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He woke up exhausted.
It wasn’t just the kind of fatigue that lingers after sleeping. It wasn’t the kind that faded away after moving around and waking up more. It was the kind that made his bones ache and feel heavy, his limbs weighted down, his head refusing to lift no matter how much effort he put into it. It made him want to sink back into the weightless darkness that crept into his senses and tried to drag him down.
“His heart rate just sped up,” a voice said, but it sounded muffled and far away, like he was underwater. “Could he be waking?”
“Hard to tell,” another voice replied. It sounded louder when it continued, “Sonic? Can you hear me?”
His mind whirled with confusion. Sleep sounded really nice. So he let himself go.
He only had one thought as drifted off.
Who was Sonic?
The next time he woke up, he was still exhausted, but it was lighter somehow. His body didn’t feel so heavy. He was able to open his eyes, only to wince when blinding light stabbed at his pupils. He tried to drag an arm over his face only to discover that it did not want to move.
“Sonic?” That was a new voice, not like the ones before. “How do you feel?”
His eyes adjusted to the light, which really wasn’t very bright at all. He was laying on his back on a soft mattress, slightly elevated, surrounded by a wall of curtain and wires hooked up to his body. Standing by his side was a purple cat with a red gem in her forehead and amber eyes watching him with concern.
“Mm. Tired,” he slurred to answer her question. He squinted as he studied her. “D’ I know y’u?”
The cat’s eyes went wide, then narrowed. “My name is Blaze,” she told him instead of replying. “Do you know your name?”
He glanced up at the ceiling as his foggy mind tried to come up with an answer. “Y’u called m’ Sonic,” he answered. “’s that it?”
Blaze didn’t reply for a moment, but then nodded. “Yes. Your name is Sonic.”
“’s cool.” Sonic yawned. “’m tired.”
“Before you rest again,” Blaze’s voice came again, and only then did Sonic realize his eyes had closed. “Do you know how you got here?”
Sonic let out a small hum. The fog persisted over his brain, suffocating his thoughts and memories, leaving him with nothing to go off of. Just a feeling of fire. “Nope.”
Blaze sighed slowly. “Very well. Rest now. We shall talk later.” It sounded like an order. Sonic didn’t care much. When he wasn’t so tired, he would do whatever the cat wanted.
After all, it wasn’t like he could remember what he was supposed to be doing anyway.
He was getting tired of the doctors poking at him.
When he’d woken for a third and final time, Blaze was gone, and the doctors were there. They thankfully removed the wires attached to him, but then they asked so many questions and shone a light in his eyes and made him walk around and took his blood pressure and—
Well, needless to say, he was sick of it.
“Are we done?” He complained, shifting restlessly. He felt this growing urge to escape the building and run around.
“Almost,” one of the doctors replied, and Sonic groaned in annoyance.
His quills subconsciously went stiff when the doctors touched him, even briefly. He couldn’t explain it. He just knew that he shouldn’t touch anyone. That was bad. The more they did it, the more his skin itched.
Finally, the doctors finished whatever they were doing. Sonic eagerly jumped to his feet and prepared to run out into the halls. “Wait!” One of them called after him.
But he was gone, leaving only a whirl of wind behind.
He realized very quickly that he had no idea which way was out.
Anxiousness to escape the confines of the building and breathe fresh air started to grow. His running became more erratic and panicked. His breathing picked up. He had to get out, now, before he ran into someone and got trapped and couldn’t escape—!
He skidded to a halt moments before he would’ve crashed into Blaze.
The cat stood calmly in the middle of the hallway, hands clasped behind her back. A koala standing just behind her flinched back in surprise, but Blaze didn’t move.
“Blaze!” Sonic greeted, forcing cheer into his voice, when internally he was itching to escape. “Please tell me you know the way out of here.”
Blaze smiled, but the koala by her side bristled. “That is not how you speak to the princess, you—”
“It is quite alright, Gardon,” Blaze chuckled. Sonic’s brow pinched at the title. Princess? She hadn’t mentioned that. Why would she hide that? “Sonic, follow me, and I will lead you outside. You look restless.”
“Very,” he replied with a strained laugh. He eyed the koala, Gardon, then returned his attention to Blaze. “I don’t get it. Why do I need to get outside?”
Blaze sighed fondly. “You are a free spirit, Sonic,” she replied. “Keeping you inside for long is an impossible task.”
That made no sense to him, nor how she knew that. But he didn’t question it. He still had no memories and no way to know what was true or not.
They finally reached the front entrance, and Sonic immediately relaxed at the sight of the blue sky and the warm blanket of sunlight that hit his body. He closed his eyes briefly with a deep inhale of fresh air. He felt his anxiety immediately start to melt away.
“This island is safe,” Blaze told him. “You are free to run wherever you would like.”
Sonic beamed and took off.
The wind through his quills felt amazing after being inside for so long. Two days, the doctors told him. He’d slept for two days. And now he needed to run.
The island became a blur as his feet carried him away from the building and into the wilderness. Trees and mountains and rivers flew around him, and his anxiousness continued to flood out of him. He was outside, unrestrained, unburdened, alone.
Eventually, he felt a lingering tiredness creeping into his body. He found a cliff overlooking a lake and settled with his feet handing over the edge and leaning back on his hands. He tilted his face up to the sun, eyes closed, and basked in the warmth.
And yet, despite the heat from the sun, a shiver wracked his body. It felt like a deep chill that settled into his bones and took a long time to get rid of, like he’d been outside in the snow for too long and gotten too cold. But he’d been inside and under blankets for days. He shouldn’t feel cold.
Sonic huffed and stood, shaking himself. He was overthinking. That was all he could do. He didn’t remember anything before he woke up. His head was a mess of fog and thoughts.
He should return to Blaze. She’d shown him kindness and hospitality. The least he could do was not leave her wondering where he was.
His trip back to the palace lasted ten seconds. Blaze and Gardon had not moved, as if expecting him back. Blaze smiled warmly when Sonic reappeared, as if she could tell that he felt better after the run. Perhaps she could.
“Shall we talk now, Sonic?” Blaze asked. “Perhaps over tea?”
“Sounds good,” Sonic agreed, understanding that her request was more of an order now that he knew she was a princess.
Blaze led him to a table on the patio of the building—which was actually a grand palace. No wonder the halls had seemed endless when he was running around before. The teapot was already steaming with two mugs ready to go. Clearly this had been Blaze’s plan for a while.
She took her seat, Gardon by her side, and Sonic sat on the other side of the table. Blaze poured them both a cup of tea, which he graciously sipped at. The warm drink felt good.
“How was your run, Sonic?” Blaze started. She leaned back in her chair but kept a critical eye on the blue hedgehog.
“Felt good,” he replied easily, relaxing back into the armrest.
Blaze’s eyes narrowed, just a fraction. “And how do you feel?”
“Is there a way I should be feeling?” Sonic answered with a question.
The princess shrugged. “Perhaps. Perhaps not. I am simply trying to figure out the best way to help you.”
Sonic tilted his head. “I felt anxious until I went running. Now I feel fine.”
Blaze nodded in understanding. “I am not surprised. How about your memories? Is anything returning?”
Sonic grimaced. Truthfully, the fog was starting to annoy him. He didn’t like that Blaze knew more about him than he did. “No. All I can recall is a sense of falling and fire. Golden fire, maybe.”
He didn’t know what reaction he expected, but Blaze nodding thoughtfully was not one of them. She leaned over to Gardon and whispered something. The koala nodded and hurried off, and Blaze returned her attention to Sonic. “Here is what I have gathered, Sonic.” He perked up; perhaps Blaze could tell him what happened before he woke up. “You crash-landed in my garden two days ago, uninjured but exhausted. From that, as well as your anxiousness and speaking of golden fire, I believe something happened in your world that required…drastic measures.”
Sonic stared at her for a long moment, shocked. Her expression was grim, even nervous, but he couldn’t really tell. He set down his tea cup and leaned forward. “‘My world’?” He questioned. “You mean I’m not from here?”
“Far from it,” Blaze replied. “This is the Sol Dimension. Your home is Mobius. Your friends are all there, not here.” She sipped her tea with a fond smile. “Except me.”
So they were friends. That made sense, Sonic supposed. It explained why Blaze was waiting for him to wake up, and how she seemed very tolerant of his informal language when he spoke to her. And how she seemed to know him so well.
He was about to ask who his friends were when Gardon reappeared, pushing a cart with a glass-lidded box on it.
“Are you sure this will work, Your Highness?” Gardon asked, eyeing Sonic. The hedgehog’s ears perked and he watched with interest.
“No,” Blaze replied, setting her cup down and rising to her feet. “But I have faith in the power of the Sol Emeralds.” She beckoned to Sonic. “We must find a better place to try this. Come.”
She grabbed the box and began walking towards a pathway overlooking the valley. Sonic followed with a relaxed stretch, curious as to what was going on. Blaze said nothing on the way over, but her tail flicked anxiously. Clearly, this was a much more dire situation than Sonic was giving credit.
When they reached a part of the path that had no trees, people, or decorations near it, Blaze stopped. Sonic leaned against the railing as he gazed over the valley while Blaze gingerly set the box down and unlatched the lid. He took a deep breath of fresh air, relishing the feel of breeze ruffling his fur. He took another breath, and—was that smoke?
A bright light flashed behind Sonic. He whirled around and his eyes went wide at the sight of seven emeralds circling around Blaze, lighting her hair, hands, and feet on fire.
“May the power of the Sol Emeralds help you to remember!” Blaze cried, hovering above the ground. “Gaze into the sacred fire and have it fuel the winds of your spirit! Recall our past adventures, recall the good you have done! Return to us! Return to the hero I know you to be!”
“What are you talking about?” Sonic demanded. “Why are you on fire?”
Before Sonic could move, the fire washed around him.
“And why…” he froze. The fire didn’t burn him, and in the flames, he saw…faces. “Why is it so familiar?” His voice trailed off to a whisper at the end as he stared into the images as if in a trance.
He saw himself, but he looked different. His fur glowed gold, and his quills stood upright. He held a gemstone in one hand, but it looked weird. It had a spiral pattern on it, and black dots danced around its oval form. His other hand reached skyward.
He saw another golden figure. This one looked kind of like him, with different quills. His hands had a cyan glow around them. Down on the ground, something liquid and shiny rose from multicolored ambling figures.
He saw a two-tailed fox—Tails, that was his brother—kneeling on the ground, arms wrapped around his head, his tails glinting strangely. Metallically. “Sonic, please…” the fox pleaded, his voice broken. “Sonic!”
“Tails!” Sonic cried, reaching towards the fire for his brother.
But his image vanished, replaced with an exhausted pink hedgehog. The same metal was spreading over her face. Not some metal—the virus. Sonic remembered. It was a virus.
He whirled around, heart pounding. He saw Knuckles desperately fighting as the virus consumed him. He saw Tangle slowly succumbing to the infection as she bravely held back her corrupted neighbors. He saw little Cream in Gemerl’s arms as her small form quickly fell to the virus. He saw his rival and friend Shadow infected as the zombots overwhelmed him by sheer numbers as the hedgehog held them off so Sonic could get away. He saw himself, mostly covered by the metal substance, fighting tooth and nail to keep it from fully corrupting his body, but it was painful and exhausting.
“No, no, no!” Sonic pulled at his quills as blood roared in his ears. “No, we—we succeeded, we did, I know we did—!”
The flames died away, but not before Sonic saw one more face—Tails again, shaking, scared tears pooling in his eyes, ears flat, as he pleaded for Sonic to save them.
Sonic’s knees gave out. The memories roared into his mind like a flood. He was a liability—any touch he gave or took made the infection worse. He was exhausted. He could do nothing but run, and he hadn’t slept in days, and everyone needed him, and he was failing, because this was his fault, wasn’t it? Espio and Shadow were right. If he’d just dealt with Mr. Tinker, none of this would’ve happened, everyone would be safe and healthy, and they could relax together after defeating Eggman and Infinite from their rule, and they would all be okay—
But, no, he’d destroyed it, right? He’d fixed it! He and Silver had gone super and removed all of the metal virus from the world. He’d dumped it straight into the sun. Right? Did they really get it all? Silver said he couldn’t sense any more, but what if there was even a drop left? Then it would happen again, and he wasn’t strong enough to stop it—
He didn’t know if they were okay. He didn’t know if Tails was still himself, or if he’d turned into a zombot. He didn’t know—he didn’t know, he didn’t know—!
“Sonic? Sonic, breathe.” Someone was gently holding his hands in front of him, and as soon as he registered the contact, he jerked away. No, no, no—he couldn’t spread the virus—he couldn’t touch anyone—
“You’re safe, Sonic,” came the muffled voice. “Whatever happened is done. You’re okay.”
Sonic scratched at his arms. He could still feel the virus. He could sense it creeping up his body, slowly converting him to a machine, cold, it was so cold, and painful, his veins turning into circuits and his fur to metal, as he lost feeling and his body went numb little by little, and it was so hard to take a single step let alone run it off, it would be so easy to just let it take over and the pain would go away—
His chest hurt. He was dimly aware that he was hyperventilating. It didn’t really matter. He couldn’t focus. His heart pounded and bile rose in the back of his throat. The virus—the lost cities, the millions corrupted and families split apart, children watching their parents get infected right in front of them, friends torn away—it was too much, he didn’t even know if he succeeded or if he failed, if he was hiding in Blaze’s world while his fell silent as the virus consumed everything. Just like Silver said it would.
“Five things you can see,” Blaze’s faraway voice commanded. “Focus, Sonic. Five things you can see.”
The hedgehog struggled to lift his head. His vision was blurry from tears and his body shook like a leaf. There was a purple blob in front of him, close but not touching. “B-Blaze,” Sonic rasped out. “I-I need to g-get back.”
“And you will,” Blaze promised, “but only when you are ready.” Her amber eyes bored into his. “Now, five things you can see.”
Sonic knew what she was doing. He’d done it with Tails. Tails had done it with him. He could do this. “Y-you,” Sonic choked. “T-trees. Stone. S-sky. Grass.”
“Good,” Blaze praised, and Sonic dropped his gaze, wrapping his arms around himself. “Four things you can feel.”
Sonic shivered. “S-stone. Wind. Sun. Fire…?” His breath stuttered and he coughed harshly.
Blaze smiled, even though Sonic wasn’t looking. “Three things you can hear.”
“You,” Sonic replied once the coughing had lessened. Thankfully, after that, he was noticeably no longer breathing too fast. “Wind. Birds.”
“Two things you can smell,” Blaze continued steadily.
Sonic had to consciously take a deep breath. “Smoke. Nature.”
“And one thing you can taste.” Blaze’s tone remained calm and gentle, not patronizing or sympathetic, which Sonic was grateful for.
“Tea,” he replied dully, finally able to regain control of his breathing. His heart beat finally slowed to a relatively normal pace, albeit still elevated. He slumped into himself, feeling utterly miserable. “I’m sorry.”
Blaze shifted to sit by his side. “What for?”
“That you had to see me like that,” Sonic muttered. His ears were flat and he refused to look up. “I-I lost it. I’m sorry.”
He felt Blaze’s hand reach toward his shoulder and instinctively flinched away. Blaze stopped and sighed through her nose. “It’s not weak to have emotions, Sonic,” she replied softly. “I had assumed something terrible happened, but I didn’t realize…” She trailed off. “I should be the one apologizing. I did not intend for the Emeralds to be that intense.”
“Worked, didn’t it?” Sonic replied with a humorless laugh. “Got my memories back.”
He was grateful, truly. The fog was gone and he could remember everything. His friends, his adventures, how he got to Blaze’s palace. But he wished it wasn’t so awful.
Sonic closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He ignored the slight tremor in his legs as he forced himself to stand. “I need to get back. I need to make sure they’re all okay.”
“Of course,” Blaze agreed. She smiled warmly, and Sonic returned it.
“Thanks for everything,” he breathed sincerely with a formal bow. “Don’t know what I woulda done without you.”
Blaze raised her hands and fire flickered around her. “The honor is mine. Please give my best to Amy and Cream.”
“Will do,” Sonic promised. “But come visit soon, ’kay? We all miss having you around.”
Blaze’s eyes glowed with warmth. “Thank you. I will.”
And as the fire whirled around Sonic, thankfully without visions this time, Blaze thrust her hands skyward, and Sonic was gone.
The city looked ravaged, and not just from the virus. Like a battle had just occurred.
Sonic arrived in a column of fire. Quite a dramatic entrance, just as he liked. The first thing he noticed was the smoke and steam drifting skyward from recently-doused fires. The second was the beaten Eggman mech in the town center, its owner missing. The third was the people rushing around to save the town from fires.
Virus-free.
They were all okay.
They’d barely registered what happened before Sonic was a blur, running forward and careening into Tails. The fox let out a startled yelp as the bucket in his hands dropped to the ground and he became engulfed in an azure hedgehog hug. “Sonic?” He gasped, immediately turning into the embrace. “You’re okay!”
“You’re okay,” Sonic echoed, soaking in the warmth from his little brother’s body. Uninfected and healthy. “You’re all okay.”
“We’re okay,” Tails replied warmly, gazing up at Sonic. They locked eyes, and Sonic couldn’t describe the relief that swept through him knowing that everyone was okay. They’d succeeded. The virus was gone for good.
“Sonic!” That was the only warning he got before Amy crashed into him, followed quickly by several other bodies, all laughing with shock and joy.
He felt a light punch on his shoulder and glanced sideways. Knuckles crossed his arms with a fake scowl. “You made me look bad, idiot,” he scolded. “That was way longer than ‘any minute now.’”
Sonic blinked in confusion, but Amy and Tails both laughed breathlessly. Inside joke, he supposed, and cracked a smile. “You know I love being fashionably late,” he returned. “It’s my thing.”
“Come up with something less nerve-wracking next time,” a familiar young voice huffed. “And maybe don’t do that again?”
Sonic’s gaze landed on none other than Silver the Hedgehog, smiling with relief despite his words. “Silver,” Sonic greeted in surprise. “Nice job back there.”
The time traveller looked confused for a moment before remembering what Sonic was talking about. “It was a team effort,” he protested.
“But you’re the one who made all the difference,” Sonic replied sincerely. “I owe you three times now.”
“Take the credit, Silver!” Amy laughed.
The telekinetic hedgehog rolled his eyes with a fond smile and didn’t protest.
Still trapped in Sonic’s arms, Tails shifted. “How’re you feeling, Sonic?” He asked quietly, only meant for Sonic to hear.
Right. Last time Tails had seen him, Sonic was barely able to walk, almost completely infected by the virus. “I’m good, bud,” he replied honestly. “Had a little help from Blaze.”
“Blaze?” Amy caught the tail end of the statement.
“Yeah,” Sonic chuckled. “She says hi.”
“Yo!” The hedgehog glanced up at the cheerful call. Tangle’s mischievous grin landed on him. “Are we getting our victorious group hug on?”
Sonic laughed. “You bet!”
Tangle whooped and dragged over everyone her tail could reach, with or without consent. There were some grumbles of protest and uncomfortable squirming, but Sonic really didn’t care.
He simply closed his eyes and soaked in the warmth.
While Sonic wasn’t one to consistently crash in an actual house, he didn’t protest when Tails dragged him to his place and forced him to sit on the couch while he made hot chocolate. Sonic offered to help, but Tails refused to let him. So he leaned back and simply enjoyed the moment and the quiet that came with it. He felt at peace.
He almost fell asleep to the quiet background noise of Tails making the beverages, but flinched awake when he heard footsteps approaching. He gratefully accepted the drink and cupped his hands around the warm mug as he took a cautious first sip. Not too hot. Perfect.
Tails settled next to him on the couch, and for a while, they enjoyed the hot chocolate in content silence. The warmth made Sonic tired again—lots of sleep to make up for, he supposed. His eyes grew heavy.
“Are you okay, Sonic?” Tails asked quietly.
The seemingly random question dragged Sonic back to wakefulness. He glanced over at Tails, who refused to look at him, and instead drank down the last of his cocoa. The kit’s ears were twisted back, which immediately triggered an alarm in Sonic’s mind. He set his mug down and gave his full attention to his little brother. “What do you mean?”
Tails sighed as he rested his mug on the ground next to the couch. “I mean, the last time I saw you before the explosion, you were exhausted and it felt like the world was ending. And now you seem back to normal.” He fidgeted with his hands. “I just…I dunno.”
Sonic sighed affectionately and shifted closer. “I’m okay, Tails, really.” His small smile fell when he remembered how he felt when his memories came back. “I…crashed in Blaze’s world. The warp topaz was unstable and chaos control messed it up. I got amnesia for a bit.” Tails’s head whipped over to him, eyes wide, but now it was Sonic’s turn to refuse to meet the other’s gaze. “When Blaze helped me get my memories back, I…” Panicked. He bit his lip as his ears flattened against his head. “I-I didn’t know if we failed or not. If you were okay.” He exhaled heavily. He couldn’t keep this from his brother. “I panicked.”
And then Tails jumped at him, squeezing him tightly, and Sonic buried his face in his brother’s shoulder with misty eyes. “We’re all okay,” Tails replied. “Thanks to you and Silver.”
Emotion suddenly surged through Sonic’s body and he didn’t try to stop the first sob that ripped from his throat. The relief he felt was immeasurable and overwhelming. Days of endless running from disaster to disaster with constant stress and worry and failure finally spilled free in the form of long-held back tears.
Tails’s hug tightened and he rubbed circles on Sonic’s back. The hedgehog let himself relax into his brother’s hold as he finally allowed himself to slow down enough to process everything.
It wasn’t long before he was absolutely exhausted and half-asleep. Only then did Tails move, and it was simply to have them both lay down side-by-side, relishing in the other’s warmth and steady breathing.
This made it all worth it, Sonic decided, as he drifted off. Sleeping in peace with Tails at his side. No virus, no threats, no enemy to fight.
Just each other.