(DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of their characters and props. But I do own my OCs.)

Chapter 11 – Lessons of Defense

The sunrise peered through the window and brushed its warmth across Sonic's face. The light hit his eyelids, forcing them to open to a new day. He sat up while stretching his arms and released a deep yawn. He blinked away his sleepiness as he lazily looked around Carrie's room. His tired eyes fell upon the sleeping teenage girl and faintly smiled at the sight.

Carrie was curled up on her side and was facing him. During her slumber, she subconsciously turned her pillow vertical and hugged it close to her chest like a teddy bear. The scene reminded Sonic of when he first found her… but she seemed more peaceful than hurt. Her covers slid down to her waist over the night, leaving her slightly shivering from the morning chill. He quietly crawled over to her bed and delicately pulled her blanket to her shoulders. Her shivering stopped and she smiled in her sleep.

Sonic crawled back over his bed and jumped onto the cold floor. He stretched again and walked over to her door so he could the bathroom across the hall. He waited for the door to open for it usually opened and closed automatically. Sonic raised an eyebrow when nothing happened. He shrugged it off and pushed the open button.

Again, nothing.

Sonic blinked and tried again.

Still nothing.

"What the?" he mumbled. He continuously pressed the button but no avail. He stepped back to stop himself from breaking the door. "Maybe there's a code… Carrie would know it." He looked back at the sleeping form and contemplated his situation. Ok, I may need a code to get out and Carrie probably knows it… but she's sleeping. She hasn't had a good night's sleep in awhile so I kinda don't wanna disturb her. But dammit! I need to PEE!

His brow furrowed at his dilemma. His bladder felt like it was going to burst so he crossed his legs and began hopping nervously. "Screw it, Carrie would want me to wake her up! Not have an accident on her floor!" With that, he zoomed next to her and shook her shoulder. "Carrie?"

She mumbled but remained asleep. Sonic shook her shoulder again but this time it was a little bit rougher. "CARRIE!"

"AHH!" Carrie screamed as she sat up abruptly. But instead of sitting up entirely, she banged her forehead on Sonic's forehead. Sonic stumbled back and fell as he grasped his hurting head. Carrie moaned in pain as she rubbed her forming bump. "Ow…."

"You're telling me," Sonic mumbled as he stood up.

Carrie shook the dizziness from her head and looked at Sonic with confusion. "Why did you wake me up like that? You scared me shitless."

"I know, I know! I'm sorry!" Sonic hopped up and down again as his bladder screamed at him. "Butyourdoorwon'topenandithinkyouneedacodetoopenitandithoughtyouwouldhavethecode!"

"….What?" Carrie blinked.

"Open door! PLEASE!" Sonic pleaded with big, watery eyes.

Carrie jumped out of her bed and tried to open her door. She hit the open button a couple of times and got really confused. "Um… my door won't open."

"Use you code!" Sonic hopped over next to her.

"Code? What code?" she blinked at him again. "I don't have a code to get in and out."

"Wha?" Sonic panicked as he continued to jump and down.

"Um, do you need to use the bathroom or something?"

"YES!" Sonic wailed as he paced back and forth.

"Then why won't you use the bathroom?" she raised her eyebrow.

"Because the bathroom is out THERE!" Sonic pointed toward the door.

"But I have one in here…."

"Wait, what?" Sonic looked around but saw nothing. "Where?"

"It's kinda hard to find… here," she walked over to the wall on her left. She walked up to the creased wall and viola, a sliding door opened and bathroom was revealed. Sonic practically heard a choir sing 'Hallelujah' as the bathroom shone with heavenly light. She moved to the side as Sonic zoomed past her and shut the door.

Carrie walked over to her window and gazed at the sunrise. She turned back around when the bathroom door opened, you could hear the toilet finish flushing and the sink turning off. He walked out with relief written all over his face.

"How come I don't have a bathroom?" Sonic asked himself.

"I thought we all had ones… at least that's what I heard from Chris." Carrie answered as she looked back outside. She stretched and yawned while saying her last sentence. "They're hard to find, so you probably didn't see it."

"Well, I better do a bathroom hunt when we get out of here," Sonic joked as he stood beside Carrie. "I wonder what's wrong with your door."

On the other side of the door, Knuckles was rolling on the ground trying hard not to laugh out loud. He put his paws over his mouth as he stifled a giggle. A screwdriver was on the floor, directly underneath the door's dissected control panel.

Carrie shrugged as she turned to him. "Not so sure, myself. But I'm sure Tails can get us out. But it's so early; you think we should wait an hour or so?"

"He should be up anyway… He's an early bird." Sonic walked over to the phone and pressed a number that would call Tails. He waited a moment until he got an answer.

"Hello?"

"Mornin, bro."

"Hey, Sonic. Uh, what are you doing up this early?"

"Well, I went to use the bathroom in the hall but Carrie's door won't open."

"Really? Carrie has a bathroom, ya know. Everyone has their own bathroom."

"I know NOW." Sonic growled in annoyance.

"Oh… I forgot to tell you that, huh?"

"Why yes… yes you DID."

"Hehheh," Tails' voice scratched nervously. "Sorry, Sonic."

"It's ok," Sonic waved the subject away. "Can you get us out?"

"Oh sure, I'll be right there-OUCH!" There was a short pause before Tails quickly added. "Actually, it's going to take awhile!"

"Huh? Why? It should only take you a minute." Sonic raised his brow in suspicion.

"Well, there are lots of things to do on the ship! It may take awhile for me to get those done."

"Why can't you let us out first AND THEN you go do the things?" Sonic tapped his foot in annoyance. "Actually, if you let us out, I'll be glad to help."

"No! I mean, no. It's something that I can only do! Because… it's a policy, yes! A policy! And I can't let you out because… because…."

"Because….?"

"These things are the reasons why you are locked in!"

"Oh really," Sonic's eye started to twitch. "So, what are you waiting for? GO FIX IT!"

With that, Sonic hung up the phone and pouted childishly. He stomped over to his bed and sat down with his arms crossed. Carrie just stared blankly at him.

Tails hung up his phone and glared at Rouge.

"You know," Tails continued his glare. "You didn't have to hit me."

Rouge just smirked devilishly and shrugged.

An hour has passed for Sonic and Carrie as they were locked in her room. Carrie went into her bathroom 5 minutes ago to take a shower while Sonic still moped in annoyance on his bed. He could hear the water from where he was as he glared out the window.

Policy and something's wrong with the ship, ha! Yeah right… something is going on and they're not telling me. Sonic grumbled inside of his head as he continued to listen to the shower running. Tails was acting just as weird as Knuckles last night. Something is going on and I hate being left in the dark.

Sonic's ears perked up slightly when the shower turned off. He heard the curtain open and heard Carrie's soft steps stumble out of the shower. The wounds on her feet probably still hurts… they were punctured pretty bad. Sonic glared harder out the window. They hurt her pretty bad all together… man, when I get my hands on those creatures….

"Sonic?" Carrie called from the inside of her bathroom. She sounded kind of embarrassed.

"Yeah?" Sonic's glare disappeared as he turned his head toward the bathroom door.

"Um… can you grab a towel from the closet? I kinda forgot to bring it with me."

"Uh, sure. I'll grab one and leave it next to the door. I'll let you know when I'm turned around, k?"

"K, thank you!"

Sonic jumped off the bed and walked over to the closet. Fortunately for him, the towels were easy to find. He grabbed them and walked over to the bathroom.

On the other side of the door, Carrie stepped closer to the door knowing Sonic will be dropping off her towels any second. But they forgot something… the doors open automatically when it senses movement.

Just as Sonic went to sent down the towel, the sliding door flew open and there stood a very, VERY naked Carrie. Sonic stood there dumbfounded as he saw her bare curves for the first time. But what got to him was that her beautiful body was adorned in wounds. Her legs, torso, everything was covered in cuts, bruises and scrapes.

She stood there for a second, unsure of what just happened. "Hey, Carrie?" the young Carrie sang in her mind. "You do realize the door is open… and you're naked… in front of Sonic?"

"Ah!" Carrie gasped at the embarrassing realization. A faint crimson blush filled her cheeks as she quickly attempted to cover herself with her arms. She felt exposed all over again as her mind played a flashback.

FLASHBACK

A group of men stood around her and laughed. She stood in the middle of the tight circle naked and exposed to their wandering eyes. They reached out and touched her in ways she never wanted to be touched. They grip harshly in ways she never wanted to be grabbed. Tears trickled down her cheek as their perverted laughter continued.

END FLASHBACK

Carrie stood there scared as Sonic started to stutter an apology.

"I-I'm sorry, Carrie!" he quickly turned around while his face was beet red. He felt embarrassed when he saw her bare form, but he felt horrible when he saw the mortification in her eyes. "The door just opened and I…I mean… Shit, I'm sorry, Carrie!" He held out the towel toward her while still looking away. He waited patiently for Carrie to take the towel. A minute has passed and she didn't take the towel. He got worried and thought she was being haunted again. "Carrie? You ok?"

Nothing.

He breathed in slowly as he prepared himself to turn around. "Listen, I'm going to turn around." When he got no response, he carefully turned to her. Pain hit his heart as he saw Carrie kneeled on the ground, hugging herself as she curled down to the floor. You couldn't see her private areas but you could see her tears dripping onto the tiles below her.

Carrie kept her eyes tightly shut as she tried to rid the familiar images. She trembled from the slightly chilly room as she whimpered pleas of 'stop it' and 'please don'ts'. Her cries were very quiet but Sonic seemed to hear them as he walked tentatively up to her. She felt warmth consume her as he wrapped the big towel around her shoulders. Her eyes snapped opened as she looked up at him in surprise. She wasn't used to this… every time she was exposed; at least one man would touch and rape her. It was not as if she expected Sonic to do that but she almost forgot where she was. She was no longer with those men in that horrid warehouse; she was here with people who want to protect her. She was with Sonic who swore to protect her from the darkness because she was his friend.

He made sure that the towel was securely wrapped around her body. After he was finished, he looked into her eyes with sadness. Did she think he was going to hurt her? It sure seemed like it when coward down in fear and looked at him shocked when he did nothing. He brushed a strand of her drenched hair away from her face as he kneeled in front of her. She didn't flinch away when he touched her cheek; she just stared at him as if she didn't know he was there.

"Carrie," he whispered as he moved more strands of hair from her eyes. "I would never hurt you, let alone do something to you that you wouldn't allow. You know that, right?"

She numbly nodded as he sighed back. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"It wasn't you that I was scared of," she rasped out.

Sonic opened his eyes and looked into her emerald orbs. His look told her to continue.

"I-I…" she looked down with shame. "I just saw things again… I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. You did nothing wrong."

"Except for forgetting that the bathroom door is automatic," she weakly joked.

Sonic smiled and chuckled softly. "Well, we're both to blame there."

"Sonic, teach me." Carrie looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Teach you what?" Sonic asked as he absent-mindedly adjusted her towel to cover her more.

"How to fight… how to defend myself." She again looked down from Sonic's surprised face. "I don't want to be hurt again. I want to be able to prevent it… at least try to." She looked into his eyes that were filled with sympathy. "You're not always going to be around to save me… and I don't want to be guarded all the time. Can you teach me how to defend myself? At least the basics?"

Sonic nodded and smiled at her determination. "Ok, I'll give you the basics for now."

"Thank you," she smiled appreciably.

"Get dressed, your lesson starts now."

"Shouldn't we let them out already?" Chris asked worriedly. "They're probably getting hungry."

Everyone was in the command room. While Tails piloted the ship, everyone was watching the scanners in hopes of detecting the chaos emeralds.

"They're fine," Shadow huffed.

"Yeah," Knuckles agreed. "We'll let them out in a little bit."

"Till then," Rouge perked. "I think I'm gonna grab some grub. Care to join, Knuxxie?"

"In your dreams, you bratty bat." Knuckles growled as he kept his eyes on the scanner.

"Ok, then… I guess I'll go by myself… alone… where you don't know what I might do… what I might steal." Rouge walked away while smirking as she continued to tease the echidna.

Knuckles eyes widened as he ran after her. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THE EMERALDS, YOU BAT FROM HELL!"

Everyone shook their heads at the two.

"They're going to get married one day," Amy stated as she continued to work.

"Ok, Carrie, I'm top of you, ready to do my… rapist thing. Quick! What do you do?"

Sonic pinned Carrie to the ground, his hands gripped her wrists as his face was close to hers. She thought quickly and recited what she was told before.

"I knee your butt," she kneed his rear. "As you lose your balance, I move my arm that has less weight on it," she did just that. "Knee you again and throw you off!" With that, she kneed his butt and threw him off of her. She smiled apologetically as Sonic sat up while rubbing his butt.

"That was good, Carrie." Sonic smiled proudly.

"Thanks… but it may be different with a human being. They are not usually light like a hedgehog."

"Weight and sizes vary. That's why it will be difficult to get out of situations like that… especially if they're heavy."

"But I at least I have an idea of what to do," she stated as she held up her finger like a good scholar. She stood up and dusted herself off. She was wearing cargo khakis, a red faded shirt and black shoes.

"Good thinking, Carrie. Now," Sonic grinned as he jumped at her pushed her to the wall (but wasn't too rough). When she hit the wall, Sonic pulled her down to his level. He gripped both hands around her throat and held her there. He didn't grip hard to the point of choking but it was enough to startle her. "What do you think you should do?"

Carrie froze in terror.

"Carrie," Sonic started while still holding her. "I know you're scared. And being scared can make you freeze up like you are now. Instead of letting your emotions put you on hold, use your emotions to get you out."

Carrie thought for a moment and then tried to move Sonic's arms. He wouldn't budge, she tried other ways like pushing him… but he stayed put. She sighed as she looked at him, waiting for him to tell her what she should do.

"Give up?" Sonic asked. He continued when she nodded. "Ok, there are many ways to get out of this one. You could knee the guy down below. You could do the 'thumbs in the eyes' trick. But whatever you do, do not panic. You're body will freak out and will have a hard time reacting, and the result is death. If you stay calm, you're body will be able fight back more easily and efficiently. Got it?" She nodded. "Good. After you weaken your offender, it will be easier for you to push the bastard off of you. This is actually easier than the 'pinning to the ground' thing."

With that, he let go and helped Carrie up.

"We've been at this for an hour. Let's take a break," Sonic suggested. His stomach started to growl and he laughed nervously. "Heh, it's about lunch time and I'm hungry."

"I'm afraid I don't have anything in here to eat," Carrie said.

"Well, you weren't planning on getting locked up in here. Which reminds me, when are they going to get us out?" He walked up to the door and kicked it hard. "Man, if this was my door, I would've just broken it down. I hate staying in one spot for a long time."

After he said that, the door opened and reveal Chris. He smiled chirpily and waved at the two.

"Hey, guys!" Chris greeted as he moved aside to let them out. He hid a screwdriver in his pocket. "Sorry it took so long. I bet you two are hungry."

"Damn straight, we are!" Sonic crossed his arms and tapped his foot. Carrie just timidly nodded.

"Well," Chris started as they walked toward the kitchen. "Amy and Cream are making sub sandwiches for lunch."

"Chris?" Sonic walked beside him as he kept his arms crossed. "Did someone lock that door on purpose?"

"Huh?" Chris laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head. "What do you mean? Who would do that?"

"Ha!" Sonic stopped and pointed at Chris accusingly. "You're laughing nervously which means you know something that I don't!"

"What?" Chris continued to walk as he looked away. "I don't know what you are talking about, Sonic. C'mon, Carrie is probably hungry and you are too."

Carrie and Sonic watched Chris as he walked away. They exchanged confused looks before they followed the pre-teen boy.