Sonic: Yolo, yolo, yolo, yolo, yolo

Shadow: Would you shut it, hedgehog!

Sonic: Yolo

Silver: Why am I related to him again?

SunLove: Because I said so.

Disclaimer: I own no one except for my OCs.

Chapter 20: Just Let it Out

His eye lids were shut tight and he was snug in his bed, his bed that he missed so much. The ebon hedgehog's head was placed on the softest pillow he had ever slept on in days and his body was wrapped in fluffy sheets, caressing him to sleep. Shadow had eaten, he had taken a shower and now all he needed to do was rest. Right when the four got back from there long, silent, tearful drive home, he went straight to the shower. All it took was for him to smell himself and there would be no questions asked. After that long, endless, blissful shower he silently went to the table and sat himself down. Not a second later was there food right in front of him. Choosing to not waste one moment, he hungrily ate it in silence.

All he remembered from then was the house being really silent. Not one word was spoken between them except for what his mother said.

We'll talk about this when we've rested.

She hadn't left it at that, she said her goodnights and secretly urged the young dark hedgehog to sleep with her for the night, but he declined. As much as he wanted for her to hold him he felt he needed to think things through. Everything happened so fast that he couldn't really process much.

Relaying on everything, he didn't know what he was thinking. He couldn't remember why he walked out. All he remembered was white hot rage coursing through ever vein in his body, to the point to where he wasn't thinking clearly. Every action he went through with was pure impulse. Not one single thought was going through his mind in that time period. He was just angry. So angry. Angry at Chelsea, Sonic, Silver, the world, God! He hated everything and everyone in sight, mind or existence. It was just rage controlling him at that time. Just rage.

But now, he wasn't feeling anything. Right now, he just…felt. He felt no emotion, no expression. It was like he was relaxed but in order to be relaxed he couldn't have 101 things running through his mind. But he wasn't tense either. It was hard to put it into words. He was just lying on his bed, comfortable. It was just that. Nothing else.

Shadow turned on his other side and sighed heavily. He changed his mind. Now was not the time to think things through. It was the time to sleep, truly sleep and rest. He needed to regain his lost energy. He needed to regain himself back, that would take time, but he would. Tomorrow would be a hard day. He could tell already. But he shouldn't think about that now.

He just needed to sleep.

(0…)

"It's been forever, let's just go."

"No way, he'll wake up soon. It's been awhile."

"Why do you even want to talk to him?"

"Because he- hey! Look he's waking up!"

A groggy groan left the ebony hedgehog's lips as the sun light slammed his eyelids. The amount of eye light on his morning sensitive eyes almost made the young hedgehog growl and hiss. Shadow turned over to shield his eyes. He put his face into his pillow, clutching it.

"Hey, buddy! Don't go back to sleep! We've been waiting for hours!"

An immediate growl left his mouth. He was still hazy from sleep and the voice was unknown to him. Even so, he wasn't up for hearing voices that annoyed him for a nameless reason. The dark male just turned over and put the pillow over his head, covering himself up.

"Aww come on Shads. Don't be like that. We need you to get up before mom does."

Shadow had enough. He wasn't feeling up to it this morning. Without any hesitation he sprang up and glared menacingly. He pulled his lips back, snarling and whipped his head around to face his two brothers.

His two brothers…..

Instantly he dropped his grouchy attitude. There in front of him were his two brothers, just like he remembered; one blue and one white. Five days could really do something to a person. Shadow looked to his hands in embarrassment. How could he have acted so unfriendly after what he just did? He ran away, leaving them wounded, and this was how he acted after coming back?

"Oh," he breathed out twiddling his thumbs. Shadow looked back at them, the inside of his brows rising in an apologetic tone. Sonic smiled reassuringly knowing where he came from. He shrugged dismissively, "Don't worry about it. Everyone's crabby in the morning." He rubbed his neck looking towards the floor. A pink color tinting his cheeks. "I'm just glad that you're here and not….well, wherever you were."

For several minutes the room was heavy with silence, tense silence. Every hedgehog averted their gazes. It wasn't until Sonic said, "Can we talk to you before mom does?" that everyone looked at him. Shadow's ruby orbs flickered over to the youngest of the three and his eyes widened. He hadn't even realized the stance and demeanor of Silver. It wasn't a good one though. Silver stood behind the azure hedgehog, arms crossed and eyes half covered in anger. His deep scowl was hard to miss and the way he glared at him the second his eyes laid upon his….

Well, let's just say Shadow never knew how he was still alive today.

It was off having Silver, the only being he thought incapable of getting angry, be livid with him. It took a lot to make the silver male upset, like, over the top upset. Usually he would get mad over petty little things but would forget about it the next second. He was more of a peaceful person. He didn't like getting angry. So Shadow knew he screwed up, terribly.

His eyes fluttered back to the hopeful hedgehog and he somehow managed to squeak a yes. His brother's bright smile lifted some of the weight off his heavy conscience. Shadow didn't show a smile but he just lowered himself to the floor, crossing his legs. The other two followed suit. Sonic's emerald eyes crossed over to Silver's and seemed to be having a silent conversation which ultimately ended in Sonic sighing and Silver grunting. The cerulean hedgehog looked over to Shadow and smiled again.

"Shadow, I know this might be too much of a touchy subject but-"

Silver scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Don't sugar coat it Sonic," he glared at Shadow who blinked, "How'd you get the stupid idea to leave?"

"Silver!" Sonic exclaimed, frowning.

"What?" the metallic colored furry shot back, "Don't you realize what he's done!?"

By this time, Silver was up on his feet fuming. Shadow was almost sure his whole body would turn red any second. The blue male stood up and scowled at his younger brother. "I know your mad Silver but that gives you no reason to be so rude."

"I'm not going to sit here and just act as if everything's normal Sonic," he shouted. His golden eyes glared towards Shadow with untainted hatred.

"Give him a break. He just got home no less than 12 hours ago."

Silver scoffed. "Give him a break. I would like to break something of his alright," he muttered, rolling his eyes. He then bellowed, "I don't know if you've noticed but I can't-" he turned his gaze back to the dark hedgehog who was speechless, "You are the most selfish person I know. How could you!? Look what you did!"

Unbeknownst to Silver their mother came entering through the door with concerned eyes. She peered through darting her tired eyes between the trio.

"Silver!" Sonic cried out having to block Silver from his path. He advanced towards the black and crimson striped hedgehog in fury. "Calm down!"

He back off as Silver pushed him off. His breathing was heavy and tears spilled out of his lids. Silver shook his head in frustration and stormed out of the room. Before he slammed the door, to his room, he screamed, "Why don't you just go back to where you were. I bet you loved it there!"

And that was it.

All that was left was silence, dead silence. The heavy breathing of the azure hedgehog was drowned out compared to the amount of intensity left in the room. It was so unpleasantly silent that it screamed in their ears, ringing at an unbearable decibel. Sonic ran a hand through his quills and sighed heavily finding the situation a bit too much to handle.

"What happened," their mother's voice croaked, raspy.

She walked towards the two remaining only to have answers of silence, for a second. Chelsea stood next to Sonic peering at him for answers. The cerulean shook his head sadly. They both looked over to the shadowy hedgehog to see him glower at the floor a few feet in front of him. Shadow's ruby irises then traveled up to meet their gazes and he cringed inwardly at their troubled expressions. Slowly, he arose and bowed his head, but he somehow kept his strong stance.

"I think…I think I've caused much distress towards Silver. I believe I am the one to blame," he said lowly. Each word made him hurt, badly.

Chelsea shook her head reaching towards him and grabbing his arms. "Baby, he's just upset. Silver will calm down soon-"

"No mother," he sighed stepping away from her hold, "He won't. And I do not expect him to. I've brought undeniable pain to this family. I don't-"

"Hey Shads. Don't get so down. Everything will be alright in the end. I promise. Don't think like that," Sonic cheered giving a peppy smile.

"I just-I just don't want to-" his voice cracked. Shadow scowled at himself for being so weak. Chelsea looked over to Sonic and scrunched her brows together. Sonic looked them over and said, "I'm going to go see if Silver's calm. I'll be back." He scurried off leaving the two alone.

Chelsea, once more, reached over and grabbed Shadow's hand. He observed her, grabbing her hand tightly. She led him to the bed and they both sat by each other. Chelsea gasped when Shadow suddenly leaned over to her and out his head in her lap. He encircled his arms around her waist and buried his head in her stomach, ears sinking down.

"He hates me mother. They both hate me," he whispered.

"No they do not," she said.

"There's no use in denying it. It's obvious Silver does and I know Sonic does too. He's trying to hold it in."

The young woman rubbed tiny circles on the back of his back and massaged his ear. It was amazing how a strong, independent, cocky, dark guy like him could turn into such vulnerable child. Chelsea smiled painfully at him. She leaned down and kissed his head.

"You do realize it was very wrong of you to run away, right? You gave me-us-quite the scare," she whispered softly.

Shadow took his head out of her stomach to face her. His watered eyes were hard to look at. She stroked his muzzle with her thumb and sighed.

"I'm sorry mother. I didn't mean to do any of this," the slight heart ache he had multiplied by 100. His bottom lip trembled but he held in the tears. "I didn't mean to call you that name and I do love you mother. I do, you have to believe me."

"Shh, baby, I know you didn't mean to. I know, I know. I love you too, alright? But what you did, it was hard for all of us honey." Chelsea grabbed a hold of his head and brought him to her chest. He wrapped his arms around her neck and trembled within her hold. "It was really hard and I think Silver took it the hardest. You know how much he cares about you."

"Are you being realistic, he despises me. He doesn't even want me here," Shadow sobbed.

"You know that's not true."

"Yes it is."

"Well, Shadow," she needed to say this, "maybe it's right for him to hate you because I think you've hurt him."

"I know I have, I ran away and-"

"No," Chelsea interrupted, "That's not what I mean." Shadow uncovered his face full of tears and hummed in confusion. He looked so much like a child; part of it was because he still was even if he was 17. He still needed to be held and cradled like one. And he still needed to be treated as such.

"Shadow, you know he looks up to you more than Sonic. He sees you as the perfect person. There were many times where he's told me he wants to be like you. Have you noticed every time you acknowledged him for something his eyes would light up? When you left, he took it as a sign of you not wanting to do anything with him. He saw your leave as a rejection. And no matter how small it seems in your eyes, he did not take that rejection well, baby."

The crimson marked hedgehog rubbed his eyes. "I didn't know that I was such an importance to Silver-anyone. I thought everyone just thought of me as….well, someone of unimportance."

The dark-skinned woman chuckled. She hugged him tightly and said, "Well, that was stupid to think. Didn't you just see what happened?"

"Yeah."

"Now come on. We have to fix things. Actually," she poked his chest hair causing him to snatch her hand away from the sensitive spot. Chelsea laughed at the smile he was trying to contain. "You have to fix things mister. I'm sure Silver will forgive you if you apologize."

They got up and Shadow gave her one last hug and kissed her cheek before pushing past her and traveling to his brother's room. Before entering he smiled a genuine one. One filled with happiness and gratitude the size of the sun.

"Thank you, momma."

Chelsea had never felt her heart burst with so much mirth before.

(0…)

Sonic huffed at Silver. He was stubborn, more so than anyone he's ever met. He wouldn't let his grudge go and that had his mind reeling. Silver doesn't hold grudges. It just wasn't in his nature. At least he hasn't held a grudge this big. He barely wanted to say the older hedgehog's name, Sonic understood his anger and everything, but he was confused as to why he wasn't the least bit happy about his arrival. After all, he too had expressed his need for Shadow to come back.

"I don't get it Silver. Why can't you at least be happy he's back? He could've never been found!" he exclaimed.

Silver glared at the floor, arms crossed and lips in a pout. He sat on his bed fumbling and fuming. His scowl was deep and his breathes screamed: He's gone ballistic! "Well that was before."

Sonic rolled his eyes. One of these days…. "Before what?"

"Before I saw his face," he bluntly said, grunting.

Talk about rude. Sonic couldn't believe what he was hearing not only did this not make sense, but it also was really mean. He sighed rubbing his temples. What could he do now? Whatever reason that hedgehog had in his little tiny brain was lodged deep in there. If there was going to be any progress he needed to get level with him.

"Okay, you are not making sense buddy. Tell me exactly why you absolutely despise Shadow. I mean you wouldn't even give the poor guy the time of day."

"It's simple," Silver snorted, "He left, thinking that he was too good for this family and abandoned us. I bet you if we still haven't found him today, he would've been happier. It doesn't look like he cares anyway. He's still so arrogant and rude."

"Like you,"

"Shut up," his focus on the azure hedgehog sharpened, "What I mean is that he doesn't care about us. He never has. He's so spoiled. He-"

"Silver," Sonic's tone mellowed out and turned soft, "at least use his name."

The other just continued. "He's-he's just so irritating!"

"I know."

The deep voice that cut through the air forced the two heads to whip around and lay their eyes on the crimson splashed male. Shadow's stoic expression contrasted greatly with the emotion swirling his cherry orbs. As Silver's surprised stare turned into a stiff, icy, scowl, he sighed heavily. Shadow needed to get through this. He had to try his best to regain his brother's love and trust. I mean, Silver couldn't hate him forever.

Hopefully.

After giving himself a pep talk, mentally, Shadow stared straight on and into the frosty unforgiving golden orbs in front of him. As he always said to himself; it was better to take it straight on then cower behind. "I know and I'm sorry."

"What do you want?" Silver sneered and only looked away as Sonic said his name warningly.

Emerald green irises flowed over to the dark hedgehog apologetically. Shadow shook his head and managed to raise his lips into a tiny smile. He gazed back to the silver furry's back.

"I came to apologize to you Silver. You have to realize I didn't mean to hurt you," Shadow said, his voice straight and monotone. His eyes widened by a fraction as Silver whipped around, fists to his side.

"Well you wouldn't have left in the first place if you didn't intend to hurt anyone," he crossed his arms, "And why do you think you hurt me? If you hurt anyone you hurt mom. I bet you were too selfish to think of that when you left."

"Okay, that's enough! Silver you're being rude. Really rude," Sonic exclaimed fed up with his attitude. "This isn't like you. What's going on with you?"

The other hedgehog rolled his eyes. "I just explained it to you. Did you not hear?"

"I heard, but it didn't make sense."

"Well then that's your problem," Silver snorted.

"You know what? I don't care anymore," Sonic shouted turning his back on Silver. He walked towards Shadow and stood beside him. "Why do you want to apologize to him anyway? He's being so stubborn," he asked him.

Shadow looked between the two. Somehow, someway, the fight between him and Silver had turned to a fight between Sonic and Silver, Sonic straying to his side of the party. He didn't want it to be that way. Normally he would've liked it that his side had the overwhelming majority but this was different. He was different, somewhat. Seeing Silver's back turned on them and angry just didn't feel right. In fact he felt horrible. Not only had he cause him to undergo so much sadness but he managed to tear his other brother away from Silver.

Wasn't he supposed to be fixing things? Because right now, all he's just doing is tearing them further apart.

"Silver," he spoke quietly, his voice barely above a whisper, "Please forgive me?"

"Why should I?" he responded harshly.

There was only one answer he could give. The answer didn't sound smart in his head or when it was said aloud, but it was the most genuine answer he could give.

"Because I need you too," he replied.

A disbelieving, mock worthy laugh left Silver's pale, salmon colored, lips. He turned around smiling and smile with no happiness. "You are too funny." His smile dropped and he scowled, deeply. "Now that you've suddenly felt guilty for leaving, you need me to forgive you? Well you know what? It doesn't work that way. Everything just doesn't get handed to you on a silver platter."

He felt his heart pound against his chest in guilt, suppressing guilt. It weighed his shoulders down and caused him to lunge forward, forgetting any type of composure he had. The feeling of hurting Silver brought on more than he could handle surprisingly. Again, it took a lot for Silver to be this angry with anyone and if you accomplished this type of emotion to rise within him, well, you would feel horrible. At least, that's what Shadow felt, horrible.

"I realize that, Silver. I know that I have been acting like a spoiled child and I understand your frustration. It's just that, it only took me till now to realize my behavior and I can't express how terrible I feel." He took a step forward studying if any movement would surface from the other. "I've hurt you haven't I? I've caused you to hold pain. But I don't know how I've cause it. Could you explain?"

Silver's eyebrow quirked. "Like I've said, you're so spoiled. The little thing, the littlest thing Shadow, will set you off!" he too took a step forward. "Ever since we were little all you would do was pout or glower when something didn't go your way. I've tried to be nice about it and just ignore it but I can't do it anymore. I can't believe you would run away! I looked up to you so much."

He didn't know this. He hadn't realized this. Shadow let his arms go limp and a look of pure shock was placed on his face. "Silver," he breathed.

The younger hedgehog shook his head. "No. Stop. I used to think you were so great, so…so… I don't know, but I admired you, a lot. Everything you did and how you acted so mature, I marveled it. Like the time mom went to work and Sonic fell in the pool. You were so calm about it and I was freaking out because I thought he would drown. I thought it was amazing how you were able to keep your head while one of our brothers almost died."

"Silver I-"

He shook his head. "I'm not done yet," his voice was watery. "I admired you until you suddenly changed. It was if you turned five again. Every time something annoyed you, you would blow up. You would make everyone feel horrible only to make yourself feel good." By this time Silver's voice had raised, considerably. Shiny tears pricked the corner of his lids as he spoke. "I don't get it Shadow. Why? Why did you leave? Did you hate us that much? Were we that undesirable?"

Silver finally broke. He out his head in his hands and sobbed. His shoulders trembled with each one and he stood there, knees trembling. "I-I don't get it," he wailed.

The three hedgehogs stood in the room. The air was silent all except for the cries of the silver furry. The two darker hedgehogs stared guiltily and worriedly at the youngest of the three. Sonic looked over to Shadow who only stared. 1001 thoughts and emotion rumbled through the eldest until he couldn't tell the difference between thought and felling. All he could do at the moment was breathe and stare. The weight of the world fell atop of his shoulders as he watched, wincing. It might never be revealed later, but to actually be the cause of making one of the ones he held closest cry was big. It was as if he held the scissors that cut this family apart.

He had not only tore the heart of his younger sibling away, but the rest of the family also. The night before he slept, as he staggered to his room, Shadow couldn't help but notice his azure brother's room. It was completely a mess. Out of pure curiosity, Shadow allowed himself to venture throughout the torn and ravished room. Except for a couple spots here and there, there were pictures with him cut or torn away from the rest. Books and pages were ripped and shredded leaving their remnants trashed on the floor. He still roamed around astounded at how trashed the room was, but when he got to the mirror, he couldn't help but gasp. The mirror was shattered, cracked beyond repair. From his view he could see himself distorted.

Much like Sonic saw himself.

In shock he left without a word or disturbance.

Right there and then Shadow knew he was the cause of such destruction. There was no telling otherwise.

The darker hedgehog found himself creeping towards the sobbing boy. With each step his heart grew frailer and it almost burst as he stood right in front. He couldn't really tell if that was Sonic standing next to him, his inaudible breathes on his arm, but he didn't take notice. Instead, Shadow arms encircled Silver, carefully. His thin limbs were loose for second before he tightened them to where Silver was securely on his chest. Shadow closed his eyes as felt another pair of arms snake from behind the silver furry.

The three hedgehogs sank to the floor, to their knees, in each other's arms. All that was there was their comforting arms around the trembling one. Shadow and Sonic sank their heads onto and into Silver's. It was a quiet moment for the trio and a moment they would probably forget but for now they just wanted to be close.

Shadow's lids opened halfway before closing again. He nuzzled his head deeper into their embrace not wanting the tears that cascaded down his cheeks to show. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, voice breaking.

And that was it.

SunLove: So, whad'ya think?

Sonic: Meh...you could've done better.

Shadow: Needs much more elaboration.

Silver: The chapter could've been posted sooner.

SunLove: I know...(sigh)

Thank You. R&R

~God Bless You~