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chaoscheebsAgain, spoiler warnings for the fic, and still a bit angsty. I couldn't get to sleep until I finished them... x.x
9. Extraordinary Girl – “She Gets So Sick Of Crying”
I can’t do this anymore, she thought as she hugged the sleeping purple feline next to her.
It had been six months since she had met her old friend again. Blaze was every bit as lovely and graceful as she was when Cream was a little girl. Blaze blushed when Cream complemented her and told the rabbit that she had grown into a lovely woman. Cream asked her if she wanted to go somewhere and catch up with each other.
The pair ended up banned from Rosemary’s Tea House the same day for being found naked in the bathroom together. The scorch marks on the ceiling from where Cream startled the poor feline by making a move on her didn’t help their case either. Cream giggled at the memory. She had definitely found herself a “hot chick”.
And now…? It was time to face facts, Cream decided. Her marriage should never have happened. She really wasn’t that into Miles—hell, she thought, not really that into men period—and if mother hadn’t practically forced Miles down the aisle at gunpoint, maybe it wouldn’t have taken her so long to realize this. The only good thing to come of the whole mess was her daughter…
Cream frowned, then moved to kiss a purple ear. She’ll deal with Miles tomorrow, she decided. She only hoped Pecan would understand why mommy had to leave daddy.
*
10. Letterbomb – “Do Or Die”
This fucking sucks.
There, I said it. This whole situation fucking sucks. First I can’t make a move without concrete proof, and when I finally get concrete proof, I find out he’s almost done with his fucking plans. And, on top of it, I got a fucking civilian killed in the process. And this isn’t even mentioning Horrocks getting mixed up in all of this! Plus there’s yet another civilian in the mix who’s too close to the commander for my liking. Worst case scenario, he’d side with Cmdr. O’Reily. Best case… They’re still family. It’s still a position no one should ever be in. Argh, maybe I should just shoot the bloody commander in the head the next time he takes a nap at work! It’d make things a lot less fucking complicated!
Mrr… Calm down, Saunders. Maybe you can still turn this all around. We got Horrocks’s ID on Mr. al-Rashid’s body. We got robots that are being remotely controlled somehow. We have Horrocks on the run, and an obvious inside job. We’ve got a terrorist who wants the world to know that he’s the one behind it all. Perhaps bluffing and pointing the finger at Horrocks might force him to confess early. Best case, Cmdr. O’Reily will turn himself in. But what about the worst case? What if he just lets Horrocks take the fall? That’s my friend, damn it!
… fucking hell, I need a drink. Or a good fuck. Or eleven billion rounds of Halo 6.
… if Dr. Prower wasn’t a married man, he could probably help me out with all three of those things…
All right, I don’t need to start thinking about that again. Even if he is brilliant. And fluffy. And possibly interested. I am a grown woman and can keep my panties on until this fiasco is over with! Which won’t be long, if he sticks with this timetable. Focus, Saunders! You can do this! … but how?
Damn it, this fucking sucks.
*
11. Wake Me Up When September Ends – “The Innocent Can Never Last”
It was about noon when Shadow returned to his cousin’s home. He hoped his son was still sleeping; the white fur on dark hedgehog’s chest was partially dyed reddish-brown with dried echidna’s blood, and he didn’t want the boy to see it and worry.
His wife was the first to see him. Amy ran to embrace her husband, hugged him tight, and finally pulled back and noticed the blood. “Not yours, I hope,” she said with a frown.
Shadow shook his head. “It isn’t. The doctor…” He pulled Amy close so she couldn’t see his face. “… he had to go through with the plan. Had to break Sonic again.” He paused and swallowed hard. “Seeing a loved one dying in front of you… I wouldn’t wish that even on an enemy.”
Amy returned the hug and nuzzled her husband. “I see…” she murmured. “So Knuckles…?”
“He was still alive the last I saw him,” he replied, “but it didn’t look good.” He shook his head. “Could you call Rouge and tell her that he’s at St. Hildagarde Hospital for me, dear? I need to get the blood off before Maury—“
“Before I what?” The older hedgehogs quickly turned their eyes towards the couch. Only part of a red-striped head and glimpses of pink fingers could be seen over the back of the couch. A pair of worried green eyes bore holes into the dark hedgehog. “Dad…” One little word asked so many questions. Why did you leave me behind? Why is there blood on you? What happened to Sonic?
“Maury…” Shadow began, but the words clung to his throat. “I…”
The young hedgehog bit his lip. His dad always got quiet when he was trying to protect his feelings. “Just tell me one thing, dad. Is Sonic…?”
The walk to the couch seemed to last an eternity. Shadow sat down next to his son, took a deep breath, and let the words come out. “… he’s dead. The doctor said Sonic tried to shoot him, so he had no choice in the matter. Sonic had to be taken out.”
Shadow had expected Maury to deny the truth and run out of the room, or cling to him and cry, or perhaps simply sit there, numb with shock. What he didn’t see coming was the faint, sad smile and the boy—no, the young man—telling him, “Thanks, dad.”
The dark hedgehog blinked. “For what?”
“For not trying to sugar-coat it,” Maury replied.
Shadow looked down at his hands. “You’re not a little boy anymore, Maury. You’re a grown man, and I should start treating you like one.” A brief silence fell on the pair, then the older man added, “But if anyone, anyone, tries to hurt you, just say the word and I will make them regret it for the rest of their very short life.”
Maury gave him a little salute and replied, “Yes, sir.” He slowly got off the human-sized couch, stretched, and said, “I gotta… I dunno, do something. I don’t want to just sit around and be depressed about Sonic.”
Shadow touched the bloody patch of fur. The glimmer of pride in his son’s resilience quickly turned to thoughts of darker events. “Go see Rich; I suspect he’ll be needing a friend soon.”
“Huh?” The young man scratched an ear until he noticed the blood. “… things didn’t go well up there, huh?”
Shadow shook his head. “Actually, things went according to plan. Knuckles was willing to go to any lengths to save his beloved, even if it meant…” He got off the couch and hugged his son. “He was alive the last time I saw him, but he lost quite a bit of blood. Go see your friend, Maury. I’ll tell you more about what went on when you come back, all right?”
Maury hugged him back. “Yeah, all right.” His eyes darted across the room. “Uh, dad? Could I…?”
The dark hedgehog smirked. He pulled back and brought out the red Chaos Emerald. “Want to show off, right?” The young man nodded enthusiastically. “Just remember what I told you, and don’t scare the poor boy by showing up right behind him. Got it?”
Maury happily took the emerald and waved his free hand at his father. “Yeah, yeah, I got it, I got it.” He held the emerald out in front of him, focused his thoughts, and vanished in a burst of red light with a shout of “Chaos CONTROL!”
Amy pressed a button on the phone handset and approached her husband. “I called Rouge like you asked, cupcake. She said she’s gonna head to the hospital now.” She put an arm around his waist and kissed his cheek. “Is everything okay? As far as anything can be okay right now, anyway.”
Shadow nodded. “Everything’s fine, Amy.” He leaned against her and smiled faintly. “Our little boy’s all grown up… It seems like it was just yesterday that he was eating Play-Doh and whining when we took it away and told him it wasn’t food.”
“That’s because it was just yesterday,” the pink hedgehog told him. “Between him eating Play-Doh and your love of bizarre Japanese snacks, I think there’s something in your DNA that makes you two crave weird things.”
“Shredded squid isn’t that weird…” Shadow grumbled.
She opened her mouth to say it was, but she promptly closed it again and started leading her husband back to the stairs. “Anyway, come along, Shadow. Let’s get you in the bathtub and get that blood off of you.”
He smirked at her. “Will you be joining me?”
Amy smirked right back at him. “Of course. Blood stains are notoriously hard to get out. You might need help.”
“Mm, and you are quite… helpful,” Shadow agreed. “But, Amy…”
She squeezed his hand. “I know, just a bath. I didn’t think you’d be in the mood for anything else right now.”
Shadow squeezed back. “Mm. Love you, Amy.”
“Love you too, Shadow.”
*
12. Homecoming – “We’re Not The Same”
He would have really killed Sonic.
The thought echoed in the echidna’s head over and over. Tails really would have killed Sonic. Tails. The little boy he had watched grow up under Sonic’s care. The little boy who had once idolized Sonic. The little boy who had followed Sonic everywhere. It seemed impossible to Knuckles, but there was no mistaking the flattened-back ears, the gritted teeth, the glint of rage and hurt and betrayal in his eyes. Tails was really going to pull the trigger and end the hedgehog’s life. “‘That was his way. This is mine…’ I can’t believe…”
“I can,” the purple hedgehog lying on the bed said. “I killed my own men. I killed Jet. I betrayed the doc an’ Tails by takin’ what they made for GUN and usin’ it on my own people. And I can’t say I wouldn’t do it again. It’d probably be better for everyone if he did kill me.”
“Don’t,” Knuckles said firmly.
“Don’t what? Tell the truth?” Sonic asked. “I should be dead. I shoulda been dead a dozen times over durin’ my stint as St. Jimmy alone. Why didn’t anyone just have the fucking guts to just shoot me in the God-damned head—“ He found himself suddenly upright, the echidna grabbing him by the collar and holding him up. “Wha…!?”
“I. Said. DON’T,” he repeated with more force, violet eyes flashing. “Don’t even start with that ‘I should be dead’ or ‘I want to die’ bullshit again. We are going back to Soleanna and we are going to get you over that damned death wish for once and for all this time and you’re finally going smile and mean it again, so help me Chaos! You got that?” Sonic nodded. Knuckles let him go. “Good.”
The hedgehog pulled down his shirt and rubbed his neck. “Sheesh, Red, did you stop Ta—Miles from shootin’ me so you could finish me off yourself? You used t’be more gentle…”
“Gentle obviously didn’t work last time,” Knuckles said, turning his back to the hedgehog.
“But it did, Red,” Sonic countered. “When I was around you, I… I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t start the attacks. I couldn’t even think about them.” He closed his eyes and flicked an ear at the faint sound of someone turning the TV on in the next room. “You kept me sane…” he added quietly.
The echidna whirled back around to face him, beads clacking noisily. “Then why didn’t you tell me you needed me stay?! I would have figured some way to keep both you sane and the emerald safe!”
“… I don’t know, Red,” Sonic murmured. “I wasn’t thinkin’ too clearly at the time, y’know.” Strong arms embraced the hedgehog. He shyly hugged back and rested his head against the echidna’s chest. “Red…”
“It doesn’t matter now. I’m not leaving your side this time, Sonic,” Knuckles told him. “I won’t fail you again.”
The hedgehog nuzzled him. “You never failed me, Red; I’m the one that failed you. You almost got killed because of me.”
“I knew the risks, Sonic,” the echidna replied.
“No, you didn’t—“ Sonic began.
“Yes. I. Did,” Knuckles countered. He pulled back enough to make the hedgehog look him in the eye. “I told Eggman to do whatever it took to bring you to your senses. I was willing to die for you, Sonic. Still am.” He shook his head. “I still can’t believe Tails was really going to kill you…”
“An’ no court in the country woulda convicted him, either,” Sonic said with a weak laugh. The moment of bitter mirth died as his face grew serious. “You really wanna do this, Red? If I’m ever exposed, you’ll likely be in deep shit too.”
The echidna softly brushed his lips against Sonic’s. “I do,” he breathed.
Red stained Sonic’s cheeks. “Well, if you’re absolutely sure…” He pulled the echidna by the dreadlocks into another kiss. Tomorrow, they’d start making plans to get together in Soleanna without raising suspicion. Tonight, however, the hedgehog was going to make sure Knuckles knew how much he had been missed.
9. Extraordinary Girl – “She Gets So Sick Of Crying”
I can’t do this anymore, she thought as she hugged the sleeping purple feline next to her.
It had been six months since she had met her old friend again. Blaze was every bit as lovely and graceful as she was when Cream was a little girl. Blaze blushed when Cream complemented her and told the rabbit that she had grown into a lovely woman. Cream asked her if she wanted to go somewhere and catch up with each other.
The pair ended up banned from Rosemary’s Tea House the same day for being found naked in the bathroom together. The scorch marks on the ceiling from where Cream startled the poor feline by making a move on her didn’t help their case either. Cream giggled at the memory. She had definitely found herself a “hot chick”.
And now…? It was time to face facts, Cream decided. Her marriage should never have happened. She really wasn’t that into Miles—hell, she thought, not really that into men period—and if mother hadn’t practically forced Miles down the aisle at gunpoint, maybe it wouldn’t have taken her so long to realize this. The only good thing to come of the whole mess was her daughter…
Cream frowned, then moved to kiss a purple ear. She’ll deal with Miles tomorrow, she decided. She only hoped Pecan would understand why mommy had to leave daddy.
*
10. Letterbomb – “Do Or Die”
This fucking sucks.
There, I said it. This whole situation fucking sucks. First I can’t make a move without concrete proof, and when I finally get concrete proof, I find out he’s almost done with his fucking plans. And, on top of it, I got a fucking civilian killed in the process. And this isn’t even mentioning Horrocks getting mixed up in all of this! Plus there’s yet another civilian in the mix who’s too close to the commander for my liking. Worst case scenario, he’d side with Cmdr. O’Reily. Best case… They’re still family. It’s still a position no one should ever be in. Argh, maybe I should just shoot the bloody commander in the head the next time he takes a nap at work! It’d make things a lot less fucking complicated!
Mrr… Calm down, Saunders. Maybe you can still turn this all around. We got Horrocks’s ID on Mr. al-Rashid’s body. We got robots that are being remotely controlled somehow. We have Horrocks on the run, and an obvious inside job. We’ve got a terrorist who wants the world to know that he’s the one behind it all. Perhaps bluffing and pointing the finger at Horrocks might force him to confess early. Best case, Cmdr. O’Reily will turn himself in. But what about the worst case? What if he just lets Horrocks take the fall? That’s my friend, damn it!
… fucking hell, I need a drink. Or a good fuck. Or eleven billion rounds of Halo 6.
… if Dr. Prower wasn’t a married man, he could probably help me out with all three of those things…
All right, I don’t need to start thinking about that again. Even if he is brilliant. And fluffy. And possibly interested. I am a grown woman and can keep my panties on until this fiasco is over with! Which won’t be long, if he sticks with this timetable. Focus, Saunders! You can do this! … but how?
Damn it, this fucking sucks.
*
11. Wake Me Up When September Ends – “The Innocent Can Never Last”
It was about noon when Shadow returned to his cousin’s home. He hoped his son was still sleeping; the white fur on dark hedgehog’s chest was partially dyed reddish-brown with dried echidna’s blood, and he didn’t want the boy to see it and worry.
His wife was the first to see him. Amy ran to embrace her husband, hugged him tight, and finally pulled back and noticed the blood. “Not yours, I hope,” she said with a frown.
Shadow shook his head. “It isn’t. The doctor…” He pulled Amy close so she couldn’t see his face. “… he had to go through with the plan. Had to break Sonic again.” He paused and swallowed hard. “Seeing a loved one dying in front of you… I wouldn’t wish that even on an enemy.”
Amy returned the hug and nuzzled her husband. “I see…” she murmured. “So Knuckles…?”
“He was still alive the last I saw him,” he replied, “but it didn’t look good.” He shook his head. “Could you call Rouge and tell her that he’s at St. Hildagarde Hospital for me, dear? I need to get the blood off before Maury—“
“Before I what?” The older hedgehogs quickly turned their eyes towards the couch. Only part of a red-striped head and glimpses of pink fingers could be seen over the back of the couch. A pair of worried green eyes bore holes into the dark hedgehog. “Dad…” One little word asked so many questions. Why did you leave me behind? Why is there blood on you? What happened to Sonic?
“Maury…” Shadow began, but the words clung to his throat. “I…”
The young hedgehog bit his lip. His dad always got quiet when he was trying to protect his feelings. “Just tell me one thing, dad. Is Sonic…?”
The walk to the couch seemed to last an eternity. Shadow sat down next to his son, took a deep breath, and let the words come out. “… he’s dead. The doctor said Sonic tried to shoot him, so he had no choice in the matter. Sonic had to be taken out.”
Shadow had expected Maury to deny the truth and run out of the room, or cling to him and cry, or perhaps simply sit there, numb with shock. What he didn’t see coming was the faint, sad smile and the boy—no, the young man—telling him, “Thanks, dad.”
The dark hedgehog blinked. “For what?”
“For not trying to sugar-coat it,” Maury replied.
Shadow looked down at his hands. “You’re not a little boy anymore, Maury. You’re a grown man, and I should start treating you like one.” A brief silence fell on the pair, then the older man added, “But if anyone, anyone, tries to hurt you, just say the word and I will make them regret it for the rest of their very short life.”
Maury gave him a little salute and replied, “Yes, sir.” He slowly got off the human-sized couch, stretched, and said, “I gotta… I dunno, do something. I don’t want to just sit around and be depressed about Sonic.”
Shadow touched the bloody patch of fur. The glimmer of pride in his son’s resilience quickly turned to thoughts of darker events. “Go see Rich; I suspect he’ll be needing a friend soon.”
“Huh?” The young man scratched an ear until he noticed the blood. “… things didn’t go well up there, huh?”
Shadow shook his head. “Actually, things went according to plan. Knuckles was willing to go to any lengths to save his beloved, even if it meant…” He got off the couch and hugged his son. “He was alive the last time I saw him, but he lost quite a bit of blood. Go see your friend, Maury. I’ll tell you more about what went on when you come back, all right?”
Maury hugged him back. “Yeah, all right.” His eyes darted across the room. “Uh, dad? Could I…?”
The dark hedgehog smirked. He pulled back and brought out the red Chaos Emerald. “Want to show off, right?” The young man nodded enthusiastically. “Just remember what I told you, and don’t scare the poor boy by showing up right behind him. Got it?”
Maury happily took the emerald and waved his free hand at his father. “Yeah, yeah, I got it, I got it.” He held the emerald out in front of him, focused his thoughts, and vanished in a burst of red light with a shout of “Chaos CONTROL!”
Amy pressed a button on the phone handset and approached her husband. “I called Rouge like you asked, cupcake. She said she’s gonna head to the hospital now.” She put an arm around his waist and kissed his cheek. “Is everything okay? As far as anything can be okay right now, anyway.”
Shadow nodded. “Everything’s fine, Amy.” He leaned against her and smiled faintly. “Our little boy’s all grown up… It seems like it was just yesterday that he was eating Play-Doh and whining when we took it away and told him it wasn’t food.”
“That’s because it was just yesterday,” the pink hedgehog told him. “Between him eating Play-Doh and your love of bizarre Japanese snacks, I think there’s something in your DNA that makes you two crave weird things.”
“Shredded squid isn’t that weird…” Shadow grumbled.
She opened her mouth to say it was, but she promptly closed it again and started leading her husband back to the stairs. “Anyway, come along, Shadow. Let’s get you in the bathtub and get that blood off of you.”
He smirked at her. “Will you be joining me?”
Amy smirked right back at him. “Of course. Blood stains are notoriously hard to get out. You might need help.”
“Mm, and you are quite… helpful,” Shadow agreed. “But, Amy…”
She squeezed his hand. “I know, just a bath. I didn’t think you’d be in the mood for anything else right now.”
Shadow squeezed back. “Mm. Love you, Amy.”
“Love you too, Shadow.”
*
12. Homecoming – “We’re Not The Same”
He would have really killed Sonic.
The thought echoed in the echidna’s head over and over. Tails really would have killed Sonic. Tails. The little boy he had watched grow up under Sonic’s care. The little boy who had once idolized Sonic. The little boy who had followed Sonic everywhere. It seemed impossible to Knuckles, but there was no mistaking the flattened-back ears, the gritted teeth, the glint of rage and hurt and betrayal in his eyes. Tails was really going to pull the trigger and end the hedgehog’s life. “‘That was his way. This is mine…’ I can’t believe…”
“I can,” the purple hedgehog lying on the bed said. “I killed my own men. I killed Jet. I betrayed the doc an’ Tails by takin’ what they made for GUN and usin’ it on my own people. And I can’t say I wouldn’t do it again. It’d probably be better for everyone if he did kill me.”
“Don’t,” Knuckles said firmly.
“Don’t what? Tell the truth?” Sonic asked. “I should be dead. I shoulda been dead a dozen times over durin’ my stint as St. Jimmy alone. Why didn’t anyone just have the fucking guts to just shoot me in the God-damned head—“ He found himself suddenly upright, the echidna grabbing him by the collar and holding him up. “Wha…!?”
“I. Said. DON’T,” he repeated with more force, violet eyes flashing. “Don’t even start with that ‘I should be dead’ or ‘I want to die’ bullshit again. We are going back to Soleanna and we are going to get you over that damned death wish for once and for all this time and you’re finally going smile and mean it again, so help me Chaos! You got that?” Sonic nodded. Knuckles let him go. “Good.”
The hedgehog pulled down his shirt and rubbed his neck. “Sheesh, Red, did you stop Ta—Miles from shootin’ me so you could finish me off yourself? You used t’be more gentle…”
“Gentle obviously didn’t work last time,” Knuckles said, turning his back to the hedgehog.
“But it did, Red,” Sonic countered. “When I was around you, I… I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t start the attacks. I couldn’t even think about them.” He closed his eyes and flicked an ear at the faint sound of someone turning the TV on in the next room. “You kept me sane…” he added quietly.
The echidna whirled back around to face him, beads clacking noisily. “Then why didn’t you tell me you needed me stay?! I would have figured some way to keep both you sane and the emerald safe!”
“… I don’t know, Red,” Sonic murmured. “I wasn’t thinkin’ too clearly at the time, y’know.” Strong arms embraced the hedgehog. He shyly hugged back and rested his head against the echidna’s chest. “Red…”
“It doesn’t matter now. I’m not leaving your side this time, Sonic,” Knuckles told him. “I won’t fail you again.”
The hedgehog nuzzled him. “You never failed me, Red; I’m the one that failed you. You almost got killed because of me.”
“I knew the risks, Sonic,” the echidna replied.
“No, you didn’t—“ Sonic began.
“Yes. I. Did,” Knuckles countered. He pulled back enough to make the hedgehog look him in the eye. “I told Eggman to do whatever it took to bring you to your senses. I was willing to die for you, Sonic. Still am.” He shook his head. “I still can’t believe Tails was really going to kill you…”
“An’ no court in the country woulda convicted him, either,” Sonic said with a weak laugh. The moment of bitter mirth died as his face grew serious. “You really wanna do this, Red? If I’m ever exposed, you’ll likely be in deep shit too.”
The echidna softly brushed his lips against Sonic’s. “I do,” he breathed.
Red stained Sonic’s cheeks. “Well, if you’re absolutely sure…” He pulled the echidna by the dreadlocks into another kiss. Tomorrow, they’d start making plans to get together in Soleanna without raising suspicion. Tonight, however, the hedgehog was going to make sure Knuckles knew how much he had been missed.
