At last, after so long, I finally wrote another episode for my Faith Tenrec series. I admit that I struggled quite a bit, having lost some inspiration and motivation these past few weeks. But I'm happy to have written another episode for this series so you guys can see how our sweet little Faith is doing.
By the way, I named some of the background characters, namely the child monkey and the reindeer girl we see in some episodes. The monkey kid's name is Orion while the reindeer girl is named Thalia.
NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING HERE, EXCEPT FOR MY OC, Faith.
Episode 9: How to Make Friends (Tip: Electrocuting Them Is Not Recommended)
"Maybe we should have planned this trip a little better…" Amy whispered to Sonic, who furrowed his brow and hummed.
Glancing down, Sonic smiled reassuringly at the little tenrec clinging to his leg. "Hey, Faith, are you okay?" he asked softly.
Faith looked at all the people staring at her and Team Sonic as they walked around Hedgehog Village. Everyone was looking at her, some with confused looks and others with inviting smiles. It felt weird being noticed. Even weirder, nobody was giving her dirty looks like her Daddy used to.
"Yup. I'm fine," Faith said, hiding behind Sonic as their group made it to the grocery store. It was decided that everyone would go grocery shopping together as a team today. She wanted to go and help Sonic and Shadow with shopping. And she hadn't gone into the village that often, with the exception of her trips to Doc Ginger's clinic, her clothes shopping trip with Amy, and getting ice cream with Tails. While playing at the beach near Sonic's place was fun, it did get a little boring after a few weeks.
Now, with so many people looking at her, Faith was starting to have second thoughts about wanting to go out.
Luckily, Knuckles was there to distract her from all the stares with the magic of shopping carts. "Look, Faith! You can sit here," he said, unfolding the baby seat of one of the carts.
Faith's eyes widened in awe and she looked at Sonic and Shadow. "Can I ride in the shopping cart, please?" she asked hopefully.
"Sure thing, kiddo. You can be the grocery scout and help us pick stuff off the shelves," Sonic said with a wink.
Knuckles lifted Faith up and gently placed her in the baby seat. "You know I wish I was small like you. I'm too big now to ride one of these," he remarked, helping Faith into the baby seat.
"Don't forget to put on the seatbelt so she doesn't fall off," Shadow reminded the echidna as he examined the shopping list.
At those words, some of the customers looked at each other and started whispering, but Faith was too occupied admiring the view from her new seat. Once everyone had their carts, the team split up.
Faith giggled as Sonic rolled the cart down the aisles, going "Vrrrroooom! Vrrroooom!" while she pretended to steer them to the next aisle. Helping the two hedgehogs shop took her mind off of her feelings of discomfort over being noticed by other people. But avoiding other people in the grocery store was impossible. Every now and then, another shopper accidentally bumped carts with them then started fawning over how cute Faith was. Each time, the little tenrec would go quiet, avoid all eye contact, and try to hide by sweeping her long quills over her face. Sonic and Shadow would quickly make an excuse and continue on to the next aisle.
Stares and questions about where she came from aside, Faith decided that she liked going grocery shopping with Team Sonic. Shadow even picked up a big container filled with big, juicy, strawberries for all of them to share.
After going back to their houses to put away their groceries, the members of Team Sonic had a picnic lunch where Faith got to have a bowl of fresh strawberries and cream whipped up by Amy. Then, as they tucked into dessert, Tails decided to bring up the one thing he and his friends had been thinking ever since they went into town with Faith.
"Hey, Faith… you were pretty quiet while we were in the village. Is there something bothering you?"
Faith paused from eating, a spoonful of cream-covered strawberries halfway to her mouth. Tails smiled at her. "If there is, you know you can tell us," he said, gesturing to the rest of the team.
"Um… nothing's wrong. It's just… people were looking at me and it felt… weird," Faith mumbled, spooning a bite of dessert into her mouth.
"Weird how? Good weird or bad weird?" Shadow asked her, his gaze soft and concerned.
"A bit of both, I guess." Faith shrugged, remembering how different villagers looked at her. "Some people smiled at me. That was kind of nice. But other people whispered to each other while looking at me. It made me feel a little uncomfortable…" she admitted.
"Well, that's because you're new to these parts. They don't know if they can trust you or if you're a government spy," Sticks said bluntly, with Knuckles inwardly cringing and lightly nudging her as Sonic, Shadow, Amy, and Tails glared at the badger.
"But I'm not a spy," Faith said, confused.
"Tell them that then." Sticks sighed and looked at her teammates. She then looked pointedly at Tails, the one who started this whole conversation.
Tails took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He was just going to have to be straight to the point. "What Sticks is trying to say Faith is that we're a little worried about you. Every time you accompany us into the village, it's as if you're afraid of, well, everyone. You hide behind us the minute someone approaches. With the exception of us and Zooey, you don't talk to anyone in the village. We're just thinking that maybe now would be a good time for you to spend some time with kids your age instead of just hanging around with us," he said.
Faith interlaced her fingers, thinking on Tails' words. The genius fox was right. The only people she'd ever interacted with were Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Ms. Amy, Mr. Knuckles, Ms. Sticks, and Ms. Zooey. And during the few times she'd gone out with a member of Team Sonic, she spent most of that time trying not to be seen. She'd seen the village kids around and she wanted to play with them. But…
"I want to go play with the other kids. But I… I don't know how to talk to them," Faith mumbled, her cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. 'And I like hanging out with you guys more,' she silently added.
"You can start by saying 'Hi' and just be yourself." Sonic wiped away some cream from the corner of Faith's mouth. "Hey, the gang and I are thinking of heading to the youth center this afternoon. All the kids in the village hang out there. Do you want to come with us?" he asked.
"What's a youth center?" Faith tilted her head to the side.
"It's where young kids and teens can go to play games and all kinds of fun activities like soccer matches and art classes. It's a great place to make new friends your age," Tails told her.
Faith lightly tapped a finger against her chin. It sounded like the youth center would be a great place for her to try new things. And since a lot of kids hung out there, she could meet them and find out what kids her age liked to do. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to venture into the village again and meet other people…
With the exception of the bad guy named Eggman, no one in the village was going to hurt her. It was safe, right?
"I'd like to go to the youth center. I-If that's okay with you guys," Faith said.
The members of Team Sonic mentally gave each other high-fives. A trip to the youth center was just what Faith needed to come out of her shell.
Meanwhile, at Dr. Eggman's island fortress…
"Huh, that's weird…" Dr. Eggman muttered, inspecting his dumpster. "I could have sworn I threw out some of my defective Ball Bots, my high-velocity tennis ball shooter, and my shock ray gun this morning…" He noted the absence of some of his discarded tech then perked up.
"Maybe the village garbage disposal company's finally listening to all my complaints and has started picking up my trash on schedule!" he cheered, dumping his garbage before heading back inside his lair… unaware of the raft sailing away from his part of Seaside Island manned by two figures wearing purple hooded robes, each sporting a red fez…
Hedgehog Village's youth center was having a busy day. Kids were running about, laughing and playing under the watchful eyes of their parents and guardians, when Team Sonic showed up. Faith looked around at the kids as they played jump rope, kickball, and tag outside of the small building that was decorated with cutout shapes of kids and paper flowers.
"Ah, the youth center. A safe space for children to play, socialize, and learn some valuable life skills such as cooperation, empathy, and sportsmanship," Amy proclaimed, looking at Faith only to find her hiding behind Shadow. She sighed, turning to the black hedgehog who gently coaxed the little tenrec out of hiding.
"It's okay, Faith. You're safe here. No one's going to hurt you," Shadow murmured, kneeling before Faith so they could see eye-to-eye.
"Okay…" Faith wrung her hands, looking at the kids playing nearby then back to Team Sonic. "Y-you guys will stay here, right?" she asked.
"We'll be over there with the adults." Shadow pointed to a couple of benches and tables a few feet away from the youth center. "You can go to us whenever you feel like you need a break or if you wanna go home later," he told her, smiling reassuringly.
"Just be yourself, kiddo. You'll be okay," Sonic affirmed, ruffling Faith's quills.
Taking a deep breath, Faith nodded. She could do this. She could make new friends. There was nothing to be afraid of.
"Okay! See you guys later!" she said cheerfully and headed to the youth center, her head held high.
"I'll go keep a close eye on her," Tails told the team, spinning his namesakes and flying after her.
Knuckles and Sticks headed for the benches as an ice cream vendor stopped at it while Sonic and Shadow stayed rooted to the spot, watching Faith approach the other kids. Amy glanced at them and resisted the urge to giggle. The boys looked like worried yet proud parents who had just sent their kid to school for the first time and they weren't sure what to do next.
"She'll be fine, you two. Come on, let's go get ice cream," Amy said, pushing Sonic and Shadow in the direction of the ice cream cart.
'Who should I make friends with first?' Faith thought as she looked at all the kids playing. Apart from the baby walrus who was playing in the sandbox, she was the smallest kid at the youth center. And a lot of stuff was happening all at once. Which activity should she join in? Would the other kids get angry if she interrupted them in their playing to introduce herself?
"Oh, hey! It's the new kid!"
Faith instinctively covered her muzzle with her quills as a blue-eyed lavender walrus boy approached her. At the walrus boy's words, all the other kids stopped playing and stared at her. Already, she could feel the urge to run and hide rising. But, then, she felt someone gently pat her on the back. Looking behind her, Faith saw Tails. The young fox smiled encouragingly and nodded his head at the walrus boy.
'Go on, Faith. It's okay. I'm right here,' Tails' eyes seemed to say, giving Faith a small measure of courage. She took a few steps towards the walrus boy until they were standing face-to-face.
"You're that kid living with Team Sonic, right?" The walrus boy held out his hand. "My name's Stratford. What's yours?" he asked.
"I-I'm Faith. Hi, Stratford…" Faith mumbled. She eyed Stratford's hand and held her breath as she reached for it.
'Be calm. Be calm. Be calm. Don't make any sparks…'
Faith exhaled as she and Stratford shook hands without any sparks coming out of her. Stratford looked a little confused but smiled at her. "Nice to meet you, Faith," he said cheerfully.
Faith smiled back. "It's n-nice to meet you, too," she said, feeling a little braver now. She let Stratford bring her to the other kids, who were looking at her curiously. Faith took a second to glance back at Tails, who grinned and gave her two thumbs-up.
Faith grinned, feeling giddy. Alright! She was doing great so far!
"Hey, guys! Faith's here," Stratford announced, getting his friends' attention. "Faith, you wanna play Freeze Tag with us?" he asked Faith.
"Yeah. I'd like that…" Faith then realized something.
"How do you play Freeze Tag?"
Stratford and the other kids looked at each other, a little surprised.
"It's like Tag except you have to freeze in place when somebody tags you," A monkey child with a red one-strap backpack explained.
"Ohhh…" Faith nodded slowly before blinking pinkish-red eyes innocently. "What's Tag?" she asked.
Again, the kids were surprised.
"It's… you know when someone taps you on the shoulder while you're running and they say "Tag! You're It!" and then you have to chase them," Stratford explained.
"Oh, it's a chasing game. Some people chased after me before. I got away before they could catch me though," Faith said with a hint of pride in her tone.
"Well then, I reckon you'll do great at Freeze Tag, I betcha!" Beth the Shrew remarked, noticing how the others were a little unsure as to what to make of Faith. It was strange to meet a kid who didn't know how to play Tag. And even stranger to hear that she'd been chased before and got away. What did Faith even mean by that? Was that her way of saying that she's never been tagged before?
Tails wasn't too far away from the group so he could hear what the kids were saying. He cringed, realizing that he and his friends had forgotten one crucial detail about Faith.
She didn't know how to be a kid.
They'd been gradually introducing concepts of a normal childhood to the young tenrec these past two months, such as the right to have good, nutritious, food, to not be the one to do all of the household chores by herself, and the right to be cared for. They were also teaching Faith how to read and write, even though she possessed some rudimentary knowledge gained from listening and observing other people. But they'd neglected to school Faith in other skills.
How to actually interact with and relate to kids her age was one of them.
The lack of this skill was apparent in the way she thought of the game of Tag. Not to mention her not having any knowledge of what Tag and Freeze Tag even were. But, just when he decided to intervene, Tails saw Faith join the other kids in their game… and she got the hang of it.
"Phew… well, I guess that's a good sign…" Tails mumbled before his stomach growled. Spotting his friends enjoying ice cream cones, he figured that he could go and grab one while Faith played with the other kids.
"Gotcha!"
Faith wobbled a little as she balanced on one leg, having been "frozen" by Stratford who was It. Looking around, she saw that everyone had been tagged. The game had lasted ten minutes and she had been the last one to get caught.
Stratford whooped, pumping his fist in the air. "Okay. Faith got frozen last so she gets to be It," he announced, prompting the other kids to unfreeze and start running again.
Grinning, Faith ran after them. She got Stratford first, then Beth… then the monkey named Orion, and then Thalia the Reindeer Girl.
And it only took her five minutes.
"Whoa… Faith, that was insane!" Orion exclaimed, he and the other kids surrounding their new playmate.
"You were as fast as Sonic!" Thalia breathed out, eyes wide.
"Um, well, I've gone on a few runs with him and Shadow. I can keep up with them, but I get tired a lot more than they do…" Faith mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck.
"It must be so cool to get to live with Sonic and the rest of his team," Beth said, amazed.
Faith smiled shyly. 'It's cooler than cool. They're all so nice and kind to me. And Sonic and Shadow give the best hugs…' she thought.
They decided to head inside the youth center hut to cool off. Inside were art supplies, a toy chest filled with toys, a small TV with a video game console set, and shelves filled with children's books and puzzles. Faith gravitated towards the children's books and got comfortable in the reading nook. She was just about to read the second chapter of a particularly thrilling novel about a street thief finding a magical genie's lamp when she overheard Stratford and the other kids talking.
"…and that is why, in my opinion, Mutant Commando 3 is way better than Ninja Ski Pirates on Haunted Mountain," Stratford was saying while he and Orion played with Tommy Thunder action figures.
"But the special effects of Ninja Ski Pirates looked way cooler," Orion countered.
"Yeah, well they were CGI. Mutant Commando 3 had practical effects that took more effort to make. Plus, the story made a lot more sense," Stratford retorted.
"Making the ninjas pirates then having them ski down that haunted mountain did make them a little confusing. Aren't pirates supposed to have a ship?" Thalia mused.
"Well, air pirates are a thing. Maybe it would have made more sense if they had a plane that they landed on the mountain." Beth shrugged.
"What are you guys talking about?" Faith came over and sat with them.
"We're talking about which Tommy Thunder movie's better. By the way, what's your favorite movie in the franchise, Faith?" Orion asked, holding up a Tommy Thunder action figure.
"Uh…" Faith looked at the plastic tiger in Orion's hand. "Is that Tommy Thunder?" she asked, pointing at the action figure.
The other kids gasped and a sinking feeling came over her. Oh, no, did she say something wrong?
"You don't know who Tommy Thunder is?" Orion asked, his mind boggled.
"A-am I supposed to?" Faith squeaked, her hands and head beginning to feel slightly warm.
"Faith, you're…" Stratford chose his words carefully. "You're not from around here, are you?" he asked.
"Um… no…" Faith admitted, feeling embarrassed.
"Oh, yeah. You only started living with Team Sonic two months ago. Where'd you come from?" Thalia realized.
"Empire City," Faith mumbled, hyper-aware now that all the other kids were looking at her. Her stomach felt like it was doing flips inside of her. If they started asking more questions, how the heck was she going to answer them?
"Cool! I heard the red carpet premieres for a lot of Tommy Thunder movies were held there. I can't believe you've never heard of him," Orion said in disbelief.
Faith bit her lip and curled in on herself. Was it bad that she didn't know about Tommy Thunder movies?
She didn't know a lot of things Stratford and the other kids seemed to know… Was there something wrong with her? She was just a kid. Kids are supposed to not know much of the world yet. Grownups are supposed to be the ones who teach kids the ways of the world. But, to be honest, Daddy had only taught her how to do the household chores for him and that bad girls were supposed to be punished.
Seeing Faith's visible discomfort, Beth lightly elbowed Orion in the ribs. "Well, maybe it's because Faith likes different movies. There are a lot of celebrities living in the big city, I betcha." Smiling, Beth then asked, "So, Faith, what was your favorite thing to do in Empire City?"
"Favorite thing to do?" Faith's mind raced as she tried to remember anything worth enjoying during her time spent wandering the streets in search of food. She liked watching people go about their day. She vaguely remembered how some people had certain routines, like that guy who sold newspapers at the corner between a bookstore and a karaoke bar on 31st Avenue. He always bought a hotdog at a nearby cart during lunchtime. He was a nice guy. He bought her a hotdog once…
"Do you have a favorite place in the city you like going to?" Stratford asked next, unaware of the inner turmoil Faith was in.
She thought of Golden Ring Luxury Suites, the place where she and Daddy were supposed to have a fresh start… until he tried to sell her.
Her quills bristled as the other kids continued to ask questions.
"I heard Empire City's got these huge malls. Have you been to any of them?"
"What kind of games do they play in the city? Any new video games or movies coming out there?
"How did you come to the island?"
"Aren't your parents looking for you?"
The more questions they asked, the more Faith realized just how abnormal she was compared to Stratford, Beth, Orion, and Thalia.
She didn't know what Tag and Freeze Tag were until they explained it to her. She didn't know anything about Tommy Thunder or his movies. And she didn't know how many malls there were in the city.
What else did they know that she didn't? What else did she lack? Was it wrong for her to not know these things other kids knew? If she didn't know this stuff, did that mean she wasn't a kid?
Apart from her lightning powers… was there something else wrong with her?
"Faith?"
They were all looking at her, their brows furrowed and smiles gone. Oh, no, she'd upset them and now they were looking at her funny! 'Stop looking at me! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you upset!' she wanted to say but it felt like her throat was closing up. Sparks crackled around her quills as they bristled while her hands heated up.
"Are you okay?" Stratford motioned to his friends to get behind him. Bravely, he reached out and gently tapped on Faith's shoulder…
"AAAAAAHHHHH!"
The adults hanging around near the youth center were alerted by the children's screams and rushed to the building. All of a sudden, the door burst open, and Stratford, Beth, Orion, and Thalia stampeded out, screaming bloody murder.
"Stratford! What happened, sweetheart?!" Lady Walrus cried out, noticing her eldest son cradling his right hand to his chest.
The sky suddenly darkened with big, black, clouds obscuring the sun and thunder rumbled in the distance.
"Oh, no…" Sonic whispered before running inside the youth center, Shadow and Tails right behind him. All three of them shouted in pain as they were shocked. Amy, Knuckles, and Sticks kept the others away from the building while trying to get the frightened children to calm down.
"I-I don't know what happened! We were just asking Faith some questions about herself a-and she freaked out!" Stratford stammered, looking at the entrance to the youth center as purple sparks came fizzing out of the door.
"She just started sparking. I-Is she gonna be okay?" Thalia asked worriedly.
'I hope so…' Amy, Knuckles, and Sticks all thought while they waited for Sonic, Shadow, and Tails to come out.
Tails gulped, his knees threatening to turn into jelly, as he looked at the curled-up ball of pink fur in the middle of the room that was surrounded by a thousand volts of electricity. Ahead of him, Sonic and Shadow were on their hands and knees, softly murmuring soothing words to it. He wanted to join the two hedgehogs in comforting Faith, too. But the sight of the little tenrec's lightning shooting out of her erratically made Tails feel like he was caught in a thunderstorm and his body started trembling.
'No, Tails! She's just a little kid! You shouldn't be scared of her!' he berated himself, shaking his head. Slowly, he took a few steps forward.
"Faith, it's okay… It's okay… Faith, we're right here. We're right here, kiddo… Can you hear us?" Sonic asked softly amidst the consistent hum of electricity coming from Faith. As much as he wanted to scoop Faith up into his arms and hug her until she calmed down, he knew that a sudden touch could set her off. He glanced at Shadow and noticed the beads of sweat clinging to his forehead.
Chaos, it felt like they were trying to defuse a bomb. They could already hear the thunder rumbling outside and knew that the storm was only going to get worse the longer Faith was in distress.
"Faith, it's us. Sonic, Shadow, and Tails," Shadow softly called out to the frightened tenrec. "We're here, sweetheart. Don't be scared."
Tails took a few more steps forward until he was kneeling next to Sonic. He could see the sparks beginning to dissipate as Faith slowly uncurled from her defensive pose. Faith looked at the three of them, whimpering as tears slid down her cheeks. She crawled over to Sonic, the blue hedgehog hugging her immediately, and buried her face in his brown scarf as she sobbed.
"Shhhh… There, there… It's okay, Faith… It's okay. You're safe… You're safe…" Sonic murmured, standing up and rocking the little tenrec in his arms.
"I-I'm s-s-sorry! I didn't… I didn't mean to lo-lose control…! They w-were asking me stuff and I-I didn't know h-how to answer, and they were looking at me and I-I panicked!" Faith confessed, sniffling.
"What kind of questions were they asking you?" Shadow asked, anger and suspicion glinting in his dark red eyes.
After blowing her nose into Sonic's scarf, Faith calmed down enough to answer the question properly. "They asked me if I knew Tommy Thunder and if I watched any of his movies. What my favorite thing to do… My favorite place in Empire City… If I've been to any of the malls there… Those are things kids are supposed to know and I-I didn't know anything about them! I didn't know what Tag or Freeze Tag was until they told me about it earlier! I… I don't know what kids are supposed to like or do and I'm a kid! Th-there's something wrong with me!" she shouted, on the verge of crying again.
"No, sweetheart, no." Shadow cupped Faith's face in his hands. "If you don't know things other kids know, it's not a bad thing. It's not your fault you didn't know about Tommy Thunder or what malls are in Empire City. Nobody knows everything, and that's okay. There's nothing wrong with you, Faith," he told her, nuzzling Faith's forehead.
"Shadow's right, kiddo. Your Daddy never took you to the mall or the movies so there's no way you could have known about some stuff like who Tommy Thunder is or what kind of malls are out there in Empire City. If anyone's at fault here, it's your Daddy because he didn't let you have fun," Sonic chimed in, gently combing his fingers through Faith's quills.
"It's… okay to not know some things other kids know?" Faith asked uncertainly, looking at the two hedgehogs.
"It's perfectly fine." Tails smiled, standing beside Sonic. "Look at me. I'm a kid too and there are some things that I don't know that the other kids in the village already know. And there are some things I know that they don't," he said.
"Oh… O-okay…" Faith mumbled, feeling a bit comforted now. There was nothing wrong with her not knowing about Tommy Thunder or malls or what Tag was. And she already knew what Tag and Freeze Tag were thanks to Beth and the other kids telling her. She still didn't know a lot of things, but that's okay. There was nothing wrong with her not knowing some things.
When they went outside the youth center building, they were met with some angry adults.
"My son got hurt just for asking your daughter a question! And when were any of you going to tell us that she has lightning powers?" Lady Walrus pointed a finger at Faith, who whimpered and hid her face in Sonic's chest.
"Mom, stop! Faith didn't mean it!" Stratford protested but his words were drowned out by the other adults' shouting.
"If she freaks out again, another storm could come a-brewing. You need to get those powers of hers under control," Old Monkey said sternly.
Tails looked at Faith, worried. The little tenrec's entire body was trembling and tiny whimpers escaped from her lips. Sonic was glaring at the villagers, a scowl on his face. Fury welled up inside of Tails and, before his older brother could give Faith to Shadow and give the adults a piece of his mind, he stepped in and held his arms out at the sides, his namesakes swishing to protectively cover Faith from view.
"Stop shouting! You're scaring Faith!"
All at once, the crowd went silent. Knuckles, Amy, and Sticks looked at each other while Sonic and Shadow watched as Tails started scolding the adults.
"Faith's just a kid and she's still not fully in control of her powers. If she gets scared, they act up in order to protect her in the only way they can. My friends and I are doing everything we can to help her learn how to control her abilities. But don't get angry at her. She didn't mean to electrocute Stratford and the other kids. It was an accident," said Tails, looking each adult in the eye and frowning at them disapprovingly.
Nobody said anything after that, allowing Team Sonic to leave the village and head back to Sonic's shack with a still very upset Faith.
Letting Shadow have a turn carrying Faith, Sonic patted Tails' shoulder. "You did a good job giving those guys a proper scolding, buddy," he told his little brother, grinning.
"What were you going to tell them? I saw you looking ready to go off," Tails remarked.
"Probably something not as eloquently put as your stern words. I probably would have made things worse by scaring everyone into leaving Faith alone… and that won't help in the long run…" Sonic rubbed his face tiredly then lowered his voice so Faith wouldn't hear. "Ames was right. Maybe we shouldn't have rushed Faith into interacting with so many other people so soon," he said.
"We'll have to take things one step at a time. And I think I'll need to run some more tests on Faith to get a better understanding of how her powers get affected by her emotions," Tails whispered back.
"All right. Shads and I'll drop her off at your place after her nap," Sonic replied as they reached his shack.
Faith was beginning to get drowsy, yawning occasionally as Sonic wiped her tear-stained face with a cool washcloth. Within minutes of arriving, she crawled into bed and fell asleep. For a while, Sonic and his friends watched the little tenrec sleep.
Then Knuckles' eyes widened.
"Lady Walrus called Faith your daughter." He looked at Sonic and Shadow, curious. "Does that mean you two are Faith's parents now?" he asked.
"What?" Sonic blinked before Lady Walrus' words came back to him and his face went red. "Me and Shadow? Faith's…" he trailed off, giving Shadow a sideways glance.
"We're taking care of her but, legally, we're not appointed to be her…" Shadow then noticed the expectant looks on Amy and Sticks' faces. "What?" he asked.
"Well, Lady Walrus could have just jumped to conclusions when she saw how protective you two were over Faith…" Amy suggested with a knowing smile.
"Anyone would have jumped to the same conclusion. I mean, you two have been taking care of Faith the most ever since we first met her…" Sticks added, grinning.
"Wait, so are you two Faith's parents now?" Knuckles asked, still confused.
"Not legally," Sonic and Shadow both said, their cheeks red before they decided that now would be a good time for the others to leave.
"I'm heading to the Mayor's office to see if we can get those two adoption papers," Amy whispered to Sticks, who laughed.
"Hey, Tails, what did they mean by 'not legally'?" Knuckles asked as he and Tails walked to the latter's place.
"They're just in denial, Knuckles. They'll figure out the truth eventually," Tails said, smiling knowingly. 'I'm gonna be an uncle! I'm gonna be an uncle!' he mentally sing-sang.
Faith sighed as she watched the clouds gather outside from one of the bigger windows inside Tails' workshop. Tails was now tweaking with the copper coils of her gloves and shoes while checking his most recently acquired data on Faith's Chaos Energy readings and voltage. Sonic and Shadow had gone out on a patrol of the island and wouldn't be back for an hour
Faith looked at the teal gloves on her hands and sighed again, her ears drooping. "Maybe I should wear my old gloves again the next time I go out…" she mumbled, catching Tails' attention. The yellow fox looked up from his workspace and lifted his welding mask to look at her.
"You really think you need to?" he asked, walking over to Faith and sitting next to her. He noticed the storm clouds gathering and briefly wondered if Faith's emotions were creating them. The image of an out-of-control Faith shooting lightning in all directions came back to him and he involuntarily shuddered.
"I know Sonic and Shadow have been teaching me how to handle my powers better, but I'm still scared about hurting someone by accident. That's why I think I should wear my old gloves when I feel like I don't need to use my powers. At least until I get better at controlling them," Faith admitted, keeping her eye on the sky.
"A backup plan then…" Tails mused before jumping up when the first crash of thunder was heard.
The storm had arrived.
Tails raced around his workshop, closing all the windows, before coming back to Faith. To his confusion, the little tenrec hadn't moved from her spot by the window that had a clear view of the sky. A jagged, yellow, bolt of lightning pierced the dark clouds and she smiled and clapped, leaning forward to see better.
'It must be a naturally-occurring storm if Faith's in a good mood. The lightning being generated by the storm isn't purple…' Tails deduced, flinching as another flash of lightning came followed by the boom of thunder.
Faith giggled, much to his surprise.
"You're not frightened by the storm, Faith?" Tails asked, wrapping his tails around himself like a security blanket.
"Nope. I like watching storms. Especially when there's a lot of lightning. They make super cool pictures in the sky for one second then they're gone the next. It's so exciting to watch. When Daddy wasn't around and it was storming, I liked to go look out the window and watch it," said Faith, looking at Tails with a smile.
Suddenly, the lightning flashed again, much bigger this time, and she saw Tails jump a foot up in the air with a yelp. The thunder clapped, and Faith realized something.
"Tails, are you afraid of lightning?"
'Shoot! I didn't want her to notice!' Tails berated himself as he tried to keep his knees from shaking. "Uh, n-no! I just got startled, that's all!" he said quickly before the storm decided to send in another lightning strike, making him flinch – right in front of Faith.
Sadness filled Faith's eyes and her shoulders slumped slightly.
"Does my lightning scare you, Tails?"
At Faith's question, Tails stiffened. He'd seen what Faith could do. And, while he cared for the little tenrec greatly, her lightning powers were still unstable due to her lack of training. When Faith had her panic attack at the youth center, he'd backed up against a wall in fear while Sonic and Shadow calmed her down. And even when he did gather the courage to approach Faith, Tails had felt the same prickle of fear he always felt during a storm. Not the mention he got hit with Faith's lightning earlier. And it had hurt.
"Do… Do I scare you, Tails?" Faith's timid voice brought Tails back to the here and now.
Tails didn't know what felt worse: Faith's big eyes looking up at him imploringly as she waited for him to answer, or the way her eyes dulled when he didn't answer.
"Faith, no. It's not that I'm afraid of you… It's just that…" Tails mumbled, his namesakes twisting themselves up as he struggled to find the right words.
"I know… It's my powers. It's okay. I get scared when they get out of control, too." Faith summoned a few sparks from her fingertips. "That's why, until I learn how to control them better… I think I should wear my old gloves whenever I'm in the village. Just in case," she said quietly before closing the window.
Tails' ears pinned against his head as guilt filled him. The rest of Faith's time in his workshop was spent in silence as he tested and re-tested the copper coils to make sure they could hold in Faith's electrical charges for an extended amount of time. He tried his hardest to ignore the flashes of lightning coming from the storm outside as it continued, the rain pitter-pattering down on the roof.
To Tails' relief, the storm lightened up by the time Sonic and Shadow came back, the couple carrying umbrellas and Faith's raincoat. And, while Faith thanked Tails for the tweaks he made to her gear and gave him a hug, her eyes still held some sadness in them as she left with Sonic and Shadow.
During the next two days, Tails knew that Faith was still sad about what he didn't say. Throughout her training sessions, she seemed hesitant to use her lightning when he was nearby and couldn't seem to focus. Not only that, she didn't want to sit next to Tails during mealtimes or even when they were watching TV together. Their conversations were short and forced, with Faith resolutely avoiding eye contact with Tails who did the same.
Soon enough, one member of the team decided that something had to be done.
Sonic found Tails fixing up his plane that afternoon. He coughed to get his little brother's attention. "Need an extra pair of hands?" he asked, walking to the fox's toolkit.
"Yeah, hand me that wrench," Tails said, looking over his shoulder.
Fishing the wrench out of the toolkit and handing it to Tails, Sonic let him tinker away in silence for a minute. Then, he asked, "Are you and Faith doing okay, buddy?" tilting his head up slightly to meet Tails' gaze. "You two have been kinda walking on eggshells around each other. Did something happen while Faith was at your place when you were fixing her gear?"
Sighing, Tails hung his head in shame. "I hurt her feelings really bad, Sonic…" he mumbled, his tails drooping.
"Okay… Mind telling me everything from the beginning?" Sonic climbed on top of one of the plane's wings and patted the spot next to him.
Tails told him the whole story, how Faith told him about her love for watching storms, her finding out about his lightning phobia, and him unable to answer right away when she asked him if he was scared of her.
"I feel awful. She's just a little kid and she thinks that she has to stay away from people so they don't get hurt. And here I am, making it worse for her. I can't help but be afraid of lightning. No matter how hard I try, I can't get rid of my fear. But I don't want to be afraid of Faith. In fact, I shouldn't be afraid of her! She's done nothing wrong and she's the sweetest kid I've ever met…" Tails sighed.
"Yeah… it is hard to not get a little nervous when Faith's powers act up." Sonic smiled sadly. "You know, Shadow and I were scared too. During Faith's panic attack at the youth center. She's still new to using her abilities and we don't even know how much stronger they're going to get as she grows up. It's gonna take time for her to get used to them, and for us as well," he told Tails.
"You're not upset that I made Faith upset?" Tails' brow furrowed.
"Not at all. The question is… What can we do to patch things up between you and Faith?" Sonic asked him in return.
Tails mulled it over. Apologizing to Faith will be the best, logical, thing to do. But that didn't feel like enough. He had to show Faith that he wasn't afraid of her. Putting himself in Faith's shoes, he understood why she wanted to keep her distance. Her powers were still incompletely tested and highly reactive to her emotions. On top of all that, she hadn't received any form of kindness or compassion until she ended up on the island. In a way, she reminded Tails of…
A smile formed on Tails' face as he looked at Sonic. "I think I know what I need to do now," he told his big brother before hopping off his plane's wing and heading out to find Faith.
Faith hummed as she read the chapter book Shadow got her from the library. An open dictionary sat beside her on the couch as she flipped through the pages. While listening to Sonic and Shadow read aloud to her was fun, she found reading on her own to be fun, too. And if she didn't understand the meaning of a new word she read in the book, she could look it up in the dictionary.
She had just put her chapter book down to look up the definition of 'fiction' when Tails entered the shack. Faith's eyes went wide.
"Hey, Faith." Tails waved hello to her.
"H-Hi, Tails…" Faith waved back and moved away a short distance as Tails sat next to her on the couch.
Tails sighed, noting that she was still wary around him. "Remember when we were at my workshop a few days ago? When the storm hit?" he began.
"Yeah. You were pretty scared of the lightning…" Faith mumbled, looking at her hands folded in her lap.
"I know I can't completely erase my fear of lightning… but that doesn't mean I'm afraid of you," Tails said as he moved a little closer to Faith. When the little tenrec didn't move away, he smiled gently at her. "I'm sorry I made you feel like you have to keep away from me so I won't get hurt, Faith. You don't have to keep your distance," he told Faith, who looked at him confused.
"But… what if I hurt you by accident again? I-I already hurt you, Sonic, and Shadow when I panicked at the youth center a few days ago…" Faith wrapped her arms around her belly. "Sometimes, I wish I didn't have my powers so people won't be afraid of me…" she admitted.
"I used to think that way about my tails," Tails replied, his namesakes lightly bouncing behind him.
"Your tails aren't scary. They look super cool and fluffy." Faith crawled closer to play with the fox's two tails. "Why would people be afraid of you for having them?" she asked Tails.
"I was born in West Side Island. A lot of people there are pretty superstitious. I was cast out because my twin tails were seen as a bad omen," Tails explained.
"Omen…" Faith picked up the dictionary and flipped through the pages. Her eyes lit up as she found the word. "Omen: an occurrence or a phenomenon…" she muttered before looking at Tails.
"So they thought that bad things would happen? All because you have two tails?" she asked, shocked.
"Yeah, I got blamed for everything from failed crops to accidents that didn't even involve me." Tails shrugged.
Faith's cheeks flushed scarlet. "That's… That's so dumb and mean! Those people are so horrible! You're not bad, Tails! You're one of the nicest and smartest foxes I've ever known! In fact, you're the only fox I really know! Those people on West Side Island are big meanies and they're dumb for being scared of someone so kind and awesome!" she exclaimed, tiny sparks fizzing out the tips of her quills.
Tails laughed softly. "Awww, thanks for sticking up for me, Faith. That means a lot…" he said, carefully petting the top of Faith's head. He felt a small static shock at the tips of his fingers but he held back a flinch as he petted Faith until she calmed down.
Faith sucked in a breath, realizing that her lightning was active, and closed her eyes. She turned off the switch in her brain and sighed with relief when she opened her eyes and saw that Tails was still there. She giggled as he brushed the tip of one of his tails against her cheek.
"We both have something that makes us look different in everyone else's eyes. And, sometimes, yeah, we might look a little scary to them. But that doesn't mean we have to stay away from other people to keep them from being scared. The more we stay away, the more people will think that we're meant to be feared. The best thing we can do, for us and for them… is to try our best and show other people that we're not scary at all," Tails said, twirling his tails. "Sonic encouraged me to do that and it worked pretty well for me. Maybe it'll work for you, too."
Faith nodded then grinned, hugging Tails. "I forgive you, Tails. And thank you…" she whispered. Tails hugged her back, wrapping his tails around her. The giggle Faith gave him warmed his heart and made all the bad feelings from the past two days disappear.
After one more day of training, Faith decided to try and go back to Hedgehog Village. "I gotta apologize to Stratford, Beth, Orion, and Thalia for scaring them," she told Team Sonic.
Tails took her to his workshop for the final upgrades of her gear. "These reinforced coils should be able to hold more charge in," he said to Faith, who was playing some games on his Miles Electric.
Suddenly, Faith exclaimed, "Ooh! Tails! Tails! Tails! Look what I can do!" and ran to the young fox. Tails watched Faith press her index finger against the Miles Electric's charging port and, to his amazement, the battery icon on the gadget's screen filled up to 100% in mere seconds.
"I'm a walking charger!" Faith cheered. Tails chuckled then slipped the coils onto her gloves and shoes.
"You ready to go?" he asked her. Faith nodded and held his hand as they walked out of the workshop. They joined the rest of the gang outside and they headed to Hedgehog Village. Some of the villagers went out of their way to avoid them or speed-walked as they passed by Faith.
Faith pursed her lips and pressed herself against Tails' side and kept her head down until she heard laughing. Looking up, she saw that they were back at the youth center.
"Do you want us to go with you, kiddo?" Sonic asked, looking at the little tenrec next to his little brother.
"It's okay, Sonic. I…" Faith took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders back. "I can do this," she said before breaking off from the group.
Beth was the first to see Faith approaching them and waved. "Hey, Faith!" she greeted her while Thalia hung back, the latter looking at the tenrec a little nervously.
Orion and Stratford were sharing a Switch, both boys frantically trying to finish a game level before the screen went dark. Then they noticed Faith walking over to them. Stratford put the Switch away in his bag then met Faith halfway.
"Um… Hey, Faith. Been a while…" he said quietly.
"Hi, Stratford. Everyone…" Faith tugged at her front quills, not quite making eye contact. Then she took a deep breath. She needed to do this.
"I'm really sorry for what happened a few days ago. And… I'm really sorry for hurting you, Stratford," she apologized, bowing to the other kids.
She expected to be shunned, for Stratford and the kids to avoid her, and mentally prepared herself for the rejection. But, to her amazement, Stratford held out his bandaged right hand and smiled at her.
"It's okay, Faith. It was an accident," the walrus boy told her. Truth be told, he and his friends had been worried about Faith and wondered why they hadn't seen her for the past three days. Faith gingerly took his hand, afraid of hurting him again, but shook it. Stratford smiled at her, silently letting her know that he was okay.
"You're… not mad at me?" Faith blinked, looking at the other kids in confusion.
"Of course not. If anyone should be apologizing, it's us. We all got a little carried away with asking you all kinds of questions all at once," Thalia said, lightly scuffing the toe of her right shoe on the ground.
"And your lightning powers are so cool! Are you being trained to use them by Team Sonic?" Orion asked excitedly.
"Mhm. Sonic and Shadow are helping me learn how to get used to my powers. And Tails made me these cool gloves and shoes." Faith showed them the coils, smiling. Within just ten minutes, she was playing again with Stratford, Orion, Beth, and Thalia. Any tension or awkwardness had disappeared as soon as they started playing games, as it is in the innocent ways of childhood where any disagreement could be solved and forgotten with a new game.
Tails was coaxed into joining their next game of Freeze Tag and the other members of Team Sonic were happy to watch their resident genius having fun with Faith and the other kids.
When they were back inside the youth center building, Faith – who now felt more at ease – decided to try to learn a little more about normal kid stuff from the other kids.
"Is it really okay to not do all the chores at home?" she asked while they built a block tower.
"Yeah. With all the stuff that needs to be done at home, we wouldn't be able to go out and play or go to school, I betcha," Beth replied, stacking blocks in the middle of the room. Tails was sitting in a beanbag in the corner and playing a video game, his eyes focused on the screen.
"What happens at school?" Faith cocked her head to the side as she helped construct the tower.
"Mostly sitting on desks and answering questions about lessons either through writing it down on the board or recitation. It's a little boring sometimes," Orion admitted, eyeing the tower as it started wobbling after Stratford put one more block on it.
"But school can be fun, too. We get to go on field trips around the island twice a year and some of the lessons can be learned through hands-on experience instead of just reading about them," Stratford added.
"Huh…" Faith idly wondered if she could go to school with Stratford and the others before noticing that the block tower was leaning precariously to the left. She and Thalia moved out of the way and, along with Orion and Stratford, shrieked with laughter when their tower fell down.
"Didn't you go to school at Empire City?" Thalia asked her.
"Nope. My Daddy doesn't let me do anything fun. He makes me do all the chores and I had to wear rubber gloves the entire time I was at home. He hates that I have lightning powers," Faith admitted.
For a second, none of the other kids said anything and looked at each other with semi-horrified expressions on their faces.
"Whoa… your Daddy sounds like the worst," Orion remarked.
"I guess…" Faith shrugged and wrung her hands. "But he's still my Daddy… and kids are supposed to love their parents," she said haltingly.
"Yeah, but not if they're the worst. If your parents hurt you, then they don't deserve to be called parents at all," Beth said, frowning.
"They don't?" Faith asked, surprised. She then noticed Tails sitting at the edge of their little circle. The yellow fox's blue eyes looked at her worriedly.
"One of the worst things anyone can do is hurt a kid," Tails said, earning nods of agreement from Stratford, Orion, Thalia, and Beth.
Faith looked at her hands. The teal of her gloves and the shiny orange of their copper coils were stark contrasts to the dull black rubber of her old pair. Her entire life, she'd done everything she could to make her Daddy happy. She followed all of his rules, rarely complained, and stayed out of his way. But did she do all of those things because she actually loved him? Or did she do all of that just to keep him from getting angry at her?
Daddy had told her time and time again that he hated her because Mommy died after she was born. He didn't love her.
So did that mean it was okay for her to not love him? Thinking about it now, after hearing everything Stratford, Orion, Beth, Thalia, and Tails had said… her Daddy wasn't even trying to be a good parent. Maybe she didn't have to love him anymore… or maybe she never really loved her Daddy to begin with because he was, as Orion called him, the worst.
"Faith?"
The little tenrec blinked, registering the feeling of Tails gently patting her head. "Oh, sorry. I was thinking about something…" she mumbled, shaking her head a little.
They all wondered what to do next after putting away all the blocks. Then Beth piped up with, "Hey, Stratford, can I have a turn on your Switch? I wanna play Mario Kart."
"Sorry, Beth. My Switch ran out of power earlier," Stratford said apologetically.
"Right when we were about to get into a final boss fight…" Orion grumbled.
Faith and Tails looked at each other, sharing a secret smile.
"I think Faith can help you with that," Tails suggested.
"Yup! Just give me your Switch for a minute," Faith added, holding out her hands.
Confused but trusting Tails' judgment, Stratford took out his Switch and handed it to Faith. Humming softly, Faith located the charging port and covered it with her finger. Before the other kids' eyes, the Switch came back to life and was fully charged.
"Tails and I just found out about this today. I can charge stuff," Faith giggled and handed the Switch back to Stratford.
"That is so cool!" Stratford grinned as he loaded up Mario Kart. "Imagine if you could charge up a whole bunch of phones just by holding them. You'll never need to buy a charger for anything," he said.
"Let's test it out!" Thalia suggested, she and Orion pulling out their phones. Then her ears pinned down when she saw Tails looking at them sternly. "I-I mean… that is if you want to…" she said to Faith.
"Let's see. I haven't tried charging stuff by just holding them," Faith agreed. Once Thalia and Orion handed her their phones, she looked at the battery icons on the screens. She lightly squeezed her hands around them and sent a little bit of her lightning through her palms. To her relief, the phones didn't explode and were fully charged without a problem.
"Faith, your powers are amazing," Thalia gushed.
"And with Sonic and Shadow training you, I bet you're gonna be a whole lot stronger! Maybe you'll even become a hero like them!" Orion cheered.
Faith blushed and hid her cheeks behind her quills. Beth sat next to her, now holding Stratford's Switch. "I betcha your Daddy never let you play Mario Kart. I'll show you how to play it," she said.
For the next 30 minutes, the kids sat and watched Beth play as Princess Peach and they all taught Faith how to play the video game. The little tenrec's eyes were wide with wonder as Beth showed her how to navigate to different tracks on the map and how to use all the items during a race. Then, when it was her turn to use the Switch, everyone cheered her on as she played the game.
She picked the Lightning Cup, of course, which amused everyone, and decided to play as Princess Daisy.
It was one of the most fun times Faith ever had and she finally began to feel like the little kid she was.
"Be careful on Rainbow Road. You'll fall into the empty void of space if you drive off the road!" Stratford warned Faith as she reached the final stage of the Lightning Cup.
"Okay," Faith said, wiggling her fingers in anticipation as the countdown started.
But, just as GO! Flashed on the screen, a Ball Bot suddenly crashed through the door!
This time, Faith joined Stratford, Beth, Orion, and Thalia in screaming bloody murder as the robot bounced towards them.
Tails jumped up to shield the kids and took out his wrench. He ran towards the Ball Bot and swung his wrench into its eye, causing it to short circuit. Quickly, he kicked it out of the destroyed doorway before it exploded. Running outside, he growled when he saw the Lightning Bolt Society attacking the village.
"Woohoo! Anarchy, baby!" Dave the Intern whooped as he fired tennis balls at random, smashing up windows and flower pots balanced on the railings of porches. Willy Walrus had some kind of ray gun he was firing into the air.
"Hey! A lightning bolt gun! Perfect!" Willy exclaimed as he saw streaks of electricity fire from the gun.
"Tails, keep the kids safe!" Sonic yelled while he tied up the weasel bandits. The gang of wannabee villains was commandeering a dozen of Eggman's Ball Bots, which Knuckles and Amy were working hard to smash. Meanwhile, Sticks and Shadow were helping Sonic in rounding up members of the Lightning Bolt Society.
Nodding in Sonic's direction, Tails headed back inside the youth center building. Faith and the other kids were huddled in a corner and, to his confusion, all holding wooden building blocks and plastic kiddie golf clubs they got from the toy chest.
"We're getting ready to defend ourselves!" Stratford declared as he donned a plastic bucket as a helmet. Faith nodded in agreement, clenching her fists as lightning danced across the coils on her gloves and shoes.
Before Tails could tell them that it was too dangerous and that he was supposed to protect them, two Ball Bots broke into the youth center again. Faith let out a war cry and led the charge, her hands sparking as she swung her golf club at one of the Ball Bots. Stratford, Beth, Orion, and Thalia followed, throwing blocks to dent the Ball Bots and smashing their golf clubs at the glowing red eyes.
'I guess watching me and the others battling Eggman so many times could have led them to pick up a few things…' Tails thought, stunned, before hurrying after the kids as they rushed out of the youth center.
In the middle of the battle, Eggman flew in on his Egg Mobile. And Team Sonic wasn't happy to see him.
"Did you send these crooks to do your dirty work this time, Doctor?" Shadow snarled, firing a Chaos Spear and skewering three Ball Bots with it.
"No, I'm here to get my stuff back," Eggman replied before fixing a displeased glare at the Lightning Bolt Society. "There's only room for one rumpus maker on this island, you bunch of two-bit crooks!" he yelled as he piloted his Egg Mobile to dive bomb some of the Lightning Bolts.
Willy, seeing the Doctor coming towards him, sighed. "Might as well go out with a bang," he grumbled and aimed his gun straight ahead, firing a lightning bolt.
If the walrus had taken the time to really look at where he was aiming, he would have realized that he'd aimed it at Tails who was busy tying up more members of the Lightning Bolt Society with his Enerbeam.
Faith saw the lightning bolt headed straight for the two-tailed fox. Her eyes widened. She dropped her golf club. Her body moved before she could think.
Tails only had a second to turn to look at Faith before the little tenrec shoved him out of the way and took a lightning bolt for him. Behind him, Stratford and the other kids screamed.
Faith let out a wobbly exclamation of surprise as her quills and fur all stood on end. She felt tingly all over as lightning danced through her body, her eye markings and the tips of her quills glowing with a faint pulsating light. Then, as quickly as the tingling sensation came, it disappeared, leaving her feeling rather refreshed and energized.
"Whoa…" she breathed out, summoning a few sparks from her hands. The yellow bolts from the ray gun appeared then slowly turned purple like her own lightning.
"FAITH, LOOK OUT!"
Sonic's yell made Faith look up from her hands. She saw a single Ball Bot left bouncing towards her and she schooled her facial expression into one of determination. 'Remember what Sonic and Shadow taught you…' she thought as she planted her feet firmly on the ground.
Concentrate.
Gather enough charge to fire.
Feet planted firmly on the ground.
Aim…
Then switch lightning to on.
"Take this!" Faith shouted, thrusting her left hand out. To her amazement, a lightning bolt larger than anything she'd fired off during her training shot out of her hand. The Ball Bot was torn apart in a split second.
Beth and the other kids cheered while Faith stared at the remains of the Ball Bot in stunned silence. Then, all of a sudden, a tennis ball came out of nowhere and hit her right between the eyes – hard.
"OW!"
It took less than a second for Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Sticks to get to Faith, who was now lying on the ground in a daze. Stratford and the other kids gathered around their friend, joining Team Sonic in fussing over her.
"Owww… that hurt…" Faith whimpered as she sat up with Tails' help. A round purplish bruise was already beginning to form on her face and she had to keep her eyes half-closed as it throbbed.
"You fools…"
Eggman turned to face the Lightning Bolt Society. "You utter fools. Do you realize what you've done?" he asked, his face pale.
Only Willy Walrus and the Chameleon were unarmed. Dave, on the other hand, still had the tennis ball shooter. The teal nutria gulped and dropped his weapon, but it was too late.
Eggman flew his Egg Mobile over to where Team Sonic and the village kids were, knowing what was going to happen next. His quick mind counted five kids whose eyes and ears would need to be covered for what was about to happen.
Sonic and Shadow, after making sure Faith was safe with the rest of the team, slowly turned around to face the three remaining members of the Lightning Bolt Society. The furious stares the two hedgehogs directed at the three small-time villains could be likened to the laser eyes meme.
But, instead of a funny picture on the Internet, it was two angry hedgehogs about to go berserk on some punks who hurt their kid.
Eggman plugged up Faith's ears while Tails covered her eyes. Amy, Knuckles, and Sticks did the same thing for Stratford, Orion, Beth, and Thalia. They winced, along with any villagers present, as they watched Sonic and Shadow rain down their wrath on Dave, Willy, and the Chameleon.
As for the other members of the Lightning Bolt Society who were now tied up, they counted themselves lucky while their three unfortunate comrades screamed for mercy.
At the end of the day, a fretful Sonic and Shadow whisked Faith off to the hospital for treatment while the officers who had arrived to arrest the Lightning Bolt Society took pity on the criminals who had been on the receiving end of the two hedgehogs' anger.
And the rumors of two of Mobius' most famous heroes adopting a child only continued to grow and spread throughout the island.
"I'm glad to see the bruise is gone," Beth commented as she, Thalia, and Faith played with some dolls while Orion and Stratford colored pictures together.
"Yeah. Sticks has this miracle balm that really helps. I still get a few headaches though," Faith said in the middle of brushing her doll's hair.
Shortly after the battle at the youth center, Faith started hanging out regularly with the other kids in the village after training. The more often she accompanied Team Sonic into Hedgehog Village, the less shy she became. Now, she was comfortable with greeting the villagers and smiling at them when they smiled at her and no longer hid behind Sonic or Shadow so much. And getting to play with Stratford and the other kids gave her an opportunity to learn more about being a normal kid which was tons of fun.
"At least the villains will know not to mess with you from now on," Stratford remarked as he finished coloring in a picture of cats playing in rainbows.
"After that beatdown your parents gave them, I bet Dave and his buddies are gonna switch careers and give up being villains for good," Orion added.
Faith paused from brushing her doll's hair. "Sonic and Shadow aren't my parents," she said, looking confused.
Beth, Thalia, Stratford, and Orion all looked at her, surprised. Then, after a minute or two of silence, Beth smiled.
"Well, they should. I think they really like you, Faith. And I betcha that you like them, too," she said, winking at the pink tenrec.
Faith blushed and didn't say anything. But the thought of Sonic and Shadow being her parents… felt really nice. They were both so kind to her and they always did their best to help her train as well as make sure she got everything she needed to grow strong and happy. They took her outside and played with her, raced with her, and were there in a heartbeat whenever she fell down and got injured. And, whenever she woke up in the middle of the night in tears due to nightmares, they would always have a space ready for her in their duvet and would cuddle her while singing lullabies until she fell asleep.
She thought about what Stratford and her new friends told her before… when she told them a little bit about her Daddy.
If Daddy was, as they said, the worst… then maybe he didn't deserve to be called her parent anymore.
And if he didn't deserve to be called her parent… then maybe Sonic and Shadow could be her new parents now.
Maybe… Maybe they'll be okay with her calling them 'Dad' and 'Papa.'
I think my next episode will be a Knuckles and Faith bonding one. If you have any suggestions for that one, feel free to chime in on the reviews.
-GuardianDragon98