Here I am with Episode 2 of Sonic Boom: The Faith Tenrec Saga! Enjoy!

NOTE: I OWN NOTHING HERE, EXCEPT FOR MY OC, FAITH!

Episode 2: Getting to Know You

Amy sighed in relief as Faith finished the last bit of her oatmeal. The little tenrec had had a restless night, plagued with diarrhea and stomachaches. The supply of electrolyte drinks Tails had left at her house had been depleted with how often Faith needed to replenish her fluids. Amy added the drinks to her grocery shopping list along with some other foods that Faith could eat.

"Did you like your breakfast, Faith?" Amy asked, taking the child's empty bowl.

Faith nodded, still shy. Her stomach still hurt a little but at least it wasn't gurgling anymore. And Amy had taken good care of her last night, helping her to the bathroom when she needed to go and giving her water and more of those yummy fruit drinks in-between bathroom breaks.

"It was yummy. Thank you, Ms. Amy," Faith said quietly, shyly smiling.

Amy resisted the urge to squeal. The kid was just so cute! After taking Faith's temperature, she announced, "Okay. We're going to Sonic's place now. The doctor will give you a check-up there."

Faith nodded and got ready for the walk to Sonic's beach shack. Amy put together a cute outfit for her to wear, consisting of a white blouse and a pink skirt. Once Faith was dressed, she added a light jacket to keep her warm and they stepped out of the house. The walk to Sonic's shack was mostly silent, save for the crunching of their shoes on the gravel and sand.

Faith still wore her gloves and refused to hold Amy's hand as they walked, opting to stay close to the pink hedgehog's side instead.

When they arrived at the beachside shack, Sonic was waiting for them along with the doctor.

"Hey, Faith!" Sonic greeted the little tenrec with a smile. Upon seeing the blue hedgehog, Faith perked up and let Sonic show her around the shack.

Amy stood off to the side with Tails, Shadow, and the doctor. She watched Sonic as he carried Faith around, pointing at various objects like his coconut husk collection, Tails' toolbox, and the TV.

"And here's where you'll be sleeping." Sonic gestured to the spare hanging sofa from Tails' house, which he and Shadow covered with blankets and pillows. "It's not much but we did our best to make it as nice and cozy as possible," he told Faith as he helped the kid up onto her makeshift bed.

"Thanks, Sonic." Faith patted the sheets, liking the soft texture. "It's comfy," she said, smiling. This definitely put her old bed to shame. It had blankets! And there was even a little teddy bear for her to cuddle!

With Faith feeling a little more at ease, Sonic decided to introduce her to the doctor – an elderly dog Mobian named Doc Ginger.

"Hello there, Faith. My name is Doc Ginger. It's very nice to meet you," Doc Ginger said softly in a Southern accent, smiling softly at Faith.

"Hello…" Faith mumbled, not meeting Doc Ginger's eyes, as she climbed onto Sonic's lap. She eyed the doctor's medical equipment warily. "What are those?" she asked.

Shadow decided to step in. Thanks to his life with scientists and doctors aboard a space colony, he knew quite a bit about medical equipment. Sitting next to Faith, he showed her the different medical instruments Doc Ginger used and explained how each one worked and which body parts they examined. Faith visibly calmed down after hearing Shadow's explanations and let Doc Ginger examine her.

At first, Faith's check-up went smoothly. When asked how old she was, she held up six fingers.

"She's small for her age. Cream was bigger than Faith is when she was six…" Amy said quietly, remembering the sweet rabbit she often thought of as her baby sister.

Tails nodded, his expression grim. First, Faith's fear of being touched now this. All the red flags Sonic and Shadow were discussing earlier with Doc Ginger were now pointing towards child abuse as the most likely explanation for Faith's behavior.

Doc Ginger checked Faith's temperature and blood pressure then asked Faith how her tummy was feeling. "Definitely food poisoning and the flu…" she muttered, scribbling down her findings in a notebook. Then she put on her stethoscope and said, "All righty, Faith. Now I need to listen to your heartbeat. Can you lift your shirt up?"

Faith froze, her hands gripping the hem of her blouse so tightly that her gloves squeaked as her hands clenched the fabric.

Sonic, Shadow, Amy, and Tails were quick to notice this.

"Faith, are you okay?" Tails asked, approaching the tenrec.

Faith's eyes darted around, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. She squirmed in Sonic's lap, hiding her face behind Sonic's hand.

"Oh dear, was it something I said?" Doc Ginger asked, looking at the child in concern.

"I think it might be better to let her keep her clothes on. Stethoscopes can feel pretty cold against bare skin," Shadow said, gently running his fingers through Faith's quills.

"Very well."

Doc Ginger placed her stethoscope against Faith's chest and listened carefully. Then she gently pressed her fingers against Faith's stomach to check for signs of bloating. Her fingers touched a certain spot and Faith suddenly winced.

Doc Ginger's expression turned serious. "Faith, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to lift up your blouse. I need to know if there's anything else wrong so I can help treat you," she said in a gentle but firm tone.

Faith bit her lip and looked at Sonic, who smiled reassuringly. "It's okay, Faith. Doc Ginger just wants to figure out what's making you sick. It'll be just a few minutes," he told her.

Sighing, Faith lifted her blouse up so Doc Ginger could see.

Amy and Tails audibly gasped while Shadow could only stare at the multitude of bruises littering Faith's abdomen.

Sonic felt like he was going to be sick. Bruises of various colors – blues, purples, and yellows – marred Faith's stomach and sides; and, even worse, Faith's ribs were visible through her skin. He could count them, for Chaos' sake!

Doc Ginger's eyes widened at the sight but she remained calm as she asked Faith if the bruises still hurt. At Faith's nod, she muttered something inaudible as she scribbled down in her notebook some more.

"All right, that should do it."

Faith let out a quiet sigh and let her blouse drop down. Doc Ginger smiled at her. "Thank you for cooperating, Faith. You've been a good little patient," she said, reaching into her pocket and pulled out a lollipop.

Faith's big red eyes blinked in confusion. "Is that for me?" she asked, pointing at the lollipop.

"Yes, dear. Here you go," Doc Ginger pressed the lollipop into Faith's hands.

Faith clutched the lollipop in her hands, staring at it with a confused expression on her face. "Hey, Sonic? Why did Doc Ginger give me this?" she whispered.

"It's because you were a good girl during your check-up, Faith," Sonic murmured, still shaken to the core by what he had seen.

Faith looked at him, her eyes wide. "I'm a good girl?" she asked, sounding astonished.

Sonic and Shadow glanced at each other, their hearts twisting painfully. Why would such a sweet-looking girl even need to ask that sort of question?

"You're a very good girl, Faith," Shadow said to the little tenrec, smiling gently.

Faith looked at the black hedgehog next to her and Sonic and gave him a shy smile back. No one had ever called her a good girl before. He and Sonic were the very first. The black hedgehog looked kind of scary to her last night. But, now, in the daytime, he didn't look scary at all. Maybe it was the red markings around his eyes. They made it look like he was always glaring. But, close up, he had a kind smile and the patch of fluff on his chest looked really soft. She wondered if it felt just as soft as it looked. And his quills… How did they curve up and stay up?

'Maybe I'll ask him later,' Faith thought to herself as Doc Ginger called Sonic, Shadow, Amy, and Tails over to one corner of the shack. Placing her lollipop on the bed, she reached for the teddy bear and hugged it, giggling at the plush texture.

"I recommend to start her off with some low-fat, low-salt, low-sugar foods that her stomach can easily digest. The BRAT diet is ideal – bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast – but you can also give her other things like crackers and boiled potatoes. Make sure she drinks plenty of water every day. Those electrolyte drinks are also fine so have her drink one bottle if she's vomited or has to go to the bathroom frequently in one day. If she doesn't experience nausea, stomachaches, and diarrhea for one week, you can start feeding her citrus fruits and steamed vegetables to help with her flu. If she still has a cold after one week, over-the-counter cold treatments can be given to her three times a day for five days."

Doc Ginger adjusted her glasses, frowning. "I'm glad you two came forward with your concerns regarding Faith's home life. It looks like your suspicions were correct," she said, looking at Sonic and Shadow.

"Is there any way we can help her? To keep her away from any more abuse?" Sonic wrung his hands. He couldn't get the image of Faith's bruises out of his head. What kind of monster would deprive an innocent child of food and hurt her so badly that it left marks?!

Doc Ginger sighed, rubbing her temples. "That will require the help of child protection services. Unfortunately, that's well beyond my jurisdiction. We don't know where Faith is from nor do we have any information regarding her parents. We can ask her but right now would just cause her to feel stressed and make it more difficult for her to recover. For the time being, focus should be placed on her recovery. That being said, she's severely malnourished. As soon as she's recovered from her food poisoning, we'll start her on a high-calorie diet rich in nutrients so her weight will increase to that of a normal healthy child. I would also like for you to bring her to the hospital for a more thorough check-up when she's well enough to go outside," she said, already writing a prescription. She would devise a full meal plan for Faith and give it to Team Sonic once Faith showed signs of recovery.

"Thanks, Doc Ginger. We'll keep you updated," Sonic said gratefully as he and Shadow saw the good doctor out.

Shadow's quills bristled. "I'll be right back. I need to…" he growled as his entire body started glowing red. "I just need to step out for a bit," he muttered before teleporting out of Sonic's shack.

Two seconds later, an echo of an explosion somewhere deep in the mountains could be heard before Shadow returned.

"I wouldn't recommend going mountain climbing this week. There's been a… rockslide," said Shadow, fixing his quills.

Tails glanced back at Faith who was playing with her new teddy bear, oblivious to the heavy atmosphere that surrounded her four caretakers. "Poor Faith…" he mumbled, his blue eyes filled with sympathy for the kid. As a fox kit who had been abandoned by his parents, he knew how hard it was to be alone at such a young age. At least Sonic came and took him in before things got worse. But Faith had been hurt by the people who should have loved and cared for her. In his mind, that was an even worse fate.

Amy looked at the prescription Doc Ginger left with them. "Tails and I will go to the grocery store to buy all the food and medicine Faith needs. I think you boys should stay here. Faith seems to be more comfortable around you two," she told Sonic and Shadow.

A loud sneeze made everyone turn around.

"Excuse me…" Faith mumbled, her little red nose dripping with snot. Sonic went over to her bed and handed her a box of tissues.

While Amy and Tails headed out to do the grocery shopping, Sonic and Shadow helped Faith get settled in.

"So how do you like the shack, kiddo?" Sonic asked, gesturing to the entire space.

"Your house is very nice," Faith replied, swinging her legs as she sat on the bed. She looked at Shadow, cocking her head to the side. "How do your quills do that?" she asked, pointing at his red-streaked quills.

"Do what?" Shadow raised an eyebrow, looking amused.

"They curve up and stay up. Sonic's quills curve down." Faith drew a J-figure in the air, mimicking the curve of Shadow's quills. "How do they do that?" she asked, big red eyes looking up at Shadow's curiously.

'Okay, this kid is adorable,' Shadow thought, chuckling. "Well… it's a secret," he said with a playful wink.

"Oh…" Faith looked down, her cheeks bright red.

"But I guess I could tell you. But you have to promise that you won't tell anyone," Shadow told her, kneeling in front of the little tenrec.

"Promise." Faith nodded, her face serious.

Sonic smiled as he watched his boyfriend motion to Faith to lean in so he could whisper the "secret" into her ear.

"It's hair gel," Shadow stage-whispered, making Faith go, "Oooohhh…"

'All right. At least we're breaking the ice with her now,' Sonic thought as he knelt next to Shadow and wrapped an arm around his waist.

Faith blinked, remembering something. "Um… Sorry, but… what's your name?" she asked the black hedgehog.

"My name's Shadow," Shadow held out a hand for her to shake. "It's nice to meet you, Faith Tenrec," he said with a gentle smile.

"Nice to meet you, too, Shadow," Faith giggled, shaking hands with the Ultimate Lifeform.

"Okay, Faith. We've got a few hours before lunch but you can have some snacks. Or do you wanna do something else?" Sonic asked.

Faith looked at her hands, twiddling her thumbs. She knew she was sick and couldn't do a lot of stuff that would tire her out. Not that it mattered to her father, who made her clean the house even when she had a fever. As for snacks…

Taking her lollipop, Faith gave it to Sonic and asked, "Can I have this?"

Sonic put a chin to his hand. "Well… it's not a good idea to have candy when you're sick…" he said. At Faith's disappointed look, he quickly added, "But we can save that for when you get better. In the meantime, I think I have some apples in the fridge. Want me to cut you a few slices?"

Faith's tummy suddenly growled, making her blush.

"I'll take that as a yes," Sonic laughed and sprinted over to the fridge to prepare Faith's snack.

Sticks and Knuckles were shocked as Amy and Tails explained the details of Faith's check-up.

"Y-you're joking, right?" Knuckles asked, his eyes wide. "There were how many bruises?!"

"So this is way more serious than we originally thought. We gotta find Faith's parents and throw them in the pen before they find her and take her away to be abused again!" Sticks declared, her blue eyes steely.

"Yeah, that's going to be difficult. We don't know who Faith's parents are. Asking her about them right now might stress her out," Tails said as they reached the grocery store.

Only to find a swarm of Bee Bots attacking the joint.

"Mwahahahaha!" Doctor Eggman hovered over the grocery store in his Egg Mobile. "Finally! Took you guys long enough…" he cackled before seeing that only four members of Team Sonic were present.

"Oh, come on! Seriously? Are Sonic and Shadow too busy going on dates now to care about doing battle?" the Doctor asked then added, "By the way, I'm still surprised none of us saw that coming."

"You and me both." Amy pulled out her trusty hammer. "But not now, Eggman. We're grocery shopping," she told him.

Eggman pouted. "Robots, attack!" he shouted, his Bee Bots swarming the heroes.

Back at the shack, Sonic and Shadow focused on caring for Faith. The little tenrec was well-behaved, quietly eating her apple slices, as she sat on the couch with them while watching cartoons.

"It's almost time for lunch. They should be back with the groceries by now…" Sonic muttered, looking at his wrist communicator. Getting up, he walked over to the kitchen and poked around the cupboards.

"Aha!" Pulling out a can of chicken soup, Sonic hollered, "Hey, Faith, do you want to have chicken soup for lunch?"

"Yes, please!" Faith answered, hugging her teddy bear close to her chest. Turning to Shadow, she said, "You guys are really nice. I never get to watch cartoons or have soup for lunch." With the most innocent smile on her face.

"What do you usually have for lunch then?" Shadow asked, having a bad feeling in his gut.

"Whatever I can find in the garbage cans at home or around the neighborhood," Faith said, shrugging. The way she said it so casually made Shadow's quills bristle. He heard a crash and saw that Sonic had dropped a saucepan. The blue hedgehog's green eyes were wide as he stared at Faith, his mouth agape.

"Don't your parents feed you?" Sonic asked, trying not to sound too panicky.

"Daddy doesn't let me eat unless I finish all my chores," Faith said, avoiding the two hedgehogs' gazes.

"What about your mommy?" asked Shadow.

"She's dead."

Both hedgehogs stiffened. What could they possibly say after hearing that?

Meanwhile, Amy, Tails, Knuckles, and Tails were still locked in combat with Eggman and his robots.

"One day! Can we not have one day where we don't have to fight robots and sentient vacuum cleaners?!" Sticks shrieked, throwing her boomerang and taking down two Bee Bots.

Knuckles consulted a TV guide. "Eh, according to this, we're required to do that once a week," he said, throwing away the guide to punch another Bee Bot out of the sky.

Tails fired up his Enerbeam and lassoed one Bee Bot, swinging it towards a group of three which caused all four robots to explode.

"Eggman, I know we're sworn enemies and all but, for once, leave us alone!" the two-tailed fox yelled.

"Sorry. Not in my job description," Dr. Eggman taunted, his pettiness levels at an all-time high, pushing a few buttons. Motobugs came rolling in, surrounding all four Mobians.

Amy sighed, pummeling a few robots. Then her wrist communicator beeped.

"Hey, Ames. I made Faith some chicken soup for lunch. Aside from the groceries, can you stop by the pharmacy and buy something for her fever? Her temperature's gone up," Sonic's voice came loud and clear, sounding worried.

Before Amy could answer, more of Eggman's robots came in. A Motobug rushed at her, nearly running her over. "Sorry, Sonic. I'm gonna have to call you back," she mumbled, turning off her communicator.

As the team struggled to get through the barricade of robots, Eggman huffed and fled the scene. "Sonic and Shadow don't want to come over to fight? Fine! I'll just take the fight to them!" he muttered, flying over to Sonic's beachside shack.

"I'll show them…" The evil doctor fired his laser gun at the door, blasting it open.

He did not expect to hear a child's scream as he entered the shack.

Nor did he expect to see Shadow standing protectively in front of Sonic as the latter held a frightened young tenrec close to his chest.

'Oh, now I feel like a total monster,' The Doctor thought as he saw the child staring at him, her big red eyes filled with tears. He had the decency to look sheepish as he mumbled, "Uh… I guess I should have knocked… Sorry…"

"Sonic, Shadow…" Oh, Chaos, he really screwed up big-time. The kid was trembling as she pointed a shaking finger at him. "Wh-who's that?"

Shadow held an arm back. "Sonic, you and Faith go to the bathroom. I'll handle this," he instructed.

As the blue hedgehog hurried to the bathroom with Faith, Shadow marched over to Dr. Eggman and jabbed a finger at his chest.

"I'm giving you five seconds to get out of here before…" he managed to say just as he and Eggman heard retching sounds coming from the bathroom.

"Oh, dear… Easy, Faith… Deep breaths, kiddo…"

"See what you did now? You stressed out a sick child to the point of vomiting! And we just fed her! Shame on you, Doctor!" Shadow growled, charging a Chaos Spear in his hand.

"I'm sorry!" Eggman squeaked, already backing out of the doorway.

"OUT!"

The Doctor didn't need to be told twice, running over to his Egg Mobile and taking off, narrowly dodging Shadow's Chaos Spear.

Hovering over the grocery store, where the rest of Team Sonic was still fighting, Eggman sighed and withdrew his robots. Now he knew why they were there - to buy food and medicine for the sick kid. He may be a supervillain but he wasn't totally cruel to ignore the needs of a sick child.

Amy, Tails, Knuckles, and Sticks sighed with relief as the Bee Bots and the Motobugs retreated. Now they could finally go grocery shopping for Faith. Amy and Sticks bought the food while Knuckles and Tails rushed to the pharmacy to buy medicine. They hurried to Sonic's shack, their hearts stuttering in their chests when they saw that the door had been blasted open, and rushed inside.

"Oh, thank Chaos…" Sonic breathed out, dropping his defensive stance.

It took them an hour to calm down Faith after Eggman left. The poor kid not only lost her lunch but had refused to come out of the bathroom in case the villain returned. Luckily, the promise that they would keep watch over her along with the offer to read her a story managed to coax her out of hiding.

Now Faith was snuggled against Shadow, having fallen asleep while Shadow was reading The Little Princess to her.

"So cute... Must protect the tenrec…" Shadow mumbled to himself as Faith snuffled softly and buried her face into his chest fur. Earlier, she got to feel the Ultimate Lifeform's chest fur and said that it was "as fluffy as a cloud" – a remark Sonic had agreed on wholeheartedly.

Looking at Faith's peaceful face as she slept, the rest of the gang couldn't help but agree.

With Shadow legally not allowed to move anymore until Faith woke up from her nap, the rest of the team washed the fruits and vegetables and put away the groceries. While planning dinner, Orbot and Cubot arrived with a fruit basket.

"Pardon for the intrusion. But Dr. Eggman sent us to give you this fruit basket as a token of apology," Orbot said.

"Yeah. He feels bad for making the kid throw up and cry," Cubot added as they placed the fruit basket on the floor.

The two robots left without another word. Tails examined the fruits and determined them to be organic and free from poison and radiation, so it was safe for consumption.

"That's surprisingly nice of Egghead," Sonic remarked.

"Maybe. But if he comes anywhere near Faith, I'm kicking his ass," Shadow muttered, covering Faith's ears in case she heard him swear in her sleep.

"Shadow, language. New rule: we're getting a swear jar. One ring for every swear word that's uttered in Faith's presence," Amy declared, Shadow handing her a ring.

For an entire week, the entire team focused their energies on making sure that Faith was comfortable and protected as she recovered.

And if there weren't any villain attacks for the entire time they took care of her, they could thank Eggman for staying away and informing the Lightning Bolt Society and all the other enemies they usually faced about the situation.

So now the team's discovered a few disturbing things about Faith's life. "Protect the tenrec!" shall be their war cry as they strive to make sure Faith is safe and happy. Anyone who wants to join the Faith Tenrec Protection Squad, add "Protect the tenrec!" to their reviews :D

The next episode shall be titled "The Gloves Come Off" where Faith reveals why she always wears those black rubber gloves of hers. Till next time!

-GuardianDragon98