Wow! Yet another chapter, and this one's long, too! 4,978 was the word count on Word (if you don't count these and the two words that say "Chapter Two). I wrote almost five thousand words in one chapter! I am on a roll today! Yahoo! Anyway, I didn't think there was enough romantic stuff in the last chapter, so I decided to pump it up just a bit for this one while not making it seem too out of place (I at least tried not to make it seem out of place, anyway). Well, I hope you like, and please enjoy!

Chapter Two

A couple days had passed. They had each found out the power of their medallions. Sonic's guitar could summon laser after laser, Sonia's keyboard could summon fog that would disorient and disable SWATbots, and Manic's drums could cause seismic activity. Already, Sonic and Manic had a close brother-sister bond forming with Sonia, but they were still unsure about their own relationship. Keeping their romantic relationship seemed so wrong, but everything they did felt so right. It was as if they were meant to be together, but that social and moral values were put there just to make their suffering worse.

So far, they had managed to keep their relationship a secret from Sonia, and they tried their best to act like nothing more than brothers whenever they were even close to another person, especially their pink sister. They had a couple of close calls, though. One time, Sonia had barged in on them when they were kissing. If they'd have broken away even a millisecond later, she would have seen them. Luckily, she didn't suspect anything…

They had just found a vehicle that all three of them could use, and having just taken care of some SWATbots, they were relaxing…

Sonic was running down one of the streets of Robotropolis, trying to get his mind off of many things, his relationship with Manic included, when he saw a stand with the most delectable food ever. "Chili dogs!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as he raced past the robotic stand. He ran right back to it and requested, "Three doggies with the works!" As the robot made him his chili dogs, the Sonic Underground van, named after their group, pulled up, and out stepped Sonia and Manic.

"Really, Sonic?" asked Sonia. "Chili dogs, now? We're on an important mission!"

Manic chuckled and replied, "You mean after your hair appointment?"

Both the cobalt and green hedgies chuckled while the pink one stomped her foot on the ground. "I mean my hair appointment. Appearance is important to most people."

Sonic flicked a coin toward the robot, and it gave him his three delicious-looking chili dogs, and then he shrugged. "I know what you mean, but I don't have to do anything to look this good!" Manic surely agreed with Sonic on that one.

Meanwhile, while Sonic was enjoying his chili dogs, Manic reached up to the vendor robot's countertop and stole all the packets of ketchup and mustard. For what, even Manic didn't really know. He just felt like stealing something.

Sonia, however, wasn't paying attention to Manic, and instead said to Sonic as he munched away, "Ew! Gross… Ugh… I guess that's what I get from hanging out with the lower class…" Unbeknownst to Manic, however, Sonic had seen him stealing the packets.

"Well, I'd rather be low class than no class." He grabbed Manic's wrist and continued, "Looks like we've got a bad case of sticky fingers."

Of course Manic gave him the same excuse that he had used for the past three years, "Hey, where I come from, you never know when you might need stuff."

Sonic's angry face was always Manic's downfall, however. "Put 'em back!" exclaimed the blue hedgie to the green one. Manic sighed and smiled as he took the packets out of his fanny pack and shuffled them back on the countertop. Sonic gave him a thumbs-up and responded, "Just see they stay there, all right." Sonic loved Manic with all his heart, but sometimes, he couldn't stand the emerald hedgehog's thieving ways.

After Sonic finished munching on his last chili dog, a small fissure appeared near them, and a TV showing Robotnik's face rose up from it. "Hello, citizens of Robotropolis. Let it be known that, tomorrow, I will officially be wed to Queen Aleena herself!" This stunned all three hedgehogs. Aleena was their mother. "And because I am a kind, generous, and caring tyrant," continued the round dictator. "I'll even allow… ugh, music… to be played at this joyous event."

As the TV sped off on its wheels, Sonic pointed at it and asked, "Did he say wed?"

Sonia looked at Sonic and inquired, "Did he say to the queen?"

Manic, just a slight bit irritated with their naivety, said, "Dude, did he say trap? Or was it just too obvious to mention?"

Sonia mentally kicked herself for that. "You're right, Manic. There's no way Mom would marry someone she doesn't love."

Sonic smiled as he made a comment. "And who could love a domineering old butthead like Doc Buttnik?"

And then, all of them thought of something at the same time. "Unless she were forced!"

Sonic had to think for a second. "If there's a one in a million chance Mom might be there," started the sapphire hedgehog.

"Then we need to be there, too!" finished Manic. The two hedgehogs sometimes had a habit of finishing each other's sentences.

Sonia smiled at her brothers' good thinking and said, "And I know just the person who could get us in there!" Both Sonic and Manic were stunned. They knew who Sonia was going to suggest.

"You don't mean?" they both asked at the same time.

Sonia nodded. "Bartleby."

She had told them about her former fiancé. He was even more stuck-up than she was, and that was saying something, but they honestly had no choice. He was the only aristocrat they knew, but they would have to use a disguise in order to get into Bartleby's estate. Sonic and Manic had come up with an idea that Sonia really didn't like, but she was going to have to live with it. They would dress up as carpet cleaners, and that's how they would get in. It was as simple as that, although the pink hedgehog did not want to dress up in such an ugly outfit. The blue and green ones, however, liked that idea, mainly because they'd be wearing matching outfits.

As they all stepped up to Bartleby's mansion, Sonic was actually getting quite nervous and worried that someone might recognize them, because he honestly didn't trust the snooty noble. Sonic and Sonia were wearing fake mustaches, and Manic was wearing a fake beard, and they were all wearing hats and overalls, but Sonic still felt uneasy as Sonia pressed the button on the pager outside the gate. "Carpet cleaners!" yelled the pink hedgie into the pager.

Even in the first second, when nobody answered, Sonic started to walk away. "Oh, well, nobody's home! Let's go!" but Sonia grabbed his arm as Bartleby appeared on the small screen of the pager.

"Sorry, my good fellow, but there must be some kind of mis—" started the aristocrat.

However, Sonia interrupted him by ripping off her mustache and hat and saying, "Bartleby, it's me!"

As Bartleby greeted her, Manic noticed Sonic's uneasiness, and in order to quell it, he made sure that no one was watching, and then lightly kissed the cerulean hedgehog on the cheek. "Thanks, Manic…" he whispered, most of his nervousness dissipating.

Manic smiled and replied, "No prob." No matter what, though, Sonic still didn't trust Bartleby. Both of them turned as they heard the gate's latch release, and they were let inside.

"Be quiet, both of you," started Sonia. "As far as Bartleby's concerned, you're nothing more than carpet cleaners!"

"Sonia, my darling, how wonderful to see you!" exclaimed Bartleby as they all entered the house. They started walking down the hallway, and the rich noble continued, "Although, your ensemble is a bit to be desired… but I hear your mother's wedding is going to be tres chic!"

As they walked, however, Manic's attention was immediately drawn to the ornate decorations around him, and he started stuffing one thing after another into his fanny pack.

Sonic had heard Bartleby's comment, and he turned to Manic. The emerald hedgehog, hoping that Sonic hadn't caught him stealing, hid his hands behind his back, but Sonic only whispered, "This guy is tres bozo!"

Then, Bartleby made a nasty comment. "I'm so glad to know that your mother has finally come back to her senses." This had really hit all three of them, but Sonic really started to get mad at the snotty rich guy. "After all," he continued. "given your disreputable brothers, and the unfortunate fact that all three of you are wanted criminals, your family needs a major polish!"

Sonic couldn't take any more insults. He just couldn't! He ripped off his hat and mustache, and he ran over to Bartleby, putting his own face right in front of his. "One more word outta you, and I'm gonna polish this floor with your face! Got it?"

As Bartleby realized exactly who that was, he said, "Sonic? Oh, Sonia how could you possibly let your ruffian brothers into my home?" This made Sonic even angrier, and the cobalt hedgie started to growl.

Sonia pushed her brother away and reassured to Bartleby, "Don't mind him. He's just a bit overwhelmed with all of the fancy surroundings and all that." As the former fiancé and fiancée turned around and started talking again, Manic pulled Sonic away from them.

"Dude, calm down!" whispered the green hedgehog.

Sonic shook his head and responded, "I will not calm down! He just insulted us!" He sighed and pulled Sonic into a kiss after making sure no one was looking.

Ten seconds later, they broke away, and Manic said once again, "Calm down."

Sonic took a deep breath and replied, "I'm calm… I'm calm…" However, as he turned away to start walking back to Sonia and Bartleby, he saw Manic stuff something into his fanny pack.

"I am not calm now, Manic." Manic faced him uneasily as he continued, "Excuse me, but you've just entered a no-shopping zone."

Manic shook his head. "Hear me out, okay? If we go and sell this stuff to an antique dealer I know, we could make a bundle for the resistance."

Sonic sighed, closed his eyes, and shook his head. "Ugh… I love you, but sometimes, you annoy me so much…" Manic was about to argue, but Sonic said, "Toss it!" The green hedgehog let his head hang as he handed everything in his fanny pack to Sonic, except for his drumsticks, of course. Sonic ran back around and put everything back where it belonged, and then they walked back to where Sonia and Bartleby were as if nothing had happened. Despite acting so romantic back there, though, they were still very uneasy about it.

As they continued to clean the carpets like they were actual carpet cleaners, Sonia continued to talk to Bartleby. "All you have to do is supply the music, dear." Sonia was really talking to him like she loved him, but it was obvious to both Sonic and Manic that she didn't love him.

"Oh, music…" started Bartleby. "Well, I don't know…" Sonia leaned up against him, her soft pink quills brushing up against his chin. "Okay, so I do know."

But Sonic and Manic were worried about other things. "Do you really think this guy is cool?" asked the emerald hedgie, but what would have been Sonic's reply was stopped before it even began as the ship of Robotnik's bounty hunters, Sleet and Dingo, landed outside.

"I think we're about to find out," responded Sonic.

Sonia noticed the ship as well, and in an attempt to cover things up, she sprayed some cleaning formula on a rag and started wiping down the carpet underneath her. "This should get rid of that spot, sir."

Not realizing what she was doing, Bartleby asked, "What spot?" but then saw the ship out of the corner of his eye. "And make sure it does!"

After a rather short conversation with Sleet and Dingo, they had agreed to let the aristocrat supply the music for the wedding. "You aren't so bad after all," started Sonic, but he felt the need to say what Sleet and Dingo had said earlier. "you wart on the nose of society, you!" The plan was then set. The Sonic Underground would play at the wedding, but what Bartleby didn't know is that they weren't going to play, and instead, they were going to do everything in their power to stop the wedding.

They disguised themselves once again, this time wearing powdered wigs and clothes styled as if they were from revolutionary times. Just before they arrived at the castle in their also-disguised car, however, while Sonia wasn't looking, Sonic gave Manic a quick kiss on the forehead to pay him back for all the love he had been given earlier.

As they stepped out of the car, Sonic and Manic marveled at the castle. It was changed from what it used to be, but it still retained some of its ornateness. "So this is the royal home sweet home…?"

Sonia seemed just a little peeved as she replied, "If Robuttnik hadn't stolen it from Mom, that is…" As she walked toward the castle, Sonic and Manic wondered what had gotten her panties in a bunch, but they didn't worry about it too much as they made their way to the room where they would be "practicing" for the night. It was loaded with classical instruments that they had no idea how to play.

After the robot that escorted them there left, all three of them took the instruments and threw them down the garbage chute. They weren't about to play those things… They went back to the little stage in the room and played a short song with their own instruments, mainly because they were just feeling like it, and then just practiced playing some random improvisations before a robot came in and handed them a note.

"Uh, oh!" exclaimed Sonia. "According to this, guys, no more rock and roll!" That was their cue!

Sonic started everything up with, "Well, excuse us! Is it hot in here? Man, this jacket's hot!" In more ways than one, Sonic, thought Manic. Sonic took off his jacket and threw it over a hidden camera/audio recording device on the wall. He then took out an old MP3 player with speakers and started playing it, and both Sonia and Manic immediately got the gist of what he was doing, and they leaned in to discuss what would come next.

"We've gotta split up and find Mom, guys!" he exclaimed just under the music's volume. "Any ideas?"

Manic let out a small hum before he leaned up against a wall, but the wall actually opened up, revealing some sort of secret tunnel. "All right!" he exclaimed. "Secret passageway, anyone?"

He really hoped Sonic would catch his drift about this, that he wanted Sonic to come with him, but as he stepped in and said, "So, let's do it."

Sonia protested, "It's a good idea, but it lacks… style!" Sonic asked what she meant by style, and the pink hedgie then somehow turned her outfit into a bridesmaid dress.

Manic looked impressed, and he said, "Nice style, sis, but now that you're all dressed up, where ya gonna go?"

Sonia had already thought everything up. "While you explore the secret passageway, Sonic can look outside, while I make my way to the bridal chamber." It was a nice plan, but Manic had really hoped that Sonic could've come with him. They had barely gotten any alone time in the past few days, and when they had, the moment spoiler named Sonia would always barge in. Like that moment.

"You've got style by the mile, sis," complimented Sonic. "Let's all meet back here when we're a little older and wiser." And with that, they all sped off in the direction they needed to go.

While exploring outside, Sonic spotted something that was his ultimate weakness. "Chili dogs!" He stopped right in front of a vendor, and unlike most, this vendor wasn't robotic, which he found odd, but he didn't really pay it any heed. "Gimme a triple banger with quadruple chili! Extra spicy!"

The vendor politely replied, "Yes sir, coming right up!" and dished up a chili dog. When he was done, he gave the dog to Sonic.

"Awesome concoction, my good man!" exclaimed Sonic. "This is what I call a chili dog!" As soon as he was about to eat it, however, the chili dog stand transformed into a giant orange Venus fly trap, and it took Sonic into its mouth with one bite.

Wait, orange… thought Sonic. Dammit! That's Dingo, and that vendor must've been Sleet! Sonic cursed at himself for his stupidity. Then, however, he got an idea. He had this feeling that Dingo hated spicy things, and he hated to do this to a chili dog, but he had to. He threw the steaming hot frank right down Dingo's throat, and the orange man spat him up. He ran away from the scene as Dingo fell to the ground.

As Manic walked through the secret passageway, he kept thinking about Sonic. "Man… Why does he have to be my brother…? I mean, I love him so much!" He wished God wouldn't be so cruel to him. "Why do you hate me, God? Why…? I mean, I know I'm a thief, but I'm trying to break that habit…" He must have been being punished for something he didn't even know he did. He could feel tears coming once again. He hated himself for loving Sonic. Why did things have to be so complicated?

He needed to get his mind off it and focus on the mission, though. As he continued to walk, he felt along the walls for any secret switches, and he eventually found one. "Whoa!" he exclaimed as he stepped through it. "Maybe this'll lead to the bridal chamber! Only one way to find out!"

He began walking up the stairs in there, but he soon realized that he was still wearing that stupid costume. "Time to ditch this ugly costume. Man, I bet Sonic thought I looked ugly in that thing… although he could definitely pull it off…"

When he had made it almost all the way up the stairs, it forked in two directions. The green hedgehog picked the left one, and after he did, he made it to the top and opened a secret door, but what he saw wasn't a bride. "Uh, oh!" he whispered.

What he saw was the most disturbing thing of his life. Robotnik was wearing some kind of corset, and it had artificial abdomen muscle on it. Ugh… No matter what, Robuttnik can't look good… At least Sonic has real abs, and at least they don't poke out like that… He closed the door and headed in the other direction.

When he opened that one, he was actually in the bridal chamber this time, and he saw Sonia as well… along with a… bride! "Mom, what are you doing?" yelled Sonia.

Manic stepped out of the secret passageway, closing the door behind him, and asked, "Ma, you aren't seriously gonna marry that ugly Buttnik, are you?"

Sonic raced into the room as well, and the bride said, "Actually, I can't," in a voice that didn't sound at all like a woman's, let alone like Aleena's. She… or rather he… took off the veil he was wearing and continued, "because I'm already married to my job!" Dingo…

All three hedgehogs were slightly relieved. "Oh," sighed Sonia. "Thank goodness, it's only a trap…"

All three hedgies' eyes were filled with surprise as they realized this. "A trap?" They then realized that the other man was Sleet, and he called for the SWATbots. As the robots cornered them, Manic let out a yelp of fear, making Sonic wish so much that he could comfort the scared emerald hedgie right then.

Sonia, however, didn't seem scared at all as she ran up to Sleet. "Sleet! How dare you allow that Dingo thing to impersonate the queen!"

Sleet only smirked as he pressed the button on his molecule scrambler. "That's nothing. Check out what he's impersonating now!"

Dingo transformed into a boa constrictor and wrapped himself around Sonia as the platform they were on lowered into the floor, taking all three of them with it.

"Sonia!" exclaimed Sonic, obviously worried about his sister. However, the SWATbots started firing their lasers at Sonic, but he dodged all of them and said, "Ha! That all ya got! You're too slow!" The robots started to once again fire, but this time, they were much closer to hitting him. "Oh, me and my big mouth…"

Manic's voice grabbed Sonic's attention, though, as the cobalt hedgehog knocked over a bot. "Sonic, over here!" When he looked over at the emerald one, he saw that he was grabbing stuff, including antiques, out of his fanny pack and throwing it at the bots.

He'd been stealing again… "Manic, I thought I told you—" but he was interrupted by Manic.

"Like I said, ya never know when this stuff might come in handy!" However, he ran out of stuff in his pack, and he was defenseless as a SWATbot closed in on him. When it was about to smash him, Sonic rushed in and picked him up bridal style, making him blush.

"So, where's the secret passageway?" asked Sonic. The green hedgie he was carrying, who was still blushing a tiny bit, pointed toward a wall with a light on it.

"Over there, behind those bots. The light activates it." Sonic nodded, and when he got over to the wall, just to torture Manic a bit, he set the boy down in front of the bots.

"Special delivery for SWATbutts!" he exclaimed as he rushed over and pulled down on the light.

"Hey, what's the haps?" asked Manic as the cerulean hedgehog came back and picked him up, rushing through the secret door just before it closed.

The two of them made their way to the hall where the wedding was taking place, but when they got there, what they saw wasn't a wedding, but an adoption… of Sonia! Robotnik was going to adopt Sonia and become king… "Unless Queen Aleena fulfills the ancient law and proves she has not abandoned the throne!" exclaimed Bartleby. In his voice, both Sonic and Manic could tell that he didn't want him to become king.

"There's too many SWATbots to rush the stage," whispered Sonic. "We need a diversion!"

When Sonic said the word "diversion", Manic got an idea in his head and exclaimed, "Got it!"

Sonic looked at him with questioning eyes. "Got what?"

The green hedgehog simply shrugged his shoulders. "You'll know it when you see it! Gotta jam!" He ran off into the secret passageway again, this time knowing where he was going. He was going to the bridal room closet, and when he got there, he noticed that it was huge for a closet, but whatever…

He was there to get a disguise, and a disguise is what he found. He saw a dress that completely looked like something a queen would wear. Jokingly, he said, "Oh, oh, this is definitely me!" as he pulled it off the hanger. He found a crown as well, and he started to put on the dress. "Oh, man, I'm putting on a dress, of all things. I never thought the day would come when I'd be wearing a dress in front of Sonic." When he was completely dressed, however, he was found by some SWATbots, and they took him to a jail cell.

As they threw him in there, they didn't bother to get him out of the disguise, and he kidded around with them, "Hey, hey, watch the dress, guys! It wrinkles!" He quickly got out of the dress and started searching for a way out. Almost immediately, he spotted a manual lock over by the door, and he took a long and thin piece of metal from the crown he was wearing and used it to pick the lock. When the door opened, he congratulated himself and started to head back toward the hall.

Meanwhile, things were getting really close to messy down in the hall, and both hedgies were waiting for Manic's arrival, although Sonia really didn't know which hedgehog she was waiting for. She was just waiting for someone to stop this thing. However, a voice called out from one of the balconies, "Halt! I forbid this ceremony!" Everyone in the room looked up at the balcony to see none other than Queen Aleena standing there.

"Nice going, Manic!" exclaimed Sonic as he ran up to the throne, which was where Sonia was seated.

"N-no!" stuttered Robotnik. "It can't be!"

Queen Aleena stepped forward and continued, "You are a blight upon this world, Robotnik! I, Queen Aleena, shall never abandon Mobius or my children as long as I may live!"

Everyone in the crowd soon started chanting, "Long live the queen!" before Robotnik ordered the SWATbots to seize her.

As the queen ran away from the scene, Sonic arrived in front of the bloated tyrant. "Hedgehog, you're defeated; admit it!"

Sonic smirked at him and said, "Only if you can catch me!" as he ran behind him and rolled him up in the rug beneath him.

"One burrito el grosso coming right up!" he shouted as the rug rolled down the stairs and out of the room. The blue hedgie ran over to Sonia and joked, "I just love these family get-togethers! Aren't they just lovely?"

Sonia smiled and replied, "They're the best, but where's Manic?"

Sonic smiled back and responded, "Milking his balcony scene to the max!"

Sonia was truly amazed by that. "That was Manic? Unbelievable!" She turned to look at the SWATbots that were now firing at them. "Uh, maybe we should go," she said to Sonic, and her cobalt brother whisked her away from the scene.

When they arrived outside, they had thought that Manic had been captured, because a disguised person was riding on a robotic horse, but they were captured and brought to Robotnik. As they watched Robotnik smirk at his victory, they realized that wasn't Manic, and so did Robotnik as he pulled down the hood. It was only a ragdoll. Soon enough, Manic walked over to them, and Sonia congratulated both him and Sonic. "Great work, guys!"

Manic smiled and asked, "Which part?"

"Your impersonation of Mom, what else?" stated Sonia.

Sonic smiled and responded, "Yeah, it sure was great, Manic!"

Manic bowed playfully and said, "So kind, but I didn't do it." He pointed to Sonic. "I thought it was you."

Sonia raised an eyebrow. "So if it wasn't Sonic, and it wasn't Manic, then it had to be…"

All three of them thought and said the same thing simultaneously. "Mom!"

Later that night, Sonic was sitting outside once again. He had gotten really romantic with Manic earlier that day, and he kind of wished he hadn't. He loved Manic more than he had ever loved anyone, but he knew he had to stop. "Sonic, Manic is your brother! Not your lover!" he told himself. "Get over it, you dummie!" Manic, who had earlier been sleeping, heard yelling outside, and he went to check it out, and he saw Sonic sitting on the ground, eyes closed, ready to let tears fall.

Instead of just allowing the tears to fall, however, Manic walked over and sat next to Sonic, cuddling up with him, leaning his head on Sonic's not-too-muscular chest. "I've said it once," started Manic. "And I'll say it again. I love you. Nothing changes that."

Sonic sighed and started petting the back of Manic's head. "I know that… It's just that everyone views it as wrong, but…"

The blue hedgehog couldn't get it out, so Manic helped him out a bit. "But it feels so right, huh?"

Sonic nodded and continued, "I know this is hurting you on the inside, too, but I know it's hurting me more. My whole love life has been wrong. I'm just not sure if I can accept that…"

Manic looked up at Sonic, his eyes glowing like sapphire glowsticks in the dark. "You don't have to accept that it's been wrong. I think we fell in love for a reason. It's been three years since we met each other, right? If, for three years, we were in love with each other, I don't see how this changes it. Sonic… I. Love. You." He got off Sonic's chest and kissed the blue hedgehog for the third time that day, but the kiss lasted for a minute, longer than any of their recent ones.

"Now, come on, Sonic," started Manic, partially out of breath from the kiss that was so long. "Let's get back to bed." He started to stand up, but Sonic grabbed his hand.

"Let's sleep out here," he suggested. "It's rather nice out." Manic smiled, glad to see Sonic back to himself for now. Sonic laid down on the grass, and Manic followed suit, but instead of laying his head on the grass, he laid it on Sonic's chest.

Sonic wrapped an arm around Manic, and the green hedgie asked, "But what if Sonia sees us?"

Sonic smiled. "She won't. I know we'll wake up before she does. Now, let's sleep." Within only a few minutes, both of them were sleeping soundly, but they didn't know who had been standing at the door of the van, listening to their whole conversation.

"I knew they already knew each other," started Sonia. "but this is worse than I thought. Oh, man, God must really hate those two to give them a fate like this." She definitely didn't hate them for this. She completely sympathized with them. "Don't worry, you guys. Your secret's safe with me…" She wasn't the snooty sister that they thought she was when it came to stuff like this…

Aww... Sonia isn't as bad as we thought, now is she? Anyway, about reviews... PLEASE! I'm begging you, here! I want reviews! Is that really too much to ask for? Just one or two reviews per chapter would even suffice, but I didn't get any for the last chapter. Please review, for goodness sake! Thank you if you review, and if you don't, thank you for reading anyway!

-Tails Luv-er