"Fathers and Sons" (working titles)

Written by: Toni the Mink

All official Sonic characters (c) SEGA

Victor & Victoria (c) Toni the Mink

A/N: My first fic in a long time that I'm actively working on! Everything else was obviously old stuff I reuploaded... XD

Anyway, since I already covered Charmy and Espio's backstories, I figured Vector's was next. Though as you can see, it's not nearly as tragic as either of his teammates... I did cover it slightly back in "Homecoming" during Espio's flashbacks...

But now, you get to see my take on Vector's history! Hope you like!

Also, I'm going to go ahead and say this takes place shortly after "Sonic Heroes", ergo you won't be seeing or hearing about Charmy's mother and/or home, nor will anyone even bring up the events of Rainbow Valley...

ALSO... "Fathers and Sons" is a working title, until I can think of something more clever... Feel free to suggest anything else XD

ALSO, ALSO... Since this is still a "work in progress", it may not be as updated as much, especially since I'm heavily working on my "Sonic Chronicles: Choose Your Own Adventure" sequel...

Enjoy!

"Vect-OOOR!" Victor the Crocodile roared at the top of his lungs. He absolutely hated calling his son that name. He originally named him after himself, after all… But that was far back, before he knew what a disapointment Victor Jr. would become. He much preferred the new name he had given himself lately, 'Vector'. God, what a hoodlum name… But then again, he was ashamed to have given his name to such an ungrateful little bastard…

The teenaged crocodile grit his teeth fiercely as his overbearing father barged into his bedroom without a single knock. "What is it, Dad?"

"WHY were you not at the interview today?!" Victor screeched, "Do you not realize how hard it was to convince the bosses to see you? How many strings I had to pull?!"

Vector slammed the 'pause' button on his walkman and jumped to his feet. "I told ya, I'm not interested in that line o' work!" he shouted, "I made it pretty clear I wasn't gonna go."

"And I made it perfectly clear that if you skipped out, I was gonna strangle ya!"

Vector foolishly got right up to his father's face. "All right then!" he snorted, "Do it! Kill me, old man!"

The elder crocodile snarled, shook his fist… but didn't put his hands on his son. As much as they argued and shouted, he never once struck Vector in his lifetime…

"I knew it," Vector turned and sneered, "Y'ain't got the guts to take me on."

"You should consider yourself lucky I restrained myself…"

"Pssh!" the cocky teenager seethed, "You know you couldn't take me on…"

"Just because you're taller than me doesn't mean I ain't stronger!" Victor growled.

"Y'wanna bet, old man?"

"Don't tempt me, boy!"

"Guys, stop it! STOP IT!" a female crocodile got in between the two and pushed them gently away from each other, "Can't you go through ONE night without a shoutfest?!"

"I wouldn't mind," Victor crossed his arms, "If only this DEADBEAT would stop being so damn disrespectful!"

"Yer one to talk!" Vector shouted, "Y'always insult me over every little thing I do! God forbid I BREATHE the wrong way!"

"If you weren't always such a SCREW UP, maybe I'd have more respect for you!"

"If you didn't have abnormally high expectations, maybe I might TRY to do something you want me to do!"

"High?! I simply expect you to be SMART and productive! If you consider THAT high, then you're just a lazy idiot!"

"You expect me to literally be a mini-version of YOU! Why can't you just back off and let me be me?!"

"If I let you be you, you'd be braindead within a week! Then again, I wonder if it's already too late!"

"Come say that to my face, ya jackass!"

The two stomped towards each other, but Victoria, Vector's mother and Victor's wife, remained in the middle in an attempt to keep them seperated. "That's enough!" she cried, "Now can we PLEASE discuss what's bothering you both CIVILLY?"

"I just wanna be left alone!" Vector shouted, "But Jackass here has to get on my case over every little thing!"

"Dammit, Vector, I just wanted you to prepare you for the real world!" Victor shouted back, "But you never take anything seriously!"

"I would if you gave me some space!"

"Sure, that'll be the day. Moment I leave you alone, you'll probably be knee-high on drugs or something!"

"Now see here, ya-!"

"That is IT!" Victoria screamed, "I can't take it anymore! Your screaming at one another, your blaming one another, your unwillingness to see eye to eye… Something has to stop! And I want something done TONIGHT!" She tore out of Vector's bedroom and into her own, slamming the door shut.

"Now look what you did," Victor growled, "You upset your mother."

"I'm sure YOU had a hand in it too, Pop!"

"Don't you go blaming me for this, you ingrate!"

"Oh sure, blame it ALL on me, like you always do!"

"If you weren't such a lazy, idiotic child, you wouldn't be putting us BOTH through the wringer!" Victor screamed, "For once in your stupid life, do something useful!"

"As long as I don't have to literally be 'Victor Junior' I'd say that's pretty damn useful in itself!"

WHACK!

For the first time in his life, Victor struck Vector…. Hard, in the face, with his rock-like fist.

The teen was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered, and slammed a fist of his own onto his father. For a tall but scrawny teen, Vector was able to knock his old man to his back.

Victor was stunned himself… But then glared at his son fiercely.

"Y'want another round, old man?"

"... Get out…"

"What..?"

"I SAID GET OUT!" Victor scrambled to his feet and shouted into his son's face, "I gave you life, I raised you, I try to steer you straight, and THIS is how you pay me?!"

"You hit me first, you ass!"

"Well if I'm such a horrible person, then LEAVE!" Victor backed his way out of his son's room, "If you hate me that much, fine! I'm frankly not fond of you either, especially the way you turned out. Pack your things, and GET OUT!"

"Fine by me!" Vector screamed as he slammed his bedroom door shut.

"Vectoor!" Victoria cried, running out the front door before her son could get too far. "Wait! Please don't go!"

"Sorry, Mom," Vector sighed, "But y'heard Dad. He ain't wanting me under his roof…"

"If you would just apologize, I'm sure he'll let you back in…"

The teen shook his head. "No way!" he said, "I ain't apologizing to that ass! Besides, I'd rather be homeless than share a roof with him…"

Victoria took a hold of her son's hands, "Please, Vector…" she whimpered, "You're my son, but he's my husband. I don't want to have to choose between you two…"

"Then I'll make it easier on you," Vector grumbled, "I'm out."

"Please don't leave me, son..!"

Vector looked down at his mother and sighed. Victoria was always such a sweet, bubbly woman… He hated seeing her upset.

But he hated his father more…

And at the very least, he treated her right…

"I'm sorry, Mom," he said, squeezing her hands, "But I just ain't happy here… I ain't been happy for a long time. I love you, Mom, but if I stay in that house another minute…" He paused to glare fiercely at his father, standing close to the doorway, returning an equally harsh glare. "... with him… I might do something I know I'll regret."

Victoria lowered her head, and Vector could see a tear escape from her eye. "I guess there's no stopping you, huh?"

"'Fraid not…"

"Well then, come here, son…" She grabbed Vector around his shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. "Just remember to call me now and then…" She reached up and gently pulled back his earphones, "And I just slipped you a few hundred mobiums behind your walkman…" she whispered.

Vector pulled back with a greedy grin. "Thanks, Mom!"

Victoria planted a kiss on his snout. "Just be careful out there, you hear me?" she said, "The world is much bigger than you believe."

"Can't wait to see it, then!" the croc grinned as he hoisted his duffle bag over his shoulder. He gave his mother one last hug before heading down the street. He didn't dare look back…

Of course, even with his headphones on, he could still hear his father's obnoviouxly loud voice bellowing out, "I'd give him three days before he comes snivelling back… A week, at most!"

Vector was determined to prove that jerk wrong, and NEVER come back…

FIVE YEARS LATER

"Dear Lord… Hey Victoria, come in here and check this out!"

The female crocodile came in from the kitchen, with a dish still in hand, still washing up from dinner. "What is it?"

"Check out the TV," Victor pointed, "Look at all that robot armada… Can you believe it? They say it may have been another robot invasion from Dr. Eggman. Can you imagine what might've happened if actually succeeded?"

Victoria didn't look too phased. "Oh well. As long as Sonic the Hedgehog is around to protect us, I'm not horribly worried."

"And you say this wasn't a ploy from Dr. Eggman himself?" the news reporter asked on TV.

"Nope. Completely innocent this time," a familiar voice answered.

Victoria froze. That voice…

"Well, I mean, not COMPLETELY innocent… The creep got away without paying us after all we did for him."

Victor squinted his eyes at the television. "Hm… That guy… He looks familiar…"

"And you personally witnessed what happened in the sky?" asked the reporter.

"Witnessed it? We were part o' the action! We helped save the day, y'know!"

"Pfft…" Victor spat, "How much you wanna bet he's lying? Lousy mooch… He sort of reminds me of-"

"VECTOR!" Victoria squealed, nearly causing her husabnd to fall out of his chair, "it's VECTOR!"

"What? Are you sure?"

"A mother knows her son, dear."

"Come on, that can't possibly be-"

"And your names are..?"

"Vector the Crocodile. Head of Team Chaotix Detective Agency."

"It IS him!" Victoria cried, "Oh my goodness! Look how much he's grown!"

Victor sighed. "Sheesh… Changed on the outside, but pretty much the same inside…"

The reporter turned back to the camera. "And there you have it. First count testimony to what could have been a lethal, dangerous-"

"And speaking of Team Chaotix!" Vector interupted, "We're a group of amatuer but professional private eyes! Located on the east side of Seaside Forest, near Seaside Hill! Come find us if you need our services!"

The reporter angrily ripped her microphone away before continuing with her story, while Vector could be heard in the background boasting to his "boys" about getting free publicity.

Victor shook his head. "What a joke…"

"He gave his location…" Victoria breathed, clasping her hands together, "... I finally know where he is!"

"Victoria, give it a rest," Victor groaned, "If he didn't give you his location before, he probably doesn't want you to know where he is."

"Then he shouldn't have been so careless!" Victoria chimed and twisted towards her husband, "You know where Seaside Hill is, don't you?! Come on, let's go see our son!"

"Can't you just wait for him to call you this weekend?"

"He may call every Sunday, but I haven't seen him in five years! And clearly a lot has happened since!" Victoria dropped to her knees and curled up tp her husband on his chair, "Oh pretty please, Vick, please take me to see him?"

Victor glared at his wife… but she had that dopey, innocent face that he always ended up caving in to…

… And besides, he was curious on what nonsense Vector has gotten himself into since…

"Oh all right…" he sighed, "We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."