Author's Note: This fic is a continuation of the main storyline in Inescapable Past.
Notes on canon
This fic treats the mainline games from Sonic the Hedgehog through Shadow the Hedgehog as canon.
Events and backstories have been tweaked to accommodate elements from SatAM, Archie, Fleetway and Sonic Underground.
Characters from IDW and more recent games appear in adapted roles.
Blaze and Silver are the fictional heroes of a bestselling YA book series.
Disclaimer: All non-original characters are property of SEGA or their respective creators.
Act 1: Living in the City
Some thirteenth birthday this was turning out to be.
Amy Rose hadn't made any grand plans to mark her entry into teenagerhood. She still had school, after all. That said, she hadn't expected to still be at school an hour after the final bell, let alone in the wood-paneled hallway outside Principal Acorn's office, patiently awaiting yet another telling-off.
The sparkly '13 Today' badge pinned to her purple Alicia Acorn Academy blazer had lost its magic. Up until lunch, it had been a permanent reminder of the pile of wrapped gifts waiting for her back home. Right now, the best gift on Mobius would be a cushion for this wooden bench. She could barely feel her butt.
On the bright side, this wasn't eating into her time with Tangle. True to form, the lemur had gone and landed herself in detention. Her offence: trying to avoid a tardy by climbing in through a second-floor classroom's window. On the gloomier side, she was letting Shadow down, missing the hospital appointment she'd promised to accompany him to.
Glancing up and down the hallway, Amy reached inside her blazer and plucked her cellphone out of a pocket she'd stitched into the garment's lining. Keeping the forbidden device concealed with her blazer, she peered down at the illuminated lockscreen and smiled wistfully.
The background image was a photo taken at last week's BlazeCon, an annual convention dedicated to all things Princess Blaze. The pink hedgehog was center-frame, dressed in the feline heroine's signature coat heels. Amy snickered at her uneasy smile. She'd been struggling to not look at the big plastic ruby that refused to stay stuck to her forehead.
To her right was Cream, dressed as Marine. To her left was Tangle, cutting a dash in blue hat and surcoat of Blaze's koala attendant Gardon. Behind them loomed Vector as Captain Whisker, complete with a red cocked hat and moustache fashioned from the bristles of two brooms. Shadow had politely rebuffed her overtures to attend as Silver.
Just then, the principal's office door opened. Amy hastily resumed her pose of penitent boredom as an adult iguana emerged. The rotund reptile's scaly green frame was squeezed into an ill-fitting dress. Behind her, a sullen-faced adolescent iguana skulked along in a uniform identical to Amy's, minus the rip on her blazer where sleeve met shoulder.
That damage, and the scraped knees beneath her gray pleated skirt, had been sustained in a lunchtime scuffle over Mr. Cheese, Cream's treasured plushie. For Amy, the fight had quickly become about much more than a stuffed Chao's liberty, or even stopping Cream's tears.
Miguela always seemed to find something to pick on her about, be it her Princess Blaze-themed backpack and lunchbox; her friendly rapport with the teachers and groundspeople who used to live in Knothole Village; or how she and Tangle always ate lunch with Cream's second-grade crew.
"Amy?"
The hedgehog's gaze snapped from the retreating iguanas to the grave-faced chipmunk in the office doorway.
"Yes, uh. ma'am?" said Amy quietly.
Not calling her Sally was still a struggle, but "ma'am" rolled off the tongue a little easier than "Principal Acorn".
"In you come," said Sally, beckoning to her.
With hunched shoulders, Amy stood up, grabbed her backpack decorated with artwork of Princess Blaze taming a firestorm, and trudged inside the office. Sally closed the door behind her.
〜
"Hey! Enough already!" snapped Tangle, shooing the gray Flicky perched on her head.
Omega fluttered down onto the backrest of the bench outside the King Maximilian Acorn Free Hospital. He twittered his objections at being interrupted, then resumed preening.
"Does he ever stop doing that?" the lemur mused.
"Huh?" uttered Amy distractedly, "Does he what?"
Tangle smirked. "Welcome back to Mobius. How was the flight?"
The hedgehog curled her lip, then went back to contemplating her penny loafers.
The lemur scooted closer to her girlfriend.
"Lighten up, would you?" she said, "It's not like he came here by himself."
She shot a glance at Omega, who was still preening away.
"I know," muttered Amy, "But still, I promised—"
"Yeah, on your fricking birthday," interjected Tangle, "Besides, who else was gonna stick up for Mr. Cheese if you hadn't?"
"Umm, like, whichever teacher caught Miguela with it first?" said the hedgehog, "It wasn't like she had anywhere to hide it."
Tangle sighed, resting her forehead on Amy's blazered shoulder.
"Are you doing this on purpose?" she asked in mock despair.
Amy frowned. "Doing what?"
"Being completely impossible."
"Impossible? I'm ju—mph!"
The fluffy tip of Tangle's tail covered her mouth.
"Hush now, young Amy," the lemur intoned, imitating a Solarian priest, "Let us observe a moment's silence for your broken promise."
"Get…off!" the hedgehog spluttered, trying to push the tail away. Tangle fought back until the thirteen-year-old giggled.
"There!" said Tangle brightly, "Mission accomplished."
Amy gave her girlfriend a playful shove. The lemur smiled impishly. They both flinched as Omega suddenly took off like a feathery bullet. He alighted upon Shadow's shoulder as he emerged from the hospital's main entrance, leaning on the cane in his right hand.
Amy gasped and leapt to her feet. Tangle caught her by the wrist
"Hold up, birthday girl," said the lemur, "You don't wanna interrupt, do you?"
Nonplussed, Amy looked up. Shadow was gradually lumbering their way with Omega perched on the back of his left hand. The black hedgehog seemed to be talking at length to the Flicky.
"Oh," uttered the pink hedgehog, parking herself back on bench, "I can wait."
"Does he think he's ever gonna talk back?" murmured Tangle.
Amy didn't reply, though it was something she'd wondered herself. Omega seemed to understand him — at least to the same extent Birdy had understood her — but Shadow really did talk to that bird like it was still a killer robot.
"Hey," she said, standing up as Shadow reached the bench.
"Happy birthday," he said.
Amy smiled weakly. "Sorry I couldn't make it to…"
Shadow waved away the apology. "I'm sure whatever you had to do was more important."
Tangle snickered. Amy resisted the urge to elbow her.
"Did they have…good news?" she asked tentatively.
The black hedgehog slowly shook his head.
Amy nodded stiffly. That would be the last they said of it today.
"So, what's for dinner, birthday girl?" asked Tangle.
"Huh? Oh, uh, what time is it?"
Tangle's eyes widened. "Sweet Solaris! You're right!"
The lemur glanced wildly around the hospital parking lot, as if perusing a convoy of phantom food trucks. When none appeared, she turned back to Amy, pinching the 'Inhabit Westopolis' pin on her purple blazer's lapel.
"I guess its pizza or pizza, huh," she said, flashing a weak smile, "My treat?"
"Can you afford it?" asked Amy earnestly.
"I saved up," replied Tangle, "I couldn't get you those trading cards you wanted, but I can buy you dinner."
The pink hedgehog sidled on up to the lemur and planted a kiss on her cheek.
"Pizza's good," she whispered, hugging Tangle's arm.
〜
Two flags flapped in the frigid wind above Tundra Bay Airport's only terminal. The larger of the two bore the six-pointed White Star of Holoska on a blue background. Its smaller neighbor, the official city flag of Tundra Bay, depicted an orca in mid-leap above two intercrossed hockey sticks.
Down on the airport's tarmac, Cyrus was wondering if the hockey stick in the hands of the musclebound white polar bear beside him was some sort of mayoral scepter.
"There's our bird, Mayor Guntiver, sir," said the polar bear, pointing out an incoming airplane.
"I would've thought was obvious, Augustus," replied the red wolf in front of him.
The bear grinned. "Good point, sir."
Cyrus gladly turned his focus to the plane. This had all gotten very weird. One moment, the lion was on his way to pick up a couple of friends from the airport. The next moment, he suddenly found himself part of Mayor Guntiver's entourage, come to officially welcome that plane's passenger to Mobius' coldest city. Working for Manic was certainly never dull.
In due course, the plane — a pearl-white business-jet bearing the golden crest of Soleanna's royal family on its fuselage and tailfin — touched down and taxied to its stand. Its airstairs unfurled, and a red echidna poked his head out. He seemed to scan the runway's apron, then disappeared back inside the aircraft.
"Should we go over, sir?" asked Augustus.
"Give them a chance," replied Guntiver.
The echidna soon reappeared wearing a brown cowboy hat. A two-tailed fox, dressed in green plaid pants and a vermillion blazer, followed him down onto the tarmac.
"Over here, Tails!" Cyrus hollered.
As the duo approached, the eager Guntiver went to intercept them.
"Greetings, Guardian," the wolf declared, extending a hand, "It is an honor to welcome you to Holoska."
Knuckles looked bemusedly at the proffered hand.
"Is it?" he said, scratching his chin.
〜
"I'll sort dinner!" blurted Tangle as the door to Shadow and Amy's apartment creaked open.
The lemur's red necktie streaked out behind her as she bolted for the kitchen, hugging three pizza boxes. Meanwhile, Omega fluttered over to his cage and began inhaling birdseed.
"Someone's hungry," remarked Amy, stepping inside.
"Preening is hungry work," muttered Shadow, lumbering past her.
Omega looked up from his seed tray and twittered indignantly. The black hedgehog closed the cage door as he passed by, fingering the lock. Amy giggled as he casually proceeded into the living room, ignoring the gray Flicky's furious chirrups.
The thirteen-year-old unlocked the cage en route to dumping her backpack in her bedroom. One look at Princess Blaze alarm clock killed any thought of getting changed. She swore she seemed to live in her uniform these days, but then, laundry was one chore she couldn't split with Shadow. Not when towels and bedsheets were his only contribution.
Turning to leave, she caught sight of the Princess Blaze calendar on the back of the door. Below the artwork of Silver psychically stopping a hail of bullets, there was a square for next week filled in 'Cream Volleyball Regionals!' Amy sighed. Not for her, there wouldn't be. Not after her latest conversation with Sally.
Reluctantly scribbling it out, she trudged out of her bedroom and into the open-plan living room. In the lounge area, Shadow had already settled into his armchair. Over in the kitchen area, Tangle was practically dancing around with a garlic breadstick hanging out of her mouth, plating up the pizzas.
"You alright?" asked Shadow as Amy flopped onto the couch, arms splayed.
"Yeah. Just, y'know…"
"Do I know?" said the black hedgehog.
Amy smirked. The trials and tribulations of seventh grade weren't something he knew anything about, as she was reminded every time she tried to vent.
"I guess not," she said, sitting up.
"Turn it on! It's time!" hollered Tangle, scrambling out of the kitchen carrying the three pizzas. Two with her hands, one with her tail.
The frantic Amy fumbled the TV remote, eventually locating the required button. She stabbed it with an index finger.
"Live from the Babylon Enterprises Arena in downtown Tundra Bay, All Mobius Pro Wrestling is proud to present…Freeze-Out!"
〜
Manic scooped a handful of gel out of the pot and slicked back his head-quills to better resemble his brother's. As he applied a second layer, he eyed Sonic in the corner of the mirror. The blue hedgehog was curled up on a bench across the locker room, glued to his phone.
The green hedgehog glanced at the TV on the wall. Sonia was straddling a wrestling ring's turnbuckle while her opponent, a white ewe, writhed on the mat.
"Yo, Sonia's almost done," said Manic, "What're you waiting for?"
"Huh?" uttered Sonic, looking up, "Oh, sorry. Just dealing with Sally."
Manic cocked a brow.
"She still trying to talk you out of this?" he asked, "I thought you settled—"
"Relax, dude," Sonic cut in, "It's just an Amy thing."
"Another one? What she do this time?"
"Something about a stolen plushie."
Manic chuckled. "Putting all that Knothole training to good use, I see."
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," grumbled Sonic, "You're not the one who has to hear about it."
"She's not gonna expel her, is she?" asked Manic, wrenching a comb through his flattened quills.
"Who? Sal?" Sonic scoffed, "Like she'd give up that easily."
"Glad to hear it," said the green hedgehog, "Now get dressed."
He turned around and kicked a black duffel bag across the tiled floor.
"There's five thousand Mobians out there waiting for someone to hate on."
Putting down his phone, Sonic snorted. "Whatever you say, Scourge."
Manic pulled on a black leather jacket and donned a pair of red-tinted sunglasses. "Believe it, Nazo."