Who Framed Sonic the Hedgehog

Chapter 7

A Little Refecting

*Warning from the author* This chapter has an insane amount of talking and pretty much no action. To avoid death by boredom it is advised to find a coffee or energy drink of sorts to keep you going. Thank you.

"This is exactly a 'hiding' place," Valiant mumbled.

Sonic looked over at the detective, he was clearly not amused by Dulcy's choice. "She's a Toon, Valiant. It's just how she rolls." Sonic turned to the dragon, "Thanks Dulcy, I owe you one!"

Dulcy waved, "Just remember to stick out your thumb if you ever need me," she called before racing off down the -thankfully- empty street.

Sonic waved her goodbye before looking back to Valiant, "We'd better get inside."

Valiant just mumbled some unpleasant words and something about needing a drink before the two of them stepped into the antique building.

Music blared over the speakers and the large room hummed with laughter as children and adults cheered and laughed at the large movie screen in the theater. It was one of the latest cartoons from Walt Disney; it had something to do with Goofy and a new health fitness program.

Sonic shifted awkwardly in his seat, on the nearly empty balcony. Normally he'd laugh along with everyone else, but for the first time in his life he found it really hard to smile.

This weekend had been downright awful. First Amy was 'cheating', and then the Weasels chased him through all the God forsaken streets of Hollywood. Shooting at him, throwing hazardous objects, a few of which made their marks. And then, if that wasn't enough after a practically sleepless night, he finds he is wanted for murder.

He sighed, not sure what to think anymore. He had been furious with Amy to be honest, and he wasn't sure if he could trust her anymore. He did have a drink the night before, did he get drunk? Sonic swallowed nervously, maybe he did kill Acme. He just couldn't remember everything. That night seemed so blurry now. No, Sonic shoved the thoughts away; he wasn't going to think about it. Right now he was just going to enjoy feeling alive.

He owed Valiant, that's for sure. It was definitely against his better knowledge to go to the ebony hedgehog earlier that day, even though he was the one who had taken the pictures. He hadn't exactly been what Sonic expected, far from the detective he once was famous for. But Valiant had agreed to help; he was a little rough at times, nearly drowned him in his sink, and was far from kind. But he saved him twice, Sonic owed him that much.

But still...

He glanced behind him slightly, staring at Valiant through the dimly lit room. The ebony hedgehog was glaring at the theater screen. Whether from irritation to the 'hiding' choice, or if that's just the way he looked naturally, Sonic wasn't sure. But he had noticed Shadow's distaste for Toons, even his distaste for him being a former Toon.

"Got to give to it Goofy huh?" Sonic laughed half heartedly, "Always knows how to take the ultimate hit." It was a weak attempt at conversation but he tried anyway.

"Hmmph," Valiant snorted, "The ultimate toon."

Sonic coughed, and looked forward again. So much for that attempt.

"So this is your pathetic earth movies."

Sonic glanced over and noticed that he and Valiant were not the only ones who snuck into the top balcony of the theater. There were two figures in the far right row. One was a silver, red and black mix wolf. He had long hair and what looked like grey eyes. The mild humor on his face was less from the film and more from the fascination of his partner. His 'friend' was harder to make out; he seemed to be wearing what looked like a Roman themed helmet and skirt of sorts. And he wore a pair of, surprisingly matching basketball sneakers. He seemed to be lacking a mouth because all Sonic could see where eyes.

"Yes, Marvin that is a movie."

"You earthlings seem so in awe of them?" 'Marvin' stated. His voice was nasally. "It confuses me Ekaru."

"Well," Ekaru said, "I guess you can say people are mesmerized by them."

"Mesmerized, like hypnotism?"

"That's not what I-"

"Then I shall join the movies!" Marvin declared, standing up, "And hypnotize you puny earthlings to do my bidding through television!"

"You can't just join the movies on a whim," Ekaru sighed, "You have to audition-"

"I already have an audition."

"What!" Ekaru's eyes narrowed, "How-is that why you were suddenly interested in the theater?"

"Yes, I met a funny talking rooster by the name of Foghorn Leghorn," Marvin stated proudly, "He offered to set me Marvin the Martian up for an audition."

Ekaru rubbed his eyes, "An alien from Mars joining the movies, what is this world coming to?"

"No different than your dream to become an agent for the top secret organization of G.U.N!"

"Shhh, Martian, its top secret for a reason!"

Marvin pointed towards the exit, "Come Ekaru!" he grabbed the wolf's arm, "Time to audition!" Then with a triumphant cry, he practically dragged the wolf out of the room.

An alien in the movies? Sonic thought, Now wouldn't that be a funny thought. He heard Valiant scoff behind him, clearly Valiant had been listening as well.

Alright, attempt number 2. Sonic turned to look back again, "You know Valiant, I couldn't help but notice how everyone here is laughing except you."

"You're not laughing."

"Well I'm talking with you,"

Valiant snorted, "Well I'm talking to you so I suppose that's the reason I'm not laughing."

"Quit dodging the Dip Valiant."

Valiant growled, "You know why."

"No I don't," Sonic sighed, "I don't know why you hate Toons so much Shads," He stared hard at the ebony hedgehog, "Why do you hate us?"

"Why do you hate us?"

Shadow stared silently at the hedgehog that looked intently at him, the bright green eyes looking for answers. He felt his stomach churn, and he found himself saying, "Do you really want to know?"

Sonic mutely nodded.

Shadow leaned back with a sigh, staring up at the ceiling, tuning out the rest of the world, "Well I guess we better start back at the beginning then." He bit his lips squinting as he tried to think back. "I wasn't born from an Animation family-"

"You were created." Sonic stated. It was almost common knowledge that an Animation was either born from two Animations, or produced by someone who put their heart and soul into their creations. The Creative Spark as some people had come to call it.

The original Animations either came from Toons who kept up with the times, or by the creative spark. Now -a- days however the majority were from birth of two Animations intent on starting a family. Someone able to create an Animation was extremely rare now. Walt Disney would be one of the more famous examples.

Shadow nodded, "Yeah, my creator, he wanted to make me...unique. An Animation no one had ever seen." He scratched his ear, "But he couldn't figure out what. And he still didn't know when I was created. I started out as a teen I think. I was rebellious from the start." He chuckled softly, "But I was always getting into trouble. That's when I met Maria."

"Maria?"

"Yes, Maria Valient," Shadow explained, "She was related to my creator in some way, I don't remember how. But she caught me picking a fight with some punks..." Shadow shrugged, "Surprisingly enough she didn't judge, and we hit it off pretty well. She'd drag me everywhere talk about everything."

"She sounds nice," Sonic said with a smile.

"Actually she was one annoying kid," Shadow said, "At least at the time anyway."

"But I'm guessing you changed your mind?"

Shadow thought for a moment before nodding, "Yeah I suppose I did. You know I guess as we got older we got closer. But the one thing we both really enjoyed was mysteries. She would sit there and talk about being a detective for hours, and hours. She's read books on crime solving, and made it her career plan once she graduated."

"Determined girl."

"You have no idea." Shadow sighed, "I guess that's what I found out what my creator made for me then. He gave me a choice of free will. I didn't have to go work for the movies, or the comics. I got to choose where I wanted to go. And I chose to go with Maria. I took on the last name Valiant, and that's how Valiant and Valient was born. We started out small, but we became pretty well known in a few years."

Sonic nodded, "Helping all those Toons and their mysteries."

"Yeah," Shadow said, "Maria and I liked going into Toon Town then. We thought it was a lot of laughs."

Sonic rested his chin on the back of his chair, "Then, but what about now?"

Shadow felt his throat tighten, and his stomach twist as the memory bubbled up, "Well, it was all because of a Toon."

"A Toon?" Sonic whispered.

"Yeah, we...We were solving a crime." Shadow sighed, "Someone robbed the First National Bank of Toon Town. Anyway this guy, got away with a zillion Toon Bucks," he snorted, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out his last bottle of scotch. "We chased the guy to and old building on Oscar St." He took a drink. "We went in, only he got the drop on us. Literally."

"How?"

Shadow swallowed hard, "He dropped a piano on us from fifteen stories. I got grazed pretty bad." He looked down, "When I woke up in the hospital three days later, I took one look at Rouge's face and I knew. Turns out Maria didn't even make it to the hospital. It hit her directly, she...she never had a chance." Shadow took another drink, "And I never found out who it was. All I remember, as I was losing consciousness, he was standing over me laughing, staring down at me with those soulless black eyes, with that high screechy voice."

He put the bottle back into his coat, " He disappeared after the accident, and I never went back into Toon Town after that."

Sonic leaned away, "Oh God, Valiant. No wonder you hate me- and all the other Toons so much." He looked off, "I'm so sorry."

Shadow sighed, "I don't hate you."

"Yeah you do,"

"No I don't."

Sonic gave him a sad look, "If a Toon killed my partner, I'd hate me too. I'm so sorry. "

Shadow rolled his eyes, "If I hated you I wouldn't help you. Now stop apologizing." .

Sonic stared at Valiant, still surprised by the pain he had been hiding for so long, "Alright," he said, "I'm sorry I said sorry so much,"

Shadow rolled his eyes before glancing at Sonic again. They both remained silent for a long time, distracting themselves with various happenings in the room. The cartoons, the laughter of children, that wolf from earlier, anything to ease the little tension they now carried. It had been a tough, if not painful conversation to confront. But Shadow could feel the pain seeping away again, no where near as unbearable as before. He didn't realize how much he needed to talk about it, and it had been to a Toon of all people. He smiled to himself softly then,Life had a funny way of fixing things because it seemed a large weight was suddenly gone.

And it felt good.

"How's your neck holding up?"

"Huh?"

Valiant pointed, Sonic tilted his coat collar down to see his fur and skin horribly marked by the effects of the Dip. Now that Sonic realized it, it hurt a lot.

"Oh it's fine, I'm a tough cookie."

"You sure about that?" Valiant asked with a raising of his eye brow, 'Because it looks pretty bad."

"Shad's I've been shot six times in the last twenty-four hours, A little Dip won't kill me."

Valiant's eyes popped out a little, "Shot? Where the hell have you been shot? And when?"

Sonic slipped off Valiant's ruined jacket to reveal bullet holes pelted all over Sonic's shirt underneath, a few were still wet with blood. "The weasels hit me a few times last night when they chased me around town.

"And you're not dead?"

Sonic smirked, "Nothing vital was hit. Besides even though Dip can kill me, I was still a Toon once you know. I'm a bit tougher than most Animations." Sonic put the coat back on, "Sadly I can't say the same for my shirt and your coat, looks like the Dip got it good."

"It's just a jacket," Valiant said with a shrug, "Still getting shot..."

"Yeah it hurts like hell," Sonic admitted, "But it won't kill me, and it's nothing a little pain killer and a drink won't fix."

Valiant smiled a little and held out his drink. Sonic gladly grabbed hold of it and took a long swig. "So much for cutting back," Valiant noted.

"Ehh..." Sonic said with a shrug and a smile.

Two hours later, they were both getting tired of dodging employee's and watching cartoons. But Shadow and Sonic didn't have anywhere else to go.

"Shad's when are you going to solve this case exactly," Sonic piped up.

"Well," Valiant said, "I don't think I can,"

"What?"

"I need evidence, tools," He rubbed his eyes, "I have none of that."

"Well there has to be someone-" Sonic started.

"Who can help? Who? I'm wanted just as much as you are now, there isn't a single person out there who can, or will help us."

"What about Rouge-"

"No," Valiant snapped.

"Did something happen to you two?" Sonic said slowly, "Because I heard you fighting outside the diner and-"

"It's none of your business,"

Sonic whistled and turned away, "Ooookaay. Jesus Valiant."

"We're stuck and that's that."

Sonic paused, sticking his hands into his coat pockets; he glanced down at them before quickly looking back up, thinking things over, "Are you hungry?"

He could feel Valiant's eyes narrow behind him and stare hard, "Why are you asking?"

"Because my stomach just growled." Which wasn't a lie, it sounded like he had a werehog in his stomach.

"It's not like we can buy food," Valiant said, "I don't have any money,"

"I have some,"

"Well you can't exactly walk up to the concessions stand now can you?"

Sonic looked back, smirking, "What never tried the, I'm really busy so ask a random person to buy the food for me trick'?"

"Can't say I have,"

Sonic stood, "Then I'll be right back,"

He blinked in the brighter light of the lobby, and looked around cautiously for anyone resembling a policeman or a weasel. Seeing none Sonic moved out into the lobby disappearing into the crowd.

"Now I just need someone to-ahh there we go," He moved over to the corner, and recognized Ekaru from earlier, only he seemed to be missing the Martian.

As he got closer, "Blasted alien, took off with my car, without me in it," the wolf was mumbling, "Does he even know how to drive?"

Sonic tapped the wolf's shoulder, "Excuse me,"

Ekaru glanced over, "Yeah?"

"I need to make an important phone call," Sonic explained, "I'll only be five minutes, but could you go buy some popcorn for me?"

The wolf's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Why, would I do that."

Sonic lied, "Because I told my girlfriend I'd have no phone calls today, and I was just going out to get popcorn and..."

"Woah woah," the other held up his hands, "There is no way in hell I'm getting between you and you're girlfriend,"

"Ah come on! Please? Here is a fifty you can keep the change, I'm a little desperate here."

Ekaru paused, "There is no getting rid of you is there?"

Sonic shrugged smiling lightly, "Nope,"

The wolf rolled his eyes, "Ugh fine. I'll meet you back here after your phone call."

Sonic smiled brightly, "Thank you!" he waved as the wolf walked away. After the other one left, Sonic lowered his arm and headed for the theater exit. He may have lied, but it was only a half lie.

Stepping outside, Sonic moved over to the nearest telephone booth and slipped a few quarters into the slot. Picking up the phone, Sonic reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the paper with a phone number on it that he found earlier. Reading the numbers and dialing, nervously looking up and down the street,Sonic waited patiently until the person on the other end of the line picked up.

"Hello?"

Shadow twisted nervously in his chair, "What the hell is taking him so long," he mumbled. He glanced down at his watch. Even in the dim light he could still make out the hands, it had already been ten minutes since Sonic stepped out; he was starting the think the Toon Patrol had found them.

A few more seconds passed and Shadow was just about the leave to go check on the troublesome actor, when said actor plopped down into the seat right next to him. He was carrying a large tub of popcorn.

Sonic smiled brightly, "Hey Shad's did you miss me?"

"How did you-"

"Get the popcorn?" Sonic shrugged, "Like I said, 'get someone else to buy it for you'."

Shadow felt his stomach growl, and he sighed, almost rectuantly he reached into the large tub and took a handful. He wasn't going to bother arguing.

"Ah so you were hungry."

"Shut up,"

They sat there about a half hour when Shadow piped up again, "Who did you ask again?"

"That wolf from earlier."

"He's still here?"

"Yeah something about a Martian taking off in his car," Sonic replied, then he stood, "Well I'll be right back,"

"Where to now?"

"The bathroom,"

"Ah."

As Sonic left the upper balcony, Shadow leaned back and stared at the cartoon playing on the big screen, having really no interest in it, but there was not much else to do.

He sat there for about five minutes, when he noticed the soft patter of feet coming up behind him, with a heavy sigh Shadow shook his head, "Quick trying to sneak up on me Sonic, not much scares me anymore."

"Hello Shadow,"

That wasn't Sonic's voice.

Startled Shadow jumped up and whipped around, ready to defend, when he gasped at the person standing before him.

"Rouge?"

This whole chapter was just one huge filler!

Eh at least we got some good back stories and character development in. And Rouge popped up in the end, so things are sure to get more interesting in the next chapter, considering the fight she and Shadow still haven't patched up.

Wait a minute...How did she find him?

This looks fishy.

Ekaru is copyright of ShadowEmpress76, permission was provided to use this character.

See you for the next chapter!