It was just a cover-up. The whole story about wanting to confront Black Doom about the deal he had thought about making with my wife was just an opportunity I had been looking for. After what my eldest son, Sonic had told me about Shadow's parents, I wanted to know about the other side of this story. Mr. and Mrs. Robotnik's side of the story to be more specific. I needed an opportunity, an excuse, to get inside the R.Corp and talk to the big boss himself. You can't get in such a powerful corporation without a good reason, after all. This deal Shadow told me about was the perfect excuse to get myself inside. After leaving my wife, oldest son, my son-in-law and grandson behind in the hospital, I used my car to transport myself to the Robotnik Corporation. It took me about half an hour to get there, but when I did finally arrive, it seemed to take even longer to get inside and get someone behind the counter to actually talk to me and ask me why I was here. But I guess it was only natural that it would be busy in here. "Can I help you?" A cat in her thirties asked me from behind the counter. She was watching me with an uninterested glint in her eyes. Probably because I wasn't dressed as nearly as clean or rich as the kind of people who usually came barging into this building. "I need to talk to Black Doom about a contract." I said. "Name, please." She requested. "Jules. Jules Hedgehog." I quickly replied. "Jules... Jules..." The cat repeated and began scrolling through all the appointments Black Doom had listed for today. Then she sighed. "You don't have an appointment with our boss today. So please make an appointment for next week and stop wasting my time." She said, clearly annoyed with me barging in and demanding to see her boss when I didn't even have an appointment sat for today. "I know that I don't have an appointment, but I really need to see him today. It's urgent." I said, trying to convince her to let me through. "You don't have an-" "I know that I don't have one, but I really need to see him! Just call your boss and tell him that I want to talk!" I said. Another sigh left the cat's lips as she dailed the phone number of her boss' office. It rang a couple of times before there was an answer. "Hello?" Sounded on the other end of the line. "Mr. Robotnik? There is a difficult client here in the entrance hall demanding to see you, but he doesn't have an appointment. He claims it's urgent. His name is Jules Hedgehog." The cat informed her boss. She was sceptical of her boss wanting to receive an unannounced visit from anyone. "Hedgehog? From the bakery? Fine, send him in. Arthur Swift hasn't shown up, so I have atleast an hour to hear him out." Black Doom said before closing the contact between the cat and himself. She looked stumped. She had been so sure that her boss wouldn't want to see me that she was actually shocked to hear him agree to it. "Top floor." She softly said, as if she was embarrassed by the whole ordeal. I turned and searched for an elevator. After finding one, I got inside and pushed on the button that would lead me to the highest floor in the building. It took me a while to get there, though. With every floor, there seemed to be someone who had to hitch a ride to one of the next floors. Which meant alot of pit-stops and time wasted. But when I did finally reach the big boss' office, I had to wait even longer because this white hedgehog, who I easily guessed was Lexi, was talking to him from the doorway. Their conversation was brief and only contained a word or two, but that didn't mean that I wasn't getting impatient. I think little over an hour had passed after I had left the hospital. A mental sigh left me. I still needed to get back in time to get my wife and take both of us home for dinner. Lexi left the doorway and walked towards her own office, not even glancing at me as she passed. I approached the door and knocked. After hearing a muffled 'come in', I opened the door and entered. "Jules Hedgehog, I presume?" Black Doom asked as he stood up from behind his desk to shake my hand. "What business do you have with me?" He asked. Going straight to the point, I see. I guess I can't expect anything else from such a hotshot business man. "I heard you had been thinking of making a deal with my wife, but changed your mind in the very last second. What happened?" I asked. If I wanted to get some sort of information out of him about Shadow, I needed to bring that subject up carefully. If I just threw it at his face, than I was going to be kicked out of here faster than I can blink. "That is right. But how do you know about that? The only ones I've told about it are my wife and s-" He stopped talking when he was about to say 'son'. His hand's grip on the armrest of his desk chair suddenly tightened. "So you have a kid too, huh? So do I. Three of them. Two boys and one girl. Triplets." I said with pride as I leant back against my chair. "Good for you." Black Doom said with an evident bitter tone in his voice. It was clear that he did not feel like talking about Shadow. "What was his name again? Oh that's right, Shadow. Shadow Robotnik. I wonder where the kid is, I haven't seen him here in the building. Where do you suppose he ran off to?" I asked. Okay, maybe subtlety wasn't exactly my strong point. "That is none of your bussiness! Argh, I need a coffee. Don't leave this room until we've handled this situation." Black Doom growled as he pushed himself up from his seat again and left the office. I decided that he was going to be away long enough to allow me a small peek around the big boss' office. His office wasn't all that spectacular, which was surprising when this space was owned by such a powerful man. There was only a desk with a computer and a few picture frames on top of it, a couple of chairs, a desk chair behind the desk and a nice view of the city. It must be nice to be so high up all day long. But enough of that. There were more important things to tend to. I got up from the chair and walked to the other side of the desk while also trying to avoid getting too distracted by the view. The first thing I noticed besides the papers littering all over the desk were the two photographs that stood neatly placed besides the computer screen. One of his wife. And one of his son. That sort of answered my question. "I can't believe it! How could they run out off- What are you doing?!" Black Doom demanded to know as he came walking back into his office after discovering that there was no more coffee to drink. "Huh? Uh..." I hesitated to answer as I could not come up with a plausible explanation in time. "It doesn't matter! Just get out of here!" Doom said and he took my collar to drag me out of his office and down the hallway. He only let go of me until we were in the entrance hall. "I don't want your face to be seen in my business ever again!" He demanded as he practically kicked me out of the building. "That's too bad. Because I have a feeling we will be seeing eachother again very soon." I said as I turned and walked into the direction of the parking lot.
Flashback ends (Sonic's POV)
After dad had finished his tale, it didn't take me long to think about what he was trying to tell me. "I think I know where you're going with this." I muttered and took a sip of my glass before continuing. "If Black Doom had really meant to abandon Shadow, than why does he leave a photograph of him in the open like that?" I finished and took the last bite of my dinner before pushing it a bit to the side so I could lean with my elbows on the table. "Exactly. I understand parents getting angry over something this serious, but after seeing that picture, I think Shadow is letting fear rule his life way more than it should've been allowed to." Dad said. His words couldn't have sounded more truthful. I needed to have a talk with a certain hedgehog about this later. "Thanks for telling me. I think this is going to make things a bit easier for us all." I said with a sigh. "I hope so. Anyway, I need to get back to your mother. I'll come back together with her tomorrow." Dad said as he got up from his seat and placed some money on the table to pay for our drinks and my meal. He knew that I could perfectly pay for it myself, but I guess, as a father, he still liked doing his children the occasional favour.
"Sonic, there you are. I woke up to change Silver's diaper, but you weren't there and I got a bit worried. I was-" Shadow said after he noticed me appearing in the doorway and picked Silver up from the nursing pillow. "Are you sure your parents don't want you anymore." I asked, interupting him mid-sentence. Shadow stayed silent for a few moments before answering me. "They made it very clear for me that I was not allowed in their house anymore. When my parents say something so serious, they usually mean it, Sonic. If I was still allowed inside, than I wouldn't be here today." He said with a downcast look. He made his way over to the crib and lulled Silver back to sleep. He was originally planning on placing the baby back, but he wanted to hold him for a bit longer. "My dad went by the R.Corp today, Shadow. He talked to your father and according to him, he may be bittered after your dissapearance, but he still kept a photograph of you. Now why would he do that if he really didn't want you in their life anymore?" I asked. That seemed to stun him. "Your parents still love you, Shadow. If you gather some courage and tell them the full story, I'm sure that they will understand. Heck, I think they will even welcome you with open arms for just appearing on their doorstep." I said, hoping that would encourage him enough to finally go out and face his mother and father. "You're not going to get anywhere by letting your fear control your life." I finished. Shadow still kept silent. He than reached over to the crib and softly placed Silver in it. A sigh left him as he knew I was right. "You're right. It's time that I got in action instead of letting other people fight my battles." He said and watched the baby as he slept. "You mean 'once again'. Don't forget that you did try to fight. When you stood up for Rouge and tried to bail her out... Or before your parents got missing from your life, tried to solve your predicament all by yourself... You did fight, even if it might not be so obvious to you or someone else, you really did." I took a pause. "But one can only take so much before breaking. And if something broken doesn't get fixed, than how can you possibly continue your fight?" I finished another short speech. "And that's what you're doing. Right? Fixing me? So I can get back up and fight again?" Shadow told me more than he actually asked. It was a statement. A smile spread across his muzzle. It was very small, but for once it was meant. "I'm going to my old home. But first things first, I need to get fired from the hospital before I can do anything. So just bear with me for a little while longer, okay?" He requested. The request sounded a bit harsh, but there were no hard feelings in the way he spoke. He was honestly asking me to wait for a little while longer. Only with time could he heal and get ready to make the next step. "Yeah, first things first. First you'll get better. Then you go tell your mom and dad the full story. And then we're going to figure what to do with your kids." I said and nodded slightly to agree to my own statement. "Kid? Are planning on doing something with Silver?" Shadow had asked. But I had already walked out of the room with a satisfied feeling fluttering around in my chest. For some reason I thought that convincing Shadow to go out and take action would be difficult, but it was rather easy. Good. That meant that Scourge was my real problem here.
A few days later, shadow was fired from the hospital along with Silver. I held the kid against my chest as I watched him pack the dirty clothes he had worn when his water had broken. I would've tried keeping myself busy with Silver, but he was still a newborn and newborns had the tendency to sleep all day except for a short two hours, from which a big part will probably be spend eating. "And I'm all done. We can leave now if you want." Shadow said as he zipped his bag up and threw it over his shoulder. "Alright, let's go." I said and walked out of the room with Shadow following behind me quickly. We made our way out of the hospital and to the parking lot. Once there, I used my car to take my new family to my parents' home.
When we arrived, I pulled the car over near the sidewalk and turned the engine off before getting out. Shadow got out aswell and then took Silver from out of the children's seat before taking his bag aswell. "How long do you think Silver and I will be staying here before going home with you?" Shadow asked as we walked through the front entrance of my mom's bakery. "That depends on how fast I can get that video. Either way, it's going to take a while." I answered as I closed the front door behind us. "Oh, there you two are. We were already starting to wonder if either of you were to come over today at all." My mom said as she came walking into the bakery to come greet us. "But of course, little Silver can't go on for too long without seeing his grandmother, can he?" She continued with a smile as she watched our son with a look of delight. "Mom, he's only a few days old. He barely knows you." I chuckled at my mother's enthousiasm. "He will soon, though." She responded. "Anyway, we were just about to eat dinner and since we were expecting the two of you, I made sure that there would be more than enough for the four of us. So why don't you put that bag down in the hallway and look at the guestroom before coming down for dinner?" She suggested. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea. That way I can put Silver to sleep. Are you going to go ahead and eat already?" Shadow asked as he looked back at me for an answer. I simply nodded. "Well, in that case. Shadow, why don't you follow me so I can show you the guest bedroom?" Mom said and walked out into the hallway. Shadow followed her quickly. After watching them walk up the stairs, I made my way into the kitchen and saw my dad already sitting there, waiting for mom to come. "So you came after all, huh?" He asked with a slight smirk. "Of course, we kinda had to. I can't let Shadow stay at my place for as long as Scourge is still walking outside freely." I said and took my seat at the table. Not too long after, mom and Shadow came walking in aswell.
Dinner had been great as usual. All four of us had enjoyed the meal, one more than the other. "Any plans for next weekend?" Mom asked as she put her fork and knife down crosswise on her plate. "Not really." I answered as I leant on the table with my elbows. "Oh good. Sonia has suggested to meet up with us at the beach now that Bartleby has some time off. Manic has already agreed and the two of us want to go aswell. We were wondering if you three would like to accompany us." Mom said smiling. She loved little daytrips with the family. Shadow looked at me, mentally questioning my want to go or not. "I do feel like going. But I think Silver is a bit too young to be going anywhere." I said. As much as I wanted to go along, as a father my first priority was my son. "It's fine, I can take care of him while you're gone. It's only for a day. And besides, you deserve to take it easy for a while." He said. "Are you sure? You'll be here on your own." My worried gaze settled on him. I don't know how I feel about leaving him and Silver all alone. Especially with everything going on in his life right now. "I'll be fine, Sonic. I promise." Shadow took my hand and squeezed it, reassuring me that he and Silver would still be here safe and sound when I got back. "Well, if you really don't mind... Sure, I feel like going." I decided. Shadow smiled at the fact that I had decided to think about myself for once, even if it was just for a day. I would've liked to take him with me, but he had given birth just a few days ago. He needed some time to recover and Silver was still too young to be going anywhere besides to the occasional check-up with the doctor.
"You're sure you'll be okay?" I asked as I watched Shadow put the belongings away that he had taken along with him for his stay at my parents' house. "I'll be just fine, Sonic, don't worry." He said as he finished up and approached me. "What I'm worried about, however, is what you're going to do next." He admitted. "What do you mean?" I asked. "What I mean is that you're planning on doing something to Scourge. And I'm worried that he's going to harm you." He explained his worries to me. I smiled and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about, Shad. I will be just fine. You will be just fine. And Silver will be fine." I told him and smiled. Shadow returned the gesture lightly. "Anyway, it's pretty late. So why don't you go on home and get some sleep? You look tired." He said as he softly placed his hand on my cheek. "That sounds like a fantastic idea." I said as I stretched my tired muscles. A nice long nap in my bed sounded great right about now. It was just a bit sad that it wouldn't be next to Shadow for tonight. And probably for alot of other nights to come until our Scourge-problem has finally been solved. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I said and turned to leave, but Shadow didn't let me just yet. Shadow took the sleeve of my shirt and pulled me back before pressing his lips onto mine. Knowing that the kiss wasn't out of lust, but love, I wasted no time in returning the loving gesture. The kiss seemed to last for hours, but in reality just took a moment or two. When he pulled away, Shadow's smile had gotten a bit brighter. It was the first kiss that he had actually wanted to give with all his heart. A true first kiss. "Until tomorrow." He said as he went to stand up on his toes to place another kiss, but this time on my forehead. As I left the room and the house itself, I could feel that this could only be the start of something beautiful between the two of us. Something well worth all the heartache and trouble.
The remainder of the week passed by quickly and before I knew it, the weekend had arrived and I was packing some stuff I could need for the day trip to the beach. I took my wallet, my phone, a jacket, a bottle and a snack. The ride was long, after all. I would be a bit hungry and thirsty when I arrived. After checking the bag once or twice to make sure that I had everything I needed for the trip, I walked out through the front and got into my car after locking the front door. The engine started up quickly and I drove out of my driveway. During the ride, the peace and quiet allowed me to think about several things. My thoughts revolved mainly around Shadow and Silver, Scourge and the trip ahead of me. This break was going to proof good for me. I know it would. It provided me the chance to think about something else for the first time in quite a while. That felt good. If I needed to worry all the time, than I don't think anything was going to end well for me. The ride was long, but when it ended, I couldn't have been more glad to be able to stretch my legs as that very moment. And it looked like I wasn't the only one. "Oh, you're here!" Sonia stated as she called for my attention. Mom, dad, Manic and Bartleby were also already here. I guess they had been waiting for me to get here. "Yeah, I got a bit stuck in traffic, that's why it took me a bit longer to get here." I explained as I took my bag and approached them. "How was Shadow?" I asked my mom and dad. It was quite a long ride to the beach, so I didn't have enough time to pay Shadow and Silver a quick visit before leaving. That was why I asked my parents how the two of them had been doing this morning. "Shadow and Silver are doing just fine, Honey! You have nothing to worry about! Just enjoy a day at the beach like the rest of us!" Mom said. "Sounds like a plan." I responded. I reached into my bag and took a quick swig from my bottle of water before starting on my snack. I always got a bit hungry after such a long car ride. I guess it was a habit from when I was younger. Once I was done, my family having already eaten their snack before I was even close to arriving, and got rid of my garbage before we started the actual trip. Mom and dad were walking in the front, Sonia and Manic behind them and Bartleby and I stayed a bit behind as I felt like talking to my sister's husband. Bartleby looked nervous. Both my father and I own the proud reputation of practically interrogate any boyfriends Sonia ever had. The girlfriends of Manic didn't escape us either. Mom did scold us every single time it happened. "So, how are you doing?" I casually asked. "I'm fine. How're you?" He asked, trying not to let his fear show through. He probably thought that we could smell his fear by now. "I'm doing fine. I became a daddy only a week ago." I informed him with a grin. "Sonia already told me. Congratulations." He congratulated me with the new chapter opening up in my life. "Yeah, it was a surprise to me too, but hey! I'm happy about it. Not unlike you though, if your guys worked harder, she would've already had a bun in the oven." I said with a sly look, intentionally trying to get under his skin. It made Bartleby visibly uncomfortable. This was the most awkward conversation he ever had. And this particular subject being discussed about with me of all people just made it worse. "S-Sure." He responded, swallowing in fear. I stopped and stared at him for a moment or two as I realised what his reaction meant. The mink stared back at me, not knowing what was to come next. He didn't even have the time to react before he was pinned up against the wall by me. "You bastard! How dare you touch my little sister like that!" I growled in anger. "Huh... I-I.... Sonia..." Bartleby was stuttering, he didn't know what to say or what to do. Fortunatly for him, he didn't need to do anything. "Sonic! What on Mobius are you doing?!" Sonia said as she pulled me away from her husband. "What am I doing?! What did he do to you?!" I questioned her in clear disbelieve. I could barely even fathom the possiblity of anyone touching my sister like that. "He found out, huh?" Sonia asked as she turned towards the mink, who nodded, visibly shaking from the near attack on him. Geez, and Shadow thought he was coward. "Found out what?" Dad asked through clenched teeth as he easly figured that Bartleby must've done something to his dear daughter. "Well, I don't think I will be able to hide it for much longer." Sonia sighed. "Hide what?!" Dad asked, he really wanted to know what this was all about now. "I'm pregnant." She said. As soon as those words left her mouth, Bartleby jumped behind her for protection as he feared that both my dad and I were going to harm him. "Cong....Congratulations." I muttered with my arms crossed in front of my chest, forcing the words roll off my tongue. No matter how much I wanted to slap him across the back of his head for touching my sister, he hadn't done anything wrong. "I guess... You have some... something, kid." Dad said as he hesitantly placed a hand on the cowering Bartleby's shoulder. Sonia smiled, happy that her overprotective brother and father were willing to put their dislike for boyfriends behind them for the future new family member. Of course, mom was immediatly all over her and her non-existent baby bump. Now we just need to accept Manic's future girlfriend.
"Sonia's pregnant? That's great to hear!" Shadow said as he sat on the matrass, holding Silver against his chest as the pup was eagerly satisfying his hunger. Sometimes I even get jealous of the little guy. Even though mom and dad were very hospitable people, they barely had anyone stay over for atleast a night, so the guestroom hadn't exactly been looked after all that well. All that was present now was a dresser, a nightstand, a crib for Silver and a mattress. The guest didn't seem to mind, though. "Yeah, although, I did spend the rest of the trip silently cursing Bartleby." I admitted with a sigh. I was lying on the matrass next to him with my head resting on my crossed arms behind my head. "That's only natural when it comes to you. You're overprotective to people close to you, of course, you have a bit of difficulty accepting something like this. But you're going to need to sooner or later. They are starting their own family and without the relatives' support, they don't have a chance in the real world, especially not the baby. If not for Bartleby, than atleast for Sonia and her baby." Shadow told me, making me smile. "You know, you're not as stupid as your low self-esteem is making you believe. You can speak wise words if the right moment calls for it." I answered, looking up to the ceilling. "Thank you." He said and shifted Silver in his arms before pulling his shirt down as the pup was done suckling. My eyes had moved from the ceilling to settle on Shadow as he held Silver up against his shoulder to make him burp before standing up and approaching the crib, but he didn't put the infant in it just yet. My ears perked as I heard a soft humming come from the hedgehog I was watching. He was humming a soft lullaby as he rocked the infant in his arms. Silver yawned. It didn't take him long before he fell asleep. Shadow smiled and gave him a brief kiss on his forehead before carefully placing him down in the crib. He continued to watch for a moment or two with a smile. That smile. It was strange how much Silver had changed him. The pain was still present and there was no way that it would heal for a long time to come, but the kid seemed to take his mind off of it, seemed to ease it, and allowed him to feel something other than pain and fear. When he was sure that Silver was vast asleep, Shadow turned back to me and laid down down on the mattress next to me. We both looked up to the ceilling for a while, both of us refusing to say a word as we liked this comfortable silence. But it wasn't until Shadow looked out through the window and saw the stars already in the dark night sky, that he turned his head to look at me and spoke. "It's dark already. Can you stay over for tonight?" He asked. His request was simple and it was obvious that he wanted nothing more than to atleast have me near, even if it was just for tonight. "Of course." I said. Shadow moved closer to me and rolled onto his left side and let his head and one hand rest on my chest. "I love you." He muttered as he closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep aswell, he had been up too early today. I smiled as I took his hand into my own and just enjoyed the moment. Not many peaceful moments came around, but when they did, they should be enjoyed to the fullest.
"I can't believe it..." I muttered as I came home one day after applying for a job and found the inside of my house to be wrecked. I looked around my livingroom. The mess was everywhere. Furniture had been ruined, papers were everywhere, personal stuff were destroyed, ... Nothing was left in one piece. And as I was trying to wrap my mind around the damage done to my livingroom, my cellphone vibrated. I had a message. 'Give me my bitch back, you asshole! Or the security of your house will be the least of your problems!' I growled as I didn't need to think twice before figuring out just who had done this. "Scourge, you bastard!" I growled, nearly throwing my phone at the wall in anger. I think trying to get that waste of precious air behind bars has just gotten more urgent. He had noticed that Shadow was supposed to be back by now and knew that I had something to do with it. It was about time he did. It had already been a month since Silver's birth. Instead of breaking my phone in half from anger, I flipped it open to dial a number instead. Only a nervous moment passed by before a tired 'This is Shadow Robotnik speaking, how may I help you.' resonated from the other end of the line. I breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing his voice. He was okay. And so were Silver and my parents. Scourge didn't find out where he stayed just yet. I'm glad my parents agreed to take him in. If Shadow had been living here with me... I don't even want to imagine what they would've done to him and Silver. "Sonic? Is that you? What happened? You're worrying me." Shadow wanted to know if something had gone wrong because I was keeping quiet on my end of the line. "Scourge's been over. He wrecked the inside of my house. I've only seen the livingroom so far, but who knows what the rest of my home looks like." I said and sat on the arm rest of the couch. "Are you okay?" He asked. "Don't worry about me, I'm just fine. I'm thinking about giving the cops a call and tell them about what Scourge did. I'll subtlely inform them about what he did to you aswell and I'll get that video tomorrow. It's too risky to wait much longer than that." I told him. I hadn't exactly worked out a plan yet, but after that pimp had made this grave mistake, I had to take advantage of that. I had to turn his threat into a mistake. "Be careful." Shadow told me before we said our goodbyes and hung up. I had to act quick. And so the next number I dailed was that of the authorities.
Man, was I glad to be out of that police station when it was all finally over after two hours. After I had called, they came over after fifteen minutes. They took photos and notes of all the damage that was done inside of my house and then took me with them to the police station to ask me for more information. I told them about Scourge and, just like I had promised him, I slipped in alot of what happened to Shadow. And they seemed very interested. They had been itching to finally catch Scourge in the act. And when I told them about the video, they seemed very eager to help me get my hands on it. But it was all behind me now. My goal now was to get home, gather some clothes, take my car and drive to my parents house. Because there was no way that I was going to stay at my house now. The front door couldn't even be locked anymore. It wasn't safe there. As I faced the inside of my home, a sigh left my lungs. I had worked so hard on decorating this place and keeping it clean and it was ruined in just a mere day! Oh, how cruel fate could be! I quickly made my way up the stairs and into my bedroom. I avoided the chaos that laid everywhere around me and opened the door of the closet that was still attached before taking some clothing articles and stuffing them into a regular sportsbag that I found lying around in my room. I felt my phone vibrate again and flipped it open. I had another message, but it wasn't from Scourge this time. 'I explained to your parents what happened. They told me that they would be happy to have you over again. 'Just like old times!' They said. 'Yeah, the two of us unwillingly listening to Sonic and his girlfriend getting at it!' Jules added. I feel jealous now.' Shadow's text message made me chuckle. That sounded like something dad would say. Sonia's boyfriends and Manic's girlfriends weren't the only ones. Dad always tried to embarrass me in front of my lovers aswell. I hid my phone back in my pocket and zipped my sportsbag up before walking down the stairs and back outside. I threw the bag onto the passenger's seat next to me and sat down. I started the engine again and was on my way to the home I grew up in.
I sighed in relief when I pulled the car over next to the side walk in front of my parents' house. After turning the engine off, I got out of the vehicle and locked it before making my way to the bakery. As I walked inside the first thing I noticed was the new employee working for my parents. "Shadow? Mom and dad got you to work in the bakery?" I asked as I approached the counter just as the said hedgehog had just finished helping a customer. "Oh Sonic, I'm glad to see you here. You see, it wasn't your parents who put me up to this. I felt like a freeloader with Silver and I staying there and doing nothing. So I offered to help in the bakery and they accepted." Shadow explained as he put the bread of the customer in a paper bag and folded the top. "Well, atleast you're doing it out of your own free will, I guess." I muttered and watched the customer pay before my parents' newest addition to the bakery quickly helped the next one. "Your mother is keeping herself busy with Silver, you haven't gotten to spend alot of time with him, so I figured that you might want to hurry before he falls asleep again." He said as he put five sandwiches into a bag. "That sounds like a plan!" I said and walked behind the counter to get to the private part of the building, but then I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. "Oh Sonic! I Haven't seen you here ever since you graduated! How are you doing dear? I heard you became the proud father of a son. Congratulations! Although, it is a shame that it wasn't with my daughter. She always had a crush on you." A regular customer of the bakery spoke to me after preventing me from getting away. "Mrs. Rose, it's nice to see you again." I quickly told her now that I still had the time to speak. Mrs. Rose had quite the reputation of talking non-stop. "Oh, and you were always so polite. It truly is a shame that you never gave Amy a chance. She would've been so good for you." Mrs. Rose said. From in the corners of my eyes, I noticed that Shadow, even though he was trying his best to hide it, was getting annoyed with this female hedgehog walking into the bakery and immediatly start telling his boyfriend and the father of his son that he would've been better of with her daughter. "Listen, it was nice talking to you, but I really need to go." I said and decided to end the conversation before Shadow's happy mood was ruined and I was literally talked to death. Mrs. Rose briefly waved at me goodbye before leaving the bakery. "Don't get so worked up over her, she's just talking." I said and briefly pressed my lips against his before walking into the private part of the building. "I won't." I heard Shadow say before the door closed behind me. I walked through the hallway and quickly found myself following the sound of gibberish being uttered by my mother's voice. As I stood in the doorway to livingroom I smiled upon the sight of my son. Being a father did make me feel strange. It was a good strange. And I was happy to experience it. No matter how difficult the road ahead was going to be, never would I regret taking Shadow into my life, despite the job, the two other kids he has with complete strangers or the fact that he has been used by countless of strangers. If I didn't take him in, I wouldn't have had Silver. "Oh look, Honey! You're daddy is here!" Silver's grandmother said when she noticed me standing in the doorway. My smiled widened as I approached them and got my son handed over to me. "Hey Buddy, was your grandma talking crazy again? Don't worry too much, you'll get used to it." I told him, chuckling lightly as I noticed my mom's expression after I joked about all the gibberish she had been rambling about only a moment or two ago. "Don't judge me just yet, Honey. Let's see how long it takes before you start talking nonsense." My mom told me. She was absolutely one-hundred percent sure that I was going to end up rambling to my son aswell. Although, I didn't see myself doing so any time soon. Or that was what I hoped atleast. Kids are said to change a person after all. A sudden flash made me tear my eyes away from my son to look at the doorway. Shadow was standing underneath the doorframe holding a camera and looking at a photograph he had just taken. When he noticed that I was watching him with a look asking him why he had suddenly decided to take a picture, Shadow wasted no time in answering my question after handing the camera to my mom so she could see the photo aswell. "Your mother told me that, since Silver was going to stay, it was a good idea to keep memories in pictures. And when I came walking in here after Jules had decided to take it over from me for a while, I saw you holding Silver and I couldn't keep myself from grabbing the camera and taking the first picture." Shadow explained as he approached us and lifted a hand to stroke our boy's head. Yeah, first picture... I think Shadow has yet to notice the few photo's of him and Silver I had taken without his knowledge during this month. "Oh, that reminds me! Your mother gave me another great idea!" He stated as he left the room, probably to go grab something. "You've been putting ideas into his head all this time?" I asked my mom and she nodded as she placed the camera down on a dresser. "I don't know if you've noticed it, but Shadow is having a hard time figuring out what to do when it comes to Silver. He admitted to me that he had never thought motherhood through as he thought Silver would be put in the same orphanage as his siblings. Of course, I had to put ideas into his head." She told me, taking a small pause before speaking again. "Although, not of parenting itself. His parents had set a good example to him, but he doesn't know everything yet. And when he isn't sure about something or isn't sure what to do, he always comes to me for advice. So you don't have to worry about that." She finished with a smile. Worried? I wasn't worried at all until now. "Here it is!" Shadow stated as he came walking into the room with a photo album in his hands. As I got a better look at the front cover, our son's name was decorated on it. "Your mother told me it was a good idea to buy a photo album to keep photographs of Silver in, just like your parents have done for you, Sonia and Manic. She also helped me with the start." He said as he showed me the first two pages of the album. They had ultrasounds pasted on them. I was surprised at how many there were. But than again, he was a prostitute. Practising that kind of job while being pregnant would be a good reason to visit the doctor alot to make sure that every thing was alright. Shadow got worried when I didn't answer. "Sonic? Don't you like it? It's not much, but it was all I could afford with the little money I still had left." He said with his ears a little lowered to show his concern. "Oh no! I do like it! I was lost in thought there for a moment." I quickly told him. "I think it's beautiful, Shadow. Really." I told him, taking the album from him to scroll through it myself. "Talking about photo albums, I still have alot of pictures of Sonic to show you!" My mom said as she took of running, planning on getting those pictures and, weither it was intentional or not, embarrass me in front of my ...girlfriend? Boyfriend? I really didn't know what to call him. Shadow took the album and closed it before placing it on the dresser next to the camera. "You know, Aleena suggested that I buy two more, but I declined her idea because I think that I have enough with one album for now." He said. He didn't know, but mom was probably referring to albums for his other two kids. Speaking of which. Scourge wasn't the only one I had been busy with. I had paid Dr. Carthoff a visit a couple of days ago and asked her if there was anything, even if it was small, I could use to find these two other kids. And she did give me two things. The names their mother had given them before saying goodbye and an adress. "She was talking about an album for Ebony and Mephiles." Shadow stared at me. His eyes wide in disbelieve. He didn't know how I could possibly know the names of his first two kids. He didn't know how to react. And so my statement was answered with silence.
Oh look! Someone else's flashback! :) This chapter should've already been up, but I've been really busy with school and that's why it took longer than the previous chapters.
Anyway, I would really appreciate it if you were to place a comment down below and share me your thoughts about the current chapter or the story as a whole. I would really appreciate it! ^^
Mephiles as one of Shadow's other children amuses me. I hope everything works out in the end. Including Scourge getting what he deserves. That definitely needs to happen.
Mephiles as one of Shadow's other children amuses me. I hope everything works out in the end. Includ
Yes, that definitely needs to happen. And this isn't the only time that I've used Mephiles as Shadow's other child. On 'SonadowStories' on DA and FF.Net, I usually use Silver and Mephiles as his children.
Yes, that definitely needs to happen. And this isn't the only time that I've used Mephiles as Shadow
I always use Silver and Mephiles for two simple reasons: 1) Silver played Lancelot's (Shadow's) son, Galahad, in 'Sonic and The Black Knight'. 2) Mephiles really looks like Shadow and is decades younger than him. Those are my reasons for always using Silver and Mephiles as Shadow's kids in my fanfictions. :)
I always use Silver and Mephiles for two simple reasons: 1) Silver played Lancelot's (Shadow's) son,
