CHAPTER XI – FROM THE GREAT BEYOND
He knew very little of this place, even though he used to live in it. He never recalled getting carried up those stairs, but he recalled there being a ceiling hatch which led to the attic. He remembered the handful of times that he and Green were sitting in their highchairs getting fed globs of mushed goop courtesy of Gerber. He did remember the living room where Jules and Bernadette respectively held and nursed them. He even recalled the odd yellow and brown striping on the hallway to their room, a sign that their house in Knothole hadn't been completely renovated yet from the 1970s.
Despite all of that, this had been the first time to his knowledge that he'd been able to walk through his old stomping grounds, no matter how short his stay was when he was an infant. The hall was adorned with several pictures of friends and family. His uncle Charles who, to this day, he knew nothing about outside of being Green's middle-namesake (Eli Charles Hedgehog). The Acorn family portrait and pictures spoke for themselves. It was odd seeing Sally wearing a dress that one would find on a terrifying doll from horror movies. Come to think of it, were her eyes following him down the hall? And then there was young Elias, Sally's big brother. Sonic had only met him once at the hospital the day he was born. Chaos, he looked uncomfortable in that suit and tie. Only as a ringbearer should a boy that young have to be at the mercy of a full-fledged tuxedo. It looked one size too small, not to mention itchy. Their parents in the photograph didn't look too bad (go figure, they looked younger). You could see how much Sally took after her mother from this family portrait, right down to the auburn hair and blue eyes… which still looked to be following him down the hall and lusting to suck out Sonic's soul into the depths of sulfuric hell below. Y'know what? It was in Sonic's best interests to keep moving forward. He was already getting some haunting vibes from this place, doubly so since it was as silent as a mausoleum during the witching hour.
Turning the knob of a familiar door, he slowly walked into a silent, dark room. With what little moonlight there was, he could make out a small bed on the far side as well as a pair of toy chest side-by-side. The last time he was in here….
He looked toward the floor where he and Green had laid crying as their mother, despite her injuries, still tried to calm them down when their world was being destroyed. And like a haunting and troubling reminder, her words echoed around him.
MONDAY, JULY 1ST, 1991
"Shhhhhhh," she said to them. They still whimpered, but the blue one opened his tear-soaked eyes. "It's going to be alright, you two. Everything will be just fine. It may not seem like that now, but it will be. Daddy and I aren't going to make it out of here, boys. We just aren't. We won't be able to see your first steps, or listen to your first words, or watch you grow up, but I want you two to know this: we love you. Daddy loves you. I love you. We'll always love you. You boys are the greatest things to ever happen to us. I know you can't understand me, but I still can't say it enough. I don't know what'll happen to you, but I know you'll be okay. I know you'll make it. You two are young, but you are very strong. I know you'll be okay. I just know it." She turned to her green son and kissed him on the nose. "Eli, I love you." She then turned to her other one and did the same thing. "David, I love you. Daddy loves both of you, and so do I. Don't worry about us. Daddy and I will be just fine, okay?" Her tears came out bitterly, but she still cracked a loving smile. "Be safe. Look after each other. I know you'll be fine." Just then, a robot came in and grabbed her. Too weak to fight, she let them take her away. But she was getting carried, she turned back to her infant sons. "I'm sorry," she said, although it sounded like a pained squeak.
The frightening sounds of mechanical footsteps rang down the hall. There was no one there, but the ghostly echoes of nightmares past resonated as his ears followed them out of the room before stopping in his living room. He didn't need to think too hard about the pair of gunshots blasting around the broken home which would break the hearts of their city and their friends.
He knelt where he last saw her to let a single tear roll down his face. He shook his head and sobbed for a moment. "I-I'm sorry," Sonic choked out. "You didn't need to die for us."
"It's what any good parent would've done, David."
That voice!
CLICK!
Wait, who turned on the lights?!
Sonic turned around—.
No. No! NO! They… how in… what?! They were… they were…!
Sonic's heart couldn't take the shock as it skyrocketed to the moon. However, he had a damn good reason for it! They were supposed to be dead! For 25 years! How were they at his door?! This had to be a trick!
Sonic stumbled back all while looking them straight in the eyes. Maybe he was dead! But what kind of sick joke was heaven playing on him! No, he was in a mental hospital. It finally happened! All the emotional trauma he had forced down his throat finally sent him over the edge. It was the only reason how a father who looked exactly like him and a mother with his green eyes stood there, rubbing it in his face that'd he finally driven mad.
BUMP!
Fuck! His back was to the wall. Nowhere to go! And he was trapped in here with them. As his body went into a frenzy, his right arm furiously erupted in pain.
"AHHHHHHHH!" he screamed as he held his arm. The ghosts of his past rushed to his side and embraced him, trying to hold him down and ease him, even holding his legs in the air. However, Sonic saw this as their chance to kill him and get even for them dying instead of him! "Let me go!"
"David, you're going into shock!" the man reasoned.
Then he felt something get put in his mouth, but he couldn't see it. What kind of black magic was this?!
"David, breathe!" How could he? His heart was beating as fast as his legs ran. He was far too distressed and upset to listen to reason. What else could he do? He was being down with no control over the situation. He struggled and struggled, but there was no end to his torment! Oh, what cruel irony to die like this!
Then he felt the warm, loving hand of a woman who loved him softly lift his head up. It was so gentle. She only needed two fingers to tilt his chin up so that he could see the same green eyes which she had blessed him with. They were filled with care and maternal concern. It broke her heart to see him suffering like this, but she and her husband were the only ones who could ease his frantic soul.
"Please breathe, David." Her soft begging broke Sonic's heart. That caring smile and those compassionate eyes had stopped him from crying before many, many years ago, and they were back at the perfect time to calm him. "Please, David. You can do it. Breathe. Slowly."
With no other option, he did as he was told and dialed down his breathing rate. It started off panicked and frantic but soon slowed gradually as the woman cradled his head and began to scratch him right behind the ears. Shen then kissed his forehead lovingly. That one gesture of love and affection effectively lowered his thumping heartrate back to normal. He then felt the pain in his arm subside as it had felt like someone had poked him with a needle and then removed it. After that, his body began to mellow out as his hyperventilating subsided.
Finally getting his bearings, he cautiously looked up at those who had helped him. Seeing them was both miraculous and haunting. They hadn't aged a day. They looked great for being gone for so long. And he couldn't help but finally shoot them a smile as he cried tears of joy, tears which she was more than happily to wipe away. Her lifelong partner walked up to the both of them with a smile as warm as his wife's. Sonic got a much better view of it as he knelt down and put his hand on his wife's shoulder. It was really them!
First to the woman with his eyes, her soft, lavender fur, and a tuft of blonde hair on her forehead. "Mom!" he said choking on his joy.
She smiled and kissed his forehead again. "It's so great to see you, David, (Bernadette the Hedgehog: Cobie Smulders)" Bernie said softly.
And then the man who he took most after with exception to the brown fluff of hair on his forehead. "Dad!"
"Hey, son, (Jules the Hedgehog: Chris Pratt)" Jules said.
Suddenly, he threw his arms around their backs and cried hysterically into their shoulders. He had been waiting years to do this. Even if this was him going insane, he never wanted this moment to end. His parents, the people who dared risk their lives for him, consoling him like the baby he was. Sonic kissed their cheeks and continued to sob with no end in sight as his dad kept an arm around his back and as his mom sang a little lullaby into his ear.
"We're here for you, David," Jules said as he brought Sonic to meet him eye-to-eye. "Always." Sonic smiled as he took in every bit of this wonderful reunion. With a nod, his parents chuckled and helped him up.
Looking at both of them, Sonic dared to ask, "How are you here?! And what's going on?!"
Their smiles then faded as they looked toward each other briefly. Putting her arm around him, Bernadette led Sonic to his toy chest. "Please sit."
With a nod, he did as his mother told him like the good son that he was. Putting his hands on his legs, he looked back up to his gently smiling parents who each took a knee in front of him. With her right hand, Bernadette cradled her son's face who seemed to melt with her touch. An instant wave of relaxing euphoria enveloped his brain, sending him into a frenzy. And for some reason, the walls and flooring seemed to change colors to glowing oranges and golds when it happened.
"Wait…," he said as he put the pieces together. With a heavy sigh, he finally figured it out. It was hard to come to terms with, but this wasn't reality. "It's a dream, isn't it?" With heavy sighs of their own, Jules and Bernie nodded. Figures that they'd only be in his head. But… if they were going to be here, he would at least make them comfortable.
Focusing, he conjured a pair of comfortable office chairs and had them roll softly toward them. Looking behind them with puzzled looks, Sonic said, "The least I can do is make you sit in comfy seats."
With smiles, they took the chairs and spun around to see their baby boy. "Thanks, David," Jules said as Sonic chuckled, soon starting the trio on a giggle fit that lasted a good 30 seconds.
Wiping away a tear of joy, Sonic said, "It's great to see you. I miss you so much. So do the Acorns."
Bernadette was the first to speak up. "At least they're okay. Especially Sally and Elias."
Sonic pointed to the hall. "Was that creepy picture of Sal and Alicia there in '91?"
Jules laughed. "No. That's just your head messing with you."
Sonic sighed. "'Messing with me?' That shot of pain I felt wasn't my head messing with me," he said rubbing his arm. Hold it, why couldn't he feel his arm?
"Don't you remember what happened? You were rushed to the hospital after your fight with—."
"Oh," Sonic said in a lower tone. "Right. But how does that explain my arm hurting like hell? Actually," he began running his belly, "why can't I feel anything? I don't think I'm dead."
Bernadette shook her head. "You were rolled into surgery when you got the hospital. That broken rib needed to be repaired." Sonic with his opposite hand felt around again and noticed a subtle but noticeable bump under the skin. Weirdly enough, he saw his lower torso with all his fur, but he felt skin. He felt a series of stitches too as he perused his front side more. Before he could investigate further, Bernie took his arm away from his stomach. "The doctors put a plate on your rib and screwed it back together. When they finished, you saw us and went into shock. That pain in your arm? That was them injecting you with a powerful sedative and painkiller cocktail."
"It must've been one tough opioid," Jules added. "Try not to get addicted to them."
"And that's why I can't feel anything anymore," Sonic said having now solved the mystery. "And you holdin' me down? That was the doctors on the other side?" They nodded. "Does this count as an out-of-body experience?"
Bernadette scoffed. "Always trying to make it sound more dramatic." She then darted to Jules. "You get that from your father."
The patriarch dejectedly looked at her with open arms. "Why is it always my fault?"
"So… what? Am I recovering in a hospital bed right now?" Sonic queried.
"No, you're lying on a beach towel with a piña colada." Bernie scoffed at her husband's sarcasm. "By the way, you get your snark from your mother," Jules said with a chuckle.
"As if!" Bernie defended.
Sonic laughed briefly but then covered his face with his hands, slowly brought them down with a frustrated groan. "Some night this has been," Sonic commented.
"It's a good thing Bernardo found you in the sewers. Contrary to popular belief, it is good to have friends in low places." Sonic snorted and shared a good laugh with his folks. "Where the whiskey drowns, and the beer chases my blues away… and I'll be okay…." Even in death, he was making dad jokes.
"Yeah…," Sonic trailed off as he began to think about Scourge. "I still don't understand."
"That Eli still has it out for you?" Bernie asked.
"Who?" Sonic shot back.
"Your brother's real name is 'Eli.' Eli Charles, in fact."
"Still insisting on calling him that even though you've been dead for twenty-odd years?"
She shrugged. "Dreams can be confusing."
Sonic chuckled. "You think this is confusing? You'd should've been alive when the internet was getting popular. DeviantArt is a messed-up place." But Sonic was getting off-topic. "You guys raised him. You must know how to get into his head."
His parents groaned. "We raised him for what, a week?" Bernie said. "You were one who lived with him for the rest of the time!"
Sonic facepalmed. He was getting nowhere, and it didn't help that he was asking stupid questions. "Right, this is a dream."
"I mean, you remember what little time we spent together," Jules said. "All we could tell you was that he was a stubborn eater."
"That's because baby food tastes like crap," Sonic shot back. Wait a second….
"Healthy food isn't supposed to taste good." Jules then noticed how Sonic was deep in thought. "Something on your mind, David?"
Their son looked up at them. "Green… was a stubborn fighter too. In fact, I recall plenty of times where he'd bull-rush enemies when we were practicing with CREAM and Robotnik's robots. When he got stubborn in his fighting, he got mad quickly. Actually, it didn't take much to make him mad now that I remember. And when something pissed him off, his fighting got sloppy… or when it was CREAM's homework. Then he just got bad grades."
"But he's mad at you for leaving him behind," Bernie said. "He's not fighting mad, but he's mad and focused at the same time."
Sonic pondered her words for a moment. "But what if he's not mad enough?" Sonic countered.
"What're you saying?" Jules queried. "If you get him even madder at you, he's more likely to screw up?"
"And give me an opening. I always kicked his butt when he was fighting distracted."
"That could work," Bernadette started, "and you're smarter than him, or at least you claim to be."
"Trust me," Sonic said, "CREAM can back that claim up."
"Then you must be smart enough to know that there might be another way to beat him if ticking him off more backfires and he just becomes more focused on killing you. And another thing; he doesn't quite seem 100% upstairs."
Jules cocked an eyebrow. "Not '100% upstairs?' Babe, what are you talking about?"
"I mean, being vengeful 24/7 a healthy mind does not make. Eli's been fighting more ferociously than usual. Maybe there's something wrong with his head?"
Sonic thought about it some more. "Come to think about it… his eyes were off-kilter. And at the airport… did he have some scarring around his forehead?"
"Possibly, but who am I to say? I'm just in your head."
"No offense, mom," Sonic started, "but that is… so not helpful."
Shaking their heads, Jules and Bernadette each put a hand on their son. "But you're the one who can help him," Bernie said.
"Your mom's right," Jules added. "It'll be hard to take him down, but if there's any way to help Eli, you have to take it. We believe in you, David."
The hero then smiled and looked at his parents. "Thanks. I needed that."
"It's what we're here for. Now, wake up. You and your friends have much to discuss."
Oh, that's right.
Sonic let out a frustrated breath of air.
"Yeah… we do." But that could wait. Sonic looked up one last time to see his parents. Getting up, he walked over to Jules first who had gotten up as well. Sonic put his arms around his dad and hugged his neck. Jules smiled and returned it and patted his back. "Thank you. Seriously."
"It's our pleasure," Jules shot back before Sonic let him go.
Next was Bernie whose million-dollar smile was returned by her eldest son. Sonic didn't go to her since she came to him. The shorter lady took her son in and nuzzled her head into his upper chest which earned a chuckle and a hug back from Sonic. With a kiss to her head, Sonic said, "I love you, mom."
"We love you, David," she replied as the room gradually went to a blinding white.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH, 2016
The sudden opening of his eyes came with a familiar haze. This one was darker than usual since the room was as dimly lit as the midnight sky in the plains of the heartland. Sure, the lights on the ceiling were on (albeit barely), but the only other source of light was from the slight opening of the doorway emanating from the bright hall.
This was the same type of room he had rested in a few nights ago after his battle with Lyric. It had a different layout since it was a different hospital, but he still had the TV high on the far wall with an IV tube hooked up to his arm. However, the tube in his mouth pumping in oxygen was new. He didn't have that the other day.
Man… the painkillers were effective, but he still felt miserable. A slight, lingering pain came from his lower torso as he felt around where his rib had been broken. Like in his dream, he noticed the bare spot of fur with a healthy number of medical sutures to boot. Oh, and he could feel the screws used to sew up his fracture. Also, he couldn't help but feel… sterile. Being in a hospital, that was kind of the idea, but he felt like it more than usual. The odor on his fur reeked of an iodine and rubbing alcohol concoction that would knock out any normal man in a weakened state, though his physiology was far from normal. Still, it was far and away a better odor than that of the liquified mass of Mobotropolis's scat. Come to think of it, that blend was probably what the doctors used to clean Sonic's body since there wasn't a hint of the sewers on him. He had been cleaned, and he wondered if he maybe had his stomach pumped as well to get any of that foul waste out of his digestive tract. It was certainly a possibility.
Judging by how much hardware they'd hooked up to him, he guessed that he wouldn't leave until for a few more hours, so he relented his want of leaving this godforsaken hospital bed to rest. He just didn't have the energy or will to ditch the place just yet. That… and his next dose of drugs was just starting to kick in.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
So how many boxes of Kleenex did I make you all go through? I'm putting the line for that /-1.5... and give me the over. Alright, alright, enough jokes about Vegas-style betting. It probably didn't make you laugh either.
Don't worry, the plot will pick back up next time around, but for now, Sonic needs to rest up, not only for a variety of obvious reasons, but for other reasons involving Amy and Tails. Oh boy. I'm sure that talk will be as civil as meeting a friend for a spot of afternoon tea.
Honestly, I don't have much for you guys in regards to this chapter other than it being fallout from Sonic's dive in the sewers. This chapter and the last were supposed to be one big chapter, but it kinda, sorta meandered with its themes, so I figured a split was for the best. A chapter that only barely breaks the 3600-word threshold is short for my standards, but I see it as just long enough for its purpose to the overall plot. Besides, if we hung around for too long, that creepy picture of Sally would probably come to life. We don't need that nightmare fuel. DeviantArt is already rammed full of that.
Anyways, let me take the time to thank jurrassicdinodrew, 000Marie198, and FlameShadowDragon for dropping their reviews as usual (thanks, guys). Chapter 12 gets its release date on 5/15 while "lucky 13" gets it on 5/25.
As always, the characters used in this story are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, and Archie Comics. Everything in the story is being used strictly for entertainment purposes. And as always, I will talk to y'all later.