Chapter 6 – The Fight
"It's for you," Amy called to Sonic from the far end of aisle 14 in Mega Market. She tossed her cel phone to him as he strode up. "It's Chris."
"Hey, Chris," Sonic greeted after he depressed the speaker phone button. Amy's model wasn't designed with Mobians in mind, and he wasn't about to constantly move it from ear to mouth to ear like she always did.
"Sonic, wow, I never expected to get a hold of you through Amy!" Chris' voice carried from the speaker. "I've been trying everyone and everywhere else, and this was my last resort!" Sonic and Amy exchanged amused glances as he laughed. Even though the couple had been together for nearly two months, they'd kept their relationship so low-key that not even their friends knew about it. Chris went on, "But hey, guess what! My parents got me the Jaguar for my birthday!!"
"Sweet!! Congratulations!" Sonic replied.
"Thanks! Man, I love it!! I'm looking at it out in the driveway right now, and it's beautiful! And they said I can start driving it now so that I can get used to it before I take my driver's test! What are you doing right now? Are you busy?"
"Nah, I'm just picking up a few things at the grocery store."
"You wanna come over and check it out, take a ride in it?"
"Uhh….." Sonic glanced over at Amy, who smiled and nodded her approval. "Yeah, sure, I'll be right over!"
"Okay, see you in a few!"
After Chris and Sonic exchanged their goodbyes, Sonic snapped shut the cel phone and handed it back to Amy.
"That kid is so spoiled," he chuckled, then leaned over to address Amy's slightly bulging belly. "Don't you get any ideas!" Amy giggled.
"Meet me back at the apartment in time for supper, okay?" she requested.
"Sure thing. See ya later!" Sonic called on his way out.
A short while later, just outside of the Thorndyke mansion, the household butler Mr. Tanaka quickly fastened his safety belt in the passenger seat of Chris' new car. Sonic sat in the back with his arms crossed, wearing a wry grin.
"Wow, my feet are almost touching the seat in front of me," Sonic quipped. "This car's not made for human beings!" Chris only grinned all the more as he adjusted the mirrors.
"Okay, here we go!" the eager teen exclaimed as he started it up. He recited the vehicle's specs as they traveled in style to one of the massive malls of Station Square. "You got time to hang out here with us, Sonic?" he asked the reflection in his rearview mirror.
"Heck yeah! Pretzel Time!"
Inside the mall, they shopped and tried out a few arcade games and enjoyed fresh, butter-glazed pretzels while Mr. Tanaka engrossed himself in a book at Barnes & Noble. After a couple of hours, Sonic asked for the time.
"It's, uhhhh, 4:47," Chris returned.
"Yeah, I've gotta head out," Sonic informed him. "Thanks for the pretzel, and congrats again on the car!" He waved a hand behind him as he sped off.
"See you later!" Chris yelled after him.
Sonic was running at a comfortable pace and just about to pass the street leading to the mansion on his way to Amy's when a familiar smell wafted across his nose. He immediately skidded to a stop on the sidewalk. For a couple of seconds, only his breaths could be heard as he turned aside to look—then lunged sharply backward as a quill-bearing cannonball grazed his chest and smashed violently through the picket fence beside him.
"Whoa!!" Sonic exclaimed as he hopped back once more to gain some distance and balance. "Somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed!" He'd been waiting for this. Shadow reappeared quickly, jumping clear over the fence and launching his tightly rolled up body at Sonic in another homing attack. Sonic countered it with one of his own, then sprinted away. The point was not to get away but to gain momentum. It was time to take this bastard down.
The battle continued down the street. Fences, signs, and the limbs of small trees lay splintered in their wake. A few drops of blood stained the concrete from superficial wounds on Sonic's chest. He resumed taunting Shadow as they caught their breath in the midst of somebody's front yard. "Talk about a sore loser. She doesn't want your alien ass! Get over it!"
That did the trick. Shadow's blood red eyes scorched with fury. He growled through his clenched teeth, "We'll see who's the loser," before charging again. Sonic took advantage of his slightly superior agility to tumble out of the way and under a birdbath, kicking its concrete basin into Shadow's face as he dropped his guard to pivot. The black and red hedgehog was completely taken by surprise, knocked off his feet into the shrubs lining the sidewalk. Sonic scrambled to his feet and rushed to see if his opponent was down for the count. Instead, he was alarmed to find two Mobian power rings there, fast disintegrating.
Whoever absorbed the power of at least one of these rings would be protected from physical harm; the rings would absorb any impact, but at the same time would also be expelled from the bearer and left in a highly deteriorated state that would cause them to crumble to dust within seconds. Shadow must have gone all the way back to Mobius to acquire them, as they were now extremely scarce on Earth. Seeing these meant that, though Shadow was now vulnerable, he'd barely been phased by the birdbath. It only took Sonic a second to make this realization, but it was already too late. He jumped to avoid another homing attack from behind, nearly evading but taking a glancing blow to the side. Pain rifled through his chest as he smacked the ground, bouncing once and landing on his back. He gasped a breath and forced himself to his feet, attempting to retreat. He had to get out of there, or-
Another direct blow slammed Sonic against a telephone pole. The force of the impact made an audible crack. After hitting the ground again, he knew he wasn't getting back up. Struggling for a mere breath, he lifted his eyes just in time to see the victor standing triumphantly before him—and a high-end Jaguar careening their way. Sonic shut his eyes, barely noticing the sound of screeching wheels and shattering glass. After that, it seemed strangely quiet for a few seconds.
"Sonic!!!" Chris' frantic voice was coming toward him. He opened his eyes and saw his friend running around the front of the car to him. "Are you okay?! Can you get up??"
Sonic tried to speak, but it hurt just to breathe. All he could taste was the blood crawling from his mouth. His eyes searched for Shadow, but the other hedgehog was nowhere in sight. The Jaguar's windshield was completely shattered with a jagged, gaping hole near the center, smeared with blood. A little more blood was on the ground nearby. Tanaka emerged and hurried to Sonic's side as well.
"Help him up, Chris," Tanaka directed. "I'll drive." Sonic attempted to push himself upright but was overwhelmed with pain. Chris' hands were shaking as he carefully scooped him up from the ground. Even that was agonizing.
"I gotcha. We're gonna get you some first-aid," Chris spoke softly to him, voice quivering. He got into the passenger side as Tanaka took the driver's seat. The car made a U-turn and roared to the mansion, less than a minute away.
Once there, Tanaka opened the door for Chris. "Take him inside and put him on the couch. I know who to call." he told the boy. Chris complied, keeping Sonic pulled close to him as he made his way in. He immediately made a right and stepped into the roomy guest lounge, which hosted a large suede couch. He slowly let the bloody hedgehog out from under his arms onto the cushions' support. It helped ease the pain a little.
"You're gonna be okay," Chris tried to reassure him. "I'll be right back." He sprinted out of the room for a minute, then returned with a glass of water and a washcloth. He dropped to his knees by the couch and offered the glass. "You want some water?" Sonic turned his head away; he didn't even want to think about swallowing. Chris poured some of the water onto the cloth and gently wiped the blood from Sonic's muzzle. "Mr. Tanaka called the Mobian Center, so they're on their way," he mentioned, referring to the Mobian Research Team's medical staff.
"Call Amy…." Sonic strained to speak. Aside from the pain, she was the only thing he could think of. He could only imagine the ways Shadow might see fit to harm her. Chris blinked in recollection.
"Oh, oh yeah, Amy's the one who called and said that Shadow was looking for you! We called Uncle Sam and asked him to go get her and bring her here, just to be safe." Sonic closed his eyes and nodded, his concerns eased. "Wh—" Chris began again, but stopped short, "well, nevermind, you need to rest. We'll get everything figured out later." He started to get to his feet when Sonic spoke again.
"Chris…."
Chris froze and turned his eyes back on Sonic.
"Thanks...I owe you one."
"Sorry I got there too late." Chris' eyes were wet.
"No...," Sonic corrected him, "I should be dead."
The Mobian Research Team brought with it two vans full of portable equipment specially designed for use on Mobians. Ten MRT representatives poured into the mansion and within minutes had turned the guest lounge into a makeshift medical clinic. After checking Sonic's vitals and determining that he was stable, they injected a dose of painkiller and took several x-rays. As the team worked, one of the reps crouched by him as he began to breathe a bit easier.
"Sonic, my name is Dr. Garrett, and on behalf of the entire team I want to let you know that we're doing everything in our power to give you the best possible treatment, based on what we know about your species. Much of what we currently know is based on samples and data we have collected from your friend Amy, but it would be extremely helpful if we could collect some additional samples from you. In exchange for your consent to this sample collection, we would be happy to waive all charges for your treatment here. Would you be willing to allow us to conduct this research?"
"Go for it," Sonic mumbled. He'd give them one of his ears just to keep the painkillers coming.
"Excellent. We greatly appreciate your cooperation." Dr. Garrett presented him with a clipboard containing a few papers to sign.
Just then, the front door opened, and Chris' father came in, already aghast.
"Chris!!" Mr. Thorndyke immediately cried out, rushing over to the lounge. "What happened to your-" His jaw dropped as he spotted Sonic's broken body on the blood-stained couch.
"JIMMINY CHRISTMAS!!!"
Just about everyone tried to speak at once. Mr. Tanaka, who'd been in the kitchen, emerged holding a paper towel to a crash-sustained cut on his forehead. He took hold of Mr. Thorndyke's arm.
"Come in here and I'll explain everything," he yelled above the commotion as he led the mortified man into the kitchen.
After things settled back down, the medical team called everyone into the lounge and detailed Sonic's condition. Two of his ribs were broken, three more were cracked, and his sternum had been punctured. It wasn't as bad as they'd feared, but it was certainly bad enough. No surgery would be necessary, they said, but he would be in a lot a pain for a while and would need lots of rest.
Sam and Amy arrived next, also clearly unnerved by what they'd seen in the driveway. Far more upsetting, however, was the scene inside. Amy ran shrieking over to Sonic, who quickly raised a hand to ward off an excruciating embrace.
"Don't…" he croaked through his teeth, "touch……please…." She hovered there a few moments, then sank to her knees, sobbing and burying her face in the suede upholstery of the couch.
"I'm sorry," she whispered through the tears, barely audible.
"I'm glad you're okay," Sonic said softly. He glanced up at Sam, who was detailing the situation to Chris based on what Amy had told him on the way there. Something he muttered made Chris' eyes bulge. He quickly turned to the hedgehogs.
"You two are having a baby?!" he blurted out. The entire Mobian Research Team looked up.
"And she's due in three months," Sam added.
Chris choked.