-1Child of Delphinus

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By SEGAMew

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Disclaimer:

Ecco the Hedgephin, those with a background in Science, and those who are the results of Science belong to SEGAMew

Everyone else © SEGA

Any likeliness to any non-SEGA employee(s) created character are purely coincidental. Don't sue meeeeee D= I have a mom and two sisters to feed, plus a house to pay off! Plus I go insane if I don't buy at least one Sonic-related item biweekly.

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Author Notes:

Here it is, Chapter 2. More flashbacks, more Sonic, more Shadow, and of course, more Ecco (though will be called ECHO for a while longer). Also, I forgot to mention the ages of the more prominent characters. Here they are!

Ages:

Sonic - 19

Shadow - Doesn't matter

Silver - 18

Blaze - 18 (a day younger than Silver)

Ecco/ECHO - appears to be 6 (chronologically he's a lot younger than 6)

Hope you all will continue enjoy the story!

Rating: T

Warnings:

Profanity

Violence (most of which is inflicted on a minor, possibility of getting bloody later on)

Yaoi/Shounen-ai pairings

- Sonic x Shadow - union/married

- Silver x Shadow - minor secondary pairing, mostly one-sided

Unoriginal Fan Character(s)

- You may think some fan characters I made up are original, but it's really hard to be original nowadays.

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Chapter 2 - Healing

"Doctor… I… do you really want to do this?"

Mocking laughter immediately followed ECHO's question, originating from Carmine. She glanced over to Professor Ashura next to her as her laugher died down.

"Love? I'm certain that this line of experiments do not possess the mental capacity for any sort of compassion. Oh so hilarious."

The chief professor simply nodded. "While this is true, they are capable of being deluded and led to believe in ridiculous things. A flaw that will be eradicated in future projects."

The gray creature blinked away the tears that threatened to roll down his face. He shot a glare towards the green porcupine, wanting nothing more to snap his neck in two for implying that he was too stupid to know any better. However, he found himself breathing harder and becoming more disoriented as the deadly injection coursed through his body. He forced himself not to sway or show any sign of weakness.

The porcupine noticed that he had gotten the little experiment's attention, so he lowered his almost canine-like nose towards him. Though he seemed like he was speaking to the failure, his words were for Dr. Aural to hear.

"The average time for the formula to completely disable the immune system of a subject this size will take approximately…?"

"Five minutes." The elderly hedgehog knew the answer since he was one of the leading scientists that had ran the trials and development of the many formula types. Five minutes was all it took for a subject as small as ECHO to succumb to the full effects of most types of formulas.

"Oh Professor, I believe the vile thing is exhibiting signs of anger. Look how it's just glaring at you!" The falcon reached for the reassuring handle of the taser in her lab coat pocket.

"It's foul, isn't it? I will make a suggestion to the council to strip all future experiments of any human emotion. Many times I believe we were better off with robotic soldiers," she glanced down to her watch to check how long it had been since the injection. She glanced back up to the porcupine, "Robotic soldiers are far more beneficial. At least we don't have to waste resources training and feeding them… only to dispose of them when they become failed projects." She cast a glare at the dolphin creature below her. For a moment she thought she saw him flashed his eyes dangerously at her, but soon dismissed it. As one of the scientists assigned to 005ECHO, she came to noticed that the little vermin was more tame when his creator, Dr. Aural, was present.

Ashura placed a hand on the shoulder of the still kneeling hedgehog. "Prepare the final injection if you please, Doctor."

Aural wanted to sigh. If only things could have been different for experiments that were not up to military standards. He believed that they could serve other uses, such as housemaids, lab assistants, pet caretakers… He stood up and walked to the preparation table to assemble the gun and the bottled bacteria. He held the bottle full of the clear fluid that contained millions of bacteria that would be more than pleased to inhabit their future host. If only they knew that their host wouldn't last long with them inside. The elder hedgehog then heard the sounds of chain rattling, but knew the cause of it. He heard the voice of his superior.

"It is of no surprise that you are incapable of grasping the basic concept of no glaring at those superior than yourself." Ashura yanked up the chain leash with such swiftness and force that it caught ECHO off guard. The professor then slammed his boot against the abomination's twitching tail fluke, causing a choked cry of agony. The professor grinned in sick pleasure; he knew that ECHO's tail was full of sensitive nerves that were usually meant for receiving and reading electrical currents in the air or water. It was also good for stomping on. He lifted his boot off of the tail slightly, only to grind his heel against it harder this time.

ECHO being subjected to this unwarranted treatment could barely breathe with his collar choking him, but somehow he managed to find enough air to scream louder against the second assault. He shut his eyes and kicked at the cold wall behind him in an attempt to push himself off of it and take the pressure off his aching neck. His heart raced as he struggled against the heartless grip of the professor. He knew he could survive for about ten minutes while holding his breath, but he didn't feel like chancing that in his current condition with the deadly toxins rushing through his bloodstream.

"Professor, that is quite enough!"

The professor slowly faced the elderly hedgehog, "Raising your voice to me is unprofessional, Aural."

The hedgehog stood his ground, "Professor, it is completely unnecessary to inflict further harm to the child."

The porcupine made no attempt to stop himself from laughing, "Haha… Oh doctor… This thing is not a child. Children are born from the union of a man and a woman, not created in a laboratory. Surely you are aware of this basic fact?"

ECHO's mouth was opened, but he couldn't get any air down his constricted throat. His kicks gradually grew weaker, then eventually dangled limply beneath his tiny body. Little black spots formed in the corner of his eyes, warning him that he was on the verge of passing out.

Suddenly, he felt the pressure on his neck and tail disappearing. He felt himself dropped and cried out when the force of the collar hit his neck. He frantically scrambled back to his bare feet and leaned against the wall, gulping the much needed air down his lungs. He weakly opened his eyes and saw the dark blue hedgehog in front of him, and the green porcupine on the floor rubbing his own cheek. He closed his eyes again and continued to focus on his breathing after coming to a conclusion that the porcupine pissed the doctor of and the doctor had punched him.

ECHO's head snapped up as he heard the doctor's voice.

"Professor, it's been a pleasure working with you. However, it seems your goals have become skewed over the years. You've changed. I will administer the bacterial injection as ordered. After that I will turn in my badge and leave Novotrade."

The gray creature's heart nearly stopped. He almost couldn't believe his ears. Not about the part that the doctor was quitting, but that he was still going to follow up on the order to kill ECHO. He emitted a growl towards the doctor, losing his trust in him. Hatred build up inside of him. When the doctor came in close range with the injection gun, he leaped and bit down on his arm. Hard.

Whatever happened next was a blur as tears of anger and sadness welled up in his eyes.

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Present

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Sonic slowed down his pace. Not too far in the distance, he could make out a gray colored creature on the sand. He saw it struggling against the plastic rings that it was tangled up in. He scowled. He hated it when inconsiderable people left trash all over the place. He watched as the little strange creature stopped rolling around and laid almost still on its back. His hero instincts finally kicked in and he jogged over to the poor creature in need. When he got close enough to identify it… well he couldn't identify it. He did look like a male though. He looked like a weird cross between a dolphin and… something he couldn't quite put his finger on. The thing also had five stars on his forehead arranged in a pattern that reminded him of a constellation or something.

The creature let out a small squeak, snapping the blue hedgehog back to reality from his identifying the unidentified mode. He ran over and got down to his knees over the poor soul. He slid his hand under the creature's head and tried to lift him up, but noticed that a few of the rings he was attached to was stuck on a metal hook bolt. He used his other hand to undo it, then sit the creature up. Upon closer inspection, he looked pretty sickly. His skin was very dry, he was not breathing, he had a few burn marks here and there, and he had various cuts and bruises on his body, presumably from the rings. Well at least he had a pulse… a very weak pulse. At least he was still alive. Hey wait a sec…

Sonic's ears perked up and his eyes widen. He looked around and saw a few shards of broken glass. He rolled his eyes and reached for one of them and used it to cut the rings off of the dolphin-like creature. He cringed at the sight of his cut up neck. Then an important question popped up in his head… did he breath air or water? Sonic was afraid of what the answer may be. He looked out towards the ocean, and back to the young creature in his arms… then back to the ocean. The blue hedgehog shook his head. Yes of course, dolphins breathed air, so this kid had to as well! At least… he hoped so.

He placed the kid onto the sand on his backside. He thought about the proper procedure for performing CPR on a dolphin. After coming back with nothing, he decided to improvise. He placed a hand on the kid's chest, and turn him over so he's laying on his side with Sonic's hand supporting him. Using his free hand, he gently patted his back. Sonic then raised an eyebrow. He had the feeling he was recalling part of the steps for the Heimlich Maneuver on babies.

The kid interrupted Sonic's thoughts when he began to cough up bits of sand and spit. His tiny gray body shook with each cough. Gasping, his small hands gripped onto Sonic's hand and arm that was supporting him up, almost as if seeking comfort. Sonic sighed in relief and smiled. With his free hand, he rubbed the creature's back, making sure to remember that a dorsal fin was in the way. He then felt a smooth dolphin tail almost rubbing the side of his leg. Sonic was not fluent in dolphin body language, but he assumed that the kid was displaying a form of gratitude.

ECHO's head was still swimming. He thought he was dead. He couldn't be dead, because a large hand didn't rub your back when you were dead. At least… he didn't think so. It took a lot of effort, but he decided to let whoever was rubbing his back know that he appreciated it by running his tail against the person. He soon set the tail back down on the sand after accomplishing this small task. He slowly opened his eyes, but shutting them back up as the harsh rays of the relentless sun hit them. Way too bright.

Sonic noticed the kid was trying to open his eyes earlier. Guess it was too bright or something because he closed his eyes. Golden yellow eyes… he recalled meeting someone with such colored eyes. An idea struck him. He stood up and looked for his shadow. He then rotated himself until his shadow completely covers the gray bundle in his arms, then sat back down cross-legged. He repositioned the kid so he was laying on his back in his lap, facing upwards towards him. He then placed a hand on the kid's forehead and stroked him.

"Hey little guy… how ya doin'?"

The little kid found himself on his back yet again. He found it harder to breath while laying on his back. He was about to shift back to his side when he was stopped by a kind hand on his head stroking him. His breathing didn't get any better, but he felt more at ease somehow… this touch reminded him of someone… Someone who…

He slowly opened his eyes and saw a blue furred hedgehog.

… Him.

Sonic cried out as the cute little sickly kid he was just petting bit his arm. Well bit was putting it lightly. More like tiny sharp teeth clamping onto his arm like some feral dog. Blood seeped through the penetrated peach skin and dripped the sides of his arm. Sonic clenched his teeth and tried to get a grip on the kid's shoulder to pry him off. What was wrong with the little guy? Did he somehow hurt him? Did he have rabies? He really REALLY hoped it wasn't the latter. He tried to talk as calmly as he could to him.

"Hey it's okay… I'm not going to hurt you. Please let go of my arm… it hurts ya know."

He searched for any signs of the kid's understanding of his words. Unfortunately the creature didn't seem to notice or care. He almost flinched when he took a good look at the kid's eyes. They were filled with this intense fiery anger, which wasn't unlike the eyes he sometimes seen Shadow display. Also, the kid didn't even seem like he was focused on him at all. Was he hallucinating?

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Location Change

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What was that THING? Or a better yet, what was that thing DOING? After following the blue hedgehog's shoe prints all over the beach and without 'cheating', it had led him to this spot that was far off from the beach sections normally allowed to the public. Leave it up to the stupid blue hedgehog to get himself in abnormal problems. The dark hedgehog skated over to Sonic, who was almost to tears in pain, yet still trying to sweet talk the pretty unnatural looking being into letting go. Shadow stepped over behind the kid and grabbed his tail and pulled. Hard. Sonic almost screamed as the weird looking thing clamped down harder. Droplets of blood hit the hot sand and dried up almost immediately on contact. Patience wearing thin, the dark hedgehog used his free hand to reach over towards the creature's neck.

Sonic saw Shadow's hand hovering over the kid's neck and immediately realized what he's going to do. He used the hand that was once petting the kid and covered up his neck "No, Shadow!"

Shadow looked at Sonic like he just lost his marbles. It was not like he was going to choke the kid. "Sonic, I'm just going to knock him out and throw him back into the ocean where he belongs."

Sonic couldn't believe what Shadow was saying. Did he even noticed how poor the kid's condition is?

"Shadow, look at him, he's hurting badly!"

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Like your arm?"

Sonic shook his head. "My arm is nothing compared to how I found him. And what if he has broken bones? I'm sure people with broken bones will have a hard time swimming! What if a shark comes and chases him, or an octopus?"

Shadow just looked as Sonic, unconvinced. He released kid's tail and crossed his arms.

"I know what you're up to. You just want to bring the kid home. And then next you'll want to adopt him as your brother, then have all sorts of adventures together with him as your new sidekick."

Sonic frowned, his gaze falling on the kid who was still chewing on his arm. "Shadow, if you're afraid of me giving him more attention than you…"

"Ten days."

Sonic looked back at Shadow. "Say wha?"

"You have ten days to fix him. After ten days, it's back into the ocean."

Sonic made a pouting face. "You talk as if he's broken! It's not like he's man-made machine or anything!"

Shadow was about comment out loud, but decided to keep the next comment to himself. Could't Sonic tell?

The sound of weak coughing caught the attention of the two hedgehogs. Sonic took this opportunity to withdrew his arm away from the weakened strength of the kid's jaws. Blood dribbled down from the kid's mouth as he tried to cough out the sticky red liquid that ended up dripping down his throat. Pale yellow eyes briefly focused on the blue hedgehog holding him, before he closed his eyes and laid the side of his head on his chest. Weak and somewhat rhythmic breathing could be heard soon followed after. The two hedgehogs looked at each other and came to a conclusion that the little one got exhausted and fell asleep. Shadow took out a green Chaos Emerald from his head quills and touched Sonic's shoulder with his free hand.

"Chaos… CONTROL!"

And the three disappeared in a brilliant green flash, leaving no trace except the dried splotches of blood on the sand and a cut up plastic soda can rings.

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Flashback

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Unsteady footsteps, ragged breaths, battered body, unpleasant smell. Those words described ECHO fairly well as he crawled out of the putrid smelling body of water that became a reservoir for dumping various wastes, chemical or otherwise. He barely walked ten steps out of the water before he collapsed onto his side, exhausted. He curled up shivering as the night air hit him like thousands of needles prickling his skin. He shouldn't be this cold, but he shouldn't be surprised given his current sickly state.

Rest. Rest was what he needed right now. His eyes slowly closed as he allowed his body to shut down for the night.

. . . . . . .

"…id… hey kid wake up! You can't sleep here, it's not safe!"

An almost purely white furred hedgehog tried to shake the small gray kid awake. He had been trying for the past five minutes. Judging from his hodgepodge appearance, the kid must have been from THAT project. He frowned. If that was true, then it was even more urgent to get this kid the medical help he needed. He seemed to be running a high fever and his breathing was spaced apart and irregular. Dolphin genes or not, he knew the little one was part hedgehog, and hedgehogs required a lot more air than the little he was taking in. He placed his index and middle fingers against the kid's neck and silently counted the pulses.

If he wasn't worried before, now he had reason to be alarmed. The kid's pulse was extremely weak. Realizing that there was no way he could rouse him, he scooped him up and flew off far away from this place.

. . . . . . .

A lavender furred cat donned in a royal purple coat placed a cool wet cloth on the starry forehead of ECHO. The creature was lying on a bed located in the guest room in the house. She was about to exit the room when the white furred hedgehog popped his head in the room with one of the most worried looks she had seen on his face in a while.

"Blaze… how is he?"

She shrugged. The cat was not a doctor nor did she have much experience in tending to the health of others. She may have been a girl, but she was not a stereotypical one that excelled in the kitchen. Nor was she the type that knew what the purpose of everything inside a first aid kit was.

"You are aware of the risks in keeping him here right?" She said.

"Well er, I'm sure it'll be okay. I mean they probably think he's dead or something by now right?" Silver looked off to the side uncomfortably, "He was almost there when I found him."

Blaze sighed, "Silver…"

Silver sighed back. He walked around the cat and towards the small gray form lying in bed. He pulled up a stool and sat beside the bed, glancing towards him.

"It may be just a guess… but I'm sure he's part of the PSP project! I'm certain of it."

Her eyes narrowed. "The Perfect Soldier Project? You mean…"

Silver lightly stroked the side of ECHO's face using the back of his index and middle fingers. "He has some of my DNA in him. Yes…"

Blaze's tail twitched. Now things were bound to get even more complex. "You know he's engineered to be a fighting machine, a silent assassin. There's no way you can keep him as a -"

Silver shot her an accusing glare. "I can't believe you Blaze… aren't you the one who taught me to treat everyone with kindness and to try and find the positive in them?"

The cat frowned, "When I said that, that was before I had to face the harsh truth that everyone is a two faced coin… with one face scarred up beyond recognition. In addition, my past statement mainly applied to people who are born as nature intended."

"Well… then I choose to first trust in someone before thinking otherwise."

Blaze shook her head as she turned around and walked out of the room. Her voice called out when she wasn't too far from Silver's hearing range.

"Trusting first… that's how you allowed yourself to be deceived by that black vermin."

She heard the door slammed loudly. She let out a loud sigh. It's true, if she hadn't taught Silver to be very trusting and kind in their early years, he wouldn't have opened himself so much to that black hedgehog. Blaze flexed her hand, little flames sparked and dissipated in the air. The next time she saw him, she would show him no mercy for toying with Silver's tender heart.

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Present

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Sonic placed another layer of towels drenched in cold water over the small gray body. The kid was lying on his side on top of many layers of wet towels on top of the kitchen table. It had been an hour since they warped back home and since then, they had been doing as much as they could to ease the creature's pain. Ice packs, rolls of gauze, buckets of cold water, and a spray bottle. No matter what they seem to do though, the kid's high fever made no sign of breaking. If anything, it had gotten higher. He also noticed that without the sounds of the crashing ocean waves and squawking seagulls, the poor dolphin-like creature's gasping seemed so much louder and labored. He wondered what was making him so sick. All of the symptoms he shown all looked like a cold flu, but a more Metal Overlord-sized version of it.

It hurt the blue hedgehog deeply every time he saw the gasping creature's eyes. It looked as if he was forcing himself to stay awake. His eyelids would lower, then he would jolt and opened them back up. Why was he straining to stay awake? Feeling unsure as to what to do next, he placed a gentle hand on top of the star decorated forehead and began stroking it. The kid flinched at the touch and his pale yellow eyes gazed towards Sonic. The blue hedgehog withdrew his hand, finding himself meeting his gaze with his own. He knew the kid was in pain, but did he see something like… sadness in his eyes? The poor kid must have been through a lot. Unable to suppress the urge to physically comfort the dolphin creature, he slowly moved his hand towards the kid's head again. When he saw that the kid made no attempt to stop him, he gently placed the palm of his hand on top of his forehead and began stroking again at a much slower speed than before.

It was now Sonic's turn to flinch when the kid started to cry.

Did he hurt him? No wait, the kid looked sad earlier. Maybe he was crying out of sadness? In any case, the hedgehog hated when people cried, especially young kids. When Tails put on the water works, it was a losing battle for the hedgehog. He ceased stroking and got up to fetch a handkerchief and wet it with cold water. He wrung it out over the sink to squeeze out excess water and sat back down in front of the trembling form on his kitchen table. Sonic then proceeded to wipe the tear-streaked face of the kid, smiling his trademark grin as he did so.

"Don't worry, Buddy. You'll be back on your… feet? Flippers? Fins? Well, you'll be feeling great in no time!"

Sonic nearly jumped back when the kid started coughing. Hard.

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Location Change

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Shadow examined a bottle of pills as he walked out of the pharmacy not too far from their home in Central City. In his other hand he was holding a bag full of various items such as rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, a medley of medication that all seem to share about three fourths of their ingredients, and many towels. He grumbled and returned the bottle to the bag. If it was up to him, he would have dumped the kid in the hospital. However, explaining his dolphin features and the possibility of the staff being unable to accept him as a patient wasn't worth the headache. He figured that keeping the creature out of the sand and sun and with a little bit of hydration would do the trick.

He opened the door to his house and was greeted by sounds of coughing and the concern-filled voice of a certain blue hedgehog. Shutting the door behind him, he made his way to the kitchen to assess the situation. He saw Sonic holding up a trembling gray form with one hand, and his other hand holding a glass of water. The dolphin-like creature was sitting up hunched over, his small hands gripping the wet towel over him. His frail body shook with each cough he produced. Not too long after Shadow stepped into the kitchen, his coughing subsided and was replaced with sounds of gasping for air once again. His grip on the towel weakened and he leaned against Sonic's hand, making the blue hedgehog support most of his weight.

Sonic, now noticed Shadow walking in, eyed him worriedly, "Shadow! I-I don't know what's wrong I mean… he was coughing a lot so I thought that maybe water would help, but he coughed even more when he only took a few sips! Um I think he's okay now… well not really. But he stopped coughing!"

Shadow narrowed his eyes. He didn't need the blue hedgehog to tell him information he could easily have picked up himself with two seconds of looking at the scene before him, "Did you poisoned the water, hedgehog?"

"Of course not! It's straight from the tap, it's as good as you can get in terms of water!" Sonic replied, frustrated.

"If you haven't noticed, marine life do not live in tap water. I probably shouldn't expect you to know that, even if you lived on this planet all your life. Here–," Shadow walked over and took the glass in Sonic's hand and replaced it with a container that was filled with salt crystals. "Go to the bathroom, fill up the bathtub and follow the instructions printed on the box. I'll see what I can do to for him before bringing him up there."

Sonic sighed. He carefully laid the sickly child back on the wet towels that were spread out on the table, stood up, and went to the bathroom to do as Shadow said. As he headed there, he wondered why couldn't Shadow be the one to fill the bathtub with water.

Shadow rummaged through his bag on the counter, ears actively listening to the creature's breathing patterns. Ever since they brought him home, he showed no signs of getting better, but worst. His breathing became irregular and a hint of panic could be sensed with each breath, as if the creature thought each breath would be his last. Various ailments crossed Shadow's mind. Unfortunately many of them included high fever and difficulty breathing as their primary symptoms, so singling out any disease would be difficult. He turned around and faced the wheezing creature on his table.

"If you know why you are sick, now will be an excellent time to tell me."

The only response the black hedgehog received was more labored breathing. He wondered if this kid was capable of speech. Shadow reached into his bag and produced a thermometer. He walked over to the creature and sat down in front of him and held up the tool in front of pale yellow eyes.

"If you can't talk, then I will come to a conclusion myself with the various testing devices I bought. Now, I'm going to take your temperature reading. You have two options; oral or anal. Choose."

eqa

The black hedgehog saw his eyes attempting to focus in on the thermometer. But other than that, he received no other responses. It appeared as though Shadow would have to make the choice for him.

"Open your mouth, I'm going to stick this under your tongue."

It was if the creature hadn't hear him. He continued to lay there gasping like a fish out of water. Shadow might as well have been speaking in a totally different language... Or to a gold fish. With his free hand, he held the kid's head still and slid the cold metal tip down the kid's mouth. The creature's eyes shot opened and he grabbed Shadow's thermometer hand. He pushed himself away from the foreign object in his mouth and voiced his discomfort in the form of more frantic coughing and shaking his head. Well Shadow certainly got a reaction. It was going to be impossible to get a proper reading by mouth unless he knocked the kid out. Sonic would probably talk his ear off about knocking kids out though.

"Listen, runt. I need to take your temperature so I can properly diagnose you with something that hopefully can be taken care of with whatever I walked out with from the pharmacy. Now hold still or I'll stick this in your other hole. And I'm not speaking of your blowhole either. I wouldn't even know where to begin looking for that."

The hand that was holding the kid's head was whapped by a dolphin-like tail. Fortunately for Shadow, the tail slap was pathetic in strength and didn't do a thing… except anger Shadow. Besides to a certain supersonic hedgehog, he had zero tolerance for disrespect and disobedience. The dark hedgehog was terribly close to throwing the brat against the wall. Hard. He mustered up all the patience he had while trying to talk softly to the kid – he had never the type to baby talk kids like Sonic would. He resisted the urge to not shove a ton of sleeping pills down the kid's throat to knock him out.

A thought then occurred to him that it would be very difficult to administer any of the medication he bought. Just about all of them have to be taken by mouth. Groaning at this sudden realization, he let go of the kid's head and slammed the thermometer down on the table in front of the sick creature. He got up and walked over to the sink, glaring at nothing in particular. He took in a deep breath, than let it out slowly to calm his nerves.

"Runt, if the reason why you're not taking anything by mouth is because you somehow got exposed to rabies, you better tell me now before I send you to the emergency room for your nine inch needle treatment."

"… n…"

Black ears perked up. He looked over behind him to see the kid trying to say something. Temporarily amused, he walked back over and sat down in front of him.

"Progress... Now try using the other twenty-five letters."

The dolphin creature's eyes focused on the black hedgehog, continuing to make hoarse breathing sounds. His tail twitched, but didn't slap Shadow this time. The black hedgehog raised an eyebrow. Was this kid trying to give him a dirty look? He reached over and grabbed the gray tail against the table. It was a firm grip, but nothing worth screaming in agony over. Nothing could be gained from causing the kid undue pain after all.

However, he still needed to have his temperature read.

The sickly kid bucked as he felt a cold metal object being forced in his rear end. His heart rate shot up and his breathing became frantic. He let his extreme discomfort known with a tired "Na!"

He tried to swing his tail to push the intruder away, but noticed that the black hedgehog had a firm grip on his tail. He tried to use his legs to kick him away, only to find that they were pressed against the table by the hedgehog's arm. Finding himself unable to use his limbs, he shut his eyes tight and took deep quick breaths to take his mind off of what was the larger hedgehog doing down below. It wasn't even a few seconds before the little one quietly spoke.

"O… o-out… n… hur…urt…"

Shadow glanced over towards the kid. Sighing, he placed his free hand on his shoulder. He gave it a gentle squeeze, then stroked along the side of his gray body. He watched his own hand rise and fall in rhythm with the child's rapid breathing. For someone who apparently had been suffering for quite a while, he sure was putting up quite a fight.

Shadow lifted one of the short legs over so he could see the thermometer reading. As he did, the gray creature somewhat involuntarily kicked that leg and ended up hitting the hedgehog's cheek, catching him by surprise. Shadow grunted not really out of pain, but sheer annoyance. This kid was asking for a death sentence or five.

Luckily for the dolphin kid, the thermometer beeped, signaling that the temperature reading was finished and could be removed from the orifice. Not feeling very kind anymore, Shadow yanked the thermometer out, causing the kid to cry out in pain due to friction burn. He soon relaxed, somewhat uncomfortably on the table now that the thing was out of him. Shadow read the display on the thermometer and blinked. While he didn't know what a dolphin's normal body temperature range should be, he was quite certain that it shouldn't be anywhere as high as the read out. He decided to question the creature, but didn't actually expect any intelligent response in return.

"Your internal bodily temperature is obscenely high." Shadow held the display in front of the gray creature so he can see it. "Is this normal for you?"

The creature slowly focused on the tool held out in front of him. "… N… ni…" He suddenly shut his eyes and coughed. Trying to talk seemed to drain him of energy faster. He huddled under the towels and curled up. He breathed laboriously and coughed harder than before. His throat felt extremely raw, making coughing and breathing all the more painful. He felt his consciousness slipping away as he laid there vulnerable in front of the black hedgehog.

"NIDS."

Small gray ears twitched upon hearing that word. He slowly raised his eyelids halfway before closing them again. He then felt himself being rolled over and lifted off the table. His face was pressed against something soft and fluffy and he felt arms supporting him from underneath his back. The sound of the black hedgehog's voice seemed so faraway as he blacked out in his arms.

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Flashback

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Silver lowered his hand after using his telekinesis to shut the door. His angry expression soon faded away as he looked down upon the sleeping form of the child. Blaze didn't have to mention… him. Even if she didn't refer to him by name, they both knew who they were referring to.

"Shadow…"

…

About two years prior, Silver was caring for a sickly Chao just outside Central City. These were hard times, and the untainted forests and other havens for Chao had been diminishing over many decades. Driven to starvation due to the fragile nut trees only able to grow near bodies of clean water, desperate Chao had been moving into industrialized areas in hopes that they could evolve and adapt to living in such a place.

Most of them died when technology and industrialization developed faster than they did.

It was then he met Shadow. The black hedgehog was watching him from above as Silver wrapped gauze over the Chao's wounds. He was approached by Shadow and was told that he considered his telekinesis a valuable asset to have during times of war. He was also offered a position in G.U.N. and proceeded to tell him of the benefits package. However, Silver didn't listen to Shadow after he mentioned the military group. He, Blaze, and various others in the protest group he was a part of vehemently hated G.U.N., their twisted views, and their methods of getting things done.

Silver turned to walk away, but was stopped. He was told to give Shadow ten days to persuade him to at least see G.U.N. in a more positive light. He remembered Blaze always telling him to see the good side in things, so he agreed to it.

While most of the conversations that occurred were about G.U.N., and how they were only interested in enforcing peace in the world, the topic of discussion began to deviate rather quickly. Shadow began talking about himself and how he saved this planet many times single handedly. Was it possible for one person to do that? If Silver was to have the ability to save the world, all life on it would live in peace… rather than in turmoil as it was right now.

Then the dark hedgehog would ask about Silver, about what he believed in and the protest group. After a while, Shadow began to pry into Silver's thoughts. He said how the goal of peace that the protesters were striving for was the same as G.U.N.'s, and how they shouldn't be fighting amongst each other but working with each other. Against his better judgment and Blaze's warnings about talking to one of G.U.N.'s dogs, he found himself intrigued by Shadow's words and ideals. Especially why he had been working alongside with G.U.N. for 'longer than anyone else on the force'.

Silver made the conscious choice to see him well past the ten day promise. He felt like he got so much more out of his conversations with Shadow. Sure it was nice talking with Blaze every now and then, but her views were so biased. At least when he talked to Shadow, he hadn't feel like he was pressured to stay with the protest group or join G.U.N.

Months rolled by. The talks of G.U.N., protestors, and politics, had stopped weeks ago. Seeing the black hedgehog became a habit that he found he couldn't break. He felt… drawn towards Shadow. Physically. Emotionally. The white hedgehog soon realized he has fallen in love with him. Shadow picked up on this far earlier than the white hedgehog did. He asked him a single question.

"How far would you go to prove your feelings to me?"

Silver's eyes closed slowly, deep in thought. He nuzzled Shadow's hand stroking his left cheek as he wait for his answer. Soon he opened his eyes and his golden yellow eyes were filled with a confident look.

"As long as it doesn't jeopardize your or my status in our respective groups… Anything."

Shadow nodded in response to the white hedgehog's answer. He leaned closer and whispered into his ear.

"Then grace me with your presence tonight…"

Silver received his first kiss that day. That night, his once pure white body melted under Shadow's intimate touch as he allowed himself to be thoroughly ravished as he saw fit.

Anything. He would do anything for Shadow, even go against his best friends wishes.

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Present

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Sonic stuck his elbow in the water to test its temperature. It wasn't too hot or too cold. He probably should have made the water colder, but he didn't want to freeze the little one. Also the salt crystals refused to dissolve in icy water. Guess he should had microwave them in a separate container. Feeling satisfied with the amount and temperature of the water in the tub, he leaned against the wall, waiting for Shadow to come with the kid. He glanced down towards the golden bracelet resting around his left wrist, which fit snugly around the cuff of his glove. A smile formed on his face. The bracelet once belong to Shadow, and was cleverly used as an engagement (and subsequently, wedding ring) of sorts. It was an unexpected proposal and happened in what had to be one of the most stressful days in Sonic's life. Partly because of that, the images of that day always played in his mind vividly. He shuddered after glancing at the tub full of water, further reminding him of the ocean that he was forced to jump into.

He turned his head upon hearing footsteps just outside the entrance. Red, black, and white colored rocket shoes, followed by Shadow carring an almost still small gray body. They came into full view underneath the doorframe. He was about to speak when Shadow cut him off.

"Drain the water and get out. It is imperative that you stay away from him at all times."

Sonic flinched at the strange sudden request. "Uh Shadow, what do you mean?"

Shadow shot him a stern look. "He has NIDS, and your every touch is killing him. Now move it."

He didn't need to tell Sonic twice as he promptly drained the tub and jogged out. However, Sonic couldn't help but feel apprehensive when he laid eyes on the almost still form in Shadow's arms. The only thing that reassured him that he was still alive was the now slow rise and fall of his chest.

Before entering the bathroom, Shadow kicked off his rocket shoes, pulled off his gloves with his teeth, and left them outside the door. Shadow shifted his somewhat heavy load to his right arm and used his left hand to reach into his bag – that he also left outside the door – to withdraw several anti-bacterial wipes. He walked over to the toilet, closed the lid and wiped it down. While tossing the wipe outside, he fetched a fresh clean towel and placed it on top of the toilet seat. He lowered the kid on top of the towel and adjusted him so he was lying on his side and not in danger of falling off. He then proceeded to quickly give the bathtub a good scrub down until it was absolutely immaculate. All used wipes and brushes were immediately thrown out the door. He was not intending on using them again. When he felt satisfied, he followed the instructions outlined on the box of fish pond salt crystals and sprinkled a handful in the tub, then turned on the water. He'll have to depend on the bacteria and parasite killing qualities of the crystals before he could go out and purchase a water purifier.

While the tub was filling up with water, he removed all the bath rugs from the floor and tossed them out the door. He began scrubbing the floor and wiped it down with anti-bacterial wipes. Tossing out the used wipes and scrubs, he covered every square inch with several layers of fresh white towels. After that, he put together a pile of towels that was supposed to make a cushioned bed of sorts. He tested its softness by pressing down on it. Feeling that it served its purpose well enough, he reached over and picked the kid off the toilet and placed him down on the pile. Shadow then got out the bleach and a brush to give the toilet a more thorough scrubbing.

The child's breathing was painfully slow and weak. Sometimes Shadow felt like he had to constantly rouse the kid up so he'd remember to inhale. By the time he finished with the toilet, the tub was just about filled. Tossing the used scrub outside, he turned off the water and carried the sickly creature up from the towel pile. He noticed how limp he felt in his arms. The kid had been fairly resistant back in the kitchen.

In any case, he was much easier to handle this way. He turned the kid so his back was towards the water and slowly lowered him down. He didn't even twitch when he went from room temperature to whatever temperature the water was at. He submerged him until so only his face and forehead was above the water. Using one hand, he scooped some water and patted water all over his face. Shortly after finishing this task, a realization dawned on him that he hadn't bought anything to help keep the kid's head above the water. Mentally cursing to himself, he looked around the bathroom trying to improvise something suitable.

He carried him out of the water and held him with one arm as he used the other to search the cabinet behind the mirror. He pulled out a roll of gauze. He placed him on top of the toilet lid and unrolled the gauze, then wrapped the fabric loosely around the kid's chest, even more loosely around his neck. After pulling on the gauze to measure its endurance, he brought him back into the tub. He placed him back into the water and ensured that his head remained above the waterline by lowering or raising the 'fishing line' made of the gauze. Satisfied that he was in no danger of drowning anytime soon, he double tied the gauze to the shower head.

Finally finishing the grueling task of disinfecting the bathroom and making sure the little patient wasn't too uncomfortable – not that he was conscious enough to voice his thoughts, Shadow exited the bathroom and closed the door. He gathered up the used supplies and properly disposed of them.

End of Chapter 2

What do you think? The pace picks up I hope. Yeah these beginning chapters are pretty long. The chapters involving family interactions and junk you guys actually want will come up soon (they will be in shorter chapter formats however).

Thanks Shots of Sunshine for betaing this chapter! And everyone else who commented/reviewed and faved =3