Welcome to the Game (Apply Fic)

PrOlOgUe

A/N: Hello again, tributes and readers!

So... Sorry for the long wait. I've been dealing with a lot of stress and... other stuff lately, and it's been hard for me to focus on one thing for more than a few minutes. Inspiration's also been coming up short these past few days, so if this seems unimaginative, sorry again. I honestly don't know what my writing seems like to others, so please tell me if I need to change anything.

I hope you enjoy this, at least a little. And I know it's short... I promise there's more coming! With that... let's get to the story!

(Bonus quest: Find a reference)

~

It was a peaceful, sunny day on Mobius. Sonic the Hedgehog was out enjoying the great outdoors. As he ran at supersonic speeds through the lush green grass, he couldn't help but smile joyfully.

He sped past a pink blur. "Sonic!" it called.

He turned around and was back in front of it in zero seconds flat. The pink he had sped past turned out to be none other than his friend, Amy the Hedgehog. "Hey, Amy!" he said with a grin.

She didn't look amused. "Sonic, you promised you'd come to the group picnic. It's been fifteen minutes since it started and everyone's waiting for you!"

He chuckled nervously, saying, "Oh, well... I guess I could stop by. I did say I would come..." He remembered how Amy had kept asking and asking, and how he had only agreed so she would be pacified. He had also regretted his words instantly. But she looked so happy...

Amy's expression lightened up a bit. "That's great. Heh, I guess I won't need the hammer for this one," she said in an almost challenging tone.

Sonic was startled out of his thoughts and replied quickly. "No, no! You're right, no need for the hammer!" He laughed nervously again. "Let's go!"

He picked her up bridal style and sped off, ignoring her blush. He only wanted to get to the picnic quickly, with no one-sided romantic distractions whatsoever. This was just the fastest way.

They arrived at the picnic spot, a grassy hill, in mere seconds. Sonic set Amy down instantly and stepped away. She still looked happily surprised and tried to catch his eye, but he averted his gaze and instead glanced at the Mobians seated around a checkered picnic blanket.

There were ten besides Amy and himself. They all glanced up at the two hedgehogs with various expressions.

To Sonic's left was Missy, a cat he had recently become good friends with. They shared a grin. Then there was Silver, Rouge with her flirty smirk as always, and Shadow. Sonic knew Shadow was only here because he would get the hammer otherwise. He quietly scoffed at his rival. Shadow heard and glared, mouthing "faker". Sonic glared back for a second, then kept looking around.

To Shadow's left was Savage the Squirrel, who Sonic had a little tension with. They shared a polite nod. He continued, seeing Knuckles and Gow the Wolf. He smiled softly when he saw Gow, glad to see one of his closest friends. After her, he saw Emma the Hedgehog, another recent but trusted friend. They smiled at each other.

Then there was Zyria the Red Panda, who he knew had similar feelings about him as Shadow. She had seen his exchange with Shadow and was searching his eyes for any bad intentions. Finding none, she nodded with a neutral expression and looked away. To Sonic's right was Tails, his closest friend and basically little brother. Sonic gave a quick smile to Tails, who smiled back softly.

All these quiet greetings happened in a few seconds. Amy sat down in the space between Emma and Zyria, giving Sonic an approving look. More comfortable now, Sonic plopped down where he was, crossing his legs. "Well... I've only got a minute. Gotta go fast as usual, y'know?"