Author's note: Hello again, dear readers! This update and the next are relatively fast, but they will slow. This chapter and the next were actually posted to my tumblr, where I post chapter bits and pieces along with other writings, so if you want previews, check out there! I want to thank everyone with their support so far, it really means a lot, and is very encouraging!
So, anyway, enough of me rambling, I leave you with the next chapter!
The sun was just beginning to color the sky a pretty deep red and purple above the city skyline.
Sonic sighed as he tromped up the steps that led into the building where he worked. It was one of the more rustic buildings in Station Square, a little two story building that housed all of the non robotic police force, crammed into a long row of what was originally old stores in the "downtown" area. The main precinct was downstairs as well as a majority of the upstairs.
It was actually fairly busy downstairs, but it was a typical day there really. He nodded to the human greeter, a sweet young woman who was tender and gentle with everyone who came in before going further had to weave between desks and people to get to the little staircase hidden in the back. Upstairs, he came to the small "bunk" room and tapped on the door.
When there was no reply, he opened it and stepped inside. Crammed inside were three bunk beds. They took up much of the floorspace, leaving only a small walkway between two of them and a T intersection that lead to two doorways. One lead to a cramped closet, and the other to a half bathroom that wasn't much bigger than the closet. On top of one of the bunks was a lump of blankets that stirred faintly, but it was otherwise abandoned.
Sonic carefully climbed the ladder to the occupied bunk and flopped beside the lump. "Heya buddy. Sorry I was gone so long."
A low, questioning murrp escaped the lump. It stirred a little before a sleepy hedgehog face emerged. Blue eyes blinked blearily at the blue hedgehog before a peachy paw came up to paw at them. The boar yawned widely, showing sharp, pointy teeth. He whined when Sonic reached over and ruffles the messy green bangs.
It took a moment to shake off the sleep, but as soon as the other did, he glomped the blue hedgehog. "Back! Back!"
Sonic chuckled and hugged him back. "Yeah, I'm back."
"Home?" the hedgehog chirped, climbing more out of the blankets to do a big stretch.
Right away it was easy to see there was something wrong with the green hedgehog. He arched his back, stretching out his arms in front of himself. He pulled himself out of the blankets, stretching his twisted back legs out. He gave another wide yawn and flopped out on the blanket pile.
"Not yet, Manic."the blue hedgehog reached over and scratched behind the hedgehog's ear, making him purr and rub into it. it made Sonic's heart hurt a little that Manic was obliging despite the fact the blue one lacked the claws to do it properly. "I wanted to let you know I was back though. We can go home after I finish up a few things."
"But home." Manic whined before grumpily flopping to one side. "Home now. Bored."
"I promise I won't take long to get this report filed. Want to come to the office with me to wait there?"the blue one cocked his head lightly. "Get out of this room for a little bit?"
Cerulean eyes watched the boar for several seconds before snorting and burrowing back into the blankets. "No. Speed there."
Sonic frowned. Normally it was safe to leave his brother here overnight when he had a stakeout or doing some investigations. Manic, despite the fact his body was warped via taming from a young age and his stilted speech, was actually smart. He could stay at home safely, completely able to feed and care for himself. But Sonic knew Manic couldn't stand to be alone for long periods of time.
It was why he would bring him here and let him sleep in the bunk. It comforted Manic to know people were there; a carryover from his taming. He didn't need to see or be around people, he just needed to know there was someone in the building with him to ease his anxiety.
But there was one problem.
The Speed that Manic mentioned happened to be a person; one of Sonic's co-workers. A nickname earned from the fact he was a racer at heart, the human was loud and blunt, with an ego to go with it. He had no real love of mobians even after the laws came into effect. The only reason he was even working in the SPFTM branch was because he was relegated there after one too many complaints as a part of the main force. He didn't want to be there, but he didn't want to give up his badge either.
Sonic's expression softened and he reached out to pet the lump of blankets. "Would you like me to get my laptop and do it in here?"
"Yes, please." the green boar murmured back. "Missed you."
"Alright, I'll be back shortly."after giving the lump a comforting rub, he hopped down.
Just as he was about to leave, Manic chirped again. Turning back, Sonic looked up at the green face peering at him from the blankets. "Want coffee?"
"Coffee sounds great, actually. Can you get it and have Tope bring it up?" at the nod he smiled. "Meet you back here."
Manic chirped his assent, hopping down from the bed and landing on all fours. He shook himself off and stretched once more before looking at Sonic expectantly.
Sonic opened the door and held it open The green boar trotted out on all fours and turned to go down the stairwell to the floor below. The blue one watched Manic sadly. It still hurt to know that the other could never fully care for himself, or even walk upright without expensive corrective surgery.
He sighed as he headed in the opposite direction, past the records room and to the farthest door. He turned the knob on the frosted windowed door and twisted it. Easing the door open, he peered through the crack.
The room really wasn't much bigger than the barracks. Somehow the office downstairs had managed to fit in three large desks. There wasn't much room to move around comfortably, but it sufficed for such a small department.
There were only three official members of the department anyways. Sonic himself, The aforementioned "Speed", and Chris, a newcomer to the force whose paperwork they lost and stuck him here until they get everything sorted and brought him officially into the force. There was technically a fourth in the form of Topaz, who was their 'connection' to the main force. She volunteered her free time in the SPFTM which gave them a helpful and much needed hand.
The office was actually occupied as Manic had said, but the redheaded, fair skinned human was slumped over his desk, asleep. It wasn't the first time Sonic had caught him like this. He rolled his eyes and crept up to the unoccupied desk. He had to shuffle the papers around and had a split second feeling of guilt, as they were unfiled paperwork of many of their cases. He had to remind himself that he and Chris were the only ones even really dedicated to the cause and they could only do so much by themselves.
He tucked them into a neat pile to cover while the report he was about to write up was being processed and after getting a little sleep. He then set about getting the cords he needed along with the laptop itself. He tucked the laptop under one arm and carefully looped the cords around the back of his neck. He didn't have to worry too much about his quills doing damage to them; as per the law, they were shorn short and blunted for him to be able to move around in public.
It did make Sonic feel rather uncomfortable since he had no form of defense at all now, but he was at least allowed to try and make a living now.
He tossed the sleeping human a dark look and stepped back out of the makeshift office, shutting the door quietly behind him. He was met in the hall by another human and the quadrupedal hedgehog.
The ginger haired human smiled, looking just as tired as he did. Even though her tanned hands were full of two Styrofoam cups of coffee, she lifted one to brush away her short dusty blonde bangs from her eyes. Her uniform was rumpled as if she had slept in it the night before. Knowing her and her dedication to her job as a cop, it was very likely she had done it too.
Manic set one paw on the wall to balance before reaching up to turn the knob. He let go of the wall to paw the door open and chirped for the two of them to follow him inside. Sonic ducked around the door and headed in, sitting on the made bottom bunk where Manic had lightly jumped up on and stretched out. He went about setting everything up before looking up at the patiently waiting human.
"Thanks, Tope."he said weakly, and glanced over to where Manic held his between his paws, a straw in the cup for him to drink it with. "I really needed the pick-me-up."
"Sounds like it."she sat on the bunk opposite. "I know that investigation was going to be hard on you, all things considered."
Sonic brought the cup to his lips and took a long sip. "Not gonna lie, it was. Lots of bad memories."
Manic shined softly, getting up to shuffle himself so that he was leaning against Sonic. "Sorry..."
"No, don't be, Manic."Sonic murmured, drooping one arm around the other. He pulled him close. "It was worth it."
"What did you find?"Topaz asked. When she was glanced at by Sonic, she shrugged. "It's slow downstairs and break time for me anyways. I'll go back down after you're done."
He thought a moment before shrugging lightly. He knew the place wasn't too terribly busy downstairs so they wouldn't really miss her right now. "...I'm glad I went, Tope."
"That bad, huh?"
"Yeah, Let me download the pics real quick and I'll let you see the camera."
Sonic shifted himself on the bed and flipped open the laptop. He pressed the power switch and turned his attention to the camera while it took its time turning on. His heart hurt looking through the photos again, and he wondered how much more it was going to when he digitally touched them up to see them better.
The laptop chimed it's cheery tune. Sonic logged into it and fiddled with the keyboard a bit, before hooking the camera up to it to download all of it to a new folder. It didn't take long to get it all; even the video. As soon as he was done, he unhooked it and handed it over to the human to thumb through.
She took it and did so. A low whistle escaped her. "Man, I heard they had a good rep too."
"I still can't believe she was going to let him go hungry because he was having trouble performing the trick." the blue hedgehog didn't look up from his work but he definitely twitched a little, eyes narrowing and ears falling back into a defensive position. Although one could see he was gritting his teeth, he fought not to bare them. "Not to mention he was injured on top of it."
"...Man, none of this is acceptable."she shook her head slowly as she browsed the pictures. "Not at all. I'll make sure this gets top priority on Cap's desk after you file it."
"Don't be too hasty on it, I want to get a little sleep first."Sonic looked up a moment before going back to work.
Manic shifted to look at the photos and whined softly. He himself had been lucky enough to be someone's pet rather than a circus animal. He felt pretty bad that he had had it easier than this; the cage he had to sleep in at night was at least double that size with nice cushions and blankets inside. He wasn't so much a victim of abuse, it was more ignorance and neglect. He was glad to be reunited with his brother though.
He couldn't help the whimper as Sonic went over the video. He didn't need to hear the human on the screen talking while Sonic played with the brightness levels for visibility. Seeing the other looking so browbeat bothered him.
The green boar hoped beyond hope that they could get the dark one out of that place and somewhere safer.
The blue hedgehog awoke with a start and tried to sit up. He blinked blearily when met with resistance and squirmed. He whined, confused at first, and tried to push at the dead weight on top of him.
The weight lifted and Sonic found himself looking at his brother. The other boar stretched his back and shoulders up, lean body trembling with the tensed muscles. He yawned widely before climbing off Sonic.
Sitting to one side, he smacked his lips and yawned again, watching the other boar and his movements.
"Wh..."Sonic started, but was interrupted with a yawn of his own. "What...?"
"Sleep."Manic shrugged and pointed to the laptop. "While work. Close, move. Nap with."
"How long was I out?"the blue one scooted to sit on the edge of the bed and rubbed his face, trying to wake up more.
The boar hopped off the bed and shook himself off. "Hours? Dunno."
He yawned widely and disappeared through the small door that lead to the bathroom, leaving Sonic by himself. The blue boar stumbled to his feet, catching himself on the frame to let the spell of lightheadedness pass. Once steadied, he stepped to the door and peered out blearily.
The sunlight stretched from the window all the way down the hall and Sonic could see little dust particles floating to and fro. A quiet curse slips from his lips; if the sun's coming in this far down the hall, it was late in the day.
He picked his way down the stairs and dodged between two desks to get towards the little break room. It catered to the humans that worked there, but he was running on empty right now.
The room was small and cramped, like everything else in the building. Two stools and a rickety little table occupied one corner of the room. A small fridge and a counter top with a cabinet under it butted up beside it. An older, but reliable coffee pot dominated the counter space. It was half full and steaming, indicating it was fresh at least. Two large vending machines took up a good portion of the room, full of unhealthy snacks and sodas.
Sonic bee-lined to the coffee pot and stooped to get into the cabinet. He pulled open one door and withdrew a Styrofoam cup and a lid, setting it up on the counter. He pulled the folding step stool that was hung on the inside of the cabinet door off as well before closing it back. He folded the stool out and set it on the floor, giving him the height he needed to use the coffee pot. He climbed up on it and poured him a steaming cup of coffee.
After adding a good few heaping spoonfuls of sugar, he hopped down. He half stumbled to the fridge and pulled the door open. He was thankful to find that the bottle of creamer was still in there and contained just enough for him to add to his coffee. He tossed the empty container and stirred his drink, kicking the fridge door closed.
Not bothering to try and climb up on the too tall stool, Sonic instead instead dragged his smaller one to the same corner as the table and settled under it to be out of the way. He slumped over his cup and breathed in the scent deeply.
He took a long drink of the cheap coffee, letting his mind wander as he woke up. He had a feeling he'd have to rewrite the report he had been working on before he fell asleep because the laptop may have died. He wasn't looking forwards to that, mostly because it was several hours wasted if that was the case.
A sigh escaped his nose, making the steam swirl in the disturbance. The paperwork that was involved was long and complicated for reasons he didn't understand. A part of him wanted to think it was because of the Mobian Rights Act that was only passed just a short ten years ago.
It had been a massive mess, even if it had saved so many mobian's lives. They were finally accepted as citizens overall instead of "intelligent animals". A sardonic smile came to his lips, knowing the real reason was because the government saw it as more beings to tax. With the mobians that had been working and the ones that could get jobs meant more documentable money coming into the government.
It didn't however change how people saw mobians. To most, they were still just animals or pets. It would be many more years, possibly generations, before this would be able to change.
His eyes dropped to his paws. The hot coffee was making his paws sweat in his gloves. He set his drink on the ground and pulled the gloves off, tucking them into a pocket of his long brown jacket. Picking it back up he couldn't help but to catch sight of his wrist tattoo; one of the reasons he wore his gloves in the first place.
SH-62391
He hunched a little, trying not to think about it. It was a bad reminder, just like the one the green boar had on his. It was like the ones most mobians who were "rescued" under the act had.
Not all had been as lucky as he. He did his best not to even think about his life prior to the household he had been placed into for rehabilitation. His paperwork had been bought from his old owner and given to him the day he turned sixteen, to prove he was a free mobian and a citizen now to boot.
But it hadn't erased the first ten years he had to unlearn.
He had to shamefully admit that most of it wasn't gone. Some of the training he had went through he now considered calming to him to perform. It wasn't that it was embarrassing, but he didn't want to get caught doing it because then he'd have to explain and that was the last thing he wanted.
Triangular ears perked when someone else tromped in but he did not look up. He could hear the other moving around the room. The clinking of coins going into one of the vending machines and a package falling. The clinking of more coins and a can falling into the slot to get it followed. The human approached and took a seat on one of the stools.
Sonic yelped when the human crossed their legs and nearly clocked him with one large foot. He had just barely ducked in time, and thankfully did not splash any of the coffee on himself either.
"Oh no!"the face of the youngest humans peered under the table. Short brown hair fell over dark blue eyes that were full of concern. "I'm sorry, Sonic! I didn't see you there!"
"You're fine, Chris."Sonic sighed, scooting himself and the stool to the other side to give the human leg room. "It's...just been a long day."
"Yeah, I can imagine." there was a moment of silence before the human hopped off the stool and sat down on the ground. "You holding up alright?"
Green eyes finally lifted from the cup, looking at the young adult. The pale skinned face didn't look much different than how he always remembered it. They had known each other for a few years now, since a year after Sonic's rescue. They had helped push each other through the academy, and the hedgehog was keenly aware it was because of Chris that he got his current job.
"I'm..."
Sonic found his mouth feeling like it was full of cotton. His tongue was dry, almost like it was swollen. He hadn't allowed himself to really process what he had done the night before.
And to be perfectly honest, he didn't want to either.
"...I haven't been debriefed yet."he finally murmured, before taking another long sip of the coffee. "Came in, tried to write up the report but I crashed some time ago."
The human was silent for a long moment, before standing and heading to the fridge. "It'd do you some good to eat a little something. Can you handle a cold cut?"
The moment food was mentioned, Sonic's stomach pinched. He had been so nervous about the mission he had neglected to eat the meal he had prepared for himself and Manic before leaving to bring the green boar to the precinct. Upon arriving back, all he had had was coffee to keep him going. "Y-yeah, I can eat it."
The fridge was opened and shut, before Chris returned. He held out half of a sub sandwich, wrapped in cellophane. "Here, I ate the other half for lunch."
Sonic took it and tried to unwrap it, but found his paws shaky. It took a lot longer than it should have, but eventually he peeled back the clear wrappings and took a bite. The hunger fully awakened and he wolfed the whole thing down.
Chris sat back down and watched his friend eat. He was probably the only one in this chapter of the police force that understood the impact of Sonic's reconnaissance would have on him. He knew Sonic's past, since he knew him for the last five or so years. He had used the money his family had to pull the department into founding and supporting the SPFTM for this area so more like Sonic could be helped.
He had grown up a lonely rich white kid, he found himself making more friends amongst the fostered mobians than he did with other humans. Many of the older people who didn't have kids and did not own 'pet' mobians had jumped on the chance to foster the least 'damaged' rescued mobians if only for the monetary bonus. There had been quite a few in the neighborhood he grew up in; far more than couples with kids.
"...Thanks, Chris." Sonic murmured, wadding up the cellophane in this paws.
"Of course Sonic. And remember, if you need it, I'm here to talk. Or just sit with if you need that too." the human gave Sonic a warm little smile.
"I'll keep that in mind."he nodded. "I think I'm gonna try and get my things and head home. I need real sleep and Manic wants to go home too."
"Sleep would be good, I'd think. A good, solid sleep, not the kind you can get in the bunks upstairs."Chris scratched at the back of his head. "You got the photos on the laptop, right? I can draw up most of the report for you and you can add in whatever details you need when you come back in."
"I'd...be really thankful for that. The report might still be somewhat written, if the laptop didn't die when I fell asleep."
The blue hedgehog sighed and stood, dusting his knees off. The stool was quickly folded back compact and carried with him as he headed over to throw away the wrapper. The cabinet was reopened and the stool was hung on the nail inside meant for it before it was shut back. He came back to pick up his coffee.
"Thanks again, Chris. I'll see you after I get some sleep."he bowed his head to the other and made his way back to where the stairs were.
Manic was sitting at the bottom, leash in his mouth. Upon spotting Sonic, he promptly dropped it with a sheepish look on his face. He was already wearing the orange vest with the built in harness he had to wear just to go out in public.
Sonic sighed and smiled at the boar. It wasn't like the behavior was harmful, just a callback to before. A habit that needed to be broken. But there was no reason to push for it. He was correcting himself about it a little at a time. The blue boar approached and knelt down to pick up the leash.
By doing so he noticed something. "Where are your gloves?"
Immediately, peach shoulders hunched and the green boar looked away. He snorted. "Don't need."
"We're going to be walking outside, you need your gloves."
"No. Don't like, don't need."Manic snorted again, hunching his shoulders further.
"It's just until we get home."
"No."he pouted, shifting his weight so that Sonic couldn't get access to the pocket on the vest where the gloves were kept. "Feel funny."
"How about this. You can take them off while we're on the bus. You only have to wear them when we're walking on the street."
"Treat. Home."He held up a paw, showing off two fingers. "Two scoops."
"Alright, I'll fix you a nice big bowl of ice cream after supper. But you have to wear them from here until we get on the bus, and then from when we get off and arriving home."
"...Fine." although he was clearly sulking, he did sit back on his back legs and dig into the zippered pocket.
Two white gloves were withdrawn. They were different than the ones as lot of mobians wore, with thicker padding on the palms and fingers, giving the paws within protection from the pavement. Most tamed mobians had damage to their paws from this in the past and walking without protection. Anyone who was fostering a rescue was supposed to encourage the wearing of the gloves to prevent further damage being done. They were carefully donned and tugged into place.
Sonic ruffled Manic's bangs again and hooked the leash to the back of the vest. It was a law that they had to abide by; having the green one walk on a leash. As he recovered more, he would eventually be able to walk without the leash, but until then it was required.
Manic fell obediently beside Sonic, keeping equal with him to make sure it was known he wasn't a pet anymore. He might still have a lot of mannerisms, but he was out of that life now and there was no need to continue it.
Together, they left the police station. The bus stop was a few blocks away and thankfully where they were in Station square, it blocked a majority of the sunlight from glaring in their face on the short walk. The whole time, Manic occasionally stopped long enough to shake his paws, not liking the gloves he was being made to wear. His back feet were too warped to try and protect in such a manner, so Sonic conceded to not make him wear shoes. The traffic was light and they hardly met anyone. Rush hour had already passed so it was fairly quiet.
There were two elderly humans at the bus stop already, sitting on the bench under the shelter. They both glanced at him but made no motion to move to give the pair room. Sonic was used to this behavior; the older humans had more trouble dealing with the new laws.
Sonic didn't even bother to try and speak with them, stepping inside the little glass shelter. He leaned his weight against the glass so he was out of the way. His gaze turned to watch down the street, where the bus would be coming from, and he tucked his paws into his coat pockets. It was better to just keep his head down and out of the way in this kind of situation.
Manic however, he looked at the empty seat beside one lady.
She took notice of him and moved her purse from one side to the other. "This seat's taken."
He blinked at her innocently. "Just purse. Hold. Want sit."
"Pets don't sit where people do."
"No pet!"the green boar huffed indignantly at her. "See?"
He rose into the beg position and pointed to one of the patches on the vest. It said in bold letters that he was a "Rescue" and a reminder that quadrupedal mobians are to be treated as citizens.
The pale white lady gave him a thin lipped smile. "That's just fancy talk for saying you're still a pet. You don't even walk upright."
"Can't." Manic dropped back to all fours and shook one foot. "Too hard."
"Even if you could, you're still a pet and nothing more. I'm not moving my purse."
Manic sat there and whined up at her even as she turned to the elderly white lady beside her to continue her conversation. He got louder the longer she ignored him. Eventually, she turned to Sonic and glared at him.
"Aren't you going to do something about your... 'foster'?" the word was spat almost like it was a curse word.
Sonic sighed and pushed himself off the wall. The lady gave Manic another tight lipped smile.
"You're about to get punished, you little brat."
Manic's ears fell back and he cringed. He watched the blue boar approach and reach out...
...and perked when he saw the other take hold of the woman's purse and set it on the ground. He promptly jumped up and settled himself on the corner of the bench.
"H-Hey! You can't touch my property!"
"Actually, Ma'am, I can." Sonic pulled open his coat, revealing his badge. "He is doing nothing wrong and just wants to sit on the corner of the bench as you can see."
"Well I never!"she huffed and snatched up her purse. She stood up, towering over the blue hedgehog, and glared down at him. "You're probably the pet of one of the officers yourself, that badge means nothing, you animal. Let's go to the other bus stop, Gladys."
The other woman nodded and stood, gathering her purse. As the first old woman marched off she watched her leave and sighed.
"I apologize for my friend." she said, nodding her head to the mobian pair. "She's not coping well since her pet was removed from her. She's one of the people that'll never change. You're doing a good thing, helping him recover. I wish you both luck."
Sonic nodded to her. "Thank you for your encouragement and well wishes."
She murmured a farewell and scurried after her friend, who was practically stomping off down the street.
The blue boar sat down heavily beside Manic and cradled his head. When they finally got home, he was going to make himself a stiff drink and go collapse in bed. He needed rest and he needed it badly. The last twenty-four hours had been a real toll on him. He knew as soon as he hit the pillow he'd be out like light.
Manic reached over and lightly set a paw on Sonic's thigh. "...Sorry."
Emerald eyes lifted before Sonic turned just enough to look at him. "Manic, never apologize for something like this. You have every right to sit here, just as humans do."
"But...Cry..."a gloved paw, despite being dirty from the pavement, came up and brushed against a fawn cheek. Sure enough, it came back wet.
"I've...had a really long day, that's all." it was a struggle, but the darker hedgehog managed to turn his lips up into a weak little smile. "I'll fix you something and then your ice cream, but after that I've gotta rest."
"I fix. You sleep." Manic pointed to himself. "Treat tomorrow."
"Are you sure?"he tried to keep the relief out of his voice but it crept in regardless. At the nod, he hugged the other boar. "Thank you, Manic."
One paw lifted to hug Sonic back.
