Whooooooo. The next set of chapters might be a little boring.

And, thanks to Skyelara for the grammar advice, but I've already been yelled at by literally all my highschool English teachers for not using proper dialogue grammar. It's just a bad habit. For some reason, my mind likes to think proper dialogue grammar only applies to novels, cause I forget about it every time I try to type something up for this site. XD

But, I digress.


For every sin a child has, must be a punishment to bear.
Your friends are now beyond our reach: trapped deep within his lair.

STATION SQUARE, MOBIUS
Sonic's House
8:14 AM
05.15.19

He eased his eyes open, feeling a pressure on his stomach. Tihocan was seated on him, smiling brightly. He sat up. His head was spinning. "Uncle Sonic? Are you okay? Machu said you died at the hospital last night. Did you die?"

He yawned. "No, Tihocan. I'm fine." The child jumped off the bed. He glanced at the clock. For some reason, he'd been waking up later than usual.

"Machu wants you downstairs." He rushed out of the room, thinking the blue hedgehog was following him.

Sonic pushed the blanket away. His breath caught in his throat. Blood had stained his bed. He touched his abdomen, realizing he was fine. The gold blade was lying on the pillow beside the stain. He picked it up, his hands shaking.

How did this get here? He always remembered bringing things with him, but never having things brought back from the other side. Why was this here? Why didn't the knife come with him? He looked around, finding nothing out of place. There was a doll sitting on his windowsill, but he didn't think much of it. He tried to calm himself, leaning against the door frame for support. He was so confused. He didn't know what he was supposed to do.

Whatever. He'd figure it out after breakfast. He tossed the dagger onto his bed and stumbled down the stairs, still shaking.

Tihocan was seated at the table, waiting for his plate to be prepared. Machu was at the stove, as always. She normally fixed bacon on a school day, but the kitchen had a different scent this morning. He sat down, across from the child as usual, and looked around with an aura of worry.

"Uncle Sonic?" He jumped. "Are you okay? You look sick."

Machu immediately turned her attention to him. "What? Sonic, did you take your medicine?" He shook his head slowly. She pointed. "Go. Take it and come down for breakfast." She was always so demanding.

He dragged himself up the stairs and into the bathroom adjacent to his bedroom. He pulled his new prescription out of the cabinet. Machu always had everything in order. She was always so perfect. He closed the cabinet and stared at himself in the mirror. He frowned. Look at him. He's such a mess. His quills stuck out in random places and he looked as if he hadn't had any sleep in the past few days. As he continued to stare at his reflection, he noticed a whitish figure behind him.

Silver.

He whirled around, heartbeat quickening. But, nothing was there. The door was closed.

Sonic wanted to turn back. He wanted to face the white hedgehog in the mirror and ask him his questions. But, he didn't. He just wanted everything to go away. To return to normal. But, he knew that wasn't going to happen.

He had such a bad headache.

He exited the room, holding his head. Maybe if he just ignored everything it would elude him. It would vanish and leave him be. He sat at the table, unscrewing the top of the bottle. Tihocan watched him closely. He took out one of the small white pills. Smiling, he showed it to the child, who seemed overly interested in it. He took it before Machu sat beside him. She picked up her fork.

"Tihocan," He looked up. "Uncle Sonic is going to take you to school today." He smiled. Sonic rarely went to the school. "I have to clean out the attic today."

"Yay! Uncle Sonic," He turned to the blue hedgehog. "You can meet all my friends!" She smiled brightly. She always loved to watch the two bond.

He didn't seem very excited, but the medication he had taken made him forget about his nightmares. "I have to help Machu, so I can't stay for too long." He'd just go up to the attic to reflect on the old photo books he had boxed away. She would yell at him to help, but he'd be too busy to hear her.

Breakfast was finished in silence. Afterward, Tihocan rushed up the stairs to fetch his bag while Sonic slipped his shoes on. "Oh," Machu caught his attention. "Before you go, I got a letter from the doctor. You should read it when you come home."

"Why? Did something happen to Shadow?" She shook her head. He knew she wasn't going to tell him anything.

"I'll be upstairs." She said, making her way to the second floor. "Come get me if you need me." Tihocan passed her, running down the steps to Sonic.

"I'm ready!" He said, excited.


The school was pass the small hospital, pass the amusement park, pass the plaza, and almost on the other side of town. It was nearly a thirty minute walk, but it was the only school here. The child immediately ran to the playground, meeting up with his small group of friends. They were huddled near a jungle gym, chattering about their weekend adventures. Sonic stood by the gate, a soft smile forming on his face. He could faintly remember when he was here as a young child. The years flew by him so quickly.

"Uncle Sonic, come here!" Tihocan took hold of his arm, dragging him over to the other children. "Guys, his is my uncle!" They stared up at him, eyes wide, mouths open. He wasn't surprised at their reactions. He was a retired hero, though some say he let his wound control his life. The children were indifferent. He was a hero, and he was standing before them.

He didn't know what to say. "Uh…yeah, I'm Tihocan's uncle." He shrugged, arms crossed.

"Wow!" One of the smaller hedgehogs spoke. "Your uncle really isSonic the Hedgehog!" With that, a small group of interested children gathered around him. He smiled nervously. An adult, a teacher he assumed, shooed them into the building. Tihocan hugged the blue hedgehog before leaving.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sonic." He was a fox and wore glasses. Just like Tails. "They're all big fans."

He chuckled. "It's alright. I get this all the time." It was a lie. He was never treated this way by the older furries. They were disappointed in him. He was pitied for giving up. No one appreciated him now, save for Machu.

"So," He leaned against the door frame. "Tihocan is yours? He's very bright."

"Uh, well. He's not my son." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm taking care of him until his father is released from the hospital."

"Well, you should be proud." He returned to his respective place inside the building. Sonic sighed and walked away.

He unlocked his front door, head down. She was already upstairs; he could hear her moving around. He tossed his keys on the small table beside the door. She immediately rushed down when she heard him coming up the stairs.

"Hey, look what I found!" She held up a tan military jacket. He found it very familiar. "It's yours, remember?" She handed it to him.

He slipped it on. It fit perfectly, though it was a little tight around the shoulders. On his right arm was a patch of the American flag. He badges were missing, but he didn't mind. He recalled clearly when he was fighting in Britain. One of his friends had asked him to assist the Allies in World War II. He had agreed to it. After all, he was legendary. Nothing could touch him.

He was wrong.

He was so wrong.

"I put your little badges in your room along with that certificate the general gave you." She was there when he received it. "I also found my old nurse uniform." Her smile faded when she noticed his uneasy expression. "C'mon upstairs. Maybe looking through some of Tihocan's old things will make you feel better. We didn't even unpack them when we moved here."

He followed her. The attic was large and dusty. They hardly ever came up here. There were two windows that let in enough light so they could see during the day. Hanging from the ceiling, and stuck in the corner, was the British military crest. He smiled to himself, memories returning. She shoved a box in his arms.

"Here. Open this one." She saluted and returned to the other side of the room, where four more boxes awaited her. He set it down and ripped the tape off. Inside was a pile of infant toys. It was from Tihocan's early childhood. He smiled softly.

Shadow's son was a handful as an infant. He would always throw things around and cover his face with his lunch. At first it was cute, but it soon became annoying. Not only would Tihocan be covered in food, but Sonic would be too. Spaghetti stains were so difficult to get out of his fur.

The child was always sick as a baby. Sometimes he couldn't keep food down. Sometimes he had memory loss, though it was hard to tell. And, on rare occasions, Tihocan would have seizures. He was always so worried. He always thought he was doing something wrong. He always thought he was a bad father without Amy.

While he was digging around, he found something in the box that didn't seem to belong. It was a doll dressed in Lolita clothing, much like the one that sat upon his windowsill this morning. It had dried blood splattered onto its black dress. He held it, confused. As he stared at it, the doll tilted its head to the side, speaking to him in a young girl's voice.

"DADDY?"

He dropped it. The sound caught Machu's attention. She rushed over to him. He was shaking. "Sonic, are you alright?" He held his head. That voice kept replaying in his mind. He just wanted it to stop. "Sonic!" She sounded worried. "Sonic, what's wrong?"

Suddenly, just as quick as it arrived, it stopped. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the doll sink into a nonexistent puddle, disappearing. He straightened himself. "I-I'm fine." He shook his head, trying to regain his composure. "I'm fine."

She pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. "Are you sure?" She paused. "You feel warm." He pushed her away.

"I said I was fine." He spat.

"Sonic, please." She watched him storm down the stairs.

He just needed a break. The dusty air had gone to his head. That's it. He just needed to get some fresh air.

He sat down at the kitchen table. An opened letter was there. He stared at it. This must've been the thing Machu wanted him to read when he returned from the school. He unfolded the paper inside. It was a hand written note from Shadow's doctor:

Sonic, Tihocan's father has requested to see you. Please come by as soon as you are available. Signed by Dr. Harris.

He placed the note back into the envelope. Machu would be fine by herself. He chose to take the letter with him so she'd know where to find him if she became more worried than she already was. He straightened the collar of his military jacket and exited his house, shoving the keys into his pocket.

Outside, the sky was starting to darken. It was going to rain soon. He made his way to the hospital quickly, not wanting to get wet.

When he arrived, the nurse told him Dr. Harris had left for the day. The poor man had worked for two days. He deserved a break. She told him he would be able to visit Shadow on his own, since his therapy sessions have ended for the day. There were other doctors and nurses in the Seclusion Wing to assure his safety. He thanked her and made his way down the hall.

The wing was busier here than normally. He wasn't sure what was going on. Regardless, it was none of his business. He nodded to them in acknowledgement and knocked on Shadow's door. He allowed himself inside. The black hedgehog was in a catatonic state, most likely due to the drugs from his therapy. He was in his bed, lying on his back.

"Shadow? Did you want to see me?" He stayed close to the door. The black hedgehog lifted his head, gazing at Sonic with faded eyes.

"Did you bring me my son?"