Thanks so much PoeticLover1996, SunsetBreeze7x, rainmakesmehappy, GummyGal, ShinyShiny9, and luckyleafs for reviewing the last chapters and for the rest of you for following/faving!
"Please?"
"No."
"Oh, c'mon, lil' bro, I'll promise to never ever touch your inventions without your permission, and I'll keep the chilidog-smacking to a minimum!"
"...no," Tails muttered adamantly. He had to think about that one.
Sonic groaned and threw his head back, knowing that that compromise was the easiest one he would've ever had to make.
"But, Tails, we don't need them. They could all die in a hole and we'd be just fine against Egghead. I don't see why they're so important now," he complained from the couch, almost to the point of whining.
Tails cringed at a piece of bubblegum stuck to the floor and had to forcibly pry it off the carpet with pliers. His workshop's basement was filthier than he thought, consisting of wrappers of all kinds strewn across the pepper and salt carpet and daddy-long-legs clinging to his rusty old tools. It made it worse that the room was so large because there were more and more things to hide from the guests.
"Forget that, Sonic, they're coming in ten minutes! We can't have them coming to a dump like this!" the fox stressed, grasping the vacuum and hastily cleaning up the floor. With a rectangular video game controller in both hands, Sonic lifted his feet off the ground as the cleaning contraption flew by him.
"Y'know, what I don't get is why you invited them here. There are billions of places to meet up that are probably far neater than here," Sonic inserted idly. Tails stopped in his tracks only to unplug the vacuum cleaner and empty it out.
Yesterday, the fox had scheduled the meeting for today, thinking that tidying up the place wouldn't be so bad. Boy, was he wrong. It had taken Tails ages to find Sonic on his daily run, and he had dragged him back here in the basement to help clean. Of course, with an attention span as microscopic as a protozoan, Sonic had resorted to playing Super Mario Brothers on the NES while the fox had been doing most of the grunt work.
"Well, it would go by much faster if you were helping!" Tails chimed in, feigning glee, as he picked candy wrappers off the TV. "Man, I can't believe we're such sugar junkies," he murmured dubiously under his breath.
"Well, we wouldn't have to be doing this if you hadn't allowed them to tag along on our adventure in the first place!" Sonic shot back just as cheerily, frowning when he lost another life on the game. "Honestly, the only person you really need is me. I mean, if I wasn't there, you guys would explode and die in a hole."
Concluding that the phrase 'dying in a hole' was a hedgehog thing, Tails said, "But really, it's not my fault that this place is such a mess."
"So what, you're saying it's my fault?!" Sonic spat incredulously, "Nuh uh, who's the one that's here the most? And who sheds their stinking fur everywhere?"
"I do not shed!" Tails barked.
"Uh huh," Sonic deadpanned, yanking up a huge clump of yellow and white fur from the couch.
At that minute, the doorbell rang, instantly sending Tails into a disorganized panic and Sonic into a lengthy eye roll. "Sweet Mobius, they're here!" the fox exclaimed, dashing up the steps. "Sonic, please just try and pick up as many things as possible. Pretty please!" When all he received was a lazy backwards thumbs-up from the hedgehog, Tails continued up the stairs and through the hallway until he reached the front door.
Then, smoothing his fur to look as presentable as possible, he swung open the door, releasing a flurry of winter snow. "Hey, guys, glad you came!" he said nervously with a characteristic lopsided smile. The intimidating three figures at his doorstep towered over him and seemed as if they were not all too happy in being there. Tails jerked a thumb behind him. "Everything's in the workshop, so you guys can come on in!"
Humbly, Tails stepped out of the way to allow his three strange visitors through. "Let's make this quick! I've got an Emerald to guard," the ruby red echidna announced as he stomped in, compulsorily removing the snow from his shoes.
"And I would like to get back to stealing it from you, Knuckie," the white bat crooned, receiving a gargled "Rouge!" in return.
Shadow, the black and red hedgehog renowned as the Ultimate Lifeform, followed wordlessly in after the squabbling two, his crimson eyes scanning every item warily.
Tails ducked his head out the door and then turned back into the house. "Hey, uh, did Amy, uh, say anything about coming, or have you seen her?" he asked timidly. The blank stares from the allies gave him a definite answer. "Oh, okay, uh, never mind," Tails added quickly, feeling a sense of concern rise up in him. Where could Amy have gone? He invited her yesterday; he secretly hoped that Sonic wasn't the reason for her absence.
"Uh, where is the workshop anyway?" Tails heard the gruff voice belonging to Knuckles call. The fox winced.
Stupid, of course they wouldn't know; they've never been in here before!
"Yeah, s-sorry, I'll show you," Tails stumbled ahead of them, showing them the way downstairs, "I'm sorry if it's a little messy, but the meeting was kind of short notice for some people..."
Knuckles said, wide-eyed, "What are you talking about?"
"If immaculate is what you call messy, then I'd have to call you perfect," Rouge muttered, her sapphire eyes scaling up the spotless white walls of the basement. Tails immediately spun to the blue hedgehog on the couch who was looking as if his position never changed. However, an indistinct wink that was directed towards the fox said otherwise.
"So what is this all about?" Shadow addressed Tails, the hedgehog's expression grim.
"What else, Shads? Eggman's on the loose," Sonic interjected calmly from his spot, "Probably with a new invention to boot."
Knuckles drawled slowly, "If it's just typical Eggman, then what's all the fuss? Why are we needed?"
"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner," Sonic mumbled sarcastically, obtaining a heated growl from the echidna.
The fox's entire frame tensed up, preparing himself for the imminent argument until the ringing of the doorbell reached his large ears. "Oh, good," Tails breathed in thanks, "I'll get it!" He bounded up the stairs a little too enthusiastically and arrived to open the door, revealing the first smiling face to turn up at the meeting. "Amy!"
"Hey, Tails!" the cheerful voice said, muffled from the stack of goodies she was carrying. Her stylish winter coat was hauling a mound of snow on her shoulders, and her funky pink hairstyle collected the other snowflakes. She promptly marched into the house, carefully balancing the treats in her arms.
"Uh, need help with those?" the fox inquired, fiddling with his hands in worry.
Amy mumbled assuredly, "No I'm fine. I just thought I could take advantage of this time and give my Christmas treats to my hard-to-get-to friends."
Tails grinned; being an average socially awkward kid, he was real glad that she was here.
"Hey, guys, I brought Christmas treats for you!" she proclaimed optimistically into the basement. The reaction among the four downstairs was surprising if not comical.
Knuckles and Rouge, who had decided to sit down, immediately sprung up from their seats when hearing the sudden decree. Sonic copied the two's move and quirked his eyebrows at the newcomer. Shadow had remained standing and turned a devilish scarlet eye in Amy's direction. Amy, ignoring their rejoinder, bounced over to them with her snacks.
"...Treats, didya say?" Knuckles replied feebly, obviously still recovering from the scare.
"Uh huh!" the pink hedgehog grinned, offering a loaf of banana bread to the echidna, "This is for you!"
Knuckles took the bread tentatively and sniffed it. "Mmm, banana bread," he murmured dreamily as Amy handed Rouge her gift.
"Red velvet cake, huh?" the bat said, eyeing the treat suspiciously, "...Thanks, Pinky."
"And lastly this is for you, Shadow!" Amy announced gleefully and presented a large Swiss roll to the ebony hedgehog, "I know how much you like these! Merry Christmas!" The Ultimate Lifeform accepted the treat but studied it intensely afterwards before taking a small nibble. He then measured his bites fairly to try and show that he was indeed not infatuated with the pastry.
Tails instantly felt the stress fall from his shoulders. Now that everyone had settled down, he could communicate Eggman's manipulative plan with confidence.
His azure eyes trailed to the couch, expecting his big blue bro, but he found he wasn't there anymore. Worry struck him until he spotted Sonic, who was acquiring seven full cups of water at the water cooler for himself before returning to the meeting circle. The blue hedgehog looked more awake than he did before, fidgeting every so often, but Tails decided to dismiss the action.
Sonic finally came to rest at the very left of the circle, causing Amy to perform an awkward U-turn back to Rouge. Tails let a haggard sigh escape into the sterile air; tension was still high among them.
"So, what's Eggman up to this time?" Rouge asked, coaxing Tails into sitting on the floor amongst the odd circle they had created.
"Well, I...uh...he..." Tails began awkwardly, leaving the others to stare at him save for Sonic chugging his water intensely. "I think it's best to show you rather than tell." This received some atypical looks as the two-tailed fox revealed a small round disc and inserted it in his laptop.
Instantly, the fat man himself appeared on the screen along with maniacal laughter.
"Eggman!" Knuckles growled but was waved into silence from the others as the doctor seemed to be about to speak.
"Oh ho ho ho! Greetings, fools! It's been a while since my last attempt for world domination," the mad scientist chortled sinisterly, "But instead of coming to you this Christmas, I'm inviting you all to spend the holiday with me!"
"What?" Expressions of astonishment emerged among Knuckles, Amy, and even Rouge.
"That's right!" the Eggman assured as if speaking right to them, "My base is at White Acropolis Zone. Meet me there, and I'll give you a Christmas you'll truly remember! MuhahahahahhHHAAHA-!"
The clip cut off the senseless laughter, and stillness filled the room except the sound of swooshing to the water cooler to achieve more water for himself and back from Sonic.
"That's it?!" Amy cried in amazement, and Tails nodded in response, taking the disc out.
"If a fight is what he wants, then a fight is what he'll get!" Knuckles declared, leaping up from his seat with his fists rolling.
"No, it's obviously a trap of some sort, Knucklehead!" Rouge admonished, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Trying to lure us in with our pride or something..."
Shadow stood up from among them and muttered, "I say we go. White Acropolis...sounds familiar..."
"I hear it's chilly up there," Tails said with a shiver, "We'll have to pack tons of winter coats..."
Amy cocked her head in the direction of the two-tailed fox. "Say, Tails, didn't you mention something about an invention you were working on that would help us against Eggman? Do you have it finished?" she wondered aloud. Three pairs of eyes immediately turned to Tails, sending an edgy chill down the fox's spine.
"Uh...yeah...it's not entirely finished though, but we could bring it..." Tails mumbled uneasily.
"Then why doncha' show us then, huh?" Knuckles said, rallying a collective response of approbation. Tails felt a drop of sweat roll down his back and disappear into his golden fur.
"Uh..."
Tails didn't say much else before he was interrupted by a trick of water going down the wrong pipe and the thunderous effects following right after. Sonic- -after his twentieth cup of water- -had proceeded to bend back as far as he could while sitting and coughing, intending to get whatever entered his throat out. Though Tails didn't like to see his big brother in pain, he was grateful for the lucky diversion. It took a couple of minutes for Sonic to finally complete his regurgitation of the water. But he was still mildly shuddering.
"Aw, did the widdle hedgehog choke on the widdle water?" Knuckles teased in his best impression of someone talking to their pet.
"Aw, put a cork in it, Knuckles," Sonic snarled bitterly, a hint of embarrassment flickering across his muzzle.
Tails stood up, relinquishing the chance of anyone asking about his invention. "So," he said, "All approve of going to White Acropolis Zone?" Shadow raised his hand boldly while Knuckles' mitten shot up in the air. Rouge and Amy were a bit hesitant, but they raised their hands as well. Sonic, honestly not knowing what in the world Tails was talking about, lifted his gloved hand along with everyone else's.
"Okay," the fox paused conclusively, "...Does anyone have any objection about leaving now?"
Sonic heaved a large crate of tools out of the two-tailed fox's official workshop and lugged it on his back towards the group's packing pile. His hands still shook as he gripped his twenty-seventh cup of water. He hadn't meant for this to happen, to have an attraction to drinking the very thing that could kill him. In fact, the blue hedgehog was totally ready for handling his uptight allies at the meeting. However, he wasn't expecting to get such a surprise out of seeing Amy.
When he first caught sight of her, Sonic sensed the repulsive feeling rising in his throat similar to the recent time he ate chilidogs. In other words, he felt like he was going to puke, and he had to stop that fast. Water was the only answer, and he hoped to get by without someone noticing but failed miserably, much to his humiliation. The brief meeting felt like hours to Sonic as every couple of seconds he would steal a glance at Amy only to become more nauseated than before.
Unfortunately, the symptom became more prevalent in his mind because every time he brushed past the pink hedgehog now, it only set off a world of awkward in him, and he would rush to the water cooler to fight the mounting sickness within his throat.
So then he formulated a plan to remain at least two yards away from Amy, which crashed and burned wretchedly when he was forced to help her with a large box. Knuckles and Rouge were already chatting with Tails, and Shadow didn't seem like he would help anytime soon. Assisting her with the other side of the crate, he pulled the box on its way.
Sonic wasn't exactly a muscleman, so every so often the box would slip out of his fingers because of the immense weight, leaving Amy flailing to hold it at times. The chances of this happening increased because of Sonic's incessant endeavors of avoiding eye contact.
Why, oh why did she pick the largest box to carry? What does Tails have in this box anyway? His plane? Sonic grumbled as he half-dragged the package, his arms gradually feeling like limp noodles. The blue hedgehog at first tried to turn his eyes to their destination, but every time he heard a helpless grunt of surprise, his gaze immediately darted to the source of it in a rare flash of concern. But then he would thoroughly remind himself of his mission, making him perform a cross-eyed expression to evade looking at her, which was totally not cool. Therefore, he decided to swivel his entire head away from her, allowing her to deal with the bulk of the weight herself.
Sonic's eyes narrowed as they neared the rest of the group. It was decided. He had to tell Tails that she couldn't go. Already he had thrown himself into a panic when he saw her, and they hadn't even begun the adventure! Amy was too much trouble; she was probably acting like this now because of some fangirl idea that would make him fall in love with her anyway.
Though it was painful to admit, he couldn't permit her to come. Otherwise, she would be messing with his head all throughout the quest.
Releasing the weight unceremoniously without a second glance to his partner, Sonic trudged towards the young two-tailed fox. Tails was beaming as he chatted about the propensities people would have towards the far out future to Rouge, Shadow, and a very bewildered Knuckles.
"Uh, hey, lil' buddy, can I talk to ya 'bout somethin'?" Sonic inquired, noticing Amy join the group out of the corner of his eye. The blue hedgehog had meant the question to be inaudible to everyone but Tails, but life had a way of ruining his plans.
"C'mon, spinebrain, it can't be somethin' that we can't hear," Knuckles slurred, jumping on the chance of changing to a subject he actually enjoyed. Sonic directed a fiery glare towards the echidna but said nothing.
"Hey, it's all right, guys. I need to talk to Sonic alone anyway," Tails broke in with candor and followed the hedgehog to a safe place in the basement. Sonic scratched the back of his neck ineptly when he reached Tails.
"Uh, Tails...I..." Sonic began cautiously, but he was suddenly enveloped in a heap of daisy yellow fuzz.
"Sonic, thanks a lot!" Tails said joyfully, clinging on to his big bro, "I thought you were gonna be a huge pain in this meeting, but you really showed me up! Y'know, you're gonna be the first one to see my invention when it's finished, okay?"
The blue hedgehog shrugged haphazardly, "Uh...sure."
"Awesome!" the fox said, hopping back with delight. "So what were you going to tell me about?"
Sonic's eyes widened. "I..." he began impractically, "...just wanted to say that you're the best little bro there is!" The blue hero then yanked Tails into an old-fashioned noogie while the fox squealed and twisted to escape the grinding of Sonic's fist. Finally, the hedgehog let him go, and the fox's two tails and bangs stuck out from the static as he wiped a lone tear from his eye.
"Yeah...you're the best big brother...ever," Tails panted between sniggers.
Sonic assumed his trademark smirk as his best friend teetered past him, but when the fox could no longer see his face, the blue hedgehog's smile instantly disappeared into a mix of anxiety and frustration.
For now, he would just have to deal with the irrepressible sensations he got around his pink acquaintance and save the world from Eggman. After all, he was Sonic the Hedgehog. However, an excruciatingly small voice in his head whispered that it just may not be enough.
And so the adventure begins! Action will soon come into this and play a big part in the plot, don't worry. Anyway, read, review, comment, criticize...any kind of review would truly be nice, even from those who are just following. Thanks!
-JD