My confidence in my storytelling hasn't actually risen at all as I reread my work. But so far, no one's complaining, so I don't feel a need to re-write anything. But I still want to do something, so I'm thinking of making a side-story or two that goes more in-depth with Samuel's past, and how Soreans work. I actually want that story to be the one to start my use of fan-characters, so I will be accepting applications for people Samuel might meet along the way, like people that are better than him (Because in this story, most of his feats are things he did with others, or some sort of outside help, so he's not actually that good at fighting, or much else) people who try to be nice to him, or people wouldn't get along with him. These people could be of any group.

Song: Midna's Lament

Samuel sat down in a dark room in his house. He began to meditate. Big and Ray sat there with him.

'I remember thinking about how different my father's opinion on others was compared to my mother, but I can't remember how he thought of them.'

He gave up eventually, then shared a look with Ray and Big. "If that paper was real, then it may be… that my father isn't dead after all. But with the things he may have done, that may not actually be a good thing." They were listening intently. "Promise me this, no matter what I have to do, you two will cut and run at the first sign of danger. Alright?"

Big and Ray shared a look. "Only if you're coming with us."

Samuel sighed. "If only it were that easy."

Samuel walked up to the school with Ray, once again.

"Do you think today will be a good day?" Ray asked. Samuel gave no answer. "Sam?" No response.

Song: None

Ray entered the social studies class and glanced over at Cream and Marine. He wasn't sure if they wanted him to sit with them anymore. 'Well… It's like Samuel says. If something doesn't work out, then it was never meant to be.'

Ray was about to find a new table when Cream and Marine walked in front of him. Cream had a look that Ray thought looked like she wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing. Marine looked emotionless.

"Ray…" Cream began.

"I don't know if Samuel's a Boterac, but I do know that he cares about all of you. He wouldn't hurt you, and neither would I." Ray interrupted.

Marine looked Ray in the eyes for a second. Then she smiled. "That's just what we wanted to hear, mate."

Song: Mini Boss - Ocarina of Time

Second block finished. Samuel's mood didn't improve. He felt the blue emerald's power activating for an unknown reason. He took it out and watched it glow. "This… is kind of pretty."

Suddenly, the kids from yesterday stole it from him. "Hey! Give that back!"

He tried grabbing it, but they kept passing it around. "Nah. I don't think we will."

"It's mine!" He yelled. The rooster kicked him to the ground.

"Quiet, pest." He said. The other students gathered around. Some watched, some participated in the beating. Samuel tucked his legs towards him and wrapped his arms on his head.

"You… don't… belong… here." The rooster said between kicks. Samuel began to blank. He felt something fall on top of him.

"We stole it from the freak! Don't hurt me!"

"Freak?"

"Him! He's a Boterac!"

'Is that why?'

Samuel got off the ground, and picked up the Emerald. He was bleeding. He noticed Shadow standing over the bullies.

Samuel glanced at Shadow. "Go get Maria. Bring the Red Ring." He tried to say, and he fell over.

Song: Bad Apple (English)

Samuel was punched in the lip. He swung at his opponent, who dodged his punch and put him in a headlock. Samuel struggled to get his arms off of him. "Air… ai…"

Samuel woke up in a bed he'd grown too familiar with.

"You know… you're here pretty often." An anthropomorphic girl who was around his age of 6 said to him.

"Shut up, Lucy." Samuel replied.

"How will you ever hope to kill a vampire with your miniscule power?"

"I don't want to hear this from you. I'm gonna get this rant from father anyway."

Lucy giggled. "Your father's pretty hard on you, isn't he?"

"Stop making fun of me. Go back to your palace."

"Have it your way."

"You show no progress!" Samuel's father yelled at him for the 7th time that day alone. He looked like he was a red wolf.

"I don't want to take those classes anymore." Samuel complained. "Those kids are mean to me."

"You need to learn to fend for yourself!"

Samuel started to cry. "I can't!"

"You're supposed to be stronger than your siblings! Your brothers potential is lower than yours, and your sisters is even less! But they don't complain! They have no reason too! They're at the top of their class!"

"I'm not them!" Samuel insisted.

"That's what I said! You're not them! You're better than them! Act like it! Or I'll put you in classes with the mobians and humans!"

"No!" Samuel yelled. "They're even worse!"

"Then get better!" He proceeded to kick Samuel until his mother came home with his brother and sister.

Samuel sat by a river one evening, pawing at the fish. He managed to get everyone that caught his eye. That's one thing his father didn't yell at him for. He had great eyes. He could find anything in front of any color, even if it's the same color.

"I finally found a place where I can just be myself. No Dad to yell at me for not being good enough. No Lucy to make fun of me. No one to hurt me."

Sam heard a voice behind him. "I wouldn't be too sure of that." Samuel turned around to see a yellow bat looking down at him. "There'll always be someone who can find you. Nice or mean, it doesn't matter. You'll be found."

Samuel was scared. 'Who is this guy? What does he want with me?' He got up and started to run, but the bat grabbed him by his shirt collar.

"I want your blood!"

Samuel was paralyzed. "Blood!? You're… a Sorean?"

"I thought Boterac referred to my kind as Vampires." He grabbed Samuel by the neck and bit him.

Samuel could feel the blood slowly being drained out of him.

When he was done, the bat left Samuel with less than half of his blood. "I'll let you die a slow and agonizing death." He turned to leave, but then he looked back. "If you survive, look for a Vincent Alucard."

"Blyxil… no… Ronnie… before you go, tell me who did this." Samuel felt his tears dripping down his cheeks.

His brother, Ronnie, looked back up at him. He was nearing death. Before he spoke a word, he brought out a cloak. A blue one. "Father… cough… left this… cough… I want you… gasp… to have it."

"Who did this to us!?" Samuel screamed.

"A bat… named… Vincent."

"Did no one else survive? Am I the only one?"

"Our family… was the only casualty… The only Boterac… in a human village…"

"I don't care about them. I meant out of us?"

Samuel held on to Ronnie's hand. Not wanting to let go.

"Father…" Ronnie's hand went limp. It felt cold.

Samuel froze. Ronnie's hand slipped out of his.

Samuel didn't want to see his father. He'd sooner go find Lucy. But he found no traces of either of them anywhere. He was filled with guilt and confusion. How did he survive where his brother died? Why did he survive?

He found himself screaming at the moon every night. He'd scream especially loud at full moons.

Everywhere he went in Mazuri, there were people who knew he was a Boterac. He was immediately chased out of the village. He hadn't had a good nights sleep since Vincent showed up.

His hatred for Vincent… for Vampires consumed him. He began to forget everything else. His family, his friends(If he had any), his hopes and dreams, everything. He was nothing but an empty shell.

And he liked it. He felt free. He felt alive.

Song: Sonic Adventure 2 Ending

Samuel awoke with a start to see everyone staring at him. He felt his heart beating fast.

'How long was I out?' Samuels thoughts seemed to echo a bit. He turned around to see a screen that seemed to be showing what he saw. "What… is this?"

He heard a noise. "It's a window to a person's mind." Tails's voice seemed to be echoing as well. "What you see, hear, think, and dream. They're all shown through it."

Samuel turned to Tails, then everyone else who was in the room. Some of them, the Soreans, had nervous expressions. "How much…" Samuel began. '... did you see?' The rest was thought to see if the device really worked.

"You were…" Sonic began. "Losing a fight. In a class, for Boterac."

'They saw.' Lenny thought.

'Quiet!' Kyle and Max said.

Samuel turned towards a window, then back to everyone. His eyes lingered on Jasmine and Cream. "Does this change anything?" He asked. "Between us?" He added. He lowered his head and stared at his sheets.

He looked up and saw Jasmine and Cream walked up to his bed. "Not at all." They said in unison.

Mighty went up to him as well. "Nope."

Sonic and Tails were next. "We're still buds."

Then Silver and Blaze. "You're still you, right?"

Marine and Rouge stood by him as well. "We've got your back."

Everyone else crowded around him too. Ray sat on his bed. "I didn't hear anything from you buddy."

He looked up at Samuel. "I thought that was a given." He laughed, and Sam chuckled as well.

Song: Xion's Theme

Then he noticed Shadow and Espio hanging back. "What about you two?"

Shadow huffed. "Does anyone else notice the plot hole?"

"It's not really a plot hole. More like something we all just glazed over." Espio said.

Samuel remembered it, and the screen must've shown it.

"The cloak!" Rouge exclaimed.

"And Blyxil." Shadow said.

Samuel gazed out the window again. "When my memory began to fade, I started wearing the cloak in the hopes it would stop the process. But it didn't work. It kept going, until I was hanging onto a select few of memories. One was Vincent…" He felt a few presences become uneasy. He thought about using the Telepathy ring, but decided against it. "... And one other was my brothers nickname. I held onto hatred and despair."

Jasmine forced him to turn his head towards them. "Then we'll show you joy." She said.

Samuel smiled a bit. "I suspect my father's been up to something. He said I had the most potential out of my brother and sister, but I was a failure at utilizing it." He stared at Cream. "I think he's been trying to get someone better." He pretended to let his thoughts wander. 'Better… better… batter…' "Cream… could you go get me a cookie?" He took out a few Gold Rings and gave her some. "The machine's just down the hall, if I remember correctly. Marine, Ray, could two you go with her?"

Ray looked confused. "Um… sure."

Samuel waited for them to leave. "Vanilla thought Blyxil raped her, didn't she?"

Silver stared at him. "What are you saying?"

Samuel looked off to the side. "My father left me a cloak… one that resembles that of the Blue Thunder Clan… This isn't a coincidence. I'm sure it isn't."

"None of this really proves we can trust you, does it?" Shadow stated.

Samuel responded by throwing him the purple ring. "You can use it to read minds, and communicate with telepathy. There may be more uses, but that's all I know. Look deep inside of my mind, and look for any malicious intent."

Shadow put the ring on and seemed to be concentrating. Max and Billy saw Shadows presence going through anything that caught his notice. Shadow passed the ring back to Samuel and simply stood there.

"I guess I pass." Samuel said.

"He could very easily have been hiding it within his depths." Jennifer said.

Samuel said nothing. He got off the bed, crouched down, and morphed. What stood in his place was a quadrupedal animal that seemed to have a wolf head, Lion body, and gorilla arms and tail.

Jennifer jumped back, and most Soreans took a more cautious stance.

Samuel just sat there. He looked at everyone, as if he were saying "This is me, and I mean no harm." He howled to the ceiling.

Cream, Marine, and Ray walked in and saw him. They were all wide eyed.

Ray and Cream both walked up to him. "Is this… Samuel?" Cream asked.

Samuel nodded his head. He morphed back into his bipedal form. "I'm not sure why Boterac evolved to be able to do this… but I think it's pretty neat. I used to do this as a kid because it got me free food. I was too young at the time to realise that the people left there stands unattended because they feared me." He paused. "I forgot about this trait when I forgot my lineage but, subconsciously, I missed it. It made me feel free." He smiled a bit, but then he frowned. "Other Boterac don't like anyone who isn't a Boterac. That's why…"

Song: Sora's theme

"No." Sonic interrupted. Jasmine shook her head as well, and Mighty gave him a thumbs up.

"But…" Samuel tried to continue.

"We're not staying here while you go back to Mazuri all by yourself." Jasmine said.

"But it's especially dangerous for Soreans! Mazuri has a population of zero Soreans, and there are multiple reasons for that! It's a Boterac hotspot, for one, and the sun is blazing! Soreans who do go there are either killed or they burn!"

"In terms of taking on a Boterac, I'm sure we've got that covered. Me and Espio can take on you separately." Shadow said.

"Were you even paying attention to my memories!? I'm a runt! A pushover!"

"Which is exactly why you need us to come with you." Mighty said.

Samuel felt tears come down his face. "I don't know if I'm happy you guys care about me enough to risk your lives, or sad that you're going to risk certain death."

Samuel saw Tails thinking about something. He noticed and grinned. "I was planning a device to replace sunblock at the beach, but if I up the power, it could be perfect for this trip to Mazuri!"

Samuel was amazed. Then he smiled. "You know… if you ever need any help with your devices, just call me." He grinned, then wiped his eyes, then a flash went across his eyes. "I just remembered something."

"What is it?" Cosmo asked.

"I have the ability to see a persons affinity."

"Affinity?" Amy asked.

"Elemental prowess!" He grinned. "My reading of Shadow and myself is spot on from what I've seen so far! Shadow's is Chaos, and mine is Electricity." He took out his blue emerald and tossed it to Sonic. "Yours is Wind. Before my memories left me, this ability only worked when it felt like it, so I don't expect to be able to do this whenever. I'll tell you if I catch what yours is."

"Thanks, pal!" Sonic said.

Jennifer walked up to Samuel. "I still don't trust you."

Samuel shrugged. "So be it."

Song: Boss - Ocarina of Time

Samuel and Ray arrived at their home to go get Big. They went inside and were greeted by silence.

"Big? You there?"

They found a note on the table. "Scientist in red has Froggy!" was written in sloppy handwriting.

"Ivo." Samuel said.

I don't thing Samuel's personalities are adding anything to the story. I'll keep them in this chapter, but don't expect them to return anytime soon.