I'm back with another episode!

Sorry for the long wait. Some things happened. Namely, the following:

I started watching HBO and BBC's His Dark Materials. Holy wow, why did it take me this long to watch this masterpiece?

I turned 22 today so that's awesome.

Anyway, I hope this chapter has been worth the wait. Enjoy!

NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING, EXCEPT FOR MY OC, Faith Tenrec.

Episode 3: The Gloves Come Off

With no attacks from Dr. Eggman, the Lightning Bolt Society, and other supervillains that week, Faith was able to make a full recovery. Once she stopped vomiting and experiencing diarrhea, Amy started her on the high-calorie, nutrient-rich diet Doc Ginger recommended.

To her surprise, Sonic wanted to help in cooking Faith's meals. While the Blue Blur prided himself in being able to make good chili dogs, he had little experience in cooking other foods. And Amy was more than happy to give him cooking lessons, especially when she saw that Sonic was beginning to eat healthily.

To say that Faith was amazed the first time she was given a big breakfast was an understatement.

Bacon and eggs, toast, a salad of sliced tomatoes, lettuce, and a pinch of grated cheese, orange juice… and strawberries!

"This is for me?" asked Faith, looking at Sonic and Amy with wide eyes.

"Yeah, kiddo. We hope you like it," Sonic replied, grinning.

"All of it?" Faith looked at all the food presented before her, drooling a little.

Sonic and Amy nodded, not trusting their voices.

Faith reached for the plate slowly, as if expecting them to take it away. Her fingers almost touched the plate then she looked at Sonic and Amy. The two hedgehogs nodded encouragingly and that was enough. Faith ate heartily, savoring every bite.

"Ish sho gud!" Faith exclaimed through a mouthful of bacon and eggs.

"I'm so glad you're enjoying it, sweetie," Amy said before Faith said something that made her heart clench.

"This tastes so much better than stale cereal and apple cores!" Faith giggled, moving on to feast on the strawberries.

Amy glanced at Sonic, tears welling up in her eyes. Sonic squeezed her shoulder and gave her a tight-lipped smile.

They would figure this out.

As Faith recovered, Team Sonic noticed a curious thing about her. She refused to take off her gloves. She washed them before eating, ate with them on, and slept with them on. Granted, with the exception of Sticks, all of them wore gloves. But Faith's gloves were made of rubber, really thick rubber, as opposed to the usual cloth.

Faith also didn't like it when someone tried to hold her hand. Sonic and Shadow were the exceptions, but even they could only manage to hold Faith's hands for a few seconds before the little tenrec pulled away.

"It could be due to her past experiences. Research shows that victims of abuse tend to shy away from physical contact," Amy surmised, watching Faith play quietly in a corner of Sonic's shack.

"She's already flinched from head pats, back pats, and shoulder pats. But she's especially panicky when someone tries to hold her hand." Sonic scratched his head. His eyes widened. "Oh, Chaos, what if her father damaged her hands…" he muttered.

"Well, it's a good thing we're going to the hospital today. We'll be able to find out if she has any more health problems," Shadow reassured him, packing some fruit and crackers for the two of them and Faith.

Faith happily sucked on the lollipop she was finally allowed to eat as she sat in the backseat of Sonic's car. Shadow sat beside her, keeping a close eye on her movements. He tried to hold Faith's hand but the little tenrec caught him and moved away, her eyes wide and fearful as she clutched her hands to her chest.

They arrived at the hospital five minutes later, where Doc Ginger was there to greet them.

"Hello there, Faith. It's nice to see you again. I see you're looking much better," said Doc Ginger as she led the trio into her office.

Faith's height and weight were measured first. Doc Ginger frowned, noting how the young tenrec's height and weight were below the normal measurements for a child of her species and age. Faith was definitely malnourished. Sonic and Shadow told her that they only started feeding her with more food following the meal plan she had sent them only a few days ago. She hoped that, over time, Faith would be able to become healthier.

Next came the blood pressure test, followed by the drawing of blood. Faith sat in Sonic's lap, the blue hedgehog gently petting her quills as Doc Ginger prepared the syringe.

"It won't hurt that much. It's like getting a tiny bite from a red ant," Sonic reassured her.

Faith nodded slowly then looked at Shadow, who smiled.

"I used to get lots of shots in the past. They don't hurt one bit," said Shadow, puffing his chest out.

Sonic rolled his eyes at his boyfriend but smiled because Faith giggled at Shadow's words.

Faith took a deep breath as Doc Ginger told her she was going to stick the needle in. She blinked, watching the needle go through her skin, and didn't even squeak.

"That didn't hurt much," she said after the procedure, pressing the cotton ball to the spot on her arm the needle had poked into.

Both Sonic and Shadow praised her, calling her a brave girl, and Faith couldn't help smiling.

'Well needles don't hurt as bad as Daddy's beatings,' she thought to herself as her checkup continued. She got her ears, nose, and throat checked, her eyes tested, and Doc Ginger took samples of her urine and feces along with her blood.

For the last part of her checkup, she, Sonic, and Shadow followed Doc Ginger to another room. This room was cold and had a metal bed with a tall pole next to it. Attached to the pole was a large white box hooked up to what looked like a miniature computer. A few feet away from the metal bed was a white screen.

"Time for x-rays. Now, Faith," Doc Ginger handed the little tenrec a hospital gown. "I need you to change into this," she instructed.

"Can I keep my gloves on?" Faith immediately asked.

Doc Ginger glanced at Sonic and Shadow. Both hedgehogs had troubled looks. It was clear that Faith had an unusual attachment to the rubber gloves on her hands.

"I'm afraid not, dear. We need to check your hands, too. So the gloves have to come off," Doc Ginger said gently.

Faith gulped, biting her lower lip. Finally, she sighed and nodded. "Okay. B-but they come off last… and… please don't try to touch me when I take them off," she said haltingly before mumbling something that Doc Ginger couldn't quite catch.

But Sonic and Shadow heard her. And what Faith said both confused and worried them.

"I don't want to hurt anyone…"

Faith followed Doc Ginger's instructions and let the x-ray machine take all the pictures it needed. Sonic and Shadow stood behind the protective screen. At first glance, Faith's hands looked totally normal. To their relief, there didn't seem to be any scars or any signs that her hands had been injured. But Faith was cautious and avoided touching anything until the x-rays were done.

As soon as the procedure was over, Faith rushed to put on her gloves and change. Sonic and Shadow gave her fruit and crackers to munch on while they waited for the lab results and her x-rays in the waiting room, both hedgehogs sitting on either side of Faith.

"You know, Faith. A lot of kids get scared when they go to the hospital." Sonic took a bite out of an apple. "You weren't scared at all. You're one of the bravest kids I've ever known," he chuckled, ruffling Faith's quills.

"The hospital's a place where you go to get better, right?" Faith looked at him, cocking her head to the side. "It's not so scary if you know why you're going there," she said.

"That's right. Once you know the purpose of a thing or a place, there's no need to fear," Shadow said in agreement. He and Sonic looked at each other and grinned, relieved to see that Faith was more relaxed now.

"What is a 'purpose'?" Faith scrunched her eyebrows, testing the word on her tongue.

"A purpose is a reason why something exists or why someone does something." Shadow's eyes lit up. If he could keep this conversation going, he and Sonic could get some answers. "For example, see my shoes?" He asked, pointing to his red and white rocket shoes.

Faith nodded, looking at Shadow's shoes in fascination.

"Their purpose is to protect my feet while I walk or run. Just like my shoes, my gloves also have the purpose to protect a part of my body. Namely, my hands," Shadow said, holding up his right hand.

Faith looked at her gloved hands, deep in thought. Her father's voice echoed in her brain.

"Keep those gloves on, brat. Take them off and you'll hurt everyone. Consider that your punishment for being a bad girl."

"My gloves… their purpose is really different from yours…" Faith mumbled.

Sonic tilted his head. "Really? Why?" he asked.

"Daddy says they're my punishment for being a bad girl. And they stop me from hurting people," Faith answered, folding her hands on her lap.

Sonic and Shadow's eyes widened. What in the world could possibly make a child's hands dangerous?

"What do you mean by 'stop you from hurting people,' kiddo?" asked Sonic, his green eyes looking into Faith's red orbs.

Faith looked at Sonic, her mouth opening and closing. 'Daddy said not to tell… But… maybe Sonic and Shadow can keep it a secret…' she thought before opening her mouth again.

"I…"

At that moment, both Sonic and Shadow's wrist communicators beeped.

"Sonic! Shadow! Eggman's attacking the village center!" Amy alerted them through her communicator.

Shadow frowned and stood up. "I'll take care of the Doctor. You two stay here," he told Sonic and Faith, the latter looking worried before he teleported out of the waiting room.

Faith got up from her chair and went over to Sonic, the blue hedgehog lifting her up onto his lap. "Sonic, is Shadow going to be okay?" she asked.

"Oh, definitely, kiddo. He's the Ultimate Lifeform. There's no bad guy Shads can't defeat," Sonic declared, grinning.

Faith fiddled with the sports tape tied around Sonic's gloves. "You and Shadow are really close," she said.

"Yeah, well, Shadow's my boyfriend," Sonic admitted, blushing.

Faith peered up at him, cocking her head to the side. "So you guys go on dates and kiss a lot?" she asked. She'd seen couples doing those things before while she wandered the streets. Most of the couples were pairs of boys and girls, but she would see couples of both boys and both girls every now and then. Sonic and Shadow were a both boys couple, then.

Sonic chuckled. "Yup," he said, gently petting Faith's pale pink quills.

"That's sweet," Faith giggled softly, looking at Sonic's wrist communicator next.

Suddenly, Shadow's voice came over the comm line.

"I need backup! Eggman's new robot, it's… Agghhh!"

The line went dead. Sonic felt his insides freeze. Looking at Faith, he felt torn. He couldn't leave Faith by herself. But, if he didn't, who knows what Eggman would do to Shadow and the rest of his team. Plus, there was a possibility of Eggman attacking other areas if he didn't go. He might even target the hospital…

"Faith, I need you to stay here. I have to go and help Shadow and the others. But I promise that I'll come back as soon as I can," Sonic said, gently seating Faith in his chair. He left the rest of the snacks with her before dashing out of the room.

Faith was left sitting in the waiting room, her little legs swinging back and forth. She bowed her head, fighting back the tears threatening to well up in her eyes.

'Sonic and Shadow will come back. They'll come back. They're nice. They'll come back. They won't leave me here forever...' She clenched her hands into fists as she waited.

Sonic and Shadow weren't like Daddy.

Daddy would leave her all by herself when he went to work. Sometimes, he would leave her locked in her room or lock her out of the house. To keep her from causing any trouble, he said, ignoring her pleas to go use the bathroom or to get some water. Sometimes, she'd be left waiting for more than one day for Daddy to come back.

Daddy always left her without promising to come back.

Sonic and Shadow weren't like Daddy.

Sonic and Shadow were nice. They took care of her when she was sick. They made sure she had food to eat and water to drink. They let her watch cartoons or play board games when she was bored. They told her that she was good and brave. They always told her where they would be going.

And Sonic, just earlier, promised her that he would come back.

Sonic and Shadow weren't like Daddy.

Daddy was scary and mean. And he made her feel scared.

Sonic and Shadow were kind and gentle. And they made her feel safe.

'They'll come back. Sonic and Shadow will come back for me,' Faith thought to herself, rubbing her eyes. Straightening her posture, Faith began to wait.

"Mwahahahaha!" Dr. Eggman cackled as his brand-new Stealer-Bot stomped around the village center, sending villagers running.

Stealer-Bot looked like his old Obliterator Bot, with a versatile array of weapons it could use to cause mayhem. The main difference was Stealer-Bot's chest, which held a portable cell – a cell Shadow was currently trapped in.

"Damn it!" Shadow growled, launching a Spin Attack at his prison. Suddenly, he fell to his knees with a groan. Whatever the cell was made of, it was teleportation-proof and was draining his Chaos Energy. He silently thanked Chaos that he had left the Chaos Emerald at Sonic's shack. He didn't need the Doctor getting another incredible power source.

Stealer-Bot was already getting enough from him if the robot's quicker movements were anything to go by. So far, he'd been trapped for five minutes.

Down on the ground, Amy, Tails, Knuckles, and Sticks were holding their own against Eggman's Crab Bots and Bee Bots. But Stealer-Bot was complicating things, going after them with missiles and laser beams.

Sonic arrived, took one look at his friends getting pushed back by a giant robot that had Shadow inside it, and snarled. He made quick work of the Crab Bots and Bee Bots before dashing towards Stealer-Bot.

"Sonic, don't!" Shadow yelled, pounding his fist against the cell bars, but it was too late. Stealer-Bot lashed out with a claw arm, grabbing the blue hedgehog by the waist and throwing him into the cell.

"With the energy coming from you two, nothing can stop me!" Dr. Eggman rubbed his hands together in glee as he looked at the screen. Slowly, Stealer-Bot was draining both hedgehogs' Chaos Energy and increasing its power. Then an exclamation point blinked onto the screen.

"Ooh, looks like I've got another power source nearby. Let's see where it is…"

With a few taps, Eggman got the location.

"Huh, the hospital?"

Sonic and Shadow's hearts stopped beating for a second.

Faith hummed quietly, looking at the numbers on the clock. Sonic and Shadow had been gone for ten minutes now. She saved an orange for the three of them to share, but she was getting worried.

How long did it usually take for the two hedgehogs to defeat a bad guy? An hour? A whole afternoon?

'Should I go see how they're doing? No, wait. I don't know where they went. I might get lost and cause them more trouble…' Faith thought, twiddling her thumbs.

Suddenly, a loud crash made the little tenrec curl up into a ball. It was probably nothing. Maybe one of the doctors accidentally dropped something…

Then came the screams.

Doc Ginger rushed in, looking frantic. "Faith, sweetie, we have to go!" she said, scooping up the little tenrec and running down the hall.

"D-Doc Ginger, where are Sonic and Shadow?" Faith squeaked as the elderly doctor rushed out of the hospital's back door with the rest of the staff and some of the patients.

Faith got her answer when she saw a massive robot standing outside of the hospital. Every quill on her head bristled as she looked at it.

It was big with glowing red eyes. Its arms were as thick as tree trunks, ending with huge claw-hands grasping at the air.

And Sonic and Shadow were inside it.

Faith gasped, clinging to Doc Ginger as she hastened to get her and the other patients away from the hospital. Dr. Eggman looked down at the fleeing civilians then at his Stealer-Bot.

"All right, Stealer-Bot, go get your new battery," he cooed, watching his creation lurch towards the crowd who screamed and scattered.

"Doc Ginger!" Sonic yelled, spotting the elderly pediatrician in the crowd. "Get Faith out of here!" He banged on the cell bars.

Shadow held his arm. "The fewer movements we make, the better," he warned him, seeing Stealer-Bot's eyes glow a less intense shade of red. Suddenly, the cell floor hummed with electricity. Both hedgehogs yelped, jumping as the floor zapped them.

Seeing Sonic and Shadow get hurt, Faith snapped out of her shock. Wriggling out of Doc Ginger's arms, she rushed towards Stealer-Bot.

"Stop!"

Dr. Eggman blinked as a single orange came flying and hit Stealer-Bot right between the eyes.

"Let them go!"

Sonic and Shadow both internally screamed as they saw Faith standing in front of Stealer-Bot. The little tenrec's knees were shaking but she held her fists out in a defensive stance. Even as the tears slid down her cheeks, she showed no signs of backing down.

Dr. Eggman blinked. The kid had guts, he had to give her that. He looked at Sonic and Shadow, his twisted heart feeling a sudden rush of compassion. He recognized the kid as the one his arch-nemeses had been taking care of the past week.

"Ugh… Fine…" he groaned, giving in, and started to tell Stealer-Bot to withdraw. But, to his horror, Stealer-Bot suddenly made a grab for Faith with a clawed hand! Faith screamed and jumped out of the way, Stealer-Bot's claws narrowly missing her.

"Shut him down, you monster! She's just a child!" Shadow roared, ruby eyes blazing with desperate anger as he and Sonic were forced to watch Faith evade Stealer-Bot's attacks.

"I'm trying!" Eggman grimaced as he frantically tapped at his screen. "But Stealer-Bot's programmed to automatically seek out anything with high energy levels, regardless of my commands…" He pulled up a life form scan of Faith, his eyebrows going up.

"According to this, the kid's energy levels are…" He looked at Sonic and Shadow, his expression dumbfounded. "…on nearly the exact same level as you two…" he said quietly.

Sonic launched another Spin Attack at the cell in desperation. "Faith, get out of here!" he screamed, the little tenrec looking up at him with tears in her eyes.

Whimpering, Faith looked around frantically. She had to escape! But where to? Where should she run? What about Sonic and Shadow? They were still trapped! She couldn't leave them! She didn't want to leave them!

Her back met a wall, disrupting her frenzied train of thought. Stealer-Bot had backed her into a corner. "No… No, please, no…" she sobbed as the robot reached for her.

She could hear Sonic and Shadow shouting her name and pleading with the bad guy floating near the robot to shut it off, the bad guy's frantic orders for the robot to stand down, and people screaming.

Amy, Tails, Knuckles, and Sticks – who had arrived to help evacuate the hospital – were now struggling to get Stealer-Bot away from her, only to be thwarted as the robot continued to barrage them with lasers and missiles.

Putting her hands over her ears, Faith squeezed her eyes shut.

What could she do?

"Stop, please… Leave me alone… Go away…" Faith whispered, her hands leaving her head. She braced herself as the clawed hand neared her, then looked at her gloves.

"If you take off those gloves, you'll hurt everyone. You're already bad enough, you fucking brat. Take them off, and you'll be a REALLY bad girl," Her Daddy's voice hissed inside her brain.

'I don't want to be a bad girl… I don't want to be bad…' Faith thought, tears continuing to flow down her cheeks.

But Sonic and Shadow needed her help. Maybe… just this once…

She could use her powers without hurting anyone.

Taking off her right glove, Faith screamed, "GO AWAAAAAYYY!" thrusting her right hand out at Stealer-Bot's clawed hand.

A bolt of purple lightning shot out from Faith's hand, tearing through Stealer-Bot's arm and shorting out its systems.

"Finally…" Shadow growled, his strength returning. He grabbed Sonic and teleported out of the cell, reappearing in front of Faith. Shadow threw a Chaos Spear at Stealer-Bot's head while Sonic took Faith and ran.

Eggman winced as his latest creation exploded. "So much for that evil scheme…" he muttered before noticing the storm clouds suddenly forming over the island.

The rest of Team Sonic looked up, stunned at how suddenly a storm had arrived.

Shadow found Sonic holding Faith and raced over to them. But as he got closer, he could hear his boyfriend's soft yelps along with Faith's distressed whimpers.

"Faith, it's okay… It's okay… It's… Ow! Nonono, it's okay, kiddo. I'm not hurt. It's okay… It's okay, Faith. I'm okay…"

Sonic fought the urge to flinch as electricity flowed through him as he held Faith in his arms. The little tenrec was struggling in his arms, trying to get away from him. Her right hand was producing little purple sparks that zapped him as he held her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please put me down. I don't wanna hurt you. I'll go away and won't cause you any more trouble. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please let me go. Please, please, please…" Faith babbled, crying.

Shadow heard the rumble of thunder as he watched this heart-wrenching scene. Looking up at the sky, he noticed the lightning crackling up above. It was purple… just like Faith's sparks.

'Her emotional state must be causing this…' Shadow realized, looking around for Faith's rubber glove. Once he found it, he quickly picked it up and went over to Sonic.

Sonic bit his lip to stifle a yelp as Faith continued to struggle. He felt tears well up in his eyes. He hated seeing Faith so frightened. What's even worse was that she was frightened of herself, of what she was doing to him.

"Faith? Faith, it's okay. Look at me, kiddo. Look at me." Sonic smiled as Faith's red eyes met his green. "We're okay, kiddo. We're safe. You're okay. Everything's okay. Just breathe, Faith. Let's do a little breathing exercise, yeah? Just follow my lead. Inhale… Exhale… Inhale… Exhale…" he murmured, gently brushing Faith's quills back as he led her in the breathing exercise.

Faith took a shuddery breath in and shakily exhaled, the sparks in her right hand growing smaller.

"There you go. In with the good… Out with the bad… In with the good… Out with the bad… Good job, kiddo. You're doing great…" Sonic sighed with relief as the intense tingling sensation faded from his limbs.

The storm clouds faded away, allowing the sun to pierce through the bleakness.

Faith breathed in and out slowly, calming down and relaxing into Sonic's protective embrace.

"Atta girl… It's okay, Faith. We're safe…" Sonic whispered as Shadow joined them.

Shadow breathed out a sigh of relief, gently stroking Faith's cheek with his thumb. She purred softly then noticed him holding her right glove and made grabby hands at Shadow, who handed her the glove. Once she put her glove back on, she looked up at the two smiling hedgehogs and felt a wave of guilt crash over her.

"I'm sorry… I hurt you and I was bad…" She whispered, bowing her head.

"What? Faith, you weren't bad." Sonic stared at her in bewilderment.

"I took my glove off…" Faith mumbled, climbing down from Sonic.

Shadow placed a hand over Sonic's shoulder, flinching as he was zapped by static electricity. Sonic gave him an apologetic look then glanced at his team and at Eggman, the latter making a hasty retreat.

After making sure everybody at the hospital was okay, Team Sonic went to Tails' house. There, the fox genius scanned Faith to study her energy level readings.

"No way…" Tails breathed out, studying Faith's readings. Faith sat down on the couch, looking down at her gloves in shame, while Sonic and Shadow sat with her. The poor kid hadn't said anything since they got to Tails' house and they were getting worried. Finally, after about twenty minutes of tense silence, Tails finished going over the scans.

"This is incredible." Tails smiled as he looked at Faith. "She's incredible," he added.

"Care to fill us in, bro?" Sonic asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Faith's entire body is able to produce large amounts of electricity without damaging any of her body's systems. And she can expel that electricity through her body as well in the form of lightning. But there's more…" Tails pulled up a hologram, displaying Faith's energy level readings which were colored purple and depicted as a line graph.

"These are the readings for Faith's electrokinesis. As you can see, it's pretty high." He gestured to the peak.

"The mountain's not finished…" Knuckles muttered, Amy shaking her head in amusement.

"That's because Faith hasn't finished growing. That means her electrokinesis is only going to get stronger. But when I further examined Faith's energy levels, I found something interesting." Tails paused for dramatic effect, then pulled up another scan.

"Chaos Energy."

Faith looked up at the hologram, blinking at the different graphs and numbers displayed on it.

Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles were shocked.

"She's Chaos-sensitive?" Knuckles asked, his demeanor suddenly changing.

Many would expect Knuckles to be a complete idiot. But when it came to Chaos Energy, he knew things. As someone who had spent years protecting the Master Emerald on Angel Island, Knuckles was highly-attuned to Chaos Energy. All Mobians had small traces of Chaos Energy in them, some manifesting physical traits due to it. But some Mobians - three of which were himself, Sonic, and Shadow - had high amounts of Chaos Energy in their bodies which manifested in special abilities. They were, thus, deemed 'Chaos-sensitive' due to their ability to tap into their bodies' Chaos Energy as well as other sources like the Chaos Emeralds.

So Faith was like them. And her electrokinesis must be a manifestation of her being responsive to Chaos Energy…

"Yup. And what's even more amazing is this," Tails said as he pulled up two more scans. "These are scans of Sonic and Shadow's Chaos Energy levels – green for Sonic, red for Shadow. As you can see, they're incredibly high. Now, look what happens when I superimpose Faith's over theirs." He then superimposed both scans onto Faith's.

Faith watched as the red and green graphs overlapped with her purple graph. She didn't quite get it. But she heard everyone in the room gasp, so it must mean something big.

"Her Chaos Energy levels…" Sonic stared at the overlapping scans, Faith's energy readings harmoniously blending with his and Shadow's. "…they're almost exactly like ours…" he muttered.

"That's incredible…" Shadow whispered, his mind reeling. He and Sonic were practically adults; and they had come into contact with both the Master Emerald and all seven Chaos Emeralds several times during their lives, so it was expected that their Chaos Energy readings were high. But Faith already had an insane amount of Chaos Energy stored inside her small body and it was highly unlikely that she had ever come into contact with a Chaos Emerald. To see that amount of Chaos Energy in a small child... it was almost unbelievable.

Sticks folded her arms across her chest. "So… you're saying Faith's extremely powerful and can probably obliterate the world with Chaos-fueled lightning blasts?" she asked bluntly.

Faith whimpered, hiding her hands behind her back. She didn't want to obliterate the world!

"No, Sticks. I'm pretty sure Faith would never want to do something like that," Amy said, giving the badger a pointed look.

"Far from it. She saved my life and Shadow's earlier!" Sonic grinned at Faith. "Faith, you're amazing," he told her.

"I am?" Faith blinked, surprised.

"If you hadn't used your powers earlier, Sonic and I would have been in really big trouble," Shadow chimed in, gently coaxing Faith to show everyone her gloved hands. "Those gloves are keeping your powers hidden. In my opinion, you shouldn't be afraid to use them," he said, smiling gently at her.

Faith looked at her hands, her eyes glazing over with unshed tears. "But… Daddy said I'm bad because of them. He said I was bad because I have these powers and that Mommy died giving birth to me because I was hurting her with them…" she whispered, clenching her fists.

She never got to know her Mommy. She didn't even know what Mommy looked like. Daddy told her it was her fault so she didn't deserve to see any pictures of Mommy.

Amy and Sticks put their hands to their mouths, soft gasps escaping their lips. Tails' ears pinned back flat against his head. Knuckles stiffened, looking away.

Sonic and Shadow could only look at Faith, their gazes sorrowful and pitying. Faith sniffled and looked at the two hedgehogs, her big red eyes pleading.

"Am I bad?" Faith asked them, her lips trembling. A beat of silence... then...

"No."

Sonic gently took Faith's hands into his own. "You're a good kid, with some really special powers. You just need someone to teach you how to use them," he told Faith earnestly.

"And we can do that." Shadow leaned into Sonic. "Sonic and I will teach you how to use your powers, Faith. Will you let us do that?" he asked the little tenrec.

For a minute, Faith stared at them, her mouth falling open. Then she let out a small sob and nodded, saying "Yes," over and over again.

Sonic smiled and moved to hug Faith only for the kid to flinch away from him. "Easy, kiddo. I just want to give you a hug," he reassured her.

"What's a hug?" Faith asked nervously.

Amy, Knuckles, Tails, and Sticks all looked like they just witnessed Eggman kicking a puppy. Multiple times.

Shadow, on the other hand, felt the urge to hunt down Faith's Daddy and commit murder.

Sonic blinked, completely thrown off by the question that came from a sweet little kid who was six-years-old and had never been hugged in her entire life. Then he regained his composure, "It's… something that can make you feel better. Here, I'll walk you through it. Don't worry. It won't hurt a bit," he said, slowly reaching for Faith with careful, measured movements so she wouldn't be spooked.

"See? I just put my arms around you and hold you close like this…"

Faith leaned into Sonic, liking the smell of wind and grass and earth clinging to the blue hedgehog's fur.

"Then you put your arms around me and squeeze a little…"

Faith did as she was told and felt Sonic lightly squeeze back. She liked it. "This is called 'hugging,'" Sonic told her.

Faith nodded as she and Sonic hugged. Burying her face in Sonic's shoulder, Faith felt so many things. This hug… It was…

"Faith? You okay?" Sonic asked, feeling the little tenrec tremble in his arms.

"Mhm…" Faith mumbled, racking her brain to find the perfect word to describe this wonderful feeling of being hugged.

"You like this? Being hugged?" Sonic smiled, nuzzling Faith's soft quills as he continued to hug her.

"Yeah," Faith said. Hugs were now one of her all-time favorite things.

"How does it make you feel?"

Faith smiled, finally finding the right word to describe Sonic's hug.

"Safe," Faith whispered, hugging Sonic as best as she could. "I feel safe…"

Sonic chuckled, hugging Faith back. 'I'll keep you safe, kiddo. We all will,' he swore to himself as Shadow, Amy, Tails, Knuckles, and Sticks joined in hugging Faith as a group.

Faith sighed, resting her head on Sonic's shoulder.

Sonic and Shadow both said that she was a good girl. And that her powers were good, too.

Maybe Daddy was wrong…

If she could learn how to control her powers and use them… then she wasn't a bad girl.

She was going to do her best to be a good girl from now on.

As for Sonic and his friends, they all looked at each other and silently made a vow amongst themselves.

They will protect Faith. Protect her and teach her. Above all, care for her.

And Faith's Daddy?

Whoever he was, he better run if he ever meets any member of Team Sonic.

So now you all know a little more about Faith. Who wants to give this sweet little tenrec all the hugs and love in the world that she so rightfully deserves? Protect the tenrec!

Read and review! Reviews will be the best birthday present you readers can give me this year! *Sends virtual hugs to you all*

-GuardianDragon98