The small, blue hedgehog shivered in the ally behind the big building. He was close to death, and there was no one to help him. For he was an orphan. The man walked up to the little ball of fur, and scooped him up. Sensing warmth, the hedgehog unrolled himself and looked up into the eyes of his savior gratefully.
The man was James Sega, and he had just bought the building to make his own game company, called Sega. He needed a mascot though, and this orphan hedgehog was perfect. He named the boy Sonic, after his ability to move faster than any other kid his age. Sonic grew quickly, and was in his first video game when he was twelve years old. And by that time, Sega HQ, as it was called, was home to over twenty different children. All were orphans, or children who were mistreated by their parents.
There was one boy who wasn't sure weather he was an orphan, or just lost. His name was Shadow. He was a hedgehog that looked a lot like Sonic, only his fur and quills were black and red, and he styled them differently. Shadow didn't talk very much, and mostly kept to himself. He had told the Sega staff that all he remembered was a blond girl named Maria. Shadow wanted to be in the army, or maybe run a gun store when he grew up.
One day in the dining area, fighting broke out.
Sonic and Shadow were arguing about who was the REAL fastest this ever, and Sonic was winning. Tikal, a young echidna girl was trying to calm them down, and failing.
"I'm fastest." Shadow said, simply.
"I'm fastestest!" Sonic argued.
"That's not even a real word!"
"I say it is, so it is!"
"I don't think you're fast at all! You're just faking to make yourself seem better than me! What a faker!" Shadow laughed
"Guys! Stop it! That's not even a real word, Shadow." Tikal said, still trying (and still failing) to calm the two boys down. But then, lunch was ready, so the boys, and a VERY relieved Tikal sat down to eat.
"You're still a faker, Faker." Shadow informed Sonic.
"Okay, but if you call me that, I get to call you Shads. 'Kay?" Sonic said.
"No!"
Tikal sighed. The two hedgehogs obviously would never really get along, she supposed. I hope that they at least learn to not spend every hour of the day fighting.