Author's Note: bet you guys thought I'd forgotten about this, huh? Well shame on you! Seriously though, sorry this is so late. I lost access to my computer due to having a room-mate, but hopefully this chapter will make up for it. Like I said we're gonna be moving a little quickly in the past segments (skipping through the years) but this has made me think. If there's anyone out there who likes this story idea (Tails raising Sonic and such) please feel free to write your own versions of events that might have happened. Heck if it's good enough, I might even ask if I can reference it in canon. Obviously I'm already planning to do a last day segment, but feel free to use any other events you might like. As usual, if you read, please review. Reviews are how we fanfic author's feed our egos.
Disclaimer: It's in the first chapter. Come on, if I owned these characters you think the game stories would be as bad as they've been?
Past (12.25 years ago)
"So what happened to me Doc?" Tails asked of his friend and physician Robert Labris. The wolf absently scratched the back of his head, trying to come up with an answer that would not only satisfy the fox, but himself as well.
"I… don't really know," he finally admitted, an admission that caused the other occupant of the hospital room to get to his hooved feet.
"What do you mean you do not know?" Cervid said with a sharp edge to his voice. "You've been running a veritable battery of tests on Mr. Prower since his admittance, and you tell us now that they have yielded no results?"
"There have been results," the doctor said, trying not to take any offense at the deer's tone. He understood how frustrating getting this sort of information was. "In point of fact all the tests told us that Miles is perfectly healthy. There was no sign of an infection, no sign of toxins, and no sign of hemorrhaging. Nothing that would give a reason for you to lose consciousness for twenty-four hours like you did." One of Miles's eyebrows rose at his friend's explanation.
"Do you normally check for infections for a fainting spell?"
"We check for everything when the easiest answers don't show up," Labris responded. "But your son mentioned when you were brought in that he'd seen some sort of green haze going into the carpet before he entered your office, so we thought it best to err on the side of caution in this case."
"Needless to say, I will be having your office re-carpeted before you return home," Mr. Cervid intoned, already making a note in his electronic organizer.
"What about Sonic?" Miles asked, concern in his voice. "Did you…"
"We ran tests on him but, aside from the residual effects of the panic attack he suffered, nothing was out of the ordinary. That he didn't fall unconscious as you did leads me to believe that whatever got you lost its potency by the time Sonic showed up."
"Got me?" Labris exhaled sharply.
"A thorough examination of your office revealed the pieces of what look like a glass ampoule of some sort. There appears to be a residue of some kind on the shards, but so far we've had no luck trying to identify it so far. Any information you can share as to the container's origins might be helpful."
"The last thing I remember was finally solving my mother's old puzzle box, the one she got from Little Planet. A hatch opened up when I did." The wolf nodded his head, guessing the rest.
"We'll probably want to look at the box too then," he decided. "Be that as it may, I still want to keep you here for observation for a few days."
"You did say you couldn't find anything wrong with me," Miles pointed out, not at all thrilled at the prospect of being trapped in a hospital room longer than necessary. He went nuts when he was at home with nothing to do.
"People don't just faint for no reason Miles," his doctor countered. "It could be that something has entered your system and is just laying dormant for now. There are far too many pathogens out there that only really become detectable a few days after infection. I'm not about to let you walk out that door just to croak on me a few days from now."
"You needn't fear Mr. Prower. I shall see to the day to day operations of the company while you are indisposed, and Mrs. Axelby has volunteered to look after young Olgilvie. Everything is taken care of." Still the fox grumped as laid back down on his hospital bed, arms crossed and looking just a little like a petulant child thanks to his youthful features.
"I suppose I've no choice in this instance," Miles responded. Robert slapped him on the shoulder.
"Oh come on Milesy, it's not going to be that bad," the wolf assured him. "No need to act like you're being sent to Prison Island or anything like that."
"Yeah, if I was, the food would probably be better," quipped the reluctant patient. "Fine, I'll try not to be a curmudgeonly old patient then. But if we don't find anything Robert I fully expect you to reimburse me for lost wages from missing work." Labris laughed at the snide joke.
"Well, since you appear to be in good spirits, I suppose it would be a good idea to bring in the guest who's been waiting to see you," Cervid responded, once more rising from his seat and straightening out his suit.
"Visitor?" Miles asked, already guessing who it might be. His suspicions were confirmed by his assistant's next statement.
"Yes, of the blue and spiky variety," the deer said in what was probably as close to a joking manner as he could without shattering the fundamental laws of reality. "I shall go makes sure he is not otherwise occupied at the moment and then send him in for you." With that, Michael Cervid turned on his heel and left.
Out in the waiting room Sonic sat, trying to keep occupied by reading an old copy of "Highlights" the hospital had. It was a mark of his level of stress that he was resorting to actually reading to keep himself distracted. Beside him Mrs. Axelby sat; her feather boa in the chair next to her and a celebrity gossip magazine in her hands. Her granddaughter was absent only because the girl had taken a summer job and been expected to report to work. Not that Sonic minded. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted a big crowd here with him, even if they were trying to be supportive.
Absently the hedgehog toyed with the collar of his shirt, one of the nice dress shirts Miles had bought him for when they went out to dinner and needed something more than fur and quills to look presentable. Once their apartment had been declared safe, with the exception of Miles's office, Sonic had been allowed to go to his room and collect some things for his stay with the Axelbys. Mrs. Axelby had insisted he the shirt be what he wear today, acting no doubt on the assumption that a well dressed child was a happy child. In all honesty, Sonic couldn't have cared less. How could wearing a nice shirt hide the fact that his father was in a hospital, for reasons no one either knew or had yet to decide to inform him on.
About the only good thing that had come out of this was that he and Carl were speaking again. That the owner of one of the premier engineering companies in the world had been laid up, it had made the news the very next day, so of course the monkey had seen it. It had taken some doing, but Carl had managed to track down his hedgehog friend at his new temporary residence and offer his sympathies.
The soft sound of a throat clearing managed to snag Sonic's attention from the magazine, not that that was overly difficult to do. He looked up to see his father's personal assistant look down at him patiently. How the massive deer had managed to get so close without the hedgehog knowing was a mystery as Cervid had always possessed a presence Sonic could almost taste when he was nearby.
"Dr. Labris has said that if you wish to visit your father, it would be permissible to do so," he said in a soft, disciplined voice. A part of Sonic wanted to leap up and punch the deer in the face for his apparent lack of emotion.
'Dad may be dying and this walking stone carving can't even feel upset about it!' Sonic's internal monologue raged. Immediately that part was quashed. It was not in Michael Cervid's nature to wear his emotions on his sleeve, but just because you couldn't see him upset was no indicator he wasn't. Getting mad at his lack of an emotional display was like getting mad at fish for swimming in water or birds for flying in the air.
"If you would prefer to see him another time…" the deer began to offer, no doubt taking Sonic's lack of response for a sense of uncertainty.
"No," the cub said, tossing aside the "Highlights" and hopping off his chair. Quickly he turned to Mrs. Axelby who had not moved from her own seat.
"It's all right dear, you go on ahead and see your father," the older woman said with a smile. "I'll be waiting right here until you're done." With that assurance, Sonic turned and followed as Mr. Cervid led him through a door out of the waiting area. Once the fox's condition had been declared stabilized, Miles had been moved to a private room and it was to there that the hedgehog was being guided. Along the way he noted several more room with their doors closed, though a few were open and occupied, often showing other patients watching television or talking with friends and family. Ever curious, Sonic forced himself to continue walking, entering an elevator. They disembarked on the ninth floor, which Sonic noted was not the hospital's top floor.
"Hope Dad isn't too bummed about not being as high as possible," Sonic said in a quiet voice, hoping to break the silence.
"I'm sure he has more important matters on his mind," the deer responded, and then added, "but it would probably be helpful if you didn't mention it to him."
Finally they arrived at room 915 and Cervid opened the door to allow Sonic to enter. Inside Miles still sat in his bed, propped up by his pillows and talking to the wolf Sonic recognized as Robert Labris. At some point after the deer assistant's departure someone had brought in a tray of food that now sat next to the bed, obvious signs that someone had been picking at it. Upon Sonic's arrival, a big smile plastered itself on Miles's face as the fox waved to him.
"Hey kiddo," he said in a strong voice. Automatically Sonic wondered if that was just for show to put his mind at ease, but he approached nevertheless.
"Hey, Pop," he said as he hopped up on the bed. All in all Miles didn't look too bad. There were no tubes running out of the fox's body like Sonic was used to seeing when a show he watched cut to a medical hospital. Only the sensor that connected the vulpine to a beeping heart monitor was present, and even it blended almost seamlessly into Mile's cream colored chest fur. Some part of Sonic began to relax. "So, how's it hanging?" he asked, wanting to hear what his father had to say. Though not naïve enough to believe Miles would never lie to him, he did trust his adoptive guardian to trust him with more of the truth than any other adult.
"Rob's not entirely sure," Miles said bluntly. Nearby the wolf "hrmph"-ed a bit, but said nothing. "Apparently I fainted for no reason he can see right now." Emerald eyes suddenly looked at the doctor.
"But people don't just…" Before Sonic could begin, Miles interrupted.
"We already went down this road earlier," he admitted. "The lack of a clear cut answer is why Robert wants me to stay in the hospital for a few more days, to make sure nothing's been missed."
"More likely than not it was simply a transitory… a temporary ailment of some kind. A test will probably reveal that whatever was in that vial was some ancient 'knock-out gas' or something." The hedgehog frowned at this. He didn't like big words. They were usually used by people who didn't have any answers but didn't want to admit it. Still, Dr. Labris did seem to think nothing was wrong, and Miles trusted him.
"Of course this means you're going to have to stay with Mrs. Axelby for the week, okay," Miles pointed out, causing Sonic's head to bob up and down.
"Sure, no prob Pop. She already helped me move some stuff outta my room and letting me bunk on her couch that turns into a bed.'
"Good. And you know to be on your best behavior while there," this last part was said with blue eyes wide open and staring straight into Sonic's emerald ones, the standard "no nonsense" gaze the fox employed. Given the macaroni incident that had happened when Sonic and company had spent the night at Mighty's home, it was somewhat justified. Again Sonic nodded his head, this time a bit more vigorously to assure the laid up vulpine of his intentions.
Present
"NOOO!" Sonic yelled as he watched the flaming Fremen slowly sinking beneath the waves. Plumes of smoke rose through the air from the sight, offset by the redness of the flames. Desperately Sonic began to run, racing about the beach in a tight circle, picking up speed with each lap he made. Once he'd judged himself going fast enough, the hedgehog made a sharp turn in the opposite direction, racing out across the water. Stubbornly he pushed all thoughts of what could happen if he slowed down from his mind, focusing on his goal as he shot straight towards the wreck.
Within moments Sonic had arrived, his head darting about as he looked for a place to get aboard the sinking hulk. All about him damaged sheets of metal and debris floated, but so too, thankfully, did the lifeboats. Sonic could see the crew were in the process of evacuating, a fact that lightened his mood a bit. Survivors were always a good sign.
"Help. Help!" a weak voice suddenly called out, snagging the hedgehog's attention. A G.U.N. seaman was floating in the water, clutching a piece of debris to keep himself aloft. The reddish tint of the water near him indicated he was injured, and even if it wasn't serious, he would most likely attract predators is left alone to bleed. Quickly Sonic changed his course, racing over to the sailor. Even with his fantastic momentum, the hedgehog nearly stumbled when he grabbed hold of the man's arm and towed him to the relative safety of a larger piece of the ship where some of his crewmates were waiting. The sudden sound of something heavy striking metal alerted Sonic to his next target as he used a bit of broken ship to vault at the sinking metal. Before he could make his first cut, however, a whole section of the ship broke way, falling flat onto the water to from a makeshift raft. Sonic landed just in time to watch as dozens of formerly trapped sailors jumped onto the metal plating, as well as a certain pink hedgehog.
"SONIC!" Amy squealed as she saw her blue beau, dropping her hammer and wrapping her arms around him. "You came to rescue me, I knew you would!"
"Yeah, because you so look like you need rescuing," Sonic pointed out as some of the lifeboats made their way over to the impromptu raft. That was when he remembered Amy wasn't the only one who'd been on the ship. "Ames, what happened? Where's Tails?" he asked desperately. At the questions Amy's face went solemn.
"These birds just came out of nowhere. The captain didn't even get a radar blip on them when they suddenly started attacking. I took Tails below to be safe but…" At this point the pink hedgehog looked away, just a little ashamed of herself. Though under different circumstances Sonic would have consoled his girlfriend, at this point he simply didn't have the patience.
"Amy, what happened to Tails?"
"It was this green bird, like a woodpecker. He just shot though the metal walls like a missile. When he spotted us he just said 'Finally!' and then grabbed Tails before I could stop him. I tried to stop him Sonic, I really did, but he just ripped his way through the ship and the next thing I knew, everything was collapsing. It felt like the ship was sinking and we couldn't get up so I just started trying to knock a whole out so we wouldn't all drown." Despite recounting this fairly heroic action, Amy still looked somewhat contrite, and Sonic had little trouble understanding why.
"Don't worry about it Amy, we'll get him back," the blue hedgehog assured her, even as his own worry-levels were skyrocketing.
But what if they…"
"They're not going to hurt him, not yet anyway," Sonic reasoned. "This wasn't just a random attack. The Battle Birds were here waitin' for us. They planned this. My guess is they snagged Tails as a hostage or somethin' which means he's only valuable ta them while he's alive and healthy." Emerald eyes looked back towards Eggtopia where the massive flying fortress of the Imperial War Tengu still hovered. "My guess is Greenie took him there. And that's where I'm headed."
"I wouldn't advise that Sonic," the Captain of the Fremen said as he approached Sonic from his lifeboat. "G.U.N. will soon be made aware of this most egregious attack on one of their vessels and when that happens I doubt they'll waste much time preparing an appropriate response. Most likely that giant flying target the Battle Birds have brought with them will not be airborne for much longer."
"Isn't there supposed to be satellite surveillance of Eggtopia?" the hedgehog pointed out. Archer looked at him quizzically.
"Of course. I showed you the photos taken of Robotnik myself, didn't I?"
"Yeah, which means G.U.N. should already know about it and should at least being coordinating their other ships to do a rescue," Sonic responded, pointing to the other vessels in the area that were only just now starting to move towards the ailing Fremen. "My guess is the Battle Birds have knocked out all communications, made one big dead zone with that monster ship of theirs and all G.U.N. or any of the allied nations know is no one's talking."
"But then won't they just assume the worst and respond accordingly?" Amy asked. Big Blue only shook his head.
"If they knew Eggy was getting his butt handed to him by an invader, maybe; but all they have to go on is the possibility Eggman's started up his whole evil empire shtick again. And with a year to plan, or make allies," a pointed look was given to Archer, "nobodies' gonna be too eager to be the one to throw the first punch. My guess is it'll be hours before anyone realizes what's going on, and by then Eggman's defenses will be down and then…"
"Then we'll be right back where we started," Captain Archer concluded, "only with the expansionist War Tengu in command of Eggman's defenses and technology instead of the Doctor. Even if they could only be able to be on the defensive for a while, it wouldn't be long before they'd be launching attacks on everyone; with the forces to overwhelm us all before we could stop them."
"'Xactly," Sonic said, turning on a heel as he began to move towards the edge of the metal raft.
"Sonic, where are you going?" Amy called out, fearful her boyfriend was about to do something stupid. Her fears were not exactly allayed by the answer she received.
"I'm going back to Eggtopia. I'm going to see if I can help Eggman."
(12.25 years ago)
A black limo pulled up the hospital, pulling off to the side and as much out of the way as a vehicle of its size could.
"Looks like we're here, squirt," the driver, a cat named Stan (Stan the Man, Stan-Credible, Stan-Tastic, and so many others that Cervid had very nearly fired the Mobian for being too many people to count) as he got out of the car's driver's seat and jumped out. Quickly he moved over to the passenger's door and opened it, letting out his charge.
"Not likin' the new nickname, Stan," Sonic pointedly said as he hopped out of the limo, once more dressed in fancy clothes "Just call me Sonic, okay."
"Sure, sure," the cat said with a grin. "I'll be waitin' out here for you to get back, so take all the time you like." The hedgehog nodded as he headed into the hospital. Inside the sliding glass door stood the familiar figure of Mr. Cervid, hands clasped behind his back and stature so tight he might have been mistaken for a statue. The deer had practically moved into the hospital with his employer in order to make sure everything went smoothly, and Sonic felt a twinge of guilt that he hadn't been back to this place since his visit a few days ago.
Not that he hadn't been busy. Pretty much everyone he knew had been trying their hardest to keep his mind off what had happened. Mrs. Axelby had taken him to one of her very favorite plays, an old comedy involving a man pretending to be a foreigner as he stayed at a bed and breakfast in his own country. Ray had dragged him to a card tournament and even provided Sonic with a deck from the squirrel's collection so he could participate. Mighty and Carl had taken him to the arcade on their dime. And Sam and her friends had taken him to the mall for some shopping, which was where his present ensemble had come from. He had to admit, it was better looking than the sailor suit the girls had somehow managed to talk him into trying on. Sonic shuddered as he remembered the squeal of some pink girl hedgehog when she'd spotted him, shouting out that he "looks so KAWAI!"
Once Sonic got close enough, Cervid came to life, moving towards the hedgehog purposefully.
"Are we doing well today?" the deer asked cordially.
"'We' are fine," the hedgehog said back, smiling a bit as he tweaked the larger Mobian's all-too-formal mannerisms. Then he got serious. "What I'm worried about is how Dad's doing."
"Allow me to allay you fears then. Mr. Prower seems to be most fit and healthy. I'm told by Dr. Labris that, aside from a few explainable anomalies, all of Mr. Prower's test results came back negative. He should be quite able to be discharged today." Sonic breathed an internal sigh of relief as he followed the deer back to an elevator. "I should point out, however, that it would not be advisable for anyone to engage in any overly strenuous activities after being released from the hospital. It would be wise to allow your father time to rest and recuperate."
"Ah you worry too much," Sonic said, his normal high spirits once more returning to hum. "He's had days to rest in this place. Miles isn't gonna wanna lie around the house all day like some schlump." Very soon they were in the hall leading up to Miles's room. Inside the hedgehog could hear the sound of the fox's voice as he conversed with someone else, most likely Dr. Labris. Unable to contain himself, Sonic opened the door and skip-jumped onto the bed, wrapping his arms around the vulpine's chest in a tight hug, glad Miles had been pronounced okay.
It was only a second or so later that he realized that, while his arms indeed held his father tightly, the hug had not yet been returned. This was odd if only for the fact that Miles Prower was a very affectionate Mobian by nature. It was not in his nature to not return a hug from someone close to him. Curious, Sonic looked up to see what was wrong, only to catch a peculiar look on Miles's face as the fox quizzically looked down at him.
"Uh, I'm sorry little boy, but is there a reason you're hugging me?" Miles asked. The hedgehog's eyebrows moved in confusion, surprised at the question and wondering where it had come from. Deciding this was simply the fox indulging in his somewhat weird sense of humor, the boy let out a short laugh.
"Come on, it's me, Sonic." When this failed to remove the confused look from the fuzzy face, the hedgehog in question added, "your son." Miles shook his head, blinking a bit.
"Son?" he asked, and then let out a nervous chuckle. "I'm sorry, but you must be mistaken. I've been considering adopting yes, but I haven't actually gone through with it." Behind Sonic both Labris and Cervid shot alarmed looks at each other.
"Mr. Prower, young Olgilvie… young Sonic has been living with you for a little over two years now. You adopted him personally from Green Hill Orphanage," the deer pointed out. "I witnessed the signing of the papers myself."
"I… I did?" Miles asked; his paw going to his head as his eyes closed. A worried Sonic craned his neck around to keep looking into the fox's face, trying to figure out himself what was wrong with his father. "Yes… Yes, I did. That odious little toady Price kept trying to prove I wasn't fit to be a parent, didn't she?" Furry hands gently but urgently moved Sonic aside as Doctor Labris moved in. Carefully the wolf doctor lifted the fox's head and stared into his eyes.
"Interesting…" Labris commented.
"What happened?" Sonic demanded. "What's wrong with him? Why didn't he remember me?"
"That's what I'd like to know too," a concerned Miles Prower seconded as his doctor's hands began to rove gently over his head.
"I'm not entirely sure," he admitted. "Are you having any trouble remembering anything else? Cervid? Myself?"
"I know both of you! I knew you both the moment you came in, but I couldn't even place Sonic's name!"
"All right, all right, calm down."
"What about your friend, Mrs. Axelby?" Mr. Cervid suggested. "Or Dr. Scranton?
"Yes and yes on both counts," responded the fox irritably.
"What about Mighty, or Ray or Carl?" Sonic asked, wishing he knew more prominent names to test out.
"… yes." The hedgehog's ears drooped a bit, not liking that his father seemed to remember Sonic's friends but not Sonic himself. It was Cervid who also reacted, his eyebrow cocking in response to the pause he'd heard before his employer had answered.
"Sir, what do you remember about the Gravity Drive?" he asked
"It's a machine we're developing in our labs," Miles responded. "It counters the force of gravity to allow a vehicle to float in the air with minimum energy expenditure. We're supposed to show it off to G.U.N. in a few weeks." Cervid let out a grumbling sigh as he looked back at Labris/
"And tell me, you've said that you remember Dr. Scranton. Do you know that he no longer works for Prower Aerodynamic?"
"He doesn't? Did he quit or…" Again the paw went to the head, "no… no I… I fired him. Threatened to kill him and had him thrown in jail because… because he helped Kukku steal the GD. And I fought Kukku to get it back… no, I fought him to get Sonic back, didn't I?" Miles looked up at his assistant. "How much more have I forgotten?"
"From the sounds of it, it appears you've forgotten the better part of the last two years," the deer said. "How that happened I have no idea? Labris?"
"I'm not sure. There's no sign of any sort of trauma, just like when we checked you out when you came in."
"But, if he forgot everything from two years, how come he remembered my friends but not me?" Sonic asked. Cervid's hand gripped his long chin.
"I'd wager once he remembered you, your friends were easy enough." Labris removed his hand from Miles's head, biting down on his left index finger, a sure sign the wolf was puzzled. "As to what caused your lapse in memory though, I've not the foggiest. You certainly had no trouble remembering who Sonic was a few days ago."
"Is it possible the tests missed something, Doctor?" Cervid asked. Still the wolf bit his finger.
"Anything's possible, but we were as thorough as possible with Miles. I did everything short of performing an exploratory." Worry crossed Labris's face as he considered all the possibilities. "Miles, I'd like to keep you for a bit more observation."
"More tests?" the fox asked. "Do you really think that would help?"
"I wasn't comfortable letting you go before we knew if anything was wrong with you, and I'm certainly not interested in letting you loose if you're experiencing memory loss." Sonic's face fell at the news his father would not be leaving today, but he was not foolish enough to give voice to his disappointment, particularly if something was really wrong with the vulpine.
"What about that green mist?" he asked, his voice hopeful. "The stuff that knocked him out. Could that have been what caused him to forget about me?"
"Well, we tested the residue we found on the glass, but…"
"But?"
"All we found was… well, crud," Labris admitted. "There were a few compounds of course, but nothing that isn't found in abundance in city air. Certainly nothing that should have been able to knock Miles out. Everything else was just, odds and ends. Leftover proteins, half-formed chemical chains; just junk." Again the finger went to the mouth. "I'd honestly thought after finding that out you're fainting spell was merely from you overworking yourself." Labris stood up now, his brow furrowed as he moved towards the door. "Don't worry Miles, we'll find the cause of this."