Chapter 7: Broken Silence

A week after the incident, Sonic's friends had still not found the one responsible for putting their friend in such a depressed state. Sonic had hardly spoken a single word, not doing anything to help move the search along. Sonic's friends were getting desperate to bring the vampire they did not know about to justice. Hell, not only has Eggman acquired Sonic a bodyguard, but had also put his evil plans aside to help in the mission of finding the attacker.

Speaking of Sonic's bodyguard.

"Come on Sonic, please." The little robot begged as he hovered next to the broken blue hedgehog. "Please say something."

As usual during the past week, Sonic paid no mind to Bokkun's pleas and only continued to stare into space, silent as a rock. At the moment, what once was the Fastest Thing Alive, was staring at himself through a mirror that hung on his wall, staring into the depths of his very own eyes. His mind couldn't help it. It had begun battling each other again.

We're a dirty whore.

No we're not. It's not our fault.

We should've fought back. We could've fought back.

No we couldn't. We were immobile and in too much pain.

We could've ran faster. We should've ran.

We can't outrun her, she's too fast, even for us.

It's all our fault.

No it's not.

We're a coward.

Bokkun sighed as Sonic refused to speak to him. He turned away from the hedgehog and hovered over to the kitchen, planning on preparing a meal for his depressed charge, even though he knew it was most likely pointless. Sonic hadn't eaten as much as he's said anything since the morning he returned home. The hedgie was obviously malnourished and dehydrated from the lack of nutrition and water he was refusing. Bokkun and the others had tried everything to get him to eat, but in all, it was hopeless. Sonic refused to eat. Still, it didn't stop Bokkun from trying.

As the little robot entered the kitchen, he couldn't help but look over to the counter filled with baskets of cards, candy, and other presents.

Word had been getting around that something was wrong with Sonic.

It started just two days after the incident when Charlie and Belinda decided to take their mech suits for a ride around the village, causing destruction wherever they went.

When Amy, Tails, Knuckles, and Sticks came to the rescue without Sonic, everyone was wondering where he was. Amy made an excuse that he wasn't feeling well and couldn't join the battle. There was no reason for everyone to know what had really happened. This had piqued Belinda's curiosity however, and at the very first chance she got, the goat had snuck away from the battle in search of the blue hedgehog's hut. When she finally found it however, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

A depressed broken down hedgehog with a look so far away in his eyes, it seemed as if he wasn't even there. Even when she tried to speak to him, he did not seem to register that she was there.

Seeing the village hero like this made the village villain feel something for him she never thought she would.

Sympathy

And it was because of this sympathy that she went back to the village and announced her findings to her husband, immediately ending the battle. At the moment, the goat thought that it wasn't fair to the depressed hero to take his friends away just for a battle. At the moment, it was obvious that Sonic needed them more than the village.

Since then, Sonic has been getting visitors, all sporting "Get Well Soon" gifts and most attempting to speak to him, but of course, they got no results. Heck, even the owner of Meh Burger and Dave the Intern came over, both carrying a plate full of chili dogs on the house.

Remembering those chili dogs, Bokkun went to the fridge and opened it, taking out one of the pieces of bread, meat, and sauce, and putting it on a plate, heating it up quickly in the microwave before taking it out to the silent hedgehog.

"Ok Sonic, time for dinner… again." Bokkun announced, receiving no response. "I have your favorite. A chili dog."

At that, Bokkun wafted the scent of the food to Sonic's nose, trying to at least pique his appetite. As he did so, Sonic's brain started to register the food that was in front of him. It was a chili dog, his favorite food. He honestly wanted to eat, but his body refused to respond. He didn't want it to.

The smell was getting to him. He was so hungry at this point, but at the same time, he felt that he wouldn't be able to hold it down. In fact, his stomach was already flipping around.

Suddenly, without any warning, Sonic vomited all over the floor, sending up pure stomach acid that tore up his throat. Bokkun gasped and quickly pulled the food away before running back to the kitchen to grab some water.

Grabbing a glass from the cabinet and filling it from the sink, Bokkun flew back over to the sick hedgehog, holding the glass of water out to him.

Sonic coughed and sputtered. His throat felt like it was on fire after upchucking just straight up stomach acid. He could sense Bokkun trying to give him some water to help sooth it, but he refused to take it.

"Dammit Sonic!" The robot finally cursed, stomping his foot on the ground. "I don't care if you're too broken and depressed to take this yourself, but you're dehydrated and the vomiting is only going to make it worse! You are going to drink this water, even if I have to force it down your throat myself!"

At this, Sonic finally seemed to snap out of it. Eyes wide and mouth gaped in shock, Sonic turned his head to look at his robotic bodyguard. He was finally able to register what he was seeing in front of him, after a full week of nothing but broken silence. Suddenly wanting to break that silence, he tried to speak.

"B-Bo-kk-un?" He whispered hoarsely, his voice small after not using it for a full week.

At this, Bokkun smiled warmly. He stepped a little closer to the hedgehog and placed the glass of water in his hands.

"I'm glad you finally said something." He said just as softly. "Try not to force yourself. Drink this water and then I want you in bed until you feel better. You haven't slept for a week, I'm sure you must be exhausted."

At these instructions, Sonic just nodded. With Bokkun's help, he stood up from the floor and slowly walked over to his hammock, occasionally drinking the water to soothe his burning throat. Once he was laying down, the hedgehog couldn't help but immediately fall asleep, having been awake for the past week, afraid to go to sleep in fear of Diaspheria coming in at night to torture him. But he couldn't fight it this time.

Bokkun smiled and took the now empty glass away from his charge before placing a blanket over him and going to clean up the vomit mess.

He couldn't wait to tell Sonic's friends, that he had finally snapped out of it.