Bound by Music

Welcome to Knothole

   "Boom! Clap! The sound of my heart~! The beat goes on and on and on and--"

   Shadow released a groan of annoyance. The past two hours had been nothing but a nightmare for the sable hedgehog. Sonic had done nothing but sing for the entire time, and it hadn't been long since everyone else onboard decided to join. The fact that he secretly wanted to as well wasn't helping him. He cast a sideways glance at the other members of the team, smirking as Sonia took the lead on their current song with Rouge. He actually knew the lyrics to this one, not only because of his newly discovered family trait, but because it happed to be one of the white bat's favorites. 

    "Hey! We're here!" Tails cheered, interrupting the impromptu singing. 

    "All right! Finally!" Manic exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air. 

   The plane lurched downward as a long, mobian-made runway came into, and the yellow fox landed it expertly. Sonic was the first to hop out, stretching his legs and bouncing anxiously from one foot to the next. 

    "We're almost there. Just a short hike to the entry point. Hopefully, there's still people there." 

    That was a thought not even Tails had considered. It had been several years since Eggman's attempts at taking over the Acorn Kingdom had occurred. It was possible the former freedom fighters had returned to their old homes. 

     As soon as everyone was on their feet, and the plane properly secured, Sonic and Tails led them through the dense forest to Knothole's secret entrance. Their trek was surprisingly uneventful, but all of them kept their eyes and ears open for anything unexpected. The blue hedgehog finally stopped in front of a familiar old tree with a large knot at its base. 

    "Here we are, guys!" he said cheerfully while making a "tada" motion with his hands. Muttski tilted his head in confusion. 

    "It's a tree," Cy deadpanned. Manic draped an arm around his triplet brother's shoulder with a smile. 

    "Now, bro, is Knothole a real place we're talking about?" he asked in a voice he normally reserved for little kids. Sonic elbowed him in the gut.

    "Of course, it is! Watch," he replied and tapped the large round knot in a rhythmic pattern. To the others' surprise, it lifted up, revealing a long tunnel slide. The cobalt hedgehog couldn't help but laugh at their resctions, "Whelp, after you guys." 

   "Ew, there is no way I am going down that filthy thing," Sonia hmphed. 

    Rouge nodded in agreement, "Ditto, sister."

  "Well, if Sonikku says it's safe, then I'm going," Amy huffed and marched up to the natural manhole. After a quick breath, she jumped in feet first, and shouts of happy excitement echoed back up to the rest of the group.

    "You have to try this! Come on!" she called. 

   Knuckles rolled his eyes and hopped in, followed quickly by Manic and a reluctant Sonia. Cy was more or less pushed in by Sonic, and Rouge slid down soon after. Uncle Chuck saluted the remaining boys and jumped in, all the while yelling "Canon ball!" Muttski dove in after the older hedgehog. Shadow hmphed and climbed in soon after, leaving just Sonic and Tails. 

    "Hey, you ready, little buddy?" Sonic grinned. The fox's ears perked up in rare childish excitement. 

             "Really!?"

   "Oh, yeah. Come on. I gotcha," he chuckled and picked the kit up and set him on his lap as he got situated on the edge of the slide, "3, 2, 1, go!"