New Beginnings
"C'mon, c'mon! We're already late! Let's hustle!" Silver exclaimed as he ran up the front way of the mansion. It had been a month ever since the four hedgehogs were locked in the mansion. They made new friends in the Spiritans, previous Mobians who died in a fire. Jasmine, an adoptive daughter of the Gordons who posed as a deceased child, tried to claim the mansion to sale it. But luckily, the hedgehogs meddled with her plans and were able to save the mansion.
Today, Phil had contacted Silver and told them to come up to visit since he had a surprise for them. Sonic jogged after Silver while Orok flew after Sonic (the little dragon learned how to fly), Shadow just walked quickly while Scourge just walked calmly. However, as they walked, everyone couldn't help but to notice some of the obvious changes at the mansion. First off, the hedgehogs noticed that there were a lot of toys scattered across the front yawn. Also, there were more flowers in the garden, and the bushes were in the shapes of animals like cats, dogs, and so on. However, the exterior of the mansion was the same.
It took them a few moments, but the four hedgehogs made it to the mansion. Silver was jumping with excitement, but the others (even Sonic) remained calm.
"Alright Silver, Shadow said "what's this big surprise you and Phil have for us?" Silver smirked.
"You'll see," was the only thing he said before he knocked on the doors three times. After a few moments, the locks could be heard getting undone from the other side before the door opened. Augusta greeted them, now wearing a pink summer dress and with her hair tied up. She smiled at the hedgehogs and moved aside so they could come in.
"You're just in time," she said. "Everyone assembled just a while ago."
"Everyone?" Sonic repeated curiously. Augusta closed the door behind them while the hedgehogs gazed at the new look of the interior design. The hardwood floors were now replaced with blue and purple polka-dotted carpeting. The weapons that hung from the walls were replaced with pictures and drawings, as well as the alphabet and pictures of animals and plants. The chandelier that hung from the ceiling was still there, but now it was silver, and it had zoo animals hanging from it. Scourge, Shadow and Sonic gaped at the new decorations, but Silver looked proud of himself.
At that moment, a group of children (both humans and Mobians) started to walk down the grand staircase. There were two children in front, and they looked very familiar to Silver. One of them was a human girl holding a stuffed bunny, and the boy next to her was a gray Mobian cat. The girl looked up to see the hedgehogs standing in the foyer, and she immediately smiled before she ran down the stairs, went up to Silver and hugged him. The Mobians cat soon followed her lead, and the other children followed. It wasn't long before all four were surrounded with small kids, ranging from the age of 4 to 9.
Silver was on the floor hugging multiple kids, Sonic had more hanging off of him while Orok got chased by a few, Shadow allowed a young Mobian fox to climb on his back, and Scourge was knocked to the floor.
Moments later, Phil Gordon Jr. along with the Spiritans came into the foyer and told the children to get off of their guests.
"I see you met the new residents," Phil chuckled once the hedgehogs were back on their feet.
"New residents?" Scourge asked.
"I arranged this," Silver said proudly. "Remember when we went home that day? Well, I saw some orphans hiding behind the dumpster."
"Silver called Phil and told him he should turn the mansion into another orphanage!" Petuni said lyrically. "When we heard this, we began to reconstruct the house." Shadow suddenly grew a wide smile before he patted Silver's back.
"You clever dog!" he exclaimed. "That was a great idea! How come you never told us?"
"I wanted it to be a surprise." Silver replied coolly. The girl with the stuffed bunny started to pull at Silver's pants leg.
"Mister Silver!" she said. "We have something to tell you!"
"What's that?" The children giggled before they all stood in front of the hedgehogs, bowed, and said "thank you" simultaneously.
"Aw shucks..." the silvery hedgehog said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "It was nothing!"
"Wrong Silver," Sonic said. "What you did means something to these kids, and the Spiritans. You gave them a family, playmates, and you were the main person who saved the place! You saved the future generation, man."
"You've just gave these kids what they've been missing," Shadow added. "They were out on the streets without a future, destined for a world of cruelty, loneliness, or even death. You probably just saved a lot of lives."
"There are more kids coming in here everyday," Agusta said. "And since the mansion is so big, we have plenty of room!"
"And hey, I ain't the one to say this, but you gotta be proud of yourself, Silv," Scourge said. "Hell, the place should be name after ya!"
"It is," Ron laughed. "Agusta was the one who thought of it. We're calling this place the 'House of Silver'."
"Y'all welcome to come here anytime ya want," Peridot added. "Th' kids would like to play with y'all when yer not busy. 'Sides, I think new arrivals would love to meet th' ones who saved 'em in th' first place."
"Yeah! Stay and play with us Mister Hedgehogs!" a young Mobian kangaroo exclaimed. Soon, the entire foyer was filled with the whining and begging of the children who wanted to have their special guests stay a while. Silver laughed a bit before he turned towards his roommates.
"Well? Should we stay?" he asked.
"I don't see why not," Shadow said while smiling.
"Yeah," Sonic added. "I wanna see what else they changed here!"
"I'm not busy." Scourge said simply. The kids cheered before a few of them grabbed the hedgehogs and pulled them towards the staircase. They eventually were broke up into groups; Silver went up to the game room with Cobalt, Ron and Evan, Sonic and Shadow were in the library. Shadow read stories to the kids with Peridot and Petuni while Sonic told his tales of adventure. And Scourge was showing off his skills by performing various tricks with billiards and other objects he could find while Emi, Eric, and Cal watched. The four of them stayed at the mansion that whole day, entertaining the kids until the sun began to set. It was around 6 that evening when they had to bid farewell.
"Please come back over to visit," Petuni said at the front door. "The children loved your company."
"We will!" Silver exclaimed. "That's a promise!" At that moment, Cobalt pushed her way through the group, holding her platinum trumpet. Silver smiled and knelt down so he could at eye level with his young friend.
"Hi there, Cobalt!" he said happily. "What'cha got there?"
"This is for you!" Cobalt said cheerfully as she presented Silver with the toy.
"Your trumpet?" Silver looked down at the toy, and then back at Cobalt before shaking his head. "I can't. It's your toy!"
"But I want you to keep it!" Cobalt pressed the trumpet into Silver's chest and smiled. "I'm giving it to you because I trust you, and your my best friend. I know you'll take good care of it, so take it!" Silver looked down at the toy instrument and began to think back to when he first met Cobalt. He was so nervous when he was walking down that dark hallway. And then, as if she was calling out to him, he heard Cobalt playing the Forest Maze song from one of his favorite video games. He went into that room and saw a small girl looking for a friend. He'll never forget the day he met Cobalt, and he was sure Cobalt would never forget the day she met him. Smiling softly, Silver placed the trumpet on the floor before embracing the small Spiritan girl in a tight hug.
"Thanks, Cobalt," he said softly. "But I wish I could give you something in return..."
"You already gave me something silly!" Cobalt giggled, making Silver tilt his head a little. "You gave me a friend in you once we met. That's the best thing you could ever give to me." The females let out "aww"s while Scourge gagged, earning him a slap on the head Sonic, Shadow and even Orok.
"Hey, Scourge." Cal suddenly came form the group, holding a box that seemed all too familiar to Scourge. "I want you to have these."
"Whoa, you're giving me the-you're giving them to me?" Scourge asked. Cal nodded. Before presented the box to him.
"They're now yours, dude."
"But...I can't..."
"I want you to have them, Scourge. Besides..." Cal motioned for Scourge to come closer before he whispered in his ear. "'Sides, I can't keep them here with all of these kids around. Imagine what would happen if they found 'em!"
"Point taken." Scourge chuckled before taking the box in his hands and grinning.
"Well," Sonic sighed "we better head on home."
"It's was great having you all over," Phil said. "As we said before, you're welcome to visit anytime you like."
"We'll be back," Shadow promised. "We know that the kids would want to see us occasionally." Silver rubbed Cobalt's head before he stood up.
"Be good, and listen to what your parents say, alright?" Cobalt giggled again before nodding. After a few more farewells, the four hedgehogs began to make their way down the large front yard of the new orphanage. As they walked, the children of the orphanage opened the windows on the second and third floors and said their farewells. The hedgehogs turned around and waved goodbye as they continued walking. Soon, they were out the gate, and were on their way back home. When they were gone, Phil, Augusta, Peridot, Petuni and the others soon went inside and closed the door, and went back to the start of their new lives.
End Notes: It came and went so fast, didn't it? Yup, it's over guys.
You know what? I think I'm going to do more short stories featuring these four only, and maybe having small appearances of other characters.
I'm not going to say the usual today; I'm too tired. Anyway...
I hope you enjoyed the story! See you next time, and God bless!