A Dark Birthday

Episode card

A Dark Birthday is a fanfic by BearfootTruck. In this story, Sonic loses his uncle and inherits his business. Then, Shadow comes along and reminds the Blue Blur that he has a birthday tomorrow and that he has to get a gift for him. Can Sonic do it in time?

Synopsis

Uncle Chuck has died recently, which deeply saddens Sonic. On the bright side, he inherits Chuck's business. Though the Blue Blur is reluctant to own a business, Tails convinces him that it will solve some of their problems. Then, Sonic is informed that his Uncle Chuck was also deep in debt at the time of his death and is now responsible for paying that debt. As if that wasn't enough, Shadow comes by and tells Sonic that his birthday is coming up soon as well as Rouge's, which happens to be on the same day. The Blue Blur dismisses this revelation as just another day, but when the Ultimate Life Form warns him that there will be serious consequences for not getting them gifts, he changes his tune and agrees to get some gifts.

There's just one snag: Sonic has no idea what he should get them. Well, he does have a few ideas, so he pursues those first. However, they turn out to be busts: for example, an AK that he bought for Shadow turns out to be complete junk, and a diamond that he got for Rouge turns out to be stolen from a museum, which compels him to do what's right and turn the jewel in.

Out of ideas, Sonic is forced to ask his friends what Shadow & Rouge would want, with mixed responses. Unfortunately for Sonic, he gets little inspiration from their suggestions. Ergo, Big Blue tries to get stuff that he thinks they will like regardless of whether or not they would actually like them. None of these ideas work so well, either.

Unable to face Shadow & Rouge – but especially Shadow – Sonic attempts suicide. However, Tails is there to stop him. Ol' Blue then explains his plight to the Two-Tailed Wonder, who gives an inspirational speech to him on how he's been through far worse and always come out on top by following his heart. Suitably inspired, Sonic sets out to find a solution closer to home, but with suicide out of the question, he wonders whether he can find a quick solution. Then, he gets another idea…

With time running out, Sonic orders Tails to bring his idea to fruition. Then, the big day arrives. Pretty much everyone has a gift for Shadow & Rouge lined up. Rouge is more than happy to receive her gifts, while Shadow decides to let everybody live. Finally, the big moment comes, and Sonic hands his gifts – motocross bikes – over to Shadow & Rouge, crediting Tails in the process. Fortunately for the Blue Blur, the bikes turn out to be a big hit. With his life spared, Sonic decides to start a motocross race, and Tails, Shadow & Rouge follow. The race ends with Sonic & Shadow getting into a fight. However, the Ultimate Life Form stops it by telling Sonic how he really feels about him. The Blue Blur is wowed by this admission, and the two make up. Rouge agrees to pay off Sonic's debt, much to his delight.

Sonic Says

Tails and Cosmo are sharing a tender moment in Hancock City. Tails is sad because the only gift he could afford for Cosmo's birthday was a beat-up music box. Cosmo enjoys it anyways. Sonic then tells the audience that birthday gifts don't have to be expensive and that all that matters is that the recipient is happy with it.

Epilogue

When the party is all over, Rouge goes to her mansion to relax. Then, she goes to a disco in Emerald City, where she waits for Shadow to show up. When he doesn’t, she boogies down anyways. Upon returning to her mansion, she finds that Sonic has shown up with a bonus present. When asked what it is, he asks her to take her clothes off. At first, she refuses…until he gives her a Chaos Emerald. Next, Big Blue asks Rouge to lay face-down on the bed, and she complies. With that, he gives her a relaxing massage, which puts her in a trance-like state. She thanks him for the gift, and the two part ways.

Main

• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Miles "Tails" Prower
• Shadow the Hedgehog
• Rouge the Bat
• E-123 Omega

Minor

• Knuckles the Echidna
• Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik
• Sally Acorn
• Bunnie Rabbot
• Antoine D'Coolette
• Rotor Walrus
• Uncle Chuck
• Snively Robotnik
• Scratch
• Grounder
• Amy Rose
• Cream the Rabbit
• Charmy Bee
• Espio the Chameleon
• Vector the Crocodile
• Silver the Hedgehog
• Blaze the Cat
• Marine the Raccoon
• Mephiles the Dark
• Cosmo the Seedrian
• Hospital receptionist
• Priest
• Shop workers
• Police officers

Guest Stars

• Alan Schmidt

Trivia

• This is the first of BearfootTruck's Sonic stories to use the Yagi Link Double font for the title card instead of Helvetica Black.
• This is the first of BearfootTruck's Sonic stories to include Uncle Chuck and E-123 Omega.
• This is the first of BearfootTruck's Sonic stories to mention Jules and Bernadette…or any parents of Sonic, for that matter.
• Sonic’s eulogy contains references to the song "Never Gonna Give You Up" – aka the "Rick Roll" song – by Rick Astley.
• Sonic's eulogy also contains references to the Gospel of John, from the New Testament, particularly the line "Charles wept".
• Sonic's eulogy also contains references to the movie First Blood, when he is talking about Chuck's military service.
• Hesse Arms was a real firearms manufacturer, and they were indeed notorious for producing low-quality firearms.
• The Kranzkowski Diamond is a reference to Karl Kranzkowski, an actor who played Hitler in the movie White Tiger.
• Redford's Auto Sales & Service is a reference to actor Robert Redford.
• One of Sonic's lines when talking to Vector is a reference to the song "Trans Am (Highway Wonderland)" by Sammy Hagar.
• Gener-O-Bot's line "PLEASE INSERT GIRDER" is a reference to Futurama.
• The Asylum is a real movie studio that is notorious for producing low-budget rip-offs of popular Hollywood blockbusters. So far, however, they have not produced a rip-off of The Executioner movies.
  • For that matter, while The Executioner is a real book series, there has yet to be a single movie based on it.
• The directions that Sonic hits the switches in while operating the lowrider form the Konami Code, excluding the "B, A, Start" portion.
• "Stuka-esque" refers to the Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka", a German dive bomber from World War II. It was equipped with special sirens that made a distinct whining noise whenever the plane went into a dive. This sound effect has been used in numerous media for the sound of a plane that's going to crash.
• Brown's Theory of Memory Continuum is a reference to Dr. Emmett L. Brown from the Back to the Future franchise.
• Shadow’s line about not being the Anti-Christ or the Iron Man is a reference to the song "Gets Me Through" by Ozzy Osbourne.
• The line about Rouge walking away like Renée is a reference to the song "Walk Away Renée" by The Left Banke.
• The line about Rouge getting on up is a reference to the song "Get On Up" by Roundtree.
• Cruiser Cologne is a real brand of cologne. However, it has no magical properties.

External Links

"A Dark Birthday" on Fanfiction.net