My second fic, this one is an AU, I'm not sure if it will have any continuity. I might end up creating my own, law to it's self, universe, or just chopping and changing however I like. I let you know when I figure it out. Back to Hedgehog Pie, name will make sense, honest promises! Take sonic whatever age you like though at the moment I'm thinking 11-15. whatever floats your boat. As you will see, mobians and humans don't live in harmony with one another. They even speak different languages. Though you, dear reader, can understand both. Without further ado-

Disclaimer: (other than this ado...) I do not own Sonic The Hedgehog, he be all SEGA.

Each breath caught in his chest. Light was fading. Aside from celestial shimmers, the only light was harsh and artificial. He ran with short sharp movements. Short sharp breaths. Shouting. He could hear shouting.

"Gasp!" The cold was making his overworked lungs hurt. Desperation making each second fly past far quicker than it normally did. He couldn't keep up with his own thoughts. Nor the stress. But he couldn't let up now. He'd stuck it this far out. Oh, how he wished he could say 'not when I'm so close to home!'

"Gasp!" Not that he had a home per say. But whatever home was, he was no where near close. He just needed some safety. Somewhere to rest. Away from the shots, the shouts. He'd have to work to get there. "Gaah!" He stumbled for a moment. Risked a glance at his right leg. Blood. Fabulous. That was going to slow him up, ' I ought to pay more attention' . Not that paying attention was easy given the circumstances...

"Gasp!" Boy did it hurt to breath! How can something so natural be such a pain? And another thing...

Splash

"Gaaauuuugh!" Where did that come from? 'Urgh, that didn't feel good. Probably wasn't clean either. Not the best thing for an open wound. Ha. At least it wasn't a river.' Thoughts were a distraction at this point. He should have thought of that.

A shot startled the poor boy. A flick of the ear. A jerk of the head. A twist of the ankle. Down he went. He stuttered forward at such an angle that he soon found himself using both feet and hands to manoeuvre through the forests green carpet. On reflection, running around the undergrowth like a feral dented in his ego. But this was the here and now. Here and now, as long as he didn't get caught, he didn't care.

"Gasp!" Nobody wanted to get caught. There were few facts. There was plenty of speculation. Put on display. Observed 24/7. Cut up in the name of science. Work on a farm. Farmed. Trapped in houses. Sold in shops. Skinned or shaved. Hunted for fun. And his greatest fear- some rich humans fancy snack. He ran faster.

"Gasp!" Of course nobody knew for sure. The horror stories were enough to put any mobian off. Especially children. Humans kids had the bogey monster. Mobians kits had Henry the VIII. He'd been told those tales. Memories of the nightmares about humans he'd had when he was little, fuelled his exhausted body to continue. He figured that he'd be having them again for the next few weeks. Provided they didn't become a reality before then. 'Then again pies don't dream right?'

The glare of flash lights scoured mist. For him. Looking for him. Searching for him. Hunting him. The light flickered back and forth. 'Stupid humans. Can't even hold a torch straight. They're giving me a head ache.' His sore head grumbled. The humans were not letting up.

"Gotcha'!" And were apparently closer than he thought. He let out a high pitched squeal. A natural reaction. The hand had missed. Barely. He only saw a flash of human. He did hear the rustle of undergrowth.

He tumbled forwards. Tripped. Forwards rolled. Straight into the middle of a "Road?" Water droplets had formed on the tarmac. They collected on the underside of is tail. He blinked a few times. Knocked the edges of his shoes together a few times. Hands patting the damp ground his butt had unceremoniously parked it's self on. "Huh! A road. Where were you when I needed you eh?" He was so busy talking to the inanimate solid mass beneath his slight form that he forgot about the hunting party after his hide.

Until they poured onto the road a few meters behind. 'Get up you idiot! What, d'ya hit your head on the way down?'' He jerked himself upright and sprinted down the road. Humans hot on his heels. He risked a glance over his narrow shoulder. 'Huh? They were so close... why'd they slow up?' An eyebrow rose in confusion. 'Surely they can't have given up so-' "Guagh my eyes!" A blinding light. Or two. It happened too fast to tell. He stepped back a few paces. It 'cawed' in warning. Real loud.

He dove off to his right. It swerved the other way. Not that a human would mind if he joined the road kill club. They probably just got a fright. Or didn't want to damage their metal wagon.

On his way off road, the earth under his foot disappeared. Now unbalanced with one knee submerged in earth, the ground crumbling, he dropped. His stomach flopped. Like a short and not fun roller-coaster ride. Then it got more hectic.

Knees made contact with something curved and solid. Torso propelled forwards. The world a blur.

CRACK

That hurt. The "OW!" died in his throat. The world spun. He reeled back. Slipped further down to a now almost horizontal position. Each time he blinked it became harder to heave his lids up again. He could still see the beams of artificial light flailing around in search of him well above his head. The calls of humans still loud yet fuzzy, if that was even possible for sound. He didn't have the strength nor time to debate. His eye sight filled with multicoloured furry caterpillars till the black edges of his vision drowned them.

YEY! Not a massive chapter. I have a few in the works for this and lots of ideas! Feel like my tense is weird, but... yeah... trying out a few new techniques (sentence length for one). I hope there is enough intrigue to make you come back for more whilst not being too complicated (boring you to death in the process). Reviews (especially those including constructive criticism) are welcome and thanks for reading!

Bletherskite