Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Friday 1:30 am, Green Hills, Montana

A golden glow flickered through the trees as a ripped cardboard box was dropped.

“Good riddance.” was muttered as the glow burned out.

A wail similar to that of a newborn was heard throughout the forest.

Saturday 12:00 pm, Green Hills, Montana

“WOOHOOOOO!!!!” The shout bounced off the cement walls of the skatepark as 14 year old Sonic Wachowski soared through the air on his newly customized skateboard.

“Yo Wachowski! Sick airtime!” A popular kid from the local high school held up a hand.

Sonic, a soon to be freshman, slapped it, with a nonchalant “Thanks, dude.”

“Sonic! Hey Sonic!” The voice of an excited little kid met his ears and he looked up to see Tails running towards him.

“Hey, little bro! What’s up?”

“Mom says if I ask real nice, you’ll take me for ice cream?” The ten year old looked at him hopefully, puppy eyes gleaming.

Sonic gave him a smile. “Sure thing, buddy. See you guys later!”

The kids who heard waved as Tails snatched his hand and started to drag him in the direction of the ice cream parlor.

“Hedgehog! Fox!”

Sonic and Tails turned to see the oldest Wachowski child coming up behind them, from the direction of the station.

“Hey Knux!”

“Afternoon, brothers. I have been searching for you both, Father requires our presence.”

“Sorry, Tails, looks like ice cream will have to wait.”

“So Dad, what’s the big deal?” Tails asked as Tom came out of the station.

“Wade said there've been several complaints about noise in the forest.”

“I didn’t do anything this time!” Sonic crossed his arms defensively.

“You sure?” Tom grinned, a teasing tone to his voice.

“Daaaad” an eyeroll was sent his way and he chuckled, ruffling his quills.

“Just kidding. This was from the deeper parts of the forest, a little past Carl’s place. It’s a pretty tiring hike, and I think you guys are tough enough to make it! Whaddya say?”

“Yeah!”

“I accept this trial of stamina.”

“Can we get ice cream after?”

The four had just passed Carl’s house, and had started scanning the area. Tails’ ears twitched as they picked up noises from the surrounding area. If he found the sound, ice cream would come sooner. It was a bit disappointing to be in the woods instead of at an ice cream parlor with his big brothers, but he was happy to be along for the ride.

‘Unit would have been useful for this.’

Tails sighed as he sorted out the sounds to the best of his ability, thinking about his robot that he had been allowed to keep awhile back. He had been modifying Unit so that they would be helpful for day to day activities.

His sensitive hearing caught wind of a noise that sounded like a whimper. Curious, he flew towards it, finding a discarded box. Assuming it was nothing, he turned to leave, but the box shuffled, catching his attention.

“DAD! I FOUND SOMETHING!!”

A sob was heard from the box. Cautiously, he peered inside. He jumped back, tripping and falling on his back. He nearly screamed, shock masking his face.

“Hey bud, you ok?”

The other three had found him, and sonic tried to help him up, but he only whimpered shakily and pointed towards the box.

Another cry came from the box, a pitiful, childlike one.

“F-Father, be very careful, whatever is inside has very strong chaos energy..” Knuckles had noticed Tom going closer to the box and offered warning.

“Don’t worry, I’m being very-oh. Oh my God.”

Tom had seen the box contents and appeared to have been frozen.

“Dad? What is it?”

“Miles…do you know any other foxes on your planet?” Tom whispered, noticing his youngest’s state.

“T-the…the only ones I know…I thought they…I thought they didn’t know I was here…”

Sonic was growing impatient at the code his father and brother seemed to be using and sped over to the box himself. Knuckles followed suit.

“No-no way!”

“How is this possible?”

Inside the box was a baby girl.

A Mobian fox baby girl to be exact.

She had fur the color of chocolate, with mud all over, and lighting bolt earrings nearly the size of her tiny ears. Dried up scratches covered her face. She had multi colored ears and was wrapped in a leaf, baby clothes torn and spattered with mud. She had long tan fur covering most of her face and a peach muzzle. It felt as though electricity was in the air whenever they were very close to her, but the most astounding thing was the paper note located at her side.

It read ‘Prower’

Chapter Text

’.

“It’s a note.” Sonic said, stating the obvious.

“Is it addressed to the fox? Prower was your birth name, correct?” 

Tails nodded, and looked into the box again. The baby looked ready to start wailing again, hungry, cold…forgotten. He took the note from his brother and opened it.

‘ To whoever is reading this,

You can leave the baby here. If you are Miles, then read on.’

Tails scowled and flipped the paper over.

‘ Dear Miles, 

We always wanted a child. You..were not what we expected. We were ridiculed, people said we were cursed. We knew we couldn’t keep you, so we left you. After the disaster you turned out to be, we tried again. We got a baby, but it was just another freaky reject.’ 

Gloved hands nearly crushed the paper, and angry tears blotted the ink. The fox started to breathe heavily, tails thrashing in fury. A pained growl emitted him and Sonic put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Little buddy, you know that’s not true?”

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not. They…they left a baby in a box. In the woods. ON A WHOLE DIFFERENT PLANET!! IF I HADN'T BEEN HERE, THE INSTRUCTIONS WERE TO LET HER DIE!! They’re monsters. Demons!!! AND I NEVER WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH THEM EVER AGAIN!!!!!”

Shaking in anger and sadness, he looked over at his family, startled glances coming from everyone. Even the baby had been stunned into shock.

“S-sorry.” he looked down, feelings turning into a whirlwind on the inside. 

Knuckles spoke up. “It is alright, Fox. Your anger at the dishonorable family is understandable, and it is good to express it, so that you will not hold bitterness in your heart. However, it is necessary that you finish the letter, so that we may take the young one to Mother.”

Tails felt a bit of comfort, and with a glance at the baby, continued.

Its fur is multi-colored, that alone means we could not keep it. Seeing that, we had already decided to drop it somewhere, when we found out it had certain…abilities. The child can harness lightning, electricity, and can bring storms. Her ears were pierced once we found this out, as a warning to whoever finds her. It has no name, we’ve erased its existence. We decided to leave it here, we heard rumors that you left to earth to find the blue hero and what not. You can leave it here if you don't want it.

                           Sincerely, 

The Prowers

“Multi colored?” Sonic wondered aloud.

“Electricity powers?” Tom looked tired, as though he just knew the future would be rough.

“PIERCED EARS?” Tails was enraged. “ A NEWBORN BABY??? I knew people put earrings on their babies, but a newborn??”

The little fox began to wail once again, pawing at her ears.

“The little one must be brought to Mother.” Knuckles reminded them. 

Carefully, Tom picked up the box and they started their trek through the woods. 

Tails was quiet for the hike, occasionally checking on the baby girl. He was hurt, if he was being completely honest. He always knew his parents left him, that they were all sorts of screwed up. But a small part of him, deep down, hoped that perhaps they had left him for a good reason, and they weren't as heartless as every other part of him thought they were.

“Hey, little buddy?” His brother whispered in his ear, snapping him out of his stupor.

“I’m sorry your parents turned out to be jerks. I know you hoped they weren't.”

“It-It’s ok sonic. I..I don't need them, I have a better Mom and Dad then they could ever be, and brothers too!” He exhaled, letting go of the old hopes, and accepting the way his life was then, admittedly better then his childish fantasies could have hoped for.

 He was finally loved, and thats all he ever wanted, something he would never find with the family that left him.

The clinic slowly came into view, and the three boys bolted towards it, leaving their father and the baby behind.

“Hello boys!” The receptionist, Carrie, smiled at them, then noticed their frantic expressions.

“Is everything alright?”

“Long story short, we went hiking and found Tails’ baby sister abandoned in a box. We need my mom, is she available?” Sonic said this with an odd sense of normalcy, but Carrie didn’t blink.

She’d heard many different reasons for visiting, and this was surprisingly not the most abnormal.

“Dr. Wachowski to the front desk!” she called.

“Boys? What are you doing here? Are you ok? Where’s your dad?” Maddie came into the waiting room, already expecting a disaster.

The doors slammed open and Tom came in, frantic.

“She’s bleeding, and I don’t know where!”

Maddie took one look in the box and rallied them all into a room, taking the baby from her husband.

“How long has she been alone?”

“Reports started around midnight on Friday.”

Maddie quickly took her vitals and called for an IV for dehydration and malnourishment.

“Her ears are infected, and whoever took care of her before did not do a good job. She hasnt had a proper meal in awhile, let alone a bath.”

She looked over and saw Knuckles standing as though he was shielding Tails, who looked like he was going to start screaming. Sonic was hugging him from behind, protectively keeping him from lashing out.

“Miles…are you sure that she’s your sister?”

A pained look crossed his face and he scowled, holding out the note.

“Positive.”

Maddie took it gently and read it. The anger boiled up inside of her, but she kept it hidden. She knelt and pulled him in her embrace.

“Oh baby..” 

That was all it took. He started sobbing, tears flowing with abandon, letting all the pain and sorrow leave with them. There were a few other doctors and nurses there to witness the scene, and one or two caught a couple words of the note. 

“The poor dear.”

“Those awful parents..”

“They don’t deserve that…”

“Is..is she gonna be ok, Mom?” He whispered, letting go.

“She’s going to be fine.” Standing up, she looked at her family and said, “It’s gonna be different now that we’re going to have a baby in the house. We get that right?”

There were nods all around and Tom spoke up.

 “What’s her name?”

“They…didn’t give her one. I doubt she even has a birth certificate.” 

Tails looked down, bitterness in his words. Maddie held the baby tighter, but kept her cool.

In.

Out.

Breathe.

“Why don’t you name her, sweetheart?”

“M-me?” Happiness and excitement replaced the sadness in his gaze for a moment, and his tails perked up ever so slightly.

“C-can I hold her first?”

Everyone within hearing distance nearly “aww”ed as Maddie gently handed the baby to the eager little fox.

A spark coursed through the baby’s fur as she stared at her big brother, deep green eyes taking it all in.

Miles had heard many names, not all good. He wanted to make sure his sister wouldn’t get stuck with a pun, or something too obvious.

“Roxy.” He whispered.

She gave a small kick, as though agreeing with the name.

“What was that?”

“Roxanne Prower Wachowski.” He announced proudly.

Knuckles peered over his youngest brother’s shoulder.

“Excellent choice, Fox. The name will serve our sister well.”

A small cheer rose up in the room, but Sonic had a small suggestion.

“Does she have a cool nickname like yours?” 

“We can call her Roxy for short?” 

“No no, like yours! One that says who she is! Like she’s got sparky powers right?”

Tails considered this. “Lightning?”

“Not bad..hey! What about Spark?”

“Spark. Roxanne “Spark” Wachowski. I like it!”

“Heya Spark!” Sonic zoomed around the chair, giddy with excitement.

Maddie did a few more checkups, announcing that she would have to stay hooked up to the IV for a bit, but she could come home. 

“Hold on, she’s gonna need a crib, and formula, and other stuff.”

“Let’s go get it now!” Sonic grinned.

“I wanna stay here with Roxy.” Tails mumbled.

“Sure thing baby. Sonic, Knuckles, and Dad will go get baby stuff, and you can stay here with me! I’m still going to give her a few more checkups, just to be safe.”

“Alright!! Let’s go!”

“Welcome to the family, Roxy.”

Chapter Text

Saturday, 3:25 am. Two weeks later, Green Hills, Montana

A wail cut through the silence of the Wachowski house, unmistakably one of a baby.

“Can it, Spark…” Sonic pulled his pillow over his head. “It's Saturday..”

Knuckles only turned over, the echidna still asleep.

Big blue eyes peeked over from the edge of a plane shaped bed. Quietly, the little fox slunk out of his bed and the room, flying down the stairs rather than risk stepping on a creaky step and alerting his brothers.

“She’s not cranky, or hungry…”

“Doesn’t need to be changed either..”

The concerned voices leaked from the slightly shut door. His tails dragged on the floor, the child slowly creaking the door open.

“Hey, bud, what are you doing up?” Tom noticed him peeking inside, and held his arms out.

“Is Roxy ok?” Tails whispered, climbing into his father’s lap.

“Yea..yea she’s ok. Just a little tired.”

“Why dont you go back to bed, sweetheart?” Maddie bounced the baby, her cries becoming softer.

“Don’t..want anything..to happen..to her.” He yawned, revealing two rows of pearly white fangs. “Want to…stay awake..for her(yawn) so that she knows…”

The very last words were caught as sleep overtook him. “That she’s not alone anymore..”
the fox nuzzled into his father’s chest, two tails wrapping around him. Maddie sighed as an idea formed in her head.

“Maybe…maybe she’s afraid to go to sleep, Tom…”

He shifted the older fox onto his shoulder. “What do you mean?”

Roxy had begun to fall into sleep’s clutches, desperately trying to keep her eyes open. They watched the little girl’s struggle, the worry becoming stronger.

“I mean that she might have some kind of trauma…I can't say without taking her to someone who can confirm it, but we do know she wasn't exactly living the four star treatment…”

“In the letter they refer to her as an ‘it’ not an actual living thing…you don't think..”

“That they treated her as an object? I..i think that is a possibility we have to consider. She was found with a lot of minor injuries, Tom. And we know they don’ exactly have a clean record when it comes to raising children.”

She motioned to the fox kit in his arms. These kids just kept coming to them, traumatic experiences after traumatic experiences. Knuckles was forced to bury his whole tribe when he was still a child, Sonic lived alone for ten years after watching his caretaker die. Tails was abandoned, physically and mentally harassed and this baby could have been physically abused at only a few months of age. What was to be revealed next?

The parents sat in silence, the pain of knowing their kids had hurt so badly drilling into them.

“God, Mads what did they do to our kids? How much more will they ever have to endure?”

The conflicting emotions mixed on her face.

“No.”

“Huh?”

“I said, No. our kids will never go through ANYTHING that traumatic ever again, not if i can help it. We are going to make sure these kids are going to live their best life, starting with this little girl right here. We made this pledge when we adopted them and I'm saying it again.”

She looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms, at the fox kit on their bed, and above where the attic was and her older children slept.

“We can do this, Maddie. Maybe we should take her to a psychologist. Worst comes to worst, we can take her to the boys’ therapist. But to do any of this, maybe we should go to sleep first.”

The couple laughed softly, depositing the foxes into their respective sleeping places.

Over the course of a few weeks, Roxy’s physical and mental health improved greatly. It was obvious she was a fairly energetic baby and would be now in a few months recovery period. Watching the vast improvement her new daughter was showing, Maddie decided it was time to take her out for the first time. Green hills had a few different shops, but most would go over to the neighboring towns to check out the bigger department stores.

  One had a particularly large baby department and Maddie thought it’d be fun to take the boys and pick something out for the youngest wachowski. 

“Okay, boys, we know how this is going to go right?” Maddie pulled into the parking lot. She glanced back to see the boys guarding the car seat as though it was made of gold.

Her heart exploded as the boys took turns making silly faces at Roxy to keep her occupied. 

“Ahem, boys?” They looked up at her. 

“We know the rules mom!” Sonic rolled his eyes.

“No wandering.” Tails said.

“No touching.” knuckles added.

“AnD aBsOLuTlY nO uSiNg pOwErS oR gEtTiNg In TrOuBlE!” All three boys choursed.\

“Haha. I guess we got it then?”

“Yes, Mom.”

Clinging to each other and their mother, they stepped into the store. Roxy happily was placed in a baby seat cart and the boys insisted on putting tails in the cart just for the fun of it. 

“Look Mom, it's a CHILI DOG TEETHING TOY!!!! We HAVE to get it for Roxy!!” as predicted, the boys lost it the moment they were released into the section.

“MOTHER!! IT'S ALL SHRUNKEN!!!” Knuckles held up an array of baby clothes and shoes to Roxy. 

“Hey I think I fit into half this stuff….” Tails trailed off. 

“Ok, boys,” Maddie had to hold in her laughter. “You may all choose one thing for Roxy. ONE thing.” 

“I got my thing!” Sonic was entranced by the array of fake food. 

“I think I found mine!” Tails held up a book. 

Knuckles held up a little outfit, marked with ‘little sister’

“This way, everyone knows she’s a part of our tribe!”

“Good find, Knux!” Sonic came up behind them and dumped his item in the cart. Each followed suit and soon they were in line for check out.

“Dr. Wachowski!” Their cashier was a young college girl who ran into them often during her many jobs. “Hello, boys!” 

“Hi Miss Barlowe!” The boys gave her wide grins.

“Hi Alia.” Maddie smiled. 

“And who’s this young lady we have here? New addition?” 

“This is Roxy! She’s our little sister!” Sonic piped up.

“We found her in the woods!” Tails chirped.

Alia glanced at Maddie, a painful smile on her face confirming all she needed the answers to. 

“Oh…well, um, she’s here now with you guys right?”

The young woman's heart went out to this little family, having been a part of one that fell apart not too long ago. 

“Of course, young scholar. She is now part of our tribe.”

“That's awesome! And again, it's just Alia, you guys. I just barely turned twenty, there’s no need for the ‘Ms”!” she laughed and finished ringing them up. 

“Bye, boys! Bye, Roxy!” She handed Maddie her receipt and spoke quietly. “Good luck, Dr. Wachowski. I hope you guys can get through whatever’s come your way.”

“Thanks. You’re a good kid, Alia. Hey, if you ever need a job babysitting, we always have a spot available. I know you’ve been struggling a bit yourself.”

“Thanks! Available anytime!”

She waved as they departed. “So what do you guys think of Alia as your new babysitter?”

“Aw, mooom, i'm too old for a babysitter!” Sonic complained. 

“Well we now have a baby and I can't exactly leave you alone with her.”

“Why not! I’m very trustworthy!” 

“I like her!”

“Indeed, the young scholar would be a good match to watch the little warrior.”

“Oh come on! Spark, help me out here!” The baby grinned, her forest green eyes shining. Roxy babbled, reaching out for her two brothers.

“See, she agrees with us!” Tails picked her up out of the cart. 

“Way to gang up on me, guys!” Sonic grumbled.

Maddie grinned. “Come on, kids, let's head home.

Chapter Text

       A bit since the first trip had passed and Roxy was growing stronger every day. There were still a lot of worrying signs, and nervous tics that the baby had. Maddie had scheduled an appointment with a children's psychologist for the next day, and had not been surprised at all when all three boys demanded to be taken out of summer school(glorified babysitting) early to attend.

Sonic and Knuckles had quickly shut down all ideas of them staying at school that day.

“She’s our sister, Mom, we need to know how we can help her.”

“Yes, Mother, Roxanne will require our support and distraction. I believe I speak for all of us when I say we should be there.”

Tails had been quiet, the thoughts that were going through his head at the time were disturbing, even for him. What more were his parents capable of? How had they managed to hurt and scar not one child but two?

“I need to go too. I need to see what more damage my biological parents have done.”

His response was crippling, but not entirely surprising. He held no grudge or anger at Roxy, and had only become more protective of her at the idea that someone could have hurt her. 

“Alright, alright, I was going to let you out anyways, no need to fight.” Maddie had laughed. She did also make a note to mention tails’ response to his therapist the next time the boys went for their appointments(A/N that's a story for another time lol). 

Now, she watched as Roxy bounced in her little chair, giggling as Sonic made faces at her. Tails sat beside them, reading a book on child development(his explanation for this was about three hours long and unable to be narrowed down). Knuckles was explaining the Master Emerald to her for probably the tenth time since she arrived. The only thing that showed she was paying attention was the attempts to grab at it every few minutes.

“Hey, Mom?” Tails looked up from his book. “How old did you say Roxy was?”

“About five and a half months, sweetheart!” Maddie. She wiped her hands on her apron as she stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room.  
“Why do you ask?”

“She shows signs that she already knows how to crawl, which is very advanced for her age. Can we take her out of the chair and try it?”

“Sure, honey.” Maddie lifted her out and set her on a mat on the floor.

Roxy’s POV

The people had lifted her out of the bouncy thing. She was a bit wary of them still, but really really wanted to trust. The one who looks more like her with two fluffy things was most definitely a blood relative, he smelled like it. The blue and red ones had taken to calling them her brothers as well. She was aware that at her age, her mind should be unable to process most of this in a logical manner. But that is how she was born so she must live with it.
They were setting her on the floor. Oh, she knew the drill. She knew how this would go. She was supposed to stay in one spot, and never, ever get in the way. 

“Why isn't she moving?” Blue brother was asking.

“She seems afraid, Mother.” Red brother murmured.

Blood brother was nudging her forward. He wanted her to crawl. She obeyed, and suddenly the room was filled with loud noises, just like the old place. She could hear the screams in her ears…

“Freak! You’re in the way again!”

“Useless thing!” 

“Shut up! No one cares about your screams, no one wants to hear you!”

And from her memory it was always, ALWAYS, accompanied by blinding pain, be it a kick to the ribs, a claw in her ears, or a blow to the face, they almost always resulted in silent whimpers and tears, blood drying in her fur. It was too much, it hurt too much to remember….it was like being there all over again…oh no no no no no….she felt the energy building up, the tears streaming down, THE PURE FEAR taking over her mind…

Normal POV
“Oh my god…” Sonic whispered as Roxy's little face twisted in pain, tears staining her fur. 

But the thing that astounded them the most was the fact that she was slowly backing up, curling in on herself as purple and yellow sparks began to engulf her. 

Her whimpers were becoming louder, the shrieks almost sounding like warning noises.

“Roxy! Listen to me, it's ok!” Tails desperately tried to soothe her, getting close.

“Miles, get back. She may be little but she does not understand what her powers are or how to control them.”  Knuckles pulled him by the scruff, the only way that he would be pulled back easily.

“Shhhhhh, Roxy, baby, we are right here. You’re in a safe place, the bad people can't hurt you anymore.” Maddie reached out, not touching her but close enough that she could try and calm the baby.

‘Bad people can't hurt you anymore. But you are hurting the nice people…’ 

Roxy disliked that voice in her head, it was always mean to her. 

“Calm down Roxy, please.” 

Blood brother was crying. Did…did she hurt him? She willed herself to calm the sparks. Please, please stop! The tears that were still wetting her fur was an old feeling, but the fear of hurting someone that was nice to her was new. No one was ever nice to her….

Tails ran to the little girl’s side, ignoring everyone else’s protests. He held her, sobbing.

“I'm so sorry….oh god i’m so sorry they hurt you…they hurt me too….” his words were muffled by her fur. Roxy clung to him, her hands gripping his sky blue hoodie. Her eyes were squeezed shut, but the tears had stopped.

He knows this pain, she realized. He was hurt by these people just the same.  She clung to him and he sobbed, wishing to be there for him as the family was for her. I love you, she wished to say, I love you very much. Those were the words often said to her by him, by everyone else, and she always felt like they were true, a happy feeling of belonging. She wished to pass along the feeling to him.

Sonic crashed into the both of them, Knuckles and Maddie not far behind. 

“Oh you two…we love you both so much.” Maddie tried not to cry herself. 

“They’re never gonna touch you ever again. The both of you.” Sonic whispered.

“And if they dare, they’ll have to answer to US! I promise you that.” Knuckles added.

“Thanks, you guys. Love you too.”

Roxy let out a loud babble, putting in her own way of saying ‘i love you’.

They laughed until Tails mumbled something.

“What? Speak up little bro.

“Er quishinh hus”

“We don't understand, fox.”

“YOU'RE SQUISHING US!”

“Oh sorry!” everyone immediately let go. Roxy crawled away, tugging on Maddie's apron. She figured it was time to get comfortable with this family.

“What's up with you, little miss?” 

Roxy raised her arms up and made a grabbing motion.

“Want up?” Maddie bent and set her on her hip. “Well, guess you’re gonna help me make dinner then?” 

She cooed and set her head on her mother’s shoulder as she was carried to the kitchen.

Saturday, 1:28 am, Green Hills

     Tails trudged into his parents room once again as the baby’s cries echoed in the hallway. 

“Rox?” his voice cracked from sleep. Tom and Maddie glanced at each other, then the baby.

“Tails. Do you wanna try holding her?” 

The kit accepted the baby from his father and began to rock her. Surprisingly at the sound of his voice, she began to calm.

“Hey Rox. You know you’re safe here, right? We’re gonna do our best to take care of you, k? We want you to be healthy and for that you need to sleep. I’ll be here with you until you do, even though mom and dad are always there.”

 He sat against the bed with her, the foxes clinging to each other. His humming led them both into the clutches of sleep, soft purrs rumbling for the older kit, and quieter ones from the baby. His tails wrapped around them, her smaller one getting lost in his fuzz.

“You think they both fit?” Tom grinned.

“I think so. Maybe this way she’ll sleep through the night…”

Needless to say, both kits slept peacefully, although the next day would surely be a tiring one.

Chapter Text

Friday, 8:00 A.M. Green Hills, Montana.

“Alright, rise and shine, everyone!” Maddie came into the attic, a water gun in hand. She grinned as the two boys groaned.

“MoOm there's no school today…” Sonic mumbled.

“The younger ones are already up and dressed, you two, The appointments in a few hours.”

“No…sleep…bed. Go ‘way Mother..” The string of almost unintelligible words was the only thing said by the oldest.

“You leave me no choice….”

The ice water struck both Wachowski boys in the head.

“MOTHER!!!” “MOM NO”

Needless to say both boys were downstairs in the next five minutes, dripping wet.

“Woah, what happened to you guys?” Tails was already at the table, dressed in his favorite hoodie. Roxy was seated next to him, giggling at her brothers’ appearances.

Sonic glared and pulled down the cereal box.

“Mother happened.” Knuckles grumbled

“Well, shoulda gotten up earlier, like us.” Tails chided. “Little Miss Early Bird was up at the crack of dawn, dressed and ready.” 

He poked her in the stomach and she giggled, ticklish. 

“Well we can’t all be like Spark now can we?” Sonic rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

Tails flinched. “We all remember why we’re not at school today, right?” 

Sonic quieted. Knuckles looked towards the sky, then cleared his throat.

“Yes brother, I doubt any of us forgot. I believe Father will be joining us at the office of the healer. I am glad that we have been allowed to go, we may see what can be done about our sister.”

“Yea…yea. Um, well put, Knux.” Sonic coughed. 

The silence that followed was more awkward than this author’s dialogue.

“Alright everyone, everyone knows the plan for today?”

“Get ready, go to the doctor's, come home?”

“Something like that. If all goes well, what do you guys say about taking her to the park?”

“YEAH!” The unanimous chorus was response enough.

Roxy shrieked, mimicking her brothers.

Almost everyone burst out laughing, tails giving only a weak chuckle.

Something was gonna go wrong today. He knew it, and the possibilities terrified him. He would have worried just the same for any other of his siblings, but in the recent weeks the memories that had resurfaced would only leave if he knew that Roxy was safe. The uneasiness was in the air, from the moment they piled into the car a few hours later to the waiting room in the psychiatrist’s office.

“Mom?” Tails swung his legs nervously, watching as Sonic, Knuckles, and Tom handed Roxy toys and showed her around the office.

“Don’t you want to go play with them, Baby?”

“...no thanks. I um, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, sweetheart, what's on your mind?”

“You said she’s only a few months old. How are we taking her to this place when she wont understand it? From what I know, the normal age range for these kinds of visits are ages three and up?

Maddie smiled and beckoned her son closer as she took a folder out of her purse.

“We tested her when taking her for a checkup. Her mindset is that of a much older child, at least three to five years older then she actually is. The only thing is, unlike you at her age, she hasn't developed enough to be able to speak, walk, or control her powers.”

“So one good thing has come out of my parents genes. The only thing is, now she’ll remember this her whole life.”

He was amazed at his sister, but still rolled his eyes when he spoke, his tails forming air quotes around the word ‘parents’.

Maddie closed her eyes. She hadn’t lived his life, she couldn't pretend she understood anything that he was feeling. But she was his mother, and she knew that these emotions were dangerous when bottled up.

“Miles, I-”

“Roxanne and Madison Wachowski?” The nurse called.

The whole family was on edge as they walked into the back of the clinic. All had their own visible nervous tics, whether they realized it or not.

Tails wrung his namesakes and when he wasn't doing that, they swished around, no stated destination

Sonic tapped his feet, scratching at his quills every few seconds. 

Knuckles rubbed his hands back and forth as if warming them, occasionally gently pounding them together.

Tom toyed with his sunglasses, repeatedly polishing them.

Maddie sat with Roxy in her lap, smoothing her little ponytail and rubbing her ears, careful to avoid the earrings that were still there. They’d be able to be taken off in a few years but for now, it would be too dangerous to remove them.

“Hello, hello!” chirped a middle aged lady in a white coat. “Awful sorry for the wait, I’m Dr. Thatcher. How are y’all doing today?”

They all murmured their greetings back to her, Maddie offering a weak smile.

The doctor smiled, understanding in her face. “I get it. The first visit is nerve wracking. So, we're all here to support this young lady right here?”

She pointed to Roxy, who giggled.

“Yes’m!” chorused the boys. Tom nodded his head, the concern still writ on his face.

Dr. Thatcher studied roxy, then turned to Maddie. “I’m sorry, Dr. Wachowski, but I don’t see how a child as young as-”

Maddie held out the folder and watched as the other doctor’s face grew shocked.

‘Amazing..but how..how awful…what could this child have possibly been through?’

She cleared the lump in her throat, snatching a clipboard off her desk. 

“That’s-That’s incredible. If I may, what symptoms and previous history does she have?”

Maddie began to recount all that she knew, tails occasionally making a backhanded little comment here and there. Tom began to repeatedly polish his glasses again as she told of the recent incident, supposed panic attack.

The kind doctor was scribbling as fast as she could, taking notes of every little detail Maddie could remember.

“Who else was present at the scene?” 

The boys each raised their hands in turn, Tails last.

“Are you ok with me asking questions to your children? And are you guys alright with that?” She addressed both parents and kids, earning a point in all books. 

“Yes, of course.” Tom nodded, in sync with Maddie’s.

“Sure.” Sonic grinned at her. 

“Whatever is beneficial to aid our sister, Healer Thatcher.”

Miles took a minute, taking a deep breath. “Alright.” His reply was barely heard but enough.

His family looked on proudly, sonic ruffling his bangs. 

“Alright, Sonic, right?” She directed her question to the blue hedgehog who nodded nervously. 

“So, did you notice anything specific happening other than what your mom said?” 

Sonic began to scratch his quills again while he answered.

“Well, not much from what Mom said. She started to crawl into a corner, and started crying. It started quiet but then turned into, like, screaming. Gosh but the worst part was her eyes…there was this look in her eyes, it was like she’d seen a ghost, like we were other people. Roxy was curling in on herself like she was trying to protect herself. We tried…but it was like she couldn't hear us. She was flinching like she was hearing other voices, ones that weren’t ours. I’ve..I’ve only ever seen something like that before when-“ he stopped, his eyes glossing over. 

He glanced at his family. They were horrified at the description, however true it was. Tails had moved over so that he was being held to Knuckles’ chest, the echidna’s arms around him. Maddie and Tom were gripping each other's hands tightly, Roxy in between them.

The doctor glanced at him, warmth in her eyes. “It’s alright, I think I have enough from you, thank you sonic. Knuckles, would you like to go next?”

"Certainly, Healer.” He passed tails from his lap to Sonic’s, and began to talk.

“Roxanne was left here in terrible circumstances for pigheaded reasons, and was treated worse than could be imagined. If anything, it was safer for her to have left then to have grown up in that house. From what my brother and mother have said, she’s been treated harmfully, and when she was put on the floor, memories and voices overwhelmed her. She couldn’t hear us because she was hearing them, couldn't see us because she was seeing it. She lost control of her powers, similar to my brother. However, when she finally seemed to hear us and make contact with…one of us, she seemed to be willing to calm it. After that she came forward more, and was a bit more trusting. For now, I believe that is all I can give you.”

 His voice had taken on a rough quality, and as he uttered the last sentence, he coughed, as if to cover up something.

“Thank you, knuckles. That’s very helpful.” She moved on to the last one, currently being hugged by the blue brother. 

“Hey little guy. Are you ok to go next?” She met his gaze and he looked away, nodding. 

“Buddy?” Sonic looked at his little brother, who gave him a nod. Hesitantly, he let go.

The older fox stood, pausing to watch Roxy. She’d nearly fallen asleep due to the inactivity.

He closed his eyes, and breathed once more. 

“So um, yea. Roxy is my little sister by blood rather than adopted. We share the same set of traitorous parents but as far as I remember I was only left, not whatever they did to her. And even then, I at least had a friend. That day where she freaked was when we put her on the floor, seeing if she could crawl. Stupid, but we got more than we bargained for.” 

His eyes had a dangerous glint in them, but kept going. 

“When I urged her forward, she crawled, but suddenly stopped, as if seeing something. Everyone’s already told you this, the fear in her eyes was unparalleled to anything I’ve ever seen or felt before. I recognized the way she acted though. She was reliving the memories, we had to shake her. Mom said something though, something that snapped her out of it. She told her that she was in a safe place, thatt…” 

He stopped, wiping his eyes.

“She told her that the bad people couldn't hurt her anymore..”

His voice was shaking, and he reached for his sister. She stirred, burrowing her face into his hoodie. 

“And then I hugged her and told her how sorry I was that they hurt her…because they hurt me too, even if it wasn’t in the same way.”

He was crying now, his brothers holding him, with him still hanging on to Roxy.

“But..you can find help for her, right?”

She willed herself not to cry as she met his baby blue eyes, brimming with tears. 

“Of course, sweetheart. That’s what we do, and your sister is no exception.”

They exited the office, Roxy having woken up midway through the appointment. She had gone under some tests for triggers and such, and to everyone’s relief, there weren’t many. The rest of the appointment went smoothly, the adults having the paperwork done for Roxy to have visits to the boys’ therapist office.

Tom had headed back to work while the others were headed to the park, as promised. There was some frenzied whispering and then a “Mooom?”

She sighed, smiling. “Yes boys?”

Sonic nudged tails, who looked up at her from the back seat and asked, “Can we get ice cream?”

Knuckles snickered in the front passenger seat, the realization of what was happening striking him as funny.

“I can see you giving me the ‘eyes’ back there Miles. And I happen to also know it was all Sonic’s idea.

Knuckles laughed harder, the attempt to contain it making it sound like he was choking. 

“Awww.” Sonic’s groan came from the back. “But can we, mom?”

“C’mon mom please?”

“Fine. But for the record, I decided, no one swindled me into it.”

“Knux, stop dying.” 

The random comment came from sonic, who had glanced up front to see knuckles, doubled over, face red as his quills. He wheezed, eventually catching his breath and responding, 

“One cannot simply ‘stop dying’, Brother. It takes skill.” 

To this the rest of them began to laugh, sonic grumbling.

“Hey Tails?” Sonic kicked a piece of dirt from under his swing. 

The fox paused in licking his ice cream to respond. 

“Yeah?"

“Back there, you said you had a friend? I thought everyone was mean to you?” 

“All except for one. She was really nice, and if she was around, she’d scare them off for me. She was an orphan too, teased a lot for her short temper. They didn’t mess with her too much, she’s super strong and had a huge hammer. Piko Piko hammer, she called it. We had a lot of fun together, keeping each other company. She lived on the other side of town though, and she’d bring me food if she found enough. You know..she was a hedgehog.”

Sonic fell off his swing, partially choking on the last bit of his ice cream cone.

“Hedgehog?" "AREYOUSUREbecauseyoucouldbewrongbutohmigoshahedgehogAGIRLHEDGEHOGRIGHT???butlikethatscoolnotthaticareimeanwhywouldIbutareyouseriousI’venevermetanotherhedgehogbeforeneverever”

Tails blinked at him, a concerned look on his face. “Alright? Um yea, very sure she was a hedgehog…but uh..yea?”

“BOYS! TIME TO GO!” Maddie called them in, holding a sand covered Roxy.

They sped over, Tails laughing at the sight. Sonic, however, had something nagging at him.

‘I’ve never met another hedgehog..have I? Unless she was….’

Chapter Text

Maddie sighed as she shakily attached her earrings.

Today was going to be the first night they left the boys alone with Roxy. Of course there’d be a babysitter(or supervisor, as she called her for Sonic’s sake), but she couldn’t help being anxious at the thought of what could happen. 

“Come on, Maddie, have some faith in our boys! De-stress, eat some good food, spend some time with mee…” Tom came into the restroom and wrapped his arms around her waist.

She laughed. “You know just as well as I do that it’s impossible to not feel stressed about your child.” 

“Ok, sure, but Alia’s already on her way and there’s no way you can say no now!”

“Alright, alright, I get it.” She pecked his cheek. “But you’re just as anxious as me, and you can’t deny that.”

“What can I say? I’m a sheriff, keepin my cool’s apart of the job description!”

About forty minutes later, the doorbell rang. “IGOTITIGOTTHEDOOR!!” The boys shoved each other, the middle child eventually zooming over, throwing the door open. 

“HI, ALIA!” The boys chorused. Maddie came to the door, bouncing Roxy on her hip.“Hello, hello!” the college girl chirped. “How are y’all doing tonight?”
“Good!”

“Excellent, young scholar.”

“Awesome! wait…Moom! I'M TOO OLD FOR A BABYSITTER!”

“Just think of me as your super-cool adult friend who’s here to make sure you don't burn your house down!”  

“Ok…” he grumbled.

“Any last minute things i should know, Dr. Wachowski?” Alia bounced Roxy on her lap, making faces at the little fox who squealed with laughter.

“I trust you’ve read over the list?”

“Yes, ma’am! Bedtimes, yes’s and no’s, and I’ve scouted out the starred spots for safety kits, and so on!”

“I think we should be good to go then!”
Tom came down and shook her hand. “Thanks again, Alia!” 

To Maddie he tapped his watch with a devilish grin. 

“Time to go, Mads!”

She smiled and sighed, giving each of her children a kiss on the head. 

“I’ve got this under control, Dr. Wachowski, and the boys are here to help, right guys?”

“We sure are, Miss Barlowe!” Tails chirped.

“Yes Mother, you should’nt concern yourself, we’re most trustworthy.” 

“Unless you don’t trust us, Mommy?” Tails’ baby blue eyes were large and glistening, just the picture of innocence and sadness.

Maddie winced and bent down to his eye level.

“No, no, baby,  I do trust you, and Alia too, I’m just a little worried about leaving Roxy alone for a night. She’s never been without us before..”

“Sure she has!” Tails crossed his arms. “She was fine by herself when she was wi-“

He stopped abruptly and pouted, putting on his best puppy eyes. 

“C’mon mom, he just means you should take a little break from stress and take a nice night off with Dad. I think we’ll be fine here with Alia, and Knux is the oldest and you know he’s the most responsible.” 

Sonic swooped in to save his little brother, gently taking Roxy from Alia and bouncing her. 

“Mama needs a break right? Dada too?” He baby talked to Roxy as though he expected her to respond. 

“Ah!” She squealed, as if agreeing. He handed Roxy off to his older brother and then patted his mom’s hand.

“Go. It’s ok. I know you’re worried but we got this! Enjoy your night, make the most of it before you have to come home and be a parent again.”

“When did my kids become so grown up?” She sighed, accepting the purse Tails was offering her and allowing knuckles to help her with her coat. She took Tom’s arm as he led her out the door.

“Be good!”

“Listen to Alia!”

“DON’T USE THE STOVE!!!”

“GOODBYE MOM!” Sonic yelled, shutting the door.

“There. That's one thing taken care of.” 

He handed Roxy to alia, saying: 

“You know, Alia, parents leaving their children for the first time is actually a common fear. If you can soothe the parents, that's almost a guarantee you’ll be called back to babysit again.” 

He was met with three surprised stares. 

“What? I took a course to try and convince Mom n Dad that I could watch you guys.”

Knuckles snorted. “I could never see you willingly taking a class.”

Hey, I like school! Except for, like, the work part!”

The oldest rolled his eyes. “So the whole aspect of school is lost on you, Brother? No wonder you’re so dense.”

Tails choked on his laughter, alia turning hers into light cough.

“Well um, why don’t we play a game or something?” She noticed the rising tension between the brothers and stepped in to distract them, putting the competitiveness that they have to use.

“UNOUNOUNO!” Sonic chanted.

“GAME OF LIFE!” Tails hollered.

“GO HUNTING!” Knuckles added.

He was met with three blank stares, as the fourth was currently attempting to climb up one of her brothers.

“I’m uh, not sure I’m familiar with that one, Knux, why don’t you, uh, tell us about it?” Alia plucked Roxy off of sonic and knuckles snatched a deck of cards off the table. 

“So, you see-“ he began vividly explaining. 

“I think you mean Go Fish, knucklehead!” Sonic snickered.

“Whatever.” He scoffed. 

“Ok guys, chill for a bit. Why don’t y’all tell me how you like living with a baby sis?” 

The college girl attempted yet another distraction, setting the baby on a mat on the floor. 

Roxy was content chewing on a teething toy while the others made a circle around her.

“I like it! Roxy’s super cute and she barely ever cries!” Tails chirped, tails wrapping around his legs.

“She used to cry in the middle of the night but it’s nothing like the horror stories the other kids tell about having baby siblings.”

“The young one will be an excellent warrior one day, and I intend to train her when she is capable.”

“We’ll see if mom and dad think so.” Sonic muttered.

“They will.”

“Whatever you say big bro.” 

“*cough* That's great, you guys! I wish I was this happy when my little brother was born.”

“Why weren't you?” Tails asked, eyes shining.

“Yea, why? I love my little brother.” sonic ruffled tails’ bangs.

“Tell the tale, young scholar!”

“Well, I  wasn't all that happy because I wanted a sister, not a brother. I didn't want a baby sibling to begin with. I was happy being the only child, and a little one would only screw things up in my opinion. But my dad says when I met him, I dropped the whole “angry child” act and was fiercely protective. I wouldn't let anyone but family hold him for the first few months of his life.” 

She chuckled at the memory, soon bouncing on her knees and asking, “What about you guys? Any stories with each other? Friends?”

“Knux likes to tell people he met tails when he hit him with a car and he tells them we met when he tried to kill me multiple times.”

Alia blinked. “Erm, maybe try a different approach…”

“Oh oh! I can tell you about my friend from Mobius! We met in an alley when she fought off these guys who were trying to steal my food.”

Five years ago, Mobius.

“Freaks like you don't need to eat.” The oldest Mobian, a teenager dog, snarled as his friends snatched up the food Tails had scavenged.

“No! Please!” the five year old sobbed. “Don’t!” 

“Whatcha gonna do about it, freak? Can’t even stand up.”

The leader scoffed, the gang following him out of the alley way.

“What the-” tails looked up at the dog’s expression, following his gaze to a shadowy figure in the way.

“You’d better leave him alone!” the voice shouted. It was high pitched and feminine, definitely  belonging to a little girl.

A little pink hedgehog came into view, with orange shorts a little long on her and a white tank top, green cardigan tied around her waist.

The leader began to laugh. “And what are you going to do about it, little girl?”

He began to regret it as a giant hammer appeared in the girl’s right hand.

“Drop it and leave, or I'll make you regret it more than you already do.” she growled.

The gang dropped everything and ran, their tails between their legs. 

“Hey! COME BACK HERE!” He screamed at them.

“They were smart.” she swung, bashing his feet.

He yowled as she struck him again, this time hitting him in the chest.

He wheezed as she pressed him against the wall, hammer at his throat.

“Beat it.”

He whined, tripping and stumbling out of the alley.

Tails cowered, his namesakes wrapping around himself in a weak form of protection.

“Hey, are you ok, kid?” she bent down to his level and the hammer disappeared with a poof of air.

“Please dont hurt me!” he whimpered, unable to meet her gaze. 

“Hurt you? Dude. I just saved you. And besides, if I wanted to hurt ya, I woulda done it already.”

“I…I guess.” he uncurled slowly, blue eyes meeting kind green ones. 

She offered him a hand and he took it, standing up. They both began to pick up the dropped food items surrounding them.

“What's your name?”

“Miles. Miles Prower. They call me other things too, but I don't like it.”

“‘Course you don't! I wouldn't either. How old are you, miles?”

“Five.”

She stopped. “Where are your parents?”

“Dunno. Everyone says they didn't want me,  because of this.”

He flicked his tails, a look of shame crossing his face, ears going down.

The girl looked angry and he shrunk.

“If that isn't the stupidest thing i’ve ever heard! Absolute baloney, cause your tails are so COOL!” she grinned at him, and he looked at her in shock.

“You mean, you like them? You dont think I'm cursed, or a freak?”

“Naw they’re awesome! In fact, imma call you Tails, cause you need a reminder of how awesome they(and you!) are!”

The little boy beamed, the first time anyone had seen him outside his “defects”.

He tugged on the taller girls shirt.“What's your name?”

“Amy. Amy Rose.”

Present day

“WOW!” Sonic zipped around the living room. “She sounds AWESOME!!!”

“She is! I wish she could see me now, with all of you. I’d tell her about all our adventures.”

“And me right? N-not that I care or anything.”

Tails looked at him strangely. “Yea of course!”

Alia snickered but quickly changed her expression as she said, “I’m sure she’d be very proud of you.”

“She sounds like a fierce warrior, it would be an honor to meet her one day.” Knuckles seemed to be in thought as he spoke. “Little brother, did you say she had a large hammer?”

“Mhm! Piko-Piko hammer, she called it.”

Knuckles’ eyes shot out of his head. “PIKO-PIKO? YOU’VE BEFRIENDED A PIKO PIKO WARRIOR??”

“I guess? What's the big deal?” 

“Piko-Piko warriors are feared across the galaxy! They are known for being loving, ferocious, and extremely protective of their loved ones. Angering one is signing a death note. They are admired for their grace, although they are quick to anger.”

“Well she was only nine when I met her. She did have a pretty short fuse though. That's why they called her Thorn when they teased her. Well, that and her last name being Rose.”

“You might say she was a little…thorny!” Sonic cracked himself up, but was met with three annoyed glances.

“Jeez. tough crowd.” He noticed Roxy crawling towards him. “You think I'm funny, don't you, Rox?”

She giggled as he tickled her, flailing her arms and legs.

“That's fascinating. I’ve never heard of a warrior so young!”

“I wanna know more!” Tails yipped.

“Yea Knux, tell us!”

“Go ahead, I'm curious too!”

The rest of the evening was spent by Knuckles regaling tales of his adventures traveling the universe, and by the time their parents arrived, they were mostly asleep. Tails was asleep on sonic, and sonic was on Knuckles. The eldest was fighting hard to stay awake, using Alia as a pillow, who had a dozing Roxy in her lap. Alia lowered the volume on the movie they’d begun to watch, in hopes that they’d stay asleep.

“Hello?” the keys turned in the lock, and the door opened.

“Shhh!”

Maddie stepped in, followed by Tom.

“Aww!” She began to take apart the train of brothers, carrying tails up to the room.

Tom picked up Sonic, causing Knuckles to stir at the loss of warmth.

“Father?”

“Hey bud, think you can make it to your bed on your own?” 

“Mh hm” he rubbed his eyes and dragged himself off the couch and up into the attic turned bedroom.

There was a slurred “g’nit alia.” from him before he disappeared.

She chuckled. “Good night.”

“Thanks so much, Alia!” Maddie put roxy into her crib, Alia following her back into the kitchen. “When are you available again?”

“Really?” Alia’s grin reached all the way to her ears. “Mostly on weekends, Dr. Wachowski.”

“Of course! How does this coming Saturday sound?”

“I can do that!” 

She handed her the money. “Awesome! See you next week!” 

“Bye!”

‘Alright, Alia, since there’s never any traffic on this route, I'll get there in about fifteen minutes, get done with homework in like two hours while at the same time eating dinner, then having a thirty minute window to drive to my shift at the diner.’

The twenty year old sighed as she turned up the volume of her Spotify playlist. It was only songs from musicals but it provided comfort nonetheless.

‘Come on, Ali, get yourself together. Relax mentally for a bit.’

“There’s nothin’ rich folks love more then going downtown and slummin’ it with the poor-”

She started to laugh, bouncing her head to the beat and singing along with it.

“They pull up in their carriages and gawk at the students in the college just to watch them-ACK!!”

She screamed as she slammed on the breaks. There had been a flash of color, something moving on the road.

She opened her door and quickly went over to the front. She spotted a pair of worn out gray shoes that must have been white at one point peeking from the bottom of her tire. There were dirty orange shoelaces from them, the owner sporting pink socks…wait, that was their ankle! This was a kid, a scared one from the looks of it.

“Um…hey?”

There was a squeak, definitely a kid, maybe a teen.

“I didn't mean to scare you! I was just uh, going home, and didn't see you. Are you…hungry by any chance?”

‘Alia NO can you afford this? You can barely feed yourself, much less a kid!’

‘If this was one of the Wachowski kids, or your own brother, wouldn't you still do this regardless?”

Before she had time to think about this any further, there was some shuffling and a pink and tan furred creature peeked out from her shield.

‘Not a creature, just a kid. From outer space sure, but still a kid. What was it again? Mobius, right?’

“I won't hurt you, I promise!!” She smiled encouragingly, beckoning her out. 

There was another squeak, some more shuffling and the kid hesitantly stepped from her hiding spot.

She wore a pair of tattered orange shorts and a white tank top, green cardigan wrapped around her waist.

“Hi…” The girl mumbled. Seeing her full frame and demeanor, she deduced this girl was about sonic’s age, as well as possibly being a hedgehog. Her quills were styled similarly, the only difference being there was a tuft of fur sprouting from her head, the bangs looking similar to tails’.

Suddenly her eyes went to fire. 

“You’d better not be messin’ with me, human! If you lay one finger on my quills I swear-“

“Whoa, whoa! Take a chill pill there, kid, I’m not gonna hurt you! I promised, didn't i?”

“Fat lot of good promises get you nowadays. You know how many people promised to feed me if I beat their bullies for em’? A whole load, and I didn’t get anything.”

 A small poof came from her hand, a giant hammer now in her grasp.

‘She’s got a hammer. Beautiful. Well, Alia, this is what you get for not watching where you were driving.”

“Uh, please don’t hurt me!” She squeaked. “I’m sorry for almost hitting you with my car but in all fairness you should have been looking where you were going.” 

The pink teen seemed to realize what she was doing and staggered back. Her hammer disappeared as she gasped and rushed to help the startled college girl up.

“I’m sorry! I just got scared, I’ve been on my own for so long and everyone always tries to pick on me. I lose my temper easily and I’m sorry!”

Alia was shook, one moment she was trying to kill her and the next she was telling her her whole life story?

‘Traumatized kid, Ali, it was just self defense. New planet, orphan.’

“It's…it’s alright. I get it, new planet and all.”

“Yea I was just here to find my friend and-HEY! How do you know that?”

‘So she has trust issues, natural suspicion, but is really open…how does any of that go together?’

“I uh, I babysit a bunch of kids like you. Y’all are mobians, right?” 

“Something like that, yea! How’d they get here?”

“Mix up with rings and people trying to kill them. They’re all adopted now, living their best lives.”

“Oh, wow!” The girl sat thinking for a moment. ‘If others trust this human, I can too!’

She looked down, mumbling. “You asked me if I was hungry…do you think I could still have some food?”

Alia’s heart broke. “Of course. We’ll have to drive to my house, but definitely!”

‘Alright Alia, just for a bit. I still got clothes in that old room, I’m sure something will fit her. A bath, old clothes in the laundry room downstairs, then some food. Easy enough.’

“Ok!” The teen chirped. “Hey, what's your name?” 

“Alia. Alia Barlowe. What’s your’s?” 

“Amy Rose!”

“Wait what?”

Chapter Text

“Uh huh, Amy Rose! What’s yours?”

‘ Well um there could be a lot of mobians with that name?’

‘That fit that exact description? I don’t think so.’

“A-Alia. Alia Barlowe.”

“It's nice to meet you Ms Alia! Thank you for your kindness!”

“Not a problem kid. And uh, you can just call me Alia.”

She helped Amy into her car and then shakily exhaled. 

“Alright, let’s get going.”

A bit into the drive, she attempted small talk. 

“So, you’re here to find a friend of yours?”

“Yea! He disappeared about two years ago, I assumed he might have gotten adopted or something. I started getting suspicious when I heard some of the stupid villagers talking.”

“Oh that’s awful! How do you know he’s here on earth?” 

“Well he’s awfully smart, but he left his computer on. There were a bunch of marks on a map and it looked like he was scouting a spot here in Montana. That is what this area is called right?”

“Uh-huh. I hope you don’t mind me asking but are you a hedgehog?”

“Yea I am! Why?”

“One of the kids I babysit is a hedgehog also. He’s the middle child, I think you’d like him actually. Nice kid, a little excitable, but a good kid at heart.”

“Wow! I’ve always wanted to meet another hedgehog! I met one when I was a little kid, before I met miles. We swore to be best friends forever.”

She laughed dryly and shook her head. “Stupid kids we were. Believing those dumb promises.”

‘Oh boy this is where we find out this girl's whole life story. I dunno if I can cope with this mentally. It’s gonna be so hard to not cry..’

“Wait um, what did you say your friend's name was?”

“Miles.”

‘Ok there are a lot of people named Miles..’

“He was a fox.”

‘There could be a lot of Mobian foxes named miles?’

“He’d get teased mostly for his looks though. He had two tails, as cool as it was, no one else thought so. Said he was cursed or some trash.”

Alia slammed on the brakes, fast and hard. They rammed forward, Amy nearly slamming against the dashboard.

“Hey!” She glowered.

“Miles Tails Prower Wa-Miles Prower?” She asked breathlessly.

“Yea-?”

She threw her head back and laughed. Amy was slowly becoming concerned that she’d gotten into a car with a crazy person.

“How is this funny?” She demanded.

“I babysit him! Literally just came from his house! He’s ten years old now, I can’t believe that….” 

She stopped, taking into context what she was going to say.

“You know him…He's only ten…” she whispered. 

“And I’m fourteen, big deal. Now can’t you just turn the car around? I need to see him!” 

“Sorry, little miss, but I have a shift in two hours, homework to do and no offense but you’re a mess!”

The pink hedgie crossed her arms, grumbling under her breath. 

“Rude.” Was all she could decipher.

She sighed. “You still want to eat don’t you?”

Amy closed her eyes, lips moving.

She turned towards her, watching the emerald eyes open. There was shame in them, and they flickered to the floor.

“I'm sorry. You’ve been so nice to me and I’m here being a total bitch. If your offer still stands, I’ll try to control myself. It’s just been lot these past weeks and-“

“Hey, you don’t need to apologize to me, kid. I get it, I’ve been through tough times myself and it’s hard not to snap at everything that’s going wrong. We’ll go to my place, get you some new clothes, a nice warm shower, hot dinner, and some rest. Trust me, you’ll wake up tomorrow and you’ll feel a whole lot better. I can tell you’re a sweet kid, just put through too much stress and a too young age. I-I cant say i've gone through the same things but i can relate a lot more to the situation than you think, and i want to help you in any way i can.”

“Thank you…” was whispered, droplets visible on her long lashes.

“You’re welcome, Amy, you deserve it.”

The hedgehog gave a weak smile.

The rest of the drive was mostly in peaceful silence.

She pulled up to the building, parking in the designated spot.

“Wow! This is your house?” Amy gaped as she looked at the apartment building.

“No silly, only a room in it belongs to me. And technically I’m only renting it.”

They rode the elevator, Alia unlocking her tiny apartment. “It’s small, but home.

“Wow! It’s so pretty!” The hedgie’s eyes widened as she gazed at the furniture.

“Thanks!” She hung up her keys and coat, slipping off her shoes. Amy hesitated, then slipped hers off too. 

“Would you mind if I showered?” She asked timidly.

“Yeah sure! I’ll see if I have anything for you to wear.” She led her to the restroom and turned on the shower. 

“This way for hot and this way for cold, k?” 

“Thank you!” She chirped, so happy at the prospect of taking a shower.

Alia felt a pang at the bottom of her stomach. This poor kid, actually happy about a shower.

“Well, I’ll check on you in a bit, here’s a towel, and just yell if you need me!”

“Yes’m. Thank you so much, Alia.” 

“No problem, kid.”

She closed the door and heard Amy humming softly to herself. It was one of the songs that had continued to play from her playlist. She smiled and left.

“Alright, Alia, where are those boxes?” She gazed into the dark room, sighing as she knelt to open one of the many boxes. After a while she opened another box, finding a bunch of old clothes. They were washed and surprisingly smelled like drying sheets. 

“I get this feeling she’s a bit fashion conscious, if her old clothes were any indication. Anything cute here?”

She pulled out a pair of soft blue overalls and held them up. “Hmm…” she went through the box again, extracting a red shirt with a pink heart. 

She went through a few more, trying to find some under stuff. She grabbed a pair of her own new socks and went to knock on the door.

“Hey, Amy, do you mind if I come in and drop off some clothes for you?”

“Sure, come in!”

The shower was still going on as she stepped in, dropping the clothes on the toilet lid and quickly shutting the door.

“THANKS!” She heard Amy scream.

“YUP! I’M GONNA GET DINNER!”

“OK!”

“Dinner, dinner, dinner…” Alia opened the kitchen cabinets and fridge. 

There was ground beef in the freezer, a few things in the fridge, and even less in the pantry. 

She exhaled. “Take-out it is. Get some shopping done, homework due next week anyways.”

Amy stepped out of the shower, barely able to believe her luck. Here was someone who wasn’t trying to kill her, employ her, hurt her, and instead was trying to take care of her? And on top of that taking her to tails? 

This could be some dirty trick..but she couldn’t think of that now. As long as she got to tails she’d be fine. She toweled herself off, squealing a bit at the cute clothes set in front of her. She put them on, attempting to dry her dripping quills. She decided on a ponytail, borrowing a hair tie from the counter. 

“Looking good, rosy.”

She looked at herself in the mirror, a bittersweet moment. 

The socks were pure white, soft cotton, thick for walking on the wooden floor. 

She slid out into the cool air, steam flowing from the bathroom. For the first time in years, she felt warm, cozy, and safe.

She padded down the hallway to the entrance, where Alia was shutting the pantry. 

“Hi Amy! Ooh, they fit better than I expected! Lemme see!”

Amy twirled around shyly, showing off her new outfit. 

“Ooo, so pretty! I found a pair of sneakers for you to wear for now, we can go shopping in a bit!”

“Thank you so much!” Amy was ecstatic. New clothes, safe place, nice people! Oh why didn’t she come looking for him sooner?

She felt a pang of guilt. 

Why didn’t she? 

She couldn’t excuse this. She was being a coward and a horrible friend. She didn’t deserve any of this. He did, after all he’d gone through. He was getting his due, all she was doing was freeloading off this poor girl who was probably struggling herself.

‘Pull yourself together, Amelia! This is not the time or place to be acting like this!’

She took a few deep breaths, snapping herself out of the dark thoughts.

“So! What’s the plan for dinner?”

“Take-out, actually.” Alia said sheepishly. “My kitchen’s kinda empty.”

“Ooh, what kind?”

“Hmm, you like Chinese?”

“What’s that?”

“Oh, trust me, you’ll love it.”

“Mmmm! This is SOOO GOOD!!”

Half an hour later, the two were sitting in the mall food court, the tray in front of them stating they had just ordered from Panda Express.

“Told you.” Alia twirled chow mein with her fork, watching Amy using an extreme amount of self-control to eat with manners and not shove everything in her mouth at once. 

She daintily sipped her lemonade and scraped her plate to get the last of the rice and teriyaki sauce off it.

The older girl finished her plate and put it on the little tray next to them. 

The mall was nearly empty, but the few people passing them paused, often giving a double take. 

‘A new one? ’ The glances seemed to say. ‘ A girl?’

“TAKE A FRICKEN PICTURE, IT’LL LAST LONGER!” Alia felt like screaming at them. They would too, no shame with these people.

“Alia?” Amy’s voice chimed. She shook out of her stupor, smiling a bit at the teen in front of her. 

“I’ve finished.” She held out her plate. “Where do we go now?”

“We’ll do a bit of shopping next.” She winked at the hedgehog, taking the plate from her. 

She could’ve sworn she’d caught a squeal when she went off to throw out the empty tray and cups.

The teen trailed after her, asking countless questions about the mall and life here on earth. 

“Alia? Can we go in here?”

She motioned towards the store they’d landed in front of. Ross.

Alia almost laughed. Of course. What else? 

“Sure, kid.”

She ended up giving Amy a basket and letting her roam the juniors and kids aisles. Alia wandered along the shoes, looking for something cute the teen would like. She’d seen how her eyes had lingered on the boots and hightops when they’d passed the closed shoe shops, maybe she could find something similar?

A pair of platform converse were sitting at the bottom of the rack. She quickly picked them up, checking the size. 

‘ Darn.’

She began searching for smaller sizes of the shoe, eventually finding one. In her joy, she knocked over a pile of shoes.

A vibrant red caught her eye, and kneeling down, she picked out a pair of beautiful red boots with a white stripe down the middle. They had a bit of a heel to it, but it's nothing the hedgehog couldn't brush off in a matter of seconds. 

‘ Jackpot!!’

She hid them quickly and ran to find Amy. 

She found the teen in a corner, watching a small red dress sway on a hanger. 

“Amy?”

“Oh!” the hedgehog startled. “H-hi!”

“Whatcha looking at?”

“N-nothing. Nothing important.”

“That's a cute dress! Don't you want to try it on?”

“Oh, no no no, I couldn't…I don't…”

‘ She thinks she doesn’t deserve it.’  

Anger welled up in her. This poor little girl who had gone through so much and she thought she didn’t deserve something for her because it was too clean and too pretty for a girl like her. 

“Get it Amy.” She was surprised at the fierceness in her voice.

The pink hedgehog lit up, but quickly hid it. 

“Alia…this is already costing you so much, more than I des-“

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence Amy Rose, there is absolutely no reason you should not have something pretty. And don’t worry about me, I work all those jobs so that I can help other people.”

‘ Well, mostly anyways.’

“You’re sure?” Amy breathed. 

“Positive. Now go try it on.”

She squealed and squeezed the older girl, then dashed off to the changing room. 

The basket that Amy had previously held had been shoved into her hand and she looked down at what the younger one had picked out. 

All of it was pretty basic, but fashionable with multiple combos. She noticed nothing went above $20 and felt a small prick of guilt. She browsed the juniors section as she waited for Amy to call out. The graphic t-shirts she’d picked out went amazing with the few pairs of jeans, shorts, and skirts she’d chosen, but looking, Alia found a few jackets and cardigans to sneak into the basket. She knew Amy would refuse it if she knew it was being offered, but she needed something to keep her warm, and it didn’t hurt that it complemented the outfit.

“Alia?”

She turned, gasping at the sight before her. 

The little red dress contrasted against the girl’s pink quills, the white trim flaring out right above her knees. It was strapless, held by the white mock neck collar.

“So?” Amy’s joy was visible to the world, anxiously waiting for Alia’s input.

“Aw Amy…you look so beautiful…” 

“Thank you!”

Alia suddenly remembered the boots. “Hey Amy, I think I got the perfect shoes for that-“

Now it was Amy’s turn to gasp as she saw the red boots. 

She slipped them on, walking in a circle to get used to the heel. Once she did, she modeled the outfit as if she were on a fashion strip instead of a mall changing room. 

Alia clapped, delighted at the revelation. The shopping outing was a complete success, and didn’t even come out costing too much. 

Alia set the new sheets she’d bought onto the bed in the guest room, Amy waiting in her new PJs. 

“You know what Rose? I think I can find a way to get you to the Wachowski’s by tomorrow.”

“REALLY?!” The hedgehog bounced around the room, squealing. 

“Yep. Now you’d better get your beauty sleep for tomorrow. I’ll wash your new clothes tonight so you can wear a new outfit for tomorrow.”

“Gosh, Alia, how can I ever repay you?” Amy was close to tears.

Alia knelt to her level. “I’m glad to do it, Amy. You’re welcome to stick around as long as you’d like.”

‘ ALIA!! What the hell are you saying?? You can’t promise her that.’

‘Oh shut up, it's just for a bit, I’m sure someone will want to adopt her! She’s so sweet, and she likes to help out too. You can’t say you didn't notice how spotless she left the restroom.’

‘Ah whatever’

She hugged the girl, then shooed her into the bed. 

“Now go to sleep.”

She pulled the blankets around the teen and whispered, “Goodnight, Amy.” 

“Night Alia.”

Sunday, 12:00pm, Green Hills, Montana

Alia turned the corner, passing the sheriff's office. Amy’s legs swung back and forth nervously. 

“You alright?” she looked over, driving down the road toward the house.

“Yeah. Yeah. I’m good.”

“Relax, you look great, they’ll love you! You’re a sweet kid, Rose. I’m sure Tails will be overjoyed to see you.”

“If you’re sure..”

They pulled into the driveway and stepped up on the porch. Alia had called beforehand to make sure they’d be home, although she didn’t exactly say why.

‘Ok, Amy,you got this. You’re just going to see your friend you haven’t seen in three years and he’s got brothers and parents and a little sister, its not like he won’t care about you anymore…right?…right.’

“Well?”Alia nudged. her, effectively knocking her out of her stupor.

“Well what?”

“You gonna knock?”

“I..um…I need a moment?”

“….”

“…”

“Take any longer and I’ll ring that doorbell myself.”

“Fine.”

She took a deep breath, and knocked.

“Hello?”the door creaked open, revealing maddie with Roxy on her hip.

“Hey Alia-“ She looked down, eyes widening. She took in the sight of the little pink hedgehog, looking up and down in pure disbelief.

“Dr. Wachowski, I presume?” Amy swayed a bit under the older woman’s shocked gaze.

“I…yes, hello.” Maddie took a minute to compose herself, recovering from the visible shock.

Amy thrust a hand out to shake. “My name is Amy Rose, I’m a friend of-“

“Tails. You’re Miles’ friend.” She smiled, shaking the little girl's hand.

“I’m sorry to intrude like this but I got here a few nights ago looking for him.i just wanted to know if he was alright, is there any way I could-“

“See him? Absolutely. Come on in you two.”

“Thank you so much ma’am.” Amy stopped to say.

“Amy, you are such a brave girl to have come all this way for him. I hope you’ll stick around here, we need more courageous girls like you here.” 

Amy beamed. “Miles sure is lucky to have you, Dr. Wachowski.”

“Oh no honey, we’re lucky to have him.”

A bit later, after they’d chatted for a bit and Tom had stopped in for lunch, a door was slammed and the little fox came in, shouting.

“Moommm, Daaaad!! Have you seen my-” He stopped, eyes landing on the pink hedgehog sitting in his living room.

Tom, Maddie, and Alia watched in worry; Amy standing up, the nerves and fear in her eyes.

“H-hey, Tails. Its..been awhile, no?” 

‘A joke? Three years, anything in the world, and YOU CHOSE A JOKE?’

His mouth moved without any noise, his blue eyes even wider than before. 

“I-I know you might not want to s-see me, I just wanted to make s-sure you’re okay, a-and I see that now, s-so I can just-“

In a swift movement quicker than Sonic himself, Tails had barreled into her, head only coming up to her chest.

She felt his tears before she heard them and squeezed the little fox with all the power she had in her body.

“T-Thank you for coming back-I missed you so much-“ he whispered.

“I missed you too, Tails. More than you know..”

She let him go and bent to his level, wiping his tears with her thumb. 

“You’ve made such a good life for yourself here, Miles. I’m so proud of you, everything that you’ve done for this planet.”

The tears streamed down harder, and he leaned into her, grateful to have his big sister’s comfort once more.

“You gotta tell me about your adventures, Tails! And your brothers, I’ve heard so much about them.”

“My oldest brother is outside right now, but I think my other brother is upstairs! Gimme a second.”

“SONIC WACHOWSKI, GET DOWN HERE!” He shrieked.

A blue flash came down the steps.

“What? What’s happened, who’s dying? Tails, didja blow up the shed again?”

“What? No! I want you to meet my friend-“

He stopped as Sonic made a squeaky gasping noise, jaw on the floor.

Amy mirrored his expression, eyes like emerald disks.

“Are…you guys okay?” He asked.

Maddie and Alia spoke at the same time, concern evident.

“Sonic?

“Amy?”

“I-“ Sonic couldn’t get it out.

“No-“ the pink hedgehog’s eyes were glossing over.

They whispered, so gently everyone but them two had to strain to hear it.

“ Nikki?” 

“Rosy?”

Chapter Text

Ten years before, Mobius.

The grass swayed as a little girl's high-pitched giggles echoed through the meadows. A little pink hedgehog hummed to herself as she strung blue flowers onto a flower crown. Blue lightning seemed to flash by her as another little hedgehog, this one male and blue, stopped by her.

“Hi Rosy!” He chirped.

“Hey, Nikki!”

He picked up a pink flower crown with orange spotting it and sage leaves and twirled it in his hands.

“What’s this?”

“A flower crown!” She held up the blue one she was making.

“This one could be for you...if you want.”

“Okay!” He grinned at her. “This one looks like it matches you!”

He placed it on her head and she giggled.

“We’ll be best friends forever, right Nikki?”

“Forever and ever, Rosy.”

He paused, looking at the pile of flowers near the girl. “That’s a pretty flower. Would you..would you mind if I took it?”

She handed him a sunflower. “Do you have anyone special to bring it to?”

He lit up. “My mom! Her name is Longclaw!”

She faltered a bit. “Oh..you have a mom?”

“Not my real one, but close enough!”

“I see! It’ll wilt before sundown if it’s not placed in water so I guess you’d better go. I’ll try to bring the crown here tomorrow!”

“See ya then Rosy!”

“Bye, Nikki!”

The next day, she skipped along happily to their spot in the meadow. She waited for him until the afternoon, and when he didn’t show, she wandered along the countryside, finding a bright blue quill.

‘Nikki!’ She thought. She followed the direction the quill was pointing, finding various others along the way.

“Nikki!” She called. “Nikki! Are you…there?”

She gasped, coming across the scene, blood streamed everywhere, several fresh bodies of echidnas littered the scene.

“Chaos help me..” she stumbled through the blood stained dirt, coming across a sunflower with an arrow straight through it.

“No..please please..”

She found a fallen owl, a few blood tipped blue quills clutched to her heart.

“Sonic’s Longclaw..”

Wordlessly she gathered leaves, stones, and flowers, creating a makeshift grave.

She buried her friend’s quills, keeping one and leaving a stone marker there, the blue flower crown draped over it.

“Goodbye, Nikki..”

Present day, Green Hills, Montana

“Nikki?”

“Rosy?”

“Please. Please don’t tell me this is some kind of sick joke, Tails.”

“N-no Amy.”

Sonic stumbled, moving closer.

Tears stained her fur.

“I–…how are..how are you alive? I-I found your house, I found Longclaw, I f-found bodies, blood was everywhere-“

Her voice hitched on her sobs. “She was holding quills to her chest, your blood covered quills..”

“Oh god Rosy-“

He embraced her, both of them sinking to the floor, still clutching each other.

He buried his head in her shoulder, tears leaking out of his eyes, no matter how hard he strained against them.

“I’m sorry about this..” she whispered. “Crying all over you, I mean.”

He pulled back from her, grinning. “Aren’t I doing the same thing?”

“Ha, ha.”

He stood up and offered her his hand. He pulled her and grinned again.

“Look at you little miss Rosy, you had a glow up! N-not that you weren’t pretty before or something likeprettierIguessnottomakeitweirdoranythingIshouldstoptalkingyeathatsagoodidea-“

She giggled. “You look nice too, Nikki.”

Tom coughed into his fist. They looked over, the rest of the room staring back. Even Roxy was silent, watching them with big eyes from her mother’s lap.

“So uh, did we miss something here? You guys know each other?”

“When we were little. We did that ‘friends forever’ Fox-and-the-hound type of stuff, and then I came over once to look for him and found the scene after..after he left.”

“Aww how sweet!” Maddie cooed. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Amy.”

Roxy fussed and was let down, the smaller fox crawling speedily towards the two hedgehogs.

“Ohmigosh Roxy!” Alia squealed.

“She’s crawling so fast! And she’s not freaking out or anything!” Tails cheered.

“C’mere sweetheart!” Amy bent down and held out her arms, Roxy climbing into them.

“You did it Rox!” Sonic booped her nose and the baby giggled.

Something about Amy caught her attention and she tugged lightly on one of her quills. Amy pushed it aside to reveal a small blue quill.

“Is that-“ he felt like his face was on fire, and desperately prayed to whoever listened that it wasn’t obvious.

“One of yours? Yeah.” She toyed with the slip of quills, the blue contrasting the pink. “It gave me courage to go on, to live for my friend who didn’t get to.”

She laughed. “I hope you don’t mind, because you’re obviously alive now.”

“No no keep it! It uh, it suits you.” He blushed furiously, keeping his head down and scratching the back of his head nervously.

“I think that moment was what allowed me to unlock what I had so early. It gave me the strength for this.”

She held out her hand and with a poof of dust, a large pink and yellow hammer lay in her grasp.

Roxy, shifted to Amy’s other side, let out a squeal of excitement.

“HOLY SH..Hhherbert!” Sonic squeaked after a cough from his mom and a glance at Roxy.

“A Piko warrior.” The deep rumble of the eldest Wachowski child came from the backyard doorway.

They all looked towards him, the echidna striding towards them.

“Knuckles, the eldest child of the Wachowski clan. And who are you, warrior?”

Roxy babbled and stretched towards her red brother, Amy handing her to him.

“Amy Rose, I come on behalf of your younger brother, Tails.” She spoke with his eloquent phrasing, formal.

“And of my brother Sonic?”

She smiled and turned to the hedgehog. “So that’s what they’re calling you now, eh Nikki?”

“What did you think Nikki was short for?” He grinned back.

She punched him lightly in the arm and turned back.

“Yeah, him too, I suppose.”

Sonic’s offended “You suppose?” sounded from behind them.

Amy rolled her eyes and didn’t turn around. Her ear flicked towards him.

“Well I thought you were dead, but I guess I’m partially still here for you.”

“You thought he was dead?” Knuckles asked incredulously.

“It’s a long story.” They chorused.

“It is an honor to meet you, Piko Warrior.” He held out a hand to be shaken, shifting Roxy to his other side.

She smiled and shook it twice, everyone wincing as they did.

“What?” She turned around as knuckles whined quietly and shook out his hand.

“Oh, uh, nothing Rosy. Or uh Amy now I guess. Amy Rose?”

“What did you think Rosy was short for, huh?”

“…well played.”

“Big brother finally met his match!” Tails snickered.

“Kindly shut your pie hole, little brother.”

“Is he wrong though? Ask yourself, ‘Nic, is he really?”

“I dislike you both greatly.”

“Ahpuu!” Roxy squealed, drawing everyone’s attention to her.

“How’d you guys end up with this lil girl?” Amy booped her nose and she giggled.

There was an uncomfortable silence, and Tails spoke up.

“Amy...how...how have things been on Mobius since I’ve left?”

“Why do you ask?” She eyed him suspiciously.

“Amy, have you gone into town since I left?”

“R-rarely.”

“On the far, far side of the island, did you ever go by a house, red and brow, rosemary bushes in the window?”

“Was there a name on the mailbox?”

“No. White picket fence, newborn baby?”

“I think I know what house that is. The couple was never seen, and I did hear baby cries, but-“

She was cut off by Roxy, wailing.

“Rox?”

Knuckles, still holding her, deposited the baby in his mother’s lap.

“It’s okay baby, what’s bothering you?” She bounced her, trying to calm her cries.

“That…that was weird.”

“She’s a baby, doesn’t she cry?”

“Not unprovoked like that. She’s been changed, fed, played with.”

“Maybe we said something that she didn’t like?”

Tails’ face was unreadable.

“Mom, put her down. I want to try something.”

“Miles?”

“Please, Mom.”

She sat the sniffling baby down, her mittened hands rubbing at her eyes.

“I’m sorry in advance for this, Rox.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and whispered, “Rosemary.”

Roxy visibly shrunk back, eyes widening in panic. She began inhaling deeply, her breathes becoming deeper and shallower.

“ROSEMARY!” He screamed at her.

Her chest was heaving up and down, quicker and quicker. Her eyes were screwed shut, tears leaking out of them, no matter how hard she strained against them.

Voices blended together, overwhelming her ears. Everything, EVERYTHING, shut down. She was suddenly surrounded by darkness.

She could barely squeeze out a pitiful wail, her throat closing up. She was gasping for breath, her ears pulled back and she felt herself backing up into the wall.

No, no, no!

“ROSEMARY, WHAT THE HELL??”

“Amadeus, please-“

Not real, not real. She cracked her eyes open, panic flooding her even more.

“GET OUT OF THE WAY, YOU USELESS BRAT!”

She was back. Back in the house.

“MILES! What the hell?” Sonic restrained his little brother, the latter thrashing against his older brother, still screaming the names.

Maddie, Tom, and Alia were surrounding Roxy, trying to soothe her.

“Hey Roxanne, its Mama, it’s okay. You are safe here.”

“Roxy? Roxy, you’re safe, you’re safe here with me and your Mama.”

“It’s okay, sweetheart, I promise it will be okay.”

“Miles!” Tails had gone limp, tears pouring down his face. “Miles, what’s going on? What did you do?”

The older fox looked up, seeing Sonic and Knuckles’ faces of horror.

“I-I I didn’t mean-I-“ he stumbled, Amy swiftly reaching out and grabbing his wrist.

“I’m not mad at you, Miles. None of us are, we’re just confused.”

“Please, Amy- I can’t-“

He met his big sister’s gaze, filled with confusion, warm concern. Tails looked back at older brothers, the ones whose approval he so desperately worked for. They tried to look as though they agreed with Amy, but their eyes betrayed them.

He knew that expression better then he knew the one of love. They were afraid of him.

She couldn’t possibly be back. Roxy needed to go. She needed to be anywhere back here.

Please let me go back! She didn’t know who she was begging, but whoever it was didn’t like her.

Roxy wanted to go home! Back to Mama and Dada and blood brother and red brother and blue brother.

“ROSEMARY!!!”

“NO! AHHHH!”

Her ears were flat against her head as she tried to block out the bloodcurdling screams.

She felt someone take her hands softly.

Please lead me out of here….

‘They’re dealing with this all wrong!’ Amy looked over at the adults trying to calm Roxy.

She steered Tails to the couch and sat him down. She brushed his bangs to the side and kissed his forehead, then went to the corner.

She stood behind them and tapped Alia, asking her to move to the side. She did so, and quietly as possible Amy told the Wachowskis:

“You’re crowding her. Excuse me.”

They moved to the side with Alia, too astounded to not comply.

“Hey Roxy. Stay on my voice, listen to it real hard.” Amy whispered soft. She took the toddler’s mittened hands in hers and made her voice gentle and melodic.

“Come back to us honey. This is a safe place, I promise.”

The voice asked her to come back. She was trying so hard to listen to it.

Go away bad voices! Go away old house!

“I know you’re trying really hard, I can see it. You have to leave the old place behind. They do not control you, your old house is not your future. Focus on what I’m saying. You have a better, new life with an amazing family and a beautiful house. You’re almost there, Roxanne.”

NO! GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!!

She began to hear more voices, these of her parents, her true family cheering her on.

She opened her eyes to the rosy hedgehog, who’d been leading her out of the dark place.

“Good girl! I’m so proud of you! You did it!”

Amy let go of Roxy, leaving the rest of the consolation to her parents.

She returned to where she had left the other kids, finding only a frantic looking Sonic.

“Nikki? Where’s Tails?”

His voice was scared, tears pooling in his emerald eyes.

“T-Tails…he’s gone.”