36 - Melancholy Song

"Talk?" Sonic quietly repeated. "Talk about what?" Thunder made him flinch and take his eyes off of the screen for a brief second. Shadow scowled and got up to close the curtains attached to the windows. Shadow noticed the hoodie and leather jacket the hero bought them days ago during the festival, laying against a lone chair in front of an empty desk. Hn, that felt like such a long time ago, now. As Shadow went back to closing the curtains, Sonic sighed and gave his attention back to the screen.

Rouge gave Amy a look. "While Pinky and I were trying to get rid of some of Scourge's control here in Station Square, she said something pretty dark to me." After she said this, Amy's expression fell into despair. She lowered her head down, shadowing her face in shame. She said nothing as Rouge cleared her throat and continued. "She told me how she hated that you were a hero." Her voice became rough and stern. Sonic's eyes dilated. She hated that he was a hero? He blinked slowly but didn't dare interrupt the woman. "She said that if you weren't a hero, no one would be after us, trying to kill us all the time." The dark embrace of his guilt was growing in his chest. "She also said that she didn't want you to get hurt in the process, that she didn't want anyone to get hurt." She felt Amy move away from her and get up. She walked away from the screen, no where to be seen.

That's, really how Amy felt about him?

All this time? His fangirl, his obsessive self-proclaimed girlfriend? Really, Amy? The girl who put him on a pedestal and worshipped him like a God?

"I told her that she was being incredibly selfish. I told her that it wasn't your fault that someone's closest friends are an easy cheap shot for villains like Scourge. I told her that," Her voice became softer, her tone becoming more gentle. "That you value your home and everyone in it, more than anything else in the universe. You love not just us, but all of Mobius. You're so merciful that you even show compassion to enemies." She hesitated in her words before starting up again. "You never kill Eggman, even when you have the chance. Of all your years of living and fighting that fat bastard more times than anyone else, you never did it." She moved closer. "You either seal something away, or let them leave a fight with broken bones and a bad loss. But that would be it. The only thing you destroy, are machines. Listen," She said. "I understand not wanting a bodycount, I really do. I understand that you have to be a role model for people you really care about, and I understand that at heart, you don't have the strength to take the life of another living being. But sometimes, you don't have a choice."

Not this again...

"Pacifism, isn't always the option." She pressed on. "Scourge told us himself that if you don't kill him, he will kill all of us and eventually kill you." She made a deep frown, furrowing her brows. "The life of one psychotic brat, could have saved thousands of lives this month. Do you understand? He's already destroyed Moebius and our world, don't let him destroy anything else. And if you don't stop him, he'll continue to do it." She tightened her fists. "He will never stop, he will never be reformed, he will never stay locked up. You have to do it, Sonic." Her face relaxed into a sorrowful expression, her eyes clouding with sadness. "No one will fault you for finally ending this, permanently. Because not killing him, wouldn't be helping the problem, you'd be enabling it. You'd be just as bad as him." She slowly closed her eyes. "I know we're not too close, but Shadow helped us come together. And now I know you well enough to know that you'll at least listen to what I have to ask of you. So I'm begging you, on Shadow's behalf," She whispered. "Kill him. Please. End this."

The entire time, Sonic didn't speak, only listened. His eyes were staring off to the side, his mouth locked into a deep scowl.

Rouge called for Tails to get back on the laptop as she moved to get up. "I hope you consider everything I told you, Big Blue. That's all I wanted to say." She said. She then gave them a small, sympathetic smile. "Good luck." She disappeared from view of the camera. Sonic all of a sudden felt so stressed, his bones were aching and he felt a horrible headache coming along. He placed a hand over his temple while exhaling slowly. He felt weights on his back, the pressure crushing his spine like brittle rocks. He felt like he was getting sick.

Tails moved and sat in front of the screen now, looking back at Sonic with a concerned expression. "Everything okay? Amy looks kinda sad now. Rouge too-" He stopped once he saw his big brother's stressed expression. "Sonic? Are you, alright?"

"Huh?" He blinked. "Oh," He smiled a little at Tails' face. "I'm good. No, everything's fine. Rouge just, gave me a stern talking-to. Some real solid advice." He scratched behind his head. "I should be thanking her, actually. She told me something that I didn't want to hear, before someone else could." This was everything Zonic was going to tell him, Rouge just beat him to the punch.

That was the bottom line: Scourge needed to die.

Point, blank, period.

"Yeah, she's really smart. You should listen to her." The boy replied with a smile. "Oh! That reminds me, Fiona told us some crazy stuff about you and Scourge." Oh yeah, that. Sonic nearly rolled his eyes with another huge sigh. Tails briefly looked away from the camera, before looking back. "Did you uh," He paused. "Want to talk to her-"

"Hell no." Sonic spat viciously. Tails blinked at his sudden retort in silence. Sonic smiled sheepishly at this. "Oh, sorry buddy. My old feelings kinda came out a little. But no," He frowned. "I don't want to speak to her. Just tell me what she told you." He instructed.

Tails wasted no time in telling Sonic everything the vixen told his friends. Chaos Born, the shrines on their home islands, gaining powers on their birthdays, Scourge's plans, and basically almost everything they already found out about. Except, he didn't know that chaos wasn't born on Angel Island. He also didn't know that the Master Emerald didn't belong to the Echidna Clan, or the seven chaos emeralds, but they belonged to the original Chaos Born. Or the fact that the very entities inside of his body, may have been responsible for killing off all of his ancestors. That for some reason, the Divine Spirits were malevolent beings who wanted to invade the world with more Chaos Born. He finally mentioned that Scourge only did all of this, in order to isolate, weaken and kill Sonic to destroy all Chaos Born.

Including, himself.

"..." He couldn't believe this. All this time, Sonic was the bad guy here? Really...? Why did he feel so, betrayed? He felt a hand cup his shoulder blade, and he knew it was Shadow trying to comfort him. He must have heard all that, too.

"I," Tails stuttered. "You're not a bad guy. And you look just as lost as we did when she first told us all that. To be honest, I don't think she's lying, but I also think that you never realized what those spirit thingies were doing to you guys. That they're using you." The fox frowned. "I know this is a lot, I'm sorry. You just got back from a war and stuff."

"No," Sonic shook his head. "No, I'm glad you told me all of this. I'm just," He closed his eyes. "I'm, starting to question certain things. That and, I'm kinda embarrassed. I didn't want you guys to know about, the dark forms that I have inside of me. They're really dangerous and I wanted to shield you away from that."

Tails made a small pout. "Sonic, hiding stuff from your friends never helps anyone."

"You don't understand, Tails. I-" I could have killed all of you a long time ago, is what he was going to say. He didn't want to scar his little brother anymore, the twelve-year old already saw enough blood and death. He didn't need to make him fear his older brother, too. "Never mind..." He mumbled.

It was rare to see Sonic like this, so secretive and disappointed. He only got like this whenever he talked about himself, his self-consciousness. Tails hated when he got like this, because he always looked so sad and guilty about just existing. "Uh," He should just change the subject. "Fiona told us something weird too," He was lying when he said this, but he didn't want to robot to look at him side eyed. "She told us that the castle was haunted, and Rouge said she saw someone that looked like Scourge right after he first transformed into looking green."

Sonic rose a brow. "Haunted?"

Tails nodded with an unsure frown. "We're not too sure about that but, we're not striking anything out yet. With everything we've seen, there's a good chance that it's true."

"Huh, well that's weird." He admitted. "But we're gonna interrogate Scourge tomorrow, and I'm gonna make him answer a lot of questions. Look," He suddenly said. "I really don't like you guys there. You gotta get to Angel Island."

"Angel Island?"

"Trust me, that's the safest place to be. Scourge won't be after the master emerald, and you'll be protected from anyone or anything on the ground. I know Scourge's power was severed from our world but, don't take any chances. I know Knuckles' has some food stored up in there, and he's got this bunker under the alter." The hero advised. "There's old blood stains in the room, you guys probably got BO for days. I mean, when's the last time you ate a decent meal?"

Before Tails could say anything, the red echidna butt into the screen with a growl. "For your information hedgehog, we don't have any means of flying up there. If Tails still had a plane, don't you think we would have flown up there by now?" Sonic's headache was getting bigger. He knew that was Knuckles' default attitude, but he really was in no mood for it right now. "And before you give me a snarky remark, there's an emergency pantry full of food that we've been using for days. I've taking care of your kid the entire time you've been gone, thank you very much."

"God damn it," Sonic hissed. "Knuckles, could you shut up for a sec?"

Tails immediately started to shove the guardian out of the camera the second he started yelling back at Sonic's exasperated retort. "Knuckles, now isn't the time! Go away!" After he made the echidna leave the space, he quickly apologized for that. "Sorry, Sonic."

Sonic brushed it off and continued. "If you're all there, Shadow and I'll be able to sleep at night knowing you're in a good place without us. You gotta find a way to fly up there. There's gotta be a helicopter or something you can use from GUN HQ to get there." His eyes sadly lowered. "We're still gonna be awhile before we get back to you, and a lot people here in No Zone died so they can't sent help yet." Even after Scourge was defeated, Sonic could still feel something blocking them from warping back to Mobius. That was odd, but that meant they still couldn't leave yet. Sonic raised his eyes with a little more vigor, however. "But I promise, help is going to come. Just hang in there a little longer, buddy."

The fox could feel a plan coming along, his brain already tinkering away at what he could do. Now that Scourge's power was down, there hopefully wouldn't be anymore mind slaves coming after them. They were a little safer, and they could move more freely from outside. If Tails could just get his hands on a damaged helicopter, he could repair it and get the hell out of there. And he had a feeling their robot 'friend' would help out with that too. "I think I already got a plan." The fox said with a smirk.

Sonic smiled back. "That's my little man. Don't forget, I believe in you. Always."

Shadow gently pushed Sonic aside to get a better view in the screen. "We both do." The black and red striped hedgehog then glanced at Sonic. "But, I think it's time we finally got some rest. You all as well, if you can find a place that is. Again, we're sorry for that."

Tails shook his head as some of their friends gathered behind him. It was Vanilla and Amy, looking over Tails' shoulder with small smiles. The small rabbit girl Cream was not in her mother's arms, but they assumed Rouge or Knuckles was now currently watching over her. "Hey, there's literally nothing you can do. You still need to be there. Like I said, I got a plan to get everybody to Angel Island since we don't need to stay in this crummy room anymore for a connection." The fox gave a confident thumbs up. "We'll be alright!"

Amy and Vanilla nodded with him. However, that's when the adult rabbit got a bit closer and directed her attention specifically to Shadow. "U-Um," She began. "Miss Rouge told me to tell you 'this', Shadow." The woman then took her hands to make a heart symbol, before pointing to Sonic's direction. "I-I honestly have no idea what this means, but she said you would." Both Tails and Amy weren't sure what she was referring to, only assuming that Rouge's message was to say that she loved Shadow. And that was normal, but Sonic on the other hand was starting to get it. Some blushes appeared on his peach muzzle, and he looked away quickly. Shadow then smirked, as he instantly understood the message.

"I understand completely, Miss Vanilla. Tell Rouge this in return, if you don't mind." The Ultimate life form gave a thumbs up at first, until he gave two thumbs up to the screen with a blatant smirk.

Vanilla blinked, before smiling cheerfully. "Oh good! I'm happy I could help, sort of."

Sonic quickly slapped his arms down with an beet red muzzle. He then took the smart device into his lap again and watched as Vanilla moved out of the way. "We're gonna get some rest, it feels like we're about to pass out."

Tails nodded. "Alright, Sonic. We'll talk again soon." Both the kitsune and Amy smiled and waved. "See ya later!"

Sonic smiled and waved back, before reluctantly shutting off the device. He sighed once he did. He moved to get up and place the device over on the nightstand, before going back and sitting on the bed. He covered his face with both of his hands and hunched over. Shadow watched this with some concern, and moved closer to him to try and comfort him. He placed his hand back on his shoulder, lightly rubbing against it tenderly. He probably had a million things on his mind right now, and no doubt he felt horrible about everything's that's transpired today. "Sonic-"

"I'm sorry." The hero said.

Shadow blinked. "What for?"

"For saying that to Scourge." As Sonic kept his face hidden away from him, Shadow remembered what Sonic told him. That'd be willing to let him have his way with him right in front of the ultimate life form in order to save him from death. All without hesitation. "I just, wanted to stall him. Try to come up with a way to stop him, but then Z showed up and saved our asses." Sonic rubbed the palms of his hands into his eyes. "I know that hurt you, but-"

"Sonic," It was Shadow's turn to stop him for a change. "There is nothing to apologize for. Not from you. I should be the one apologizing, I'm the one who got you hurt." He trailed his hand lower, touching his arm. "I made things extremely difficult for you during the battle. I patronized you, and I mistreated you. Looking back on all that I did, I understand why you turned into Dark so easily a second time. I was a nuisance to you." He lowered his gaze at the sheets, dropped his hold to his hand. He grasped his wrist, handling it delicately in his glove. "No amount of apologies can fix what I put you through." He realized that the blue one had no intentions of talking back, or even continuing the conversation. He just wanted to go to bed. Shadow just said he couldn't fix this but, he wanted to. He needed to. He didn't want Sonic to stay like this, especially not because of him. Shadow knew he wasn't the only reason why Sonic was upset, but that didn't matter. He wanted all of his stress to go away, he just wanted to see him smile before they slept. Shadow stood up from the bed and let go of Sonic's wrist. He walked in front of him with tightened fists. "Actually, there is one thing I can do for you." He said with more drive in his voice.

To this, Sonic just slowly let his hands down away from his face. He gazed at Shadow with both a tired and confused look. The ultimate life form then placed his arms behind his back, and got on one knee.

Execution style.

"Release your emotions onto me."

"..!?"

Shadow nodded as he saw the twist of shock contort onto Sonic's face. "Use Dark to release everything you feel, onto me."

Sonic shook his head quickly. "Absolutely not, I'm not angry with you anymore. I couldn't do that to you, not in my right mind."

The black hedgehog furrowed his brows with a grimace. "Sonic, ever since we fused, our wavelengths became stronger than ever. I feel all of your emotions every second of the day, and I'm sure you feel mine right now." He needed Sonic to do this. Not just for his own sake, but for the hero's sake as well. Shadow wanted to repent, but Sonic needed to heal. Acceptance was a great part of that, but retribution also helped. "You can feel my guilt, my self-resentment for giving you so much bullshit at the worst time of your life, all in one day. I can feel the lack of vengeance you feel in your heart, and you need to act on it appropriately, or you will never rest easy."

The blue one became offended. "I don't do revenge, Shadow. That's the exact same thing I taught you not to act upon!" Sonic stood up and turned away from him. "I, I don't wanna talk about this. I'm taking a shower."

Shadow refused to let him walk away. He followed immediately and grabbed his arm. He didn't want to hurt him, but he didn't want him to leave. "Sonic, you may be a hero, but at your core, you're the same as everyone else and you know that." He said with a sincere tone. "Victims would love nothing more than to seek justice. If someone hurts you or someone else you love, you'd probably find satisfaction in seeing the culprit miserable, wouldn't you?" He could feel Sonic's denial of this, even as he didn't say it. He just continued to look away from him, trying to pull his arm back. "You are a good person-No, a great person. You have high morals and standards but you need to face the truth." He let go of his arm and instantly moved in front of him to block the door. "This time, I'm not trying to patronize you, I promise. But you need to listen to me. You can't fault yourself for feeling hatred towards someone for doing something wrong to you. It's okay to hate, it's okay to feel angry, it's okay to want to rip the entire world apart for damning you over and over." He could see Sonic slowly look him in the eyes. "But it is not okay to restrain your feelings, and keep them contained in a bottle. Because the more you do, the more you're destroying yourself. And the more you'll risk destroying everyone else around you when that bottle shatters. You're tough, but you can only take so much. I know that, you know that."

Sonic listened closely at his words, but then he shook his head and turned away from him again while crossing his arms.

"I get it," Shadow told him with care. "You don't like acting on revenge because it can be a toxic emotion that hurts everyone involved. Not just the enemy, but you too. So if you won't act upon vengeance, you at least need to learn how to be comfortable with letting go of your frustration. But you also need to learn how to embrace that feeling and accept it if you truly want to heal yourself."

The blue hedgehog growled, his fingers squeezing against his own fur. "...People were killed and I couldn't stop it." He replied quietly. "You were wrong to call me an idiot back at the field. As a hero, I know I can't save everyone, and I know people die. I've seen death before this, even as a little kid. Granted, not as much as you, but enough." His tone was bitter and shaky, but Shadow was glad he was opening up to him at all. "But I've failed. I failed Zonic, I failed Tails and our friends, and I failed myself. So many people died, all because of my shitty ass bloodline...!" He yelled. He slowly slouched, lowering his head towards the floor. "I'm not, angry with just you. I'm angry at everything, including myself. Angry that we couldn't get home fast enough before our world was destroyed. Angry that I wasn't strong enough to stop Scourge from turning me into something I'm ashamed of twice. Angry that I can't shrug things off like I usually do. I hate being this way," He held up a hand to the side of his head, gripping it. "I hate being so emotional, I hate it! That's why I bottle everything and let him handle all of it. It's too annoying dealing with all of this negativity, and it's driving me crazy. It's better not to feel anything at all. I want it all to go away! This guilt, this depression, this anger, everything!"

"Then you need to let go-"

Sonic whipped his head at him. "How the hell do I let go of my own fuck ups!?" He hollered. "I'm a horrible older brother. Tails looks like a damn mess in there, and so does everyone else! Their fur is stained with blood and dirt, there's wounds all over their bodies. Rouge, Amy and Vanilla got hurt, and Cream was passed out!" He began pacing around the room, pulling at his hair. "We're here having a good time like a bunch of drunk assholes, going on dates and fucking around like nothing's wrong! Zonic loses his own love, and now he's going insane. We destroyed his city and his home, while we let our own world fall to the hands of my own anti-self." Tears were starting to develop in the corners of his eyes. "Chaos, why aren't you pissed off!? Why don't you want to destroy everything?! Why!?"

Once upon a time, Shadow was the kind of person who wanted nothing more than to see the world crash and burn. But he changed, and he only changed thanks to Maria and Sonic. He didn't want that anymore, and he refused to let his anger ever go that far again. Sadly, Sonic was beginning to reach that very same stage he pulled him out of so many years ago. That darkness, that rage, there was no light. It was a void of endless misery and self-destruction. Shadow supposed now was his time to return the favor. "Because you taught me better, didn't you?"

"..." The hero had no immediate retort for that. He just turned away from Shadow and walked back to the bed.

Shadow could feel Sonic's rage, it was breaching. All he had to do was tip it over a little more, and he would break. And once he broke, he'd let it all out. He'd let it all go and he would be free from his own hell. "I am angry Sonic, but I've learned to take control. Something you miserably fail to achieve, even after maturing." He scolded in a light tone. "You're clearly still mad at me, and a lot of other factors. I could understand why, though." These were going to be some low blows, but Sonic needed to hear this. "I left you stranded in the ocean with Scourge, leaving you vulnerable with your stalker who could have killed you and maybe even worse." He took a few steps closer. "I kissed Zonic, your own Overseer, and even tried to hide it from you. Of course, I was just giving him CPR, but the commander was hallucinating and went a bit overboard. I even patronized you, and scolded you for showing emotion towards death and warfare." He could feel Sonic's anger rise, his shoulders were shaking. He wouldn't look at him. "Today, I caused all of your pain. Every second of it."

"N-No..." He sniffed. "It's...Not you...It can't be you.." He continued shaking his head back and forth, extreme denial. "You don't understand...If it's you...I'm going to hurt you, too."

Shadow wanted that. "It's okay to be angry with me Sonic, you have every right."

"No!" He suddenly yelled. "It's because I wasn't strong enough-"

Shadow scowled and took on a more harsher approach. "Quit running away from your emotions, and stop being a coward! You can't be scared of yourself like this!" He came closer and roughly pulled Sonic towards him, forcing him to face him while gripping his shoulders.

"Shut up..." Sonic whispered with a deadly hiss.

The black hedgehog roughly shook him. "You need to accept yourself, and you need to accept your emotions!"

"Shut up."

"Stop running away from Dark and just accept his power already!"

"I said SHUT UP!"

Shadow was suddenly knocked into one of the posts of the bed frame, before falling onto the floor. Blood dripped from the side of his mouth, his muzzle now bruised. He winced in pain, and slowly lifted his head to look in front of him.

...He got what he wanted.

Dark Sonic was tearfully standing right in front of him.

Zobotnik slammed his good fist against the wall of the medical ward's corridor. "You little wretch!" He spat aggressively. The moment Zonic returned in the HQ, the Warden was notified and he was clearly not happy. "You've some nerve returning back here after the things you've said to me-!"

"Hey, could you stop talking please?" Zonic nonchalantly asked as he passed by the large man with his men. Zector and Zespio were a bit nervous as they walked passed their general, feeling another argument coming along. They were escorting their commander to a specific medical room. Other nurses and doctors were now calmly and more efficiently handling their soldiers. Things were getting done quicker, and more soldiers were getting back on their feet with better health. Ever since Zonic barged in and ordered for everyone to get their damn acts together, the HQ was back on track. The Warden the entire time did, well nothing.

The mustached human made a disgruntled growl. "How dare you...!" He stomped his foot, causing his colonels to flinch and stop. Anyone around them stopped as well, with both nurses and doctors pausing in their tracks. They all faced their Warden and saluted, lightly sweating anxiously as Zonic slowed to a halt. Things were now dead quiet, and as if it was possible, anyone could hear everyone else quietly breathe. The hedgehog's left eye twitch, and he gradually turned around to look in Zobotnik's direction. Zobotnik angrily pointed towards Zonic. "You tore off your medals, you go through my files, and you destroy the window in my office!" He continued to march his way over in front of Zonic, carelessly shoving the colonels out of the way as he stepped directly in front of him. "You disrespect me, humiliate me in from of your peers, talk to me any way you damn well please like some juvenile! I figured with Zhadow taking you under his wing, you'd clean up your act, but you only grew worse!"

Every worker or soldier in that corridor's eyes widened, as it was an obvious sin to talk about the former lieutenant general in front of their commander.

"I should have never agreed to raise you here, you abomination!" He hollered. "You and your entire race are nothing but a danger! I should have told your Grand Overseer ancestors to kiss my ass and take you back where you came from when I had the chance! I don't want you breathing in my damn facility," The volume in his voice decreased. "You were discharged from No Zone militia the second you ripped off your medals at me. Leave, this instant."

Everyone was alarmed at this. Zonic was basically fired or had quit not too long ago, so he wasn't supposed to be here right now. Their beloved commander, he no longer was a No Zone soldier? The very person who led their people into war and ended it with a bloody victory? They couldn't believe that.

His eye twitch was getting worse.

His head was going to burst. He was going to yell and hurt someone, really, really badly again. Blood on his hands, blood on his uniform, blood on the floors...Zonic slowly breathed in, and just as slowly breathed out. He tilted his head with a flat frown. "Did you forget the conversation we had earlier, Zobotnik?" He asked calmly.

"What, do you have wax up your ears? Get the hell out of here-!"

Zonic made a low snarl, his newly enlightened bright green eyes glaring swords into the human's body. "I could have sworn I told you that anything regarding Sonic prime or anti-Sonic, was my business and mine alone."

Zobotnik flinched at the hedgehog's dark expression. "That has nothing to do with-"

"You had your turn to speak, you will shut your mouth and listen to what I have to say." The former commander hissed with fanged teeth. "Those two are my sole responsibilities as the Grand Overseer. I will be there for the interrogation, I will be there for the trial, and damn it," He shoved his thumb against his own chest. "I will be here simply because I want to!" He yelled. "I am the Grand Overseer. I am in charge of keeping watch of all Chaos Born brought into this universe. I am in charge of the single most powerful beings in existence, and you dare continue to give me orders as if you're superior to me? Are you mad!?" He shouted ferociously. "My ancestors only gave me to you because the No Zone military were supposed to keep me safe. I only chose to join the force so I could have a better chance of doing my job by keeping my brethren safe. I've already failed the both of them too many times, and I refuse to do it again. So I'm not going to let anyone keep me away from my duty, and I'm certainly not going to let you stand in my way any longer!" The twitch in his eye was growing even worse. "It's thanks to you that Scourge is a problem anyway, through your own cowardice is the only reason why those spirits spared your miserable life. So why don't you just keep your damn mouth shut, and leave me alone?"

With shocked expressions, everyone including Zobotnik watched as Zonic angrily pushed passed the human and made his way deeper down the corridor. He was going in the direction of the hospice section, where there were now numerous unconscious bodies.

Zonic returned to the room 304, slamming and locking the door so no one could get inside. He traveled to his favorite place, the chair in front of Zhadow's bed. No one moved it from last time, good. Saved him the trouble. Zonic sat down, and closed his eyes while resting his hands in his lap. This is the only place he could feel at ease, where he could find some warped sense of happiness. This was the only place he could feel sane, in complete serenity. He loved Zhadow, he loved him so much. Why did he tell him off then? Why was that the last thing he told him?

Zhadow stood in front of his rookie's desk and put a hand on his hip. "Zonic, for the love of Chaos, just stop."

Zonic sighed and rose his eyes from his paperwork. "What are you on about?" He really wasn't in the mood right now.

"You're going to pass out again, stop working. You're not even studying like you're supposed to."

"First lieutenant, please." Zonic looked back down to continue writing. "It is none of your concern."

The first lieutenant general scowled and slammed his hand on the desk, directly on top of his pile of paperwork to make Zonic stop. "Damn it, you are my concern. And as your superior, I'm telling you to stop and take a break." He took his hand away. "What is with you? You've been passing out more often than you can actually patrol. Now you're neglecting your studies, and all you care about is rising in the ranks. You can't go any further, what are you even aiming for?"

He really didn't feel like hearing this right now. Zonic pinched the bridge of his nose. "We've had this conversation."

"And that conversation was just as pointless and asinine as this one. You cannot be the general, you weren't meant to be the general. Zobotnik is in charge whether you like it or not. Your Overseers didn't want you to be a soldier in the first place, they wanted you to be hidden as a normal citizen with our protection. And yet for some reason, the older retired No Zone officers that were entrusted with your life, decided it was a great idea to make you one of us." He sighed. "While I understand why they'd want you to be trained to protect not only yourself and other Chaos Born, I don't understand why you're fighting so hard to be the best."

Zonic scowled. "It's not about being the best, and you know that. I don't care for status, I want to be the general so I can have the power that I need to protect my brothers with ease. With the best military force in the universe, I could do so much more to ensure their safety."

Zhadow just sighed and shook his head. "You're too stubborn." He crossed his arms. "I know how you are when you get like this, so I can't change your mind."

"No, you can't." Zonic retorted dismissively. "That being said, I'm going to Moebius to patrol and investigate Scourge's whereabouts in about an hour or so. I'm going to need you to secure HQ while I'm gone."

His superior dragged a hand over his face. "You're going to give me ulcers." He groaned. "Take. A damn. Break. What if you fall unconscious out there? What if the anti-Sonic is still around running amok and he gets to you?" He walked around the desk and tried to be more understanding, his voice becoming more compassionate and soft. "Look, I'll take you out for lunch myself. We could eat together." He tried to smile, reaching out his hand to caress his face and turn to him. "Don't you want to sit with me for a while, instead of glaring your eyes into boring white copy paper all day? Or maybe," He smirked. "We could swing by my apartment, and keep you in my bedroom for a private training session. Just so you can relieve all that stress." His smirk fell when he realized Zonic stopped writing completely, and just glared into his superior's eyes. "Zonic, I just want you to-"

"I don't care what you want, I'm doing my job." He stood up out of the chair and snatched himself away from him. "I'm sick of you using sex to try and pull me away from my work."

A vein was starting to throb on Zhadow's head. "That wasn't the point, rookie."

"Then what is the point?! Why do you have such a problem with me being dedicated to my responsibilities?"

"Because you're killing yourself!" Zhadow exclaimed as he smashed his fist onto the desk's surface. "You don't eat, you don't sleep, you exercise way too often and purge whatever you manage to consume back in a toilet! You're going to develop an eating disorder just like the anti-Sonic. You're going right back to how you used to be. You're health is deteriorating, and I refuse to sit by and let you hurt yourself like this. So instead, I'm going to Moebius, not you!"

"You don't have the right to decide that!"

Zhadow scoffed. "Oh yes I do, because I have more authority than you. So you can sign paperwork until your hands fall off from malnourishment, but you'll never top me." He sarcastically laughed as Zonic's eyes widened from that low blow. "Are you kidding me? You wouldn't last two seconds in Moebius, you would collapse the instant you got there. So I'm forbidding it, it's too dangerous for you."

Zonic clenched his teeth in anger, then pointed to the door of his office. "Then just go. Just go and get out of my sight! As if you're any match for the anti-Sonic. You go ahead and get yourself killed! See if I care."

"I'm glad we both agree, rookie." Zhadow dismissively retorted as he sharply turned his back towards him, walking to the door, slamming it closed and leaving.

The second lieutenant general sat back down in his seat, slumping against it as he covered his face with both hands.

Why did he say that to him?

Because he was cranky that day? Because he was telling a truth he didn't want to hear? Because he couldn't be bothered with taking a small break to spend quality time with his love? Zhadow cared about him more than anyone he had ever met in his life. Zonic was developing a bad eating habit when he overworked himself back then. It was so bad, that anything he consumed he immediately threw back up. He starved himself because of this, but starving himself was the cause of it. His stomach just wasn't used to eating so much, used to being shriveled up and weak. It rejected nutrients after a while, So Zonic figured it was just better to stop eating at all.

But Zhadow pulled him away from that. He helped him through physical therapy, he made him soup whenever he was too ill to come into work at his apartment. He took care of him, he nurtured him until he was able to get back on his feet. He remembered when Zonic accidentally lost feeling in his entire arm from severe carpal tunnel, but Zhadow volunteered to take over all of his paperwork until he got better. He trained him personally, he taught him how to shoot. He gave him valuable life and military lessons, and he molded him into a fine soldier.

His sex was amazing, and he made him feel better about himself. He bought him gifts, he bought him sweets, he gave him anything he could possibly want in life. Zonic was so joyous back then, he couldn't be any happier with him around. Even as a creature made from science, Zhadow was introduced to a spectrum of emotions that he desperately wanted to show Zonic as his lover. He shared those feelings with him, and now Zonic couldn't live without it. He missed him so much.

But, it was okay.

It was his fault Zhadow was in a coma, but he accepted that now.

His love for him and his memories would never die. He could take the hedgehog off of life support, let him pass on so he didn't have to suffer anymore. "Hello, Zhadow." He murmured. "The war is over, it's finally done. But we still have to deal with Scourge." Zonic looked over at the heart monitor, and the plug that had him wired to the machine that kept him breathing. All he had to do was pull out that plug, just yank it out while saying goodbye. He knew Zhadow would do the same for him if he was in the same position. This was out of love. He needed to let go, and Zhadow needed to rest indefinitely. "We'll be fine, though. Without you. And I thank you for everything you've ever done for me." He slowly smiled. "Heh. I'm still so infatuated with you, I'm miserable because of it. I think I need to start up some therapy sessions with Zouge. I'm..." That smile slowly widened. "...Completely out of my mind because of you. It's consuming me. That's how much I feel for you. If you could, you'd be smirking at me now, wouldn't you?" He rose his hand towards the thick wire, moving to grasp it. "I'll never stop feeling the way I feel for you, Zhadow. And I'll never forget you. I..."

He held up his hand and grasped the comatosed hedgehog's wrist, holding it softly.

"Love you..." His bone structure felt so thin now, all Zonic had to do was yank the cord. "...Zhadow." All he had to do was pull. His fur was so cold-

Wait a minute, no it wasn't.

Zonic stopped immediately, and slowly took his hand away from the life support machine's wires. He then took a real good stare at his lover's supposedly comatosed body. His eyes were closed now for some reason. Zhadow's eyes were open the entire time he was unconscious up until now. His fur was no longer gray, it was a shiny pitch black. It looked smooth, it even looked groomed. His body mass returned to normal for some reason, and he looked fit just like he used to. His chest was moving up and down at a steady rate, not too slow or fast. His heart beat was no longer weak, it was beeping on the monitor at an average speed. A healthy speed, he should add. His muzzle was no longer pale, and he looked healthy again. And, and was he snoring? Was that drool dripping down his tan lips through that oxygen mask? His hands even felt warm.

Did he need to get his eyes checked?

How the hell was any of this even possible? Zonic didn't heal him, and he was positive chaotic powers from normal Chaos Born users couldn't bring people back from comas. No, only Divine Spirits could produce miracles like that. Zonic did not possess any blessing nor super forms when he was birthed, so why-

Divine Spirits...

An explosion erupted from within the city, along with a bright red light illuminating.

Zonic's eyes widened with revelation.

When Scourge was struck with that missile, a red light blinded them all. Not only that, but when they took his body to arrest him, he was completely drained of power and energy. The cuffs they put on him couldn't weaken him anymore than what he already was, he was completely dried out from the battle. Scourge was the one who put Zhadow in a coma by manipulating his mind into thinking he was shot in the brain. He made Zhadow think he was killed, when he wasn't. That's why he was in a coma, because he was stuck in a limbo he trapped himself in. But if Scourge's power depleted entirely when that happened, then did that mean his power of Zhadow's coma was over too?

Zonic's heart started to beat as fast as he was panting. He was out of breath, his body was getting too excited. Was Zhadow okay? He stood up and reached his hands down to caress his lover's muzzle. "Z-Zhadow?" He stuttered. "Are you, are you alive...?" His eyes were getting moist, this couldn't be happening. It shouldn't be happening.

A low rumble within the black hedgehog's throat made him flinch. His eyes fluttered opened slowly, his now bright red ruby eyes gazing at his lime irises. His mouth closed, his snoring coming to an abrupt stop. His eyes dilated a bit as he surveyed his surroundings. Okay, a white room. A hospital room, it looked like. A lot of wires, some machines next to the bed he was laying in. There was a bunch of plastic on his face too, and he could feel wires roped inside of his body. God that felt uncomfortable. He could barely move with this crap shifting inside of him. He furrowed his brows, his eyes soon settling on a blue hedgehog in front of him. He grunted, gradually moving a weak arm towards his mouth. He mustered the strength to pull off the oxygen mask, a smile growing on his muzzle. Even with thin tubes in his mouth, he couldn't help but show how overjoyed he was.

The first person he got to see was his beloved, after all.

"...Zonic."

END - 36

Arc 1 - Scourge's Return: Chapters 1 - 12

Arc 2 - No Zone: Chapters 13 - 27

Arc 3 - ?: Chapters ? - ?

...

Someone was surprised that the story is only a little more than half over. Well, here's a 'floor plan' I made that roughly depicts how long the story is as of now. Mind you, the story has been completely mapped out nearly a year ago, I'm just taking my slow ass time to write it all out. Not only that, but I keep adding things to my plans too, so things get a bit delayed here and there. This is by far my longest story ever, and I don't think I'll ever write another with this many chapters or words again.

Just want you guys to know how dedicated I am into writing this.