*Man this has got to be my longest chapter to date, I probably should have cut back some, but I won't cut up parts of a story just for word count!
This chapter was inspired by Humanities_Handbag and Invader_Sam's "5 Times Sonic Caught Himself Before Calling Them 'Mom and Dad' and 1 Time He Didn't Hold Back"
Did you know they actually make diapers that have tail holes?! I always thought it was just made up for these kinds of stories, but our puppy recently started menstruating (we're thinking of breeding, haven't decided yet), and they have diapers for dogs that have a hole for the tail!
Seems art does imitate reality.*
For the first time in his memory, Sonic felt...
Safe, relaxed, and loved.
Loved and cared for in a way the hedgehog had never known before. It was like he was an old broken vase found by an antique collector. Secure in an expert's hands who was helping restore him piece by piece with a delicate touch.
Instead of fighting and worrying about the next attack, he was playing, and it was honestly refreshing to have no worries! Though Sonic still had to cope with his PTSD, the doctor was helping him with that making sure the little hedgehog felt safe and assisting him in calming down after any nightmare-induced panic attack.
As much as Sonic enjoyed his Little time, he wasn't regressed always. Some days he didn't feel like wearing the diapers or crawling around playing with his baby toys. During those times, he was his usual teenage self hanging out and being snarky as always. The change from teenager to a toddler wasn't as...jarring or awkward as he had anticipated. Sometimes he didn't even realize he had changed, and Eggman somehow picked up the signals before he did and adjusted in stride.
The times' Shadow and Rouge came over, and his visits with Tails always seemed to arrive at the right moment. Sonic couldn't be little in their presence, and it was during those times, he didn't feel the need to be regressed. The blue blur always felt more capable of being big and was refreshed after getting a chance to be little and vice versa.
During one such time a week or so later, when Sonic wasn't feeling little, he approached Metal Sonic to work out their differences. It was...a lengthy discussion that involved yelling matches, crying, apologies, and a long hug. Finally, the blue blur and his metal counterpart realized that they had more in common than they thought, even in their experience of not having what they emotionally needed.
Sonic understood he had unintentionally been hogging the doctor to himself and promised Metal that he would step away at times so creator and creation could be together. He also agreed to let the badnick have his position as second in command; Sonic wasn't interested in having the job anyway. Metal pledged in return to never try to hurt the hedgehog again and would view him from now on as a baby brother if, in exchange, he would teach the badnick how to be a real hedgehog and big brother, something he had wanted to understand and secretly desired since his creation. Sonic happily agreed, saying he would have helped the robot anyway and that him being Metal's baby brother was the cherry on top!
The first lesson how to have fun!
*Later that afternoon.*
Eggman had just finished his final video conference call with the board of directors. He had been busy off and on the last few days having various meetings with the same people he was supposed to have talked with the day Sonic had almost died.
The doctor had been worried that his clients would drop his project after leaving the crucial meeting so soon, but technology once again saved the day! With the main part of the presentation already out of the way, all he needed to do was answer their questions about his invention. And they had come up with plenty during his brief absence. Now he was done with his part, and it was all up to their collective decision, which he would have to wait a few weeks for. That was fine with Eggman. It gave him a chance to rest, maybe make a few tweaks to his invention, and spend time with his baby.
He softly chuckled as he walked down the hallways of the base. How quickly things had changed since that terrifying day. Who could have believed that his former worst enemy was now a docile diaper-wearing pacifier-sucking toddler! Calling him affectionately by the nickname 'Eggy' and carrying around the hand-made plush version of the doctor where ever the hedgehog went. Sonic was adorable when he was regressed.
As Eggman continues to think of the blue baby, a spot of cyan appears in his peripheral. Pausing and turning to get a glimpse of what had caught his attention, he spots the object of his thoughts on the other side of the glass windows overlooking the garden.
Sonic and Metal were out in the garden covered from head to toe in mud!
Oh, my lord! Eggman mentally bemoaned; both hedgehogs were almost entirely brown. He was surprised to have seen a flash of blue at all! He continued to gape at the two dancing around in the freshly watered grounds, jumping into puddles and throwing mud balls at each other, laughing and yelling in their play.
Even though they looked like they were having a good time and getting along, having two mud-covered hedgehogs roam about the base was unacceptable.
The doctor steeling himself, marches to the nearest garden doors and heads straight to the mud-covered duo. His features wrinkling in irritation at the mess. Carefully avoiding the puddles as he approaches, Eggman makes himself known by raising a fist and coughing into it loudly. Sonic freezes as his ears twitch to the sound, and Metal Sonic stops himself just before throwing a mud ball.
Both jump at the origin of the noise seeing an annoyed doctor glaring down at them; they think the same thought. Uh oh! The two drop the balls of mud in their hands with a splat and stare down at the ground guiltily, "What is going on here?" the doctor asks in a calm voice crossing his arms.
Metal glanced at his baby brother beside him; the little hedgehog wore overalls, a puffy diaper, and an orange shirt. Not that you could see much as he was covered in mud. Some of it was spattered on his furry face from Metal's precise throws; the badnick was very similar in appearance regarding the organic matter. It covered his chassis and clogged his exhaust vents after Sonic had pushed him down in a wrestling match. They might have gotten a bit carried away with the mud fight.
"We were playing with the recently wetted earth matter. Sonic was showing me what all one can do with such material in a demonstration of play activity or fun." Metal explains, "Looks like you two did more than that." Eggman grunts at the mess and nods to the door. "Metal, go to the repair bay and get yourself cleaned up."
"Yes, sir." the badnick beeped and looked at his brother in concern. Sonic just nodded once with a small smile, saying that 'everything was ok.' Metal nodded back, looked up at the doctor apologetically, and silently left the two organics to get cleaned and prepare dinner after.
They watched the robot leave before Eggman turned his attention back to the messy hog, who looked up at him with worry and slight fear, "Are you mad?" Sonic asked in a small voice twiddling his thumbs together. The doctor flicked his eyes over the surrounding area. Mud was splattered everywhere; the pathway they were standing on looked like a mud hole; there was so much dirt. Some of the plants were weighed down by the mud, wilting against the weight, and a few flowers had been dug up and thrown aside. The human breathed a heavy sigh through his nose, "No, I'm not mad...just irritated at the mess you two made."
"Sorry, Eggy."
"It's alright. You and Metal are on good terms now, correct?" Sonic smiled and nodded. The doctor smiled in return, happy to hear this. If a mud fight is what it took to get those two together well, so be it. At least no one was hurt.
"Good! Let's get you cleaned up; you need a bath." Sonic whined in protest at that as Eggman grabbed his hand and led him back inside the base, "I don't wanna bath! Why can't I have a shower?"
"Because a shower won't do the job this time." the doctor said firmly, leaving no room for argument on the subject. The two walked down the hallways, Sonic's muddy footprints following behind them. Eggman stopped a passing service drone, "Bring a change of clothes from the nursery to bathroom B, please." the little drone beeped and went to fulfill the request before the two continued their walk.
They stopped at the doorway just across from the nursery and stepped inside a large bathroom. Sonic nervously glanced around the white-tiled room, and his pupils shrank to pinpricks landing on the gigantic tub; he gulped as Eggman turned on the water and stripped off his red jacket and rolled up his sleeves. The little hedgehog hopped on one foot to the other, his stomach twisting into knots, wishing he could run away and hide somewhere. Sonic jumped when the service bot from before suddenly entered with his clothes and laid them on the counter before leaving.
The blue blur's ears lay back in fear, and he whimpers, hearing the water splash into the tub, watching the human get everything ready. Then, Eggman getting on his knees and pulling out a mat, turned to the anxious hedgehog, "Lie down, please." he pats the plastic mat. Sonic reluctantly did as told, and the doctor begins stripping off his mud-stained clothes and shoes, putting them in a pile to wash later. Next, he looks down at Sonic's diaper, seeing it was wet and heavy; Eggman removes the padding, throws it away, and signals that he can stand up.
The blue devil blushed, now fully naked, stood up, and backed away slightly, holding himself, still fearfully watching the water like it was going to leap out and grab him. His fear turned to slight curiosity, with one ear tilting up as Eggman pulled a dark colorful chalk ball out of a cabinet and dropped the sphere into the rising water. Green eyes widened in amazement when the water began to bubble and fizz as the ball gradually dissolved, turning the clear liquid into a starlit galaxy.
"Wow!" Sonic breathes in awe at the sight, mind blown at the transformation stepping closer to the sparkling water. Eggman smirks as he pulls a basket of bath toys out, dumping them into the water. He watches the fear that had been prominent in the hedgehog's eyes disappear as childlike wonder and a little bit of excitement overtook him.
The water reaching the desired level is stopped, and the doctor grabs Sonic around his sides, gently placing the mud-covered hog into the warm bathwater. Sonic smiles as he's put in and begins stirring the water watching the colors and sparkles swirl in the current; a rubber ducky and sailboat floats into his sights. He takes the toys forgetting he was sitting chest-deep in his phobia. The hedgehog giggles when the rubber duck squeaks with a squeeze, and he babbles nonsense as he plays. The doctor taking a cup and gathering some of the water, pours it over Sonic's head, beginning the cleaning process. Eggman smiles lovingly at his charge, working suds through dirt-filled fur and quills.
He was thrilled that the blue blur was distracted from his fear by the disguised liquid and distracting bath toys; the hedgehog was completely relaxed! Eggman could only do so much with helping Sonic with his PTSD, as getting over that takes much time and therapy, but he could help the blue devil more quickly through his aquaphobia, and this was a major step in conquering that fear.
Sonic happily plays with his toys while the doctor carefully works his fingers through sharp quills; thankfully, they are down and are much easier to work with as the hedgehog is relaxed. Eggman's ears pick up a motor sound, raising an eye ridge in puzzlement; he realizes Sonic had paused in his play, slouching forward with a broad smile, purring in pleasure as his back is massaged. The man hums in amusement continuing to scrub mud clods out of sapphire and peach fur, taking the time to be gentle around sensitive areas.
Once the hedgehog is all clean, he allows his charge to play in the bath a little longer since he was so calm. Sonic was enraptured in his little world, completely ignoring the doctor while Eggman watched him play. Eggman sat back as he observed, finding the blue blur's ability to regress intriguing; though this ability is not uncommon, the extent Sonic went with it was...curious and cute.
"Alright, pincushion, time's up!" he announces after a while, picking up the soaked blue blur under the shoulders and setting him on the tile floor, taking a big towel and teasingly rubbing his hands around the hedgehog's sides. The surprise tickle made Sonic explode in laughter as he was patted dry; he wiggles around like crazy, trying to escape the mad man's fierce hands. "Eggy!-hahaha-s-stoaaa! Haahaha! Stop! Hahhahaa!"
Eggman lays off his tickle attack and instead covers the towel over the hedgie's head; Sonic giggles at the man, wondering what he was doing now. He purrs as he feels the towel softly move against his fur, wiping him dry. Sonic's insides grow warm and fuzzy. He feels so small right now in Eggman's care like a little baby just learning how to walk. A passing thought of life with Eggman finding him when he was little and growing up with the human like this hits Sonic, making his heart twitch, and he almost wishes it had turned out that way.
The doctor satisfied that all the water was gone, uses the same towel to wipe the mat on the floor, ridding it of any mud stains, and has Sonic lie down on it again. Eggman reaches for a new diaper and baby powder getting ready to diaper the blue devil. Sonic sticks his thumb in his mouth, smiling cutely, and his tail wags childishly. The doctor chuckles, struggling to capture the small appendage, "H-Hold still Sonic! Hehe! I can't get this thing on you if your tail won't stop wagging for a second." the hedgie attempts to slow his tail and frowns at the appendage as he tries with difficulty to slow it down.
A few moments later, his tail slows its wagging enough for the doctor to wrangle it into the hole and he finishes putting on the new diaper, "Don't get up just yet." Eggman halts, grabbing a light green onesie decorated with colorful blocks. Sonic tilts his head curiously when the doctor hesitates to put it on, looking at him with a strange sparkle in his glasses when suddenly Eggman's face is over his body. He feels the doctor's cheeks expand as raspberries are blown on his belly, making the hedgehog shriek in alarm.
Sonic giggles hysterically as his stomach is raspberried again and again while he weakly pushes the doctor away, not trying very hard to get him to stop. "My goodness, something has gotten the baby very giggly today. I wonder what's so funny? Maybe there's some butterflies in the baby's belly~?" Eggman playfully ponders before blowing more air against the fuzzy peach stomach; Sonic shrieks again, kicking his legs lightly in response, "Dear me, this is a serious case of the giggles I might have to perform surgery!"
"No! Nononono!" the blue blur yells, tears streaming from his eyes and cheeks beet red, "No more Eggy! Hahaha! No mowre!"
"No more? Alright. Hohoho, that's enough for now. Come on, stand up, little one." Sonic pants with a wide goofy smile, trying to get his breath back; he shakily stands up, almost losing his balance, his muscles weak from laughing so much. "Arms up, please." the doctor motions pulling the onesie over Sonic's head and arms, making sure his back quills came out of the appropriate holes, and snaps the bottom together. He sighs in satisfaction, looking over the cute fluffy hedgehog, whose cheeks were still burning, and a smile stretched across his face, not anywhere near fading away. Emerald eyes shining at him with merriment and innocence while a regloved thumb is placed back in his mouth to suck on cutely.
Eggman can't resist ruffling the soft fur atop his head, "Such a cutie." he chuckles. Sonic shyly looks away with embarrassment, though not at all upset at the compliment. "Come on, baby. I'm sure dinner should be ready by now." the doctor grunts taking Sonic in his arms and standing up; the duo walk out to enjoy the rest of their evening.
*Sometime later*
Sonic taps his foot while he stands, waiting by the front door, "Come on, Tails! I'm waaaaiiiting!" he yells, frowning and checking a nonexistent watch on his wrist. "I'm coming just a second!" The fox responds faintly from the workshop. Seconds after, he steps out and locks the door so no one could steal his expensive equipment. Tails hurries over to the impatient hedgehog, glaring at him, "Finally! You were taking forever!" Sonic huffs.
"Sorry, ok. Come on; it won't take us long to meet the gang." the kit walks out with his brother spinning his two tails, preparing for takeoff, "Yeah yeah." Sonic continues to grouch. Tails rolls his eyes at the hedgehog's unusual sour mood, and the duo takes off for downtown Station Square Mall, where they were meeting the rest of their friends.
Sonic was not in a good mood which was surprising. Usually, the days he visits his friends were ones the hedgehog looked forward to the most; today was not the case. He had awoken that morning, not interested in being his Big self which he had to be with his friends. So, thinking it would be alright, Sonic had asked Eggman if he could skip the visit or reschedule for a later day. Still, the doctor insisted that Sonic should go. Saying that unless he was sick or an emergency occurred that they needed to stick with the schedule they had implemented.
Sonic had been tempted to cry or throw a tantrum at the news. Wanting to scream that he didn't want to go and wanted to stay with the doctor instead. He had pulled his best puppy dog eyes and pouty lip on the doc but was still forced to go out.
So here he was now. Very grumpy at having to be Big when he didn't feel like it at all. Not that he didn't want to see Tails or the rest of his friends, it was the issue of him not being comfortable being Little around them. And he especially couldn't be little in public; the media would have a heyday if he acted in such a way and would not do his street cred any good. All the internet trolls would finally have some viable evidence to use against the blue blur and the fangirls...well, that last thought was a bit terrifying even if he did like attention.
Sucking it up to the best of his ability Sonic put his little inclinations aside with promises to himself that the day would fly by and he would be back at the base in his diapers, sucking on his paci and cuddling with Ivo in no time at all!
This is going to be a long day.
The hedgehog and fox duo halt at the doors of Station Square Mall and walk into the massive building. The inside looks like your typical mall, but the contents are what make this shopping complex unique. Every kind of store you could think of was there that can cater to one's desires; clothing, electronics, jewelry. Of course, there were attractions as well! Arcade, virtual reality, karaoke, and escape rooms, even a mini amusement park!
Right now, Sonic and Tails were searching for the movie theatre where they were supposed to meet the rest of their friends. Up ahead by a large touch screen showing the films playing currently stood Amy, Cream, and Knuckles watching the advertisements fade from one to another.
The pink hedgehog's Sonic senses tingling, turns, and sees said blue blur and the orange kit. She waves at the colorful figures with a warm smile. "Over here, guys!" Tails noticing the movement, nudges Sonic and points to the group and the two approach. "Sonic!" Amy squeals giving the blue blur one of her famous death hugs, a tinge of crimson appears on his muzzle as he struggles in her grip, "Amy! Let go, please! Too tight!"
"Whoops, sorry!" she apologizes, quickly releasing her crush, placing her hands together behind her back, and swaying side to side innocently. "Hello, Mr. Sonic!" Cream hops up and sweetly greets, Sonic dusting himself off, nods at Knuckles acknowledging his presence before addressing the small rabbit. "Hey, Cream! Long time no see! How are you and your mom?"
"Doing well, thank you!" Sonic's smile fades into a frown, noticing someone was missing, "Hey, where's Cheese?" he asks, scratching his head, searching for the little Chao. "Oh! He's staying with Momma today since they don't allow Chaos in the mall."
"Aw, that's too bad. Maybe I can come over and visit your place next week? I haven't seen Vanilla in forever."
"Oh, that would be lovely! We'd love for you to come over!"
"Alright, you guys, come on!" Knuckles interrupts, "I just got a text from Rouge that her and Shadow are running late. We should go ahead and grab our snacks." with that, everyone entered the movie theatre.
The mall's bright, cheery daytime atmosphere disappeared. In its place were neon lights brightly lit in the purposely dim light and posters of actors in action poses in front of dramatic backgrounds, the smell of butter and sugar-filled the air, and sticky carpet with a glow in the dark pattern was laid underneath their feet.
Sonic smiled lightly as they approached the snack counter, seeing candy bars, popcorn, nachos, fruit snacks, and lots of chocolate-covered goodness on display. Unfortunately, the line was relatively long, and he was the last one on the end. This is gonna take a while. The blue devil sighed, eyes wandering around the busy atmosphere looking for something to distract himself while he waited. Then, a pair of green irises widen at one of the standup posters, and his little self screamed on the inside.
The standup poster was advertising the newest children's film, "The Carebears." the blue blur had seen advertisements before on tv for the film, and now here he was getting ready to see a movie. Sonic's little side seeing this opportunity and reminded of the film's existence, begged to go and see it. But, unfortunately, he was here with his friends with the idea to not go and watch a film for toddlers.
"Hello, faker?" a hand waved in front of his eyes, breaking contact with the standup poster. "Huh-uh?" Sonic blinked, surprised to find Shadow looking at him oddly, "Oh! Hey Shads!" he chirped. Shadow looked behind his shoulder in the direction Sonic had been ogling at and back at his rival curiously, "What were you staring at?"
"Oh uh well, nothing!" he said with a high pitch and nervous grin, looking anywhere but at the advertisement or Shadow, "Just thinking of..." the blue blur's voice faded as his eyes landed on the candy display case, and he smiled more genuinely, pointing to the sweets. "What kind of candy I'm gonna get? Yeah! I can't decide if I'm gonna go with the milk duds or nerds. Nerds are great and fruity even though it's just citrus-flavored mini sugar crystals, but chocolate is good too. I mean, you can't go wrong with anything chocolate-flavored! Then again, the caramel always gets stuck in my teeth and takes forever to go away, and that's annoying, so maybe I should stick with the Nerds, but I could just get something else chocolate flav-"
"Stop! Just stop!" the ebony hog held up a hand, signaling for the blue blur to stop his candy rambling. Shadow pinches his brow and pushes his rival to the counter, "Just get the Nerds." Sonic gapes at the black hog for a second before he chuckles awkwardly and asks the concession person for his candy. After paying for and taking his sweet Sonic dashes to the ticket counter, gripping the box hard. I need to be careful I was losing myself. Gotta stay big! I can not be Little here! Keep you're cool, Sonic. It was just a one-time thing hopefully, the rest of the day should go fine without any more incidents. Just don't look at anything that might set you off.
After everyone purchased their snacks, they decided on watching a romantic comedy flick, romance for the girls, and comedy for the boys with a little bit of action sprinkled in to keep things interesting. When the movie finished, they were all ready for a good meal and headed for the food court, where everyone separated to pick whatever flavors called out to them.
Sonic's friends quickly dispersed; he for once delayed, spinning around contemplating all the available restaurant options to decide what he wanted. "Meh, Burger? No. Apotos Gelato? I just had something sweet. Good Noodle Chunun? Not really in the mood for Chinese. Chili Dog Zone? Hmmm, that sounds promising!" With a smirk, he zipped up to the stand; Sonic narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin as he scanned the menu. After a moment, his face lights up, spotting something that exactly suited his needs.
A short time later, everyone meets back, combining two tables so everyone would fit. "My my Shadow, that looks exotic~! What did you get?" Rouge asks, leaning over and pointing to the black hog's food tray, "Boiled Ibanga. A delicacy apparently from Mazuri." he replies, poking the food with his fork.
"I think me and Chip tried that when we were there a while back. It was ok not my favorite." Sonic shrugged at the memory, "Yes, we all know what you're favorite is, Blue. Which it looks like you got plenty of." Rouge quirked a brow at the half dozen mini chili dogs with fries and coke on his tray. "Why didn't you get yourself the full-size? Were they all out?" Tails asked in puzzlement. "Oh no, I just..." Sonic sweatdropped, looking down at his plate, trying to come up with an excuse as to why he ordered two kids' meals.
"Arent those on the kid's menu?" the fox continues to press, "I uh well..."
"Oh, is that the classic Sonic special? The mini chili dogs are so cute! I bet that's why my Sonikuu got them instead."
"That and two kids meals are cheaper than one regular full size. Since he's not beating Eggman anymore, I don't blame him for saving a few rings. After all, the government won't need to pay him to protect the world from Eggface anymore." Sonic relaxes at Knuckles suggestion; he leans his elbows on the table and grabs one of the mini chili dogs nonchalantly, "Yeah, that's it! See, Knux has got the right idea! Gotta think ahead with these things, ya know?" he winks, tapping a finger on his head; "After all, I gotta keep us afloat until your old enough to start selling off your inventions, and I can start mooching off of you instead of the president or G.U.N." Tails rolls his eyes at that, "I know! You're worse than a stray cat!"
Amy tilted her head at the fox's strange saying, "What?" before the fox could begin to explain, Shadow answered. "You know the old saying about stray cats? The more you feed them, the more they hang around? I made the mistake once, and it took forever before I was able to get rid of the little mongrel." Everyone raised eyebrows in surprise at the ebony hog's knowledge of old catchphrases and such.
"Shadow, how could you!" Amy gasped in horror, "Giving hope to a poor defenseless little creature and then killing it off!" The black hog sputtered in surprise at the accusation, "I didn't kill it!"
"Oh! So you just took it away and abandoned it somewhere in a field?"
"Chaos, no! Where did you get that idea?! I'm not heartless! After feeding it for a couple of months, I was finally able to catch it and took it to a no-kill shelter I volunteer at." he defended, emphasizing the no-kill part. Sonic, who had been drinking, almost spewed soda out his nose hearing this; he choked out gurgled laughter, his rival pointedly glared at him. "And just what is so funny?!"
"I'm sorry!" the blue devil wheezes, "But just imagining you working with and cuddling fuzzy wittle animals like a dog, cat, or a Chao is just...snicker-its hilarious!"
"Hmph! Shows what you know about me. You've saved defenseless animals from Eggman's machines, have you not? Besides, it's what Maria would have done." Everyone at the table sobers up at the name in tense silence, the group recalling the sad history with the black hedgehog and the individual mentioned—Sonic scratches the back of his head in regret. "Aw gee, I'm sorry, Shads. I didn't mean-"
"It's fine." Shadow held his hand up for the blue hedgehog to stop and smirks slightly, easing the remorse on everyone's minds, "besides, it's not like there's a shelter we can send you off to. Eggman already took you off of our hands. You're his problem now." Sonic dramatically gasps in mock hurt, "I am offended! How dare you compare me to some mangy street cat! My looks far surpass those of the common feline." he then sniffs and runs a hand through his fur like a snotty model making a round of playful groans and rolling eyes emit from the rest of the table.
Lunch ended with lots of chatter after stuffing of faces; by then, the girls were ready to start exploring the rest of the mall, with the boys begrudgingly following them. Good thing there are stores that cater to the male mind as well to keep them occupied, while the females went head over heels (quite literally) over the latest fashion trends and accessories.
All of them except for little Cream, as she was still young enough not to understand fashion, and some stores were not appropriate for a six-year-old to enter. So she was stuck with the guys.
"So where do we wanna go to first?" Sonic asks as Amy and Rouge leave them, heading for Victoria's Secret. Tails walks beside the hedgehog with his tails twitching in thought as the fox looks around the vicinity. He freezes, and blue eyes light up at one store with a poster on the window of all video electronics for 50% off, "Oh my gosh!" Tails squeals his namesakes, going wild, "They're having a sale! I gotta see if they have any specialized vector imaging visual equipment! See you guys!" the fox quickly leaves the group behind, forgetting all about them. Sonic can't help but chuckle at his brother's enthusiasm over anything techy, "That place will keep him occupied for a while. I don't plan on going after him, so you guys have any ideas?" he asks, turning back to Knuckles and Shadow.
"I'm going to head to the records store." the ebony hog thumbs over to one corridor of the mall; Knuckles gazes in that direction before speaking. "I'd like to check out the book store nearby. There's a legend of treasure hidden over in an ancient city in the South Islands. I wanna check out if they have any books about the legend and maybe some maps of the area." the blue blur nodded, "It's been a while since you've gone out on one of you're treasure hunting expeditions sounds cool! What do you think, Cream? Any of those stores you wanna check out?" he asks the little rabbit. "Not really I was wondering if we could go to the toy store Mr. Sonic?" she tentatively asks, pointing in the direction of her request.
The blue devil silently gulped, his smile looking more like a grimace, looking at where the rabbit was pointing, his heart thumped in excitement. He wanted to go into that store too, but then Sonic would run the risk of accidentally turning little around his friends, and he couldn't do that. But he couldn't bring himself to say no to sweet little Cream either; luckily, Shadow solved his dilemma.
"Why don't you two go ahead. We're all separated anyway; we'll meet back here when we're done." Sonic blinked at his rival with a crooked smile, "Oh uh, ok. Sure heh." he slowly replied. With that, Knuckles and Shadow left Sonic and Cream to themselves.
Sonic watched them go anxious about how he was going to hold himself together, not that he couldn't; he had some self-control! It was just the fact that doing so would be more challenging since he was constantly fighting not to be in his little space today anyway, and now it would be ten times harder with temptation surrounding him.
"Mr. Sonic?" a small voice asks, breaking him out of his mild panic, "What?!" he gasps, eyes darting around before landing on the little rabbit beside him. "What is it, Cream?" He softly asks; the girl shyly taps the tip of her shoe on the ground. "Um, could you hold my paw?"
"Oh uh, sure!" Sonic smiles shaking his panic away, and gently takes her hand; the two walk together into the toy store. Their eyes widen simultaneously as they take in the magical place. All around was every toy imaginable; a miniature train's whistle blew as it passed, the track running throughout the first and second floors. Remote-controlled helicopters, planes, drones, and superheroes buzzed in the air. One corner of the store was dedicated to miniature model sets looking like a small city.
Lights and sounds surrounded the two as they walked further in, hand in hand, gawking at the number of toys. Sonic could feel himself slipping into his little space, imagining himself playing with all the toys on display. A shaky smile threatened to break out. Gotta be big! Gotta be big! Gotta be big! Oh dang, it! He yelled in his mind; he felt like he was being tortured being split in half, his little side begging to play with the toys while his big side pleaded with him not to give in!
"Look!" Cream calls, pulling him into the doll section of the store; he stumbles behind her, trying to keep his attention only on the rabbit. Finally, Cream lets go of her hostage and excitedly grabs a mobian baby doll holding it up for the blue blur to see, "Isn't it cute! It says it cries and wets its diaper like a real baby." she exclaims, "Oh yeah, real...adorable." he mumbles unenthusiastically, stepping away from the doll. The blue devil liked toys, but baby dolls weren't his thing.
Cream puts the toy down, noting his disinterest, and retakes his paw, this time pulling him to another section of the store. "Oh! Look at all the stuffed animals!" she cried and pulls out a neutral Chao plush; Sonic's eyes widen at the colorful plushies, and a smile creeps on his face when Cream hands him the Chao. Its big eyes looking at him with a friendly smile and fabric so soft he can't help but pet it, tempted to rub his face against the toy's rounded features. Cream watches with delight seeing Sonic take to the plushies, not that this was a total surprise. Who didn't like stuffed animals?!
"They even have Dark and Hero Chao too!" she cheers, taking one of each and giving them to the blue blur who now couldn't refrain from cuddling the toys with a blush and wry smile on his cheeks. Sitting down, he nuzzles the Chao while Cream took more stuffed toys and began playing with them. Aw, forget it! Sonic relents giving in to the temptation; it was just too much. No one else is around to watch, and Cream won't be able to notice I've turned little while playing with her like I usually do. Cream having instigated playtime with the toys that surrounded them made Sonic give in to his urges. Big Sonic was gone, and Little Sonic was in his place; it was playtime now with a new friend, and they were having fun!
The two explored the rest of the store with the plushies hand in hand; they marveled at the miniatures, battled aliens in space with remote-controlled rockets, helped cowboys and Indians become friends, and escaped the dinosaur infested jungles.
Hours passed, and the day was drawing to a close. Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Rouge, and Shadow all stood at their meet-up point with their purchases, wondering where the blue blur and brown bunny had disappeared off to? It was almost time for Sonic to leave.
Tails groaned as he fiddled with his communicator, "Ugh! Stupid Eggman, if Sonic still had the communicator I gave him, I could find out where they went but nooooo. Eggman insisted that he didn't need it and now look at what's happened! The guy could have kidnapped them to use as hostages for all we know!"
"Now, fox boy, that isn't something the doctor would do anymore, and that plan has more holes than swiss cheese." Rouge reprimands, "I'm sure they just got distracted. Can't you find Blue by the collar he's wearing?" Tails annoyingly grunts at her, "Believe me, I've tried, but without knowing what's inside. I can't figure out if it has a radio frequency I can tap into or a tracker or something of that nature for me to exploit so we can find them."
"Maybe I can find them? My Sonic senses have never failed me before!" Amy suggests, "Or maybe we could do a quick search at all the most likely stores they could have gone to while one of us stays here in case they come back?" Shadow nods at the pink one, "That's a good idea, Rose. Knuckles, why don't you stay here since you aren't the fastest while the rest of us sweep the mall."
"Who says I'm not-! Forget it. I don't want to be trying to chase down blue wonder. The rest of you go; I'll wait here and watch over everyone's stuff." Knuckles relents with a grunt taking a seat on a bench, too tired from the long day to argue. The searchers nod once and dash off, looking for any trace of brown or blue in the various stores.
As Shadow skated through the mall corridors, he remembered Cream's request to go to the toy store before they had parted ways with the group. Thinking that the two might still be in the children's store, he did a quick 180 and made a beeline for the colorful bright sign.
Slowing down, the black hog walked into the isles of the toy store, sharp eyes on the lookout for his friends and ears held high, listening for familiar voices. When he turned the corner, entering the action figure section, he spotted two figures at the end. One on the ground was holding what looked like a lousy representation of the Asian legend Kaiju otherwise known as Godzilla. At the same time, the other stood above, holding a plane and pterodactyl. Sonic made roaring and growling noises attacking the plane Cream was holding while she retaliated with the flying dinosaur. Shadow smirked amusedly at the scene folding his arms watching the two enact their epic battle, he allowed them to come to what seemed like the climax before he made his presence known, stepping forward, "Are you two done playing yet?"
Sonic, turning to the new voice, yelps in shock, jumping to his feet, promptly tossing away the toy monster. What is Shadow doing here?! Wait a minute...how long have we been playing?! Shit! I went Little and got caught! Hold on there, Sonic; he just saw you playing with Cream. You've done that before. Yeah, but I've never lost track of time playing with the kid! Crap crap crap! Maybe I can still get away with blaming her for not paying attention.
"Oh! Hello Mr. Shadow!" Cream greeted before her smile fell worriedly, also realizing they had lost track of time, "Oh my goodness! What time is it?"
"A quarter til 5."
"Whoops." Sonic nervously chuckled, "Cream, I told you we needed to go soon." he sternly told the little bunny, who looked up at him confused, "What-?"
"This kid, am I right, Shadz? Begged me to play with her, and well, she's just too cute to resist! Hehehe!" he grins, pinching her cheek briefly before placing his fists on his hips. "Well, sorry we kept you guys waiting, but I gotta dash. Eggman is expecting me; we'll have to do this again, see ya!" Sonic babbled all a fluster before taking off, leaving his rival and a befuddled Cream alone.
The little rabbit looked at where the blue blur had left, watching the stirred air settle again before her confused eyes slowly turned to the ultimate life form. "Um...Mr. Shadow-?"
"Don't think about it too much, kid." Shadow sighs with an eye roll sympathizing with the rabbit but unable to help her understand what just happened. She probably would never know or understand what was going on right now with the blue hero, just like the rest of his friends. Holding his hand out for her to take, he nodded in the direction of the exit, "Come on. Let's get you home."