A/N This isn't part of my Lost in the Waves series. It's something totally different. This is a crossover of three different Sonic series. Specifically, the 2020 movie (with the second movie a bit at the end), the Archie comics pre-Genesis Wave, and the show Sonic Underground, there's also a brief mention of Sonic X. You don't need to watch any of them to understand this, but there will be references to events their respective series here. This is mostly just seeing how the parents of Sonic would interact.
Parents of Sonic Support Group
Meet and Greet
Tom knew his life would never be the same after he and his wife took in a super speedy, incredibly powerful, incredibly talkative blue alien hedgehog.
But he didn't expect weird dreams to be added to the mix.
Or at least, he thought it was a dream, he was pretty sure there wasn't any other reason he should suddenly find himself in a blue void.
That was another reason he thought it was a dream. It was blue everywhere. Not a white void, not even an ominous black void, but a blue void. Who ever heard of a void that was a light calming sky blue?
At least he wasn't alone.
"Okay, seriously, where are we?" his wife, Maddie asked next to him.
"I have no idea," said Tom, looking around in confusion. "Pretty sure I'm dreaming… I'm dreaming right?"
"Not unless I'm the one dreaming," said Maddie skeptically.
They had to take a minute to let it sink in that either both of them were dreaming or neither of them was.
"Let's just, uh, try to find a way out of here," Tom said finally.
"Yeah," agreed Maddie, never mind there didn't seem to be anything around them to indicate a way out.
Or maybe the blue void also acted like fog, because they'd only been walking for a minute or two before a table and chairs appeared in front of them.
A table and chairs that had four blue and one purple alien hedgehogs sitting on them.
Yeah, this was definitely a dream.
Especially since while all the hedgehogs resembled him, none of them were Sonic.
One of the hedgehogs looked up as they approached. She (or at least Tom assumed it was a she) wore a purple dress and had longer eyelashes under the streak of blonde bangs, and was looking at them with some suspicion.
"Overlanders?" she questioned, drawing the others at the table's attention to the new arrivals. "Or…" For some reason, she looked at their hands and then concluded, "No, humans. I see. But why…?"
The blue hedgehog next to her, which Tom and Maddie were startled to realize was actually a hedgehog-shaped robot, reached over to take her hand. "Well, if they're here there's only one reason why they could be, Bernie," the robot said.
"Oh, new members," said the other female-looking hedgehog at the table. This one purple in a long white gown and a golden crown set among her long quills.
"Uhh members?" asked Maddie, now very confused.
"Would you mind telling us what is going on, because I'm pretty sure I'm dreaming?" said Tom, also lost.
The last two blue hedgehogs, who were nearly identical with pale blue fur and bushy mustaches and eyebrows, exchanged a glance. "Well, in a sense you are," said the one on the left. "But that doesn't mean this isn't happening."
"Pardon my asking," said the one on the right. "But did you happen to recently come into the guardianship of a young hedgehog named Sonic?"
Tom and Maddie exchange their own glance. Of course. Somehow learning Sonic was involved was the least surprising part of all this.
"Yes, we did," said Maddie. "We just unofficially adopted him a couple days ago."
"Not that he, uh, really sees it that way," said Tom. "As far as he's concerned we're just Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady, his best friends he happens to live with, and not parental material."
That actually seemed to amuse the hedgehogs. "What he says and what he thinks may be two separate things in this case," said the robot hedgehog with a smile (because somehow the robot was able to smile). "You would be here if he didn't see you as parents."
Well, that was a touching sentiment, even if this was all a very weird dream. Especially strange was it implied Sonic somehow thought this robot was parental material too. And extra especially strange since if he saw all these hedgehogs as parents, where the heck were they when he was alone for so many years?
Seeming to sense their continued confusion, the purple hedgehog gestured daintily towards some of the chairs at the table. "Take a seat and we will explain everything," she said kindly.
Seeing no reason not to, Tom and Maddie sat down.
"What do you know about the multiverse?" asked one of the mustachioed hedgehogs.
"That it made for a very good Spider-Man movie," said Tom slowly.
The hedgehogs looked like they had no idea what that even was.
"It's a sci-fi trope," said Maddie thoughtfully. "Many worlds with versions of the same people in it, but something about each one is different."
"Exactly," said the other hedgehog with a mustache. "Or, in our case, our worlds each have a version of one person in particular."
"Sonic the Hedgehog," said the robot hedgehog fondly.
Tom was starting to pick up what this meant. "Then… all of you are your, uh, version of Sonic's… parents? And we're here because he sees us like that too?"
The hedgehog with blond bangs nodded. "Yup. I'm Bernadette, call me Bernie," she said, then gestured to the robot beside her. "And this is my husband Jules. And no, before you ask, he was not a robot when I married him. That happened… later."
"Nice to meet you," said Jules with a friendly wave of his mechanical hand. He then pointed out the mustachioed hedgehog closest to him. "And this is my brother, Charles, who helped raise our son for years when Bernie and I were… out of commission."
"No, I am not a robot either," said Charles with a sardonic smile. He then coughed into his fist and added, "Anymore."
"What?" asked Maddie, wondering if she'd heard that right.
"I'm also Charles, but from a different world than those three," said Charles's identical twin (or, counterpart, I guess). "But you can just call me Chuck here to differentiate. My Sonic also sees me as an uncle figure."
"And I am Queen Aleena," said the purple hedgehog. "I am from the same world as Chuck, who is the current guardian of my son. It is too dangerous for our family to be together, and he is in hiding with him."
Sensing it was their turn for introductions, Tom said, "Oh, uh, well, I'm Tom. Sheriff Tom Wachowski and this is my wife-"
"Dr. Maddie Wachowski," said Maddie, picking up the introductions. "Um, hi. I work as a vet in Green Hills."
"Pleasure to meet you," said Queen Aleena.
"Welcome to the Parents of Sonic Support Group," said Bernadette with a smirk. "Because with a son like all of ours, it seemed the multiverse felt we needed it."
Maddie and Tom exchanged another glance. Somehow, that also wasn't surprising.
They were pretty sure they'd need it too. They'd only had Sonic for a short time, but for as easy as he was to love he still sure knew how to give them heart attacks.
The Doctor is In
Needless to say, for Tom and Maddie had been more than a little freaked to find out the next morning that, no, that had not been a dream last night. Or at least it had been a shared dream between the two of them and possibly five other alien hedgehogs.
Sonic could not understand why they kept looking at him funny that day too, or why they were giving him more hugs, though he wasn't complaining about that.
It seemed the support group meetings weren't every night, but about a week later the two of them were once again in the blue void sitting with the Chucks, Jules, Bernie, and Aleena.
But now that she knew it was real, this time Maddie was on a mission.
"Okay, I need to ask you all something very important," she said the minute she reached the table.
Jules, who hadn't even sat down yet, gave her a curious look. "Really? What?"
"I need you to tell me anything you can about how to care for hedgehogs like you," Maddie said firmly.
Tom, seeing them all startled at that request, explained, "In our world, Sonic came to us from another planet entirely. Our planet does have hedgehogs, but they're nothing like him or any of you."
"And because of that, I am entirely in the dark about how to care for Sonic not just medically, but culturally or just general basic care, and we've already had a close call with him injured once," said Maddie, her tone making it clear this was a point she would not let stand. "So I am in desperate need of information. What kinds of medicines are safe for him to use? What kinds aren't? Is there a specific kind of brush his quills should use (because he needs one he hasn't dug out of the trash)? What can I do to help him if he's uncomfortable? Is there a specific way hedgehogs like you show affection?"
"Any advice you can give us we'd appreciate," said Tom.
The five hedgehogs exchanged a glance and smiled.
"Well, to answer your questions…" said Charles.
All five of the hedgehogs calmly and patiently answered every question Maddie had about Sonic's care, and even a few Tom had as well.
A few meetings later, Maddie and Tom came in thanking them all profusely for that information, relief palpable in their voices. It seemed her Sonic had caught a cold, and their help had been invaluable for helping him recover quickly.
If the hedgehogs had any doubt Tom and Maddie were committed to caring for their Sonic before, it was gone now.
Those that Remain
"So, I have to ask, if you're both Sonic's mother, shouldn't you two be counterparts too?" Tom asked Bernie and Aleena a couple of meetings later. That question had been bugging him the entire time.
Bernie sighed like she knew this question had been coming too and had answered it before. "No, we're not counterparts. For some reason who a world's Sonic's parents are isn't consistent across dimensions."
"Regardless, our Sonics are still our sons," added Aleena.
Tom let out a disappointed sigh hearing that. "Okay, so then if I were to ever try to track down our Sonic's parents they might not even look like any of you. Good to know."
"Why would you want to track them down, well, aside from the obvious?" asked Chuck.
"To ask what the heck gave them the bright idea to abandon their child on an entirely different planet completely alone with the instructions to stay isolated from everybody for… I don't even know how long, but it's obviously been years," said Maddie. She and Tom had more than a few discussions of what they might say to Sonic's birth parents if they ever showed up to claim him by this point.
That made the hedgehogs look concerned. "Isolated?" asked Jules. "A Sonic should never be isolated. Our son makes friends as easily as breathing."
"And enemies, but that's beside the point," added Charles.
"Mine is a bit brasher," said Chuck. "But he gets along well with the other Freedom Fighters, and he loves attention. I don't think he could last long without at least someone around to listen to him play guitar."
"Music without an audience is simply not as sweet," agreed Aleena.
"He's never mentioned his parents?" asked Jules.
"Well," said Tom, thinking back to that first night he spent with Sonic. "He did mention someone named Longclaw, but when I later asked he referred to her as his Obi-Wan. Not his Aunt Beru, and otherwise didn't want to talk about her."
The hedgehogs around him all audibly gasped.
Startled, Maddie asked, "What's wrong?"
"Longclaw used to be here," explained Charles. "But then… one day she…"
"We saw her one last time," said Jules sadly. "She told us she got her Sonic somewhere safe and then… she was gone."
Tom and Maddie grimaced. That would explain why Sonic was so reluctant to talk about her.
"Thank you," said Bernie, drawing their attention back to the hedgehogs. "After what happened to Longclaw we were so worried about what had happened to her Sonic. It's an incredible relief to know he's still safe."
"He's a trooper," said Tom. "And a great kid. I just wish we had found him sooner."
"You're here now, and sad to say that's more than a lot of Sonic's have," said Chuck seriously as if speaking from experience.
Suddenly Tom and Maddie felt a lot more aware of just how many empty chairs there were around the table. Far more than the seven of them needed.
Maddie gasped. "Did all those-?" she started to ask, pointing at the empty seats.
The others nodded. "It seems Sonics across the multiverse tend to have… bad luck with parents," said Queen Aleena. "Some event will happen to cause them to lose whatever guardians they have at a young age, and their free spirit often keeps them from accepting any others in that role."
"Even we've not always been there for our Sonic as we should have," said Bernie sadly.
"My robotization, the event that turned me into this wasn't just done to me, Bernie and then later Charles were victims of it at one point as well," explained Jules. "An enemy of ours roboticized almost the entire population of our kingdom, turning its people into his mechanical slaves."
"And while the process was eventually reversed on Bernie and myself," said Charles, "unfortunately, my brother was injured before his robotization and would not survive returning to his former self."
Jules shrugged. "I have my mind back and I'm with my family. That's enough for me."
"But while they were enslaved, they did not appear here in this place," said Aleena. "The other parents here and I feared the worst when Charles stopped appearing as well." She then bowed her head sadly. "I myself fear I am only here due to a lingering affection my son still holds for me, as I have not seen him in years. It is too dangerous for us to be together yet, but I am forever grateful for Chuck caring for him in my place.
"I'm not the first guardian to look after my Sonic," said Chuck sadly. "He was left with a set of foster parents, good hard-working people, and friends of mine. Unfortunately, somehow it was found out one of the hidden princes was in their care and they were arrested when Sonny-Boy was still small. He's been with me ever since."
Tom and Maddie shared a concerned look. For all the chairs here, there were only representatives for three worlds that still had parents looking after their Sonic. How many others out there had no one?
Then something occurred to Tom. "Wait," he said, looking over at Chuck. "Did you say princes? As in more than one?"
Chuck and Aleena looked at him in amusement. "Oh, have I not mentioned?" asked Aleena. "It's a rarity, but my Sonic is a triplet."
"WHAT?"
What's Cooking
It was amusing to find out Sonic's love of chili dogs was nigh universal.
As such, both Chuck and Charles often spent the meetings comparing recipes.
"Zucchini?" asked Charles, looking bewildered. "You put zucchini in your chili?"
"Freedom Fighter rations were a bit sparse this time around, and I added it to give the chili more texture," said Chuck with a shrug. "It was actually quite good. You can't taste the zucchini's flavor with the chili's spices and it gives the whole thing some nice chunks. Just… don't tell Sonic what those chunks are."
Charles didn't look convinced, but said, "I'll keep that in mind," he said, before turning to Aleena. "How did your recent attempt at making chili work out, your majesty?"
Aleena looked like she'd rather talk about literally anything else. "It… had its uses," she said quietly.
Jules looked surprised to hear that. "It was edible?" he asked, prompting Bernie to elbow him in the side (and immediately regret it as it hurt her more than it hurt him).
Aleena for once didn't look very queenly as she sunk down into her seat so only her crown could be seen over the table. "It… melted the SWATbots that came after me."
Tom and Jules tried to hide their snickers, Maddie and Bernie looked disapproving at them but they were smiling too, and the Chucks both whistled in unison.
"I'd almost ask what it was you did to make a new weapon out of it," said Chuck.
Aleena just glared at him from over the edge of the table, before clearing her throat and sitting back up in her chair. "Tom, Maddie, do you have any recipes to share," she said, hoping to get the attention off her.
The human couple looked startled to be put on the spot. "Uh, well, we don't really have anything to add to the chili discussion," said Maddie. "But my husband can do a mean barbeque."
Tom grinned at her endorsement, "It's a summer staple where we live."
"Well, don't keep us in suspense," said Bernie. "Do tell."
Tom scooched his chair closer as he began, "Well, first thing you need to do is plan out what you're putting on your grill and where…"
The Eternal Enemy
"You were a soldier?" asked Tom in surprise.
Bernie smiled sweetly back at him. "Indeed I was," she said. "As were Jules and Charles. We all fought in a war together."
"Whoa," said Tom. "I see where Sonic gets his courage then. That's one of the bravest jobs you can take."
Bernadette laughed long and loud hearing that.
Tom looked at her strangely.
"I'm sorry," she said, wiping a tear away. "I just, I know you're not an overlander, but it is so ironic to have even a human say something like that."
Tom just continued to look confused.
"The war I was a soldier in was against the overlanders," she explained. "They're quite similar to humans, but with four fingers instead of five."
Tom cleared his throat awkwardly hearing that. "Ah, okay…" He then frowned. "Wait, there are humans, er, overlanders on your planet? Our Sonic implied there was nothing like us on his original world."
"We have both," said Bernie. "It's a rather long story."
"Ah," said Tom. His frown then deepened and then decided to address the elephant in the room that he and seemingly everyone else had been avoiding. "So, among those humans and overlanders have you ever met a man named Robotnik?"
Immediately, all other talk ceased at the table.
Bernie had a dark look on her face before she took a deep breath in and let it out. "When you said your Sonic had moved planets to be safe, I was honestly hoping that meant he would never meet that horrible man."
That was definitely a yes, not just for Bernie's world, but likely Aleena and Chuck's as well judging from their expressions.
"It's… how we met," explained Tom. "Longclaw told you about my Sonic's blue lightning powers, right? Well, he lost control of his powers one night and caused a blackout. That got the government's attention, and the government sent Robotnik. Sonic and I met when he was trying to hide from him."
"He chased Sonic and Tom across the country trying to get him, and who knows where else once Sonic started using his rings to portal to places," said Maddie. "Eventually, Sonic managed to knock him into a portal to another planet and strand him there."
Bernie nodded, her face grim. "Remember how we said Jules, Charles, and I had been turned into robotic slaves?" she asked. "It was Robotnik who did it. It took years to oust him from power in the Acorn Kingdom. We missed our Sonic's entire childhood only to come back to ourselves to hear our son was the hero that saved us."
"Even now, he remains a problem," said Jules. "There isn't a week that goes by that our world's Freedom Fighters don't have to save at least someone from his robots and his army."
"He is the reason I have to distance myself from my children," said Aleena bitterly. "At this very moment, he sits upon my ancestral throne and rules my kingdom, while my children remain in hiding from him."
"As well as the one who had Sonny-Boy's first foster parents arrested trying to get him," added Chuck.
Charles turned to the now horrified Tom and Maddie. "You said you stranded him on the other side of a portal?"
"Y-Yeah," said Tom. "It was a planet Sonic had as a backup plan if he was discovered on Earth. A livable but empty planet covered in mushrooms. He never wanted to go there because he'd be even more alone."
Charles nodded thoughtfully. "Well, then with a lack of technology, you may have a good while before he comes back. Enjoy it while you can."
Tom and Maddie's hearts sank even more. "Comes back?" Maddie croaked out.
Aleena, Chuck, Charles, Jules, and Bernie all looked at them with dead serious expressions.
"Yes," said Jules grimly. "He'll come back sooner or later. He always does."
"In our world, not even death stopped him for long," said Charles.
"There are many constants for Sonic in the multiverse," said Aleena. "And one of them is that that man, be he called Robotnik or Eggman, will always be Sonic's worst and most persistent enemy. You have won the battle, but the war will continue."
Maddie clapped a hand over her mouth, trying to keep her emotions contained. To hear the son she had come to love would likely be subjected to hardship over and over again was heartbreaking. Bernie and Aleena quickly left their own chairs to go comfort her.
Tom's fists were shaking as he had them clenched around the arms of his chair. "I should have punched him harder, that sonova-" he said hissed furiously.
Jules looked at him, impressed. "You punched him?" he asked.
Tom nodded curtly. "Three times. Headbutted him too."
Jules nodded in respect. "Good man. Can't wait to get the chance myself."
Tom glanced down at Jules's metal hands and thought about how much they could hurt. "Give him hell," he said
Jules grinned viciously and his electric red eyes gleamed. "Oh, I intend to."
How to Fry an Egg
Now that the egg was out of the bag. One of the most cathartic activities the support group could take part in was coming up with new and creative ways on how they would handle their Eggman if given the chance.
"I have to say, you may have inadvertently come up with one of the best punishments for him," said Chuck to Tom and Maddie.
Charles nodded in agreement. "Cut off from technology, surrounded by nature, indeed it must be torture for him." He then sighed wistfully. "My ideal revenge is to get ahold of all his machines and give them a more productive purpose, and force him to watch as they dismantle his empire around him," he said. "The man stole my inventions to further his crusade. Turnabout is a fair play."
"Sounds nice, but I'll stick to punching him again if I ever see him," said Tom.
"You got to last time. It's my turn," said Maddie in a half-joking tone, while also meaning every word of it.
"We'll both punch him," Tom promised her.
"Aw," said Bernie, before glancing at Jules teasingly. "Why don't you ever promise me sweet things like that?"
"Because I know you wouldn't be content with just punching him," said Jules, reaching over to take her hand. "Between the two of us, he won't have any intact bones."
"You know me so well," said Bernie with a sweetness in her voice that promised pain to whoever crossed her.
"I can't think of a single Freedom Fighter that hasn't fantasized about breaking a few bones of his," said Chuck. "Why, I even have a hammer set aside for just that purpose should I be given the chance. Or maybe I'll borrow Sonic's guitar for it. I'm sure he'd see it as a noble sacrifice and the irony would be too good to pass up."
Aleena smiled with the same sweetness as Bernie. "And I have so many dungeons to choose from after you're done," she said. "It's so hard to choose which one to throw him in and leave him to rot. But whichever one I pick will have music playing constantly."
"Music?" asked Charles.
"He hates music," explained Chuck. "Even made it illegal. Subjecting him to what he hates the most would work out nicely."
"Well, Earth has some pretty annoying songs if you ever need some new material," offered Tom.
"Excellent idea," said Chuck. "No point in wasting good music on someone like him."
More ideas poured in about what they'd do to Eggman if given the chance.
It was always very cathartic.
A Spoonful of Sugar
One day at a meeting, there was a new face. Or, at least, she was new to Tom and Maddie.
Tom and Maddie took their usual seats and cast curious glances at the prim-looking rabbit that was now sitting between Charles and Aleena.
The rabbit looked back curiously. "Oh, hello," she said politely. "I've not seen you before. I am Vanilla the Rabbit. A pleasure to meet you."
"Maddie and Tom Wachowski, nice to meet you too," said Maddie.
"They took in Longclaw's Sonic," explained Charles, who did not seem surprised to see Vanilla at all.
"Oh, thank goodness," said Vanilla, looking relieved to hear that.
"So, which Sonic is it you have again?" asked Bernie.
"And what did Sonny-Boy do this time?" asked Chuck.
Seeing the confusion still on Tom and Maddie's faces, Jules had mercy on them and explained, "We've met a few versions of Vanilla. She's the mother of a friend a lot of Sonics have. However, those Sonics only see her as a mother figure for himself when under her care, usually because he is either sick or injured."
"And I am always honored when he sees me that way, though I do regret the circumstances," said Vanilla. "As for your questions, I have the Sonic who went to space and fought the Metarex. And as for what he did…" the rabbit sighed and shook her head. "Broken leg, I'm afraid. He landed on it wrong while catching Amy in midair after defeating Eggman. She's blaming herself, the poor dear."
Tom winced. "Ouch, with how hyper all Sonics seem to be, having one lain up with a broken leg has to be torture to him."
"Oh, I'm afraid it is," said Vanilla. "He needs to be watched near constantly to keep him from trying to run away and make it worse." She then smiled. "Thankfully, Amy has been quite diligent in making sure that doesn't happen. I've not seen her leave his side."
"Amy?" asked Maddie.
"Amy Rose," explained Bernie. "She's in quite a few worlds, and always has quite the crush on Sonic."
"Aww," said Maddie, thinking that sounded sweet.
"Let us know if you get any tips on how to handle Sonic when he's unable to run," said Chuck, turning back to Vanilla. "I'm afraid it's something we all could use more help with."
"I will do my best," Vanilla said.
Vanilla continued to appear for a few more meetings but eventually, she didn't appear at all.
"That's good," Chuck assured the Wachowskis. "It means her Sonic has recovered and is on the move."
"We'll likely see her again once flu season rolls around," said Bernie. "Her and the other Vanillas, because that boy never remembers to get his shot."
"Then I'll be sure mine gets his," said Maddie.
Sure enough when flu season hit there were no less than four different Vanillas at their meetings.
A Wrench in the Works
Despite the fact that all the hedgehogs have been coming to the support group meetings for years, it seemed there were still new things to learn about those meetings.
Once such thing was Charles arriving with an indent of a wrench on his face and the cause of said indent in his hand.
"I must have fallen asleep in my workshop, and for some reason used this as a pillow," he said, looking at the wrench in bewilderment.
"You were using it as a pillow, and now somehow it's here?" asked Chuck.
"That's my best guess," said Charles, still looking baffled.
Jules looked thoughtful, before reaching into his metal quills and pulling out a set of keys. "Well, I also have my keys here too. I didn't think to take them out before I went into sleep mode."
"So, what? We can bring things here if we sleep with them under our heads?" asked Maddie.
"Well, aside from pillows, at least," said Bernie.
They all pondered this development before something occurred to Aleena. "Do you realize what this means?" she asked, clasping her hands together in excitement.
The other parents looked at her before it also dawned on all of them.
The next meeting was going to be great.
A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words
The next meeting everyone came armed to the teeth…
… with photographs.
"Huh," said Maddie as she looked over the vast selection of photos they'd all brought with them. "Despite the whole 'other dimension' thing, I didn't expect your Sonics to look so different."
Tom nodded in agreement. While all three groups had brought photos of a blue hedgehog with quills spiked the same way, when compared side by side their differences were clear.
Bernie, Jules, and Charles's Sonic looked a good bit like their own, but also sleeker and possibly taller or that could just be the confidence he exuded in every frame, not helped by how he seemed to always know when the camera was pointing at him to strike a cool pose.
Aleena and Chuck's Sonic was more on the round side than the other two, his quills were shorter as well, and in every photograph, he also had a guitar-shaped medallion around his neck, and more often than not had an actual guitar in his hands too.
By comparison, Tom and Maddie's Sonic appeared to be the fluffiest and possibly the shortest of the bunch, and his eyes also were the farthest apart on his face (which was a good thing, in Tom's private opinion, the other two had eyes so close together they looked like one big cyclops eye), and unlike the other two, his arms were blue rather than peach.
"Ah well, different dimensions," said Chuck with a shrug. "Can't expect everything to be the same in them. Otherwise, they wouldn't be called 'alternate'."
"Our Sonic used to look like yours as well when he was much younger," said Charles to Chuck. "Give him a few more years and we'll see if he looks more like the other two."
"Ah, puberty," said Chuck jokingly. "Something to look forward to."
They all had a variety of photos to view. Charles had several of his Sonic growing up in a place called Knothole, while Bernie had more recent ones, mostly of him spending time with his friends, and Jules had more candid shots of his son just around the house or around town. Tom and Maddie didn't have as many as the others, but they still had quite a few of Sonic around Green Hills enjoying being seen by people. Chuck had some of his Sonic growing up, and even more of Sonic having the time of his life while jamming out on his guitar. But it was Aleena who had the jackpot. Aleena had baby pictures!
"Oh~ They're so cute!" Maddie squealed as she and Bernie looked at a photo of three baby hedgehogs in onesies, with the blue one cuddled between a pink and green one sleepily.
"They're still so cute," said Aleena, looking at a family picture of herself with the triplets fondly.
Bernie let out a wistful sigh. "Oh, I wish I still had my son's baby pictures. Charles wasn't able to grab them before fleeing to Knothole, and they didn't survive Eggman's occupation.
"Knowing Eggman, if he ever found them he'd use them as target practice," added Jules dryly.
"He would," agreed Charles.
Tom, however, was looking through the pictures of the other two Sonics. "I see what you meant about your Sonic having a lot of friends," he said to Jules.
Almost every picture of Jules's Sonic had at least one other Mobian in it with him. Usually a small two-tailed fox, but sometimes there'd also be a chipmunk with red hair, a rabbit with mechanical limbs, a coyote in a uniform, a walrus in a baseball hat, or a pink hedgehog in a red dress to name a few.
"Like I said, he makes friends as easy as breathing," said Jules fondly. "He's got so much charisma you either love him or hate him immediately, though thankfully the former is more common.
"A social butterfly, huh," said Tom, thoughtfully. It would be great if his own Sonic could have friends as close as these seemed to be. While the town accepted Sonic, and there were even a few kids he liked to hang out with, he'd yet to make any friends as close as these ones seemed to be.
Jules, however, was looking through Tom's photos when he noticed something interesting.
With the exception of the baby pictures, all the others' pictures of Sonic had him posing atop robots he'd bested, making faces at the camera, spending time with friends, doing things with the resistance, and such like that.
By comparison, Tom and Maddie's photos were all surprisingly mundane. Sonic playing baseball, Sonic curled up on the couch to watch a movie, playing fetch with an unevolved dog, learning how to fish from Tom, trying (and failing) to learn yoga from Maddie. All regular things, yet their Sonic was smiling like the sun in each one.
It was honestly a beautiful sight.
"You're doing great with him," Jules remarked as he studied a picture of Sonic being lifted onto the shoulders of a baseball team in victory.
"You think so?" asked Tom.
Jules nodded and showed Tom the baseball photo next to one of Jules's own son posing atop a downed robot. Both looked triumphant, but for very different reasons.
"Your son is getting the chance to actually be a kid," Jules said. "Mine has been the hero for so long, I know he couldn't turn that instinct off for a second, nor do I think he would ever want to. He loves his life, and I'm happy that he does, but I do wish he'd gotten the chance to learn to enjoy the normal parts too."
Tom sighed. "To be honest, my Sonic already has that instinct. Every other morning I wake up to see something in the newspaper telling me he snuck out to try and be Batman again."
"Batman?" asked Jules, looking confused.
"Comic book superhero," Tom explained. He grimaced and added. "Though Sonic's not very good at it yet, and while he does save people and stop the criminals he also causes a lot more destruction."
Jules chuckled, "I guess that's just a normal part of being Sonic."
Their discussion was then interrupted by an excited shriek.
"Tom! Tom, come over here! Aleena has a picture of Sonic's first steps," said Maddie, waving her husband back over.
"Jules, get over here, I swear it's the same as ours," added Bernie, encouraging her husband to join too.
Tom and Jules shared an amused glance and went to look.
It was just as cute as they thought it would be.
And Then There Were Six
When they arrived at the meeting the next time, it was in light spirits and wondering if anyone had brought more pictures to share.
But the cheerful atmosphere quickly dissipated when they caught sight of the queen's face.
Aleena looked devastated! Her crown was missing, her quills were entirely in disarray, and she was dressed in a muddy green travel cloak instead of her usual white gown.
"What happened?" asked Maddie immediately as she and Bernie rushed to the queen's side to comfort her.
Aleena's hands were pressed against her mouth and she shook her head silently, tears already streaming down her face. "Ch-Chuck," was all she managed to say.
It was at that moment the rest of them realized that one of them was missing. There was only one mustachioed hedgehog in their midst. Chuck wasn't there.
"He was roboticized," Aleena sobbed into her hands. "And not just him. Lady Windermere and Ferrell. Sonia and Manic's guardians. They were arrested too!"
The others exchanged horrified looks.
"Aleena, your children, what happened to Sonic and the others?" asked Charles urgently.
Aleena sniffled and wiped her eyes. "They found each other. They escaped," she said, which soothed the others somewhat.
Aleena let out a sound like a half-sob half-laugh, "They know who I am now," she said. "They know who they are and what their destiny is. But even if they have each other they're all so alone." That part seemed to hurt her most of all.
"Then why don't you go to them?" asked Bernie, like the answer should be as obvious to her as it was to the rest of them. "Go find them! Be there for them!"
Aleena's face fell even more. "I can't!" she exclaimed. "It's not yet time. I long for my children, but I have to wait. If I act too soon, it will seal their fate. So long as we are separate they are safer than they would be with me."
The other parents exchanged glances.
"They might be willing to take that risk," said Tom quietly.
"But I am not willing to risk them!" said Aleena firmly through her tears. "I would never be able to forgive myself if I were to be the reason they-" she broke off and looked away.
Needless to say, the rest of the meeting was spent comforting Aleena and brainstorming ways to help her kids.
All while the empty chairs around them seemed to grow a lot more ominous.
Kids These Days
After several meetings of trying to convince her otherwise, Aleena would not budge on her decision, too fearful that going to her children too soon would end in disaster.
Even so, she did concede to watch them from a distance, so long as they didn't interact. Something that proved to be a good thing.
"Robotnik seriously claimed he was about to marry you, and then tried to forcefully adopt your daughter, all to make his claim to the throne more legitimate?" asked Jules incredulously.
"He did, and I will have his head for it," said Aleena, looking furious at the idea. She then smirked, "Though the look on his face when I appeared on the balcony will have to suffice for now. I've never seen the man look so pale."
The others snickered, imagining it.
"But enough about my children, what of yours?" asked Aleena. "What adventures have they been up to?"
"Well, for us, the interdimensional kind," said Bernie with a bemused sigh.
"What, like we can expect him to come by for dinner?" asked Tom.
"If only, but no," said Charles. "It involved another alternate world called Moebius with an evil version of Sonic calling himself Scourge. He took over Freedom Fighter HQ, and Sonic had to lure him back to his own world to defeat him."
Jules huffed. "I met the kid once. He was a cowardly punk that tried to attack our son in his sleep. Fortunately, I wasn't in sleep mode that night and warned him off."
"He came to my universe briefly before and attempted to help Robotnik, and was swiftly betrayed," said Aleena.
"Fortunately, after this last adventure it seems our son managed to get him locked into interdimensional jail, so you likely don't have to worry about a visit from him any time soon," said Bernie.
Maddie frowned. "Wait, if he's a Sonic, even an evil one, we're not going to see his parents here any time soon, are we?"
But Jules shook his head. "No, when he came to my house he told me that his version of Jules, at least, is no longer alive." He then grimaced and added, "And he… was fairly put off continuing his attack when I told him Sonic would miss me if I were gone. In fact, I'm almost certain he was crying."
Charles grimaced. "Well, ever since we even heard about there being an 'Anti-Sonic' I had to wonder if his parents' counterparts ever were here, and if we had met them."
Jules hummed thoughtfully. "Well, thinking of how Scourge described him, it might have been that one version of me who none of us liked. Remember, the one who always bragging about how peaceful his world was compared to ours that were embroiled in war at the time."
Bernie snapped her fingers. "I remember him. He was never interested in talking about his own son or any of ours, and instead kept trying to give us pretentious advice on how to make our worlds more like his."
"If that was him, and seeing how Moebius is now, it seems that did not work out for him," said Charles. "To say nothing about the state of his son."
"I know you said this kid's in jail, but how likely is it he'll still show up eventually?" asked Tom.
"Well, despite his best efforts, Scourge is still a Sonic. And nothing can keep a Sonic down for long," said Charles with a sigh.
"Just keep an eye out for a hedgehog that looks like my son but green and with scars across his chest," said Jules. "He's usually wearing a leather jacket as well."
"I find it ironic his attempts to look different from one of my sons resulted in him looking more like my other one," said Aleena dryly.
"We'll keep an eye out," Maddie promised.
"Speaking of keeping an eye out," said Bernie. "What's your boy been up to?"
Tom sighed. "He's up to something right now. I went up to his room before bed to give him some comic books, and instead found a dummy he set up to look like him, complete with an audio recording warning me away by threat of chili dog farts."
The other hedgehogs and Maddie chuckled in amusement.
"Guess we'll have to see what he was up to in the morning," Maddie said.
Soon after that, the meeting came to an end.
And so it Grows
The next meeting had Tom and Maddie arriving, grinning ear to ear.
Wondering what had happened to cause that, Jules said, "Well, it seems you two have news."
"Sure do," said Tom cheerfully. "For one thing, Sonic finally started calling me Dad."
"He's been on cloud nine about that ever since," said Maddie fondly.
"Don't lie, you nearly started crying the first time he called you Mom," said Tom.
"That's wonderful to hear," said Bernie, and the other hedgehogs all voiced their agreement.
"But that's not our only news," said Tom with a mischievous smile and holding up a new photo. "It looks like Aleena's not going to be the only one with three kids here."
"But first," said Maddie, her face turning serious. "I need you all to please tell me everything you can for the care, culture, and general health of both Mobian foxes and echidnas."
That announcement had several jaws dropping in shock, and they stared at the picture. In it, at an ice cream parlor and smiling happily was the Wachowskis' Sonic sitting next to a small and very fluffy fox with two tails, and a fuzzy young echidna with a crescent mark on his chest.
"Oh my," said Charles, a wide smile splitting his face. "He found Tails."
"And Knuckles it would seem," said Aleena fondly. "Oh, how wonderful."
"Wonderful, yes, but boy are those three going to be a handful," said Bernie in amusement.
"We can handle it," said Tom.
"But we'd appreciate any help you can give us," said Maddie.
The four hedgehogs smiled back at them, and Jules said, "It would be our pleasure."
A/N I love when a series has multiple incarnations that make themself into a multiverse. Between things like TMNT and Sonic the Hedgehog, I get to have a lot of fun. This came about as I was brainstorming my Lost in the Waves series, and it occurred to me how few versions of Sonic had parents. I know that's because of Sega Mandates, but still. Anyway, when I realized that bit about the parents, I wondered how Bernadette and Jules would react to Tom and Maddie and vice versa, and Aleena got thrown in for flavor, and of course, gotta include the Uncle Chucks. SatAM Uncle Chuck kinda got meshed with Archie Uncle Chuck because I figured 3 Chucks would be a crowd. I think I heard somewhere that that manga based on Sonic had that Sonic also having parents, but I haven't read it so I couldn't add it here. Maybe if I ever do, I'll add another chapter introducing them. Still, I had fun writing this, and coming up for things for them to talk about.
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