This is a fanfiction, and as such, most of the characters in the story are not mine. Most characters are © Sega, and are not used with permission.

Chapter 2: You can't go Home Again

He finally came upon a clearing, a bright opening where the dark trees that once dominated were taught a lesson and beaten back.

Stepping into the field, suddenly it was as if all of the pains that Sonic had endured for the past year simply washed away as the sun shone down on his invisible form. No longer was his fur a putrid gray that was twisted like the trees, but it was clean and the brightest blue it had ever been; his face was clear and his eyes glittered, the only remaining stain on his form where two dark stars painted on his chest, with two others buried in his spikes to match.

Although all appeared well, there was still one nagging aspect of his appearance; his good form was not solid, he could see through himself, it could even be said that he could barely see himself at all. It was all the more evidence that he was no more, that this world no longer knew Sonic the Hedgehog. A desolate thought for the deceased, but surely someone remembered; he could not be totally forgotten.

Sonic looked out onto the plains, which were ridden of virtually all life, but they didn't appear dead. The soil was overturned, and its use was obvious, he was on a farm, and the land was being prepared for planting.

Off in the distance, he could also make out the outline of a city, with one mighty structure standing in the rear. It was almost too good to be true, but Robotropolis was gone, and the old city of Mobotropolis was restored.

Questions flowed through Sonic's head; what was he looking at, was Robotnik finally beaten, and Mobotropolis returned? But it was so fast, how long had he been lost in limbo? Or was he looking at another city; perhaps he was no longer in his normal time or dimension, an alternate reality that knew nothing of Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

Sonic knew there was only one thing that was certain, his answer would be found here. He just needs to find someone.

{If this is a farm, then there must be farmers.}

Sonic didn't have to look far to find some workers in the field, using large machines, leftovers from Robotnik's reign that were co-opted as tractors. They were tilling the rest of the fields and planting seeds in neat rows. Off in a corner, Sonic saw a small group to one side, in the direction of the city. The hedgehog raced over, for the first time in an eternity, he was able to run, something that the curse of the forest had forbidden him.

When he reached the group, he noticed that most of them were very young, and he even recognized a few of them. In the group was a young fox who once tailed Sonic like a kid brother. Amongst them were several other youngsters that were orphaned when Robotnik came, and a few that Sonic didn't recognize; Tails was the oldest of the lot.

They were gathered round another whom he had seen once before.

"Ah'm sorry, but yah can't play here."

It was the rabbit that Sonic caught sleeping in his hut. Not only did she annex his former house, but now she was berating on a bunch of kids. How cruel can you get?

Tails was the one who bore the most courage to talk to the rabbit.

"Aw, but miss Bunnie, there's no where else to play, most of the city is still under construction."

"Ah'm sorry, but there's a lot of work going on here too tah get the farms ready. You want fresh vegetables on your plate, don't yah?"

"If you could grow chocolate, that would be good."

The rabbit grimaced. "That's very sweet, but we'll be stickin' with vegetables for now. in the meantime, I think you should head back to town."

The kids groaned and turned away.

"Hey, Tails."

The kitsune turned back to Bunnie.

"Ah heard that Sally went to the doctor's yesterday, is she alright?"

"Yeah, the doctor said that the baby is due any day now."

{Baby?} Sonic perked right up at hearing at. {Does he mean my baby?}

"Ah better pay a visit sometime. Maybe after Ah get done here today."

Sonic wasn't about to wait for later, the one thing he never did was wait. It's a good thing that he's been dead and wandering around the forest for the last few months, waiting the 9 months to be a father would've killed him.

* * *

Sonic ran to Mobotropolis, and it was just as Tails had pointed out, the whole town was under construction.

The whole place was covered in rubble, the ruins of the old city. Scattered wherever there was a clearing were tents of various shapes and sizes, temporary housing while new homes were being built. The frames of houses were sprouting up everywhere, and in some places there was the odd completed house, flanked by buildings that were receiving the finishing touches and soon to be ready for habitation.

The people were buzzing around like bees, each busy with some task in the reconstruction of their home. The larger ones were responsible for carting around large quantities of stone. They removed ruined blocks from the ground and brought them to be cut down; then returned where they were used to build the strong walls of the new houses. Those with skills were working to build those houses, and everyone else had taken work to feed and care for the workers.

His eye was caught by a figure flying overhead, a bat whom he hadn't seen before. She swooped down into one of the construction areas and delivered something to the foreman. On closer inspection, Sonic could see the handful of Power Rings that would be used to power the machinery that was cutting wood or lifting bricks or mixing cement. She then left for the next area, making another delivery, then another.

The hedgehog had seen enough of this place, and remembered that he wanted to find Sally. In the back of the city was Castle Acorn, he figured that if Sally were anywhere, it would be there.

* * *

Sonic looked up at the large pile of rubble that was once Castle Acorn; in all of Mobotropolis, it was the only thing in total ruin and appeared that it remained standing solely for the purpose of beckoning him. No effort was being made to preserve the structure, it was going to be lost to make way for the rebuilding of the city, and anything of any value had already been stripped and reused.

Sonic was almost saddened by the state of the Castle, unbelieving that it would come to this. Although he didn't think it at the time, it did answer one unasked question; why didn't everyone move into the castle? It was quite obvious as Sonic purveyed the ruins that Sally was not here, no one was here. Sally had to have been in the city, somewhere.

If Sally was to give birth, she might be in a hospital where a doctor could perform his duties, but she could just as easily be home and getting the aide of a midwife, that was how most births happened since Robotnik forced everyone out of Mobotropolis. Sonic doubted that Sally was in a tent, she was a princess, and she was pregnant to boot; surely she'd be the first to take up residence in a house. But searching all the houses would take a while, even for the fastest hedgehog alive, or dead. In one of the rare instances where he actually thought things through—perhaps it was a clarity that could only be gained by the cost of your life—he realized that the only real chance to find Sally was if she was in a hospital or clinic of some sort, and so far there was only one large building in Mobotropolis.

* * *

Sonic found the large building that was being used for pretty much everything at this point; town hall, post office, shopping center, and medical services.

The ghost walked up to the door and tried to open it, only to find that he couldn't hold the door handle. Sonic looked at his hand, wondering how he was going to get in; he almost smacked himself when he realized.

Stepping forward, he walked right through the door.

"If I'm a ghost, I wonder if I can fly too."

Sonic tried hopping into the air, hoping that the eternal force of gravity wouldn't hold him, only to find that gravity seemed to work even in his deceased state.

"Being dead isn't all it's cracked up to be."

Sonic ran up and down the halls when he reached the area of the building that was reserved as a clinic. He poked his head through walls into each of the rooms, seeing a series of empty and occupied rooms, several people were there for minor injuries or sunstroke, but there was no sign of Sally.

"Aahhh!"

The scream echoed through his ears, like it originated from his own head; the voice was instantly familiar.

"Sally."

The call seemed to come from above him. Frustrated that he couldn't fly up, Sonic ran for the stairs and checked the above floor. Once there, he started checking the rooms in the new floor, but another scream directed him one more floor up.

Now two stories up from the ground, the screams were getting louder. Like a beacon, Sonic was drawn to it until he came to a room with a guard, none other than the royal pain in the ass, Geoffrey St. John.

"Hey G, you look like someone's tearing your heart out."

The skunk didn't respond to the phantom's taunts, he stood there, anguishing over the events that were now transpiring. Another cry from Sally was just another depressing reminder of hers and Sonic's relationship.

"Sorry to spook and run, but I've got to be somewhere. Haunt ya later."

Sonic disappeared into the wall and came out inside the room. Before him in a hospital bed was Sally, half sitting in the bed with her legs spread open under the sheet. Two others were in the room with her; the doctor was in a position that was totally inappropriate for anyone save a medical professional, or a lover. The other was in the same surgical garb that the doctor was and holding Sally's left hand. Sonic wondered who it was, a nurse? A friend? A new boyfriend? Could that be why Geoffrey was in a bad mood, Sally giving birth to the child of her old boyfriend, and now with someone else?

The other spoke, in a very non-masculine voice. "C'mon miss Sally, push."

{A girl? Well, she's not her boyfriend, that's for sure.}

The doctor was calling over the sheet.

"Push, your highness; you're almost there."

Sally yelled as she felt the baby pushing through the opening.

Sonic wanted to be a part of it, but his current state forbade him from being anything other than a spectator. Wanting a closer look, Sonic poked his head right through Dr. Quack's torso, then quickly pulled it back. He had no idea if ghosts could vomit, but he was about to find out.

Sonic wandered to Sally's side opposite the girl and continued to watch.

"You're almost there, your highness."

"Uunnnnghh!"

Sonic could almost feel every push that Sally made, and even the torture she was going through; it didn't quite compare to the torment he felt from being lost in the forest, but it was close.

"C'mon Sal, just a bit more."

Like he was trying to be a good husband, Sonic laid his ghostly hand on Sally's.

"Aaaahh!"

A second later and a few brief coughs were heard from the doctor's position, followed by a broken cry.

Sally fell back onto the pillows that were stacked behind her.

"Your highness, there's someone here who wants to meet you."

The doctor came around the side that Sonic was on, who instinctively moved out of the way of the doctor, even though it was totally unnecessary.

"Congratulations, it's a boy."

When the doctor moved back, Sonic was able to get a clear look; lying before him was his love, covered in sweat and panting like she ran a marathon, now with her arms wrapped around another, their newborn son. A small white cloth was wrapped around his small body, only leaving the head visible. A small face, contorted a bit by the crying of its owner; but in his mother's arms he calmed down and soon bore an infantile frown, not knowing exactly what emotion to exhibit. The little head was definitely familiar; it was very much like his father's at that very youthful age, covered in a thin layer of blue fur, not yet forming the sharp hard spikes that covered Sonic's head and back.

"He's beautiful, miss Sally."

Sonic glanced up to the woman that was attending Sally to see that she had removed the mask and paper cap, revealing that she was a pink hedgehog, whom Sonic had never seen before.

"Thank you, Amy." Sally gazed in the small face. "He looks so much like Sonic."

She kissed him on the forehead.

Sonic was so mesmerized by the scene before him that he didn't even hear the door creaking open behind him, or the footsteps of the guard as he entered. He only noticed Geoffrey when he took Sonic's position at the side of Sally's bed. Not wanting to share the same space as the uptight skunk, Sonic moved up to the head of the bed.

Sally also barely noticed Geoffrey's stealthy entrance, meant more out of respect than to be stalking about. When he reached the bed, Sally looked up. "Isn't he beautiful?"

The skunk looked down at the little tyke in his queen's arms. The squinty face was very familiar, it looked just like Sonic, just a lot younger.

* * *

He remembered the first time he ever saw the blue blur; it was about two years before Robotnik came, and Sonic's hyper speed ability was starting to develop, as was his attitude. At the time, he was still a kid in grade school, but was becoming a bit of a celebrity for his speed, and a few wins in various track and field events. It was a strange anomaly, but it was brief.

Geoffrey would not see Sonic again for a few years. It was after Robotnik invaded, and forced everyone to flee Mobotropolis. It was in another encampment, much smaller than Knothole called Marshhaven, where some of the refugees had gathered. This was where Geoffrey had taken Sally, and had remained hidden for more than a year. One day, he heard crying out in the small village and went to investigate; a few people were out consoling a small child who had wandered into camp that morning. When he got there, he instantly recognized the telltale blue spines of the young hedgehog.

"What's going on?"

One of the people who had gathered answered. "He came in here this morning, says he's looking for his parents. Robotnik attacked the camp where they were and he escaped, but he hasn't seen his folks since."

Geoffrey pushed through to the little one and knelt down. "Hi there. Your name's Sonic, right?"

The boy stopped crying just long enough to answer. "Yes."

Geoffrey motioned to people to be on their way, and that he would take care of this. He was basically raising Sally by himself and thought he was doing a pretty good job, but Sally was a princess and was taught how to behave. "How long have you been on your own?"

"It's been…" Sonic sniffed back a tear. "…about two months now."

Sonic's haggard state would back that claim.

"That's a long time to be on your own."

Sonic didn't know how to answer that and simply cried a bit.

"Have you been alone all this time?"

"Yeah."

"Listen here, crying isn't going to help you find your parents; there are times for crying, and there are times for bucking up and lifting your chin."

Sonic looked up at the skunk, not knowing what he was talking about.

"We'll get you cleaned up, and get you a decent meal; then we can talk a bit more, O.K.?"

"O.K." Sonic had some supplies with him when he ran away, but only enough for a few days; for several weeks he'd been eating berries and the like, a good meal sounded real good to him. And sleeping on the ground had left him really dirty; he normally didn't like baths, but he really wanted to be clean again.

* * *

"He looks like a very fine lad, Queen Sally."

Geoffrey was struggling within to embrace the newcomer. For the longest time, he'd regretted that bit of charity that he showed Sonic. Soon after, Sonic and Sally first met; both of whom were without their parents, and they hit it off immediately. Sally felt sorry for the little blue boy, and Sonic liked having someone he could talk to that understood what he was going through. They were friends at first, and that didn't bother Geoffrey at the time; but they were starting to get too close, too familiar, and that was setting off alarm bells left, right and center.

All that was to be put behind him. Sonic had been dead for almost 8 months now, and like it or not, his son was now the prince of Mobotropolis, and Queen Sally was his mother. Even though Geoffrey had "accepted" the events that had happened, deep down, a part of him still didn't like them very much.

"Oh, isn't he a darling!"

Geoffrey was being pushed back, and Sonic's ghost backed up even further to make room, which he really didn't need to. Now standing at the side of Sally's bed was the bat that Sonic had seen flying about. Geoffrey was not pleased with the sudden and unintroduced intruder.

"Do you always barge into other people's hospital rooms?"

"Who put the starch in your underwear this morning?" Rouge didn't pay any more attention to Geoffrey, and how stupid the question was as he wore no clothes since it was Sally she came to see.

Sonic was rather intrigued by the bat. She was energetic, but she wasn't some childish ditz; she was more extravagant, like some eccentric rich heiress who was a borderline nutcase, or that weird aunt everybody has.

"Do you have a name for him?"

"Yes, I have: 'Comet'."

"Comet? Comet the Hedgehog; it has a nice ring to it."

Once again, Geoffrey's less than total interest in the offspring of his old rival was easily disrupted by the appearance of the bat. "When did you get here?"

"Just now, I just had to be one of the first to see the new baby with my own eyes."

Rouge leaned over to get a better look.

"Who's the cute widdle baby. Yes you the cute widdle baby. Aren't you the cutie, aren't you the cutie…"

Amy was finding the sickening display from the otherwise lusty Rouge to not sit well in her stomach. "What were you doing, waiting out in the hall with Geoffrey?"

"Not exactly." Rouge reached down under the metal frame of the bed and pulled something off with a moderate tug. She displayed the small plastic device to everyone.

"You bugged the Queen's hospital room?!" Geoffrey was naturally annoyed that someone had been spying on his liege, especially in such a place as a hospital.

"Oh please, I don't spy; I was just monitoring her condition."

"Like you were monitoring us when you worked for Robotnik?"

That statement sparked Sonic's interest; he definitely wanted to know a bit more about the relationship between Rouge and Robotnik, but his current state allowed him no opportunity to question.

"Oh please, that was a long time ago. Besides, I have to watch out for my 'investment'. Don't forget that my payment for services rendered has only been deferred in favor of the reconstruction of Mobotropolis; I will still collect what's mine."

Amy didn't like the arguing that was going on, especially in front of Sally and Comet. "Do you mind? This is hardly the place for such talk."

Both Geoffrey and Rouge immediately stopped and regretted the outburst.

"Sorry, your highness."

"Sorry, miss Sally."

Sally looked over to the bat. "Hey Rouge, have you considered having a family?"

"That would put a real crimp in my style; though if I do say so myself, I'd make a pretty good mother."

Geoffrey found the statement totally laughable. "You have got to be kidding me."

"I know I'm a bit of a wild one, but I am a very caring and compassionate person, just like my mom, and she did a pretty good job under the circumstances."

Amy was getting a giggle over thinking about Rouge with a baby. "I'd like to know how old 'fire-and-brimstone' would make out as a daddy."

"He'd probably be better than you think, he's not nearly as menacing as you give him credit for."

Geoffrey furled his brow. "Is this the same guy who ate four giant hoagies at last week's fair, and let out a belch that flattened every cake with half a mile?"

"I said 'menacing', I didn't say anything about crude."

Dr. Quack had been listening intently while filling out Comet's birth certificate. "Excuse me, but you've been raising your voices a bit much, and miss Sally needs some rest. So would you please take this outside."

Again, both Geoffrey and Rouge apologized for their unruly behavior.

"We'll leave you two alone." Amy got one last look at Sally and her baby before leaving, followed by the other two who also gave one last look and goodbye before leaving.

The doctor checked Comet a little more, and then Sally. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing alright."

"You both seem to be doing fine, so I'll leave you two alone for a while and be back with a crib for the little guy. If you'll excuse me, I've got some other patients to attend to."

The doctor left, leaving Sally alone with her new son; completely unaware that there was a third presence in the room with them.

Sonic stood at the side of bed where Sally was gently cradling their son. His heart was filled with both joy and sorrow; thankful that the woman he loved was safe with their newborn baby, but despondent that he would not be a part of their lives anymore.

"Sally, I'm sorry that I left you…" Sonic was having trouble coming up with the words that Sally couldn't hear anyway.

"I don't know what's happening to me, or what will happen; but all this time I was thinking of you, what was going to happen to you. I know that Robotnik's gone and you're alright, but it isn't enough. I want to be here with you, to look after you and our son, but I can't do that, not like this; I feel so useless." Sonic looked at his ghostly hands that were barely visible, even to him. "I can't be your husband, I can't be a father, I can't do anything."

Sally was rocking Comet slowly, completely unaware of their spiritual visitor. "You're a fine young boy, and you're going to grow up to be a great man, I just know it. You're going to grow up not knowing your father, and I would do anything to have him back; but I can tell you that he was a kind and caring person, and he would have been a wonderful father. There will be many people in your life who will love you, and who would care for you like you were their own, but there is no one that could replace your father. You should know that he fought diligently for everyone, and for our future; and that he died to create a world where you would be safe."

Sally sighed. "Comet, I want to make a confession; there were days where I hated your father for leaving me, for not being here now. Promise me one thing, that you will never, ever hate your father."

The queen looked up to the ceiling, like she could see all the way to the sky and to space beyond. "Sonic…"

The deceased soul locked his attention to his fiancée in life.

"Please, look out for our son; guard him as if you were with us now."

Sonic had no more to say, and neither did Sally. The ghost reached up, and put his left hand to Sally's hair, but he could feel nothing, it merely passed through the small narrow strands without budging a single one. Disappointed, he reached out with his right. If there were any justice or charity in this world or the next, it would allow him one last wish. With his outstretched hand, he grazed the short blue hair of his son; but again, he could feel nothing.

The little boy couldn't feel the touch of his father, but just glancing his head was a strange cold feeling, one that he did not like at all. After struggling with his new arms in his mother's, he let out a wail; it brought Sally to full attention, and it also caught Sonic off guard. That wail, from those little lips, resonated in Sonic like it was coming from his heart and his mind.

Sonic dropped to the floor, the wailing was intense and tore through his ears like his head was stuffed in his son's mouth, and the screams echoed back on themselves a thousand fold.

Sally gently shushed the little one. "What's wrong, Comet?" She rocked him gently, trying to calm him down.

Sonic lynched in pain on the floor. The cry was driving him mad; even though Comet was calming down, his voice was still tearing at his father's mind. Unable to tolerate the whine, Sonic crawled to the door, when he reached it, he fell over, ending up on the other side.

{What happened, why did he cry like that? Was it me? What am I now, a curse; does my touch cause him pain? Why does his crying hurt me so much? How can I be near him if he hurts me so much?}

With much on his mind from the recent defeat, Sonic wandered out of the hospital.

* * *

Sonic was again in the streets of Mobotropolis, and the land was still covered in a patchwork of incomplete houses and tents as far as cold be seen.

Sonic wandered around, but the place was no longer what he remembered; everything was dark and foreboding. The spindly skeletons of the construction seemed to stretch in directions that defied time and space; no longer made of wood, they were just long lines of an inky black. The tents weren't the rugged fabric that Sonic remembered on his way in, but mountains of obsidian with jagged cutting edges and fiery portals of light for windows. Behind him was the only thing that differentiated himself from the environment, a tall jagged spire; a million sharp points cut into the red sky.

As the disembodied soul stepped through the mutated town, he could see shadows, faint whispers of light passing around him and darting through the warped structures. He could hear them, the voices, the sounds of people in the town, but they were not normal. He tried to listen to them, but they were all as warped as the city, twisted and strained, undecipherable. Like the squeal from his son before, the echoes of the populous started to reverberate in Sonic's head, creating endless noise.

The hedgehog fell to his knees, clamping his hands over his head, trying to drown out the sounds around him. It was no good, it was as if his ghostly hands were unable to block the noise that his ghostly ears were all too in tune with.

Feeling no end to the torment, Sonic got up and started to run.

As he raced between the tents and wooden frames, he found nothing but more tents, and more wooden frames, more of the same in every direction. The looming castle was still in sight, but instead of being behind him, it was now to his left; like it was stalking the small one, able to move more swiftly and ready to pounce. Everything around him was strange, and all the spirits swirled about him paying him little attention. He tried running more, trying to stay in a constant direction, hoping that he would find some limit to the madness, but there was always more… more darkness… more voices…

Sonic needed to get out of the city, for it was much worse than the blasted forest. That was an accursed place, but it was quiet; filled with that haunting absent quiet, but it would not hurt his ears or his mind. He tried to run again, but still he was getting nowhere as fast as he was getting anywhere.

The horrid voices soon overpowered him, and Sonic collapsed to the ground; his ears were ringing loud but not clear, just random static of thousands of haunting voices. The pain was threatening to tear his mind apart, it was excruciating. Lost in torment, Sonic fought back the only way he could.

"Yeeeeeeaaarrrrrggghh!!!"

The blood curdling scream couldn't be heard by anyone except the spirit that gave rise to it. After exhausting his vaporous lungs, the blue one collapsed to the ground; when he rose his head, he could no longer see the torqued paths of the city, but now only saw the thickness of the woods, the quiet woods, the peaceful woods. Mobotropolis wanted him no more, his home was the forest, the evil, dark, quiet forest.

To be continued