𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗢𝗩
"I know you won't believe me... But it's the truth." She said, eyes squeezing shut to endure the pain. "After moving through many places... I came here, where I met S-Sonic and..."
His pupils contracted before dilating in realization, his voice had started to shake. "But still... Sonica, I—"
ՏᗰᗩՏᕼ—!
Sonica's eyes snapped open to see Scourge flying through the trees.
It was Shadow!
"SONICA!" Shadow teleported over to her and immediately began to untie the ropes, his expression grim and full of concern and anger. "Damn it!"
Scourge quickly rose to his feet, but he lacked the hint of violence he previously had.
"YOU!" Shadow raised his fist, ready to strike another punch but Sonica intervened—
"Shadow, no..!" Sonica spoke, weakly grabbing Shadow's arm. Her body was barely standing. She had lost a lot of blood.
Shadow stared at Sonica in disbelief and yelled, "Why not?! Look what he did to you!" He gestured between Scourge and Sonica's gruesome state.
Scourge was silent. But his ears were pinned back on his head.
"It was just a misunderstanding..! I'll be okay..." She tried to say, dropping to her knees to which Shadow responded by wrapping his arms around her.
"Are you insane?! This isn't the time to play nice, Sonica!" A voice yelled from a distance. And then—
A blue blur ran past them, delivering a solid blow to Scourge that had him flying through a tree.
"Sonic?" Sonica whispered, raising her head in disbelief. He shouldn't have got conscious that fast. He should have been resting!
Scourge grunted as he landed badly on the ground. He wiped his jaw as he quickly got back up, "She will be okay after 24 hours— why are you making this a big deal?!"
Sonic and Shadow glared at Scourge with a hint of confusion, but anger overpowered it. "SHUT IT!" They both snapped.
Sonic then added, gritting his teeth. "And DON'T. YOU. DARE! INTERFERE AGAIN!"
"She's lost too much blood—!" Shadow drew their focus back on Sonica, and carefully lifted her up. "We have to hurry!"
"But he—" Sonic looked back and forth between Sonica and Scourge, conflicted whether to beat the hell out of that green maniac or to be by Sonica's side.
And when Shadow was about to teleport with Sonica, Scourge disappeared.
"Damn it!"
— TIᗰᗴ - ՏKIᑭ—
Sonic and Shadow were seated on the chairs beside Sonica's bed. The rest were standing.
"Sonica.." Sonic whispered, his voice laced with worry and the regret of not being helpful then and now. He gently rubbed the side of her quills.
Sonica showed no sign of consciousness. There were bandages on her forehead, stomach, arms and knuckles.
Sonic sighed and lowered his head, burying his face in his hands as he muttered through gritted teeth. "Who was that green bastard?!"
But none of the conscious ones had an answer.
Shadow had his arms crossed as he closed his eyes with a deep frown. He, too, regretted not making Scourge pay.
The silence hung heavy in the room. The only sound being the soft, rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor.
Then, Amy tried to break the silence.
"Sonic, Shadow, tomorrow's her birthday, right? So, why don't we... give her a surprise party?" She suggested, mumbling the next part: "she might feel better."
Sonic's eyes went wide as he abruptly stood up. How could he forget?!
"YES!" He shouted only to be shushed by the nurses and doctors.
So he whispered, determined. "Yes! And we are going to make it as awesome as we can!"
Everyone nodded and started to divide the work :
Amy and Knuckles — Decorations and Food
Tails and Sticks — Music and Maintenance
Shadow, Sonic — Cake and Invitations (even though they weren't gonna invite anyone new)
Just. One. Simple. Cake.
Yet, they couldn't do it peacefully.
Later, Amy, Knuckles and Sticks went shopping while Tails went to his lab. Sonic and Shadow were still determined to keep Sonica company.
. . .
"Listen, faker..."
"?"
"I... want to make things clear that we are not friends yet. I am only tolerating you for her sake." said Shadow with a glare.
"As if I am dying to be friends with you!" Sonic scoffed and focused on watching over Sonica.
. . .
"By the way, where'd that damn green hedgehog go?"
"I don't know. Probably ran off!"
They both looked at Sonica again. She was breathing softly, still unconscious.
— Tᕼᗴ - ᑎᗴ᙭T - ᗪᗩY—
While Sonic was keeping Sonica company in the hospital, he noticed something glow.
He raised his head to see that Sonica's bandages were emitting a faint blue light. His eyes widened but he kept holding her hand. "What is happening?" He thought to himself.
Then as the glow faded away, her wounds started to heal shut. Once it was complete, the bandages started to loosen up and Sonic rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
Then, Sonica's eyes fluttered open, still feeling an ache in her head.
"Sonica!" Relieved, Sonic carefully tried ti hug her, still unsure what he just witnessed.
She looked at him, her ears pinned back on her head, "Sonic.." she whispered before looking at her abdomen which was now healed. She touched her face as well, not surprised but confused about the headache.
"You have to rest." said Sonic, stopping her from getting off the bed.
"...I want to go home, Sonic."
The doctor who just came to check was shocked. "How are you okay?!"
Sonica just awkwardly shrugged.
"I think you can go home now..." The doctor stated, scratching his head on confusion.
She nodded but Sonic sighed and picked her up in bridal style.
Sonica looked at him in slight confusion, "I am okay, Sonic. Let me walk. "
"Nope." Sonic put a smirk on his face to hide his concern and started to carry her home.
Sonica sighed in defeat. But her mind wandered back to her birthday. Which was today. She knew it wasn't going to end well. Thus, she really hoped no one remembered.
After a while, Sonic felt her doze off in his arms and it made him smile before he shook his head and kept walking. By the way, Shadow had reluctantly gone for some reason. Probably to get a gift.
𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖'𝗦 𝗣𝗢𝗩
Why does she always act like she's okay?!
Like— professionally okay. But Olympic-level pretending.
I looked down at her again. Eyes closed, breathing slow and steady, completely knocked out in my arms like this was the most normal thing in the world. Guess I should be offended. Carrying someone usually earns at least mild awareness.
But I smiled anyway. She was the best.
Then she mumbled something absolutely nonsense in her sleep and I had to bite back a laugh. I doubt I will get to see this again.
By the time I reached her house, my legs were fine, but my heart was... doing that annoying flutter thing again, and everyone else was already waiting. Of course they were. They better made everything perfectly!
I nudged the door open with my leg— Amy, Shadow, Sticks, Knuckles, and Tails all looked over at us.
"Is she still asleep?" Amy whispered, like we were in a spy movie.
I nodded, glancing down at Sonica again. Yeah. Out cold.
"Did you guys finish everything?" I asked quietly. "Perfectly?" I added. Some rolled their eyes.
"Not yet," Tails whispered back. "Some decorations are left. Let her sleep. We'll be done before she wakes up."
Good. Because if she woke up now, this whole surprise thing would crash faster than Knuckles' logic.
"And... we have a surprise for you, Sonic," Amy added.
I blinked.
"Uh… what? Why do I get a surprise? It's her birthday."
They chuckled— way too innocently and Sticks wrapped a blindfold over my eyes.
"H-hey—!" I protested, instantly frozen. This wasn't a good time to play games! Because yeah, hard to struggle when you're holding a sleeping hedgehog like fragile treasure!
And then someone pulled the blindfold off.
I froze.
Like… completely froze.
There she was.
Standing right there, smiling at me like the last few years hadn't happened, like she hadn't been missing from my life.
"M-Mom…?"
Dammit, Speedster vocabulary failed me.
My vision blurred before I could stop it. Something warm slid down my cheek, and yeah—that annoyed me more than anything.
Great!
Crying!
In front of everyone!
Ten out of ten timing, Sonic!
I tried to blink it away. It didn't work!
"Shh… I'm here now, my dear," she said softly, stepping closer and wiping my cheeks with her thumbs like I was still a kid who scraped his knee too hard.
"I—" swallowed. My voice cracked anyway. "I missed you. A lot."
"I know, honey," she murmured, gently stroking my quills. "I missed you too."
I had to look away, forcing a crooked smile. "Guess… guess I'm doing feelings today."
Mom pulled me into a careful hug— careful because I was still holding Sonica— and for a second, the world slowed down. No robots. No villains. No running.
Just... this.
"I came as soon as I could," she said. "Tails suggested it would be a good surprise."
I glanced at Tails. He grinned and scratched his head.
Yeah... I owe that fox more chili dogs than exist.
Then Mom's eyes dropped to the hedgehog in my arms.
Oh no. Don't blush. Don't blush. Don't blush.
"Is this Sonica?" She smiled knowingly.
I blinked. "How did you—"
"We told her." Manic and Sonia cut in, smirking. Why was I not surprised?!
I shot them a glare.
Mom just chuckled softly and kissed my forehead. "She looks lovely."
I glanced down at Sonica, asleep and peaceful, completely unaware she was the center of several life-altering moments.
"Yeah."
I carried Sonica to her room and laid her down carefully, like she was made of glass. Pulled the blanket over her and turned off the lights.
"So…nic…" she murmured.
Oh my god, stay composed Sonic. They are watching.
Then Amy whispered something to my mom, and they both chuckled while looking at me.
Great. Judged by the ladies' committee.
"O-okay," I said, clearing my throat. "Let's, uh… get everything ready."
They nodded, still smiling like they knew something I didn't?
"But where's Silver?" Amy asked. "I haven't seen him in two days."
"He had some work," Tails replied. "Went back to the future."
"Aw," Amy sighed. "I wish he could've been here."
"Yeah," I said softly. Then shook my head. "Alright—focus! She could wake up any second."
— TIᗰᗴ - ՏKIᑭ —
Everything was perfect as it had to be.
I checked my clipboard for double reassurance.
Decorations? Amazing.
Cake? Practically art.
Vibe? Maybe too sweet for Ms. Cold? But we will manage.
I smiled, hands on my hips. Yeah. We nailed this.
"I'll check on her," I said— and zipped off before anyone could volunteer.
She was still asleep. Mumbling nonsense again.
I chuckled quietly and leaned closer, tracing her bottom lip with my thumb.
Just once. I wanted to ki—
But she stirred, so I yanked my hand back asap and bolted out of the room.
"She's awake," I whispered.
Then,
Lights went off. Everyone took position.
This was going to be amazing. It better be!
𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗔'𝗦 𝗣𝗢𝗩
Today's your birthday, Sonica. Try to keep your emotions in check, I thought while staring at the ceiling. Maybe I shouldn't get off the bed. I don't want to face anyone today.
I stared into space for a long time. Then I heard a knock on my bedroom door.
There's people in my house?
Probably Sonic or Shadow.
So I reluctantly pushed myself out of the bed. I slowly pushed the door open but it was dark. Who could have knocked on the door in this darkness?
Ghosts can't be real, right? Did Veronica's ghost come for my birthday?
// (Someone had to knock because they were waiting and waiting and waiting! But Sonica hadn't got out of her room) //
Taking a deep breath, I called, "Shadow? Where are you?"
I got no response and my intrusive thoughts were winning. So I snapped my fingers to summon a fireball in my palm for light. Fire element was less draining than Thunder element.
I carefully made my way to the light switch. But then—
"S U R P R I S E ! ! !"
I staggered back a step, gasping sharply. My quills perked upright. The fireball flared violently, heat rushing up my arm before I instinctively crushed it out of existence. The lights were back on and I saw a lot of happy faces—
"H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y, S O N I C A ! ! !"