(Third Person POV)
Well this day has been a disaster. Mario's first job went to crap because of an angry dog, and Tails suffered a bite from the dog which lead to Sonic having a panic attack. After the fiasco, Tails had to take some antibiotics to keep the pain down and Knuckles just gave that Brooklyn Couple a sneer of malice. Sonic however felt terrible for everything that happened, but it wasn't his fault, yet he was so worried of losing Tails. He didn't want to loose anyone again after what happened to Longclaw.
Later at night, Sonic was playing Hinokami Chronicles on the Switch to get his mind off of what happened today. However he had to volume down because Tails was alseep. He was playing as Tanjiro and was battling against Enmu. After a few blows, he lost the match and he got a game over screen. Sonic sighed and turned the Switch off. Exiting the bedroom, he goes to eat some leftover pizza from yesterday. What would Longclaw tell him to do right now? She'd say stay inside and don't be seen. As he sits down on the couch, he turns on the news to see the latest stories. It was mainly about stuff that Sonic wasn't interested in. Feeling a bit bummed out, he thinks back on that dream he had earlier this morning. He never heard that voice before in his dreams... but he wondered who that was. It definitely wasn't Longclaw's voice, but why did it sound so serene? It's still a mystery.
"If only I knew who that was..."
But why did all these dreams feel... familiar? Questioning it just made him tired. A yawn escapes his mouth as he drifts into sleep.
~~Dream~~
In the dream realm, he finds himself back in that sunflower field one more time. Little ladybug critters surrounded him, giving him a sense of comfort. But they skittered away and he looks up to see the unseen monster, still looking like a shadow. It's yellow scleras stared at him with malice and he groans, starts running off. The creature reaches out for him one more and this time it finally grabs him. He faces the shadowy monster.
"What do you want from me?!" Sonic screamed.
He expected an answer, but all Sonic got was a toothy grin. It grabs Sonic by his right hand and he felt the sharp nails dig into his flesh. Sonic begged to know what the monster wanted as tears ran down his face. He felt himself getting crushed. The creature broke its silence and spoke.
"Your remand."
Sonic didn't know what it was talking about, but before he felt himself sink into the darkness of the hand, a bright light emerged and freed him from the unseen shadow. It also sounded like it was humming a song to calm him down, yet it sounded so faint. He wasn't sure what the song was, but it felt tranquil and soothing, like it was telling him to face something. But that feeling was quickly washed away when the feeling of the wind was blowing him away. His vision was still blurry in this world, but the person surrounded by light felt serene. He wasn't sure, but it looked like the person had dark magenta hair.
"Go! Forgive me!"
"Wait! Who are you?!" Sonic yelled.
"Forget me! They will protect you! I swear it! But please forget...!"
~~Dream Ends~~
"Tell me... who you are..." he muttered.
He woke up. He noticed that it was eight thirty at night right now and he sees his family walk in. Knuckles, Tom, and Maddie entered the apartment, carrying groceries. Sonic goes to check on Tails to find that he's still sleeping. He helps with the groceries and when he finished, Sonic sits back on the couch.
"You, okay brother?"
"No. I just feel like crap after what happened today. Tails got bit and I freaked out. I was so scared that he was gonna bleed out." Sonic said.
He was scared of losing people he cared about. How could he? He suffered so much and was all alone for a full decade! Being along for that long can really affect a person... or a Mobian in this case. Chronic loneliness can really damage one's mental health and physical health. It can give one sleep-problems, depression, and anxiety. He really didn't want to relive that trauma ever again. Knuckles gives him a hug out of sympathy.
"What happened to Tails, wasn't your fault. Jumpman, his brother, and dad did everything they could to help calm you down. Those owners need to keep a better eye on their dog." Knuckles said.
"True."
"We know. You guys had leftovers right?" Tom asked.
"Yes sir."
"Good. Now, both of you get ready for bed. Tomorrow we're gonna downtown to Manhattan to spend time at the park." Maddie said.
"Yes, Pretzel La— I mean mom."
Knuckles looked confused.
"You're not calling them by Pretzel Lady or Doughnut Lord anymore?"
"I just think mom and dad sound more appropriate." Sonic said.
"Makes sense." Said Knuckles.
Sonic goes to get a shower. He wondered what that song was and why did it sound so peaceful? Now that he thinks about it, he does recall Longclaw singing him that same melody one time before he went to sleep. Yet, he couldn't remember the lyrics. Did Longclaw write that song? Maybe, yet he could be wrong.
After a quick shower, he hits the bed and gets ready to fall asleep, only to hear his phone go off to see Mario calling him.
"Mario?"
There was no answer except chatter from his family going on.
"They give an Oscar for worst actors?"
Sonic keeps listening on the phone as Aunt Marie scolds Uncle Arthur. He hears Uncle Tony say that he saw Mario's tv commercial and the plumber asks his family what they think of it.
"I wouldn't quit your day job."
"Oops! He already did!"
How could they say that? Do they think he's a joke? Mario worked so hard to get his plumbing business up! He even made a website for it using SquareSpace! Sonic felt a little relieved when Mario's mom approved of it. Then he heard Mario complain about mushrooms on his spaghetti.
"Mario, seriously, what were you thinking with that commercial? And being inspired by a weird talking hedgehog?"
His eyes widened when he heard that. He's not weird, he's just unique, remarkable, and misunderstood.
"What? It's supposed to be funny. Plus Sonic is not weird. He's just a sweet kid who just wants to help others. Sure he may be from somewhere else, but he fits in here. His singing gave me inspiration to create a jingle for my business!"
"Can someone pass the bread?"
"Yeah but what's with the outfits? Plumbers wearing white gloves?"
Sonic just kept listening to the dinner conversation. Everything needs a trademark because not everything has to look the same, and Mario was true about that. Sonic heard Mario's mom to not listen to them. Is this what is family is like when Sonic's not around?
"Dad? What did you think?"
"I think you're nuts. You don't leave a steady job for some crazy dream. And the worst part, your bringing your brother down with you. Also, do me a favor and don't speak to Maddie's kids anymore, they're a bad influence."
A tear escaped down Sonic's face. How could they say that? Is he really a bad influence? Was Mario really bringing his brother Luigi down? All of it really made Sonic question their friendship.
"Well thanks, dad. Thanks for your support."
Sonic let's out a breathily sigh of sadness. Mario noticed his phone and he realized that he accidentally butt-dialed his friend. Poor Sonic overheard the whole conversation.
"Oh! Hey... Sonic. How much of that did you hear?"
There was a moment of silence. Then after some quick thinking, Sonic spike into the phone.
"Enough to know your family thinks I'm a bad friend and that your dad thinks I'm not good enough. I... I guess... I guess we shouldn't see each other anymore. Goodbye, Mario. It was nice knowing you...." Sonic said, fighting tears.
He hangs up. How could Mario's family say that stuff about him and his own business? But... did they actually mean that stuff? Were they just joking? Maybe... yet... that stuff could just be their own personal opinions. Sonic holds his Nezuko Kamado plushie and stares at the ceiling. What can he do to take his mind off of what he just heard? He gets out of bed and heads over to one of the windows and just stares out at the stars.
Sonic turns on the tv and just watches he news and notices that it's eight forty three at night. He digs into his satchel to pull out the feather of Longclaw and he thinks to himself.
"What would you do?"
He stuffs the feather back in his bag, then gets a text from Mario and he looks at it.
"Hey! Sorry that you heard all that. I didn't know I butt dialed you. Please don't listen to the crap my dad or what my uncles said about you. My uncles were just screwing around and my dad is just making up excuses. Please forgive me. I do want to see you again, just not right now. Maybe tomorrow when I have the day off. Understand that my family just scolds me for following my own path and you are not a bad influence. You're an amazing kid and I don't want you to forget that, and even if the past or someone you loved back then slows you down, you have to learn to let go so you can keep moving forward. I hope you can understand. Talk to you later, Sonic."
Sonic wipes a tear from his left eye and softly smiles. He felt a sense of relief knowing that Mario was sorry that he had to hear what the plumbers family said. Sonic just types back and responds with a sincere thanks.
"I understand. Bye, Mario. And remember, you're not bringing your bro down, you're achieving your dream with him. See ya."
As he lays down on the bed, he smiles. But that smile is quickly interrupted when he felt an ache in his mouth. He heads over to the bathroom to see that his fangs have grown in. It didn't really matter right now, but what happened earlier just made him want to leave the house for a little bit. He should go an investigate Eggman's disappearance! That should clear his head. After a quick brush of the teeth and grabbing his bag, he checks and sees that his rings and map are still in it, along with the feather of Longclaw. He stuffs his phone and charger in his hair. He opens up the window and he looks back to see Tails sleeping peacefully and then he sees his Nezuko plush. Did he need it? He heads over to the bed and grabs the plush. Looking at it, he felt like that if he got captured, he would need to hold onto something that made him smile. So, without hesitation, he stuffs his Nezuko plush into his bag and jumps out the window, shortly after hearing Knuckles call out his name.
"Sonic!"
"Sorry Knux! Im doing this so I can stop thinking about the negative crap Mario's dad said about me! I'll be back in a jiffy!"
The echidna was not gonna let his brother run loose this time. He wakes up Tails, Tom, and Maddie, letting them know what happened.
"He snuck out again. Just to stop thinking about what he heard about Mario's family on the phone?" Tom asked.
"Well that's how he said it. We should definitely follow him." Knuckles said.
"Yep. And this time were coming prepared." Maddie said.
"So after we get him, we'll go back to bed?" Tails asked.
"Yep. Now let's go get your brother." Tom replied.
Tails gets his little mini laser guns and stuffs them in his yellow backpack. Maddie, in blue jeans, dark shoes, a red tank, and a black jacket, gets ready to go get her son while Tom, in a white shirt, brown jacket, dark shoes, and dark blue pants, grabs two guns he snuck into his suitcase and stuffs it into his backpack.
"Really, Thomas?"
"Relax, I put the ammo in the backpack and I took the bullets out. I'm just gonna use it to scare him. Also you can take my other pistol just incase we see any Badniks."
Tails felt uneasy about this, so he hums a song to himself to feel a little better.
"I'm all alone in my chair
I just go about wishing
Gotta be strong, gotta be trusted
When I'm alone in my bed,
just go about yearning
Wanna be cool, wanna be like him-
I've come so far now
Trying to find MY way
If I believe
I will be okay"
He sighed and Tails puts on his yellow backpack. Maddie stuffs the pistol in her jacket and the family leaves the apartment.
~~~
Downtown, a little blue hedgehog struggles through flooded water in the streets. He hides behind a police car to see construction workers trying to plug up the hole. Spurting out water. He also sees Mayor Pauline taking to news reporters and he sees something shiny and metallic in the distance across from the duck cafe.
"Everything is under control, I promise you. We are very close to fixing this."
Sonic quickly makes his way past unsuspecting civilians and sees a piece of a BadNik and picks it up. This building could be where Robotnik fled to. A manhole exploded with water rushing out of it like a geyser which made the little hedgehog jump a bit.
"Somebody help! Somebody save Brooklyn!!"
"Just let the constructors fix it." He muttered.
As Sonic heads to the abandoned building, he finds that its been boarded up. It may have been because of the disappearances of that Hyro-Rebel gang. He had to find another way in. He sees a massive pipe with a grate on it, and since the bars were so easy to slip through, he walks through the pipe, not knowing his family was near.
It was icky and gross. The smell made him want to throw up. Is this how sewers normally smelled? Well how can they not? He felt himself slip and he fell down a dip in the pipe, leading him down a smelly area in the sewer filled with water. Splashing through the water, he was starting to think that this was a bad idea. He kept going forward. But why would Eggman hide in the sewers? His questions were put on hold when two paths were shown. Which way? He took the right side of the sewer pipes only to find out he chose the wrong path. Sonic screams as it felt like he was going down a water slide, but it wasn't since the smell was so bad. It me getting faster until he landed headfirst into a grate on the end of the pipe, knocking the metal bars off the drainage pipe as he landed in some kind of underground hallway. He untucks himself and scratches his head.
"Crap..." He said.
Stuck and alone. He tries to get some service but he gets nothing so far. He staggers forward a little but he sits up against the wall. Now he's alone and no one knows he's down here. How can this night get worse? But unfortunately, he ended up jinxing things. He heard his family screaming and suddenly they were spat out the end of the drainage pipe! Sonic was eye wide, realizing that his own family followed him.
"Guys?!"
"Why am I not surprised that you chose the sewers to investigate Robotnik's disappearance?" Knuckles said.
"Eww... why do sewers always have to reek of filth?" Tails moaned.
"Why did you guys follow me?! I was gonna be home before midnight!!" Sonic exclaimed.
Tom and Maddie get up along with Tails and Knuckles.
"You really thought we wouldn't follow you this time around?" Maddie asked.
Sonic sighed and his ears flop.
"Look, we know you want to investigate where your nemesis went but can we please go with you this time just incase you get dissected by him?" Tom said.
"Fine. But I'm sorry I ran off. I just wanted to take my mind off of the issue with Mario's family." Sonic confessed.
"We know. Knuckles told us." Maddie said.
"Oh, okay." Sonic replied.
The family walk forward to see a hall.
"There are better ways to take your mind off things Sonic, but first we need to find a way out of—"
Tom's voice got cut off when screams were heard from the other side of the wall. Suddenly, the brick wall crumpled behind them, leaving a puff of smoke and two figures in red and green in the rubble! Knuckles coughs in response. A ring drops out of Sonic's bag and Maddie picks it up, placing it on her finger.
"What the hell?!" Tom exclaimed.
The figures got up with a groan, slowly standing up and taking in their surroundings.
"Dannazione..." Said Mario.
"I knew saving Brooklyn was a bad idea." Said Luigi.
He looks to his brother
"C'mon."
"What... Mario?!" Sonic exclaimed.
"Sonic?! What are you doing down here, and with your family no less?" Mario exclaimed with worry in his voice.
He sighed. He had to tell the plumber. Maddie helps Luigi up.
"I snuck out to investigate Eggman's disappearance because I was bored... but mostly just to get my mind off of what I heard your family say about me." Sonic said.
Mario felt like crap, so he hugs the hedgehog.
"Kid, I'm sorry you heard all of that. They just didn't know what to say." Mario said.
He stops hugging the hedgehog and Sonic spoke.
"It's okay. Sometimes my mom and dad say crap about Wade and Crazy Carl back at home."
The plumber chuckles and Sonic smiled.
"I know this is touching but, can we please find a way out? Ma, is gonna be worried." Said Luigi.
"Okay, kill the happy moment." Sonic said, sarcastically.
Mario pulls in Luigi's mustache hair as a way of scolding him. Suddenly, he notices something in the hall and he walks down it.
"Woah." He gasped as he leaned over some railings.
Luigi, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Tom, and Maddie followed in pursuit and found they were staring down into what looked like a labyrinth of pipes.
"What is this place?" Mario stuttered, barely a whisper.
A pebble was softly kicked from Luigi's show and it fell down into the darkness to see how deep it went, after a while they heard the clang, indicating that it was pretty deep... well more like ten seconds deep. They all exchanged looks of concern.
"I'm not sure. But I'm starting to sense something down there..." Sonic said.
The gang started climbing down a ladder, taking them further down. Walking down stairs and railings, they finally reached the bottom. They pulled out they're flashlights and looked around the unfamiliar place. Sonic pulls out his phone to shine the light. Tails stops to see a piece of a BadNik laying next to an enormous green pipe. Was it some kind of broken drainage pipe? Who knows.
"Looks like nobody's been down here for years." Mario said.
"Yeah, no wonder nobody wanted to come down here." Sonic said.
Suddenly, small white light shone in the corner. But was the light... moving? The light came out from the left corner of the room and it was revealed to be a white Chaos Emerald. It was reacting to Sonic's bio-organic chaos energy. Sonic picks up the emerald.
"Sonic? What is that?" Tails asked.
"It's a Chaos Emerald. It's one of the jewels I used to defeat Robotnik back in Green Hills."
"Chaos Emerald? Why is it called an emerald if it's in the shape of a diamond?" Mario asked.
"I'm not really sure. But why is it down here?" Sonic said.
"Who knows. Maybe Robotnik was searching for the emeralds." Said Knuckles.
Maddie and Luigi swore they heard a noise from the green pipe and the look down it.
"You better hang onto that son. Just incase." Said Tom.
Sonic stuffs the emerald in his satchel. Suddenly, everyone heard a clank noise with a hint of sparkling sound and turned to see the same green pipe they walked past, but they find Maddie and Luigi gone.
"Luigi?" Mario asked.
"Maddie??" Tom asked with worry.
He shone his flashlight into the pipe to see the wrench on the ground. He looks further down to see darkness. How long can that pipe possibly be?!
"Luigi, are you in there?" Mario asked.
"Mom? Mom! Shout if you can hear me! Please." Sonic said.
No reply as they look into the pipe. Mario picks up the wrench. Tails holds Tom's hand as Knuckles was worried. Sonic just stands behind Mario.
"Luigi?" Mario shouted out.
"MOM!" Knuckles yelled.
"Mom!" Tails cried out.
Just then, the wrench flies out of his grasp and goes toward the hole of the pipe. Sonic was wide eyes with disbelief. How did it...?
"What?" Mario said, confused.
"Huh?!" Sonic exclaimed.
"What in Chaos' name?" Knuckles said.
A sudden gush of wind starts pulling the five in. Sonic tries to run back but it wasn't any use. Mario felt himself slipping and that was when he, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Tom were sucked in, causing them all to scream. Sonic and Mario closed their eyes when the whole gang was spat out the other end of the pipe, into some kind of warp zone.
They found themself spinning rapidly in a colorful see-through pipe. Sonic screamed one more time, until he realized where he and the gang were. They stopped spinning and started taking in their surroundings. Colorful pink clouds and each having a green pipe sticking out of it. Was this all under Brooklyn? He left Sonic and Mario gasping in awe as they traveled under another green pipe and looked around at all the colorful clouds around them.
"Holy crap..." Sonic stuttered.
"Knux... what do we do?" Tails shivered.
"Just hang onto me, fox." Said Knuckles.
But the concern was cut short when they heard Luigi and Maddie scream ahead of them. They turned forward to see him a bit ahead of them.
"Luigi!" Mark called out.
"Madison!!!!" Tom screamed.
"Mario!!" Luigi called back.
"Tom!!!!" Maddie cried out, arms flailing like crazy.
Sonic wanted to help his mom but Tom speed themself forward to reach his wife and Mario did the same thing for Luigi before reaching out.
"Give us your hands!" Mario called.
"Mom! Just hang onto Dad!"
Tom took Maddie's hands and Mario took Luigi's hands as each duo began spinning.
"Don't do that to me again!!" Tom yelled.
"Sorry Tom! I got sucked in!" Maddie apologized.
"It's all gonna be okay!" Mario called, hoping it would ease the tension.
"How is this gonna be okay!?" Luigi shouted back, obviously panicking.
"I'm telling you, nothing can hurt us as long as we're together!" Mario told them both.
Luigi started smiling, but that was cut short when their hands broke loose. The same thing happens to Tom and Maddie when she and Luigi end up going down a dark pipe filled with lava and thunder clouds.
"Marioooooo!" Luigi called.
"TOM, HELP!!!!" Maddie screamed.
"Luigi!!" Mario called, right before they were all seperated.
"MOOOOOMMM!!!!" Sonic hollered out.
Luigi and Maddie are flying into a bad pipe while Mario, Tom, Knuckles, Tails, and Sonic are sucked into the good pipe. Who knows where they'll end up.
~~~
Two Badniks were on patrol duty at night, trying to find the third Guardian of the Stars. The guardians of the stars all have star tattoos embedded on their cheeks. Bowser already has two of them, but the third was so good at hiding.
"So why are we doing this?" Cubot asked.
"Because Bowser told us to. He had to send us on a mission." Orbot said.
"Yeah, but why did it have to be so bor—"
Cubot is cut off when five figures pop out from a nearby pipe. The two robots hide behind a mushroom tree to avoid detection. Two Mobian's hit their heads and were completely knocked out. A blue Mobian face plants into a tree, ticks into a ball, and rolls for a little bit until he untucks into his regular self, passing out from the impact of the tree. Two humans, one with a mustache and the other with a gun, bounce off a mushroom tree, face plant onto another and they are both knocked out cold. Orbot and Cubot are surprised. Orbot gets photos as evidence to show to his majesty.
"Did they find a pipe to Earth?!" Orbot exclaimed.
"We have to tell him!" Cubot said.
The two drones fly off, needing to have to warn their king of the unexpected arrival of humans and three little Mobians. Little did they know in the bushes was that a curious yet scared stone creature was near.
(Okay, next chapter may take some time since classes are on the way. Hope you all enjoy it. My fingers are tired.)