Super Sonic Veteran!!

For just a small while, Sonic was distracted by all the different plant life in front of his eyes, forgetting about the reason he was here for just a small while. Eventually, though, his attention span was restored in full, and after a few blinks his eyes turned back to the Hero of Wind by his side. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before raising a leg and exaggerating his step forward into the garden itself.

“Well, c’mon! What do ya think we’re lookin’ for~?”

If Toon Link payed attention to his companion, shortly after his statement, Sonic’s eyes turned to a horned statue holding a shield and a sword, and kept staring at it.

So, until my internet comes back, I won’t be able to post any replies, or even interact with anyone oocly. :x I’ll let you guys know when I have it back, but hopefully I won’t be gone too long. 

FYI though, all of my replies that I owe have been saved into a text document, and I’ll be working on them while I’m away. YES, ALL of them. So if it’s been a while since I last replied to you, don’t worry. It’s coming! 

That said, I may post replies and starters during this “hiatus”, and if I do, it’s because I’ve finished them while I’ve been gone, and I’m online to ONLY post them. You’ll know when I’ll be back completely – I’ll be holding my own welcome back party lmao. 

As Toon Link continued his swayed walk, hearing Sonic follow behind him. He was trying to imagine what sort of end this scavenger hunt would have, but he couldn’t come up with anything specific. Even still, it was a challenge! He liked that part alone.

Hearing Sonic groan behind him, he first turned to look, but didn’t see him there. Not even a second later, though, Sonic was in front of him, taking his hand, which surprised him a little.

“The fast lane? Is it safe, but fun?” he asked, curiously, eyes wide at Sonic.

Y’know… he kinda forgot how nice it was to hear people’s reactions to when he decided to take them on a supersonic ride. He wasn’t really sure if Toon Link had caught on to what he was planning on doing just yet. The blue hedgehog had to chuckle as his smirk grew wider. 

“It is! If you hang on tight!” 

“Here…! We…!

GO!!” 

– And they were off! While it wasn’t the fastest the hedgehog could go, it was certainly enough. The green, grassy fields and the blue, clear sky becoming less easy to spot and more of a blur of color as the two rushed through the island. The sights didn’t change that much, but what was a change as it went was Sonic’s movements and momentum. As he ran, the blue blur went just slightly more faster than he started, and made a few, smooth shifts to the left and right as they went for about… a minute. That was it. Just a minute and they had arrived at the World Garden. With a skid that kicked up some grass in it’s wake, Sonic made sure to have a tight grip on Toon Link’s hand as they came to their stop. Safety first, after all! 

When Sonic stopped, Toon Link waddled back and forth a bit, trying to find his balance. His eyes were googled, bouncing all around in his little daze. After a short few moments, he shook his head and collected himself. It was a bit crazier than the hurricane spin, but in the end, it wasn’t something he couldn’t handle.

Aahhh, it was always fun seeing someone new to his speed have their first taste of it. The reactions were always worth it. Not being able to walk after wasn’t anything new, and there had been worse reactions, but seeing the Hero of Wind (or... whatever his title was.) of all people stumble around was pretty funny. He stood there and chuckled as he waited for him to adjust.

“Quite a ride, huh~?” He said with laughter in his tone. The cute little bow Toon Link gave him after was the icing on the cake! “Ha!” 

When Toon Link faced the World Garden, so did Sonic. Emerald eyes eyed the structure with the smile upon his muzzle not leaving in the slightest. When the green-capped swordsman asked for hints, the other hero of blue fur simply just put his arms behind his head and left one eye open, looking at the little kiddo. 

“Well, if you’re right it is!” 

“I’m not givin’ you any hints here, Lil’Link! We’ll just have to wait and see!!” 

With a shrug with his hands, the hedgehog walked up to the structure at a pace that Toon Link could follow on his own. Luckily, it wasn’t as far away as it was before. Maybe now Sonic could put up with walking? Well, that was something they’d have to see, too! 

As Toon Link continued his swayed walk, hearing Sonic follow behind him. He was trying to imagine what sort of end this scavenger hunt would have, but he couldn’t come up with anything specific. Even still, it was a challenge! He liked that part alone.

Hearing Sonic groan behind him, he first turned to look, but didn’t see him there. Not even a second later, though, Sonic was in front of him, taking his hand, which surprised him a little.

“The fast lane? Is it safe, but fun?” he asked, curiously, eyes wide at Sonic.

Y’know… he kinda forgot how nice it was to hear people’s reactions to when he decided to take them on a supersonic ride. He wasn’t really sure if Toon Link had caught on to what he was planning on doing just yet. The blue hedgehog had to chuckle as his smirk grew wider. 

“It is! If you hang on tight!” 

“Here...! We...!

GO!!” 

-- And they were off! While it wasn’t the fastest the hedgehog could go, it was certainly enough. The green, grassy fields and the blue, clear sky becoming less easy to spot and more of a blur of color as the two rushed through the island. The sights didn’t change that much, but what was a change as it went was Sonic’s movements and momentum. As he ran, the blue blur went just slightly more faster than he started, and made a few, smooth shifts to the left and right as they went for about... a minute. That was it. Just a minute and they had arrived at the World Garden. With a skid that kicked up some grass in it’s wake, Sonic made sure to have a tight grip on Toon Link’s hand as they came to their stop. Safety first, after all! 

As Toon Link continued his swayed walk, hearing Sonic follow behind him. He was trying to imagine what sort of end this scavenger hunt would have, but he couldn’t come up with anything specific. Even still, it was a challenge! He liked that part alone.

Hearing Sonic groan behind him, he first turned to look, but didn’t see him there. Not even a second later, though, Sonic was in front of him, taking his hand, which surprised him a little.

“The fast lane? Is it safe, but fun?” he asked, curiously, eyes wide at Sonic.

Y’know... he kinda forgot how nice it was to hear people’s reactions to when he decided to take them on a supersonic ride. He wasn’t really sure if Toon Link had caught on to what he was planning on doing just yet. The blue hedgehog had to chuckle as his smirk grew wider. 

“It is! If you hang on tight!” 

Toon Link nodded at Sonic’s response, before looking back down at the note, then turning in place, trudging off towards the World Garden. He knew he’d find the end of this! He was too dedicated to solving this challenge.

He had a little sway to his walk as he ventured forth, smiley and giggly.

It was great seeing the kid so excited, but if he thought he was anywhere close to done, he was dead wrong. The hedgehog had stuck as many surprises as he could think of into this little Scavenger Hunt, and he was sure it’d last a while. He was only one gift in out of a good few, after all! How awesome was it that the kid was getting a scavenger hunt made and hosted by a knight of the round table?! And the leader at that! Hey, Sonic. Calm your ego. Please. 

His smile just kept growing as Toon Link showed off his enthusiasm with his body language. Even though Toony here tended to talk, he could relate to his motions -- it reminded him of the days where he relied on nothing but body language to let him communicate with his friends.  Ah, the days where he was mute by choice. Who were the wise guys who encouraged him to talk anyway? Maybe they regretted it now, considering he hasn’t shut up since. Memory lane was pretty fun sometimes! 

... It only distracted the hedgehog for so long, however. About a few minutes into the stroll to the world garden, and Sonic’s happy demeanor faded with every passing moment... Happiness replaced with boredom... more boredom, and the most boredom the hedgehog could have. His entire posture was a slump, as if he was dragging himself across the meadow. With a loud groan, it was obvious there was about to be a change of pace. 

Literally. 

“UGGGHHHH, thaaat’s it.”

In nothing but a blue blur to the eyes of Toon Link, Sonic went from by his side, to right in front of him, taking him by the hand and arm. His smirk had returned, and there was a certain glint in his eye. 

“You wanna go in the fast lane, kiddo~?”

Toon Link read over the note carefully, making a curious face as he was reminded about his past foes, such as Bellum, who turned Tetra to stone on a recent adventure.

“Pretty faces…” Toon Link mouthed, still reading the paper. He looked up at Sonic once he asked the question, and thought for a moment more.

“…Could it be the World Garden? There’s a lot of creatures there! I bet there’s decorative statues somewhere too!”

He looked over at Sonic once more. Was he right? He wasn’t sure, but hopefully Sonic would let him know if he was on the right track. Where else could he be referring to?

Sonic’s smirk on his face only grew after hearing Toon Link mouth select important words dealing with his riddle. The kid was obviously invested in the little scavenger hunt, and the hedgehog was glad that he provided such a good gift for the kid! Or so he assumed. 

The hedgehog’s ears twitched and he blinked at the sudden suggestion of the World Garden. Beyond that, Toon Link didn’t get much of a reaction out of the good ol’ blue blur. His smile returning for a quick shrug, it was all Sonic gave him to go by. Wasn’t a yes, wasn’t a no. 

After all, where would the fun be if he gave him all the answers?

“Iunno, Lil’Link...” He said before finally walking off again. This time, to the direction of the World Garden. 

“Only one way to find out, right~?” 

Toon Link grew wide-eyed as he looked at Sonic, surprised. This could make him that much stronger? He was super excited now.

In a quick motion that looked as if he tripped, Toon Link caught the bottle, then looked over at Sonic once more. Still looking surprised, he nodded back at Sonic, then turned his gaze back to the bottle he caught. He began to open it. Where would he go next? He was just excited for another adventure!

As Toon Link opened the bottle, the ruffling of the paper the blue hedgehog had picked out for the occasion reached Sonic’s ears. Instead of walking too much ahead, the hedgehog turned around and waited with a grin on his face. Watching Toon Link’s reactions to his little scavenger hunt was going to be fun! 

This time, the note within the bottle was just a tad more cryptic --

“Like me, I’m sure you’ve faced many foes. Some have magic, and being turned to stone is no joke!

What’s a place full of pretty faces?”

Once it was obvious that Toon Link had read the knight’s note, Sonic grin only grew wider as he tapped his foot in an urge to get the show on the road!

Toon Link was very surprised by Sonic’s response. Was this Sonic’s doing!? That was shocking! “What does this ‘Herb of Toughness’ do?” he asked, before continuing to listen to Sonic. He nodded excitedly at Sonic’s question.

“You bet I’m ready!”

What did it do? Well, uh, all Sonic could do to that was shrug, really. 

“Iunno -- I think it naturally does something to your body that makes your skin tougher? Raises defense -- kinda like the patches in Smash Run? Like that.”

 “Not sure, though. Haven’t used it myself in a while! Not since I had to help save Camelot, anyway. Don’t worry, though! That stuff’s still good! The world could end and it’ll still be good!  It says what it does on the back.” The blue hedgehog tapped on the back of the bottle with the tip of his finger twice before beginning to walk ahead. In about two steps, he pivoted around in a jump and threw the message-in-a-bottle towards Toon Link without any warning--

“Catch!” 

-- Okay, a late warning. 

At the sound of the finger whistle, a handful of the White leaf Pikmin and 4 or 5 bud Pikmin turn their heads to the sound. None of the flower Pikmin turn to the source of the sound, but Sonic had got a few of the Pikmin’s attention.

The small pack of leafs and buds run over to Sonic with a reasonably fast pace for non-flowered Pikmin. They run over more out of curiosity than command, but still await orders. They tilt their heads at the tall blue figure, looking over at Olimar; seeming to slowly connect the pieces and figure out that the hedgehog isn’t their main leader.

“Hm, they listened to your whistle?” Olimar said, now sitting up in more interested state.

“You got the attention of the younger Pikmin, but none of the more knowledgeable ones. I thought they would only respond to artificial whistles!” Olimar says as the wavy and glowing antenna strikes upward.

“This is going into my expedition notes for sure! Try giving them a command or something of the sort!”

Olimar wasn’t the only one surprised that the less-grown pikmin responded to the whistle, Sonic himself nearly whistled again in surprise! Buuut since whistling again would probably cause some confusion, the hedgehog kept the whistle to himself; instead settling for a – “Whoa…!” 

Seeing the tiny critters tilt their heads and look back at the proper leader as confused as they were was a cute sight, making the blue blur smile just before Olimar spoke and grabbed his attention, ears twitching just a tad. 

The situation went from a curious hedgehog acting on a whim, to what seemed to be a chance for more pikmin scientific discoveries, and the idea that Sonic was going to be able to help with was something he was very enthusiastic about, complete with a wide grin and a slight shine in his eyes. 

“Alright…!” He said, debating on what to ask the pikmin to do. … How did Olimar command them again? Talking? Pointing? Gesturing? 

Olimar was loving every single second of this. He would practically kill for a pencil and a piece of paper right now. He couldn’t believe that the Pikmin actually responded! Though they did respond to the President’s whistle which was a car horn, so maybe they’re just attracted to loud noises.

Forget the pen and paper, if you asked Sonic, he’d want this recorded on video! This was awesome! Then, he’s given the choice of what he would like the Pikmin to do, and he found himself having to think on it just a little bit. 

Placing his hands on his sides, Sonic gave his little white crowd at his feet a look over. 

“Hm...!”

“Well.. what can they do? I know what you can do with ‘em in battle, but. I don’t really wanna throw them around. They’re kinda cute!”

Luckily, before the pink hedgehog could notice his lack of enthusiasm, she changes the subject quick enough for his attention to be bought again. An amusement park? Did she mean Pinna Park? 

… Okay. He wanted to go there anyway, but he was currently dealing with resurfacing memories dealing with a blue bird and a green grabby-hands bucket o’ bolts at the concept of “Amy” and “amusement park.” 

“Yeah, I know about it–,” was all he could get out before suddenly the word “together” was thrown around and the fastest thing alive had to do his best to run in reverse. 

“Amy, I’m not sure that’s a–.” His ears twitch at the sound of footsteps, and his attention was stolen for just a simple moment.

… And that was all Amy needed to turn the tide in her favor. At the sound of her voice, Sonic’s gaze was her’s again, only for the hedgehog to find that she grew closer and – grabbed his hand. 

“Wha–!!” Uh oh. Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh. “A-Amy–!” 

He was quite literally dragged along at first, his feet only moving in order to avoid falling and seriously being dragged, but once he saw that there was no chance of his grabbing her attention, Sonic the Hedgehog admitted defeat. 

With a head hung low and a sigh, he kept up his pace behind her just a bit more willfully. 

“Alright…”

“Wooow, it’s even more beautiful than I though it would be!”

She twirled around to meet the face of a little more than disgruntled blue hedgehog. “Right, Sonic?” She asked, expression quickly turning sour when she realized Sonic wasn’t having much fun. She messed it up again. But she could still fix it! …Right?

“Aw, cheer up! I know I can be a little… overbearing, but I’ll try to tone it down.“

“I promise.” And after that Amy gave a, somewhat forced, smile.

She quickly turned around and pulled out a map that she snagged from the cruise ship and scanned it over carefully.

“We better hurry if we wanna be first in line for the rides!” She mused. “Now… let’s see.”

Pinna Park… Pinna Park… Aha! 

She turned around and nearly shoved the map in Sonic’s face; it was pretty crudely drawn, and certainly marked out the island’s dolphin shape, but it did have names marking the island’s areas. Amy was pointing at a small island off of the main Isle, with the name ‘Pinna Park’ scrawled over it.

Amy held her hand above her eyes as she scanned around with few glances at the map for the right direction to take before pointing in front of her.

“There! That’s our destination!” 

“Yeah, those tour booklets never do anything justice.” 

After he spoke, Amy whipped around and caught him by surprise; just a little. Sure, she spoke about toning things down and how sometimes, she can be a bit too much for the blue blur himself... but what he caught onto was her upset tone, how she forced herself to smile... he had upset her, didn’t he? Agh, that’s not what he--! He opened his mouth to say something and reached for her, but as fast as she had looked at him in the first place she had already pulled a map out, looking for Pinna Park. 

His ears lowered just a had before he shook his head and decided to let it lie. He was gonna do his best to make sure he didn’t strike any more nerves with her the rest of his trip. 

That was a promise in return for her own. 

“We better hurry if we wanna be first in line for the rides!”

He had to laugh at that. 

“Ames? Really? Us? Not being the first people in line without even trying?”

“C’moooon!” 

His teasing gets ruined by the map being shoved in his face, enough to make him back up just a bit. After she had pointed at it enough and he knew where it was, he grabbed the map from her hands, and things set in just a bit. 

Oh. Right. It was on another island. As if traveling on a cruise ship wasn’t enough, here he was probably having to get on another boat to get there. Wonderful. 

“Bet I can get there before you!”

And Amy takes off running, leaving the map in his hands and for the blue hedgehog to stand there, blinking alone. 

It didn’t take him long to get the hint, though. He smirked as per usual and wrapped up the map and held it firmly in a balled up fist as he used his speed to catch up... and then stay in the lead just by a nose. 

“Did you forget who you’re talkin’ to?!”