Chapter Seven: The Dark Often Surfaces in the Light
A gloom shrouded the following months. The great loss of the family friend, husband and father harrowed through every heart he had touched.
But with the words of his pure heart keeping his memory alive, their pain slowly turned to strength. With that strength, came his legacy.
Cream.
The beautiful baby girl, born the first bloom of spring, carried the feminine features of her mother, the rich brown eyes from her father, and the soft temperament both of her parents held. An easy baby in her mother's eyes.
To keep the dream she and her husband had shared, Vanilla continued to watch the children on behalf of Aleena and Jules. Their home was destined to be filled with happy children, it was only right that she carried the dream for both of them.
"Run along, children. I'll call you when dessert is ready." Vanilla cooed, allowing the children to run into the flower blooming garden.
Eager in his feet, Sonic dashed out of the door, leaving Manic and Amy running along behind him. Behaving as the ideal role model, Sonia gently wheeled the gurgling baby in her vintage style pram, out of the door.
"I'll be watching from the window. If Cream or any of you need me, just wave. Okay, dear?" The woman smiled down at the young girl in front of her.
"Will do, Aunt V." Sonia responded.
As the door closed behind her, Sonia pushed the baby towards her siblings. She stopped in front of them and quickly skipped around the pram to view the baby. Cream kicked her feet in excitement to see the familiar face gushing back at her.
"Oh, she is soooo adorable!" Sonia swooned. "Aren't you, little Creamy-Wheamy?" The baby responded with more gurgling.
"She must really like you, Sonia. She's all bubbly around you." Amy giggled at the baby's kicking legs.
"And who could blame her? I just have that impression on people." Sonia gloated, whipping her hair back in a smug demeanour.
"She's probably impressed by that big head of yours." Sonic teased her. He peered into the pram and waved his hand in front of the baby. "Am I right, Cream? Are you impressed by Sonia's gigantic head?"
As the baby laughed innocently, Sonic smirked at the hedgehog beside him.
Huffing at her brother, Sonia shoved him aside and carefully attempted to take the infant out of the pram. "I know you're just laughing at Sonic's ugly face rather than me, Creamy." She said, holding the baby in her arms just as she had seen her mother and aunt Vanilla hold her.
"Be careful with her, Sonia. You don't wanna drop her." Manic warned, already foreseeing a disastrous situation with his sister and their cousin.
"Manic. She's fine. I'm hardly gonna dro--"
Just before she could finish her sentence, Cream abruptly threw her head backwards, falling out of the girl's hands. Responding quickly to the accident, Sonic leapt onto the ground and caught the baby in his arms. He secured the baby and slowly rose to his feet, raising his eyebrow at his sister.
"You saw that! That wasn't me!"
"Still... Let's just keep her in the pram. At least she can't back flip out of there." He said, gently yet awkwardly placing the baby back in the pram.
Pouting in her disappointment, Sonia soon came up with a fun game to lift her mood. "Oh, I know. Let's play Mums and Dads!"
"Mums and Dads?" Manic raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. I'll be Mum and one of you two can be Dad." Her lips resembled the shape of an arch when she saw her brother's look to each other, reluctant to be the dad. "Ugh, it's just pretend guys!"
"We know... But even pretending to be Dad with you as the Mum sounds terrible." Sonic grinned.
Objecting to his remark, Sonia chased the blue blur around the garden, waving her fist at him while he mockingly ran backwards, still holding his grin at his sister.
Sonia eventually gave up the chase, slumping her hands onto her knees and panting harshly. "You're definitely not being Dad now." Sonia glared at her oldest brother.
"We can take it in turns." Manic suggested. "Sonic and Amy can be Mum and Dad, and then we'll be Mum and Dad after."
"I like that idea better." Sonic nodded back at Manic.
"But this is my idea!" Sonia protested.
Amy smiled empathetically and placed her hand on Sonia's shoulder. "It's okay, Sonia. You'll still get to be the Mum."
The girl looked to her younger sister, slowly coming round to the fact. "I guess that's true..." She muttered. She shortly burst out of her annoyance and enthusiastically declared the roles in the game. "Okay! Sonic and Amy will be Mum and Dad, and Manic, Cream and I will be the kids!"
Nodding back at the strong female, the hedgehogs pretended to act like their parents; Sonic and Amy bossed their siblings around and doted on the baby while Manic and Sonia ran around, pretending to get into mischief.
Amy cooed to the baby before her, giggling at her cheerful response to the attention she received.
"She sure is happy, isn't she?" Sonic commented, standing beside the pink hedgehog. "I always thought babies cried all the time."
"This one doesn't." Amy smiled down at Cream. "She's pretty calm."
"A lot like Uncle Roger then." Sonic smiled at the memory of his uncle. He reached into the pram and gently brushed his finger against the baby's cheek. "You must've gotten your chill from your Dad, huh?" To his surprise, the little rabbit grabbed his finger and attempted to place his finger in her mouth. "Whoa, I take that back! Chill out, Cream." He said, retracting his hand back.
"Maybe she's hungry?" Amy asked. She opened the baby bag hanging from the handles and pulled out a bottle of breast milk. "Do we lift her up, or...?"
"Nah. I saw her hold her own bottle before." Sonic said, taking the bottle from Amy. He placed the bottle in front of Cream. Excited, the baby grunted hastily, reaching out her little arms. She grasped the bottle eagerly a swung the bottle back into her mouth. In her rash movements, she choked on her meal.
"Ah!" Sonic panicked, taking the baby out of her pram and placing her on his shoulder. Patting her back frequently and with minimal force. A burp from the infant confirmed a clear airway. "Phew. Okay, maybe she should have something beneath her to hold her up."
Rummaging through the bag once more, Amy pulled out a blanket and folded it into the pram. Sonic shortly placed the baby back into her pram and gave her the bottle. She drank the milk contently, hazard free.
"Nice work, Sonic." Amy smiled at her cherished one.
Smiling back at her, Sonic became momentarily unaware of his surroundings and nuzzled his nose against her quills. At the sound of his mocking siblings, Sonic gasped and moved away from his companion.
"Sonic and Amy, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage!" Manic and Sonia sang, teasing the current mum and dad.
"What?" Sonic defended himself, protecting himself as well as Amy. "We're playing Mum and Dad."
"We know." Manic snickered. "Still, please don't do that to me." He turned to Sonia.
Sonia giggled, shaking her head back at the green boy. "Oh believe me, I won't." Continuing her teasing, Sonia pulled out a spare, white blanket from the baby bag and placed it on Amy's head. "If you're gonna be Mum and Dad, you should get married too."
The fuchsia hedgehog pulled her siblings together, forcing them to stand side by side. She stood before them and proceeded to fast forward through the wedding ceremony, skipping all procedures, until the pronouncement. "I pronounce you, husband and wife! You may kiss the bride."
Not expecting the pair to actually do forth with the pretend wedding, Sonia laughed along with Manic, ending the ceremony.
Looking down at the pink girl beside him, Sonic became curious of his siblings' reaction to their relationship. It was common for them to mock one another in any way possible. Despite this, they had always been there for each other and supported each other. Would this be different? Was it too much to stand by?
He agreed it was a lot to process. It was still a difficult emotion for both he and Amy to express. The shame prevented prolonged embrace and heartfelt kisses. The fear kept them in the dark. But to have their siblings' rejection could damage their relationship even further.
On the other hand, having the pretence of playing Mums and Dads could save them from having their secret exposed, all the while, exposing the secret.
Hiding in plain sight.
Letting out a short breath, the blue hedgehog grabbed Amy's hand, making her turn to him. She displayed uncertainty on her face, the vulnerability to the exposure present in her jade eyes. His fingers squeezed around hers, reassuring her of his next action. He leaned in towards her ear and whispered words of encouragement.
"Don't worry. It's all pretend." He muttered.
The plan of pretence caused her to smile. To reveal their love to their siblings, while still holding the façade, would reveal how the world truly saw their secret. If it was to be shamed, the game of Mums and Dads was the perfect protection.
Standing on her tip toes, Amy awaited for the blue hedgehog to reveal their secret. Their hands gripped to each other painfully, pushing through their comfort zones and the anxiety. Emerald and jade eyes signalled the determination to see this through before they were closed off from one another. The last anxious expression was the entwining, warm, short breaths hitting each other's faces as their lips slowly touched, sealing the union.
"Eugh!" Manic and Sonia barfed. "That's disgusting!" They laughed, treating the situation light-heartedly.
Pulling away from Amy, Sonic chuckled through his deep blush. "You did tell me to kiss the bride..."
"I didn't think you'd actually do it!" Sonia laughed. "You two are so gross."
Laughing off the awkwardness. Sonic planted a brief kiss on Amy's cheek, causing his siblings to protest further. Enjoying their suffering, he continued the torture, masking their secret with the game.
"Love you, wife." He grinned, rubbing his nose against Amy's, feeling her burning cheeks radiating against his face.
"Love you too..." Amy replied quietly, less confident than Sonic appeared to be.
From afar, the woman stood over her sink, washing her baking equipment after making cookies for the children. Smiling to herself, she looked out of the window to check on the children and to her shock, witnessed the children kissing one another.
She quickly brushed it off, telling herself that the children were simply acting out some kind of game. But as she looked up again and witnessed the besotted look expressed between the pair, and affectionate touching they displayed, she paused. The question of the situation came to mind. The stares, the touches, the kisses... Was this a regular thing for them?
Were they simply copying their parents?
... Was there more to this?
Looking back out the window, she uncomfortably watched as Sonic and Amy continued to express public displays of affection. Ones too inappropriate for siblings.
Having enough of her thoughts, Vanilla shook her head and chose to end the playtime by calling the children in for dessert. Discarding her washing up gloves, the mother rushed to the back door and called to the children.
"Kids! Cookies are ready!" She called out, stepping out of the house to collect her daughter.
"Yay!" The children cheered, running back to the woman.
Pushing the pram back towards the house, Sonic and Amy walked side by side, bearing big smiles on their faces, along with scarlet blushes.
"Guess it's back to being secretive from here on out?" Amy asked.
"Yeah. Probably for the best. At least we know they're not ready to know."
"... When would they be?" She asked hopelessly. "We know how Mum and Dad feel about it, we just found out how Manic and Sonia feel about it... Is it smart to think they'd just get used to it over time?"
Contemplating her words, Sonic frowned, looking down at his shining, red shoes. Their family had made it very clear of their opinions regarding their love. The closest people in their lives had rejected the idea, it was no surprise to know the rest of the world would follow that mentality.
It just wasn't normal.
Raising his head again to see her disheartened gaze, Sonic forced a smile and gently squeezed her hand. "Hey... I know it might be a little weird to everyone else, but it's not like it's something we asked for. It just happened. If the world thinks what we have is too abnormal, we'll just have to keep it to ourselves."
She nodded back at him. "As long as we have each other, that's all that matters."
"Exactly."
Another exchange of affectionate smiles were shared between the children as they walked towards the rabbit's mother. Allowing the mother to take her daughter, Sonic and Amy joined their siblings in the kitchen for the homemade cookies, baked by Aunt Vanilla.
Stood on the doorstep of her best friend's home, Aleena patiently waited for the rabbit to answer the door and hand the children back to her. Fatigued, her mouth parted to expell a tremendous yawn. Even with nine months passing since the attack on Central City, she was still swamped with countless patients; backlogged and still accumulating. No amount of extra pay could lift her spirits for the next day of duty.
Her relief came at the end of every shift, collecting the kids from her best friend and having a quick natter over a quick cup of tea or coffee, then home time where she'd be in a loving home, surrounded by those she cherished the most.
She was grateful that moment had finally arrived.
Hearing the click of the latch, Aleena turned her sights from the neighbouring homes and smiled at the woman standing before her. "Hi, V. That time of day again."
"Already? Goodness, time certainly flies, doesn't it?" She smiled along with her best friend. "Children. Your Mother is here." She called to the children.
Peering pass Vanilla's shoulder, Aleena tried to look into the living room to see the baby. Her friend quickly caught her prying eyes. "Did you wanna hold the baby?" She smirked.
Smiling sheepishly back at her friend, Aleena nodded. "If she's not sleeping."
"You're in luck. She's wide awake." Vanilla said, allowing Aleena to walk through the door and into the living room.
Her children had been gathering their belongings when they saw their mum walk through the archway. "Mum!" They cheered, rushing to her legs. They hugged her tightly, causing her to lose her balance.
"Whoa, whoa, hey." Aleena giggled, gaining her balance. "Did you all have fun with Aunt Vanilla?" They nodded back at her. "Were you good?" Uncertain, they look to one another to decide their answer.
Fortunately for the quartet, Vanilla answered for them. "Oh, Alley. I don't know why you always ask them that. They're always good!" The women giggled with one another.
"With you, they are." She added. After expressing her affection to her children, the purple hedgehog moved over to the baby sat in her bouncer. Taking the baby out, she rocked the baby in her arms and cooed down at the babbling infant. "She's perfect."
"Just like her Daddy." Vanilla said, bittersweet. She looked down momentarily, holding back her tears.
Empathising for her best friend, Aleena attempted to express encouraging words. "You're doing an amazing job, V. Everybody has been blown away by how strong you've been."
"Thank you. I know Roger wouldn't have wanted me to be swept away by the grief. Especially with this little bundle of joy to keep me on my feet." Vanilla smiled down at her daughter in Aleena's arms.
The baby looked to her mother and stretched out her arms, murmuring for her attention.
"Looks like someone wants their Mummy." Aleena cooed, passing the baby to her mother. "Well, I think we'd better get out of your hair. Chuck's going to be taking the kids out for pizza tonight. They've all been pretty psyched for it."
Vanilla remained silent, hesitant to reveal what she had seen between her best friend's children during their stay. It wasn't something to be believed. A common occurrence to make it believable.
It wouldn't be as if she was lying. She had seen what had seen. It wasn't a joking matter to express either. Years of friendship determined her tale to be true. She would never lie about something so taboo.
"Uhm..." Vanilla said, biting her lip anxiously. "Actually, before you go, do you mind if we talk in the kitchen?"
"Oh, um, sure?" Aleena puzzlingly agreed, watching the woman walk into the kitchen. The purple woman notified her children to wait by the front door while she and Vanilla talked. With her children obeying her orders, she followed the rabbit into the kitchen and stood opposite her, leaning against the kitchen counter.
"So, what did you wanna talk about?" Aleena asked, sensing the tension in the air.
Wary in her approach, Vanilla rarely looked over to her friend, focusing mainly on Cream in her arms. Gathering the will to face Aleena and reveal what she had witnessed, she voiced her concern. "I don't even know how to say this to you, but, uh... Today, the children were out in the garden, playing together, all getting along... And then something rather unusual happened."
A sickening sensation twinged in her abdomen, already assuming what could have possibly happened. The most unusual occurrence in their family? Their borderline, incestuous children. The same predicament that had lingered for years between the two. Nearly five years of talking to the pair had ultimately become futile. No matter what was said, she and Jules always found themselves giving the same conversation to the young hedgehogs.
Just how far could they have gone with it this time?
Holding a sour, grim expression, Aleena waited to hear the bitterly well known truth.
"I don't know if it was a part of some game the kids were playing, but... I saw Sonic and Amy... Getting close."
The nauseating churn of her stomach threatened to unleash the bile contents. Her body agonised on the harrowing confirmation of her husband's suspicions; heart panging, stomach convulsing, sweaty palms beneath her pristine, white gloves.
But to protect her family, she appeared unfazed, calm. Defensive at most. "Close, how? Like hugs and hand holding? Cuddling? What?" She shrugged, her irritation controlled her voice, a sign of her vulnerability masked behind her denial.
The tone of voice somewhat startled Vanilla nonetheless. It wasn't like Aleena to express any form of hostility to any kind of news. Even still, the rabbit understood how distressing it could be to hear such audacious claims.
"They kissed. Multiple times." Vanilla blurted out, keeping her eye contact with Aleena to show her sincerity.
There was a high chance of spewing her lunch out onto the floor. It was worse than she feared. No longer was it just questionable hugs and sneaking into one another's beds to sleep. It was growing, getting worse.
"I know it's not something you expect to hear. I'm sure there's an explanation to this that only the kids could give--"
"You think there's something going on between my children?" Aleena asked abruptly, defensive in her demeanour.
Vanilla stared back at her, baffled by her behaviour. "N-no... I mean, it is a little peculiar, but I think it was all apart of a game they were playing..." She bit her lip when she thought of the loving gaze she had seen between the two. A gaze only smitten lover's would share.
"Go on... What else did you wanna say?" Aleena pushed her to give more information while crossing her arms.
Shaking her head at the hedgehog, Vanilla focused her attention back on her daughter. "Aleena. I understand this isn't something any parents wants to hear about their kids... But I can't stand her and deny what I saw. Just the way they looked at each other... It was like..." She sighed, questioning her own eyes.
"What?"
"... Like the way we looked at our husbands..." She finally answered after the aching anticipation. "Alley. I think there's something more going on between Sonic and Amy."
Scoffing scornfully at the accusation, Aleena threw all her anxiety and frustration into protecting the sickening secret within the family. "How dare you even think about something so perverted about my babies!"
"Aleena, I--"
"My kids are normal, okay? They're not some pair of incestuous freaks with an attachment problem, they're good kids. Good and completely normal kids."
Desiring to keep the discussion civil, Vanilla kept her words to herself. She merely allowed her best friend to vent her anger out. But not even she could deny the fear that danced in the hedgehog's eyes. As if she desperately yearned for the fact to be false.
Could it be she was already aware of her children's inappropriate behaviour?
"I can see why you'd want to slander my family." Vanilla heard her friend bitterly say.
Zoning back into reality, Vanilla allowed the words to resonate before saying anything. "I'm sorry?"
"Just because your family is in tatters, doesn't mean you have the right to try and ruin mine!"
Silence. A ruthless silence. The rabbit's astonishment, and the hedgehog's horror to her own words. The harsh words had torn through the fabric of their friendship and in seconds, finished it.
"V... I--I'm so sorry." Aleena said sincerely.
"I think it would be best if you leave now..." Vanilla said, quiet and poised. She escorted the shameful mother back to her waiting children and forced a smile in front of them. "Thank you for joining us, children. Cream and I enjoyed your company very much."
"Thank you, Aunt Vanilla." The children smiled back at her, oblivious to the guilt of their mother and the anguish of their aunt. As the rabbit opened the front door, the children walked out of the house, towards the car, waiting for their mother to unlock the door.
"Vanilla, please..." Aleena begged for forgiveness, placing her hand on the front door to hold back any potential slamming.
Her pain shortly returned to her face as she looked back to her old friend. The pain of letting go was something she never dreamed of experiencing again, especially with the woman she had always seen as her sister. But her words cut too deeply, irreversible by apology. The pain of loss couldn't overpower the pain Aleena had caused her.
"Goodbye, Aleena." Vanilla said, closing the door on the woman.
"Is everything okay, Mum?" Sonia asked, now sensing the tension between the women.
Inhaling deeply, Aleena nodded and clicked the button on her car keys to unlock the door. "Yeah... Come on, Uncle Chuck is taking you out to get pizza, remember?"
Scrambling into the car, all hedgehogs correctly seated themselves before driving. The mother slowly reversed off of Vanilla's driveway, momentarily staring at the woman and infant standing in the window, watching them leave. She watched her best friend sorrowfully close her curtains, shutting her out of her life.
"Mum?" Sonic leaned forward and questioned his mother's behaviour, instantly snapping her out of her woe.
"Sorry, dear. Let's go." She forced a smile as she looked back at her children in the rear view mirror.
Driving off the driveway, Aleena briefly looked back at the home of her friend before driving back to their home.
o - o - o - o - o - o - o -o
Upon arriving back to the house, the children ran to their merrily reclining uncle on the sofa, excited for the evening out with him.
"Uncle Chuck!" They cheered, jumping on the unexpecting man.
"Umph!" Chuck winced as they bounced on his abdomen. "Whoo-wee! What're your parents feeding you that's got you all so strong?"
"Mum says eating vegetables makes us big and strong." Amy said.
"Really? I'm sure she didn't tell you that they're also very boring to eat... Not like pizza! That never gets old. I hope you've picked out your toppings already." He said enthusiastically, placing the children on the ground and getting up from the sofa.
"Hi there, Chuck." Aleena greeted the man, exasperated.
Turning to see the purple hedgehog sluggishly head into the kitchen, the man raised an eyebrow at her. "You look terrible."
Glaring back at her brother in law, Aleena pulled out a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from the fridge. "Gee, thanks for the compliment, Charles."
"Er... Not like that... I meant, you look like you could use a break. Both you and Jules actually."
"Where is he?" Aleena asked, placing her glass down on the counter.
Chuck pointed to the study, the room located adjacent to the stairs and the front door. "He's been stuck at that desk all day. I had to get him lunch, otherwise he wouldn't have eaten."
Aleena sighed, looking away from the man a few feet in front of her. Stress and grief consumed her husband since the attack. The loss of his best friend, his comrades, and the countless innocence left him feeling helpless and feeble, responding in his quickened temper.
With little time to grieve, he drowned himself in his work; meetings, restoration campaigns, supplies, and training. Both for him and the kids.
His grief had expanded in the following weeks. General Hayes, the formidable tiger had been struck by the debris that fateful night, resulting in his comatose condition. After receiving word from Major McGrath, his condition was to lead to no recovery.
And with the lose of the general, came the open vacancy, just for him. More work, more responsibility. Ultimately, more stress.
Walking through the door of the kitchen, to the hallway, the woman walked down the hall, towards the study and found her husband just where his brother had specified, deeply lost in his work.
"Julie." Aleena alerted her husband.
Exhaustion darkened his strong features. Shining gold eyes dulled by weariness. His self discipline, though vigilant, was killing him. Stress created age, forming a neglectful quill, white in colour, falling between his eyes.
"Sweetness." He answered her, not lifting his eyes from the computer screen.
Walking over to his desk, Aleena leaned against the edge and looked down at her beloved. "Working hard?"
"Hardly working... I've got the promotion..." He told her, lacking enthusiasm.
Breathing out a light breath, Aleena smiled at the news. "That's great! Isn't it?"
Jules shrugged, placing his forehead into his hand. "Hayes was in charge of the Mercia Alliance Project... To build alliances with the remaining fighters in Mercia and establish a base there... Now that's my job."
"Oh..." Aleena muttered in disappointment. "How long will you be gone?"
"Years." He sighed. "I'll get a least two breaks each year, but I'll be away from you and the kids for who knows how long?"
Lowering her head, a single tear fell from her eye. Training the children in Central City, under Project Heroes had left her accustomed to seeing her husband home every day. To see him leave her again, as well as the children, unlikely to return until they were in their teens, broke her heart.
"When are you leaving?" She turned her head in his direction.
Letting out another heavy sigh, Jules finally looked to his wife and held her hand. "McGrath wants me to leave next week."
Her devastation couldn't be held back. The announcement of the seven short days until his lengthy voyage across the continent had torn at her heart and released the loch of tears. She silently cried beside him, unleashing her grief.
"I'm sorry, sweetness." Jules whispered, raising from his chair and wrapping his arms around her.
"What will I do without you?" She questioned hopelessly. "I can't handle Sonic and Amy on own. A-and after what I said to Vanilla, we'll need to find a new babysitter--"
"Wait. What about Sonic 'nd Amy? What happened with Vanilla?" Jules furrowed his brows, holding his wife at arms length.
Her lips quivered out of anxiety. Knowing the particular topic was not going to sit well with the blue hedgehog. The words spiralled around her tongue, becoming reluctant to express.
Blinking repetitively, Aleena quietly revealed what had happened between their children. "When I picked up the kids, Vanilla told me that the kids were playing in the garden..."
"Yeah. And?" Her husband pushed her for the answer. His frustration was already showing on his scowling features. Worse case scenario had his blood pressure raising, bubbling through his veins.
Once more, she hesitated. She noticed the twitch in his brow from his deep furrow causing strain on his facial muscles. The particular issue never got easier. With every incident she reported, her husband became more agitated. And yet it seemed their father's anger couldn't stop the two kids and their behaviour.
Looking into the golden eyes of her husband, Aleena told him of the children's inappropriate afternoon. "They were probably playing some kinda game, but... T-they kissed."
"What...?" The flames ignited in the father's eyes. It was just as he regrettably imagined. Nonetheless, he chose to look passed the flames of his wrath and gather the evidence first. "What kinda kiss? Are we talking cheek? Forehead? Hand?"
His wife shook her head painfully slow, disturbed by the situation. "Lips..."
A flash of his flaming eyes signalled his rage before he darted passed his wife and into the hallway. He looked straight ahead, into the living room, seeing his brother leading the children towards the door.
"Jule, please. Not now." Aleena pleaded to her husband, holding him back with her hand on his shoulder.
"Alright, kids. Let's go get our pizza!" Chuck cheered, ignorant to his younger brother's agitation. The children cheered behind him, eagerly approaching the front door.
"Sonic, Amy, get over here, now!" Jules demanded with intense stern. The pair turned their head to him, alarmed and apprehensive. His wide eyes and thinned lips placed the fear into his children's hearts.
"Jules..." Aleena whispered, attempting to calm the man down.
"Is there a problem, Jules?" Chuck asked, raising his eyebrow at the angered hedgehog.
"Never you mind. I gotta talk with my kids." He responded.
"Right now? I mean, we're about to go out."
"Yes, right now."
"Honey..." Aleena interjected. "The kids have waited weeks for this treat."
Jules looked back over his shoulder at his wife, maintaining a deep scowl. "Treats are only given to kids who behaviour appropriately." He told her. Looking back to his brother, Jules gave him the go ahead to take Manic and Sonia to get pizza. "Take Manic and Sonia. These two are staying here."
The mouths of the children in question dropped open, sounding a breathless gasp. They looked to their uncle in an unspoken plea to negotiate, but the scolding expression from their father left them powerless. They lowered their heads, avoiding his piercing eyes.
"Jules... Come on, man. Whatever they've done, I'm sure it can't be that bad."
"Chuck. How I choose to discipline my children is my decision, don't interfere." He growled.
Raising his eyebrow at his younger brother, Chuck peered into the eyes of the man before him. More and more, they held the same engulfed flame of their father. The rage, desired to be extinguished by the endless emptying bottles that only ignited the flames even further.
Raising his head, Chuck's eyes looked down at Sonic and Amy. The petrified flush on their faces made his heart pang to the possibility of a repeated history. An uncontrollable temper residing in his brother that was being mercilessly expressed on the innocent children.
Just as quick as the thought appeared, it was erased. He knew his brother. He knew of his kind heart, his sensitivity. No matter the fires embedded within, he had always lead with pure intentions. Jules was strict, disciplined. But violent, he was not.
"Okay..." He surrendered. Sorrowfully, he looked down at the duo and apologised. "Maybe next time, eh?"
Sonic and Amy forced meekly smiles towards their uncle. Though dispirited, their disappointment came second to the nauseating feeling of their secret being known to their parents. They had the conversation often enough to know better. If their parents knew they had gone against their wishes, for months, the punishment was to be more severe than missing a fun trip with their uncle.
"We'll see you guys later..." Manic said awkwardly, waving to the pair.
"We'll let you know how the pizza tasted." Sonia said obnoxiously, prancing passed her siblings.
Opening the front door, Chuck looked back at the young hedgehogs sympathetically and slowly closed the door, diverting his gaze to look down. Lost in thought with his hand still on the handle, he couldn't help the dreaded feeling in his gut.
Their eyes never left the door. To turn back to their father would mean to face the consequences of their actions. They were anxious. Anxious of their father's reaction and their mother's continued disappointment. Acknowledging the talks about appropriate sibling relationships now meant nothing to the children, their punishment was likely going to be revolutionary... Much to the displeasure of the two in question.
"Living room. Now." They heard their father's demand. Two pairs of heavy footsteps trailed into the living room from behind them.
Nervous, Sonic turned to Amy; timorously shaken. Parallelled looks of panic stared back at one another, both breathing heavily with apprehension. Shaking hands connected for a moment, transferring comfort. The minor affection ended briefly before they faced their fate.
Making their way to the sofa, they hopped onto the furniture and sat side by side. Their parents stood either side, hovering over them like pillars of authority. Their mother held a strained face, mentally exhausted by the reoccurring issue. Their father had a similar look on his features, but anger mainly dominated his face.
"No. Separate yourselves. One on either side, please." Jules instructed. The children quickly shuffled to either side of the sofa to please their dad.
Letting out a tiresome sigh, Jules placed his hands on his hips. "I don't know how many times you need to hear this. Time and time again, you prove to not understand that your behaviour is inappropriate and wrong. You're both siblings. Siblings do not kiss one another on the lips."
"It was just a game." Sonic used the cover up. "We were playing with Cream and chose to play Mums and Dads. We were pretending to be you and Mum."
The parents looked to each other. While it was still ill-suited, it was a plausible explanation.
If this was the first occasion.
"That doesn't explain the countless occurrences where we've had to have this conversation before. This problem has been going on for years! I don't get what you're not understanding. When we first sat you down, this issue should have been resolved. Only, it's gotten worse. In fact, I'd say you've both gotten better at hiding whatever's going on."
The pair looked to one another in their peripheral vision, their truth spilling onto their faces.
Kneeling down before his children, Jules held a sincere expression, trying to understand his children's thought process. "I need both of you to be honest with us. We won't be mad, we just wanna know what's going on." He smiled at them, reinstating a little security.
The younger blue hedgehog saw through the façade. Given how serious and impermissible the topic was, control of temper couldn't be guaranteed. Their love was greatly understood to be taboo, and even still, they did not wish to let it go.
And so he would continue to do what they had always done. Keep it a secret.
"We just wanted to be like you and Mum." Sonic muttered. His claim carried partial truth. They aspired for a relationship much like their parents; honest and overly affectionate towards each other.
Breathing a long breath through his nose, Jules smiled hopelessly at his son. He rose to his feet, asserting his authority once more. "We're honoured to know you admire the love your Mother and I have... But that doesn't make it okay for you two to act like your ..." He internally cringed to think of the possibility. "... Boyfriend and girlfriend..." He choked on the words in disgust.
Irritated by his father's reaction, Sonic looked to the window, hoping to calm his annoyance.
"Your mum and I aren't related, see? Therefore it's more, uh... Natural, to be together... that way."
"Amy and I aren't related either..." Sonic muttered beneath his breath.
The boy's quietly spoken thoughts did not fail to reach his father. Jules slowly turned his head towards him, allowing the boy a chance to correct himself. "What was that?"
Too enraged to let his father's double standards go, Sonic scoffed and turned his head towards his dad. "Amy is not my sister! She has completely different parents, a whole 'nother family. She was born in a different country to me, Manic and Sonia! How come you're allowed to be with Mum, and I can't be with Amy?!"
"Be wi--?!" Jules closed his eyes, simmering his riling anger. "Sonic... Amy is your sister. You cannot date your sister."
"But she's not my sister! So what if you adopted her?! That doesn't suddenly make her blood. I don't see her as a sister. I have never seen her as a sister! I--" He looked over to the frightened girl on the opposite side of the sofa, hopelessly falling smitten for her. "I love her. The same way you love Mum."
The elder male spun on his heel, pulling on his bottom lip and squeezing the skin harshly between his gloved fingers. His suspicions were now confirmed. All the years of the same issue was finally revealed. His children. His children, were having an incestuous relationship.
He was determined to shut it down immediately.
Turning back to his kids, he ran his hand down his face, doing whatever possible to remain calm. "Sonic. Sometimes we think we feel a certain way, when in fact, we could actually feel something else entirely. You're still growing, and overtime those feelings will change." He paused as he saw his son look away from him, avoiding the lecture. "Until then, you two will stop this absurdity."
"Stop loving each other?" Sonic rephrased his dad's words.
"Do not test your father, Sonic." Aleena scolded the young boy.
A short, sharp breath left the aggregated man. "You don't love her." He growled through gritted teeth.
Determined, Sonic stood on the sofa and held his ground. "Yes I do!"
"You cannot love your sister!"
"She's not my sister!"
"SHE IS!" Jules bellowed, forcing his son's heart to leap through his ribcage. The boy dropped onto the soft furnishing beneath him, shaken by the unexpectedly loud outburst from the blue hedgehog before him. "We have tolerated enough of your depravity. Tonight, it's gonna stop! There will be no more talk of this relationship and love! She is your sister!" He yelled at the boy while pointing to the terrified girl on the edge of the sofa. "You will treat her as your sister!"
"But..." Sonic objected, lacking the confidence he had previously.
The soft spoken protest had subsequently drove the father to his breaking point. With fiercely unrelenting rage, his eyes glowed with the vicious flames that were his father's rage instilled in him.
"J-Jule?" Aleena noticed the rage on her husband's face. She stepped towards him, ready to hold him back from whatever instinct was about to occur.
Without a word or a sign, the man gripped his son's arm and yanked him off of the sofa. He marched with the boy towards his office.
"Jules!" Aleena gasped, rushing around the sofa and chasing after her husband. "What are you doing? Put him down!"
"D-Daddy?!" Amy leapt off the sofa and ran alongside her mother, rushing to her belove's aid.
"Dad!" Sonic panicked, struggling to break out of his father's tight grip. "Dad! Please!"
Their cries could no longer be heard. With stern eyes forgetful to blink, the man shoved the office door open and slammed it shut behind them, locking the door to prevent escape.
"Jule! Please don't hurt our boy! JULE!" Aleena cried, slamming her fist onto the door. The muffled, agonised screaming from her child could be heard beyond the wooden door, sparking the heart pounding fear. "JULE, PLEASE!" She screamed, pounding on the door.
The harrowing screams of her loved one triggered neural paths long disconnected in her mind. The violence, the cries, the terror. The motions she couldn't remember witnessing had caused her to freeze. She stared intensely at the door, unable to move or speak her agony.
A light click of the lock sounded, the door opening abruptly afterward. The glowering man rushed passed his wife and daughter, but not without showing the droplets of blood staining his gloves.
"Sonic!" Aleena rushed into the office to find her son struggling to get up. His arms quaked from the lack of strength they contained. "Baby." The mother gasped as she dropped to his side and gathered him in her arms. "Sonic, sweetheart. Where does it hurt?"
Turning the boy over, she inhaled deeply to the darkening forming around his right eye. The mounded tissue pulsated a searing pain. A black eye in the making. Her sights fell onto the stream of blood dribbling down his busted lip, incoming swelling to the inflicted area.
"Oh Sonic..." His mother wept, rocking him consolingly in her arms.
With his throbbing eye preventing his tears to fall, the blue hedgehog gripped to his mother, sniffling quietly onto her chest in his doleful plea for comfort.
Placing the bag of frozen peas lightly against her boy's eye, Aleena sat beside the young child, a sombre silence long established since the assault. He kept his head down, too ashamed of his previous confession to look his mother in the eye again. The secret was out. He had revealed himself to be the dishonourable, incestuous freak his father had suspected of him, and he paid for it.
He grimaced to the image of his father's hair-raising infuriation. A part of him had always been afraid of his dad. Through a more authoritative type of fear. To know the man he looked up to as his father, his hero, had ignored his pleas, his tearful cries and viciously attacked him, it infused a god-fearing complexity within him.
This man he called his dad was capable of murdering him if the mood should take him.
He was left to question the future. The status of the relationship he now had with his dad. Was there more to this attack? Did he no longer love him after revealing the truth about his feelings towards Amy? Was the attack simply a new, unorthodox punishment? Or was it symbolic to the end of their bond?
His left eye peered over to the woman beside him. She had said just as little as he had. Why? There was no inkling to her emotions right now. Was she to go berserk on the man for his unjustified actions? Did she believe he was ultimately correct to be angry for having a freak for a son?
Just what was to happen now?
"The medicine should kick in in about twenty minutes. I'll get you something to eat until then." His mother spoke softly, moving the bag of frozen peas ever so slightly. The light movement caused him to wince. "Sorry, sweetie."
"Does Dad hate me?" He asked miserably.
Taken back by the question, the mother's eyes shortly gathered tears, pained by her son's heartache. "No, honey. He allowed his emotions to get the better of him. He still loves you very much."
"Even if I'm a freak?"
His words were constant daggers to the heart. Ached by his turmoil, Aleena pulled him back into her arms. "You're not a freak, Sonic. We'd never think that about you, or Amy..." She placed a kiss on her son's forehead before regrettably adding to his emotional sorrow. "But it's probably for the best that you don't continue this... relationship you have with Amy. I know you don't see her that way, but she is, technically, your sister."
Not wanting to relive the traumatic experience, Sonic nodded back at his mother, looking down devastatingly.
Placing another kiss on Sonic's forehead, Aleena got off the boy's bed and walked towards the door. She opened the bedroom door and turned back to the blue hedgehog, smiling sympathetically. "I'll be back soon with your dinner, okay?" He nodded back at her, not saying a word. "I love you, honey."
"Love you, mum..." He responded, refusing to look her way.
Grieved by her son's depression, Aleena slowly closed the door behind her and rested against the wooden barrier, looking up to the ceiling in her despair. A single tear fell down her cheek. Her buried gut feelings hadn't failed her. Jules was a product of his violent childhood. Failing to acknowledge those instincts all those years ago out of love for the man had caused the cycle to continue onto her eldest child.
She had failed to protect her baby, despite seeing the signed.
Wiping away her tears, the mother composed herself and made her way downstairs to prepare meals for her children.
The sounds of rummaging in the kitchen stopped her in the mid section of the stairs. Her husband had returned from wherever he had fled to and now he was avoiding the consequences to his actions.
Her hand gripped onto the bannister as the rage warmed her blood. The man who had attack her baby was not going to get away with his action without his own consequences.
In a haste, she flew down the stairs and into the kitchen. She witnessed her husband downing a bottle of aged whiskey from the back of the cupboard. She paused, flabbergasted to see him drinking alcohol. A rare sighting. An eerie sighting.
"We always said our children were unique." He rambled, facing away from his wife. "Because normal parents don't deal with this shit. Nah, they get the typical crap. You know, bullies, rebellious kids... What do we get? Two kids who can't wait to get it on behind our backs." He laughed passively. "What fucking luck."
"You attacked our son..." Aleena said, unable to comprehend what had happened. "Y-you attacked our nine year old boy!"
"He's been in a relationship with our youngest child! Did that just slip your mind?!"
"And that's your answer? To beat him into submission? Beat the emotion out of him?!"
"It worked for me." He shrugged, taking another swig of whiskey.
"Yeah... It worked alright. Those beatings you got as a child have really helped you, haven't they? Except the only thing that's managed to do is to successfully carry on the cycle of abuse!" She spat at him, disgusted by his actions. "Here you are, standing here with a bottle in hand, justifying your actions. How can you say you're any different from your dad?"
His hostility quickly returned as he stormed towards his wife and pinned her against the wall, towering over her while using his forearm over her collar bone to pin her. "I spent years following your stupid fucking methods, talking to the kids constantly and getting nowhere. Now, we'll do things my way. Sonic is coming with me to Mercia to advance his training and become the leader of the Freedom Fighters. He'll have no contact with Amy and is not allowed back here until his mission is done. Are we clear?"
Bewildered and nerved by her husband's hostility, Aleena looked into his wrathful eyes, becoming increasingly less assertive to every passing second. "I can't see him in that time?"
"You can call him, send him letters. He needs to get away from all this... Away from her."
"He's my baby and his place is at home with his mother--"
Angered by her defiance, Jules pressed his wife harshly against the wall, hitting her head in the process. "If you hadn't been so soft on him, he wouldn't be the bad-mouthing, messed up little shit he's become! He is a boy. A boy who needs discipline. Who knows his place and sticks to it. He's coming with me, and that's final." He snarled, shoving her back into the wall and walking off with the bottle in hand.
Upon the sound of the slamming door, Aleena unleashed her sobs, dropping to her knees before curling up against the wall. Her cries were filled with her anguish and her frustration from her self loathing. For the second time that night, she had failed to protect her child. From the newly established anxiety ingrained into her heart, she feared it wouldn't be the last time she would let him down
Reacting to the slam of the front door, Amy raced across the hallway to the boys' bedroom. She pounded on the door, eager to see her sweetheart after the brutal assault from their father. Her anxiety prolonged her knocking, unrelenting until she saw him again.
Her knocking was soon answered by the injured boy. He stood before her, emotionless with bruised features.
The sight caused her to gasp and the tears to proceed. Their father had done this. Caused this irreversible pain, unrecoverable damage.
"Sonic..." She whispered, stunned and mortified. "Oh my-- I-I'll get you some ice." She said, hoping to gain more composure after she had more time to overcome the shock.
"I don't need ice..." He said coldly, turning his body away from her.
His body language confused her. His demeanour gave off a distant, standoffish sensation. Was he mad at her for not stepping in and saving him?
"I should have done something... Stepped in, or said something... I'm sorry." She apologised, reaching for her belove's hand. To her surprise, he rejected her, pulling his hand away and defiantly holding it in front of her to prevent her from getting closer to him. "Sonic?"
"The only thing I need from you is to leave me alone! This was all just a stupid game that got way out of control!" He barked at her. The heartbreak displayed on her face reflected the ache he felt within.
"... What?" She cried.
"You heard me. All of this, me and you. It was nothing but a game to me. Did you really think I could actually love you? You're nothing to me! Just some girl whose parents didn't wanna stick around for."
The mention of her parents had struck the final blow to the heart, severing the vital organ in half. She inhaled sharply, clenching the fabric over her heart.
"You told me I meant everything to you..." She sobbed.
Holding back his own tears, the blue hedgehog continued his lies in order to let her go. To protect her from their father, he would keep his love for her to himself.
"I lied..." He responded harshly, pushing her away from him. "Just stay away from me." He said before slamming the door on her.
Staring at the closed door before her, the young girl watched the distance between them expand further than the minor density of the bedroom door.
She sobbed quietly to herself, covering her face to muffle her heartache. All the while, the same emotions were expressed beyond the bedroom door to her beloved. Through the pain of his black eye, the tears expelled, along with the anguish cries stifled by his pillow.
The invisible ball and chain strapped to his ankles dragged him through the airport. Unwilling was his mind, yet fearfully willing was his body. A compromise was made; he followed his family, treading sluggishly behind.
From the back, he was able to watch his sweetheart ahead of him. She held onto their mother's hand, refraining from looking back at him. It was safe to say he had released her from their relationship. Ever since that heart-rending speech he had concocted, she barely looked his way. Not that he blamed her. His words were fatal. After what was said and what was to happen to him now, he was certain he had lost the love of his life.
He looked down at his slow motioned feet, the slowest he had ever walked. A symptom to his sadness. He was to be shipped off to a decimated country to spend years of his life away from his family. Worse of all, he would banned from contacting his beloved in all that time.
All because he had accidentally fallen in love.
Walking through the doors, Sonic looked up to the military jet that was his one way ticket to becoming the outcast. The highly impressive, sleek aircraft was more of a death sentence in his eyes.
"General." McGrath addressed the blue, adult hedgehog as he approached the family.
"Major, Sir." Jules saluted.
"I apologise for not allowing more time for goodbyes. This project is a top priority."
"No problem, Sir. I think we've said our dues." Jules said, looking to Aleena who had faked a smile.
"Excellent." The crocodile enthused. He briefly looked down at his watch before leaning towards the hedgehog. "Five minutes won't kill anyone."
"Thank you, Sir." Jules nodded.
Nodding back at the major, Jules turned to his wife and gingerly took her hand in his. "I'll have Sonic call you as soon as he's settled in his new room."
"Thank you." His wife mumbled, refusing to look into his eyes.
He dithered with the love words. The words she would gleefully appreciate now meant very little, to nothing. The words were still true despite his actions. She remained his cherished one. His sweetness.
"I love you." He said.
Reluctant to answer him, Aleena looked to her brother in law. He stared intensely back at them. After seeing the condition of his nephew, he had a hunch to the culprit. Despite Jules and Aleena denying the possibility, and Sonic insisting he ran into a door, he had already determined his gut instinct was right the whole time. His brother abused his nephew. Why? The mystery remained.
Seeing him staring back at them, Aleena brushed off her own emotions and pulled her husband into a kiss. A dutiful kiss, extracting the remains of her love in her recovering heart. Her husband returned her affection, tempted to convey his smouldering passion for her, but he knew the damage was far to great to be healed by his loving gestures.
Standing near to his parents, Sonic looked up to their affectionate moment. He looked away with a frown, created by the injustice. He was to be shipped off for his love, while they paraded their love in front of him.
It made him feel sick. He was born to a pair of hypocrites.
Breaking the kiss, Aleena lowered her head, unable to look Jules in the eye. "Love you." She said softly.
Interrupting the couples' moment, Chuck played an optimistic smile towards his brother. "Looks like you'll have your hands full while you're away. Give that Robotnik a punch in the jaw from me, eh?"
"You know it, Chuck." Jules smiled back at his brother, hugging the man with a hearty pat on the back. They pulled away from each other, allowing Chuck to see to his nephew.
"Good luck out there, boy. A little man in the big world. I know you'll make us all proud." He said, pulling the young boy in for a big hug. "And, uh, watch out for those pesky doors now, won't ya?" He pulled away from the child and smiled sympathetically, exhibiting his knowledge of the assault.
As previously instructed by his father, Sonic nodded to his uncle, keeping the truth to himself.
His siblings stepped forward towards after saying their farewells to their father. The tears had long since stained their cheeks, eyes strained and red. They jumped onto their brother, squeezing him tightly.
"I never thought I'd say it, but I'm gonna miss you, blue." Sonia sniffled.
"It's gonna be a little odd without you around, but I'm sure we'll manage." Manic shrugged, putting on a brave face. The courage soon left him as he took his brother's hand in his. "Keep in contact with us when you're not saving the day."
"Absolutely." Sonic nodded back at the green hedgehog.
The trio joined for another hug, holding each other dearly. A few more tears were shed between them, fearing the times they would miss with each other.
Sonic still remained unsatisfied to the number of goodbyes he had received. The most important remained. Gazing over at the pink hedgehog, he caught her staring back at him. She turned away, bashful and embarrassed. She looked back again momentarily, adding to her embarrassment to find he hadn't looked away.
Courage won over the pain of regret. With her parents watching her every move, she approached the blue boy. "I dunno when I'll see you again so... Goodbye, Sonic."
"Wow, Amy. Sonic's leaving for who knows how long and you can only say that?" Sonia scoffed. Pushing the girl into her brother, Sonia dusted off her hands and stood proudly. "There a better goodbye."
The unintentional hug caught the attention of their parents. Jules was held back by Aleena to avoid a scene in front of his brother.
He was captivated by her warmth providing the remedy to his fragile heart. How her arms found their way onto his back quills to regain her footing, how her cheek brushed against his as she fell against his shoulder. He cherished the gesture, not knowing when he would be able to hold her again.
"I love you..." She whispered, her voice squeaking from her emotional state.
Hearing the words once again had released his restrained emotions. He sniffled, wrapping his arms around her lovingly.
"Sonic." Jules appeared behind the boy. "It's time to go.
Amy looked up at her father and immediately moved away. Sonic turned back towards the man, becoming abruptly overwhelmed to the thought of never seeing her again.
"Now?" He asked, his eyes portraying his panic.
"Yes. To the jet, please."
Expelling a shaken breath, Sonic turned to his mother, pleading her for reconsideration. "Mum, please don't let me go. I'll be good, I promise. Just please don't send me away."
"Sonic." Jules called to him, firm toned.
"Mum..." He cried desperately, clinging to her coat.
His mother looked to her husband, her strength leaving her at the fearsome gaze he gave her. The gaze he had held the night he assault Sonic and herself. Her heart jittered at his intense stare, forcing her to comply.
Lowering herself to her son's level, the mother kissed his forehead and cupped his face. "You will thrive out there, Sonic. Just be a good boy and listen to your father."
"I wanna stay with you." He cried.
"I know..." Aleena blinked the tears out her eyes. "But this is for the best. You'll understand one day."
Realising his mother wasn't going to stand by his side in this situation, Sonic unwillingly nodded, sniffling quietly against her.
"I love you." She said. "Don't forget that."
"Come on, Sonic." Jules commanded, holding out his hand to the young hedgehog.
Following his fate, Sonic took his father's hand and allowed him to escort him onto the jet. He stared back at his family, at his beloved, fearing life without them.
He took a seat a few seats back from his father, his gaze sticking to his family. The final waves were given before takeoff. Once the jet had taken flight, their bodies quickly faded from sight.
He was alone.
Softly sobbing to himself, Sonic slumped back in his seat, squeezing his eyes shut to allow the tears to fall.
"Hey!" His father's voice boomed into his ears, causing the boy to jump. He looked forward to see his dad staring back at him, scowling. "Stop crying. You're not a toddler."
"Yes, Sir." Sonic nodded back at him, wiping away the tears.
Turning back around in his seat, Jules sighed heavily, wiping his white quill away from his face. Powerless to the craving, he pulled out a flask from his officer's coat and alleviated his stress. By the end of the day, he hoped to lose the memory of his actions for another night.