Disclaimer: nope. I still don't own Sonic the hedgehog. Not even a plushie of him. It's depressing.

Shadow thought nothing of the foreboding feeling at the back of his mind as he walked down the street to Knuckles house. It was poker night, and it was Knuckles' turn to host. But it was shadow's turn to bring the snacks. He had in his hand two bags full of junk food, and in the other, a 12 pack of beer. But even the thought of his favorite pastime and draft was not enough to make him smile. He never smiled.

As he approached the house, he remembered that Tails was going to be there, and he was too young to drink alcohol. "Damn it!" he said, wishing that his hands weren't full so he could slap his forehead. He resolved that he would drop the stuff off, and then run back to the store to get some soda. Hopefully Tails wasn't there yet.

As Shadow came down the front walk, Knuckles opened he door, having seen Shadow turn down his street. "You're early. You have the stuff?"

"Does it look like I don't?" Shadow sneered.

"Maybe." Knuckles smirked, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame; thoroughly pleased with how annoyed he got Shadow to be.

"Ha, ha, ha. Now let me drop this stuff off so that I can get back to the store. I forgot to get some pop."

"Nice." Knuckles said as he retreated back into the living room and went over to the c.d. rack to get a c.d. that he said he'd loan to Tails. "Just leave the stuff in the kitchen. I'll take it to the basement in a minute. I need to find something."

"Fine. I'll be back in about ten minutes." Shadow said as he walked into the spacious kitchen. Knuckles, having pursued a musical career, had gotten into a major record company, and helped record c.d.s, and give record deals. He had recently gotten a huge promotion, which gave him a sufficient enough raise in income to move closer to friends and work.

As Shadow dashed back to the store, Knuckles was finding the c.d. that Tails wanted to borrow. With Knuckles in his new seat of power, he got a lot of the new c.d.s that came out, for free. He soon found the c.d. and headed towards the kitchen. He grabbed the bags and the beer and trudged to the basement.

The basement had a big screen TV, a pool table, a fire place, and a bar. Yet he never found the time to order fountain drinks for the bar, so he continued to buy from the store. He also had a guest room in the basement with a full bathroom. He often had company over, such as he did tonight, Poker night. Poker night was a tradition that the guys had that every other Friday night was Poker night. They took turns hosting, and supplying snacks for the group.

Shadow was now, to everyone's amazement, was now Captain of the police squad. He did wear the uniform when on duty, but wore regular attire when not. For him, that consisted of a grey cotton long sleeved shirt, and dark baggy jeans with a red belt. The shoes stayed the same, on duty or off.

Despite the fact that the police sometimes worked hand-in-hand with G.U.N., Shadow thoroughly enjoyed his line of work. Even as Captain, he liked doing patrols. He often times tagged along with new recruits, especially when they got emergency calls. He could give advice, and help make arrests. He just didn't like sitting behind a desk all day; he just wasn't that kind of person.

Sonic had gotten a job in the shoe industry, testing and endorsing athletic shoes. He was also hired because if a shoe could stand up to his speed, it would surely hold up to a normal person for quite a while. The company's name was 'Speed Demons', and branched out into other brands.

Sonic, like almost everyone else, had new attire. He had a red shirt with a black tornado on it, and khaki colored cargo pants which he wore regularly. He often wore different shoes, but favored his original shoes.

Tails, despite his young age, had a job at the airport fixing the luggage belts and escalators. Although he was mainly maintenance, he also sometimes helped fix electronics on the planes. He had moved in with Sonic, and was in college hoping to get a good degree so he could get a job at the Air Force Base. He was coach of a kids baseball team, and never missed a game.

Tails usually wore a baseball jersey and jeans. Other times he wore a simple dark green t-shirt and shorts. He always wore a Red Sox cap. Unless it was a special occasion, that hat never left his head.

When Shadow got back, Sonic and Tails were just pulling into the drive in Sonic's silver Honda.

Knuckles came out of the house and smirked. "You boys ready to play?"

"Always." Sonic replied, an evil grin flashing across his face.

"Then let's begin the suffering." Knuckles stated. Tails and Knuckles nodded and proceeded to follow him into the house.

A/N Yes, that was significantly longer, making me very happy. Yeah. That chapter was all about the guys, and the next chapter will be almost all about the girls.The one after will probably be a big collaboration. This chapter got put up early because I wrote it a lot during class. You'd be amazed at how much my teachers talk about themselves. So, during that time, I write what I can. Actually, most of this story so far was written at school.

Well, as promised, I'm putting up ages. And they're semi legitimate too!Yes, I actually dug up their ages. They had in the 'Sonic Heroes' instruction booklet, and increased their ages by nine years. Why nine years? Because I needed Tails to be seventeen. Old enough to drive, but not old enough to drink. Yep. Poor him. He's missing out. Not that I'd know. After all, I'm only thirteen. Well, here's the ages: Sonic, 24; Tails, 17; Knuckles, 25. The only reason Shadow isn't on the list is because no one knows how old he really is, so I need to figure out how old I want him to be. I'll tell you when I figure it out.

Don't expect the next chapter too soon. I don't have any clue what I'm going to put in it. And yes, it will be like this chapter. It'll be about what the people are doing, and how they dress. I actually decided to have them wear clothes. And yes, I still think that's weird. Man I love Shadow's shoes….. I want them…. GIMMIE!

ugh... now that I think of it, I don't like that last line...it sounds pervy. I'll change that soon.

I can't think of any pairings right now other than Tails/Cream. Oh wait… never mind, I got some Ideas. But I'm not sharing!

C' ya later!