Sonic POV 3rd person 

Hours passed and a confirmation that indeed some of the Resistance group that went out to the desert a few months back had survived. It had been a struggle it seems, but a handful made it. A chopper landed and picked up the group before heading back to the base.

Tails and the other Sonic stayed; Tails claiming he wanted to look at some of the old technology he found and see if he could find any information that perhaps hadn’t been on Eggman’s system that he broke into before.

Not much time passed after that when the Resistance group made it to HQ. Walking in was a tired, dirty, and hungry looking bunch.

“Oh dear,” Amy frowned at the sight, “I’ll take anyone who needs medical attention. Please come to this side so I can take you to the medical bay.”

“Hey bro, you need any attention?”

“Think I’m good. You did a pretty good job keeping up with everything.”

“Daw!”

The pink hedgehog heard a bit of the conversation as she observed a pink cat hugging a green bird tightly. She seemed to try to squeeze him harder but failed as he laughed. A pink cat and a green bird?

Curiosity getting the best of her, she walked over to them at the same time as Sonic did.

“Can I get your names?” The blue blur inquired of them while carrying a hand held device; noting the names of everyone there.

“OMG!” The female feline squealed, “You’re Sonic the Hedgehog!”

The male bird facepalmed, “Stop it girl. You’re scaring him…”

“Um…” all heads turned to see a pink hedgehog.

“Amy?” Sonic tilted his head.

“Are you two related to Gadget?”

“Awww! How could you tell? Was it our fashionably good looks?”

“Please stop,” the bird requested again.

“Oh!” It clicked as Sonic grinned, “You’re his siblings?”

Amy added, “Kytra and Brian right?”

“Yep! That’s us!” Kytra swung an arm around Brian’s shoulders as she continued her shenanigans, “I would’ve asked for an autograph but since you met him already, looks like it won’t be necessary.”

“Autograph?”

“Oh yeah. Gadget’s like a huuuuge fan of yours Sonic,” seeing the stunned expression on the hero’s face, she explained, “Don’t worry, he not like one of those crazy or stalker-ish kind of fans.”

“Stop it Kytra. You’re going to embarrass Gadget.”

“What?? It’s so cute though! How he’d turn the news on every morning just to see Sonic beat the bad guys. Oh! And he’d say how much he admired Sonic working hard everyday; working to keep everyone safe and making the world a better place, and how he hoped he could do his part to make the world better too someday.”

The praise and compliments. Sonic had no idea, and couldn’t help the deep flush that took up the entirety of his face.

Brian noticed the quick change in color and whistled while Kytra remarked innocently, “Wow, your face is like a tomato. Like, a red and blue tomato. Wait, is there such a thing as a blue tomato?”

Hastily pushing a few buttons on the device to get their names in the system, Sonic dismissed himself, as he tried to not die of embarrassment. Giggles left the feline at his reaction while Brian shook his head at her. Amy, on the other hand, had an unreadable face.

“Kytra?” She caught the other girl’s attention, “You’re a nurse, correct?”

“Yep! Sure am! And Brian here is my assistant.”

“I’d prefer the word partner over assistant.”

*ahem* Amy cleared her throat, getting their attention once more, “Could you start on the patients that came in and I’ll take over? I have something to take care of real quick.”

“Yeah, sure! I was in charge of watching all of them in the desert anyway. You do whatcha gotta do girl!”

“Thank you.”

“One question before you leave,” Brian cut-in, “Where’s Gadget?”

“He’s in his room resting I think. Sonic said something about yesterday. I don’t really know much.”

“Yesterday?”

“Yes, a major city was attacked. All of the forces we had on hand went out there, Gadget included. He wasn’t physically hurt much, but I think something else happened. I don’t really know. Gadget might be better to ask, or Sonic.” Amy answered, “Anyway, ask Espio, the purple chameleon over there, to lead you and the patients to the medical bay. Tell him Amy Rose asked.”

“Yes ma’am!” Kytra saluted and off the pink hedgehog went.

Sonic had gone across the room to one of the main computer systems before plugging in the hand held device and letting it do its thing as it uploaded the new information to the system on the new survivors discovered.

“Sonic?”

Turning to the voice, Sonic saw Amy approach him calmly, which was odd for her, until she stood in front of him.

“Amy? Aren’t you supposed to be helping the injured that came in?”

Hurt flashed on her face before just as quickly turning neutral. “I got someone to cover for me until I get there… Sonic, can I talk to you?”

Seriousness was thick in her tone, and Sonic had a feeling she was pretty adamant to discuss whatever was on her mind.

“Alright.”

The two hedgehog’s left the room.

——-

Gadget POV 3rd person 

Option 2: Continue 

Gadget had walked all through the town with Zero until the sun had begun to set. They went to the Riverside Motel and picked up Gadget’s things, as all he had was one suitcase, and now walked to the other side of town to head towards the Holton Hotel to turn in for the night.

“Today was so much fun!” Gadget chirped, “I can’t believe how much has changed and how much hasn’t.”

“I agree. It’s like the same old town, just with a few added features, like a new car or upgraded phone.”

“I know right?!”

Zero stared fondly at him, “Say, want to head to the lake tomorrow? We didn’t get there today.”

“Sure! That sounds like a great idea.”

They eventually made it to the hotel. It was dark out now as they entered the main lobby. Zero said he’d get another key card to the room for him, so now the wolf felt mesmerized as he took in the beautiful wood carvings of nature all through the walls followed by paintings of forests and lakes. It felt like a cabin out in the woods, only it was a hotel.

Laughter than rang out through a small rest area nearby and Gadget oddly noticed a group of jackals sitting in the chairs. It was uncommon to see one jackal, let alone a group of them, especially in a town like this. It was way more likely to happen in a large city, but even still, there wasn’t a high chance.

“Gadget.”

A finger poked his shoulder, causing him to turn towards Zero who just returned from the front desk.

“Here.” He handed the wolf a card for their room. It was for 4-18. The fourth floor was the top floor there, so they’d get a nice view. “What were you looking at so intensely?”

“Huh?... Oh! I heard some laughing and noticed a group of jackals in the rest area.”

“Jackals?”

“Hey! There he is!”

The duo jumped slightly from the volume of that shout. The group of four jackals rushed over to them with grins on their faces; while Zero felt their arrival had the opposite effect.

“Ey Boss!” A jackal with a green headband greeted cheerfully.

“What the hell are you all doing here?”

Well, that was an unexpected response, but the group seemed unfazed as the other jackal continued speaking.

“We did some sightseeing and decided to come stay here for the night, and maybe see some of this place tomorrow.”

“You did want to come to a small town,” one jackal in a red hat spoke up, “And we were all curious, so we came.”

“Who’s the wolf?” The lone female jackal who wore a green vest and brown pants inquired while stepping towards him with a smirk, not noticing the glare on Zero’s face, “You’re cute. What’s your name?”

“Uh, G-Gadget.” He stuttered from nerves as she leaned closer to him.

“Gadget?”
 
The jackal in the red cap pushed the female out of the way as he got close now.

“You look different from the pictures.”

“Pictures?” Zero questioned.

“Dude,” The jackal in a red handkerchief that wrapped around his neck snickered, “Don’t you read the news?”

“You don’t read the news ever. I read more than you do,” Zero retorted.

“Fair point. I actually didn’t know until Gervais showed me.”

‘Gervais?’ Gadget thought to himself, ‘Must be the jackal in the red hat.’

“Why do you look different?” Gervais probed.

After a second of puzzlement, a light bulb turned on and Gadget dug into one of his pockets before pulling out a different pair of glasses. Removing the ones on his face, he replaced them with the ones from his pocket.

“Oh! So that’s why you made them.”

“What?” Zero asked, still very lost, until Gadget turned to look at him, and saw the scar on his eye was gone. “Your eye…”

“Gadget Kola, teen genius,” Gervais shook one of the wolf’s hands enthusiastically, “It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Oh! Thank you.”

“I love your work! The special lensed glasses you created, the advanced microchips, and how recently you worked on Wispons to not only be safer to handle but be multi-use.”

“English please!” 

Looking, Gadget saw everyone looked lost, except the jack in the red handkerchief who was staring off into space. Zero seemed a bit...tense?

*Sigh* 

“You all know the Kola Corporation don’t you?” 

Gervais was definitely irritated. They answered with a chorus of ‘yes’.

“Gadget is one of the three children the founders and owners of Kola Corporation adopted. Gadget not only showed extreme intelligence and made a few inventions with the company, despite his young age, but there’s a good chance he’ll inherit the company.”

“Uh, that’s not a guarantee or anything,” The wolf disagreed, “I just make stuff because I really enjoy it.”

“What’s a rich kid genius doin’ out here in the boonies?” The jackal with the red handkerchief asked.

“Uh, um,” Gadget stammered, unsure of where to start.

While he struggled with what to say, Zero walked up to him, making the wolf become quiet and look at him in confusion. He yanked the glasses off his face.

“Hey, why’d you…?”

*crunch*

Gadget clearly heard the noise, and it seemed to silence the group. Taking out his old lenses, he slipped them on before seeing crushed glasses in one of Zero’s gloved hands.

Unseeming to comprehend for a moment, Gadget asked, “D-did you…?”

“They didn’t suit you.”

......

Fists clenched and began to shake as fury became apparent in those amber eyes.

“Do you have any idea how long it took me to make those?!” Was shouted fiercely, “Why the hell would you do that!!??”

“I was hoping to examine those…” Gervais mumbled.

Not paying him any mind, the wolf continued to glare while Zero crossed his arms, as if challenging him. Stomps were taken towards the jackal before trying to take his broken glasses back, trying. Zero was taller so he couldn’t reach them as they were lifted above his head.

“What do you want with these?” Zero inquired in a serious tone.

“I’d like to fix them, since you decided that crushing them in your fist was a good idea.”

“It was a good idea.”

“How in the hell was that a good idea?!”

“Well, you don’t need them for one.”

“That’s not up to you to decide!” Gadget groaned in frustration, “Now I have to make new ones.”

“Or you could just not.”

“Seriously!?” Gadget exasperated, “I am so mad at you right now!”

“Want me to make it up to you?” Zero asked while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

The other was unimpressed. “Shut up Zero.”

“Wow…”

Freezing, the duo was so into the moment they forgot they had an audience. The jackals were clearly stunned.

“Uh,” The jackal with the green bandana started, unsure, “That explains a few things.”

“What are you talking about?” The jackal in the red handkerchief asked, “I’m wondering why there isn’t a fight going on. No one mouths off to the boss.”

Gadget raised an eyebrow but before he could say anything, the female of the group spoke up. “Are you stupid Kevin? Did you not just see what took place?”

“Uh, yelling?”

“Dumbass.”

“Hey,” the one in the green headband whispered to the wolf, catching his attention, “How’d you get Zero to like you?”

“Like me?”

“Ya know, flirting with you and stuff? Don’t think I missed that suggestion he hinted there.” Gadget flinched in surprise from the question.

“Ugh!” Zero sighed loudly after he slipped the broken lenses into one of his pant’s pockets before speaking again, “Enough!”

The back of Gadget’s shirt was grabbed as he felt himself pulled backwards. “H-Hey!”

“We’re leaving!”

“But boss!”

‘Again with the boss name?’ Gadget wondered to himself.

Zero glared at them, “Follow us and I’m beating the shit out of you!”

“Have fun boss! Give us all the details later!” The female jackal snickered.

“I’m gonna kill them,” Zero groaned while pulling Gadget into the elevator with him before the doors closed, and then clicking the button for the third floor.

“I thought we were on the fourth floor?” The wolf wondered out loud.

“We are,” Zero confirmed as they passed the second floor, “Those stupid heads will watch to see which floor we get off on and bang on every door until they find our room.”

“Wow. They are determined,” Gadget spoke in surprise, before turning his head away from Zero, “I’m still mad at you.”

The elevator dinged before the doors opened. Grasping Gadget’s hand lightly, Zero led them out before heading towards the stairs and walking upwards.

“...Why did you really break my glasses?”

Being halfway up the steps, the jackal stopped as he glanced behind; Gadget being right there and pausing too as he waited for his answer.

“Because I know why you made those glasses. You made them to hide the part of your face that many haven’t thought highly of.”

“So what if I did? That doesn’t give you the right to break them on purpose like that.”

Stepping down, mix-colored orbs came face to face with yellow ones. “The last thing I ever want to see you do is hide yourself like that because of some stupid Mobians out there.”

“...Well, maybe I’m sick and tired of everyone looking at me, like I’m disgusting or a freak!” Gadget bawled out, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. “They make fun of me, think I’m gross, or just feel sorry for me. I hate it!”

Lips covered his a moment later as Zero pulled him close, not daring to let go when he struggled against him. After fighting for a bit, Gadget gave up as tears streamed down his cheeks.

Finally ending the kiss, Zero looked apologetically as he whipped away a few tears. “I never once thought any of those things when we met, remember?”

Smiling some through the tears, the memories came back from that winter night when the two met for the first time in that fateful dark alleyway. 

“Do you remember what I said about scars?”

Nodding, the wolf answered happily, “How could I forget? You told me, the worse the scar, the stronger the battle you survived.”

“And that still holds true,” Speaking softly, Zero pecked Gadget’s lips, “I’m sorry about the glasses, and I’m sorry I upset you.”

“It’s okay.”

“Will you forgive me?”

Nodding, he smiled, “Of course.”

A sweet embrace was shared between the two. “Let’s head upstairs.”

“Okay.”

———-

Once situated in the room, the two sat in front of one another on the only bed while Zero introduced the other jackals.

“So, the jackal in the red hat, which I caught onto during the conversation is Gervais and the one wearing the red handkerchief is Kevin. I didn’t catch the names of the other two.”

“The jackal wearing the green headband is Ben. The female jackal, which is Ben’s older sister, her name is Kia,” Zero explained, “If you didn’t catch on, Gervais is the nerd of the group, and apparently a huge fan of yours. Kevin is kind of the airheaded one. Those two are definitely the quietest, but for different reasons. Kia has an attitude on her, but she’s quick on her feet and pretty smart. I’m the closest to Ben I would say. We’ve been friends since toddlers I think. He’s the noisiest of the group, but also the most loyal.” 

“Aw, they sound sweet.”

“They sound like a pain.”

Giggling, Zero was exactly as Gadget remembered. Though he’d complain and say he hated certain things, a lot of times that wasn’t really the case.

“So um, why do they call you boss?”

Quiet, the jackal seemed to debate his next words for a moment. “Well, it’s not really a great story, but let’s just say we were all misfits in our pack, and we broke off and kinda made our own group. Now we travel and work together.”

“Misfits? Work?”

Fingers suddenly rubbed through ruby fur, making the wolf’s ears twitch in pleasure. “I’ll tell you, but let’s save it for another time. I don’t want to ruin the night. I think I’ve already made you mad and sad enough today.”

That puzzled the genius, but he decided to let it go as he continued to received the scratching behind his ears. 

“You’re good at this.”

“Good,” Zero replied huskily, “Keep that look on your face though and I might do more.”

Gadget flinched as he pulled away. “Pervert.”

“Hahaha! All jokes aside, do you want to watch a movie? It’s early still.”

“Sure.”

Picking up the remote, Zero began to switch through the channels to see what was on. While looking, the wolf all of a sudden felt really tired; his head landing softly on Zero’s shoulder.

“Sleeping already?”

“...No,” he lied.

It’s like, he couldn’t stop his eyelids from falling, or the darkness that overtook him.