Notes: That's right kiddos, it's time for the motherfuckin CHRISTMAS SPECIAL. Well, not Christmas, since I'm not about to imply that Jesus existed in this world. As good as those Christian Sonic memes are, they shall not dictate me! So instead they celebrate a naturey thing that happens near Christmas. Close enough. This is another chapter that I've been wanting to do since like, midway through Time Warp, and I've been working on it for a long long time. That's part of the reason why it's so freaking long. So this is my Christmas present to all you guys, an extra-long chapter with lots of your fav nerds goofing off. You're welcome ;)
WARNING?: There's one part where Sonic is provoked by Scourge to drop some f-bombs. Is it a bit out of character? Yep. Do I care? Nope. So I stg if any of you nag me about this I will... I'll be unhappy.
So enjoy this chapter everyone! Merry Christmas and happy holidays :D
It was quiet. The station was practically empty, only the bare minimum number of Zone Cops occupying it that night. The sounds of the bustling city outside were dampened by the falling snow, making the office feel a little lonelier than usual. Some people had holiday music playing from inside their monitor stations, and the break room was filled with gingerbread cookies and an untouched fruitcake. There were a few conversations here and there about the quickly approaching holidays, but aside from that, the office wasn't too energetic. Everyone was either mentally prepared to pack up and head home for the holiday week, or had accepted their fate and settled in to work the first night of the solstice and new year celebrations.
Zonic was one of the ones itching to leave. He usually worked through most of the holiday, never having much in terms of plans. He was one of the few cops who never minded working through the season, so he generally wound up saddled with more work than most. But this year, he actually did have plans- plans for the whole week, actually- and he was still riding on the "I helped save the entire multiverse" wave, so Zlaze was still cutting him some slack in terms of work. Therefore, he'd been given a week and a half off, free to relax from the winter solstice to New Year's.
The normally hard-working Zone Cop found it nearly impossible to concentrate on the work that sat in front of him. He was at his monitor station, supposed to be keeping an eye on the Sonics of the multiverse, but his mind was excitedly wandering this way and that. He fiddled with the Chao in Space toy on his desk, the one he'd gotten at the beach over the summer. It had been a while since he spent a full day on Mobius Prime, like he had when he won the toy on the boardwalk. But now, he was going to be spending more than a week there, and he couldn't wait.
It was good that he had all that time off, since he wouldn't be able to go back and forth between his home zone and Mobius until the holidays were over. With how busy the year had been, yearly maintenence on the cosmic highway had been delayed and delayed and delayed until it had to be done at the end of the year. Aside from the unfortunate workers who were detailed to that job, the timing worked out pretty well: he was really the only No Zoner would would be going off-world. Everyone else would be staying home, and the on-duty cops could navigate the cosmic highway manually if they needed to get to a different zone. Zonic smiled. Once he was on Mobius, they couldn't call him back until the holidays were over. He was really going to have some time off.
His mind was running over an extensive mental checklist of things to pack for his prolonged stay from home. He leaned back in his seat, feet resting on the edge of his desk and his Commander Chaoko figure twirling in his fingers. He was forcing himself not to look at Sonic's or Scourge's monitors, just in case they were still wrapping presents. He wanted everything to be a surprise. It had been so long since he'd had a real solstice. With his parents, the holiday had been big, boisterous, and full of presents and great food. When it was him and Zails, they kept the celebration smaller, but it still felt just as festive and warm and fun. But after his parents disappeared, and Zails was killed… he just never had much energy for the holiday anymore. He still liked it, but he could never quite get as excited for it as he used to. He would exchange presents with the others on his squad, he'd share a big meal with Zector and Zespio, but that was really about it. The season had kind of lost its magic for him.
He felt different this year, though. Early on, Sonic and Tails had invited him and Scourge over, saying they wanted to spend the holiday as a family. Zonic had accepted without a second thought, and immediately went about shopping for presents and digging through his parents' old cookbooks in search of elusive cookie recipes. For the first time in a long time, he'd be spending the new year with a whole bunch of his friends/family, and he wouldn't have to even think about work (as much as he loved his job, it could get exhausting). He couldn't wait.
ooo
Scourge was wandering aimlessly through the busy streets of Station Square, his hands tucked inside the pockets of his miserably thin leather jacket. He really needed to get something more suitable for the winter, instead of just layering it with whatever hoodies he owned. A good coat would be expensive though. He sort of missed the days when he could just bust into a store and steal stuff.
It was snowing. Not heavily enough that it stung his face or caused an actual problem, but it was sticking to the pavement and clinging to his short fur. As he brushed some of the powder out of his quills, Scourge thought about maybe investing in a hat, like a beanie or something. His quills were short enough to tuck inside a hat, anyway. Not like they'd regrown much in the past six months.
Damn, it had really been six months, hadn't it? Or, five really, since the whole Time Eater thing ended early in July. But still, that was a long time. A long time for him to be a good guy, a long time for him to have friends. Every day a tiny piece of him expected to just wake up and be back in Zone Jail, like this had all been one elaborate dream. But no, this was real. He had real friends. Chaos, it was still sinking in for him. Maybe he'd never get used to it. Maybe someday, the giddy butterflies he got in his stomach whenever he remembered that simple fact would fade. Not today, though. Today they were in full force.
For the first time in… ever, he was going to have a good holiday. He was going over to Sonic and Tails's place for the solstice, and Zonic would be there too. Usually, he just celebrated the end-of-the-year holidays by drinking, either by himself or with Fiona. Last year, while he was in prison, he got a punch in the nose as a solstice gift. And the holidays he'd spent with his parents while they were still around… They weren't good, to put it in simple terms. Other terms he'd use to describe it included formal, fake, stuffy, impersonal, and overall miserable.
That wouldn't be the case this year, he hoped. He knew it would be just fine, that it would be great, but after so many mediocre or downright bad holidays he'd had in the past, it was hard to blame him for keeping his hopes down.
He pushed through a crowd of people on the sidewalk, everyone walking slowly and taking up all the space. 'Damn humans, why they gotta be so tall… And why the hell is everyone so slow?! Don't they got places to be? It's freezin' out!' he thought bitterly. Of course, he didn't exactly have anywhere to be at that moment, but that was besides the point. He at least had a motive behind wandering around, and it was having itchy feet from being stuck inside his apartment for too long. As far as he knew, very few people aside from him and his good twin got that kind of wanderlust, so he wondered what the deal was.
A gap in the crowd allowed him a glimpse of the view across the street. Seemingly by accident, he'd wandered near one of the most popular plazas in the city, which was currently adorned by its annual holiday light display. 'Great, it's a fuckin' tourist trap,' Scourge thought as the humans, twice his height, bumped into him and jostled him around without so much as an apology. 'Why are these people even here? It's just some lights. It's not even fuckin' dark out yet!' He growled low in his throat, keeping his shoulders squared and his head down so he could plow through the crowd. He would really have to pay closer attention to where he was walking from now on. Station Square was hard to get lost in, but it was easy to wind up somewhere without meaning to.
Not breaking completely free from the crowd, but finding a spot where it had thinned a bit, Scourge managed to push his way through to get to the nearest building. He boosted his way up the structure, using the signs, windows, and a couple external pipes and gutters as leverage, and he managed to scamper up to the top. He was now about fifteen stories up, where the air was colder and the wind was harsher. There were no people up there though, so it was overall more favorable.
He took a breath in and out, happy to be out of the sea of people. That was one of the bad things about living in a popular city. The place got jam-packed, especially over the course of the past month. He liked Station Square for the most part, but getting bombarded on all sides like that was a definite turn-off.
The hedgehog looked over the side of the roof, to the light display across the street that was attracting so many. It wasn't even lit yet, since the sun still had a little time before it went down. Begrudgingly, he admitted that it would probably look spectacular all lit up. While the angle he was at was too high to be a perfect vantage point, it was still better than being on the ground. Maybe he'd come back and check out the lights later that week. After all, today was only the start of the holidays. Celebrations were generally happening from solstice eve all the way up to new year's day. He'd have time.
Scourge absentmindedly crunched the thin layer of snow under his feet as he stood and looked out over the edge. The snow was fresh, but still had enough frosty bite to it that it was satisfying to step on. He stepped back from the edge and looked at the snow at his feet, nudging it into a pile with his toes. His thoughts quieted, his distance from the street and from the people below letting him calm down.
'Tomorrow's the first day of winter, and there's gonna be snow on the ground for it. Nice. Can't remember the last time that happened… Fuck, probably not since I was a kid.' He frowned. Those weren't the most pleasant of memories he wanted to go digging around in at the moment. No matter how shitty his childhood was, it didn't matter, not this year. This year was looking like it would be a good one. Well, at least by the time he went over to the workshop it would be. Right now, just killing time in the city, it felt like a lot of his not-so-great past years. Just… underwhelming. For the time being.
Clearly, he needed to kill time more efficiently and excitingly. He smirked, glancing across the varied rooftops. A run across the whole city and back should do the trick.
ooo
The workshop was busy as a factory, loud and warm and full of smells. Sonic and Tails were working themselves to the bone, in a mad rush to get all the food done. They had probably too many dishes planned, but the worst case scenario was that they would have leftovers, so they decided to go for it. The two brothers were attempting to juggle two different kinds of pasta, chicken, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, chili dogs, fried zucchini and jalepenos and artichokes and mac and cheese, and not to mention cookies. They hadn't initially planned to make so much food, but they had gotten more and more excited as the date got closer and closer, and they kept coming up with more ideas. They wanted to make sure they had enough food, and they also wanted the meal to be special for their guests.
While he was digging out ingredients, Tails took a peek outside the window at the snow falling down. The sun had recently set, and the gentle snow that had been falling all day was picking up. The flakes blew wildly around the window, and the snow was really starting to collect on the ground. All the grass was completely covered now, not even the tips poking out under the blanket of white. "Snow's getting worse," the fox commented, loud enough over the music they had blasting for Sonic to hear him. "When do you think it'll let up?"
The hedgehog set down what he was doing and joined his little bro at the window. "Dunno. Those clouds still look pretty heavy up there," he said, his breath fogging up the glass. "Scourge said he was on the train here, so it shouldn't be long 'til he shows up."
"Good. I'm not sure how much longer the trains are going to be running in this weather. Plus, I can't imagine that a ton of people want to head out to Mystic Ruins on solstice eve."
"True. At least we don't have to worry about Zonic, what with his teleporting and all… Eh, whatever, it'll be fine," Sonic shrugged, stepping away from the window. "We've had snow like this before, we'll live. C'mon, these potatoes won't start themselves, pal."
ooo
When Scourge showed up at the workshop, he didn't even bother knocking. He just barged right in, the door left unlocked since the brothers were home. He didn't have much snow on him, having sprinted down from the train station right up to their door, but the top of his head was still dusted with snow and his boots were caked with it. "It's cold as shit out!" he announced loudly, slamming the door shut behind him. "The snow just keeps getting worse, the fuck is the deal?"
"That's generally how storms work!" Sonic yelled from the kitchen. The blue hedgehog poked his head out into the living room and smiled slyly. "Good to see ya, man. Now take your shoes off, because if you track snow in this house I swear to Chaos Tails is actually going to murder you."
"I'm holding the big knife! Don't tempt me!" the fox shouted.
Scourge barked out a laugh as he kicked his shoes off, leaving them by the front door. He brushed off his leather jacket but kept it on, still feeling chilled. "'Ey, what's cookin'? Because whatever it is, it smells surprisingly decent," he chuckled.
"I just said not to tempt me!" Tails yelled again, and Sonic laughed.
"It's not so hard to cook when you have a recipe in front of you, y'know," the speedster rolled his eyes. "Thanks, though. We got the potatoes in right now, everything else we'll start once Zonic gets here. S'mostly fried food and pasta, and that doesn't take too long once all the prep is done."
Scourge nodded, looking content as he sock-shuffled through the living room and into the kitchen with the others. The room was hot and loud, the oven blazing and the holiday music blasting through Sonic's boombox. The blue hedgehog turned the volume down a bit so they could talk over the music without shouting. Tails smiled evilly at Scourge as he entered, holding the knife in his hands so the light glinted off it. It was indeed big, and currently being used to chop vegetables.
Now that he was warming up from the bitter cold outside, Scourge started to loosen and smile. The workshop was welcoming, and his previous thoughts of fuck all this snow and dear Chaos please let this holiday actually be good this year, haha, but seriously, melted away, replaced by the upbeat music and the powerful smells and the heat of a busy kitchen.
It was then that he remembered that he was holding a plastic bag, so he placed it on the counter and started removing its contents. "Brought some eggnog. Non-alcoholic, of course," he said, winking at Sonic, even though Tails was the only one who was actually underage. "And… in case you want it alcoholic…" He pulled out three bottles of rum after the eggnog, a mischievous grin on his face.
Sonic laughed, taking the eggnog bottle. "Looks like someone'll be getting drunk tonight, because I'm pretty sure the only one who'll be drinking is you."
"Z might. He's usually a good sport," Scourge shrugged. "What about you Tails, you gonna try some?"
"I dunno if you know how to count, but I'm still a few years away from being legal," the fox snarked at him, smiling as he returned to his chopping.
"Who's gonna know?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe the cop we're inviting to stay over until new years?"
"... He doesn't count," Scourge sarcastically backpedaled. "He's Zonic, he won't do shit and you know it. 'Sides, we're in the house. S'not like I'm takin' you out to a bar or nothin'," he said, leaning his elbows up on the counter, one of his fingers running along the label on one of the rum bottles.
Sonic rolled his eyes. "Is this how you convinced Tails to play beer pong with you that one time?"
"I didn't even try to get him to drink that time! I gave him fuckin' soda!" Scourge gave Sonic a little shove in the arm. "But fine, if you guys won't drink, that's just more fer me."
"Ah jeez, that'll be fun," Sonic said, picking up a dish towel from the counter by the sink and throwing it at him. "C'mon. Before you get plastered, at least help us out. We got stuff to clean."
Scourge caught the towel in one hand and sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Chaos forbid the weary traveler get to rest," he said sarcastically as he walked over to the sink. Sonic and Tails weren't nearly done prepping the food yet, but the fox liked to clean as he went so the kitchen didn't get too dirty. It was the complete opposite of the way he worked in the lab downstairs, but hey, at least cleaning dishes was a job Scourge could do without any trouble.
The three worked in the kitchen for a while, chatting and catching up as they did so. It was nice, just all of them hanging out in the workshop with no imminent threats or big plans for the day. Even though they kept busy, it still felt nice and casual in the workshop. It hadn't really hit Scourge until he had warmed up and calmed down a little bit, but being in the workshop again… he just felt like he was home. He spent a lot of time here during the summer, but he hadn't really swung by since Tails's birthday, and the house felt exceptionally cozy in the winter. The lighting was warm and soft, and there was the beginnings of a fire gently crackling in the fireplace. Not that Scourge would ever admit it to the others, but he really did feel more at ease here.
Before very long, they heard a zoop! from the living room, and through the door they saw the furniture bathed in an orange light. It looked like their party was about to be complete. Zonic twisted himself through the sideways portal, and several THUNKs could be heard as he dragged his luggage through. "Happy solstice!" he shouted in between tugging his bags. He was met with a chorus of greetings from the kitchen, everyone too busy to leave their posts but beckoning him in anyways. They could hear the portal closing, and a few seconds later Zonic stepped into the room where they could see him.
"Eyy, there he is!" Sonic cheered with a smile, motioning with his head for Zonic to come in.
"Hey guys!" the cop waved, a wide grin on his face. "Woah, Tails, did you get taller?"
"Uh… did I?" the fox wondered aloud, standing to his full height.
Sonic's eyes went wide. "So it's not just me then? I'm not goin' crazy? 'Cause I swear this kid shot up a few inches since his birthday!"
"Looks like it," Z nodded. "Yeah Prime, he's catching up to you."
Tails looked content with this news, while Sonic looked devastated. "I knew this day would come, but… this soon?" he whined, as if Tails being almost as tall as he was was a national crisis. He turned to the fox, putting a hand on his head. "I'm already the shortest guy in our friend group as it is. Besides you, bud, I think the only person shorter than me is Cream. It's not fair!"
"Yes it is," Tails scoffed. "I'm a fox, you're a hedgehog. Canines are generally bigger than rodents, bro."
"And now you call me rodent. What have I done to receive such scorn, from both my own brother and from the universe itself?" he moaned. "When I was fifteen, I stopped growing. You shouldn't be allowed to have any more growth spurts."
"I'll make you some high-heeled sneakers, how about that?" the fox laughed. "I'll get you some like Blaze has."
"Don't mock me, Tails."
"What's the big deal?" Scourge asked, leaning up against the kitchen table. "We're not that short, are we?"
"Yeah we are," Zonic chuckled. "I dunno, I'm not really bothered by it that much."
"That's 'cause your zone cop boots have heels on 'em," Sonic huffed. "Don't think I haven't noticed, you're taller than me when you're in uniform."
"Prime, the heels are like, less than an inch. I doubt it's much of a noticeable difference."
Tails was chuckling now, looking at his brother in disbelief. "Since when are you so sensitive about your height?"
"When everyone started getting taller than me!" Sonic yelped defensively. "Zonic, c'mon, get over here. We're measuring."
"Oh Chaos, how can I be taller than you?! We're the same person!" Z laughed, but walked over all the same. The two blue hedgehogs stood back to back, Zonic removing his shoes so it would be fair, as Scourge and Tails stood back to look.
"Oh shit," Scourge said, sounding impressed. His eyes widened, and his lips pursed. "Is- Is Z actually taller?"
Tails got right up next to them, using his hand to compare. "I think so. Not by much, but-"
"WHAT?!" Sonic shrieked, recoiling away. "How?! He's me!"
Tails gave him a pat on the head, serving up a patronizing smile. "Well, it's not like you ate your milk and drank your vegetables as a kid. You were sorta undernourished."
Scourge snorted, a huge grin breaking out across his face. "Eat your milk and drink your vegetables? T, you didn't start drinkin' without me, didja?"
"What? I don't- crap, did I say it backwards?"
The three hedgehogs all nodded, laughing at the failed phrasing. Tails chuckled too before getting back to chopping whatever he had been chopping before Zonic arrived. Sonic, laughing but still salty, picked up a spare apron and tossed it at the Zone Cop's head, bonking him gently in the noggin with it. He turned the music back up as Z unfurled the apron and slipped it on over his head. After all, there was still plenty of work to do, and they needed all hands on deck in the kitchen.
Scourge was still stationed at the sink, washing and drying utensils, bowls, and plates as they came in. He didn't mind- it wasn't like he was much good as a chef anyway. His eyes wandered outside the window once or twice. He struggled to see anything outside because of the glare of the lights, but he could tell it was snowing even more heavily than before. The snow was really starting to pile up, and he wondered when it would stop.
And then the lights all went out.
"Um," Tails squeaked, shoulders stiff as he looked around, "that wasn't supposed to happen."
"What did happen?" Zonic asked, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He used the light from the screen as a flashlight to see around the pitch black room. The only other light came from outside, the faint starlight being reflected in the thick layer of snow on the ground.
"I guess the storm knocked out the power, but… our backup generator should have kicked in by now." The fox cupped his hands against the window, trying to get a better look outside to the back of the house. Luckily, his night vision was decent enough that he could faintly make out the shape of the generator outside. Well, he could see where the generator should've been. Instead, there was just a deep pile of snow, and a toppled down palm tree. "Aw jeez," he muttered, his breath fogging up the glass. "RIP generator. We barely knew ye."
"Aw, what?" Sonic cringed, trying to see outside for himself. "... Is that a tree?"
"Yep."
"On top of our generator?"
"That's what I implied by saying it was dead, yes."
"So what yer sayin' is," Scourge grumbled, already zipping up his leather jacket, "we're stuck here in the middle of nowhere, it's the fuckin' snowstorm of the century, and we got no power?" Everyone just turned to look at him, not really giving a direct answer. They all knew the answer, anyway. The green hedgehog groaned. "Shit. Well, ain't this just peachy. Z, can't you portal us outta here or somethin'?"
Zonic shook his head. "Nope, not while the cosmic highway is under construction. I used up my last legal 'port to get here. Sorry."
"Oh, no problem. We'll just freeze to death, is all. No big deal."
"Scourge," Sonic rolled his eyes, "we're not gonna freeze to death. We've got firewood in here, and we have plenty of coats and blankets. We'll be fine, and once the storm passes, then Tails can go out and do repairs on the generator. We just gotta last the night, s'all."
"You just make it sound so easy," Scourge humphed, curling his lips into a snarl. Not that it was visible to anyone else, but still.
"What, you can't handle a little cold?"
"I can handle it just fine, Blue! I ain't some delicate flower." He snickered, "it's you I'm worried about."
Zonic cleared his throat, stepping between the two. "Yeah, I'm gonna stop you two right there," he said, holding his hands out to his sides. "I can see where this is going, and we don't need this becoming a "who can last longer in the freezing cold" competition."
Sonic raised his brows and pursed his lips. "I dunno, sounds like a good idea to me. Because I could totally outlast rich-boy over here. I kinda grew up outside."
"Excuse me?! I've spent way more time on the streets than you have!" Scourge shouted, pushing Zonic out of the way so he could yell directly into Sonic's face. His rival simply shrugged.
"Yeah, but how much time have you spent in Ice Cap Zone? Or Ice Paradise? White Acropolis? Oh yeah, I think it's none."
"Yeah, and you grew up on a tropical island."
"Alright, so you wanna settle this then?"
"Alright. You. Me. Outside. No coats. First one to wuss out and go inside loses."
"Deal." Sonic smirked, shaking his double's hand as Tails and Zonic groaned.
"Chaos," Tails whined, his face buried in his hands. "They're going to kill themselves. Happy freakin' holidays." Zonic just shook his head silently in disbelief, regretting that he ever said anything.
ooo
Sonic had been out in the cold before. He'd run through countless snowy mountains, and he'd never had a coat then. He didn't think parking himself out in the snow for an extended period of time would be a walk in the park, but he had a feeling he could handle it.
Now all he was feeling was the goosebumps on his arms and the bitter cold assaulting him like needles.
The snow came up roughly to his waist, so within only a minute his legs were numb and his feet were hurting from the cold. His toes felt like ice cubes, and the snow that sneaked into his shoes didn't help matters. His fur was all standing on end, and some of the shorter ones were starting to feel a little frosty, bristling his neck and his arms. His nose felt frozen, his eyes were dry, the tips of his ears burned.
He looked over at Scourge, who was standing next to him. The green hedgehog was in a similar state, his hands crammed into his armpits and his legs desperately trying not to shake. He looked practically naked without his leather jacket on, the numerous small scars on his body visible to the world before they got covered up by the falling snow.
"M-Maybe this was a b-b-bad idea," Sonic shouted over the wind, shivering harder than a plucked guitar string. "You ready to go in yet?"
"N-n-not even close," Scourge barked, not turning to look at him. He was instead staring at the house, trying to absorb the dim light coming from the inside. Through the vicious snow, they could just make out the flickering of the fire in the fireplace, they could almost feel the heat and taste the warm food that was still cooking inside. It was tantalizingly close, the only thing stopping them being their pride.
The wind howled, a high-pitched whine in their ears as the cold cut through them like butter. The snow blew around them with the force of a tornado, whipping around and pelting their faces.
Sonic raised his hand and rubbed at his face, his joints creaking as if they were completely frozen through. They couldn't keep this up forever, but he also couldn't let Scourge win only two minutes into their bet. His breath puffed up like a cloud in front of him, the hot air crystallizing and quickly melting away. The icy air clawed at his throat as he breathed, ripping his insides to ribbons. He'd been this cold before, but he'd always been moving. It was easier when he was focused on running, when his movements kept him warm. Just standing around at the mercy of the snow and the wind was way worse.
"Chaos," Scourge wheezed, "I can f-feel this shit seepin' into my boots. Now I got wet socks."
"Yeah, this sucks," the blue one agreed. He breathed on his hands, trying to warm them up.
They heard a loud CRACK! coming from close by, and both hedgehogs jumped and spun around to try and see where it came from. There was a loud rustling and a dull crash, shaking the powdery ground beneath their feet.
"Was that another tree?!" Scourge yelped, his voice hoarse from the cold.
"... W-what do we win for stayin' out here again?"
"We never d-d-decided. Bragging rights?"
"Yeah, hell no, I'm goin' inside," Sonic laughed, trudging back through the deep snow to the front door.
"That means I win!" Scourge exclaimed, though he followed directly behind him. The small rut which they'd dug into the snow when they had come out had mostly filled in, so they had to fight and climb through the snow again to get through the short distance to the front door.
They both slipped and slid up the steps, gripping onto one another for balance. They fell against the door, collapsing into the house and landing in a pile on the ground, bringing a good amount of snow inside with them.
Zonic slammed the door shut behind them, struggling against the pounding winds, and complaining under his breath. "Two and a half minutes. You idiots happy? Gods, if you've given yourselves hypothermia out there, all over a stupid bet… I swear, I'm going to kill you both."
Scourge coughed, the sudden rush of warmer air making him shake and causing his frozen fingers and ears to burn up. "... I won," he gasped through chattering teeth.
"Ehhh I dunno," Tails shrugged. He was sitting near the fire, his hands balled up in the sleeves of his jacket. "Looks like you both came in at the same time to me."
"F-f-fuck no!" he protested, pushing himself up and climbing off of Sonic, whose face looked almost as blue as his fur.
"It's a little chilly outside," Sonic said, shakily brushing some of the snow off of his shoulders. "Oh, and an-n-nother tree went down."
Tails sighed. "Yeah, we heard it. Palm trees really aren't cut out for this much snow. Or, any snow, really." He got to his feet and started to walk over to them, eyeing the pile of snow they brought in with them disapprovingly. "Here, let me help you two wipe off before you drip all over the house."
Once the snow was all cleaned up, Sonic and Scourge got as close to the fire as they could, each buried in blankets and coats. Tails had given them a 'get along comforter,' wrapping them both up in it and forcing them to share its warmth. They initially complained about it, Scourge especially, but the warmth it provided was too great to pass up. He and Sonic swallowed their pride and stopped their bickering, conceding to share the thick blanket that had been draped over their shoulders.
As they were warming themselves back up, Zonic and Tails were gathering all the blankets and sheets from the bedrooms and the closet upstairs. With the fire roaring in the fireplace, every other room in the house felt freezing by comparison, so it only made sense to just stay in the one room. Soon, the couch was loaded up with blankets, pillows, and old sweatshirts, all ready should they be needed.
"So it's damn freezing upstairs," Z said as he set down the last armful of blankets. "Tails is suggesting we all sleep down here tonight by the fire."
"Fine by me," Sonic said, tugging the comforter up tighter around his chin. "Not like I plan on moving anymore tonight anyway."
"Yeah, I'm officially sick of winter, and it doesn't technically even start until tomorrow," Scourge grumbled. He was trying to burrow deeper into the warm pile of blankets he was under, but he couldn't really do that without snuggling closer to Sonic, which he didn't really want to do. Just because Tails had called it a "get along comforter" didn't mean he had to like it. He was really starting to get fed up with the cold.
"Guess that settles that, then," Zonic shrugged. He pulled a chair over close to the fire, sitting down with his legs crossed underneath him and his hands stuffed into the sleeves of his sweater. "Camping in the living room it is, then."
"Yeah… sorry Z," Sonic chuckled. "I feel bad, we invite you over for the week and then this happens, and you're basically stuck here with us 'til New Year's."
"No, it's okay!" the No Zoner said. "It's not like this is your fault or anything, I don't even mind. Besides, I like being here."
"Aw, well we like havin' you here, pal!"
"Chaos, you two are saps," Scourge rolled his eyes. "If yer gonna keep goin' like this, I need a drink. Be right back," he said, exiting the warmth of the blankets and shuffling into the kitchen, where he had left his bottles of eggnog and rum.
"Pft, like he's not a sap too when he wants to be," Sonic snorted.
A minute later, Scourge came back, followed by Tails, who was holding a flashlight. "Alright, so the stovetop runs on gas and not electricity, so we can still use it even without power," the fox said. "So we might not be able to cook everything we wanted to, but since almost all of the prep is already done, we can still get some warm food going."
"Sweeeeet," Sonic smiled up at him. "I'm starving after all that work we did today."
"Oh, good!" Zonic said. "You going to need any help in there?"
"Yeah, actually. How about we finish up the food and then play a board game or something? Something low-tech?" the fox asked.
Scourge sipped the drink in his hands, leaning against the door frame to the kitchen. "Do you even have anything low-tech in this joint?"
"Uh…" Sonic thought for a moment. "Monopoly and books."
"Oh man," Zonic shook his head. "I don't know if the four of us can survive a game of Monopoly. You two can't even talk about the weather without turning it into a competition."
Sonic grinned slyly. "Is that… a challenge?"
Z's head shook even more furiously. "No, no, Chaos no-"
"Tails!" the speedster said, standing up with his blankets draping all around him. "You get that food on the stove, I'll try and find Monopoly. We're doing this."
Zonic groaned loudly, slumping down in his seat. Scourge laughed as Sonic sped upstairs to begin his hunt. "Z, you sure you don't want any nog, bro? I have a feelin' I'm gonna have to down a lot of it to survive this."
"... Get me a glass."
"WOO! Aw yeah, let's get the party started! Now it's solstice, haha!"
ooo
One board game hunt, a small but hot dinner, and several drinks later, they all sat around the coffee table in the living room, close to the roaring fire, Monopoly spread out in front of them. They'd been playing for about an hour now, all the properties had been bought up, and houses were being built. To everyone's chagrin, Scourge was winning handily.
"Welcome welcome welcome, to Bumfuck Island!" the green hedgehog laughed maniacally as Sonic landed on one of his properties.
"Okay, I have three questions," the heroic speedster said calmly, his eye twitching. "One. Why did you feel the need to rename all of the properties you own? Two. Why did you decide they all should be brothels? And three. Why Bumfuck Island?!"
"They're not all whore houses, y'know," Scourge said defensively, shrugging his shoulders. "One's a high-class Italian restaurant."
"Which is the front for a brothel called the Spicy Meatball," Sonic rolled his eyes.
"It's what the customer wants," the slightly-drunken hedgehog reasoned. "Now pay up, Blue."
"Fine, how much do I owe ya?"
"For one quality bumfucking, that'll come to… $750."
"I don't want a quality bumfucking!"
"Well, you shouldn't have come to Bumfuck Island."
"Scourge," Zonic said, interrupting their business negotiations. "Are you doing this just to see how many times you can get Sonic to say the word 'bumfuck'?"
"Yes. Yes I am."
"Okay, just checking," the cop nodded. "Continue."
"Z!" Sonic shrieked, as the No Zoner started laughing. "You traitor! Get him to stop!"
"Hmm, not sure if I want to," Zonic smirked. The Prime Zoner seethed in rage.
"I thought you people were my friends," he said angrily, shaking his head as he counted his money. He barely had enough to cover the rent. He slammed the bills down in front of Scourge, who picked them up and began counting. He had a huge grin on his face.
"Thank you for your patronage," he said, extremely satisfied. "We hope to see you again soon. Oh, and you rolled doubles dude. Go again."
"Alright, fine," Sonic groaned, rolling the dice again. He hoped he didn't land on another heavily-upgraded property, he didn't have the money to pay the rent. He moved his piece ahead and… "Oh no."
"Welcome welcome welcome to Bumfuck Bayjou! Would you like the classic bumfucking, or our specialty Jambalaya Jamboree?"
"AAHHHH!"
"I'll take that as a yes. One Jambalaya Jamboree, comin' right up!" Scourge laughed. Sonic screamed, stood up, threw all of his paper money at Scourge, and left the room.
"So," Tails said, collecting the dice. "I guess that means it's my turn."
The game lasted a painfully long time. Between Tails's cunning, Zonic's tactical planning, and the fact that no one in their right mind wanted to land on Scourge's properties, they were evenly matched. Eventually, Tails was declared the winner, partially due to the fact that he never once had to utter the name of one of Scourge's more colorful properties.
The game was soon packed up and tucked away, no one wanting to touch it again for a long while. It wasn't terribly late, but the lack of light was causing the four to become drowsier than they would be otherwise. That, and the warm blankets definitely helped. The alcohol that the two alternate dimension hedgehogs were drinking played a hand too, though Scourge was definitely drinking more.
"Man," Sonic said with a yawn. "Normally I have no problem staying up til midnight. That's when Tails and I usually do presents. But that was exhausting."
Scourge suddenly coughed and sputtered on his drink, quickly setting the glass down and fighting to compose himself. "Shit," he wheezed. "I totally fuckin forgot, I'm such an idiot!"
"Forgot what? Presents?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah… Forgot that was even a thing people did," the green one said, tilting his head away from the others. "I mean, this… may or may not be my first real solstice. I'm a little rusty."
"Ah, don't sweat it, dude. It's cool."
"It ain't cool! Aren't presents, like, a big part of this whole thing?" Scourge asked, his voice raised and sounding stressed. His brow was deeply furrowed, and his fingers squeezed tight around his mug of spiked eggnog. "Chaos, this is basic shit, I should know this."
"It's fine!" Tails said with a smile. "Presents are just, like, the icing on the cake anyway. It's really fun to shop for people and to see their reactions when they open up their gifts, but it's not mandatory."
"Yeah, but it's still expected, right?" Scourge sighed.
"Scourge, don't worry about it," Zonic said, resting his elbows on the table and leaning forward. "Honestly, being able to spend time with all of you over the holidays is good enough for me."
The green hedgehog rolled his eyes. "Again: you're a total sap, Z."
The cop looked down at the mug in his hands, moving it so the liquid swirled around. "Well, I gotta say this stuff while I can. I've already lost my family twice, and I barely got to say anything either time. So…" He hunched up his shoulders as the conversation went quiet. Though the No Zoner had been speaking rather casually, his words held a dark weight to them. "Uh, sorry to kill the mood like that."
"Nah, it's okay," Sonic said quietly. "This time of year's supposed to be all about family." He exhaled, the cool air feeling heavy in his lungs. He shared a glance with Tails. The corner of his mouth quirked upward, and he winked. "Y'know what? To hell with it, let's do presents now."
Zonic's eyes widened. "Uh, shouldn't we wait until tomorrow?"
"Who cares what we should or shouldn't do? There's no solstice rule book. I want to give you guys your presents now, so why not do it now?" Sonic's grin stretched across his whole face, and he pushed himself up to his feet while trying to keep his blankets draped around him like a cape. "I'm gonna go get 'em, be right back."
He turned and started to head upstairs as Tails stood up, too. "I hid mine in the lab, lemme grab those too!" he exclaimed, hurrying towards the basement stairs.
"Ah, jeez," Zonic chuckled sheepishly, hiking up his blanket around his shoulders. "Well, I guess we're doing gifts now." He scooted over to where his luggage sat a few feet away, the bags not having moved much since he arrived. He zipped one open and started pulling wrapped packages out of it one by one.
Scourge huffed, feeling awkward. He wasn't sure what he should do while he waited for the others, other than think about how big of an idiot he was for forgetting to buy gifts. Sure, this was his first real solstice celebration since he was a kid, but he knew how the whole thing was supposed to go. He didn't have much of an excuse, other than the fact that he never had friends to buy presents for before. Not even just friends- the other two hedgehogs had just been throwing around the word family. He held tightly onto his mug, rubbing his thumbs over the smooth ceramic as his mind fumbled over the word. It might've been the strong eggnog he'd been drinking, but he felt a little bit warmer inside.
After a minute, everyone reconvened back at the coffee table in the living room, and started handing out the colorful packages. Tails brought up some extra flashlights so it would be easier to see, and that really helped reading the labels on the presents. Soon, everyone had their presents sitting in front of them, just ripe for being torn into. Scourge stared at his for a moment longer than everyone else, processing that 'These people genuinely like me enough to give me stuff even though I'm a piece of shit who didn't get them anything, why, I don't deserve this, what the fuck.' He didn't dwell on that for long, though, and soon started ripping into his gifts like everyone else.
Probably the funniest gift of the evening was a DVD that Z gave to Sonic; apparently the Zone Cop had found an alternate dimension where Shadow was an actor and had starred in some horrible romcoms. Sonic had to promise not to let the striped hedgehog know anything about it, but chances of the DVD actually remaining a secret were pretty low. Other notable gifts were a new screwdriver for Tails, since he kept misplacing his, a Chao in Space box set for Zonic which included the extended editions of all three movies (somehow he hadn't seen the sequels yet, so getting the fancy set of all three got him yelling excitedly), and a thick winter jacket for Scourge. He immediately put it on, his thin leather jacket not doing much good to protect him from the cold that was seeping into the workshop.
Scourge took another sip of his eggnog (he'd lost count of how many glasses he'd had. Oh well, it wasn't the holidays if he wasn't hungover) and started unwrapping the last gift- Tails's present to him. It was thin and rectangular, but it didn't feel like a book or anything he expected from the brainy fox. He peeled the colorful paper away to reveal a picture frame, with a photo already inside. It was of the four of them, Sonic, Tails, Zonic, and Scourge; but two others were in the picture as well. The younger Sonic and Tails were there, front and center, waving to the camera. The three older hedgehogs were more towards the back, laughing at something, and Tails's head was in the bottom corner. He must've taken the photo selfie-style. "Whoa…" the green hedgehog whispered quietly, inspecting the picture closely. "I didn't know you got a picture of all of us… when'd you take this?"
"I think it was the day after you guys got back from the hospital," the fox said with a small smile. "Do you like it?"
Sonic and Zonic leaned in to get a better look at the picture as Scourge nodded. "I… Yeah, I do. This is really somethin', kid…"
Zonic looked up at Scourge and saw that his eyes were starting to get misty. "Dude… Are you crying?" he asked with a knowing smile.
"I'm… I'm so…" the green hedgehog choked as a tear leaked from his eye. "I'm so drunk," he eventually said, hiccuping as the other three laughed. He laughed along with them, trying to compose himself. "Seriously, this eggnog is now like, 2% eggnog, 98% rum."
"I think you've reached your limit, Scourge," Sonic smirked, reaching to take his glass away from him.
"I know my limit!" the Moebian insisted. "And it was two glasses ago." He took the glass back and took another sip, scooting away from Sonic who was reaching to grab the glass back. "No, no, no c'mon dude c'mon," he said, trying to take additional sips as Sonic climbed on top of him to wrestle back the eggnog. It was hard to drink when he was giggling.
Zonic laughed and turned to Tails. "How frequently does this happen?"
"Not often, surprisingly. From what I've gathered, he usually saves getting this drunk for special occasions."
"Ah. It's weird to see him so… giggly."
"Yeah," the fox nodded. He smiled. "Wanna film it?"
"What?" Scourge blinked. He was now lying down, glass of eggnog held carefully over his head and out of Sonic's reach. "Wait, film what? Tails? Where you goin'?!" he yelled. Tails darted out of the room to get his camera while the other two hedgehogs laughed. "What, what's so funny?!" Scourge asked, sitting up. He was trying to be angry, but the laughter of his dimensional counterparts was contagious, and he started laughing again too.
Tails returned with his camera, and they had an impromptu photo shoot. It didn't last very long, the camera's flash blinding everyone and making them see spots, but the fox had taken enough pictures that he was satisfied. As evidenced by Scourge's reaction to his present, pictures of all of them together definitely came in handy.
Everyone started feeling tired after that, the darkness seeping into their bones and making their eyes droop. Sonic and Tails pulled the couch out into a bed, and discussion began over who should sleep where. Because of the cold, the floor was definitely not preferable, and the one or two chairs in the room weren't much comfier to sleep on while all bundled up. Everyone wanted to sleep on the pull-out, so… they did. It was big enough for everyone, and piling up all the blankets on top of one another and sharing them would make it feel much cozier.
"It's a good thing I'm too drunk to protest this," the green one said, crawling under the massive heap of blankets in between Zonic and Tails. "I can't believe we're actually fucking huddling together for warmth."
Tails yawned sleepily, pulling the covers up to his chin. "Desperate times call for desperate measures," he hummed. His arms and legs were pulled in close to one another, trying to get warm and comfortable.
"Yeah right," Sonic laughed, not yet piled in with the others. He was adding some more wood to the fireplace, making sure it the fire would be enough to keep them warm but also wouldn't burn the house down if they all fell asleep while it was still burning. "You're not that drunk, Green. I've seen you way worse than this."
"Name one time!"
"The time you chugged an entire bottle of champagne and then stole the President's fondue pot," the speedster immediately retorted.
"... Touche," Scourge grumbled. Now that he was lying down, he was even sleepier than he had been previously. He couldn't move much without hitting his friends on either side of him, so he turned over onto his side and started getting comfortable. The fresh blankets weren't that warm yet, so he shivered inside his jacket. Maybe everyone huddling together, while silly, would be beneficial after all.
Before even muttering a 'goodnight,' Zonic was fast asleep next to him. The Zone Cop had passed out almost as soon as he had put his head on his pillow, already warm enough from his clothes and from the fire that he didn't have any trouble.
Sonic closed the grate to the fire and then burrowed into the blankets, taking up the spot on the end next to Tails. "Night guys," he said, his voice hushed.
"Goodnight," Tails whispered. Scourge merely mumbled incoherently as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
ooo
When Scourge woke up the next morning, he was surprised to find that he was pleasantly warm. The air in the house was chilly and bitter, but under the pile of blankets, it wasn't so bad. Even though the fire in the fireplace had burnt itself out, the heat coming off of his friends next to him had been enough for him to sleep comfortably.
He didn't move when he woke up, only blinking his eyes open. Sonic, Tails, and Z were all still fast asleep, each of them curled up. Sonic and Tails were practically on top of one another, the fox's namesakes were covering everyone like blankets; Zonic's head was pressed into the green one's shoulder, and Scourge's arm was pinned underneath the cop, though not uncomfortably. He was surrounded by friends on either side, sandwiched between them. He kind of liked the feeling, it being a stark contrast to the solstices he had as a kid. Those were all very formal, stuck-up, stiff. Fake smiles and forced kindness all around. But this, all of them bundled up on the pull-out couch, piled on top of one another, was so informal and spontaneous, so inherently close and friendly… He never thought this would be a scenario that he would get used to, but here he was.
Scourge squinted his eyes as bright morning light, enhanced by the fresh snow outside, shone in through the windows. His head hurt, a slight pounding in his temples. He was hungover, but it didn't feel too bad. He assumed it would be worse, considering all he had to drink the night before. He chuckled quietly to himself. It was like a solstice miracle.
"Mmm…" Tails hummed next to him, stretching and shifting as he started to wake up. He yawned, bearing his sharp canines, and he scrunched up his shoulders to pull his jacket up closer around his chin.
"Hey squirt," Scourge whispered as Tails opened his eyes. They were pressed close together, so they couldn't quite look at each other directly, but they could feel each other moving and see out of the corners of their eyes.
"Hey," Tails whispered back, his voice raspy from sleep. He smiled. "Happy solstice."
"Happy solstice." The blanket shifted around him as Tails moved, coming away from his chin. A little bit of cold air snaked in, and he shivered. "Damn, i don't wanna move now. It's cold out there," Scourge murmured, pulling the blanket back up a little closer to his chin. "And it's so warm in here…"
"Yeah," Tails nodded a little bit. "It's a shame I have to go to the bathroom."
"Noooo," the hedgehog moaned as Tails started to sit up carefully. Tails climbed out from under the covers, doing his best not to move them too much so he didn't let out the warmth. Scourge whined more as he clambered to the floor. "Fuuuuck so much of that warmth came from yoooouuu. You're so soooooft…"
The fox snorted. "I"ll be back in a few, you big baby." He rolled his eyes as he quickly shuffled off, heading up the stairs to the bathroom.
Sonic began to stir, feeling his younger brother's absence. He rolled over, shortening the gap between himself and Scourge. "Hmmm… five more minutes…" he mumbled, his words stumbling out of his sleepy mouth. He snored loudly, the sound waking him up the rest of the way. "G'mornin'," he said to anyone who was awake.
"Yo," Scourge said sleepily. "Uh, happy solstice."
Sonic smiled a little bit, his eyes still closed. "Heh, happy solstice, Green. You sleep okay last night?"
"You didn't hear me screamin' did you?" Scourge deadpanned. Sonic opened his eyes, the two of them sharing a knowing look for a moment. Scourge rolled his eyes and looked back up at the ceiling. "Nah, I slept fine. Fun fact, you don't dream when you're drunk."
"Huh. Never knew that."
"Well, that's 'cause you don't drink."
"Ding ding ding, we have a winner," Sonic said, trying to do an announcer voice but failing miserably.
"Guuuuys," Zonic whined, his head resting on Scourge's shoulder and tucked underneath his cheek. "Shhh. M'tryin' to sleep."
"I thought you were used to wakin' up early, Cap," Scourge chuckled, the movements of his chest jostling the No Zoner slightly.
"It's a holiday, fuck off," he mumbled, clearly still half asleep. Sonic snorted at the bluntness of the comment, the sound coming out unintentionally loud. Z groaned, burying his face deeper between Scourge and the pillow.
"Chaos, dude, personal space," Scourge laughed. "I can only tolerate so much. At least buy me dinner first."
"I'll buy you a dinner," Zonic said in a vaguely threatening tone. He stopped shifting, and a snore rumbled out from his lips a moment later.
"Aw, look, he likes you," Sonic smiled.
"Gods, shut up." Scourge reached his arm across the gap between him and Sonic so he could lazily slap his twin in the face.
"Ow, help, I'm being assaulted," he said, waving blindly with one arm to try and block the onslaught of slow, weak attacks.
Of course, Tails picked that moment to return to the living room, rubbing his cold hands together. The rest of the house was still freezing, after all, and while the water was still running, it was all ice cold. "Scourge, stop attacking Sonic," he lightly scolded, walking over to the couch and leaning on its arm rather than crawling back under the covers.
Sonic looked up at him, smiling. "Hey, broseph, happy solstice. You gonna get back in here?"
"Can't," Tails shook his head. "If I do, I'll never get out again. The warmth ensnares me."
Scourge snorted. "Yer not the only one. Chrome Dome woke up and passed right back out again."
"Let him sleep, he's been busy. Poor guy still had to work yesterday, don't forget."
"He's always at work, he shouldn't get any special treatment fer that," Scourge raised an eyeridge at him. "And besides, he's holding my arm hostage."
"Guess you're stuck then," Sonic smirked. "So long Scourge, it was nice knowing you." He gently rolled out of bed, recoiling only slightly when his bare legs hit the cold air. He stood, the chilliness waking him up like a good slap to the face. "Ooh, yikes, it's freezing out!"
"I know, it's shocking," said Tails. "C'mon, let's see what we can cook up for breakfast. Bye Scourge. I'll miss you," he lazily waved to the green hedgehog as he turned on his heels and headed towards the kitchen.
"Wait, no, don't leave me here!" Scourge fake-screamed, reaching his free hand out towards them, but the two brothers snickered as they walked away. "Hey Tails, I thought you were gonna fix the generator today?" he called after them.
"Breakfast now! Generator later!" the fox's voice called back.
The green hedgehog groaned. He turned his head to look at Z, who hadn't moved an inch. The dude was fast asleep, and it was impossible to tell he had woken up at all by looking at him. Scourge could move him, but he was happy under the heavy blankets as it was, and Zonic's head was keeping him warm. Plus with all the excitement the night before, it was no surprise the cop wanted to sleep in. He didn't really want to wake him up. 'Okay,' he thought, 'I'll wake him up when my arm starts to get sore or somethin'. That's fair enough.' He got comfortable again, readjusting the blanket that had shifted when Sonic and Tails got up. If he was staying in bed, he might as well be comfy.
About twenty minutes later, Tails poked his head back in the living room to call Scourge in for breakfast, only to find that he'd fallen asleep again. The fox rolled his eyes and considered pulling his phone out of his jacket pocket to take some pictures of Zonic and Scourge snuggled up so close, but he already had plenty of blackmail photos of Scourge from the night before. It would've made a nice picture though, the two alternate dimension hedgehogs sleeping so soundly. Instead, he walked over to the side of the couch and gave them both nudges to wake them up. "Hey, sleepyheads. Get up, we got breakfast almost ready to go."
"Whuh?" Zonic said eloquently, squinting and letting off a yawn as he woke up.
Scourge blinked, squeezing his lids shut hard and rubbing them with his fingers. "Ah shit, guess I fell back asleep," he mumbled. He wriggled his arm free, no longer worried about waking Zonic up, and rolled over onto his stomach. "FREEDOOOOOM," he cheered, his voice sleepy and sounding somewhat out of it.
"Oops, sorry," Z smiled. "We'll be right there, Tails," he said, gently waving the fox off with one hand as he rubbed at his eyes with the other. "Gods, I feel like I've been asleep for ages."
"S'not that late," Scourge said, his face half buried in the pullout mattress. "S'probably like, ten or somethin'."
"It's late for me," the cop chuckled. He stretched himself out, stiff from staying in one position for so long. He slowly pushed himself upright, trying to keep as much of the blanket on top of him as possible as he moved. "Uuugghhh coooooollldddd..."
"Good t'know yer just as articulate as the rest of us first thing in the morning."
"But… you just used the word articulate. To say how unarticulate you are."
"Inarticulate. Grammar, bitch."
"Chaos, shut up," Z said with a laugh, taking his pillow and tossing it at Scourge's head, where it connected with a flump. "C'mon, let's get breakfast."
"Ugh, fine! Jeez, I can't be the smart guy fer once?"
ooo
Once breakfast was over, it was time to fix the generator. Unfortunately, getting to the generator would require moving a lot of snow, and a tree. So it quickly became a group project, with Zonic and Tails breaking out the shovels while Sonic and Scourge spindashed the tree into pieces, making it easier to carry off. Even though the snow from last night had stopped, it was still bitterly cold out, so everyone was bundled up to their noses. The working conditions were pretty miserable, to say the least.
After enough of the snow in the back of the house had been cleared and the tree had been broken up and hauled off (or, angrily kicked off the side of the plateau), Tails could get to work on the repairs. Zonic stayed to help him, citing the couple of times he'd fixed up a car's engine as reference. The other two started shoveling out the front of the house, a job that had to be done at some point anyway.
Sonic and Scourge couldn't see the holes they'd made in the snow last night at all, and they couldn't find the second felled tree either. The snow had completely covered up everything, reaching about two and a half feet tall in some places. For a couple of hedgehogs who weren't even 3'5, that was pretty tall. They did their best clearing the snow away from the front door and making a path to the stairs at the edge of the plateau, but it wasn't easy. Even when they decided to make it into a competition, they didn't fare much better, and wound up just tiring themselves out. They'd cleared away the area around the door and made a little bit of a path before they both flopped down in the snow, making deep imprints and tiredly laughing as their breath clouded up around their faces.
It wasn't long before they heard a revving, a sputtering, and then an engine running coming from the back of the workshop. They could hear Zonic and Tails cheer as the lights inside flickered on, one by one. "Wooo!" Sonic yelled so they could hear. He clapped as loud as he could in his thick snow gloves, hoping the noise reached them through the snow that surrounded him on all sides.
"It's about damn time!" Scourge shouted, clumsily trying to climb out of the snow. In the process of getting up, he spilled a bunch of the powder into the path that he and Sonic had just cleared out, and he grumbled angrily at it. "Y'know, I think I hate snow," he said, looking at Sonic's feet, which was the only part of him that stuck out of the snowbank.
"It just sucks to shovel it, that's all. Snow's no fun if it's in the way." The blue hedgehog sat up, shaking the powder out of his quills. "It's perfectly fun to play in though. For example…" He quickly gathered up a handful of snow and launched it at Scourge, who caught on quickly enough that he was able to dodge.
"Nice try!" he laughed, shoving his hands in the tall pile of snow next to Sonic. He pushed the top of the pile off, burying Sonic in a small avalanche. He cackled loudly as his good twin yelped, struggling to escape the freezing pile.
By the time Zonic and Tails had trudged around to the front of the house to see what all the commotion was about, Sonic had dug himself out and tackled the laughing Scourge to the ground, the two wrestling in the deep snow and almost completely hidden from view. Keeping their distance, the two newcomers shared a sly look and ducked down into the snow, starting to pile it up in front of them to create a wall. It was easy when the snow was already piled so high, and their footsteps had already left narrow trenches through the powder. Working quickly, Zonic packed in the wall while Tails started scooping together snowballs.
Once Sonic and Scourge realized they were there, the twin speedsters looked up, poking their heads out of the hole they had created in the snow. "FIRE!" Zonic and Tails shouted, and a barrage of snowballs started flying out from behind the modest fort wall. They screamed in a vain attempt to scramble away, getting pelted in the heads and chests with the well-packed snowballs.
"Alright, bring it on!" Sonic said, realizing that this meant war. He curled up into a spindash and started revving in place, sending snow flying at his attackers like he was a snowblower.
Their snow war went on for quite a while, considering how cold it was outside. They fought until it was almost lunch time, and by the end of it all they were freezing, wet, and sore from taking so many hits. Thankfully, by the time they all piled back inside the workshop, the heat had turned on and had started to warm the place back up. They huddled around the radiator in the kitchen, putting their hands and feet right up next to it. They were laughing, shivering, teeth chattering. Overall, a great start to the holiday, and a fantastic way to kick off the winter.
The trains still weren't running, and likely wouldn't start up again until at least the next day because of all the snow and the holiday. Being trapped in the workshop wasn't ideal, but it wasn't like any of them had any plans otherwise. There were definitely worse places to be stuck in, and worse company to be stuck with. But they would live. Just as long as they didn't touch Monopoly again, because if Monopoly got brought back out, someone was going to actually die. Probably Scourge. Definitely Scourge. Oh well, at least if he was going to die a horrible board game related death, he would die happy.
Notes: Okay so that Monopoly scene is based 100% on a real life game of Monopoly I played with my friends. I was Scourge. Bumfuck Island was real, and its reign of terror was swift but forever damaging. I may have been the first to go bankrupt, but I won through sheer terror.
you have no idea how hard it is to come up with plot devices to negate Zonic's teleportation belt. That thing's too powerful. Z needs to be nerfed I stg
I'm gonna do some shout outs, yeah? There's some peeps I need to shout out, and I might as well do it here. Namely, Hikareh and Yamiii for being the best Sonic fic buddies a girl could have! Please please please check out our Sonic Harry Potter AU, which is really more of a Sonic's World has Magic and he Goes to School AU. We've been working super hard on it, it's our baby, and one of our most recent posts on it has plenty of Knuckles angst. So really, why wouldn't you check it out? ;) The AU lives on tumblr at SylvaniaSchoolofMagic, and we're hoping to bring it to FFN at some point. But if you could go over there in the meantime and check out our stuff, it would mean a ton to us!
Shout out to the SSS Chat for keeping me sane during finals season and providing some of the best brainstorming I've had in years! The chat lives on Discord now and we're open to new members! Send me a PM if you're interested in joining, we have a lot of fun over there. Recently we've been dabbling with a Hipster AU and it's getting pretty sweet.
Shout out to reformcdking on tumblr! They run an ask blog featuring their interpretation of my interpretation of Scourge (apparently I'm the go-to for redeemed!Scourge? which, if that's my legacy, I'll fucking take it, that's awesome) and it's pretty cool! Their blog has definitely made me smile, so head over there and send Scourge some questions! (disclaimer, I haven't really talked to them aside from when they asked for permission to use my art and stuff, so we haven't talked about Scourge. Their headcanons about him are theirs and theirs alone! Don't expect all of them to carry over into my stories lol)
And lastly, shout out to StrawberrySeamstress on AO3 and her story The Station Square Experiments! She messaged me on tumblr a little while back saying I inspired her to publish her fic, and I've been reading it and it's really good you guys. It also deals with redeemed!Scourge, and Amy's a spy working for gun, and they wind up being friends and helping each other out and oh man it's good, I've been digging it. It definitely deserves more views so I encourage you guys to go and take a peek!
Aaaand that's it. I mean, unless I pimp out my own tumblr. Go hit me up on my blog, Katiemonz, if you wanna talk headcanons or anything! I've been taking some writing prompts (mainly about Scourge... you people like your Scourge lmao) and it's been an all around good time.
Thank you all for all your support this year! I'm literally only writing these short stories because I want to, because I'm not ready to give up these characters just yet, so it's really amazing that so many of you decided to keep reading even when there's no central plot :) Just bros being bros. Cuddly, huggy, so-close-they're-family bros. So have a very happy holiday, and I'll see you all in the new year with a new chapter! A much shorter chapter. Jesus. How did I do monthly 10k+ chapters before? Shit dude