It was mid-morning, the day after Sonic had received the red shawl gift that Amy had given him, after Sonic got the red shawl from Amy he hadn't taken it off for the rest of the evening, only taking it off when he went to bed that night. It was a nice morning, the sun danced through the branches of the tree, birds chirped their morning songs and Tails was in his workshop tinkering with one of his inventions, something he did almost every morning. Tails always liked to start off the day with a little bit of tinkering or inventing, it helped get his mind into a productive mood.
But today was different about today, Tails found that out when he heard what sounded like an argument coming from the living room. Tails put down what he was working on and crept over to the entrance of the living room, not making his presence known but staying just hidden enough so that he could clearly hear whatever was going on, Tails saw Sonic, still wearing the red shawl Amy had gotten him, in a heated debate with Eggman and Shadow. "What are Shadow and Eggman here for?" "And why is Sonic so upset?" Tails thought as he leaned forward a little bit more to listen in on the conversation at hand. "I don't feel safe in my own house sometimes, how am I supposed to feel safe on the home turf of the person who cut my fucking arm off?!" Sonic demanded exasperatedly, frantically motioning to the stump where his right arm used to be, Sonic spun on his heel and turned away from the two, hugging himself, his ears bent down and his face twisted into a scowl.
Eggman and Shadow shared a look of worry, Eggman hesitated for a second before stepping up to Sonic and put a hand on his shoulder. "Sonic...I know you're afraid to go back to Earth, you have every right to be." "But if you testify against The President, it will greatly increase our chances of putting that monster away for a long time." "Besides, I am more then ready to do everything in my power to ensure that he will never harm you again, no matter the outcome of this situation." Eggman coaxed, Sonic's face softened and his arm dropped to his side as the mad doctor spoke, Sonic turned around to look up at Eggman, his ears lifting up slightly. "Promise?" Sonic asked feebly, "I promise." Eggman replied. Sonic looked at Shadow, then at Eggman and then let out a deep sigh, "Fine, I'll go back to Earth and testify against The President." Sonic grumbled, "But I want it to be quick, we get in, we do what we have to do and then we leave." Sonic said, his voice now tense.
"You're going back to Earth?" Tails asked aloud, stepping out from behind his hiding spot, all three of them were momentarily shocked, none of them knew that Tails was ever there, how much of the conversation did he hear? "Tails?" "I--how much of that did you hear?" Shadow asked, Tails looked down at his shoes nervously, hugging his two tails close to him. "I heard everything, sorry for spying on you guys. I was just curious..." Tails admitted, Tails stopped hugging his two tails and stepped towards Sonic. "If you're going to Earth, I'm coming too!" "I want to protect you from any danger!" Tails exclaimed eagerly, much to Sonic's horror. "Tails, you can't come to Earth with me, it's too dangerous!" "The last thing I need is you getting hurt!" Sonic protested, "But I've faced worse dangers before, I can handle it!" "Let me come, I'll be careful, I promise!" Tails protested, but Sonic shook his head no, "Tails, this is much different then any of our past adventures." "There's a real possibility you could die or get seriously hurt, and if we get into trouble on Earth, no one will come to save us and that could lead to a really bad situation." Sonic explained, Tails face dropped with disappointment and he crossed his arms sadly.
Sonic's walked up to Tails and bent down on one knee to be on the young fox's level. "Tails, your my little brother and I care about you more then anything, if you went to Earth and something terrible happened to you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself." "Please understand, I'm not doing this to be cruel, I'm doing this to keep you safe." "Okay little buddy?" Sonic said, "Okay..." Tails replied, still a little disappointed before hugging Sonic, Sonic hugged back.
*Later that night*
Sonic sped through the night air, leaving behind a blue streak behind him, stars dotted the dark purple sky, overshadowed only by the pale glow of the full moon. Sonic ran towards Eggman's HQ, the massive shadow of the mechanical fortress and the faint smell of oil crept into Sonic's senses, a familiar feeling. In the past he'd come to Eggman's lair hoping to foil the mad doctor's latest evil scheme, tonight he was coming as a friend. Sonic zipped up to the front door of the fortress and playfully knocked on the door, the massive metal door slid open with a soft creak. Sonic wasted no time running inside the massive base, he dashed down the metal, pipe-lined hallways for a minute until he reached Eggman's office. Eggman was sitting at his desk typing away at his computer.
"Hey doc!" Sonic said happily, Eggman swiveled around in his chair, "Sonic, your finally here." Eggman said, Sonic walked up to Eggman as Eggman turned back around in his seat and started to press buttons on his keyboard again. "Now that you're here, we can discuss the plan for when we go to Earth." Eggman said, pulling up a picture of a hotel on the screen, "Is that where we're all going to stay?" Sonic asked, "You're correct Sonic, the hotel is under the protection of G.U.N so security shouldn't be an issue." "You, me, Shadow and Rouge will all be staying there for a week, in our own private sector of the hotel, everyone will have their own room and the rooms will be right next to each other." Eggman explained, "Sounds cool to me." Sonic replied.
It was at this moment that Eggman realized that Sonic has never talked about his parents before or even acknowledged his parents. "Do your parents know what's going on?" "You've never mentioned them before." Eggman said to Sonic, Sonic blinked, giving Eggman werid look as his brain processed what the human just said. "My...my parents?" A very confused Sonic asked, before it clicked for him Sonic's face dropped, "Oh...I don't have parents, I'm an orphan." Sonic said sadly. "You're an orphan?" A confused Eggman asked.
"Yeah, I apparently had a dad and an uncle but they died way before I was born and my mom died giving birth to me." Sonic explained, "But don't you have any siblings?" Eggman asked, Sonic shook his head no, "I'm an only child." "I grew up in an orphanage, spending most of my time alone as a kid, I never even knew my parents names or what they looked like." Sonic explained, a hint of sadness in his voice. "Im sorry to hear that." Eggman replied, putting a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Thanks Eggman." "I'm just happy it's all okay now, I have my friends so I'm not alone anymore!" Sonic reassured.
Sonic and Rouge were loading the last of the stuff they needed into the G.U.N airship, Shadow and Eggman were inside the ship helping the captain with any technical difficulties they might be having while Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Metal Sonic were watching from the sidelines. Eggman and Shadow came out of the airship and walked over to Sonic and Rouge, "Alright, everything's good to go, the ship will be ready to take off in about 5 minutes." Eggman announced, "Alright, sounds good to me." Sonic sighed, trying to hide his unease. Going back to Earth was a nightmare come true but it was the only way to make sure he stayed safe from The President's wrath.
Sonic, Shadow and Rouge walked over to Tails, Knuckles and Amy while Eggman walked over to Metal Sonic. Sonic, Shadow and Rouge each got a hug from Knuckles, Amy and Tails, each of them wishing the three of them good luck. "Be safe on your journey." Knuckles said to Rouge, "Thanks Knuckie, we'll do the best we can." Rouge replied, "Don't hesitate to call us if you need anything." Amy said to Shadow, "We will, thanks for your concern." Shadow replied, "Be careful Sonic, I hope things turn out okay for you." Tails said to Sonic, "I'll be careful little buddy, I promise." Sonic replied before looking over to Amy, "I trust you'll take good care of things for me while I'm gone Ames?" Sonic asked Amy, fiddling with the gold brooch that held his red shawl in place, "I'll make sure everything will run smoothly." Amy assured the blue hedgehog. Meanwhile, Eggman was talking to Metal Sonic, away from the main group. "You're in charge of things while I'm gone Metal. Keep Orbot and Cubot from blowing something up and make sure Heavy King doesn't get into my laboratory, okay?" Eggman said, "I won't let you down down doctor." Metal Sonic said, giving Eggman a little salute, Eggman grinned and patted Metal Sonic on the head, "Attaboy Metal, I trust you." Eggman said. "The ship is ready to take off!" The captain of the G.U.N airship called out, everyone said their final goodbyes and boarded the airship.
*A few hours of flying later*
Rouge was in one of the bedrooms, sitting on her bed and looking out over the night sky through the port window in the bedroom, it had been afternoon when they left for Earth, now it was getting close to midnight. "Attention all passengers, the ship in beginning it's descent towards Earth, be prepared for touchdown." The monotone voice of the captain came up over the PA system.
Rouge got up from the bed and walked out of her room to find Sonic in the lounge of the airship, sliently looking out the small window port that overlooked the city below, Rouge walked over to Sonic and stood next to him, both of them wordlessly examining the city below. The city was actually quite beautiful at night, glittering like a sea of priceless diamonds in a dark cave, but it did little to comfort the bat tonight.
"How are you feeling big blue?" Rouge asked, Sonic let out a soft snicker but there was no joy in the sound. "A lot of things. Worry, fear, paranoia." "I just want to get this done and over with." "I just want this nightmare to end." Rouge nodded silently, it seemed like yesterday that Sonic was running around Mobius, annoying Shadow, going on adventures with his friends without a care in the world. Looking at Sonic now, Rouge could see that he was a much different person now. Sonic seemed so tired, so serious, so grown-up, if someone wanted to compare the Sonic of the past and the Sonic standing before her, they would be forgiven for thinking they were two different people.
"It's starting to come to an end, we just have to push through this final hurdle." Rouge said softly, Sonic turning to look at Rouge, a wary smile tugging at his lips. "Attention passengers, the ship is starting its descent now, please grab your belongings and prepare to disembark." "Thank you." The monotone voice from the PA system stated, Sonic let out a deep sigh, stepped away from the window port and steeled himself for whatever might be waiting for him on the ground below.