Innumerable thanks to DC111, who let me use her amazing story, "Survivor's Resolve as a base for this…thing.

Enjoy, I hope!

"Hey, ah, Sonic. I wanna ask you a question."

The blue hedgehog in question raised his eyes to look at his friend, who was giving him a thoughtful stare through the barred window. "Shoot."

Lucas paused for a moment, as if considering his words heavily before continuing. "You're always saving the world and stuff, right? I mean, evil never takes a break and all that, yeah. But have you ever gotten, like, sick before? You know, like sneezing and coughing."

"I know what being sick means."

"I—Sonic." Lucas gave him an annoyed glance, but it didn't stop the humor flashing through his eyes. "But seriously, have you?"

Sonic folded his arms where he was sitting and looked up at the ceiling, as if searching his memory. His eyes glowed iridescent in the eerie purple lighting. "…Not that I can remember," he said truthfully. "Tails always says I'm a walking, talking immune system."

"You mean you've never gotten sick? Like ever?"

"That's what I said, innit? And besides, I don't really have time to be sick. Ehehe." Sonic scratched his cheek sheepishly. "I'm way too cool to get sick, anyway."

"You say that like you can control it."

Sonic shrugged.

The two descended into thoughtful silence and Lucas mulled over Sonic's words. Then he sighed and shook his head. Sonic sure was weird.

"So, mister walking talking immune system…"

"Shut up," came the muffled growl from the mound of blankets (Lucas had offered his own) and quills that was Sonic. He shivered and winced as this jarred his terribly throbbing cranium. The lights were too bright, everything was too loud… "When I die, you stay away from my funeral."

"Whoa there, Suicidal the Emo-hog. C'mon, what happened to life not waitin' around for ya?" The man's tone was light, but was speckled with bits of worry. With everything that had happened, and the situation they were in at the moment, death wasn't a very easy word to simply pass around anymore. It longer seemed like such a distant idea.

Sonic lifted bleary eyes glazed with illness and gave his friend a weak, but very dry, stare. "…Suicidal the Emo-hog?"

Lucas shifted his gaze, at least having the decency to look slightly embarrassed. "…As if you should talk, Mr. Super Power of Teamwork."

Sonic only emitted a muffled growl and nuzzled deeper into his blankets. "What is it, pick on poor, ill blue hedgehogs day? Being sick sucks…"

"You probably have it worse than most people with a cold," Lucas observed. "If your immune system's so tough and all, it musta been a pretty nasty virus to actually get through. Plus your body doesn't know how to fight it. And stuff."

The pile twitched. "Because I really needed that information." His sentence was punctuated by deep, throaty coughs that scratched and dragged at his vocal chords. He gasped in pain as his stomach muscles tensed. "…Jeez. Remind me to become Tails' devoted servant whenever he gets sick."

"Duly noted."

And silence reigned, penetrated by Sonic's breathy shivers and violent, bloody-sounding coughs.

After a particularly cringe-worthy fit of wet, gurgling coughs, Lucas frowned and looked over to his anthropomorphic friend's cell worriedly. "Are…you gonna be all right? You know we don't have any medicine or any of that doctor shit, right? You can't die on us."

"Don't plan to, Lucas, buddy. I don't give up that easy. Who d'you think you're talking to?"

"Point."

"I'm not gonna go down without a fight, Lucas—if I'm even going down at all in the first place."

Despite the encouraging words, Sonic's condition became rather less than encouraging over time. He began to have fits of coughing so debilitating he could barely stand anymore. If he managed to get to his feet, passing out was not too far off.

"…You c'n have my food, Lucas. I'm not that hungry."

Lucas's brow furrowed. He looked over to Sonic's cell to see the hedgehog wrapped in blankets and lying on his side. His muzzle had become pale as winter, and his fur was darkened and glistening with sweat. Lucas could see him shivering through his blankets.

"Sonic. You're just gonna lie there and suffer and then offer me food? Are you trying to insult me here?"

"J—just not hungry buddy."

The concerned crinkle between Lucas's eyebrows deepened. "Sonic, you really gotta eat. It'll help you get better faster."

"…The thought of food makes me feel queasy." He hunched up. "Well, queasier than I am already."

"It's good for you. Seriously, Sonic, you're fucking yourself up."

"…You're not my mom. Seriously, Lucas, I'm gonna be fine. Besides, life does that for me."

Lucas gave the sick one an intense stare. "If I could I'd come over there and strangle the smartass out of you. You can't just lie there sick out of your mind and tell me you're gonna be fine, Sonic. This isn't just a robot you can spindash and be done with. You need to take care of yourself. The world needs you Sonic."

Sonic cut his eyes away from Lucas's. "…It'd be a lot easier to take care of myself if I were closer to medicine and stuff."

The anger drained out of Lucas's gaze and he gave a tired sigh. "…I'm sorry. I'm being an ass."

"Not anything different from the norm."

Lucas glared. "Sonic, I'm trying to give you an apology here, dammit."

"Not lookin' for one. Look, save the sentimental crap for when I actually care. You know…because I won't—"

"I get it Sonic. Stop explaining your jokes. Go to sleep now, okay? You're tiring yourself out."

"Me? I n-never get…" He was interrupted by some heavy, wet coughs. Lucas winced. A sign of infection. "Wow…my voice is really loud. Do I really sound this annoying?"

"Yep. Now if you're not gonna eat then go to sleep. Or I will gladly call Kai to come knock you out."

Sonic snorted, but snuggled deeper into his blankets, shivering. Lucas only relaxed when he heard Sonic's deep, more relaxed breathing. Even his limpness didn't bother him so much.

He was about to retreat into the furthest corner of his own cell, when he caught a glimpse of gold flecks peeking over the other window. "Amber?" He whispered furtively, fear of awakening his friend keeping his voice low and controlled.

"Is…is he okay?" her words were just barely above a whisper, but Lucas could still hear the stress inflected in them.

"He.. he…" Lucas shook his head. "He's not doing so good. He's getting worse everyday and I can't even get to him!" He looked at Amber, pleading in his eyes. "He's got no one to take care of him—he's not even eating, Amber! Do you know how scary that is? I just…damn…"

Amber shifted. "I wish I could do something. I really do. But I can't. And it's not like I'm too shy or anything right now. It's not like I'm scared. But right now I can't do anything. And it's terrible."

Lucas nodded grimly. "Yeah." He knew that he should probably comfort or encourage Amber, but that was Sonic's job. "…It seemed like he was invincible, huh?"

"He's just a hedgehog!" Amber gave him a scandalized gaze, disbelief flashing through her expressive eyes.

"Yeah, a hedgehog that smashes metal with his face. Look, I'm not trying to imply anything here; I'm just saying that he's kinda our symbol of hope. A leader, you know?" Amber nodded. "And now he's sick. Like, really sick. I know, it's really selfish of me, but…yeah."

Amber closed her eyes. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Now we have to figure out a plan and stuff ourselves, and help Sonic in the process." If this was what Sonic dealt with on a daily basis…

"He…he never really gives up, you know? Never stops fighting." Lucas paused to look fondly at the sleeping hero. By the tone of his voice, Amber could discern just what Lucas meant by "never giving up."

"He didn't deserve that," she whispered. "He doesn't deserve this."

"None of us do. But shit happens. And I'mma take a page outta Sonic's book and tell you everything's gonna be okay. I mean it. And believe me, I'm probably one of the most cynical people on the face of this Earth." Lucas gave a wry, crooked smile, and Amber tentatively smiled back.

The amiable quiet was cut by a small, pained moan from below. The subject of their small, terse conversation tossed and turned, red cheeks a violent contrast to the rest of his pale muzzle. "No…stop it…"

Lucas's smile disappeared, replaced with sudden worry. "Sonic?"

"I…I can't breathe…doesn't work…"

And the twenty-two-year-old man's heart shattered into pieces at that very moment. He hadn't forgotten. He was still scarred. Subconsciously, yes, but scarred. The blue hero looked so small amidst the sea of blankets, a speck of blue in an ocean of red.

Lucas didn't like the color of the blankets.

Sonic whimpered again, tossing and turning, limbs limply dragging, looking like a rag doll being tossed around. Amber had her hands over her mouth, looking traumatized. "Sonic," Lucas hissed. "Wake up! You're having a bad dream."

It seemed like his friend didn't hear. Lucas fervently tried again, this time a little louder. He didn't want to startle him. "Sonic!"

Lucas's stomach dropped when he saw Sonic go completely limp. With his pale complexion and the darkness under his eyes, the little blue hero looked…

Azure lids lifted to reveal grass green, and the man nearly cried in relief. "Lucas…buddy?" His voice sounded weak and raspy. "Are you…okay? You were…you were callin' my…."

"You were having a bad dream," Lucas replied shortly, squashing his excitement. "It's okay now. Go back to sleep." He watched in dismay as Sonic began to stir and try to push himself up on his hands and gave him a flat look.

"…If you're gonna lie you're gonna have to do better than that."

"I—what?" Lucas almost looked affronted. "What are you talking about?"

"You were calling out my name like you were being eaten by zombies—not that it would ever happen; don't look at me like that. Is something wrong?"

"…You're not gonna like it."

"Bring it on."

"I'm…I'm worried about you. Like, scared. And not just for you—but for me. For us. And I feel selfish and stupid and I'm a prick and ughh…"

In response, Sonic's expression softened. He didn't just look sick anymore. He looked tired. And weak. Yet strong, so strong—Lucas didn't understand. "Look, it's okay. It's what people do. If I weren't selfish sometimes I'd be dead ten times over. I mean, we've gotta think about ourselves sometime, you know, Lucas?"

Lucas snorted derisively, about to say that Sonic was a natural-born hero and the closest he'd ever gotten to selfish was probably letting a small pebble fall off a cliff instead of himself, but was cut off by another round of Sonic's violent, horrible coughs. They jerked his entire body, leaving the poor hedgehog limp and breathless when they finally, finally subsided.

"…Those sounded terrible."

Sonic's limp ears attempted to flit forward as he registered the new, deep voice. "…Espio? Are you on the ceiling?"

He heard a light tapping on the floor where Espio supposedly landed. "…Not anymore." The spy became slightly visible so that Sonic could see his guarded golden eyes. "What's happened to you, Sonic?"

Sonic made a sheepish expression and scratched his cheek. "I…uh..."

"He's sick, and he should get back to sleep," Lucas cut in, throwing the blue hedgehog a severe look, to which he replied with a roll of the eyes.

"What's really happening is that I'm a little under the weather—"

"A little?!" Lucas screeched.

"—And Lucas is overreacting. He thinks I'm gonna die or something—" Sonic interrupted himself by gasping and clutching at his head as a sharp pain hit. Lucas, Amber, and Espio watched in concern as his pained whimpers began to be interspersed with unrelenting, unforgiving coughs. He was left wheezing noisily and painfully, limp in his blankets.

Espio's expression became ever so slightly frightened. "That doesn't sound little to me." And he knelt down, lifting Sonic's head into his lap to help support his breathing. "How long has he been like this?" He demanded forcefully, fearfully.

"A…a few days. We haven't been able to get him anything—he's gotten so sick he can't even walk, Espio!" His eyes became downcast and in a hoarse, tired voice, he said, "And it's getting worse. So much worse. And this idiot doesn't even seem to care!"

"Hey!" Sonic protested indignantly. "You think I like being sick? Honestly, I think I'd rather go through that torture again than this. And don't look at me like that!" He added when he saw his friends' aghast faces. "It happened to me so I get to determine how much mental scarring it does me. Ohh, chaos…" The hedgehog whimpered, trying to curl up and clutch his aching head.

"Espio," Lucas's tone was pleading, begging, "Please. You've gotta help Sonic. If there's any way we can get a doctor or medicine or something—"

Gingerly setting Sonic in a comfortable position on his pile of blankets (his wheezing had reduced significantly) Espio stood, nodding firmly. "I highly doubt that Robotnik has any Tylenol stored around here…but I'll see if I can get him good and healthy food. Maybe I can find a doctor down there and get a diagnosis."

Lucas nodded. "So far it looks like a monster flu, but it'd be nice to know exactly what we're dealing with. Thanks, Espio."

The chameleon responded by turning invisible again and undetectably leaving the cell. Lucas cast his eyes back down onto Sonic, who was by now snuggled up tightly into his blankets and sleeping soundlessly.

Okay. Wow. I sincerely apologize for any internal cringes you may have had while reading this…block of text. I dunno, it just looks way too fast paced and stuff. Anyway, tell me if you want me to continue or if I should leave this as a one shot, because honestly, this could go either way (read: I'm dumb and I don't know what I'm doing.)

Have a good one!

~Soulful