Bound by Music

Clash of the Green-Eyed Monsters

A/N: We all knew it was coming eventually.

  An hour after dawn, the rest of Knothole began to stir. Sonia looked particularly disheveled as she left her cabin, and the negative thoughts and feelings emitting from her hit Shadow and Manic hard enough to make them both stop mid-step as she passed them on the way to breakfast.

"Man, I'll be happy to get out of this place. It's like a pool of bad vibes," Manic stage whispered.

Shadow nodded, "Agreed."

   "Hey, guys!" Sonic greeted as he zipped beside the two, "Dude, what's up with sis? She looks rough," he whispered. The two shrugged.

   "Maybe she woke up on the wrong side of the bed?" Manic guessed after feeling the waves of exhaustion coming from her.

    Sonic rolled his shoulders casually, "I dunno, bro. When is our sis ever in a good mood?" he joked.

    Manic snickered, "When she's with Knux," and the two colorful hedgehogs laughed, while Shadow only sighed in resignation.

    "Speaking of girl troubles," Sonic hesitated and gave them an awkward grin, "Do you guys think you can help a brother out? Ames and Sal have been going at it all morning, and I don't know what'll happen if I step into it."

    "Your fault for breaking up with a princess with a letter," Shadow mumbled. The eldest triplet glared for a brief moment and released a huff.

      "Yeah, I know, but I had to keep moving. I couldn't stop, and I didn't want her to be stuck waiting on someone who thought he wasn't going to come back," he explained sadly. The other two shared a look between them for a brief second.

    "Okay, dude," Manic replied and clapped the speedster on the back, "We'll make sure the girls don't kill you."

    "I don't know," Shadow mused, "I think it would be pretty funny."

     "Shut up, Shads," Sonic teased. Shadow growled.

    "I told you not to call me that."

  "Whatever you say..., Shads," he chuckled and dashed off.

     "Come back here, Faker!" he shouted and skated after him in a crimson streak, leaving Manic behind. The green hedgehog shrugged and cooly strolled over to the breakfast table, being sure to give Tails a noogie as he stood beside him. The kit struggled for a few minutes and attempted to tame the scruff on his head. It didn't take the fox long to notice the other hedgehogs were missing.

"Let me guess, Sonic ticked Shadow off somehow and is now being hunted down in the woods somewhere, right?"

"You guessed it, little bro," Manic answered and fired a finger gun. Tails sighed.

"Will he be okay?" Sally asked. Amy huffed loudly at the question.

"Of course, he'll be fine. He is Sonic after all."

The chipmunk glared, "I was only asking. You don't have to butt in all the time, pinky," she replied and crossed her arms.

    Manic scratched his head, trying to think of a way to diffuse the situation. Angry sparks flickered between both girls, and their "heated discussion" soon turned into a shouting match.  The green hedgehog made a valid effort to move any and all sharp objects out of their reach.

     Sonia and Rouge stood off to the side, content debating about who would win rather than actually stepping in. The other Knothole residents, along with Tails and Uncle Chuck, had no idea how to react. Everyone was so engrossed in the argument that no one saw Sonic and Shadow striding back towards the group, their tiff settled for the moment.