For how Long will the Red Rose Grow

What to do

Sonic woke that morning with a gentle nudge. He swatted at the thing that had nudged him, turning back onto his side. He was still half lodged in his dream of his beloved Chili Dog Valley when the nudge came again, harsher and more frequent.

"Mmmmphhhh," he groaned, "shhtap."

"—nic. Sonic. Sonic!"

The thing, which he now knew was a hand that was nudging him, came down as a harsh smack. Sonic jolted upright, eyes wide and quills bristled, and a squawk of alarm left his lips. "Bwha?! Shadow!" He spat, glaring up at the now snickering hedgehog stood by his bedside.

"Good morning sleepyhead." He teased, a sneer growing on his lips. The gesture sent Sonic's heart into cartwheels. "Tails sent me to wake you."

The events of the night prior flooded Sonic's mind. The rude awakening, Eggman's raid, Shadow's arrival, all of it. He grimaced. "To talk about our next step, I take it?"

"Yeah." Shadow walked a few paces from Sonic's bed, standing in the center of the golden, ring-shaped rug on the floor. He shifted his weight, and it took all Sonic had not to swoon over the muscles he saw rippling beneath his shiny onyx fur. "He didn't destroy anything in the workshop, and all he stole was the Emeralds. His intentions with them are still unclear, but all we know now is that he has three and we have three. The seventh is up in the air." He tapped his chin, his back mainly to Sonic.

The cobalt hero shifted to his feet, the constricting grip of the vines in his airways returning so suddenly that it nearly knocked him over. What were once deep, robust breaths were hollow, shallow husks of what they were before. He half debated on grabbing an emerald from his bed to stash away in his quills.

"You broke into his hideout," Shadow continued. "Tails said the only thing of note from it was the strange bear-like robot you faced when you grabbed the Emeralds." He turned back to face Sonic.

"I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary." Sonic supplied, knowing Shadow's prompt was eminent. He closed his eyes, trying to breathe deeply. The flutter of petals and ridged leaves in his chest nearly sent him coughing. "Thinking back, there was a strange door leading out back, just past the Buzz-Bomber Hangar." He recalled. "We didn't peek through there, we just made a beeline for the Emeralds. Tails had a sensor lead us around."

He opened his eyes again, meeting Shadow's as he turned to stare at him. "A strange door?" He echoed.

"Yeah, something like that. It had a padlock on it." He explained.

"Then that could be what we're looking for. The answer to the question." Shadow crossed his arms and closed his eyes, rapping his fingers along his bicep. "Let's bring this up to Tails." He opened his eyes and started towards the door.

"Good idea." Sonic agreed, taking a step away from his bed.

"Oh, and grab an Emerald." He barked. "Silver's here, and if you don't want your secret out, you'd best not be wheezing in front of him." Shadow swept out of the room.

"Hah." Sonic huffed, turning back around and scooping the white Emerald from under his pillow. He left the green one behind, deciding it best not to risk both if they had to go somewhere.

The thought of passing the extra Emerald to Silver crossed his mind, but he decided to let it rest for now. If it came to it, he would. After securing the white gemstone between his quills and getting his shoes back on his already socked feet, he exited the room and started towards the downstairs. He ghosted his hand over the wooden railing as he descended the stairwell to the living room.

The three sitting in the room below looked up at him as he entered, and he stretched his tired muscles with a loud yawn. "Sup guys?" He greeted.

"Good to see you again, Sonic." Silver responded, smiling. His golden eyes were practically twinkling with excitement. "I've missed seeing you out and about. Things are different without ya."

"Heh, sorry." He apologized, relaxing and walking to the couch. He sat down between Silver and Tails, as Shadow preferred to stand. "So, what're we talking about?"

"We were waiting for you, actually." Shadow replied, smooth as silk. "I informed Silver of the whole situation, and them both about the door you saw."

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. All I noticed was the padlock. Nothing else, aside from its placement next to the hangar."

"It might be worth checking out," Silver pointed out. "There might be something in there Eggman's trying to keep secret."

"Maybe the Emeralds?" Tails added, looking between the three hedgehogs. "Or something related to his plan with them?"

"We could dispatch a stealth mission." Shadow provided. "Just Sonic, Silver and I. We can slip in undetected, and make a break for the door."

Sonic scratched his head. "Hopefully the Eggster hasn't set up cameras after our last, eh, 'visit'." He chuckled nervously. "Also, what about the padlock on the door?"

"Was it electronic?" Questioned Tails.

"Probably, knowing Eggman." Sonic replied.

The fox straightened up, hopping from his seat and scurrying towards his workshop. "I have a signal jammer," he began as he hurried across the living room floor, "it can deactivate the padlock, and effectively unlock the door!"

"Pretty nifty Tails." Sonic winked.

"It could work." Shadow agreed.

"You're a genius, Tails!" Silver added, beaming.

Tails ran to the back, returning after a few seconds with the device. "This is it!" He presented it to the trio. "All you have to do is hold it close to the padlock and press the jam button! It's the big green one in the center, you can't miss it." He pointed to it anyways. He passed the item to Shadow.

"Thanks." The dark hedgehog took it carefully between his hands, turning it over and humming in approval.

"When do you wanna go, Shadow?" Silver asked, looking over at the other.

"As soon as possible," he answered, "so probably now."

Sonic gulped, standing. "Well, then we best do it, huh?"

"Yes." Shadow turned to him with a brisk nod. "Tails, I'll have Sonic call if anything happens."

"Thanks." Tails acknowledged, his twin tails swishing behind him. "You three be safe."

As Shadow produced his Chaos Emerald from his quills, Sonic have Tails a gentle ruffle of his fur. "We will be." He reassured. "Trust me."

Sonic walked over to Shadow and Silver after reassuring Tails, standing with them. His heart fluttered in his chest, and the vines loosened by the Emerald tightened ever so slightly at their closeness.

"Chaos Control!"