Broken of Sanity

Warnings: contains blood, gore, violence, mental illness and everything associated with that, adult themes (drinking, implications of adultry, etc.), boyXboy pairings, harsh slurs, profanity, character death, (will add to this in other chapters if I think of anything else).

Disclaimer: I own this story and any OC that shows up. Sonic and friends belong to SEGA and the Sonic Team. Any other character that appears belongs to their respective owners. I also own the "cover" to this story. If you like it, see end of Prologue for more information.

Rating: Rated M (mature) for obvious reasons (see WARNINGS above if you haven't already).

Summary: Sonic has been missing for almost six years now. During his absence, corruption has overcome the government, making life a living hell for everyone. It's been the job of everyone else to step up in Sonic's place, to try and save the world with a losing war on their end. But what happens when Sonic suddenly appears out of nowhere, completely different and yet the same? SONILVER.

Chapter 16: Bagels

"Did she...really attack you?" Noah's almost meek voice asks, cutting through the uncomfortable silence like a scalding broadsword cutting through bone. Tails glances up at him to see the hedgehog nervously wringing his fingers while cared eyes look at Amy's unconscious face.

Tails pauses and looks to Shadow who is now leaning against the wall, though he doesn't notice because he's still busy keeping an eye on Sonic. Shadow had managed to restitch Sonic's wound with the help of Rouge, and even though Sonic knows both the agents, that didn't make it any easier.

Finally, Tails sighs and looks back at Noah. "Yeah, she attacked us. After verbally attacking Shadow."

Noah's eyes widen and he glances at Shadow. The two males look at one another for a brief second before a quiet growl at Noah from Sonic draws Shadow's attention again.

"Why?"

"Don't know, she just...snapped, I guess." Tails shrugs. "Shadow didn't do anything to set her off, besides just standing there."

"I have a feeling she still has some problems to work through," Rouge says sadly as she gently brushes Amy's pink bangs out of her face. "I never thought she'd go after you guys."

"Yeah."

It's about thirty minutes later when Tails finally finishes patching up Amy's arm. She's still unconscious, so they leave her laying on the table with Omega and Noah watching over her while the others head out to the main area.

"Oh yeah, forgot about these," Rouge says, stopping in front of the counter. "They're cold now, but do you guys still want some?"

"I"ll pass, I'm not a fan of cold food," Tails says as he stops in front of the chaotic mess of collapsed shelves and shattered glass and metal.

"You need to eat, Tails," Rouge says, and the fox only flicks an ear in response as his shoulders sag. Did they have to destroy everything? They could've fought outside for all Tails cares, but no. They had to fight inside and destroy absolutely everything. There's even a crater on the floor from where Amy had missed Shadow.

"What about you, tough guy?"

"I'll pass," Shadow grunts.

"Seriously?" Rouge asks, exasperated as she pulls out one of the cold bagels. "They're not that bad when they're cold."

"Yeah, but warm food is better," Tails says as he joins the group around the counter. He takes not of Shadow leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest while one leg is propped up. His eyes are closed, but his ears are perked forward, a sign he's still listening to the conversation. Rouge is standing in front of the bags, holding a bagel in one hand while holding one of the bags open with the other, staring disapprovingly at her partner. Sonic is standing a little further away from the group, fiddling with his hands while staring at the floor.

Sonic glances up as he hears Tails approaching but immediately flinches away as the blue eyes land on him. This causes him to hiss quietly with pain as he grips his freshly bandaged side, ears flattening against his skull. He practically shrinks in on himself, cowering in the shadow of Tails.

The young fox sighs and shakes his head, running a hand over his face. Maybe Sonic's recovery will be slower than he originally thought. "You're not in trouble, Sonic."

"I almost killed her," Sonic's reply is so quiet that had the three individuals listening not had advanced hearing, they would've missed it.

"It was in defense, she was threatening to kill me," Tails replies, meeting scared emerald eyes as Sonic finally braves a look up at Tails.

"So...you're not going to punish me?" Sonic's pointed ears slowly lift from his head, his green eyes hopeful, wide and innocent. He looks almost like an abandoned puppy kicked to the curb and just wants a nice, warm home to live out his life. It almost reminds Tails of himself when he was younger, when he first befriended Sonic. It's almost scary with how their roles have been reversed so much.

"God no," Rouge says, breaking Tails from his train of thought. Her horrified eyes are wide and disbelieving. "Why would we punish you?"

Sonic shifts uncomfortably and looks helpless as he practically begs Tails for help with his innocent green eyes. Almost like a kid who's being confronted about stealing a few cookies late at night, even though it was their sibling but they have no proof to defend themselves against their parent's disappointment.

"Come eat, I'm sure you'll feel a lot better," Rouge says, taking a bite of her bagel as she pulls another out of the bag. She holds it out to the mutated hedgehog, and Tails feels a sense of relief wash over him as Sonic warily makes his way over to the group, limping slightly as he does so.

At least he hadn't sustained any serious damage during his captivity to make him completely distrust everyone.

"Here," Rouge practically shoves the food into Sonic's hands, earning a startled wide-eyed look. Rouge smiles with amusement as Sonic holds the food in both hands, looking almost scared as if it would crumble to dust if he so much as pokes it. "Eat."

The mutated 'hog slowly adjusts the food in his hands and raises it to his muzzle. Worry bubbles up in Tails' stomach as his brother starts sniffing the food, greens eyes darting between Rouge and Tails, and occasionally Shadow who is still leaning against the wall. Tails is almost half sure he's fallen asleep at this point, considering he hasn't moved a muscle at all.

His emerald eyes are still nervous, and after a few moments of careful inspection, he looks back to Rouge while lowering the food away from his face. "You didn't...poison this, right?"

Rouge's eyes widen and she chokes on the bite in her mouth. "No! Why would we-"

"Drugged it? Injected it with some weird virus to test on-"

"Why would we do any of that?" Tails asks, desperately trying to keep his nausea at bay. Maybe Sonic is worse than what Tails had originally thought. Maybe there's no hope in ever having his brother returned to his original, happy go lucky self because of the hellish nightmares he suffered during his almost six years of torture.

"I tried to kill Amy..." He answers quietly, ears lowering once more.

"We already said we wouldn't," Rouge's voice takes a softer tone. "You don't have to worry when you're with us, Sonic. We're your friends."

"Put more faith in us," Shadow finally speaks up, his voice monotone. His eyes are still closed, though his ears are also still perked forwards as he listens. Tails wonders if he can see through his closed eyelids, maybe that's why he has his eyes closed all the time.

"'m sorry."

"No need to apologize for hun. Now eat, I'm sure you're starving." Rouge smiles as she finishes off her first bagel. She reaches into the bag for another. "Neither of these two are eating so you can have however much you want."

Sonic takes a small bite, chews for a second, and then his eyes light up with pure, innocent joy. A huge smile grows on his face and he almost looks childish as he exclaims, "I forgot how good real food tastes!"

Despite the happiness Sonic is currently experiencing as he practically melts under the taste of the bagel, Rouge and Tails share a look. A block of sadness melt in their eyes as they look back to Sonic, watching with sad smiles on their faces as he ingests the bagel, barely even chewing.

They watch as Sonic quickly finishes off the bagel and digs through the bags, quickly digging out his share to devour that just as quickly. It's almost like a starving dog who just got its first piece of fresh meat that it hasn't had in years. Which, this is actually what that is. Except Sonic isn't a dog, but he isn't exactly mobian anymore either.

"See? He doesn't mind if they're cold," Rouge sets her hands on her hips, fondly watching as Sonic finishes up his last bagel. Tails only rolls his eyes in response.

The smile on his face is quickly replaced with one of confusion as Sonic walks towards him holding a bagel in both hands, a familiar spark of mischief glinting past the trauma in his green eyes.

"Eat," Sonic says as he holds one of the bagels out, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"What? No, Sonic I'm not-"

"Eat," he repeats, his voice sounding more firm as he moves the food closer.

Tails leans over and looks past Sonic's side to see Rouge pressing a hand over her mouth, doubled over. Her body is shaking with silent laughter while Shadow cracks open an eye, a smile-smirk unique to the Ultimate Lifeform plastered on his normally stoic face.

"Don't make me feed you," Sonic threatens, eyes narrowing but a smile still plays on his face.

"Fine, fine," Tails grumbles as he reluctantly takes the bagel and beings nibbling on it. His eyes practically bulge out of his head as he watches his adoptive brother walks over to where Shadow is leaning against the wall.

"Eat."

This time, Rouge can't stop her laughter as Shadow stares wide-eyed at the rival male standing in front of him, holding out the last piece of food. Tails even allows a few chuckles at the horrified look on Shadow's face, along with the mischievous smirk on Sonic's.

Tails doesn't doubt in his mind that Shadow will definitely find a way to get back at Sonic for this. And he surprisingly doesn't find anything wrong with that, unlike before where he would constantly chastise Sonic for picking fights with his friends.

He can't help but feel a warmth spread through his veins. Finally, they're seeing a glimpse of Sonic's true personality shining through all the five years of brutal torture he's gone through.

And it's at that moment Tails truly knows everything is going to be alright. Because as long as Sonic continues acting more and more like his old self, the can win this battle. And eventually, the war.


"Have you found him yet?" An icy voice asks, sounding too calm to be comfortable. Like the calm before a whole ass hurricane making a B-line for civilization.

The three figures in the room shift uncomfortably, none of them willing to answer. Though, from their lack of answers, he guesses they haven't found their assigned target. This means they're just wasting valuable time to report their failed attempts while they could still be out there, searching.

"Disappointing," he sighs, shaking his head as he slowly stands from where he sits behind his desk. "You know, I expected more from the self-proclaimed "Tracking Gods". Though, I guess I couldn't expect too much with a team name like that. Even G.U.N. is better than you, however bad they are at tracking targets down."

"We're sorry sir, it's just-"

"I don't want excuses. I want results! And none of you idiots can get them even after almost a week has passed since Experiment S-H-16 escaped!"

The air in the room stills and the fake plant in the corner cowers in fear, all of the colors drained out, leaving the room feeling dull and bare. The air turns stale, almost too old to breathe and even the walls seem to tremble in fear of what's to come.

"Humans have always been flawed, it's why those disgusting mobians always come out on top."

"Sir?" A brave individual asks, though immediately seems to regret it as he flinches when the harsh gaze of the doctor lands on him.

"Maybe the solution isn't to kill them...maybe we should've been looking for was to-hmm, how should I-ah yes...replace them."

The three men in the room all visibly pale as they slowly inch backward towards the door. This doesn't go unnoticed, however, as the crazed doctor's attention snaps back to them once more.

"Leaving so soon?" He asks, slowly walking around to the front of the desk. He raises a hand and out from the shadows of the room creeps two heavily mutated mobians, his most prized possessions.

They don't even look like mobians anymore, neither do they look like animals. It's some twisted fantastical beast, created for the sole purpose to be used as none other than a weapon to target and kill without so much of a pinch of mercy. They're true killing machines, something G.U.N. could never achieve. Not even with that failed Project Shadow.

These creatures are built to kill. Their bodies are long and slim, agile for chasing down prey. Their claws are thick and sharp while tusks come out from under their top lips, curved forwards. They're already stained red from previous kills, and they've only been working for two weeks now. It's like the black end of a quill dipped in ink way too many times to ever have hope of being clean again.

Their tails are long, more like a second arm than anything. Their shoulders are bulkier and their muscles ripple powerfully beneath their thin, pitch-black coats. Perfect for camouflage.

But the one thing that stands out is the soulless, beady yellow eyes that glow no matter the lighting. There aren't any pupils, but somehow you just know they're staring at you and only you.

"Don't forget what happens when you disobey orders," the doctor says, clasping his hands behind his back once more. "Truly a fate worse than death, and I don't say that lightly."

"We apologize, sir," one man says, eyeing the two monstrosities slowly circling him and the other two. "What did you have in mind to help us?"

The pleasure in the doctor's cold, unfeeling eyes is suffocating as a huge smile slowly creeps onto his thin, cracked lips. "Follow me to the labs. I want to run a few...tests."

High pitched hyena-like cackling can be heard as the group head out of the office, the monsters locking the men into their inevitable doom.


Sally sits upright in the makeshift bed, thin sheets sitting at her waist from where they had fallen. Her heavily bandaged arm hangs limply at her side while the other is gripping tightly at the sheets.

"No matter how angry you get you still need to sit there and rest," a rich voice says as a lynx steps into view. Her purple dress sits nicely on her curvy figure while her hands are lightly crossed over her chest. Her wisdom-filled light green eyes watch with hidden amusement at Sally's efforts to leave.

"How many times do I have to say I'm fine, Nicole?" Sally practically snaps, and if one of her arms weren't handicapped, she'd cross them. "It's just-"

"A scratch?" Nicole raises a brow while her fingers tap against her forearm. "Sally, you've been using that line ever since we've been kids, and each time I never believe you. Damaged nerves aren't "just a scratch"."

Sally huffs, pinching the sheets once more. "They need me, Nicole. I'm their leader-"

"And Silver is their co-leader," Nicole points out as she makes her way over to Sally's bed. "He can handle it. He's handled much worse before, I'm sure."

The squirrel slowly takes in a deep breath, her heart stuttering in her chest as she catches the sweet scent of cinnamon and sugar. She watches, taking in each delicate movement of Nicole's fingers as she fiddles with the machinery. A giddy feeling rises in Sally's chest at the concentration burning in light green eyes, even if she keeps trying to convince herself that she's still mad at her friend.

"All your vitals look good, better than what they've been," Nicole says, shattering Sally's infatuated spell. "Especially your blood pressure, which I'm happy about."

"So I can start leading everyone again?" Sally asks, perking up, only to visibly deflate at the hard stare the lynx gives her.

"I already said no, Sally."

"Fine, then answer this. When can I start leading again?"

Nicole shakes her head and grabs a clipboard sitting on the side table, along with a pen. She starts writing down Sally's vitals while saying, "well, considering you need to take it easy due to the nerve damage, you won't be able to lead a battle for at least two months."

"Seriously? What about just...casually leading? Just simple things around the base?"

"I'd give it a month," Nicole taps her chin with the pen before writing a couple of other things down. "Two weeks, at minimum."

Sally feels her heart drop to the bottom of her stomach. One month? What is she supposed to do for one month? She can't just sit around and do nothing, not when everyone's lives are at stake. And sure, silver can effectively lead the Freedom Fighters, especially with the help of his friends, but how long would it be before the pressure of it all gets to him?

"Sally," Nicole sighs, lowering the clipboard. "You need to relax or else you won't get better. Everything's fine. We're supposed to be laying low anyways, now's the best time for you to be healing. It isn't like we're in the middle of a war."

"We are in the middle of a war," Sally grumbles, running her good hand over her face.

"Okay, bad comparison, but still."

"What are we gonna do? We're losing, it's only a matter of time before-"

"Who are you and what did you do with Sally?" Nicole asks, smiling softly as she sits down on the edge of Sally's bed. "Sally, please don't talk like that, it scares me."

"What else can I do? My father put his faith in me, he put his whole life into trusting me and my decisions. Now look at me, we've lost so many battles and-"

"Well, for starters, you can stop talking like that. And boost everyone's morale. Give us more credit, I know we can win this. Wars take time, the shortest having only lasted around thirty-eight hours."

"I guess."

"I believe in the Freedom Fighters," Nicole leans forwards and gently takes Sally's uninjured hand in her own. Heat blossoms up in Sally's arm to her heart as the two stare intensely into one another's eyes. "I believe in you."

The door to the small infirmary bursts open and Sally immediately feels the blood rush to her face, maker her feel almost dizzy as the two quickly pull away from one another. Nicole looks almost as flustered as Sally as she stands, smoothing out her dress.

"Um, I can come back if you want," the newcomer says, directing Sally's attention to him.

"No, we were just...boosting morale," Sally mentally smacks herself for how stupid and out of context that sounds. Beside her, she can hear a quiet giggle from Nicole as the lynx finishes up, and Sally shoots her a quick glare.

"Okay," Silver looks between the two before shrugging, his gold eyes lighting up once more. "I found a place to take refugee for a bit while we get back on our feet. We might even be able to build a base there."

"Oh really?" Sally perks up and she can see Nicole smile as she moves away to tend to the other patients. "Where?"

"Harbor Heights," Silver answers as he walks over, smiling. "It was Tangle's idea to see if any of my friends-"

"Amy lives there, right? I haven't seen her in years!" Sally exclaims, and she finds herself trusting Silver to lead the Freedom Fighters. Maybe Nicole was right, maybe she's been overreacting this whole time. "I guess it makes sense, last I heard she got married. Right?"

"Yeah," Silver nods, smiling. "She said the city capital is abandoned, so we can stay there for a while."

"That's great! I'm proud of you, Silver."

Silver practically beams, his face lighting up. He looks like a child who was just told they can get anything they want at the mall with no monetary limit. And you bet the kid will go all out.

"When will we get there?" Sally asks, shifting. This bed is not comfortable, and her bak is starting to ache. Another reason to try and heal as fast as possible.

"A little over one day," he answers, frowning in thought. "We should arrive tomorrow afternoon if we don't have any setbacks. I called her last night, though I didn't want to bother you because I figured you were already asleep."

"Tell everyone to prepare, then," Sally says, smiling warmly at Silver. "Ration out food and water to those who need it the most, and wait to give it to those who can go without. We'll restock our supplies in the city, that's when everyone can eat again."

"Understood. Oh, and Sally? One more thing."

"Hm?"

"I think you and Nicole make a cute couple."

From the back, Sally can hear Nicole sputtering as the metallic hedgie makes his quick retreat.


Authors Note: I know I've said this before, but I seriously am super happy with all the support I've been getting. I'm glad to know you guys are liking the story so far, and I'm sorry it's been a slow start but I'll try to get things going as soon as possible :) world building and setting things up takes forever to do, but at least it's fun. Anyways, that's it for now. Have a good day/night and don't forget to review/favorite/follow!

P.S.: Vegetass, I honestly couldn't stop smiling when I read your reviews, both on here and over on Ao3. It made my day reading those, and I'm super happy you like the story so far 3