Well! This is certainly the longest chapter I've written for this story so far. My apologies if this took so long. I'll keep this note short and let you guys get on with reading.

Enjoy!

NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONIC CHARACTERS, EXCEPT FOR MY OCs.


Chapter 7

"Mhm… I see. All right. Thanks for letting me know," Multo said to one of the spirits she had sent out earlier to spy on Sonic and his friends. Adjusting Eggman's blue-tinted glasses, Multo surveyed her Ghost Badniks. Each one was manned by a ghost that saluted her as she walked past. She smiled as she inspected her troops. Long ago, she would have balked at the idea of summoning dark spirits. Now, feeling the pain and anger they felt, she was happy to reach out to them and give them a chance at revenge.

"We move out at dusk," she crisply ordered before leaving the launch bay.

Orbot and Cubot gulped as the possessed Dr. Eggman returned to the Master Control room they had just finished cleaning. Then, to their amazement, Multo had Eggman smile kindly at them.

"Good job, you two. Hey, as a reward, do you guys want to come with me when we launch our second strike?" asked Multo.

"R-really?" Cubot stammered. The Doctor had never let him and Orbot go to one of the battles with Sonic before.

"Yeah!" Eggman's red eyes flashed behind his glasses. "It'll be fun!" said Multo, grinning.

"I-If that's what you want, Ms. Multo, then we're honored," Orbot replied, bowing graciously. He rubbed the back of his head and shyly added, "You're much nicer than Dr. Eggman…"

"Awww, thank you, Orbot," Multo said, patting the round-headed robot. Turning to the main computer, Multo scanned the map of Christmas Island. The Doctor's lips turned up in a smile as the ghost possessing him selected her next target.

"This spot will do."


Sonic listened with half an ear as Ashley toured him and his friends around the village. The village hadn't changed much. The same shops were still there, albeit with updated signage and décor. The schoolhouse was still up and running. Lumber and timber shops selling the highest quality pine planks and wood blocks for construction and wood carving dotted the streets. And the villagers, albeit surprised to see him and his friends, continued to go about their lives cheerfully. But Sonic could see the fear in their eyes, the unasked questions, and it made his skin crawl.

In the very center of the village grew The Century Tree. The 100-year-old pine tree was taller than the rest, reaching up towards the clouds at a staggering 200 meters tall, and had a trunk wide enough for at least ten Mobians to encircle it with their hands linked together.

"Our beloved island's pride and joy." Ashley turned to the awestruck newcomers. "The Century Tree's truly a magnificent sight whatever season. But if you come here to Christmas Island during Winter, well… it becomes the most magical thing you've ever seen with everyone's decorations," she purred.

"And everyone on the island gets to decorate the tree?" Tails asked, leaning back to gape at the colossal pine tree.

"Mhm. It's a tradition for every villager to contribute at one set of decorations at the start of the Christmas season to decorate The Century Tree's boughs," Ashley told him.

Uncle Chuck scoffed, tapping his foot on the ground. "Your father used to go around the village, asking for decorations. Funny… he never seemed to stop by our residence," he said gruffly. Ignoring everybody's stares, he glanced at Sonic. "Ever recall old Leonidas coming over to our house and asking for our decorations, Sonny boy?" he asked.

"Nope. He always skipped our place, Unk." Sonic sent Ashley a loaded look. "I wonder why?" he asked.

Shadow and Rouge looked at the Mayor, eye ridges raised. Ashley fidgeted in front of the group, coughing awkwardly into a handkerchief she pulled out from her skirt pocket. "Well, we were a bit concerned that some of your decorations might have been… potential fire hazards, Sir Charles. I-I mean, given your profession as a mechanic, we assumed that you built some rather… quirky decorations for your Christmas Tree. We were just making sure that no potential fire hazards would be placed on The Century Tree," she explained, her eyes not quite meeting Sonic's or Uncle Chuck's.

Both hedgehogs merely gave her blank looks.

"But Uncle Chuck's never made Christmas decorations that could pose a fire hazard before…" Amy whispered to Knuckles.

Knuckles frowned, watching the two hedgehogs and the lioness. "If you ask me, it sounds like they didn't want to include Uncle Chuck and Sonic in the island's traditions," he muttered.

Blaze and Silver looked at each other, brows knit together in worry. Sonic's cryptic answer to the former's question earlier was beginning to make more sense…

Sensing the tension in the air, Tails decided to steer the team back on track. "Thank you for the tour, Ms. Ashley. Now, can you please tell us about the factory that was built on the island a few months ago? You said in your message that that's where all of those robots that attacked the village came from," he piped up.

"Yes, of course!" Ashley perked up. "My PA, Karla, is waiting for us at my office. I'll be able to better explain the situation there," she said, already leading the group out of the village plaza.

'Great… Karla Clawser's her PA… Figures she'd work for her fellow big cat,' Sonic thought, rolling his eyes, as he followed Ashley over to the Village Hall… where he got another unpleasant surprise.

"Maurice the Hedgehog, as I live and breathe!"

Lloyd Greav grinned as he greeted Ashley and her guests. He smiled broadly at Sonic and Uncle Chuck then hollered to a blond-furred dog and dark green lizard, "Hey, Jayden! Hughie! Look who decided to come and visit!"

'Oh Chaos, not them again…' Sonic grimaced as Jayden Doggstar and Hughie Lizard approached the group.

"Well, well, well, this is a surprise. Long time, no see, Maurice," Hughie said, his bright yellow eyes glimmering.

"Don't call him that, Hugh! He goes by Sonic now, remember?" Jayden chuckled, ears perky. "My kid Rody's a huge fan of yours. He's gonna be bouncing off the walls when he finds out that his hero's here in the flesh!"

"Oh, are you Sonic's childhood friends? It's so nice to meet you!" Amy giggled.

"We were classmates, Ames," Sonic said, looking at Lloyd, Jayden, and Hughie coldly. Then, he smiled. "Gotta admit. Seeing you guys is sure bringing back memories. Oh, but where's Arthur?"

At Sonic's question, his three former classmates went rigid.

"Arthur's laid up in bed. He got hurt pretty bad during the attack a few hours ago…" Lloyd revealed.

"His wife, Wendy, and little Enzo are at the hospital with him. Poor little cub was scared stiff when we visited them," Jayden added.

"That's why we're so glad that someone's come to help us. We're truly indebted to you and your friends, Mau-Sonic." Hughie bowed low to the Blue Blur and his team.

Sonic tapped his foot, taking all of this information in. A memory of Arthur hitting him with a baseball bat when they were kids flashed through his mind and he balled his hands into fists. As he looked at the three other tormentors of his childhood, he felt all the anger and resentment he'd buried deep within his heart bubbling up.

He wanted to say, "Serves you all right," but, knowing that his friends wouldn't like that, he settled for something else.

"Wow, I never thought I'd get to repay you guys for everything you've done for me." With a smile that didn't reach his eyes, Sonic went over to Hughie, Jayden, and Lloyd. "Hey, remember that one time you guys threw me into the ocean while I was wearing a muzzle to see if I could swim while wearing one?" he asked, nonchalantly slinging his arms over Lloyd and Jayden.

"What?!" Amy shrieked, looking at the badger, dog, and lizard in horror.

Knuckles and Tails were pretty sure that their eyes had widened to the size of plates while Omega's eyes glowed red, the robot's metal fingers clenching together.

Silver gasped in shock while Blaze looked imploringly to Uncle Chuck, pleading with her eyes to say that what her blue friend just said wasn't true. The Princess of the Sol Dimension went rigid as she saw Uncle Chuck glaring daggers at Hugh, Jayden, and Lloyd.

While his childhood bullies couldn't speak, Sonic laughed. "Oh, that was such a fun experiment! I nearly drowned that day, you know. And I've been scared of the ocean and water in general ever since," he said, squeezing Lloyd and Jayden's shoulders tightly.

"Sonic, we're…" Hughie managed to say before the blue hedgehog continued.

"Sorry? No worries! Let bygones be bygones, right?" Sonic locked eyes with Hughie and smiled. "Besides, I have to thank you guys for that. Why, if you hadn't done that, I wouldn't have…"

Alarm bells rang in Rouge's ears when Sonic suddenly trailed off and started shaking. To her surprise, Shadow reached out to the Blue Blur first.

"Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog in question zipped out of the Village Hall's lobby so fast that papers flew off of all the desks and fluttered down to the floor like snowflakes.

"Sonic! Sonny boy, wait!" Uncle Chuck shouted, running after his nephew.

Ashley immediately called for workers to clean the place up. While Hughie, Jayden, and Lloyd scrambled to help the mayor, Amy, Blaze, Knuckles, and Silver distanced themselves from the trio. Their eyes were narrowed as they picked up papers and glared at the three villagers.

Now they knew why Sonic didn't want to come back here.

"Omega, do me a favor and keep an eye on those three," Shadow instructed his robot teammate.

"AFFIRMATIVE. PERMISSION TO ANNIHILATE SONIC'S CHILDHOOD BULLIES?" Omega asked, his fingers already twitching and ready to strangle Lloyd when the badger came near him while picking up papers. Lloyd took one look at the massive killing machine near him and scurried away with his tail between his legs.

"Annihilating's a little harsh, Omega." Rouge smiled, her teal eyes glinting. "But maybe dangling those three brutes over a cliff will suffice," she said before sighing as she gazed out of the open door Sonic had run out of.

"I have to admit, hun. I was worried that your hypothesis was correct… Poor Blue…" she said to Shadow who looked out the door as well.

Shadow crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze to the floor, thinking. Some things didn't quite add up.

If Sonic had been bullied so badly, why didn't he and Uncle Chuck just leave Christmas Island right after the incident the former had brought up just a few minutes ago?

And why had Sonic pretended to be all friendly with his childhood bullies?

And, most intriguing of all, why did Sonic actually sound grateful in the end when he had brought the incident up?

'There has to be more to all of this. Sonic wouldn't casually bring up a traumatic memory to guilt trip these guys into apologizing.' Looking at Hugh, Jayden, and Lloyd, Shadow could see the guilt on their faces and he gave them a cold look, which made them back off. They nearly killed Sonic when they were kids, for Chaos' sake. And Shadow secretly enjoyed seeing them squirm.

"Why, if you hadn't done that, I never would have…"

There. The last thing Sonic had said before he bolted. Shadow's eyes widened as he remembered the blue hedgehog's face when he stopped mid-sentence. His eyes had glazed over and his lower lip trembled a little as he shook. He looked like he was going to cry…

But this was Sonic! The Faker practically laughed in the face of danger as he constantly flirted with Death. Hell, he could walk straight into Hell with a smile then start joking with the Devil! He was that confident and so sure of himself. And he was always so cheerful that it made Shadow sick sometimes. The blue hedgehog radiated happiness and positive energy so much that he's been known to make actual flowers bloom while in his Super Form. Frankly, the first time he'd seen that happen, Shadow had a hard time believing it until Tails told him about Sonic's Chaos Energy.

'He's got to be hiding something…' Shadow thought, alerted by a light tap on the shoulder from Rouge. The lobby had been cleaned and, now, Ashley was leading the group into her office where a leopard greeted them and gestured to a map of Christmas Island spread out on the mayor's desk.

'Asking him would immediately trigger a fight-or-flight response. I'll just have to wait and see whether the truth unveils itself or not,' thought Shadow as the strategizing began without Sonic or Uncle Chuck.

At least he knew that Tails will fill the two hedgehogs in later…


"Get back here, you freak!"

Sonic panted as he ran through familiar woods, his heart thumping wildly in his ribcage. He had to keep running. If he stopped to catch his breath, he was a goner.

"Arthur, Jayden, cut him off!"

Sonic yelped as he tripped on a tree root and fell flat on his face. On instinct, he brought up his arms to shield himself from a blow that never came. Opening his eyes, Sonic breathed a sigh of relief.

Lloyd and Hughie weren't there to beat him up until he was barely conscious. Arthur wasn't there with the dreaded muzzle. Jayden wasn't there to throw him off the cliff overlooking the island's West coast...

He was no longer a scared six-year-old being chased by bullies. He was an adult now, stronger and faster than he had ever been. The bullies couldn't hurt him anymore. Getting up, Sonic dusted himself off and took several deep breaths. His encounter with those three earlier had shaken him, made him relive one of his worst memories, and had driven him all the way here to the forest of his childhood as his past and present began to mesh together in his mind. It was getting harder to keep it together in front of his friends, but he had to stay strong. They didn't need to know about his troubles.

Sighing, Sonic looked at the path up ahead. The cliff wasn't that far away and he could get there in just a minute. Then he looked behind him. His Uncle Chuck was probably looking for him now.

'I've come too far now. Time to head over there and stare my past in the face,' Sonic said to himself as he ran until he arrived at the cliff. Up here, he could see the ocean and its great white-capped azure waves. Looking down, a shiver crawled up his spine.

Jagged rocks pierced the water's surface and the waves pounded at them relentlessly. He'd nearly been impaled by one of those things back then…

But, despite all the pain that had transpired in that unforgiving ocean, Sonic couldn't help but smile a little. Yes, him being muzzled and thrown into the ocean when he was a child was one of his worst memories. But it was also one of his best ones, too.

Because on that day… he met his angel.


"Come on, Hugh, you already got two kicks in. Let me have a turn!"

Sonic cried out as he felt Arthur's baseball bat bash his side. He struggled to get up, his arms trembling as he lifted his head up, only to get his face pushed into the dirt by Lloyd.

"Wh-why…?" he whimpered, his voice muffled by the ground.

"What was that?" Arthur rolled him onto his back. "What'd you say, freak?" he asked, grinning meanly.

"Why are… you guys… so mean to me? I-I didn't… do anything wrong…" cried Sonic, earning a punch in the gut from Lloyd. He screamed, curling up on his side. Bruises littered his entire body and blood dripped from his nose, which Hughie had broken earlier.

"You're different, that's why. Hold him down!"

Sonic squirmed and struggled under Hughie, Jayden, and Lloyd's grip, crying out for his Uncle Chuck, for anyone, to save him. A hard slap to the face from Jayden shut him up.

"You're a blue-furred freak who can run faster than anyone else on this island. You're dangerous and scary. When you grow up, you're gonna be a monster and we need to get rid of you before that happens," Arthur said gravely as he pulled out a wire muzzle.

"No!" Sonic shook his head wildly, his quills bristling. "No, please! I'll be good! I won't hurt anyone! I won't run anymore! I'm not a monster! Please, I promise I won't be a monster!" he pleaded, tears rolling down his bruised cheeks. But his pleas fell on deaf ears as Arthur strapped the muzzle firmly onto his face.

"There. Now the freak can't talk," Arthur said, looking pleased with himself. Hughie, Jayden, and Lloyd got off of Sonic who whimpered as he vainly pulled at the muzzle wrapped tightly around his face.

Then the beating resumed. Punches and kicks targeted at every inch of his body rained down on Sonic and kept going. Whatever cries for help that he let out went unanswered. And no amount of shielding with his arms or curling up into a ball helped.

As Arthur, Hughie, Jayden, and Lloyd kicked him into the ground, Sonic gave up. He was too weak to run. Everything hurt. And nobody was coming.

Maybe he really was a monster and deserved to die…

SNAP!

"What was that?"

The whole world shimmered in and out of focus…

"Shoot, I think someone's coming!"

"Uh… guys? He's not moving!"

Maybe if he played dead, they'd leave him alone… or was he already dying…?

"Shoot! Come on, we gotta hide him. I am not going to jail for this!"

He felt someone pick him up by the scruff of his neck. His vision was filled with black dots that changed color from red to orange to blue. It was kind of pretty, in a way…

"Wh-whoa, whoa, whoa! Jayden, wait! Maybe that's not a good idea!"

He could feel the wind on his face. And he could faintly hear the crashing of waves. Were they at the beach? That's odd… the beach was way down below…

"Eh, he'll be fine. Hedgehogs can float on their spines right?"

"Uh… I think so?"

"Wh-whatever! Let's just ditch this weirdo before someone finds us!"

Now he was falling. The wind whipped against his face. Opening his eyes just a crack, Sonic saw the ocean and the jagged rocks rushing up to meet him. Before he could even scream, he hit the water… hard.

The sensation of water filling his lungs made Sonic forget about all the pain from his beating. Adrenaline and fear coursed through his veins as he struggled to swim up to the surface. Coughing and spluttering, he managed to bring his head above water for a brief second before a wave slammed into him and shoved him towards one of the rocks. Sonic gasped as pain blossomed anew on his forehead, the water around him suddenly tinted with red.

He was the fastest thing on land but the ocean's natural rhythm had him beat. The waves pounded him into the rocks again and again, and the currents kept bringing him down. His body, already bruised black and blue from earlier, was broken and bleeding, the blood tinting the stinging salt water around him.

Another wave washed over him and, as bubbles swirled around him, Sonic realized that there was no use fighting against the ocean. He was going to drown…

'Goodbye, Uncle Chuck… I love you… I'll tell Mom and Dad you said 'Hi…' thought Sonic as he felt his lungs give out.

Suddenly, a dark shape fell into the water. Its arms were stretched out, reaching towards him…

'It must be an angel… Coming to take me to heaven…'

Sonic managed to smile a little before his body gave and everything went black…


"Wake up… Please…!"

"…CPR?! How…"

"…One…Two…Three… Come on, breathe! BREATHE!"

His lungs burned as he coughed out what felt like an entire gallon of water. He ached all over. He was wet. He was cold…

And he was, miraculously, still alive.

Sonic moaned, his eyelids fluttering. Through his blurred vision, he could make out a face and large eyes with black irises gazing worriedly at him. This must be the angel…

"That's it! Take big gulps of air… Lolo, Sergeant, can you help me carry him…?"

He was being lifted up now and it was like he was floating. As he drifted in and out of consciousness, the angel kept talking to him, her voice soft and soothing.

"Don't worry. You're safe now… Just hang in there…"

Sonic's vision cleared for a few seconds. And, just before he drifted back into unconsciousness, he got a better glimpse of the angel. She was a hedgehog just like him, with brown fur and black quills that were both currently drenched.

'She's the most beautiful angel I've ever seen…' was Sonic's last thought before he passed out.


When he came to, his Uncle Chuck was right beside him. The older hedgehog's quills were messy and his bushy mustache was missing a few strands, no doubt lost from all the incessant pulling he'd done while waiting for his nephew to wake up.

"Unk…" Sonic rasped, his throat sore. To his shock, his uncle started crying, fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he gently held his face in his hands.

"Oh, Sonny boy… My boy… My Sonny boy…" Uncle Chuck sobbed, kissing Sonic's forehead before taking the little hedgehog into his arms, mindful of the bruises. It took Sonic a minute for him to realize that he had bandages wrapped around his entire body and that he and his uncle were in someone's bedroom.

'The angel must have brought me here…' Sonic thought as he looked around. "It's okay, Unk… Please don't cry…" he whispered, patting his uncle's wet cheeks.

His uncle sniffed, rubbing his bloodshot eyes. "I'm just glad you're finally back, Sonny boy. I was so worried you would never wake up," he admitted, ruffling Sonic's quills.

"I would have never woken up if it hadn't been for the angel, Unk," Sonic told him, smiling.

"The angel?" asked Uncle Chuck, cocking his head at his nephew.

"Yeah. An angel pulled me out of the ocean and saved me," Sonic managed to say before a coughing fit left him leaning against his uncle as he wheezed.

"Charles, is everything all right in there?"

Uncle Chuck gently rubbed Sonic's back as an elderly female hedgehog with a large green shawl draped over her shoulders entered the bedroom followed by a younger hedgehog wearing a blue cotton dress. The elder hedgehog noticed Sonic coughing and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God…" she murmured as she and her companion went over to Sonic and Uncle Chuck. "How are you feeling, hijo?" she asked Sonic, her gray eyes looking into Sonic's emerald green with a concerned gaze.

Sonic snuggled into his uncle's warm arms, burying his face in the crook of his arm.

"He's still a little shaken and sore, Elena," Uncle Chuck addressed the elderly hedgehog. "But thank you so much for tending to him." He smiled softly at Elena and the other hedgehog then gently nudged Sonic.

"It's all right, Sonic. This nice lady's Elena and her daughter, Rosario. They're the ones who have been patching you up," he said softly.

Sonic brought his face up to meet Elena and Rosario's, and whispered, "Hello…"

Elena gently placed a hand on Sonic's forehead. "Hmmm… No fever, but I'm worried about that cough of yours." Wringing her hands, she looked at Uncle Chuck, her expression serious. "It might be a good idea to take Sonic to see a doctor, Sir Charles. But, in the meantime, you two can stay here so he can get some strength back," she advised.

"I'll have Fatima bring him some soup." Turning around, Rosario called out, "Fatima, anak, would you please bring some soup over?"

"Coming, Mama!"

Sonic's gasped as a hedgehog girl wearing a white blouse and a necklace of white flowers entered the room, carrying a tray bearing a bowl of hot soup. "The angel! Unk, that's her!" he exclaimed.

The girl stopped in her tracks and blinked. A soft red blush spread across her face as Sonic's words sunk in and she looked down at the tray she was carrying. Elena and Rosario found the whole situation amusing and giggled.

Uncle Chuck chuckled, patting Sonic's head. "Well, Sonny boy, is there something you'd like to say to her?" he asked.

Sonic nodded and shyly smiled at the girl as she placed the tray down. "Thank you for saving me…"

"You're welcome…" the girl whispered, still blushing as they looked at each other. "I'm Fatima, by the way…" she added with a shy smile.

"Fa-ti-ma…" Sonic tested the name on his tongue before giggling. "That's a pretty name," earning a soft laugh from Fatima who smiled a little bit wider. Now that she was close enough, Sonic could see that Fatima had cocoa brown fur, a light brown muzzle, and shoulder-length black quills. The flowers around her neck were jasmines and they gave off a sweet perfume that tickled his nose.

Suddenly, a blanket, some pillows, and a hot water bottle all came whizzing into the room as the temperature dropped. Sonic yelped as the objects floated over to him, each one held aloft by no one.

"Um… Uncle Chuck…" Looking up, Sonic noticed that his uncle wasn't startled. Instead, he looked almost amused by the spectacle.

"Oh, dear…" Rosario said, shaking her head while her mother clucked her tongue.

"Don't crowd around him, you lot. He's already got a chill. It won't do him any good if you all keep making the temperature drop," Elena said sternly to whatever was holding the objects currently surrounding Sonic.

"At least the soup's cooled down a little," Fatima said brightly as Uncle Chuck started feeding Sonic. She then turned to the floating blanket, pillows, and hot water bottle. "Thanks for bringing these, everyone. But you guys need to go for a little while. I'll introduce you guys later."

Between slurps of soup, Sonic watched with wide eyes as the items floated over to the bedside table. The blanket neatly folded itself up and laid itself down on the table, followed by the pillows and the hot water bottle. The chill in the air started to go away as Fatima waved goodbye to the air.

"Is your house… haunted?" Sonic asked meekly.

Fatima giggled and nodded. "We prefer the term 'occupied.' But don't worry. They're all friendly ghosts. One of them is even my grandfather," she told him.

"Fatima and her family can communicate with ghosts, Sonic. I was pretty spooked myself when they made their presence known the first time. But don't worry. Those ghosts are good spirits," Uncle Chuck explained as he continued to feed Sonic soup.

When his nephew had finished the entire bowl, his gentle expression became serious. "Sonic, what happened? Who did this to you?" he asked, gesturing to all the bruises and bandages on his nephew's little body.

Touching the bandage wrapped around his head, Sonic whimpered. "Arthur, Hughie, Jayden, and Lloyd… they beat me up real bad in the woods, Unk. And I think Jayden threw me over a cliff into the ocean…" he said quietly.

He was fairly sure that his uncle's fingers left dents in the metal tray as he gripped it. Sonic gulped as his uncle's face darkened, rage filling his normally calm blue eyes.

"Those… Those…" Uncle Chuck muttered, face turning red before Elena helped him out of his chair.

"Not in front of the children or in this house, Charles. You can cuss outside," she said, nodding to Rosario.

"We'll accompany you to the police station. Those brutes won't get away with this," Rosario added, then stooped down and tenderly brushed her hand against Fatima's cheek. "Anak, you're in charge of things around here while we're gone, okay?"

"Okay, Mama." Fatima nodded.

As soon as the adults were out of the room, Fatima turned to Sonic. "Do you need anything?" she asked, gesturing to the items her house's ghosts had left earlier.

"A pillow would be nice…" Sonic mumbled, suddenly feeling shy all over again.

Fatima placed a pillow behind his head then sat on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs back and forth. For a while, neither of them spoke.

"So… you can talk to ghosts?" asked Sonic, breaking the silence, twiddling his thumbs.

"Yup. It runs in the family on my Mama and Lola's side. I can see them, too," Fatima told him, her hands folded on her lap and gripping the brown fabric of her skirt.

Sonic stayed silent, gaping at Fatima for a few seconds, then breathed out, "Whoa… that is way past cool!"

"You think my power's… cool?" Fatima blinked her luminous black eyes at him, mouth slightly open.

"Totally! And you're not even scared of them?" Sonic asked, almost bouncing on the bed in his excitement.

"I'm only scared of bad spirits. Most of the ghosts around here are friendly, though," answered Fatima.

"There are other ghosts on Christmas Island?" Sonic's jaw dropped.

"Lots. I talk to them all the time," Fatima said, smiling proudly.

Sonic tilted his head curiously at her. "Y'know. Now that I've gotten a good look at you… I feel like I've seen you before…" he mused.

"We're classmates," Fatima deadpanned. "I sit in the very back of the room so you probably haven't really noticed me that much."

"O-Oh… I'm sorry," Sonic said, rubbing the back of his head.

"It's all right." Fatima smiled warmly at him. "I know a little bit about you. You're that kid in class who runs really fast. Maurice, right?"

Sonic frowned at the name. "Maurice is my name on paper, but I go by Sonic," he declared.

"What's wrong with Maurice? It's a nice name," Fatima inquired.

"It just doesn't sound like me, that's all." Sonic shrugged.

Fatima hummed, looking at him from head to toe. "Mmmm… Yeah, I see your point. You look more like a Sonic, especially with that speed of yours," she agreed.

"You… don't… think I'm a freak because of my speed?" Sonic asked haltingly.

This was too good to be true. A literal angel on Earth rescued him. She and her family actually took care of him while he was injured. And they were going to help him and Uncle Chuck get justice. In all his years living on Christmas Island, no one other than his Unk has treated him kindly before. Everybody on the island knew him and what he could do. And everybody on the island hated him for it.

Right?

Fatima gave him a confused look. "Why would I think that? You're amazing!" she told him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

'Amazing… She thinks I'm amazing…' Sonic thought, giddy butterflies filling up his stomach. "Y-you really think so?" he stuttered.

"Of course!" Fatima insisted, grinning. "With that super-speed of yours, you can be a real-life superhero!" she exclaimed, striking a pose like an action star for emphasis.

Sonic laughed. "A hero, huh? I guess I'll have to train really hard so I can get the hang of my speed so I can start being one," he declared. Then he looked at Fatima curiously. "Hey… how'd you rescue me, by the way?" he asked.

Fatima blushed. "Oh… Doña Celia and Emily saw those guys beat you up and came to me while I was in the forest. I followed them all the way to the cliff and… I saw them throw you into the ocean. And, well, I knew that I just had to help so I asked my friends to help me dive down there to rescue you. Sergeant Juni taught me CPR on the spot so I could help you breathe again," she explained.

"Who…?" Sonic raised an eyebrow at the names she just dropped.

"My ghost friends. You wanna meet them?" Fatima offered.

"Maybe later…" Sonic yawned as he snuggled into the blankets. "Mmm… 'M still tired…"

Fatima nodded and was about to get off the bed when Sonic gently held her hand.

"Please stay…" Eyelids drooping, Sonic smiled at her.

"Okay, Sonic… I'll stay," Fatima squeezed his hand. Her gentle smile was the last thing Sonic saw before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.


Notes on some of the words used here by Elena and Rosario:

'hijo' is a Spanish term usually used to refer to a young boy.

'anak' is a Filipino term for "child."

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I've been dying to post this so you guys can start putting together the pieces of the puzzle that is Sonic's past.

Anyway, I have to tell you guys that the succeeding chapters are going to take a little longer than a week to be uploaded. I'm on my last semester of college and my Creative Writing thesis is going to be my top priority. So I won't really be able to do much fan fiction writing for the next few months.

Rest assured that I'll be able to write more fanfics once I graduate ;)

In the meantime, read and review!

-GuardianDragon98