Sonadow and Vecpio: Opposites Attract

All In The Past

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

"Who could that be?" Charmy asked. "It's so early!"

"I'll get it!" Vector stood up and headed to the door.

He turned the doorknob and opened the door. He smiled at the familiar face.

"Hey, Knux!" he greeted, sliding to let the guests in. "Great ta see ya again! Who's your friend?"

Knuckles's face turned into a deeper shade of red as he and the other entered, shutting the door behind them. "Well, um, Vector, this is..."

"Manic!"

"Espio!" The lime hedgehog ran to the couch and pulled his best friend into a hug. "You're okay!"

The chameleon smiled and hugged him back. "Yes, I'm alright. Thank you for bringing me back to the house with Knuckles, by the way,"

"Well, I had to," Manic pulled away and sat down on the couch next to the other mobian. "You were drunk as fuck! Either we bring you back or we'd let some stranger take advantage of you in the club,"

Vector couldn't help but feel a little jealous as the hedgehog sat next to his reptilian friend. He sat on the other side of the couch, a dirty look being sent to the lime hedgie.

"Yo, Esp, who's this?" he asked.

"Oh, this is Manic," the chameleon answered as Knuckles sat next to the said hedgehog. "Manic the Hedgehog. He's the thief I told you about that became my brotherly best friend,"

'That's why I don't seem to like him...' the croc growled. "Ya mean the one who kicked ya out of the pack of thieves?"

Manic's ears lowered as he looked down, guilty. Knuckles glared at the large green reptile and Espio felt his face burn in embarrassment.

"Yes, but things are different now, Vector! I assure you. Manic has changed his attitude..."

The lime hedgehog sighed and slumped back at the couch with a frown. The chameleon went into panic while the crocodile received a painful smack from the echidna.

"Hey!" Vector yelped.

"Shut up." Knuckles snarled.

"Manic," Espio tried to explain to his best friend. "I-I apologize for Vector's, uh, accusation. You see, I, um, just told him my past and, well, uh..."

"It's okay, Espy," Manic turned his head and smiled. "I know I made the mistake, not you,"

"No, you didn't," the purple reptile shook his head. "I made the mistake of leaving our pack's den when there was danger..."

"But...I wasn't there either,"

Espio blinked at him in horror and shock. "Pardon? You weren't there EITHER?"

"Yeah, I wasn't," Manic shrugged and folded his arms. "I went off on my own after helping Ferrell scavenge some stuff at the dump,"

"Oh, I-I see..." the chameleon slowly nodded. "But it's not all your fault. I wasn't able to get any money and/or food with my invisibility nor my wits so I tried begging for food outside on the streets. Since the other thieves don't share, I stayed on the streets for hours and got beaten up pretty badly,"

"What?!" The lime hedgehog was taken back. "Beaten up?! By who?!"

"Some aristocrats. Mainly a snobby one called Bartleby..."

"Bartleby?!" Manic growled, gritting his teeth. "Oh, I know that damn guy. He's a fucking bastard!"

"You know him?" Espio raised an eyebrow. "How?"