Chapter 1: The Move In

It was a beautiful autumn morning in the countryside of Montana.

Driving down the road through the breeze of the beautiful red, orange, and yellow leaves, a brand new white Ford pickup truck was on its way to its brand new home. Inside the truck, Tom was driving, while Maddie sat in the passenger seat next to him. They looked at each other and gave a loving smile, before looking up at the rearview mirror, watching their friend/adopted son with equal love.

Sonic the Hedgehog sat in the back of the truck, playfully waving his hand up and down through the breeze out the window, his other hand on Ozzy's back as he laid obediently on his lap. Behind him, strapped down to the bed of the truck, were a bunch of boxes and suitcases full of the family of three's belongings.

After the defeat of Dr. Robotnik, it was clear that Sonic did not want to leave this planet. He had made friends with everybody in Green Hills, especially Tom and Maddie, and Ozzy too. He did not want to lose all that, so Tom and Maddie decided to adopt him. He was overjoyed, meaning that he would finally have a family, and friends to stay with. Of course, he was not obligated to call them mom or dad, but he was free to do so if he ever wanted to.

But now that the three were a family, Maddie thought that it was time that they moved into a bigger house, somewhere far away from the town, where Sonic will have plenty of room to run around and blow off steam, and not be caught by the government either.

At first, Sonic was afraid. Afterall, he had got into a fight with Tom about his decision on leaving Green Hills for San Francisco before, so when he had heard that they were moving, he was ready to argue until one of them caved. But when they had told him that they were only moving to the countryside and staying close to Green Hills, Sonic was quite excited for the move. Afterall, it would be a brand new adventure for the three of them. So that's what they were doing. They were leaving the small town of Green Hill Montana and moving to a big house in the countryside that Maddie had found.

Of course, the small town would still be close enough for Maddie and Tom to go to work, and for Sonic to go to school.

"How much farther is it? Can't you just tell me, I can run there in just a few seconds!" Sonic asked impatiently, scooting forward in his seat as he looked at the two adults. The pair only chuckled, shaking their heads. By now they were far too used to Sonic's antics.

"Not much farther, Sonic." Maddie promised after a long moment of silence as if trying to judge just how eager the hedgehog really was. "Just right around this bend."

Just as she said that, Tom turned to the right. Sonic quickly moved to the left side of the truck, nearly tripping over his bag of snacks he insisted he needed to survive such a long trip. He rolled down the tinted window, sticking his head out as his little blue tail wagged at the sight of their new home, it was beautiful.

The house was more so an average sized mansion. It was hard to tell if it was a mahogany or black, or maybe even both. It was dark and dreary, but at the same time, light and beautiful. The dreariness came not only from the color of the house and its dark windows, but also how abandoned it looked, as if nobody has lived in it for years. There was dirt and grime all over the windows. Cobwebs were over the frames of the door and windows, and the whole thing just seemed to be… alive.

But, at the same time, there was a welcoming beauty to it. The house was surrounded by beautiful trees and hedges. The bright sunny afternoon shined beautifully on the bright green grass that surrounded the property, warming the air and bringing a fresh scent. A large green pond was in the front, with a bench sitting right beside it overlooking the soft rippling water. There was another tree by the bench, grown in a way where in the very middle of the trunk, the branches grew into a type of cage, big enough for a small child to sit in. Above the large front door, Sonic could see a type of black sign or shield nailed above it, with the initials BW engraved in gold.

Tom followed the long curved driveway, parking right in front of the house so they could easily unload their belongings. He turned around in his seat, a big smile on his face. "Welcome home, Sonic."

Sonic was so eager to see his new home, that as soon as the truck stopped, he jumped out and ran through the house, exploring all of its nooks and crannies. As he ran through the house, the dust and dirt that covered the floors blew up behind him due to his super speed. The floors shuttered underneath him, and the hinges on the doors were so old that they squealed loudly when they were opened.

As modest as the size was on the outside, the inside was absolutely huge.

Three bedrooms all across the upper floor, each one having its own private bathroom. There was another bathroom on the first floor (one that Sonic quickly used after a thirty minute drive. His fault for not going before they left.), a large kitchen, a dining hall, a study room, a library, and even a modest ballroom all the way in the back of the house. And through a window looking out in the backyard, Sonic could see a gorgeous fantasy-like garden just waiting to be explored. With his tail wagging excitedly, Sonic ran back to Tom and Maddie to help them start unpacking.

"So, what do you think?" Tom asked him.

"I love it! It's perfect!" Sonic answered, picking up one of the smaller boxes and bringing it inside with them. "I can't wait to see which room is mine!"

"Well then, how 'bout we go see it now?" Maddie suggested.

"Really?!" Sonic gasped excitedly.

"Of course. The boxes can wait. Come on."

Maddie took a hold of Sonic's hand and gently led him upstairs with Tom following close behind. Behind the man's back, he held a small present for the blue hedgehog.

The family of three went upstairs and took a left down the hall, leading to the very last door. Sonic had seen this door in his brief exploration, but he couldn't open it because it was locked. He had a good feeling he knew why and his tail wagged as he looked up at Maddie hopefully. "This one?"

"This one." Maddie smiled, pulling out a key from her pocket and unlocking the door. "We kept it locked because we wanted it to be a surprise."

Sonic grinned and opened the door, running into the blue painted room and hopping onto the white bed, hopping up and down excitedly. Across from his bed, there was a small bathroom all to himself, and to the left of the room, there was a window peeking out to the backyard garden. A bedside table was to the right of the bed, as well as a dresser, and to the left, there were black shelves holding books and soft toys.

"I love it! I love it! I love it!"

"We're so glad you do." Maddie chuckled, suddenly grabbing Sonic's arms and pulling him down on the bed and tickling him. Sonic squeaked and squealed as he squirmed in the woman's grip, trying to get away. Tom laughed and quickly joined in, setting the present on the floor so Sonic couldn't see it yet.

"Aah! No fair!" Sonic laughed, squirming in their grips as he laughed uncontrollably.

The tickle torture went on for at least a minute or two. At some point, Ozzy had ran into the room and jumped onto the bed, barking his head off as he paced excitedly.

"Ok! Ok! Uncle! Uncle!" Sonic cried out in hysterics.

Tom and Maddie chuckled as they finally stopped tickling him. Sonic laid on the bed, panting as he tried to catch his breath. Ozzy was still barking, so he sat up and hugged him around his neck. "Hush, Ozzy. It's ok. I'm ok. Eugh! Ozzy, no!" He cried out, chuckling again as Ozzy started licking his face. "That is still very gross!"

"Ozzy, down." Tom chuckled, pulling the dog down off the bed.

Sonic sat up and wiped the dog slobber off his face. "Thanks Tom."

"No problem, buddy." Tom nodded, sitting on the bed beside him. "So… do you think we found our forever home?"

"Definitely." Sonic nodded. "This is a beautiful home, in a beautiful environment. It has everything we need… everything I could've asked for."

"We thought the same thing." Maddie smiled, sitting down on his other side. "And now that we have your approval, we have something else for you."

"Really?" Sonic tilted his head. "What is it?"

Tom smiled and reached down beside the bed, pulling up Sonic's present. It was a lamp, with cutouts of camels and horses in the shade. He set the lamp on the bedside table and plugged it in before he turned it on. As soon as he did so, a soft melody began to play as the light turned on, shining through the cutouts as the shade slowly spun around, making it look like the animals were walking across the walls.

"Wow." Sonic whispered in awe as he watched the beautiful gift. "I love it."

"We remembered you saying before that you were scared of the dark." Maddie explained. "You had said so when we had to zip you up in that duffle bag during the elevator ride up the Transamerica Tower. We thought this nightlight would help."

Sonic smiled, a few tears of gratitude coming to his eyes. He spun around and hugged onto his adoptive parents tightly. "It's perfect. Thank you guys so much."

"You're welcome, Sonic." They said, both gently kissing the top of his head.

Sonic purred softly at the affection given to him. He had a family, a forever home, and friends that will always love him for him. He couldn't feel more complete.