TW: Kidnapping, Threatening, Emotional manipulation. Kind of a mental breakdown/ anxiety attack?

You woke up without Maddie or Ozzy in the house, leaving it to feel empty. You were colder without Ozzy to lay on, and nothing other than Tom taking a shower could be heard. You checked the time, 6:52. I guess Tom took the day off to pack and get ready for San Francisco? You got up and got dressed in matching clothing, which soothed you a little bit.

You got downstairs and decided to go and make breakfast, which lead to slightly singed pancakes, but a meal you made yourself. Tom finished and was dressed in a casual outfit when he got downstairs and smiled when he saw that you made breakfast for him. You looked at him questioningly, "D- Did you take the day off or?" He sat down, "I asked to come in a little later today since I had to drive Maddie." You nodded, "Ah, that makes more sense. What time are you coming in?" He finished the bite he was chewing and then replied, "Around lunchtime, don't worry though, I won't arrive then take my lunch break, I'll eat here." 

You nodded and finished the bite you were eating before asking another question. "You think Maddie's over there by now?" "Yeah, I think so, I believe her flight arrived at 6:30, but I might be wrong so why don't we call her later today and find out?" "Have you seen anything weird lately?" He paused and asked for clarification, "What do you mean?" "Like have you seen anything like a quill but it was to big to be a normal hedgehog's quill, or a slightly anthropomorphic hedgehog?" He paused and looked at you incredulously. 

"D- did you know I picked up a quill yesterday?" You almost dropped your fork and knife in surprise, "What?" Your heart was fluttering, in a bad way. "Yeah, I saw it while I was at the speed trap. Oh! And one thing, I had my speedometer go off twice with high numbers." "D-do you think that maybe those are connected, I saw something weird yesterday." "What did you see?" You explained that both you and Maddie didn't know what it was that you saw. "Maybe it's aliens?" Tom joked. "Me and Maddie said the same thing, maybe it's a sign to get the heck out of dodge." You hummed a agreement out and finished the meal in silence with each other. It felt wrong without her or Ozzy.

You washed the dishes when you were done and then got started packing the books in your room, at around 8:30, Tom calls you down. "On the phone with Maddie!" You rushed downstairs to join the conversation.

"Whatcha' doing?" You asked, curious. "Just drawing, with Jojo, And Rachel." "Has she -she being Rachel- convinced you to leave me yet?" "No, but she wants me to check your phone for dating apps." "Good luck, the only apps I have are the ones that came with my phone." A moment of silence, then, "And the Olive Garden app," You pitched in on the "Cause' when you're there, you're family." Tom was remined of something, and said "Hey fascinating stuff here, we got a power outage."

"Oh, that's interesting ...." A clatter outside was heard, Tom looked at you momentarily before deciding it was racoons. He moved to the drawer with the tranquilizer in it while still continuing to speak, "Hey, how much does the racoon need before sleeping, Greenhill's finest Vet?" "Tom, That's for bears-" He finished setting up the gun to shoot, "Perfect, then it'll work." A gasp could be heard through the phone, "TOM!" He hung up on Maddie, leaving her to wonder what he was going to do to the poor racoons.

You followed Tom to see what that was, maybe it's what I saw yesterday? Hm, unlikely, but still.  We walked out to the garage, I walked behind Tom, who was ready to bust down the door. He kicked it in yelling "SFPD!" You chimed in, "Pending background check!" You both rushed inside and there it was, the ?hedgehog?. "Um, Meow?" Tom shot him with the tranquilizer in surprise, leading the ?hedgehog? to drop the thing that he was holding and create a ?portal? to the top of a building.

You walked back in shock, what the. The ?hedgehog?  flopped to the floor and dropped the bag that he was holding. You watched the bag fall into the ?portal? created on the floor and land on the building. You and Tom watched in shock as the portal closed in on itself. You shared a look and then Tom seemed to have broken out of his stupor. 

Tom grabbed the thing and shoved it in an animal cage that Maddie left in the garage. You got out of your frozen state when he handed you the tranquilizer gun. You held it until you two got into the house, then you put it on the cabinet. You and Tom had a moment of silence before he stuttered something out to himself. "Wh-what the fuck is that?" You sat down, and watched the thing breathe for a beat before saying something. "I think that this is what I saw."

He turned and looked at you, "Really?" You looked at him, "Yes." There was a pause as you both thought about what to say to each other. "I think we should call it a hedgehog." "Why?" You turned back to the thing in the cage. "Because that's what I've been calling it in my mind." He chuckled a little bit, "I don't mean to laugh, it's just that you're delivery was funny to me for some reason." You shrugged. "Gotta have humor in serious situations."

The silence was starting to settle in like a heavy, weighted, blanket amongst you two. Tom, done with the silence, beckoned to you to get up and talk to him. You got up from your seat and walked over to him. You both put your back to the hedgehog and were going to call Maddie before you heard the cage door opening and you stopped Tom.

You both turned around, shocked -even though you both were pretty sure he opened the door- to find that he escaped from the cage. "hgn, What happened?" You gasped and stepped back again. Tom walked to the hedgehog and asked "What are you?" "A hedgehog?" It asked the incredulously, like in disbelief that someone wouldn't know what it is. There was commotion outside, and it ran to the window. "Oh no, they found me again." 

You raised your eyebrows, "Again?" It turned to you, "Yes, again." It turned to Tom, "You've got to help me, Donut Lord." The commotions stopped. "Why should I help you?" "Because you shot me, and this is life or death." Tom looked in distress between you and the hedgehog. "You, Room, HIDE." You pointed to the hedgehog and Tom rephrased the sentence, "It- Attic, You- Room."

You went up the stairs and pretended to go inside your room. You could hear Tom open the door, and talk to someone outside. You didn't hear much though, only little snippets. You tried inching closer, but remembered the floorboards are creaky, and that would tell them that you are there. "So tell me why I should let you inside my house?" You put your hand to your mouth, What? Is someone trying to get in? "Are you aware of ..." Something came in through the window, which made you stand up in alarm. The floor boards creaked as you walked -more like ran- to your closet to hide. 

What the fuck? 

It was silent for a few minutes, most likely seconds but your impatience left you thinking it was longer -as far as you heard at least- before you heard thumping ?down? the stairs. You waited a few beats, and then you could hear a scream momentarily and then rapid fire gunshots with glass breaking.

You shut your eyes, you were panic stricken, and waited until you could hear something. It was minutes, -you counted to try and calm yourself- before you heard something come ?up? the stairs. You heard two pairs of feet, which meant it was likely two people who were here. Doors were flung open and you could hear that they were getting closer to where you were hiding.

Your bedroom door was busted open and then you could hear that they were right outside the closet door. "Hey, Doctor? Are you sure that someone was here?" A fluttering was heard as someone turned around. "Of course I am sure that someone was here." They flung open the door to your closet revealing you to them, as they did though, they kept talking. "Did you doubt my robots, Stone?"

'Stone' -at least as far as you knew, they were named Stone- pointed to you, and smiled at the 'Doctor'. "Of course not, Doctor." Doctor -this time you knew for sure who was who- grabbed your arm violently and pulled you up to them. "Now, adolescent, we need you to come with us to the police department." Dear god, he's scary. "O-okay. W-where's Tom?" Stone's eyes flicked to Doctor then to you. Doctor just let go of you and walked away.

Stone stayed behind and put a hand on your shoulder to try to comfort you. "Tom is- Tom is unavailable currently." Stone then lead you downstairs where you saw a catastrophe of a house. The table was broken, glass shards were everywhere, bullet holes riddled the walls and floor. Stone was preoccupied with something outside, which left you alone in the house. What happened? Is he dead? Who are these people? You saw that the tranquilizer was still on the counter where you left it, and you compulsively grabbed it and put it in your pocket.

Stone entered again to drag you away from the mess that was now your house. There were two large trucks outside where Doctor was standing outside one of them, impatiently waiting and tapping his foot. Stone explained "I had driven one of the trucks to investigate one area, and the Doctor had driven the other to investigate here, but now he wants to drive you down to the police station and investigate there, while I drive the other back to base. So, you'll be driving with him." Base? 

"O-okay." You got into the truck with Doctor in tow and sat down in one of the seats, and odd one since it was your lucky number and you needed all the luck you could get. "No. Sit somewhere else." The Doctor ordered you, so you sat in the next seat that was your lucky number -another odd number-, but that wasn't good enough for the Doctor. "Sit down beside me then, if you can't sit in the right place." 

So you did just that, you sat down beside him and yelled at him from inside your mind. Excuse me what? I can sit down in the right spot. I was sitting down to get luck, and it wasn't in the way of anything or anyone so I was in the right, you are in the wrong.

Your thoughts of anger were quickly burst when Doctor asked you why you sat in the wrong place. "I sat in the luck number spot." "What do you mean?"  You shrugged, "It was my lucky number where I sat, and you're kind of scary so I need all the luck I can get." He huffed. "I don't see why you think that. Luck doesn't exist, it's just a construct we created, all there is is probability. " You swallowed, I have to tread carefully. "I don't know why I think that way either." 

You quickly arrived at the police department, much to your relief, and got out of the truck. Wade's car was outside, alongside a few black cars, none of which you recognized. You entered the air conditioned police station in tow of the Doctor. Wade was surrounded by some people in black suits. Wade looked discombobulated and also looked like he was about to cry. You walked over to Wade, who looked at you in concern. "I thought Tom wasn't going to show up for a while today." You sat down at a chair, "Yeah, well um." You leaned towards him, and started whispering. "I think Tom's dead, and these guys-" You gestured to the men, "Had something to do with it." 

He whispered to you, "You think Tom's dead?" The shock of it made his hands shake, "I do, there were bullet holes and gun fire, and now Tom's missing." "O, M, G." He looked at you and wrapped you into a hug, "I'm so sorry." Doctor harumphed and then announced to everyone in the room, "So, you simple minded compatriots, I shall tell you what is going on." You and Wade looked to the Doctor, "There is investigation of the power outage incident, and it occurred in this sleepy little town." Stone entered the police station, and walked to Doctor.

You and Wade shared a look of confusion, but neither of you wanted to interrupt him talking, and so you kept silent. I thought it just happened here? Was it farther than that? He continued, "We are from the government, and we are taking over for now." Your eyes widened, the government? Wade gasped a little in shock, a sentiment you agreed with. The Doctor finished his announcement, and walked over to you and Wade. 

He looked around for a seat to sit on and then grabbed it once he saw a seat, Stone stood behind the Doctor. Doctor scooted close to you two before asking a question. "What do you know about terrorism?" You leaned back a little in shock, "W-what?" He grunted in annoyance, "What do you know about terrorism?" You looked around, as if searching your memory , when it came to you. "Acts of violence, particularly against civilians, in order to get a political point across?" 

"Close but what about domestic terrorism?" A look of confusion came across you and Wade's faces. "The same but done with someone from the country?" You asked, looking around again for something. "Hmm. Close enough. That's what Tom is." Your eyes widened again. "B-but-" Wade came to your rescue, "He can't put bait on when fishing, there is no way he can be a terrorist." 

You interjected, "I-isn't he dead anyway?" Doctor sighed, "Sadly-" He gave a look to Stone, "He isn't, nor is he captured." Tears came to your eyes in relief that Tom wasn't dead, You didn't want to lose another parent so soon. "Oh." "Oh?" Doctor queried. "I thought he was dead, ya 'know cause of the bullet holes, and gunfire." Doctor nodded, "A incorrect assumption, but I see how you jumped to that conclusion. But, back to the topic at hand here, Tom is a terrorist, even if you think him a good man."

No, no way he's a terrorist. It must be because of that hedgehog we helped earlier. The thing must be wanted by the government. You snuck a look at the clock, 4:41, whish was surprising because time had moved so fast. "Why is he a terrorist?" You dared to ask. "He is helping an enemy of the state, which reminds me of something." He stood up and beckoned you to do so as well. Stone stepped back to let Doctor through, and you followed Doctor to an empty room. 

Doctor grabbed something from Stone's pocket and held it in front of you. It seemed like a quill from a hedgehog, but it was long, glowing blue and sparkling with electricity. "What is this to you? And what was it doing inside your house?" "It must have been a glowstick, from a previous performance of mine." He hummed, "Then why is it so bright?" "Good glowstick, perhaps?" He hummed again, then handed it to Stone to keep. He started walking closer to you, and he grabbed your chin to look at him. "Look, adolescent, Don't play games with me." "I-I'm not, I don't know what's going on a-and I'm s-scared c-cause I thought that my dad was dead, and I didn't want him to die as well, and-" You burst into tears, all of your anxiety caught up to you and exploded within. 

You dropped to the ground and held your knees to yourself. You couldn't stop crying, even though it showed that you were vulnerable right now, you just couldn't stop. Stone kneeled beside you and started rubbing circles into your back. Doctor just stood there dumbfounded, he didn't know what to do, as someone just started crying in front of him, seemingly without warning. He just left you crying with Stone. 

It was hard, you didn't want to cry but your body was crying without you meaning it to, leaving you feeling awful making you cry more. Stone just kneeled there rubbing your back and giving you tissues while you were crying into yourself, which was for a while, because you couldn't stop. Eventually you did stop, but that was when all the tears in your body were gone.

You breathed in, and blew your nose again before standing up. "I'm sorry that you had to do that. I shouldn't cry." He gave you a sympathetic look, "It's okay to cry, it must have been a lot for you today." You laughed a little. "Yeah, it was." You threw away your tissues and breathed in really deep. "I'm okay now, I promise." "Okay. You ready to go out there?" 

"Yeah, I think so." You opened the door and took a look at the clock when you sat back down with Wade. 6:11. Doctor was talking to somebody else when you sat down. "You okay? Your eyes are puffy and red, did they make you cry?" You shook your head. "No, they didn't make me cry. I'm fine Wade." He said nothing, but moved the tissue box closer to you.

You were exhausted, but you fought with your tiredness to stay awake by stabbing yourself with your fingernails. You did end up falling asleep, but you woke up at 8:22, so it was just a little nap. Wade tapped you on the shoulder to see if you were awake. He needed to tell you something. "Hey, you awake?" You mumbled something, and then shook your head to wake up. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that."

"It's okay, I understand, but they have a plan as to where you'll be staying." You were more awake at that point, "What? What do you mean?" He paused for a moment then shook his head about something mentally. "Um, so, you won't be staying at your house 'cause it's an investigation zone and you would be trampling evidence, and since both of your guardians are unavailable to watch you, you will be staying with them - I think." You blinked slowly at him, "Why can't I stay with you?" 

He shrugged, "I don't know. Sorry, kiddo."  Doctor and Stone stopped by Wade's desk where you two were, "Did you manage to relay the information?" Doctor asked in a demanding tone. "Yeah, I told Y/N that they wouldn't be staying with me." The phone started to ring, and Wade picked it up before Doctor could. 

Tom's voice was a bit staticky, but you could hear him through the phone. "Hey Wade." Wade whispered into the phone, "What is going on, Tom? There are these men in suits and they were asking about you and asking about terrorism, and I told them you couldn't put bait on, there is no way he's a terrorist." Tom cut him off, "Wade, I need you to not let them know I called you." Wade looked at Doctor and Stone, "Yeah, I think they already know." 

Doctor grabbed the phone out of Wade's hand, "Mr. Wachowski ." "Ah, Hello Robotnik." "I want you to know that the only other person to punched me in the face was the school yard bully, he hit me in the cafeteria causing a blunt force contusion to the soft tissue surrounding my orbital bone, humiliated me in front of the entire school and you know what I did in response?" "I assume that you went to the teacher and reported him?" "No, I examined the inefficiency in a world where brawn overtrumped brain and I used technology to resolve that inefficiency. The boy ate his meals through a straw for a year. You are about to become the bully with a straw. I am coming for you Mr. Wachowski and when I catch you- I'll." Tom hung up the phone abruptly, stopping Robotnik from finishing his sentence.

"Hello? Hello? Hello Hello Hello?" Wade interrupted Robotnik, "Um, I think he hung up actually, 'cause I noticed the light isn't on." "Thank you, Officer Brainfart." Wade pouted at the insult. "You know what, just sit there and be you - sless." He beckoned for you to come with him as he walked off from the room.

"Um, aren't any of you going to erase my memory or something?! I will tell people about this!" But nobody did anything.

You followed Robotnik and Stone where they stopped in front of the truck. "Now, adolescent, are there any questions for my superior intellect?" You fiddled with your fingers, "A-actually, yes there is, Why couldn't I stay with Wade?" He laughed a little, "You were in the home and care of a terrorist, why would we let you be alone with someone when we could watch you?" Stone entered the truck, and it was just you and Robotnik outside. 

"B-but I d-didn't do anything, Why are you watching me?" He put his hands to his temples and rubbed them in frustration, and screamed at you, "BECAUSE!"

You grabbed the tranquilizer in your pants, I am not going with someone with power in the government that high, he can do almost anything without consequences, he could do anything to me. You shot the man with the tranquilizer and ran, but you could hear him grab the dart out from his leg and drop it to the ground. The crunch of the ground beneath your feet was quickly doubled as the man ran behind you, quickly catching up as you didn't do much exercise.

All you saw in front of you was the bright vermillion eyes of a robot floating in front of you.