In the past 50 years, no other nation on Mobius had experienced quite the change as the Kingdom of Acorn…This was because ever since the recent invention of more advanced farm tools that meant harvesting crops no longer required the usage of hand held tools, the discovery of the uses of steam and how it could be used to power machinery, the emergence of factories, the establishment of self-made millionaires and the swelling population of the Kingdom…
Whether the old guard of the people who had lived in the days before liked it or not, the place was skyrocketing into the future at a rate that surpassed any prior nation before in the history of the planet…Acorn was fully in the throes of an Industrial Revolution.
And thanks to the aforementioned revolution, so many great new inventions had emerged; Steam powered mills, more advanced kitchen gadgets, more advanced central heating that utilised hot water, electric devices, molten steel, the value of coal and oil, petrol, tyres, vaccines, bikes and machinery that could pump out goods far faster than any individual man could…Surely with such rapid technological progress…The nation would be well on it's way to becoming a utopia…Right?
Unfortunately…As history has shown time and time again, for every single good thing that emerges in an era, it inevitably has some form of grizzly price and in this case…The kingdom's now rapidly developing economy, technology and culture as a whole had been paid for with the blood, sweat and bodies of the lowest in society, who practically slaved away in the factories of the self-made businessmen who's families less than 50 years before would have been as dirt poor as the rest…
However with machinery replacing the role of flesh and blood farmers, the poorer rural folk were left with little choice but to emigrate to the cities in droves, being cramped into cheap, low quality housing, with little access to clean water, electricity, flushing toilets, or halfway decent food and job opportunities outside of being meat for the factories, with the lion's share of the wealth going to the businessmen who did little more than order around their poor, malnourished workers and swap them out if they could no longer work, leaving the aforementioned workers with little more than teensy scraps of money that often weren't even enough to allow people to scrape by, meaning that entire families down to the last able bodied child had to work lest they all starve to death…
And with the rising numbers of these businessmen or the, "Merchant" or "Middle" Class civilians, it meant that the rapidly expanding cities across the land would become dominated by the looming, monolithic forms of factories and other areas of employment which belched out smoke, often bathing entire cities in a dingy, thick, grey smog that shrouded the senses and choked all of the life out of the cities, the air pollution created by the factories causing almost all flora to die.
But what about those who despite all their hard work, couldn't afford to sustain their already miserable existences? Those who couldn't even afford the most basic and low quality housing? There were either two options: break the law and go to the prisons…Or go to the Union Workhouses…
The brainchild of politicians who sought to do something about the rising rates in homeless people throughout the nation, the workhouse was more or less a place where the very poorest and least fortunate in society, from the old and infirm workers who were turned out from their old jobs, the homeless, orphans and the like would be allowed to remain and receive the bare minimum amount of food and water to survive…In exchange for hard labour under extremely poor conditions where disease and injury was common place…And physical abuse would be allowed as punishment…
And it is in one of these workhouses…Where our story begins…
…
It was a dreary and cold evening in the city of Mobotropolis, the great towering chimneys of factories and houses releasing great, ugly, plumes of oily black smoke that stretched upwards into the darkening grey skies above…The grinding mechanical noises of machinery within the factories creating a horrible almost groaning like noise that spread across the entire city, as if the very place itself was moaning in pain…
It would have made sense if it was, what with the hundreds of thousands that were still risking life and limb to scrape by all at the expense of the natural world as the expanding city devoured the countryside and converted forest and grassland alike into slums to house those who were emigrating to the city to find work as their former professions were no longer sustainable, with even the youngest of the least fortunate amongst us having to slave away under terrible conditions in the Union Workhouses…
One of the most infamous of these, was the Windsborough Workhouse…A particularly large workhouse located in the East End that was known for only taking in children who were orphaned, homeless or exceptionally poor in status, as there was never a shortage of them and their desperation made them willing to do anything.
It was run by one Mr Ivo Robotnik, a plump, portentous, man who looked as if he had been carved from a large slab of ham , he was red faced, with a long brown moustache and no hair at all…But despite his rather jolly appearance…He was anything but…For beneath the veneer of good manners and kindly appearance, was a foul tempered, cruel and spiteful man who wouldn't hesitate to take his anger out on the Workhouse inmates through verbal and even physical assault, some of the children In Windsborough even carrying scars from when the man would lash at them for even making the tiniest slip up…
As a result of this, the children were deathly afraid of him and would seek to avoid his gaze and attention as much as they possibly could…Lest they find themselves at the receiving end of his anger, they kept their heads down and worked. Worked and worked and worked…All day long.
The main hall where the boys in the workhouse toiled away was cavernous, a large chamber around 50 meters long and 25 meters wide…Lit by the large windows that allowed sunlight to pour in through the dingy, fogged up glass, the walls were red brick and had absolutely no heating at all meaning that the working conditions were only just tolerable in summer, but borderline inhospitable In the winter…The cold, concrete ground littered with machinery and grime as the boys worked.
For the male inmates at the workhouse, the labour they were being forced into doing for the day was crushing down bones so that they could be made into fertiliser for the countryside…A hard job due to the fact that the bone crushing machines used to create the fertiliser was powered by a large treadmill that required the boys to actively use it in order to raise the crushers.
Furthermore, a lot of the bones being used in the machines were rotted and still had bits of offal left on them, meaning that there had been a lingering miasma of sweat and decay in the air, something that made some of the more sensitive-nosed boys gag and heave in disgust…Some of them even stepping down from the treadmills to spill their guts for a moment before setting back too it, all the while some others bickered and fought amongst themselves over the few good condition bones left, wanting to suck the last traces of marrow from the offal…
It was 7 o'clock now, which meant the boys had been working for 14 hours straight…All of the 150 kids were knackered and starving…A few of them staring longingly at the door…Hoping Mr Starline, Robotnik's equally vile assistant would come in ringing the bell for dinner as It finally meant a break…Luckily for them, the end of the day had come for them…
The gargantuan, worm eaten and rusted iron framed door to the workhouse hall opened slowly with a loud creaking sound that echoed off of the walls, following suite was the figure of a rather tall, spindly platypus of around 40, his garb akin to that of many a gentlemen of the time; a pair of short fronted tailcoats with a fitted waistcoat over a white linen shirt…alongside a shiny golden monocle that was worn over the man's right eye…
I the platypus's right hand he held a brass bell which he rang out, the sound of the instrument loud and thunderous like that of a clap of thunder on a silent night…All of the boy's gazes snapping to him as he walked in with a disinterested sneer on his face as he called out,
"WORK TIME'S OVER BRATS! GET YOUR SORRY BACKSIDES TO THE FOODHALL AND BE SNAPPY!"
Almost instantly, every single one of the boys practically leapt off of their treadmills and practically sprinted towards the door with as much energy and vigour that they had left (Which in all honesty, was not much) eager to get their evening meal…One by one each of them pouring through the doors as they rushed to the canteen, following the scent of food…However…Amongst the tide of children…There were three stragglers.
They were all walking at a much slower pace than the other boys, one of them walking with a confident swagger, the second of the boys striding forward with heavy, methodical footsteps and the last of them rather timidly teetering on between the two, nervously glancing at his surroundings.
The boy walking with the confident swagger was a hedgehog, 11 years of age with sapphire-coloured quills and lighter brown fur around his muzzle…However the grime, dirt and sweat from the labour had caused them to appear darker in shade then they actually were…Despite that however, the boy was still full of energy. He wasn't even tired in the slightest, his emerald, green eyes still bright and full of life.
The second of the boys, the one walking with the heavier footsteps was different, he was a taller and visibly older boy of around 13. He was an echidna with dirty red quills of his own that were braided with rags and around his hands he wore dirty rags of cloth, seemingly to hide his hands…His eyes which were amethyst purple in sheen were more tired than the previous boy, but in them there still could be seen an indomitable will and determination…
And finally, the last of the boys was by far the smallest and the youngest…Being a six year old fox with fur that was a sandy yellow in colour from all of the grime, with spots of dingy white around his muzzle and the tips of his ears…He was a very unique specimen, for he had not one…But two long, bushy, tails that had the same colour of fur as the rest of his small, thin body…His eyes were sky blue in sheen and showed visible signs of worry…However they also carried a lot of anxiety and fear of his surroundings, they were also slightly bloodshot, Indicating that the young boy was ill.
Starline glared at all three of them with an iron hard gaze,
"Hurry up brats…Don't want your gruel to grow cold, do ya? Especially you fox if you want that case of influenza to go away."
The youngest boy gave a small whine in response, his two tails drooping and dragging along the floor, the hedgehog however merely gave a sarcastic grin in response and spoke thusly,
"Calm down doc! No need t'worry about Tails, I'd worry more 'bout that stupid monocle! It makes ya look ridiculous!"
Starline's gaze hardened, and he snapped back at the hedgehog, his voice dripping with malice and venom,
"Put a cork in it boy! Speak out of turn again and I'll tan your hide and put my boot where the sun don't shine…Got it?"
All of the bravado and bravery in the hedgehog's face evaporated immediately like a drop of water on a hot pan, instead his voice grew shaky and anxious, more akin to the younger fox beside him and the echidna.
"H-hey! C-calm down sir…I was just joking around…No need to get physical."
The Hedgehog boy flashed a nervous and polite smile to the platypus…His gaze was still as hard and sharp as flint,
"Oh of course you were, now scurry off you little guttersnipes…Otherwise I'll make sure that you won't be walkin' for a week…Now piss off!"
The three boys didn't need to be told twice and they headed off in the direction of the workhouse's food hall…This time with a bit more haste and hurry in every single one of their steps…It didn't take long for them to catch up with the rest of the boys though, each of them queuing up behind the rest of the boys.
The 13-year-old echidna gave out a low and amused chuckle, his tired amethyst eyes gazing towards the hedgehog who was twiddling with his thumbs while he waited,
"Cor' blimey…That was a shitshow Sonic." He said, his voice thick with an accent reminiscent of the east end of Mobotropolis.
The hedgehog quickly turned his head back to the older boy and crudely stuck out his tongue towards him, "I'd like to see you try and stand up to that duck-billed minger Knuckles…See if you can still rely on those big old hands of yours."
"You pullin' me leg hedgehog? I'm t'strongest lad in the workhouse! Just one punch and I'll open Starline up like a bloody tin of beans!" The echidna responded, his voice seemingly filled with a rather deluded sense of pride.
"You're talkin' bollocks, and you know It you deluded knob!"
"Oh, you wanna have a fuckin' go do ya?!"
"If it means putting a cork in that fat gob of yours then yes!"
The heated debate of the two boys was interrupted by the voice of their younger companion, the fox's tone nigh silent and hoarse and his accent not too dissimilar to the echidnas, however it was a lot more meek and nervous sounding,
"Sonic, Knux…Please don't fight now…I don't want t'get into trouble with Mr Robotnik…"
Both of the boys turned to the youngster and gave equally bewildered looks at the fox,
"Get into trouble with that fat geezer? Miles, you're the biggest goodie two shoes in the place! Besides, he won't even touch you considering yer bloody riddled." Knuckles spoke in response…However Sonic interrupted and responded to the red boy's statement,
"Hey red…You know that ain't true…Robotnik practically looks for an excuse to give us a beating…Especially Tails considering his…quirks…The other's do it as well, you know that and it's not like he asked for such a…well…sickly body."
Knuckle's face fell slightly, and he softened his tone as he spoke once again to the younger boy, placing one hand on the six-year-old's shoulder.
"Ehhh…Sorry about that lad…Y'know what I mean though, I don't see any reason why Robotnik or that twat Starline would try and hurt you."
Miles "Tails" Prower, looked upwards at the older boy with tired, bloodshot eyes, but despite the pale look on his face and the visible signs of illness as portrayed in his body language…He flashed the echidna a rather weak smile and croaked out,
"S'alright Knux…I know you didn't mean anything by it..."
However, the boy's illness seemed to catch up with him and he broke out into a small coughing spree, each one coming with a small series of wheezes for breath In between…Sonic patted the fox back as he coughed violently, helping shift at least a bit of the phlegm caught in the youngster's chest…the action was thankfully able to help a bit keeping the fox a bit more stable…Although Tails's breaths still came out in wheezing gasps for air.
"Woah there! You alright mate? The influenza striking up again?" Knuckles asked with concern, placing one large hand on the younger boy's shoulder,
"Yeah…Sorry…I am getting a bit better though, at least I think I am."
Sonic grinned at him in response and allowed himself to ruffle the fox's slightly dirty fur, maki g the younger boy giggle in response at the funny feeling before it ended up phasing into yet another small coughing spree…Despite that though, Tails didn't let it get him down, he had been strained by influenza for over a week now, so if he was going to be ill, he may as well get some form of enjoyment out of it…
…
The dining hall of the Workhouse was almost as large as the actual working halls that the children worked in…With the same red brick walls that were bare of any form of idolisation or decoration in the slightest bar from the gigantic yet dingy, murky, rusty iron framed windows that allowed a bit of light to pass through the opaque glass that had been tinted from years of grime buildup.
The floors were yet again bare of any direction and were nought but dirty and cold, grey concrete floor that chilled the feet of those in the hallway too unfortunate and deprived to have proper footwear, all the while the roof laid above them, held up by a cross-network of rusted steel scaffolding…
However, the most prominent feature of the dinner hall was the neatly lined up rows of worm-eaten tables and chairs…Their once sturdy, oaken frames now aged, worn and seemingly on the brink of collapse, all of them facing towards the front of the room where there stood one large, bubbling cauldron. Its form worn with age and rustier than a millennia old sword, great white plumes of scalding hot steam billowing out from it as if it was some volcanic caldera still filled with lava…
Inside of the large cauldron, there was a large pool of a thick, gloopy, colourless…slop. It resembled glue in it's texture and consistency, it's smell the definition of bland and uninteresting and it's appearance a greyish white, like how 5 week old porridge would appear…This, suspicious stew was known as gruel…A simple, dirt cheap meal of oatmeal and salt that was the main form of sustenance for the boys alongside perhaps a couple slices of old, staling bread that was rock hard and almost as grey as the gruel…It was hardly the most appetising of meals when it came to texture, flavour and complexity…But it was just about enough to get them by and keep them in an acceptable working condition…
And beside the bubbling cauldron of gruel? There stood a saggy faced, evil eyed old hag of a goat…Dressed in a worn old dress that was covered in stains and grime, a worn, brass ladle in her hand that she occasionally raised and smacked one of the boys with if they took too much or were holding up the very large que to get to the front…A large pile of wooden bowls and cutlery stacked up beside her that the boys would take from before receiving their daily dose of the nasty muck in the cauldron.
Unfortunately, though, due to their slow teetering pace, the three boys were stood at the back of the que…Meaning that they would have to wait far longer to be able to receive their food…However they did try and break up the waiting time by talking amongst themselves…Yet despite that, when they had finally reached the front of the que in order to receive their measly supper, there was very little left of the gloopy substance, all steam that had once been rising from the meal was long now…It was now little more than a stone cold, flavourless, grey mush…None of the boys were particularly thrilled about it to say the very least.
Despite that though, they each took a bowl of the gruel ad started to walk back down one of the aisles between the neatly rowed up chairs and tables…A few of the other boys who were sat down throwing disgusted looks and sniggering amongst themselves and occasionally throwing up rude gestures…However, they weren't doing it to Sonic or Knuckles…They were doing it to Tails.
The young fox gave out a small, miserable sniffle as he overheard some of the vile obscenities being told about him, he had heard each of the insults at least a thousand times and yet despite that they still cut like a knife through butter… "Freakshow", "Abomination.", "Plague dog.", "Snively brat." His ears drooped as he overheard them being jeered at him, accompanying a few more crude hand gestures alongside them…
Sonic, seeing his foxy friend in such a miserable state gently nudged him with his elbow, garnering the fox's attention…The hedgehog gave the youngster a small yet reassuring smile as he gently whispered,
"Hey…Chin up mate, don't let their insults get to ya…They'll find a new target if you just ignore them and move on with yer life."
Knuckles then spoke up, taking the same reassuring tone as Sonic,
"Damn right lad, the people who are saying all that bollocks about you are nothin' more than a bunch of wankers who are jealous that they don't have gifts as cool and unique as yours. I guarantee that, besides…If any of them try anything…You know we've got your back…"
The fox gave nervous glance towards both of his friends, each time being met with only a warm and reassuring gazes…His ears perked up a little bit more and he felt his tails unconsciously begin to wag a little as he felt his spirits slowly begin to brighten up, like the first shoots of green emerging from the snow at the dawn of spring…
Maybe they were right…Maybe he should just try and ignore what those nasty assholes who constantly bothered him said, he never liked them anyway, so why should he let the drivel that they spat out get to him? It's not like they ever gave any genuine constructive criticism of his character, it was all just crude insults and gestures…
Tails could feel the confidence within him slowly begin to swell up like a balloon, his ears fully perked up once more, his tails beginning to wag faster and harder now, his walking posture was less of a nervous, anxious crawl, but more of a confident strut…He could even feel a smile begin to spread across his face like Typhus in a crowded prison…He wasn't going to let them bother him…Not now, not ever…Never again!
However, that balloon of self confidence popped in an instant when something tripped him up, making the fox lose his balance and fall flat on his face like a sack of bricks…Pain flared up throughout his snout and he let out a sharp yelp…Slowly he looked up and he saw all of the boys sat in the seats around the trio begin to roar with loud, bellowing, raucous laughter…
"AHAHAH! Nice one Roger! That'll knock the freak down a peg or two!" He heard one boy shout, the insult once more hitting him like a poisoned arrow to the heart…
"OH MY GOD…AHAHAHAH! HE'S BLEEDING AS WELL! WHAT AN ABSOLUTE HELMET!"
Tails then let his hand trace his snout…And lo and behold, blood was pouring out from his nose like it was a waterfall, his lip too also oozing out ichor like pus from a leper's boils…Quickly, he covered his snout and his mouth with both of his hands…Not wanting to let anyone else see his bloodied face…But from the laughter and torrent of new insults…He knew it was no use, so he hung his head in shame…hoping the ground would open up and swallow him whole…
However, the laughter that he could hear all around him very quickly turn to outraged cries of anger…They had started with the sound of very quick and very heavy footsteps then the low gurgling sound of somebody being violently choked out…The fox nervously opened one eye and the sight he saw was absolutely shocking…
Knuckles had rushed over to the boy responsible for knocking him over, a 13 year old badger by the name of Roger Smalls…A notoriously large and violent tempered oaf of a boy who was often the first person to try and make fun of him for his physical deformity and jeer at him…But there he was…big, mean, horrible Roger Smalls, eyes bulging in fear as he looked up at Knuckles who's large, spiked hands were tightly wrapped around his neck…Squeezing his like it was a stress ball.
Another boy, one of Roger's friends immediately stood up and rushed towards Knuckles, tackling the red echidna to the cold floor below with a loud thunder, which in turn prompted Sonic into rushing into the battle…One of his feet striking the face of the boy who had tackled Knuckles to the ground…Then the small scuffle turned into a full out brawl faster than a drop of water evaporating on a hot pan as boys left and right burst up from their seats, throwing bowls, spoons and shoes at each other…The sounds of the brawl reverberating throughout the hallway!
Tails felt himself quickly pushed to the floor as boys eagerly rushed for a good scrap amongst themselves, he wormed through the storm of kicking and stomping feet and crawling over toppled bodies, seeking to either find Sonic and Knuckles in the sprawling chaos of the brawl…Or to be able to get out and run…
Thankfully though, due to the sheer mayhem that was erupting around him…All of the other boys were focused on fighting amongst themselves than trying to brawl with each other…Over the din of battle he could faintly hear angry yelling from Starline and the dinner lady to get them all to stop brawling…Their calls for peace being drowned out by everything happening around them…
Amongst the sea of rapidly shifting legs and feet…The fox could faintly see his salvation…A small area of relative peace near a doorway…One he could use in order to run out of the hallway and hopefully to bed…He didn't even care if he went without his dinner tonight, just as long as he could get away from all of the violence before someone laid their cruel, unforgiving gaze on him…
He drew ever closer…Pain throbbing throughout of the entirety of his body as he felt his small frame being trampled and kicked, blood now beginning to flow from other areas of his body now, staining the dirty, moth-eaten brown cloth of his shirt…His face contorting in pain and discomfort as he felt not only the agony of being trampled like a mouse in a stampede of wildebeest…But also the dull throbbing pain in his throat and chest that the Influenza in his system was giving him...
However, he was drawing closer and closer to that safe space near the door…Just a few more meters…Yes! With a small cough, a small wheeze and a teensy little squeeze…He emerged from the forest of legs and fallen boys…His bloodshot and azure eyes gazing up at the large, wooden door…His small frame rushing over to the brass doorknob and twisting it open…Hopefully this was his way out of this violent hell! Oh, how wrong he was…
Before he was even finished turning the doorknob, the door practically flung open, the heavy oaken wood of the door slamming into his face, sending him tumbling to the floor clutching his now twice bloodied nose…But he didn't even have any time to clutch his nose in pain as he saw just who it was who was standing in the doorframe…
It was a tall, chubby and portentous man of around fifty years of age, his garb being that of a fine red dinner jacket, black trousers and boots, a black top hat and golden monocle. His head was bald and akin to a great hunk of ham with a large, bushy, firey red moustache…
However, what was most important about the man was his expression…His blue eyes were fixated on him…His gaze filled with absolute, venomous anger and spite…His face practically purple in sheen from just how blood boilingly furious he was, making him seem more akin to a gigantic beetroot with a moustache…It was the Workhouse Master…Mr Robotnik himself…And he was apoplectic…
"SILENCE AT ONCE!" He thundered, his loud, fury filled roar like a cannon from Tails's perspective…
Almost immediately…Every boy stopped dead in their tracks as the Master made his presence known to every single person in the dinner hall…The boys on the ground stood up immediately, like soldiers rising to salute. Those who were in the midst of fighting each other immediately dropped their stances and guards as if they had never been fighting in the first place and those who were ducking and hiding under the tables crawled out as fast as they could, dusting themselves down in order to look as clean as possible.
Mr Ivo Robotnik surveyed the hallway around him, his gaze not becoming any less malevolent and evil natured in appearance…He was clearly out for blood this time after such an interruption to his routine…And unfortunately his victim this time…Was Tails…
Tails could feel his heart pounding in his chest like a drum…Robotnik gazing down upon him felt like he was being looked down upon by some dark, ruinous god…He was absolutely terrified! His fear only doubled though when the older man hoisted him up violently and barked at him furiously,
"PROWER! WHO CAUSED ALL OF THIS?!"
The fox was too scared to even reply in a coherent manner, all that he was able to let out being a series of frightened wheezes and gasps…His blue eyes staring wide and fearfully at his own…
Seeing how the fox was too frightened to even respond to him, the man scoffed and tossed him back down to the floor. Not even bothered that he had only hurt the poor boy yet again as he felt a new cut open up on his hand...Nonetheless however, he let out another monstrous bellow,
"WHO STARTED THE FIGHT YOU INSOLENT WHEPS?! ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW, OR NONE OF YOU WILL BE EATING FOR A WEEK!"
All the boy's faces grew horrified at the bellow and immediately turned to look at each other, silently asking each other what they should do and who they should blame. However, in his typical, brutish and annoying fashion…Roger bellowed back at the master.
"It was Knuckles, Sonic and Tails s'ah! They hit me first!"
Almost immediately after, he found himself barraged by a hurl of insults and profanities by the Hedgehog and the Echidna who weren't even standing anywhere near him at this point, in fact they weren't even stood near each other…Sonic was on the other side of the hallway to Knuckles…
Robotnik's eyes barred into all of them, small, beady little pupils filled with hatred for the trio of boys…He opened his mouth to speak and once more let out a thunderous bellow,
"PROWER, SONIC AND KNUCKLES, WITH ME AT ONCE! EVERYONE ELSE DEPART AT ONCE!"
The rest of the boys followed their instructions without question…The sounds of their shuffling feet reverberating as they all walked out of the dining hall and through the large, worm-eaten doors…Leaving only Sonic and Knuckles left in the hall…The two older boys slowly marching towards the workhouse master with grim expressions on their faces, like prisoners marching to the gallows…
The three lined up in front of the workhouse master, their eyes staring up at the fat man as he paced back and forth in front of them, his hands behind his back and his gaze towards them filled with an unprecedented amount of hatred,
"Okay…Boys…Can you tell me why you are stood up here right now?" He asked in a sickly-sweet tone, his words practically laced with poison…
"B-because…We started the fight?..." Sonic answered in a very low and nervous voice, his own eyes fixated on the floor…Not wanting to look up at the almost monstrous form of Robotnik.
"Yes, because you started the fight…Now, Knuckles…Can you tell me why I might be the teensiest bit angry about this?!"
"Uhhh…Well sir…Because it's against t-the rules?" The echidna responded, his hands balled into fists in order to feebly try and suppress his fear.
Robotnik flashed a very nasty, evil smile towards the echidna and spoke once more in the overly, friendly voice. His rage only barely concealed under the friendly demeanour,
"Good! Now…Miles…Why is fighting…Against the rules?"
Tails was shaking uncontrollably with fear, his breaths coming out in rapid, ragged gasps for breath, his bloodshot eyes were wide and terrified, an occasional cough escaping as the illness only exacerbated the situation for him…He felt like he was going to faint when the monstrous master leaned down to get right in his face…
"B-b-bec-c-cause it…it d-disturbs y-you?..."
"EXACTLY YOU BLUBBERING FREAK!" Robotnik roared, all of his rage at the situation finally exploding to the surface…His face twisted in absolutely volcanic anger and the volume of it so loud and intense it matched the description, Tails clutched his ears in pain…His terror only amplifying in intensity.
"HOW DARE YOU THREE START SUCH A BRAWL! IN MY WORKHOUSE NO LESS! I OUGHT TO TAN YOUR HIDES FOR THIS!"
"B-But sir! Tails didn't do anythi-" Sonic tried to speak up, but he was met by a quick slap across the face, the sound of it like a crack of thunder,
"NO BUTS!"
Sonic clutched at his now bruised cheek, his own emerald eyes filled with terror…He hadn't been expecting that…However, when Robotnik spoke once more…A chill went shooting down the spines of all of the boys…
"If I hear…One more case from you three, I'll mount your heads on my wall…Consider yourselves foodless for the next three days…And be grateful it isn't more…NOW PISS OFF!"
The three didn't have to be told twice when Robotnik spoke his last words, turning their tails and slowly marching towards the large doors of the dining hall…Each of their expressions as grim and cold as the grave…
"Well…I don't think that could have gone any worse…" Knuckles muttered to himself, gazing at the floor as they marched through the workhouse halls…Not being able to bring himself to look up towards his two companions.
"Yer think Knux? No food for three days! How the hell are we meant to work on empty stomachs, especially Tails…Speaking of…Uhhhh…Tails, you good mate?" Sonic responded; his own attention fixated on the miserable fox walking between them.
Small coughs, wheezes and sniffles escaped the younger boy…His tails and ears miserably drooping like wilting flowers, the former dragging along the ground…
"Tails? Did you he-"
"I'm fine..." The fox responded, his tone almost as cold and grey as the weather outside…
"Don't lie to us Tails, we know you're not." Knuckles responded, his tone not shifting from his quiet muttering…
"Well why do you care then?! You didn't seem to care about rushing into that bloody stupid fight! What on god's earth were you two thinking! You…You shouldn't have done that; I would have been fine…" Tails snapped with characteristic sharpness.
"Woah! Hey, Tails there's no need for that!" Sonic exclaimed, shocked at his friend's outburst.
"Oh?! And why not?! You two were stupid and reckless and now look where we are! Foodless for three days work…And more than likely we'll be subjected to harder labour than usual…And for what?! Just to defend some two tailed freak?!"
"No, to protect our friend! Tails, you're not some freak!" Sonic responded, his shock turning to horror at the way his friend was talking about himself…He knew that the fox struggled with self-image issues from time to time…But it wasn't common for him to use the same insults his tormentors used to describe himself…
"And why not?! If I wasn't just some freak, then why does everyone call me that huh? Why am I always the one who gets tormented for no reason?! If…If I wasn't a freak…Then why do I have these…" Tails sobbed, gesturing to his two namesakes…The fox stumbled over to one wall and collapsed into a crying heap…His two tails curling around his small frame…Sobs, wheezes and coughs escaping from his heaving torso, the influenza causing them to have a horrible, nasally sound behind them…
Knuckles and Sonic gave worried glances towards each other, they didn't even need to speak in order to communicate how they could handle the situation…They'd need to be gentle with the fox and deal with this carefully…
With a couple of uneasy steps forward, Sonic approached the younger boy…Not wanting to upset or frighten him any more than he already was…He outstretched one hand slowly and gently…
"Hey…Tails…I know that this probably isn't what you wanna here at the moment, but…I'm..We're…Sorry for starting that fight, but…You really do need to learn how to accept yourself…"
"No I don't…Why should I if all I'm ever going to be is judged for my looks?...Just face it guys…I'm not worth your time…The others are right about me, I am just a freak…" Tails whispered, clutching his knees ever tighter and burying his face in them…Knuckles however disagreed and slowly stepped towards the fox, a comforting tone lacing his voice,
"You're not a freak, you're just a boy like us…So what if you've got two tails? If anything, it makes you special…Not a freak…"
Sonic drew closer…Being able to place one hand on the fox's shoulder, causing him to flinch momentarily, however he did momentarily relax…His puffy eyes slowly emerging from the tight embrace he had locked himself in…Looking out into the face of the hedgehog…
"Listen Tails…I know that you struggle with these body image issues, but listen mate…You're just fine the way you are, don't let other people get to you alright?"
Tails slowly unfurled from his small shell; however his demeanour had not changed at all…His eyes were still gleaming with tears and small coughs, wheezes and whimpers were still escaping from his mouth…
Sonic and Knuckles in unison slowly pulled the kid into a warm embrace…Taking the fox by surprise, however he didn't pull away from the hug and merely sank into it and slowly began to let out of all of the sorrow and agony he was feeling…Crying his eyes out…
It took a long time, however…Eventually the kid was able to calm down a little bit…Pulling away from the two older boys and looking up at them both, a very weak and shaky smile slowly beginning to spread across his thin, pale lips…
"Feelin' a bit better now?" The two older kids said in unison,
"Yeah…Sorry about that…I just uhhh…It was really eatin' at me this time and…"
"We know Tails…But, promise us that you'll talk to us about these things okay?" Sonic asked.
The fox meekly nodded in response, his tails slowly beginning to wag a little bit once again,
"Good, now…Despite everything that happened tonight, just know that we'll never abandon you, okay? And when you go to bed tonight, do so knowing that we'll always be here or you…You're our brother now…Either way though, it's getting late…And we can deal with our punishment and soak it in at dawn…because now it's time for bed."
…
There you go! Another one shot, feel free to let me know what you think!