Disclaimer: All non-original characters are property of SEGA or their respective creators.
Inescapable Past, Act 36: Here We Will Stay
The gray wolf paced up and down the log cabin, casting her eye over the guns, knives, and explosives laid out on the floor.
"Where do you think you are?" snapped Lupe, glaring at the yellow wolf sitting on the cabin's only bunk, "Knothole Village?"
The Wolf Pack leader shot a glance at a bandolier of shotgun shells.
"What am I saying?" she muttered, "Even those crazies wouldn't let you in with all this."
She looked back up.
"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"
The yellow wolf squirmed under the heat of Lupe's glare. She said nothing.
"You know this is a refuge. The Den can't be your personal forward attack base—"
"Maybe it should!" blurted Whisper, "All that stuff you're hoarding—"
"Will come in very useful if, Solaris forbid, Robotnik ever finds us," Lupe cut in, "Do you want to help him do what Drago couldn't?"
The yellow wolf scowled, then lowered her eyes. Lupe sighed and waved the other wolves out of the cabin. She stepped over Whisper's not-so-secret arsenal and sat down beside her on the bunk.
"Sorry," said Lupe softly, "I didn't mean that."
She put her arm around the bunk's occupant. Whisper tried to shrug it off at first, but Lupe persevered.
"Are you throwing me out?" mumbled Whisper.
"How could I?" said Lupe, "There'll always be a place for you here."
She pulled Whisper closer. This time, the younger wolf didn't resist.
"On the other hand, it might be time to go see if there's anyone out there as itching for a fight as you are."
〜
"So I did," said Whisper, taking a final drag on her cigarillo.
She reached over and dropped the butt in an ashtray that was already half-full. When she and Sally sat down, it had been empty.
"Have you ever been back?" asked Sally.
"Not yet," replied Whisper.
"Why not?"
"Things to do."
"What about now?"
"More things to do."
Sally frowned. "You, uh, know the war's over, right?"
"Maybe for you," said Whisper tersely.
"Why not you?"
"Because there has to be someone left to save the world."
Sally gazed blankly at Whisper as a waitress swooped in to remove the former Freedom Fighters' dessert dishes. The wolf used the interruption as an excuse to get up and wander over to the edge of the terrace. She leaned on the glass railing, lit another cigarillo, and surveyed the view.
The princess-turned-principal had brought her to this restaurant over the road from the King Maximilian Acorn Free Hospital. The road in question was King Sebastian Boulevard. The persistent flow of traffic hadn't eased, even now night had well and truly fallen over Station Square.
Sally had assured her Tangle would be here soon. She was beginning to wonder if 'soon' in fact meant 'sometime before sunrise'. It'd been…well, longer than she cared to count. Much longer and she would run out of ways to avoid the chipmunk's questions about the Diamond Cutters.
It was odd meeting a Freedom Fighter leader who wasn't a reluctant expert about her old unit. Smithy had made a hobby out of pissing off the more territorially-minded cell leaders. The types who expected visitors to play by their rules. Rules that invariably cramped the Cutters' style.
Whisper glanced over her shoulder at the table. Sally didn't seem to be missing her yet, absorbed as she was in her cellphone. The feeling was mutual. She hadn't come all this way to reminisce about her Freedom Fighting days. She was only here to say goodbye.
〜
"Can you feel the sunshine? Does it brighten up your day? Don't you feel that sometimes you just need to run away?"
Sonia smiled as she checked the minivan's rear-view mirror. Tangle was sitting cross-legged on the backseat, eyes glued to the screen Tails had hastily installed. Mina and company were three songs into their third encore. The lemur was singing along under her breath. Beside her, Amy slept.
Tangle's face lit up as Mina announced Living in the City as the last song. Sonia smirked to herself and turned her attention back to the road. These furtive glimpses at the entranced lemur had been a welcome source of relief over the last few hours, both from the tedium of driving and her brooding over Manic's last test.
Talking to Sonic about the Amy situation had gotten him nowhere, just as Sonia had expected. Confrontation only ever brought out their brother's stubborn side. It was something both Robotnik and their old high school principal had learned the hard way.
An overpowering sense of righteousness wasn't the only reason Sonic and Manic had left home to carry on fighting Robotnik after The Sonic Underground disbanded. She'd stayed home with mom to finish out high school. Her brothers hadn't had that option. They'd already been expelled by that point.
Manic, for stealing from a clique of older students who arguably deserved it, and Sonic, for blindly defending his brother from both his vengeful victims and the school administrators.
Just then, Tangle laughed.
"What am I missing?" asked Sonia.
"Just Tails on the stream," replied Tangle, waving back at the fox onscreen.
The stream cut out and the lemur sat back, uncrossing her legs.
"So, uh, are we nearly there yet?" she asked.
"Still a little way yet," said Sonia, "Probably long enough for decent nap if you're sleepy."
Tangle scoffed. "As if I can sleep after that."
"No regrets about leaving early, then?"
Tangle shook her head. "Not gonna lie. This just felt more normal."
The purple hedgehog cocked a brow. "Your own private stream counts as normal, huh?"
The lemur smirked. "I mean, like, watching it on TV. No way could I have afforded to go to that. I probably couldn't even pay for the bus ticket."
Sonia smiled. "Sounds like someone lucked out meeting Amy when they did."
Tangle looked across at the sleeping pink hedgehog.
"Yeah," she murmured, taking the preteen's limp right hand in a loose grip, "I think I did."
〜
"Thanks, Honey. Yeah, it was a blast. Glad she liked it. Speak to you then."
Ash hung up, turned around and almost dropped his cellphone. Across the stage of Echo Beach's now-empty amphitheater, he saw Mighty casually carrying Sonia's four keyboards heaped one on top of the other.
"Sweet Solaris," murmured the mongoose, lowering his sunglasses in awe.
"I thought Mina didn't like you using that kind of talk," remarked Manic, glancing up from disassembling his drumkit.
"She makes an exception for miracles," said Ash, taking off after the ambling armadillo. He caught up to him in the wings, "Hey, uh, Mighty isn't it?"
"That's me," said Mighty as he kept walking.
"How would you like to stick with us for a few shows?" asked Ash.
"As what?" replied the armadillo, "Roadie or security?"
"Is it too much to ask for both?"
Mighty grinned. "You'll have to ask my secretary."
"Your what?"
"That would be me," said Espio, rendering himself visible atop a nearby amp stack.
"How about it, Scales?" asked Mighty as the chameleon jumped down, "Reckon those suspicious spouses can survive without you for a month?"
Ash furrowed his brow. "Does this mean you two are a package deal?"
"That depends," said Espio.
"On what?"
"Can we bring the convertible?"
"Sure, bring whatever you want!"
"Good," said Espio coolly, "We'll talk more at the hotel."
"Didn't expect you to think of my car, Scales," remarked Mighty.
"I just imagined being stuck on a bus with you for a month," said the chameleon, "I missed you, Hobo, but I didn't miss you that much."
〜
Sonia heaved on the minivan's parking brake, killed the engine, and looked over her shoulder.
"So, who am I carrying?" she asked, eyes darting between her passengers.
"Huh?" groaned Tangle, squinting through the glare of the backseat's overhead light. She'd ended up nodding off after all.
"Need another lift?" said Sonia.
The lemur gingerly prodded the bootprint on her white polo. "I think…I think I'll be okay."
The purple hedgehog smiled, then looked to Amy. "What about you, sweetie?"
The pink hedgehog wrinkled her nose as she furiously rubbed one half-open eye.
"But I'm twelve," she muttered.
Sonia smirked. "Yes you are."
With some gentle goading from Tangle, the drowsy preteen eventually accepted a piggyback ride. The lemur held Sonia's hand for their trek across the dark expanse of the King Maximilian Acorn Free Hospital's parking lot.
"Thank you, by the way," said Tangle, glancing up at Sonic's sister as they passed under one of the lot's scattered lampposts.
"Hmm?" uttered the purple hedgehog, caught unawares.
"You said not to thank you until you got us here, so, like, thanks."
Sonia gently squeezed Tangle's hand. "I'm starting to think both of you lucked out."
"I heard that," mumbled Amy. She was resting her head on Sonia's shoulder.
"Don't you forget it," said Sonia, reaching up to ruffle the pink hedgehog's braided quills.
Amy's giggled protests brought a smile to Tangle's lips. She was going to miss that cutie.
"What time do you call this?"
Up ahead, Sally Acorn stood silhouetted against the hazy white light shining through the glass doors of the hospital's side-entrance. A second Mobian stood beside her.
"Whisp!" blurted Tangle, breaking away from Sonia.
Consideration for her ribs rather than Whisper's personal space stopped her pouncing on the wolf.
"What're you doing here?" Tangle beamed, looking her former colleague up and down. She was dressed head-to-toe in denim.
"Came to see you," said Whisper.
Tangle blinked. "Really?"
"You left without saying goodbye."
"Oh…sorry."
"It's okay," said Whisper, patting the lemur's shoulder.
"Hello, Tangela," Sally interjected.
Tangle suppressed a sigh. There was that name again.
"Hey, Principal Acorn," she said quietly.
"Would one of you take her inside already?" hollered Sonia.
The chipmunk and wolf both frowned. They moved apart, allowing more light from inside to shine on Tangle, illuminating the bootprint on her white polo. Sally covered her mouth. Whisper lunged forward. Tangle deployed her tail to keep the wolf from touching it.
"What happened to you?" demanded Whisper.
"Walk and talk," said Sonia, drawing up alongside the lemur.
Whisper grabbed Tangle's hand and marched her inside. Sally watched the automated glass doors slide shut behind them, then turned to see Sonia helping Amy down off her back.
"Is that why you're back so early?" asked the chipmunk, "What happened up there?"
"Put a coffee in my hand and I'll tell you everything," said Sonia, "But there's something this one needs to ask first."
"Sally?" said Amy, adjusting her sling-bound left arm, "Can I go see Shadow now?"
〜
"And perhaps you could allow for the not-so-radical reality that this girl is a child!" said the reptilian attorney as he rounded on the witness. Then he froze.
"Monopole Law will resume on AKB1 after these commercial messages."
Shadow promptly muted the television. He'd heard enough commercial messages to last him a lifetime this evening. He couldn't risk spoiling his good mood. It still felt fragile, even with his left arm now freed from the damned dialysis machine. Maybe it shouldn't be.
After all, the doctor who'd kicked Sally and Whisper out had told him he'd out of here in days. Maybe as few as five days, so long as he got to grips with his home dialysis machine quickly enough. His injured leg wasn't going to be an issue, much to the doctor's amazement.
Most Mobians would be facing weeks in a wheelchair after a similar gunshot wound. Shadow could already walk, albeit with a little help from the cane propped up against his bed. Now, barring any complications, he'd been in his new apartment in no time. The prospect did not spark joy.
He'd watched Amy's video tour of the apartment so many times, he'd caught himself mouthing along with her meandering commentary. Even so, he still couldn't picture himself inhabiting that space for…well, however long it took his blood to regenerate. He'd never had a home before. Not unless he counted Space Colony ARK, and that thought didn't spark joy either.
Shadow was about to unmute the television when there was a knock at the door. Whoever was there didn't wait for permission to open it. He was less than thrilled to see Sally peering inside.
"Oh good, you're awake," said the chipmunk.
"Evidently," said Shadow tersely.
Sally smiled apologetically.
"Shadow?"
The black hedgehog sat bolt upright, launching the remote across the room as Amy ducked under Sally's arm. The pink hedgehog pottered over to pick it up, then returned it to Shadow.
"You dropped this," she said quietly, placing the remote on a side-table.
Shadow patted a space on the bed beside him. Amy glanced over her shoulder. The door was already closed. She turned back and climbed onto the bed. Shadow's arms engulfed her.
"Hey," she breathed, smiling as the black hedgehog held her tight, nuzzling her braided quills.
When Shadow next looked up, Monopole Law had already cut to its next commercial break. Almost ten minutes had elapsed.
"Sorry," he murmured, easing his embrace.
"Don't be," whispered Amy, "That was nice."
"It's good to see you," said Shadow.
The twelve-year-old nestled a cheek against his thicket of white chest fur.
"Your frie…Sally said you were at a concert," said Shadow.
"That was the idea," murmured Amy.
"What happened?"
"I kinda fell asleep."
"Is that…bad?" asked Shadow uncertainly.
Based on his own experience of Mina's songs, it sounded like a mercy. Her lyrics were absurd.
"I didn't really mind," said Amy, peering up at him, "Shadow…I think I might have a girlfriend."
Shadow blinked. "You 'think' you might? How does that work?"
Amy shrugged. "I dunno. But we've kissed each other a bunch of times. She's really nice, too. Like, really really nice."
Shadow stiffened as the preteen practically headbutted his chest, burying her face in the white fur.
"I really don't want her to go, Shadow."
〜
"Okay," said Sally, gazing blankly at the espresso machine's dizzying array of buttons, "Now what?"
The barista, a teenaged yellow terrapin, leaned over to press a certain button. The espresso machine promptly began humming.
"Oh," said the chipmunk, still none the wiser, "Thank you, Jennika."
"The teacher becomes the student," remarked Sonia.
"I'm not a teacher," said Sally, shooting the hedgehog a sidelong glance, "I just pay them."
"Maybe you should be paying your students too," said Sonia, putting an arm around the terrapin.
The young barista smiled shyly. She was wearing a Alicia Acorn Academy uniform under her canvas apron. She was a twelfth-grade student volunteering on a public holiday for extra credit. Sally and Sonia had found her — and the 12th-floor café she'd been about close up — in their search for coffee.
Possibly angling for even more extra credit, rather than simply making them their coffees, Jennika had invited the duo to make their own. Sally was vaguely tempted to give her student a detention for even suggesting this idea — she was hardly authorized to give coffee-making lessons a whim — but the amount her parents paid to put her in that purple blazer prevented such pettiness.
As the espresso machine went quiet, heavy footsteps could be heard echoing around the empty café. Sally peered over the big chrome contraption.
"Whisper?" she said.
The wolf looked up, locked eyes with the chipmunk, and broke into a run. Sonia pushed Jennika behind her as Whisper vaulted over the counter, grabbed Sally by her the lapels of her gilet, and pinned her against a refrigerator.
"You can't send Tangle home!" growled Whisper, "She won't be safe there. They'll hunt her down. She needs protection."
The wolf suddenly cocked her head to the left, warning Sonia off with a glare.
"Protected from who?" asked Sally levelly.
Whisper's gaze snapped back to the chipmunk.
"Eggheads," she said acidly.
Sally frowned, then looked to Sonia.
"What haven't you told me?"
〜
"There," said the nurse, stepping back from the examination table, "How does that feel?"
Tangle gingerly kneaded her chest, freshly wrapped in what was effectively a tube-top of bandages. Her sternum felt tender but tolerable.
"Umm…flatter," said the lemur, forcing a weak smile.
The nurse, a red-feathered oxpecker, snorted softly as she handed Tangle her polo. The fifteen-year-old hesitated to put back it on.
"Something the matter?" asked the nurse.
"It's…kinda dirty," said Tangle meekly, holding up the bootprint.
"Oh, I'm sorry. That slipped my mind."
The oxpecker's beak wrinkled in thought. She reached a foil blanket down off a shelf and handed it to the lemur.
"Here," she said, "Let's find you a seat and then I'll sort something out."
Wrapped in her crinkly makeshift cloak, Tangle gratefully followed the nurse to a quiet corner of the emergency room's waiting area, away from a group of Martina Day revelers who'd reveled too hard. There, she was left quietly humming Living in the City to herself.
Much as Sonar used to tease her about it, as a kid from Spiral Hill who had one day suddenly found herself in her very own apartment in Westopolis, that song really spoke to her. Going back to sharing a dorm with Jewel was going to be quite an adjustment. Served her right for running away in the first place.
"Tangela?"
The lemur almost stood to attention at the sound of Sally Acorn's voice.
"Principal Acorn?" said Tangle, looking up, "Whisp?"
The chipmunk and wolf were standing side-by-side as they had been outside.
"How are you?" asked Sally, sitting down beside the lemur. Whisper stayed on her feet.
"Still in one piece," said Tangle, "They said nothing broken or anything. Just badly bruised. Like, really badly."
"Glad to hear it," said Sally warmly.
"What else did they say?" asked Whisper flatly.
"Just to, like, take things easy for a while. I guess that means no gym class for a while, which sucks but—"
Tangle stopped short as Sally took ahold of one of her hands.
"About your gym class, Tangela," the chipmunk began, "Well, about all your classes, really. See, Whisper and I were talking while you were…well, she thought you might like to stay in Station Square for a little longer."
"Sure I would, but if I don't get back, like, soon, I'm might have to redo—"
"Do the math," snapped Whisper, "She owns a school."
Tangle frowned. "But, wait, you already spoke to my principal—"
Sally squeezed the lemur's hand. "I can speak to him again."
"Y-you can?"
The chipmunk nodded.
Tangle emitted a muffled squeak. Her eyes darted to Whisper, who she promptly lassoed with her tail and pulled into the empty seat beside her.
"Thank you, Whisp," she whispered, resting her head on the wolf's denim-clad shoulder, "Thank you so much."
Whisper haltingly put an arm around the lemur's waist. "You're…welcome."
Sally gave Tangle's hand another gentle squeeze.
"Shall we go give Amy the good news?" asked the chipmunk.
The lemur's head shot up.
"Oh, wait, I'm supposed to be waiting for the nurse to get back," she said, opening her foil blanket a fraction.
"Say no more," said Sally, standing up, "Whisper knows the way."
"Bye, Principal Acorn," said Tangle, cozying back up to Whisper.
Wary of being accosted by the Martina Day revelers still lurking in the waiting area, Sally ducked down the first hallway she came to. Taking the long way round to the elevator lobby, whereupon she almost collided with Jennika.
"See you tomorrow, Principal Acorn," said the terrapin.
"Goodbye, Jennika," said Sally, Did my friend get her coffee in the end?"
"Yeah," said the terrapin, flashing an impish smile, "The one I made her."
Sally permitted herself a sly smile as she waited for the doors to open. She spent the ensuing elevator ride bracing herself for tears. If Amy got going, she just knew she wouldn't be able to help herself.
Finding the door to Shadow's room slightly ajar, she forewent knocking and headed on in. The smell of hot coffee greeted her.
"Sonia?"
Three hedgehogs turned to look at her. Shadow was sitting up in bed. Amy was snuggled up beside him. Sonia was sitting in a chair on the far side of the bed.
"Sally?" said Amy, sitting up straight, "Why didn't you tell me you and Sonic were dating again?"
The chipmunk's breath caught in her throat. Her eyes darted to Sonia. The purple hedgehog met the glare head-on. Meanwhile, Amy slipped off the bed and plodded towards the door.
"Did you think I'd be sad?" she asked.
The twelve-year-old's unwavering gaze forced Sally to break off her staring contest with Sonia.
"Is that why, Sally?" Amy persisted.
Sally sighed heavily.
"No, sweetie, that isn't why," she said, stooping to Amy's eye-level.
"Why then?" asked the preteen, "Don't you trust me? I could keep a secret."
"Of course I trust you—"
Sally stopped short as a smile graced the pink hedgehog's lips.
"I knew you did," said Amy, "I…just thought Sonic did, too."
The chipmunk bit her lip. She wanted to insist that of course Sonic trusted her, but how could she? Not without telling the hedgehog she'd never once been a factor in the decision to keep their reconciliation under wraps. It'd only ever been about keeping the likes of the Gossip Goddess off their backs, especially with the school having just opened at the time.
"It's okay, Sally," said Amy, "I won't tell."
She shuffled closer and put her good arm around her principal.
"I'm happy for you…and for Sonic."
At that, Sally's arms snapped shut around the pink hedgehog. She buried her face in the braided quills between the preteen's ears.
"Thank you, Amy," she cooed, blinking back tears.
Lifting her head, Sally noticed Shadow watching them impassively.
"Have you talked to Shadow about your paint plan yet?" she asked, releasing Amy from her embrace.
"Actually, we were mostly talking about something else," said Amy.
"Anything you can tell me about?"
"Umm…I dunno, it's kind—"
"Ta-da!" exclaimed Tangle, bursting through the door in marigold-yellow scrubs the nurse had gifted her.
Seeing she'd interrupted something, she quickly retracted her outstretched arms. However, Amy promptly sidled up to the lemur.
"Sally, there's something you should know," she said, nibbling her lip, "Tangle…is my girlfriend."
"She is?" said Sally, looking to Tangle, "Are you?"
A furry white arm slowly snaked its way around Amy's shoulders.
"Yeah, actually," said the lemur, "I think I kind of am."
Watching the newly-minted young couple share a clumsy peck on the lips, the tears Sally had been fending off finally broke through.
"It might be time we were properly introduced," interjected Shadow.
Amy inhaled sharply. Tangle stumbled along behind her as she raced to the black hedgehog's bedside. Sally quietly retreated out into the hallway to try and compose herself.
"There you are."
The startled chipmunk glanced about. Whisper stood leaning against a vending machine.
Sally sighed. "Now what?"
"Why weren't you straight with Tangle downstairs?"
"Seriously?" groaned Sally, "Do you really want her thinking there might be someone out to get her?"
"I want her to be vigilant," said Whisper flatly.
"If you're so convinced she's in danger, why not take her to Lupe?"
"I…considered it."
"And?"
"I decided against it."
"Because you know she'd hate The Den as much as you did?"
"Possibly more."
"Then please, stop worrying—"
"I can't!"
"She'll be safe with us!"
"I don't doubt that. In fact, I intend to make sure of it."
"How?"
"It is best you don't know," said Whisper, "I'll be outside."
Sally found she didn't have the energy to demand an answer as the denim-clad wolf drifted off down the gloomy hallway.
"I guess I should be off, too," said Sonia.
The chipmunk wheeled round to face her boyfriend's sister. "Why?"
Sonia blinked. "Didn't I just forfeit my invitation to stay over?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I've got more bedrooms than I can count," said Sally, "Besides, I couldn't disinvite you, even if I wanted to."
"Why not?"
Just then, a squeal of delight emanated from Shadow's room. Sally and Sonia peered round the half-open door to see Amy on her knees beside Shadow's bed, hugging Tangle's legs in lieu of her torso. The lemur noticed the onlookers and shrugged smilingly.
"They're why," murmured Sally, "That, and I can't count on Hershey being sober at this hour."
"How…pragmatic," said Sonia.
"Shut up," said Sally, "Do you want me to be mad at you? I figure Sonic's going to be pissed enough for both of us."
"I think so, too," said Sonia.
"Am I going to have to be the one who tells him?" asked Sally.
"Oh, don't worry. That's already been taken care of."
〜
"Sonic?" squeaked Tails, peeping out from behind the hotel bar.
The bar-top was strewn with the ingredients for a Monopolitan cocktail. Mighty had been giving the fox a crash course in mixology. Presently, the armadillo was busy keeping Sonic pinned to the carpeted floor. Espio and Mina were restraining Manic in a similar manner. Neither hedgehog seemed to be getting any calmer.
Tails glanced around the room. The on-duty bartender, a nice green coypu called Carin, was also hiding behind the bar. Ash was glued to his seat across the room. Manic's friend Cyrus wasn't even there. He was taking a turn minding the tour bus in the hotel's parking lot.
The ten-year-old took a deep breath. There was only one thing to do. He rolled down his shirt sleeves, put on his vermilion Solaris Institute blazer, adjusted his green plaid necktie, and calmly stepped out from behind the bar.
"Sonic?" he said, not a little shakily, "What's the matter?"
Mighty glanced up at the approaching fox. If his intention was to warn the child off, Tails ignored him. Instead, the fifth-grade student and part-time lecturer in aeronautical engineering crouched beside the prone blue hedgehog.
"Sonic!" he snapped, "Cut it out!"
Sonic blinked, finally breaking eye contact with Manic.
"P-pixel brain?" he stammered, as if coming out of a trance.
"Yeah," said Tails flatly, "What're you so angry about?"
"Someone didn't play al—ugh!"
"Shoosh," said Mina, pressing her elbow harder into Manic's back.
Tails shot the green hedgehog a reproving glance.
"Well, chili breath?" he said, looking back at Sonic, "Spit it out…please?"
"Can't ask nicer than that, Bluey," said Mighty.
Sonic sighed raggedly.
"It's just a…just a family thing."
Across the floor, Manic snickered, then grunted.
"I said 'shoosh'," said Mina.
"Is that all?" said Tails disbelievingly.
Sonic nodded.
"Promise?" said the fox earnestly.
"Promise," said Sonic.
With that, Mighty hauled the blue hedgehog upright, but maintained his armlock.
"Could you take your buddy upstairs, Tails?" said the armadillo.
The fox nodded and held out his hand. "C'mon, I can show you those Tornado 4 designs."
Sonic cocked a brow. "You brought those with you?"
"I sort of take them everywhere," said Tails, patting his blazer pocket, "Just in case I have a good idea, y'know."
Sonic grinned as Mighty finally let him go. His hand eagerly clasped the fox's.
"Let's go, pixel brain."