Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Shadow stood there, people crowding in the city square around multiple E.P.F soldiers that were holding down a hedgehog that was supposed to be praised for saving the city yet again, but instead was being unjustly harassed.

They muzzled his mouth, thinking that he might bite or something, chaining him tightly so much so that bruises could be seen if you looked carefully. Emerald green eyes frantically looked around, tears looking as if they were holding on by a thread to not break free from his eyes, his body shivering as the soldiers shoved him into what looked to be a black S.W.A.T van.

Shadow’s eyes widened, they weren’t supposed to treat him this harshly. He took a step forward, mouth opening to tell Sonic that it will all be okay and that they won’t do anymore than this, that they won’t hurt him. But a hand clapped onto his shoulder, holding it with an iron grip that it should have hurt, yet Shadow didn’t make a sound. His mouth closed back shut.

“Well done, to be frank I was expecting defiance in my decision from you.” His commander spoke in his usual demanding manner, why did Shadow care so much about what happens to Sonic? They were just friends, Shadow shouldn’t care too much. This was making him soft, and he was worrying too much. They would let him out after a week, he wouldn’t be held in custody for too long.

Soon after, the large crowd had dispersed and disappeared like the wide amount of E.P.F soldiers had.

Two months. The blue hedgehog was nowhere in sight, Shadow couldn’t find him anywhere. He teleported to Sonic’s brother’s house, the twin tailed fox was hunched over a table working on a machine gun as he added some extra adjustments. 

“Miles.” Shadow spoke, the fox flinched and quickly turned around, his eyes widened as he saw the ebony hedgehog standing there by the doorless entrance of the workshop. 

“You…” he whispered as if processing that the lifeform was really there or just his twisted imagination. “ You.” He repeated again with fury, eyes narrowed with a need to spill blood. 

“Miles-.” The fox lifted the large machine gun and pointed it to him, snarling. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! YOU THINK YOU’LL BE WELCOME AFTER WHAT YOU DID?!” He yelled, which surprised Shadow. The fox was never this mad, he never raised his voice beyond a certain point. But here he was, ready to kill with how much anger could be seen through those sapphire blue eyes of his. 

“Fox, put the gun down. I'm only here to talk.” Shadow kept his calm tone so as to not distress the other any more. “Talk about what? About how you murdered Sonic!?” Tails spat, not releasing his hold on the machine gun that was half his size, where he got this strength and energy to hold such a thing Shadow will never know.

But his choice of words both worried and confused Shadow. Murdered? Sonic wasn’t dead, he was supposed to be freed by now. “I'm sorry, what? Is the hedgehog not here? I wanted to apologize to him.” Tails’ ears fell flat, scrunching up his snout so that his teeth were bared and to keep tears from falling. “Even if he was here, I would never even let you look at him ever again.” 

“…I don’t understand…” 

“They took him away and never gave him back, he’s dead Shadow. Gone.” The fox whispered as he dropped the gun, it fell to the floor with a massive clack while Tails let his eyes droop to the hardwood ground.

Shadow fell silent, hands resting by his sides as he couldn’t find what to say. 

It was his fault. All of it. He should have known better. He should’ve.

After two years, they had finally found the lab where the E.P.F’s were holding Sonic. With the help of Tails and the rest of Sonic’s friends, and a little hacking from Whisper, Team Sonic finally had a lead. Shadow and Tails took the west wing of the building while Amy and Knuckles took the east.

Both the ebony hedgehog and yellow Fox were sprinting through the hallways, trying to reach a specific door. 

“345…346…aha! There, 347!”  Tails pointed to a black door, on the door was a label that was written: ‘CAUTION. DO NOT OPEN. KETER CLASS INSIDE.’

Tails bombed the door down and the two glanced at the room. There was blood staining everywhere, some dents from inside the door due to harsh impact, and ocean blue quills embedded into the cushioned walls. There seemed to be a resistance of force, whoever was trying to get to Sonic seemed to have put up a fight with him. 

But the two were too late, they had killed him already. Tails fell to his knees, staring at the empty room. His ears drooped down, as he took a second to process.

Shadow had failed. Sonic was dead, and Shadow killed him.

Sonic was dead, and Shadow killed him.

Sonic was dead and Shadow killed him.

Shadow. Killed. Him.

Tails attacked, baring his claws and scratched Shadows' eye out.

Chapter Text

Emerald eyes peered up at him, the latter’s color battling his own shade of quills. He kneeled so the two were within eye level, extending a hand to the floor with the palm facing the hidden hedgehog.

“Yeah, that’s definitely going to work, Scourge.” A female voice sassed, her arms crossed over her chest as she puffed up her magenta quills, just in case of emergency. “Oh shut up Sonia!” The green hedgehog snapped at her, growling as he gritted his teeth to glare at her.

The green eyed hedgehog hid more behind the makeshift cot, pulling the covers more over his body. Scourge cursed, pulling back his hand as he returned his attention to the feral hedgehog.

“I-It’s gonna be okay…we won’t hurt you.” Maybe sweet talking would work? The elephant in the room still stayed underneath the covers, not even moving a muscle. Ok, so maybe sweet talking won’t work.

“Hey guys, how’s it going?” A shorter green colored hedgehog walked in the medical room, his quills pointing everywhere in a frenzy in what looked to be a failed attempt to make a rockstar hair style. Sonia turned to the youngest in the room, while Scourge still tried fruitless sweet talking attempts to get the feral hedgehog to trust them.

“Still hasn’t budged.” She commented as he walked over to her. “Damn…” he muttered, “No worries though, Manic! The RGG siblings always find a way!” Sonia encouraged, patting him on the back.

Scourge smiled when he saw some progress, the green eyed hedgehog had slightly poked his head out from under the blanket once he noticed Manic enter the room. Tattered for wear, gloved hands slowly moved out towards Scourge, royal blue quills were puffed up and tense but had smoothened by a small amount, eyes still fixated on the youngest of the three. 

Scourge’s smile had fallen, however, when he saw that the blue colored hedgehog had only come halfway out from the blanket, and still had a bit for him to turn the corner from the cot. “Still. Progress!” Sonia spoke, trying to find the optimistic side of the situation. Manic gasped, “Wait! I gots an Idea!” He ran out the room with such speed that the wind messed with Sonia’s quills, with grumbles and hushed curses she fixed it up as Manic returned holding a plastic snack tray with strawberries inside.

“Maybe he’s hungry?” He walked over to the elder hedgehog, squatting next to him while he held out a single strawberry towards the blue hedgehog.

His voiced thoughts were answered when their unnamed guest cautiously crawled towards the hand holding the strawberry, he quickly bit it off the hand and moved backwards towards his blanket and messily covered himself with it as he ate the strawberry. 

Manic repeated the action and slowly, but surely, the feral hedgehog crawled closer and closer until he didn’t back away from them anymore.

Sonia victoriously laughed, “Like I said, the RGG siblings always find a way!”

“You didn’t even do anything!” Manic and Scourge complained in unison.

Chapter Text

Atop the roof stood a dozen masked  and cloaked mobians, watching the scenery from afar. At the front stood a mobian who held his head high, with pride and strength that of a lion.

The group was watching the city square as thousands of people gathered ‘round, their attention glued upon a certain blue rodent being tied up and thrown into a vehicle. Despite showing a confident aura, when the leader lifted his mask to rest against his head, his eyes displayed his true emotions.

Wide sapphire blue optics carefully observed the hedgehog on the street below, recognition apparent in his features. 

“My king?” One of the mobians asked, cautiously moving to stand beside him, bending over to check if he was alright.

“I-It’s him… he’s alive… ” the green quilled hedgehog whispered, disbelief evident in his tone. 

“Who, sire?” She asked, lifting her mask as well, magenta quills escaping the cloak to rest on her shoulders. 

“Maurice…” He claimed, turning to look at her.   

Red lights and alarms blared, stomping footsteps rushed through the hallways. Cloaked and masked mobians ran as they checked the cell doors, some disabling the robots attacking them, others destroying the drones sent after them.

The leader stopped at the front of a certain cell door, it was black and it had a label on it reading;

‘WARNING. DO NOT OPEN. KETER CLASS INSIDE.’

A mage stood by him as she whispered a spell, casting it upon the door and having it burst open.

“Stay here, make sure none of those bastards come.” The leader ordered, the fighter mobians nodded as they pulled out their weapons and stood in a guarding stance. The deputy stood by the door as a substitute for the mage, who hovered over to assist the soldier mobians.

“Maurice?…” The green quilled hedgehog removed his mask and pulled down his hood to reveal himself, to show the poor feral blue hedgehog before him that he was no threat. Once he entered the room he felt bile rise up in his throat, blood was spilled everywhere, there were claw marks to indicate a struggle, and it smelled like a rotten corpse in here. 

Emerald green eyes widened as the pupils shrank to slits, tattered gloves and shoes shifting to push their attached body more against the wall. The blue hedgehog bared his teeth as he hissed, ears pinned back and quills standing on end, ready to sink them into flesh. 

The leader let his eyes drift as he observed every cut and scratch, every claw and mark inflicted upon him. Until his eyes landed on a certain birthmark on the left wrist of his. There was only one other person in his family that had the same birthmark in the same place, his mother.

A soft gasp escaped his lips. It really was him, after all these years he finally found him.

He kneeled so that the two were eye level. To show that they were equals, and that he was no predator towards the frightened hedgehog.

“I-It’s me…Scourge.” He whispered, extending a hand, but when the latter hissed even more and tried to bite him, he pulled his hand back.

“C’mon Mar…ya gotta say you remember…” yet no answer befell him. 

“H-Hey, it’s gonna be okay, alright? We’re here to save you. To bring you back home.” He reassured, making sure his tone was soft and gentle.

The hedgehog slowly relaxed his tense muscles, and carefully leaned forward to test the waters. Once he noticed that Scourge did nothing to harm him, he approached him fully. Scourge slowly stood up and began walking towards the entrance of the small room, but when he noticed how the cobalt hedgehog was limping he frowned.

“No…” A yellow fox that scourge did not recognize whispered, dropping to his knees as he cried. His companion, an ebony hedgehog, did nothing but stand there.

Scourge was hiding behind the corner, holding the unconscious blue hedgehog bridal style, watching the two like a hawk with narrow eyes. His mask returned to hide his face.

He had asked the mage to put a sleeping spell on him so as not to cause any trouble as he carried him. 

“My king!” His deputy called, Scourge gave one last look at the pair that were standing by the empty room, before turning tail and leading the dozen mobians out of the laboratory.

“He seems to have sustained damage to his legs and hip, he may need some physical therapy. But it’s nothing serious to worry about, my king.”

A parrot mobian doctor smiled, holding a clipboard in her hand as she informed Scourge.

Sonia was with him, they were in the hospital and both had changed out of their cloaks and into more comfortable attire.

Scourge was wearing a black ripped sleeveless leather jacket with red shoes, and Sonia was wearing a lilac colored vest with orchid colored leggings and a black top with pink boots.

“Thank you, Miss Applebea.” Sonia nodded, a hand on Scourge’s shoulder once she saw that he was unresponsive, his eyes not leaving the resting form of their long lost brother.

Once the doctor had left, Sonia turned around to face the window and watch over a resting blue hedgehog, her hand crossed over her chest. 

“Such a shock, huh?” She said, Scourge just stood there. “After all these years…” he muttered.

“Why didn’t he come sooner? Then we’d stop worryin’, y’know.” He grumbled, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket. Sonia snorted, “The world works in mysterious ways, little brother.” She teased, which caused him to lightly punch her arm.

“Hey! By three minutes!” He argued with a fond smirk. “Still! I'm the oldest!” She fought back, mimicking his cocky expression. 

A moment of silence passes them, both pondering over how to continue the conversation further.

“Manic doesn’t know yet, does he?” Sonia asked, her reply was a huff and the shake of a head.

“Well, he won’t be the youngest anymore.” She chuckled softly, Scourge smiled at the image of their younger brother, not being the smallest no more. “He gon’ be using it to his advantage.” Scourge voiced. 

Another moment of silence, but this time Sonia had frowned.

“Scourge?”

“Yeah?”

“What if Maurice is gone? What if he will never remember us, what if we have to start over?” Sapphire blue eyes met the soft glow of hazel brown. He gave a reassuring smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes like it usually did. 

“I'm sure we’ll figure it out, it’s like ya say. The RGG siblings always find a way, eh?” He elbowed her, and she let out a snort. “RG B , now.” Yet deep down, Scourge was just as worried and sad as his sister. He was scared he lost his brother far beyond repair, and that it may take years and years worth of trust. But no matter what, Scourge will do it. He’ll do anything. 

He’ll do anything if it means he’ll get his beloved brother, Maurice, back. And this time, he won’t let go like he did back then.

>~A year later…~<

“How’s he doing?” Scourge walked through the room door of the hospital, holding a fabric of some kind. 

Maurice was sitting near his brother, Manic, as he was inspecting his right wrist. There was a golden gauntlet with an Amazonite gem, Maurice had brought Sonia’s right wrist next to Manic’s to compare the two gauntlets. 

“Fine so far, managed to feed him his medicine. Got some of his required physical therapy stuff done.” She informed him, her attention brought back to her little brother once he tugged her wrist towards his face. 

She had a Black Onyx stone instead of an Amazonite gem, she looked back to Scourge’s approaching form. 

“What’s he doin’?” He asked with a pointed finger towards Maurice, who then let go of Manic’s and Sonia’s wrists to grasp and check the gauntlet on Scourge’s right wrist. There was an Iolite in the gauntlet. 

He waited with raised eyebrows, until finally Maurice had released him as well. “Alright moving on! So, Scar-,”

“-Don’t fucking call me that-.”

“-What brings you here!” Sonia had clapped her hands together, a smile on her face as she ignored his profanity. 

He holds up the fabric for her to see, his face returned back to its normal pissed expression. “Nice! Cloak for Mar!” Manic exclaimed as he jumped up on the cot with his arms pumped up.

“Get down from there Mint!” Sonia reprimanded him, Manic rolled his eyes yet with annoyed muttering and grumbles he sat back down on the cot. 

“Alright Maurice! Stand up and let’s see how the new cloak fits!” Sonia gingerly held her younger brother’s hands and assisted him with standing on two limbs instead of his usual four.

He struggled a bit, having to lean a little on his elder sister, but he managed. 

“There we go! My, my Scourge! You’ve got a good eye.” Scourge just rolled his eyes fondly, yet his expression never changed.

Maurice wobbled slightly on his two feet after Sonia had left his side to check how the cloak fit. It was black with red flowers embroidered at the hem. A Blue Lace Agate brooch attached at the tied neck of the cloak. The length of the hem reached his ankles and just barely grazing the floor.

“Looking good M!” Manic gave a thumbs up, he was standing near Sonia on her left and Scourge stood by her right yet further away, a hand on his hip and the other resting by his thigh.

Maurice looked down at the cloak, wrapping it around himself and saw that it was more comfortable to wear than the blanket he had been using to cover himself. 

“Thought it would be better to have an actual cloak like the rest of us than that piece of shit.” Scourge voiced as he gestured to the forgotten blanket that lay on the floor by the cot, causing Sonia and Manic to glance over at him. 

“Y-Y’know… to cover his scars…” he mumbled while looking away, feeling awkward at the proud smiles and stares his sister and brother were giving him. “Aww ya big softie! C’mere!” Sonia opened her arms as she walked over for a hug, Scourge panicked with wide blue eyes and pinned back ears.

“No, no! Fuck- WOMAN!” Scourge yelled in distress as she tightly wrapped her arms around him, “Embrace your sister, child, embrace her.” She spoke dramatically.

“Get OFF! No, MANIC! DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE!” Scourge glared at his brother, who just ignored his yelling and hugged him from behind.

Scourge looked over and tried wriggling away once he saw Maurice slowly approaching too. Limping yet his intentions were clear that he too wanted a hug. He gave an irritated loud growl, yet gave up the struggle once he saw that he was completely trapped for a while.

“Im gonna fucking kill all of you.” He grumbled, however his siblings were not intimidated by his death threat.

“We know you love us, ya teddy bear.” Sonia teased with a smug smirk as she looked up at him.

Chapter Text

Maurice was walking around the town, Sonia had suggested that he does some simple motor functions like walking, light jogging, or swimming.

He may not remember his past life, but he has a gut feeling that water was a big no-no for him. And he doesn’t really trust himself to jog around no matter how much his soul would love to

(It has been craving that he sneaks out for a run, bothering his head with soft voices of his own that were also not his own.), so Maurice just stuck to walking.

Scourge told him to also explore the kingdom, or so they call it, to get to know his home better. Manic also told him to check out the gem stall in the bazaar a bit further into the town, saying that they were highly recommended! He even slipped some gold coins (Shillings?) into the small bag he had bought him, surprisingly for that very purpose.

Yet none of them could join him since a council meeting had shown up, so here he was. Alone, in the middle of the town where the crowd was at its greatest, searching for the highly recommended gem shop.

Maurice tightly covered his cloak around his body, adjusting his mask and making sure it was there and no one had stolen it from him.

Eventually, thankfully, he had reached the gem stall. 

“Welcome to Bunga’s Gems Galore! See anythin’ ya like?” A white rabbit mobian stood at the stall, leaning over the trays and trays full of stones and rings and necklaces on the table.

Maurice shied away slightly, yet when he saw that she was not leaning over to harm him, he relaxed. He looked at all of the jewelry on the table, they were all beautiful and shimmering as well as shining. He squatted down so he could closely gaze at all of them.

Yet one jewel had caught his eye, it was a crimson red. The way the color swirled under the lantern lights of the shop stall mesmerized him. Yet it also made him remember something, as he started trying to think about what it reminded him of his heart ached with hurt.

He felt angry at the color, but he also wanted to be near it. It made him feel safe, somehow, but it also made him feel angry. Why was he feeling this way over a rock? It’s ridiculous…

“I see ya took a likin’ to the Garnet!” The rabbit mobian pointed to the smoothened object, a warm smile on her face.

“Ya know,” Maurice looked up at her, breaking his burning attention from the gem. “A Garnet is a sacred jewel, used to show how much you care about a person by just givin’ it to ‘em.” 

His ears perked up, his interest being piqued now. “But many young souls mistake the meanin’, it’s meant to be romantic and must really come from the heart. Ya need to give it to one person and one person only.” 

Maurice tilted his head and returned his gaze back to the Garnet. “Or ya can just keep it, it also works as a sense of protection and trust.” The woman spoke followed by the shuffling of paper and objects.

“Here young’un.” He looked back up at her, she held out a pouch with a label written in a language Maurice didn’t understand. “It’s a charm. I sense ya haven't really found what ye’r lookin’ for, and ya may need something to ground yourself when ya do find it.” She took the Garnet and put it in the pouch, once she had tied it she gave it back to him.

“That’ll be seven shillings,” she held out her hand “Lost Prince.” She smiled knowingly. He was quite confused, yet he gave her the seven gold coins and went on his way.

Maurice gave a sigh as he walked through the entrance to the hospital. Due to the condition of living underground, the Hospital was quite small yet the inside looked cleaner and better constructed than the outside.

As he was walking through the hallways, he glanced at the open and empty doors of the rooms. Some were occupied with little girls and others were occupied with elderly ladies. Yet Maurice hadn’t seen a man or boy, other than his brothers, in the time he had been here. Even in the town, there were only women.

“Lily!” A scream made his ears twitch in the direction of it, he turned his head around and saw a doctor rush into the room he had just passed. He rushed over and peaked from the door frame, a little cat mobian was violently coughing as her small and frail body shook on the ground. Her mother by her side as she hugged her, tears in her eyes. The doctor tried giving her water, but the little girl immediately puked it out along with small red liquid, Maurice could only guess that the red liquid was blood. 

“No! Help her!” The woman looked up at the doctor, crying as her daughter was slowly dying in her arms. The doctor had a somber expression on her face, a chill went down Maurice’s spine.

How could she be so calm about a child suffering?

“I’m sorry ma’am, it’s her time. There is nothing I can do-,” Maurice didn’t stick around to hear the rest, he dashed to his room and closed the door, locking it tight. He sat on the floor, leaning his back against the door, as he covered himself with his blue cloak. He could still faintly hear the panicked yells of the mother, and the frightened cries of the little girl. 

Eventually her crying stopped, until all Maurice could hear was the mother, who’s screaming turned into incoherent bables, and the doctor, who was trying to calm the grieving woman down.

Chapter Text

Screaming…

The smell of blood..

Scourge followed his mother, doing his best to drag his siblings along fast enough to outrun the beings she called humans.

As they ran, the green mobian made the mistake of looking over his shoulder. 

“No! Please, not my little boy!” The cat mobian, which he knew as his family’s royal baker, pleaded with the being while attempting to hold onto her kitten, just a week old.

The baby’s cries were silenced in an instant, a loud shot overlapped with others in separate areas.

He heard similar pleads from his people, begging to spare their children and husbands. Yet none were heard and granted.

He looked back over at his siblings, his eldest sister running next to him, holding his youngest brother in her calloused and bloody hands. His other brother, gripping the sleeve of his shirt as he struggled to keep up, eyes wide and fearful at the thought of joining the many fallen.

Their mother led them to a hidden spot under some rubble, ushering them inside with a panicked gaze. 

“Stay here, and don’t go out into the open.” She kneeled to the two eldest’s eye level, a hand on both their shoulders. 

Scourge didn’t utter a word, yet he looked over and watched as his mother gave Sonia half of The Great Crystal, putting it into her locket. 

 “I will return once I’ve hidden the other half, so you must remain hidden and silent.” She placed a gentle kiss on each of their foreheads and swiftly left.

“Mama!” Scourge called out, fully prepared to run after her when he felt Sonia grab him by the wrist.

“Are you mouse brained?! They’ll hear you!” She hissed, pulling him back inside.

“We have to go help her! What if-“

“What can we do?!” She spat, but then noticing his expression of terror, her expression softened.

“..mama said she’ll come back. And mama always keeps her word…” she mumbled, sitting down next to her shaking younger brother, wrapping an arm around him as she continued to hold her other blue brother.

Scourge’s eyes remained in their wide state, looking at his siblings, before back out the entrance of the hiding spot. The screams never stopped. The loud bangs didn’t get quieter. He felt tears prick his eyes at the thought of losing his mother, but shook his head. 

‘Boys don’t cry. Crying is weak. I’m not weak!’

He sat down and nuzzled into the warmth of his sister, the thoughts on the outcome of this situation never left his mind. He was scared, yet he’d never let himself admit it. He couldn’t be scared, if he was then how would his siblings feel? They would see him be scared, and it would make them scared too. 

He needed to be strong. He could be strong. 

He sat there, feeling the weight of horror and fear squeezing his heart so harshly. He couldn’t stop the tears from flowing out. He silently cried into his sister’s shoulder, his grip on her tightened.

“We’ll be fine…as long as we’re all together, we’ll be fine.” She whispered to the three of them. The four children huddled against each other, seeking warmth and protection from one another.

And at that moment, Scourge heard his sister’s voice in his head, telling him ‘it’s ok to cry..it’s ok to be weak..you have others to help you…’

Maybe everything would be fine in the end. Their mother would ward off the heartless humans, and no one would die. Everyone would be fine, and they could all go back to playing with their friends…

They would be ok as long as the four of them were together.

Until they weren’t.

A loud explosion sounded from above them, causing the four of them to jolt. A scream escaped from Maurice, he moved closer to Sonia as footsteps were heard. 

They all froze, face to face with a human. Scourge noticed a badge on the human’s chest with the three letters of ‘G.U.N’

There was silence as they kept prolonged eye contact, the human’s expression seemed one of uncertainty and sadness. Sonia didn’t waste another moment, grabbing her dagger she kept in her belt and rushed forward with a yell, laying a hit on the human’s arm and managing to push him back and out of the way.

“RUN!” She yelled, moving back to hold Manic by the hand, before the four of them dashed out the opening. 

Scourge grabbed Maurice by the wrist and rushed after Sonia, following her through the rocky floor of the underground cavern. 

They hid in a small cave, panting out of exhaustion and fear.

“Ok..let’s-“

The magenta quilled mobian paused, her eyes wide as she noticed something.

“…Where’s Mar?” She whispered, her tone horrified.

Scourge noticed as well, and his eyes widened, looking back to fully expect his blue younger brother behind him, yet paused when he wasn’t there.

“I-…H-He was-“

“Scourge. Where. Is. Maurice.”

Words left the green hedgehog, not knowing how to come to terms that he lost his brother. In a dangerous situation such as this.

“H-He was right behind me! I-…I had his hand, b-but then I tripped and I accidentally let go-“

“You let go?!” 

He flinched at the loud voice, his ears pinned back as tears prickled his eyes.

“I-I…I didn’t-…m-mean t-to, I-I…” 

However, before he had half a mind to go back out there to look for Maurice, another explosion occurred, causing rubble to fall and cover the entrance to the cave.

————————————————————————

Metal shoes made quick work to cross the hallways of G.U.N HQ. The ebony hedgehog kept his usual expression of furrowed eyebrows and a glare. A scar kept its place over Shadow’s left eye, the iris glazed over from the damage. He didn’t dare heal it, keeping it as a reminder of his mistake. Though from how long it’s remained in such a way, he doubts he would be able to heal it anymore.

He slammed the door closed and gave an angry sigh before moving to sit in his chair.

“Any luck?” Rouge spoke up, the bat leaning against his desk as she looked down at her companion.

Shadow only let out a huff as he rubbed his temple. “Nothing. Whoever took Commander Towers two weeks ago didn’t leave a trace.” He grumbled, his hands clenching into fists on the table.

“Well, we better find him soon…and make sure he’s not dead.” 

“Good riddance, let him rot in hell.” Shadow snarled, rolling his eyes.

Yet Rouge disagreed, her expression scrunching up in annoyance and slight anger.

“Shadow, you do realize the consequences if the Commander dies, right?”

“Yes, I am well aware. But it would be worth it if-“

“Oh, so it would be worth it if we faced the same fate as Sonic did?” She replied, her tone growing in slight anger.

Shadow snapped his gaze up at her with bloodthirsty eyes, yet Rouge didn’t flinch. “Don’t” He warned, his tone low.

“Shadow, I understand your anger. And your guilt. But if the Commander dies, all of us, all of us, will turn out just like him. Like Sonic. The contract that keeps us alive will be broken if Commander Towers is dead.”

“…”

“I’ll take next scouting mission to look for him. We’ll keep this under control and make sure lieutenant Carmen doesn’t-“

“Commander Carmen.”

The pair both quickly turned and looked back, locking eye contact with the red haired superior. Her gaze darkened and her eyes narrowed at the two mobians. 

“Since Towers is missing at the moment, I will take his place as Commander, so you shall refer to me as such.” Her voice demanded authority and respect, despite the two giving her a lack of such. Shadow never liked the other human. He never liked how she was so desperate to take the place of superiority, so unhesitant on who or what she sacrifices to get the job done.

He bit his tongue to prevent a hiss from escaping him, Rouge noticed and immediately pulled her usual charm.

“Of course, darling. Whatever makes you feel better about yourself.” She smirked. Commander Carmen let out a simple ‘Tch’ before walking away and out of the room.

Rouge sighed and looked back down at Shadow. “We need to find him. And fast. Time is of the essence for everyone else. The search would go by faster if you would just talk to T-“

“Out of the question.”

“Shadow, I get it. You have a grudge against the fox kid-“

“I have no problems with him. It is he who has problems with me.”

There was a pause, neither speaking as Rouge gave Shadow the space to speak his heart.

“…it’s my fault, Rouge. I was so stupid-“

“Hon, you were doing what you thought was the right thing..the Commander tricked you. He made you think that Sonic was the enemy. It’s not your fault-“

“I should have known better! Fuck-Rouge I should have known the Commander was lying! Why was I so idiotic?! I-…”

“…Shads-“

“Don’t call me that!…only he calls me that…” his voice faintly wavered, his gaze dropped to the floor, his ears pinned back in shame.

Rouge didn’t know how to make the situation better. Sonic dying took a toll on both teams. Nothing anyone could say would make the pain more bearable, but she couldn’t handle seeing her younger brother figure suffering like this. 

Even if he was to blame…

It’s been three weeks since their last conversation. Everytime the blue mobian is brought up, things get awkward and quiet between them. Shadow closes in on himself, doesn’t talk for weeks, even months on end. He goes as far as trains until his knuckles bleed just to forget the mental pain of it all.

Rouge was going through G.U.N files, looking for a clue on Commander Tower’s last location, when she stumbled upon a file named ‘Lost Kingdom’

She quirked a brow in interest and clicked on the file, reading through it. Halfway through she paused, her eyes widened before she immediately rushed out and flew down the hall.

Shadow wouldn’t believe this…

Chapter Text

Tails busied himself with inventing. It was his only way of forgetting about it all. A way of pretending things were how they used to be.

He tried his best, believe him he did, but without his elder brother it-...it was so hard to move on. It still is, for him anyway. Everyone else is acting like what had happened didn’t happen. Like the absence of Sonic didn’t bother them. Like he didn’t matter. Like he was…just another inconvenience.

His grip on his welding torch tightened, his hand faintly shook. Tails knows his brother had some bad habits, one of them being his fear of being emotionally vulnerable, but he has never been a liability. Quite the opposite, he was one of the most important mobians in the Restoration team! Sure, everyone else was important in separate fields! Just like how Amy is their most important strategist, and Sonic is the most important as their main fighter on the front lines.

The yellow fox sets his wielding torch aside on the table, moving the helmet off his head to gaze down at what he was working on. 

Gentle fingers traced the engraving on the shoes, rubbing it as memories filled him. Sonic had been expressing his thoughts of fixing his shoes, complaining how they broke quickly and he needed to get new ones every time he fought against Eggman. Tails took note of the information, and had returned to his workshop shortly after. He wanted to make the azure hedgehog a pair of battle shoes, the heels being constructed of durable metal for extra power and to protect his brother’s feet.

Tails wanted to give it as a present for Sonic’s birthday, however…he couldn’t. Sonic would never get them…

He lets out a soft hiss, grabbing his left wrist in pain before silently glancing down at it. He adjusted his gloves slightly down, staring down at the battlefield on his wrist with furrowed eyebrows.

“..shit.” He muttered, walked over to the kitchen and opened one of the cupboards, taking a bandage before pressing it onto his reopened scar. He slammed the door closed with a scowl, ignoring the stinging pain while moving back to his work table.

He deserved the pain, anyways. He was the true liability. He should’ve been the one who died. It should’ve been him. His idiot brother just had to take the bullet for his own mistake..Sonic should’ve never traded their spots just so Tails would live.

The latter gave a bitter scoff at that thought. The idea of ‘living’..how mundane. The only family he had left, albeit not biological, was gone. Dead . What did he even have to live for anymore? 

…

…

Sonic would want him to live.

Sonic would want him to be safe.

Tails held back the tears and gritted his teeth. He would live, for Sonic’s sake. But that doesn’t mean he would stop his mind from torturing him.

He picked up his wielding torch and resumed his work, ignoring the voices yelling at him in his head.

Tails awoke with a jump when he heard rapid knocking on the front door of his workshop. He huffed and stood up, rubbing his eyes as he dragged his feet, his body protesting at the sudden interruption of his much needed nap.

With a grunt he pulled the door open, his expression had formed into a mix of irritation and exhaustion. “Amy, I said i’m fine, go home-”

…

Baby blue eyes landed on crimson red ones, fury immediately brewing in his soul. 

“Tails.” Rouge called, her voice pulled him from his thoughts of bloodlust, the anticipation as well as slight worry clear in her tone.

“..what.” He mumbled, keeping his burning stare locked on the curse before him. Miles had half a mind to spit on the latter’s face for even having an inch of ‘guilt’ over what he did. Yet he held his composure, for now. 

“We need your help.”

“Get lost-”

“Sonic is still alive.”

…

…

“...What?”

This was either an extremely cruel joke, if Tails figures out that it is he will have both Rouge and Shadow’s heads, or it could be the truth..Sonic…h-he’s alive. Tails felt years of bottled up tears threatening to pour out of his eyes like a waterfall.

He was still sceptical about the news. First off, it would sort of make sense regarding the theory if he was alive, since they never recovered the body and weren’t able to make sure if he was dead. However, if Sonic is alive, why hadn’t he returned and let Tails know he’s ok? If he did escape from G.U.N in one piece, why didn’t he come back sooner? Why wait so many years? 

Perhaps after all those experiments, he lost his memories? Was that why he never came back? But even if he did escape and live, why wasn’t G.U.N showing any activity on trying to find Sonic? They’ve been very calm recently..what if-

“Tails, stay with me, we need you.” The yellow fox flinched at the hand on his shoulder, Rouge understood her mistake and swiftly gave the former some space.

Tails looked between Rouge and Shadow, contemplating his options. If Sonic was really still alive, then he had no time to waste. Yet he didn’t trust Rouge, much less Shadow . There was no way he would let that bastard anywhere near his big brother.

“How are you so sure Sonic is alive? What evidence do you have to back up your claim?” He asked, returning his gaze from the floor to teal-green iris’ while inspecting them to see if there was any deceit. He found none, yet that didn’t make him any less weary.

“What do you need.”

Rouge didn’t give her usual smug smirk whenever she was granted what she desired, which surprised Tails yet he cared not much for it, focusing on the task at hand.

“Your Tornado.” The bat mobian replied, leaning against the door frame with crossed arms, her eyes slightly narrow, watching, waiting.

“My…Tornado? Why.” Tails grumbled, being reminded of himself that last time he made the mistake of lending Rouge and Shadow his airplane for one of their G.U.N missions, only to receive it in such a worse condition that he needed to rebuild it from scratch.

“Shadow will fill you in, where’s the Tornado?” She waved him off and gestured to the ebony hedgehog, his form stiffened upon being mentioned, his facial expression twisting into one of slight dread and defeat. Tails could tell he didn’t want to be here.

“Out back.” The fox replied, watching as Rouge moved around the outside of the workshop to go to the rear and start up the airplane. Once she disappeared from view, Tails snapped his gaze back to Shadow, causing the latter to give a subtle jump at the sudden attention.

He sighed, having been put on the spot, and looked away while he explained.

“The Commander has gone missing, and he has been for two weeks now. Rouge did some digging and found his last tracked location, but it matched with the location of an area nearby a forgotten facility of Eggman’s, so she says.” He grumbled, his eyebrows furrowing, his finger tapping a loose rhythm on his arm.

“What does that have to do with Sonic?”

Shadow tensed up, the name filled him with a wave of grief and guilt. He took in a breath and continued.

“Rouge recovered some deleted camera footage, and there was a small group of mobians that had infiltrated the lab that day, the same day you and I went to go get him. They got to his cell earlier than we did, which is why when we checked, Sonic wasn’t there.”

A moment of silence was given, allowing Tails the time to process the information in his mind. “S-So you’re saying that group took him, and they still have him? A-And he’s alive?”

“..yes.” Shadow replied, gritting his teeth, the tapping on his arm sped up. “When she was watching the camera footage, she caught the face of one of them. She matched it to the description of a file regarding Eggman’s failed facility, and put a name to the face of one of the..’subjects’.”

“So..what's their name?” 

“..She said his name was Scourge. Apparently he was the heir of the ‘kingdom’ that they call a home. But the ‘Kingdom’ shouldn’t even still exist. In G.U.N’s files, they said they terminated the area. Bombed it twice to make sure there were no survivors..”

“Come on boys, we’ve got places to be!” Rouge’s voice echoed along with the sound of propellers turning.

The pair looked at each other then looked back at the source of the sound. “Whatever.” Tails spoke up. “Sonic is my top priority. You guys find your Commander, but if Sonic does turn out to be alive, I will make sure you never, ever , get near him again.” The fox snarled, his eyes turning into sits with a deathglare, his low tone a warning sign to the latter that his next blunder would be his last.

Shadow said nothing, yet his silence was enough of a reply to Tails, as the youngest brushed past him and towards his airplane. The ebony hedgehog let out a soft sigh, pulling out a single quill from his own, gently glazing down the soft blue hue with a bitter expression. Giving it a gentle peck, he hid it back in his head quills and followed after Tails towards the Tornado, preparing himself for a long trip of awkward silence.

Chapter Text

“Look here, asshole. I couldn’t care less about you and your kind. But if you don’t start talking, I’m going to start playing surgery.”

Scourge growled, pressing the tip of his dagger harshly against the human before him, tied with chains as he lay on the floor. Blood dripped from his nose and staining his face, some splotches were left dried up on the collar of his uniform.

Upon the continued silence, Scourge started losing his patience. He stabbed the weapon into the latter’s knee, ignoring the slight hiss of pain. “Where are you hiding it?” The question danced in the air, the captive still refusing to acknowledge it.

“You think your kind are the strong ones? The better ones?” Scourge scoffed, standing up from his crouched position to pace around the being on the floor, somewhat mocking his predicament. 

“You destroy things you don’t understand from the fear of being overpowered by it. We could have lived in peace, you know. With what little life span we all have left, we could have been wonderful allies.”

Commander Towers gave a glare, clearly showing his disgust for this creature that dared to speak to him. “I would rather die than allow you things to have it. The energy of it is much too unstable, you’d kill this entire planet.”

Scourge was unsuccessful in containing his growing anger, grabbing The Commander by his shirt and pulled him closer to eye level.

Yet the human remained silent, not giving Scourge the luxury of compliance.

“For the commander of the Guardians of Nations, you are proving yourself to be quite incompetent!” He snarled, slamming the human hard into the ground, breathing heavily out of irritation and rage. What doesn’t this Human understand?!

He released the latter and left the confined room, slamming the door behind him. He glanced at the two guards, hardening his expression. “No one goes in or out of this room except for me.”

The pair gave a swift bow before returning to their positions. Scourge gave a nod and walked off down the halls, thinking of all the ways he could make the human suffer.

Maurice was hiding around the corner, watching through the shadows as his brother walked by, oblivious to his existence. The blue Mobian was quite intrigued and worried upon noticing the blood covering Scourge’s gloves. He had questions yet preferred to observe instead of intervene. His brother wouldn’t tell him anyway, his siblings had a habit of keeping things from him. He followed swiftly after the elder Mobian, keeping his footsteps soft and silent, seems like not wearing shoes had a perk after all.

Maurice followed his brother out of the castle and into town, yet blinked and frantically looked around once he realized he was no longer in Maurice’s sight. He went in the direction he last saw Scourge move towards and reached the border of their kingdom. He gave some hesitation, no one was allowed past here. Although there were no punishments, straying too far from the kingdom had its own consequences. However curiosity pushed him forward, walking past the borders, yet he became disappointed when he came across a regular cavern wall. He huffed, pulling his cloak more around his frame, which had shrunk a bit due to the lack of supplies in the kingdom. He gently kicked a stray rock, which went through the seemingly solid wall, causing him to pause and look back. He moved forward, and reached his hand to test his theory, and when it phased through he pulled his hand back before walking through the illusion. 

The transition from rocky ground to soft, and warm green terrain wasn’t unpleasant to his bare feet. He looked around, feeling a breeze grace him. He allowed himself a moment of silence, a moment to ignore his thoughts yelling at him to go back, that he was breaking rules. The wind felt…nostalgic. It blew gently against him, as if he were an old friend being greeted after a long time apart. 

He opened his eyes and looked up, feeling mesmerized by the lovely blue of the sky, the faint silhouette of stars. Oh how much he missed them. Though this scenery got him thinking, why aren’t they allowed up here? There is no danger, and it’s warm, unlike their freezing home underground.

Maurice hears a voice in the distance, assuming it to belong to his elder brother. Moving his feet with silent haste, wanting to know what Scourge was up to, wanting to confirm his suspicions. He walks past the ruins, looking around and pauses upon noticing three figures standing by what he thought to be a metal bird(honestly, he is more concerned that it may be alive, and would be hard to take down if it were a threat). 

“We have a priority. I understand you’re still grieving, but right now is not the time-”

“No! You don’t understand!”

“Fox, he was our friend too-”

“Then you didn’t love him the way I did!”

Maurice moved closer, feeling the wave of distress from the smaller figure. He thought about maybe giving him some support with the idea of a cuddle pile. It’s what his siblings would do every time the youngest had nightmares. It always cheered him up.

He gave a brief nod to himself. He would go over, introduce himself, and offer a cuddle pile.

Though there was silence when Maurice accidentally stepped upon a stray stick on the ground, giving away his position, which in turn caused the three figures to look back at him.

Maurice’s eye moved up from the stick on the ground, landing on the first figure out of the three. It was a Mobian, fur black with red highlights, a brown muzzle, and crimson red eyes.

There was silence. Maurice stood still. His hand had reached down and tightly grasped the pouch he kept on the inside pocket of his cloak.

Like a switch, Maurice felt a change.

He felt happiness.

He felt sadness.

He felt rage.

Without a warning, Sonic rushed forward with a bloodthirsty roar, claws unsheathing and ready to sink into flesh.

Shadow wasn’t given a moment’s breath before he was tackled to the ground and felt new wounds begin to form.

*******************

Amy hummed a tune, mixing batter in her bowl, nodding her head to the beat of the music coming from her speaker. She loved baking, it was her way of expressing her inner emotions. It also reminds her of the diverse sweets Blaze likes, allowing her to create each and every one of them. The only sad part of it was the fact that her girlfriend isn’t around to taste them with her.

The pink Mobian faltered in her stirring, her cheerful facade cracking even more. She let out a sigh, paused the music, and set her bowl on the countertop which was already littered with flour, batter, and other condiments.

Fiddling with the gem of her necklace, she thought over all the decisions she made that got her here. She regrets joining the Freedom Fighters, then she would’ve never left Mobius to go on that stupid mission that left them trapped on this stupid planet for 12 years. 

She gripped tighter on her whisk with her other hand, glaring down at the counter in an attempt to hold back tears. She misses home. She misses Blaze, she misses Vanilla, Cream, and everyone else.

She should’ve listened to Blaze. She should’ve listened to the feeling in her gut back then. She should’ve never left. 

The Restoration Ship is trashed, the parts too damaged to repair. And G.U.N won’t bother getting them new ones, let alone build them their ship to get them out of here. 

Her thoughts then drift to what G.U.N had done to her best friend. The news still causes her shock and pain. The longer they stay here, the more she loses. First they lost Sally, and Big..now they lost Sonic.

Amy can’t take this anymore. Her heart won’t be able to beat and mourn for any more loved ones. She sniffed through her cries, going back to mixing her batter, trying to get the grief off her mind. 

She finished baking her brownies. Now sitting in her kitchen and eating them on her own while tasting the wet, salty tears. 

Amy walked to her door, checking through the peep hole and noticing Vector along with Espio, and Charmy. She swiftly opened the door and welcomed them in with a pained smile, when they asked, she just told them it was another one of those days.

“Where’s Tails?” Charmy asked, crumbs of the brownies spewed from his mouth. Vector sighed and scolded the bee Mobian to mind his manners, who immediately apologized for. Amy waved it off, saying she didn’t mind and would clean it up later anyways.

She returned to Charmy’s initial question, the thought of an answer brewing in her mind. “I’m not sure, Charms. I haven’t seen Tails since, oh when was it…last week?”

The latter deflated slightly, hoping his closest friend was here, yet was disappointed by the humbling reality of Tails’ new…change, per se. Amy was slightly worried for her younger brother figure, she knew he took the worst toll of the incident out of all of them.

She tried visiting him in the first year, but every time he pushed her away. She still kept trying, to give him company, to give him support. Eventually she just..gave up and left him be. She berated herself for quitting so easily, but what else could she do? She wasn’t a therapist. She didn’t know how to handle all this. She may seem like the calm and collected one, but honestly? She was scared…as scared as the rest of them.

While Espio and Charmy were in the living room, eating the remaining brownies on the table, Vector noticed his adoptive daughter’s state. He could tell something was up, so he silently got up from the table and to the kitchen, where Amy was preparing some tea for them. The pink quilled hedgehog didn’t notice the larger alligator towering next to her, until she heard him give a gentle greeting.

With a jump, she turned to face him, plastering a fake smile so as not to give him any more worry. “Vector! What's wrong, you didn’t like the brownies? Too sweet?”

“No, they tasted fine to me…Is everything ok with you?”

“Yep! Totally fine! I’m just making tea, so you don’t need to help or anything. I’ve got it!”

…

Vector didn’t believe her reassuring tone. He glanced back at Espio and Charmy through the door frame of the kitchen, making sure they were preoccupied, before glancing back at Amy and gave her a look. “Why were you crying earlier, Amy?”

“I-”

“-Tell me the real reason.”

She hesitated, fiddling with her gold wrist cuffs. When she finally found the courage to respond, she took in a deep breath, and whispered in the softest voice Vector ever heard her speak in.

“Do you ever miss…Vanilla?”

At the mention of his wife, the Mobian’s expression turned somber, reminiscing the moments he had with her. “Yes.” He replied in an equally quiet tone, his sadness could be felt from miles away. 

“There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t think of her..”

Amy’s gaze is drawn to the ring on his finger, her eyebrows furrow as she is reminded of her own partner. “And you?” He asks, her gaze turns bitter in response. 

“...Yeah. I-...I miss her a lot, dad..” Amy could feel her tears return, biting her lip to ground herself and not let the dam break. “I know..I know..” She feels his arms wrapping around her, and she couldn’t help herself from resisting the urge to lean into the hug and let everything out.

“I-...I miss everyone else..I just want to go home...I’m sick of it! I’m sick of being weak!”

Silence followed. Vector couldn’t find anything to say. Because what was there to say to make their situation better? No one was coming to look for them. The navigation system in their ship was damaged when they crashed, so no one back in the Mobius Union Restoration knows where they are. They must think they’re all dead at this point.

“We’ll get through this…we’ll all get back home.”

“...I hope so.”

*******************

A black car entered the driveway to the lab, parking on the gravel before its door opened. A red haired human walked out of her car, moving her hand against her bangs to push them out of her brown eyes. 

“Commander Carmen-”

“Which way to the Main Lab?” She interrupted the soldier, glaring at him with a warning to make the interaction brief.

“Up the stairs and down the S corridor.” He responded, saluting her once she left into the building.

She brushed past people, focusing on reaching her destination as quickly as possible. Commander Carmen growled under her breath at the information she had received this morning, her hands balled into fists. Which moron thought this sort of action was acceptable? It was most likely Towers.

An irritated huff escaped her as she opened the door to the Main Lab, looking around for a specific person. “Iris!” She snapped, rushing over to the blond scientist. She opened her mouth, words ready to spill, before she was interrupted with a hand held in front of her face. 

“Not here, Andie.” The latter whispered, grabbing her by the wrist and took her to her office, locking the door and pulling down the curtains. She walked around the table before taking a seat on her chair, gesturing for her companion to be seated as well. “You mind explaining?” Commander Carmen growled, crossing her arms with narrowed eyes. “This matter is serious, and only a handful of my scientists know-”

“I don’t care, just get to the point. Why are you just now telling me that the crystal is unstable and ready to blow? You told me everything was under control two weeks ago!”

“It..was.”

“What changed?!”

“Keep your voice down. As I have stated, only a handful know of this, we don’t need you projecting the news around the entire Lab.” The Chief Scientist grumbled, pressing her ring finger against her mouth to emphasize her words of caution. “What changed is that we hadn’t noticed the crystal was lacking a certain bond to remain in its homeostasis.”

“So you’re saying it..somehow split? If it did, where's the other half? And if you can’t find it, can’t you make an artificial replacement to keep it under control?” Carmen replied, rubbing her temple with narrowed eyes. Iris gave a sigh, tapping her chin as she thought of how to word her sentence in a way that wouldn’t alarm her friend too much, but would also give a sense of worry to remain alert.

“Yes, it did split. But it hasn’t split while under our possession, it’s been split before we’ve obtained it. As for it’s other half…I’m not sure. It could be anywhere, I wasn’t given the location of where they found it, so we can’t go back to its origin spot to look for it.”

There was silence as she took a breath, her expression turning serious as she answered Carmen’s third question. “And as for making an artificial replacement, no. We can’t make another half to keep the bond balanced. This crystal..the elements, it’s compounds…we’ve never seen anything like it before. Almost like it was created in a separate world.”

“But…it’s just a rock. Shouldn’t the molecular compound or its elements be somewhat similar to every other mineral?”

“Unfortunately, not. So…that brings us to our current problem.” She stood up from her chair, beckoning Carmen to follow her as she left the office room. The pair walked out of the large laboratory and into hall S, Iris leading her companion past all the different rooms until they reached hall P. She turned a corner and brought her to a room, which required keycard clearance. Iris closed the door and led her further into the Laboratory until they reached a small cell with a glass observation window. Carmen gave a soft gasp, she felt slight fear at the sight before her.

It was the crystal, but it looked as if it was warping in and out of existence, black spots adorning its pink color as if tearing it apart yet keeping it intact at the same time. 

“..how long has it been like this?”

“The tunneling? Two months after its arrival. The glitching? It started last week.”

“This isn’t good..”

“You think? I’m the expert and even I’m worried. We gave it a scan, to check its energy levels. The results we got back were…concerning to say the least. This crystal has been taking a lot of dark energy in. Since it isn’t in whole to be able to somehow filter the energy into light, it's been slowly corrupting over time.”

Iris glanced back at Carmen, their feelings mirroring off each other. “If it stays in half any longer, the corruption would cause a rip in reality, taking us all down with it.”

…

…

Carmen sighed, looking away before speaking up. “I’ll see if I can dig through some files to find where the crystal came from. It’s probably classified.”

“I’ll keep you posted on any updates.” Iris responds, watching as Carmen leaves before turning back to the deteriorating crystal.

*******************

The door knocked, Vector was getting up to open it, but Amy gestured for him to sit back down. She walks over and opens the door, smiling upon noticing it was Whisper by the entrance. 

“I’m glad you actually came, Whisper.” The pink quilled hedgehog moved aside for her friend to enter, who walked down the hallway once Amy closed the door. The rest of the group greeted the beige wolf, Vector pulled a chair for her to sit. 

“We were just having tea. Do you want some?” Amy asked, her expression softening as she noticed how stiff Whisper was. “Come on, you can show me how you want your tea.” She grabbed her hand with a gentle grip, leading her into the kitchen. 

Upon entering, Amy released her and glanced over while grabbing a mug from the cupboard. “You ok?”

Her response was a nod. 

“..Were you thinking about Tangle again?”

Another nod.

“You can sleep over again if you’re still scared of being alone.”

…

…

“..thank you.” Whisper mumbled softly, fiddling with her mask. “Anytime.” Amy reassured her.

Once Amy poured Whisper her own tea, she led her to the living room again, the pair sitting with the rest of the group. After a while, they had switched to playing a card game, which kept everyone entertained. Whisper heard crackling in the distance, looking up at the ceiling before speaking. “..it's raining.”

“Aw man!” Charmy huffed. A few moments later, some thunder was heard, which caused the bumblebee to jump and fly up to hold onto Vector’s head. The crocodile chuckled a little, letting the latter stay where he was.

“It's not that bad, Charmy. You’re seventeen now, grow up.” Espio huffed. “Besides, rain can be quite calming.”

Amy felt uneasy, her ears faintly drooped. “Maybe for you." She paused, her mouth pursed as she heard another thunderclap. "I don’t really like rain…” She looked out the window, noticing how it was pouring outside. “Something bad always happens when it rains.”

Chapter Text

Scourge removed his bloody gloves once he walked out the castle doors, pocketing them in his jacket before making his way through the crowd. Their numbers have decreased over the years, the people they have lost due to the curse hurts his heart. His expression softened with a sigh, he walked towards the hut where they held council meetings. Once he entered he looked around for Sonia, his sister had told him to meet here. Apparently she had something very important to talk to him about. 

“Scourge.” She spoke behind him, he faintly jumped and turned around to face her. He sighed and crossed his arms, “What’s with the attitude? It’s not like you to be grim. That’s my thing.”

“Now is not the time for jokes, Scourge. Have you lost your mind?”

He shrugged with a smirk, “Kinda, yeah. But we all are a little insane, don’t you think?”

Sonia wasn’t having it, however, and grabbed him by the ear, which caused him to wince and lean down to her height.

“You think I don’t know? You think I don’t notice you disappearing ever so often doing Gaia knows what?” She growled under her breath, tightening the grip she had on his ear with a scowl.

“Ow, ow, ow! Ok, I’m sorry!”

“You better be sorry! You are risking it all by bringing a human here! All of this, for what, just so you can throw in a few punches to feel better about yourself because you couldn’t fight back when you were younger? Huh?”

Scourge scoffed when she let go of him, rubbing his ear as he rolled his eyes with slight irritation. “I have a very good fucking reason why I have that bastard here. He knows where the other half of the gem is. He’s their kind’s leader. If I can just…get him to talk then we’ll finally get to fix all this. We can all go back to living in peace without worrying about who will die during the night next.” 

There was silence. Sonia’s expression remained firm, she also had the same wish, but Scourge was being too impulsive. Things never ended well when he let his emotions get to his head.

“I want that too, believe me we all do. I..I can’t stand holding another death ceremony so soon after the last one. But you are being too reckless with your decisions, too desperate. What if he escapes and tells the rest of the humans where we are? Our existence being concealed was the only advantage we had that kept us all alive this long.”

…

…

“He’ll talk.”

She sighed at his insistence, her expression softening. “The last thing we need is a war, Scar. Our people don’t have the strength nor the numbers to last in one.”

“That won’t happen. He won’t escape. We’ll all be fine. It’s like you always say;the RGG siblings always find a way.”

Sonia didn’t respond. Her eyebrows furrowed with worry as she turned around and left. Scourge remained in the hut, alone with his thoughts. His face morphed into a hard gaze, he would make the human talk, find the other half of the gem, and fix this. They would be safe again.

He walked outside the hut to go to the hospital and visit his youngest brother. As he walked in he bumped into Manic, who seemed panicked, which did make him slightly concerned. “Woah, calm down-”

“MAURICE IS GONE!”

Scourge felt his heart drop to his stomach.

“What…?”

*******************

Shadow was caught off guard when he was tackled to the ground by a masked creature, dodging a claw to his face before kicking the figure off him and away. He pulled out his gun, cocking it and preparing to aim as the figure hurdled towards him. He took the shot, however the speed of the latter allowed it to move out of the bullets range, slamming once more onto Shadow and causing the gun to fall on the grass a few feet away.

The pair wrestled, with Shadow attempting to gain the higher ground, yet was kept on the floor. He felt the creature’s hands grasp and squeeze the life out of his neck. He grabbed his knife from the side of his ankle, which was holstered inside his air shoes with the other half sticking out, and almost sunk the blade into flesh when Rouge had knocked the figure out with a kick to his head. The body dropped limp on top of him, and Shadow let out a brief sigh. “Thanks.” He voiced, maneuvering the body off of him to allow himself to stand up. 

“Let’s see which handsome beauty thought it was smart to-” She leaned down, removed the mask and paused halfway through her sentence, the shock sent a shiver down her spine.

“What?” Shadow asked, Tails had also leaned closer with caution. 

“Oh dear Gaia…”

“Spit it out, Rouge. We don’t have time for your dramatics-”

“It’s Sonic.”

…

…

After a prolonged silence, Tails was the first to react, he let out a yell, either of relief or hysteria, Shadow couldn’t tell. The fox rushed over and removed the mask fully, gazing at the face of his brother, which he had thought was dead for so long. Tails cried out of joy and buried his muzzle in the crook of Sonic’s neck, hugging him tight as if he’ll disappear if he lets go. 

Shadow was a different story. He felt his ears ring, his hands shake, his mouth dry up. He wanted to scream, cry, and vomit all at the same time yet his jaw was screwed shut. He couldn't move a muscle.

Sonic.

Sonic was alive.

Sonic was alive and the first thing he did was attack him.

Sonic hated him.

Of course he would.

Shadow did send him to his death, after all.

Rouge noticed something was off about her partner so she walked over, once she saw that he was hyperventilating, she immediately set him down on the grass, helping him breathe again and calm his thoughts.

Shadow finally felt how the rain drenched his quills and fur, he looked up and saw how he wasn’t the only one. After a while, the three of them, plus Sonic’s limp form, went into the Tornado to go back home.

Amy got up from the sleeping bag, yawing as she walked down the hallway to her door. “Who is it at this hour?” She mumbled, undoing the lock and opened the door. She let out a screech once she opened her eyes again, which had woken up everyone else in the living room, all scrambling over to check the situation.

Rouge held Sonic bridal style, the blue mobian out cold. Shadow kept his gaze to the floor, yet he still seemed shaken. Tails kept one hand on Sonic’s arm, looking at nothing but him, as if he was the only thing that mattered at the moment. 

Rouge barged in once the door opened, and placed Sonic on the empty couch in the living room. Amy immediately rushed over to check on him, removing his cloak and mask. “Charmy, go get some towels. Espio, can you get some clothes for them?” 

The bumblebee nodded and swiftly flew upstairs and to the storage closet next to the bathroom, whereas the chameleon ran up the stairs to get some spare clothing for the four of them.

Once Charmy returned, he handed Amy one of the towels, and gave the rest to Tails, Rouge, and Shadow. Vector tore his gaze from the blue mobian, and looked over at the trio. “Explain. Now.”

Rouge sighed as she was drying up her fur, her face had a subtle solemn expression. “He came out of nowhere, acted all feral and attacked us. Well, actually he attacked Shadow first before moving on to me or Tails.”

“How is he alive? Didn’t G.U.N kill him? And if he was still alive, where has he been these past 5 years?” 

“We don’t know.”

“How do you not know? Aren’t you the Commander’s pet.”

Amy ignored how Vector and Rouge’s voices rose in the argument, focusing on drying her friend up. Her eyes faintly widened at the amount of scars on his body and face, the sight filled her with sorrow. How much pain he must have endured, all the trauma he must have gone through. She covered him up with a blanket, cleaned his mask with the towel before placing it back on his head, thinking he must have kept it on as a way to hide himself and she wanted to respect his wishes.

Eventually, Amy couldn’t handle the noise anymore, the yelling paired with the loud thunder caused her to snap.

“Enough!” She spat, turning around to face them, which caused the pair to cease their arguing. “This is not the time to fight. We can discuss this in the morning, but right now we are all tired.”

…

…

Rouge glared at the floor, yet agreed that the shock of finding their presumed to be dead friend all of a sudden has shaken her up, along with everyone else. Vector huffed but complied, moving over to the sleeping bags with Espio, helping Whisper get some new blankets. 

Charmy noticed how Tails was sitting by the couch, not saying a word since he came. The bumblebee mobian inched closer to his companion, and sat down with him. “...you ok?” He asked, slightly leaning down to gaze up at the fox’s face.

He didn’t receive a response, so Charmy kept talking, hoping to distract him from whatever negative thoughts he may have. “You should sleep.”

“..I need to be here when he wakes up.”

“You will. But he won’t wake up for another few hours. You need the energy to comfort him properly.” Charmy gently nudged him with a reassuring smile. “I’ll hold watch, and wake you up when he does.”

Tails seemed hesitant to leave his brother’s side, but when he glanced back at his friend, he caved in and sighed. “Really?”

“Of course! You can always trust me.”

A smile creeped across his lips, he shook his head fondly and turned around to lean back against the foot of the couch. “Ok..” He rested his head on Charmy’s shoulder before closing his eyes. The latter grabbed one of the blankets and covered the both of them, to make sure they both stayed warm during the night.

Amy returned back downstairs with two extra blankets and pillows, placing them on the floor in the living room as makeshift beds. Rouge walked out of the bathroom with the spare clothes she was given, setting her soaked outfit on the chair by the table in the dining room, before sitting down on one of the ‘beds’. 

Shadow contemplated sleeping with the rest of them, not exactly sure if he was even welcome to begin with. Over these years, he has been distant to all of them, Rouge being the only one who actively interacted with him like old times. He was broken out of his thoughts by Amy’s voice and the touch of her hand on his shoulder.

“Shadow? Why don’t you lay down. Even ultimate lifeforms need rest sometimes.”

He couldn’t find it in himself to protest the offer. He was tired, having skipped sleeping many nights to do G.U.N assignments, which helped keep himself busy and occupied. But now his actions were coming back to bite him, and the earlier incident wouldn’t stop replaying in his mind. 

He is afraid, however, of falling asleep. He didn’t want to experience the possibility of waking up from his night terrors and risk the chance of everyone seeing him in such a vulnerable state.

“..I’d rather not. I can stay up. Keep watch.”

Her expression turned stern, pursing her lips as she spoke firmly. “Shadow, no. I can see in your eyes how exhausted you are. Lay down before I break your legs to make sure you stay down.”

Without another word, the ebony hedgehog complied, knowing that she is capable of such a feat with her abnormal strength. She smiled once he was under the covers, moving over to turn off the lights and go back to her own sleeping bag.

*******************

Scourge looked around the surface, feeling the wet grass against his feet, pushing through the rain with his sister and three of their warriors. 

“Maurice!” He called, his tone sounding frantic. He noticed a forgotten pouch by his feet, his eyes widened as he knew his brother had for sure been out here. 

Where is he! Was he taken?! Killed?! 

“Scourge! We need to go back! The storm is starting to set in!”

“NO! We push forward, and that’s FINAL!” He yelled, glaring back at her, before continuing to walk forward. “Scourge! I know you want to find him, I do too, but we can’t right now! We need to put the needs of our people first! The water is going to start setting in!” His sister grabbed him by the arm, narrowing her eyes at him. He huffed, looking away as he contemplated their options. He nodded with agreement, and the five of them retreated underground to hide from the storm.

Once they returned, they began preparing for the storm. Most of them hid in the hospital, the only structurally sound building they had to shelter from the water. Mothers would huddle in blankets with their daughters, while some of the warriors took watch just in case a flood would happen. 

Two of their mages were outside in the town, one of them cast a barrier spell to keep the water out, and the other used her abilities to maneuver the water away.

Sonia walked through the hallways of the hospital and reached her youngest brother’s room, seeing Manic and Scourge huddled on the bed with a blanket. “Make some room.” Sonia mumbled, shivering from the cold as her brothers scooched over to allow her to join them.

“..Do you think Maurice is ok out there in the cold?” Manic mumbled, resting his head on Scourge’s chest. The elder mobian looked over at his sister, who smiled down at Manic and patted his head quills. “Well, if Gaia protected him long enough for us to find him, I’m sure he’ll be protected for longer so we can find him again.”

…

…

“Your Highness!” One of the warriors entered the room, her eyebrows furrowed and tense. Scourge looked over, wondering what had happened. 

“Is there a flood?” He asked as he stood up, preparing for the worst case scenario.

“No. I-It’s..the prisoner. He’s gone.”

Scourge slammed the door open, glaring at the empty room. He noticed some cut up rope on the floor, and his anger grew. He felt for his dagger but noticed it was gone, the realization creeped up on him. 

“Send a group out to look for him! He can’t have gone far in this weather!” The green mobian yelled to the warrior while he rushed out, running towards the kingdom borders before reaching the surface. He felt the rain drench his fur, yet he didn’t care. No matter how hard he looked, he found nothing. The human had escaped.

“SHIT!” He spat, punching one of the ruins pillars.