyes low.
Sally looked around the restaurant to see if anyone was listening to their conversation, though all she found was everyone that was once making their way through a lunch rush were now huddled under every table, chair and even hiding near the kitchen just to keep themselves out of harm’s way. All of them were listening to the distant battle, flinching at every muffled explosion and ringing laughter Eggman hollered.
“Can I ask you something, Sonic?” Sally asked.
“If you’re gonna lecture me, at least gimme your fries,” Sonic sighed.
She slid her plate over to the hedgehog wordlessly, and he picked up a handful to shove into his mouth, confirming their transaction.
“Why did you come to Mobotropolis in the first place?” Sally continued.
“Man, I dunno,” Sonic miffed around his mouthful of food, taking a second to chomp down on it before swallowing it. “Everyone back at my village kept gettin’ ticked off at me ‘nd my powers no matter wha’ I did, ‘nd I heard that th’ city was like a lightning rod for bad guys. So I thought I would at least not be kicked out for sneezin’ too fast.”
“And how is that working out for you?” Sally pressed.
Sonic shrugged, his ears pinning back against his head as he thought his answer over.
“It’s been okay, I guess? I mean, people are startin’ to catch on to who I am ‘nd seem to like me okay. Th’ other heroes kinda let me help out but they already have their own bonds goin’ so it’s hard to click in place wit’ ‘em, y’know?” Sonic admitted as he flopped back into his seat, letting himself slide down slightly as if he wanted to hide under the table himself.
“I woulda figured they would know what it’s like to be different to everyone else. Save Shadow, ‘cause he’s got military money bein’ syphoned to every hole he’s got so he’s got powers ‘nd money.”
“Please don’t say it like that,” Sally groaned.
“It’s true, though. ‘nd th’ other heroes have like fancy gadgets ‘nd cars ‘nd wha’ever, ‘nd all I got is a phone that came out six years ago ‘nd some pocket change,” Sonic urged. “So all that don’t really help wit’ th’ whole fittin’ in ‘nd bein’ taken seriously stuff. You’re literally th’ only one that’s given me a chance ‘nd haven’t written me off as an idiot.”
“To be fair I have called you an idiot a few times,” Sally pointed out.
“Yeah, but I was bein’ an idiot those times so it’s fine,” Sonic waved off. “You don’t say it like as if you’re tryin’ to make me disappear on th’ spot, that’s wha’ I mean.”
“Just let me circle back for a second one why I’m asking this; I know you came here to try to find your place, but ultimately, do you like helping people?” Sally asked.
“Totally! I want to help people. If I can help I want to, y’know?” Sonic urged.
“So show the other heroes that. You know there’s a very fine line between being a show-off and being a hero, right?” Sally explained. “And I know you’re not a show-off, I’ve seen you fight. I’ve seen you rescue a busload of people and turn down rewards because you just wanted to help.”
“I should probably stop doin’ that though, ‘cause th’ city is expensive..." Sonic mumbled.
“I’ve already said you can move in with me,” Sally smirked.
“But I have no way o’ payin’ rent or anythin’ else . I don’t wanna leech off ya!” Sonic groaned.
“You could get a job.”
“I don’t want a job, I want to be a superhero!”
Sally pointed over her shoulder, just a little towards the corner of the restaurant’s window to indicate where the battle was still taking place.
“Then go do some superheroing. What Shadow said isn’t true at all; you’re not in it just to show off, you’re not in it just for glory or fame. You want to do something to right wrongs and help those that can’t help themselves,” Sally stated. “That’s why I gave you a chance, that’s why I love being with you and why I want to help you, too. You have a good heart, Sonic Hedgehog, even if they can’t see it yet.”
Sonic blinked at Sally, a little taken aback from the raw honesty she had just talked through. He looked towards the battle, his ears twitching at the distant laser fire, and realising that the fight might have been dragging on for much longer than it should have been not just because of Shadow potentially being overpowered, but for his own stupid hang up that was now affecting everyone in the city.
“Yeah, you’re right, Sal,” Sonic sighed, smirking. “‘nd even if you weren’t, I can’t just let Egghead go around messin’ everythin’ up, right?”
“Right. So get out there and tell him to get lost. He’s going to ruin my workplace, and then I won’t be able to buy you lunch again,” Sally teased.
“I swear next time it’s gonna be on me,” Sonic promised as he slid out of the booth, then planted a quick kiss on Sally’s cheek on his way out. “‘nd thanks for th’ pep-talk, Sal. I’m damn lucky havin’ you in my corner.”
“The feeling is mutual, Blue,” Sally called. “Good luck!”
Goji's promo drawing for this prompt gave me a spark for this one. And then I thought of the whole thing a 6am just before I had to go to work. Longest 8 hours of my life!
This is horror. There's gonna be blood. There's a touch of violence. There's flirting and a bit of innuendo. Enjoy?
“Why did they pick this stupid place for this stupid gatherin’?”
Sally just barely held back a frustrated sigh, though she couldn’t resist staring down at the piece of paper in her hand with a deadpan glare to vent some annoyance at the question. A question she swore had been asked every five minutes since they had stepped foot in the city.
“It’s the most central place that everyone can get to. At least according to the organisers,” Sally explained, every word sounding like she was reading off a script, then tilted her head towards her companion.
“Why are you so hung up about this city anyway? You usually like cities.”
The hedgehog walking beside her had a hard grimace on his face, like he was fighting off a nagging headache. As they walked along the city street anytime someone got a little too close to him the grimace intensified, Sally spotting a slight glint of sharp canines whenever the hedgehog’s annoyance almost got out of hand.
“This place stinks o’ piss ‘nd garbage. In that order,” Sonic gritted.
As if to prove his point he took a cautious sniff at the air, though as he did his ears perked with genuine surprise, and for the first time since arriving the grimace on his face dropped to a more relaxed smile.
“Though I do smell chilidogs down th’ next street,” Sonic grinned, and suddenly took a sharp turn to his left to walk down a different pathway.
“Hey, wait! No! Heel, boy!” Sally protested.
She yanked hard on the length of chain she was holding, and Sonic almost tripped over himself as he was pulled by his collar attached to the chain. In his scuffle he almost took out a rabbit walking past him, and he had to take a few stumbling steps just to correct himself. The rabbit was nearly knocked back into a wall as he tried the same evasive action, and the second he was back on solid footing he turned to glare at the pair.
“Keep your kinks private, ya freaks!” the rabbit shouted.
Suddenly the rabbit’s vision was filled with a snarling hedgehog that now towered over him, and he felt his heart freeze in his throat as he took in every razor sharp tooth that threatened to wrap themselves around his throat. Somehow the rabbit gathered just enough of his wits to take off running down the street, a strangled scream escaping him.
Sally huffed a sigh of relief, then looked at Sonic, feeling her own heart drop slightly. The altercation had almost set off a full transformation, but Sonic had managed to stop it halfway, his bones and muscles popping and scrunching back into his much smaller form though with great effort. There were a few split seconds where Sonic almost lost control of the transformation as his werewolf side tried to escape, but Sonic took a physical hold of himself as he pulled it back in. Once he was able to shift completely back Sonic dropped to his knees, breathing heavily from the exertion.
“You need to keep calm, Sonic,” Sally urged as she helped him to stand, taking a moment to straighten out his top and check for any tears.
“How th’ fuck am I supposed to do that? I’m bein’ forced to walk through a full moon ‘nd ignore it until we get to this stupid secret place,” Sonic huffed, gesturing wildly at the night sky where indeed a full moon hung in full view.
It didn’t help either that this was possibly the clearest night sky to have ever existed, as not a single cloud was around to potentially dilute the moon’s light even for a few seconds to bring some relief to Sonic. Even the looming skyscrapers of the city couldn’t blot out the moon, as with all the lights off their higher levels just ended up blending into the night sky, making it harder to find a good angle to use one as a blocker.
“We should have come during the day,” Sally sighed, leaning in to nuzzle her check against Sonic’s. “I knew this would hurt you.”
Sonic’s eyes softened as he nuzzled Sally back, giving her a rumbling purr.
“‘nd have you turn to ash? No way!” Sonic chided.
“I have ways of covering myself,” Sally said.
“We’re in the middle o’ a Satan’s buttcrack heatwave. Everyone would o’ taken more notice o’ you bein’ in full winter clothes than me gettin’ a li’l snappy,” Sonic pointed out. “But whoever organised this gatherin’ either had no idea how werewolves work, or just doesn’t give a shit. Who the hell organises a secret meetin’ o’ supernaturals on a night o’ a full fuckin’ moon in the middle of a mortal city?”
“Apparently someone that has something incredibly important to tell us that couldn’t be said in a letter,” Sally sighed.
She squinted at the piece of paper she held once again, giving it a deep frown before she looked around herself once more. The paper contained directions to where this oh-so-important meeting was being held on the back of the mysterious invitation the pair had received some days ago, but she and Sonic were unfamiliar with this city, and the streets were becoming overwhelming as she couldn’t decipher where they were. Sally had grossly overestimated how good her sense of direction was, but if she admitted that to Sonic she would never hear the end of it.
The city streets itself were scattered with a few mobians still lingering about, the few stores and restaurants open giving them somewhere to go and be. The heatwave Sonic mentioned also made it hard for them to sleep, Sally theorised, so the city seemed to be the place to be when one had to kill some time on a long summer’s night.
Gently she tugged at Sonic’s leash, indicating that she wanted to start walking again to the hedgehog before he thought he could sneak off to find the chilidogs he had sniffed out earlier. The leash had been Sonic’s idea, on the off chance that he did end up losing control of his shifting abilities. Sally’s strength would be enough to stop him in his tracks with a well timed yank, but she felt bad for basically treating him like a lost toddler because of how scattered Sonic’s mind was while he fought his werewolf side.
“I’m going to ask for directions. But if we ever have to do this again we must do a dry run,” Sally stated.
“If we ever have to do this again I’m just gonna piss on the invite ‘nd send it back to ‘em,” Sonic muttered, snickering as Sally rolled her eyes.
“Lovely..."
After a few false starts, mostly because apparently this city was filled with wary and rude mobians, Sally finally managed to flag someone down long enough to ask for help. Unlike the other mobians that seemed to be focused on reaching a destination, this one was sitting near an alleyway just a little outside of anyone’s regular view, puffing at a cigarette. The mobian, a tall male elk, leaned against a nearby wall and smiled down at Sally with a look that made Sonic’s hackles rise.
“I’m so sorry to bother you. We’re just trying to find 24th Street but we keep getting turned around. Do you know where it is?” Sally asked, glancing down at the directions in her hand.
“24th Street, huh? Oh, I know where that is. But there’s nothing interesting there,” the elk stated as he leaned a little closer to Sally, trying to catch a glimpse of the paper.
Beside her Sonic growled, warning the elk, but Sally tugged at his leash gently to silence him. As she did she tucked the paper into her back pocket, flashing a thin lined smirk at the elk.
“We’re meeting with some friends, then we’re heading to a party from there,” Sally explained. “So we’re in a bit of a hurry.”
“If I tell you where it is, can I come along? I’m free all night,” the elk questioned. “Or can I at least get a little reward for my efforts? Your weird pup friend can watch if you hook him up to a fire hydrant.”
The thin lined smirk didn’t falter from Sally’s lips, but her eyes narrowed subtly enough that only Sonic was able to catch it. He took a slight step back from Sally’s side, his tail wagging in anticipation.
“I’m afraid the party is invite only. But I would gladly give you something in return for those little old directions,” Sally purred as she reached up to run her hand along the elk’s jawline, trailing her hand back just a little over the side of his neck before petting his jawline again.
The elk’s eyes widened in surprise, amazed that his ploy worked. In an instant his smirk was back on his lips as he straightened and pointed down to a street not far from where the trio was standing.
“Turn left at that street, and go all the way down until you get to a glass building. There should be a little intersection there that takes you to a smaller street. Take the path on the right, and you’ll be at 24th,” the elk explained. “You can’t miss it, one of the buildings there will have “24th” painted on its side.”
“No wonder it was so hard to find. What a strange layout this city has,” Sally sighed, her voice almost singing with the relief of one that had found the secret to the universe. “Thank you, handsome.”
“Hey, no problem, baby!” the elk crowed, before he leaned down to loom close to Sally once more. “Soooo, do I still get a reward?”
“Of course,” Sally giggled softly, once again running her hand along the elk’s jawline. She turned briefly to give Sonic a knowing nod, then slid the handle of his chain leash around her wrist so she could free up her hands.
“But only if you close your eyes.”
An unhinged chortle erupted from the elk’s mouth as he did as he was told, the giddiness clear on his face. He pursed his lips, smacking them together once, before he felt Sally tilt her head and brush his lips with her own.
A slash of pain cut through his neck, and the elk gasped sharply as panic flooded through him. He scrambled to pull away from Sally, only to have more stabs of pain burst at the gap between his shoulder blades. The elk opened his eyes and from the corner of them he could see Sally latched at the side of his neck, a strange pulling sensation growing around it.
He tried to cry out, only to have Sally grab a hold of his muzzle and dig her claws into it, literally pinning his mouth shut. The elk still tried to struggle away, his screams muffled, until slowly he felt his strength starting to leave his body. He gave one last feeble attempt, bucking his head up to shake Sally off, but eventually his eyes fluttered shut as he collapsed into a dead faint.
“I love it when you do that,” Sonic snickered, watching as Sally unlatched herself from the elk’s neck and stepped away from the body.
She had kept the bite clean, with only the smallest of teeth marks left behind that would heal within a couple of hours. Which would be just about when the elk would wake up again from his bloodloss induced nap. The wounds on his muzzle would do the same, though it might leave a bit of a sting whenever he needed to pucker his lips for a while.
“It was either this or you break his neck. My way felt more subtle,” Sally shrugged. “Unless you want the rest of him?”
Sonic leaned over the elk and gave him a sniff, then shook his head and growled like he had just been offended.
“Nah, he smells like piss ‘nd garbage, too. In that order. A chilidog would be way better,” Sonic dismissed. He leaned close to Sally and lapped his tongue at the corner of her lips where a speck of the elk’s blood still lingered. “Though how do you know if he was tellin’ the truth?”
“I asked him for directions to a few streets before our destination,” Sally said with a wink. “I’m sure from there we can figure it out.”
“Smart, beautiful, ‘nd terrifyin’. Keep that up ‘nd we’re gonna have to make a detour,” Sonic purred.
“The sooner we get to this meeting, the sooner we can get out of here and find somewhere much nicer for that detour,” Sally said, tugging at Sonic’s leash so they could start walking again. “But next time I’m bringing a fucking map. Mortals are so frustrating.”
I actually started this when the prompts were first announced, thinking I could for once get ahead of the game and get some done. It half worked.
I'm also gonna fully admit this all spawned from me imagining Sonic and Sally sharing a cigarette. They wouldn't smoke, yet they would. Anyone else feel me on that?
The heat of the summer night wrapped around her like a fur coat fresh out of an oven, making Sally's skin itch as she ran. Every so often she tossed a look over her shoulder, but the only sight that greeted her was the empty streets. Yet it brought her no comfort, and the heat squeezed around her as she pushed herself to keep going.
Eventually she made it to the night club, and she dared to allow herself to slow down to a half panicked trot, her heels clicking loudly on the sidewalk. As she approached the doors Sally took one last look behind her, huffing a sigh of relief when she saw the streets were still empty, and quickly adjusted her hair to slick it back into a more presentable high bun.
“Evening, Sam. Is Sonic playing tonight?” Sally asked the doorman, a sharp looking fox dressed in a simple suit.
“Just finished his set,” Sam confirmed as he opened the door for Sally, giving her a polite bow as he did. “He should be at the bar. Go right in, Princess.”
Despite her earlier rush to get inside, Sally still paused long enough to give Sam a side-eye that made the fox wince with embarrassment.
“Sorry, Miss Acorn,” Sam fumbled as he adjusted his collar, a rush of heat running through him.
“Just Sally is fine, Sam,” Sally corrected before she slipped inside.
The only one that could get away with using that nickname was Sonic, and even then he barely had free reign with it as Sally only tolerated it about as much as one would tolerate a toothache. It was obvious that Sonic was still tossing it around freely when she wasn't around if the workers at the club were picking it up so casually.
At the back of her mind she couldn't help but wonder how often Sonic talked about her while she wasn't around. And what he was saying exactly. Her own reputation of being the mayor's daughter was usually enough to give her some level of respect by the workers of the club, and she had worked hard to return that respect to show that she didn't consider herself any higher than them. But the nickname Sonic had managed to pin on her had a way of sanding off the edges of what she was trying to accomplish.
The hedgehog seemed to just know what buttons to push to set her hackles on edge.
He also knew how to potentially get her out of the proverbial shit creek she has now found herself in.
The second set of bouncers, a pair of towering kangaroos that stood at the club’s doors, didn't say a word to her as Sally walked by, though they did give her a polite nod of acknowledgement that she returned once they realised who she was. She took a moment to look around the club, noting how crowded it was for a weeknight.
Every table was full, and the chatter brought the noise level of the club to a level that made her ears buzz slightly. At the moment the stage was occupied by a small band playing ambient music to fill the few gaps in between the waves of overlapping conversation, though when Sally looked at each band member she didn’t spot Sonic amongst them.
After a little more scanning, she spotted a familiar flash of blue quills by the bar, just like Sam had told her he would be. Right now he was packing away his guitar, his shirt sleeves rolled up and his tie completely undone at his neck, looking like he was readying himself for a brawl compared to every other patron that was dressed smartly.
Unconsciously Sally tugged at her own blouse and ran her fingers along her hair while she approached the bar to make sure nothing was out of place, not wanting to give away the fact that she had just ran who knows how many miles in the heat to get here.
Sonic caught sight of her just as he snapped his guitar case shut, and his face lit up with genuine surprise.
“Sal! To wha’ do I owe th’ pleasure?” Sonic greeted as he stood, before taking her hand and leading Sally to one of the bar stools.
“Sam called me “Princess”, Sonic,” Sally remarked, the corner of her lips hitching slightly with amusement as Sonic winced.
“Wha’ a weird thin’ to call ya,” Sonic countered. “I have no clue where he picked that up from.”
“I just hope you're saying nice things about me. I say nothing but nice things about you,” Sally sighed. “And use my actual name.”
“All these demands ‘nd you wonder why I call you Princess, Princess,” Sonic teased, laughing as Sally rolled her eyes at him. “Drink? My shout.”
“Yes. No. Yes, just water though,” Sally fumbled.
Sonic gave her an odd look, but still flagged down the barkeep.
“H2O for th’ lady, ‘nd a martini for me. Don’t want ya losin’ yer touch here,” Sonic ordered, giving Sally another playful smirk. “So, enjoy your run outside? Figured it would be too warm for that, even for me.”
Sally froze briefly at the question, then tilted her head away slightly from Sonic.
“I wasn’t running,” Sally said. When her water was slid out in front of her she picked it up and took a sip, resisting the urge to gulp it down while Sonic watched her. She was fine before, but the first touch of water to her lips made her realise how parched the run had actually made her.
“Your very expensive shoes have dirt all over ‘em. ‘nd I hate to say it but there’s a rip in your skirt that’s makin’ me wanna see you in a swim suit so I could get the full show,” Sonic pointed out, making Sally choke on her mouthful of water. “I’m very jealous o’ whoever you were runnin’ from if they got t’see all that.”
Once Sally got control of her throat she looked down at her skirt, and to her horror there was a large rip in its side. The fact that the material had enough flow in it to disguise it while she walked was a miracle in itself, but now that she was sitting still she had to gather it in her hand and hold it in place or else she would end up giving everyone present a free peep show.
She probably snagged it on something when she had made a run for it. She didn’t dare look at her shoes for now, not wanting to think if any of the shoe shiners she knew would be able to get them back to their original condition.
“You really gotta dress for th’ part if you gonna be doin’ somebody else’s job,” Sonic sighed, swirling his drink briefly before taking a sip at it.
While Sally adjusted her skirt he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of smokes, flicking one out and setting it between his lips. At the corner of her eye she spotted him doing this, and curled up her lip in disgust as Sonic lit his cigarette.
“You said you quit,” Sally hissed.
“‘nd you said th’ Ol’ Creeper residence was gonna be your last check-in,” Sonic countered, before cocking his head over his shoulder. “Yet th’ set o’ creepers rubber-neckin’ it at th’ door tells me otherwise, so I guess we're both liars.”
A rush of cold fear slithered down Sally's spine as she fished out her compact mirror from her clutch. When she flicked it open she feigned checking her lipstick, tilting it way back until she could see the entrance to the club floor where just as Sonic said, two tall figures loomed, oblivious to the patrons that they were making nervous by their sudden presence.
A soft curse left her lips before Sally could stop herself when one of the figures glanced her way, but somehow still missed her amongst the crowd. For now at least.
“Now that's very unladylike,” Sonic snickered. “How nosey did you get now?”
“It's not my fault the police are being completely useless! Or that every sleuth I go to either turns down my case, or ends up face down in the bay,” Sally protested as she stashed her mirror away.
“I feel like that last part may slightly be your fault,” Sonic pointed out, but he still had an easy smile on his lips as he said it. “Guess no one knows how to do their jobs no more.”
“If they did my father wouldn't still be missing, and I wouldn't have a bunch of goons breathing down my neck,” Sally sighed.
“It looks like you're gettin’ th’ special treatment there, ‘cause those goons look a li'l shiny under those coats.”
Now Sally shrank in her seat, clear embarrassment on her face as she averted her eyes from Sonic. The hedgehog took a drag from his cigarette, giving Sally a chance to marinate in her shame.
“You went to Robotnik’s stockyards, didn't you?” Sonic finally asked.
Sally didn't answer. But she did glance over to where the two goons were now being held up at the door by the bouncers that had no idea how over their heads they were in, despite towering almost every patron in the club, including the ‘bots.
“Sal…” Sonic urged.
“I tried to, but I only got to the first warehouse before I was spotted, okay?” Sally confessed. “I thought I lost them at the docks.”
“Do th’ ‘bots know that? ‘cause it looks like they don't know that,” Sonic pointed out, before sighing. “Y’know not to go snoopin’ around there, at least not wit’out back up!”
“Why do you think I came here?”
“Well I know it ain't for th’ clam chowder. ‘specially in th’ summer.”
Sonic yelped as the collar of his shirt was yanked, and he had to scramble to correct himself before he found himself face first on the floor. The yank had also brought him down to Sally's eye level, and his glare withered at her own pleading stare.
“Please, Sonic. Everything I found is leading to Robotnik. I know exactly where to go to prove he's involved,” Sally pleaded. “But I need help.”
“From th’ delinquent jazz player your old man doesn’t even like?” Sonic asked, unable to stop the drip of venom in his words.
“From the fastest jazz player I love, and have always loved despite daddy’s distaste. Because I actually know said fastest jazz player,” Sally corrected, her eyes softening as she adjusted Sonic’s collar.
“I wasn't expectin’ ya to butter me up like that,” Sonic teased, rolling his eyes. “Like I wasn't gonna help anyway, Sal. But if th’ chief o’ police gets up my ass about it–”
“Antoine is a friend,” Sally cut in.
“Antoine is your friend. That's hellbent on lockin’ me up just for blowin’ my nose wrong,” Sonic corrected.
Before Sally could say anything else a crash sounded, followed by people screaming and scrambling out of their chairs as panic flooded the club. When the two looked back to the door they spotted the two robot goons wrestling with the kangaroo guards, one of the robots having their fighting partner pinned to the ground while the other was being head-butted.
“Okay, enough yakkin’,” Sonic hissed.
Slipping one arm around Sally's waist, Sonic tapped his finger rapidly on the bar with his free hand, grabbing the barkeep’s attention away from the fighting even though he looked like he was ready to make a run for it himself.
“We need an exit, like yesterday,” Sonic stated.
The barkeep nodded, before ducking down behind the bar and yanking away the worn down rug that lined the floor, revealing a trapdoor. As the barkeep pulled it open Sonic grabbed his guitar case, and pressed his free hand against the small of Sally’s back to guide her down the now exposed staircase that led to the club’s underground storage.
“What about the club?” Sally asked.
“Hip ‘nd Hop have it covered, trust me,” Sonic assured, before giving the barkeeper a quick salute as the pair descended the steep stairs.
Once the two had cleared them enough the trapdoor was shut after them, plunging them into near darkness. Sally half stumbled down the stairs while her eyes adjusted, the only thing really giving her any sense of where she was being Sonic’s hand on her back and, ironically, the glow of Sonic’s cigarette.
Eventually she made it down without breaking her neck, and Sonic guided her through the narrow store room until he found the exit.
“You come down here often?” Sally asked.
“Just to help Mike wit’ th’ booze deliveries if I happen to be in early,” Sonic explained. “It’ll take us to th’ alleyway, but where are we goin’ after that?”
“The docks,” Sally said simply.
“Sal..."
“If Robotnik’s goons are here looking for me, then the docks should have less security now,” Sally reasoned, waiting a moment to let Sonic open the door that led to the alleyway. The second she stepped outside Sally felt the heat of the outside once again, not realising just how cool the store room had been.
Sonic sighed, shaking his head. “You’re a stubborn princess, Princess,” he remarked as he slipped his guitar case over his shoulder, securing it against his back before he scooped Sally up into his arms.
The move had pulled an indignant squeak from Sally, but the second she composed herself she reached for his cigarette and plucked it out of his mouth. Before Sonic could protest she took a quick drag from it, blew the smoke out in a long, thin puff, then flicked it away into what she hoped was a small puddle of garbage water.
My sense of time is completely messed up - I'm a day ahead of the prompts physically, but mentally I'm a day behind them.
This came to me at 4am, too, so that's probably not helping. Also apologies to any Sonic Underground fans that happen upon this.
Also I called Manic Malik just to give him a "real" name for this.
“It’s not a real dragon.”
Every eye in the Councillor Chambers turned to the young hedgehog prince sitting at the long oak table, each owner staring at him like he had just declared war on them individually. Especially the queen, whose mouth twisted into a frustrated scowl that the prince was more than familiar with. It was one that all but confirmed that the hypothetical war declared was about to begin, much to the charging of everyone present.
Up until now the room had been filled with chatter that only the council was supplying, with Queen Aleena listening to each member with practiced calm and consideration. Next to the council members sat the queen’s biological twin children, Sonia and Malik, who listened to the discussion and kept quiet obediently, content with just observing and taking mental notes on how their mother navigated every scenario and question presented to her. It was one of the very rare moments that they had been allowed into a council meeting.
But it wasn’t either one of them that had demanded their attention and caught the queen’s displeasure. It had been the oldest of the three, a blue hedgehog with sharp, dark green eyes that stared down every glare like he was collecting them. He especially focused his own glare at the queen, the slight smirk on his lips mirroring her scowl.
“And what makes you say that?” Queen Aleena questioned, her voice leveled, but clipped, clearly trying to keep her outrage at this interruption in check.
The blue prince leaned forward in his seat, elbows pressed onto the table that immediately caught Queen Aleena’s attention. Her scowl twisted just a little more, before she forced her eyes back to the prince’s face.
“Think about it for a second; King Acorn banished his wizard Nagus from his kingdom after he tried to take over the throne, then not even a few weeks later the Kingdom of Acorn is being terrorised by a dragon clan,” the prince explained.
“We are well aware of the situation, Prince Ogilvie. Did you really interrupt us to state the obvious?” Queen Aleena dismissed, her scowl hitching slightly when the hedgehog winced.
“You’re showing how forgetful you are. Not only is my name Sonic, you also know that this should be completely out of the ordinary because the Kingdom of Acorn have an alliance with the dragons that’s been in place for half a century,” Prince Sonic stated, unable to hide the slight growl in the first part of his statement. “So why would a dragon clan suddenly attack when there has been nothing but peace between them and the kingdom?”
“Alliances can change. Or this could be a rogue clan,” Queen Aleena reasoned. “For all we know they might have suffered some slight from King Acorn that they felt required retaliation.”
“Do you know that as fact? Or are you just okay with dragons attacking neighbouring kingdoms?” Prince Sonic asked. “No one has had any qualms with the Kingdom of Acorn; the few kingdoms you allowed any of us to communicate with before have said so. So can you confirm that now?”
“Then what is attacking them? An unusually large lizard? A pigeon?” Queen Aleena cooed.
“It’s Nagus, obviously,” Prince Sonic stated, rolling his eyes at the queen’s mockery. It amazed him how immature the head of their kingdom could be, and he knew plenty about immaturity. From him it was expected, and punishable. From the queen, everyone was forced to swallow it. The hypocrisy was just adding fuel to his already burning frustration against the queen, and the prince had to take a subtle breath to calm himself.
“An entire clan of dragons isn’t doing any damage to the kingdom itself, just holding it hostage until the king gives in. If they were proper flesh and bone dragons, the kingdom would have been a pile of smoldering ash and rubble by now.”
The council began muttering amongst themselves at this revelation, some trying to poke holes in Prince Sonic’s theory, while others tried to make sense of it. Queen Aleena listened to their mutterings, frowning as the council seemed to circle themselves into agreeing with Sonic’s theory. She silenced them quickly by clapping her hands hard, the sound practically swallowing their voices and echoing through the chamber before it was brought back into obedient silence.
“If that is the case, then we no longer need to involve ourselves,” Queen Aleena proclaimed, then motioned to a servant standing not far from her side to bring over her writing quill and scrolls. “I will send King Acorn word once again that we will not assist, and good luck with his wizard-dragon problem. Well done, Prince Ogilvie. You have solved the matter finally.”
“No longer involve ourselves? That’s all we’ve done since this began!” Prince Sonic snapped as he stood, the wooden legs of his chair scraping loudly against the floor. “We can help him! We have armies. Knights. Hell, you could go out there yourself instead of hiding behind your stupid letters and meetings!”
The Queen had already begun scratching out her letter, but stilled her hand as she stared up at Sonic with just her eyes, looking almost bored by his outburst.
“There is no need to send our own. The Kingdom of Acorn is large enough, they have their own armies that can deal with this little quarrel. We have to look after ourselves first.”
“You’re not even doing that. You’re just cowering away and letting our people suffer for it,” Prince Sonic spat, temper now flaring freely. “If you think of this as such a small feat, then it would take little effort to show the king he has our support. We could finally form proper alliances. Have contact with the outside world for once.”
“We need to protect ourselves. We do not go around solving other people’s problems,” Queen Aleena sighed. “Why does this concern you so much?”
“Because the Princess of Acorn came to us for help three months ago. She entered our kingdom and you saw fit to keep her imprisoned here when all she was trying to do was find help for her father,” Prince Sonic explained. “The very least you could do is assist King Acorn and hope he shows some appreciation through whatever mercy he's willing to offer for falsely imprisoning his daughter.”
Queen Aleena took a moment to finish writing her letter, her motions quick and sharp as it to carve her indifference into the parchment itself before she handed it back to her servant, watching as they took it aside to be sealed.
“Despite our laws I allowed her free reign of Mobodoon instead of locking her away in our dungeons, did I not? That will work in my favour I am sure. Besides, Mobodoon reveals itself on the third day of each month. She has had plenty of opportunities to leave--"
"You mean the same occurrence that happened without fail for centuries, until she arrived?" Sonic cut in. “And don’t you think I don’t know about how you have been manipulating Mobodoon to open its gates to gather King Acorn’s lost messenger crows while everyone sleeps.”
Queen Aleena baulked at the accusation, but recovered quickly.
"She's an outsider. She might reveal Mobodoon," Queen Aleena reasoned. "Once this not-dragon business concludes she is free to go."
"Here's a thought: how about we help with this not-dragon business so she can get home sooner?" Prince Sonic countered.
Queen Aleena glared at Sonic, ignoring the nervous glances the councilmen and her children were now throwing at her.
“Our kingdom is safe and thriving. I will not send anyone from my kingdom to their doom over a little quarrel.”
“Our kingdom is dying! And if you would for once actually look past your own snobby nose you would actually realise this!” Prince Sonic snarled, pointing an accusing finger at the queen. “Mobodoon needs help, why can't you see that?”
“Mobodoon thrives on its own under my command, just like it has since I became queen,” Queen Aleena countered.
“Mobodoon has been cursed to oblivion since you were born! If my father could see what you have done to his kingdom he would have you locked away in the darkest dungeon this miserable kingdom possesses!” Prince Sonic growled.
“Enough!”
The queen’s words were punctured by her hands slamming down on the great oak table, making everyone in the chambers jump in their seats. She then stood and glared down at Prince Sonic, which was only matched by a storming glare back from him.
“You were allowed into this meeting to just observe, a privilege you have now lost,” Queen Aleen hissed. “Along with you other privileges, as you will be too busy attending etiquette lessons daily for the next full month!”
“You really done it now, brother,” Prince Malik mumbled under his breath, flinching when Prince Sonic turned his glare to him.
“Oh fuck off, Malik. Her teet doesn’t gush gold,” Prince Sonic spat.
“Two months of classes. Starting dawn tomorrow,” Queen Aleena bellowed, before glaring down at one of the armoured guards standing by the door and snapped her fingers to get their attention.
“Escort him to his quarters, and make sure he stays there for the rest of the day and night. Prince Ogilvie has lessons to tend to in the morning, he will need all the rest he can get to make sure they stick this time.”
The guard saluted in acknowledgement, then took a hold of Prince Sonic’s arm and tugged him towards the door, their grip tightening when the prince attempted to shake off their hand. The hedgehog shot one last glare at the queen as he did so, his eyes storming with an unbridled hate that made everyone save the queen flinch at him.
Once they were out of the Councillor Chamber Prince Sonic allowed himself to be escorted without too much protest, though he couldn’t resist muttering under his breath small curses that grew in intensity and bitterness with almost every step he took. This served to signal any servants and guards they encountered to give the young prince plenty of space to stomp to his quarters without the risk of him running into any of them, in case his inner wrath was turned to them.
Once he reached his chambers his words fell silent, and he looked around to see if anyone else was present before he opened the door and stepped into his room, surprisingly allowing the guard to follow him inside.
The second the door clicked shut however Sonic grabbed the ringlet that rested on his head and threw it violently to the floor, the golden piece bouncing with a sharp ping as a flurry of curses flew out of his mouth.
“Well, that could have gone better,” the guard sighed.
“I told you talking to that fucking cow of a woman was a waste of time,” Prince Sonic all but screamed, his voice just barely below a dull roar as his temper caught up with him.
“I can see your past etiquette lessons worked wonders,” the guard hummed, then removed her helmet, huffing softly with relief once the heavy armour was finally gone.
To anyone else in the kingdom they would have seen the guard as one of the many stationed around the kingdom grounds, their faces always hidden and seemingly always scowling at everyone they looked over.
Because of this most of the citizens paid them no attention, often averting their gaze from them in hopes of not attracting their ire as they could be just as volatile as the queen herself. But with their anonymity even the queen would practically gaze over them as if they were nothing, unless of course she needed something from them, such as reigning in ill-tempered princes.
So it was the perfect disguise to sneak in the “trapped” princess of the Kingdom of Acorn into a once in a lifetime meeting the prince had finally been invited to, so she could observe how the queen would truly react to her request coming from one of her own. The results had been eye opening for her, to put it kindly.
“The only time I forget those lessons is when she’s involved. Though she should take some lessons herself. The way she spoke about you behind your back...” Prince Sonic explained, taking a moment to brush away a stray lock of hair that gripped Princess Sally’s forehead. The instant Prince Sonic saw Sally's face his anger seemed to instantly dissolve, evident by the way his quills flattened out and his eyes softened. “I told you she was useless and cruel.”
“Your mother is… really not what I expected at all,” Princess Sally sighed.
“My stepmother, thank you. And she’s good at hiding her true self from the right people,” Prince Sonic corrected. “Whatever my father saw in her was an illusion just like Nagus’ dragon clan, and I’d rather him be ruling Mobodoon than her.”
“If something isn’t done soon you might get that wish,” Princess Sally pointed out, and for a moment her face twisted with frustration. “So now what can we do? Who can we go to for help?”
“Definitely no one here,” Prince Sonic muttered bitterly. “I say we just do this ourselves. Find our own way to help your father.”
Princess Sally blinked at the prince like he had just grown another head.
“We need an army! Or at least more than just the two of us to confront Nagus,” Princess Sally protested.
“Then we’ll find an army. Maybe seek out the fabled Black Arms Empire. Or head to the west. I’m sure not every kingdom is being run by a selfish brat,” Prince Sonic offered. “Hell, maybe we can form our own army if we travel enough. It could be an adventure!”
“Are you wanting to do this because you want to help, or because you want to leave Mobodoon?” Sally asked, a smirk playing on her lips.
“I want to leave Mobodoon so I can help you,” Sonic clarified, cupping his hand around Sally's cheek and brushing it gently with his thumb. “You've been stuck here for too long because of step-cow's cowardice. You've wasted enough time, I want to make up for it.”
“Well, it wasn't a complete waste of time,” Sally mumbled as she leaned into Sonic's touch, a flush of pink dusting her cheeks. “I just wish we could have crossed paths in better circumstances.”
“Maybe we can make this a better circumstance,” Sonic purred, nuzzling at Sally’s other cheek. “By the way, you look good in armour. You should keep it.”
“I might. After all I'm going to need some kind of protection if we're going to be questing for an army,” Sally laughed, making Sonic perk with barely contained excitement.
“So we're doing it?”
“It's either that or I stick around to watch you suffer through your etiquette classes,” Sally teased, giggling as Sonic groaned at the reminder. “But how do we leave Mobodoon? You made it sound like only the queen can control the gates.”
Prince Sonic smirked as he picked up his crown and twirled it around with his finger, giving Sally a sly look.
“Just leave that to me. After all this was my father’s kingdom first; the queen isn’t the only one that knows its secrets.”
I couldn't come up with a full scenario for this one, but I really, really, really, really wanted to write this scene in general because my absolute favourite thing about Sonic in general is that he's a silly little guy, a goober, a clown. Until he isn't because the universe thinks he's the right person to give god-like powers to.
Plus I wanted to play with one of my favorite SatAM theories.
This is just a spillage of thoughts but it was fun to just write, y'know?
Sally had never heard of the Chaos Emeralds until a few days ago, when a strange red echidna named Knuckles had somehow entered New Knothole and demanded they hand over the one they had in their possession.
None of the Freedom Fighters knew what he was talking about, and a tiny war had almost broken out when Sonic tried to force Knuckles out of the village when he refused to leave until they met his demands. It was only when Knuckles marched over to the Power Ring pool and pointed to it, explaining he could feel its energy coming from under the lake’s surface, that everything started to make sense. If barely.
The Power Rock, a mysterious stone discovered by Sonic’s uncle years ago that could produce Power Rings only Sonic could use, turned out to be a Chaos Emerald that sat contentedly with them for said amount of years. And there were six others like it in Knuckles’ possession, as he had been hunting practically all of Mobius for them for the last year, and theirs was the last one he needed.
Why he needed them was still a little unclear to Sally, only because what she was seeing was not matching up to Knuckles’ explanation. He said he knew of a rumour that stated when all seven of the Chaos Emeralds were together a miracle would happen. What kind of miracle he didn’t know exactly, but he needed something to happen as his island was under attack by robots that looked eerily similar to a dictator long since dead.
They had all followed Knuckles to his island to help him, but also because they weren’t willing to give up their one defence until they were sure he was telling the truth. Sonic had been adamant of doing this as legendary item or not, he had been trusted with the Emerald by his uncle, and he obviously had a deep connection to it that they couldn’t just give away.
It turned out that Sonic not only had a connection with the yellow Emerald, the supposed Power Rock they had kept for most of their lives, but with the other six, according to what Sally was seeing now.
Sonic floated in the air, his quills now a bright, golden yellow that pointed upwards and wavered gently with a power that practically radiated off him. As he stared down the giant robot that now had a death grip on the Master Emerald – another Emerald that apparently controlled the smaller ones and allowed Knuckles’ island to float - his features were sharpened, a seriousness possessing him that Sally had never seen in her life.
Beside her she just barely heard Knuckles mumble something about Sonic having the power of a god now, something that would have injected cold fear into anyone’s bloodstream. The cold stare on Sonic’s face nearly made her fear it, too.
But she knew Sonic better. She knew whatever power was flowing through him wasn’t going to change him.
She hoped.
The robot suddenly jettisoned away in a blast of fire and burning fuel, moving much faster than its build should have allowed. Sonic watched it, his stare still cold and calculating, before he took off after it, practically disappearing in front of Sally’s eyes. The streak of glowing gold left behind him was her only clue of where he was, but his speed – already beyond any other mobian – had multiplied to a point that it was like he was teleporting to his destination now as barely a second later he was intercepting the robot like it had never moved.
Even with Sonic’s high speed intervention the robot still dodged him, and Sally watched as the robot’s chest compartment split open, revealing a chamber big enough for the Master Emerald to fit into. The robot placed it inside itself, and the second the chamber snapped shut, it too seemed to power up with a similar energy that possessed Sonic.
With another roar of its engines it blasted off into the sky, heading for the stratosphere. And, to Sally’s horror, Sonic followed it without hesitation, his Chaos Energy fuelled body taking on the feat like he was heading out for a jog.
Then… nothing.
Sally stared up at the sky where the two figures had disappeared into, her heart hammering in her chest against a cage of anxiety. After a while she fell back onto her rump, barely feeling the grass under her, barely acknowledging Knuckles or her friends sitting next to her, also waiting and watching.
Waiting for what she wasn’t sure about. Deep down she knew Sonic could handle… whatever it was that was happening. But it didn’t make her chest feel any looser.
It could have been hours, or even seconds later, but as they all stared up at the sky a small dot appeared. A dot that slowly became larger, and closer, until it was no longer a dot but a somewhat familiar glowing golden hedgehog. And in his hands was the Master Emerald, being guided to the surface of the island.
Sally scrambled to her feet as Sonic guided the Master Emerald down a few feet away from them, watching it land safe and sound – much to Knuckles’ relief – then looked it over for any damage. He hovered above the ground as he did this, and it made everything feel all the more stranger.
His features were still sharp, almost wild, and being this close to him Sally realised his usually amber eyes were now a radiant red that were piercing in their own right. She felt her breath catch in her chest at the sight, and Sonic’s ears perked as his gaze snapped over to them. With how sharp his hearing was Sally could believe it, and she didn’t doubt that the Chaos Emeralds had enhanced all his abilities.
But she had caught Sonic’s attention, and for a moment he stared them down, his gaze almost cutting.
Then all at once his features softened, and he grinned, flashing all of his teeth, a rare full smile that was only seen when he was particularly proud of something he had done and didn’t give two damns who knew it.
Even with the glowing yellow quills that floated around him and the eerie blood red eyes, Sally now recognised him completely, and her chest finally loosened as she gave a relieved laugh.
Whatever those Emeralds did to him, it didn’t change him on the inside, where it mattered most. God-like powers or otherwise, it was still Sonic.
It probably wasn’t the smartest idea she ever had, but Sally ran to Sonic, relief washing through her. Sonic dashed forward, still hovering above the ground, and the second they were close enough Sally leapt at him. Without hesitation Sonic scooped her up mid-air and pulled her into a bear hug, giving a little spin in the air as Sally clung to him. When he stopped he looked down at her, grinning broadly.
“Please don’t ever do that again,” Sally scowled, or at least tried to. The giddiness of her relief and the warmth of Sonic’s chaos-charged body was making it hard for her to even pretend to be mad, and Sonic could see it in her eyes.
“First I gotta figure out wha’ I actually did, Sal,” Sonic laughed, and to Sally’s surprise his voice was deeper, almost ethereal as it had a reverb to it. It almost derailed her thoughts, and she had to shake her head to get her focus back.
“Of course you do,” Sally sighed, rolling her eyes, then gave him another squeezing hug.
It was still Sonic. Somehow doing the impossible, but that’s what made him Sonic.
I did it again. Unfortunately there are themes in my AU.
So trigger warning again for minor body image themes. This also takes place in the current timeline of my AU, probably a bit after my entry for Sonally Week 2021 Day 4: Power. It's not required reading, it's just to give a timeline spot for it.
“Ah, dangit! I forgot mah mirror!”
The Freedom Fighters stood gathered in the junkyard that bordered Robotropolis, though the word bordered did a lot of heavy lifting considering most of Robotroplis could be considered a junkyard. But it was one of the few places in the city that had a space for them to gather while they worked through last minute preparations for their missions.
This is how Bunnie came across a slight hiccup in their current plan as she rifled through her backpack.
“Are you sure? Maybe it’s caught under something,” Sally offered.
Bunnie shook her head as she went through her bag one more time, before out of desperation she tipped it out onto the ground so she could get a clearer view of what she did have with her.
“Ah swear Ah had it on th’ last mission,” Bunnie explained as she went through her things, only to still come up empty.
Then her ears perked briefly in realisation, before flopping back with mild embarrassment.
“But then Ah did clear out mah bag ‘cause I got some muck in it last time, too,” Bunnie admitted sheepishly.
“Oh yeah, that stuff gets everywhere. You’re lucky you still got a backpack at all,” Sonic laughed.
“But Ah plume don’t have a mirror thanks to it,” Bunnie sighed. “Sugah-hog, c’n Ah borrow yers?”
Sally swore for a second Sonic looked like a deer caught a set of headlights, but the look was so brief that she wasn’t sure if she had seen it right as Sonic gave Bunnie an easy grin.
“Oh yeah, sure. Just a sec,” Sonic said.
He slipped off his backpack from his shoulders and rummaged through it, only to pause, his ears perking in obvious surprise.
“Uh, just a sec,” Sonic echoed, then rummaged through his backpack some more.
After a few moments he gave Bunnie an embarrassed look, his smile crooked.
“Sorry, Bunnie. I don’t have mine either,” Sonic apologised.
“Since when don’t you have your mirror?” Sally demanded. “You use it for everything but signalling.”
“Beats me. It must o’ slipped outta my pack on another mission,” Sonic shrugged as he slipped his backpack over his shoulders. “It’s cool, I’ll just get another one from Rote’ when we get back home.”
Sally sighed as she shook her head, before she reached into her pack and handed Bunnie her small mirror.
“Remind me to do an inventory check on everyone’s packs tomorrow,” Sally stated. “For now let’s move.”
Another night. Another mission.
This time Sonic was on signal duty and was perched up high on a ledge of a building that sat opposite of a storage unit in the middle of the city. Sally was on the ground, working with the security lock, so her back was constantly turned to the street as her focus was completely on the lock.
The best way to catch her attention for any approaching SWATbots or hoverunits was to catch some limited light and reflect it onto the wall just in her field of vision. It wasn’t the most foolproof, but the area was more prone to hoverunit patrols than SWATbots, and they were harder to catch from the ground. Hence Sonic’s position.
Sally was one number away from cracking the lock when a flinting circle of light caught her attention. Without hesitation she jumped for her hiding place, but not before taking a quick glance at the light that still danced on the wall’s surface. It was a little brighter than she expected it to be, considering how dingy the city was, and was a little impressed that Sonic got such a strong angle.
From her hiding place she looked up towards Sonic, then squinted when she realised he wasn’t using a mirror but his flashlight.
Sonic had assured her that he had a mirror this time before they left for the city.
She frowned, wondering if Sonic had gotten slack with his supplies again. She made a mental note to do an inventory check, scolding herself slightly for forgetting to do it after their last mission when she said she was going to. Then the hoverunit glided by, allowing Sally to get back to the lock.
Another night. Another mission.
About an hour or so before they were due to leave Sally made sure everyone had their supplies, including Sonic. When it was discovered he was still missing a mirror she had practically escorted him to Rotor’s workshop to ask the walrus for one. It had taken them nearly an hour to find one amongst the piles of junk and spare parts Rotor had accumulated over the years, mostly because when he opened his supply cupboard’s door everything came crashing down on him. Thankfully there was a pile of old mirrors scavenged from Robotropolis stashed away in a somewhat safe spot, so none had broken during the avalanche.
Sally had personally handed Sonic an old handheld mirror, one that she knew was very similar to the one he always used to carry, and watched him slip it into his backpack.
Somehow, between then and arriving in the city, Sonic had lost the mirror.
Sally couldn’t understand how one tiny bit of equipment kept being lost, and wondered if Bunnie misplacing hers had somehow caused a small epidemic. It wasn’t that having a mirror was vital, but it was a lightweight object that had always come in handy on their missions in the most unexpected ways. Mainly for signalling to one another when silence was the fine line between success and getting caught.
So it had become required gear for everyone to have in their packs at all times. With Sonic he would use his at the most frustrating times for its original purpose, and ironically enough Sally would be forced to confiscate it to make Sonic focus on the mission.
The thought made Sally pause a moment. Thinking about it now, when was the last time Sonic had done that? It used to be an almost once-per-mission deal, especially if they were paired up and Sonic wanted to rile her up. It would even sometimes happen when they were home.
Sally frowned at the thought.
The next morning Sally had briefed the Freedom Fighters their next mission plans at the War Alcove, giving everyone a chance to collaborate their ideas or concerns. The meeting had taken a couple of hours, but it had been quite productive as it gave Sally more ideas to mull over for the rest of the day.
“Sonic, can you hang back for a bit?” Sally asked when she had dismissed everyone, watching as Sonic’s ears perked with surprise.
“I only fell asleep once, c’mon!” Sonic complained.
“Twice, actually. But I’ll forgive the first time,” Sally clarified. “Just hang back please.”
Sonic rolled his eyes but obliged, barely giving the others a glance as they left the Alcove. It wasn’t really uncommon for the two to talk after a meeting, for a variety of reasons depending on how the meeting went in the first place.
“Can I just do an inventory check with you?” Sally asked.
Sonic barely bit back a groan, acting all the part of a toddler being told to take a bath after spending the day dive bombing mud puddles.
“Again wit’ th’ inventory checks, Sal? You already got me to do one, remember?” Sonic bit.
“Your inventory is more vital to our missions, and to yourself. So I just want to make sure everything is where it’s supposed to be,” Sally explained, before she pulled out a seemingly random piece of paper from the piles of other papers she had scattered across the table.
“I even made a list, so just humour me. Please?”
“Ugh, fine. But I ain’t doin’ it again,” Sonic muttered, before slipping off his backpack and flipping it open.
“First-aid kit?” Sally began.
Sonic dug through his pack and pulled out a small zip pouch. He took a moment to open it up so he could show Sally its contents, and when she gave a nod of approval he set it on the table.
“Your counter-agent kit?”
“I still hate th’ idea o’ havin’ to carry needles wit’ me, but sure,” Sonic stated as he yanked out another zip pouch. This one looked a little more durable because of the more delicate contents, but as far as Sally could tell it was holding up.
“Just remember to check with Bookshire that everything’s still good to use,” Sally reminded. “Power Ring?”
“Used it last night. But th’ next one’s due in another six hours,” Sonic explained, before he pulled down the cuff of his glove to reveal his watch and gave it a light tap. “Even got an alarm set for it ‘nd everythin’.”
“Look at you being so organised. I could get used to this,” Sally teased, smirking as Sonic stuck his tongue out at her. “Mirror?”
Sally caught Sonic hesitate for a split second, before he made a show of going through his backpack once more. He even pulled out other items from his pack so he could make his show more believable, which Sally had to give him some credit for.
“Ah, shoot. I must have lost that new one I got from Rotor yesterday,” Sonic winced, clawing at one of his ears in feign embarrassment. “I’ll swing by Rotor’s again ‘nd get another one.”
Wordlessly Sally reached into her inner vest pocket and pulled out a mirror with a short handle, which she set on the table next to Sonic’s things.
Sonic blinked at it, then gave Sally a crooked smile.
“Oh, cool! That was easy. Thanks, Sal,” Sonic said.
“You’re welcome. That’s all I had on my list, you can pack your things again,” Sally stated.
She watched him carefully as Sonic gathered his things again, taking note of what he picked up in what order. As she guessed, Sonic hesitated at the mirror, and surprisingly he looked away from it as he picked it up. He even took the extra step of twirling it in his hand by its handle so that it faced away from him as he made to put it away.
Before he got it into his backpack Sally reached over and took a hold of it, pulling it out of his grip and setting it back on the table, making sure that it was facing down. Sonic blinked again, then tilted his head at her, clear confusion on his face.
“Wha’ gives? You said I had to have one,” Sonic asked.
“I did, don’t worry,” Sally assured.
“I wasn’t worryin’. You’re just givin’ me mixed signals here...”
Sonic’s voice trailed off as Sally reached into her inner pocket again and offered him what he first thought was Nicole, as the object had a striking resemblance to the handheld computer. But as Sonic looked at it closer he realised it was a compact mirror, like what one would find in a makeup bag.
“How about you try this one?” Sally offered.
Sonic turned it over in his hands, noting the black plastic that made up the mirror’s cover. He opened it, but still made the mirror face away from him as he tested out the hinge.
“Do I get a makeup kit t’go wit’ it?” Sonic asked.
“I’m afraid that’s not Freedom Fighter standard gear,” Sally laughed. “But if you’re keen on that I’m sure Bunnie would have one somewhere you could borrow.”
“Nah, I think I’m good,” Sonic smirked, then snapped the compact mirror shut before waggling it at Sally. “Smart move.”
“Just try to hold onto this one for more than an hour, please?” Sally asked. “You can give the other ones back to Rotor.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
He slipped the compact mirror into his backpack, this time with no hesitation, and even taking an extra step to make sure it was in a spot where it would be secure amongst his other items. He then pulled Sally into a hug, nuzzling his muzzle against her throat and neck.
“Thanks, Sal.”
Sally returned the hug, planting a soft kiss on Sonic’s cheek.
“Any time, Sonic. Just let me know if anything like this bothers you again, okay?”
“Now where’s the fun in that? I got so many mirrors out o’ th’ deal there,” Sonic teased, clicking his teeth at Sally as she gave him a playful swat.
This one took a turn. It's an obvious theme with my AU but when it hits it's like "Oh I got angst in my fluff".
So I guess trigger warning for body image issues. Same deal as before taking place in my AU TimeSkip era.
“I’ve just been thinking.”
“When are you ever not thinkin’, Sal?” Sonic pointed out.
“I have to do a lot of compensating because of one of us not doing any,” Sally sighed, unable to resist rolling her eyes at the hedgehog.
“Uh huh.”
“Anyway I was thinking now that you’re joining us on missions again, you should probably get some more suitable clothes for them,” Sally stated.
Sonic tilted his head at Sally, then looked down at himself, eye brows furrowed with genuine confusion.
“What’s wrong wit’ wha’ I’m wearin’?” Sonic asked.
Right now he was wearing a loose t-shirt and tracksuit pants alongside his usual gloves and a pair of sneakers. The sneakers were already showing signs of wear and tear, as they were just a regular pair that wouldn’t be able to withstand Sonic’s speed like his old sneakers did. But that wasn’t Sally’s concern as Rotor was already working on something that would help there.
What was not sitting right with Sally was everything else.
“There’s nothing wrong with them while you’re here at home,” Sally began. “But they’re way too big, even for you. Your shirt has already gotten snagged on something today.
Sonic was still looking over himself while Sally spoke, and when she pointed out his shirt Sonic winced when he caught sight of an obvious tear that wasn’t there when they had left the village. He grabbed his shirt to get a better look at the tear, frowning slightly.
“I mean yeah, true. But I like ‘em loose,” Sonic said. “I gotta be able to move.”
“I know, but there’s a fine line between comfortable and putting yourself at risk,” Sally said, before she gestured to herself. “That’s why I wear my vest - it’s fitted enough so it won’t get caught on anything, but I can still move around easily.”
“Yeah, but,” Sonic began, his muzzle scrunched up with hesitation as he tried to pick his next words.
He had never really been the type to wear clothes, as like a lot of mobians he found it wasn’t needed. The most he would wear was maybe a jacket or a sweater in the colder months, but even then he hated it with a passion as those felt too restrictive even if the trade-off was being warm.
But now he felt like he had to be fully clothed, for reasons he didn’t really want to delve into. But the main requirement for his new wardrobe was that it had to be comfortable, which meant that what he was wearing was maybe a size or two bigger than what he needed in reality.
That in itself also touched onto reasons he didn’t want to delve into, and he had a feeling what Sally was hinting at was going to cut right into that.
“It’s fine. I can deal with a few tears,” Sonic concluded a little lamely, unable to think of a counter argument that would shut down this conversation, but hoping that would be enough to slow Sally’s roll.
He turned away from Sally to emphasis his desire to end the conversation there, though when he started to walk away Sonic felt something snag his t-shirt. Before he could stop himself he stumbled back, just barely able to rebalance himself as he almost tripped over his own feet.
When he managed to right himself Sonic glared down at his shirt, only to find Sally gripping it in her fist with a strength Sonic had no idea she possessed.
“Oh c’mon!” Sonic protested, only to get yanked again. This time he managed to keep his balance, and couldn’t help giving Sally a small smirk of satisfaction when she ended up nearly tripping over herself when the tugging backfired on her.
“I’m just trying to show you it’s not about a few tears here and there. It’s about your own safety,” Sally countered. “I don’t want you ending up getting hurt just when you getting back on track over something so silly.”
“I’ll just tuck it in or somethin’, it’s fine,” Sonic sighed.
“That’s not going to work and you know it,” Sally stated.
She finally released Sonic’s shirt, and after he straightened it out Sonic sat on his bed, giving Sally a deadpan stare.
“Look, it’s an easy fix,” Sally explained. “Just let me take some measurements--"
“Pass,” Sonic cut in.
“-- then let Bunnie take some measurements--"
“Hard pass,” Sonic gritted, resulting in Sally growling in frustration. “Can’t she just use wha’ever measurements she had when she made these for me?”
“There were no measurements. She had to guess by eyeballing you,” Sally sighed. “And even then she knew she got most of it wrong.”
“Nah, she did fine,” Sonic waved off, before he flopped back onto his bed. “Just tell her to do that again.”
He felt Sally climb onto his bed to scoot up next to him, so he tried to avoid looking at her by staring up at the ceiling. Sonic managed to last about a minute before his eyes flinted towards her, seeing her staring him down and waiting with an infinite amount of patience that wore him down.
“I don’t want to,” Sonic eventually admitted, huffing sharply.
“I know you don’t, but you only have to do it once and then it’s done,” Sally pointed out. “I can come with you if that helps.”
Sonic clicked his tongue in frustration.
“… yeah, that might help,” Sonic sighed. “‘nd then she’s gonna make some new threads for me?”
“Yes.”
“I still want ‘em kinda loose though.”
“She can make them reasonably loose, yes,” Sally smirked. “And you can keep these for home.”
“… fine. When can she does this?”
“Bunnie said she’s ready whenever you are, I’ve already talked to her about it,” Sally said. “Honestly, it was her idea to ask, she really wants to make some new clothes for you.”
“Why? They’re just clothes, ‘nd I like wha’ she made for me already,” Sonic asked, tilting his head a little at Sally.
“She said she felt like it wasn’t her best work. And you know Bunnie, she just wants to do something nice for you,” Sally shrugged. “She also said she had some ideas already, but she didn’t want to start making them until you gave the go ahead.”
“I swear she fusses just as much as she breathes,” Sonic laughed, then sat up. “Let’s do it now then.”
“Right now?” Sally echoed, clear surprise in her voice.
“Yep. Before I change my mind. If she ain’t ready now she’s gonna miss her chance.”
His bravado lasted long enough to get himself to Bunnie’s place, and to get the cyborg rabbit to start preparations to gather whatever measurements she needed.
However Sally watched it fade almost instantly the second Bunnie asked Sonic to remove his shirt so she could get a much more accurate measurement. Which was a sight to be seen in itself, as she was used to Sonic being brave even when facing down something that would shake any mortal soul to its very core.
It was also strange, almost concerning, that Sonic couldn’t even muster up the words to try to argue a compromise with Bunnie. Instead he seemed to shut down entirely, his tail lashing back and forth in agitation as he took on the role of a trapped animal.
“Sugah-hog? Y’doin’ okay there?” Bunnie chanced, also noticing the change in the hedgehog. “We c’n do this another time if y’all wanna.”
When Sonic didn’t answer, or really even acknowledged that Bunnie had said anything, Sally jumped up from her seat and approached him as she gave Bunnie an apologetic look.
“Sorry, one second,” Sally murmured while she slipped her hand into Sonic’s larger one and gently tugged him towards her. Surprisingly Sonic followed her, though he still looked like a deer caught in headlights when she took him to one side of Bunnie’s hut so they could talk.
“Hey, are you all right?” Sally whispered.
The question seemed to snap Sonic out of his trance, if just barely, and he blinked at Sally as he tried to process her question.
“Uh... yeah. Just... you know...” Sonic babbled, his eyes wide before he weakly stated. “I didn’t think this through.”
It was a consistent characteristic for Sonic to do that, which Sally would have gladly pointed out with dripping sarcasm given any other circumstance. But watching it actually shatter his confidence so quickly made Sally’s own mind scramble to try to help him push through it.
“It’s okay. She’ll be quick so you don’t have to have it off for too long,” Sally attempted. “It’s just so she can get more accurate measurements, that’s all.”
“Ah’m just gonna be lookin’ at th’ numbers, hon. Nothin’ else,” Bunnie offered, then clamped her mouth shut when Sally shot her a glare while frantically made a cutting motion at her throat with her hand.
Her words though were like setting off fire crackers at Sonic’s feet, and it turned him into a bucking bull that Sally had to grab at desperately to stop him from rocketing out of the hut.
“Easy, Sonic! Easy!” Sally called, her voice strained as she held onto his shirt for dear life.
“This was a stupid idea! I can’t do this!” Sonic snapped.
“Yes you can,” Sally assured, tugging at Sonic’s shirt so he was now at her eye level. “Breathe first, look at me and breathe.”
Miraculously Sonic followed her instructions, though his breathing was so tense it sounded like his lungs had turned to stone. Sally cupped his cheeks and ran her hands through the fur that edged them, before running her hands up through his quills and along his ears, repeating the motions slowly.
“It’s okay, just tell me what you’re thinking,” Sally murmured.
“This is too different. I’m too different. I didn’t care before but no one was seein’ me either so it didn’t matter,” Sonic babbled, his voice catching at every few words. “I thought I could deal wit’ this.”
“You can, I know you can,” Sally assured, still running her hands along his cheeks and up.
She noticed that his quills were getting tenser with each passing second, so she switched to petting at his ears instead to not risk cutting her hands open from his quills. “I’m right here, and we don’t have to do it all at once. We can stop whenever you need to.”
“I just want it over wit’,” Sonic hissed.
“You can set the pace,” Sally said. “And you don’t have to look at anything or know anything because Bunnie isn’t going to say a word about what she’s measuring or seeing.”
The last part Sally said a little louder as she glanced at Bunnie, her expression stern enough for Bunnie to catch what she was hinting at. The cyborg rabbit nodded, desperate to make up for her slip up earlier.
“Mah lips are sealed, hon. Y’all just tell me when you want a break ‘nd Ah’ll stop. No ifs or buts about it,” Bunnie stated.
Sonic still looked like he would rather tear his own face off than go through with this, and every so often his eyes flinted to the door, desperately wanting to escape. But after a few minutes of having his ears petted and soft murmuring of reassurance from Sally his nerves started to calm, if just barely, and he took in another choked breath before he pulled away from Sally and stood in front of Bunnie.
“You get one shot, make it count,” Sonic murmured as he slipped off his shirt, but still held onto it with a death-like grip so that it was still within reach.
Bunnie got to work without another word. With Sonic’s height she did have to on occasion use her ladder-legs to get a more accurate measurement, and every time she did this Sonic would pointedly look away from her, his eyes fixated on a random spot in her hut.
Every touch from Bunnie also made him stiffen, his quills bristling whenever Bunnie had to linger for a little longer than he thought was necessary as his mind attempted to run away with ever possibility of why she was doing that. Whenever this happened Sally would snap her fingers to get his attention, then remind him to breathe by mimicking the motion herself. It would result in him taking another tense breath, though he would look a little calmer for it, if just barely.
The next challenge was asking for Sonic to strip further once Bunnie had gotten his upper body measurements down. Thankfully he was able to run through the motions of his panic in less time compared to when he had to remove his shirt, though it was obvious Sonic was getting to the end of his tolerance for the situation by this point.
All in all the whole session was about half an hour, as even with Sonic’s obvious discomfort Bunnie wanted to get as many measurements as she could just so she could avoid needing to ask him for more later down the line. But the moment Bunnie said she was done Sonic slipped back into his clothes and was out the door, not even bothering to put his shoes back on.
“Ah’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make that so uncomfortable for him,” Bunnie sighed.
“No, it’s okay. There’s just... a lot still going through his head, I think,” Sally explained. “Did you get what you needed though?”
“Ah did. ‘nd enough to guess anythin’ Ah missed, too,” Bunnie said. “Just leave it wit’ me. Y’know if he had any requests?”
“Just not too tight. So he can move around,” Sally said. “And... for other reasons, too, obviously.”
“Ah gotcha, no problem. Lemme know if y’need a hand wit’ him.”
Sally nodded, then headed back for her own hut, hoping Sonic was there and not on the other side of the planet by now.
Thankfully he was at her hut, though it took her a moment to find him as Sonic had buried himself under his bedcovers on his bed, a habit he had picked up since his return home. Sally resisted the urge to sigh as she sat down next to the lump of blankets and laid her hand on top of it, feeling it jump slightly at her touch.
“It’s okay, it’s just me,” Sally assured. “You did great.”
“Yeah right,” Sonic grumbled, his voice muffled. “That was embarrassin’.”
“Maybe, but you still did it,” Sally pointed out. “I saw how many times you wanted to run and you didn’t. Give yourself some credit there, Sonic.”
“Maybe another time, Sal.”
Sally patted at the blanket pile, hoping Sonic could feel it as she was sure there were at least ten odd blankets on him.
“Well I’m very proud of you.”
Sonic didn’t respond for a while, making Sally wonder if he had dozed off after fighting off his panic for so long. But after a few moments Sonic murmured a quiet thanks to her, and she smiled, before giving him one last pat through the blankets as she moved away to give him some space.
I'm sure it's the 31st still somewhere in the world, so I'm not late.
I'm still kinda struggling on the creative side of things, but I already missed out on last year's Sonsally week and I wanted to at least give some prompts a go on their days. Plus I miss thinking about my blorbos.
Once again taking place in my AU, fast forwarding to the Timeskip era.
It was an all hands on deck sort of day in New Knothole for the Freedom Fighters. The night before Antoine – who had been on guard duty – had spotted a group of mobians running through border of the Great Meadow, heading out towards its distant lands with a pack of SWATbots on their tails.
Once the alert was raised the Freedom Fighters had made short work of the SWATbots and had taken the group of five in. Though because of how late it was the best they could do at that moment was give the group a place to settle in and collect themselves, as they were understandably rattled by their close escape and were unsure of their rescuers.
Everyone in the Freedom Fighters were doing their part to accommodate as they were more than familiar with how to work with refugees, so it was a well versed process for them.
Which meant that Sally should have remembered that Sonic probably wasn’t the best mobian to be left alone with the unofficial “leader” of the group, as she was swiftly reminded of when she happened to walk by the two “discussing” a matter quite loudly between them.
“You can’t order us around, these mobians are my responsibility!” the unofficial leader – a male boar – snapped at Sonic.
“I ain’t orderin’ you around, I’m just tellin’ ya wha’ your options are here,” Sonic clarified, and Sally had to give him some credit here, he did look like he was actually trying to be polite. She wondered how long it was going to last.
“We’re fine, we don’t need you telling us what to do,” the boar growled, flashing his teeth at Sonic, and Sally couldn’t help the wince when she spotted Sonic’s own jaws flex to do the same. Amazingly he didn’t, but she could see him clicking his teeth subtly instead, recognising his frustrated quirks.
“You didn’t look fine while those ‘bots were chasin’ ya down. If it weren’t for us you wouldn’t be standin’ here bein’ a pain in my tail,” Sonic pointed out. “All I’m tellin’ ya is one o’ your crew needed medical attention ‘nd I was helpin’ her get some.”
“She’s fine, we’re fine. Just mind your own business!” the boar snapped.
“Oh boy,” Sally muttered to herself as she started speed-walking towards the two, knowing what was coming next.
“Mindin’ my own business woulda meant you bein’ caught by those ‘bots ‘nd me gettin’ a full night’s sleep not even knowin’ you existed, pal!” Sonic snarled before Sally could even get a warning shout out, making her wince harder and move faster towards the two. “But too bad for you you’re in our village now ‘nd we actually want to help your ungrateful ass.”
“Okay, everyone relax!” Sally called before the boar could retaliate, pushing herself between the two mobians and forcing them to take a step back from one another. “Sir, we’re just tryin’ to make sure everyone is all right.”
“And I’m telling both of you everyone’s fine, we don’t need any help,” the boar reiterated.
“That girl has a massive cut right across her forehead, that’s not fine,” Sonic explained, giving Sally a somewhat pledging look.
That would explain why Sonic was getting so riled up about the argument. But why the boar was being so stubborn about it Sally didn’t know, and she doubted that she would as with every argument Sonic presented, the boar just seemed to dig his heels deeper into the ground over it.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, it’s just a scratch,” the boar stated. “Just leave us alone.”
Sonic made to snap something back, but barely stopped when Sally raised her hand and gave him a stern look. A small growl still bubbled through him, which made the boar jump slightly at the sound.
“How about you go back to your team and check in on her yourself?” Sally offered. “Go make sure everyone is all right, and take some time to settle in some more. I’ll give you an hour before I come check in on you.”
“We don’t need to settle in and we don’t need anyone checking in on us. Just leave us alone already,” the boar fumed, before turning sharply on his heel and walking away.
“Yeah see if we help ya again, pal!” Sonic snarled after him, earning a back-handed smack to his chest from Sally.
“What happened?” Sally demanded.
“How should I know?” Sonic shrugged, shooting another dirty look after the boar. “When I dropped off some supplies to ‘em I saw one o’ the girls had a nasty gash ‘nd offered to walk her to Booker’s. But then Loud-Mouth McGee over there swooped in ‘nd told her to go back to their hut so he could start arguin’ wit’ me.”
“That’s all?” Sally asked.
“I swear that’s it. He was actin’ like I was tellin’ her to jump off a cliff,” Sonic huffed. “Why are adults always so stupid about listenin’ to us?”
Sally blinked at his last statement, before she turned to look at the still retreating boar just as he disappeared into their temporary hut. The boar did look a little older than them, but not by much as far as she could tell. Probably a couple of years older at best. But she also remembered what their earlier years in Knothole was like – back when it was just the Freedom Fighters and Rosie living in the village, every time any refugees were brought in they would instantly try to take over the village, not realising that the children had been living there for quite some time and had established a structured way of living there. The adults would only listen to Rosie, not realising that she was acting on the children’s systems that she had helped refine.
It wasn’t that they wanted to be in charge per se, but Sally had to admit that whenever older mobians did try to take charge of the village they didn’t seem to have any idea of how to do it. They only worked off the belief that just because they were older, they should be in charge. It had to take an embarrassingly long amount of time and being one upped by a child to humble the adults into listening, and as the children grew older and became Freedom Fighters the adults of the village realised how the pecking order actually worked.
Sonic was usually the one that had to do most of the one upping, and was stubborn enough to fight the adults until they submitted, despite Rosie’s own protests. Sally had long known that Sonic never had any faith in any of the adults, save for his own uncle, and Rosie, though even with Rosie it took a long time for him to warm up to her despite her being their nanny before the coup. It was almost comical how much Sonic mistrusted adults and anyone that tried to boast themselves as a true authority when they were anything but capable of being one.
But hearing Sonic still voicing such an opinion now, she had to look up to him and just give him a blank stare. One that took the hedgehog a while to notice because he was still death glaring after the boar.
“Wha’?” Sonic asked.
Sally blinked again, wanting to give Sonic a moment to try to realise what he had just said. But when a few moments passed with him just frowning at her while he tapped his foot impatiently, Sally pressed her lips into a fine line, hoping her next set of words wasn’t going to cause another fight.
“Sonic... you’re also the adult here,” Sally pointed out.
Sonic’s expression didn’t change, making Sally wonder if he had heard her. She was about to repeat herself when Sonic’s foot stilled and his frown deepened suddenly.
“Why are you tryin’ to ruin my day, Sal?” Sonic asked.
“I’m not,” Sally said, but her lips quirked with mirth that she could just barely contain. “I’m just pointing out that you are an adult now.”
“That is the most insultin’ thin’ anyone can call me,” Sonic huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Take that back.”
“I can’t if it’s fact.”
“Look, just ‘cause we were forced to grow up way faster doesn’t mean I’m an adult,” Sonic waved off, and Sally sighed.
“Do you actually know how old you are? Really?” Sally asked.
“My sense o’ time is messed up, you know that,” Sonic said, his ears twisting back stubbornly. “So I don’t need exact numbers here.”
“I think you do,” Sally argued. “Look, you were 17 when you went missing--"
“Don’t use that tone o’ maths at me,” Sonic cut in.
“--and you were gone for four years--" Sally continued.
“The forest is right there I will just go,” Sonic threatened.
“--and you’ve been back for nearly a year. So that makes you twenty--"
“Bye.”
Sonic had only taken a few steps before Sally intercepted him, though he attempted to side-step her as he loudly protested about not wanting to hear any more maths from her, which earned a few confused glances from the other villagers as they passed the two.
“It’s not a bad thing to be older!” Sally protested back as she matched Sonic’s side-step.
“Yeah but I don’t wanna hear about it! Just lemme live my life here, Sal!” Sonic explained, giving a short growl when Sally got in his way again.
“We’re the same age though, it’s no big deal,” Sally added.
“You’re welcome to be old. ‘nd let’s face it; you’ve been an adult since you were five so it doesn’t really count for you,” Sonic pointed out. He attempted another side-step only to have Sally block his path once more, and he clicked his teeth at her. “I will run you over.”
“No you won’t, you actually like me,” Sally stated.
“I’m startin’ to question that.”
“Uh-huh.”
The last intercepted side-step had Sonic throwing his hands up in the air with a frustrated sigh that ended in a growl, which made some of the nearby villagers scatter. He rolled his eyes at the display, before he looked down at Sally, his foot tapping rapidly again.
“Can I go now? I ain’t dealin’ wit’ that jerk no more ‘nd I ain’t gonna stand here bein’ insulted either. I got better things to do,” Sonic asked.
“I just want to make sure you actually know you’re older here. I mean I know you won’t act your age anyway because that’s never going to happen, but I just need to know you understand the concept here,” Sally explained.
“I don’t wanna think about that! Who wants to think about that?” Sonic exclaimed. “You already ruined my day by tellin’ me it starts wit’ a two, I don’t have time for an existential crisis today.”
“You say that like you haven’t had one already today,” Sally sighed.
“Which is why I don’t have time for it,” Sonic said. “Look, I get it. We ain’t kids no more. But I don’t want to think about it in exacts, y’know?”
“Even if it means we actually reached adulthood despite everything we’ve been through?” Sally asked.
Sonic paused, his lips pressing into a thin line as his next protest died in his mouth. He still tried to think of something, anything really that would steer the conversation anywhere else, but his mind still stalled at that reality.
The coup had happened when they were five, and for a few years it was only them and Rosie fighting against every odd to survive in their own pocket of Mobius that Robotnik hadn’t been able to take over, despite how far and wide his reach was on the rest of the planet. When they had decided to start fighting back they were around twelve, though Sonic himself had been doing his own improv missions since he was ten, which that in itself was a miracle he had survived. As resilient as they were, they were inexperienced kids that had no one guiding them on how to fight, create strategies or even just live day to day in their new world.
The fact that they had survived this long against so many odds was something that should be celebrated, Sonic agreed. But it still made his brain turn itself inside out at how many years it has been.
“Can we agree to disagree on this one?” Sonic chanced eventually. “I ain’t sayin’ it’s a bad thin’ ‘cause we really nailed th’ whole stayin’ alive thin’. I just--"
“Don’t like feeling old, even though you aren’t really,” Sally sighed, rolling her eyes teasingly. “Fine. It’s not like I could ever get you to act your age anyway.”
“You say that like it ain’t part o’ my charm,” Sonic teased, grinning as Sally rolled her eyes again at him.
“Whatever.”
“Excuse me?”
Both mobians blinked as a young female badger approached them, and as Sally looked her over she spotted a gash on her forehead that she couldn’t help but wince at mentally. This must have been the girl Sonic was talking about before, and Sally kicked herself for not knowing about the injury sooner as it did look quite nasty.
“My friend went for a walk, but I wanted to go with you to the doctor before he got back,” the badger explained. “I’m sorry he’s being so weird, I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”
“Well, sometimes people just want to figure stuff out on their own, y’know?” Sonic shrugged. “He’ll get there, maybe.”
“How very mature and grown up of you to say, Sonic,” Sally cheered, smirking as Sonic stuck his tongue out at her. “We’ll walk you to Bookshire together.”
Hello again! Another long gap between posts but for the last few months creative stuff has been kinda hard/not quite hitting the right notes.
But I stumbled onto some folks doing "Wholesome Sonic and Tails Wednesdays" and it set me off on my current obsession on just wanting to dive a little more into my version of these two's relationship and such.
But this is also me and I had to connect it to some angst . Or more specifically my AU of an AU involving my TimeSkip stuff where Sally is the one that goes missing and I accidentally made it more traumatising for Sonic lol
This got long, too. Like 7916 words long. I don't know how long that takes to read but I did want to warn people that it got long just in case.
I've also never done content warnings before so bear with me here. There's mentions of trauma, disordered eating, and old people being yelled at. I'm trying to be more mindful of content I write for warnings just in case.
I also made a universal tag for this version of my TimeSkip AU so they're easier to find. Hopefully. This is Tumblr.
It was a little after midday when Tails ventured towards the edge of Neo Knothole, his breath puffing white in the chilled air as he stomped through the fresh layer of snow that had fallen the night before.
To him it wasn’t too cold, his thicker winter coat along with his padded jacket making short work of the cold, but the village was quiet at this time of the day as almost everyone had retreated indoors to escape the ever lowering temperatures. Even on this journey Tails swore he encountered maybe two other mobians the most, and they too were also heading indoors, not wanting to deal with the cold any more than they had to.
Which meant that maybe, just maybe, he could convince a certain recluse of a hedgehog outside.
For the last couple of days Bunnie had been ill, unfortunately thanks to the winter chill she had caught a particularly nasty cold that all but completely knocked the cyborg rabbit off her feet. She had tried valiantly to continue her duties of watching over the village, but after barely making it through the first day of her illness the remaining Freedom Fighters had forced her to go to bed and rest, and took turns to make sure she stayed put while attending to other duties in her absence.
Before she reluctantly gave in, Bunnie had also asked Tails to check in on Sonic to make sure that in Bunnie’s absence he didn’t fall into his own trap of bitter solitude. Which he was doing now that he had finally gotten a small break from his imposed duties.
Tails couldn’t help the wince of sympathy at the thought. It had been about seven months since Sonic’s return, maybe more, and the hedgehog was... Tails wasn’t really sure what he could say about Sonic’s current condition. Sonic had gone through many changes – both figuratively and literally – and they had all compounded into making Sonic withdraw from the world. Doubly so since he had his own hut built, where he had chosen to have located so far out from the rest of the village that Tails felt like he was trekking into an unknown world through the snow to reach him.
Up until this point Bunnie had been mainly looking after Sonic, with Bookshire’s help and on occasion the other Freedom Fighters in the rare moments that Sonic allowed them to. Tails had stepped in a few times himself, and whenever he did Sonic always seemed okay, but Tails could sense the underlining misery Sonic was trying to hide from him, which made Sonic gently push the fox away for both their sakes.
It probably didn’t help Sonic either that Sally was still missing, and with his main voice of reason and means of grounding himself gone, the hedgehog seemed to be utterly lost and endlessly spiralling in this new chapter.
Tails’ chest tightened at the reminder of his adoptive aunt’s disappearance, and he forced a gulp of freezing air into his lungs to get it to loosen. Everyone was feeling Sally’s absence, but Sonic had been gone when Sally went missing, so Tails could imagine how shocking that would have been to him. So much so that everyone feared that it actually broke him.
Well, despite all that, Tails still wanted to make an attempt. He just prayed that he could catch Sonic in one of his seemingly rare good graces today.
Eventually he reached Sonic’s hut, and took a moment to stand on his porch and catch his breath before knocking on the door. He waited, his long ears perked for any signs of life inside, then frowned when he heard nothing. The fox tried again, only to get the same result, and for a brief moment Tails wondered if maybe Sonic had actually left his hut for once on his own accord.
Glancing around himself Tails quickly dismissed the thought. Sonic hated the cold, and under normal circumstances he would usually do anything in his power to stay inside where it was warm. The cold would just be another reason for Sonic to back up his antisocial behaviour.
When no signs of life made themselves obvious however Tails sighed, and took a chance with the doorhandle. To his surprise the door was unlocked, and he pushed the door open to allow himself inside.
The hut was dark, with only some spots of light coming through the few shutters that weren’t completely shut or blocked by the forest surrounding Sonic’s hut outside. Tails’ night vision was able to kick in thanks to those bits of light, which allowed him to take in the disarray the hut had gotten into.
Sonic had always been a messy mobian, but Tails always remembered Sonic’s hut being more organised chaos than a straight up mess. Tails had to wonder if it always looked like this, or if everything began piling up after Bunnie got sick and stopped checking in on Sonic. Tails also wondered how Sonic managed to accumulate so much stuff in such a short amount of time – even with the few belongings Tails had managed to salvage from Knothole for Sonic on the chance of his return, he doubted he had managed to save this much.
As Tails looked around his eyes focused onto Sonic’s bed, spotting what looked like the hedgehog’s entire collection of blankets piled on top of it, and somewhere in that mass a pillow. The only thing that gave Sonic’s true position away was his long tail sticking out from under the blankets, as he could see and hear the tip of it slapping irritably against the floorboards. Which told Tails that Sonic was awake, and aware of his presence.
“No,” Sonic muttered, his voice muffled yet stern.
“I haven’t even said anythin’ yet,” Tails sighed as he stepped closer to Sonic’s side, making sure to glance down at the floor with each step so that he wouldn’t trip over anything.
To his surprise however the tip of Sonic’s tail stopped twitching, and Sonic lifted his pillow just enough so that he could peek out from under it so he could look at Tails. In the darkness Sonic’s amber eyes reflected strangely, for a brief moment making the hedgehog look wild to Tails, and his slit pupils widened as they tried to catch more light to see better.
“Oh. Hey, Big Guy,” Sonic greeted one he spotted Tails, all traces of any annoyance gone from his voice. “Wha’ are you doin’ here?”
As he said this Sonic pushed himself into a sitting position, dragging his mountain of blankets with him. In that instance Tails wished he could point out the irony of being referred to his old term of endearment, but knew better as he didn’t want to upset Sonic.
Tails by now was thirteen, and puberty had hit him with a growth spurt that shot him up to almost five foot in height, maybe more. While to an average Mobian that would be considered tall, Sonic’s own growth spurt thanks to his mutation made him tower over everyone at over six foot, beating Tails easily.
His height, combined with the other changes his mutation had granted him, gave Sonic a pretty imposing silhouette that made him stand out, which Sonic was very, very aware of. Hence his new habit of becoming a recluse whenever he wasn’t being badgered by Bunnie into forced social interactions.
Which hadn’t been happening since Bunnie was sick, and Tails realised that Sonic was most likely enjoying the peace. If one could call this enjoying. Which Tails couldn’t considering what he was seeing at the moment.
“Bunnie wanted me to check up on you,” Tails explained, his ear twitching at the frustrated huff that shoved itself out of Sonic’s chest. “She’s uh, she’s actually sick at the moment.”
The brief grimace of annoyance that had crossed Sonic’s face dropped, instantly replaced by genuine concern at the mention of his friend being sick. Which brought some relief to Tails, as he had to admit there were some days where Sonic’s compassion for others got swallowed completely by his own mental baggage. Tails understood why it happened, but the stark contrast of genuine indifference verses Sonic’s bluntness was staggering to Tails.
“She’s sick? What’s wrong wit’ her?” Sonic asked as he turned to face Tails completely, though his hunched his shoulders greatly to make himself appear somewhat smaller. Even then he still almost towered Tails, but now they were at least at each other’s eye level.
“It’s nothin’ serious, just a bad cold,” Tails assured. “She’s been in bed for the last three days now.”
“Three days? Shit, it must be hittin’ her hard,” Sonic winced. “So why are you here? Ain’t someone lookin’ after her?”
“We’re keepin’ an eye on her, ‘nd she’s restin’ up most o’ the time,” Tails explained. “But I’m here ‘cause she told me to make sure you’re not holin’ yourself up in here while she’s out o’ action.”
Sonic huffed a short laugh and waved Tails off, before wrapping his blankets closer around himself so he could lie back down.
“You don’t need to do that, just worry about Bunnie,” Sonic assured. “I ain’t goin’ nowhere or doin’ nothin’ so you don’t need to be here.”
“But you do need to be goin’ somewhere ‘nd doin’ somethin’, you can’t just stay in here all the time,” Tails pointed out. “So get up ‘nd get dressed.”
Sonic tilted his head at Tails, giving him a deadpan look for being ordered around. Most of the time Sonic rebelled hard whenever Bunnie tried to coax him to do anything, still very much in the mindset of everything feeling pointless and not wanting to be part of the world.
But he did this because he knew Bunnie was just as stubborn as he was, more so whenever it came to someone’s wellbeing, and could handle him being a jerk on his rough days. With Tails it was a little harder to want to push back, even when every fibre of his being wanted to.
Which is probably why Bunnie sent Tails over to him in her absence.
Sonic sighed, the sound rolling into a soft growl at the back of his throat. He pulled one half of his blanket cocoon away from himself to reveal that he was wearing something, though Tails noticed that they were obviously Sonic’s night clothes.
“I mean get dressed in somethin’ for the day. It’s pretty cold outside,” Tails clarified, raising an eyebrow at his brother.
“I thought you were tryin’ to convince me to get outta here,” Sonic gritted. “’nd either way no. I feel like shit ‘nd don’t wanna do nothin’.”
“Yeah, ‘cause you’ve been in here for three days straight doin’ nothin’,” Tails pointed out, making Sonic roll his eyes. “C’mon. Just come outside for a bit, please?”
“Why? I’m just gonna end up back here anyway,” Sonic retorted.
“Do you have food?” Tails asked. “’nd on top o’ that have you eaten at all?”
“’course I have,” Sonic gritted, though as he said this Sonic’s eyes flicked away from Tails, making the fox frown. “’nd I’ve got food, so I don’t have to go anywhere.”
“Show me.”
With a flurry of frustration Sonic threw his blanket cocoon off him, then stalked over to his kitchen cupboard. Before Bunnie got sick she had been helping Sonic keep his food supplies topped up, giving him supplies that he could store without the risk of them spoiling too fast and make a decent enough meal with very little effort. Between that she would make him some meals and treats – which were limited given their own food surpluses – as she was at a point that she had to convince Sonic to eat as his low points even made eating seem like a hassle.
“There, look,” Sonic stated as he threw open his cupboard.
Only to realise that there wasn’t anything in said cupboard, not even a scrap of what used to be in there to show any proof that he did have food in there at one stage. Somehow Sonic had managed to go through his supplies without realising it, and considering how easily he lost track of time, Sonic wouldn’t be able to tell anyone when he had last ate either.
Sonic slapped the cupboard shut, and pointedly looked away from Tails.
This was said as Sonic stalked back towards his dresser, barely giving Tails another glance as he could feel the smugness radiating from the fox. Which made him a little resentful at how powerless he was at the moment. Sonic knew he could easily shove Tails out of his hut and slam the door in his face, but Sonic still had enough sense in his mind to not be that much of a jerk.
At least for now.
He still rebelled by taking his time in getting dressed, on the off chance that if he dragged this ordeal out long enough Tails would give in. However when he emerged from his bathroom Sonic couldn’t help but wilt a little at the seemingly infinite amount of patience Tails was still showing. The fox even had the nerve to nod approvingly at seeing Sonic dressed and groomed to look somewhat presentable, despite the fact that Sonic had done the very bare minimum there also.
“The second someone stares at me I’m out,” Sonic warned as he shoved his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie, still needing to show some defiance at his current situation.
“There’s hardly anyone around, ‘nd even then I can’t stop them from lookin’,” Tails reasoned. “You need to give this a chance.”
“I don’t like it when they stare,” Sonic huffed.
Tails’ ears twitched at the way Sonic’s voice wavered with those words, and some of his resilience withered. Bunnie had warned him about how hard it was to get Sonic to do, well, anything, which was a stark contrast to what Tails was used to with the hedgehog. It was part of why Bunnie had taken it upon herself to work with Sonic, and the last few months after Sonic’s return Tails hadn’t had much contact with Sonic as he would have liked despite the circumstances.
He still only knew a few details of what exactly Sonic had been through during his disappearance, just enough to understand why Sonic’s wasn’t himself. The growth spurt from his mutation after his return didn’t help matters either. But it still hurt to see everything compounding onto Sonic and dragging him down into this misery when once upon a time hardly anything could bring Sonic down.
It only made Tails want to fight harder, as he was sure if the roles were reversed Sonic would be dragging Tails out of his hut kicking and screaming just to help him out of whatever funk he was in.
“If they stare for more than ten seconds we can come back,” Tails offered. “Normal seconds.”
Sonic’s ears perked at the offer, then his frown deepened.
“Five seconds,” Sonic countered.
“Ten,” Tails rebutted.
“Four.”
“Nine.”
“Six.”
“Eight or I’m droppin’ the offer.”
“Ugh, fine!”
Tails led Sonic to the village, making sure to keep his pace even with the hedgehog so that he could keep him in his sights at all times. Both so that he could make sure that Sonic wasn't getting genuinely overwhelmed, and to keep an eye out for any signs that he was going to do a runner despite their agreement. Not that Tails had any way of stopping Sonic really, but after enduring more debating and rebelling from him Tails wanted to make this last for at least a good while before either of them threw in the towel.
After a few minutes of trekking through the snow the two reached the centre of the village, and Tails glanced back at Sonic to see how he was fairing. The hedgehog held his head low, his hands deep in the front pocket of his hoodie, and while he didn't shows signs that he was preparing to do a runner, the combination of being outside in the cold and doing something against his will had left him looking quite sour. Tails felt his heart drop a little at Sonic's expression, and wondered if he could keep this up. He was determined to keep Sonic occupied in Bunnie's absence, but the thought of genuinely upsetting Sonic didn't sit well with him.
It wasn't helping either that as they walked through the village Tails realised that there were more mobians out and about than he had previously seen. They were most likely doing some last minute chores or errands before they hunkered down for the night that seemed to come earlier and earlier every day, but Tails had still hoped that they would have been inside way earlier than now.
When some of the villagers saw Tails they greeted him warmly, but true to Sonic's prediction their friendly demeanours faltered the second they spotted Sonic, some even stilling in their tracks with clear fear on their faces that Tails was barely able to break them out of by greeting them back.
Tails kept moving, not wanting to look at Sonic or his own reaction, but at the corner of his eye he could see Sonic's pace starting to slow as he fell back, each stare making him flinch like he had been struck. Tails mentally cursed at the villagers, and fell back so he could be by Sonic's side again.
"C'mon, we'll just grab some food from the Mess Hall," Tails reminded Sonic, hoping that his voice sounded more confident than he felt.
Right at that moment another villager came by them, and just like the others they stopped and stared at Sonic. Tails almost barked at them to keep moving, but stopped himself when Sonic yanked the hood of his hoodie hard over his head and pulled the drawstrings to hide his face from the villagers.
"I'm pretty sure that was more than eight seconds, Tails," Sonic growled, pointedly looking ahead of himself as he waited for the villager to leave.
Tails felt his heart drop at the clear anger in Sonic's voice, and when he tried to answer he felt himself get tongue-tied, what little confidence he had on handling the situation gone in an instant. Even with Sonic's face obscured Tails could see he was glaring at him too, and Tails had to remind himself not to stare in fear at the hedgehog himself in that moment.
"Fox boy! Stop right there, fox boy!"
Now fear snapped through the fox, and in an instant he grabbed Sonic by his arm and yanked him forward to force him to keep walking.
"No Tails, I'm done! Wha' the hell are you doin'?" Sonic snapped. He tried to pull his arm away from Tails, only to be surprised by the death-like grip he had on him.
"Please just keep walkin'," Tails hissed, before he yelped as he was suddenly pulled back by his shoulder.
Sonic was nearly taken back with him, and he turned to try to figure out what had just happened. Only to discover the grouchiest old possum he had ever seen in his entire life standing in front of Tails and giving him a glare that Sonic swore could turn a field of flowers brown in an instant.
Tails meanwhile wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole, but when that didn't happen he addressed the possum, his smile crooked and forced.
"Oh hey, Mr. Rootgravel. I didn't see--"
"Don't you "Hey Mr. Rootgravel" me, fox boy!" the possum interrupted, banging the end of his walking stick into the snowy ground with every word. "You said you were going to fix my fence. And it still hasn't been done!"
Tails barely hid a wince, his ears folding back briefly as he took a soft breath to try to centre himself. He hadn’t expected this particular villager to be out at this time of the day, only because the older possum seemed to haunt Tails’ shadow in the earlier hours of the day. He glanced in Sonic’s direction, noticing the hint of confusion in his eyes, but there was still a good amount of frustration there, too, which made Tails realise he needed to sort this out quickly before he had two angry mobians in his hands.
“Mr. Rootgravel I told you, it doesn’t need fixin’,” Tails explained. “I even checked it yesterday.”
“No, you said you would fix it! And I saw you looking at it yesterday, you barely gave it a glance!” Mr. Rootgravel snapped.
“I did look at it, ‘nd it’s fine. There’s nothin’ for me to do to it,” Tails explained, his voice just barely levelled.
“Now you’re just being lazy! I was told that you and those two other boys were in charge of the village and you’ve been doing squat for no one. Why the village has been left in charge of a little brat like you I’ll never know, you young ones wouldn’t know a hard day’s work if it bit you in the face,” Mr Rootgravel ranted, his voice rising in volume as he rambled.
Tails gaped at the possum, looking like he had just been punched in the gut. He tried to say something back, but like before he became tongue-tied, his words just forming so thickly in his mouth that he couldn’t speak.
As he struggled Sonic frowned at the display, then stepped over so that he was slightly in between Tails and Mr. Rootgravel, trying to coax Tails into standing behind him so that he could shield off any more attacks from the old man.
“Hey, pal. That doesn’t sound like Tails at all. Lay off him, wouldja?” Sonic stated, holding his hands up in a non-threatening manner.
Unlike the other villagers, Mr Rootgravel didn’t seem to recognise Sonic, instead only seeing him as a tall loudmouth that was covering his face. So he jabbed Sonic in the chest with his walking stick, pulling out a sharp yelp from Sonic.
“Stay out of this, stringbean!” Mr. Rootgravel snapped, giving Sonic another few jabs in the chest in an attempt to make him back off.
Before anyone could react, Sonic grabbed the walking stick and yanked it clean out of Mr. Rootgravel’s hand. Without breaking eye contact with the possum Sonic tossed the stick aside, and Tails watched as it sailed over a good few metres away from them, landing on a hut’s roof.
Stunned, Tails turned back to Mr. Rootgravel and watched as he gaped at Sonic, then his face twisted into a new wave of anger that turns his salt and pepper fur red in the face.
“That’s my walking stick! I need that!” Mr. Rootgravel hollered.
“Then you shouldn’t o’ poked me wit’ it, you old fart!” Sonic snarled, and Tails swore a part of his soul died right there and then. “Now wha’ the hell is your deal anyway?”
“You can’t hear me up there?!” Mr. Rootgravel yelled, then cupped his hands over his mouth in an exaggerated imitation of a megaphone. “I said this lazy fox boy needs to fix my fence. Now!”
“’nd he said it doesn’t need fixin’!” Sonic boomed back.
“It does! And I want it done now!”
“Show me this stupid fence,” Sonic snarled.
“Not without my walking stick, stringbean.”
Sonic rolled his eyes, then cocked his head towards where he had tossed the stick.
“Get the stupid thin’ down so we can get this sorted out, Tails,” Sonic muttered.
Tails winced at the request, then slinked up to Sonic’s side, his tails curling around his legs.
“It’s okay, I can look at it later. You don’t have to do this,” Tails mumbled.
Sonic shook his head, tossing another frown at Mr. Rootgravel before he looked at Tails.
“He’s not gonna fuck off until he thinks this is sorted. ‘nd I ain’t leavin’ you alone wit’ him,” Sonic assured. “Just go get the stupid stick.”
Tails hesitated, but when he glanced at Mr. Rootgravel once more the old man was glaring daggers at the two of them, his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for someone to do something. Tails sighed and twirled his namesakes to fetch down the walking stick, but he couldn’t help but feel frustrated at this turn of events.
Once Tails retrieved the walking stick Mr. Rootgravel led the two back to where his hut was situated, which wasn’t too far from the village centre. As the three approached the hut Sonic looked around the area, and couldn’t help but notice that compared to all the other huts in the area, and beyond, only Mr. Rootgravel’s hut was surrounded by a wooden picket fence. The fence even cut in between the gap between his hut and the one next to him, with the gap being just barely a metre wide considering the limited space of the village entirely.
Sonic’s mouth twisted with disgust at what he saw. New Knothole was small, hosting maybe thirty to forty mobians the most on the surface, and another thirty in Lower Mobius last he checked. While for some that might not be the most ideal living arrangement, the village was quiet, homely, and everyone was willing to share their space as there were only so many luxuries that could be spared given their circumstances. The thought of one villager being this demanding over something so unnecessary made Sonic’s quills prickle.
“Why are you the only one wit’ a fence anyway?” Sonic asked, needing to resolve this for himself.
“Because I wanted one. This is my home after all, I demand privacy!” Mr. Rootgravel growled.
“It’s a village. If you wanted privacy go live in a tree. Or Lower Mobius. Or in the forest away from all o’ us,” Sonic pointed out, before adding under his breath, “Preferably inna ditch.”
“I wanted a hut, and I wanted a fence. So I got both,” Mr. Rootgravel gritted. “End of story.”
“Wha’ever,” Sonic sighed, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his muzzle as he swore he could feel a headache starting. “Just show me where it’s busted.”
Mr Rootgravel led him to a section where the fence opened as a hinged gate. When they were close enough Mr. Rootgravel used his walking stick to tap at the gate, pulling Sonic’s attention to the damage that had gotten him so worked up.
“Here, this needs to be fixed,” Mr. Rootgravel stated.
Sonic crouched down and looked at where the possum was pointing to, then frowned, not quite seeing what the problem was. Sonic didn’t really consider himself anywhere near a handyman, as those sorts of jobs were usually left to Rotor to handle – and apparently to Tails now, too – but even he knew how to spot something that would need repairs.
He turned to Tails, hoping for a clue of some kind as he felt like this was something that should have been very obvious to anyone involved. Only to have the fox shrug helplessly at him. Sonic pressed his lips together into a thin line, then sighed, hating everything.
“... I ain’t seein’ it,” Sonic admitted at a length.
He barely flinched when Mr. Rootgravel tapped at the gate rapidly with his stick, as if that was going to clear up the issue as now the possum was opting to not waste any more words on Sonic. Sonic tried to focus on where he was tapping, and eventually he realised that the picket panel had somehow been snapped near the top, leaving a splintered mess.
At least, that’s all he could see. Which made Sonic slow blink at the fence as a quiet sort of rage began bubble through him.
“You’re kiddin’, right?” Sonic asked, then pointed at the broken picket. “Is that all?”
“Is that all?!” Mr. Rootgravel snarled. “It’s broken! Look at it, it’s making the gate uneven, I can’t have it looking like that!”
Sonic had to stare at the fence for a moment longer to consider his life choices and how he ended up here, then took in a slow, deep breath. When he released it, Sonic grabbed the broken panel, and with one sharp motion he yanked it off, pulling it free from the gate with a squeal of loosening nails.
“There,” Sonic said simply, tossing the picket aside as he stood up, dusting his hands off. “Now leave Tails alone, you old coot.”
Tails stared at Sonic in horror, feeling his blood run cold. He didn’t even dare look at Mr. Rootgravel, as he could practically feel the rage that was rising in the old possum, but he could hear him sputtering as he tried to comprehend just what had happened. And when he did, Mr. Rootgravel shrieked.
“How dare you do that to my property?!” Mr. Rootgravel hollered.
“How dare you harass Tails over somethin’ so stupid?!” Sonic snapped back, his voice so loud that it startled both Tails and Mr. Rootgravel. “You shouldn’t even have this fuckin’ thin’ in the first place, ‘nd you think you can order Tails around when he’s busy lookin’ after more important things?”
Before Mr. Rootgravel could protest further Sonic loomed over him, making sure to get as close as he was able to against the old possum before he yanked the hood of his hoodie down, revealing his face. The moment Mr. Rootgravel caught sight of Sonic’s full appearance he froze, the words forming in his mouth faltering as he gaped at Sonic, he outrage and entitlement completely evaporating.
Usually such a sight would have Sonic backing down, as he honestly hated the idea of scaring anyone. But after spending the last few minutes with the old possum Sonic needed this encounter to end as quickly as possible, even if it meant having someone genuinely be afraid of him.
“Now, I’m only gonna say this once. ‘cause if I see you buggin’ him, or anyone else about anythin’ this stupid again, I’m gonna come back here ‘nd take another picket until this whole damn thin’ is gone. Leave. Tails. Alone,” Sonic snarled, before gritting his teeth, pulling his lips back enough so that the possum got a full view of them. “Got it?”
Mr. Rootgravel continued staring at Sonic, his words seemingly going right over his head. It was only when Sonic clicked his teeth together that he snapped out of his stupor, but only long enough to give Sonic a half nod in confirmation. Sonic figured that was good enough, and he took in another calming breath before he cocked his head towards Mr. Rootgravel’s hut.
“Go home. ‘nd don’t let me catch you bein’ a jerk anymore.”
Tails watched in awe as the once feisty old man half hobbled, half ran through his gate and back into his hut, barely giving him or Sonic a backwards glance. Once he disappeared into his hut Tails felt some relief, but he couldn’t help the pang of guilt that flashed through him at the same time. The last thing he wanted to do was drag Sonic into some silly drama, especially after he had reassured Sonic that his first trip out of his hut in who knew how long was going to be a good thing.
Even as he looked up at Sonic he could see the below surface rage that was now rushing through the hedgehog, and Tails was sure that after this Sonic would not want to set foot outside ever again.
“Sonic, I--" Tails began.
“Has he really been messin’ wit’ you this whole time?” Sonic cut in.
Tails hesitated, his gaze falling down to his feet as he desperately wanted the subject to be dropped. He felt bad enough as it was having Sonic get involved, but what Mr. Rootgravel had said earlier about him being in charge and supposedly doing a poor job of it had really gotten to Tails. That, alongside utterly failing to help Sonic in the short period he was looking out for him, made Tails realise that he wasn’t very good at being responsible as he thought he was.
As he looked down at the snowy ground Sonic forced himself into Tails’ view, and to his surprise the hedgehog’s expression was a look of genuine concern.
“Tails, tell me the truth. Has he been messin’ wit’ you?” Sonic asked again, his voice gentle now.
Tails blinked at Sonic, then sighed before he nodded, feeling defeated. He heard Sonic click his tongue in frustration, and the hedgehog straightened, going quiet as he thought for a moment.
“Has anyone else been buggin’ you?” Sonic asked.
“Everyone else has been fine but... I guess there are a couple o’ villagers that are gettin’ a bit impatient?” Tails offered. “I thought I was doin’ okay but if he got that mad...”
“Show me who,” Sonic demanded. “Let’s sort ‘em out too before they pull anythin’ like this on you.”
Tails gaped at Sonic, then shook his head, his eyes pleading now.
“Don’t worry about it! I’m supposed to be lookin’ after the village, not you. This is too much!” Tails protested.
“Oh no. You think you’re the only one that can go draggin’ folks outta their problems?” Sonic countered as he stood, setting a fist on his hip as he regarded Tails. “Spill it, bro. Who else has been tryin’ to push you around?”
Tails still tried to protest against Sonic’s request, but when Sonic threatened to go around the village to figure it out himself Tails yielded, not wanting the hedgehog be let loose on the village in such a way that it would risk Bunnie needing to intervene while still sick.
So he led Sonic to any villagers her remembered approaching him over the last few days that he hadn’t been able to assist, or had tried settling their issues only to have them repeatedly come back to him in an attempt to get Tails to do what they asked.
To Tails’ surprise despite Sonic’s clear discomfort at being seen and gawked at by the villagers, he seemed to push that discomfort aside so that he could play bodyguard for Tails. He even stepped in when arguments started to get heated with the few villagers that refused to see reason, taking full advantage of his towering height and wild look to intimidate said villagers into either agreeing with Tails’ recommendations, or to outright abandon their frivolous demands.
They were also able to resolve quite a few legitimate issues that had been lingering in the village when other villagers caught wind of what the duo were doing. While Sonic’s attitude towards any villagers that were less that hospitable was to push back tenfold, Tails witnessed Sonic being quite compassionate and understanding to those that were just flustered with their situation, even as they hesitated at Sonic’s appearance at first. It was in these moments that Tails could see Sonic’s old self shining through, and as they day moved on one by one the villagers seemed to become more comfortable around the hedgehog, and vice versa.
Eventually though the two began to tire out, and a few hours after the sun had set they decided to stop for the day, reasoning that everyone was now retiring for the night as it was, and that it would be too dark and cold to do much else anyway.
Upon that agreement Sonic had begun wandering back to his hut with barely another word to Tails. Tails had taken this as a cue for him to depart to his own hut, until Sonic called back to him.
“Hey! You promised me food,” Sonic pointed out. “Go grab some ‘nd have dinner at my place, yeah?”
Tails was ecstatic for the offer, and rushed over to the Mess Hall to gather up some food for both of them, making it just in time before the majority of the food on offer was packed away. About ten minutes later Tails was back at Sonic’s hut, and balancing his two plates on one arm he entered the hut.
The contrast of what he had walked into earlier that afternoon to now was like night and day, even in the short amount of time the two were separated. The pile of blankets that Sonic had been using as his messy cocoon were now folded somewhat neatly on the end of his bed, the hut was well lit thanks to the overhead lighting, and it looked like Sonic had tidied up the few stray belongings he had that were scattered all over the floor, as Tails didn’t need to watch where he was stepping.
The only thing that almost matched what he had walked into that afternoon was Sonic lying on his bed with his head buried under his pillow. Which would explain why Sonic had asked Tails to get some food instead of picking it out himself with him, as it seemed like Sonic was more overwhelmed than Tails had realised.
For a moment Tails wondered if the two of them had pushed Sonic’s limits too far, and considered taking a raincheck on Sonic’s offer of having dinner together. But as Tails approached Sonic’s side the hedgehog lifted his pillow slightly, then sat up fully once he realised it was Tails.
“Sorry, I needed a sec o’ not bein’ vertical,” Sonic explained as he brushed down his quills with his hands, getting them somewhat back in line along his neck and back. “Man, that was a long day.”
“Yeah, but you survived. So that’s gotta count for somethin’, right?” Tails smirked as he passed Sonic his plate.
Sonic laughed, then cocked his head to motion for Tails to sit on the bed with him.
“Can’t argue that. But I ain’t gonna lie, my social card is totally punched out.”
As Tails made himself comfortable on Sonic’s bed he watched the hedgehog start on his food, glad to see that there wasn’t any hesitation. While Tails was getting their food he had realised that Sonic hadn’t eaten all day, and without knowing just how long it had been since his last decent meal Tails was worried that Sonic wouldn’t be up for eating, despite asking him to get food. Tails had tried picking out things he hoped were enticing enough to the hedgehog, but was relieved to see that at this point Sonic just wanted any food.
“I think mine is, too. But on the bright side that just means tomorrow there will be less to do,” Tails pointed out. “’nd thanks for helpin’ me out. I’m sorry that I let it all get so outta hand.”
Sonic paused mid-bite, before he sighed and set his fork down.
“No, I’m the one that let it all get outta hand. Not you, bro,” Sonic said. “You shouldn’t have to be pickin’ up the slack like that.”
Tails tilted his head at Sonic, his eyebrows furrowing with confusion.
“Wha’ do you mean? It’s not your fault so many villagers needed help,” Tails said.
“That’s not wha’ I’m talkin’ about,” Sonic clarified. “Wit’ Bunnie outta commission you should have someone else you can turn to for help, but instead I was makin’ everythin’ more difficult for you. ’nd on top o’ that I didn’t even know she was sick, or that folks were strugglin’, all ‘cause I was stuck in my own head. That ain’t right.”
Tails frowned, then shook his head firmly.
“You went through a lot o’ stuff though, Sonic. ‘nd we know it’s gonna take you some time to recover,” Tails explained. “We just want you to be okay.”
“I know, but I ain’t gettin’ okay. I have to get pushed just to do the bare minimum, ‘nd even then I don’t do that wit’out makin’ it a whole drama,” Sonic sighed. “I’m sorry, Tails.”
The apology startled Tails. Not that it was rare or anything like that for Sonic to admit his mistakes, even in his own ways. But because it never occurred to Tails that he would have anything to apologise for. Like Tails had said since Sonic’s return everyone that was able to worked alongside the hedgehog to help him recover, just wanting him to get better for his own sake.
The journey though had been rough, especially after Sonic’s third mutation that seemed to have cause Sonic to completely fall apart. It had been scary to witness at first, as Tails was so used to Sonic being so brave and confident not just in himself but in everyone around him. Watching Sonic withdraw completely from the world was surreal at best.
Everyone had tried so hard to help him, but Tails knew what was missing. It was missing for everyone else as well, and even though everyone had been able to move on in their own ways, that missing detail still hung at everyone’s neck like an albatross.
“I’m sure it would have been easier if Sally was here,” Tails voiced, knowing he had guessed right when Sonic stiffened.
Sally’s disappearance was still a hard topic to bring up with anyone. Coupled with Sonic’s disappearance there were times that everyone had felt hopeless, and they had all switched from wanting to fight back against the rising threat that had come out of nowhere, to wanting to just survive.
It didn’t help either that earlier attempts at tracking down Sally and Sonic had led them into wild goose chases that involved freakishly accurate illusions of their leaders. Over time said illusions would bait whoever were chasing them down into dangers they would just barely escape, or worse, distractions that left others in danger until it was almost too late. It had been a collective, yet hard decision amongst the Freedom Fighters to let their leaders go in exchange for their own safety, and just pray that somehow they would find their true selves alive and well someday.
“… yeah, it would have,” Sonic murmured, and Tails could hear the slight tremor in Sonic’s voice as Sonic looked away from him.
“You guys are helpin’, I don’t want to diss that,” Sonic added. “It’s just that… I dunno. Sal just knew how to not make me feel like a freak. Unc did, too, but he ain’t here either. ‘nd wit’ everythin’ else that’s happened to me I just keep wonderin’ wha’ they’d think o’ me now. But then I go back to ‘em not bein’ here ‘nd—-“
Sonic cut himself off, clicking his teeth together loudly like he needed to physically bite his words. Tails could see his eyes shining over with unshed tears and felt his own throat constrict at his brother’s turmoil.
“I don’t wanna dump that on you, bro. This is already too much,” Sonic sighed as he rubbed the heel of his hand into his eyes to chase off the tears. “But I wanna try to get back into the swin’ o’ things. There’s no way I can let you guys do everythin’ on your own no more.”
“Today was a good start I think. I mean it did take a while for you to get started, but once you got into it you seemed okay,” Tails stated. “So, we could just take it a day atta time, y’know?”
“That works for me. ‘cause really I don’t have a clue wha’ I can do no more,” Sonic admitted.
“Well I already know you can shut down grumpy old men,” Tails laughed, drawing a snort from Sonic. “Seriously, even Bunnie’s been havin’ trouble wit’ that guy.”
“That’s ‘cause she’s tryin’ to be a good guy. I don’t care if people get prissy wit’ me,” Sonic shrugged. “‘nd if he does harass you again tell me, I don’t care wha’ I’m doin’ or how I’m feelin’, he ain’t gettin’ away wit’ that.”
“I think after today he’s probably never gonna leave his hut again,” Tails teased.
“Good. That means I can knock his stupid fence over. Seriously, why does he even have that thin’?” Sonic muttered as he jabbed at some food on his plate with his fork with a little more force than needed.
“Also didja hear wha’ he called me? Stringbean?” Sonic added, outrage clear in his voice. “That’s like the last damn thin’ I would have thought anyone would call me. Such an asshole.”
“That’s how he is. But lookin’ back on it now, it was pretty funny when you tossed his walkin’ stick onto the roof,” Tails snickered. “I thought for sure he was gonna blow an artery when you did that.”
“Well he shouldn’t o’ poked me wit’ it,” Sonic smirked. “Though don’t tell Bunnie I did that. ‘nd then yelled at him. Or that I yelled at that other guy that was just bein’ lazy about gettin’ his own firewood. Who was also a jerk. So many jerks in the village...”
“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe wit’ me.”
The two ate in silence after that, giving each other some time to wind down from the day. Once they were finished Sonic took their plates and rinsed them off so that Tails could return them to the Mess Hall on his way back to his own hut. By then it was getting late, and they were both looking forward to getting a decent night’s sleep.
“So I’ll catch ya tomorrow?” Tails asked.
“Yeah, we’ll finish off the stuff we didn’t get to so you won’t have so many villagers on your back,” Sonic stated. “Though I’ll need a favour from ya.”
“Can ya swin’ by here ‘nd drag my tail outta bed again?” Sonic asked. “‘cause I know I’m gonna forget. I promise I won’t fight ya.”
Tails laughed, the tips of his tails swaying gleefully at the confession.
“I can swin’ by at six, how does that sound?”
“Yeah if you do that I’ll fight ya ‘nd toss ya onto the roof,” Sonic miffed, his muzzle scrunching up with disgust even as Tails laughed harder. “Just make it a reasonable time, wouldja? At least ‘til I get used to bein’ a functionin’ guy again.”
“Now that I can deal wit’,” Sonic smirked. “I’ll catch ya tomorrow, bro.”
“Catch ya tomorrow, Sonic.”
When Tails stepped outside and closed the door behind him he stopped and leaned against the door, taking a moment to reflect on everything that had just happened. After a few minutes the fox couldn’t help but grin to himself, before he quietly danced around in a tight circle to channel his giddiness.
He hadn’t expected his attempt to get Sonic out and about to be this successful, especially with the false start he had. But now he was thrilled that not only did Sonic leave his hut, he also seemed to have cheered up quite a bit. Tails knew that this didn’t mean Sonic was completely free of his depression, but he hoped this would lead to Sonic coming out of his reclusiveness a little more.
Tails headed home, mentally keeping his fingers crossed that tomorrow would go just as well for the hedgehog.
With hopefully the absence of any more grouchy villagers.
So this is old, and it was something I had been poking at for a good while. This was going to be my entry for last year's Bound for Freedom Sonally week event, but while I had most of it written up, I couldn't quite get the halfway point going in the direction I wanted it to.
This takes place in my current timeline, and it takes place after my last post, which helped me to finish off this snippet almost a year later lol.
The night air was chilling as Sonic wandered through the village, so much so that Sonic felt himself shiver slightly when he found himself focusing a little too much on the cold. He quickly forced his mind to wander elsewhere, but it instantly beelined to the reason why he was out there in the first place.
Over the last week almost, since Sonic had his growth spurt thanks to his mutation, Sally and Uncle Chuck, along with Rotor’s help, had been tinkering with the ring generator in hopes of getting it to produce Power Rings that Sonic could use again.
When Sonic was first mutated one of the biggest downfalls had been that he could no longer use the Power Rings. The original theory was because Sonic’s DNA had become unstable, and Uncle Chuck had hoped that with the recent growth it meant that it had now stabilised enough for him to get the Power Rings linked back to Sonic. But after many generated rings, and twice as many blood samples taken from Sonic by Bookshire – which thinking about made Sonic’s skin crawl under his fur – none of them had worked.
Sonic had played it off at each failed attempt, as he could see the muted disappointment in everyone’s expressions. But deep down every time Sonic felt cold metal instead of energised heat from the Power Ring given to him, Sonic could feel his confidence in the idea get chipped away more and more.
And it made him start to resent the mutation more than he already was.
Sonic shook his head before he went down that path, not wanting to dwell on those thoughts again. He had come out here to try to calm himself down, not wind himself up. Though when he looked up to see where his wandering had led him Sonic couldn’t help the wince that flexed through him when he realised he had ended up at the Power Ring Pool.
Which, he had to admit, he should have expected; there had been many nights Sonic had come out here to ease his mind on the rare occasions he needed it to settle down. The sound of running water from the nearby waterfall and the calm, almost glass-like surface of the lake was always soothing. The irony of ending up here still stung a little, though now that he was there Sonic didn’t want to leave quite yet.
Not far from the lake’s bank Sonic picked up the sound of snoring, and he instantly recognised who was making the noise. Rolling his eyes, Sonic turned towards one of the nearby trees and spotted Antoine asleep at its base, snoring up a storm.
A few feet away from him the ring generator stood, still out of the water from when Rotor and Uncle Chuck had tinkered with it that afternoon. Sally had obviously asked Antoine to keep up the ring watch routine, as the ring generated that night was going to be the next one for Sonic to try after their latest recalibrations.
Sonic wasn’t looking forward to it, not really sure if he could deal with another whack of disappointment. Or another blood drawing from Bookshire. Sonic rubbed at his arms to try to chase away the thought as he approached Antoine, feeling the faint stings of past drawings at his touch.
“Ant. Ant,” Sonic hissed.
Sonic doubted that he was going to go to sleep any time soon, so he figured that he might as well do ring watch. But he didn’t want to do it while Antoine was still around. Not just because Antoine’s company at any other given time was pure torture to Sonic, but because he genuinely didn’t feel like having any company at that moment. Even if they slept the night away when they were supposed to be on watch.
“Ant!” Sonic hissed again, and this time he gave Antoine’s foot a nudge, just enough to make it slip off his other foot as the coyote had his legs crossed to make himself more comfortable.
The slight nudge was enough to wake Antoine up this time, and he jolted awake with a soft yelp. In his half-awake state Antoine looked around to get his bearings, though as he looked passed Sonic he caught a glimpse of Sonic’s amber eyes reflecting oddly in the moonlight.
That, combined with Sonic’s taller figure, as the hedgehog stood close to five foot compared to other Mobians now, gave him a much more imposing silhouette in the dim light. The sight made Antoine cry out in fear, and the coyote jumped back, practically tripping over himself as he boxed himself up against the tree he had been sleeping under moments ago.
Usually such outbursts could be brought down to Antoine being his usual jumpy self, but Sonic had caught that glimpse of genuine fear in the coyote’s eyes, and all at once Sonic found himself in a much fouler mood. After the growth spurt Sonic had been wary of showing himself to the rest of the Freedom Fighters, and it had taken some coaxing from Sally and Uncle Chuck before he worked up the courage to reveal his new look.
As Sonic expected his friends had been shocked by the change, but had remained supportive. Which Sonic appreciated, until he started to experience the repeated process of each of them baulking at him whenever he spoke to them one on one just long enough for him to notice.
The villagers were also doing the same, though their brand of shock came as wary, almost startled glances in his direction whenever Sonic had to go through the village. Some would even physically jump back if he happened to move in their direction, as if expecting him to jump out at them unprovoked.
Those little pauses and wary glances were adding up just as much as the failed Power Ring attempts, and Sonic was doing his level best to keep his cool. But he also felt like he was one pearl-clutching reaction away from losing his shit entirely.
The incident in Robotropolis was also messing with his head, and Sonic sometimes caught himself wondering if his friends and the villagers actually did have a reason to be afraid of him.
“It’s just me, Ant,” Sonic exasperated, and began tapping his foot as he waited for Antoine to calm down.
Thankfully it didn’t take long, and when Antoine realised what was happening he gave Sonic a nervous laugh, then adjusted his uniform.
“Of course, I am knowing this,” Antoine stated as he dusted himself off.
Though when he glanced at Sonic he quickly looked away, his ears folding back in fear. Sonic once again caught that, and his foot stilled, his patience up.
“I’m takin’ over, go to bed,” Sonic stated shortly.
Antoine blinked in surprise, and he looked at Sonic, this time not pulling his gaze away.
“But this is my shift, zee princess asked me--” Antoine began.
“‘nd I’m tellin’ ya I’m takin’ over, go to bed,” Sonic interrupted.
Briefly Sonic’s lips pulled back just enough to reveal the oversized canines he now possessed as he tried to bite back his frustration. Sonic hadn’t realised what he had done just then, but Antoine yelped at the sight.
Quickly he nodded, and without another word Antoine left, half bolting and half tripping over himself as he practically bolted from the hedgehog.
Sonic watched him leave, then flopped onto his rump and sighed heavily, feeling his mood deflate completely as he hid his face in one hand.
“Not the most tactical retreat, but I’ve seen worse from him,” a voice piped up suddenly, and this time it was Sonic’s turn to jump in surprise, a short hiss escaping him before he could stop himself.
When he looked for the speaker Sonic found Sally standing close by, her arms crossed and a slight frown on her face as she continued looking in the direction Antoine had ran off towards.
“Geez, Sal! Y’tryin’ to give me a heart attack?” Sonic cried.
“Usually you can hear me well before I get close to you, Sonic,” Sally pointed out. She sat down next to him, crossing her legs at her ankles. “A little distracted tonight?”
“Wit’ the way Ant was snorin’ I couldn’t hear anthin’ else,” Sonic muttered as he leaned against the tree, rolling his eyes a little. “I thought you went to bed ages ago.”
“I could say the same about you,” Sally said, tilting her head a little at Sonic. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah, I just wasn’t tired so I figured a lap around the village would help,” Sonic explained, waving Sally off.
Sally watched him for a moment, trying to gauge how she could proceed here. She could tell that something was bothering Sonic, and after the last few days Sally was sure she knew what it was, but getting Sonic to admit things like this was always dicey.
“I would have figured after having three blood samples taken out of you today, that would have tired you out plenty,” Sally attempted, giving Sonic a half smile to ease in the light teasing.
Usually Sonic would use this sort of teasing as an opening to tease Sally back, or to fall back into his cool guy attitude and play it off. Which would eventually lead Sonic into realising that he could take that moment to be open with Sally.
However to Sally’s surprise Sonic pointedly tilted his head away from her without a word, though Sally heard a faint huff exhale from Sonic’s nose as he did.
This was pretty rare to see from Sonic. Sonic was loud, and very unafraid to clap back or drag someone if they hit one of his few soft spots. When he went quiet, Sally knew something was very wrong, and this, along with the interaction she witnessed between him and Antoine, confirmed it.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t tease about that,” Sally apologised.
Sonic sat in silence for a minute, before he sighed and shook his head.
“No, it’s fine,” Sonic said as he looked back at Sally, running a hand over his quills to slick them back a little. “I guess I’m just not in a jokin’ mood right now.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” Sally asked, deciding that their usual methods probably wasn’t going to be the best option tonight. The fact that Sonic didn’t wince or physically squirm at the suggestion surprised Sally, but it also made her a little hopeful.
“I don’t wanna sound like a brat or anythin’, ‘cause I know you guys are doin’ everythin’ you can to get this ring thin’ to work,” Sonic began after a long pause, each word coming out like he had picked them very carefully. “It’s just that... I don’t get it. I don’t get why it’s not workin’. It’s been a week, all o’ this--"
Here Sonic gestured at himself, though when he did his motions were frustrated, almost angry, and he barely looked at himself as he did it.
“--should be settled by now, right? Or am I so damn different that even the rings can’t recognise me?”
Sally bit at her bottom lip as she tried to think of an answer. The Power Rings were a creation of Sonic’s uncle that he had made years before the coup. The original plan for them was for them to be a portal power source for machines, something that would have been useful during the last few years of the Great War. But the plan had fallen through due to the rings’ energy becoming unstable in certain machines without the use of overly expensive and complicated conductors.
Just before the coup Uncle Chuck had discovered that Sonic was able to use the Power Rings himself for an extra boost of speed and energy, and somehow he was the only one that had this strange connection to the rings. He had begun researching this phenomenon on the cusp of the coup, meaning that what he had been able to discover was limited.
Which was proving to be a great downfall as Uncle Chuck was unable to restore Sonic’s connection to the rings because of his mutation without knowing why the connection was there in the first place.
“That we’re still working on,” Sally explained after a few moments. “We were hoping it would be an easier transition, but it’s been a little harder than we first thought it was going to be.”
“I figured,” Sonic sighed. “I guess I was just hopin’ that this mutation business was done ‘nd dusted finally.”
Sally watched Sonic as he said this, noticing the way that he seemed to almost curl into himself as if he wanted to hide himself even in plain sight. It was very rare to see Sonic so down on himself, considering how confident, almost egotistical, he was, and it almost scared Sally seeing him like this.
“Maybe we’re missing something. It has been a while since you’ve used the Power Rings, after all,” Sally offered, wanting to try to steer the conversation away from too many reminders of how much Sonic had changed. “How exactly did they work for you?”
Sonic shrugged, not quite looking at Sally now.
“I dunno really. I had to like, focus on it, but it wasn’t really that hard to do,” Sonic explained. “That’s why it used to only take a second for ‘em to activate. If anythin’ it was harder to make ‘em not power up as soon as I touched ‘em, that’s why I always got one o’ you guys to slap it in my backpack or hand it over to me if I had to time it differently. If I held onto ‘em too long wit’out activatin’ it it would end up just doin’ it on its own anyway.”
“Maybe that’s it? It might just need a different focus,” Sally suggested, but frowned when Sonic shook his head, dismissing her.
“When I’m holdin’ it I can tell it ain’t workin’,” Sonic said. “Usually as soon as I grab it it gets warm, then hot. But when I touch the ring now it’s ice cold, even when it comes straight from the generator. It’s like as if it’s just a piece o’ metal.”
“It’s warm?” Sally echoed, blinking with surprise. “Whenever I hold one it feels cold.”
“Oh yeah, it’s always been warm to me,” Sonic explained. “If you could feel it you’d know that it’s doin’ its thin’.”
Sally’s eyebrows furrowed a little with concern. She knew that the Power Rings held a lot of energy, and they could be dangerous if they were placed somewhere that could make them unstable. But it never occurred to her how it might have felt to Sonic when he used them as she had never seen any negative effects on the hedgehog. If anything Sonic always seemed more energised after he had used a ring, and he always used them without any hesitation.
“Does it hurt when you use them?” Sally asked.
“Nah,” Sonic answered instantly, but then paused, tilting his head a little as he thought a little more. “Well... not anymore. The first few times I used ‘em it kinda hurt, but I don’t feel it no more.”
Sonic has meant for that statement to be reassuring, but when he looked at Sally he was surprised to see the muted shock on Sally’s face. He blinked at her, not really getting why that would worry her – he had been using the rings for so long that he barely even remembered what it was like when he first used them.
“You never told me that,” Sally gaped, shock clear in her voice. “If they were hurting you we could have done something about it. Or made you stop using them.”
“Why? It’s no biggie. ‘nd once the power kicked in it was nothin’ anyway.”
Sally squinted at Sonic, really not sure how to take this revelation.
“But it still hurts you?” Sally asked.
“It’s not like it was choppin’ my hands off, Sal,” Sonic sighed, a soft laugh in his voice. “Here, look.”
Sally watched as Sonic tugged off his gloves, before he revealed his palms to her, his fingers squeezed together. The growth spurt had made Sonic’s hands larger, and heavier looking, but he still wore his old gloves as he never liked keeping his hands bare despite them not quite fitting right any more.
At first Sally couldn’t quite see what Sonic was showing her, as she noticed the size of his hands first, then the thick pads that lined his fingers and palms. But as she looked closer Sally spotted thick scars that crossed Sonic’s palms and fingers, like he had been struck across his hands with a burning rod.
A flush of shock washed through her when Sally realised that the burns were positioned exactly where Sonic would have held the Power Rings, the marks fitting the ring perfectly. When she compared his hands Sally also realised that the scar on Sonic’s right hand was much more pronounced, while the one on his left hand was a little fainter. Not by much, but comparing the two made it obvious that Sonic favoured his right hand much more than his left when it came to handling the Power Rings.
“See? No biggie,” Sonic remarked, oblivious to Sally’s reservations as he slipped his gloves back on, flexing his fingers to get them set right once more. “But that’s wha’ I mean when I say I can tell that they’re workin’.”
“Are you sure you want to use them again?” Sally asked, still unable to shake off her concern.
“Yes,” Sonic sighed. “Look, Sal. The mutation has made me faster ‘nd stronger, but the rings always gave me a way past huge boost when things got dicey. I want that advantage back, ‘specially wit’ Doomsday gettin’ closer.”
“‘nd also... maybe they could be used to snap me back to normal if I ever go feral again,” Sonic added, his voice lowering suddenly. “I mean, it worked on unc ‘nd Muttski to break ‘em outta ‘buttnik’s programmin’, so... I dunno...”
As he said this Sonic half curled into himself again, and tilted his head away so that he wasn’t quite looking at Sally, though there was clear shame on his face. Sally also noticed that Sonic ran his hand over the shoulder he had injured during their last mission, and felt her heart sink at the revelation.
Sally pulled herself closer to Sonic’s side and leaned against him, slipping her hand around his back to pull him into a hug.
“I’m sure that was just a once off, Sonic,” Sally coaxed as she nuzzled her cheek against his. “And even though it was an extreme reaction, it was also an extreme situation that caused it.”
“I guess, but still,” Sonic sighed. “I just don’t wanna hurt anyone. Everyone’s already freakin’ about me as it is.”
“They will get used to you,” Sally stated. “And even when you were feral you still were able to control yourself, and snapped out of it when the Stealthbots nearly found us.”
Gently Sally placed her hand under Sonic’s chin and made him turn to face her.
“Despite the mutation, you’re still you, Sonic. You still love your friends and you still protect us, even against yourself,” Sally added. “And we’ll still stay by your side, no matter how this mutation ends up.”
Sonic’s eyes widened a little at Sally’s words, picking up the sincerity in them and honestly feeling a little startled by it. But even as he tried to pick up any falsehoods in Sally’s expression - his mind still bruised by everyone else’s reactions to his latest look and wanting to prove to him that this was a fragile promise – all Sonic could see was the familiar steely determination he had seen many times before in Sally’s eyes, and his mind quietened down for the moment.
“... thanks, Sal,” Sonic murmured, before he nuzzled his cheek against hers, allowing a soft purr to rumble through his throat. When Sally ran her hand along his jawline Sonic purred louder, a smirk crossing his lips as she giggled at the sound.
A low whirl of a fan suddenly sounded, and as the two turned towards the source of it they spotted to Power Ring Generator beginning to power up, a familiar glow in its chamber.
They watched as the machine grinded, its sounds usually muffled by the water when it was submerged, until the glow in its chamber rose to the top of the machine. A Power Ring then formed, and floated above the generator, waiting to be collected.
Sally stood, ready to fetch it, but then paused and looked back at Sonic, noticing the conflicted look on his face as he stared up at the ring. She hesitated, her eyes flinting between the ring and Sonic, knowing that if she didn’t collect it now the ring will be reabsorbed into the Power Stone, and they would have to wait another twelve-hours before another was generated.
This ring would also be the one that they would be testing on Sonic in the morning, as Uncle Chuck and Rotor had made more adjustments to the generator that day. But after hearing Sonic’s frustrations at the failed experiments, Sally wondered if Sonic was feeling up to trying again.
“Grab it, Sal,” Sonic eventually said, surprising Sally. She still hesitated for a moment, watching Sonic to see if he wanted to change his mind.
But when he didn’t Sally moved for the generator, not wanting to miss her chance. Sonic didn’t move from his spot as he watched Sally climb up along the generator’s side and grab the ring just before it made its descent back to its source.
Ring in hand now, Sally jumped down from the generator and sat back next to Sonic, watching as the ring’s glow faded in her grip. Like she had said before, the ring felt cold to her, despite being fresh from the generator, and Sally found herself running her hand along its length, as if chasing for that warmth Sonic had described.
When she looked back at Sonic Sally could see the apprehension on his face as he eyed the Power Ring, and an idea came to her.
“How about we try it now instead of in the morning?” Sally suggested. “And if it doesn’t work you can take a break from trying them for a day or so. How does that sound?”
Sonic’s ears folded back, instantly wanting to rebel at the idea. He wasn’t sure if he could face another bout of disappointment at that moment, but the thought of delaying it for a few hours somehow seemed so much worse to the hedgehog.
But the promise of shelfing the experiments, even just for a few days, seemed like something he could actually use.
“Yeah, sounds cool to me,” Sonic confirmed, though he found himself still hesitating when Sally held the ring out to him.
After a few moments of debating his choice, Sonic reached for the ring, only to pause once more. Before Sally could question what he was doing Sonic pulled off his gloves, folding them over his leg for safe keeping, then reached for the ring once more. There was still a moment of hesitation from the hedgehog, until he seemed to steel himself and grabbed the ring with both hands, squeezing his eyes shut.
Sally watched the ring, the darkness surrounding them now becoming an advantage as she would be able to see any hints of a glow from the ring thanks to it. However after a few seconds, which turned into a few moments, Sally felt herself deflate a little when she couldn’t see any glow at all.
Sonic meanwhile kept his eyes shut, both so that he couldn’t watch the ring, and so that he could focus on tapping into its energy without any distractions. He didn’t know how long he had his eyes shut, as it honestly felt like only a few seconds. It was only when he heard Sally gently calling his name did Sonic realise that a significant amount of time had passed, and once again the ring had done nothing.
Shoulders slumping now, Sonic opened his eyes and pulled the ring into his lap, staring down at its shiny, yet somehow dull surface, and exhaled a sigh that seemed to come from the very depths of his soul.
“I’m sorry, Sonic,” Sally sighed as she leaned into his side, nuzzling his cheek once more.
“It’s okay, Sal. It ain’t your fault,” Sonic said, leaning into her nuzzling. “But I think you’re right, I need a break from this.”
“I’ll send a message to Uncle Chuck and let him know. He might still come to Knothole anyway, but we won’t bring you into anything for a bit,” Sally confirmed. “Maybe for now try to get some sleep. You can sleep in if you want, too.”
“Wow, you’re really lettin’ me milk this, huh?” Sonic teased. “Do I get extra chilidog rations, too?”
“Getting extra rations means having to talk to Antoine, do you really want to push your luck there?” Sally pointed out, smirking as Sonic winced at the reminder. “I’ll take the ring, maybe Uncle Chuck can do something with it still.”
Sonic tapped the ring’s surface with a claw tip, his ears flickering at the metallic sound it produced.
“Actually, I might hold onto it,” Sonic said. “I dunno, maybe I’ll think o’ somethin’ that’ll get it sparkin’ again.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Who knows, maybe it’s somethin’ so simple we all ain’t seein’ it,” Sonic shrugged. “The rings can be weird like that.”
“Well, you were the only one that could use them at all in the first place, so you could be right,” Sally said.
When Sonic stood he offered his hand to Sally, helping her to her feet once she took a hold of it with and ease that almost caused Sally to stumble in her place, which made Sonic snicker at the display. Once she corrected herself Sally gave Sonic a playful slap on his shoulder, before pulling him into a hug that he returned with a good squeeze.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Goodnight,” Sally said.
“Night, Sal. Catch ya later,” Sonic returned, planting a soft kiss on her lips. “’nd thanks for hearin’ me out. It was probably a lot.”
“You know you can come to me if anything is ever bothering you, Sonic. No matter what,” Sally stated. “Just keep me posted if anything else is going on, don’t keep it to yourself.”
“Pfft, ‘nd lose a chance to get all broody? C’mon,” Sonic grinned as he pulled away from Sally and began to make his way towards his hut.
“Broody doesn’t suit you, you’re not that kind of hero,” Sally teased, rolling her eyes as Sonic poked his tongue out at her. “Go sleep.”
“Fine, fine.”
Upon entering his hut Sonic closed his door and flopped back against it, letting out a tense sigh he didn’t even realise he was holding. The talk had helped, but there was still an odd weight in his chest that he couldn’t quite shake off.
Sonic brought the Power Ring to his eye level, watching how the moonlight bounced off its polished surface. Other than that though he still couldn’t see glow to its surface, and just like before Sonic could feel nothing but coldness from it.
“C’mon, wha’ are we missin’ here?” Sonic urged. “You worked wit’ no problems before, what’s the hold up now?”
He stared at the ring, hoping for some kind of answer to jump out at him. But when nothing changed, Sonic sighed again, the odd feeling in his chest growing thicker.
Defeated and now tired, Sonic set the ring down near his backpack and kicked off his sneakers, very much ready for bed. He could torture himself more about this tomorrow, he reasoned as he crawled back into bed. Though as Sonic drifted off to sleep he couldn’t help but stare at the Power Ring, wishing that the glow of the moonlight reflecting off it was a little more familiar instead of mocking.
Hello! It's been a while. Like a whole year??? I hadn't realised just how much time had passed since I last posted here. Writing has been kinda on and off for me for a while as it feels like my ideas kinda peter out before I get a chance to write them down.
So this is something I've been poking at. When I did my original fanfics I didn't really give myself a chance to explore the effects of Sonic's mutation on Sonic himself, for some reason I just skipped right into my Doomsday rewrite. In my current timeline I'm giving myself more time to explore this, because I did the mutation because I like the ideas of Sonic going through them and learning to cope with them, and I'm still kicking younger-me for just skipping right over that???
This mentions a second mutation, which basically means that Sonic went through a "growth spurt" of sorts thanks to his mutation. I'm debating posting that actual scene here 'cause I made it a bit gruesome so I'll think about that more. In the meantime enjoy this.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Sally pulled Tails behind the dumpster and guided him against the wall. Once she was sure he was in place Sally peered around the dumpster, doing her best to not expose herself too much in case Sonic caught sight of her. As she did this Sally kept one arm outstretched near Tails, both to shield him, and to keep some physical contact with the fox to keep him calm.
As she did this she could feel Tails trembling slightly, but when she glanced back at him his expression was calm and steeled, and his dark eyes just barely held any fear. He was tough, Sally had to admit, as she could feel her own heart hammering against her chest as she tried to get a grip of the situation, and was impressed that Tails was able to keep his head at the moment.
Sally took another look around the dumpster, wincing slightly at what she was seeing. Sonic was now half curled against the ground, shielding where he had been hit with both the ground and his arm. His eyes were still completely white, and each time Sonic moved his head what little light there was in the street seemed to reflect off his eyes, making them appear to be glowing. She remembered that from when Sonic had first been mutated, and was a little startled seeing it now. She thought that it had been a result of the mind control serum Robotnik had used on him at the time.
“Wha’ are we gonna do, Aunt Sally?” Tails whispered.
His voice had been so low that Sally just barely heard him, and yet even from the distance he was at now Sonic’s head snapped towards their direction so fast that Sally hardly had a chance to react. She still jumped back behind the dumpster, and hunched over Tails to keep him hidden under her. Tails clamped his lips together, fear flinting through his eyes at the thought of accidentally exposing the two of them; he knew Sonic’s hearing was good, but he didn’t realise just how good it was until now.
Thankfully no attack came, though Sally didn’t move from her position until a good few minutes had passed to make sure nothing was going to happen. As they waited Sonic made a low, grating yowl that echoed through the street and along Sally’s spine, and she had to force herself to suppress the shiver that threatened to rattle through her as a result. Under her Tails shrank back further against the wall, his ears flattening against his head.
After about ten minutes of Sonic yowling and growling at his surroundings, the sounds died down into a low growl that rolled at the back of the hedgehog’s throat. By then Sally’s back and legs were aching from keeping her position for so long without daring to move, and her breath shuddered through her chest at the strain.
Tails had lowered himself to the ground so that he could curl his twin tails around himself both for warmth and comfort, but every so often a shiver would run through him whenever he caught the sound of Sonic’s growls. Whenever Sally spotted this she felt her heart sink, still feeling powerless on what she could do now.
Eventually a plan came to her, and slowly she straightened her back so she could rock back onto the heels of her feet, making sure to do so as slow as she possibly could so that she wouldn’t make any sounds. She motioned for Tails to stay where he was, then indicated with her hands that she was going to check on Sonic.
At first alarm flashed through the fox’s eyes, until Sally gently cupped his cheeks and planted a soft kiss on his nose. He managed to stop the giggle before it surfaced, his usual reaction to the “funny kiss” Sally would give him, but it still had the same effect as it always did, and Tails had calmed instantly.
When she saw Tails was now at ease Sally looked around herself, and spotted a fire escape on the building opposite of where they currently were. She pointed it out to Tails, then motioned to him to fly for it if anything happened. Tails’ eyebrows furrowed at the thought of leaving Sally behind, but before he could protest Sally was already standing and heading towards Sonic. Tails peered around the dumpster to watch, his heart now in his throat.
Sonic was still half curled on the ground; by now he was slightly stunned by his injury as he barely moved in his place, though every so often he would twitch slightly as pain flashed through him. But as Sally approached him Sonic lifted his head, his eyes still white and glowing, and he gave her a warning hiss, baring all his sharp teeth at her.
Sally paused at the warning, her own hackles rising as the sound grated at her nerves, but when Sonic did nothing further she took it as a sign that maybe he was starting to calm now. Slowly Sally crouched to the ground to make herself look smaller, pausing in her motions whenever Sonic hissed at her again, then waited a few moments to give Sonic time to process what she had just done.
“Easy, Sonic. It’s okay,” Sally coaxed, her voice low. “It’s me, Sally. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Sonic watched her, his tail twitching as it began to lash against the ground. He gave her another growl, but this time the sound was half-hearted as a bit of confusion began to set in his expression.
Sally took in a soft breath to calm herself, then smiled at Sonic, still trying to make herself look as non-threatening as possible. She still wasn’t sure what Sonic was thinking right now, and she knew she had to get to the rational part of his mind quickly – even with the last patrol long taken care of, there was a good chance another had been sent their way, and if Sonic was still like this when the SWATbots came, it was only going to make the situation much worse for all of them.
“It’s not safe here. We need to go somewhere safe, okay? You can come with me, you just need to calm down first so we can go.”
The confused expression on Sonic’s face faltered a little as he took in Sally’s words, but the glow in his eyes didn’t fade. It still gave Sally a little hope that she was getting through to the hedgehog, so she carefully scooted a little closer to him, pausing once more as Sonic’s jaws flashed in a now silent hiss.
“You know I would never hurt you, Sonic. You’re safe with me,” Sally attempted once she settled on the ground, now about five feet away from Sonic. She stretched out her hand towards him. “We need to go, please.”
From his hiding place behind the dumpster Tails fidgeted, his tails sweeping along the ground before half curling around themselves, wanting to do nothing more than to twist completely and carry him away. At the same time he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Sally as she tried to reason with Sonic, not wanting to look away in case she needed help.
Tails has seen Sonic act wild before. But Tails thought he had hallucinated the whole thing, as Tails literally blinked and in the next instance Sonic was acting like his usual self, with absolutely no signs of his supposed wild side to be seen by Tails. Tails had always thought to ask Sonic about it, but could never bring up the nerve or the words to do so, not knowing just how to broach the subject as it was so bizarre.
But seeing the hedgehog now made Tails regret not bringing it up; he had often forgotten that Sonic had not been gene-spliced with a Mobian version of a mountain lion, but a wild, unevolved version. And while it wasn’t uncommon for some Mobians to take on attributes of their species, such as hissing or growling on some occasions, it was very rare for any Mobian to go completely wild under normal circumstances.
But it was clear now that for Sonic, even normal circumstances could end up setting off the wild animal he had been mixed with.
As Tails watched his ears twitched at a sound that broke through the eerie silence of the city. The sound was short, and oddly quiet, so he was unable to hone in onto it, but Tails was sure he had heard something. He tilted his head to try to hear it again, and after a moment he did, but once again it was too quick and almost too quiet for him to catch it.
When he looked back at Sonic and Sally Sonic had his head titled as well, his ears twitching and tilting, before he growled softly. Before either Tails or Sally could do anything Sonic rushed Sally, a clawed hand lashing out at her.
A strangled yelp escaped Tails, and on reflex he looked away and squeezed his eyes shut, powerless to do anything else. As he did Tails felt a massive gust of wind blast pass him, before he was pressed up against the wall and dumpster once again.
It took Tails a moment to realise that as he was pushed against the wall there was something being pressed against him, and when Tails opened his eyes he realised it was Sally crouched down low next to him. Above both of them was Sonic, breathing heavily, but similar to how Sally had before when they were first hiding, he was now shielding both of them with his body. The hedgehog was also watching the sky, and to Tails’ relief Sonic’s eyes had returned to normal, even though they still reflected oddly in the dim light of the city.
It was also then that Tails realised just why they were all hiding; as Sonic watched the skyline his ears were twisting sharply before they honed in on something, and he tightened himself over Sally and Tails to keep them hidden. A second later a stealthbot flashed across the sky, and after it had passed Tails heard the strange sound from before.
Tails’ hearing was good, but if he had relied on it then the stealthbot would have spotted them, and there was a good chance that when Tails had heard it the first time the stealthbot had already and was circling back to come get them. But Sonic, in his wild state, had heard it before it had gotten too close, and had snapped out of his trance to get them both to safety.
The stealthbot passed over the two more times before moving on, unable to spot the trio even from the sky. Sonic didn’t move from his place however, his ears still twitching to pick up any sounds that hinted at the stealthbot, or any other robot, coming for them, but after some time he realised they were in the clear. With a tense sigh Sonic pulled away from Sally and Tails and flopped to the ground next to them, using one hand to hold his head, a soft miff of pain escaping him.
“Are you all right?” Sally asked, as she scooted closer to Sonic and gently placed a hand on his head.
As she did this Sonic winced, and briefly his lips pulled back slightly, relieving his teeth, but to Sally and Tails’ relief there was no growl, the motion just being purely reflex on Sonic’s behalf.
“My head feels weird, wha’ the heck happened?” Sonic answered.
No answer came right away from either Sally or Tails, as they weren’t really sure what they could say. The recent second mutation Sonic had gone through days before was still fresh to Sonic, and Sally knew that he was experiencing a lot of mixed emotions over it, despite trying to hide them from everyone. Tails, even though he was unaware of Sonic’s feelings, just had no idea how to explain it to Sonic now as he was still trying to process it himself.
“You went wild,” Sally finally answered, trying not to flinch when Sonic gaped at her with obvious horror. “I think you getting hurt may have set it off.”
Sonic gaped at her for some time, his jaw flexing every so often as he tried to say something, only of the words forming in his mouth to drop into nothingness as anything he thought of seemed minuscule at that moment. Even when Sonic glanced at Tails he could see the muted panic in the fox’s eyes, causing horror and shame to flood through Sonic.
“I... I didn’t--" Sonic stuttered, his voice hitching slightly when he couldn’t make himself finish his sentence. But to his relief Sally shook her head.
“We’re fine. I think you were too stunned to really do anything to us,” Sally explained.
The thought of him coming so close to hurting his friends still made Sonic shudder, and he curled into himself slightly as he tried to wrap his head around what was happening. Next to him Sally ran her hand along Sonic’s quills in an attempt to ease him, while Tails watched the two of them, feeling a little powerless to help his adoptive big brother.
“We should head home. Bookshire will need to look at your shoulder,” Sally coaxed, and Sonic snapped out of his stupor, only to have a different kind of anxiety flood through him at the thought of going home now.
“No! Not yet, no,” Sonic protested, his ears flattening against his head.
“We can’t stay here, Sonic,” Sally urged. “The SWATbots might be on their way now.”
Sonic squeezed his hand around his injured shoulder, wincing at the sharp sting that flashed across his collar bone. He could barely remember getting the injury in the first place, and he wondered just how hard he had been hit, and how much damage it had caused to send him into such a rage.
“Let’s go to unc’s then. Just to make sure I’m okay,” Sonic suggested, swallowing briefly as his fear squeezed at his throat.
He was partially referring to his injury, but Sally understood what Sonic really meant, and a part of her found herself agreeing with the suggestion. Sally looked at Tails, then nodded, before she helped Sonic to stand.
“Keep close, Tails. We’ll need to move quickly, now,” Sally stated, then led the way.
Some time later the three Mobians stood in front of massive junk pile that had been gathered in one of the secluded alleyways of Robotropolis. While this wasn’t an unusual sight for the city, as nearly every street and every corner was littered with junk thanks to Robotnik’s wasteful processes, this particular junk pile served as camouflage for Uncle Chuck’s hidden bunker.
Tails watched in awe as Sally picked up a random pipe and knocked on the junk pile three times, which signalled for the hidden door to crack open. Sally snapped him out of his trance long enough to usher him down along the stairwell, and not even a second after they all entered the hidden door slammed shut behind them, throwing them into temporary darkness before the sensor lights clicked on.
Once they were inside the bunker fully Sonic pulled up one of Uncle Chuck’s old desk chairs and flopped into it, taking a moment to nurse his shoulder. By now the pain was sharp and stinging not just through his shoulder, but also along his collar bone and arm, which forced him to keep his arm slack in an attempt to lessen the pain.
He was sure nothing was broken, but every so often Sonic caught himself unconsciously clicking his teeth together whenever the pain got a little too much, and he had to snap himself out of doing that in case it tempted him to go wild once more.
“Here, let me take a look,” Sally offered as she pulled up another chair next to Sonic’s.
Sonic at first hesitated, as he was unsure if he should let Sally touch his injury. The last thing he wanted to do was snap at her in the literal sense if she happened to touch an extra tender spot. But when the pain stung through him once more Sonic winced, then nodded.
“Okay, just be careful,” Sonic warned as he leaned back in his chair, giving Sally more room to look his shoulder over.
“I will, and I’m sure it’ll be fine now,” Sally assured.
As Sally examined Sonic Tails looked around the bunker, amazed at how much equipment Uncle Chuck was able to fit into it. When the earthquakes had hit Robotropolis a lot of Uncle Chuck’s equipment had unfortunately been damaged and destroyed, and ever since the roboticized hedgehog had been working to replace what he could using both turfed computers and any equipment he was able to liberate from Robotnik’s own computer centres while they were being refurbished. Most of the computers were switched off, but there were one or two still running as they recorded surveillance footage in and around the city and command centres in Uncle Chuck’s absence.
This marked the first time Tails has actually seen Uncle Chuck’s bunker, and despite the seriousness of their current situation, Tails couldn’t help but feel ecstatic at being allowed in here, making his place amongst the Freedom Fighters feel more official now that he had been made savvy of one of their greatest secrets.
“Is Uncle Chuck here?” Tails asked.
“Nah, he had a work shift tonight in one o’ the factories,” Sonic explained, gladly fielding the question so he could keep himself distracted as Sally looked over his shoulder. “He doesn’t get off for another few hours, so we’re probably gonna miss him tonight.”
“Aw,” Tails sighed. He didn’t get to see Uncle Chuck as often as the other Freedom Fighters did because of his work schedules, and unless he came into Knothole to discuss something that needed their urgent attention. And even then his in-person visits would usually be short, just in case Robotnik or Snively noticed his absence.
“I know, bro. Maybe next time we’ll get to see him,” Sonic assured, though at the corner of his eye he could see Sally wincing at the mention of Tails possibly joining them on another mission. “In the meantime he won’t mind ya lookin’ around, just be careful wit’ his stuff, okay?”
That seemed to perk Tails up a little, and the fox made his way to one of the many crowded workbenches to look over what Uncle Chuck was tinkering with, spotting some unfinished projects among the piles of scrap and tools covering the workbench.
“Maybe we should hold off on Tails coming again. Just for a little bit,” Sally suggested, keeping her eyes firmly on Sonic’s shoulder.
At first Sonic wanted to protest, but when Sally touched a tender spot near his collarbone a spark of pain flashed through him, and he had to bite down on his bottom lip as he sucked air through his teeth. Thankfully Sonic didn’t feel the urge to snap at Sally, but the reminder of the temptation made him second guess his protest.
“He’s doin’ so good though, Sal,” Sonic attempted instead. “I was the one that got distracted.”
“I know. And I agree, he is doing good,” Sally sighed, her eyes flinting away as she thought about her next words. “But maybe we should all hold off doing missions for a little bit.”
Sonic tilted his head at Sally, not quite understanding what she was implying. Then it sank in, and a mixture of emotions rushed through Sonic.
“That’s not gonna happen again, Sal. I told you I got distracted. ‘nd yeah it got messy, but I snapped outta it,” Sonic hissed.
Sally finally looked at Sonic, a mixture of desperation and concern clear on her face.
“I know, but what happened still happened,” Sally pointed out. “I think the second mutation might still be a little too fresh, and that might be why you’re getting distracted now. And why you had such a big reaction to getting hurt.”
Sonic felt his heart speed up a little as his emotions swirled through him, not quite knowing what to say or do. Though deep down he couldn’t deny that the last few days since the second mutation had been grating on him. And knowing what he had almost done to Sally and Tails still made his stomach drop.
“... but you know I would never hurt you guys, right?” Sonic asked, his voice small and low. “Even if I’m bein’ like that.”
“Of course I do, Sonic,” Sally assured, before she leaned closer to Sonic and nuzzled at his cheek, using her hand to pet along his jawline. “And even on the off-chance that something did happen, I know that’s not you wanting to do it. This is just something we need to figure out.”
The thought of yet another issue to deal with thanks to the mutation made Sonic want to scream, but instead he just leaned into Sally’s hand and sighed, trying not to focus on the heavy feeling that was now trying to settle in his chest.
“Yeah, let’s just add it to the list,” Sonic mumbled. He then perked a little when Sally planted a soft kiss on his cheek, and when he looked back up to her Sonic saw Sally giving him a reassuring smile.
“We’ll talk about it more when we get home,” Sally stated, then leaned back in her chair and spoke up a little more. “In the meantime, your shoulder is dislocated. So Bookshire will need to take a look at it.”
While the whiplash in the conversation took Sonic a moment to register, when it did Sonic snorted.
“Is that all? I don’t need to bother Booker for that, c’mon,” Sonic scoffed, shaking his head as Sally stared at him in disbelief.
“Wait, dislocated?” Tails asked, his ears folding back slightly. “Isn’t that bad?”
“It’s not bad, but it’s not something that can be ignored either,” Sally explained, making sure to glare at Sonic as she said this. “So let’s go home and have that looked at.”
“It can just be popped back in place, it’s no biggie!” Sonic said. “I’ve seen enough o’ Booker to last me a lifetime, I’ll deal wit’ this.”
“You are not dealing with this, Sonic!” Sally argued, not believing what she was hearing. “This is beyond first-aid, and I don’t even want to know how you think you can fix this on your own.”
“I don’t think I can fix it, I know how to fix it.”
As the two argued Tails watched, his head turning between the two as Sonic and Sally took turns to counter each other. He was used to them arguing, as most of the Freedom Fighters were, so even as their arguing started to get a little more intense Tails wasn’t too bothered by it.
What did bother him though was the idea of Sonic being hurt, and going by how he was arguing, the hedgehog seemed like he was going to do everything in his power to not go see Bookshire to help him.
Tails looked around the hideout, hoping that some kind of answer would jump out at him. What sprung out and got his attention instead was a toolbox that was sitting on Uncle Chuck’s workbench. It wasn’t very large, but when Tails picked it up it had a bit of heft to it, which allowed the gears in his head to start cranking.
“Hey, Sonic. Think fast,” Tails called, and tossed the toolbox at the hedgehog.
The warning was enough for Sonic to realise something was coming at him, as Sonic wasn’t just fast in terms of running, so he was ready to catch the toolbox. But the thought of why this was probably a bad idea didn’t occur to him until the last possible second, and even though he wasn’t able to move his arm thanks to his injured shoulder, Sonic still manage to get a grip on the toolbox with both hands. When the tools inside shifted the box fell down hard, bringing Sonic’s arm down with it which resulted in a sickening pop as his shoulder slipped back into place.
Sonic still cried out as a fresh slash of pain raced through his arm, and he dropped the box so that he could use his good hand to grip at his arm. As he rode out the pain Sally gaped at him, hand over her mouth, not knowing what to do as she still tried to process everything that happened since Tails threw the box in the first place.
After a few moments Sonic took in a sharp breath through his nose, and gave his injured arm a test flex. To everyone’s surprise he was able to move his fingers and hand on command, though his face distorted as he winced at the pain that tingled through his arm.
“Sonic? Are you okay?” Sally ventured.
Sonic didn’t say anything for a few beats. Instead he continued focusing on his breathing, which was a little irregular.
“Yeah... yeah, I’m fine,” Sonic said eventually, though his voice sounded odd. “I just... need to step outside for a sec, ‘kay?”
Before anyone could say anything Sonic began walking towards the hidden stairs, his movements somewhat stiff but hurried. Sally made to follow him, concerned now, but paused when Sonic raised his good arm.
“No one follow me I’m just gonna be a sec,” Sonic warned, his words almost blurring together now as he disappeared up the stairs.
Sally and Tails listened to the doorway open then shut, and waited quietly, not knowing what to do.
“Tails, how did you know to do that?” Sally asked.
“Sonic said he saw it in a comic book once,” Tails admitted. “‘nd Aunt Bunnie did say that dislocated joints can be yanked to pop ‘em back into place in an emergency.”
Sally winced at the confession, feeling her stomach sink at the thought.
“We’ll talk about better first-aid practises another time, okay sweetie?” Sally offered, hoping that her apprehension wasn’t showing too much that the fox would notice.
After about ten minutes or so they heard the door open and shut once more, and watched as Sonic climbed down the stairs, looking a little stunned. To Sally’s concern he also looked a little washed out, and couldn’t help but wince when she realised just what had happened to the hedgehog and why he had demanded privacy.
“Are you okay?” Sally repeated gently.
Sonic simply nodded, his lips pressing into a thin line as he did, before he pointed at Tails.
“See? He knows wha’ to do. He’s got himself covered,” Sonic pointed out. “In sayin’ that though, I think I’m all funned out for the day.”
“Are you going to see Bookshire?” Sally asked.
“I will go see Bookshire, yes. Let’s go home now.”
Random head cannons for my AU because these require oddly specific questions I don’t think I’ve ever seen ask memes have.
A lot of these I do have something to back them up with, but others it's just logical hilarity to me because I can.
Kitty!Sonic:
- absolutely mistrusts/gets annoyed by anyone that is an "authority figure" (i.e. adults "in charge", leaders, etc) but does nothing to actually be useful. As a kid he was always told to listen to the adults because "they know best", but after the coup and seeing a good number of adults doing everything in their power to just save their own hides or hiding, it fucked him right off. Only adults he’s ever respected were his uncle and Rosie (Rosie took some time to gain that trust though because why the hell is she teaching us maths when people need help???). Bookshire is another but he does fight Bookshire on occasion because Sonic hates fussing with medical stuff.
This carried on into his own adulthood, and it’s hilarious whenever someone points out he’s the adult now as it sets off his aversion to being older, but if he has to be called an adult then damnit he’s gonna be a USEFUL one at least.
And yes he has confirmed on many occasions that he can and will flip off King Acorn if he plays up. What's he gonna do, ground him? Arrest his for treason? He flipped off Robotnik, he ain't scared of no thing.
- his uncle was brilliant with robotics and mechanics and science. Sonic has literally zero idea about any of those. And yet he’s weirdly good at chemistry. But he doesn’t get a lot of opportunities to use this so no one knows this, but Rotor has come by chemistry formulas mysteriously solved if he leaves them out on his workbench after a night of wracking his brains over why something isn’t working. How does Sonic know this? Nobody knows, Sonic will never tell either, and will deny he’s even good at it.
- he’s also very good at physics, in that he knows exactly how to break physics to do impossible shit. He’s great at figuring out just what angles he needs to shoot himself into to get the most air time, how much speed and lift to land in the exact spot, etc. It all happens automatically to him (it has to, going at the speeds he does there’s literally no time to plan this shit) but if someone asks him he will actually figure it out in the spot with freakishly good accuracy, and can do it not just with him being the projectile but any object (he has worked out perfect catapult trajectories before and it still baffles everyone to this day). Again, he doesn’t know how he knows this, will never tell anyone he knows how to do this, and will deny he knows this.
- he’s also good with musical instruments. Obviously his favourite is the electric guitar, but if you give him a sheet of music and at least an hour to mess around with the instrument he’ll work it out. Getting to watch him play the violin is a rare but delightful treat. This is his special interest, the thing he would have gotten into if the world hadn’t gone to shit. He doesn’t get to indulge in it as much as he’s like but he loves music and could ramble about it for hours on end if given the chance.
The con of this though is that he's really good at identifying music, including ones from operas and orchestras. Sally takes great delight in making him identify both because he does get embarrassed about it, but his pride doesn't allow him to just not pick them out.
- he likes to cook, but he prefers recipes that allow him to leave things to cook without him needing to watch it once it’s prepared. So baking, roasting, slow cook stuff like soups and chili, that’s his jam. Anything that’s gonna be a long haul he has to be basically trapped in his hut to do it without wanting to go nuts (so extra cold days where being outside would be hell are good cooking days).
- during the summer he sleeps in a hammock. During the winter he sleeps in a bed and practically buries himself in blankets.
- loves bubblegum. Gum balls, sticks of gum, whatever. If it’s gum he loves it. Unfortunately it is non existent thanks to the coup (shelf life of gum is terrible) so finding any that’s not terrible is an amazing day.
- milk and cookies is oddly a comfort food to him. Something about the simplicity of it just works for him, and ridiculously shit days are made better by it. Default choc chip cookies work best.
- he hates spiders. More specifically, he hates when you see a spider, look away, then look back only to find the spider is gone. Spiders themselves don’t bother him until they do that, but once they do he has to fight himself to not just set whatever building or dwelling he happens to be on fire in order to solve the issue of having to deal with it later.
- he’s about .0001 seconds away from just walking away into the forest and never coming back. He won’t do it because he honestly doesn’t want to abandon his friends… but he’s so close to just becoming a cryptic in the forest. He has wandered off before when things get super annoying, but someone always drags him back, much to his endless frustration.
Sally:
- can’t cook for anything. Sonic has seen her burn water. Toast somehow always ends in fire. No one ever attempt to drink her coffee for your own sake.
And yet somehow she makes really, really good pancakes. Like ridiculously good. She makes them very rarely because she’s always busy with something and has been banned from all kitchens, but when she does they’re amazing and no one can figure out how this happens.
- if she’s snacking on nuts or anything that doesn’t go soggy (like hard/dry fruits, or extra crusty breads) she will sometimes keep some in her cheeks. Not to the point that her cheeks will be bulging with them, but if she’s working while snacking she will just stash some away so she can focus on what she’s doing, and then when she’s done just finishes those off. This only happens when she needs to focus so she’s pretty discreet about this and has perfected talking/quick chewing with them if someone interrupts her.
- she loves video games, but because they’re so hard to come by thanks to the coup she doesn’t get to play as often as she’d like. She knows Sonic, Tails and Rotor has some stashed away and has played them on the sly, which has left them wondering how their high scores got beaten or how new levels have been unlocked. Though she has to be careful about this because if she’s left alone with them long enough she will just play them until either she finishes the game, or someone physically drags her away from it. This is probably her only weak point in terms of something that can just pull her away entirely from everything.
- she is very, very neat… only because she literally doesn’t make a mess of anything thanks to her one-track mind. If she’s working on a plan or something that needs a lot of research she will basically just make a pathway to her desk and bed and leave everything else undisturbed. She will still shower, only because the shower is just another place for her to think without interruption. This is a big factor on why she can’t cook for shit, too. She just… doesn’t. At all. Because she’s gotta work. Work is life because they may literally die if she can’t figure plans out
- she is genuinely fascinated by legends and myths, which we see a lot of in SatAM. Although she does sometimes dismiss some legends or myths as just stories, if she finds anything that even hints at it being real, and if time allows it, she will chase it down. If it’s anything that might be especially useful in their fight she will go for it after doing a ton of research to make sure she’s got every angle and possibility down. The researching to that extent is due to her own perfectionism, but also because if the expedition turns out to be a bust it could mean time that should have been spent on something else/time being away from the village for a crapshoot.
Sonic and Sally as a couple:
- they don’t use pet names for one another… until one of them is absolutely pushing their luck with the other. Pet names = stop it.
- Sally did once call Sonic a shit-weasel out of anger during such a scenario, and then was immediately apologetic for it because that was Too Far™. Sonic said that made him fall in love with her all over again and it was an awesome insult. Pet names are still a no-go though.
- they live together and everyone thinks it’s Sonic that would be the nightmare to live with.
It’s not.
It’s Sally.
Sonic does get messy and likes to live in organised chaos, but Sally just has the worst sleeping habits (she doesn’t sleep), functions mostly on auto-pilot (the amount of times she eats the last of something but leaves the box it came in/was stored in for Sonic to find drives him up the wall something shocking all because she’s just vaguely thinking "I need food I suppose" alongside whatever she’s doing at the time), and if she’s working on something big she will spread herself everywhere (including Sonic’s bed if he isn’t in it or on it in some way).
Sonic won’t move out because he genuinely thinks if he did Sally would never sleep at proper hours or eat like a regular person unless he monitors her. Plus they actually really do like each other’s company and do miss one another if they aren’t in the same space in their down time. But Sonic is constantly amazed at just how much of a gremlin Sally can be and no one believes him.
- Sally takes great delight in this and amps up her gremlin behaviour because of it. If she does this in front of anyone else it just gets encouraged. It’s okay though because Sonic knows how to be a bastard so it’s a constant battle of who can out bastard or out gremlin who.
- they sleep separately (see aforementioned sleeping habits of gremlin ground squirrel), but on occasion will share a bed. Or share the couch. Sharing will almost always result in Sonic being used as a pillow/mattress but he’s fine with it, as long as it means Sally’s sleeping and they get to cuddle ‘cause cuddling is great.
- Sally loves puns. Sonic has begged her not to say puns. He secretly loves them but he hates that he gets them (temporarily forgetting your own language, then relearning it is a trip and picking up the puns does things to his head). Sally does not stop the puns. This has led to Sonic almost achieving his goal of becoming a forest cryptic as he does just start walking out when she starts.
- this is kinda canon but I like to joke that they are actually legally married and this happened during their zone-hopping adventures. But the marriage itself happened in the most mundane way for the most mundane reason, and yet it is legally binding and they do actually have wedding rings from it. They don’t wear the rings but they do carry it on their person at all times, and pull them out just to blindside people with them because it’s funny.
Last day of a fun week! And I had a piece for almost every prompt this time, yay!
This is fast forwarding to my Timeskip AU again, but I guess this is like the "good future" for it, where everyone stops getting screwed over somehow. Not set in stone like always, but this suits the prompt and I wanted to write something cute.
It was starting to get noticeable now. At least to Sally it was as she stared at herself in her mirror, twisting and turning herself in every possible way under critical eyes.
She had always been small, though toned, as that’s what her lifestyle had granted her. A mixture of daily stress, nerves, and habits of missing meals thanks to the aforementioned stress and nerves alongside fixating on planning for most of her life saw to it. But now Sally looked a little bigger, not enough to start any rumours or whispers from any passersby, but enough that it was going to be noticeable.
Behind her reflection Sally could see Sonic watching her, noting the way he sat on the arm of their couch, his head propped by his hand as an elbow rested on his folded knee. Even in his current position Sonic’s foot easily reached the floor, and he didn’t tap it as he waited, though in his amber eyes Sally could see an unspoken statement that was waiting for the right moment to come out. Seeing that made Sally look at herself more critically, and she couldn’t help but run nervous hands over her belly, feeling the distinct bump that now curved it subtly.
“I’m not expert on this, Sal. But I don’t think you’re gonna be able to hide this for much longer,” Sonic finally stated, deciding to just take a chance. Sally had been doing this for almost an hour now, and if he didn’t try to say something now, it was probably going to go for another hour. Maybe more depending on what Sally was currently thinking.
The two of them had gone for a short walk through the Great Forest earlier in the day, something they had been doing almost daily for the last few weeks, and on their return to New Knothole a villager had greeted them, which wasn’t unusual in itself. But just as they were parting ways the villager’s gaze seemed to linger onto Sally for a little longer than necessary, at least according to Sally, which set Sally’s mind racing as they made their way back to their hut.
Sonic at first had tried to reassure Sally that wasn’t the case, but the thoughts were already in motion, making Sally counter every point Sonic tried to bring up. Years of stress, nerves and planning hadn’t just affected Sally’s body but also her mind, and Sonic fell into silence after the fifth counterpoint from the ground squirrel, unable to think of anything else to say without being shot down.
“I know. I know,” Sally tensed, before she attempted to stand with her back a little straighter, pulling her shoulders back as she did so. It made the bump not as noticeable, but the relief was short-lived when Sally felt her back tighten a little too much and was forced to relax it.
Briefly Sally thought about how her future was soon going to be filled with backaches and other pains, and she had to force her mind to stop before it ran away from her.
“But I was hoping that I would have a bit more time. What if someone else has noticed?”
“If they had we would have heard about it by now. There’s like thirty Mobians max here,” Sonic pointed out. “’nd even if they do so wha’? It ain’t their business.”
“It isn’t, but I still don’t want it to be so... public so soon,” Sally sighed, finally dropping her hands to her sides as she turned to face Sonic fully.
Right now only three Mobians knew about Sally’s pregnancy, and two of them were having this conversation. The third was Bookshire, the village’s doctor, who had given Sally the news. While so far Sally had been fairly lucky in terms of morning sickness and other symptoms, there had been a few weeks prior to the discovery where her symptoms had seemed almost random. Not enough to cause any hindrance to her every day life, but enough to at least cause some concern.
Sonic had been the one to convince her to go see Bookshire despite her protests and reassurances, neither of them realising the can of worms it was going to cause soon after.
When Sally received the news she had no idea how to respond to it. So much so that in her shock she had simply thanked Bookshire for the information, then left his clinic despite his protests. The rest of the day had been a blur to Sally, even though she miraculously managed to function like nothing had changed, and as far as she knew didn’t raise any suspicions that something was going on.
But it was the next day that the reality had hit her, which made Sally freeze up as an endless cycle of what she needed to do with the information spun through her head wildly. For some reason her mind kept hanging up on the thought of telling any of her friends, and especially telling Sonic about it made Sally want to crawl into the dirt and dig her way to anywhere else on the planet.
The thought of having children had crossed her mind before, on the rare occasions where her thoughts weren’t focused on staying alive or planning attacks that would help her and her loved ones survive another day. But Sally had always maintained that bringing a child into a world that was constantly at war in some way was not only risky, but borderline cruel. She had seen too many times where children have grown up without families, herself and her friends also part of that trend, and considering how often her life was at risk, she just couldn’t bear the thought of her own child living the same way she had.
But now they weren’t at war. There was a relative peace across the planet, with no dictators trying their hand at taking it over for the sake of their own ego or vision. Not to say that the peace wasn’t going to last, but after experiencing war for basically her entire life, the fear of it breaking wasn’t easy to shake off for Sally.
Sometimes to Sally it felt like if she did tell anyone else, it was somehow going to bring another war right on top of them. Like the universe was going to see that they were all trying to move on with their lives, and would somehow be incredibly insulted by it.
“If you keep waitin’ it’s gonna be public soon though,” Sonic pointed out. “Lemme put it this way though; if anyone actually had a clue about this, like anyone in the entire village, you know it would be Bunnie. ‘cause she’s the one that has a knack for these things. ‘nd s’far, she hasn’t said a thin’, right?”
Sally thought it over, lightly bouncing the heels of her hands on her thighs as she thought.
“No, she hasn’t,” Sally admitted eventually. “But you sure she hasn’t said anything to you?”
Sonic gave a short laugh, then shook his head.
“Not a thin’. ‘nd she hasn’t dropped any o’ her subtle hints where she tries to make you admit to somethin’ that she knows about either,” Sonic explained. “’nd I’m bein’ way past careful ‘bout that ‘cause I know how that shit works.”
“Good. That’s good,” Sally nodded, though she shrunk into herself a little as she crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly feeling more exposed.
As she did this she could feel her vest tugging slightly across her back, and the way her arms were positioned didn’t seem quite right. It was then that she realised other parts of her body were starting to change, and a quiet sort of panic flushed through her, making her freeze.
It took Sonic a moment to realise the change in Sally’s demeanour, but by now he had seen it happen enough times to know what was happening. He stretched out a hand towards Sally, and in an instant the ground squirrel moved for him wordlessly, burying her face against Sonic’s chest the moment she was close enough to him. Sonic wrapped his arm around Sally, then in one swift movement he scooped her up with one arm and stood, causing Sally to squeak in surprise and cling to him as he flopped along the couch.
“C’mon, Sal. What’s really goin’ on?” Sonic asked once he made himself comfortable, taking a moment to make sure that even in her koala-like state Sally was also comfortable.
“I don’t know,” Sally withered, her voice muffled against Sonic’s chest. “I don’t even know why I’m so worried about anyone knowing, but it just doesn’t feel... right, somehow.”
Sally’s voice sounded so small and lost as she spoke, which prompted Sonic to pull her closer to him and start running a hand along the back of her head and down her back in an attempt to ease her.
“You know you’re gonna have to at least tell Bunnie though, right?” Sonic pointed out. “Or else she’s gonna be ticked.”
The response he got was a long, exasperated groan that seemed to bore itself deeper into Sonic’s chest as it petered out, which made Sonic realise he was onto something now.
“Do you think everyone’s gonna be mad about it?” Sonic attempted.
“No,” Sally answered.
“Do you think they’re gonna be weird about it?”
“No...”
Sonic stared up at the ceiling in silence for a minute or so, still gently petting Sally as he thought. As he stared Sonic realised there was a bit of a gap in the woodwork that was allowing some of the hay poke through, and he wondered if that was going to be an issue later.
“Do you think that there’s gonna be some dickhead out there that’s gonna turn their nose up at the thought o’ a princess getting’ knocked up by some commoner, even though that doesn’t matter anymore ‘cause the whole concept o’ royals vs commoners is stupid anyway. ‘nd even then there’s literally no kingdom to dirty up ‘cause there’s just no need for that no more?” Sonic rambled, still keeping his eyes up to the ceiling.
He was sure that hole was going to be an issue later, and he wasn’t looking forward to fucking around with scrap wood to fill it in.
There was silence from Sally for a moment, then Sonic felt her grip tighten a little around him.
“... maybe?”
Sonic tried not to laugh, though his chest tensed as one attempted to escape him.
“Sallll,” he drawled, tossing his head back as the word grew in volume.
“I know it’s stupid!” Sally protested as she pulled away from Sonic so she could face him. “But one way or another I am a princess, and... I don’t know... what if there is someone like that out there?”
Sonic tilted his head a little, his jaw clenching as he debated if he should say what he was thinking. Then he figured that Sally’s fears needed to be addressed now, before they got too deep into the pregnancy.
“Y’mean like your dad?” Sonic asked.
When Sally stiffened Sonic knew he had hit the issue right on the head. Years ago during Robotnik’s reign Sally had found a message from her father. The message itself had helped their fight against Robotnik as it had provided detailed maps of Robotropolis, but in regards to Sally’s father, the former King of Mobotropolis, the trail ran cold. Any other attempts at trying to find out his whereabouts had also led to dead ends, as any records Robotnik may have had of the king had vanished, even long before the earthquakes that had devastated Robotropolis years back.
There had even been times where their last enemy had dropped hints to Sally that they knew where King Acorn was, but any attempts at interrogating them or sifting through their records and files brought up nothing, which only confirmed that it was a manipulative ruse to try to get Sally to turn to their side.
Despite all this, Sally was sure that her father was alive, as he had been able to retrieve those maps somehow, and the maps had been fairly up to date in accordance with Robotropolis’ structure at the time. This, along with them finding Sonic’s parents after both he and his uncle had thought them both dead, did spark a little hope that anything was possible.
When Sally didn’t say anything else Sonic sighed and pulled himself up a little, allowing Sally to slip into his lap so that they could talk better. He took a hold of Sally’s hands, almost as a way to anchor her, and looked her in the eye.
“Okay first o’ all, it’s not stupid to be worried ‘bout that stuff. But at the same time, it shouldn’t matter anyway,” Sonic began.
“I know, but--" Sally attempted, but Sonic gently shushed her, and instantly Sally let her voice drop.
“Lemme finish, I promise it’s gonna be short,” Sonic coaxed. “Second o’ all, ‘nd I’m gonna be super honest here so get ready to be outraged or wha’ever, but if your dad appeared out o’ the blue tomorrow ‘nd knew about this, ‘nd dared to try to make you feel bad about it, I would tell him to eat a dick ‘nd go kick rocks.”
“Sonic!”
“Actually I wouldn’t say kick rocks, but I’ll think o’ somethin’ wit’ a bit more punch if the time comes,” Sonic clarified.
The outraged look on Sally’s face didn’t falter at the clarification, but Sonic wasn’t fazed by it either way. It took Sally a moment to try to process what to say, as her jaw flexed several times, ready to snap at the hedgehog.
“You can’t say that to my father!” Sally finally settled on after several false starts, as really there wasn’t a whole lot she could say. Even with her father’s absence for most of her life, the last thing she would want to do is disrespect him in any way.
Sonic however shrugged, looking nonchalant.
“I would say that to anyone that tries to pull that on us,” Sonic explained. “I would say that to my parents, I would say that to unc – ‘nd you know I love him to hell ‘nd back but I would not even hesitate if he tried it. Hell, if Muttski said that to me I would be like “You’re a dog ‘nd you’re usin’ your gift o’ speech for that? Fuck off!”, ‘nd not regret a damn thin’ about it.”
The last part managed to disarm Sally enough to cause her to huff out a short laugh, though she did try to reel her mirth back so that she could try to be stern with Sonic. But the damage had been done; Sonic had managed to make her smile and loosen up a little bit, so he was able to make his original point better.
So he sat up fully and pressed his forehead against Sally’s, purring briefly as he nudged her gently before wrapping his arms around her.
“All I’m sayin’ is we have done so much in our lives, ‘nd sacrificed so much just so everyone else on this planet could have some semblance o’ a life again. ‘nd for anyone that was just on the sidelines doin’ who knows wha’ the whole time, by choice or wha’ever, has absolutely no right to step in now ‘nd try to take charge o’ our lives,” Sonic explained, his expression growing serious now.
“’nd as much I hate sayin’ it, we’re both grown ass adults now, we’ve been adults even before we were officially adults, so like hell I’m gonna let anyone treat my girl as a child or as a disappointment when we were the ones that did all the hard work to let ‘em even be around in the first place.”
Sally blinked at Sonic, a little taken aback by his spiel. And as she took it all in Sally realised that Sonic had a lot of good points – not that she would put them into practice the same way as he explained them – which even her overly self-conscious mind couldn’t argue with them.
“... and you would really stand up for me like that? Even against my father?” Sally asked, giving Sonic a crooked smile.
“In a Sonic second,” Sonic confirmed, smirking. “I mean at this point I’ve probably committed treason at least fifty times against you, so why not go for broke ‘nd do it against your dad?”
Sally laughed then, whatever tension that was remaining in her now melting away as she pulled Sonic into a hug. She felt Sonic pull her closer practically wrapped himself around her, and all at once she felt more secure and comfortable.
“I have to say, you are being very grown up and mature about all of this, Sonic,” Sally teased as they broke the hug, and she watched as Sonic laid back along the couch. “Which is something I never thought I’d ever say in my life.”
“To be fair I did bolt after you told me you were preggers in the first place though,” Sonic pointed out. “So I probably spent all my immaturity points there.
A laugh slipped from Sally’s lip at the memory, though she did recall that it wasn’t really funny at the time for either of them. Not that she could blame Sonic – when she had dropped the news the two of them were walking alone together in the Great Forest, as Sally didn’t want to risk anyone overhearing their conversation, and in case Sonic reacted to the news in such a way that it would have made it impossible to hide if she had said anything while still in the village.
To Sonic’s credit he did return, after about twenty minutes, looking like the devil himself had been chasing him down and ready to break into a million pieces at the slightest interaction. He also did try to apologise for freaking out, though each word seemed to come out of him like as if he had been punched in the chest, and it took a lot of attempts for him to make a clear and profound apology to Sally.
The only reason Sally didn’t break down at Sonic’s reaction was because she was feeling the exact same way, as the news was still twisting itself in her mind, which gave her no idea how to process it. Unfortunately she wasn’t like Sonic, and if she had run off she wouldn’t have gotten very far anyway. Sonic had told her later that he had gotten all the way to well past the old Robotropolis western border before he stopped, and had his conniption there. In the time Sonic had gone and returned, Sally would have probably just reached the Great Forest border, which wasn’t far enough for her to do the same without drawing some attention.
So when the two of them were reunited once more and confirmed that the news was indeed real, they walked towards the Great River and found a spot where they could sit without anyone seeing them, and just stared at the flowing water in a stunned haze for over an hour. Sally couldn’t quite remember who broke the silence first, though she was sure it was Sonic, but even in their stunned conditions, somehow the two of them had managed to talk one another into coming around to the news, enough so that when they returned to the village it was like neither one of their lives had just taken a very drastic turn.
“Maybe we could still run off. No one would need to know, right?” Sally joked, laughing as Sonic blew air from between his lips.
“Yeah, sure. I think they’re gonna notice the tiny ground squirrel-hedgehog-mountain lion-lynx... thin’ we’re brought back though,” Sonic said, his muzzle scrunching up as he listed off every species between the two of them. “We’ll skip over the human bit, but isn’t there fox somewhere in you, too? How is that gonna work?”
“At this point, I’m just going to let it be a surprise so I don’t think about it,” Sally sighed, not wanting to dive into another rabbit-hole. Talks about her own insecurities about the pregnancy itself was one thing, one that she was still trying to make sense of and navigate.
Talks about the baby itself however seemed to turn everything on its head for Sally, as it brought a different kind of reality crashing into her. It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy to be pregnant, it was just a strange new landscape for her to figure out, and every time she thought about the little life now growing inside her, it seemed to genuinely startle her.
Sonic had once made an off-handed comment about his height, which was a direct effect of him being mixed with human and wild mountain lion DNA, and wondered if that would have an effect on the baby. The results of that off-handed comment was Sally crying for close to twenty minutes straight, and Sonic being forced to sit outside of their hut as Sally wouldn’t let him anywhere near her until she had calmed down. Sonic had to endure a lot of awkward and questioning looks from anyone that walked by as he waited.
“Right, yeah. I just cheered you up, I learned my lesson from last time,” Sonic winced as he remembered the ordeal, before his eyes flinted away from Sally for a moment as he pressed his lips together. “Buuuttttt, if it’s okay, can I say hi?”
Sally’s expression softened, and any thoughts that attempted to creep their way into her mind disappeared almost instantly. She knew Sonic was having the same feelings as her, as they had both talked them out many times just like they had now. But in between all of that whenever Sonic had a shining moment of genuine excitement over the pregnancy, it grounded Sally, and she found it so sweet that the hedgehog was on board for this journey completely.
“Of course you can,” Sally laughed. “Like this?”
“Yeah, I’m comfy now,” Sonic grinned.
Sally leaned over to press a soft kiss onto Sonic’s lips, letting the kiss linger for a moment before they mutually broke it. Then Sally scooted up a little to bring herself closer to Sonic, allowing him to place his hands gently on her hips and run his thumbs over her belly. The contrast in size between his hands and Sally’s waist managed to bring everything back into proportion for Sally, even as she felt Sonic run his thumbs over the subtle bump.
“Heya, it’s just me again. You better be behavin’ in there ‘nd not givin’ you mom a hard time,” Sonic teased, making Sally laugh brightly.
“I think it’s still a bit too small to be starting any trouble,” Sally pointed out.
“I know, but it doesn’t hurt to just check it in,” Sonic said, before planting a soft kiss on Sally’s belly. “But I know it’s gonna be good.”
“I’m sure it will be,” Sally nodded, leaning down once more to give Sonic another kiss. “I’m sure it’ll all be good.”
