Child of Delphinus

by SEGAMew

A six year old half hedgehog half dolphin was found dying on the beach by Sonic. After caring for him, he eventually adopts him, much to Shadow's disliking. Unknown to them, the kid has a dark past. Warnings: Sonadow, yaoi, fanchar, abuse to a minor

3. Restoration

Child of Delphinus

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By SEGAMew

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Disclaimer:

Ecco the Hedgephin, those with a background in Science, and those who are the results of Science belong to SEGAMew

Everyone else © SEGA

Any likeliness to any non-SEGA employee(s) created character are purely coincidental. Don't sue meeeeee D= I have a mom and two sisters to feed, plus a house to pay off! Plus I go insane if I don't buy at least one Sonic-related item biweekly.

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Author Notes:

Here is chapter 3! Past sequences will hopefully thin out and not occur as often in the later chapters. Ecco must be awfully tired of them! After this chapter, it will contain a lot more Sonadow, so prepare for that =3

Rating: T

Warnings:

Profanity

Violence (most of which is inflicted on a minor, possibility of getting bloody later on)

Yaoi/Shounen-ai pairings

- Sonic x Shadow - union/married

- Silver x Shadow - minor secondary pairing, mostly one-sided

Unoriginal Fan Character(s)

- You may think some fan characters I made up are original, but it's really hard to be original nowadays.

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Chapter 3 - Restoration

Sonic laid on his stomach on the recently bought king sized bed. It had been a long while since Shadow chased him out of the bathroom. So the little kid had NIDS eh? If he remembered correctly, Maria had the same thing. He recalled that NIDS severely weakened or disabled someone's immune system, leaving them extremely vulnerable to even the most easily cured illnesses.

Speaking of which, why was it that Shadow wanted Sonic to stay away from the kid? Was Shadow that much different from him? He had been living on Earth for a few years now, surely his body harbored the same germs as he did. He needed to ask him about that.

"Hedgehog, you're laying on my side of the bed."

Speak of the devil. Sonic smirked.

"Well, I guess you'll have to lay on my side then, since I don't feel like rolling over."

Shadow placed a hand on the small of Sonic's back and stroked it. He then sat beside him over the edge of the bed and cautiously leaned towards the blue spiky back. He whispered into the blue triangular ear of his lover.

"I'll simply lie on top of you instead."

Sonic rolled over onto his back on the opposite side of the bed, slipping away from the dark hedgehog's touch. The blue hedgehog crossed his peach colored arms and stuck his tongue out to Shadow.

"Nice try, Faker."

Shadow laid down on his now vacant side of the bed. He stretched his arms upwards, then relaxed and turned onto his side to face Sonic. "I need to purchase a water purifier. I don't expect the salt crystals to be very useful if the kid turns out to be of the freshwater type."

"Uh huh…" Sonic then sniffed the air around Shadow and made a curious face. "Your fur reeks of bleach."

"I assure you, my fur color will remain this color. I was thoroughly cleaning the bathroom so the little one could actually survive in it. There are crevices I scoured down that I never realized existed."

Sonic blinked and slowly nodded. Personally he thought the bathroom was already pretty clean. Actually, the whole house was very clean; the bathroom was just one of the cleaner rooms. Shadow had always been big on cleanliness. He guessed it was because he was used to living on the ARK where everything was spick-and-span, especially since it was crucial for Maria's well being. The blue hedgehog suddenly remembered what he needed to ask Shadow about.

"Shadow, is there something special about you that makes you able to handle the kid without hurting him? Besides your radical quills and unnatural fur color, you seem pretty…" Sonic searched for the right word, "… normal."

Shadow closed his eyes, formulating an explanation that even Sonic could understand. He took a deep breath and then exhaled. He opened his eyes and looked at the blue hedgehog.

"I'm far from normal. I know that I'm not normal, so you needn't worry about offending me. After all, I'm of an alien heritage and was not born normally like you or your friends. I can bend time and space and my physical appearance cannot be matched."

Shadow heard a snort coming from beside him, but dismissed it.

"Professor Gerald created me in hopes that a cure for many diseases, NIDS especially, could be derived from the extensive… research gathered while observing me. They found out that I'm able to build up immunity to any bacteria and virus. Also, due to most of my genetic makeup being that of an alien race, bacteria that originate from Earth cannot survive on my body. They die the instant they make any attempt to colonize on or in me."

Sonic could almost hear the tiny high pitched screams of agony as he imagined uniquely shaped microbes melting upon landing on Shadow's fur. He fought the urge to laugh at the imagery as Shadow continued on with his explanation.

"As for viruses… while they can land on me, they can't spread their DNA using my cells as carriers. Viruses evolve to infect those on Earth. Since I obviously am an incompatible host, you get the picture."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "So wait, you can't kill viruses?"

Shadow resisted the urge to face palm. "Sonic… they're not living beings."

"Say wha? You lost me."

"Continuing on… viruses can still exist within me, but they become empty shells as soon as they inject their RNA in my cells. So they're just as dead anyway."

"Um… RNA?"

Shadow eyed Sonic. "This is why I'm the only one in this household that can handle the kid until he expels the NIDS out of his system."

If Sonic looked confused before, he now looked as if Shadow was speaking in his native alien tongue.

"Expel… NIDS?"

Shadow got out from his bed. He walked towards the bedroom door.

"That explanation is longer, and we can discuss this in the kitchen. I need to eat something."

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Flashback

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The gray skinned creature stirred under the odd warmth of his covers. He slowly opened his eyes to find himself in a dark room, the only source of light stemming from the silver moon in the night sky. His pale yellow eyes examined the area around him, only to find that he was in a very unfamiliar setting.

He ached all over.

He rolled over to his side to alleviate the pain. His dorsal fin felt too cramped for his liking.

He thought back to what happened before he passed out, and only remembered he had escaped from that horrid room. The details of the escape were all a bit fuzzy. The furthest back he could remember was him falling through a foul smelling tunnel of sort and into something that could only have been a sewage drainage system. He recalled swimming through the foul smelling water and fighting to remain conscious. The mixture of toxic waters and his body's vulnerable state was a bad combination.

He thought for sure he was going to die like a common sewer rat.

ECHO absentmindedly squeezed the large pillow under his head and smoothed out the wrinkles. Someone must have saved him and brought him to their home. Pushing the blanket off of him, he looked over the edge of the bed. After evaluating the distance between him and the floor, he dangled his feet over the ledge and landed. Unfortunately he was inept in using his legs on dry surface without his Chaos energy infused necklace, so he landed on his rear end with an ungraceful thump. Grumbling, he reached up and gripped the edge of the bed to pull himself up so he was standing. He tried to keep himself balanced by moving his tail accordingly.

Soon afterwards, he started coughing. He pressed his head against the mattress and tried to control his breathing. The air felt heavy against his unsupported lungs, what he wouldn't give to be in water right then.

"Oh, hi there, you finally woke up."

The half dolphin creature sharply turned his head towards the source of the voice, keeping his guard up in the case this newcomer showed any signs of any hostility.

Unfortunately, the quick movement caused him to be thrown off balance and fall. However, instead of his face hitting the floor, he found himself being carried by… nothing? He searched around, looking very confused. As far as he knew, he was not told that he possessed the ability to float. The attention shifted to a hand that was dangerously close to his head. He swatted the hand away and shot its owner a glare. Upon closer inspection, the other person in the room seemed hedgehog-like in appearance. He had very light fur, a peculiar head quill style, and bright yellow eyes. He noticed that his gloves were embellished with aqua green ring-like markings that seemed to glow as brightly as his eyes.

There was something about those eyes…

"Please, don't be afraid. I'm here to help you, okay? Oh let me help you down."

ECHO watched as the white hedgehog lowered his hand and the green rings dimmed. He was then lowered gently onto the floor on his side. So this was how he was floating earlier, but how did this hedgehog do it? The little creature crawled up to the white hedgehog and grabbed one of his hands. He looked under it, behind it, and even shook it as if expecting some sort of device to fall out. He frowned when he found nothing. He raised his head and stared at him, as though wanting some sort of explanation.

The hedgehog couldn't help but laugh. This little kid was absolutely adorable when he was trying to figure out how the powers worked. He raised his hand that wasn't being held by the dolphin child and concentrated. The aqua green rings on the glove glowed and lifted the kid off the floor and the stranger lowered the child onto his chest before he released his psychic powers and wrapped his arms around the kid, smiling.

The kid could not contain his curiosity any longer. "How do you do that? Are you an extraterrestrial?"

The hedgehog raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised at the little one's extensive vocabulary, "An alien? Well no, I was born with this power to move objects with my mind."

However, ECHO wasn't convinced. "So you're a psycho."

Silver almost dropped the kid. "No no! Well um… I'm psychokinetic… but I prefer telekinetic. I mean I could go with psychic, but that's too general of a term…"

The dolphin creature eyed the hedgehog suspiciously. He was either a con artist or a lunatic. Great.

Silver sighed. Even Blaze questioned his abilities when they first met. Well deciding he had enough of awkward first introductions, he needed information from this kid. Silver was certain that the kid was part of the PSP project. If that was the case, then this creature would be proof that questionable things had been going on within that Novotrade.

"Listen um… your name?"

The kid coughed and tiredly rested his head against the soft fur on Silver's chest, "Don't have."

"Eh… well I could call you 'Mr. Dolphin Tail' or 'Little 5-Star Head'?"

He shook his head in response to the name suggestions.

"Well… I'm Silver. You must be really exhausted. I mean you just woke up and now you're-"

"NIDS."

Silver blinked. "Uh… excuse me?"

ECHO gripped on Silver's chest fur. "They injected… NIDS."

Silver stroked his back reassuringly, smiling, "It's okay, Blaze and I have been injecting synthetic antibodies into you. Blaze picked up on the fact that you weren't getting any better after a whole day of sleeping here, so she suggested these injections thinking that your immune system could use a boost."

"… Can it cure me?"

The hedgehog looked thoughtful. "Well, it's been ten hours since your last injection, so you are due for another in a few. Dunno if these injections can cure you. I have no clue about diseases and cures and stuff… all I can do is use whatever is in a First Aid kit."

Silver looked down after his explanation. The child in his arms was almost nuzzling against the softness of his white fur mane, as if seeking comfort in it. The hedgehog slowly raised a kind hand towards the kid's forehead and stroked it. The little one flinched and gazed up towards him with his pale yellow eyes. He watched that gaze dart around, then back up to him as if he had just done something wrong. Silver simply smiled and looked at him back with kind eyes. He stroked the back of the child's head and pressed his face back against his chest.

ECHO felt oddly protected and safe in this stranger's arms.

Eventually, the little guest relaxed and fell asleep against the soft mass of fur.

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Present

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Sonic scratched his head.

"So that's why you think he isn't born with NIDS? It's because he would have been dead long ago?"

Shadow nodded. "Modern medicinal technology allows doctors to be able to screen unborn infants for any abnormalities. If any show up, then the doctor should be able to treat or eradicate the defect depending on the case. In my search to learn of my true purpose, I came across information that sometime between my time on the ARK to now, NIDS is one of those diseases that can be eradicated while the child is still inside the womb. Anyone whom is already born and has NIDS can still be treated and cured, but in theory can still pass it onto their children."

The black hedgehog looked at the blue hedgehog sitting in front of him. He could tell that he was trying his hardest to follow, but still only got the gist of it. Sonic looked side to side uncomfortably.

"So um… about the fish kid… couldn't his parents not been able to afford the NIDS treatment but kept him in like a giant bubble all this time? He could have still been born with NIDS in that case!"

Shadow gave Sonic a deadpanned expression.

"Sonic, your imagination should never cross with reality."

"Well, I just hate the idea that there's anyone out there who would purposely give someone deadly diseases. It's disgusting!"

Shadow sighed. He probably shouldn't tell him that he had been poked with many needles and subjected to various diseases, NIDS included, during his time on the ARK. Naturally he survived the ordeal, but it was still very painful to go through since it took time for his body to build immunity to them. However, it was something he would gladly go through for the sake of curing Maria.

Shadow decided to say something more positive, and also proved Sonic's hypothetical situation very improbable, "Due to circumstances relating to what happened on the ARK and the wrongful deaths of so many people involved, NIDS treatment is 100% government funded."

Sonic looked relieved. At least they were making some attempt to atone for causing much of Shadow's anguish. He noticed a hint of anger as Shadow mentioned the wrongful deaths. He wondered if Shadow ever thought about the indirect deaths he caused when the dark hedgehog helped Dr. Eggman with gathering the Chaos Emeralds to fuel the Eclipse Cannon, or when he decided to side with the Black Arms during the large scale alien invasion. Sonic hated to admit that he was deathly afraid that he may lose Shadow to Black Doom. He shook the unpleasant thoughts out of his head. What mattered now was that Shadow was his life partner and he'd be damned if another evil tyrant bent on taking over the world took him away again. Knock on wood.

Shadow looked up at the Flicky-themed clock hanging above the sink. It was about 7:30 PM. Some stores were still opened, which was good because he needed to purchase a water purifier. He remembered Maria only drank uncontaminated water with various instant drink mixes. Since the kid was more like an uninvited guest than a cherished friend, he wouldn't have the luxury of fruity flavored drinks.

"Hey Shadow… how do you cure people of NIDS? I mean how do you cure people that aren't born with it?"

Shadow shrugged, "I built up immunity to it, but I was made to do that." He began to walk towards the front door, "I would not be surprised at all if we find him dead the next morning. I may not currently have the necessary evaluation tools, but I'm quite sure his oxygen level in his blood is dangerously low. He displays extreme difficulty focusing on anything outside of what's in front of him and his reaction time is sluggish at best and there's that severe dehyda-"

Shadow stopped as he felt two gloved hands holding his right hand. He glanced toward his left at the blue hedgehog, who looked slightly disturbed. Sonic squeezed his hand as he changed his expression to that of hope.

"Please help him…"

Shadow lowered his eyes. This hedgehog reminded him of Maria so much at times, of course that was not the reason he married him. The black hedgehog lifted his left hand behind blue head quills and pulled Sonic in for a brief kiss. After they parted, he slid his hand over to Sonic's cheek and caressed it affectionately.

"Of course."

Sonic leaned his head towards the gentle touch of his hand. Letting go of Shadow's hand, he placed his own hand on top of Shadow's hand on his cheek. He then turned and lightly kissed the single golden ring cuffed against Shadow's wrist.

Shadow decided to speak up before he fully intoxicated Sonic with his presence, "Sonic… I'm going to go buy a water purifier. Since the kid's NIDS is not something he was born with, it will flush out of his body in time. I'm not certain how long this will take. It is imperative that you are to not step a foot in that bathroom. And most importantly, do not touch him. We can't risk adding more bacteria to his ailing body."

Sonic blinked as he was brought back into reality and nodded. He frowned at the part where he couldn't touch the little guy at all; he looked like he really needed to be held in a loving embrace. Speaking of which, he wrapped his arms around Shadow and hugged him, before letting him go. A thought crossed his mind.

"Hey um, Shadow… if it isn't too much trouble, we ran out of chilidogs, can you get some more? A lot more, I'm sure the kid will get hungry once he fully recovers!"

Shadow wrinkled his nose. Hadn't he bought a pack of twenty pre-made chilidogs last week? He then placed a hand on Sonic's stomach and gave it a slight rub, causing Sonic to flinch. "Two words, hedgehog. Lose weight."

Shadow nimbly dodged the oncoming punch and slipped out the front door.

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Flashback

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Why? Why did everything always went wrong?

You know why…

Why did G.U.N. crashed into Silver and Blaze's home?

It is because you belong to Novotrade, they are to be charged with theft of government property…

How did they know where I was?

It is because they embedded a tracking device in your body…

Why can't I just lived a normal life?

You do not have that right…

Silver flew off with ECHO as Blaze ward off some of the G.U.N. soldiers with her pyrokinetics. They were just having a quiet dinner when all of a sudden, G.U.N. soldiers came barging in with an arrest warrant, claiming that he and Blaze have stolen government property with the intention of overthrowing the military with their rebellion group. Of course this was all crazy talk, and the one that is crazy enough to pull off something like this was…

"Greetings, Silver."

Silver stopped in mid-flight as a hedgehog with jet black fur with red streaks hovered into his path on rocket shoes. He watched as the black hedgehog bowed after greeting him, then straightened back up. The white hedgehog barred his teeth angrily at his former lover.

"Move aside, Shadow."

Shadow laughed. "Of course of course… I will move aside after I receive what I came for…"

Silver held ECHO closely to him. "He's not going with you. Now move before I have to hurt you!"

Shadow looked at the white hedgehog incredulously, smirking. "Hurt me? My dear Silver… I have serious doubts that you are capable of such. Have all of the time we have spent together mean no-"

Shadow narrowly dodged what seemed to be a circular object decorated with a large red star. It probably would have gone "GONG!" if it made contact with his face. He turned his attention back to Silver… or rather, where he once was floating. It appears that the distraction worked… but not for long. He took out a device from his head quills. It looked like a tracking device of some sort.

"Come out come out wherever you are my little dove…"

He grinned as it pinpointed its target not far from where he is. He raised his arm and gathered up the surrounding essence of Chaos energy. He licked his lips as thoughts about what he could do to his little white dove filled his mind.

"Chaos… SPEAR."

Silver knew that Shadow wouldn't be subdued by the distraction for long. He however did not expect a bolt of yellow energy shooting down from above and sliced through his right shoulder, causing him to tumble down onto the ground and lose his grip on ECHO. He clenched his teeth and held his shoulder, shaking in pain. Physically and emotionally. Blood ran down his arm and pooled on the ground. He dragged his way towards his child and roused him.

"Echo… Echo run, you have to run!"

ECHO opened his eyes and shook off the dizziness in his head. He saw the bright red fluid all over Silver's almost white fur and anger grew within him. That black bastard hurt Silver! He was about to voice his objection when he felt himself being thrown far away by the hedgehog's telekinetic powers.

Silver clutched his arm tightly, gasping after using his powers in his weakened state. He forced himself to stand and readied himself to fight Shadow. Regardless of what the outcome may be, he must fight to the bitter end in the name of justice!

"My… did the dove broke his little wing?"

Silver stood his ground as Shadow made his appearance by hovering down and landing in front of him. The dark furred hedgehog still was smiling even after shooting him with a bolt of Chaos energy. He didn't budge as Shadow walked towards him, smiling his crazed smile.

"You know it's rude to not render the proper respect to your beloved…"

Silver shot a menacing glare. "You betrayed me. You are not deserving of mine or anyone else's love."

Shadow grabbed the white hedgehog's quills stemming from his forehead and thrust his back against a tree. Silver cried out in pain as he felt the tree bark grating against his bloodied shoulder.

"You should be honored to have been a… primary contributor to the Perfect Soldier Project. Your DNA is vital in giving the product line their spark… their unique abilities…"

"Honored? Just stop it with your sweet talking, I'm tired of your lies! To think that I actually let myself fall for a creep like you!"

Shadow chuckled quietly, admiring the red stained white fur of the hedgehog in front of him.

"Oh you did more than let yourself fall…"

Shadow's gloved fingers on his free hand delicately touched the smooth white fur on Silver's backside. The part of his back not yet tarnished by blood. He stroked downwards, then lightly brushed his knuckles against his white tail.

He was then thrown back by a burst of psychic energy. He looked back to see one very angry hedgehog. He smiled after seeing he was successful in inducing a pink tint on the injured hedgehog's cheeks.

"Perhaps I may have been withholding information… it's not within my power to disclose sensitive information to a civilian."

"Do I look stupid enough to believe that?"

"Oh trust me you do not want me to answer that."

Silver leaned against the tree behind him, the blood loss slowly catching up to him. He took a deep breath, then return his attention to Shadow. However this time, his face was filled with a sad expression.

"Shadow… when we… when we… I really thought that you..."

Shadow shrugged. "Your thoughts and what you desire most are the same. You thought I loved you because you desire such."

Silver angrily shut his eyes. "Why did you drove me as far as to make me lie for you upon your bed? If you did not harbor the same feelings, then why?"

"You know why. I needed your DNA for the PSP project."

"Well yeah… way after the fact!"

Shadow walked forward and lifted his fingers to Silver's chin. He tilted his face towards his and leaned forward, whispering into his white furred ear.

"If you would have known earlier, would it stop you from pressing your body against my own?"

Silver weakly opened his eyes. He sighed. "I…"

Silver felt a hand pressed against his wounded shoulder. He let out a sharp gasp and tried to move away from the hand. However, he found himself moving directly towards Shadow and ended up being held against him. Before he could attempt to use his telekinesis to propel Shadow away, he felt his chin being lifted forward and warm lips pressed against his own.

Soon after they parted from their kiss, Shadow rammed Silver's head against the tree and knocked him out. The dark hedgehog carefully lowered the unconscious hedgehog down to a sitting position against the tree, then went out to seek the runaway.

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Present

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After Shadow left to go purchase a water purifier for their little ailing guest, Sonic decided to clean up the kitchen. He tossed the wet towels in the laundry basket and placed all of the medication Shadow bought in the top cabinet. After the cleanup was done, he went to his (and Shadow's) room and plopped down on the bed. Now was the perfect time for a quick nap since things were crazy as soon as they arrived home. He didn't bother crawling under the covers, he just closed his eyes and wait for sleep to take over.

Sonic's ears picked up the sound of what seemed to be a crying child. Guess sleep will have to wait. He got up from bed and made his way to the bathroom. He hovered his hand above the doorknob, then hesitated. Shadow specifically told him to not make any contact with the kid because the crazy amount of bacteria that lives on the bodies of people of Earth was a death sentence for someone ridden with NIDS. Still, he couldn't exactly ignore his heroic side of his personality. Plus, he absolutely hates hearing children cry and not being able to do anything about it.

He turned the knob and peeked inside the bathroom. Searching around, he saw what appears to be ripped pieces of medicinal gauze hanging from the shower head, floating in the bathtub, then finally ending at a towel pile, where he saw the little gray creature curled up under them. He also noticed a water trail leading from the bathtub to the floor, guessing that he crawled out on his own. The white towel pile shook over the shivering form it covered. Sonic couldn't tell if he's shivering because he's cold, or afraid of something. Probably out of fear of something because his crying can still be heard underneath the towels, albeit much quieter than before. Maybe he's calming down. Oh if only he could go in and comfort him with physical contact! He was so use to comforting Tails with hugs and noogies.

The blue hedgehog was about to shut the door and resume his nap when he spotted yellow eyes peering out from beneath the towel pile. The kid shifted himself and pushed some of the towel off so his head was partially showing, enough to see his full face and little white stars. Sonic heart felt like it's being stabbed repeatedly when he laid eyes on the little guy's tear streaked miserable face. He also looked so tired. Well when you were struggling to fight off NIDS, leaving you extremely vulnerable, of course you would be sapped of your strength.

Sonic's grip on the doorknob tightened. The kid's wretched appearance and breathing reminded him of how obese people were all out of breath and more after running a triathlon. Except this kid was nowhere near morbidly obese and the triathlon was happening internally. He can't bare watching him any longer, so he closed the door as quietly as he can and slowly backed away and stopped, ears listening for any sounds of distress.

When the kid didn't begin crying again, he let out a depressed sigh and walked back to his room. He fell on top of the bed, landing on his front side and rested his head on top of his folded arms. He let out a heavy sigh. This is going to be a long night.

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Flashback

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"Give me one reason why I shouldn't carry out your sentence."

The dark furred hedgehog stood in front of ECHO, who was wobbling with every intake of breath. The dolphin hybrid appeared unwell, but quite alive. It was not quite what he expected since test runs for this particular formula injection had them croaking within an hour or so after exposing them to the harsh environment. He suspected that someone must have given him an injection that either slowed down the progression of NIDS or keeping kept him in a hypoallergenic fish tank.

The runaway experiment made no effort to answer him. Why should he, this creep hurt Silver! He emitted a menacing growl. He had no intention of running away; he wouldn't get too far anyway due to not being well equipped for land travel. The dark hedgehog's ever present grin and cold eyes unnerved him somewhat. He looked like someone who would slit a puppy's throat and laugh as it bled to death. It didn't surprise him one bit that this guy was the chief advisor and liaison between G.U.N. and the jurisdiction in charge of the Perfect Soldier Project.

"Chaos… SPEAR."

ECHO rolled to his side, narrowly dodging the flying bolt of chaos energy. The bolt crashed through the ground near him and left a large smoldering hole. He snapped his head towards the larger hedgehog. Was this guy serious? That kind of destructive energy would kill him! Well that was the whole idea of tracking him down, but he expected him to take him into custody and eliminate him within closed walls, far away from public eye. A hand gripped his chest. If only he knew about the tracking device earlier, he would have left Silver before G.U.N. located him and… he shook his head. Now was not the time for 'what ifs'.

Shadow was not bothered by the little runaway's dodging of the chaos spear. It was not like he wasn't expecting him to… after all he purposely aimed off mark. He chuckled quietly to himself then smirked. He raised his left hand towards the gray one.

"For your next training exercise, successfully dodge a shower of thirteen chaos spears."

He didn't give him any time to blink before he started shooting chaos spears at him. He only gave the experiment only a second between each shot for him to analyze the best course of action and act on it. If ECHO had his chaos accessory and was at full capability, he would have allowed only a tenth of a second between each shot. A full second was very generous.

ECHO managed to dodge the first three spears completely, but the fourth one singed his left thigh. He suppressed the urge to cry out and continued to roll and evade the shots. By the time of the tenth spear, he was breathing hard and starting to lose his focus. By the time of the eleventh, he was doubling over from the tenth bolt spearing his right side. He somersaulted forward in time to dodge the flying eleventh spear, and darted to the side and avoided the twelfth. Forcing himself to ignore the screaming pain from everywhere in his body, he kicked himself forward and successfully dodged the thirteen chaos spear.

Shadow had watched ECHO complete many training exercises either through surveillance videos or watching him alongside with the performance reviewers personally. Normally when ECHO completed his training exercises with 110% or higher success, he would smile to himself as those who review his performance gave him praise and approval. He almost had an aura of invincibility.

Now he was just a shadow of his former self as he watched him fall to his right side, not expecting a fourteenth spear at all. It hit him fully on his left side and knocked the air out of him. It wasn't a fatal blow; it just hurt excruciatingly due to the fact that he hadn't prepared his body to take the hit at all. The black hedgehog stood there as he watched him try to curl up protectively as if that would do him any good. He wondered if the kid's rapid pained gasping was actually doing any good. That deteriorating NIDS ridden body definitely wasn't.

He walked over towards ECHO. The gasping creature reacted to the approaching footsteps and struggled to crawl away. However, Shadow's right hand was placed firmly on top of his burning left side, causing the little one to cry loudly in pain. That last chaos spear didn't break the skin to make him bleed, but it did cause severe irritation and the nerves to explode at the reception of pain. Not in the literal sense, but it felt that way.

Shadow watched his hand rise and fall from the erratic breathing of Project ECHO. His gaze moved towards the pale yellow eyes of the fallen form in front of him. Tears flowed freely from his eyes, which he knew was out of physical pain. This project's lineup was not capable of crying out of sadness after all.

Shadow closed his own eyes. It had been so long since he shed tears of sadness. Not since someone very close and dear to him died.

ECHO made no effort to wipe the tears away. He was always told tears signified weakness, but right now he couldn't be bothered to care. He knew he was going to die, so there was no point in trying to be strong until the very end. He knew that being even more rebellious than he was before would lead to a very slow and painful end. He simply laid there, listening to his own struggled breaths and gasps piercing the silence of this cold night. That large hand on his side made him slightly more uncomfortable and hindered his breathing, but whatever. He couldn't be bothered to continue living his cursed life.

Though, there was a part of him deep inside that wished he could reborn as someone else… someone with a normal life. If he already wasn't involuntarily fighting for air, he would laugh. Those who had their souls 'manufactured' for them were probably not eligible to be reborn in another life.

ECHO then felt himself being rolled onto his back and blinked as he felt his nose being pinched and pulled up, forcing his mouth to open wider. He winced in response to this action. He also noticed that the hand on his body was no longer holding him down. He suddenly felt something entering his mouth. It felt like… a sharp object at the end of a larger piece of plastic. He grew wide-eyed as panic set in. He was going to get a lethal injection in his mouth? Yellow eyes darted worriedly, and stared up towards the blood red eyes of his captor.

Instead of cold and merciless, his eyes were… soft? Still not quite kind but the edge that was there before was replaced with something that could be described as remorse. His next words also had a sort of strange affection tone to them. It wasn't unlike the paternal tone that the Doctor always spoke to him in.

"Hold… still. Right here," he felt a small prick far down in his throat that almost made him gag, "I don't care what you do or how you may feel about me, but do not move until I give the command. If you so much as twitch, I will knock you out fully."

ECHO could have sworn he saw the red eyes flash with pleasure briefly during that last sentence. He decided to ignore it and concentrate on what was said before that. He would frown if he could. He didn't exactly have much control over involuntary bodily functions such as reacting to immense amount of pain. He might not be able to run away, but he could still writhe in pain.

Shadow held the syringe and needle in his left hand and ECHO's nose in his right. The excessive gasping and tongue movements were troublesome. He would need to do this quickly before the kid decided to have a panic attack right here. He held his breath in as he pushed the needle into ECHO's throat muscle. He saw his eyes grew wide and he could feel the small body tense up. The small tongue instinctively started to make the swallowing motion, causing the syringe and needle to shift away from its mark.

His next words came with a tone of voice that demanded utmost compliance. "Do. NOT. Move." It was already extremely difficult to perform this injection on such a small mouth. If the kid didn't stop squirming soon…

ECHO shut his eyes tight and fought against the urge to gag. Why couldn't the injection be in a normal area? He didn't understand what was this lunatic was doing to him. This hurt badly and he did not like it at all. Breathing through his nose was not an option and he couldn't breathe through his mouth without feeling like swallowing or choking with that needle so deep in his throat. Was he expected not to breathe? He guessed breathing was not excluded from 'Do. NOT. Move.'

Shadow gave him five seconds to stop trembling. He actually did expect him to stop breathing for ten seconds, but that was probably too much to ask of him since he probably hadn't been sustaining his body with the proper level of oxygen ever since he was stripped of his necklace.

Eventually he was satisfied with ECHO's effort of lying almost still and his erratic breathing toned down to small intakes of breath every few seconds. The kid could definitely do it without that scowling expression, but in any case progress could finally be made. He pushed the plunger in the syringe as fast as he was allowed and forced the medicinal fluid into his throat muscles. The experiment's small intakes of breath turned into sharp gasps and his eyes read 'Please STOP'. He saw bare hands gripping the ground and his tail slightly twitched.

The few seconds of nightmare was over when Shadow finally removed the needle from ECHO's throat. As soon as he removed the tool out of his mouth, the dolphin hybrid rolled over to his side and cough hard and loud. Shadow dug a hole and buried the used tool in the ground while listening to his patient's coughing and breathing. He smiled to himself. It looked like the experimental drug worked. The fact that the kid was coughing signified that his body was able to recognize foreign debris in the air and his body's natural defenses was expelling them. Or it could be a normal bodily reaction accompanied with the gagging reflex. In either case, the kid now has some form of antibodies in him as a temporary form of protection since his immune system shut down. These antibodies may not have been fully present in his whole body and were weaker in comparison to natural antibodies, but at least his throat could now filter out the germs in the air before they reach his unprotected lungs.

ECHO held a hand to his mouth and coughed hard. He felt like his throat was being invaded by thousands of microbes and were setting his throat on fire. This was not a good feeling and was regretting that he actually did as the black hedgehog told him. He then felt hands holding him and he instinctively curled up since he lacked the strength to run away. He felt himself being lifted up and carried off somewhere. His face pressed against something soft and comfortable, which he soon noticed was the white patch of fur on his captor's chest. It contrasted so much against his pitch black fur, but it also seemed to complement it at the same time. Exhaustion began to catch up with him as he began to either fall asleep or pass out… he couldn't tell which.

Shadow then spoke in a soft voice, "That injection will temporarily help you against airborne threats. Its effects will only last up to three hours or so… the next time you see me, remind me that you have NIDS."

Red eyes glanced down upon the sleeping figure in his arms, face against his white fur patch. Shadow looked up towards the night sky then closed his eyes in thought. He lifted his hand and stroked ECHO's starred forehead.

"Do not be alarmed if I don't remember you… Ecco."

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Present

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Shadow skated towards his home after spending an hour and a half trying to find a store that had water purifiers. Apparently these devices were not in high demand on Earth. That dolphin kid better still be alive, otherwise he'd never hear the end of Sonic. That hedgehog cared too much for strangers. The dark hedgehog's life experiences forced him to not to immediately trust everyone around him. Everyone was capable of backstabbing and no one was exempt.

His hand gripped on his plastic bag carrying the boxed device. If Sonic ever betrayed his trust – he would go insane.

He finally arrived at his house. He unlocked the door to stepped inside. First thing first, he had to check up on the kid. He walked towards the bathroom and was immediately greeted with the sight of the blue hedgehog sitting in front of the bathroom door that was slightly ajar. The look on his face read a mix of concern, sadness, and yearning.

Shadow dropped the bagged box with an audible thump, startling the blue hedgehog and making him look back towards him. The dark hedgehog crossed his arms and gave Sonic a disappointed look.

"I thought I told you to -"

"… not step into the bathroom or touch him, right?" Sonic lowered his eyelids and looked back towards the bathroom dejectedly. "All I did was watch him. The entire time. He was… crying earlier you know."

Shadow looked at the blue hedgehog sitting in front of him. Sonic's glaringly obvious weakness to water wasn't just restricted to large bodies of it. It could also be in the form of tears. He walked forward and placed a loving hand on top of Sonic's head. He stroked him and even gave him a little scratch behind the ears. He felt Sonic relaxing under his touch, but the sadness still remained on his face.

Shadow spoke again, "Ten weeks."

Sonic's ears perked up, "What?"

"Give me ten weeks to make him well."

"Ten weeks? That's… almost three months."

"After that, he has to return back to the ocean."

Sonic lowered his ears and almost glared at Shadow. He tossed his head away from his hand and stood up. He walked back to the room and quietly shut the door behind him. Shadow shook his head and let out a heavy sigh. This was going to be a long night.

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Flashback

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ECHO snapped fully awake as the sound of gushing water roared in his ears, his body went from dry to drenched in one instant. Adrenaline rushed through his body as he suddenly found himself fighting for his life against the wild crashing ocean waves. Various thoughts ran through his disoriented mind, one of which was the possibility of being preyed upon by larger carnivorous marine life. Pain shot up from the areas of his body where he was burned, the salty water working its magic on them. Right now though, he'd appreciate it if the natural salt would choose to disinfect during a much more appropriate time.

Normally, with his natural ability to hold his breath for roughly ten minutes, he wouldn't have to worry about drowning anytime soon. Unfortunately he did not feel daring enough to test his endurance in his NIDS ridden state and especially not after that 'training exercise' with the black furred hedgehog earlier that nearly sapped him of all his energy. Every time he broke the water's surface he felt like passing out all over again. It took every bit of will power he had to try and make it to shore… but where was shore?

Eventually he got tangled up in a floating mass of garbage, which threatened to impede his swimming. In a fit of rage, he bit and pulled against the mess he was entangled in, and finally freed himself of the floating environmental hazard. Too bad he was not completely out of danger yet. Wrapped around his body still were a bunch of soda can rings – multiple sets that were intertwined with each other. If he was thinking clearly and was in prime health, getting these off would be easy.

However this was not the case. In his futile attempts to try and get the rings off, he got himself even more tangled up, and the can rings restricted his movements so much that he could barely swim along the surface of the water, let alone stay afloat. Water entered his mouth and some managed to get in his lungs, causing him to cough. Whenever he sank down coughing, he would end up getting more water down his throat. His eyes widened in panic, he flicked his tail so at least his face could be above the relentless water.

He felt like a strange looking seahorse as he continued using his tail as his main way of drowning prevention. Eventually he passed out since that mode of travel required so much energy.

The next time he woke up, he wished he hadn't.

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Location Change

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Shadow could be so… callous at times! Throwing the kid back into the ocean – he talked as if the kid was some old used boot or something. What if the kid escaped the ocean because something larger had been about to eat him or something? Or pollution drove him out? Not everyone on Earth led comfortable lives, which was why Sonic took it upon himself to fight for what he believed was right and to ensured everyone got to live healthy and happily.

Though nowadays, he had been distracted by a certain dark furred hedgehog that often occupied most of his time.

To tell the truth, he kind of wanted to keep the little dolphin kid. That was if the kid didn't have a family to return back to. This yearning probably stemmed from back in his earlier days when he practically raised Tails since he was a young kit. There was also the fact that married couples tend to have children… but then again those married couples were a man and woman.

He rubbed his face in his pillow, as if trying to wipe the blush off his cheeks. Shadow as a daddy was definitely a sight to imagine. He sighed. Maybe perhaps Sonic could convince him to keep the kid after he fully recovered…

End of Chapter 3

Thanks again Shots of Sunshine for betaing =3 Props to her for persevering after getting her wisdom teeth yanked out!

Remember to leave your comments, reviews, etc, I love reading them ^^