This story was highly inspired by "Claustrophobic" by merlinfrostG. This is a really good story! I recommend it to all Triple S fans!
This IS a dark story, containing graphic abuse, blood/gore, swearing, rape, character death and suicide. As such, this is an M-rated story!
This first chapter isn't too bad…but it kicks off next chapter.
Now, I have to give credit where credit is due. Sonic's backstory is mostly not mine. Half belongs to merlinfrostG but another half comes from Steel Fairy's story "Forgotten Memories".
Shadow's backstory is almost identical to that in SA2 and Shadow the Hedgehog. SEGA owns that.
Silver's backstory is mostly mine but does involve some elements from both Sonic 06 and the comics, both again owned by SEGA and SEGA of America (and Archie Comics of course).
Please don't flame! I'm new to M-rated writing so please leave constructive criticism only. Thanks in advance and please enjoy!
XO
~ 5 years ago ~
"I want a hot chocolate! Please, Shadow? Please?"
Shadow only rolled his eyes as he heard a young voice demand the hot beverage. His silence caused an irritating whine to come from at his side. Dealing with a 9 year old kid called Silver was hard work. The poor kid had been left alone by his uncle because of his overpowered psychic abilities, but the child had adapted surprisingly well. He guessed it hadn't really affected him much due to his young age and how sudden it was. If it was done over a period of years, he probably wouldn't have trusted Shadow when he had taken him in a few months previously.
"When we get home, Silver, I'll make us some. It's bloody freezing." Shadow replied to the kid's comment as he crossed his arms and pouted. It was mid-winter and close to Christmas. Snow was falling from the grey sky, scattering snowflakes on the concrete streets of Metropolis, though it wasn't actually settling properly. Silver had bounded ahead. He disappeared in the fog because the visibility was really bad. "Silver! Don't run off like that!" He rushed off after the psychic, swearing under his breath, only stopping when he saw the child on his knees a few feet in front of him with a blank expression, cradling something. It was another hedgehog boy, roughly the same age as Silver was, maybe slightly younger. He had azure coloured fur although his eye colour was a mystery due to them being firmly closed. Shadow didn't really understand why Silver was doing such a thing with such a child. It almost disgusted him. "Some street urchin…come on Silver, we best get home."
"No, Shadow!" Silver stared up at him and the elder saw tears filling up in his amber eyes. "W-We can't just leave him here."
"I already have one kid to look after, two is pushing it." His voice was a nasty snarl.
"Please…?" He pleaded, eyes large.
"Enough with the puppy-dog eyes Silv. A no is a no."
Silver's eyes caught something. He picked up a small piece of cardboard with a message written in black marker.
No parents. No home. Please help me…
Shadow had seen the cardboard in the child's hand and snatched it, freezing as he read the messy lettering.
"He's…an orphan…?"
"Told you we can't leave him here." He saw conflict in Shadow's crimson gaze before he settled on a decision and knelt beside the unconscious hedgehog, assessing him. He had no visible wounds but he was frozen solid, breathing forced and raspy as his body faintly trembled from the cold. Silver could almost see Shadow's heart melt.
"…Alright…we'll take him home with us." It was at that moment the child stirred, eyes flickering open as he violently coughed. They were a vibrant emerald. Shadow just shushed him. He looked up and shook as he saw, to him at least, a scary stranger. "It's alright. We've got you. I won't hurt you." He got a confused glance. "I'm Shadow. The tyke over there is Silver. What's your name?"
There is a period of pure silence before the child found the strength to speak.
"…S-Sonic…"
XO
~ Present ~
"Breakfast's up you two!" Shadow called up the stairs. Silver was down first. He was 14 now and was an albino hedgehog with bright topaz-coloured eyes as well as a wacky quill style. Sonic followed. He was usually a lively and over-confident 13 year old with blue fur and green eyes, though his tired look contrasted his usual demeanour. Silver looked up at him, initially oblivious.
"Usually you beat me down the stairs."
"Funny." He punched Silver on the arm, though it was pretty flimsy. Silver also noticed the lack of energy he seemed to have. When they entered the room, Shadow noticed straight off as well.
"You alright?"
"Yeah…just had a bit of a restless night. It's nothing." He sat down and began nibbling his pancakes. Looking at him, he did look pretty tired. It was pretty obvious when Sonic wasn't himself because he was usually full of boundless energy like he was on a permanent sugar buzz so for him to be floppy and tired was really unlike him. Of course, this sort of state had happened before, but not in a while. A couple of months at least. There were a set of "unwritten rules" when it came to Sonic. One of them was that he needed at least 8 hours sleep a night minimum. It was mainly due to his powers which demanded high energy reserves. Any less than that and his body's functions were highly limited because most of his remaining energy went straight down to his legs in case he went on a run. Sleep depravity could lead to fainting or even him being sick, which neither elder hedgehogs wanted.
"How come you didn't sleep well? Nightmares?" Shadow gently pushed as he and Silver sat down and also began eating. Sonic was the type of person who hated interrogation. It had to be done subtly and gently to avoid fear. Even after 5 years with the two hedgehogs, there were still sometimes tensions between them. Luckily, Sonic stopped munching for a split-second before faintly shrugging.
"Sort-of, yea'. Don't ask what they were about. I can't even remember." He just fakily smiled and continued eating, although his answer was only a small mumble. His eyes were betraying his feelings. They looked spooked and wary. Shadow and Silver only exchanged nervous glances. They were a little surprised and worried when Sonic stopped eating suddenly with still a half-full plate and ran upstairs, green in the face. Regardless of the fact that this was what sometimes happened, they followed to make sure he was alright. The sound of vomiting and coughing came from the bathroom. It wasn't locked. As soon as Silver slightly opened the door with his hand, a small shriek came. "D-Don't come in here…"
"Sorry." He meekly apologised. The door closed to and locked. Silver got a disapproving look from Shadow, who was leaning against the wall with one foot connected to it. Silver looked at him and rolled his eyes. "What?" He snapped.
"Give him some space. We'll find out what's happening in a bit." Silver nodded at this. They waited for a while until they knew Sonic was OK. The noises had died down and there was now an unnerving silence. Shadow pushed Silver aside and knocked. "You OK, Blue?"
No answer.
He knocked louder. "Blue!? Sonic!? Are you alright!?"
Still nothing.
"Help me get this door open." Shadow was trying to bust it down. Silver rolled his eyes and unlocked the door with his powers, earning in him sweat-dropping.
"You could have just asked."
"What…" He didn't get to finish the sentence (he was going to say "whatever") as he pushed open the door. His face quickly drained of colour. "O-Oh god…Sonic!" He rushed forward. Sonic was on the floor, unconscious by the looks of it. Shadow bundled the boy into his arms caringly and gently and looked him over. He felt cold yet his face was flushed red with some mild fever, which Shadow could instantly feel when he took off his glove and felt it with the back of his hand. He then picked him up and transported him into his own bedroom.
"I-I-Is he alright?" Silver stuttered, keeping his distance. Even though he was older by Sonic, it was only by a year and he was still technically a child himself. Shadow sighed and nodded, making Silver somewhat relax.
"I think he will be once he comes to. He must have slept really badly for this to happen. Barely at all." He sat on the edge of the bed. Almost on cue, a cough came from Sonic as he stirred, flinching as Shadow stroked his arm. "Y-You alright, Sonic?" A pair of misted emerald irises met his own eyes as a weak smile crossed his muzzle.
"H-Hey…"
"What happened!? W-We found you passed out." The alarm in Shadow's voice was enough to catch Sonic off-guard. Trying to remember just resulted in a blank.
"U-Uh…I…I don't…" Shadow figured he fainted. He shook his head.
"Doesn't matter. You need to catch up on some sleep, OK?" He tucked the duvet around Sonic's shoulders as he wiggled into a ball, only stirring to cough. Shadow only shushed him, smiling. "We'll come check on you in a bit, you little pincushion." He got a giggle from that statement. Shadow stood and ushered Silver out of the room, leaving the door slightly open. As they went downstairs, Shadow noticed Silver had a panicked look. "What's up with you?" He had his hands on his hips. "You read his mind, didn't you? You know what the nightmare was about…though I have told you NOT to do that. It's invading privacy."
"I only got a few fuzzy images, Shadow, it's no big deal but…" Silver refuted, despite him shaking. "…the dream…it was about us…us abandoning him…he must have gotten so scared he couldn't go back to sleep. He spent the whole night awake." Silver saw alarm filter into Shadow's usually-calm crimson irises as he bit his lip.
"He's really scared that's going to happen?"
"I don't know Shadow. Honestly, I don't. Considering we're not blood-related, he might think we might just do a permanent disappearing trick on him."
"Why would we do that?"
"Don't ask me. We're family; brothers even…even if you wanted nothing to do with him to begin with."
"Don't remind me. I regret feeling that way y'know! As soon as I found out he was an orphan, I…I guess I would have felt too guilty if I left him behind to die."
A knock came at the door, taking the two slightly by surprise. Silver answered it. Standing there was Blaze.
"Hi Silver."
"Oh, hi Blaze. What are you doing here?"
"Thought I'd pop in for a bit. Haven't seen you for a few days." She playfully gave him a little shove, although he only laughed.
"Oh ha-ha." He let her in. Shadow silently nodded a greeting.
"Where's Sonic?" Blaze asked, looking around. Usually he'd bound up to her but she hadn't heard him anywhere.
"He's not feeling too well so he's upstairs asleep. I'd keep your voice down." Shadow explained, gesturing upstairs with his head. Blaze nodded in understanding.
"O-Oh, I see…hope he gets better soon."
"It's probably one of those 1-day bugs he gets time to time." Silver suggested. "He'll probably be fine tomorrow."
"That reminds me…tomorrow Amy's got some "date" planned."
"Not again…" Silver sighed. "Why can't she understand that Sonic doesn't like her in that way?"
"Beats me. That chick is nuts."
"I second that." Shadow agreed.
"Well, I best be going. Thanks for having me." Blaze opened the front door and left. Silver face-palmed.
"Why is Amy such a weirdo?"
"It certainly is one of the greatest mysteries of our time." He headed into the kitchen to clean up. He eyed the uneaten pancakes. He sighed annoyingly and dumped them in the bin.
"Are you mad at something?"
"What gave you that idea?"
"Shadow, I've known you for quite some time now. I can tell when you're not happy. Just because he didn't eat the pancakes…"
"It's not that…"
"Sonic didn't do anything wrong."
"Why didn't he tell us? He could have easily told us about that dream…but why didn't he? Why does he not tell us things!?"
"Shadow…? Chill. He doesn't mean anything malicious by it. Probably thinks we're better off not knowing. He probably doesn't want to worry us."
"Hmph." Came a shrug until a sigh followed. "I…I guess you're right. Sorry if I came across as cruel then."
"Not the first time, not the last time."
"Gee, thanks." He then looked at Silver. "Haven't you got any homework to do or something?"
"Oh, come on! On a Sunday!?"
"Silver…don't make me bind you to the table all day until you've done it."
"Fine, fine…" He trooped upstairs.
"And no TV until it's done."
"Yes, dad!" Came a yell. Shadow groaned and began placing plates in the sink to be washed. A sudden scream made him almost drop one of the plates onto the floor as he jumped. Almost immediately, he rushed up the stairs. It came from Sonic's room. He ran in. The bed was vacant. The covers were half-off the bed. Shadow peeked around. Alarmed, he knelt down. Sonic was on the floor, badly shaking and whimpering, having fallen off the bed from the initial scream or from whatever caused it. His hands were over his ears and he was in a defensive ball, quills flexed outwards. He still had his baby quills, so they were quite blunt compared to his (Silver's hadn't shredded either). He was softly crying; eyes wild with terror.
"Hey, hey, it's alright." He stroked Sonic's back, pulling back when he violently flinched and screamed again. He noticed his eyes were fixed in place. "S-Sonic, it's only me. It's Shadow." That only panicked him more. He saw Silver was now in the doorway.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Beats me!"
"Let me." He pushed Shadow aside and managed to touch Sonic without him screaming. "Shush now…everything's alright…" He managed to pull Sonic up into a sitting position and wrapped his arms around him. "It's OK, Sonic. Just breathe." Sonic's panicked breathing slowly settled and he managed to re-establish a stable and deep rhythm. His eyes seemed to brighten. They looked up at Silver but as soon as he saw Shadow, he wiggled out of the hug and tried to build as much distance between him and the ebony hedgehog as possible, whimpering like a frightened animal. Silver scooted closer. "What's wrong, Sonic? Tell me, please. Was it another nightmare?" He was speaking softly. He could see in Sonic's eyes the conflict. Eventually, he sighed and began speaking, nodding.
"Y-Yeah…yeah it was…"
"Why are you afraid of me? Did something happen in your dream?" Shadow asked, kneeling also to appear less threatening. Sonic scrunched up in slight fear although he met Shadow's eye contact. As much as the elder wanted to hug him, the terror in the child told him the best thing to do was to keep distance for now. He noticed confusion in Sonic's tiny eyes.
"D-Do you hate me?"
Shadow wasn't sure how to respond. The question caught him off-guard.
"Where did you get that idea from? I don't hate you."
"Promise?"
"Of course." He saw Sonic wasn't convinced. He seemed unaware of what happened mere moments before. A realization struck Shadow like a bullet. "Sonic…did you blackout?"
"What?"
"A few minutes ago…you seemed unaware we were here…were you seeing things?"
"I…I don't know…and don't change the subject!" That told Shadow he had been too direct, too imposing. He hung back. "It doesn't matter because I know you hate me! You always have! Is that why you were originally going to leave me all those years ago!?"
"H-How did you…?"
"I head you downstairs…the dream itself wasn't too threatening…but hearing you say all those things…the dream I had last night seemed to be coming true…" He was beginning to shake. Silver placed his hand on Sonic's, meeting his gaze.
"I saw bits of that dream…do you want to tell us what it was all about? That way, we can understand where you're coming from." Sonic was silent for a moment before beginning to cry. Silver scooped him up into a cuddle.
"It was about you two." He began, sniffing. "It was all happy at first but then Shadow began shouting at me for no reason and walked out of the house. You told me off for being…for being a useless something-or-other…" That was his term for a swear word. "…and you followed…I waited but you never came back…y-y-you'd just left me…I…I felt so alone…and hurt…I never want to lose you two…I love you both…but I know you don't love me back because I'm an annoying egotistical brat." He broke down into sobs.
Both Shadow and Silver were stunned.
"Sonic…we would never leave you…not ever…no matter what…" Shadow was beginning to cry as well. "If I ever shout at you…I'm sorry…but I do love you. You're my little brother. Meeting you changed my life. I hated looking after Silver. I didn't know much of the world back then. Meeting you…changed my world." He hugged him, tears down his face. He felt guilt rise in him. All this because he overheard his rant. "I may be cold sometimes and I may be bossy…but I do love you with all my heart. And you're certainly not a brat." He knew Sonic got bullied at school…and now he was beginning to see the damage it was doing to the boy. He flicked his nose. "Trust me."
"Shadow's right." Silver nodded. "We all have our flaws. But you're our brother, Sonic…and we both love you."
"And I love you both…just promise me one thing."
"What's that?"
"Don't ever leave me." The three group-hugged.
"We would never." Silver promised. A small smile crossed Sonic's muzzle. He suddenly feel lax, causing Shadow and Silver to panic for a second before realizing he had fallen asleep again. Sighing, Shadow picked the boy up and placed him back on his bed, kissing his forehead as he re-organised the sheets. He even grabbed a worn-out teddy from under the bed and placed it under Sonic's limp arm.
"Sleep well, Blue. No more bad dreams."