Sonic never truly liked being a demigod.

There was danger around every turn, and you always had to watch your back. It was a horrible shock when he first learned about it. Of course, he knew his parents, Tom and Maddie Wachowski, weren't his real parents. He was a Hedgehog hybrid, and they were humans.

He could remember his birth mother, though. Not much, but he could sometimes piece together her face. If he was lucky, he could recall her voice. He and his twin siblings, Sonia and Manic, were around six when she died, so the grief had lessened over the decade (at least for him). He didn't know how she died. It was sudden, and no one really knew what had happened.

He was happy with how he lived. It was normal enough.

Though, there were strange incidents like seeing figures that just didn't seem entirely human, or wild animals (usually rams or tortoises) staring at the triplets. Sonic always found himself much faster than other kids, to the point that he didn't even remember running. He just got ready to run, and there was in a moment, the wind blowing in his face.

Sometimes, someone whispered something the three passed.

At least, they thought they heard whispers. When they looked up at their parents to see if they heard, too, they seemed completely oblivious. Sometimes, the whispering was loud enough that the siblings just knew they had to hear. They never did.

It all seemed to click when they were told they were demigods at twelve: their mother's unexplainable death, the whispering, the odd figures, the animals, the speed.

Sonja told them about everything. They didn't really seem all too surprised. They'd done their fair share of research to realize all its connections. Demigods never had normal or sound childhoods and were often plagued by danger.

The three were children of Hermes, which made sense. They were able to come to terms with it, though it did take some time.

Hermes never showed himself to his kids. But Sonic never really minded. It wasn't that he didn't want to know him. He just didn't feel like he was losing a relationship with his dad. There just wasn't one. He wasn't too sure how his brother and sister felt though.

Miles knew when he was almost five.

It was one of the last things his mother told him. "You're the son of the healer... Asclepius." She told him. "I believe you're strong enough to know now."

A day later, she was gone. He never liked remembering that.

Ever since, he'd had such an interest in healing, that - besides technology - it was the only thing he focused on. Miles lived by himself until he was six. That was when he met Sonic, who was fourteen at the time.

The Fox had been tormented for a mutation that gave him two tails. Sonic never minded, though. He loved Miles, not really giving his parents a choice but to adopt the Fox. Sonic had given Miles the affectionate nickname "Tails."

The four bonded quickly over being demigods, who always seemed to be drawn together by the odd power of the gods.

Sitting on the couch at night, Sonic would read stories of ancient Greek to Tails (the latter had a much harder time reading them because of his dyslexia). Sonia would keep her brothers out of trouble. And Manic was just thrilled to have someone other than his older siblings to talk to about it.

But Tails was always closest to Sonic, his hero.

Soon, Sonic without Tails just didn't make sense. Sonic helped Tails with being braver, and trying new things. Tails guided the Hedgehog on how to think things through, and helped with his impulsive behavior.

The two seemed more family than friends.

~~~

"Happy birthday, buddy! How old are you now? Six?" Sonic teased playfully as the lights turned back on. The Wachowskis had just finished singing "Happy Birthday" to Tails (horribly off-key).

Tails laughed, shaking his head. He pointed to the candles on the cake and smirked. "Eight!" He beamed.

Sonic gasped in mock-shock. He shook his head, crossing his arms. "Nope, not possible. No way." He said plainly.

Maddie laughed, ruffling the Fox's blond hair. "Aw, he's still just a little kid." She hummed. Tails smiled even more, enjoying the head pats.

Tom smiled and watched, cutting slices of cake. That was when they heard a knock on the front door.

Usually, random knocks when you aren't expecting anyone are a bad sign. For a demigod, they're usually worse. For them, it could mean a monster is there, ready to barge in and slaughter them.

Or it meant that Sonia and Manic (who'd left for the week to the next town over for some volunteer work) had dropped by to visit.

Nevertheless, Sonic opened the door. He knew he could run quick enough to grab the others and hide (probably not a normal thing a kid should keep in his mind).

There wasn't anyone there, though. He looked around curiously, and noticed something on the ground. It was a package wrapped in gold-colored paper. On it was written in ancient Greek, "To my son, happy eighth."

Sonic smiled, picking up the package. "Tails! You got something from Asclepius!" He said, looking over to the table. Tails perked up, his namesakes swaying. The Hedgehog raced back over and handed Tails the package. "Wanna open it first?" He asked, to which the Fox nodded.

Tails ripped off the paper (despite being so mature, he always had that child-like excitement that was natural for his age. It made Sonic happy- seeing his brother get to act like the kid he was. He certainly deserved it).

When he saw what his father had gifted him, he smiled even more and clapped excitedly. Resting on top of a thick picture guide on every working healing technique was a set for making new medicines and ingredients for brewing.

"Gaia, this is so cool!" He beamed, picking up the set and inspecting it. "This is a gift from my father, so this could be even more powerful than modern doctors' equipment!"

Maddie tilted her head curiously. "It looks like something that herbal doctors use." She observed, smiling at him.

Tails nodded. "It's so cool!"

Sonic smiled, elbowing Tails gently. "So? Best birthday?" He hummed. Tails laughed and tackle-hugged his brother. "Best birthday!" The Hedgehog restated.

And that was true. Birthdays, for years, had been a subject touchy to Tails. But now, things were getting much better.

~~~

Tails soon opened up the rest of his presents: New video games, tools, STEM kits, a sketchbook for machine designs, among other things. He thanked his family endlessly for it all, and soon, the party was over. There wasn't anyone else there, though, but Sonic and Tails had made plans for tomorrow to meet up with some friends.

Tom and Maddie went out to run errands, leaving the two to their own devices. Sonic had put on National Geographic for Tails. Despite how much the Fox knew about the world, there was no moving him until the channel was no longer on. That gave Sonic the opportunity to do what he wanted and not worry about Tails.

The Hedgehog went off to his room to work on some family tree his high school had assigned. Unluckily for him, he wasn't allowed to have Tom's and Maddie's families on it. He had to have his biological family. He subtly put his father as "unknown." No one would believe him (not that he could blame them) if he said that his father was Hermes.

Well, except for his closest friends (demigods just seemed to be naturally drawn together...).

And it wasn't as if people were unaware of the gods- at least where he lived. They just would never be quick to believe Sonic was the child of one.

Sonic placed a picture of his biological mother on its spot. He stared for a moment, digging through his memories for her voice. Her blue hair fell in curls along her shoulders and her blonde bangs framed her green eyes. He sighed, failing to remember what she sounded like, and grabbed a marker. He wrote above the picture, "Bernadette - Mother."

He thought for a moment; he was weighing his options of what to do. On one hand, he was nearly done and could finish it in a few minutes. On the other hand, his attention span was short and he wanted to spend more time with his brother. It was Tails' birthday after all.

Sonic smiled to himself, standing up. "This thing can wait. My brother comes first." He hummed, then dashed off towards the living room to enjoy his brother's show with him.

Suddenly, while he was in the hallway, he heard a sudden crash. The Hedgehog jumped up in surprise, then bolted into the room.

He saw Tails tucked in the corner, seeming more shocked than frightened of what he was seeing. A large crack had formed on the floor, right where the Fox had been sitting before. The dark red glow showed that it must've led down into something fiery. Sonic dashed to his brother, picked him up, and stared at the crack. "What in Chaos..." He whispered.

A low grumble suddenly emitted from the crack. It sounded like a voice, and the two could make out words.

"IVO RISES FROM THIS HELL. TARTARUS CANNOT HOLD ME AWAY FROM DESTROYING OLYMPUS. THE GODS SHALL PAY FOR MY IMPRISONMENT."

Tails gaped and stared, watching as something shadowy and beaten clawed its way out of the crack. It was a monster. It looked human, but it seemed... uncanny. Boiling, red eyes glared ahead, and tweedy, long hairs crossed its face.

"GODS WILL FALL AT MY HAND. I WILL BE THE DESTRUCTION OF OLYMPUS AND THIS PITIFUL PLANET."

The monster seemed to just notice Sonic and Tails then.

"And demigods like you cannot stop me."

And in an instant, a cold flash of red filled the room, making the two need to cover their eyes. When it cleared, the crack was gone, along with the monster. The only sign of it even happening was some furniture being slightly shaken out of place, and the smell of burning metal in the air.

For a moment, the two stared at where the crack was. "Tails... What do you think that thing was?" Sonic asked, his voice shaking nervously.

The Fox was silent for a moment, thinking to himself. "I think that was a titan..." He whispered, looking up at his brother.

Sonic blinked a few times. "I've never heard of a titan called 'Ivo' or 'Robotnik'." He commented. Tails nodded.

"Either way, something bad is going to happen..." He responded, shaking his head.

"Yea, all that dude said..." Sonic muttered, shaking. "The destruction of Olympus..."

Tails stepped forward, staring intently at the spot on the ground. "And the destruction of Earth..."