Of all the Sonic series I've seen, Sonic Underground would have to be my favourite, so I thought I'd have a go at writing some of it myself. I'm hoping to make this story longer than just one chapter, but it depends on when inspiration strikes. This particular oneshot is set directly after episode 6, when Manic considers staying behind at the city of Mobodoon and letting his siblings go on without him. And for anyone who's interested, the idea for the title came from a quote by Clara Ortega.

By the way, I write with Sonic being the eldest of the triplets, Sonia in the middle and Manic as the youngest. Just wanted to clear that up :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic Underground... isn't that sad?

(((((((((())))))))))

Home

A cool breeze winded its way along the edge of one of the few remaining forests surrounding the area of Robotropolis, rustling leaves and ruffling the quills of a young blue hedgehog who lay on the grass, his eyes turned toward the dark sky. He was unusually silent, and the light of the moon revealed his furrowed brow and the small frown on his face.

"Sonic Hedgehog, you'd better not be planning to stay out here all night."

Lifting his head slightly, Sonic turned to see Sonia standing with her hands on her hips in the open doorway of their small van. Her tone was scolding, but the expression on her face was that of a teasing sibling.

"Don't worry, sis, I was just thinking over some stuff," he replied with a forced smile.

At this statement, Sonia felt a soft concern tug at her heart. Sonic was not typically the kind of person who took the time to carefully contemplate his thoughts.

"Anything you wanna talk about?" The pink hedgehog asked, walking out onto the metal ramp and taking a seat at the bottom.

Never one to beat around the bush, Sonic propped himself into a sitting position and fixed his sister with a humourless look.

"Do ya think Manic would have been better off staying at Mobodoon?"

Sonia's initial shock at the question was soon replaced by confusion.

"Why do you ask that, Sonic?"

The older of the two siblings frowned as he relived the memories of that day.

"He just seemed really happy there, ya know?" he said quietly. "After all, he didn't exactly have a stable childhood. I'm sure the other thieves looked after him as best as they could, but he didn't grow up with a family…"

While Sonic's sentence trailed off into a wordless silence, Sonia didn't hesitate to answer.

"So, you think Manic could have had all that at Mobodoon?"

"Well, yeah."

"And what makes you think that he doesn't have it here?"

Somehow, that last remark seemed to hit home for Sonic. His eyes became unfocussed as he took in this new piece of information and Sonia gave a small smile before continuing.

"Manic's your brother and I know that you want what's best for him," she said, gently laying a hand on her sibling's shoulder. "Believe me, I do too. But he had the choice to stay behind… and he chose not to. You and I both know that our home is always going to be with each other, and now Manic does, too."

It took a few moments, but the blue hedgehog's face soon lit up with the trademark grin that many people had now come to associate with Queen Aleena's oldest son.

"Ya know what, sis? You're right."

Sonia beamed and closed her eyes as she ran a hand through her neatly styled quills.

"Aren't I always?"

Sonic smirked and leapt to his feet, holding out a helping hand to his sister.

"Remind me never to compliment you ever again," he teased as they made their way out of the cool night air and back into the van, closing the door behind them.

"Where is Manic, anyway?" Sonic asked as he scanned the room.

Sonia shrugged and joined in the search, her eyes seeking out the familiar mess of green spikes that belonged to her youngest brother. When she finally found him, Sonia couldn't help but let out a small giggle.

Sonic turned in surprise to see his sister pointing at the three large seats at the front section of the van. Curled up in the middle was Manic.

Sonia glanced at her older brother and put a finger to her lips before carefully moving to stand at Manic's side. Sonic joined her a few moments later.

The youngest of the three siblings was fast asleep, a small smile on his face serving as the only sign of his pleasant dreams.

"You see, Sonic?" Sonia said quietly. "He belongs with us."

And Sonic believed her.

End

(((((((((())))))))))

This is my first time writing Sonic fan fiction, so any feedback would be great. Personally, I don't think I got the characters quite right but hey, there's always room for improvement :)