DISCLAIMER: I don't own Sonic or any associated properties. All rights do to respective owners. But I do own this collection of stories. Or I will when it's all written... which it isn't yet. But it will be at some point.
If what I said in the previous two-line-ish paragraph is anything to go by, then I don't know how the hell this will go. I've actually wanted to do something like this for a while, but I didn't have much incentive to do it until after Cyber Riders 2. And yes, this will bridge the gap between Cyber Riders 2 and Cyber Riders 3... by talking about events that happened before Cyber Riders 1. I even have a setup up for it which you're about to see, and it'll only have four chapters, each focusing on the four main characters of the Cyber Riders series. This one will be more Sonic centred. With that being said, all characters are about over 18. This won't have smut, but that's my excuse for the characters swearing. Got to keep that M rating somehow. I hope you enjoy!
"Oh, yeah right, no way that happened!" Rouge said incredulously. "No way any of you guys wound up in trouble for that."
"Oh, no, it happened," Knuckles said. "Tails rigged the vending machine to drop doubles of everything. Luckily we weren't at the academy long by then, otherwise we would have been out on our asses."
Tails laughed. "Hey, we all got some extra snacks out of it, didn't we?"
"You should do that at the station," Cosmo giggled. "Might get everyone some more lunch for the hours."
"Or less lunch," Sonic said. "People could get greedy."
"Oh, you're one to talk about being greedy," Tails said. "You almost flamed out in your first month at the academy."
"Ooh, I haven't heard this story before," said Amy, taking a sip of her champagne.
Sonic shut his eyes, sighing. "It was after a fight with Sally. I think it was after we broke up because of the long-distance before she went on her... uh... backpacking trip."
"That wasn't a good day for him," Shadow recalled.
Two years ago at Green Hill Police Academy...
"Sonic!" Knuckles called to his friend. "Phone call!"
Sonic, eating cereal in their dorm kitchen, looked up to see his friend hand the phone to him. "Hey, Sally."
"Hey there, Sonic," Sally said on the other end. "You got a minute?"
"I've got about twenty before the next training seminar starts," Sonic said on his end. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, it's just... well, first, I wanted to apologise for not calling sooner," Sally said.
"No, it's fine," Sonic said. "You were busy, trying to find a real job. Speaking of, you got any leads yet?"
"I'm keeping my options open right now," Sally said. "And I might not get one for a while because... well, I'm planning on travelling."
Sonic rose an eyebrow, looking up at Knuckles. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah," Sally confirmed. "Might go to Europe, have a look around. Backpack, take in the sights, get some international foods and drinks in me, take a few pictures."
"Sounds great," Sonic said, putting his spoon in his bowl. "You want me to take a break from police training and go with you?"
"Sonic, you haven't been there long," Sally giggled on her end. "But having said that... I've been thinking about us. You and me."
Sonic paused, swallowing hard. "W-What have you been thinking?"
"Judging from your low tone, you're not expecting any thing good, so... I'll just tell you. I owe you that much." Sally took a deep sigh. "I... I think that we should break up."
The blue hedgehog stayed still, looking up at Knuckles, who stepped closer before Sonic held a hand to stop him, flicking it back, non-verbally telling Tails to leave the room. "You... you're sure about that?"
"I sadly am," Sally said, sincerely. "I love you, and I care about you deeply. You're funny and caring and talented... but we can't make this long-distance thing work. Especially if I'm going to be gone for a long time."
"How long?" Sonic asked.
"I don't know," Sally said honestly. "Months? A full year? Europe has a lot to it that I want to see. And it wouldn't be right for me to ask you to stop what you're doing to come with me."
"I could do that," Sonic said, his voice a bit tight. "I could stop doing this. Quit the academy. Come join you and see Europe with you. That's no object."
"Sonic, I can't ask you to do that," Sally said. "And I don't want to ask you to do that. I need some time to myself, and I'll see where I am."
"Well... how's it looking from the off?" Sonic asked.
"Right now?" Sally said. "Not too great. I've got to pack some stuff and head to the store. Then look online for some job openings. I'll see you around. Take care."
"You too," Sonic gulped. He sighed as Sally hung up first, and he put his phone down on the table, thumping his head against it several times before he felt a hand on the back of his head.
"You know," Knuckles said, "if you keep that up, you'll give yourself a concussion. Can't have you getting dizzy and throwing up in the middle of a police training lecture."
"If anyone asks," Sonic said. "I broke up with her, not the other way around."
"Ah," Knuckles nodded. "Don't want to lose your masculinity points and stuff?"
"I mean... she was moving fast anyway," Sonic said. "I was more surprised that she didn't ask me to go to Europe with her."
"Think she's hiding something?" Knuckles asked.
"Dude, we're trainee cops, not spies," Sonic said. "That's not something with going over."
"Trying to protect your man points again?"
"Something like that," Sonic said. "I could tell it was stressing her over the weekend. I got so burnt out from the tests and I finally got some time with her... and I just complained. Dropped like a rock and fell asleep after just complaining at her all day."
"Well, maybe there's more to this than the man points thing," Knuckles said.
"Stop it with the man points," Sonic said, but he couldn't help his little smile. "We were planning on moving in together, we did say the L word to each other pretty early too... maybe we really were rushing. Maybe this will do us both some good later down the line."
"You can only hope," Knuckles said. "You're both good people, after all."
"Thanks," Sonic smiled. "Speaking of good people, how are things with that Shade chick?"
Knuckles shrugged. "I got that on lock. By which I mean, pretty great, actually."
"Who would have thought. You get drunk one night and run home with her, and now you're with her for... how long has that been going on?"
"A couple of weeks," Knuckles said. "It might be too soon to say, but I've got a good feeling about this girl."
"That's good, man," Sonic said, checking his phone. "Damn. We got to move."
The two had their lecture, one about traffic safety that they felt didn't apply, and they were sat with Tails and Shadow all together, taking notes. Well, Tails, Shadow, and Knuckles took the notes and Sonic was mostly moping, distracted about what happened earlier with Sally. Later, when they were on their lunch break that afternoon, they were all in Tails and Shadow's room.
"You seemed pretty vacant out there, Sonic," Tails said.
"Ah, dude's going through a tough time," Knuckles said.
"Well, it is a police academy," Shadow responded. "It's not supposed to be easy."
"It's not that," Sonic said. "My girlfriend-"
"He broke up with her," Knuckles said. "He felt they were moving too fast, she didn't take it well, and now he's got to make it through the academy without someone to go back to."
"I've got my family," Sonic defended. "But Sally will probably leave me a spare key for her place."
"It might not be a good idea to go back there if you broke up," Shadow pointed out.
"That's if she's there," Sonic said. "She said some shit about wanting to backpack around Europe. Wanted me to go with her, but I said no."
"Then you might get lucky," Shadow replied. "I don't know you much, but I do appreciate you helping me get into the academy in the first place, so anything you need help with, I'll do my best."
Sonic sighed to himself. "Actually, I think that I might need to be alone for a bit."
"But what do we tell Mr. Bridger?" Tails asked. "Next class is soon."
Sonic felt his shoulders sag, his head slumping. "Tell him I had to go home. Family emergency. Or just... just tell him I didn't want to go. Tell him whatever you want, man."
With that, the blue hedgehog left the room before anyone could reply, sniffling a bit as he made haste to exit the building.
Present day...
"Shit, I remember that now," Knuckles said to Sonic by the campfire. "You didn't come back for a while."
"What did you even do all day?" Amy asked.
"Nothing that involved class," Sonic replied. "I just hung at my family's place, Sally's, or just anywhere that wasn't in the building. It all reached a big point after two more weeks, though."
"Wait, so you went almost an extra entire month without going to the academy?" Shade asked. "No classes, nobody called you up on it, nothing?"
"Well, the story ain't over yet," Sonic replied. "Now, where was- oh, that's where I was."
Back at the academy...
"And remember," said a tall African-American human with dark grey hair and wearing a suit of similar colour, "gun safety is as important as civilian safety. If you're going to fire at a criminal, fire into the sky to get their attention. If you have to take them down, do so non-lethally if you can manage it. Of course, if you graduate, you will get a standard issue Stunner pistol. Some of you have probably used those in training sessions already, but those versions are watered down for you newbies."
As Mr. Bridger kept speaking, Tails fired another text to Sonic, following the ten or so he'd sent in the past couple of days already. "Where are you at?"
"As always, your duty as officers of the law is to keep people safe," Mr. Bridger concluded. "Keep that in mind, and not just as officers, but as people. You're all dismissed from the class, except for... you, Knuckles the echidna."
Knuckles shrugged. "I got nothing better to do anyway."
As the others all left, Tails opted to stay behind too. Shadow remained as well for reasons that weren't known to anyone but himself, and Mr Bridger looked at the three with a confused furrow of his brow before clearing his throat. "Not to be rude, but I did say for Knuckles to stay specifically given that he is Sonic's dorm mate."
"Well, we're all his friends," Tails said, looking to Shadow. "Two of us are his friends and one is more of a loose acquaintance. We're as worried about him as you are."
"I never said that I was worried about him," Mr. Bridger said. "But now that you mention it, yes, I'm worried. He was doing so well in this class, and he hadn't missed one in the first month. Not even night classes."
"Are you going to dock him his score?" Shadow asked.
"I can't not do that," said Mr. Bridger. "It wouldn't be fair on you or the others. Or him." He sighed. "He'll have to retake all of the ones that he missed. Lectures, tests, training courses, all of it."
"We'll try and get him back," said Tails.
"You haven't tried sooner?" asked Mr. Bridger. "It's been a month. If he's not back here by the end of the day, he'll flunk out. Just him."
"We'll get him," Knuckles said. "And besides, I have a good idea where he might be."
Mr. Bridger nodded, watching as they left. When they did, Tails turned to Knuckles and spoke. "You know where he might be?"
"Oh, I have no clue," Knuckles said. "I called his family's place this morning, they haven't heard anything. I called the apartments where Sally lives, they haven't seen any sight of him."
"Oh, great, the two most likely places and he isn't in either of them," Shadow said. "Bang up job, dumb-ass."
"Actually, that might have helped," Tails said. "If he's not at Sally's or his family's place, he's likely at a hangout spot of sorts. Probably somewhere he'll blend in."
"All right, but how many crowds could a chill, blue-furred hedgehog blend in with?" Knuckles asked.
"Once more, you think that's not great info, but it does help a lot," Tails replied. "We just need to figure out where."
"There's always the mall," Shadow said. "Let's start there."
"We'll pick up some food when we get there too," Knuckles said.
"You paying?" Tails asked. "Great! Let's go!"
As Tails and Shadow started to dash away, Knuckles shrugged. "I mean... I didn't say I wouldn't pay for food."
He then rushed to catch up with them, and the three split around the mall. It wasn't super crowded at the time, and they were all wearing their street clothes which made it easier to move than if they were in their uniforms. Shadow checked the base floor level, Tails checked out the east half of the shop, and Knuckles was making his way up to the second floor via the escalator when he saw Sonic on the down escalator.
"Oh, hey," Sonic said idly to Knuckles as he kept going down.
"Sonic!" Knuckles said. "Dude, where the hell have you been?"
"Around," Sonic replied. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for your scrawny blue butt!" Knuckles said. "And the rest of you." He saw that he was still ascending, so he quickly jumped up and hopped over the escalator, following Sonic down it, still a few feet away from him. He saw the blue hedgehog get off first, and he grew impatient. "Sonic! Hold up!"
Sonic stopped at the bottom, shrugging. "I'm not going anywhere, dude. I'm hungry as hell, so I'm hitting the food court."
Knuckles couldn't help his smile. "Not without me and the others. Besides, I'm paying."
"Damn right, you are," Sonic said, turning to see Shadow and Tails. "Oh, hey, guys. Food?"
Shadow, huffing out a bit of breath, nodded. "Yeah. We need to talk too."
"Let's do both!"
Minutes later, they were sat around a metal table, Knuckles bringing over some burgers, fries, and drinks for them before taking his seat. As he did, he noticed that despite Sonic having been missing for a month, he had somehow been looking after himself. He wasn't dishevelled, and he appeared somewhat cheery and casual.
"All right, this is just weird to me," Knuckles said. "Where have you been all this time?"
"Like I said, around," Sonic shrugged. "Spent time here, at my family's place, at Sally's... just not at the academy."
"Yeah, that's not a good thing, Sonic," Tails said. "You've been absent for a month. You've missed classes and training."
"How much of it?" Sonic asked.
"A month's worth," said Tails, flatly. "How have you been holding up?"
"Well, now you've told me that I've missed so much police training, not well," Sonic said.
"That's not what he means," Shadow said.
"I know what he means," Sonic said, coarser than he intended. "Honestly, it... it was hard to get used to it. Not just the breakup, but her- Sally, not being around. I drifted a lot for days. Honestly, not being at the academy reduced the stress of it all." He sighed a bit. "I had my phone off and just spent time between her place and my family's. But that didn't help me. And I tried calling her, but I've not gotten any replies. Nothing."
"We know how that feels," Tails said. "I've been trying to reach you for the past two weeks."
"Why not sooner?" Sonic asked.
"Wanted to give you your space," Tails said. "I didn't think you wanted to talk to many people after the breakup."
Sonic smiled gently. "I appreciate that. That means a lot. But still... fuck." He held his phone up, seeing the messages and calls he missed from the two-tailed fox. "I missed out on a lot, huh?"
"You did," Shadow said. "So... I'll ask what Tails asked. How have you been holding up?"
Sonic smiled, but broke, putting his head in his hands and wiping away premature tears. "Not well, honestly." He cleared his throat a bit, but that didn't stop the tears. "I haven't talked to a lot of people. I just spent all of my time in my old bedroom when I stayed with my family. Ate, showered, slept, repeat. Did the same at Sally's place. I knew other people in other apartments there. Didn't say a word to them." He let the tears fall more, sobbing. "W-What if... what if I'm not good enough... what'd be the point of going back if I can't handle my own personal shit?"
"Well, it can't have been that bad," Knuckles said. "At least you remembered to shower, eat, and sleep. And you look to be in good shape still. Somehow. What is your secret?"
"Giving my spare burgers to you," Sonic smiled. "But guys, seriously, I appreciate it. But I don't think that I'm ready to come back yet."
"If you don't go back, you'll flunk out," Shadow said. "If you do that, you won't be able to graduate. No graduation, no police job."
"I know how it works, Shad," Sonic said. He sighed, taking a bite out of his burger and chewing it, swallowing it down. "All right, so... what, I just go back with you guys?"
"Mr. Bridger did say that we had to get you back before the day's end. Or he'd flunk out you and just you."
"What if I don't come back?" asked Sonic.
"Then you'll drop out," Tails said. "And we're not going to risk this for you, dude. I know you don't want to hear that, but you need to. The only one who can help you feel better is you. You need to get over Sally, you need to get out of this funk."
Sonic nodded, rubbing his hands through his quills. "All right, I'll go back with you."
"You'll be busy as hell when you get there," said Knuckles. "You've missed out on a lot of tests."
"Eh, I'll be speeding through them in no time," Sonic said. "Just need some good tunes and a whole lot of sugary soda."
"You've got the physical courses too, you know," Shadow said. "It's not all just writing."
"That's fine by me. Tails can just give me the answers I missed," Sonic smirked. He saw Tails' frown and he laughed. "Dude, I'm kidding."
"Yeah, he doesn't need your help," Knuckles said, then dropping his voice low. "But me on the other hand..."
"Nope, same rules for you too," Tails smiled. "I'm the smartest one here. I'm not going to help you all keep up."
"Nah, that's fair," Shadow said, looking away awkwardly.
Sonic smiled. "Fair is fair. Let's eat and get out of here. We've got an academy to go back to."
Present day...
"And that was it," Sonic said. "I wasn't overly destructive, but I got so hurt after Sally suddenly splitting up with me, I couldn't focus. Not just on work, but on myself. I was just moving around without feeling it. It took me a while to snap out of it, even after being so busy with working again."
"Wow," Amy said. "For as long as I've known you, you've always been so confident. So charming too."
"It took work," Sonic said. "It wasn't even an act I put on for Sally. I just tried to be cooler about things. When I let myself focus again, thanks to these guys, I sort of started becoming... me, I guess."
"And we wouldn't change a thing," Knuckles smiled, patting his friend's shoulder.
This is basically how all of these are going to go. Not overly long, not really any action, but I'm keeping the M rating for some swearing. I love writing for this series so much, so it's good to do little character focused stuff with these. Speaking of, the next one will be Tails. I'll likely not see you before Christmas, so Happy Holidays, and I'll see you next year... probably. Until then, take care, and stay tuned.
