-next day-
Mephiles gathered up his things and made sure everything was back in order, he then picked the hoglet up and keeping it secure in his arms he left the room and down the halls to the front desk where he saw the pink hedgehog again.
"Good day sir." she greeted with a typical sweet smile. "Here to check out?"
"Yes," Mephiles answered, his ears twitching a bit as he held the hoglet close to his chest. "But I do have one question since you seem more familiar around this block, what is a good place to work that allows children?"
"Um.. allows children.." the pink hedgehog thought. "Well I can't really think of anything except maybe here, staff get a room here free of charge as long as you work well enough."
"Is there a slot open?" Mephiles questioned, after glancing at Sonic who gripped at his gray fur.
"One second, I will go get the manager." she informed him before getting up and going into the back room.
"If this doesn't work then I won't have much of a way to raise you properly." Mephiles muttered, watching the hoglet sleep.
"So you want a job here at the master emerald hotel?" someone asked, walking towards Mephiles who looked over to see a red echidna.
"If it pays well." Mephiles replied, putting a hand over the small blue form in his arms.
"Do you have any experience?" the echidna inquired.
"Depends what kind you are inquiring." Mephiles responded cooly.
"Well we are in need of a cleaner." the echidna shrugged. "Doesn't need much experience as long as you know how to sweep, dust and scrub."
"Don't you have any higher pay spots?" Mephiles asked, doing his best to keep his cool.
"Can you cook?" the pink hedgehog chirped the question.
"Amy, a cook doesn't get paid much." the echidna told her before looking back at Mephiles. "Sorry but janitor is the only slot open right now."
"Knuckles can't you just give it a rest? Besides he has a baby to take care of, don't you think it would be awfully tiring?" the pink hedgehog-Amy snapped slightly.
"I do not tire." Mephiles spoke up, interrupting the two's little disagreement. "And right now I will take whatever job is open as long as I have a place to stay."
"Alright, you are hired." Knuckles decided. "And you can keep that room for as long as you work here."
Mephiles nodded shortly and glanced at Amy who didn't seem very thrilled with Knuckles decision of janitor.
"Janitor is first thing in the morning, you can start then." Knuckles told him.
"Very well." Mephiles agreed before going back to his room to give the hoglet something to eat.
Knuckles smiled and looked at Amy who was sitting with her arms crossed and a sore expression on her face. "Oh come on sis, you know we need a janitor besides I was getting tired of scrubbing the toilets."
"Whatever." Amy rolled her eyes before typing on the computer to get her mind off of it.
Mephiles set the hoglet down on the mattress and covered him with the blanket before going to the window where he moved the curtains aside a bit to peer out the window where he watched the cars in traffic and people hurrying about doing their daily activities and going to work.
He watched the city for a bit till he heard the hoglet crying again, ears flicking back a bit he closed the curtain and went back to Sonic who was again searching for him as he cried and whimpered.
With a sigh he picked the hoglet up and held him close allowing him to cling to his chest fur, Sonic recognized the scent and touch causing him to relax in relief at finding he was back up against Mephiles who was just watching him intently.
"Well this is going to pose a problem." Mephiles muttered, stroking the hoglet's quills.
-later-
Mephiles quietly watched the tv not having anything better to do as the hoglet slept curled on the pillow beside him, it was all peaceful and silent till a minute later Sonic awoke only to start crying again for he was strangely terrified of being alone on the pillow.
"What is wrong with you?" Mephiles growled slightly, picking the hoglet up by the scruff and bringing him closer where they were both face to face. "I am right here, what is your issue?"
Sonic squeaked in terror and cried harder making Mephiles' frustration rise but holding back his anger he laid the hoglet on his hand and brought it close to his chest where he gently rubbed his thumb against the tiny things back as it buried its self into his chest fur trying to hide or something similar and with how fluffy it was and how small Sonic was it almost worked.
"Alright Sonic I need to know why you are so terrified." Mephiles told him, knowing the hoglet understood him. "And it is either you allow it or I will force it."
Sonic quivered a bit but didn't object when Mephiles put a hand to his head and entered his mind.
'Please don't hurt me.' Sonic's mind pleaded. 'Don't hurt.'
"I have no intentions of harming you unless you give me a reason to." Mephiles hissed a bit. "Now hush."
Sonic clung a bit tighter to the white chest fur and let out a bit of a whimper as he felt the strange power go through his mind which he only understood to a point due to his fairly under developed brain that was to grow to understand more as he grew up but for now he strangely understood Mephiles and trusted him.
Mephiles searched through the hoglet's mind and found bits and pieces of memories that were too much for the infant to remember fully and for whatever reason this hoglet was terrified of being left alone it was in its mind somewhere and he was determined to find it.
Finally he found something useful to what he was trying to find out but he only got angrier from what was to be heard..
"Is it alive?" someone demanded.
"Yes sir but the mother?" someone else asked.
"Kill her." the first ordered.
"No, please I will do anything." a woman's voice pleaded.
"Sir, we do need someone to take care of it." the second stated.
"Fine, take them both." the first growled.
"This hoglet is not strong enough to even survive, you're a failure." the first snarled.
"N-no.." the woman whimpered.
Suddenly a loud noise sounded making a ringing in the hoglet's ears, the hoglet was then picked up and he could faintly hear heavy breathing like someone couldn't breathe properly.
"I-I'm sorry I-I failed to pr-protect y-you." the woman whispered into the hoglet's ear. "But I-I have to l-leave now.. I-I'm s-so sorry.."
Another loud shot was heard and the hoglet then fell where it hit the ground with a faint yelp but a minute later someone picked him up by the leg making him hang upside down which the hoglet could only feel.
"What do we do with it?" someone asked.
"Let the scientists have their fun, maybe they can come up with a way to make it useful." the first suggested darkly. "Or it will die, which is the most likely thing to happen since it is just a weak little freak."
Mephiles growled in anger at the memories but he found the hoglets mind was screaming at him.
'Stop! Stop! Stop!'
Unsure what the hoglet meant he left its mind but froze finding he was nearly squashing Sonic by how tight he was holding him, quickly he loosened his grip and watched as the hoglet breathed hard and long breaths that Mephiles did his best to help calm and in a minute Sonic was back to breathing normal.
"Well I guess you sure had quite the traumatizing time." Mephiles mused, gently rubbing the hoglets back as it slowly fell back to sleep curled up in his chest fur. "But it is over now."
