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Chapter Text

   Maddie was exhausted by the time she got done with work at the vet clinic. It had been an... interesting day, to say the least. After all, who else woke up to find out one of their adopted alien children had turned the living room into a gladiator arena and kidnapped the mailman? Not to mention she was nearly an hour late to work because Tails had to repair the car before she could come in. And the vet office seemed to have a surplus of animals who needed attention today, keeping her late, because of course. 

   She sighed as she locked the office door, pulling her arms back in a stretch to loosen her sore neck before heading to the car. Being busy hadn't entirely kept her from thinking about Knuckles. What was she supposed to do with that boy?

   It didn't help that Tom was out of town. They'd only been parents for about a year now, and for Tails and Knuckles only a little over two months. Heck, Sonic had barely acknowledged that they were his parents yet. He'd finally started calling Tom "Dad," but was only calling her "Mom" off and on. Not that she blamed him. He was closer to Tom, and she also understood that he still missed his mother figure, Longclaw. But after a day like today, Maddie was wondering if she really was cut out for being a mom.    

   She should've just talked to Knuckles about the construction crews calmly. She should've just had him take down the gladiator arena in the living room (and apologize to their poor mailman) instead of getting angry and going straight to grounding him. Sonic was right. Knuckles needed time to adjust. And she needed to give him the chance. 

   Maddie took a breath. Well, she couldn't fix this morning, but she could restart tonight. She pulled into Zanelli's, the local pizza place, and grabbed two pizzas before heading home. She didn't feel like making anything tonight. And maybe the food could be a peace offering between her and Knuckles. They could have a conversation about everything over dinner. Maybe she could even reduce the grounding sentence if he agreed to help her clean up the living room tomorrow.

   It was nearly dark when she got back to the house. A flash of blue whipped up the curtains in the front window, indicating Sonic had been waiting for her approach. He hadn't done that as much since the other boys had arrived, which was good in that it meant he wasn't as lonely now, but it was still a little sad not to see him bouncing at the window every day when she came home from work. 

   She carried the pizzas inside. As predicted, Sonic was waiting just inside the front door, along with Tails. "Hi, Maddie!" they said in unison, smiles big and bright. 

   "Hey, boys." Maddie smiled tiredly at them. She held up the boxes. "I brought pizza."

   "Yay!" Sonic grabbed the boxes out of her hand and dashed to set them on the dining room table.

   Maddie followed, deliberately avoiding looking at the disaster that was once their living room. "Would one of you call the family warrior to come down to dinner?" she asked. It was time to get this talk dealt with.

   Sonic's eyes flickered back and forth. He waved his hand. "Oh, he's probably still brooding. I don't think he's in the mood to come down right now."

   Tails chimed in, "Maybe Sonic and I should just take him a plate, and we can eat down here, without him." He chuckled weirdly and glanced at Sonic, who grinned a little too wide and toothy.

   The radar in Maddie's head went off. Something had happened. That was the look and tone of voice they got when they were trying to hide something. Fortunately they were pretty bad at it. "What's going on?" she asked.

   Sonic and Tails glanced at one another. Sonic chuckled. "I don't know what you're talking about. Everything is completely normal and Knuckles is exactly where he's supposed to be."

   Oh no. "What do you mean? Where is Knuckles?" Maddie strode to the stairs to the attic. "Knuckles!" she called up. There was no answer.

   She stared at Sonic and Tails. Their eyes flickered between each other and her. Tails gave a nervous chuckle. "Maybe he's sleeping?" 

   "Where is he?" Maddie demanded.

   Sonic fidgeted with his gloves. "I, um... I dunno."

   "I went up at lunchtime to bring him a sandwich, and he was gone," Tails explained.

   "He's been gone since lunch?" Maddie asked. "And you didn't call me?"

   Tails ducked his head and curled his shoulders up, his tails drooping. 

   Sonic shrugged. "I thought maybe he'd just gone out to blow off some steam. He was pretty frustrated when I talked to him this morning after you left. But I figured he'd be back by now."

   He's run away. One of our kids ran away. Of course he did. You were too hard on him. You're not even his real mom. Why should he listen to you?

   Maddie sank down on one of the kitchen chairs, weight settling in across her shoulders. She groaned. What had she done? Why did this have to happen when Tom was away? She wasn't cut out for this, especially by herself. 

   Tails came over, putting his hand on hers. "Are you okay, Maddie?" He tilted his head, big blue eyes peering up at her with worry.

   This was all her fault. "Do you think I was too hard on him?" she asked quietly.

   Sonic smirked. "He did turn the house into a scene from Gladiator," he said, his voice dropping slightly from its usual level of sarcasm to an attempt at comfort.

   A gladiator pit. What kind of kid felt more at home in a gladiator arena than a stable, loving family? The more time she spent with these kids, the more obvious it became how very broken they were, no matter how hard they tried to hide it. Sonic, with his nightmares, who'd been with them over a year and was just now starting to acknowledge them as his parents. Tails, who still showed surprise at any form of affection and occasionally expressed fear they'd leave him behind.

   And Knuckles, who shunned any affection at all, who thought that any stranger was a threat and wanted to fight everyone he came into contact with, who turned their house into a gladiator arena because that was what he was most comfortable with. That wasn't normal! That wasn't healthy! He was only 15, and yet every time he shared a story about his life before Earth it was about near-death experiences and fighting others for sport or survival. 

   How was she supposed to deal with that? How could she help him when she couldn't even get him to stay at home when he was grounded?

   Okay. They had to fix this. One step at a time. Umm... "We need to... form a search party, and go look for him..." Oh, Tom was so much better at this stuff than she was.

   "Tails and I already looked everywhere. He's not anywhere around here."

   If the fastest thing alive and someone who could fly couldn't find him, there wasn't much hope.

   Tails's ears fell flat. "He's coming back, right? I mean, he power bumped on it."

   Sonic put a hand on his shoulder, crouching slightly to reach his height. "He'll be back, bud. He's a warrior. They take their promises seriously." He shrugged. "Besides, the Master Emerald is still here. He would never leave leave without it."

   Okay. That actually gave her some hope. There was no way Knuckles would leave that behind. Maybe he really was just blowing off some steam. Sonic would go off on runs when he was upset sometimes. Maybe Knuckles just needed some time.

   Maddie forced a smile. "Well, let's make sure we leave some pizza for when he gets back. You know what an appetite he's got."

   The two boys returned smiles that were obviously just as forced as hers was. Maddie took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and stood up. She had to be strong for the two of her kids who were still here.

   Tails quickly flew up to help her get plates and cups from the upper cabinets, and Sonic kept up a stream of chatter even more than usual. Maddie appreciated their efforts to be helpful. She tried to eat with them, but her insides were all twisted and tight and couldn't stomach more than a couple bites. 

   Knuckles hadn't come back by bedtime. Maddie tucked Sonic and Tails into their little vehicle beds, bought for them with such love, and tried to keep her throat from clenching as she glanced at the empty yellow truck before making her way back to the dark, silent downstairs.

   Once she'd changed and crawled under the covers, she called Tom. Just hearing his voice helped calm her overwhelmed system. He was just as upset as she was by the news that Knuckles was gone. But Maddie felt a bit of the weight lift from her now that he knew.

   "Do you want me to come back?" Tom asked. "I can throw my stuff together and start heading that way." 

   Yes. Please come back. "Tom, no. It's the middle of the night. Get some sleep first, at least. It's not like you could get here before the morning anyway." 

   Tom sighed. "If he's not back by tomorrow, I'm definitely coming back."

   Oh, she hoped Knuckles would be back before morning. She couldn't handle thinking about what might happen to him all by himself all night. "Alright. I'll keep you posted." 

   "I love you, babe. And don't worry. We got a tough kid there. He'll be okay."

   "I know," she said. "Love you too." She sent some kisses over the phone and hung up. But as she set the phone down and let the silence and darkness fall over the room, the bed felt more empty than ever.

   There was no way she was getting sleep tonight. She took Tom's pillow and cuddled it close to her chest, closing her eyes and trying to breathe slowly. The house creaked and settled, but none of the noises were the sound of a bulky echidna trying to sneak back into the house.

   Two sets of soft footsteps came down the hall. "Maddie?" came Sonic's voice.

   "Yeah hon?" Maddie sat up. In the light of the hall, Sonic and Tails stood silhouetted in the doorway.

    "We were wondering-- well, it was Tails's idea, I was totally fine, but... we were wondering if we could... sleep with you tonight?"

   Maddie's heart melted. "Of course you can." She turned on her bedside lamp and shifted to make room as the two boys dragged in their pillows and blankets. Tails crawled up on her right side and Sonic on her left, being careful not to poke her with his quills as he settled in. Maddie wrapped her arms around them and pulled them close. 

   "I'm worried about Knuckles," Tails whispered, tucking his head against her chest. 

   "I know, sweetie. Me too. But Knuckles is a tough kid. He'll be okay." Maddie rubbed Tails's arm, running her fingers through his soft fur that had gotten thicker and healthier since he'd been here. Knuckles, and in fact all of the boys, knew how to survive on their own. That didn't mean they should be out on their own. The thought of Knuckles out in the night alone terrified her, no matter how capable she knew he was. But she was going to keep up a brave face for her other two boys. 

   Sonic chuckled. "Yeah, nothing can stop Knuckles! He's a tough fighting machine!" He shadow boxed and mimed punching Tails in the side, leaving Tails giggling.

   "He probably just wanted a chance to clear his head. He'll probably be back by the time we wake up," Maddie said positively. All three of them gave noises of affirmation that she knew none of them really meant. 

   Maddie pulled the blankets up over them. "Goodnight," she whispered. She gave both boys a kiss on the forehead. "Love you both."

   Tails's tails wagged under the blankets, one of them coming up to wrap over her leg. He pressed tighter against her. "I love you too."

   Sonic smiled softly. "Love you too, Mom."

   Maddie quickly shut off the light so the boys wouldn't see the tears coming to her eyes. She'd really needed to hear him call her that tonight.

Chapter Text

Things always feel a little better in the morning. Even once Maddie fully woke up and remembered that Knuckles was gone, she didn't feel quite the same sense of panic as she had in the late, dark hours of the night. It was a new day. Maybe they could get things figured out.

The first thing she did (after gently untangling herself from the arms and legs and tails of the boys) was to was head up to the attic. It was still empty, the yellow truck bed left undisturbed. Knuckles hadn't come back yet.

That was it. She was calling Wade. She was going to have all hands on deck out looking for Knuckles. He may have been the greatest warrior in the galaxy, but he was still her kid.

She called the deputy as she headed down to start some sort of quick breakfast. The call didn't go through, going almost immediately to that voicemail message about "preparing for a tournament" or something. His phone was a little funny sometimes from all the times he dropped or sat on it, so maybe it just wasn't working. She tried a couple more times, but still no answer. She finally just sent a text and decided to go down to the station after breakfast. Today wasn't a day for going into work. If there was an emergency, they knew how to get a hold of her.

She called Tom as she cracked eggs into a bowl for omelettes. She realized about three eggs too late that not having Knuckles around meant adjusting the amount she needed for just her and two boys. Knuckles ate a LOT, and she only needed about half what she'd usually prepare. Welp, she could put the extra in the fridge for some dish with eggs later.

Once Tom found out Knuckles wasn't back, he promised to get packed and catch the next flight home. That was a such a burden off of her as well. Once he was back, they could face this like they always did problems, especially the ones with their boys. Together.

The omelettes were ready by the time Sonic and Tails made their way downstairs. "Is Knuckles home yet?" Tails asked hopefully.

Maddie hated to crush the brightness in his eyes. "Not yet, bud," she said, her heart wincing when his little ears fell flat. "But we're going to go get Wade and search for him today!"

"Okay." Tails settled into in his spot at the table, staring quietly down at his plate. He looked so sad. Maddie started to ask how he was holding up, but Sonic cut in with chatter about all the places they should go look for Knuckles today, and she got distracted dishing out breakfast and getting some fruit and toast to go with their eggs.

Breakfast didn't take long, and then they all loaded into the car. Tails got himself strapped into his car seat while Sonic zipped into the passenger side. "Oh yeah, shotgun!" Sonic exclaimed, feet bouncing against the edge of the seat.

"Nuh uh, young man. If you're sitting up front, you need your booster seat."

Sonic looked absolutely horrified. "Moooooooooooom!" he groaned. "I'm thirteen! I've saved the world! Twice!"

"Yes, and you are also half the size of a grown human. It has nothing to do with how mature you are. It's safety."

"Dad doesn't make me use the booster seat," Sonic muttered under his breath.

TOM. They'd talked about making sure the kids used those. "Whoa, when exactly did this happen?"

Sonic's eyes widened. "Nothing, you heard nothing and I'MGONNAGOGRABMYSEATNOW BYEEEEEE!" He dashed off and returned a second later with his booster. He pouted as he got it situated into place and sat on it.

"Hey, at least you're really tall now!" Tails said. He was perfectly content in his seat, at least. And adorable.

They headed into town. Sonic slouched down in his seat as they began to see more buildings and more people. "Oh, please don't let any of the kids from school see me," he groaned.

"Aw, but I thought your friends from school are pretty nice, right?" Maddie asked. He seemed to be doing okay with friendships now that he'd gotten more settled in. "Like your friend Chris? And Danny and Frances and Helen?"

"Yeah, but it's still embarrassing. No one else has to ride in a booster seat."

Maddie recalled the struggles of being thirteen. Yeah, fitting in was hard, even when you weren't a blue alien with superspeed. But she also had the responsibility to keep her kids safe. "We'll talk about it later, okay? After we get this Knuckles thing figured out." One mess at a time. She could handle that.

They arrived at the sheriff's station pretty quickly. "Alright, you two stay here." Maddie left the truck running for the few minutes she'd be inside. She could hear Sonic changing the radio station as she shut the door and half-shook her head in amusement.

Once she got inside, a quick glance indicated Wade wasn't there. In his chair was John, a local whom they deputized on the very rare occasion that they needed an extra set of hands, usually during town-wide events like a parade or something.

"Mrs. Wachowski! Good to see ya!" He stood up, grabbing her hand and shaking vigorously. "How's things up your way? I heard that you lost another construction crew. And with Tom away and everything. Must be pretty stressful."

Heh, no kidding. Maddie smiled politely, not quite in the mood for chit chat. The curse of super friendly small towns. "Yeah, it's been quite a week. What're you doing here? I thought Wade was taking care of things until Tom got back."

"Wade swore me in as temporary deputy until he gets back from his trip."

Wade was gone too? "Sorry, what trip?"

"He was kinda in a hurry, but he said something about a tournament and becoming a warrior or something."

That sounded... suspiciously familiar.

"Figured you knew about it," John continued. "After all, he had one of your kids with him."

No. No way. "KNUCKLES???"

"Yeah. The red one, right? Such a serious little guy, but he's kinda funny."

Maddie felt like she was going to scream. Instead she turned it into a laugh, one of those shaky, angry laughs. "He's a funny kid alright," she said through clenched teeth. "I'll see you later, John."

She stormed towards the door, pulling out her phone and dialing Wade's number. It once again went straight to voicemail. "WADE!" she shouted into the phone as she shoved the door open. "IF YOU DON'T START FREAKING ANSWERING THE PHONE, I SWEAR--"

Maddie froze as she realized that Sonic and Tails were watching her from the car. Oh, frick. Not being a great example right now. She took a deep breath and continued, "Please, Wade, call me back. As soon as possible. This is really important." She hung up, taking a moment to do one of her yoga breathing exercises, before walking back to the car. "Hey boys," she said in an extremely controlled voice. "So, we have some interesting news."

The boys stared at her in shock as she related what she'd found out. Sonic's eyebrows raised. "Hold up. Knuckles is with Wade?"

Maddie half-chuckled. "Yeah, I don't know if that makes me feel any better either." She loved Wade, but he was... something. He had a great heart, and tried to do the right thing, but sometimes he was... lacking in execution. Honestly, she trusted Knuckle's ability to take care of himself more than Wade's. But it was good to know that Knuckles wasn't entirely alone. And that she maybe had a chance to contact him. IF WADE WOULD EVER ANSWER HIS PHONE...

"So... what do we do?" Tails asked.

"I... I don't know. I guess for now we can go home and wait for Tom to get back."

Chapter Text

Tails perched in the windowsill, his tails peeking out from underneath the sheer curtain as he stared out at the driveway. He'd been sitting there since they'd gotten home, only leaving briefly to come eat lunch. Maddie wasn't sure if he was watching for Tom or Knuckles.

Sonic was busy (supposedly) working on homework in the attic, although Maddie needed to check and make sure he hadn't gotten distracted yet. But before that, she needed to see if Tails was okay. He'd been so quiet since Knuckles had left, and she was getting worried.

Maddie sat on the chair next to the window, pulling the sheer back so she could see the fox. He was incredibly focused. His eyes trained out the window, his body still and tense. You could see the animal element in him. A fox crouched in the bushes, waiting. Waiting. Watching.

"Hey, Tails. You doing alright over here?"

"Yeah. Just waiting."

"You know, you can come do stuff while you wait. You don't have to just sit there." Maddie tried to think of something better for him to do. "I have some puzzle books."

"I'm good." Tails remained focused on the windowpane. After a second, he tipped his head, as if a thought had suddenly come to him, and he glanced back at her. "Thank you, though."

"Of course. If you're sure." Maddie wasn't sure how else to help short of actually ordering him to leave his window perch. It wasn't bad for him to sit and wait, and normally she'd think it was cute, but this wasn't the fidgety excitement he and Sonic got when it was time for Tom to get home from work. It was... tense. Uncomfortable, somehow.

Tails shifted, turning to sit sideways on the windowsill. His eyebrows were knit together. "Da-- Donut Lord promised he was coming home today, right?"

Had he been about to say "Dad"? So far Tails hadn't used those names at all yet, although she suspected he wanted to. Please, feel free to say it. "Yeah, he'll be here soon."

"He promised?"

The worry in his voice concerned Maddie. "Yes, he promised. Don't worry, bud."

"Okay," Tails said. He pressed his nose against the window and continued to stare out.

He seemed so anxious about this. Like he didn't really think Tom would come back. Was it just the worry from Knuckles being gone bothering him? Or was it something more?

Maddie absently brushed her fingers through the fur of one of the fox tails hanging down. Suddenly Tails twitched his tails away from her hand, holding them rather stiffly out of her reach, and she froze. Huh. He was usually fine with affection. But maybe they weren't there yet.

"Sorry, bud," she said quietly, although it did hurt her heart a little.

Tails ducked his head a little, his ears lowering. Without looking, he reached back and held his hand out, nonchalantly enough that he wasn't asking her to hold his hand, but enough she could still tell the offer was there.

Maddie put her hand in his. Tails gave her hand the tiniest squeeze and kept his fingers wrapped around hers.

Hmmm. Maybe it was just a tails thing. Maddie stroked his hand and sat with him in silence, not sure how else to help whatever pain was bottled up in the little fox.

A whoosh came down the attic stairs. "Whatcha doing?" Sonic asked, dashing up next to them and peering out the window.

The tenseness in Tails's muscles released with a jerk, and he let go of Maddie's hand to shift over and give Sonic some room too. "The same thing I was doing when you came down here ten minutes ago," Tails said.

"No way, that was like an hour ago," Sonic said. He turned to Maddie. "Can I have a snack?"

Maddie checked the time to make sure it wasn't too close to dinner. "Sure. I'll grab you something." If she let him get his own snack it'd likely be more sugar than sustenance. "Tails, hon, you want something too?"

"No, thank you."

Hmm. Well, she'd make extra just in case. She was glad to have Sonic there to distract Tails while she went to prepare something. She walked into the kitchen and glanced around, and promptly she realized she had no idea what to make. It was hard coming up with ideas when she was tired and stressed.

As she sliced up some apples to dip in peanut butter and yogurt (an old standby), she heard Sonic's loud voice from the other room.

"Maddie! Dad--"

"DONUT LORD'S HOME!" Tails interjected, jumping off the windowsill. A huge smile spread across his face and his tails wagged, nearly whacking into Sonic.

"Yeah, Donut Lord. Totally what I was gonna say." Sonic grinned a little shyly. It was cute and kind of funny how awkward he still was about it. As if they weren't overjoyed everytime they heard him use those terms. Sonic zipped over to the door and waited by it, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. Tails followed suit.

It wasn't long before the door opened. The moment Tom stepped in, he was pounced on by the two boys. "Whoa, what have we here?" Tom ruffled Sonic's quills and pulled him into a half-hug against his leg. "I missed you, bud." He then scooped up Tails. "Hey there, Big Guy." He gave him a little forehead kiss right above the spot where his bangs came out. He shifted Tails onto his hip as Maddie came over, wrapping his free arm around her and giving her a much more spicy kiss.

"Ew, gross!" groaned Sonic. Tails giggled from his spot half-squished between the two adults and made a face.

Tom grinned mischievously and wiggled an eyebrow at Maddie. "Oh, love of my life, I missed you soooo much," he said in an exaggeratedly sappy tone.

Maddie returned with a flirtatious smile. "Babe, I was counting the minutes until you returned."

"Oh great, I think I'm gonna throw up." Sonic made a gagging face. He rescued Tails from Tom's arms and dashed into the other room holding the fox as Tom and Maddie started leaning in towards one another and making exaggerated kissing noises. Oh, they were so much fun to tease.

When the boys were gone, they did share another kiss, then stepped towards the kitchen out of earshot. "Any news?" Tom asked.

Maddie shrugged. "Knuckles is still gone, and I can't get through to Wade."

Tom sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "About that... I got a call from another sheriff's department. They found the Green Hills sheriff's car at an abandoned ski resort, of all places."

Why...? Maddie didn't want to ask. "What about Knuckles and Wade?"

Tom shrugged. "They weren't there. But the deputy I talked to said there had been quite a mess there. The resort was trashed, walls knocked out, and the car apparently looked like it had fireworks blown up inside it?"

"What?"

"And there's more bad news."

"More?" Maddie didn't know if she could take any more of this.

Tom glanced back towards the doorway. The two furry shapes spying on them disappeared in a zip of blue, and suddenly Sonic and Tails were sitting on the couch in the other room pretending to read an upside-down book with very innocent expressions.

Tom shifted his back towards them and lowered his voice. "Wade has a bounty out on him."

"He WHAT?" Maddie burst out. Tom made a "keep it down" noise and tipped his head towards Sonic and Tails. Maddie lowered her voice to a whisper. "You're kidding me. Tom, he's got our kid with him!"

Tom half-chuckled wryly. "I mean, I guess it's not any worse than me being on the run for terrorism with Sonic."

"Neither of those things is okay!"

Sonic's voice came from the living room, "What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing!" Tom called. "Feel free to come in, we're just kissing again!"

Sonic let out a high pitched screech.

Tom grinned, shaking his head slightly. "Honestly," he continued quietly, "if Wade's in some sort of trouble, I'm glad Knuckles is with him. More than the other way around. But I'm just trying to figure out what on earth he did that got him in that mess."

"Yeah, and what's this whole 'tournament' thing? And why did he take Knuckles?"

Tom shrugged, his eyebrows and mouth pulling into a "who knows" face. "So," he asked, "what do we tell the boys?"

"The truth, I guess." They were tough kids. They could handle this.

Maddie sighed deeply. The weight was coming back. Tom stepped over and wrapped her in his arms. "We're doing our best, Maddie," he whispered.

"I know. Why is it so hard though?"

"Kids are hard. And ours just happen to be extra special ones."

Maddie smiled in spite of herself. "Yeah. The special-est."

Tom chuckled. "Babe, that's not a word."

Maddie playfully bonked her head into his shoulder at the teasing, causing him to groan in fake pain. Oh, she was glad to have him back.

Tom called Sonic and Tails in and together they explained what they knew of the situation to them. The two boys listened solemnly.

"Do you think Knuckles will be okay?" Tails asked.

Although she wasn't feeling confident, Maddie smiled for him. "I hope so, baby."

"Knuckles will be fine," Sonic said. "He's lived on his own for a long time. And he's the greatest warrior in the galaxy."

Maddie wished she could have that kind of confidence. But with Tom back by her side and two of her boys with her, she knew they could handle whatever happened. Even as a family minus one, they were still a family. A strong family. And they could hold together until Knuckles came back to make them complete again.

Chapter Text

Sonic couldn't sleep.

The room was just at that temperature where a blanket was too hot and no blanket was too cold. Sonic pulled the blanket down to his chest and stuck one foot out. That was almost okay. Except that position wasn't comfortable. Neither was his side. Lying on his stomach felt good but then his nose was buried in the pillow and he couldn't breathe. Breathing was kind of important. He went back to his side.

Why couldn't he sleep? His bed was the same as normal, the Christmas lights hung around the attic giving just enough soft light to feel safe without being too bright, and the room was actually quiet for once--

That was it. It was quiet. Too quiet. Knuckles always snored. Really loudly. Like a freight train, carrying a bunch of trumpeting elephants, traveling through a forest filled with guys chainsawing trees. It was soooooooo annoying.

And yet, now that it wasn't there, the attic was too quiet. Sonic could hear all the weird creaks and noises the house made, and what he hoped was just a branch scraping against the house and not some monster outside. Like a slenderman creature with big jagged fingernails creeping around.

Oh, great thought, Sonic. Maddie told you not to watch creepy YouTube videos at one in the morning. Now you'll never sleep again. He turned over in his bed, pulling the covers up almost to his ears.

Man, he wished Knuckles was back. Then at least he could listen to his dumb snoring instead of dumb slenderman branches trying to scare him. You're just fine, Sonic. You're not freaked out at all. Not even by that weird whimpering sound that is definitely just the wind--

Wait. That wasn't wind.

That was... Tails?

Sonic pulled the cover off his head and sat up. "Tails? What's wrong?"

The whimpering continued, and Sonic realized Tails was curled up in his own bed, probably still asleep. But he was shaking and making noises that made Sonic's heart sad. He must be having a nightmare. Aw, buddy.

Sonic crawled over into the airplane bed. He gently shook Tails's shoulder. "Tails, bud, wake up."

Tails stirred. "Sonic?" Tails peeked his head up, ears pulled flat. "Sonic!" He flung his arms around Sonic's waist and clung to him, burying his head in Sonic's peach chest fur.

"Whoa, whoa, what's going on, pal?" Oh, help. He wasn't as good as Tom and Maddie with stuff like this. Sonic patted his head awkwardly and wrapped an arm around Tails. Much as he loved his little bro, he still wasn't entirely keen on full-on hugs. But it looked like Tails needed one, so he'd give it to him.

Tails mumbled something into his chest, which tickled, and Sonic had to breathe sharply to keep himself from laughing. Not a good time to laugh, Sonic. "I can't hear ya," he said instead.

Tails kept his head buried in his chest, and Sonic continued to pat his head. This is what Tom and Maddie usually do when I have a nightmare, right? He'd had them a million times, but now that he was on the other end he couldn't think of a single thing that had helped him feel better. Okay. Hugs. Hugs are good. Tails likes hugs, right? Just give him a minute. Ack. Dad, Mom, I could really use your help!

Tails did finally pull his head back, eyes full of tears. "You guys were all laughing at me, and then Knuckles left, and Maddie and Tom left, and then--" his voice choked up-- "you left, and I was-- I was all alone again."

Oh, no. Sonic knew just how bad dreams about being left all alone were. His chest started tightening at the memory of his own times all by himself. Cut off from everyone. Alone, in the dark. Drowning... He shook his head and he pulled Tails back into the hug. "I'm sorry, Tails. I bet that was scary. But it was just a dream, okay? I'm still right here. And Tom and Maddie are right downstairs."

Tails nodded and pressed his head against Sonic. He sniffed. They sat there for a couple of minutes, Sonic still unsure what to say.

Tails finally pulled away. He wasn't crying anymore, but didn't seem to be feeling entirely better. He hunched over, wrapping his tails around himself and twisting the tips of them between his fingers. His voice was hesitant. "Do you think that maybe Knuckles left because he didn't... like me?"

What? Was that because of the dream? "Where on earth did you get that idea?"

"I dunno," Tails said quietly. "People just... always seem to leave, and not come back."

Sonic and Knuckles had both lost people close to them. But Tails... Sonic didn't really know a ton about what happened to him before. Tails didn't really want to talk about it. He knew there'd been some bullying and stuff, but... had Tails been abandoned?

How do I help? ACK. What do I do? "Trust me, there's no way this is your fault," Sonic reassured. "If anything, you're his favorite."

"What? No, I'm not!"

"Yeah you are." Sonic gave Tails a playful boop on the nose, earning almost a smile. "Do you see him carrying me around on his shoulders all the time? Believe me, I asked him to once, and he nearly punched me in the face." Sonic chuckled. "He likes you a lot. At least, as much as he can like someone."

Tails smiled slightly, scrubbing at his eyes. "But why'd he leave?"

Sonic still really had no clue. "I dunno. Because he was mad, or he got bored, or he just really wanted to have a buddy road trip with Wade, for whatever reason."

Tails nodded, but didn't look entirely convinced.

Okay. He really needed reinforcements with this. "Here. Why don't we go and crawl in bed with Tom and Maddie again?"

Tails shrunk. "I don't wanna wake them up. I-- I shouldn't bother them."

"Trust me, they're never bothered when we need them. I can't tell you how many times I've gone down there when I had a nightmare, and they always let me come in."

Tails's ears flicked up for a second, then drooped back down against his head. "Of course they did. You're their kid."

Oooh. That might be part of the problem.

"So are you!" Sonic assured him energetically. "They love you so much. You're just as much a part of this family as I am." And then he added, although not entirely sure it would help, "And so is Knuckles. That's how I know he's coming back."

Tails's ears started to perk up again , but he half-shrugged his shoulders and fiddled with the fur on his tails.

"Come on." Sonic wasn't taking no for an answer. He scooped up the fluffy fox kit in his arms. Tails's legs and tails wrapped around his waist as he carried him against his chest in a reverse piggyback. A... piggyfront. Yeah.

Sonic marched the two of them downstairs and shifted Tails's weight to one arm so he could knock on the adults' door. "Dad? Mom?" he called. This was no time to be shy with the nicknames. What Tails really needed right now were parents. Real, unconditionally loving parents. And lucky enough, they just happened to be right here.

It only took a moment before he heard shuffling from the other side of the door, and Tom pulled the door open. He was dressed in a baggy T-shirt and boxers and looked very much like he'd just woken up, but his eyebrows pulled together in concern. "You guys okay?"

"Tails had a bad dream," Sonic said.

"Oh no, sweetie," came Maddie's voice from inside. She sat up on her side of the bed as Tom scooped up Tails from Sonic's arms and gave him a hug. He then carried him over to the bed, sitting down with the fox on his lap.

Sonic fidgeted in the doorway, not sure if he should join or go back upstairs. But Maddie gave him a little "c'mon over" motion, and a sense of relief flooded him. He dashed over and flopped onto the bottom of the bed.

"What happened?" Tom asked Tails. He scooted him so Tails was tucked between him and Maddie.

"You guys all abandoned me," Tails said softly, his ears flattening again. "You didn't want me anymore."

"Oh, baby." Maddie pulled Tails up into her arms. Tom wrapped an arm around him from the other side. They held him tight. Sonic noticed them giving each other concerned looks above Tails's head. It was so cool, how they could talk like that without actually talking. Like a superpower.

"We would never abandon you, bud. You belong here, with us," Tom said.

"Yeah. We love you, baby. Nothing's gonna change that."

"You sure?" Tails asked.

"Mmm hmm." The two of them pulled together, just holding him. Tails's eyes closed, shifting his head to press the top of his forehead against the bottom of Maddie's chin. A soft rumbling came from his chest. It was purring, like Sonic heard the kittens at the vet do sometimes.

(Actually, Sonic did it too sometimes. But it was a little embarrassing. With Tails though, it was just sweet.)

Tails finally peeked one eye open, peering up at the adults. "Knuckles left. Do you... still love him?"

Maddie and Tom's eyes widened, and once again they looked at each other. Maddie spoke first. "Of course we still love him."

"But you're angry at him for leaving." The words weren't quite an accusation, but there was a note of worry with them. One of his tails twitched.

Maddie sighed. "Yeah, I guess I am a little upset. But that's just because I'm worried. Sometimes it's easier to be angry than to worry. But I'm worried because I love him."

"You'd get worried if I left too?"

"So worried," Tom said. Maddie nodded. She gave Tails a kiss, right between the ears.

Tails smiled, pressing his head into the kiss. "I'm sorry I woke you cuz of my bad dream."

"Oh! Sweetie, don't you ever worry about waking us up!" Maddie said, almost indignant sounding. "We want to be here for you when you need us."

"I don't wanna bother you."

"It's not a bother. We want to help you," Tom echoed Maddie's words. "And it's normal. Everyone has bad dreams sometimes. Even Maddie and I do."

"I've had a lot, although I get them a lot less now," Sonic chimed in. He'd actually managed to stay quiet and not interrupt Tom and Maddie's moment with Tails, but if he didn't get a chance to say something he was going to scream. "I dunno if Knuckles gets them, but he probably does too."

"Oh yeah, Knuckles gets nightmares a lot," Tails said, very matter-of-factly.

The three older members of the family went silent. Tom's forehead wrinkled. "How do you know that, bud?"

Tails shrugged. "Sometimes when I can't sleep, I hear him grunt and toss around and stuff."

Tom and Maddie exchanged a concerned glance. "Does he say anything? Do you know what they're about?" Maddie asked.

"I dunno. I woke him up a few times, but he got all quiet and weird about it when I tried to talk to him. So now I tell him I had a nightmare and ask if I can sleep in his bed. I think it makes him feel better."

Man, Tails was so pure. Sonic legit had the best little brother in the history of ever. 

Maddie pulled Tails up into her arms. "That's so sweet of you."

All that had been happening at night? Sonic slept right next to them. He slept between them. "How come I didn't know that?" he asked.

Tails giggled. "Because you sleep like a log!"

"I do not!"

"Yes you do! You flop down and then-- plllttttt, gone!" Tails grinned. "A herd of elephants could stomp through the attic and you wouldn't know!"

The teasing was a bit ridiculous, but Sonic was happy to see Tails smiling again. He stuck his tongue out at his little bro and smiled back.

Tom yawned loudly, enough that Sonic was pretty sure he was exaggerating for drama. He flipped up his side of the sheet, causing it to land over Tails. A muffled "hey!" came from under the blanket.

"So, you gonna get all cozy in here or what?" Tom asked.

Tails giggled and crawled out from the blanket, scooting up so he was under the covers the right way. He looked down at Sonic and patted the bed beside him. Sonic grinned. He too climbed up into the cuddle pile.

And so, for the second night in a row, the boys fell asleep on their parents' bed. This time, with both Tom and Maddie wrapping them in their arms as they slept.

It was perfect. Almost.

Because as crowed as the bed was, everyone still felt the empty spot where the fifth member of the family should have been.

Chapter Text

   Tom shuffled into the kitchen to pour himself his mid-morning cup of coffee. He needed it. It had been a long couple of days. 

   He cupped his hands around the warmth of the mug, taking a deep breath of the java smell wafting out. A deep sigh emanated from his chest and settled down through his shoulders. He was so tired. More than just tired. He felt... guilty.

   He had missed something with Knuckles. Something big enough that the kid had up and left without so much as a "see ya." He'd thought that their family was coming together, but something had caused it to splinter. 

   Or maybe it just hadn't been as solid as he'd thought. Maybe they hadn't actually come together the way he'd thought. And maybe that was partly his fault. After all the work he and Maddie had put into slowly getting Sonic adjusted to being part of an Earth family, they'd somehow neglected to allow the same time and effort for the other two boys to adjust. They'd just assumed they'd want to be a part of the Wachowskis too. Tails had seemed so happy to be included, there didn't seem to be a need to wait to jump into family mode. He was desperate for their love and affection.

   But Knuckles? Knuckles was older, had spent far more time on his own. Like Sonic, he needed time to adjust, to develop a relationship with them before they tried to go into full parent mode on him. Maybe that had been the problem. They'd tried to force a relationship that wasn't there yet. They'd tried to force him to accept them as his home before he was ready. 

   Tom had spent a lot of time one-on-one with Sonic before Tails and Knuckles arrived. But he hadn't gotten many chances to have individual bonding time with the other two boys. Turns out three kids keeps you pretty busy. Maybe he should've spent more time figuring out how to connect with Knuckles. Maybe he could have kept this whole thing from happening.

   It was now the fourth day (four? Had it really only been four?) since Knuckles had left. Maddie had insisted on going in to work today, although he knew she didn't feel like it. She'd needed the distraction. And he'd be relieving John of the burden of sheriffing tomorrow. Things were settling into a routine. A new normal. But not necessarily a good one.

   Not having Knuckles around had thrown everything... off. Maddie was stressed about him 24/7. Sonic seemed pretty okay, but he'd been talking to himself more again.

   And Tails... Although their youngest seemed to be doing better now than he had a couple nights ago, he'd started going up to the roof and watching the road for hours on end, apparently waiting for Knuckles to come back. It was a bit concerning. Especially since they still didn't have a guarantee that Knuckles was coming back. 

   But Tails was the one member of the family that Tom might actually be able to help right now. What the kid needed was a project. Something to take his mind off things and challenge him.

   It was hard to find things to keep a genius like him occupied, though. Any models or puzzle games they got for him were over far too quickly, and while Tom and Maddie trusted him immensely, some of the tech and things he'd like to work on with were things they weren't entirely comfortable with letting an eight-year-old do. Even a genius eight-year-old. Things like rewiring the whole house, which Tails had already attempted.

   He needed to create a problem to solve that was smaller and safer, but still challenging. Or at least something that would take a while. There wasn't much to work with here. He might need to get creative. He might need to... Hmmm.

   "Sonic!" Tom called.

   Sonic zipped down from the attic. "What's up?"

   Tom couldn't believe he was saying this. "I need you to help me break something."

   "Wha-at?" Sonic stared at him. "Dad, are you feeling okay? Did you, like, bonk your head or something? Oh! Do you need me to drive you to the doctor? You haven't let me drive the truck since San Francisco. And if we're already talking about doing things that you would absolutely never let me do normally--"

   Tom tried so hard not to laugh, with minimal success. "No, I'm okay. I just need you to help me take apart one of the appliances or something. Tails has been sitting on the roof watching for Knuckles all day, and I need something to help me distract him."

   "Ohhhh, so he can put it back to together! Like a puzzle." Sonic grinned. "I love this plan. This is a great plan."

   That, unfortunately, did not give him confidence this was a good plan. But he didn't have a better one right now. "Okay, so what do we take apart?"

   Sonic thought, tapping his foot on the floor. "Oh! The dryer!"

   "Uh-uh. Maddie would kill us if it wasn't fixed by the time she was home. It has to be something that isn't crucial to daily life, but still important." Tom paused. "The TV?"

   "Nooooo! Gravity Falls is on tonight!"

   "Yeah, and I did want to watch sports later. Okay, what else?"

   After much debate, they finally settled on the toaster. It was something they could live without for a little while, and wouldn't be the most expensive appliance to replace if this didn't go well. Tom unplugged it and set it on the kitchen floor. He brought out his tools and stood over it, Sonic by his side. 

   "So how do we approach this?" Tom asked.

   "I could spin dash it," Sonic said. Spin dash was the name he'd given his move where he rolled into a ball to smash things. And it was... a bit overkill for what they needed.

   "We don't want to actually destroy it," Tom said. "We need it to be repairable."

   "Aww," Sonic pouted. He looked over the toaster. "If Knuckles was here, he could just punch it."

   "Yeah, well, he's not here. That's kinda the problem."

   Sonic frowned, just a smidge. "Knuckles can be kind of... a lot, but it's less fun when he's not here," he said quietly. 

   Tom sighed. "I know. I miss that red rascal too."

   The smirk on Sonic's face indicated he'd already bounced back his usual cheery state. "Well, you don't have to be all mushy about it," he said with a chuckle.

   "You started it, pal." Tom grinned, but he was wondering if maybe Sonic wasn't quite as okay with all of this as he'd let on. 

   Sonic didn't seem to be dwelling on it, though. He bounced up and down on the balls of his feet, staring at the toaster. "Okay, step one. We drop it."

   Tom sighed. "Here goes." He picked up the toaster and held it up as high as he could. This felt so very wrong. But he released the toaster and stepped back as it crashed on the tile of the kitchen floor. The casing of the toaster cracked, exposing now-dented internal metal bits.

   Sonic got down on his hands and knees, peering down at the now-broken toaster. "We gotta be careful," he said, in what sounded like could be an attempt at an Aussie accent. "Toasters can be dangerous if wounded."

   What on earth was that? "I think that's enough nature shows for you, buddy."

   "But Steve Irwin is the greatest wildlife rescuer ever!" Sonic protested. "And it's educational!"

   "As long as you stick to wrestling toasters and not crocodiles, I guess we're fine." Tom got down on the floor beside him. He gave Sonic one of his wrenches, holding onto a pair of pliers himself. They gave each other a nod, and then let out warrior yells and started tearing apart the toaster. Metal and wire bits flew everywhere. Sonic grabbed at wires and yanked them out, while Tom pried apart pieces of the inner workings.

   Ah yes, quality father-son bonding time. Right up there with fighting a futuristic egg-tank on the highway and crashing his sister-in-law's wedding. 

   Tom sat back with satisfied sigh. Sonic copied him. They both observed their work. Bits and pieces of the toaster covered the ground, and what was still desperately hanging together was twisted and bent out of shape. 

   Well, that was one mangled toaster. Maybe a bit too mangled. "Hooooo boy," Tom groaned. "I don't know if that's repairable." He really hoped he wasn't going to have to explain to Maddie why their toaster was in a pile of pieces. Although she'd understand. Probably. Maybe he could still run into town and buy another toaster before she got back.

   "Hey, this is Tails we're talking about. He can fix anything." Sonic grinned.

   "You know, you're right. This might not even be a challenge for him." Tom grabbed a few pieces that looked important and shoved them up in a cabinet to hide them. "That'll buy us a little more time."

  Tom put his tools and all other evidence away while Sonic ran up to the attic to call Tails from the window. Moments later, the two boys came down the steps, Tails flying. He landed and stared at the mess on the floor. "What happened?"

   "An... accident," Tom fibbed. "The how is not important. Do you think you can fix it, Tails?"

   Tails nodded. "I'm better with tech and computers, but I can try." He gathered up all the pieces and carried the mess over to the kitchen table. After fetching his own set of tools, he pulled on a pair of googles, bent over the table, and set to work.

   Tom sat down in the chair next to him, watching with interest as Tails methodically examined the toaster and organized the various pieces into piles that only made sense to him. The little fox's tongue poked out the corner of his mouth as he focused. He finally got everything analyzed and arranged to his liking and glanced back up at Tom. "I don't know on earth you managed to break it this badly."

   "Believe me, it took a ton of effort," Sonic said. Tom shot him a look, but Tails didn't seem to have noticed, going back to begin the process of repairing.

   For the next while, Tails labored over the toaster, Sonic and Tom handing him his tools like a surgeon in an operating room. 

   "Wrench."

   Sonic handed him the wrench.

   "Pliers."

   Tom handed him the pliers.

   "Needlenose, not slip joint."

   Tom searched through the toolbox and switched out the pliers.

   "Juice box."

   Sonic dashed to the fridge and brought back a juice box. He inserted the straw and held it up so Tails could take a sip without losing his focus on his work. 

   Tom continued to assist Tails while Sonic, quickly growing bored of watching, bounced around on the balls of his feet for a bit and then ran around the house entertaining himself through various means. Tails continued to work, somehow oblivious to the blue blur as he pieced the toaster together with dedication.

   Finally, Tails pushed the toaster away and leaned back, stretching his arms up and behind his head with a deep sigh. His spine crackled. He pushed the goggles up on his forehead, pinning back his bangs.

   "How's it looking, bud?" Tom asked.

   "Well, I'm almost done, but there seems to be a few parts missing. I don't know if I can finish it yet."

   Good thing he'd thought to stash away those parts. Score one for Tom. "Hey, why don't we run to the hardware store? We can grab whatever parts we need and get back home in time to finish it before Maddie gets back." A little field trip might be just the thing. Bought him some more time, and gave him the chance to have a chat with Tails.

   Tails's eyes lit up. His ears perked and his tails started to wag. That little guy loved the hardware store, only second to the electronics store. "Yeah!"

   Sonic jumped up from where he had settled laying on the floor reading a comic book. "Let's go!"

   Oooohhhhh, problem. Tom was really hoping to go with just Tails this one time. A chance to spend some one-on-one. "Sonic, what about your homework?"

   "But I already did all my--" Sonic cut off as Tom grunted and subtly gestured between himself and Tails. "Oh yeeeaaaaahhhh my homework. I should do that. You two have fun though."

   Tails was too busy vibrating with excitement to notice Sonic's clumsy attempt at playing along. Tom was grateful for his and Maddie's sakes that Sonic hadn't mastered the art of lying yet, but he did wish the kid had a bit more subtlety at times.

   On the way to the hardware store, Tom gave Tails the rare treat of sitting in the front seat. Even with the boost of his car seat, he was just barely tall enough to see over the dash. As they drove, Tails rambled excitedly about robotics and what parts he wanted to get. A small grin formed on Tom's face at the pure enthusiasm bubbling from the seat beside him. He only understood about two percent of what Tails was saying, but he listened as best as he could. 

   "...And I'm thinking about making a wrist communicator for Sonic! It'd be easier for him to call us while he's running around all over the place, and it'll be able to track his miles and biodata, like his heart rate and stuff. I already have most of the electronic components, but I'll need more soldering wire. We can get that while we're at the hardware store!" Tails paused his ramble for a breath. Suddenly his ears dropped slightly and he glanced up at Tom. His voice quieted. "If that's not too much?"

   An uncomfortable twinge hit Tom at the abrupt shift in Tails's tone. "Of course that's not too much, buddy. You can have all the soldering wire you want." He was slightly concerned about giving his eight-year-old free access to a hot soldering iron, but at least Tails would probably be the most responsible with it of all the boys.

   He was more concerned with the way Tails had immediately assumed that his small request was too much. Normally he probably wouldn't have noticed it, but added to the way Tails had been freaked out that they would leave him a couple nights ago, and the way he'd been extra quiet since Knuckles left, it worried him. He and Maddie had been talking since Sonic had brought Tails to them that night. Their youngest definitely had some issues with abandonment, although they weren't sure how bad it was. But something had to have happened to leave an eight-year-old all by himself. And whatever it was, it might be the reason he seemed nervous to ask them for too much.

   Tom attempted to broach the subject slowly and casually. "You know, you don't need to worry about asking Maddie and me for the things you want. I mean, obviously we aren't able to buy you anything in the world, but we're happy to get you the parts you need for your projects."

   Tails pulled one of his tails from where it was squished behind him in the car seat and began to play with it. "I just... don't want to be a burden. Especially after all you guys have done for me already." 

   "Taking care of you isn't a burden. We chose to take care of you, and we enjoy doing it."

   "But it might become a burden. If I keep needing things, or if having a kid with an extra tail becomes too weird. I... might not be worth it." 

   Tom's hands tightened on the steering wheel. The hardware store had just come into sight. He turned into the parking lot and pulled into a spot, but didn't make a move to get out. 

   "Tails," he said quietly, shifting his gaze over to him, "who told you you weren't worth it?"

   His heart ached as he stared at the little fox, who was suddenly looking even smaller and younger as he glanced up at Tom with his huge, watery blue eyes. Just a kid. 

   Tails's fingers dug into the fur of his tail and twisted tightly, to the point Tom was worried he might end up yanking out a clump of it. He broke his gaze from Tom's and stared down at his tiny red sneakers, one of which he bounced on the edge of the seat.

   His voice was quiet, the slightest hint of a tremble to it. "When I was really little, my parents took me to this spot in the forest, and told me to wait there. But they... didn't come back." 

   Oh, no. Tom had the sudden intense urge to track down Tails' parents and punch them in the face. Repeatedly. Consider yourselves very lucky you're on some other planet, Mr. and Mrs. Prower. "Buddy, I'm so, so sorry."

   Tails shrugged, his fingers continuing to twine in his fur. "I waited as long as I could, but at some point I got really hungry. So I... left. I found a village. They didn't like me much either, but I was able to get some food and stuff. I think they didn't like me cuz I had an extra tail. Everybody said it was weird. And... nobody wanted to take care of me. I was too different. Too... much."

   Tom took a deep breath, giving himself and Tails a moment to sit with what he'd just revealed. The weight of the words made the air thick and pressed down on Tom's heart until he thought it would break. He swallowed. "Bud, I'm sorry you had to go through that. But it's not your fault. None of what happened was because you weren't worth it. Sometimes, people just do awful things."

   Tails sniffled quietly. He brushed his nose with the cuff of his glove.

   Tom continued, "But even though that never should have happened, I'm really glad that it means you're our kid now. I can't imagine not having you here with us. And there's no way Maddie and I would ever get rid of you. It would make us really, really sad to not have you as part of our family anymore."

   "Really?"

   Tom let a small smile curl the end of his mouth. "Yeah." He reached over and fluffed Tails's bangs, then pulled his hand back to scritch right behind Tails's ear. Tails leaned into his hand, his tails twitching with the beginnings of a wag.

   "We want you, bud. You're worth it to us. This is your home. And I hate to tell ya this, but needing things and being a little weird is part of being human. Or alien fox. And Maddie and I were already ready for that when we decided to take you guys in."

   Tails smiled slightly. "You... took the data into account and planned for all inevitabilities?"

   "Yup," Tom said, trying not to chuckle. 

   Tails's grin spread all the way across his face.

   Tom got out of the truck and went around to open the door for Tails. The little fox jumped out. He hesitantly reached for Tom's hand. Tom's heart instantly warmed. He took Tails' hand and held it securely as they walked across the parking lot and into the store. It felt... so normal. Which was a weird thing to think. But he didn't feel like a guy who'd somehow managed to obtain an alien fox. He felt like... a dad. Just a regular dad, walking into the hardware store with his boy. 

   He didn't know if Tails was feeling the same way. But the little guy had a bounce in his step as he walked inside with Tom, his twin tails wagging behind him. 

Chapter Text

   Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

   That's what a really famous Earth scientist had said in one of the science books Maddie had gotten him. The words played over in Tails’ mind as he sat on the roof, his eyes trained on the road.

   According to that logic, he was crazy.

   This was his third day of waiting up here for Knuckles to come back, and the fifth day since Knuckles had left. And he knew from experience that when people left, they didn't come back. And yet, here he stayed, expecting different results.

   Knuckles is different. He wouldn't do that.

   And what data are you basing that conclusion on?

   Tails had to admit, most of his data was subjective, anecdotal evidence rather than empirical. He had never run an experiment, and he didn’t even have any previous incidents to study. He had no definitive pattern to look at.

   In other words, he was holding onto a hypothesis without anything to back it up.

   No, that wasn’t true. He had evidence. Not necessarily scientific evidence, but evidence nonetheless. Tails went over the list in his mind.

   Evidence 1 : The Master Emerald was still here, safely tucked away in the attic. Knuckles would never leave permanently without it.

   Evidence 2: Knuckles had made a promise to stay here with him and Sonic. To become a team. And as long as Tails had known him, which was admittedly not long, he had never broken a promise. Knuckles was very proud of his honor, and it would be dishonorable to break a promise.

   Okay, so it wasn’t a long list, but it was enough to construct a hypothesis on. And his hypothesis was that Knuckles was coming back.

   Now, he just had to wait and see if his hypothesis was sound.

   Although, he really didn't know why he was still sitting up here watching. Logically, his waiting for Knuckles did nothing to increase the probability of Knuckles returning. It was just that leaving felt like giving up. 

   Maybe if he'd just kept waiting, his parents would’ve eventually come back

   He knew better. He knew his parents– his biological parents– wouldn’t have come back for him, even if he’d waited longer. Even though his memories of his parents were fairly fuzzy, he distinctly remembered the feeling of being unwanted. The feeling of being wrong, of being weird, of being a freak. The feeling that had characterized his entire life up until he’d met Sonic.

   That feeling was why he’d given up waiting for his parents to return. He’d known, even then, that they weren’t coming back for him.

   But not enough time had elapsed yet to determine whether Knuckles was returning. And Tails was still holding onto that shred of hope. Because as gruff and grumpy as Knuckles was, being around him had never made Tails feel unwanted.

   Tails exhaled slowly. His neck and shoulders had unknowingly become tense as he sat up here, and now his muscles were alerting him with unpleasant twinges that he needed to relax them. He laced his fingers together and stretched his arms out above his head, lengthening his spine with a deep breath in. His neck cracked loudly, a reminder that all the time he spent bent over electronics wasn’t doing his body any favors. Gosh, he was getting as crackly as Tom got when he stood up off the couch after a family movie night. Tails snickered at the image.

   He went back to fiddling with the device in his hand, his hand-programmed tablet he’d lovingly dubbed the “Miles Electric.” It was still running as smoothly as ever, but he was currently working on developing a scanner that could track the special energy that Sonic and Knuckles put out. With Sonic constantly going out running all over the world, it would be a good way to find him in an emergency until Tails finally got that wrist communicator made. And if he knew where Knuckles was right now…

   Tails sighed and put down the device, feeling slightly guilty. Maybe it wasn’t a good thing that he had a compulsive need to know where his people were at all times. Maybe he needed to just trust them. 

   The sound of electric-fast running came from the attic. Sonic jumped out through the circle window, stopping to stand beside him. "Hey Tails! What's up?"

   “Just watching,” Tails said quietly. 

   Sonic rested his hand on Tails’s head and teased his fingers through his bangs. Tails silently absorbed the touch, the sensation as warm as the sunlight glowing down on him. Sonic gazed out the road for a second before his eyes came back to Tails. He grinned. “I just wanted to see if you wanted to come watch a movie with me. Or we could play a round of Smash Bros! It’s been FOREVER since we did that.”

   His voice was normally enthusiastic, but this time it seemed just a bit contrived, as though this wasn’t a spontaneous request. “Did Maddie send you up here?” Tails asked. 

   Sonic’s eyes flickered around, his lips pulling into a guilty pucker. “Maaaaaaaybeeee?”

   Yeah, he'd thought so. Both she and Tom had been fussing over him more since he'd come to see them after his bad dream. Not that he minded it. It was kinda nice to receive the attention. He just didn't want them to worry. “You can tell her I’m okay.”

   Sonic sat down on the edge of the roof with him, his red sneakers hanging off the edge. “You sure? Mom– Maddie’s not the only one who’s worried about you. I am too.” 

   Tails glanced up, surprised. Sonic was worried about him?  “I’m fine. Really.”

   “Yeah, but you’re up here all the time. You barely come down anymore except to eat.” Sonic paused. “I… miss you.”

   “Really?”

   “Of course I do, buddy.” Sonic’s emerald green eyes were staring right at him, and his voice held no hint of joking. “You’re my best friend. It’s really boring around here with Knuckles gone AND you sitting up here all the time.”

   “I’m not up here all the time.”

   “Like, 90 percent of it!”

   Tails made some quick calculations in his head. “More like 63 percent.”

   Sonic stared at him with raised eyebrows for a second, then waved his hand. “The point is, you’re up here a lot. You know sitting up here watching won’t make Knuckles come home any faster, right?”

   “I know,” Tails said. He paused and glanced out at the road again. Still empty. A tightness formed in his throat, making his voice small. “It’s just…I miss him.”

   Knuckles had frightened him at first, but it hadn't taken long to realize that the large echidna was as kind and honorable as he was intimidating. His broad, “one million percent muscle” chest hid a heart of gold. And Tails liked when he hoisted him up on his shoulder and carried him around, or listened to his random ramblings about tech patiently even though Tails could tell he didn't understand a word, or showed him how to throw a punch if he needed to defend himself. 

   He missed him.

   Sonic sighed. “Yeah, I do too.”

   “Really?” Tails asked. Both the older boys tended to butt heads more than they got along, although they had mostly figured out how to work out their squabbles without trying to kill one another. But Tails would have thought that Sonic would be enjoying the break from having Knuckles around constantly. 

   Sonic shrugged nonchalantly.  "It's just... I know Knuckles can be a little odd, and aggressive, and doesn't really ‘get it’ here. But he and you are my best friends.” His voice grew quiet and surprisingly slow for Sonic. “You're the only ones on Earth... like me."

  A silence fell across the rooftop, weighing across them both. Sonic stared off, tapping the heel of one shoe against the shingles.

   "I know how that feels," Tails said softly.

   "Whaddaya mean?"

   Tails hunched over. "Back in my village, I was the only one with two tails. Everyone thought it was weird. I think that's why..." He paused as the familiar tightness choked his throat again. "I think... that's why my parents left me."

   Sonic’s face pulled tight. "Your parents are jerks."

   "It's not their fault. It... must have been hard, raising a kid who's..." A freak. "... Different."

   "They're jerks ," Sonic repeated. "There's no excuse for leaving you. Look at Tom and Maddie. They've been raising us, even though we're literally not even the same species." 

   Tails smiled, the warm feeling he got whenever he thought about the Wachowskis filling his chest. He loved the two adults so much. Even in the short time he’d known them, they’d been so kind to him. Sometimes… it was like, maybe they could be…his parents. Not like his biological parents, but real parents.

  Tails wasn’t sure how to express that without being awkward, so he went with,  “They’re pretty special, huh?”

   Sonic nodded, his smile reflecting the warmth in Tails’s chest. “Yeah. They are.” He jumped up, hand on his hip. “And you know what else is special?” He looked at Tails with a broad grin, his free hand booping Tails’s nose before coming to rest on his shoulder. "You and me and Knuckles. We're a team. That's what makes us special. You think Robuttnik could ever make a team like we have?" 

   “But Knuckles is gone now.”

   “He’s coming back. I’m sure of it. And even if he doesn’t, it’s still you and me, pal. That’s more than enough.”

   A hesitation weighed on Tails’s shoulders, pulling his head down to stare at his shoes. His tails wrapped around himself, the tips finding their way into his hands, where he toyed at the fur. “What if… you leave too?”

   Sonic paused, his eyebrows coming together. He bent down on one knee, bright green eyes coming to meet Tails’s. "Hey. We're not going to leave each other, okay? No matter what, if Robotnik comes back, if the world falls apart, no matter what, it's you and me, pal. We're a team. We're... unbreakable." Sonic held out his fist. "Power bump on it."

   Tails stared up at him in wonder. Sonic, the coolest person he'd ever met, his hero, the one who'd changed his life, was promising to always be there for him?

  Tails held out his fist and bumped it against Sonic's. 

   Sonic gave him a grin and stood back up, offering a hand. “C’mon. Let’s head inside for that game of Smash Bros.”

   They both made their way back into the house through the circle window; Sonic curling up and bouncing down into his beanbag chair while Tails opted to fly down and land gracefully beside him. Sonic ruffled his bangs again before taking off to dash down the stairs, earning him a warning yell from Maddie not to knock anything over. Tails shook his head with a smile and followed.

  They were something special. Sonic and Tails. Tails didn’t know how to explain it, but he just knew. Something about their bond was unbreakable. A cosmic truth. It was as certain and beautiful as mathematical formulas. Not always easy to understand, but rooted deep within them, fundamental to their very existence.

   No matter what, even if Knuckles never came back, nothing could change that. And if Knuckles did come back, which Tails still hoped he would, it could only make their team stronger.

   Because they were a team. And that was what made them special.

Chapter Text

   Maddie waved a goodbye to the foreman of the construction crew, who had just finished up their work for the day. It had taken a lot of convincing to get them to come back, even with the assurance that Knuckles wasn't around right now.

   Having Knuckles gone did make it easier to finally get the hole in the house fixed. Maddie felt awful for even thinking that, but it was true. The workers had gotten more done in the past two days than they had in the two months since they’d started. 

   It did nothing to fix the hole in their family, though. The empty spot at the table, the unused truck bed in the attic, the lack of heavy footsteps clomping through the house and the way-too-deep-for-a-sixteen-year-old voice calling her “Pretzel Woman” as he inquired about some new Earth custom he'd just discovered. Knuckles wasn’t quite as much of a “kid” the way Sonic or Tails were, but he was still her kid, and he was still gone. And it still hurt.

   She sighed, the weight once again hanging on her shoulders as she turned the heat off on the soup she had simmering on the stove. She stepped to the front door and peeked her head outside. "Tails, it's getting dark! Come on inside!" 

   A tuft of golden floof and a pair of bright teal eyes peeked out from the garage. “Coming!” Tails disappeared back in the building for a few moments before flying to the house. She wasn’t sure what his latest project was, but at least he was spending less time sitting on the roof. Tom had told her about the talk they’d had, about Tails’ parents abandoning him and his fears of being left behind again. Her heart broke every time she thought about it. She and Tom had been trying even harder now to shower him with all the affection his poor little heart needed. And Sonic had been spending more time with his little brother as well. Maddie loved seeing their bond grow.

   Maddie watched until Tails was safely inside and called upstairs next. “Who's hungry?”

   “ME!” Sonic zipped down to the table. Tom thundered in from the living room only a bit slower. He stole a smooch on the way by, hand gliding along her waist, before grabbing the large dish of salad off the counter and bringing it to the table. Maddie smacked him lightly with a dish towel. He flicked an eyebrow at her, but she just rolled her eyes. Save it for when the boys are busy, Tom. Plenty of time for all that later.

   "Let me grab the dishes." Maddie opened one of the upper cabinets and pulled out a bowl.

   A handful of metal things rained out onto her, whacking her on the head and landing on the floor and counter with loud clanks. "What the-" Maddie turned to stare at Tom.

   "Hey, that's where those went!" Tom chuckled nervously.

   Tails's brow furrowed. "How'd they get up there?"

   "I'd also like to know that," Maddie said, one eyebrow raised. She'd also like to know what they even were.

   Sonic laughed nervously, his eyes quickly meeting Tom's. "Who are we to question the ways of toasters?" he said. "I'm hungry! Let's eat and we can figure out the mysteries of the universe later."

   Toasters? What...? Did this have something to do with the mysterious dent which had appeared on the toaster a couple days ago? She gave Tom a hard look, to which he returned a mouthed "tell you later."

   Maddie shook her head with a sigh and grabbed the bowls. She set them out on the table, wincing slightly to herself as she started to set one at Knuckles's spot before she remembered. Tails grabbed the spoons, while Sonic dove by in a flash and a glass appeared at each table. Tom brought the breadsticks and finally the pot of soup itself. With so many hands, it didn't take long until they were able to sit down.

   Noise came from the living room. Maddie could just see flickering light coming from the TV. She groaned, slightly more playful than exasperated. “Tom, you left the sports channel on again.”

   Tom craned his neck to peer towards the living room. “Oh yeah, my bad.” He got up and went to shut the TV off.

   Instead of returning, he yelled from the living room. “Maddie! C’mere!”

   What? Maddie jumped up at the urgency in his voice, following him into the living room. He stood staring at the TV in shock. Maddie glanced at the screen, and her mouth dropped.

   "Is that Wade???"

   Footsteps and swishing tails brought Sonic and Tails into the room in a flash. The whole family crowded around the TV. 

   It was. It was Wade, dressed in a green bowling outfit and staring down a lane of pins. He swung his arm, released the ball, and bowled a perfect strike.

   Maddie could do nothing but stare, mouth open. Tom immediately pulled out his phone and began googling the show. 

   Sonic laughed. “So that’s the tournament he was going to!”

   "Do you think that Knuckles is there somewhere?" Tails asked excitedly, tails flicking behind him.

   Maddie scanned the bit they could see of the crowd in the background, but didn't see him. A bright red alien echidna should stick out.

   “He's probably laying low,” Tom said.

   “Or finding someone to start a fight with,” Sonic said teasingly.

   Maddie tried to make sense of what was happening onscreen. It seemed that they were midway through the final match of the tournament. Wade and— was that Susie from the Girl Scout troop?— facing down some extremely British guy and what appeared to be his personal servant. The scores across the bottom of the screen showed the two teams were pretty evenly matched.

   The British guy stepped forward, his ridiculous ensemble complete with a bowling ball with a teacup encased inside. One of the announcers said, “And once again we have Pistol Pete Whipple coming up to bowl…”

   "Pete Whipple…" Tom mumbled. His eyes narrowed. 

   Sonic stared at the screen with a smirk covering his face. “Bruh, he made ‘being British’ his only personality trait.” He snorted, elbowing Tails. “The guy looks like a walking flagpole, amirite?”

   Maddie leaned in next to Tom. “Whipple?” she asked, keeping her voice low enough that the boys didn't hear. 

   Tom's face was tight. “I think that's Wade's dad,” he muttered. It was easy to gather from Tom's expression that this wasn't a good thing. Maddie hummed under her breath and kept her eyes peeled on the screen.

   The battle was tight and tense, both Wade and Pete landing strike after perfect strike. Maddie had never seen her family so focused on a sport that had as little violence as bowling, but she too sat on the edge of the couch, leaning in, hands clutching the cushions at each crash of ball and pins. Wade didn't have the calm precision his father maintained, but each ball hit its mark, and he faced the man with a swagger that at least implied he was confident in his skills.

   It all came down to the final frame.

   Pete bowled first, landing his first non-strike as one pin remained standing. He seemed completely unperturbed by it, even as Wade made a subtle dig at him, and easily knocked down the last pin.

    Then it was Wade’s turn.

   The commenters were not doing him any favors, and Maddie was getting really sick of their voices even before their fake-cheerful announcing labelled him a “fatherless, stunted, utter shell of a human being.” Tails gave an offended gasp at that, one she agreed with. She had her issues with the deputy, sure. He tended to cause more troubles than he solved. Like running off with Knuckles without so much as a text message. But the commentators certainly hadn't been there when he rescued a litter of stray kittens during one of their awful Montana snowstorms and drove through the blizzard to get them to the clinic. Or all the times he delivered groceries to old Mrs. Finley when she was having trouble with her hip and couldn’t get to the store. Wade wasn’t the brightest bulb, but he was a good guy. One that Tom trusted enough to help him look after Green Hills.

   Maddie’s senses perked sharply as she heard Wade saying the word “warrior”. He stood in front of his father, giving a sappy speech about all the warriors he'd learned from. His mom; his sister; and “the greatest warrior in the galaxy.”

   “He's talking about Knuckles!” Tails said, his tails waving as he bounced on the couch.

   So Knuckles really had gone with him. Maddie's chest stirred with pride as Wade spoke about the lessons Knuckles had taught him. “That real warriors wouldn't exist if not for those who came before them, showed them the way, and never stopped fighting, no matter how hard the battle became.” Yes, that was her boy. Reckless, and aggressive, but the heart of a warrior. She and Tom shared a smile.

   “Nice speech,” said Pete coolly. He leaned towards Wade, his voice lowering. The show didn't quite pick up what Pete said, but the camera did catch the way Wade's face tightened with pain.

   Maddie decided that she did not like Wade’s dad.

   But Wade grabbed his bowling ball, standing tall, and stared down his father. “Well, would a loser… do this?”

   No one spoke as he walked towards the lane, quietly, calmly, and rolled the ball. The whole Wachowski family waited, breaths bated. The ball rolled down the lane for what felt like an eternity. "Get 'im, Wade!" Tom muttered.

   Nine pins fell with a crash. The last pin wavered, and wobbled, and spun. Maddie grabbed Tom's hand and clutched it so tight she feared it would leave a mark.

   And the last pin fell.

   The whole family jumped up and screamed in excitement.

   The cheering of the crowd onscreen was cut short by a loud crashing. chunks of building flew across the screen. The camera cut to the wall of the bowling alley, with a large, dust-cloud filled hole opening onto the street.

   And on the ground in front of Wade, atop a pile of rubble, lay a familiar red echidna.

   "KNUCKLES!?!" Maddie shouted, as Tom, Sonic, and Tails's voices mingled with hers. 

   “Wade Whipple!” Knuckles exclaimed, reaching one shaky mitt towards the deputy. “Get your people to safety before–”

   He was suddenly yanked outside and offscreen by a large metal... tentacle?

   “Knuckles!” Maddie spun towards Tom. “Tom, he's in trouble!”

   Panic flashed in Tom's eyes as well. Sonic leapt off the couch and ran up to the TV screen like that would actually get him closer to where Knuckles was. Tails joined him, hands fluttering anxiously at his sides.

   Maddie’s chest clenched tight, her heart pounding. They had to do something. They had to help him. She glanced at the door. “I'm driving to Reno, right now!"

   "Babe. Honey. Calm down." Tom grabbed her shoulders, physically preventing her from running out the door.

   "Calm down?!? That's our kid out there!"

   "I know! I know. But there's nothing we can do. Reno is over 900 miles from here." 

   If sheer rage and mother's worry could get her there, Maddie would have been able to run there as fast as Sonic. But Tom was right. There was nothing they could do.    

   Unless…? "We could use a ring to get there!"

   Sonic shook his head. "I lost all my rings in Siberia. And I don't know where Knuckles keeps his." He bounced on his heels. “I can get there in a few seconds—”

   “NO!” Maddie and Tom shouted as one. Maddie clenched her fists tightly. “You are not going to go face— whatever that thing is!”

   “But he's all by himself. I can help him!”

   “I–” Maddie looked helplessly at Tom. The last thing she ever wanted to do was to send her baby off into a battle. But what if he was the only way to save Knuckles? Her other child. It was like being asked to choose between them, and it was the most horrible thought she could ever have.

   Tom grabbed his phone. "I'm calling the authorities in Reno."

   The TV flashed to some distant angles of the scene outside the bowling alley, high-above shots from a new copter or something. A large mechanical robot of some sort dwarfed the street, large tentacles whipping around. Knuckles was visible lying on the ground, head lolled to the side and unmoving. Oh no, no, no. What had they done to him? Maddie’s breath strangled in her throat.

   Another figure stood in the street. Wade. Wade, in all his bright green bowling outfit glory, stood in front of Knuckles, between him and the robot. Protecting him.

   As Maddie watched Wade stand his ground, all alone, chucking what appeared to be bowling balls from the tournament at the giant robot, her chest stirred with respect for the deputy.

   His fight didn't last long though, as he grasped for another ball and came up empty. A tentacle came right for him. Maddie's heart skipped a beat.

   Tails jumped up. “Maddie, look!”

   Knuckles's eyes burst open and he leapt up, blocking the tentacle from hitting Wade and slamming it into the ground. He grabbed a second one, clutching it, seemingly absorbing the electricity from it before ripping the tentacles straight off the machine. He slammed his fists together. Suddenly what appeared to be flames surrounded his gloves.

   What the heck was that?

   “YEAH! GO KNUCKLES!” screamed Sonic.

   “How on Mobius is he doing that???” Tails shouted at the same time. “There's no scientific explanation!”

   Maddie wanted to scream a thousand things, shock and joy and fear, but of all the thoughts swarming in her head, only one could she comprehend fully.

   That's my boy. 

   Tom dropped his phone and wrapped his arm around her. The entire family watched with growing excitement as Knuckles and his flaming fists made quick work of the mech, finally smashing a large decorative sphere on top of it.

   The action over, the camera cut away, back to the announcer’s booth as the two men crawled out from under their desk. Tom muted the TV as they began to speak again, an annoyed look on his face. 

   The Wachowskis stared at one another for a moment. The adrenaline, or fear, just from watching the fight left Maddie's arms trembling. No one knew what to say. Even Sonic seemed at a loss for words. Onscreen, Wade and Knuckles returned to the bowling alley and high-fived. And there the show ended, transitioning to a segment on golf.

   He was okay. Knuckles was alive. He'd just fought a giant mechanical octopus, but he was okay. And he was in Reno of all places.

   Maddie stared at her dumbstruck family and chuckled slightly, glancing back towards the dining room. “Well… who wants cold soup?”