Heartwarming / Sonic Prime

Moments pages are Spoilers Off. You Have Been Warned!

Season 1

Shattered

• During his monologue, Sonic declares that Tails, Amy, Knuckles and Rouge are some of the best friends a guy could ask for.
• Eggman made many attempts to insult and enrage Sonic to get him to attack his pilot mech. When all else fails (seeing as Tails warn Sonic to not attack), Eggman starts making fun of Tails by calling him a an ugly two-tailed mutant freak, angering Sonic.
  • A Fridge Heartwarming moment as we learn the other foxes often bullied Tails because of his extra tails. Sonic gets upset because he knows how sensitive Tails was to this and gets enraged on his behalf.
• Realizing that Tails is mad at him, Sonic went to his hut and apologizes for not listening to him, with the two making up.
• While meeting with the cold and distant Nine, Sonic actually gets through to Nine somewhat by recounting his best memories with his two-tailed buddy. Though Nine himself has none of these memories, Nine asks "So... what else did we do?" after Sonic's recounting, indicating that his mask of being a cold and ruthless loner may be cracking.
• When Sonic then goes on to tell Nine about all the adventures they’ve been on together and how greatly he values him as a friend, ^* (although at this point, Sonic believes Nine to be a very mixed-up Tails,) Nine is visibly happy◊ and smiling.◊
  • Afterward, Sonic makes a point of complimenting Nine's mechanical tails. It's likely this is the first time anyone has ever given Nine any praise for his unusual features, and the fox is clearly a bit unsure how to react to how easily and casually Sonic throws it out there.
    Sonic: I, uh, like them, by the way.
    Nine: Those ratty old sneakers? Obviously.
    Sonic: No, I-I mean- I always thought your extra tail was cool, but the metal ones? Man, you're amazing!
    Nine: ...Uh, sure...

The Yoke's On You

• Nine's uncaring façade cracks quite swiftly when Sonic is being 'tested' by Rusty Rose and the Chaos Council, and he calls out for him.
• A flashback shows Rouge sleeping upside down in a tree with her wings wrapped around her. She looks adorable.
• Just look at the sheer dismay◊ in Nine’s eyes when it looks like Sonic’s about to be killed by the Chaos Council’s energy extractor. It couldn’t be clearer that Nine has really come to care about the hedgehog and can't stand the thought of losing him.
• Right after Rebel Rouge swooped in, and Nine suddenly found himself free, it would’ve been an easy matter for the fox to simply get out and save his own hide, ^* (as he is later shown to do with Renegade Knucks and Rebel Rouge in Episode 6.) Instead, what’s the first thing he does? Slip over to the computer to free Sonic.

Escape From New Yoke

• Pay very close attention to the way Nine fights all throughout this episode. He doesn't lift a finger to help Rebel Rouge, Renegade Knucks, or Rusty Rose with any of the enemies they face. All his fighting is for the direct benefit of exactly two people: himself and Sonic. That blue hedgehog really left quite the impression on Nine!
• Sonic high-fives Nine at one point after he saves him from an enemy... and it's clear from Nine's delighted amazement that it's the first time anyone's ever high-fived him.
  Sonic: Thanks for the save! High-five!
  (Sonic high-fives Nine and leaves to do more fighting. Nine stares at his high-fived hand in clueless wonder.)
  Nine: High... five?
• When Sonic and Nine are separated from the others, who are also having to deal with Dr. Deep and his small army of robots, Rebel leans close to the door and insists that Sonic still tries to get to the shard.
• Sonic is determined not to actively hurt Dr. Babble on account of him being a baby and keeps to his word by disabling his machinery to stop him instead.

Unwelcome to the Jungle

• Sonic is unbelievably worried about Tails and Nine on arrival, and one of the first things he does is prevent Mangey Tails from falling off the edge of the platform.
  • Blink and you'll miss it, but Mangey Tails hides behind Sonic and clings to his legs while they're being hunted by the monster.

Barking Up The Wrong Tree

• When Sonic suggests to Thorn and the Scavengers they try talking about their feelings, most of the others present repeat, "Feelings" in confusion or disbelief, except Mangey Tails, who says it happily, with Puppy-Dog Eyes. D'aww...
• As tough as Thorn has become to protect the jungle, she's upset when her flickie is hurt when she's unable to fly high enough in the dense undergrowth and apologizes to her. She then encourages her to fly up through the gap in the canopy, at Sonic's suggestion, so she can fly like she's supposed to.
  • Followed by Sonic suggesting that Mangey Tails does the same thing, who gleefully takes to the skies.
• Throughout the episode, Sonic follows Amy's advice while trying to make peace between Thorn and the Scavengers, showing how much he cares about and values her.
  Sonic: She's a little corny.
  Thorn: I dunno. She sounds pretty great.
  Sonic: Yeah... You are.
• Thorn and Prim's heartfelt apology to one another for the misunderstanding. It even looks as if they're going to hug before they're interrupted.

Situation: Grim

• Before she abruptly overrides back to the Chaos Council's side, it's nice to see Rusty Rose shows a small smile when Knucks and Rebel manage to escape, showing that she still has some sense of compassion if her programming doesn't hold her back.
• Nine takes Sonic to an empty world in the Shattervese so they can build a new home together there. He's only known Sonic for the greater part of a day, yet Nine already trusts him enough to break his self-imposed solitude in order to spend time with him.
• Nine returning to New Yoke to help Sonic and the others, despite his initial reservations.

It Takes One to No Place

• While Batten, Black Rose, and Sails are initially a little antagonistic upon meeting Sonic, they're also very quick to get over it and become quite friendly to him. Especially since the two previous Shatterspaces had them being dismissive towards Sonic at best, or antagonistic at worst.
  • Of special note is Sails, as he suggests that they bring Sonic along in the first place, and later Black Rose for thinking highly enough of Sonic to dub him Captain.
• Seeing a version of Knuckles that appears to be so happy and carefree is really refreshing, even Sonic notes that he might be his favorite version of Knuckles so far.

There's No Arrgh In Team

• While Nine is mostly playing to the Eggmen's egos by telling them Sonic is too valuable to kill, it also shows that the fox still cares about Sonic, as he even scowls while the Eggmen laugh about how they're going to wring Sonic dry.
• Rusty's programming briefly shorts out when she sees Black Rose, and her cybernetic eye turns green for a split second upon the sight before she orders her Badinks to call off the attack.
• Sonic is still terrified of water, but he's willing to pull the Angel's Voyage because he's the only one who can. Luckily, his specialized shoes are designed to float on water.
• Sonic finds Sails cowering in a barrel when the Angel's Voyage is under attack and asks him if he has an invention on hand that could help with the current situation. He answers that he only has the one gadget we've already seen and his brain, which doesn't really help, but Sonic just smiles and tells him that he's beautiful.
  Sonic: Tell me you've got a gizmo.
  Sails: The only gizmo I need is me contraption, and me brains!
  Sonic: You're a beauty, you know that? Just a beauty.
• After getting ahold of the Blue Paradox Prism Shard, Dread gets knocked off the top of the mountain. Fortunately, Sonic is fast enough to catch the captain and save him just in the nick of time.

Season 2 Previews

• Shadow tries to make it blunt that none of the Shatterspace counterparts of Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Rouge or Big are actually real, but Sonic refuses to believe that, stating plain and simple that he sees Nine and all the others as real. It all goes to show how much he's bonded and connected to each of them over those past few days.
• Several heartwarming moments are shown during the threat on the lives of Sonic's Shatterspace friends; which happen to include the blue blur happily giving Nine a tight hug.

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Season 2

Avoid the Void

• Although Shadow attacks Sonic st the start and remains pretty antagonistic towards him the whole episode, he lets up and stops attacking him when he sees Sonic is actually broken up by what he's done.
• Despite the fact he and Shadow had been fighting immediately beforehand, Sonic ignores following the Chaos Council's ship when he sees Shadow in mortal danger. Sonic's clear panic for Shadow's wellbeing is touching, especially given last time Shadow fell in a similar way, he wasn't able to catch him. This time, he does.

Battle in the Boscage

• As the Chaos Council's forces begin overwhelming Sonic and Thorn, the other Scavengers finally step in to help.
  Thorn Rose: Change of heart?
  Prim Rouge: It's our home, and I'm ready to fight for it.
  All, one after another: FOR BOSCAGE MAZE!

No Way Out

• While they'd already shown off great teamwork during their Body-Count Competition, Black Rose and Rusty Rose cement their bond with a heart-to-heart as they realize how alike they really are.
  Black Rose: Ya okay?
  Rusty Rose: No one has ever asked if I was okay. I am to be treated as a tool, not a...
  Black Rose: Friend? I know the feelin'. All I do is follow The Dread's orders, and...where has that led me?
• Even after they've turned on him, chased him down, and tried to shoot him to Swiss Cheese, Sonic refuses to leave the pirates to the Chaos Council. At one point, while fighting Dread over a Paradox Prism shard, Sonic sees Black Rose struggling against Dr. Deep and ditches the shard to go help her. This, combined with Dread abandoning all of them in favor of his treasure, puts Sonic back on the pirates' good side later in the series.

Double Trouble

• Sonic hugging Nine upon reuniting with him in-person. And while that's happening, we have this short but emotional conversation:
  Sonic: We did it! (runs up to Nine and hugs him, spinning around) Oh, sorry. (lets go of Nine) I, uh... I know you're not really a hugger.
  Nine: No... I'm sorry. (looks down in sadness) The Chaos Council used me. I didn't...
  Sonic: (puts his arm onto Nine's shoulder) Hey, I never doubted you for a second. And that proves why. Only a true friend could pull off a save like that.
  Nine: (smiles) Friend? We're friends?
  Sonic: You bet we are!
• Also, Sonic high-fiving Nine shortly after the hug.◊

Season 3

Grim Tidings

• Although he maintains his serious and direct personality, Shadow shows his loyalty towards Sonic quite a lot in this episode.
  • As the two of them race to escape the destabilizing Ghost Hill, Shadow actively assists Sonic when he needs it, throwing him out of danger and giving him boosts.
  • Sonic briefly stops to watch his friends' ghost projections one last time and thinks there's still a chance, but Shadow stops and consoles him, attempting to appeal to his desire to make things right.
    Shadow: No! They can't be saved. Think about your real friends— the ones who still have a chance. If you want to help them, we need to get out of here.
  • Shadow protects Sonic at all times, pushing him out of the path of a shard about to collide with the one he was standing on (though he does tell Sonic not to get used to it afterwards). He also looks out for and guards him while they fight against Nine's robots.
  • When Sonic and Shadow first encounter a robot similar to both of them, Sonic reminds Nine that he already fought one before in New Yoke City. Nine reproaches him that he saved him that time, but that now he is on his own. What does the strongest rival that Sonic has ever had say?
    Shadow: He's not on his own.
  • As soon as he figures out that Nine wanted Sonic's Prism energy, Shadow informs Sonic about it and even goes as far as to throw Sonic out of The Grim to keep him safe, leaving himself to fight Nine's robots alone.
    Shadow: This is for your own good!

Dome Sweet Dome

• In this episode, we see the bonds that Sonic has created with the versions of his friends from different worlds, and the bonds that these versions have created between themselves.
  • When Nine says that Sonic is alone, the friends he has made along his journey appear to help him.
    Sonic: What was that about me being all alone?
  • We see how Rusty Rose extends her arm between The Chaos Council and Black Rose, protecting her friend.
  • After Sonic charges the ship with his energy, he is very exhausted, but Mangey and Gnarly help him.
  • Rebel and Prim have apparently become very close, working together giving orders and about to confront Nine's robots before the shield activates.

Home Sick Home

• Rusty Rose, Thorn Rose, and Black Rose have become very close as they get to know each other throughout the series. They both make a good team, they become good friends, to the point that they don't see each other as friends, but as sisters. After Thorn saves Rusty and Black from falling, the three share a touching moment
  Rusty Rose: Thank you, Thorn. We owe you our lives.
  Thorn Rose: You would do the same for me... sisters.
  Rusty Rose: Sister? I have never had a sister.
  Black Rose: Now you got two.

From The Top

• Sonic gives a sincere apology to Nine, which ultimately leads to the two boys reconciling.
• While their ship is speeding towards the portal leading to the reformed Green Hill, Thorn Rose stays with Sonic and holds his hand as he's fading away, having sacrificed his Prism energy to restore the Shatterverse. A sign of her Character Development, as while the other Roses take up practical roles on the ship (Rusty manning the cannon and Black steering), she's taken Sonic's words about Prime Amy to heart and become the emotional support.
• The ship doesn't make it all the way to the portal, and left with no other options, Shadow takes it upon himself to get Sonic back to Green Hill, running across shards at top speed— to the point of breaking the sound barrier— out of sheer determination to save his rival before he fades away completely. As distant and violent as Shadow can be towards Sonic, he's proven that when push comes to shove, he does care about him... even if he doesn't like showing it.
  Shadow: Hang on, Sonic!
• After returning to Green Hill, Sonic is overjoyed to see his best friends again, having gone through an emotional rollercoaster since his time in the Shatterverse. He makes sure to enjoy every second of his reunion as time is slowed to a crawl, even hugging Dr. Eggman's robot mech when he goes for the Prism aftertime restarts.
  Sonic: Knuckles! [Fist bumps]
  Sonic: Fly high, Rouge!
  Sonic: Nobody protects nature better than you, sweet Amy.
  Sonic: [To Tails] Hi buddy. I can't tell you how much I missed you. Or how much I can't wait to hear you say "SONIC WAIT!" in less than 20 seconds.
  Sonic: I'm just happy to see everyone. Even you, Eggy.
  • All his "greetings" are heartwarming: he sincerely compliments Rouge's skills (an Anti-Hero the team typically has a rocky relationship with), is comfortable being affectionate with Amy as long as no-one's listening, but especially note his eyes and facial expressions towards Tails, which scream both regret (over what happened with Nine) and relief, before lightening things with a joke just like old times.

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