Chapter Text
By the time Sonic had noticed his friends' departure, the sun was already setting over the emerald hills of the island. The palm trees that lined the shore near the runway had a faint orange glow emanating from around them. It was quite the beautiful sight to see.
Even more beautiful than the setting sun were the lights that flickered on across the village. Sonic could hear the hum of electricity pulse through every golden bulb that seemed to line the top corners of every building as he walked through town. It was foreign to him, seeing a town full of rustic parts, but not completely alien.
As a matter of fact, Sonic felt calm. Even though the streets hadn't begun to slow yet, with people still out dancing, the young hedgehog admired everything around him. According to his mother, that was one of his strengths - taking in the moment.
"Hey," a voice called out behind Sonic in a sing-song voice.
When the boy turned around, he saw a young fox girl, about his own age, holding two cups, clad in dirtied shorts and a jacket, and wearing a sly smile.
She handed Sonic one of the cups, bumping her own against it as she sat down. "Not from around here, are ya," she asked.
Sonic smiled back. "Nah, I'm here with my uncle and friend." He followed suit, taking a seat right next to the fox on a wooden bench.
"Doing?" The girl nudged him. "People don't really come to West Side Island for tourism."
Sonic chuckled nervously. This was weird to him. His confidence was nowhere to be found. "Uh, not sure I can say. Sorry."
Though he thought he could see a flicker of disappointment in her eye, the girl shrugged. "Fair nuff," she said. "Well, let me know if you need anything while you're here. I'm Fiona, but my friends call me Fi." She smiled.
"Fi," Sonic said, testing the name. "Nice to meet ya! I'm Sonic."
The hedgehog fumbled with his hand for a moment, unsure whether to offer a handshake, fist bump, or some other formal mumbo jumbo he's forgotten.
Fiona cackled at his awkward behavior. "Wow, you really aren't used to people, are ya?"
"Nope," he said, trying to hide his embarrassment as much as possible. The stark red on his face wouldn't go away, though, no matter how hard he tried to force it. "I honestly don't talk much with people outside the castle."
"Castle?!" Fiona's eyes widened with awe. "Wow! Didn't take ya for some kind of price."
Sonic waved off even the mention of royalty. "Oh, no, I'm not royalty! My uncle is the Kingdom of Acorn's head scientist. So, yeah."
Though the shock faded, Fiona still looked at the hedgehog curiously. "So you live in the castle?"
He nodded, taking a sip of the drink he was offered. It was a sweet drink. The taste reminded Sonic of his mother's tea she would make. A family recipe, she called it.
"Good, right?" Fiona chuckled, looking down at her own cup. "Mrs. Prower makes some amazing Shama Tea."
Sonic nodded, still staring at the drink in his hands. "I'll have to ask her for the recipe."
The tea felt warm in his hands, seeping through the gloves to comfort him. It was like his hand was held, like Bernadette was still there.
In that moment, Sonic was trapped in his thoughts. Good thoughts. Fiona looked on as the hedgehog's eyes leaked tears, contrasting his calm smile. To them, the hustle and bustle of the partying street around them only drowned.
"Hey," she said, "you got a little something here." Fiona pointed to her own cheek.
Sonic's glove reached up to wipe his own tears. "Sorry." He chuckled as he was brought back to the present, the music around him once again overpowering his worries.
Fiona only nodded. "Sure."
Between the two, silence fell again, this time only a tad more awkward.
"So, what do people usually do around here," Sonic asked, trying to look anywhere but at the girl who saw him cry.
She shrugged. "Most of us are mechanics. It's kind of in the name, y'know?" Fiona pointed at a few buildings, naming each and every person who lived in them. "It's a pretty tight-knit community. That's why foreigners are special, because it means new people."
"Wait, you're saying this celebration is for us?"
Fiona nodded. "Now you're catchin on." She set down her cup and offered Sonic her hand. "It's not often I get to show a new face around here. C'mon!"
Sonic took that hand without a second thought. He didn't know why, but the hedgehog was gravitated to this girl.
As Fiona showed him around the village, she told him stories. Like the time her friend Li plugged the mechanical fountain that stood proud over the plaza that people danced around. Or the time her friend Zoe accidentally rolled her sled into the Melody family's house.
She spoke of the village fondly, but beneath it all, the girl was bored. Fiona yearned to leave her village, and when she looked at Sonic, it was if that dream only grew.
After a lengthy tour, the sun had fully set. The night sky was lit up with fireworks as the two of them sat on a hill that overlooked the rest of the village.
Fiona sighed. "Thanks for putting up with my rambling, Sonic," she said. As the fox looked down at the lights, missing the fireworks completely, she could only feel bored. "Jeez, those people will take any reason to party."
"And you're complaining?" Sonic laughed. "This place is amazing! I wish I could have this much fun back home."
His eyes were still fixed on the multicolored lights that appeared and disappeared with a bang in the sky. Even as Fiona looked over at him, the hedgehog was mesmerized.
Fiona hugged her legs, following his gaze up to the sky. "Well, it's not horrible. Just small, is all."
Sonic finally broke away from the lights, smiling softly. "Small," he repeated, looking down at the dirt as if he were contemplating something. There was nothing to contemplate, though.
"That's not a bad thing. Just means you're closer to the people you care about."
Fiona looked at him as if he had two heads, before bursting out into laughter.
"What? What did I say?" The hedgehog was confused, but a smile graced his face. He couldn't help but laugh a bit with her.
After a moment, the fox calmed down. "Nothing." She sighed. "It's just that, well, you're the first person to give me an answer like that."
He tilted his head. "How do you mean?"
"Well, I dunno." Fiona had to look away, thinking of her next words. She wasn't used to this. She wasn't used to not being able to reply with a witty comeback. "People usually just talk about why I need to stay here. They don't really give me a good reason."
"And I gave you a good reason?"
Fiona smiled. "The best I could've gotten."
The two sat back, watching the fireworks once again. It was a nice moment, the two of them making a new friend that night.
However, the moment was cut short when Fiona stood up. "Hold on."
"What," Sonic asked, also rising to his feet. "What's wrong?"
The fox pointed down, towards a more run-down, rusty area of the village. Two foxes, only a few years older than Sonic and Fiona, were shoving a third, much younger fox. "Tails."
By the time Fiona looked over to ask for Sonic's help, the hedgehog was already down the hill and right behind the two bullies. "How did he..?"
Sonic tapped his foot impatiently, watching the scene play out right behind them.
The first fox sneered. "Well, well, well! What do we have here, huh?"
The second was holding back laughter. "Looks like a two-tailed freak snuck into our junkyard again."
"It, it isn't your junkyard!" The younger fox was trembling, struggling to back up. He hadn't noticed Sonic yet.
But Sonic noticed him. He noticed how young the boy looked, and how he had two tails instead of just one.
"What do you know, punk!" One of the bullies grabbed the kid by his wrist. "C'mon, Tails, what's it gonna be? How many bruises?"
At that, Sonic finally spoke up, his eyebrows furrowed. "Let him go," he said.
But the fox didn't let go. "Or else what," he asked, not even looking Sonic's way. "Beat it, weirdo."
Behind Sonic, Fiona had stepped over. "Seriously, Midas, let him go."
The two bullies finally dropped the poor boy, turning to face Sonic and Fiona. "Well," the first one, Midas, said, "who's going to make us?"
"Yeah!" The second bully, Tidus, laughed. "You can't beat us, remember, Fi?"
Fiona rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but that was two on one. Now it's two on two!"
"Two on one, two on whatever! You're going home bruised, Fiona!" Both of them stepped forward, a wicked smile on their face. "We're gonna make you regret stepping to us!"
Before they could come any closer, though, a blue blur had risen up, Sonic's red shoes kicking Midas back into the junkyard's chain-link fence. "Huh," he said, "really thought you'd be tougher than that."
Tidus looked back at his fellow bully, eyes wide. When he turned back to Sonic, his laughter turned nervous. "I'm'a just, uh, I'm'a just go, kay?"
With that, he grabbed his friend and scurried off.
Fiona looked at Sonic with awe. She wasn't the only one. The little fox boy stood up and stammered for a second. "U-Um, thank you," he mumbled. "I'm sorry you had to save me like that."
Sonic dusted himself off, looking proud of his actions. "Don't mention it!" He smiled brightly. "You okay, kid?"
The boy nodded. "Y-yes! That was amazing!"
Fiona nodded. "Yeah, that was crazy. Who taught you how to move like that?"
Sonic only laughed softly. "I was just born with my speed, I guess. Been there as long as I can remember." He looked concerned at the boy. "Seriously, you okay?"
The boy nodded. "Yes. Those two usually don't harass me twice in the same day."
"They do this kind of thing more than once?"
Fiona sighed. "Yeah. They see Tails here as an easy target. Y'know, on account of the two tails."
As Sonic looked at him, he could tell the young fox had been through this before. Sure, he couldn't see any bruises or dirt, but the way he carried himself made Sonic's heart ache. "Well, they're really cool," he said.
"Really?"
Sonic nodded. "Yeah! You know, my Uncle used to tell me about a story of a fox that had nine of 'em!"
"Wow." Tails was clearly enthralled. As Fiona looked at him, she could tell he was already beginning to look up to Sonic.
"Tails, this is Sonic. Sonic, this is Tails," she said, grabbing their hands and bringing them together. "He's a genius, even by our village's standards."
Sonic's eyes widened. "Woah, really?"
Tails nodded, looking slightly embarrassed as he shook Sonic's hand. "Yeah. I, um, I can build machines well."
As the two separated from the handshake, a slight shock ran up the fox's arm. Unknown to him, he had just made a friend. One that would last him way more time than a lifetime could hold.