It was therapeutic to beat them up every day. He never realized how much ent up aggression he had against the villagers for all their years of bullshit to him. However, Sonic never accounted for something. That Robotnik's old right hands would still be alive and in fighting shape. They had heard the rumors that the eldest prince had been sighted in the village along with Eggman, the closest living relative to Robotnik, and decided to show up to the party. Sleet rode into town using Dingo when he spotted a familiar face wandering on the outskirts. It was that damned echidna!
"Well well well," he said to Dingo as they pulled up beside him, "Fancy seeing you here Guardian." Knuckles blinked at him in confusion. "Who's Guardian," he asked, "My name is Knuckles." Sleet was quiet for a minute before he started to laugh. He laughed so hard he fell off of Dingo and onto the remote turning him back into his hulking form. "Oh god," he said through his wheezing much to the confusion of the two morons in his company, "She got to you. OH you poor bastard!" He gripped Knuckles face in his hand to get a better look at that dumbfounded face.
"All that loyalty," he said, the grin on his face becoming sharp, "All that time protecting those three annoyances. All that time fighting for freedom and they take it away the first time you disobey." Knuckles slapped away his hand, stumbling back his head pounding. He gripped his head as his skull felt like it was about to crack open like Eggman's crappy robots. "What," he said, struggling to speak around the pain, "the hell are you talking about?" Sleet just grinned.
"Oh don't worry," Sleet said as he pointed his remote at Dingo turning him into a baseball bat, "You won't need to know after I'm through with you." He swung at Knuckles but has barely stopped through muscle memory alone. As the fight went on, Sleet could see bits of how the guardian fought years ago as well as frantic tapping on his watch. "KNUX," shouted a pink hedgehog welding a huge hammer ran in to save the echidna. She launched the two bounty hunters backwards as a lanky blue one tried to help Knuckles to his feet. Sleet grit his teeth and swung his Dingo bat at the girl knocking her aside.
Sonic was trying to calm down the episode Knuckles was having every way he knew how. He was blocking out light as best he could for him and attempted to at least muffle the sounds of battle with humming. His humming froze when he saw the shadow that loomed over the two of them. His eye sight tunneled and it was like he was a child again. Sleet was standing over him laughing. Knuckles was hurt and he had no idea where his siblings could be in the base. He wouldn't let them be robotosied. He wouldn't! "GAH!"
Sonic panted heavily as he stood over the prone forms of the two villains. His guitar was in his hands still smoking. "Sonic," Amy gasped running over to get in his face, "You're the prince?! Oh my gosh! I've been being annoyed all these years by a prince." She ran off into the village shouting about her discovery while Sonic was still recovering from his flashback. Well no point hiding now. He let the guitar disappear and took off his scarf to wrap it around Knuckles' eyes so he could walk him into the village. He kicked the two villains as he walked by them out of pettiness. "Come on Knux," he said, "Let's go get Meh burger." He kept walking with him and sat him down even as the villagers chattered at him as he passed by.
He didn't respond to a single request for an autograph. He didn't respond to Amy or Tails getting mad at him for leading them on a wild goose chase. Sonic just went home. He went into his backroom with his friends tailing him talking all the while but it was like they were muted. He shoved his bed to the side and pulled up the floorboards beneath it to the ground below. Then he started digging. Sticks came up beside him to help him and he was grateful she had stopped babbling at him. The whole opened up to an old metal box sealed up tight. "Sonic what is," Amy started to say when Sonic glared her into silence. "Leave," he said, his tone making it clear he didn't want to hear any argument. They scurried out of his house and he turned back to the box. His guitar came to his hands and he began strumming his part to the song his siblings had used to find each other when they would be separated by missions.
The box began to warp as if it was liquid forming the shapes of his brother and sister. They were playing along until both metallic versions of his siblings became life sized. "Yo bro," Manic said with a smile on his face as he hugged him the metal statue even feeling like the real thing, "What's with the emergency call?" "Not good news I'll tell you that," Sonic said gripping his little brother's shoulders. He'd gotten so tall. "Sonic what happened," Sonia asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Have either of you gotten messages in your town that dear old Ma is looking for us," Sonic asked and he could see the worry come into Sonia's eyes. "Oh Sonic," she said, her statue leaking metal tears, "She found you didn't she." "Sleet and Dingo showed up," Sonic admitted, "I had been so careful but they were attacking Knuckles during an episode and I just.." He didn't finish as his little bro wrapped him in a hug and his sister joined into the group hug.
"Speaking of the rad red warrior," Manic said gently, "How's he doing these days?" Sonic gave a sad snort. "He has good and bad days," he admits, "But he does recall things sometimes like once when Tails was trying to prove dream significance he essentially admitted he dreams about being the guardian again as well as us and mom." Sonia looked ecstatic, "Oh Sonic that's great. Now have you been taking care of yourself as well?" He smiled at his sister. "As well as I can," he admits, "but I called to warn you because if she has me she will double her efforts to find you so maybe lay low." "I'll let Cyrus know you'll be in the neighborhood again," Manic said, "We aren't going to let her win so just hang tight bro." Sonic nodded, "Ok but don't do anything too reckless Manic." That made them laugh. "Jeez if I'm hearing that from you things must be dire," he said laughing before the metal melted back into the solid form of a box, time having run out.
Sonic opened the door to the room and stepped out to where his friends were all sitting. He held up his hand as Amy opened her mouth and walked to his kitchen to get a glass of water. Once he had one in his hand, he waved his hand to let her know she could talk. "Sonic why didn't you tell us," Amy asked, "Don't you want to see your mother again?" "Yeah sure," Sonic said with false enthusiasm, "I totally want to see my narcissistic manipulative BITCH of a mother. Good job Amy because I totally wasn't living here in secret for no reason at all!" Amy looked hurt at the outburst, but Sonic couldn't bring himself to care. "I mean really," he said gesturing angrily, "I was in hiding! I told none of you who I was not even not even fucking Tails and you just assume 'Oh Sonic is a prince better go tell everyone'. I mean what made you think that was smart!"
"Sonic please calm down," Tails said jumping off the couch, "Sure she messed up but that's no reason to blow up like you are!" "No reason to," Sonic repeated in astonishment, "no reason to blow up?! Did you not hear what I called my mother?!" Tails took a step back as well and Sonic felt like screaming. He stomped over to the door and threw it open. "Amy stay here with Knuckles," he said lingering in the doorway, "he needs to eat in an hour and after he's hurt he only eats soup. There are leftovers of his favorite in the fridge with the date on them and make sure he drinks water. I'm going out." "Wait Sonic," Amy started to say but was cut off by him slamming the door shut behind him. He took off running to one of Eggman's little zones for training his bots. It was thankfully swarming when he climbed a nearby tree. Sonic summoned his guitar and began shooting into their midst.
None of the shots were clean. He aimed for legs, for arms and watched them scatter in the clearing. Eventually, the heavy hitter bots spotted him and fired at him. He ducked under the beams with a practiced ease before viscously kicking upward into the firing arm. It flew off into the forest as he used the momentum to launch himself into it's head, kicking it clean off. Another heavy swarmed him with its sharp pincers clicking loudly against each other. Sonic side stepped each swipe getting close to his face. Sonic grabbed onto its wrists on the next sweeping attack. He planted his feet into its face harshly. "FUCK YOU," he shouted, "Fuck you, you maipulative bitch! I HATE YOU!" His feet reduced the bot's head to slag with how fast he was stomping.
Sonic panted and turned on the frozen bots that had been watching in AI fueled terror. He massacred them. No holds barred as he littered the ground with spare parts, but then he ran out of things to hit. He ran out of things to wear his mother's face. He ran out of things to scream at for making him the caretaker for his mentally ill friend. Sonic stood in the wreckage blood still boiling when he felt something behind him. He whirled to see the scowling face of Shadow. "Are you done now Hedgehog," he asked, kicking a piece of metal with his foot, "Or do you need more of the Doctor's creations to call mother?" "What the hell do you care," Sonic said, his voice hoarse from yelling. Shadow just stared at him contemplatively. "Do you feel better," he asked watching his face closely, "Or are you still faking little prince?" "DON'T FUCKING CALL ME THAT," Sonic shouted aiming a punch at the ultimate lifeform, but he was tired and his form sloppy from anger.
Shadow easily tossed him to the ground, and Sonic stayed there feeling so very burnt out. "Are you done then," Shadow said, crouching down, "Because you're acting like a child. Some freedom fighter you are if the mere mention of your mother sends you running with your tail between your damn legs." "Shut up," mumbled Sonic. "You are a hero," Shadow continued, "your mother isn't the only one with powers is she? Are you just going to let her have this power over you? Are you just never even going to try?" "I said shut up," Sonic repeated a bit louder. "You are a coward Sonic," Shadow hissed, "You are a damned coward and you finally have a chance to face everything you've been running from. You can't just sit on the goddamned fence anymore trying to run from your own name. It's time to either stand up or just lay down and let your mother enslave everyone, maybe then you and knuckles can be morons together. A wonderful power couple of slaves in a world ruled by a psycho narcissist!"
"I SAID TO SHUT UP," Sonic said, shooting up to land a punch on Shadow's face. The ultimate lifeform stumbled backward from shock. "WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO," he shouted feeling his eyes get hot, he hated that he was crying in front of this jerk but he was well past able to hold them in, "I searched for her for so long wanting that happy family only to have it torn from me by her essentially killing my closest friend! She was going to use us to do it again!" Shadow fiddled with his jaw a bit. "I'm not saying you had a lot of options," he said, "I am saying you can't run again. She will keep finding you. You will never get a happy ending you and your sappy friends so desperately want this way! If you want to live your life fight for it, otherwise what's the damn point of living!" Sonic agressivley wiped at his eyes and Shadow looked away respectfully. "God you suck at speeches," Sonic said, feeling much calmer. Shadow clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Whatever Faker. Just go home before you attract the Doctor's attention."
The black hedgehog sped off into the night to return to wherever the jerk lived. Sonic stood there in the wreckage for a bit longer. Shadow was right, he was a coward. The thought startled a laugh out of him that turned hysterical and knocked him on his ass. He laughed into the dirt so hard tears came back. God he really had gone insane or he wouldn't be sitting here laughing with the barest plan to dethrone his bitch mother forming in his head. Eventually he got to his feet and trudged back to his home. It was late and Amy was asleep on his couch along with the rest of his friends. He snuck by them and into his bathroom for a shower. Afterwards, he found himself standing over them. He grabbed some blankets from the rooms draping them over the little cuddle pile before easing himself in between Amy and Knuckles to get some sleep.