QUEEN SUNSTAR: Welcome to Chaos Quest. This story has a little of everything in it. It is a tale set in the world of the Freedom Fighters with elements of Sonic X thrown in. Knuckles and Shadow are not the Sonic X characters. Knuckles is the Guardian of the Chaos Emeralds and lives on Angel's Island. Angel's Island does not float in the air. It is a place found high in the Misty Mountains. Normally, it is a two week trip from Knothole to Angel's Island. Sonic can travel the distance in 45 minutes, and Shadow, under an hour. Knuckles is still a red echidna. Shadow is a black hedgehog who loves history. He considers Sonic his little brother even though they are not related. Shadow is fast, but he can't break the sound barrier like Sonic can, and he can't use the rings ether. When he reaches a certain speed, he switches from running to skating on a layer of air. Shadow has a handheld computer named Nick that can link up with Nicole and allow him to communicate with Sally.
SUMMARY: After his latest defeat by Sonic, Robotnik decides he is done playing around. He makes plans to summon Chaos Klan, an ancient dark god, to defeat Sonic for good. Will his plan succeed, or is Robotnik playing with fire?
CHAOS QUEST
In the near total darkness, a pair of golden eyes glittered, watching the freedom fighters do battle against the swatbots. A blue blur streaked passed several swatbots who ended up firing at each other while trying to hit Sonic. Nearby, Bunnie Rabot kicked a hole into a swatbot, causing it to implode. Sally and Rotor fought off a swatbot together. Antoine punched through another swatbot. Sonic suddenly yelped and went into a skid that sent him sprawling. Bunnie was by him in seconds, her walkie talkie out.
"Shyla, Sonic is down! Sonic, you stay down!" Bunnie called.
"I'm coming." The golden eyes blinked. A black anthromorphic panther, owner of said eyes, leapt from the shadows into battle. Sonic was trying to get up, but Bunnie was refusing to let him up. Shyla wore a lab coat over black combat boots with dark purple and black laces, a black tank top, and a pair of black gloves with the fingers cut off. She knelt by her patient, her black medical bag ripped open. Finally allowed to move, Sonic curled into a ball, hands going for his right leg where a strip of fur and skin hung loose, exposing a gash. Shyla slapped his hands away and carefully bandaged the wound. A shot of painkillers later, Sonic was back in action. Shyla snapped her bag closed. She turned and raked her claws through a swatbot.
"Shy! Look out!" Rotor screamed.
Shyla spun eyes wide. The swatbot was already squeezing the trigger. What looked like a blue saw blade cut through the swatbot before it could finish the action. Sonic landed, flashed a thumb up at Shyla, and dove back into the fray. The panther turned and clawed a wad of wiring out of the neck of a swatbot. It imploded behind her.
The freedom fighters gathered in a circle, Sonic limping a bit.
"Never thought I'd live to see the day a swatbot actually hit Sonic." Rotor grinned as Sonic shot him a dirty look.
"Are you okay, Sonic?" Sally asked.
"I'm fine." Sonic answered.
"We need to get home to Knothole so I can do a proper job on Sonic's wound." Shyla replied, "It is going to need to be cleaned out, and I'm hoping I can save that flap of skin."
Bunnie went to reply, but her ears shot up. Shyla's ears went up next. The two Mobians looked at each other, then down at the ground. The scattered swatbot debris and small rocks began to wobble. They looked up at each other again.
"Something is moving underground." Bunnie sounded spooked.
"Something big." Shyla's eyes dilated in fear, "RUN!"
"Freedom chain!" Sally called out.
"I'll do my best, but it won't be as fast as usual!" Sonic held out his right hand, already revving up his legs, and ignoring the protesting scream of agony in his injured leg.
"Just get us out of here!" Sally ordered, "I'll take anything you can give!"
They linked up with Sonic in the lead. Shyla closed her eyes. She was between Sally and Bunnie. Antoine was between Sonic and Sally, and Rotor brought up the rear.
"Hold on to each other tightly! We do not need a replay of Antoine flying off the end of the chain!" Sonic ordered as he felt Antoine tighten his grip. He pointed himself at the distant forest and launched forward. He could already hear Antoine and Shyla both screaming. It did not take long to reach the forest where Knothole was hidden. Sonic slowed a bit, his bad leg burning, as he dodged trees and other forest debris. A creeping dizziness started behind his eyes. He tried to shake it off, and nearly wound up wrapping the freedom chain around a tree. A quick correction later, he came to a stop in the clearing above the village. As soon as he stopped, he went to his knees, hands going for his injured leg. His leg was throbbing, sending spikes of agonizing pain up and down his leg. He was not aware of Sally and Shyla kneeling by him.
"He is bleeding too much." Shyla opened her black bag and cut away the bandage. She was rewarded with a river of blood and a gasp from Sonic, who looked like he was going to faint. Sonic blinked, wondering why everything was so blurry. A pain worse than anything he felt before surged through him. Shyla's voice cut through the haze. "Focus on me." At least that was what Sonic thought the assistant medical officer said. His vision darkened, and the last thing he knew was falling.
"SONIC!" Sally screamed.
"He's lost too much blood." Shyla took Sonic into her arms after tying a strap around his leg that slowed the bleeding down. "Grab my bag, and Bunnie, alert Quack." The female panther vanished down the slide into Knothole.
Tails heard the slide shake and ran to greet Sonic. When he got to the slide, his eyes went wide. He ran to Shyla, who was getting up with Sonic in her arms.
"Shy, what happened?" Tails wailed.
"Tails, I'll explain later!" Shyla ran toward the clinic where Dr. Quack was waiting. Behind her, the slide vibrated as Sally slid down followed by Bunnie, Antoine, and Rotor.
"Shyla, bring him in here. Give me the 411." Quack was calm.
"Leg wound, extensive blood loss." Shyla gave the 411, "A swatbot actually managed to nail him."
They went to work on their patient. Out in the waiting area, Sally, Bunnie, and Tails waited for news. They did not have to wait long. Dr. Quack came out 30 minutes later.
"Good news or bad news first?" Quack asked.
"Bad first." Sally waited.
"Sonic's blood is dangerously thin. I'm already running tests and I have started Sonic on a blood thickener. We should see results soon. Good news, Sonic's leg should heal without any complications. We had to remove some skin and tissue from the wound, and he will have a scar. The scar won't hinder his speed. No visitors right now until we figure out what is going on with Sonic's blood. This is just a safety precaution in case whatever is causing Sonic's thin blood is something contagious." Dr. Quack sighed, "He's running a low fever too."
"I understand, doctor. Keep me posted." Sally rose and turned to leave, "I have to hold a debrief meeting, and Bunnie, you can stay here if you want."
"No, I'll go to the meeting." Bunnie rose, "I can't do anything for Sonic by sitting around and being useless. Maybe someone will have an idea over what we found out." They walked outside, "Has someone gone back to check out what caused the rumble earlier?"
"Antoine took the junior team out for that. He should be back soon." Sally answered, "Your idea of creating a junior team was just brilliant. Antoine has turned the team into a well-oiled machine. I was surprised when they took down the giant swatbot."
"I bet it helped that it had Sonic in its fist." Bunnie smirked, "I suspect that Rotor may have built it as a test."
"Rotor denied that, and Sonic did have a bit of a cold going on, according to them anyway." Sally chuckled, "The junior team looked very impressed with themselves. It was the confidence booster they needed."
"They are good at taking down the swatbots, and they have helped to make some missions easier on us." Sally walked over to the alarm and pushed the button. A bell rang, signaling there was a meeting. They walked over to the war hall and went in. Inside the war hall, there were offices, the auditorium, the war room, and the armory. They were going to the auditorium. After they got there, seats began to fill. Antoine and the junior team consisting of Tails, Cory the raccoon, Cream the rabbit, Driller the mole, Mindy the otter, and Carla the seal, took their seats. They bore looks of determination on their faces. After the seats were full, Sally took to the stage.
"I call this meeting to order." She called out, "As you know, I led a team this morning to Robotpolis to stop a munitions factory. We were successful in stopping the factory, but on our way back, we were ambushed by swatbots. We were able to fight them off, but one of them got a lucky hit on Sonic. Sonic is going to be fine. He was hit in the leg, but he still got us to safety when the earthquake hit. He will be down for a week or two."
"With all that down time, maybe now Sonic can finally catch up on paperwork. His office is starting to look like a paper depository." Bunnie lightened the mood and was greeted with scattered chuckles. It was no secret that Sonic hated paperwork.
"I sent the junior team back to the place where we were ambushed. Antoine, did you find anything?" Sally asked.
Antoine nodded to Driller, who stood.
"The ground was disturbed. However after analysis on the strata, the rumbling you felt was not caused by an earthquake. The strata showed signs of being scraped like something metal was moving on it. This led me to conclude a robot or a machine of some kind passed below your feet which would account for the rumble you felt." Driller explained, "If you want, I could go back and follow the tunnel left behind."
"I'll put your request into consideration." Sally smiled, "Shyla, have you brought news?"
"He's awake, but he is very weak from blood loss. He may need a transfusion." Shyla explained, "Test results have confirmed Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia. That means there is an underlining infection going on that is causing his blood to be thin. His platelet count is 7500 per micro liter of blood. I know that sounds like a lot, but it is very low. Normally you would have on average 300000 platelets per micro liter. We have him on antibiotics to help fight off the infection."
"I swear I'm going to kill him!" Sally hissed, "Hasn't he learned why it is important to go to the doctor when you don't feel good?"
"Sally, you can have an infection going on and not show symptoms. Remember the story about Typhoid Mary?" Shyla pointed out, "We don't know what the infection is."
"Some infections don't show symptoms until the very end." Bunnie turned to Shyla, "Right?"
"Right." Shyla nodded, "Sally, I also came to let you know that he is asking for you."
"I'm coming, Rotor, take over. You have the next item on the agenda anyway." Sally followed Shyla out of the War Hall to the clinic. Shyla took her to Sonic's room and went to join Quack in the lab.
"Shy." Quack said without looking up from the microscope, "Come over here and take a look." His tone was dead serious. Shyla swallowed. What had the doctor found? She went over to look.
"I see red and white blood cells, very few platelets, and…" Shyla stopped, frowning at the blood sample under the microscope, "Is this contaminated?"
"No, it's fresh. I took it from Sonic five minutes ago. You see it too, then." Quack answered, "Whatever it is it's dying."
"It looks like a large amber vacuole. I thought vacuoles were found in the cytoplasm of cells, not free floating like this?" Shyla asked out loud.
"They are found in the cytoplasm of cells. Their function is to store nutrients and water. These vacuoles are nearly twice the size of a white blood cell. They don't seem to travel through the blood stream. I think they might be attached to the blood vessels wall by platelets. I've recorded two different types of platelets. One type is the normal clotting type. This type is low. The other type is a little bigger. I think that type might be what keeps the vacuoles attached the vessel walls." Quack thought out loud.
A light began to flash. Shyla turned, "Emergency, Sonic's room." They took off.
Sally stood at the door. She remembered over a year ago, she had been dying. She had told Sonic to give up trying to save her. She was ready to go, but he had refused to let her go without a fight. What he did for her, allowing Shyla to send his mind into the comatose Robotnik's mind to find the cure, and then having to deal with Robotnik in his mind, Sally knew she would never forget. She pushed open the door and walked into the room.
Sonic looked worse. His once cobalt blue fur had faded to a pale blue and his peach fur on his arms and stomach looked white. He was breathing with the aid of an oxygen mask. His right leg was elevated on two pillows, white bandages over the wound. His eyes were closed, but they opened as Sally approached.
"Déjà vu." Sonic managed to smile, but it took a lot of effort.
"Take it easy, Sonic." Sally smiled, "Not so long ago, it was me in that bed."
"And it was me in your place." Sonic looked exhausted, "Dr. Quack still doesn't know what is wrong with me."
"Dr. Quack will find out what is wrong. I recall you telling me to hold on. You can't give up yet." Sally sat on the edge of the bed, "You've only just started your battle."
"I'm not giving up." Sonic turned his head to cough a bit, "I don't plan on giving up. I'm tired."
"You should rest then." Sally said, "You will get better." She looked away for a bit, "You were asking for me."
"The earthquake, has Driller been to the site yet?" Sonic asked.
"He has. Why?" Sally could tell Sonic really needed to rest.
"Mechanical." Sonic's head lolled to the side.
"Sonic?" worried, Sally nudged the hedgehog and got no response. She realized he had stopped breathing. Sally reached out and pressed the nurse call button. Shyla and Quack rushed into the room. Sally was ordered to wait outside.
"He can't breathe on his own! He's too weak!" Quack listened for any breath, "We have to intubate!"
Shyla lowered the bed so Sonic was on his back. Quack moved in with a laryngoscope and performed the intubation. He listened to Sonic's heart next and attached a monitor.
"I don't like that weak heart rate." Shyla thought, "Should we put him on life support?"
"Let's go ahead with life support." Quack decided, "I want someone in this room with him at all times. Let's see, Antoine could take a shift, and this would be good for the junior team to help out with. I'm going to talk to Sally."
He stepped outside and filled Sally in. Sally rushed in, her eyes filling with unshed tears.
"Oh Sonic, don't give up!" She choked out.
"Sally, Quack and I are going to figure this out. We will save him. Go to the lab and look into the microscope." Shyla prompted. Sally left as she turned to her patient, "Don't give up."
Sally came back into the room, "What are the big amber cells in the sample?"
"Quack and I are not sure, but we think they may be vacuoles. They are attached to the walls of Sonic's circulatory system, and they are dying. We do believe these vacuoles are to blame for the weakness Sonic has been feeling. He is going to get worse from here on out unless we find a way to reverse this. What is going to happen next is his organs will shut down. Already, his lungs are being affected. We fear that his heart is next. There is a chance that he may not survive whatever is attacking his body. We decided it was in his best interest that he be put into a medically induced coma." Shyla explained.
"Sonic will survive!" Sally growled, "I survived the plague, Sonic will survive this."
"I just want you to be prepared. I had the same discussion with Sonic over you. We will fight for him as long as he is willing to keep fighting for himself." Shyla pointed out.
"ARGH! I HATE THAT HEDGHOG! THERE HAS TO BE A WAY TO DEFEAT HIM!" Dr. Ivan Robotnik, Dictator of Mobius, was not happy. His assistant and nephew, Snively, braced himself for the fly swatter he knew was coming. Instead of grabbing the fly swatter, Robotnik rose and waddled out of his control room. He went to an elevator and rode it down to the basement floor which was lined with special cells. There was only one occupant in the detainment center, as this place was called. Robotnik waddled over to the cell and scowled.
Inside the cell, his arms handcuffed to the wall, was a blood red hedgehog. A long jagged scar lined the left side of the face where a milky white eye gleamed. Both legs were robotic, and broken. The single good eye was green. The hedgehog raised his head and spat at Robotnik.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, I would not do that to the one that has provided food and shelter to you." Robotnik grinned evilly.
"I know why you are here, Robotnik." The hedgehog glared at his captor.
"Now Cyclone, let's be civil. Your bastard son has defeated me yet again." Robotnik made a show of sighing, "We can't have that now can we? Sonic is a criminal and must be stopped."
"No." Cyclone spat at Robotnik, "The only criminal I see here is you. You overthrew King Maximilian. You robotocized over 100000 Mobians. You took away their free will and are using them as free slave labor. You killed another 5000 Mobians when you caused Sky City to collapse. You are the criminal, not Sonic. My son will defeat you. I made sure that he would have the power to do so."
"Now, now, my fair Prince, don't go making empty threats." Robotnik sneered.
"I should have killed you while I had the chance!" Cyclone hissed, "Why have you come down here?"
"I want your bastard son dead." Robotnik declared, "So I am going to use you to do it. You are going to be fully robotocized and under my command."
"So you think. You may control my body, but you will never take my will!" Cyclone snapped, "You know you can't robotocize me!"
"Tomorrow at dawn, you will be robotocized." Robotnik turned to leave, "Unless you tell me what I need to know, Prince Zephyr."
"You do not have the right to call me that!" Cyclone roared, "You worthless criminal scum!"
"Did I hit a nerve fair Prince?" Robotnik asked silkily.
"You will fall!" Cyclone screamed, yanking on his chains, "Once Sonic awakens, you will fall!"
"Sonic awakens?" Robotnik questioned.
"You have yet to figure it out, don't you? You've seen Sonic use the chaos rings. You are a smart man, Julian." Cyclone hissed sharply.
"That is my old name, fair Prince Zephyr." Robotnik left to the sound of rattling chains and screams from Cyclone. He had not gotten anything new from the crimson hedgehog.
Somewhere faraway, a red echidna sits before a large emerald. His eyes are closed and his breathing is even. His mind is open as he communicates with the emerald.
"Guardian, I am worried. I feel Chaos Klan stirring."
"Chaos Klan, favored God of my people, why did you refuse to save us, then go on to destroy the very people that loved and worshipped you, that gave you life?" Knuckles flinched as the ancient battle played out in his mind. "Why did you turn upon us? We loved and revered you!" Knuckles was treated to a play by play of the summoning ceremony.
Nearby, watching and recording everything, was Shadow the Hedgehog. He was solid black with a white fringe on his chest. He wore a red vest. There was some red on his spines. A pair of glasses perched desperately on his nose as he typed furiously on his handheld computer, Nicky. Every so often, he sent data out to Nicole, Sally's handheld computer. He knew Sally was pouring through the data he sent her. They both loved history, but Shadow knew that Sally had eyes for Sonic. Now if Sally and Sonic would finally admit their feelings for each other, along with Antoine and Bunnie…
"Gah, Augh!" Knuckles grabbed his head, "So weak!"
"Knuckles, are you okay?" Shadow ran to his friend's side.
"Augh, ah, yeah, I'm okay." Knuckles rubbed his head, "Something tried to hijack the communication."
"Shadow, you have a message from Sally. Sonic is very ill. There's a good chance that he won't make it through the night." Nicky reported from Shadows vest pocket.
"Patch me through to Nicole." Shadow ordered.
"I already have." Nicky answered.
"Nicole here."
"How is Sonic?"
"Bad. He's on life support." Nicole answered, "He took a hit in the leg which revealed his blood was thin. He has had a low fever off and on, and he has experienced weakness. It is that weakness that has led to him being put on life support. Do you want to talk to Sally?"
"Yes." Shadow waited.
"Shadow, I need you here." Sally sounded broken, "Sonic may not last through the night!"
"I'm coming, Sal. Hold yourself together. Knuckles and I will be there in 60 minutes, may be less." Shadow soothed, "We are coming."
"Just get here, Shadow!"
"We are. Knuckles, we need to get to Knothole yesterday! We are on our way." Shadow began to rev his legs as Knuckles, who had heard the exchange, came and took his position on Shadow's back. He made sure to grab a fistful of red and black quills just in case. Shadow leaned forward, dust rising from his rapidly churning legs. He was fast and could easily keep up with Sonic. He could not break the sound barrier like Sonic could unless he was in his super form. Knuckles bowed his head down as Shadow sprang forward, literally slicing through the wind. His feet left the ground as he shifted from running to skating on air, something Sonic could not do. Uncle Chuck had explained that Shadow's shoes created a cushion of air so that when Shadow reached 200 mph, he would be able to skate on the air instead of run. This did mean that he would not be able to break the sound barrier.
Mist rose to blanket the mountain then sank away over the course of 20 minutes. Trees rose up and sank away as the ground changed to sand. Dunes rolled by, and seemed to dive into the ground as Robotpolis flashed by. The Great Forest over took them as Shadow began to slow down. He spotted the stump and was down the slide in seconds. Shadow came to a stop as Knuckles let go. The black hedgehog doubled over to catch his breath. He had covered the distance, a two week trip at most, in less than 50 minutes. As soon as he was able, Shadow took off for the clinic. Knuckles had headed there earlier.
As he stepped into the clinic, Knuckles felt his vision waver. He paused as his vision blacked out. He was used to this as this was how his visions began. He saw himself standing inside a grave yard near a freshly dug grave. A casket sat nearby. The lid was up. Knuckles walked to the casket and looked in only to gasp. Sonic lay inside the casket. His form was shriveled up and every bone showed through the blue coat. The eye sockets were hollow, the milky orbs staring up at nothing. It looked like Sonic had suffered a lot before death finally took him. A sob sounded behind him and Knuckles turned to see Sally in Shadow's arms, the both of them crying.
"Knuckles, you made it."
Knuckles turned, "Shyla, do you know what took him from us?"
"I wish. He grew weaker by the day. We did not do an autopsy because it would not tell us any more then we already knew." She turned and knelt to hug the crying Tails.
"Shy, why couldn't you save him?" the young fox clung to the panther.
"Shh, Tails. Sonic is in a better place now. He is not sick and in pain anymore. I bet he is running like he used to. Sometimes when someone gets sick, doctors can't make them better, so they die." Shyla held Tails close, "I tried to make him better, but Sonic was just too sick."
The scene faded to black. A single Emerald gleamed from above eye level. There was a loud crack. Knuckles watched as the Emerald began to crack, and then shattered. Something touched his shoulder and Knuckles shot into the air with a surprised yelp. He turned to see Dr. Quack.
"Are you okay, Knuckles?" Quack asked.
"I'm fine. I was having a vision." Knuckles calmed himself down, "We were burying Sonic, and I witnessed an Emerald shatter. Really, I'm fine."
"Okay, I'm here if you need me. Speaking of Emeralds, come with me. I have a suspicion on what might be happening, and since you are the Guardian of the Emeralds, you might be able to confirm my suspicion." Quack led him into his lab, "Take a look here." Knuckles looked through the microscope. "I was looking at it earlier when it hit me. I think those big amber cells are shards, not vacuoles like I thought."
Knuckles drew out a simple stave. It was made of white wood and a shard of the Master Emerald had been forged into the tip. If Quack was right and those were dying shards, the stave would confirm it. Very carefully, he brought the stave to the edge of the microscope. The amber shards began to glow upon feeling a piece of the master nearby. That confirmed it for Knuckles, and opened a ton of questions.
"You were right; they are shards, Emerald shards." Knuckles sat back.
"How do we save Sonic?" Quack asked.
"When an Emerald dies, its power is returned to the Earth where it will reform, a process that takes 1000 years to complete. I am not sure, but I think Sonic is a living Emerald." Knuckles said.
"Can we save Sonic?" Quack asked, "Answer my question, Knuckles."
"Emeralds can be rejuvenated by the master emerald. I think we can save Sonic, but it won't be easy." Knuckles stared at his stave, "Normally, I bring the emerald in question to the shrine and the Master does the rest. We can't do that this time. We'll have to make it so he can safely digest it."
"Last I checked, Emeralds are not edible." Quack raised an eyebrow.
"Actually, there is a way." Knuckles reached into the fold of his white robe and brought out a bottle of clear liquid, "I forgot about this. It is water from the Shrine, purified by the Master Emerald. It has the master's power inside of it."
"This is great. I can mix in the nutrients Sonic needs into this, right?" Quack looked hopeful.
"You can." Knuckles nodded, "I am going to go see Sonic, and try to determine how far gone he is." The Guardian left. Quack went ahead and began to prepare the medicine that would save Sonic's life.
Shadow and Sally stood side by side as they watched over Sonic. For Shadow, this hurt him a lot. He wanted nothing more than to take Sonics pain and suffering way. He wished it was him in Sonic's place. He could tell Sonic was suffering in the way he twitched as each breath was forced into his lungs and expelled. Quack came in carrying a clear bag filled with clear fluid, and a long white tube. He also had a needle and tube too.
"Knuckles gave me something to try. I don't know if it will work, but it is worth a shot. I don't know if Sonic is strong enough to digest anything, so I am going to start out with IV liquids. If he does well enough on IV liquids, I'll switch over to the NG tube, which will allow me to begin to reverse this. This tube is inserted through the nose and threaded down into the stomach." Quack set up the IV, "If this works, we should see some improvement in in an hour." He left to handle his other patients of which there were only two. One was there for a bandage change and an x-ray, the other there for a follow up after having surgery. He would check on Sonic later.
"Thanks for coming, Shadow." Sally hugged Shadow, "I don't think I could do this alone."
"You are not alone. You have Rotor, Bunnie, Antoine, me, and Knuckles, even Quack and Shyla. Tails too. How is Tails doing anyway?" Shadow asked.
"Antoine has been keeping him and the junior team busy. I haven't checked on him yet." Sally blinked back tears, "I've been too worried about Sonic. I can't lose him, Shadow. He is our best bet against Robotnik, our best chance for a better future." She sniffled.
"You care about him a lot. Have the two of you admitted your feelings for each other yet?" Shadow asked, only for Sally to backhand him across the face with a hiss of there's nothing between us. Shadow had been expecting the hit, but it still did sting. "I'm okay! Sorry Sonic, I know I promised to stay quiet but it is time. You can kill me once you are better. Sally, come here."
Sally was led to a set of chairs and took a seat. She was curious as to what Shadow had just said to Sonic.
"I'm waiting." She waited.
"Back when you had the plague and Sonic was told there was no cure, he vowed he would save you like he always has. Shyla realized the plague you had was not a natural bug. It was created. Sonic and Shyla went back hoping to find out more about the plague you had, but Shyla could not find anything. Sonic stumbled upon the comatose Robotnik. Shyla figured that since Robotnik created the virus, he would know the cure. Shyla found what she needed to create a cortex patch and Sonic volunteered himself. He went into Robotnik's mind for you, Sally. He found the cure, but upon leaving, Robotnik escaped the confines of his mind into Sonic's mind. Upon returning to Knothole, Shyla created the cure and used it to save you. It is what happened next that is hard for me to tell you. Robotnik was inside Sonic's mind. Sonic started having migraines that would strike without warning and stop just as suddenly. He began having violent nightmares that got to the point where he was terrified of sleeping. He began to grow ill and Robotnik took over. He put Sonic through hell. When it was finally all over, I thought Sonic was dead. He looked dead. As I knelt beside him, he opened his eyes and asked me if you were okay. I told him that you had woken up and were recovering in leaps and bounds. He said that's good, he would never be able to live with himself if he failed. Then his eyes closed. I brought him back to Knothole and he slept for three days under Shyla's constant watch. He did what he did for you because he loves you. Sal, Sonic loves you." Shadow finished. "I know you love him."
Sally looked away as the tears she had been fighting against finally fell. How did she feel? She knew she liked Sonic, but did she love him? He had saved her life numerous times and she had not saved him once. She had gotten a ring to him a few times that got them out of jams, but that did not really count as saving him because they both were in danger. The one time he really needed her, she was not around to help him. "I…" Sally wasn't sure what to say, "I need to think things over. I'm going to go check on Tails." She got up and waited until she was outside to run. Instead of going to Tails house, she entered the forest and ran until she collapsed before Knothole Falls. The falls wasn't your typical waterfall. It gurgled merrily as it dropped over the rocks to fall four feet into a pool that flowed out into a slow moving river. There was a large flat rock which was where Sally now laid. She felt herself break inside soon her tears made a second waterfall into the pool below. She cried herself out and lay on her stomach, watching the waterfall.
"I worry about Sonic, and it really hurts to see him so sick. Am I worried because I might lose my world's best chance at freedom, or is it because of something else?" Sally mused, "Do I love him?" Her thoughts rolled around her head and refused to make sense. "I need to talk to Sonic, but he is in no shape to talk."
"I hope I'm not interrupting."
Sally looked up, "Hi, Knuckles, you aren't interrupting. I had to get away from everything for a bit."
Knuckles sat down beside Sally. He had traded in his robe for a brown vest. "Love problems? "
"You could say that." Sally rose so she was sitting more comfortably, "I am so confused about everything."
"How do you see Sonic?" Knuckles watched the waterfall.
"Sonic is our best chance at peace. He is the only one who is able to stand up to Robotnik's Death Egg. He is also the only one able to use the rings." Sally answered, "He is kind, gentle, sweet, and is willing to fight for us all. He was willing to die for peace."
"Yes, but how do YOU see Sonic?" The red Guardian asked.
"I…" Sally stopped herself. How did she see Sonic? She thought about it. Sally recalled the Winter Solstice, how she and Sonic had shared a blanket before the bonfire after the party. Knuckles had told the legend of the Chaos Emeralds while Uncle Chuck had shared the Legend of the Light which told how the light battled the darkness and finally sealed it away. She had felt so comfortable and safe. Sonic made her feel so safe and happy. Suddenly, Sally knew. "I love him."
"There is your answer. I looked in on Tails, and I don't think he is taking Sonic's illness very well. He is upset, but I was able to calm him down." Knuckles changed the subject.
"Tails looks up to Sonic like a big brother. Sonic gave Tails his name. I should go to him." Sally said.
"He is at the clinic. I left him with Shadow. Shadow is not taking this well ether." Knuckles rose, "I should be heading back now. The medicine I gave to Quack should be showing results."
Sally nodded as they began the trek back to Knothole.
"It's okay, you can go closer." Shyla encouraged the young two tailed Fox. Tails swallowed and cautiously crept toward the bed where Sonic lay. Sonic looked different. His fur was lighter and he was still. Tails looked back at Shyla who came to his side.
"Is Sonic okay?" Tails voice wavered.
"Sonic is very sick right now. We have given him medicine so he will sleep for a long time. You know how when you don't feel good, you feel tired? That is your body's way of saying it needs to rest. When you sleep, your body heals. It's okay; you can still talk to Sonic and hold his hand. That lets him know you are here for him." Shyla smiled.
"I don't like seeing Sonic like this." Tails made no move.
"No one does." Shyla answered, "It is okay, Tails. I know you are uncomfortable."
"This isn't right! Sonic shouldn't be this still!" Tails cried out, "That's not Sonic, Shyla! It can't be Sonic!"
"Calm down, Tails." Shyla knelt to his level and hugged him, "I am going to let you in on a little secret. Don't tell anyone though. I was uncomfortable around my first patient, who was Sonic."
"Really? Why were you uncomfortable?" Tails asked.
"Well, I had never met Sonic, but I knew about his feats of bravery. Sonic came in to have the stitches on the back of his right hand removed, and Quack decided to have me handle it. Well, I was a bundle of nervous energy. I was sure I was going to screw up and hurt Sonic even more. Sonic told me to calm down, that he would not bite, and to just smile." Shyla smiled, "I always smile because of those words. Sonic has given me hope."
Tails took Sonic's hand, "I feel better now, Shyla. Thank you. Sonic, it's me, Tails. I bet you don't feel very good right now." Shyla stepped out of the room to give Tails some privacy, "I don't like seeing you like this. I want you to get better. You were going to teach me to run like you do. What is it like, going faster than the speed of sound? It must be amazing. How do you not hit a tree or trip when you run at top speed? I guess I'll get my answers soon, when you are better." Tails looked around. "Shyla says you are going to sleep for a while. I will be here when you wake up."
Dr. Quack came in being followed by Knuckles. He went to Sonic's side.
"Hi, Dr. Quack." Tails greeted, "I asked Shyla if it was okay if I visited Sonic. She said it was fine."
"That is very nice of you to visit Sonic. I am going to draw some blood so I can see if Sonic is feeling better. Because he is asleep right now, I can't ask him. Instead, his blood will tell me what is happening." Quack explained, "Have you had blood drawn before?"
"No, but doesn't it hurt?" Tails asked.
"It might sting a little, but it doesn't hurt. It is like getting a shot and you have had those before. See this needle? See how it is like a tiny tube? Watch this." Quack slipped the needle into Sonic's arm and the attached vial filled with blood. Removing the needle, Quack put a bandage over the site of the blood draw. He held up the vial, "There is some clotting which is a good sign." Quack turned to Tails, "Have you used a microscope before?"
"I get to see your lab?" Tails looked excited.
"Come on." Quack and Tails left.
Knuckles pulled a chair up by Sonic's bed, "You are clotting again." He closed his eyes and sensed for the emerald. It came in a little stronger than before, "I wish I could tell you what is coming. You must get better. If we lose you now, Mobius is as good as gone."