Sonic remained asleep all the way up until morning, when Knuckles' communicator started going off. He groaned, rolling over and clamping his ears shut.

"K-Knuuux, get it..." he slurred out slightly, trying desperately to go back to sleep.

Knuckles' eyes fluttered open. He groaned as well, but complied and answered the call.

"H-hello?" he said sleepily.

"K-Knuckles?" Tails said from the other line, his voice hesitant. "Did I wake you? I-I'm sorry, I... didn't know you were still asleep..."

"It's okay," Knuckles assurred him. "What's up?"

"Ah, well... I have some news about Sonic's situation, and I figured it'd be better if he heard it from you..." Tails responded.

Knuckles was worried by Tails' tone of voice. "O-okay, what is it?"

"...M-mgh, well... I don't know how to tell you this, Knuckles, but..."

There was a small sigh on the other end of the call. "It's not as easy to grow things as it is to shrink them. If I attempted to grow Sonic back, it wouldn't fix him. His body would become distorted and brittle; it wouldn't be pretty.

"So... tell Sonic I'm really sorry, but there's just... no way for him to grow back to normal."

Knuckles' heart sank as he processed Tails' words. "A-are...are you absolutely sure there's no way?" he asked quietly.

"I tried multiple theories and tests, but... no, nothing. I'm guessing that was Eggman's plan all along, knowing that I would get Sonic's hopes up, only to have to crush them..."

Knuckles sighed sadly. "O-okay...I-I'll tell him."

"Good luck..." The communicator made a beeping noise to indicate that Tails had hung up.

Sonic was still snuggled against Knuckles' chest, blissfully unaware of the conversation that had just taken place.

Knuckles was quiet for a while, letting Sonic sleep on. He almost dreaded the hedgehog waking up, knowing that he'd have to break his heart once he did.

To say he wasn't looking forward to it would've been a major understatement.

It wasn't long - probably too soon for Knuckles - before Sonic started to wake up. He stretched, then looked up to Knuckles, seeing that he was already awake.

"Mm? What's up, bud?" he asked with a small smile. "You look so serious..."

Knuckles hesitated nervously, wondering how he was going to break the news.

"W-well...y-you see, u-um...T-Tails called earlier..."

"Oh?" Sonic lit up for a second, but quickly realized Knuckles' tone, his expression falling back down.

"...And?"

Knuckles took a deep breath. His gaze was averted; he couldn't bring himself to look Sonic in the eye while telling him.

"...h-he said there's nothing he can do. I...I'm so sorry..."

"...Oh," was all Sonic said in response.
He paused, his face completely emotionless, then he dropped his gaze downwards, staring at his tiny hands.

"...I-I'm sorry..." Knuckles said again. He wished there was something he could do.

"Y-you've got nothin' to be sorry for..." Sonic muttered. "It's all on me. I knew it was a trap, but I went ahead anyway." He placed a hand to his head in frustration. "You must think I'm a total bonehead..."

"You're not a bonehead, Sonic."

Knuckles gently hugged-or at least, tried his best to hug-Sonic, careful not to hurt him.

"None of us saw this coming. P-please don't blame yourself..."

Sonic sighed, burying his face into Knuckles' fur. After a long pause, he looked up at him.

"H-heh, at least y'still love me... right?" he asked, the smallest of smiles on his face as he attempted to cheer himself up.

Knuckles smiled warmly. "Do you even have to ask?"

Sonic blushed. "N-no, guess not, heh..."

He leaned against Knuckles again, staring up at the ceiling. "But now I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I can't let the villagers see me like this! I'll be a laughing stock!"

His face went red in embarrassment at the sheer thought. "But I don't want them to think I've gone missing either..."

"Hmmm..." Knuckles wasn't sure what to do either.

After a moment of thought, he smirked. "Well, if they make fun of ya, I'll give them one of my specialty 'fist sandwiches' on the house."

"Heh, I know," Sonic said with a smile. "...Just wish I could deliver it myself."

Knuckles went quiet for a bit, not sure what else to say.

"...Hungry?" Sonic asked after about a minute of silence.

"...Yeah. Are you?"

"A little," Sonic admitted. "We might be able to go to Meh Burger, but... only if we had some way to hide me."

"You sure you want to do that?" Knuckles asked.

"I can't exactly stay here for the rest of my life, can I?" Sonic asked in reply.

"Yeah, that's true. So...what's the plan, then?"

Sonic thought for a moment on it. "Hm... well, y'know those menus that no one ever uses anyway? We could open one and stand it up; I could hid behind that..."

"But what if someone's standing on the other side?" Knuckles pointed out.

"Then I'll just have to hide fast enough," Sonic said.

"Well...alright. I'm sure you know what you're doing!" Knuckles winked.

Sonic nodded, though secretly, even he wasn't so sure about his plan; he trusted Knuckles to keep him safe though.

"Shall we, then?" Knuckles said with a smile.

"H-heh, yeah, let's go!" Sonic exclaimed. "...Oh, but it's probably a good idea to put me somewhere where no one'll see me."

Quickly realizing that Knuckles didn't have a place like that, Sonic looked around the room and pointed to a belt bag lying on the table. "Tails got me that recently, but we can use that. Just let the bag hang at your side and I'll chill there."

Knuckles nodded. He wasted no time in putting the belt on.

Sonic jumped onto the bag, being a very good jumper at his size due to his lightweight, then opened the biggest pocket and climbed in, poking his head out at the echidna. "I'm getting so many free rides on the Knuckles Express. You spoil me, bud," he teased cutely.

Knuckles couldn't help but grin at him. "Ready to go?"

Sonic nodded, then sunk lower into the bag to relax. Slowly, the reality of the situation was weighing on him, but he tried not to think about it; he didn't want to worry his boyfriend, after all.

"Then let's go!"

And with that, Knuckles walked outside of the shack, heading in the direction of Meh Burger.

Sonic began to hear the voices of the villagers, taking a slight look from the belt bag. He was careful, not wanting to be seen, so he quickly ducked back inside.

I thought that maybe they wouldn't look so big since I'm used to Knux by now, but... nope, still big, he thought to himself nervously.

Knuckles went ahead and ordered their food, not even needing to ask what Sonic wanted.

Sonic instantly smelled the chili dog that Knuckles had bought for him, though resisted temptation of popping out until the time was right.

Once they were seated at a table, Knuckles grabbed a menu and stood it up.

"Whenever you're ready," he whispered with a smile.

Sonic smiled, then jumped out from the bag and onto the table.

"Thanks, Knux!" he exclaimed, pulling off a small piece of the bun and nibbling on it.

"Mmph, I wonder how dangerous falls really are to me," he suddenly said. "I mean, not gonna test it, but I can jump really high, so maybe it wouldn't really hurt since I'm so lightweight?"

Knuckles shrugged. "Hopefully we won't have to find out," he chuckled nervously, before biting into his burger.

Sonic blushed a little, touched by how worried Knuckles got for him. "Heh, no worries. I know you'd catch me if I fell anyway."

The tiny hedgehog's ear twitched as he heard someone approaching the table, and he quickly jumped back inside the belt bag to conceal himself.

A female mobian walked up to Knuckles, leaning on his shoulder slightly and giving him a small wink. "Hi there, handsome."

"U-um...hi?" Knuckles replied nervously.

She giggled. "What's a strong guy like you doing eating here alone?"

Sonic crossed his arms from inside the belt bag, feeling jealous. Inwardly, he wanted to heckle the girl - Knuckles was his, after all - but he tried to keep himself under control to prevent himself from being seen.

"I-I'm not alo-" Knuckles stopped himself when he realized his slip-up.

Oops...

"Of course you're not, I'm here after all!" she exclaimed, not catching onto Knuckles' implications; then again, what sane person would?

She sat down next to him, giving Sonic a chance to get a good look at her. He had to admit; she wasn't half-bad looking.

"I'm guessing you remember me? I'm one of the girls you saved a few days ago during one of Eggman's attacks."

"O-oh...?"

OhmanhowdoIgetoutofthis?!

Sonic mentally resented Knuckles' capacity for kindness, wishing he would just send the girl away already, but still, that was one of the things he loved about him, so he just silently sulked and hoped for it to be over soon.

He got his wish, but not in the way he wanted. The sound of a laser went off and a nearby table was destroyed, Eggman showing up in his Egg Mobile.

"Come on now, I arrive and I get no welcome party? Where's all you villagers' sense of hospitality?"

He went straight-faced. "No, seriously, I thought we talked about this. I even told you I'd be here today. Anyway..."

He pressed another couple buttons on his Egg Mobile, zapping another table and summoning one of his giant robots to begin laying waste to the town.

The girl at Knuckles' side quickly fled in terror, though Sonic wasn't sure if he should've been relieved or not, given the circumstances.

"Eggman!"

Knuckles stood up, ready to fight. He felt a burning anger build up inside of him as he remembered what Eggman had done to Sonic. He wasn't about to let him get away with that.

Eggman turned to Knuckles with a grin. "Ah, Snubbles, how unpleasant it is to see you again!"

"That's 'Knuckles', you eggheaded blowhard," Sonic muttered in resentment, needing all his self-control so not to attack Eggman right then and there.

Eggman's eyes darted curiously down to the belt bag Knuckles was wearing, managing to recall that the echidna didn't usually wear one. A sly grin came to his face, and he quickly zapped the side of the belt bag, Sonic falling out from the shock of the sudden impact. A metal arm emerged from the Egg Mobile, snatching the hedgehog up and bringing him back to Eggman, well out of Knuckles' range.

"Sonic!" Knuckles gasped in shock and worry.

Then his face became one of pure rage.

"You put him down right now, Eggface!" he shouted.

The doctor smirked, ignoring Knuckles and snatching up the tiny hedgehog. Sonic squirmed, clearly uncomfortable; Knuckles was extremely gentle with him, but Eggman was anything but.

"Hello there, rodent. Enjoying my gift?" he asked.

"No! It sucks, like you!" Sonic shot back in retort, unable to hold himself back from insulting the man. "You're gonna be Eggdead by the time I'm done with you!"

Eggman only laughed at the hedgehog, then turned him around and held him out so that all the villagers could see him.
"Do you hear that? Your little hero thinks he can compete with me like this! Isn't that laughable?"

The villagers just stared at Sonic, some in confusion, some in shock at what Eggman had the ability to do.

Eggman cleared his throat, pressing a button on his machine, causing his large robot to whip out cannons from its arms. "I said, isn't that laughable?"

The villagers were quick to break out into laughter. It was forced, but it didn't matter to Sonic. He felt humiliated, curling in on himself and shielding his face.

Knuckles was actually shaking from his rage now. His fists were clenched so tightly that it hurt, but he didn't seem to notice. When he spoke again, his voice had taken on a deeper, almost scary tone.

"Put. Him. DOWN."

Eggman jerked his head over to Knuckles, a little shocked at the echidna's sudden rage-driven tone, but tried to keep his cool.

"As you wish!"

He immediately dropped Sonic, letting the hedgehog plummet to the ground.

Knuckles gasped in shock, but reacted quickly. He dove forward, not sure if he'd be able to catch Sonic in time, but he had to at least try.

Sonic, thankfully, landed in Knuckles' hands safely. He gazed at the echidna, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears, but he quickly averted his gaze, getting up and running off in a streak of blue light. He just wanted to get away from the village as fast as possible.

Knuckles stared sadly in the direction that Sonic had gone. Then he stood back up, and glared at Eggman again.

"If you ever even THINK about hurting him again..."
The way his eyes flashed said enough.

"Oh, be still," Eggman said, waving a hand dismissively. "Serves him right for falling for my trap so easily, no?" He grinned, ignoring the echidna and going back to terrorizing the town; he didn't find Knuckles to be a huge threat on his own.

That turned out to be what was probably the biggest mistake of his life-because that was the moment when Knuckles finally snapped.

Knuckles wasn't even sure what happened in those few moments; it was all a blur to him. One thing he knew, he could hear himself screaming incoherently, and the next, he had apparently trashed Eggman's robot and hurled the remaining scrap pile right at Eggman himself.

Eggman and his Egg Mobile had gone flying from the harsh throw, and Amy, Sticks, and Tails arrived on the scene, shocked at the display Knuckles had just shown.

"U-um..." Tails stuttered. "I-I mean, we heard the commotion and came to help but... it looks like you didn't need it..."

"Oh, you know, just had to take out some trash..." Knuckles muttered, still calming down from his explosion.

Sticks walked up to him, then pointed in the direction Sonic had gone. "I think he might be going towards the canyon if you want to...?"

"Thanks, Sticks."

Without another word, Knuckles ran off towards the canyon.

It wasn't easy finding Sonic, given his size and the largeness of the canyon. Still, because he was blue while nothing else in the canyon was, Knuckles found him within a decent amount of time.

He was curled up, shielding his face again, small sobbing sounds coming out of him.

Knuckles rushed over to him, gently scooping up the tiny hedgehog in his arms and holding him close.

"Shhh, it's okay..." he soothed.

Sonic stiffened at being picked up so suddenly and only relaxed slightly upon realizing who it was.

"K-Knux..."

Knuckles smiled sadly. "Hey."

Sonic looked away, embarrassed to be seen this way.

"...M-maybe this was a bad idea."

"What was?"

He was hesitant. "...Us."

Knuckles was shocked, and rather hurt by that. "What?! What do you mean?"

Sonic shook his head, trying to show that it's not what he meant.

"I-I can't even hug you like normal mobians can! You saw how easily Eggman grabbed me; I'm useless as a team member! B-besides, I know how much you love kids, b-but like we could even..."

His buried his face back into Knuckles' fur, hating that he was showing how self-conscious he could really be. "...like we could even adopt. Any kid would just make fun of me too. I'm just a paperweight..."

"D-don't say that!" Knuckles exclaimed in surprise. "I-I know things are different now, and it's probably not gonna be easy...b-but the thing is, I...I love you. I love you so much, and I don't care what size you are or whatever-you're still the same guy that I fell in love with."

He thought for a moment, then smiled. "And as for kids...yeah, it might be a little strange for them at first, but to be honest-and I'm talking from experience here-I think they'd just be glad to have a new family that loves them."

Sonic looked up at him in surprise, a few tears still visible on his face.

"I-I love you too..." He looked down sheepishly. "You... really think they'd like me?"

"Of course they would!" Knuckles replied as if the answer was obvious.

Sonic blushed, hiding his face into Knuckles' fur. "M-mrr, Knux..."
He's the only mobian on the planet who can make me all flustered like this.

Knuckles giggled, lightly nuzzling his boyfriend. "I love you," he said again.

Sonic blushed more, making incoherent squeaking noises. "I-I love you too..."

"So...feeling any better?" Knuckles asked.

He nodded, trying to relax. "A-a little..." He stared up at him. "Can you carry me home...?"

Knuckles smiled. "Sure!"

Sonic sighed softly, nuzzling Knuckles' chest. "I got lost easy; hard to remember where I can go when everything's so big..."

"Well, that's what the Knuckles Express is here for," Knuckles replied with a wink.

"Mmm..." Sonic climbed up Knuckles' chest, giving him a soft kiss. "You're a lot more than that, Knux."

Knuckles blushed heavily, giggling softly.

Sonic relaxed back on the echidna's hand. "I guess that's one cool thing; you carryin' me like this."

"So you don't mind it then?"

"No, I mind, but..." He smiled sheepishly. "You're really comfy is all."

Knuckles chuckled. "Well that's good."

"I just wish you didn't have to be afraid of hurting me," he complained. "I love that you're so worried for me, but.."

"I sometimes worried even before this happened," Knuckles confessed sheepishly. "Sometimes I'd have to restrain myself from punching whoever tried to hurt you into next Tuesday!" he added with a chuckle.

"Yeah, that sounds like you," Sonic said with a small smile. "I guess better me than you to be small like this."

"Even if it'd been me, I'd still punch anyone who dared to try anything!" Knuckles replied. He wasn't joking in the slightest.

Sonic laughed. "You'd be adorable. Bet I wouldn't be able to take my hands off of ya!"

Knuckles blushed. "A-adorable, h-huh?"

"Yup," Sonic said in a teasing tone.

"H-heh..." Knuckles blushed even further. "Guess I'm not so cute at this size though, huh?" he added with a laugh.

"Mmm..." Sonic blushed at the question, lightly petting a pat of Knuckles' fur, "doesn't really matter what size you are. You're still pretty handsome to me."

Knuckles didn't think it was possible to be any more flustered, but he was proven wrong. "A-aw, th-thanks, hehe..."

Sonic giggled, then tried to relax again; Knuckles' fur continued to be soft and comforting.

"Wonder what I'm gonna do now..." He gripped a patch of Knuckles' fur. "Not sure if I wanna step foot into the village again. Maybe it'd be better if I just become a stay-at-home hedgehog."

"Ya sure?" Knuckles asked. "I mean, I understand, but you shouldn't have to never go anywhere again..."

"W-well, maybe not stay-at-home forever, but..." He sighed wearily, not wanting to think back to his experience. "Not back to the village at least, for a long time..."

Knuckles sighed sadly, but he understood. "Alright, I won't force ya."

He smiled softly. "But...if you ever want to try again, I'll make sure nobody makes fun of you or anything."

"Mm, don't worry, I know," Sonic said. "Just need to let the memory pass a little." He almost teared up again, not wanting to remember.

"A-anyway, so... you don't mind staying with me forever? I know you said you liked being outside, but you're still welcome at my house. Plus... I could obviously use it..."

Knuckles' smile widened. "Forever and ever!"

Sonic blushed, but smiled and relaxed slightly against him. "Heh, I love you, y'know that?"

Knuckles blushed too. "H-hehe, I love you too."

The two then headed back to their house, remaining confident in their relationship despite Sonic's permanent size change; they'd work it out somehow.