Chapter Text
CRACK!
The bat in Sonic's hands practically exploded with noise as he swung it with all his might. Tails looked up from the invention he was working on and watched it soar off into the distance. Sonic slammed his hands down as he threw himself into a running stance, then blasted off after the ball. Trees rustled from the displaced wind, and Tails was left alone in silence.
Soon, Sonic came back into view and slid to a stop on the pitcher's mound, brushing dirt off his shoes, then winding up and throwing the ball hard. He shot back over to home base, picked up the bat, and swung hard.
CRACK!
Tails just sighed and tried to focus. This entire time, Sonic hadn't said a word. He just continued throwing that ball and hitting it off into the distance, repeating the motions over and over again. No quips or attempts at jokes, just silence. Admittedly, it worried the fox.
CRACK!
The noise cut through his thoughts, and he flicked his tail with a slight hint of irritation.
"He's going to break that bat at this rate," Tails thought. He decided he couldn't focus with all the noise and set the machine down.
"Mind if I join in?" He asked. The hedgehog paused, then nodded and gently tossed his little brother the ball. He took up position on the home base, while Tails set himself up on the pitcher's mound. "Are you doing all right?" Tails asked.
Sonic sighed as he gently bounced the end of the bat against the dirt. They had some of their best conversations over baseball. Just him and his family on the diamond with nothing else to get in the way. Usually, if one of them was having trouble, the other would invite them for a game.
"I don't know, bud," he replied. "I guess I'm just anxious."
"Care to elaborate?" Tails asked as he charged up a swing and sped up the ball with his tails.
CRACK!
"I guess partly about Eggman," his older brother replied. "He has Prototype T running around, snatching up Chaos Emeralds for some big plan he has, but we've heard radio silence from him." Sonic grabbed another ball from the pile, rather than running after the previous one. He still needed to be in earshot to talk with Tails after all.
"So you're basically nervous about when he's going to strike next?" Tails asked, just to confirm, as he caught the ball Sonic tossed his way.
"That's part of it," Sonic said as he gave the bat another swing. CRACK! "But... well, I'm also kind of worried about Shadow."
"Shadow?" "Tails?" she repeated, a hint confused. "Why would you be worried about him?"
"Call me crazy," Sonic began. "But I swear every time I run into him, he's busy with something related to work." CRACK! "Other than that Valentine's Day event Rouge dragged him to, he seems to always be training, on missions, or filling out some sort of paperwork. I'm kind of worried he's overworking himself."
"Guess that kind of sounds like him," Tails replied as he caught another ball his brother tossed him, turning it in his hands and running his thumb over the stitching. "I mean, there could be a lot you're not seeing. Maybe he's just relaxing at home."
"Could be," Sonic responded. "Maybe I should ask Rouge. Alright, give me your fastball!" He called out. Tails smirked and gladly obliged. The ball shot through the air as he used his tail to accelerate it once more, charging towards home base. Sonic steadied his grip and smirked. Then he swung.
CRACK!
CRUNCH!
Sonic winced and dropped the bat as it broke in two pieces, splinters everywhere all over the dirt. The ball shot higher and higher into the air before seemingly landing somewhere in the forest. There was a loud crash, leaves rustling, and flickies shot out from the forest into the air.
"Oops," Sonic chuckled.
"Welp, guess we're not playing baseball anymore. "Tails said. "I'll clean it up; you go retrieve the balls."
Sonic nodded and raced off to go collect them. He found most of them with ease, though there was one he was struggling to locate. He called out an apology to the scared flickers before he ended up finding his way to a small nearby village.
"Excuse me," he said to what seemed to be the sheriff. "You haven't happened to see a stray baseball, have you?"
"Oh, yeah, I did." He replied, pulling out a ball from his pocket. "Nearly took my head off when it came crashing down."
"That's my bad," Sonic apologized. The sheriff just chuckled.
"It's all good; it made things interesting around here for the first time all day," he said. "This definitely isn't a high-action place like Seattle."
"What's going on in Seattle?" Sonic asked.
"Didn't you hear? About twenty minutes ago a newscast on the radio reported a bank robbery so severe even GUN is getting involved—"
Sonic didn't wait for the sheriff to finish and blasted away through the forest. He blasted by Tails as he dropped off the baseballs.
"Be right back, buddy, making a quick trip to Seattle!" He yelled.
"Hold on a minute!" Tails tried to protest, but it was no use. Sonic was already gone.
---
It was the dead of night in Seattle. The moon was high above the city, and throughout most of it, all was calm.
Except for the streets that had an armored truck race through.
Police sirens rang out through the city street, warning nearby pedestrians to stand the hell back. Not only that, but following close behind were a hedgehog with red highlights, a witch with hints of pink, and a bright red destruction robot.
Shadow narrowed his eyes and shot forward, attempting to leap at the truck, but one of the robbers inside fired his gun and just barely missed him. Shadow swung out wide to the left, carrying his momentum as best he could without killing his speed.
"PERMISSION TO ENGAGE, REQUESTED," Omega yelled.
"Not on a public street!" Shadow shouted back over the noise of engines. He was momentarily distracted by this exchange and had to swerve hard to avoid being shot at as the criminals fired another bullet. Rouge tried to get in close, but they shot at her, and she felt the hot wind as it nearly grazed her shoulder. "Spread out!" Shadow yelled. "If we stay grouped together, we're more likely to get hit!"
The three continued their chase, police pursuit assisting them. Meanwhile, from up above on top of a nearby building, Sonic watched the chaos. His arms were crossed and a smirk was on his face as he tapped his foot. He took a deep breath and tapped a button on his phone, which began to play music as he stuck it in his quills.
"This speech is my recital."
He quickly adjusted his shoes, making sure they were on tight.
"I think it's very vital,"
"Quick stretch!" He whooped as he stretched his legs.
"To rock a rhyme that's right on time—"
"Quick snack!" He cackled as he took a bite of the chili dog he'd grabbed from a gas station.
"-It's tricky, tricky, "
"And—"
"Here we go!"
Sonic leaped off the building with a whoop as he put his hands behind his head and smirked as he gazed up at the sky before whipping around and running down the side of the building.
"It's tricky to rock a rhyme that's right on time; it's tricky!"
Sonic shot through the city streets, weaving in and out of the cars that had been scattered in the wake of the police chase.
"Excuse me, pardon me, coming through!" He called out as he passed several pedestrians, police cars, and then Omega. "Evening, lads!" He whooped past as he shot past the red hedgehog, rolling into a spin dash and blasting into the front doors of the truck, much to the criminals' surprise.
"What the!?"
"Good evening, gentlemen, mind if I drive?" He cackled as he swung from the roof and kicked both to the floor as he took the wheel. The entire vehicle jolted as it swung around a corner. "Better buckle up!" He laughed, music still blasting from his quills. Shadow and Rouge watched in amazement as the shaking of the truck caused one of the criminals to drop his gun, with the firearm falling out onto the street. Shadow wasted no time and picked it up, gritting his teeth as he blasted forward in an attempt to catch up.
"Well, that was easy," Sonic said with a smirk. "Now to stop this thing!"
"MPPPHH!" came a voice, and the blue hedgehog turned back to see a tied-up truck driver, who had tape over his mouth.
"Oh, sorry, didn't see you back there, bud!" Sonic said, and ripped the tape off. The poor truck driver gasped, finally able to breathe and scream.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" He shrieked.
"I would also like to know that!" Shadow yelled as he leaped into the back of the open door of the truck, slamming one of the criminal's heads into the wall of the vehicle as it swayed.
"I heard you guys were in the neighborhood and thought I'd swing by and say hi!" Sonic quipped. Shadow just scowled, and Sonic rolled his eyes. "Look, just help me bring this thing to a stop before anything else happens—HOLY SHERBERT!" Sonic yelled and jerked the wheel hard to avoid hitting a pedestrian that had been crossing the street.
"You are fucking terrible at this!" Shadow yelled. "I swear to Gaia, if these robbers don't kill you, I will!"
"Shads, focus!" Sonic yelled. "How do we stop this thing!"
"Ever heard of something called brakes?" The black hedgehog yelled back.
"In case you haven't noticed," Sonic began as he gestured to the floor beneath the dash. "We have an entire unconscious guy on the floor blocking the pedals, and if we don't want to crash, I can't take my hands off the wheel to lift him!"
Shadow grunted and tried to lift the knocked-out robber off the floor of the truck, but it was hard with the limited space. Suddenly, he felt the truck lurch and something crash into his side.
"What the hell are these!?" He growled at the bag.
"Bombsbombsbombsbombs!" "Shrieked the tied-up truck driver as he recognized the bag. "Those are bombs!"
"Relax," Sonic said. "They're not even lit! So as long as we don't panic, nobody is going to get hurt!"
FSSSSSSSSHH!
"...You want to say that again?" Shadow deadpanned, his face lit up by the fire from the bombs, because of course a little spontaneous combustion would happen in all the chaos.
"Okay, look, you take the wheel then!" Sonic said as he leaped off the seat and grabbed the bag. Shadow jumped up to take control while Sonic leaped upwards and onto the roof.
"Rogue!" He yelled as the bat flew overhead, making her extremely aware of the lit bombs in his hands. "We have to get this out of here!"
"Gaia, damn it, blue!" She yelled as she took the bag and booked it out of there. "You owe me big time for this!" She said, her voice getting quieter and quieter in the wind. Sonic quickly leaped back down in the cab of the truck.
"Okay, Rouge has the bombs handled. Now what do we do?" He asked.
"First, this." Shadow said, before he smacked Sonic as hard as he could.
"OW! DAMN IT!" The blue hedgehog yelled as he physically recoiled into the wall of the truck. "Okay, okay! I get it! Deserved for interfering with your mission, but try and actually be productive with bringing this thing to a halt!"
"Maybe we can get Omega to get in front," Shadow suggested. Then the two looked down the road and realized they were approaching a pier towards the nearby docks.
"Okay, new plan," Sonic said as he slid into the back of the truck, where a couple of the criminals were still being tossed around. "Bail! I got the other guy!"
Shadow agreed and didn't waste any time as he leaped from the front door of the truck and rolled along the concrete. Meanwhile, Rouge could be seen in the distance as she threw the bag of lit bombs into the ocean. There was a loud muffled BANG! And a near tidal wave of water rose up and came crashing down along the pier. Sonic and Shadow braced themselves as the tidal wave hit them hard. Meanwhile, the truck hit the water, creating its own big splash. Moments later, the criminals emerged from the water with a gasp.
"Well, guess that's one way to end a chase," Sonic quipped. "You good, bro?" He asked the tied-up truck driver the criminals had taken hostage.
"Yeah, totally good," the guy replied between short and rapid breaths. "I just... might need a new pair of pants," he gasped.
"And that's my cue to leave!" Sonic said as he readied himself to run off, only for Shadow to grab onto his shoulder.
"We need to talk," he spat. "You can't just jump in and interfere with my work like this."
"Hey, things turned out all right in the end," Sonic replied. "And it looks like you needed my help anyway."
"That doesn't change the fact you put us and yourself in danger," Shadow growled. "You do something like that again, and I'll let GUN's higher rankings decide what to do with you."
"Fine," Sonic replied. "I'll leave you to twist in the wind all you want." Sonic responded as he readied a running stance. "But do me a favor, Shads. Amy invited me over for dinner at her place tomorrow, and she wants you to be there as well. Do you think you could take off just a couple hours from work to do that for her?"
Shadow hesitated before speaking.
"I'll try," he said. Sonic sighed and shook his head, placing his hands down on the soaked pier before rocketing off through the streets of Seattle as the police caught up and immediately went to work removing the criminals from the water and taking them into custody. They went surprisingly without resistance, having decided they'd been through enough that night.
Shadow watched the operation from the roof of a nearby building, arms crossed. Rouge gently fluttered down alongside him.
"Well, this has been quite a night, dear." She began. Shadow remained silent, just clenching his fist tighter. He seemed pretty tense. "You good, hun?" Rouge asked. Shadow just sighed.
"I'll write up tonight's report," he said plainly, staring up at the moon before teleporting down to the ground.