Just Throwing This Out There: I Really Loved Your "Deep In-Depth Analysis Of Nine 1/9!" You Put A Lot

Just throwing this out there: I really loved your "Deep In-Depth Analysis Of Nine 1/9!" You put a lot of detail in it! Can't wait to read Part 2!

Thank you so much!

And I'm sorry to those waiting for prompts to be written, they are being written, I've just been working a lot on part two of my analysis and more projects I've been working on and I've had some things going on (like school and other boring stuff! XD), so I haven't had much time to answer any questions or prompts immediately, but they will be answered as soon as possible, I promise!

Hi! I've been reading your Nine-related stuff and they're really good! (And i also liked the borrower fic!). Here's my writing prompt/ suggestion: in the case we don't get a flashback next ""season"" (though i hope we do). What about your take on Nine's time during those weeks without Sonic? Like making the shattedrive, discovering the grim, etc?

Hello! One angsty Nine fic coming right up!

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It had been weeks since he last saw the blue hedgehog.

In those weeks a lot of things happened. The rebellion was in full effect, the people involved saw their chance and took it. Now there was a battle overhead. A desperate and hopeful chance at creating a revolution.

But that wasn't Nine's main concern.

The machine he was working on currently was his top priority. It was a ship, perhaps a plane like Sonic said another version of him had.

He was about finished, all he needed to do was put the shard in and he'd be good to go. He'd find Sonic and get out of here. Then they'd find a new home to live together.

To have the things Sonic said they had.

Green grass, blue skies, beaches, palm trees, Chili dogs, all of it. They didn't need anyone or anything else. They'd be happy together no matter what in this new world.

That was all they needed.

He climbed in, the red shard glowing in front of him, ready to travel. After a split second of hesitance, he pushed the button, eyes widening at a light shot from the ship becoming a deep portal to who knows where.

The fox's ears fluttered slightly down in a small sense of fear, before shooting back up, his face hardening in determination. Moving the ship forward into the portal the fox uttered lines filled with firm determination.

"Hold on Sonic, I'm coming."

The machine moved through the portal, and when it got to the other end, the fox gasped at the space surrounding him. It was so...empty. There weren't any stars or other planets, just nothing but wide space and several shards moving about.

He felt uncomfortable with the sheer vastness he was now put in. There was nothing surrounding him, there was nobody he could see. He was alone.

For a moment there was a pit beginning to form, but the fox brushed it off and moved his ship forward, determined to find his only friend.

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The Shatterpod slowly landed in a vast empty world of deep blue skies filled with stars and an orange-cracked ground with grey crystals shooting out, reaching for the sky they can never reach. He hadn't found Sonic, but he found it. The perfect world to start anew. A place for him and Sonic to live forever.

It was empty, devoid of any organic life, which was good. That meant there was nobody around to hurt or bother them. They could live the life Sonic told him about.

They'd be safe.

This was home.

This wasn't the first Shatterspace he discovered. There had been others. One filled with plant life, one he explored never seeing so many trees or flowers to be there in his grasp, he only read about them in books. However, he discovered he wasn't the only one there. There were other people, he hadn't seen them, but he heard their yells and cries reminiscent of cavemen, so he left immediately, deciding this was too primal to be home.

The next world he came across was filled with nothing but water, the world having been drowned in clean salt water. He found nothing there, no people, no islands. He determined it was too drowning. It wasn't home either.

Then he came across the last one, which he called 'The Grim', mainly because of its grim atmosphere that he found he enjoyed. It was perfect, no cavemen, no seas, just home.

Unfortunately, he needed to find Sonic first before he did anything, this had been for both of them after all.

He hadn't found the hedgehog in any of the worlds he traveled to, so that was the only thing he needed to achieve.

But he'd find him.

He'd bring Sonic home.

I don’t know whether to call this a “writing prompt,” because it’s such a DETAILED idea, that it’s more like a summarized story in its own right.  I would honestly be HONORED if you would flesh this ‘summary’ out into a full short story with your beautiful prose, but if it’s ‘just too much,’ then I understand… it’d also be cool just hearing your thoughts about this idea of mine!

I call it: “Nine’s Happiest Ending.”

Basically, it draws from two theories that’ve been going around. First: that Sonic’s going to rely on Nine to recombine the pieces of the Paradox Prism. Second: that all the different “alternate versions” of Sonic’s friends, (example: Mangey, Nine, Sails,) represent ‘shattered fragments’ of each’s friend’s personalities, and once the Paradox Prism is recombined, the alternates will also be recombined into their original ‘Prime’ selves (and effectively die.)

On with the story!  

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The Chaos Council has been defeated.  Sonic brings the last Paradox Shard to Nine in Nine’s lab, then sits in a chair as Nine gets busy combining all the Paradox Shards.  As he works, Nine notices that Sonic seems a bit depressed and guilty-looking.  When he questions Sonic about this, the hedgehog admits that he’s feeling morally conflicted about having all the different “alternates” of his friends (and their worlds) effectively DIE, so that he can get his “original” world and “original” friends back.  To Sonic’s surprise, Nine calmly assures him that it’s all okay, that recombining the Paradox Prism is the best possible choice.  He even hugs Sonic reassuringly as he says this.  Sonic is deeply touched, and says that Nine is one awesome little guy as he hugs him back.

But Sonic is unaware that Nine has a special little gizmo hidden in his back pocket.  It’s programmed so that when the Paradox Prism is recombined, and Nine and all his fellow alternates “resynchronize” back into in the fox called Tails… it’ll be in a manner of NINE’S OWN DESIGN.  

The final shard is put into place.  There’s a brilliant flash of light… and then Sonic is back in Green Hills will Knuckles, Amy, Rouge, Big, Shadow, and Tails!  They’re all so happy!  

Except that Tails doesn’t QUITE seem 100% like his usual self, for some reason.  For example, he seems to be almost flatly ‘going through the motions’ of friendship with all his friends… except for Sonic, (with whom it’s completely heartfelt.)  At one point, Sonic catches sight of Tails staring and touching his two tails as if marveling at their fluffiness.  And a few times, it almost seems like the little fox flinches at the sound of his own name.  

But Sonic doesn’t give it THAT much thought!  

Later that day, Tails goes up to Sonic, and convinces him to spend the whole rest of day together… just the two of them, no one else!  Sonic and Tails go all over Green Hills.  Tails is DELIGHTED by all the blue skies, beaches, and palm trees!  Then they go to Tails’ workshop, and fly around a bit in the Tornado and eat chili dogs for dinner and spend the rest of the day blissfully goofing off together, until Sonic falls asleep…

…The next morning, Sonic wakes up.  To his shock, he finds that his fox friend has been working all through the night, constructing seven spidery mechanical tails for himself, which he then attaches to his body.  As he turns around and faces the thunderstruck hedgehog, Nine happily thanks Sonic for everything.  His life is finally happy and complete.

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What do you think?

This is AMAZING!!!!

Such a wonderfully thought-out prompt, of course, I'll write this out! Thank you for spending time to write out all of this! Must've taken a long time, so I'm honored you came to me about this idea!

Alright onto the story, I hope you like it!

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The rebellion was won. The Chaos Council have been defeated, now put in prison for their dictatorial crimes. With Nine's help infiltrating the base and helping in taking it down from the inside, and the Rebel's firm determination, the war was finally won. They were finally free.

But that was a part of their victories, the biggest one being the Shard, the LAST Shard they need to fix the world in Nine's hands. However, Nine noticed that Sonic didn't really treat it as a victory.

It came at a cost of course. In order to restore the world, the Shatterverse will have to disappear, and everyone who resided in it. They'd fade and become nothing but mere traits, it's a rather complex way to die, Nine mused. Nine and some other variants accepted it and others took it understandably. Anger, denial at their own identity, tears at their true existence.

It didn't matter if they didn't accept it, it was going to happen anyway. Nine moved to grab another shard to attach it to the others when he paused.

Sonic had been surprisingly silent. He was usually running around, exploring his lab with wide shimmering eyes of excitement, or prodding Nine on what he was making and keeping Nine company. Nine didn't mind it, he liked not being alone anymore. So he found himself confused when he realized this.

He turned over to look at the hedgehog, who was sitting on a red stool against the wall, looking at the ground with a conflicted look in his eyes.

His ears were drooped.

Placing the shard down Nine turned to the urchin once more.

"What's wrong?"

"Hmm?"

Sonic looked up, probably having been startled by his thoughts. He looked surprised at the question, before glancing at the ground once more.

"N-nothing it's just...", Sonic sighed as he glanced up at the metal kitsune once more, "Is this the only thing we can do? In order to restore the world the Shatterspace will have to stop existing? A-all of you will stop existing...I mean, I want to go home but..."

"Sonic.", Nine spoke calmly as he placed a hand on his only friend's shoulder, the hedgehog looked up at him with surprised, yet fragile, eyes.

"It's ok."

"No, it's not! You all should be able to live too, and the rest of the Shatterspace. Just all of it will be gone, all of you will be gone when we combine them-"

Sonic was cut off as a certain bundle of fluff, one that would have never done this, wrapped their arms firmly around him a genuine embrace.

"This is the best option. They won't just be gone. They'll still be there, just faintly. I'll be there, right by your side. I promise everything will be ok. This is the best option, we'll be ok. You'll be ok. I promise."

Sonic was stunned into silence for a moment, he didn't expect to be hugged by Nine of all people. The fox was usually so closed off. It didn't last long as he wrapped his arms around the fox to reciprocate the reassuring affection.

He chuckled softly.

"You are one awesome little guy, you know that?"

Nine snorted with amusement. Of course, now he knew that but Sonic was the one who gave him the idea of a new home. He made the gadget beforehand, one that'll give him full control of how they combine once more, a Tails in his own design.

He'll keep his promise.

He gave the hedgehog a light squeeze before pulling back. Smiling softly at the symbol of hope in his eyes, he smiled back.

"I know."

He walked back to the Prism, Sonic following behind. He lifted the shard, the final piece they needed. He turned to Sonic and held out his hand.

"Ready?"

Sonic nodded, taking his hand, his was firm and warm. Nine unconsciously squeezed lightly in response to the feeling.

And with that, the final piece was put into place. Everything was beginning to restore, the Shatterspaces combining to bring back the world they split from, every variant combining into the person they once were.

Nine could feel it. He couldn't see, hear, or think, but he could feel it. Sonic was gone, he couldn't find his hand anymore, nononopleasedontleavemealoneagain, He could feel himself becoming one, he could feel his body combining and squashing together with the other Tails. His thoughts, he didn't have any before-, were combining into theirs, no longer becoming his own. He was condensing, mashing, his limbs and brain combining with the others, and hecould'ntbreathhecouldn'tmovewherewashepleaseworkplease-

It stopped. He could feel his thoughts returning, he wasn't being mashed anymore, he could move, he could breathe, he could think. He was in control. He found himself laughing giddy with joy.

It worked.

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Sonic opened his eyes to lush green grass. Not overgrown like in the Boscage Maze but soft, and short, and right. He sat up quickly, looking around. When he took in the scenery, his eyes shimmered with joy, and a huge smile found its way on his face.

He was finally home.

Getting up quickly, he sped off in search of his friends. Speeding past, he nearly knocked a certain cat over.

"Big! Froggy! You're here, you're really here!"

He gave the feline a heartfelt hug, the cat was confused but not one to turn down a hug and carefully hugged back, not to prick his hand on the hedgehog's quills. After a split second, Sonic let go and ran off once more.

"Gotta go, I've got to see the rest of our friends!"

The purple cat confused waved at the already-gone blue blur. Sonic ran, enjoying the fresh familiar breeze of the wind ruffling through his quills, the soft smell of water and grass meeting his nose. He ran, and ran, looking everywhere for them. The chirps and chatter of flickies met his ears.

That's when he saw them, crowded around the familiar palm tree by the beach. Amy, with her usual red dress, pink quills, and flicky, Knuckles with his usual white mittens, red spines, and usual hard-headed expression, Rouge with her usual outfit of purple, white fur, and sultry gaze, and...

Tails, with the usual baby blues, the orange fluffy fur, and child-like wonder.

He missed them so much.

"Gang!"

They didn't even have time to react before the overjoyed urchin pulled them into a group hug. All of them let out exclaims of surprise, but Sonic pays them no mind. He missed them so much. Eventually, he lets them go.

"I missed you all so much! You're all you again!"

The others, other than Tails who gazed at him with an unclear expression, looked at each other in confusion before turning back to the oddly more chipper-than-usual hedgehog. Knuckles spoke.

"What are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about? I-wait don't you all remember the whole being shattered and..."

He trailed off when it didn't look like it was ringing any bells. He smiled and waved a hand.

"You know what, never mind. I'm just happy to see you all.", all of them raised their eyebrows, but he simply continued to beam. They soon relaxed and the usual chatter soon formed. Knuckles and Rouge with their usual banter and Amy being sweet and passionate as usual, and Sonic was being Sonic.

But the blue hedgehog noticed that his little buddy was surprisingly quiet. Tails was gazing around the beach with childlike wonder, he felt the sturdiness of the tree trunk beside him and picked up sand letting it slip through his fingers in curiosity.

When the others talked to the fox, those baby blues seemed to dim with boredom, and the kitsune's voice was rather flat and factual, but when Sonic spoke or acknowledged him, the kits eyes seemed to shine more, and his voice was filled with joy. When his name was spoken, it looked like the child flinched, and Sonic even caught him feeling his Tails, almost mesmerized by them.

He found it odd like something wasn't right. But he brushed that feeling off, maybe the fox remembered what happened and he missed being whole again. He decided he'd ask the fox later, knowing it'd just raise some eyebrows from the others. After hanging out the others went off, having things they needed to do, leaving the hedgehog and fox, who didn't seem to have anything going on.

The hedgehog turned to the kitsune, who brightened up in his presence.

"So, how're you doing little buddy?"

The kit seemed to pause in surprise at the affectionate term, but blissful joy soon took its place.

"I'm doing ok. I'm glad you're ok too, still running around and all."

Sonic paused at the odd comment, before chalking it up to some kind of light ribbing. He smiled and switched between stretching and running in place.

"Yep! You know me, gotta get those laps in!", he stopped and turned to his best friend beaming, "So how 'bout you? Got any new inventions?"

Tails paused, and then glanced at the ground, feeling his tails again. It seemed like they weren't something he was used to.

"Uh...yeah. Yeah, I got a ton of inventions! But, I'm not really working on anything right now, and I don't really have anything to do.", the fox glanced over at him expectantly.

Luckily Sonic caught on.

"Well...I don't seem to have anything to do either, so....You wanna go get some Chili Dogs?"

Tails seemed to be confused with the idea of Chili Dogs like he never heard about them before. He snapped out of it soon though, and nodded, smiling gently, his eyes shimmering with euphoria. That was what happened the rest of the day. Just two best friends hanging out. Sonic noticed that Tails seemed more interested in the surroundings and nature of Green Hills and actually seemed confused about what a flicky was. Sonic found it odd, but when he asked about it, Tails simply told him he was fine, that he was just so happy to be hanging out with him.

Then Sonic asked if he remembered, if he was him, and the fox's response was...odd. The kit seemed to tense up at the question before they turned to Sonic with a smile, a somewhat reassuring smile trying to pass off as a joking one, asking what Sonic was talking about, that he was the Tails he's always known, maybe even better.

Sonic didn't think much of it, he was just happy to be hanging out with his little bro. When they got to the fox's workshop, it didn't seem like a place that was familiar to the owner, which again pushed Sonic to ask if the kit was alright, the response is that he was tired. Glancing outside, the hedgehog noticed how dark it was now.

Agreeing to turn in for the night, the two went to bed in Tails' home, Tails was on the bed, even though the fox offered it to Sonic, who turned him down for the couch. When Sonic closed his eyes, he was in slumberland immediately.

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Sonic woke to the typical chirping of flickies. He sat up yawning and stretching, beginning to mumble good morning to his roommate before realizing the bed was empty. The hedgehog scratched his head in confusion, before frowning with both concern and annoyance on remembering the fox's habits.

He sighed and dashed out of the house and to the workshop. The door was closed, but he could hear the child tinkering away, most likely having worked all night. He knocked on the door.

"Hey bud, you in there?", he knew he was, it was just a habit.

"Yeah, come on in! There's something I want to show you actually!"

Sonic paused at the mention of a surprise, before letting excitement slightly take hold. He opened the workshop door to find the fox tinkering away on something, which was unfortunately covered from his view.

Sonic began to walk over to the fox.

"You know bud, as much as I'm touched that you made something awesome for me, you can't keep putting off your sleep to work on your inven...tions...", Sonic trailed off as he got to the kit, seeing just what he was working on.

Seeing his 'surprise'.

There were tails. metal tails, wrapped around the body of the kit, covering his namesake. No, covering his little brother's namesake. He felt his heartbeat increase as he began to realize who this really was.

Noticing his silence, the fox in question turned to him with crazily satisfied eyes, his smile was joyful, almost tender.

"I know you're more used to the two tails on him, but I couldn't really get used to it. Felt weird just leaving them out in the open, you know?"

Sonic couldn't form a sentence, shock taking over his body.

"N...ni...", was all he could utter.

The fox only smiled with glee and giddiness.

"Hi Sonic, I told you I'll be by your side didn't I?", his voice started out soft, then raised with bubbly excitement, "Besides, it'd be much better this way! I gotta admit I can see why you wanted to restore the shards so much, there's so much grass, trees, clean water - this place is paradise!"

Sonic didn't respond as Nine continued to ramble, he wanted to take a few steps back, to process what was happening, but he was frozen in place.

"-riends are kinda annoying but I can live with that, as long as they don't bother me I'm ok with them! Now nothing can get in our way!", the fox approached the urchin, and gently took his hands in his squeezing them softly, baby blues started into shocked emeralds with nothing but adoration and affection, with nothing but love, "We'll be together from now on no matter what. We'll go on adventures, beat Eggman, eat Chili Dogs, we can do everything we did before! Thank you Sonic, without you I would never have had anything to fight for. I wouldn't have found hope if I never met you, I would still be alone."

Nine smiled as he happily pulled the thunderstruck hedgehog into a loving embrace.

"Thank you Sonic, I'm so happy, I feel so complete. You gave me everything I ever wanted, and I'll give you inventions or gadgets that you need. We'll never be apart again.", tears of joy, of relief, of utter exhaustion began to spill from the broken fox's eyes,

"We'll be together forever."

Who is your favorite version of tails?

Nine!

I love how moody and complex he is. I also really like the spider tails! ^v^

A Chance Meeting Chapter 3: Chili Dogs And Confliction

Yeah! Chapter three baby! You can read it here, or on AO3 too!

Chapter Summary: A tiny fox genius meets a big blue boi.

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Miles found himself wrapped and cocooned in darkness and warmth. 

Shiting in whatever he was in, he felt the weight of some kind of blanket over him. It was soft, he liked it. Unfortunately, he soon felt a dull pain in his head as he did so. Raising a hand to his forehead he groaned as he sat up and rubbed his temples. His nose caught a whiff of something strong but full of different kinds of spices. It gently stung, but it was otherwise somewhat pleasant, nothing like anything he smelled before anyway.

Ugh, what happened? What's that smell?

He finally opened his eyes, colors and blobs once blurred becoming clear. He blinked in tired confusion as wherever he was wasn't his burrow. It was some camp. There was a pot held over a campfire with something gently bubbling within. A strong aroma wafted from the small cauldron.

Must've been where the smell was coming from. Whatever it is, doesn't smell half bad.

He turned his head as something red caught his eye. It was the bright red plane he was fixing before the bean caught him, the machine illuminated by the campfire beside him that bathed him in comforting warmth. It was still as lovely as ever. It's a shame he got interrupted. He turned his head as he caught sight of the hedgehog tending to the pot, having not noticed he was awake yet.

He slowly laid back down, preparing to go back to slumber...

Wait...Oh, shi-!

He sat up with a sharp gasp, ignoring the uncomfortable pressure on his poor head. As soon as he did he felt an unwavering sense of dizziness and fatigue wash over him, but that was soon covered with fear as he remembered what had happened. He had been caught by the hedgehog.

He froze with fear as he silently stared at the bigger being in front of him. His breathing began to accelerate. What should he do? He knows he should run, but he knows what the bean is capable of, it'd capture him again in a blink. His heartbeat was all he could hear now. He can't run, but if he stayed who knows what the bean would do. What if it wanted to wait until he woke to kill him, or-or what if it wanted to torture him before it did, or what if it kept him, what if it put him in a cage to become a pet? He didn't want to become a pet, he wanted to go back home and curl up and pretend this never happened. But what could he do now?

Stupid-! he cursed himself. If he hadn't decided to help the bean, none of this would've happened, but no! He had to fix it, and look where it got him.

Stupid, stupid-!

"Hey, you're awake!"

He froze as the bean's voice wormed in his ears. He looked back at the hedgehog, who was now staring at him with a small, strangely warm smile. Blue eyes just stared into emerald ones, the owner not uttering a word as he panicked even more. A tense silence fell over them, save for the crackling of the fire, the smoke from the embers listing and fading into the darkening sky as the sun was nearly up, ready for the night to be over soon. How long had he been out?!

All Miles felt was undescribable terror, his heartbeat now pounding so hard and fast he felt as if he had a heart attack. It'd be better to have a heart attack than this . Unfortunately, that wasn't the case as he continued to stare at his spikey captor. The said urchin began to show discomfort and concern on his face. The hedgehog spoke with caution and worry.

"Are...are you ok?"

Miles didn't answer, too scared for his safety to form any words. The hedgehog slightly grimaced at that stupid question, however, the expression went unnoticed by the tiny fox before him, whose shoulders continued to shake in terror. Strangled and choked sounds slipped out of the kit's lips, and he felt his eyes water at how hopeless his situation was.

Tears now fell on the folded sleeping bag he realized he was on. This was it. This is where his life ended. He couldn't run even if he tried, the bean most likely going to recapture him. Miles saw a form of panic form on the urchin's face as they lifted their gloved hands in a placating gesture.

"Hey, it's ok little guy! You're okay!"

Miles watched in growing horror as the bean began to move toward him. They moved off the log they were sitting on, gently walking towards the mini genius. When they were a few feet away, and due to Miles whimpering if he got closer, the hedgehog carefully sat in front of him. They looked like they wanted to move closer, wanted to do something but seemed to refrain. In place of whatever that was, the being he had to look up at offered a warm smile.

"Uh-so..."

The hedgehog stammered, not knowing what to do or say. His eyes darted for a second before his gloved hand moved to point at his chest, a somewhat confident smile beginning to blossom. 

"My name's Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog, what's your name?"

Silence.

"You do have a name, right?"

More silence. This time, however, Miles puffed up his tails in anger as the offense was now present on his face instead of the recent fear. Miles felt demeaned by that stupid question. Of course, he had a name, he just wasn't going to tell a being who would easily crush him out of existence! He felt a new sense of rebellion form inside him, if he was going to die, might as well face it with dignity!

The urchin just raised his hands in another appeasing gesture, chuckling softly in both nervousness and slight amusement. Miles felt his heart drop at how pathetic he must look trying to be brave in front of such a powerful being.

"Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to offend you!" the hedgehog, Sonic smiled and leaned forward slightly, making Miles flinch lightly and step back.

"So, what is your name?"

Miles stayed silent clutching one of his tails and moving his gaze to the ground, his ears flattening. After a deep breath, and ignoring how much he was shaking from realizing how close he was to the bean, he glanced up once more and gave them a harsh glare as best as he could. The mobians ears flattened as he leaned back, guilt present on his face.

"Alright, okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to! I mean, I wouldn't either if I was in your situation.", the urchin rubbed his neck out of both guilt and the uncomfortable awkwardness of this conversation.

Another pang went through the child's head, causing them to wince and rub at their temples.

"Oh, your head hurts, huh? I'm not surprised, you hit it pretty hard when you ran into the toolbox. You were out all night, must feel pretty nasty."

Miles tensed both at the mention of the horrible box that got him into this and the fact that he was knocked out that long. He looked around, but there was no sign of the stupid thing.

"Sorry about that by the way it must've fallen out or some flicky messed with it.", another nervous scratch behind the spiky mammal's neck. Miles felt slightly miffed at that comment, how the bean didn't think he was capable, but he could understand from his perspective. He couldn't think he could lift it out either until he had muscle sprains and wheezing lungs. 

But he said nothing. The less he said the better.

Silence fell over the pair once more, only to be interrupted by Miles's empty stomach. He quickly covered it and turned away from the hedgehog, who in response to the interruption let out an amused chuckle.

"Hungry?"

Miles felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment as a reply. He was startled when Sonic suddenly stood, moving over to something by the fire. He watched as the bean moved to the pot, gently stirring the bubbling liquid. His stomach growled more as he caught the scent of the mysterious source. Then a thought entered his mind and his tail tufts puffed up once more out of fear.

Is-is this maniac going to eat me?!

He's never really heard of a bean eating a borrower, but there's a first time for everything. He began to shake more, tuning out his surroundings. He was snapped out of his thoughts when his ears caught Sonic approaching. He backed up slightly, as the hedgehog kneeled before him once more, two dogs in each hand.

"Ever had a Chili Dog before?", Nine paused in confusion, before shaking his head slowly. Sonic's eyes gleamed, a silly grin taking over his features.

"Oh, then you haven't been living yet! Here, your taste buds will thank me!"

Confusion turned into surprise as the hedgehog then tore off a chunk of the strange hot dog, leaned forward slightly, and placed it near the fox, either not paying mind or noticing how the fox flinched and moved back two steps. The blue blur then licked the chili off his gloved fingers, then began to finish off the rest of the broken-off dog. Miles watched in confusion at what just happened. 

Thoughts swarmed in his head again. What was this guy playing? Was he sharing food with him, a borrower? No, it had to be a trap. Maybe he wanted him to think he had a choice, maybe he wanted him to lower his guard. When he got comfortable, he wouldn't have a chance. He continued to stare at the being before him who was currently chowing down with clear satisfaction, however, it wasn't even a second before they noticed he wasn't moving to the offer. 

The hedgehog sighed.

"Jeez little guy, you're acting as if I poisoned it.", Miles looked up at him with a glare, "Look, if I wanted to try something don't you think I would've tried it by now?"

Miles paused. He was right, he didn't kill him right away, he didn't wait for him to wake up to kill him, and just seemed to be concerned over him, which couldn't be possible, and now he was sharing food with him. If he wanted to try anything he would've done it. He looked over at the chunk of chili dog. It was still warm, slightly dripping the strange spicy-smelling stuff all over the makeshift mattress he stood on. He slowly made his way to the dog, keeping a careful eye on the hedgehog, and when he got there, he reached out slowly and sniffed the food carefully, trying to detect any traces of rat poison but he found none. At last, he opened his mouth and carefully bit into the offered morsel, eyes widening and his tails sticking on end as the flavor exploded in his mouth.

Before he knew it, his tiny paws were ripping off chunk after chunk and stuffing it into his mouth, savoring the delectable treat, a gentle purr of enjoyment erupted from him. The chili got all over his fur, but he paid no mind as he used his tails to scoop the excess sauce, licking his paws and tails. After a couple of minutes, the chili dog was devoured by the child patting his stomach happily in satisfaction. He was snapped out of his trance when he heard Sonic let out a chuckle.

"I guess you were more hungry than I thought!", Miles felt his cheeks burn up at the comment, and he turned away from the urchin. He paused as he caught sight of the forest, the way home. He wanted to run, but now he felt conflicted. He didn't trust the bean of course, but he was just confused at their kindness. It didn't seem like a trap, but isn't that what he wanted him to think? But he would've tried something by now, it doesn't make sense to push it this far. Or what if they were just waiting even longer to try something? What if he was just putting him in a false sense of security? Perhaps.

He was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't notice Sonic noticing his silence and turning to whatever the little buddy had his eye on, the forest. Miles was snapped out of his thoughts as the hedgehog abruptly stood and began to stretch turning towards another part of the rich tree-filled maze.

"Welp, I'm gonna go for a run!", Miles paused and made a confused noise at the random statement. What? That wasn't what he was expecting. Isn't he going to interrogate him on what he was or keep him for answers? Wait, was he was going to take him with him just to keep an eye on him?

Sonic meanwhile turned hearing the squeak of confusion seeing the little guy look as if he was having an existential crisis at the simple statement of leaving him alone and allowing him to leave.

"What? Ya think I'm going to keep you here?! You should probably go home kid, your folks are probably worried sick!", he paused when the kid's ears suddenly lowered at the mention of his parents, but continued, his words now slightly jumbled, "I mean it was really awesome to meet you, although it probably would've been better if you didn't run headfirst into something and end up knocked out, again I'm really sorry about that, but you seem like a cool guy! I hope I see ya around!"

Before Miles could reply to the somewhat awkward and unexpected statement, there was a burst of wind and a blur of blue, and the hedgehog was gone. His mind went blank at the current reality he found himself in.

Was...was the bean letting him go?

No, it had to be a trick! A-a-hope spot. Well, he wasn't going to fall for this, he was going to wait right here! So he sat there, waiting for about fifteen minutes for the blue blur to come back, only for him to still be gone. He began to stand, moving slowly to the place of safety before him, he held in his breath just in case the bean was watching, waiting to spring out and grab him. When he got about five feet, he made a break for it, running faster than he ever ran, not stopping once. He kept going, even when his lungs felt as if they were going to burst, even when his legs were starting to strain. He didn't stop until he began to sob with relief at the sight of his burrow of safety. He nearly collapsed after pushing the rocks over to squeeze in.

It was ok. He was home.

He was safe now.

As he stayed there, panting, laid down facing the ceiling of his sanctuary, his thoughts began to wander about the bean, to what just happened. The bean let him go, but why? The bean was kind, but why? The bean helped him...

BUT WHY?!