A/N: I'm not exhorting anybody to read and review, but your feedback is appreciated! Also, I'd like to thank the one follower I've gotten so far!

Two days later, a wake was held for Chuck, and not long after, the funeral came. In accordance with his will, a simple ceremony was held. To Sonic's surprise, a lot of people showed up to the funeral, where the Blue Blur was allowed to deliver a eulogy for him:

"My uncle, Charles Terrence Hedgehog, was one of the best uncles that anybody could ever ask for. Whether it was his brother Jules, his sister-in-law Bernadette, his late wife Martha, his workers, his friends, or me – his nephew – he never was a stranger.

Charles was no stranger to love. He knew the rules, and so did Martha. Once they got to know each other, a full commitment was what he was thinkin' of. A woman wouldn't have got this from any other guy. Though he was real shy, he just wanted to tell her how he was feelin'. He had to make her understand, and she did. When the wedding bells stopped ringin', when the honeymoon was over, Charles never gave her up, let her down, ran around or deserted her. He did, however, make her cry, but he never said goodbye or told a lie and hurt her. He made the effort to let her know that she was loved.

Charles was no stranger to tragedy, either. The moment he was born, his life went down like it was written by Shakespeare: his parents died in a building fire, leavin' him to raise his younger brother Jules by himself. Even to his dying day, Charles wept. He often asked himself: 'Couldn't I, who opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even they shouldn't have died?' Throughout school, he was bullied just for bein' a so-called nerd. In his senior year, he survived a school shooting that took the life of his first girlfriend. Still, he had to keep on keepin' on because he knew the big wheel keeps on spinnin' around.

During the Great War, he enlisted in the Marines, where he flew a gunship, drove a tank and was put in charge of million-dollar equipment. He also witnessed more than a few friends die. The one that bothered him the most was when he was in a bar in some jerkwater town in the Roseinian Empire. Some kid with a shoeshine box came up to him and a friend sayin' 'shine, please, shine!' Charles said 'no', but the kid kept askin', so his friend finally said 'yeah'. Charles went to get a couple beers, the box was wired and his friend opened up the box…boom, gone! Charles would never forget seeing his friend lying there, screaming for help, all that stuff comin' out…he just wanted to go home!"

At this point, Sonic felt a heaving in his chest, feeling as though it could have been one of his friends, and it took him every ounce of energy not to scream, throw note cards around and just go off on a tangent about how tragic and crappy life was. So, he took a deep breath and waited until the thunder passed.

"What really got to Charles, though, was gettin' hit by a drunk driver on his birthday one night. This happened a few months into his marriage, and his wife Martha was in the car with him. They just happened to be put in the same room together, and he remembered regaining consciousness just as his wife passed on. She was pregnant with their first child, too. When Jules and Bernadette died in a similar accident, he felt like he'd lost his whole world. He even wanted to kill himself. Were it not for a brown hedgehog named Sonny – me – he would never have wanted to keep on truckin'.

Yet for all his tragedies, Charles was no stranger to success. After the war, he used his Bonus to attend UAEC, where he got a Master's in Auto Tech. When he graduated, he founded his own heavy equipment repair shop. Suddenly, this so-called nerd was laughin' all the way to the bank. That's not to say he was a greedy penny-pincher. No, he paid his workers well, and he used a good chunk of his change to provide scholarships to guys just like him who wanted to get a leg up on the pile.

Although cancer took Charles from us too soon, it can never take away the memories he created, the laughs he shared, the stories he told, or the legacy he left behind for the world. Most importantly, it can never take away the love he had for everybody, and it inspired me to love, too."

After the eulogy, the mourners proceeded to the Roger Gilmour Cemetery, on the northwest side of the city. Just beholding how they had loved him made Ol' Blue want to cry even more, but he held it in as best as he could, even though it made his chest feel that much heavier.

"…Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," said the priest.

As the coffin was being lowered into the ground, members of the Royal Highlanders Band played "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes, which made Sonic want to cry even more considering it was the first lullaby that anyone had ever sung to him. Still, he kept holding it in.

Finally, at the après-funeral party – which was being held at the Emerald City Ballroom – Sonic locked himself in the bathroom, where he let it all out. Concerned about how long he spent in there, Tails and Knuckles the Echidna went in after him.

"Sonic, are you OK in there?" asked Tails.

"Yeah, you've been in here for a while!" said Knuckles.

Sonic sniffled. "Don't worry, guys! Everything's mellow now! I'll be out in a jif!"

True to his word, Sonic emerged from the bathroom, using a piece of toilet paper for tissue.

"Anyways," said Sonic, "enough bein' sad! Let's paaaaaaaartay!"

Team Sonic ate, drank and pushed their worries aside for now. While Sonic would never forget Uncle Chuck's passing, he vowed not to let it get him down too much.

The next day, after breakfast, Sonic was watching an episode of Emerald City Blue when he heard somebody knocking at the door. Thus, the Blue Blur paused the show and looked through the little peephole on the door. Standing there was a bluish-green walrus wearing a suit.

"Who's this?" asked Sonic.

"My name is Alan Schmidt," said the walrus.

"What brings ya here?"

"This is about your uncle."

"OK, come in!"

Sonic opened the door and let Schmidt in.

"Nice to meet ya, Al!" Sonic shook hands with Schmidt. "Come on, let's sit down."

Sonic led Schmidt over to the dinner table, where they sat next to each other.

"So, what about Uncle Chuck, then?"

"I was a very close friend of Charles," replied Schmidt. "He named me the executor of his will."

"So what's this got to do with me?"

"Being that you're his only living relative, Charles left the business to you before he died."

Sonic blinked. "He did what?"

Schmidt nodded. "That is right, you are now officially the owner of the Hedgehog Heavy Equipment Repair Facility."

Sonic pointed the palms of his hands towards Schmidt and shook his hands from side to side. "Whoa whoa, I can't be the owner of his garage! Besides, I don't know jack about runnin' a business!"

"But you are. That's what the will said."

"Well change it!"

"Sorry, but the decedent is the only party who is allowed to change the will."

"Who cares!? I don't wanna be the prez of his company!"

"I understand your reluctance to go through with this. However, a will is a legally-binding contract, and as such, I must follow it to the letter."

Sonic sighed. "OK, OK…ya got me. But I'm sellin' this business as soon as hedgehogly possible!"

"It is your business now, so you are allowed to do whatever you want with it."

"Gotcha. Now if you'll excuse me for a sec…"

Sonic hopped out of his chair and exited the cabin. A moment later, he returned with Tails.

"Who are you?" asked Tails.

"I am Alan Schmidt, accountant for the Hedgehog Heavy Equipment Repair Facility. Charles T. Hedgehog named me the executor of his will."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Schmidt." Tails shook hands with Schmidt. "So…what did Chuck say?"

"He wanted Sonic to take over his business."

Tails turned to Sonic. "Sonic, that's great!"

"No it ain't!" said Sonic. "Tails, I can't be chained down like that! I mean, mellowin' out is good and all, but I gotta be able to choose when to mellow, ya know?"

"But Sonic, this was your uncle's livelihood! Part of the reason he left the business to you was because he cared about your future!"

"Future, schmuture! I'm already makin' a killin' killin' machines! I don't need to make one fixin' 'em up!"

Tails turned one of his palms up as if he was presenting something. "Think about it this way: you said that you were looking to get me a better workshop when you got the money, right?"

Sonic put a hand up to his chin. "Well…yeah…"

"Don't you understand? This repair shop just might be the key to my future!"

"I get what you're sayin', but this just ain't my bag. So, I'm sellin' the biz to you, Tails."

Tails raised his eyebrows. "To ME!?"

Sonic nodded. "Yep, that's the gist."

"But I don't know anything about running a business!"

"Come on! You're a flippin' genius, man! I'm sure you can figure this out by yourself!"

"But I'm a scientist, not a businessman!"

"So? Business is a science…right?"

Tails scratched his head. "Well…you're right…I guess. Still, I don't want to be the owner of the garage."

"Well, I don't wanna do it either!"

Tails recoiled slightly. "Please, don't yell at me!"

"Er…sorry about that."

"But if you don't wanna run the business, then who will?"

Sonic put his hand up to his chin and began tapping his foot. Tails posed some interesting questions, and while not a heavy thinker, the Blue Blur usually had an answer ready sooner or later. Given the way he snapped his fingers, it was sooner this time.

"What is it?" asked Tails.

"OK, here's what it is:" said Sonic. "Tails, you do your mechanical and science stuff. Al, you can run the joint while I'm out. I'll drop in to make sure everything's kosher. Can ya get to that?"

Tails gave a thumbs up. "You got it!"

"Actually, Charles taught me daily operations of the business," said Schmidt, "and prior to his death, he told me to give you a tour of the facility and instruct you as he instructed me."

Sonic shrugged. "OK, that's groovy, I suppose."

"Then let's not delay any further! Come along, you two."

Sonic and Tails accompanied Schmidt to his black Coupe de Ville and made off for the Hedgehog Heavy Equipment Repair Facility. Located on the west side of the city, it had been founded twenty years prior to Sonic's birth, and it stood out in the mess of factories, warehouses and R&D centers. Here, the latest push-button technologies mingled with old-school elbow grease. Metal burned, sparks flew, ratchets zinged, and nobody was required to bring a sledgehammer that they'd never, ever use.

When they got inside, Sonic and Tails marveled at the shop. While the Blue Blur was reminded of past adventures in Robotnik's installations, Tails was more interested in the machinery being repaired, including a GMC General and a CAT 980.

"Right this way, please," said Schmidt.

Sonic and Tails did as they were told. As they were being led around the place, workers couldn't help but look at the duo, smile and/or wave. Not everyone was familiar with Tails, but everyone was familiar with Sonic. Eventually, Sonic, Tails and Schmidt came to the office that once belonged to Chuck.

"…and here is your office," said Schmidt.

"All right, so where do we boogie from here?" asked Sonic.

"Come inside; I'll show you what else you need to know."

Thus, Schmidt led Sonic and Tails inside. The office had a big mahogany desk with a computer and a brass nameplate that said "CHARLES T. HEDGEHOG, OWNER". Behind the desk was a leather swivel chair. For employees, there were steel folding chairs. Dotting the walls were pictures of Chuck, Jules, Bernadette and/or Sonic, plus people that neither Sonic nor Tails recognized. Ol' Blue seated himself on the swivel chair, while Schmidt helped himself to one of the steel folding chairs.

"So…"

Schmidt began to point out random papers and binders on the desk, explaining what each one was. Sonic pretended to know what Schmidt was talking about, figuring that he could always do an internet search or call upon Tails if there were any problems.

"…Any questions?" asked Schmidt?"

Sonic placed his fist over his heart. "None whatsoever!"

"Good. Also, don't be afraid to come to Rocky if you need help."

Sonic tilted his head slightly. "Who's Rocky?"

"He has his own garage bay. I'm sure you two will get along nicely."

"I'm sure we will! Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta get up and get down! Check ya later!"

"Wait!" said Schmidt.

Sonic froze in place. "Yeah?"

"I forgot to mention; I have bad news…"

"Uh-oh…"

"Late in his life, Charles lost money on some bad investments. Because of this, he fell deep into debt, debt that you are now responsible for paying off."

"How deep are we talkin' here?"

"Your total comes to 10 million Mobiums"

Sonic gasped and fainted. Tails rushed to his side.

"Sonic, are you all right?"

Sonic groaned as he came to. "Oh yeah…I'm just copacetic. I mean, I love takin' on other people's debts. Nothing more cool than that."

Tails helped Sonic to his feet. "Don't worry; I'm sure we'll figure some way out of it."

"But I don't think we even have that many colors in the bank!"

"We can always check."

"You're right! Heck, why don't we do that right now…"

Sonic brought up his watch communicator and logged into the Bank of Mobius account that he and Tails shared. Between their checking and savings accounts, they had a grand total of M95780.34

"WHAT!? I coulda sworn we had more than this!"

"Well, we did spend a lot of money on that geothermal generator for our cabin," said Tails "and then there are the repair and maintenance costs for all our vehicles, our food budget…"

Sonic's jaw dropped. "Are you tellin' me that we spend THAT much money on food!? Holy crap, I'm gonna have to cut back on the chili dogs! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna jam, Sam."