Warning:
-OOC(?)
-Possible grammar/spelling errors
-Mentions of self harm
-Near death
-I can't type to save my life
-Your milage may very

"BLAH" = Talking or air quote
'BLAH' = Thinking
{BLAH} = Over the phone

Last worked on 12/6/2019, I dunno why but found it interesting to see how long I failed to work on this.

So I was partly unaware of certain characters ages especially Amy's,(doesn't help that many fanfics depict her as around Sonic's age) once I post this chapter I'm going to add on A03's post for this fanfic that characters are aged up. Then again Knuckles & Rouge are getting married so it's been a while. Sorry if this sounds awkward, I'm a stupid person.

I forget if I mentioned this before but this fanfic heavily leans on info from my own version of the Sonic series. If I ever get around to working on making the fanfics for the series you might see stuff that was already told here.(I dunno why this fanfic was made with a lot of spoilers but I feel like this won't be the first time I make a fanfic using my own version of the series) I dunno why I'm explaining any of this.

This fucking site's doc editor is so stupid it gets rid of anything with a dot between two words without a fucking space.

Shadow shook in shock at seeing Sonic's body malnourished, he had expected to find Sonic but not like this. He rushed to the blue hedgehog's side to check him, the once cream arms were now very pale and rolling the sleeves of his shirt up revealed clearly self harm scars with dried blood all over them. Due to lighting and how dark the place was it was hard to tell but what little medical training(1) he had he could tell that the scars would heal. Also checking, he was shocked but relieved to learn Sonic had a very faint pulse. There was still hope to get him both the medical and emotional/mental health help he needed desperately. Looking around just in case he noticed a bottle next to Sonic's signature shoes. Checking it he realized the bottle is a mostly empty bottle of sleeping pills that Sonic likely dropped when he got on the bed. It was heartbreaking to think Sonic was doing self harm and had tried to kill himself.

"I-I'm... I'm sorry faker... No, I-I'm sorry Sonic... You were hurting and no one was there to help you... Even though I've suffered alone as well at some point I can't begin to understand the pain you went through..." Shadow said in a gentle, quiet voice as if to comfort the motionless hedgehog as he picked him up after getting Sonic's gloves and shoes into his coat pocket and quills respectively.

Shadow wrapped the blanket Sonic was a bit ago laying on around him, after that he was about to take him outside when he remembered the paper Vanilla gave him. This led to Shadow apologizing to Sonic and shining the flashlight on the paper which turned out to have a phone number written on it. Vanilla said this would help him so Shadow did what he could by calling the number for Sonic's sake.

{Hello?} The voice sounded like a gruff older man.

"Ummm... Mrs Rabbit gave me your number..." Shadow muttered, a little panicked and unsure how to explain in case something was wrong.(He was worried enough to call but also panicked enough to be unsure if this will work) The man must have realized something along with the sound of panic in Shadow's unsure voice.

{You have Sonic with you don't you?} He asks, the sound of rushing around the house can be heard like he's preparing.

"YES! Sir he's in serious need of medical attention." Shadow says, relieved he knew.

{Please stay where you are, I think I know where you're at. The abandoned house in the woods next to Vanilla's place?}

"Yes there, thank you! Please he barely has a pulse!" Shadow says, he can hear the man curse and growl on the other end before telling him he'll be there in a bit.

Shadow picked Sonic up again after putting his phone away, he held him bridal style and made sure Sonic was kept safe in the blanket while also being held close. Sonic's head against the crook of Shadow's neck, had he worn something else his chest fur would have hidden a little of Sonic's face. The somehow still living hedgehog was held close like a child as Shadow carried him to the front door. Aleena's ghost watched from the doorway as the red streaked hedgehog brought her son over to her but just enough that she was next to her instead of out in the cold.

"I called someone for help, he'll be coming soon... I think he's going to pick us up so we can get Sonic to a doctor." Shadow explains as Aleena gently strokes Sonic's head. The purple ghost hedgehog smiles at Shadow, relieved to know that.

"Thank you... I think I can rest better now, knowing he isn't alone anymore..." She says before hugging Sonic and walking back into the snow, when Shadow blinks he realizes she's gone. He can't help but think she was finally able to pass on.

"...When you go there... Tell her that I'm finally moving on and though I'll never be able to go there, I hope she's free now..." Shadow whispers, watching his breath go into the night sky while waiting for the man that will come.

~s~(How the fuck does this work but three '~'s doesn't?! I hate the layout of this site)

Shadow waited a bit, humming a little to Sonic in hopes of comforting him. He's not entirely sure but he can't help but hope Sonic can hear him, know he's not alone anymore and even those he didn't think care do. Sonic has been alone for who the hell knows how long, it's a miracle he's alive still... Shadow holds him close again as he thinks about how much he wants to protect Sonic now.

A moment later Shadow sees a van drive over to the house, it looks to have been worked on so it can go off road and is pretty sturdy. The van stops and the sound of a door opening along with the sound of snow being stepped in is heard. The driver of the van walks over to Shadow and causes him to stare in shock as he sees what looks like an older Sonic with a mustache, short bangs brushed back and glasses stared at him. The older man looks at him before looking at Sonic with a sadden look and signing as he goes and opens the side door.

"Get in... You both are likely cold while you're likely tired... I'm preparing a late dinner and a room for Sonic to be in as he recovers..."

Shadow hesitates but nods as he helps get Sonic into the van then sits buckled next to him. The older man looks at the place one last time after the building's door is closed before also getting in and driving away once everyone is all set. It's a quiet ride to wherever they're going, once out of the woods the man sighs before talking.

"So what's your relationship with my nephew?"

"...We...We're kind of rivals though I'm hoping to be closer with him now... I wasn't in a good place when we met but he and our friends helped me be better... I kind of question if I could have done more to help..." Shadow said, a little in thought as he feels guilt for being so much of a loner.

"...It's not your fault kid, sometimes it's hard to see something is wrong... I have my regrets for not being a better uncle to any of my brother's kids when some of them needed it but I know they'd get mad at me for thinking that... The only thing we can really do is move forward..." The man says, trying to reassure Shadow and kind of smiling a little when he sees in the mirror that he got Shadow to smile a little at the bit about Sonic and his siblings being annoyed that he thinks that.

"...So you're his uncle? I think I remember him mentioning you." Shadow says as he checks on Sonic which leads to his uncle turning the heat up just in case.

"Yeah, name's Charles but you can call me Chuck. I was Sonic's caretaker after his adopted parents were taken by Robotnik..."

Shadow nods and they both stay quiet again until reaching Chuck's place. It's a nice little cottage in what's likely the countryside, by now Shadow can't fully tell due to the snow plus all the traveling. Chuck helps Shadow get Sonic inside to warmth and safety before the older hedgehog takes Sonic to get a bath. Though awkward about helping out cleaning, Shadow did what he could to make the task easier. He couldn't help but glance at Sonic every once in a while out of worry only to look away in shame. He felt like he was invading Sonic's privacy but then again Sonic is catatonic due to the state he's in and Shadow kind of does have to look due to assisting Chuck.

It broke Shadow's heart as he thought about what he saw, Sonic is pretty much skin and bones. The dark hedgehog could practically see each rib in Sonic's ribcage... Then there were the scars on Sonic's arms again... Chuck had cleaned the blood off the fragile pale cream arms but Shadow could still see the scars and felt even more shame in being unable to stop them from being there. He can't help but wonder what'd happen if he had actually been there for Sonic instead of on a mission.

"He's malnourished and catatonic but with help should physically recover. I'm not sure if I should be impressed or worried that it's been long enough that the pills shouldn't be a problem.(2) I have my theories but right now isn't the time." Chuck partly said to Shadow, partly muttered to himself. Shadow wanted to ask about the theories but knew he was right about this not being the time for that. The dark hedgehog just continued to watch silently as Chuck finished cleaning Sonic up and got him hooked to hospital machines and IVs he had for some reason.

~s~

"Rouge... It's me-"

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

Shadow flinched, he hadn't heard his bat friend this enraged before. She's gotten mad before but not like this, then again he left her place out of nowhere in the middle of the night. He knew he was going to have to make up for this later on.

"I'm at Sonic's uncle's place, I found Sonic but he's not doing well. It's a long story so I'll tell you later but right now Sonic needs help." Shadow sighed as he tried to calm Rouge down enough to know he was mostly ok. It seemed to work as Rouge stopped yelling though he knew this wasn't over yet.

"I can see if I can borrow supplies from the medical wing, what do you think he needs?" She asks, the sound of Knuckles likely preparing an overnight bag could be heard. Shadow explains he's handing her over to someone before letting Chuck talk to Rouge. Chuck tells her what they probably need before the two eventually hang up. With that the two waited.

It felt like an eternity as the two waited, Shadow finally took his coat off as he'd been too distracted earlier before helping Chuck cook. They worked on making food for the eventual four of them knowing the others might be hungry too. It felt odd to Shadow to be doing this, probably since he usually cooked for himself. He's cooked for Rouge sometimes while on missions(she helped him learn to cook) but for the most part he was usually making a meal for one.

"Guessing you don't get much company?" Chuck chuckled as he worked on frying some rice he finished steaming.

"Y-Yeah... Not really the most social of people..." Shadow muttered, feeling a little awkward.

"Guess in a sense we have that in common, I do some teaching but other wise I'm mostly on my own. I guess it's probably due to the war and just the area I live in since I live out in the country." Chuck said as he pat Shadow on the back, he seemed pretty friendly.

Shadow couldn't help but feel thankful that even in his old age(he was pretty strong for his age given he was at least 70 or something given how long ago the war was) the man was willing to help out. The dark hedgehog wanted to ask him questions but Chuck told him to wait for the others. The elder hedgehog knew very well he likely would have to explain things multiple times.

Once the food was done Rouge and Knuckles eventually came over, Omega was helping with some of the supplies. With help they got a feeding tube into Sonic and more medical attention setup. No one was sure how long it'd take Sonic to wake up let alone how long it'd be before he was far enough along to not need the machines but they could at least rest better knowing he had what he needed to recover physically... Physically... That word only reminded them that Sonic even if he regained his physical health had a long way to go.

Everyone got settled in the night before eating a late night/early morning meal. Omega didn't need anything and decided to keep an eye on the blue blur's room in case Rouge or Chuck needed to do something. After eating a bit Chuck starts to explain what he can. He mentions how he's Sonic's father's brother and that at the time was part of the resistance that Sonic helped out with.

"I haven't seen him in years but some time back my brother Jules told me he found Sonic. The poor kid was injured and had washed up wherever Jules was at the time. Jules is a serious man that sometimes goes too far when trying to keep people safe." Chuck says as he finishes the explanation up so far.

"Why are his eyes different and why can't he remember certain things?" Knuckles blurts out, it seems like this has been on his mind for a long time.

"Jules studied chaos energy and in a sense thanks to studying is in a sense a mage. Jules started using his research and went on to use fake Chaos Emeralds or something that could conduct chaos energy to help heal Sonic of his injuries caused by the fall. Sonic could already use some energy if I had to guess but the attempted healing led to him absorbing enough that it changed his features a little. Wasn't much to change him but still causes a double check." Chuck says, Knuckles becomes curious but Chuck told him he'd explained later.(3) "As for the memory thing, Jules used whatever 'chaos mage' abilities he had to block Sonic's memories. Did what he could to make it hard for Sonic to get them back or at least scare him into giving up. We all know that's a load of crap."

Everyone is silent as they let it set in that Jules could somehow do all this. Yeah Shadow could use chaos energy to heal quickly, make a spear and even teleport but it still felt shocking. After thinking about that it became deadly silent as the three guests realized with horror that Jules is why Sonic seizes up if he manages to remember something whether on purpose or by accident. Jules had been so willing to protect his son that he did everything he could to make Sonic forget the trauma he had from the war. Sonic still had people that missed him, he still had unanswered questions.

After some more time the three finally started to explain their side to Chuck. Rouge explained coming back from a mission and the aftermath they found coming home. Shadow went on to explain what made him leave the house and what he did until Chuck picked him and Sonic up. Chuck remained silent, allowing them their time to speak before sighing and rubbing his head.

"Figures Aleena would be stubborn enough to hold on. She was a kind and sweet woman but you don't want to come between her and her kids. Prophecy or now she's doing everything she can to help." Chuck said before smiling sadly. "What did that woman do to deserve my brother? They loved and cared about each other a lot, she kept him from doing something stupid when I wasn't there but in the end she never saw him again after the war..."

Chuck got up and went to check Sonic before coming back into the room after patting Omega on the shoulder the best he could. He brought over a book that they soon realized was a photo album. Chuck showed them the photo of Aleena with her infant triplets(likely the night she had to give them up) before he turned the pages to show Aleena holding a photo of Sonic with her now adult children that remained. A family torn apart by war that lost someone important and would never see him again alive likely.

"I can still contact Manic and Sonia, when Sonic recovers enough I'll work on that. They're still going pretty well, I'll wait until it's time to see them though." The elder said before closing the album. "But for now everyone likely still wants some form of answer and needs their rest. I can answer some stuff now but the rest can wait for later. After all, we'll have enough time while Sonic recovers."

Wow I typed a lot, started to lose steam near the end & got lost on where I was going with it but I made it.

Just a heads up I have some plans for part of the start of the next chapter but it might get held back in favor of having Chuck answer more questions. I'm not sure what I'm doing nor do I remember some of the questions I might have had him answer in this. Some of them(mostly how the fuck he's still alive & how the hell Sonic is also still alive besides chaos energy) are meant for later.

If anyone has a question I might try to put it in the next chapter... Dear fuck what have I opened myself up to...

Oh hey I remembered Omega, aside from long ago when I watched Sonic 06 cutscenes I never really knew about Omega because the only Sonic stuff I knew of were Sonic X, Sonic Underground & one episode of some show were a monkey with a lightbulb bought something stupid & was on cleaning duty before Sonic said something to him. A while back when I found an Archie comic were a robot sacrifices himself to let Omega feel what he did & some fan stuff(like a comic called Single Parents AU were everyone is caring for babies they found & Rouge's "baby" was Omega who she brought online) are also the only recent stuff that makes me aware he exists.

Sorry that he's not showing up much, to be honest a few characters likely aren't going to show up. I contemplated bringing Silver & Blaze into this fanfic at some point but due to their nature(future people) & some other stuff I'm not going to bring them in. It's funny, I say in the summary that Eggman turned Sonic's friends against him but in reality it's only some of his closest friends(well two of them) while the rest either were coincidentally not there because reasons or had their own lives that made it hard to help Sonic.

...Just a remind everyone that Miles makes shit up as he writes it, there's only a certain amount of an outlined idea(as in only being aware of the plot) & he's still an idiot. I'm aware I likely have plot holes... The Chaotics have a lot of shit on their plates let alone anyone that came back to see the damage... There's two Miles being idiots right now, you should probably all know the second one...

I'll let myself out now...

1) Given some of the missions Team Dark likely goes on there's a likelihood of them learning some medical practice in the case of an emergency.
2) I know jack shit of if this is right
3) I'm not explaining this, I don't know what I'm doing