Runaway

by Frankie126

Summary:

After the incidents of Robotnik destroying his town and hurting his family, Sonic could no longer place his family in danger, so he does the only thing he believes is the right choice and runs away, and it takes all the power of family, love, and determination of the Wachowski's to search and bring Sonic home.

Notes:

Sorry for not being able to share earlier in this fandom. Please enjoy this next story.

Comments, Kudos, and Bookmarks are greatly appreciated.

Thank you for reading!

Chapter 1

Sonic was back at home with his family, trying to focus on the movie they were all watching in order to recover back to their normalcy, but for Sonic he just could not stop thinking about the damage that had occurred after the small town of Green Hills was in ruins from Robotnik’s giant robot, fueled by the power of the Master Emerald, had stomped through.

Seeing Tails and Knuckles hurt, not to mention Tom and Maddie.

Tom and Maddie; his parents that loved him so much they sacrificed themselves to protect him when he was at his weakest.

They were willing to die for him; with him.

Sonic had the emerald in his paws. Tom and Maddie holding him tightly.

“How does this work; come on; come on!”

The emerald crumbled in his paws and then it happened: his parents, Tails, and Knuckles, were stomped and shattered into pieces; crumbling exactly like the emerald had in his paws.

He couldn’t save them.

Maddie noticed Sonic gazing off into the distance as his eyes fixed on the TV.

Knuckles was lying on his back with his head rested against Maddie’s lap while Tails sat beside his oldest brother and his Dad, snuggled into Tom’s side while Sonic sat in the corner of the couch next to Tom’s other side.

“Blue, are you okay?” Maddie asked, using one of her pet names for her first adopted son.

Maddie’s question alerted Tom who also gazed down at Sonic.

“Uh…yeah…just tired I guess,” Sonic lied, causing Tom to furrow his brow.

“You sure buddy? You can tell us,” Tom said, in a gentle and concerning tone.

“You have battled a lot, Hedgehog, there is no shame in needing to refuel,” Knuckles added.

“Yeah Sonic, you saved us all from being trampled by Robotnik; you’re a hero,” Tails said as he shifted his tails a little, having always admired Sonic.

Sonic nervously chuckled, it didn’t seem like that, all he did was put his family in danger; he was no hero.

Sonic turned away to hide his tears that were threatening his eyes.

He had to protect them and the only way to do that was to leave.

He didn’t want to, but it was his only choice.

Yes, tonight I must go. Sonic mentally told himself.

Tom placed his hand on Sonic’s shoulder, causing Sonic to flinch slightly as it distracted him from his thoughts.

“Maybe you better get to bed, buddy. You can always finish this movie another time,” Tom suggested.

“Yeah…sure,” Sonic replied nervously, and as he hopped off the couch, he took a glance at his happy family on the couch.

They deserved to be happy and safe and every time they got hurt or put in danger it had been his fault, always his fault.

“Goodnight Blue,” Maddie called.

“Night Sonic. You get that speedy troublesome mind of yours to rest,” Tom added with a warm smile.

Troublesome. That was all Tom thought of him as.

Sonic zipped off to his room and decided to make a quick start on his packing.

“I shall not be too far from eye closure and dream world myself,” Knuckles commented, feeling his body relax.

“I think both of you won’t be far from joining Sonic because you both need a good sleep for your growing child bodies,” Maddie informed.

“I am no child. I am but a warrior!” Knuckles protested.

“We know you are a very fierce warrior Knuckles, but you are still a child,” Tom reminded with a slight chuckle.

“Being a child isn’t a bad thing, Knuckles,” Tails informed, now climbing onto Tom’s lap for a closer cuddle with his Dad.

“Fine, I will admit defeat on this child word,” Knuckles relented.

They finished watching their movie and Maddie and Tom followed Knuckles and Tails up to their room.

They noticed what looked like Sonic fast asleep in his race car bed, but what they didn’t know Sonic was well awake and only pretending; his bag containing his rings and a few mementos from his and Tom’s first road trip, stuffed under his bed.

Maddie tucked Tails in while Tom helped Knuckles with his blankets, each kissing them goodnight before Tom approached Sonic, where he gentled pulled the covers over his son and leaned down to kiss him on the cheek.

Sonic felt the gesture and it just made him want to cry, leap into his Dad’s arms, and feel warm and safe, but that would be wrong.

“No Sonic,” Sonic scolded himself mentally.

Tom and Maddie left the attic and after cleaning up downstairs they headed up to their own room, taking Ozzie up with them, where the dog had his own luxury bed to sleep for the night.

Once Sonic heard Knuckles’ loud snoring and the soft mutterings of Tails who often let out quiet yips and noises as he slept, Sonic quietly crept out of his bed and grabbed his bag from under his bed and being careful not to make any sudden sounds, took one last look at his brothers and zipped out of the skyline window.

Sonic stopped to gaze into the cracks of the blinds in Tom and Maddie’s room, just to see his parents one last time.

All he could see was darkness, but he knew his parents were there.

He was going to miss them terribly, especially his Donut Lord Dad; he had meant so much to him for so many years since he first came to Earth.

Sonic scrubbed away his tears falling down his face.

“I don’t want to go, but I can’t stay,” Sonic mumbled, sadly.

“No Sonic! You have to do this; it’s the right thing to do to protect your family,” Sonic told himself.

Sonic zipped away from the place he had since called home and looked around town one last time, visited his old cave and the special fishing spot that Tom had taken him to.

He walked sullenly back to the forest, away from the fishing spot lake and pulled out one of his rings.

Sonic imagined the place to go and threw his teleportation ring, opening up the portal to his new life.

“Goodbye everyone. Goodbye old life,” Sonic said with such sadness in his tone as he wiped his eyes again.

Sonic stepped into the portal and watched it close around his old hometown.

Sonic glanced around at the new universe filled with mushrooms, dying trees, and loud technological machines surrounding areas of the sky.

“What in the what?” Sonic exclaimed, unbelieving how the mushroom planet was filled with Robots when he’d known it only to have nothing besides breathable air.

Had Robotnik made all these when I’d sent him here after using my electric energy to fight him that night?

Sonic remembered back to his first time he had really interacted with his Dad and Robotnik.

He remembered how his Dad had stuck his neck out to help him stay alive and all the fun they had.

“No Sonic; you can not dwell on the past. You must focus on your new home now,” Sonic mumbled to himself.

He scrunched his nose at the horrible smell and shuffled his way through his drab new home, continuously looking around at the loud machines and feeling a little uneasy.

“First step: find somewhere to sleep,” Sonic mumbled.

Sonic found himself a smelly, squishy and moss-filled mushroom and dropped his bag beside him as he slumped his body down on the ground.

It was not like his safe cozy race car bed he’d had at home, with a warm blanket covering his quilled body.

“Stop it, Sonic. You lived alone in the forest for years; you can do this; it’s no different, just smells bad, has no chilli dogs, no TV, and no family.”

Sonic gazed up at the darkness in the sky.

This new world didn’t have the brightness of sunshine and happiness of the small community that Green Hills had.

Sonic was back to being alone.

“This is your home now Sonic,” Sonic told himself in the quietest whisper as if it would make him more convinced.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Summary:

Tails gets upset over Sonic's disappearance, and Knuckles, Maddie, and Tom offer some comfort.

---

The following morning, Tails and Knuckles woke to the sound of Maddie calling them from downstairs.

Tails gave a little yawn and rubbed his tired eyes, while Knuckles, always bright-eyed no matter how much sleep he got was already out of bed, stretching his muscular arms in the air.

“Good morning, Fox,” Knuckles spoke.

“Morning, Knuckles,” Tails replied.

Knuckles was about to comment about Sonic being his usual lazy self when he noticed Sonic’s bed empty.

“The hedgehog must have gone for an early morning run and to think he did not disturb my slumber; I must not be as super alert as I thought,” Knuckles commented and Tails giggled, hopping out of his own bed and beginning to make it.

Knuckles and Tails made their way downstairs into the kitchen to see the smiling happy faces of their parents.

“Morning boys,” Tom greeted as he sipped his coffee.

“Morning Mum, Morning Dad,” Tails said in his usual cheerful manner.

“Morning sweetie, Big Red,” Maddie replied, using her nicknames for her boys.

“Good morning, Pretzel mother and Lord of the Donuts, Dad,” Knuckles stated, in which Tom and Maddie couldn’t help but smile.

“Where is Sonic? I swear if that boy is still in bed again…” Maddie threatened.

“Sonic wasn’t in bed Mum, Knuckles thinks he might have gone out for a run,” Tails informed as he sat down in his chair at the table that had a built-in booster due to his small height.

Knuckles being bigger did not need the booster on his chair, like his two brothers, which often caused protests between him and Sonic, as Sonic believed he didn’t need the booster chair, but no matter how much he complained, Maddie and Tom did not relent on letting Sonic go without one.

“I wish he would tell Tom or myself when he is going out like that. I guess it’s going to be another cold plate of pancakes for him when he gets home,” Maddie said with a frown as she placed the plate of hot pancakes down in front of Tails and Knuckles.

“It’s hard to keep that boy down,” Tom chuckled.

“Thanks Mum,” Tails said and picked up his cutlery to get started on his pancakes.

“Yes, thank you for the cakes from the pan, they are always very tasteful,” Knuckles added.

Tom finished his cup of coffee and after kissing Maddie and farewelling his two sons, Tom grabbed his keys and made his way to work.

As the day passed, Tails kept himself busy with his gadgets while Knuckles focused on his training routine out in the back garden, with Ozzie making his presence known by constantly trying to lick the echidna’s face while he was doing his push ups.

“Enough of this wetness, hairy Ozzie!” Knuckles said in protest, but the dog just ignored Knuckles until he got bored and moved on to play with a toy in the yard.

Knuckles wiped the saliva off his face and groaned as he stood back up.

Later that evening, while Tails and Knuckles were sitting on the couch watching a movie while waiting for Maddie and Tom to come home, Tails couldn’t help but wonder why Sonic had not returned yet if he’d left so early in the morning before they woke up.

“Knuckles?”

“Yes Fox?”

“Do you think Sonic might be in trouble? I mean he’s never gone out running for this long before,” Tails commented, his anxieties now showing as he swung his legs and flicked his tails.

“The hedgehog is always in trouble, Fox, and you know how he is he gets distracted so easily he does not know about time. Remember the time he did not come back until after dinner because he was trying to be some kind of hero in another country?”

“Yeah, Mum and Dad were so mad with him that night. You are properly right Knuckles, and I shouldn’t worry so much,” Tails replied and hung his head, feeling ashamed.

“It is in your nature to worry, Fox, and it is nothing that needs thinking about,” Knuckles replied, patting Tails on the shoulder in a comforting manner.

Their little brother bonding moment was interrupted when Tom and Maddie arrived back home at the same time.

After greeting their boys, they noticed Sonic wasn’t sitting with them watching a movie like normal.

“Where is Sonic? How come he’s not watching a movie with you boys?” Tom asked.

“The hedgehog still has not returned home,” Knuckled informed.

“What?” Maddie exclaimed.

“He better not have gone out being hero again,” Tom commented in a stern tone, as he placed his jacket down on a nearby chair.

“Maybe we should see if he left a note? Maybe he was contacted by the government?” Maddie said, her voice filled with worry.

Maddie and Tom make their way up to the attic with Knuckles and Tails following.

Upon close inspection Tom found no note, but a few of Sonic’s valuable items missing, including his important ring sachet.

“Tom, what’s wrong?” Maddie asked, noticing Tom blanch and hesitate to move as the man processed his findings.

“His rings and a few items are gone. Sonic’s disappearance was no coincidence; he’s run away,” Tom announced with fear already creeping into his thoughts, wondering why his son would want to run away from home.

“What is this runaway?” Knuckles asked.

“It means Sonic has left home with the intention of not coming back,” Tom replied in a hesitate voice as he was still in shock.

“I’m sorry we didn’t say anything sooner about Sonic missing, maybe we could have stopped him or at least found him before he ran away,” Tails said softly.

Maddie knelt down.

“Tails, sweetie, this isn’t anyone’s fault. We don’t know where Sonic has gone but I promise we are going to find him and bring him back home,” Maddie comforted.

“I will be honoured to help look for the hedgehog and then carry him home using my one million percent muscle,” Knuckles declared, flexing his strong muscles in the air.

Maddie glanced over at Tom who was now on the phone to Wade.

“Thanks Wade. I appreciate you keeping an eye out and covering for me at work. Sonic is my priority right now, and I just have to find where he’s gone,” Tom explained.

Tom hung up his phone and looked back over to his family.

“I could use my gadgets to locate him,” Tails suggested cheerfully.

“That’s a wonderful idea Tails,” Maddie praised and stood back up, approaching Tom as Tails ran off to the garage with Knuckles following behind, ready to bring his brother back home, once Tails had found Sonic on his gadget.

“Why would he just take off like this Maddie? I don’t understand it; he was happy here and I didn’t think that he was having any problems as he usually talks to us,” Tom mused.

Maddie hugged Tom around the waist.

“I’m not sure love, but when we get him back home, we’ll sit him down and have a good long talk and find out.”

---

Back in the garage, Tails is fiddling with his tracker, while Knuckles looked around at all of Tails’ experiments.

“You have a lot of gadgets here, Fox, far more than I could ever understand,” Knuckles commented.

Tails was concentrating hard, his little tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.

Knuckles observed his smart brother and frowned when he realised something was bothering him.

“What is the problem Fox?” Knuckles asked.

“It doesn’t seem to be picking up any of Sonic’s energy. I don’t understand,” Tails mumbled.

“The only time my gadget doesn’t work is when…”

“What Fox? I cannot fully understand your mind, but I can try,” Knuckles supported.

Tails looked to Knuckles with damp eyes.

“It won’t pick up on energy waves if someone is…is dead or in a completely different universe,” Tails mumbled and flung himself into Knuckles’ embrace sobbing.

“There, there, Fox. How did you manage to locate the hedgehog before you landed on Earth?”

“That…that was different…I…I had been following Sonic for so long and could find a signal in Earth, but if…”

“Boys, how is it coming along?” Tom asked, as he and Maddie entered the garage.

They noticed Tails hugging Knuckles and crying.

“Sweetie, what’s wrong? I told you we will find Sonic,” Maddie soothed.

“The Fox is upset as his gadget is not working to locate the hedgehog and thinking he may be dead,” Knuckles stated, completely unempathetically and causing Tails to sob further.

Tom’s heart skipped a beat when they said Sonic could be dead.

“Let’s try not think like that okay,” Maddie soothed, glancing at Tom with a worried expression as she opened her arms for the youngest.

“Okay, Mum. I’m sorry. I just panicked as my gadgets always work and it’s not picking up Sonic’s where-abouts,” Tails sobbed.

“I’m going to go and drive to his cave to see if I can find out anything,” Tom mentioned and abruptly left.

When Tom arrived back home his face said it all.

“There was no sign of him at his old cave. I even looked around at our usual hang out spots but nothing,” Tom commented.

That night all the Wachowski family went to bed with heavy hearts; there was no sign of Sonic, and Tails continued to tirelessly work on his gadgets trying to locate Sonic’s signal until Maddie had told him it was time for bed.

That night Tails couldn’t sleep, all that ran through his mind was that Sonic was dead, that his gadgets were useless; he was useless, and he felt scared because Sonic had abandoned his family, had abandoned him and that reminded him of his old life.

Tails tossed and turned in his little bed, whimpering loudly until he startled awake, letting out a little gasp, looking into the darkness of the attic, only brightened by his little nightlight by his bed and the stars through the window.

Tails thought about his nightmare and the burden he was carrying over Sonic’s disappearance and he started to cry and cry heavily.

Tails’ sobbing alerted Knuckles and the echidna awoke, letting out a groan as he climbed out of his bed.

“Fox?” he called, rubbing his eyes as he flicked on the light.

“Fox what is wrong?” Knuckles asked, resting his fist on Tail’s shaking shoulder.

“It’s Sonic; I had a nightmare. I know it’s my fault that we can’t find Sonic. I can’t make my gadgets work; I can’t do it. What good am I when I’m the tech guy that can’t even get his stupid tracker working to find Sonic. I’m useless,” Tails sobbed.

“Fox, I do not understand your gadgets, but you are not useless as you say. You are the smartest warrior that I know,” Knuckles comforted.

“You mean that?” Tails asked, glancing over at Knuckles with wet eyes.

“I mean everything I say, Fox. Would it help if you went to see Mum and Dad?” Knuckles said.

Tails nodded sadly. As much as he liked Knuckle’s comfort it was not the same as the warm hugs and comfort from his parents.

“Come, Fox,” Knuckles said and grabbed Tails’ paw.

As the brothers made their way down the attic stairs and towards Tom and Maddie’s room, Tails continued to sob and wrapped his spare arm around Knuckles’ arm tightly.

They creaked the bedroom door open, and Maddie blinked at the light that entered the room and could hear sobbing and immediately opened her eyes and switched on her bedside lamp.

“Knuckles, Tails; what’s going on?” she asked.

Tom alerted awake, having already having his own restless sleep, worrying about his son and if he’d been captured, gone forever, or as Tails had said earlier: dead.

“Boys?” Tom called out, somewhat tiredly.

“The Fox was having thought demons,” Knuckles explained, causing Tom to frown and Maddie to blink.

“Did you mean nightmare?” she asked, and Tails nodded and burst into tears again.

“Come here, sweetie,” Maddie encouraged with open arms.

Tails let go of Knuckles and ran towards his Mum.

“Mummy,” Tails sobbed.

Maddie lifted Tails up and into the bed in between Tom and herself.

“How about you tell us what your nightmare was about sweetie,” Maddie said gently, rubbing Tails’ back.

Tails looked up at Tom and Maddie in turn.

“It was about Sonic and how I couldn’t save him. I was trying over and over with my trackers, but nothing worked, exactly like today and then he was dead, and it was all my fault. I’m useless,” Tails sobbed, repeating what he had told Knuckles.

“Hey, my little fluffball, you are the smartest kid I know, so I don’t want you saying you are useless ever again; is that understood,” Tom scolded lightly.

“Sorry Daddy,” Tails sobbed.

“Was there more to your nightmare, sweetie?” Maddie continued.

Tails nodded.

“I found myself all alone because when you all thought I couldn’t use my gadgets to find Sonic, not only did I feel like Sonic abandoned me, but you all did too and it felt just like my old home where no-one wanted me because there’s something wrong with me,” Tails sniffed as his little body shook.

Maddie and Tom shared a glance, both knowing how hard Tails dealt in his old home with abandonment and being ostracised.

“You are never alone and will never be alone, again, sweetie; we promise you,” Maddie soothed, rubbing Tails gently on the back.

“You are safe here forever, Tails, and no matter what happens or what you could or couldn’t do, you are part of this family, and we all love you,” Tom added, placing his hand gently on Tails’ cheek.

Tails sobbed but felt warm and safe in his parent’s embrace.

“But why did Sonic abandon us if we are a family? What did we do? What did I do?” Tails asked, his little paws twitching in his lap as some tears fell again.

“Sonic’s reason for running off is his; we didn’t, and most importantly you didn’t, do anything; you understand me, Tails?” Maddie comforted.

“Okay,” Tails sniffed.

“The hedgehog did not abandon us, Fox, and if he did, I will personally make it my mission, to teach him the importance of remaining true to the tribe,” Knuckles said determinedly, making the family remember that he was still standing in the room.

“Will we ever find him?” Tails asked.

“We won’t give up until we do and first thing tomorrow, we will start a new tactic in looking for Sonic, but right now you need to get some rest,” Tom informed.

Tails curled his tails around his body.

“I see the Fox is now comforted, I shall head back to slumber,” Knuckles said.

“Knuckles, please stay,” Tails requested.

“Come on big guy, there is plenty of room for you too, to share a bit of comfort,” Tom encouraged.

“I am fine. I do not need comfort, like the Fox. A warrior is tough,” Knuckles stated.

“Please sleep here too, Knuckles,” Tails begged.

Knuckles sighed as he looked at Tails’ sad eyes.

“Very well, just for you, Fox, I will stay here.”

Tom smiled and moved the blanket back so Knuckles could jump in, leading the bed to wobbly as he done so.

Tails feeling content now, snuggled into Tom, while Maddie gently petted Knuckles, which was a gesture that the echidna did not wish to admit he enjoyed from the mother of the family.

Not long into sleep, Maddie heard Knuckles murmur.

“Just you wait until I find you hedgehog…Don’t…Leave…Family.”

Maddie peered over at Tom still struggling to sleep.

“Looks like Tails and us aren’t the only ones worried,” she whispered, stroking Knuckles’ fur.

“Shh, big red,” Maddie cooed.

Knuckles stirred.

“Mummy,” he murmured, causing Maddie to smile; it was not often that Knuckles let his guard down and called Tom and Maddie anything other than Mum or Dad or mother and father, but his closeness towards Maddie was always apparent.

---

Meanwhile, Sonic tossed and turned; he couldn’t sleep.

The ground was uncomfortable, and the noise of the robotic drones did not help in the least.

Attempting to get comfortable again as he rolled into his tight ball, Sonic gave up only after a few minutes and rolled back out flat on his back.

“Why didn’t I even bring blankets!” Sonic scolded himself.

Sonic sat with his knees to his chest, listening to the noises around him and flinching at the sudden loud bangs in between.

A vision of home popped into his head.

Tom cooking waffles, while joking around with his corny Dad jokes.

The way he always ate his favourite donut with cream, chocolate icing, and sprinkles, after a hard day of work and how…how he held Sonic tightly in his warm embrace whenever he was scared, lonely or just wanted some love.

Pretzel lady, his Mum; kind, caring, always having time for Sonic when he needed and the way she tried to teach him Yoga, but it ended up in disaster when Sonic couldn’t hold the twists and fell over in a heap, knocking his head on the floor.

Afterwards, his Mum had kissed his head softly to make things better.

Sonic sniffled and hugged his knees tighter as his thoughts flashed to the last time they were all having a family day out at the baseball field and Knuckles had smashed their baseball into the next suburb, thus ending the game.

Then they enjoyed an afternoon eating ice-cream from the best ice-cream parlour in town.

Sonic licked his lips; he was never going to taste the sweetness of ice-cream again.

Tails…innocent sweet, little, Tails, who was so loving and who loved to hug, always coming in fast.

Sonic sniffled again and reached up to wipe his eyes that were suddenly making his muzzle very wet, and he realised he was heavily crying with all his heart.

Sonic was hungry, lonely, and scared.

He patted his bag of rings and contemplated going back home, but then he stopped his thoughts.

“Remember why you’re doing this; you only bring them danger. Be strong Sonic; be strong,” Sonic whimpered as he rocked himself back and forth.

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Summary:

The search for Sonic begins, while his disappearance starts making Tom doubt his abilities as a father.

---

The following morning, Tom and Maddie woke up, feeling exhausted from a lack of sleep and leaving their two sons sleeping peacefully in their bed, they made their way downstairs to the kitchen where they made themselves an extra strong cup of coffee and some breakfast.

“Are we ready for today?” Tom asked, as he scratched Ozzie behind the ears.

“Where do you plan to go first?” Maddie asked.

“Well, I only have a few rings that Sonic gave me in case of emergency, but I was thinking maybe checking around San Franciso at some of the places he and I went to on our road trip,” Tom explained.

Maddie squeezed her husband’s shoulder.

“I better go and wake Tails and Knuckles.”

“And I’ll take Ozzie over to Wade’s,” Tom added.

The two adults went their separate ways and when Tom returned, Tails and Knuckles were standing next to Maddie, at the ready for their search.

The first place they headed was the largest rubber ball factory.

Tails and Knuckles looked around at all the displays.

“Wow, people actually make things like this?” Tails muttered.

“These so-called rubber balls do not make sense. Why would anyone need such a meaningless item; it would be no good in battle,” Knuckles said.

“Did you and Sonic actually waste time in this place?” Maddie asked.

“I didn’t, but Sonic did. I remember he zipped out of the car before I even knew it and had returned seconds later, with a pile of souvenirs,” Tom replied, “One of them was that paddle with a small rubber ball attached – the one he has in his room.”

Tom thought back to the time he and Sonic were in the car before Robotnik attached them.

Sonic had looked at him with big, excited eyes, nagging him when they would get there to San Francisco, while repeatedly flicking his paddle and ball.

“That really got on my nerves that day. All he kept doing was continuously playing with the paddle and ball,” Tom commented, sadly; thinking how Sonic’s annoyances seemed trivial now.

Upon not finding Sonic in the factory, the family left and made their next stop the Piston Pit Bar.

Sonic had a lot of fun there that night, despite Tom’s warning not to leave the car, but in typical fashion the kid had not listened, and despite things ending up in a massive brawl, the night had strengthened Tom and Sonic’s relationship, with Tom not only joking with the little hedgehog, but teaching him about bucket lists and teaching him he could feel safe around Tom, especially when the man had tucked Sonic in at the hotel.

Maddie frowned as she looked towards the rowdy pub.

“I don’t like the look of this place; it looks scary,” Tails stuttered, swishing his tails nervously.

Knuckles patted Tails’ shoulder.

“I will protect you Fox. This noise making place does not stand a chance with my one million percent muscle!” Knuckles said proudly.

Tom glanced at his wife and kids.

“You boys are to stay with Maddie and are not to follow me in,” Tom warned, in a parental tone.

“Take my alarm gadget, Daddy. It’s designed to protect you in case anyone comes after you,” Tails said, offering up his little gadget.

“Thank you, Tails,” Tom replied and placed the gadget in his pocket.

Tom cautiously entered the Pub and was met with familiar stares.

“You again?” the barmaid questioned in a rough voice, “You and that weird kid destroyed my Pub last time!”

“I know; I’m sorry. I don’t want any trouble…”

“Then leave!” yelled one of the regular residents in the Pub.

“I’m just here looking for my son; the weird kid,” Tom muttered.

“He ain’t here, so get out before we throw you out!”

Tom raised his hands in surrender.

“Okay, sorry; thanks anyway.”

Tom left the Pub and walked back to his awaiting family.

Maddie saw the look on Tom’s face and new her husband had not been successful.

“Was the hedgehog not in the noise making, light up place?” Knuckles asked.

“No,” Tom simply replied.

They searched a few more places before making their way back home before it became too dark.

---

They continued the ‘Sonic search party’ for several days, and it had now reached day four with Sonic missing and Tom had started to lose hope as he and Maddie sat up in their bed.

Maddie watched her husband flicking around the last ring that they had and staring at it intensely as if it would magically tell him where Sonic was.

She knew how much Tom was hurting, the worry on his face told everything.

He and Sonic had a special bond that even she failed to understand, and Sonic’s disappearance was breaking her husband’s heart.

“I didn’t want to say anything in front of the boys, but I can’t stop thinking, what if we can’t find him. What if we never see him again?”

Tom’s voice was full of distress as he glanced away from his spot towards the ring to look at his wife.

Maddie squeezed Tom’s hand.

“What kind of a father am I if I can’t even take care of my own son! I failed him, Maddie; I failed our special little boy! He’s out there somewhere all alone again, if he is still out there and not…He’s just a kid! I’m meant to protect him!” Tom exclaimed; pain clear in his eyes as he blinked away his tears.

Maddie heard the desperate crack in her husband’s voice and cuddled into her husband as her own tears fell, she had never seen her husband so distraught.

She hated that Tom was blaming himself and wearing a heavy heart.

“I know it’s hard, love; I’m scared for Sonic too and just want him back home, but we can’t give up and you are a great father. The love you have for our boys is immense and Sonic’s disappearing is nothing on how you raise them; if anything, if you are to blame, then so am I. I should have seen if Sonic wasn’t right; it’s my job,” Maddie said through her tears.

Tom placed the ring down on the bedside cupboard and wrapped both his arms around Maddie.

“Maybe had I been firmer with him, none of this would have happened. Instead, I’ve been letting him get away with too many things just because he always gave me those pleading eyes and begged me not confiscate his comic books or ground him when he misbehaved. Maybe had I given him more rules, he would have felt safer, and he wouldn’t think to lie, or to run away. Maybe, had I acted more of a Dad than a buddy…” Tom mused.

“Don’t beat yourself up, you are a great Dad, Tom; never doubt that and we can only learn from our mistakes. When we do find Sonic and bring him home, we can have a serious conversation with him about having made such a terrifying and wrongful choice,” Maddie assured, allowing her tears to still slip from her eyes as her and Tom held each other.

That night, Tom continued to think back on things that Sonic had once told him, and a place came to mind that Sonic had mentioned briefly once: a planet full of mushrooms and just breathable air.

“Why hadn’t I thought of this before?” Tom muttered as he sat up abruptly in bed as the sun shone through the blinds of the bedroom.

“Tom? What’s wrong?” Maddie asked.

“I may have one more place that Sonic may be,” Tom informed.

Maddie by now also sat up in bed.

“Where?”

“It’s a place surrounded by mushrooms and if it’s a different universe, maybe that’s why Tail’s tracker didn’t pick anything up,” Tom informed with a glimmer of hope.

---

The Wachowski’s stood in the living room, Tom with the last ring of Sonic’s in his hand, hesitating.

“Tom?” Maddie called.

Tom had been so sure that morning that this would be the right move, but suddenly he had a fear wash over him.

This was the last ring and if he wasted it investigating a hunch then the hope for finding Sonic would be over.

“I realised this is my last chance. What if I make a mistake? Every place I thought Sonic could be he hasn’t been there,” Tom stated.

“Trust your heart, Tom. You know Sonic better than any of us,” Maddie comforted.

“We are behind any decision you make,” Knuckles added.

“We know we’ve done our best,” Tails whispered.

Tom sighed and tossed the final ring away from him and into the air, picturing the place Sonic had once told him about.

The portal opened into a new universe, it was filled with rubble, drab-looking mushrooms and robotic drones and machines; it was a very dark, gloomy world and if Sonic was here, it was a very, very dangerous looking place for a kid to be, even a super-powered kid.

Tom glanced back at his wife and kids.

“I’m going in alone. If I don’t make it back, I want you all to know how much I love you and want you to always look out for each other,” Tom informed, his voice shaking with every word at the prospect of having to say goodbye to more people he loved.

“What are you saying, you won’t make it back, Daddy?” Tails said in panic as he gazed up at his Dad, feeling scared, while thoughts of abandonment crept into his mind.

“This world looks far too dangerous, and I won’t risk endangering any of you,” Tom said firmly.

“Father of our tribe, you cannot fight this alone and especially not without my warrior skill and muscle!” Knuckles protested.

“No way, big guy,” Tom answered, as he shook his head, feeling a sense of pride having Knuckles referring to him as father of the tribe.

“I can try and help with my gadgets,” Tails added.

“No Tails.”

“Tom, you are not going in alone. I won’t let you,” Maddie said with determination; her arms crossed firmly over her chest in a stance that often meant that the woman was not going to back down.

“We are a family aren’t we, and we stick together no matter what?” Tails whispered.

“Tribe Team Wachowski!” Knuckles announced.

“Okay, okay; well, we better go before we lose our chance,” Tom relented, though thankful that he did have his family by his side.

Sonic, if he was here, was all alone and the thought terrified Tom.

The four entered the portal which closed soon behind them; there was no turning back.

Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Summary:

The family finally find Sonic and bring him home, but not without some reluctance from the hedgehog.

---

They remained close together, all biting back their own fear as they wandered through the drab mushrooms of various sizes and moss along the ground.

Finally, Tails felt a little continual beep on his tracker and immediately pulled it out of his backpack.

“He’s here; Sonic’s here!” he exclaimed, feeling proud his tracker invention was still working.

“Then we must not stop until we find him! Where does it say he is on your little gadget, Fox?” Knuckles stated.

“Yes, is he close by?” Maddie asked, her heart feeling desperate to get her son back.

“I can’t tell entirely but it looks like the signal is coming from that direction,” Tails said, pointing in the distance.

Tom felt the warmness in his heart. He had trusted his gut, and now Sonic was nearby somewhere; he just had to find him.

“Good job, Tails,” Tom praised, and started venturing towards where Tails pointed, eager to find his son, calling out his name at the same time, while Maddie, Knuckles and Tails joined in.

---

Sonic was huddled against his mushroom stump, having now regretted ever leaving his home, he was now starving, having barely eaten in four days as the planet had barely any edible food, and he was more scared than ever.

“I hate mushrooms,” Sonic grumbled, and gave a slight sniffle, as the horrid smell of his new home consumed him.

Sonic’s little body shivered with the coolness in the air.

He then heard faint voices.

“That sounds like Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady, but it can’t be. You’re imagining things Sonic. It’s just your imagination,” he tried to convince himself.

Then there were voices of Tails and Knuckles and Tom and Maddie again and they sounded closer.

Feeling threatened, Sonic tensed up and began to glow.

In the distance, Tom noticed a familiar blue light and his heart skipped.

“Sonic!” he shouted, with all the determination and strength he could muster, and started running towards the blue light, with Maddie, Knuckles, and Tails following close behind.

They stopped when they came face to face with their little blue devil, crouched tightly with his knees to his chest.

The first thing Maddie noticed was Sonic’s matted dark fur, evident of a hedgehog that had not had a bath in several days.

“Sonic!” Tom called, but Sonic was too scared to listen but peeked up and saw the image of his Dad and Mum; they were real.

“Hey buddy, calm down; you are safe,” Tom comforted, to which Sonic eased his electric glow.

“Sonic!”

“Hedgehog!”

“Sonic!”

Came the calls from Maddie, Knuckles, and Tails.

Sonic didn’t hesitate and rushed towards his family, stumbling a little on his shaky legs.

Maddie was at the ready to hug Sonic first, kneeling to embrace him, while Tom was now in a state of overwhelm and shock at finally finding his son, his fear and anger intensifying that he couldn’t even speak.

“Sonic, thank goodness we found you; are you alright?” Maddie questioned, letting her veterinary side take over as she took a quick glance over her son after showering him with kisses.

“Yes. Just really hungry and tired. I missed you guys so much!” Sonic beamed, staring over at his Dad.

“Sonic, why did you run away?” Maddie asked in her stern maternal voice as she held his arms tight.

“I couldn’t bear to keep putting you all in danger,” Sonic explained sadly, with his head hung.

“Baby, you never put us in danger; if anything, you running away from home has put us in more danger trying to find you,” Maddie lightly scolded, causing Sonic to withdraw with feelings of regret.

“How…how did you find me?” Sonic asked.

“After looking high and low for you in every place imaginable, it was your Dad’s heart that told us to look in this place,” Maddie explained.

Sonic glanced up at Tom, who still had not said a word but the expression on the man’s face was one of exhaustion, relief, and anger.

Maddie released Sonic from the hold and Tails was quick to hug his brother tight.

“I thought you abandoned us or were dead,” Tails whimpered, with tears in his eyes.

“I didn’t mean to make you feel like that. You are my best friend, Tails, as well as my little brother,” Sonic confessed.

“Make room for me to greet the hedgehog,” Knuckles announced, despite his initial annoyance over Sonic abandoning the tribe, he decided it was better to be bigger minded and forgive his alien brother.

Tails let go and before Sonic had a chance, Knuckles punched him firmly in the arm, causing the blue hedgehog to stumble.

“OW! Knuckles!” Sonic complained in a high-pitched screech, as his gloved paw went immediately to rub his punched arm.

“Don’t you ever give an echidna warrior a scare like that and dishonour our family tribe again!” Knuckles scolded, “A member who leaves his tribe to fight alone is cowardly and you running away from family is cowardly, hedgehog!”

“Okay, Knuckles; I get it, but you didn’t have to punch me,” Sonic complained, still rubbing his arm; his brother could certainly land a punch, and he didn’t even use his full strength.

“That was merely love of a brother,” Knuckles stated and pulled Sonic into a muscular hug.

Pulling away, there was still one person that Sonic craved to see the most: his Donut Lord, Dad.

Sonic glanced up at Tom.

Maddie gave Tom’s chest a back hand to startle the man out of his shock and he glanced down at Sonic.

Sonic didn’t hesitate further and ran towards Tom, leaping into his arms, where he clung on for dear life, breathing in the familiar scent of his Dad’s deodorant and body odour.

Sonic felt content, finally being in the arms of his favourite person in the world.

“Daddy,” Sonic whispered, as his tears began to fall from his eyes.

He didn’t care if anyone else heard him in that moment or thought he was a baby for being childish, he just wanted his Daddy.

After a few moments, Tom pulled Sonic away from him and gave him a hard frown.

“You are in so much trouble, little boy!” Tom warned in a stern, no nonsense tone.

Sonic looked at Tom’s hard eyes and his ears and quills flattened against his body, and he gulped nervously, as he withdrew, having never seen Tom this angry and firm before.

Tails shuffled nervously, also never having seen their Dad like this.

“Yes, but we’ll discuss and deal with everything once we get home. Right now, we need to get out of this place,” Maddie said, remaining calm, in a means to calm her distressed husband.

Tom put Sonic down.

“Grab your things, Sonic,” Tom ordered.

Suddenly a loud noise from the robotic machines startled the family and it was then that Sonic realised the reason he had run away and that he couldn’t put his family in danger, and now everything was so much worse because they had come for him, and he’d led them straight into more danger.

He was so stupid.

Stupid Sonic, Sonic mentally scolded himself.

“Sonic, what’s wrong,” Maddie asked.

“You shouldn’t have come. I can’t go home. All I do is put everyone in danger,” Sonic muttered, repeating his previous statement as he turned away from his family.

“Are you kidding me?” Tom’s demanding yell, cut through Sonic’s irrational thoughts.

“You are coming home with us, Sonic, and there is no buts about it!” Tom ordered sternly.

Maddie put up her hand to calm her husband again and knelt back down to Sonic’s level.

“Baby, why do you keep saying you are putting us in danger?” she questioned firmly.

“Every time I’m around, Robotnik would come after you all just to get to me and when …when he took the Master Emerald and you all almost…” Sonic explained but stopped.

“Hedgehog, the Master Emerald is safe and will never be wielded by that robot monster again,” Knuckles informed.

“I know, but I can’t stop thinking about it and I don’t want you all to get hurt because of me. I even led you here to danger just to find me,” Sonic explained, letting some tears fall again.

“What happened with Robotnik wasn’t your fault,” Tails added, trying to comfort his brother.

“How can you say that?” Sonic accused and rubbed his paw over his eyes.

“Sonic Wachowski, you listen to me: what happened that day with Robotnik was not your fault. All of us decided to stand behind you and fight; that was our choice and your father and I sacrificing ourselves to protect you, it’s what parents do, and we would do it again in a heartbeat. We love you Sonic and it’s not your job to protect us. As for leading us here, it is no more dangerous than you risking your life by running away to a place like this!” Maddie lectured, while remaining in her stern motherly tone.

“And we’re a team!” Tails added.

“A family tribe sticks together!” Knuckles added, raising his fist in the air for emphasis.

“Please come back, Sonic; I missed you,” Tails said sadly.

Sonic looked at his family and felt a warmth inside him before he felt Maddie grab both his paws and jerk him slightly to make him look at her.

“As your Dad said, you are coming home with us, young man, and I don’t want any fuss from you; is that clear?” Maddie scolded, her eyes fixed firmly on Sonic’s.

Sonic gulped; now his Mum was super angry.

“I said is that clear?” Maddie repeated, raising her voice slightly.

“Yes,” Sonic whimpered in the quietest voice, feeling ever so small right about now.

“Now you grab your things like your Dad told you!” Maddie ordered, and released Sonic’s paws.

Sonic didn’t hesitate to grab his items before standing back besides his family.

Tom immediately grabbed hold of Sonic’s paw, holding tight for he was worried if he let go, he would lose his son again and he wasn’t willing to let that happen.

“Give me one of your rings,” Tom ordered.

Sonic reached into his satchel and handed his father one of his rings as he remained with his head hung and ears flattened.

Tom visioned the Wachowski home and tossed the ring.

The parents and three boys walked through the portal back to the safe haven of their home.

Sonic glanced around his home, he had missed this place so much: the comfy couch, the yummy aroma of past cooked food from the kitchen, Ozzie’s kisses, and even the uncarpeted attic stairs.

Sonic’s thoughts were interrupted by the voice of his father.

“Sonic, I want you to go up to your room while your Mum and I have a talk and decide how we are going to punish you,” Tom ordered.

Sonic knew he wouldn’t have avoided a punishment from his parents, but he didn’t have to like it.

He hanged his head and shuffled his way up to the attic, passing Tails and Knuckles who watched him attentively.

“Tails, Knuckles, why don’t you two go and watch some TV,” Maddie suggested, wanting her other boys out of ear shot so she and Tom could talk privately about Sonic.

---

Sonic looked around his room and zipped over to his race car bed and flopped down on it, instantly feeling the softness.

It didn’t take his mind long to wonder what Tom and Maddie would be thinking, regarding his punishment.

Last time he had misbehaved, Maddie had grounded him for a week, with no comics, TV or running, and that was agony for the little blue hedgehog.

“I’m probably going to be grounded until next century; Mum and Dad were so mad,” Sonic mused, letting his usual exaggerative thoughts win.

Meanwhile, Tom and Maddie were talking in the kitchen.

“What Sonic did was really serious and I don’t want to ever feel like that again, let alone have him think running away is acceptable,” Tom said.

“I totally agree, love; Sonic needs to learn that doing what he did is not on. So, are you thinking a longer grounding than usual, with more loss of privileges?” Maddie suggested.

“Definitely a long grounding, but I feel he needs something more. I mean he really scared us, left us heartbroken, even traumatised Tails into thinking he was useless and abandoned, and most importantly put himself in grave danger,” Tom replied in a serious tone.

“Tom, what are you suggesting?” Maddie questioned.

“I’m talking about that he needs to be given a firm spanking. He needs to understand that his serious actions have very serious consequences,” Tom explained and shook his head.

“It’s not something that I’m pleased to have to even suggest, but he’s given us no other option. I mean, I know, had I ever run away from home like Sonic did, my parents would have spanked me, and you have to agree so would yours,” Tom explained.

Maddie sighed.

“I guess you’re right. Sonic does need a serious consequence, and I support your decision,” Maddie replied, wrapping her arms around Tom’s waist.

“I feel that had we maybe instilled a firmer discipline earlier, Sonic would never have even considered running away and putting himself in so much danger,” Tom commented.

“What’s important now is how we deal with things moving forward and if you think that using a firmer discipline method for more serious behaviour, or repeated misbehaviour, I’m behind you one hundred percent, love.”

Maddie hugged Tom comfortingly before continuing.

“Now in regard to punishing Sonic, do you want me to be the bad guy? I mean you don’t want to break your bond with him, especially seeing as this is probably the first time he’s ever been spanked,” Maddie said, making an offer to her husband.

Tom shook his head.

“I appreciate the offer, Maddie, but I think that’s why I have to be the one to do it. He needs to understand that although he means the world to me, he can’t go treating me and his entire family like he did because of his reckless behaviour,” Tom informed.

“You’re doing the right thing and remember you’re doing it because you love him,” Maddie comforted, seeing that this was a hard task for Tom to bare.

Maddie kissed Tom and they pulled away from their hug as Tom stepped away and made his way up to the attic to deal with his irresponsible, naughty son.