I wanted this chapter to be out yesterday, but that didn't happen because a certain part of it took forever to write. ;) I hope it's worth the wait.

Also, Thank you for continuing to leave a review on every chapter, GuardianDragon98. I hope you'll continue to do that. It helps to motivate me to finish quickly.

(I'm not going to bother with the disclaimer anymore for this story; we all know that it's FANfiction.)

Bang! 'Dang it! That probably wasn't the best thing to drop.'

Sonica picked up the piece of equipment that she had dropped and turned it, checking for any damage;she didn't notice any. Tails would be able to see it if she did, anyway.

She brought it over to where the fox was busy setting up all his equipment for the readings. "I heard you drop it, Sonica." The hedgehog jumped at the recognition. "You didn't break it, did you?"

She shook her head, then, realizing he was still looking down at his work, said, "No."

Sonia was hovering near the mechanic, helping the fox whenever he asked. Shadow was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, helping whenever he was asked. "So clumsy."

The 'clumsy' hedgehog half-heartedly glared at her boyfriend. "Oh, hush, you." Shadow smirked playfully, his teeth just barely visible. Tails just shook his head at the couple. "Where did Manic go? He was supposed to be helping us."

"I think he made a run out to the house." Sonia propped up a piece of machinery that was slightly lopsided. "He should be back any time now."

"And he is." They all turned to the green hedgehog's voice. "This the right thing?"

Tails brought himself out of his work and gazed up at the piece of equipment he was carrying. "Yep." He pointed to spot a few away from where he was sitting. "Put it there, please."

"Right." He trudged to the spot with the heavy device, placing it on the ground. "That would have been a lot easier if I had my hover board."

Sonica snapped her fingers, startling the people around her, except Shadow. "That reminds me! Hold on a sec." She dashed off, letting a rush of wind envelop all behind her.

"She messed up my hair!" Sonia complained.

"Wonder what she meant when she said I reminded her of something. What's she doin'?"

Tails and Shadow smiled to themselves. They had a good idea about what Sonica was getting. Manic had talked about his hoverboard…

Shadow awkwardly cleared his throat, getting the others' attention. "Can I ask the three of you something?"

"Sure."

Shadow's cheeks turned the color of his stripes as he nervously shifted his weight, looking at the floor. "If I were to ask for your sister's hand in marriage, would you give me your blessing?"

"Of course!" Sonia replied.

"Yeah!" Manic agreed. "Even though you're kinda scary, I wouldn't mind having you as a brother-in-law."

Tails nodded his agreement. "Even though we've only known about your relationship for about an hour, it's clear that you make Sonica happy and that she really loves you. If she's happy, we're happy."

Shadow smiled, his blush mostly fading. "Thank you."

Suddenly a gust of wind swept the area, messing Sonia's hair up even more. "Sonica! Stop running around!"

"Who said anything about running?"

"Huh?" The two looked up to see Sonica floating on a board much like Manic's hoverboard, but longer and blue. Sonica herself had a pair of sunglasses placed on her head. "Cool!"

"You did get your Extreme Gear." Tails looked back up from the equipment.

"Extreme Gear?" Manic was already up to Sonica, examining the Gear.

Sonica jumped down and held out the board so that her brother could see more clearly. "Yeah. This one is customized just for me. We had a couple adventures with these things."

"So let me guess. You the champ?" Sonia came up to view the Gear alongside her brother.

"Yep. Although, Jet would like to disagree."

Tails laughed and Shadow just looked disgusted at the mention of the hawk. The others just gave him a blank look. "Who?"

"Just someone we know." She walked over to Tails' spot. "Another speed demon, like me."

"Got it!" Tails' sudden outburst made all four hedgehogs jump. "Sorry, guys. The equipment is up and ready to go."

"Sweet! Start 'er up!" Sonica exclaimed.

"Shouldn't we tell your friends we're leaving?" Sonia asked.

"Don't worry," Sonica reassured her. "I left a note in the house. We're all set."

(A Little Over an Hour Ago)

"Okay, Sonica; seriously, what the heck is going on between you and Shadow?" Tails demanded, his twin tails spinning agitatedly.

The five of them had gathered in Sonica and Tails' living room. Sonica and Shadow were sitting on the sofa together, Manic was sitting on the floor, Sonia was on an ottoman, and Tails was in the recliner. Everyone had a mug of calming tea.

"Tails, I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but… I didn't know how you would take it..." Sonica took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Shadow and I have been dating for the past several months..."

Sonica's siblings, biological and adopted, collectively shouted, "WHAT?!"

Sonica flinched and pressed her side against Shadow, seeking comfort. Tails suddenly got up and ran out, tears forming in his eyes.

"Tails, come back!" Sonica pleaded, standing up and reaching out for him. Shadow put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her from pursuing the kit.

"Let me talk to him." Sonica nodded, allowing her boyfriend to follow her little brother. Shadow quickly found Tails sitting by a pond. He made sure to keep his footsteps slow and loud, so as to not startle the twin-tailed fox.

Tails almost instantly turned on him. Shadow nearly yelped in shock as Tails tackled him. He tried not to hiss in pain as Tails sharp claws tore through his gloves, ripping out small clumps of his black and red fur.

"How could you come between me and her?!" Tails screamed as he attacked the black hedgehog in a blind rage. Shadow didn't fight back; he just tried to protect his face from the frenzied claws.

"I didn't..." Shadow protested, trying to explain. Too upset to even hear him, Tails just ignored him. He grabbed the crazed young tod by the shoulders, trying to soothe him. That was a mistake. He clenched his teeth to avoid yelping as Tails' pointed teeth sunk into his shoulder.

Left with no other option, Shadow tightly wrapped his arms around Tails' torso, trapping his arms, and deliberately tumbled backwards into the pond. He could barely swim, but thankfully for him, the water was only 4 feet deep. As the two broke the surface, gasping for air, the water turned red with a green glint from Shadow's blood.

Tails coughed out the bit of water that had entered his lungs as both males pulled themselves onto the dry ground. They shook the water from their fur. The cold water had calmed Tails considerably. Shadow gently placed his hand on the cub's shoulder, his expression placating.

"Tails..." Said fox stared. Shadow almost never called him by his nickname. He usually called him "Miles", "fox", or "cub". "I've never come between you and Sonica. And I never would."

Tails's expression was unreadable. He wordlessly started walking back to the house.

Shadow, somewhat cautiously, followed him as he began to look over his wounds. The scratches weren't too bad and were already starting to close up, thanks to his rapid healing-factor. The bite on his shoulder was the worst; it was still dripping blood, which was red like a normal person's, but glinted green due to him being half Black Arms; it was beginning to close like his scratches, but would take a lot longer to fully heal.

Shadow growled in disappointment and slight anger as he saw that some of his fur that had been torn out was his chest fur. That patch of white was his favorite; he almost always got upset when it was ruined. But it would grow back in an hour or two.

As the two walked back into the living room, they could see from the triplets' faces that Sonia and Manic had been teasing Sonica about her relationship and finally settling down. Sonica instantly became concerned as she saw the blood on her little brother and her boyfriend. She eased up slightly as she saw that it was only Shadow's blood.

"Tails, Shadow, what happened?!"

"Tails lost it a little bit, but everything is all right," Shadow reassured, putting his hand on her cheek. "I'll be fine in a couple hours."

Sonica sighed, leaning into his touch. "I know. I just don't like seeing you hurt." She looked at the bite mark on his shoulder and tenderly touched it, causing him to wince. She then turned to Tails, whose expression was still unreadable, and he still hadn't talked. "Buddy?"

"Does he make you happy?"

The question Tails gave her surprised Sonica for a split-second. She smiled when she saw his sky-blue eyes look at her, filled with openness and trust instead of the anger and resentment they had been when he ran off.

"Yeah. He does..." Sonica smiled at Shadow. "He makes me happier than words can say," she said softly.

Nodding slowly, Tails then looked at Shadow. "Shadow, do you love my sister?" he asked seriously.

"With all my heart," Shadow replied truthfully, nuzzling Sonica as he put his arm around her waist, drawing her closer. "Being with her… I've been the happiest I've been in years..."

That was enough for Tails. He smiled at the couple. "Good. Because you know I'll only let my big sister date someone who will treat her right," he said. Sonica purred as she hugged Tails, ruffling his bangs.

"Thanks, buddy," she whispered.

(Back to the Present)

Back at the house, a loud knock echoed from the door. It repeated itself multiple times before the one responsible slowly creaked the door open.

"Sonica? Tails?"

The intruder cautiously made her way into the house, looking around for her friends. She made her way to the living room and saw a small sheet of paper on the coffee table. She picked it up when she saw that it was signed by Sonica.

Dear everyone,

Me, Tails, Shadow, Sonia, and Manic are going back to Robotropolis. I'll get back whenever I can. Hold down the fort while I'm gone, okay?

~Sonica

P.S. Amy, I know you're probably the one reading this; please refrain from using your hammer on me when I get back for not bringing you. Tell the others 'bout me leaving too. And I'll explain why I brought Shadow with me when we get back. Thx!

"Hmph!" She already had her hammer out.

"All right. I think I've got the area you guys were teleported from." The prodigy turned to Sonica and Shadow. "Your turn."

"How you plannin' to get us there, sis?" Manic asked while he played around with his sister's Extreme Gear.

"Come over here and we'll show you." They did as they were told and walked over to the hedgehogs. "Grab onto our arms." They did so, but with a confused expression painted on their faces. Sonica and Shadow took out a blue Emerald and a red Emerald, respectively, from their quills and focused on their energy, feeling the power flow through them. "Chaos Control!"

A bright light enveloped them, sending them to their location. Actually, a few feet above their location. When the light faded, they all thudded onto the floor.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry! Haven't done that in a really long time." Sonica had face-planted into the hard stone floor. "I think my nose might have been flattened to my face." She rubbed the sore spot.

Tails giggled at his friend. He had landed on his behind, so he wasn't hurt as much. Sonia and Manic laughed too. They had also landed on their butts and thought it was hilarious that Sonica hadn't. Shadow, however, had landed on his feet, having anticipated the landing. He shook his head, but had a faint smile on his face.

"Hey, big sis." Manic had finally stopped laughing. "How'd you guys do that?"

"It's a trick I picked up from Shadow." She stood up and stretched her limbs. "It's called Chaos Control. I haven't used it in a while though, so I'm a bit rusty."

"I can see that."

"Ha ha." She gave Manic a push. "Very funny. Let's see you do it, smart mouth."

The smart mouth smiled mischievously, but the smile quickly faded when he tried to figure out how they did it.

"Next time, let me handle the Chaos Control," Shadow advised.

Sonica chuckled, somewhat nervously. "You always were better at it."

Shadow chuckled.

'That light. It was almost exactly the same as that day.' Manic looked over to his eldest sister. It didn't seem like there was anything wrong with her. This 'Chaos Control'; was it how Sonica had been taken away from them? He moved his gaze over to his other sister. The same conclusion was reflecting in her eyes.

"So, are we in this 'Oracle's' cave?"

Shadow's voice brought him out of his trance. "Um, yeah. I think so."

Sonica gave him a sidelong look. "You okay, bro?"

"Yeah. Just thinking."

She raised an eyebrow, but not in a disbelieving way. More like a mocking way. "And you were getting onto me about thinking too hard."

"Greetings."

The five started spinning, looking for the voice. "He seems to have a thing for greeting without seeing."

At that moment, he appeared right in the middle of them, surrounded by a green light. "It adds to the effect." He turned to Sonica. "It's good to see you again, young hedgehog."

"You too, Orc."

"You've come to see your friends again, correct?"

She blinked. "Not to sound disrespectful but, DUH!"

"So respectful."

She gave her sister a death glare, making her laugh.

'Note to self,' she thought. 'Death glares do not work on siblings.'

"You do realize you will have to go back."

Sonica snapped her head back to the seer. "Yeah. Yeah, I know." Her eyes widened. 'Does he know about Eggman?'

The Oracle, as if reading her mind, nodded. Not enough for her siblings to notice, but enough for her. "Do you mind if I talk to you in private?"

The hedgehog quickly shook her head and then followed him to an area that they could talk. She heard Manic behind her asking, "What's that about?"

When they got to the secluded section of the cave, the Oracle wasted no time getting to the subject. "You are going to have to tell them eventually."

"I know!" She covered her eyes with her hands. "It's just- I don't know how to tell them. We just found each other again. I don't want to ruin it for them."

"I understand how you feel." He placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. "Take your time. But not too much time."

"Not too much time?"

"You will see soon."

He directed her back to the group. "Now, you should enjoy being with your family."

Sonica noticed how he didn't add 'and friends' to his sentence. He's never met Tails before, or Shadow, for that matter. How would he know how close they- "You've been watching me."

The seer smiled and gave one nod to the hedgehog. "You've gotten smarter, Sonica."

The Blue Blur smirked. "Thanks. For the complement and for watchin' over me." She started making her way back, but stopped. "Did- Did my mother watch too?"

The Oracle gave her a warm smile. "Yes. Yes, she did. Whenever she could."

She smiled. "Well, I've got an album full of pictures from when she couldn't." She thought of something. "Um. She didn't see the whole werehog incident, did she?"

"The what?"

"Never mind!" She dashed back to her friends, leaving an astonished Oracle behind. "Hey, guys."

"Hey. Why'd he want to talk to you?" Manic asked upon her arrival.

"Nothin' big." Sonica started hopping from foot to foot. "Let's get goin'. It's freezing up here!"

"Well, maybe if you wore more than a cropped tank top, a skort, sneakers, and gloves..." Sonia started toward the exit.

"Right. Should have brought a scarf." She made Tails, Shadow, and Manic laugh at least (or chuckle in Shadow's case.)

Sonia thought it was funny, but it was also irritating. Basically a description of the blue hedgehog. She kept her mouth shut, shaking her head.

The snow was just as high as when the two left, minus the snowstorm.

Manic's hoverboard was right where he left it. When Sonica got a mischievous glint in her eyes, Manic stopped her. "Already did it. Got double the snow piled back on me."

"Dang." She looked over to their sister, who was talking with Tails. Then, Manic threw a handful of snow in her face. "Hey!"

The green hedgehog ran off, grabbing his board and riding toward the van. Sonica set off after him, showering Sonia, Shadow, and Tails in a blanket of snow. "Sonica!"

She didn't really notice her yelling at her. She caught up to her brother and tackled him to the ground, then proceeded to shovel snow onto his head. "Cut it out!"

"No way, Manic! This is what you get for that snow in my face!"

They both grunted as they were suddenly crushed by Shadow. The black hedgehog chuckled as his girlfriend and her brother glared up at him.

A layer of snow suddenly enveloped the three and they looked up to see Tails snickering up above them. Sonica and Shadow rolled their eyes. Manic gawked. "You can fly?!"

Tails slowly floated back down to the hedgehogs as Shadow rolled to the side, letting the other two get up. "Didn't we tell you?" He looked over to Sonica. "We did mention it, didn't we?"

"Uh." She thought for a moment. "I don't think we did, buddy."

"We didn't," Shadow confirmed.

Sonia had walked up and was staring just like Manic. "How did you do that?"

"I just spin my tails." He turned so they could see. "See? I take Sonica and Knuckles up all the time."

The two looked to Tails, then Sonica, and back again, disbelief obvious. Tails was only twelve; how could he support an eighteen-year-old and a nineteen-year-old using only his tails?

"They don't believe us," Sonica noted. "Shall we show them?"

"Let's."

Sonica and Shadow backed up a few feet, then jumped up into the air where Tails was ready to catch them, which he easily did. Sonia and Manic practically had heart attacks, until he flew sixteen feet up into the air. "Whoa! That's awesome!"

"Have you always been able to do that?"

"As far back as I can remember." He dropped Sonica and Shadow down by where they had jumped from. "It comes in handy a lot."

"Including pranks." Sonica threw a large snowball at her best friend, which Shadow laughed at. "Now we're even."

Manic chuckled and ran over to the van. "Come on! Let's get this thing movin'!"

"To Robotropolis!" Sonica rushed to the van, leaving a spray of snow in her wake, followed by Shadow.

Sonia (given up on yelling at her) growled and followed the two with Tails right above her.

After a couple of hours of driving, and thirty minutes of Tails asking if he could modify the van to go faster, they arrived in Robotropolis.

Sonia and Manic were sitting up front in the seats with Sonica and Shadow behind them, looking over the cushions at Sonica's old home. Shadow wasn't really looking; he was just dozing. Then, they saw a patrol of SWATbots. Sonica looked back at Tails, who was taking a nap on the small, foldout bed. He slowly shook him awake. "Hey, Tails. Wake up, buddy."

"Huh?" The fox looked up at the hedgehog, bleary eyed. "Sonic?"

"I need to talk to you." Tails seemed confused, but sat up to listen to his older sister. "I want you to stick close to me while we're in the city, okay?"

"Um…" The fox had a blank expression. "Why?"

Sonica looked back over her shoulder to make sure her siblings couldn't hear her; she would never hear the end of it if they did. "This place is really dangerous. When I was younger, I was really scared. It took a long time for me to adapt. Certain aspects about it still get to me every once in a while." She paused. "Especially the thought of you getting caught and roboticized. So promise me you'll stay close to me."

Tails nodded. "Okay, Sonica. I promise."

"Good." She grabbed her young friend in a half-hug. "Now, why don't you come see Robotropolis."

Having heard all this, Shadow cracked an eye open. He yawned, exposing his abnormally large fangs, awake and joined them.

Tails was astonished by what he saw. All the buildings were made of solid, gray metal, and the roads looked like gray concrete. The only color were the rare decorations, the vents, which were a rusty red, and the trash and such lining many of the alleyways. The sky was gray with pollutants. There was a lot of gray. "Kinda reminds me of Chemical Plant Zone with less color."

Sonica thought for a moment. "Oh my gosh! It does! Ha ha ha ha!"

Shadow chuckled. "It really does."

"Chemical Plant Zone?" Sonia turned in her seat to address the three.

"Yep. It's an area, we call them zones, that's basically a huge plant flowing with all kinds of weird chemicals. As the name suggests." She gazed over to Tails. "We went there on our first adventure together."

The fox grinned up at her. And then a huge bump made the three of them sprawl to the floor. "Ow!"

"Sorry, guys!" Manic yelled from the driver's seat. "Lot of potholes."

"Just as good a driver as always, Manic." She left a hint of sarcasm into her voice as she pulled herself off the floor. Shadow growled as he got back up to his feet.

"Uh-huh. I don't remember you being the best either," Manic retorted at his oldest sister.

"Neither of you could drive well," Sonia shouted over the two. "That's why I always want to drive."

"Yeah, you were the best driver I guess," Sonica admitted.

"Yeah."

"Especially since Manic just passed Freedom HQ."

"Wha-?" The drummer stepped hard on the brakes, making the three in the back fall once again. Shadow growled in annoyance again.

"Nice."

"Heh." Manic started backing up. "Hey, Sonica, could you scan for SWAT-butts?"

"Sure thing!" She leapt to her feet. "Come on, Tails. You're gonna love this!"

Before Sonica could continue, Shadow grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her aside.

"Is this place really that dangerous?" Shadow whispered.

Sonica took a deep breath before replying. "Yes, but we'll be fine. I know this place really well."

Shadow sighed and placed his hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "Well, then I trust you."

Sonica nodded. "Good."

She walked up the section of the wall that held their hidden computer and pushed a button to reveal it. Tails' eyes were wide with excitement as he saw the computer pop out of the wall.

"Cool!" He ran up to get a closer look.

Sonica laughed at the intrigued fox's reaction. "All clear, Manic!"

"Thanks." He started pulling back into the secret passage that led to their secret base. "You ready to see HQ again?"

"Ready as I'll ever be!"

The door slid open to reveal the center of the Freedom Fighters' network. Everyone was running around and busy doing their different jobs. The Sonic Underground stood in the doorway, looking for a particular lion among the crowd. Sonica was slightly behind her slightly younger siblings so that no one could see her.

Sonia was the one to spot their friend first. "Cyrus!" The lion was standing next to the projection table; he looked like he was calculating something on the clipboard he was holding.

"Hey, guys! You back already?" He waved them over. "Sonica still in the unknown land?" He obviously didn't see the hedgehog behind them.

She made herself known very quickly. "Nope! And that area is called Green Hill Zone, by the way."

"Sonica!" Forgetting his work, he ran up to his old friend. "You're back!"

"And better than ever, Cy," She gave a high five to her ecstatic friend. "and I brought a couple friends too."

Tails and Shadow stepped out from behind the Blue Blur. Tails waved back at him. The butterflies had come back. Shadow gave a curt nod. He hoped he wouldn't have a panic attack and use Chaos Blast due to the large number of people here.

"Tails, right?" Cyrus held out his hand to the fox.

Some of the butterflies dispersed. "Yeah." He took the hand and shook.

Cyrus then turned to Shadow. "And you are?"

"Shadow the Hedgehog," Shadow introduced himself. "I'm Sonica's boyfriend."

Cyrus stared in astonishment at Sonica. "You have a boyfriend?!"

Sonica blushed. "Yeah." She smiled at Shadow. "I have the best boyfriend."

"Well, nice to meet you." Cyrus held out his hand to Shadow.

"Don't touch me," Shadow growled. He looked embarrassed as Sonica put her arm around his shoulders.

"Come on, Shads, be nice," she scolded half-teasingly. She turned to Cyrus. "Sorry, Shadow's not a people person."

"Where's everyone else?" Manic interrupted, looking around the base.

"They should be around here somewhere." He joined Manic in looking around.

Sonica reached up to her medallion. She hadn't taken it off since she put it back on at the party. "Maybe instead of looking for them," She summoned her guitar. "we could get them to come to us." She let loose a solo from her guitar.

Sonia and Manic eagerly reached to their own medallions and summoned their instruments. "What should we play?"

"I got that covered. Just follow my lead!"

She started up the music, hard and strong.

"Whoo!

Oh yeah!

Rolling around at the speed of sound,

Got places to go, gotta follow my rainbow!

Can't stick around, have to keep moving on,

Guess what lies ahead, only one way to find out!

Must keep on moving ahead,

No time for guessing, follow my plan instead.

Trusting in what you can't see,

Take my lead; I'll set you free."

Shadow mumbled along with the song, smiling slightly. Trevor came up among the crowd, waving at the hedgehogs like crazy.

"Follow me, set me free,

Trust me and we will escape from the city.

I'll make it through.

Follow me (Follow me), set me free,

Trust me and we will escape from the city.

I'll make it through, prove it to you.

Follow me!

Oh yeah!"

Mindy came up and started dancing with all the others around them.

"Danger is lurking around every turn,

Trust your feelings, got to live and learn.

I know with some luck that I'll make it through,

Got no other options, only one thing to do!

I don't care what lies ahead,

No time for guessing, follow my plan instead.

Find the next stage, no matter what that may be.

Take my lead, I'll set you free."

All her old friends were here, dancing and enjoying the music. She made sure to sing louder now.

"Follow me, set me free,

Trust me and we will escape from the city.

I'll make it through.

Follow me (Follow me), set me free,

Trust me and we will escape from the city.

I'll make it through, prove it to you.

Follow me!

Follow me!

I'll make it through, oh yeah!"

The three took a bow as their song ended and the crowd went nuts with cheers. Trevor ran up to Sonica. "Hey, Sonica! It's great to see you again!"

"You too!" She had to yell for him to hear over the roar of the crowd.

"Where did you learn that song?"

"Yeah! That was awesome!" Manic had come up and almost made Sonica fall face-first onto the floor. "I've never heard that one."

"Just something I wrote in Station Square."

'After being hunted down by the government and almost killed multiple times,' she added to herself. That adventure had been slightly hectic, but it did result in some really cool songs! And that was actually Central City she wrote that in, not Station Square.

"Station Square?" Cyrus asked. "What's that?"

"Oh, it's wonderful!" Sonia burst. "It's just like old Mobius! It has boutiques and hair salons-"

Shadow sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Here she goes." Manic leaned against the van, getting ready for what he predicted would be a very long gush about the city.

"Oh, shush," Sonia glared back at her sister's boyfriend.

Shadow's pupils narrowed and he cocked an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"I'd love to hear about it!" Mindy said, interrupting the stare down. Sonica placed a hand on Shadow's shoulder, calming him. "It sounds delightful!"

"Great!" The two walked off while Sonia started telling her friend about the city, Amy and Cream, and basically everything she saw in Station Square and Green Hill.

"Heh." Sonica shook her head in amusement. "I'll give you the short version without all the hair salons and clothing stores." And Sonica gave the run down about her new home, about her fights with Eggman, G.U.N, and about all her friends. "And that's not even half of it."

"Man." Trevor stared at the hedgehog in respect. "You've been fighting that guy all by yourself?"

"Not completely by myself." She moved her gaze over to Tails, looking at their van's engine with Manic, who was pointing out all its different parts to the fox. The mechanic was entranced by the machine, since it had parts he had never seen before. "I've had Tails, Shadow, and all my friends to back me up."

"It's like you made your own Freedom Fighter group back there." Cyrus leaned back in his chair.

"I guess you could say that." Sonica smiled back at her friend. "And I'm sure they wouldn't mind helping out some fellow Freedom Fighters."

"Sonica." Cyrus sat up. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that if you guys ever need any help, we'll be up here in no time." She stretched her arms back behind her head. "They'd probably love to see this place." She smirked at Shadow. "Most of them anyway." Shadow playfully cuffed Sonica over the head.

"Wow! Thanks, Sonica!"

The hedgehog held out her fist for her comrade. "No prob, Trev." Her fist made contact with Trevor's. "You've just got some new allies."

"For the record, if I didn't want to come, I would have stayed home," Shadow said. He smirked slightly. "And I can easily leave any time, you know."

Sonica smirked back. "I know. I was just teasing ya." She playfully bumped her hip against Shadow's. Shadow playfully pushed Sonica's head away. Their playful shoves and bumping quickly turned into a full-on wrestling match on the floor, turning into a tickle fight a few times, with an occasional playful nibble on the ear.

It took me over 24 hours (technically) to write that relationship-reveal scene. I hope that you liked it, GuardianDragon98. (I did take [and modify] a few lines from your "Eggman: the Video Game AU" story, if you don't mind that.)

I think I broke my record for my longest chapter ever...