Warmth was all around him and the steady heartbeat paired with soft breathing echoing through the darkness swimming in his head. Despite how good it felt, Sonic really needed to wake up or at least move. Managing to roll over despite the iron tight hold on him, little black eyes were greeted to a pair of verdant green. If he was still sleepy, then he would've thought he was looking at his older self.
But he was wide awake as he easily saw the face of a human man with snow white hair instead of an older velvet blue hedgehog. The hedgehog seeing what looked like pain and trauma deep within those chilled orbs despite the softness in them. The kind of softness often seen in that of a parent. "Thank you." Was all he said before it clicked in his head. The hedgehog noticing Nero cuddled into the man's chest in blissful peace.
It wasn't hard to see the similarities between the two. This man was Nero's actual father. Sonic gave the adult a soft smile as his way of saying 'Your Welcome'. Then the moment was ruined when another guy in red burst into the room with a loud 'Rise and Shine!' And Nero started to cry from his rude awakening. Sonic wasn't blind or deaf to the father's eyes becoming slits and the inhuman growling from his throat. Being quick as he was, the hedgehog picked up the crying Nero and started comforting the baby while his father prowled from the bed on all fours like an enraged predator.
'Guess the little guy got his arm from his pop's side because holy mother of Chaos Emeralds!' The hedgehog thought after watching the human burst into blue light to reveal an actual demon twice his previous size. Large silver horns in a V like pattern, black scaly skin outlined with blue stripes, blue draconic wings that could resemble a coat if folded, long blackish silver tail going down his spine and razor sharp claws paired with large fangs.
Sonic quickly covered Nero's ears since the guy in red let out a Holy Shit as the demon dad roared in fury before pouncing on him. The duo rolled out of the room in a scuffle. The baby began to giggle as his father beat up the guy who woke him up out of view from hearing the yelps, pleas and angry roars. 'What did I wake up to?! No, here's a better one! What kind of world only chaos knows have I got blasted into?!' The hedgehog thought with a sweatdrop.
Nero's father came back after the screams died before swiping them up onto his scaly body. The devil taking both boys to the bathroom to get washed up with Sonic in his tail and Nero in his arms. The hedgehog was happy there was a shower to use. He wasn't exactly comfortable sitting in a pool of water to clean up in. And the added privacy let him check his surroundings too. 'This place is a business? What kind of jobs do they even have? Especially with a place as rundown as this?' The hedgehog thought curiously.
He stumbled into the kitchen to find the guy in red was okay. Suspiciously he had no injuries after being viciously mauled. 'He must be the dude's brother meaning he's a demon too. I guess fast healing is their unique shtick unlike the ones from Crisis City.' He reminisced from his previous adventure. "Hey Sonic, come on over and get something to eat. Got some pancakes and eggs." Sonic looked over to the male in red in pure surprise. Something the male instantly caught as he couldn't help the chuckle escape his throat.
"Wait… Your name is actually Sonic?! Score one for Dante!" The guy or Dante chuckled. Annoyed, Sonic left the room in a flash before coming back with a marker and white board. He wrote something on the white surface then showed what he had written to both brothers. 'Yes. My name is Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. Got a problem with my name, jerk?' Vergil, now human, raised an eyebrow in amusement while he fed Nero with the baby bottle Dante 'acquired'.
"Not making fun of your name. Laughing at the pure irony since we saw ya literally run across the ocean before crashing hard. Is there something wrong with your voice?" Dante inquired as the hedgehog wrote a new message. 'My voice box is stunted so I can't talk. The problem will resolve itself when I turn 10 years old. Got 5 years to go.' Dante shifted uncomfortably in his seat seeing the message.
"We should introduce ourselves. Name's Dante, that's my older twin Vergil and his little hellspawn Nero. We decided to take you back to my nifty shop after finding ya at the beach, Devil May Cry." Sonic wrote a new message hearing that. 'This dump is yours? Even the Oil Ocean Zone is cleaner than this! And it's an entire sea pitched black from massive oil pollution!' Vergil had a grin on his face seeing Dante's face turn red in embarrassment.
His brother was often annoying him to no end. Yet Dante hated earning complaints for his disgustingly filthy shop but the fact this jab was coming from a 5 year old hedgehog made it even more amusing. The man in red wouldn't admit that he was a 'hoarder' in human terms. "Sonic, do you know how you got here?" Vergil was quick to notice the somber look in the hedgehog's eyes before it disappeared.
And did the hedgehog had quite the tale. An alternate universe, frequent battles over 7 powerful gemstones against a human scientist who could create machines of mass destruction to mechanizing an entire time eating entity and even working together with his future self. Neither brothers expected the possibility of multiple universes but reading it from Sonic was terrifying to say the least.
The thought of someone like Robotnik or his future counterpart Eggman (which Dante laughed hearing about it), who nearly destroyed an entire timeline with success could potentially be in their universe? It was scary about what kind of damage the madman could do with actual demon artifacts. Especially the tales the little hedgehog received from his older self. Splitting the planet in half to harvest the energy of a dark god to even capturing and enslaving 5 planets and an entire alien species to drain them of their power to brainwash the whole galaxy?
Or the fact he nearly caused Armageddon with the god of said gemstones or a creature determined to eradicate all life on Earth because of his grandfather's grudge? It made Vergil's past actions for power earlier look like a firecracker in comparison. Even their demon sides paled at that fact. Yet, then came how the little hedgehog solved those problems. Utilizing the power of the Seven Chaos Emeralds to become a powerful version of himself called Super Sonic.
A transformation that granted flight, near invincibility, unbelievable power and the fact it could warp time and space was mind-blowing. It sounded like a far more powerful equivalent to both brothers Devil Trigger. Their inner devils stirring crazily to see this powerful form. Yet, it doesn't last long and the Emeralds scatter off to the far reaches of the planet after use like a failsafe.
It did raise an important question. "Why are the Chaos Emeralds nearly lifeless then? Something like that with infinite power shouldn't short out after an event like that." Dante's question had Sonic in thought. It was nearly impossible to drain the emeralds unless something as powerful as a god was feeding on it.
'Whatever it is, it must have required a huge amount of energy. The Emeralds shouldn't have been with me either. My older self had taken them before the time rift began to close up and they were perfectly fine.' Everyone was silent thinking over the frustrating situation. "This is making my brain hurt! No wonder they're called Chaos Emeralds because they are going to make me go nuts from all the nonsense!" Dante exclaimed in annoyance.
Sonic had to admit he could understand Dante's point on the situation. Nothing made sense and there were too many questions with very little answers. 'I vote to move off topic. Can you guys tell me more about this business and world? I know none of you aren't normal considering this morning minus my new little buddy in Vergil's arms. You guys those demon things I heard from some nutty folks?'
Dante and Vergil had given Sonic their story like the hedgehog did for himself. The Legendary Dark Knight Sparda, a powerful devil who rebelled against his kind to protect humanity. And fell in love with a human woman who birthed him twin sons, the two brothers before the very speedster. From how basic it was, he bet his shoes that a lot of bad stuff had happened to both twins considering how vicious and distant Vergil was along with Dante's shop state and attitude.
Both were showing signs of basic PTSD and clearly hadn't done much about it. "Considering your situation and Vergil's paternal fascination, I think it's best you stay here and live with us." A record scratching off had derailed his train of thought once Sonic heard Dante's words. 'Dante say what now?' That wasn't what he expected.
"You can't really go anywhere without constant threat of being hunted or killed by both humans and demons. You also don't have the necessary resources or proper survival skills. Despite all of your accomplishments, you're still a 5 year old toddler. No way in hell are we letting a 5 year old tyke run loose." Dante listed off immediately before Sonic could write a response.
"You also have no knowledge on fighting demons. Vital information such as that means life or death in battle. This is a whole new universe with a very different set of rules. Every opponent you face will attack you with the intent to kill. It's kill or be killed." Vergil added. Sonic couldn't help but agree. He had no Chaos Emeralds or any of his old friends in this world to save him if things go wrong. He truly was on his own. Sonic needed their help if he was going to survive.
The blue blur nodded his head in agreement as he gave the brothers his signature thumbs up and smile. Nero babbling happily as if he sensed Sonic's response. The tyke no doubt got quite attached to the speedster despite the minimum time frame. "Glad we could come to an agreement! Do need to get you an outfit though. Can't go out into public without causing a panic."
Sonic looked at himself after hearing Dante's words before looking at the man like he was crazy. He wasn't a fan of clothing like shirts or pants. They mess him up whenever he tries to curl up for a spin dash or even a normal ball. No way in Chaos were they going to stuff him in a monkey suit. Not without a chase as a devilish grin grew on his face. Almost if Nero knew what Sonic was planning began to giggle wildly earning confusion from the brothers.
Sonic wrote something new before showing it to the adult males with a smug grin on his face. Vergil instantly read the message out loud since it confused him so much. With a very confused tone he read: "You have to catch me first?" In cartoon fashion, Sonic had disappeared as the white board and marker fell with nothing to hold it. Vergil had to hold back either a curse or amused snort.
This was the same type of antic both brothers pulled on their parents when they were toddlers. Neither of them liked wearing clothing back then because of their devil instincts deeming it unnecessary. This led to both parents to chase after them as both twins ran away in their birthday suits. "Are you sure this hedgehog isn't yours, Dante? He has your mannerisms." Dante nearly choked in laughter.
Was it because his stubborn and grumpy soul brother had told a joke or the fact they have to go through the same type of bullshit their parents had to deal with? How hard could it be to catch a little blue hedgehog? Dante should have cleaned his office when he had the chance.
First place the hunter decided to search was the basement. The hedgehog couldn't go far without leaving the shop and there were only so few hiding places for him. The basement was filled with mountains of junk. "Sonic. Sonic. Come out wherever you are." Dante called out looking at the mountain of junk he had gathered down there. He passed by a light blue fuzzy ball unaware that two black pupils peeked out from the fur.
'If you look up the word 'hoarder' in a dictionary, Dante's picture would be right there. They want to stuff me in a monkey suit? Then they are in for a little prank war because I have...a lot of ammunition.' Sonic thought before dawning a red headband with devil horns. Got to get into character after all.
The little hedgehog watching the hunter pass him and eyed the items near him. A bucket of pink paint, some thin wire and a few tennis balls was enough for a lightbulb to go off in his head. A soft thud had Dante quickly turn around as his eyes notice a tennis ball rolling across the concrete floor. "Game's over tyke!" Dante exclaimed heading over to where the tennis ball came from.
Completely oblivious to the tripwire right at his feet. He plummeted face first into the stone before his vision was covered in pink and there was a clatter of metal accompanied by a splosh. The hedgehog had dumped a paint bucket over him. Dante looked up to see Sonic snickering silently and waved before disappearing in a blue blur.
Vergil looked up to see a blue blur run upstairs while he sat Nero in his little crib chair. Dante came out of the basement covered in musty old pink paint. The older twin letting out an amused snort while Nero giggled wildly at the man's misfortune. "Your turn dear old brother. I'll watch Nero. Oh and watch out, the little punk has a pair of devil horns on him." The younger grumbled patting Vergil on the back.
"It would be a simple task." With that the older twin headed up the stairs taking part of the hedgehog hunt. Remembering where the blue streak went, Vergil knew Sonic had escaped into the upstairs bathroom. Unlike the basement, there was absolutely nowhere for the little one to run. Opening the door, he was greeted to the sight of the hedgehog standing on the toilet.
Arms behind his back while he smiled at the older teen innocently despite the plastic red devil horns on his head. His inner devil let out an amused chuckle looking at the impish accessory. "Alright Sonic. Be a good little hedgehog and come with me. I need your measurements for the outfit." The half devil spoke stalking towards the hedgehog. It had happened in a split second.
Sonic took out a white bag from behind before tossing it at Vergil's face. The paper sack exploded into a cloud of flour on impact blinding the half devil while the hedgehog took the opportunity to escape. Dante looked up to see a cloud of white coming out of his bathroom followed by a blue blur.
The man bursting out in laughter as his brother stomped the stairs completely starch white from his head down to his knees. Vergil glaring at Dante with eyes glowing green as he dropped powder white flour with each step. "I thought you were catching a hedgehog, not baking bread. A simple task huh?" Dante teased earning a hiss from his twin.
Switching places with his brother, Dante strolled over to the spare bedroom following the flour footprints left by the little blue devil. There was no way Sonic was going to get away from him this time. He was going to get payback for the paint. Opening the door, Dante saw the spare bed lie untouched, closet door closed, desk and chair set but found his red flag at the curtains.
A familiar red and white shoes lying behind the beige curtains. The little hedgehog was clearly standing behind it. 'I'll wrap that little needle nose in his own hiding spot. Wonder what we should make him wear? Maybe dress him up as a mini Vergil...or I could have my own mini me!' The man in red thought stalking over to the curtains.
He immediately bearhugged the fabric only to be greeted by a spray of a foul smell and blue needles instead of the kicking feet from a five year old. During his gagging, he looked down to see it was just Sonic's shoes there. The sound of the closet door opening as the little blue devil himself in socks stood there waving before he vanished in his signature blur. He had found Dante's old stache of stink bombs and poked holes in them with his quills.
Dante strolled back down to his brother who had to hold his nose from how awful he smelled. Demons have a very sensitive sense of smell after all. "We aren't going to be able to catch the little bugger if he keeps outsmarting us. I think we need to set up a trap." Dante whispered the last bit in case the little speedster was listening.
"As much I hate saying this, you're correct little brother. If we do a trap, then what should we use as bait?" The older twin questioned while his brother wracked his brain. Then a familiar little image popped into his mind. Surprisingly like Dante, Sonic was addicted to one particular type of food: Chili Dogs. He even drew a little doodle of chili dog on his white board while storytime. The delicious delight would be his downfall.
Sonic was lying on Vergil's bed kicking his legs into the air while doodling in a piece of paper he found with some crayons he discovered in the basement. The doodles consisting of him, Tails and many other things he remembered from his adventures. It was bitter thinking about what he left behind but he never wanted to forget his friends or the world he came from. The good times and even the bad times were precious to him.
'He's going to be fine without me. Plus, knowing my buddy Tails I bet he'll invent a machine that can communicate through other dimensions. He has a whole life ahead of him and I know with that brain of his the possibilities are endless.' Sonic thought looking at the picture of the two tailed fox.
His train of thought was derailed upon the scent of a very familiar food. Fresh spice, charred jalapenos, crispy onions and the familiar scent of mustard that his nose hungered for. 'Chili Dogs!!!' A freshly made chili dog with all the fixings was something he had been craving for quite a while. 'I'm coming for you, my angel!' The little speedster ran out of the room towards the kitchen.
He stopped shortly at the door to see a plate stacked full of chili dogs sitting at the counter. Nero sitting at the table in his baby chair looking at him with a gummy smile. There was something wrong with the scene but he didn't care for details. He was hungry and he wanted those mouthwatering chili dogs!
The blue blur only took 6 steps before a rush of dark blue and red landed on top of him pinning him to the ground. "Got ya this time!" A distorted but familiarly cocky voice called out as Sonic looked up to see the face of another demon. However he wasn't blind or stupid to not know this was Dante that the hedgehog was staring at.
His face looked strikingly similar despite the dark gray skin and glowing slightly larger red eyes, his hair now a plating of flat white horns and the cocky grin now wider and had sharp pointy teeth, despite that it was still Dante. They used his favorite food to ambush him. Smart move. The hedgehog giving the devil in red an unamused look.
"You had this coming bud. Now what's your issue with clothes? You seem fine with gloves and shoes." Sonic responded by curling into a perfect ball with the minimum room he had from being squashed by two devils. His eyes cartoonishly showing up despite his ball state and remained glaring at Dante. "Oooo! I'm so scared! Someone's got a little attitude. You sure he ain't your kid, Verge?" Dante quipped while Vergil ignoring the jab picked up the blue ball of fur and quills.
Even though his hide was tough, Vergil easily felt how sharp Sonic's quills and by calculating how fast he was along with this simple ability was enough for an answer to the clothing problem. "It hinders his way of fighting. Didn't Sonic stuff your childish bag of pranks with quills? Combine it with his mobility, limber form and how he fought in his stories…"
"Oooh. His reason is valid but that still doesn't let him get away with dunking paint on me. How about this? If we get you something that won't mess up your signature thing out on jobs would you wear it with no fuss or stink bombs involved? There'll be chili dogs in it for ya if you agree." The little hedgehog poked his head out and looked at both devils. He let out a sigh before nodding his head.
He closed his eyes as both twins returned to their human form. "Alright! Glad to have that settled. Now let's eat because that chase made me hungry!" Dante exclaimed while a gust of wind ran past him. Both looked to see Sonic sitting at the table stuffing a chili dog in his mouth while two more sat in front of him.
The younger twin couldn't help but laugh at the scene or how messy the hedgehog was going to get. A small smile was on Vergil's face upon the sight while son was also amused by the childish antic. Vergil wouldn't lie that he felt a synergy with the little mischief maker. For a moment, his green eyes were looking at two small white hair and blue eyed boys chatting playfully instead of a little blue hedgehog.
'Would everything be different if that night never happened?' The thought stuck to his mind for the remainder of the day. Both of them had gotten revenge on the hedgehog after lunch by exaggerating methods of doing his measurements and forcing him to bathe with Nero for bathtime. Recalling the picture of a very poofy hedgehog almost made him laugh.
The man looked over at the two sleeping little boys and ironically his brother curled up at the edge of his bed. Nero wanted his uncle with him tonight that the infant was ready to cry if denied his wishes. Dante was lazily sprawled on his back while Sonic and Nero were cuddled next to each other.
Vergil was reading William Blake and was about to set the book down when he noticed a piece of paper sticking out of the old tome. Pulling it out, he couldn't help the warmth growing in his heart. It was a picture of him, Dante, Nero and a few other characters from a two tailed fox, red mole echidna with spike gloves, a red armadillo and yellow squirrel. Above the picture were two words that read: my family.
Even both their devil forms were added despite how silly the two drawings looked. Soft purring in his mind was enough to know his own demon was touched by the kindness in the child's art. Maybe there was something to life than his quest for power. He placed the drawing in his coat before retiring to bed. Both children held in the soft embrace of the twins as all drifted to slumber.
If I could tag this, the tag would be Sonic is a little shit and hates clothing. You think the blue blur wouldn't give these guys some hell? Not even Chris's family from Sonic X were void of his shenanigans. And Nero is having everyone wrapped around his little finger. Pretty much going to hammer you guys with fluff but it won't be DMC without any action is it? Until next time folks!