Chapter Twelve:

Hit the road, but keep your head down!

"Here," Jessy said as she offered Sonic a mug, coming back from inside the main house behind them. It was still full on dark out, the dawn still a few hours away. Though the air was a bit nippy, and the woman could see her breath, Sonic seem to almost give off steam. It was like he had been forced to run at a high gear when immobile, running too-hot internally when he had that particular nightmare.

It was why she put extra sugar and whole cream in Sonic's drink, to help the shaking shivers he had. Jessy was just starting to have a grasp on the hedgehog's honestly freakish metabolism, so guessed he would need a bit of a boost from all the energy he was burning this morning.

Sonic looked up and gave a half smile before taking a cup of hot tea from Jessy as the woman sat down beside him in the other lawn chair on the back porch. "Thanks Jes…" he said, watcher her tug her thick riding jacket around her more to stay warm.

"What are big sisters for?" she smiled back at him, yawning wide before sipping her own tea, "Mmmm... Nana sure knows what plants to use to make this stuff."

"You're not really my sister." The hedgehog raised an eyebrow.

"Hah." The young woman snorted, leaning back to look up at the cloud cover above and a few speckled clear spots that let some stares in, "Nana called you one of her great grandsons, and if she says so then you're a part of this family. Not just the clan Sonic."

Sonic looked up, startled but in a different way, "...I am?"

"Yeah, you're my hedgehog brother now." Jessy held out her hand over the gap between the lawn chairs, palm up. "But as you know stay away from Aunty Mini..."

"Killer Aunty you mean." Sonic said dryly before taking another few drinks of his tea. It was a little too sweet but he wouldn't say anything, and from the way he was drinking he wasn't noticing the heat. The anthro shifted hand and reached out to grasp Jessy's hand, tanking the comfort.

"To right!" Jessy tilted her head back again and laughed, but not that loud.

A more normal smile came to the Anthro's face as he chuckled and squeezed Jessy's, "...thanks."

"Like I said, that's what sisters are for." The woman said and they started to settle down, sonic letting go to fumble with a small note book and pencil.

Thwap!

Both Sonic and Jessy paused and looked down at the small metallic dart that had imbedded it's self into the arm of Sonic's chair. Where his arm had been before reaching for the dropped pencil.

For a moment nothing happened as the two blinked at the thing, Jessy just plane stared not really grasping what it was at first let alone what the dart was for. It looked like a tranquilizer dart but why on earth would one be here? It just didn't make sense to her. Perhaps it was because she was lacking her normal caffeine amount to be fully awake yet, and being about three in the morning.

Sonic on the other hand wasn't so slow, he may have been deep in thought after the memory/nightmare but he was still wide awake. The sudden appearance of the dart had not only set off all the alarm bells and red flags in his head but another memory, one he knew, not just a snippet from his forgotten past. Humans had hunted him in that first week, before he came this far north from the deserts. In fact, that was one of the primary reasons why Sonic didn't trust humanity on a large scale.

Now those humans from so long were apparently back, because Sonic recognized that dart design and the tiny emblem on it. This time it wasn't just the anthro hedgehog at risk. His new family was here, grandpa, nana, the crazy old uncles and aunty with so many stories from their wander years, and the kids in the mane house...

Sonic's ears twitched up as his whole body tensed and his mind shifted possessing gears as he heard someone curse in the dark. Then the audible, to him at least with those impressive ears, clicking of guns.

"Jessy look out!"

Jessy (who's reflexes where almost nothing in comparison to Sonic's) hardly realized what was said before she found herself being pushed down behind an upturned table, let alone what was happening. "Ahh! What the h-?!"

"Jessy we need to get out of here!" Sonic said crouching over his friend, one hand hovering over her head the other on her back as his quills lifted and spread out as if they would protect both of them from the darts. "Jessy!"

"Downhill, through the field to the far right corner, there's a path." The woman said fully awake, snapping to with the nomad reflex of her ancestors now that her life was apparently at risk. "It goes to the old riverbed but-ACK!"

Lightning-quick the large hedgehog picked his adopted sister up and bolted around the house, past Jessy's parked motorcycle. Another startled soldier who was far too slow was now enjoying a forced nap as he was basically ran over by a less than impressed anthro. Loose grass and drew flew up as a sonic boom rolled over the field and back up to the house where lights were being turned on.

Jessy half curled up in an attempt at making herself more stream line with Sonic... Okay so she was hiding her face in his shoulder. Hey, can't blame a girl for being a little scared, it helps to keep you alive after all.

Abruptly Sonic turned sideways and skidding to a stop just before jumping back a little, "Oh, no..."

"What? What is it?!" Jessy looked up and around, half expecting something to jump out and eat them at this point. She sighed when all that was there was filmier trees, banks and the old wide river... though it was a bit overflowing…and going faster then she'd seen it go in several years...

Hmm. Looked like all that rain they had been having that winter was flooding the rivers. Again.

"I hate water."

Jessy looked up at the hedgehog's scowl, "Well, it's not that bad. I know where it's shallow… or should be shallower."

Sonic looked down at her, "You want to cross that?"

"It's the fastest way home, there's not a bridge for miles either way." She paused, "I'm assuming home yes..."

"Units three and four! We spotted them!"

The blue Anthro was gone before the man had finished speaking, those fuzzy blue ears coming in handy once again. "Bridge it is!" Sonic yelped, a still little strung out from his nightmare not long ago, "Bridge, bridge, bridge, bridge..."

"Sonic! LEFT!" Jessy yelled, since the hedgehog wasn't going so fast as to bur her vision.

"…bridge- Why? Oh."

Sonic jerked to the left in a sharp turn to avoid hitting a parked van and leapt onto a wonderful thing called a paved road, leaving a streak of blue behind for a moment or less. The road allowed him to run at full speed on the smooth blacktop without the risk of tipping up. Normally he could correct any miss steps in the woods as long as there wasn't speed limit signs, but he had the extra weight of a passenger right now. The blue and brown hedgehog tightened his hold reflexively on Jessy at the thought of tripping, even though the woman was doing a wonderful impression of a starved leech all on her own. He had never run this fast when carrying someone, however Sonic seemed to be doing okay, as was Jessy.

All things considering, they were still in the flimsy fabrics of pajamas.

A few minutes later, and a near-miss with stop sign, Sonic once again skidded, but only to slow down so when he did stop he didn't run head long into the door to Jessy's apartment. Putting the woman down on her feet he zipped off again with a barely heard, "I'm going to look around! Berightback!"

Jessy blinked a few times in bafflement, staggering as her equilibrium was all catawampus and having to grasp at the rails of her small second story front door porch. Then she thought it might be best that she get inside when Jess swore she heard someone yell faintly that wasn't in the tones of her closest nabors. Fumbling for the spare key in her jacket- her main ring hanging inside her grandfather's kitchen key locker (to keep brothers from taking them and joy riding her motor cycle) the mechanic opened the door and ran inside, slamming it closed behind her.

Yet something wasn't right. Jessy paused half way through the living room/kitchen. Something in the back of her mind was waving red flags and screaming, but at the same time nothing looked out of place. Shaking her head Jessy peered around carefully but still couldn't see what was wrong.

I have to get out of here, go somewhere else!

For once she didn't push back that other part of herself that had been craving to just leave and not look back all winter, almost all year. Well, not entirely. The woman bee-lined for her room, intending on grabbing her backpack at least, some clothing (other than the Chaos-awful pink and orange pajamas that made her nana happy) and two pouches that would hock on to one of Jessy's other motorcycles, preferably Big Boy, as that was the one she had been planning on using for her wander years. As well as some food on the way out again...

Jessy was inside the dark room, reaching for the light switch when what was wrong finally clicked into place. The front door. Only the bottom had been locked, and she knew that she had locked the dead bolt as well because it tried to eat her key yesterday.

"Aw crap!"

More or less sliding on the floor the woman tried to backtrack and turn around at the same time. Jessy let out a short scream as a large hand grabbed her arm and pulled the opposite way of which she wanted to go at the moment: back into the room.

"Oh no you don't woman!" a gravely voice barked.

"Letmego!" Jessy twisted the take a swing.

"No way, if you've been with Scott all this time, or any length of time, Greavenson is gonna' want you too." Another hand clamped down on her other shoulder before she was put into a headlock after struggling too much.

Instinct born over hundreds of generations of nomads who had to defend themselves (as well as having to fight to survive so now it was almost a genetic memory) kicked in. It also helped that Jessy had brothers, not just a few brothers, but brothers. Two older brothers, six younger ones and now another, all of whom loved to wrestle. And there had been several restless nights when Sonic and Jessy had scuffled out right for the last bit of dinner in tough-fun (though Sonic normally won with his speed).

Grabbing the arm that had her Jessy tucked her chin in and bit down on it, though not going easy like she would with family. At the same time the woman dropped she pulled her legs up, crossed at the ankles to use tried to use her smaller size to her advantage as she jerked her feet back so not only throwing this intruder's balance off but...

"Hrk-graaaahhhhhhh…." The man gave a strangled sound as something very tender on his anatomy was shown just how tender it could be with a lucky 'kick' of work-boot heels.

Jessy was out of his hold and scrabbling for something (anything!) that could be used as a weapon. Her figures closed around something round and hard, it was the baseball bat she had forgotten to bring to the dinner at her grandfather's for the game that was played in the evening.

That would do!

The man was getting up again. Well you had to give him points for recovering quickly.

"You're trespassing on privet property!" Jessy said as she got a grip on the bat in her shadow so it was harder for the man to see it. Again some other part of her instints were guiding her thinking process.

"You're gonna pay for that Tinker-"

BANG!

Jessy lifted her bat but before she could do anything more then start to swing and overbalance herself with no target, something dark blue rammed into the man, driving him away from her. Robbed of a target the woman blinked. "Sonic?" she asked as the blur became a more familiar shape.

"Leave her alone human!" The large hedgehog ripped a gun away from the intruder and tossed it aside, blunted claws still scraping. Sonic glared down at the man he was holding by the collar, his quills lifted off his shoulders again to make him seem bigger as he demanded, "What are you doing here?"

"S-Scott?" The man's eyes went wide as he looked at the Anthro.

Emerald green eyes narrowed at the name and vague images played in the back of his mind for a moment. Sonic frowned, "What did you just call me…?"

"Scott, Sergeant Scott-"

Sonic shook his head, cutting off the stranger, "Wrong hedgehog. My name's Sonic and I'm not a part of the military. Now what are you doing-"

"Sonic look out!" Jessy yelped a warning when she saw what was in the intruder's hand.

Once again the anthro's reflexes proved to be faster than a human's. A rather large dart was now happily pumping its self into the man's left leg instead of the intended fuzzy target. The man slid to the ground a moment later when Sonic let go of him.

A set of wide blue eyes peered over Sonic's shoulder as the owner of those eyes had a death grip on her bat.

"You okay sis?" Sonic asked as he looked over his shoulder at his adoptive sister.

"...Yeah, I'm good." The mechanic paused and added, "I might need a hug later but I'm good."

"We should go."

"Where?" Jessy asked, still keeping herself behind the hedgehog and away from the man even though he was unconscious. Hey, she was just attacked in her own home! She had the right to be jumpy!

"Somewhere that's not here." Sonic said reaching for some spare gloves in the dresser.

"Point."

"I'll check down stairs just in case."

"I'll get some supplies, check my bike too? Big Boy."

"Sure."

With that Sonic was gone. Jessy eyed the unconscious man one more time before kicking it into high gear herself and started packing. She was shoving the last of her saved money, Coins and the food that wouldn't spoil (someone from her family would come get the perishables for sure after what had happed earlier) when Sonic came back.

"Okay every looks fine," he said holding something out, "Here's your jacket."

"Thanks. Take these two bags down, I need to grab a couple of towels and blankets and I'll be right down." Jessy said nodding at the full bags as she shrugged her thick riding jacket on.

"Right."

Jessy grabbed the two best looking towels, two blankets that looked both strong and warm as well as a saddle blanket, and a bit more food just in case along with her sensor suit to change into later. Pausing to look longingly at her bed and the great big brown comforter before turning and grabbing up the stack of notebooks by the couch, though not noticing one was missing. She was downstairs within a minute and both where on the road a lot faster than they thought they would, or could be.

Sonic rested his chin between his friend's shoulder blades, his now gloved hands gripping the riding jacket as he streamlined himself with Jessy to reduce any drag. His quills were swept nearly rippling with the wind behind him. It was about now, with a few miles between them and the house that both human and Anthro started to relax.

"Hey bro?" Jessy yelled over the rushing air as she went well over the posted speed limit, picking a random direction on impulse.

"Yeah?" Sonic called back, wanting his ear piece and wondering if Jessy grabbed the spare that could link with her helmet.

"Why, why did that guy call you Scott?" Jessy risked a glance back to try and see Sonic's face as she felt him tense behind her. "Sonic? Bro, you okay?"

"I, I don't know." The hedgehog shifted, ears flattening as he pushed his forehead against Jessy's shoulder blade and muttered to himself, "I know that name…"

The woman rolled her shoulder at him, the best she could do at the moment. Trying to be reassuring and keep them up right so they don't crash, and was rewarded with a head thump on her back. Sonic was in deep enough though that he didn't get off to run on his own, for now safe from speed limit signs while he chewed out his thoughts.

Who were those people?

Sonic knew, without knowing how but he knew that wasn't military, not really. Former military, but... mercenary?

But why would someone want to sick mercenaries on him and a nomadic nations family? That what happened was beyond the normal animosity towards either nomads or anthros that Sonic had seen over the near year.

The hedgehog finally looked down at his dark blue fur, frowning as he turned his arm a bit, then looked down at his chest, wondering for the first time how he was blue, when most hedgehogs he had seen, both feral and those pictures online of some anthros in zones, where all mostly in shades of browns, tan and grey-white. Could that be a part of why those men were after him?

"Ugh..." Sonic muttered, not for the last time in the coming summer wanted things cleared up or to go away.

"Need to go?" Jessy called as she slowed down, eyes on a rest stop sign as they had been traveling for an hour according to her helmet's display. After all that happened her bladder was protesting, since before the twisted chase it had been night, and a long time in other words since she went to the bathroom.

The hedgehog shrugged, looking around in the dark with his ears pricked up, "Go ahead Jes' I'm going to look around, just in case." He scooting back and hopped off the big motorcycle as it slowed to a comparative crawl in the rest stop.

"Oy," the mechanic turned to look over at Sonic as he trotted easily to keep up, giving himself a shake that rattled quills, "Be careful Blue."

The hedgehog tossed off a two finger salute, "Of course!" He turned and loped off into the night, his darker coloration letting him blend in fairly well.

Jessy kicked the stand so her ride was propped up before going inside one of the buildings in the rest stop cluster. She made it a fe steps before coming back, digging into the saddle bags on either side of the large motorcycle, Jessy looked around for and found a plat, only to stop and pause.

"Huh... how did...?" Jessy turned the play around in her hands, and then smiled, "Big Mac," she read the small sticky note on the plate, rubbing a thumb across it. She knew instantly her eldest brother's hand writing, and knew the numbers on the plat was his. Mark must have switched his spare with hers the year before when he stayed a night for a meal and shower.

Quietly thanking her brother, and face palming that she never noticed the switch, Jessy grabbed a few tools and switched her plate with her brother's spare. Then patted the seat after putting hers' away, "Looks like you're the Big Mac know, named after the big brother. Not bad."

Taking a deep breath Jessy headed into the bathroom, changing so her sensor suit was on under her cloths, and wearing some warmer paints then the jammies. Jessy came back out zipping up her jacket, looked around and as Sonic wasn't back yet, took a snoop about. Ending up walking her motorcycle to one of the farthest back of the semi buildings in the rest stop. Not insolated like the bathrooms, but it blocked the breeze, and more importantly had a roof in case it rained or drizzled.

Sitting on the seat, looking around at the wooden shelter, meant for protecting travelers that wanted lunch and to stretch their legs during long car rides. Sifting to balance on her spot with legs crossed, Jessy soon was staring out into space, wondering for the first time what she was doing.

Why had she just...lift?

Jessy knew she should be heading straight north to the main Storm Runner Convoy, or southeast to the Rain Walkers... but although there was a relief to be suddenly moving at last, the mechanic, the nomad didn't want to go to one stop, not one destination but all of them.

She was on the road now and wanted to just go until it stopped, then beyond it path. Find new routes, and things that, if not never been seen before than things that hadn't been seen in a very, very long time.

Wondering if this was what the 'curse' was about, finding oneself not guilty about suddenly just up and leaving behind family and friends. Jessy found herself more upset that she wasn't bothered by that then the sudden attack.

Sonic trotted back into the rest stop, the hedgehog slowed to a walk as he looking for the motorcycle or the woman. For a moment of fear he tensed up, going still before something caught the attention of his ears. Rotating them around and listened intently, he tracked down the sound as Jessy humming from over...there.

Trotting over to the back building Sonic poked his head in carefully, relaxing once seeing Jessy.

"Looks clear." He said to the woman sitting on the bike as well, sitting so the would be back to back with room.

Jessy jumped at his voice and looked up, her hum stopped blue eyes still wide and fear had finally set in after a delay. "Err...wha?"

"Jes'?" Sonic frowned and shifted closer to her, so their shoulders where against each other. "What's wrong?"

"I, I don't know." The mechanic shook her head, not fully what to admit about her thoughts fully yet, looking down at her lap. "Just shaken up I guess."

"It's okay sis. I won't let them hurt you." The dark blue and brown anthro said wrapping an arm around his adoptive sister's shoulders. Jessy shifted and rested her head on his shoulder. After a minute she looked up into the hedgehog's concerned green gaze.

"…can I have that hug now?" she asked slowly.

Sonic blinked, but turned around on the motorcycle and wrapped both arms around the human and pulled her into at tight hug in answer. Jessy carefully wrapped her own arms under the quills on Sonic's back, returning the hug as the Anthro made a purring sound from somewhere in his chest.

"I won't let them hurt you." Sonic repeated himself, making it a promise as he rubbed the side of his head against his sister's in an instinctual way of reassurance.

Reviews!

ChojisGirl-

A 'yay!'

Kyra Monroe-

I'm glad you took a chance on my story, and more that you liked it! Don't worry there's plenty of chapters coming, just need to clean up and smooth them out.