Sonic Fanfiction - Tumblr Posts

And so the new arc of Duplicity begins…

It is interesting to see how most of the writers on here are fully fledged people who probably have a job and are sometimes married, own a house, are completely normal people.

And then I’m a frog in your local pond writing fanfiction about Sonic and smut about whatever else.

Writing Shadow and Rouge dialogue is fun when you imagine Shadow as John Wick.

No Matter How Sweet and Nice

A fight with Eggman leaves Sonic and the others thinking Tails is dead. However, that's not exactly the case as they find out 6 months later when Tails is still alive...but working for Eggman. And worse, he didn't know who they were, believing them to be intruders, leading to a fight between robots and animals, which leads to Tails being knocked out and kidnapped, taken to what was once his home. It started with just constant eyes on him and constant coddling by strangers telling him they're his "friends". When he tried to leave and became much more violent in hurting them to free himself, he found himself in even more watchful eyes and needles that force him to sleep when he becomes too harmful, becoming a prisoner to them in his eyes no matter how much they try to deny it.

(basically an angsty Tails fanfiction because I can't get enough of these)

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He hated it here.

There was nothing more horrible than a place like this, Tails was sure. They keep constantly following him, watching him, making sure he wasn't trying to leave. They said it was to make sure they knew where everyone was in case of emergencies, or because he "looked lonely and needed a pal", or because of another lie they thought of on the spot; he knew better though. It was annoying, and frustrating because he was aching to leave. But every time he was caught and the escapes he recently did was now blocked off. Trying to leave through the vents, doors, and windows, they make sure someone was with them at all times, a constant guard to make sure that he stays within the walls or to notify them if their prisoner escaped. Tricking them into leaving him alone caused everyone to now not let him be alone no matter what he did or said. 

Yes, He was referring to himself as a prisoner. Because that's exactly what he was here. Being constantly monitored, never allowed to move out of the area, and not being allowed to go back home. His true home. Not this fake one they insisted was. If it was he wouldn't have had to be brought here, he wouldn't feel like this in the first place, and they certainly wouldn't mind if he was left alone for five goddamn minutes! No this was a prison, not a home. It might be their home, but not his, never his.

He wanted to go back home. Sure, it wasn't stable, at all, but at least there he wasn't constantly coddled and watched over like a baby. At least there he was respected and left alone to do his own thing. Here he found none of that. Here, he was constantly monitored and made sure not to go out of line, his accusations were ignored and denied; being told the complete opposite of what he knew. They showed him pictures, that could be photoshopped (it was easy to do), told him stories (lies), and tried to get him to remember the things he "used" to do. It never worked, mainly because to him it never happened. He never understood the emotions that formed on their faces, ones of sorrow and anger, or the utter heartbreak in their eyes.

He knew about some of them, and those were the ones who monitored him the most. There was a pink hedgehog named Amy, very kind and understanding, however, she coddled him the most, and acted as if he didn't know some things. It didn't come off that way at first, but over time he began to realize she thought that way when she constantly assured him simple things; snow, food, and other things he KNEW were harmless weren't going to hurt him. It came off as a tiny bit reassuring, but now it was just annoying. He didn't like that, while he wasn't rude or cruel to her, they weren't friends as she insisted.

There was another one, Knuckles, a red echidna, the "last one of his kind". He could see it being true, he hadn't ever seen any other echidna anywhere. With the lies he's been told, he doesn't know what to believe about them. He felt intimidated by the echidna, the rough and aloof behavior towards him not exactly helping measures. Knuckles always seemed angry around him. It was never at him, but something must've happened for Tails to change his attitude when the fox would enter the room. Going from being in a conversation to suddenly go quiet, the fox could always feel his intent stare on his back until he left. It was odd and creepy in the fox's opinion, so he tried to keep his eyes on the echidna at all times in case he tried something.

Then there was the one who visited and monitored him the most. A blue hedgehog; Sonic. Tails never understood him. The hedgehog was very friendly and always wanted to spend time with him. Tails didn't understand why. However, the hedgehog's ability to break the sound barrier was something the fox found fascinating. It was impossible, but the speedster managed to do it somehow. His fascination with the blue mammal's power did not deter him from eyeing the hedgehog with caution, no matter how friendly and caring he was towards him. He never understood why the urchin was so caring towards him. Why he cared when Tails stayed up later than the others, or when Tails didn't eat or drink water, or when the fox didn't bathe himself, and so much more than the fox, who didn't think those things were important. The kitsune found it weird, and as a result, he maintained an aloof and distant attitude toward what was stated to be his "former big brother".

It was Sonic who brought him here, in this godawful place that it is, as stated by the others to refuse to leave without him. The hedgehog was also the most against letting the fox go back to Robotnick. Tails never truly understood why, but he gave up trying to understand, now all he was, was frustrated at the rodent.

The fox was currently walking alongside the hedgehog around the village, amongst the scenery he found himself fond of. The only good thing in this awful place. It was a beautiful forest, trees scattered with emerald green leaves, birds singing their songs within, below critters scampered across the dirt ground, hiding or running through the many bushes. It was peaceful and calm. A perfect place to relax and listen to your thoughts. Unfortunately, he couldn't exactly relax with a prattling hedgehog beside him, constantly asking him things he didn't care about. The two-tailed canine only responded with short answers and nods. He didn't bother to try and leave, nothing the hedgehog would catch him in a heartbeat. Literally.

The only way he spoke to them, was not to share any information with them that they could use against him or the doctor but to respond with a simple yes and no what whatever stupid question they have.

He soon found himself trailing into thoughts of the doctor. What was he doing now? He probably already found out the fox was missing, but probably never figured out that he was kidnapped. Maybe he thought the fox ran away, or worse maybe thought the fox was betraying him. The fox found a multitude of thoughts that begins to fill his brain.

What would he do if he thought of the latter?    Would he hunt him down?                       

What if he found him?                  What would he do?

 Would he listen if the fox tried to explain that these crazy people kidnapped him?                                 

What if he didn't believe him?

What if the doctor disowned him?                         

Where would he go?                           

If he was kicked out what if these psychos find him again?

And if he escaped again what would he do next without anywhere to go?       

What if he never got out of here?     Why won't they let him leave?

  What about his inventions?       Would he be able to keep them?             

Would the Doctor destroy them?     

 What would he do if he does?

    Or what if the doctor kept them?     

 Would he take the credit for them?       

 What would Tails do if Robotnick used them on him?     

What if he died, then all of this would-

"Tails? Are you alright?"

The young canine was snapped out of his anxious trance by a soft call of his name and a gloved hand on his shoulder. The fox snapped out of his thoughts and met the worrying green eyes of his monitor. He noticed he was breathing rapidly, frozen on the path. He placed his hand on his chest as he began to inhale and exhale deeply, calming himself. The blue hedgehog eyed him with concern, asking once more.

"You ok buddy?"

The fox was about to snap at the hedgehog to not call him his 'buddy', but refrained. Instead, he simply nodded.

"Y-yeah."

The hedgehog frowned.

"You sure? You just suddenly stopped walking and started breathing like that. Have something on your mind?"

The fox's lips drew into a straight line. An unreadable expression formed on his face as he shook his head. Didn't want to deal with having to talk out his feelings and "trauma" with Amy again. He turned to keep walking, only to stop when the hedgehog responded.

"Was it about him again?"

The kitsune clenched his teeth in a mixture of emotions, mostly frustration at how the hedgehog could somehow read him like an open book. He turned back to the waiting azure mammal, shaking his head once more. It was now the hedgehog with an unreadable expression on his face, and once again Tails couldn't see what he was thinking. He previously found out pretty soon that the urchin had a rivalry with the doctor for a while. When the fox couldn't "recognize" him or anyone who mentioned Robotnick he saw a mixture of emotions form on the hedgehog's face. Sorrow, sadness, anger. Tails couldn't understand what all that meant.

That mixture of emotions was still present on the speedster's face. Sad and heartbroken, with a deep undertone of anger and self-blame. He never understood why he made that expression every time the doctor was mentioned by him and anyone else. But he did know two things: It made him hella uncomfortable and he was tired of it.

"Stop it."

The hedgehog's eyes widened at his usage of words other than 'yes' and 'no' but soon melted into one of confusion as he tilted his head.

"Stop what?"

"Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like...that! I don't know! Being all sad or angry or...whatever when ANYONE mentions him or I don't remember something you guys think I ever did. It's freaking me out!", The fox's gloved hands waved in the air as he spoke, lead on by a rush of adrenaline. The blue blurs face changed as he spoke, becoming one even more sad and regretful, scratching behind his quills as he spoke.

"Sorry, bud. It's just...what he did to you...it's not right. He shouldn't have messed with you in the first place. I should have been there to-"

"No no no... I'm not listening to you go 'I should have done this' Or 'this wouldn't have happened if I had...' because none of it happened in the first place. Me and you aren't best friends, we never were. Because if we were wouldn't have I remembered you?!"

"Yeah, you would have. He changed your memories buddy. He made them all wrong and-" The young kit grabbed at his head as he said those stupid words again. Gloved hands began to grasp at the orange fur, covering his ears.

"Not this again! My memories are fine! There's nothing wrong with them. You're the ones who need to get your brain checked because I'm not who you think I am!"

"No Tails, I KNOW what I remember. You're the smartest kid on the planet. You've stopped Ol' Egghead a million times with machines he couldn't dream of building. You're a friend to everyone here. You're my best friend, my little brother."

The grip on his fur became harsher.

"No No! Stop it! My memories are fine! You're the ones trying to change them, you all are. I was fine where I was before you had to drag me here where I don't belong! I was home with my family-"

"No. Eggman is NOT family, and that was NOT home. This is your real home, me and the others are your family Tails.", gloved hands moved to gently pry the fox's hands from ripping his fur out. Pulling the distressed child into a hug he continued to speak.

"Me and the others are your family. You're home. We'll make sure you get your memories back to normal, and we'll never let him get his hands on you again. You're ok here little buddy. You're safe. I promise." The blue hero gently stroked the fox's head, trying to get him to calm down. The kit continued to sob into the hero's fur, denying those things, murmuring about how he's a liar. There was a moment of calmness, before the fox's eyes widened and he suddenly ripped himself away from Sonic, beginning to scream and hyperventilate.

"No!-You-Y-your lying-You're a l-liar! My memories are f-fine, y-you're the one trying to ch-cha-ange them! I-I don't w-wanna be here anymore. I n-never wanted to be-e here! I want to go home...I want to go home! I wa-ant to...", the rest became nothing more than broken sobs, shrieks, and incoherent blubbering. The hedgehog tried to move closer to the kit, trying to calm him down, only for the child to bite into his arm and began to scratch him, his yelps and pleas for the fox to calm down went unheard by the manic person addressed. The others began to crowd around them, hands grabbing onto Tails as they attempted to pull him off, the fox's claws digging even further into the rodent he had trapped underneath him. Blood stained his gloves, and more of the ruby-red liquid was around his muzzle and in his mouth, leaving a strong metallic taste on his tongue.

He continued to shriek and cry in his state of hysteria until a needle was dug into his arm and he began to lose consciousness, his struggles getting weaker...

and weaker...

...and weaker...

Until everything went black...

The fox thumped his mitts together in boredom. Now they restrained his hands again. Great. Having his hands restrained meant that he now couldn't manage to pick up anything, not even utensils, having to ask someone to help him eat or to ask someone to take them off, meaning the person would stay in the room with him. They said it was temporary, and that they would come off when they were sure Tails wouldn't attack anyone else. This wasn't his first time doing this. He had bitten and scratched others in this place before, he can even still see the leftover bite marks or scratches that haven't healed yet on their arms and, for Knuckles, left ear.

It had happened when Knuckled was monitoring him, Tails didn't exactly remember what he said, but it cost the echidna a part of the left ear, not enough to make him go deaf, but enough that it was noticeable. It caused the echidna to be warier about what to say to the fox from then on. Amy had two bite marks on her right arm, and scratches coating the back of her hands, hidden by fresh gloves. Only she, Tails, and the people who were there when he attacked her knew they existed. She had tried to calm him down from his usual hysteria using one of those horrible syringes, saying something about a seizure. Saying she was sorry. She also became more cautious toward him. They both didn't monitor him that much after that.

Sonic had the worst of them. Bite marks and scratches coated his arms, one bite mark on his left shoulder and his legs were slightly bruised when the fox kicked against him one time.

But even though Tails did that he continued to spend time with him, acting like none of that happened. He didn't understand why the hedgehog ignored his attempts to shove him away. He found it a little insulting, but over time his anger and hatred towards this prison and everyone in it gave way to defeat and an overarching depression formed that made everything slower, it made him care less and less about what was happening around him. He couldn't bring himself even try to escape. They were just going to catch him over and over. What was the point?

There was hardly anything of his interest to do here. He couldn't tinker and build anything because someone had to be with him all the time, he didn't like it when people watched him work, made him anxious. The things he wanted to build would've gotten him out of here, so they'd probably stop him anyway. The thing he hated the most was how...nice they were.

Honey-coated words assuring him, comforting him, telling him everything was ok, and the one they repeated the most; we'll get your real memories back. What were they trying to do to say that? His memories were perfectly fine! He lived with Robotnick, not Sonic, like everyone else, including the rodent, wants him to believe. He's not going to let them win. 

No matter how sweet and nice, a cage is still a cage to the one trapped.

However, he's not sure what to truly believe anymore. He thinks he doesn't belong here but...he doesn't think he lived with Robotnik anymore either. The memories he had of the doctor didn't feel real. The picture's the people here showed him can't be real either. It...just doesn't feel right.

He sighed as he gazed outside, currently laying in his bed. Sonic was in the other room, bandaged and snoring away. He doesn't know the hedgehog keeps lying to him, telling him he's his brother. He was the one who took care of him. He was the one who took him under his wing. But...Tails just didn't know anymore.

Didn't know which past was real or fake, didn't know what to believe, and didn't even know if he was right at all. 

He hated this.

He hated Robotnick, always stealing the credit for the machines HE made. For destroying "failed" inventions.

He hated his old home, always so cold and empty. Wanting someone to talk to.

He hated this stupid place, everyone's eyes on him. Making sure he never stepped out of line.

He hated everyone in it, never letting him leave. Making him stay in this prison.

He hated Sonic, for bringing him here. Never leaving him alone.

He hated himself for being so easily fooled by everyone. Letting them confuse him.

He hated his mind, for never being clear on what was real. Which memories were fake.

He hated everything, for not making sense. Nothing ever did anymore.

The kit moved away from the window and curled up into his bed. There was no point trying to get out the window, the hedgehog was a light sleeper, and would wake up to the slightest creak of the floorboards. Even if he did get out, someone outside the village would tell them where he was and keep him there until they came and got him, reassuring him, telling him they weren't mad. These maniacs probably told everyone in this zone. He brought the covers over his body and tried to relax.

Tomorrow was another day.

He didn't know what to think of this place anymore.

It probably wasn't true anyway.

A Chance Meeting Chapter 1: Something New

On the planet of Mobius, mobians and humans lived together, but what if I told you there were other species that co-existed alongside them? Little creatures, scurrying under your eyes, taking little things you wouldn't notice like sewing pins, crumbs of food, bottle caps, left-out tape, whatever they need to survive, and unnoticeable to the beans they stole from. Miles Prower is one of these tiny creatures. He's a borrower, doing whatever it takes to survive in this big, unpredictable world. After witnessing his parents get caught and never seen again, he vowed to never trust a bean, to never let them see him. He stayed away from beans, living in the forest and away from the other borrowers that would mock him for his two individual tails.

So far, he's managed for years, now eight years old and living in a small cave he made in a burrow under a tree. He's lived long enough to know what to do with different predators, know where to find food, and also has a hobby of inventing on the side. That all changes however when a blue hedgehog in a red plane crashes onto the island.

(Or I just had to create a Sonic Borrower crossover because it is a crime that there is a shocking lack of any I could find)

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Mobius was a beautiful planet. Beautiful forests and nature-filled lands covered practically all of the planet. Fresh lakes and oceans were filled with lush and colorful sea life, filling the fresh air with the calming scent of fresh or saltwater. On this planet, there weren't only humans living here, but anthropomorphic animals as well.

They were called Mobians. Animals who would walk on two legs, act exactly like humans, and wear clothes. Humans and mobians lived happily co-existing among each other, seeing each other as equals. But what if I told you another race lived among humans and mobians? Little critters that scurried underneath your own eyes, taking things you wouldn't care to notice, just to survive.

Tiny people who could also manage to talk, cloth themselves, and act exactly like a mobian. They weren't shrunken, they were just born that way, tiny warriors born to survive. These were borrowers. Tiny people who lived underneath the floorboards or lived in secret tunnels made in walls of humans or mobians and took small things like forgotten sewing pins, bottle caps, ripped cloth, and whatever else they could use for survival. They lived off of many rules, all of them to ensure they could be safe and stay alive.

One of them was the most important: never be seen by a bean.

That was what they called both humans and mobians alike. It's quite odd they were called that, perhaps it was a mistranslation from the word 'being', or maybe someone mistook it for that. Nonetheless, that was what the bigger people were known as. Beans were dangerous. There had been many horror stories passed down on what happened to creatures like them who were seen and caught.

Extermination, domestication, bodies ripped open and studied, and many more could make the bravest adult of the race shudder in terror. Because of that, they vowed down generations to never be seen or caught by humans or mobians.

Borrowers weren't limited to one animal, there were many borrowers of different species, dogs, cats, wolves, tigers, bears, birds, foxes, hedgehogs, and many more. The many differences were that they were tiny beings, the tallest adult being 7 inches tall. Another thing that they had that mobians didn't was certain features of their legs, nose, tails, and ears of that of a rat or mouse.

An odd mix of features if seen by a bean, but to another fellow borrower, it's natural. However, while having mouse features on some that are quite odd, having multiple limbs is odd even for borrowers.

That's what Miles Prower knew his whole life.

Just a tiny genius kid living on his own in the deep beautiful but dangerous forest, under the safety of an abandoned bunny burrow dug in the base of a tree. It was a nice and quaint little home, with many things he either kept for survival or collected along the way. Another thing you might notice is the many blueprints and inventions he created, made out of used bottles, bottle caps, balloons, paper, and even gears!

Miles had a gift for inventing, having been fascinated and passionate about the subject. He tinkered and made many kinds of inventions that would help him. Like a dome made out of several sand-filled straws, kept together with ducktape coloring the surface so he wouldn't see roots or dirt thrown on him every time a bean walks by, a makeshift lightbulb made by what once a broken nightlight before Miles came upon it. He took care in fixing it, separating the bulb from the power block and adjusting it so it functions like a normal lightbulb so things wouldn't be dark all the time.

He made a whole grappling hook, made of fish wire, a hook, a broken piece of plastic, and an engine he stole from a little toy car. He even made a device that helps crack open walnuts with just a paperclip and a pair of tweezers. Scattered all around his home, small blueprints were scattered about the tiny domain, blueprints of things he had thought of to help him and were yet to be made.

Truly Miles Prower had a gift. However, no matter how innovative and helpful these creations made were, there was one thing that always cast him out from the other borrowers:

Miles Prower had two tails.

He had the typical characteristics of his fellow borrowers, small mouse ears, long legs with padded feet like that of a rat, and a narrow snout. He even had bandages, made from leftover pieces of cloth, wrapped around several different places of his body from encounters with other predators. He was a little fox, having bright orange and white fur, and sharp predator-like teeth he made sure to chew hard foods like apples or seeds to keep his teeth from overgrowing his tiny body, and the orange and white tail. Or in this case, tails. They were long and skinny with short stubby orange fur ending in soft, fluffy white tufts at the end, like the other borrowers.

Nobody knew why he had two, he was just born with them. Other borrowers would constantly mock and make fun of him for them, calling him a freak or calling him 'Tails', which he absolutely hated. They were already weirded out by his inventions, seeing them as 'dangerous' and 'unnecessary'. But no matter how much trouble his inventions caused for the weekly portions of the clan he resided in, his parents never blamed him or pushed his dreams down. His mother and father always used to tell him to ignore these kids, that he would create something that would change borrower kind.

How he missed them.

If someone were to ask where his parents were he would simply reply that they were gone and that they had been a long time, but he wouldn't tell you what happened if asked, he'd simply walk away and ignore the rest of the conversation, not wanting to open up old wounds. It had been four years, Miles was eight now. He had managed on his own for a long time, making sure to stay far away from beans. 

Back then he had been innocent, happy, and carefree. Now he was focused, serious, and constantly cautious. He knew the dangers of beans now, and the high stakes of his kind were always in. That was part of the reason he left and ventured out into the forest, so he wouldn't put the others in more jeopardy. He was only four back then when he went on his own but somehow managed on his own against the wild.

Now he knew more than how to survive. He knew where the best place to view the star was, where the fullest berry bushes were, how to tie a double knot when climbing, how to bandage and treat wounds and cure infections that may be caused by a bite from a critter with possible rabies or neglecting to clean the wound properly at first. He still had a bandage on his right arm from being attacked by a bird for stealing some worms.

Yes, he grew and matured, but that didn't mean he was happy. He was satisfied at best. Long days of surviving became nothing more than dull and empty. Miles Prower wasn't lonely, however. That was ridiculous, he was doing just fine on his own. He didn't need someone around to be another mouth to feed, a dependent weight to carry. He was perfectly fine on his own!

He just wished there was something more exciting out here. Something other than trees, berry picking, lizard skinning, or gazing at the endless white dots in the sky. He wanted something new . Something exciting.

Miles was bored, to say the least. He needed some excitement. Some adventure. Miles didn't exactly see wishes coming true, his past wishes of being accepted and not having his food stolen by the other kids. They never came true until he made them by leaving.

So imagine his surprise when one day, while he was carrying a lizard he killed back to his hut, a rising of smoke in the direction of the beach. At first, he was confused, as hardly anyone went there. Next to come was heart-pounding curiosity. This was something new.

What was out there? What was causing that smoke? He was just brimming with all sorts of questions related to the mystery smoke. All of them were itching to find out. He should really go back to his home and do what he normally does; focus on getting through the day and surviving. But his curiosity was overriding his survival instincts, nobody ever came out here, no beans or other borrowers. Nobody did other than him or his fellow critters.

Fear began to take hold of the little fox, as suspicions began to rise in his mind.

What if it was something dangerous? Maybe if he found out what it was he'd know what to do later. If it was something that threatened his home or his territory he'd know to move. The thought of moving made his heart pang, but it was always better safe than sorry. The now-forgotten lizard fell to the ground as the fox began to move toward the direction of the mysterious smoke, both excitement, and uneasiness beginning to bloom in his chest.

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Bright blue eyes stared in both awe and brimming excitement at the machine before him. It was a plane! A big beautiful red plane. He had heard and read about the beauties, but had never seen one in real life. Not until now. It was as amazing and huge as he thought it would be. Sleek metal. Big wide wings. It was everything he ever dreamed up beside the fact that it was currently in disrepair. Smoke seemed to be coming from the engine, perhaps there was a new need for an engine, or perhaps something was busted. He had read plenty of books about planes, including reading and studying how planes work, he could probably repair himself if he had the right tools...

and had the right height.

While the plane was beautiful and amazing in every way, there was just one problem. The plane belonged to a bean. A bright blue hedgehog with white gloves and red and white shoes was glaring at the plane, muttering something. He seemed to be mad and Tails made sure to stay out of sight. A mad bean was dangerous. Most prone to violence. Most prone to death. As lovely as the plane was, nothing was worth dying for. The hedgehog seemed to be mad at the plane. Seemed to be... talking to the plane?

Ok. That was odd.

The hedgehog looked at the engine, waving away the smoke from his face before glancing at it. He groaned in annoyance before slamming it back down. Jumping off the plane he appeared to be pondering something, his hand on his chin and his foot tapping abnormally fast. He took a glance at the forest, Tails ducked behind a bush for cover, and his eyes lit up. He turned back to the plane, smiling, and turned back towards the forest, newfound determination in his green eyes.

Before Tails could even blink, the blue urchin suddenly shot off in a blue blur, causing the small fox to yelp out in surprise, hanging onto the bush to avoid being blown away. When the backlash died down, the fox was left in utter shock and confusion. Eyes wide he murmured out one question.

"W-what just happened?"

That was impossible. Nobody could go that fast. It was impossible. But that hedgehog just did it right before his eyes. A shiver went down the borrower's spine. He would have to stay far away from the bean. If he was that fast, the fox didn't stand a chance. And sadly away from the plane. He looked back at it with sadness and longing. This was the first time he's ever seen a plane up close. He was hoping it would be abandoned or unoccupied. But no, it was used by the most dangerous species to borrower kind. 

Wait.

This was pretty close to his home, wasn't it?

Yeah, this wasn't too far. It was in his territory. In fact, this was extremely close to his stargazing spot. This wasn't good. He loved watching the stars, not to mention, he needed to stay far away from beans. He saw what happened the last time he was caught. He saw what happened if borrowers were seen and caught. His mind began to come up with different ideas. He couldn't torment the bean. It'd only make him angry and possibly more dangerous. He couldn't let himself known to the hedgehog so he couldn't leave any notes asking him to move. Not to mention the plane was even bigger than the urchin, he probably wouldn't be able to lift it.

Wait, the plane.

He looked back at the plane. The perfect plane save for certain smoke coming from the engine. Someone would fix it eventually. After all, it looked like the hedgehog crashed on here or was forced to land because of the broken engine. Once it was fixed the bean would leave. He just had to wait.

He sighed sadly and looked at the plane one more time before turning and beginning to head off to his burrow. 

What a shame. He just wished he could see and explore the plane. Well, he can't stay too long, the bean would probably come back with another bean. No matter what he couldn't be found out.

It was too dangerous. He just hoped the hedgehog would leave soon.

A Chance Meeting: Chapter Two: Helping Hand

Basically, Tails helps out with the plane since the damn hedgehog doesn't know anything about mechanics. Unfortunately, it leads to something he REALLY didn't want to happen.

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Ok.

This was NOT good. The hedgehog should have left DAYS ago. He would've had it fixed and then he'd be off into the sky with the fantastic plane.

And away from Miles.

Unfortunately, this was not the case as the young borrower would watch the blue idiot try to fix the plane on his own. He watched as it only resulted in the plane letting out puffs of smoke in the hedgehog's face as his attempts to fix it failed. Miles huffed in annoyance as he watched the hedgehog try to fix it over and over from the safety of his hiding spot in the tree. He couldn't see exactly what the hedgehog was doing but whatever it was it wasn't the right tools or placement on certain parts. This wasn't good. Over time he had nearly been squashed with the blue rodent blasting off everywhere. Not to mention when the urchin would explore the island he nearly got seen multiple times.

So he had observed the bean for a while, so what? He was just watching the enemy, finding its weakness. So far from what he had observed the bean was fast, had a certain diet of hot dog-like food, and was very curious and adventurous. The worst traits a bean could have. Quick ones snuffed you out easily, and curiosity lead to them most likely keeping you as pets or experiments.

It was clear the bean had no idea how plane mechanics work, and was also too stubborn with pride to ask for help from someone who does. The fox sighed, at this rate, it would take weeks, maybe months until the hedgehog got out of his territory. However, if he did something about this it might take a shorter time...

No.

That was a stupid idea. He couldn't interact with beans, never. Besides, it's not like the hedgehog would stay against a helping hand, right?

Unfortunately, Miles found himself cursing his hopeful thoughts as being wrong.

The damn urchin was still there after four days. This was starting to get riskier and riskier as the blue mobian stayed longer. However, Miles knew he had to make up his mind during one of his borrowing trips. 

He had finally managed to catch another lizard. It took a while. This one was a fighter. However, one stab to the skull and it was out like a light. After wrapping a cloth around the head to keep the blood of the lizard from getting in his fur and leaving a trail for predators to follow, he moved the lizard to drape over his shoulder as he prepared to haul it home, the sun beginning to lower, exploding into colors of pink, purple and red in the blue sky.

Unfortunately, this was when the bean decided to crash through. Miles was first alerted to the predator when his fur and ears perked in alarm at the light tremors of larger footsteps. He panicked as they came closer and closer to where he was, and they were alarmingly fast. His eyes quickly darted around for any hiding spot, landing on the bush that was behind him.

He just barely got in the covers of the shrubs when the all too familiar blue of the hedgehog came into view, bright red and white sneakers mere inches from where he was. The thought of how easily they could snuff him out made the borrower shudder. Miles held his hand up to his mouth to muffle his hyperventilated breaths, sky-blue eyes carefully watching the being above, pupils dilated in fear.

The hedgehog looked around the forest for a moment, sniffing slightly, before lifting his tan arm to his face, gloved hand closed in a fist. He moved the hand under his nose, and a finger rubbed under the snout. 

Then there was a burst of wind and a flash of blue that sent the little fox grasping onto both the lizard with one hand, not wanting to lose his food, and the bush for dear life with the other, letting out a cry of surprise. After it died down again, the fox huffed in annoyance and stuck out his tongue in the direction where the urchin ran off.

He hated when the bean did that. Almost lost 2 lizards because of it. He didn't want to go back to eating tree sap, mysterious mushrooms, and grass again.

As he headed back to his burrow, thoughts began to run through his head.

This was another close call. If he was a second too late he would have been trampled. 

He shivered, not from anything cold, but from heart-pounding fear. This had happened too many times, where he would be getting food or water before the hedgehog would suddenly come out of nowhere. Luckily he hadn't been seen or squashed, however, the gust of wind that would follow the blue blur would carelessly toss the food or the water from the self-made canteen away. Luckily it would only land on the ground, however, it was very inconvenient for the tiny fox, who would sometimes get blown away alongside the supplies, landing hard on the ground. Bruises had begun to form on his fragile body as a result.

He was lucky he never landed or hit anything with his head, his skull would have easily been damaged.

He could die if this continued.

Miles shivered once more, before feeling the lizard starting to slip, he paused, readjusted a firm grip on the lizard, and continued once more, his eyes dimming with relief at the sight of his home up ahead. It wasn't messed up or showed any signs of a predator deciding to nap there, he didn't have to worry about any more danger.

He always hated it when an animal, mostly bunnies, would come and claim his home as their own. When luring them out with food didn't work, he'd have to go in and fight to reclaim his territory once more. He didn't kill them, he never killed them, didn't even think he could, he simply gave them wounds of warnings to stay away. Oftentimes they'd run away and leave him alone.

But Miles didn't think he'd be able to fight any more animals for today. The lizard really was a stubborn fighter. Took all of his energy to take it down, now he needed a nap. 

He entered his little cavern, making sure to close the entrance behind him, which was just two big rocks covered in some kind of moss. It had once been leaves, however, he learned quickly that leaves weren't good at keeping things out, nearly drowning under sloshy mud made by the occasional rain, or having to chase more bunnies out of his home.

He fumbled around, trying to find the light bulb, when he did, he turned it until it gave a soft click.

Soft yellow light erupted from the bulb, illuminating the small room. Miles placed the lizard on a long wood slab, which acted as a table, and moved over to his bed, landing face-first in it with a deep sigh. His bed was a carefully assorted pile of leaves and moss, soft enough to be comfortable, and warm enough in winter. He closed his eyes, wanting to let sleep take him away into his dreams, but opened them again when his stomach started begging for food.

He hadn't eaten anything all day and had been scavenging for food until he found this lizard. He groaned and moved off the bed, preparing to skin the lizard. It was a long and tedious task, one that took almost an hour to complete. His stomach moaned once more at the reminder. However, it needed to be done, the lizard's skin being too hard to chew.

He went over and grabbed the things he needed, a sharp shard of glass for the cutting and a flat rock for the scrapping of the excess fat, then he moved over to the lizard, held it in a certain position, and began the process. He knew how it was done, he'd watched his father do it plenty of times, and he memorized his father's instructions when the old man taught him. He knew where to cut, how to place the animal, what to remove, and the careful way of removing the skin without taking away any of the meat.

As he worked he found his thoughts trailing back to his father. How his father would praise him when he did something correctly during his teachings, how his father comforted him when he first cried over the dead lizard, his father's rough but warm hands holding onto his own, showing him the right pace on scrapping the fat faster. He missed that. He wished he hadn't done what he did that made him lose any chance of having those again.

He shook his head, not wanting to recount his past stupidity, his past carelessness.

He had to focus. The last time he didn't he had to bandage his hand, having nearly cut his finger off.

He worked on removing the lizard's genitals, making sure his cuts were careful and precise. After he did that he worked on removing the scent glands, finding himself lost in his thoughts once more.

This time it was about the bean, notably about his past and recent encounters.

He couldn't continue like this. Not with the hedgehog speeding around. He nearly got killed several times with the urchin around. More times than usual. With the bean so close to his territory it was now becoming clear that ignoring it was a death wish. Either that or it was a desire to be discovered. 

But what could he do? He couldn't be discovered, but he needed to push the bean along to leave. Another thing came to mind. The plane. It was busted for now. There was obviously something misplaced or something that needed to be fixed. He had researched a lot about planes and their functionality of them. 

He paused in the pelting process he nearly forgot he was doing.

That idea was insane. He could easily get killed by the plane or the bean, not to mention he'd easily get discovered. However, it might just be the only one that could work. The village he used to be in was miles away and could take days to get to at his size. Even if he got there, there'd be even more beans to evade and hide from. If he somehow managed to find someone who could help, what would he even do?

If he wanted the bean to leave as soon as possible, he'd have to go out there and fix the engine himself.

It was clear the bean had absolutely no idea how to fix it, but maybe he could.

It was a stupid idea, one that absolutely terrified him, but maybe it was the only way he could make sure he doesn't get killed.

He wished and prayed that there was another way, but he couldn't think of anything that wouldn't end in immediate death. His hands began shaking as he figured this was the only thing he could do, his legs began to wobble as they began to feel like jelly.

His breaths were now shaky, and he felt a cold pang in his gut. He stayed far away from beans after the incident, but now he didn't seem to have any choice. The kit felt tears begin to form, ones of horror and slight anger at no other choice. He swallowed.

It was the only option, and he hated it. He looked down at the lizard, its opened stomach and bloody limbs becoming nauseating to him despite having been used to it. Only one thought rang through his mind.

Crap.

----------------------------

Miles stared at the plane, blue eyes now filled with fear and uncertainty. The hedgehog wasn't around, having most likely gone on one of his runs, so Miles had about an hour to do whatever he could to fix the machine. Despite that knowledge, the fox still hesitated to move from the bushes he hid behind. His heart hammered in his chest, and his palms began to sweat and shake.

He knew he had to do this, if he waited, he'd keep putting it off. If he did that the hedgehog would never leave. His legs still refused to move, his body frozen in fear. He wanted to go back, to hide away in his burrow and never leave the safety of the cavern. He took a shaky step back, beginning to humor the idea, before clenching his fists and narrowing his eyes. He took a deep breath and returned his gaze to the airplane.

No, he could do this. Even if he didn't want to, he should at least try to push the hedgehog into leaving.

He should try.

Eyes narrowed in found determination, he began to approach the aircraft, ignoring the jelly-like feeling in his shaky legs. His tails swished quickly with unease behind him. He held out a hand to the flying machine, his palm brushing cold metal.

He let out an exhale, not even knowing when he held his breath. The fear was slightly forgotten as a small excitement began to take its place for a moment. He had never gotten this close to the plane before, and it was exhilarating. It was even more beautiful and amazing up close. He walked along the side of the metal tin, his hand trailing behind him, having never been taken off the hard warm metal.

He approached one of the big red wings and began to feel those as well, despite them not feeling any different from the other parts of the plane. His fear began to diminish as he continued to explore the plane, his tails now wagging happily behind him.

"Incredible! You can fly for miles, huh? Travel to all sorts of different places, to so many different adventures.", he murmured to the inanimate object. His eyes dimmed as he remembered the objective at hand. He moved his hands to grasp the wing, pulling himself up, grunting with effort as he began to climb the transport. He made his way to the engine, uneasiness beginning to form when he finally made it to the desired location. A new problem rose.

How was he supposed to open the engine?

He huffed in frustration at the new problem. All that preparation for this to happen, what a waste. He sat down on the part that needed to be open as he began to think. He had to get it open, but how? He obviously couldn't open it by himself, but maybe he could use something to help him. If he had something long and sturdy maybe he could pry it open, or he could have something hit the cover to open it. Miles found himself leaning towards the former, not wanting to damage the plane and leave traces that he was there.

His eyes darted around the scenery, eventually landing on a long stick having been broken off by the tree above it near the forest he emerged from. He carefully navigated off of the plane and retrieved the stick, dragging the heavy, for him, object back over the plane. He moved to the engine and placed the stick in the crevasse of the cover, after sticking it there so it would lift off the ground, he jumped on the other end several times until both the wooden object broke and the engine popped open.

He fell to the ground with a hard grunt as his body collided with the earth. He got up, brushed himself off, and once again navigated to the engine, being careful not to fall in. He took his time to examine the mechanics, eyes glimmering with pure awe, and the hedgehog was momentarily forgotten. It was absolutely beautiful, with all sorts of gears, and gadgets used to function the lovely machine.

He found himself getting giddy once more before he shook his head and regained his composure. He needed to concentrate. However, he needed something to help him with this, maybe the plane had something lying around somewhere to help him with this. He moved off of the engine once more and made his way to the cockpit.

Glancing in, he couldn't find anything. He moved over to the rim of the plane and hopped down onto the soft seat, landing with a gentle thump. He eventually caught sight of it at the bottom of the pit, he landed on the hard, but somehow still soft, ground and moved behind the box. He groaned and grunted as he pushed the box over to the seat. He then moved it so the side of the box leaned against the seat, and moved under it. He didn't have a muscular build, in fact, he was quite skinny compared to borrowers his age, but he somehow managed to slowly, but surely began to push it onto the seat. Making it fully on there but having his feet push against the dashboard, paying mind to avoid pushing any of the buttons.

After several muscle-straining moments, he finally managed to lift it all the way onto the seat. He collapsed to the ground in utter exhaustion, moaning with relief. He stayed that way for about five minutes before begrudgingly hauling himself back up. He didn't have time for a nap, he had to get this done before the urchin came back. Orange fur-covered aching arms lifted him back onto the seat, the owner panting heavily, his face slightly red as he collapsed once more onto the seat.

Okay. All he had to do was push it over the cock pit and out of the plane and he wouldn't have to lift it anymore. That's all he had to do, and the horrible box wouldn't make him hurt anymore. That's the only thing and then no more. After resting for a bit he began to once more push and lift the cursed object out of the plane. His muscles threatened to buckle under the pressure of the large box, half sobbing, half laughing with relief as it landed outside with a loud clang, the toolbox's contents spilled across the ground below. He panted and sat down on the cushion, leaning against the wall of the aircraft.

Then the fear started to kick in. What if the bean was nearby? He might investigate whatever that was. That thought made the kit freeze in terror. He stayed still and held in his breath for what seemed like forever, ears perked up and listening for footsteps, voices, anything that might signal that the bean was nearby.

But nothing. He slowly peered over the rim of the cock pit, and all he saw was the peaceful forest, and only heard the chirping of birds. He sighed with grateful relief and went back to rest for a bit. He couldn't stay that way for too long, he knew that, but he couldn't tire himself either. He could at least wait until the strain in his muscles died down before he did any more strenuous activities.

As he rested the kit still had his ears perked up for any sounds that could alert him to the arrival of the bean. Luckily he didn't hear anything that showed signs of that. As the borrower's muscles strain died out to the point where he could manage enough, he pulled his tired body out of the resting spot and fell hard on the ground he forgot was there. He groaned, slightly muffled due to his face planting of frustration. He sighed and moved himself up, looking over the tools he spilled with slightly dimmed determination and resentment.

As much as he wanted to give up and wobble back to his hut, he already got this far. If he did that he'd just have to start all over again, and he did NOT want that. He moved over eyeing the instruments of the invention with careful eyes before landing on a wrench. He hoisted the stupid thing up and made his way back over to the engine. It was hard to climb a 200-ton machine with a device that was over 5 times his size, but again, he managed.

He began working on the engine after seeing what was wrong with it. He first started with a slow careful attitude, cautious with the soon-to-be returning bean on his mind, however, that soon became forgotten as he became lost in his own gear-ticking brain and excitement. This was exactly as all of the books he'd found about planes described it. It was even better now that he was doing it himself. His tails swished happily behind him as he tinkered away to his heart's delight, not only almost managing to fix the engine but also coming up with ideas to rearrange some things to make it go even faster.

Unfortunately, he was so lost in his own excitement that he neglected to keep alert, missing the footsteps of the bean returning, nor the gasp that followed. He was alerted when there was a loud thump and rustle of something hitting the ground, most likely a paper bag.

Miles froze, and he moved over to look at the source of the sound, praying to Chaos it wasn't what he hoped it wasn't.

Unfortunately, the gods of luck didn't seem to be on his side because his sky-blue eyes landed on emerald green ones. The hedgehog's face was caught in an open-mouthed stare. For a second time seemed to stop for both of them, one in absolute pants-wetting terror and the other in shocked disbelief...

...before Miles became an orange blur, quickly moving off the engine and away from the mobian. The action only drove the urchin into motion, as he registered the bigger beings' footsteps giving chase behind him, the beans voice reaching his ears.

"H-hey wait little fella! I'm not gonna hurt you!"

Yeah right! , was the fox's only thought as he avoided the large white hand, barely slipping its grasp. He ran under the plane, eyes widened in terror as he glanced behind him, catching the confused, shocked, and somewhat awed eyes of his pursuer looked under after where he ran. He had to get out of here, had to get away. Unfortunately, if he even had a chance of escaping, it was foiled by the kit suddenly slamming hard into the carelessly discarded red toolbox. He fell back on his back as he fell dizzy.

Everything began to blur, colors condensing into a blurry soup as he began to lose consciousness. He barely registered a shadow looming over him, barely registered the beans voice speaking to him, all he saw was a darkened blob of blue above...

...before everything went black.

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.

==============================================

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?!

Fan version of Sonic and Amy designs belongs to Chaoseclips.^^

Sonic version of Kali design belongs Darkcatkajiit.^^

It was around 3 AM on what was officially Sunday morning when his phone rang.

Sonic jumped, nearly falling off the little bench at Crazy Carl’s kitchenette table. They’d been sitting together quietly. Carl had shown Sonic a few of the letters from his time in Vietnam before going and answering his own phone calls from Wade with sorry, haven’t seen him.

And so when Sonic’s phone lit up, his mom’s name and picture on the screen, Sonic didn’t know what to do.

“What if they’re mad at me?” He curled his legs up. “I was a jerk to them before I left. And I was worse to Tails and Knuckles.”

“Probably are spittin’ mad at you,” Carl said with a shrug. “Ain’t everyday their baby runs out with a pack’a portal rings. Be surprised if they weren’t.”

“They probably hate me.”

Carl laughed. “If that’s what you wanna think.”

Sonic gnawed at his lip, looking down. “Do I… answer it?”

“Up to you. Like I said, ain’t my job.”

___

This fanfic is one of my absolute favorites! I’ve been wanting to make fanart for it for a while now but I’ve been busy with my job/ other projects. But I’m glad I finally had the time to make this. I really liked the interactions of Sonic and Carl and it’s now my head cannon that Sonic visits Carl every time he’s stressed.

Thank you @humanityinahandbag and @samthefrank for all of the love and work you put into your Sonic fanfics. Keep up the great work!

hey, mystery! sorry for not like. not really saying(?) anything for a hot sec. quick q; d'you have a favourite sonic fic, in any form of sonic media? :eyes::eyes:

Hello Darlin’!❤️✨

To be honest, I really don’t read fan fictions anymore. The last time I read a fanfic was 2020. I’ve been busy with Uni work, lab work at the museum, and I’m writing a research paper that I’d like to publish soon. There’s… really no time for me in the day to read and appreciate other people creative writing talents🥺 I like to admire from afar, though!

I do, however, have a few authors that I definitely will give shout-outs to that I know write things for the Sonic Cinematic Universe:

@the-brucest-fan

@niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian

@rockmilkshake

@dragon-spaghetti

I wrote one last year as well…

This is a post is free for anyone to tag with their favorite fanfic authors. Let’s spread the love and recognize their talents!❤️✨

HAPPY SUNDAY! For some, that means it's Father's Day.

Why not celebrate it with a great dad in our newest chapter of Part of the Tribe!

Warning: This chapter contains bureaucracy

@samthefrank have been cruising through this story and reading all of your amazing comments!

Warning: This chapter contains bureaucracy

More doodles for the absolutely amazing story Making Space by @samthefrank and @humanityinahandbag . I’ve had most of these sketched and planned forever and work got in the way of me finishing them until now. I’m sorry they’re so late!

I already have some drawings floating around in my head for the sequel fic too. It’s just too good not to make art for.

Happy New Year, Sonic fans! @humanityinahandbag​ and I have a new chapter for you!!

Hello! Here are some questions I'm asking fanfic writers for fun and for you to answer if you feel like it!!! :DD :

1. What is your favourite fic you have written and why? (This can be something you haven't published yet or a general story idea)

2. How long have you been writing fics for? (In general regardless of fandoms)

3. Best friend you have met through the Sonic fandom?

4. Another writer in the fandom who's work you admire?

5. Favourite Sonic oc you have made and why? (If you haven't made any then skip this one)

6. Your favourite (or favourites if it's hard to pick) fanfiction you've read?

7. Which fic have you written which has the most sentimental value or story behind it?

8. Favourite Sonic character?

If I have sent you this, love your work!!! Hope you have a good day and thank u for your contribution to the fandom!!!

Oh wow!!! This is my first ask- (very excited)

But to answer your questions!!

1. My favorite fic I've written was my TLOU Sonic Au- I love it sm because it combines 2 of my favorite shows and has SHADOW AND TAILS DYNAMIC!!! (I just love writing them together)

2. I've been writing fanfics for only a year- the Sonic Fandom inspired me fr (I was considered a new fan-)

3. OH!! @passionartx !!! One of the best people I've ever met- super talented and creative!!( Def check out their Sonic Tangled Au!!!)

4. Hmm- unfortunately I'd have to say @myyla-x (they make good fanfics ig... (dw love you broo <33))

5. Haven't made one- (tho my friend has like a MILLION)

6. OHHH! I THINK ABOUT THIS FANFIC ALL THE TIME- IT INSPIRED MY OBSESSION WITH THE ARCANE SONIC AU!! It's called Unreliable by SpringEvergreen!! (ahhh I reread it alot)

7. Uhhh I would have to go with Bubble Pop! It's important to me since I sorta just used it to vent and write how I see sorta see the world- (I'm stressed 365/12 and 24/7 (and terrible social skills)) but it's also not my greatest work-

8. I wonder who my favorite Sonic character is???? At this point I should just put Tails fan page on my bio- (LOVE MY BOYYY)

THANK YOU SM FOR THE ASK!!! It was so fun to answer them- and I hope you continue to enjoy the work I put out!!!

Have a good day!! <333333

"I promise to you, Chaos, if you don't let me die today, I will worship you till the day I die." Tails muttered to himself. When he woke up today, the last thing he ever expected was that he would end up chained up and held at gunpoint.

Went Bat shit insane and started a whole new fic! And worse of all- it's a fucking cowboy Au! Fuck it- We calling it Vaquero AU!

Check it out, tho

Sorry, do you have a link to your Walking on Gun Shells fic, I couldn't find it

Of course!!!!! Here ya go!!

I should put up chapter 3 tomorrow night-

Hiya! Welcome to the first day of Sonic Big Bang 2024!! This is the reason I haven't been updating "Like Glass", so I hope you enjoy this meal, and none other than @its-raining-rats-and-frogs helped me with editing of this work!!!

And also, check out these artists that made some incredible works as part of the Sonic Big Bang 2024! After all, they worked hard, and I wouldn't want their pieces to be missed!!

@halloweenorangesoda (https://www.tumblr.com/halloweenorangesoda/753939364708548608/my-entry-of-a-sonicamyshadow-bodyswap-as-seen-in)

@peachy-keenss (https://www.tumblr.com/peachy-keenss/753929569273282560/hey-i-was-an-artist-on-the-sonic-big-bang)

@frostios (https://www.tumblr.com/frostios/753918494261788672/i-was-apart-of-the-sthbigbang-as-a-mod-but-also)

Below cut is the summary!!!

Everyone has their bad days, but Sonic having his frustration on full display is already unheard of, however this wasn’t just a single day; rather two weeks worth of it. And don’t get Amy started on the recent “spars” between Sonic and Shadow. Amy would argue that they’ve been trying to murder each other like never before. In some cases, Knuckles; and sometimes even Amy herself, needing to intervene. To make matters worse, the Blue Blur is especially avoidant of his counterpart, ironically much to Shadow’s irritation. She never had anything against their rivalry, but this was getting out of hand. Amy is sick of it. She just wants her friends to be happy again. With Amy nearly at her limit; she decides to put matters into her hands. She may or may not have heard of legend describing a gemstone that can help individuals understand each other's perspectives. What she hadn’t anticipated was how involved she was going to get, literally walking in each other’s shoes.

@sthbigbang

Introducing... Dice the Cat! To be introduced in the second Arc of "Blue Titans (Continued)"

No one knows where Sonic lives.

Even in his so called world renowed hero status, there’s way too little that the general public knows about Sonic The Hedgehog, sure, they know what his favorite food is, they know the names of his friends, and they know when his birthday is, but they don’t know where is he from, how is he so fast, or what is his reason to fight.

They know about most of the times he has saved the world, but they don’t know why his shoes don’t get burned by his speed, they know he can turn into a god-like glowy golden being, but they don’t know how exactly the magical jewels that do that work, they know he’s unstoppable, but they don’t know why.

Most people don’t care that much about that kind of information, even if he’s a hero, that’s his own business, even heroes need privacy; but then there’s the curiosity, the enigma, the mystery, most of those questions will be left without a solid answer, but there’s a few that should have definitive one.

Where does someone who can run around the whole globe in a matter of hours live? There’s a lot of theories.

Sonic has enough fame to have several fan clubs all around the world, and between all those fan clubs there’s been a lingering interest in the enigma of where does sonic live, between all the other questions this one is the one that gets the most possible answers, considering factors like his speed, his well known crave for adventure, his love for nature, all of it could make the difference between the right answer and the wrong answer.

At certain point, the curiosity reaches to more general public apart from the fanatism prone, and when in opportunity to talk to him, a lot of people start asking him the same question: “where do you live?” the answers all equal and all different at the same time “right here in the same world as you” “it varies from time to time” “I don’t think you could visit me”

The vagueness, the confusing contradictions, the evasion of the subject; he’s doing this on purpose. They might not know a lot about the blue speedster, but now this sole data needs to be known.

They start asking Sonic’s acquaintances instead of the hedgehog himself, they know they’re not getting an answer out of him at this point, and if anyone could have one, his friends should know it. Turns out that they don’t know.

Most of his friends being more annoyed with the fact that not even they know where he lives than about the people sticking their noses to his friend’s business was a surprise to the masses, and underwhelming, backtracking, frustrating surprise.

There’s an anonymous user online who affirms that not even the hedgehog’s arch nemesis knows where Sonic lives. Reliable sources support the statement.

The waters of nonsense gossip calm down after some time, but the question still remains, left to be more of general curiosity than lingering mystery.

A random day in a random town, a news program happens to be live outside when the speedster passes by and stops to smell the flowers around the area, the reporters ask him for a small interview, he says they have till he finishes picking up enough flowers for a crown.

They ask the same question everyone has asked for quite some time, just a different word, “Sonic, where is your home?”

Apparently the accidental rephrasing change is what finally gets it, as the speedster just says “right now? should be at mystic ruins”

He runs off immediately, the reporters left speechless, the program still on air on TV’s and the web, and the world going wild.

They finally got a straight, solid, specific answer. “That can’t be true” “but it can” “it’s logical” “it’s not” “he must’ve been joking” “he sounded serious” and more and more discussions take place around that single interview, the fan clubs are theorizing again, the general public is now more curious, and the official news from all over the globe need to confirm this by themselves.

So they ask again.

A full week later, a different city in a different country, different news reporters don’t even bother to ask him for an interview, they just run to him the moment they see the blue blur pass by and ask him again “Sonic, where is your home?!” He yells his answer without stopping:

“Last time I checked was in Central City”.

“It’s a contradiction” “then he was joking before” “he might change where he lives weekly” “we need more proof” “that was way too specific again”.

A different continent, two days later, a group of kids manage to record him when he greets them from the other side of a mountain, they ask “Where is your home?!” He yells back “I’m not sure at the moment!”

The confusion only grows, now no one knows if he’s genuinely giving true answers or full ass lying, it would be logical for him to do either. The curiosity becomes a mystery again, and people are legitimately trying to track all the locations he has mentioned to find out what is this all about. Some people even try to track him down. They try.

A whole month later, there’s a celebration near sunset city, a commemoration of some sorts, there’s been a lot of battles in way too little time so people just try to think about the party rather than the motive for it. Sonic attends the celebration along some of his friends.

A local news channel manages to reach him at the chili dog stand where he is waiting for his food while talking to the two tailed fox everyone knows is his best friend. They don’t mean to interrupt, but these opportunities are limited.

They ask the same question, the same word change that they know works: “Sonic, where is your home?”

The blue blur hangs an arm around the kit’s shoulder in a half hug as he grins widely, he says loudly: “right now, it’s right here!”

This time his home was with him.

Mask

As an experiment, I tried to translate my own fanfiction. I don't know how badly I did it, but if it turned out to be readable, I could post fanfiction here too x) Of course it's scary to go for this... I just decided to try x_x

Rating: G Category: Gen Characters: The Diamond Cutters team (Whisper, Slinger, Claire, Mimic)

Summary:

As soon as she joined the new team, Whisper immediately faced difficulties: her mask did not want to work in any way. What should she do? Help came from where Whisper had never expected… *The events are entirely based on the comic book "Tangle & Whisper" and are a direct backstory.

      Once again, Whisper was startled by the unexpected and loud beep that the white mask spewed out. The single electronic eye on the front side suddenly blinked and went out again. What is it?

      She was clearly doing something wrong... but what exactly?

      The wolf continued to nervously twist the high-tech mask in her hands, as if it were some kind of mysterious and alien find. But in words, everything sounded so simple! Such and such a button does this, another button does the opposite… Press this, then this… And it will work like clockwork! But for some reason, the simple algorithm did not work for the gloomy Whisper in any way: the mask simply refused to work, as if unwilling to obey unfamiliar hands.

      "You'll figure it out in no time!" optimistically put an end to Smithy's explanations, thrusting his creation into Whisper's hands. The wolf, on the other hand, just watched with a dumbfounded look as Smithy hurriedly collected piles of scribbled papers and crumpled drawings... The inventor was clearly not up to it at all. He was too busy. The blue eyes blinked in confusion, looking first at the mask itself, then at its creator, who was hurrying away.

      Maybe then Whisper didn't have time to understand anything, but... since Smithy said that everything was very simple... then perhaps she shouldn't burden the leader of the Diamond Cutters with stupid questions, right? She'll figure it out on her own. Somehow.

      ...Of course, Whisper soon regretted her decision: left alone with the outlandish mask, the wolf managed to get only annoying beeping from it. The mask seemed to turn into a small bird, angrily pouring out a trill of insults. It was getting annoying.

      The wolf tried to start over. She slowly repeated the sequence of actions that busy Smithy had babbled to her.… Slowly, button by button... like that? Mentally praying, Whisper put the mask to her face: nothing had changed. Still, the wolf saw dead blackness instead of a cozy room around. However, now it was possible to notice a number of incomprehensible numbers, fluently replacing each other.… Well, that's something. Maybe it was lines of code? Should Whisper ever have seen these numbers?

      Whatever it was, but in this ridiculous battle, the wolf was defeated again. She gave up trying to guess the coveted combination to the tricky puzzle. Whisper was sure that she was holding in her hands just a titanic work that took an indecent amount of time from the brilliant inventor. And what about her? She wasn't even able to just turn on the mask. Not like using it. The gentle wolf drooped even more. Will Smithy be very upset? What if he kicks a would-be volunteer recruit out of his team? Chaos, this is only the very first task, and everything was already wrong!

      ...But after all, cutters not taken her for ”deep knowledge of technology”, right? So would something terrible happen if she went out on the battlefield without her mask for the first time?

      But it was such an important event. The very first assignment in a new role, in a new team… Whisper wanted everything to be perfect. She didn't want to stand out in any way. All of the Cutters proudly wore Smithy's creations. Everyone skillfully used the inventions of the talented lion against the Eggman… How could Whisper not follow their example? No, she has to deal with her mask. By all means. Whisper saw this as a manifestation of her respect: not only for the leader, but also for the entire new team. In response to all that the Cutters had done for her... it was the least she could do.

      In her reverie, the wolf turned over the mask and peered into the dead eye, in which the blue ring should have been glowing. But it didn't glow. The lens resembled a smooth gemstone of the blackest shade of all existing ones. It seems that Whisper had not noticed before how this mask was actually... frightening. Why were these dots-holes on the right half needed? Is it such a symbol? Or did these strange holes have some important function? Or maybe-

      No, no, it wasn't up to that at all now. She urgently needed to figure out how to use the mask before the operation began! But how? Keep playing with luck, hoping not to hit the self-destruct button in the end? Maybe Smithy will still have time to come back and explain to Whisper again-

Of course! After all, she can turn to other cutters, not necessarily to the main inventor! And how did this thought not immediately occur to her?

      Inspired, the wolf jumped up from her chair and hurried out of the rest room.

      At the same time, Whisper continued to look at the cramped quarters of the headquarters, in which she will spend the next few years… Unless, of course, she accidentally messed up. The anticipation of a new life felt like a pleasant chocolate sweetness. Whisper no longer hoped that the established way of life would change so rapidly for the better. And everything was just beginning... The wolf couldn't believe what was happening. Wasn't all this just a fleeting dream that would irrevocably melt in the morning rays? Maybe she's about to open her eyes and find herself back in the dusty cubicle of the Resistance?

      Whisper clutched the mask to her chest like the most precious treasure. The wolf was walking down the corridor, and her new dark cape was fluttering behind her back. She was not used to this either…

      Whisper broke away from her thoughts, concentrating on remembering the way to the armory. Some time ago, almost all the Diamond Cutters took the recruit around their lands together, having a nice tour. The main thing is not to confuse the door. After the unsuccessful experience with the mask, Whisper doubted her own memory ... but fortunately she made the rest of the way to the armory already following a familiar voice that echoed through the walls of the headquarters.

      At first, only the sharp wolf ears appeared in the opening, and then the whole Whisper. She was in no hurry to take a step outside the door. At first she only watched what was happening from the side, like a child who stared at a toy showcase on the way.

      At the end of the long room, hung from floor to ceiling with wispons and other dangerous weapons, stood a broad-shouldered ocelot. He was concentrating on his laser guns. Cutter kept getting distracted by two mischievous ephemeral spirits-wisps hovered above, weaving among the hanging fluorescent lamps. For them, it was like an aerial obstacle course prepared especially for them. Wisps were clearly having fun, judging by their happy faces and gambling coos.

      «Cyan! Rocket! Just don't break anything!» Slinger called out to them for decency, concentrating on trying to figure out where the fresh scratch appeared on the body of his wispon. The whole spectrum of ocelot's heavy thoughtfulness was betrayed by his swaying tail.

      Wisps muttered something in their own language in response. They listened to the cutter and slowed down slightly, but they didn't stop playing catch-up. It was as if wisps were ordinary little children, and not dangerous entities woven from the pure energy of Chaos. However, they were only dangerous in the wrong hands... they were the sweetest creatures in themselves.

      Whisper stole a glance at the wall hung with weapons. There was also her orange wispon. A sniper rifle. The rifle would have been useless without a wisp named Rocket, whom the wolf met quite recently. Just think, but Whisper was the only owner of such a unique wispon… The Resistance could only dream of such a thing. Proud and happy lights lit up in the blue wolf eyes of their own accord.

      Suddenly, wisps began to murmur and were distracted from the game. Both spirits descended to an unexpected guest, who for some reason got stuck in the doorway. Maybe she was waiting for an invitation? Orange spirit and turquoise spirit circled around Whisper affably, clearly greeting her. A shimmering train trailed behind them. Electricity was felt. Immediately Whisper's fur stirred. The wolf waved her hand timidly in response, and both wisps rose to the lamps again, as if wanting to disappear into the white glow.

      Slinger immediately noticed the guest and smiled sunnily. It seemed that the ocelot could emit light along with wisps, even though he consisted of ordinary flesh and blood. Although, who knows?

      «Oh, Whisper!» Slinger greeted cordially, returning the laser guns to their rightful place on the wall. Very soon, he will take them up again to destroy another pack of Eggman’s bots.

      All the first days of her new life, Slinger was a safe island for Whisper: no expectations, no masks and no worries… The cheerful ocelot was generally the primary reason why Whisper was able to join Diamond Cutters. Of course, the wolf first turned to him. Perhaps it was even worth doing it right away and not wasting time arguing with an inanimate mask ... However, she did not want to use the help of an infinitely kind and generous ocelot too often.

      Slinger continued to speak, noting the restless shadow in Whisper's eyes. He was quite a tall mobian, so he had to lean a little towards the wolf:

      «How are you? Are you worried?»

      «...A little bit.» Whisper did not lie, palely responding to Slinger's sunny gaze and smile, «I hope nothing happens.»

      «Don't worry, we'll be right there! Let at least one @##!&% just try to approach you… And It will regret it.» although the ocelot said this with a smile, but in his eyes Whisper clearly saw a predatory gleam that overshadowed all doubts: this is exactly how it will be. «Let's blow up a couple hundred blanks and go home! Before you know it, it's all over, haha!» Slinger finished as if nothing had happened.

      ...Sometimes Whisper completely forgot who Slinger really was, right? The Diamond Cutters team took on the most dangerous missions possible only to extremely experienced freedom fighters. The Cutters wouldn't have taken Slinger in just like that. Only the best of the best were among them. And ocelot was like that. There was much more to his childish, beaming smile. But what about her? Did the team make a mistake with their new recruit? What could they see in her? Will she be able to meet their expectations, their trust?

      As if hearing someone else's confused thoughts, the mischievous wisps immediately returned to their owners. Cyan settled comfortably on the shoulders of a tall ocelot, his gaze questioning the essence of the conversation. The orange Rocket landed on the palm of Whisper's hand. Rocket lifted her awkward paws up and squeezed her eyes shut happily. Rocket repeated and repeated something in her own language, but without a mask, no one could understand these cute messages… However, it seems that Whisper guessed it anyway. She may not have had time to get attached to a new companion yet, but warm feelings were already touching her heart.

      «Do you see? We're not going to let Whisper get hurt, are we, guys?» Slinger asked cheerfully, and the wisps became even more animated, vying to answer the obvious question.

      «Thank you, Slinger,» Whisper smiled warmly. «I appreciate it.»

      She had no doubt that she could rely on ocelot. She only doubted her own abilities.

      «And thank you too.» the wolf turned to the cheerful wisps.

      Rocket and Cyan soared again, taking the enchanting light with them.

      «...Actually, I wanted to ask for help,» Whisper said softly, showing the ill-fated mask to Slinger, who carefully pricked up his ears.

      «With a mask?» he said.

      «Yes.»

      «What's the matter?»

      «I... I didn't understand how it works. Smithy explained it to me, but he was in such a hurry, and I-»

      «Yeah, I understand. Lately, he hasn't even had time to breathe once more...» Slinger took the mask with the extinguished eye from Whisper and turned it over in a puzzled way.

He examined it properly. He studied it with his cat's eyes. The front side, the inside. By his instantly frowning face, the wolf immediately suspected something was wrong.

      Chaos, she didn't break the mask, did she? What's the matter?

      «I would love to help you, Whisper...» Slinger finally looked up at the worried wolf, « ...But I don't use a mask. I have this instead.» Ocelot took out a monocle from the depths of his gray poncho, very similar to the switched-off lens in the Whisper’s mask. Perhaps it could be called... a mini version?

      «Do you remember saying that you used to have a mask too?» she said.

      «Yes. But to be honest...» Slinger scratched the top of his head and grinned, «I can't even remember roughly how this thing works.» ocelot returned the mask to the owner with a sincerely regretful look, «I'm sorry.»

      «Oh, it’s okay.»

      At some point, the wolf was already sure that her problem was about to be solved. Now, Whisper finally remembered that technology and Slinger are practically incompatible things. Gadget even said that for him it was beginning to believe in paranormal phenomena, because it was simply statistically impossible to break electrical appliances with the frequency with which Slinger did it.… Why Gadget has not tried to smooth out the relationship between ocelot and technology after all? Then the wolf would not have to take on all these breakdowns, resurrecting the unfortunate toasters and microwaves over and over again… But Slinger never had any problems with wispons: everything that fired seemed to jump into his skillful hands.

      Whisper still have to try to figure it out on her own. But will she make it in time?

      Slinger was silent. Then the disheveled ocelot smiled encouragingly again, that's how he was built:

      «Well, what's the big deal! Then go without a mask today. Smithy will explain everything to you again later, no problem!»

      At first, Whisper did not want to tell everything as it is. But she trusted Slinger completely:

      «...It's important to me.»

      «What's important? Be in a mask? Why?»

      «Smithy did me a favor. I want to show that I appreciate his work.»

      «Oh, Whisper! This does not mean that you don't appreciate his work!» Slinger leaned a little closer to the wolf, as if trying to give his words even more weight, «He is an understanding and kind lion! Don't get so upset.»

      Whisper nodded, dropping her thoughtful gaze back to the mask in her hands. She really wanted to be in it on her first assignment, but apparently she would have to-

«You know what? Why don't you go to Claire's place?» Slinger suddenly spoke up again, beaming even more at the visit of such a wonderful idea, «She knows more about these things than I do. She should be upstairs.»

      «Would she... mind?» Whisper stammered, confused for some reason.

      «Of course not! Maybe she'll also make you some kind of prediction for today?» ocelot spread his hands and closed his deliberately cunning cat's eyes, «Who knows?»

      What? A prediction? Oh, yeah. Claire is... a medium, right? Smithy also called her a "psi-operator”, but Whisper didn't even understand the meaning of that title. It was obvious that Claire had some kind of powerful ability... but what exactly was that power? Could Claire sense other people's emotions? To see the aura of others? Feel the danger? To anticipate events and see the future? To move objects with the power of thought alone? Whisper’s head was already spinning with various theories. ”Medium". Even the word alone felt extremely mysterious! And ”psi-operator"? Absolutely terrifying.

But at the first meeting, Claire left an exceptionally pleasant impression on Whisper… Well. If everything goes well, then Whisper will find out about everything herself after a while, right?

      «...Yes. I'll go.» Whisper nodded again, more to herself than to Slinger. She drew the mask closer to her heart, along with an instant renewed hope to make everything perfect.

      The wolf in the dark cape was already turning around, when she suddenly realized: maybe she should have asked Slinger to come up with her? Unlike Whisper, ocelot, after all, has been working with Claire for quite some time. They already have a good relationship. And Whisper barely exchanged a few words with Claire on that cursory ”excursion”... however, what's so scary about that? Whisper will just ask one question, right? The world won't go up in flames from this. And the wolf will not be kicked out of the team for this.

      So Whisper left the armory, waving goodbye to Slinger and wisps. Soon they will all be on their way together.

      The closer Whisper got to the living rooms, the harder her steps got. It was as if her legs were going to tie themselves into a knot to give themselves an excuse not to go anywhere. A dialogue was being rehearsed in the wolf's head, which was about to sound in reality: everything is to the point, everything is clear, everything is fast! So as not to cause any inconvenience to the future teammate! Whisper wouldn't want to start a full-fledged acquaintance with Claire on an unpleasant note… It made her nervous to realize that Claire was far from her and Slinger's age. For some reason, in Whisper's eyes, this fact turned everything upside down. It was as if she had to come up with a completely new language just to ask the medium for help.

      Finally, the right door was right in front of Whisper. Plain and wooden, just like in the dormitories of the Resistance.

      The wolf knocked, having only rehearsed the lines a few more times.

      There seemed to be an infinity hidden in every second. The sharp wolf ears pricked up as soon as Whisper heard footsteps outside the door. Soon the door was opened and clear ice-like eyes stared at the wolf from a dark crack. As soon as Claire recognized the new Whisper as a guest, her gaze immediately warmed up: like a frozen river visited by the spring sun, chasing away all the cold. The monkey in the dark cape magically changed, brushing aside recent thoughts.

      A friendly smile appeared on the neat face of the little mobian, and she left her secluded abode:

      «Hello, Whisper! How are-»

«Hello, Claire! You're-» wolf stammered, accidentally interrupting the respected medium.

      Oh no! Whisper immediately caught herself, covering her mouth with her hand:

       «I'm so sorry!»

       «Don't worry!» Claire chuckled kindly, immediately gently taking Whisper's hand in a soothing gesture.

      Now the wolf herself appeared in the place of the tall Slinger. She unconsciously leaned closer to the interlocutor, who was barely taller than an ordinary child. It wasn't rude, was it?

Claire suddenly spoke first:

      «What’s wrong? Did something happen to you?»

      How? Did she-

Whisper blink in surprise:

       «…Did you... feel it?»

      «Oh, no!» Claire laughed softly at such a funny guess, «You just look a little worried, dear. What's the matter? Do you have any problems?»

      «I...» Whisper exhaled and handed the short mobian a non-working mask, «...If you are not busy and I am not distracting you... then could you help me deal with the mask?»

      «Of course! Just give me a second.» Claire smiled warmly and released Whisper to return to her room for a few minutes.

      During this time, Whisper tried not to think about how stupid she looked and sounded. And why did she say that out loud? "Did you feel it?". How could you even think of such a thing? Obviously, everything was written on Whisper's face. In huge letters. In bold. You don't have to be a medium here to understand that something has happened…

      After a while, Whisper suddenly realized that she and Claire had very similar dark capes. It felt like a real honor. Wearing the same uniform as all the other talented cutters filled the wolf with a wide variety of feelings. A sense of responsibility, among other things.

      Finally, Claire returned. She was holding a Whisper’s mask in one hand and her own mask in the other:

      «Oh, I'm sorry, honey... But it seems that you and I have completely different models. I'm afraid of spoiling something inadvertently.»

      Claire's mask might be similar to Whisper's in general terms, but it was still completely different. The medium's mask did not have any lenses. There were only three dark dots-holes. It was not necessary for a higher being like her to see the world. However, maybe the reason was something else? Of course, the mask of the mystical psi-operator had to be special and distinctive from the rest. Whisper should have guessed it herself…

      Whisper obediently took her mask back, already resigned to the trouble that had happened.

      Claire continued encouragingly:

      «Smithy's busy right now, but he'll definitely help you later. Don't be afraid to handle any problems, okay?»

      «...So it's better for me not to take the mask with me on a mission?»

      «Yes, I think it would be wiser to leave it for next time.»

«I understand. Thank you very much.» Whisper said with the utmost seriousness and hurried away so as not to detain the respected medium any longer.

      Before the wolf had even reached the middle of the cramped corridor, Claire called out to her:

      «Whisper?»

      «Yes?»

      «Don't get upset. I'll bring you some waffles tonight,» Claire smiled sincerely again, clearly intending to share the warming sun, «Okay?»

      Waffles? Whisper expected anything but this. She had forgotten that she now lived here with the Cutters. Her and Claire's rooms were literally a few steps away from each other. Oh-

«Thank you!» Whisper belatedly replied with a confused note.

      She will definitely need to figure out what to give Claire in return.

      The medium smiled sweetly and closed the door, returning to her abode, filled with the smells of a wide variety of Mobius flowers: healing, beautiful and long-withered.

      On the way back to the break room, Whisper continued to examine the mask in her hands. She wasn't trying to do anything anymore. Probably just hoping to find something she might have missed.… Where is it better to leave the mask? Should she take it to the armory? To Smithy's workshop? Or go up to her new room? Or maybe it's worth trying to remember the combination of buttons again? What if it does work out?

      Carried away by her thoughts, Whisper was about to enter the break room to return to her favorite chair.…

      But suddenly she stopped abruptly, as soon as she looked up.

      This is-?!

A wolf in a dark cape immediately darted back through the opening, as if being a ghost from the depths of darkness.

      She saw the black silhouette of an octopus standing at the end of the room. The last cutter, which Whisper preferred not to even think about once again, and-

      Mimic.

      Slinger said a lot of things to Whisper about his teammate. For example, that it would be much more difficult to get along with a Mimic than with anyone else. If even for Slinger (for the friendliest creature in the world!) it was difficult... then Whisper probably shouldn't have even tried. At first, she hoped to encounter the octopus only in the company of someone else. Ideally, of course, with Slinger. Slinger even promised in advance to settle any such issue. But the tall ocelot was not there. Neither sweet Claire, nor needlework Smithy were around.…

      No, of course, it was just stupid to expect real danger from the elder cutter. Whisper just didn't want to appear like a complete idiot in front of one of the founders of the team. That's all. The first time they met, Mimic carefully watched at Whisper's every move, as if she were a potential thief and not a new member of the team. This observation made her terribly uncomfortable. Whisper immediately decided that Mimic disliked her from the very first seconds. But what did she do wrong? Wouldn't she make the situation even worse if she asked for help?

      ...When the wolf, clutching the mask to her heart, was about to hurry upstairs: away from such nervous meetings… Suddenly, there was an incomprehensible rumble in the room.

      What's it? Did Mimic move something or-? Something heavy? Maybe it was Whisper who should have helped her teammate right now?

      Partly due to the last thought, and partly due to ordinary curiosity, the wolf nevertheless carefully looked into the opening…

      Mimic opened the door of the transparent refrigerator with a bang. He began rapidly filling the empty shelves with whole packs of some glossy cans. At the same time, Mimic worked not only with his hands, but also with tentacles, managing to hold the door for himself. When the refrigerator was full to overflowing, the octopus took one can and slammed the door with an even stronger bang. And how did it still not crack? Whisper heard the familiar hiss, accompanied by which an ordinary can of drink is usually opened… The octopus didn't seem to need any help. So-

      Just as Whisper took a step away from the ill-fated opening, she suddenly noticed something familiar in the middle of the cluttered table.

      It's not by chance-…

      Yes. It is.

      Whisper dropped her gaze back to the mask in her hands.

      There was a Mimic mask on the table: almost exactly the same as hers…

      It would seem that the wolf had finally found someone to ask for help... but it was scary to even think about it. Hmm, and what should she call it? Incredible luck or incredible bad luck? Why exactly did Mimic, the most ambiguous cutter of all, have a similar mask? Could Whisper have asked him for help? Or is it better not to? She felt that the stakes were much higher now. The tremor in her voice and unnecessary chatter would definitely not be tolerated by Mimic, unlike Smithy and Claire. And do not forget that the future of Whisper in this team depended not only on the leader, but also on Mimic — the ”second founder”, as ocelot called him… She had to take control of the situation.

      Where is the best place to start a conversation? Apologize? Start with the case right away, so as not to waste his time? Or-

«...Are you going to stand there and stare at me for a long time?» suddenly Mimic spoke sharply to the ghost behind his back, without turning around.

      Did he notice her?! How?!

      Caught off guard, Whisper immediately stepped inside. Her heart skipped a beat and began to beat with triple force. Chaos, what had she gotten herself into?! She should have left right away. What was she doing all this for anyway?! Now it looked like Whisper was deliberately spying on Mimic, right? If she had been in Mimic's place, she would have been angry too. Has she already ruined everything, and-

«I'm sorry.» Whisper said in a surprisingly calm voice faster than her thoughts.

      Mimic finally turned around.

      There was no anger in his black eye sockets and predatory snow-white pupils, which Whisper was so afraid to see. The octopus's gaze was rather... completely blank.

      Before that, in her entire life, which Whisper had spent mostly in the Resistance, she had not yet met the cursed mobians. She didn't understand what it was. And there were so many opinions on this subject on Mobius that it couldn't be counted… Almost everyone was terribly afraid of the cursed ones. Who would have thought that in the ranks of the best freedom fighters of Mobius there would be just one of them?

      Soon Mimic arched an eyebrow, waiting for at least some sane explanation from the newcomer.

      «I wanted to ask you to help me deal with the mask. If it doesn't bother you.»

      It would seem that just a minute ago, Whisper was terribly panicking ... but as soon as she spoke, cold calculation immediately filled every cell of her body.

      Whisper changed beyond recognition, as soon as she was on the battlefield, all her fears and doubts disappeared in an instant, irrevocably burning in an icy fire. She became a completely different creature, trying on metal scales on herself: in order to resist Eggman, wolf had to spy on him in some things. So it was now. As soon as Whisper was not in front of the brightly smiling Slinger, Claire or Smithy, but in front of the cursed Mimic, everything acquired the familiar cold colors of metallic shades. No, she wasn't afraid of him. And she didn't see him as an opponent. Whisper saw in him only a mobian who could sense someone else's weakness. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe not.

      The octopus was silent. In his reverie, he dangled the can, boring into Whisper’s mask with a heavy gaze. The wolf could only guess what was going on in the cursed mobian's head. But she did not feel any threat from Mimic: even though it was the first time she had come face to face with the cursed mobian. It seems that all these stories turned out to be untrue.

      Finally, Mimic spoke dryly, no longer addressing Whisper, but the void:

      «...So our Smithy doesn't have enough time for his own duties?» the octopus drank sweets from a can of soda with such a look, as if in fact it was low-quality and indescribable bitterness, «...Unexpectedly.»

At that moment, Whisper felt a pang of guilt: Smithy was certainly not responsible for the fact that she didn't understand the instructions. The tall lion had already spent a lot of time to create wispon and mask for Whisper. No one else in the whole world had such. Was Smithy obliged to waste even more of his precious time on such a formality? In a good way, Whisper should have dealt with it on her own, without distracting the cutters from their business. But…

      Mimic gave the glossy can to his own tentacle to free his hands. He walked up to the table and picked up his mask.

       «Alright. Come here.»

      Whisper roused herself and hurried to obey the order.

      ...Surprisingly, Mimic spoke quite calmly: without the irritation inherent in former Whisper’s mentors from the Resistance, without any reproaches and arrogance. One could even say that the octopus did not correspond at all to the image that had formed in the wolf's head long before the meeting. Slinger was describing a cursed octopus... what would be the right word? Probably strict. Whisper expected that she would not have the right to make any mistakes, because Mimic simply would not let her get away with it. This was the case with Slinger: ocelot, as he himself put it, learned on the run, barely keeping up with the older cutters… But Slinger never gave specific examples. Maybe that's why there was some misunderstanding? Or did Whisper not notice how she herself fell into the trap of all those rumors about the cursed mobians?

      The octopus calmly explained the purpose of each button, even the most inconspicuous one. Mimic expressed himself in a completely different way, not like Smithy: without any incomprehensible terms and without distant thoughts that could not fit into the ordinary mobian's head. Simple and understandable. Whisper was no longer afraid to ask questions... but there was no need to. Mimic gave Whisper just enough time to figure it out and try to repeat it herself. Following the octopus, she pressed the buttons. The lens perked up, looking at the world with a glowing turquoise ring... Really? That's it? It even seemed that Mimic had replaced mask with a more obedient one while Whisper was not looking.

      It was difficult to say whether Mimic could also professionally transfer combat skills… But something told Whisper that yes. Maybe if she had a similar mentor in the Resistance, she would not prefer to train alone.

      She even had the following thought. The wolf knew firsthand that the ocelot often behaved frivolously. Even in extremely... serious situations. Perhaps in this way Slinger was mocking the very essence of a sometimes unfair and cruel world… Whisper understood that this could be annoying. Maybe it might have seemed so at first, but for Slinger, blowing up robots was not just fiery fun.

      Whisper excitedly put on a mask. Finally, everything worked as Smithy described. She could see the world around her as clearly as with her own eyes. No obscure numbers and frightening blackness!

      «...Now the interface.» meanwhile Mimic continued, politely giving Whisper time to get used to her new vision. The octopus also put on a mask.

      ...Whisper could not have imagined that there would be so many functions in such a light mask. Mimic himself noted which of them were fundamental and which were purely situational. For example, a thermal imager, although it might be needed, but obviously not as often as night vision. And for a sniper, the ”smart” sight was paramount at all. It is unlikely that Whisper had ever been interested in technology ... but then a purely childish delight blossomed inside her. Of course, she did not show it. She only thoughtfully listened to every word of the elder cutter, who was standing a little apart. She will have time to rejoice and think later.

      Now it's time for communication. The Diamond Cutters used masks to communicate not only with each other, but also with their faithful wisps: a translator was built into the masks, which allowed them to understand funny gurgling language. Whisper had already communicated with her Rocket, but for this she had to use Slinger's monocle — then her mask was not even ready.

      After listing all the voice commands, the octopus moved on to practice:

      «Can you hear me?» Whisper was asked by the voice of a Mimic from the loudspeaker of the mask and from the outside world at the same time.

      «Yes.» the wolf pressed the button, «And can you hear me?»

      The sound of her own voice, coming to her from Mimic's mask, seemed simply terrible. Is that how the others will hear her? What a horror-

       «Yes. Claire and Slinger are online too. Try to contact them.»

      The elder cutter lifted the mask to his forehead and returned to the drink in the can, which he had been holding in one of the tentacles all this time. It seems that the drink was no longer as cold.

      Whisper calmly did everything as Mimic told and showed her.

      «Um, can anyone hear me?»

      «Whispe-e-er! It's Whisper! You did it, a-woooo!» Slinger howled triumphantly, deliberately wolfish, celebrating her victory as if it were his own.

      Whisper flinched in surprise: sometimes sensitive hearing was not a blessing of Chaos at all. Mimic readily suggested:

       «The volume is adjusted from the side. I advise you to make Slinger quiet permanently.»

      «Mimic?! You already here?!» asked the ocelot from Whisper mask, deliberately raising his voice so that the elder cutter would definitely hear him even in such conditions.

      Whisper turned the wheel and a volume bar turned down in front of her eyes from the side.

      «As you hear...» Mimic replied lazily, sipping a drink. Then he gave Whisper the following practical task: «Switch to the general channel so that both Slinger and Claire can hear you at the same time.»

      «Like this?»

      «Good job, Whisper!» Claire suddenly responded instead of Mimic, joining in the congratulations. She could be heard so well, as if she was standing very close.

      «Thanks! Over and out.» Whisper said with a timid half-smile on her face and hung up.

      The wolf took off her mask and blinked, getting used to the light again. She had hoped to at least just turn on this incomprehensible unit... but instead she was now free to use the mask on her own. Absolutely all functions. Of course, everything that had been learned still had to be consolidated, but now it didn't look so terrible. Neither did the future training of cutters in general look scary.

      Whisper squinted at the octopus in the black cape:

      «Thank you for your help.» she said softly.

      Mimic did not answer. He emptied a can of soda, crumpled it to a flat shiny round and threw it into the trash with a tentacle, without even aiming. In an instant, the octopus pulled away, drowning in his thoughts — this was evident from his gaze fixed on an invisible point.

      Both founders of Diamond Cutters seemed to Whisper not only authoritative and experienced... but also terribly tortured. Was the reason for this a Eggman who did not close the ”mechanical all-seeing eye"? Recently, there have been more robots both in the Sandy House and on the outskirts of Metropolis… Who knows? Maybe with the Diamond Cutters Whisper will see the long-awaited fall of the empire of Dr. Eggman.

      Mimic suddenly put on the mask again and contacted the team:

      «Let's move out. Take the wispons. Slinger, grab the Whisper’s rifle.»

      The wolf just blinked in surprise.

      Wait, what? Already?

      «Accepted!» Slinger and Claire immediately responded with alacrity in one voice.

      Something was wrong... after a moment's thought, Whisper realized that it was their team size: had the leader of the Diamond Cutters been in touch? She don't think so. As far as she understood, the old lion was not at the headquarters at all. How could they launch an operation without their commander? What about the plan? How-

     «Is Smithy going to be with us too?» Whisper decided to express her thought out loud.

     «...Smithy won't be free today.» Mimic replied with an ambiguous intonation.

      Footsteps were heard, and Claire and Slinger appeared on the threshold of the break room. When they stood next to each other, the difference in their height seemed simply enormous. Both cutters were already fully armed: Claire was wearing a mask, with a wispon in her hands and a green wisp on her shoulder. In this form, she truly looked terrifying. And Slinger was even rearmed: in addition, he also held an orange Whisper’s rifle in his hands. The wolf immediately caught herself and hurried to meet her friend to pick up her weapon. The ocelot looked happy.

      All the peace that filled Whisper disappeared at once. On a mission? Already? She didn't feel ready. Even the air in the recreation room was saturated with electricity. Either from the presence of the wisps, or from the omen of an imminent battle.

      Claire and Slinger didn't ask about the commander. Ocelot, of course, once casually mentioned that the full complement of Diamond Cutters went only on particularly important tasks… But Whisper could not even imagine that the founder of the team himself could be absent. She even felt sorry. She would like to see lion not only in the role of an inventor, but also in the role of a skilled warrior too. However, everything is still ahead, right?

      Mimic went to the wall and took his wispon, which, it turns out, had been waiting alone on the sidelines and propping up the wall all this time. The octopus put it on his shoulder like some kind of metal bat with an impressive sphere — it looked a little like a steel wrecking ball that demolishes buildings. Even the inactive wispon of the elder cutter looked very impressive.

      Claire and Slinger parted to let Mimic go ahead and let him lead. Little Claire immediately followed. Before that, Slinger turned to Whisper and gave her two thumbs-up. There was a whole silent tirade in his eyes about how well she was doing.

      Whisper smiled warmly and hurried after her new team.

      Everything is just beginning.