Sonic the Hedgehog: Livin' the Moment

Chapter 1 - Victory Night

Author's Note: I absolutely LOVED the new Sonic movie. Especially since the original SONIC 2 game on Genesis is what made me a fan of the series as a kid, as well as Tails being my favorite character. And while I will say that I was expecting the credits tease to feature Metal Sonic, I'm fine with it being that character.

Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog is owned by Paramount, and the video game series is owned by SEGA. Also, the rights to Stars in the Sky belong to its respective owners.


The feelings runnin' deep, ain't no time for sleep

A second to unwind, head up in the sky

I follow to the beat, it's just what my heart's demandin' (Yeah)

As Sonic slid across the top of the blue truck and into the back open trunk, an excited Knuckles informed the blue hedgehog about his discovery of sprinkles.

"Oh-ho, ice cream and sprinkles?" laughed Sonic, and sharing an amused look with the two-tailed fox sitting beside him. "This is your new destiny, pal."

The red Echidnas simply nodded in agreement, continuing to show signs of triumphant energy. "What a perfect way to commemorate my victory over you in base-of-ball!"

"What?!" exclaimed Tails, who still wasn't entirely happy with Knuckles using a powered up glove to hit the baseball across the field rather than a bat.

"Okay, you barely beat me." Sonic pointed out, but Knuckles just shrugged it off and the smirking hedgehog just rolled his eyes.

"Ha! You've never been beaten so hard," replied the echidna, just as Tom Wachowski aka Donut Lord started up the vehicle and began making his way back into the town of Green Hills.

However, it was like a light bulb turned on above Sonic's head when he realized that something very important was missing. He raced back to the field's wooden table and closed up the ice chest that held the recently-repaired Master Emerald, along with several water bottles. "Whoops… Can't forget about this!"

Then, Sonic went back into his spot in the truck, relaxing against the chest while Tails and Knuckles continued to look at the view that their new hometown was offering.

Say I'm right and sail tonight, I'm home

Say right now, I get it, take my hand come zone

Taking a glance at the trio in the mirror above him, Tom smiled at the sight before looking over at his wife for a bit. "Hey… guess what Sonic said to me back there before we left?"

"I think I've got a pretty good idea, honey," replied Maddie aka Pretzel Lady, and rubbed his shoulder in affection before also taking a look back at their passengers.

Come on, catch a ride

And we take it to places that we only dreamed

I think I'm home

This is my heaven, baby, day and night in my zone

About twenty minutes later, Tom pulled up in a parking spot and turned off the vehicle. "Alright, guys! Time to enjoy some pizza and ice cream!"

"Awesome! Sweet!" cried Sonic and Tails, the two pals sharing a hi-five before exiting the back. However, Knuckles jumped out with a confused look on his face.

"Hedgehog! What is this pizza that your human father says we will be having alongside the sprinkled ice cream?" asked the red echidna, walking alongside the Blue Blur and yellow fox.

As they followed Tom and Maddie inside the restaurant, Sonic gestured to several of the paintings and photographs that were placed on the walls. "Pizza is probably one of the best things that we've ever gotten from the Italians… as well as spaghetti and maybe the Godfather. But the point is - you two are in for a real treat tonight!"

The trio took their seats in the booth that Tom had chosen, with Sonic sitting next to him and Tails beside the hedgehog while Knuckles was next to Maddie. The young fox then started to prepare his translation device when Sonic said, "No need for that, 'lil buddy. The workers here all speak English."

"Oh! I thought they were… uh, never mind, it doesn't matter." Tails replied, just as the server was making her way to their table.

"Good evening, everyone. My name's Cosmo, and I'll be helping you out with your orders today. Is everyone fine with just water, or a certain beverage in particular?"

Having already looked over the menu, Tom gave it to the waitress and said, "Yeah, two pitchers of Coke soda will be fine. Also two large pizzas - one with cheese and sausage, for me and her. The other pizza will be for them, but… uh-"

"Tails and I will take one half of that pizza, and Red Comet here can have the other side. You can choose the toppings for us, buddy." Sonic then winked at Tom, who chuckled and gave a small proud nod in return.

"Ummm… can our slices have ham, pepperoni and sausage?" The young fox asked, with his response from her being a gentle rub of Tails' forehead that made him start to blush a little. "Heh-heh."

"Sure thing, little guy." Cosmo smiled warmly at the yellow fox, and she turned her attention over to the red echidna that was still looking over his own menu. "And your pizza toppings, sir?"

"I shall have… grapes and pineapple on my half of the pizza meal," answered Knuckles, handing over the closed menu to a slightly confused waitress. Once she walked away, he noticed that everyone else in the booth was giving him a strange look, as well. "What? Those are delicious fruits that my people loved to eat with every meal. Is it not the same for the two Donuts and yourself, Hedgehog?"

Sonic just chuckled while an amused Tom shook his head before saying, "If that's what you prefer, then it's totally fine, Knuckles. And you can just call us Tom and Maddie. Same goes for you, Tails. We're all family here."

"Ugh, please do not remind me right now about the Olive Garden," groaned Sonic, and acting as if he was getting ready to hurl. "I regret having ate so many of their delicious breadsticks that night."

A few minutes later, the waitress returned with the soda pitchers and individual glass cups, followed sometime after that with two trays of delicious-looking pizzas. "Alright, enjoy and eat up!"

"Oh, now that hits the spot!" Sonic cried after starting off with his first slice, and a munching Tails nodded in agreement. "How about you, Big Red?"

Knuckles looked at the two adults, quietly chewing his own pizza slice before saying to them, "I request that we have more of this to bring with us back to the Donut Home."

"Maybe next time, Knux. We do have plenty of other food that you can try out and experiment your taste buds with." Tom answered, while Maddie chuckled at Knuckles' continued usage of donut. He then gave Sonic a certain look that made the hedgehog feel a bit sheepish before going over to the fox beside him. "How's the pizza tasting for you, Tails?"

The yellow fox flashed him a thumbs up, and swallowed up the rest of the portion that he'd been chewing before answering the question. "It's really good, Mister… uh, I mean Tom, sir."

Eventually, once the five of them finished off as much of the pizza that they possibly could, it was time for the trio to order a small bowl of ice cream with sprinkles. At first, Knuckles wanted to go with a large bowl, but Maddie assured him that his stomach wouldn't really agree with that decision. "Very well, Mrs. Donut. Um… I shall go with the rainbow sherbet flavor, along with the sprinkles of Oreo."

Sonic's choice was cookies n' cream mixed with cookie dough and gummy bear toppings, and Tails decided on vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and rainbow sprinkles. Once the server walked away, the young fox said, "She's certainly a much nicer server than the one that we had in Siberia, Sonic."

"Yeah, not all of them are like that, buddy," pointed out Sonic, remembering how the foreign waitress had brought them some kind of tongue food instead of beef stew. "But you may want to keep making some adjustments to your translation device if we ever need to use it in Mexico. Or Canada."

When it was time for them to enjoy their ice cream bowls, Knuckles started to consume it at the same pace he'd done with the pizza but all of a sudden, the echidna stopped after feeling a strange irritation in his head. "What… is going on? Why is the ice cream giving me pain now instead of joy?"

"Welcome to the brain freeze experience, Knucklehead," explained a laughing Sonic, while Tails was taking his time with his own bowl. "You gotta enjoy ice cream a little bit more slower than how you were with the pizza. I made that mistake once trying to eat a banana sundae like I would a deluxe chili dog."

Once the effects of the brain freeze went away, Knuckles started to eat his dessert more carefully. He nodded in approval at the more pleasing experience, and gave the blue hedgehog a pat on the back that resulted in Sonic having his face planted into his ice cream bowl. "I thank you greatly for that helpful information, Sonic the Hedge… oh… I did not intend on doing that."

"Nope, it's all good," replied Sonic as he lifted his head out of the ice cream bowl, and licked away most of the substance that was covering his mouth. "Mmmmhmmm, you can never go wrong with gummy bears."

An hour later, the small family headed out of the restaurant after paying for the meal and made their way back to the truck. As he made himself comfortable in the back, Knuckles felt his eyelids wanting to close up. "Hedgehog! Why am I now feeling as if I'd just gone through a very long battle?"

"That would be what I call a temporary food coma, my friend." Sonic chuckled while he helped Tails in getting into the back and sitting beside him. "It happens when you eat a lot of good food. You'll just be asleep for the rest of the way home."

"Ha! I am not that…" Knuckles started to say before suddenly falling asleep in the blink of an eye, and as the truck started to drive off in the direction of the recently-repaired Wachowski house, Sonic just shook his head while Tails quietly laughed.