a collection of one shots written for sonally week 2022, hosted by boundforfreedomsonsal on tumblr!
Growth
Throughout it all, Sonic was still Sonic.
It was a strange thought that hit her in the waking hours of the morning. She often rose before the others, asking Nicole to wake her precisely at 5:00 a.m., never a minute later. It was better to start her day sooner, for she knew Robotnik hardly slept with his brand of tyranny.
Sally was sitting on her stool in her quaint cottage. She was combing through maps and schematics on her desk regarding Robotnik's latest factory thirty miles east of Robotropolis. Nicole was in the middle of her report on the facility when Sally's eye caught the framed photograph of the Freedom Fighters as children.
She stared at the young hedgehog standing front and center of their first built hut in Knothole. Although missing a tooth, Sonic still kept the same grin. It reeked of self-assurance, cockiness, and boyish charm. Even if it sometimes irked her, his arrogance a liability on stealth missions, it had won her over year after year.
"Sally? Are you listening?"
She blinked, her hand dropping from her cheek. She hadn't realized she even placed it there. Shaking her head, she gave Nicole her full attention. "Sorry. It won't happen again. Do you mind repeating yourself for me?"
"I can, but should we debrief at a later point today? You seem - what is the expression Sonic once used? Your head is in the clouds?"
She chuckled, embarrassed. "Well, yes, I guess that fits, but I promise I'm listening. Go ahead and tell me about Robotnik's newest plant." Her nose wrinkled. "I can already smell the trouble from here, and it's as rotten as Robotnik himself."
But instead of reiterating herself, Nicole remarked, "Your comment sounds like something Sonic would say. It seems his vernacular has rubbed off on you as it has for me."
Sally's eyes widened. Nicole's observation ignited a mesmerizing train of thought. She made her resentment toward Robotnik well-known, undermining him whenever possible. Either by destroying one of his establishments with her friends or insulting him straight to his corrupt face, nothing satisfied Sally more than frustrating the despot. No matter the massive or minuscule damage, so long as Robotnik raged by midnight, she prevailed over his dictatorship.
But mocking Robotnik was more Sonic's shtick. He enjoyed stringing together denigrating phrases that forced jetstreams of smoke spewing out of Robotnik's ears. It was as if he had an endless array of quips, ready to be utilized at a moment's notice. Even if the circumstances seemed perilous, Sonic precisely knew what to sneer to burn Robotnik's pale, greasy complexion.
Contrastingly, Sally was one for valiant responses. She tended to bite her tongue when the tides shifted in Robotnik's favor. Her fellow Freedom Fighters needed a leader, not a teenager with a sharp wit and catchphrases.
But whenever their light was ready to be shadowed by Robotnik, Sonic found the strength to jeer. Even if he was sweating bullets in the face of imminent danger, Sonic delivered hope with humor. Encouraging his friends through jokes and comfort, digging Robotnik's side with a crass jab, he assisted them through their woes by reminding them they would win.
Sally ruminated with a sudden fluttering in her heart. She had been with Sonic for more than a decade. Talking with him, fighting alongside him, and being his friend, it was only sensible that his speech rubbed off on her. (And her extensive contempt for Robotnik always stewed the pot of her unique barbs toward him, a sentiment Sonic shared.)
She looked again at the photograph. Sonic beamed at her, winking. She remembered how long he had to hold that pose. Rotor's homemade camera malfunctioned for ten solid minutes. It was an idle torment for him to remain still. Sonic had thoroughly voiced his annoyance, interrupted only by Rosie's gentle scolding and Sally nudging his shoulder to quiet him in time for the flashes.
Sighing at the memory, she said, "I think you're right. Sonic has inspired us in many different ways, hasn't he?"
"I agree. I also believe you should speak with Sonic now. Maybe you should notify him of how you feel?"
Startled, she cried, "Nicole, what do y-?"
"Incoming transmission from Sonic in T-minus now."
The colors on Nicole's screen flashed. Various rectangular shapes subsided to a muted gray hue. They shifted to the side as Sonic's face appeared, narrowing his eyes on the portable computer in his room.
"Yo, Sal! Not bein' a Sleeping Beauty right now? It's barely dawn," he teased, wiggling his fingers in a wave.
She scoffed, though a smile played on her lips. "I have a reason to be awake. You, Sonic Hedgehog, do not."
"Well, whatever reason you got can't be as important as getting that last two or three hours of shut-eye." He hitched his thumb at his window. "Seriously, I can see your lights on in your place. Hop back to bed before you get bags under your eyes."
"Wait. Do I?" She quickly touched her face, her fur smooth. Ignoring his snicker, she added, "In any case, Sonic, I still have to work a few things out with Nicole, and I'm well-rested, so I'll-"
Sonic yawned. He stretched his arms high above his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, his mouth opening wide to show off his teeth. Taking a quick glimpse at Sally, he yawned again and exaggeratedly fanned his chin.
She understood his game, but he won with his third try. Fatigue swept through her. Seeing Sonic tired instilled a renewed bout of weariness in her. She covered her mouth, quietly suppressing her yawn that slowly puffed out her cheeks. She glanced at Sonic, unable to ignore the cheeky grin splitting across his face, a guaranteed sign of victory, an expression he had donned since childhood.
"Told'ja," he teased, gripping his hips.
"Oh, heh, I guess you're right. A leader can't lead if she's exhausted." She rubbed the corners of her eyes. "Alright, I concede. I'll get a couple more hours of rest."
His smug mug fell, and he tossed his hands, gesturing wildly. "What's that now? Are you really Sally? Or are you another one of Buttnik's robo-imposters?" He smirked. "Because the Sally I know would bicker with me until she got her way."
She rolled her eyes, deadpanning, "Oh, take your own advice, and go back to sleep, Sonic."
She concluded the transmission to the tune of Sonic's laughter. Rising from her seat, she glanced at Nicole, who simply lit colors at her.
"I really need to stop letting Sonic be a bad influence on you."
She beeped a spirited song of snickers. "I only advised you, Sally. I did not instruct you to discuss emotions with Sonic. Though, I believe resting would do a Mobian well. I will initiate sleep mode for myself and awaken you in two and a half hours as a compromise for the two and three hours of sleep."
Sally smirked as Nicole's monitor grayed. She set the handheld on the table and turned the switch on her desk lamp. As her room dimmed, the natural light of the forest sweeping into her room, Sally slipped off her boots by the window. She paused to admire the night, critters and crickets chirping in the surrounding woods, the sounds eliciting a weariness in her, lulling Sally back to her bed.
Crawling under the covers with thoughts of Sonic in her head, she nestled against her cool pillow. He was still the same hedgehog with an ounce of maturity. And letting her eyes shut with his image imprinted on her eyelids, Sally slept soundly.