Categories > Games > Sonic the Hedgehog > New Sonic Underground
Sonic quietly got up and started making a pancake breakfast for everyone.
The bedroom door creaked open.
Sonic glanced over his shoulder. “Morning, lil bro.”
Manic walked over, yawning and stretching his arms. His spines were messier than usual and his ripped black tank top hung off one shoulder.
Now, Sonic could see the tattoos covering Manic’s arms. He also noticed Manic had piercings in his lower lip, nose and eyebrows along with the wide ear cuff in his left ear and that the tip of his right ear was ripped off.
“Morning.” Manic mumbled. “Need some help?”
“Yeah, you can make some more coffee while I make pancakes.” Sonic replied.
“I’ll make pancakes, if you don’t mind.” Manic said. “Surge can’t have coffee right now and I’m trying to go without it to support her.”
Sonic switched places. “Not at all.” He replied. He got a filter for the coffee maker.
Manic poured the batter on the griddle. “Did Glitch wake you up last night?”
“Only once, but it wasn’t a big deal.” Sonic said, pouring water into the coffee machine. “I’m sorry about losing my temper yesterday. I know it wasn’t Glitch’s fault.”
“It’s cool.” Manic replied. He got a spatula out of the drawer. “I was scared and frustrated too.”
Sonic noticed that Manic was awfully thin when the latter started drumming on the counter with the spatula and a wooden spoon. “Are you getting enough to eat?”
“I try to.” Manic said, stopping his impromptu drum session. “I’m more concerned about my family getting enough to eat. It’s been tough getting food in after Robotnik found out we were skimming off his cargo ships.”
“Tell me about it, but I guess you have it worse since you have a family.” Sonic replied. He watched Manic drumming for a second. “Can you actually play the drums?”
Manic smirked. “Yeah, Farrell got me a drum set when I was eight somehow.” He said, flipping the pancakes. “None of the bands I auditioned for wanted to hire me ‘cause of my rep. I think my little dude likes drumming too. I let him ‘play’ sometimes.”
“We could start our own band once this is over.” Sonic replied. “I play guitar, sis plays the keyboard.”
“Cool.” Manic said. “I’d like that.”
Surge walked in wearing leggings and a baggy t-shirt that had the words ‘I’m out of my element’ written on it. Her long spines were down and hanging over the sides of her face.
“Good morning, Surge.” Sonic said. “I guess your shirt speaks for you, huh?”
Surge yawned.
Manic handed Surge a bottle of water. “I know, I miss coffee too.”
Surge sipped her water. “It does, Sonic. Manic is a lot better with kids than I am.”
Manic hugged Surge. “Nah, you’re pretty good, Babe.”
Surge half smiled. “Thanks, cute stuff.”
Glitch started crying.
Manic dropped the spatula and spoon on the counter and hurried to the bedroom.
Surge motioned to the bedroom. “See what I mean?” She asked. She picked up the spatula and flipped the pancakes.
Sonic nodded. “Well… uh… you’re not the worst mom I’ve ever seen.” He said. “I didn’t mean… uh….”
“I got you and thanks.” Surge replied.
Manic came back into the room with Glitch as Sonia, Uncle Chuck, and Farrell got up.
“Breakfast is almost ready.” Sonic said. “Help yourselves to some coffee.”
Surge seethed.
“I’m sorry.” Sonic said. “Do you need me to pour it out… or…?”
Surge roughly plated the pancakes. “No. It’s fine.”
Manic eased closer to Sonic. “Don’t sit near her.” He whispered. “She’s ready to beat you with that spatula.”
Sonic slowly nodded. He took his plate of pancakes and sat down between Uncle Chuck and Sonia.
*
Sonia helped herself to some more coffee. “So… you’re on wanted posters, Manic?”
Manic crushed his water bottle. “Yeah.”
“It’s not what you think.” Farrell said. “We supplied the resistance by smuggling and obtaining goods.”
“I’m kind of a kleptomaniac too.” Manic said, sliding his empty plate aside.
“We also did some graffiti.” Surge said. “Taught the parrots at the zoo to bash Robotnik.”
Manic laughed. “That was awesome.”
“Kind of a kleptomaniac?” Sonia asked. She showed him the wanted poster on her phone. “You’re an outright thief.”
“It’s not a total lie, Sonia.” Farrell said. “He’s stolen dryer sheets before. We don’t even own a dryer. He just grabbed it and stuck it in his old fanny pack as he walked by without a lot of thought other than he saw it.”
Manic shrugged. “I was five at the time.”
Sonia nodded.
“Hey, you probably would’ve gone hungry if we hadn’t skimmed off the supply ships.” Manic said, handing Glitch to Farrell. He picked up the dirty plates and stacked them on top of each other. “You’re welcome.”
“I don’t like stealing either, Sonia.” Sonic said, gathering the empty cups. “But half of the resistance would starve or go without vital supplies without their work. It’s not like Ro-butt-nik runs a charity service.”
Manic and Surge laughed.
“We really needed you when we broke into that zoo, Sonic.” Surge said.
“Who’s idea was that?” Sonic asked.
“Manic’s.” Surge replied. “He went on and on about how it would be so cool, but kept backing out of it. I finally dragged him to the zoo just to quit talking about it.”
“And he was grounded for three weeks.” Farrell said.
Sonia and Sonic laughed.
“It was worth it.” Manic replied. “Kinda. Not worth the risk of robotization though.”
“So where are we headed?” Sonia asked.
“I hear Lake Valley is a pretty safe place.” Sonic replied. “We can stay there for a night or two, then head to Canyonopolis. I told Mom what happened and she said to meet us at her parents’ home at Green Hills estate. She said she sprained her ankle before we headed out and she’s recovering there.”
Manic got up and set the dishes into the sink. “Lake Valley?” He asked. “I don’t know. It’s a little suspicious that Robotnik hasn’t done anything to the valley.”
“I thought so too.” Sonic said. “But we have to go through there and we need fuel. We just keep to ourselves and pass ourselves off as going on a family road trip. I altered the license plates before I started making breakfast so they couldn’t track us.”
“We kind of are on a family road trip” Sonia replied. “Oh, and good thinking, bro. Bartleby did report us to Robotnik. Tails messaged us last night about it.”
Manic took Glitch from Farrell. “So we’re all wanted for various reasons.” He said. “They would be suspicious of us no matter where we go, but it feels like we’ll be asking for trouble at Lake Valley.”
Sonic put the dishes into the sink and started washing the dishes. “Do you have a better idea?”
Manic rubbed Glitch’s back as Glitch played with his dad’s spines.
“I’m serious.” Sonic said. “If you or anyone has a better idea of where to go, then tell me and we’ll go there.”
“I don’t know.” Manic muttered.
Everyone else agreed with Sonic.
Sonic dried his hands off on a towel. “Okay, does anyone want to drive for a while?”
“I drove last night.” Uncle Chuck replied.
“Don’t let Manic drive.” Surge and Farrell said.
“Hey.” Manic protested.
“I’m afraid to ask.” Sonic said, leaning against the counter.
“He drove a mini bike and a car once.” Farrell replied. “Wrecked both.”
“Broke my arm in the mini bike wreck.” Surge added. “I made peace with the fact I was going to die five seconds into the ride.”
“It wasn’t that bad.” Manic said, rolling his eyes.
“Okay, we’re not letting him drive.” Sonic said, reaching for one of the packs of jerky he kept in a cup on the counter without looking.
“I’ll drive.” Farrell said.
Uncle Chuck handed him the keys.
Sonic looked at the counter when he couldn’t find the jerky. “Where’s the jerky?”
Surge pulled a pack of jerky out of Manic’s boot. “Here.”
“Sorry.” Manic muttered.
“Keep it.” Sonic said. “I think you need to eat more than I do.”
Manic looked at Surge. “You eat it, Babe.”
“We’ll split it.” Surge said, opening the pack. She broke the jerky stick in half and handed one piece to Manic. “He’s right, you need to eat.”
Manic took the piece of jerky, then snapped his fingers. “Wait, Chuck, I know you.”
“Yes, I was gonna tell you, but you were so suspicious and the letter never mentioned me.” Uncle Chuck said.
“You couldn’t bring Sonic along once?” Manic asked.
Uncle Chuck rubbed the back of his head. “Well….”
Manic nodded tersely. “Ah.”
Farrell got up and headed for the driver's seat.
“I’m sorry.” Uncle Chuck said. “Things could’ve been done differently.”
“I was a little nervous about meeting you myself, bro.” Sonic added.
“Given what they say about you on the street, can you blame them?” Surge asked.
“It’s okay, I understand.” Manic replied.
The bedroom door creaked open.
Sonic glanced over his shoulder. “Morning, lil bro.”
Manic walked over, yawning and stretching his arms. His spines were messier than usual and his ripped black tank top hung off one shoulder.
Now, Sonic could see the tattoos covering Manic’s arms. He also noticed Manic had piercings in his lower lip, nose and eyebrows along with the wide ear cuff in his left ear and that the tip of his right ear was ripped off.
“Morning.” Manic mumbled. “Need some help?”
“Yeah, you can make some more coffee while I make pancakes.” Sonic replied.
“I’ll make pancakes, if you don’t mind.” Manic said. “Surge can’t have coffee right now and I’m trying to go without it to support her.”
Sonic switched places. “Not at all.” He replied. He got a filter for the coffee maker.
Manic poured the batter on the griddle. “Did Glitch wake you up last night?”
“Only once, but it wasn’t a big deal.” Sonic said, pouring water into the coffee machine. “I’m sorry about losing my temper yesterday. I know it wasn’t Glitch’s fault.”
“It’s cool.” Manic replied. He got a spatula out of the drawer. “I was scared and frustrated too.”
Sonic noticed that Manic was awfully thin when the latter started drumming on the counter with the spatula and a wooden spoon. “Are you getting enough to eat?”
“I try to.” Manic said, stopping his impromptu drum session. “I’m more concerned about my family getting enough to eat. It’s been tough getting food in after Robotnik found out we were skimming off his cargo ships.”
“Tell me about it, but I guess you have it worse since you have a family.” Sonic replied. He watched Manic drumming for a second. “Can you actually play the drums?”
Manic smirked. “Yeah, Farrell got me a drum set when I was eight somehow.” He said, flipping the pancakes. “None of the bands I auditioned for wanted to hire me ‘cause of my rep. I think my little dude likes drumming too. I let him ‘play’ sometimes.”
“We could start our own band once this is over.” Sonic replied. “I play guitar, sis plays the keyboard.”
“Cool.” Manic said. “I’d like that.”
Surge walked in wearing leggings and a baggy t-shirt that had the words ‘I’m out of my element’ written on it. Her long spines were down and hanging over the sides of her face.
“Good morning, Surge.” Sonic said. “I guess your shirt speaks for you, huh?”
Surge yawned.
Manic handed Surge a bottle of water. “I know, I miss coffee too.”
Surge sipped her water. “It does, Sonic. Manic is a lot better with kids than I am.”
Manic hugged Surge. “Nah, you’re pretty good, Babe.”
Surge half smiled. “Thanks, cute stuff.”
Glitch started crying.
Manic dropped the spatula and spoon on the counter and hurried to the bedroom.
Surge motioned to the bedroom. “See what I mean?” She asked. She picked up the spatula and flipped the pancakes.
Sonic nodded. “Well… uh… you’re not the worst mom I’ve ever seen.” He said. “I didn’t mean… uh….”
“I got you and thanks.” Surge replied.
Manic came back into the room with Glitch as Sonia, Uncle Chuck, and Farrell got up.
“Breakfast is almost ready.” Sonic said. “Help yourselves to some coffee.”
Surge seethed.
“I’m sorry.” Sonic said. “Do you need me to pour it out… or…?”
Surge roughly plated the pancakes. “No. It’s fine.”
Manic eased closer to Sonic. “Don’t sit near her.” He whispered. “She’s ready to beat you with that spatula.”
Sonic slowly nodded. He took his plate of pancakes and sat down between Uncle Chuck and Sonia.
*
Sonia helped herself to some more coffee. “So… you’re on wanted posters, Manic?”
Manic crushed his water bottle. “Yeah.”
“It’s not what you think.” Farrell said. “We supplied the resistance by smuggling and obtaining goods.”
“I’m kind of a kleptomaniac too.” Manic said, sliding his empty plate aside.
“We also did some graffiti.” Surge said. “Taught the parrots at the zoo to bash Robotnik.”
Manic laughed. “That was awesome.”
“Kind of a kleptomaniac?” Sonia asked. She showed him the wanted poster on her phone. “You’re an outright thief.”
“It’s not a total lie, Sonia.” Farrell said. “He’s stolen dryer sheets before. We don’t even own a dryer. He just grabbed it and stuck it in his old fanny pack as he walked by without a lot of thought other than he saw it.”
Manic shrugged. “I was five at the time.”
Sonia nodded.
“Hey, you probably would’ve gone hungry if we hadn’t skimmed off the supply ships.” Manic said, handing Glitch to Farrell. He picked up the dirty plates and stacked them on top of each other. “You’re welcome.”
“I don’t like stealing either, Sonia.” Sonic said, gathering the empty cups. “But half of the resistance would starve or go without vital supplies without their work. It’s not like Ro-butt-nik runs a charity service.”
Manic and Surge laughed.
“We really needed you when we broke into that zoo, Sonic.” Surge said.
“Who’s idea was that?” Sonic asked.
“Manic’s.” Surge replied. “He went on and on about how it would be so cool, but kept backing out of it. I finally dragged him to the zoo just to quit talking about it.”
“And he was grounded for three weeks.” Farrell said.
Sonia and Sonic laughed.
“It was worth it.” Manic replied. “Kinda. Not worth the risk of robotization though.”
“So where are we headed?” Sonia asked.
“I hear Lake Valley is a pretty safe place.” Sonic replied. “We can stay there for a night or two, then head to Canyonopolis. I told Mom what happened and she said to meet us at her parents’ home at Green Hills estate. She said she sprained her ankle before we headed out and she’s recovering there.”
Manic got up and set the dishes into the sink. “Lake Valley?” He asked. “I don’t know. It’s a little suspicious that Robotnik hasn’t done anything to the valley.”
“I thought so too.” Sonic said. “But we have to go through there and we need fuel. We just keep to ourselves and pass ourselves off as going on a family road trip. I altered the license plates before I started making breakfast so they couldn’t track us.”
“We kind of are on a family road trip” Sonia replied. “Oh, and good thinking, bro. Bartleby did report us to Robotnik. Tails messaged us last night about it.”
Manic took Glitch from Farrell. “So we’re all wanted for various reasons.” He said. “They would be suspicious of us no matter where we go, but it feels like we’ll be asking for trouble at Lake Valley.”
Sonic put the dishes into the sink and started washing the dishes. “Do you have a better idea?”
Manic rubbed Glitch’s back as Glitch played with his dad’s spines.
“I’m serious.” Sonic said. “If you or anyone has a better idea of where to go, then tell me and we’ll go there.”
“I don’t know.” Manic muttered.
Everyone else agreed with Sonic.
Sonic dried his hands off on a towel. “Okay, does anyone want to drive for a while?”
“I drove last night.” Uncle Chuck replied.
“Don’t let Manic drive.” Surge and Farrell said.
“Hey.” Manic protested.
“I’m afraid to ask.” Sonic said, leaning against the counter.
“He drove a mini bike and a car once.” Farrell replied. “Wrecked both.”
“Broke my arm in the mini bike wreck.” Surge added. “I made peace with the fact I was going to die five seconds into the ride.”
“It wasn’t that bad.” Manic said, rolling his eyes.
“Okay, we’re not letting him drive.” Sonic said, reaching for one of the packs of jerky he kept in a cup on the counter without looking.
“I’ll drive.” Farrell said.
Uncle Chuck handed him the keys.
Sonic looked at the counter when he couldn’t find the jerky. “Where’s the jerky?”
Surge pulled a pack of jerky out of Manic’s boot. “Here.”
“Sorry.” Manic muttered.
“Keep it.” Sonic said. “I think you need to eat more than I do.”
Manic looked at Surge. “You eat it, Babe.”
“We’ll split it.” Surge said, opening the pack. She broke the jerky stick in half and handed one piece to Manic. “He’s right, you need to eat.”
Manic took the piece of jerky, then snapped his fingers. “Wait, Chuck, I know you.”
“Yes, I was gonna tell you, but you were so suspicious and the letter never mentioned me.” Uncle Chuck said.
“You couldn’t bring Sonic along once?” Manic asked.
Uncle Chuck rubbed the back of his head. “Well….”
Manic nodded tersely. “Ah.”
Farrell got up and headed for the driver's seat.
“I’m sorry.” Uncle Chuck said. “Things could’ve been done differently.”
“I was a little nervous about meeting you myself, bro.” Sonic added.
“Given what they say about you on the street, can you blame them?” Surge asked.
“It’s okay, I understand.” Manic replied.
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