I own nothing Sonic related.
Chapter 2
Sonic felt his throat clench to suppress the urge to groan; he has tried to get away but the group he saved just keep on shuffling about. Not knowing where he was on the island the hero began to sign autographs and shake some hands just to appease them. They were inhabitants here and he needed their guidance to the nearest town. He could just use his super speed, however this would cause high winds and a loud bursting sound and the hedgehog had no desire to upset anyone. He was able to ask for a mechanic but to his disappointment there was none on the island.
After about an HOUR (less but the blue blur is impatient) the group had finally decided that Sonic should be allowed into town.
The blue hedgehog walked in the center of an army, as he would describe it, of unnecessarily rabid fans like any other rabid fan he had met. Soon even more people came and demanded his attention. The hedgehog had just about enough of this. He leaped over the crowd and flipped himself onto a lamppost. Everyone huddled around it begging for another autograph or clapping for the impressive acrobats.
The hero only rubbed under his nose; if there were an itch there he would have been rid of it with that move. In the distance he saw a fox; a golden fox in the background. His fur was patted down, patches of dirt were buried underneath the matted fur, his big blue eyes were blank and deep as if far off into a world of his own, He wore red shoes with white tips covered in dust, his gloves were white but drenched in dirt, but the most noticeable is his ears, they were slanted to the back as if he was sad.
Sonic knew what that look was, it was a look of hurt and pain, a look of absolute rage inside that was wrapped up in a shell of kindness and depression. The eyes were a dead giveaway. He was off in a world of his own where he was separate from the tortures of this world. Sonic then watch as the fox, hesitantly, copied this nose scratching move. First the fox brought up a hand that was almost enclosed in a fist, and then a finger poked out to rub under his nose.
Sonic turned toward the fox so he could see him/her more closely. The hedgehog could not tell the gender from this distance.
The fox's ears went straight back and flattened itself against his skull. The golden fox realized Sonic spotted him. The young thing began to back up as Sonic continued to stare. The blue hero only jumped toward the next lamppost to get closer and began to itch the side of his head wondering what was wrong. Apparently that was a mistake.
At the sudden movement toward him the fox came to life. The fear in the young fox inflicted so much terror and life that Sonic felt panic raise up inside himself. The fox began to wield up in petrified tears and trembled as he stepped back. The hedgehog quickly stood and raised his arms in defense trying to look farther and less threatening, but the movement was too fast.
The fox sharply turned and darted down the street in terror. The speed the fox exerted was so fast that Sonic only registered a golden blur. The hero was impressed, but he was not going to let a troubled kid run off without seeing what the problem was.
Sonic leaped into the air and spun into a ball as he struck to roll along the ground. The hero then leapt up once his feet made contact to the ground and darted after the yellow blur. The crowd behind began to whoop and cheer.
Sonic was nearing the yellow animal, but froze when he saw the fox stop. Sonic leaped into the air and onto a rooftop. The fox looked back to see if he was followed. The hedgehog was hoping the kid did not notice him, did not know why.
Sonic knelt down and watched, just watched. He did not do anything or tried anything, he just watched. The hero was troubled by someone who seemed so intrigued by him yet when spotted that he, Sonic, was looking began to run away as if the hero was a killer.
The fox walked nervously over to a garbage can intertwining his fingers, trying to rip the others off by the look of it. Sonic blinked as the fox jumped up and shoved his face in the hole of the can only to come up with only the core of an apple.
Sonic was shocked to watch the fox begin to eat it. Words flipped off the tip of his tongue "You're actually going to eat that?!"
The fox jumped, dropping the apple as he looked at Sonic. The hedgehog covered his mouth and raised his arms again "Didn't mean to scare you." He then jumped down and walked toward the kid.
The fox backed up terror in his eyes. The hedgehog froze in his track for a brief moment "… Alright. I won't come any further… come here then."
The fox cocked his head to the side as if confused. Sonic sat down and crossed his legs "I won't move, why don't you come closer to me instead?"
The fox, instead, backed up. The hero massaged his temple "Where's the logic in the fact that a sitting person will suddenly charge fifty feet at you without missing from your unusual speed."
The fox only chewed on his gloved finger and stepped back again. Sonic then stood "Hey, you alright? What's wrong with you?"
The fox yipped and jumped back as tears fell down his face "D-don't come near me." It was more of a plea than a command.
Sonic stopped with worry in his eyes "Why? What's wrong?"
The fox suddenly turned and dashed off. Sonic was about to follow, but he stopped. He then tapped the top of his head "Why is he nervous of me? I thought he was idolizing me for a moment."
"SONIC!" Sonic flinched at the sounds of the rabid fans.
"Oh, BOY!" Sonic spun his feet as fast as he could "Gotta get outa here!" He blasted off down the road.
XXXXX
Sonic tapped his foot impatiently he had been standing near his beat up plane for over a minute holding a ringing phone. The ringing stopped and there was a click "Yah, hello? This is-."
"We thank you for calling Station Square Operations Center. Please wait while we retrieve an operator for you."
Sonic's eyes widened and his expression drew blank "Do not tell me you put me on hold!" Music began to sing through the earpiece "YOU JUST PUT ME ON HOLD!" Sonic threw the phone on the ground "THIS IS WHY I HATE ROBOTS! Gosh! Stupid machine!"
"Err… hello?"
Sonic stiffened and he groaned. He picked up the sandy machine and breathed out "Hi." He replied halfheartedly.
"Hello, sir. Can I help you?"
"… I was about to ask for some help with my plane, but this is Triple A and there's no way you guys can reach me…"
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Wait. Do you know any numbers for a psychiatrist?"
"Yes. Let me transfer this call over to the offices."
Sonic placed the phone in his other hand "Thank you." Now to find out why a kid who seems to admire him runs away as if the hero was a monster… and ponder how an operator for a company just knew a phone number for a psychologist.
The hedgehog heard a beep as his call was transferred and a familiar click "IF THIS IS ANOTHER ROBOTIC VOICE-!"
"What?!" A voice interrupted.
Sonic paused "Oh… sorry."
The woman on the phone seemed to regain herself "You have a problem with robots?"
"… occupational hazard. Can I speak to a shrink? I have a situation."
"This is Doctor Sheev."
"Oh… I thought… you were a… wow… I feel stupid."
"Did you wish for an appointment?"
Sonic paused "What? No! I'm calling because I found this kid and he's acting weird."
"How so?"
"Well… He seemed to be a fan of mine and yet when I started walking toward him he acts as if I'm suddenly a monster or something."
"Fan?"
"I'm Sonic the Hedgehog."
There was a pause at the end of the line but the female spoke up "So he ran when you walked toward him. Anything else."
"He told me not to hurt him after I followed and after I spotted him picking through garbage to…ACK!..." Sonic turned away to gag "… he ate a thrown apple… remainder thing."
"He ate the core?"
"Yah." Sonic began to pace "Is there something wrong with him?"
"There isn't much I can do without a full diagnostic and to do so I'll need to see him."
"That will be hard." Sonic looked around the island "For starters he seems so tense around others and… I'm on another island." The female on the other side gave no response. Sonic began to tap his foot impatiently "Well?"
"There is nothing I can do."
"I know you can't-err… I'm just wondering if there is something wrong with him?"
"If he has problems around others then yes, but I cannot identify what. Do you have any information on him?"
"No… I just met him."
"Here, I'll give you my number. Dig around if you want. Get a background then come back and tell me what you have otherwise I can't do anything else."
Sonic nodded as he turned on the spot and smiled "I… have an idea. Give me awhile and I'll get something."
"WAIT!"
"What?"
"My number."
"Oh… yah. What was it again? I didn't have a paper or pen ready."
The female hesitated before sighing out her contact information.
XXXXX
The hedgehog looked left and right walking down the sidewalk. He hated that. Nothing wrong with it; he knows he should take it slow from time to time and he still does not know his way around the town that well. It's just the constant gawking of onlookers or his rabid fans dashing at him for attention. The hedgehog always liked attention himself, but there's a fine line between wanting attention because of his fame and getting attention from rabid fans.
The hedgehog continued down the street and stretched his back and arms by casting them up and out. He yawned in this position and brought them back down "Getting sleepy… It's not even noon… maybe I had a little adrenalin rush from the plane swerving everywhere and exploding in my face… or that stupid tidal wave that tried to kill me." He finished whispering.
The hedgehog finally reached a hotdog fast-food restaurant. The hero opened the door to enter. People in there heard the door jingle, but only a rare few looked up. The hero was grateful to that fact. The people could always say his name and everyone will know though.
Sonic walked up to the counter and leaned in toward the kid taking orders. He was speechless, but Sonic moved his eyebrows up and down in a fast manner saying "Hi… May I have six chili dogs? Also, could you put two in each box, so three boxes? To go, please"
The kid nodded and quickly typed it in. The hero turned to see all eyes were on him. How sociably awkward is this. The hedgehog sheepishly smiled and waved at them. No one has ever done THIS to him. Sonic never thought he would be put in a position where he would be unnerved around eyes that do not even look like admiring ones. He was not sure he wanted to know what those looks were. Maybe they were doubtful looks. He only shrugged and turned around as the kid brought him what he asked for in a bag. Sonic thanked him and after paying for the meal the hero began to walk out, but definitely not before taking out a chili dog and begin to eat it.
The hedgehog then ran off down the street in a blur and stopped to look around the corner, and then took a bite of his food. The fox he saw earlier was rummaging through the garbage cans again. The hedgehog shook his head "That's disgusting." He whispered.
The hero ran quietly at the fox and stopped forty feet away, the closest he's ever gotten was fifty feet and that's when the fox begged him to stop. The hero snuck in twenty more feet and placed one of his boxes down and walked backwards till around sixty feet before sitting down.
The fox still was rummaging through the garbage, but the hedgehog could have sworn the fox froze when he was placing the box down. The hero could tell that now he was on full alert. "He heard me. Cool,… I guess." He thought.
He did not really know what to think. This means the fox's senses are high and the blue blur did not know why. The hedgehog decided that he was getting a little stalkish and should give the fox some space. First, though, he wants to give it one more go. The fox's head suddenly jolted up. The hedgehog smiled as he watched the fox's whiskers move up and down. "He can smell the chili dogs."
The fox head turned left then right, his nose moving up and down slightly; a little sniffing could be heard. As the fox fully turned around he spotted the box. The fox immediately looked up farther to see Sonic sitting on the pavement. The hero waved "Hi there."
The fox just stared at him. To Sonic the look was not awkward, but that is what made it awkward. He was being stared at by a kid non-awkwardly, that is just awkward. Or was it the other way around and it was awkward? The fox kept looking at Sonic and the hero realized what the look was for. Sonic smiled and pointed at the box of food "That's for you."
The fox looked from the blue blur to the box and then back "What? It's in there. I just thought a change from garbage to actual food might do ya some good. Am I wrong?" The fox took a step toward the box, but froze and looked at the hero once more, not in his normal way but in a suspicious way. "Wow, your paranoid. Why would I trick you? I gain nothing from that." The fox still was looking at him strangely "And they say I'm annoying." 'They' as in Eggman, but Sonic was not going to say.
The fox blinked but took a step forward anyways. Just to appease the fox Sonic scooted back some. The fox took one more step still keeping his eyes on Sonic. The hero shook his head, smile still on his face "If I wanted to grab ya, I would have done it by now." He shrugged his arms and cocked his head to the side "Fastest thing alive. I can faster than sound so I could defiantly get you like five thousand times by now."
The fox's eyes shot open and he stumbled back. Sonic quickly stood and lifted his arms to say 'calm down' "Okay, okay. Wrong thing to say, my bad." Sonic backed up even further "I will say this though. You're the only one I've ever seen to run really fast. Besides me of course. I'm sure you would see me coming in time to get out of the way." This did nothing, but the backing up did.
The fox seemed more comfortable in getting closer when he walked away. Sonic sat back down and pulled out the bag of food. He opened the top box and pulled out its last dog. He took a bite and looked up at the sky. It was partly cloudy today, but the deep blue sky was still its normal hue and even more welcoming than ever. He looked down to see the fox crouching down and looking inside the box, pulling out its contents.
Sonic smiled and swallowed "Chili dog." The fox looked up at him "My favorite." The fox looked back at the food and then him "What? You can have it. I bought that for you."
The fox looked at the dog and then Sonic, but the strangest part was when he raised a brow "If you want to tell me something kid, say it. Giving me looks is just plain old confusing. I've never been good at deciphering expressions, well, except angry ones." The hero bursted out laughing.
The fox's brow only raised even higher, was he more confused? Sonic laughed harder "You know… me… deciphering angry faces… Eggman? No? Okay, not funny." He stopped laughing and corrected his posture.
The fox looked back at the food and slowly took a bite as his ears lowered against his skull. The fox closed his eyes tightly as he began to chew the small portion he bit. It was Sonic's turn to raise a brow, but in a 'well' sort of way. The fox's ears popped back up as he looked at the food and then Sonic. His eyes no longer full of hurt and pain but excitement and joy. The hero smiled "What? You thought I poisoned it? How evil do you think I am?"
The fox took an even bigger bite and began to chew on it, even went as far as the fox sitting down. Sonic got up into a kneeling position. The fox looked up at him quickly. Sonic froze and pointed at a spot closer to him "May I get closer?"
The fox only looked from the spot then back at him. Sonic sat back down "I guess not."
Sonic then extended an arm "Hi, I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. You may call me Sonic." The fox only looked at the extended arm with a perplexed face as if saying 'How am I able to shake your hand from around sixty feet away?' Sonic brought his hand back and twisted his other hand so he could grab it as best as he could like a handshake "Hi Sonic, nice ta meet ya. I'm Sonic." The hedgehog then let go of his hands, but the fox only watched as he took another big bit "Now that I finish introducing myself to myself I'll introduce myself to you. Hi, I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. And you are?" Sonic extended his arm again, but as a way to indicate that the fox should talk.
The fox lowered his ears and looked away as he swallowed. Sonic sagged down and lowered his head "Jeeze, why is this so hard?"
He looked back up to see the fox take another bit "Hey kid." The fox froze and looked at him "If you don't give me a name, I'm going to have to give you one." The fox's ears shot up and Sonic reeled his head back "What? You're making me look like a jerk, kid. I'll just call you fox-boy then." The fox's face turned sour at it "Well, I'm going to have to call you something rather than nothing."
The fox swallowed his food down as well as his ears "I-I-I…I." Sonic tilted his head a little and leaned forward "I… You… well… T-Tails."
"Tails… Why that name?"
The fox looked left and bit his lower lip. The fox suddenly lifted two tails from behind his back. The hero nearly jumped back "Whoa." He said in surprise "Cool." He smiled "Wonder how I didn't notice that." He thought inside his head.
The fox seemed to blush and lower his appendages back down as he finished the last chili dog. Sonic pulled out the last box and revealed its contents "Want these?" The fox's eyes lit up at the sight "Okay, but-." Sonic placed it right in front of him "You're going to have to come up to me to get them."
The fox's eyes died down and his ears fell "Your ears must get quite a work out buddy." Sonic chuckled. The ear action was kind of cute.
The fox's left ear twitched and suddenly he dashed in the other direction. Sonic's eyes popped open as he leapt to his feet "TAILS, WAIT!"
The hero watched as the fox took off into the forest. The hedgehog sighed. Apparently the fox's fear of people diminished the desire to eat from starvation. The hero picked up the box of food, that he could not let go to waste.
XXXXX
Sonic leaned up against his killer plane and rested the phone on his head. The usual ringing noise coming from the ear piece.
"Doctor Sheev."
"I got him to tell me his name."
"What?"
"Sorry, this is Sonic. My strange friend I told you about. I got his name."
"What is it?"
"Well… I think it's more of a nickname."
"Mr. Sonic?"
"He said his name was Tails."
"… Do you have a clue to why he would choose such a nickname?"
"Does the fact he has two tails count?"
"…He has a birth defect?"
"Looks that way."
"Is that everything?"
"Yah. He doesn't trust me."
"How so?"
"He thought I poisoned food I gave him, he freaks out when I try to get closer, and when I said if he wanted more food he'd have to come to me he ran off. Clearly he was starving; he eats from trash cans for Pete's sake."
"Wait. What?"
"I said-."
"I know what you said. Has he ever been traumatized?"
"By the looks of it, yah. He looked like pain and suffering is all he knows."
"Does he also seem to have nervousness, unable to feel happy, depressed, sleep deprived, anxiety, general discontent, or even hypervigilance?"
"Nervousness: yes. Unable to feel happy: he's like a robot."
"Emotionless?"
"Yah. Depressed: definitely. Sleep deprived: Maybe, I think I do notice his eyes are baggy. Anxiety: oh yah. General… what?"
"Discontent, a person who is dissatisfied, typically with the prevailing social or political situation."
"I guess."
"What about hypervigilance?"
"What?" Sonic was bewildered.
"Hypervigilance is an enhanced state of sensory sensitivity accompanied by an exaggerated intensity of behaviors whose purpose is to detect threats."
Sonic "Yah, yah he does. Why?"
"I think I know what's wrong with your friend."
Sonic looked eager "What?"
The Female's voice froze "I cannot possible bluntly tell you. It's a theory and nothing more."
"Just tell me. The kid's freaking me out."
"I think he might have PTSD."
"What's that?"
Sonic could hear the female sigh and could visibly imagine her massaging her face with her free hand "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Only occurs when an individual has gone through a traumatic experience. But since you mention this patient as a quote on quote 'kid' I cannot swear to it. Kids tend to cope with it differently. However, what all forms of PTSD do is eat people up and can even push them the brink of suicide."
Sonic's expression fell "Oh no."
"The treatment for the condition is medication and since I am unable to see the kid as an actual patient I can't give any prescription. The only other option is therapy. He has to talk to someone about his problems"
Sonic rested a hand on his head "And he's scared of everyone."
"Then there's no hope for him."
Sonic curled his hands into a fist "Of course there's hope." The hero turned to march off "I'm Sonic the hedgehog. A hero. It's my job to save people." Sonic hanged up "I am not going to fail Tails."
Please leave a review.
