3/20/21-8/16/24

Sonic was at school at his locker getting ready for math when he bumped into something.

"Hey!" he said, saw Shadow and Rouge, glared at him then Shadow glared at him back. "Leave me alone! I already have a bruise from yesterday!" he said. "And last night." he whispered.

"Sorry Faker." Shadow said.

'Did he say and last night?' he wondered.

Then Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Blaze and Silver came.

"Hey! Leave him alone. You do it to him enough." Knuckles said.

"Yeah. What did he ever do to you?" Tails asked and Sonic and Shadow stood there in silence.

"Something I'm pissed at still." Shadow said and Sonic glared at him then slammed his door shut.

"Let's go guys." Sonic said and they followed him.

Shadow looked at him and noticed he was limping a little.

There's one thing only Sonic and Shadow know.

Shadow is his brother. Sonic is fifteen and Shadow is sixteen.

They had lost their parents when they were little and Shadow had left Sonic at Wood Orphanage.

Sonic had been abused there and will protect the kids. He's failing most of his classes from being up late doing chores and such.

Later Sonic and Shadow were in another fight.

"Would you just leave me alone Shadow?!" Sonic snapped.

"Yeah man, he's never done anything to you!" Knuckles said.

Then Shadow ignored him and picked Sonic up by the shirt.

"You can't even take care of yourself. I bet you have no friends at that place." he said louder than he meant confusing them all.

"Huh?" they said.

Sonic growled and punched him back hard landed on his feet getting them all to gasp.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled forgetting they were in school and getting them all to look at them. "I'VE HAD IT! WHAT DID I DO TO YOU?! WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM WASN'T MY FAULT!"

Everyone was even more confused.

"YES IT WAS! IF YOU HADN'T RUN AFTER THE BALL SHE WOULDN'T HAVE TO GIVE UP HER LIFE! SHE LOVED YOU MORE THAN ME SINCE THE DAY YOU WERE BORN!" Shadow yelled.

"OH YEAH? WHAT ABOUT YOU AND HIM? HE LOVED YOU MORE BECAUSE YOU HAVE IT ALL WHILE I ONLY HAVE SPEED AND STRENGTH!" Sonic yelled.

"YOU HAVE EVERYTHING I DO AND YOU KNOW IT! YOU CAN EVEN USE THE CHAOS EMERALDS WHILE NO ONE ELSE CAN! ADMIT IT! YOU'RE THE GUARDIAN OF THE SEVEN CHAOS EMERALDS!" Shadow yelled and Sonic growled and punched him hard again. "DO IT! SHOW THEM WHAT YOU CAN REALLY DO! YOU'VE WANTED TO DO THIS SINCE I LEFT YOU AT THAT ORPHANAGE AFTER MAKING US LOSE MOM AND DAD ON THAT CAR ACCIDENT AND SAVING YOU FROM DROPPING THE BALL IN THE STREET!" he yelled getting them all to gasp and Sonic to back up.

"WHAT?!" they all yelled.

"Sonic?" Tails said.

"Are you from an orphanage?" Knuckles asked.

"And what's he mean by mom and dad?" Silver asked.

Sonic stood there in silence making it official. Sonic the Hedgehog lives in an orphanage.

Sonic growled and raised his hand then focused on his Chaos and for the first time in almost eleven years he used his true powers.

"CHAOS BLAST!" he yelled and got Shadow hard.

Then he kicked him hard and his fur getting darker.

"YOU SWORE TO NEVER TELL ANYONE!" he yelled and punched him again.

Everyone but Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Blaze and Silver backed up.

"That's right, I did. But I've had enough! It's time for them all to know what you're living with!" Shadow said. "I know she starves you, hits you, punch's you, makes you do all the chores and everything! You protect the kids to make it safer for them! You don't care about what she does to you, you care about the little kids. You deserve everything that they do to you! I know you have a sprained wrist and can't wrap it or anything! When you get sick, tired, hurt they make you do it. You never finish your homework because you have to protect them all. You literally risk your life for those things!"

Sonic growled darker than before and was dark blue.

Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Blaze and Silver stood there knowing what he was.

Then Shadow noticed and backed up realizing what he just did.

Then he was punched hard getting him to go flying.

Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Blaze and Silver looked at each other.

"Sonic!" Tails said and he looked at them while Amy, Cream, Blaze and Silver backed them all away while Knuckles stood next to Tails.

"Calm down! We understand what you go through and what Shadow just did. But you know that you'd never forgive yourself if you hurt him." Knuckles said gently.

"He may have left you but you still have us. I can talk to my parents and see if they'll take you in so you can get away from the orphanage." Tails said and Sonic started to calm down.

"That's it, that's it. We're not gonna leave you at all. If anyone starts to bully you because of what we just heard we'll punch them and defend you." Knuckles said while Tails, Amy, Cream, Blaze and Silver nodded.

"He's right. We're not gonna leave you." Silver said.

"We'll be there for you. You have us all, like Tails said his parents I'm sure Vanilla would take you in to." Blaze said.

"Yes. Mother would gladly take you in." Cream said smiling.

While Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Blaze and Silver comforted him and he started to become plain Sonic Shadow stood there and realized what he just did.

Then Sally came to.

"I can even have daddy arrest them." she said gently.

Then Sonic was back to plain Sonic on his knees crying.

Crying he had kept in since the day he got in the orphanage.

Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Blaze, Silver and now Sally walked over to him and hugged him close. Tails and Knuckles the closest.

"Y-you guys mean it?" he said in hope.

They smiled and nodded.

"We're a family. And family stays together." Blaze said.

"And I'm sure we'd find foster parents for the kids. Maybe they'll even like them and adopt them." Sally said.

He smiled a little.

Everyone else was still shocked at what they just found out.

Sonic the Hedgehog was Shadow's brother and abused in an orphanage along with protecting children.

That's why he has low grades and almost never finished his homework. He's protecting the kids, being abused and or doing chores.

Shadow stood there quietly and shut his eyes.

'What have I done?' he thought then heard Rouge start laughing and everyone looked at her.

"I can't believe you live in an orphanage while Shadow lives by himself just fine!"Rouge said laughing.

Everyone glared at her getting her to stop laughing while Shadow stood there quietly.

Then he remembered something.

"That's why he has anxiety." he said quietly but covered his mouth while they all looked at him.

"What?!" they said and Sonic glared at him.

"Another thing you swore to keep quiet! But yes, that's why I have anxiety. That's why I go to the nurses office every morning. To take my pill." Sonic said.

Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Blaze, Silver and Sally looked at each other.

They felt even more worried about him.

"Sonic?" Sally said gently.

"Yeah Sal?" he said.

"I'm sorry but we have to know, do you, cut yourself?"

Sonic stood there in silence.

Shadow stood there in shock and horror.

For the first time in ten years the big brother was coming out of him.

Sally gently pulled up the sleeves and gasped with tears coming down.

"Oh Sonic." she said and gave him a hug.

"Those are cuts and bruises from the caretaker and myself. A ten year old saw me do it and stopped me for a while saying that I needed to stop. They know I'm going through a lot and don't deserve to go through this. He said that if they lose me from hurting myself they'll be upset after losing their friend and in their opinion, guardian. They know I'm the guardian of the seven Chaos Emeralds but don't ask me about them or try to touch them. The caretaker doesn't know though." he said and sighed. "I keep doing it but swore not to try and kill myself as much as I want to. I know that if they lose me that way they'll be in trouble and not protected."

They looked at him. Even Rouge.

Shadow stood there quietly with a tear coming down.

"Come on. Let's go to the castle and I'll have a doctor look after you while I tell daddy what's going on there. Sound good?" Sally asked and he nodded.

So he and the others headed to Sally's and Knuckles carried Sonic's backpack with him finally gave up and let out how weak he is so had one side of him while Silver had the other.

While they watched Shadow shook his head with more tears coming down.

"I'm sorry." he whispered.

Then he grabbed his backpack, Chaos Controlled home and started crying in guilt when he got home.