Chapter Text
=(Arc 1)=
Date: 23/6/2003 (Noon)
Graduation.
It’s something that most of us could remember. As in those who actually graduated.
Whether it is from elementary school, high school or for this story’s sake, college or university, it represents the literal end of your education, a ceremony where you’d meet with your fellow students and friends, where you’d finally get your diploma and/or degree.
The gowns, the caps, the overtly long speeches and the photographs that you’ll keep forever as memories.
Now, of course, even amongst the students who have survived, there were still obviously the best of the best. Those who excelled in tests, projects and other extracurricular activities that will be honoured at the ceremony.
One of these being Miles “Tails” Prower.
Admittedly, the fact that he was still technically a child was all the more impressive than the fact that he was to be honoured as one of the brightest students that attended the University of Spagonia.
It’s even more impressive that his degree (which is in engineering) was completed in a year.
“Hold on, how the fuck did Tails finish a college degree in a single year?” you might ask.
To give a short answer, I don’t know, he’s built different.
To give a longer answer, given that most people knew that Tails was a brilliant mind that was capable of building aeroplanes and advanced robots, yet was still an adolescent that had gone through a recent traumatic experience, they created a specialised scholarship that allowed Tails to not get overwhelmed by the environment that was more concise.
Sure, Tails still had a very frantic schedule that took up a fair bit of his few semesters, but it gave him plenty of things that he could learn, participate in and experience. Even then, for as much as it stressed him out some days, they were days where he could hang out with friends or discover something new.
And after everything, there he was, dressed in a gown, wearing a graduation cap, sitting alongside his peers, rehearsing the speech he was most definitely going to give.
He looked around, catching a glimpse of his classmates around him. But his eyes focused on the front rows where his other friends and “family” were.
Amy Rose.
Knuckles.
Cream and her mother, Vanilla.
Even the Chaotix team of Espio, Vector and Charmy.
Sure, he would’ve loved Sonic to be there. But it’s been two years since that fateful day, and as time goes on, it’s just so unlikely that he’s even still alive.
Tails waited patiently, letting the university’s chancellor, the designated lecturers and his fellow honour students doing their own speeches. All rehearsed, all sappy and all congratulatory of what they’ve accomplished with minor jokes thrown in there for good measure.
Then, his name was called.
Applause towards him as Tails made his way onto the stage while also trying not to trip over his graduation gown.
Making his way to the microphone (which was at the stand, and he had to stand on a box), Tails took a deep breath and began his speech.
“Hi, everyone!”
Applause.
“Uh…”
Crap, he forgot what he was supposed to say. He at least had cue cards.
At least everyone’s laughing along.
“Good afternoon, respected professors, families, friends, fellow students, honoured guests and the people who are only here because they wanted their degrees.”
The students laughed a bit. It made Miles both more nervous and confident at the same time.
“My name is Miles Prower, or most of you know me as Tails. And somehow, as the youngest person in this room, I was chosen to give this speech tonight.”
Everyone laughed at that, even Cream and Charmy.
Tails smiled, “Seriously though, it’s an honour to stand here representing the graduating class of 2003. Though I know I’m a special case, but I suffered just like the rest of you.”
More laughter, though Tails could definitely hear some nervous laughter amongst it.
“You know, when I first started university, I was… nervous. Because my only knowledge of university was from movies and TV shows where everyone had parties.” Tails continued, “But I learned quickly that it’s actually still like school, but with more stress, tighter schedules and group projects. At least there were parties.”
Chuckling this time.
“Not that I went to any of them.” Tails remarked, “Maybe when I’m older.”
More chuckling, mixed with a few smiles from the faculty members.
“Anyway, we managed to survive everything. The early morning lectures, the group projects, the presentations and… the crazy number of weird filenames…”
More giggles.
“But outside of that, I made a lot of memories here. All of us have.” Tails stated, “If there’s anything all of us have learned, we all learned how to be patient, resilient, more sociable and kinder.”
Silence. Probably everyone in understanding.
“Ahem.” Tails fake-coughed, “Most of you at least.”
Soft laughter came from the crowd, though Tails recognised a few faces who knew that he was talking about them.
“We all came here wanting to become successful, and we had to fight to get here.” Tails continued, “I know for today, that everyone looks ready for graduation, but I’m sure we all had our moments where we wondered if we’d even make it. Problems with burnout, loneliness, stress, uncertainty, financial issues and… the whole alien invasion thing.”
That did get some laughter, though Tails didn’t want to relive the Black Arms incident.
“So here we are, still standing, still trying and still alive.” Tails said, “And to everyone that’s survived, that deserves recognition.”
Applause, then louder applause mixed with cheers and whoops from the crowd. Once it died down…
“So, to give this mess of a speech a conclusion, thank you.” Tails stated, “To the parents, families and loved ones here, thank you. Thank you for the sacrifices, encouragement, phone calls, meals, emotional & financial support and pretending to understand what we're working on.”
More laughs from the students and even some of the parents.
“To the professors & lecturers.” Tails continued, “Thank you for your guidance, patience, extended deadlines and emotional support as well.”
This time, applause with some light laughter.
“And to my fellow graduates…” Tails said, “I know the future feels uncertain right now. Some of us have plans, some of us don’t, some of us are… pretending to have plans…”
More laughter.
“Well, at least most of you don’t have to worry about saving the world…” Tails mumbled into the microphone, which caused even more laughter.
“Again, I think that’s okay…” Tails continued as if nothing happened, “University or college or whatever you wanna call it, taught all of us how to adapt, fail, then recover, continue even when we felt overwhelmed. If my years of heroism beating up Eggman could teach me that, then all of us can be heroes.”
What followed was probably the biggest cheers that Tails had heard today, but that was to be expected.
Tails took a breath, “Almost done… So, before I leave this stage and go be a hero again, I wanna say that I hope all of us remember each other kindly, remember who we were before the world demanded certainty from us and years from now, wherever life takes us, this version of ourselves that was shaped in lecture halls believing that we could do anything.”
He took a deep breath, knowing the next sentences were the ones he was most nervous about.
“Because… as my best friend Sonic would say… if you believe in yourself, then extraordinary things can happen.” Tails stated, “Don’t just sit there and waste your precious time, if you wanna do something, do it right away and when you can. It’s the only way to live without regrets. Thank you, and congratulations.”
Scratch that, this would be the largest applause and cheers that Tails will hear today, and probably will never forget. As he let out an exhale of relief, stepping away from the podium and walking off the stage to his seat.
Yeah, he’ll never forget this.
From then on, everything was just waiting.
Waiting for the cue to stand up.
Waiting in the wings.
Waiting for his name to be called so he can get the degree.
And afterwards, the graduation ceremony celebrations really kicked into gear.
Mostly because it was over and Tails could finally relish in the moment.
In case you were wondering where this ceremony taking place, it was actually in the heart of the city far from the actual university, but there was a large hall that was able to accommodate all of the students of the graduating semester for the ceremony.
Though, at least there were a few restaurants that surrounded the area, and when Tails returned the gown and cap, having the degree in his hand that he could rest with his friends.
“Eyy, there’s the graduate!”
Next thing Tails knew, he was wrapped in a bear hug by Knuckles, practically squeezing all the air of his lungs and probably fracturing his ribs. But thankfully, Knux’s hugs only lasted a few seconds, with Tails wheezing out afterwards.
“Knuckles!” Amy cried out, “You hugged him too hard!”
“Oops.” Knuckles replied, sheepishly scratching the back of his head, “Didn’t mean to do that.”
Tails got on steady feet as he made his way over to where everyone else was seated. The café, which was a Stone coffee franchise, had several tables and chairs laid outside where Tails’s “family” was sitting. Vector and Vanilla were talking about stuff, Cream and Charmy were eating lunch already, while Espio was quiet, observing the people and surroundings. Amy was busy scolding Knuckles for giving Tails a bear hug, as he went over to where everyone was seated.
As Tails sat down at a chair, already seeing an iced peppermint coffee just for him, Vector took notice of his presence.
“There he is…” Vector said, “The college student... can’t believe you’ve all grown up now.”
“I’m still young.” Tails rebuked.
Vector laughed, “You’re still a brilliant kid, Tails. Everyone’s proud of you.”
Espio and Vanilla also gave knowing proud smiles at him, though given how different they are, Tails could tell Espio was just doing to acknowledge him and Vanilla, as the mother she always was, knew that was enough.
“Anyway, sorry about that hug.” Knuckles said, sitting next to Tails.
“It’s okay, just wasn’t expecting it.” Tails said, “Did you… order already?”
“Well, we didn’t know what you wanted except for the coffee.” Amy explained as she also sat down, “But we can order things.”
Afterwards, Tails did order some food, and things were normal from there. Outside of Charmy asking him a lot of questions about college.
“Did you go to any parties?” Charmy kept asking.
“No, I didn’t get invited.” Tails usually replied, “And I’m not old enough for that anyway.”
Even though not everyone was here (Shadow and Rouge were on some vacation, those damned lovebirds), Tails didn’t mind.
Despite everything, Tails felt proud.
Speaking of…
Vacation.
The word itself, as according to most dictionaries, refers to a leave of absence from work, school or just travelling away from home during specific days.
Holidays like these are often to places you haven’t been before for the purposes of sightseeing like famous older cities filled with landmarks or preserved tourist destinations, places meant for the strict purpose of entertainment such as amusement parks and cruise ships or places that aren’t relaxing at all but exist for the sake of thrill-seeking like hiking trails and savannahs.
Of course, there’s probably a lot more interesting places that can be listed here.
But there’s a high chance that the first thing you thought of when you saw the word “vacation” was a picturesque beach.
So, let’s set the scene.
Imagine a long coastline beach, with hotels and resorts lining the sandy border between land and the ocean. Hundreds of tourists sit on the white sands, either tanning, trying to build sandcastles and to those braving the waves, swimming in the ocean or daring to surf it.
And amongst the humans and Mobians, resting at this vacation hotspot, lays Shadow the Hedgehog.
On a beach chair, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and drinking out of a coconut through a straw.
This was Rouge’s idea, if you can’t tell.
Rouge herself was a few feet away, purchasing another drink for herself before heading back to where Shadow was.
“Enjoying yourself, handsome?” Rouge teased.
Shadow scoffed, “I am. Thanks for this.”
“We all need a break from work anyway.” Rouge stated, “Tails is having his graduation ceremony today too.”
“Yeah, I would’ve loved to be there…” Shadow said, as he sat up, “But he’s got other people to be by his side. Let’s just… enjoy this.”
Rouge sighed dreamfully, “Yeah…”
It was hard to say what the relationship between Rouge and Shadow was.
At least on paper, they were working for the government. Shadow was with GUN, as a relatively new agent for the organisation, while Rouge had been within government espionage for a while. In terms of their professional relationship, Rouge was technically Shadow’s supervisor that asked him to do paperwork and training. Despite being in separate departments, the two did meet each other on a regular basis.
In terms of their… personal relationship, that’s where things got complicated.
Rouge basically flirted with everyone constantly, and Shadow was no different. However, somewhere along the lines, rumours began amongst the offices and frontlines, that the two were dating.
Shadow didn’t even know what they were.
Friends?
Best friends?
Co-workers?
Lovers?
Rivals?
Friends with benefits?
And to be honest, that’s just on the surface. There were countless days or events that Rouge and Shadow had dealt with together.
Like that one time that both of them had to be follow the President and the Commander for a trip to another country for political meetings.
The several times they had breakfast, lunch or dinner together.
The times the two had to stay late at night at the office for overtime dealing with field reports, paperwork and forms.
The few times that they’ve had to do tests for marksmanship, which Shadow found out Rouge was a better shooter than he was.
And the two times that Shadow & Rouge found themselves in Rouge’s apartment. Once, leading to a night that Shadow will probably never forget.
But Shadow still didn’t know what to call it.
“Hey.” Rouge said, snapping him out of his thoughts, “You okay?”
Shadow smiled softly, “Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“About us.” Shadow stated, “I don’t know what we are, but…”
Without warning, Rouge leaned over and kissed Shadow on the cheek.
“Don’t worry about what we are, Shads.” Rouge said, “Just enjoy yourself.”
"Yeah..." Shadow said, "I need another coconut drink."
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Date: 23/6/2003 (Night)
You may have taken notice of the date.
It’s Sonic's birthday today.
Mind you, at least in the public eye, they’re dead.
Given that the way they died was by falling from orbit in a valiant sacrifice to prevent the Space Colony ARK from falling to the planet, and the chances of survival are practically guaranteed 0%, many had to swallow the fact that the great hero was gone.
Confirmation came when bone fragments were discovered in a landfill that showed it belonged to the blue hedgehog. Nobody asked how exactly they wound up there, but the bits that could be found and recovered showed significant damage from fractures to burns.
What was left was buried in a small grave at Green Hill.
So, to many, from friends to the public consciousness, Sonic the Hedgehog was considered dead as they knew it.
Even if they were no longer around, the ramifications of his death were large in scope.
Tributes followed, obviously, and continue to this day. G.U.N already had to deal with new vigilantes that wanted to follow in Sonic’s footsteps, and this didn’t include any of Sonic’s friends. Monuments, documentaries, books and even merchandise were made in its wake.
In a way, the world was beginning to move on.
Even with a new threat (the whole Black Arms incident), the planet was in safe hands with Sonic’s friends being able to pick up where Sonic left off and save the world in his memory.
Heck, Dr Ivo Robotnik, or Eggman, the one person in the world that would be cheering at this prospect, was… not actively taking over the world. Sure, he made massive expansions to several factories, theme parks and power plants, but he wasn’t the overlord of the people yet. Maybe the government was more actively trying to stop him this time, and let’s not forget that Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow, and even more that you wouldn’t know wouldn’t hesitate to drop everything to stop him.
Yet, on this lonely night, a miracle was about to happen.
…
The restaurant itself didn’t particularly stand out.
It was a corner lot, with tables and chairs lining the inside and the outside. Aesthetically, it was a sleek and minimalistic design that allowed the food and patrons to have character more than the shop itself. Mostly serving Western dishes such as pasta, pizza, steaks and even cakes. They had one of those display shelves showing the various kinds of confectioneries they were selling, from the aforementioned cakes and other desserts such as cupcakes and macarons, to even savoury pastries like pies and croissants.
Tonight, the diner isn’t particularly busy. Only a few tables are filled, with only one having more than two people in it, being a family. The workers don’t mind days like these, and the restaurant’s bound to close in an hour and fifteen minutes.
Yet, the next and final customer of the night is what we’re here.
The blue hedgehog that walked into the establishment wore a distinctive leather jacket over a white shirt and slightly torn jeans, complemented with red sneakers. Strangely, despite the fact that it was far from daytime, they were wearing sunglasses.
Hm.
Seeing a table directly under a ceiling fan, he sits down at an empty table, the waiters already taking notice of them, ready to hand out menus.
Leaving them alone for a bit, one of the workers leans in to the person working the register.
“Is that?” they whisper just enough for their co-worker to hear.
As for the other patrons, some take notice of the hedgehog now sitting at the table, reading the menu. They too think that it might be him, but don’t push the decision to stand up and ask. The rest just go about their day, with one even standing up, heading to the cashier, paying and then leaving.
By about a minute, one waiter braves themselves up to ask the new patron about their order.
“Hello, sir,” they say, “What would you like to order?”
“Uh…”
Even the hedgehog’s voice surprised the workers; it sounded just like him.
“I’ll take the… uh, carbonara pasta, with bacon,” the customer continued, “then… I’ll have an iced Coke, and… one slice of chocolate cake.”
“Thank you,” the waiter said, having written the order down and grabbed the menu being passed by the customer.
Obviously, even with the order done, they had to make it first.
Another customer leaves, paying their bill and walking out the door. Even then, the workers can’t help but look at the blue hedgehog. The kitchen staff are also notified about the possibility about the fact that Sonic the Hedgehog is currently dining at the place.
Sonic merely waits for his order, with his drink arriving first. Sipping at it through the straw, it doesn’t take long for the main meal and dessert to arrive. Afterwards, it’s fairly standard. He eats the food, minding his own business.
Yet the workers still whisper.
“Do you think it’s him?”
“Of course, he would wear sunglasses at night.”
“How the hell is he alive?”
“It’s fucking Sonic, he probably found a way.”
“Looks like he hasn’t aged a day, really…”
Upon finishing his meal, he stands and waltzes to the counter. Sonic pays in cash, and the cashier gives back his change.
“Thank you, sir.”
“No problem,” Sonic says before he turns around and walks back into the dark streets of the city.
But as we follow Sonic along the slowly dwindling streets of the city, surrounded by the nightlife around him, he thinks to himself two things.
One, that pasta was really tasty.
Two, what was about to happen next was effectively a coin flip.
Yes or no.
Heads or tails.
Whether the new person that was walking now would be accepted or not.
Even then, Sonic knew what he had planned for the past month or so was going to be a massive upheaval to the world.
What happens when the person you thought was dead and gone two years ago, comes back?
There will be questions, obviously.
Sonic had those answers.
The real question was when he was willing to give those answers.
Oh… hold on. Let me correct myself.
The real question was when she was willing to give those answers.
Because sometimes the truth can hurt more than whatever Sonic was going to do.