A Tale of Two Brothers

Hey Peeps, I don't own anything related to Sonic or his universe, that's SEGA and all other companies relevant to the creation of his various back-stories, and even though most of them have tanked it now that is besides the point… Honestly, I actually own very little in this fic (next to nothing to be exact) but this is my story and even though I am using characters from Archie, DiC and SEGA I will be fleshing many of them out because they were only 2-dimensional so in some ways they will appear very OC… hopefully you'll bear with me! Anyway, I've bored you to tears with this disclaimer so enjoy… and let me know what you think! X

Chapter One:Coping With Loss…

The skies of above the Great Forest of Mobius were a dark gloomy black and the rain that pounded the lands below seemed both sorrowful and unrelenting. It was almost as if the sky itself was mourning along with the inhabitants of the sleepy little hamlet of Knothole below. With a community of only twenty-five Mobians Knothole was the kind of community where everybody knew everybody else, so naturally when someone died the entire community was present for their funeral. The Mobian who had passed away was a middle-aged hedgehog by the name of Maurice.. He'd been a mechanical engineer who had died due to a severe lung infection, something the hedgehog had caught after years of inhaling minuscule shards of metal. Although Maurice had been feeling ill the old hedgehog had not sought medical attention. His wife had died many years previously and with two teenage sons to support he needed to work. So he'd persevered through the chest pains and hidden his flu-like symptoms as best he could from his children. It was only when his eldest son found him coughing up blood, shivering violently and barely able to stand did the old hedgehog finally relent and seek a doctor. By then it was too late, he had contracted a serious case of tuberculosis.. It was this that finally took his life. The old hedgehog had died shortly afterwards in his bed with his two sons by his side..

Now today, they were burying his body. Four Mobians were carrying the coffin which contained the deceased hedgehog to it's final resting place, the two at the rear of the casket had been friends of Maurice while the two at the front were his sons. On the left-hand side was the hedgehog's eldest son, the one who'd first discovered his father's illness. Charles Hedgehog who was nearly twenty had the same shade of mild-blue fur and quills as his father had. His eyes were a pale baby blue colour and he had bushy eyebrows, under his slim black nose sat a small but neat handlebar moustache. He carried his father with the solemn dignified manner of a mourning son. His eyes downcast and swimming with the pain of someone who wished they could have done more. On the right-hand side of the coffin was his sixteen year old brother Julius Hedgehog. Julius, or Jules as he preferred to be known as, more closely resembled their long-departed mother with his cobalt-blue fur and warm hazel-coloured eyes. He had one bang of loose blue quills that hung across his forehead with the kind of graceful elegance that his brother could never achieve and with his effortless good-looks Jules was never short of admirers. While his older brother mourned the lose of their father Jules' hazel eyes were narrowed in a deadpan expression, almost as if he were bored rather than sad. In truth, Jules did not know how to feel right now. Would he actually miss his father and his relentless lectures? The sixteen year old hedgehog chanced a glance at his brother as they closed in on their father's burial site which was next to their mother's. Charles' sad blue eyes continued to watch where they were going, guiding both his brother and the procession of Mobians to the freshly dug grave-site while the rain still battered down from above…

Their father had always been proud of Charles.. He had an incredible IQ and he nursed a passion for tinkering with metal and wires. When he wasn't at university in Mobotroplis city studying for his doctorate in Robotic Engineering the brilliant young hedgehog could be found holed up in his room working on an 'idea'. Charles spent most of his time alone as he only had a select few friends. This was the biggest setback to his immense intelligence. The mild-blue hedgehog often found it hard to relate to others his own age, the only ones he really knew were his brother's inner circle of friends who made allowances for him. Instead Charles befriended Mobians older than himself that were like-minded, such as his teachers and lecturers who could stimulate his thirst for knowledge and give him opinions on his 'ideas'..

Jules on the other hand was completely the opposite of his brother in many ways. He did not possess the same incredible aptitude in school as Charles but the cobalt-blue teen had managed to scrape enough grades together to get an Engineering diploma. Then Jules decided to throw in the towel, claiming he didn't want to be an engineer of any kind. This had disappointed their father Maurice immensely because he'd always wanted both his sons to follow him into the field of engineering. But then, disappointing his father was nothing new to Jules. Although the cobalt-blue hedgehog was usually very easy-going he had a slightly cocky inflection to his personality that was often mistaken as insolence, and this usually came with a knack for attracting trouble. It was for this reason that Maurice was much firmer with his seemingly irresponsible younger son, along with the fact that Jules seemed to have no sense of direction when it came to his future. Once he'd quit school the cobalt-blue teenager had fallen into a minimum-paid job working in Lickety-Split Pizzas as a delivery-hog. Despite his father's comments that he was 'wasting his time' Jules loved his job delivering pizzas. Sure, it was a dead-end job with very little pay but the cobalt-blue teen viewed every delivery he made as a new adventure and within a few short months he'd learned the layout of the streets of Mobotroplis off by heart.

…As the community of Knothole crowded around the grave-site the coffin of Maurice Hedgehog was lowered down into the soaking wet ground below. Then once Charles had tossed in the first spade-full of dirt the grave was filled in and patted down firmly with Maurice's tombstone sat beside his wife's. The ceremony had been short but sweet, partly due to the horrendous rain and the fact that Maurice himself had always disliked long drawn-out speeches, he had much preferred things to be brief and to the point.

With the funeral finally over the well wishers of Knothole lined up to offer their condolences and shake hands with the two Hedgehog brothers. Charles, who had somehow managed to pull himself together towards the end of the coffin burial, accepted the handshakes and kind words of the community with a grateful smile. Jules however, was not quite as keen as his older brother to be comforted by their community and tried to hang back from the crowd, reluctant to shake hands while responding to their words of kindness in an offhanded dismissive fashion.

'Jules!' Charles finally hissed in irritation when there was a gap in the well wishers. The mild-blue hedgehog lanced his little brother with fleeting glare of disapproval. 'Will you stop being rude and at least make the effort to be polite, for dad.' The mention of their dead father caused Jules' neat brow to furrow in slight annoyance, he may be dead but it seemed his influence was still hanging around. Then the sixteen year old cobalt hedgehog rolled his warm hazel eyes in a harassed fashion before sighing heavily.

'Fine. Whatever you say Charlie-boy..' Jules replied with an upbeat tone, a slightly aggravating smirk appeared on his tanned muzzle as he folded his arms. Before Charles could even think of a response another well wisher appeared, this time it was an elderly squirrel neatly dressed with a black shawl covering her shoulders and small round glasses perched on the end of her nose, covering her greenish-blue eyes. Once she'd exchanged some kind words with Charles she turned her attention to Jules. The cobalt-blue hedgehog flashed her a warm smile which was so obviously false as he took her hands politely in his gloved white ones. The elderly squirrel seemed to not notice his façade as she smiled back.

'So sorry for your loss my dear, your father was such a pillar of strength, Knothole won't be the same without him now..' The elderly squirrel sounded as she squeezed Jules' hands affectionately. The sixteen year old hedgehog responded by curling her fingers into one hand and patting her gently with the other.

'Yes..' Jules' voice oozed with put-on sympathy as he continued to smile. '-I'm sure he'll be greatly missed by us all.' His words caused Charles' pale-blue eyes to widen in shock at what his cobalt brother had just uttered. However Jules' subtly dismissive words were completely missed by the elderly squirrel who told him to take care before moving away. As the sixteen year old hedgehog looked proud of himself for feigning his way through another well wisher Charles narrowed his eyes at his younger brother.

'You really are insufferable sometimes..' The mild-blue older hedgehog spoke in a low voice.

'Thanks..' Jules responded, shutting his eyes and flashing a wide smile that showed off his perfectly straight square teeth to his older brother. This caused Charles to sigh heavily with a shake of his head before turning back to the last of the stragglers, mentally kicking himself for thinking his little brother could try not being himself for one day..

'Where are you going now?' Charles Hedgehog kinked a brow towards his brother as Jules pulled on his red vest with collar. It was mid-afternoon and even though their father's funeral had only been yesterday it seemed that the sixteen year old cobalt hedgehog was already planning an escape.

'Uh… work..' Jules responded in a tone that suggested this was the most obvious answer in the world. He instantly grabbed his set of brown boots and quickly laced them up before straightening and facing his older brother once more.

'Work?' Charles' pale blue eyes widened in surprise. He had no idea that Jules was planning to return to his job so soon after the funeral..

'Yeh.. Y'know, that place I go nearly every day to earn some money?' Jules raised both brows at his older brother. 'Besides, as much fun as it is to hang around here all day mopin' with you, I really need to get outta here before I catch cabin fever.' The cobalt hedgehog casually flicked his bang of blue quills out of his hazel eyes before turning away and heading towards the front door. It was true, even though it had only been one day Knothole was already driving the sixteen year old hedgehog insane. He was already missing the hustle and bustle of Mobotroplis and how there was always something going on in the big city.

'But I thought we could go through some of dad's stuff today..' Charles sounded slightly crestfallen at the idea of being left alone so soon after the funeral. Jules, who had been about to grab the door handle to the front door, paused and turned around to look at his brother. For a split-second surprise registered in his hazel eyes before the cobalt teenager frowned.

'What for? It's not like he has anythin' I want, just keep what you want and toss the rest.' Jules replied coldly moving his hand back to the door handle and opening the front door.

'Jules…' The older mild-blue hedgehog sighed heavily. He knew his little brother was affected by their father's death as much as he was, even if he was more angry than upset about it. Clearly he'd underestimated how much Jules had resented being constantly compared to him by their father and the effect of this was clouding his grief..

'What?' The sixteen year old hedgehog didn't turn around but remained in the doorframe of their childhood home.

'You know dad loved you, right?' Charles asked tentatively, cocking his head slightly. Though his tone was wary he was also curious to see how his little brother would react. For a brief moment Jules merely stood in the doorway, his hazel eyes were downcast as he considered his brother's words. But when he brought his hazel eyes back up his brow kinked with a smidge of scorn.

'Oh yeh?' His voice sounded slightly saddened before his cobalt-blue head turned just enough so he could look back at his brother, angry grief gleamed in his usually warm hazel eyes. 'Well he had a funny way of showin' it to me then, didn't he?' immediately Jules sniffed and strode out of the house. As the front door slammed shut Charles winced then let out a sigh of relief, well at least he knew his brother was grieving..

Jules sighed heavily once the front door was shut, creating a barrier between him and his older brother. The cobalt-blue teenager raised a white-gloved hand to the tanned bridge before his slim black nose. He was finding the death of his father hard to deal with.. Mostly because Jules was starting to realise that now his father was dead he would never have the chance to prove to him that he was more than just an irresponsible slacker. Pulling his hand away from his face Jules opened his hazel eyes and mentally pulled himself together. He then began doing a few stretching lunges on the front step to the little log-wood cabin he'd lived in his whole life. After a few minutes of warm up stretches the cobalt hedgehog took off in a westerly direction towards Mobotroplis. Jules was the fastest moving Mobian he knew. Even as a tiny hedgehog he'd been able to run rings around his brother and parents easily. The 'speed' gene that Jules had inherited had apparently been sitting dormant in his family for many generations, in fact they had thought it had become extinct until he had come along. At one point Charles, who had been curious to see just how fast his little brother could move, had clocked Jules at a top-speed of nearly four hundred kilometres an hour. Though the cobalt-blue hedgehog could not keep this speed up for long as it pushed him to his limits and he grew tired very quickly. Still, he could run comfortably along-side his older brother's motorbike and when he got tired or fed up of running, he could hop in the side-car then kick back and relax with the wind in his face.

As Jules sped through the Great Forest, easily dodging the tall redwood trees as they appeared in his path, he reminded himself why he was returning to work. He needed to get some sense of normalcy back into his life and remind himself that life goes on, plus returning to work would be a great escape from the depression that was covering Knothole at the moment.

Within fifteen minutes the sixteen year-old cobalt-blue hedgehog arrived outside Lickety-Split Pizzas. The fast-food takeaway was located in downtown Mobotroplis. It was a small building lit up by bright neon colours of blue and yellow that was sandwiched in between to larger outlets. Though it was small the business it did pretty well. Lickety-Split Pizzas was run by a friendly Mobian known simply as Mr Racoon. When the sixteen year-old hedgehog entered the fast-food takeaway the middle-aged grey racoon with black stripes blinked in surprise. His dark-chocolate eyes widened as he took in Jules' presence, clearly he had not been expecting him back so soon after his father's funeral.

'Jules, your back early my boy..' The racoon said as he straightened up from the paper he'd been glancing over before the teenage hedgehog had come in. '-I wasn't expecting you back until tomorrow at least.'

'Uh, yeh, I know Mr Racoon, sir..' Jules ran his white-gloved hand through his cobalt-blue quills with embarrassment. '-but, I was hopin' you'd let me start back early. I-I just need to try and move on from this..' The middle-aged racoon studied the face of his best delivery-hog and saw that even though there was the pain of loss shining in them, there was also determination as well. It was almost as if his father's death had made the teenager more sure-minded than he was before.

'Well, if it's what you really want, then I don't see why not.' Mr Racoon replied after a moment of consideration. His attention was suddenly captured by the ringing phone on the wall beside him. Extending his arm and unhooking the phone the middle-aged racoon put it to his ear before pulling a pad and paper to him.

'Lickety-Split Pizzas, can I take your order?' He sounded jovially down the phone before jotting down the order as the customer said it then taking the delivery address down. 'Alright, it'll be with you lickety-split.' He added once the request was complete then hung up the phone again. The racoon then turned back to Jules and smiled at his teenage delivery-hog. 'Looks like you arrived just in time.' The cobalt hedgehog grinned widely back as Mr Racoon hung up the check and instantly began to prepare the order..

As the afternoon turned into evening Jules found himself dashing around all over Mobotroplis with orders of piping hot pizzas and sides. Since business was good and his deliveries were quick the cobalt hedgehog had managed to rake in a fair few tips. It was nearing the end of his first shift and it was only now, once business was slowing down again, did Jules start to think about his brother and how he had been pretty rude to him earlier. Charles always been there for Jules if he needed advice, back up or just let off steam. The mild-blue older hedgehog would often just listen to his little brother then nod and miraculously say whatever it was he needed to hear. The cobalt hedgehog couldn't have asked for a more supportive brother. This made him feel guilty for leaving Charles on his own to sort out their father's belongings. He then wondered if his older brother would remember to eat as often when Charles immersed himself in something it became his full focus. Jules was just mentally debating whether or not to take him something back when a very familiar voice called his attention.

'Juice!' The teenage male voice called out, using the nickname Jules had picked up at school due to his speed. This caused the cobalt hedgehog to skid to a stop and turn his warm hazel eyes around in the direction of the speaker. He then found himself looking at a large walrus with greyish-blue skin, short whiskers and two large teeth which grew from his white jowls below large sea-blue eyes.

'Hey Sherman..' The cobalt hedgehog grinned back widely, instantly recognising his schoolyard friend. 'How's it goin' bud?' Jules sounded cheery as he turned back and closed the gap between them.

'Eh, not bad. How 'bout you? How was your dad's funeral?' The teen walrus eyed his best friend with concern.

'It was ok..' Jules replied with a nonchalant shrug. '-as far as funerals go.' He added in a tone that suggested he hadn't been to any other funerals so had nothing to compare it to.

'I guess that's all we can really hope for.' Sherman sighed in response. He, like his best friend, had not been to enough funerals to know when one was considered good. There was a slightly awkward pause at this point as the two friends were unsure of what to say next. Death was never an easy subject to move on from.

'Hey, listen..' Sherman suddenly spoke, as if remembering why he wanted his friend in the first place. '-some of the guys are headin' down to Macey's for a bit, you should come. Might help you take your mind of things.' The walrus, who was at least a head taller than his cobalt best friend, threw Jules a persuasive grin and even though the offer sounded very tempting he couldn't help but think about his brother Charles.

'Oh gee, I dunno Sherman, I left Charlie alone to sort through dad's things today, I don't think I should leave him on his own tonight as well..' The cobalt-blue hedgehog threw his best friend a guilty leer. Understanding shone in Sherman's face before he responded.

'So bring him along. I bet he hasn't even left Knothole since your old-hog died, it would do him good to get out and the guys won't mind.' The walrus sounded seriously and Jules rubbed his tanned muzzle thoughtfully, considering this.

'Who's all gonna be there like?' The cobalt teen's hazel eyes locked back on to his best friend. It would really depend on which group of their friends was going to be out.

'The usual crew. Lionel, Gus and I think Tig said he might come out if he could sneak out of the army barracks after lights out.' Jules smirked with amusement as Sherman stated this last bit. Tig Stripes had enlisted into the Mobian Army the moment he had left school, carrying on a long line of Stripes-family tradition but he wasn't known for always obeying the rules. The boys had all known each other from their elementary schooldays in Acorn Academy and despite their different directions in life the four of them had remained in touch. Since it was his old school crew that were meeting up he had no problem with dragging his geeky older brother along as they all knew him well. Plus Sherman was right, Charles really did need to get out of Knothole.

'Alright, my shift is nearly over. I'll go home and make sure Charlie has eaten then I'll drag him out with me.' Jules replied, finally relenting to the idea of a night out.

'Kickin' and screamin'?' Sherman joked with a smile, knowing Charles could be a little reluctant to go out as he was so socially awkward with others his age.

'Probably.' Jules threw him a cheeky grin. 'But he'll relent. He always does.' The cobalt hedgehog then chanced a glance at his watch. 'Look I gotta dash bud but I'll catch you later at Macey's ok?'

'No problem Juice..' Sherman replied waving his best friend off as Jules shot off down the street back towards Lickety-Split Pizzas to clock out.

As the sixteen year old cobalt hedgehog re-entered the fast food takeaway Mr Racoon was just pulling off his white apron and hat, folding them neatly and placing them on the side. When Jules moved up to the counter he pulled off his money belt and placed it by the till.

'You need me to do anything else before I go?' The sixteen year old hedgehog's hazel eyes turned to his boss curiously.

'No, no. I can handle the cash up myself..' The middle-aged raccoon smiled kindly before turning around and picking up a twelve-inch cardboard pizza box and setting it in front of Jules. 'Here. Take this..' Immediately the cobalt hedgehog threw his boss confused look before pushing the pizza away.

'Sir, that's very kind but I really couldn't.' Jules replied with a sense of pride in his voice. He may have just lost his father but he wasn't a charity case and didn't want to be treated as such.

'Jules, I know how tough this must be for you, but there is no shame in accepting a bit of support now and then. You're a good kid and an excellent worker, now take this and go and feed your brother.' The old racoon's dark chocolate eyes reflected the sympathy and kindness of his words. For a moment the cobalt-blue hedgehog stared in awe at his boss before he tentatively stretched out his white-gloved fingers and took hold of the pizza box.

'You really didn't have to, but thank you sir.' Jules smiled kindly. 'See you tomorrow Mr Racoon.' The cobalt hedgehog waved goodbye to his boss and left the pizza delivery place and headed home, carrying the pizza carefully as he did..

When Jules arrived back amongst the greenery and small log-cabins of Knothole he slowed right down from a hundred and thirty kilometres an hour running speed to a walking pace. He strolled casually up to his childhood home which he now shared with his brother and opened the door hesitantly, peeking around the slightly ajar door. His hazel eyes scanned the darkened hallway and noticed that the right-side light to the living room was on, indicating that his brother must be in there. Carefully the cobalt sixteen year old hedgehog slipped inside while balancing the pizza skilfully then shutting the door gently. As he tiptoed towards the living room he noticed a few cardboard boxes which must've contained some of there dad's belongings. When Jules finally reached the doorway to the living room he found his mild-blue older brother packing a few last things into a box before taping it shut.

'Uh, hey Charlie..' Jules spoke in a soft voice which had a slightly uneasy undertone to it. The moment he spoke Charles' head and quills turned, his pale blue eyes glancing at his younger cobalt brother before he turned back to the box.

'Hi Jules..' The older hedgehog responded in a neutral voice. '-what've you got there?' Charles added as he picked up the box and moved it onto a little pile of more boxes.

'An offering..' Jules replied as he moved into the room, finally noticing the boxes. 'Wow. I see you've been busy.' His hazel eyes widened at all the boxes, he'd never realised just how much stuff one hedgehog could actually have.

'Yup.' Charles sounded as he wiped his gloved hands and turned around so his pale blue eyes could look at his brother.

'Is there much left to do?' The cobalt hedgehog asked curiously.

'Nope.' Charles replied. 'That was the last box. All that's left is to take it down to good will but I'll do that tomorrow.' He added with a slight sigh.

'I'll help you then.' Jules added solemnly, he felt that since he'd abandoned his brother today he owed him that. His words caused Charles' pale eyes to widen in slight surprise but before he could say anything Jules spoke again. 'Have you eaten?' The cobalt hedgehog's brow kinked curiously towards his older brother.

'No, not had a chance..' Charles said lightly.

'Then here..' Jules said, pushing the pizza into his brothers hands. 'Eat some of this.' Charles gave his brother a wry smile before sitting down with the pizza in his lap. The mild-blue hedgehog then opened the box and pulled out a slice of the still-hot pizza, letting the cheese ooze over the sides. There was silence as Charles ate his first slice, which was also the first thing he'd eaten all day. While his older brother polished off his first slice and went for a second Jules sat in thought, rubbing his hands nervously in an absent-minded manner.

'It's good..' Charles' voice spoke softly as he paused between bites. '-have some.' His words brought Jules out of his musings then turn his hazel eyes towards his brother as a small smile curved his lips. The cobalt hedgehog stretched out a hand and picked up a slice and held it as his eyes stayed focused on his brother.

'Listen Charlie..' Jules said gently, a gleam of regret escaping his eyes. '-I'm really sorry about ditchin' you with all this.' The cobalt hedgehog gestured with his free hand around the room to show he meant the home filled with belongings and memories of their father. 'I just needed to get away from-'

'Jules, it's ok.' Charles cut over him, stopping his little brother from finishing his sentence. Empathy filled the older hedgehog's pale blue eyes which also reflected the grief and self-doubt he felt. 'I understand how hard this must be for you.' He then flashed his cobalt little brother a sad smile.

'You do?' Jules' hazel eyes widened in surprise and relief.

'Yeh, it's hard for me too.' Charles replied honestly, he'd been moping around their childhood home for just over a week, still feeling like it was somehow his failure to see the signs that could have stopped their father from passing away.

'It's not your fault, y'know..' The cobalt sixteen year old hedgehog threw his brother a serious look while his tone was rich with warmth and sympathy. 'Dad was a stubborn old coot who hid his suffering from us for months, maybe years. He should've just gone and seen a doctor sooner.' A slight twinge of annoyance twitched Jules' handsome features. He couldn't help but be angry at his father, not only for his unfair criticism while still alive but for also making Charles feel responsible for his death.

'I know, I know..' Charles sighed in a calming tone, not wanting his little brother to get annoyed about their father again. '-but it doesn't make me feel any better.' The mild-blue hedgehog resumed eating his pizza, noticing the abandoned slice still in his brother's hand. 'You better eat that before it gets cold..' He added causing Jules to look down at his slice.

'Oh yeh..' Jules smirked slightly at his bit of pizza. 'Forgot I was holding it..' He then lifted the slice and took a large bite out of it. Having been sat in the cold air, instead of the warm pizza box, it had cooled down considerably and though the cheese on top had just started to harden it still retained a glimmer of it's heat left. Once the pizza in the box was gone Jules took the cardboard and dashed through to the kitchen to throw the box away. He returned in seconds and jumped back into the seat beside his brother.

'Jules, I know you said you didn't want anything of dad's but I found these amongst his things and I think you should have them.' Charles said matter-of-factly before pulling out two small objects and handing them to his brother. One was a red Army-style switch-knife with a few other useful attachments and the other item was a pristine gold pocket-watch. For a long moment Jules stared at the two objects in his hands, trying not to let the lump in his throat get any bigger. Even though his father had been such a quill-buster the cobalt teen did miss him deep down in his heart. With something of his father's in each hand Jules curled his fingers around them and held them tight.

'Thanks Charlie.' He smiled gratefully, glad Charles had taken the initiative to ignore his angry words earlier that day. 'How much are you keeping?' His hazel eyes threw a curious look to his brother.

'Not a lot.' Charles responded with a faint smile. 'Just some photo albums and a few of his tools that I can use..' He then picked up one of the albums. 'Do you fancy a trip down memory lane?' He waved the album towards Jules who recognised it instantly as the one which contained toddler and tot photos of the two of them.

'Maybe tomorrow night Charlie, I said to the guys we'd meet them over in Macey's tonight.' The cobalt-blue teen took the album and placed it on the side before getting up.

'We?' Charles kinked a brow, immediately picking up on the fact he had not said 'I'.

'Yes. That means your coming too.' Jules' hazel eyes narrowed in a deadpan expression, his hands went to the waist of his open red vest and rested on his hips.

'Aw. I don't think that's a good idea Jules.' The mild-blue hedgehog raised both hands and shook his head in refusal.

'Look, it's just the old crew Charlie.. Sherman, Lionel, Gus and possibly Tig.. You'll be fine.' The cobalt hedgehog sighed, already feeling some of his brother's resistance to the idea before he voiced it.

'I don't think so. But you go, they're your friends.' Charles folded his arms as a scowl began to appear on his brow.

'We would invite your friends too Charlie but, well..' Jules tailed off scratching his head in the gap between his pointy ears, trying to find the right words to sugar-coat the truth and failing. '-they're all kinda, middle-aged narks.' Charles' eyes narrowed expressionless at these words. It was hardly the most sensitive way to describe his associates but the mild-blue hedgehog could understand why Jules and his group of friends wouldn't want them there. They were just two different classes of Mobians.

'C'mon Charlie..' The cobalt teen flashed his older brother a pleading grin while gripping his arm. '-it'll do you good to get outta here for a while. Please come.' Jules' grin widened as he tugged persistently on his brother's arm. Charles looked into his brother's beseeching hazel eyes then sighed, relenting. He knew his little brother would not stop pestering him until he agreed anyway.

'Alright.. I'll go..' The mild-blue hedgehog replied begrudgingly, just because he was agreeing didn't mean he had to be happy about it. 'But I'm taking something to tinker with while we're there.' Charles immediately got up from the seat he'd been sat in and went to his room to go and fetch his coat and whatever it was he was planning to take with him. Jules watched his brother leave then rolled his eyes in slight disbeleif. Only Charles would take one of his half-finished inventions to play around with while inside an underground club..

Little Notes:

Hey peeps, as I said before in the disclaimer this story doesn't really follow any of the original Sonic back-stories. I'm just taking bits and pieces that I like and mashing them together to create a new back-story, though it is better planned out than it sounds I assure you. Most resources used are from Sonic the Hedgehog SATAM/Archie mixed with the kind of idea of a prequel to Sonic Underground. It's not.. It's just along those lines. Most of the characters aren't mine but are only based loosely on what they are like, mostly because the comic or series never really delves into them much as they're not relevant to plotlines. So hopefully you'll forgive me for making slight changes while fleshing them out and not discard this story before giving it a proper chance.

Ok firstly, I've decided that it would make no sense for Sonic's speed to be a genetic fluke. This was the one thing I really had a problem with in both Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I don't believe for five seconds that Sonic's speed is not hereditary from at least one side of his family. And even though his parents are in the comics nobody seems to think about asking the obvious question: 'So, which one of you does Sonic get his speed from?'… They just carry on oblivious to the fact that neither one of his parents seems to display any hint. Then in Sonic Underground it was actually suggested that his speed could be taken away like those daft medallion-things. Eh, I don't think so, it's a natural gift... So in the end I decided that it would just be something else he inherited from his dad. Mostly this came about because of how relaxed Jules seemed to be about his son risking his life and going on crazy adventures that would send normal parents into a stress-induced heart-attacks. I figured that back in his day Jules himself was probably a lot like Sonic himself, therefore he understands his son a lot better despite the fact that he'd missed a huge chunk of his life. It should also be noted that even though Jules has some speed, he can't run anywhere near as fast as Sonic can..

Secondly, the childhood nickname I picked out for Jules is a reference to Jaeel White, who voice Sonic in the older TV series that I watched as a kid. 'Juice' was also the name Sonic himself picked in the SATAM series when his younger-self was curious to know who he was. It has absolutely nothing to do with OJ Simpson, ok… I'm Scottish so I'd just like to stay as far away from that argument as I can get!

Thirdly, the name of the place Jules' first job is at derives from a Sonic quote from The Adventures of Sonic where he dresses up as a delivery boy and delivers Robotnick his 'dinner' which is actually a bomb. He makes a comment about his 'lickety-split deliveries'. So I used it to create a small piece of Jules' past..

And if you've stuck around this far… Stay tuned!

~Ditzy