Fate's Wretched Odyssey

XI

A few weeks later, summer shifted to autumn and the trees began to lose their color. The breeze turned crisp and mobians were beginning to get their coats out. Time chugged along, and before Sonic knew it another month had passed, and he was sitting in late September.

He arrived at work with his duffel thrown over his shoulder and a small smile on his face, but he stopped in his tracks when he noticed the employees in the casino were bustling around, hard at work on keeping the establishment tidy while checking the maintenance of the machines. Sonic adjusted his bag and approached the bar.

"What's with all the excitement?" He asked the two behind the counter. Much like the others, they were hard at work keeping the bar clean and restocking beverages; Sonic took note of the 'Closed' sign sitting on the marble countertop.

Knuckles opened his mouth to reply, but Silver beat him to it, "Didn't you hear? Black Doom is coming tomorrow." Sonic blinked. "You know? Shadow's dad," he hissed lowly, almost as if he was worried of saying it too loud. Again, the blue hedgehog blinked, but a soft, "Oh," left his lips. Rouge had told him that he would be arriving soon, hadn't she. Suppose the date just snuck up on him.

"And Shadow? Where is he?"

"In his office. He always locks himself in there the day before his old man gets here," Knuckles said nonchalantly while wiping a glass down before setting it on the rack. "He leaves the tidying to us. Nothing's gone wrong yet with his father, so if something happens this time, then we all know who to blame," the tone in his voice said he was joking, but from Silver's glare, he wasn't so sure.

Sonic shifted on his feet a little before he excused himself and entered the break room to get ready.

He exited with his freshly pressed suit, adjusting the cuffs of the blazer while making sure his quills were tidy. Looked like he had a long night ahead of him. With his tail swishing behind him, Sonic walked off to the slot machines to start his shift.

Minutes turned to hours as time marched on, and it didn't take Sonic long to notice that clients were already emptying out. Even some employees were already taking their leave. Perhaps they were closing early today. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the bouncers escorting stubborn mobians out of the front doors or to the elevators, a single ear twitching. 'They must want this place in the best condition for tomorrow.'

"Hey, BluBlu," Rouge's teasing voice called for him as she made her way over to him, her strides just as bold as always. "Just thought I should let you know you're off shift early tonight. We're gonna be locking up in around fifteen minutes," she said smoothly, one hand resting on her hip. "You headed home, too, then?" The small hedgehog asked as he finished checking the wiring of a slot machine.

"Not quite. I'm off to Knuckie's place for the night. Shadow is... A lot the nights before his dad gets here, so I leave the house to him so he can cool off." Confusion was chiseled into Sonic's face. "Is he still in his office?" Rouge affirmed his question with a nod of her head. "Silver's with him actually. You should head up and check on the two; we'll let you guys close up, okay?" She batted her eyelashes convincingly, and Sonic's shoulders slumped.

"Alright, fine. I'll see you tomorrow then?" He asked, somewhat hopefully.

"Of course, hun. Just watch your step around Doom and you'll be golden." She winked and nudged his shoulder before taking off to find the echidna, leaving Sonic to make his way to the elevators and head for the second floor. He fixed his tie a little nervously, still somewhat disturbed by how the paintings seemed to watch him. Examining and judging his every move as if he were some sort of tiger in a circus.

Sonic shook his quills out, exhaling loudly as he approached the doors of Shadow's pristine office. His knuckles rapped twice on the door, but he didn't wait for a response to open it. As soon as he stepped in, he kicked a bottle and sent it rolling into a pile of at least thirteen others. All deep green, and all empty. The strong scent of alcohol violated Sonic's powerful nose, invoking the hedgehog to do a double take of the whole room.