#this thought brought to you by Sonic the Hedgehog

[marlynnofmany]

I know there could easily be aliens that move super slowly, like sloths, but what about super fast? Yes we have skittery little creatures like mice and lizards or whatnot, but that’s just quick normal. What about so fast they experience life differently? No patience for a human’s talking speed? Just imagine humans being the ent species, the sloths, the tortoises. Having a conversation with a superspeedster. That conversation would be maddening from both ends.

[couch-house]

happy birthday @themetalvirus !! i thought it would be nice if biscuit the betta got to b appreciated for their birthday too :) hope u have a good one!!

[stupid-dumb-bitch]

Can someone make comic art of Shadow the hedgehog roller-skating (air shoeing) down a mountain then when he turns the corner get hit by an oncoming car?

I think the fear on his face would feel delightful.

How he curles up in response milliseconds efore being rammed would be cute (in a "As a writer I enjoy the suffering of fictional characters" way, because I am)

And I think the whole angst design would be pretty sweet

Even if it walks out of it okay, or with mild injuries or whatever, I'm here for the in-the-moment heart shattering genuine fear

[twigwing]

i think what makes a great character is if they have the potential of so much LGBT swag that i have like 10 distinctly different headcanons/identity thoughts about them. i need to have thoughts that can only be understood by other people via a thesis and a deranged chalkboard

[flightyalrighty]

FIRST | PREVIOUS | NEXT CH 1 PG 36

Infested will return on June 27th. --- Thank you to the following Ascended supporters: @chaogongoozles, @fiiresiidefrfr, @elizard4227, @grogar, Ezzoh, @susivoi, @calculuscacophony, Eros, @ivycorp, @summersdale @borrelia, @mizukiz, @sanicdetails, @combinegrunt-echo-1, Pica, @veeceear, @quackenburt, ItsmeMonarch, @memendoemori, @trans-girl-sonic, & savarsenic

Content Warnings | Store | Ko-Fi (Discord!) | Read On Comic Fury! DISCLAIMER: "Infested" is a horror comic ft. content not suitable for those under the age of 17.

A long-winded looking back on things below the cut:

The first few pages of Infested were uploaded to this blog on March 2nd, 2023 -- Over a whole year ago! I was so busy, too, that I completely missed its birthday (Sorry Infested). Looking even further back than that, the original story was was something I began writing on December 25th, 2022 (Merry Christmas).

It took two years to get to this point.

And hey, not to toot my own horn about it, but completing even one chapter of a webcomic is a big deal. Especially for me. My first webcomic, Fight/Flight, didn't get very far. I completed the prologue, started Chapter 1, and then had to drop it for a number of reasons (I didn't really agree with what baby-me had to say, politically, anymore).

This comic was born from a lot of intense feelings. The story, itself, too. Some good. Some bad.

I had been forced to move away from my hometown, and with that move, I lost the physical connection that I had to all of my friends. I lost the familiarity of a place I'd known for most of my life. I'm now stuck somewhere... Worse. It felt like a cage. Still does. Disconnected from the life I thought I would be living after college. I didn't have health insurance, either -- Got kicked off of it because of the move -- And as a result, I was off my antidepressants.

So there I was, at a pretty low point in my life. I miserable and lonely and every single day dragged on. And on. And on. And I felt so disappointed in myself. That disappointment became self-loathing, and it all kinda spiraled.

Have I mentioned that I'm a huge Sonic fan? I don't think I need to. I'd say it's pretty obvious. But for the sake of this story, I'll say it again: I'm a HUGE Sonic fan. I've been that way since 2003 with Sonic Heroes. The franchise has been in my life for over two decades. I had a monthly mail subscription to Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic the Hedgehog was something that I truly loved more than any other piece of media. It brought me endless joy. Until I didn't.

I had dropped Sonic after Lost World was... Itself. I had already felt pretty irritated with the Meta Era, and Lost World was the final straw. The last bit of hope that the series could recover was snuffed out when Forces was released. It was over. I was done. If Sonic was truly that embarrassed by itself, if they had truly lost touch with what made the series so great, then I wouldn't waste my time any longer. I was so sure that I had to just... Grieve and move on. My beloved childhood game series was dead. Long live the king or whatever. I'd just bitterly read IDW Sonic and think about what could've been. I was lucky to have that comic, at least. Archie had been canceled, too, after all. I was lucky to have my scraps.

Then Sonic Frontiers came out. And it changed everything.

And my god, it was everything. It was everything to me. Flaws be damned, it was everything. To. Me. The spectacle. The serious tone. The vastly improved writing. Kellin Fucking Quinn. It was FUN! It was actually FUN to PLAY. He was back. I was back. Sonic pulled me by my hand out of the ocean of misery I'd fallen into, and he looked me in my eye and he said;

"Hey. You're gonna be alright."

Metaphorically speaking. Sonic The Hedgehog didn't actually literally speak to me -- And sure, okay, maybe it's a little dramatic to describe a game as this great Depression Annihilator but I'm dead serious when I say that, for that time, before I was able to get back on my meds, I was self-medicating with Sonic.

Sonic was all I was thinking about. I reread the Unleashed arc in Archie Sonic, which got me sorta realizing something, and which led to my post where I said something along the lines of "Sonic would hide a zombie bite."

Archie Sonic would, at least. Because he basically did do that in the Unleashed arc of that comic. He let that problem fester until it became an even bigger problem because, ironically, he didn't want to be a problem.

So one thing led to another. I thought more about Sonic becoming a zombie. Bada-bing, bada-boom, Infested was born.

I didn't expect it to get the attention that it did. I felt lucky when the first page I drew Rouge on (Page 6 I think?) blew up. The right people saw it at the right time. I'm extremely grateful for that.

I'm extremely grateful for all of you.

So yeah, one chapter. Woo! Here's to many more.

[virune]

Oh oh story prompt!

"After a rather long day, two very tired hedgehogs find out they've been sharing a secret resting place"? Hope that makes sense, just two hedgehogs being like "oi this is my isolated sleepy spot-" LMAO

Sonic was bone-tired.

Eggman had really pulled out all the stops today. Droves upon droves of badniks, all powered by a chaos emerald that the doctor had somehow managed to get his mitts on. Then, if that weren't bad enough, he'd even brought Metal Sonic along with him, if only to add insult to injury.

It was all over now, at least: with the help of his friends - Tails' smarts, Amy's perseverance, Knuckles' strength, and Rouge's cunning, the doctor's evil plot had been sufficiently brought to an end, one destroyed badnik at a time.

"Wasn't expecting you to join the party, Rouge," Sonic had told the bat, smiling at her as she dusted off her immaculate clothes.

"Well, let's just say I happened to be in the area." Rouge's replies always seemed to be intentionally cryptic, Sonic noticed. "And besides, any chance I have to knock that rotten doctor down a peg, I'll take. He's a nuisance for all of us."

"Hah! Can't argue with that." Sonic rubbed his arm, and then reached out a hand just as Rouge was about to fly off. "Wait! I - can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Big Blue." There was a twinkle in the bat's eye, one that Sonic only usually saw when Shadow was nearby. Speaking of which…

"How come Shadow wasn't with you? Is he… on a mission?"

"That's right." Rouge's eyes seemed to glitter even more, as though she could sense his disappointment. "Very important business. I'm sure you understand."

Sonic offered a smile. "Yeah."

"Why, were you hoping to see him?"

"What - I - no! I was just curious! You two are friends, aren't you?"

Rouge's hand found a place on her hip, pinning Sonic in place with a gaze that seemed to be able to find anything it ever searched for. She had always been so incredibly perceptive - especially when it came to Sonic's little… crush.

"Of course," she said, her voice smooth and nonchalant. It made his fur stand on end. "Don't sweat it, hon. I'm sure you'll get to see him soon."

Before Sonic could babble out a flustered reply, Rouge took off at last, disappearing into the darkening sky.

Wow, was it that late already? Despite his frazzled nerves, Sonic found himself feeling tired, mouth stretching open into a generous yawn. Well, since Eggman had been taken care of, surely it couldn't hurt to grab some shut-eye.

Luckily for him, he knew a nice little spot. Somewhere quiet and undisturbed. And it wasn't too far from here - at least, not at the speed he was capable of.

And so, with a final wave goodbye to his friends, Sonic vanished up the mountain in a cobalt blue streak.

---

Someone was in his spot.

Even from up on the bank, Sonic couldn't miss the orange glow coming from the cabin windows, nor the smoke billowing from the chimney. It was getting darker still, and somebody had stumbled upon this place and made it their own.

But who?

This old cabin had been left, seemingly abandoned, up on a mountain. Surely nobody could find it under normal means. Sonic himself only found the cabin because he'd decided to take a detour from his usual running path, winding up the mountain until he was pushing open the door to look inside.

It was a nice little cabin, too. Nobody came back to claim it so Sonic decided to… well, make it his own little place, so to speak. He didn't have any qualms sleeping outside, but sometimes curling up in front of a warm fire was nice too. So what if he wanted to indulge himself from time to time? He thought he'd earned that at least, saving the world as often as he did, and as he continued to do.

So to discover that someone else had snuck in while he'd been distracted made him a little annoyed.

He didn't want to just barge in the front door - after all, if they were capable of scaling the mountain, Sonic couldn't underestimate whoever was inside. Was it Eggman? Had he found the cabin somehow? Had he followed Sonic there and set up a trap?

Whatever the case, Sonic had to be ready for a fight.

He approached as quietly as he could; stealth was never his forte, but if he wanted the upper hand, then he needed to be delicate. After all, he'd hate for his beloved cabin to get destroyed in an altercation. Maybe he could take down the intruder swiftly, or find some way to lure them out before they fought. Keeping the cabin intact was his main priority.

Sonic went to peek through the window, but he grit his teeth with some irritation to find that the curtains had been pulled shut. Damn. What now? The front door lacked any windows or mail slot. How could he get inside without being noticed?

He saw it then. On the second floor. An open window.

Hah! Had the intruder completely forgotten to close it? Sonic took a couple steps back and gauged the distance - he could probably climb up. A running jump would be too noisy. So, giving himself a moment to stretch, he braced himself against the bricks and began to ascend.

His fingers hurt, digging deep in the crevices between each brick, but he pushed on. The window was inches away now. He pushed himself up, brushing the windowsill with his fingertips and hoisting his body up. Slowly, silently, Sonic climbed through and into the bathroom.

It was dark. But it was also empty. A good sign. That meant he hadn't been caught yet. He closed the bathroom window behind him before he tried the door handle, opening it as carefully as he could to avoid making any sound. It was so uncharacteristic of Sonic to move this slowly, but he tried his best, because his favourite sleeping spot was in jeopardy.

He tiptoed along the carpet at the top of the stairs and peeked down over the railing to see if he could spot anything. The glow was brighter from here and he realised it was coming from the hearth in the living room. Someone was using up all the firewood! Oh, the nerve. If they weren't dangerous, maybe Sonic could convince them to leave.

The first step creaked under his weight and Sonic froze, expecting alarm bells to sound off, expecting a trap to spring, expecting badniks to swarm him. Anything. Instead, nothing happened. The fire crackled. The peace continued on.

OK, well, he wasn't in trouble yet. He still had time to figure out who the intruder was. Taking a deep breath, Sonic made his way down the rest of the stairs. He was standing near the doorway now. The living room was just around the corner. He could see the shadows of a figure dancing on the opposite wall; whoever they were, they'd made themselves pretty comfortable on the sofa.

Sonic squinted his eyes. As he focused harder, he realised that the silhouette looked vaguely familiar. They weren't moving - were they asleep? - but he couldn't deny that the stranger seemed to have quills that turned upwards at the end in a way that was so distinct, so unnatural for a hedgehog to have.

He inhaled again, and he caught the unmistakable scent of lavender in his nose.

It couldn't be.

He turned the corner at last.

"You!"

Shadow jolted upright, the book he'd apparently been engrossed in falling from his lap and thudding against the floor. His red eyes met Sonic's, burning brightly against the glow of the fire.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Shadow asked.

"What am I - what are you?" Sonic cried, incredulous. "This is my cabin!"

Shadow removed the green woollen blanket from his legs to stand up. "Don't be ridiculous. I found this cabin months ago."

Sonic balked. That couldn't be right. He found the cabin. He'd been coming here regularly for weeks - months, even!

"I don't understand. This is my favourite sleeping spot. I didn't think anyone else knew about this place…"

Shadow retrieved his book from the floor, dog-earing the page he was on and sitting back down. "That makes two of us."

"So, spill. How often do you come here?"

"Couple times a month. When I have a moment."

"So do I." Sonic stepped closer. "Listen, I had to deal with Eggman today. Rouge was there. Where were you?"

"Elsewhere," was all Shadow answered.

Sonic clenched his fists. He was always happy to see Shadow, although he'd never admit it, but he wasn't happy about this new discovery.

"Alright, well. I'm pretty tired, and I wanted to rest here tonight…"

Shadow stared at him. "So?"

"So!" Sonic fumbled, gesturing vaguely to the door. "Leave! So I can relax."

Instead of leaving, Shadow tilted his head to the side. "Why don't we both just stay here? I'm willing to tolerate it, if it's all the same to you."

Sonic's mouth snapped shut. His face was warm, and not because of the fire. Absolutely not. There's no way he could relax with Shadow, of all people, around. Especially not in such a… comfortable, domestic setting. It was too much for him. He'd rather run a hundred laps through a blizzard than cope with his stupid feelings.

A hand patted the empty spot on the sofa, breaking Sonic from his thoughts.

"Sit. I want to finish this chapter."

Sonic frowned, willing his heart to stop racing. He eased himself onto the sofa next to Shadow, staring straight ahead. For some reason he was afraid to look. Shadow was much too close.

"Rouge recommended this book to me." Shadow's voice was soft and deep and it all but made Sonic nearly jump out of his pelt. "I'm about halfway through now. She expects to hear my thoughts on it."

"Oh?" Sonic dared to look, then, if only because Shadow's attention was directed down at the book in his hands. He scooted closer, just a fraction, to see what the writing was like. The scent of lavender was much stronger now. "Is it good?"

"I'm enjoying it," Shadow admitted. Sonic caught the ghost of a smile on Shadow's face and decided that he liked it, and would very much like to see Shadow smile more often.

"Good," was all Sonic could say, quite hopelessly, as he willed himself to relax into the sofa cushion. His eyes drifted closed for just a moment, exhaustion setting in as he basked in the soothing warmth.

"Let's agree that this cabin is off-limits for fighting," Shadow said. His eyes didn't leave the book, but Sonic wasn't so sure he was actually reading anymore. "It's too nice to ruin."

Sonic's mouth suddenly felt dry, but he worked hard to get his voice back. "Y-yeah," he stammered out, feeling like an idiot. "I don't think either of us will wanna give it up, right?"

Shadow hummed in agreement. "We'll just have to compromise. That means sharing."

"Sharing," Sonic confirmed. Despite himself, he found himself smiling at the idea.

Basked in the firelight, he snuggled just a bit closer to Shadow, whose body was as warm as the fire. He could probably get used to this, he reckoned.

Before he knew it, Sonic fell asleep to the scent of lavender and an arm around his waist.

[fishsticksloser]

Hi there! Can I politely request a Leo x hedgehog yokai reader? A fluffy scenario where Leo finds the reader in their little ball form and copies them by tucking into his shell and sitting next to them? Pretty please? :)

Rings

Leo x gn!reader

Warnings: FLUFF, Leo is dramatic per usual

A/N: will there be Sonic jokes....? Possibly.... Who knows.

Leo saunters into your room, dumping his gear next to the door like he always does. He had a tendency to show up without any warning, but it made the visits more fun. Your room was dimly lit, telling him that you were either relaxing or gaming. He looks up after setting his stuff down, seeing your prickly body in a ball. He grins, walking over. He always loved when you curled up, but you'd never done it fully.

So cute... They're so cute...

He clambers onto the bed, trying his best not to disturb you. The last thing he wants is for you to unravel. He lays next to you, making sure his plastron is close to where he believes your head to be. He slowly pulls himself into his shell to match you.

Feeling the shift on the bed, you unravel just enough to look at Leo. You can barely see his face from the darkness of his shell. "Oh... I didn't know you were coming over today." You say, starting to unravel more.

"No, no... Stay like that, I thought we could just relax together." He laughs softly, making you pause. "You looked so comfortable, I didn't want to disturb you, babe."

You nod and roll back up, peeking out just enough to so you could see him. "It is comfortable." You murmur, seeing him grin from the comfort of his shell.

The two of you bask in the quiet, dim room. He even puts on some videos for the two of you to watch. It's peaceful, being in a comfortable ball with your boyfriend. You wondered why you didn't do it sooner. Leo couldn't help but sneak glances at you, admiring how you looked.

He had to hear you laugh, it was his favorite sound. He adored how you smiled. The way you covered your mouth. "Hey, babe." Leo giggles, sticking his head out of his shell a little. "Why're you all curled up? Are you a chili dog?"

You couldn't help but snort at his terrible joke. He taught you about human TV shows and things, slipping it into normal conversation, always willing to help you understand. The very first thing he'd brought up was Sonic the hedgehog, going deep into detail on all the lore. His reasoning...? Well you're a hedgehog, you should know your history.

"Why did Sonic go to Saturn?" He whispered, a goofy lopsided grin on his face.

You look at him smiling, seeing the mischief and amusement in his eyes. "To steal its rings?" You respond, hiding your grin as his eyes widen. He comes out of his shell, gasping.

"I have taught you too well! Now what will I do?" He whines in faux despair. He flops back onto the bed, the back of his hand against his forehead. He lets out fake sobs, covering his mouth, you could only guess it was to hide his smile.

You sit up, cupping his face, matching the despair he shows. "Oh no! What have I done!" You gasp, draping yourself over him. "My love! Don't go! I'm sorry! Will never interrupt one of your jokes again. You are the joke master! Not I!"

"I can only be saved..." He chokes, cupping your face in return. He coughs, pretending he is slowly dying. "By a kiss from my lover."

"Anything to save you!" You plead, leaning down to kiss him. Both of you laugh into the kiss, unable to help yourselves. "You're ridiculous." You chuckle, slowly pulling away.

"But you love it." He smiles, sitting up on his elbows. You nod, humming in agreement.

"I do..." You lean down to kiss him again, hearing him churr.

Eventually you both find yourselves curled up again, you laying behind Leo, your body curled around his, fitting together perfectly. Just like you always had.

[kudotsurugi]

Random Thought: Why does all "90's Anime style" fanart just look like Sailor Moon?

Okay, obviously not all fanart looks like it. But if you were to type in "90s anime style" here on Tumblr or DeviantArt at the time of this post, it at least seems to be the majority stand-in for 90s anime aesthetic, right? Especially in the characters' eyes.

Don't me wrong, this is not a knock against Sailor Moon. It is a great anime, and the collective character designs by Kazuko Tadano, Ikuko Ito, and Mari Tominaga among other staff are iconic. So iconic that Tadano was brought back as the character designer for the latest Sailor Moon movies. That is quite the staying power.

But let's be fair, there are plenty of 90s anime out there that can also be used as inspiration. So, here are the names of 11 character designers alongside some gifs of shows/projects they worked on in that role. Some you may not know but you've seen their work, and others you probably know for their distinct art style or association with a franchise.

Things worth noting: First, the years listed here with some anime may reflect when the artists' work started airing, rather than when the anime itself actually started. Some folks listed here enter their projects mid-production in other roles, while others are in the role from the start. Second, each entry will list 1 or 2 projects aired/released during the 90s, but it will be noted if the artist's role continues beyond that with certain franchises. Lastly, these artists are listed in no particular order, so no "top 11" hierarchy. With that said, here's our examples:

Hisashi Eguchi (Roujin Z[1991], Sonic the Hedgehog CD [1993])

2. Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru(Dragon Ball franchise (Z [1993-96], GT [1996], Daima [2024]), Digimon franchise [1999-2002, 2019-2023])

3. Kumiko Takahashi (Cardcaptor Sakura [1998-2000], Birdy The Mighty[1996])

4. Takahiro Yoshimatsu (Trigun[1998], Slayers franchise[1995-97])

5. Atsuko Nakajima (Ranma 1/2[1989-1992], You're Under Arrest[1996])

6. Sayuri Ichiishi (Pokémon[Pokémon design: 1996-present, human character design: 1996-2017])

7. Atsuko Ishida (Magic Knight Rayearth[1994-1995])

8. Masaya Onishi (Yu Yu Hakusho[1993-1994])

9. Toshihiro Kawamoto(Cowboy Bebop[1998-1999], Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team[1996])

10. Hiroshi Osaka(Gundam franchise[Mobile Suit Victory Gundam: 1993-1994, Mobile Fighter G-Gundam:1994-1995])

11. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto(Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water[1990-1991], Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise[1995-1997, 2007-2021])

Might've leaned a bit more on the Shonen side of things than Shojo, but I hope you can see my point😅. There are tons of 90s anime out there with their own unique feel and aesthetic. These are only 11 names that I found.

For anyone drawing 90s anime style fanart, I hope this has given you some inspiration, and I encourage anyone reading this to look up your favourite anime on Anime News Network's encyclopedia and see who's responsible for helping bring your favorite characters to life on screen and what other shows they've worked on.

[0vergrowngraveyard]

Tails is missing.

Those three words echoed in Amy's mind as she paced around the Restoration’s control room and to say she was stressed out was a huge understatement.

Not only was Tails one of her closest friends, his big brother didn’t know about it…

And said big brother would be here any second.

They had sent the fox on a simple solo mission. It was easy. Just check out a spot that had a signal where a signal shouldn’t be. He’d done it plenty of times with Sonic so there couldn’t have been any harm in sending him off alone, right?

Wrong. Somehow his comm went offline and his location just vanished. Vanished! Tails never took off his communicator and would make a huge fuss about whenever someone did! He almost glued the watch onto Knuckles’ wrist for crying out loud! Why would he suddenly take his off?

It didn’t make any sense. Tails was way too cautious of this situation to be happening at all.

It was entirely possible that he accidentally turned off his communicator, but the fact that it hadn’t responded for almost 30 minutes shed some doubt on that optimistic train of thought.

Luckily, they had his last known location, which was a few feet away from the point, and that’s why Sonic was on his way over. If anyone could get to that point fast enough, it was him.

Only problem is that Sonic didn’t even know about the kit’s solo mission. Amy didn’t think they had to tell him because Tails was growing into his own hero and, again, it was a simple mission that shouldn’t have even taken him an hour! But, of course, the one time Sonic isn’t involved in any missions that Tails has, it all goes horribly wrong and now she has to explain that to the blue hedgehog who was rapidly approaching her location.

The familiar sound of a dash and volunteers getting angry came from outside the room and her breath hitched.

Chaos, he was here way too soon.

“Hey Ames! Sorry I’m late! Saw a chilidog stand on the way and you know me! Just couldn’t resist.” Sure enough, there was a chilidog in his hand. He took a bite before continuing, “So, what d’you need? What's up?”

If Amy wasn’t sweating before, she sure was now. The way Sonic was staring at her was enough to make her start crying right there. His usual grin and friendly emerald eyes unknowingly stabbing daggers right through her.

It felt like she had betrayed him. His little brother was missing and it was partially her fault. She should’ve just gone with her gut and told him about everything.

She just knew that Tails was working really hard to grow out of Sonic’s shadow (or at least that’s how he phrased it) and she just thought that maybe he’d appreciate getting a solo mission! Show him that the Restoration didn’t just see him as Sonic’s sidekick, but as his own person!

How she wished she could turn back time and stop herself.

“Ames?”

She had been staring.

“Ah! I-I’m sorry, must’ve just spaced out for a second haha!” She laughed nervously leading him over to the computers.

“Ooooookay. So what’s this all about? You said something about checking up on someone?” He asked.

Her heart sank. She had to tell him, there was no dancing around it.

“Yeah… about that,” She anxiously tapped her thumbs together.

Sonic cocked a brow at her, a teasing grin appearing on his muzzle. “Yeah, about that.” The hand not holding the chilidog went to his hip as he leaned into it.

She inhaled sharply.

Just get it over with, he needs to know.

“The person you need to check on is Tails.”

Sonic just stared at her for a few seconds before chuckling a bit. It felt so out of place but he didn’t know that.

“I saw him yesterday. He’s at his workshop.” He took a bite of his food, “Y’know, you should really visit sometime! It’s been awhile!”

When he noticed that Amy wasn’t smiling or looking at all relieved, his grin faltered, “Ames, he’s fine, I’m serious! If you need proof, just check his location!” He brought up his wrist, “Look, I’ll even check it no—“

“Sonic, he’s not at his workshop.” She blurted out before he could check.

The blue hedgehog stared at her as he slowly lowered his wrist. His grin was completely gone, a confused stare taking its place.

“What are you talking about?” He asked.

Amy took a shaky breath, “Please…please don’t get mad…”

Now he looked worried. “What? Amy? I won’t, just tell me what’s going on? Where’s Tails?”

You could always tell when Sonic’s patented “Big Brother Mode” was activating. He just had a certain stare he gave you when you even hinted that his little brother may be in trouble. It was a look of worry, fear, and worst of all, anger.

An angry Sonic was a Sonic you didn’t want to mess with. Not much really made him mad, his chill personality was definitely not just a public opinion, but there were a few things in life that really set him off…

and something happening to his little brother was at the very top of that list.

“Sonic, I..” Her voice shook, “I don’t know.”

—————

Sonic had been having a great day. A fantastic day, even.

He had spent it checking out old spots he and Tails used to make camp at, making mental notes that they should spend the night at a few of these locations for old times sake. It could be a week-long camping trip for them! It had been some time since the two of them slept under the stars together!

Visiting these places made him nostalgic in ways he never knew he could feel. He missed the days when all he and his brother had were a backpack and a few heroic deeds to their name. When their biggest worries were Scratch and Grounder, not gods and wars.

Back when his little brother was the sweetest, most adorable little four year old to ever exist (that was a fact, not an opinion).

They were simpler times.

He was so excited to get back home and tell his brother all about his idea so imagine his surprise when he gets a call from the Restoration saying something about needing to check up on someone who wasn’t responding to any calls only to find out that person is supposedly Tails.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” He didn’t want to get mad right after he told Amy he wouldn’t, but the hedgehog had no idea how long he’d be able to keep his cool. “Just…just tell me what’s going on.”

Amy turned her gaze to the floor for a few beats, tears pricked her eyes. He started tapping his foot impatiently.

He really didn’t want to be mad at Amy. She was twelve years old and, while she wasn’t in charge of the Restoration anymore, she played a huge part in making sure it stayed afloat. She was already under a lot of stress and raising his voice would not help that.

She inhaled before speaking. “We sent him on a solo mission and his comm suddenly went offline.”

She must’ve seen the look on his face because words came flooding out of her mouth to attempt to explain.

“Sonic, I swear it was nothing dangerous. We just had him go check something out! A weird signal! That’s all!” She cried out. “He’d done it plenty of times before! I-I just thought this wouldn’t be any different! I-“

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He cut her off. His tone was harsh and he almost cringed at the way it made her wince. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that his worry for his little brother’s safety was strongly overpowering his worry about hurting his friend’s feelings.

It sucked, but he was a big brother first and foremost.

“Because I didn’t think it was a big deal! He's gone to check Chaos Emerald reading on his own, this wasn’t any different! He probably would’ve even been back by now!” The pink hedgehog reasoned, a few tears had slipped down her muzzle.

“Yea, ‘not very different’. Except it’s very different because it was an unknown signal! Not a Chaos Emerald reading! That signal could’ve been anything!” He didn’t mean to raise his voice but damn it, he was stressing out. “And even when he goes to look for Emerald readings on his own, I still know where he is in case of situations like these! I always know where he is because he’s eight years old, Amy! He shouldn’t even be looking for readings alone but he does anyway!”

He didn’t even realize he had thrown his free hand up, still holding onto the chilidog in the other, and walked a few steps away from her. His free hand was on his forehead as his mind flooded with all the scenarios his baby brother could be in right now. Images of Tails being scared and/or hurt and his screams of pain played over and over again.

Finally, he turned to look at Amy. For a lack of better words, she looked awful. Her quills were a mess and she looked seconds away from breaking down.

“How long?” He asked

“W-what?”

“How long has his communicator been offline?”

It took a few beats for her to finally respond. “Around 30 minutes ago…”

All Sonic could do was stare. The chilidog in his hand fell to the floor with a disgusting splat.

30 minutes. 30 whole minutes. Chaos knows what happened to his little brother and it took them 30 minutes to call him?! Why was he even told to come to the Restoration HQ? He should’ve been at his last known location by now figuring out what happened!

Oh Chaos what if it was too late. It had to be, right? Sure, 48 hours was usually the crucial time when it came to missing children, but in this line of work, even just 5 minutes alone could spell disaster, let alone 30!

“30 minutes…why didn’t you just send me the coordinates?! Why did you ask me to come here?!”

“I don’t know! I- I just panicked! This has never happened before and I didn’t know what to do!” She collapsed to her knees, tears streaming down her muzzle as she held her face in her hands.

He felt bad for yelling at her, he hated yelling at his younger friends, but self control was something that was in limited supply at the moment. He looked at the floor, his quills raised as if the knowledge of Tails possibly being in danger meant that the hedgehog was in danger as well.

His legs were itching to just get out of this damn room.

“I’m so sorry, Sonic…Tails could be hurt and it’s all my fault…I should’ve told you…I shouldn’t have even sent him alone…I’m so sorry…” She cried into her hands.

Sonic didn’t respond to her.

Instead, he looked around the room at all the Mobians who were staring at him in fear. None of them had ever seen the hero this upset before.

“Someone send me his last known coordinates.” He demanded. “Now.”

One of the volunteers at the computer quickly typed something into the device and clicked the mouse a few times. His own communicator in his wrist lit up with a notification.

A set of coordinates on the outskirts of White Park Zone.

With the location already memorized, he gave a nod to the Mobian at the computer who sent him a shaky thumbs up back.

He looked back down at Amy. He wanted to say something, wanted to say that it wasn’t her fault and that everything would be okay, but he couldn’t find his voice.

He ran out of the HQ, pushing himself to go faster and faster. He’d already wasted too much time talking.

‘Hang tight, keed. I’m on my way.’ He thought as the boom of a broken sound barrier shook the area around him.

—————

Somewhere far from White Park Zone, a little fox slowly opened his blue eyes. A headache pounding against his skull as he tried to make sense of the area around him through his concussion.

He didn’t remember much, only the feeling of something hard hitting the back of his head and blacking out. He remembered he was checking something out for Amy, it had been his first solo mission for the Restoration! Except that mission seemed to have gone wrong.

He just hoped his brother wasn’t mad at him.

[moderator-monnie]

Artwork Made by @sonicexelle-junkary / @weirdozjunkary as a commission.

Sonic the hedgehog has been dead over over 200 years, however decedents of his friends still exist and live out their normal lives.

Including the descendent of his little buddy Miles 'Tails' Prower named Techie Kaboom, a bat eared fox who has had a few accidents in his mechanic shop.

Sonic might be long gone, but his face, his story, and his image still exists in the far off future and often is used to advertise products in stores using holograms.

And one day, one of these holograms becomes sentient and for some reason think's it's the real Sonic, the one true Sonic and rewrites it's own code to give itself freedom.

But it can't move on it's own, no he can't and as luck would have it Techie was passing by the store this hologram found himself at, and with a silver tongue was able to convince Techie he was the real Sonic and he needed help.

Techie of course due to his ancestor loved Sonic, hearing nothing but good things about him throughout the generations decided to trust in him, he was his hero after all and Sonic wouldn't hurt him right?

Techie sneakfully took the holograms admitter and stuck it into his backpack, and the two managed to get out of the mall without much of a fuss and all seemed great at first Techie and Hologram as he nicknamed himself would talk and work together.

But this was all a ruse careful planning and manipulation done by the holographic hedgehog and one day an 'accident' happened in the mechanics building one that required Techie to get a heart transplant.

And once the surgery was complete and the pair was alone again, Hologram would admit his true colors in his own word's he would tell him his thoughts.

"I am the real Sonic, I can feel it, you can feel it... BUT your not Tails, your not my little buddy in the slightest however you can be! And thanks to your new heart I can help teach you."

"You see... I hate what has been done to my image, look at what they've done to me, they are treating a hero and his friends like cheap things to advertise their stores, and I won't stand for it anymore."

"We're gonna make them pay and hey 'pal' if you want us to bring a new legacy to the names of Sonic and Tails... You'll do as your told, unless you want to suffer the consequences."

Hologram had full control over Techie's eye, his arm and now his new heart he could kill the fox anytime he wanted now, and he would provide an example of that by shutting of Techies heart for about 10 seconds before restarting it.

And out of mostly fear but also a weird sense of loyalty to Sonic and the image of him he had always known about, Techie agrees to help him, Sonic wouldn't hurt him unless it was absolutely necessary right? So if He got hurt it would be because he messed up, at least thats what Techie had going thru his head.

Sonic was a hero, and if he did something it was for the greater good, this was Sonic it had to be, and he'd do what it takes to make him and his ancestor proud of him.

This is an Au about this story, as Techie Kaboom and Hologram Sonic bringing destruction in their wake, but not all familiar faces are gone, Silver The Hedgehog is around and protects his future from the threat of the pair.

But will Silver be able to protect the future? or will it all be brought down by one Hologram and his 'best buddy' only time will tell in the Hologram.Bin Au.

This au has technically existed since march of last year, but I'm glad to be able to finally share it all with you, and eventually write stories for it and show you what is in store for our antagonists and protagonist.

[fernsnailz]

How long do you think Shadow was on earth when Maria sent him down in the escape pod before GUN captured him? There’s so much stuff abt Maria getting shot but I don’t see much discussion abt the immediate aftermath.. Being alone on an unfamiliar planet gotta be scary as fuck. Do we even know where the pod landed? Could’ve ended up in the ocean for all I know. If that were the case it’d make sense that he couldn’t hide from them

so the timeline and details between shadow getting launched from the ark and his reawakening on Prison Island are pretty vague and leave a lot up to interpretation.

timeline wise, it's unlikely that he was on earth for long before being found by GUN - my main reasoning for this is that pretty much every event regarding shadow's backstory is described as happening "50 years ago." the black comet's first arrival, shadow's creation, the GUN raid, and gerald's execution all seem to take place within the span of this same year. my personal interpretation is that shadow's escape pod was probably on earth for no more than a month before it was found by GUN.

it also seems unlikely that shadow was conscious after he crashed to earth - at least, it's not a period of time he ever mentions or seems to remember (which doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't awake, but personally i always thought he would've been unconscious during this period of time. that, or there's something larger going on here).

this period of time in shadow's backstory is incredibly vague, but its ambiguity is something i would argue is deliberate. one of the biggest questions raised in sonic adventure 2 is whether or not shadow is the "original" shadow or even the true ultimate lifeform. this question is brought up by rouge, who identifies the biolizard as the original ultimate lifeform (though she's technically incorrect because the biolizard was just a prototype to the ultimate lifeform). even though rouge is wrong, this question is incredibly important to shadow's character and comes up a few more times over the course of SA2.

so there's a very, very real possibility that the shadow in SA2 is not the original shadow/ultimate lifeform created on the ark 50 years ago. it's possible that the original shadow died after being launched from the ark, and that SA2 shadow is a clone of the original. it's also possible that the original ultimate lifeform wasn't "shadow" at all, and literally every single one of shadow's memories about this time were entirely fabricated by gerald. there's also extremely compelling evidence that this original ultimate lifeform was actually sonic. the hedgehog. just a lil game theory for you to chew on there (gets shot)

anyway so. my answer is that shadow was either just taking a month long nap after he was launched from the ark or that he was fucking dead

[rainychaoloveshack]

when you have the chance and burnout stops being a bitch, can you do sonic or scourge x a mermaid girlfriend? I’m okay with both headcannons and story stuff.

ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ ⋆ ﾟ “𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐡-𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐬”.  𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐠 & 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐠.

sonic and scourge have a secret mermaid lover, set right in their cove.

synopsis. sonic and scourge x gn!mermaid!reader, reader’s a little worrywart, reader might also be a little “animalistic”, teasing, smoking, fluff

☂︎ wc. around 600 each drabble. ☂︎ a/n. THANK YOU FOR REQUESTING THIS!!!! this was super duper fun to write! i know the OG request said "girlfriend", but i found as i was writing it i hadn't mentioned pronouns at all. sorry if that's upsetting :( also sorry this took so long! i had originally made it some HC’s, but i thought some drabbles would fit better ;)

likes, reblogs, and especially comments are extremely appreciated!!!

Sonic

You keep on telling Sonic not to talk with his mouth full, but he just doesn’t listen, does he? What if he chokes? Oh…

“Mmfh-” Sonic grumbles out between a mouthful of fish, waving away your concerned gesture with a small smile. Another assortment of grumbles follow, before he finally swallows his food and looks over at you with bright eyes. “Aw man, don’t worry, I’ll be fine!”

Hmph. You take a small piece of fish off the plate you two prepared for each other, popping the piece in your mouth as your tail slaps onto the shore.

After coming back from one of his adventures, Sonic had always come to visit you in your cove, always excited to see and hear what you’ve been up to in his absence, though it was never much. He was the only exciting thing in your life as of late. To lighten things up for you two, and to introduce him to your sea-like cuisine, a picnic was the only option to have, no?

He introduced you to this dish called a “chili dog”, one of, if not, his favorite dish of all time.

For good reason, too. It was delicious. 

You lay your body down, resting your head in your arms as you look up at your boyfriend, watching him stuff himself silly with a chili dog he brought.

“Mmfg, [Name],” he says, muffled through his chewing, and you scowl. “Next time, let’s-” What did you just say about that? 

“Ah, okay, okay! I’m sorry!” Sonic laughs, relishing at the attention you’re giving him with your tail as you splash him with small amounts of water rising to the shore, watching every small droplet cling onto his quills and seep into his fur. “Aw man, you really like to mess with me, huh?” Sonic slips the last bit of his chili dog into his mouth, stuffing his cheeks with the meal. Ah, he looks a little bit like a chipmu-

Suddenly, a burst of water hits your face harshly, and as you try to open your eyes to your assailant, he hits you again, making you utter a small stream of curses his way.

“Doesn’t feel too great, huh?” Sonic laughs, swallowing the last bit of his food as you slap your tail angrily at the shore, splashing small bits of water around. “Or maybe it does for you? Y’know, the whole mermaid gist.” This little idiot.

“Aw, c’mon, you know I’m joking.” Sonic grins, reaching over to rub your cheek affectionately as you nip at his thumb, pulling the glove aggressively. Stupid, stupid, stupid silly hedgehog…

He seems to pause, opening his mouth to say something, yet nothing comes out. Sonic’s eyes soften as you stop nipping at his thumb, curious to what he has to say.

“One day, I’ll get you out of this cove, alright? Really.” He says to you, holding your other hand in his as his thumb rubs over your fingers. “I promise. I’ll take you with me everywhere; on all sorts of adventures. You’ll be able to see all the cool things I see, and meet all kinds of people!” Your brows wrinkle, yet an unstoppable smile spreads on your face as you nod at his statement. 

Oh, to get out of here, and see the world with him…

What a dream.

“I promise I’ll make that dream come true.”

Scourge

“Hey, fish-sticks.” A shiver crawls up your spine at the sudden voice, turning to see who it is, although you already know the answer. Ugh. What the hell did you tell him about that name?

“What?” Scourge sees the frown on your face and grins, sitting down at a small rock ledge as you swim your way over to him, making sure to splash some water his way to show your dissatisfaction at his late arrival.  

He groans in annoyance, staring at you. “Ya don’t want me here all of a sudden?” It’s already dusk; he should’ve been here hours ago.

“Yeah, yeah, sorry ‘bout that, fish-cakes.” He mutters, shaking some water off his jacket, and wiping it off his quills. You watch him take off his red sunglasses, looking down at you curiously as you come up to the little ledge of water separating you two, flashing you that sharp, cheeky grin of his.

Ugh, this idiot…

You grumble incoherently, scratching at the rock ledge, spitting curses at him while he takes a seat, crossing his legs as he shuffles into his jacket pocket, pulling out a familiar box he’s taken out almost every time you two meet. Full of cigarettes; yuck.

“I won’t blow it yer way.” He takes a cigarette out of the pack, digging into his other pocket to pull out a small matchbox. The match strikes alight on the first swipe, and he holds the cigarette to his mouth, slowly letting it burn right at the bottom. Scourge almost dips the match into the water to extinguish it, but he catches your curious expression.

“Oh, yeah. Yer kind don't get to mess with fire.” His hand holds the lit match your way, letting you observe said flame slowly, and twisting it in between his thumb and index finger.

“Don’t know ya find this stuff interestin’. Weird one, aren’cha? You’ve seen it before already.” Despite his words, he seems pleased at your curiosity, careful not to let water drip onto it as he holds it closer. If only you could just…

“Ah,” he flinches the match back, away from your grasp, making you tilt your head in confusion. “Can’t let’cha do that.”

Why won’t he let you touch it? He always blows it out before you can grab it. You grumble, making another grabbing motion towards the lit match, accidentally splattering water over it. You let out a frustrated groan, sinking back down into the water, streams of bubbles forming around your mouth as you grumble, flicking your tail angrily.

“Tough luck, fish-sticks. Almost outta matches too.” He grins at your displeased gesture, bits of water flicking his way as he shows you the almost empty matchbox, two matches set snug against each other, then separating as he rattles it around. Scourge pauses, looking at you in silence for a few moments.

“... Maybe ya would like a candle. How bout’ that?” A candle? You turn your head at his suggestion, peering up as he draws in more smoke from his cigarette, blowing it out as he meets your eyes. “Think you’d like one, yeah? Have a little flame you can keep around.”

Your own personal fire…

You grin, setting your arms onto the ledge as you pull up, turning to tackle your boyfriend down into a soggy cuddle, tail slapping happily against the water.

“Agh-!” He scowls, the cigarette dropping out of his mouth and rolling into the water. “Damn it, fish-face. Get off me!” Scourge glares at you, but it doesn’t take a genius to notice how his hands aren’t pushing you off in any manner, and you take the golden chance to wrap your arms around him, taking extra care to not prick yourself on his quills.

“Damn, the shit I do and handle for ya. Getting my jacket all wet…”

[mstormcloud]

More fankids!! Both because they are genuinely fun to make and give lore to but also because I made Mirai and then wanted to make sure she had friends!

Aster is designed by my friend Duetland!! (The last art is by them!!) They aren’t on tumblr but you can find him on Instagram @duetland :)

Lore for each of them under the cut! (LONG POST WARNING!!!!)

Gold and Aster:

Shadow and Sonics kids. They’re twins (with Aster being older). Both were babysat by Tails a lot and ended up picking up a lot of stuff from him as well as their parents. Gold became more responsible and significantly more polite (far more than either of his parents lmao) meanwhile Aster became interested in robotics. Specifically those related to space like rockets or planet rovers.

When the two were born there was immediate concern about their power imbalance. Aster was born with no powers at all, meanwhile Gold’s chaos energy was so high Shadow feared he would burn himself up unless something was done. Due to them being twins, it essentially ended up where instead of two moderately powerful hedgehogs - Gold got enough power for two while Aster has none. This leads Aster to resent Gold, less because she actually wants superpowers but more because Sonic and Shadow are always fussing over Gold (to make sure his powers aren’t harming him) and she feels like her parents don’t care for her. Causing her to push them out even more. She listens to Shadow more than Sonic, but they don’t end up talking through all this properly until Espio gets involved since unlike Sonic and Shadow who had powers all their lives - Espio had to teach himself his abilities and is able to empathize with Aster more.

3. Rhine

Rouge and Knuckles’ child. I’ve thought about her way less WHOOPS but!! Despite not being an echidna he looks up to his father a lot and promises to be the best guardian of the master emerald he can possibly be. Has a habit of just picking up shiny things like a magpie and will turn them into jewelry. Is blunt and gullible like her father but likes thinking things through before she moves. Uses the shovel claws more as weapons than actual shovels - he’s a bit of a neat freak.

Mirai and Gummy:

Mirais story is on my previous post! Not much has been added since then other than that I’ve decided she’s a bit of a troublemaker and very energetic, sarcastic, silly and kinda stupid. As for Gummy he’s about 7 years younger than Mirai, and I haven’t quite figured out what he’d be interested in yet haha

Eli and Anchor:

These two are half siblings! Eli’s parents are Amy and Metal. While investigating the ruins of a disaster, Amy and Metal find a child who who had been incredibly injured. They happen to be closer to Eggmans new hideout (where he has retired and is just kinda pouting by himself forever) than anywhere else - the two break in and force Eggman to help them save the child. Since the current Metal is Amy’s size, there were several smaller models for when he was “younger” - Eggman uses one of these scrapped smaller Metals to give the child cybernetic parts and saves their life. Amy and Metal then take the child back to their house and raise it as their own, with Eggman forcing them to bring Eli over frequently so he can see his grandchild.

Anchor is the child of Blaze and Amy! I’m just letting Amy be poly I think she has a lot of love in her heart and now she has two wifes. Anchor lives the Sol kingdom, and takes after her aunt Marine quite a bit with her love for adventure and especially sailing! When she was young, much like Blaze, she was brought before the Sol emeralds and blessed with a power. I feel like she’d be able to control / harness winds rather than fire though - to help with her sailing.

If you read all of this - thanks!! You didn’t have to but it was very nice of you!

[000marie198]

Beats till the song disappears

......

Classic era, Sonic 2's bad ending timeline but I made it better. Or worse. Leaving for you to decide. Enjoy :)

...........

He trudged through the dark zone, silent and windless akin to a closed, lifeless chamber.

The place was littered with systematically arranged crystal blocks that would've looked aesthetically pleasing if it were daytime. For now, they just made the place more eerie as he waited for Robotnik to show up.

After what felt like an eternity of worried pacing to the speedy hedgehog but in reality was barely a couple of minutes, two of the structures nearby split apart, revealing a camouflaged panel sliding in the ground.

Sonic stopped, facing the opening to see the Eggmobile rise from the underground, hovering a meter or so above the inclined floor leading into the depth.

The doctor looked composed, unworried, his spectacles glinting with a previously absent touch of confidence, of victory.

"Did you bring them?" He asked, addressing the frustrated hedgehog.

Sonic revealed four emeralds without a word, pulling them away as the other tried to grab for them.

"Tails?"

"Hand them over first."

Sonic was about to retaliate but paused at seeing the other hover a finger over the mobile's control panel, staring straight at him with the unspoken threat clear in his body language. He could kill the kit if Sonic wasn't careful.

His thoughts conflicting with one another and the concern for his little brother chiming in, he finally relented, holding out the gems for the mobile's claws to grab.

"Now tell me where he is."

"Careful, hedgehog, you don't get to make demands here. I believe we had an agreement that he'll be spared only if you brought all five Chaos Emeralds, hmm?"

Silence fell over the terrain, the hero shooting a venomous glare at Robotnik. It would be too much of a gamble to attack him when he had a link open to wherever he was keeping Tails. His lack of acknowledgement to the earlier question was answer enough. He hadn't been able to collect the required number of emeralds on time.

"I see," the scientist murmured.

Sonic gritted his teeth, high strung, on edge. He was aware he had failed but he needed to know...

"Just tell me if my brother is alright."

"He is," the other sighed in an exaggerated display of disappointment, "I would've gotten rid of him by now provided your ineptitude-"

"You know I can't locate them all this fast!" Sonic snarled, looking seconds away from jumping at his throat.

"But I am feeling rather... merciful today," the man continued on without even reacting to the interruption, his demeanor betraying he held all the cards. "I propose another deal, hedgehog. If you agree, I promise that no harm will come to Tails."

Sonic shouldn't trust him. Didn't trust him. But if it meant Tails would be safe...

He nodded, signalling to Robotnik that he was listening. Said scientist smirked under his mustache.

"Become part of my legion. Surrender yourself to me, and your little friend will go unharmed."

His legion. The hero had fought against him enough times, had seen enough horrors and rescued enough critters being used as test subjects to read between the lines, to know what Robotnik meant. The mere mention of that thing still makes him sick. Robotnik wasn't asking him to just give up his freedom. He was demanding for Sonic to give up his mind and body, his free will, in the worst way possible.

Sonic's life or Tails' safety?

It took him less than a second to choose.

"Well?" Robotnik's voice prompted, already knowing his nemesis' decision.

"If you hurt Tails-"

"Oh don't be so leery. I gave you my word. Your fox friend will not be harmed. Now, do we have a deal or do I signal my bots to neutralize that menace?"

Sonic squeezed his eyes shut, shaking with a plethora of emotions he couldn't bring himself to grasp and process as they came and went in waves. He gasped in a breath and stilled, before coiled tension leaked away from his body and he sighed. Surrendered.

"Deal."

"Excellent!" He could hear the victorious grin in Robotnik's voice but he didn't react, unable to bring himself to look up, gaze fixed on his red and white sneakers as he willingly sealed his fate. His iconic shoes held his focus, shoes that allowed him his freedom to run as fast as his heart desired. The same freedom which he was now volunterily giving up for his brother.

It felt like just yesterday when he had met the little guy, his shoes very smilar to Sonic's own, a matching color scheme. Something he had never paid attention to before but was now a glaring memory. He hadn't even told Tails how much he cared for him, how much proud he was, had he?

If he were to be given a chance to speak with Tails, he'd never remain silent again.

His feet moved without his consent, following the rotound man into the underground base until he blinked out of his thoughts and found himelf in a lab, facing a tall glass cylinder strung up in the center of the circular space.

It stood empty, it's front open, waiting to be occupied. Sonic stared on, unable to look away.

"Now don't be shy, step into the capsule. Chop chop!"

A hair's breath pause and he stepped forward, inside the glass confinement and upon the platform inside, fully resigning himself to what he had agreed on. His breath shuddered with anguish and dread as Robotnik moved around it to the front and pressed a switch.

The glass sealed behind him with a decisive click.

Adrenaline shot through his veins as the machine hummed to life, lights glowing awake below the platform he stood on and the welded hatch above him.

His heartbeat began to thunder in his ears, quills pricking up but he held still, letting the titanium clamps reaching for him seal around his ankles and wrists.

He saw Robotnik clicking away at a nearby screen and then he felt a subtle jerk, the machine's hum increasing in volume and intensity, the platform under him rising up.

With one final click at the keyboard, sleek contraptions that looked suspiciously like a sci-fi mixture of scanner and blaster surrounded him and pulsing rays shot out from their openings.

Sonic grunted as he felt the energy strike him, the clamps keeping him still.

2%

It started from below, at the legs. Of course it fucking did. Sonic wanted to scream, wanted to yell and kick and bang his fists against the glass, feeling cold numbness slowly spreading up his most powerful weapons, his legs, his speed, stripped from him painstakingly slowly as flesh turned to metal.

All he did was clench his fists and grit his teeth in anguish, his whole being screaming at him to move but he held still. He couldn't move, not if it placed his first friend, his best friend, at risk.

28%

The titanium bands securing his ankles and wrists seemed to tighten, restricting the little bit of movement he had as the rays slowly climbed up to his torso, inches below his heart.

He didn't let the tears show.

For Tails for Tails for Tails for Tails

His thoughts chanted like a mantra, placing all his being into not moving, letting himself be turned into a machine, until his ears swivelled at the swoosh of a panelled door sliding open, urging him to look up.

His breath caught in his throat, each cell freezing up in a mixture of shock, rage and despair.

No. No no no no no no no no NO!

"TAILS!" The anguished wail left his chest just as his heart stopped beating, an engine's hum replacing its frantic rhythm.

He payed it no mind. It didn't matter when it was ripped to shreds anyway the moment his blurry gaze met his brother's.

Glowing red optics stared back.

He tried to move, tried to break free but it made no difference, half his body frozen on the spot, under the control of the Chaos forsaken monster who did this.

65%

The bands on his wrists burned, something warm and damp flowed down his palms and dripped from his fingers. Sonic was numb to it, struggling and shaking in the glass confine, his own screams becoming muffled to his ears.

"You promised! YOU FUCKING PROMISED YOU WOULDN'T HURT HIM!"

A screen beeped, the vitals' charts on it going haywire as the progress bar reached 78%.

The mustached scientist just stood there grinning, unconcerned and victorious.

"And I kept my promise. He is unharmed, well and alive." The words seemed to echo in his head, reverberating as if imprinting on the walls of his mind, the machine's buzz and hum drowned out by them. "Just as you asked, rodent."

He couldn't take his pained eyes off of the small yellow robot and his captor noticed that, turning to address Tails with a deceptively encouraging smile.

"Isn't that right, Metal Tails?"

The little robot finally moved, startled beeps escaping it as it's mechanical gaze shifted away from hyperfocusing on Sonic and towards what it's systems told it to be it's creator.

The familiar innocence in that small gesture, even though seeing it on a roboticized mecha, broke something in Sonic.

He tried to call out to his brother but realized he couldn't speak. He couldn't feel his muzzle or mouth anymore. Oh...

The screen read 96%.

As the metal climbed up his quills and ears and the world began to fade into static, Sonic drowned out Eggman's smug grin and droning of the roboticizer's rays, putting all that was left of his mind and strenght into focusing on Tails.

He wanted his last memory to be of his brother, even if no longer flesh and blood but mere metal and wires, he was still Tails. His Tails. That much was clear from its demeanor alone, the innocence, the curiosity, the intelligence, it was all there. Sonic would be able to tell his kid apart from a thousand other Tailses if he had to.

The tears he'd been holding back finally slipped down, the last piece of his humanity used into conveying to Tails that he was sorry, that he loved him.

99%

His eyes closed, the metal covered up the last of the organic cells and Sonic finally went still.

............

Metal Tails gazed upon the powering down capsule, his processors showing the progress bar having reached 100%.

He couldn't take his focus off of the inactive hedgehog; organic, mechanical, irrelevant, Metal Tails was drawn to him even before the roboticization was completed.

Something suspiciously illogical was recorded in his archives during the process. He had sensed what organics refer to as emotions being conveyed to him earlier by the same being. It seemed to be a combination of concern, remorse and affection.

How could he do that without any working signal and communication link to Metal Tails?

The roboticized hedgehog suddenly beeped awake, internal fans whirring as his systems rapid-fire processed the new programming and commands. He jerked within the bonds and stilled again, hanging limp for a long beat.

Metal Sonic lifted his head up, optical processors switching on to reveal glowing red optics staring straight into Metal Tails' own.

It appeared the other robot was finally awake.

Metal Tails couldn't calculate why the organic hedgehog had seemed to know about him but he had felt drawn to the blue being just the same.

Perhaps it was a satisfactory calculation on his creator's part as Metal Tails' tended to get lonely and this arrangement made him most pleased.

Another robot companion made for the perfect promised gift.

.................

No characters were killed in the making of this story, just as I promised :]

[cc-cobalt-1043]

Heading home:

Set after the final battle, Tom and Maddie are excited they have more kids, Sonic is happy to finally find friends like him, Knuckles is worried and Tails is just tired.

After taking down Robotnik and helping clear some of the damage done to Green Hills the Wachowski family headed home.

Tom and Maddie were upfront in the car and Knuckles, Sonic and Tails were in the back.

Knuckles was firmly clutching the Master emerald in his hands as though frightened if he let it go it would disappear, Tails was squashed comfortably between Sonic and Knuckles, fast asleep having been worn out by the chaos of the battle, and Sonic was sitting with an arm wrapped around Tails, letting the Fox snuggle into him as much as the car seat allowed him, Sonic was thinking about everything that happened over the last two days.

Robotnik had returned and was defeated, the master emerald was both real and in their possession, and now Knuckles and Tails were here.

Mind you Sonic was certainly grateful they were here, not cause they helped him and literally saved his life, but because of the company.

As much as he'd loved being an only child, it could be lonely sometimes, with Tails and Knuckles, that was Likely gonna change.

Sonic was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Tails stirring next to him.

"Sonic, where are we going?" Tails mumbled, the Kit's voice laced heavily with sleep and he looked ready to konk out again any moment.

"We're going home pal." Sonic simply said gently stroking the Kit behind his ears.

"Home, tha' sounds nice." Tails mumbled before yawning and falling right back to sleep.

Sonic chuckled then looked over at Knuckles who was still stone silent.

"You okay there Knucklehead?" Sonic asked.

Knuckles nodded.

"I am fine hedgehog, I am just...thinking." Knuckles said.

"If it's about Egghead, don't worry we won't see him again, or at least for a while." Sonic said.

"I'm aware, but that is not what is on my mind." Knuckles said.

"Then what is it?" Sonic asked curious.

"I helped Robotnik to acquire the emerald and also hurt you, this town and the Fox, will I truly be accepted into your...family?" Knuckles asked.

"Course you will, Eggman manipulated you and used you into doing those things." Sonic said.

"Besides this family always seems to meet in some weird way." He added.

"It's true, when I first met Sonic I shot him with a bear tranquilliser." Tom said.

"And the Fox hit me with a car on our first meeting." Knuckles added casually.

Tom and Maddie both gaped at Knuckles then at Tails.

"Oh my God, are you OK?" Maddie asked him worriedly.

"I am fine, I have quite a strong body so the car didn't do anything serious, besides he was saving Sonic?" Knuckles said.

"Yeah, he even drove it off a cliff to save me." Sonic added.

"I was wondering where that went." Tom muttered under his breath.

He looked at Tails.

"Remind me not to get on his bad side." He chuckled.

He looked back at Knuckles.

"But don't worry about anything Knuckles, you're part of this family now and if GUN or Robotnik want you back they'll have to step over my cold, dead body." Tom said.

"Same here." Maddie nodded.

For the first time since meeting him Sonic thought he saw a smile on the Echnida's face.

"I certainly hope it doesn't come to that, but I appreciate the sentiment behind it." Knuckles said nodding.

After a while of driving in silence they finally arrived home.

Tom, Maddie and Knuckles all climbed out while Sonic coaxed a deep asleep Tails awake.

"Huh, wh're we." Tails yawned not looking too pleased to be woken up and clearly wanting to go back to sleep.

"We're home pal, but I need you to get up." Sonic said.

Tails grumbled slightly from tiredness but with some assistance from Sonic he climbed out the car.

Sonic took in the kit and saw just how exhausted he really looked, his tails and ears dropped slightly and he could barely keep his eyes open.

"Tired bud?" Sonic asked slightly teasingly.

Tails just yawned his tails flicking slightly as he tried to stifle said yawn behind his hand.

"Yeah." Tails added after a moment.

"I can tell." Sonic chuckled giving Tails a scratch behind the ear before taking ahold of the Kit's hand.

"C'mon bud, let's get you some shut eye." Sonic smiled and Tails nodded too tired to reply.

Meanwhile Tom, Maddie and Knuckles were inspecting the damage.

"All in all it's not too bad, we can definitely stay tonight, but we should probably have this fixed soon." Maddie asked.

"I'll get started then." Knuckles said.

"What do you mean pal?" Tom asked confused.

"I have inflicted this damage upon your home and I should be the one to fix it." Knuckles said.

"Honey, that wasn't your fault, that horrible man manipulated you into doing those things." Maddie said.

"But I need to attone for my actions." Knuckles said.

"You already have Knuckles by saving the town, that's more than enough." Tom said.

Knuckles nodded, though he didn't seem fully convinced.

"Now, let's show you guys where you'll be staying for the night." Maddie said.

"We can stay?" A tiny voice asked.

The others turned to see Sonic and Tails behind her, Tails was looking at her curiously.

"Of course Baby, we'd love you to stay with us." Maddie said.

"Yeah kid, you're more than welcome." Tom nodded.

Tails nodded and yawned heavily leaning into Sonic's side.

"Okay, I think that's the signal for bedtime, come on guys." Tom said.

They went inside the house and after being greeted (and licked) by Ozzie they went up to Sonic's room.

Tails gaped in awe as they went into the room.

"Wow, it's so cool in here." Tails said looking around the room in awe.

"Okay guys, get yourselves ready for bed, it's been a long day." Tom said.

Sonic climbed into his bed and Tails went over to the beanbag chair and climbed onto it, humming contently as he lay down on it, apparently finding it comfortable enough.

"We've got a spare sleeping bag in the garage Knuckles, if you'd like it, looks like Miles has already claimed the bean bag.

Knuckles looked over and indeed Tails was stretched out on the bean bag in a ball, mumbling contently as he slept.

Nearby Sonic looked over with a very fond look, Knuckles couldn't help but feel the same.

Knuckles looked back at Maddie.

"Yes please, that would be very nice." Knuckles nodded.

Maddie nodded and soon returned with said sleeping bag, as well as a blanket which she gently draped over Tails.

Maddie then set up the sleeping bag for Knuckles who after thanking her climbed in.

"Goodnight boys, sleep well." Maddie said.

She kissed each of the boys on their foreheads before leaving for Tom's room.

Sonic yawned and stretched out on his bed.

"Night Knux, I hope you like it here." Sonic said.

"Goodnight." Knuckles replied.

Knuckles looked at Sonic, then Tails and with a small smile closed his eyes.

"I think I will." Knuckles mumbled to himself.

[whotfletamothhyperfx]

“Sonic?” The hedgehog's attention was drawn down at the breathless scared voice, a voice that sounded way too young to be the same confident energetic kid that he knew. Tails always sounded and acted old for his age. So to hear the opposite was almost unsettling in a way.

“Yeah bud?” Sonic asked softly, gently stroking the tufts of fur on tails head backwards over and over, it was something the boy always seemed to enjoy. In the days where they first met and tails finally let sonic touch him he’d just sit there with the toddler in his arms gently petting him.

Sonic would give anything to be back there right now.

“I’m scared” the small voice interrupted him with, tails was in sonic's arms, looking way tinier than he had ever done. His baby blue eyes staring up as sonic filled with tears as he practically begged sonic silently to not leave.

They had been fighting when a floor caved in. Tails hadn’t flown back up, they had just assumed he would have been fine. Tails had gotten them out of so many sticky situations before how could he not have gotten himself out of this one?

Sonic wished he had jumped in after straight away.

It had been twelve minutes since the boy had been under rubble until sonic finally came. One of his legs was completely crushed, trapped by metal looking up at the sky waiting for someone to come down and get him but no one did for what felt like an eternity.

The thought brought bile to Sonic's throat at the idea of the terror and hopelessness the boy must have felt when they hadn’t instantly come to collect him. Like he had done for them so many times before.

God why hadn’t sonic just looked.

Maybe if he had looked he would have seen the fact tails leg was practically flattened, how bars of metal stuck into his shoulder and hand pinning him to the floor looking up at the light coming through the hole.

He saw that no one came to get him

“I know.. shh I know” sonic shushed gently, patting the boy's head more soothingly hoping to whatever God that he hadn’t yet killed that the boy could last a little longer. It had been a simple mission, no one had brung the emergency kit.

But it was too late now. They didn’t have a clue how to get him unpinned, how to get what felt like one hundred feet tall metal bars out of him, they didn’t know how they were going to move him with his leg practically off. If they had just checked on him to begin with they would have had time. But they didn’t. Sonic tried not to throw up.

“Am I gonna die?” Tails asked bluntly, staring up at sonic as the older desperately tried to shade the boy from the light seeping through the ceiling. Tails usually got his traits from sonic. Everyone knew it. The bluntness was a group effort however, all of them are like it and eventually it must have rubbed off on him.

Sonic squeezed his eyes shut looking up at the collapsed hole begging that he would just see one person racing down. One other person to help him get tails out, or at least someone to help the kid calm down “No never you can’t die when your with me remember I’m sonic the hedgehog”

Sonic stopped for a second, he didn’t know if he was saying this for tails benefit or his own anymore. Tails had always been surprisingly calm about the idea of dying. It was something he had accepted long before ever meeting sonic. The hedgehog however? He couldn’t let that happen. Tails has so much to do, so much to see. “You’re not gonna die.”

They both hated the silence that follows

“Promise?” His voice sounded even younger than it did before sonic had met him.

“Promise won’t die..”Tails begged letting out a small hiccup as he was slurring his words as well. His pupils were starting to become different shapes as well. One blown wide and the other no bigger than a pin prick. Part of Sonic knew it was inevitable.

Tails wasn’t going to have the long happy life sonic had dreamed for him, he would never see tails grow into his own person, see his brother do the incredible things he was destined too. No. His brother was not going to live a hero’s life. Tails was going to die a slow painful death all because they assumed he would fly himself out.

And when he didn't, none of them had looked, he had been so fine on his own before that it hadn’t occurred for them to check just this one. Just this once battle and he would be fine on his own.

He could do it.

They believed in him.

“You won’t die. You can’t you’ve got so much to live for; so many achievements to get and I’m gonna be right next to you cheering you on every time” sonic whispered because he needed to see it. Sonic couldn’t live with himself if tails wasn’t right beside him living as well. He needed to see what his brother would do. Who he would become. They just had to get out this hole.

An agonising silence took over again, the only thing to hear was tails ragged and trouble breathing mixed with the gentle taps of water dripping down into the hole.

“I’m cold”

tails was getting worse by the second, the pool of blood that covered the ground stained sonics knees as he tried desperately to give his brother some warmth any kind of warmth

“I know”

Sonic just needed to keep him awake, to keep him talking, Tails could have all the blankets he wanted when they got home. Sonic would heat up as much warm food, give him as many hugs and tuck him in as many times as he wanted to keep him warm just so long as he stayed awake

“I wanna go home”

How long has it been since Sonic stayed over? He went out on a few weeks long adventure, he was due to come home today but they stopped at the mission beforehand. Why hadn’t sonic just come home earlier?

“I know..”

Why hadn’t sonic just come home from his stupid adventure. It hadn’t been the same without tails anyway, why couldn’t he have just come home early. He could have had so much more time with tails if he did so.

“If I die.. will you knuckles and Amy and everyone.. will you be ok?” Tails asked his voice raspy, his eyes barely able to keep open as he stared up a sonic, drooping open and shut as the pupils changed in size, the pool of blood getting bigger as tails sobbe through his words.

“I dunno..” Sonic muttered not knowing how to calm him down. Sonic had never been good with the whole comforting people thing, but he knew tails needed it, tails needed to stay calm and hang on for just a few more minutes. “me and knucklehead would probably fight a lot more without you there to be the voice of reason”

The hand that wasn’t pinned with a metal rod sticking through was stroking sonics hand with his thumb, Tails was trying everything to keep himself awake but it was getting so hard. “I’d feel bad knowing that I wouldn’t be there to build the machines and stuff anymore that would be annoying for you all.”

“That wouldn’t be what we would be focusing on kiddo..” Sonic said with a laugh, his little brother was always so focused on what he could do for other people that he never seemed to realise that they just loved him for him. Sonic needs to tell him that more. Sonic just needed tails to hang on a little longer. He’d get him out and then he’d remind tails everyday. “Bud there’s never going to be anything more important than you”

“There will be more important things.” Tails whispered his thumb stopping stroking, he didn’t have the energy to do anything but lay there and try to keep breathing. Sonic couldn’t care less just as long as he kept that one thing up. that’s all sonic could ever ask for.

“Not to me.. never to me.” Sonic said honestly because there never would be. Nothing could be more important to sonic than tails. His other half, his baby brother. That kid was going to grow up. He had too. Sonic wouldn’t know if he could live without tails. He just couldn’t.

Now that tails was in his life sonic could never have him leave it

“I’m tired..” the boy whispered gently, his vision going blurry as he tried desperately to keep his vision focused onto sonic, but his eyes kept getting drawn away to the light seeping through the hole's entrance.

Has it always been that bright?

“Just a little longer and they’ll find us ok?” Tails wasn’t looking at sonic anymore, instead looking at something just behind sonic, his breaths nearly completely halted as he stared with half shut eyes at something behind sonic. A wave of happiness filled the hedgehog as he assumed it was someone coming to help his little brother however looking behind him there was…no one.

He looked back at tails confused only to see the boys eyes softly shut, his chest no longer rising and falling.

“Tails?” Sonic softly asked softly shaking him, not to hard, his brother was hurt he didn’t want put him in pain he just needed tails to wake up.

He needed him to wake up.

“Hey buddy open your eyes c'mon buddy” Sonic put two fingers on the boy's neck, He felt the boy's pulse disperse underneath his fingers. He couldn’t do anything but stare at his baby brother in his arms.

Not his baby brother.

His baby brother's corpse.

That’s when the sounds of rummaging came from above as knuckles and Amy piled in with the emergency kit screaming and asking if tails was ok. Sonic couldn’t do anything for a second. He just stared at them before looking down at the lifeless body

And sonic screamed for any fucking god who could hear.