Chapter 2:
Regroup, Rethink, Reflect

Sonic's mouth hung open like a creaky porch door. The home he had grown up in for 15 years was being vandalized and burnt by some walking junk piles. Now, he'd always had a tendency to get a bit steamed up on some occasions...but compared to what he was looking at currently, those other times were small potatoes.

This time, he was running on pure anger. His teeth gritted...his eyebrows furrowed...his gloved hands clenched into fists of anger; it was as if a candle had been lit within his body...and his anger was like a furnace. Sonia and Manic both decided it was best to back away and let their brother channel his rage.

Sonic focused on one of the SWATBots who was crushing the mailbox and lunged at him, his eyes wild with anger.

"YOU LOUSY BUCKET OF BOLTS!" he exclaimed. "WHAT'D YOU DO WITH MOM, DAD, UNCLE CHUCK AND MUTTSKI?!"

The SWATBot simply responded, "Attention, fellow SWATBots; hedgehog is exhibiting violent tendencies! Terminate with extreme prejudice!"

Upon receiving these commands, the other SWATBots stopped their wanton destruction and stomped towards Sonic.

In an instant, Sonic jumped into the air and began spinning and spinning until he turned into a spiky blue cyclone.

The SWATBots were powerless to escape the pull as they were each dragged into the tornado and torn to pieces.

Luckily, the winds generated by the cyclone managed to blow away the flames, but the Cobalt home was still in smoking shambles.

"Our home…" Sonia commented, sadly. "Look what they did to our home…"

Manic shook his head in dismay. "Totally heinous," he remarked.

Sonic ceased spinning, and came back to the ground. "Man, if I could get my hands on that 'Robotnik' creep-oid…WHAM! POW! THWACK!—he'd be dust!" he fumed before his dizziness caught up with him. "Whoa…major head-rush…"

Manic and Sonia ran over to their brother and helped him keep himself steady.

"So, whaddo we do?" asked Manic.

"Well…it's pretty obvious we can't stay here," said Sonia. "Let's see what we can salvage, and call Tom & Maddie."

Manic nodded as he headed into the charred house to find anything that could be saved, while Sonia got out her phone and started dialing the Wachowski house…and Sonic, having regained his balance, just stood outside, feeling an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

Why did we hafta go and run that errand? I shoulda said something, he thought. Maybe if we stayed back, we could've helped fight 'em off. Then…then maybe Mom, and Dad, and Muttski, and Uncle Chuck…

As his eyes became wet, he squeezed them shut, trying as hard as he could to fight off the urge to cry.

LATER THAT DAY…

The triplets had been picked up by Tom and Maddie Wachowski, who were more than willing to let them stay at the house.

"Everyone got taken?" asked Maddie, after having heard Sonia's explanation of the events which had transpired. "That's horrible!"

"Horrible doesn't even scratch the surface," replied Tom. "I mean, we are housing a couple other Mobians at our place, so that's not so bad. Still…the fact that somebody who does these things would actually exist is kinda sickening."

"Exactly!" Sonia nodded. "That's why we need to take action!"

"Ditto on that, sis," replied Manic.

"Oh, I don't know, it sounds pretty dangerous…" Maddie commented out of concern. "I mean, what if you guys get hurt or worse?"

"Hey, it couldn't be anywhere near as heinous as what's happening to the animals, right, Sonic?" asked Sonia. "...Sonic?"

As she and Manic glanced at their blue-hued brother, they noticed he'd been deathly silent for most of the car ride. It was almost as if his brain had totally frozen up—he simply stared directly ahead, as though he were gazing into the distance.

"YO, BRO!" Manic called, jostling Sonic from his trance.

"Wha—huh? Whuzzat?" he exclaimed as he looked around.

"You were totally spaced out, man," Manic informed his elder brother. "And not just spaced out, you were drifting."

"...I was?" asked Sonic, surprised. "That's weird…I didn't notice. Guess today just…kinda took it outta me."

Sonia and Manic shared a look with one another; it was definitely clear that the events which had transpired earlier had left an impact upon their brother.

Sensing the difficult vibe in the air, Tom decided to change the subject. "...hey Sonic, you wouldn't happen to know someone by the name of 'Johnny Lightfoot', would you?" he asked.

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Know him?" he replied. "Johnny was one of my oldest pals! He's the whole reason I started running track to begin with!"

"Well, he's one of the Mobians staying with us," stated Maddie. "I think he'd be pretty excited to see you again."

Now Sonic was feeling like his old self again. "I'm pretty psyched too," he acknowledged. "It'll be like we're havin' a sleepover…just like we used to."

"Sure. Say, how about we go make some cocoa to go along with it?" Tom suggested.

"Cocoa? Donut Lord, you are speakin' my language!" Sonic beamed.

For the time being, the dark atmosphere had been dissipated, and it seemed at least a tiny bit more normal than it had before.

Tom put out some snacks in the kitchen for the hedgehog triplets while Maddie brought out some pillows and blankets for them.

"You guys are so brave, but you must feel scared on the inside," Maddie said softly. "I really admire you for at least making it this far and coming for help."

"Thanks, Mrs. W," said Manic. "It just…seemed like the right thing to do, y'know?"

"I understand," replied Maddie. "In the meantime, Tom and I will see what we can do to help further."

"Much obliged, Mrs. W." said Manic. "Gimme some!" he said as he held out his fist.

"Ummm…" Tom's wife exclaimed, slightly confused at the gesture.

"Here, like this," the green hedgehog responded as he demonstrated by curling Maddie's hand into a fist and bumping it up, down and in the middle.

"Oh!" Maddie said; it was a little curious, but at least she understood it better this time. "Alright, I think I understand now."

"Aw, yeah!" Manic grinned.

OUTSIDE, ON THE BALCONY…

Sonic was gazing up at the starry night sky, seemingly lost in his thoughts while he absentmindedly sipped his cocoa.

"Is this a private party, or can anyone join in?" asked a voice, jostling him from his thoughts.

Sonic turned around, and to his surprise he saw a Mobian rabbit clad in a pair of jeans and a vermillion jacket.

"...Johnny?" he asked, awed. "Johnny Lightfoot! Man, how long has it been?!"

"Well, I haven't seen you since the 8th grade track team," responded the rabbit. "But I see even the great Sonic Cobalt can learn to slow down and think."

"Just…thinking about the whole situation we've been dealing with lately," Sonic explained. "Everything was great for a while…then these freaky robots show up, and the house gets totally thrashed!"

Johnny gave a quiet nod in response. "I know what that's like," he replied. "My relatives got nabbed a week back…I was lucky the 'bots thought I was dead."

"Man, I hate to feel better compared to that." Sonic winced in concern.

Johnny noticed his friend's worried expression. "...but, hey, it's not all bad," he said. "After all, it brought us back together."

Sonic's face lit up. "OK, yeah, you're right," he responded. "Saaay…remember that time in middle school when you tried to trip me up?"

Johnny burst out laughing. "Pfft, yeah…I tangled up your shoelaces!" he replied.

"You shoulda seen your face when I untangled 'em!" Sonic chuckled. "I thought you were gonna explode!"

The two friends howled with laughter, remembering times from their past.

"What about when Uncle Chuck took us fishing?" asked Johnny. "I thought I had it all figured out…and then I turn around, only to find that you had two whole buckets' worth!"

"Hey, if you got it, then I say flaunt it!" Sonic grinned.

"I see your point," Johnny replied. "Man, no wonder the girls were practically all over you!"

Sonic waved him off. "Eh, they weren't really into me as a person," he responded. "They were basically a step higher than groupies, which honestly isn't saying much."

"Well…maybe when this robot stuff is all taken care of…" started Johnny. "...you'll probably find your special someone."

Sonic laughed—well, not so much laughed as he chuckled—it off. "Someone who matches up with me?" he asked. "Hey, why not? Wouldn't be the craziest thing that's happened!"

Johnny gave a nod. "...you know, if someone took me aside and told me in middle school that I was gonna end up bein' best friends with the guy who upstaged me in track, I'd have said they were crazy."

"Hey, I hear ya," responded Sonic. "And as of tomorrow, the sibs and I are headin' out to take down this Robotnik jerk."

Johnny raised a brow.

"Don't try to talk me out of it, man," urged Sonic.

"What, are you kidding?" Johnny replied. "I was gonna say I wanted in. After all, I've got stakes in this, too!"

"Then it looks like we're in it together," said Sonic, and they both shook hands.

"So…how's Longclaw been lately?" asked Johnny.

Sonic gave a light chuckle. "...now that's a long story," he replied.

WAM-BAM-POWIE! Finally back, and ready to go, guys! Sorry I've been gone for so long...I just needed some time to get my sitch ironed out.

But, in the meantime, I'll try to update a bit more often. So keep those reads and reviews coming, okay?

Offer suggestions, commentary, anything that can be considered useful!