Fanfic / Prison Island Break

"The hell with boring old rape-rape... let's go for GANG RAPE."

— Breech Loader

Prison Island Break, by Breech Loader and Sonicfrank, is a Dark Fic; a massive re-imagining of the Sonic the Hedgehog series where everybody is a dangerous criminal. It includes murder, sexual violence, mental illness and the newest addition to the trauma list, A-list drug abuse.

It features characters from a wide range of the Sonic continuities having to survive in, work in, or escape from Prison Island Penitentiary, managed by the Mad Scientist Director Doctor Eggman, and the cruel Head Warden Mephiles. Prison Island has many dark secrets, including torture For Science! and being a hiding place for the powerful Chaos Emeralds...

The fanfic was at first written by two authors. According to Word of God there was an argument and one of them quit, then refused to post a chapter to redirect the followers. The other author continues alone, but reading the full story requires visiting two different author accounts...

Part One - Prison Island Break

Part Two - Prison Island Break: Season Two.As of July 5, 2019 Part Two is no longer available, the author has deleted it from fanfiction.net.

Breech Loader has officially announced that she won't update the story anymore as of June 23, 2019.

---

Prison Island Break contains examples of:

• AB Negative: Subverted. Shadow the Hedgehog does have a rare blood type - but it's B-. And so does Silver. In a case of Shown Their Work, Word of God is that it was chosen to combine drama with Foreshadowing...

• Adaptation Dye-Job: Scourge has naturally green fur here instead of starting out with blue.
• Adaptation Name Change: Super Sonic is renamed 'Fleetway' to distinguish him from Sonic, and confirm which version of Super Sonic is being used (it's Fleetway's).
• Age Lift: Every character is older than in canon - even the ones already old enough to go to an adult prison are given an age lift. The age lift is also inconsistent - while most characters are aged by 10 or 11 years, Silver is aged by only 5 (to make him noticeably younger than Sonic), Blaze is aged by 14, and Shadow is aged by 20 (having spent those 20 years in prison, and doubling as Foreshadowing).
• The Alcatraz:
  • Shadow has apparently tried to escape Prison Island and failed - and apparently he's actually gotten the furthest of any convict. He's pretty angry at Sonic for insisting that he can, because he knows firsthand that it's impossible.
  Shadow: First the ankle cuff. Then the cell. Then the locked doors. Then the fences, the jungle, the MILES AND MILES OF FUCKING OCEAN! And all the fucking way, there's the Guard Robos, the cameras, the grasses, and that mother-fucking bastardated sonuvabitch Mephiles. You think you're the first to try?
  • In fact, Sonic talks so much about escaping this inescapable prison, that the other cons and guards think he's kidding.
• Alien Blood: Shadow Robotnik bleeds black blood when everybody else has red blood. This is in keeping with canon, in which he is an alien hybrid. Black was chosen rather than green to show some characters trying to 'delude' themselves into thinking that it is just a very dark red.
• Alternate Universe Fic: A full-blown Contextual Reassignment. Despite this, it still manages to stay true to the characters' official personalities.
• Anti-Villain: The guys you're supposed to root for are barely even Designated Heroes. among them. All are guilty of terrible crimes and most intend to commit more on their escape. It's the Morality Kitchen Sink. However, since the story is told mostly from their perspective, Sympathy for the Devil ensues to some degree.
• Anyone Can Die: If the plot needs death, the author doesn't exactly tremble at the prospect of killing off popular characters and has warned readers that their approach is not about to change.
• Asshole Victim: Silver was sent to prison for killing someone who would have later raped and killed a bus full of children. Since his only evidence was his psychic foresight, he's treated just the same as the other super-powered criminals.
• Attempted Rape: Shadow attempts to molest Sonic the first time they meet, and molests Silver under the bleachers and again in the chapel. Shadow is technically straight, and the author portrays it more as him trying to dominate them than a sexually motivated attack.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Vector is at the top of a criminal empire because he had to climb his way to the top; he wouldn't be in that position if he wasn't badass. This is made apparent when Mephiles attempts to bring him to Eggman; Vector not only easily demolishes ten Guard Robos, he very nearly comes close to mangling Mephiles before the Head Warden can get the bars up.
• Ax-Crazy: During the riot, Shadow picks up a fire axe and uses it. The author reminds us that fire axes are not designed for cutting, and he's basically using a sharp club - which just makes things even messier.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Sonic asks Shadow to get rid of the dead weight on their team, hoping the black and red hedgehog will scare Silver away. Shadow has a different definition of 'dead weight' culminating in murdering Espio and Vector in the prison shower. Sonic is understandably horrified.

• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Between Sonic and Shadow - when they first meet, Shadow attempts to sexually attack Sonic to dominate him, and later on starts having disturbing dreams. Eventually he and Sonic have a consensual make-out session to vent his frustrations with Sonic taking the lead.
• Beneath the Mask:
  • Shadow has a lot going on under the psychopathic exterior, but one of his more pitiable qualities is his subconscious desire for somebody who is strong enough to control him; this is what draws him to Sonic.
  • Despite his physical inadequacy, Silver shows signs of being genuinely crazy, blowing up when people he cares about are in danger. He realises that he is behaving just like his father.
• Black-and-Grey Morality:
  • It can be a little disturbing to find yourself rooting for Shadow the Hedgehog; a serial rapist, leering pervert and constant hypocrite. But when the alternative is somebody like Head Warden Mephiles, it's slightly more understandable.
  • Doctor Eggman has callously tortured convicts For Science!! and completely overlooks Mephiles' abuse of... just about everybody... he's on this level too.
• Bloodier and Gorier: It's not just darker. The writer takes great pleasure in writing bloody battle scenes, some of the scenes in the riot arc being undeniable Gorn.
• Break the Cutie:
  • Life in prison is not kind to Silver. He finds himself breaking his ideals to survive.
  • Tails also gets put through the wringer, primarily the kind involving rape.
  • Amy is forced to perform lewd sexual acts for Mephiles.
• Break the Haughty: Silver initially believes that he can reform the entire prison population.
• Brought Down to Normal: Dr. Eggman creates Super-Inhibitor Rings that, if a convict wears them, they lose their powers.
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Shadow with regards to his rape victims. He comments that they have all blurred together.
• By-the-Book Cop: E-123 Omega - a robot - is just about the only decent Warden in the place, and the convicts take opportunities to point out Mephiles' corruption, eventually overloading the Inhibitor Chip that keeps it from questioning immoral orders.
• The Cassandra: Silver. Nobody really believes he knows the future, and he hates being able to see it as it does him little good. To be fair, it's really difficult to be believed when you are literally the only one who could see what was coming. Word of God is that the author used this 'psychic' approach as opposed to the contorted time-travelling that took place in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) (when Silver first canonically appeared).
• Child by Rape: A variation of the normal origin angst. The character concerned learns it much later in the story than usual and doesn't angst but accepts it.
  Silver The Hedgehog: All my life I've wanted to know the truth. And it hurts. But I kind of expected it to.
• Cold Sniper: Nack talked about his job as a professional assassin as if it was a day job.
• Combat Pragmatist: Everybody.
  • Shadow is the most skilled, constantly being frisked for shivs and coming up with more minutes later.
  • Sonic rips off a toilet seat and hits Shadow in the face with it.
• CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable: Very deliberately averted. As Doctor Blossom performs surgery on Shadow during the riot, she thinks about how little equipment she's got and contemplates how she's so unlikely to save him. When she performs CPR, she has to siphon blood and vomit out of his mouth to stop him from drowning in it. It's an accurately described mess.

• Date Rape: Scourge is fond of this, using Ketamine to repeatedly violate Sonic.
• Dead Fic: It looked like it for a time, but the author returned after a two-year hiatus with the explanation that she'd been tied down with Bulimia Nervosa. As of June 2019, the author has officially stopped updating the story. While the first season is still available, the second season has been deleted, causing the story to be left with No Ending after Sonic and Mina's second meeting together.

• Department of Child Disservices: Convict Shadow Robotnik was taken away from his eccentric father-creator Gerald, but Social Services itself accidentally knocked down his sister Maria while doing so, fueling a life-long resentment towards The Man. He was then passed around a series of foster homes which had trouble coping with him due to his emotional trauma and the fact that he's the Ultimate Lifeform. He was finally passed into the care of foster parents who physically and sexually abused him, and who he eventually murdered. Different from many other abuse fanfics in that Shadow clearly avoids bringing it up and will try to change the subject if it does.
  Silver: What... happened to you?
  Shadow: Nobody ever came when I screamed. Nobody sympathized with me when I did what had to be done. Why should I help you, knowing there's nothing you can do for me?!
• Depower: Every character has their powers from canon, but they've all been negated through various means (the strong Knuckles is given padded gloves to stop him from digging, etc.). Silver is given an injection upon arrival at Prison Island that prevents him from using his incredibly strong psychic powers. Those will come back if he stops receiving the injection but the wardens definitely don't want that to happen.
• Depraved Homosexual: Knuckles. It's stated very firmly that he's in prison because he raped multiple men, and he sees no reason to stop now that he's in prison.
• Disappeared Dad: Silver's father for a long time. Unlike most other convicts who have some idea of their parents, Silver has never known his father and his mother has even given him conflicting stories on what happened to him.
• Does Not Like Guns: Guns make Sonic very uncomfortable. When the group get their hands on a crate of firearms, he's the only one hesitant to use them.
• Dramatic Irony: Shadow and Silver find out they're father and son at roughly the same time, but can't bear to tell the other for fear of rejection - even though the reader knows they'd probably embrace it. Shadow starts treating Silver like a son (teaching and protecting him), while Silver starts taking on some of Shadow's traits. But they can't bear to reveal it for ages.
• Drugs Are Bad: For a story that features rapists, murderers and terrorists, the deciding factor is always drugs and the manner of their use. As early as the first chapter, Silver the Hedgehog is depowered using drugs, turning him into a victim. And when it's Serial Killer vs Serial Killer, the bad guy is the one who takes and deals Heroin.
  Shadow: You, Scourge... Your only reason to live is me! Without me to punish, you're nothing but another goddamn Judas Shooter!
  • While it's clear the author has a grudge against irresponsible drug use, they definitely have Shown Their Work. This was especially obvious in the chapter where Ketamine was used in its capacity as a rape drug.
• Due to the Dead: There is a funeral in which nine convicts are buried in the prison grounds. One of the prison customs is that the killer, if known, should dig the grave; otherwise one of their closest should do it. Shadow ends up digging and filling in four graves, and attends their funeral, showing great respect for the dead. Several other cons follow his example. Interestingly, while it is mentioned that 'several wardens' and even Amy Rose attend, Mephiles is not mentioned as attending (despite being directly responsible for one death), another thing that makes him all the less humane.
• Easily Forgiven: Invoked, Lampshaded and strangely inverted.
  • Sonic has a huge number of fans even in this AU. This is justified thanks to his good PR. Word of God is that this is a reference to the Real Life event of the Great Train Robbery, where good PR turned the robbers into celebrities.
  • On his way to a trial, a fangirl of Shadow jumps him, screaming that she can change him and terrifying him, resulting in him hitting her right off him. Even then she doesn't change her mind. This is actually a gag - it references how Shadow often becomes a Draco in Leather Pants in the Sonic fandom. Word of God is that the writer is serious about how often rapists are quickly forgiven in bad fanfiction.
  • Sonic considers Shadow partly responsible for the death of Manic) and neither forgives nor forgets - although he eventually accepts that Shadow feels genuinely guilty.
  • The story itself presents meta-inversion. The readers don't need to forgive the protagonists for any of their crimes to enjoy the story, and are encouraged to remember, but you find yourself feeling sorry for them a lot. Don't worry; there's nothing wrong with you. Word of God is that this is exactly how you're supposed to feel; the conditions in the prison are so horrific, so corrupt, so inhumane, that even these murderers and rapists are getting Disproportionate Retribution for what they've done. That clash of emotions you're getting? That's intentional.
• Embarrassing First Name: Shadow the Hedgehog's full name is "Ursula Leslie Robotnik", which is why he insists that everybody call him Shadow, but Sonic occasionally embarrasses him with it. At one point Shadow jokes that it means "Oops, we expected a girl."
• Embarrassing Nickname: The characters use plenty of nicknames for each other, and regardless of the name, not calling them by their true name is a sign of disrespect. Among those used in canon, the author has added a few.
  • After Sonic gives Shadow his nicknames, Shadow twists them into insults, and often refers to Sonic as "Streak", "The Thickest Thing Alive" and "The Blue Blockhead". Earlier in the series, he also addresses Sonic as "Faker", though it's less about them being supposedly identical to each other and more about Shadow seeing Sonic's bravado and charisma as a farce.
  • Shadow is referred to by Sonic as "Girlfriend" (Shadow initially argues about it but gives up after a while), "Captain Surly", "S-man", "Shads" and when he's feeling particularly respectful, "Shads-meister".
  • Silver is known almost exclusively as "Preacher", which he rather dislikes as he knows it's intended as an insult. Shadow occasionally calls him 'boy' (as a reference to his greater age). However Scourge calls him "Fairy-Princess" which he hates even more.
  • Mephiles is often referred to as "Mephy" by Sonic.
• Ensemble Cast: A large cast, with chapters alternating between characters. It's rare that two chapters will have the same two characters running. If Shadow tries to kill Sonic in one chapter it may be another two before you see them in the infirmary.
• Even Evil Has Standards: The psychopathic Shadow puts a lot of stock on Prison Etiquette. Also, he Wouldn't Hurt a Child and generally dislikes the use of drugs. Despite being a murder-rapist, he draws the line after he finds Silver having been brutally gang-raped for the fun of it.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: During the "Freaky Friday" Flip, Scourge doesn't learn how great it is to have friends, but instead tires of being nice to them.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: Shadow's intelligence, combined with his lack of self-control and loose morals make him very useful. They also make him very dangerous. Sonic finds this out the hard way.
• Face Death with Dignity: Nack faces Mephiles during the riot and takes two bullets to the leg, and they have some brilliant back-and-forth - but when Mephiles offers him a trade, his life for snitching, he throws out some awesome lines:
  Mephiles: So, do you have any memorable last words?
  Nack: Yeah... Guess I'm gonna die the way I lived. At the wrong end of a gun...
  Mephiles: Very nice. Very poetic. (fires twice) Now you get to die... all alone.
  Nack: See you in hell, Mephiles...
  • He doesn't die right there, either. Even after taking four bullets, he gets the HELL of a Tearjerker conversation, before his very last words...
  Dying in the arms of somebody who cares... is all that makes life worth living...
• Florence Nightingale Effect: It is very obvious that this has happened with Shadow the Hedgehog, who is obsessed with Doctor Amy. It's not very romantic, and in fact is even a little creepy since Shadow is a serial rapist-murderer, and voices his desire to rape her specifically right to her face. She tries to rebuff him, or ignore his advances, but it seems she's quite fond of him too.
• Foreshadowing: Oh my, the author is good at this; mostly the little things that seem like luck and coincidence. There is one teeny joke though...
  • Lucas Silva...
• For the Evulz: Convicts mostly abuse each other to defend themselves, assert their authority and protect their reputation. However Head Warden Mephiles consistently and frequently does it for the sheer joy of it.
• Foster Kid: Part of Shadow's backstory is that he went through multiple foster homes after his family was killed.
• "Freaky Friday" Flip: Finivetus and Eggman do this to Sonic and Scourge. They try to cover it up to avoid getting beaten up, but rapidly tire of being each other - Sonic hates being feared and alone, not to mention enduring the withdrawal symptoms of Heroin, while Scourge tires of being nice to people he considers weak and misses the psychological effects.
• Friendly Enemy:
  • Shadow and Sonic; the writer skilfully writes so that despite all the fighting they do, they still gradually become friends (although Shadow denies it fiercely).
  • Shadow and Silver - Shadow comes up with excuses to attack Silver less and less. Later, Silver saves Shadow's life
    Shadow: You pry, and poke, and insult all around you by your very demeanour. I should give you the thrashing of a lifetime. But I see now it would be a waste of a good shanking. You can't help it; it's in your nature. It would be like kicking a dog for licking its own balls.
    Silver: Th-Thanks, sir...
• Gadgeteer Genius: Tails escaped from the medium security prison he was previously incarcerated in by rigging a radio to mess up all the electronics and then flying over the fence. He's not allowed any access to anything more mechanically complicated than a fork due to his escape record. Sonic's got his eye on him for a escape plan.
• Gender-Blender Name: Shadow's full name is "Ursula Leslie Robotnik" (The initials are U. L. Robotnik...)
• Go Mad from the Isolation: Shadow sacrifices his own sanity - he signs a paper admitting he is insane - and is locked up in the small lunatic wing. While drugging, rape and medical torture is something he has previously endured, now he goes through a week of isolation, chained to the wall and fed through a tube. When Amy rescues him a week later he is in a shocking condition, and she breaks into tears. On his part, he doesn't even recognize her as the woman he was once so infatuated with.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Knuckles certainly is hot-tempered, but this is more the reason Shadow is so feared by the other convicts. There is no in-between mood for him; he can be quietly eating his lunch, and someone can so much as breathe wrong and he'll attack them in a rage.
  Sonic: "Boy, Shadow sure gets antsy when you squeeze the toothpaste from the wrong end."
• Hell Hole Prison: The setting.

• Hospital Hottie: Being one of the few women in the prison, Amy is considered this. She's harassed by Sonic, Shadow and presumably a few other prisoners.
• Hypocrite: Shadow is a massive hypocrite - this was actually deliberate. However he doesn't notice and nobody dares to call him out on it, so sometimes he can look like a bit of a douchebag.
  • Silver sometimes becomes hypocritical regarding his own beliefs.
  • Hypocrisy Nod: Silver is better aware of his hypocrisy as the story goes on and is disgusted with himself.
• If It's You, It's Okay: Shadow is not gay. That doesn't stop him from getting hot and heavy with Sonic.
• Improvised Weapon: Shadow does this all the time. Yes, he's happy to use broken glass and stolen razors. And he'll pull the old toothbrush-shiv too. But the writer did the research and he will resort to using anything to hand from fire axes to pool cues.
  • Made more obvious by how Sonic does not use weapons. This is done to reflect how Shadow used weapons in his own game.
• It Amused Me: Shadow sometimes hurts people to vent his emotional frustrations. It is implied that he hurts random cons when he is not held back by the others.
  • Scourge is even worse, hurting people just for fun.
• Jerk Jock: Knuckles. He's a very pronounced example even among the other Jocks in the prison, as his Hair-Trigger Temper and brutality ensure that people that cross him sincerely regret it when it comes time for him to get payback.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Shadow. For the longest while you feel like you're trying to see something that's not there. But eventually he starts coming out of his shell, showing more emotions and feeling bad about hurting people. He also starts to get his rages under control.
  Narration: What Shadow the Hedgehog said, and what he thought, were not exactly always in the same carpool. On the flip side, they changed lanes so often that they'd clipped each other's wing mirrors off. Still, he certainly wasn't a hero. And nobody could make the mistake of calling him a good man. But he was quick-minded, and fastidious, and determined, and clean, which are all becoming of a hero. The sole quality he lacked was virtue, and he knew it. Still, good men who believe their virtue to be satisfactory have already taken a step down the ladder, and bad men who think themselves sinful enough are ready to take a step up.
  • Sonic also counts as this. He's much more charismatic and friendly than Shadow, but keep in mind he's not above spouting insults and taunting people to make them enrage.
  • Knuckles eventually graduates as this once Sonic wins Tails from him. While still temperamental and headstrong, he's very big on respecting the "loser gives winner his spoils" rule that Sonic challenges him with. And though it irritates him, he eventually grows

• Knight Templar: Silver thinks of himself as The Paladin, but he's really the less evil variant of a Knight Templar, acknowledging he's not perfect but convinced that his mistakes and wrongdoings can still be justified. Silver is also extremely pious, and believes that all sins can be forgiven by God if you repent sufficiently. This gets beaten out of him quite literally after some time.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Shadow, himself a serial rapist, is raped in Solitary Confinement by Scourge - who is revealed to be an even worse person. It is suggested this has happened multiple times. Ironically, Shadow doesn't seem to notice that it's Karma at its finest.
• Like an Old Married Couple: Shadow and Sonic's relationship evolves to this. The transition is subtle and hilarious.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: The protragonists that you should be rooting for are criminals - not framed, not vandals, but murderers and rapists. Mephiles is portrayed as being worse because he is so corrupt and sadistic. Likewise Scourge is a paedophile and absolutely savage creature who makes Shadow look like a perfectly innocent soul.
• Living Battery: It turns out that E-123 Omega has one of these; the author commented that this was planned for absolutely ages.
• Luke, I Am Your Father and Luke, You Are My Father: Curiously inverted. In a huge twist to the story, both parties find out (at almost the same time) but both decide to keep it to themselves. Only the readers know!

• Mecha-Mooks: Along with regular wardens there's also the Guard Robos. They're not particularly smart or durable but are cheap, repairable, and replaceable; the latter three traits being vital considering Prison Island's isolated nature. Eggman is planning on making better ones that can replace the organic wardens.
• Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All: Vector has just as much power, if not more power over Prison Island than Mephiles. He's even able to run his criminal empire from inside the prison.
• Mood Dissonance: It's 100% Dark Fic, that's for sure. But the author does love a good dose of Black Humour. Rather than constantly dredging the reader through the depths of despair, they make them sit up sharply using humorous descriptions of dramatic events and smart one-liners, all the way to Comedic Sociopathy. For example, just after Silver has been raped...
  Shadow: Scourge. Get to your feet and I’ll kill you.
  Sonic: (coughs) Shads… it’s ‘or’. Or I’ll kill you.
  Shadow: I KNOW WHAT I SAID!
• Morality Kitchen Sink: Almost all the characters are morally dubious criminals, including those Sonic allies himself with. The most obvious exception is the villain.
• My Eyes Are Up Here: Shadow has a tendency to talk to Amy's breasts and ass. Mephiles does so also, but he should know better.
• My Friends... and Zoidberg: Scourge is reluctantly let in on the escape plan, but it's obvious that nobody on the team wants him there.
• Naïve Newcomer: Silver accepts a bag of chips from Espio, not knowing that he will have to give back two bags in exchange. It also takes a lot of pain (literal and metaphorical) for him to realize that his plan of being God's agent of justice in Prison Island can never be achieved.
• Near-Rape Experience: This happens between Shadow and Amy during the riot arc.
• Never Bring a Knife to a Fist Fight: Firmly inverted - Shadow has no qualms about carrying shivs in his clothes and pulling one out at any moment in a fight, and usually wins.
• The Nicknamer: Sonic and Shadow both come up with a variety of nicknames for the group. It's rare that they'll ever call anyone by their actual name.
• Older Than They Look: Shadow is said to be 72, even though he doesn't look any older than Sonic, who is 25.
• The Old Convict: Shadow has been in prison for coming up to twenty years now. And even though he's completely insane, just like the usual examples he's in no great hurry to get out, treating the escape more like a boredom relieving exercise.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Emphasised. During the funeral after the riot, as nine convicts are buried Silver is surprised at how much respect Shadow shows to the dead, even the ones he killed, with other convicts following his example. Extras who are characterised only as being convicts follow his example and Unnamed Characters display huge emotion for various losses. Notably, a Jock described as being "almost as broad as he was tall" who would otherwise be a Living Prop breaks down in tears as his bitch is lowered:
  Jock: (bursting into tears) "You can't put him down there! He's afraid of the dark!"
• Pet the Dog: Shadow has several moments of this. Sometimes it's genuine, sometimes it's just a prelude for some twisted joke later on.
• Pietà Plagiarism: Textual, anyway. Manic dies in Sonic's arms right outside the prison chapel.
• Porn with Plot: There is a MASSIVE amount of graphically detailed porn in some of the scenes. Interspersed with a massive amount of drama and violence. To quote Word of God though...
  Breech: (quoted from a chat) "Well YAH, I don't JUST write hardcore, ya know. Some of my best stuff is almost 85% free of sex."
• Prison Episode: This is a Sonic the Hedgehog Alternate Universe Fic with the Contextual Reassignment of a prison - not just the canon characters going to prison for once, but actively being convicted criminals. Active and completely unrepentant for the most part. All of the powers/talents that make them heroes in canon are simply redirected to criminal ends. Sonic robbed a bank, nearly managed a second one, killed a cop in the process and escaped normal prisons with utter ease. Shadow killed his foster parents, then used his Chaos Control to rape and murder innumerable young women, and killed several men too. He was captured when he Chaos Controlled into the path of a moving vehicle. Silver saw the future of a man planning to rape and kill a bunch of kids, and used his psychic powers to induce Your Head Asplode to prevent it from happening.
• Prison Rape: Rape happens to almost everybody, each instance written in graphic detail, including a violent gang rape scene. There are also brief references to past sexual traumas and some deeply disturbing sexual molestation - these scenes are not as detailed to emphasise the loss of memory and passage of time.
• Psychic Powers: Silver has telekinesis and claims he can predict the future. Upon arrival at Prison Island he's given an injection that takes away those powers.
• Psychopathic Manchild: Shadow is certainly very intelligent and calculating, and also violent and perverted, but he has so little control over his emotional outbursts that he can appear almost pitiable at times.
  • Shadow is not a genuine psychopath, but more of a Paranoid Neurotic, with signs of Delusional Psychopathy, which is not quite the same thing as your standard psychopathy.
  • Scourge, by comparison, is less of a person and more of a demented animal with a childlike mindset.
• Punch-Clock Villain: Nack was a professional sniper while he was a free weasel. He's something of a Friendly Sniper too, as apart from his profession, he's fairly friendly and respectful to others.
• Put on a Bus: Mina Mongoose. The author doesn't like her all that much, so she probably won't make another appearance.
• Rape As Back Story: Shadow the Hedgehog was sexually abused by his Foster parents. Later it is explained via flashback that his Foster father repeatedly forced him to have sex with his (willing) Foster mother, leading him to interpret sex as an act of punishment, rather than pleasure.
  • Reina Silva, also known as Rouge The Bat, was raped when she was eighteen years old. Turns out the perp was none other than Shadow The Hedgehog.
• Rape by Proxy: Shadow violates Doctor Blaze, then forces Silver to do the same.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Sonic ends up with this after he decides to take his buddies with him while escaping.
• Reasonable Authority Figure:
  • E-123 Omega is probably the only guard who does his job properly. He seems to sincerely question the inhumane acts performed by the Warden, obliges Silver's request to visit a sectioned Shadow, and listens to what Sonic has to say.
  • Nate Morgan also fits this trope, as he's kind and courteous to Sonic and Mina, and is willing to pull some strings for them to an extent. He does warn them the dangers of the conjugal between them and Shadow, however, and is blunt about the risk of trying to weaponize Shadow's abilities.
• Related in the Adaptation: Silver turns out be Shadow's son.
• The Reveal: Two, actually. First, Rouge is Silver's mother. Second, his father is Shadow.
• Serial Killer:
  • Shadow the Hedgehog is a Serial Killer-Rapist. His crimes seem to have a Mission-Based motive, with him sometimes commenting that it is their punishment - although he doesn't clarify what he thinks their crimes are. He admits to a number of around 3000 rapes and a lot of murders.
  • Scourge the Hedgehog is also a Serial Killer-Rapist, but with a much more Hedonistic motive.
• Sex Slave: Knuckles forces Tails to serve as his sex toy in exchange for protection from the other inmates, knowing that Tails would never make it on his own.
• Ship Tease:
  • Sonic and Shadow have a lot of Belligerent Sexual Tension.
  • Sonic/Amy and Shadow/Amy are both heavily featured.
  • It seems that Shadow and Sonia are now on route to becoming an item.
  • Silver is in love with Blaze, and Blaze confides in Amy that she loves him too.
  • Shadow and Silver had elements of this, until it was revealed that they were father and son.
• Shout-Out: To the games themselves. There are quite a few of them to remind you that this is a fanfic, and not just serial numbers filed off. They include...
  • Shadow's riot scenes with Amy reflecting her talking to him in Sonic Adventure 2.
  • Shadow commenting that Prison Island's sewers are full of toxic waste (based on the Prison Island level in Shadow the Hedgehog).
  • Nack makes mention of his twin sister from the Archie comics, Nik, and that she is also a criminal.
  • This hilarious little gem...
  Silver: I was so close! And then the day they put the rings on, I could feel it! I was doing it! I was so close! And now the rings are on, and I know it's there but I can't tap it… It's no use!
  Tails: Aw, Silver, don't keep saying that. It just pisses people off.
  • The author arranges a smooth transition from the drugs and speed restraints, to 'inhibitor rings' - a shout-out to the restraints used in No-Zone Prison in the Archie Comics.
  • After the riot Shadow gives the eulogy of a character named as a rabbit called Johnny Lightfoot. In the Fleetway series a similar character called Johnny Lightfoot was also killed off for real.
  • Hilariously, Silver is told that he repeats himself a lot.
  • During part of the sewer escape Shadow keeps saying "We have to find the computer room!" and Tails comments on how annoying it is.
• Shown Their Work: The medical procedures and a lot of the prison protocol, and to some degree, the prison etiquette among convicts. Also, the author specifically names Shadow's mental illness as 'Depressive Schizoaffective Disorder', with a high level of psychotism. It's not perfect, but it's obvious that they do care about getting it right.
• Sinister Shiv: Shadow always has multiple shivs somewhere on his person. They are generally hastily improvised and have been made of anything from simple glass and cloth, to hardened toilet paper. Every time he's shaken down or searched, he's relieved of several but he still manages to produce more.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: There's a lot of cursing, but Shadow above all characters swears a lot, a shout-out to the gratuitous swearing in his own game. Shortly the word 'fuck' ceases to have any more meaning that the word 'said'.
• Speech Impediment: Super Sonic, renamed 'Fleetway' (to differentiate him from the actual Sonic) is given a stammer, repeating words or even parts of sentences several times, in keeping with his canon portrayal as being a total loser when he refrains from using his powers.
• Stockholm Syndrome: It is clear that Shadow is obsessed with the Prison Doctor, Amy Rose, repeatedly telling her he loves her, that she is a good person, and that he will rape her for her own good. This is a sharp contrast to his psychiatrist Doctor Blaze, whom he also threatens to rape, but much more savagely.
• Story-Breaker Power: It's stated that Silver could tear the whole prison apart with his mind if he had the opportunity. He was given an injection to take away this ability at the beginning. Later, we are reminded that his powers do still exist and the reason they have to be withheld.
• Straight Man and Wise Guy: Sonic and Shadow when it's just the two of them. Guess which is which.
• Straw Misogynist: Heterosexual major character Shadow the Hedgehog hates women, loudly classing them as sub-people. This is how he justifies his violence towards them to himself, the exception being Maria. Subtext suggests that Shadow doesn't really hate women (at least no more so than he dislikes just about everyone else); he just rapes and murders them and claims that he did so because he hates them.
• Sympathy for the Devil: Amy doesn't despise any of the prisoners she treats. It's implied that she tries to prolong some prisoners stay in her treatment area so they're temporarily safe from the more dangerous criminals.
• Tailor-Made Prison: Each inmate is carefully monitored, with all of their special abilities kept in mind at all times during their incarceration. Everyone has some kind of Power Limiter, with Mephiles actively contributing to the convicts' hatred of each other so they won't have time for an escape plan. Part of the reason Sonic was sent here is because he can't swim.
• Token Good Teammate: Silver is the only protagonist that isn't a definite Villain Protagonist. And even then, he killed a guy by making his head explode.
• Tuck and Cover: In a sudden Pet the Dog moment of selflessness, Shadow the Hedgehog protects the visiting Sonia from a shrapnel grenade.
  "I guess this is how I say thank-you..."
  • It's another case of how the author has Shown Their Work - while shrapnel grenades are less deadly than others, they have a wide range and can easily leave people scarred for life.
• Villain Protagonist: The main cast consists of violent convicted criminals. They don't even have a particularly heroic motive; they just want to escape. But because the story is centered on them, they get the Sympathetic P.O.V. and you can almost forget they're a collection of terrorists, serial killers and rapists.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: It's implied that Nack was one of these when he's dying...
  "But y'know what… what's weird? My dad was always sayin' I was a total fuck-up as a son and a Merc… When I first got locked up in medium-sec, he… he visited just to remind me… He was like that to Nic, too. Treated her like a failure as soon as she could walk… And last time he visited, he told me I was gonna die alone and a failure… Y'know, him bein' so wrong 'bout that is… kinda makin' this the best day of my life…"
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: Silver frequently believes that he'll bring the light of God to the prison population.
• Would Hurt a Child: Scourge is a paedophile. There are no little children in prison so he'll take what he can get.
• Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Shadow may be an unrepentant rapist and serial murderer with an unrelenting hatred of pretty much everything except his sister Maria, but he will never lay a finger upon a child no matter what.
• Worst Aid: Zigzagged. The convicts are deliberately written to be absolutely terrible at treating their own injuries. Doctor Blossom's actions are moderately well researched (even if they are pretty troped up for drama).
  • Silver contemplates while giving CPR that his entire medical experience revolves around watching repeat episodes of Scrubs.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Quite a few characters believe this about Shadow. In particular, Amy and Sonia.
• Your Head Asplode: Silver kills a (suggested) future rapist in this matter. It's what gets him sent to Prison Island to begin with.
• Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: Sonic, Manic and Tails consider themselves this to some degree, being members of an undefined extremist political party opposing the current government. Sonic is even one of its mascots. However Sonic robbed banks, Manic has destroyed government buildings, and Tails committed international fraud to fund them. The author compares them to the Irish Republican Army (or IRA) and it makes Sonic's status as a political mascot a little less heroic...

---