Chapter: Hidden Blood

Amy grunted as she attempted to pick up Sonic by his shoulders. The strange woman reached down and grasped his ankles. With their strength combined, the two girls lifted Sonic just enough to lay him on the couch.

Amy shook his side, trying to coax him awake. She stared intently down at him. Sonic looked empty. His face, instead of peaceful, looked ill. Moments ago, Sonic was as normal as the blue hedgehog could be.

Amy raised her eyes up at the woman who stood a few feet away. Her back was stiff and any emotion she held was now hidden.

"Do not worry," her voice spoke of business, "he will be waking up momentarily. A blackout can be caused by an emotional shock or stress that affects the blood pressure. Has he been feeling strained before?"

Never going to medical school made Amy feel rather dumb compared to the woman. She thought of the previous week and Sonic's still unexplained emotional behavior. Amy nodded a confirmation. She assumed that Sonic had his emotions under a lot of pressure.

"He will be waking up momentarily then. I think it would be best if I weren't in the room when he does. Please escort me to an isolated room."

Amy furrowed her eyebrows. "Who is this woman?" she wondered to herself. In a way, the lady did remind Amy of Sonic. Both had the tendency to invade homes.

Without getting up from Sonic's side, Amy pointed to the dining room with closeable doors. The woman seemed taken back for a moment. Her eyes were narrowed slightly before returning to their normal hold. She left the room in silence, closing the door after her.

Amy sighed. She stared down at Sonic, wondering why he made everything complicated. Amy now knew that even if he tried to be a simple individual, that wasn't what he was. Sonic was far from normal.

"Amy," he croaked. She jumped slightly, reeling away from her thoughts. "Sonic," she gave him a warming smile. He blinked a few times up at her. Amy could see his eyes cloud in confusion.

She put her hand on his back to help him sit up. Sonic grunted from his head rush. "Are you okay?" Amy gasped when she saw his brief discomfort. "Managing," his strained voice forced.

Sonic looked around the room. It was clean and familiar to him. Amy, who trailed her eyes wherever Sonic looked, noticed the front door still hung open. She rushed to close it, blocking off the chilly air from invading her house.

"Uh," Sonic chewed on the inside of his cheek, "is she still here?" Amy nodded her head slowly. Sonic began to look sick once more. Amy feared he was on the verge of vomiting. "Do you need a bucket?" she quickly asked while she scurried to his side.

Sonic forced a smile. He shook his head. "Hey," he reached out and grabbed her upper arm. Amy blushed at the touch. Sonic gave her a comforting squeeze, knowing fully well what he was doing. "I don't really mean to lock you up in your own house, but would you mind letting me talk to her alone?" He charmingly flashed his teeth at her.

Amy glared at him, pulling her arm out of his touch. Sonic held his friendly smile directed to only her. "You know you could just go outside," Amy nudged her thumb towards the door.

"Please?" Sonic begged. He grabbed each of her wrists to shake her arms in an attempt to annoy Amy the best that he could.

"Fine," she huffed while yanking away from him once more, "but you have to explain to me everything later." She turned her back to Sonic.

"I promise," he lied. Sonic ignored the shame that followed behind him. He never thought of himself to be a liar yet it was so easy.

Sonic fell back onto the couch. He peered at Amy as she marched up the stairs, not bothering to move until he could hear her bedroom door shut. He glanced at the closed doors that lead to the dining room. His hands shook. Sonic squeezed his eyes shut. He wondered if he would be lucky enough for the ceiling to crash down on him.

He knew she was standing on the other side, waiting for him to come to her. How could she do this to him? In his eyes, she was just a wicked purple hedgehog. To her, she was a loving mother. Sonic could already feel his frustration giving him another round of headaches.

With a gulp, he mustered all of his courage to stand up. He stared at the door, not wanting to approach it anymore. "Come in," he called out, knowing that someone was listening.

Aleena, with her back straight, stepped from behind the door and into the room. Just as he briefly remembered, she wore the royal colors of their family. A red shirt, with sleeves that laid past her wrists, tucked into her long skirt made of deep purple.

Aleena frowned at him. "Hello Sonic," she addressed him.

"What are you doing here?" Sonic did his best to not yell. She was his mother, she deserved his respect. He also didn't want a certain pink hedgehog to be able to listen on to the conversation.

Aleena took a step forward. She disappointedly glanced at the way Sonic stiffened. Her own son couldn't stand to be around her. "You're supposed to keep in touch," Aleena snapped. "Every month you had to write to me. That was our agreement. You haven't written to me in almost a year. Do you know how much I worry when I don't even know how my own son is doing? You could've been dead for all I knew." Aleena narrowed her eyes at him.

"Everyone else thinks I am," Sonic held his ground, "I thought it could've been time for you to just think the same."

Aleena bit her lip. Sonic softened slightly at her expression. Her green eyes grew round and glossy. "I'm a horrible mother," she croaked. Aleena suddenly dropped to her knees. Sonic gaped at her in shock. She looked up at Sonic to meet his eyes. "Your brother and sister think you're dead! They barely remember you! It's like you're a ghost! I have no idea who you are anymore! I sent you off to some city, thinking that it would do you good! But no! I should've been there for you!"

"It was my idea," Sonic stated, "you just helped carry it out."

"Why did you stop writing me?" Aleena pleaded for an answer.

Sonic ran a hand through his quills. He wondered if he would feel better after ripping it all out. "I just," he tried to explain his jumbled thoughts, "I just thought that I could do so and completely cut myself off from my old life. If I did so then I would feel better."

"Do you?" Aleena quickly asked.

Sonic plopped back onto the couch. He let out a long sigh. "I don't know. It depends. I don't like to think about it."

Aleena stared at Sonic. Her son was suddenly worn down. She wondered if anyone else saw his features this way. In his new life with his new friends, she wondered if any of them were considerate to him. From her understanding, kept everything from his childhood a secret. She felt unwelcomed in his presence.

"I just wish that you were more considerate," Aleena whispered. "You think that you have the toughest time in the world, but even people like me, who grew up rich, face so much pain." Her eyes began to water. Sonic silently prayed that she wouldn't cry. "I lost your father," Aleena spoke with a broken voice, "I've practically lost you now too. I had to stand with everyone. Panic with everyone. Cry with everyone. Grief with your siblings under the impression that you were dead. I've tricked the entire kingdom and our own family!"

Silence filled the air. Like smoke, it made it hard for Sonic to breathe. "I'll respond to your letters," Sonic scratched the back of his head, unsure of what else to say to his weeping mother, "every month from now on."

Aleena immediately stopped crying and straightened her back. She stood up and approached her son. To his surprised, she whacked him on the side of his head. It didn't hurt but held enough force to get her message across. "Bad boy," she suddenly scolded, "never do that to me again!"

Sonic rubbed his head. He hung his head down. He still felt his heart clench and release rapidly. The blue hedgehog feared if his chest would explode. "You didn't have to come out here," he said, keeping his voice as flat as possible. In his head, he was trying to mimic Shadow.

"But I have to," Aleena sternly said. "As the queen, I am off on extremely confidential business. I was able to actually sneak off and now I am staying here."

Sonic's eyes widened in panic. "Stay here?" he exclaimed, hoping that this was a sick joke.

Aleena nodded her head, "Just until I am certain that you are alright."

"But I am," Sonic complained. He whined in the tone one would expect from a young child.

Aleena frowned at her son. Years ago, she was sympathetic toward him, a part of her still is. Today, she decided that it was time to make changes for the better. "No you're not, Sonic," she argued, "your whole life here is a fake!"

Sonic slowly raised his head from the ground. He felt offended at her words. What around him was "fake" in the country? He had Tails and everyone else as well. All of them were real. Sonic got to live carefree, just how he wanted to. A life like that allowed for him to be himself. "I just so happen to enjoy the way I live," Sonic informed her.

"I barely even know how that is," Aleena sighed. She glanced at the clock, "It is late and I had a long trip. I am feeling tired. We shall talk more later. Take me back to your house so I can turn in for the night."

Sonic rolled his eyes at the way his mom tried to take on a more formal tone to get what she want. "I don't have a house," he snorted.

Aleena gave him a bizarre look, "How can you not have a home?"

Sonic shrugged. He did technically have one at an earlier point. Even then he didn't use it. At the moment if he really wanted to buy a house, he could afford to do so with all of the rings he had. Aleena wasn't aware of the reality that he preferred to just sleep on couches.

"I usually either crash here or at Tails' place."

"Here?" Aleena echoed.

"Yeah, why?"

Aleena hit Sonic once more on his head. He groaned and rubbed his skull in agony. "What was that for?!" Sonic cried out this time, not understanding what he had done wrong.

Aleena shook her head in disappointment, "How inappropriate! I thought I raised you better than to use a young woman like that!"

Sonic held his hands up in surrender. He stood up from the couch. He now realized how petit Aleena was compared to his height. He now craned his neck downward to look a her. "I'm not using her," Sonic defended himself, "all I do is hang around here since Tails had been busy lately!"

Aleena didn't look convinced. "I didn't know you ran off to be with another woman! I'm supposed to be the only one in your life!"

Sonic held up his index finger to quiet her. "For starters, I am not with her," he informed Aleena, "that would be weird. Secondly, I'm 21. Most guys my age don't have only their moms. Besides, I'm not even into relationships like that... You know that..." Sonic's thoughts began to trail off.

Aleena sighed and took a seat on the couch. Sonic sat beside her. Both hedgehogs stared at the wall ahead of them. Their matching eyes longed for something.

"I have to admit," Aleena began to confess with a frown on her face, "I did not expect for you to be gone forever. I thought that you would go missing and come back before you were claimed dead. I figured you'd move on from it. This just isn't healthy."

"Have you moved on from dad?" Sonic questioned her. He didn't remember his father much. As a child, he had looked at his dad with dislike since his father was always though on him. At one point he was grieving heavily after his father passed away. Each day wiped away a part of his father.

Aleena gasped in astonishment, "Of course I haven't! I love your dad! We were married for years."

"I haven't moved on from her either."

"But that is different," Aleena tried to reason.

"Is it?" Sonic wondered out loud. "Were my feelings any different then? Do I not feel the same way now? Emotions don't develop over a lifetime. I have as much just to feel this way as you do to feel about dad."

"Sorry," Aleena apologized, trying to stay on Sonic's good side. She still didn't agree with him. Although Sally and Sonic had been friends for years, they had only dated for a minimum amount of time. Even then it was bound to happen since they were originally betrothed to one another. Sally's death was just a bump in the road.

It was definitely tragic when Sally died, but even then the world will go on. If Sonic hadn't taken it so hard, he would have eventually been found another suitor. Sonic wasn't aware that the kingdom would have tried to replace Sally in his life.

The blue hedgehog lucked out at being the youngest sibling. Here, he was able to escape. His older siblings were still healthy and first in line to take on the throne. It's unlikely that Sonic would have been needed to do so.

"You can't help it," Sonic shrugged, "you were raised to act and think a certain way."

"We'll talk more later," Aleena repeated. "Right now, I need a place to rest."

"You're really going to stay?" Sonic dreaded her answer.

"Yes," Aleena confirmed, "just until I am happy with what I see."

Sonic sighed. "Okay, but I want to lay down some ground rules." He had to be certain that no one found out the truth about him and Aleena. He wanted to keep his two worlds as separate as possible.

Aleena didn't argue. She silently nodded her head.

"First, don't do that thing where you talk all formal and business like when you want something. No one here does that. Speak casual," Sonic lectured her. Aleena suddenly felt like the child between the two. "Also," Sonic continued, "we are not related. I had worked for you while I was a teenager. You cared for me when I was younger when my real parents couldn't and just stopped by for a visit. Don't speak on how I had acted when I was younger. Don't make any references to the past. Just live in the moment."

"You need to be more independent," Sonic noted. "Do things for yourself. Get your own food. Walk yourself places. Dress yourself as well." Sonic looked over the attire his mother chose to wear. The skirt, instead of a rich silk, could've looked more casual. "Make sure to wear something you would see your commoners wear."

Sonic stood up from the couch. He reached out a hand to help his mother up. "I know of a nice lady who takes in people. You have to make some sort of payment though. I doubt you would be much use in the working department so if you have any rings with you I recommend paying with those."

Sonic ushered Aleena and the belongings she had with her to the door. "Just walk straight down that way," he pointed off into the night. The moon was able to glow up the area. The snow sparkled around them. In the distance, Aleena was able to see a cozy house with the lights inside on. "That house is where Vanilla lives, she will take you in."

Aleena focused her vision on the house. It wasn't too long of a walk. "You aren't going to escort me there?" she asked in confusion to her son.

Sonic gave her a look of slight displeasement and disbelief. "Are you kiddi-" he stopped himself, knowing that his annoyance was obvious. "It won't take long to get there," he stated.

Before Aleena could speak once more, he closed the door. Sonic felt bad for being discourteous towards his mother but couldn't help it. He realized as he leaned against the door that he had been talking quickly. He was subconsciously pushing his mom away.

Once more, Sonic yanked on his quills. It didn't hurt but he wished that it would just to make him feel more awake.

Sonic stared at the staircase. Upstairs Amy was probably waiting to yell at him. She probably felt annoyed at him just like his mom. Even if she did, talking to Amy about anything would make him feel better.

Sonic pushed off of the wall.

Amy sat at the foot of her bed. She stared at her door knowing that Sonic was walking down the hallway at the moment.

She was confused with who the woman was. Why had she looked so familiar to her? There was something about her face. Amy couldn't pinpoint what her mind was trying to tell her.

She was even more perplexed to how Sonic had known the woman. She had heard some yelling but couldn't make out the words. Amy recognized Sonic's voice but wondered what could have gotten him so upset.

Sonic entered her room. Amy furrowed her eyebrows. Before he smiled, she could have sworn that he carried a sulking expression.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Amy stood up but ended up sitting back down as he sat next to her. Sonic shrugged his shoulders, "Are any of us okay?" Amy faintly smiled. Maybe as individuals, the average person would say that each held a problem or something was off about them. Yet everyone came together on equal grounds.

"I guess not," Amy admitted, speaking particularly about Sonic. She wondered if she will ever figure him out. "Who was she?" Amy somehow knew it was a tender subject.

"A caretaker of mine from when I was little," Sonic hoped Amy would buy it. "Often, my mom couldn't take care of me since she worked so she would do so. As soon as I could I had decided to leave and I didn't really keep much contact so she has decided to visit for sometime."

"Then why did you faint?" Amy pressed on.

"I didn't eat enough today I guess," Sonic wasn't even sure if that could cause someone to passout. And he had eaten multiple times throughout the day, probably twice as much as he usually would.

The pink hedgehog didn't look completely convinced. She went silent, wondering if it was the truth. Amy had caught on long ago that Sonic wasn't a fan of talking about his childhood. She knew it was strange for him to speak so casually about it. Earlier he had looked like he was sick to his stomach when he looked at the woman.

"Are you sure?" Amy meant it more for Sonic to tell her something else. Maybe there was a truth and she really wasn't overthinking him.

"Positive," Sonic quickly responded while darting his eyes to the ceiling. He desperately wanted to talk about something else. He would even settle for the disease growing on Vector's foot.

Amy plopped back onto her bed. Although her mind was racing wild, her body was left feeling drained. "You're a strange guy," she giggled. Amy had noticed his quirky actions.

Sonic took it in as a compliment, "Thanks." Amy gave him a thumbs up, which he returned. "Wanna go finish the movie?" Sonic suggested.

Amy shook her head slightly, indicating a no. "I just don't feel like it." Amy stared at the ceiling. Sonic laid back next to her. His arm barely brushed hers, sending a tickling sensation up her arm. She shivered.

"Just a random question," Amy blurted, "what was your first impression of me?"

Sonic turned slightly to face her. "That is a random question," he noted.

"Well, I mean we both know that I didn't really like you that much," Amy reasoned. She thought that it was silly to have almost right away take on a disliking for Sonic. He did act egotistical but now she saw that as confidence. Sonic was actually caring, whether if he knew it himself or not. It surprised her that both of them came together so easily.

Sonic thoughtfully hummed back to Amy when he first met her. He remembered opening his eyes to a pink hedgehog yelling up at Eggman. "First of all, you were loud." She still can be. Sonic remembered Amy's hammer. She had used it against Eggman and to break the ice on the frozen pond. To someone who could barely swim and hated water, the pond was hell. "I also kind of thought it was cool the way you used your hammer, it made you strong."

Pink. Amy was so pink. Her room and her fur. She always wore red, which to Sonic was very close to pink. "I actually thought that you would be annoyingly girly since you always wore those dresses and stuff, but you actually managed to make pink look cool too."

Amy punched his shoulder.

"Hey! That was a compliment," Sonic defended himself. "But you could get some blue in here," he suggested. "Or wear something blue for once."

"You're just saying that because you're blue," Amy rolled her eyes.

"It's a great color!"

Amy grinned at him. "It's a pretty color," she teased him.

Sonic shook his head in disapproval, "You can't call blue pretty! I'm blue! That's like calling me pretty! Guys can't be called pretty! It's in the rulebook."

"What rulebook?" Amy challenged.

"It's the rulebook of life," Sonic smugly smiled as he crossed his arms. "Actually I believe it's on page 213 paragraph 3. 'Thou shalt not call thy male pretty.'"

Amy giggled once more. "What else does it say?"

"A whole bunch of things," Sonic made a wide hand gesture. He thought up a random list, "Don't look a mirror in the dark. Treat everyone based on their personality, not their face. There is always a time for second chances."

"You have to break apart a CitCat before eating it," Amy included.

"Spend more time appreciating what you have than complaining."

"Learn from your mistakes than repeat them."

"Keep an open mind to opinions."

"Don't overuse the word 'Sorry.'"

"The most important one of all: don't be Eggman."

Amy shrugged, "I was thinking more along the lines of love being one of the greatest strengths ever but that will work too."