Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Alright team, what’re we thinking? Hike in the jungle, beach day, spa day or ooh! Movie marathon?” Amy asked, flipping through her spiral-bound planner. The other three were snacking at the table, eating away at their still subpar Meh Burger orders. Amy’s smile faltered when none of them answered. She tried again “Y’know, watch Jungle Fighter; Origins of the Jungle Fighter.”

Knuckles looked up from his deflated burger, mustard smeared on his face. Amy shivered at the mess he’d made. “Actually, I already watched that one with Mike yesterday. The ending was a bit boring, not that great from Jungle Fighter.”

Sticks shook her head. She tossed a fry at a nearby bird, knocking the poor animal unconscious. Amy winced. Frozen rock solid today, it seemed. “I gotta prepare, scavenge, and put up my defenses! The end times are near, and my bunker supplies are runnin’ low. The jungle dwellers have been stealing my stuff and settin’ off my traps!” The three of them glanced at the badger.

‘You’re the jungle dweller, though?’ They collectively thought.

Tails put down his fork, having barely touched his salad that was more newspaper than salad. “I can’t do a movie marathon, sorry. I’ve got a project I’m close to finishing, so I want to focus on that for now, Amy.”

“Oh.” Amy slumped, feeling dejected. It’d been a while since they had actually spent time together as a team, so she’d been hoping to organise something. But things were proving to be much harder than she thought it’d be. They never had this problem before. And for a moment, Amy wondered how Sonic had managed to guide their team as easily as he could. She shook herself, and tried again. “What about coconut hurl? It’s been a while.”

Knuckles sighed, wiping his face with the tablecloth. “Yeah, but Sonic’s the only one who plays with me, and I haven’t seen him. It’s no fun trying to have Tails throw me. He can’t even pick me up.” Tails looked up from the Miles Electric he’d started fiddling with and glared at the echidna.

“Wait, you haven’t seen him? Has anyone seen Sonic?” Amy asked.

The others shook their heads confusedly. 

“I mean, nothing’s happened in a long time too.” Tails piped up.

Sticks tensed, alert. “That means trouble is ‘round the corner!”

M̵̢͂ ̸͙͠.̷̙̈́.̵̹̾ ̷̙͝ȋ̷̪s̶͉̎ ̶͆͜S̷̥̾s̶̨̀î̴͇ ̸̆͜n̵̢͆g̴̻͝.̶͙̆.̷̬̏.̶̩͘

ǵ̴ͅG̷̦͋ ̸͖̏o̵̝͛n̴͕͂ ̵̠̈ě̶̺

S̷̀͜s  ̵̧̾S̷̋͜on̵̠̒ iĉ̵ͅ ̶͔͒wa ̵̠̃sn’t there.

Sonic has been gone for too long. So long, it was a little concerning. Amy frowned.

“Great job, Tails. You just had to acknowledge the lack of real plot.” Amy crossed her arms.

Knuckles turned and backed her up, as he always did. “Yeah. Not cool, Tails.”

The kit’s expression became sheepish from embarrassment. “Oh uh, sorry guys. At least we have something to do now?”

“But I was gonna head out with Mike and watch Jungle Fighter; Origins of the Jungle Fighter!” Knuckles whined, throwing himself onto the table. Amy gave him a murderous look, going unnoticed by the sulking echidna. A moment passed of nothing, and she looked away. 

Unimportant.

They needed to find Sonic first. 

‘Yes.’ Amy nodded. They needed to find Sonic. And the perfect place to start was his house.

The beachfront of Sonic’s house was quiet, the bungalow even more so. The silence wasn’t exactly out of place, per say; Sonic hardly spent time at his house beyond his need to sleep. But in the context of the missing blue hedgehog, the lack of life was eerie. Foreboding. Warning. Amy looked into the lit house, and saw nothing inside. Sonic wasn’t home. Amy frowned.

How unusual. Sonic would usually be found napping in his house. Or at least on his hammock that he sometimes brought outside. Which reminded Amy, she needed to talk to Sonic about his excessive napping again.

Privately, Amy thought Sonic looked like he needed to sleep as much as he did. Especially in more recent times. He moved slowly, lethargically. He spent quite a lot of time sitting or laying about. He’s even been walking around at a leisurely pace for once. And his eyes…

 

His eyes weren’t as bright as she’s sure they used to be.

 

His eyes were dull. Lifeless. Just a flat dull green with not a speckle of light in them.

 

Those weren’t the eyes of someone who thrived in the thrill of danger.

 

Those were the eyes of someone who wanted for everything to just stop.

Amy shook her head and turned back to her following entourage. “He’s not here. Everything’s perfectly normal. Sonic’s probably just on a run or something.”

Tails furrowed his brow, skeptical. “For so long?”

“He’s been out and about for long periods of time before.” Amy waved away his concern, stomping on her own worry. Nothing bad actually happens, and when it does, it never sticks.

“It’s been five whole days!” Tails cried out, the kit’s namesakes whirling around agitatedly. “Five whole days and none of us have seen Sonic! He’s in danger, and we’ve just been sitting around pretending everything’s business as usual!”

Amy recoiled at the kit’s outburst, shocked at the despairing tone of the usually rational fox. His grey-blue eyes were watery, on the verge of tears spilling. Guilt and worry bubbled in her chest, the hedgehog reaching out to comfort the young fox. “T-Tails! You need to calm down. C’mon, breathe with me. In, two, three. And out, two three.”

The fox glared at the ground, furiously swiping away any tears before they fell. He stomped petulantly, fur bristling. “I don’t need to calm down! You need to take this seriously!”

Amy backed off, trying to think of a different approach. In that moment she wished she was Sonic, able to comfort or redirect someone’s focus effortlessly without them even noticing. Not until days later, long after Sonic even remembers doing such a thing. “Well… Well, we can call him. How about that? He’ll answer and we can see if he needs help.”

Tails sniffled, turning his back to Amy as he opened his communicator. “Fine…”

Amy exchanged glances with Knuckles and Sticks, the former eyeing the fox with both worry and wariness. Sticks herself was staring at Tails with that unreadable expression she almost always had, eyes blank of any obvious emotions or thoughts. Not for the last time, Amy wondered how Sonic seemed to always know how everyone felt. That was her job, in her character description. Why could he do it better than she could ever dream of?

Amy shook her head, listening as Tails rang Sonic’s communicator. The tune buzzed dully, sounding out almost lifelessly. One, two, three… The tune repeated for a sixth time before the tone dial came through, an automatic reply in Sonic’s voice speaking. He hadn’t answered.

Amy frowned. “Try again. Maybe he missed it or couldn’t pick up.”

Tails nodded, pressing on Sonic’s contact once again. Fear, worry, anxiety. A feeling Amy couldn’t quite put a name to rose within her, her stomach churning with each ring that sounded. One, two, three… The tone dial rang out again, that same automated response playing. He didn’t answer.

Apprehension and real worry crept on Amy, clawing its way up her entire being with heavy limbs. She stared at Tails’ communicator, at Tails, at Knuckles and Sticks, then the communicator again.

Sticks nudged her arm to get her attention, pointing at the opposite end of Sonic’s shack. “I heard a buzzin’ noise over there! When Tails was tryna call Sonic!” Their attention was brought to Sonic’s table, where Sticks had been pointing. They approached the simple furniture, Amy’s brow furrowing when she caught sight of what sat on top.

Sonic’s communicator. Sitting on top of a note.

Amy picked up the gadget, turning it over in her hands. It was significantly lighter than her own, and when her gloved fingers brushed against an odd cavity she figured out the reason why. The underside of the device was open, bits and bobs missing from the structure Tails had so carefully designed. Tampered, by someone who clearly understood the design and functions of the communicator well. Incredibly well. On a similar level to Tails, but she knew the kit wouldn’t dare tamper with anything that wasn’t his own or at least not claimed by someone else already. 

Amy felt like her face was going to be stuck in a frown with how often she was doing it. 

It was unlikely Sonic had tampered with the communicator. On his own, at least.

Sticks picked up the note from the table, peeling it open with suspicion. She brought it close to her face, away, close, and then away again, trying to read whatever was on it. Eventually, the badger found an optimal distance to hold it. Amy lowered the communicator back to the table, watching worriedly as Sticks’ lips pursed. Not a good sign. The badger passed it to Tails with a muttered comment about chasing away speedy hedgehogs, but Amy ignored it.

She watched the fox kit’s ears flatten, eyes wide with shock, hurt, despair, a whole myriad of expressions Amy rarely saw on someone like Tails. He heart dropped, his reaction foreboding and troubling. Just what was written on the note?

“What… What does it say, Tails?” She asked tentatively.

He didn’t reply, only holding out the paper for Amy to take. She ignored the way her hand trembled slightly as she took the paper, watching how Tails’ expression was distraught and distant. Her heart hammer in her chest as she flicked the paper and read the note.

Team Sonic is over. I quit. 

Don’t look for me. 

Amy’s blood ran cold, ears ringing. She heard herself read the words out loud, saw the way Knuckles’ and Sticks’ faces had twisted in surprise and worry. But she wasn’t processing it, wasn’t quite swallowing down the information. The words on the note felt fake. The reality wasn’t setting in. It felt like Amy had just walked on to the set of a really bad and strangely real film set.

Sonic? Quit? 

The team was over?

No.

No no no no no.

A chuckle bubbled up her throat, bursting into a manic bout of laughter. The note crinkled under her fingers, hands clenching until she could feel her knuckles creaking. And oh how she wanted to tear through that stupid note. The world narrowed down to just that note in her hands and those words, those stupid, stupid words written on it.

It couldn’t be true. It wasn’t true.

This was the sickest, cruelest joke Sonic had ever played on them. On her . And that blue hedgehog had goaded Knuckles into doing a wheelbarrow race through deadly valleys. Had gotten her house exploded by one of Eggman’s stray rockets. Had endangered everyone’s lives, his own life, just because he was convinced no one could catch him.

Yes, this was the cruelest joke Sonic could have ever thought of pulling over them. And when she got her hands on Sonic, she was going to get payback and make sure he never did this again.

She crushed the note in her hand, her smile tight. She had to keep hold of her emotions, be the mature and emotionally stable member of the group, of the team. Of Team Sonic. Her eye twitched. ‘Team Sonic is over’ her ass. Team Sonic would end when s h̶̺̓͒ḛ̸̒ said it could. And in that moment s h̶̺̓͒ḛ̸̒ didn’t want Team Sonic to end, ever . And that meant s h̶̺̓͒ḛ̸̒ ’d go find Sonic, hit him with her hammer for trying to leave them, and drag him back by his quills. At any cost. Any.

Amy laughed out loud again, humorlessly and bitterly. “We’re going to Eggman. We’re going to beat him like always, we’re taking Sonic back, and we’re going to make him regret everything.”

“What—Eggman?!”

“What, why?!”

“Why would he have Sonic?!”

“What else could it be? Eggman captured Sonic and planted this to make us think otherwise. If it isn’t, then clearly Sonic hasn’t learned from the last o̶n̸e̵s̸h̵o̸t̶ and it’s Just A Guy all over again.” Amy reasoned, feeling her world slowly right itself. Yes, that was the only explanation.

“But Eggman’s never been able to actually catch Sonic. Not even I’ve been able to catch him long enough for it to really count!” Tails argued. “Why’d he suddenly catch him now?”

Amy spread her arms out, trying to get them to see her point. “Well obviously, that’s the plot of this episode! We need to go over, beat him up and save the day. Like we always do, and always have.” Why couldn’t they understand that this wasn’t such a big deal? This problem would be solved as all problems are, and things would return to normal as if it never happened

“I dunno, I think we did a bit of evilling with the exploding ducks…” Knuckles muttered nonsensically. 

“Come on guys, don’t you want to find Sonic? I do, and I need your help to find him and bring him back! I mean, Team Sonic has to stay together and keep protecting the villagers.” 

The boys rubbed the back of their necks awkwardly before Tails nodded, Knuckles following in his example. “Yeah, we’ll help out. I am worried about Sonic…”

Sticks on the other hand, shook her head. “No thanks. I’m slam, busy preparing for the apocalypse.”

Amy glared at the badger, and she held her hands up defensively. “Fine, fine. I’ll keep an eye out for the blue hedgehog. I’m still busy scavenging to replace my missing supplies. There’s a cryptid, a creature, a monster out there tryna’ doom me for the apocalypse.”

“Sticks, I’m telling you. It’s just a wild animal. You need to stop putting your stuff outside.” A headache was beginning to form the longer Amy spoke to Sticks. 

And rightfully so because that badger was far too unpredictable, too wild, too unstable, too… Uncontrollable. That badger needed a leash or something, to keep her in place for even a minute. Amy nodded. Yes, they needed a harness to keep her in check the next time they went out. Sticks went missing in the middle of outings far too often for it to be normal.

But no, that had to wait. Because finding Sonic was the top priority. And finding Sonic meant going to Eggman’s lair, making sure he still remembered who the designated heroes were, and forcing him to relinquish his hold on the blue hedgehog or at least showing them where he was.

The metal walls crumbled like sand under Amy’s fury-powered hammer, and there were no robots to speak of. Eggman’s lair was just as bland, bleak, and lonely as the man himself and Amy spared just a drop of pity before she continued on her crusade rampage. Tails and Knuckles trailed after her, supporting her on the rare occasion her (gorgeous, perfect) Piko-Piko Hammer wasn’t enough to handle the Doctor’s excessive amounts of fail safes and locks. The rush was thrilling, being able to cut through enemy lines like butter as she led the way, and Amy began to understand why Sonic loved to run in as vanguard so often.

Finally, the door to where Amy knew Eggman’s living space was crumpled under the wrath of Piko-Piko and they burst in ready for a fight. There Eggman was, sitting nefariously as he watched Hedgehog Abbey, just as Amy suspected.

Wait.

Amy lowered her hammer, staring at the lounging man in confusion. She watched in disturbed interest as he scooped up a handful of corn chips and slathered it in a disgusting amount of nacho cheese. Amy shivered, off-put by the display no matter how many times she’d seen it.

Hedgehog Abbey, seriously? That was the least best Hedgehog show in the series.

Amy shook her head. No, what was confusing was the fact Eggman was just sitting there , watching Hedgehog Abbey . By now, he’d probably brag about capturing Sonic, or at least hoisting a new plan to capture the rest of them. Though maybe not that last one. For whatever reason, Eggface (god, she was sounding like Sonic) cared way more about winning over Sonic than anyone else on the island, let alone Team Sonic.

The scientist looked away from the screen, corn chip halfway in his mouth. “Huh? Amy? Tails? Nuffles? What are you doing here? Our fight isn’t scheduled until Saturday midday. Can’t you see I’m busy? Hedgehog Abbey is airing a new episode.”

“What? No, that’s our question!” Amy brandished her hammer at the man like a sword, though maybe not as intimidating considering the weapon differences—Whatever. It wasn’t like Tails would comment on it, and Sonic wasn’t there to say anything about her handling of it. “You took Sonic and it’s been long enough! Hand him back now before I resort to more forceful methods.”

Eggman sat forward, interest piqued and confusion evident. “‘Took Sonic’? Listen, I’m flattered you think I’m capable of catching Sonic—which, I totally am! But I don’t have Sonic. Orbot and Cubot can vouch, Hedgehog Abbey has been airing all day.”

Summoned by their master, the red and yellow bots peered around the corner, one holding a new bowl of popcorn and the other with an even larger tub of caramel. “Boss is correct. He’s already eaten approximately 2700 calories worth of corn chips, nacho cheese, popcorn, caramel, and ice cream. That’s 10% less than the last time he binge watched the first season of Hedgehog Abbey.”

Amy was forcibly ignoring how much she cringed from that onslaught of information about a sad, sad man in favor of what they were implying.

“You mean, you really haven’t caught Sonic? He’s not here.” Amy’s voice sounded hollow to her own ears, and she felt a growing void in her stomach growing. It ate away at her, trying to tell her something, but she both didn’t understand it or want to hear it.

Eggman nodded, stroking his moustache. “Nope, though I totally could. Which, I guess it’s weird. I haven’t seen him at all for a few days, and usually I’d have run into him at the market by now. Or literally any other day of the week outside of our fights ‘cause you know, four locations.”

She felt numb as Amy turned on her heels and walked out that lair. The one person who might’ve known something aside from the team didn’t have a clue on Sonic’s whereabouts. They didn’t have any leads, and the island was still huge despite their limited settings. Heck, Roboken was still on the table as a possible location and it would take a long time before they reached the robot city in the sky. And Amy had a strong gut feeling Sonic hadn’t flown up all alone.

No, Sonic was somewhere on Bygone Island and Amy was determined to find him. She had to. Everything crumbled apart as long as Sonic was gone. It was called Team Sonic for a reason. She had to bring him back, through any means necessary.

“Alright boys. We have a whole island to search. And by whole island, I mean a count of at least 7 different locations. We’re finding Sonic, I don’t care how long it’s gonna take.” Amy ordered. It seemed the universe wanted to mock her when she had unknowingly come to a stop right outside Sonic’s house. Oh, how she wanted to burn that eyesore down. But she couldn’t, it was Sonic’s. The only physical thing that really belonged to Sonic, and it’d be cruel to get rid of it.

Just as cruel as Sonic was for making them search the entire island for him. From the village to both forests to Buddy Buddy Temple all the way to Mount Safety. There was no sign of Sonic, nothing that gave her hints to where Sonic could have gone, where he had disappeared off to. It was almost as if he didn’t exist. Almost as if Sonic was never a real person to begin with. Even though Amy knew he was real, even when there was standing proof that Sonic existed. The lack of literally anything was eating her up inside, making her itch under her skin, made her want to claw it out until she was bloody and free of the horrible feeling.

Even on the days when Sticks, the jungle expert, could join them on their search, they turned up nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. Amy wanted to burn down that forest, cleave the mountains, scream into the sky. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. Not even a ghostly trace of the blue hedgehog. A part of her tried to tell her that the lack of clues was clue enough, that Sonic was purposely avoiding them, that he had willingly run away. But that was a lie, Amy was sure. For what reason could Sonic have run away? They had everything he could ever want. There was no reason to have disappeared, to have abandoned them, to have vanished like that.

They had even resorted to searching the oceans, however unlikely Sonic was to be found down there of all places. Exploring down in the deep with Tails’ new submarine for that purpose was eerie and silent. It took all Amy had just to swallow down the bile coming up her throat every time they came across more nothing, had to force herself not to think about the theoreticals about finding Sonic swallowed by the thing he feared so much. She had been glad when they turned up nothing then, but that meant they had searched literally everywhere they could.

Sonic was still gone. Sonic was nowhere to be found.

A doubt was beginning to creep into Amy’s mind, that maybe…

Maybe Sonic didn’t want to be found.

It’d been a month and a half of searching, and Tails was drained. There was virtually nothing about where Sonic was. A few times he had thought he finally located him on the scanner of the Miles Electric, a dot on the edge of the radar. But he was hallucinating those instances with how fast they blinked in and out, he just had to be. Because if he wasn’t, that said so much about why Sonic was gone and Tails didn’t think he was ready to confront that possibility.

He had almost no energy leftover from searching and searching, and it didn’t seem the others did either from the way they were also slumped over as they walked away from Meh Burger. It had been a relatively short break, enough to take a breather before heading back out to search again and again and again. Amy had become obsessive over finding Sonic, so much so Tails was worried she was losing her mind over a singular task. After all, repeating the same action over again expecting different results was a sign of insanity, one that Amy was taking to a new level.

Tails privately wondered if he was going insane, following along Amy’s now daily routine expecting for Amy to give or Sonic to show up or just something, anything to happen. He thought he could hear Amy blabbering away to Knuckles as they left the walled confines of the village, but he couldn’t quite grasp what they were saying. His head felt fluffy and fuzzed out from exhaustion. Tails could only let his attention drift around as he slowly prepared himself for another fruitless endeavor that Amy would ignore as a sign to maybe stop.

Tails’ focus landed on a bluish figure digging around some crates by the wall and he felt the world stop. The air in his lungs was punched out of him, and he could only mutter out one word.

“Sonic?”

And it was indeed Sonic. Sure, he looked a little worse for wear and his quills were dotted with leaves and twigs. But there was no mistaking anyone else for the blue hedgehog. There was no mistaking his b̷̝͖͂r̵͚͋̓̄ó̷̠͓͋̓͆t̷͚̞̗́̃͒͑ḣ̴̬͉͝ḛ̸̘̗͒r̴̤̪͇̲̅͒̔ best friend for anyone except for Sonic.

Tails felt hope bubble in his chest and he called out to him. “Sonic!”

The blue hedgehog looked up from where he had been scrounging around, ears flicking as those green eyes moved to pinpoint who had called his name. Tails’ hope shattered into pieces and his heart dropped to his stomach in an instant when he was met with a vicious snarl.

Chapter Text

The fur on Tails’ neck rose up and bristled in what almost felt like fear. Staring into the eyes of a Sonic he hadn’t seen in almost two months, he wondered where it went wrong, what happened, who this furious blue hedgehog was. Who this angry, snarling hedgehog wearing the face of his friend was. Where the real Sonic, the Sonic he knew, the Sonic he had always known, had gone. 

Because this couldn’t be Sonic, couldn’t be the lazy, cocky, easy-going Sonic he knew. Couldn’t be the same Sonic that napped the day away, happily played volleyball on the beach, complained when he had to walk instead of run, and shot back witty, barbed truths. Not this wild, sharp-eyed, feral caricature of his best friend. Not this rabid creature, this… This… Animal.

This couldn’t be Sonic.

But it was. And by god, did it hurt to know that.

Tails watched in a mix of morbid fascination and growing dread as the hedgehog straightened, no longer snarling but clearly still not happy. He didn’t bother brushing away the leaves and twigs caught in his quills, and in his hands he held a small box filled with a random assortment of items. His green eyes were sharp pin pricks, staring Tails down with wariness. He could almost hear the rattling of normally soft, bouncy blue quills tensing and raising defensively. Tails gulped.

The others had turned around, startled by Tails’ earlier call of Sonic’s name. He didn’t need to look over to know that they were as shocked as he was, though clearly in a more comedic tone judging from their loud gasps. They all called out to Sonic in a cacophony of voices, happy and scolding as they all focused on the blue hedgehog. He didn’t seem happy, and Tails shrunk back.

“Sonic! Where have you been? We looked literally everywhere for you for almost two months! I think it was two months… Amy went crazy.” Knuckles called out, his voice trailing off uncertainly.

Amy put a hand against her hip, frowning at Sonic in what Tails was sure was mostly or entirely admonishment. There was something broken swimming in her eyes, but he wasn’t sure how to address that so he simply let it simmer and be. “Don’t do that again. You scared us half to death! We started looking for you after you didn’t show up for five days, so you could imagine the horror we felt when we saw—”

“Five days? It took you five days to worry about me?” Sonic interrupted, voice icy and emotionless. The look on his face was undefinable beyond simply bone-chilling. He scoffed, and it was like acid to Tails’ ears. “I think Eggman was more worried. Some friends you tried to be.”

Everyone flinched at the hedgehog’s venomous tone. Tails himself could only feel the growing pit of guilt and shame grow and crawl through his guts. He had known Sonic was missing when he hadn’t shown up in a single day. He had ignored it and simply went on in life. He had worried when Sonic was still gone by the third day. And yet he had kept his silence, had gone on with life. Sonic was right to be so mad. He had tried to be his friend, but trying was never enough.

And Tails continued to keep his silence, watched as Amy took point and attempted to soothe the agitated hedgehog. “Woah, hold on, Sonic. No need to be so… Angry. We need to calm down and talk this out. The 11 minutes are almost up, we need to wrap things up.”

Sonic’s hackles rose, and Tails’ focused darting to his clenched hands. His gloves were grimy and almost blending in with the box, but it still couldn’t hide the shape of sharp claws digging into the wood. He could just imagine the hedgehog tearing the box apart as easily as tearing through meat. Tearing through flesh and bone. He shook the thought away. It wouldn’t happen.

Right?

“That’s all you care about. 11 minutes this, 11 minutes that. What the hell do you think can be accomplished in 11 minutes? Nothing that actually matters. Because you don’t care about what happens after, you don’t care about how anyone else feels after.” Sonic shot back, box tucked under an arm as he gestured angrily at them.

“Sonic, please. You’re being unreasonable. Aggressive.” Tails watched from the corner of his eye as she took a small step back, hand moving behind her. He could feel the tension, thick as concrete, as Amy got defensive. “You’re acting like Shadow.”

Those words seemed to flip a switch in Sonic, his eyes going wide before they focused once more. They were steely, burning, absolutely enraged. Tails grabbed his namesakes, the pit growing in his stomach and bile threatening to rise up his throat.

The blue hedgehog took a menacing step forward, almost as if he were stalking prey. The gory imagery of Sonic tearing into someone’s throat was forcibly brought to the front of his mind and he had to physically brace himself. It was disgusting, vile. How could he think of his best friend that way? How could he think of such things, especially on such a relaxing island?

Although, there was nothing relaxing the way Sonic’s face twisted into a bitter smile.

“Oh, Shadow huh? I’m acting like Shadow, am I? What, are you afraid that I’ll do something? That I’ll try to… Eliminate you all? ” Sonic pounced forward slightly, and Tails was ashamed to admit he had jumped back with a hand reaching for his wrench. “Is that it? You’re afraid of me?”

With her hammer halfway out of her pocket dimension, Amy’s next words were not as calming or encouraging as she probably intended. “You’re not listening, Sonic! you’re getting angry at us for no apparent reason, while we were worried sick about you when you—”

“No!” He snapped, his teeth loudly clacking together as he snarled again. Tails stared at the sharp canines Sonic sported, glinting in the dappled sunlight. He never knew Sonic had sharp teeth before, and in that moment he looked every bit the feral predator he was behaving as. “I’m done listening. I’m always listening to you. I’m always following along with what you want, what the plot demands. It’s time you were the ones who listened. ”

The crate shattered into splinters as Sonic threw it against the ground angrily. Various items went flying, scattered across the ground. It was all essentials and food, things a person would need if they were camping or hiking or… Or roughing it outside, out in the jungle. Tails shuffled away as a toothbrush hit his shoe and when he looked at Sonic, he saw everything he could have noticed sooner. Could have prevented. If only he were just a little more observant. A little more confident.

“We’re not friends. God, we’re hardly acquaintances! And yet here we are, playing the heroes for the most selfish and entitled village of idiots ever. We can hardly spend 5 minutes together before we start arguing! Friends don’t do that. And friends sure as hell don’t pretend nothing happened and never talk about anything because of some invisible 11 minute timer. I can never say anything because by the time I can, you’re all gone!”

And that was right, Tails feared. 11 minutes, never on the dot and yet never before. Without fail, they left the scene the moment the… The situation no longer needed them. His ears folded back, vision tunnelling on the hedgehog angrily spitting barbed truths at them. 

Sonic had needed them. Had needed Tails. And he had the stupidity to think that the hedgehog didn’t need him. To think that Sonic avoided talking about feelings because he thought it made him lame or uncool. He had let his friend suffer in silence, had forgotten that Sonic was a real person with real feelings. Not some… Some… One dimensional jerk friend.

Tails was the worst b̴̥̉̌͜r̸̘̝̙̮̍͋͛ǒ̵̺̂̏͗t̶̜̆̈́͘͜h̸̰̹̠͆è̷̞̋̚r̴̪̙̽̈́̂͝ friend to ever exist.

Guilt and fear swirled together, drenching Tails in a sludge of bad decisions and even worse attitudes like a thick tar. And tar was nothing but flammable. So easily ignited by a spark, like the heated words Sonic spat at them like filth.

“I’ve gotten sick and tired of playing along with this stupid narrator’s plot. I’m sick and tired of always coming back to the same scene every damn day. I quit this team, I quit being a hero, and I quit this stupid show . You can keep pretending this is all normal all you want, but I’m getting off this damn island if it's the last thing I do.”

Pure terror twisted and churned in Tails’ gut, gripping his heart in a vice grip. The claws of fear dug into his beating heart, and his blood ran cold from his paling face. He knew the others felt the same dread as he did, the same piercing terror that drained his blood right from the source. It loomed over them, a shroud of darkness that swallowed the sun. His breaths came in short and choppy, air being squeezed out from his lungs until he rasped and choked.

Tails reached out to Sonic desperately, the tension and pressure building. “You… You don’t mean that Sonic, right? You wouldn’t just leave us, abandon us. Abandon me, right? You wouldn’t.” His throat was tight as terror continued to choke him, vision swimming and hazy.

The scoff he was met with was soft and quiet, but it sent shockwaves through the ground at Tails’ feet. The hedgehog wasn’t joking around. And that, no that wasn’t—why would he want to? He wouldn’t leave. Sonic? Just leave? No, there was—he wouldn’t, it wouldn’t ever —there was no reason for him to leave, why was he leaving why was he abandoning him, Tails needed Sonic to stay he needed his friend his buddy his brother and brothers don’t just abandon—but Sonic was leaving him alone stuck on the island he didn’t want Tails why didn’t he want Tails what did he do oh but Chaos what hasn’t he done, he’s been horrible why hasn’t he done anything before to keep this from happening god he was horrible and Sonic was walking away was leaving Tails alone to fend for himself was leaving Tails behind to rot alone and he doesn’t know what to do if Sonic wasn’t there can’t survive without his brother can’t figure out how to live can’t figure out how to fix himself how to be a better brother and he can’t breathe—

Tails focused on the tight grip on his hand, a thumb rubbing against the back of his hand. Air rushed into his lungs as he forced himself to breathe, the static receding and letting him see. He looked past the dizzying spots of color and grey at Sonic, and he thought he saw concern and worry pass over those green eyes. When he blinked the stars away, the emotion was gone and his former friend turned his back to them.

No.

No no no.

No, he was leaving.

Sonic was leaving him behind.

He can’t leave him behind.

He’s not allowe̸d̵ ̴͝ t ǒ̶ ̶͕̈́l e̵̹̅ a̵ v̸̝̊e̷͊.

“Yo̴u can̵’t leave!” Multiple voices cried out hysterically, Tails among them. 

There were civilians gathered by the gates of Hedgehog Village, witnessing this event, this abandonment of their people by their beloved hero. Shock and disbelief colored their faces in a gallery of betrayal. None of them had foreseen how far Sonic would fall, but neither had Tails. No one could have predicted such a thing would happen, never thought that there was a possibility. Why would it have been a possibility? Everything they needed, everything they wanted was on Bygone Island. Why in, in… In God’s name would someone want to leave?

“Without you, who’ll protect the village from Eggman?” The mayor reasoned, his voice shrilly and nasally. The obese rat patted his pot belly in worry, and his heels clicked against the gravel road.

Sonic bared his teeth and brandished his anger, like a sword with jagged edges or the serrated blades of a chainsaw. “What, like you can’t find someone else to protect you entitled idiots instead? You did that pretty quickly when you didn’t even need to when Speedy was around.” His turn to leave into the jungle felt like ‘The End of Everything As Tails Knew It’, a bitter and regretful stamp to their once happy life.

Except, it wasn’t happy, was it? They argued and sabotaged each other to no end. They constantly competed against each other, often resorting to far more violent means to winning. Sonic himself had suffered silently in a cloud of his own loathing behind a lazy smirk. There really was no way for them to have become friends at all, was there? They were too different, butted heads far too often for it to be healthy. Any connection they had felt shallow, weak, unstable, held together by hopes, dreams, and cheap comedy. Sonic walking away from it all felt like pulling off the blindfold, ripping the wool from their eyes. Watching him made Tails—no, made Miles feel as though he could breathe easier even as the air was squeezed from his lungs in fear. He watched Sonic step away from them, away from everything, and it didn’t feel as though it were a friend he lost forever through his own doing.

Maybe in another lifetime, they were real friends. Maybe even brothers.

But Miles guessed it just wasn’t meant to be in this one.

“ Stop! You can leave when I say you can leave! ” Amy’s voice was shrill, manic, crazed. Any and every form of the word insane. The grip on her hammer was tight, so tight Miles could hear her gloves creaking under the stress. Her eyes matched the desperation in her tone, and her quills flared out in both anger and fear. She called out more, louder and louder with each word that left her lips. 

But Sonic didn’t stop, hands only coming to shield his ears from the onslaught of screams and shouts. 

Miles didn’t blame him, his own ears pinned down to dampen the ringing in them from Amy’s sudden yell. He thought he could hear the villagers join her in her pleas and demands for Sonic to stay, please, we need you! But even still Sonic ignored them as he continued to trudge along the path. Miles opened his mouth to…

To what? 

Defend Sonic?

Join them in their pleas?

He… He didn’t know.

He didn’t know at all.

His mouth closed shut, torn between demanding a stranger he was obliged to call “friend” to stay and defending a friend who was leaving as a stranger. 

A hand fell on his shoulder, squeezing in comfort. A familiar gravelly voice spoke to Miles, but it was difficult to hear over the cacophony of voices. Especially over the mayor yelling out something like a warcry, pointing out at Sonic.

He watched in detached shock as Amy’s hammer sailed through the air, aimed right at the blue hedgehog. Where it had come from, when it had been thrown, why it had been thrown, those questions didn’t matter in that split second moment. 

In the span of three moves, Sonic had defended against it.

The minute twitch of his ear. The turn of Sonic’s shoulders, towards the left—Sonic’s favored side. His arm reaching up and grabbing the hammer by the handle.

The momentum spun Sonic around in a full turn before slowing to a stop, dust kicked up in a rotating cloud.

Three moves, and Sonic had countered a move Amy rarely, if ever, used in an instant.

The cold fury in those green eyes sent a shiver down Miles’ spine, dread and foreboding filling the area like a dense fog. It filled their lungs, their hearts, their minds with a smog of terror. The kind that dragged you in like quicksand, pulling and grabbing at you bit by bit. The kind that drowned you quickly yet slowly, forcing you to feel every drop of water that ended up in your lungs and suffocated you. The kind that crawled up your skin and into your flesh like a burrowing infestation, visibly wriggling and worming its way through your whole body.

Miles had never seen such a face on anyone before.

Wait.

Wait, no.

No.

No, no he has.

But only on one person.

Only one.

Shadow.

The world was deathly still as Miles came to that realisation. He couldn’t tell if the sky was darkening or if his vision was tunneling. Lips were moving, words rapid-firing, and yet Miles couldn’t hear them clearly. Everything was muffled and warped, like his head was submerged and everyone was speaking on the shore. He could only focus on Sonic, his figure tense and ready to spring into action. He could only focus on Sonic, his face smoothed out save for the slightest sign of his simmering anger.

The same face Miles saw in the worst of his nightmares, the one right before he was thrown back against metal and descended into the depths of a pit. The depths of a well. Down, down, down, down into the dark until the sky is a pinprick of starlight and the murky depths swallow him whole. Miles’ fur bristled as he remembered those sleepless nights, his pelt feeling heavy and bogged by an invisible weight.

It all blurred as Knuckles and Amy sprung into action, charging at Sonic. Miles could hardly keep up as the red echidna punched one, two, three, at the hedgehog. His tails tucked between his legs, and Sticks took a defensive position in front of him. The impact of the two’s blows against the ground were hard and heavy, like bass booms that shook you to the core with each beat. And Sonic dodged and weaved with the ease of breathing, his eyes sharp and calculating.

It was almost like watching a machine built for war, a creature born for battle. 

The blue hedgehog jumped over Knuckles’ head, pushing him into Amy with a kick. The two tumbled, and with one foot to redirect himself, Sonic jumped back to drive a punch right into Knuckles’ shoulder. There was vengeance in those blows, sending the echidna flying backwards in a tree that rattled the leaves from their branches.

Miles jumped, and he rushed over to check on Knuckles’ condition. He was still breathing, and a poke at his ribs revealed no broken bones. Bruises for sure, but nothing too critical. A shaky sigh left his lips, and Miles called out fearfully to the hedgehog. “Sonic! Please, we don’t have to fight!”

The hedgehog didn’t pay it any attention, sweeping Amy’s legs from under her with the hammer. He caught her cheek with a round kick as she fell, sending her crashing to the ground only a few feet away from them. She groaned in pain, and Miles worried if she had any hairline fractures in her jaw or spine.

Sticks growled, jumping into action to defend their fallen friends. She launched her boomerang, jumping around to disorient Sonic. But Sonic was hyper focused, lifting Amy’s hammer and hurled it at Sticks. It missed, rebounding against a tree trunk. The hammer went flying, knocking over several villagers who had stayed to watch the conflict. Miles winced, deciding he had no choice.

Miles could stay on the sidelines, but Tails was a hero.

And heroes always jumped in to save the day no matter the circumstances.

Even if those circumstances were fighting against a vengeful friend.

Especially if those circumstances were restraining an out of control teammate. 

Former teammate, Tails reminded himself.

He steeled his heart, curling his hand around a prototype bomb. He whipped it in Sonic’s direction, quickly covering for Sticks before she could get grabbed by the furious hedgehog. He tried to ignore the ache in his chest when those sharp green eyes turned their focus to him, grabbing a different tool from his belt. Sticks kicked Sonic in the back before he could chase after Tails, quickly followed up by a wrench hitting him on the side of his arm. The blue hedgehog hissed in pain, jumping back before the badger could land another hit.

The two dispersed when Sonic attempted a spindash, regrouping with Knuckles and Amy as they slowly got to their feet. Four on one, they had a better chance against him. That was the plan at least, hoping their sheer numbers would be enough to counter a hedgehog on a warpath.

Sonic charged another spindash at them, missing as they all dodged. But the blue blur bounced off a tree, hitting Knuckles directly in the back and knocking him back down. Using the echidna as a springboard, he jumped up and grabbed Sticks by the ankle. Yanking her to the ground from the vine she hung on to, she slammed against Knuckles lying prone in the dirt.

Tails flew upwards to get some distance, but Sonic was always faster than anyone and everyone else. A hand clamped around his tails, swinging him round and round. And suddenly, it wasn’t Sonic he was fighting. No, it was a dark hedgehog with a vicious grin spinning him around in a circle. When the hands let go, it wasn’t Amy he slammed into and knocked to the ground along with him. No, it was the iron bars of the well cover striking him in the back,  the whistle of the wind in his ears as he plunged into the murky depths of water at the bottom.

He gasped for breath as the impact winded him, trying to fill his lungs with as much as he could before the water dragged him under. He couldn’t drown, he couldn’t die inside the well. He’d be left to rot, forgotten by everyone he cared about. He squirmed and writhed, desperately grasping for a hold under the weight on his chest. A cry of his name brought him closer to the surface, and Tails grasped as a hand grasped his face. 

Amy’s face came into focus, her worry-stricken expression close to tears. Her body was contorted awkwardly, twisting around in their binds to gently pat Tails’ face. Her other hand squeezed his own, and he focused on the pressure as he slowly breathed in, one two three, and out, one two three. In, one two three, and out, one two three. In, two three, and out, two three.

When Tails finally came to, he realised Sonic was gone and they had all been left bound by their own enerbeams on the ground. The villagers were either hidden away in their homes, or they were knocked out on the ground around them.

Sonic well and truly abandoned them for good, and Tails…

Miles felt as though it spelled their doom, written out their obituaries and signed their wills.

When Knuckles woke up again, the villagers were trying to help Tails free them all. Their enerbeams had been used to bind them in place while Sonic escaped.

The echidna frowned.

Where the hedgehog had gone, he didn’t know. And he didn’t understand why he left well enough to form any proper thoughts around it. It wasn’t abrupt, he knew that much. Five days of nothing, which he wished he could say was normal for the hedgehog, but he was sure 2 days was usually around the length time it took before you could run into the mayor's office and start a manhunt. Of course, it really only took some chili dog crumbs and photos for the village to launch the only other manhunt for Sonic, so Knuckles wasn’t really too sure on that one.

But what Knuckles did know was that everyone did things for a reason. Even if that reason was as simple as “I have no clue what I’m saying or doing but I’ll keep doing it anyway.” like his were.

And Sonic? That blue hedgehog usually did things either because the universe said so or to stave off boredom. Or you know, the off chance he needed to blow off some steam and wreck the heck out of something or someone. That someone usually being Knuckles, which he was fine with because he didn’t think anyone else could handle the sheer torture Sonic liked to put him through. The hedgehog was deceivingly thin for the amount of bottled sadism and power he held.

The echidna threw away any lingering thoughts of the blue hedgehog, focusing on the present as his arms were freed. He muttered thanks to the villagers, but they gave him a brief stink eye before remembering who he was. Knuckles sighed. He needed to remember they don’t understand his language he knew. He glanced around the clearing. 

The fallout of Sonic leaving would be hell, and the villagers would make sure of it.

Chapter Text

The week after Sonic’s public… What’s the word? Hmm… Renouncement! That works. The week after Sonic’s renouncement of the team and heroism, the village had been a hotbed of disaster.

The schemes to lure Sonic back started innocently enough at least.

Many destroyed and abandoned badniks were taken and repurposed. Like really bad puppets, the villagers pushed with all their might to reenact a fight Eggman might have started. Knuckles was guilty of unknowingly helping them one or two times. But Amy didn’t care what they did, Tails was distancing himself, and Sticks was fully preparing for an optoctolus. Knuckles frowned.

Actoctopus.

Apotalust.

Opoctalypse.

Apocolisp.

The, the… World go boom and fire. Disasters. Like hataclaps , but not quite. He couldn’t remember their language’s word for it.

The…

Hmmm….

AH!

Apocalypse.

That’s the word he was looking for. Knuckles laughed to himself. Of course, it was so simple. Why didn’t he think of the word before? Apocalypse… What a silly word.

Whatever.

Knuckles wasn’t really too focused on the world around him. He preferred it that way really. Either he couldn’t keep up with the world revolving, spinning on without him, or the world was a little too much to be connected with it. If he just receded into his mind, spaced out, let himself be stupid, he could soften the blows. Could ignore the pain. Could repress the anger, the rage, the hurt. Other people could do the heavy thinking for Knuckles, while he spent his energy shoving reality to the back of his mind and forcing himself to learn a language hardly anyone bothers to teach him.

Some part of Knuckles, one that’s trapped with the denial of reality, tells him that Sonic used to teach him words. It was probably how he could even communicate the amount he could now. He supposed it was true at some point, though it definitely hadn’t been for a long time by then. The thought of the blue hedgehog made him frown up at the sky, red and orange and bright.

Sonic was lost, in more ways than one. He wished he could help the hedgehog, but he was angry, confused, and ready to unleash his frustrations on everything around him. Knuckles knew that. He wasn’t smart or bright really, but he definitely wasn’t blind. He saw things, all the time. 

He saw how Amy cared for Sonic, how Sonic responded flustered yet almost sad back in the simpler times. He saw how Tails was pulling away from Sonic, a fledgling ready to spread his wings and fly. He saw how Sonic was stagnating, deteriorating, growing paranoid at every turn. He saw the logic in Sticks’ mania as someone who grew up alone, grew up wild, grew up where “normal” for most was entirely alien. Knuckles understood that feeling the best. Knuckles saw how Eggman didn’t care for domination, but rather a familiar challenge in a cocky face. 

Knuckles saw a lot of things, but there were some things he preferred to ignore.

Amy wandering around, pink quills a messy tangle and clothes dishevelled wasn’t quite one of the things to ignore though. Not yet at least. Especially not right now.

Knuckles had been following her dutifully for a while now, as he had been for the past week. She was going crazy crazy, sometimes muttering to herself about bringing Sonic back at all costs, even if he wasn’t alive. It didn’t sound good. Someone had to look after their mentally unstable friend, and with Sticks busy hunkering down and Tails holed up in his workshop, the duty fell to Knuckles. 

It felt right, anyway. The duty of protecting something important, something precious, something powerful… Yes, it was important to protect friends like that. From everything, including themselves.

Knuckles punched away a badnik swinging from a tree branch, the lifeless robot shattering against a tree. Leftovers from the villagers’ first attempts at luring Sonic back. He didn’t think they’d ever succeed. If Sonic was gone for, what was it? Five days? That long without a fuss, not a peep back, then he could probably last months without them. It had already been two weeks, what was another several months of staying gone?

And the blue hedgehog did.

Months. 

Many months. 

Absolutely nothing from the blue speedy hedgehog for many, many months.

The village didn’t look like a village anymore, buildings in a halfway state of destruction. It was more accurate to call them ruins, but real ruins at least looked nice. Good for photos, whatever that one word was for it. None of the villagers relocated as far as Knuckles knew, but Dave never showed up again after the mayor started taking live badniks and blowing them up. Eventually, neither did Perci and Staci. And Zooey was with Tails half the time now.

The first month in, Eggman had outright refused to assist in any way, even going to other towns to do groceries. Knuckles didn’t even know there were other places on the island. The other bad guys they’d fought had followed Eggman’s lead after the first three months. Charlie was the only exception, but Knuckles never saw the Lightning… Losers? He was pretty sure that’s what Sonic had called them once. But he never saw them again either. And Barker was… 

Barker was dead.

Knuckles was there when they found the body.

It was the result of the villagers’ reckless antics that they’d all worked together to have covered up. Old, already half rotted and ridden with maggots. Left side crushed by boulders, pierced with scrap metal on the right. Dried blood matted through all of his grey fur. 

Knuckles saw a lot of things, and that was a sight he could never forget. It was so vivid in his mind every time he closed his eyes.

The body was shrunken and shrivelled, and the blood matted fur wriggled. It had moved about like waves in the ocean, rippling with life beneath it, but not the life they liked. In some spots where the fur had been cut by the metal, they could see the outline of the maggots through the dry skin. Could see them writhe beneath the surface as they feasted on his remains. It squished and squelched horribly when they poked the side of his stomach with a stick. Some spilled from the gaping wounds around the blood-rusted scrap, round and white and fat with flesh and rot.

There was no face to speak up, just a splatter of bone and blood and brains from under a sheet of steel. Halfway across the cave where he laid, his melting rotten eyeball sat beside a rock. The other one had been pierced and had leaked a small puddle of fluid. The rocks had covered half his body, and the sheer amount of contortion the other half had gone through made it difficult to tell it was Barker. His arm was bent every single wrong way, and his skinless leg was barely holding on by a half maggot eaten ligament. 

The only way they had identified him was the tatters of his recognisable hat and coat. 

Knuckles shook himself, shoving the image away from the front of his mind. 

No thoughts, happy thoughts.

Airy, light, goofy, stupid. Yes, yes. 

No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts.

Pull his mind away from reality and focus on the lighter, funnier side of things. Sillier side of things. Like circuses.

Barker used to run a circus…

But Barker was now…

Nope.

No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts.

Knuckles turned to Amy, the pink hedgehog disgruntled and dishevelled. He was pretty sure some of her tangled quills were actually snapped, which seemed really painful. And yes, yes, focus. Knuckles was standing with Amy and following her, because Amy needed to be looked after and helped. Otherwise she could get hurt, badly hurt, and stuck in a cave, bleeding out, bones twisted horrifically, half-rotting, eaten by maggots alive, and ending up just like…

No! Nope.

No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. 

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No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts.

No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. 

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No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. 

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No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. 

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No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. 

No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts.

No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. 

No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts.

No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. 

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No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. 

No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts.

No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. 

No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts.

No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. 

No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts.

No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. 

No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts. No thoughts, happy thoughts.

Knuckles blinked slowly, breathing calmer than it was before. 

Tails was walking through the entrance of the village, but the fox kit stopped when he spotted Amy and Knuckles. Tails frowned, turning to face Amy fully. His face was serious, though it looked kind of comical on the young fox kit in his oversized goggles. The judging yet concerned look in his eye said everything he was going to say long before Tails even opened his mouth. 

Knuckles stared, standing off to the side as he watched Tails approach Amy quietly.

Tails fidgeted, taking in a breath before speaking. “Listen, Amy… I really think you should stop. I mean, look at you! You look like you haven’t eaten or slept or even brushed in days! I know this is really stressful, but I think you just need to… Take a break.” 

Privately, Knuckles agreed. Amy was clean and tidy and not this mess of a hedgehog.

Knuckles watched as Amy’s face twitched, wide eyes boring holes through Tails’ face. Slowly, she breathed out, and Knuckles realized that he had tensed in anticipation. Her head tilted to the side, almost as if slowly spinning on a pin. He could see the strain in her bones as she tried to hold back an outburst. “I can’t stop, Tails. I need to keep searching. I need to bring Sonic back at all costs. Dead or alive, Sonic is mine.”

“See! That’s the problem, Amy! You’re, you’re losing it! You’re forgetting to take care of yourself, and you’re saying crazy stuff like that! Dead or alive? Amy, that’s horrible!” The fox kit’s tails whirled agitatedly, his shoes lifting from the ground momentarily. “You’re going to end up killing yourself if you keep going! I… I, I’m cutting you off right now. I can’t let you destroy yourself.”

“I’m practically dead as long as Sonic is gone!” Amy burst out hysterically, broken and tangled quills puffing out. “This whole team is dead as long as he’s gone! We need him, I need him! And I’m bringing him back no matter what!”

Both Knuckles and Tails shrunk back, one in fear and the other in worry. Amy huffed and puffed, eyes widening. She pulled back, awkwardly wetting her lips as she recollected herself. The pink hedgehog shook herself, settling back down and taking a calming breath. 

“I’m sorry, Tails. I’m just… A little irritated, I guess. I’m fine though. Listen, you don’t have to help but… Just, just keep an eye out for Sonic, please? I’m just really… Worried, about him.” Tails nodded meekly, slowly taking a step away from Amy. He turned his head, staring at the ground in awkward silence. Knuckles blinked, standing to the side as he watched Tails and Amy.

Tails fidgeted, taking in a breath before speaking. “Listen, Amy… I really think you should stop. I mean, look at you! You look like you haven’t eaten or slept or even brushed in days! I know this is really stressful, but I think you just need to… Take a break.” 

Privately, Knuckles agreed. Amy was clean and tidy and not this mess of a hedgehog.

Knuckles watched as Amy’s face twitched, wide eyes boring holes through Tails’ face. Slowly, she breathed out, and Knuckles realized that he had tensed in anticipation. Her head tilted to the side, almost as if slowly spinning on a pin. He could see the strain in her bones as she tried to hold back an outburst. “I can’t stop, Tails. I need to keep searching. I need to bring Sonic back at all costs. Dead or alive, he’s coming back.”

“See! That’s the problem, Amy! You’re, you’re losing it! You’re forgetting to take care of yourself, and you’re saying crazy stuff like that! Dead or alive? Amy, that’s horrible!” The fox kit’s tails whirled agitatedly, his shoes lifting from the ground momentarily. “You’re going to end up killing yourself if you keep going! I… I, I’m cutting you off right now. I can’t let you destroy yourself.”

“I’m practically dead as long as Sonic is gone!” Amy burst out hysterically, broken and tangled quills puffing out. “This whole team is dead as long as he’s gone! We need him, I need him! And I’m bringing him back no matter what!”

Both Knuckles and Tails shrunk back, one in fear and the other in worry. Amy huffed and puffed, eyes widening. She pulled back, awkwardly wetting her lips as she recollected herself. The pink hedgehog shook herself, settling back down and taking a calming breath. 

“I’m sorry, Tails. I’m just… A little irritated, I guess. I’m fine though. Listen, you don’t have to help but… Just, just keep an eye out for Sonic, please? I’m just really… Worried, about him.” Tails nodded meekly, slowly taking a step away from Amy. He turned his head, staring at the ground in awkward silence. Knuckles blinked, standing to the side as he watched Tails and Amy.

Tails fidgeted, taking in a breath before speaking. “Listen, Amy… I really think you should stop. I mean, look at you! You look like you haven’t eaten or slept or even brushed in days! I know this is really stressful, but I think you just need to… Take a break.” 

Privately, Knuckles agreed. Amy was clean and tidy and not this mess of a hedgehog.

Knuckles watched as Amy’s face twitched, wide eyes boring holes through Tails’ face. Slowly, she breathed out, and Knuckles realized that he had tensed in anticipation. Her head tilted to the side, almost as if slowly spinning on a pin. He could see the strain in her bones as she tried to hold back an outburst. “I can’t stop, Tails. I need to keep searching. I need to bring Sonic back at all costs. Dead or alive, Sonic is mine.”

“See! That’s the problem, Amy! You’re, you’re losing it! You’re forgetting to take care of yourself, and you’re saying crazy stuff like that! Dead or alive? Amy, that’s horrible!” The fox kit’s tails whirled agitatedly, his shoes lifting from the ground momentarily. “You’re going to end up killing yourself if you keep going! I… I, I’m cutting you off right now. I can’t let you destroy yourself.”

“I’m practically dead as long as Sonic is gone!” Amy burst out hysterically, broken and tangled quills puffing out. “This whole team is dead as long as he’s gone! We need him, I need him! And I’m bringing him back no matter what!”

Both Knuckles and Tails shrunk back, one in fear and the other in worry. Amy huffed and puffed, eyes widening. She pulled back, awkwardly wetting her lips as she recollected herself. The pink hedgehog shook herself, settling back down and taking a calming breath. 

“I’m sorry, Tails. I’m just… A little irritated, I guess. I’m fine though. Listen, you don’t have to help but… Just, just keep an eye out for Sonic, please? I’m just really… Worried, about him.” Tails nodded meekly, slowly taking a step away from Amy. He turned his head, staring at the ground in awkward silence. Knuckles blinked, standing to the side as he watched Tails and Amy.

The world stopped, and started again.

“...Amy, I really think you should stop. This… This obsession with Sonic, it’s gone too far. I don’t… I’m not even sure if you’re the Amy I know anymore. She wouldn’t do this.” Tails gently prodded. Something in Tails’ words set Amy off, probably the last part or maybe even the first. Knuckles wasn’t sure. But the pink hedgehog’s face contorted, twisting into something ugly and angry.

“I’m never stopping! Not until I get Sonic back! Even if it’s as a corpse, Sonic is coming back amd everything’ll go back to how it should be. I won’t let you get in my way just because you don’t care anymore!” Amy best out, spitting furiously at the fox shrinking on himself. Knuckles blinked, standing to the side as he watched Tails and Amy.

No thoughts, happy thoughts.

The world stopped and started again.

Tails’ fur bristled and puffed, and he rose to challenge Amy. “You… You need to stop Amy! It’s killing you! Who… Who cares about Sonic?! He left of his own free will. But you, you’re—you’re..! Look at you! Your quills are tangled and snapped, you’re ripping out your fur! You need to stop.”

Amy tensed in response, rising to Tails’ challenge rather than backing down. “Don’t tell me if I need to stop or if I’m hurting myself! I’m perfectly healthy, and I can keep going just fine! You need to back off and know your place!”

Amy backhanded the fox sharply, Tails’ head snapping to the side. Knuckles watched as tears welled up in his eyes, rolling down his cheeks in large round droplets. The echidna watched in detached horror and guilt as the fox kit clutched his cheek in pain, sobbing and hiccupping. There was fear in those eyes, and Amy didn’t let up like she normally would have. 

Her hand came back up, ready to hit again. Tails flinched, covering his head with trembling arms and curling into a small ball. It almost sounded like the fox let out a terrified whine. Knuckles could only blink, standing to the side as he watched Tails and Amy.

No thoughts, happy thoughts.

No thoughts, happy thoughts.

The world stopped and started again.

“Amy, you really need to stop! This… This care for Sonic isn’t care at all anymore. It’s become an unhealthy obsession. You’re hurting yourself, and now you’re saying crazy things, like killing Sonic just to bring him back!” Tails yelled, desperately trying to get Amy to see reality. “This has gone too far already. I’m putting a stop to this!”

“ You can’t tell me when I need to stop! ” Her scream was vicious and sharp, the swing of her hammer faster than Knuckles could even process. Tails was worse off, barely able to react as the heavy weapon collided with his side. It was comparable to hitting thin cardboard.

The fox went flying, his body giving almost no resistance to the sheer force of Amy’s rage. Tails crashed into a wall with a sickening crunch, falling down into a small heap of yellow and red fur. Knuckles hid his flinching cringe, swallowing down the bile that forced its way up his throat. The rattling, wheezing gasp that came out of the fox was downright vile. The quiet yet still audible grinding noise when Tails turned slightly made the echidna want to claw off his own skin. Knuckles could only blink, standing to the side as he watched Amy raise her hammer over Tails.

No thoughts, happy thoughts.

No thoughts, happy thoughts.

No thoughts, happy thoughts.

The world stopped and started again.

“Amy, you really need to stop! This… This care for Sonic isn’t care at all anymore. It’s become an unhealthy obsession. You’re hurting yourself, and now you’re saying crazy things, like killing Sonic just to bring him back!” Tails yelled, desperately trying to get Amy to see reality. “This has gone too far already. I’m putting a stop to this!”

“ You can’t tell me when I need to stop! ” Her scream was vicious and sharp, the swing of her hammer faster than Knuckles could even process. Tails was worse off, barely able to react as the heavy weapon collided with his side. It was comparable to hitting thin cardboard.

The fox went flying, his body giving almost no resistance to the sheer force of Amy’s rage. Tails crashed into a wall with a sickening crunch, falling down into a small heap of yellow and red fur. Knuckles hid his flinching cringe, swallowing down the bile that forced its way up his throat. The rattling, wheezing gasp that came out of the fox was downright vile. The quiet yet still audible grinding noise when Tails turned slightly made the echidna want to claw off his own skin.

A loud crack and crunch and squelch resounded through the area as Amy brought her hammer down again. And again. And again. And again and again and again. Red splattered everywhere, across the wall, the ground, and all over Amy. Bright red, stained white, and matted yellow. All beneath Amy’s hammer. The sight reminded Knuckles of Barker, the state they found him in. Bile burned in his throat, heart tight with disgust and feat. And Knuckles could only blink, heart pounding in his ears as he stared at Amy standing over what used to be Tails.

No thoughts, none at all.

No thoughts, none at all.

No thoughts, none at all.

No thoughts, none at all.

No thoughts, none at all.

The world stopped and started again.

Tails’ fur bristled and puffed, and he rose to challenge Amy. “You… You need to stop Amy! It’s killing you! Who… Who cares about Sonic?! He left of his own free will. But you, you’re—you’re..! Look at you! Your quills are tangled and snapped, you’re ripping out your fur! You need to stop.”

Amy tensed in response, rising to Tails’ challenge rather than backing down. “I’m perfectly healthy, and I can keep going just fine! You need to back off and know your place!”

“Yeah! And that place is second, wait I mean, third place in Tomatopotamus 2! Behind Amy, behind Sonic, behind me. ” Knuckles interrupted, a dopey grin on his face.

His cut in caught both off guard, the two turning to face Knuckles in confusion. Silence blanketed them all, a sure sign of Knuckles’ success, before Tails spoke up. “That has nothing to do with… Whatever. You can keep doing what you think you have to. Just, please take care of yourself.”

The pink hedgehog settled, along with Knuckles’ nerves. With little more than a scoff, Amy turned and left, Tails following after her and leaving for his home right after. And Knuckles was left alone once more. Something that was becoming more and more common as time went. He sighed.

Knuckles missed Sonic. At least with the blue speedster, the echidna wouldn’t feel so alone.

Shadow stumbled out of the cave, the sudden inertia dizzying like it always is. Behind him, the illusion rippled back into place with the sound of scuttering bugs and whizzing electricity. The hedgehog took a breath, steadying himself. He glanced down to the timer he left behind before he entered the strange rift which ticked away serenely, the time displayed making Shadow frown. Several months had passed since he had entered, the time within only flowing for a few hours. Several months since he had witnessed Sonic finally snapping and severing his connections.

It was both good and bad in equal measures, Shadow not wanting to deal with inane shenanigans and meddling the villagers inevitably got into. Yet, an unstable Sonic left alone for several months on end, no one too calm or at least restrain the hedgehog was asking for trouble. Trouble Shadow wasn’t looking forward to dealing with, because inevitably they would cross paths. Whether Sonic sought him out first or Shadow got impatient and hunted him down, it didn’t matter how it’d come about. They would cross paths sooner or later. Preferably later, but he wasn’t opposed to sooner either.

Shadow figured Sonic knew something he didn’t anyway. Otherwise the normally well-masked hedgehog wouldn’t have fallen apart like ashen pillars. The “Ultimate Lifeform”—because what kind of Ultimate Lifeform got trapped in mundane hell with no memories?— could only keep searching for answers. Answers he knew for certain were hidden within those cave rifts he finds.

Chapter Text

Hey guys, been a while huh.

Uh, so. About this series.

The last update included a notice about how this series was going to be under slow updates since I was really busy. I mean I still kind of am since semi-finals and finals and uni applications blah blah blah. But that isn't what this is really about. No, I have some really important news unrelated to my life about this series and its direction.

With the little free time I had in between things, I looked back through this series. Everything I'd written, everything I had planned. And honestly?

I don't.

I don't enjoy what I've written.

The execution is bad since it's such an experimental method to telling a story, the writing is frankly? Lackluster. Certain details are really vague and it's throwing people off in ways that isn't exactly what GOOD writing for mysteries should do. And I'm getting way too excited and kind of oversharing. Not to mention that in my excitement, I've kind of shared details wrong? The plot is kind of all over the place, and some things I just don't resonate with anymore. Last chapter? I just suddenly sprung gore on you all, and it wasn't done very well. There was basically no actual plot, just torturing a character mentally for the shock factor. I don't exactly like how I've written this, and to be honest, I've just be spoon-feeding hints left and right rather than actually telling a story. I've been talking about how I''d be posting stuff for this fic on my TikTok then my Tumblr for those without access, but I've hardly kept up to date with what I've WANTED to do with those.

It's just not what I envisioned for this story. But I know I could have done so much better.

So, I won't be abandoning or discontinuing this story.

No.

I will be rewriting it. Entirely.

No more of this "hidden hints in the notes" nonsense. No more of this "updated series summary/notes" nonsense. No more "secret chapter for a past fic in the series that makes absolutely no sense to anyone but myself". No more replies steering people to the answer long before the story can reveal it itself. No more unsubtle nudges towards huge plot twists. No more of this train wreck of a fanfic.

No more of speaking for this story.

This story should be able to speak for itself.

So now I will begin rewriting it so it can. Right from the very foundations. Right from the beginning.

And I will keep working it on it until I am satisfied that I can deliver something of quality. That I am sure I can write something with a good base and not a flimsy plot like I have with this current narrative.

These fics will stay up in these series, though the series will be edited so that its clear they are the old versions.

I will post a chapter on this fic once I'm ready to post a rewrite of the very first fic of this whole series.

Until then.

This is Berial the Kraken, signing off.