Bound by Music

Ethereal Remnants

A/N: Thank you so much for the 25k views! That is a huge milestone for me, and I really appreciate all of your support!

And just so you know, I moved the disclaimer, and the names of the songs used in this book to a credits chapter that I will publish once I finish this book. I know it's not, like, a major detail of anything, but it's more just for the sake of tidiness.
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     "Sonic!" Tails exclaimed as the four hedgehogs returned to the crash site. Said blur grunted as the sooty yellow fox slammed into him in a surprise hug.

    "Gee, I didn't think we were gone that long," Sonic quipped with a caring laugh.

    Knuckles tried to wipe some of the smudge off his face as he turned to face the group. "Well, it is pretty late. We thought you'd be back hours ago."

    Manic jabbed a thumb at his sister and explained, "We would have been here sooner, but somebody didn't want to get her hair messed up."

   "That's not what I said," Sonia huffed, "I said I didn't want to get motion sick! I'm not all about appearances, you know."

The blue and green hedgehogs rolled their eyes playfully, both of them earning a punch from the fuchsia girl.

"Chill, sis! It was just a joke," Manic whined while rubbing his arm. Sonic wasn't much better.

"Ouch, that felt as hard as Knuckles' fist," he complained, "or even Amy's hammer."

"Suck it up, faker," Shadow scoffed. The azure prince frowned.

"You didn't get a super punch to the shoulder, faker." His reply only earned him a raised eyebrow.

"I knew better than to tease her," he countered smugly. Sonia smirked.

And slugged him right in the arm.

Shadow winced and sent her a sharp glare that didn't affect her at all. He had definitely felt that, and he was inwardly grateful for his black fur would hide the bruise he could feel forming.

"What was that for?!"

With zero reservations for her own safety, the princess poked him in the chest and replied, "That was for your ego, and besides," she added flippantly, "I punch all my brothers fairly, and you have a lot of catching up to do."

Rouge and Amy snickered at the dark agent's humbling moment. The pearly bat leaned in and whispered, "I so love that girl."

"I know, right?" Amy agreed. "She's totally coming with us on our next girls' night."

   "Well, Sonia's punching habit aside, how's the Tornado looking, lil buddy?" Sonic asked.

    "Better than I thought, honestly," Tails answered, "With Cy's help, we should be back in the air in a day or two at the most. Think you can wait that long?"

     "I can try," he replied with a classic thumbs up. While Sonic wasn't known for his patience, he was willing to wait if it meant helping his adopted brother do what he needed to without feeling pressured.

"Do you need any help?"

"Nah, between the two of us, we should be able to handle it."

"Well, all right then. I guess that means the rest of us can set up camp here for the night."

    "Did any of our gear survive the crash?" Uncle Chuck asked.

     "Yep," Tails replied as he attempted to pull out a heavy trunk from the back end of the plane. Sonic and Knuckles quickly rushed to help the struggling kit.