Hop To It - Interlude: Breakdown & A surprise for later

“So it’s just a normal day, if slow, when this pink hedgehog girl comes in. She says some weird things and leaves, and then this little ragamuffin bursts in and locks the door behind her--”

“I threw a rock at a robot!”

“You what?!”

“Hush. So then the robot blasts the doors down--”

“It was so cool! Heyu picked me up like I didn’t weigh anything and dragged me to the back of the store and then kicked the fire exit down!”

“Hayden?”

“Yeah, well. I was stressed. We got separated from Tory after that, but--”

“Who?”

“My boss, Tory? I’ve told you about her.”

“Right. Carry on.”

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“--and then we saw this huge flying battleship and we decided that the train tunnel was the best option.

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“--saw that pink-haired girl again wandering the woods and I thought, ‘hey, we need to all stick together to stay safe,’ except when we caught up to her she insisted on going inside Robotnik’s secret base.”

“You stopped her, right?”

“I wanted to, but Amy’s some kind of freak of nature--I mean that affectionately, of course, but she made a crater in the ground just stomping her foot. I couldn’t stop her if I tried. And then while I was fuming about that, Humi snuck in with Amy behind my back--”

“I said I was sorry!”

“I really don’t think you did.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

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“After that little fall, we landed in a maintenance tunnel and found a computer room--”

“That’s not what happened!”

“Humi--”

“We fell for a really long time until we landed on a flying robot--”

“Humi!”

“--Heyu had to hopscotch across a bottomless pit--”

“Humi shut up!”

“--using me as a grappling hook!”

“He did what?!”

“Yeah, it was so co--oops.”

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“And after we trashed the computers, we ended up in a workshop, which is where Iota came from.”

“I vaguely remember this. I was very confused.”

“We interrupted his startup procedure or something. He attacked us, but thanks to some quick-thinking from Humi we short-circuited him and she took his head as a trophy.”

“And used it to rebuild him!”

“Do not look so alarmed. I am much happier now.”

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“Then we ended up on the downed Egg Carrier--”

“I thought you said it was a battleship?”

“Is there a difference, Dad? That’s just what it was called--”

“There’s a huge difference between a carrier and a battleship, son.”

“Nevermind that, Devon, what happened next?”

“To cut out a lot of walking, it turns out that Robotnik did all this just to build a theme park on the ruins of Station Square. Yeah.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I wish. I’m still mad about that, honestly. Anyway, then another killer robot shows up, but this time there’s… uh, five? Of us? Me, Humi, Big, Amy, Gamma--yeah, five. So it’s not as big a deal.”

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“Explain to me again. You saw the future?”

“I think so? It was really jumbled. Like when you’re between towns and two local radio shows are playing on the same frequency. Gave me a headache. All I knew was that Chaos was about to strike, and we absolutely could not let it.”

“And then what happened?”

“...I failed.”

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“And after that, we got all the Emeralds to Sonic and he wrapped things up quickly.”

“Just like that?”

“Pretty much. Took him maybe five minutes.”

I leaned back against the wall, feeling a little out of breath.

My parents sat on the couch, absorbing my story. Dad’s ears twitched as he thought, while Mom fidgeted nervously.

She stood up and pulled me into a hug. “Oh, you poor babies.” She squeezed me tightly enough that I felt my ribs creak. “You were so bra-ha-ha-haaaave!”

Mom burst into tears, and Dad stood to pry her off of me so she could latch onto him instead. “Son, that’s a wild story you just told. I gotta admit, if not for your tin man here I probably wouldn’t believe it.”

“I aim to please.”

“I’ve got more proof, if you need it,” Humi offered, which was a mistake, because it reminded Mom that she was there.

Mom picked her up and held her close. “And you, sweet little girl, you must have been so scared!” Humi made a noise like a squeaky toy. 

I rubbed my neck. “I’m a little surprised at how… well, you two are taking this.”

“We’ve been wondering what happened to you for two months,” Dad said reproachfully. “Your mother’s had plenty of time to think up worst-case scenarios. The fact that you’re standing in front of us, hale and hearty, means your story isn’t even in the top ten worst things she came up with.”

I winced. “That’s fair… sorry again.”

“Still. Sorry you two--three?” Iota shrugged. “Two, had to go through all that.”

“I wasn’t scared,” Humi declared, wiggling out of Mom’s arms. “Well, maybe a little. But I had Heyu the whole time, so it was fun!”

I felt myself grinning. 

Dad clapped me on the back approvingly. “Good man. Now, it’s getting on a bit, so why don’t you unwind a bit before dinner?”

I felt the last tension bleed out as I relaxed. “Thanks, I think I will.” I hummed. “Hey, do you guys still have that faulty can opener?”

Dad blinked at the subject change. “Sure, your mother refuses to get a new one.”

“It was a birthday present from Charlotte, Devon! It’d be rude to get rid of it!”

“After five years? It only works half the time and even then only if you hold it at an angle.”

“Humi, maybe you can fix it up for them, huh?” I suggested.

Mom turned on me immediately. “Hayden, there’s no need for that, she’s a guest, I would never--”

Humi raised her hand. “I don’t mind! I like fixing things!”

“She’s a genius, you know. She can tell you all about how she built Iota while she works.”

Mom hesitated. One look at Humi’s eager face though and she cooed, pinching her cheeks. “Oh, if you insist.”

Seeing that they were busy for now, I went upstairs to my old room. I had some unpacking to do.

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After a long day telling an even longer story, I finally retired to my room, looking just how I left it. A little smaller than I remembered, a little dustier than I’d prefer, but it was mine.

Mom and Dad were entertaining Humi, and Iota was arranging the garage to his liking; it was a good thing we had a double. It left me time to unpack my stuff and decompress after everything.

My ears twitched, and I listened. Dad was drawing Humi into a board game and she was using her small child begging eyes to lure Mom into it as well. They’d be busy for a while. Assured that no one would be interrupting me, I pulled a cardboard tube out of the bottom of my duffel bag.

I’d picked it up before we left Station Square. Made an excuse about last minute supplies and everything. I didn’t want Humi to know until the right time. It was big, after all, and it needed the right moment to unveil it.

I uncapped the tube and unrolled the paper inside.

Certificate of Adoption

I scanned it once with a smile, then rolled it back up and hid it away again. I was planning on showing her once we got back home to our new and improved house, but who knows? Maybe a better opportunity would present itself.

This trip got off to a rocky start, but I had a good feeling. It was going to be smooth sailing from here.

…

“...Why did they put the Care Bear sheets on my bed…?”