Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Narrator: It seems like there’s always someone or something after Sonic, whether it’s sometimes animal…

Sonic is seen running from the killer whale in Sonic Adventure)

Narrator: Or humans…

 Sonic is seen running from the GUN truck at the beginning of Sonic Adventure 2

( show analogous shot but this time it’s Sonic running from the GUN truck at the beginning of Sonic Adventure 2)

Narrator: Or… on a more regular basis, had been Amy…

Sonic is seen running from Amy like in many games like Sonic Riders, and Sonic and the Black Knight..for example…

Narrator: But for once, the one who had been after him the most, Eggman, now wasn’t…and currently doing “community service” instead… 

Eggman is seen  in Cove City Square  ordering around Cubot and Orbot to dig for him for the  memorial foundation, and Herman the mini mecha dragon is hovering nearby the dirt pit with Eggman and Orbot and Cubot, near  a sign saying nearby in the grassy surrounding area saying “Christmas Island Memorial in Progress.”  Metal Sonic is currently holding a stick, not flaming, about to throw it to the eager Herman. Eggman doesn’t watch them however, but is seen with a wristband on as well…., his face on the cusp of anger as he breathes in deeply, trying to remain calm long enough to stay in his human form and not the little purple creature he became thanks to Boom Eggman! He looks towards Cubot who has dropped his shovel, now also a stick in hand as if to also play fetch.

Eggman: Cubot! *deep breath*….get back to work and quit trying to play with Herman. You’re the robots I made for manual labor! Believe me…Metal Sonic’s time will come, for what is fitting for such a mechanical body as his! To help me bring about the destruction of his doppelgänger!

Cubot: Yes, boss!

Cubot now grabs his shovel again but looks longingly back a moment.

Eggman groans.

 Cove City Square …Where Eggman is, now has a pit of dirt for what is presumably a building and future fountain foundation, and surrounding that is a large grassy area with trees in various spots in the town square, complete with a small stage for events and fountain. Around this grassy area circle is a road, making the square in the middle of a large traffic circle that connects various roads of Cove City. The three roads leading to it have European style buildings with little stores giving it a downtown feel. Some of the stores being for food, clothing, or coffee etc…

Now coming out of one of those stores is Sonic and Amy, wedding rings visible, as Sonic holds one of Amy’s shopping bags, as he and Amy walk up to Eggman in the big dirt pit in the square, Sonic grinning and Amy still with a look of a bit of disbelief at the sight…not to mention passerby’s…. Shadow can be seen standing on guard now on the other side of the pit. Before reaching him Amy talks with Sonic a bit…

Amy: Now don’t tease him so much! He’s already humiliated as it is, no need to rub it in. 

Sonic: Who, me?

Amy: Sonic…

Sonic: Hey, I’ll try, but taunting has been the backbone of our relationship for years! In fact, it might even make him feel even worse if I didn’t… even more of a change of the status quo….(Amy gives him a look) But….how’s this? I may not start the taunting, but he can expect a taunting back. Look, I’ll just…ask how he’s doing ok?

Amy: *sigh* Alright….

Sonic and Amy now reach the pit within speaking distance and Shadow nods briefly as Amy waves enthusiastically back at him and Sonic grins briefly back. Herman and Metal Sonic still seem too absorbed in their game to pay attention to their arrival on the grassy area near it. Eggman can’t help but quickly notice them at the edge of the pit and turns their way.

 Sonic: So, how’s it coming Eggman?

Eggman: Bah! Infernal rodent! As if there’s anything else for me to do anyway on this miserable island! 

And with that, *Poing* Eggman transforms into the purple creature again.

 Eggman, a creature again,  now “speaks” through the stretchy wristband with audio to translate for him.

 Eggman:(from wristband) Now look what you made me do! 

Sonic: (slight frown) Still better than being dead isn’t it?

Sonic: (to Amy): Heh. See Amy? All I did was ask how he was doing and he’s already a flying purple potato again…

Amy: Sonic!

Sonic: Ok, flying purple ...”creature”…I guess I just have that effect on him.

Eggman: And how could you not be worthy of my anger rodent?? Do you really expect me to be grateful to you for saving my life just so you miserable animals can mock me from afar as I slave away?! 

 Cubot and Orbot just look at each other while holding shovels…that Eggman doesn’t.

Eggman: Me? The great Eggman! Mark my words hedgehog, the first opportunity that arises, I will destroy you!

Sonic: *Sigh* *shakes head* Your welcome doc. Anger issues much? Looks like you’ll be lucky not to go red…or should I say “purple”for one day at this rate! 

Amy: And yes you should be grateful! It’s your own fault you can’t see how amazing Sonic is! Hmph! Let’s go before I lose my patience with him Sonic!

Sonic:Hm. Sure.

They start to walk off.

Sonic:(Starts to walk off) Good job on the memorial so far by the way…(wink and thumbs up)

Narrator: With Eggman no longer a threat beyond threatening words however, Sonic was beginning to feel a bit… restless in the newfound peace…maybe a little bored, and his words from his trial in Persis’ world* before came back to haunt him…

*SAS

Sonic looks at Amy as he holds, well, a few more shopping bags for her than before when he saw Eggman. He stands and sighs, frowning slightly, peering around the boxes while standing inside a clothing store inside a strip mall in Cove City, though Amy seems as animated as a hummingbird flitting from outfit to outfit in the store.

Amy: This is so exciting! Thanks for going  shopping with me Sonic!

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REF- Sonic helping Amy with shopping

In the ending for Sonic Shuffle, Sonic can be seen with an uneasy face holding Amy’s shopping bags! It can be seen at the 1:47 mark of this video, Sonic Shuffle - Story Mode End Credits https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyK8pXv185c

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STORY

Sonic: Uh, sure Ames! Yeah, exciting…

SAS FLASHBACK:

Persis:… but maybe this is still something you have to face in yourself over and over again. I mean, I know you said I was “nosy” before but… I mean such a big part of your identity seems to be saving everyone from Eggman right? But what would you do if there weren’t any villains to face? Or Eggman stopped being evil?

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REF-Sonic’s belief in Eggman not changing…

…..nope! He’s not like Knuckles, and  in the Official Sonic Japanese YouTube Sonic answers questions (TRAnslated [Special Project] Speed of sound! One question, one answer, Sonic Answer Video Summary (2022/6/24 implementation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6uiGP-ei3M at 1:30 mark

Sonic: Hello Sumiko! Thanks for your question! If Eggman were to stop being evil and peaceful days were to to on for long, would you find that boring?” 

*laugh* Eggman staying well-behaved sounds about as possible as chili dogs raining from the sky! If bored, from peace or whatever only you can make it fun again! If it were up to me, I’d travel to find new adventures and I think I’d enjoy it!

(From Sonic and the Black Knight)-Sonic sees himself as hero then other time?

Merlina: If you remove that sword and defeat King Arthur with it... You shall forever be the worst of knights, slayer of kings...

Sonic: Guess I can't be the hero every time. [Pulls sword] Ha! The scared sword...

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STORY

Sonic: I dunno, be more bored I guess? 

Persis: Sonic!

Sonic: Oh Alright, alright, alright! Well,  Eggman staying well-behaved sounds about as possible as chili dogs raining from the sky, but in that case, then I’d just have to find new adventures. And though I don’t see it likely now, who really knows? I’ve had others surprise me in how they changed…
….And as great as it is to know I’ve been able to protect my friends as a hero Persis, if there was a device that could keep them safe from Eggman forever without my help, I’d still use it. I guess that’s not the hardest part…

Sonic passes by the EMP device, putting his hand on it, contemplating…

Persis: Then…what is?

Sonic: Just…I don’t know. It seems like I’ve always been fighting Eggman, so the thought of not having to anymore….?…. Anyway, as much fun as I have stopping him, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t use something like this, if it existed, that could permanently stop his machines.

(Author’s Note: Some dialogue skipped)

Sonic: …Lost in your head again Persis?

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REF-Sonic’s ego and sense of identity

From Sonic’s Ego Journey: The Neglected Subplot of Sonic Unleashed

We’ve established that Sonic finds himself physically attractive and that a lot of his confidence comes from that belief. However, there’s a part of him feels that it’s his body (both his overall physicality and his skills like speed, agility, combat, hyper-perception, et cetera) that makes him a hero—or rather, perhaps, is what enables him to be a hero—and without it, he’s lost a big part of his identity.

(Opening)

This game—this story—is so fucking important.

This is the game where Sonic learns that he’s the hero and not his abilities. This is the game where Sonic learns that Amy loves him for him and not for his status, heroism, or skills. This is the game where Sonic learns that his heart, dedication, optimism, selflessness, and humanity make him a much better hero than his speed ever could.

Let me tell you why.

https://molinaskies.tumblr.com/post/675234337710604288/sonics-ego-journey-the-neglected-subplot-of

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STORY

Persis: Er, yes.. but, speaking of finding new adventures without Eggman, maybe you could have a different kind? 

Amy now appears from behind one of the displays  behind Sonic and waves a bit mischievously.

Sonic: Different Kind? Whaddaya mean by a—oh OH! Amy!(follows Persis look towards Amy)

END FLASHBACK

Sonic looks down and thinks, “Man …I never thought this would be something I’d be facing again anytime soon…… I guess it is like I thought… There’s no way I’d want to risk everyone’s safety, it’s just…”

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REF- Sonic and yet again peril means excitement (though for Knuckles it’s worry)..

From Sonic Battle, Emerl

Altar - After selecting the area

Knuckles You came, as expected...

Sonic: Knuckles... What on earth is this...?

Knuckles: When that battleship appeared, the "Estuary" instantly froze over, and "Chaos" appeared. He's just sitting there, guarding the "Death Egg." Chaos is the guardian god of the Chao. He only shows himself in times of great crisis. Looks like we're in deep trouble this time!

Sonic: Haha! Things are finally getting exciting! Hmm... So that's the "Death Egg," huh? I can see why the old guy was so excited... That thing's huge!

https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_Battle/Script_(Emerl)

Also Sonic wanting excitement makes me think of this from Sonic Channel Wallpaper Cover Story: Sonic & Vector (April 2021)

“They say that Apotos has been attacked by Eggman’s robots every few days for the past few months, and they have no idea why.

As Sonic starts to grin on the inside, thinking that this is going to be fun,”

https://browniehideout.wordpress.com/2021/03/23/sonic-channel-wallpaper-cover-story-sonic-vector-april-2021/

….And Eggman, in particular bringing excitement more than he’d easily admit

Official Sonic Japanese YouTube Sonic answers questions (TRAnslated [Special Project] Speed of sound! One question, one answer, Sonic Answer Video Summary (2022/6/24 implementation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6uiGP-ei3M at 1:30 mark

Sonic: Hello Sumiko! Thanks for your question! If Eggman were to stop being evil and peaceful days were to to on for long, would you find that boring?” 

*laugh* Eggman staying well-behaved sounds about as possible as chili dogs raining from the sky! If bored, from peace or whatever only you can make it fun again! If it were up to me, I’d travel to find new adventures and I think I’d enjoy it!

Me: Despite saying he’d find new adventures, in the Sonic Channel Wallpaper Cover Story: Super Sonic & Dr. Eggman (December 2021), https://browniehideout.wordpress.com/2021/12/11/sonic-channel-wallpaper-cover-story-super-sonic-dr-eggman-december-2021/

It says the major ones he enjoyed were from Eggman.

(Note: Off topic quibble…..on Sonic and Eggman before South Island from story…)

 Though I try to use what cannon I can from official things like Sonic Channel, admittedly, I’m on non-canon territory after Sonic and the Black Knight due to wanting to ironically keep canon personalities they’d had previously…which can be argued of course, though everybody has a favorite characterization of course and it’s not always going to be mine; it’s not the end of the world. In any case I’d like to bring up the fact in that because of what it mentions…

“He attacked the South Island with his overwhelming scientific power, aiming for the Chaos Emeralds, and in no time he had conquered most of the island.
It seems that there had been minor skirmishes between Sonic and Eggman before that, and they were already acquainted. It would be great to see more of those adventures someday.”

Me: So it implies “minor” skirmishes, but I wonder how can it be minor with Eggman? Well if it’s not the same degree as facing him in boss battles, maybe I could say facing Badniks and indirectly facing his Eggman’s Badniks perhaps counts. And in my continuity, he heard about him from family before too..not to mention indirect skirmishes in a way with the bomb…though really, this is fanfic, so by definition non-canon, but even so I like to use as much canon as I can reasonably do.

(END Off topic Quibble)

Back to the  Sonic Channel Wallpaper Cover Story: Super Sonic & Dr. Eggman (December 2021) (excerpt below)

What really entertains him…

So, what does Sonic mean to Eggman?

This question has been asked before in other cover story commentaries, but the relationship between Eggman and Sonic… is surprisingly difficult to explain properly.

Of course, Eggman hates Sonic, who has repeatedly crushed his ambitions. Just seeing him in his field of vision is enough to annoy him, and the only time he might be happy is when he can attack Sonic unilaterally.

One thing is for sure, though: For Eggman, the very overthrow of Sonic, who has crushed Eggman’s every plan, has become a target that Eggman must defeat as part of his ambitions.

If he wanted to conquer the world, he would have to defeat Sonic first.

Of course, he would not go out of his way to seek a duel… but precisely because of that, when Sonic appears at a crucial moment in Eggman’s plan, Eggman seems to enjoy it despite cursing him.

Sonic, who brings out Eggman’s full power and shatters it, may be one of the few beings who can truly entertain him.

On the other hand, from Sonic’s point of view, Eggman is first and foremost a “handful.”

Time and time again, he throws this planet into chaos in his quest for world domination, messing with something dangerous and failing…

He can be said to be an annoying and troublesome old man, who torments Sonic’s animal friends and destroys beautiful cities and nature, before he can be called good or bad.

On the other hand, Eggman is also someone Sonic can take on seriously as an equal opponent. This applies not only to battles but also to verbal exchanges like insults and banter.

When Eggman calls Sonic a “filthy hedgehog,” Sonic responds with “shiny mustached egg,” and it seems like both of them are genuinely enjoying it. The sarcastic banter and jokes they exchange are always a highlight.

Furthermore, Eggman is also someone who brings adventure to Sonic.

He always causes unprecedented major incidents, shocking the world, and boldly challenges Sonic without hesitation, even calling himself the villain.

It’s a troublesome situation, and Sonic probably wouldn’t admit it… but isn’t this one of Eggman’s charming aspects for Sonic?

And if we were to replace “adventure” with “ambition,” then perhaps Sonic is also that for Eggman…?

True arch-enemies often seem to have such aspects to their relationship.

(END Sonic Channel EXCERPT)

Me: So in other words, this challenging aspect of Eggman causing major incidents, though not a good thing, Sonic seems to not want to admit the adventure Eggman brings and charm Eggman brings because of how he challenges Sonic…

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STORY

Amy is now looking through another rack, and looking at another dress squealing with excitement!

Amy: Oh this outfit looks so cute! Don’t you think so? 

Amy holds out a red dressed with a scalloped bottom and heart, as seen in Sonic Speed Simulator https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Amy_Rose/Gallery?file=Render_chef_amy.png 

Sonic: Uh, sure Amy! 

Amy: You don’t like it?

Sonic: No, no… it’s great!

Amy: Hmm…Well, alright! (Sticks out tongue playfully) Last chance to say something because I’m getting it!

 Sonic (thinks):* sigh* I don’t want Eggman hurting everyone, but I sure wish there was some way to make all this “peace”… I don’t know, less boring?

Amy:Sonic? 

Sonic: Hm?

Amy: What’s on your mind?

Sonic: Huh? Oh nothing Ames…just…thinking about how peaceful everything’s been..

Amy: Nothing huh? (skeptical)

 Sonic looks on uneasily at her piercing gaze…

Amy: Alright…Well, I’ll let you off...

Sonic: *whew*

Amy: For now…

Amy now goes up to him and give him a quick kiss on the cheek and Sonic smiles a bit.

Amy: Don’t worry, it won’t be much longer…

Sonic: (grin)Hm.That’s what you said two stores and boxes ago…

Amy: That was before you got that look on your face.

Sonic: Look?

Amy: (grin) You can’t hide from me Sonic! Don’t worry, there’ll …there’ll be something more exciting soon…

Sonic: (quizzical) Soon huh?

Amy: (shyly) You’ll see…

Sonic: Ok? You mean going to the beach?

Amy: Um, anyway…let me just go pay for this and we’ll be right out ok?

Sonic: Uh sure…

Sonic watches as Amy goes up front with her outfit but then gets stopped by a happy rabbit citizen wearing a sundress who grabs her hands and jumps up and down with her!

Rabbit in sundress: Oh how exciting! I can’t wait until the public wedding!

Amy: Thank you!

Sonic now sighs and looks off.

Sonic: This may take a bit longer…*yawn* (thinks)  so I guess I’ll have to just let my mind “run” instead for the moment….Hm… Persis went off on one her tangents about this didn’t she? Er what was it? …. Something  about “a pendulum going back and forth from a happy peace and boredom and then to passion and pleasure with diminishing returns”…or something like that right? 

Sonic now looks around the racks of the Victorian-style decorated store that looks a bit like something from Alice in Wonderland to see the grandfather clock against the wall.

Sonic: Hmm…Then something about getting out of that pendulum with joy that was moving, while being still …somehow …”beyond the walls of the world??” 

Sonic then mutters aloud a bit…”What the heck does that even mean?!”

All nearby in the store look at him confused at why he said this out loud, and he simply smiles sheepishly.

Sonic: Nothing! Heh heh… Just thinking of a puzzle! Just…have fun shopping!

They all mutter and go back to it though Amy gives Sonic a concerned “hmm….” Look….still not free of the sundress bunny.

Sonic: (Thinks) Man, I wonder if Persis rubbed off on me just a bit? Eh, in any case, seriously Persis, sometimes I wish you spoke In plain English! Despite that, it’d still be nice to see her again anyway…

Soon Sonic has his own person go up to him, a female cat in a wide skirt and floral shirt now walks up to him and tries to peek around the boxes Sonic is holding…

Floral Shirt Cat: Are you… Sonic the Hedgehog?

Sonic now peeks around the boxes enough to more see her face.

Sonic: You bet! (Grin) Someone attacking??

Floral Shirt Cat: Well, no, actually…

Sonic: Ah…(a bit deflated) I mean, that’s great!

Floral Shirt Cat: Actually, I just wanted to thank you for your role in finally defeating Eggman, and turning him into that purple monster! Finally, we can have peace…

Sonic: Hm…Yeah! (Smile) Yeah, we can!

Floral Shirt Cat: I heard you will keep an eye on him too, but he really doesn’t seem much of a threat anymore. Out of curiosity, if you don’t mind me asking, what do you plan on doing now?

Sonic: Doing? Uh….I guess I’m still trying to figure that out myself actually…

Floral Shirt Cat: I see. Well, alright then! I won’t bother you any further! Best of luck!

Sonic waves bye and Amy looks at him thoughtfully and concerned…now finally at the cash register.

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REF- Men and purpose from Sonic Boom Origins Part 1 Notes

Why Veteran Gerald’s sense of purpose is in “little missions”

After almost a full year of having a very clear, decisive and delineated mission (with life and death often at stake), I was returning to a more complicated, confusing reality of often conflicting responsibilities — one shared, I think, by most American men and women alike.

I was confused by my feelings at the time. Now I understand. My mission was over. My brothers were gone. They were returning to Fort Hood in Texas. I was in Tennessee. Our relationship could never be the same.

Veterans’ groups are supremely aware of this need for fellowship and purpose. “Next mission” is a common phrase in the veteran community, and it’s explicitly intended to help veterans find purpose in their lives. And the need is great. I’ll never forget the friend who told me, shortly after his deployment, “I’m not even 30, and I’ve already done the most significant thing I’ll ever do.”

While his despair was genuine, he was fundamentally wrong. As a husband, father and entrepreneur, he’s forging his own path and leaving a new legacy. I rediscovered my own sense of purpose in my family and in a different cause, defending civil liberties in courtrooms across America. But it took time. Nothing at home was comparable to the sheer intensity of my deployment abroad.

One does not have to join the infantry to find purpose in life, and a man can and should find immense meaning in the simple yet profound daily rhythms of fatherhood, friendship, healthy romantic relationships and an honest day’s work.

The true challenge to American masculinity is far upstream from politics and ideology. It’s not fundamentally about what ideological combatants say about men — that they have become “toxic” on the one hand, or “feminized” on the other. Rather the challenge is much more about a man finding his purpose, and there are few better purposes than helping the people you love walk through life.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/12/opinion/men-purpose-respect.html

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STORY

Sonic(thinks): Hmph, (frown) NOW I remember something else she said…” the fatal flaw of all utopias? success. While striving for the goal, life has a purpose  but once the goal is reached, propose, creativity, and interest sag into a limp felicity, and human spirit rebels—the pendulum does not stop until the spirit is either dead (in hell) or fully alive (in heaven)”
…I’d sure say that’s my problem now... Now that Eggman’s not always stirring something up, what am I actually supposed to do now?

Amy now runs up to him with a bag that she holds this go round

Amy: Alright Sonic! Just one more store!

Sonic: Was that supposed to be the exciting thing?

Amy: It should be! This time it’s for you!

Sonic: Aww….

Soon Sonic is seen  in a tux store with Amy, wearing a suit with a red bow tie while in front of a mirror staring disenchanted at the pants he sees in the mirror…while Amy is standing nearby, trying to force a bit a smile when she catches his gaze

Narrator: But now…now that neither enemy nor even Amy was chasing after him, especially as he had married her finally in a very small ceremony in Kiroro Japan on their previous adventure…*

*SAS-“Unhidden”

A Flashback of marriage on July 18 * with Tails, Jack Little, and Persis in attendance.

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Kiroro Resort, Hokkaido, Japan Chapel Visual Reference

Outside:https://www.flickr.com/photos/33623636@N08/35563785525/in/photolist-7q2jbr-VZ9U36-VVPu3Q-WbDGpX/

https://www.facebook.com/yukiroro/posts/designed-to-harmonise-the-interior-with-its-surroundings-and-located-just-right-/2788920604521521/

Inside:

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Narrator:… Amy was insistent on planning a BIG wedding ceremony so all their family and friends could come this time in this relatively calm time.  Both animal and human friend from their planet they knew would come together, not because they were after Sonic or each other of course, but so they could now celebrate together, and the sooner and the fancier the better…. Or so Amy thought anyway.

While Sonic frowns at the pants especially, as a fox attendant stands nearby with a tape measure in hand, Amy is looking off, daydreaming about their public wedding ceremony, and seeing her smile, he does manage his own sincere smile.

Narrator: In fact Amy was very insistent on pulling on all the stops for this …very insistent…

 But Amy now looks at Sonic who is now uneasily looking at himself in a suit in the full length mirror as a shop attendant also smiles with Amy and Sonic manages an uneasy smile at her gaze.

Amy: Well?Did you find one you like? Or at least tolerate?

Sonic:Uh, yeah I guess so. One question, though I’m pretty sure I already know the answer, do we really got to do some big shebang? Would something less fancy really be all that bad?…maybe something where, I don’t know, where I didn’t have to wear pants? (Gestures to pants on suit)

Amy: Hmph! Of course we do! This doesn’t happen every day  you know, and  It’s not like I usually even ask you to wear pants!( raised eyebrow) And what about that time I saw you with a suit “Singing in the Rain” Sonic?!

Sonic: Oh yeah, that, heh heh…well that was more of an exception, and not for very long anyway so…

Amy: And this  isn’t an exception?! Hardly anyone got to celebrate with us when we got married Sonic, so while things are calmed down, this finally gives them that chance! And…and besides… (red while looking at wedding dresses)

Sonic:(confused) Besides what?

Amy: Um..Um nothing!* Why don’t you just go on ahead to the beach now, and I’ll take care of this and meet up with you and everyone else later ok? I just want to check something first…

*Translation: Definitely something ….

Sonic: Uh ok, sure Amy…

Chapter 2- The Reveal

Chapter Text

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Author note: Beginning of how I originally started this story

When I first started this as an “afterward” and help address some things left “hanging” from the previous story, this following part was one of the first parts I wrote! The first chapter I added later to help set up and ease into the story how I wanted and set some important thematic aspects…but this and another scene a lot later…about 3/4 the way through that was pivotal…were the concrete scenes I then “connected”…first with summary and then specifics…maybe a bit like a dot to dot with these scenes being the “dots” I had to help form the picture and then connect.

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TEXTBOX: Later on the less public beach at Christmas Island near Sonic’s house… 

Sonic is now lying on a lounge chair with sunglasses on the beach on Christmas Island listening to tunes, much like in the Sonic OVA…. At least more content than when he was out on the shopping trip. He has a drink of lemonade next to him also on a table next to him with a boom box providing some background music to his choosing, with Tails imitating Sonic to a certain degree on the beach chair next to this same little table with the boom box on Sonic’s left with his own lemonade, sunglasses and chill posture leaning back as well, though on Sonic’s right side is an empty chair waiting for Amy. Rouge however is already there on a beach chair and umbrella on the other side of Amy’s empty chair, slowly sipping a margarita she now sets on a little table next to her, with a cooler underneath. Shadow, is…also there, but  has his arms crossed leaning back against a palm tree at a short distance away next to Omega… less than thrilled to be there. Jack Little, is also there painting nearby…enjoying some free time.

Sonic:(to Tails) Amy should be here before too long, she just needed to check on something. (Scratches head) *sigh* I think I’ve had what I can stand of shopping for the day, but at least I got a suit like Amy wanted so maybe that means I don’t need to come along anymore….

Tails: Whoa! (Sits up and lifts sunglasses) You in a suit!  Can I see?

Sonic: Sorry Tails! (Frowns and dismissive hand wave) No pants unless I have to…

Tails: Or when you’re singing in the rain? (Grin)

Sonic: Hey now! 

Sonic now gets up, also raising his sunglasses and quickly comes over to Tails to playfully put him in a head lock to give him a noogie while Tails laughs!

Tails: Sonic!

Sonic: Hey! That’s a special deal! Someone’s sure got a smart mouth…

Sonic now lets him go.

Tails: Well, I learn from the best!

Sonic: Hmph. Smart. (Points at him) And hey, whatcha say about paying that Knucklehead a visit after kickin’ back at the beach? It’s been a whole adventure since we’ve pestered him.

Tails: Yeah! Haha!  Sounds great! Hmm…well it looks like Amy might be a bit, so I might as well test this board out!

Tails now pulls out his Sonic OVA-style board from the Chaos Force.

Sonic: Sweet board! You were waiting on Amy?

Tails: Yeah, she said she had something she wanted to tell me too!

Sonic: Huh…you too?

Tails: Yeah! Well, see you in a bit Sonic!

Tails now runs out to the water on a board like in the Sonic OVA beginning. 

Rouge: He’s not the only one, it seems like Amy wanted to use this private beach to let us know something…

Jack Little: (shouts from easel a short distance away) Me too!

Rouge: Though, either way I can’t say I’m complaining about the location and a chance to relax.

Shadow: I still don’t understand why it was so “important” I be here at the beach too, but if I am to be assigned here for now anyway, perhaps this “message” of Amy’s can help make it more worth my while.

Sonic: Yeah…now I’m even more curious….

Omega who is next to him  chimes in with, “ Affirmative. There is nothing to shoot here.” …and then blasts a coconut Shadow throws up into the air…the pieces now littering the sand nearby as Shadow sees one piece of the shot coconut that landed more in one piece with coconut milk still in it…Shadow looks at it a moment pondering, before picking up the shell to try it to the others’ quizzical expressions he could care less about….or feel the need to justify his drinking from shot coconut shells and Tails looks back briefly from out on the water to then sigh seeing that’s it’s just Omega shooting things again…

Shadow: Hmm…not bad…perhaps even worthy of a recipe….Omega! Shoot me another coconut.

Omega: Request acknowledged!

Shadow goes to grab a coconut, when Rouge chimes in.

Rouge: (to Omega and Shadow)Hold up you two!  Can’t we have a relaxing time at the beach, not to mention you’ll attract attention!

Jack Little: I hate to say it, as I know you’re just havin’ fun, but sometimes folks head out this way. I’ve kept most folks away with livin’ nearby to catch anyone trespassin’ on private property near Sonic’s house, and that’s helped with most, but it’s gonna be even harder if folks hear gun shots from here. 

Shadow: I see….

Jack Little gives a sigh of relief.

Shadow: Omega, do you have gun silencer?

Jack Little: What? I—

Omega: Negative.

Rouge: Now look you two, do you have always soooo trigger happy! Can’t we just enjoy some time off together as a team for once? It’s about time you took some time off. ( sips margarita) Don’t ruin it with your “toys.”

Jack Little: Yes, I’d appreciate it.

Shadow: Very well.

Omega: Request to leave to assist for surveillance for Eggman instead.

Shadow and Rouge give each other a look and then look at Jack Little.

Jack Little: Er, well….(scratches head) there’s G.U.N. personnel there at the pit now, so I s’pose…

Omega: Request Acknowledged! Assisting at Eggman’s prison instead.

Omega now takes his leave back towards cove City.

Shadow: At least Omega is getting to be put to good use.

Rouge: *Sigh* Shadow, spending time with things other than a mission for once is “being to put to good use” if you ask me. And the commander agrees with me. Use up your vacation time!

Sonic: (lifts his sunglasses a moment): I don’t know Rouge, but chillin’ at the beach probably cuts into valuable brooding  time for Shadow.

Shadow: Idiot! It’d be better if I was helping to guard the doctor. This is a waste of time! 

Sonic: Aw come on Shads! Enjoy life a little, chill with friends listening to some tunes, let someone else be Eggman’s babysitter! Even I know when to take it slow once in a while…(frown) even if it’s really been a bit too slow if you ask me …

Shadow: Hmph.  Is that so? (Smug Smile) Maybe if you hadn’t spared the doctor, you wouldn’t be stuck here most of the time bored then …

Sonic glares a moment at Shadow.

Sonic: Can’t you just let that go already? Weren’t you the one complaining just now about not helping to babysit Eggman in the first place, which you wouldn’t be if I hadn’t stopped you from killing him right?

Rouge: Ugh… Boys! Boys! I would like to enjoy my time at the beach without you two bickering like children…

Shadow: Hmph. Fine.

Sonic: Hey, I didn’t bring it up, but sure. 

Rouge: Better… I swear you two, you’d never know you were even friends the way two go at it…

Shadow: ( looking at Sonic with small smug smile) Hmph. Perhaps. But what are friends for if they don’t care enough to point out when the other acts like an idiot…

Sonic: (grins)Aww…how touching! Touché Shadow, touché…

(Author note: aw.. a good encapsulation of Sonic’s personality right there…a kind hearted smart a$$ Lol)

Shadow frowns a bit, and then Rouge a bit exasperated at a possible other fight, sighs heavily.

Rouge: You know boys, I did bring some mixed drinks of mine… You sure you wouldn’t like to try one…? ( mischievous look ) Shadow?

Shadow: Pass. Another time…

Rouge: What about you Sonic? I am pretty good at it you know…

Sonic looks at her suspiciously and grins warily…

Sonic: Hmph. Yeah…I remember…(grins lifting his sunglasses)

Shadow perks up …angered a bit..

Shadow:Rouuuuuge…

Rouge: Now, now…No worries handsome, I was just joking.  (Sighs disappointed) I do have something non-alcoholic for Sonic too. Such a shame though really….that you have to be such a lightweight drinker….

Sonic rolls eyes.

Sonic: Yeah, yeah….

Jack Little pipes in with “Ah don’t you worry about it Sonic, but I bet you could build up to it a bit if ya like, we’d just make sure the alcohol percentage was a bit lower than normal. It’s something Rouge and I were discussin’…”

Sonic: What??….Look, thanks, but I’ll be fine! (Waves hand dismissively) Maybe if you can make something that doesn’t slow me down, then sure! (wary grin)Why would I want to move slower?

Rouge: Oh I don’t know about that, you mean to tell me you don’t ever like slowing down?  I’m sure Amy’d appreciate that…

Sonic: (uneasy)H-Hey now! I can when I need to!

Amy: Sonic! *pant” * Sonic!

Sonic: Hey Amy! You’re here! What’s up?( confused)

Amy: I just wanted to tell you the good news! 

Sonic: Good news?

Rouge: Oh really?

Amy: Yeah…

Amy looks around to see Tails out off shore, having still not noticed immediately Amy is there.

Sonic: We can tell Tails when he’s back on land, what is it???

Amy: (nods excitedly) I * pant*-I- We’re pregnant! *squeal*

Sonic stares speechless and  motionless…. in shock…

Shadow: What?! Already?

Shadow just gives a puzzled stare as if to wonder how.

Rouge just looks at Shadow with a raised eyebrow…

Rouge: Well Sonic, already a daddy and hardly more than a week back home too …you really ARE the fastest thing alive…

=========================================================================================

REF

hCG can be detected in urine or blood after implantation, which occurs on average, about 9 days (range 6-12 days) after fertilization

https://www.babymed.com/pregnancy-tests/how-early-can-pregnancy-be-detected-with-a-test#

================================================================

STORY

Sonic, wide-eyed, doesn’t respond but wordlessly goes to grab Rouges’ margarita.

Sonic: Uh…You know what Rouge?… Maybe….maybe it wouldn’t hurt to  slow down a bit after all …(nervous grin)

Amy: Sonic? Sonic!!

Rouge prevents him from taking the drink by grabbing it before he does and holds it away.

Rouge: (waves finger) Ah-ah-ah Big Blue, not this time “daddy.”

Sonic:R-right… (Stands up)  Amy! Yeah… Sorry, it just kinda uh, took me kinda by surprise, but…but, wow! So…you’re sure? I’m really gonna be… a dad…?

Amy holds his hands as they face each other.

Amy: Mm-hmm! Oh this is so exciting! I’ve already been thinking of names!!

Shadow: Well  (Coming over) Congratulations Sonic!

The view shifts to Tails’ perspective as he sees everyone, including Amy, all near each other now and quickly comes to shore riding on his OVA style board to only look on in concern at Sonic’s shocked face.

Tails: Sonic! What’s wrong!? Amy? He looks stunned!

Amy: I’m pregnant Tails!

Tails: Wow! Really ??? That’s so great!

Sonic: Y-Yeah… (in shock)(then a resolute face and deep breath) Well, you know what?(momentary thoughtful pause and then focus) It is great Ames! 

Sonic now grins and holds Amy up in the air and twirls her around to both of their delight. 

Sonic: In fact, it’s very great! It’s just not something I was uh, exactly expecting so quickly to be honest, but eh, what can I say? I guess I was never one to do things slowly usually anyway right?(Spins around with her up on the air as he holds her by the waist) This is one of the best days of my life!! We should celebrate!!

Sonic: Sorry buddy! (Winks and looks to Tails) Looks like we may have to wait on our trip a bit…

Amy (shakes her head) No, You two go! It’s not like I’m having the baby tomorrow Sonic. I’m still really early in my pregnancy, a whole 39 more weeks to go, so we can always celebrate when you get back! I hogged you a lot on Persis’ planet, so before I’m further along, why don’t you two get some much needed time together? It’s the least I can do! That should be more exciting for you than shopping with me anyway…

Sonic: Sweet! Alright then! Thanks Ames! You’re the best! 

Sonic gives Amy a quick peck on the cheek and Amy closes her eyes a moment and smiles blushing…Shadow sees this and gives Rouge a pondering looks that she ignores.

Amy: This is for you too Tails. You’ve been such a good friend, and you were really good about helping us get together, so you two have fun and I’ll see you when you get back!

Tails: Thanks Amy! Well I’ll see you later! I need to get the Tornado ready!

Sonic: How about you come with us next time then?

Amy: Oh! I’d love that! You know how I love sightseeing just as much as you do! 

Sonic: Hm. Yeah…you do…

==================================================================================================

REF- Sonic and Amy both enjoying sightseeing

Also, as this X post pointed out,https://x.com/guessingdame/status/1964057327788605826?s=42  “it’s neat how alike they are in certain ways…

Nothing Sonic to really post today besides Amy and Sonic being the same soul in a different body. #SonAmy”

Compiled screenshot of Sonic and Amy being told not to be distracted sightseeing

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/02c0jd3q1uy6

============================================================================================

STORY

Amy: And Sonic… I don’t want to put a time limit, but don’t take too long going off, we need to have our well, I guess really our “2nd wedding” while my dress still fits…(red)

Sonic: Sure! It’s like you said! You won’t get big overnight, and besides, you wanted to come with me next time! So Tails! Whaddaya say we grab some camping gear and make this a quick camping trip?

Tails: That’d be awesome! (High five with Sonic)

Now from behind bushes on the beach, out of sight of the others, a hidden mini flying drone is seen watching and then you hear it say:

Drone: Well, well Sonic, it looks like we not only found you, but that you’re expecting….Perhaps it would be worth looking into what abilities they might possess that could be of use to us as well…

Chapter 3- Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles and Mysteries of the Past

Chapter Text

TEXTBOX:  A Short while later…outside Angel Island…

 Sonic is on the Tornado, now its normal colors again, wearing a backpack as Tails flies the Tornado and Angel Island is spotted in the distance.

Sonic: Alright!  There it is! Let’s see how “happy” he is to see us.

Tails: Well, you said you’d told him you wanted to come for a visit didn’t you?

Sonic: Yeah, but this is Knuckles, and it doesn’t take much to set him off.

Tails: *small chuckle* True.

In the next scene you see Sonic jumping off the Tornado to Angel Island, grinning and landing happily with a “Woohoo!” before landing in the Mushroom Hill Zone, and Knuckles watches him land nearby with a brief smile followed by annoyance.

Knuckles: Sonic! You said you’d be back! You’re not bringing trouble to my island are you?

Sonic: Heh. (Smirk) Aaaand if I said yes?

Knuckles: You are?!

Sonic: Come on! Just messin’ with you Knux! 

Knuckles: Well good! I never know with you sometimes, you had more gear than normal…

Sonic:This is just some camping gear, Knucklehead! (Sets backpack down) I thought about doing some camping with Tails while we’re here, as long as a certain echidna doesn’t have a problem with it.

Knuckles: ( shakes head) Same as always Sonic… but no, I don’t mind. It’s been a while and I wouldn’t mind the company. And now you can tell me about your last adventure too.

Sonic: Great!  I figured you’d be cool with it! Story-telling can come later when we’re camping. Tails should be here soon, and then how about a quick trip through some of the zones for old times sake… well, maybe not Hydrocity Zone, while I still can get away anyway…

Knuckles: Can get away?

Tails now comes flying into view.

Tails: Hey Knuckles!

Knuckles: Hey Tails. Sonic says you’ll be camping here tonight. I can help you find a good spot, but I can’t go with you as you both just “have fun” through the Zones. I have to check in on things throughout the island first.  I can’t always just go off like you two on a whim…

Sonic: Ha! Oh yeah? You mean like you did when you left here and faced off against Storm the Albatross? We didn’t exactly have a world threat at first, just testing  out Tails’ Chaos Emerald radar, but you still managed to get off the island….not to mention try out Extreme Gear.*

*Sonic Riders

Knuckles: Grr…Hey! I thought you wanted me to see to world?

Sonic: Sure, just sayin’ maybe sometimes you can go leave here on a whim…

Knuckles: Only because I managed to get Mighty and Ray to watch it for me while I was gone!

Sonic just responds with a playful “I don’t know” gesture.

Knuckles: But, what I was just wondering, was why you didn’t think you’d be able to get away later…

======================================================================================================

Author’s Note: Knuckles as not always guarding the Master Emerald…

In the games like Sonic Riders series of games being on example, Knuckles is just hanging out with Sonic when there’s no world threat with no explanation given, and given his concern for the Master Emerald other times with no real explanation given, it’s off to say the least. In games like Sonic Advance https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_Advance, where he leaves to help stop Eggman, and in Sonic Rivals https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_Rivals Knuckles leaves to go find the  Master Emerald, and are just some examples of where he leaves because of some threat.….same as in Sonic Channel stuff….

.(From Sonic Station LIVE! - April 2022 broadcast summary)

Sonic: Hey, that’s my line! Knuckles went off on his own somewhere. Hays anyone seen him?

Tails: Now that you mention it, he did seem quite concerned about leaving the Master Emerald behind. Don’t tell me he went to check up on it?

Sonic: No way! We’ve got the toughest guardian in the world keeping an eye on it while he’s gone. I dragged him along to join us for this because he spends so much time alone. He seriously went back?

Tails: Hold on Sonic. We still don’t know whether he actually gone back. Speaking of, are you ok? Our said she’d only agree to guard the Emerald if she can go on a date—

Sonic: Alright Tails! No need to worry about that! Finding Knuckles should be our top priority. (Leaves)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwSJ8gXXTDM

….so why then? Why could he leave for the Sonic Riders games for  instance?  With no explanation from SEGA, I just gave a possibility…now canon to my stories at least…

===========================================================================================================

STORY

Tails: You haven’t told him yet??

Sonic: I was gettin’ to that before you came!

Knuckles: Tell me what?

Sonic: So… uh Knux, maybe I can fill you in the details later, but Amy and I uh…

 Knuckles looks at Sonic’s ring on his hand now.

Knuckles: Wait, so that’s really a wedding ring ?  You two actually got married?!

Sonic: Er Yeeep. That’s part of it….

Knuckles: Huh. So no longer playing with that girl’s heart then?

==============================================================================

REF- Knuckles’ Sonic playing with Amy’s heart line

Sonic Heroes

Before fighting Team Sonic

[Team Rose are waiting on a high platform in Grand Metropolis just as Team Sonic shows up.]

Amy: Gotcha! My darling Sonic!

JAmy: I finally found you, me darling~!

Sonic: Amy, what are you doing here?

JSonic: Geh—!? A—A—Amy…!?

Amy: Sonic, this time there's no way outta marrying me!

JAmy: Sonic~! I’ll make sure that you and I will be married today~!

(As battle begins)

Sonic: Amy, Knock it off! This is no time to play!

JSonic: Amy, Cut it out..! Now’s not the time for this…!

Amy: Sonic, give up! This time you’re Mine!

Then during the "Team Rose vs. Team Heroes" fight, Knuckles says: "Are you playing with that girl’s heart again, Sonic?" But Sonic doesn't respond.

Knuckles saying "Are you playing with that girl's heart again, Sonic?" For 10 Minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko19C-PUjL4

Sonic Heroes (GC) Team Rose's Story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=codsRhWoSic

Sonic Heroes (Japanese) - Team Rose - Cutscenes + In-Game Dialogue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIN_kjHwyIA

========================================================================================================

STORY

Sonic: …W-what?! No, I just…Oh, knock if off Knuckles! It wasn’t like that!

Knuckles: Sure coulda fooled me! I can’t believe you two finally got married! And not that I like fancy social gatherings, but why wasn’t I invited?

Sonic: It was on our last adventure or you would have! But more on that later, but uh, we’re also expecting now…

Knuckles: Wow! That must have been some adventure! Married and now a kid!? Congratulations! Ha! So yeah, It looks you won’t be able to just easily go off anytime you want anymore once your kid’s here! 

Sonic: Why do you think I’m traveling now?! I bet though, I could bring Amy and our kid with me it just… well, it wouldn’t be as fast, but I’m sure Ames will be cool with me just really needing to go running too!
(Thinks): Still…I’ll admit it, it’s been…nice seeing everyone more regularly now…

=====================================================================================

REF- Sonic and enjoying seeing others more regularly in a shared space….

Excerpts From On Sonic’s Emotional Characterization

Sonic X Episode 39 - Sonic and Eggman solo conversation

….

Right now, I want to focus on Sonic’s feelings, because (and this is no secret) Sonic Team used this show to show that Sonic has them – we’re just almost never allowed to see them.

Sonic enjoys the genuine quality time the current adventure forces him to have with his long-time friends – time he normally wouldn’t take out daily because he’s not one to adorn such vulnerability. He’s the kind of person who takes what he gets without impeding his own lifestyle or going out of his way, which works for him because he knows he gets to see his friends again but having everyone live under the same roof and bond on a level never reached before has clearly affected him in a positive way. Once they return home, our core group will go back to their normal lives and that closeness won’t be so easily accessible – in a way, Sonic will be forced to face his emotions more directly and admit to himself just how much his friends mean to him (a thought that scares him because of the life they all live, and how high the stakes are).

https://molinaskies.tumblr.com/post/653458126603010048/on-sonics-emotional-characterization-a-thought

Excerpts from the Sonic X episode episode mentioned by molinaskies above, ep. 39 The Chaotix Detective Agency" ("Defective Detectives") Transliteration: "Kaotikusu tantei jimusho" (Japanese version)

Sonic briefly closes his eyes.

https://sonic-x.fandom.com/wiki/Defective_Detectives/Transcript

============================================================================================

STORY

Knuckles: Uh huh… Well, you would be welcome to visit here anytime as long as you’re not bringing trouble, and you could bring the little tike along ! So look who’s settling down… 

Sonic looks off annoyed.

Knuckles: Well, you know at least that I’ll understand not being able to leave whenever you want as much Sonic, but it’s great you’re having a kid.

Sonic: Hm. Yeah, though not something I’d really thought a lot  about before…It’s one thing to hang out with kids, but raising them??

Tails: Well, you raised me!

Knuckles: Yeah, and look how he turned out! (Grin) Somehow he ended up alright!

Sonic: Somehow huh? And maybe I did raise you some Tails, it’s just, I’d always thought of you more as a brother…and it’s not like it was from when you were a baby!  

Knuckles: Well, this is a great chance!  I’m happy for you.

Sonic: Oh yeah? Not too worried I’ll mess it all up?

Knuckles:  You’re not the kind to give up on anything.

Sonic: Hmph. True. Thanks Knuckles. I’m not used to you handing out compliments! You sure you okay? You didn’t hit that noggin of yours too hard? (Grin)

Knuckles: (angrily) I’m fine! It’s just…well, I’m  the last of my kind, so I’ve always kinda wondered what it’d be like to have kids to take care of, and not just the Master Emerald.

Sonic: Oh yeah? Hm…..Pretty cool Knux! And here I’d not really thought much about it one way or another! So that means I have a volunteer for babysitting, right?

Knuckles: What?? You think I’d know what the heck to do? 

Sonic: How else you gonna  learn?  As long as you can keep an eye on the kiddo better than the Master Emerald, you’ll do fine!

Knuckles: Grr! Shut it!

Tails looks a bit put out from their bickering.

Sonic: Easy there Knuckles! Just messin’ with you again! I’m sure we’ll figure that out by the time they get here! But who knows? Maybe if you can figure out how to watch them sometimes, you might have a kiddo that looks up to “Uncle Knuckles.”

Knuckles irritated face changes suddenly to a pondering wonder.

Knuckles: Uncle Knuckles…Well, maybe so…But what about you? Think you can handle being a dad now and responsible for a kid? Not to mention you like to go off adventuring a lot.

(Sonic doesn’t respond immediately but with a small  smile and has a FLASHBACK .

FROM HIDDEN, 

Sonic: You mean they resented you so much for working in the mines they didn’t stay in touch?

Sedric: Yep, though it kept us fed and sheltered, so I’d do it again even if maybe they couldn’t see that at the time...( looking now at Sonic and smiling knowingly) you sacrifice for the people you love...maybe give up some “freedom”...

Sasha:  ...but it’s worth it.

Sedric: (To Sonic) And you’re worth it ...every bit of it

Sonic: ...

END FLASHBACK

Sonic:…I’ll figure it out and just take it as it comes, one day at a time, and try not to worry too much about the whole “new responsibility.” Besides, the kid will grow up eventually. Maybe I won’t be as free to go off for a bit at first, but…I guess what choice do I have? You sacrifice for people you love, right?

================================================================

REF-“What choice do I have” line?

As much as Sonic loves his freedom, he doesn’t put it above his friends and this line was inspired by a line he says in Japanese Sonic Adventure, as the English is different.

English Sonic Adventure

[Amy suddenly sees Sonic. Sonic's theme starts playing.]

Amy: Oh Sonic! Huh... My hero! So-nic! [Sonic turns around] Long time no see...

Sonic the Hedgehog: Uhh... Amy!

Amy: What's your problem?! [She shows the bird to Sonic] See, this little birdie's got in trouble. I think you should be his bodyguard a little while.

Sonic: What!?

Amy: Doesn't matter. We'll just tag along!

Sonic: No way! Uh uh. [He walks back, then turns and starts running]

Amy: [Running after Sonic] Come on, don't run away. Ohhhhhhhh...

Japanese Sonic Adventure

[Amy suddenly sees Sonic. Sonic's theme starts playing.]

JAmy: It’s Sonic! Yaaay! Soniiiic! [Sonic turns around] It’s been a while!

JSonic: A-Amy!

JAmy: Hold up! What’s with that attitude? [She shows the bird to Sonic] Look, this birdie is being chased! Could you be her bodyguard for a little while?

JSonic: Eh!?

Jamy: Even if you say no, we’ll tag along anyway.

JSonic: I guess I have no choice…[He walks back, then turns and starts running]

JAmy: Ah, come on! Wait for me!

========================================================

STORY

Knuckles: Whoa! Since when did you become so mature?

Sonic: Hey now! I’ve always been there for you guys when I needed to right?

Tails: You bet! Right Knuckles?

Knuckles: I guess so…Well, good luck Sonic!

Sonic: Thanks! So Knux, wanna make a day of it? (Grin)

Knuckles: Hmm… well I guess since you’ll be going to places I need to check in on anyway…

Tails: Come on Knuckles!

Sonic: Yeah! “Come on Knuckles! “ Just because you gotta stay here and be “responsible” doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun too right? (Wink) What’s it gonna hurt?

Knuckles: Oh alright….

A montage follows in different zones of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles rather briefly in a panel or two….

Angel Island Zone

Sonic is up in a tree throwing coconuts down saying,” Hey, catch! “

And Knuckles sometimes doesn’t avoid it….and raises a fist angrily as Tails flies above.

Tails: Those two…

Hydrocity Zone

They look down the waterfall to the Hydrocity Zone.

Sonic: Eh…I say we skip Hydrocity Zone.

Marble Garden Zone

Sonic and Knuckles are each on a spinning top facing each other as Sonic calls out,“Hey Knux! Think you can knock me off, or are you too slow?”

 Knuckles calls out, “ Hey! This isn’t a game! You could break some more ruins again!” 

Sonic: Well, then I guess you better come after me!

Knuckles: Sonic!

Tails just shakes his head but also grins a bit at their silly antics.

Carnival Night Zone

Sonic is spinning on the spinning cylindrical tubes of netting with Tails and Knuckles alongside.

Sonic: Round and round she goes…

Knuckles: (thinks) There’s no way I’m admitting to Sonic this idea was actually fun…

Ice Cap Zone

Sonic is snowboarding with Knuckles and Tails alongside! Tails is having fun and delighted while Knuckles is trying to hide the fact that Sonic’s idea was in fact a good and fun one…this time…

Sonic: Woohoo! Having fun yet checkin in on the island Knuckles?

Tails: Haha!

Knuckles: …I’d always just used the teleporter before to get here, but I guess this is OK too….

========================================================================

REF- Knuckles and Ice Cap Zone and a teleporter

Sonic 3 & Knuckles

In the lock-on game Sonic 3 & Knuckles, a teleporter was used by Knuckles to get from Carnival Night Zone to IceCap Zone after completing the second act of the first-mentioned zone. Sonic and Tails did not use these teleporters, as they used a Cannon to get to IceCap Zone. It's simply a yellow plate with voltage heads in Carnival Night Zone, while in Icecap Zone it is colored as blue. This teleporter has a similar purpose as the Warp Points found in Hidden Palace Zone and Sky Sanctuary Zone.

https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Teleporter_(object)

….and seen at the 31:16 marker here Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (Knuckles Run) playthrough ~Longplay~

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rudSl1JlzvE

================================================================

STORY

Sonic: Heh. OK huh? And so your idea was better then?

Knuckles: (as happily smirks briefly as he gets air but tries to hide from Sonic) Well, it’s more direct to get here.

Sonic: Uh-huh….

Neither Tails or Sonic buy he prefers that way but take amusement enough with him not wanting to admit it.

Launch Base Zone

Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails are off to the rotating elevator when Sonic looks out to the ocean and the red pillared structures that had once been used for the Death Egg.

Sonic:  Hm. And to think now purple angry Eggman is building a memorial instead.

Mushroom Hill Zone

Sonic is jumping off of a mushroom…

Sonic: Hey Knuckles, how strong are these things?

Knuckles: Pretty strong, why?

Sonic: Just wonderin’…

Tails: (thinks): Sonic…? What are you up to…?

Sandopolis Zone (outside the pyramid)

Sonic: Alright! Well time to play avoid the Hyudoro!

Knuckles: W-what? How is that fun?

Sonic: You’re not scared are you?

Knuckles: No way!

 https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Hyudoro

Lava Reef Zone

Sonic: Remember the floor is lava! 

Sonic looks up where the Death Egg had been.

Sonic: It’s nice to see that Eggheads Death Egg mug no longer glaring down at us!

(Thinks): Though…gotta admit, it was fun fighting you Egghead, but…

Knuckles: Can’t argue with that.

Hidden Palace Zone

Sonic: Ah yes, the Unhidden Palace zone, and where you finally figured out who the REAL bad guy was…

Knuckles: Cut it out!…

Tails: Sonic, haven’t you teased Knuckles enough today?

Sonic: Maybe I’m just making up for lost time…

Sonic just grins, but then solemnly pauses as he looks up at the mural there with his ancestor and gives a reverent smile, staring in silence a moment to Knuckle’s confusion.

Knuckles: What’s with that look? I don’t get it…you said this ancestor of yours apparently wasn’t so bad? 

Sonic:…Hm. I’ll explain later.

Tails: Yeah….we found out new things about Sonic’s ancestor…

Knuckles: You did?

Sonic: Later! Come on ! Next zone!

Sky Sanctuary Zone

Sonic screeches to a halt at the edge of floating ruins to look out at the Island below, Mushroom Hill in particular is in view. The others having had followed him behind now stop with him to look.

Sonic: What a view!

Knuckles: You got that right!

Sonic: Alright, viewing time done, time to test my sky-diving skills!

Knuckles: I don’t know if I like where this is going…what are you planning?

Sonic: Aw come on, It’ll be fine! Nothing too big of a deal Knux! Hey Tails, wanna come with me to skydive into the Mushroom Hill Zone?

Knuckles: What? Don’t drag him into this! What if you break something while flinging yourself onto Angel Island?  (To Tails) You’re not seriously going along with this are you?

Tails: Um….

Sonic: Hm? What’d you say? Sorry, jumping now!

...and Sonic jumps off.

Knuckles: What? Sonic!

Tails: Er, sorry Knuckles! I probably better go too…

And Tails goes after him, going down more slowly with his tails…

Text Box: That night in the Mushroom Hill Zone 

Sonic and Tails  are sitting around a campfire roasting marshmallows and hot dogs and Knuckles approaches, behind them is a large broken mushroom.

Sonic: So, decide to join us for the camping after all? 

Knuckles: Yeah, at least that way I can keep you from damaging anything else! You just had to skydive onto the mushroom, and now it’s broken!

Sonic: Look, sorry about the mushroom, but those things grow like crazy so it’ll come back soon anyway right?

Tails: And more than if he’d landed and splintered a tree, Knuckles. Mushrooms are pretty hardy, with many growing overnight so..

Knuckles: Alright, so maybe it’ll be back by tomorrow, but still….

Sonic: But still, you had fun today right?

Knuckles: Besides you being a pain in the neck?

Sonic just grins as if this is high praise.

Tails: Knuckles! Haha! It seemed like you did!…well, at least for parts of it I think…

Knuckles: Yeah, well…alright, I guess I’ll admit it. Today was fun….sometimes. You seem better too Sonic.

Sonic: Hm…you could say that…
(Thinks): At least in one way…

Knuckles: It’s been too long, and though I enjoy treasure hunting and being here on my own, maybe it was fun to be with everyone again. Now what was this adventure you had? *

*SAS-Unhidden

Sonic: We’ll get to that! 

Knuckles: When? I’m…kinda curious…

Sonic: First I had something else a little less uh…serious in mind for stories to start off. We ARE camping after all… 

Knuckles: Oh yeah? What kind of stories? (Confused)

Sonic makes a mock scary face and says, “Time for some ghost stories! Muahahaha!,” to which Tails laughs.

TEXTBOX: Several ghost stories and then, a reluctant retelling of the events in Persis’ world later…

Knuckles: Wow. I knew some about Christmas Island but,…Eggman was behind that bombing too?….though knowing you were from there, I already suspected that bomb might’ve been how your family died.

Sonic: Yeah, well you got the Cliff Notes version…Don’t expect me to do some long drug out sob-fest story about everything about before they died from radiation…Kinda don’t want to do that again if I don’t have to. I only mentioned it to you since heck, if even Rouge knows, I figured you should.

Knuckles: That thieving bat?? 

Sonic: Yep, though she actually helped save me remember?

Knuckles: Hmph! Well…I’m glad to know she can pull through when she needs to though, even saving your behind from Eggman!…kinda Metal Sonic too…

Sonic: Yeah, yeah..

Knuckles: I can’t really blame you for not wanting to say anything more before about your family though.  I barely have memories of my parents, but I still wouldn’t want to relive not seeing them anymore.

===================================================================================================

Author’s Note: On Knuckles’s past…

(Some repeat..)

From Sonic Adventure 

[It's a stormy night where the Egg Carrier can be seen approaching Angel Island. Knuckles can be seen sitting at the Master Emerald shrine, deep in thought as his eyes are seen closed]

Knuckles: As far back as I can remember, I've been living here, on this dark island... Always guarding the Master Emerald from anything that can harm it. I don't know why I was given this job... Why it was my fate... Destined to be here...forever! [Hears a sudden crash] What the...?

[Knuckles turns around to find a mysterious being near the Master Emerald]

So he could still have had relatives that guarded before him but they may not have known when that started either…

From Here https://www.sonicstadium.org/forums/topic/27911-how-was-knuckles-born-when-chaos-destroyed-the-echidna-clan/

It's a common misconception that Chaos wiped out the entire echidna race. The Japanese strategy guide for Sonic Adventure helps clear that up:

  Quote

The End of Arrogance
The Knuckles clan took a devastating blow from Chaos's attack, and their power weakens significantly. The surviving Knuckles clan suspended the Emeralds' altar area into the sky by the Master Emerald's power and lived there, bearing the duty of observing and protecting the sealed Master Emerald, so that an incident like this never happens again. They also left murals and inscriptions in the temple to communicate this incident to future generations. The Chao were also on the verge of extinction with the Chaos Emeralds lost, but mere numbers have managed to find lands with suitable environments and barely survive.

And In line with earlier from the Japanese manual….

Ages ago my people were wiped out by a cataclysm. I know the Koco faced something similar. It reminds me I'm the last Echidna. That I'm alone.

KNUCKLES, SONIC FRONTIER s(https://sonic.fandom.com/mwiki/Sonic_Frontiers)

Cataclysm-

• any violent upheaval, especially one of a social or political nature.
  
  Physical Geography. a sudden and violent physical action producing changes in the earth's surface.
  
  an extensive flood; deluge.
•  

Is that cataclysm when Chaos destroyed many of them then since that was ages ago? Then that would mean some were left but just not a lot so they dwindled to below replacement rate….sort of a “Children of Men” scenario.

He says ages ago but what about his parents? Is that ages ago that left very few left then? But then that would mean besides him they were still around. Besides, with what Knuckles knows about his ancestry, he knows guarding the emerald is his job, etc and he’d have to have learned it from somewhere, and someone would have had to take care of him when he was little, so I imagine a situation with his parents something analogous to what happened to Movie Knuckles as far as what happened to them, except it wouldn’t  be owls in this case…something I may address in a later story.

For me, the irony might be that it was the island itself that did the remaining Echidnas that survived Chaos in the past in, using strength to stop a lava flow from Lava Reef to protect the island but perishing in the process to slow the lava flow.

Another big clue that Echidna parents were around at least initially is his NAME. He was named after the Knuckles clan he was descended from after all, so his name came from someone familiar with that history, so likely echidnas…

From https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Knuckles_Clan#cite_ref-JPAdventureStylebook_5-0

"KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA" (in Japanese). Sonic Adventure Stylebook. p. 32. "ナックルズというのは一族の名称であったが、残された最後のひとりとしてその名が名前になっているようだ。 [Knuckles was the name of the clan, but it seems that the last remaining member is named after them.]”

And later on in the article, you see that the cataclysm, possibly Chaos, would have been 3,000 years ago. 

n Sonic Adventure and its enhanced port Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut, the Knuckles Clan's actions from 3,000 years ago came back to haunt the world when Dr. Robotnik learned about Chaos from a stone tablet made by the Knuckles Clan that he found while excavating the Mystic Ruins.^[6] 

Basically, I just have to make an educated conjecture based on what little is given officially.

============================================================================

STORY

Sonic merely nods.

Knuckles: But that drainer device…and a hidden one. Eggman really did a number on you.  I’m glad you came back to us alive Sonic …

Tails: Yeah…that was really scary… Way more than any of the ghost stories…

Sonic gives Tails a look a moment that might be described as a melancholy remembrance at his distress when he was “floating” above him acting distressed in the hospital, and a soft, bittersweet smile appears….but it’s a look only for a moment, as he quickly turns his gaze back to something more playful in response to Knuckles.

Sonic: Speaking of which, I don’t know Knuckles, you don’t think I woulda made a decent ghost? (Grin)

Knuckles:You? (Smile) Psha! No way you’d be a better ghost than me.

Tails: Guys….

Sonic: Yeah, but then wouldn’t you just scare yourself? (Grin)

============================================================================================

REF- 

Forum:Is Knuckles afraid of anything?

He does have some fears, such as the fear of the unknown. For example he is uncomfortable around ghosts like King Boom Boo, though for his fight with him he manages to overcome it. One of his fears is to fail his duty as Guardian of Angel Island and the Master Emerald.--Mystic Monkey 16:56, November 7, 2009 (UTC)

https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Forum:Is_Knuckles_afraid_of_anything%3F

=================================================================================================

STORY

Tails and Sonic laugh as Knuckles is angry with a cartoonish sweat drop…

Knuckles: Would…would not!

Sonic: Sure Knuckles…

Knuckles: Grr…But… hey, when you saw your family Sonic, were they like… ghosts at all?

Sonic:….Hm. No. They were like they were in life, but better.

Knuckles: Hmph. Figures you get to see something like that….

Sonic: Well, I kinda didn’t choose to almost die you know…

Knuckles: No, you managed to still came back as the same pain in the neck you always are. (Soft punch and grin)

Sonic: Ow! Gee, thanks…

 Knuckles: Ha! I’m sure Eggman was disappointed to see he failed again.

Sonic: You could say that….(grin)

Knuckles: And then you still gave him another chance even after that….

============================================================================================

REF- Knuckles giving people more chances….including Eggman

Inspired by Sonic X Matarex episode “An Enemy in Need” when Cosmo comments to Knuckles in English …

“Don't feel bad, Knuckles. You have a very trusting heart, and you want to believe that there is good in everybody. 👁 Because like me, you have a dream that everyone in the universe will unite one day.

And Later…

https://sonic-x.fandom.com/wiki/An_Enemy_in_Need/Transcript

=======================================================================

STORY

Sonic: Well, to live anyway. I don’t exactly trust him, unlike…

Tails then gives Sonic a strong disapproving look for him to not get on Knuckles case, again, for trusting Eggman.  Sonic then mutters for only Tails to see and barely hear…  “Fine…this time…” (small grin)
…. as Knuckles looks suspicious at Sonic.

Knuckles: Unlike what??

Sonic: Nothing Knuckles…Unlike how, how uh…, I don’t have to worry about how trustworthy he is when he’s still stuck as an ugly purple creature.

Knuckles: Yeah, I guess not. I don’t care what Shadow thinks, I think it’s good you gave him a chance to live.

Sonic: I guess you would…

Knuckles: And maybe people think I’m gullible for giving people a chance, even Eggman, and maybe he tricked me a uh…only a couple of times but…I don’t know. Maybe I just  don’t know enough about people to say for sure they haven’t changed.  And you saw people change like your Aunt Millie right? I know you didn’t want to go into details about all that, not that I blame you, but who knows? At least you know I won’t get onto you for giving Eggman a chance.

Tails: You know Knuckles, Cream once told me that though she didn’t think you should trust Eggman, that she thought it was just that You have a very trusting heart, and you want to believe that there is good in everybody.”

Knuckles: I guess that’s true, thank her for seeing it that way Tails. 

Tails: Sure.

Knuckles: I would say that isn’t how it is with Shadow. Maybe I’ve trusted too quickly, but I’d say he doesn’t quickly enough, or he would’ve trusted you sooner and avoided all that mess with the ARK!

Sonic: (grin) Sure, just like you trusted me initially, right?

Knuckles: Sh-Shut it! It’s not like I didn’t have a good reason to suspect you based on what I knew!

Sonic: Uh huh…or you’re just too much of a hothead and jump to conclusions!

Knuckles:Grr…

Tails: Sonic…

Sonic: What? Hey, it’s not like I don’t have faults either Knucklehead..

Knuckles: Oh yeah? You sure seemed  intent on mentioning mine!

Sonic: Kinda hard not to when you just make it so easy… and besides didn’t I just mention how I shoulda trusted that ancestor sooner? And maybe have mentioned my past sooner too…I guess..

Knuckles: Hmm….maybe..

Tails: And Sorry Knuckles, but Sonic’s right, sometimes you really don’t seem to admit your own faults!

Knuckles: Hey now!

Sonic and Tails give a raised eyebrow, and Knuckles frowns a bit…. 

Knuckles: Humph! Fine! But I’m still saying Shadow goes too far in being suspicious of people and how he wanted to end Eggman.

Sonic: Hmph… (smiles faintly at Knuckles) Alright, alright Knuckles…Chill. I’m not saying I disagree, but I can also get where Shadow’s coming from. The thing is though, as long as he’s not a threat, I think we can agree to how things are now.

Knuckles: But doesn’t that mean you can’t really leave Christmas Island too long now? You’re always the one stopping him. I can’t see you not getting bored being there all the time. It’s not like you enjoy peace and quiet like I do.

Sonic:Yeah, well you got me there…though it’s not like a lot of people can help me “babysit” Eggman either.

*sigh* 

I guess it’s like what Persis said before we left, I’ll always want some adventure…I may have to see more what I can find to do locally too. Hm…(smile) But Persis?  Yeah…I bet she’s probably busy on  her own adventure with that society of hers to make adventures” now..

TEXTBOX: Persis’ world 

In one Panel Persis is comically crying, feeling overwhelmed sitting at a desk with papers saying “ So…much…paperwork…for Adventure Society”

TEXTBOX: Back in Sonic’s world

Sonic: I miss her even if she could be a bit long-winded, just like you can sometimes be…

Knuckles: Maybe it’s not that I’m long-winded, but just that you’re too impatient!

Sonic: Eh! *shrugs shoulders*

Tails: Hey Sonic..

Sonic: Yeah li’l buddy?

Tails: Your dad’s parents, Sally and Maurice…

Knuckles: What is it with you hedgehogs and S names?

Sonic: What about S names? (Grins) Got a problem with it?

Knuckles: It just seems a little weird if you ask me, that’s all.

Sonic: (smug grin) Not as weird as “Knuckles,” “ if you ask me..”

Knuckles: Hey! You got something against my name!?

Sonic: Nothing, “Knuckle head!”

Tails: Can we please get back to what happened?!

Sonic: Sure. What else did you need to know?

Tails: There’s something I’ve been  wondering about…what about all of their parents and relatives? Sally and Maurice must have have had parents too at the very least right? so… wouldn’t you maybe still have family around from them ?

Sonic: Nope. Just you guys are my family now.

Knuckles: Me too?

Sonic: Heh. Sure Knux! (Grin) You can be the hot-headed brother and Tails, as always, is the smart li’l bro!

Tails:  Thanks Sonic! But… um, did they all die?

Sonic: Hard to say. They were just all gone one day.

Tails: Gone? What happened to them?

Sonic: I dunno. Dad didn’t either. Nobody did. Dad never met his grandparents because they all just… disappeared.  I mean there were rumors, but nobody really had any proof…

Knuckles: Disappeared? That’s what happened to some of my kind too!…could there be a connection?

Tails: Possibly…? Or just a coincidence, but in any case we’ll need to find out more. So did both Sally and Maurice’s parents disappear?

Sonic: Yeah..you see dad’s mom and dad both grew up in the same town together. It didn’t last long though, I think dad said Maurice and Sally were just kids when all the older hedgehogs started disappearing in the night without a trace! And …for some reason, none of the other villages had this happening, it was just theirs…the one with the highest amount of hedgehogs…

Tails: Hmm….

Sonic: No one knew why, but the night after some of the adult hedgehogs disappeared, and  before it could happen again, the kids were sent away while the adults could try to face off well, whatever it was that was taking them, and they thought they were prepared this time but…. instead,  Maurice and Sally came back to find their old village completely empty of hedgehogs, including their parents.  So…now there was a whole village of hedgehog orphans. Most people thought maybe aliens abducted them or whatever (eye roll) but Maurice and Sally said the night before when it’d happened , they thought they’d some sort of dark phantom figure in the night but…well, Who knows at this point though…

Knux: That’s terrible Sonic…(angrily shakes head)

Tails: So then…  what happened to all the kids?

Sonic: I guess some sister village took them in at an orphanage where my grandparents Maurice and Sally stayed, then later they got married, had my dad, Uncle Danny and Aunt Katie and *sigh*you know the rest. With Grandpa Maurice dying from mining when his gas device didn’t work, aaaand grandma Sally not long after, dad sure had to grow up quick. He was younger than me when he started that mining job and taking care of Aunt Katie and Uncle Danny all by himself.

Tails: Sonic…how long ago did the hedgehog disappearances happen?

Sonic: I dunno, let’s see, I guess Dad’s dad Maurice, ugh sorry grandpa, but boy am I glad I didn’t get your name, he was 6 so…

Tails: How old was Maurice when he had your dad Sedric, and your dad when he had you?

Knuckles: Who usually even knows stuff like that??

Sonic: (grins)  People like I do…

Knuckles: You? Seriously?

Sonic: Yep! Maurice was 18 when dad was born, and dad was 22 when I was born….

Knuckles: Huh.  I’m surprised you would even know something like that…

Sonic: (unamused) Yeah, well, mom liked to *ahem* “remind me” before she passed away, that I wasn’t that much younger than a lot of other hedgehogs in my family on both sides were when they got married, and not longer after that, kids..she was really wantin’ grandkids... (red) hopin’ Aunt Millie would let up soon enough so I could ..

Knuckles playfully pats Sonic on the back, knocking him a bit forward almost off balance.

Knuckles:Ha! I still can’t believe you actually went through with it with Amy!

Sonic (red) Yeah, well…(whatever gesture) I guess I really did end up following that family tradition after all…Amy still wants a big wedding though for everyone to be able to come to. *sigh* I’m warning you now though, Amy seems set on this being one those fancy “pants” wearing deals…

Knuckles: What? For you too?

Sonic: *Sigh* (Defeated Look)Yeah..Amy insists…I even already ended up having to pick out a suit…

Knuckles: You? In a suit? Hahaha

Sonic crosses arms. 

Sonic: Hey! It’s not like it was my idea!…Can you imagine if I tried to run in pants?!

Knuckles: Then…that would mean…Your pants would be on fire??! (Chuckle)

Sonic: (grins) Maybe, but at least I wouldn’t be a… “liar, liar.” Just be glad you have the Emerald to guard or you might have had to be my groomsman Knucklehead!

Knuckles: Hahaha! I appreciate that, but I don’t like to ask others to watch it too much either as my responsibility, but I still plan to at least make it for the wedding if I can to see you in pants!

Sonic:  That could still be arranged you know…

Knuckles: I’m flattered you’d consider me for part of your wedding, but I’m also glad I’m not the one being forced to wear pants! 

Tails: *good natured chuckle* Well at least it’s not all the time Sonic… (Pensive) Umm…but about what happened to your great grandparents…well, you’re 18 now so… that means from the time your dad Sedric had you at 22 years old, that’s 18 years ago. If Sedric had you at 22 years old, that’s another 22 years from when Sedric was born to when you were born. And if  Sedric’s dad, your grandpa Maurice, had Sedric at 18 years old, and fled  the village when he was 7 years old , which was 11 years earlier from Sedric’s birth, that’s another 11 years , meaning  those disappearances were 51 years ago! 

( Author’s Note: I have Sonic 18 now, but as about to turn 17 at the time of SA2, my public timeline without spoilers is https://www.deviantart.com/woforlife/journal/Sonic-Game-Timeline-for-SAS-stories-950689826. My more detailed one with months and years and more detailed descriptions for ALL my stories including past SAS would just be too spoiler- heavy.  

Sonic: Ok..? So hedgehogs went disappearing 50 years ago? 

Tails: It’d actually be 51 years, it was  fifty years ago at the time when you And Shadow stopped the Ark from crashing into the planet last year. 2 years ago.

(Author’s Note: Present is “August 1, 2002 and Sonic Adventure 2 I have as May “2001”, ARK would be then 1951…originally was 1950 but in making a timeline with years instead of by Sonic’s age, in order to make it 50 years and Sonic’s age to remain the same, I had miscalculated while thinking initially not in years but Sonic’s age as my standard….and well, maybe “51” adds a more realistic tone that things don’t always fall on even dates!)

Sonic: Close enough.

Tails: Right, I suppose so…but  …Why would…?(sudden shock and realization) No… no it can’t be!

Sonic: You really think that…?…Just, no… no way…

Knuckles: What are you both  getting on about??

Sonic: Alright. Listen up Knux. I’ll  give you the rundown. (Wink)So Fiftyish years ago is also when the Black Comet came with those wonderful relatives of that faker the Black Arms came by right? You know, the same ones that paralyzed us all except Shadow, and wanted to make us into their dinner when they came back not too long back?  

Knuckles: I knew that! But they didn’t attack like that 50 years ago!

Sonic: No, You’re right. They “came in peace” because they “helped” Dr. Gerald Robotnik on the ARK. Fifty years ago is is also when the Black Arms, led by that Black Doom guy that Shadow defeated a bit back, gave Dr. Gerald Robotnik his DNA to make Shadow except…it probably wasn’t just Black Arms DNA Gerald Robotnik used …was it?

Knuckles:… you really think he’d be behind those hedgehog disappearances though? He didn’t start off bad I thought.. (scratches head)

Sonic: Well that, or it’s one heck of a coincidence…But you’re right Knux, he may not have been behind that or have known all the details… Maybe the hedgehogs were blackmailed? Who knows?  But I’m with Tails… there might be a connection there..

Tails: What we do know is that Dr. Gerald Robotnik did research on creatures who could use the power of the Chaos Emeralds by traveling to places like the Mystic Ruins. That’s were he would have seen the mural with Perfect Chaos, and It seems likely that was his inspiration for creating the Bio Lizard.

Sonic: (eyebrows raised, sarcastic) Yeah, You know, since trying to recreate Chaos, an immortal mutant Chao that can use the chaos emeralds to completely destroy the world, is just what I ‘d try to create when making a cure for illness, but hey, I’m not a genius, what do I know?

Tails: Soniiiiic…..

Sonic: Speakin of which…So Knux, I’m guessin’ Chaos is still chill in the Master Emerald then ?

Knuckles: He only shows himself in times of great crisis, which as you know, he really hasn’t since that time the ancient Gizoid Emerl was discovered.

========================================================

REF -transcript  from Sonic Battle Gameboy Advance game

Knuckles: When that battleship appeared, the "Estuary" instantly froze over, and "Chaos" appeared. He's just sitting there, guarding the "Death Egg." Chaos is the guardian god of the Chao. He only shows himself in times of great crisis. Looks like we're in deep trouble this time!

https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_Battle/Script_(Emerl)

==========================================================

STORY

Sonic: Hmm…I guess for only certain crisises huh? 

Tails: Well…

Knuckles: Since when did you expect Chaos’ Help?

Sonic: I didn’t say I was. I just didn’t know if, I dunno, he’d detected some  major new enemy is all….or if even he might act up again…

Knuckles: No. ….You almost seem disappointed that he isn’t…

Sonic: What? Me?* nervous laugh* Hahaha. *sigh* Just curious Knux, I mean…(pensive) I guess at least (determined)…that’s one less thing everyone has to worry about right?

Tails: Er, right, and I wouldn’t think Chaos would act up again anyway since You already calmed Chaos down from the anger and sadness he had before Sonic…

Sonic: Yeah, by beating it out of him with positive chaos energy as Super Sonic! Trying to make something like Chaos still doesn’t seem like what you’d want to make for a cure though, maybe he started losing it even before losing Maria…

Tails: Well, he probably just wanted to go after any possible lead he had…even if in the end the Bio Lizard needed a lot of mechanical support just to live, so it didn’t really work like I’m sure he wanted. It was probably at that point he would have come here to Angel Island since it had originally been in the Mystic Ruins. 

Sonic: And I’m betting  after seeing the Hidden Palace mural here with my ancestor, a hedgehog on it. he was sure he found the perfect “creature” to use the Chaos Emeralds for his creation to become immortal, and a cure for his granddaughter Maria. Then, all he’d need is to find the right hedgehog’s  DNA, and make Shadow (eyes narrow)…and so maybe..maybe that means hedgehogs like  my great grandparents…Sally and Maurice’s parents… (snarling) got taken to make sure at least one of them would “work”….  Broaden their chances right?…Man…I knew he eventually became evil, but I wonder… did he really go that far?…

============================================================

REF- Shadow being part hedgehog

Though I know you have this line from the Sonic X Shadow Generations: Dark Beginnings animation…….

Shadow: Maria! I'm fine. It's just... [Shadow looks away from Maria, until he looks back at the container holding the Death Leech. Shadow stares at his reflection.] The professor created me using alien DNA. The Black Arms, he called them. The same DNA as this... larva. This ugly, heartless creature. I may look like a hedgehog, but I'm really no different than this thing.

[Suddenly, Maria hugs Shadow.]

Maria: That's not true! You have a big heart. It may be difficult for you to express it, but I know that deep down you really do care. [Maria places her hand on Shadow's chest. Shadow looks down at Maria's hand, until looking back up at Maria.] About me. About everyone! [Abe stares through the room's window, watching as Maria comforts Shadow. Abe begins to get frustrated. Maria grabs Shadow's hand and the hedgehog looks at her.] What you do is what defines you. I know you're having a hard time finding answers, but I'm certain you will one day.

https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Finding_the_Way/Transcript

Shadow is called a hedgehog and looks quite a bit like one for SOME reason, and despite what Shadow may think or have been told, Shadow’s creator says something different… I think best explained from this official source… 

"Though he is said to created on ARK, it's not like he's a robot, he's biological, and seems to largely be a hedgehog which he's called, not Black Arms, SO....Actually Maekawa san, creator of Shadow himself, https://browniehideout.wordpress.com/2022/07/11/creators-interview-006-maekawa-shirou/

wrote an Sonic Adventure 2 Epilogue 

 translated by Windii that says 

https://browniehideout.wordpress.com/tag/sonic-adventure-2-perfect-guide/

“The operation was completed with the sealing of the “ultimate life form prototype” found in the deepest part of the colony.

However, there was only one miscalculation in this operation: when this operation was carried out, Pr. Gerald had already almost completed the ultimate life form “Shadow” using another base body. “

And then from the Shadow the Hedgehog game…

Cutscene #5

[Flashback, onboard the Space Colony ARK. Gerald Robotnik and Black Doom stand near a tube with Shadow inside it]

Black Doom: [Voice-over] The professor was in development of the ultimate life force but he needed my help. So we made a deal... I helped him and he promised to deliver me the SEVEN Chaos Emeralds. That's how you were created, Shadow. You would help us do both!

https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Shadow_the_Hedgehog_(game)/Script_(Last_Story)

So…what I surmise combining those two sources, and based on the fact his previous creation the Biolizard still looked like the animal it was based  on , a lizard for the Biolizard, I’m speculating  this other base body for Shadow was a hedgehog that he almost completed and was in development for but needed help from the Black Arms to finish with Black Arms DNA….

==================================================================================

STORY

Knuckles: You still don’t know that for sure!

Sonic: *Sigh* Always willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, well mostly, as always aren’t You Knux? You haven’t forgotten  how many times Eggman  kept tricking you, have you?

Knuckles begins to look angry and Tails looks resigned about them fighting about it…

Knuckles: Do you really have to bring that up again?!

Sonic: (Melancholy Smile) Hold up Knux! Heh. Still you’re right, we don’t really have proof yet as far as Gerald Robotnik goes….and who am I, really, to talk about giving people extra chances ?… Eggman’s down on Christmas Island prison right now, probably still trying to plot against me instead of being… well, you know, dead like Shadow wanted….because of me…

Knuckles: (smile) And I still say it’s good you gave Eggman a chance Sonic…

Sonic: Yeah, well (serious)…doesn’t mean I can trust him though, or know if I trust Gerald Robotnik already lost it some sooner than we thought for that matter…

Tails: Well…maybe Dr. Gerald Robotnik didn’t know that was how the hedgehogs got to the ARK either, if that’s really what happened to those hedgehogs. GUN working with another scientist, could have found out that he needed a hedgehog and then threatened them to come along. Maybe the hedgehogs from the village couldn’t say anything to the family left behind or to Gerald Robotnik who would care, or they’d risk the rest of their family left behind getting hurt. But maybe too…I don’t know Sonic, maybe they’d even want to be a part of it.

Sonic: How do you figure that?

Tails: Well, Dr. Gerald Robotnik’s work would mean a cure for illness and…immortality right?

Sonic:Hmm…

Tails: So maybe…maybe they’d have gone willingly with them, but it still needed to be secret!  That’s why they needed people to think it was some “phantom.” So, even though they left family behind, maybe they wanted to have that chance to maybe help themselves and others make a cure…I don’t know for sure though, I’m really just speculating. We’d need evidence.

Knuckles:….(shakes head) Still, If they really took your great grandparents, does that really mean you and Shadow could even be related?!!

Sonic: W-what?! How should I know?! They could have used any hedgehog! it doesn’t mean it was for sure my great grandparent’s DNA or whatever that got possibly used to make Shadow! You really think I want to call that faker my great grandfather?!

(Pause)

Sonic:If that’s the case though…Hey Tails, so Eggman basically gave one of my ancestors immortality with Metal Sonic’s body, so how much uh, hedgehog, do you think Gerald used? How exactly did Gerald Robotnik actually make Shadow? 

Tails: Well… we really don’t know if he used um… a whole hedgehog person or just the DNA. Shadow definitely looks like a hedgehog thoughThe files were never really clear on the specifics… Either way, afterwards we still don’t know what happened to those hedgehogs after they disappeared. 

Sonic: But could have Gerald basically…I don’t know, maybe just injected one of the hedgehogs with the Black Arms DNA then or something? …and maybe..the one that took it the best was well, Shadow?

Everyone gets wide-eyed. 

Tails: If…if they did that, then that means the other hedgehogs…So then the hedgehogs that disappeared…* horrified look*so they really never found them Sonic?

Sonic: No. Of course, if things didn’t work out, considering what GUN did to everyone else on ARK, I could only guess what would have happened to them…and it could have all been under Dr. Gerald’s nose too…The animal and human people here get along well now, but I’m sure that wouldn’t have gone over too well if GUN or Dr. Gerald did something to all those hedgehogs.(Narrows eyes and shakes head) 

Knuckles: I ‘m just glad to stay out of it. Given the power of the Master Emerald, if it was still on the Earth it might have lead to even more conflict between humans and animals fighting over it.

Sonic: Hmmm…you may be right Knux…It all kinda makes me wonder how we managed to get along so far as it is. If folks like us thought that the humans thought they could just take us folk whenever they wanted for experiments, like maybe they did hedgehogs on ARK, that might start a war…

Tails: I’d sure hope not. Right now we can go to each other’s lands without any problems…and I’d hate for that to end. Amy’s been able to do things like live with humans in Station Square, and we’ve made some great friends including human ones in all the kinds of lands we’ve visited…It seems like we really do know how to work together, and we come together when the planet’s attacked.  Besides you Sonic, the human government the United Federation has been able to use it’s military G.U.N. to help protect everyone, including folks like us when the Black Arms came back…,

Sonic: Of course there WAS  that whole driving a GUN military truck down the United Federation’s own Capital city, Central City*   just to try to catch me, by G. U. N.… not exactly what I’d call protecting everyone! It seems like they were willing to run over anyone who’d get in the way just to try to get me…even if they “thought” I was Shadow…

*Author Note: Sonic Adventure 2 City Escape Level)

Tails: Well, yeah, but..

Knuckles: Psha! Sonic and Shadow aren’t even the same color! That never made any sense to me, at least Amy’s got an excuse...

Sonic: Hmph. And to think there’s people who say you’re not smart Knucklehead…

Knuckles: Who says that?!

Sonic: Ha! Who cares? You’re smarter than G.U.N. was, that’s for sure…

Tails:*Sigh* I know… and maybe they thought you could change colors like when you went super? But even still, It’s just that..it’s really sad to think that G.U.N. would use that power to just take so many hedgehogs like that…

Sonic: I know little buddy…and I know we’re on good terms with them now…heck Shadow even works for them, so you’d hope they wouldn’t do something like that again, if they did, but there’s still something fishy about all those disappearances…and now that I think about it, we had these history books mom used to teach me from as a kid that were printed in the United Federation, and it never even mentioned really much about ARK, much less Shadow…but when people found out about Shadow,  the United Federation didn’t even want to investigate what and how it all happened. All they said was not a lot could be known about what happened. If there was a disappearance it was probably related to the Black Arms who appeared at that time except… that doesn’t really seem to fit what I know of them…

Tails: Well, maybe the next step is to talk to Shadow…

Sonic: Yeah…maybe find out what happened to my great grandparents at least…

Knuckles (stares intently and pensive at Sonic)

Sonic: Uh Knux? What’s with that look?

Knuckles: I’m just trying to imagine you calling Shadow “great grandpa Shadow…”meaning he’d be your elder, and you’d need to show “the utmost respect and deference.. “(arms crossed and sparkle on teeth with eyes closed)

Sonic: What?…No way!  Friends? Ok, Sure! But great grandpa?!!  ….I mean, I guess I wouldn’t mind if we ended up related somehow, but…”my elder”?? Yeah right! Like I need that faker to try to use that to try to tell me what to do…

Tails: No… that’s Amy’s job! 

Sonic grimaces briefly and then they all laugh a bit.

Sonic: Hey now! We both get our say! And I listen ‘cause I want to…(thinks about shopping and frowns a bit) or at least trust her enough about whatever.

Knuckles: But you won’t listen to me??

Sonic: Of course not! 

Knuckles: Hey!

Sonic: If it’s something about the island then sure…maybe… I don’t think trying to skydive onto mushrooms was that big of a deal…

Knuckles: Yeah? Well what if it wasn’t?

Tails: Guys!

Sonic: I’d more easily listen to Tails.

Tails: Thanks! 

Knuckles:  Yeah, well…. I guess he’s right about a lot of stuff but what  about Shadow?

Sonic: Him? Hm.  We mostly butt heads except for saving the world, usually…as far as Eggman and nearly killing him and maybe me, he listened to me about what to do with him afterward…

Knuckles: Yeah….and they say I’m the angry one, though I gotta admit I’d like to see Eggman’s new purple form….so Shadow really just likes spending most of the time guarding Eggman? 

Sonic: You could say that…among other things… (smile)

Chapter 4- Guns, Balloons, and Rings

Chapter Text

TEXTBOX: Back on Christmas Island

Sonic, two small bags in hand, is with Amy on a sidewalk heading to Cove City Square again where Eggman is building…still essentially a pit of dirt for what is presumably a building and fountain foundation and surrounding that is a bit of a grassy area with some trees an the actual town square complete with a stage and fountain for events. The road round this grassy round….city square is bustling traffic as car go off down one of roads connecting. Sonic picks up Amy and quickly speeds across grinning as he deftly avoids cars as Amy can’t help but smile. He quickly puts her down as they reach the edge of the square with the pit off in the distance, standing under the shade of a tree on the edge of the square not far from the little performance stage and they beginning walking casually toward the “Eggman pit”…still not quite in “Eggman insulting them” distance.

Sonic: And now with wedding shopping done, again…time to see how it’s coming with Egghead!

Amy: *sigh* Eggman…though they really are both insults.

Sonic: Exactly, so Egghead works!

Amy: Oh Sonic…anyway, there’s still a little bit of shopping that should be important to you too!

Sonic stops a moment.

Sonic:….what?

Amy:Oh you! (Hands on hips, but then, unsure) It’s not that bad…. is it? I even treated us at a cafe with ice cream after all…

===========================================================================================

REF- Amy favorite foods 

She likes baked goods 38:31 here Does He Know What He's Cooking? | BumbleKast for October 5th, 2022 - Q&A Podcast with Ian Flynn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCQUDqe1lSY&t=2311s and soft-serve ice cream https://sonic.sega.jp/SonicChannel/character/amy.html

==================================================================================================

Sonic:..*sigh* Sorry Amy, I guess not…I just prefer exploring places other than clothing stores. I know it’s important to you I like whatever you’re getting too, but I’m sure whatever you pick’ll be fine…

Amy: Well, thanks for your help carrying bags at least then. 

Sonic: (playful grin) Sure…not that you actually need help carrying anything…

Amy maturely with a grin, sticks out her tongue at him.

Amy: It’s the thought that counts! But, how’s this? Once things are settled down after the wedding, why don’t you and I go on an adventure together for places we both enjoy? We’ll travel together around the world visiting all the places you went to when the world broke apart!!!*

*Sonic Unleashed

Sonic: Alright! That does sound fun actually….

Amy: I thought so! But, before that,  for today, I wanted to squeeze some more shopping in for the baby before the wedding rehearsal tonight!

Sonic: But Amy, do you really need me to decide between a “cream or golden yellow outfit”? Heck, will the baby even need clothes???

Amy: Sonic! Of course! At least for now! And besides, baby clothes are so cute!

Sonic and Amy now begin walking toward Eggman as Sonic gives a resigned sigh…

Sonic: Well, alright, if it means that much to you….

Amy: Thanks! (Small kiss on the check to Sonic’s shy amusement)

They now see the edge of the Eggman pit where Shadow stands guard under a tree, but with added company…there’s a bird, dog, and cat kid nearby waiting to see Shadow as a lamb kid stands in front of him, partially blocking the view of Shadow as they walk towards him along the edge of the pit, not quite within talking distance. Eggman for the moment anyway, with a pencil in his ear and his normal self, is seemingly engrossed on plans he’s looking on at the table making marks, oblivious to all around him, even Sonic for now as Metal Sonic, Cubot, and Orbot, stand along side him and Herman…Herman is busy being delighted trying to chase after a little lizard near the edge of the pit before coming up To Sonic and Amy for a quick head rub, which they happily give, before resuming his chase….the lizard not so happy and escaping into cracks as Herman waits for it to come out…Amy and Sonic just give a quick chuckles. Sonic gives an amused glance at the absorbed Eggman as Amy looks on thoughtfully, before both looking back towards Shadow and his “fan club.”

Amy: Awww..! It’s so great Shadow has kids who come to see him…

Sonic: *chuckle* Yep! So the Shadow Fan Club returns… Speaking of which, I needed to talk to Shadow anyway, so why don’t you can go ahead and start shopping without me Amy if you want, and I can find you later.

Amy: Or how about I say hi with you, and then we can get some more clothes before lunch?

Sonic: Uh…Sure..

They now walk over confused and look at each other in a shared confused expression as they see Shadow handing out balloon animals….previously hidden by the kid crowd with  the lamb kid happy with his teddy bear balloon animal, as Shadow merely nods matter of factly, glancing at them briefly before looking back to the kids.

=====================================================================================

Visual REF-Teddy Bear Balloon

Teddy Bear Balloon Animal Tutorial (Balloon Twisting and Modeling #20 ) - YouTube

================================================================================================================

Sonic: Soooo…Shadow…?

They watch in continued surprise as the lamb kid with the teddy bear balloon animal says to Shadow, “Thanks Mr. Shadow! You’re the best!

Sonic: Uh…since when did you make balloon animals ? Weren’t you , I don’t know, more of gun guy with some flower arranging on the side?

Amy: It’s so cute! (Admires teddy bear balloon animal)

Lamb Kid: Yeah! Don’tcha think so too Sonic?

Sonic: Sure, just not what I expected from Shadow…

Shadow: Hmph. I’ll have you know Sonic, that he fine art of making balloon animals requires patience, precision, and skill…a worthy past time for the ultimate lifeform!

Sonic: Uh, sure…

Amy: Well, the kids seem to really like them too Shadow! 

Dog, Bird and Cat kids: Yeah, we want one too!

As they look in the distance in the square, an adult anthro sheep happily waves back at Shadow and motions the sheep kid near and he comes happily with his balloon. Shadow smiles slightly and merely nods back as they leave.

Sonic: Yeah…but since when did you do anything to attract attention?

Shadow: As I come here often to see what the doctor is up to anyway as a guard, I wanted to be able to hand out a suitable item to the children who seem to frequent the area, and I needed an item more acceptable to the parents.

Sonic: More acceptable?? What were you handing out before?

FLASHBACK:

Shadow is kneeling down and handing a little anthro bird boy a gun. It’s the Shadow Rifle.

===============================================

Visual REF- Shadow Rifle

(https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Weapons_in_Shadow_the_Hedgehog)

===============================================================================

Shadow: Here Johny, You see this gun? It’s one of my favorite kinds. Take good care of it, and practice hard!

Johny: Cooooool!! You bet! You’re the best Shadow!

Johny’s Parent: Hey you! Don’t give my kid a gun! He’s way too young for that!

Shadow: You’re never too young to learn!

Johny’s Parent: What if he shot his eye out!?

END FLASHBACK

Sonic: Yeah Shadow, what if he shot his eye out…?(smug and playful mocking grin and raised eyebrow)

Shadow: Of course I thought of that! Give me more credit than that Sonic! They were only filled with practice bullets. The real ones can come later. Even so…it seems not all the parents appreciated my generous gifts much to the children’s dismay…Still, I was able to handle out a card and coupon for proper firearm training…that I can then hand out with these balloons. (Brief Smug Smile as holds card briefly with info)… I can’t force the parents to accept my help after all…

Sonic: Well, a real gun for kids? That’s crazy Shadow! 

Shadow: Not as crazy as this!…(takes a glance towards Eggman) I suppose this works for the moment, but should Eggman escape one day, I would want all the children here to be able to defend themselves!…. Innocent children who’ve done nothing to deserve this continued threat!

Sonic:….So…that again huh? 

Shadow: Yes. “That” again. He won’t be building this memorial forever, and he could still pose a threat. Of course,  I’d be more than willing to help make sure he never becomes a problem again, for either you or them, (gestures towards children nearby) if you’re still not willing…

Amy continues to look anxiously back and forth between the two as they have a stare down.

Sonic:Hmph. Thanks for the offer, Shadow, but like I’ve said, I got this. (mutters )< Besides this being my childhood home,>* (says louder in English) why do you think part of the reason I decided to live here now in the first place Shadow?! If Eggman does something, I’ll already be close by!

*<text in Japanese> 

Shadow: It’s the least you can do, but even you and I can’t be everywhere at once. I still think it’s a good idea for more of the citizens here to at least to be able to fight as well.

Sonic: Hmm..I guess I don’t…disagree with you, but you really think giving kids guns is the right idea??

Amy: Shadow?…It is a bit young for a real gun Shadow…

Shadow: Hm..I see Amy…well, perhaps not then…I don’t really know what age is considered “appropriate,” but maybe it’s better they be spared those kinds of decisions…Still, despite their…misuse…I still say the more here armed…the better.

Sonic: Hmm…

They only NOW notice Eggman, now nearer looking up grinning at them from down in the pit that went to about Eggman’s shoulders at the border. He’d seemingly been lapping up the heated exchange in smug satisfaction, his robot entourage awaiting orders silently nearby…except for Herman of course, still chasing a lizard in vain.

Eggman: Hohoho! Now, don’t let me interrupt your peaceful exchange!

Sonic and Shadow give each a slight frown, not exactly happy to be Eggman’s entertainment, and Amy can’t help and “I told you so” look.

The Cat Kid now goes  up to Sonic in the conversation pause.

==========================================================

REF-Some more common anthropomorphic animals via ones that can be chosen in Sonic Forces…

Animal Abilities

• Dog – restart with some rings after a knock-out
• Wolf – Draws in items towards you
• Rabbit – Extends invincibility duration when hit
• Bear – Blows away enemies when performing a Wire Attack
• Cat – Hold on to some rings after taking damage
• Bird – Enables the use of a double jump
• Hedgehog – Dropped rings remain longer after taking damage

===================================================

STORY

Cat kid: Hey Sonic! Can you tell us more about all your adventure on another planet where Eggman got to where he can turn into that ugly purple thing?

Eggman: Infernal brat!

And so…Eggman now turns into the “ugly purple thing.”

Cat Kid: Yeah, like that!

Shadow and Sonic share a smug short laugh at the timely change.

Cat kid: I tried to ask Mr. Shadow but he didn’t tell us a whole lot…

FLASHBACK:

In the same spot, the cat kid is looking up at Shadow, looking at a Purple Eggman.

Cat kid: What happened?

Shadow: We went to another world. The doctor tried to use Sonic as a battery for his robot and take over that world. We fought; we won; Dr. Eggman lost; and he became that thing he is now when he’s angry.The End. Now take your complimentary balloon with firearm training discount card.

Shadow now hands him a giraffe balloon animal with a card attached.

Cat Kid : Awww…

End Flashback

Cat Kid: Whoah…So did Eggman really use you as a battery Sonic? How did you escape??

The bird kid now also approaches.

Bird kid: Yeah!

Eggman, seemingly calming himself down with curiosity and less anger, now changes back to his human form.

Eggman:Yes, hedgehog, we’re all ears…how did exactly you escape?

Sonic stares at the kids and Eggman a moment, slightly cornered.

Sonic: Uh..the power of friendship!

Cat Kid: Psha. Laaaame!

Eggman, angry at this response as well changes back to the purple creature growls angrily…to the other’s amusement….and seemingly tired of transforming so much, leaves from them for the time being mumbling angrily…

Sonic: Hey now, I know that sounds corny, but believe me…(slight smirk as points behind him with thumb from hand in fist) real friends are definitely not lame…

Bird kid: You two are friends???

Sonic: Well, yeah…

The Bird, Cat and Dog kid, they shyest of the bunch, now  look to Shadow.

Kids: Really?

Shadow: Yes, strangely enough I suppose…

Cat kid: But weren’t you guys just fighting?

Bird Kid: Yeah, I saw it! I saw it! Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh….

Amy: Well, kids...

Sonic and Shadow look at each other a moment in wry amusement, Sonic grinning amusement, and Shadow, his eyes closed with an amused short, “Hm.” Behind them battles are shown of previous fights such as  from SA2 in Green Forest https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Green_Forest ,  and/or in Sonic Heroes in the Lost Jungle level https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgqljdMPyHs&list=PL2BE5A73AE4FF9C66&index=15...to ( to name a few)

=======================================================

Author REF-

How many times have Sonic and Shadow fought?

https://sonic.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000000238430

================================================

Sonic: Hold on Ames, mind if I explain?

Amy: Oh, Ok! Go ahead.

Sonic: Believe me kids, compared to how we’ve fought before, that’s not fighting.(

Cat Kid: Oooooo! So, could you really fight now?!

Sonic: Hahahaha. Well, maybe if Shadow’s up for it, we could spar a bit … (grin and arm and neck stretch)

You’re not in too much of a hurry for more shopping are you Ames? I could use a bit of a break from it honestly. 

Shadow: Amy? 

Both Sonic and Shadow both look to Amy who seemingly relents with a sigh.

Amy: I’m sorry I dragged you along shopping so long,  but right now Sonic?! 

Sonic: (wink) Sure! Why not? Come on Ames, I wouldn’t want to get out of practice right? (Cracks knuckles)

Kids: Could they please Mrs. Amy?!

Amy: No, you’re right, Sonic…(pensive face) Alright…

Kids: Yay!

Amy: Thanks for doing the shopping you did do with me, even though I know it wasn’t the most exciting thing for you. 

She now gives Sonic a  small kiss on the cheek and he gets uneasy and red a moment.

Sonic: Uh ..sure Ames…

Kids: Ooooo! ( kissy faces)

Sonic: Hey now! Cut that out! Well, You heard the kiddos Shadow!

Shadow: (smile) Hmph. Eager to show yourself losing to the “ultimate lifeform?” 

Sonic: Ha! As if! “I’ll make you eat those words!” Right Shadow?

Amy: *sigh* (and smiles shaking head)

Sonic and Shadow now throw some punches and kicks Sonic Battle game style, and are clearly enjoying themselves in their tussle, but end up knocking over dirt mounds from the memorial site along the edge.

Eggman: Would you watch it!? You’re ruining all the work I did for this blasted memorial of yours!

Cubot and Orbot look at each other.

Sonic: Hahaha! Sorry Eggman! *sigh* Another indecisive match…

Sonic and Shadow stop fighting now to the kids’ disappointment..

Cat kid: Ahh man…Hey Sonic…at least tell us how you escaped Eggman’s battery thing!

Sonic: Er…Well aside from the fact this is me we’re talking about, I got help from all my friends, including Shadow, but that’s all I’m gonna say on that…Sorry kids…not today…maybe ever…

Cat kid: Ahh..bummer…

The Cat kid now has a little sister, a cat girl that appears from behind her mom and now goes up to Amy Rose now sitting on a bench nearby…

The cat girl goes up to Amy Rose and asks,  “Are you going to have a ring ceremony for the baby Mrs. Amy?”

Amy: Well, I hadn’t talked to Sonic about it yet, but I think he’d be ok with it…

Sonic and Shadow look at each other confused.

Sonic and Shadow: Ring ceremony?

Amy: Mm-hmm…Well Sonic, just like you can use the Chaos Emeralds more than others, some animal people can use rings more than others too, so there’s a custom when babies are very young, to expose them to a ring like found all over the zones. For the babies that can absorb the ring, it means they can use the rings to take damage, especially you Sonic, and are more likely to have other abilities too but…

Sonic: Really? They can know that young?

Amy: Well at least partly…if a baby has more strength than most, that might not come out ’til later, but it at least lets the parents know their child can use ring protection. All you do is touch the baby with a ring to see if it’s absorbed or not. It just happens automatically! If the ring’s not absorbed, they know they can’t use them…no one really knows why. For my ring ceremony I was able to use rings, and so…

Amy now remembers dreamily when Sonic carried her from Little Planet in their escape and as she does so the bird, cat, and dog kid get called by their parents to which they come, albeit a bit reluctantly and each nod to Shadow.

Amy: All those parents must have know you wouldn’t let anything happen to their kids Shadow.

Shadow:…

Amy: Those kids might be able to too. I think that’s why I thought my parents would be ok when I went off on my own to look for you myself at Little Planet…*dreamy sigh* and we met for the first time

Sonic: (raised eyebrow)Even if that meant getting kidnapped by Metal Sonic huh?

Amy: I was 13 ok? (Bristles)And that was before I got my hammer! Little Planet only appears once a year, and I just knew I’d find you there! My parents wouldn’t understand, and I don’t think they really believed I’d really leave in the first place since I’d always been so…so timid* even if I tried to wonder off a lot …but that’s not the point!

(* To me this comes across in her art… https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Amy_Rose?file=Amynew.png )

Shadow: Amy was timid?

Sonic: Ha! Yeah! Well, at least didn’t get angry as easily… Hard to believe right? She sure wan’t timid in chasing after me though…

Amy: You two!!  * Sigh* Well less timid after I met Sonic, and as I was saaaaaaying! It’s not like they needed to worry as much about me anyway. I was always stronger and faster than a lot of other hedgehogs my age, and I could use rings and not as easily get hurt even without them too. Some parents don’t want a ring ceremony for their babies though, and just want to wait and find out until they’re older. 

Sonic: Why would they want to do that?

Amy: Well, once a baby is known to be able to use rings, it might also mean you have other abilities as well, like greater strength and speed, though not anything like yours Sonic. Anyway, then you’re expected to do more, and that can be really stressful for some people. Not only that,  it can mean getting picked on more sometimes because others want to hurt someone like that on purpose, just to see that person lose any ring absorbed…so I guess it’s a bit of a double-edged sword…

Sonic and Shadow:…

Sonic:Hm… Well, I’m not lettin’ anyone pick on our kid that’s for sure, so I say sure! Let’s do this “ring ceremony” thing!  Besides, because they’re our kids they’d probably be more of a target if some other guy decides to take Eggman’s place here anyway…

Eggman: (calling from pit, only just in talking distance) Don’t count me out yet rodent!  * Angry* Cubot! Orbot! Not over there you nincompoops! (Transforms to purple creature again)

Sonic: Yeah…it’d be nice to see if ours can at least have some ring protection to help them…(thinks of his family that couldn’t use rings)

Shadow: Hmm…I suppose no humans can use these rings that way then?

Eggman: No!

Amy: No…

Amy and Eggman say No at same time and just look at each other a moment.

Eggman: Allow me, “Mrs. Rose”, to explain to you simpletons what my kind have to go through..(speaking as purple creature)

Amy: Alright Dr. Eggman. It wouldn’t hurt to hear his side too right?

Sonic and Shadow look at each other a moment unsure.

Shadow: I suppose.

Sonic: Come here Egghead. We’ll hear you out…(grin) Herman can come too…

Eggman is brought over by Herman, now ready to help after an unsuccessful lizard hunt…and for a second you see as Herman carries the Purple Eggman like a pup, him stop and shake his head like he’d hit his head against something.

Sonic: Whoops! Sorry about that Herman!

The invisible barrier that blocks Eggman included from leaving the  construction site/pitt is temporarily disabled via Sonic via a wrist device.

Eggman: It’s as Amy said…none of my kind can use those blasted rings like you animal people have! Even you animals who can’t use them have greater natural abilities and resistance to damage than any of my kind ever have. It’s only right we should need to arm ourselves! Do you think any of us can do anything like a spin attack or spin dash, or run, or have the strength any of you have?

Shadow: Hmm…For once I agree with you doctor…it’s only fair the humans arm themselves more often with guns or have an organization like GUN, and I have no qualms with  giving both of our kind a means to fight someone like you!

Eggman: Hahahah…yes both kinds working together in perfect harmony is it?…for now anyway…Happily coexisting as the humans live with their great technologically advanced cities like Grand Metropolis, Metal City, and Monople in the bigger countries while you animals with your usually less technologically advanced societies, are allowed to infest the islands…and often just as not, leeching off what us humans who had to invent to compensate for our lack of natural ability!  Then here, you people get away with using my Ring energy technology!

===========================================================================

REF- Sonic’s world, Earth locations in general

Robots and breakthrough technology are also common. Cutting-edge cities like Grand Metropolis (Sonic Heroes), Metal City (Sonic Riders) and Monopole (Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity) in particular hold robots, flying cars, Extreme Gear and transport tubes.

The earth is full of fascinating countries, each with its own cultures and people. Notably, the planet's anthropomorphic animals usually live on the islands dotting the planet while humans tend to live in the bigger countries.^[4] Notable countries on earth include the United Federation, the Eggman Empire, and the Principality of Soleanna

https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Earth

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STORY

Sonic: Whaddaya mean by that?

Eggman: No one before had been able to consistently utilize the power of the rings for energy before I came along!   Especially the humans! Though rings are not as powerful as the Chaos Emeralds as great as they are, and disappear once used, Rings also have the advantage of being abundant all over the planet, and always reappearing once collected. They also have large stores of energy in their own right once harnessed correctly … and though I certainly  don’t fault my grandfather Gerald Robotnik in using Chaos Emerald energy for the Chaos Drives he invented, I’d say the rings abundance gives them an edge in production over the challenges of trying to harness chaos energy. Not only that, they require little effort compared to something like say coal, nor does their energy ever fade…So yes it was I, I the great Dr. Eggman who finally made the great breakthroughs to unlock ring energy on a grand scale, like my magnificent, though now destroyed, Death Egg! Even now, animal and human alike are benefitting from MY efforts to utilize ring energy! Buncha energy freeloaders! This very city in fact, has a backup generator using ring based energy consumption technology stolen from me, for the hydropower plant….

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REF- Chaos Drive

The Chaos Drive^[1][2] (カオスドライブ^[3] Kaosu doraibu^?) is an object that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is crystallized Chaos Emerald energy that is usually contained in devices. They seem to be a power source for robots. The Chaos Drives were initially designed by Prof. Gerald Robotnik as a means of transferring energy to living tissue, as part of his work on Project Shadow.

Chaos Drives first appeared in Sonic Adventure 2 under the name Chaos drives,^[4] where they served as power source for G.U.N. robots, much like how Animals are used for Badniks.

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STORY 

Sonic: (smirks) Yeah…sounds horrible..wouldn’t want to help anyone with your inventions for once after all!

Eggman: Especially you rodent…you think rings would be worth as much money, or worth exchanging now had it not been for my technology? I was the one who made them as profitable as they are today, and who gets to benefit?! Is it me!? NO! It’s you, you miserable rodent who simply has to spend only a little time ring hunting in all the areas too hard to reach for others to make a quick buck! Banking on technology stolen from me! I can’t tell you how much that sickens me!

Shadow: Not quite doctor…it’s on file you were developing that technology before you ever made the Death Egg. You’d agreed to share your findings in return for financial assistance and gathering supplies.

Sonic looks quizzically at Shadow.

 Amy: Really?

Sonic: How would you know that Shadow?…

Shadow: Rouge.

Sonic: Ah! Right, right..

Amy smiles.

(Author note: Rouge may have known this, but wouldn’t know enough of Sonic’s back story to know Millie who provided financial backing was Sonic’s aunt, though Shadow would only come to find that out in the Unhidden story) 

Eggman: Bah! I owe you all nothing! If I’d had my Death Egg still, I would have conquered this whole miserable planet…human and animal alike!  Even more so if I’d had the Chaos Emeralds so I would no longer need to resupply the Death Egg with rings…and then YOU! (Glares at Sonic) YOU!

Sonic just smirks.

Eggman: You had to get in my way like you always do! 

Sonic: What can I say Egghead? I’m an equal opportunity hero. I beat anyone who’s out to conquer the world!..Haha!

Eggman: Still, I wonder… (evil smile) did you know there was one hedgehog I suppose I didn’t quite hate so much?

Sonic: You? Yeah right…

Eggman: Ah, but it’s true! You see, she provided me with needed financial assistance when I was just starting out…She helped me to get going on my feet as it were, while I was building up my empire…a hedgehog by the name of Millie..

Sonic pauses a moment and looks at Eggman quizzically…

Sonic (thinks):  Don’t let him get to you…

Shadow and Amy try play it cool as well, and give each other a quick look…

Eggman: Anyone perhaps you knew? 

Sonic frowns and then has a flashback.

Flashback ( not in earlier stories)

Sonic  is hunched over the dying Aunt Millie in the hangar…

Aunt Millie: Sonic…?

Sonic: Yeah…? Aunt Millie?

Aunt Millie: Before I go, I wanted to apologize. I was… I think in some ways…* ahem* I was instrumental in all this. I was foolish and let my guard down, helping out someone I shouldn’t have, and in that way, made all this possible. I think who I helped, he may…he may have been the one responsible for all of this and—….

Sonic: Would you…would you just quit that Aunt Millie?(rubbing his wet eyes) Whatever you did, it’s in the past, and you’ve tried to make things right now so…who cares?! What? You want me to get mad at you for giving some guy a chance? Psha! What good would that do?! I mean, you thought the guy had some good in him right?…and who knows? Maybe he wasn’t behind it, you don’t know…Just…don’t worry about that right now, you’ve suffered enough, and… Besides mom, You’re all I got left now Aunt Millie…(hugs her) …and …and she’s not doing much better than you…Do me one last favor ok? Don’t let it get to you!

================================================

REF-From Unhidden, Chapter 22

Tails: Sonic!? (Tails in tears wraps himself and his tails around him as best he can avoiding his spikes, as well as Amy who are still on either side of him on the couch.

Shadow has a furrowed brow and concerned look.

Sonic narrates:…And then mom… she..she left me too…. after one last dance we did during her “surge”, 

Past Sonic is dancing with his mom.

Sonic:…and then….. I was alone after that….

Death Order: Pazu, Danny, Katie, Saido, Millie, Sasha

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STORY

Aunt Millie: *Sigh* Hm…all right then, my nephew. All right….

(End Flashback)

Sonic: Hmm…(acts is if trying to remember and nonchalant) no, not really Egghead…I just thought it sounded like someone I might have heard of before,  that’s all…
Sonic: (thinks): To think all this time, Aunt Millie meant Dr. “Eggman,” Robotnik…just…

Eggman: Ah, I see, but given how it’s …rumored you seem to have at one point been from here…

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REF- From SAS- Unhidden, relevant text

Sonic: No? (Smirk) Well, you don’t get bored as easily as I do, but with literally NOTHING else we could really let you do, it might beat a “pet carrier,” and who knows? It might just help you change and become a real Eggman again! (Grins and then then stands up cocky)

Orbot: But.. wouldn’t one have already been built?

Sonic:…Well, not really. I think there’s a little memorial stone I saw someone put, but I was one of the only ones to even survive it. A friend of my dad’s was  another. Everyone else besides maybe a few others who were in the mines, well, they didn’t make it. I don’t want all those lives forgotten. (Pause) I guess we can head into town now and see where a good place for it might be.

Me: It can be QUITE the challenge sometimes keeping track of previous text to make sure there are no plot holes or gaps sometimes, though hopefully after having gone over it enough times I’ve caught everything. I remember a minor plot hole related to Chaos Emerald location in Unhidden it seems like I didn’t catch until maybe the fiftieth time skimming over it? I have a lot more sympathy for writers having to work quickly and think of how Peter Jackson had more time to develop the script of the Lord of the Rings films compared to the Hobbit too. Anyway as far as finding plot holes and gaps in order to keep things cohesive, this was a part I had to rework as  I HAD forgotten when looking over this part (which I made bold for myself because of it’s importance to keep track of) where Eggman talks about where Sonic is from and that he’d told Orbot, while near Eggman that he was one of the ones to survive it and so had to tweak the dialogue a bit to still make this work. After all, he didn’t tell Orbot he was from Christmas Island specifically, just that he’d survived it which could have meant nearby at South Island which wouldn’t be too much a surprise as he met Eggman there soon after. Usually I have a note to myself in the text about a previous text that’s relevant like the one I have above from Unhidden to help, but once a while I catch something new like I did here after having JUST gone over Unhidden again, So I added this dialogue to what I originally had as new when revisiting it…

Sonic: Hmph. You mean because I told Orbot I “survived” it? It’s ALSO rumored I’m from South Island which is nearby where you dropped that bomb and apparently got quite waves afterwards, and where I first started beating YOU!

Eggman: Yes, our first fateful meeting…though as you were “nearby,”

Me: So yeah, that’s one of the other reasons I like to over this story for a final pass before uploading even though it’s done in a manner of speaking, sometimes I catch stuff, though unfortunately not always grammar stuff or missing words, I consider plot holes to be the bigger deal though. I sometimes see where dialogue could be written better, or added or cut and at least make it more my own personal best.  Letting this “rest” and with time to go over it has only helped me. Don’t forget that SEGA! Make sure you give your games the time they need!

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STORY

Sonic: Hmph. You mean because I told Orbot I “survived” it? It’s ALSO rumored I’m from South Island which is nearby where you dropped that bomb and apparently got heavy waves afterwards, where I first started beating YOU!

Eggman: Yes, our first fateful meeting…though as you were “nearby,” "I’d wondered if perhaps you knew her…I believe one of the lights planned for this memorial is to be hers, another to succumb to radiation sickness…unlike, it’s also rumored, a certain hedgehog who seems impervious to such things…and who seems to have been “close enough” to such radiation…

As Eggman Says this, the same drone from before from the beach is seen hiding in the bushes and it says, “Intriguing. If Sonic really does posses such a quality, it points even more to how useful he could be,” before going back to Eggman and Sonic in focus.

Sonic: (grit teeth) Hmph. Whether I am or not is none of your business Eggman. Don’t you have a memorial to build?

Eggman: My business, hedgehog, will always be your destruction. You’ve merely delayed the inevitable.

Sonic: Yeah, good luck with that, especially now. 

Sonic now grins as he picks up the purple transformed Eggman and carries him back unwillingly back to construction site as Eggman says, “blasted hedgehog.”

As Sonic sets Eggman back down and goes back to outside the  barrier border he  puts up the barrier again….from a "wristwatch" that only communicates with Tails.

Sonic: Later Eggman! As much as I love hearing you rant again how you’re going to destroy me , it’s lunch time and I’ve got chili dogs with my name on it!

Sonic:( to Shadow)Hey Shadow! Before getting sidetracked again, there’s something I uh, want to ask you about, privately… (looks towards Eggman) Think you could meet Amy and I back at our place? Don’t worry, Tails is on surveillance duty, and he can get another guard to come too,  isn’t that right buddy?(to wristband/communicator)

Tails(From Sonic’s communicator): Roger that Sonic!

Sonic: See?

Amy: Alright Sonic, we'll do lunch a little earlier. And Shadow, you’re here so much, when was the last time you had a nice visit with friends?

Shadow:(semi- reluctantly sighs)…Very well. But only briefly.

Sonic: See ya there Faker! (Sonic grabs Amy’s bags with Amy in his arms to her delight) Come on Ames! I’ll carry you home!

Chapter 5- Family...

Chapter Text

TEXTBOX: Outside of Cove City…

Tails sees Sonic come out of the train tunnel through the mountains to his and Amy’s house carrying the delighted Amy, and he can’t help but smile at seeing them on the screen…unknown to Sonic. Tails is out of sight seeing him from nearby in the surveillance building now revamped and once used by Sonic’s Aunt Millie. Sonic as he runs by the building however, gives his own glance towards it with his own unknowingly reciprocal smile to Tails’, before quickly passing it by, but at a leisurely pace for him to take in the countryside. Also coming through the tunnel however, are 3 citizens of Cove City who arrive on the other side with a hover car when they stop and look around confused, as if looking for something, before parking it near the building and getting out. Out of the vehicle is a wolf, non-blue hedgehog, and bird, now looking at a map in their hand. Tails, spotting them, now comes out of the surveillance building out to greet them.

Tails: Hi there! Do you guys need help?

The Sonic fans spot Tails, and now having lost sight of Sonic, look around looking a bit lost.

They all soon spot Tails with a look of relief and the wolf mutters as they approach, “I bet he would know!”

Hedgehog Fan: Hey Tails! Yeah, isn’t Sonic’s house somewhere around here?

The wolf and bird look up at Tails as well, eagerly awaiting a reply to Tails…seemingly forgetful face…

Tails: Um…somewhere…but Sonic already comes to Cove City a lot, so why not visit him there?

Bird Fan: But it would be so, so, so cool to see where he lived!

Tails: But Sonic deserves his privacy too, don’t you think?

 Wolf Fan: We won’t be long. Everyone knows he lands his plane somewhere over here and his house is somewhere over here. Do you think you can you bring us there?

Tails grins mischievously a brief moment, before returning to a more deadpan expression.

Tails: Sorry, but I’m pretty busy, maybe see if you can find it on your own then?

Hedgehog Fan:Awww… Well, ok. Later Tails.

The wolf fan however frowns at him and speaks to the bird as they walk off to get back in their hover car.

Wolf Fan: Tcha…I’m sure he knows…

And so Tails sighs as he watches them leave, only to be surprised by another visitor, as Rouge now swoops down from above.

Tails: Rouge??

Rouge: Well, that was quite the trick you pulled, knowing they won’t be able to even see it and the surrounding area even if it’s right in front of them.

Tails: Er, you know about the invisibility barrier around his home?

Rouge: Honey, I make it my job to know.

Tails: You won’t say anything to Sonic will you? I kinda did it without asking…

Rouge: I’m a spy, of course I know how to keep secrets…

Tails: Right …thanks Rouge. It’s just, it seems like people want to see Sonic all the time, but I know how much he likes his time alone too….I figured since he already liked the barrier around his family graves, he’d like one around his home too….

Rouge: Just make sure to always keep me in that list of those who can see it…

Tails: Of course Rouge…

Rouge: Though you know…if anything he probably knows already…

Tails: (looks up in a bit of surprise)…

Rouge then leaves.

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REF…How Sonic and Tails wordlessly help each other…

From the official Sonic Channel story translated here https://browniehideout.wordpress.com/2021/12/11/sonic-channel-wallpaper-cover-story-super-sonic-dr-eggman-december-2021/

Sonic, already feeling excited, outstretches his limbs and slowly closes his eyes, letting himself fall as he descended to his and his friends’ planet.

……

“…You know, I think you’re relying on my help a little too much, don’t you?”

Tails gleefully complains as he catches the falling Sonic on the wing of the Tornado, a red biplane with jet boosters.

“We’re not the type of buds who go out of their way to ask for things we don’t have to say aloud, are we?”

“I had to clean up all the debris because you and Eggman were fighting in space! It’s a good thing I was able to modify the gravity cylinders to make a Debris Be-Gone…”

Enjoying their idle conversation, the Tornado continued to drop in altitude.

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STORY

TEXTBOX: Christmas Island Outside Sonic and Amy’s House, Sonic’s childhood home…without uninvited guests

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Visual REF- Sonic’s childhood home, AKA Sonic and Amy’s House

The  house is based  off of this, without such large stilts

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/50435/photos/119594316?source_impression_id=p3_1615688476_NFrB0S5aeqSf7tck

Floorplan

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/069u4yak38q

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STORY

Amy sets down a plate of chili dogs in front of Sonic at a fold up table set up outside the house, and Shadow is sitting at at the end of it with his head resting on his hand as Sonic sitting next to him eyes the plate eagerly.

Sonic: Wow! Thanks Ames! You’re the best!

Amy: Don’t mention it! Shadow, you sure you didn’t want anything? I was going in to grab myself a drink anyway.

Shadow: Thank you Amy, but I’ll be fine. 

Amy: And Shadow….how’s it going with you and Rouge? I haven’t see her around… 

Shadow:… Fine. She has her own separate mission right now with Omega, but what I’m here for now is because apparently Sonic has something he needed to ask me about privately. Well?

Sonic is stuffing his face with chili dogs and pauses a moment to glance at Shadow, who doesn’t seem exactly thrilled to be pulled away from guard duty, and then finishes swallowing his bite.

Sonic: Yeah… well, you may not know anyway, but I guess I kinda feel I owe it to my family to find out, even if… uh…

Shadow: If what? (Slightly annoyed)

Sonic: *ahem* Sooooooo, Shadow, you wouldn’t happen to know where your apparent hedgehog DNA came from, would you?

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REF- Relevant excerpt from Unhidden, Chapter 63 and Shadow being part hedgehog.

Sonic: You can actually get hungry?

Shadow:Occasionally…and perhaps more often than the Black Arms did….Hmm…

Tails: That’s right! The Black Arms larvae needed to eat,  but it did seem like they didn’t so much after they were grown…or at least not obviously with some without any obvious mouths.  Not to mention I wonder how easily they could have found food traveling in space on the Black Comet.

Persis: And so…a “fake” Black Arms in a way?

Amy: Shadow? Are you saying you  really are part hedgehog then?

Sonic: Ha! So not a completely a “fake” hedgehog after all…?!

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REF- Shadow being part hedgehog

Though I know you have this line from the Sonic X Shadow Generations: Dark Beginnings animation…….

Shadow: Maria! I'm fine. It's just... [Shadow looks away from Maria, until he looks back at the container holding the Death Leech. Shadow stares at his reflection.] The professor created me using alien DNA. The Black Arms, he called them. The same DNA as this... larva. This ugly, heartless creature. I may look like a hedgehog, but I'm really no different than this thing.

[Suddenly, Maria hugs Shadow.]

Maria: That's not true! You have a big heart. It may be difficult for you to express it, but I know that deep down you really do care. [Maria places her hand on Shadow's chest. Shadow looks down at Maria's hand, until looking back up at Maria.] About me. About everyone! [Abe stares through the room's window, watching as Maria comforts Shadow. Abe begins to get frustrated. Maria grabs Shadow's hand and the hedgehog looks at her.] What you do is what defines you. I know you're having a hard time finding answers, but I'm certain you will one day.

https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Finding_the_Way/Transcript

Shadow is called a hedgehog and looks quite a bit like one for SOME reason, and despite what Shadow may think or have been told, Shadow’s creator says something different… Though he is said to created on ARK, it's not like he's a robot, he's biological, and seems to largely be a hedgehog which he's called, not Black Arms, SO....Actually Maekawa san, creator of Shadow himself, https://browniehideout.wordpress.com/2022/07/11/creators-interview-006-maekawa-shirou/

And wrote in an  Sonic Adventure 2 Epilogue 

 translated by Windii that says 

https://browniehideout.wordpress.com/tag/sonic-adventure-2-perfect-guide/

“The operation was completed with the sealing of the “ultimate life form prototype” found in the deepest part of the colony.

However, there was only one miscalculation in this operation: when this operation was carried out, Pr. Gerald had already almost completed the ultimate life form “Shadow” using another base body. “

And then from the Shadow the Hedgehog game…

Cutscene #5

[Flashback, onboard the Space Colony ARK. Gerald Robotnik and Black Doom stand near a tube with Shadow inside it]

Black Doom: [Voice-over] The professor was in development of the ultimate life force but he needed my help. So we made a deal... I helped him and he promised to deliver me the SEVEN Chaos Emeralds. That's how you were created, Shadow. You would help us do both!

https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Shadow_the_Hedgehog_(game)/Script_(Last_Story)

So…what I surmise combining those two sources, and based on the fact his previous creation the Biolizard still looked like the animal it was based  on , a lizard for the Biolizard,

(ADDED to note ) I wrote this note before Sonic X Shadow Generations came out, and Gerald Robotnik's Journal https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Gerald_Robotnik%27s_Journal and forgot to add this to support him using a base body as well as done explicitly for the Biolizard

Except From Entry #530

Research into "Project: Shadow" is in full swing. The first step has been learning how to siphon ■■■ Emerald energy and apply it to living tissue. To that end, I've developed the "Chaos Drives." Direct application seems too harsh. Any organism that could directly interface with an emerald would be fearsome indeed!

The initial tests were promising, so we're now moving on to the next stage in trials. I will be using salamanders for their regenerative abilities and manageable size. We will begin applying Chaos Drives to the test subject and see how its vitals respond.

(END EXCERPT)

(END ADDED TO NOTE)

…. I’m speculating  this other base body for Shadow was a hedgehog that he almost completed and was in development for but needed help from the Black Arms to finish with Black Arms DNA….

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STORY

Shadow:Just an observation. I don’t know. Could have Gerald perhaps….?-

Rouge: Hmph. Like it even ultimately matters. Whatever your body Shadow, Gerald made sure you had a soul like Maria’s, didn’t he?

Shadow stares at Rouge a moment, recalling how her words echoed what she’d told him before during the Emerl incident…. without much of an immediate response as he was then. Sonic however grins in agreement, and the rest smile with Shadow getting stared at as if to anticipate a response…

Shadow:….Hm. Let’s just eat.

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STORY

Shadow now lifts his head from his hand, alert and quizzical.

Shadow:(narrows eyes with a slight frown and suspicious look) Noooo…why?

Amy now comes to sit next to Sonic and listen…

Sonic: Well,  it’s not something brought up a lot, but 50 some years ago, a bunch of hedgehogs went missing.

Shadow: Missing?

Shadow now has his arm now completely moved from being an annoyed support for his head to on the table and looks at him with focus.

Sonic: Yeah. My dad’s parents,Sally and Maurice, actually each had their parents disappear, and so uh…we didn’t know if you might know something.

Shadow:Hmm…(thoughtful hand to chin) Interesting, this is the first I’ve heard of it.

Sonic: Really?

Shadow: Yes. Though I could see why you’d ask. The timing is… suspiciously close to my own creation…

Amy: I’d say!

Sonic: So I guess neither you or Rouge have come across anything GUN mighta known about it?

Shadow: I do missions, not snooping. That’s more Rouge’s area, and GUN hasn’t done anything recently to warrant it.

Sonic: Ah…( a bit deflated) 

Shadow: Still…tell me, what is known about their disappearances?

Sonic: (shrugs shoulders) I can’t say I know much more than you do really. It’s not exactly something you hear a lot about except from people who were more directly affected. Anytime I’ve asked anyone who lived back then, all I hear is “it must have been the Black Arms”…and I guess most people just leave it at that…

Shadow: That’s ludicrous! The Black Arms only thought of consumption.

Sonic: Heh. Yeah, kinda what I thought too.

Amy: Still…I wonder where those poor hedgehogs could have gone?

Shadow: *(softened and pensive expression)…I don’t know Amy…  But If…they were somehow linked to my creation, I have no way of knowing now. *sigh* Research and parts of Dr. Gerald Robotnik’s Diary have since gone “missing” or destroyed.

Sonic and Shadow are both silent a moment, the weight of the possible implications demanding pause, and then look at each other a moment inquisitively …taking in what this could possibly mean…

Sonic: Well, kinda figured as much,(hand behind head) but I guess that also means you really could still be, well…(looking away and feeling awkward)

Shadow: Hmph. (Slowly appearing Grinch-like smile) Your great-grandfather? ( Shadow has his arms crossed and looks a bit amused, almost laughing)

Sonic:. Well, yeah!

Shadow: I suppose it’s certainly possible, but either way Sonic, I’d still have superiority over you, your elder or not, by simply being the ultimate lifeform and outliving you and your child,(smug, but then a bit pensive) but still… 

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REF-Shadow’s ultimate life form comment

(“Ultimate life form comment said in Sonic Adventure 2)

From: 

https://board.sonicstadium.org/topic/2698-sonic-the-real-ultimate-life-form/

Well for those who don't know, at the end of Sonic Adventure 2/Battle during the final boss fight with Super Sonic and Super Shadow, before you finish off the biolizard make sure you are playing as Super Sonic then wait until your time is at about I believe 3:55 and Shadow should say "Sonic, I think I've discovered what the Ultimate Life Form is, it might be you!" Or you could just watch to see for yourself. 

So, let's say Sonic is the real Ultimate Life Form, however, even though Shadow speculates that Sonic may be the real Ultimate Life Form in this boss fight, we should also keep in mind that Shadow was originally supposed to die at the end of this game. When Shadow returns to life in Sonic Heroes, he claims once again that he is the Ultimate Life Form and completely forgets about his speculation of Sonic, and then, some games after Heroes claim Shadow to be even stronger than Sonic. So if Shadow were to remain dead at the end of SA2/B and not return, do you think that Sonic would be considered the Ultimate Life Form? And by the way, I don't mean to offend any Shadow fans by my idea if he were to remain dead, I'm a Shadow fan myself, however this idea has been on my mind for quite some time now and I just wanted to see what other Sonic fans think of this idea.

Sonic's untouchable spirit makes him the real Ultimate Life Form in my eyes. However, if Sonic is the real Ultimate Life Form, then what does that make Shadow, the hedgehog who today claims to be the Ultimate Life Form but has forgotten the speculation he made quite some time ago of possibly, the real Ultimate Life Form?

From Comments

Well Shadow said Sonic may be the Ultimate Life Form during the Super Sonic and Super Shadow boss fight, and if you listen to what Shadow has to say while your playing as Sonic you'll see that Shadow was having a tough time maintaining his Super form, while on the other hand, Sonic was doing just fine, for example, during the fight you may hear Shadow say, "Sonic, I can't keep this up much longer, hurry!" In the end it was probably Shadow's unstability of the power of chaos that made his body give out and cause him to fall to Earth and apparantly die. Perhaps the term "Ultimate Life Form" refers to one who is able to control the power of chaos without any side-affects. The chaos emeralds are enriched by one's heart (referring to Tikal's statement, "Chaos is power, power is enriched by the heart) and Sonic has a heart of gold, so could this be what the term, "Ultimate Life Form" means?

Needless to say, Robotnik's dying speech in Shadow the Hedgehog around the 9 minute mark during your battle with Devil Doom exclaims that Shadow is indeed the Ultimate Lifeform, a song to the same tune in order bolster emotions and confidence (I mean after all, he is your last hope out there.)

Needless to say, Robotnik's dying speech in Shadow the Hedgehog around the 9 minute mark during your battle with Devil Doom exclaims that Shadow is indeed the Ultimate Lifeform, a song to the same tune in order bolster emotions and confidence (I mean after all, he is your last hope out there.)

8:56 Shadow, can you hear me? This might be the last chance I have to speak to you so… What I said about having created you… It was all a lie… Everyone thought you died… During that horrible incident… But I rescued you… with one of my robots. You lost your memory that’s all. You really ARE the Ultimate Lifeform my grandfather created!

Well that is true what Eggman said but also keep in mind that when Eggman told Shadow "You are the Ultimate Life Form" during the fight against Devil Doom, he may have simply been referring to the fact that he is not an android he created but the original Shadow known to be the "Ultimate Life Form". 

Now, everyone in the Sonic Universe has referred to Shadow as the Ultimate Life Form but what if at one point (referring to the final boss fight in SA2/B ) deep down inside, Shadow has realised that Sonic has surpassed him and that Sonic is the real Ultimate Life Form, but Shadow is the only person to realize this, even though Shadow shouted to Sonic that he may be the Ultimate Life Form, there is no context to assume that Sonic heard him or if this was just a thought from Shadow's conscience.

So basically what I was trying to say is that Eggman and all the other characters may assume Shadow to be the Ultimate Life Form due to Shadow's claim and Gerald's journal, however they are not aware of the events that took place between Sonic and Shadow during the fight against the Biolizard.

***

it's part of Sonic's nature to always move forward and never stop fighting; he's got an unbreakable will and the strength to back it up (and considering how the emeralds work, it's quite possible the former causes the latter).

*****

have one possible answer. Some speculate that when Gerald was studying the ruins of the Echidna civilization he came across either the mural depicting the fight of Super Sonic and Perfect Chaos or the fight between Super Sonic and Eggman in the Doomsday Zone. And that after witnessing either image he decided to design Shadow in the same form as Super Sonic.

If the above is true then it might be that Gerald had shown Shadow the creature[super Sonic] his design is based off of before GUN raided the Ark. And thus it is during the battle between Super Sonic and the Bio-lizard, Shadow recognizes Super Sonic as the creature his own build is based off of and decides to tell Sonic the truth about who is the true Ultimate Life Form. After that battle Shadow loses his memory and thus begins referring to himself as the Ultimate Life Form once again.

As for who that ultimate Life Form truly is, I believe it is Super Sonic (not the regular Sonic).

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STORY

Sonic: That right, rocket shoes? Still what?! (Smirk)

Shadow:  If I really was your great-grandfather, maybe… I wouldn’t mind it too much….

Sonic looks at Shadow a moment in surprise, maybe a bit touched, as well as Amy.

Sonic: What, really?

Shadow: Yes,  even as irritating and reckless as you are. Still, what’s it ultimately matter now? Our current relations as they are now , we have because we willed to make them, regardless of our relations by blood or not… 

Amy: Awwww….

Sonic: ( a bit pleasantly surprised) Huh… Wow, thanks Shadow…. You know, you’re a lot deeper than people sometimes give you credit for.

Shadow: Let them think what they want. (dismissive)

A mosquito now buzzes by Shadow’s head to his annoyance.

Shadow: Still Sonic, even as the ultimate lifeform, maybe….

Shadows eyes become pensive and intense as he looks down in a melancholy fashion, and he now SWATS the mosquito dead onto the table that’d just been buzzing by his head

Shadow:.. maybe it would’ve been better if I’d been able to be “just a hedgehog” like you, relative or not, and never had Black Arms DNA in the first place, granting me this…this “superiority”!! (Rising Anger with grit teeth almost snarl)

Sonic: Uh, Shadow??

Shadow:  This “superiority” never even ended up helping Maria, and  Sonic (Intense gaze) You know, like me, what it’s like to see your loved ones DIE right in front of you,  but, BUT! You got to see them again, even if briefly, in your near death experience, didn’t you?! 

Sonic: (melancholy smile) Yeah, I did…

Shadow: And you know, that one day when…(momentary pause) you die too, you will be reunited with them again!

Shadow furrows his brow and he almost seems slightly angry with teeth grit, and Amy and Sonic give a bit of a concerned look now towards each other briefly before looking back to Shadow.

Shadow: Ever since I found out how you saw your family at your near death, I haven’t been able stop thinking about Maria being just like them!..waiting on the other side! How—How Sonic,(eyes begin to furrow in frustration)  am I supposed to meet her again…when I’m stuck being immortal?! 

Shadow’s eyes close as his hand grabs his forehead in frustration and grief, maybe almost tears, in a way much more vulnerable than normal.

Sonic looks at Shadow in a bit of surprise and sorrow at his rather uncharacteristic display of emotion, not sure what to say.

Amy: Oh Shadow…

Shadow now stands in anger stands and to gesture dramatically.

Shadow: (angrily)…stuck here, stuck  while everyone around me eventually dies!!

As Shadow stands in anger and lets the words and expression hang in the air,  Sonic looks away slightly with a bit of a furrowed brow, trying to think of what to say, and there is a moment of silence, as Amy brings a troubled fist pensively to her mouth.

Sonic: Shadow…I guess…I really don’t know what to say….

Shadow just slowly nods his head from side to side, and now sits down more composed again with his arms crossed.

Shadow: There’s nothing to say Sonic. I just sometimes wish, I could be the ultimate lifeform without being immortal…that’s all. Amy, if you’re still offering, I’ll take a straight black coffee now…please. 

Amy: Of course Shadow…anything you like.

Amy now hurries into the house and Shadow is now leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed and eyes mostly closed, and Sonic looks troubled and pensive with his hand on his chin, looking pensively towards Shadow.

Amy now brings out Shadow’s coffee, when Sonic attempts at some words.

Sonic:…Well, there’s gotta be something you can look forward to…I dunno, well, since you don’t seem to mind if we’re possibly related anyway, how would you feel about being say, well, “Grandpa Shadow?” (small and a bit playful, mischievous yet kind smile) I mean, you’re at least old enough, right? 

Amy: (hands clasped) Oh that’s a great idea Sonic!

Sonic: Of course! (Smug)

Amy:Sonic…( mild chiding)

Shadow: Grandfather Shadow…? (Eyes now open and pondering)

Sonic: Well, yeah Shads, it’s not like well,  I have any blood family left still alive from either my mom or dad’s side to be a grandparent after all anymore,…maybe, and even though luckily Amy still has her family, (looks to Amy a moment)  maybe it wouldn’t hurt to have an extra grandparent around for the kiddo. Heck, who knows, you might uh,  actually be my great grandpa anyway for that matter, which is..is still pretty weird to think about if that were true…( a bit of unsure look) But if you think you’re up for it….whaddaya say about being… ”the ultimate grandfather?”( grin)

Amy: Mm-hmm! You have such a great heart Shadow, even if you can be a little gruff sometimes, I’m sure you’d do great!

Shadow:…Hmm…(small smile and pause) Hmph. Alright then!  Sonic, Amy, I accept your challenge as.. “ the ultimate grandfather!”….though… as part of my care and protection, I’m assuming you’ll have NO OBJECTIONS about me teaching my grandchild  how to use a gun to defend themselves at an early age then?

Amy and Sonic look nervously at each other a moment.

Sonic: Uh…(sweat drop)hey, one thing at a time, ok Shadow? The kid’s not even born yet, and may not even need that anyway!

Amy: Well, we’ll see …Sonic, do you think then that  there is any way our baby would have your abilities too?

Sonic: Er, to be honest, not likely, unless there’s some weird exception I don’t know about. It seems like my abilities skip several generations for whatever reason…but hey! Maybe our kiddo will have your abilities and you’re pretty strong too Ames! And even if not, the kid’s still got us!

Amy: (Smiles and puts fist to mouth for a small laugh)Yes they do!…,And if ANYONE tried to hurt our darling child, (flames appear around here)I ‘d show them just how good with a hammer I am  I am good with a hammer at least. *ahem* (calms down) Maybe that wouldn’t be a bad weapon choice one day for our little one to learn either Shadow! We really just still don’t know what he or she’ll be able or want to even do yet, but when they’re older I guess I don’t have a problem with you giving firearm training sessions Shadow, provided you follow strict safety guidelines! (Wagging finger)

Shadow: Of course Amy, (head nod) you have my word. It’s as you said, with my grandson’s abilities currently unknown, I can at least ensure that one way or another, they’ll be able to defend themselves…

Amy: Would that be ok Sonic?

Sonic: Yeah, sure I guess … I’ve never really had to think about it to be honest, I can fight just fine without one, but them?…*sigh* yeah, I could see someone trying to use our kid as a way to get to me, but even if they end up using a gun, at least it’s not like you always have to shoot to kill anyway right?

Shadow frowns slightly.

Sonic: Well, look, you know what?  Ha ha. I can’t believe I’m saying this but, slow down! We’ve got time ’till we really need to think about all that anyway, so ’til then, the kid’s got us to protect ’em!

(Author note: A LOTR parody popped into my head here even if not used, “they’ll have my gun, my hammer etc…)

Shadow and Amy nod in agreement.

Shadow:Hmph. Agreed.

Amy: That’s right! 

(Author note: I felt unsure at first at the following part, but I ended up liking how it plays off of Sonic Heroes game team names)

Sonic: We could be… Team Baby Sonic!

Shadow: Since when did you get to name the team?! What if Amy would prefer something cooler, like… Team Baby Dark…? Hm…Defense and Destroyers?!

Amy: Or how about no team name at all! (Looks with hands on hips to both Shadow and Sonic, and then grabs Shadow’s hands) You’re a part of our family now Shadow; we don’t have to have a team name too…. (Looks to Sonic)Sonic! 

Sonic puts his hand behind his head and looks off in the other direction a moment, and Shadow clears his throat into his fist.

Sonic: Alright Ames…I guess…

Shadow: As you wish.

Amy: Besides, (hands clasped with eyes looking dreamy)I think Team Baby Rose would just be absolutely adorable!

Sonic And Shadow both give their version of “What?!” look.

Amy: Just joking you two, but not about the family part Shadow.

Sonic:  But Family or not,  don’t think this means I’m calling you great grandfather or anything , that’s just a bit too weird for me… but yeah! Same goes for me! Welcome aboard! 

Sonic hold his hand out for a fist bump grinning at Shadow.

Sonic: Come on “grandpa Shadow!” 

Shadow: …Fine.

And Shadow returns the fist bump.

Shadow: Hmph…I can accept that…faker…

Shadow then looks at both at Amy and Sonic.

Shadow: …Thank you. Both of you. 

Amy: ..and I’m sure we can talk to Jack Little and make it official and everything! If anything happened to Sonic or I, besides my parents, you would then be one of the people who could look after our child Shadow as an official legal guardian, depending on who was the most available too of course. Not that I want anything to happen!

Sonic grins and Shadow is a bit shocked and touched.

Shadow: An official legal guardian? Are you…are you sure?

Amy: Mm-hmm! I know you would try your best and do everything you could, and you could always get help if you needed it. I’m…frankly a little worried my parents might be a bit too busy with all the traveling they do to be…um…really there. Once I got older, I really didn’t see them as much because of that.  I had to do a lot of things on my own, though I guess I was pretty independent when I was young anyway.Please don’t misunderstand, I’m grateful they trusted me enough to take care of myself, and it’s not that I never thought they didn’t love me, it’s just that…well…if our little one, say went off on their own, like I did when I went to go find Sonic by Little Planet, I know you’d also better be able to make sure nothing would happen too.

Sonic: Hmph. Well, there you have it Shads!

Shadows eyes soften and then looks at Amy’s belly and now kneels down and hovers his hand over it. 

Shadow: Amy… May I?

Amy: Yes, of course Shadow!

Shadow now gently places his hand on Amy’s stomach.

Shadow:….I look forward to meeting you, hmph (smile) “little faker”. It’s your…It’s your “grandpa,” Shadow...I’ll be helping to take care of you.. from now on… 

Amy: Welcome to the family!

Amy now hugs Shadow a long time, her excitement infectious and causing a small smile from him at the welcome as Sonic just takes it in a moment.

Sonic: Well, speaking of family, we should have Tails over and let him know!

TEXTBOX: A Little Later

Sonic and Tails are enjoying chili dogs and soda drinks outside on the outdoor table, while Amy is off in the distance gathering flowers and waving to them as they eat. Shadow isn’t there however and now gone back to guard duty.

Tails: Aww! I’m really happy for “grandpa Shadow!”

Sonic: Yeah, and fortunately we were able to tell him without having to worry about uninvited fans.

Tails: (sweat) Y-yeah?

Sonic: You know Tails, funnily enough, though I almost can’t get away from people in town, they just leave me alone out here. I mean it’s nice and everything, it just seems kinda odd.

Tails: It-it does?

Sonic: Yeah…(knowing smirk)…but I’m grateful I can get some privacy here, so thanks pal.

Tails: You know??

Sonic: Well, who else would or could have done something to make this place private? Why do you think the Tornado isn’t in camouflage colors anymore?And it just goes to show with you, I don’t have to go out of my way to ask for things out loud when it’s not necessary right?

Tails shakes his head.

Tails: Sonic…well, don’t rely on it all the time! You can ask too!

Sonic: Sure, but…you did this without asking me right? But you know what?

Tails: What?

Sonic: It’s fine because you didn’t have to! 

Tails: Well, OK…

Sonic: (raises soda) Here’s to Tails, who made sure I could eat out here in peace.

Tails: (nods) Aww, thanks Sonic!

Sonic: Eh, well, anyway I’m glad to get some more one on one time with you for a bit compared to when I’m in town before the rehearsal tonight.

Tails: Yeah…me too…*whew*

Sonic:….And especially before tomorrow and Amy gets her fancy public wedding but…I think we can manage a big crowd here for one day, and then no more pants after that!

Tails: Ha ha!

Chapter 6- Up to something…

Chapter Text

TEXTBOX: Still August 2, The  day of the Wedding Rehearsal, Cove City Luxe Hotel

Rouge is busy applying lipstick in front of an elegant vanity mirror drawers in a rather luxurious hotel room with a  satin sheeted bed in the background and a balcony view from the top floor of Cove City, a mixture of European and modern style buildings.  Hanging up nearby the vanity is Rouge’s red maid of honor dress, complete with ruffles coming from the waist, per Amy’s wishes, but a shorter length under the top layer following Rouge’s wishes.  For the rehearsal tonight however, Rouge sports a femme fatale V neck sleeveless short black dress with long gloves in line more with her own tastes.

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Visual REF-Cove City Luxe Hotel Room

Though there is an official artwork of Rouge in a Hotel   https://sonic.sega.jp/SonicChannel/special/sidestory/sonicpict/20230428_008529/

  on Mission Street  https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Mission_Street#Last_Mission. And  seen here https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_Channel/Gallery?file=Sonic_PICT_May_2023.jpgand

But considering the different location means a different hotel room! 

Vanity (not surrounding walls https://www.deviantart.com/stash/0ilxc7yrtl5

Hotel Room Furnishing inspiration https://www.deviantart.com/stash/01tczd6q51ey

REF- Christmas Island Weather

Using the Australian Christmas Island’s https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Island tropical climate as a general guideline for weather, you have this kind of temperature and so warm weather clothes for August

https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/@2078127/historic?month=8&year=2025

Visual REF- Rouge’s dresses

And so short sleeved dresses….and using Sonic X ep. 65 as a beginning basis for Amy’s taste in more formal dresses as seen here…

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/01tvunrzb5li

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/02cz982akoxq

To help with a possibility for what Amy might choose for a maid of honor dress for Rouge…with maybe input from Rouge too…but 

Rouge’s maid of honor dress  (but bright red and definitely quality)

This…. https://poshmark.com/listing/SHEIN-Belle-Plus-Ruffle-Trim-Wrap-Chiffon-Bridesmaid-Dress-644c83f9f51a0f241b9a4b8e?utm_source=pin_unpaid&epik=dj0yJnU9LWJSa3kwV3FvSEJ6NW0zaFZKTEU1Q09rQTdYVEctYlMmcD0wJm49clhPaHBRRzBSUXk2aEhhYkVlek9KQSZ0PUFBQUFBR2pZTUtr

Or should something happen with that link, here https://www.deviantart.com/stash/0r5nfpcd08u

So like Amy’s sonic X dress, Rouge’s maid of honor dress in part reaches the floor and has ruffles, as well as splits off into “petals” for the skirt part at the waist, reflecting her tastes there, but also a shorter length under the ruffle “petal” skirt part reflecting Rouge’s tastes.

Rouge’s Rehearsal dress

This… https://www.deviantart.com/stash/01hk9x3pm9yh  but as short is the dress in this sonic Channel artwork https://sonic.sega.jp/SonicChannel/upload_images/wallpaper_123_rouge_09_pc.png 

Her being a femme fatale archetype, it came from a site with femme fatale styles https://thedapperdahlia.com/2022/10/18/femme-fatale-style/

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STORY

Rouge: (after applying lipstick): Well, who would’ve thought I would’ve been Amy’s maid of honor? But I’m sure it doesn’t hurt when you help rescue her husband from Dr. Eggman’s Death Egg. Not only that, she can be sure for her big day that I can make her look absolutely stunning! Sonic won’t know what hit him once I get done with her! 

Rouge can’t help but don a mischievous smile at the thought,  before now standing up and gazing at herself in her rehearsal dress outfit.

Rouge:….Hmm…I suppose this outfit will be fine just for the rehearsal tonight, and It’ll be nice to see Shadow dressed up for once too…. I’m sure Mr. Handsome will simply look charming in a suit.

Rouge now imagines Shadow in a suit with a pleased smile on her face.

Rouge: I can’t believe he even agreed to wear one! Though, I suppose since even Sonic is, he wouldn’t want to be “outdone,” or have even Amy after him for once too!  (Softly shakes head) He may like to think he’s so much more mature than Sonic, but honestly sometimes he’s not any better! And then  there’s what Amy said happened.

TEXTBOX: FLASHBACK from Amy’s memories

Amy is out at Cove City Square, alone this time, as she now goes up to Shadow standing guard.

Amy: Hey Shadow! Do you think you can get away just a bit?

Shadow looks at her quizzically a moment.

Shadow: If I have to, someone can temporarily stand guard in in my place. 

Amy: Oh good! (Hands clasped) Alright! I need you to come with me ASAP! It’s very important!

Shadow: Understood. I’ll get someone…

A Short While Later…

Shadow is now walking alongside Amy past stores near Cove City Square.

Shadow: What is it Amy?

Amy: I’ll show you!

Amy now excitedly grabs his hand as he is now pulled along to the suit store Sonic was brought to before.

 Amy: Here Shadow, I need you to get a suit for the wedding!”

Shadow: A suit?…Is that necessary? 

Amy: Of course it’s necessary! If Sonic can wear a suit, so can you! 

Shadow: He is??

Amy: Yes, and if you want to be “the ultimate best Man” then you will!”

Shadow: I see. Challenge accepted! Consider it done.

Shadow now enters the shop with determination.

(End Amy’s Flashback)

Rouge: (short laugh) Hmm…and he seems to be taking being best man very seriously, well,  like he does everything..

Rouges now looks a moment at photo of her Shadow and Omega for Team Dark by the bed and then a clock on the wall. 

Rouge: I better head out or I’ll be late!

Then suddenly she hears a beep from a wrist communicator under her glove.

Rouge: What in the world?! G.U.N. knows I asked off for today! What could possibly be so important to contact me now??

Text Box: Christmas Island …only slightly earlier

 Sonic, Amy and Shadow are outside Amy and Sonic’s house, with shadow seemingly having just arrived, as Amy looks at a wristwatch under her glove. 

Near the house is the hangar nearby with the Tornado parked outside of it. Outside the hangar are three round tables with tablecloths with flower centerpieces on the grassy ground. There are also  Another longer and rectangular table ready for food  and cutlery.

Amy: You made it in plenty of time Shadow, (smile) it’s getting about time to get ready for the rehearsal, and everything else is ready! Will Rouge be here in time?

Shadow: Rouge wouldn’t miss this Amy. She’s been…very enthusiastic about it.

Amy: That’s so great to hear! What about you two? Shouldn’t you two be getting ready too?? (Slight frown and hands on hips and then smile) I can’t wait to see both of you in your suits for tonight! You’ll look so dashing!

Sonic and Shadow look at each other a moment and neither look thrilled.

Shadow: So Rouge has mentioned…often…if that’s what’s required, I don’t mind for a short period of time…

Sonic: (Mutters) Yeah, fine except when you have to actually move around in them… (mutters)
(Louder) Well, if I have to suffer in a stiff suit faker, it’s only fair you get to too right? 

Shadow frowns.

Shadow: Don’t tell me that was your part of your plan all along in me being best man?!

Sonic: Ha! That’s just the added bonus! But hey! Come on! It’s not like that’s only reason…Don’t tell me you’re that thick?

Shadow:  (eyes narrow) What was that Sonic?

Sonic: (pauses a moment, serious, then grins and smiles) Hmph.  Well, What can I say Shadow? You should know by now I didn’t make you my best man just because I thought it’d be fun to see you irritated in a suit! I mean, that’s part of it but, well… I wanted you a part of it this time…

 Shadow calms down to a pensive look.

Shadow: Is that so?

Sonic: Well, I mean…. aw man…you’re not gonna make me have to get all mushy now are ya??…but yeah,  I guess now with this more public, “fancy wedding” for everyone, despite the suit with pants, I’ll admit it…
I like that this go round I get to have more of everyone that’s been important part of my life, even you! Tails is my best bud, little bro’ really, and he already got to be my best man in Japan , but this time you do!

Shadow: I suppose I have.

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Author Note: Sonic’s comment on not getting mushy a bit of a reference to what he said to Cosmo’s spirit in Sonic X along those lines in the dub version

From So Long Sonic/Transcript

Left Side Japanese/ Right Side English

https://sonic-x.fandom.com/wiki/So_Long_Sonic/Transcript

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STORY

Sonic: Sure! Ugh… What? Do I really gotta spell out more for you? 

Shadow: (arms crossed smiling and also enjoying Sonic being uncomfortable being mushy) Why don’t you Sonic? 

Sonic: …You know Shadow, if I didn’t know any better, I could almost swear you’re enjoying my attempt to  say all this…. this “mushy stuff” …even though  I’m not one much for saying that kinda thing if I don’t have to…

Shadow: So what if I am Sonic?

Sonic: Hmph. So, Schadenfreude is it? But alright, despite that, at least I can always count on you to  be honest! Alright then! So here goes Shadow! You’re someone I know I can count on, and not just for a decent race…(smug grin)

Shadow: That’s my line.

Sonic: Heh. Figures, but also for well, giving a damn ! I know can count on you, even if you still don’t think so…

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REF- Sonic’s occasional use of d***

From Sonic X ep. 69 "Please, Marmolim!" ("The Planet of Misfortune")

Left Japanese/ Right English Dub

(Some dialogue skipped)

https://sonic-x.fandom.com/wiki/The_Planet_of_Misfortune/Transcript

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STORY

(Pause)

Shadow looks up with a mildly surprised look on his face.

Sonic: I know for example, you did all you could to keep all that from happening in Persis’ world after all, and hey! Even Amy thinks so on that! Isn’t that right Ames?

Amy: Mm-hmm! Sonic’s just can be really stubborn sometimes about accepting help! (Arms crossed with accusing look)

Sonic: (uneasy smile)Whoah, hey now! Not all the time!

Shadow: (irritated )No, just at times when it’s been your own life on the line…(wary frown and exasperated sigh)

Sonic: Er, yeah, well anyway….,  moving on, *ahem* so, basically Shadow, thanks for agreeing to be my best man. I know you’ve got my back , so, there’s that, but with you wearing one of these suits too, you can’t say anything now about me in a suit now either! 

Shadow: Oh? Well  I not only have your back Sonic, as I always will…

Sonic grins and Shadow smiles.

Shadow: …I also know how to not complain like you about something merely inconvenient… ( small smug smile) 

Amy smiles knowingly as well.

Sonic: (small frown) ….W-What? Hey, not all the time or anything, but fine! You’ve made your point, you can quit with the looks! I get it ! I just don’t get what’s the purpose of suits with pants, that’s all! I mean, who comes up with clothing you can’t move around in quickly on purpose?? ….Do I really gotta wear the whole suit, pants and all to this thing Ames? It’s not like I have to practice wearing pants before tomorrow do I ?

Amy: It’s not about that Sonic! It’s about looking nice! You too Shadow! Rouge told me she was very excited to see you in a suit! Now, first we’re going to have a nice dinner out here catered by the fine restaurant Cove City Cafe, and then go to the hangar to go over everything for the wedding and….(smile)

Shadow and Amy now look at Sonic, who they both notice is now looking away from them toward the decorated nearby airplane hangar at Amy’s mention of it, seemingly lost in thought…

Amy: Sonic? Sooooonic?

Sonic: Hm? What is it Ames?

Amy: Sonic, I think…I think it was a really neat idea to have the wedding in the hangar, but are you really still ok with it?

Sonic: Sure I am! Same as the last time you asked! I mean, life goes on right? It’s time to make some new memories…Good ones! I think they would have liked that too.

Shadow: New memories indeed, and no longer dwelling on the past….(partially to himself)

Amy: Oh Sonic! Wonderful! It really is such a great idea! Now instead when you go the hangar, you can think about our wedding and something beautiful besides our dance, and not just all the family you lost there…

Shadow:… and… I will do all within my power to ensure those memories are good for your day Sonic. G.U.N is going to provide extra security to ensure any wedding crashers will pay ..

Sonic: Er… 

Shadow:…time in jail.

Sonic: Uh…well, better than what I thought you’d say…

Shadow now gets a beep from the communicator under his glove.

Shadow: Commander?

[The panels now do a three way split between Rouge, Shadow and G.U.N. Commander Abraham Tower]

 Commander: I hate to interrupt, but the matter is urgent. 

Rouge: It had better be Commander, you do realize the rehearsal dinner is tonight right?

Commander: I do.  However, A highly energetic anomaly has been discovered on Christmas Island twice now without us being able to gather much intel on it before it vanishes.  Given the readings, it could be alien in nature, maybe unfriendly…Shadow, have you seen any signs of anything strange yet in your time there?

Shadow: No, though I’ve mostly kept by the doctor.

Commander: Given how G.U.N. is also helping to provide security, we’ll also continue to keep on hight alert. Rouge, go ahead and head over there. I can send Omega too, though I realize he can be a bit.. eager to fight. Depending on what this thing is though,  you’ll want all the firepower you can get. Just keep your eyes out for anything unusual. Over and out.

Shadow: Of course.

Rouge: You can count on us!

[The Three way panel split ends and now goes back to Shadow next to Amy and Sonic]

Shadow: Hmm…That’s not a lot to go on, but it’s like I said Sonic, we’ll make sure nothing ruins the wedding tomorrow.

Sonic and Amy nod, though Sonic then puts his hand to his chin intrigued and amused.

Sonic: Hmm… possibly an unfriendly energy Anomaly is it?…This could be fun…  

Amy gives Sonic a “look.”

Sonic: What? It’s not like I have anything to do with this, or want anything to ruin the big day or anything! I’m just sayin’… well,  with Eggman not up to his usual tricks, it’d be nice to have something else to do for a change! 

Amy: Sonic…(sympathetic look)

Sonic: Well, what can I say? Lately I’ve  been itchin’ for some action and to actually make a difference again Ames!

Amy: Oh Sonic, I know this has been hard for you with Eggman “not up to his usual tricks “ anymore, and not knowing what to do now… You’ve been so …so restless, and I know it’s not the same, but know that you do at least make a difference for me, just like you will when our little one is born. You make a difference in our lives and to everyone you meet Sonic.

Shadow: Hmph. So it is Sonic, Amy’s correct.

Sonic: …*sigh* Thanks for that guys, really…Sorry. I guess you’re right, it’s just..it’s been harder to figure what to do now. I don’t even have to do much to collect enough rings to put food on the table…You know, with that trial with Persis I didn’t know what I’d do if this ever happened, and now that it has? I guess I still don’t. As much as I don’t want Eggman running loose and hurting anybody or anything, I just feel like I don’t have a meaningful job to do anymore! Well, unless you count being a glorified babysitter for an Eggman who’s lately’s not even been really much of a threat…but before that, I was going off on adventures and saving the world in the process! What am I supposed to do now?

Amy: And we can still travel the world Sonic!

Sonic: Yeah, and I look forward to that , but it’s not the same either.

Shadow: Hmm…I wouldn’t count the doctor out just quite yet, as long as he’s alive he can still try something if we get too lax, still, I can actually understand where you’re coming from Sonic.

Sonic: You can?

Shadow: Yes. I myself found purposeful work in G.U.N.,  but if I hadn’t, perhaps I’d feel the same.

Sonic: Huh. Makes sense, but I don’t exactly see me working for G.U.N so…I dunno, maybe I can still figure out something here? Maybe…start Sonic’s Schoolhouse!? I could teach Christmas Island’s kids how to Hunt for rings and face uh…(now less enthusiasm)er, the now nonexistent badniks…Eh, well anyway, I guess I’ll figure something out eventually,  but in the meantime, I guess we gotta get ready for the rehearsal, “suit up,” and meet your parents and all that huh? (Looks a bit uneasy)

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Author’s Note: Sonic’s Schoolhouse

 Sonic’s Schoolhouse was a Sonic game….

The player instead chooses from numerous animals to play as. Dr. Robotnik and his Badniks also show up to steal answers^[7] or, in the Ring Hunt mini-game, steal all of the player's Rings.^[8]

https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic%27s_Schoolhouse

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STORY

Amy: It’ll be fine Sonic…

Sonic: Yeah, I mean, I’m Sonic the hedgehog! What would they possibly have against me, you know, marrying you in another dimension no matter what they thought, or without them even knowing… right?

Chapter 7- In-laws

Chapter Text

TEXTBOX: Later after the wedding rehearsal…

In an above shot everyone is shown at one of the various 3 round tables with tablecloths with flower centerpieces just outside the hanger on  the grassy ground. There are also another longer and rectangular table that has food set out  with plates at the end and five food servers ready to go. At the tables silverware is also set out along with wine glasses, and clear tall glasses.  

At one table is Cream, Tails and Vanilla. Tails the ring bearer, is wearing a formal jacket and bow tie, though exempted from pants smelling at Cream as she gawks at the pretty flowers on her dress.  Cream as the flower girl, is wearing what would be her red and white flower girl dress with red rose decorations for the occasions as well, still bright-eyed at the beautiful flowers on it. She keeps the basket of red and white rose flower petals nearby as Cheese sits in the rose petal basket, playfully tossing some up, as Vanilla laughs in her hand. Sonic is frowning as he walks uncomfortably towards Tails, Cream, and Vanilla’s table, wearing a formal suit with with a white tie and pants.

At another table is Jack Little as officiator all up in a formal suit and tie, talking with Shadow who is best man, being a bit uncomfortably gawked at a bit by Rouge as maid of honor, as she smiles at him in his suit also for the night.

And finally at the third table with Amy sitting with her parents, with one seat empty. Amy frowns a bit impatient, and her parents sit across, her mother in pearls and flared out bright green dress with pearls and a hat,* her front quills similar to Amy’s still seen, and her head cocked slightly as she rests on a hand and stares searchingly at Amy. Amy’s dad next to her leans forward, fingering a pipe, as his bearded face seems contemplating Amy as well across the table who seems a bit antsy in her red formal gown.

*Visual REF- Amy’s mom’s dress being similar to Mollie Kaye’s green dress in the video Is the cure for loneliness hiding in your closet? | Mollie Kaye | TEDxSurrey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcYPiQGyZbM with the quote “We are terrified to be noticed, but dying to be seen”

Amy’s Mom/ Mrs. Rose: If it hadn’t been for us needing to drop off paying customers from the yacht before coming we would have gotten here sooner, but as it is we only just made it in time for the rehearsal. More notice would’ve been appreciated Amy.

Amy’s dad/ Mr. Rose: Among other things… Now when’s this “husband to be” of yours Sonic getting over here so we can chat finally?

Amy: He’ll be here, he just has something important to tell Tails about security.

Amy now glances to see Sonic by Tails’ table, giving him a frustrated questioning look to get over to their table, and Sonic holds up a hand to show he’ll be there soon.

Sonic: Uh…I’ll be right there Amy! …

Tails: (smiles) Haha… You probably shouldn’t keep Amy and your in-laws waiting too long Sonic.

Cream: That’s right Mr. Sonic! Don’t be rude!

Sonic: Hey now, hey now! Don’t worry you two! I said I was coming! Besides, I just wanted to catch up with you a moment in person a bit for once Tails. It seems like I haven’t seen you as much since you’ve been holed up helping keep tabs on Egghead except sometimes during a morning run. Maybe stop by once all this is over, and get a break from all the surveillance stuff! Speaking of which, you should probably know about…

Tails: ..the anomaly? Don’t worry Sonic, G.U.N. ’s been a lot more involved with Christmas Island security since Eggman got here, so we hear about anything they find out too! Lately I’ve been trying to develop some surveillance to better pinpoint the location of it.

Sonic: I gotcha. Well, I guess the rehearsal went well enough…(grins at Shadow and Rouge sitting at a table nearby along with Jack Little)

Shadow is eyeing a mischievous looking Rouge who is waving back at them as Shadow has his arms crossed.

Shadow: What exactly is the point in me staying for dinner after the rehearsal as well? I know what to do for tomorrow.

Rouge: Oh Shadow, even if you don’t need to eat, you don’t want to be rude for the rehearsal now do you? Besides, handsome, how often am I going to get see you in a suit?

Shadow: Rouge…(a bIt irritated)

Jack Little: Hahah… Not much one for pants either I take it?

Sonic grins at his discomfort, as Shadow frowns back at him, before then likewise managing a smug smile of satisfaction at Sonic’s discomfort.

Sonic: Heh. (Grin) Looks like that faker is having about as miserable a time as I am in these outfits. Well…(takes a glance at Amy with her parents) let’s get this over with.

With Sonic now going to sit down, the food  servers, 5 total,  are now bringing out food to everyone, Spiral Roast,* together with a Decadent Distraction,** Sumptuous Salad,*** or Soleanna Princess Special,****  along with wine and alternative drink options like juice and water. Sonic now adjusts his tie a moment, waves, and heads to the table were Amy is with her parents and sits down with the food now being set out..

(Visual REF photos-*https://www.deviantart.com/stash/01yo0bj4li1e, **https://www.deviantart.com/stash/02dkg3vl1lw0 , ***https://www.deviantart.com/stash/01ce6hmy9n4k, ****https://www.deviantart.com/stash/06bic0unxj )

Nothing is said at first as Sonic manages an uneasy smile as they manage head nods for a greeting, and Amy quietly puts her hand on Sonic’s hand on the table, glancing at him with a reassuring smile, as the food is set out in front of them and drinks served.

Sonic: So…uh, I guess the rehearsal went alright…glad you could make it in time Mr. and Mrs. Rose.

Mr. Gregory Rose: Well enough, now that you’ve decided to finally join us Sonic, I guess it’s about time I make the toast isn’t it? I guess I’m included for that aren’t I? 

================================================================================================

REF- Gregory and Linda's name

Gregory is an English name, derived from the Greek name 'Gregorios', which means 'to be awake or watchful'.

Linda

Linda originates in Germanic languages and means "tender woman". It is most likely derived from the linden tree. Some sources suggest, though, that it might originate in Spanish language, meaning "pretty". It could also be used simply as a diminutive of names such as Melinda, Belinda, etc. As a feminine given name Linda is fairly popular in the United States even though lately its usage has declined.

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STORY

Sonic (thinks): Oh boy…

Gregory Rose: You certainly didn’t care to let us know beforehand you were marrying Amy first in another dimension, no matter what we thought…glad to know we’re still important…

Amy: Oh dad! Quit acting all overprotective all of a sudden!

Sonic: Come on Mr Rose! Of course you’re important, you’re Amy’s parents after all…

Mrs. Linda Rose: (to Gregory) Now, now, what’d I say Gregory? Save it until after the toasting is done. Besides, Amy’s right, goodness knows we often trusted Amy as a mature, albeit perhaps a bit star-struck lady, to make her own decisions from an early age. And there’s no telling what would have been involved in going to another dimension for a wedding anyway! You simply must let me know later everything that happened for that trip my little Rose…

Amy: Thank you, mom. As much as I can ..

Gregory: You’re right Linda/ Amy may have been a bit naive in this venture, but she’s been mostly a mature lady, so now first, the toast…

Sonic frowns a bit,  a bit unsure and unamused at Amy as Gregory grabs a glass and stands up, and taps the side of the wine glass with a knife to get the other’s attention.

Gregory: Ahem. Now, even though I realize these two already ended up getting married on another world, I wanted to give a welcome and thanks for all who’ve come to celebrate our daughter’s new life with Sonic with us in this “second wedding” tomorrow, just so we have one we can attend…which was Amy’s idea by the way, considerate and mature as she is…independent and on her own early on…I can only hope and wish Sonic always realizes the precious treasure he has. So, (raises glasses) here’s to a happy future for both of them! 

There are cheers from all as he sits back down and now lights his pipe to start smoking it.

Rouge now stands up with glass for a toast herself.

Rouge: I’d like to make a toast as well.  Now, I’ve not known Amy as long as her parents obviously, and I’d say I got to know her the most in our most recent adventure, but I’d just like to say I feel simply honored she would make me her maid of honor. She’s got good taste in choosing people, if I should say so myself, (winks at Sonic) as no longer just a little girl but now a proper lady. I have no doubt that Sonic and Amy DO make a lovely couple as anyone can see. 

============================================================================================

REF-Amy and Sonic described as a lovely couple

Sonic Advance 3 “lovely couple” reference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmxkWFrXa6Y

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STORY

Jack Little:(stands up no briefly) Truer words were never said, now thank Light Gaia for this food and let’s eat!

Tails: Way to go Sonic and Amy! 

Cream: Yeah!

Vanilla: Best of luck to both of you!

Everyone now sits to eat,  and Amy and Sonic sit in awkward silence a moment across from Gregory and Linda Rose.

Gregory: Well, now that that’s over, I had some things I wanted to talk to you two about…

Linda: Now, hold on dear, let me go first…My dear Amy, well how can I put this sweetie? Your father and I, well, were frankly a little concerned when you told us the news. 

Sonic frowns and Amy gives him a quick look to wait and hear her out.

Linda: We’ve always had a high regard for your independence, maturity and good nature, and It didn’t hurt that we knew you could use rings but still…we’d always had concerns about your …

Gregory: Obsession.

Linda: Now Greg! But yes, your infatuation with Sonic, but considering it was only until recently it seemed he finally decided to reciprocate, (hard look at Sonic) it hadn’t worried us all too much. I guess we don’t quite understand why the sudden change,  much less you suddenly being married!

Sonic: Hey! I—

Amy: Allow me Sonic.  What’s to understand? Is it really so hard to believe Sonic actually loves me back and would agree to finally marry me? Besides, since we’re actually already married, why are you even bringing this up?!

Gregory: Well my sugar Rose, now we realize that. All we’re wondering is, well (puff) since it was another dimension, you sure it even… counts? You think maybe there’s a loophole there? 

Amy: What?! Are you saying we shouldn’t be married after that speech you just gave? What do you have against Sonic!? He’s saved the world and me multiple times! Is that somehow a bad thing now?!

Sonic is clearly unhappy as well, but he lets Amy talk.

Gregory: It’s not that Amy…

Linda: Of course, everyone knows that, it’s just…

Linda and Gregory look at each other a moment.

Gregory: Now look Rosy, I’ll give it to you straight, just because Sonic here can save the world, doesn’t mean he knows what it takes for what can sometimes be the daily monotonous grind! The daily chores that need done, that kind of thing…What about him being able to also do his part in the less exciting role of being a stable, reliable, husband? One who doesn’t just leave you alone to go galavanting off for his next thrill or adventure, leaving you behind to cry alone all because he’s bored of home life!?

 Amy: Dad! I trust Sonic! And I know he likes to be free to go on adventures, but…

Sonic: Hold up Ames! Allow me…

Amy nods.

Sonic now stands up and looks determined and angry, maybe putting his hand to his temple and all stare.

Sonic: Now, look, as our guests, I see what you’re getting at, and you’re free to think or say what you want for the most part, but don’t you think that about me! Look, I know I may not be someone who exactly likes to sit still for too long. Like Ames said, I like to be as free as the wind and go on adventures whenever I want!  Not traveling like that now isn’t something exactly easy on me either, but there’s no way that means I’m going to just leave Amy to cry alone either just because I got bored or something! What the heck?! There’s no way I won’t be there when she needs me, and I know I can count on her just like she can count on me! And, as far as adventures go? Amy’s always the first up to want to come along with me! (Grin)There’s no way Ames is better off without me,  and that’s a fact! I’m Sonic the hedgehog and Amy’s husband, whether you two like it or not!

Amy: Sonic…

There’s a moment of surprise and silence from parents, that Amy interrupts.

Amy: (to parents) That’s right!

Gregory: Hmph….well, maybe so….(smokes pipe pensive)

Linda: My…well, that was …quite the speech Sonic, still…

Amy: And, I might as well tell you both now, I’m pregnant! And you know what?! Sonic’s going to be a great dad too! I just know it!

Linda: Oh Amy dear, are you really?! (Excited)

Gregory is coughing on his pipe a bit.

Gregory:  Say what?!  Well I’ll be! When you due Amy?

Amy: Well, I’m not very far along, so… probably in a little less than 9 months still. I-I found out not long after we got back. (Looks towards Sonic) I just had a feeling we were, um… and…the test said yes!

Rouge smiles knowingly while sipping wine and with bat ears hearing what Amy said at the distant table.

Rouge : Hm. Just as I thought…. Well, It’s a good thing you didn’t interrupt their time together after all Shadow…

Shadow looks at her a bit perplexed.

Shadow: (annoyed) What are even you talking about??

Rouge merely responds with a sphinx’s smile.

But back at Amy and Sonic’s table.

Gregory: Well! You two sure didn’t wait long!

Sonic and Amy are both red and look at each other a moment.

Linda: Oh Amy! (Gets up to embrace Amy) I’ve always wanted to be a grandmother!

Amy looks comically confused.

Amy: But mom, weren’t you just saying how concerned you were just now about Sonic being my husband?

Linda: Well , that was before…

Linda now lets go of her crushing hug that seemed reminiscent of the ones Amy would give Sonic, and now holds both her hands in hers to look her directly in the face.

Linda:(now a bit serious)… but now that Sonic is a father, I’m assuming he is going to be taking full responsibility for his own child and our grandchild…?

Sonic: Of course I am!

 Linda: Very good. Children are a big responsibility after all, as I’d hope you realize, and I think now, my dear Gregory, how about you talk with Sonic privately, in part about what all that means…

Gregory: I’d say that’s overdue at this point…(puff)Come now Sonic, this has gotten more serious after all…

Sonic looks a moment at Amy, nods, and then leaves the table with Gregory feeling in the right, but also unsure what to expect as they walk away from the reception together,  past the house, and into the worn forest paths near Sonic and Amy’s house.

Gregory and Sonic walk in silence initially until it becomes more wooded in tropical vegetation.

Sonic:  So? What is it now? 

Gregory: Now… (takes a puff on pipe) don’t be like that. (Wags pipe a bit angrily at him) Amy was my daughter first after all before you even knew her,  and though she’s an independent adult now, I’m still dad and she’s still my little Rosy, my daughter…  Now that being said, I can pretty much trust Amy to take care of herself, without any interference from me mind you, but this here is something different entirely. I think I’m within my rights at least for my say, wouldn’t you say so? As a father like yourself now too? (Eyes Sonic as puffs on pipe)

========================================================================================

REF-Amy Rose, also formerly known as Rosy the Rascal,

https://amy-rose.fandom.com/wiki/Amy_Rose_(character)

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Sonic: Well, sure, but it doesn’t mean you’re right about me and Amy though, but yeah, if you gotta say your piece, say your piece already…

 Gregory: That’s some attitude you got there, better work on that. Now, like I said, there aren’t many times I feel I gotta protect my little Rosy Rascal, and I’ll always be grateful for you saving her from Metal Sonic when I couldn’t have…. 

Sonic: Hmph. Thanks! I’m not sure I agree about the attitude problem though, but, since you’re Amy’s dad and all, I’ll at least hear you out…. It seems like you really care about her, so, I’ll give you that, even if I think you’ve got no reason to be worried.

Gregory: Well good. Mutual respect’s important isn’t it? (Puff) You know… you really helped ignite Amy’s love of adventure even more!  She’s wanted to run off for adventures as it was since she was a little thing, and so much so we had to live in a yacht just to keep her from wonderin’ off before she was old enough to go off on her own, and then she heard of you…She’d chase after you anywhere no matter the danger, but on that end at least, I was never worried. I never doubted you’d protect her no matter the danger she’d find herself in, or if she needed the help. With Your reputation being what it was, and especially added to what Amy told us, and what we found out about your actions ourselves… no, I never had concerns there. 

Sonic: Yeah? So then…?

Gregory: I’m gettin’ to it. But  this time now, this time, I’m the one who’s doin’ what I can to protect my little Amy Rose… my little Rosy Rascal, and not just her, but my now grandchild, as much as she’ll let me now anyway…

Sonic:(Crosses arms) Yeah, but I think Amy at least knows she doesn’t need anyone to protect her from me!

Gregory: So she thinks, so she thinks… She does well on her own most of the time, but this may be a time I’d think she ought to expect a little…guidance and help from us. That’s probably in part our fault for her not though, especially me, pushing her to try to be independent of our help pretty young like we did… not that she wasn’t that way naturally on her own! I still remember how  determined she was to go out on her own at 13 and then live on her own in Station Square already at 15!

Sonic: Hmph…well, that’s Amy for you…determined…(smile)

Gregory: Especially when it comes to you…

Sonic: Yeah…haha, can’t argue with you there….

Gregory: So, I’ve been trying to be pretty fair minded here Sonic, and tell you at least what I do see good in you,(puff) but you said some pretty strong words earlier. That’s just the thing though Sonic, they’re just words until they have some action behind them. Back when I did sailing, and before I did this travel business I do now here with my wife Linda, I’d make up so many stories of what kinda man I’d be if I found “the one.” (Puff) Most of them didn’t mean a hill of beans to Linda though. She knew bullshit when she saw it after all, and, well, I loved her for it! Linda said I needed to show her I meant it too. 

Sonic: (mutters/ thinking out loud) I guess the same with my mom in a ways too…

Gregory: What was that?

Sonic: Eh, don’t worry about it… just go on with what you were going to say…

Gregory: Hmm… well, now where was I? (Puff) Yes, Linda!.. quite the fiery one she is! Amy takes after her in that way I think! That hammer Linda still has is no joke either!

Sonic: Yeah, Amy mentioned she got her first hammer from her mom not long after she started chasing after me… 

Gregory: Yep! Haha! I heard she’s gone after you with it too, much like my own Linda has with me before! Why, Linda had me even try to face off against her in combat with that hammer of hers, to prove I was at least strong enough to her liking! Crazy woman! Absolutely crazy! I couldn’t get enough of it somehow though! Though…(smiles shakes head) Linda said I had to win her hand and show her my strength, trustworthiness, and even endurance in helping her with well, long shopping trips…of all things…

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Author’s Note: Linda inspiration

After the fact, I realized an inspiration for Amy’s mom Linda was Punie-chan, which to get some idea you can see this Magical Witch Punie Chan - Nonstop Laughter! Spoiler Free Anime Review 301 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqlrw_B6wu4 Now I’m not saying she’s a one to one copy of her, but the charm combined with unexpected fierceness in battle would be a shared characteristic…

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STORY

Sonic can’t help but manage a quick wry grin…

Gregory: I couldn’t just “b.s my way to her heart” as  she put it…(puff) forcing me in the process to become a better man I think overall for all of it…but you…well you Sonic, I don’t doubt in your mind you meant those things, just like I did with all the stuff I’d say but…

Sonic: Of course I did!

Gregory:Now! It’s rude to interrupt! Now let me finish… (Glares a bit) That’s not the same as actually doing it, and now with at least a kid on the way too, you better mean those words…

Sonic: Of course I mean them! You meant your wedding vows before you’d actually done any of it yet too, right? (Grin)

Gregory: (puff) Of course! But don’t play games with me about this. I may not be as fast or know to fight as much as you, but I can still make your life hell, both publicly and privately…I do have some connections from traveling after all…anything you do to Amy I will make sure the whole world knows! I’d make sure you wouldn’t even dare to show your face in public again!

Sonic: (determined and shakes head frustrated and maybe a bit seething)That won’t be a problem!… Look, Mr. Rose, sir, just like you, I agreed to marry my wife and stick around through thick and thin! I can respect you wanting to protect Amy, but I already told you, you’ve got nothing to worry about!

Gregory: (puff and *sigh)I wish Sonic,  I could know that…. You know? I find it…interesting… that you’ve also been awfully quiet about your past…All I know is that at  some point you were maybe living here on Christmas Island, in that house by the hangar, maybe born here even? Or was it South Island where everyone knows for sure you were first spotted? Amy says she doesn’t want to tell us anything unless you’re ok with it …(smile) faithful woman that she is… And of course, everyone also knows about the bombing here and the rumors…wonderin’ if you could have even been here then…(shakes head) but there weren’t many survivors to that, so I find that unlikely even for you… maybe if you gave me something more about your story, your past, maybe I’d feel a bit better knowing all that shaped you and how…

Sonic: Pff! What’s the past matter? ! (crossed arms) …I am who I am now!

Gregory: You didn’t just pop into existence out of nowhere! Like it or not, the past will always have an influence because it forced you to respond to it somehow. Something that maybe even tested what you’re made of? Hmm….with some more than others….we all have some past that made us respond in one way, whether it be our better, or, maybe, our worse selves…Everyone comes from somewhere, and I only wondered what you chose to do with yours…

Sonic: Nope. Sorry, not something I like to talk about. (Arms crossed and looks defiantly, maybe a bit uneasily, away)

Gregory: Oh? and why’s that? Afraid the truth will come out? Maybe something you’re not too proud of? You really got nothing to show you’ve at least been able to “stick it out” before then? 

Sonic just stops walking to looks at him and glare.

Gregory: Hmph. (Shakes head) So I’m right then, about you never being able to commit when things get even just a bit boring or tough? So, you’ve never been nothing but a drifter after all…(Tsk* tsk* expression)… never been able to stick around when it’s important then? ‘Course, have you ever even had to do something like that I wonder Sonic? To stick around when it’s not some…some exciting battle, but just the more mundane experience of taking care of someone in the same place? When it’s not thrilling? You really think you can do that if needed as a husband and father now?!

Sonic: Mr. …Rose…You have no idea, absolutely no idea, as far as I’m concerned, what you’re talking about! (Getting angry)

Gregory: I don’t, do I? Seems I’ve struck a nerve though. (a bit amused) Now, I’ve stuck around and kept my commitment to my wife, and kept tabs on Amy and am doin’ so even now, for my little rascal…All I want to know is if you can properly care for her as a husband and father now. But all I see right now though, is someone who can’t seem to keep their cool for what I think are some  very fair questions! (Puff)Why so angry? Can’t take the truth is it? Well… I admit, I may be wrong, but I will still be keeping my eye on you…Mr. Sonic T. Hedgehog! (Shakes pipe at him)

Sonic then takes a deep breath to calm himself down.

Sonic: You know what, Mr. Rose?  You want proof?! Are You really that worried about me bailing on Amy? (Deep breathe) Then Fine! FINE! ! Follow me over here!! 

Sonic angrily marches towards the clearing to where his family is buried, and the curious and surprised, but calm, Gregory follows.

Gregory: You wanna go through here? I went this way a bit before the rehearsal Sonic, there’s nothing back here that I saw at least…

Sonic and Gregory are now at the path right before the clearing.

Sonic:  Oh believe me, there is, but only if certain people enter the area like me. It’s technology my best bud Tails came up with to  hide what’s really here, but hidden to most people.  Come on, you should be able to see them now that I’m entering the area with you…

Gregory: Them?

Sonic motions Gregory forward, and then suddenly before Gregory’s eyes he sees the graves he didn’t see before.

Sonic,  with a furrowed brow, is now standing by the tombstones indicating their names and Gregory’s mouth goes slack as he grabs the pipe, now just holding it in front of him and looks a bit confused.

Sonic: Mr. Rose, I’d like you to meet MY family now… ( indicating tombstones with hand)This is my mom Sasha, my dad Sedric, my Aunt Millie, Uncle Danny, Aunt Katie, and my cousin Pazu…

Gregory:…. Well, I’ll be…a secret family graveyard…? (Nods head and a puff) I..Thanks for showing me this Sonic. Hmm…I’m…. assuming there’s a story behind how they got here, then? 

Sonic: There is.(eyes open, but then close before they open and he explains)So, yeah, that rumor is true. I was here when the bomb went off, and so… were they….(deep breathe) Afterwards, I stayed with them here at Christmas Island…. I tried…I tried to take care of them as much as I could, but they couldn’t really eat a whole lot…(takes another deep breathe) It didn’t help they couldn’t keep much down because of the radiation either. They just got… slowly weaker and weaker.  I didn’t leave them though to just “run off” because I was bored!!…I only took a break to run once, and that was only so I wouldn’t lose it. Instead I stayed with them as they slowly …(furrows brow as he fights getting too emotional) until the end, as they slowly all died from radiation poisoning no matter what I did…And oh yeah, I also got to do, you know,  FUN things, like making all their tombstones and some of their coffins too before finally, finally leaving…(grit teeth and pause)
So, don’t you tell ME, Mr. Rose, I don’t know anything about sticking around when things get “mundane” or “tough” or when I need to!!

Gregory squats now, fumbling with his pipe and looks at the tombstones speechless a moment.

Gregory:….(pauses)You know Sonic…I remember when I’d heard, well, the reports about when that all happened... Amy was swimmin’ just off the yacht with her mom, when the waves started getting a bit rough, and they had to get back onto the boat quick.  I listened in to the radio  when then a breaking report came in a bit later.  There was an exodus of people leaving Christmas Island after some unexplained explosion….and out of I guess some sort of unhealthy morbid curiosity, I went to see exactly what had happened myself. ..maybe I could even help somehow? Well, I was told they were being taken care of at the local hospitals just fine, and though Christmas Island was all torn up, luckily they’d all at least escaped alive *sigh*…It was only weeks later I learned they’d all end up dying anyway only weeks after escaping. They had some strange sickness….couldn’t eat like had happened with your family…such a tragedy, such a tragedy…Well, Sonic,*sigh* I’ve got nothin’ more to say…. Really what can you say… to something like that? And Amy, well, it wasn’t long after that she went off on her own, snuck out really…even more curious than afraid about the world and the kind of things that could of caused something like that…assuring us often she was doin’ just fine…we’d encouraged her to be independent after all…

He now nods at the graves before standing back up)

Gregory: But uh… you’ve proven your point well enough for me Sonic, and I wish you both the best… That’s one hell of a thing to go through though, and that took some real courage to tell me too. Sorry to be so hard on you. (Nods and points to him with pipe, hand on his shoulder a moment)

Sonic: … Yeah, well, maybe I wasn’t acting the greatest either…heck, if I was in your shoes I might be a bit hard on the guy too, heh heh..  but yeah,  I guess I’m just basically saying, I love Amy too… and I will even if things get rough.

Gregory: And there’s nothing more I could ask for really…Well, how about we go back now to celebrate that, and let Linda and Amy know you’ve got my approval from what best I can tell… Mind if I share what you told me with Linda?

Sonic: Uh, sure.. just uh, don’t go spreading this around to anybody else.

TEXTBOX: Sonic imagines the following scene…

Sonic Narrates:  Right now I can just say, “hey” to people on the street no prob, but…

Sonic is leaving a small old’ fashioned  store* that says “Darsey’s Grocery Store” that  lines the street with other stores, leaving as he holds a small grocery bag in his hand saying “Catch you Later Mr. Darsey!”

*(Grocery Store Visual REF https://www.alamy.com/a-traditional-old-fashioned-shop-wards-general-store-high-street-wem-shropshire-england-image556586243.html?imageid=9A8DA5CF-720E-4790-8886-9A1095620C10&pn=1&searchId=de11b24c835a2f5fc99ea4926789b417&searchtype=0 )

He’s halfway out with the door open as Mr. Darsey calls from the counter inside.

Mr. Darsey: Always a pleasure Sonic! You know I do my best to make sure your favorite chili is stocked!

Outside on the sidewalk is a dog (anthropomorphic) out walking nearby.

Random dog: Hey Sonic! I can’t believe you live here now! It’s so cool! You gotta tell us more how you beat Dr. Eggman!

Sonic: Haha!.. Sure, maybe part of that story, some other time! It’s chili dog time!

Sonic Narrates:…but if everyone knew all knew about that? …kinda a major mood killer, and I really don’t want that to be what people ask me about instead…

 It’s the same scene as before with Sonic leaving the grocery store but Sonic is saying, “Catch ya later Mr. Darcy, It’s like I said, I’ll be fine, really!”

Mr. Darsey: Just know you’ve got us Sonic, and anytime you need chili, you know where to come!

Random Dog: Oh man Sonic! That’s so messed up that happened! How do you deal with something like that?

Sonic:*sigh* 

TEXTBOX: Back to Sonic and Gregory

Gregory: Mum’s the word! Amy can vouch for us too….You’ll have to keep us updated about our grandkid, maybe grandkids?   (Shakes head) It’s…. hard to imagine going through that, but I won’t prod too much, especially as I don’t think you’d take well to that… not that I blame you. Well, Let’s head back…no need to get yourself all depressed before the wedding…

 Sonic: Thanks, but… (slow small smile) I’ll be fine now I think…

Gregory: Mind if I ask where you were  this all happened? The graves being all here, close by the house, I kinda was wonderin’..

Sonic: The hangar. 

Gregory: The hangar? The same hangar where we were…?

Sonic: Yep. They….they all died in that hangar…where our wedding is tomorrow…(smile/ grin) but I wouldn’t have it any other way, and I think they’d want that too …full of life again! I gotta see what I still got going for me now(too )after all, right?

Gregory smiles a bit back.

Gregory: (puffs) Wise words beyond your years Sonic…wise words…Say Sonic! Amy tells me you could use some swimming lessons!…Why I know just the fella who could teach you I think.. (wry smile maybe wink) Amy can tell you I’ve got a great success rate..

Sonic: Uh….(uneasy look)

Gregory: Come now, I can’t have anyone in my family not known’ how to swim can we? It’d probably making boating trips with the grandchildren a bit more enjoyable for you I’d think…

Sonic: (looks a bit more relaxed with a small smile) Hmph. Well, maybe someday I’ll take you up on the swimming lessons…maybe…(remembers orca chasing him like in Sonic Adventure) but I’m definitely game for a family boat trip Mr. Rose, just maybe make sure you still got a life jacket for me.

Gregory: Well that’s standard,  even for when you can swim, but alright then. You can learn on the trips, and you can call me Gregory or Greg, if you’d like too..let’s just keep our relations respectful is all I ask.

Sonic: Sure, uh Greg…

The now walk away from the graveyard together.

*****

Sonic and Gregory return with expectant looks of the guests as they sit down again as Sonic responds with a reassuring smile to everyone as there are now looks of relief from the others at the reception as Sonic gives a thumbs up.

Linda: Well, so… how’d it go for your “man talk”? Good apparently?

Gregory: Well Linda…as best as I can tell, as far as Sonic’s concerned, I don’t think we have anything to worry about…

Linda: Well! (Clap) That certainly is good to hear! You can fill me in later.

(Author Note: another part I felt initially more stuck at was the denouement I guess of this scene)

Tails now goes up to Sonic.

Tails: Sonic!

Sonic: Hey! what’s up li’l  buddy? 

Tails: Er just…So is everything alright between you and Mr. Rose I guess then?

Sonic: Yeah, I think so now, why?

Tails: Because if it wasn’t, then I just wanted to let him know you’re amazing and the best bro’ I could have so…if he didn’t think you were right for Amy, he should talk to me! I’ve known you a long time and I even made a chart to explain my position if I need to!

Linda and Gregory look at each other amused and Sonic tussles Tails’ head playfully a bit.

Sonic: Haha! No worries! Thanks for lookin’ out for me, and maybe it sounds corny, but who cares? I’m really lucky I’ve got you and all my family and friends …(looks to all)

TEXTBOX: Cove City Square

Eggman is smiling maliciously in his human form as he works at the memorial site digging as a G.U. N soldier stands watch nearby. 

Eggman: You just wait rodent…(smile) when you least expect it, it’ll all be taken from you just like it was me….! Hohoho! Divide and conquer….

Chapter 8- Perfect Timing…

Chapter Text

TEXTBOX: The Next Day,  Aug. 3,  before the wedding…

At a Cove City beach, kids and adults look like they’re waiting as they look out towards the ocean…

Edgar the bear kid: Is Sonic still running today? And do you think Tails will be flying with him this time?

Mr. Darsey: Well Edgar, I haven’t known a morning  since he’s been here where he hasn’t gone to run around the island first thing in the morning… gotta “stretch his legs” … Tails with his surveillance work comes when he can.

Sonic as a blue blur now goes speeding by just offshore making a hug splash splashing everyone to to their delight including Mr.Darsey, as they who pump their arms in the air and cheer. Sonic responds with a quick grin and wave in their direction,  before he’s out of sight continuing his run…

Mr. Darsey: Hahaha! He’s just a force of nature isn’t he? Hmm…. Looks like Tails couldn’t get away this time…though I’m sure he’ll see him soon enough. You know, Sonic loves the chili I sell, so I get to see him fairly often, but it’s just sorta become a tradition now to watch him go by in the morning like this, a literal blue blur…so fast he can run on top of the water with little in the way! I think it bothers him something fierce if he goes too long without running.

Edgar the bear: Yeah…but he didn’t stop by to give us rides in the Sonic Express wagon this time! 

Edgar gestures to other kids watching on the beach, a cat, rabbit, bird, and  dog…busy now trying to partly bury the cat in the sand as Edgar talks to Mr. Darsey out by his tiny mobile chili dog stand.

Mr. Darsey: I’m guessing you didn’t see the news??

Edgar: No, the news is boring! But, our family just got back from visiting Ice Paradise Zone! We stayed in the city, but we went hiking in the mountains nearby to see if we could find the house they gave Sonic when he visits nearby, but it’s really remote, and I guess really only easy for someone like Sonic to get to…no one can find his house on the island here either!

===============================================================

Author’s Note: Sonic’s “Winter House” in Ice Paradise Zone

❗️I Have Sonic’s “winter house” in Sonic and the Secret Rings  in Ice Paradise Zone  (Sonic Advance 2, 2002)  https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Ice_Paradise because it’s near a city and had it as a gift from citizens who also like the idea of Sonic having a place to “chill”nearby.

There was official Sonic Channel art with Cream and Cheese by Ice Paradise Zone too. https://sonic.sega.jp/SonicChannel/special/sidestory/sonicpict/20220128_008514/

Visual REF of Sonic’s “Winter house” in Sonic and the Secret Rings….maybe a gift for his help when he’s visiting and wants some solitude…

Screenshots of said house below…

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/08hnelb41vw

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/019fv6duc7mj

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/0oz8e2ncpwi

FROM PREVIOUS NOTE on a map of Sonic’s world

in an excerpt from a previous note about a map for Sonic’s world you can see where it would be…

In  light of nothing official and conflicting maps, I’m going to go with a lot of this video 

We spent 60 days Mapping out Sonic's ENTIRE Planet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16Fio3P_52k&t=44s

while keeping in mind possible minor things in the comments for what I plan to use as a functioning map, with the “isolated island” below South Island on the one they made, being for me in this story Christmas Island.

They have links to their maps in the link, including the world map here https://ibb.co/v4jHtkYq

And I’m going to agree with them in using the map seen in Shadow the Hedgehog seen in the GUN Fortress and can be seen at the 8:10 mark here

Shadow the Hedgehog - Full Game 100% Walkthrough (All Endings) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB378T9cy5o as my functioning Sonic map.

And speaking of that game, that game also has a mention of JAPAN in Sonic’s world, though we never see it, and it’s not shown on the map

(FROM PREVIOUS NOTE)

REF—Japan existing in Sonic’s world….? 

In terms of foreign relations, the United Federation appears to enjoy warm relations with Japan, another sovereign state.[7]

Sonic Team (15 November 2005). Shadow the Hedgehog. GameCube. Sega. Area/level: Air Fleet(Expert Mode). "Secretary: Mr. President, you're late for your tea time with the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan."

https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/United_Federation#cite_note-Japan-7

=============================================================================================

STORY

Mr. Darsey: Oh yes…He likes his privacy, though you’ll get a glimpse of his place for the wedding on TV, which you’d know if you’d heard the news.

Edgar: Really? Well…mom didn’t want technology for the trip, and my friends don’t care about news either…I mean…I know there was supposed to be a wedding but…

Mr. Darsey: Hmm…their parents mighta not wanted to tell  you all about it knowing you might pester them about going but space is limited….but because of that today’s morning run would be especially important. 

Edgar: Why’s that?

Mr. Darsey:  You really hadn’t heard the news!  Sonic’s having his wedding for family and friends to be able to see today, and that means the he’ll be in a suit, and not be able to run like he just did… not if he wants to keep that suit nice for his wedding to now wife Amy….

Edgar: Ohhhhh……He must really love Amy to agree to that…

Mr. Darsey: *chuckle* I’d say so…

Edgar: Awwww….But because of that, he didn’t stop by this time… 

Mr. Darsey: I’m sure he will again afterwards…

Edgar: But hey, do you think Sonic’s parents will be there and we can see who they are?? And maybe we’ll find out where he was from! My friends and I were betting if he might have actually been from here or not but I bet his parents would tell us!  

Mr Darsey: Oh I don’t know about that…. When he was asked by the local news about if family would be there, like parents, he responded,…

(NEWS FLASHBACK)

A news van waits outside of Mr. Darsey’s as a cat news reporter and cameraman wait inside to spot Sonic coming out with a small bag. He eyes it suspiciously a moment, before he spots  flowers growing in the cracks in the sidewalk by the store . He stops a moment,  and he casually squats down to pick one and smell it, as the news reporter now jumps from the van, her shadow now looming over Sonic still holding the flower as he notices the shadow and now looks back with a “Hm?”

============================================================================================================================================

(Visual REF- Sonic smelling a flower

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/02e6p57qdox1

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/01nso8mbvu35

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/017cdurk3gc4

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/0s1o6nqkh

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/0wz1vgdv413

===========================================================================================================

As Sonic now stands back and disappears the flower in the Chaos Force he half closes his eyes in what seems could be either amusement or annoyance at the reporter, microphone in hand with IBC.*

*Island Broadcasting Corporation

Reporter : Sonic, mind sparing just a moment?

Sonic: (hands out in whatever gesture) Sure, just a moment…

Reporter: The public would like to know, with your soon to be “public wedding,” can we expect to see any of your family there? Perhaps even parents?

Sonic: Nope, but I have plenty of friends, and maybe not family by blood, but…

Reporter: Would you care to share with the public why not? No one seems to know about your past. If I may ask, did your parents pass on?

Sonic smiles in a mysterious fashion as he pauses a moment.  

Sonic: I guess you could say it’s just a mystery…

Reporter: So will you clarify to your fans anything about your origins? Do you even have parents? Were you created like Shadow?

Sonic: (wink) Maybe I’ll just let the fans have fun speculating… Well, gotta go!

Sonic grins and now quickly speeds off.

Reporter: But Sonic…!

(END News Flashback)

Mr, Darsey: And so it is….

Edgar: Darn!

Mr. Darsey: The one thing you will see, is Sonic in a suit!

TEXTBOX: One post-run “suiting up” later

 Sonic is looking nervously in front of a full length mirror at his house in the dining/ living area, one that usually isn’t there, but is now propped up near the wall. He nervously adjusts the red bow tie of his suit, as Knuckles stands nearby with his arms crossed watching him a bit smugly, as Shadow frowns looking at the clock nearby, and Tails looks on in excitement. 

===================================================================

Visual REF- Sonic’s House

 Sonic’s old  house off of this sans tall stilts

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/50435/photos/119594316?source_impression_id=p3_1615688476_NFrB0S5aeqSf7tck

Floorplan

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/069u4yak38q

============================================================

STORY

Shadow: Would you just leave it alone already!? You’re going to make us all late!

Sonic: Pff! Late? Me? No way! Unless it’s fashionably late.

Shadow: Not today. Apparently that’s something the bride gets to do, not you. 

Tails: Well, he won’t be late! Right Sonic?

Sonic: Of course not! 

Shadow: Good. We may be close by, but as you said yourself, you can’t exactly run in a suit without causing damage to it.

Sonic: I know, *grumble* you either!

Knuckles: Right Sonic, because if you do, your pants might be on fire!*chortle*

Sonic grins: Ha ha! That’s right! But then I could really say I’m “on fire” for Amy!

Shadow groans as the rest laugh.

Knuckles: Haha…

Tails: Nice one Sonic!

Sonic: Thanks! So…This really looks okay for a wedding-type deal? 

All: YES!

Sonic: Heh heh. Alright, alright…

Knuckles: What are you even all nervous about that for? (Scratches head) Didn’t you already get married anyway? 

Sonic: Well, yeah, but it was nothing fancy like this! I mean, sure it was at some nice chapel on top of a mountain and all that, but we just kinda did it on the spot right after snowboarding, in and out! Done!

Tails: Well, maybe this is kind of like an extra wedding day?  In some cultures weddings are actually celebrated for several days, but either way, now we’ve got an extra day to celebrate Sonic and Amy! Besides,  I think it’s great he wants to look his best for a fancy wedding for Amy!

Sonic: Yeah, no kidding on the fancy part! This time we have all these guests, decorations, a photographer, cake and well, suits…etc…the whole shebang! And ..I know this fancy wedding stuff really means a lot to Amy so…I guess I just don’t wanna mess it up…

Knuckles: Aw, you’ll do fine!

Tails: That’s right! 

Knuckles: You did the rehearsal already right? Speaking of which, since I couldn’t make that, are you sure you still want me as a groomsman?

Sonic: Sure! As far back as we go, and now that you can? Besides, you got G.U.N. helping watch the Master Emerald by people Shadow here can vouch for along with some animal buddies, so, there was no reason not to!..Glad you could make it today!

======================================================

REF-watching the Master Emerald lore

I’d forgotten  about this bit of obscure game no longer available to play as a mobile game called  Sonic Runners and lore it had when I had a previous note thinking SEGA hadn’t done anything towards who might help Knuckles watch the Master Emerald.

Though in my story, GUN is involved with security is helping to watch it, in games like Sonic Runners (2015) the other animals have helped watch it, thought obviously they weren’t always effective so maybe GUN does better! I did at least mention them though because of that.

Sonic Runners even confirms the animals on Angel Island (and Omochao) are the ones that guard the Master Emerald when Knuckles is away.

https://www.sonicstadium.org/forums/topic/26728-many-questions-about-knuckles-and-the-echidnasknuckles-clan/

…though that game references Sonic Colors and Sonic: Lost World, and my Sonic story “splits off” from the game continuity after Sonic and the Black Knight (2009). That being said I try to use lore when I can even if it’s after that when relevant even if for me personally characterizations suffered post that game more….In any case, to be honest animals that often need rescued themselves from Eggman just doesn’t seem like a good candidate for guardians, so I’m actually going to differ from Sega here and say in Archie Sonic fashion this it would be on other times people like Mighty instead as well who’d function at temporary guardian when needed

===========================================================================================================

STORY

Knuckles: Yep. It’s a good thing too considering I was your original rival after all…(pompous)

Shadow: (irritated shakes head) Let’s just leave already! According to Amy’s schedule, the photographer is supposed to be arriving about now for the pre-ceremony photos…

Sonic pauses a moment as begins to now head out the door.

Sonic: Huh…(pauses as starts towards door to leave)

Tails:  Sonic?

Shadow: What is it now?

Sonic: I just realized, we actually never got any photos of our actual wedding in Japan, so I guess despite the pants, maybe I am a bit happier than I thought about doing this“ bonus wedding”  because of that too, and actually photos this time…

Knuckles: Huh, I didn’t think you were the particularly sentimental type…

Sonic: What’s so sentimental about just maybe wanting a wedding photo Knuckles? 

Knuckles: What? I didn’t think that was a bad thing. 

Sonic: Hmph. Well, alright then. Let’s head out now before Shadow here has a cow … 

Shadow: I won’t now that you’re finally leaving so you can actually get these photos of yours…

Sonic: Right, right.. hopefully things are going smoothly on the girls’ end…

Sonic walks out to see an unamused photographer* tapping her wristwatch  waiting outside the hangar and Sonic giving a nervous wave…

*Tiara (visually but with more formal clothing)https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Tiara_Boobowski from the cancelled  Sonic Xtreme)

*****

TEXTBOX: Cove City Luxe Hotel, Rouge’s room

Amy is seated in front of a mirror in her white ornate wedding dress with Rouge, Cream and Vanilla around her. Rouge stands proudly behind Amy who is done up with blush, lipstick, and eyelash make up and a rose on her quills.

Rouge: Well, Sonic won’t know what hit him,  and all done in plenty of time before the wedding for photos!

Cream: You look beautiful Mrs. Amy!

Vanilla: Yes, my dear, what a beautiful bride!

Amy now stands up and hugs Rouge to her surprise.

Amy: And it’s all thanks to you! Thanks so much Rouge! You’ve been such a great maid of honor!

Rouge: Certainly, what are friends for?

Amy: And Rouge, no stealing anyone’s jewelry during the wedding ok?

Rouge: Hmph. Why Amy, I’ll have you know, I was going to save thievery for afterwards anyway. 

Amy: * sigh* Well for you that’s good.

Rouge: I do have that much class, but….Hmph. It’s simply that I can’t say I’ll play nice for too long after the wedding.

Amy: *sigh*Rouge…. Well anyway, Is the taxi going to be here soon?

Rouge: Anytime…*beep* *beep* (Rouge sees that it’s G.U.N on communicator)

G.U.N. now? The nerve! Don’t they know I’m part of  a wedding right now?!

Amy: Rouge?

Rouge: Don’t worry about it, whatever it is, it can wait. They’re plenty of other people in G.U.N besides me for them to contact.

(There is a Panel with the  Commander frustrated at not connecting with Rouge)

Commander: Darnit Rouge! I know you’re going to a wedding, but this can’t wait! You’re my best agent for this type of mission. In the meantime, I’ll keep a visual ’til we can get you there…(Ponders) Hmm…I know just the thing! In the meantime, time to do what we can now…

( See a panel of a “tear” in reality from a portal in a wooded tropical area being observed from GUN and personnel including “Topaz”)

Meanwhile:  Amy, Rouge, Cream, and Vanilla go to Sonic’s house via limo, and Rouge is on the lookout before Amy looks out of the vehicle through the window and spots “the boys”, or Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Shadow getting some photos.

Rouge: Now you boys go into the hangar for a moment while Amy gets into the house, it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding you know! 

All look at each other a bit confused.

Sonic:Why? It’s not like I haven’t seen Amy before Rouge…

Rouge: But not like this…(mischievous smile then hands on hips) Well, you going to get over there or what? Your bride is still waiting in the limo. (Supercilious expression)

Sonic: Alright, alright, fine….but uh..

Rouge: But what? 

Sonic: The wedding doesn’t start for a bit yet, and we already got “pre-wedding” pics of us so I’m kinda bored, and I can’t do a whole lot in this suit! Couldn’t we at least have a board game or something before Ames goes in?

Tails: I know! I’ll grab chess!

Sonic: No go bro’! That’s for only 2 players.

Rouge: Hmm…what about…some Poker for you boys?

Shadow: (smiles)Hmph. Hardly a challenge !

Rouge: Easy there my black and red tiger….I’ve seen how you play.

Shadow doesn’t deny the nickname but seems a bit unamused and unsure.

Shadow: Rouge..

Shadow glares at the others’ grins…

Rouge:What? It’s a compliment handsome, and it’s true. I like to be an honest thief sometimes…let the others think what they want about it.

Shadow:…

Rouge: Well I’ll go grab the cards, and why don’t you boys go play a little bit.  Just don’t forget soon you’ll have guests to greet…

***

Shadow, Amy, and Sonic, and Tails go to a table set up for the reception after the wedding behind the hangar as Rouge quickly hands lays down a deck of cards before heading towards  Amy who secretly heads into the house, which none of “the boys” see at table by the hangar.

Sonic grins.

Sonic: “Black and red tiger” Shadow? What was that about?

Shadow: None of your business, just watch as I now own you at Poker Sonic!

Sonic: Whatever you say Shadow… (thinks of kiss from Rouge from Unhidden) Heh heh..but don’t be so sure! Bring it!

(Author Note…the pacing is a bit slower here but maybe works as the sort of calm or waiting before the craziness??)

****

Later on as guests arrive, and Sonic is meeting with people anxious for the wedding to start.  The hangar has 6 white chairs on either side of a middle aisle with carpet rollout in three rows. The three rows in total lead to an arch with red and white roses, where Sonic is at along with Shadow, and a piano behind that to one side. The whole hanger has garlands of flowers like roses and lace hanging and along the wall and ribbons leading a domed crystal light in the center……

In the front row is a spot for Amy’s parents Gregory and Linda, but they’re near the rose arch talking to Jack Little. There’s also a spot for Knuckles, Shadow, and Tails, now entering. Already sitting up front in the aisle is Helen,* a human girl, by a seat in her wheelchair next to her parents. Also in the front row is Vanilla the Rabbit with Cream the Rabbit and Gemerl. Vanilla is talking to Helen’s parents while knitting a baby outfit and Cream is talking to Helen and Tails.

*same visually as in Sonic X

In the second row is Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, Charmy the Bee,  Mighty the Armadillo,  Ray the Flying Squirrel and Honey the Cat. Across 3 seats sleeping is Big the Cat. Knuckles is by the Chaotix visiting.  Vector is asking about pie, while Espio looks at him disapprovingly and Charmy is flying around the ribbons. Honey the Cat looks thinking at some of the ribbon decorations.  A few new faces in that row include a hedgehog, wolf and sheep, how seem to be looking suspiciously at the guests in the row behind them…G.U.N. and the United Federation President.

In the third row is the United Federation President and 5 GUN soldiers as well as Professor Pickle. The President is being lectured, whether he wants it or not, by Professor Pickle. Then is the dog videographer standing behind them with Tiara Boobowski the photographer near him by the entrance. 

Sonic, by the front arch, is looking a bit anxious as he pulls on his suit collar next to Shadow, who merely looks out with his arms crossed waiting patiently. They both survey the guests.

Sonic: (looking at the hedgehog, Wolf, and sheep)  Well, looks like all the guests are here, even the fans who won that drawing thing Rouge did so at least some could come…there wouldn’t have been space otherwise!

Shadow: Are you sure that’s everyone? You mentioned a flicky before you were close to.

Sonic: Oh Flick? Yeah…I kinda wanted to show him what the hanger  looked like now..

Shadow:…

Sonic: Eh, Anyway….Yeah, I wish he could’ve come, but I guess his new hatchlings are a handful. 

Shadow: (faint smile): Hmph. Like I’d imagine yours will be…

Sonic: I’ve fought Eggman, I’m sure I can handle it when the time comes! And hey, if not, as grandpa that means I get to rope you in for babysitting duty.

Shadow:(looks unsure)….Sonic, how did your friend Flick exactly prepare for helping take care of all his children?

Sonic: Uh…good question….…but he’s always on the go now so I can’t exactly get ahold of him as easily to even ask…(Look of realization)  Heheh..I guess that’s how everyone’s felt about me…

Shadow: You’ve just now realized that??

Sonic: Hey now, you want me to tell you what I know or not? Sometimes you don’t know ’til you’ve experienced it yourself. And as far as kids, I’m sure Amy can talk to her parents, and there’s some parenting books she got for us so…

Shadow: (almost comically earnest) What books??

Sonic: Whoah, chill Shadow! We’ve got some time.  I’ll have Amy show you sometime afterwards.

Shadow: Fine. Do that.

Sonic: Sooo…when’s Amy coming out exactly?

Shadow: It should be anytime now. Everyone will soon be heading to their seats.

From Shadow’s communicator the commander is now heard…

Commonder: Shadow! I know you’re there with Rouge and…

Shadow: (frowns a bit annoyed) Commander? What’s so urgent? I’m at Sonic and Amy’s wedding as best man.

Commander: I realize that, but remember that anomaly from before?

Shadow tenses slightly.

Shadow: What? It appeared again??

Commander: Yes. We were just now getting another reading ON Christmas Island!

Shadow: Now, of all times??

Sonic: No kidding! 

Commander: Yes, I realize the timing is bad to say the least, but this could be a real security risk, and we at least think it can fly, so with Rouge being one of our top flying agents…

Shadow: Understood. Send me the coordinates and I’ll let her know..

Shortly after….

Shadow is soon knocking on Sonic’s house door to reach Rouge.

Rouge: Now, who could that be?

(Opens the door a crack to see Shadow)

Rouge:Shadow? Well, what’s so urgent? Amy was just about to head out you know…

Shadow: I know. It’s the commander, he..

Rouge: Hmph! I told them I was off today! Could it really not wait?

Shadow: It’s the anomaly. It’s appearing here, right now, and they think it can fly. Since you’re one of the best agents who can fly…

Rouge: Oh fine! But only for reconnaissance to see if this is really the threat they think it is, and then I’m hurrying right back. I am the maid of honor after all. Omega can come with me. ..Sorry Shadow, best man…looks you have to miss out on this one.

Shadow: Maybe, maybe not, depending on how much of a threat it really is. 

Rouge: Alright, well, just let me change out at least and I’ll be right out, promise!

Shadow: Fine.

The door is now quickly shut and Amy looks questioningly at Rouge.

Amy: Rouge? What’s going on? You have to go?? NOW???!

Rouge: Sorry about the interruption now darling bride, but it looks like there’s no getting out of this one. That pushy anomaly showed up again, and they need a flying agent for some “on the ground” reconnaissance. Hopefully they don’t try to crash the wedding. I ‘ll be back as soon as I can. 

Amy: Oh Rouge! Well, we’ll try to wait for you as long as we can! Tell Shadow to let everyone know what you can and then…hopefully soon you can get back and we can start the wedding!

Soon…

Rouge comes out of the house changed into her usual outfit.

Rouge: Well time to get Omega, he’ll probably enjoy this…

Chapter 9- The Anomaly

Chapter Text

TEXTBOX: Somewhere in Christmas Island’s tropical forests

Among palm trees and tropical undergrowth , is a semi open area where a round portal surrounded by a golden glow floats above the ground and shrinks as a drone comes through, the same drone as seen previously as Rouge and Omega are in hiding nearby. 

Rouge: Well, would you look at that Omega? I bet you anything that ugly device is what was causing the readings G.U.N. picked up. Whoever sent that sent sure has some nerve to try to spy on us from another world. Now to find out who and why.

The drone now quickly speeds into the forest before Rouge can even finish commenting on it as she follows it from the air and Omega from the ground cutting any unfortunate branch or shrubbery that happens to be in his way as he makes a path behind the speedy drone only just in sight.

Omega: We take no chances! I destroy it now!!

Rouge: Omega! Wait! This is a Reconnaissance mission. It hasn’t done anything wrong we know of yet, and we still need to find out who exactly this device is spying on, and where it’s from. And from the looks of it, it doesn’t appear like it’s weaponized, but made for intel.

Omega: And then it can lead us to more to destroy!

Rouge: Easy there. Save that enthusiasm for later. Don’t worry, one way or another I’m sure you’ll find something worth annihilating today, as long as it’s not Amy and Sonic’s wedding. 

Omega: Future destruction acknowledged.

Rouge: Good. Even if that means the shooting range today. There’s no telling how this will play out or not after all. Stay out of sight as I see what it’s’ up to. Then, I’m reporting back to the commander and we can see about you shooting it yet or not. Then I’m going right back to the wedding where I don’t want you shooting at all.
(Thinks): Not to mention I’m missing Shadow in a suit…

Omega: Negative. What good are guns if they do not fire? I can give the happy couple a gun show as a present!

Rouge: No you won’t, or you’ll be sent to guard duty at the Petting Zoo again!

Omega: Those animals were too weak to be a threat, and found agreeable, why did G.U.N think they would be eviscerated?

Rouge: Just…keep up with patrol after this. I’m sure Sonic and Amy don’t want something like this to ruin their 2nd Big Day either…Now to see if I can figure where it came from….even another dimension?
(Thinks): If only I could figure out where you went to too Papi…Is it so wrong for a girl to at least want to know where her father went to, even if he was a bit of a jerk for leaving?…

 *****

TEXTBOX: Persis’ Earth…Several days ago

Persis is at her  apartment home seen in SAS ( https://m.made-in-china.com/product/Light-Gauge-Steel-Frame-Modern-Luxury-2-Story-Prefab-Homes-757716112.html ) sitting at a desk in her room that now has bookcases and pictures of family and Sonic and his friends on the wall. She is in her white mage robe looking at paperwork…

Persis: (munching on crackers) Ugh…I wish I could hang out more with the SSSS Squad*, but all this “business stuff” is so time consuming…and tedious! The only person who can even really help me with this is Aunt Althaia, and she’s done enough with getting me all the legal stuff I’ve needed to know including …*sigh* general liability insurance and liability waivers and blah blah blah… I can’t wait to actually get to the more fun bits again!…and why am I talking to myself out loud again??

*The five members of  Super Special Sonic Search and Squeal Squad or SSSSS Squad are Annie, Lah, Mina, Miles, Chip,)

(REF- waivers- (https://www.nextinsurance.com/blog/business-liability-waiver/) 

*KNOCK KNOCK*

Persis: Knocking? ( Perks up)  I wasn’t expecting anyone….*sigh* I hope it’s not someone else thinking I can somehow just magically bring them to see Sonic again…

Persis now opens the door to see a black gentleman Don, his ID prominent showing his name, and an anthropomorphic male white bat wearing a robe and hood, making him seem more like a midget than a bat. 

Persis: Uhhhhh…..Hello? Can I help you? (Has door open just enough to see who it is)

She looks very quizzically at the white bat next to him.

Don and the white bat look a moment at each other and then back at Persis.

Don: Evening Ma’am. The opposite actually. My name is Don. I work on the International Space Station (shows ID closer), my friend here is from a world I think you’d be familiar with…

White Bat:( head nod) Good evening. Our paths have crossed before, though you were probably not aware of it. When… Rouge went to retrieve the Chaos Emerald at the amphitheater during Eggman’s reward ceremony when he was last here,  I cut the power to make things run a little more smoothly. I…I’m Rouge’s father. You can call me “Piggy Bank…”

Persis: (mouth agape) Wow….!!!Oh… my… gosh! Um, why don’t you come in and just tell me everything?

They now go inside to the living room area and Piggy Bank removes his cloak. 

Persis: Do you guys want anything?

Don: Thank you, but it’s already a bit of a risk for us to even be here, even with precautions.

Piggy Bank: He is correct. I will be as succinct as possible.

Persis: Well, first can you tell me how Rouge’s dad is working with an astronaut? And why you’re here and not your own world??

Don: (laughs) Hahahaha I told ya, I TOLD YOU Piggy! You can’t just jump into everything like that without giving the young lady here the whole story! I’d be curious too!

Piggy Bank: Though at the expense of time mind you, I guess it can’t be avoided…*sigh* I met Don some time after I ended up here after escaping my own world after having helped —

Persis: —Sonic’s dad Saido or Sedric??

Piggy Bank: Yes??

Persis: Sonic told me the cliff notes version before leaving last time about when he was a kid on Christmas Island….(shakes head) and Tails filled in the details for me. From what Tails told me, I don’t really blame him for not wanting to relive that story over and over again…

Piggy Bank: I see… Well then that makes this easier. After coming here much to my surprise, I came across Don when I found we had a similar goal in mind… 

Don: Why do you gotta make it all like that? “Your similar goal” was to grab a burger at McDonalds! Now, I’m not knocking that, I mean I was too after all! Sometimes you just need a break from “healthy eating” for a nice, healthy amount of horrible junk food! Haha! I still remember seeing you in that horrible outfit or “disguise” of yours..You looked like a roadkill fashion disaster trying to order a burger!

Piggy Bank: *Sigh* (deflated ) I have no dignity left…

Don: Now, come here you. 

The both now have a hand clasp and shoulder bump, as if part of secret handshake, and  then Piggy Banks gives a brief smile.

Don:All things considered, you did alright. It’s gotta be a hard time to make it on another world…why don’t you just finish up so we can get to why we’re here in the first place.

Piggy Bank: I’d appreciate that. Don saw me and ordered for both of us. He was understandably curious about me, but I was unsure whether he was trustworthy or not, human or otherwise. I went to leave and go my separate way when a voice that had guided me well before told me to confide in him.

Persis: My advocate?

Piggy Bank: Hm…yes, I believe so. Don was…”thrilled,” to put it mildly.

(Don is jumping around in a flashback panel  shouting “Yes! YES! This is a dream come truuuuue!!!!” Outside of a McDonalds in the parking lot at night as he stands next to fashion disaster Piggy Bank standing there unsure how to take the enthusiasm.)

Don: All this time you look for little green men on Mars, when you come to find a white talking anthropomorphic bat from another dimension just right in your backyard instead!

Piggy Bank: I’d mostly worked alone trying to find out what I could about this world’s government engagements, particularly as it related to research and defense, space and otherwise,  and then now sharing it with Don. At times I would encounter this advocate of yours, and through it,  had a means to even leave a letter to Rouge.

Persis: Why not just come back?

Piggy Bank: I’ve since decided I’m more needed here in your world.

Persis: She might not feel that way though…I know I’d miss my dad if he was gone so long.

Piggy Bank: And….Believe me, that has often crossed my mind, but I think it’s better I stay here….as if she’d even want to see me at this point anyway….

Persis: But !…

Piggy Bank: PLEASE!…please… my mind is made up. As difficult as things can be here, I no longer belong there.

Don: *Shakes head*Believe me, Persis, this isn’t the first time we’ve gone round on this. Stubborn ol’ bat….

Persis: Aww—.

Piggy Bank: Yes, I am stubborn, so please, let’s not get distracted. I really don’t want to discuss this, yet again…

Persis: OK….(defeated )

Piggy Bank: Now, as I was saying, Don and I would keep in touch, meeting from time to time, though by far one of the biggest events we’ve come across you are all too familiar with, when Dr. Robotnik..I guess he’s known by Eggman more now, came to this world. At the time Don was on the ISS Space Station. He was one of the ones that had been brought by Dr. Eggman to see all he had on the Death Egg and saw his Chaos Cannon up close. In case the situation arose, Don was able to extract valuable intel, and that is what we’re here about.

Persis eyes simply go wide as looks on in surprise and amazement, unspeaking.

Persis: Uh…ok..? So …as far —

Don: Why don’t you allow me to elaborate a bit for the young confused lady here? When Eggman left here, not all of his tech was in plain sight. While Super Sonic and Super Shadow took care of all the more obvious tech Eggman had made, he still had things that were hidden as backup, including a backup portal.

Persis: A portal?! Really? Is it…functioning?

Piggy Bank: Not yet from what we can tell, though it seems to run primarily off of ring energy at the very least…I remember before I left, that using ring energy in machinery  had been something “Eggman’d” been developing, thanks in part to observations during his dealings with Millie …It’s a shame she trusted him as much as she did, only a bit suspicious. Though…(smile)I think she trusted me more than her own subordinate Radburn. And I was pleasantly surprised to find out from Jack Little on my brief visit back that Millie’d commissioned Sonic’s second plane, “the Tornado,”….but, now I’m getting sidetracked! 
Don and I both have reason to believe your government, including those in your Department of Defense, intend to use this portal for nefarious ends. Unfortunately Don was not able to keep the portal’s location secret from them without blowing his cover…

Persis: Wait, so is Don an astronaut or a mole?

Don: Both now actually.

Persis: But how would that work?…aren’t you a part of NASA or is that part of the Department of Defense?

Don: Alright, so I’m assuming then you don’t know much about how all these departments work together then?

Persis: Well, I’ve never really needed to know to be honest.

Don. Alright I’ll give you the “cliff notes” version. Now as a refresher, The Department of Defense or DOD, is the executive branch of the government supervising all agencies related to national security including  branches like the Air Force..

Persis: So is NASA part of the Air Force?

Don: I’m gettin’ to that, but NASA, which I’m a part of, is civilian, and supposed to be all about peaceful, scientific, and open aeronautical and space research and operations, while it’s the Department of Defense, (DoD) that’s supposed to do all the activities related to military operations and defense. That being said, there’ve been some definite collaborations with the DOD, especially the Air Force, with NASA and the CIA. That’s how I have my connections. Since I was the one who found out about the portal on the Death Egg, I’m in it that way too, ‘cept  of course for the “nefarious” part. 

====================================================================

REF-Air Force and DOD connections…also Space Force and NASA distinctions.

NASA, DOD Agree to Collaborate More Closely in Space

https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/2356511/nasa-dod-agree-to-collaborate-more-closely-in-space/

The legislation establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958 attempted to create separate and distinct civilian and military aeronautical and space programs. It directed NASA to conduct peaceful, scientific, and open aeronautical and space research and operations and the Department of Defense (DoD) to perform these activities related to military operations and defense.[1]

https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB509/

NASA is civilian. They do exploration and science.

Space Force is military. They do security and weapons.

Very different missions, just both of those missions can involve going to space.

What’s the difference between Space Force and NASA?

Both organizations work to improve our capabilities in space but with different directives. NASA is a civil agency that focuses on developing resources for education, exploration, supervision and research, while Space Force is a military service centered around the vital capabilities needed to defend the United States’ interests and freedom to operate in space.

https://www.spaceforce.com

While Space Force resides within the Department of the Air Force, and while all of its senior leaders remain (former) airmen, it is even more vital to have a cultural identity clearly distinct from the Air Force

https://www.militarytimes.com/opinion/commentary/2020/09/03/space-force-or-air-force-lite-identity-matters/

***********

From SAS (nature of Persis connection to Sonic’s world)

Advocate: Persis, though one must be careful with energy transfer between worlds,  now that you are whole, the rift created when you requested them here is now  also more stable and whole. Therefore, ring energy can now more readily and safely brought into this world. 

Persis: So then what does that mean for them?

Advocate:  It means You should now be able to transfer ring energy from their world, and be able to heal Sonic, bringing him back into the field of energy of his own world. 

Tails: Fascinating…

Persis: Wow, really? I can do something like that???  That’s awesome! What a great ability! Yay! I finally get to help you!..it’s the least I can do.

Amy: Heal? Sonic, were you hurt??  (Looks back at the sheepishly grinning Sonic) Oh Sonic! (Sees scratches in light from the advocate)

Sonic: Eh, I’ll be fine Amy. It wasn’t that bad.

Amy: But  you always say that…

Sonic: Yeah? Well, it wasn’t…

Tails now looks back too, and Shadow…who glances now thoughtfully at Persis.

Tails: Whoa! Sonic! Wait, You really did get hurt! Did…

Persis looks away red and embarrassed.

Persis: When I let “Danaë” have control ..I…um..

Tails: Er, I, sorry…

Sonic: Hey now! I’ve had worse than this, the important thing is we did what we came to do and Persis is ok now.

Persis: Well, let me heal you transferring ring energy…

Sonic: Sure!

Persis now touches Sonic’s forehead,  and the scratches and cuts disappear.

Tails: Whoa!

Sonic: Haha! No kidding! Thanks!

Shadow is a bit slack-jawed as he is amazed at her healing ability.

Amy: O Persis! He’s completely healed! (Clasps hands) Thank you! (

Persis: Of course! I never knew I could do this! This is so great! But why couldn’t I do this before?

Advocate: If this had been attempted as such before, it would have risked you not reuniting with your body. Your soul was still in a state of uncertainty, while holding a connection made with both worlds within that lingered when you called for them, allowing you to sense their well-being and still have some connection to your true body.Bringing the high additional energy of the rings, that are without the dimensional properties of the emeralds, would have risked even further instability.

Persis: And this would apply to ring energy transfer for healing only someone like Sonic who uses them right?

Advocate: Yes.

Tails: Hm…Um Advocate, just a question… as far as this ring energy transfer, will Sonic still be able lose resistance to damage like before afterwards?

Advocate: Good question Tails. As I was going to mention, though he can be brought back to his normal high resistance to damage here, it’s still conditional. Rings aren’t an intrinsic part of this world, so while here he can still be brought into the influence of this reality and lose stars.

Tails: Interesting…

=============================================================================================================

STORY

Persis: (looks around and then whisper)Are you sure talking to me here is safe?

Piggy Bank: I brought enough tech from my world to cloud us for something like this for now, but I don’t want to push it too much.

Persis: They wouldn’t be after me would they?

Don: Don’t you worry about that. Piggy Bank and I took the initiative to check on that ourselves. You see, though you’ve been spotted with Sonic, as far as they’re concerned, you don’t have any particular special form of communication or contact with him any more than anyone else here.

Persis: *Whew* That’s what I’ve kept saying! We just helped each other out as friends. 

Piggy Bank: What was most fortunate is that you weren’t seen transporting “Boom Eggman” here, or you may have been a much greater person of interest than you are….your advocate seeming to have helped hide you along with your own efforts to be enough distance away from the crowd.

Persis: Wait, how did you know tough? My advocate?

Piggy Bank: Yes.

Persis: Ok..Hmm…and another thing, so I’m guessing then maybe some the people who’ve come up to me wondering where Sonic is, and wanted contact with him were…?

Piggy Bank: Yes. From the government.  Luckily they believed you and had the surveillance to prove what you said was true, that “you have no special means of contact to him or his world,” or yes your safety would be more of an issue. Don and I have checked on your safety in the meantime as well to be sure though.

Persis: Awwww! That’s so sweet! Thank you for that!  As far as everything else, this is all very intriguing and fantastical, but why are you telling me all this? I’m really not sure how I would be of any help for something like this…

Piggy Bank: This advocate of yours informed me you had a connection to the ring energy in Sonic’s world that allowed you to heal him. It is with this ability you could help.

Persis: Oh, that’s right…I was able to do that at least to help Sonic that way but…I’ve not really thought about that ability related to when he wasn’t here, so…how could that help exactly?

Piggy Bank: We believe this portal is able to still access just  enough ring energy from my world to remain functioning, and we think since you seem to have had access to this kind of energy before, you would be able to close it with that energy before it falls into the wrong hands.

Don: Unfortunately our DOD,  well at least a part of it,  is playing out just like the bad guys. We think they’ll probably try to get ahold of Sonic and Shadow and in a classic bad guy maneuver, capture and well, experiment on them, to create some sort of super soldier. 

Persis: What?? E-experiment??

Piggy Bank nods.

Chapter 10- Alien Amigos

Chapter Text

TEXTBOX: Still Persis’ Earth…Several days ago 

Persis: Ωχ! (och)! (shakes head) So…so evil!!!

==========================================================

Greek REF-Ωχ

Ωχ! (och): we use it when we hear something unpleasant or something unexpected

https://blogs.transparent.com/greek/show-your-emotions-with-greek-interjections/

======================================================

Don: Now I don’t think it’s everybody, but enough of them. That being said, I don’t know what craziness makes them think they can capture those two especially on their own home turf.

Persis: Well, (smiles) there is that too!

Don: Though it seems like they may try to knock them out asleep from what I’ve been able to gather, since well, it’s not like they could take on those two in any fair fight! Either way, they don’t belong there. 

Persis: Definitely! So when are we going?!

Don: Well! You sure are eager!

Piggy Bank: As soon as possible.

Persis: I’ve been stuck in looking at the legalities and paperwork hell for my new business for hours, so I definitely welcome the break.

Don: Well come on then, I’ve got a ride waiting outside! 

Persis: Alright! Just give me a second.

Don heads to the vehicle outside and Piggy Bank waits inside the apartment as Persis gets ready now heading upstairs to her bedroom

==================================================================================

Visual REF- Persis Apt. -Top Floor

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/0kad75dphro

==================================================================================

Persis now goes to a corner in her bedroom by the bedroom sporting a five-shelf bookcase and nightstand, with a back nearby band black gun next to the dresser where is a backpack and  nightstand with a Sabre Home Defense Pepper Spray Launcher on the nightstand along with a culpable book light on the book The Forged Coupon by Leo Tolstoy and a 3 inch tall miniature stand Greek Orthodox icon next to a little Sonic statue also vying for space on the little stand. Hanging nearby on the wall is piece of barbed wire from the Berlin Wall  on the part of the wall not window to the balcony which sports the fie shelf bookcase with World and American History, Philosophy, Greek, German, and English dictionaries and various books in said languages including Sticks’ book….and a comics binder….

Persis: I don’t think I’ll need it,  buuut just in case…(grabs pepper spray gun) and of course!! 

She now grabs the Tolstoy book as well as the Sabre gun to put in the  backpack that has the  camouflage cloak made by Tails that she still has. She eyes the bookcase and decides to grab more books to bring and put in her backpack. Persis now heads downstairs to the waiting Piggy Bank.

 Persis: Alright, ready! Let’s go!

Piggy Bank: Persis, before we go, are you sure you don’t need to maybe leave a note to say that you’re ok?

Persis: Um…I live alone actually..

Piggy Bank: Oh. I see…it’s just given the size of the apartment….

Persis: Yeah… but I do have a gang of friends I see like the SSSSS Squad headed by my cousin Annie who stays over sometimes, and then there’s my aunt, dad, mom and sister Cassandra, who  live nearby and I see them a lot too! So…I don’t stay alone all the time during the day.

 Piggy Bank: Ah! Yes, of course, that was part of the intel we had on you already. Well, shall we go?

Persis: Yep!

Piggy Bank: …If I may ask, what’s in the backpack? It won’t be that far….

Persis: (gleefully) Oh just some friends of mine!

Piggy Bank look horrified : W-what? Sorry?? Friends?? IN your backpack????

Persis: (drawing realization) Oh , no, no, no…not…not friends in that sense! Friends in the sense of books I wanted to read!

Piggy Bank (Sigh of relief) Oh! Good to know! I wasn’t sure if you had other abilities I wasn’t aware of… I read myself when I can.

Persis: Really??? What books?

Piggy Bank: Not now. Don’s waiting for us in the van. It is still a bit of a drive. 

Persis: Alright, So, where is the portal exactly?

 They both now get in the van with the now hooded Piggy Bank up front and Persis in back.

Piggy Bank: Monument Valley…Don has access already of course to the area, but you and I will need to hide our approach…

****

TEXTBOX: Monument Vally, Dusk

 Various normally dressed people are loitering at a secluded spot of Monument Valley on an area closed off to the public.

CIA officer Aidan : The location coordinates show the  portal should be around here, but there must have been some other means to get to its exact location.

DOD officer Emilio: Well, we’ll call it a night for now. It’ll be time for the night shift soon to keep any too curious onlookers away. We wouldn’t want this to fall into the wrong hands after all!

Aidan: Hahahaha! * Nods *

The agents then leave the fenced in area that is set up to look like an archaeological dig.

=================================================================================

REF- Showing such DOD and CIA gov’t positions exist…

In DOD…(Emilio)

JOHN KREUL

Chief Operating Officer, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Policy)

https://policy.defense.gov/OUSDP-Offices/Meet-the-Team/#

IN CIA…(Aidan)

Main article: Central Intelligence Agency

The Directorate of Science & Technology (DS&T) is the branch of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) tasked with collecting and analyzing information through technological means and developing technical systems to advance the CIA's intelligence gathering.^[1]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Intelligence_Agency_Directorate_of_Science_%26_Technology}

Officers in the Directorate of Science and Technology work closely with their counterparts in the Directorate of Operations, providing them with the technical support and innovative solutions they need to achieve success in their intelligence collection missions.

https://www.cia.gov/about/organization/#directorate-of-science-and-technology

An Officer typically denotes someone who has a specific rank or position of authority, often in the military or police. 

An Official, on the other hand, refers to someone appointed or elected to an office, especially in the public sector.

======================================================================================

STORY

TEXTBOX: Soon…

 Persis is in the back seat of the van with the book “The Forged Coupon” by Leo Tolstoy in her hands as well as a book light, with Piggy Bank and Don in front driving down the lonely road at night.

Persis: (puts book down) It’s hard to believe Sonic had only just been here maybe a little over a week ago*…I know I probably can’t ask you a whole lot nor can you tell me a whole lot but…I was just wandering if you could tell me a little more about yourselves at least

*July 15-22

Piggy Bank:Hmm… Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt anything…but why don’t you start Don.

Don: Me first? Well I don’t know why I should start, you’re the actual alien, Nick.

Persis: Nick?

Piggy Bank: Nicholas is my given name, but Piggy bank was my mining name, and will always have a place for me because of that …Don just finds it too long to say all the time, but I don’t mind “Nick,” either.

Don: You know what? We’re making good time. Why don’t we stop a moment and stretch our legs a bit, or for you, wings?

Piggy Bank: (smile) And look at the stars?

Don: And look at the stars! I even made sure to bring an Aberlour 16 Year Old Scotch Whisky, should my good friend here get the opportunity to enjoy it under a brilliant night sky! I can’t so much as the driver of course but, I thought you’d like that…

Piggy Bank: Yes, I certainly would! Ah, It’s a good drink choice… Thank you, (Small head nod) it is a welcome surprise. 

Persis: Hm… So… what’s it taste like?

Piggy Bank: Care to try it?

Persis: Maybe, can you give me some idea of the taste? I know alcohol has its own language about how taste is described.

Piggy Bank: It does! Alright then, it has a pleasant rich “oaky” flavor as you call it, along with “notes” of vanilla with ripe fruits and spices….I find it excellent to savor, and just enjoy at an easy pace. It has become a favorite of mine. … So, willing to try it now?

Persis: Thanks!…but just a bit…

Piggy Bank: Just a moment then…

Don now stops on one of the lonely roads by the side of the road out in a desert area. Everyone gets out as Don grabs a styrofoam box cooler in back and to grab a backpack while Piggy Bank grabs a blue blanket. As the blanket is set down, and everyone sits down. Don pulls out a Vintage Gentleman Flask and a shot glass from a form-fitting styrofoam box and Piggy Bank fills it with the flask and hands one to Persis, and then himself, as he then looks up at the stars. Persis takes a sip but then explains in surprise,“Wow! Is-Is whisky really this smooth???

Piggy Bank: This one is at least.

  Don and Piggy Bank laugh and Piggy Bank lifts his glass in a cheers.  

Persis: But…the alcohol is a bit more too though isn’t it? 

Piggy Bank: I do fine, but yes.

Persis: Alright, well….I may just stop there so I don’t get tipsy before the portal stuff.

========================================================================================

REF-Whisky

Single malt drinkers are mature and well-informed

“Single malt drinkers know exactly how their whiskey should be served,” says Brown. They have a very advanced understanding of alcohol, but never feel the need to brag about it (unlike certain wine collectors). Single malt drinkers are mature, in that they prefer sipping and savoring their drinks.

https://www.rd.com/list/alcoholic-drink-says-personality/

Aberlour 16 Year Old Scotch Whisky

https://web.archive.org/web/20220625172355/https://drizly.com/liquor/whiskey/scotch-whisky/aberlour-16-year/p6050

It has the best of both words—a rich, oaky structure with some sweet vanilla notes from the lengthy time in bourbon barrels, and ripe fruits and spices from the sherry casks.

https://www.liquor.com/best-single-malt-scotch-whiskies-5070384

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STORY

 Don: Probably not a bad idea. We’ll be there soon, but we want to be sure it’s after the day shift’s left. Til then? It’s a nice chance to go star-gazing a bit..

Piggy Bank: Excellent. They are Stunning. Absolutely stunning.

Don: I never get tired of looking at them either Nick. …especially here where there’s less light pollution, and you can actually really SEE the stars. How about you Persis?

Persis: No,  I don’t get tired of them either…but in town you don’t see them like HERE! Their beauty’s more hidden, and people are just too much in a rush to enjoy them or see them…sometimes for people even when they do see them I think…

Don: Shame isn’t it?

Persis: Yeah..people don’t know how to be still, or even know WHY they shouldn’t be distracted with constant amusements and diversions, unable to hear yourself and be present to what’s going on in you. I mean it’s something like this, not paying attention to anything with focus, that activates the Default Mode Network of the brain, or imagination network,  that is the brain’s resting-state circuitry and is central to imagination and creativity…which is why ideas can come to people in the shower when they’re more like in the “Default Mode Network” of the brain. Instead it’s like there’s this heavy near constant use of the executive, goal-oriented part of the brain.

Don: Huh. So, by the way, are you autistic Persis?

Persis: Wha-? I…

Don: Now, I don’t mean to put you on the spot or anything or change the subject, just curious..

Persis: I -I don’t know…

Don: Hey, don’t worry about it, you just kinda reminded me of a co-worker who is, that’s all. But yeah, nice point about the brain.

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REF-Default Mode Network

The other is the default mode network, also known as the imagination network. This is the brain’s resting-state circuitry — the regions that come online when you’re not paying attention to anything in particular. This is what activates during downtime. 

As it turns out, the imagination network is central to innovation and creativity. Studies show that creativity depends on the interaction of multiple cognitive processes, some of which are unconscious and occur only when we’re not focusing on a task.

https://neuroleadership.com/your-brain-at-work/downtime

Diversion cannot bring sustained happiness, since it locates the source of happiness outside of us;

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/pascal-on-our-addiction-to-distraction/?amp

https://www.science.org/content/article/people-would-rather-be-electrically-shocked-left-alone-their-thoughts

“To find recreation in amusements is not happiness; for this joy springs from alien and extrinsic sources, and is therefore dependent upon and subject to interruption by a thousand accidents, which may minister inevitable affliction

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STORY

Persis: Oh…I did it again didn’t I?…Small talk really isn’t a strength of mine.

Don: That’s ok. But sure, being still can be great too! Especially when it’s to look at something like those stars. I used to just imagine what other life there might be…

Persis: But not anymore…

Piggy Bank: Vast understatement.

Don: Yep, and meeting Piggy Bank here  was a dream come true! Someone from another planet! I used to watch the sky all the time as kid, and sometimes imagine if met someone from one of those stars…I would save all my money up to get the nicest telescope I could find,  just so I could look at the sky at night…I remember hoping one day I could even make it into space…

(Don is seen as a kid with telescope looking outside in his brief flashback.)

Don: …and then when I did? It was Incredible. There’s a real sense of connection there….I remember looking for where I lived, my home, in the cupola on the ISS, but seeing the Earth like that without lines, I just came to think of the whole Earth as home. 

(Don is now seen looking down on Earth in the ISS from the cupola)

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REF-Astronaut Overview Effect

https://www.inverse.com/article/57841-nasa-astronauts-describe-overview-effect-everything-changed

Music Video in the Cupola

Chris Hadfield’s version of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDyl6I6ESSw&list=RDpDyl6I6ESSw&start_radio=1

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STORY

Persis: Wow…that’d be so amazing…So Piggy Bank, what about you? Do you see earth as home?

Piggy Bank: ( takes a sip of whisky )Hmm… I don’t know now if any one place for me now is really…though I am glad to have some connection here now too.

Don: Ain’t that the truth my bat alien amigo? Even though Piggy Bank here is technically an alien, there’s a lot more we had in common than I would’ve thought, especially when it comes to just carin’ about people y’know?

Intermittent Flashback narration begins

Don narrates: I remember one night I was meetin’ up with Piggy Bank and he was runnin’ late, and so far he’d never been late. I began wondering despite our precautions if he’d been caught, but I’d have thought I’d be in the know for something like that. 

(Flashback Don is seen just outside a wooded area behind a house at night)

 Don Narrates: Well, as it turns out, Piggy Bank had taken it upon himself to do a little side mission…. You see, though he usually sleeps part of the day he’d been spying a bit, or “people-watching,” at a park some during the day too, hidden and all that of course. 

Piggy Bank: (small smile) And it was a way to see what other people here were like besides Don….

Don: Well, people can be crazy…including me for taking in an alien. 

Piggy Bank: That’s not crazy. I think it’s crazy when you don’t help when you can…especially when the other isn’t a threat.

(Flashback Piggy Bank is way up high in a tree looking down on a little side path going through a park)

Don : Just like you have…you wanna tell the story?

Piggy Bank: You’re fine to. (Takes sip and gives a content look). 

Don narrates: Alright, well, one day my white batty friend notices how a little girl dropped her doll in the little stream there. Well, Nick here looked to see the license plate of the little girl’s parent’s car, and was able to  find out the address…

Persis: He found out the address?…legally?

Piggy Bank’s mouth ends curls up a bit in a  mischievous smile.

Don: Well, legal and right aren’t always the same thing, depends… and if we’re going for legal, Nick here is an illegal alien in more than one sense of the word!

Piggy Bank: And (sip) I sincerely doubt your government would give me legal permission to spy on what THEY are doing illegally and immorally. And as far as my access to info, I do have access, but I won’t abuse that power. I couldn’t live with myself if I did.

Persis: Oh…Hmm…I see…I mean I know certain things can at times be legal but unjust, though ideally law is based on natural law, moral principles that can be discovered through reason and can be known to be wrong without being told, like unjust killing. And though maybe in your case you try to do good…not all literal aliens would try to though.

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Author’s Note: Natural Law and goodness

Me: Ah…yeah…this is exactly the kind of thing where I especially mean I was the primary audience, as I enjoy this kind of thing and enjoy philosophical debates and books…if this story was aimed toward a more general audience, it would definitely be less explicitly philosophical as that’s just not how Sonic stories, and many fiction stories for that matter, go. This was just something special I did for me because I could. I have no idea if anyone else would really care for this in a Sonic story of all things….that’s just my weirdness…Anyway back to the natural law excerpt….

“Natural law is a philosophical theory that asserts that certain rights, values, and responsibilities are inherent in human nature. It is the idea that there is a set of universal moral principles that are not dependent on the rules of society or positive law. Natural law is derived from nature and can be discovered through reason.

In the United States, natural law has played a crucial role in shaping the country's legal system and Constitution. The founding fathers, including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, were influenced by the ideas of natural law when drafting the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. These documents express the belief in natural rights and justice that are applicable to all people, regardless of political exceptions.

One key example of natural law in the US context is the universally accepted understanding that killing another human being is wrong. This belief is inherent in human beings and does not require legislation to be understood as morally wrong. Similarly, the idea that two people who create a child naturally become the parents and caregivers of that child is another example of natural law.

https://lawshun.com/article/how-was-natural-law-created

From Morality encyclopedia article 

Though there is wide divergence as to theories of ethics, there is a fundamental agreement among men regarding the general lines of conduct desirable in public and private life. Thus Mr. Hobhouse has well said: “The comparative study of ethics, which is apt in its earlier stages to impress the student with a bewildering sense of the diversity of moral judgments, ends rather by impressing them with a more fundamental and far-reaching uniformity. 

Through the greatest extent of time and space over which we have records, we find a recurrence of the common features of ordinary morality, which to my mind at least is not less impressive than the variations which also appear”Plainly this uniformity regards principles rather than their application. (Morals in Evolution, I, i, n. 11)

https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/morality

I think for the most part there is a enormity of agreement regarding principles,

 even if we don’t agree on application, or casuistry. I think most would say for example (a la Kreeft’s History of Morality) that there’s agreement that 

Justice is good, injustice is bad. Courage is good and cowardice is bad. Love is good and hatred is bad.

From free article I found and available publicly…

Michell, Mark T. Are Non-Theocratic Regimes Possible?.  The Intercollegiate  Review

(Note from me before getting further regarding Terms:….it might be good to note that by theocratic and God what is meant by that too…Below is an interesting thing I came across from Jordan Peterson…and I don’t know know how much I agree with him, but frankly in order to avoid the Genetic Fallacy, I have books from people from different worldviews from me as long as they tackle ideas with arguments and not insults. Just because X said it, I still want to look at the PARTICULAR statement and not just automatically judge it because of who said it. It might give me an initial idea, but not always a final one. And so with that disclaimer, a relevant talk I saw from Jordan Peterson that may be a good way to see what would be a good meaning as far as it meaning “goodness”in an absolute sense NOT dependent on what the government or majority decides is good or not, including your own right to life. And meaning God as a concept of goodness not dependent on the whims of governmentto thus answers the philosophical dilemma know as…

The Divine Command Theory (presupposing God)

Euthyphro by Plato - Is good good because God commands it, or does God command it because it is good? Or in Euthyphro, the gods, but if what the quarreling gods argued over what was just, then how could they argue about it? Couldn’t they just change what was just? ”Do the gods love piety because it is pious,or is it pious because they love it?” If morality is objective then you can’t just have a bunch a different gods opinions about what is just or it’s completely transcendent and arbitrary! “Piety and what is pleasing to the gods are different things.”  

So...where does this leave God? 

Does it make Him independent of morality?

If God commands what is good because it is good because God is good (ness) then it’s basically circular. 

I thought this explained it well.

http://carm.org/euthyphro-dilemma

The Euthyphro dilemma comes from Plato’s Euthyphro dialogue, which has had different forms over the centuries.  Basically, it is “Are moral acts willed by God because they are good, or are they good because they are willed by God?"  Another way of saying it is, does God say that things are moral because they are by nature moral, or do they become moral because God declares them to be?

The dilemma is that if the acts are morally good because they are good by nature, then they are independent of God.  These acts would already be good in themselves and God would have to appeal to them to "find out" what is good.  On the other hand, if something is good because God commands that it is good, then goodness is arbitrary and God could have called murder good and honesty not good.

The Euthyphro dilemma is actually a false dichotomy.  That is, it proposes only two options when another is possible.  The third option is that good is based on God’s nature.  God appeals to nothing other than his own character for the standard of what is good, and then reveals what is good to us. God being the one who’s essence is being and one of the philosophers as well.

Ok…ACTUALLY to Jordan Peterson this time…

“Carl Jung made this claim that…”whatever sits atop your pinnacle of value is functionally equivalent to God….

…”Our category systems are not so much about dividing the material world into its appropriate entities, but about carving up our experience into categories of tools and obstacles so that we can attain certain valued goals. And so we’re always directing our action towards the attainment of a goal. And so that means we’re immersed in a value structure. And so Jung’s point was whatever sits at the pinnacle of your value structure serves the function of God.

Now you might have a fragmented value structure, which means in some sense that you’re psychologically polytheistic. And the problem with that is that then you’re a house divided among itself. You’re pulling in multiple directions simultaneously. Impulsive people are like that, right? And they don’t understand themselves because one day they go left and the other day they go right, and you know, they have no control over themselves at all

Now you said, well, there’s no objective God, and that seems to be a reasonable hypothesis.The question then I suppose then, I suppose to what degree are subjective experiences real? And that’s a matter of definition. I think the religious impulse is an inevitable consequence of the fact that it’s necessary for people to live inside hierarchies of value and that we feel a sense of awe. The sense of awe we feel with regards to the highest value is no not distinguishable from the existence of the value itself.

 Now, and there’s real advantages to the idea of a detached God in some sense. And one of the things I’ve learned about archaic concepts of sovereignty is that detaching the idea of ethical..of ethics itself and ethical power from the holder of power is an extraordinarily useful thing to do, because otherwise the king becomes the embodiment of the God, and then the king can do no wrong.

Then you have a tyrant.

If the idea of power and sovereignty is detached from the individual and set up as a higher virtue that even the sovereign is responsible to,  then the sovereign, at least in principle, can never put himself forward as an absolute.

And you can think of that as just as a development of human’s capacity to abstract, right? We can abstract the idea of sovereignty. We can abstract the idea of ethics and virtue. We can hypothesize that as an ideal. We can embody it as a personality. It’s actually quite useful because it’s something we have to act out.

Now you might say, well, what relationship does that have to, you know, to the existence of something transcendent in the religious sense outside of that abstract conceptualization? And the answer to that is, we don’t know if you if you familiarize yourself with the writings of people who’ve had profound religious experiences, it’s chronically the case that they describe encountering something that transcends them and that they describe it as more real than anything they’ve ever encountered.

Now, whether or not that constitutes proof depends on how you define proof. So I’m not making a case for it one way or another. But I mean Jung himself, I mean, when he talked about God, when he was being careful, he didn’t talk about God. He talked about the God image in man. And he was careful never to formally state that the fact that there’s an image of the ideal in the soul, let’s say an archetype, that that provided concrete proof that such an ideal existed, you know, in some transcendent manner. But the world is a weird place, and it’s not something I would rule out.

So you know, it’s not like we understand the world very well, and the materialist you know, they try to encapsulate the entire world within the materialist philosophy and like more power to them. It’s been an unbelievably successful tool, but we haven’t cracked consciousness in the least. And there is something about consciousness that is world creating and there's something transcendent about consciousness. And it also seems capable of a kind of infinite expansion and it isn’t obvious why any of this is the case. Not obvious at all. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcRdiW74Vq8

END  of Note from me before getting further regarding Terms and back to quote

 “But what Aquinas means by the third kind of law, “natural law,” is not what that term came to designate in modernity, i.e., the fiction of a pre-political state of affairs in which human beings were governed by their desire for self- preservation alone.

Nature in classical and political thought are at odds. Leibniz observed against Hobbes “According to Aristotle , we call ‘natural’ what is most in keeping with the perfection of the nature of a definite thing; but Mr. Hobbes calls ‘natural state; the one in which the least amount of art is to be found, perhaps because he did not consider that human nature in its perfection carries art within itself.” For Aquinas, following Aristotle in a ways, “natural law” comes from man in particular not nature in general. This isn’t just the purely biological, animal dimension which he has in common with animals but it’s expressed by his rational side, with ratio or logos being what most defines man. This “reason” is just for the best means of survival but fostering moral fullness in human nature.

Natural Law therefore has two dimensions for Aquinas. It means something very much like Epicures and Hobbes concerning what is animal in man: care for self preservation. But natural law is located in ratio, in reason and freedom. It is a rational law.

Aquinas defines natural law as “ a share of eternal law in rational creatures.”

(End excerpt)

Me: Animals for example, don’t have the same  moral qualms with killing we do. Humans, regardless atheist or theist saying murder is wrong as an absolute moral principle is a good example of natural law then….regardless of what a government might say…still a topic I wish I had more time to delve into more than I have though…and probably will get back to more such things in depth once I finally finish ALL these Sonic stories. 

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STORY

Piggy Bank: Undoubtedly.

Persis: Hmmm…And I doubt there even is a legal procedure for legalizing aliens from another world, though I’d also worry considering what you said about what they want to Sonic and Shadow, that might try to experiment on you either or dissection like in the movies!

Piggy Bank: (rubs stomach) Yes. Thanks for reminding me.

Persis: I mean just…just be careful ok? And morally too..

Piggy Bank: Morally?

Persis: Paying attention to the means you do something.

Piggy Bank: ….You mean about the license plate address?

Persis: Well, it’s…its just it’s something I think about, about being careful about the means towards a good  end…I mean, good intentions don’t by themselves make the act itself good. Some things are always wrong, intrinsically evil, no matter what, like killing the innocent.  Like, you can’t say have the state punish someone innocent in hopes to curb behavior of those who aren’t! Intentions and circumstances won’t make it good.

Don: Well, someone’s fired up!

Persis: It’s just…Ideas are powerful..so powerful…and have long reaching consequences…

Piggy Bank: You mentioned the example killing the innocent…interesting…are you saying there is a time to kill?

Persis:…Well…for killing at least, I wouldn’t say it’s intrinsically evil like other things…

Don: Whoa! Wasn’t expecting that to come up! Well now, since you brought it up, when are you saying it is?

Persis: Well, if someone is trying to kill you for example, it may end up you kill them just so you aren’t killed yourself since your life is important too. So, self-defense basically, though…I have no idea what I’d actually do in that situation. But that’s double effect, which has its roots in Medieval natural tradition, especially Thomas Aquinas. It’s when an action can have good and bad effects, and you’re not directly intending evil. Some situations are morally complex, but it’s still not doing evil for good to come about.

Piggy Bank: Your reputation proceeds you…It’s certainly an interesting topic, but  on one point, if you go by the good of saving your own life, what line do you draw?

Persis: I see, saying just that it might mean less immediate threats.  Well…I’d say you can’t kill someone merely to save your own life. 

Piggy Bank: But that doesn’t seem to be what you just said…

Persis: It seems so, but what I mean is, you can’t intend an evil act. Here’s a good real life example to show the difference. 
There was a criminal case with that very moral dilemma in Dudley and Stephens in 1884. In that case, it was I think rightly stated, that necessity for your own life is not a reason for murder. The case was about the wrecked yacht Mignonette that was adrift with little hope for rescue. Two of the crew, Tom Dudley and Edwin Stephens, decided that in order to save their own lives, they would need to kill and eat the ship's 17-year-old cabin boy Richard Parker who was really sick. They, um…they killed him and resorted to cannibalism since in their minds, that was how they were going to save their own lives… the cabin boy didn’t exactly volunteer himself. That’s when I’d say killing was wrong, or murder, and not double effect. Also, you wouldn’t kill someone terminally ill who’s still alive just to steal their organs so you can live. 

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REF-consequentalism etc…and morality related to killing

Dudley and Stephens Case mentioned in this good-willed debate)

DEBATE: God's Existence - Alex O'Connor Vs. Trent Horn

1:00 double effect

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=5PF1JgXOKDQ

As someone who likes debates as a way to hear more than one side and can only HELP me understand my own beliefs better, as anything true should be able to withstand accusation, I really appreciated how these two debated in a respectful way that was about the IDEAS and not about attacking the PERSON! That alone puts this debate up there for me.

Principle of double effect

has been significant disagreement about the precise formulation of this principle, it generally states that, in cases where a contemplated action has both good effects and bad effects, the action is permissible only if it is not wrong in itself and if it does not require that one directly intend the evil result…. It has many obvious applications to morally complex cases in which one cannot achieve a particular desired good result without also bringing about some clear evil. ….

third condition writes into the principle of double effect the so-called Pauline principle, "One should never do evil so that good may come."

http://sites.saintmarys.edu/~incandel/doubleeffect.html

—————

Pints With Aquinas

What makes an act good or evil

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pints-with-aquinas/id1097862282?i=1000369270728

Notes:

“The good or evil of an action, as of other things, depends on its fullness of being or its lack of that fullness. 

“The good or evil of an action, as of other things, depends on its fullness of being or its lack of that fullness. Now the first thing that belongs to the fullness of being seems to be that which gives a thing its species.* And just as a natural thing has its species from its form, so an action has its species from its object, as movement from its term. And therefore just as the primary goodness of a natural thing is derived from its form, which gives it its species, so the primary goodness of a moral action is derived from its suitable object… And just as, in natural things, the primary evil is when a generated thing does not realize its specific form (for instance, if instead of a man, something else be generated); so the primary evil in moral actions is that which is from the object, for instance, ‘to take what belongs to another’.”

ST I-II.Q 18. A 2.

Three elements that make up a moral act…moral determinants, the object of the act,** intention of the act, the circumstances or consequences of the act…. All three must be good.

*For a natural thing, a species is from its form.

**The object of act gives it its species. The object being the thing we’re doing.

If a man gives money to beggar to look good then intent is evil.

If object is evil then act intrinsically evil, in and of itself , not evil because of extrinsic circumstances or intent…eg perjury, rape, murder the innocent….The intention and circumstances can’t modify act. Basically ends don’t justify the means.

Teaching and killing morally neutral, don’t say enough about what’s going on to judge

When object is evil mean lacks being, being synonymous with goodness just looked at from different angle. When say something evil, mean lack of something that ought to be there. 

We say a lack of sight is evil, not a lack of wings.

Thomas Aquinas on Killing in Self-Defense

Accordingly the act of self-defense may have two effects, one is the saving of one's life, the other is the slaying of the aggressor. Therefore this act, since one's intention is to save one's own life, is not unlawful, seeing that it is natural to everything to keep itself in "being," as far as possible. And yet, though proceeding from a good intention, an act may be rendered unlawful, if it be out of proportion to the end.

https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3064.htm#article7

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STORY

Don and Piggy Bank just give a raised eyebrow look to each other…and Piggy Bank takes a sip.

Don: Well, Persis, certainly not “small talk,” but I will say it’s interesting…

Piggy Bank: I’ll give it some thought….

Don: That’s right. Though I think I can see what you’re gettin’ at. Maybe Let me get back to you on that. Thankfully so far we haven’t had to deal with killing anyone, or nothing like those kind of situations. We’re more of an intel operation to try to prevent the worse things….

Persis: Yeah…thankfully me either. Though I know those who do…

Piggy Bank: I can imagine who…I’ve wondered myself in regards to Dr. Eggman given the chance what I’d do…

Persis: Oh…

Piggy Bank: Hmm….how’s this for something more…basic, shall we now? What would you say makes something evil?

Persis: Well, again, I’m going to refer to Aquinas with this one…When an object is evil that means it lacks being, with being synonymous with goodness. So when you say something is evil, that means it lacks something that ought to be there. So…we can say a lack of sight is evil, but not a lack of wings….well if you’re human anyway. 

Piggy Bank: Hmph. Well, what about a lack of doll?

Don:…Ha ha! That’s right! I never finished my story about Piggy Bank.

Persis: Oh, sorry! Yes, about the little girl that dropped her doll in the stream at the park!

Don: And I think I left off where Piggy Bank used his well, maybe illegally acquired knowledge to get her address to return, after tracking the doll down covertly, but there was a problem afterwards.

Persis: Problem?

Don: Yep! He came to meet me finally after finding it, but it was one muddy soaked mess of a doll! And then he finally explained to me why’d he not met with me like usual…

Piggy Bank: Yes, I know… (slightly irritated)

Don narrates: Anyhow, he came by wanting to see if I could get the doll cleaned. Well, I ran home, in the middle of the night mind you, to wash the thing. So there I was, sitting  over a bucket of soapy water scrubbing that mud caked doll when my wife Donna wakes up wanting to know, “what in the world I was doing?”.Heh heh heh. 

(See Don scrubbing a doll when his wife with a bathrobe comes in)

Don narrates: Well, When she wondered why I had some  ratted doll,  all I could say is that information was classified, but It was important I got this doll clean! She responded with  “Mm-hmm. ( skeptical and amused) Well, (kiss and smile) why don’t I just help you out with  this “classified mission”?” And I told her, “ I’d be fine with that.”

Don narrates: We washed that doll, fixed up some small repairs, and Donna grabbed some little candies. I could at least tell her I needed to have it returned to a little girl. When I left the house, and was a good ways away, I handed it off to Piggy Bank and he did the rest. 

(See Don walking down a suburban street at night and then towards the woods with the now washed cloth doll, handing off to Piggy Bank)

Don narrates: He left it on their door stop and watched to make sure they got it.

(Piggy Bank waits in a nearby tree by the house until he sees the surprised father come outside that morning to the front porch and pick it up , looking around surprised, the little girl following close behind  picks it up and hugs it tightly)

Don narrates: The next night when we met I asked him about it….

Flashback Don: I’m sure that little girl really appreciated that. That was a good thing you did.

Flashback Piggy Bank: (smile)Well, It was a joint affair. 

FlashbackDon: Yeah it was, though I’m sure my wife thinks I lost my mind tryin’ to wash some ratted doll in the middle of the night, but…hahaha that look on her face was priceless! We had a good time helping you out with your side mission here. If anyone gets too nosy, I can just say it was all me. We can’t have you dissected now can we as Persis put it can we?

Flashback Piggy Bank:….(frowns) I’d appreciate that. Perhaps it was a bit reckless ,on my part. My apologies.

Flashback Don: Oh I think it’ll be ok! You took precautions and I don’t think you were seen. I just want to know one thing, what made you help her?

Flashback Piggy Bank: Well I…I guess I just didn’t want her to be without something that was precious to her. 

(Back to the present) 

Don: Well, Piggy Bank, I’m sure she appreciated it then, well, I’d hope so anyway. I know with my two girls, they each have that one toy they just can’t seem to part with…

Piggy Bank: You’re a father??

Don: Yes siree!

Piggy Bank: All this time…I should have asked…

Don: Don’t worry about it! Just thought I’d mention it in case something happened to me.

Piggy Bank:….Their “White Alien Batman” as you’ve called me before??

Don: You got it!

Persis: This could be that dangerous?

Don: I’m afraid so.

Piggy Bank: I’m not typically petty, but I may be for you not sharing with me your plan to me in case something happened to you, and that you were also a father.

Don: You’ve been more focused on keeping us out of trouble as we look into the government, and besides, I was always the one asking you about your world and home.

Piggy Bank: But still…

Don: Don’t worry about it! There’s always been plenty to mention with me wondering more about YOUR world. Besides, I just thought it would only be rubbing salt in the wound considering you don’t have yours close by, and I could just go on about my crazy daughters after all. There’s nothing else in the world like being a dad…what about you?

Piggy Bank: Yes, true, but…

Don: But what?

Piggy Bank: I left her behind and came here to do what I think…may be needed here. And though I don’t think I should return and stop the work we’re doing, even if I wished to return, I don’t know that’d she even want to see me…

Don: Oh Puh-leaase! You’re going to tell me the kind of person who goes saving little girl dolls, is the same kind of dad she’d never want to see again? Don’t be kiddin’ yourself. Does she even have any idea where you are?

Piggy Bank: No…she just knows I left the island we lived at, Christmas Island…

Don: It’s kinda crazy to me we’ve islands called that here too, and I wonder if there’s something to that. 

Piggy Bank: it is strange, but I couldn’t begin to tell you why.

Don: Well, let’s put a pin in that for some other time. No your fine named daughter Rouge, do you have any way at all you could make contact with her?

Piggy Bank: (Thinks of eudaimon) Yes, I had before…I gave a letter for her to a friend.

Don: Well that’s something at least, even if you’re just so set on staying here, it lets  her know you’re alive and all that and thinking about her.

Piggy Bank: Well, I though I could do that at least…I don’t know where she’d be now, but at least there was someone I know I could at least leave the letter with. No matter what happens to Christmas Island, I thought he’d return there…and eventually maybe run into Rouge too…

Persis: Wow…Yeah…Tails told me Rouge was your daughter Piggy Bank. I wonder if she ever got the letter?

Piggy Bank: I have no idea.

Don: You know Piggy Bank, I don’t care what you say, it sounds to me like you’re a good dad. You do what you can just like with that little girl…

Piggy Bank: (frowns and takes a sip) Let’s not talk about that, my relationship with Rouge is still a sore spot for me, and probably her too.

Don: Alright, alright, just callin’ it as I see it. It was after you did that doll rescue though it helped me realize how much we really had in common, including now just bein’ dads, alien anthropomorphic animal ones, or not…

Piggy Bank: It was somewhat of a flashpoint moment for me as well. Though on our world I’d already seen humans in a limited fashion, I simply didn’t have extensive relations with any beyond anything commercially related. I’d never known one as…a friend. (Smile)

Don: I’m glad you feel that way. I feel the same way. 

Piggy Bank: Yes, we truly had a lot in common and still do. It is something I hope is always realized on our world.

Persis: Is there any reason it wouldn’t be?

Piggy Bank: (knowing wry and bitter grin) Oh yes… but first a bit of background. Though we tend to live separately, with my animal kind living mainly on the islands and the humans on the continents, there is a fair amount of interaction commercially, as well as travel to each others lands, and relations are good as far as I know still though…hmhm,*small laugh* there can be some adjustment to the different sizings of everything when visiting to an extent, given how my kind tend to be only half the height of humans. 

Persis: Oh yeah! I could see that! So the animal people are like the size of hobbits!

Piggy Bank: Hobbits?

Don: Don’t worry about it, they’re from a book and movie.

Piggy Bank: Oh. Well anyway, despite current positive relations,  there have been periods of mistrust, especially when for example as Saido mentioned to me, there were disappearances of many hedgehogs about what I believe would have been about 50 years ago, including Saido’s own maternal and paternal grandparents….

Persis: Disappearances?

Piggy Bank: Yes. It isn’t something  I believe is widely taught in our history….and even though GUN does have a spotted history, I’d argue it isn’t exclusive to them. In any case, when this “mass hedgehog disappearance” is even mentioned, it is heavily implied the Black Arms may have ultimately been behind it, though there is the “conspiracy” that GUN had a hand in it as well, which I think much more likely. 

Persis: Whoah…

Piggy Bank: Yes “whoah.”

Persis: But…isn’t that when Shadow was created?

Piggy Bank: Shadow?

Persis: Oh, you must have left before Dr. Eggman woke him up. He’s a hedgehog with Black Arms alien and hedgehog DNA created by Dr. Gerald Robotnik as a cure for his daughter Maria!

Piggy Bank: (a bit wide eyed) So…it is true…

Persis: What?

Piggy Bank: Sometimes I play video games related to my world in my spare time, but I didn’t know how much they actually showed real events from my world! So yes, I’ve “seen” Shadow from the games, but..

Persis: Hmm…yes, our worlds have some connection, but the games even when they don’t reflect everything in your world accurately, there can be a lot of elements that do reflect it…

Piggy Bank: Then you have to wonder…

Persis: …if those hedgehogs were involved in the creation of Shadow??

Don: Dang! It that’s true, that’s crazy! Alien or otherwise, it looks like you just can’t escape having a shady government.

Piggy Bank: No, at least for some (gives Don a smile) and at the very least it is suspicious, and at times the government is  worse than others. Now GUN’s involvement was never proven, but it is brought up as likely by my kind, for some to highlight for reasons of great distrust of humans, and why relations need to be severed…not that I don’t understand their concerns but… As I told Saido before I left,  even if GUN had been behind it, I saw nothing to be done currently anyway.    
      Unless you proved it was indeed them, well, then what would be the next plan of action besides them admitting to it and give a public apology? Those hedgehogs affected by it are already long gone, and GUN is currently an ally to all the animal people. Not only that, as far as I know there have been no recent completely unjustified aggressions against us like then. As long as GUN is as it is now, is not the GUN as it was in the past and it has since corrected its errors. So, I see no further need to stir the pot of distrust and cause a  wasteful conflict.  What good would that do if they’ve already changed for the better currently?? Some of my kind wouldn’t agree with me however.      
     As for me, I’d rather just move on than deal with pointless clashes of animal and human people in an outright unnecessary WAR on my previous home, and avoiding pointless conflict is something I hope to achieve here in this … other Earth for people like Don…prevention of pointless conflict…

Persis: Wow…just, wow…

Don: *Whew*And so it goes now…we both just do what we can, and with your help, we’re hoping’ we can keep the crazy government from causin’ trouble…maybe even thinkin’ they can get the one up on the anthros there….There is only one kind of one uppin’ I want over alien anthropomorphic animals I want to see, and that’s me beatin’ Piggy Bank here in Poker!…

Piggy Bank gives a hearty laugh and then a glint appears in his eyes.

Piggy Bank: You’re free to try…again.

Don: Have at it alien bat!

TEXTBOX: One Game Later as Don loses again…

Don: Again?! How is it you keep winning almost every time?

Piggy Bank: Hahahahaha! You do well enough at it Don, even Saido struggled against me in Poker. My little Rouge was one of the few who could best me in Poker with any frequency.

Don: No wonder your nickname’s “Piggy Bank, ”you can play poker like nobody I’ve ever seen! It’s almost supernatural! If we played for money, I’m pretty sure I’d be completely broke by now, even with the nice job I’ve got now. 

Piggy Bank: I never play for money. I don’t mind necessary risks, but I’ve seen plenty of my own kind ruin themselves on this game.

Don: Same here. Not that you’d go that route I guess, not with all that you seem to find in caves and who knows where else. It’s not like you’ve got to worry about going broke. 

Piggy Bank: (holds up whisky) Well, I suppose I do have expensive tastes on some things…

Don: Just like your daughter you said. Still, I swear if I didn’t go to a different pawn shop each time for you, they’d be gettin’ awfully suspicious how I was finding’ all the stuff I do to support those expensive tastes.

Piggy Bank: Regardless, I won, so pay up!

Don: Alright, alright!

Piggy Bank: Hmm….Well, I am quite fond of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and ginger candies, though not together.

Persis: That’s…that’s kinda funny actually.

Piggy Bank: What do you mean?

Persis: Well, you may have expensive tastes for alcohol, but those candies are just cheap junk food!

Piggy Bank: (takes a peanut butter cup) Yes, but magnificent in their own way… (takes a bite)

Don: Haha! I hear you on that one! Sometimes it’s nice to have a little junk food now and then, especially with your pals.

Piggy Bank: And I don’t eat TOO MANY. I wouldn’t exactly be able fly like now with an added “sugar belly.”

Persis: And I’d think it’d be lonely to be on a whole other planet without knowing anyone. So what do you usually do for fun?

Piggy Bank: This. Most of the time we enjoy a good drink, and since Don usually loses, he then has to buy drinks and more treats for the next game. (smile) It takes me a bit back to being at the Pub with Jack Little and Saido. I didn’t actually financially need to work in the mines with what I made from my “side gig” selling things I found, but I found I enjoyed the camaraderie in that line of work…something I didn’t find in my side business dealings.

Persis: Hmm…Yeah…I’ve been so busy with starting my business, it’s good to be reminded of the importance of that and slowing down.

(Author’s Note: Haha…Sonic and Persis have opposite problems…)

Don: And speaking of business, we should be able to go “on site” now. Let’s go!

Persis nods a bit anxiously as they now gather their things and they all give a final look at the stars,  before heading towards the portal to Sonic’s world that some in Persis’ government are currently searching for. They leave in silence , though Persis gulps in anxious anticipation.

Chapter 11- An Operation of Stealth and Humor

Chapter Text

TEXTBOX: A short while later…(Still Persis’ world)

 Persis yawns and looks out at the valley to see the rock fixtures of Monument Valley at night on a lonely road, and the van finally stops as they arrive at a site off the road hidden under a giant tent which has air conditioning like this https://web.archive.org/web/20240425042824/https://oceantents.com/product/air-conditioners-large-events/ which is in turn surrounded by a fence. Surveillance cameras are posted outside the tent. 

Don parks his van a decent distance away and they watch as Piggy Bank puts on dark Black fitting clothes that make him difficult to see. Don meanwhile puts his own dark night gear and night goggles on, and  Persis uses the camouflage cape she got from Tails. Piggy Bank flies well above the tent and quickly down in a blind spot by one of the cameras messing with it a bit and then giving a thumbs up that they can see.

Persis: So…what’d he do?

Piggy Bank however now swiftly returns and tells Persis himself before Don can answer.

===================================================================================================================================================

Author Note: At this point I started feel a little stuck flow-wise…all these OCs in this section! Maybe that’s why, even if I think I’ve got a decent idea of them it’s not like I can reference something official like the other characters, but…I only use OCs as needed to make the story flow, as I try not to make them the focus. 

On a side note for OCs, one thing I only realized after the fact is that aspects of Don come from a family friend who passed away when I was kid from a fire, all done not consciously mind you, but something I realized only after the fact. Well, yes, he was black too, but that’s just superficial. Even after all these years I remember how easy-going he was and not one to easily get anger. He was jovial with an easy laugh, and this joviality even came out in his funeral. He’d told friends of his at a funeral for him, “Man, don’t have them just SITTIN’ there.” And so…he had a New Orleans style funeral with trumpets playing “When the Saints Go Marching In” behind his hearse. I guess I never realized the impression he still had on me after all these years…of course Don isn’t a one to one recreation of him, nor was he an astronaut, but…those aspects of him from what I can recall seemed to still find their way in….I hope you don’t mind old family friend….and see it as a form of respect on the positive things I remember about you…after all this time…

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STORY

Piggy Bank: It should be safe to approach now. I hacked into surveillance to make it loop. 

Piggy Bank  pulls out device of some sort mini computer from HIS world to show a screen with footage that it sees

Don and Piggy Bank fist bump.

Don: I wouldn’t expect anything less! And Persis where’d you get that cape? That’s not like any I’ve ever seen around! It really hides you!

Persis: Oh, I got it from Tails!

Piggy Bank now examines it as as well and says “Impressive!” Still, in case there are recording devices I missed, As an extra precaution perhaps a code name would be good for you as we get nearer.. Would you have something in mind?

Persis: PuPuPiPoo!

=========================================================================

Author Note: PuPuPiPoo!

PuPuPiPoo is a reference to Sonic X episode 34 in the  Japanese version, but not dubbed, where you can see various times on billboards in the background, haha!

Photos I took of said PuPuPiPoo! appearances here…

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/029mjqpcaozv

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/020w14g8msvg

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/01zng9clt6oq

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/01b3w4e8jy78

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STORY

Don:Say whaaat? PuPuPiPoo?? PuPuPiPoo? Hahahahaha! For real?

Persis: Yep!

Piggy Bank: …uh…That’s…

Persis: Yes, I know… *sigh* very “mature,” but think about it! Who would suspect that the reserved, mature and studious Persis would ever have that kind of “code name”??

Piggy Bank: Well, maybe so, but…

Don: I’m sorry, hahahahaha, I just, I just can’t with that name! Not with a straight face! How ‘bout something a little more …subtly bathroom humor, just so I don’t bust up laughin’ just trying to talk to you like…how about “No. 1” or “No. 2”?

Persis: Ok! No. 2 will work! I was just trying to bring a bit of humor to the situation.

Piggy Bank: I appreciate that, but that isn’t really necessary… 

Persis: But…but humor is necessary!

Don gives a raised eyebrow to Piggy Bank.

Don: Uh oh, looks like you got her started again Piggy Bank…

Piggy Bank: Alright,  I suppose humor is necessary, but now??

Persis: Suppose? It is! In fact, Sir Nicholas…

Don: Sir Nicholas? She sounds serious about her humor talk…

Piggy Bank frowns.

Persis: I am! And as I was going to say, one of the West’s great thinkers Thomas Aquinas stated  (looks at phone) “Consequently, the remedy for weariness of soul must needs consist in the application of some pleasure, by slackening the tension of the reason's study. In Summa Theologiae (II-II.168.2-4), Aquinas discusses the essential role that play and humor have in human life.  They are necessary for the health of the individual, insofar as in their absence the mind becomes weary and tense.  

Piggy Bank: And so… “bathroom humor” counts as a form of pleasure then?

Persis: Well, I suppose I don’t see why not…After all, you have things that relax the mind as well! , in the Conferences of John Cassian about the life of second and third century Christian monastics, there is  a story about someone considered holy, Blessed John the Evangelist, commenting on the importance of the relaxing of tensions. People were scandalized that he was enjoying “trivial amusements” with his disciples. He told a scandalized person who carried a bow to shoot an arrow several times. Then he asked if he could do indefinitely, he said if he did, the bow’d break. And so Blessed John said in the same way, someone’s mind would break if its tension was never relaxed.*

(*Original story referenced https://ccel.org/ccel/cassian/conferences/conferences.iv.viii.xxi.html?highlight=Blessed%20John%20the%20Evangelist&queryID=55855263&resultID=123137#highlight)

Piggy Bank: Point taken Persis, but I think some could lean too much into that relaxation. 

Persis: No, you’re right I…

Don: I don’t mean to interrupt your serious talk about humor, but we got here a serious mission “No. 2,” so don’t go on too long…

Persis: Yes, of course…I just wanted to defend Aquinas on pleasure, and what he meant and so add some caveats that he mentions too, paraphrased

Piggy Bank And Don look at each other with resigned looks and then back at Persis.

Persis. Right. Well…three points of caution about pleasure. The first point being pleasure shouldn’t be obscene or injurious in what you’re saying or doing.And another thing he says is no pleasure that makes you “lose the balance of your mind altogether.” So I would think don’t drink to the point of  losing all your faculties…in that case you can even get others killed.

Piggy Bank: Which, I don’t Persis…

Persis: Um right…I wasn’t, I mean, I didn’t mean you specifically, I was just saying I agreed like you said, that people can… 

Piggy Bank: Point taken, now move on…

Persis: Right…and the third point was to take account the circumstances, and that it was befitting the hour and the man. And so, that it’s a good time for it.

(*REF https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3168.htm#article2)

=================================================================================================================================

REF- Passage referenced 

Nevertheless it would seem that in this matter there are three points which require special caution. The first and chief is that the pleasure in question should not be sought in indecent or injurious deeds or words. Wherefore Tully says (De Offic. i, 29) that "one kind of joke is discourteous, insolent, scandalous, obscene." Another thing to be observed is that one lose not the balance of one's mind altogether. Hence Ambrose says (De Offic. i, 20): "We should beware lest, when we seek relaxation of mind, we destroy all that harmony which is the concord of good works": and Tully says (De Offic. i, 29), that, "just as we do not allow children to enjoy absolute freedom in their games, but only that which is consistent with good behavior, so our very fun should reflect something of an upright mind." Thirdly, we must be careful, as in all other human actions, to conform ourselves to persons, time, and place, and take due account of other circumstances, so that our fun "befit the hour and the man," as Tully says (De Offic. i, 29).

(  https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3168.htm#article2)

======================================================================================================================

STORY

Piggy Bank: And you think that time would be during a mission?

Persis: Well, this kind of of thing makes me nervous, so yes. Humor enough to relax you in a stressful situation.

Piggy Bank” (smiles) Ah…. So that explains it. You’re joking to calm your own nerves…

Persis:Yes…I think so…

Don: I’ll keep that in mind…No. 2.

Persis: Well, yes…and if I may I was think of a more layman’s terms of what Aquinas said and …well, then I’m done…In the Summa, but Gilby translation of Aquinas it says , “Anything conflicting with reason in human action is vicious.  It is against reason for a man to be burdensome to others, by never showing himself agreeable to others or being a kill-joy or wet blanket on their enjoyment.  And so Seneca says, “Bear yourself with wit, lest you be regarded as sour or despised as dull.”  Now those who lack playfulness are sinful, those who never say anything to make you smile, or are grumpy with those who do.  (ST II-II.168.4, Gilby translation)

Piggy Bank: That was, well…I’ll keep that in mind. Do you feel like you can go in now?

Persis: Yeah…as much as possible anyway…

Don: (shakes head) You are one strange lady… “pupupipoo” and Thomas Aquinas all in one breath, but…

Persis: But?

Don: But that’s ok.

Persis: Ok…

Piggy Bank: And you have amusing ideas for nicknames, Miss Persis, or No.2!

They now  head to the closed off site near the wire fence. Don scans his card into a reader to get in,  and they take a look around at various pits where digging has occurred under the tent in the quiet.

Don: So far so good!

Piggy Bank: Yes, I’d say they are gone for the night…

Persis: Are you sure you guys won’t get caught?

Don: Hmph. Like I said, it’s not everyone. I got plenty willing to cover for me for the “night shift,” which I’m currently a part of, just keepin’ an eye on things in person. I told everyone else on this shift I had someone who might help, but only under anonymity , so they agreed to be conveniently gone tonight. Thankfully there’s people “workin” at this site who think of tryin’ anything on Sonic and Shadow, after especially Savin’ the world like they did, is just about as low as you can get.

Persis: Yeah…definitely, so where to?

Don: Why do you think we brought you here..no. 2? 

Piggy Bank: Since you channel ring energy, we thought you might be able to sense it so we can find it before them and deactivate it.

Persis: Um…ok…but you’re actually from a world with rings Piggy bank, wouldn’t you be able to detect it better than me?

Piggy Bank: Not all animal people in our world can use rings, and if you recall, Sonic’s own parents weren’t able to use them, and neither can I….though that is actually advantageous for me being able to be here longer perhaps  than those who can use rings…That energy is not meant really for this dimension so it’s hard to say if it’s existence for here too long here could do….if I carried any residual ring energy within it’s possible staying here would affect me or this world negatively..or at least that’s my theory.

Persis: Hmm…come to think of it, I never “carried” ring energy  like Sonic so I could take more damage or something like that, it just seems more like it passed through me like I was just a good wire for transferring it…and though you may be right about rings, I don’t think they  cause the same issue Chaos Emeralds do long term.

They continue to walk around the site a bit until…

Persis: …Hey! I think …I think I feel something this way!

Don and Piggy Bank look at each other a moment and Persis now walks to one of the undug areas, and just barely sticking out the ground is a “rock.”

Persis: Hmm…I wonder if…

Persis steps on the stone and then the huge portal rises out of the ground on its own, breaking through the ground leaving dirt all around.

(Undertale Waterfall Soundtrack here? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVUh7caufKU&list=RDDVUh7caufKU&start_radio=1)

Persis: Whoa…

Don: Well I’ll be…

Piggy Bank: Amazing…I would assume you have no doubts about your connection to ring energy now I presume?

Persis: No…

They stare at the portal with faint gold energy emanating a moment…it’s “Stargateish” looking in appearance and size, but in the center you see through but the metal borders are what’s glowing…

Don: So…with that glow I wonder if it’s functioning?

Piggy Bank: I would presume…”No. 2,” can you make out anything? 

Persis: I’ve never tried to do anything except heal Sonic…well, I guess I can see..

Persis walks up to it and reaches out hand towards it…

Persis:…It’s like..it’s like I can sense Sonic again! (…and gets a bit misty-eyed)

(Undertale Memory song here? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eijdNQMYikY )

Persis: I do miss him and everyone…I wonder if…maybe I could see them again before closing it, and then I wouldn’t even have to bother my advocate about seeing them?…

The portal glows, and the opening that was an empty opening, now shows an image that unbeknownst to Persis, is Christmas Island from above.

Piggy Bank and Don give sympathetic looks towards each other, and Piggy Bank then walks up to Persis.

Piggy Bank: Persis, I realize this may be difficult, but you need to close it. You’ve already said your goodbyes. If you don’t, they will undoubtedly go after Sonic, his friends and his world, my other…home.

Persis: Right….well, if I even can honestly…

Advocate: Persis…

Persis: Advocate?( Looks around but doesn’t see it but hears it)

Advocate: Persis, you can, and you must. Not closing it will put Sonic and his friends in jeopardy.

Persis: *Sigh* I know….(downcast)

Persis then faces Don and Piggy Bank.

Persis: I guess I’ll close it…and then, we can go…

Don: You’re doin’ the right thing.

Piggy Bank: Thank you. …do you need a moment alone?

Persis: I don’t know…

Don: Well, how about we just meet ya back at my truck alright!? I’ll wait by the gate and close it behind you.

Persis: Alright…

 Piggy Bank and Don let Persis have her time to say goodbye alone as the gold ring energy all but completely closes the opening showing Christmas Island, but right before it disappears, it stops…

Persis then suddenly gets an animated face…

Persis: (thinks):  Or…Or wait! maybe..maybe there is a win-win situation here?…
Says: What if I only close it mostly and leave just barely an opening? An opening certainly not enough for them to send anyone through, but just enough that it won’t be completely closed off so then it could be just be used by the good guys… right? My advocate didn’t say when it needed to be closed completely after all…!

Persis then goes back with Don and Piggy Bank  parked near the site.

Piggy Bank: Well?

Persis: I don’t think the portal should be a problem for Sonic now.

Don: That’s good to hear! Not to mention, thankfully no straggler workers from the day shift. Well, we’ll get ya back home and I’ll let you know if anything comes up….

 Now from behind a rock as they leave in Don’s vehicle, 3 dayshift workers saw earlier now come out of hiding, 2 men and a woman, all grinning with delight.

Chapter 12- “For the Greater Good…”

Chapter Text

Chapter 12- “For the Greater Good…”

============================================================================================================================

REF-name origins of dayshift workers, Amanda, DOD officer Emilio, CIA officer Aidan

Popular names in 90’s used

Amanda

One who deserves love

IN CIA…(Aidan)

Aidan

ORIGIN/USAGE

Gaelic

PRONUNCIATION

AY-dən

MEANING

Like a fire

REF- Showing such DOD and CIA gov’t positions exist…

In DOD…(Emilio)

JOHN KREUL

Chief Operating Officer, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Policy)

https://policy.defense.gov/OUSDP-Offices/Meet-the-Team/#

Emilio

ORIGIN/USAGE

Italian, Latin, Portuguese, Spanish

MEANING

Rival, challenger

Main article: Central Intelligence Agency

The Directorate of Science & Technology (DS&T) is the branch of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) tasked with collecting and analyzing information through technological means and developing technical systems to advance the CIA's intelligence gathering.^[1]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Intelligence_Agency_Directorate_of_Science_%26_Technology}

Officers in the Directorate of Science and Technology work closely with their counterparts in the Directorate of Operations, providing them with the technical support and innovative solutions they need to achieve success in their intelligence collection missions.

https://www.cia.gov/about/organization/#directorate-of-science-and-technology

An Officer typically denotes someone who has a specific rank or position of authority, often in the military or police. An Official, on the other hand, refers to someone appointed or elected to an office, especially in the public sector.

========================================================================================================================================================

STORY

DOD officer Emilio: Well,…remind me to thank the night shift for all their hard work, though I resent that comment about being low.Is it really so wrong to do whatever it takes to defend one’s country? No matter the cost? Now…let’s take a look at that portal close up shall we?

CIA Officer Aidan: I agree! Now time to test this this drone out! (Smile)

Medical Officer Amanda nods in affirmation.

TEXTBOX: Soon inside the portal tent

The same Eggman drone seen earlier at the beginning of the story, as well as a monitor on one of the tables under the tent at the site as the three gather around.

Medical researcher Amanda: Do you think it’ll fit through the opening No. 2 left?

CIA Officer Aidan: Only one way to find out…

DOD Officer Emilio: Here, if I may…

CIA Officer Aidan nods and DOD Officer Emilio now presses something on drone and you see it go flying up.

DOD Officer Emilio (controlling drone): Now…to see if we can get you through and do some reconnaissance….

The drone now flies through the small opening left in the portal to the beach on Christmas Island, to a familiar scene from before at the beginning of story but from drone’s point of view.

As previously seen….

The drone positions itself behind bushes as it surveys a scene of Sonic looking on in shock as Tails comes to the beach to an excited Amy, and Rouge snatching a drink from Sonic, and Shadow, as Omega unknown to them, had already left for Cove City to Eggman’s prison.  Jack Little, still at his easel, gives the biggest grin at Sonic….The drone, though close, still isn’t quite in a position to see anything…

Tails: Sonic! What’s wrong!? Amy?  He looks stunned!

Amy: I’m pregnant Tails!

The agents continue looking at the screen showing Christmas Island with eager anticipation, having heard dialogue about Amy and Tails, but now able to just peek through bushes to see them.

DOD Officer Emilio: Over here! I found him! The portal must have already been set to Sonic’s location..

CIA Officer Aidan: Intriguing …these drones are simply remarkable… 

Medical officer Amanda: And you all heard about Amy being pregnant didn’t you? This is very exciting news after all for us. (malicious smile) You know what that means don’t you?

DOD Officer Emilio: Oh, I do, I do… We have just the place that’ll be perfect for testing the “bonus subjects” as well.

CIA Officer Aidan: This will be a humongous breakthrough for our nation’s security!

The screen shorts a moment so part of conservation from Christmas is lost as they then say …

CIA officer Aidan: What’s going on?! Can you get it up and running again!? 

DOD officer Emilio :Yes ! I’m new to these controls and this drone, be patient!

=======================================================================================

(Author’s Note: While the drone is offline the below conversation is lost)

Tails: Wow! Really ??? That’s so great!

Sonic: Y-Yeah… (in shock)(then a resolute face and deep breath) Well, you know what?(momentary thoughtful pause and then focus) It is great Ames! 

Sonic now grins and holds Amy up in the air and twirls her around to both of their delight. 

Sonic: In fact, it’s very great! It’s just not something I was uh, exactly expecting so quickly to be honest, but eh, what can I say? I guess I was never one to do things slowly usually anyway right?(Spins around with her up on the air as he holds her by the waist) This is one of the best days of my life!! We should celebrate!!

Sonic: Sorry buddy! (Winks and looks to Tails) Looks like we may have to wait on our trip a bit…

Amy (shakes her head) No, You two go! It’s not like I’m having the baby tomorrow Sonic. I’m still really early in my pregnancy, a whole 39 more weeks to go, so we can always celebrate when you get back! I hogged you a lot on Persis’ planet, so before I’m further along, why don’t you two get some much needed time together? It’s the least I can do! That should be more exciting for you than shopping with me anyway…

Sonic: Sweet! Alright then! Thanks Ames! You’re the best! 

Sonic gives Amy a quick peck on the cheek and Amy closes her eyes a moment and smiles blushing…Shadow sees this and gives Rouge a pondering looks that she ignores.

Amy: This is for you too Tails. You’ve been such a good friend, and you were really good about helping us get together, so you two have fun and I’ll see you when you get back!

Tails: Thanks Amy! Well I’ll see you later! I need to get the Tornado ready!

Sonic: How about you come with us next time then? 

Amy: Oh! I’d love that! You know how I love sightseeing just as much as you do! 

Sonic: Hm. Yeah…you do…

=========================================================================================

STORY

DOD Officer Emilio fidgets with concentration on the controls…with more buttons than most drone controls…

DOD Officer Emilio: Let’s see…Ah! There we are I think…

The screen now is back online as they all now watch Christmas Island live via the drone, seeing….

Amy: And Sonic… I don’t want to put a time limit, but don’t take too long going off, we need to have our well, I guess really our “2nd wedding” while my dress still fits…(red)

Sonic: Sure! It’s like you said! You won’t get big overnight, and besides, you wanted to come with me next time! So Tails! Whaddaya say we grab some camping gear and make this a quick camping trip?

Tails: That’d be awesome! (High five with Sonic)

(The view changes to from behind bushes of the drone watching )

The signal is lost again briefly.

Medical Officer Amanda: We may have  lost video briefly…but I think  we heard  the most relevant parts of the conversation. Can we get a  visual again?

CIA Officer: Here I believe this should do it… (presses side button on control)

(Screen visual restored)

DOD officer Emilio: Well Sonic, it looks like we not only found you but that you’re expecting ….Perhaps it would be worth looking into what abilities they might possess that could be of use to us as well…

CIA Officer Aidan: I say we return for now. We can’t risk being seen. 

They all nod and the drone returns discreetly  through the little portal opening, shown as a ting golden opening not far from the bushes that brings the drone now back to them.

CIA Officer Aidan: Your department appears to have a large amount of personnel involved in this who might not be on board with this project…   What do you plan on doing regarding them?

Medical Researcher Amanda: He’s right, this could be a problem.

DOD Officer Emilio smiles.

DOD Officer Emilio: Oh Amanda..Aidan…It’s only a problem if they know about it. However, you are correct. The TRUTH of this would be very divisive and could cause unnecessary infighting, inhibiting our ability to take full advantage of this opportunity, and so unity must be maintained…even if it is a lie. It’s for the greater good. So, in order for us to maintain unity, they will never find out. Seeing as this portal is a potentially dangerous piece of Dr. Eggman equipment, once our full morning shift that more correctly shares our vision arrives, we can move it to a more secure location in an attempt to…make sure it can’t be used against us by “Dr. Eggman.” This is something they should likewise agree to, so we keep them in the loop, but only just enough. Even though some may suspect us, there’s nothing they can do now anyway without jeopardizing their own position. Even at that, suspicion is not the same as proof, of which they have none nor will they. In the meantime, we closely monitor the opening.

=================================================================================

Author’s Note- Writing Villains as Bombastic or Bland…

And so as new villains come into play, a thought came to my mind how they differ from the theatrical Eggman. As much as I enjoy what Eggman brings to the table as a villain with his theatrics and showmanship and spectacle, hovering depending on the characterization between almost comical and goofy and helping Sonic on occasion to more dark and sinister…I thought this was an interesting thought for the case for more bland villains…

"Good" Characters are Overrated

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRacydRh1nA

From  a comment below that video by @grey_f98

"Nazis should be psychopathic" I don't agree with this at all. One problematic aspect that has come with demonizing the Nazis is that people forget that they were real humans and not magical creatures from hell. Actual human beings are capable of what the Nazis did. These days a political figure, no matter how terrible, when they are compared to Hitler, the overwhelming response from other people is to laugh at that comparison, because Hitler has been so dehumanized, at this point he is like a unicorn to voters. "No real person would ever be that evil", thinks the people that vote for terrible politicians that make fascist promises to his supporters.

One of the most interesting works of philosophy I've seen post world war 2 is Hannah Arendt's the "banality of evil", where she argues that the actual performers of evil are rather bland people, motivated by silly reasons like heroism, propaganda, authority, jealousy, mundane racism. The average Nazi was not a larger than life evil man, he was a pathetic, rather boring evil man. So yeah, a comedy where Nazis are not portrayed as psychopaths, but as lame humans in a kind of world war 2 based comedy film would be a delight for me to watch. I have not watched Jojo Rabbit, but now I am interested after watching this video.

(END Comment)

And so it was an interesting consideration when thinking of these characters whether to make them more bland to an extent, though ultimeately I went by “feel.”

========================================================

Chapter 13- The Breech 

Chapter Text

TEXTBOX: Persis’ World,  Sometime Later… "August 2"

In woods behind a still lit rural home in the darkness of night, is another house, a rustic roomy single room treehouse that is, also “awake” with light in the moonlit night. It sits up high in its tree and is made to blend in with the surrounding environment but with hidden wiring from the direction of the other visible lit house off in the distance.Now seen inside the house is a set up with low tech bedding in the form of a sleeping bag, and a high tech tv monitor with games, large telescope and also computer and wifi among the technical gear with Don inside , wiping his forehead and looking a bit anxious and now looking from inside his treehouse outside to his home in the distance….with its own treehouse, his girls’ not as high up with fairytale touches in the whimsical “Rapunzel’s hair” rope and flower boxes etc. He now glances back at his laptop.

Don: It may be a late time to meet Nick as usual, but there’s no way I’d be able to sleep now anyway, especially with me and a lot of my colleagues on the night shift no longer being “needed” all of sudden… I’m not sure what’s goin’ on now with the portal, but they’ve been way too quiet about it. A decent number of us on  the night shift think something might be up! I sure hope “Piggy Bank” found out something, he’d usually be here by now. If he doesn’t come here quick, I may just lose my mind! Well time for some more  “Euro Truck Simulator” just to calm myself down…

Don now starts playing the game on the computer, when soon Piggy Bank in bit of a panic flies into the little treehouse.

Piggy Bank: Don! Don! It’s ...It’s what we feared might happen! They managed to use the portal!

Don: Nick! I’ll… be… damned! You weren’t seen were you?

Piggy Bank: No. I had to fly in closer because of the tent momentarily hiding the portal until they can move it, but my night outfit hid me fine enough. 

Don: Good. Now did they send anyone in? I thought Persis closed the thing! Did they open it??

Piggy Bank: Well…It appears it is opened, but barely, so no, they haven’t managed to open it more fully yet, but it may be be only a matter of time. They did send in one of Eggman’s drones in. Why don’t I just show you the footage?

(Video now appears from a wristband device Piggy Bank wears)

The video is from the perspective of someone peering behind CIA Officer Aidan, Medical Researcher Amanda, and DOD Officer Emilio in the Monument Valley tent. They have a table set out with a computer screen watching on a table set out on the the ground…With them in an inner dust controlled zippable clear screen room that looks like something from E.T. for what appears to best dust control…the shot changes to from an up high position.

DOD Officer Emilio: Well, We’ve found not only Sonic, Shadow, and Amy this time…but Dr. Eggman as well, a shame he appears trapped. Eggman’s collaboration may be necessary to learn how to open this portal more fully, and I would think it’d be a win win situation to take Sonic off his mind ha ha…I’m so glad we know where he is now!…now to see if I can get the audio working…

(On the tv screen is  Eggman is seen from Sonic’s world is at the Cove City building memorial site from earlier, When Sonic was finishing up shopping with Amy and met Shadow there where he had made balloon animals from before)

Sonic: Hmm…(acts is if trying to remember and nonchalant) no, not really Egghead…I just thought it sounded like someone I might have heard of before,  that’s all…

Eggman: Ah, I see, but given how it’s …rumored you seem to have at one point been from here…

==================================================================================================================================

REF- From SAS- Unhidden, relevant text

Sonic: No? (Smirk) Well, you don’t get bored as easily as I do, but with literally NOTHING else we could really let you do, it might beat a “pet carrier,” and who knows? It might just help you change and become a real Eggman again! (Grins and then then stands up cocky)

Orbot: But.. wouldn’t one have already been built?

Sonic:…Well, not really. I think there’s a little memorial stone I saw someone put, but I was one of the only ones to even survive it. A friend of my dad’s was  another. Everyone else besides maybe a few others who were in the mines, well, they didn’t make it. I don’t want all those lives forgotten. (Pause) I guess we can head into town now and see where a good place for it might be.

==========================================================================================================================================

STORY

Sonic: Hmph. You mean because I told Orbot I “survived” it? It’s ALSO rumored I’m from South Island which is nearby where you dropped that bomb and apparently got heavy waves afterwards, where I first started beating YOU!

Eggman: Yes, our first fateful meeting…though as you were “nearby,” "I’d wondered if perhaps you knew her…I believe one of the lights planned for this memorial is to be hers, another to succumb to radiation sickness…unlike, it’s also rumored, a certain hedgehog who seems impervious to such things…and who seems to have been “close enough” to such radiation…

(The perspective is from bushes nearby) 

DOD Officer Emilio: Intriguing. If Sonic really does posses such an ability, it points even more how useful he could be.

They continue to watch the live feed.

Sonic: (grit teeth) Hmph. Whether I am or not is none of your business Eggman. Don’t you have a memorial to build?

Eggman: My business, hedgehog, will always be your destruction. You’ve merely delayed the inevitable.

Sonic: Yeah, good luck with that, especially now. 

Sonic now grins as he picks up the purple transformed Eggman and carries him back unwillingly back to construction site as Eggman says, “blasted hedgehog.”

DOD Officer: Hahaha Well, maybe we can lend the good doctor a hand with that….

Medical researcher Amanda: Not before some testing and DNA extraction first,  don’t you think?. I think I know just who to get to help me with this as well….my brother Nathan is excellent with this sort of thing. 

The DOD Officer and CIA Officer nod.

DOD Officer Emilio: Time to bring you back home my little drone friend. Hahaha… I think we have enough intel now to go further in our plans.

The Piggy Bank video now ends.

Don: Oh man, oh man, this is NOT good. Do you know when they’re moving the portal Nick?

Piggy Bank: No. (Shakes head in frustration) I’m going now to inform Persis. Meet me at her place.

Don: *deep sigh* Persis, Persis…Well ”No.2,” you have a biiiiig mess to clean up now!

********

TEXTBOX: At Persis’ house

It’s still in the middle of the night and you see Piggy Bank and Don at her door opened by the sleepy Persis…

Persis: Um…hello? I was just about to go to bed…

Piggy Bank: Persis…you didn’t fully close the portal, did you??!

Don: I think it should be clear what this is about, there’s a big mess you need to clean up now, No. 2!

Persis: Huh? W-Wait…what happened??

Don: Get in and we’ll explain on the way! We need to get back to the portal quick!

Persis nods and then jumps racing into Don’s van…

Persis (from back seat): So …I don’t get it…did something happen??

Don: Oh Persis, Persis, you BET something happened! What were you thinking leaving the portal open at all like that?? I just hope we’re not too late before it all gets a whole lot worse!

Piggy Bank: Indeed! The DOD and CIA have already sent at least one drone in to “survey” Sonic’s world….maybe more. 

Persis: What! Really??

Piggy Bank: We’ll bring you to the portal…AGAIN, and this time you can close it for good! Correct?

Persis: Yes …(downcast)Correct… Oh no…*exhale* ….Sonic, I’m so sorry…Well, I’ll do what I can to fix my mess as best as I can now….

****

TEXTBOX: Near the portal “tent”

Persis and Piggy Bank and Don are peering from behind a rock.

Persis: I can’t see the portal,  but I can still feel it. If they’re still here, how do I get closer to close it though? That cloak won’t make me silent too.

Don: Well, I know we really didn’t have a lot of time to come up with a plan, but we’ve got to try something. Piggy Bank, you come up with any new ideas?

Piggy Bank: Yes, though I’d initially thought of creating a diversion, there is still the problem that they might suspect something as well…

Don: And I’d prefer they try not to dissect you my alien amigo if you got caught. Now, though you don’t use this “ring energy” do you think Persis might be able to close the portal from here? If she can feel the energy,  some sort of interaction is goin’ on…

Piggy Bank: Hmm. I was curious about that myself…it certainly wouldn’t hurt to rule out both the safer and easier option…Persis, can you try to close the portal from this distance ?

Persis: Well I can try at least…

Piggy Bank: I can get in closer to see how successful you are or not.

Persis: Ok. Be careful.

Piggy Bank nods and puts on dark camouflage night outfit.

Persis: Alright…I think ….I may be doing something…

 Meanwhile in the tent…

DOD Officer Emilio: Strange… the portal opening appears to have shrunk somewhat..

Medical Researcher Amanda: Can you still get the drone in?

DOD Officer Emilio: Hmm…it’ll be more difficult but doable.

CIA Officer Aidan: I think I have an idea. Here, fly it in back.

The drone lands and After several minutes of tinkering…

CIA Agent Aidan: I think these bottom wheels can be removed allowing it to go through.

DOD Officer Emilio: Smart thinking! No need to over complicate things! Now let’s send her on through!

They now send the drone back through again which Piggy Bank sees and returns. 

Piggy Bank: Persis, It appears like at most you shrunk the opening. They were regrettably still able to get a drone through…

Don: No telling what they’ll try now…I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before they open it all the way!

Persis: Well, maybe I could close it from inside their world and warn them!….Um…. advocate? (Sheepish)

Advocate: Yes, Persis…I’m well aware of your recent failure to listen, but yes, I will transport you to Sonic’s world, but only so you can have the chance to make things right, including warning him …

Persis: Yes advocate…

Persis now disappears via Sparkles.

Don: Crazy…absolutely crazy. 

Piggy Bank nods in agreement.

(Author’s Note: As seen previously for the wedding day)

TEXTBOX: At sight of detected anomaly on Christmas Island, Aug. 3,  before the wedding…

Among palm trees and tropical undergrowth , is a semi open area where a round portal surrounded by a golden glow floats above the ground and shrinks as a drone comes through, the same drone as seen previously as Rouge and Omega are in hiding nearby. 

Rouge: Well, would you look at that Omega? I bet you anything that ugly device is what was causing the readings G.U.N. picked up. Whoever sent that sent sure has some nerve to try to spy on us from another world. Now to find out who and why.

The drone now quickly speeds into the forest before Rouge can even finish commenting on it as she follows it from the air and Omega from the ground cutting any unfortunate branch or shrubbery that happens to be in his way as he makes a path behind the speedy drone only just in sight.

Omega: We take no chances! I destroy it now!!

Rouge: Omega! Wait! This is a Reconnaissance mission. It hasn’t done anything wrong we know of yet, and we still need to find out who exactly this device is spying on, and where it’s from. And from the looks of it, it doesn’t appear like it’s weaponized, but made for intel.

Omega: And then it can lead us to more to destroy!

Rouge: Easy there. Save that enthusiasm for later. Don’t worry, one way or another I’m sure you’ll find something worth annihilating today, as long as it’s not Amy and Sonic’s wedding. 

Omega: Future destruction acknowledged.

Rouge: Good. Even if that means the shooting range today. There’s no telling how this will play out or not after all. Stay out of sight as I see what it’s’ up to. Then, I’m reporting back to the commander and we can see about you shooting it yet or not. Then I’m going right back to the wedding where I don’t want you shooting at all.
(Thinks): Not to mention I’m missing Shadow in a suit…

Omega: Negative. What good are guns if they do not fire? I can give the happy couple a gun show as a present!

Rouge: No you won’t, or you’ll be sent to guard duty at the Petting Zoo again!

Omega: Those animals were too weak to be a threat, and found agreeable, why did G.U.N think they would be eviscerated?

Rouge: Just…keep up with patrol after this. I’m sure Sonic and Amy don’t want something like this to ruin their 2nd Big Day either…Now to see if I can figure where it came from….even another dimension?
(Thinks): If only I could figure out where you went to too Papi…Is it so wrong for a girl to at least want to know where her father went to, even if he was a bit of a jerk for leaving?…

Chapter 14- Identify Yourself Meatbag!

Chapter Text

Persis now arrives via the advocate to Sonic’s world on Christmas Island and is quickly seen by Rouge, arriving not long after the drone nearby.

Rouge: Is that Persis? What is she doing here? Omega hold in, we got something else unexpected…

Omega: More threats? (Stares a moment at Persis)Unarmed weak human…disappointment acknowledged.

Rouge: Shh!! I think…she might be someone I know who could give us some easy intel on that drone, hold on Omega.

Persis looks around at the Christmas Island tropical forest and sees the small portal opening floating nearby showing through it her own world on the other side.

Persis: Wow!!! I’m here and there’s the opening! Okay now!  Focus Persis! Well, I’m here now to help set things right! 

Persis now looks intently as the opening from the portal now completely closes and Persis stares at the empty space now in triumph with hands in fists on her hips….

Persis: Ok, so that at least traps them here until we can find them, but I don’t see the drone anywhere… (looks around) If only I wasn’t coming here partly to tell everyone I messed up…

Rouge and Omega now come out in full view of Persis.

Omega: Identify yourself meatbag!

Persis jumps startled a bit.

Rouge: Hold up Omega, I HAVE seen this girl before, and it looks she might know something…

Persis: Hello Rouge! Yeah.. Um… it’s a bit of a long story, but we need to find that drone! It’s from the government in my world from my country, and they want to capture Sonic and Shadow to use them to make super soldiers!

Rouge: You mean to tell me that crazy badger girl Sticks was right all along?!

Persis: Well, yes… so we need to find it and stop it!

Omega: And terminate it!

Rouge: We have to find it and get what info it might already have at the very least first Omega, and since it’s apparently after Sonic and Shadow anyway, why don’t we just head back to the wedding where they’re at? It’s bad enough I got pulled away as it is. 

Omega: It’s annihilation is imminent at the wedding!

Persis: Wedding?

Rouge: That’s right, you wouldn’t have heard. Sonic and Amy were going to have a “2nd wedding” today so all their friends and family here could go too and as fancy as she can get it. Amy even got Sonic to wear pants for it, and made me the Maid of Honor. 

Persis: Wow! Oh that’s so great! I hope this doesn’t interrupt things too badly…

Rouge: Well, it will if we stay here too much longer. Omega, you carry Persis to the wedding.

Omega: Why? Can the meatbag “Persis” fight?

Persis: Well, no, but I can give intel about what I know!

Rouge: Exactly. Now listen up Omega, if you carry her we’ll get there faster and increase your chances of shooting that nervy drone that thinks it can go after those two.

Omega: These terms are acceptable to me. Come weakling called Persis, this wedding needs more happy destruction!

Rouge: *sigh*

******

TEXTBOX: Meanwhile…

 The drone however is not near the wedding but at the largely deserted memorial as many are watching the wedding that couldn’t go in shop tbs leaving solitary GUN patrolling the perimeter. The drone however seems to wary of the guards and “hide” while eagerly eying Eggman. Along the periphery are 5 GUN soldiers on the periphery with 5 animal Christmas Island police seen in that part seen. Eggman catches a glimpse of the drone hiding nearby in bushes, which the drone itself seems to want, and then grins maliciously. He has Cubot, Orbot, Metal Sonic and Herman with him…and Metal Sonic throws Herman a stick to catch.

Eggman: You know what Metal Sonic, that blasted hedgehog is getting married today , publicly, and didn’t even bother to invite me! And as far back as we go?  Hahaha. Maybe I could show up in a suit with…green buttons…(looks to drone) just like the Green Hill Zone where we first met. But then again, you might not…really be able to see them ….with all the green around here..maybe just some green buttons, only the second and fourth from the top at the same time…

Orbot and Cubot look at each other confused.

A G.U. N guard looks at an animal dog Christmas Island guard and says,  “Looks like the doctor’s starting to go off his rocker a bit…”

Dog Guard: It’s a shame with his genius he ended up being like this…

The GUN guard nods in agreement.

( Author’s Note:  I had a bit of writer’s block at this section with govt agents…argh important exposition can be necessary though)

Textbox: Back on Persis’ Earth

See CIA Officer Aiden, Medical Researcher Amanda, and DOD Officer Emilio all around the computer screen looking at Eggman from the drone. Piggy Bank is trying to observe them from a small opening along a seam of the tent canopy, recording with his wristband….

DOD Officer Emilio: I’ve moved in as close as I could without being seen. That comment about the buttons though…

CIA Officer Aiden: I think Dr. Eggman sees us. That comment? I think it’s code. See the green buttons on the side of the drone control? See what happens when you press the second and the fourth one.

DOD Officer Emilio nods and presses them  to then see it say on the controls, “camouflage mode engaged”

DOD officer Emilio: Well, would you look at that? I’d say we’re off to a good start with the doctor…

Medical Researcher Amanda: Yes, and hopefully that means his support for our plans for Sonic and Shadow as well... 

DOD Officer Emilio: Hahaha. Well no reason to keep Dr. Eggman out of the picture. We help him and then we both get those hedgehogs out of our way. We merely wish to… borrow them to use a bit…

Medical Researcher Amanda: Don’t forgot Sonic’s wife Amy is expecting. I think we should try to procure them as well..

DOD Officer Emilio: Yes, Of course. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget. Now to see tentatively how well camouflaged we are.

The drone is at the periphery of the memorial site in bushes, but flies by a small flicky that completely ignores it. It then flies by a human child on a bench eating ice cream who doesn’t see it before flying down to the memorial where Eggman is in human form now grinning as the drone comes near.

Dr Eggman: Metal Sonic, why don’t you play with Herman over there for a bit. After all, it’s not like he needs to be here like me I’m still being guarded anyway….just stuck with these two worthless pieces of junk. 

Orbot: Surely sire, considering all we’ve done for this memorial means we’re not completely worthless?

Cubot: He meant us? But aren’t we robots?

GUN and Christmas soldiers look at each other.

GUN Soldier: You realize we can cut Metal Sonic’s energy don’tcha? There’s no way he can help you escape. And he plays only catch in your cell. 

Mr. Eggman: Of course I do you nincompoop! 

Both soldiers nod as Metal Sonic goes to the Eggman cell to play catch with Herman, and Eggman gives a smile to the drone as it nears the construction site with now only Cubot, Orbot and him in the site now. 

Eggman:  (mutters low as he nears where it is.) Ah…now I can talk freely. Well now, one of my drone models I left behind…and who is it might I ask who’s so eager to seek me out? I can only hope it means you mean harm to the hedgehog as well?

Drone (Emilio): Can you hear us and see us?

Eggman: Of course I can! These lens of mine allow me to still see you even when those nincompoop soldiers can’t. With that mode activated,  they won’t be able to hear you either. This camouflage has different versions, and this particular variation should provide alternative visuals  of me as well. Otherwise I wouldn’t be seen or heard either. If I left right now they would never know… but not yet…now what brings you here?

Drone (Emilio): I’ll get to the point Dr. Eggman, we’re from the United States Government from the planet Earth you tried to conquer sometime back. Now despite that, it seems such a shame that someone with your genius should have all that potential just wasted. 

Dr. Eggman: Hahaha I’m listening…what exactly are you proposing?

Drone: (Emilio) What would you say about an alliance of sorts doctor, working together to get the hedgehogs out of the way? We’ll be watching you of course, but considering what we’d like to do, we think you’d be more than willing to offer your assistance as we kidnap Sonic, Shadow, and Sonic’s offspring  to use in our program to make enhanced soldiers, thereby helping us and freeing you of a headache. You just let us know how we can help you and free you from here. A quid pro quo if you will.

Dr. Eggman: Intriguing… I’m assuming there will be… painful experiments involved?

Drone: (Emilio) The demands for national security can be high Dr. Eggman. It’s simply an unavoidable part of the pursuit of knowledge…. And necessary to see exactly how much damage the hedgehogs can take.

Dr. Eggman. Of course, of course... I’d say then we have a deal Mr..…?

Drone: Where are my manners? You can just  call me Emilio. I’m part of the Department of Defense. Now for the next order of business Dr. Eggman. While we got here through one of your portals, it was closed partially for unknown reasons,  but seems to want to utilize a from of energy foreign to us. If we are going to get you out of here or use it more successfully…

Dr. Eggman: Yes…(frown) That was something in particular I disliked about your world, no ring energy. My portals probably still had stores of ring energy stored, but it’s not infinite like the Chaos Emeralds…still, some ring energy can be particularly useful for inter-dimensional travel. As far as the portal’s energy requirements, you can easily gather rings  found even here on Christmas Island. You should be able to then power the portal opening without any issues. I would do that first. Remain in camouflage mode gathering several rings, and then return for now to your world. Metal Sonic should be returning soon with that dragon robot Herman that was built by a counterpart of mine. It may be able to see through the camouflage or destroy the drone. 

Drone: understood. We’ll come back again later and plan for your escape.

Dr. Eggman: In due time, in due time…Let the hedgehog fall into a false complacency for now… only to have it snatched away when they all least expect it. 

Drone: Diabolical and genius. Also doctor, did you know Sonic’s wife Amy was expecting?

Dr. Eggman: Ho ho ho ho! Yes…I recall Amy was baby clothes shopping earlier…

Drone: What would you say to waiting for his spawn to be taken as well?

Dr. Eggman: And cause the hedgehog even more suffering? Possible blackmail? Need you even ask? Great things are always worth the wait. But there’s still a way to cause some misery now…

Drone: That could be arranged.

Dr. Eggman: First of course grab  more rings, but before you leave, see if you can lull some idiot random hedgehog villager  into coming with you without getting caught. Just promise something like the ability to use some ring energy, and when said gullible villager is found missing, you’ll be nowhere in sight! GUN, a human defense organization from here will probably be blamed, provided you are neither found or can appear defeated. Human and animal people will be at each other’s throats!  Now in the event you are caught, be sure to fake your defeat!  You can use the first and second buttons to create a false image of the drone the same as you’ve made the current false image of me. 

The guards look down to see Eggman only “looking at plans.”

Dr. Eggman: Now, This illusion of destruction only works as long you’re not too close, around 3-6 meters away at least. Do you think you can manage that?

Drone: Of course.

Eggman: Good. Now go.

The drone now flies off.

Eggman (thinks): My wedding gift to you hedgehog! Hahahaha! Let’s see how peaceful and united your precious island, no this world, will be now!

Chapter 15- Gone…

Chapter Text

TEXTBOX: Christmas Island, Near the wedding:

Omega is “holding” Persis, as his arm goes out and then up in a bit of a U-Shape that can still easily shoot things in the air. Persis meanwhile clings/ wraps herself around the forearm part that is pointing up to not fall as Omega runs alongside Rouge flying up in the air through the tropical forest. Soon the wedding hangar comes into view.

Vector, Espio and Charmy are playing Go Fish with an angry Knuckles who lost again.  Professor Pickle is reading a book. Big the Cat is sleeping. Jack Little is sketching. Shadow is cleaning his gun. Amy’s parents Gregory and Linda are looking at pictures they’d already taken with a Polaroid Instant Camera. Cream is picking flowers just outside the hangar with Gemerl next to her.Ray and Mighty are playing catch with Tails outside the hanger, while Vanilla still knits inside. Helen is near Cream now with a floral crown on her head from Cream, but Helen is also smiling with delight with a lizard she caught. Helen’s parents happily watch. The hedgehog guest lottery winner eyes the president and GUN soldiers still talking to one another. The Wolf and Sheep wedding lottery winner fans look amazed as Honey the Cat shows them of a brochure of outfits she’s designed. Sonic up front in the hangar meanwhile, is all but asleep inside in a position akin to his Sonic Advance 3 waiting lying down animation. *

*Visual REF https://www.deviantart.com/stash/07eloao4jzn

Amy is still in the house nearby peering out the window on the front facing away from the hangar, wondering when Rouge will be back so they can get started. Tiara Boobowski is waiting outside the house waiting for Amy to come out still to take photos when she does exit and looking at her nails and glancing at Ray, Mighty, and Tails playing catch.

All of them now however, except Big who’s sleeping and Sonic who’s almost sleeping, now stop to look at the approaching Omega “holding” Persis and Rouge.

Omega looks around clearly disappointed the drone isn’t there to shoot.

Omega: It isn’t here!!!

Rouge: It doesn’t look like it so far…

Persis: Well…It’s still around somewhere though so….

The crowd gapes at them and mutters in confusion with people like Vector saying, “Who’s this?” and “what happened?”

With the nearly napping Sonic however, Tails now flies into the hangar shouting “Sonic!” As Shadow looks on frowning seeing from Rouges expression and Omega’s words that the “anomaly” as far as he knew hadn’t been found.

 Sonic who’s almost sleeping, now stirs due to Tails’ rushing in and shouting his name which also wakes up Big.

Tails: Sonic! Sonic!! Wake up! Rouge and Omega and are back and Persis is with them!

Sonic: Huh? Say whatsis?? 

Sonic along with Shadow now look to the hangar entrance to see  Persis along with Rouge and Omega!

Sonic quickly now stands up and Shadow look at each other a moment and then back to opening saying, “Persis?”

He smiles and gives her a wave as Shadow nods and shouts to her as she looks uneasy and comes near.

Sonic: Hey! So thought you’d pay a visit here? Good to see you again!….is something up?

Persis shyly looks away and now climbs down from Omega’s arm and heads his way. Omega however now still looks around for shooting targets.

Rouge:  From what I could see in their air it’s not anywhere near here, but seeing as according to Persis it’s no good, maybe you can find it while she tells us what she knows and save us the trouble.

 Omega: Affirmative.  En route to destroy pathetic hiding drone!!”

Omega now leaves with glee to find the drone to shoot as Persis goes up the center aisle.

Sonic: Drone? 

Shadow: Hmm…

Tails: What’s going on Persis?

Persis: Um, well sorta …so, hello everyone…. 

=======================================================================

Author REF-guest description from earlier

In the front row is a spot for Amy’s parents Gregory and Linda, but they’re near the rose arch talking to Jack Little. There’s also a spot for Knuckles, Shadow, and Tails, now entering. Already sitting up front in the aisle is Helen,* a human girl, by a seat in her wheelchair next to her parents. Also in the front row is Vanilla the Rabbit with Cream the Rabbit and Gemerl. Vanilla is talking to Helen’s parents while knitting a baby outfit and Cream is talking to Helen and Tails.

*same visually as in Sonic X

In the second row is Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, Charmy the Bee,  Mighty the Armadillo,  Ray the Flying Squirrel and Honey the Cat. Across 3 seats sleeping is Big the Cat. Knuckles is by the Chaotix visiting.  Vector is asking about pie, while Espio looks at him disapprovingly and Charmy is flying around the ribbons. Honey the Cat looks thinking at some of the ribbon decorations.  A few new faces in that row include a hedgehog, wolf and sheep, how seem to be looking suspiciously at the guests in the row behind them…G.U.N. and the United Federation President.

In the third row is the United Federation President and 5 GUN soldiers as well as Professor Pickle. The President is being lectured, whether he wants it or not, by Professor Pickle. Then is the dog videographer standing behind them with Tiara Boobowski the photographer near him by the entrance. 

….writing scenes where it's so many personalities and trying to keep track of everyone…so MANY people was definitely not a favorite part of this for me!!!

============================================================================

STORY

Persis sees the crowd  murmuring and goes up the aisle with Rouge following behind, heading to the altar as Cream now hurries up inside as well with flowers she picked still in hand, alongside Mighty and Ray who have stopped playing catch to come inside. She gets quizzical looks from all including the president and GUN but see the recognition from the others, all giving her quizzical looks as she goes up front where Cream now goes to be with her mom Vanilla already near the front where Jack Little, Sonic, Tails, Shadow, Knuckles, Helen and her parents, and Amy’s parents are. Sonic notes the stares and the shyly waving Persis who doesn’t seem eager to introduce herself.

Sonic: Hey everyone! This is Persis! She’s a friend of mine from another world that helped me out before! 

Jack Little: Pleasure seeing you miss for this wedding too.

Knuckles: So that’s the human you mentioned before! The “philosophical” girl that sees a eudaimon and who likes to tell  “clean” bathroom jokes?….

Persis: Ah…so you’ve heard of me…but I guess that’s one way to put it I guess…

All clap politely.

Sonic: I’m guessing if you’re here though, it’s because something’s up you want to tell us, and maybe about that anomaly Rouge and Omega were after?

Persis: ( stands at front facing everyone)Well, yes,  I wish I was here with good news for you all for a special day, but  unfortunately I’m not. So…let’s see…where to start?

Sonic: (whispers in her ear) Hey Persis… soooo I know how you can uh, talk a while, which sure, fine if you want to another time, buuuut folks here have been waitin’ a while, so maybe give the short version, ok?…(wink)

Persis: (red)Alright…

Sonic notices and gives an assuring thumbs up.

Sonic: Don’t worry about it! You’ll do great! 

Tails: Right!

Shadow merely nods in agreement.

Rouge: Show ‘em what you got.

Persis: (deep breathe) So… yeah, I come from another world, though with only humans and not animal people too  …(looks to Rouge) um mostly.

Rouge eyes her suspiciously with the comment.

The hedgehog, Sheep and Wolf wedding lottery guests murmur…”Another world?”

President: Hm…interesting…

Persis: But anyway, it’s where Sonic, Shadow, Tails, and Rouge were at and they all saved us from Dr. Eggman!

Sheep: Can you tell us how Sonic escaped being a battery?

Sonic: Hey now, that’s not important right now. Amy’s still waitin,’ and Persis had something else to tell us, uh right Persis?

=========================================================================================

Author Note:  Does Sonic want his depressing past on Christmas Island and family history brought up as it relates to his ancestor,  or Sonic’s  almost dying and bittersweetly choosing to come back instead of dying and staying with family? No. Nor does he think he should be judged by what his ancestor did? Also no.

=============================================================================================================

STORY

Persis: Right! So basically, the government from my world found one of Eggman’s portals, and has been using it to send one of his drones in for intel and figure out a way to take Sonic and Shadow back to my world to create their own super soldiers, and that drone is in this world now!!!

Crowd murmurs…and the President gives a concerned look to the GUN guards with them.

Tails: Really?

Shadow: Let them try!

Sonic: Is that all? That doesn’t sound like that much of a threat Persis! What’s it gonna do? See how totally outmatched they are?

The hedgehog lottery guest winner Tommy, now hears his phone ring  on his belt of formal pants he wore for the event.

Tommy the hedgehog: Sorry! I gotta take this! I said to only be called for emergencies!

He answers his phone.

Tommy hedgehog: Hello! I’m at Sonic and Amy’s wedding ! This better be an emergency! ……what?! MY BROTHER!? My brother Jon  is missing? He never made it to soccer practice.?!  Alright, don’t worry I’ll let them know! (Hangs up)He’s never late! I’m sorry, I know it’s your wedding, but can you please do something?

==================================================================================================================

 Author Note: Dinkus was a name that originally popped into my head for the hedgehog here…but I think as much as that name cracks me up it would also be for me humor that removes the sincerity of the seriousness of the situation.

=============================================================================================================

Sonic: Don’t worry! We’ll find him! Well Persis, looks like we got another emergency..!

Persis: Right, but still..

Sonic: And you are?

Tommy the hedgehog: Tommy.

Sonic: Hey Tommy, you got a photo of him I can look at?

Tommy the Hedgehog: Yeah, just let me find it…

Tommy scrolls through his phone’s photo album as Sonic drums his fingers a bit impatiently, ready to get going but trying to be patient.

Tails: Don’t worry Persis, we can split up! I’ll find the drone! I think I could even disable it at a distance without getting messy before the wedding!

Shadow: I’ll go with you Tails.

Sonic looks over a bit quizzically at Shadow.

Shadow: I owe it a proper welcome…Hmph. If Omega doesn’t beat me to it.

Sonic then nods with a grin at Shadow.

Tails: Is there any way this drone could carry large items? And is the portal still open?!

Persis: Well, no I don’t think so anyway, and I already closed the portal…

Sonic turns his head, as well as others in surprise.

Sonic: Say what now?

Tails: Persis??I was pretty sure the Eggman’s portals primarily used ring energy…is this related to how you could heal Sonic reconnecting him to ring energy on your world?

Persis: I guess so.  

Tommy hedgehog: (looks up from phone photo search) But humans don’t use ring energy! 

Sonic: Except when they do… (smirk)

Rouge: Well, well… look who has more tricks up her sleeve…I’ll go fill Amy in, it’s about time somebody did.

Sonic: Right! Thanks Rouge!

Rouge now takes off towards the house nearby.

Persis: I just transfer the energy though, so it’s not like I can store rings and take hits or anything, and I guess it means I can at least close Eggman’s portal too.

Sonic: Ok, Makes sense…

Shadow: Hmmm…(looks at Persis pondering)

(Murmurs from crowd)

Tommy: Here Sonic! Found it! (Shows Sonic his phone photo of Jon the hedgehog)

Sonic: Great! Well, look! As interesting as this all is, we got a hedgehog to rescue, and some drone spy to find!

Shadow: Agreed.

Sonic: Oh darn,(fakely disappointed face)well looks like I’ll have to take this suit off before I head out! We can finish the wedding after I get back,  this shouldn’t take long!

Vector of Team Chaotix now stands up and says, “Hold on! No need for that Sonic! 

Sonic: What??

Sonic turns around to see Vector happily heading his way from the front left side where he walks triumphantly from a disgruntled Knuckles who is eyeing the card game he lost. Knuckles is muttering…”no way he won again…”

Vector:The Chaotix Detective Agency is on the job! That way you can keep that nice lady-killer suit of yours on!

Sonic: Uh thanks, but it’s no problem, really…

Vector: Now don’t be that way Sonic! It’s your wedding day, plus (whispers in his ear) we were kinda short on rent this month, so count this as your wedding gift…(louder) So let’s find that missing hedgehog and we’ll even do it pro bono for your wedding! Just save me some chili dogs and that apple pie! 

Espio: (small bow) It would be an honor to help.

Charmy: Yay! This should be exciting! 

==============================

REF-Vector lady-killer comment from Sonic Channel Wallpaper Cover Story: Sonic & Vector (April 2021)

https://browniehideout.wordpress.com/2021/03/23/sonic-channel-wallpaper-cover-story-sonic-vector-april-2021/

“Hey, Sonic! I see you’ve been as active as ever, ya lady-killer!”

=============================================================================================

STORY

Sonic: Gee Vector,(forced smile)it’s no problem, really!

Vector: Come on now! I insist!

Sonic: And I insist you don’t need to do that. Actually I really don’t mind taking the suit off. How’s this? Why don’t I let you look after the suit while I head out instead?

Vector: Take off that lady killer suit of yours on your wedding day? (Winks) Why when you got us to do it for you?!  After all, what are friends for!? (Winks) You just stay looking good for the missus..

Sonic: (crestfallen) Yeah…. Thanks…

Shadow, Tails, And Knuckles can’t help but laugh and snicker at his expense only barely hiding it or for Shadow and Knuckles, not at all.

Cream: How nice of them!

Tommy hedgehog: Ok! Well, as long as he’s found! I’ve heard of you guys! You do good work! Here Team Chaotix, I can show you what path he would have taken to the soccer field….

Vector: That’s right Tommy! You have professional detectives on the job!

Tommy and the Chaotix exit and Rouge comes flying back.

Rouge: Oh? Is Team Chaotix heading out while you stay here instead to catch a nap Sonic? (Knowing smile)

Sonic: (deadpan) Ha….ha…So, how’s Amy holding up? 

Rouge: If it wasn’t for it ruining her look for the wedding, she’d probably go looking to smash that nervy drone herself…if Omega doesn’t find it before then though it seems good at hiding.

Sonic: Oh yeah? Speaking of which… THAT still needs taken care of doesn’t it? So it looks I’ll still  need to head out after all! Come on Tails, you said you wanted to go after it too right? I’ll go with you!

Mighty and Ray now rush to in front of Sonic helpfully and cheerfully.

Mighty: Don’t you worry Sonic! Ray and I can take care of the drone! 

Sonic: (forced smile) Of course… you can…

Shadow: These guests of yours, who are they Sonic? Do you think they’d be able to handle this drone?

Sonic: Mighty and Ray? Yeah! We go way back! Mighty’s strength is no joke and one of the fastest after me I know! And Ray his pal here is not too bad either with his speed and gliding. We all escaped Eggman Tower together years back!* So yeah, I think they could handle it if they had to...

*SegaSonic the Hedgehog

Mighty:(holds out hand to Shadow who just stares at it) Nice to finally meet you Shadow!

Shadow stares at his held out hand briefly before grabbing his hand briefly.

Shadow: Hmph (smile) Your grip is decent.

Mighty: Decent?

Shadow: It seems decent enough to handle the drone. That’s probably for the best that way Sonic and I at least can keep looking our best for the wedding, isn’t that right Sonic? 

Sonic: I don’t think we’ll get that dirty…

Shadow: Why risk it when they seem willing to help?

Sonic: I mean, I appreciate it, but…you really don’t have to!

Mighty: Don’t worry Sonic, we want to!  We’ll take care of it!

Shadow: It’s settled then.

Sonic: What??

Mighty: Really?? Well, thanks for letting us help you out!! It means the world to us to be helping out our old pal again!

Sonic: Uh…(looks at their happy faces) that’s great, but for something techy like this, it’s still probably better Tails and …

Tails: Sweet! So you still want me to go with them too Sonic?! I won’t let you down! 

Sonic: Well sure, but….

Tails: And just in case, can you hold onto my suit Sonic? I might get a bit messy, but that way it won’t, and, we with me going, you can at least still look nice for the wedding, right Sonic?(Quickly removes suit)

Sonic’s mouth is ajar, with an almost pleading look.

Sonic: But….

Shadow and Tails look at him looking for his agreement.

Tails: I can’t wait to tell you about us handling it. I don’t get a chance to show you too often what I’m capable of in battles without you after all!

Tails now hands Sonic his suit.

Sonic: (Thinks): Oh great…now he’s guilt tripping me!
Says: Er right, I’m sure you’ll do great, it’s just…

Tails gives knowing sympathetic look to the frowning Sonic.

Tails : Sorry Sonic! I also kinda promised Amy I’d help make sure you stayed looking clean and sharp at least before the wedding!…Er, You do want to stay looking nice for Amy, right?

Shadow looks smugly amused  and Knuckles is snickering nearby, still entertained at Sonic’s expense, as Sonic gives them an unamused glare back before looking back at Tails.

Sonic:  (head down feeling defeated)Right... (then head up grinning) Ok, little bro, ( fist bump) I gotcha.  Just make it fast would ya?

Chapter 16- Now let’s not ruin That Suit….

Chapter Text

Persis: Tails, before you go, here’s a photo of the drone I got not long before coming here…
(Thinks): from Piggy Bank.

Persis shows the little photo Piggy Bank gave her, home printed, that she had in a stiff little thin wallet in her pocket and Tails, Mighty, and Ray give it a glance. 

Tails: That helps a lot! Thanks! This shouldn’t take long.

Tails nods and heads out with Mighty and Ray.

Sonic gives Shadow a quizzical look.

Sonic: You not going now Shadow?

Shadow: There’s no reason to get involved if they can handle it.

==========================================================================================================

Author’s Note-Shadow’s line, “no reason to get involved”

Yeah…that one line in Sonic Adventure 2 was one I had on my mind, 

Shadow: It's all going according to plan. There's no reason for me to help them. Besides, there's no way to save anyone.

https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_Adventure_2/Script_(Last)

as though Shadow’s not hopeless here, he still has that pragmatic aspect as seen later in Sonic ’06 of just focusing on what’s  necessary  with lines like 

Attempt to escape

[White Acropolis, night. Shadow and Rouge, who holds the Scepter of Darkness, are walking through the outside base.]

Rouge: Don't you want to know what this is?

Shadow: My assignment was to rescue you, nothing more.

Rouge: Fine. With you it's always business.

https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_(2006)/Script_(Shadow_Episode)

…which has characterization of him I liked where he’s not just angry at Sonic for no reason, though…given their different views and personality them irritating each other strikes me as completely normal too…. and I find entertaining.

==========================================================================================================

STORY

Rouge throws a knowing smile.

Sonic: No reason huh? I’m sure it’d be more fun there here right now waiting…

Shadow: We’re not the only ones having to wait.

Sonic looks at remaining guests out in in the rows of chairs like Professor Pickle, Honey the cat, Amy’s parents, Big the Cat, the United Nation President, GUN soldiers, etc…

Sonic: No kidding…Sorry about all this everyone, I guess it can’t be helped. You know as much as I do how much I hate waiting if I don’t have to, so sorry to put you all through that too…so, now what…?

Knuckles: Persis, tell us one of your bathroom jokes!

Vanilla the rabbit gives Knuckles an unapproving look.

Knuckles: What?

Persis: Don’t worry Miss Vanilla, they’re clean.

Knuckles: Not like if Rouge told a joke…

Rouge: (smile) How would you know Knuckie? You’d have to be an adult after all to hear one of my jokes…

Knuckles: What do you mean by that?!

Cream: Now you two be nice! Miss Persis never got to tell her joke!

Rouge: *sigh* If Persis wants to tell one of her classy jokes, it’s not like anyone’s stopping her…

Knuckles is fuming but says, “ That’s right Persis, and It’s not like I am either.

Persis: Ok… well…Why did the toilet roll down the hill?

Cream: Hmmm….

Persis: To get to the bottom!

=========================================================================================

Joke ref

https://www.beano.com/posts/toilet-jokes

===========================================================================

Sonic gives an amused short laugh.

Shadow and Rouge are trying to not look amused.

Jack Little: Hahaha Clever!

Cream: That’s kinda gross Miss Persis….

Persis: Yeah I guess it is..sorry Cream. I like highbrow humor too though…

Sonic: …aaaand  they’re still not back yet…(looks at clock)… I guess it’ll take longer than a few minutes though. I hate Ames havin’ to be stuck at home not knowin’ what’s goin’ on right now either…

Rouge: Hmph. Well, that’s not a problem. Tails set up cameras and screen monitors so Amy could see you right now before the wedding…

Sonic: What?

Rouge: Well I may have suggested to Tails it might be a good idea for Amy to know more exactly when to head over here after all…I just now started the system up, so she can see you right now…(impish smile)

Sonic: Oh yeah?(amused)

Rouge: oh yes, (points to camera attached to the roof above them)she was all for it, that way she has more time to see you in that “lady killer” suit of yours…and zoom in up close.

Giggles from the crowd appear as Sonic goes red, and Shadow doesn’t hide his amusement as Knuckles laughs.  

Sonic: (furrowed brow, and crossed arms trying to not show he’s red ) *mutters* A-Amy!…

Sonic then looks up at the camera he didn’t notice in the hangar before Rouge pointed it out,  and gives a wary wry grin/, and there is a panel with a mischievous smile from Amy watching the video feed in the house and thinking,  “Oh Sonic! You look so handsome in a suit too! I want to take in every moment!”

(…and then goes back to Sonic staring up at the camera.)

Sonic (Thinks): Hmph. You can sure be mischievous Ames!… just like with that … that honeymoon set up in the bunker…Hmph. Well, at least that time it was a bit more obvious what you were up to… 

Sonic now tries to shake himself out of a bit from being red.

Sonic: *ahem* Well H-Hey now, as cool as I may look with or without the suit,( grin) if there’s a camera system set up here, maybe Tails also has something on him too. Maybe then we can check out how things are going with him, Mighty and Ray with that drone. And that way we could be watching that instead of me being bored waiting around here.

Sonic drums his fingers and then looks up at the camera. 

Sonic: Heh. Of course, that’s up to Ames, but she can always still watch me instead, if that’s what she really wants, bored or not …
(Thinks:) (looks down melancholy a moment, that to others looks like boredom)Hm. Besides…I guess.. I kinda still don’t wanna be standing around here too long without something else going on either…this place still needs some more happy memories…

 Sonic looks up a moment towards the remaining guests, all in one panel, which now are him, Shadow, Knuckles, Vanilla,  Cream, Gemerl,  Helen and her parents in the front row as well as Amy’s parents, Linda and  Amy’s dad, Gregory, talking to Knuckles about his travels with a pipe in his mouth.

  In the Second row is Honey the Cat is engrossed in sketching clothing designs based on the decoration and Big the Cat back asleep. The Chaotix’s and Mighty and Ray’s seats remain empty. Big the Cat is sleeping across several seats as well.  Tommy the hedgehog’s seat is still vacant as the wolf and sheep eye the United Federation president and G.U.N. behind them in unhappy glances.

In the third row with the United Federation president and G.U.N. soldiers, Professor Pickles is reading and the videographer dog is listening to music on headphones. Then, with a start, Sonic  zeroes in surprised as  he thinks he sees, just for a moment, his dad, mom, Aunt Millie, Pazu, Aunt Katie and Uncle Danny standing by the back wall cheering him. He blinks in disbelief as some give a questioning look, and then doesn’t see them though he stares mouth agape and bewildered for a bit. 

Shadow: Hmm…. actually, not a bad idea Sonic. 

Sonic: Huh? (Shaking his head out of it) What is?

Shadow: Watching video of the drone’s destruction. I’d like to see more of this  drone for myself .

Sonic:Uh yeah, Yeah! Well of course! 

Rouge: I think that can be arranged. He does have a tiny camera with him for just such an occasion, just…(smile)wait here….

Sonic: Awwww great! More waiting! (Looking to Persis who looks lost in thought) I’m guessing you never get bored Persis…

Persis: Hm? Actually I got lost in my head a moment. I do that a lot. 

Sonic: You don’t say?

Persis: Yeah, and you saying that made me think of some things though…(looks to Sonic for confirmation)

Sonic:  Eh, well… I guess‘ til we get the video set up anyway, you might as well go on one of your spiels if you want to now Persis…

Persis: Hm? (Excitedly) Oh really?!! Um let’s see…well, it’s a bit windy, so do you all have any hats?

Sonic: Hats?? Huh, not exactly the response I was expecting, but I think so at the house…?

Shadow and Knuckles look also unsure, and Rouge is messing with a tv in the hangar to get it to play what’s happening with Tails, and the guests also are perplexed.

Persis: Yep! For sport! Let me explain! It’s something from someone in our world in the past named Chesterton…

Sonic (thinks): …aaaand there it is…. Figured as much, heh! 

Persis:  With the right mindset, maybe we can transform this inconvenience into something more fun?

Cream: Transform it with hats Miss Persis?

Persis: Yeah! Chesterton once said ..”most of the inconveniences that make men swear or women cry are really sentimental or imaginative inconveniences—things altogether of the mind. For instance, we often hear grown-up people complaining of having to hang about a railway station and wait for a train. Did you ever hear a small boy complain of having to hang about a railway station and wait for a train?”

Helen: I know I’ve alway enjoyed waiting in the railway stations, but maybe some people would find that boring. To me though, it’s exciting to imagine all the places you can go!

Sonic: And anytime you want to travel again, I don’t mind taking you Helen!

Helen’s mom: No, no, we appreciate you taking her to see those flowers, but I know you must be busy. That’s why try to take her for her outings now when we can!

Helen’s dad: Yes, I’m very thankful, but we’ll manage, right Helen?

Helen: Right, don’t worry Sonic. We actually go places with the train too.

Sonic: Hmph. (Smiles) Well, alright then. I’m kinda “stuck” being here a lot because of Eggman, so be sure to stop by. Maybe I can still take you somewhere sometime while Shadow babysits for me.

Shadow looks a moment at Helen and nods. 

Sonic: Great!

Helen: I would love that! If you’re not too busy after wedding….

Sonic: Sure! I’ll talk to Amy and maybe I could sometime afterwards? We kinda had our own trip we wanted to do and I don’t wanna leave Shadow with Eggman duty all too long….

Helen: Well I’m sure it helps he doesn’t seem to mind being still as long as you do

Sonic: Yeah, maybe not, but I don’t want him to be stuck with him all the time. Anyway you and Amy talk it out!

Helen: Oh that would be great! Thank you Sonic! 

Sonic:Sure!

Helen: Persis,I’m sorry, I didn’t interrupt did I?

Persis: Ummm….don’t worry about it Helen. I know I can talk a lot…

Helen: What were you going to say?

Persis: Well, just that, unlike some grown-ups Chesterton said a small boy sees something completely different when he waits in a railway station. Or (looks at phone) “ to him to be inside a railway station is to be inside a cavern of wonder and a palace of poetical pleasures.”

Helen: Oh! I like that!

Cream: Me too! Why’s that Miss Persis?

Persis: Well, Chesterton said, it was “Because to him the red light and the green light on the signal are like a new sun and a new moon. Because to him when the wooden arm of the signal falls down suddenly, it is as if a great king had thrown down his staff as a signal and started a shrieking tournament of trains.

Sonic: Huh…

Cream: I get it! If you have a strong imagination, you won’t be bored!

Sonic: Maybe so Cream…

Persis: And well, it’s the same place right? But the perspective’s different. It’s as Chesterton put it…”in the case of all such annoyances, as I have said, everything depends upon the emotional point of view. You can safely apply the test to almost every one of the things that are currently talked of as the typical nuisance of daily life. For instance, there is a current impression that it is unpleasant to have to run after one's hat.”

Persis pauses and looks around at the very hatless bunch.

Persis: Well, if you did have hats…

Helen: There are a lot of people in Spagonia that wear hats,  and it’s really funny to see them chase after it on a windy day..

Persis: Well, yeah! And I think that’s the point! Chesterton thought it was comical too, and wondered why it should be unpleasant? Or as he put  “Why should it be unpleasant to the well-ordered and pious mind? Not merely because it is running, and running exhausts one. The same people run much faster in games and sports. The same people run much more eagerly after an uninteresting; little leather ball than they will after a nice silk hat. “

Knuckles: Making hat chasing into a sport?

Persis: Sure! I mean, the wind could blow a hat anywhere!

Knuckles: Hmm…maybe…we should try that Sonic! I would definitely win!

Shadow shakes his head at Knuckles.

Sonic: Based on what exactly? You’re not exactly good at not losing things…

Jack Little: Now you two…

Rouge: (still up high working on the camera) Though Sonic’s got a point you know. For someone who calls himself a treasure hunter, you sure lose treasure a lot…

==================================================================================================================

REF- Knuckles temper…and wanting to show how strong he is…and bickering with Sonic…LOL

Sonic Station LIVE! - April broadcast summary

(Skipped some)

Sonic: I’m Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog!

Knuckles: You mean that hedgehog who’s constantly running around poking his nose in everyone’s business?

Sonic: Hey! You don’t have to go that far!

Knuckles: Heh. I’m just telling it how it is. I’m Knuckles. Knuckles the Echidna.

Sonic: The reckless and stubborn muscle-head echidna, right?

Knuckles: You trying to start something, Sonic!?

Sonic: Hehe, “I’m just telling it how it is.”

Tails: Alright you two… Could you guys cut it out for just one moment?

(Skipped some)

Tails: Oh shoot! We screwed up the opening!

Sonic: I totally forgot! You’re talking about the intro right? Think you could start us off, Knuckles?

Knuckles: Why should I be the one to do it? The show’s named after you, not me.

Tails: That’s true…This intro might be a little out of your reach. I guess we can only rely on Sonic in times like this…

Knuckles: You think something like that is out of my reach?! Alright, I’ll do it.

(Skipped some)

Sonic: Hey, that’s my line! Knuckles went off on his own somewhere. Hays anyone seen him?

Tails: Now that you mention it, he did seem quite concerned about leaving the Master Emerald behind. Don’t tell me he went to check up on it?

Sonic: No way! We’ve got the toughest guardian in the world keeping an eye on it while he’s gone. I dragged him along to join us for this because he spends so much time alone. He seriously went back?

Tails: Hold on Sonic. We still don’t know whether h’e actually gone back. Speaking of, are you ok? Our said she’d only agree to guard the Emerald if she can go on a date—

Sonic: Alright Tails! No need to worry about that! Finding Knuckles should be our top priority. (Leaves)

Tails: Ahhh! Wait up, Sonic!

(Skipped some)

Tails: It makes me so nostalgic, but it still has lots of new stuff to enjoy too!

Knuckles:  I don’t really understand the hype with something being old or new. When someone’s having fun, you tell by looking at their face. 

(Skipped some)

Knuckles: Wait. Where’s Sonic?

Tails: Oh man..But we only just managed to get everyone together…

Knuckles: What do you expect? He’s always like that. He catches wind of something cool and he’s off. Then he gets involved in something he shouldn’t. It’s all fun and games to him.

Tails: Ah ha ha! I guess he does do that sometimes. That’s what he likes to call “an adventure.”

Knuckles: He might call it that but then he somehow manages to get me involved and it’s super annoying. Well, I guess you could say there’s rarely a dull moment when he’s around.

Tails: I totally agree!

Knuckles: Alright then. Let’s find Sonic and drag him back here. Leave the searching to me.

Tails: I’m counting on you!

(Skipped some)

(Message before wonders if they managed to find sonic)

Knuckles: Hey! Watch you mouth! Just who do you think I am? I’m a treasure hunter. Find a lost hedgehog is a piece of cake.

Sonic: Hey! Who are you calling a “lost hedgehog”? At least I’m not an echidna who flies into a fit of rage at someone who cuts me off!

Knuckles: Better watch your mouth sonic!

Tails: Come on guys! Give it a break!

(Skipped some)

Sonic: On that note, it’s time to end the show.

(Me: Tails teasing Knuckles)

Tails: That’s right! If I remember correctly, Knuckles can’t do it, so Sonic would you please—

Knuckles: Listen up everyone! Are you read?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwSJ8gXXTDM

Sonic Station LIVE! - September 2022 broadcast summary (Translated)

(Skipped some)

Knuckles: The Master Emerald was leading me to a suspicious Emerald presence over here, so—

Sonic: Yeah, I know! So you came looking for it. I’m going to help you find it!

Knuckles: Nobody asked you! You followed me here on your own and all…

Sonic: (laughs) Anyway, I don’t wanna make everyone in the studio wait any longer.

(Skipped some)

Sonic: I’ve been looking everywhere Knuckles went, but I can’t seem to find the mysterious emerald. Man, is his intuition shoddy.

Knuckles (initially not seen) Who’re you calling “shoddy?” Looks like the Emerald is moving at high speed. I guess you can’t find it because you’re prized feet are so slow.

Sonic: No way! It’s the opposite! I think I can’t find it because I’m faster than it and I’m passing by it.

Knuckles: You’re still the same old fast-talking jerk. In the first pace you—Huh? Another sudden Emerald presence!

(Skipped some)

sonic: Well, for what it’s worth, Knuckles instincts are real when it comes to treasure hunting.

(Skipped some)

Sonic: Korone may get stuck, but she tries again and again, and she gets through most of it.

Knuckles: Actually, I heard you spend hours going through the game where I kick Eggman’s butt on another day, too! That’s pretty gutsy.

Sonic: Hey, Knuckles, It’s rare for you to compliment others. You should praise me when I keep jumping over and over or something. 

Knuckles: Shut it! That’s not where it’s at! It’s not enough to just repeat things— (sudden realization concerning emerald)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hI2BquuplM

(Skipped some)

From Sonic X…

Sonic: Knuckles, you're so easily provoked.

https://sonic-x.fandom.com/wiki/Prize_Fights/Transcript

Emerl repeatedly pummels Knuckles.

https://sonic-x.fandom.com/wiki/A_Wild_Win/Transcript

=========================================================================

STORY

Knuckles: It’s not lost when it’s because you’ve come to steal it!

Rouge: Can I help if I’m more skilled than you?

Knuckles: I’ll show you skilled! Come down and fight me you thief!

Sonic: Knuckles…not now…

Rouge: Back off! I’m a treasure hunter, not a fighter for fun, especially at a wedding…or when G.U.N. has been so generous for my stay here…

Shadow: Knuckles, you’re supposed to be Sonic’s friend, aren’t you? Are you telling me you would fight here, now, at his wedding?

Knuckles: (look of embarrassment) Er, but I…

Rouge: (smiles)Hmph…that’s right, and if even I can not steal right now, you can quit being a hot-head always trying to show you’re better!

Knuckles: (Frown) I’m not a hot head!! …Er…I mean…I’m not going to ruin your day with Amy, Sonic..

Sonic: (thumbs up) Thanks Knuckles. I knew you’d come through! We can always compete afterwards “hat chasing” according to Persis…I guess.

Cream: That’s right Miss Persis, you got interrupted.

Persis: Yeah, well, it was interesting to me to think about men in suits running after their hats and that Instead of seeing it as an annoyance, the other possibility is that he would “run after his hat with the manliest ardour and the most sacred joy. He might regard himself as a jolly huntsman pursuing a wild animal, for certainly no animal could be wilder. In fact, I am inclined to believe that hat-hunting on windy days will be the sport of the upper classes in the future.”

Cream: That would be funny to watch.

Helen: I’d watch it with you Cream!

Persis: I’d try it! And the same idea can be used towards a stuck drawer! He helped a friend of his see it that way! As he put it, “ Every day his drawer was jammed…. But I pointed out to him that this sense of wrong was really subjective and relative; it rested entirely upon the assumption that the drawer could, should, and would come out easily.”

And...I bet Tails would say something like, "Is he saying it shouldn’t? But wouldn’t you just fix something like that?"

Persis: And well, It’s not that necessarily , but you’ll see what I mean…He continues…

“But if you picture to yourself that you are pulling against some powerful and oppressive enemy, the struggle will become merely exciting and not exasperating. Imagine that you are tugging up a lifeboat out of the sea. Imagine that you are roping up a fellow-creature out of an Alpine crevass. Imagine even that you are a boy again and engaged in a tug-of-war between French and English.”. . . I have no doubt that every day of his life he hangs on to the handle of that drawer with a flushed face and eyes bright with battle, uttering encouraging shouts to himself, and seeming to hear all round him the roar of an applauding ring. . . . An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.

Sonic: Huh, I guess it just goes back to adventures not being fun if they’re too easy.

Rouge: Well, I’m all for risks that can bring a reward, but I still want things to work properly…like these cameras that Tails didn’t make clear on the wiring. (frowns)

===================================================================================================================

REF- Chesterton quotes from “On Running After One’s Hat”

https://ccel.org/ccel/chesterton/thingsconsidered/thingsconsidered.v.html

======================================================================================================================

Sonic: Heh… Well, looks like we could still use a diversion then, so I guess you can keep going Persis.

Persis: Oh! Uh…

Persis stares at everyone remaining…Jack Little, Sonic,  Shadow, Knuckles, Vanilla,  Cream, Gemerl,  Helen and her parents in the front row as well as Amy’s parents, with Amy’s dad, Gregory, now passed out asleep and snoring on Linda next to him also asleep. 

  In the second row is Honey the Cat still  engrossed in sketching clothing designs. Next to her are The Chaotix’s and Mighty and Ray’s empty seats. Big the Cat is sleeping.

Then are the wolf and the sheep talking to each other concerned  and glancing at the row behind them with the  United Federation president speaking softly to surrounded GUN solders seeming to wonder about the missing hedgehog still as well. Professor Pickles still reading, and the videographer dog listening to music on headphones. And Rouge is still latched like a bat to the ceiling trying to get it to where they can see Tails.

Persis: Um, right… so yes running after hats can be a  diversion, so to speak, But, as great as it is to easily find diversion in that,  Pascal in his Pensees, is one I thought of who really looked into deeper reasons why we can seek diversion…

Sonic:(deadpan, a bit raised eyebrow)… because we’re bored?

Chapter 17-Restlessness

Chapter Text

Cream gives Sonic an annoyed expression at the interruption.

Cream: Mr. Sonic! It’s rude to interrupt!

Sonic, who just looks at the cute little bunny’s expression of anger with amusement, can’t help but grin a bit.

Sonic:  Alright, alright, Cream. Fine. Sorry. Go on Persis, we’re still waitin’ on the vid’ to see what Tails is up to anyway…(Looks up) Thanks by the way Rouge!

Rouge: No problem Big Blue…

Shadow: Go ahead if you wish, Persis. I’d rather hear you than Sonic’s big impatient smug mouth…

Knuckles: Well Shadow, that’s something we can agree on!

(ADDED)

Sonic responds with a smug grin and mocking bow.

Sonic: Well, it’s nice to know I make such an impression…

Knuckles: Hey! That wasn’t a compliment you know!

Sonic: From my pal Knuckles? I guess I couldn’t tell since you’re just so bad at insults.

Shadow just has the look of a tired parent when “the kids” are bickering again.

Knuckles: Am not!

Sonic: Great comebacks too! And what I mean is, at least come up with your own insult.

Knuckles: Hey! I can insult just as good as Shadow!

Sonic: I’d say “prove it” but maybe later Knux, as Cream just pointed out,  Persis was talking and now you’re interrupting her so…

Knuckles:Hey, but I wasn’t the one who started it!

(END ADDED)

==========================================================================================================================================================

Author’s Note- (ADDED) dialogue tags

I don’t usually leave in my tags to show where I added dialogue, but it was fun for me to see going back how this playful trolling dialogue of Sonic came to me for this look over and has come easier to me over time in general! I had a lot of fun adding this bit in with him and Knuckles now, so it’s just added confirmation that I’ve at least been able to improve to my own standards over time, and another reason I’m glad this uploaded version is not my initial attempt as more ideas like even just little things like this have come to me later after going over it again…now 2 years since the initial completed version!

=====================================================================================================================================

STORY

Sonic: And I said I was sorry didn’t I?  Besides, I was just messin’ with her a bit anyway! ( to Persis) Isn’t that right Persis? You don’t mind, right?

Persis: No…I mean, in a ways I think you were just pointing out that the answer should seem obvious like that, and being a bit of a devil’s advocate in a way and I think that can be a good thing! I like to be a devil’s advocate with myself too actually…

Sonic: (smug) Alright! See? (Stares towards Knuckles and Shadow)

Persis: But you’re wrong. 

Sonic: What?

Persis: Well, that’s not all there is to it according to Pascal…

Shadow now gives Sonic a short smug smile and Knuckles joins in, but more with a smug grin.

Shadow: What was that? I thought I heard something about you being wrong..

Jack Little: Heh heh heh….Sorry to “interrupt,” but you sure you’re not related? You fight like some brothers I’d known…

Sonic: Uh…

Shadow: …

Jack Little: Though a lot like some ol’ buddies of mine too…. ‘Course I’d say the same with Knuckles.

Knuckles: That fast-talking jerk who’s always dragging me into whatever he’s gotten himself into? Tcha. Well, he might as well be a brother, since he’s about as annoying as how I’d managed one’d be…

Sonic: Hm. Yeah “thanks Knuckles,” I think…

Jack: And Persis, on that last thing you said,  I’ll remember that thing about the drawer for an ornery drawer I got back at home. It’d sure be nice for something to do. 

(Author’s Note: This part was a more difficult part to edit and really just write in general!!!! t  =(…)

Persis: Er, right… so diversion! So in Pascal’s Pensees he says…

“I have discovered that all the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they cannot stay quietly in their own room.”

========================================================================================================

Author’s Note-“sitting quietly  in one’s own room also the brain’s default mode network activation

You Need to Be Bored. Here's Why.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orQKfIXMiA8

 (Video ADDED to this note later but topically relevant and a topic of interest to me)

From comments below video…

@bilalkhalid2907

1 month ago

I took a train recently and it was a 28 hour journey. I decided to not use my phone during the whole journey. I looked outside of the window, talked to a few people and saw sunrise, sunset, cold night and all that. 

It healed me so deeply that even after several months passed and I still feel the warmth and the vibes.

@SaenRiven

2 months ago

I used to fill every silence with noise, every pause with distraction. Thought I was being productive, staying connected. But there's something terrifying about sitting with nothing, isn't there? Just you and the questions you've been avoiding. I remember reading something that made me put my phone down mid-scroll: "In the space between thoughts, you'll find what you've been searching for in all the wrong places." It was from What the Silence Tried to Say by Alira Sennel. Made me realize I'd been running from the very emptiness that might actually hold my answers. Now I try to sit with the boredom, let it wash over me. And you know what? Those uncomfortable questions it brings up - they're not trying to hurt me. They're trying to show me who I really am underneath all the noise.

@aniketshah5636

2 months ago

There’s something about stillness that feels unbearable until you embrace it. I used to think boredom was wasted time, but after weeks of forcing myself to sit with it, ideas began to bloom in ways I hadn’t imagined. I started journaling, sketching, thinking about life differently. Reading Velvet Gardens of Her Paradise by Eleanore Blake made me realize those quiet spaces aren’t empty, they’re where the seeds of transformation grow. It’s unnerving at first, but if you ignore it, you miss out on what could completely change how you see yourself and the world.

@Balconyy

3 weeks ago

A few months ago I was in a uni class, and I had forgotten my phone at home. I was sitting far back so I couldn't hear my professor, and I also wasn't sitting next to people I knew, so I wasn't talking to any of them. Those 90 minutes felt like hours, and I started thinking about topics I never thought before... meaning of life, what am I doing here, and starting to doubt everything. I eventually even started to tear up by thinking about my family and how I haven't been talking to my parents/grandparents enough. It's like I was in this constant state of being distracted and this one day I had an epiphany and everything that was buried started to overflow. I wasn't even particularly stressed,  and it felt like it came out of nowhere.

Me: These times are also great for coming up with ideas! Driving with nothing on has been one of the times I’d come up with story ideas!……among other things.

And related to that…articles about true downtime as far as your brain is concerned, and the default mode network of the brain

https://neuroleadership.com/your-brain-at-work/downtime

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-downtime-is-essential-for-brain-health/

==========================================================================================================================================================

STORY

…..

Persis: “Whatever condition we picture to ourselves, if we muster all the good things which it is possible to possess…” um… I’m skipping some and than he says” …. if he be without diversion, and be left to consider and reflect on what he is, …he will necessarily fall into forebodings of dangers…which may happen, and, finally, of death and inevitable disease; so that if he be without what is called diversion, he is unhappy….

All characters just kinda look at each other a bit uncomfortable and/or interested  at this diversion about diversion.Persis is of course oblivious to this at the moment.

Persis: Pascal goes on to say, “We do not seek that easy and peaceful lot which permits us to think of our unhappy condition…. but the bustle which averts these thoughts of ours, and amuses us.”
And now the Reasons why we like the chase better than the quarry…
Hence it comes that men so much love noise and stir; hence it comes that the pleasure of solitude is a thing incomprehensible. “

Shadow: Hmph. Maybe for some.

Persis: Yes, I know you like solitude Shadow and I do too, though not all the time, but  I wonder if despite that he’s getting to something universal though... anyway, with the video for the “drone hunt” I guess still not working, um I can quote and wonder aloud some more .”

Sonic:(looks up at Rouge working on vid). Eh, sure …. See that Faker and Knucklehead? It’s not just me who doesn’t want to always sit quietly…

Persis: Exactly, though he seems to mean to sit quietly AT ALL, not whether he should always. Pascal goes on to say,
“To bid a man live quietly is to bid him live happily. It is to advise him to be in a state perfectly happy, in which he can think at leisure without finding therein a cause of distress. This is to misunderstand nature.
As men who naturally understand their own condition avoid nothing so much as rest, so there is nothing they leave undone in seeking turmoil…

Knuckles: Heh, sure sounds like someone I know…

Persis: More like most people Knuckles. And Still Pascal says,“ Their error does not lie in seeking excitement, if they seek it only as a diversion;”

Sonic: And well there you go Knuckles!

Persis: “…um…moving on… “the evil is that they seek it as if the possession of the objects of their quest would make them really happy. In this respect it is right to call their quest a vain one…”
…and so this to me sounds like seeking pleasures. After you get the thing, a material one or go on the adventure, etc…it’s not like you stay satisfied.

Knuckles: …sure sounds like someone else I know. (Eyes Rouge)

Rouge: Hmph! So says the treasure hunter!

Sonic and Shadow now take in the amusement of Knuckles’ and Rouge’s bickering with Shadow giving a small frown and small head shake as Sonic grins warily at the short-tempered echidna at it again with the ruffled Rouge.

Cream: Everyone! Quit being rude!

Helen nods and says, “I’d like to hear the rest of it Persis.”

Persis: Oh! Thanks! Well, the next part was “They think they are truly seeking quiet, and they are only seeking excitement.”

Rouge: And you don’t think that applies to you Knuckles?

Knuckles: Grrr….

Persis: I don’t think that’s necessarily a slander Knuckles…

Knuckles: What? 

Persis: Pascal is talking about everyone. He goes on to say “They have a secret instinct which impels them to seek amusement and occupation abroad, and which arises from the sense of their constant unhappiness. They have another secret instinct, a remnant of the greatness of our original nature, which teaches them that happiness in reality consists only in rest, and not in stir. 

Knuckles: That doesn’t make any sense! Wanting to find happiness going off somewhere and in rest??

Persis: Well, I guess we’re complicated and balancing paradoxes at times, anthropomorphic or not, but it also goes back to the fact to that pleasure, happiness, and joy aren’t the same things.

Pleasure or excitement is alive but agitated and restless.
Happiness is resting and peaceful but not full of passion.
Joy is…moving while still… It has peace and aliveness , aliveness without agitation, and peace without sleepiness.”

Sonic: Yeah…I remember you saying that, though I gotta be honest, it seems I’m happier when I’m not asking myself whether I am.

=======================================================================================================================================================

Author’s Notes related to happiness

Me: It still feels weird to me sharing this story up here on AO3…and even more so the “With Notes” version including my non-spoiler private notes like this that  I put for my own reference, but I guess there are people still reading anyway as best as I can tell, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯despite it not being altered to NOT include this unusual/weird  mishmash of real world thinkers of happiness/joy from different walks of life including: Bishop Barron, the Jewish Holocaust survivor Vicktor Frankl, Chesterton, Socrates, etc…that are peppered in these stories and not just in the notes along with Sonic of course. It’s kind of like when/if you have a song you enjoy that you sing loudly when no one else is around but might only in front of a few people you know, but then before you know it complete strangers are “listening in.” I kinda figured this mishmash of such real world thinkers with Sonic  would be a turn off for people with how unusual it was to be in a story and not really something I’d seen done, much less a Sonic story. I mean…last I checked I am the only person an AO3’s thousands of Sonic stories that includes a story tag with Chesterton for example…..So yeah, not exactly common….

So….yeah that's a big reason besides not having the final story’s ending yet (though I do now) I’d waited so long to put it up…it was like, would something like this HAVE an audience??Or would someone even keep reading at the very least after such untypical sections? Is it really worth my scant time to even put it up??

 BUT, also then again as far as putting these real world thinkers,   I can be more at peace with having been genuine and not having changed my story to something to please an amorphous audience for something I didn’t think was bad but just different. I guess that’s just part of being authentic too, even though that may mean people walking away or frankly deciding this story just really isn’t for them…but that’s part of freedom, including mine, and I also reasoned, besides, it’s not like anyone’s forced to read it or even has to pay to read it so there’s that, but some have freely chosen to anyway including family and an internet penpal who have liked it at least to have kept reading thus far, and then now  including here with no hope of profit from me to commission them, and so it means ALL THE MORE then because it isn’t fake or forced for anyone to have kept reading this “unmasked” version. 

 https://www.deviantart.com/stash/0jfk75qbxw2

…and it helps with feedback and opinions for it to know for me which voices are worth listening to, and are good and true, as trying to please everyone indiscriminately just leads to misery…

https://sta.sh/0rle3zjsegx

So…now finally onto the note and stuff I like to remind myself of….

The Keys to Happiness- Bishop Barron’s Sunday homily

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m6245-7y9vo

“Blessed are the lowly, they shall inherit the land…..

Those who have emptied themselves, forgotten about themselves, are the ones who are actually closest to the earth. They’re closest to reality. We’re talking here about humility. Don’t think of that phony, false humility. Someone’s who’s humble says, “I’m not preoccupied with my own ego, how I’m doing, what impression I’m making. Rather I forget about all that. I get that monkey off my back and I lose myself in whatever it is I’m doing….When I’m preoccupied with my ego and my status and how I’m doing and all that, I’m divorced from reality. But when in the simplest way I forget about myself, and I give myself to a book I’m reading, or a person I’m talking to, or a task I have, I become happy. Isn’t it true, everybody? Think about it. The best moments in life, are when you’re least aware of yourself, least aware of your hang-ups and preoccupations. How happy are the lowly.

There is No Difference Between Thinking About Yourself and Being Miserable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=o3rpK5eB2ic

From Objectives in Life in Sonic Bible

Life is a blast—if you don’t stop to think about it

http://nemesis.hacking-cult.org/MegaDrive/Documentation/Sonic/SonicBibleDraft2.pdf

Frankl and Meaning

Woe to him who saw no more sense in his life, no aim, no purpose, and therefore no point in carrying on. He was soon lost. The typical reply with which such a man rejected all encouraging arguments was, “I have nothing to expect from life any more.” What sort of answer can one give to that?

Don’t aim at success — the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long run—in the long run, I say!—success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think of it.

https://www.themarginalian.org/2013/03/26/viktor-frankl-mans-search-for-meaning/

“Moreover, and more profoundly, true happiness, being spiritual, is deeply interior. It abides in the inmost recesses of one's soul. It may, therefore, coexist with struggle and suffering, with tribulation and with the heaviest cross. Could anything be clearer than Christ's own prediction in the beatitudes? "Lord," we are tempted to say, "are these beatitudes? Happy are those who... " and then you look at the who and you are all but terrified. "Happy? Did I hear You right, Lord? Did You say happy?" "I said happy. Happy are those who mourn." "Lord, I believe You, but what on earth or in heaven do You mean?" Happy those who are poor, the gentle, the merciful, the peacemakers. Christ even foretold how happy would be those who are persecuted in the cause of right. There is a center to the human spirit and a core in the heart of man which can be in peace and in joy, not in spite of, but actually because the outer man is undergoing tribulation in a just cause. In fact, when we are thus persecuted, you know what the Savior says, we are not just to rejoice, we are to dance for joy.

In spite of all the rhetoric to the contrary, therefore, and it takes a lot of faith to draw this conclusion, virtue is its own reward although the reward may be so deeply within a man's spirit that everything else in him, as in Job, may be in profound pain

People who are generous are happy people. Have you ever met a truly happy, but selfish person? There is something in our human nature that clamors for expression in giving ourselves to others…

They are pleased, so we are pleased, too. It is deeper than that.

That is why we must go on to the third and most important condition of true happiness, namely, its relationship with God

The Habit That FORCES Your Brain To STOP Consuming

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=R4MInIP2c-A

https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/how-to-be-truly-happy.html

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STORY

Persis: Right…me too. Thinking about yourself all the time instead of the  person or book in front of you for example, makes me more anxious and unhappy. And…Dedicating yourself to something bigger than yourself especially… meaning….. that’s the kind of thing that gave an interior happiness or peace to people like Victor Frankl and Maximillian Kolbe even in the concentration camps…not that I’m at their level…I feel that interior conflict too…but it’s encouraging to know what others have achieved under great suffering and struggles. 

Rouge now accidentally drops a screw while messing with the video camera. The screw goes flying towards Amy’s sleeping parents Gregory and Linda, as a perturbed Rouge chases it but not before it bounces off of Linda and Gregory before Rouge catches it.

Rouge: Sorry about that, I have that nervy little piece now.

She now flys back up to the ceiling.

Gregory: Hm? Wedding started? (looks around)

Linda: *yawn * It seems Sonic’s other friends are still gone…

Gregory…(shakes head) Hehe…Well, “the fastest thing alive” sure has the slowest start to a wedding!

Sonic: Hey now! Not ‘cause I wanted that! Persis here was  just telling us about, well, did you wanna finish up while we wait on Rouge?

Persis: Oh, ok…I was just going to say that how Pascal put these “two contrary instincts” , towards rest and noise and stir, sound to me like inclinations towards excitement and pleasure and stillness and happiness…or ” inciting them to aim at rest through excitement” which doesn’t bring satisfaction.

=====================================================================================================================================================

REF—

From Pacal’s Pensees

And of these two contrary instincts they form within themselves a confused idea, which hides itself from their view in the depths of their soul, inciting them to aim at rest through excitement, and always to fancy that the satisfaction which they have not will come to them, if, by surmounting whatever difficulties confront them, they can thereby open the door to rest.

Thus passes away all man's life. Men seek rest in a struggle against difficulties; and when they have conquered these, rest becomes insufferable. For we think either of the misfortunes we have or of those which threaten us. And even if we should see ourselves sufficiently sheltered on all sides, weariness of its own accord would not fail to arise from the depths of the heart wherein it has its natural roots, and to fill the mind with its poison.

https://ccel.org/ccel/pascal/pensees.all.html

———————————————

REF-

Author’s note: This  reminds of the self-sabotage in the Dostoevsky quote used in SAS

And, indeed, this is the odd thing that is continually happening: there are continually turning up in life moral and rational persons, sages and lovers of humanity who make it their object to live all their lives as morally and rationally as possible, to be, so to speak, a light to their neighbours simply in order to show them that it is possible to live morally and rationally in this world. And yet we all know that those very people sooner or later have been false to themselves, playing some queer trick, often a most unseemly one. Now I ask you: what can be expected of man since he is a being endowed with strange qualities? 

Shower upon him every earthly blessing, drown him in a sea of happiness, so that nothing but bubbles of bliss can be seen on the surface; give him economic prosperity, such that he should have nothing else to do but sleep, eat cakes and busy himself with the continuation of his species, and even then out of sheer ingratitude, sheer spite, man would play you some nasty trick. He would even risk his cakes and would deliberately desire the most fatal rubbish, the most uneconomical absurdity, simply to introduce into all this positive good sense his fatal fantastic element. It is just his fantastic dreams, his vulgar folly that he will desire to retain, simply in order to prove to himself--as though that were so necessary--that men still are men and not the keys of a piano, which the laws of nature threaten to control so completely that soon one will be able to desire nothing but by the calendar. 

And that is not all: even if man really were nothing but a piano-key, even if this were proved to him by natural science and mathematics, even then he would not become reasonable, but would purposely do something perverse out of simple ingratitude, simply to gain his point. And if he does not find means he will contrive destruction and chaos, will contrive sufferings of all sorts, only to gain his point! He will launch a curse upon the world, and as only man can curse (it is his privilege, the primary distinction between him and other animals), may be by his curse alone he will attain his object--that is, convince himself that he is a man and not a piano-key!

 If you say that all this, too, can be calculated and tabulated--chaos and darkness and curses, so that the mere possibility of calculating it all beforehand would stop it all, and reason would reassert itself, then man would purposely go mad in order to be rid of reason and gain his point! I believe in it, I answer for it, for the whole work of man really seems to consist in nothing but proving to himself every minute that he is a man and not a piano-key! It may be at the cost of his skin, it may be by cannibalism! And this being so, can one help being tempted to rejoice that it has not yet come off, and that desire still depends on something we don't know?

You will scream at me (that is, if you condescend to do so) that no one is touching my free will, that all they are concerned with is that my will should of itself, of its own free will, coincide with my own normal interests, with the laws of nature and arithmetic.

Good heavens, gentlemen, what sort of free will is left when we come to tabulation and arithmetic, when it will all be a case of twice two make four? Twice two makes four without my will. As if free will meant that!

https://dostoyevsky.thefreelibrary.com/Notes-from-the-Underground/1-9

==========================================================================================================================

STORY

Knuckles: Huh…well maybe that Pascal guy was onto something….

Persis: Yes, sometimes we can’t be still and know ourselves easily, and we can seek rest but then don’t want it…

Sonic: Hm…

Persis: Or as Pascal put, “Thus so wretched is man that he would weary even without any cause for weariness from the peculiar state of his disposition; and so frivolous is he, that, though full of a thousand reasons for weariness, the least thing, such as playing billiards or hitting a ball, is sufficient to amuse him.”

For all of the waiting guests even some nods of agreement are seen.

Sheep: Agreed, so can I at amuse myself with a ball now?

 Cream  however gives him a look and puts a finger to her mouth to show him to not be rude… and the sheep merely nods as the room comes under the control  to not be rude from the 9-year-old bunny, as no one wants to upset the bunny, and so the sheep nods.

Persis: Or I’ve heard it put another way in a video* “Sometimes people will create problems when they don’t have any, they will create fake realities where they are persecuted just to have a different load to bear than the weight of reality.” We all have the urge to immerse ourselves in external things  and make it easier to avoid ourselves and live life on a surface level, disconnected from ourselves, distracting ourselves every time we feel bored. .. Afraid to face ourselves and the truth of our condition and mortality”. 

*The video that said this quote, “The Truth About Distractions,” has since been taken down

Cream: You mean…think about….about our deaths??

Cream looks at Persis a bit wide-eyed. 

============================================================================================================================

REF-Cream and being worried about death…

From Sonic Battle

Cream: Are we all... all... going to die...?

Tails: Sonic!! Can you hear me?! Emerl has absorbed too much energy and has surpassed his limits! He's highly unstable right now! If you can inflict a great amount of damage on him, you'll put a stop to it! But, Emerl... will probably be destroyed... He won't be able to contain the energy that he's absorbed within his body...

Sonic: ...Emerl... Always causing trouble... Even in the end... ... ... It's time for one final party!!!

https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_Battle/Script_(Emerl)

============================================================================================================================

STORY

Persis: Uh…well…

Persis looks awkwardly away in the awkward silence, as Sonic looks on as if unsure how to “save her” from the awkwardness as Cream is patted on the back by her mother Vanilla.

Vanilla: It’ll be alright. 

Persis: Sorry cream.

Vanilla: (To Persis) Don’t worry about it Persis. Sometimes thinking about death is just a little harder for her than normal for her since we lost her father some years ago, but Cream is strong and brave, aren’t you Cream? Just like your dad?

Cream nods and wipes her face.

Cream: Yes mama.

Sonic now wordlessly goes up to Cream and pats her on the head until she responds with a smile, and he returns in kind, and the atmosphere changes from awkward to heartfelt.

Persis: Hmm…..maybe not the best topic after all.

Rouge stops to look down from  her messing with the video setup screen.

Rouge : You mean mortality at a wedding? You sure know just what to say at a wedding, don’t you sugar?

Persis: Alright, no more on that, even there is the wedding vow line “’til death do us part,” but Oh! Well actually, I was going to lead in from that to a compliment for Sonic, though I think maybe a fear of mortality isn’t really something Sonic has much of a problem with.

Shadow frowns…and it “says” enough.

Sonic: Well, I just do what I gotta do…and what’s fun!  (Grin)

Persis:  Yeah, I’d say so! Anyway…So Sonic, I was thinking how of you’ve defeated Eggman to where he’s not easily a threat again,  even though you might be more bored.

Sonic looks off sheepishly a bit before turning to face Persis.

Sonic: Yeah, well…it hasn’t been easy. I was excited about maybe having someone else to face again, even if it was some lame drone. Eggman just isn’t the challenge he was before, but even so … in the end? *sigh* I wouldn’t change that. I guess I just couldn’t stand the thought any of my friends getting hurt just because of I was bored either.

He gets some applause off panel.

Shadow: Hmph. Good. As you should, or you’d have to attempt to go through me.

Sonics grins.

Sonic: Just what I’d expect from you faker…

Persis: You have caritas, love, for them Sonic!

Sonic: Eh, yeah, sure.( shrug shoulders like it’s no big deal)

Jack Little: Saido’d be proud!

Cream: That’s right! Of course you wouldn’t free that mean old Eggman because you have a good heart Mr. Sonic!

Vanilla: Mrs. Amy is very fortunate to have you dear…

Amy’s dad Gregory and mom Linda give Sonic an affirming nod.

(And in another panel is Amy watching video with a  happy dreamy sigh say, “Yes I am!”)

Rouge: Well, well…is that so Big Blue?

Sonic: Yeah, great! Fantastic! So I’m not some messed up sick jerk who wants their friends hurt just because I’m bored, so now what??

Gregory: You find yourself a new mission.

Sonic: Sure, but when? …you about done setting that all up yet Rouge?

Rouge: Any time now Big Blue.

Sonic: *disappointed sigh*

Cream: Miss Persis, were you done?

Persis: Almost…

Cream: Are you going to finish?

 Persis looks out, uneasily, and responds with, “Uh….”

Cream:  You should! (Hands on hips) My mother says you should finish what you start. 

Rouge amused (thinks): Hmmm…it looks like that little girl Cream has the whole room listening to her. And even though that whole innocent girl persona just isn’t my thing,  I can still respect her results..

Sonic, Shadow and Knuckles look a bit confused and Sonic whispers , “Did Cream just…  take charge??”

Persis: Um…ok Cream. Well,  so Pascal goes on to say…
“if man were [naturally] happy, the less he were diverted the happier he would be, like the saints and God.” Diversion cannot bring sustained happiness, since it locates the source of happiness outside of us; thus, our happiness is dependent on factors often beyond our control, so that we are “liable to be disturbed by a thousand and one accidents, which inevitably cause distress.”

=======================================================================

REF-Pascal 

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/pascal-on-our-addiction-to-distraction/?amp

To find recreation in amusements is not happiness; for this joy springs from alien and extrinsic sources, and is therefore dependent upon and subject to interruption by a thousand accidents, which may minister inevitable affliction.”

==========================================================================================

STORY

Persis: Pascal also put it this way:
The Stoics say: ‘Withdraw into yourself, that is where you will find peace.’ And that is not true. Others say: ‘Go outside: look for happiness in some diversion.’ And that is not true… Happiness is neither outside nor inside us but…” 

Knuckles:So nowhere?

==========================================================================

REF-

The Stoics say: ‘Withdraw into yourself, that is where you will find peace.’ And that is not true. Others say: ‘Go outside: look for happiness in some diversion.’ And that is not true… Happiness is neither outside nor inside us: it is in God, both outside us and inside us.

https://www.mikeduran.com/2010/02/19/how-close-is-god/

==================================================================================================

STORY

Persis: No, er more l but like both I guess you could say in a way?

Knuckles: You’re not makin’ a lot of sense.

Persis: Oh, well,  um…actually that makes me think of something else…Happiness for Greek and Medieval people in the past from my world thought that happiness was something more objective, or based on how you were in fact and not just subjective feelings, it was spiritual health, eudaimonia, literally “Good-spirits-ness.”….

Cream: But Miss Persis, isn’t it good to also feel happy?

Persis: Well, it’s not that feelings are bad! It’s just that  feelings are really tricky though aren’t they? Sometimes you can feel like something is true even when it isn’t right? Sometimes for example, you might not feel like someone loves you even when they do it’s just not in a way that feels like it to you! Like, if your mom gets onto you for getting into the cookies before dinner it’s because she loves you and wants what’s good for you.

Cream: Oh…

Persis: And besides, feelings are really fickle, and you can’t always control them. So with eudaimonia, it’s about happiness that can still be there, a good condition of soul and peace even in suffering, especially as a way to wisdom. As best as I can tell from Pascal, diversions where we try to escape ourselves and the truth of our condition,  are like spiritual junk food that don’t lead to eudaimonia, and you still need more hearty “soul food” like goodness, truth, and beauty. Virtue!

Rouge: Ha! So says Persis… I know for a fact you’ve enjoyed a nice alcoholic drink , even if you don’t get drunk with it…

Persis: I don’t think that means no mixed drinks Rouge…

Rouge: Well good, at least you have some sense.

The rest are just watching this back and forth “battle” not wanting to get in the middle of it.

Persis: I think…I think what they were getting is knowing what diversions and pleasures can do, and what they can’t. Or I read somewhere, “if man were [naturally] happy, the less he were diverted the happier he would be, but Diversion cannot bring sustained happiness. True happiness, being spiritual, is deeply interior. It abides in the inmost recesses of one's soul. It may, therefore, coexist with struggle and suffering…”.and I think about how virtuous people… People who are generous are happy people. Have you ever met a truly happy, but selfish person? 

Rouge: And so now you’re saying no one should own anything??

Persis: No! It’s not that! It’s just about not only thinking of yourself. I mean, look how you have helped Sonic, Amy, and Shadow, and when you gave Knuckles back the Master Emerald shards. You never regretted that did you?

Knuckles: Are you kidding me? That bat thief?

Rouge: Hmph. You do your homework. …Maybe not, but don’t think you’re talking me out enjoying some sparkling diversions!

Persis: Is there an argument there somewhere or…?

Rouge: Ugh! How exasperating!

Shadow, Knuckles, Sonic, Linda and Gregory look amused. Gregory is smoking a pipe giving a good belly laugh.

Sonic: Haha…I don’t usually see someone get under Rouge’s skin like that Persis!

Rouge glares at him.

Persis: Oh, uh…

Rouge: And another thing Persis, you never answered me how miss “no diversions” can still have some diversions herself!

Persis: First of all, I don’t say “no diversions,” just that they won’t bring lasting happiness. And diversions have their place as Aquinas stated….

Sonic: (Thinks) Heh….No surprise there…

Persis: “Now just as weariness of the body is dispelled by resting the body, so weariness of the soul must needs be remedied by resting the soul: and the soul's rest is pleasure…the remedy for weariness of soul must needs consist in the application of some pleasure, by slackening the tension of the reason's study….and to paraphrase, like with play….just like how a bow would break if it was tense all the time, it needs to be able to relax…

================================================================================================================

REF-eudaimonia, Aquinas…

(P.33 Happiness of heaven, permission stated previously)

“Happiness for Greek and Medieval philosophers means something more objective than the present more subjective meaning, it was spiritual health eudaimonia, literally “Good-spirits-ness” and didn’t mean primarily feelings. It’s like how you can feel healthy, but really be unhealthy or vice versa. This eudiamonia meant suffering, especially as a means to wisdom, and could be part of happiness.

So, eudaimonia relates to a healthy and good condition of your soul. As best as I can tell from Pascal, diversions that try to escape ourselves and the truth of our condition,  are like spiritual junk food that don’t lead to eudaimonia, you still need more hearty “soul food” like goodness, truth, and beauty. Virtue! But diversions or pleasures, do have their place, as Aquinas stated “Now just as weariness of the body is dispelled by resting the body, so weariness of the soul must needs be remedied by resting the soul: and the soul's rest is pleasure…the remedy for weariness of soul must needs consist in the application of some pleasure, by slackening the tension of the reason's study….and to paraphrase, like with play….just like how a bow would break if it was tense all the time, it needs to be able to relax…” 

——

REF-Aquinas

)“Now just as weariness of the body is dispelled by resting the body, so weariness of the soul must needs be remedied by resting the soul: and the soul's rest is pleasure, as stated above (I-II:25:2; I-II:31:1 ad 2). Consequently, the remedy for weariness of soul must needs consist in the application of some pleasure, by slackening the tension of the reason's study. Thus in the Conferences of the Fathers xxiv, 21, it is related of Blessed John the Evangelist, that when some people were scandalized on finding him playing together with his disciples, he is said to have told one of them who carried a bow to shoot an arrow. And when the latter had done this several times, he asked him whether he could do it indefinitely, and the man answered that if he continued doing it, the bow would break. Whence the Blessed John drew the inference that in like manner man's mind would break if its tension were never relaxed.”

===============================================================================================================================================

STORY

Persis: So ….um yeah! Hopefully Sonic can find other diversions, but mostly, I wish both Sonic and Amy a happy marriage and that their lives be full of the happiness that is eudaimonia, literally “Good-spirits-ness!” 

Sonic: Thanks Persis…..

Knuckles: Huh. Is she done?

Sonic: Yes Knucklehead.

There is now polite claps…

Knuckles ( grin and elbows Sonic): You know, that kind of talk is one the last things I’d expect at your wedding…

Sonic: Yeaaaah…well, I shoulda figured as much. I guess that’s just kinda Persis being Persis, being a bit, well uh, different than most people, but that’s okay…

Knuckles: I guess it wasn’t too bad.(looks to Persis)

Persis:Thanks. Well, I guess at least it wasn’t a dangerous diversion like Dr. Eggman would be.

Rouge: ….and done! Finally! Let’s move on to the video ‘kay hon?

Persis: S-sure….

Chapter 18-This is no time for stupidity!

Chapter Text

Now the video camera, which also served as a projector, has the connection needed thanks to Rouge, video feed from Tails’ arm communicator with Mighty and Ray is seen, projecting from the video camera onto the hangar wall. Ray is up in the air and so is Tails  as they approach a clearing the woods with Mighty running below.  As they approach the clearing in the woods, Mighty tries to throw something at the drone now seen in the clearing, but it misses as Ray swoops down. Tails looks down at the wrist communicator.

Tails: (looks at his wrist ) Oh, hey guys! I can’t see you right now, but my communicator shows someone tapped into a camera in the hangar to project video. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before! Anyway, I’ll move it real quick and that way you can all get a better view before I try something on this drone!

Tails now puts the band around his head, with the band rolling out from the little communicator box with the camera for the extra length to go around his head like a miner’s light, before he then presses buttons and the drone disappears under under an explosion of smoke as Mighty and Ray cheer.

Tails: It worked! It worked! Well it looks like the drone is all taken care of! We’ll be heading back soon!

Sonic(looking at screen): Sounds great buddy! Now to just get Team Chaotix back with Tommy and Jon and get this wedding done! 

Tails: (heard from camera but not seen): They’re not back yet?

Sonic: Nah, but it shouldn’t take them too long. It’s not like Christmas Island has any major threats, including I guess some drone now, but why don’t you help speed it up by giving them a “flying fox’s -eye view”?

Tails: You got it Sonic! Mighty and Ray will probably want to help too! We’ll find Jon the hedgehog in no time!

Suddenly Team Chaotix and Tommy the hedgehog walk in, and without comment a local news cameraman bird and reporter….and judging by their expressions, Jon is still lost.

Sonic: Team Chaotix? Tommy? And the News? Hey Tails, Tommy and the Team Chaotix are already back at the hangar, so meet up with us here.
(Thinks): And the cameraman for the news too…? Tails already had cameras on live feed for everyone who wanted to see the wedding, …(grins) besides Amy’s.  Why the cameraman and reporter for the wedding now too?*sigh* if this wedding even ever gets started!

Tails: They are?? Hmm……. 10-4 that Sonic and out! We’ll be there soon!

============================================================================================================

REF- Radio codes, such as 10-4.

https://policecodes.net/ten-codes/#gsc.tab=0

I think I actually heard that used by Tails in the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog TV series.

==============================================================================================================

STORY

Rouge now flies up to cut the feed from Tails communicator going to the camera, as they all wait in expectation the reason for their faces.

Vector: My team and I are ace detectives, but I agree with Tommy here, the more hands we have lookin’ the better!

Sonic: Why didn’t you just call for help?

Vector: So maybe I didn’t pay my phone bill, but they were overcharging, the crooks! I’m getting a different service!

Espio: And it would help too, if you took more paying cases.

Charmy: Awww! But they were fun!

=======================================================================================================

REF- Vector working for free

From https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Vector_the_Crocodile

Despite his love for cash, Vector has strong morals and will not get involved in anything illegal or dirty. Similarly, Vector has a strong sense of justice and kindness, despite his argumentativeness. As such, Vector is very charitable and is known for helping those in need for free, such as finding a lost child or take up meager chases for children. Because of this, Vector will take up cases without any sort of compensation. Despite any money problems his generosity may present, however, Vector believes that helping out those less fortunate is the best reward. He is not above embarrassing himself either if it helps the well-being of others, even at the chance of it staining his good reputation.

Also around the 13:17 mark on The Vector the Crocodile Story ▸ Sonic's Most Religious Character?! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKNlxYArYDQ

==========================================================

Vector: But they were a good cause!

Espio: Except then we can’t pay the phone bill again. 

Tommy: Anyway,  can you contact Tails, Mighty, and Ray? I would’ve thought we would have found him by now in his usual spots… 

Sonic: Yeah, they already got that drone and are heading back here now. You sure you looked everywhere?

Tommy: Well, we looked in all his usual spots and split up and asked in town, but no one saw him…Well, as long as we find him!

Sonic: You got it!

Tommy: Of course, I find it awfully suspicious that this happened the same day she came here! (Points to Persis)

Persis: Me?

Persis stands motionless shocked as Shadow and Sonic bristle and stare at Tommy.

Shadow: This is no time for stupidity!

Sonic: That’s ridiculous Tommy! Persis came here to help! Now look here, Tails, Mighty and Ray are on their way to help you look, but don’t just go accusing my friends like that! Even at that , Rouge saw Persis when she first got here, and she’s then been with us the whole time!

Rouge: The boys are right. Talk about no class!

Tommy: Of course, no offense intended to you Sonic or Shadow, it’s just, I know how humans aren’t always the most trustworthy. Maybe this Persis is, but what about humans in G.U.N.? (turns to face the President and G.U.N. soldiers) My brother wouldn’t have just disappeared on his own! Someone had to have done it! Maybe G.U.N. did it!

G.U.N. soldiers and the president now make to stand up, but Sonic gives them a grin and thumbs up.  

Sonic: Hey, I got this one G.U.N.! Now Hold up Tommy! You can’t just accuse people like that!

Cream: That’s right! How can you say that Mr. Tommy after all they’ve done to help?

Tommy: It’s not coming out nowhere! Don’t you guys know about all the stuff they’ve done before?! I still can’t believe you even have them here… and then you still have them here?

Sonic: Yeah I know. They’ve gone after me before, just like Shadow has, so what?!  Shadow now works for G.U.N and now they help us out! 

The United Federation president who has been in the back with G.U.N. agents now stands up regardless.

President: If I may Sonic?

Sonic: Uh sure Mr. President…

Tails, Mighty and Ray now walk in as the president now stands up, and Sonic motions Tails back to the front and Ray and Mighty return to their seats, which they do quickly and wordlessly as Tommy and the president and G.U.N. stand and face each other.

President: Allow me to introduce myself Tommy. I’m the president of the United Nations, a fellow guest for Sonic and Amy’s wedding. I have been in regular contact with the commander of G.U.N. working with the folks here to keep Christmas Island safe, even now as we’ve been waiting,  and can work to also help you find your brother. I’ve learned a lot from your kind, like Sonic and Shadow, who showed me to never surrender to evil, to keep going in the face of challenges. We stand united with the animal people here and can lend our support as well to find your brother.

===============================================================

REF- President dialogue inspiration

From Shadow the Hedgehog

Before Air Fleet

[President's office in the White House. The President looks Central City before the GUN Commander and two of his soldiers walk in, stand at attention, and salute.]

Commander: Sir, your transport is ready. We must go now! Sir, please!

President: Once again... I have failed my duty to protect our nation.

Commander: Sir... it's not over! We can continue to fight.

[President looks up]

Commander: The black aliens may have rendered us unable for now but we will rally, sir! You must keep your nation strong and together.

[President turns back to his desk]

President: Yes, keep the nation united. No matter what happens, we will never surrender to these creatures! [Looks at photo of Sonic and Shadow] This much I learned from them.

Commander: Sir, please hurry.

President: Okay.

[President leaves with the two GUN Soldier; Commander glances at the photo of Sonic and Shadow.]

https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Shadow_the_Hedgehog_(game)/Script_(Main_Story)

AT 21 min. Video mark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68mOgiyjXYI

===========================================================================================================

STORY

Tommy: Or is that just your cover story!? What about 51 years ago? G.U.N. never admitted to that! I lost my great-grandparents to G.U.N! I’m sure of it!

Sonic, Tails, Shadow, Rouge, and Knuckles give an “uh oh look” to each other as well as Amy’s parents. Vanilla and Cream look confused as well as Vector, Espio, Charmy, Big, photographer Tiara Boobowski, now inside, Mighty,Ray, Honey the Cat,  Professor Pickle, Helen and her parents and Gemerl. The sheep and wolf lottery winner guests nod and Big is still asleep.

President: Yes, about Fifty years ago, the time of Project Shadow…Professor Gerald, despite his later insanity chose at one point to help mankind in creating Shadow and creating the Eclipse Cannon. The violence that what was done on ARK is… (looks to Shadow) there are no words for it, but we have to move forward to look towards a brighter future.

Tommy: That’s not what I mean. What about 51 years ago when all the adult hedgehogs in Hedgehog Village disappeared!? My grandparents became orphans! I talked to Gregory and Linda Rose, (gesture towards them) Amy’s parents, and they said it’d happened with Amy’s great-grandparents too! Every time it comes up, everyone wants to say the Black Arms were behind it, when we have evidence right in front of us it that is wasn’t! (gesturing towards Shadow who doesn’t look pleased)

===============================================================================================================

Sections from my personal Modern Sonic SAS stories’ timeline

1950-(WAs “1950,” but would put SA2 with Sonic’s age I had set up when is 15 off, and in order to make it 50 years ago, changed to one year later…I had miscalculated while thinking initially not in years, but Sonic’s age as my standard….and well, maybe adds a more realistic tone that things don’t always wall on even dates!

“1951”- Black Comet returns, Shadow created on ARK, hedgehogs go missing and Maurice and Sally flee at 7 years old

(Skipped sections)

“2002”- -

 Sonic Rivals (2006) (February) ->Sonic Rivals 2(2007) (March) ->Sonic Unleashed(2008)(April) -> >Sonic Riders : Free Riders (2010) (May,Sonic’s last time to be 17) Sonic and the Black Knight (2009) (June, Sonic turns 18❗️)

July 5-8 in SAS story happen, thus missing Tanbata

July 12 Sonic returns to Christmas Island immediately after SAS and  meets up with Jack Little the first time passes out drunk. (Day 1 Christmas Island

July 13-14 He recounts his past on Christmas Island after the bomb dropped 2 days before going after Eggman and returns to Persis world

(I’m going with time in both worlds run the same when connected …I think)

Sonic arrives second time In Persis’ world on July 15? in Unhidden.

July 15 Sonic found by Bob Prower after falling to Persis world and then gets chaos emerald at mine with Tails and Amy, while Shadow and Rouge go to Skinwalker Ranch for another Chaos Emerald and return to trap boys who wanted to take sonic to government

July 16 Confront Eggman at ampitheater and get arrested but then offered plane to Japan and fly to Japan the following morning.

July 17 Spend 14? hours flying  flying to Japan

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REF

And the second option is, for example, is to choose a flight that takes off in the morning around 10 am for 3 pm arrival the following day but it will feel like midnight,12 am you!

https://www.japan-experience.com/plan-your-trip/to-know/before-you-travel/the-time-difference-in-japan

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Sonic and Amy Married July 18 in Japan after getting a chaos emerald at Kiroro Hokkaido.

They get married at the chapel there at Kiroro Ski Resort https://www.dreamstime.com/christ-church-kiroro-hotel-sapporo-hokkaido-japan-photo-christ-church-kiroro-hotel-sapporo-hokkaido-image124752135

https://www.kiroro.co.jp/movie_oneday/

 And soon after that they meet up with Eggman near the memorial in Nagasaki, and Sonic almost loses it when finds out truth about Eggman being responsible for his family’s death with the atomic bomb

(Canonically when Sonic was 15 Tails  was 8, thus 7 years apart.

Sonic and Amy would have married just after his 18th and Amy’s 16th birthday, 3 years later when Sonic and Tails first met. Tails would then be 11 years old.)

Next Day, July 19 at the Peace Ceremony, Sonic’s captured. but back by night thanks to Rouge. He passes out but wakes up to Metal crashing to earth in Nagasaki Japan on July 20

(The flight from Nagasaki, Japan to Berlin Japan for a plane is 11 hours but Tails’ ship can go quicker.

July 20 is when they get the Chaos Emerald in Germany

July 21 Battle with Eggman as Super Sonic and Sonic drained and almost dies, chooses to still live and surgery done, he sneaks to bunker and Sasha and Saido Conceived

Sasha and Saido conceived July 21 (just a month after sonic’s 18th birthday, June 23, and not longer after Amy’s 16th birthday, July 1. (They’re two years apart here as games that introduced them also 2 years apart)

July 22 Sonic battles with Eggman now with Eggman in purple creature and returns to his world

END of Unhidden and start of Whatever it Takes, with Eggman now in custody to build memorial on Christmas Island

July 31 (give or take a day) Amy finds out and tells Sonic she’s pregnant, 

August 1- Sonic and Tails visit Knuckles

August 2- Shadow made grandfather, and wedding rehearsal dinner

August 3- 1st Attempted Public wedding 

and plan a public wedding where disappearances first happen not long after…

 “2002” -“1951” would be 51 years

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STORY

Shadow: …

Tails looks nervous and he and Knuckles give a knowing look towards each other.