I decided to post this a day early because I'll be busy tomorrow. Plus, I'm kinda writing these chapters early. I try my best.
Somewhere close to the Badnik hordes, a form watched the woodlands. *Soon, Sonic,* it muttured, *soon.*
[Evening- Knothole Village]
That night in Sonic's home, laughter echoed through the air. The Hedgehog family and the Freedom Fighters that helped protect Knothole were enjoying dinner together. Alexis was busy talking to her mother with Elias and Tangle listening in on the conversation, and her father and Mighty having an arm wrestling competition with Sonic and Ray cheering on.
"That sounded like one heck of a battle," said Tangle, finishing up her food as Alexis finished her story, "Glad that Eggman's out of the picture."
"For now," said Elias, "Eggman always comes back. A lot of us know that for a fact." He stared at his plate, a slightly sour expression on his face.
"Well, we can at least be thankful that he's gone for now," said Bernadette as Mighty finally beat Jules.
*Yup,* agreed her roboticized husband, *And we can be glad that the war is over. Now we just need to get rid of those robots that are guarding the woods.*
"Probably be able to do that soon," said Sonic, "For now, I think a break from all the action sounds nice."
"Who are you and what happened to Sonic?" joked Alexis.
"Hardee har har har," said Sonic, his hands on his hips, "Heroes can have breaks, you know. Right, Mighty?" He turned to his friend.
"True," said Mighty, "Expecially with that speed of yours."
"Oh, cute." Sonic's voice dripped in sarcasm.
Alexis and Jules burst out laughing at that statement, everyone else joining in after a few seconds, including the still-slightly offended blue hedgehog. After the laughter had died down, Bernadette stood up and said, "Alright, everyone. Plates in the sink and then get ready for bed."
"Awwwwww!" complained Tangle and Ray, looking up at the older hedgehog with pleading in their eyes.
"Those looks have never worked on me," said Bernadette, "Bed!"
"But I'm an adult!" protested both Mighty and Elias.
"And you all need your rest for tomorrow!" said the lady hedgehog, "Bed!"
Everyone gave mock groans of disappointment and left the room, Alexis and Sonic both hugging their parents. "Good night, Mom and Dad," said Alexis, hugging her father.
*Good night, Alexis,* said Jules, hugging his new daughter fondly, *Pleasent dreams.*
After hugging her mother, both Alexis and Sonic headed to bed. "Those words must have felt strange," commented Sonic, knowing about how neglectful Mr. and Mrs. King had been to their adoptive daughter.
"They did," she said, nodding slightly, "But it feels nice."
Later on, as Sonic readied himself for bed, he remembered when Mr. and Mrs. King first came home...
[Flashback]
Sonic stared up into the night sky, lying on top of the mansion roof. Hearing about Alexis's parents coming home had made him think about his own parents. He really hoped that they weren't worried too much about him.
Just then, the door to Alexis's bedroom opened, only to be slammed shut. He sat up, crawling over to the edge of the roof and peering in. He was rather surprised to see the young girl sitting rather dejectedly on the edge of her bed, staring at her hands. Curious, he jumped down and entered her room.
Alexis looked up as he entered. "Oh. Hey Sonic," she said, "Sorry if I woke you up."
"I wasn't asleep. It's okay." He hopped up onto the bed beside her as she looked down again, "Something wrong?"
"Not really," she told him, "Same old thing with my parents and traveling younger brother."
"Do you not like them?" asked the blue hedgehog.
"Yeah." Alexis laid back on the bed and said, "My brother, even though he's younger than me, he keeps on teasing me. And my parents? They just pretty much ignore me, act like I'm not even there. And whenever they do? Well..." She sat up and turned towards Sonic again, and he was rather surprised to see that there was a slight red bruising there. "My dad abuses me."
Sonic stared at the spot in worry and reached forward. She took his hand. "It only stings a little bit," she assured him, "I've had worse."
"Does Chuck know?" asked Sonic.
"No," said Alexis, "Never happens when he's there. He had to leave early this evening. When I tried to talk about how school was going, dad got up and said that they didn't care about whatever I did. Then he slapped me. Mr. Tanaka and Ella weren't there, so I just left."
"I doubt they're your real parents," said Sonic, a little heatedly, "Who would treat their own kid like that?"
"Yeah. I'd like to think that I'm adopted. It would explain a lot of things." She sat there in silence for a few minutes, then she asked, "Hey Sonic? Do you have any parents?"
"Yeah, I do." Sonic smiled as he thought of his parents, "They went missing for a while back when I was only a baby. After Eggman's first fall, we found them among the citizens that he had captured. I was really glad to finally meet them. My dad was pretty badly hurt, so he was put on a special medical treatment. If he tries to get out of it, though, he could die."
"I'm sorry," said Alexis, "But I'm glad you have a happy family."
"Yeah," said Sonic, smiling.
"I wish I could meet them."
"Maybe you will," said Sonic, ruffling her black hair, "And if you do, we'll be glad to have you as part of the family."
"Really? Thank you!" She hugged Sonic and after a few moments, he returned the hug.
A little sister. He rather liked the sound of that. It was rather lonely being an only child.
[End Flashback]
Sonic opened his eyes, finding himself staring at the photo that had been taken on earth. He stared at him and Alexis standing together, his arm wrapped around her human shoulder. There was a happy smile on her face, as if she was happy she was being included.
He smiled, then carefully exited the room, listening at the door to his sister's room. When there was no noise, he carefully entered. He froze when he saw Alexis in bed, already fast asleep. It had been a rather tiring day.
Sonic softly walked to her bedside, leaning down and gently kissing the top of her head. She shifted a little and gave a small happy sigh, a smile crossing her face. "Sweet dreams, little sis," he whispered. Then he left the room.
()
[Knothole- a few days later]
Uncle Chuck had managed to get past the robot blockade to get to Knothole, wanting to tell Jules and Bernadette about Sonic, as well as seeing what could be wrong with their communications system. They had been radio silent for quite some time. He also had a theory that he wanted to share with Jules.
When he reached the village, he was greeted by Mighty and Elias, who told him about Sonic and Alexis arriving a few days before. "They helped with our communication problem," explained Elias as they headed to the house, "Aparrently Tails Doll was hiding in one of the vents, but they took care of it."
"Glad to hear," said Chuck, "Why Eggman made a creepy Tails doppleganger is way beyond me."
"Same here," said Mighty, "Luckily we stopped it before it could go all monster mode on the town."
"So, why exactly are you here?" asked Elias.
"Well, I was going to tell Jules and Bernadette about their son being alive, but it appears Sonny-boy and Rey-girl beat me to it. But when I first met Alexis and I heard about her incredible healing powers, it got me thinking about Jules."
"What about him?" asked Mighty.
"I'll explain when we get to the house."
Soon enough, the three mobians reached the house, and when they entered, they couldn't help chuckling at the sight.
Alexis and Sonic were currently wrestling on the floor with their dad, the roboticized hedgehog easily beating the two of them(although it appeared that Sonic and Alexis were holding back). Ray and Tangle were cheering them on while their mother watched with an amused smile. At the sound of Uncle Chuck clearing his throat, everyone stopped what they were doing.
"Uncle Chuck!" cried the two hedgehog siblings. They lept off of the floor and hugged their uncle, who hugged them in return. "You managed to get past the blockade?" asked Sonic, moving back.
"Sure did," said Chuck, "Finally convinced Max to let me use that secret tunnel that ended in the woods. Still, it was a very close call."
*We're just glad that you're alright,* said Jules, getting off the floor to shake hands with his brother, *But what are you doing here?*
"Well, I was going to tell you about Sonic being alive and him being with Alexis, but it appears that these two young 'uns beat me to it!" He ruffled the tops of their heads playfully.
"Then why are you still here?" asked Bernadette, joining them with Tangle and Ray.
"Let's sit down and I'll tell you."
As everyone sat down, Uncle Chuck asked, "Has Alexis and Sonic told you two about freeing Castle Acorn yet?"
"No, they haven't," said Elias, casting them a look.
"Hey! We were gonna get to that!" said Sonic, holding up his hands in defense.
"Well," said Chuck, continuing, "Sally had gotten hurt during that battle, and Alexis healed her pretty well. Not even a scar. She had even helped with the other injured citizens. Something about bullets in a young wolf's leg?"
"Uh, yeah," said Alexis, scratching the back of her head, "There were also some other serious injuries, but I helped to heal them."
"What does this have to do with Alexis?" asked Ray.
Chuck turned to Alexis and asked, "Do you know why Jules is still roboticized?"
"Because he was hurt really badly when he was captured by Eggman?" She remembered Sonic telling her about it.
"Yes. But with your healing skills..." He trailed off suggestively.
Jules and Bernadette perked up, staring at Chuck in shock. *She could heal me when I get deroboticized?* asked Jules.
"I think so, Jules," said Chuck, "The old Deroboticizer is here, so all we have to do is test it out."
Everyone in the room had wide eyes. Then, Sonic turned to Alexis and asked, "Could you do it?"
Alexis thought for a few moments, then looked up. A bright blue fire shone in her eyes and it glowed brighter as she said, "Let's do it!"
()
[Chuck's Lab]
Everyone stood around the long cylindrical glass container that was the Deroboticizer, excitement sparking the air. Alexis was allowing a few flames to dance between her fingers as she watched Jules hug Sonic and Bernadette before stepping inside the container. When it sealed shut, he gave Chuck a thumbs-up.
"Right then," said Chuck, giving a nervous exhale, "Let's do this. Fingers crossed, everyone." He pulled the lever down on the consul in front of him.
Light and gas filled the chamber that Jules was in. The metal hedgehog closed his eyes as he vanished from sight. After a few moments, Chuck turned to Alexis. "Alexis! Now!"
Alexis raised her hands, allowing her flames to dart forward. They surrounded the deroboticizer, spiraling up around it. The chamber soon was filled with flames, mixing in with the gas and light that filled the chamber. After a few minutes, the light vanished and Alexis allowed her flames to die down.
She turned to Uncle Chuck. "Is he...?" she asked hesitantly. Everyone looked at Chuck, the same question in their minds.
"Let's see." Chuck pressed a few buttons, and the Deroboticizer chamber opened. Everyone shielded their eyes from the gas as it cascaded out. When Sonic lowered his arm, he saw the figure standing where the Deroboticizer had been and gave a shocked and happy gasp. Everyone turned and gasped as well.
Jules was once again a normal hedgehog, with dark blue fur and tan arms, resembling Sonic except for the bit of dark brown hair that rested above his green eyes. His white gloved hands covered his eyes from the sudden light as he stepped forward, wearing dark brown boots and a red vest, under which peeked his tan belly. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed everyone starring at him. "Well?" he asked, "Did it work?"
"How do you feel?" asked Chuck.
Jules looked at himself for a few seconds, then said, "All right."
Sonic and Bernadette rushed forward, hugging the now-normal hedgehog. His own arms circled around them, tears coming to his eyes. He was glad to be normal again. Alexis watched for a few seconds, then rushed forward, hugging her father. As Sonic and Bernadette stepped back, Jules hugged his daughter, lifting her up and whirling her around. "Thank you," he whispered, kissing her forehead.
"Your welcome, daddy," said Alexis, nuzzling her father's cheek. Sonic and Bernadette joined in on the hug, happy that the father of the family was back to normal.
"I never thought this day would come," whispered Chuck, wiping away the tears that trickled from his eyes.
"I think we're all glad that it did," said Elias, smiling at the happy scene in front of him.
And Jules is back to normal! And a tiny peek at the villain that may appear at the end of the story.
R&R