The Sleeper Wakes

The first thing he became aware of was the soft murmuring noise around him. He couldn’t hear anything clearly. It was as if his ears had been stuffed with cotton wool. And there was the constant whooshing sound, like water rushing through his head. It took him a while to realise he was listening to his own blood as it rushed about his body.

The second thing he became aware of was a slowly increasing light. It was soft and warm and comforting, like an autumnal sun.

The third thing he became aware of was the antiseptic aroma in the air. Which led directly to the forth thing, the awful stale taste in his mouth. He swallowed, hoping to rid himself of the taste, but only succeeded in learning just how parched he was.

“He just licked his lips.” A voice he couldn’t quite recognise spoke through the cotton wool in his ears.

“Are you sure?” A second voice, one he did recognise as Doctor Quack, queried.

“I’ll go and get Sally.” The first voice said. He was dimly aware of the sound of retreating footsteps.

“Can you hear me?” The doctor asked. He tried to answer, but his mouth was too dry.

There was a commotion at the door. “Doctor?” The corners of his mouth tugged slightly in a smile.

“Sal?” He croaked, almost inaudibly. He could sense her near him. She took his hand, squeezed it tightly. He frowned. He knew she was holding his hand, but he could barely feel it.

His eyelids cracked open. He winced and closed them immediately as what felt like a thousand suns blinded him.

“Dim the lights.” He heard Sally say. He felt her grip tighten, much more noticeably now. “Sonic?” She whispered.

He opened his eyes again, blinking rapidly as he tried to focus. He smiled as her face slowly swam into view. Her eyes were glistening, she wasn’t even bothering to hide her tears.

“Sal?” He repeated, his voice much stronger, “I’m thirsty.”

~~~~~

The news spread like wildfire through Knothole. Doctor Quack’s surgery was soon inundated with visitors off all ages and species, all demanding entry.

“Okay,” the medically trained duck held up his hands, “I know you’re all anxious to see him, but he’s still very weak,” he glanced at Jules and Bernie, “and I do believe family should go first.” He ushered the two robotic hedgehogs into the adjoining room.

Sally came out, leaving the hedgehog family to their reunion, and was immediately swamped with an avalanche of questions. She took the barrage in stride. “He’s okay,” she smiled, “though he’s still very tired, and he doesn’t seem to be able to feel things too well,” she frowned, “hopefully that will pass as he gets stronger…”

“Or it could be a sign of some major damage…” Rotor said without thinking.

“Does he know?” Julie-Su asked softly.

Sally knew what she meant. She glanced back at the door. “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “But I don’t think we should mention it until he’s better…”

Julie-Su nodded. She was feeling strangely envious of Sally. ‘It’s not fair,’ a part of her thought. ‘Why should she get her love back when mine is gone for good?’ As soon as she’d thought it, she felt guilty. She hung her head in shame. It had been four months now, and it still hurt to think about him. It had been four months, and still nobody ever spoke his name. She rose to leave.

“Aren’t you gonna see Sonic?” Tails asked.

“I’ll see him later,” she said. “We never were all that close. Besides, somebody has to tell the Chaotix…”

~~~~~

Sonic was in his element. He loved being the centre of attention. The adulation, the hugs and well wishes, he adored it all.

Tails barrelled in at full tilt, hurling his arms around the neck of the being he considered more brother than friend.

“So Doc,” the hedgehog asked, “How long ‘til I’m outta here?”

“We’re going to have to run some tests before I can give you the all clear,” Doc Quack admitted. “But I don’t think it’ll be too long.”

Sonic was so happy to be back amongst his friends that it took him a while to remember the events that had lead to his injuries in the first place. “Knuckles…” he said softly. The others exchanged a worried look. They hadn’t wanted to bring him up, to tell Sonic what had happened, until he was stronger and better able to cope with it.

“The last thing I remember,” Sonic went on, “Dimitri had that knife thing,” he held up his hand in a pantomime of the cyborg’s actions. He took in the expressions on his friends’ faces, and put two and two together. He covered his mouth for fear of screaming. He could feel the lump in his throat, the tears burn his eyes. He followed his first impulse when faced with a situation he couldn’t deal with. He decided to run from it.

He flipped off the covers and leapt out of bed.

And fell flat on his face.

He tried to drag himself to his feet, but his legs wouldn’t respond. His eyes widened as he realised he couldn’t move them, he couldn’t feel them at all. They were a dead weight.

“Sonic?” He felt Sally’s arms gently enfold him, could hear the concern in her voice. But he couldn’t answer her. So far in shock, he was hyperventilating, but still lucid enough to realise the unthinkable.

He was paralysed from the waist down.

~~~~~

He stared moodily at the wall. Sally looked at him with wide shinning eyes. It had been days now since they’d discovered the extent of his injuries. Doc Quack had wanted to perform some tests, but Sonic wouldn’t let him anywhere near him. The doctor wanted to ascertain if the hedgehog’s current condition was of a permanent or temporary nature. But to do so, he needed something from Sonic that the hedgehog wouldn’t give, his co-operation.

Sally looked at the plate of chilli dogs in her hand. Doc Quack had said days ago that the hedgehog’s favourite food was too harsh for his system at the moment. But as Sonic was refusing to eat, both Sally and the doctor had come to the conclusion that he’d at least eat his favourite.

Sally smiled as he glanced at her. His nose wrinkled as he smelt the contents of the plate she carried, but his stoic expression didn’t change. “I’ve brought you some lunch.” She said brightly, hopefully.

“I’m not hungry.” He said flatly.

“Sonic,” Sally reasoned. “You haven’t eaten in three days.”

“What’s the point?!” He yelled at her. “It’s not gonna make me better!”

“But…”

“Just leave me alone.”

Sally lowered her head, and complied with his wishes, backing silently out of the room.

~~~~~

“It’s hopeless,” Sally sobbed. “I can’t get him to eat, I can’t get him to talk…he’s just going to sit there, wasting away, until…”

Julie-Su watched silently from the shadows as King Max tried to console his daughter. A look of determination came to her lavender eyes. ‘There may have been nothing I could do when we lost Knuckles,’ she thought, a lump forming in her throat at even the remembrance of his name, ‘but I’ll be damned if I let Sonic go the same route.’ She stormed off towards the infirmary.

Sonic sat, as he had since he’d first learned he’d lost the use of his legs, staring at the wall. His eyes flicked briefly towards her as she entered the room. She sat down on a chair beside the bed. She gestured absently towards the plate of food on the bedside table.

“Your chilli dogs are getting cold,” she said softly.

“I’m not hungry.” He said, even softer.

“You’re wasting away.” Julie-Su pointed out.

“I don’t care.”

“What are you going to do?” She queried. “Just sit there until you starve to death?”

“Maybe.” His voice was getting louder, angrier. He folded his arms across his chest.

“I know you’re pretty miserable right now, but that is NOT the answer.”

“What would you know about it?” He snarled at her.

“You think I didn’t consider it?” She hurled back as she rose to her feet. She stomped across the room. She let out a loud sigh and lent heavily on the window frame, her back to him, her shoulders sagged. “I lost the only guy I ever…” she took a deep, slightly haggard breath, “…gave half a damn about.”

The hedgehog’s expression softened. He’d been so wrapped up in his own problems he hadn’t even thought about anybody else’s. He opened his mouth to speak, but Julie-Su continued with her own thoughts before he could.

“You can’t imagine what it felt like,” her voice was quiet, cracked, not at all like usual. “I actually felt him die.” She placed a fist to her heart. “And though I hate to admit it, a part of me wanted to join him. But I couldn’t.” She began twisting her fingers in her hair. “He sacrificed himself for us. He died so we could live. It was like his last request. He wanted me to live. How could I deny him that?”

She turned to face him. He was surprised to find that her eyes were dry. “His death had a purpose. But if you just lie there and let death come for you, it’ll just be out of selfishness and self-pity. You don’t give a damn about what you’re doing to the rest of us. You just want to end your own suffering.”

She was so mad now she was actually trembling with rage. “Do you think your speed was the only thing there is to you? If that IS what you think, then maybe that’s all there ever was.”

She shook her head and chuckled mockingly. “I don’t know why I’m even wasting my breath,” her fire filled eyes locked with his. “You don’t have the courage to live.”

~~~~~

Sally walked quietly into Sonic’s room. Her entire being brightened when she found his plate was empty. He smiled shyly at her.

“I see you got your appetite back.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Getting your butt kicked by an irate echidna will do that to you.” Sally raised a brow. He chuckled. “I’m beginning to see what he sees…” he trailed off as he remembered. Sally lowered her head sadly. “She really loved him, didn’t she?”

Sally nodded. “And from what I can gather, the feeling was mutual. They were Soultouched.”

“They were what?”

“Soultouched.” Sally repeated. “She tried to explain it to me once. She said echidnas have this way of recognising the one they’re supposed to be with.”

“Sorta like two halves of the same whole?” Sonic frowned.

“Yes,” Sally agreed. “And neither one is truly complete without the other.”

“Jeez. How long did they know about it?”

“Pretty much from the moment they each laid eyes on the other. It just took them a while to admit it. First to themselves, and then to each other.”

“So why did they keep it such a big secret? Was he afraid it’d blow his big, tough macho image if everyone knew he’d fallen in love?” Sally raised a sceptical brow at his comment. She didn’t say anything, she didn’t have to. He knew what she was thinking. ‘Yeah, yeah,’ he thought, ‘just like me.’

“They didn’t. He was kind of shy, and wasn’t exactly the type for unbridled displays of affection. And she doesn’t exactly strike me as the kind either. And we didn’t really see them all that often. When we did, it was usually in battle.”

“How long did you know about it?”

“Remember our little slumber party?”

“Yeah.”

“She told me then, and she still wasn’t entirely sure about how she felt.”

Sonic lowered his head. “How’s she been holding up?”

“I don’t really know,” Sally admitted. “She’s never said a word about it. Nobody’s even seen her shed a tear for him. Elias told me that it’s just the echidna way, that they don’t really show what they’re feeling in public. But…I don’t know…I’m still worried about her.”

“She told me she’d considered suicide.” Sonic said softly.

“WHAT?!”

“Don’t sweat it, Sal,” Sonic held up his hands. “She said she wouldn’t do it, because he wanted her to live.” He scratched his head, “Or maybe she said it because I said…” he stopped, when he noticed she was looking at him with frightened eyes. “I’m not gonna do it either,” he assured her, “I wasn’t even seriously thinking about it.” He drummed his fingers on his thigh. “I’m just bummed about the whole thing.” A slight smile curled his mouth. “But you know me, Sal. I’m not about to let this beat me. Julie-Su said he wanted us to live. So for him, and for her, that’s what I’m gonna do.”

He sighed. “Maybe you should get Doc Quack,” he suggested, “and I’ll let him do those tests he wanted…”

~~~~~

Moni-Ca chewed her lower lip thoughtfully as she studied Sonic’s test results. She’d been called in to offer a second opinion. There was also the hope that her knowledge of the highly advanced medical procedures, both echidna, and Dark Legion, could offer some options that current Mobian medicine could not.

Ellie-Za had accompanied her friend. If a medical solution could not be found, perhaps a technological one could. Besides, it gave them both a break, and a chance to check up on Julie-Su.

“There’s a lot of nerve damage here.” Moni-Ca said quietly. “It doesn’t appear to be the result of that energy surge that altered the basic DNA of the technologically advanced beings who were present.” She looked at the doctor. “Has he given you a description of what happened?”

“He’s pretty reluctant to talk about it.” The duck physician admitted. “From what I can gather, he saw what Dimitri had planned, ran to help, but got thrown back by the blast...”

“So it was the impact that did the damage?” The echidna raised a brow.

“Yes, that’s my theory as well.” He nodded.

“What options have you discussed with him?” She asked.

He sighed. “With our current facilities, there’s not a lot I CAN offer. Nate Morgan might have had a few ideas, but he decided to return to his own kind after the battle with Chaos…”

“So that’s why you called us in?” She glanced at the tall, and so far, silent burgundy echidna.

“Yes,” he lowered his head. “I want to help him, but…”

Ellie-Za picked up an internal scan of the hedgehog, frowning as she studied it. “I could probably jury rig him something so he could at least walk again.” She mused. “But I get the feeling you guys prefer to go with the organic approach.”

“We could do some re-constructive surgery,” Moni-Ca suggested. “Try and knit the nerve endings back together. But that’s pretty iffy. There’s no guarantee of success. We’d have to do it back home, though.” She glanced around the room. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Doc, but this place is a little…primitive.”

“We ARE in a state of war.” The duck replied, a little on the defensive.

“I think it’d best if we discuss this with him.” Moni-Ca suggested.

~~~~~

“That’s all you can offer?” Sally asked, glancing at Sonic with worried eyes.

“The damage is pretty extensive,” Moni-Ca explained. “If a Dark Legionnaire had been hurt like that, we’d be putting in a whole new chassis.”

“Will the surgery be…dangerous?” Sonic asked, his voice unusually soft.

“There’s a risk with any surgery,” Doctor Quack told him. “But you’re in pretty good health. Any risk would be minimal.”

“And there’s no guarantee it’ll even work,” Sonic added, his voice still impossibly small. He raised his head, a tight smile on his face. “Well, some hope is better than no hope.” He announced. “And it’s gotta beat sitting here on my butt.” He sighed, trying to shake the trepidation from his voice. “Sign me up.”