Sonic stepped out of the lair, dropping the sword in the grass and wiping his bloody gloves on a nearby fading sunlight. An owl hooted in a tree above him, and he slowly looked up at the creature.
They stared at each other for a moment, then Sonic raised his arm and sent a crackling burst of electricity towards the owl.
The bird was vaporized instantly in a spray of blood, showering the hedgehog with a red mist.
Sonic continued onward and walked through the surrounding area. There was a wooded section of land not far from Robotnik's lair, and Sonic entered and kept walking until he stumbled upon a small creek, the stream of dirty water flowing over a patch of jagged-looking rocks.
Sonic waded into the stream and watched as the blood on his lower half was washed away, the water turning a faint shade of red. He started washing his stomach and arms, examining the rocks while he cleaned up as best he could.
He approached the rocks and reached out a hand to feel them, brushing a hand across the surface. They could definitely do some damage, that much was clear.
When Sonic finished washing himself and stepped out of the creek, his shoes now soaked with water, he took them off and squeezed as much water as he could out of them, and put them back on and continued walking.
When he got to his house, he opened the front door and stepped inside, stopping to listen. He didn't hear any noises, so he went upstairs and examined himself in the bathroom mirror. His fur was a mess, and there was blood still on his face and his chest.
Sonic stared at his reflection, activating his powers and feeling the rush of energy, watching as the green color of his eyes drained away and bled red.
Sonic allowed himself to calm down as the rush faded away, and he was normal again. That sweet, innocent version of himself that everyone knew and loved.
He got in the shower and stood under the spray, watching what remained of the blood wash off of his body and disappear down the drain.
Sonic scrubbed his body to get rid of any lingering smells, and once he was satisfied that all traces of his deeds had been erased, he got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist.
Walking out of the bathroom, he went to the kitchen and stopped in front of the refrigerator, staring up at the steak knives sitting in the rack on top. He could just imagine what it would feel like to use one of them on somebody, especially someone he hated.
He climbed on top of the counter and reached for one, choosing a smaller knife that he could use if he ever felt threatened enough.
He grabbed it and carefully climbed off of the counter, feeling excited to finally be able to properly attack something, or someone, if he felt the situation called for it.
Sonic stared at the blade, brushing his gloved fingers over the sharp edges. He thought about what it had felt like to kill Agent Stone and Robotnik hours earlier.
How freeing it had been to take a life.
He glanced outside and saw that still, nobody had come home yet. He went upstairs and stood in front of the standing mirror in his room, trying to teach himself how to act normal.
"I missed you, Tom!" He said with a grin, holding out his arms as though he wanted a hug.
He frowned. No, his actions didn't even look real. They were too stiff.
He took a breath and tried again, remembering the videos he watched earlier.
"I'm starving! What's for dinner?" Sonic asked into the mirror in a light-hearted tone.
No, his eyes were still too dull, and his smile looked forced.
Sonic practiced laughing, but that too sounded fake.
"Do you think Ozzy is okay?" He asked himself, putting sympathy into his voice. "I'm really worried about him."
His eyes didn't look sad enough.
He willed himself to cry, studying his reflection. It looked better, nearly flawless.
Sonic walked back downstairs and turned on the television, watching it until he heard a car pull into the driveway.
"We're home!" A voice yelled out, and as the family dog went crazy with excitement, Sonic saw a man walk in. He knew he looked familiar, but couldn't place the name.
"Hey, Sonic!" The man said with a grin, wrapping the hedgehog in a hug. He smelled like cologne and fresh air, and Sonic instantly found it appealing to his senses. "Did you have a good time with Ozzy?"
Sonic glanced at the dog. Ozzy, that was its name.
He pulled out of the man's warm embrace, surprised at himself as he began to feel things he hadn't felt while with Robotnik.
He hadn't felt anything but anger and hate there, but here, with others he felt… different. Sonic wasn't sure if he liked it.
He smiled, putting on a display for his audience. "Yeah, we had a great time! He's great company."
"Yeah, I'm sure he was," the man said happily, and Sonic had a flicker of memory with him.
Laying in his bed, while Tom read him a story to help him fall asleep one night during a particularly disturbing storm.
Sonic stared at the man's face. Tom. His friend.
"Anyway," Tom said, "I should probably get dinner ready. Anything in particular you'd like? Maddie is bringing in the groceries, so we stocked up on all your favorite foods!"
Tom went into the kitchen, and Sonic followed. "What are we eating?"
"Spaghetti," Tom said, stopping in front of the stove and turning it on, then opening one of the cupboard doors and pulling out a large pan. "But you can have any side you want. We have mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, etcetera."
"That sounds-" Sonic stopped as he noticed Ozzy staring at him. The dog started growling, teeth bared, backing away from the hedgehog slowly.
Sonic narrowed his gaze challengingly as faint bolts of electricity started running up and down his arms. His eyes flickered red, ready if Ozzy decided to attack him. He'd gladly kill this annoyance, if only he could make it look like an accident…
His hands were getting warm, and he fought the desire to send the animal flying across the room. He snarled softly as the dog crept closer, and raised his arm towards Ozzy...
Then the front door opened, and Maddie walked in, carrying a few bags of groceries. "Hey, I've got all the stuff for dinner! We can make garlic bread too if anyone wants it."
Sonic glanced at her, the static fading away as he calmed down. He remembered that she was kind and caring, similar to Tom. All memories with her were generally positive.
He sat down at the table to wait for the food to be ready, running a hand over the table. He didn't know if he liked it here yet, even though he knew that he had definitely been living here before for some time.
It was all so hazy in his mind, he couldn't piece together certain memories, but the ones with Robotnik were clear as day.
"Sonic?"
He glanced up and saw Tom staring at him, looking concerned. "Yeah?"
"Are you alright? You look a little… i don't know, bothered."
Sonic gazed at him, then nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just a little tired, I guess."
"Did you have a good day?" Tom asked, and Sonic began to get frustrated with the constant barrage of questions.
"I had a great day." Sonic answered with a smile, remembering his slaughter of Robotnik and his assistant, Agent Stone. What a rush that had been. "And it's even better now that you're here."
Tom grinned, and Sonic knew that the compliment had flattered him. Just as he planned. "Thank you, Sonic, I appreciate it. I'm glad you're here, too."
A few minutes later, dinner was almost ready, and Sonic was chewing on some garlic bread to tide him over until the spaghetti was done cooking. The food wasn't bad at all, it was actually pretty good. Though it did give him some memories that he would have rather not seen within his mind. All of this love and rush of warm memories was starting to make him feel a little overwhelmed.
Too overwhelmed. He felt like he needed to hurt something to balance things out.
Sonic took another bite of garlic bread, trying to ignore the sound of Tom and Maddie talking and laughing. It was making him angry, all of these good, healthy vibes. The spaghetti finished cooking, and he got a serving and went back to his spot at the table.
The dog (Sonic forgot his name, something starting with O? Oscar, maybe?) whined at him from under the table as he started eating, and Sonic tightened his grip on his fork and scowled.
The dog whined louder, and Sonic kicked it in the side, and he felt it flinch and step back a little, giving Sonic a feeling of satisfaction.
He sighed and scraped his fork against his plate, collecting another bite.
The dog began it's whining again, louder and more persistent, and Sonic growled under his breath and kicked it again with greater force.
He heard a startled yell and soft whining, and he pushed his chair back and looked under the table, still chewing on his food.
The dog was curled up in the corner, quiet now.
"Sonic, what's wrong with Ozzy?" Tom asked, now looking concerned.
"He must have pinched himself somehow," Sonic said with a shrug, sighing. These people were getting on his nerves with all of the questions lately, it was really pissing him off.
If only he could deal with them without causing suspicion. He would do it in a heartbeat, starting with the dog, Sonic liked him least of all right now.
"Okay," Tom said, as he got up to turn off the stove. "Can you make sure he doesn't have any injuries?"
"Fine," Sonic said, scooting his chair back and crawling under the table towards Ozzy.
"Come here, Ozzy," Sonic muttered quietly, reaching out to the dog. "Come on."
Ozzy stayed where he was, trembling and whining.
Sonic crawled closer. "Come here, you piece of filth," he whispered, grabbing Ozzy's collar. "Listen to me."
The hedgehog tugged on Ozzy's collar, trying to drag the dog towards him.
Ozzy growled and snapped at him, and Sonic jerked his arm back on instinct, then hot rage churned in his gut, and he could no longer fight the urge to hurt it.
Sonic's eyes bled red as he sent a jolt of electricity through the dog's collar and into his body, making Ozzy yelp in pain.
"Sonic, what's wrong?" Maddie asked, sounding concerned as she walked over to him. "Why is Ozzy crying?"
Ozzy tried to crawl backward further under the table, but Sonic yanked on his collar and forcibly dragged him out into the open, kicking and whining.
"Ozzy, sit!" Maddie commanded, but the dog refused to listen, only concerned with avoiding the one who had hurt him.
Sonic shocked him again, and this time Ozzy quickly stopped struggling and stayed still, whining as his body smoked faintly.
Maddie's mouth dropped open in shock. "SONIC!"
"What happened?" Tom asked as he walked over, pulling off his oven mitts. He looked at Ozzy. "What's wrong with him?"
"Sonic shocked him!" Maddie said, still in disbelief.
"You did what?" Tom said, turning to the hedgehog. "Why would you do a thing like that?! You could have killed him!"
"Well, he tried to bite me!" Sonic said in defense. "And I had to show him that I wouldn't tolerate it!"
"Yeah, but you don't EVER do that to any animal, especially ones that are supposed to love and trust their owners!"
Sonic tightened his grip on Ozzy's collar, rage blinding his other senses. "I don't love him, so I don't care what happens to him!"
"I know that's not true," Maddie said, sitting down in a chair. "I know that you love him, just as much as you love us, and as much as we love you. And I don't know why you're acting this way, but whatever it is, we can talk about it."
"I'm fine," Sonic snarled, "In fact I've never felt better! I just don't like it when-"
"I'm sorry, but we can't let this go without consequence," Maddie said sternly. "It is NOT okay to harm Ozzy whenever he does something you don't like."
"He almost bit me!" Sonic snapped, yanking on Ozzy's collar to keep him close when the dog tried to back away. "Now he'll know not to do that to me in the future."
Maddie took a deep breath. "Sonic, go to your room, and you can come back and eat when you've calmed down."
"Seriously?" Sonic said, "I didn't do anything wrong! Ozzy-"
"Now, Sonic," Tom demanded, "Please."
Sonic stared at both of them, then turned his head and stared at Ozzy for a long moment. He stared at the two humans in front of him, narrowing his eyes in a challenging manner.
He suddenly sent a burst of electricity into Ozzy again, but this time he didn't stop. Tom and Maddie screamed as Ozzy howled in agony, Sonic's eyes slowly bleeding into red.
The air began to stink of ozone as Sonic kept up the torture, blue streaks of power surrounding both himself and the dog.
Just before his rage could fully consume him, Sonic forced himself to stop, and he released Ozzy from his grasp. The dog fell sideways onto the kitchen floor as the hedgehog turned and walked away calmly, stomping up the stairs to his room in the attic.