#ze bits!

Gold however, was a different story. While she did receive training for her own psychokinesis, her environment was hostile, and its effected her growth in powers. She wasn't very trusting or as relaxed as Silver was and was always getting nervous when it came time to use her powers.

Professor Von Schlemmer decided to have the kids train together to see how their powers work at the same time. With both of them being complete opposites in nearly every way, he needed more data on how their powers could possibly work in unison.

After he took them into the training room, he had Silver display his powers first. "All right, Silver. Let's see how much you can lift today." he said as he pulled up a screen and took a look at his past entries. "Your last record vas fife boxes, let's see you beat zat, score!"

Silver nodded and went over to the large stack of boxes. With enough concentration, he lifted seven boxes over their heads, floating as light as feathers. "How's this, professor?" He asked.

"Excellent! You've already improved since last month!" He then turned to the tenrec, who was near the corner with the bits checking her vitals to make sure she was healthy. "Gold, now its your turn. Try using your telepathy on both of us. Tell us anything you vant before you make a command."

Gold nodded and slowly walked to the center of the room. She put her hands on either side of her head. "DOES IT WORK?" she said quietly in her head, but to the others, it sounded like someone was yelling through a megaphone as the waves of noise washed over them. Both Von Schlemmer and Silver covered their ears in reaction, and the latter's psychokinesis ceased, causing the creates to fall down. The bits, Gold and Schlemmer moved out of the way in time, but Silver unfortunately was not as lucky. He dodged a few of the boxes, but one of the small ones landed on his head, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Hey! Watch it, Gold. You almost killed us!" Silver snapped as he rubbed the new sore spot on his head.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Gold panicked and shut off her powers. The symbol on her head stop glowing and she shrank back.

Uh oh. It was time to step in before it escalated. They couldn't afford to have a psychokinetic fight here when they were hiding themselves from the Council. "Okay, okay. Zat's enough, nein need to fight each ozzer, it vas a simple accident, ja?" Schlemmer calmly said he put some distance between the two.

"Yes, I-I-I'm sorry, Silver. This is all I was ever really taught to do. They never showed me how to control it." Gold nervously stated. She kept her distance as if she was expecting a more severe reaction.

Silver looked like he wanted to say more, but a quick look from the professor told him not too. The boy didn't hate Gold, but he wished that she wouldn't keep messing him up when she used her own powers. It almost felt like she was doing it purpose to get Schlemmer's attention, which was happening a lot these past few weeks.

"Bits, continue Silver's tests vhile I'm gone. I zink Gold undt I need some solo training right now." He carefully took the girl by the hand and left the training room. The bits took leadership immediately and prepared the next test for him, though they seemed a bit miffed to be left with so much work to give.

Silver shook his head and frowned. Why did the professor start paying so much attention to Gold recently? Sure, she more difficulty with her powers, but did she need so much one on one time with him? He couldn't help but be jealous, even though he was told it wasn't nice.

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Inside, Gold felt a bit nervous. Usually when a test didn't go well, she was either sent back to her room without a meal, or given something to make her work harder on getting her powers right, and it wasn't something easy as a pill or serum.

"I'm sorry, I messed up. I-I promise I'll do better next time. I-I just n-need to-" she stammered and looked around the lab frantically, perhaps for an easy way out.

The professor didn't seem to notice Gold's nervous state as he placed her in a solid blue chair. "No need to vorry, I have another vay to help get your powers working. It'll just rquire a more....unusual method for you." He pointed out as he dug through his tool bag for an item. His voice sounded exasperated.

As the light above her was flickering, Gold was getting flashbacks to her training. Hours of intense concentration, almost unleashing monsters and other horrors from alternate worlds, punishment if near impossible demands weren't met.

A hundred thoughts racer through her head as her small hands shook. Had she trusted the professor too soon because he had Silver with him? Were they both lying to let her guard down? Where they planning to turn her over after all? Was it all an act?

The man pulled out a small device with two pointed ends, a small electric wave emitting from it. Her heart started to best rapidly at the sight of it. "Now please hold still for juuuuust a moment." Schlemmmer told her. As he walked towards her.

The tenrec flinched, shielding her head, waiting for something to make contact. She heard a small zap, moments passed, but she didn't feel anything.

"Vat is wrong?" Professor asked, confused.

Gold opened her eyes and realized where she was. The light above her stopped flickering, thanks to the zapper in the man's hand. He must've used it to quickly stabilize the lights. Once she saw the professor's face, she lowered her hands. "I'm sorry, professor. I thought you were going to punish me with that."

Von Schlemmer looked at the zapper in his hand then tossed it over his shoulder. There was a small explosion, but the bits barged in and went straight to work putting out the fire, then left again to return to Silver's training. He then placed a hand on Gold's shoulder.

"Nien. I promised I vouldn't hurt you, and I meant it. I'm not ze Council and you're not a test subject. You're....mein friend." He told her sincerely.

The tenrec could feel herself ease up upon hearing this. The professor could feel that she wasn't shaking anymore either.

"I may not understand your powers fully, but I vant to help you. Just like Silver, you have so much potential vizzin you. Vhen we stop the Council, zey're going to be in for a surprise when you show your full strength. Zey'll be nein match for you!"

Gold wiped the small tears from her eyes and nodded. "Okay, professor. I'll try my best." She whispered.

Von Schelmmer chuckled and patted the young one on the head. "Zat's my girl." He placed her back in the chair and sat across from her. "All right, let's try again."

Gold nodded and raised her hand towards Von Schelmmer and concentrated. A "dinggg" sound echoed through the lab, and her eyes glowed yellow when she opened them. Suddenly it was like the professor was in a trance as images were whizzing by.

"Fascinating! You have ze power to go through a person's memories! Mien life is flashing before mein eyes!" The professor pointed out mentally communicating with Gold.

"Is that a good thing?" Gold asked as she looked at most of the images that involved Von Schelmmer blowing up.

"Normally, nien. It usually means someone is about to die."

"DIE?! I'M SO SORRY!!" She exclaimed with worry.

"Nien! I'm perfectly fine! In zis instance it feels like a movie is being played in mien head. And given mein part mechanical brain, I can be fully aware of it. However, someone not as lucky as me would probably loose zeir noodle if zey're not careful." Von Schlemmer acted like someone replaying memories in his own head was perfectly normal.

Gold would forever question if Professor Von Schelmmer would ever be considered normal, but perhaps it was that quirkiness of his that made him more trustworthy than the Council ever was.

Soon the memories showed when the professor found Silver and showed him to the Council. Gold saw for herself that even the professor was treated terribly and wanted him to get rid of Silver. Then came a point when the formally little hedgehog was hearing a noise from one of the rooms. The two tried to investigate but were immediately caught.

"You did hear me! I couldn't control my powers that well when I was found. I just was so scared..." Gold muttered as her voice cracked. The memories being displayed were beginning to fade in and out.

Schlemmer tried to warn her, "Gold, wait-" but soon the memory lane show ended and the tenrec relinquished control. Her eyes returned to normal and the professor was no longer in his trance like state. He shook his head to clear the rest of his mind, then laughed.

"Oh boy! Zat vas better zan I could've anticipated! Now I see how zis power vorks." Schlemmer shot up, ran towards his tablet and started writing down notes as quickly as possible.

Gold looked at the man, confused. He was the only person to actually be excited with her results. She usually was told to repeat the same actions until she had no energy left. While she normally didn't care about results, she was curious enough to find out what he discovered. "So...did I do good, profressor?"

The professor laughed once again. "You did vonderfully! Undt now I've compiled enough data to know how zis particular power of yours works!" He kneeled down, picked up the young tenrec and placed her on the table as he showed her his discovery.

"See, vile your psychokinesis is similar to Silver's, your greatest strength resides in your mind. You may not be able to lift heavy objects undt use zem for combat, but your telepathy seems to be multifaceted." He explained as she showed her the various data files he created for her it tracked all her progress from each test and she's improved and where she was weakened in.

"You have telepathy, which means you can read a person's mind undt communicate with zem entirely by thought. Zat little symbol on your head seems to be ze source of it. If you can do that, just zink of all ze possibilities you can unlock vizzin yourself!" Von Schlemmer could barely contain his excitement. He already had fun watching and testing Silver's powers, he was over the moon to discover what Gold could do with her own set of powers!

His enthusiasm was a bit comforting for Gold to see. No one had taken a good interest in her powers to help her. Now that someone was helping her not to be afraid of her own abilities, she looked forward to the tests. "Maybe I can free my people someday." She whispered as she looked at her own hands. "Maybe I can go home..."

Schlemmer didn't hear her over his own excitement, but he stopped once a thought came into his head. "Oh ja, I forgot! I do have one more surprise for you." He said as he went over to a stack of open boxes he had laying around the lab. He went through several of them before exclaiming "Ah-ha! Here it is!!"

He pulled out a small brown sari with light blue and golden trims, along with white gloves and brown open-toed sandals

Gold's eyes widened as she looked at the outfit. "Is that...for me?" She asked.

Von Schlemmer nodded. "I am a scientist, not a fashion designer, but I knew you'd vant to be out of zat old lab gown undt ze memories it holds. So I found zese clothes so you could haf a real new start."

After a few minutes, Gold had hurriedly put on the outfit. When she looked in the mirror, she didn't see a test subject anymore. She saw a normal tenrec girl. For the first time, she felt so much joy bubbling up inside her.

Schelmmer couldn't tell how she felt based on how long she was staring at the outfit. "If you don't like it, I can-"

He was interrupted by Gold jumping up and wrapping her arms around the professor's neck. "I love it! I really love it! I've never had my own clothes before! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed as she tried not to let her joyful tears fall.

Schelmmer slowly got used to the embrace and returned the hug. It took a long time for Gold to warm up to him and Silver, always keeping to herself when they weren't training. It warmed his half mechanical heart to see her open up. "Ah, you're just as affectionate as young Silver. Perhaps you two have even more in common zan I zought. Speaking of Silver, let's show him your progress too. I'm sure he'd be just as zrilled."

"And my new outfit!"

The two heard a loud crash in the next room, followed by the bits freaking out in their binary code. "Sorry, guys! I guess that machine was too heavy after all." Silver exclaimed.

Von Schelmmer and Gold looked at each other and sprinted out of the lab to make sure Silver didn't destroy anything in the home.

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Six months had passed and the two young mobians were making great progress. Genesis Portals had slowed down significantly, with Silver only having to close one a week. They had mostly been aerial portals in more secluded locations away from the busier parts of the cities. While it seemed random, Schlemmer deduced that the Council wanted them far from their base in case something went wrong.

The professor also continued to notice the peculiar parallels Silver and Gold had in their abilities. The two seemed similar, but each of their psychokinesis worked in opposite ways. Silver was able to close portals while Gold could open them. His powers could involve lifting physical objects while hers were more mental focused than physical. If he could have them use their powers together, they could be a powerful force against the Council.

That is, if they could get along enough. 😅

The two kids were good with separate tests, but when they had to train together, it was harder for them to get along and they would end up fighting. Nothing extreme, but they would bicker.

One had always thought Von Schlemmer showed more affection to one more than the other and it caused both of them to compete for his affection during their display of powers. Silver kept trying to lift much more than he could handle, Gold would spend way longer during her telepathic sessions with Schlemmer, making the hedgehog jealous. It was difficult for the man to love he didn't show favoritism without upsetting the other.

Not even the bits were sure about this, how could Silver save the world when he couldn't even handle a new sibling?

One morning an unusually small portal had opened up on the side of an abandoned bakery. It was quite early in the morning, so Von Schlemmer wouldn't have to leave for work for a while, so he grabbed the two kids (plus the bits!) And the little team headed out to close the portal.

"All right, Silver. Remember your training. Zis one is quite small, so it should be easy to close." The professor assured him he adjusted his energy scanner to gather data on the portal. Gold was nodding off a bit as the bits tried to keep her from falling over in her sleep. It was too risky to leave Gold alone for a long time, so the professor had her tag along, but out of sight from the robots.

Silver approached the wall and lifted his hands as his whole body began to have a cyan hue around it. The young hedgehog concentrated and soon the small portal began to shrink down until it was the size of a button.

"Ohohoho! Good job, Silver! Zis will be our easiest task yet!" Schlemmer exclaimed. But his excitement was cut off when he noticed the readings on his scanner were going nuts, the numbers were raising rather than lowering.

The tiny portal itself suddenly stopped shrinking. Instead, a loud rumbling and groaning came from it. The portal began to grow larger and larger, covering more of the wall. Von Schlemmer, Silver and Gold (who was now wide awake) began to take steps back as lightning cracked from inside it, followed by howlings that echoed across the place.

"Professor, what's happening? I thought we fixed this thing!" Silver yelled over the noises. He looked up at the sky, the once partially cloudy sky began to turn gray with rumbling thunder suggesting a storm was coming. The hedgehog was beginning to panic as he tried to close the portal again.

"Somezzing is wrong!" The professor exclaimed as he felt the strong wind was picking up. "Zis has never happened before, ze Genesis portal always closes once it comes in contact vith enough of your energy!"

The young tenrec was quiet as she looked into the eye of the portal herself. She could feel that familiar dark presence returning, the very same one she was fleeing for her life from. Soon the growling turned into roaring that echoed throughout the city.

"Its the monster! Its coming to eat us all!" Gold shouted and ran to the professor. At least, she tried to run to the professor, but instead she was floating off the ground. So were the professor and the bits. Silver was the only was already floating with his own powers, but he couldn't fathom what was happening.

Soon, the group was being sucked into the Genesis Portal itself, unable to grab onto anything that could anchor them. The bits each held onto one of Silver's growing quills to avoid getting pulled further. Von Schlemmer clumsily floated over to Gold grabbed her in his arms he grabbed onto the edge of the portal as best he could, but even he knew his strength couldn't last. "Silver! Try to close ze portal again! If its no use, run far away from here!"

The hedgehog was stunned. "I'm not leaving either of you behind, professor!" He grabbed the man's hand and with the tiny help from the bits, the three of them tried to pull Schlemmer and Gold out of the portal with all their might.

"THREAT ALERT! THREAT ALERT! ENEMIES OF THE COUNCIL DETECTED!" A loud robotic voice announced. Silver looked to his right and to his horror saw a civil protection robot flashing its red lights and coming their way. It had activated its weapon to handcuff them and prepared to capture the hedgehog.

"No! Stay back!" Silver tried to warn it, but it was too late. The robot attempted to grab Silver, only to start floating once it reached the wall. It too was sucked into the portal, slamming into the professor and Gold and sending them completely into the unknown realm.

Silver and the bits freaked out with the latter beeping and panicking at the hedgehog. "No! Its not too late!" Silver shouted. Without hesitation Silver flew into the portal and he felt a great wind try to push him back. The inside of the portal was a swirling purple vortex with lightning was flashing from every direction.

The hedgehog could see the professor, Gold and the robot being carried by the current, swirling around endlessly. The bits gripped Silver's quills tightly as he shouted "Hang on!" He flew towards the duo as quickly as possible. White lightning was cracking in nearly all directions, making it difficult for Silver dodge them.

As he was near the edge, he could see small portals opening and closing with each strike of lightning. Glimpses of other times and worlds filled the vortex. One contained an apocalyptic future with a destroyed city with fire, another showed dinosaurs roaming the Earth, one showed a castle in an unfamiliar dimension, and yet another showed a blue hedgehog fighting robots with super speed.

Silver was mesmerized at seeing all the different times and worlds, curious about the other people within them, until B.L.U, Y.E.L.L.O.W and R.E.D started hitting Silver on the head and telling him to focus. "Right, sorry!" He zoomed past the portals and found Von Schlemmer holding Gold close to his chest, shielding her from the lighting. He looked and saw the hedgehog. "Silver! Over here!"

Before he could reach them, the civil protection robot was beginning to fly closer to Silver. "THREAT ALERT! UNKNOWN ADVERSARY DETECTED! UNKNOWN ENERGY DETECTED! MUST ELIMINATE IMMEDIATELY!"

Silver wasted no more time as he used his psychokinesis to stop the robot from attacking him and threw him to the side. "Out of my way, you tin can!" He gruffed, attempting to sound a little tough.

The robot got shoved towards the open portal that contained several green hills and said portal closed up before it could fight back. Silver then went back to saving his friends, avoiding the other portals. Von Schlemmer saw him coming and lifted Gold up. "Quickly, grab Silver's hand!"

Gold nervously did as instructed and reached out to Silver, once he grabbed her, the cyan glow crept to her body, making her weightless. "Now you grab on, professor!" They both shouted, reaching their hands out.

Von Schlemmer attempted to swim to them as if he was in a body of water. "Zis is not as easy it looks!"

A loud roar emerged from the bottom of the vortex, along with several small black arms reaching out from every direction. "Oh no...he's coming!" Gold whispered as her body began to shake. "The monster is coming! Hurry, professor!" She exclaimed, reaching out further to the man.

Silver looked down and saw face slowly emerging from the darkness below. It roared once again as it met Silver's eyes. The bits were freaking out, telling Silver they all needed to leave as quickly as possible.

One of the black hands grabbed Von Schlemmer's ankle and began to pull him down. "Ack! Go back up undt take Gold undt the bits! Zey'll help you finish your mission!" He never thought that this would be his end. Schlemmer imagined he'd probably fall by his own hands with an experiment gone wrong. He wouldn't see the kids grow up, but he knew the world would be saved by them.

Suddenly, the black arms were shot back by a blast of blue energy. They shrieked and evaporated as the man's body was covered in the same energy. He slowly floated over to the kids.

"I'm not leaving you, Dad! I still need you!" Silver smiled as he drew the man closer.

Gold was caught by surprise. "Dad?" She only heard him ever call Von Schlemmer "professor". Did he not know?

The massive roaring continued as the monster was growing closer, reaching out its large hand upwards. Silver shot upwards like a bullet and took his family with him. The other black arms tried to grab them, but disintegrated on contact. Gold could feel the monster's presence drawing near and squeezed Silver's hand.

Silver flew faster and faster, seeing the opening back to Onyx City, the monster trudging ever closer. Soon the hedgehog finally reached the top and escaped the vortex.

The trio fell out of the portal and slammed into the ground. It wasn't the softest landing, but they were alive. Silver wasted no time as he flew in front of the portal. He saw a pair of black hands creeping out if the portal, trying to reach their world. The hedgehog wasn't going to let that happen.

He concentrated with all his might, his entire body being encased in a cyan glow. He scrunched up his face and used his power to encase the portal. "GO AWAY!" Silver shouted as he forcibly slammed his hands together. At the same time, whatever creature was in the portal howled and the black arms retreated back into the void. It soon slammed shut with a thunderous clap. The skies immediately started to lighten up. Still mostly cloudy, but much better than the thunderstorm earlier. The people in the city were confused at the sudden weather change and began to question the anomaly.

Gold was the first to get up, coughing from the remaining dust. Silver looked back and saw his family was okay. He flew down and hugged Gold. "I'm sorry! I should've been faster! I didn't mean to scare you!" he whimpered, just happy to see she was still alive.

The trenrec was surprised by his sudden affection, considering they haven't been on the best terms recently. But it was nice to feel like she had a friend her own age. "Its okay. I-I wasn't scared at all! I knew you'd save us from that monster. Now you see why I never wanted to open that gate."

Their small reunion was interrupted by the bits beeping as they attempted to shake the professor awake. The kids ran over to him, but he wasn't moving. "Profressor? Are you all right? Please, wake up!"

Nothing. He was breathing, but still unconscious.

"Come on, Wake up, Dad!" Silver tried, his voice cracking with worry. The bits were getting worried too.

Gold then looked at her own hand and reluctantly remembered one of her past tests with the Council. "Let me try...." She gently pressed her finger on the professor's head. A familiar "dinggg" sound emitted and a moment later, the professor shot up, wide awake.

"Va- vere am I?" He questioned as he rubbed his head. "Who am I?"

"You're...Professor Von Schlemmer." Gold hesitated. Did she accidentally wipe his memory?

Schlemmer grinned. "Oh ja, I forgot!" He laughed.

"DAD! YOU'RE ALIVE!" Silver exclaimed as he hugged the professor tightly. The bits and Gold joined in, all of them happy to be safe again.

Professor Von Schlemmer looked at the small group, then at the now empty wall were the portal once was. As much as he wanted to save the world and stop these portals permanently, saving his children was more important right now.

"I zink ve should go back home. Ve'fe... done more zan enough." Schlemmer sighed.

Training was cancelled for the rest of the day. The kids were allowed to play, talk and do whatever they wanted until tomorrow. They weren't just tired from their experience, this morning's events showed just how serious things were getting as time passed. Silver and Gold promised to take their training more seriously as neither of them wanted to leave the professor's side. After a simple dinner of a fruit salad, (Though the two of them ate only the apples or oranges until Schlemmer scolded them.) he sent the two of them to bed.

Another storm had begun late in the evening. The rain was pouring hard as anyone could hear the rain hitting their homes as they slept. Von Schlemmer was used to this weather, but hoped that since Silver and Gold shared a room now, neither would be alone. He often had dreams of new ideas that inspired him to work when he was awake and was excited to see what his subconscious would show him.

Deep into his sleep, Schlemmer heard footsteps approaching combined with the rumbling thunder outside. The man didn't want to wake up. He had nearly died and just wanted to rest. That would've been one thing he wanted to forget. He kept his eyes closed and continued sleeping.

He felt something tapping his nose, not once, but twice.

Von Schlemmer opened his eyes and saw the little tenrec staring back at him in the bed. He jumped up in surprise. "Gold? What is wrong?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Can I sleep with you? The lightning scared me. It made me think of that monster." She whispered as she clutched the blankets.

The tired professor was going to tell her she needed to return to her shared room with Silver, but he didn't have the heart to tell Gold that. "Very vell." He said with a yawn. "You can stay for tonight only."

As soon as his head returned to the pillow, he nearly fell back asleep. Gold smiled, quickly got under the covers and joined Schlemmer as she laid down next to him. As the thunder rolled outside, the two of them soon were asleep.

Ten minutes later a strange sound emitted in the room, along with a cyan glow. Soon the professor felt something heavy settle on his chest. At first he thought the mechanical parts of his body had locked up again, until he opened one eye.

He saw Silver had curled up on Schlemmer's chest and was snoring softly as his long quills twitched.

The man smiled and looked at both kids before quietly going back to sleep. "Good night, little schazts."

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Little did they know as one threat was subsiding, a new one was slowly rising from the shadows. The reason the Genesis Portals had all but stopped because the Council no longer had an energy source to activate the gate. Gold was still missing after nearly a year, and certain members of the Council's were beginning to lose their patience.

"How much longer must we continue this? The robots still haven't found Gold, and there's only so many areas we can look over." Two barked with impatience. They had been looking for her for six months and still yielded no results.

"In time, council member, in time." One didn't sound concerned in the slightest, as if this was a minor inconvenience. He was still looking over the footage of the robots camera footage. There were a few troublemakers, but nothing serious as they handled them with ease.

Three was helping him, but was growing tired as well. Then something strange caught her eye. "One of the robots is malfunctioning. I will attempt to reconfigure its servers." The static screen soon became clear, showing a blue sky, green hills and flowers. It looked nothing like Onyx City.

"Where did it go? How did it get so far from the city?" One questioned as he stood from his chair. He typed in a command to find the robot's location. When it responded the words "Green Hills" flashed on screen.

"Green Hills? That place hasn't existed in nearly 200 years. Its nothing but dusty hills now." Three pondered as she looked in the database for any possible restoration of Green Hills, but there were none. "Its like it..."

"Traveled back in time." Four finished for her. "Rewind the footage, all the way back after its alarm went off."

One nodded and pressed a few keys The footage rewound quickly, going past the images of the peaceful land and instead into the vortex where the robot helplessly flew in. Once it reached where it turned a corner and saw Silver, it rushed towards him, only to slam into Professor Von Schlemmer.....and Gold.

The rest of the council was more than furious. All these months of searching and she'd been with one of their own scientists this whole time.

"That whackjob of a scientist kept that white rat for years? And he took Gold? He will pay for his crimes against us!" Two snapped.

"Actually, this works in our favor." One answered, his tone unchanged.

Four stomped over to the council member, grabbing his shoulder. "Have you gone mad? This is our chance to take the girl back and you're willingly giving her away?!"

One seemingly glared at her removed Four's hand from his shoulder. "I am saying that if we take her now, not only would she never cooperate, but these two will stop at nothing to bring her back. Additionally, look here."

He raised a hand towards the screen and zoomed in on both Gold and Silver. One noticed that Silver's powers were similar to Gold's. The tenrec was no longer the scared creature she was when they found her. If she was able to open a portal that large, she could get strong enough to open the gate.

"Her powers have seem to grown stronger and produced faster results than when she was with us. If we let them continue to train her for us, she will already be strong enough to open the gates without our interference. For now, we will let them think they have the upper hand."

Three pulled up a picture of the psych family before they were sucked into the Genesis Portal. Clearly the group survived since Schlemmer showed up to work today. He didn't know where he hid the kids, but he would find out at all costs. Somehow that food managed to keep them hidden all this time.

"Once their training is complete, we can capture them. They'll be able to open and close the gate whenever we desire, having control over time and space. We just need to make our unexpected guest cooperates instead of trying to escape." One walked over to the time gate and checked on their new source of power.

Locked into a chair was the lost wooly mammoth that had crashed into this world by accident. Though he was quite large in stature, the magnetic locks kept the mobian in place. He wore a round golden mask atop his head, clearly too small for his skull, he grabbed the mask with his trunk and threw it at one if the council members who ducked in time. Once the gate closed back, the mammoth was out of breath, as if he had just lifted a weight greater than his own.

"Your powers are working better than we could imagine." One said he ordered a protection robot to remove the mask. "Even though Gold is the only one capable of opening this gate to other dimensions, fate has given us another chance with you. Your powers are clearly stronger than both of them combined. Help us, and once we have the children, we will send you back home."

"I will never help you. I'm not the monster I once was. Something evil is beyond that gate. You will doom us all if you continue to pry it open it." Mogul mumbled.

One stepped in front of Mogul as he looked up at the beast eyeing him back. Despite his claims he was harmless, he looked like he was ready to cause all of the council massive damage when he had the chance. "You do not have a choice in this, nor will you stand in the way of science. You're going to come quite valuable to us. If you cooperate without anymore outbursts. Don't forget who's in charge here, Mogul." He pressed a button that put the mammoth back in his cell and released the cuffs on him.

Two didn't understand. Why go through the trouble of getting two young psychics when they had a master of the power? "Isn't this enough, council member? We don't need Gold anymore if we have the mammoth."

One pulled up pictures of Gold, Silver and Mogul. "Indeed. But why have one psychic being, when we can have three at our command? We could be unstoppable."

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Author's Notes:

One of my favorite things to write whether in fan fiction or original work is families. Most stories in media nowadays don't really have them, and usually have parentless kids or kidless parents due to tragedy. Its so rare to see a fully happy family, and seeing the Sonic Movies actually creating that again was such a breath of fresh air. So much that they directly inspire this story. Silver's past and family remain a mystery, and it felt like the "Silver Age" story was about to give him his own team/family until it got cancelled abruptly.

The idea here is not only to give Silver a proper family, but also an idea of what his species of hedgehog is like. The next chapter will actually finally dive into that! It'll combine a small part of some fan speculation while I create my own take on Silver's background. It may not be as good as Evan Stanley's, but I at least want to try to create something as fun as that.

Gold I'm basically starting from scratch since there's not that much canon info for her, outside of the wiki and Stanley's own lore drops. She had a lot of potential and I've been planning out how her canon interests and lore will come into play. The only difference is that I want to give her a more calm/introverted type personality. That way she contrasts with Silver's upbeat and optimistic outlook.

Von Schlemmer is basically the Professor Utonium of the group training them, so I really want to show he's adapting and learning more about the kids powers and personalities as they grow. He already loves Silver and grows to love Gold too, its just harder for him to understand how the powers feel to them. And with the fate of the future resting with all of them, its a lot on his shoulders.

Anyways, stay tuned for the next chapter! Its when the biggest changes are coming and Silver's true purpose is finally showing. But it will be a while before its out.

Thanks For Reading!

@teampsych @theonyxcity @megxolotl @thesafireartist @niko-jpeg

"Has anyone seen my five inch multi vench? I cannot finish my Dream-A-Ma-Jig ™ vithout it!" The scientist asked as he was looking underneath a few of the lab tables searching for it.

A blonde male scientist cleared his throat. "Its in your side pocket, Schelmmer."

Von Schlemmer jolted up and digged into his lab coat. He instantly pulled out the tool. "Oh ja! I forgot, silly me!" He laughed and then was able to return to his work.

He didn't hear some of the scientists groan in the back. The others mostly saw Von Schlemmer as a nuisance when it came to his inventions and theories. He finally stopped talking about the so called "end of the world" theory with portals years ago. Now he just simply annoyed him with his absent-mindedness.

The professor could build inventions in fifteen minutes minimum, create blueprints for machines and gadgets unlike anything else in Onyx City, but his creations usually ended up malfunctioning, breaking down, or in rare cases, exploding. The others had no idea how he got hired by the Council in the first place.

Nevertheless, the man continued on in his inventions. "Just a few more adjustments undt it vill finally be complete! Vho vants to be ze first to test it out?" He announced as he worked.

The other scientists uncomfortably murmured as a response. Some of them helped testing various inventions over the years, but when they malfunctioned, someone was usually hurt by accident. They stopped volunteering altogether.

"Oh don't vorry. It von't lock your head in zis time, I double checked ze loose screws!" Schlemmer assured them as he patted the machine.

"Better check the one in his head." a mustached scientist whispered to his colleague and chuckled.

A redhead walked up to Schelmmer. "With all due respect, Von Schelmmer, your inventions over the years haven't exactly...made progress for the city." She explained, but not with malice. Andrea was one of the few who still held some respect for him despite his reputation.

He waved her off. "Bah! Not everything has been a success, this is true. But I am on the verge of something big. Bigger than your wildest dreams, even the Dream-A-Ma-Jig™ couldn't even keep up with it!"

The back of the machine suddenly fell off and Von Schlemmer rushed to put it back in its place.

Andrea sighed and returned to her worktable. She usually did her best to be patient with the professor, as he was the most eccentric one there. But there were times the absent minded professor refused to listen to warnings.

"Remember when he brought in that little creature he said had magical powers?" Professor Fuddle reminded Andrea as he was fixing the motherboard on his own creation. "Absolute poppycock, I say. There hasn't been a Mobian with powers in centuries. Not even the rumor of that black hedgehog comes up anymore." He scoffed.

The professor gripped his screwdriver but said nothing. They wouldn't be saying that if they saw the hedgehog Silver was becoming. And while he's only known Gold a short time, he could feel that same warmth he got taking care of Silver. She had potential and he would help her grow as well. Von Schlemmer was proud to call them his children.

Instead he pretended to laugh along with them. "Haha. Von Schlemmer makes a joke of himself, as usual."

He always forgot how much it hurts...

His thoughts were interrupted by loud clanging footsteps. All the scientists turned their attention towards the large glass door automatically opening and two Civil Protection Bots lead the way for the Council.

Schlemmer noticed that only three members of the Council were present. Very unusual since they all traveled together as one unit whenever they left their tower.

Professor Fuddle was quick to greet them. "Greetings, Onyx Council! What gives us the great pleasure of you visiting our humble lab?"

In case you couldn't tell, Boris was the brownoser of the team. He believed by staying in their good graces they could get upgrades in their lab. It hasn't worked yet, but he still tried anyway.

One ignored his flattery. "We've come to tell you all to be on high alert for an escaped criminal that's a threat to our utopia."

Four clicked a button on an orb in his hand and a large holographic image of a small frightened tenrec appeared within it. He walked down the path so everyone could see. "Do not be fooled by her appearance. She may seem harmless, but she has the power to control anyone by using her mind. She is danger to Onyx City."

Professor Von Schlemmer froze.

"Anyone who sees this girl is to report her to us immediately." Three concluded as she looked at the scientists. "Not only would you be protecting your people, you will be rewarded greatly for apprehending a criminal."

Three's face may had been covered, but Von Schlemmer could feel her eyes glaring at him through her mask. "And do not tell anyone about this. We must keep the people safe."

The professor slightly gulped. Why did it feel like she was interrogating him? "Ja, ja, of course, high council."

The members regrouped at the door. It seemed they were checking within the lab itself for any clues, just as the robots were scanning the walls and floors. "That will be all. Do not disappoint us." One stated before the entire group left the lab.

Not long after, the entire lab was abuzz. The others were concerned for their safety or discussing what they're great reward could be. Except for Von Schlemmer. The opportunity to be taken seriously was great, but at what cost? He remembered the promise he made to Gold this morning, along with the fact that the Council had possibly been hurting her. He had to protect Gold and Silver at all costs...

Andrea noticed that Von Schlemmer had spaced out and tapped his shoulder. "Sir, are you alright?" She asked, concerned.

He turned away from her and faced the chalkboard, scribbling a random equation out. "Ah, yes. Perhaps I vill test the Dream-A-Ma Jig™ some other time. I must er, vork on this formula I've been stumped on."

He didn't say another word for the rest of the work day.

When the professor got home, so much was on his mind. But he was immediately greeted by the bits who crowded around him in joy, followed by Silver flying straight into his arms. "You're finally home, Dad! I mean, professor!"

Silver had been taught to call Von Schlemmer "professor" around strangers when he was in it city, to make sure no one would be suspicious or ask questions. He kept it up with Gold, but he completely forgot the rule once he walked in the door.

"Haha! Its nice to be home! How has Gold adjusted to being here so far?" Schlemmer asked.

"I think she's a little better, but still kind of nervous. She puts a lot of her thoughts in my head, so she thinks you might change you might change your mind about her staying here."

The professor scratched his chin and proceeded to the living room. "Vell, I have an idea on how both of you- vait, vait, VAIT." Schelmmer caught himself when he realized what Silver said. "Vhat do you mean she put thoughts into your head?"

"She's got some weird mind reading power. Gold lets me hear her thoughts and we even talked for a while without even really speaking. You should've seen the bits, they freaked out!" Silver explained and tried to stifle a laugh. The robots didn't find it funny.

Gold quietly stepped into the room. "They told me it was dangerous. But I can't help it! Sometimes I could hear the masked guys thoughts and they were never good. I was punished whenever I used it."

So she had telepathy? Maybe psychokinesis? That would explain her ability to communicate with Silver so well. Perhaps they had the same powers which made them compatible with each other.

Von Schlemmer could feel his heart break. He may have been a man of science, but he always the living mobians around him. Especially children. Knowing the Council was hurting her made him more determined than help her. He crouched down and held her hand. "Tell us everything, young schatz."

The bits put on some tea for them and the psych trio settled down to hear the tenrec's tale, or rather she showed them through her powers:

She came from another dimension back when the Council's portal worked. Gold was able to remember running from a monster that turned people to stone. She lost sight of her family in the commotion and hid. The next she knew, every had been petrified.

The large monster chased Gold until a bright light appeared in front of her. Two hands grabbed her and pulled her through. She thought the masked people were her rescuers, until they put her in the cage. From then on, she was trained to use her powers to try and open the gate again, so they could cross into any dimension and conquer it in the name of science. She'd been tested on for seven years until she finally managed to escape the tower and later met Von Schlemmer.

The room was silent, with the exception of The bits in outrage filled with beeps and boops and swearing in binary code. Schlemmer himself was in shock. Everything he knew about the Council and Onyx City was a lie, and he had been praising them his whole life. How could he have been such a fool?

"Wow, I know the Council was mean, but I didn't know they were villains." Silver said as he clenched his little fists. "We can't let them keep hurting people!" The hedgehog was young, but still headstrong when it came to helping people.

"That explains all those portals that have been popping up. They've been causing them all these years and calling me crazy! Well, I am a wee bit crazy, but I was right!" said Von Schlemmer exclaimed.

Gold gripped the professor's coat. "I don't know what else to do, mister. I can't beat them and I'm scared that monster is coming."

Both the professor and Silver knew the answer. "Zen ve must beat ze Council, before zey unleash zat vorld ending monster. Zey'fe already slowed down vizzout you being zere."

Von Schlemmer picked up Gold and put her on the couch next to Silver. "If mein zeory is correct, zey need a mobian vit psychokinesis to activate ze gate. As long as zey don't haf either of you, zey can't create more portals undt mess with ze fabric of ze universe." he explained as he paced back and forth.

"Vhich means ve could have years to prepare and take ze fight to them, so long as ze portals don't appear to often between each other. Don't you see, Gold? By escaping zem, you've already helped us!"

Gold eyes widened. She didn't think she could help anyone. But as weird as these guys were, they were the best people she had ever met.

"I vill train you both to control your powers and get strong enough to stop zem. I may not have psychokinesis, but I have ze old noodle." He said as he tapped his head. "I'll research as much as I can and guide your progress."

"No matter how long it takes, we'll stop them. Right, professor?" Silver asked. Gold had a determined look on her face, she was more than ready. The bits were definitely itching for a fight.

Von Schlemmer smiled at the kids. He never felt more proud. "Silver, Gold, let us save zis world together."

Late into the night, somewhere outside Onyx City, a random blue portal opened up in the sky, only this one was larger than previous ones. Murmuring came from it and grew louder and louder, until a massive figure fell out and crashed onto the surface. Flickies in the distance flew away from the vibrations it set off.

The massive figure coughed and slowly rose to his feet. When he saw the city in the distance, he didn't recognize it, nor his surroundings. As he walked forward, the city's bright lights shined nearly as much as the moon. The stranger used his trunk to shield his eyes. Once he fully understood his location, he mumbled:

"This is not my home. Far from it."

He decided to go towards the city for answers.

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Author's Notes:

And here we are with chapter 8! Have to say that I'm really happy with how this came out. Just like the professor had time to bond with Silver, I want the same for Gold. There are times she feels he pays more attention to Silver, but its not on purpose. He grows to love Gold to and he doesn't play favorites, Schlemmer just tends to be attentive towards Silver since he raised him.

I get that it probably seems like I'm writing him out of character sometimes, but since there's only one comic featuring him and the AOSTH series, I decided to combine elements of both and sprinkle in my own take. Really wanted to give him a big heart and brain. Since Gold is a lot more timid in this, its going to take her some time to get used to Schlemmer's personality. She hasn't known him since birth, so it'll show a slightly different dynamic.

Just a heads up, we will be entering a time skip within the next couple chapters. That way Silver and Gold will be their canon ages for the remainder of the story. I'll also introduce my take on Silver and Gold's origins leading to them being taken in.

Lastly, you probably already guessed who new stranger at the end is. I got around to reading a couple other stories in Archie featuring him and got inspired to use him for this since he's teamed up with Silver in another timeline.

Until then, I hope you enjoy the upcoming chapters!

Thanks for reading!

@teampsych @theonyxcity @megxolotl @thesafireartist @niko-jpeg

One of those inventions was alterting him right now, but he was fast asleep.

The noise had been going on rapidly for some time. When the bits awakened from sleep mode they ran over to the computer to see what waa causing it. The result made them run to Von Schlemmer in his chair, beeping at him and shaking his arms to wake him up.

Finally the professor woke up with a snort. "NOT ZE APPLES!" he exclaimed. He look around and realized he was just in his home. He saw the bits in front of him and calmed down. "Oh, hallo bitz!"

The bits told him about the alarm that's been going off for ten minutes. It was a relief that the noise hadn't awakened Silver. His eyes widened as he recognized the alarm and dashed away from the chair and into his lab, the bits following close behind him.

Von Schlemmer shut off the alarm and activated the camera. It was coming from the small bug shaped camera he placed in the alley seven years ago. It had been so long that he nearly forgot it was there. Now he could feel a lump in his throat. This was a day that he prepared and feared for: Silver's family may have finally found him.

The camera had recorded footage a figure running towards it in the rain. The mobian looked female and a bit small. Perhaps it was Silver's mother? This would require investigation. Not out of his fear of Silver being taken away from him, of course. He just....needed to verify that this mobian wasn't a threat to him.

"Bitz, stay with Silver und don't let anyone inside unless its me. I must find out ze intentions of whoever is looking for Silver." The professor instructed his tiny friends as he grabbed his tool bag and stuffed several miscellaneous inventions for possible use later. "Zis could change everything for us."

The bits saluted the professor and agreed to their job. They would protect Silver no matter what.

Von Schlemmer grinned. "I vill return before its time for work!" He waved goodbye to the bits and closed the door. The citizens were already out and about during their schedule, and so were the Protection Robots. Schlemmer would have to get to the junkyard quietly and quickly, it would rouse suspicion if he wasn't on time for his scheduled job.

The professor wasn't exactly the quiet one, so he just ran as fast as he could across the city, ignoring the strange looks of several citizens. He didn't stop until he finally reached the junkyard.

Schlemmer took a deep breath and braced himself. It didn't matter if this mobian was Silver's mother. He was only supposed to keep him until said family came for him, and that time had come. No matter how much it broke his heart.

"Hallo?" He called out as he entered the junkyard. "Are you ze mobian looking for a silver hedgehog? I'm sorry I took him for so long, but rest assured, he's perfectly healthy!" He looked around for the female mobian, but all he saw was random piles of broken junk and parts.

Suddenly he heard a small crash in the distance and made his way towards it. "Please don't hurt me!" a female voice exclaimed, but it sounded like it was in his head instead of out loud.

She sounded younger than expected. "I'm not here to hurt you. I know you are here for Silver. I just vant to talk, parent to parent." Von Schlemmer continued. "Ze little fellow has grown accustomed to mein home and I admit zat I've grown accustomed to him being around. Perhaps ve can-"

Schlemmer stopped when he heard sobbing. Did he upset the mother by raising him? Maybe it was too late to invite her for dinner as an apology.... He walked over and followed the sobbing to the familiar broken dryer. The man bent down and didn't see a grown hedgehog, but a child tenrec, curled up inside and crying. When she saw the profressor's shadow, she shrank back further.

"Please don't be afraid! I'm not here to hurt you. I just thought you were....someone else." The man explained as his heart stopped beating so quickly in fear. The tenrec however, was another story.

With fear in her eyes, she whimpered, "Don't take me back there! I don't want to go back to the cage!" Her voice was small, but strong. She meant what she said.

Von Schelmmer was slightly taken aback. Cage? Where was she before she got here? Where was her family? He cleared his throat and sat on his knees in front of the dryer. "I'm Professor Dinglehopper Von Schlemmer. I promise I von't hurt you. I'm just your friendly neighborhood scientist!" He said with a laugh.

Gold was hesitant at first, but then whispered. "I'm Gold. Gold the Tenrec." She uncovered her eyes and saw the professor stretch out his hand, with a few apple slices within it as a peace offering. "You look like you're very hungry. Do you like fruit?" The man asked in a slightly goofy tone.

The tenrec sniffed and gave him a nod. He didn't seem to give off hostile emotions, maybe he could be trusted. "I like oranges." she responded, but took the apples anyway. She wasn't going to refuse the chance for food.

Von Schlemmer laughed. "Vell, I don't have zat, but I can get some for if you come out."

Once Gold finished the fruit, she slowly crawled out of the dryer. The sun was so bright that she had to shield her eyes. She was so use to artificial or florescent lights that natural sunlight felt strange to her.

The professor was able to get a better look at the girl. She looked about Silver's age. Her fur was the same color as her name, but also covered in patches of dirt from being in the rain. Her hands and feet were slightly muddy, and she wore a white lab gown that had tears within it.

Schelmmer put together that she was being experimented on by the small marks on her arms. If a fellow professor was harming the girl, they needed to renounce their profession. He didn't believe in hurting other people or creatures in the name of science.

"See? Nothing to be scared of. Now, vere did-" He was cut off by the sound of his bag vibrating. The man quickly got up, opened the bag and found the source of it, The Double-Downing Dousing Rods ™. They seemed to be reacting to Gold being near them.

The profressor's eyes lit up at the sight of it. "Hohoho! You must have similar energy to mein son! These readings are quite powerful, I'd love to perform some tests back in mein-"

Gold froze at the word "test". Was he pretending to be kind to her? Was this weird and kooky man planning to use her powers for strange experiements and portals and monsters?

"You're going to use those on me?" Her small voice shaking.

Von Shelmmer saw her shrink back and walk backwards to the dryer. As much as he would love to find out the secret of her powers, it would have to wait. He put the rods back into the bag and sealed it up.

"No. I vill not hurt you. I promise." He gave her a friendly grin.

For the first time in her short life, Gold felt that she could trust someone, in a scientist, no less.

Gold rushed to Von Schelnmer, wrapped her tiny paws around his waist and buried her face in his lab coat. He could hear the girl gently sobbing. "Thank you...." Her muffled voice said.

The professor carefully hugged her back. His mind went back to the day he found Silver in this very same spot. "You know, I zink there's someone you should meet." He suggested.

Large mechanical stomping sounds shook the ground. Those blasted robots were getting close. "Ve don't have much time, you'll need to hide." Schelmmer whispered as he looked around frantically for something to conceal Gold.

He eventually found a large slightly beaten up box that looked close to her size. He told her to stay quiet and safe as he carried the now heavy box with him across the street. The robots were using search lights to to scan every inch possible, as if they were looking for something valuable they had lost. In fact, they were so occupied by their search that they didn't even notice Von Schlemmer passing by to scold him about not being at work.

"Hehehe. I'm getting quite good at zis!" Von Schlemmer chuckled to himself. He continued his usual greetings to his neighbors and passersby to keep up appearances. Once he approached his house, he quickly entered it and locked the door behind him.

The professor breathed a sigh of relief. "Bitz! Silver! Come to ze lab immediately. I have something very special to show you!" He called to them as he placed the box down on the table.

Silver floated his way into the lab, with the bits hanging onto his boots in a failed attempt to keep him grounded. "What is it, dad? Is it more apple pie?"

"Haha! Nien, even better! Ve'll have a new guest vith us. Its safe to come out, young one!" Schlemmer chuckled and opened the box. After a few moments, a young girl slowly rose from the box and was met with Silver.

The second she saw him, she could feel her powers being gravitated towards him. The yellow symbol on her head and the blue symbol on his hands began to glow, but neither noticed the change.

Before Silver could speak, the bits started scolding the professor as they raced across the table towards him. They kept pointing at Gold and Silver as they argued.

"Nien! She's not living here, I only vant to make sure she's okay. Somebody was hurting her and....I couldn't leave Gold helpless. She's the one who ze camera saw last night." Schlemmer explained quickly.

The bits calmed down a bit. They understood the professor had a soft spot for kids, but this was getting ridiculous. They didn't want to have to look after another mysterious kid with weird powers again, one was already enough to keep up with.

"Gold? Are you like me? Like with powers?" Silver asked Gold as he stepped a little closer and showed her his gloved hand that was pulsating with blue light. Gold raised her own hand towards Silver and noticed her own glowing power radiating from it. She shrank back in response.

The tenrec was hesitant, but she strangely felt safe in this environment, even though these people were complete strangers. "I....I'm not from here, exactly. I can barely remember my own home or family, but I've been in this world for a long time. I ran away because....."

Von Schelmmer moved the miffed bits aside to gently put his hand on her shoulder. He knew she didn't have to tell her that part if she wasn't ready.

"These four people with masks took me in when I was smaller and forced me to do a bunch of things with my powers. If I helped them, they'd give me a treat. If I didn't do a good job, they wouldn't feed me.....I haven't been doing such a good job lately."

Von Schelmmer's eyes widened. "Masked people? Ze Council did this to you?"

Gold nodded.

What was the Council really doing behind closed doors?

Before he could even react, a holographic screen began ringing like an alarm clock. The screen showed that it was time for him to report to the Onyx Tower about his recent findings in the science field. Between finding this lost child and the disturbing news about the Council, he would have to be very careful at work.

"Ack! I have to get to ze tower before ze robots come here." Schelmmer exclaimed as he clumsily searched for his tool bag. "Tell me everything when I return from work. You two please play nice and stay safe."

He turned to the bits. "Protect zem at all costs. And make sure Silver eats his nutritional bar!" Then he rushed out the door.

The two children laughed a bit. The professor could act pretty strange, but his heart was always in the right place. Even when he brought home mysteriously powered kids. Speaking of which....

"So, is he really nice? All the professors and scientists I know just want to get power." Gold asked Silver. She was a little nervous about talking to him, but she could still feel a strange connection towards him. As if she already knew Silver before meeting him.

The little hedgehog nodded. "He sure is. He's helped me control my powers, given me a room and protected me my whole life. And his accent is really funny when he starts freaking out!"

Silver heard beeping coming from the kitchen and saw B.L.U carrying a wrapped up bar with him. It looked like he was taking care of his feeding task already. Silver grumbled at the sight of it. Von Schelmmer always made him eat one a day to meet his daily vitamin requirements. The man meant well in making them, but did they have to taste so awful?

Gold however was so hungry that it looked like a meal to her. "Do those taste good?"

Silver stuck out his tongue as he unwrapped the bar. "Nah, they always taste like dry wood and oranges."

"I love oranges!" Gold smiled.

Silver looked at her like she had a screw loose.

At the Onyx Council Tower, Professor Von Schlemmer and his colleagues were packed into a large room lined up with dozens of work tables filled with contraptions and formulas of all kinds. The scientists of Onyx City worked together here, with their job being to create any sort of advancements in the science field that could benefit Mobius.

Usually they're greeted with the council themselves, but they were entirely absent this morning. Instead a Protection Robot gave them all instructions to work for a scheduled five hours on their respective tasks. An emergency came up that required the Council's attention, requiring them to once again protect their utopian city.

In the underground lab, Two was looking at numerous screens at once. The screens belonged to the eyes of the Protection Robots that were scattered across the city. Checking people's vehicles, whatever could be a hiding place for their missing tenrec. "Where is she? She can't hide from us forever!" He shouted.

Three scoffed. "You've been at that monitor for hours, and what has it accomplished? Nothing!"

"What else can we do? That girl is the only way we can open that gate." Four scolded Three. "We're on the verge of expanding the scientific world and she somehow got away from us?"

"Are you suggesting that this is my fault?!" Three raised her voice back, seemingly wanted to have a battle of words.

It would never come as their bickering was interrupted by Two falling to his knees and started coughing. Three and Four rushed to his side and brought him his cane. "I am not getting any younger. None of us are." Two wheezed. "We need to find that girl and get her back here."

One remained unphased. While the rest the Council was slightly more hysterical at their setback, One was the more level headed one of the group. Always thinking of contingencies in the background, keeping the closest eye on individual citizens who have the slightest change in behavior. He calmed the other members down.

"This changes nothing." He spoke. "The sooner we find both of them, the sooner we can enact our plans. The world of science and every dimension that it holds is ours."

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Author's Notes:

Hey there! Its been a long time since the last chapter hasn't it? Well, that's because I was really dedicated to finishing my Wish AU, and recently, I finally did it! (You can check it out if you like) So now this will be my main fanfic until its done. I didn't honestly think I was gonna stick with it this long, but I keep getting new ideas to add and now its become its become an extended story. Guess I just really love writing about this trio. Dad Von Schlemmer got a daughter and doesn't realize it! 😂

So now Gold has finally entered the mix, completing the trio! However, I plan to add a few more characters to the family. Since the comic was cancelled before the story could create a main plot, I'm sort of creating my own spin by adding some characters from past comics. With Gold and Silver's powers combined, they can actually become quite powerful, nearly unstoppable. But its going to be a while before they realize it. I used part of the existing story to create Gold's new backstory, and it leaves room to create the dimension she's from.

There's one other Sonic story I've been developing called "Hedgehog Hunt", but that's going to be taking place in the IDW timeline, so it'll just be in development until this story is done. Plus, I'm creating an original story called " SuperZeroes"! Only the prologue is out now, but more is on the way. So, I hope you're enjoying Psych Family so far and look forward to more chapters coming soon!

Thanks for reading!

He'd been walking around the outer areas of Onyx City, away from the hustle and bustle of the main square. Not just because it was easier to work with fewer people around, but also to keep from rousing suspicion from the Civil Protection Robots. They watched for the slightest bit of suspicion and pounced on any citizen for it.

Von Schlemmer was in the clear for now, but he had a habit of losing track of time when it came to his work. He could lose a whole day working in his lab and not even notice until the sun rose up! At least this time he brought apple slices with him so he had some kind of food today.

He was coming across a pile of discarded furniture when the Rods began to go off. They vibrated like tuning forks as he got closer. The professor quickly chomped down on an apple slice as started to follow the device's signal.

"Zis is it! Zis is the energy I've been looking for! Such a strange place to be though…" He stated as he looked around at what seemed be a mini junkyard. Nothing but discarded machines, boxes and furniture that no longer had any use.

Nevertheless, he followed the trailer as it got stronger. Von Schlemmer's excitement was building as he walked closer and closer. Its signal was going off the charts when he stopped in front of a broken dryer. The man was left scratching his head.

"Perhaps zis is a powerful dryer? Or maybe zis is broken. Zis is the first time I've used zem…" He looked at the invention to check if something was malfunctioning, but was interrupted by a small howl.

Von Schlmmer looked down and noticed the door to the dryer had a little window in it. He bent down and saw something that surprised him: A baby hedgehog! And it was just waking up from a nap.

"Vhat is this? How did you get there?" He asked as he opened the door. He knew it couldn't respond, but it helped him not feel like he was alone.

After he opened the door, the cub stood on its tiny paws and attempted to scare him off by growling. Although its own stomach growling was louder than its own.

The professor was amused by this new creature. "Ah, I see you're using a classic defense maneuver. You have very good instincts for something so young!"

The rods were still vibrating, but when he raised it towards the hedgehog, they also began to glow brightly, making the hedgehog hiss at it. This was the powerful source he's been looking for? It was only a baby! That proved it had to be a mistake due to a malfunction on his part.

"Oh vell. Perhaps it vas too much to expect. I've been called a crackpot many times. Sometimes I feel like its no use…" Von Schlemmer's voice sounded deflated as he looked at his presumably failed invention.

He then looked back as the cub, still staying caution of the stranger. The professor decided to focus on helping the little one for now and skip the pity party. First, he needed to get it to trust him.

The hedgehog started to growl as he raised his hand closer to him. It seemed that his hunger made him more irritated towards strangers. He didn't have large fangs, but his teeth were still semi-sharp.

"Its all right, klein igel. I am a friend. No need to be scared…."

The professor slowly put his hand inside, inching closer to it to pet it. The cub looked defensive and immediately bit his approaching hand.

"ACK!" the man exclaimed before covering his mouth with his other hand. He wanted to take his hand away, but he knew that would make the cub remain fearful of him. So he waited for it to calm down on its own.

Eventually, the hedgehog loosened his grip on the scientist, then licked his hand as an apology. It finally understood he was friendly.

"Zhere we are! See, I'm no threat to you." Schlemmer replied as he gently patted the cub on the head.

The hedgehog became more curious about the man and crawled out of the dryer, accidentally fell out of the broken machine, onto the ground. The man slightly jumped back. He had no intention of taking it out of there, only to study it from the inside and gather data on the energy it radiated.

The cub looked at him and sneezed as he tried to get up. The professor chuckled at the sight, then looked around. There didn't seem to be anyone around. No parents or guardians were nearby, nor a note by the cub. He wasn't sure if it was even supposed to be by itself, or was someone coming back?

Von Schlemmer didn't want to cause trouble, he had enough to worry about with his theory of genesis portals becoming more of a danger. He couldn't worry about a lost cub, no matter how adorable it was.

The little one rolled on his stomach and looked up at the man. His big golden eyes shined as he was excited to see this new person, and his tiny tail wagged as he started to craw his way towards him.

The professor nervously stepped back. "Perhaps I have enough data for now. I must return to ze lab! I'm sure your mother or father vill be back any moment." He picked up his invention and turned to walk away.

The hedgehog started to whimper as he began to understand the man was leaving. Not wanting him to leave, he started to cry and reached out for the professor.

Schlemmer stopped in his tracks once he heard his cries. He really shouldn't get involved, but…

The cub was sniffling, still upset his new friend was leaving him, until he smelled something sweet in front of him. He opened his eyes and saw a sliced red crisp apple in front of his snout, and it was in the palm of the professor's hand. That immediately cheered him up as he happily ate the slice in just two bites.

Now that he had eaten and fully trusted the professor, he rubbed his snout into his hand and purred.

"Ah, you are not so scary. Only vhen you are hungry!" Von Schlemmer laughed. "Though I still vonder how you got here."

He gently grabbed the hedgehog with both hands and lifted him up. The creature looked him just as curiously. It had quills that were shaped like odd flat spikes, growing a small patch of fluff on his chest that seemed to be also emerging from around its neck. It also had golden eyes that Schlemmer could've sworn flickered blue, and strange blue circle patterns on both of its hands. They were pulsating slightly as it moved its paws towards the man.

"Such a curious creature. You look like a hedgehog, but not like anyone I have ever seen. You're not even blue!" Schlemmer laughed as the cub smiled at him. He carried it around close to him as he continued talking, almost forgetting about his own invention he was using only minutes ago.

"In fact, you resemble my favorite element of the periodic table, #47, Ag: also known as…." His voice trailed off when he looked down and noticed that the hedgehog was rubbing his head against the professor's chest, purring softly. It seemed to grow attached to the man quickly as it grabbed his thumb, holding it close to him.

A warm smile spread across his face as he looked at him.

"Silver. That's what I vill call you." He spoke in a more calm tone. "You're my little silver lining today! Haha!"

The moment was cut short when he heard the footsteps of two Civil Protection Robots approaching. He didn't want to put the hedgehog back in the broken dryer, but he didn't want it to be discovered either.

So he panicked and stuffed him in his lab coat.

"Halt, citizen!" A metallic voice rang out.

The man sheepishly turned around and slapped on a smile. "Good day, my mechanical friends! My, you're looking extra shiny today!"

One of the robots scanned his face and its inner database showed them the man's identity file. "Professor Von Schlemmer. Why are you out of your designated laboratory at this time?"

The other Robot stepped forward. "Are you up to suspicious activity? Suspicious activity will lead to arrest and judged before the City Council."

"Who me? Nien! I vas just testing out an invention I recently created." He gestured to his device he left on the ground. "I'm afraid its gone 'kaput' already. Haven't gotten a single reading all morning!"

As the professor was speaking, he was attempting not to laugh, Silver crawling around the inside of his coat and the fur was becoming ticklish on him.

The robots were quiet for a while, processing his response. He was beginning to sweat, hoping that they wouldn't keep asking questions. Then the two finally stepped away.

"Reminder is in order: Do not loiter outside if it is not conducive to your work. Good day." One of the bots stated before they both left.

"Ja, ja! Of course! Good day!" Von Schlemmer waited for the two guards to leave. After they turned a corner, he immediately picked up his invention and clumsily ran off.

Silver grunted while moved around in his the coat. He didn't understand why the man was moving more frantically and tried to find his way out.

It did feel a bit ticklish, but the professor had to keep a straight face. "Not now, Igel. We need to get back to my laboratory!"

Von Schlemmer made his way through a seaof people, trying not to garner attention towards himself. He kept apologizing everytime he bumped into someone, which was numerous times.

After getting pass that obstacle, he could he see his lab was in view again.

Before he could celebrate, he heard another Protection Robot harassing another citizen, accusing them of jaywalking. That drove the professor to run again, hoping to make the home stretch before he was caught. In his hurry, he tripped over himself and had dropped everything in his hands right as he was outside the entrance.

Just before he fell to the ground, he realized that he hadn't made contact with it yet. When he opened his eyes, he discovered he was floating inches above the grass, covered in a cyan hue.

Silver poked his head out of his collar, curious at what was happening himself. It would seem he activated his powers when he sensed the professor was in danger.

Von Schlemmer was able to land safely on his feet and gently pulled Silver out of his coat. He gave him a smile. "Just as I said, silver lining!" The hedgehog wagged his tail in response.

The main door slid open and the two of them were greeted by three tiny robots in blue, red and yellow.

"01010111 01100101 01101100 01100011 01101111 01101101 01100101 00100000 01001000 01101111 01101101 01100101 00100001" They all greeted the professor in binary code. In their language, they welcomed him home.

"Bits! Quickly, gather my things und hurry back inside. Those nosy bots could be here any minute!" He looked behind him to make sure he wasn't followed. There were people, but they were far more distant and in the main square.

The bits carried his tools inside while Von Schlemmer took Silver out of his coat. He quickly checked his surroundings for anymore robots or guards. Once the coast was clear, he closed the door to his home immediately.

It was best Silver remained a secret. At least for now….

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Author's Notes:

Its been a minute since I wrote for this AU hasn't it? Like I said, I'm still working on my Wish AU, so this is mainly for fun. But I came up with another fun story to add so I created this! I'm still working on how Von Schelmmer and Silver's bond works for this. I want it to be as much of a father-son bond as possible while keeping the professor in character. (and still grasping how to write a German accent. 😅) I do want to introduce Gold soon, just after I develop my version of these two first. Gotta start slow and steady!

And it gives me time time to read more of the original comic story, so I can fully grasp the character dynamics.

Thanks for reading!

As he was working, Von Schlemmer's right arm suddenly stopped moving. He tried to move it up and down, but it seemed to be frozen in place. He scratched his head in confusion, trying to figure out the problem. Then he laughed. "Oh ja, I forgot! I needed to tweak my servos! I vas suppose to do zat yesterday."

The professor rolled his chair over to the other side of his work table and grabbed his tools. "Bitz! I need a little help with my arm." He called his robotic companions.

The three colorful robots happily ran into the lab, leaped onto the table and saw the professor's frozen arm. B.L.U beeped at the professor with a look of annoyance.

Von Schlemmer laughed nervously. "Ja, I did forget. You know I've been busy with fixing those portals!"

B.L.U spoke once again as Y.E.L.L.O.W and R.E.D took the man's arm in their tiny hands and pulled down the sleeve, revealing that his cybernetic arm was indeed having technical difficulties. The man was technically a cyborg and had slowly been becoming one as he got older. Many of his flesh parts had to be replaced by cybernetics, either due to lab accidents of his own, or the fault of other scientists. (which he fully brushed off, it was for science after all).

Two of the bits pulled his arm the best they could to make it straightforward, and Von Schelmmer immediately got to work fixing the problem. B.L.U asked him a question in binary code as it looked concerned.

The nab shook his head as he continued to fix himself. "Nein, I'm sure it vasn't because of our training. I haven't been keeping up with my own maintenance. Silver requires much more of it than you three combined!"

R.E.D beeped at him this time, wagging a scolding finger at him.

"Of course I'm still focused on my work! The fate of the vorld is at stake, und vhe need to make sure Silver is ready. Reality has been shattered for nearly 200 years, und with zese portals coming up more frequently, vhe have no idea how much time is left for us." The professor retorted just as he fixed enough servos to only make his pinky move.

He shook his head. "Ack. Zis is taking longer than usual. Y.E.L.L.O.W, please bring ze cybernetic maintenance tutorial on ze screen here. I must refresh my memory once again."

The yellow bit nodded and trotted along the lab table to retrieve the video. B.L.U took its place after the other left. In just a few moments, Y.E.L.L.O.W pulled up a giant holographic screen big enough for the man to see. It pressed a few buttons to make it come on, only instead of the video, it was a weather report from the approved news station. Once again it looked like it was going to rain.

"Nein. Zat's not it!"

The Y.E.L.L.O.W beeped in defense as it pressed several buttons to fix it. The screen kept changing channels, then it suddenly tuned into the profressor's video collection of his science projects. Some were successful, others blew up, but regardless, he always got back up and tried again.

Eventually it reached one that was more about a certain hedgehog he took in.

It showed Silver walking slowly on two legs, with each step carried by slightly trembling legs across a table. Both of his hands were gripping Von Schelmmer's as the man was guiding the hedgehog as he learned to walk on two legs.

"Zat's it, zat's it, little ingel. You can do it." The professor quietly told him as he gently walked beside him.

Silver was walking towards B.L.U who was at the other end of the table, waiting for him. The bit looked nervous as it didn't want to be chased again, but remained in place.

The professor slowly let go of Silver's hands, and the cub began to walk on his own two feet. B.L.U got excited as he started to beep quickly and his antenna began to glow. Y.E.L.L.O.W and R.E.D were on either side of Silver, nervously making sure the little one didn't fall.

The hedgehog then walked on his own all the way to B.L.U without using his powers to fly or lift himself up. B.L.U cheered in its binary code.

"Hoo hoo! Zat's it!" The professor cheered as the others bits hopped around him in joy. "You finally walked on your own!"

Silver then ran back to the professor, still on two legs and hugged him as far as his little arms could wrap around him. The man was caught off guard, but he slowly warmed up to the hug.

In another video Von Schemmer was at a digital screen with several words listed on it for Silver to practice saying. They seemed to be stuck on one word for a while.

"Let's try again." The man said as he pointed to the word 'professor', then back to himself. "Professor."

Silver's tail wagged as he said, "Papa."

The man shook his head. "No, no. Professor."

"Papa."

"Professor."

"Papa!"

"Pro-fess-or!"

"Pa-pa!"

Papa-er- the professor grabbed his head with worry, then threw his arms up. "Its no use!"

Silver threw his arms up, imitating the professor. "Its no use!" He exclaimed and laughed.

The man stared at the hedgehog in shock, then burst out laughing.

Von Schlemmer himself couldn't help but laugh himself. Silver did eventually say the word correctly, but it took him a while to realize this is what Silver was choosing to call him. He was going to protest, but he didn't have the heart to correct him.

It flipped through several videos where Silver was in the lab with him while he was working on inventions, usually on top of the man's head, or being occupied by the bits so wasn't in the way. It was quite difficult at times when he would end up flying across the lab, with the group trying to get him to land. Schlemmer refused to admit that a majority of his "research" footage was just Silver's young days and achievements.

The screen then showed five-year-old Silver concentrating on a portal that opened in an alley. Von Schelmmer was right behind him, making sure the cub didn't lose control. The bits were holding the camera, but the pulling force of the portal was making the debris around them lose their gravity.

Silver's psychokinesis covered the portal, turning the emitting light from purple to blue. Strange beast like sounds echoed from it, but soon the portal grew smaller and smaller as Silver formed his hands as if he was crumbling a piece of paper between his hands.

Within moments, the portal was gone, and everything seemingly returned to normal. Von Schlemmer's eyes widened when he saw the vanished portal. He ran over to where it once was and checked the area with his The Double-Downing Dousing Rods™, but there energy signature was barely there.

"What happened, Dad?" Silver questioned.

Von Schelmmer's grin grew wide. "You did it! You finally closed a portal Silver!" He cheered. "I knew you could do it, mein son!"

It was the first time the professor referred to him as 'son'….

Silver flew over to the man and hugged him. Von Schlemmer was hesitant at first, but he slowly hugged the little hedgehog back. "Such an affectionate creature. I vonder where you get it from?"

Von Schelmmer smiled as he was watching. Ever since he found Silver, the professor had been feeling these emotions when aiding in Silver's development. He was always an upbeat person, but when it came to Silver, that joy seemed to multiply for him. Every tiny milestone for the cub was something to celebrate for the professor. Whether it was passing the tests of his powers and closing various portals, or just simply taking his first steps, Schlemmer treated it all as wondrous achievements.

Despite the Bits warnings and the man's own instance he was only having the hedgehog as research for the portals, Professor Von Schlemmer grew to love Silver as his own son.

The video went to static, then it finally reached the instructional video on fixing cybernetics on one's body.

The professor suddenly realized how much time had passed when he looked the clock. This was no time to reminiscence, he had to finish fixing his arm, then prepare for Silver's final test tomorrow. That portal certainly wasn't going to fix its self!

Deep into the night, Silver was fast asleep in his bed. Most of the time, he slept peacefully, but on nights such as this one, there was a strange dream that was recurring more often for him.

It began with a beautiful male voice singing in the dark.

🎶"And I might know of our future But then you still control the past Only you know if you'll be together tonight"🎶

When his eyes opened, two figures who's shape were fuzzy were together over him. They were looking at each other lovingly, as if it were a love song to each other. What was clear were a pair of gold eyes and a pair of cyan eyes looking down at him. They seemed to have long quills in a similar fashion to his, but it was the only other detail he could see.

🎶"Cause every night I will save your life, every night I will be with you."🎶

He could see his own tiny hand reaching up to them. It was met with one of the figures own hands it came to the light. Its hand was similar in fur color to his own and even had the same symbol. The only addition was a bright yellow ring on its wrist.

A female voice joined in and it became a duet. The harmonious singing put the hedgehog at ease, it felt strangely familiar….

🎶"And every night, I will be with you…."🎶

The two figures seemed to nuzzle with each other as they looked at Silver.

🎶'Cause every night, I still lay awake And I dream….🎶

The song would abruptly stop, and the peaceful mood would be interrupted by a loud muffled explosion. In his slightly hazy vision, he could see large glowing towers and columns being destroyed, as if something was firing at them.

He could see that the mysterious figures were carrying Silver as they were fleeing. Behind them, a few hooded figures were in the midst of the chaos, leading the attack. A few hedgehogs were fighting back, but instead of running, they were soaring in the air like birds at they faced an army of black creatures with bright blue symbols on their heads. The creatures had tech that even Von Schlemmer hadn't seen.

As another explosion led to darkness, then two voices:

"We can't keep running forever, we need somewhere to hide!"

"Put in him here for now, we'll be able to find him later with these coordinates."

"I'm not leaving him behind!"

"Its the only way to ensure our future now…..We will return for you, young one. That I promise…"

…

Alarms went off as giant Civil Protection Robots were chasing Silver down. The hallway looked red as he was running down it.

"I have to get out. I can't do this anymore! Please, someone, hear me. Help me...." This voice wasn't his own, but by a young girl. Then realized he wasn't even looking through his own eyes here. She was escaping from somewhere that looked familiar. She looked around frantically for a way out, then found an air duct she could break and crawl through.

A final scene showed a megalthic black monster with multiple arms being controlled by the Council had entered Onyx City. Hundreds of citizens were frantically running out of the way as the monster grew larger and was destroying buildings left and right.

Silver could feel himself being scared of the monster, but then several mobians he didn't recognize appeared on either side of him. One in particular was a blue hedgehog who's back was facing Silver. they didn't seem to be afraid, as they said something he couldn't understand, it sounded muffled.

Just then the monster found the group and barred his long claws out. It raced towards them, eyes glowing like lightning, it was about to devour them!

"NO! STOP!" Silver screamed as he woke up from his nightmare. He reached out and accidentally used his powers, forcing several books and toys in his room slam against the wall.

It took him a moment to realize he was back in his own bed, in a room that was more personalized to his tastes. Silver looked at his own shaking hand as he was breathing heavily. He had this dream before, but every time he woke up feeling the same way: Afraid.

There was the sound of tiny metal feet racing across the floor outside his room. Then the door burst open with the bits taking a fighting stance. R.E.D was holding the professor's "Delicate Laser Device™" over its head, waiting to fire it at an intruder. The bits went off in a series of high pitched beeps as they were attempting to threaten who ever was harming Silver.

Silver waved his hands in warning. "Nononono! Wait, guys! It's not-"

There was another sound of approaching footsteps, only much heavier.

Professor Von Schlemmer raced into the room with even bigger laser than what the bits had. "SILVER, DON'T PANIC! I VON'T LET THEM TAKE YOU AWAY!" He aimed his "Considerably Less Delicate Laser Device™" laser as best he could, but it was so large he had use both arms to carry it. The man looked in the room, but he saw nobody but Silver. He looked a bit sheepish for making such a racket.

"Dad…I had that dream again." He admitted.

The professor dropped his weapon in relief. "Thank goodness. I thought it vas something vorse…stand down, mein friends."

The red bit tossed its weapon aside and claimed onto the bed to check on Silver. They kept beeping in questioning tones as they took a look at his hands.

Schlemmer clapped his hands to turn on the light, then sat down on the edge of the bed. "Again? You've been having zis dream for a few months now. Is something causing it? I can run a full diagnostic on your brain again to check." He offered.

The hedgehog shook his head. "Not this time. I keep seeing people in danger, people I can't help. I don't want to be like that anymore."

Von Schlemmer understood. Silver seemed to be sensitive when it came to the needs of the citizens, or anyone in need. He just never knew how much it bothered him. "Ah…I know you vant to help, but you'll have to vait until you're older. For now, you can help others by closing ze portals."

Silver wanted to protest that he could do it sooner, but changed this mind. But then something else came to mind: The two strangers that seemed to care for him as if he was theirs, but neither of them were the professor. Silver didn't understand why he kept seeing them, but he recalled when he was smaller and first met the Council. It was one of first times he felt afraid.

"The bad guys on the council. Why did they say you aren't my dad? I've known you since forever, they can't be right!"

The bits froze in shock. They didn't expect him to ask this…

The professor gulped. He knew there would be a day when Silver questioned where he came from. But he had no idea who it would hurt more, Silver or himself. Even if there came a day Silver's family finally returned, Von Schelmmer didn't know if he could part with him.

He cleared his throat and said, "Silver. No matter vat happens, no matter vat the Council says, you vill always be mien son."

"I found you many years ago. There vas no note, no trace of anyone else, only you, a tiny ingel all alone. Und a craving for apples." He chuckled at the thought. "I do not know vat happened to your original family, but you have a new one now. Und I'll do vatever it takes to protect you." The professor never sounded this serious before, but he wanted to show Silver why honesty was important for him to learn, no matter how much it might hurt.

"Oh….." Silver looked down at his hands, along with the custom made cufflinks that were made for his powers. He thought about everything Von Schelmmer had done for him so far. Every step, every lesson, even things he didn't want to eat but they were good for him anyway. Whenever he needed the professor, or had a million questions or just wanted someone to play with besides the bits, he was there.

Silver then looked up at the man and smiled. "Then you really are my Dad!"

The professor's eyes began to tear up. "Ja, I'm your father." He had to hold back, or else his face servos would malfunction again. The last time he cried, his face froze for a whole day and it wasn't easy to explain to the other scientists how it got like that.

"Und I promise I'll always be with you, even if you cannot see me. Your family is right here." He tapped Silver's fuzzy chest.

This made Silver feel a whole lot better. But just in case….

"Can…can you stay with me a little while?" Silver asked, his voice still having a tinge of worry.

Von Schlemmer was going to decline since he needed to finish up another project, but when he saw the cub's nervous face, he gave in. "Ja. But only for a few minutes. I still have some work left to do."

The professor laid down next to Silver as the hedgehog nestled himself under the covers once more. This time the bits sat next to him to keep him company once Schelmmer left.

As he watched the cub started to relax and get sleepy again as he laid down. "You know vat? Zat day I found you, vas ze greatest day of my life. You've become my greatest achievement." He spoke in a softer tone as he looked as his son.

Silver gently smiled at the professor, knowing how he truly felt about him without a doubt now. "Good night, Dad…." Silver yawned and rested his head against the professor's chest. The hedgehog listened to his heartbeat, which helped him fall asleep as he felt the warmth surrounding him. The bits began to go into sleep mode as they stayed in the bed with him.

Von Schlemmer had a small smile as he looked affectionately at the hedgehog. The professor held him as he began to snooze, reminding him of the first time Silver slept near him for a similar reason. He could no longer hold him in one hand, as said hand barely covered the hedgehog's back. "Gute nacht, mien schatz." He muttered as he too fell asleep.

As the pair slept, something else was scurrying in the night. In the alarms in the Onyx City tower were going off, and many of the robots were searching for someone who's escaped.

Two-Dot stomped into the hall. "Find her, you good for nothing bots! She couldn't have gotten far!" he ordered.

"Yes, great council, searching for fugitive at once." The robots said in unison and scattered themselves across the tower in search of a missing test subject.

Outside, a storm had begun, but that didn't stop the tenrec from running. After seven years of being a guinea pig for some insane scientists trying to crack the jet to dimension hopping, she had finally escaped their clutches. But she couldn't stop now, out of fear of being captured.

Gold ran and ran, he feet carrying her as fast as she could as the rain poured down, causing her to speed through puddles. She eventually made her way behind some buildings and between walls, finally in a place that away from the watchdog robots.

Gold hid in the rubbish pile and searched the way the best she could in the dark. Within the moonlight, she spotted an empty broken dryer. A safe haven!

The tenrec ran as quickly as she could, climbed clumsily into the dryer and tried to catch her breath. She shivered and tried to warm herself up. The rain was still pouring, but she could still hear the robots outside looking for her. She knew would have to stay there all night, just to make sure she avoided capture.

It wasn't ideal, but was better than being a test subject. Gold closed her eyes and did her best to get to sleep.

Above on top of the dryer, a tiny robot bug caught the scene and a tiny red light began to flicker. It was processing its long awaited signal to Professor Von Schlemmer.

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Author's Notes:

You know, this was supposed to be some compilation of short and fun stories with the trio as a family. Now its somehow turned into an ongoing story with world building, mystery and family at it's core. I wasn't even trying to do that…😅 Oh well! I hope you're enjoying this anyway!

We're getting close to all three coming together! In the very next chapter Gold will finally be with her new family! I've always enjoyed the idea of extended families in media, and Sonic is no different. Its a shame that thanks to Penders we can't see that concept anymore in Sonic media. Which is why I love that the movies found a way bring it back. That's been a big inspiration for this story, since I'd love to see Silver have a family or even info on his species.

For this AU, I'm including some lore from a few other games, canon or otherwise. I thought it would be cool to add some from Sonic Chronicles to the mix, since that one had a ton of great lore. The dream sequence was a favorite of mine to do since it'll be foreshadowing events to come later, and it'll give me a chance to create Silver's species. Plus, I think there's a connection that could be made to his kind and the echidnas.

Also, I adore writing Dad Von Schlemmer so much, he's a fun dad. And he's about to get another kid! I really wanted to show that it took a little bit to Von Schlemmer to adjust being called Dad, but its something he grew to take to heart. After all, love is a very powerful thing, and its going to to take a lot of it when it comes time to save the world. The last segment about the nightmare was actually inspired by another team psych story: Psychic's Plight in the Middle of the Night" by @psylirious on AO3. Its a very wholesome mini story you should check out, it was great reading more psych family content.

I'll be taking a break from this AU for a while to finish more of my nearly complete Wish AU. But there's definitely more to come!

Thanks for reading!