For No Apparent Reason

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For No Apparent Reason

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

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Harley: No, QJD, I was not abused as a child, and I think people who were might be insulted. Although I’m not. Secondly, you’re on AFF.net, so you’re obviously LOOKING for hardcore, so I give it to you. Moron.

Froggy: Thirdly, this chapter is a little bit different. It drags Knuckles into the mix. Good old thickheaded Knuckles. But there’s still rape, so if you don’t like men raping other men don’t read it.

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Chapter Two: Still Hurting

Sonic sat quietly on his couch, his head in his hands. It was two weeks since Shadow had... had raped him. He'd managed to put on a relatively normal facade in public, but Tails could tell something was wrong. But the kid was just 8 years old, and Sonic had no intention of telling him. He had no intention of telling anybody.

He'd seen Shadow a few times since that horrible afternoon, and it was awful, the way the dark hedgehog smirked at him, because he knew what was wrong. He hadn't let the dark hedgehog anywhere near him in private. He still felt so disgustingly filthy, and it wouldn't wash off; it was as if there was dirt embedded in his soul now. He kept having horrible nightmares about Shadow's promise to return, but he couldn't, he wouldn't tell anybody. Because then they'd know.

But he wasn't crying. He was pleased about that, at least. He still had a hold of himself on the outside, even if he was falling apart in private.

Just then, he heard a knocking at the door. It wasn't the sudden, single thud that happened when Shadow knocked, but the sound still caused his heart to leap into his throat. Someone was standing outside his home. Taking a look through the nearby window revealed a familiar red echidna on his doorstep. It was rare for Knuckles to leave his duties on Angel Island to visit anyone. In most cases, it meant that something had happened to the Master Emerald, although he had become more active in battle against Eggman. He had probably come to the conclusion that the crazed doctor merely being around made him a threat to his island.

Sonic sighed and stood up. He checked his expression in a mirror. He looked miserable. He forced a grin onto his face, and took a deep breath, then opened the door.

"Knuckles!" he grinned, "What're you doing down here? Aren't you supposed to be taking care of the Master Emerald? Protecting it from fat, moustachioed menaces?" At least it wasn't Tails. Tails would know instantly that Sonic was faking cheerfulness, but Knuckles wouldn't be able to tell. He seemed to peg all of Sonic's moods as 'being an asshole'.

Knuckles grunted, but he didn't look particularly annoyed with Sonic. If anything, the echidna looked to be in one of his better moods, "I doubt anyone is going to bother it while I'm away. Besides, I need to get out sometimes. Staying on that island all the time can really mess with your mind,” the guardian explained, "I figured I'd come and see what you are doing."

"Er, well, I'm not doing anything," Sonic said awkwardly. What he had been doing over the last two weeks was tidying up the house. He didn't know why. But he didn't want to live in the same house where... Anyway, he'd scrubbed all the stains off the carpet too, "It's good to see you getting a life though, Knuckles!" he managed to smile again, "What's next - you get a girlfriend?"

Knuckles smirked at that comment, finding it amusing. He knew that he wasn't the most normal guy around, "Probably not. Mind if I come in?" the echidna asked Sonic.

"Sure, okay," Sonic stood aside, still grinning. Smiling never used to hurt. Maybe it was because he didn't used to have to force it.

Knuckles strode past the blue hedgehog into his home, his violet eyes scanning the area carefully. The echidna looked somewhat surprised by the state everything was in. "You never struck me as the neat type,” Knuckles commented. He had been expected to see socks thrown in the floor, cabinets left open, and for the toilet seat to be up.

"Well, I've been tidying up more, lately," Sonic admitted, "People have been complaining a lot about the mess, so I figured maybe they were right. It's not as if it takes me long, anyway," he smirked.

"Heh,” Knuckles uttered, seeing the hedgehog's point. Sonic was so fast that scrubbing or putting away anything would be a brief chore. Of course, that was the good thing about living on an island; Knuckles didn't have to worry about things like that at all. The echidna continued to stand, looking unable to relax. He also didn't have much to say, but that was normal of him. Social graces were not well imparted to him in his childhood, and he had hadn't had much practice since.

"So, what did you come down here for?" Sonic prompted him. Knuckles was a nightmare to have a decent conversation with, even worse than Shadow. At least Shadow had vague ideas about how conversation went; Knuckles just stood there waiting for all the cues. Sonic supposed it wasn't really his fault, but it did get annoying. Besides, usually about five minutes into a conversation Knuckles would take something perfectly innocent as a deadly insult and start a fight.

"Just to have some fun,” the red echidna answered, looking over into Sonic's eyes, his own seeming to pierce Sonic's with his gaze, "I heard you're into that sort of thing." It was a vague statement that could be interpreted in many ways. Considering recent events, not all of those ways were pleasant to Sonic.

"Uh... sure," Sonic said, looking uncomfortable, "I've got some video games, movies, or if you prefer we could just find out how many times I have to hit you over the head with a crowbar before you pass out," he grinned again.

Knuckles smirked slightly. Blunt or physical humour seemed to be the kind that he understood, "You'd have to actually hit me first,” he replied, walking closer to Sonic, his look remaining unchanged, "I meant a different kind of fun, though."

Sonic remembered that he'd once - quite recently - thought Knuckles was gay. He'd changed his mind though, when it had been Shadow who had turned out to be the fag. He was starting to wonder though, if he'd been wrong? If so, how wrong? Was he wrong? "What kind of fun?" he asked, trying to keep his face open and friendly while at the same time lying about the cold feeling working its way into his gut.

"I think you know exactly what kind of fun,” Knuckles spoke in an even voice. The echidna reached up with his gloved, oversized hand and rested it on Sonic's cheek. The guardian gave him a rare smile, "Yeah, I know we get on each other's nerves sometimes, but we are friends,” he spoke.

No. No. There was no way Knuckles could know about what Shadow had done, he'd not told ANYBODY, nobody knew. Except Shadow, perhaps. But why would Shadow tell Knuckles? They were friends, Sonic and Knuckles, and Knuckles would beat Shadow to a fucking bloody pulp for it, even if they didn't always get on. Unless... unless there was something else going on, something that nobody but Shadow and Knuckles knew about...

The sudden fear in Sonic's eyes was easy to read.

Knuckles pulled his hand away, frowning at Sonic's reaction. It genuinely disturbed the echidna to see fear in the hedgehog's eyes. It was the last thing he had expected to see from Sonic; he was always so cocky and fearless, "What's the matter?" he asked.

"We're friends," Sonic managed to agree with him, "And nothing more. I'd appreciate it if the strong and tough Knuckles didn't touch me like that again."

"What?" Knuckles looked confused. He was flattered by the description of him, and he felt better knowing that Sonic agreed about their friendship, but the final part didn't sound right to him, "What do you mean?"

That was when another, sickeningly familiar voice came from the doorway and the red and black hedgehog standing in it, "Sonic had a rather unpleasant first time,” Shadow said with a little grin, arms crossed over his chest, "He's still a bit shaken up by it."

"Shadow!" Sonic whipped around, facing the dark hedgehog, his face pale. He hadn't meant to sound so suddenly angry, but it looked like Knuckles already knew. There wasn't that much point in being polite, "Get out!" he snapped, trying to sound angry rather than afraid, "Knuckles, if you're with him, I think you should leave too," he added shortly to the echidna.

"What?" Knuckles snapped back, looking highly irritated by that, "I come all the way here away from my island and you're telling me to leave? Forget it!"

Shadow shook his head and stepped inside, "Calm down, Knuckles,” the dark hedgehog rumbled, "Sonic's just not comfortable yet. He didn't enjoy last time. That partly had to do with a lack of lubricant."

Now it was Shadow's turn to receive an angry look from Knuckles, "No lube? Are you totally stupid, Shadow? Of course he wouldn't enjoy it! That hurts like hell."

"You bastard, Shadow, I told you to stop!" Sonic snarled at him, "I don't want anything to do with you, not sexually, not in any way!" he turned to Knuckles, uncertain of what to say. It suddenly seemed so surreal, Shadow and Knuckles standing there, arguing about how he should have enjoyed getting fucked up the ass, "I am not gay, Knuckles," he told the echidna, hoping he'd get it, and help him, "I'm not! I wasn't before, and getting fucked by Shadow didn't change my mind! It was rape!" he almost screamed. It was the first time he'd said the word out loud.

"What? You're not gay? You?" Knuckles said, obviously surprised by that. The echidna almost laughed, "Hey, just because Shadow was a jerk doesn't mean you can't like it. Let me try. I'll even let you take me..."

Shadow snickered, "Yeah, you would like that, wouldn't you Chuckles?"

The guardian whirled on Shadow and glared at him, replying angrily, "Sonic isn't like me; he wouldn’t like it rough, you son of a..."

Shadow reached out and grabbed Knuckles' dreadlocks, dragging his face towards him. "Oh, but I know you do,” he replied before kissing Knuckles. A moment later, the echidna returned it, wrapping his arms around Shadow's shoulders.

Sonic watched, and his jaw dropped. A thought registered in the trap-like mind of the Fastest Thing Alive, I have got to get out of here! He dashed for the door, trying to escape his own house.

But Shadow was known for being equally fast, and he put his speed on display by reaching out and snatching Sonic's arm before the blue hedgehog could get away. Shadow broke the kiss to glare at Sonic and say, "Where do you think you're going?" Then he pulled, dragging Sonic towards the center of the room while Knuckles reluctantly left Shadow's side to close and lock the door.

Sonic twisted and lashed out at Shadow, much harder than last time, "I won't let you do that to me again!" he shouted at the smirking hedgehog.

The wind was nearly knocked out of Shadow, but he still managed to maintain his grip, "I'm not giving you a choice!" the black hedgehog snarled.

Knuckles was walking towards them both, "Hey, calm down, Sonic!" It was a first for all of them, "You have to give this a chance. You have to. I promise I won't let this jerk ruin it for you,” he added, slapping Shadow upside his head, much to the hedgehog's annoyance.

"I don't want to give it a chance!" Sonic growled, still struggling against Shadow, "That's the point! How about you give girls a chance! How about you give Eggman a chance! Knuckles, help me!" he shouted at the red echidna.

Knuckles looked uncertain, but Shadow's mind was made up, his grip tightening on Sonic's arm, his own arm wrapping around the hedgehog's waist, "What are you waiting for, Knux? Let's give Blue a helluva time." That seemed to settle things for the guardian, who stepped forward and took Sonic's face in his hands.

"Knuckles!" Sonic almost screamed, the terror almost strangling him. Shadow was behind him, holding his arms to his waist, and now Knuckles was in front. He had hoped that the red guy was smart enough to get the idea, but even that was looking like a slim hope now.

Knuckles glanced into Sonic's frightened eyes, steeled himself for this, and stepped forward, kissing the blue hedgehog. Shadow chuckled softly behind them, watching the events he had put in motion, reaching down to fondle Sonic.

Sonic's eyes were still wide with horror, and it got worse as he felt Shadow starting to mess around with his crotch. Knuckles pressing up against him in front, Shadow behind, he jammed his elbow backwards at Sonic Speed, aiming for the dark hedgehog's gut.

Shadow grunted, shoved backwards with the wind knocked out of him. Angrily sucking in a breath, Shadow stood up again and roughly yanked at Sonic's quills, breaking the kiss between the hedgehog and the echidna, "Don't play games with me, Faker! You won't win,” he growled.

"I don't want you guys fucking me!" Sonic snarled back at him, "You think I'm playing games?" He tried to punch Shadow in the balls.

"You're being stupid,” Shadow retorted, catching and twisting Sonic's hand, "And you're not being very appreciative. We're doing you a favour," Locking Sonic's arm behind his back, Shadow leaned in and kissed the back of the blue hedgehog's neck. Meanwhile, Knuckles was slipping off his oversized gloves and wrapping his fingers around Sonic's growing cock, kissing his blue friend's chest.

Sonic groaned softly, partly in pleasure, partly because it was impossible, these were two of the only people alive who could come close to matching him in a fight. Scratch that - they were winning. Pulling away from one meant getting closer to the other. And Shadow was twisting his arm in a way that suggested much more struggling would rapidly be impeded by a broken arm.

Shadow's free hand slithered down to the blue hedgehog's rear, squeezing it as he kissed and suckled Sonic's neck, humming happily. Knuckles continued stroking him, more experienced at this than a lonely island dweller should be; he and Shadow must have been doing this for a while. The echidna paused and kissed the tip of his cock.

Sonic gritted his teeth. It was sick, all of it. He wanted to BE sick. He didn't want this to continue, but while he no longer gave a flying fuck about Shadow, actually getting out of the situation would involve seriously hurting Knuckles too. One he could take - or he had used to think he could take them. But all of this was proving him wrong.

Shadow began pulling him backwards towards the couch this had all happened on last time, and the dark hedgehog whispered in his ear, "Stop being such a baby. Relax, let us do our work, and you will have a great time. Trust me," Shadow kissed him on the ear before pushing him onto his chest, pressing down hard on his back. Shadow laid on top of him, lightly kissing his face and rubbing his hands down Sonic's sides as Knuckles went to retrieve something he left by the door, "Shhh..." Shadow whispered soothingly.

"You just don't get it, do you, Shadow!" Sonic replied, struggling, "I don't want to enjoy this! You're sick, and you've dragged Knuckles into thinking the way you do! I'm not gonna start enjoying this because you rub me enough!"

"Watch me,” Shadow said in that voice he had when he was competing against Sonic. He took it as a challenge... not at all what the blue hedgehog had intended. Shadow wrapped his hand around Sonic's waist and wrapped his hand tightly around his cock, stroking up and down like he had before. Knuckles returned, kneeling next to the couch, and Sonic felt the echidna's probing finger pressing against his tailhole, smearing something cool and wet over it.

"Uh... ah!" Sonic gasped and moaned, frightened and angry and physcially aroused at the intrusions. He could feel Shadow's hot breath on the back of his neck, and what was Knuckles doing? He struggled to see, but with Shadow kneeling on his back it wasn't possible, "Stop!" he insisted.

Shadow silenced Sonic's cries by placing his lips over the blue hedgehog's, kissing him with a passion and tenderness that clashed harshly against the truth of the situation. His tongue probing around inside Sonic's mouth, sliding along his own tongue, and then the hedgehog felt something unexpected and strange: Knuckles' finger slipping inside his ass, smearing the unknown substance within there, too.

Sonic gave more cries, but they were heavily muffled. He was sweating. He didn't want this, even with lube. He didn't want two guys screwing him, no matter how they planned to do it. No, no, it couldn't be like this... it was enough to make him scream, if only he could.

Shadow and Knuckles carefully switched places, the red guardian pressing on top of Sonic's back while the black hedgehog stood on his knees next to the bed, fondling his cock. Knuckles lightly kissed the back of Sonic's neck as he whispered, "Please, Sonic... give this a try," He could feel the echidna's own erect cock pressing against his entrance and then, with a jerk of the guardian's hips, slipping inside. It was big and stretched Sonic painfully, but it wasn't the grinding agony that it was before; the lube allowed it to slide in much easier, and Knuckles was taking his time, "Oh gods, Sonic..." the echidna rasped and moaned in his ear.

It was smoother and less painful, but Sonic was shaking, and not with pleasure either. How could they believe he wanted this? And he didn't care so much for Knuckles' feelings that he planned to let him treat him this way either, or pretend anything. Sonic twisted beneath them, but that made it hurt worse. Too late, too late, his mind screamed. He was being violated, humiliated, abused... Tears started to trickle down his cheeks.

Knuckles kissed away a tear, breathing heavily above him, resting inside him for the moment, basking in the feeling of Sonic's insides clinging around him. He held the hedgehog slightly to the side so that blue hedgehog's cock stood freely, allowing Shadow to do what he wanted. Like last time, Shadow grinned up at Sonic before wrapping his lips around his cock, drawing it into his warm, moist mouth, sucking on it and swirling his tongue around the shaft. Knuckles began moving inside of him, thrusting back and forth, grunting in his ears. The two males were hard at work on the unwilling blue hedgehog, filling and surrounding him at the same time.

Sonic hated the feelings of pleasure that were being dragged from his body. He felt so ashamed. And so angry. And so scared. Between them, Knuckles and Shadow were managing to get several groans of pleasure from him, and he had no doubt that they were encouraged by them.

Knuckles groaned louder, apparently turned on by them, and Shadow doubled his own efforts, sucking and licking and stroking. Knuckles arms were wrapped tightly around Sonic's torso, and the echidna whispered in a shaky voice, "Oh yeah, Sonic..."

"Oh... no..." Sonic groaned, trying to pull away, "Please... stop..." he gasped, both to Knuckles and Shadow.

Neither male stopped. The guardian moaned in pleasure into Sonic's drooping ears, his hot breath against the back of the hedgehog's neck, his cock stretching and plunging inside him. The echidna was beyond articulate sentences, murmuring exclamations and promises of greater pleasure.

Sonic desperately freed one hand and pushed Shadows face away. Groaning, he aimed his elbow back at Knuckles' gut. He didn't want this. He didn't like it. There was no way he wanted to give it any sort of chance.

Shadow sputtered and pulled away, but Knuckles just grunted and kept going, barely feeling the blow at all, so caught up in the act of fucking the blue hedgehog. If anything, Knuckles' sounds and movements became more desperate, reaching towards his climax. Shadow rubbed his bruised face, annoyed at Sonic, and then he reached up to fondle the blue hedgehog's shaft again, "You may this uncomfortable, Blue, but I promise the next thing we have planned..." The black hedgehog smirked.

"Oh, gods, what next?" Sonic panted, gasping as he was stretched and groped, "And for fuck's sake, stop touching me!"

Strangely enough, Shadow obeyed, pulling his hands back and watching, sitting up on his knees. Knuckles' thrusts reached a feverish pace, and the echidna moaned louder and louder until letting loose an ear-ringing cry. The red guardian's body clinched, and he clung to Sonic tightly, breaths coming in gasps as he emptied his load into the blue hedgehog. Shadow, meanwhile, stood up and walked around behind the couch, looking down at them both.

Sonic groaned softly in pain. He was pretty sure by now that he was bleeding again, if not as bad as last time. Stretching his ass open really hurt. He wondered if, no, he prayed that they were going to stop, that they had had their fun, that they would realise this was about as erotic as being booted in the crotch.

It seemed that Sonic wasn't so lucky. Knuckles was laying on top of Sonic, panting hard, and Shadow was rubbing and caressing the echidna affectionately, "Ready, Knuckles?" Shadow asked the echidna.

"G-Gimmie a second..." was the stammered reply. After a long moment, he nodded his head, beginning to slip out of Sonic's abused tailhole. Shadow immediately grabbed Sonic's arms and drew them back while Knuckles snatched up the hedgehog's legs, both pulling him up into a sitting position on the couch.

"What... what are you doing?" Sonic growled at them as he was pulled into this new position. He started to kick at Knuckles. Shadow was behind him and he couldn't see what the dark hedgehog was doing. That was really scary.

Shadow's grip was like a vice, pinning Sonic against the back of the couch. Knuckles, meanwhile, was looking up apologetically with his purple eyes into Sonic's opposing green, "We're not trying to hurt you,” he explained in an even voice, but that didn't seem to be terribly convincing. Knuckles decided instead to just show his intent through action... it was what he was best at, after all. Shoving Sonic's legs down, the echidna climbed onto Sonic's lap, keeping his eyes locked. One hand caressed the blue hedgehog's cheek while the other reached down to hold up Sonic's shaft, smearing it with the same lubricant he had used before. The echidna moved in and kissed his former rival, and while doing that, lowered his hips down, pushing the head of Sonic's cock into his ass. Then he sat, letting gravity do the rest.

"Uh... uh... AH!" Sonic screamed as Knuckles' weight pressed around him. It wasn't painful, but it was terrifying, so much so that pain was almost a preferable option, "Get off! GET OFF! I can't do this! I can't!"

Knuckles' lips opened with a pop as Sonic's head twisted away to protest, so instead he rested his face on the hedgehog's shoulder. Knuckles pulled up slightly, but only to drop his hips again, pulling Sonic's shaft into his warm, moist tightness. Shadow chuckled and then whispered in Sonic's ear before kissing it's edge, "Yes you can, Blue. It's very easy. Just... sit there and enjoy the ride."

"Get OFF me, you sick FREAK!" Sonic screamed at Shadow as Knuckles began to sit up and down on his cock, "I am not GAY! I am not ENJOYING this!" Sweat poured down his face as he twisted in the two grips. The fear was actually drowning out all sensation of pleasure.

"What do I have to do to you? I'm tempted to check if you've even got a pulse,” Shadow sighed sarcastically, "If it helps, think of Knuckles as a woman. Those long dreads, those pretty violet eyes, that lithe body..."

Knuckles glanced away from Sonic just long enough to growl at Shadow, "You're... really pushing it, jerk... uh..." The guardian moaned again, his flaccid cock coming back to life as Sonic's hard shaft moved inside him, stimulating him.

"The HELL?!" Sonic managed. The point of being gay was that you shouldn't need to think of Knuckles as a woman, amusing as it might be. He was physically exhausted, and still hard too. He looked down at Knuckles’ cock. Any moment now he was going to be sick, he knew it.

Shadow got a good laugh out of Sonic's reaction... and Knuckles' too, for that matter. The guardian, on the other hand, wasn't finding this so funny. He may have been slow reaching the right conclusion, but he wasn't stupid, either. "You... r-really don't like this?" he breathed in Sonic's ear, coming down on him again.

"Stop..." Sonic gasped, feeling his gut give another nasty twist, "Please st-stop..." He couldn't shout, he felt dirty and foul and angry and afraid and... "I'm going to be sick," he managed. He'd previously thought that the words 'sick with fear' were just words, "I don't... I'm not..." He gave another groan, because they were both still moving and he was by now almost wishing that he could enjoy it, except he wasn’t.

Something like a whimper emerged from Knuckles' throat, and his hips stopped moving, just sitting on Sonic's lap with his length still inside. The guardian gave the ultimate lifeform a venomous glare before reaching up to snatch Sonic's arms away from the black hedgehog's grasp, holding them instead between him and Sonic. Knuckles wrapped his legs around Sonic's waist and pulled him with him. He lay down on his back with Sonic on top of him.

"...What the hell are you doing?" Shadow asked, puzzled.

"Giving him a choice,” Knuckles snapped back. He lay panting on his back, his face framed by his messed dreadlocks and the sweat clinging to his fur. His violet eyes shone up at Sonic pleadingly, but also with... disappointment? Fear? Resignation? Then he let go of Sonic's arms and untangled his legs, laying back.

Panting, Sonic rolled off Knuckles and landed on the carpet, a mess of semen and sweat and some blood. He gasped a few times, his face much paler than usual. He managed to roll onto his chest. Then he was sick on the carpet, sick with disgust and fear and shock. It had happened again. It had happened twice now, and he couldn't stop it either time. When he finally stopped throwing up, he started to cry again.

Shadow shook his head in disbelief and marched towards Sonic to finish what they started. That was when Knuckles' hand clamped around his arm, stopping him in his tracks. When he turned his head towards his partner in this plan, he got a face full of knuckles. Blood spurted from split lips, and Shadow found himself on his back.

"You lied to me!" Knuckles roared, reaching down to pick the hedgehog up by his chest fur, hurling him against the far wall. Shadow staggered on his feet and tried to defend himself, but then the fist slammed hard into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Horrified at the sudden attack, he tried to get away, but Knuckles stopped him again, painfully locking his arms behind his back. "Oh, you're going to pay for this,” the guardian hissed in his ear.

Sonic wasn't looking at either of them. He was wiping his face clean, or at least, trying to smear the mess more evenly. Finally, he looked up at Knuckles, all riled up and ready to kill, "You stopped," he said softly. The word 'eventually' went unspoken.

"You bet I stopped! You're my friend, Sonic, and I'm not letting this jerk hurt you anymore!" Knuckles shouted, venting his anger.

Shadow squirmed in his grip, calling out defensively, "Knuckles?! He'll enjoy it! We just have to give him more time!"

The guardian silenced him by jerking his arm up further, causing the dark hedgehog considerable pain, "You pulled an Eggman on me,” the echidna growled, "I hate it when people pull an Eggman to me."

Sonic managed to stand. His knees were shaking. A part of him wanted to tell Knuckles that Shadow wasn't worth it, to tell him not to make a mistake. He wasn't quite sure, however, that he cared that much about either of them now. On the other hand, he'd never killed anybody in his life. Eventually his conscience reached a compromise - wait until Knuckles decided if he was going to kill Shadow or not. He couldn't bring himself to step forward though. He couldn't touch either of them, not with the memories so fresh in his mind.

Knuckles glanced over at Sonic, and he saw the way his blue friend looked up at him. Disgustedly. Fearfully. It caused the echidna's body to quake in rage. Crying out, Knuckles forced Shadow's arm higher, past the point that it could stand, popping it out of its socket. Shadow screamed in agony. But Knuckles wasn't done. He slipped his legs in front and behind one of Shadow's and forced the hedgehog forward until his knee moved in a direction it was never meant to go, a sickening cracking sound following it. Shadow screamed again and nearly passed out, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Knuckles dropped him to the floor and viciously kicked him in the face, "You can limp back to whatever hellhole you came from. You come near Sonic or my island again, and I'll kill you!" Picking the dark hedgehog up, the guardian hurled him out of the house through the nearest window, the breaking shards of glass tearing and cutting Shadow's flesh.

Sonic grimaced slightly, "I was planning on keeping you from killing him," he commented as casually as possible. Shadow probably wasn't dead - the guy was incredibly good at surviving - and he didn't feel like stepping outside looking like this, "Or at least keeping you from breaking my windows," he added, his voice shaking with the effort of not going into hysterics right now, of putting on this facade of being okay.

Knuckles blinked in surprise, realising that he had damaged Sonic's property, "Er... uh... whoops,” he uttered, scratching his head. He saw Shadow crawling away from the house. No, the hedgehog wasn't going to die, but he wouldn’t walk right for a little while. The satisfaction of his job turned quickly to shame as he faced Sonic again, his shoulders drooping, "I... oh gods, I'm so sorry, Sonic..." he said quietly.

Sonic swallowed. He still hurt, "What... what in the name of any version of hell you care to mention, made you think that I would enjoy being raped?!" he asked Knuckles. He wasn't screaming yet, but there was a slight hysteria to his voice.

"Er... uh... tough love?" Knuckles answered uncomfortably before swallowing and adding, "I'm an idiot. I shouldn't have ever listened to Shadow!" The echidna put his head in his hands and groaned, embarrassed and ashamed at the same time.

"What did Shadow tell you?" Sonic asked, "I need to know! What did he tell you?" The blue hedgehog's fists were clenched tightly with the effort of not lashing out at Knuckles. He needed answers. Most of all he needed to know why him, but it wasn't the sort of question that got answered.

Knuckles shook his head sadly. "Shadow came to me one day, and he... he forced me. I... I didn't enjoy it at first. I didn't even know what he was doing, but once we got going, I... I really liked it. I did it with Shadow constantly. Then he... he said we were going to do the same to you." Knuckles looked into Sonic's eyes sadly. "I always liked you like that, Sonic, and I trusted Shadow to know what he was doing. I screwed up."

"You enjoyed being raped?" Sonic managed finally, his voice thick with rage, "Didn't it occur to you, for one moment, that your dignity was being ripped away and you were being forced to perform sexual acts on somebody you usually only talk to when the world's doomed?" This was, of course, how Sonic had felt, "Didn't you realise that you were supposed to be the hero of Earth and now you're being used like some kind of sex toy?! Weren't you terrified at how easy it was for him to overwhelm you, for you to misjudge your friends, for how little control you had over your own body, for your fucking life?!"

"That's right! I liked it!" Knuckles snapped back, for some reason he couldn't define feeling angry for the way Sonic said that, "And there you go, thinking the world turns around you! That everyone thinks like you!" Knuckles forced his hands to unclench. "I don't know what you people think is normal or right! I grew up on a damn island!"

"Yeah, and Shadow grew up on a space colony!" Sonic replied, "And I grew up in a series of foster homes! And Silver grew up in a future that was perpetually on fire and Tails is still growing up with us as his friends! Do you think ANY of us have what even remotely qualifies as a normal upbringing? Don't even start to think that your past excuses ANYTHING you've done!" he added, "Because then you WILL end up like Shadow."

"I don't need excuses!" Knuckles snarled suddenly and viscously, "I screwed up! I said I'm sorry and I stopped this mess! Now get over yourself!" Knuckles shook his head, growled, and punched the wall, leaving a good sized crater in it, "I'm going home,” he said, turning around and throwing the door open, "I can't believe I touched you."

Sonic was silent for a moment. Then, his voice shaking he spoke, "You do, don't you? You really still think that if you apologise enough, I'll suddenly change my mind and start begging for you to start on me! Well, I'm still not gay!"

"I'd rather pop your shoulder like I did Shadow!" Knuckles snapped back, glaring at the raped, abused hedgehog, "You might not be gay, but you are an asshole!" Knuckles slammed the door so hard behind him that he knocked a picture off the wall.

Sonic watched him leave. Several seconds passed. He was alone now. He slumped to his knees, tears of rage, shame, fear, disgust, trickling down his cheeks. Twice. It had happened twice, and now... now he was afraid.

To calm himself down, he went to take a shower.

~~~

Harley: If you want this fic to continue in a distinctly less sexual way, on how Sonic DEALS with being raped, say so and I’ll do it. If not, don’t bother. Oh, and there’s no cutting in the way he deals with it. Cutting is so cliché.