-Chapter 118-

Rebuilding


Knothole

In the aftermath of Perfect Chaos' attack, the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix divided their time between helping clean up the city and setting up a Chao Garden on Angel Island. In the middle of Azure Lake, Chaos' egg was set out on a rock in the water like a holy relic. More and more Chao showed up at the lake, drawn to the egg like moths to a flame. Their presence helped to calm even the most anxious of the group, which included both Sonic and Hope. Sonic was beginning to feel overwhelmed from the amount of damage caused by the flood and Chaos' attack, and Hope had yet to find any trace of her grandmother. Because of his anxiety, Sonic decided to take a break, popping into the Knothole lab for a breather. To his surprise, Chris and Keith were working on repairing none other than Gamma, giving the former Badnik a tune-up, as well as the Freedom Fighter's insignia to cover his Robotnik symbol.

"How's that look, Gamma?" Chris asked.

"Excellent," Gamma replied. "Thank you."

"I remember you," Sonic piped up. "The good Badnik Amy and Cream stood up for."

"Isn't that an oxymoron?" Keith asked.

"Maybe…" Chris scratched his head. "So would that make him a Goodnik?"

"Whatever works," Sonic decided. "So what's he doing here?"

"This unit was tasked with collecting a new symbol to prevent unnecessary deactivation from Freedom Fighter supporters," Gamma explained. "As well as the transport and containment of Robian C-001."

The last part got Sonic's attention. "Say what?"

"Over here, Sonic," Hope said.

He turned towards a work table that was covered by a white tarp. Hope was standing next to it, tool box in hand as she prepared to work. Sonic approached, and Hope whipped off the tarp. His jaw dropped at the sight of Uncle Chuck strapped to the table, currently inactive.

"Uncle Chuck...?! But... how? When?"

They heard the door open, turning to see Amy and Cream enter.

"We found him on the Egg Carrier while searching for Lily's family," Cream explained.

"Gamma helped us bring him back here, and has been on guard to contain him in the event he wakes up," Amy added. "Between cleaning up Station Square and managing the Azure Lake Garden, we haven't really had time to tell you."

"I've been working on repairing him as best I can," Hope included. "He's suffered a lot of damage thanks to the crash, which is why his systems knocked him offline. But don't worry, I'll have him functional in no time. Who knows, maybe while I'm working, I can figure out what makes Robians tick and bring the real Uncle Chuck to the surface. Aurora knows we could use his 'Uncle to Many' attitude right about now."

Sonic said nothing, looking him over before turning to Amy. He slowly approached before pulling her into a hug.

"Thank you, Amy…" he let out happily. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

Amy paused before returning the hug. "Cream deserves one of those too."

Sonic wasted no time giving Cream a hug as well.

"You too," he pulled away, tapping her badge. "You definitely earned this."

Cream smiled at the praise. That's when a knock came to the door. Sonic opened it, seeing Sam standing there.

"Oh hey," he greeted. "Sam, right? James' kid?"

Sam nodded. "Is… Hope here?"

"In here," Hope replied. "What's up?"

Sam looked up as her, his face portraying nothing but sympathy and remorse.

"I… need you to come with me," he told her. "And… bring as many of your friends as you can."

Everyone began slowly setting their tools down, the tone of the room dropping.


Area 99

At Area 99, the Freedom Fighters were led along. Dr. Bennett led Sam and Hope into a room, which much to Hope's horror was a morgue. A body laid on a table, covered with a sheet. The girl's blood ran cold as Sarah took hold of the sheet, nothing but sympathy and compassion on her face for Hope.

"I'm so sorry about this, but…" she began, "Can you identify this woman as Agnes Hopkins, your grandmother?"

She pulled back the sheet, revealing the pale face and closed eyes of none other than Agnes. Hope's hands went to her mouth with a gasp, and she gave a broken nod before just dropping to her knees. Sam caught her as she fell, pulling her into a hug.

"I'm sorry…" he told her softly.

Hope just buried her face into his chest and wept openly. Sam fought back tears himself, while Sarah looked on, wishing there was something she could do to ease the girl's pain.

-X-

Some time later, Hope and Sam exited. Hope's red eyes and tear-stained cheeks told the Freedom Fighters all they needed to know. The kids rushed to Hope's side, just holding her and letting her cry. Cream even gave Cheese to Hope, hoping the Chao would help soothe her. The rest of the group looked on in sorrow and empathy. Sonic began sparking at the sight and realization, breathing heavily, before he spun around and slammed his fist into the wall behind him, screaming in rage and anguish.

"Sonic?" Sally piped up, turning to him.

"I- I gotta go," Sonic insisted. "I can't stay here…"

He zoomed out fast.

"Sonic, wait!" Tails cried. "Come back!"

But he was already gone.


Station Square

The funeral was a small affair, Agnes buried alongside Hope's mother and father. The Freedom Fighters were there, alongside the kids and their families. Nelson and Lindsey were both standing with Hope, keeping their hands on the girl's shoulders. As Agnes' coffin was buried, Hope looked away, tears in her eyes, and perked to see Eggatha standing under a tree dressed in black, an umbrella over her head and Coco by her side. Despite the pain she was in, knowing her cousin risked exposure to offer support made Hope feel a little better. She wiped her eyes and gave a tiny wave, Eggatha returning it.

From a distance away, Sonic stood off from the others, unable to look Hope in the eye. Sally came up to him, gently taking his hand. Sonic hesitated before squeezing hers.

"I failed… again," he let out.

"No…" Sally shook her head. "Sonic, please. Don't do that to yourself."

"It's true, Sal," Sonic lamented. "I failed, and Hope paid the price. She and Aurora knows how many others. I failed to stop Chaos in time, and because of that-"

He choked, tears in his eyes.

"Sonic…" Sally let out.

Sonic turned away, getting to his feet.

"I have work to do…"

Before Sally could stop him, he darted off. She sighed before joining the others.

"Where's Sonic?" Chris asked.

"It was too much for him," Sally replied. "No doubt he went to help rescue efforts."

"Is he gonna be okay?"

"I'm not sure," Sally answered. "He's reverting to how he was after the first Death Egg. He made so much progress. He was finally getting better, and now…"

"Guess the city isn't the only thing that needs rebuilding," Chris sighed. "Sonic's confidence... and Hope's happiness."

He rubbed his face. "Are we sure we won this time?"

"If you're asking me 'Did the good guys win?'" Sally said. "Yes, the good guys won, Chris. But... I'll have to get back to you on whether or not it was worth it."

Hope said nothing, looking down at Agnes' grave. Lindsey placed her hands on her shoulders.

"I can't imagine what you're going through right now, darling," she said. "Do you... have a place to stay at the moment?"

"There's some bunks in Knothole," Hope replied. "It's where I've been crashing."

"Well, how about coming home with us?" Nelson offered. "What you need is somewhere you can mourn in peace, and some home-cooked food from Ella will help."

Hope thought it over for a moment or two. She turned back, nodding.

"Thank you, Mr. Thorndyke," she said gratefully.

"Whatever you need, we'll do our best to help," Lindsey assured. "We promise."


Knothole

Over the next few days, Hope acclimated to life at the Thorndyke Mansion, finding an escape from her grief through working on different projects. That left the others free to worry about Sonic, who's every waking moment seemed to be centered around helping clean up Station Square and finding any survivors. He barely took time to eat and rest, and it was only getting worse. In desperation, Sally called for a meeting.

"We need to talk about Sonic," she said. "Ever since Agnes' funeral, he's been on the move non-stop."

"I swear, I'm half tempted to bop him upside the head so he'll pass out long enough to get some frickin' sleep," Knuckles admitted.

"He's gonna run himself to death if this keeps up," Tails added.

"But what can we do?" Mina asked. "You guys know how stubborn Sonic can be. We tried an intervention once, before the Metamorphia stuff, and it didn't work."

"Which is why this time, we're going to hit the crux of the problem: his perceived failure," Sally declared. "He thinks he failed because of what happened to Agnes. We need to show him he's wrong. Or, more appropriately, Kat and Hope are going to show him."

Kat and Hope exchanged looks at that.

"Us?" Hope asked.

"Sonic's issues all started when he failed to save Kat and her village from the first Death Egg, and it's come full circle with you," Sally explained. "You two are the only ones who can make him see the truth."

"I've already spiked his chili dogs with a sedative," Tails piped up. "He won't be running for a bit. Not until feeling returns to his legs. If you're gonna talk to him, now's the time."

Kat let out a breath. "You up for this, Hope?"

"I am," Hope nodded. "Sonic needs to know what happened to my granny isn't his fault in the slightest."

"Agreed," said Kat. "And I need to make him see the same about my old home."

Hand in hand, the two girls made for Sonic's room. He was laying on the bed, poking his legs and barely feeling anything.

"I should've known something was up when Tails made those chili dogs," he grumbled. "That little sneak slipped me a mickey!"

He turned when the doors opened, allowing the two girls entry.

"Sonic, we need to talk," Hope told him.

Sonic looked between the two and sighed. "Well, since my legs still feel like jello, I guess I don't have much say in the matter."

"No, not really," Kat confirmed. "I'm gonna be blunt, Sonic. None of this is your fault."

Sonic opened his mouth to object, but Hope raised a hand.

"What happened to Grandma isn't your fault and never was," she insisted. "I don't blame you, Sonic. Not one bit."

"And what I told you last year about the Death Egg, I was way out of line," Kat included. "I was wrong and I am sorry I ever made you feel like that. I was hurt. I was grieving. I wasn't thinking straight. But it's no excuse for what I did."

"And I never blamed you for my grandma," Hope went on. "Honestly... I've blamed myself. I'm the one who smashed the Nullifier Eggman was using to control Chaos. I freed him in the first place. If anyone's to blame for what happened to Station Square... it's me, not you."

"Hope, you didn't even know what it was," Sonic pointed out. "You had no way of knowing what would happen."

"And neither did you," Hope countered. "What happened to me, to us, it's not your fault."

"Eggman destroyed my village," Kat went on. "Eggman killed my people."

"Eggman unleashed Chaos," Hope insisted. "Eggman killed my grandma. He's the only one to blame for everything that's happened. All you've done is try to stop him and save as many people as you can."

"You're not gonna save everyone, it's just not possible," Kat added. "But you'll save more people if you take care of yourself and let people help you."

Sonic sighed. "I get what you're saying, believe me. But plenty of people are still in Station Square, trapped in rubble and the like. What am I supposed to do, just leave it?"

"No, of course not," Hope clarified. "But you need to get yourself in order first. You've been pushing yourself to the limit with barely any food or sleep. Have you even seen yourself in the mirror lately?"

Kat went and pulled the mirror off the wall, holding it in front of Sonic. His quills were dull, matted, and dirty, his face was gaunt and sunken in, and he had bags under his eyes that almost looked like bruises. He took one look and turned away in disgust.

"You ever think of what would happen if crap could eat and crap stuff out?" he asked. "Pretty sure that's what I look like right now."

"Accurate," Kat agreed as she put the mirror back.

"The sedative will wear off in a few more hours," Hope told him. When it does, shower, and eat something properly. Otherwise, Tails will drug you again."

"Okay, you win," Sonic conceded. "Now that you mention it, I've been feeling pretty... bleh."

"So…" Kat began. "Are you good?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Sonic assured. "To be honest, that's just what I needed to hear."

He pulled off his sneakers, setting them by the bed. As he curled up to get some much needed sleep, the girls vacated the room, sharing a high five.

"We should've done that a long time ago," Hope remarked.

"Agreed," Kat nodded.

The two left him to rest, confident that this time, they had finally gotten through to him.


Author's Note:

*sniff* Poor Hope... But at least she and Sonic are on their way to healing.

Please R&R. Until next time!