Chapter 7 – Gift

Ten years ago

"Chaos is power."

He curled up among the blankets, a tiny spiky blue ball with ears still a little too large for his head that twitched at the warm voice. A hand stroked through his baby-soft quills, comforting, familiar, safe, but try as he might, he could not remember the face. A lighter shade of blue, a different angle of quill, but the features were all blurry, running together like a smear of paint.

But she held him close, teased his ears, wrapped him in that gentle, low voice that he knew from birth and would know until the day he died, even as it faded to impression and sensation instead of sound.

Mom.

He snuggled against her side, burying his nose in her shirt, and let her tuck a blanket under his chin.

And maybe the words were as lost as the memory of her face, but he could remember how they felt.

"Chaos is all around us," she said, soothing, soft. "It's the soul of the planet and every living thing on it. It's the power behind everything that exists and everything that happens." She paused, thoughtful. "Everyone has a piece of Chaos inside them."

"Everyone?" His voice was high. Young.

"Everyone." Her finger tapped his nose, and he twitched and swatted at the offending digit. She laughed. It sounded like bells.

"Even Bean?" he asked with a pout.

"Everyone." She ruffled his fur and he pulled away in protest. "That's what makes us alive."

He grumbled something, and she laughed again. Her hand slid down to his chin. Lifted his face to look at her.

A smudge of blurred features, lost.

"Chaos is life. It is a gift." Fingers scritched under his chin, and he closed his eyes in delight. "More for some than others."

One of his ears perked up.

"You see, some have a bigger piece of Chaos. It gives them special abilities."

He sat up straight. "Like me!"

"Yes, like you," she said, hands darting in to tickle him until he collapsed in gales of laughter. Though he couldn't see her face, he could hear the smile in her voice. "Just like you."

When he caught his breath again, he snuggled back against her side, nuzzling his cheek against her arm. "I'll be the fastest ever!" he declared matter-of-factly.

She poked his nose again, and the warmth enveloped him. "You have a gift, Sonic. Don't forget that."

He smiled as her fingers ran through his quills again.

"Don't ever forget."