Chapter Text
Outrunning the past
CHAPTER 1
The blue sky stretched endlessly over the quaint town known as Green hills, Montana, unmarred except the occasional passing cloud. And a soft hum of life continued as if nothing disturbed it. Unless you count a mad scientist almost destroying it with an emerald, or the fact they technically had anthropomorphic animals aliens living amongst them, but that had become the norm for Green Hills a long time ago. But for a blue quilled hedgehog who was laying atop the roof of the Wachowski residence to him things had never fully returned to normal not after fighting someone? a hedgehog who bared striking resemblance to him minus the ebony colored quills, crimson highlights, different shaped quills and an attitude that reminded him of Hot Topic. He could still hear the echoes of their clashes, and the images he envisioned of the other hedgehog’s past with a human girl that he might have considered his sister. Sonic couldn’t stop thinking about him. He remembered hearing the anger and hurt in his voice when they fought.
That hedgehog was driven by what he’d considered justice which was just a facade which was actually vengeance. But sonic couldn’t blame him that the hedgehog had been blinded by the belief humanity had betrayed him. Betrayed her, it took sonic everything he had physically,and emotionally to reach out to the hedgehog . Even after their conversation they had on the moon, even after their battle, and him, tails, and knuckles returning back to earth. He had disappeared, and sonic frankly tried everything to find out where he could have landed from using cameras to tail’s tech but nothing came up,and the constant thought the hope that maybe he was somewhere nearby in the wilderness of Green Hills. But sonic couldn’t shake off the weight that something was unfinished between him and the hedgehog or the fact that maybe shadow was dea-
“Sonic!” amy’s voice broke through sonic’s brooding and rather off thoughts to be coming from him of all people.
He turned to see her heading poking out through the window that he used to sneak out. The pink hedgehog had been staying with the wachowskis ever since her arrival after the epic conclusion that was their grand fight with shadow.
“The human- I mean tom was asking for you,” she said
“He wants to try a new chilli dog recipe and your already the self appointed taste tester”
Her head then withdrew from the window and sonic could hear her going down the stairs from his room.
It’s safe to say sonic wasn’t the only one grappling with change.
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Inside the cozy home, Amy was carefully arranging plates, and utensils at the dinner table. Her rosy fur stood out against the warm tones of the kitchen, but she tried her best to flow in the household’s rhythm. It had been a month since the Wachowskis had welcomed her in. Tom obviously and justifiably was suspicious of her intentions with sonic and overall all the Wachowskis, he might be a tad traumatized after dealing with a certain ebony hedgehog, but they still allowed her to stay. But despite their warmth they gave after residing in their home, she couldn’t shake the unease that crept into her chest.
Maddie entered the room, holding a pitcher of strawberry lemonade. She smiled kindly.
“Thanks for helping with the table, Amy.”
Amy offered a small polite smile in return.
“It’s no problem,” she said, her voice soft and measured. She wanted to sound casual, but something in her tone betrayed her hesitation
Maddie paused, and set the tea down
Then she went into her thoughts she honestly had this mom game pretty figured out once tails and knuckles rolled along sure she never really cared for kids or could have them but when they rolled around she deeply cared for them as if they were her own, and now with amy she wanted that same comfortability she had with sonic, knuckles, and tails, besides this shouldn’t be hard it’s just girl to a hedgehog girl.
“How are you settling in? I know it’s a big change for you.”
Amy hesitated. She glanced toward the hallway, where Tom was sitting on the couch trying to get comfortable with his arm sling even though she wasn’t there for the fight for some reason she felt a pain of guilt tremble in her chest at the sight of tom
“It’s nice..,” Amy replied, her words careful.
She smiled then added “You’ve all been really kind”
“But..?” Maddie prompted gently
Amy sighed, her ears drooping slightly.
“It’s just…hard to trust people. After everything that’s happened to cause me to come here to earth, you don’t know what it feels like to always be running to never feel safe…”
Maddie placed a comforting hand on amy’s shoulder then crouched down just enough to her eye level
“Now I don’t know exactly what you’ve been through,” she admitted.
“But I do know your safe here and you’ll have a place here if you do so wish, if anything sonic, tails, and knuckles, and even tom taught me is that you don’t have to go through this alone”
Amy looked away, her eyes misting over. She didn’t answer, but maddie didn’t push. Instead she turned back to setting up the table but not before adding.
“Y'know out of everybody sonic might understand what you mean amy, when it comes to always running”
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Sonic sat on the porch, the subtle breeze of wind in the background, but his mind was far away. He was visibly missing dinner due to 2 key factors
because his thoughts were for the first time destroying his appetite
And he’s been avoiding tom or even maddie for a while now. Ever since Tom was in that ambulance truck he couldn’t shake off the feeling that it was his fault that he got hurt even though he was certain it was Shadow who had done that. Even so the look on Maddie's face rang in his head like a bell. He couldn’t tell whether it was anger? Disappointment? Or reassurance. He couldn’t bring himself to talk to them even after everything had passed.
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Maddie looked around the living and dining room riddled with confusion
she turned to Tom
“Where’s sonic? Dinner is almost ready. it's not like him to miss out on a meal, especially a new chili dog recipe.” she asked
Tom shrugged “I haven’t really seen him around as much come to think of it he hasn’t really talked to me after.. Y'know what”
Tom eyebrows turned downward
“Do you think he’s angry at me? For not letting him try and find shadow”
Maddie put a comforting hand on his shoulder
she answered “Maybe a little. If anything I think what you did was a good decision, I mean he did helped sonic in the end but-”
“He completely kicked our son’s asses, sonic being multiple times, and injured me, and helped partake in almost destroying the world?” tom added
Maddie answered “Yes that”
“I just want to keep him safe Mads, He’s just a kid after all, all of them are, so many people want to use him for something, from Robotnik to G.U.N. I just don’t to want to lose him, or any of them for that matter”
“Tom..”
They froze as the noise of something hitting the floor broke the conversation.
“Tails? Knuckles? Sonic? Is that you?” maddie asked
As soon as maddie asked all they could here after the shatter noise was a bunch of fast paced footsteps making their way upstairs
“To bad we don’t get a how to raise 3 animal aliens that are gifted with speed, flight, and strength manuals” tom joked
“Dido” maddie sighed
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Knuckles, Tails, and Amy were all upstairs in what used to be sonic’s singular room which is now shared between his brothers, and Amy temporarily.
Tails lamented “Do you guys think Sonic is mad at Tom and maddie?”
His ears folded back
“Nonsense Fox. It is merely a disagreement about our previous foe that the hedgehog had bested” knuckles reassured
Tails replied “I know sonic and shadow had bonded which was cool and he was a big help to us in the end but he’s still dangerous. And Sonic can be a bit uhh..”
Knuckles added “Infuriating?”
“Reckless?” Amy added
“Overly confident.” Knuckles stated
“Stubborn.” Amy stated
“Overwhelming?” Amy and Knuckles commented in unison.
“I was going to say… positively determined. But he’s also all of that” tails chuckled
“Regardless, It is now our duty to keep our fellow mobian safe” knuckles stated “As annoying the hedgehog can be he is still my brother in arms so I shall protect him with my life and I will do the same for you fox.”
Tails let out an ahem and nodded his head in the direction of amy
“Hm? Oh. And I will also protect you rose do not make me regret it” knuckles declared
Amy’s ears popped up to knuckle declaration of protection. She didn’t knew much about the echidnas and their declarations or rituals but she knew trust loyalty was a big thing for them so she bowed forward to knuckles one hand on her chest
“I promise to not bestow your trust, and thank you for this knuckles.” amy humbly said
Knuckles was surprised to see the pink hedgehog to take his declaration with utmost respect and humbly
“I would hope so rose” knuckles chuckled as he laid a hand on her shoulder
“Guys dinner is ready!” maddie exclaimed
Her voice echoed up from downstairs
“Yay! I was getting hungry” tails cheered
“I’ll race you both downstairs no speed or fli-”
Tails was abruptly cut off with amy making her way down the ladder quickly
“Looks like I'm going to beat ya both down there” Amy beamed
“You will face the disappointment of being last fox” knuckles grinned before making his way down the ladder all with slipping as well
“Hey! No fair I didn't finish my sentence!”
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As the cool evening air enveloped the quiet neighborhood, Sonic remained on the porch, his gaze fixed on the horizon. The stars began to peek through the fading daylight, their soft twinkle contrasting with the storm of guilt and doubt swirling inside him. He rubbed his arms absentmindedly, the memory of Shadow’s words echoing in his mind.
“What kind of hero abandons his friends to pursue revenge and abandons his family?”
The words stung more than Sonic wanted to admit. For the first time in a long time, he felt small, powerless even. He tried shaking it off, but the lingering tension was as stubborn as the hedgehog who caused it.
"Sonic?" Amy's voice cut through his thoughts again. She stood in the doorway, holding a plate with a chili dog precariously balanced on top. "Tom saved you a plate. Figured you'd want to eat before Tails and Knuckles scarf down everything.
Her attempt at humor didn’t land. Sonic gave a half-hearted chuckle, his usual lightheartedness nowhere to be found. He didn’t look at her, just muttered, "Not hungry."
Amy stepped onto the porch, setting the plate down on the railing. She held her hands behind her back rocking her body back and forth, watching him carefully. “You’ve been out here a lot lately.
Sonic shrugged. “Just thinking.”
Amy’s brow furrowed, and she sat down next to him. She didn’t press right away, giving him a moment to speak on his own. When he didn’t, she sighed. “Do you..Blame yourself? For what happened”
Sonic’s ear twitched, but he didn’t respond. That was enough for Amy.
“Look, what happened to Tom wasn’t your fault, Sonic. You did everything you could to stop Shadow.”
“But it wasn’t enough,” Sonic snapped, his voice sharper than he intended. He winced at his own tone, glancing at Amy apologetically. “I... I couldn’t stop him before people got hurt. Tom, Maddie,... And now Shadow’s gone, and I don’t even know if he’s alive or—” His voice broke slightly, and he looked away, his fists clenching
Amy softened, her expression shifting from concern to understanding and placed her hand on his fist. “Sonic, you can’t carry all of this on your shoulders. You’re not responsible for what Shadow did. You reached out to him when no one else would. That’s more than anyone could’ve asked for.”
Sonic shook his head. “It wasn’t enough. I felt it, Amy. He wasn’t just angry—he was broken. And maybe if I’d tried harder... Maybe if I was able to go look for him ...” He trailed off, his eyes clouded with doubt.
Amy hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “You can’t fix everyone, Sonic. Shadow has to want to find his way, just like you did when you came here if he wanted your help or to be found he would come here by now right? You can’t save him if he doesn’t want to be saved.”
“His entire story was in the past after all so maybe it’s time you put him in the past too. And focus on the present” she proposed
“Maybe-.. Your right amy It’s time I put that behind me, like eggman” he said softly “and amy...”
He clung her into a tight hug
“Thank you.”
Sonic made his way into the house leaving Amy smiling and her tail wagging for the first time in a while it actually felt like she belonged.
He held her hand on the doorknob just as she was about to close the door her ears twitched at the sound of a rustle and she looked back.
“It's nothing amy you're just tired..” she said comfortingly
She closed and locked the door.
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A pair of red luminous dots glowed through the bushes that were across from the wachowski residence and stared at the then at the sight of a blue and pink hedgehog in the kitchen window it quickly fled leaving a blur of amber and red behind.
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