Author's Note - This was suppose to be a Thanksgiving surprise but I was unfinished with it by the time Thanksgiving came around yesterday. So happy late Thanksgiving to everyone on here who celebrates it! If you don't, Happy November then! Please feel free to give me any feedback if you'd like! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All of Sonic & Co belong to SEGA.

"The Master" and Krum are OC's and belong to me.

Thank you!

Chapter Ten

He knew something was wrong the first moment that he opened his eyes the next morning. First of all, he felt very ill to his stomach and he honestly couldn't remember the last time he was truly sick. His skin felt warm and his whole body ached. His head felt as if it was pulsating beneath his skin and it took a great effort for him to lift it off the pillow. He instantly regretted moving at all and a groan escaped him as his head fell back against his bed. Sickness was going around, perhaps he was just unlucky this year and the bugs finally decided to infect him. Rubbing his face to clear his blurry vision, Sonic allowed himself to drift off for a bit longer. Might as well take it easy, then. Hopefully it was just the type of illness that just stuck around for a small bit and leaves. After a few minutes of lying there and trying to fall back to sleep, though, he finally gave up and pushed himself out of bed. There was no way he was going to get any shut eye with his head pounding like a drum. Do I even have anything to take for headaches? He never really had the need to stock up on medication-which was probably a poor choice on his part-so when he did open his medicine cabinet it was unsurprisingly bare aside from a few cough drops. Sighing, he figured that was better than nothing and popped one of them in his mouth. Maybe if he sucked on it for a while it'd draw attention away from his head. His doorbell sounded louder in ears, causing him to flinch a bit and he steadied himself against his bathroom sink as a wave of nausea hit him. For a moment he almost thought he was going to throw up, but he was able to fight off the feeling after a moment and he grimaced as the doorbell sounded again. "Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." He called out as he left the bathroom, headed for the door.

As he opened it, he was greeted by the friendly face of Tails. As soon as he saw what state he was in, however, Tails frowned, seeming a bit concerned. "Wow, Sonic, you don't look too well."

Sonic gave a slight smile. "I'm guessing it looks as bad as I feel?" The fox nodded in agreement and he sighed. "I think I may stay home today, but I'll catch you later after I'm feeling more up to it."

"Yeah, you take it easy," Tails frown remained, "did you want me to get anything for you?"

He gave a wave, "Nah, I just need rest. I'll see you later." Sonic fell back against the couch as soon as Tails left, groaning lightly when the sudden movement caused his nausea to act up again. It wasn't exactly helpful that he wasn't used to feeling sick and with a sigh, he fell into a troubling sleep.

He wasn't sure how many hours had passed since he had drifted off, but when he opened is eyes he found the hovering face of Krum above him and smelled the warm scent of Amy's famous chicken noodle soup emitting from his kitchen. Even through his sick he expected Krum to make some sort of snide comment about his current appearance, but to his surprise the other seemed to look... almost concerned. "What are you doing in my house?" Sonic murmured, rubbing his temples for a bit.

Whatever hint of Krum's concern for him vanished in his eyes and his familiar, lazy smirk drifted back upon his muzzle. "Amy and I stopped by your house to see if you'd like to come along with us somewhere-I forgot what she said-but when you didn't answer Amy insisted on checking on you and now she's making you soup. You sleep like a log, by the way."

"She didn't have do that. I'll be fine." Sonic muttered under his breath, but Krum had no trouble picking up on the hushed words.

"Are you sure about that?" Krum snickered, "You were as pale as a ghost when we got in here. Amy almost called the hospital when you didn't respond to us trying to wake you up."

Sonic gave a grimace. "I'm sorry for giving you guys a scare. Normally I don't come down with anything. I thought it'd be fine."

A serious look abruptly fell upon Krum's face as he took a seat upon the coffee table. "Describe your symptoms to me."

"So you're a doctor now too?" Sonic asked sarcastically.

"Just humor me."

Sighing, Sonic ran a hand over his face. "My head feels like there's a sledgehammer in it, I feel feverish and nauseated, and my whole body aches."

Krum gave a nod. "Amy thought it might be a stomach flu. She sent me to the pharmacy to grab some medication, but it smelled really foul as a pill," Krum grinned, "So I mashed it up into powder and let it dissolve in a drink a made for you."

When Krum offered the drink to him, however, Sonic almost laughed. "Is that red wine? I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be the best for my stomach right now."

"It's not wine," Krum replied, amusement twinkling in his crimson eyes, "it tastes good, I'll give it that, but there's no alcohol included. I promise. Just drink it. Unless if you'd like to have those nasty smelling pills; then by all means."

Grumbling, Sonic took the glass, giving the liquid in it a suspicious sniff before he took a sip of it. The taste was a bit bitter at first, but after rolling it around his tongue for a moment it sweetened after a moment and he took another sip. "What is this stuff?"

"A home remedy. Family secret." Krum answered, giving a secretive smile before looking up as Amy walked in the room with a bowl of her soup. Her eyes lit up when she saw Sonic up and awake.

"Sonic! I'm so glad your awake," She set the bowl in front of him, "I was starting to really worry."

Taking another swing of Krum's family remedy, Sonic gave Amy a grateful smile. "You didn't have to do that. Sorry for worrying you, though." Whatever medication that was crushed in that drink was certainly doing its job. He was already feeling better as he took a few careful bites of the soup. The pounding in his head was subsiding and the feverish heat was beginning to fade. "Wow that stuff seems to really work," Sonic looked up towards Krum, already feeling like himself again, "What was in it?"

"If I told you it wouldn't be a family secret," Krum gave him a sly grin, "but if the illness returns, I left a couple bottles of it in your fridge. It tastes even better if you warm it up." He stood, giving a stretch as he turned his gaze to Amy. "Did you want to head out? We've been here for a while."

"But what about Son-"

Sonic gave a dismissive wave, "I'll be fine, Ames. I'm already feeling a lot better. 'Sides, I'll probably just take another nap after this. Go have some fun."

It took some convincing, but Amy finally agreed to leave and as the two headed for the door, Krum paused, at the open door, glancing towards Sonic. "Also, that tonic is safe to drink anytime. It'll help prevent any sickness if you drink a glass or two at least twice a day. Of course you can wait until you're sick again, but I thought I'd mention that too." Krum gave a shrug, and with that said he followed after Amy, closing the door behind him. Finishing up the last of the tonic within his glass, Sonic licked the remaining taste of the liquid off his lips. Perhaps he's not as bad as I think he is.

A foolish assumption. What do you really know of him?

I do know that he is thoughtful. At least in his own way.

Thoughtfulness and kindness only go so far. I believe he's taking advantage of the situation.

How so?

He's taking care of you in front of his love interest. Not only does that give him approval from her, it also puts you in a position where you can't speak up about him.

Amy has good judgment...

Sonic almost could feel the low, ghostly laughter chiming in his mind, No offense to your friend, but she fell in love with a stranger after being in love with you for years upon end. Does she even know much about him?

We can at least wait until we're sure he's not evil. Then if he is, I can just follow that "Master" fellow's instructions and release him to help me get rid of Krum.

A growl sounded in his mind. When have you ever needed anyone else's help? You're the hero of all of Mobius. You can take care of Krum on your own. You don't need that old geezer's help to get rid of him.

I've always had my friends alongside to help me, though.

Then let them join you. Purred the inner voice, and suddenly a wave of thirst parched his throat. Which made no sense at all since he had just drank an entire glass of remedy, I doubt you'd have much trouble with enticing them over to "help". They could all be yours.

Sonic blinked, the thirst finally snapping him out of his mental conversation. What the heck. Was I just talking to myself? His headache was returning and a groan escaped him. Maybe he was still a bit ill. Massaging his temples, Sonic stood, making his way over to his fridge. Somewhere during that weird conversation, he had bitten his lip and a drip of blood drizzled from the corner of his mouth. Wiping it impatiently away, Sonic poured himself another glass of the tonic, downing it quickly in one gulp. He had lost his appetite for Amy's soup, and he wasn't sure if he'd even eat the rest of it as he stuck the rest of the soup in the fridge. He just didn't want to hurt her feelings by throwing it all away.

His body was still a bit achy, so after finishing up in the kitchen, Sonic hurried to the shower, turning the heat on high as he stepped in. He had to suppress a moan of content as the water began to relax his muscles and he could feel the aching slowly dissolve as his blood flowed more easily throughout his body. He may not be a fan of water swimming wise, but it was truly a life saver in the shower. After a few moments of allowing the water to fall upon his face, Sonic shut it off, stepping out. As he dried off his drooping quills, he gazed into the mirror of his bathroom. His paleness had all but faded, and the gleam was back in his eyes. He definitely looked a lot better than what he felt this morning. "Huh, that's weird." He spoke aloud to his reflection, tilting his head a bit to get a better view of his lower neck. Usually there was a scare there from one of his battles again Dr. Eggman, it was never really visible if one didn't know where to look, but now it was completely gone.

Giving a light shrug, he wrapped his towel around his waist, making his way back to his living room and he flopped down in his lazyboy with a light grunt. There was one thing in his house that he never really used all that much and that was his TV. It was a decent sized TV, flat screen and mounted upon the wall, but he never really used it because he was always active. Who had time to just sit around in front of the TV all day anyway? After not feeling good all morning and afternoon, though, he figured it'd be a better choice to remain inside for the rest of the evening. Flipping idly through the channels, he finally settled on the news and yawned. He never really understood why someone would like to be a newscaster. Sure it probably was exciting and interesting digging up the latest stories, but sometimes it was so boring when they were all gathered around talking about politics or the weather. Maybe it was just the fact that he liked to make the news, not talk about it after the news happened.

"Well I, for one, believe Mobius was far better off as a monarchy," One of them was saying, a weasel, "Things seemed far more peaceful back then. The heir to the throne still is alive and well, I think it's about time we seriously consider bringing the royal family back."

Sonic scoffed softly, trying not to laugh, "Me, king? I don't even know the first thing about being a king."

"Just hear me out," The weasel continued after his fellow debaters began voicing their own opinions, "Things have been safe here in Mobius and there has been peace. But that's only because Sonic and his friends have been so generous in keeping all the enemies that come forward at bay. They are true heroes and all of the Mobians love them. It wouldn't be like we'd be putting a random person upon the throne."

One of the other debaters pitched in as soon as the weasel finished his sentence. "But that's just the point. Sonic is the hero of Mobius, not our king. And he seems quite content of that fact as well. We need him to remain as he is. As king, he wouldn't be able to just run off and save the day. We would need him here to keep order and peace amongst the civilians." After listening to the lot of them go back and forth on the matter for a while, Sonic shut the TV off after a moment, leaning back against his chair. Back when he was younger he had always wondered how things would have been if his parents were still alive. He could barely remember the days back when he still lived in the castle, he had only been a baby, but he did have a few pictures of his parents and himself. One in particular that he really liked rested on one of the walls in his living room. They were all posed in front of the camera and he was sitting on his father's shoulders with a goofy grin. His mother had been caught in mid-laugh and they all looked very happy. It wasn't a picture you'd expect of a royal family-the others ones were usually doing serious poses-but seeing that picture had always made him wish he would have known them better.

Suddenly feeling restless, Sonic jumped up to his feet, One quick run around the block wouldn't hurt. He stretched for a moment before he hurried to the door, slipping on his shoes as he did so, and as he opened the door he almost ran into Amy. "Amy! Uh, hi." He gave a sheepish smile.

Amy put her hands on her hips. "Where do you think you're going? You can't go out running all around. You might get sick again."

"C'mon, I've been cooped up all day inside," Sonic slipped past Amy to where Krum was standing, looking amused per the usual, "Just one small run around the block. Then I'll come right back."

At first she looked as if though she was going to argue, but then a grin appeared across her face. "Fine, but you'll have to go at a light jog because Krum will be going with you to make sure you'll be okay."

Even Krum didn't seem to expect this because there was a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "I'm sure he'd be done faster if he's able to run at his own pace."

"You two need to bond a bit," She answered him sternly, "I'm not blind, you know. I know that you both barely get along." Despite their further protests, she waved them away, "I'll be find with walking myself home. You two enjoy your walk."

As soon as she was out of earshot, Sonic turned to Krum. "I could do a quick run around and we could pretend that we went through with it."

"No, we might as well go with her wishes, besides," Krum chuckled lowly, "maybe we do need a bit of "bonding" time together."

He could have easily ditched the fox, and he did seriously consider it at first, but curiosity won him over. Maybe if he stuck around he could do some digging and get to know him better. "Yeah, fine. I guess just this once I can go slowly." For the first ten minutes of their walk, there was an awkward silence between the two of them. He'd always zip through these streets so it was a bit odd being able to see the scenery at a slower pace. "Why do you like her anyway?" He asked at last, breaking the silence, "I mean, she is very likeable once you get to know her, but with your looks, let's be honest. You could have any girl in Mobius if you wanted."

Krum raised a brow towards him. "I don't entirely base my choices on looks alone."

"Well, I'm just curious about what attracted you to her is what I mean."

"Her cheeriness I suppose. She's always very bright and has a way to make the most out of any situation. I didn't have much of that back at home." Krum mused thoughtfully.

"Your home?" Sonic perked his ears up in interest, "Have you remembered where you're from?"

"Ah, no. Not really," Krum quickly shook his head, "All I remember is that there wasn't much happiness there as there is here. Besides, she's a very great kisser." He purred, his scarlet orbs lit with mischief.

Sonic's quills instantly bristled, "You kissed her?"

Krum was already laughing before Sonic even had a chance to finish his sentence. "No, not yet. But I wish I would have," He smirked, "You're so jealous, aren't you? What I can't understand is how you are so bothered. She always said that you brushed off her advances over the years. You had so many chances to go out with her, but you never did. You have no reason to be so irritated."

"I know, I know," Sonic snapped, "I guess I'm just not used to it."

The other raised his hands in a calming gesture, "No need to be snippy," Krum chuckled once more, "On another note, I never knew that you were a prince."

"Was a prince," Sonic corrected in a mutter, "The monarchy hasn't been around for a while."

"And you have no desire to stand up and reclaim the title?"

"Nah. I don't even know how to be royalty." Sonic laughed, "All I've known is being a hero, and I'm cool with that."

Krum kicked a pebble as the rounded the corner. "I think you're stupid. With all the popularity you get, you'd get a mountain of votes over all of the presidents they have now, don't you think? You'd be king in no time and yet here you are in that shabble."

"It's not a shabble," Sonic grumbled, "I just don't have the right ambitions to be a king."

"Suit yourself," Krum gave a shrug, "Personally, and this isn't a compliment, but personally I think you'd be able to handle the crowd easily. You're quite charismatic and you know how to please people."

To his surprise, talking to Krum was easier than he would have imagined it. Aside from a few provoking comments here and there, the fox would simply listen as he spoke. By the time they had made their way around the block, he sort of wished he would have kept on going. Who knew that he, Sonic the Hedgehog, would enjoy a slow stroll? He hesitated before heading up to his house. "Look, I'll probably always be a bit annoyed with you, but you don't seem... that bad. So if you can prove to me that you're good for Amy, I'll lay off of you if you truly are interested in her."

Krum seemed a bit caught off guard at that statement, and for a brief moment Sonic thought he saw a flash of gratitude appear in his eyes, but that quickly disappeared as he narrowed his eyes. "Technically it's not your call and I don't have to prove anything to you. You're not the one I'm dating, it's her. So as long as she wants me, I'll be here."

"She's my frien-"

"Irrelevant," Krum hissed, "You can give her your opinion at the most, but you do not control her choice." A dark smile crossed the other's muzzle. "You had your chance, Sonic. She's moved on and has chosen me." The fox gave a mocking laugh, bumping Sonic's shoulders with his own as he walked past him. "See you around." It took all of Sonic's willpower not to rush after him and deck him in the face. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that he knew Amy would instantly defend him.

Fool. I told you this would happen.

"Shut up." Sonic growled sharply, instantly silencing the voice as he broodily walked back into his house. He had the urge to shatter the bottles of tonic Krum had given him when he opened the fridge and saw them, but the fact that they kept his headaches away made him decide against the idea and he poured himself another glass. In some ways, he knew that he was right. He had no control over who Amy dated. Honestly he didn't really care if she wanted to date someone, but he didn't like Krum, and he wasn't sure how he was going to be able to convince her that he was not as "goody-two-shoes" as he appeared.

A slow smirk appeared across his face. Looks like it's time for some sleuthing.