I apologize for the long wait. This chapter took a lot longer to write than I expected. And, wow, 26 pages… I hope you guys don't mind a long read.
Enjoy!
NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS HERE EXCEPT FOR Faith Tenrec. ALL SONIC CHARACTERS BELONG TO SEGA!
Episode 4: Shock and Awe
Faith Tenrec decided, when she woke up that morning in a couch-turned-bed, that running away from home and her mean Daddy was the best decision she ever made.
Yawning, Faith got out of bed and looked around the shack. Tails, Sonic, and Shadow were still sleeping. Putting a hand to her chin, Faith wondered what she could do to help them. They've all been so nice to her this past week. And they didn't get angry when she used her powers! In fact, they wanted to teach her how to use them! All the 'thank yous' in the world would never be enough to convey her gratitude to them.
Looking around the shack, Faith saw that a few things such as papers and tools were lying scattered around on the floor. Tiptoeing around, she picked them all up and put them away. Then she saw a broom and got an idea. She could sweep the floor! It was a small thing but she could do it quickly before everybody woke up.
Picking up the broom, which was twice as tall as she was, Faith started sweeping. She had just finished sweeping the last speck of dust out of the living room when Sonic woke up.
"Morning, kiddo," Sonic yawned, disentangling himself from Shadow's comforting hold, and got out of the hammock.
"Good morning, Sonic," Faith chirped, moving her sweeping to the kitchen.
Sonic cocked his head to the side as he watched the young tenrec. "Good job cleaning the living room, Faith," he remarked, noticing how yesterday's organized chaos was now spick and span.
"Thanks!" Faith's smiling face peeked out of the kitchen. "It's the least I can do to thank you guys for being so nice," she said as she swept the kitchen.
"Aw, shucks, kiddo. You don't have to do all of this," Sonic chuckled, joining Faith in the kitchen.
"But I want to." Faith clutched the broom in her hands and looked up at the blue hedgehog. "I'm used to doing all of the chores by myself back home. Daddy… He gets angry when I don't do them," she mumbled.
'Seriously? Her father makes her do all of the chores? Sweeping floors is fine but there's no way a little kid will be able to handle big chores like doing the laundry or cleaning bathrooms all by herself!' Sonic thought, frowning. When he saw Faith stiffen, he quickly dropped the frown and smiled gently at her.
"Well, you'll be happy to know that I won't mind a little mess here and there so you won't have to clean up all the time. Next time, I'll help you with the chores, okay?" he told Faith.
"Okay!" Placing the broom on the floor, Faith spread her arms out and walked towards Sonic before pausing mid-step. "O-oh… Um…" Looking down at her shoes, she whispered, "May I…?" she asked, her cheeks red.
Sonic opened his arms and grinned. "Come here, kiddo. Time for a good morning hug," he declared.
With a small cheer, Faith jumped into Sonic's arms and hugged the blue hero, giggling. Sonic let out a quiet laugh, hugging the little tenrec and pressing a soft kiss to her pale pink quills. Dear Chaos, only a few weeks had passed since he met Faith and, already, he had the strong urge to protect her from all the evils in the world. He remembered the bruises on Faith's abdomen and sighed. Already, somebody had hurt this sweet little girl and tainted her childhood with fear and abuse.
Faith didn't even know what a hug was until he gave her one yesterday! Who would be so terrible as to not give a sweet and polite child like Faith the affection she needed and deserved?
Feeling Faith relax in his arms, Sonic realized he'd spent probably too much time thinking. To his relief, when he looked at her, Faith didn't seem confused over the prolonged hug. Rather, she was smiling happily as she snuggled into Sonic's chest.
Sonic chuckled and held Faith with one arm, resting her on his hip. "Okay, Faith. It's a new day and we gotta fuel up. What do you want for breakfast?" he asked her as he opened the fridge.
Faith looked inside the fridge, sniffing in the various aromas of the food inside. Sonic pulled out a covered bowl that had a spicy smell coming from it. "What's in there?" she asked, pointing to the bowl.
"My famous chili a la Sonic!" With a flourish, Sonic took the cover off the bowl which had a chunky reddish-brown sauce in it. "I'm thinking of making breakfast chili dogs for myself," he said, pulling out a pack of hotdogs and hotdog buns from the fridge.
"Chili... dogs?" Faith blinked.
"Oh, not what you're probably thinking, kiddo. These dogs aren't made of that," Sonic said quickly before his eyes widened. "Faith, have you never tasted a chili dog?" he asked Faith, who shook her head.
Sonic gasped, looking like he just witnessed a murder. "Well, we are going to do something about that right now!" he declared.
Faith put the placemats on the small table while Sonic bustled around in the kitchen, throwing hotdogs and hotdog buns onto a frying pan and heating up his chili in the microwave.
"Oh, Chaos… Sonic, you better have something healthy to go with those chili dogs of yours," Shadow groaned as he got up, his nose twitching at the distinct smell of his boyfriend's homemade chili.
"Relax, Shads. We've got a ton of fruit in the fridge. I'll have some later," Sonic replied, spooning the now warm chili over his cooked hotdogs and slipping them into their buns.
Faith looked at Shadow, the black hedgehog smiling and ruffling her quills. "Good morning hug?" she asked, holding her arms up.
Shadow wasn't the most physically affectionate person (unless you were Sonic then that statement is thrown right out of the metaphorical window, but we digress). But remembering that the child in front of him had been starved of any form of positive touch made him push aside any reservations he had.
"Good morning, Faith," said Shadow, scooping the little tenrec up into his arms and giving her a hug. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, gently combing his fingers through Faith's quills.
"Uh-huh! I love my bed! It's so comfy and warm! And Sonic's gonna let me have a chili dog for breakfast today," Faith said, her eyes sparkling.
"Are you sure letting Faith have a chili dog for breakfast is a good idea, Blue?" Shadow asked his boyfriend, the latter placing a large plate filled with chili dogs onto the table.
"She's never had a chili dog, Shads! That is a crime!" Sonic countered, pretending to look horrified.
"I'm just saying." Shadow put Faith down so she could give Tails – the young inventor having just woken up – a good morning hug as well. "She might not be able to handle the spice so if she gets a stomach ache, that's on you," he pointed out.
"Don't worry. This was yesterday's batch and I made sure the spice level was mild," Sonic told him.
Once Faith and Tails joined them at the table, Sonic and Shadow sitting from across the two youngsters, breakfast began.
Faith looked at the chili dog on her plate. It smelled spicy, savory, and a little sweet. She glanced at Sonic and saw that the blue hedgehog was watching her carefully as he ate his own chili dog. 'If it doesn't taste good, I won't say anything so Sonic's feelings don't get hurt,' she thought to herself as she took her first bite.
That one bite became two bites then turned into three. Before Faith knew it, she had eaten the whole thing.
Sonic gave Shadow a smug grin, the Ultimate Lifeform rolling his eyes. "So, was it good, kiddo?" he asked Faith.
"It was really good." Faith rubbed her stomach. "It was a bit spicy but tasted a little sweet, too. And it made me feel really full," she said, letting out a soft burp.
"Glad you like them. If you ever want more, I'll make you another one," Sonic laughed, finishing his first chili dog and getting another.
"I think this would be a good time to teach you about moderation, Faith," Tails said, watching his brother polish off more chili dogs. Then he looked at Sonic and Shadow, a serious look on his face. "Before that, though, let's agree on one thing: we are never letting Faith eat another thing from Meh Burger. Agreed?"
"Agreed," Sonic and Shadow said in unison before continuing on with their breakfast.
"I didn't like the leftovers at Meh Burger that much. I think they made me sick," Faith said quietly as Tails handed her some orange slices.
"But you still ate them, didn't you?" Tails asked worriedly.
"I was hungry," Faith said, her cheeks going red.
"Don't worry, Faith. We won't let you go hungry here," Tails reassured her, smiling.
Faith smiled before giggling as she watched one of the young fox's two tails swishing in her direction. Tails' heart melted as he gently brushed his tail against Faith's cheek and the little tenrec started petting it. He was looking forward to showing her how he could fly with them.
But, for now, he and the gang were going to focus on Faith's training.
Once breakfast was over, the entire Team met up in Tails' workshop. Faith was asked to remove her gloves and her electrodes were stuck to her hands.
"Okay, Faith. I need you to make some lightning come out of your hands so I can measure the voltage. Can you do that?" asked Tails as he prepped the Miles Electric.
Faith looked at her fingers and wiggled them. Taking a deep breath, she held her hands out and concentrated as hard as she could. She held her breath and focused her gaze on her hands, willing for the lightning to come out.
Tails yelped as Faith's lightning overloaded the Miles Electric, the handheld device smoking and crackling with electricity. "O-Okay, Faith! That's enough!" he said frantically, dropping the Miles Electric. Tails caught sight of the voltage reading before the screen cracked and shut off.
"Well, that's something…" he muttered, putting a hand to his chin.
Faith ripped the electrodes off her hands and quickly shoved her gloves back on. "Sorry…" she mumbled, looking at Tails' smoking computer.
"It's okay, Faith. I can fix it," Tails reassured her before grinning. "I did manage to get a reading on Faith's voltage and, wow, is it high," he said.
"What's her current voltage now?" Sonic asked, curious.
"According to the Miles Electric before it overloaded? A little over 1.5 Million Volts," Tails said, looking at Faith in wonder.
The entire team looked at Faith, amazed. Faith, on the other hand, stared at her hands. "Is that good?" she asked, referring to her voltage.
Tails chose his words carefully. "It's good in the sense that you have a lot of power that you can use. But if it's used incorrectly, it could be dangerous. That's why it's a good idea for you to start training today, Faith. When you're older, you'll have learned enough about your powers that will let you use them without accidentally hurting yourself or others around you," he explained slowly.
Faith nodded slowly then looked at Sonic and Shadow. "You'll really help me learn how to use my powers?" she asked.
"Of course, kiddo. Shadow and I wouldn't have offered to teach you if we didn't want to." Sonic went over to Faith and held her gloved hands. "We'll start now by doing something simple. Can you take your gloves off, please?" he requested.
Faith did as she was told.
"All right. Good start. Now," Sonic held his hands out to the little tenrec. "I want you to hold my hands," he instructed.
Faith's eyes widened and she took a step back. "But wh-what if I hurt you?" she asked, wringing her hands.
"Ah, don't worry. I'm used to taking some heavy hits." Sonic smiled calmly. "The first step you gotta learn is how to stop being afraid of your ability, kiddo. Sure, it's something that can cause a lot of damage. But if you learn how to use it, it'll be something that can help you and a lot of people. You just have to let go of your fear," he encouraged Faith.
"Both Sonic and I used to have a hard time with our own powers," Shadow chimed in, standing beside the blue hedgehog. "We used to be scared, too, Faith. But once we learned how to get over our fears, we discovered that we could use our powers to help people. If Sonic and I can master our fear then so can you," he told the little tenrec.
Faith looked at her hands. They weren't making any sparks but, looking at Sonic's outstretched hands, she still felt nervous. Sometimes, she would make lightning by accident and Daddy always got angry whenever that happened. He'd hit her then usually lock her up in the basement of the house they lived in until it was late at night. Those punishments were just one of the reasons why she was afraid of using her powers. Hurting people with them, even by accident, was another.
Still, the thought of using her powers to help people was nice. Maybe she could be like Sonic and Shadow, taking down bad guys with her lightning. They did say yesterday that she saved them. If she could learn how to really use her powers, maybe she could save people.
Taking a deep breath, Faith slowly removed her gloves. Flexing her fingers, she mentally told herself, 'Don't make a single spark. Don't shock Sonic. Don't hurt Sonic,' as she reached out to Sonic.
Sonic smiled as Faith's hands got closer to his. Then, slowly, Faith's fingers intertwined with his. Faith let out a soft gasp of delight, her eyes shining as she looked up at Sonic. She did it! She was holding Sonic's hands… without her gloves on!
"I-I did it!" Faith cheered while Sonic laughed, ruffling her quills. "Are you okay?" she asked him next.
"A-okay, kiddo! Congratulations! You've taken the first step," Sonic replied, smiling proudly at her.
"All right! Time for a montage sequence!" Knuckles whooped.
"What's a 'montage sequence'?" asked Faith, curious.
"Oh, just a bunch of quick shots taken during a long period of time that is condensed to produce something cinematic." At Faith's confused expression, Sticks chuckled. "Eh, you'll find out in a minute," she said as they left Sonic's shack and went to the beach.
Faith had no idea what Sticks meant by a montage sequence being fast. The few hours between the morning and lunchtime seemed to stretch on for ages. Whatever progress she made in learning her powers was slow.
For starters, after taking her gloves off for a second time, it was really hard for her to create lightning on command. No amount of concentrated staring at her hands or saying, "Hyah!" or "Yah!" as she thrust her hands out brought any sparks forth.
Shadow smiled sympathetically as she tried and failed again to produce lightning then called her over. "Having a hard time?" he asked her.
"I can't make lightning. I was able to do it earlier. Why can't I do it again?" Faith sighed, clenching her fists and opening them again.
"Things don't always go smoothly when you're learning something new. What matters is that you keep trying." Shadow's ruby orbs gazed into Faith's, which had a slightly purplish tint to them. Holding his right hand out, he said, "Here's something that took me a while to do."
Faith gasped as a Chaos Spear formed in Shadow's hand, crackling with energy.
"It took a lot of training to do this. A little trick I learned that made it easier was to imagine that I had this little switch in my brain that I could flick on to make a Chaos Spear. Then if I wanted the Chaos Spear to disappear, I just turn the switch off," Shadow said before the Chaos Spear in his hand vanished in a small flash.
"So… I can make lightning if I turn the switch in my brain on?" Faith asked, putting her hands to her head.
"Perhaps. But if you want to use a different kind of image to help you, it's okay. Whatever works for you," Shadow told her.
"I think I'll try that 'switch in my brain' thing first. It sounds easier," Faith said before turning around to face the small targets Tails had set up earlier for her to hit. She closed her eyes and imagined the switch in her brain. It looked like an ordinary light switch on a wall of a dark room. Standing on her tiptoes, she flicked it on. And the dark room was flooded with light.
Faith opened her eyes, feeling a sudden surge of heat radiating from her palms. Lightning bolts shot out of her hands with tremendously loud cracks. From Faith's hands, the bolts spread through the open space, purple branches of lightning hitting the targets and whatever object they could reach.
'Now turn off!' Faith thought of the light switch again, this time flicking it off to plunge the room back into darkness. The lightning bolts fizzled out in an instant.
"I did it!" Faith cheered before noticing the state of the beach. Deep trenches had been carved into the sand where some of her stray bolts hit. Tails' targets had exploded into tiny fragments of wood and cloth. And a few palm trees in the vicinity had caught on fire.
"Oh no…" Faith mumbled, looking down at her hands guiltily.
Sonic gently patted her on the back. "Well, on the bright side… we know you got a lot of power in you, kiddo," he said optimistically, watching Amy and Sticks toss buckets of seawater at the burning palm trees. Looking at Faith, Sonic couldn't help but be in awe. 'Kid's gonna be a force of nature when she gets older,' he thought.
Tails inspected the destroyed targets and piles of sand that had been displaced by Faith's lightning, taking pictures. He also checked out the video recording he managed to take of Faith using her powers just a minute ago, frowning as he watched closely.
"There's a definite trajectory in the strike. Of course, lightning doesn't shoot out in a straight line and branches out… Maybe…" Tails mumbled before seeing the sun glint off of Shadow's inhibitor rings.
A lightbulb went on in Tails' brain. Maybe he could make something that would give Faith better control over her lightning and how much voltage she could generate!
"Hey, Shadow, can I ask you a favor?" Tails called the black and red hedgehog over.
Meanwhile, Sonic and Knuckles talked with Faith, who was a little upset over the damage she caused.
"I'm just scared that I might hurt someone…" Faith mumbled, looking at her palms. "I already hurt you…" She looked up at Sonic, her eyes sad.
"It's okay, kid. We can take a little jolt here and there," Knuckles said, grinning. He held out his fist for Faith to bump. Unfortunately, the little tenrec thought the echidna was going to hit her and flinched.
Knuckles' grin fell and he quickly withdrew his fist, hiding it behind his back. "Oh, Chaos, sorry, kid… I-I didn't mean to…" he trailed off, seeing Faith take two steps back.
Sonic sighed, approaching Faith and gave her a hug. He felt Faith tremble in his arms and whispered comforting words to her while gently combing his fingers through her quills. He and the gang still had a long way to go in helping Faith recover both physically and emotionally. At least Faith seemed to be most comfortable around him, Shadow, and Tails.
"Knuckles is a good guy, Faith. He won't hurt you," Sonic murmured.
Faith peeked over Sonic's shoulder. Knuckles waved at her, smiling brightly. 'He's big. But… maybe's he's like Shadow,' she thought. Shadow had looked a bit scary to her when she first met him but turned out to be really nice when she got to know him. Knuckles had big muscles and huge fists, but he looked like a really happy person.
Feeling a little braver, Faith approached Knuckles. "Hi," she said in a tiny voice.
Knuckles smiled. "Top o' the mornin' to ye, milady," he said in a fake accent, bowing to the young tenrec.
Faith giggled, hiding her muzzle behind her long front quills bashfully.
By the time Amy called the rest of the gang over for lunch, the fires had been put out and Knuckles had spent an entire hour playing with Faith. Carrying Faith on his shoulders, he pretended to be a motorcycle, going "Brrrroooommm! Vrrrooom!" while running around with the child gleefully laughing as she held on.
While eating, Tails discussed his plan to build special gloves for Faith.
"It might help to have Faith wear a modified version of Shadow's inhibitor rings to keep her from using up too much voltage all at once. I've got an idea of how the gloves will look like. The challenge will be deciding on what material to use and how to make the rings capable of withstanding her power without breaking," Tails mused, looking at Shadow.
"The inhibitors will only be temporary, right?" Shadow asked him, removing his right inhibitor.
"Just until we get a better understanding of Faith's powers and until she learns the basics of how to control them," Tails replied, taking the golden ring from Shadow and pocketing it.
Sonic eyed the empty space on Shadow's right glove. "You gonna be okay, Shads?" he asked, his brow furrowed slightly with worry.
"Don't worry. I have a better handle on my Chaos Energy now. And I still have this one," Shadow reassured him, tapping his left inhibitor.
Sonic nodded then looked at Faith, who was watching Knuckles build a fortress out of mashed potatoes.
"Oh no! It's the hungry echidna come to devour Fort Spudnox!" Knuckles exclaimed in a high-pitched voice before digging his spoon into the mashed potatoes and devouring it.
"Knuckles, don't play with your food," Amy chided him, but her voice lacked any tone of disapproval upon seeing Faith join Knuckles in demolishing Fort Spudnox. 'She's starting to look healthier. That's a relief,' she thought as Faith asked for seconds.
After lunch, Tails and Shadow headed to the workshop to get started on making Faith's gloves. Knuckles and Sticks went to go foraging in the woods while Amy left to attend a crafts bazaar. That left Sonic to watch over Faith while the little tenrec napped.
An hour later, Faith woke up to find Sonic doing some stretching. "What are you doing, Sonic?" she asked, getting out of bed.
"Hey, kiddo! I'm getting ready for a run. Wanna join me?" Sonic asked, doing a lunge to stretch his hamstrings.
Faith perked up and nodded. After Sonic taught her how to properly stretch and warm-up, Faith was given a bottle of water. Then she and Sonic walked to a hiking trail in the desert. The skies were cloudy and the trail was clear of cacti, sharp stones, and broken glass. By far, this was the safest trail on the island and was one Sonic frequented in the mornings.
"All right, Faith. Remember: If you get tired, don't force yourself to keep running. And stop every now and then to drink water," he reminded his running companion, taking a starting position and crouching down.
"Okay." Faith mimicked Sonic's pose, digging her knuckles into the sandy earth.
"Three… Two… One… Go!"
Hedgehog and tenrec took off, running down the dusty trail. Sonic made sure to keep his speed at the minimum, not wanting to leave Faith behind. But Faith was doing a really good job in keeping up, a determined look on her face as she kept pace with the cobalt hero.
"You're doing great, kiddo!" Sonic praised her before grinning cockily. "Think you can kick it up a notch?" he challenged her, speeding up just a little bit so he was a few lengths ahead of Faith.
Faith grinned and pumped her legs faster and faster, speeding past Sonic. This went on for a few more minutes before the pair stopped for a quick water break. Then the pair resumed their run again, slowly increasing their speed as their run turned into a playful race. Every time Sonic went a few feet ahead of her, Faith ran faster to catch up.
To Sonic's amazement, he was almost at his peak speed… and Faith was keeping up with him, showing no signs of stopping.
"I'm gonna beat you!" Faith cheered, her legs now a blur.
That's when Sonic noticed the sparks gathering around Faith's feet.
"Uh, Faith, you might wanna…" Sonic managed to say before Faith ran past him with a gleeful "WHEEEEE!" in a sudden explosion of lightning.
"…slow down," Sonic muttered before an explosion akin to a sonic boom knocked him down onto his back. For a minute, he lay on the ground in a daze. Sitting up, Sonic's jaw dropped as he saw the clumps of rock that were chipped out of the ground in Faith's wake.
"Holy Chaos…" Picking up one of the rocks and examining the fused minerals, Sonic suddenly realized three things.
One: Faith's power didn't just allow her to channel lightning through her hands. She could also discharge lightning from her feet, allowing her to gain speed.
Two: Faith's top speed was probably equal to his own.
Three: He's lost sight of Faith.
Out of the three, the last one was the most concerning and panic-inducing.
"Oh, Chaos, I lost the kid!" Sonic exclaimed, scrambling to his feet and following the trail of disturbed earth in search of Faith.
She felt alive.
Faith laughed as she sped down the trail, her entire body cloaked in lightning. A few seconds passed before she put on the brakes. Her shoe soles scraped against the dirt as she skidded to a stop.
"Woohoo! I won!" Faith cheered, jumping up and down. "Sonic, I won! Did you… see…?" The little tenrec turned around and saw that Sonic was nowhere to be found.
"Sonic?" Turning around in a full circle, Faith began to feel frightened. 'I went too fast. I left Sonic behind. Oh, no… what if he got mad because I beat him and decided to leave me here?' she thought, sparks beginning to come out of her fingers.
Looking at the trail, Faith saw several chipped pieces of rock. She relaxed, the sparks dissipating. If she followed the fragments of rock, maybe she could find her way back to Sonic and apologize…
But, just as she took one step, a cage suddenly dropped out of nowhere! Faith yelped as she found herself suddenly behind bars. Several Cubots emerged from behind the surrounding rocks and approached her. Faith's whimpered, seeing the pitchforks they held and huddled in a corner of the cage.
"D-Fekt, we got 'em!" Hat-Wearing Cubot hollered, peering between the cage's bars.
An orange robot levitated down, blue eyes narrowed suspiciously at Faith. "I am D-Fekt, Protector of the Cubot prototypes. Who are you, organic lifeform? And why have you come to our territory?" he asked.
"I-I'm Faith Tenrec…" Getting up, Faith bowed to D-Fekt. "I'm sorry for trespassing. I was racing a friend and I got lost," she said, trying hard to hide her trembling knees.
D-Fekt hummed, looking at Faith from head to toe. Then his eyes widened, glowing blue. "Hold on, are you a kid?" he asked, shocked.
"Um… I'm six," Faith replied, earning stunned looks from the Cubots.
D-Fekt raised his right hand and levitated the cage high above Faith's head and cast it aside. "Sorry about that. We're wary of outsiders but we wouldn't hurt a kid," he said apologetically.
Faith shuffled her feet, watching the Cubots lower their pitchforks. Breathing out a sigh of relief, she looked at D-Fekt.
"Tell you what? You can come rest at our Valley for a bit and, later, I'll help you find your way home," D-Fekt offered, holding out his hand.
"Okay. Thank you, D-Fekt," Faith said, shaking hands with the robot.
"Aw, I like her. She's nice," Bowtie Cubot remarked as he and his kin followed D-Fekt and Faith back to the Valley of the Cubots.
Unknown to the little group, a Fly-Bot buzzed overhead. Its camera eye zoomed in on D-Fekt and glowed red.
At an island fortress, a certain egg-shaped villain laughed evilly.
"You're telling me that Faith… outran you… and left lightning bolts in her wake that ripped up the ground like this?" Shadow asked slowly, gesturing to the fragments of shattered rocks and gouges in the earth.
Sonic nodded, keeping pace with his boyfriend as they followed Faith's trail. The rest of the team had rushed to Sonic's aid to help him find Faith. Behind Sonic and Shadow, Tails was already inputting notes into his newly-repaired Miles Electric, thinking of inventing special shoes for Faith to go with the gloves he had begun to make.
"Looks like you two have competition for the title of "Fastest Thing Alive" now," Sticks remarked to Sonic and Shadow, sniffing the ground to pick up Faith's scent.
"We better hurry. The Valley of the Cubots is nearby. Oh, I hope D-Fekt and the Cubots aren't keeping Faith prisoner," Amy said worriedly.
"If they are, not good not bad guys or not, they're going down if they hurt her!" Knuckles said, punching his right fist into his left palm.
With urgency fueling them, Team Sonic picked up the pace and ran down the trail.
Unknown to Team Sonic, Faith was doing just fine. Upon arriving at the Valley of the Cubots, she was given a tour of the area. All of the Cubot prototypes took an instant liking to Faith. The Cubots had a small store of edible berries that they usually used to make paint and they were happy to give Faith some.
"And this is my girlfriend, Cutebot," D-Fekt said, introducing his beloved to Faith, the latter smiling as she popped berries into her mouth.
Cutebot waved to the young girl before going stiff, her arm dropping to her side. Exclamation marks floated around D-Fekt's head as he checked Cutebot's battery life, his eyes glowing a bright blue as he connected to Eggman's lair.
"Oh, this is not good…" D-Fekt muttered, levitating Cutebot to one of the shelters. Faith followed him and gasped upon seeing other still Cubots clustered together.
"What's wrong with them?" Faith asked, watching D-Fekt carefully place Cutebot down on the ground.
"I along with all the Cubots in the Valley are connected to Dr. Eggman's lair, which allows us to get power remotely. But, lately, Eggman's been cutting off the power supply. If this keeps up, all of us here in the Valley will run out of power," D-Fekt explained, looking at his deactivated comrades sadly.
Faith went over to the orange robot and gently patted him on the back. "Is there a way for you guys to get another power source?" she asked.
"There is, actually." D-Fekt led her out of the shelter and took her to a large cave near the sanctuary. Inside was a massive generator with multiple chambers large enough to accommodate hundreds of Cubots. Cubots that were still active were busy hammering and soldering away while D-Fekt took Faith closer to the generator.
"We started building this last year. Once it's powered up, we'll be able to completely disconnect ourselves from Dr. Eggman's lair's power grid and rely on its energy," D-Fekt said proudly before he slumped forward with a sigh. "The problem is… we don't have enough energy to power it up…"
Faith checked the generator, her eyes finally landing a pair of jumper cables connected to a pair of car batteries installed within it. "Will you need a lot of electricity for it to work?" she asked D-Fekt.
"Definitely. At least a million volts for it to last a few years before needing another charge," D-Fekt replied.
"I can help." Faith held up her hands. "I can make lightning to power the generator," she announced.
D-Fekt called a few Cubots over who attached jumper cables to Faith's hands. "You sure you'll be okay doing this?" he asked, a little worried about the kid.
Faith nodded then took a deep breath. 'Like turning on a light switch…' she thought, exhaling. Sparks crackled around her hands then Faith's entire body became charged with electricity. Her quills bristled as she sent a strong current into the batteries. A mechanical hum filled the air as the generator came to life.
Faith closed her eyes and turned off her lightning. Once the jumper cables were removed from her hands, she was levitated off the ground by D-Fekt and paraded around the cave with the Cubots cheering.
Cutebot and all the other powered down Cubots were placed inside the generator. Soon, all of them were activated once again and joining the celebration.
"Three cheers for Faith!" D-Fekt proclaimed, levitating the young tenrec above him.
"Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!" The Cubots cheered, waving their hands in the air while Faith giggled as she floated above them.
That was the sight that greeted Team Sonic when they arrived at the Valley of the Cubots.
"Faith?" Sonic blinked at the sight that was Faith being paraded around by a bunch of Cubots.
"Sonic! Look, I'm flying!" Faith waved to the blue hedgehog, catching D-Fekt's attention.
D-Fekt gently lowered Faith, the little tenrec now being carried around by the jubilant Cubots, before going to Sonic and his friends.
"Sonic. Tails. Amy. Knuckles. Sticks…" D-Fekt's gaze lingered on Shadow for a moment. "Hedgehog I don't know. What brings you all here?" he asked, tilting his head to look at Sonic.
"We were looking for Faith." Sonic smiled as he saw Faith get down from the gaggle of Cubots carrying her and give them high fives. "Looks like she's made friends with everyone in the valley," he remarked.
"She's incredible. Thanks to her, we finally have a working generator here in the valley. We no longer have to rely on Eggman's lair for power," D-Fekt said.
Before Tails could ask what kind of generator D-Fekt was talking about, the ground suddenly shook. The Cubots immediately rushed to D-Fekt while Faith ran to Sonic, the blue hedgehog putting his arms around her in a protective hold.
Dr. Eggman announced his presence with an evil laugh, descending from the heavens in his Egg Mobile, surrounded by swarms of Bee Bots. Hovering in the air were Cow Bot and Octo Bot. Stomping to stand beside their creator were Obliterator Bot and Chainsaw Bot.
"Hello, D-Fekt! I see you finally got that generator of yours up and running. Too bad! I've already cut off your energy feed to the lair! Once I destroy your generator, all you rejects will eventually run out of power and I can finally scrap you all for parts!" Dr. Eggman cackled.
"Not if we have anything to say about that!" Sonic yelled, his team getting ready to fight. Looking down at Faith, Sonic grimaced. With all the robots Eggman had with him, it was too dangerous for Faith. "D-Fekt, get Faith to safety," he ordered.
Saluting Sonic, D-Fekt held out his hand and levitated Faith. The young tenrec yelped as she was floated away from Sonic. "Sonic!" she cried out, reaching out to the cobalt hero.
Cow Bot mooed and started firing cud missiles, scattering the heroes and the Cubots. Sticks let out a war cry and flung her boomerang at Chainsaw Bot. But one swipe from the robot's chainsaw arms destroyed her favorite weapon. Tails quickly grabbed Sticks and flew away before Chainsaw Bot squashed them. Knuckles and Amy were preoccupied with Cow Bot, the latter batting away cud missiles. Sonic and Shadow were tangling with Octo Bot, dodging ink cannons, and circling around the eight-legged cyborg.
"Bee Bots, find that generator!" Eggman commanded, his swarm flying into the valley. Seeing their home under threat, the Cubots took up arms and charged into battle.
"Yaaaaaarrrgggghhh!" Hat-Wearing Cubot yelled as he stuck one of the Bee Bots onto his pitchfork.
Octo Bot squirted a stream of ink on the ground, making Sonic and Shadow slip and slide. Seeing some ink droplets fly out as he fell, Sonic got an idea. "Good thing I know how to dance the Whirling Dervish!" He grinned and began to spin around like a top. Shadow ducked as ink sprayed in all directions.
"Eugh! Sonic, watch it!" Amy snapped, shielding her face from the ink sprays, before noticing that Eggman's robots were getting covered in ink. Unable to see, Chainsaw Bot, Cow Bot, Obliterator Bot, and Octo Bot were defenseless against Team Sonic's combined attacks.
But while the battle at the entrance to the Valley of the Cubots was slowly going in Team Sonic's favor, the Bee Bots were loose in the valley. Several Bee Bots escaped from the Cubot's pitchforks and were now flying into the cave where D-Fekt had taken Faith.
"This generator is the Cubots' only chance for survival. I won't let you take it from them!" D-Fekt shouted, using his telekinesis to fling away some of the Bee Bots as they flew into the cave. Faith cowered near the generator, eyes wide with fright.
Then, one Bee Bot got lucky and shot a laser at D-Fekt just as he took down one wave of intruders. D-Fekt's head was blown off and landed in a heap at Faith's feet.
"D-FEKT!" Faith screamed, running to the destroyed robot. Cradling D-Fekt's head and body in her arms, Faith looked up and saw the Bee Bots getting ready to fire at the generator. Her body started shaking. D-Fekt and the Cubots in the valley needed that generator. They were good robots and were looking out for each other. And Dr. Eggman had the nerve to attack them and take away their remaining power source so he could take them all back to his lair and turn them into scrap metal…
Faith saw red.
"Go. AWAY!" With a scream of pure rage, Faith launched herself at the Bee Bots and lightning filled the cave.
Meanwhile, outside the cave, Team Sonic had gained the upper hand and dismantled all four of Eggman's robots.
Suddenly, the sound of thunder filled the air. The Cubots turned around and started panicking as Bee Bots flew at them. Then, to their confusion, the Bee Bots fled high into the sky as a ball of lightning pursued them. Something fell from the ball and Cutebot caught it.
"NOOOO!" Cutebot wailed once she realized that it was D-Fekt's head and body she had caught.
Dr. Eggman gulped as the ball of lightning suddenly changed its course and shot towards him.
"Go. Away."
Sonic and Shadow gaped as Faith floated before the Doctor, lightning crackling around her. The tips of Faith's quills, as well as her eyes and the markings around them, were glowing a bright white. Fists clenched, Faith looked Dr. Eggman in the eye and snarled, "You hurt my friends," before raising her fists up.
Eggman screamed and moved his Egg Mobile out of the way as an enormous bolt of lightning struck at the spot where he was just seconds ago. The blast was strong enough to send a small tremor through the area and left a noticeably deep crater.
"Minions, swarm her!" Eggman yelped, already trying to retreat.
Bee Bots swarmed Faith and started carrying her up high into the clouds. "NO! LET GO OF ME! WRRRRAAAAAHHHH!" Faith screamed, lightning shooting out of her body. As she raged out of control, Faith began to see flashes of images.
A stormy sky…
Lightning crashing down to the earth, sending plumes of dust and rock into the air…
Trees catching fire as lightning struck them…
A lone figure clutching a jagged lightning bolt…
Down below, Sonic and his friends were frantically trying to find a way to get Faith down as the burnt remains of Bee Bots rained down on them.
"There's still a couple keeping her up there! Shads, th-throw a Chaos Spear at those robots!" Sonic yelled, freaking out.
"I can't! I might hit Faith!" Shadow shouted, his eyes going back and forth between his boyfriend and Faith going out of control high up in the clouds.
His heart hammering in his chest, Sonic tried to think. High above, he could see Faith going berserk. The little tenrec was shrieking at an unholy volume as her lightning blasted all the Bee Bots around her. But he could see that the lightning bolts were getting smaller, a sure sign that Faith was going to run out of power and whatever force was helping her levitate off the ground would disappear once she did. There was a sharp intake of breath as Sonic got an idea.
"Throw me."
Shadow looked at Sonic, his ruby eyes wide.
"Shadow, throw me!" Sonic screamed when he saw Faith's lightning fizzle out.
Taking his boyfriend's arm, Shadow spun around. Once he gained enough momentum, like an Olympic shot-putter, he threw Sonic up into the air.
Sonic held out his arms, praying to Chaos that he would succeed, as Faith stopped raging out of control and passed out. Sonic caught her and hugged the small body close to his chest as he plummeted towards the ground.
Knuckles rushed forward and caught the two of them, quickly setting Sonic down so he could check on Faith.
"Faith? Faith?" Sonic gently shook the kid, his eyes wide. 'Oh, Chaos, nononono…' he thought as Shadow joined him in fussing over the unconscious tenrec.
Then, to both hedgehogs' relief, Faith groaned as she opened her eyes. "Sonic…? Shadow…?" she mumbled, sitting up.
The couple sighed with relief and embraced the little girl. "Hey, kiddo… How are you feeling?" Sonic asked softly.
"Tired…" Faith mumbled, resting her head against Shadow's chest. Then her eyes fully opened as she sat up. "D-Fekt! He's hurt!" she exclaimed.
The team went to the Cubots who were gathered around a distraught Cutebot. Tails inspected the robot and smiled reassuringly. "I can repair him, Cutebot," he said, already taking out his toolbox and getting started on the repairs.
Knuckles whistled as they passed by the crater Faith's lightning made earlier. "Man, I know she packs a punch but Faith really scared the heck out of Eggman…" he muttered, seeing an Egg Mobile quietly making its escape.
Shadow glared at the retreating Doctor and charged up a Chaos Spear.
"Oh shoot…" The Doctor muttered as a Chaos Spear struck his Egg Mobile and sent it crashing down.
Faith looked around the valley. While the Cubot shelters were intact, parts from Eggman's robots lay scattered on the ground and huge chunks of rock had broken off the different rock formations. "Did I do that?" she asked, pointing to the crater Knuckles was standing next to.
"What do you remember, Faith?" Amy asked. Given how out of control the kid had gone, she worried that using her lightning at max power could have caused some damage.
"I remember D-Fekt fighting… then he got hit by a laser… The robots were going to destroy the generator… then I remember feeling so angry. My whole body got hot and then I saw…" Faith furrowed her brow, trying to remember. "I-I saw someone… I think," she mumbled, wincing as she put a hand to her head. Whatever she saw, remembering it hurt.
"Don't force it, kid. You're exhausted," Shadow advised her, gently rubbing Faith's head.
Faith hummed and said nothing as they waited for Tails to finish repairing D-Fekt. The protector of the Cubots was then taken to the generator which, to Faith's astonishment, hadn't been damaged during her rampage.
Cutebot was the first to hug D-Fekt as he emerged from the charging chamber, followed by Faith.
"Thank you for protecting my fellow robots. From now on, you, Faith Tenrec, are a friend of the valley and are welcome any time," D-Fekt said graciously, presenting Faith with a small metal bolt. "Please accept this as a token of our friendship."
"Thank you, D-Fekt. I'm glad you and the Cubots are gonna be okay," Faith said, accepting the bolt.
"As for you guys, we're cool. As long as you keep Eggman and his schemes away from the valley, you're welcome to come to visit with Faith." D-Fekt turned to Team Sonic, giving them a thumbs up.
Bidding D-Fekt and the Cubots goodbye, the team headed home. Worn out by her run and the events that followed, Faith had to be carried by Shadow. She was fast asleep in the Ultimate Lifeform's arms by the time they made it home.
"We should let her sleep," Shadow murmured, tucking her in. Sonic placed Faith's teddy bear next to her before joining Tails in his workshop with the rest of the gang.
"Copper's a good conductor of electricity. I'm gonna incorporate it into the base mixture when forging her rings. Fingerless gloves should be a good style since she primarily releases lighting through her hands. Maybe I should add copper coils to her shoes as well…" Tails mused, going over his designs for Faith's shoes and gloves.
"Ooh, I think teal would be a good color for them. It'll make a pleasing contrast to Faith's fur," Amy remarked.
"Color and style choices aside, are we just going to forget the fact that I was right in saying that Faith could obliterate the world with lightning blasts?" Sticks asked. When everyone went silent and stared at her, she shrugged. "What? You guys saw what she could do when she's mad!" she pointed out.
"Abilities among the Chaos-sensitive can vary. But none of the ancient scrolls left behind by the echidnas talked about a Chaos-sensitive capable of wielding lightning," Knuckles said.
"You and Shadow better be careful, Sonic. Faith's powers… they're uncharted territory," Tails said, looking at his brother.
Glancing at Shadow, his boyfriend folding his arms across his chest with a thoughtful look on his face, Sonic nodded. They promised Faith that they would help her learn how to use her powers for good. No matter how hard it was going to be, it was a promise they both intended to keep.
Faith slept all throughout the rest of the day. But, by midnight, she started to toss and turn in her bed. Small whimpers escaped her lips and her face scrunched up as she began to dream…
The sky was being torn apart.
Lightning split the darkness, illuminating a pale, tear-stained face. She felt herself being cradled in a warm embrace. She was crying. Shaking her tiny fists in the air, Faith realized that she was a baby.
"Hello there…" The face slowly gained more features. Pale pink quills, beautiful red eyes that were slowly losing their light…
"Mommy…?" Faith said but what came out of her mouth were tiny whimpers.
Mommy smiled, her eyes momentarily regaining their spark. "My darling Faith… Oh, my sweet baby girl…" she whispered before looking up at the sky. Thunder boomed as the lightning crashed all around them. The wind whipped their quills around feverishly. Mother and daughter were caught in a lightning storm. The air was charged with energy and the lightning fed off of it, brilliant flashes of purple and yellow crashing through the clouds. Faith whimpered, her Mommy holding her tightly.
"It's okay, Faith. There's nothing to be afraid of. The lightning won't hurt you. The lightning is your friend…" Mommy murmured, her hand gently rubbing baby Faith's back.
Calming down, Faith snuggled into her mother's breast. She was safe. Her Mommy was here. Mommy would protect her.
Mommy's grip on her suddenly loosened. Through the sound of the thunder, she heard voices screaming.
"Alexandra! Alexandra, where are you?!"
'Alexandra… Is that Mommy's name?' Faith wondered before she felt like she was fading away. Darkness began to cloud her vision.
"I love you, Faith. Mommy loves you. Don't ever forget that…" Mommy said breathlessly as her grip slackened.
"Mommy?!" Faith cried out, a piercing wail coming out of her mouth. Her mother's chest had grown still. Mommy wasn't breathing anymore. Lightning pierced the clouds again. Faith felt herself falling deeper into the darkness.
"No! I don't want to go! I wanna stay with Mommy!" Faith pleaded, trying in vain to fight the darkness. She clung to her mother tightly with her tiny hands as lightning crackled above them.
"Mommy! Mommy, wake up! Don't go! Please stay! Wake up, Mommy! Mommy! MOMMY!" Faith wailed, a brilliant flash of lightning illuminating the darkness for the briefest of moments. And in that light, Faith saw her mother – her eyes forever closed and a single tear going down her cheek – before darkness overtook her and sent her falling… falling… falling…
"MOMMY!" Faith screamed as she landed on something hard. She was trapped in something soft and everything was dark. Suddenly, whatever was ensnaring her was pulled off.
"Faith, are you okay?"
"Hey, it's okay, kiddo! It's okay!"
Sonic and Shadow looked at Faith, their eyes wide with fear and worry. Faith's scream had woken them up and they had seen the little tenrec fall out of her bed. Now, she was looking up at them with tears in her eyes.
"Easy there, kiddo. It's us…" Sonic helped Faith sit up. He gently wiped the tears from her face. "Was it a nightmare?" he asked her.
Faith sniffled and nodded.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Shadow asked, kneeling beside her.
"There was a storm w-with lightning all around us…" Faith's lower lip wobbled as sobs threatened to come out of her mouth. "I saw Mommy… Mommy said she loved me and then… a-and th-then…"
Faith burst into tears, sobbing loudly. She tried to wipe her tears away but the more she did, the more she cried.
Sonic and Shadow looked at each other, their hearts simultaneously breaking. Shadow moved first, wrapping his arms around Faith and hugging her to his chest. "Shhh… It's okay, Faith… We're here for you," he murmured, gently rubbing circles on Faith's back.
Faith continued to cry, burying her face in Shadow's chest fur. Sonic combed his fingers through her quills. "We're right here, kiddo. We're not going anywhere," he reassured her.
"Why did Mommy have to die?" Faith sobbed, looking at the two hedgehogs. "Was it my fault? Would Mommy be alive if I hadn't been born?" she asked, tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Oh, Faith…" Shadow sighed, gently pressing his lips to Faith's forehead. "It wasn't your fault. Sometimes… things happen that are out of our control. But don't ever think that your mother's death was because of you," he said, his ruby orbs looking into Faith's merlot.
"Shadow's right, Faith. And I'm sure your mom doesn't want you to think that either." Sonic held his arms out, wordlessly telling Shadow to pass Faith to him. Settling the distraught tenrec onto his lap, Sonic smiled. "You said that in your dream your Mommy loved you, right?" he asked Faith, who nodded.
"Like Shadow said, sometimes things happen and we can't do anything about it. I'm sure your Mommy didn't want to die either because she loved you so much and wanted to see you grow up." Sonic's smile faltered. "Losing someone… it really hurts. But no one's ever truly gone. Your Mommy may not be here physically, but she's still around," he said softly.
"R-Really? Where?" Faith asked, looking around.
"She's watching over you from the afterlife. Wherever you go, your Mommy's always looking out for you. And she's also here." Sonic gently tapped a finger on Faith's forehead. "And, most importantly, here," he said, placing Faith's hand on her chest where she could feel her heart beating.
"As long as you hold her in your memory and in your heart, your Mommy will always be with you," said Sonic, smiling gently at Faith.
Faith sniffed and managed a watery smile. She threw her arms around Sonic and hugged him tightly, the blue hedgehog hugging her back.
"Thank you, Sonic. Thank you, Shadow," she whispered.
Shadow smiled, glad to see that Faith was feeling better. Looking at Faith's discarded blanket, he got an idea. "Hey, Faith, I've got a bed here that's big enough for the three of us. Do you want to sleep there?" he suggested.
Faith nodded and Sonic carried her over to Shadow's duvet. Once she was tucked in, Sonic and Shadow slipped under the covers together. Shadow was lying on her right while Sonic was on her left. The two hedgehogs cuddled her and, for a moment, Faith felt like she was being hugged by her Mommy again.
Then Shadow started to sing.
"If you'll be my star, I'll be your sky…"
Shadow's deep baritone voice was soon joined by Sonic's rich tenor, the two of them singing a lullaby they both loved to sing to each other when they couldn't sleep.
"If you'll be my boat, I'll be your sea…"
The two hedgehogs' soft singing filled the little bubble of warmth and safety around Faith, making her yawn and snuggle into the couple's embrace. As Sonic and Shadow sang, Faith's eyelids started to droop. As Sonic and Shadow sang the last few verses, Faith let herself be lulled to sleep by their soothing voices and the promise that Sonic and Shadow would be there when she woke up.
Once Faith was sound asleep, Sonic and Shadow looked at each other and smiled. No words were spoken except through their eyes. Both hedgehogs were thinking the exact same thing as they looked at the sleeping tenrec cuddled between them.
'Is this what being a parent feels like?'
It's only been a couple of weeks but Sonic and Shadow are both ready to kill and die for Faith. Sooner or later, there will be adoption papers to be signed ;) Oh, yeah, and the lullaby they're singing to Faith is "Boats and Birds" by Gregory and the Hawk. I think it's a beautiful song and it would be so cute to see these two gay hogs sing it as a duet.
By the way, did you guys see "The Incredibles" reference I put in one specific scene with Sonic and Shadow? Comment if you have!
Let me know what you guys thought about this chapter. Have a nice day!
-GuardianDragon98