Sonic Clash! High School Days

Chapter 14

Rose and Shadow return to Rose's house after the tour, where Rex, Macey and Silver are all waiting eagerly for them.

As Rose opens the door, Silver bursts out of the kitchen, ecstatic to see them both. "Hey guys! How did it go?!?" He exclaims, and Rose grins slightly as the two head to the kitchen, tired from their escapade. Rex and Macey greet the two as they sit down at the kitchen table, and Macey's eyes grow wide as she spies the gun in Rose's hand. "WHERE did you get that from?!" She demands, Rex unfazed as he sees what his wife is talking about. "Dad gave it to me. It was a form of protection Mom." Rose explains, and Macey's eyes grow wide. "You WHAT?!" She exclaims, Silver jumping in his seat slightly. "I don't trust the institute anymore than you do Macey. It looked like she needed it today anyway." Rex shrugs as he justifies himself and takes a sip of his coffee. Rose grins at her father, and then glances towards her mother. "You know how DANGEROUS that is! What if her programming malfunctioned again and she ended up killing someone!" Macey yells yet again, and Rex is about to protest, when Shadow decides to weigh in on the conversation.

"Her programming kicked in today. She took down a G.U.N agent in under five seconds today and then took them and Theodore Grout hostage." He states, and Macey's mouth hangs open in shock as she's completely lost for words, Rex just grinning proudly at his daughter. Rose can't help but flush slightly, that was probably the closest thing to a compliment Shadow had given her, and now everyone's eyes were on her. "Well I couldn't have done it without you Shadow, I don't think anything would have clicked if it was just me there." She returns the favour of a compliment, and Shadow just tilts his head in an accepting nod, and Rose can sense he's feeling bashful, although he is very good at hiding it.

"So what's the verdict on you guys going there?" Silver manages to pipe up during the madness, and Rose smiles at him. "We're going, we've been enrolled as agents." She reveals, and Rose's parents get excited. "We also managed to find spots for all of our friends, you know, due to the whole hostage thing." She adds sheepishly, scratching the back of her neck. "On top of that, we have twenty four hour access to Gerald's files as well." Rose feels rather proud of her and Shadow's accomplishments today, especially after seeing the proud gleam in her Father's eyes. "That's fantastic! We don't have to be separated anymore!" Silver bears a grin so wide a bride could have been built across it. "Yeah! I'm mostly happy about that, I thought that me  joining G.U.N would have meant that I couldn't see anyone anymore." Rose shrugs. "Well we're proud of you sweetheart, honestly. Who else takes the whole place hostage on orientation day?" Rex teases, and Rose and Silver can't help but chuckle as Shadow stays silent still. "Thanks Dad. I'm glad I made you and Mom proud." She says, and then slides the gun over to her father to take back.

"Speaking of which, Markus managed to fix the portal the other night." Everyone's expressions drop as Rex takes another sip on his coffee, rolling off the information like no big deal. "So that means...?!" Rose clicks, getting excited and rising out of her seat suddenly. "That's right, Marina and Midnight are back." Rex smiles, and Rose squeals in delight, jumping up and down, an action that confuses the hell out of Shadow, he'd only seen Amy do this before. "Oh my gosh! I wonder what Midnight looks like now! I bet she looks just like Markus!" She exclaims, and her parents can't help but laugh a little as they watch her get excited over their friends they haven't seen for a very long time. "Apparently she does. They're having a welcome home party for her and Marina tomorrow night." Macey informs her. "Oh my gosh, are we bringing something? Marina always loved your cheesecake mom, why don't you make one?!" Rose suggests excitedly. "You're right honey she did, why not make one for tomorrow night?" Rex adds on to her suggestion, and Macey begins to flush as pink as her daughters quills. "Alright, if you two insist so much I will." Macey beams, and Rose cheers. "Great mom, I'm sure Marina will appreciate a lot! I'm sure it's been a long time since she's had one!" The excited teen realises that she has been neglecting her guests, especially as Shadow has given off an annoyed vibe.

"Sorry guys, I was just really excited that they were back...do you guys want to come and see everyone else and give them the news about today?" Rose wonders, and Silver jumps up immediately, excited to go and see everybody. She looks in Shadow's direction, and he slumps out of his chair and to his feet, his arms still folded. "We'll be back for dinner, I love you guys!" Rose farewells her parents, waving before the three head toward the door, Rex and Macey waving them off as the door clicks closed after them, in which leaves the two in a comfortable silence.

"I can't believe how fast she's grown up Rex."

Macey breaks the silence with a sigh, and Rex smiles sadly. "I know Macey darling, but it was bound to happen someday." He says, and Macey sits next to him at the table. "But she's our little girl Rex, it breaks my heart to see her leave the house nowadays, I fear that one day she won't come back..." Macey's eyes begin to water, and Rex takes her hands in his. "She never really was our little girl, really Macey, we both know that. She's almost twice our age. But, because of her, we got a taste of what it's like to have a baby of our own." He reminds her, and Macey composes herself. "I know..." she trails off, and then waits for Rex to continue. "I'm glad that we got given such a challenge parenting her, I enjoyed watching her grow up..." Macey watches her husband as he looks off into the distance. "And I know it's highly unlikely that we'll ever have grandchildren from our Rosie, but I think that's really what Gerald intended, for there to be only be one of her. One of the little girl who would always shove her peas in the holes in the wood floors and mash the mashed potatoes through her quills...or would refuse to wear her hair up...and take her teddy bear to school..." Macey realises that their daughter leaving them was harder on her partner than what it was for her, and she watches a single tear trail down his cheek, then getting up and holding Rex's head to her chest, smoothing his quills back as she lets him sob into her blouse. "I can't believe she's going Macey..." He sniffles. "No matter how she came to us, she will always be my little baby girl..." Macey can't help but let a few tears fall herself as she listens to her husband. She'd always known that if they were able to have children of their own, he wanted a little girl. She remembered the nights where they would stay up and he'd talk about how he'd be happy to play dollies and tea parties, and he'd joke about how he'd intimidate her boyfriends when she'd bring them home, and he even used to practice his Dad jokes on her. And when Rose came into their lives, Rex couldn't be happier. Macey couldn't be happier.

And now they had to return her to the place she'd originally come from...