Family Reunions

The home of Ren and Aleena the Hedgehog was quite cozy. Amy decided that she would have to swap decorating tips with Sonic's mother right after she got over the fact that she was actually meeting Sonic's parents! This was a big step in their relationship! Sure there were extenuating circumstances, and sure the entire crew would be there for dinner, but she was meeting Sonic's parents! She looked around the house once again. Sonic, Cosmo, and Tails were sitting in the living room with Sonic's dad, and Knuckles was already sitting at the table, and appeared to be deep in thought. Cream was in the Kitchen helping Aleena with the food, and Amy figured that was probably a good place for her to be as well. Hopefully, that would give her some time to talk with Sonic's mom about a few things.

"So let me get this straight, lad," Sonic's dad said to Tails, "You're tellin' me that you actually got my son on a boat and you're currently traveling all over the world on holiday?" Tails nodded, and Ren laughed enthusiastically "Boy you don't know how happy I am to hear that! It makes me proud to know that my boy's finally following in his old man's footsteps!" The elder hedgehog then placed his hand on Sonic's head and proceeded to ruffle his quills. Sonic hated it when people touched his quills, but he tolerated the gesture from his father.

Ren was a tall, yellow-eyed, navy blue hedgehog, and also a seasoned sailor. He'd travelled all over the world with his own crew of misfits in his youth, sailing the seas to wherever the wind might take him. Thus, the fact that his son was utterly terrified of water had been a point of barely hidden shame for Ren. The first time he'd tried to take his son on a boat was also the first time they learned the boy could break the sound barrier after he'd run away screaming! Fortunately, Sonic had turned out to be a brave and adventurous lad, and really a good kid all around, so his father could still be proud of him despite that particular flaw.

"And I see you've also managed to find yourself a girlfriend," Ren said to Tails with a sly grin. The fox jumped at his words, wondering how the older hedgehog knew. He looked at Cosmo, who just smiled back at him. Then he looked down and realized he was holding her hand, and had probably been doing so for some time now. Funny how little gestures like that can become so habitual that we do them unconsciously.

Sonic and his father both chuckled at Tails' confusion. When their laughter subsided, the elder hedgehog took a good look at each of the boys. They were growing up so fast, now. It seemed to him they'd each grown a foot since the last time he'd seen them. He could still clearly remember the day Sonic was born, so small that when he curled into a ball he could almost fit in the palm of your hand, and with quills so soft they could hardly be called quills at all. He also remembered the day his son had brought Tails home to them for the first time. Just as Sonic considered the fox to be his little brother, Ren and Aleena had come to think of him as an adopted son. Looking at them now, Ren was almost starting to feel old. He shook the feeling off almost physically. Young he was not, but neither was he an old-timer, and he would not think himself so until he saw his first great-grandchild! And speaking of great-grand children…

"So that pink girl in the kitchen," Ren began, "I assume she's the one that's always chasing you around?"

Sonic put his hand on the back of his head and gave a sort of embarrassed laugh, "Heh, yup, she's the one! And… you were right," he finished, almost inaudibly.

Ren nodded, "Course I was. She's just like your mother."

Sonic got a bit defensive at that, "Whoa, wait a minute, Pops, Amy is NOTHING like Mom!"

"Well, maybe not her attitude," Ren admitted, "Aleena's always been quiet and gentle, while this one seems like a real firecracker. But they both have something in common that makes them very much alike."

"What's that?" Tails asked.

Ren answered, giving his boy's quills another good ruffle, "They're the only ones with enough patience and persistence to deal with the likes of us in the long haul!"

The food was just about ready, and Amy was helping Cream and Aleena with the final preparations. Amy was still trying to get over the fact that she was talking to Sonic's mother! The girl was uncharacteristically nervous. Normally she didn't care what anyone but Sonic (and to a lesser extent, Cream) thought of her, but this was different. These were the people she was planning to make her future in-laws, and she knew nothing about them! How much did they people know about her? What had Sonic told them? What did they think of her? Had Sonic mentioned her to them at all?

The three had been making small-talk while they worked on the food, and now that it was nearly done, Amy decided that if she was ever going to find out what they thought of her, now was the time.

"So, what has Sonic told you about all of us?" Amy asked innocently.

"Just the bits and parts Sonic has mentioned while talking about his adventures. Its really very nice to finally meet all of you in person." Aleena gave her a knowing smile, "I've noticed you tend to follow him around a lot in those stories. Any particular reason for that?"

Amy giggled a bit, "Well, I should probably let Sonic tell you this, but I just happen to be his girlfriend! It just took me a while to get him to see how perfect we are together."

"I figured it might be something like that," Sonic's mother sighed, "That boy is just like his father. Always running around in search of adventure and you've gotta chase him all over the world just to get his attention."

Amy looked thoughtful for a moment. If Sonic was just like his father…, "So you had to chase after Sonic's dad, too?"

"Oh yes, dear," Aleena replied, "And while he wasn't as fast as Sonic, he was just as hard to find, always sailing around from one continent to the next. Have you ever tried to find a single ship in the ocean? It's not easy, let me tell you! It was worth it, though," she got a sort of far off look in her eyes as she continued, "You see, I wasn't much older then you when I was working at a little pub in a Port Town in Mercia."

"Mercia? Isn't that where you're from, Amy?" Cream asked as she took some potatoes to the table. Amy nodded in response.

"Ahh, maybe you've been there, then," Aleena said, "Anyway, I was cleaning up after work when a fairly rowdy group of pirates came in. When I told them the place was closed, they left and took me with them!"

"That sounds scary!" Cream exclaimed, and cheese chirped in agreement.

"Oh I was terrified!" Aleena told her, "Fortunately another group of sailors heard me scream, and came to my rescue. There was a big fight, but the captain of my rescue party managed to get me away and take me home. The young captain then kissed my hand, bade me goodnight, and left before I could even ask his name. He was such a dashing gentleman that I decided then and there that I'd find him again. Long story short, I chased that hedgehog over half the world before I realized I loved him, and then when he finally took me aboard I sailed with him over the other half to convince him to marry me."

Amy felt a sudden sense of vindication, now. She had often wondered if all of her running around was ever going to get Sonic's attention. Now she realized that it was probably the ONLY way to get his attention. HAH!

Aleena handed the girl a plate of food, "Here, dear, why don't you go set this on the table and let the others know dinner is ready," she then smiled and conspiratorially added, "I'll make sure you get a seat right next to Sonic."

Amy returned her smile and went off to do as she was told. Aleena grabbed another plate and brought it to the table, glancing at Sonic and Tails as she did. Tails looked so much older now, and Sonic was the spitting image of his father at that age, if a little lighter in color. She smiled to herself. Her boys were certainly growing up.

Dinner at Sonic's old home was often a large affair. Ren's crew had often gathered there to relive old times and talk about their lives. Now Sonic was continuing the tradition with his own group of friends. The food had long since been polished off, and now they were all taking turns telling stories about their various adventures, especially the most recent ones.

Knuckles was only half listening to the talk. He'd put in his two cents when he felt it was needed, but he was more concerned with the day's earlier events. The echidna was certain he'd seen someone he knew earlier, a thief who had been getting into both his and Rouge's way for some time now. If he was here, maybe he knew something about the Chaos Emerald.

Knuckles nearly jumped out of his skin when his thoughts were interrupted by his communicator beeping. After excusing himself from the table, he went into the living room and flipped it open to see that Rouge was calling him. The echidna called to the others, "Hey, guys, quiet down in there! Rouge is calling!"

"Did they find the Chaos Emerald?" Cream asked.

"We'll know in a minute," He replied.

Rouge's voice came over the communicator when he opened the channel, "This is Rouge calling Knuckles, are ya there big guy?"

"I'm here, Rouge," Knuckles answered, "What's up?"

Dr. Ivo Robotnik, better known as Dr. Eggman, was ecstatic. He was on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere, a place so small that it wasn't even on the map. His robots were currently digging in the sand at the location where he knew he would find one of the Chaos Emeralds. Best of all, his scouts reported no sign of the Sea Storm anywhere in the vicinity. No hedgehogs, no two-tailed foxes, no echidnas or rabbits or plant-girls or anyone else to get in his way! It wouldn't be long before that Emerald was his, and then he would use it to power a machine that he could use to acquire the other Emeralds from Sonic and his annoying little friends.

Only a few moments later, the dig-bots grew very excited. Their leader scooped something up off of the ground and approached his master. In the machine's claw was the yellow Chaos Emerald.

"Here you are, my liege," the machine said in a monotone voice. The doctor snatched the gem up eagerly, and laughed at his triumph. His mirth was short-lived, however.

A panicked Bocoe and Decoe came running up to their master. "Dr. Eggman, there's a message from one of the scouts! We've got trouble!" the shorter 'bot said.

The radio was tuned on and another voice came from it, "Master, there is a large ship headed this way. I believe it's the-" the voice died suddenly as several metallic clangs were heard, followed by an explosion. Eggman looked at the radio worriedly. This could not be good.

As if to confirm his fears, the tiny island was suddenly surrounded by dozens of what had one been Egg Pawns. Now they were servants of a new master, and they were better and badder than ever. Eggman and his robots were now hopelessly outnumbered.

A voice from behind the doctor suddenly caught his attention, "My metal minions work quite efficiently, don't you think, 'master'?" The last word was dripping with sarcasm. Eggman turned to face the voice, though he already knew who it belonged to. Metal Sonic stood before him; in one hand he held a wicked-looking scythe, while the other hand was stretched out as if to receive something, "I believe you know what I'm here for."

Dr. Eggman weighed his choices, wondering briefly if his own creation, his 'son', so to speak, would actually destroy him. The doctor sighed heavily. If it wasn't Sonic and his friends getting in the way, it was something else! Though right now, Eggman thought he would gladly have taken Sonic's interference over this any day.

Author's Note: Shorter chapter, but I didn't to go too far into the background of Sonic's parents (save that for another story, maybe). Just so you know, Aleena is a reference to Sonic's mother in the older Sonic cartoons, while Ren is a direct reference to the old Pirates of Dark Water.