Summary: Sonic received a train ticket for a trip. He's been planning everything out for this trip, but some of the odd decisions he's been making— including planning something— are starting to worry the people around him.

But the horns keep blaring, signaling to Sonic to climb aboard.

Warning: Post-Sonic Frontiers

Trigger Warnings : Suicide attempt, hallucinations, unreliable narrator

Ships: Minor Vanilla x Vector (barely a line)
Minor Sonadow (I tried not to—)

Part 1 of 3

—

Sonic sits at the dining room table in his and Tails' usual home. The kit is not home right now. He hasn't been for a few weeks. He has been exploring the world and going on his own adventures after they came back from their time on the Starfall Islands. Sonic smiles to himself at the thought. Pride swells openly in his chest. He has the sudden urge to call out to someone, to explain to them how incredible his younger brother is. Fortunately, there is no one around to talk with, and even if there were, Sonic is too focused on his current task to actually pull his attention away from it.

He's extremely focused right now. Although he can usually keep his attention span from wearing thin when he's doing something interesting, he seems far more focused than he's ever been in his life. Even entertaining books don't quite capture his attention so completely. He's entirely enthralled by the task right in front of him, and he imagines other people would give him a weird glance if they saw him. Frankly, dozens of people could have broken into his house to give him a weird look and he would have been none the wiser about it.

Sonic is planning right now. That is probably what's most intriguing about this situation. He is actually sitting down and planning something out from start to finish. It's a trip, he tells himself, and he's outlining everything he needs to do before he sets out for it. Sonic's smile widens as he finishes with what he set out to finish today. It isn't everything that needs to be done, though, so he allows himself to keep going. Paper after paper, signature after signature, location after location. All of it has to be done before he leaves.

As Sonic moves one stack aside, his ears twitch at the distant sound of a horn blaring into the long night.

—

Sonic sets a stack of books down in a metal receptacle. Sonic taps a gloved hand against the top of the stack while the other one makes sure it is as structurally sound as it can be. Sonic nods firmly to himself as he takes a step away from the receptacle. His stack does not immediately crumble. It remains upright, surrounded by other books that people have brought to the local library.

"What are you doing?" A voice calls out behind him. Sonic hums to himself as he turns around. He's surprised to see Shadow standing in the library, especially with a book tucked into the nook of his elbow, but Sonic doesn't show his surprise on his face for even a second. He only grins widely at his rival. He tucks his arms behind his back as he hurries over to Shadow's side. The Ultimate Lifeform rolls his eyes, stepping toward the library self-checkout.

"I'm doing exactly what it looks like I'm doing. I'm returning some books. I'm going on a trip soon, and Tails doesn't like overdue fees," Sonic explains, putting his arms on the counter beside Shadow. He leans closer to the ebony hedgehog, nearly brushing their shoulders together. He maintains some distance, however, when Shadow's stare cuts from over to him. Sonic presses onward, never one to stop even when people look at him funny. "What are you doing, Shads?"

Shadow does not dignify Sonic's question with a response when it is obvious what he's doing. Sonic chuckles. He turns his attention to the book Shadow is checking out. Sonic recognizes it vaguely. Tails must have checked it out at some point or another. It certainly seems like the type of book he would get since it seems to be talking about history through the lens of robotics. Considering the thickness of the book, Sonic assumes it's either in-depth or expands across a large amount of time. It could be both, but it isn't like Sonic is going to discover that for himself. He likes reading and he loves Tails, but he wouldn't pick that book up unless it was the key to saving the universe— and even then, reluctantly.

"You are going on a trip," Shadow states. Sonic hums in agreement even though they both know Shadow isn't asking a question. At least, it doesn't sound like he is, but Shadow's attention is on Sonic like he's expecting more. When Sonic doesn't immediately give that, Shadow releases a long-suffering sigh. "Do you usually plan your trips?"

"Nope. This is a first for me. I usually let adventure find me. But I mean, I guess it still did this time. I came home after grocery shopping a few days ago. There was a train ticket taped to my front door. I was going to go at first, but then, I decided it seemed like fun. I'm planning just to make things easier on everyone else," Sonic explains. He remembers the day clearly. It was only a week ago, after all. There were a few bags in Sonic's arms to replace the food he let go bad. The paper was taped directly to the center of the room. The words were written in big, bold red letters, so it was nearly impossible to miss. Sonic, at least, couldn't take his eyes away from it. He stared for a long time, wondering if he should tear it to shreds or bring it inside. He left it on the door. When the afternoon brought a sudden rainstorm, Sonic felt anxious as he recovered the paper before it could be destroyed by the rain. Once it was inside, Sonic felt like he accepted the words written across it. He needed to do this now.

"This really is a first for you," Shadow acknowledges. Sonic laughs freely. Shadow has always been of the opinion that Sonic is reckless and bothersome, and he's vocal about it, too. If anyone would be proud of Sonic for taking care of the details before they affect other people, it would be Shadow.

Sonic's ears move. He turns away from Shadow to stare into the distance. The train horn has returned. It isn't any louder, but it is strange to hear it during the daytime. He thought the train only came around at night. Sonic frowns, but he ultimately shrugs it off. It just reminds him that he has to get back to work.

"Exactly! Anyway, I have to run now, Shads. I have to buy a plot," Sonic tells him. He waves over his shoulder as he speeds over to the door. Before he transforms into a blue blur zipping through the streets, he calls out, "Enjoy your book!"

Once Sonic is gone, Shadow stares at the counter where his arms once were. Something doesn't feel right, but Shadow cannot quite put his finger on it. He huffs in annoyance. Even when he's trying not to cause problems, Sonic is always troubling Shadow with his inconsistencies and self-indulgence.

—

Sonic moves through the flower shop with a contemplative expression. A restless energy builds inside of him as he's forced to go slow. While he knows what flowers he's looking for, he cannot speed around to grab them all without causing an entire whirlwind that would tear the petals from the stems. Sonic, personally, doesn't want that to happen, and he doesn't want to cause more trouble for the shop owner than he already has. Thankfully, the interior of the garden is enough to encourage him to stamp down the sudden fervor infiltrating his veins. The flowers are beautiful, and the scents are pleasant enough to keep him from tearing everything around in a fit of unrestrained energy.

Sonic makes an excited noise as he finds the flower he was looking for. He plucks a gladiolus from where it was waiting for someone to find it. He brings it over to the glass vase he was using to hold the flowers he's forming into a bouquet. The gladiolus fits right in the center. It hangs over all the other flowers like a beacon. Sonic smiles as he arranges the other flowers around it. There are many yellow chrysanthemums filling the vase, and to compliment the bright yellow, Sonic has placed a few hyacinths for their saturated purple coloring. Sonic braided some forget-me-nots to hang around the vase's edge. Now, the gladiolus protects all the flowers.

"Mr. Sonic!" Someone calls out. Sonic pulls his attention away from his flowers. A smile breaks out across his face when he notices Cream at the end of the row. She rushes over to him, slamming directly into his legs for a hug. He squats down to hug her back. Cream's childish laughter fills his ears.

"Cream, there you are— Oh, and Sonic, too. I didn't know you were here," A familiar voice calls out as they turn the corner. Vanilla looks at Sonic and Cream with a peaceful expression crossing her face. She smiles gently at them. Sonic has always felt weird around Vanilla. He realizes now, of course, that she's only trying to treat him kindly. She worries about him. She worries about Sonic and all his friends, almost as much (or maybe just as much as) her own daughter. Sonic didn't know how to deal with that when he first met Vanilla. He still doesn't think he knows how to handle it, but he pushes down such feelings today. There's no reason to feel that way, even if he's certain she has nothing to worry about. "What are you doing?"

"Buying some flowers. I need to preorder a whole bunch. I'd normally pick them myself, but I thought this would be the easier option," Sonic explains. He rises from his feet. He gestures to the vase he made himself. He was about to show it to the shopkeeper to buy these flowers (and the vase) along with ordering several more bouquets. He doesn't know exactly how many he needs, though. He supposes he'll just hand over the money and see what that gets him. Hopefully, it will be enough, but he doesn't mind if there aren't any flowers. He just knows that his friends wouldn't agree with him. If he doesn't do this, they'll get their own flowers, and he would rather spend his money than waste theirs. "What are you two doing here?"

He addresses the question to Vanilla, but Cream answers it at the same time she grabs onto his hand. She leans back on her heels, forcing Sonic to lean down. He braces his other hand against his knee, bending slightly. He looks directly into Cream's bright eyes. "We're buying flowers for the kitchen! Mr. Vector burnt breakfast earlier, so now it smells... Uh, not good."

Cream glances over her shoulder at her mother. Sonic snorts, wondering what word Cream was going to use in the first place. Sonic and Cream's attentions are both captured by Vanilla as she steps to Sonic's vase full of flowers. Her fingers gently move through them, organizing them with a far tender hand than Sonic could ever have. Cream rises on the tips of her toes to look. Sonic picks her up in the same way he used to hold Tails to give her a better view of the flowers. She leans forward in Sonic's arms with wide, enraptured eyes. Her mouth hangs open as she puts one hand on her mother's shoulder to keep from falling. "They're so pretty!"

"Thank you," Sonic tells her with a proud smile on his face. He spent some time trying to figure out the best flowers to get. He doesn't really care about style or clashing colors, but he referenced an art book Tails kept on his bookshelf at their house. Other than the yellow and purple flowers, though, Sonic didn't stay completely faithful to it.

"They are beautiful," Vanilla agrees with a somber touch to her voice. She lowers her hands to touch the counter on either side of the glass vase. She frowns slightly as she stares at the gladiolus. "They have quite a... sad meaning, though, don't they?"

"They're beautiful," Sonic repeats, pointedly not answering the question.

"Huh? Do flowers have meaning?" Cream asks, looking between Vanilla and Sonic.

"They do! There's a whole language behind flowers. I'll give you a book about it," Sonic nods with a smile. He thinks Amy gave him that book. He doesn't remember why. It might have been because of some comment he said in her presence. It might have been on a whim. Was it a gift for some holiday or birthday? No, Sonic thinks he would have remembered that if it was. Well, that's not true at all, but still, it doesn't feel like there was any significance. He doesn't think Amy will mind if he gives it away. He has no use for it now.

"Really? Thanks, Mr. Sonic!" Cream cheers, throwing her arms into the air in her excitement.

Sonic laughs. He sets Cream back on the floor. He grabs onto his glass vase, bringing it out of Vanilla's immediate vision. It feels weird for Sonic to trade a warm, living being for a cold glass vase filled with half-alive flowers, but he doesn't pay too much attention to that. He settles the vase in the crook of one arm. He smiles at Vanilla and Cream over the side of the flowers. "No problem, kiddo. I'll see the two of you some other time, okay? I have to handle this before the—"

As if knowing what he was going to say, the train moves through the city. Sonic looks around, feeling his ears swivel from one direction to the opposite. Sonic huffs out his nose. He isn't particularly annoyed, though. He takes it for what it is: a reminder. He shrugs at the two rabbit Mobians. "Nevermind, but I still have to get this taken care of. Have a good day!"

Sonic waves over his shoulder as he hurries over to the shopkeeper on the other side of the flower shop. Cream grabs onto her mother's hand as she watches Sonic disappear from view. Cream's expression furrows together as she notices the seriousness in her mother's eyes. Cream doesn't understand what happened, but she gets the feeling that she missed something. Her frown becomes representative of her feelings as she laments over still being a little kid when she wants to be grown already.

—

Sonic opens the door wider for Rouge. She smiles gratefully at him as she steps inside the house, her heels clicking on the wooden floors. Sonic closes the door behind her. The warm sunlight turns into the cool shadows, but there are still a few puddles inside the mudroom from the windows surrounding the door. Rouge does not take her shoes off. Sonic doesn't force her to since he and Tails rarely do that, either. This room was simply part of the house. It's too much trouble to remove it or to use it properly, so they leave it as an empty room only to be filled by the light of whatever celestial body is currently hanging in the sky.

"Is it in the living room?" Rouge asks, gesturing into the main room of the house. Sonic nods at her. Rouge's smile widens as she hurries to collect her 'goodies.' It's only a box of random objects Sonic thought she would like. Her excitement, though, is most likely for the pieces of sea glass and exposed gems he's found while running across the islands. There aren't any chaos emeralds. Sonic doubts there's anything even remotely valuable to a jewel thief like Rouge, but she seems happy to trifle through the box for whatever looks beautiful. At the end of the day, Sonic supposes that's what makes her feel good— beauty, not value.

Sonic returns to what he was doing before he heard her knocking. Although he hates water, he knows that it's necessary to properly clean something. He's been doing that a lot lately. He's deep-cleaned nearly every room in the house. There are a few exceptions— most notably Tails' areas— but there are a few that Sonic has been saving. Today, he's knocking the kitchen off his list. He scrubs the countertops, barely listening to Rouge in his living room. He trusts her enough not to cause a mess in there; he would hate to clean it again.

"What's this, Blue?" She asks, drawing his attention away from his task at hand. Sonic looks over to see she's standing in front of a calendar. Sonic drifts closer to her to see that she's pointing at a date he circled with a thick red marker. There is another date further down circled with a black marker.

"That's when I'm going on my trip," Sonic informs her, tapping his finger against the red circle.

She points at the black circle. "Is this when you're coming back?"

"Ah, no, that's the day of a party," Sonic explains, feeling a twinge of embarrassment as he says it aloud. He rubs the back of his quills, feeling the muscle tense beneath his massaging. He returns to his place in the kitchen to avoid looking at the calendar and at Rouge.

"Oh, a party? Am I invited?" She asks, leaning against the kitchen's bar.

Sonic frowns. He tilts his head back to stare at the cabinets hanging above the countertop. He eventually shrugs, throwing a half-smile over his shoulder. "Of course, you're invited! I just didn't know if you would want to come. You don't have to, by the way. I won't blame you if you skip it."

"Come now, why would I skip a party? What's it for?" Rouge asks, putting her chin in the palm of her hand. Although her expression is nonchalant, there is an intensity to her turquoise gaze that Sonic doesn't understand. Of course, he would probably get it if he thought she knew what the circled date was all about, but she doesn't. He knows. He knows that it's important, too. He keeps writing both circled dates over and over again, tracing the numbers in every surface that permits him to write.

"Party might be a big word. It's just a small gathering. There won't even be snacks. How sad is that?" Sonic informs her with an exaggerated reaction to not getting food.

Rouge laughs. "I'll tell you what, Blue. I'll make a cake for your little gathering. Shadow and Omega can assist me."

"That'd be much appreciated! It would definitely take some trouble off of Tails," Sonic happily agrees. He shows Rouge his smile. "And good luck with getting Shadow and Omega to bake."

"I have my ways," Rouge cryptically mentions. Sonic snorts, knowing that she probably does. Sonic would let it fall into silence, but Rouge asks him a question, "What did you mean when you said it would take some trouble off of Tails?"

"Just that he'll have less work to do. That's what I've been trying to do these past few weeks. Make less work for him," Sonic explains. He gestures around to the cleaned house. He thinks about how he turned in all his library books and returned anything else he was borrowing. He thinks about the flowers and the plot he bought. There are invitations on the living room table that only need Tails to put them through the mail system or hand them out himself. Sonic even packed. He's going to make sure Tails doesn't have to do anything.

"What are you—" Rouge's question— layered with as much concern as there is on her face— is cut off when Sonic whirls around. He stares out the window above the kitchen sink. Rouge might have continued talking, but Sonic wasn't listening to her anymore. Instead, he stares at the colors shifting in the distance. He reaches a hand to touch the glass with his white glove. The warmth of the bright day does nothing for him. He cannot feel it anymore.

"The train is passing," Sonic murmurs. He taps his fingers against the glass. He can't hear anything over the thundering noise of the horns. They hurt his head. He is going to have a headache later. He might have a headache right now. Sonic isn't certain. He just keeps staring out the window as the train passes the house. It is leaving him behind, but only for now. Soon, Sonic is going to catch up to it. He's going to ride it. It's going to be fine.

Sensing that she's lost Sonic, Rouge steps back into the living room. She takes the box into her arms. She glances over at the letters left on the coffee table. Each one has a name printed on the front. It takes Rouge a moment to figure out that the handwriting is Sonic's. He usually writes so fast that everything is borderline ineligible, but this time, he's written the names out carefully and slowly. He doesn't want any mistakes, she suspects, but she doesn't understand why. She has the impulse to take the letter with her name, but she decides against that in case Sonic is saving these letters for something important. She leaves the letters behind, carrying her box of new belongings as she leaves the house— leaves Sonic to stare out the window.

—

Sonic knocks on the threshold for the Chaotix Detective Agency's base of operations. The three cease their lively discussion to look at him. Sonic smiles at them. Vector returns the smile, rubbing his hands together like a classical businessman. He moves closer to Sonic, "How can the Chaotix Detective Agency help you today?"

"I need you guys to give Tails this key when he gets back home," Sonic explains, handing over the key and some currency. Vector takes it. The smile never drops from his face, but Sonic can tell there's some confusion. Sonic laughs under his breath. He gestures to the suitcase beside the door frame in the hallway. "I'm going on a trip, so I won't be able to hand it over myself. Since it's a key to our house, I thought I shouldn't just leave it lying around wherever."

Vector sighs. He drops the money back into Sonic's hand. "Take this back. We'll give the key to Tails. You don't have to pay us for a favor."

"I insist. I don't need the money," Sonic shakes his head. He tosses the bag into the room. Charmy Bee catches it before it can land on the ground. Sonic grins at him. Charmy Bee immediately starts counting the money. Espio looks over his shoulder to double-check the count. Sonic looks away from the group, down the hall. He nods to himself. "As much as I want to hang out, I really have to get going. The train is about to leave. I wouldn't want to miss the first part of my trip."

Sonic waves at the three. He grabs onto his suitcase. He struggles with the weight for a moment, but he eventually figures out how to keep it off the ground without dragging himself down with it. He steps into the elevator. As he presses the button for the ground floor, he gives Vector a smile so wide it causes one of his eyes to close and a thumbs-up. Sonic maintains this pose as the elevator door's slide shut.

"There are no trains in this area," Espio remarks coolly, looking up from the money they were given. Sonic has completely overpaid. Even if he was asking them to solve a case instead of handing over a key, this is way more money than their current rates require.

If asked, Vector would call it his detective's intuition, but something isn't right. Vector turns around. He closes the door behind him. He moves over to their pinboard filled with information. He starts taking down their previous case. He glances at his partners. "Come on, we've got a new case to solve. What is going on with that hedgehog?"

—

Sonic stands at the station. His suitcase has been left in front of his feet. His arms hang loosely at his sides. His eyes are loosely shut as he feels the cold night wind blow through his quills. His breathing is unusually slow, but this offers him some peace instead of discomfort. The moonlight causes his body to look as if it were glowing, but he feels so far away from chaos energy that it barely registers to his senses. For the first time in his life, he is entirely focused on the present. He is so in the moment that the past and the future fade away completely. He might be waiting on a train, but he's never felt this in control of anything in his life.

The silence is broken by the shrill howling of a horn as the train approaches. Sonic's eyes flutter open as the train appears right in front of him. Even as the train slows down, the engine passes Sonic. It does not stop until the engine almost passes the station. The horn stops blaring, but there is a faint clicking noise like mechanical pieces snapping together. Cold air rushes out of the doors as they slide open. Several doors open, but Sonic is the only person at the station. He takes a deep breath as everything settles into stillness and silence. Sonic is the only being that moves as he grabs onto his suitcase. He struggles with its weight once more, but he doesn't let it stop him from reaching the train. He stares at the metallic beast in the moonlight. Sonic wears a half-smile as he reaches for the handle to pull himself onto the steps.

"Sonic!" The blue hedgehog is surprised, but as with every time he encounters Shadow, he does not show it. He turns around to look at the ebony hedgehog. The red highlights of his quills and his crimson irises stand out against the dark night when the rest of him blends into the blackness. His inhibitor rings glow in the same way the train does. Shadow takes a few steps forward. His hand reaches out. There's an odd expression on his face. That is to say, there are emotions on his face. Sonic doesn't know what any of them are; he just knows that Shadow is feeling something right now.

Sonic smiles at him. He waves his hand over his head as if Shadow's attention isn't entirely on him. "Shadow! Are you here to see me off? That's awfully nice of you! I didn't know you had it in you. I guess Rouge was right when she said you were just a softie at heart."

"Sonic, step away from the edge," Shadow says, slowly and carefully. He completely ignores Sonic's words.

The blue hedgehog frowns. He glances behind him at the train. Shadow startles forward another half-step, but he freezes when Sonic looks back at him. Sonic arches a brow. "I have to go on the train, Shads. How else am I going to go on my trip? See, I have a ticket and everything."

Sonic reaches into his quills to pull out the piece of paper. The words are still as bright as they were the day Sonic first saw them. The paper, however, has been folded and unfolded several times. The crispness of the edges prove this effectively. Sonic unfolds the paper one more time. He shows it to Shadow as it would make his rival understand. Unfortunately, Sonic thinks this has the opposite effect because Shadow's eyes narrow with what Sonic believes is confusion. There might even be a level of concern, but Sonic dismisses that thought immediately.

The train's horn blares. Sonic flinches, reaching one hand to cover his ear. His ticket rubs against his head, and he realizes that he still as it unfolded between his fingers as he tries to hear the wind over the horn. Once it finishes, Sonic looks at Shadow sheepishly. Despite having more sensitive senses, Shadow doesn't show any reactions to the horn. Sonic releases a humored breath, almost a chuckle. "You hear that? It means I have to get on the train now. Thanks for coming to see me off, though. Really, you're a good friend. Or rival, if you still want to deny our friendship."

Sonic shifts toward the train's open door. Shadow takes three steps before Sonic's stare causes him to freeze. He isn't that far away anymore. He's almost at the station where the grass turns into weathered stone. One wrong step could cause Shadow to fall. Sonic doesn't want that, but he thinks Shadow can swim. Even if he can't, Shadow will find a way to avoid touching the water. He's simply good like that.

"Take the next train," Shadow demands. His voice leaves no room for argument.

Sonic, however, argues. "I can't do that. I don't know when the next train is coming. Plus, I want to start my trip as soon as possible. I've taken care of everything. You don't have to worry. There will be nothing for everyone to do except show up to the party. Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to. It's just for the people who are going to care... Care enough to gather, anyway. We can't talk about this right now. I really have to go before the train leaves."

"Sonic," Shadow grits out, nearly growling. Sonic hesitates. Shadow is being completely serious right now. While he's usually serious, there's something about it different this time. Shadow reaches both hands out. He's being unusually slow and careful like he's scared he's going to spook Sonic. The blue hedgehog would be offended if that isn't the exact truth. If Shadow chases after him, he will jump.

But it doesn't seem like Shadow is going to leave. Sonic looks between the hedgehog and the train. He grips his ticket tightly in one hand while the other one grips onto his suitcase. Sonic feels the weight of them both crashing over him. The paper is so light that it could fly away, and the suitcase is so heavy that it is about to bring him crashing into the ground. Sonic feels much the same way— as if he could both float and sink at the same time.

Sonic sighs as the train horn blares for the third and final time. The doors shut at the same moment Sonic angles his head toward Shadow. "Fine. I'll just catch the next train. You'll have to pay for that ticket, though."

Sonic turns back to the train. He watches it leave the station without him. He feels some regret as the train completely passes. He is suddenly met with a dark sky dotted with stars touching an inky ocean at the horizon line. The moon is rising steadily, and Sonic feels its cool rays dance across his body once more. He reaches a hand towards the moon, ready to capture it in one fist. Before he can do that, he feels something grab onto him. He is suddenly whirled around to look at Shadow. Although this would usually start a fight or an argument, Shadow wraps his arms around Shadow, holding the blue hedgehog's arms to his body.

"If you wanted a hug, I could have given you one," Sonic tells him, struggling to move his arms around Shadow's body because of how tightly the former bioweapon is holding him.

"I'm not hugging you. I'm restraining you," Shadow confirms.

"Restraining me?" Sonic asks, tilting his head to the side. "From what?"

Shadow sighs. He presses his head against Sonic's chest, and the Hero of Mobius thinks that Shadow isn't providing any evidence for this not being a hug. "Did you actually see a train?"

"What?"

"Did you actually see a train?" Shadow repeats with an unfamiliar anger in his tone. Sonic has heard Shadow get angry before, but never like this. There's something different in the way he's talking now that makes Sonic wonder if he's inside a dream or illusion. "Did you actually think you were planning a party?"

"I... don't get it. Yes? The train just left, Shads. And it's more of a gathering than a party, but... well, yes, I was planning it. I didn't think I was. I just... was," Sonic tries to answer even though he's confused about Shadow's line of questioning. And here he thought Shadow was a mobian of logic and reason.

Shadow sighs again. His 'restraint' loosens enough for Sonic to wrap his arms around Shadow's body. They are now hugging each other, but Shadow doesn't pull away or deny what's happening. He's barely restraining Sonic anymore, but the hedgehog doesn't believe he's going anywhere any time soon. He's stuck here either until he goes home or another train comes by. Unfortunately, he doesn't think Shadow is going to let him get on that train, either.

Sonic's suitcase full of rocks tips over on the ground. His ticket leaves his gloved hand. He frowns at it as the paper spins around in the wind. Gaia must be playing pranks on him because the paper lands directly on his suitcase. For the millionth time in the past few weeks, Sonic reads the bright red letterings written across the paper. KILL YOURSELF.