Sonic and the others journey to London again and wait for Tom to wake up properly - all of them hiding injuries of various severity.
They stayed in the cornfield for a while.
Sonic wasn't sure how long they were still, how long they were silent. Nobody knew how to approach the situation that they'd just been in - how could they? It was a literal once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. There was a reason why space travel was so beholden to the eye - so celebrated when executed right. All of them were burned to a certain degree, there was no doubt about that. Sonic couldsmellthe singed fur - and it wasn't a smell he'd ever forget. He remembered once when Ozzy got his tail a little singed on a campfire, and it smelled the same.
Burning.
He turned from his standing stance, gazing in the direction of Green Hills. Tails shifted behind and Knuckles hummed lowly. "We should begin to journey to the guardian. We are in the old farmer's field - at least a two-hour walk away. Should we want to get to the Donut Lord before dark, we should begin our journey now." Sonic gazed upwards at the sky, sighing silently. "London is seven hours ahead of us, Knuckles. We're probably better off holding out for a bit and letting it get to morning there." Tails spoke up for the first time in a while. "What's the time there then?" Sonic asked quietly. Tails was quiet for a moment. "Just gone midnight. We could nap at Wade's for a few hours. Visiting hours start at eight in the hospital. We could leave here at one. Early start, but then we're there for Dad." Tails stood, sheathing his machine.
Knuckles grunted. "I agree with the fox. We shall begin our journey. Come. We must persevere."Easier said than done for you guys.Sonic thought bitterly. He stayed quiet, taking stock of the general numbness he was feeling. That'd hurt when he came out of the shock. "Let's go then. I wanna sleep before we see Dad..." Sonic sniffed the air slightly playfully near Tails, trying to drag a smile out of the nine-year-old. "And shower. You stink." Tails snickered softly, shoving Sonic's shoulder. It hurt, but he played it off.
They slowly made their way to Wade's house from old farmer Joe's cornfield, barely being held together by spite and willpower. Sonic noticed that Knuckles was, by far, the most unscraped of them all. He lagged at the back, stating that he didn't know how towalkto Wade's, and that it'd be easier to follow. Tails's brow had furrowed in uncertainty, whereas Knuckles' face brightened. "Ah yes. I am the leader. Follow me. I shall lead the charge to the guardian's den!" So, Sonic walked at the back with Tails in the middle and Knuckles at the front.
Sonic took stock.
Sure, he doesn't usually take stock. Only when heknowshe'd fucked up... usually after a fight with Eggman, to be fair. There was a joke or theme there, but he was too tired to work it out. Taking stock was something that LongclawandTom had drilled into him, to be honest. If you took stock of immediate injuries/ailments, you could plan your next steps accordingly. He made an imaginary notepad in his mind and jotted down his findings.
Knuckles.
1st degree burns across his stomach.
Severe bruising across his back.
Possible concussion.
Big head syndrome.
Ok, so that last one wasn't a current ailment, but it still counted.
Tails.
1st to 2nd degree burns across his stomach.
Moderate bruising.
Likely concussion.
Me.
Everything broken.
Everything hurts.
Ow.
Yeah. His stock take wasawesome.In all seriousness, he knew he was badly injured. His head pounded with every step he took in tandem with his heart threatening to beat out of his chest, which was so burned, it looked like one of Knuckles' dishonoured marshmallows - but thank god he had thicker fur than Tails and Knuckles. They didn't need to see it. He was surprised they couldn't smell it, to be honest. But maybe their sense of smell wasn't as refined as Sonic's - they were, after all, different species. Sure, they were all born on Mobius, but like how the Chinese are different to the British, who are different to the Africans, they were all different.
Knuckles' tribe were hidden in the Northern part of Mobius, Tails came from the Eastern parts, Sonic was from the Southern parts, and the Western side of the planet remained a neutral ground for those who wished to either run from their tribe or go into hiding. Each tribe had their mini tribes within, but that was the consensus.
He realised, rather abruptly, as he tripped over a ledge in the town of Green Hills, that he'd rambled within his mind and walked nearly an hour and a half, stuck in the crevices of his fucked up brain. Tails grabbed his arm with an exclamation. "Sonic, are you sure you're ok?" Sonic ground his teeth to stop himself from baring them. He hurt, and Tails' grab, whilst it helped prevent his faceplant into the ground, it still hurt. "Yeah, I'm ok. I was daydreaming, it was my own fault."
Tails hummed and opted to walk next to him.
Sonic wilted in relief as Wade's house came into view.
"We are here." Knuckles announced, rapping on the garage door in a weird pattern. Sonic blinked away some sudden spots in his vision, leaning against the wall in a display of casualness - but if he didn't have some kind of solid support, he was gonna topple. Must be the adrenaline crash. The garage door whipped open - revealing Wade in all his glory... in a pink dressing gown. Sonic coughed to avoid laughing. It pulled on his sore face, but the sight was funny.
"Guardian Wade. We have come to humbly request some shelter and one of the emergency rings. We need to journey to London in - how long, fox?" Knuckles greeted. "Five hours. We're gonna be leaving here at one am. It'll be about eight in the morning there." Tails supplied. Wade winced. "Ooo. One am get-ups areNOTfun. Well, my mom's staying so you can camp in the garage if you want. I'll leave the ring on the unit for you guys." Wade turned to leave. "Oh, and say hello to Tom and Maddie for me." He grinned.
Knuckles let them into the Wade Cave, gesturing to various piles of blankets. "I had the guardian construct beds of rest designed for our skeletal system, so when we rest, we achieve ultimate strength. Come. We will be safe. Let us sleep until it is time to leave."
Knuckles didn't have to say much more, for Sonic had drifted over to a mostly blue bundle of blankets and collapsed into it immediately.
London Bridge Hospital - 9:03 AM.
Tom shifted as he woke up, a weird heavy feeling on his body. When he'd woken up yesterday, he'd felt stiff, sure, but not heavy. Maybe he'd somehow messed up his ribs overnight. For god's sake, he wasnevergonna get back home at this rate. He shifted upwards, thankful for the morphine drip. Maddie sat by the window, on her phone. He blinked a few more times as his eyes adjusted to the world again. In Maddie's lap, lay a furry yellow creature. "S'that Tails?" He mumbled quietly, his throat sore from lack of use. Maddie glanced up with a soft smile. She stroked his head. "Yeah. They came through a ring about an hour ago and crashed immediately. It's pretty early back home, so they're probably exhausted." It was then, that Tom noticed Knuckles sitting in the chair that Maddie usually had - head dropped into his chest, fast asleep. "He wanted to stay awake for you, but as soon as the others crashed, he did too, bless him."
Tom then glanced down. "Is that why my legs are covered by a nice new blue blanket?" He tried to make a funny. Maddie snorted. "Sonic was the first to crash. He beelined for you, quizzed the poor nurses for ten minutes, then curled up and fell asleep. I think he missed you." Tom snorted lightly, reaching to caress Sonic behind the ears. He mumbled something in sleep, his ears twitching. "Really?" He joked. Maddie chuckled. "At least they're all safe again." She resumed her stroking of Tails.
Despite her words, Tom couldn't help but feel something was very wrong - with all of them. Particularly Sonic, who looked like he'dliterallycrashed on his bed, limbs askew. Tom opted to hum instead. "Yeah. I'm glad they're ok." His gaze lingered on Sonic's burned out shoes.
Odd.