Sonic curled up under the covers, snoring lightly while half of his face was hidden within the sky colored pillow beneath his head. It'd been ages since he could get a comfortable night's sleep. He was thankful that Tails had changed the covers the other night. They smelled nice, and they felt soft. He flicked an ear in his sleep, letting out a content sigh.

For the last week, the hedgehog had been feeling extremely itchy. So itchy that he might as well have been on fire. Right after he started feeling itchy, red patches appeared on his fur. He assumed after some rest at Tails' house, and a bit of chaos energy, he'd feel better. The exact opposite happened. The itching got worse, and it started to burn. With some "persuasive" words from Amy and Knuckles, he reluctantly went to a nearby Urgent Care for some medicine. So far, it seemed to have worked. The itching was gone, and so were the red patches. Now he was staying at Tails' workshop in Mystic Ruins for the night. The next day he'd go out like always, bug Eggman, save a few people, and visit some of his favorite spots. He could just feel the wind in his quills now…

In fact, that's what he was dreaming about: running in a wide open field of grass and flowers. A light breeze ruffled his quills and fur. He could smell the faint yet beautiful scents of the wildflowers as he ran by in a streak of blue. He looked up, admiring the bright blue sky. He couldn't see the end of the field, but he didn't care; running was what he loved to do. Hell, it was what he lived for. That, and adventure. The longer strands of grass tickled his legs as he ran, and the warm rays of the sun beat down on him, making his azure fur shine.

As he ran on, however, the tickling of the grass was starting to become distracting. Now it felt like it was poking through his skin. He winced, but kept going. The wind no longer flowed easily through his quills. Instead, they bristled. Hot air made him start to sweat. He glanced up at the sun, noticing how it got much brighter than before. Brighter, and hotter. The air itself seemed to be getting hotter. Much hotter. The hotter it got, the less easy it was to breathe. His vision blurred as the feeling of the hot sun and needle sharp grass became too much. Then, abruptly, a stream of bright red fire pierced through his chest, engulfing the rest of him.

"GAH!" Sonic gasped, waking up in a cold sweat.

He was laying on his back, quills stiff and breathing labored. He was practically gulping for air as breathing normally seemed almost impossible. Every inch of his body burnt, and felt as though a thousand needles were poking their way into his skin. Many parts of him itched until they burned. He opened his eyes, seeing nothing but darkness and the ceiling above. He tried moving his head, or lifting an arm, but the moment he did, it sent wave after wave of uncomfortable, hot, stinging pain all over. Sweat trickled down the sides of his forehead, stinging many red patches that had now appeared on his blue fur.

Pain clouded his mind the longer he laid there, feeling sweat burn his already flaming body. No matter what he did, whether it be breathing, blinking, or twitching his fingers, it just hurt. He couldn't move. Everything felt hot. Everything felt unbearably itchy.

It was agonizing. So agonizing that the hedgehog felt his eyes water up, pouring out waterfalls of small tears. All they did was sting even more. The more they stung, the more tears he produced, and the more that cycle of pain continued. Unable to do anything else, Sonic just laid there, sobbing into the dark. He honestly didn't know what to do, or why it hurt so bad. He just wanted it to stop.

"...Dad?"

A dark, small figure appeared from a crack in the doorway. Gingerly, but curiously, they stepped further into the room, long ears flicking. Their violet eyes locked on to the bed on his left, spotting the shaking blue and red figure from within. He could hear them lightly crying in pain. As he stepped closer and got a better look, he gasped.

"Dad!"

He ran over to the side of the bed, placing his front paws on the edge of the mattress and quickly sniffed the shaking body. He let out a whimper of distress as he heard the hedgehog let out a pained gasp.

"Dad? Dad, are you okay? Talk to me!"

Sonic barely opened an eye to look at the dark golden furred dog standing before the bed. His violet eyes shone in the dark, glowing with terror and concern.

"J-...! J-Jake-…!" he whimpered, shutting his eyes again.

The toon pup sniffed their body once again, noticing patches of red and welts on Sonic's quills, cheeks, and on his right shoulder. There was also a small bit showing from his chest. His nose touched a red spot on Sonic's shoulder, causing him to hiss.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Jake apologized quickly, leaning his head back when he noticed he'd accidentally hurt his dad.

Though he only touched their body for a second, he could tell that it was unnaturally hot. Sonic's whole body reeked of illness and agony just from where he stood. His tail swished anxiously while his mind raced. How could he comfort his dad if all he was doing was hurting him?

"I-I'll get help!"

He quickly turned and dashed towards the door. He strongly pushed it back with his muzzle and barked down the hall. He didn't want to go far from Sonic, and he knew Duke and Tails had strong ears.

That statement was proven true when a blur of gray and black rounded a corner and nearly crashed into him.

"What's going on?" Duke asked urgently.

A blur of orange suddenly burst from a room, fully awake despite his ruffled fur.

"Jake? What's wrong?"

"It's dad," he replied swiftly.

The two followed him into the room. Tails quickly flicked on the nearby light switch on the wall. He froze when he heard Sonic whimper.

"Sonic!"

"Dad!"

The three ran over to the hedgehog's bed, eyes trailing over his blue body. His fur was covered in swelling welts and red patches, and sweat and tears dripped down his face. His eyes were bolted shut while his teeth were gritted, fighting back some kind of pain. He sniffled.

Tails ran a hand over Sonic's forehead, frowning deeper when his big brother winced. He quickly retracted his hand, but it was obvious that Sonic had a high fever.

"Is he okay?" Duke asked, standing behind the orange fox alongside his brother. Small whimpers escaped his throat.

Tails couldn't lie to his kids.

"His Hives are back," he replied grimly yet quickly.

"Hives!?" the boys exclaimed fearfully.

"I-I thought you guys took care of that!" Jake said.

"So did I," Tails muttered, "but now he's got a high fever."

Sonic whimpered again, cracking open his tear filled eyes. It sent more tears down his face.

"T-T-T-Tails…?" he hiccupped.

"Hey," Tails whispered, softening his scared expression. He had to be brave right now.

"I'm right here."

The hedgehog continued to sob, this time becoming louder and harder.

"...I…" he moaned, unable to say anymore.

Tails' ears lowered halfway to the sides of his head, but he managed to give his brother a tiny smile and gently rub his arm.

"Shhh… it's gonna be okay bro. I'm right here. So are the boys. You're gonna be okay."

The blue blur sniffed, still crying, but managed to open his eyes halfway. Agonized emerald green looked deep into worried sky blue.

Tails couldn't stand seeing his brother this way. He pushed down his fear and worry, replacing it with fierce determination. They tried Urgent Care. This needed something more. He slowly removed the blanket off of Sonic's body and turned to his kids.

"Duke, go get my car keys. They're on the corkboard in my room. Jake, find a thinner blanket in the linen closet. We're taking your father to the hospital."

The pups' fur bristled. They wordlessly nodded and raced out of the room.