[t][center][i]Part One: The Problem[/i][/center]
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It was a sunny, pleasant spring morning in the quiet mountain town of Green Hills, Montana. Birds could be heard chirping amongst the trees as a lull breeze fanned their branches. It was as idyllic as one could hope for.

Situated amongst the trees, at the end of a short dirt drive, was a three-story house. It was the home of town sheriff Tom Wachowski and his wife Maddie. While the house and surrounding area seemed to be the perfect setting to unwind and grow old, the couple had narrowly averted a move out to California. Green Hills, while as peaceful as you could hope, didn’t offer a whole lot in the way of “action” for a man as ambitious as Tom. However, a certain “event” in the recent past managed to reconnect him with the town and its citizens, helping to reaffirm what he cherished about living in the otherwise “boring” town.

Taking advantage of the serene conditions of the mid-morning air, Maddie was out tending the tomato plants she grew in the backyard of her home. Wearing a wide-brimmed hat and denim overalls she was spreading plant feed around the stakes of tomato vines growing from the ground. As a veterinarian Maddie had an affinity for the natural world, which is why she enjoyed growing vegetables her family could eat in her backyard. Tom had left early in the day to visit the next town over in order to pick up some building supplies at a large home improvement store for a future project on his house, with Green Hills’ small community lacking such a store.

Having finished feeding her plants, Maddie got down on her knees and began tilling the soil around the stakes to mix the topsoil with the plant food she laid down. As she focused on her plants she heard the back door of her house fly open and a rushing sound heading in her direction from within. She peered over her left shoulder just in time to see a blue streak blaze over to the far end of her plant beds. The trail of light came to a sudden stop and at the end of it was a short creature covered in spiny blue fur that stood on two legs. The fur on his head and back formed a set of spines that ran up his back and his belly and muzzle were colored tan in contrast to the rest of his fur. On his hands were a pair of white gloves and he was wearing a pair of red sneakers, each with a white stripe passing horizontally along the middle of the foot. He didn’t seem to notice Maddie working in the garden.

“Oh, good morning, Sonic,” Maddie said to the creature. He turned his head in her direction, realizing for the first time that he wasn’t alone, and making contact with her eyes with the emerald green of his own.

“Hey, Pretz-er…Maddie,” the blue creature said. He was still getting used to remembering his human companions’ real names instead of the self-appointed nicknames he had been using up to that point. “Those pancakes you made this morning were terrific!” he complimented.

“Uh-huh,” she replied. “It’s the special syrup my mother created that really makes them shine. I just add powdered sugar to pull it all together,” explaining modestly. “Did you put away the dishes?”

“Oh, right…” Sonic trailed off, trying to remember the rules of his new home. “I’ll…get on that.”

As he talked Maddie noticed his left hand moving towards his waist. Since Sonic was facing away from her, she couldn’t see what exactly he was reaching for but the motions he was making immediately gave her a good picture in her mind. This notion was confirmed as a quiet hissing sound emerged from his direction and a spray of liquid could be seen arcing away from his lower abdomen. Sonic’s head turned back in the direction he was facing as the flow from his body continued, seemingly completely oblivious to the woman in his presence.

“When did Tom leave this morning?” Sonic asked, looking up at the clouds. “When I woke up I didn’t see him downstairs

“He…uh…went to get some wood and tools over at Lowe’s in…ah…Brookdale… I think he’ll be back in a few…hours…” Maddie stammered, unease audible in her voice. The complete disregard for the sort of etiquette that she took for granted that she was witnessing from this small creature had left her flustered. She blinked a few times to try to collect her thoughts. “Um, don’t you think you should be doi-“ she began to say.

“Oh okay!” Sonic said cheerily. “We totally gotta go to the comic shop when he gets back! I wanna get a poster of The Flash for my new room!”

The golden flow from between his hips slowed to a drip. “Alright, gonna go clean up the table. Thanks again for the breakfast!” Just as quickly as he arrived Sonic turned around and zipped back towards the house in another flash of blue light, his super speed kicking up dust in his wake and blowing Maddie’s hat off her head. She reached down to pick up her hat and brushed it off while frowning in the direction of the house.

Sonic the Hedgehog; the “Blue Devil of Green Hills.” The “event” that kept the Wachowskis in Green Hills had been incited by that little blue speedster. An extraterrestrial with super speed who had found himself in the locale for the past decade, living in the shadows and only been exposed by an anomaly he accidentally caused. This took the town by storm as government agents and a psychotic, robot-obsessed mad scientist descended onto their peaceful region to try to capture Sonic. However, the town banded together and cast them out, finally giving the blue hedgehog a community and a place to call home. The Wachowskis had just accepted Sonic into their home last week, having moved the contents of his little hole in the ground to the attic of their house.

Sonic was well-meaning and very grateful for his newfound home and friendships, things he had been denied for the last ten years of his life. However, with that change it wasn’t surprising that some adjustments would have to be made. Going from living on his own, by his own rules, for several years out of sight and contact with anyone else to sharing an already-established home would certainly make for a new experience. As he had only been living under the Wachowskis’ roof for a week the couple had been focused on the big things to getting him acclimated to his new residence – making sure he was comfortable, getting him used to sleeping in a new place, etc. But there were habits he brought from his old life that were…not going to work in this new setting and it was about time to confront them.
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A few hours later Tom Wachowski’s new silver pickup pulled into the front of his home, with a set of plywood sheets in the bed. He turned off the engine and stepped out, bringing several plastic shopping bags of new tools out with him. Tom opened the front door to his house and went inside. He set down the new tools on the dining room table and made his way to the kitchen, where his wife was watering flowers on the kitchen windowsill.

“Hey. Madds,” he greeted her. He went into the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of beer. He popped the top off and took a small sip before walking over to Maddie and kissing her on the cheek. “How was the morning by yourself?”

“It was…um…good,” she said, somewhat at a loss for adequate wording. “I…got some gardening done after you had left.”

“Uh-huh,” Tom said after drinking more from his bottle in his hand. “Traffic on the way to Brookdale wasn’t bad but coming back it was a bit of a mess. Three-car accident on the interstate that backed things up for about twenty minutes, but I got around it by taking highway 7 until I was past the slowdown. Still took an extra fifteen, though. Got lunch in Brookdale so don't worry about me."

He noticed the mail that Maddie had brought in from the foyer on the kitchen counter and he began thumbing through the envelopes in the pile. “Did Sonic wake up after I left?” Tom asked.

At the sound of Sonic’s name Maddie briefly froze, her mind going back to the encounter she had in the garden that morning. She set down the water pot and turned around to face her husband.

“Yeah…about Sonic…” she said.

“What’s up?” Tom asked, intrigued what was on her mind about their new housemate.

“Well…when we accepted Sonic into our house we accepted that he wasn’t exactly…used to being around people, right?” she began.

“I mean…yeah,” Tom said, somewhat incredulous that she was telling him something he already knew. “He’s been living out in the woods for like ten years and didn’t interact with anyone in that time. I think we’d all be a bit out-of-touch with society if that was our lives for a decade.”

“So you agree that Sonic’s social skills are a bit rusty?”

“In the very least,” Tom said as he polished off his bottle of beer and tossed it in the waste basket.

“Well, this morning he…um…” Maddie started to say but the words needed to describe what she had seen became difficult to say.

“He what?”

“He…came out to the garden while I was working and he just…peed. Right there. In front of me, like I wasn’t even there,” she finally came to grips with what happened.

“Uh…what…?” Tom said, his face turning to an expression of bemused confusion.

Maddie bit her lower lip before simply saying “Yep,” tilting her head to indicate she said all that needed to be said.

“That…er…” Tom stammered, himself taken aback by the oddness of the whole scenario. “He just…” Tom stumbled over his words and pointing ambiguously out towards the garden. His eyes narrowed into a squint.

Maddie nodded.

“…without even trying to…” he continued, without needing to fill in the blank from his earlier incomplete sentence to be understood. Maddie nodded again. Tom sighed then paused for a moment before speaking again. “You're serious...?" was all he could come up with.

Just then the sound of the attic staircase opening was heard from the second floor. A blue ball bounded down from the attic and then sped down the steps to the first floor of the house before rounding the bend at the foyer and bouncing into the kitchen where the couple were conversing. It rolled up to them then uncurled to reveal Sonic's upright figure.

"Hey, the Donut Lord's back!" he said, cheerfully. He held out his fist for a fist bump and Tom returned the gesture.

"Hey there, Speedy," he replied, effectively hiding what he and Maddie had been discussing right before Sonic rolled in. Maddie gave her husband a slight side glance as she turned back towards the window and he subtly responded in kind.

"Bring me anything good?" Sonic asked, cheekily.

"Not unless you like plywood sheets and nails," Tom answered him.

"Think I'll pass," Sonic said, waving his hand dismissively. "Got time to go to the comic store? I was hoping to get a poster of The Flash for my new bedroom."

"Guess I could after I unload the truck," Tom said thoughtfully. "Give me about half an hour?"

"Gotcha!" Sonic said, happy that he was getting his wish. "Be upstairs until then, just give me a shout!"

He spun on his right foot and began to take off in the other direction away from the kitchen before suddenly pausing. Sonic looked out the kitchen window briefly. "On...second thought...." He bolted for the back door out of the kitchen and ran into the Wachowskis' yard. Maddie and Tom watched the blue trail weave through the yard until it reached the edge of their property, where the treeline began. Sonic skidded to a halt before taking a brief look around. For a moment Sonic looked indecisive as he surveyed his surroundings before walking over to the oak tree on his left. Facing away from the tree, the Wachowskis watched as he opened his stance, bent forward with his hands on his knees, and...

"Oh...oh my God..." Maddie said in abject disgust, her eyes growing very wide. Tom simply looked on in detached disbelief without offering his own take.

Maddie closed her eyes and threw her face into her open palm, unable to continue watching the young blue hedgehog do..."that" without an ounce of compunction at being seen. She shook her head, overwhelmed by what she was trying to process.

Sonic saw the two humans back at the house through the kitchen window and he nonchalantly waved to them from his hunched position, innocently unaware of how disturbed he left them. Tom let off a limp wave, almost instinctively, while retaining his nonplussed expression. He pursed his lips before clicking his tongue, trying to muster some semblance of clearheadedness.

"I...guess...someone is going to need...to talk to...him..." was all he could offer.