It didn't take long for the heroes to reach the picnic area. After all, they were known for their speed above all else. At least, Sonic was. 'He' was the first to arrive.

Sonic skidded to a stop a few feet away from 'his' friends, trying not to ram into one of them. When 'he' did come to a complete stop, and after dusting 'himself' off, 'he' was a bit shocked.

"Happy birthday!"

The birthday 'boy' broke out laughing as 'his' surprise quickly dispersed. "I had almost forgotten it was my birthday! Thanks, guys!" 'His' two-tailed friend arrived, only to be caught in a headlock from his best friend. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

"Of course!" he managed to say through his laughter. "I was the one who planned it!"

Sonic finally released Tails with a huge smile plastered 'his' face. "And how did I not notice you planning this party?"

"You were always on one of your runs when I started the planning."

"Of course." 'He' looked around at 'his' surprise party; 'he' saw the Chaotix. Charmy Bee looked like he had already drunk half of the punch; Vector the Crocodile was getting onto him for something (probably for drinking half of the punch); Espio the Chameleon was just trying to look less embarrassed than he was. Luckily, he was a ninja, so that was easy for him. For the most part anyway.

Blaze the Cat, a princess with pyrokinesis from another dimension and guardian of the Sol Emeralds, was talking to Silver the Hedgehog, a hedgehog from the future with psychokinesis.

Next to them was Cream the Rabbit, Cheese the Chao, Chocola the Chao, and Vanilla the Rabbit, standing next to the snacks. Cheese and Chocola were each holding a cupcake, the small orb above their heads taking the shape of a heart. Cream also had a cupcake and had obviously been nibbling it as she had small splotches of icing around her mouth. Vanilla was tentatively fusing over her child, wiping her mouth of crumbs and icing. She gave a friendly smile to Sonic as she saw 'him' looking their way. "Happy birthday, dear."

"Thanks, Vanilla."

A glint caught the corner of the hedgehog's eye and 'he' looked toward it to see E-123 Omega, the Eggman robot gone good. On top of the massive robot was Rouge the Bat, a GUN agent that took up treasure hunting as a hobby. Although, she did like to try to steal the Master Emerald from Knuckles a lot. Mostly just so she could flirt with him. She gave Sonic a playful wink as she glanced over. Sonic simply rolled 'his' eyes affectionately and raised 'his' hand in greeting. The three members of Team Dark were some of the few who knew her true gender. Behind the robot was what caught her attention the most. Standing with his arms crossed and his back turned to the crowd was her boyfriend, Shadow the Hedgehog. Feeling her gaze, he turned his head slightly and briefly gave her a soft smile.

Sonic gave a brief smile back. She leaned over to Tails. "How'd you get Shads to come?"

The fox just shrugged. "I didn't. Rouge must have dragged him along."

"Heh." Sonic knew Shadow likely came on his own accord, but pretended not to.

'He' looked over to the lake to see Amy had arrived and was now talking to Big the Cat with his friend, Froggy. The large purple cat had his fishing pole cast out into the lake.

'Does he do anything besides fishing?' Sonic thought as 'he' gazed along the water's surface. 'He' then remembered the friendly cat helping Amy and Cream during their adventure against Metal Overlord and joining in Dodon Pa's races. 'Guess he does.'

Knuckles the Echidna came up to her side and patted Sonic on the back. Yet another of the few who knew her real gender. "Happy birthday, hedgehog." He held out his fist for a fist-bump.

"Thanks, Knux." She returned the gesture. "Let's hope no monsters decide to come and crash the party this time."

The echidna gave a short chuckle and walked to the rest of the group with Sonic and Tails right in step.

(Eyecatch Card)

Name: Miles "Tails" Prower

Age: 14

Species: Mobian Fox

Gender: Male

Pronouns: He/Him

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Love Interest: Zooey Fox (long-distance girlfriend)

Former Love Interest(s): Cosmo †(unofficial ex-girlfriend; sacrificed)

Relatives: Amadeus Prower (biological father), Rosemary Prower (biological mother), King Jules Hedgehog (adoptive father), Queen Aleena Hedgehog (adoptive mother), Uncle Chuck (adoptive uncle), Princess Sonic Hedgehog (adoptive sister), Princess Sonia Hedgehog (adoptive sister), Prince Manic Hedgehog (adoptive brother), Shadow Robotnik-Hedgehog (future adoptive brother-in-law)

Height: 3' 5"

Weight: 85 lbs.

Fur Color: Amber, White

Eye Color: Sky Blue

Skin Color: ?

Powers: Genius-level Intelligence, Flight, Engineering Skills, Enhanced Speed, Enhanced Strength, and Enhanced Durability

Title: Prince of Mobotropolis (adopted)

An hour later, the party was still going. The friends were talking and laughing; they had even gotten Shadow to race at one point. They were just enjoying themselves. Sonic, at the moment, was talking with Tails and Amy.

"How could you forget your own birthday, Sonic?" Tails asked.

"Yeah. Especially after the one a few years ago," Amy added.

Sonic shrugged. "I don't really know. I guess I just… forgot."

The three cracked up.

"I'd think a giant black monster that eats time and space would be memorable enough," Tails managed through his laughter.

"Because none of the stuff I do isn't memorable enough already?"

"Like genies in books or a giant death laser threatening Mobius?"

"Or a god of destruction made of water destroying the city, the planet breaking apart and you turning into a werehog, maybe a tornado carrying us off onto another dimension?"

Sonic raised 'his' hands in effort to stop 'his' best friends. "Okay! Okay! I get it." 'He' let out a giggle.

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed throughout the Zone. Looking up, the group could see what looked like a large dragon flying toward the party a few miles away. Looking closely, you could just see a small dot floating beside it. The Eggmobile.

"Again? Can't that Egghead just chill for one day? Oh, well." The hedgehog started stretching, gazing at the large robot in the distance. "This might be fun!"

All the guests stood ready behind 'him'. They knew that they were in for a fight. Of course, with all of them there, it couldn't be that hard. They'd been through thick and thin together. Heck, they've thought that another of them was dead before. They could handle this thing.

It didn't take long for the mad scientist to reach them. That robot moved pretty quickly considering how much metal was used to build it. It was about four stories high, not including the tail. That was three stories in length on its own. The body was split into different parts, probably so it could move easier. It also had small separate squares of metal arranged around it.

'Doors,' Sonic realized. They were hatches for weaponry. The head was straight edged; it had no curves in it whatsoever. It was like he had spent so much time on the rest of the body that he had to rush the head just to have it ready for the party. The entire thing was painted a bright red, the only exceptions being its stomach and snout, which were a deep black.

"Hedgehog!"

Said hedgehog placed 'his' hands on 'his' hips and gazed up at the doctor with a bored look on 'his' face. Although, 'his' eyes revealed the excitement in those emerald irises. "What, no 'Happy birthday' or 'Hello, how are you'? That's a bit rude, wouldn't you say?"

Eggman scowled at the Blue Blur with pure hate reflecting off of his small, round glasses. "I'm so sorry, hedgehog. Happy. Birthday."

Sonic was slightly confused at his reply. 'He' had expected old Egghead to make some rude retort. Something was going on. And 'he' could bet 'he' wasn't going to like it.

The mad doctor confirmed 'his' suspicions just a moment later. "But it's not just your birthday, now is it?"

Knuckles came up to his friend when he saw 'him' tense up. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he glared up at the egg-shaped man in his hovercraft. "Beat it, Egghead. I don't remember us inviting you to the party." Hate dripped out of his voice.

"Oh? Am I getting on your nerves? Good. That's just what I came here for." The dictator's dragon let out a roar. "And I'm not done!"

Sonic scowled at her nemesis. Did he really have to do this now of all days? She already had problems with her past every once in a while, but Eggman had never brought it up. Why would he now? There were plenty of other ways to get on her nerves. Most involved water. Of all times, he chose to pick her birthday party, with all her friends. All her friends...

She never told them! The only one who knew was Knuckles and that was only because he was part of it. It's not like it's the easiest thing to explain. Especially after so long. Oh, man! She was in big trouble now. She just hoped he wouldn't mention her true gender. That would give her a panic attack.

"You never told them, did you?" Eggman's voice took her out of her thoughts. "Although, I can't blame you. Something like that is probably better kept a secret."

The hedgehog glanced behind her to her friends. They all looked utterly confused. Amy stepped up. "What are you talking about?"

"Her family, of course!"

"Huh?"

The doctor held out a hand towards Sonic, a wicked grin on his face. "How much has this little pest actually told about her past?" No one answered him. "That's what I thought." Suddenly, a certain part of his words clicked in everyone's minds.

"Wait, 'HER?!'" multiple people shouted.

Eggman grinned wickedly. "You heard me. Dragon-bot, attack!"

All party-goers scattered as the attack dragon shot flames toward the group. Amy landed closest to Sonic. "Sonic, what was he talking about?!"

The hyperventilating blue blur flinched when she heard her question, ears flattening against her skull.

"L-Listen. A-Amy," she said shakily, her male voice facade cracking. Another blast of fire came toward them. "I-I'll explain l-later! R-Right n-now, w-we n-need to get rid of t-that t-thing!"

The only reply was a short nod. She felt really bad about lying to her friends and was on the verge of a panic attack, but at the moment, the bigger concern was the giant robot trying to kill them.

Suddenly, she had an idea, managing to stop shaking and put her male voice facade back up. "Everyone! Try to distract it! Amy, come with me." Not checking to see if the others heard her, she grabbed Amy and ran to the top of a loop close by.

Amy rested her hammer on the ground and looked at her friend with a curious look in her eyes. "What's going on in that head of yours, Sonic?"

Said hedgehog was looking toward the battle, calculating distances. She didn't even hear her question. "I think that this is high enough."

"Sonic!"

The sudden yell made her jump almost ten feet in the air from surprise. "Wha-! Uh... Sorry, Amy." She smiled nervously as she smoothed down her quills.

The pink hedgehog sighed. He- she never listens. "What's your plan here?"

Sonic perked. "Oh!" She pointed back to the picnic. "From here, I might be able to hit him, but I need a little boost to reach it. Think you could hit me that far?"

The hammer-happy girl held up her hammer. "I can hit you there and back." She gave her a wink.

Sonic rolled her eyes with her back turned toward her. She didn't want any bruises from that hammer of hers. "Great. Get ready." She started spinning, going faster and faster, until she was only a blue ball. A very deadly blue ball. "Now!"

Amy hit her as hard as she could. Of course, it didn't hurt her. Not much ever hurt her during a spin dash. That made it perfect for combo attacks. Either Knuckles would punch or kick her, or Amy would hit her with her Piko Piko Hammer to launch her with double the force.

She was right about the height. She hit it square on the head, knocking it off. It landed near Vector and Blaze, who had been shooting their own flames at the bot to keep its attention. The crocodile and cat fell on their rumps in their effort to dodge the metal head. They sighed in relief right before it exploded, covering them with black soot.

The hedgehog came out of her spin, landing a few feet from the decapitated robot. There wasn't a single scratch on her.

The robot, on the other hand, wasn't doing too well. After the blue wrecking ball took its head off, the creation just floated there for a second, like it was thinking about what just happened. Of course it couldn't; Sonic had taken its head off. Then, after a few sparks of electricity, it burst into flames, falling towards the group. In fact, the fall was angled toward the Eggmobile.

"NO, NO, NO, NO! THIS ISN'T THE END, HEDGEHOG! I'LL GET YOU YET!" For such a big man, he sure could move fast. He was long gone by the time Amy got back.

She waved her hand in front of her face in an effort to keep the smoke out of her face. "Now," she turned to Sonic. "What was he talking about?!"

Her expression immediately fell. She looked away, not just from Amy, but from all her friends. Her breathing rapidly quickened to near-hyperventilation, panicked tears forming in her eyes. Tails slowly inched forward. "Sonic?"

"I'm sorry, okay?!"

The young fox was taken aback at his big sibling's sudden burst. He- she had never done that. Not to Knuckles, not to Shadow, not even at Eggman. Nobody. Tails knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help it. Eggman was right when he said they didn't know much about his- her past. She would always change the subject when someone brought it up.

Sonic staggered back, falling onto her rear. She covered her mouth as she started to choke on her own breath, tears streaming down her muzzle as she went into a full-blown panic attack.

"I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!" she begged, her no-longer-disguised voice muffled by her hand. She held her chest with her other hand as she started to cough from hyperventilating.

Everyone either stepped back or stepped forward in shock and/or alarm. "Sonic?!"

Shadow and Rouge suddenly rushed forward, kneeling down to her level. "D-Don't do that!" "It's okay, hon! No one's going to hurt you!"

Rouge placed her hand on the cobalt hedgehog's shoulder. Shadow, no longer caring if their relationship was discovered and focused on trying to calm her, gently grabbed Sonic's hand.

"Try…to take a deep breath, okay?" Shadow said, keeping his voice low and gentle. Sonic nodded.

Over the course of the next several minutes, Sonic slowly steadied her breathing with the help of Rouge stroking her quills, Shadow slowly rubbing circles on her palm with his thumb, and pressing her face into Shadow's shoulder, inhaling his lavender cologne and the subtle muskiness of his natural scent.

Everyone was baffled by how gentle Shadow was being with Sonic. Especially so when he allowed her to bury her face in his shoulder. He even pressed his muzzle to her temple! And Tails could've sworn he heard Shadow purr slightly.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Sonic took one final deep breath. She then shakily got to her feet with Shadow and Rouge's help.

"Sorry, guys," she said softly, her deep-yet-feminine voice slightly hoarse. Her emerald eyes opened again, slightly bloodshot and watery. "It's just-" She stopped, glancing at Knuckles, Shadow, and Rouge for support. Unfortunately, the echidna, bat, and hybrid hedgehog just shrugged, all unsure of what to do.

Tails realized what that meant. "Do you guys know something about this?"

The three sadly nodded. Although, they didn't look nearly as miserable as Sonic.

"Shadow, Omega, and I learned about her gender a while back, but we don't know much more about her past than you do," Rouge said. Said blue hedgehog had her ears folded down; she wasn't meeting anyone's eyes either. Her shoulders were slumped and she had her arms across her flat chest.

All her friends felt guilty. It broke Shadow's heart to see his girlfriend so upset. This was her birthday and she was spending it being interrogated about her past and her gender, which were obviously touchy subjects for her. She just had a panic attack for goodness sake! She was supposed to be having fun with her friends, not telling them her deepest secrets. But curiosity got the better of them. If it was this bad, they wanted to help, but they couldn't do that if she just kept it to herself.

Tails walked up to his best friend to stand right next to her. "Sonic. What happened? And why'd you hide your real gender?"

The not-so-happy birthday girl finally made eye contact, and it broke Tails' heart. He had never seen the hedgehog so defeated. So many emotions were swimming in her eyes. Misery, sadness, regret, longing, pain, trauma; all of her emotions were negative. No one knew of anytime that Sonic had ever actually shown these types of emotions. Until now.

"All right, guys. It's a long story, so you better get comfortable."