CHAPTER XIII – REALITY CHECK

Apparently, he had stayed the night in this house once with Green when his parents had too much to drink. They'd been hitting the sauce too much trying to calm themselves for their planned exodus with the twins. That was two days before their demise and his abduction. He remembered all that, in all too grim detail, and he remembered this room too, although plenty had changed over the years.

Gone was the crib that was on the adjacent wall on the left as well as the sky-blue paint, Sally's favorite color. She used to have such beautiful murals at the base, all hand-painted by Alicia of flowing fauna both tropical and domestic. Now the walls were a different color entirely. A little more toned-down version of greyish blue that was a cruel and effective punishment from Max. Of course, Max knew a guy who could give him the exact color swatch for prison blue. Other than that, the same dressers were still here. Even the same bedpost that he nearly broke and bashed his head with.

Needless to say, Sonic sleep very well when he got to the Acorns' home. He was trying for six hours, but it was more like three, and no amount of painkillers could help him get the necessary shuteye (his rest at the hospital notwithstanding). The only thing on his mind was how last night had gone. There were many other ways he could've left more peacefully. Actually, he thought up eight scenarios before he finally went to sleep. Then he started sweating because the room was too hot, and Max cranked up the heat to stupidly high levels, even for November. Dehydrated, he didn't go to the bathroom to get water. Instead, he raided the kitchen and brought back an entire 8-pack of sky-blue Gatorade that honestly tasted like drinking a fruit snack. And now he had to piss like a racehorse as a direct result of that. He was thankful that his godparents helped him when he needed it, but man, what a rough night.

One emptied bladder later, he fuddled down the staircase and down a hall where Alicia sat with that morning's JBH Memorial Gazette, and… the front page was not flattering. The shocked citizens of Times Square looked on as the police department and Rouge had taped off the site where Scourge sent Sonic on his swim. The people in the snapshot were all confused and stunned, unable to take in that Sonic had been embarrassed for all of them to see. For a moment, they each had the horrible, plausible thought of life without their city's protector.

Alicia turned the paper over as Sonic took his seat looking like he'd been through the ringer about 12 times over. She put the gazette aside and slid a cup of coffee for her godson. He politely refused with a hand gesture and tried to longue. No matter how much he slouched and tried to get comfortable, it just wasn't happening for him.

What also wasn't happening for him was the sound of the news emanating from the kitchen. Sally wasn't on the call for this show since it was well past her morning news timeslot. The AMG did all their news programming in-house, and on the television now was now on some show that revolved around talking heads, the show's name escaping Sonic's memory at that moment. It was mainly for national and international politics, but judging from the cohosts' language (the contextual kind, not the profane), they were arguing about Sonic's recent track record with Fiona.

"It's obvious to anyone that Sonic is over-extending himself and is in way over his head with this!" the first man exclaimed. "I cannot understand how you are not seeing this!"

"I'm trying to tell you to be patient with him!" his cohost defended. "Sonic is going through a rough time, and we both know it. How would you like to fight your supposedly dead brother?"

"Why on Chaos's Mobius would you think that I would know anything about that?! Do I look like Sonic to you?!"

"You have to look at it from his point-of-view…."

Alicia noticed her godson keeping an ear on the conversation and seeing his expression sour. The newspaper was doing a fine enough job of rubbing it in that Scourge and Fiona were still out and about. The godmother took pity on Sonic and told Max, "I think we should turn off the television, honey." Max didn't do exactly as he was told, but the significant drop in volume was appreciated. Alicia turned back to Sonic with an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

Sonic shook his head and sighed. "Don't be. They're right to doubt me after last night's performance." Sonic let out and uncomfortable breath. "I know it's not my place to complain or criticize since I'm your guest, but why is it so hot in here?"

Alicia chuckled as she added a healthy dose of Irish crème to her coffee. "Max has always been like that, David," she responded by calling him by his birth name. "Even when we were roomies with Bernie and Jules." She paused briefly and grunted. "It's a shame what's happened to your brother."

Sonic nodded and let out another sigh, this one riddled with regret. "I still can't figure out how he survived. He fell down an elevator shaft while the building was burning for Chaos's sake. And his chest was sliced open at the same time! Seriously, how could anyone survive that?!"

Alicia reached over and grasped her godson's hand lovingly. Sonic turned to see her majestic smile with those dashing, blue eyes. "It will be alright, David."

Sonic sighed. "What are the other news channels saying about me?" he asked. "Probably nothing good."

Alicia made a face that all but said, "Don't ask."

"Well, as long as they're getting their clicks and views," Sonic said. "I'm sure the rest of the city loves me too," Sonic said in a low voice.

"It's all just nonsensical chatter. Don't pay them any mind."

"When someone like me gets his butt kicked twice by the same person, superpowered or otherwise, your confidence in me would be shaken too." Sonic then turned away and sighed sharply. "I don't know if I can possibly beat him, Ali."

That sound of defeat was understandable. Alicia had never seen her godson so down-in-the-dumps before. From Scourge to Tails and Amy, Sonic was honestly in dire need of reset.

Alicia took this moment to reach across the table and take Sonic's hand. The grip she held was assuring and nice, but it didn't do enough to raise his spirits. Still, the fact that Sonic gripped it back at least told her that he appreciated the support and thought before letting her hand free.

"Food's ready," Max said as he brought his wife a plate. Then he came to Sonic and did the same. "Figured you could use breakfast."

Sonic thanked him and started to eat. "Thank you," Sonic said with eggs in his mouth. Alicia reached and slapped his wrist. "Hey!"

"That's her way of saying 'don't talk with your mouth full,'" Max said. Sonic cursed under his breath, garnering another slap from Alicia. The hero looked up again in disbelief. "And we don't swear at the table either."

Sonic swallowed and replied, "Sorry."

"We're more than willing to help you out, David. You're family. But if you're gonna stay under our roof, you will follow our rules. Understand?" Sonic mm-hmmed as he took in his first slice of toast. Max then went back into the kitchen and came back out a second later with his coffee mug. He sat down next to his wife, and they clinked drinks. Shortly after, Sonic finished his meal and put the clean plate in the sink with a loud enough sound coming from the metal sink.

"Dishwasher," Alicia reminded him, prompting Sonic to roll his eyes but do as he was told.

He then fashioned himself a glass of milk by the sound of it and came back into the dining room. The first sip was… awful judging by his face. The milk hadn't spoiled, but the stench of morning breath and Gatorade on his tongue made him gag.

He turned to the Acorns and said, "Thanks for letting me stay the night," before retaking his seat and slumping over. "It's probably been the best thing that's happened to me all week."

Max looked to his wife. She shot him the same concerned look. "At least Eli is alive," Alicia said.

Sonic flubbed his lips. "And he hates me. You think he knows I'm not dead?"

"Sweety, that news broke last night."

"So… 'yes' is the answer."

Eager to get off the topic of bad blood, Max segued, "So what were you telling us about Amy? That she didn't tell you about her and Fiona?"

Alicia covered her face in annoyed disgust. "Smooth segue, Acorn," she snarked.

Max nervously shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry."

"Look," Sonic began, "it was years ago. Tails and Amy were buddy-buddy with Fiona, being friends and all that stuff. I don't understand the need to be secretive about it though. Why did she have to be so darn disloyal now? Now of all times?" Sonic groaned as he realized he was selling out Amy to her bosses. "Please don't fire Amy over this."

"We wouldn't dream of it," Alicia stated. "We actually already knew that Amy and Fiona were friends at one point." He looked up with an agape mouth and a face that screamed of betrayal. "We've known and trusted Amy longer than you have," she reasoned. "Don't get too upset. She was up-front with us when we hired her. I'm willing to bet my career that Amy's clean as a whistle. I doubt she would've done anything to associate herself criminally with Fiona. That doesn't excuse her for leaving you in the dark, but that's not our business to handle. On the other hand, her being so close with you was probably the reason she kept quiet. I'm not condoning her being hush-hush about Fiona, but I understand why she did it." Then she paused. "Look, you were right in needing time to clear your head. That's why you came to us, no?"

"And so I wouldn't have to sleep on a tree branch again."

She shook her head. "Cut the jokes and listen, please. You must be feeling overwhelmed with everything, right?"

"Right."

She then grasped Max's hand and responded by squeezing it back gently. "Then you have to take it one step at a time."

Sonic looked at his godmother with a puzzled look. "What do you think I've been doing?"

"Letting all the stress get to you," she answered bluntly.

"What Alicia's saying is you need to take your time with things and be patient," Max said. "All of these things will not sort themselves out right now." Judging by his expression, it seemed that Sonic wasn't quite getting the idea. In reality, that wasn't the case. "You're looking at us like we're speaking ancient Greek."

"No, it's not that, it's that…," Sonic groaned loudly in frustration, "that's not who I am, y'know? And Amy was saying the same thing last night before I left. Slow and steady… isn't my thing. I can be patient when I'm out in the field. But with real life? It's different."

The Acorns saw right through it. "David, we know that's all you've known," Alicia said. "Growing up on that oil rig and being rigidly told that everything could be solved by doing a job quickly and efficiently was the way to go."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "I thought that everything was?"

"What you aren't understanding is that every problem can't be solved like that. Look at world leaders for example. Do you think they come to terms on treaties and international regulations in two minutes?" Sonic shook his head.

"What's politics have to—?"

"I wasn't finished," she interrupted. "Things like bills and treaties take hours, days, even months or years to iron out the details. They take the necessary steps to make sure that everything is airtight, that everyone can agree on it. Essentially, they look at each detail and prioritize what needs to happen first before you can move on to the next big thing. It often involves compromises, compromises needed that all potential parties can get behind and follow so that nothing bad happens after everything is signed." Sonic's still-puzzled look was still a sore spot on an otherwise decent example.

"What Alicia is trying to say," Max began, "is that you need to take your time with your problems and don't try to rush into them. You found that out after your skirmish with Lyric. I'm sure CREAM, Tails, and Amy all said that you were in no shape to fight after nearly getting popped like a zit, but you went after Fiona right away anyway. Brave of you to do so. It's very responsible of you to want to clean up the streets, but there's a fine line between being brave and being stupid. What should you have done to better prepare yourself to go after Fiona Fox?"

He thought about it for a moment. Gosh, now he felt like a first grader piecing together a teacher's logic for why nouns should go before verbs in standard sentences. "Rest up? But I did do that!"

"For what? A single night? That's your ego telling you that you're young and invincible. A few hours of sleep does not make your body bulletproof. Taking a rest day every now and again is healthy. Ask bodybuilders. They know when to take breaks and not push their bodies to the limit."

"And then there's this whole business with Eli," Alicia said, not missing a beat. "If you want to beat your brother, as much as I really hate seeing you two fight…," she said as she held back a tear, "what must you do?"

"Be…," he began, but he hadn't consciously thought about it too much. Sonic's stumped eyes told the story. However, he could've sworn he had an inspired idea the previous night to beat his brother, but… he was blanking on it for some reason. It was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't place it. "I don't know. I really don't know. I guess I was waiting for him to make a move. Okay, not him but Fiona."

"Don't lose your train of thought, David," she warned. "And no, you're wrong. Fiona and Scourge are not your next big hurdle at this moment. You have to do something else first."

"Then what is it?"

"How about Amy? Tails? CREAM and Rouge?" Max's suggestions didn't jive with Sonic at first (especially about Rouge since she wasn't there for that conversation). "Alone, you can do amazing things, David. Things that Alicia and me, and especially Bernie and Jules, could never dream of. Beating Eggman, Mammoth Mogul, Ixis Naugus, and Lyric? That's nothing short of impressive, my boy. But it wasn't just you, right?"

Then it hit Sonic. "Right." He wasn't sure if he should feel stupid for not getting it sooner. "They were there to help me." Then the ugly truth dawned on him as evidenced by his drooped ears. "And I just… ditched them. Because I thought it was for the best."

"Fixing your relationships with them first will eventually get you to Scourge and Fiona," Alicia said.

Sonic nodded but still maintained that frown of his. "I still can't believe I did that. Chaos, I'm such an idiot."

"David, it's not a total loss," Max began. "We need time away occasionally to do some soul-searching. There are times when you need to figure it out for yourself or talk to someone that can help you figure it out. It's how we grow as people. That's not to say that you leaving was smart, for the record."

"Far from it," Alicia said. "What you did was pretty—and I won't sugarcoat it—pretty damn stupid, and your parents would dropkick you over the nearest fence for pulling a stunt like that."

Sonic chuckled. He only sported a smile for a few seconds, but it was the first time all day that he actually did it. That small smirk was something those two had missed for years. Almost always when they were near him, he had that same freaking grin when he was a baby, and they fell in love with him whenever he brought it out.

"This isn't a suggestion. You have to fix things with your friends. When you're working together as a team, you can do amazing things like saving the world. It was the same way with Max and me when Bernie and Jules were still here, albeit on a smaller scale compared to you. Max and I couldn't write, edit, or even manage a newspaper all by ourselves. We trusted Bernie and Jules to help us inform people about the truth, and they returned that favor tenfold. We had our scuffles along the way, and that's fine. That's life. Even a tightknit group of friends won't agree on everything, but when friction comes up, you have to address it and take action. You must find a way to iron those problems out before they boil over like they did with you. Figure it out. Apologizing or compromising isn't a bad thing. Only then will you be able to move on to the next step. Only then can you start to figure out how to beat Eli and bring down Fiona."

Sonic folded his hands and looked down on them. He noticed how each finger was nestled snuggly with the other ones. Because of this, his hands were their own tightknit family. They relied on each other for stability and comfort, just like he, Tails, CREAM, and Rouge needed to be. And, of course, Amy. But she was a different case. Especially after he barked at her and out-of-nowhere rocked her world by asking her if she loved him, he knew needed to make amends. He knew it to be true, if only because he liked her too and wanted to make her happy.

Sonic looked at his godparents with a grateful smile. He bowed his head and stated, "You're right. Thank you. I… needed that." The Acorns each extended their hands and grasped their godson's paws warmly.

"David Maurice Hedgehog, we will always be here if you need us," Alicia stated proudly to which Max and she winked at him before letting go. "So… how are you going to smooth things over? And don't just wing it."

He put a hand to his mouth and pondered that. "I'm not sure, honestly. If you have a suggestion, I'll listen to it."

Max chuckled. "Well… Christmas is coming up…."

It was what he did best: tinker. Not in the traditional way of screwing together a few pieces of metal, hooking it up to a battery, and watch it move before bursting into flames due to the voltage being too high. No, he was going through all the blueprints and specs of his many creations trying his best to create better equipment, or so he tried to convince himself. But CREAM knew better. All Tails was doing was burying the pain and the guilt that stayed with him like a tumor.

If her new body were operational, she'd put a gentle hand on his shoulder and tell him that it was okay to feel this way. She would tell him that it wasn't healthy to do this to himself, especially since the equipment was cutting edge already. What was unhealthy was that he hadn't slept since Sonic decided to leave. There he was, Miles "Tails" Prower plugging away doing Chaos-knows-what to his brain with all this input and omega-level insomnia. He was on edge. Tails was not himself.

Tails darted to the clock on the screen to see it was 12:34pm, and CREAM, through the cameras, could see the redness of his normally kind, blue eyes. Not to mention the bags that came with them.

"Come on!" he yelled. "He's supposed to be here!"

"Tails, the email said that G.U.N. agent would arrive before 1. He still has approximately 26 minutes." CREAM's reasoning didn't sit well with him, especially in his condition.

"He promised! Don't you want to be in your new body?!"

"Yes, but when the memory banks arrive, you will not be in any condition to install them."

"When he gets here, we'll do it right away so we don't—!"

DING DONG!

CREAM instantly put up the camera footage of the front door. Let's see… a brown, leather coat and matching cowboy hat was covering everything on the red mammal save for his dreads. He wasn't Rotor, or an intellectual powerhouse for that matter, but this guy was always the substitute courier in case the walrus was preoccupied as was the case today. You could always count on this guy to cut right through the bullshit and get to business.

"Thank Chaos!" Tails exclaimed as he turned around and made his way for the exit. CREAM merely watched in silence as Tails's tired body muddled up the stairs with the vigor of a habitual drunkard. The poor guy needed to count sheep in the worst possible way.

Insomnia aside, Tails pushed through into the living room with the doorbell seemingly blasting its volume tenfold. "I'm coming!" Tails barked as he got to the door. Looking through the peephole, the next thing he saw the necessary credentials: the golden badge and the I.D. picture matching its holder. It was purely a formality since Tails recognized and trusted the face to begin with.

He unlocked the door and opened it for the agent. "I heard Rotor couldn't make it?" Tails asked.

"Busy creating some program at HQ," the agent responded in a gruff tone. His voice sort of sounded familiar, like that Dueling Monsters big shot. Yugi… Yugi… oh, why couldn't Tails think of the name?

"Sounds like Rotor," Tails jested. "You have them?"

The red agent reached into his pocket and handed him a small case. When the box opened, the genius fox's eyes lit up. The echidna didn't know what to make of the sight: extremely tired eyes shining brighter than fireworks. But in the box rested four inconspicuous flash drives, a petabyte's worth of memory space in each one of them. Tails did the elementary math and looked at the agent. "I thought Rotor and I agreed on two petabytes?"

"The way he sees it," the red man started, "you'll owe him one for being more than generous."

Tails scoffed. "Rotor would do that." He then offered his hand. "Thanks, Knuckles."

The echidna smiled and accepted the handshake. "Pleasure doing business with ya, squirt, (Knuckles the Echidna: Dan Green)" Then his face turned more serious. "Before I go, I thought I'd let you know that you look like hell. Have you been sleeping okay?"

The fox sighed, but he appreciated the agent's concern. "It's a long story."

"Alright, but don't do… whatever it is you're gonna do with those things until you get some rest."

Tails chuckled. "Never figured you to be the caring type."

"It comes with hanging around Rouge too much," Knuckles said as he walked back to his government car. "And tell Sonic I'd still like to meet him someday."

The fox gave a two-fingered salute as Knuckles fired up '14 Chevy Impala and drove toward the nearest interstate. Tails closed the door and smiled widely the whole way down into the lab. CREAM saw him coming with the small box, but his widening eyes were suddenly shutting.

"Is that it?" she asked.

He put the drives on the desk and sat back down in his chair. Still with a golden smile, he answered, "Yes."

"You still want to install them now?" she asked.

Tails started to move, but his body was telling him otherwise. "Sure… why not? *YAWN* Might as… well…." Poor guy couldn't take anymore and went limp in his chair, silently snoring. Probably for the better anyway. When he woke up, they'd get to work, but that could wait, or more specifically, it was going to wait.

CREAM smirked through the screen as she looked down on the tired fox and her future that was laid out on that workbench of his. They were so close to showtime, but now was time for rest, and not a moment too soon.

"If I had to look at one more blueprint, it'd have been too soon," she said to no one in particular.

He needed double the usual amount to get by. Headaches came to him naturally over the last few weeks, but the one he woke up to was damn near crippling. The amount of alcohol the night before was partly to blame, and adding to that his naturally occurring, aforementioned headaches? Woof. Not two but four pills of ibuprofen, and he still felt as if there'd been a pair of knives plunged into his bloodshot, blue eyes. That house of horrors he left… ever since he got out of there….

The thud of the elevator made him wince as he rubbed his head. Following her men through the opening, there stood Fiona behind the desk where her hawk would usually be. She was finishing up a cup of Starbucks when she eyed Scourge. After what she'd put him through last night, it was no wonder he looked like crap. Unkept quills with a few spines out of place, those miserable-looking eyes, and that arm of his with a fresh bullet wound. She took pride in hurting him, and that not-yet-cleaned gash was the cherry on top.

"You look gorgeous," she jeered.

"Bite me," he shot back.

"Looks like someone did. And then spat you back out."

Scourge growled. "I'm sure you feel proud of yourself." He then got a warning shove from one of Fiona's men, and he glared directly into his soul with those dead blue daggers. However, he wasn't in any mood or condition to fight, so he turned his attention back to Fiona. "And I assume you've hatched another plan for Sonic?"

"Remember what I said about assuming, Scourge?" The speedster remained silent. "But in this case, you're correct."

"When do I go after him?"

"You aren't."

He almost had to do a doubletake.

"You want to run that by me again?" He sold his rage well.

She left the desk to meet him eye-to-eye. "Leave Sonic to me."

His anger quickly came to the forefront for her to see. "Like hell I will!"

"Be quiet. We talked about this last night. Now, shut your mouth and listen up, buttercup. I still don't trust you to go off half-cocked and do your own shit. That's why you'll be with my boys. Well, the ones that Sonic didn't break in two."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

What? Did you think that Sonic was just going to slum it on the cold, November, city streets?

Sorry for this update being a little later than usual. Work has been a lot of "fun" since Memorial Day is right around the corner. Working during the build-up of major holidays can be a pain. But yeah, we should probably get to discussing.

Sonic's time with his godparents was definitely for the best. Tough love is something that everyone needs to put up with at some point, and Big Blue is no exception. He'll have his work cut out for him, but I believe Alicia and Max gave him the right kind of advice. Oh, and this nothing to do with the Acorns, but rather Sonic before I forget. The reason Sonic couldn't properly think of a way to beat Scourge in this chapter during his venting session-despite it being mentioned in that dream-was the fact that it happened in a dream. It happens to everyone where you wake up from a dream and completely forget about 30 seconds later when you're brushing your teeth (something Sonic apparently forgot to do...), and you won't remember anything about that dream until something randomly jogs your memory. Dont' worry, we'll get back around to that later.

And then there's Tails. Working oneself to exhaustion over a very, very bad night sounds exactly like my time in college. You have to feel for the guy given everything that's been going on. But wait! Here comes Knuckles to save the day! A few of you guessed right when I alluded to our echidna friend a few chapters ago, and lo and behold, he has arrived! And this isn't some one-off where he'll fuck off for the rest of the story. He'll be hanging around in some way until the end, so stay tuned! Oh, and that Yugi joke? Fun fact, Dan Green voiced the 4Kids versions of Knuckles and Yugi Muto back when Sonic X and the original Yu-Gi-Oh were still mainstream. This is going to date me super hard, but that was around 15 years ago when those English dubs were on TV. Now you probably feel old too so we can all be sad and nostalgic together! YAAAAAAY! HOORAY FOR FEELING OLD!

Now, onto other business. Chapter 14 will drop on 6/5, and Chapter 15 on 6/15. Thank goodness none of these upload dates fall on days where I'm at weddings. Special thanks go out to jurrassicdinodrew, NeckBreak, 000Marie198, and FlameShadowDragon for leaving their two cents on the latest chapter!

As always, the characters used in this story are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, and Archie Comics. Everything in the story is being used strictly for entertainment purposes. And as always, I will talk to y'all later.