Thanks for the reviews, guys! It's nice to see the positive feedback!
Sorry for the wait, I am busy with college and homework. I'll try to write as much as I can between and after classes, but writer's block STILL WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE. I did work on this during Labor Day weekend, so I got more of it written. Speaking of which, how was everyone's weekend? Too short?
anime2videogames: Thanks. You'll find out what else he finds. I'm in college now…so I'll have less time to write. Damn.
GenesisBlazingShadow: I KNOW IT'S LACKING CONTENT! IT'S BECAUSE OF THE WRITER'S BLOCK! *deep breaths* Yes, things are going to get interesting.
KeizerGodzilla: I could…and I'm not sure about Eggman, but I do have an idea for Knuckles. He appears in this chapter.
IluvSilverShadow: Shadow's my favorite character, but I still couldn't resist him saying that he could either knock down a wasp's nest or dye his streaks pink. I laughed when I got the mental image of that. Whoops, didn't mean to bring up that memory. Sorry. ^_^'
jorenmartijn: Thanks! I laughed writing that part. "Shadow's Partner"? I've read it! Three times! It's an awesome story! It actually inspired me to write this one. Well, that, and the dream I had. Ah, it's okay. At least it cleared things up for you. You'll see what happens with the Emerald. ;)
Note: I did a timeskip this chapter. There won't be as much tension between Sonic and Shadow whenever Sonic's past is brought up, but it's still there…
Disclaimer: I only own the plot. Characters belong to SEGA
Chapter 10
7 months later…
It was official. Sonic hated school. He still planned to try and become an actor, so his dad managed to convince him to start at the high school in one of the nearby cities, but first he had to do all the make up work before he could be admitted. Somehow, he had managed to make up two years of missed school work in the past few months, mostly because he had nothing better to do.
So why does he hate school? He was in the principal's office for the 8th time that week, and he'd only been at the school for three days.
'I'm really starting to hate this place…especially that one kid, Knuckles.'
Currently, Sonic had a black eye, a cut lip, and some bruises from the most recent fight.
It was worth it, though.
The door opened to reveal a miffed looking Shadow. One look at Sonic was enough explanation. "Fighting again?"
"Unfortunately, yes. I've already spoken to Knuckles, and he claims your son attacked him for no reason."
'Why do they always talk like I'm not even here?' Sonic thought angrily. "I had a reason!"
Due to the coincidental fact that when the school was built several years ago, Shadow had provided most of the funds to help with the construction, and that they happened to know each other, the principal seemed understanding, and replied calmly, "If you have a reason, then why not tell us your side of the story?"
Sonic, although he had declared not to hide his eyes anymore, still felt uncomfortable with people seeing them, so every time he went to the principal's office, and his classes, he kept his head down so no one would see. How Knuckles found out, he wanted to know.
He sighed, and lifted his head up. The principal didn't look surprised. "He makes snide remarks about my eyes, and it reminds me of my past, so I just…" He trailed off, clenching his fist.
Besides Shadow and the principal, no one else knew about Sonic's past. They both looked at him with concern. This only aggravated Sonic more, but when he spoke, his voice was near emotionless. "Look, if you're going to expel me, go ahead. I don't care." Shadow, growing even more concerned, even though he now knew the reason behind the fights, placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder.
There was a brief silence, then, "Given the circumstances, I see no reason for expulsion. I see that this has been stressful for you, so instead, you may rest at home until you are ready to come back."
'At least someone gives a damn. Besides Dad, that is,' Sonic thought. "Fine. Can we go now?" He didn't miss the piercing look Shadow gave him, but he ignored it.
"Yes, you can. I'll tell your teachers you'll be gone for a while, and I'll make sure you won't have to make up any work you miss."
That eased most of Sonic's tension, and it was noticed by the other two occupants of the room. "Alright." With that, he stood up and left the room.
Shadow, however, hadn't stood up. "I'm starting to wonder if it was a good idea to have him come so soon…" he said, sighing.
"You thought you were doing the right thing. Sure, some of the other students are antagonizing him, but I can tell he tries his best to ignore the first couple of insults."
"Still, maybe I should've waited until he was comfortable about his past before putting him in this sort of environment."
"Would it have helped? From what you told me, he was hated by everyone who had even got a glimpse of his eyes. What would've made this any different from that? It probably would've helped him confront his past."
"If I had known what was going to happen, I wouldn't have pressured him to come."
"From what I've seen, he thought he could handle it on his own. He didn't want to bother you with it."
That didn't go too well for Shadow. He sighed again, closing his eyes.
Unknown to them, Sonic had been listening to the conversation by hiding next to the doorway. He did feel bad about not telling his dad about what was happening, but he had thought he could handle this on his own, like he had everything else. Almost everything else.
He shook his head and shoved the memories aside for now, peeking through the doorway.
"Do you think it would've made a difference if I had managed to get him to tell me what was going on?"
"Who knows? I've seen a few kids with his type of personality, and they tend to keep things to themselves."
"I noticed."
'When are they going to stop talking about me? They did enough of that already,' Sonic thought, discreetly turning around.
"I seem to remember you being the same way for a while, Shadow."
'Wait, what?' Sonic swiftly and silently turned back around, still by the doorway, not having taken one step anyway.
"That was until I had gotten my memories back," Shadow said, quills bristling slightly. The year he had amnesia was not something he liked to think about.
'So that's where I got my irritability about the past from,' Sonic grinned, then it faded. His own memories were trying to push past his barriers, but he shoved them aside again.
'I guess that's one more thing we have in common,' they both thought simultaneously.
Momentarily forgetting that he was eavesdropping, Sonic sighed, loudly enough to be heard by the two occupants of the room. Realizing his mistake, he hid back behind the doorway.
Shadow turned towards the doorway and raised an eyebrow in what seemed like amusement.
"I know you're there, Sonic."
Sonic nearly gave into the impulse to shout "No, I'm not!" but he bit down on his tongue to keep himself from doing it. Bracing himself for anything, he walked back into the office.
"How long were you there, Sonic?" Shadow asked.
"A while," Sonic answered, trying to keep his voice and face neutral, but the fact that he'd been caught eavesdropping made him apprehensive.
Shadow noticed this, and gave his son a reassuring look. It seemed to help, but Sonic was still tense.
Looking at the albino bat that was his principal, Sonic saw an amused, knowing smile.
Shifting nervously, Sonic averted his gaze away from either of them.
"You aren't going to be in more trouble for eavesdropping, Sonic. You were just waiting for the rest of the meeting to be over."
Sonic looked at the bat and cocked his head to the side with a questioning look on his face. "How do you know?"
"You remember how I used to be gone for days, or even weeks?" Shadow asked. "Well, I used to be a spy."
"A government spy?" Sonic asked, now looking at his dad.
"You could say the opposite. Instead of working for the government, I would spy on them. Gather information about their military's weaknesses and use that against them."
"Is that how you know her?" Sonic asked, inclining his head towards the albino bat, his tone suddenly cold.
'He would jump to that conclusion, seeing as anything could have happened,' Shadow thought.
"We've teamed up on a few missions," he said aloud.
"I can assure you, Sonic, that we were strictly teammates, nothing more," the principal added.
This slightly calmed Sonic down, but it was enough to quell any other suspicions.
Sonic looked at his dad again. "Are we leaving yet?" Part of him wanting to leave had to do with impatience, but he mainly wanted to get back at Knuckles for the insults.
"Well, we really have no more business here, so yes, we can leave," Shadow said, standing up. "We'll be back when he's ready to overcome this."
'I still have business here, dad, you just don't know it,' Sonic thought, suppressing a grin.
Both hedgehogs said their goodbyes, and thanks, to her before heading out of the principal's room.
They were near the front doors when a voice rang out.
"I knew that freak would get expelled. It was only a matter of time."
Sonic stopped in his tracks and turned around, giving the glare he had picked up from Shadow.
He stiffened. Not only was Knuckles there, but most of the student body was there as well. A bubble of panic started to rise in his chest. His eyes were visible to everyone!
Swallowing the panic down, Sonic answered emotionlessly, "For your information, Knuckles, I haven't been expelled. Instead, I get to relax at home for a few weeks, while you learn the same crap over and over again. Besides, your eyes are as freaky as mine. Whoever heard of someone having purple eyes?" He put emphasis on Knuckles' name to show his distain towards him.
Shadow could have intervened, but he realized that this was Sonic's fight, so after making brief eye contact with his son, he nodded as if saying "If you must, go ahead," before stepping to the side.
"Think you're better than the rest of us, huh? You're nothing but some street kid taken in because of pity."
Something in Sonic's mind snapped. He ran towards Knuckles and gave him an uppercut so hard he could've sworn he heard Knuckles' jaw break.
Unbeknownst to Sonic, his navy fur had darkened, and his emerald eye had shifted colors to match his ruby one, making him look nearly identical to Shadow.
Shadow tensed. 'How? The only way that can happen is…' He then noticed a small corner of the gem Sonic had found all those months ago sticking out of his quills, which were raised slightly. 'I have to get it away from him before he goes into the second stage! I'll need to distract him, though.'
It didn't stop at just one punch. Using his speed, Sonic literally punched and kicked Knuckles all across the hallway. Needless to say, Knuckles did not look pretty.
The other students, who had pressed up against walls to avoid being hit by the projectile that was Knuckles, were in shock. The same thought went through all their minds: 'Do not piss him off.'
Finally, Sonic stopped the merciless beating, but he was now choking the battered echidna.
"THAT'S ENOUGH, SONIC!" Shadow yelled.
Sonic turned to look at Shadow. The pupils in his eyes were already starting to fade, though the irises weren't, and his fur had darkened more, but something flickered in them.
Dropping the echidna, who was now unconscious due to both his injuries and lack of oxygen, Sonic floated over to Shadow. After seeming to survey him for a few moments, recognition sparked into his eyes, before Sonic went back to normal. The sudden drain of power caused him to drop to his knees.
Sonic shook his head, and rubbed his forehead to clear the dizzy spell that came over him. In doing so, the gem fell out of his quills, and landed with a clatter, but he didn't notice.
Shadow did, however, and swiftly picked it up. "Are you alright, son?"
"Dad? What happened?" he asked quietly.
"I can't say. Not here, not now."
Sonic glanced at the rest of the students. A few of them had already taken Knuckles to the infirmary, so Sonic didn't see him. Those remaining had stunned, almost fearful looks, and Sonic grew worried.
Shadow noticed this, and placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder before squeezing it gently in a reassuring way.
Some of his memories got through the barrier so, unconsciously scooting away from the gaze of the other kids, towards his dad, Sonic whispered, "Dad, can we go home now?" There was fear, pure fear, in his voice.
Shadow, in truth, had never seen nor heard his son sound so scared, not even after a nightmare.
After squeezing Sonic's shoulder reassuringly again, Shadow Chaos Controlled the two of them home.
Once there, Sonic did his best to keep from losing control of his emotions. Again.
Shadow pulled his son into a one-armed hug, offering as much comfort as he could.
Sonic wasn't sure if he should pull away or lean into the hug, so he made no movement. It didn't mean he was ungrateful.
It took a few minutes, but Sonic was able to calm himself down.
"Are you alright?"
"I…I think so. What happened, dad? The last thing I remember was…what Knuckles said. And feeling this rush of power."
"You reacted badly to what he said, son. By use of this," Shadow explained, holding up the gem.
Sonic blinked when he saw it. "I forgot I had that. What is it?"
"It's called a Chaos Emerald. It holds immense power, both positive and negative. It is said that whoever collects all seven will become temporarily invincible."
Sonic, who had been listening with rapt attention, was now looking at the Emerald with awe. He reached for it, but Shadow held it out of reach, giving him a mild glare.
Sonic glared back, but only for a second. "So, what's that got to do with me?" he asked.
"Well, you seem to be extremely sensitive to the Emerald's energies, especially the negative. That's why you reacted the way you did. Your anger drew out the negative energies of the Emerald."
Sonic grew worried and apprehensive again. "Then why don't I remember?"
"I think your mind reacted to the event by blocking out the memories. Personally, I find that a good thing."
"Was it that bad?"
"It was, and you didn't even reach the second stage."
Sonic's worry was replaced by confusion. "Second stage?"
"From what I know, those few who are sensitive to the negative energies of a Chaos Emerald will be affected in three stages. The first stage will make you more aggressive and will slightly change your appearance. It will also be harder to tell the difference between friend and foe. In the second stage, you'll lash out at just about anyone in your way, especially if you're focusing on one person. The pupils in your eyes will vanish, but your irises won't, giving you a more monstrous appearance. The third stage is by far the worst, and I mean that. You can no longer tell who is friend and who is foe, practically destroying anything in your path. In both mentality and appearance, you will truly be a monster."
It was a harsh truth, but Shadow felt like his son needed to know.
Sonic had paled significantly during the explanation, but at least he knew, to an extent, what had happened to him. He had asked what happened.
"How…how did you get me to stop?"
"I pretty much yelled. I think you recognized my voice, because you stopped and came to me. Then, you studied me for a few seconds before realizing that I was someone you trusted, which was enough to get you to revert back to yourself."
Sonic was hesitant on asking his next question. "…Will this always happen?"
Shadow shook his head. "Only if you're near, or in possession of one of the Emeralds. That reminds me, how did you find this one?"
Sonic seemed to perk up. "That's an easy one. I went back to the storage room to see what else I could find, and I saw it under one of the piles. I was going to ask you about it, but it slipped my mind."
"Didn't I say that the storage room was off-limits?"
"Tch, well excuse me for thinking that that rule only applied until I knew who you really were, Shadow."
"Sonic…" Shadow warned, both in tone, and glare.
The two hedgehogs may have gotten closer over the months, but there were still times where Sonic insisted that he was independent, or something of the like. This often created power struggles between them.
Sonic glared back, and for an instant, the Chaos Emerald had darkened, and so had Sonic's fur. The brief blackout was enough to make Sonic's anger ebb away, and for Shadow to use Chaos Control to hide the Emerald somewhere he was sure Sonic wouldn't get to.
Shaking his head to clear the dizziness, Sonic realized just how close he had been to possibly attacking his father. He shut his eyes, trying not to think of what he had probably done to Knuckles.
A part of his mind thought that the echidna got what he deserved. He shook his head again. He needed to calm down.
"Sonic?"
Hearing the familiar voice was enough to make him open his eyes, and when he did, he realized that he could feel his body trembling slightly.
Shadow looked at his son with concern-filled eyes. Again, he pulled the navy colored hedgehog into a one-armed hug. This time, Sonic leaned into it, but just barely.
"You needn't worry about being affected again. I've hidden the Emerald in a safe place, where you can't get to it," Shadow soothed.
Sonic, for reasons unknown, even to himself, tried to joke by asking, "Under your bed?"
This was quickly followed by a sharp tug of his ear. "No time for jokes," Shadow gently scolded. "That was a nice attempt, though."
"Gee, thanks," Sonic replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes with a wry smirk. "You nearly rip my ear off, then tell me my attempted joke was good."
'He's starting to become more like me. I wonder if that's a good thing, or a bad thing,' Shadow thought.
Suddenly, Sonic felt his eyelids droop. The gain and drain of the Emerald's power was starting to have an effect on him.
"Tired?"
"Not really." Sonic tried to fight off his drowsiness. Given what had transpired earlier, if he fell asleep, there was a good chance that he would relive his memories in his dreams. Living them once was bad enough. Not that it hadn't happened before, but Sonic had the feeling it would be worse this time.
Shadow could tell that Sonic was trying to fight off sleep, and he also knew why. Nightmares were never pleasant.
"Dad?"
Breaking out of his thoughts, Shadow looked at his son. "Yes?"
Sonic fidgeted nervously. "You said that I only…um, transform when I'm around the Chaos Emerald. Did it happen before? Is that why you had it hidden in the first place?"
Shadow thought carefully before giving his response, so that he wouldn't upset or worry his son too badly, though Sonic would probably insist that he could handle it. "You have only once before, and it was how I realized you were sensitive to the Emerald's energies."
"What did I do?"
"Well, you went on a slight rampage. You were still young, so you didn't do that much damage. Again, I was the only one who got you to revert back to yourself."
"How old?"
"You were around four-and-a-half. Like you had earlier, you found a Chaos Emerald, and you wouldn't let anyone near it. It was the same one I just hid for the second time. I tried to get it away from you, but eventually you started having a, for lack of better term, temper tantrum."
Once again, Sonic paled and trembled. On one hand, it was a good thing he didn't remember that. On the other, he had attacked his dad. The only person he had left in his life. Granted, it happened a long time ago, but Sonic didn't care. It had happened.
'Every time someone tries to help me, they end up getting hurt or killed…I guess I was meant to live by myself…who would want to live with someone like me?' were the thought running through Sonic's mind.
Shadow could practically feel his son's pain, guilt, and self-loathing. "I wasn't finished, son. Like I said, you didn't do a lot of damage. In fact, you preferred breaking things in the room rather than going after me. You flat-out ignored me, until I managed to get your attention. You looked like you were about to attack me, but instead, you recognized me before going limp."
'I didn't go after him? He said that I would go after the one who infuriates me enough to transform in the first place, so why…?'
Seeing the negative feelings turn into confusion, and still confused on the old situation himself, Shadow decided to elaborate as best as he could. "I think it has something to our familial bond. And our Chaos Energy."
"What does that have to with this?" The question was barely a whisper, but Shadow's keen ears still heard it.
Shadow took a couple of deep breaths, and Sonic could tell he was trying to compose himself. "The day you were born…you were nearly dead. The doctors tried everything to save you, but you weren't responding. They were about to give up, but then they felt that your mother and I at least deserved to see you. I saw you looking so lifeless…it nearly killed me. When I got to hold you, I held you as close as I could while you were in that state. When I did, I felt my Chaos Energy react, most likely in response to my emotions, and transfer into you. Slowly, you started to come around, and I knew you would live."
Whatever Sonic had been expecting, it certainly hadn't been that "So my Energy is really yours?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes. This could be why your transformations make you look like me, and why I'm the only one who can get you to revert back."
Sonic tried to digest the new information, but he was still feeling tired, and he couldn't quite grasp what he had heard.
"Look, it's still early. Why don't you get some rest?"
'Why do I suddenly feel like a toddler going to be put down for a nap?' Sonic thought. He shook his head. "I'm fine, dad. Really."
"Physically, yes, but not emotionally. This is starting to take its toll on you."
While under normal circumstances, Sonic would've argued, he knew his dad was right. He just didn't want to admit it.
Shadow chuckled. "You know I'm right, son. I can see it in your face."
"You can read facial expressions?"
"As well as body language."
"So I won't be able to get away with anything, will I?"
"You got away with hiding the Chaos Emerald, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but that was because I forgot I had it."
"You've gotten craftier, son."
"You'd find out about it eventually, though," Sonic pointed out.
"True, but I'm willing to bet that you'd find some way to get yourself out of trouble."
Sonic had a sly grin. "Yeah, you're right." He then adopted a look of concentration before snapping his fingers. In an instant, the now-becoming-familiar green Chaos Emerald appeared in his hand.
Shadow had felt the Chaos Energy drift towards the room where he had hidden the Emerald. "Where did you learn that?"
"I thought of it myself. Still haven't got a name for it, though. As long as I have a clear image of what item I want or need, it'll work."
"Impressive. I take it you can't put whatever item you have back?"
"Not it I don't know where I got the object from, although if I want to hide something, I can just use the same concept. I think you'll have to hide this again," Sonic added sheepishly, handing the Emerald to the ebony hedgehog.
Shadow took the Emerald from his son. "Just don't use it for the Chaos Emerald again."
"I won't."
Shadow promptly Chaos Controlled to a different room to hide the Emerald.
When he returned a few seconds later, he saw that his son had been close to drifting off, but had snapped his eyes open and shaken his head when he saw him.
"I'm awake."
"I bet you are," Shadow said with a small smirk. It then turned into a frown of concern. "You should really get some rest, son."
Sonic shook his head. "I said I'm fine," he replied, annoyance in his voice.
Shadow's eyes narrowed. Sonic clearly saw the warning look in them, but at the moment, he didn't really care. Fists clenched, Sonic stood up and opened his mouth to argue, but then a dizzy spell hit him. He lost his balance, but was swiftly caught by Shadow.
"This is why I said to rest," he said, almost all traces of anger gone "This is one of the after-effects of using the Emerald, voluntarily or not, since you're sensitive to its Energy."
"You could've said something earlier," Sonic accused.
"You didn't ask."
"What was I supposed to say? 'By the way, is there anything else I need to know about using a potentially dangerous jewel'?" There was another sharp tug on his ear, but it wasn't as hard as the last one.
"This is serious, Sonic. You need to rest. Unless you like feeling tired and dizzy all the time?"
"I don't," the navy teen admitted. "I thought you said this was serious. Why do you get to joke?"
"Who says I was joking?"
"I do."
A split second later, they were both in Sonic's bedroom. "Just get some rest," Shadow told his son.
The 15 year-old hedgehog looked like he was ready to argue again, but chose not to instead. Sonic simply nodded and trudged, as he was starting to feel really tired now, to his bed, with some help from Shadow.
As soon as Sonic felt the soft mattress, he fell asleep without getting to lie down properly. Shadow shook his head in exasperation, a small smile on his face. After hoisting up his son's legs, which were dangling off the side of the bed, and setting them down on the bed so that Sonic wouldn't fall off in the middle of the night, Shadow went out to run some errands. It was still early afternoon, and he was sure that his son would sleep peacefully until he got back.
How wrong he was.
Parts of Sonic's past were pushing through his mental barriers as he slept. He started tossing and turning in his sleep, a scowl on his face.
"Stop, thief!" Sonic heard from behind him. He dashed off with the bread he managed to "borrow" from the bakery. It was only a day old, but it would be enough for a while.
Of course, he didn't see the boxes in front of him, and crashed into them, causing his recently found sunglasses to fall off. 'Shit!'
"Hey, it's the weird-eyed freak! Get him!"
Sonic tried to get up as fast as possible, but one of his kneecaps was bruised from the crash.
It was still not as bad compared to the beating he'd gotten.
Luckily, he hid the bread so they wouldn't take it back from him. Once they were done tormenting him, and left, he painfully stood up and limped to the nearest unused alleyway, the 13 and a half year-old nibbling on the stale bread the whole way.
The dream shifted…
There was smoke everywhere, so thick it was if he was looking at nothing but darkness. Coughing, covering his mouth with one hand to prevent smoke inhalation, Sonic crawled under the smoke.
He could feel heat all around him, and he knew he needed to get out, but there was something he needed to do first.
The smoke stung his eyes when he stood up, but he didn't care. Making his way out of his room, he went into his mom's room, barely avoiding a large chunk of burning wood that fell from the ceiling.
He needed to get her out. She was still recovering.
He was frustrated that the doctors couldn't figure out the name of the cancer she had, but at least they were trying different treatments.
If anything, he thought it would've been better to die fighting it, then to die in this fire.
He could hear weak coughing, so he hurried.
Where were the firefighters?! They should've been here by now!
"Mom! I'm going to get you out of here!" he shouted, his voice muffled due to his covered mouth. The smoke and heat were rising in intensity, but he was able to make it to his mom's bedside.
Through the thick smoke, he saw her nod.
Gently, he helped her out of bed, and supported her as they both made their way to the front door, the house still collapsing all around them.
Since she was still recovering from the recent treatment, they had to go slow, but they still tried to hurry. It still frustrated him that there still wasn't a name for the type of cancer she had.
They were almost out of there when one of the support beams fell on top of her.
He turned and tried to help her, only to have his arm grabbed and he found himself being dragged out of the house. Figures the fire brigade would get here late. "Come on, kid! You need to get out now!"
Sonic struggled against the grip, and glared at the fireman. "You don't understand! I have to go back for her!"
They guy didn't even loosen his grip, so he kicked him in the shin as hard as he could. It worked, and Sonic ran to the house. As soon as he got there, however, the whole house collapsed.
"NO!"
Sonic shot up in his bed, shaking and sweating, almost unaware of the tears running down his peach muzzle. He hadn't had that particular nightmare in over a year. Stumbling out of his bed, he tried to calm down enough to think rationally. Not seeing or hearing Shadow around made him think that something happened to him too.
He heard footsteps, then a familiar voice. "Sonic?"
Shadow had been concerned and scared when he'd heard his son screaming. Having just gotten home from running his errands, he immediately dropped everything in his arms, and ran to Sonic's bedroom, only to see his son already at the door.
Looking at him, Shadow instantly knew his son had had a nightmare.
Before either of them knew it, Sonic had wrapped his arms around his neck, and buried his face into Shadow's chest fluff, crying his eyes out.
Knowing that Sonic's nightmares were usually about his past, Shadow gave him a comforting hug. "Was it the same as usual?"
He was a little surprised when his son had tensed. Sonic's next words were muffled, but they were still audible. "It was about the fire."
'That explains his reaction…' Shadow thought, rubbing circles on his son's back like he had when Sonic was younger. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Sonic shook his head. It was still painful to think about.
"It's best to talk about these things sooner than later, as it'll help lessen the pain."
"It won't go away…"
"The nightmare or the pain of it?"
"Both."
Shadow used his other hand to tilt Sonic's head up and make eye contact with him. "All pain fades over time. For some, it takes days. For others, years. It does go away eventually, and if someone has gone through the same or similar experiences, then they understand your pain, and can help you get through it."
"How do you know?"
"You aren't the only one who lost someone that day," Shadow said quietly.
It was at that moment that Sonic realized why Shadow had been so protective of him after they had been reunited. Not only had he himself been so close to death, but someone dear to both of them had been taken away 13 years later.
Sonic averted his gaze, and muttered "Right…" before looking back at his dad.
"I know it's still painful for you to think about. It's still painful for me too."
Unsure of how to respond, Sonic nodded. His tears weren't flowing as hard, but they were still flowing.
"Go wash your face in the sink. I'll get some ice for your eye." Neither of them had forgotten the day's earlier events.
Sonic nodded again. The salty tears weren't doing anything to help with the slight pain from the black eye.
Unlatching himself from Shadow, he went down the hall to the restroom.
The cool water felt nice, but he still winced slightly when it touched his eye.
Glancing at his reflection, Sonic suddenly hated his dual-colored eyes.
With a furious yell, he grabbed hold of the mirror and, after tearing it from the wall, hurled it at the opposite wall, where it shattered with a resounding crash. Tiny glass shards flew all over the room, some of them cutting Sonic, but not too badly or hitting any vital spots.
This resulted in Shadow nearly breaking the door down as he hurried in, having already been on his way up with the ice pack.
It was there that Shadow saw his son looking as though he'd jumped through a window.
Sighing, Shadow calmly leading his distraught son out of the restroom, and into the den.
Sonic seemed to calm down as they walked, but there was still some self-loathing on his face.
Placing the ice pack over the bruised emerald eye, Shadow managed to coax the reason for the shattered mirror out of his son.
It was a little surprising for him to hear that Sonic was despising his eyes.
"Son, do you think you're the only person with dual-colored eyes? I've seen a few people with the same thing."
Sonic's ears, which had been drooped since waking up from his nightmare, perked up a bit. "Really?"
"Yes. Blue and green, blue and brown, even green and brown. I've even seen a person with black and white colored eyes."
"…I saw someone once who had blue and brown eyes, but everyone ignored him. Why did they ignore him and hate me?"
"Well, they probably haven't seen anyone who has ruby colored eyes other than me. I used to walk through that city a lot, but I guess they never made the connection between my eyes and your own."
"They should have, but I don't think that my thieving would have helped."
"I doubt it would've. Keep that pressed to your eye." Shadow then got up and left the room.
He knew that Shadow was going to get the medical kit. He would've protested that he could treat his own wounds himself, but he had to admit that he couldn't hold the ice pack to his eye and treat his wounds at the same time.
Shadow came back a short while later with the medical kit. The cuts weren't too deep, but they still needed to be cleaned. Also, he was sure he had seen some of the shards embedded into his son's skin, so they needed to be removed.
Sonic had also noticed the embedded shards. He knew it would be a little difficult to get those out, since they were small.
He nodded once to his dad to let him know he could start getting the shards out.
There weren't too many shards, so it didn't take very long to get them all out, though Sonic still hissed in pain when each shard was pulled out.
Once the last shard was out, Shadow cleaned the cuts.
'Good thing I got more medical supplies,' he thought to himself.
After the wounds were cleaned and bandaged, Shadow went to get the stuff he dropped earlier and put them up, but not before saying, "You really shouldn't make a habit of getting hurt, son."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Once Shadow had left the room, Sonic used Chaos Control to go back into his room. He wasn't about to go back to sleep, though. Instead, he used his invented ability to summon a guitar. It had been a few years since he'd even seen a guitar, but he knew how to play one, having taught himself.
Recalling a few songs he'd heard from a few human bands, he practiced the notes first before softly singing to himself.
//////////////////////////////////
(A/N: I would put the lyrics to these songs in here, but I don't want the story to get deleted, so go to any music or video site and listen to "Pain", "On My Own", and "Never Too Late" from Three Days Grace as well as "Given Up", "Crawling", "Somewhere I Belong", and "Faint" from Linkin Park. It may just be me, but I think these songs fit this version of Sonic. Ciao!)
//////////////////////////////////
Unknown to Sonic, his dad could hear the songs through the vents. Shadow clearly heard the emotions in his son's voice, and he felt a pang in his heart. He felt that this had all been his fault.
Sighing for the umpteenth time that day, Shadow leaned against the wall and just listened to the songs.
The both of them felt the same pain, and were oblivious to the other's at the moment.
T.B.C.
The chapter's finally done! And as a reward for waiting so long, I made it longer for you guys! Over 7000 words and 12 pages on MS Word!
Just so you guys know, I am not good at portraying emotions, or fight scenes, so if this chapter sucked, sorry. Also, for those Knuckles fans, forgive me for making him Sonic's antagonist. I just feel like he should be the (minor) bad guy in this story.
Also, if anyone's wondering, yes, the albino bat was Rouge. Personally, I don't like Rouge, but I don't hate her either. I'm not really sure how I feel about her. If she's OOC, that's because I'm not very familiar with her personality.
More of Sonic's past is revealed! Believe me when I say that most of what I put, I wasn't planning on it. It just happened. BTW, during the second part of Sonic's nightmare, I had been listening to Evanescence's "Hello". It was the inspiration for that part. Made me sad, though… :(
As I said above, I didn't put the lyrics of the listed songs in the chapter, though I almost did but I stopped myself, so just listen to them.
I need a name for Sonic's new ability and form, so please give suggestions! I really suck when it comes to naming things, don't I?
Here is a description of what Sonic looks like when he transforms due to the Emerald's power. I'll describe each stage individually. Most of what I'll say, Shadow already explained in the chapter, so technically I'm repeating it
First Stage: Sonic's quills will turn upward slightly, and his fur darkens a considerable amount, but it's a few shades lighter than Shadow's ebony fur. Also, Sonic's emerald colored eye will shift colors to match the ruby eye, so he will look like Shadow. In this stage, he's more aggressive, it is harder for him tell the difference between friend and foe, and his speed and strength is enhanced.
Second Stage: His quills will turn upwards more, but not fully, his fur will darken even more, and the pupils in his eyes, which are both still ruby, will vanish, though the irises will stay, leaving a white circle where the pupils used to be. He becomes even more aggressive towards the object or person his anger is directed at, and will attack whoever gets in his way, making him deadlier ad more dangerous to those around him. He will also be faster and stronger than he is in the first stage.
Third Stage: Sonic's quills are now fully turned upwards, and his fur, which is now darker than Shadow's, has a ruffled look to it, as though he's been electrocuted, and he also has claws and fangs (think of Fleetway Super Sonic or Kyuubi-Naruto (at any stage, but more like the 4-Tailed stage)). His eyes do not change, except for the irises being a darker shade. Sonic's mind is now similar to a wild, rabid carnivorous animal, hence the claws and fangs, attacking anyone in sight. His speed, strength, and senses are off the charts, so he is a force to be reckoned with.
Well, how was this chapter? Not as good? Better than the last? I need to know!
Comment/review, please!
ShidesuHejjihoggu