Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sonic loved and hated winter.

The snow was beautiful, feeling the nice cool breeze against his quills was nice. He loved snowboarding and also sitting by a nice warm fire with a good book. And as much as he loved the thrill of adventure, he also liked just curling up on a lazy day and watching a movie. Especially when it was with his friends and family.

But at the same time, the snow made it hard for him to run, especially when it was deep snow. There was also a chance that there was ice beneath the snow, which made running pretty risky. And to top it all off, even though his fur coat kept him mostly protected, that didn’t mean he didn’t get chilly every once in a while.

So here he was, relaxing on the couch in his and Tails’ house in the Mystic Ruins, while a fresh blanket of snow covered the outside.

He sipped from his cup of hot cocoa as he waited for Tails to come back. The little fox had gone out to check the mail that morning. Sonic himself had suggested that he should get the mail, but Tails insisted. And Sonic usually knew that he couldn’t stop his little brother when he set his mind on something.

Just then, his ear twitched to the sound of the front door opening. Tails had just come back in, carrying a pile of letters in his arms.

“Phew, it’s chilly out there!” Tails shivered, setting down the letters on the coffee table as he sat next to his brother.

“Says the one who’s got a nice winter coat.” Sonic couldn’t help but remark with a grin.

Tails playfully shoved his brother before he began looking through the letters.

Sonic went back to drinking his cocoa before he heard his brother gasp.

Looking up, Sonic was surprised to see Tails staring at one of the letters in his hands with wide eyes and mouth agape. “Tails? What is it?”

Tails looked at his brother, eyes still wide. “Sonic… Do you know what this is??”

“Uh, it’s a letter?” Sonic raised a brow, still not getting it.

Tails shook his head, holding up the letter. “It’s a letter from the Olympic Games Committee!”

Sonic’s eyes shot open, the realization coming to him as he saw the symbol on the letter; the five colored rings that represented the inhabited continents of the world.

“No way…!” Sonic breathed, before he smiled, “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s open it!”

Tails quickly got to work, tearing open the envelope and pulling out the paper inside.

“To Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles Tails Prower, we are pleased to inform you that as thanks for your heroics over the years and in our recent collaboration with the Restoration and the Mushroom Kingdom, you and your friends have been invited to compete in this year's Olympic Winter games. The games themselves will be held in Station Square. We hope you accept our invitation. — Signed, the Olympic Games Committee.” Tails read. “Sonic, can you believe it? We’ve been invited to the Winter Games!”

“When’s it happening?” Sonic raised a brow.

Tails looked over the letter. “It says that the opening ceremony is gonna be held next week at the AGES/Odnetnin sports stadium.”

Sonic snapped his fingers with a grin, “Well, that gives us plenty of time to prepare! This should be fun!”

“I’ve always wanted to practice ski jumping! Really get a chance to flex my tails!” Tails said giddily, bouncing on the tips of his toes.

“I’d be nice to take up the board again. Haven’t done that in a while.” Sonic smiled reminiscently. 

“And it says that people from the Mushroom Kingdom have been invited too!” Tails pointed out. “We’ll get to see Mario and Luigi again!”

“Yeah, it’s been a while since we’ve seen those guys! It’ll be nice to catch up!” Sonic grinned.

“Winter Olympics, here we come!”

The week came and went and soon enough, Sonic and Tails found themselves rushing into Station Square as the sun began to set over the city.

Eventually, they arrived at their destination; the AGES/Odnetnin Stadium. 

The stadium itself was massive, making it easy to find in the city. With a large round dome covering the roof and several spotlights shining from it. It was certainly a real treat for the eyes. A massive crowd had gathered outside the stadium, both humans and anthros lined up to enter the stadium, but were being blocked off by police. Fireworks were launched into the sky, exploding with bright colors that kept the people’s attention.

“You ready?” Sonic glanced at his brother, who was practically shaking with excitement.

“Mhmm, mhmm, mhmm!” Tails nodded his head with a big smile like a little kid, his tails wagging furiously.

Sonic chuckled at the little fox before the two began walking towards the entrance to the stadium.

The moment the crowd spotted them, cheers and screams erupted from the people. All of them celebrating the arrival of two of the Earth’s heroes, particularly ones associated with the Restoration movement.

Sonic waved to the crowd, giving some people a couple finger guns and winks. Clearly basking in some of the fame. Thankfully, he never let the fame get to his head, nor did he really care what people thought of him.

Tails was a bit more bashful, shuffling his feet and waving shyly, his cheeks blushing a soft red in embarrassment, especially over the people who were calling him adorable.

Entering the doors of the stadium, the duo were met with the reception.

“Hello, Mr. Sonic, Mr. Prower.” The receptionist stood up from her chair.

“Please, Mr. Sonic was my father.” Sonic said jokingly, raising his hand. “Just call me Sonic.”

Tails rolled his eyes while the receptionist giggled at his joke. “Your friends are right this way.”

Sonic and Tails followed the receptionist into one of the locker rooms.

Almost everyone they knew was in the room. Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, Vector, Espio, Silver, Blaze, even Eggman, Metal Sonic, and Zavok.

“Hey, guys! Did we miss the party!” Sonic joked.

The others in the room turned to see the brothers entering, quickly greeting them in their own ways.

“Oh, Sonic! It’s great to see you!” Amy exclaimed, running up and hugging Sonic. “You too, Tails.” She smiled, hugging the little fox next.

“It’s great to see you too, Amy!” Tails laughed, hugging her back with gusto.

“What were the chance you guys would back down from this?” Knuckles smirked, playfully punching Sonic on the shoulder.

“Well, you know how much I love a challenge, Knux!” Sonic smirked back.

Knuckles laughed before patting Tails on the head. “How ya doing, kid?”

Tails giggled, playfully swatting away the echidna’s hand. “Just great, thank you very much!” He smiled at all of his friends, his tails wagging. “It’s so exciting to be here!”

“Indeed. It is truly an honor to participate in this event.” Blaze smiled. “I’ve been practicing figure skating these past few weeks.”

“I can’t wait to try bobsleding!” Silver exclaimed with a grin. 

“The important thing is that we have some fun, right?” Vector questioned with a toothy grin, to which the others nodded in agreement.

“These are only games.” Shadow quietly huffed.

“Come on, Shadow! Don’t act like you weren’t excited for skiing!” Amy giggled, wrapping her arm around the Ultimate Lifeform’s shoulder.

Shadow looked away to hide a slight blush or embarrassment.

“Hey, there’s no shame in it, Shads! After all, it’s a big honor to be here!” Sonic smirked, playfully nudging Shadow with his elbow.

Shadow gently brushed him away with a simple, “Hmph.” Though not completely disagreeing.

Sonic then looked up to see Eggman, Metal Sonic, and Zavok standing in the back.

“Well, well, well, didn’t think you’d show up, Eggster.” Sonic smirked. 

“Heh, since when have you known me to back down from a challenge, rodent?” Eggman smirked back. “I have been practicing my speed skating technique recently.”

Sonic raised a brow. “You skate?”

“Of course!” Eggman stroked his mustache. “It requires a lot of skill and finesse. Something I imagine you’d know about.”

Sonic simply rolled his eyes before turning his attention to his robotic doppelganger and the zeti. “Oh, got Metal and Zavok with you, huh? Haven’t seen you guys together since the race with Dodon Pa.”

Metal beeped while Zavok gave an irritated huff, “I am not with the doctor, hedgehog. I am here for my own reasons.” Zavok stated.

Sonic waved his hand, “Sure, whatever you say.” He turned back to his friends, “Hey, where’s Mario and his pals? They were invited here too, weren’t they?”

“They should be in the locker room on the other side of the building.” Espio stated, pointing out the door.

“Well, why don’t we go greet them?” Tails suggested, “It’s only gonna be a couple hours before the opening ceremony.”

Sonic snapped his fingers. “You read my mind, little bro! Let’s go!”

“Yo, Mario…!”

“Oh, Sonic…!”

“What is up my digity dog?!”

Mario and Sonic did they’re secret handshake — pounding their fists before bumping them and then clasping their hands tightly — as they smiled warmly at each other.

“How you doing, you big needle mouse, so good to see you!” Mario laughed.

“Eh, same as always. You, plumber?” Sonic shrugged with a nonchalant grin. “It’s great to be here, isn’t it?”

“You betcha!” Mario sighed before the two hugged. “It really is great to see you again, Sonic.”

“Ditto. I missed you, man.” 

Pulling apart, the two looked to see their friends — and enemies — intermingling. 

“We’re pretty stacked this year, huh?” Sonic glanced at his friend.

“Mm hmm, indeed.” Mario agreed.

“So! What've you been up to since I last saw you?”

Mario rubbed his neck, “Well, me and Luigi got invited to the Flower Kingdom to witness the Wonder Flower, Bowser crashed the party and we had to stop him, same as usual. What about you?”

Sonic chuckled nervously, “Well, me and my friends went to these strange islands where my friends got trapped in cyberspace so I had to collect the chaos emeralds to defeat these giant robot titans built by an ancient alien civilization to free them, and then we ended up fighting this primordial entity who may or may not have been a physical representation of death.” 

Mario raised a brow. “Same as usual?”

Sonic shrugged. “As much as you can get in this life.”

Mario sighed with a smile. “Aren’t we a pair?”

“Your darn right we are!” Sonic laughed, giving a thumbs up. 

“And I have a feeling we’re gonna have a fun time while we’re here.” Mario smiled.

“Me too.” Sonic agreed. “As long as we don’t get trapped in a video game again like last time.”

Mario laughed. “Oh, Sonic, never change.”

Just then, everyone in the room heard static over the intercom.

”Will the contestants please make their way to the main stadium?”

Sonic smiled his usual happy-go-lucky grin. “Guess that’s our cue.”

Chapter Text

There they were. Mario and Sonic, two legendary heroes from their respective worlds. Walking

together in tandem with their friends and enemies behind them. 

Ahead, they could see the end of the tunnel and the light shining at the end of it while they could hear the crowd cheering outside.

Glancing at each other one last time, the two icons stepped out of the darkness and into the light.

The crowd went wild, screaming and cheering for them from around the massive stadium, seats filled with people were there as far as the eye could see in the stadium that was so large, Sonic could swear you could fit the Egg Carrier into it as he and Mario stood on the podium in front of the ceremonial torch.

The band's music rose into a graceful crescendo as their friends stepped up to the podium, and the crowd cheered even louder than before.

And as the music began to drop and the crowd settled down, four more people walked up to the podium.

Sonic quickly recognized Jewel and Lanolin, along with a taller human woman dressed in red. Mayor Pauline, if he remembered what Mario told him about her. 

In the background, he could see the Diamond Cutters just off the stage, likely acting as security.

Tangle gave an enthusiastic wave and a smile, Whisper gave him a soft nod, while Lanolin remained stoic as always.

Just then, Jewel and Pauline stepped up to the microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen! It is with great honor that we would like to welcome you all to this year's Olympic Winter games!” Pauline spoke first.

“And we are gonna have some fun this year, folks!” Jewel added, speaking next. “Everyone, please give a warm welcome to our friends, Mario and Sonic!”

The crowd once again cheered, roared, and whistled in celebration while Sonic, Mario, and all their friends smiled and waved as the spotlight shined down upon them.

“For this year’s games, we’re going to be doing something a little different.” Jewel stated. “As a showcase of unity and an example of teamwork, each of the contestants will be in teams!” 

Ah, teams, cool. Sonic could work with that. As much as he liked going solo, there was also some fun to be found when working with others. How many times had he and his friends saved the day thanks to the real superpower of teamwork?

(Did he really used to say that??)

“With the number of contestants, I count there’s enough people here for six teams!” Pauline informed everyone. “However, by half of the first week, two teams will be eliminated, and the remaining four shall go on for the rest of the season.”

Oh, an extra bit of stakes, huh? Sonic could get along with that.

“Each team will consist of four people, with each team member being chosen at random.” Jewel turned to the blue hedgehog and the red plumber, “Mario! Sonic! Come here!”

Sonic and Mario glanced at each other before stepping forward towards the edge of the podium, with all their friends watching them.

“As you are both the key icons of our respective organizations, you will given the advantage of choosing your teammates!” Pauline told them.

Sonic was surprised. Didn’t that seem a little… unfair? Though that meant he could choose his some of his friends for his team so…

“I pick my brother Luigi, my love Peach, and my brother’s love Daisy!” Mario suddenly announced.

Sonic blinked at the plumber before looking back at the other contestants.

He shrugged. ‘When in Rome.’

“I’ll go with my best little bro and resident genius Tails, my long-term bestie Amy, and the roughest guy I know, Knuckles!”

Tails and Amy beamed while Knuckles shook his head with a smile.

“What?! That’s totally unfair!” He heard Eggman yell in the background, but he was ignored.

“The rest of you will pick your names from this slot. Each of them are color-coded, so when you find someone with the same color as you, stick with them.” Jewel said, holding up a bowl of paper slips.

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy watched from the sides alongside Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Daisy as everyone else went up to the bowl and picked a slip.

Once everything was sorted, the teams that consisted were shuffled into four groups.

Vector, Blaze, Shadow, and Yoshi.

Wario, Waluigi, Zavok, and Zazz.

Silver, Donkey Kong, Espio, and Rosolina.

And finally, Bowser, Eggman, Bowser Jr, and Metal Sonic.

“Alright, the teams have been sorted! The captains have been named and the stage is set!” Pauline announced.

“Let the Olympic Winter Games begin!” Jewel shouted, to which the crowd road in applause. The ceremonial torch burning as fake snow was dropped from the sky along with bits of confetti.

And Sonic couldn’t wait for the games to begin.

“Ahh~!” Amy sighed happily, falling back onto her bed sheet. “This bed is so soft! I think I’m gonna like it here.”

“Well, we are gonna be staying here for the next two weeks, might as well get used to it.” Tails replied, setting down some of the bags holding their equipment.

Once the opening ceremony was over, the teams had been escorted to their apartments in the Olympic Village. Suffice to say, the village itself was beautiful in the snow, like a little Christmas town you’d see in a winter movie. It reminded Tails as well as Sonic of Holska.

Their apartment was rather large with a kitchen and a living room, complete with couches and a tv. Off to the side was the bedroom and the bathrooms. The bedroom had four well made beds with furry blankets and lamp stands while the bathrooms across from them were sparkling clean.

“I’ll admit, they really spared no expense with this place.” Knuckles nodded, looking around the large room. “Really has that nice wintery touch, doesn’t it?”

“Sure does, Knux.” Sonic remarked, throwing himself onto his bed. “As long as they have good chili dogs.”

Knuckles rolled his eyes fondly. “Always thinking about food, aren’t you, Sonic?”

Sonic gave him a playful glare. “Hey, don’t act like you go rabid at the first sight of grapes.” To which Knuckles laughed.

“It feels great to be here, guys! I’m nervous and excited at the same time!” Tails smiled, wringing one his tails with his fingers.

Amy sat up, “It’s okay to be nervous. There’s a lot of pressure here.” She placed her hand on his shoulder.

“But what matters most is that we work together and have some fun while doing it!” Sonic sat down next to Tails, pulling him into a side hug.

“And besides, together, we’re unstoppable!” Knuckles grinned, ruffling Tails’ bangs.

Tails as his siblings coddled him before they heard a knock at the door.

“I got it!” Sonic exclaimed, rushing towards the door.

Opening it, he looked down to see Cream and Toad standing in the doorway.

“Hi, Mr. Sonic!” Cream said cheerily.

“Hey! Cream! How are you doing, kiddo?” Sonic smiled, bending down and hugging the young girl.

Tails, Amy, and Knuckles soon followed, stepping outside and hugging their friend.

“What’s that you got there, Cream?” Amy asked, pointing to an envelope in her hands.

“Just a letter from the Olympic officials.” Toad chuckled. “Every team’s getting one!” He handed the letter to Tails. “It’s great to see you guys again, goodnight!”

“Goodnight, everyone!” Cream waved as she and Toad departed.

Closing the door and going back into the living room, Tails quickly opened the letter, pulling out a piece of paper.

“Well, what’s it say?” Knuckles asked impatiently.

“What’s the matter, Knuckles? Ya nervous?” Sonic teased, to which Knuckles playfully punched his arm. “Ow.”

“Guys, stop it.” Amy hushed them both. “Read what it says, Tails.”

Tails cleared his throat. “Welcome to this year’s Olympic Winter games! To prepare you for the upcoming days, we’d like to let you know what you’re getting yourselves into. When your team competes in the games, your team will gain points, with gold being the highest and bronze being the lowest. Your goal is to win the most points out of all the teams in order to win the Golden Cup. You can also earn extra points if you perform well in your training courses. Bear in mind that by the halfway point of the first week, the two teams with the lowest amount of points will be eliminated from the games. And in addition to regularly scheduled events, there will also be ‘Dream Events’ which will take you back to locations familiar and new. Watch out for rivals as well, as they can appear on any day to challenge your team for your points. Good luck! And may the best team win!” He turned over the letter, “And on the back there’s a recipe for some cinnamon eggnog.”

“Sounds like we’ve got a busy week ahead of us.” Knuckles smirked. “I like it!”

“Well, we better get a good night's sleep if we’re gonna be doing anything tomorrow.” Amy yawned, “I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna go get changed into my pjs.” She then walked out of the room with the bag carrying her clothes.

The three boys looked at each other before getting into their beds. 

“Eh, could use the rest.” Sonic shrugged, kicking off his shoes.

“Yeah,” Tails yawned, pulling over his covers, “it’s getting pretty late.”

Knuckles hummed, his eyes already closed. “Less talking, more sleeping.”

Amy eventually came back, dressed in bright pink pajamas with white hearts all over it as she crawled into her bed and turned off the lights.

And Team Sonic could only dream of what was to come tomorrow.