Light crept into the small bedroom. Sonic was asleep in his bed, and though he didn't want it to, was awakened with a jolt as the loud ringing of his alarm clock woke him.
Growling in annoyance, he turned off the thing before getting out of his queen-sized bed.
Popping his neck, Sonic walked slowly out of his room and went to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he pulled out a bagel and some cream cheese before turning on the small television set on the bar.
Sonic's apartment wasn't anything that you would expect from an international "superstar", but to him it was fine.
A brown leather couch sat in the middle of the living room with a TV along with a gaming system Tails had given him for his sixteenth birthday (with some adjustments of course) and a coffee table. The kitchen and bar were located to the right of it, and his bedroom and bathroom were in the back down the hall.
It wasn't much, but it was home.
Flipping the TV to the local news channel, he leaned on the counter with his bagel and checked out the weather and also if Eggman was up to anything lately.
Not surprising to him, Eggman wasn't active. He had calmed down a little bit seeing that he was older and was getting ready to go underground. But despite that he occasionally managed to stir something up when things were boring.
Finishing his bagel, Sonic was about to turn off the set until something caught his attention. The reporter was at the remains of a house that looked as though it had been ransacked.
The door and surrounding wall was kicked in and from what he could tell a hole had been torn through the roof. The inside of the house was worse.
Claw marks and blood were splattered all over the walls and the living room, kitchen, and dining room were torn to bits.
"…The victim managed to escape the culprits, but has injuries," the reporter said. "She has been taken to the Station Square Medical Center and should be out in a few weeks. The victim's name is-"
Sonic's ears flattened back in shock and fear as the reporter said the girl's name.
Not bothering to lock the door or turn off the set, Sonic tore through the complex and to the hospital the girl was at.
Bursting through the doors, Sonic rushed up to the receptionist, whom was a human female with bright pink glasses.
"I'd like to see a friend of mine," Sonic began hastily. "She's the one that-"
"Don't worry," The woman said in a reassuring way. "I know who she is. You can go through, just take this pass."
Handing Sonic a yellow slip of paper, the receptionist nodded for Sonic to go through.
Looking at the slip of paper, Sonic read the room number; 82B, 2nd floor. Hopping into an elevator, Sonic pressed the large "2" button before finally reaching the floor.
After asking a few nurses where 82B was, he found the room near the back. Taking a deep breath, Sonic slowly opened the door and walked in.
The room was small and had a nice window view of the city, but the first thing Sonic noticed was the patient in the bed.
IV tubes were placed in various areas of her body and the droning beeping sound of a heart monitor only made Sonic feel worse.
Her ears flicked in his direction at the sound of the door closing and she turned her head toward him with as much strength as she had.
"Sonic…" She muttered weakly, a small smile spread across her bruised face.
Feeling his throat tighten, Sonic smiled as warmly as he could at the sight of her. Pulling a chair up to the bed, Sonic took the females hand in his as she reached out to him.
"Hey, Ames…" Sonic uttered, trying not to let his voice crack. "I'm sorry that I couldn't come sooner. I just found out and I-"
"Shh…" Amy shushed as she noticed some tears brimming in her hero's eyes. "It's alright, I understand."
Smiling, Amy began to try and push herself up into a sitting position. Seeing that she was struggling, Sonic helped her up and got her comfortable before they started talking again.
"Thank you," Amy began as Sonic sat back down in his chair. A few moments of silence passed before Amy started talking again.
"Tails and Cream came by last night," She began, her voice weak and her breaths shallow. "They said that they haven't seen you in a while. They want to hook up sometime."
Chuckling, Sonic ran his hand through his quills and shook his head.
"Of all the things that are happening, you choose tell me that?" Sonic remarked as he sucked back some tears.
Frowning, Amy narrowed her eyes at him. "Just because I'm going to be stuck in a bed for the next few weeks doesn't mean that my condition is the only thing we have to talk about!"
Flicking his ears backwards, Sonic stuck out his hands in defense. "No! I wasn't implying that, Ames. I've just been too busy lately and…well…"
Softening a little as he averted his eyes and laid his ears back, Amy motioned for Sonic to lean closer to her.
Doing so, she planted a soft kiss on his forehead, making him blush a dark scarlet.
"Hey," She whispered. "I'm gonna be alright. Understand?" Smiling at her, Sonic nodded his head as he clutched her hand tightly.
"Yeah." He replied softly before kissing her hand.
Sonic stayed with Amy for a few more hours before he had to leave to go to Shadow's house. "I'll be back in a little bit," He reassured her before checking out of the hospital.
It took Sonic a good minute or so to get to Shadow's house, which was located on the outskirts of the city.
Skidding in front of the walkway leading up to it, Sonic looked up at the house in awe. Though he had seen it once before, it stilled stunned him.
It was two stories tall and was made of a nice red brick and stained wood for the door. The windows had the cross-style over them and the walkway was also brick. In all it was old-fashioned and homey yet bold and elegant at the same time.
Strolling up to the door, Sonic rapped on it a few times before Shadow answered it. A scowl was on his face as he motioned for Sonic to come in.
"You're late." He muttered as he poured himself a glass of red wine.
Clutching his chest and "fainting" Sonic said very dramatically in reply, "Moi? Late? Nonsense! You must be drinking too much, Shads!"
Slapping Sonic on the back of his head, Shadow smirked a bit when Sonic clutched his head afterwards.
Planting himself on the black leather couch, Sonic eyed Shadow expectantly as he sipped his wine.
Glaring at Sonic, Shadow saw that he was beginning to get impatient and decided to tell him and get the whole thing over with.
Setting his glass down on the kitchen counter, Shadow closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Sonic," The said hedgehog's ears perked up and he looked over at Shadow expectantly.
"You should be aware of what happened to Rose last night, am I correct?" Sonic averted his eyes and nodded.
"Yeah, but what's that got to do with anything?" Shadow gingerly traced the edge of the wine glass with his finger as he contemplated how to word the whole thing.
Finally, he began again.
"What attacked her last night wasn't something mortal." Sonic was standing now and was getting rather puzzled at this.
"Mortal?" Sonic questioned, a brow raised. "What does mortality have to do with anything? I thought you didn't believe in such nonsense as immortal beings- no offense."
"None taken," Shadow uttered, reassuring that he wasn't offended in any way, seeing how he was supposed to be immortal and all.
"But," He began again. "I do now. You see, three months ago was when the attacks started, the ones in a city a few miles away from here, remember?" Sonic nodded again, still perplexed.
"Well, Tails and I believe that it's the same people, or things. The attacks share a remarkable resemblance and the previous victims were all either killed or severely injured then…perished, a few days after."
Sonic remained silent as all this information sank in, making his mind boggle.
"That's only part of my explanation though," Shadow continued.
"The thing is…" Shadow hesitated as he became weary of the subject.
Sonic stared at Shadow as he awaited the rest of his explanation. Finally after what felt like an eternity later, Shadow took a deep breath and finished the remainder of the sentence.
"I think the person who did it is trying to kill the team."