Return to the Underground

Reunion #2

The two were plastered to the window. Sonia watched, smiling. Sonic was lucky to have parents like these. And still have them. She and Manic had their entire family taken away. They didn't have anyone else. Sonic did. He had two amazing parents who had, by some miracle, escaped Robotnik. That was a feat in its own.
She also looked out to see her brother running back to the van with Shadow and Tails in tow. He looked like he was still weary of enemies, or he was just nervous about seeing his parents again.
Probably the latter.

Sonic had about a million thing running through his head. They actually survived! What could he say? How was he going to explain being royalty? Would they even believe him? How would they react to Tails? Or Shadow? And Sonia and Manic for that matter.
They came up to the van driving along and hopped in, then Sonic leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor. He had one major headache from all this thinking. Everything was running together in his head. And it ran at supersonic speed.
"Sonic, you okay?"
He looked up at his friend and big brother and gave a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a couple million things goin' through my head."
Shadow and Tails sat down next to the blue hedgehog. "It's not going to implode is it?"
Sonic laughed at the black hedgehog's joke. "Funny." He gave the other boar a shove. "Thinking's not my thing okay?"
The three cracked up. At least the tension had gone now. "Hey, Sonic?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think you could tell me some about your adoptive parents?"
He blinked. That was not what he expected. "Um. Sure."
The fox, sensing the confusion, blushed. "It's just that, well..."
"It's all right, buddy. You don't have to explain." He ruffled the kit's bangs. "We lived out in the woods. I remember there being a small, pool-like spring right outside the house."
"And you weren't afraid of it?" Shadow asked, smirking.
Sonic gave him another shove. "Ha ha. Unfortunately, yes. I really don't know why I'm scared of it. We're getting off topic anyway." The fox was trying to contain his laughter (and might have been failing at it) and Shadow snickered. "My dad was the one who introduced me to chilidogs. My mom, apparently, had some special recipe or something. They helped me build a homemade guitar that I always carried around with me. My Uncle Chuck would come over and I'd always jump on his back and we'd play all day. I would run around a lot too, but most of the time I broke stuff, so I'd have to go outside."
"You still break stuff when you run."
"Yeah, but those are robots. Not TVs."
Tails almost fell over laughing. Sonic did too. Shadow refrained from laughing and, instead, just smiled and shook his head.
"Hey, guys. What's so funny?"
Manic was standing in the doorway, holding his board to his side. Sonic and Shadow gave him a weird look, then Sonic turned toward the front of the van. "Sonia's in the transport vehicle right?" Tails and Manic nodded. "Then who's driving?"
"It's auto-pilot, Sonic. It's driving itself," Manic assured him.
"Wait. We had auto-pilot?"
The drive went by quickly for both vehicles. The transport was focused on Sonia who was telling the stories of the three siblings' adventures. Although, she did forget to mention the part about them first meeting up. Most of the stories were a type of request. One of the passengers asking about the land they used to call home.
On the Underground van, the time was passed with the medallions. They played songs Sonic wrote on his adventures, rocking out to all sorts of different theme songs; one of Shadow's, one of Sonic's, Knuckles', and Tails'. Manic was playing his drum, Sonic and Shadow were playing their guitars, and Tails was head-banging and jumping around. It was a party.
When they made it back, all the freedom fighters were there to greet them. Manic hopped out first to update Cyrus and the others on everything. Sonic was pushed out by Shadow. (That's not an obvious sign that you're nervous at all.)
Sonia came out next with his adoptive parents right behind her. Their eyes instantly locked onto Sonic. For a moment, they just stood there, staring at each other.
"My baby." His foster mother trapped him in a hug, squeezing him so hard he might pop.
"Hey, Mom."
Hearing his voice only made her squeeze harder. This was the little boy she had raised. The little boy she had to leave behind. Although, he wasn't so little anymore. He had grown up.
His father came up behind her and put a hand on his shoulder, gripping it tight. Making sure this was the same boy he would always get onto for revving and was always eating chilidogs. His son. "Sonic..."
"Hi, Dad." He looked up at his foster parent. Not that he had to look up far. He had grown nearly to his height... "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Yeah." He gazed into his now-emerald eyes. "I hear you've been busy."
His mother tore herself away from him. "I guess you could say that." The Blue Blur smiled up at the two. "At least I don't get bored." He closed his eyes. "And I don't need to look back to see the dumb grins on your faces guys!"
His friends behind him burst out laughing, minus Shadow. Sonic opened his eyes, which were already pointed to the sky, and grabbed his foster parents hands. "Come on. I need to introduce you to the rest of the gang!"
The two followed gladly over to the small group of Mobians. Sonia and Manic were the first ones to step up, Sonic jumping in between them. "This is Manic, and you've already met Sonia."
"S'up."
"Hi again."
"Then there's Cyrus, Trevor, Tails, and Shadow." He pointed called them, going up to Tails and Shadow as he named them.
"Welcome back."
"Hey."
"Hi."
"Hello."
Sonic's foster mother looked like she would burst from joy. "It's so nice to meet all of you."
Sonic smiled, looking around at his friends. "Let's show you guys around the base. After all, it's getting kinda cramped over here."
He was right. The area was filled with the newly-freed Mobians and freedom fighters trying to help them. There were even some reunions mixed in there. It always felt good seeing those moments.
'I think I just became one of those moments,' Sonic realized.
"Come on." Sonia had run ahead of them. "We can stop by the chilidog stand on the way."
"Heh." Sonic zoomed past her, stopping twenty feet away from her. "Let's go then!"
Tails starting spinning his tails to catch up to the others while the others started to run, or in Shadow's case, skate. Of course, that just startled Sonic's foster family. And Cyrus and Trevor.
"It was a surprise for us too." They looked over to Manic, who was right beside them. "They keep forgetting to mention it."
"Huh." Cyrus looked toward the three ahead of them. Tails was flying right above Sonic's head and Shadow was was skating alongside him, and it looked like they were playing around because Sonic kept making mock efforts to catch Tails while also trying to avoid Shadow's playful attempts to ram him. "I guess you get used to it after a while."
Sonic's parents regarded this, very confused. "Wait. If they've known each other that long how did you not know?"
They all exchanged a glance.
"Well..." Sonia began. "It might be better for Sonic to help explain." She ran up to said hedgehog and explained what was going on.
He peeked over his shoulder and back to Sonia, then walked back to the others. "Why don't we go to the stand before we start explaining. It's going to be a very long story."
They all agreed and started heading toward the chilidog stand. Sonic quietly spoke to Tails and Shadow about how to explain Green Hill, all their friends, and the small fact that he was a prince and that Shadow was part alien.
By the time they arrived, all the three had come up with was: 'I was sent away for a few years and during that time a met a bunch of friends and almost got myself killed more than once. Oh, and I'm the prince of Mobius along with Shadow, Sonia, and Manic, who are my brothers and sister. Also, Shadow's a genetically-engineered hedgehog/alien hybrid.' Probably not the best way to explain it.
"So, son." His father sat down in one of the seats in front of the stand. "What's been going on around here lately?"
Sonic hesitantly sat across from him. "Well, I should probably start from the beginning." Sonia and Manic came up behind him. "You know how you found me in the doorway when I was a baby?" The two nodded. "Well, the person who put me there, my mother-" he took a deep breath "Is Queen Aleena. And she did the same for my triplet siblings here, Sonia and Manic."
Their jaws practically hit the floor. "Queen Aleena?"
The blue hedgehog nodded. "Yep. She had to give us up for some prophecy to come true. It basically says that once we find her, we'll make this council of four and overthrow Robotnik." He looked up at the two's faces. "Oh, it gets crazier than that. Our older brother, Shadow here, was genetically-engineered and is part alien, which is why he has black fur and red stripes. After a terrible accident, he was sealed away in suspended animation for fifty years."
Sonia stepped up next to him. "A few years ago, the three of us went on a mission to take out one of Robotnik's new bases and he, well... We went into one of the rooms and Robotnik was there with some sort of weird gun and when we came in, he fired it. Sonic disappeared and so did Robotnik and the gun. We didn't know what had happened to him, so we thought he was dead."
The expressions changed to horror.
"But I obviously didn't," Sonic inputted quickly. "It just teleported me to a different place. That's where I met Tails, Shadow, and all my other friends out there. Apparently, that area's never been mapped before either, so no one from around here came by and recognized me."
"What about Uncle Chuck? What was he doing during this?"
Sonic's ears instantly folded down to his head and he broke eye contact with the two. Manic decided to take the reign for him. "He was roboticized. All our families were. Robotnik went hunting for us and he caught our family instead."
Sonic was staring down at his chilidog, but pushed it away, not hungry. That surprised a lot of his friends. He usually had an endless appetite. Even when he was down. Shadow and Tails came up and sat beside him, Shadow moving a bit slowly and sluggishly, trying to find a way to cheer him up. Then they noticed it. His expression was the same as that day at his party.
"Sonic?"
He looked up to the fox. "I'm fine, buddy." He ruffled the kit's bangs.
"You sure? You have that look, and you're not eating."
"I'm sure. I'm just not that hungry."
Tails crossed his arms across his chest. "I never thought I'd hear you say that."
The hedgehog rolled his eyes. "Coming from the fox who once ate fifteen chilidogs in one sitting."
"That's different. I have a high metabolism," he protested. "And you were the one who taught me how to make them. I wouldn't have eaten so many if you didn't teach me."
"Yeah." He smirked at his friend. "But I remember that when you didn't know you trashed the kitchen trying to find out."
"I was five!"
Sonic burst out laughing. Tails did too after a bit of pouting. His siblings relaxed next to him. Tails really knew how to make Sonic feel better.
His adoptive parents relaxed as well. Though they did still feel bad about Uncle Chuck. Maybe one day someone would find a way to de-roboticize the people who had fallen under Robotnik's reign.
Shadow groaned softly and leaned his head against Sonic's shoulder.
"You okay, Shads?"
In retrospect, he knew not to ask, because the chances of an actual answer were slim. Shadow was hanging onto a thread of consciousness, eyes faded and glassy when they lethargically met Sonic's gaze. His extremely pale muzzle worked itself open, but no words left those lips. His breathing was ragged and his eyes were dull and glassy and he seemed like he couldn't move. Sonic realized exactly what was happening.
"Seriously, Shadow?! Why didn't you say something before you got to this point?!" Sonic fought to keep the growl out of his voice, but it was hard because this could have been avoided. "I never wanted it to get this bad, but you're so stubborn, I swear."
Shadow didn't try to answer this time. His jaw was clenched. Sonic took a deep breath to calm his nerves.
"What wrong with him?" Sonia asked worriedly.
"He has a condition," Sonic explained. "C'mere." His voice composed itself, softer and calmer as he gently maneuvered a limp Shadow into his arms. Shadow wasn't light by any means, but Sonic easily carried him down to the floor. There was only one good thing to come out of this situation; Shadow was too weak to fight his help.
Sonic maneuvered the clinical-vampirism-inflicted hedgehog until he was kneeling in front of him, his only support being Sonic's hands anchoring his shoulders. Shadow managed to keep his head upright, eyes muddled and breaths ragged. Despite how out of it he was, there was a hint of defiance, which had Sonic frowning.
"Why, Shads?" Sonic exhaled harshly at the condition of the strongest person he was lucky enough to know and be related to. Lithe yet powerful muscles that could combat the fiercest fighter could barely twitch by themselves, and the gaze that had caused even god-like beings to cower at his feet now wouldn't be able to make a skittish mouse scurry.
Sonic met that stare and gave him a meaningful squeeze; not too hard, but enough to get him to listen. "Why do you keep doin' this to yourself?"
Again, he was met with silence. Sonic kept his frustration at bay because Shadow didn't need that. He needed blood. A person's blood. Sonic weaved his fingers into Shadow's head quills, careful not to prick himself on them.
"I hate seeing you like this, big bro. And I know you hate doing this in front of other people," Sonic whispered, but his words retained their strength.
"You're gonna drink from me, right now," he said with conviction. Those weary, ruby irises narrowed, but he wasn't deterred. "Whether you want to or not."
He didn't wait for a response because he wasn't going to get one. Sonic carefully brought Shadow against his chest in one swift move, wrapping a solid arm around his lower back and pushing Shadow's muzzle in the crook of his neck.
He felt the dark hedgehog's breath stutter against his short, blue fur, and the sudden tremble of his weak frame wasn't lost on Sonic. It was obvious that Shadow was battling against every instinct he had not to bite, and Sonic would have been impressed at the self-control any other day.
"You know we can't sit here all day, Shads." Sonic pressed Shadow closer to his body when the shivers strengthened. "So why don't you do both of us a favor and get a little bite, okay?"
Sonic's hopes rose when he felt Shadow open his mouth, but instead of sharp fangs, he received a breathy murmur. "Out...side..."
It didn't take a genius to put together the meaning. Sonic shook his head.
"No can do. You know it's not safe out there." He turned to everyone else present. "If any of you are squeamish about blood, I suggest you don't watch."
"Why?"
Sonic didn't get to respond as a sharp pain emitted from his shoulder. He hissed but refrained from instinctively pushing Shadow off, instead holding him tighter. Everyone watched in horror and bewilderment. Sonic was clearly in a ton of pain as Shadow drank his blood, quickly recovering his strength, as he was panting and visibly shivering.
After Shadow drank his fill, he licked the blood off of Sonic's wound. The two boars stood up and acted like it never happened, aside from Shadow licking the blood off of his lips and fangs.
"Now, why don't I start explaining what went on in Green Hill? Er... the unknown land." Sonic looked back to his foster family, smiling.
His mother smiled back. "Sounds wonderful."
"Cool. I'll start with all our friends."
"How many do you have?"
"Well." He looked down thoughtfully, listing all of them in his mind. "Besides Tails and Shadow, there's Knuckles, Amy, Cream and Cheese, Rouge, Omega, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Vanilla... Wow. I didn't realize how many people we knew."
"And you didn't even name all of them!" Tails added.
"Sounds like you're pretty popular." His dad's comment made Manic snicker, which made Sonic headlock him.
They spent the next hour talking about all his friends in Green Hill and some of the adventures he and his siblings had that Sonia hadn't told in the transport. Soon though they had to get down to business.
"We're not going to have enough room for all these people in Freedom HQ and I don't think there are enough safe houses in Robotropolis. We need to take all these people somewhere safe," Cyrus pointed out, gazed around at the cramped room.
"I bet there will still be some who want to stay behind and help so that lowers the numbers a bit." Sonia stated, looking off at what looked like a small reunion with one of the ex-prisoners.
"Well, what about Sanctuary?" Sonic hopped out of his chair and stood in front of group. "I've been hearing people saying they're gettin' short staffed up there. I'm sure they'd be glad to take the help. And there's plenty of room for everyone."
"That's a great idea!" Sonia ran up to her brother and gave him a big hug. "I'm surprised you came up with it."
"Hey!"
The group laughed at the two then got to work. Cyrus organized all the people into groups of who wanted to stay and who were leaving for Sanctuary. Sonia and Manic went to prepare the vehicles for the trip and Tails gathered all the supplies.
Sonic stayed behind to talk to his parents. "You guys should go to Sanctuary with the others."
"What?" His father leaned forward to look into his eyes. "Why? I think we should stay here with you and your friends to help."
"I understand that, but I'd feel more comfortable if you were up there. I know you'll worry, but I get the feeling you'd be more worried if you stayed here and saw all of the stuff I have to do. Besides, I'm not going to be able to be here 24/7 anymore. I'm split between here and the unknown land."
His mother came up and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "All right, Sonic. But you have to promise you'll come and visit us every time you come back from the unknown land or you get a chance."
The hedgehog smiled and gave his foster mother a signature thumbs up. "Deal."