Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic The Hedgehog or any of the characters, they are owned by Sega and Sonic Team.
June 18th 2001.
Sega had pulled out all the stops for the release of Sonic Adventure 2.
Heavy promotion for both it and the tenth anniversary of the franchise, a simultaneous release worldwide and live coverage of the premieres across the world.
It may have been the end of an era, but they were going out on a high note.
"I can't believe in just five days the first movie is gonna be a decade old." Sonic said.
"Yeah, doesn't seem like that long ago." Tails said.
"Are you kidding?" Knuckles asked, rhetorically.
"That seemed like ages ago, especially with what happened to you, back then." Knuckles said, obviously referring to Sonic's spiral out of control.
"Can we not talk about that?" Sonic asked, the memories still vivid in his mind.
"Fine, but speaking of which, Tails, I've been wondering, how come you didn't take that solo deal back then?" Knuckles asked.
"Solo deal?" Sonic asked.
"After I did those television specials, the executives approached me and asked if I wanted to do a solo movie." Tails told him.
"They offered him a lot of money, I still say he should've taken it." Knuckles said.
"I turned it down, it just didn't feel right being on my own and besides that, I kind of wanted to get out of the spotlight for awhile and focus on my life." Tails explained.
"Trust me, you made the right call, but I'm still glad you came back." Sonic said.
"Thanks." Tails said, with a smile.
"Hey." Shadow said, as he walked in.
Sonic and Tails immediately turned their sights to Knuckles, ready to take action at a moments notice.
Knuckles stood up, walking towards Shadow, staring him dead in the eye.
Knuckles sighed, extending his hand out, surprising the other three.
"Are we cool?" Knuckles asked.
Shadow looked over at Sonic and Tails for a moment, then back to Knuckles.
Shadow accepted, shaking his hand.
"Yeah, we're cool." Shadow said.
"Hey, I'd hate to interrupt this moving moment, but they want us out there right now." Ray told them.
"I guess this is it, do you think they'll like the movie?" Tails asked.
"Yeah, why wouldn't they?" Sonic asked.
"Well, the audio is still kind of a mess." Tails said.
"Don't remind me." Shadow said.
"Hey, we still made a good movie, now come on, let's give the people what they want." Sonic said.
As the four of them walked out, the fanfare began.
Those all too familiar flashing lights and applause surrounding them.
At least, familiar to the main three.
Shadow stood there, overwhelmed by all of the focus set on him, the atmosphere making it harder to breath.
Sonic quickly noticed and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah, it's not easy when you start." Sonic whispered.
Shadow looked up at Sonic, who then gestured to the crowd.
Shadow looked out, seeing who was there, outside of the press.
Suddenly, the others came more into focus, the fans cheering for them.
But what got to him, was the fact that some of them were cheering specifically for him, some even combing their quills up or dyed red.
"Shadow, I love you!" One of the women screamed.
The screams could be heard by everyone, countless women holding up signs, saying they loved him.
They hadn't even seen him on screen yet and already the fans were crazy for him.
"Well, seems like someone's pretty popular." Sonic said, humorously.
Shadow smirked, calming down, the anxiety still present but controllable.
"I guess." Shadow said, walking off to talk to the press.
After that, Sonic was approached by the press as well, different microphones pushed into his face.
"Hey, guys, take it easy, one at a time." Sonic said, motioning for them to back off.
"Mr. Hedgehog, now that Sega has gone third party, is it true that you will be doing a movie with, you know who?" The reporter asked, not even saying his name, as to point of how unbelievable it seemed.
Sonic laughed a little at his question before answering.
"Yeah, it's in the works, but that won't be for awhile." Sonic said.
Sonic chose another reporter from the crowd.
"Yes, Mr. Hedgehog, what is your current relationship status with Amy Rose?" The reporter asked.
Audible noises and whistling could be heard from the crowd, like a romantic moment in a sitcom.
"We're still together, still going strong." Sonic said.
Some rolled their eyes, still not believing that a couple could last that long, while the fans just liked the fact that they were still together even after all this time.
"One more question, then I've got to get going." Sonic said, choosing one more from the crowd.
"Mr. Hedgehog, is there anything you want to say to everyone watching tonight?" The reporter asked.
"Yeah, I just want to say thank you all so much, from the very beginning I've loved all the fans, even at my worst you were all there for me, you all are so amazing." Sonic said.
"I want to thank all the directors, Mighty wherever you are buddy, thank you so much, Ms. Rabbot, one of the kindest women I've ever met." Sonic continued.
"Lastly, I want to thank Rouge, who sadly could not be here with us tonight." Sonic said.
"Rouge, if you're watching, you mean so much… to all of us." Sonic said, stopping as he started to tear up a bit.
"Ever since that first day on set, you've looked out for me." Sonic said, stopping again, sniffling and wiping away a few tears.
"You're one of my best friends, I love you, tonight, this one is for you." Sonic said.
Sonic walked away from the cameras from there, Shadow patting him on the back while the fans and press were all moved by his words.
"Are you alright?" Shadow asked.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Sonic said.
"No worries, we miss her too." Shadow said.
Shadow's look slightly changed as he said that, leaning more towards an almost sad look.
"Hey, what're we waiting for?!" Knuckles called out.
Sonic and Shadow chuckled at Knuckles.
"I swear, that echidna has no patience." Shadow said.
"Yeah, he never has." Sonic said.
Sonic and Shadow turned around, looking out at the crowd one more time.
"Ready?" Shadow asked.
"Ready." Sonic said.