Edit 01: 05.21.18. - Holy crap that was a lot of grammatical errors and punctation. Dear lord.

If you keep seeing notifications from previous chapters, it means I either updated it with a better version, or found grammatical mistakes and decided to fix it.

Can you figure out how this is written? :) It jumps around a lot.

This is an aftermath of The Photographer. It's not highly recommended that you have to read it.

i just can't forget

Shock. Those "ifs" just floating around in his head.

Maybe if Tails tried harder, maybe Sonic wouldn't have jumped. All that's left was a suitcase filled with photographs and a silent Shadow. Tails wondered what happened between the both of them, to cause Sonic to finally lose it.

Or maybe it was that he lost it because he can no longer contain his emotions and his mind anymore. Being underwater was shutting out all the world's sound and looking up above, was to see bliss and a melancholy dream.

Days continue to flee, and yet, the fox still has no clue on the deceased hedgehog's reason. Summer came and went away, just as fall did, and grabbed the leaves from the tired branches of the prideful oaks. He would miss the azure hedgehog wandering on the same street every day, always standing under the tree, looking into his camera and waiting for the perfect snapshot.

It's winter, and Tails was bundled up in a coat. He adjusted his glasses a-tip his nose and cracked open the suitcase again. Colleagues exchanged concerned glances at each other. It has been several months since Tails brought it into the cafe. The day after Sonic was gone. Now he's sitting there, trying to investigate what happened. Shadow wasn't open about it though. He tends to remain in the apartment he now shared with Rouge.

Now it's just a barren void of waiting something to be filled.

Tails went back up to Sonic's apartment the day after he died. He found a key under a potted plant at the entrance. Upon opening the door, there was a camera sitting at a sleek and polished desk. The same camera Tails always saw Sonic with.

He wondered why the blue hedgehog loved photography so much.

Endless days, plundering through the towns and cities, wandering from place to place; does he not have a home he can abide in?

Snow drifted gently outside, slowly coating Station Square with a layer of a white blanket in the coming tomorrow. Daylight was fading, it was only four in the afternoon and the sun lost itself below the horizon. The shadows of the gray clouds only indicated the darkening sky up and above. The world continued to go round, even after to this day.

Tails was still the cheery and optimistic mastermind, but he seemed a bit different to a degree. Sometimes he would drift off into the vast void until someone snapped him back on track. Tails was just on his way out when a familiar face showed up.

It was a surprise when Shadow, the Ultimate Lifeform stepped into G.U.N.'s headquarters, briskly calling for Tails' attention. Everyone knew about the notorious, dark hedgehog, having escaped from Space Colony Ark and rampaging to destroy the world due to a small misunderstanding. The personal issues between him and the Commander, before he left at his own will.

The two-tailed fox was dragged from his room and into the loneliness of a familiar place he knew all so well a few months ago. They were back at Sonic's apartment.

Both sat at the empty desk. Tails placed the suitcase on it, and Shadow flicked his attention toward it. He didn't say a word.

The ebony hedgehog was fidgeting and playing with his fingers, a sight the fox never saw before.

"I have...something to say."

Memories and words drifted like a soft haze through the ebony's mind.

He can't focus. He feels clammy. Red eyes dropped to the ground, his hover shoes, Tails' namesakes, and outside the window. He's tired. Very tired. His Chaos Energy levels low. His vision flickered for a bit.

"And what is it about?" Tails asked softly.

"It's my fault." The ebony forced himself to sober up. "I was the reason he's..."

Tails looked out the window, following Shadow's fleeting gaze. "He loved this time of the year a lot doesn't he?"

"Before spring, Tails. It's when the whole world is drowned in white and snow, and then spring shoots itself from the ground and reaches toward the sky. It's why he loved photography. When he quit being a hero, and I had to take care of him. Something the Commander said, about losing his mind."

That caught the fox's attention. "I didn't know about that."

"He just wasn't himself."

Tails bit his lower lip. "I wondered what triggered the effect."

The ebony hedgehog hesitated. "I'm not sure. Maybe it was loss? Friend issues? I first found him when he was just wandering around, shivering in the rain. Didn't know he didn't had a place to live in. Just around the right time too, the Commander was getting fed up with him."

"Shadow." His eyes strayed toward the concerned fox's. "Why are you coming to me instead? Normally, you...well you keep things to yourself. You don't often speak of your problems."

The ebony hedgehog cut Tails off before he continued. "People change. Maybe if I asked why, changed a bit differently, maybe his thoughts wouldn't carry to where he is now. Another grave in the ground." He swallowed. "Generally, we aren't very close, and we only see each other every once in a while when I was still working at G.U.N. I'm not sure who else to reach out, about. I did everything I can to help...Sonic. Medical treatment, everything. Tails it's stressful. I lived with the thought of worrying every day if he's still going to be alive. Not walk out. And I fucked up. Terribly."

The hedgehog buried his head in his hands, controlling his spilling emotions. Him. Out of all people. Breaking down. Everything was too much to carry inside all the time. Even the strongest break away quietly and privately. It's a lesson everyone knows, but their ego and pride pushes them to the breaking point.

Tails was in a quiet shock. He assumed he knew more about the ebony hedgehog than he thought, but of course, that is not always the case.

Outside, a winter storm raged on. There were fewer civilians in the street. Lights blinked from red to green, then to yellow. Cars rode silently in the howling winds, a whiteout. Stragglers hurried to their safe destinations.

A candle glowed softly in the quiet apartment. A lavender scent warmed the atmosphere. Shadow was staring at the ceiling, all conversation deceased. Tails was attempting to boil water and pour it into mugs containing coffee beans, a stir of chocolate, and warm milk. After mixing the drink, the fox poured it out, steam rising from both mugs. He handed one to Shadow and tried to warm his fingers up in the coldness. It seems the heater didn't work.

Shadow rose to flick another wax candle and bring the room to light. He carried the suitcase full of photos and placed it on the ground. Both mugs went unattended as the two mobians spoke a feathery conversation. A voice filled with heaviness, another fluttering with concern.

"He loved this one."

"Of course Shadow."

"How do you know? Know Sonic?"

Tails blinked in surprise. "I well...you know. Met him on the same street, the same spot, same sidewalk every day. I decided to come down and greet him because he seemed...lonely."

"Lonely?"

"Yeah. He was always standing there, taking a photograph of a cafe right across the street." Tails pulled out a bundle of photos both mobians haven't investigated in yet. Upon unclipping the stack, Shadow held in a breath. It was the cafe he first found Sonic sitting by. Photo after photo, strangers would be on the other side, the occasional Shadow flitting across the images, vehicles blocking the main point of view, causing a sense of a world blur. There was a note attached to a photo. A photo of the ebony hedgehog smiling, a rare sight for any of the mobians. His face etched the features of happiness. It appeared someone else had taken the photo, for Sonic had his arm slung around the ebony's shoulders.

"Oh..." Tails stifled and turned to look at the ebony hedgehog reading the note.

And Shadow cried. Just as the winter storm howled its misery. Tails cautiously eased the tight grip on the note and began to read.

Hey, Shadow.

I'm not sure when you're coming back. It's really quiet without you. It's scary here. I hear voices all the time. Shadow I don't feel like the medication isn't working. When you quit working with the shady organization, I was happy. You're taking care of me. Especially when the Commander hasn't given up on me already. But you left again. It was always another mission. I thought you quit for good. I was wrong. You keep disappearing for some reason.

I don't know where you are.

There's still a lot of things here.

Ha!

It's a cliché. Just another reality I'm living in, right?

I've taken up photography for a reason.
To get my mind off on a lot of stuff. You know what G.U.N. does. I'm a pacifist, not a horrible gruel person.

It was to capture the world's beauty one last time. For a two-tailed fox to look at, and for you, if he ever comes by you, to look at. I didn't get to hear you for the last time. It's okay.

Thank you.

I love you. Very much :)

Tails crawled over and hugged Shadow. "He would...want to see you happy. Move on. You know...she wanted you that way too. Protect her world." Tails murmured. "Time heals. And if it doesn't, something else will heal..."

"I was just…was...busy...wish could see him...tried to help and tried to heal..." His shoulders shook underneath Tails' frame.

The two held each other for the rest of the evening.

Snow melted. Birds chirped. Another season faded away, since the note, since the photos. Tails was coming to visit Shadow and take a walk to his grave. The two-tailed fox quickly exited the building, waving goodbye to his partners, and briskly walked over to the cafe that Sonic loved. Shadow looked up from his stare at the ground, and the two mobians walked for a few miles. Rounding streets, hearing the city sounds, the blink of lights, cabs honking. They were then at the quieter side of the town. A cemetery lay, filled with lovingly carved headstones. The gates creaked silently, and both mobians stepped into the quietness of the field.

They walked over to the headstone where Sonic lay.

White flowers, faded pink, the occasional red breezed through the air. Shadow lay a bouquet of collected white flowers on the ground. "Thank you." the ebony whispered.

"I love you too."

Hawkfeather [Guest] - Oh gosh thank you :,^)! Oho, you never ever compare a rookie author against the greatest author [creator of Harry Potter series] (even though I don't know much about it, I heard it's amazing the way they wrote it). Thank you very much though! I'm just a hobbyist writer so I don't think you'll see my pen name floating around in shelves. Crafting words, throwing in figurative language and such brings the magic! I've loved to tied strings around the English language and make sure that it goes my way (not literally, just a couple tweaks of how I wrote it and such). Here's your Chapter 2 answer :)