Chapter 39: The SonAmy Coffee Shop AU

"It looks like his notes were accurate!" Eggman exclaimed as he towered over the several foot capsule on the floor of the frigid room.

"Whose notes are you referring to, Doctor?" Decoe asked.

"I am out of the loop as well," Bocoe added.

"Why, none other than my late grandfather, Dr. Gerald Robotnik of course!" Eggman replied in glee as he tried clearing the condensation from the glass capsule with his gloved hand. "He created what he referred to as the Ultimate Lifeform, but he was unable to fully realize his vision." The evil doctor stepped back and studied the case once more, finding that the ice encrusted over the capsule was simply too thick.

"The Doctor has family?" Decoe asked his robotic brother.

"I had no idea," Bocoe replied.

"I don't have to tell you everything about my personal life," Eggman said, "and besides: most of the data I've collected on Gerald came not from Mobius but, rather, the U.S. government's secret database which I hacked into, retrieving loads of confidential, encrypted diary entries that have never been accessed!"

"That raises a lot of questions," Bocoe replied, "the chief question being: how did you end up on Mobius when your family was from Earth?"

"That's a question I haven't been able to resolve if you must know," Eggman replied as he shifted his focus to the large, antique computer terminal connected to the pod by large cables, "but once I conquer both Earth and Mobius, I'll have all the time in the world to delve further into my family origins." The evil doctor approached the computer, waking it up with a flick of its cube-like mouse. Dusting off an old chair, and cracking his knuckles, Eggman poured through the various prompts until he came across the final activation button. With a wide smirk across his face, and with a final click of his mouse, the machine keeping the Ultimate Lifeform cryogenically frozen started to hum.

Decoe and Bocoe jumped back in fright as the pod's ice blue hue started turning orange, the ice melting into water that soon puddled all around the pod.

"That's not good," Eggman noted as the water approached the archaic computer. "Decoe, Bocoe: out now!"

"What's going o—" Bocoe began to say before the evil doctor grabbed each of them by the arms, running out of the cold room just in time to avoid an explosion.

"Doctor…" Decoe's eyes started to well up. "Did you…save us?"

"Do you really love us, Doctor?" Bocoe asked, tears starting to form in his eyes as well.

"Don't read too much into it," Eggman replied as he pulled himself up and dusted himself off. Massaging his mustache, the evil doctor peered into the stasis room, but the billowing black smoke made it impossible to get a clear visual of the aftermath. He turned around and shook his head. "Well, that was a waste. Should've figured the government's primitive technology wouldn't be able to successfully revive my grandfather's creation. There should've been a team monitoring the project around the clock, but it looks like the humans all but forgot about it, leaving the capsule dormant for decades." The evil doctor sighed before turning to his two robotic henchmen. "Well, let's get a move on before the police put a stop to our prison breakout."

"Yes, doctor," they replied simultaneously. As they were approaching the staircase, however, they heard steps emerging from the capsule room, causing the three to stop in their tracks and turn around.

Eggman gasped as a familiar silhouette took shape through the smoke.

"No, it can't be! I don't believe this!" The evil doctor took a defensive stance as he awaited the inevitable showdown with his archnemesis. "So, you decided to show up, eh Sonic? Come to foil my plans like you always do? Did you sabotage my grandfather's machine? Are you so dimwitted that you failed to realize the damage you caused to my family legacy?"

Out from the smoke came an ebony blur, the shape of a Mobian hedgehog appearing before him moments later.

"I would rethink your choice of words," she warned.

"Oh, you're not Sonic!" Eggman gasped as he studied the hedgehog before him: while similar in size, her fur was black with a red stripe running through her quills. She wore a black, leather vest with white chest floof protruding between the jacket's zipper and collar. She wore a set of gold rings around her wrists and a pair of shoes containing what would've been advanced technology when she was first created. "Are you…?"

"My name is Shadow, and I am the Ultimate Lifeform created by Dr. Gerald Robotnik." Her voice was deep and cold, not monotone but lacking any sort of enthusiasm. She carefully studied Eggman and his robotic companions.

"Ahh, so it is Project Shadow!" An evil grin widened across his mustachioed face. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Ivo Robotnik, but I also go by Dr. Eggman." He took Shadow's gloved hand and gave her arm a shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you! You could probably tell from my name, but I'm related to your creator."

"Where is he?" Shadow asked. "And for that matter…where's Maria?"

"Shadow, I'm sorry to say that you've been cryogenically frozen for quite a while. 50 years in fact!"

"50…years?"

"That's right," Eggman replied, "and while you've been frozen, both my grandfather and Maria, my cousin, unfortunately met their demise."

"No…" Shadow's eyes contracted as she started processing this information. "Maria's…dead? And Gerald too?" The ebony hedgehog peered up at the evil doctor. "It was…the military, wasn't it?"

"Why of course," Eggman replied. "They were so afraid that you, my grandfather's ultimate creation, were too powerful to warrant being kept in his hands, so they completely eliminated the entire research team and recovered you from an escape pod. They kept you on ice since…until I freed you, that is."

The alarms started blaring, and the sound of running footsteps could be heard coming down the nearby stairs.

"In speaking of which," Eggman growled as he peered back at the oncoming soldiers. "There they are now. They imprisoned me for continuing my grandfather's epic work! They're power-hungry cowards who need to be eliminated. After all…" The evil doctor adjusted his glasses and gave the ebony hedgehog a wicked smirk. "…it's what Maria would've wanted, right?"

Shadow gasped as a memory flooded into her mind…

"Shadow…S-Shadow…"

Shadow's adopted sister lay nearly lifeless on the tiled floor of a room containing a single escape pod overlooking the vast nothingness of space. The ebony hedgehog was powerless to help, however, trapped on the other side of the thick glass separating the Space Colony Ark from her escape pod.

"L-listen to…me…"

Maria's blue dress was bloodstained from the gunshots she sustained moments earlier, but despite the mortal wounds, the young girl managed to pull herself up to her knees using a lever connected to a nearby computer terminal.

"STOP!" The soldier aimed his machine gun at the young girl once more. "If you make one more move, I will shoot on sight. You will be eliminated. You understand?"

"S-shadow…" Maria tuned out the voice of the lone soldier. "Pro-promise me…"

"Maria!" Shadow balled her hand into a fist and tried punching through the case, but to no avail. Perhaps if she were at full strength, she would've been able to break free, but the ebony hedgehog had gunshot wounds of her own, one in her left arm and one in her right leg.

"Promise me…" Using what little strength she had left, the young girl pulled down the lever, disengaging the escape pod from the side of the space station, sending the Ultimate Lifeform on a crash course to Earth.

"MARIA!"

"Stand down, Eggman!" The leading soldier ordered. "You will not be escaping from Prison Island." The other soldiers pointed their machine guns on the evil doctor. "You have exactly three seconds to put your hands up before my soldiers turn you into Swiss cheese."

"That's your cue, Shadow," Eggman said, giving the ebony hedgehog a wink.

"Maria…is this what you wanted? For me to enact my revenge against those who made us suffer?" Shadow's eyes started glowing red as she stepped between her new master and the soldiers who intended to do harm to him.

"That goes for you too, you furry littl—" Before the soldier could finish his order, an ebony blur came at him like a lightning strike, the hedgehog's gloved fist punching him in the gut and sending him and several others falling like bowling pins. Unfortunately, however, this maneuver only incapacitated 10 out of the 20 soldiers lining the hallway.

"Hey, you son of a bitch!" The nearest soldier started shooting at the hedgehog. Dodging the attacks, Shadow used her air shoes to jet across the hallway and punch him in the gut as well, forcing him to drop his gun. Picking it up, a grin appeared across the ebony hedgehog's muzzle. She aimed at the remaining soldiers, and without a moment's thought, she pulled the trigger, holding it down and performing a steady sweep until everyone was eliminated.

"All right, Doctor," Shadow said as she dropped the depleted machine gun, "let's go." The Ultimate Lifeform led the way up the stairs.

"You don't have to tell me!" Eggman replied as he ran to catch up.

"Wait for us, Doctor," Decoe and Bocoe shouted as they jogged up the stairs as well, eventually meeting Shadow and Eggman at the base level.

The four hid behind a set of metallic double doors that led to the dock. Peering through the barred window, Eggman noted that the entire perimeter of the prison, from the brick walls to the ocean water, were swarming with soldiers.

"Shadow, take care of them and report back to me when finished," Eggman ordered, testing to see if he could establish dominance over his grandfather's creation.

"Yes, Doctor," Shadow replied with a nod. Kicking open the double doors, which caught the immediate attention of the soldiers, the ebony hedgehog dodged incoming fire, swooping around the first soldier and performing a roundhouse kick to the back of his head. Using her air shoes once more, Shadow took down the remaining soldiers with a combination of punches and kicks, aided by her superior speed, excellent agility, and robust strength.

Eggman snickered as he watched the Ultimate Lifeform take down the soldiers.

"Shadow is under my control, and together, we will conquer both Mobius and Earth alike! Wooahhooohoohooo!"

"Are you sure this hedgehog can be trusted?" Decoe asked.

"You don't exactly have a good history with these creatures, Doctor," Bocoe added.

"What, are you jealous Shadow will put you two out of a job?" Eggman asked as he massaged his mustache. "There will always be janitorial duty!"

"But Doctor, we already clean the bathrooms in your lairs," Decoe complained.

"We just think that additional caution should be exercised before putting your faith into this unknown hedgehog," Bocoe added.

"Are you questioning the ingenuity of my late grandfather? One of the greatest scientific minds of all time? The one who shares my genes?" A single vein was starting to bulge from the side of his forehead.

"Oh, no Doctor, we swear!" Decoe and Bocoe shook their heads and raised their palms, effectively asking their master to grant forgiveness for insulting his family's honor.

"While it's true my luck with hedgehog's has been…lacking…" Eggman grumbled under his breath. "This hedgehog will serve as my ace in the hole. How ironic will it be…" An evil grin grew across his face once more. "…for my ultimate nemesis to be taken down by a fellow hedgehog?"

"Doctor!" Shadow called. "I've eliminated the soldiers. We are free to make our escape."

"Excellent!" Eggman replied, storming past the ebony hedgehog to find various police boats to choose from parked on the several docks lining the boulder-covered beach. Jumping into the nearest boat, the evil doctor turned the key.

"Decoe, untie the boat." Eggman pointed at the rope tied to the nearest boulder.

"Aye aye, Doctor," Decoe replied, giving the evil doctor a salute. Before the mechanical henchman could obey Eggman's command, however, Shadow slashed through the rope with a single chop of her gloved hand.

"Now that's what I call efficiency!" Eggman exclaimed as Shadow sat down in her seat, folding her arms together and closing her eyes. "Take note, Decoe and Bocoe, or you'll be facing a demotion in the near future!"

Eggman reversed the boat and turned it 180 degrees before speeding away from the island.

"Where are we going now, Doctor?" Bocoe asked. "Your island fortress was destroyed by Sonic and his friends, and I'm sure Chris' underground warehouse is back in his parents' possession."

The evil doctor scoffed. "I'm no longer in need of that nitwit's assistance." Eggman sped up the boat. "In fact, as a little side project prior to my last showdown with Sonic, I was working on something quite…eggsquisite."

"A side project?" Decoe asked.

"Precisely," he replied with a nod, pulling a remote from the pocket of his prison attire. "Prison Island makes it surprisingly easy to sneak contraband inside." He pressed a button on the remote.

…but nothing happened.

"What's…that supposed to do?" Decoe asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Maybe it has malfunctioned?" Bocoe added.

"If you two dumbots don't shut up, I'll make sure you two start malfunctioning." The evil doctor focused his attention back to the remote. "Just give it a little time." The two robotic brothers exchanged glances before shrugging their shoulders.

After speeding through the ocean for several more minutes, a chime sounded from the remote.

"Huh, took longer than I expected," Eggman said.

"What happened?" Decoe asked.

"Watch this." With an evil grin, Eggman pressed the button once more. The two robots fell, and their eyes bulged out of their metallic sockets, at the sudden appearance of a large airship floating above them. Even Shadow looked up in awe.

"Welcome to the Egg Carrier, my latest and greatest, fully camouflageable flying fortress! I wasn't able to completely finish it, but it'll do for now."

"What's left to finish?" Bocoe asked.

"Why, I have yet to install the filtration system in the pool! No laps for me just yet." Eggman pressed another button, retracting a metallic ladder from the base of the red ship.

The evil doctor was the first to climb aboard, followed by Decoe, Bocoe, and Shadow. While the climb would've taken the ebony hedgehog less than a minute, she had to contend with the slow pace of her new companions.

Finally at the top, Eggman huffed as he bent over, grabbing his knees with his palms as he breathed heavily, sweat dripping from his face. Decoe and Bocoe were equally tired, dripping oil from their metallic foreheads. Only Shadow was undeterred from such a minor exercise.

"Shadow…" Eggman approached the ebony hedgehog. "Do you want to get revenge on the military for what they did to Gerald and Maria?"

She once again played back the pleading final words of Maria in her mind.

P-please Shadow…Pro-promise me…

"Yes," Shadow replied with a nod. "The military, no…the human race will pay for what they did to them if it's the last thing I do."

"Very good!" Eggman replied as an evil smirk covered his face. "Our goals are aligned then. Stick with me, and follow my instructions, and we will ensure your revenge is fulfilled." The evil doctor extended his arm out and opened his palm.

Shadow stared at Eggman's gloved hand before closing her eyes, exhaling deeply, and shaking his hand, forging a mutually beneficial partnership.

For Maria…

Lying on a tree branch in the municipal park, Sonic yawned as he stared off into the distance. He then glanced at his wristwatch communicator, awaiting his latest assignment from Topaz, but alas, the work seemed to have dried up. The blue hedgehog was simply too fast to allow any sort of backlog.

"Welp…" Sonic jumped off the tree branch and stretched. "I might as well get a good run in!" He peered up at Angel Island floating over the park. "Or maybe I should pay Tails a visit?" Finally, he made up his mind as a grin grew across his muzzle. "Actually, I think I'm gonna visit Ames." With a nod, the blue hedgehog dashed down the street, arriving at the bakery soon after.

"Ah man…" To Sonic's dismay, there was a line out the door. "They must be popular!"

The blue hedgehog waited patiently, or as patiently as someone like him could, as the line slowly moved along, with customers in front of him placing orders and eagerly collecting their donuts, fresh bread, and cups of coffee.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Sonic was the next in line, but the only attending staffer was busy pulling the latest batch of buns out of the oven. She nearly squealed when she saw who was awaiting her at the counter.

"Say," Sonic began, lowering the pitch of his voice as if being played by Roger Craig Smith instead of Jason Griffith, "I hear a pretty girl works here. Would love to take her out on a date."

Amy nearly swooned as a blush appeared across her face, but when she glanced at the long line behind the blue hedgehog, she snapped herself out of it.

"I would love to, Sonic, but my colleague called in sick. I'm the only one running things here." She sighed as she prepared another batch of black coffee.

"Then maybe I could help?" Sonic flipped over the counter, landing by the pink hedgehog's side.

"Sonic, I love you, but you're not the best in the kitchen."

"You know I make a mean chili dog, though, right?" Sonic asked with a smug grin.

"You're essentially a one hit wonder in the kitchen," Amy replied, "plus you haven't gone through any mandatory sanitary food preparation training."

"Fair enough, fair enough…" Sonic peered over at the cash register as he brought a gloved finger to his chin in contemplation. "Why don't I at least put in orders for you and handle the cash?"

Amy thought about this proposal, itching her chin as well. "Okay, Sonic. I accept. You can be my unpaid intern! Truly the American way!"

"Yeah, sure," Sonic replied with a chuckle, running his hands through his quills.

"M'kay, let's take you to the register." Amy pointed at the various digital buttons on the touch screen. "It's pretty self-explanatory. Just put in what the customer requests, and it'll give you the total they owe. Collect the money, and I'll prepare the order and bring it back out to you."

"Sounds simple enough!" Sonic replied with a thumbs up.

"Thanks, sweetie." Amy gave Sonic a small kiss on the cheek before throwing a new batch of bread into the oven.

"No problem!" The blue hedgehog turned to the cash register. His first customer was a 20-something woman on her smartphone.

"May I take your order?" Sonic asked.

She looked up from her phone. "Yes, I'll have a large double ristretto, iced vanilla double shot, nonfat half-breve double blended with whipped cream and an organic blueberry banana nut muffin to go."

"Ummmm…" The blue hedgehog stared at the monitor, finding none of these words as available options. "Can you…repeat that again for me please?"

"I'll have a large double ristretto…"

"Reeses…Trekko?" Sonic asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Yeahhh, I'd like to see your manager," she replied before pulling out her smartphone once more.

"Ummm, one sec…" Sweating bullets, the blue hedgehog ran to the kitchen. "Hey Ames, I'm having trouble with this or—" Sonic gasped at the sight of Amy slamming her Piko Piko Hammer over the oven, creating a large dent. "Amy, what are you doing?"

"The oven attacked me!" Amy replied.

"The oven…attacked you?" Sonic folded his arms, his eyelids half closed.

"I know it sounds outlandish, but it really happened!" Black smoke started billowing from the oven.

"Ames…" Sonic placed his hands on the pink hedgehog's shoulders. "You're burning the candle at both ends here. I think maybe you should take a vacation."

"I'm fine, Sonic," Amy replied frustratingly. "I'm telling you, the oven started attacking m—" Amy backed away and pulled her hammer from her hammerspace once more.

"Amy…what are you doing?" Sonic asked.

"Duck!"

"Where?" Sonic peered around, but before he registered what Amy meant, he was slapped in the head by a swing of a fridge door. Quickly spinning around, Sonic watched in awe as an army of refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, ovens, and even the dishwasher, came to life and slowly made their way toward the two hedgehogs.

"Okay, I take it all back," Sonic admitted. "You were right, as per usual…now let's take care of these."

"Right." Amy furrowed her brow and raised her arms up in preparation for the upcoming battle. Right as the pink hedgehog was about to swing her hammer, however, a scream came from the lobby.

"I'll go help the patrons," Amy said. "Sonic, have you got the kitchen covered?"

"I may not be very good in the kitchen," Sonic replied with a grin, "but if there's one thing I'm good at…it's smashin' evil robots!"

"Good luck!" Amy wished before leaving the kitchen to find her customers getting harassed by the rogue cash register.

"All right," Sonic raised his fists and bent his knees, preparing himself for the upcoming battle. "Come get your dinner while it's hot!"

The vacuum was the first to attack Sonic, lunging itself directly at his torso. The blue hedgehog grabbed the appliance and swung it around, toppling over the other machines. He then prepared a spindash. Bouncing around the entire kitchen like an out-of-control Sonic Spinball™, the appliances were all smoking and destroyed by the time Sonic came to a complete stop at the front door of the kitchen.

After the short-lived battle, Sonic found Amy running out the entrance of the bakery, the register destroyed with a large hammerhead-shaped indent in its screen. The blue hedgehog ran to meet up with her, finding the entire downtown street overrun with various household appliances chasing after their owners.

"What the heck is going on?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know," Amy replied as she gripped her Piko Piko Hammer, "but something tells me we'll be busy for a while."

"I'll say," Sonic replied as he cracked his knuckles.

Just as Sonic was about to prepare a spindash against the nearest dishwasher, his wristwatch communicator rang.

"Hey Tails, now's not the best time."

"Look above!" Tails replied.

Sonic and Amy peered up to find the Tornado 2 flying almost directly overhead.

"I heard from Chuck all these appliances have Eggman branding on their motherboards," Tails said.

"How? Isn't he still in jail?"

"They had him fix broken appliances as a form of punishment, but they clearly didn't monitor his work close enough."

"Yeah, I'll say…" Sonic scoffed.

Through a café window several yards away, an oven was thrown through, glass shattering everywhere. Out came Knuckles, who immediately ran to his next target.

"Oh hey Knucklehead!" Sonic called, joining Knuckles at his side.

"Joining in on the fun I see," Knuckles replied. "These contraptions were causing so much ruckus that I heard the commotion from Angel Island, so I came to investigate." He punched through an oncoming washing machine.

"You probably won't be surprised to hear this was Eggman's doing," Sonic replied as he spindashed through a row of appliances, causing all of them to explode in succession.

"Figures," Knuckles punched an air fryer into the stratosphere. "He's probably long gone from wherever the humans had him locked up."

"Haven't checked," Sonic replied as he caught his breath, "but I wouldn't be surprised."

Another oven flew over Sonic and Knuckles' heads, crashing through the window of a nearby bank. The two peered over at the mech suit piloted by Helen.

"Need some help?" Helen offered as she kicked a dishwasher into another building.

"All right, Helen!" Sonic cheered.

Screeching to a halt behind the Helengelion, Vanilla, Cheese, Bokkun, and Chuck poured out of the elder scientist's van.

"And you even brought the whole cavalry," Knuckles replied.

"Yeah, the more the merrier," Sonic said, giving the group a thumbs up.

And sure enough, the back-up crew began their work.

Chuck was able to maneuver just fast enough to get behind his targeted appliances to unscrew their latches and pry Eggman's motherboard enhancements out with a shockproof multi-tool, causing them to cease operation. Vanilla was destroying vacuum cleaners and dishwashers with a metal bat. Cream combated the appliances by flying in the air and taking aerial shots with Cheese. Last but not least, Bokkun had a steady supply of CRTV bombs he withdrew from his bottomless backpack, more than enough to take down a small army of washing and drying machines.

Several hours later, the entire party was lying in the street surrounded by hundreds of broken appliances. Sonic and Amy were sitting upright against the wheel of a school bus as they held hands. Chuck was sitting against a newspaper stand. Vanilla held Cream and Cheese in her arms as she sat against a broken fridge. Knuckles was lying back first with his arms and legs spread out like a snow angel. Bokkun was sleeping face first on the sidewalk.

The only two who were not exhausted were Tails and Helen. Tails pushed Helen in her wheelchair as they assessed the damage.

"This alone is going to cost tens of millions of dollars in property damages at least," Tails calculated, "not to mention the home and business insurance rates will be going through the roof. Not sure if they'll accept sentient appliances as valid claims." This made the young girl laugh, the first she felt at ease since they took down the rogue oven back at her house.

"Well, either way," Helen replied, "apparently the other appliances made my house into quite the mess. My parents texted me to ask if you'd be okay taking me in for a few days."

"Yeah, that's totally fine!" Tails replied. "There's more than enough room at the workshop for you to stay for as long as you'd like!"

"Thanks!" With a warm smile, Helen extended her fist out. Smiling back, the orange kitsune gave her a fist bump.

"Not to cut off your little conversation…" Tails and Helen peered up to find Rouge gliding overhead, landing next to the two moments later. "…but you should gather your friends."

"What for?" Helen asked, peering over at the secret agent as she brought a finger to her chin.

"The President would like a word," she replied as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Let me guess," Tails said. "Eggman escaped?"

Rouge gave the young fox a grin.

"You're a smart little fox."

Sorry for the delay on this one! As usual, life has got me busy with work, household projects, and artwork commissions. Hope you enjoyed this entry, though! I've been planning on making Shadow genderbent for a while now, so hopefully that was an interesting twist.