Chapter 9
After he was done packing, marveling at the small bundle of clothes he had already accumulated in a few days (Lady Wyndermere had taken he and his brother shopping for casual and formal clothing after school on Wednesday), he went to see his uncle. The old hedgehog was still recovering from his wounds.
"Uncle Chuck?" Sonic asked, suddenly nervous. This man had deceived him and mistreated him, but he needed to talk to him.
Sir Charles smiled at his nephew as he entered. "Sonic, it's… it's good of you to come visit me. I know you must despise me." He turned his head.
He stood in the doorway, looking down and shuffling his feet. "I'm angry with you, over what you did. I despise your actions. But I don't despise you. No matter how much I want to, I don't. But you risked your life to try and make things right so… I'm willing to give you another chance."
Charles nodded. "How are you enjoying school? I saw you dancing with Princess Sally last night." The hedgehog said, taking the conversation to more pleasant realms.
"Yeah, Sally is my shop partner." He took a few minutes to tell him about their model car. "And Sally is really talented. She built her own dirtbike and races on the school team."
Chuck chuckled. "And you joined the track team. That's a more appropriate use of your talents. I'm sorry that I made you use them in a false war. I was so angry with Robotnik… I let my desire for revenge cloud my judgment."
Sonic bit his lip. "I wish I could say I understand. Because I know the other side of the story now, at least part of it. I'm just a dumb teenager too, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. Maybe I'm just a fool. Just, please, if you are planning something, I beg you to either come clean or rethink it. This is your last chance." He turned and left.
In the pitch black of his dreams, Sonic walked around aimlessly. He didn't know which way to go. A mysterious voice sang out to him and he looked around. "Who's there? Where are you?" The call came again and he ran towards it as fast as he could, only to be thrown back by a mysterious force. He knew that voice. He needed to find that voice. He tried to run towards it again but again he was thrown back.
He remembered what Coach had told him. "Maybe try walking instead." He walked forward and after a few minutes, he realized it was working. He was getting somewhere. The call continued to sing out to him. The call became a soft lullaby that he remembered but he couldn't think where he heard it. He followed the sound until he couldn't go any further. There was a figure in the corner. He couldn't see the face but he knew she was the voice. "Who are you?" He asked but before the figure could answer, she vanished and a trapdoor opened under the hedgehog and he fell. Down, down, down, until he splashed into a pool of water. He gasped as he tried to stay afloat, to no avail.
He bolted upright in his bed as he opened his eyes, realizing it was just a dream. Sonic looked around him. The voice was still ringing in his head but there was no one there. He wiped his brow and decided to get something to drink. Something to settle his nerves.
He walked through the corridors. It looked so different in the dark and he didn't remember the tour from the evening before. He heard strange noises coming from down the hall. From what was Lady Wyndermere's room. How had he gotten there? But he knew she could put him right again. He put his ear to the door. "Oh, Julian… you know how to make a woman feel loved…" Sonic's mouth fell and he pulled away. Dr. Robotnik was in there? With his mother? He frowned as he realized what was wrong with that thought. She wasn't his mother. She was just a really nice person who cared for him and his siblings. It was enough that she had given up her life to raise his sister. He had no right to think of her that way. He had a mother out there that needed them to find her.
He went to talk to his sister, frowning as he recognized similar sounds coming from her bedroom, only she was moaning Bartleby's name. He cringed and went back to his room. He jumped when he saw a shrouded figure in the room.
"Oracle!" He yelped. "Wow, you need a bell around your neck or something." He said. "I'm sorry, but I haven't been able to tell them yet. And I couldn't stay with the Resistance…"
Oracle smiled in a kindly manner and drew near Sonic. "You're doing very well, Sonic. You found your brother and sister. With their help, you will find your mother." He assured the blue hedgehog. He waved his hand and a glass of water appeared. "You seem disheveled. I believe you got up for this?"
Sonic accepted the water and nodded. "Then I heard sounds. Terrible sounds. Nightmare sounds. I had to come back." He shivered.
The seer laughed. "Those sounds are just the sounds of life, dear boy. If you have questions, you should ask them tomorrow. How are you enjoying living with your sister? Have they been good to you here?"
Sonic nodded. "Lady Wyndermere is really nice. She's letting me go to school and I'm learning how to read. Did… did you know what Uncle Chuck did? Did you know?"
A kindly hand touched his shoulder. "I saw what your uncle was doing to you and I knew that you needed to get out. It's not right that children should be used as weapons against an innocent man."
"But what about my mom and my siblings and I all beating Robotnik? I thought we were supposed to find each other and bring Mom home and beat him?" Sonic asked. "I'm so confused."
Oracle nodded. "There are rules to being an oracle. Some of those rules include not being able to give direct responses or guidance. I can give you the broad strokes but you have to fill in the details yourself. Now, you should drink your water and go to sleep. I promise, Sonic, you will find your mother. In the meantime, your mother wouldn't mind if you wanted to claim another. Someone who clearly wants to care for you. Sometimes you have to choose your own family." He pat Sonic's head and vanished.
The blue hedgehog took a small sip of water and laid back in his big, plush bed. It felt so good, much better than the cot he slept on in the resistance. He closed his eyes, thinking of what Oracle said.
The next morning, Sonic sat in front of his pancakes with a tired expression on his face. He was hungry but he couldn't lift the fork. He smiled tiredly up at Lady Wyndermere when she touched his hand in concern. "I'm okay… I'm just tired. I had a rough night." Sonia and his brother were still in bed. So was Robotnik apparently.
She nodded. "Nightmares?" She asked knowingly and she comfortingly stroked his spikes in understanding when he nodded. "If you ever want to, you're always welcome to come talk to me after a nightmare. I stay up long hours reading and such."
He chuckled and nodded. "I did come… I was looking for the kitchen and couldn't remember which way to turn and I ended up outside your door. I was going to knock but…" He turned a little green as he recalled the sounds. "I heard the 'and such' part."
She seemed to understand what he was going to say. "Ah… so you heard… Yes… I am sorry you had to hear that dear."
Sonic nodded. "Are you and Robotnik an item or something?" He asked.
She sighed. "Well, we are very close. He is a very dear friend, one that I treasure. And neither of us are in a position to remarry." She explained. "We're what some might call friends with benefits. But no, we aren't in love like Sonia and Bartleby are. Do you have any questions about what you heard? Did your uncle at least have that talk with you?"
He shrugged. "Not really… but the other guys in the resistance told me some stuff. So you can do that with someone without it meaning anything?"
She patted his hand. "It's not recommended. Don't get me wrong. It's best when it's between husband and wife. He and I could actually get into a lot of trouble if it became officially discovered. If you get my meaning."
"Meaning keep my mouth shut. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone…" He promised. He wasn't about to tell her that he'd heard his sister last night too. "The other guys in the resistance talk about it graphically. I was never really comfortable talking about it with them."
Wyndermere nodded. "Normally, this is a talk that you have with a male role model but if you like I can help you or…. I know Julian would be able to talk to you about it… or I'm sure Ferrell could have that talk with you. If you'd feel more comfortable with a male."
Sonic considered it. "I don't know if I could talk with Robotnik about it. I mean… a week ago I could not be in the same room with him… I don't think I could talk to him about that?" He looked up as he heard footsteps.
"What can't you talk with whom about?" Robotnik asked as he made his plate, piling it high with bacon and sausage and pancakes which he coated with butter and syrup.
The blue hedgehog blushed and Ginny giggled. "Sonic heard us last night, Julian…" She explained. The big cheeks flushed red. "And apparently, this is another area of his education that was neglected by his uncle."
Robotnik nodded. "Ahhh, yes, the Birds and the Bees… What do you want to know?" He asked.
Sonic swallowed as he considered his options. "Well… my resistance friends talk about it and it gets very weird because I don't really understand it…"
He nodded. "I can understand that. Did you ever ask your uncle where babies come from?" He asked. When Sonic didn't answer, he could guess that he had but had not gotten a response or one that he understood or liked. "Alright, so we start from the beginning, a very good place to start as a wise woman once said. When a man and a woman love each other very much…"
Sonia smiled as she woke up in her bed. She felt refreshed and relaxed after her night. She rolled over and smiled at her lover. "Good morning, my love…" She kissed him deeply.
"Good morning…" The mink said as he pulled her into his arms, cuddling with her. "Did you sleep well? You seem in better spirits."
"I am in much better spirits. Thank you for last night my darling. I needed that…" She laid her head against his chest. "I can't wait until we don't have to worry about someone finding us." She groaned as her stomach kicked her. "I'll be right back." She ran to her bathroom and the sounds of retching echoed out.
Bartleby went to her side, holding back her hair. "This is the second morning you've gotten sick my dear. Are you feeling alright?" He asked.
She nodded. "I'm fine. Just indigestion. Last night's dinner didn't agree with me. I think the sausage was off." She stood and cleaned herself up. "Come on, we should go to breakfast." She kissed him once more to silence anymore concerns before getting dressed.
"The most important thing is to use protection and both parties must consent." Robotnik reached the crux of the discussion. "And you want to be sure that you and your partner are ready for that step and any consequences that result. Do you understand?"
Sonic nodded, his mind reeling. It was a lot of information to process. "And that's how you make a baby? All of that stuff they talk about. It's to make a baby? Wow… then you two?"
Both adults laughed and shook their heads. "I'm too old dear." Lady Wyndermere explained. "And I was never very fertile as it is. I was blessed that your mother chose me to adopt Sonia." She smiled and looked at him seriously. "Although… I was wondering if you would allow me to adopt you? To make you my son." She reached over and stroked his spikes in the way that soothed him when he was overwrought.
Sonic looked up at her. "You want to… but… I have a mother… Aleena…" He said.
She nodded. "Yes. She is Sonia's mother and Manic's as well. If she returns, she is welcome to be part of our family. You can have more than one mother at a time." She reassured him. "And I would be happy to help you find her." She looked at Robotnik who bit his lip.
"Aleena is welcome to return. I never had a problem with her. She was my friend…" The old man pulled out a locket he kept and offered it to Sonic. When he opened it, half of the locket was Maria but the other side was a hedgehog woman with purple hair. "She fled when I killed your father…" He saw Sonic freeze. "Your father killed Maria. And...
Sonic looked back down at the picture. "Uncle Chuck said you would roboticize her if she came home. But…" He pondered the picture in the heart-shaped locket.
"Your mother gave me that when I told her that María and I were leaving the city… Your father found out and he attacked the estate. Your uncle killed the Montclairs…" He sighed wistfully as Sonic returned the locket. "She's been afraid of me but if she came home, I would be happy to welcome her."
Sonic nodded. "You talk as though you loved her…" Looking into the red and black eyes, he saw many emotions. How could he have feared this man? How could he have thought so badly about him?
Robotnik looked at the photos. "It's complicated. You'll find love often is. In fact, it's best to avoid it until you are absolutely sure you've found the right person for you."
Green-eyes absorbed the advice and he heard Wyndermere call his attention back to her. "I'm sorry ma'am. But… are you sure you want to adopt me?"
She nodded. "I am, Sonic. I've already done the same for Manic. I would like to call all three of you, my children." She kissed his forehead.
Sonic thought about it for all of a moment. "Yes. Please. I want you to be my mom. One of my moms." She smiled and hugged him close, claiming her third son. For the first time since his childhood it felt like someone really loved him. That he was more than just a weapon.
AN: Sorry this chapter took so long, I was working on another story.