The Speed of Sound

Finishing Touches

        You wake up after an uneasy sleep. Throughout the night you had woken up multiple times, fearing that Shadow would attack you in your sleep. You had begun to regret the decision of allowing him to stay over. However, since you are still alive this morning, that regret has been replaced with the pride of being kind to the man who had once caused so much trouble.

        Jumping out of bed, you remember that Shadow had told you he'd be gone by morning. You want to make sure he really did leave and that he is not wandering around the house, stealing your valuables. Quickly, you slip on your (f/c) shoes and race straight across the hall to the guest room. The door is wide open. Peeking inside, you find the blue bed neatly made and Shadow gone. You snort. It looks as if Shadow did just as he planned. 

        Stomach beginning to rumble, you walk into the kitchen and pour some Cheerios into a bowl with milk. The cereal tastes bland. You still choke it down.

        "Psst." 

        Your head whips around, ears perked from the sudden voice. It can't be Shadow...can it? 

        "Psst...(Y/n)." The voice is coming from your watch-radio!

        Pressing the button on the communicator, you answer, "Hello?"

        "Oh good, thought you might've been asleep!" It's Sonic. "I'm just reminding you that we're working on the house again. Amy and Knuckles won't be there, 'cause Amy's out shopping with her friends and Knuckles is guarding the Master Emerald. Sheesh, he could just hide that thing, y'know? Must be feelin' lazy today... Anyway! See ya there!"

        The radio squeals as Sonic leaves the conversation. Sighing, you quickly finish off the stale Cheerios and dump the bowl into the sink for washing later. You lock the back door and run out the front, locking that one from the outside. The house keys are set on top of the front door frame, hidden from view. Only you know where the keys are placed; you will have to tell your friends about it sometime soon, in the case of an emergency.

        Speeding through the forest, you eventually come across a vibrant green meadow surrounded by trees. In the middle of this meadow stands a pristine white house. It shines as if made of the most high-quality quartz. This is definitely Sonic and Tails' house. Before, you had wondered why they decided to build another white mansion but then realized that they probably enjoy the "expensive" feel. You do feel somewhat saddened, however, that this home was placed within the beautiful meadow. Ah well, now Sonic and Tails can smell the flowers every morning!

        You open the dark colored double-doors set at the front of the house. Inside, you gaze around at the enormous, open-spaced entrance. To the left is a hallway with one door on each wall, to the right is a large arch leading to the living room, and straight ahead, between the doors of a bathroom and closet, is a gigantic, fancy stairwell.

        "Hey, (Y/n)!" Tails' voice comes from beside the stairwell. The orange fox pokes his head over the rail and waves in greeting. Sonic pops up too, on the other side of the large stairway. He rubs his gloved hands together and exclaims, "Let's get to work!"

        For the next couple hours, you, Sonic, and Tails work together to finish building the stairwell, which branches off at the top and curls around to the top floor. It was pretty hard work. You had fallen a few times, but now it's finally finished! Now onto the next task: roofing. You utter a groan as Sonic pulls you up the stairs by your hand, walks out to the balcony, and throws you up in the sky.

        "Hey!" You flail in the air before your rump hits the hard roof. "Ow," you moan, glaring at Sonic as he hauls himself up. 

        He shrugs with a confused expression. "What? How else was I supposed to get you up here?" 

        Tails' head suddenly appears from over the edge. "Sonic, there is a ladder, you know." The fox boy gradually climbs up, gripping onto a tall, metal ladder that is set on the balcony.

        "Sorry 'bout that, (y/a)," Sonic chuckles and pats your back. You roll your eyes and grab two of the many bags of shingles spread across the roof. Tossing a bag to both Sonic and Tails, they utter their thanks and set about roofing this enormous mansion.

        The wind picks up later in the day, threatening to blow off each roof shingle that you set down. Luckily, before a shingle does blow away, you hammer it in with a clean nail. The breeze does feel great on your face though, as you have been sweating for some time from the hard work. Throughout the process of roofing you and your friends had been chatting a bit, but always keeping on track with the job. Finally, you set down your last shingle and hammer it into place. "Phew," you pant.

        You stand up with a painful grimace. Roofing has definitely strained your back and neck muscles, and your hand is cramping from holding the hammer. Stretching your arms, you can see that evening has come around, triggering your appetite. For lunch, all you had was a quick sandwich. One sandwich. A growing teenager needs more than a single ham sandwich. You sigh and pull off the tar-covered gloves, throwing them down. Sonic spots you from the other side of the roof and jumps for joy. In an instant he is by your side, checking out your handiwork.

        "Nice job!" he gives a thumbs up. "Tails is almost finished. C'mon, (Y/n)!" Sonic trots across the roof to crouch beside the fox. "You're doin' good buddy," he says, rubbing Tails' back.

        "Thanks, Sonic. This is really hard work," the fox mutters, not breaking his concentration. Soon he places his last shingle and hammers it in. Tails stands up with a groan of pain, stumbling a little. 

        Yes, we're done! Now I can finally eat! you secretly celebrate.

        "Uh oh!" Snapping your head to the side, you see Sonic tapping on his friend's shoulder. "Hey! I think there's a few shingles missing near the ledge, bud. Think you can do those? Since you still have your work gloves on..." Sonic trails off.

        Tails sighs. "Fine, I can take a hint." He carefully walks to the edge of the roof to check out the missing areas. A large gust of wind suddenly blows past and Tails stumbles for balance, teetering on the ledge of the roof. Oh, Chaos! You gasp in fright at the thought of the boy falling, but luckily he catches his balance and gives a sign that says "I'm alright." Just when you are about to feel relief, a blue blur whips by, and then Tails is falling!

        "AHHH!"

        The boy's scream grows quieter as he falls further down. Wha...?! You are so stunned, you can hardly think. Mouth hanging open, your (e/c) eyes glance to the side to see Sonic standing near with a smirk.

        "Sonic? WH-WHAT?!" How could he murder his best friend? Your thoughts are disturbed by a whooshing noise. An orange fox flies above the roof, his twin tails spinning in rapid circles.

        "That wasn't funny, Sonic! Really, you're so immature sometimes."

        Sonic shrugs and walks away as Tails lands to the roof. You look between the two boys, eyes bugging out and mouth still wide open. Wait. Huh? Tails shakes his head in disapproval at the hedgehog and then grasps your arm. You are gently pulled to the ladder and led down to the balcony, shock dazing you from performing simple actions.

        Huuhh?