Frost: HEY EVERYONE! This is just a one shot story I came up with at the end of last year. It happened when I was writing the one shot about Dark Sonic and I wanted to expand upon the head cannon I had created. Thus this story was born. Basically in my head cannon Dark Sonic and Sonic are two separate beings with Dark not being evil, just confused. He manifested when Sonic was a small abused child and was made up from his negative emotions and memories meaning that the only thing he really knew was violence and anger. This is why he acts the way he does and also because he manifested when Sonic was a child, he has a child mentality. As a child, our perception of right and wrong is had hard to distinguish from each other which means Dark doesn't understand that what he does is wrong, he thinks its right because he's doing it to protect Sonic. He doesn't understand that they way he's going about protecting Sonic is wrong. Anyway I won't say anymore, you'll have to read and find out what happens next so enjoy everyone!

Cay: Frost doesn't own Sonic, Sega does. please review and have a pleasant day

Frost: And HAPPY NEW YEAR!

When Dark first manifested, Sonic was only four years old. The cub, who was small even for his age was friendless, alone and unwanted in the world. His father hated him; mother didn't even acknowledge his presence and the children of his school were merciless in their torturous teasing. On the day that Dark was born, it had been raining, the first cool winds of winter blowing in from the south and washing over Christmas Island. On that day, Sonic's uncle had come to visit and, following by example from the boy's father, had proceeded to beat the poor cub senseless. The child had called out to his mother, but the woman had just seemed to stare right through him before walking from the room. There had been no point in calling for his father seeing how the man was cheering the boy's uncle on, so Sonic had resigned himself to his fate. It was later, when he was sobbing in his room that Dark finally appeared.

Before then, the menacing looking alter ego had been merely a shade of negative emotions bubbling up inside of the cub, festering into what he had now become. The being had stood there before the crying child, pure glowing white eyes filled with confusion as to both how he had acquired a body of his own, and why his previous host and vessel was crying. When Sonic had looked up and made eye contact however, a link formed between the two and suddenly Dark remembered. He'd smiled had his mirror image, promising he would return before vanishing. He wouldn't return for two hours but when he did he and Sonic quickly formed a bond. Dark vowed to protect the boy who in turn vowed to be the former shades friend. Sonic would never know that in that two hour period Dark had sought out the boy's uncle, finding him sleeping alone in his house where the phantom like creature proceeded to slit the man's throat.

For you see, Dark didn't understand the difference between wrong and right. Because he manifested when Sonic was just a child his understanding between the two were blurred and hard to distinguish. To him, as long as what he was doing was protecting Sonic, it wasn't wrong. That combined with the fact that he'd been born from all of Sonic's negative emotions and memories meant that he only knew how to solve things through violence. Sonic wouldn't discover this until three years later.

The seven year old had been eating his lunch while the other school children played. Dark was resting within his soul at the time seeing how they both agreed to keep him secret from everyone else. But then three older boys had walked over and started to tease Sonic. It started out harmless before escalating to a more violent level where punches were thrown. Dark didn't see young children just being unjustly cruel and mean, he saw a threat to Sonic's life. He ripped himself free from his host and vessel and attacked the three boys. He would have killed them if Sonic hadn't pulled on the link between them, calling Dark back inside himself. But the damage was done and suddenly Sonic was no longer wanted on Christmas Island. The boy just accepted his fate, packing all he could so he could leave. As he prepared to leave he also locked Dark away inside his soul to never be seen again.

Dark was left feeling betrayed and hurt, not understanding what he did wrong. All he could think was that Sonic had promised to be his friend, and now he was locking him away. Through determination Dark managed to take control of Sonic's body, trapping the boy within his own soul. Now that he had control Dark went back to the town, fully intent on exterminating the whole town. He would have succeeded if once again at the last minute though his own willpower, Sonic held back their true power and locked Dark back inside his soul. He didn't stay to try and explain himself to the towns people, he just fled to the main land hoping the live a normal life. But then Eggman appeared, thus setting Sonic on his destined course, all while Dark lay within his soul festering away. The shade grew bitter and hateful to Sonic, wishing death upon his once best friend. It would be years later, when Sonic was fifteen that Dark would finally be released for it seemed that over the years Dark slowly gathered energy, storing it away inside himself so that one day he could manifest his own body once more.

And that is when our story comes to the present, a war between a hurt and violent being wishing to destroy everything, a being that was really just a hurting child at heart.

(-)

"Where is he?" Shadow asked into his wrist com, crouching in an alleyway of Station Square that had been turned into a war zone over night. The city had been evacuated but there were still some people trapped within the city centre that needed to be rescued, all while a homicidal hedgehog laid waste to all in his path.

"Due East of your location, destroying some of the business district by the looks of things." Rouge's voice came through. Shadow couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Never in a millions years did the ebony creation think that something that came from the faker would prove a challenge for him, let alone frighten him to some extent. But this 'Dark Sonic' did frighten him some. When the monster had first escaped from Sonic's soul Shadow had been one of the first to try and stop the crazed hedgehog. The end result had left him with three broken ribs and a badly dislocated shoulder and that was lucky. Ten G.U.N soldiers had been killed while Knuckles and Rouge where now grounded. The echidna had a bad concussion as well as a shattered knee cap while Rouge had thankfully escaped with only a broken right wing.

Shadow quickly scanned his surroundings, still wary and not keen on bumping into the insane hedgehog before rocketing off towards the city centre where the trapped civilians were. As he ran Shadow's thoughts strayed to Sonic who was at the centre of all of this. The young hero had tried reasoning with Dark when he first appeared but the alter ego of the hero had nit listened, instead trying to kill the blue hedgehog. Since then Sonic had stayed at the underground base with Knuckles, Rouge and Tails while everyone else did recon-missions as well as attacks to try and stop the destruction. Shadow and the others had tried to get Sonic to talk about Dark who he obviously knew but the teen wouldn't utter a single word about the other hedgehog. Whenever he was brought up Sonic would shut down, refuse to look at anyone and would end up leaving in the middle of the conversation without a word.

From what Tails had managed to both dragged out of his brother and from research they knew the dark entity was born from Sonic's negative emotions and memories which left Shadow and everyone else wondering what the young hero had gone through for such a violent creature to be created. This didn't really held them much though because it seemed that Dark was much stronger than Sonic was and from gathering up some of Sonic's own chaos energy over the years was also able to use some chaos powers.

"Shadow, come in Shadow." Rouge's voice suddenly sounded from his wrist making the ebony hedgehog jump and come to a stop in his skating.

"I hear you Rouge, what's up?" Shadow asked impatiently. He just wanted to get in, rescue the people and get out.

"He's heading your way! Get out of there now!" Rouge screamed. For a brief moment Shadow was left dumbfounded as his mind struggled to comprehend what Rouge had just told him. When it did finally dawn on him the ebony male was quick to duck into another alleyway and hide behind some dumpsters. He peeked out, waiting and watching for the evil and oppressive feeling that came just before Dark himself showed up. Shadow didn't have to wait long, only about thirty seconds before the hedgehog appeared, hovering just above the road. The quills were upturned like Sonic's would be if he were super, yet instead of the beautiful golden colour of his super form, this hedgehog's fur was coal black with a purplish aura surrounding him. His eyes had no pupils and were just a pure glowing white while a constant sneer or sickening grin was always plastered across a slightly tanned muzzle.

"Come out, come out wherever you are." Dark sang out, turning quickly towards the alleyway. Shadow gasped and ducked back behind it, holding his breathe and hoping for the best. Dark's pure while eyes narrowed before he looked away, an almost childish pout appearing on his face. "We only want to play."

Shadow refrained from scoffing but also frowned. It was strange that although Dark had separated himself from Sonic and seemed to hate the blue hero, he still kept referring to himself as 'we' or 'us' as if he and Sonic were still connected. With a sigh Shadow risked a glance, sagging when he saw no sign of the manic hedgehog. The relieved thoughts quickly left his mind when a hand clamped itself around his neck, jerking his face towards that of the hands owner.

"Found you." Dark said with a giggle before throwing Shadow out on the street with super human strength. The Ultimate Life form skidded across the pavement before slamming into the wall of a building, cracks quickly forming and running up it as Shadow slumped to the floor with a groan.

"Well this is interesting." Dark commented as Shadow slowly staggered to his feet. The demonic creature was now standing on the ground just a few meters away from Shadow, innocent curiosity gleaming within his soulless eyes. "The last time we saw you Shadow, you couldn't even stand up."

Shadow glowered angrily, quills rising with his anger. Dark watched, his smile never leaving his face as sharp fangs peek out from under his lips. He gave another childish giggle before clapping his hands in front of his face. "This should be fun. After all, we still need to teach you a lesson."

"A lesson for what?" Shadow snapped, watching as the smile melted off the others face to be replaced by a hateful glare.

"For hurting us." Dark hissed before lunching himself at Shadow with a roar. Shadow grunted as his back slammed into the brick wall, quills bending at odd angles. He flinched slightly in pain as he felt Dark's claws tearing into his arms before he lifted his legs, ploughing them into the smaller male's chest and sending him flying. Not wanting to give Dark the chance to recover Shadow charged, sending a wave of chaos spears before delivering a second kick only this time it was aimed for the other's head. Dark screamed in fury, blinking away from sight before appearing again right in Shadow's face so as to give the ebony male a powerful upper cut. Shadow felt his teeth clash together violently while his skull seemed to ring and shudder only to yelp when Dark chaos control above him and kicked him back down to the pavement. Shadow lay there, breathing unevenly as his broken ribs screamed in agony. He could feel a small trail of blood seeping past his lips as well as feel his right shoulder slipping out of its socket. Slightly hazy red eyes glanced up to see Dark standing before him, the smile once more plastered to his muzzle.

"You're always so much fun to play with Shadow, but even you won't be able to stop us." Dark chuckled, kicking Shadow in his stomach as he talked. The ebony hedgehog snarled with rage, swinging his leg out and knocking Dark's own two feet out from under him. The coal black hedgehog yelped before hissing in rage as Shadow grabbed his left leg and swung him into a nearby car. Metal groaned and bent under the force of impact while windows shattered into millions of pieces.

"I wouldn't be so cocky Faker." Shadow huffed, wincing as the acting made his broken ribs jerk painfully. But Dark just laughed from where he lay within the crumpled mess that was once a car. Shadow tried not to show the fear that was starting to build within his soul as he watched the crazed hedgehog slowly sit up, those pure white eyes seeming to stare straight through him.

"You're a fool Shadow, you can't win. No matter how hard you try this will only end one way." Dark sighed before blinking away and appearing right before Shadow, a vicious smile on his face. "With your blood spilt onto the pavement."

Shadow screamed as Dark delivered punch after punch at lightning speed. He felt one of his broken ribs puncture his left lung while at the same time his collar bone cracked under a particularly hard punch. After what felt like hours but was merely only a minute, Shadow lay crumpled on the ground bruised and bloodied. He didn't have the strength to defend himself as he watched Dark charge up a sphere of pulsing dark energy. He just closed his eyes ready to see Maria again.

"Don't you dare!" A voice shouted just before a foot connected with Dark's side sending him flying away from Shadow. Shadow blinked up at his saviour, feeling horror fill him when he saw Rouge, Knuckles, Silver, Blaze, Tails and Amy standing there. The fools were going to get themselves killed! It seemed Dark knew this too for he started laughing.

"I can't believe you're all so stupid!" He cried with utter glee. "Do you really think that your combined efforts will stop us?"

"We'll never know until we try." Blaze growled while Rouge kneeled down before Shadow, eyes alight with worry.

"You shouldn't have come." He gasped out.

"We're your friends Shadow, it's what friends do. We weren't just going to leave you to this monster." Rouge said firmly. Shadow couldn't help but glance at her left wing that was bandaged and had a splint on it. She wouldn't last a minute against Dark in her condition, yet somehow Shadow had a feeling Rouge knew this and didn't care. All she wanted to do was help her friend, she didn't care what happened to her in the process.

"Isn't that sweet? You two should get married." Dark taunted as he gazed down at them from his sudden floating position, about five meters off the ground.

"You better stop what you're doing." Silver warned earning a huff of amusement from the demonic hedgehog.

"Or what?"

"Or we'll have to stop you." Blaze said. Dark sniggered before seeming to roll his eyes, a mocking sigh escaping his mouth.

"I was hoping we would get to play with you all a little longer, but I guess we'll just have to kill you all in one go." He grinned, voice climbing in pitch towards the end as if a young child was speaking over the top of Dark's teenaged voice. Before anyone could blink he lifted his right hand and shot a beam of negative chaos energy at them, laughing as they scrambled to get out of the way. The next few minutes were a blur of colours, attacks and screams of pain. It seemed that no matter what they threw at Dark, the insane hedgehog just wouldn't be brought down. He laughed the entire time, firing beams of energy at them or using chaos control to appear right in their faces to deliver a powerful hit. After just five minutes all of them were lying on the ground, bruised beyond recognition as Dark stood over them.

"You can't stop us! We are stronger than all of you and we'll teach you not to hurt us!" Dark yelled, holding his hand out towards them. They all watched, eyes wide with fear as their end drew closer.

"PLEASE STOP DARK!"

Everyone froze as the voice echoed down the street. Dark tensed, eyes glancing to the side where Sonic stood, his eyes filled with terror but also determination. The Blue Blur took a deep breath and stepped closer to his alter ego, a small gentle smile gracing his face. "Please Dark, enough."

"How dare you, how dare you come here and think you can tell us what to do!" Dark screamed, turning to face Sonic fully. "You locked us away, you betrayed us! This is all your fault!"

Sonic jerked back, a slightly hurt expression on his face before he gave a sad sigh. "Dark, I'm sorry about what happened all those years ago. I shouldn't have tried to shut you away, shouldn't have tried to forget you. I was just scared, scared because you hurt those people which you shouldn't have done. I know they hurt me, but violence isn't the answer, killing isn't the answer. How can we stop bloodshed if we use violence and force as well?"

Dark stood there, face expressionless as he stared Sonic down. The Blue teen took another deep breathe before continuing. "I also locked you away because…I was scared for you Dark. Those people, they wanted to hurt you and despite what you did, I couldn't let them hurt you. I thought it would be better me than you. But please, stop this fighting, stop hurting these people. You don't need to be afraid anymore."

And suddenly Sonic held his hand out towards Dark, the smile back on his face. Dark stared at the hand for a long moment, looking conflicted before he gave a sneer.

"You're a LIER! YOU HATE ME, HATE US ESPECIALLY NOW AFTER ALL THAT WE'VE DONE! I KILL YOU!" Dark yelled charging up a beam of negative chaos energy. He was prepared for Sonic to run away, to stand and fight or maybe even just stand there and take the blow. He wasn't prepared to feel arms wrap around him in a strong hug. Dark froze as Sonic clung to him, face buried in his shoulder.

"I never hated you Dark, you were my very best friend and still are. You don't need to fight this war you've created on your own anymore. It's okay now… Maurice, you don't need to protect me anymore. It's my turn now to take care of you." Sonic whispered to Dark…no, to Maurice. Because that's who Dark was, he was who Sonic had been as a beaten abused child, he was Maurice.

Maurice felt his arms drop to his side, face softening as he felt the comforting presence of his friend beside him. But he didn't want to let it go, he didn't want Sonic to forgive him because he didn't deserve his forgiveness. He'd just attacked his friends, tried to kill Sonic and had killed so many people already. He'd made the Blue teen suffer so much, he didn't deserve his forgiveness or kindness.

"Its' okay now Maurice, you can let go. You've been through a lot and I know you're tired." Sonic soothed, squeezing Maurice tighter. The coal black hedgehog gritted his teeth, eyes screwing up before the dame burst and he dissolved into heartbreaking sobs, arms flying up to wrap around Sonic in a returning hug.

"W-we're sorry S-S-Sonic, we're…s-so sorry! We d-d-didn't m-mean it, we…j-just w-wanted to…to p-protect you. We didn't k-know it w-w-was bad." Maurice sobbed, clutching at his friend desperately. Sonic just smiled as tears of his own gathered, rubbing soothing circles onto Maurice's back. "W-we didn't w-w-want to…h-hurt you. We…we w-were just s-so angry. W-we're sorry."

"It's okay now Maurice, I understand and I'm sorry too. But you don't need to be alone anymore, I promised I would always be your friend, and I'm stick to that promise." Sonic said which just caused Maurice to sob harder. Sonic looked over Maurice's shoulder to his friends who were watching the scene in both shock and sympathy. He smiled at them, glade that they didn't seem to hate Maurice for what he'd done either.

And they all stood there, Sonic holding onto Maurice as he cried while his friends watched on as the once crazed hedgehog that had wished their deaths broke down and apologised over and over again. When Sonic had appeared they thought they were going to see his death. Instead they had seen both a touching and heartbreaking reunion between friends and brothers. In that moment they all vowed the held Sonic repair the damage done to Maurice, to help the broken hedgehog heal from his wounds that had festered over the years.

(One year later)

Cream laughed as she, Tails and Sonic hide in the bushes, watching as a dark figure floated lazily around trying to find them. Tails smiled at the girl, holding a finger to his lips as he fought to contain his own laughter while Sonic just smiled happily. The silence was broken when a water balloon suddenly shot through the bush and burst on Sonic's face causing the hedgehog to give a startled cry that turned into pitiful splutters. Cream and Tails screamed in delight, running from the bushes while Sonic just sat there looking stunned. He could see Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow, Silver and Blaze off to the side laughing at his misfortune which had him scowling.

"We got you good." A childish voice snickered causing Sonic to turn and looked up at his assailant. Maurice floated above the bushes, shoulders shaking with silent laughter. His eyes that were normally pure white were green however, matching Sonic's own. The young hero smiled at this because he knew Maurice's eyes only went green when he was really happy. Things had changed a lot over the last year and only for the better.

Station Square was repaired and a bustling sea of activity once more and all of Sonic's friends had healed from their injuries. Maurice had also been fully accepted into the dysfunctional family and while it had been tense and rough at first, everyone soon warmed up to him. Sonic and Maurice had also told everyone how Maurice came into being which meant revealing Sonic's childhood. He'd been wary and nervous about telling the story but Maurice had supported him through and his friends while horrified were completely accepting and didn't try to treat him differently. The story helped them accept Maurice however which was the main reason for it and now everyone got to see him for what he truly was, a fun loving child. Maurice still refused to stop referring to himself as 'we' or 'us' but it didn't really bother anyone. He was also getting better at distinguishing the differences between right and wrong which was a huge milestone for him. All in all the last year had been fantastic for Sonic and his alter ego and they hoped the next year would be just as good.

"You may have gotten me this time but remember, we share a room." Sonic winked before dashing off leaving Maurice to drop out of the air in shock before a pout formed on his face.

"No fair! You can't just say something like that and leave! Get back here!" Maurice yelled chasing after his brother all while the others smiled and watched as the pair had fun. Yes, they hoped the next year would be just as good.

Frost: And there we have it. Hope you all enjoyed that. If you have any questions feel free to PM me. I actually really wanted to make this a comic but I suck at drawing so I settled on a written version instead. Didn't stop me from drawing a cover though which I'll be posting tomorrow for those of you who read this before I attach it. ANYWAYS, hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year and hope you all have a great rest of the year as well.

Caedmon: Please review, it makes Frost happy

Frost: For now then, Au Revoir