"Hey, Tails!" Sonic yelled. "Heard you scored a date with your rival kitty."

"She's my rival, not his." Mina objected.

"That's true." Tails clarified. "Look, she may have bested me in a fight once, but I'm not gonna let that stop me." Tails wrapped one arm around Honey and grabbed her arm to wrap around him. "Ain't that right, Honey?"

"You heard him." She repeated. "Sonic the Worryhog."

"You really are maybe just a little too concerned, Sonic." Mina agreed. "I may not get along with Honey, but she's not the abusive type. I guarantee it. And Tails, she may have outbid me, but have fun!"

"Thanks! I didn't do this to have a bad day." He responded.

"I second that." Amy added. "Honey is actually really nice! Tails is gonna enjoy himself." Manic nodded his agreement. She and Tails shook hands as Sonic took Honey aside.

"Listen here, kitty." Sonic warned Honey. "You very well better treat Tails right. I've beaten up every single person who ever hurt him and I'm not willing to stop at you. Get that?"

"You love hearing yourself talk. You think you're this big guy who tells everyone what to do. But you're not. I promise, no assaults tonight. Get that through your thick head."

Their chilling exchange ended quickly as Sonic picked up Tails and hugged him close. "Keep that smile, buddy. She'll love it." He whispered.

"Thanks, Sonic. Could you please set me down now?" Tails begged.

"Yeah. Just be safe, okay?"

"I promise. This is about to get fun."

Meanwhile, all of Team Chaotix had assembled in front of the stage.

"Espio, I gotta say, you lucked out." Vector told him.

"But he and Nicole have a crush on each other!" Charmy teased.

"Boys, please. I'm only here because Vector put me up to it. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have showed up at all." He argued.

"Then explain the flowers just for her!" Charmy continued.

"I knew she would be here. She seems quite attached to me."

"And you to her, that's for certain." Vector countered. "It doesn't take much of a detective to figure that out. And what was the stage performance all about?"

"I was just showing off is all. I can't help it." Espio whined, crossing his arms and pouting.

"As a ninja, he rarely gets that opportunity." Nicole added, coming from behind the other two with her arms out. Espio smiled, reached his arms out to Nicole, hugged her tightly. Espio threw a smoke bomb on the ground as he and Nicole started kissing, leaving just their shadows.

"Ugh, that's disgusting." Charmy complained.

"You'll change your mind one day." Vector explained.

"Speaking of which, where'd Saffron get up to?"

"I'm right here!" She called, stepping into their line of view from behind Mina. She ran up to Charmy and hugged him.

"Welcome back." Charmy said.

"I missed you so bad!" She cried. "We moved to Spagonia [World: Cartagena, Spain] and we haven't come back here [World: Atlanta, USA] since. But when I turned 12, [Like 18] I came back here. And then this a year later? That's not coincidence."

"That's gotta be the best romance story I've ever heard." Vector interjected.

"I asked my mom to come back here so much, but she never did." She continued.

"You're here now." Charmy calmed her. "That's all that matters to me."

The two of them sat back down to catch up.

Tangle and Ash left the control room to return to the audience. The two were almost immediately intercepted by Whisper, who looked overjoyed.

"H-Hey, Wolfie." Tangle stuttered. She petted Whisper's head as she clung to Tangle.

"I'm so happy for you!" Whisper yelled. She barely spoke at all, so the yell was maybe conversation volume. "You looked so happy back there!"

"Better believe she did." Ash interrupted. "That smile made my entire day."

"I wouldn't have imagined Ash was just so cuddleable." Tangle laughed.

"Double score!" Ash called out. He hi-fived Mina on her way by with Sonic.

"I'm just surprised you didn't place a winning bid." Tangle continued. "If you wanted someone so badly, you should have."

"You're right." Whisper huffed, looking past Ash to see Sonic's back to her. "I SO should have bet higher on Sonic. But Mina was so determined."

"You could have won me." Ash contested. "At only five hundred pounds, I brought in the least cash. I reckon Tangle saw something she liked."

"I can't resist a man in uniform." She chuckled. "Even a sports uniform."

"He looks like a clown." Whisper laughed.

"Silver! My man!" Sonic called out. "Congratulations."

"Aww. Thanks, Sonic." He replied. "I'm gonna complete the team. Let's bring the old guy over here." Silver reached his energy out to capture Shadow and bring him over.

"You better have a good reason for that." Shadow grumbled, now with his full tuxedo on.

"Team Triple S is assembled." Silver explained.

"Oh, no? Grandpa gets angry when he's brought over to his friends?" Sonic taunted.

"You're not my friends!" Shadow raged. "Don't make me-"

"Here's a reason to keep it together, Shadow." Blaze countered. Cream ran straight into her arms and Blaze picked her up.

"Blaze, Hi!" Cream greeted cheerily. "I missed you!" Shadow had to break a smile at that sight. He couldn't resist.

"It has been a while." Blaze agreed. "I honestly didn't expect to meet you again at a place like this." She looked Shadow in the eye. "Much less with him."

"Mister Shadow's way nicer than you think!" She argued. "He just looks mean and is a really good fighter, but other than that, he's really nice!"

"Not entirely false." Shadow admitted, holding Cream's hand as she returned to him.

"So, you two hang out often?" Silver guessed.

"Not much recently." Blaze responded. "But I think we should sometime soon, Cream. Guests are invited to the palace all the time."

"Speaking of which," Sonic interjected. "Here comes the other spoiled princess."

"SONIC!" Mina scolded, albeit while laughing.

"Yo! V-Man!" Knuckles yelled.

"Dog, have I missed you!" Vector rebounded. The two exchanged a powerful handshake.

"Just heard you got Chief Inspector. Well done!" He cheered.

"He's well on his way to superintendent!" Vanilla bragged.

"I'll bet. What are the other two up to now?"

"Espio's with police, military, and other groups because of his stealth and Charmy's a SCO19 coordinator. Couldn't be prouder of either of them. Neither could Vanilla."

"Not bad, old man. I'll see you around."

"Let's hope not, tough guy." Vector joked.

Another cop quickly ran up to him. "Vector, I am deeply sorry if I caused you any trouble." Iris apologized.

"No real harm done." He replied. "I'm your superior, so that wouldn't have worked out anyway. If you want my advice, Sergeant Jackson's back on the market."

Her and Vanilla shook hands civilly. "Good. I'll remember that." Iris concluded.

Vector sought out the source of his troubles and found him.

"Quit staring at me like that." Shadow demanded, folding his arms.

"I don't listen to you. I don't even respect you."

"Then why talk to me?"

"Fool. You're going on a date with my stepdaughter. Do I need to tell her your criminal history when she comes back?" He threatened.

"I regret nothing." Shadow growled.

"Calm down." Vanilla warned, grabbing Vector's arm. "She's going to be okay."

"She listens to reason." Shadow agreed. "And by the way, I call first on the biker bar off Highway 10."

"I can't believe you-" Vector began. He saw Cream from the corner of his eye and picked her up in his arms. "You look… happy." He said.

"She's got her reasons." Shadow taunted.

"Leave her out of this." Vanilla insisted, taking Cream from Vector.

"I'm 14 now, Dad." Cream agreed. [Like 21] "You shouldn't worry about me." She returned to Shadow and held his hand once more. "Besides, I had a great shooting instructor."

"Aww. Thanks, Furball." Vector said bashfully.

"I meant Mister Shadow." She mumbled. Shadow smirked. Sonic laughed while passing.

"I'm just gonna leave now." Vector groaned disappointedly, taking Vanilla with him. Cream looked up to Shadow, as if expecting him to take her somewhere.

"You're up to my shoulders now! What did I tell you about calling me Mister?" He teased. "You want me to take you somewhere? I called my favorite place against your old man."

"I was kind of hoping-" She began.

Shadow picked her up over his shoulder. "Alright. Say less."

"SHADOW!" Cream yelled. She didn't ask to be set down either.

"Hey, Knuckie…" Sonic teased, his fist against Knuckles' huge right arm.

Knuckles flinched and spun back in shock. "Don't you do that again." He scolded, seemingly out of breath. "I thought you were Rouge."

"Would it be all too bad for you?" Manic inquired, walking over with Amy.

"Like a nightmare." Sonia responded for him.

"Yeah, really." Knuckles agreed. "Anyway, Sonia's been going off about this Leung place a half hour from here. Sounds exotic."

"We won't keep you much longer, loverboy." Sonic taunted.

Amy hugged Knuckles, which he was more than happy to return. "Good to see you too, Amy." He said.

"I'm gonna miss you. Have fun!" She replied.

"I'm not worth missing." He mumbled.

"Believe me, Dude. You definitely are." Sonia rebounded, clinging to him.

"Dude? Really?" Mina asked.

"It's out of her vocabulary, plus I like the name." Knuckles explained.

"Yeah." Manic scoffed. "Princess."

"Just remember: She likes kisses." Sonic whispered.

"I figured that one out already." Knuckles fired back.

"If you don't mind, me and Dude will get going." Sonia concluded, taking him by the arm. It was still obvious that Knuckles chose to be led on.

Manic, Tails, Sonic, and all their dates gathered off to the right after Knuckles left.

"And now the squad is gone." Sonic whined.

"I hate to be that girl," Mina started.

"But you wanna leave soon." Shadow finished.

Cream ran up to Tails and Amy and pulled them in for a group hug. Accordingly, Shadow, Honey, and Manic all looked on.

"That's cute." Sonic teased, getting Mina's attention. "Those three are smiling." He took Mina's hand and started to slowly back away.

"Where d'you think you're going?" Tails demanded. "Without saying bye first?"

"Aww. Little bro wants a hug, no?" He laughed. "Alright, come here." Sonic picked him up across his body like a child, resting Tails' head on his shoulder.

"Have fun with your superstar." Tails whispered.

Sonic set him down. "You too, bro. Heading out too, other bro." He fist bumped Manic. "Don't do something stupid."

"I'm better than that." He grumbled.

"Keep him in line, alright?" Mina told Amy.

Tails hugged Amy one last time. "I'm gonna leave too. I've yet to hear from Honey about her plans tonight." He explained.

"And I've yet to explain every last detail." Honey responded, making Tails blush.

"Bye!" Amy called.

"Peace out." Manic added.

Tails and Honey waved their goodbyes, leaving Manic and Amy alone.

"So… my brother, huh?" Manic taunted.

"Yep. I was hoping you wouldn't mention that." Amy sighed. "I used to have this thing for him. The funny thing is one time when he-"

"I'ma stop you right there." He interrupted. "Bro's a fool to reject you. Doesn't help that you're drop dead gorgeous."

Amy blushed and stared in shock. She'd never been treated like this and enjoyed every second of this. "Keep talking, skater boy." She prompted.

"Haha… If you're gonna talk to me like that, I've got a feeling we'll get along just fine." He tossed Amy her own car keys. "Sorry, force of habit. You're driving."

"Hello?" Building contractor Doug Manning picked up his phone.

"Hey Doug, it's Antoine. You remember the old headquarters you ran estimates on?"

"Affirmative. Sorry, but that place was a wreck."

"Yeah, you can go ahead with the plans for the first and second floor." He looked back to see Bunnie running some calculations on a backstage computer. "And we'll discuss the third floor tomorrow. We can cover costs within a few days."

"Or we can reinstall the tech room in the basement." Bunnie advised.

"That's a better idea." Doug concurred. "We'll need to fix the foundation."

"Sounds great! Bring the crew over as soon as you can, alright?"

"No problem. Should be there tomorrow."

"Au revoir."

"Yes! We did it!" Bunnie cheered, running directly into her husband's arms.

"I told you we could." He replied. "Should we take down the stage tomorrow?"

"I think so. I'm starting to wear down."

Antoine wrapped his arm around her and started for their car. "Buys us time for our dinner date."

"Our what?" Bunnie snapped.

Antoine laughed. "I thought I'd spring a surprise of my own."

CONCLUSION

Once again, huge thanks to DeviantArt user EvilLexie for letting me take the whole bachelor auction idea and make it real! I didn't quite expect it would turn out this way, but I made it work. If you want to see any of these dates written, leave a comment! I'll consider it at minimum. Lastly, I'm going to have a further schedule reduction, so I probably won't post for weeks. Thanks to everyone who made my original dream of writing a reality.