A Little Bit of Sunlight

I could never exactly recall a day when Sonic the Hedgehog didn't run. Never. It was just something natural to him, like breathing. If you knew him like I did, you would see a bluish blur running across the lawn into the empty world far ahead. If you knew him like I did, you would never see the day when he was still, for he was always jogging in place or always drifting around others with this vibrant emotion about him that would always fill people's hearts with hope. If you knew him like I did, you would never see him with his back at the bed and his eyes at the window. Sonic wasn't the type of person who would watch the world go by… no, he ran with it like a wind beckoning for a new pail of colors during the fall. He felt what others couldn't and saw what others were too blind to see. Something greater than nature… maybe; probably. Probably not.

But things have changed, and I can no longer bring to memory what Sonic used to do and what he wouldn't do. When I looked at him, all I could see was a shell with an enfeebled spirit dying inside ever so leisurely, being eaten away by a monster much greater than one of Robotnik's robots. When I looked at him, I saw his socks up at a height for which could probably mingle with his knees, his body a faded cobalt with not a hint of emerald glittering inside his lifeless eyes. They were dull, clouds of grey for which covered his stonewashed irises as if engulfing all the happiness I once saw in the way he walked or talked, or even waved. From what I saw, Sonic the Hedgehog had his back to the bed, looking outside a window…. as if longing to be somewhere else other than here. Beside him, a steady and piercing "beep" reminded me every two seconds that he was still alive in front of me, breathing deeply with wires of red and white hooked up to his arms and wrist.

"What time is it?" he asks, his voice cracking as it hits the thin atmosphere in such a contempt manner it almost made me want to cry once more. I bow my head, looking at the ground, watching blandly as the light from above flickers only briefly to create an illusion of my shadow disappearing. I hated seeing Sonic this way, laying there and not even looking around the room to see where he was, or who was there. He kept his eyes glued to the glass, watching the sky from above move with the clouds and not with the cars in the highway from across the street. From down below, the press could be seen trying to make their way in. Hundreds of people screaming, flashing cameras at nothing but white walls and concrete covered with frantic footsteps, all the while not even going anywhere. People wanted to see him, do "one last interview," ask if he was going with the treatment or not. I close my eyes, trying to recall sharply what the time was.

"5:22."

"Has the press gone away yet?"

I sigh. "You could look for yourself, Sonic. They're right out the window…"

I hear him give off a long sigh, eyes narrowing at the world before him, the same thing he has been looking at for the past week. I can tell that he already knows the answer, just probably wanted to see if anyone but me would answer. Unfortunately, I was the only one there… everyone else was busy. Tails was on call with the military, so had to work despite his pleads to stay with his older brother. Knuckles didn't take much of a liking for hospitals, and told me to call only when something serious has happened. What he meant by serious I could only think of the word 'dying.'

Cream went out for the day since it had been just me and her keeping Sonic company, spending the night where he was and taking turns on nightly watch. Sonic rarely talked to us during the day. He would just stare out the window until the stars began to blink up into the nightly sky. He would watch them hold the moon in a secure embrace, twinkling and kissing the world many times over a nice slumber while he stayed up and watched the car lights from outside zoom left to right, left to right.

Shadow and Rouge took a whole new approach to the situation, pretending that such a thing couldn't even possibly exist with Sonic. They pretended as if there was no time limit to him. He would pull through, make it to the end. Many others, despite the publicity and the talk, didn't believe it either. They haven't bothered to come and see him for themselves…. so it's just been me. I'm watching Sonic the Hedgehog, from night to day to night again; die.

A little over a year ago, without letting anyone know of the situation he was in, Sonic was diagnosed with gastric cancer, a stomach disease that can develop in any part of the stomach and spread into the other organs with or without treatment, turning them off like machines so that they no longer work properly anymore. Before going to the doctor, Sonic noticed he felt sick when he ate food and began to have chest pains at random points for which would happen while he was running, or simply sitting down. Being older and thinking it was just old age catching up to him, Sonic continued living his life as if there was nothing wrong to begin with. He would run every morning and visit friends, then run again and save an innocent civilian, then run again just to explore the world and all its wonders. Sonic was twenty-three years of age, careless as he was when he was fifteen. It wasn't until he thought he had the flu when he went to go see a doctor….

It was always something different each time he left and came back. Tests would be run and x-rays, giving Sonic the anxious thought that this was much more than the flu. Things also began getting worse, from vomiting to nausea to fatigue to this constant trouble of sleeping. Three weeks later after his first doctor's appointment, Sonic received news that he was under something more serious than the flu…

"I have…. cancer?"

The doctor nodded. Despite Sonic's shocked face and letting him absorb the news in pieces, he kept speaking; his voice filled with complete calamity and sorrow. "Yes, Mr. Hedgehog. It's a form of cancer that starts at the stomach and works through the body to the heart. Like a plague, almost."

Sonic could only stare at the ground in disbelief. "How long do I have?"

The doctor blinked, looking at Sonic with a face of sheer content. "Well, you could fight it… we have chemo treatments for these types of things. There's a huge medical center that—"

"How long do I have, Martin?"

The doctor sighed, looking at the ground.

"Do I have more than a year?"

The doctor shook his head. Sonic's expression began to shatter.

"More than a few months?"

"We're giving you eight months, Sonic."

Sonic went home after that, living life a little more until things took a drastic change. No one knew the four months Sonic had known, nor did we begin to notice until Sonic no longer felt like running. He told us it was an old hobby he had to let go of, which none of us could come to believe. A little later, Sonic's eyes began to grow dull and his fur began to fade like bleach. When I came to visit him one morning, he wasn't even out of bed…

"Sonic, what's wrong with you?" I asked, tugging on his arm. "Come on! It's twelve o' clock at noon! You need to get up!"

"Amy—"

"We've been planning this date for a year now! Come on, you promised! One day with me, that's all I ask!" I was acting giddy, giggling and smiling as if he were pulling another joke with me. Sonic had grown lazy, something me and Tails and everyone else worried about. I took it into deep consideration that he may have been depressed, so I tried everything in my being to try and make him smile. Today, though, he couldn't…

"Amy, I have cancer."

The day I found out, I could've sworn the world grew darker around me. I asked if he were joking. He shook his head, told me he had as little as a few more months left. He was at three. He had known for as far as five.

He told me to keep the secret and not tell anyone else, though the truth began to slip when Sonic had to be taken to the hospital weekly for fainting and more medication. He told everyone at the most inconvenient time, when everyone was smiling and laughing and telling stories to each other like nothing was ever wrong. Deep in my heart, I couldn't come to fake in front of them. When he told the news, I knew neither could everyone else.

Sonic continued to run, but as the days wore on he had been minimized to walking. No longer could he travel the world in an hour. He had to walk it.

Sonic continued to eat, but as days wore on it was like he simply had no appetite at all.

Sonic continued to save others, but as days wore on it was up to us to save the world ourselves.

He was always cold, always feeling sick, always wishing he had that strength to pull one last run again. His very last was two weeks ago. After about twenty miles, he knew he could not go on much longer. I watched with empathy as he tried running even after he vomited, pleading his case that he could do twenty more. He was determined, but stupid. I knew his running days were over.

"Hey Amy?"

I look up, my heart pounding a little against my chest in a reverent manner. Even though I've grown as much as Sonic has, I still have this undeniable love towards him, one that he hasn't yet returned. I knew that after this all ended; there would never be another chance between us. My voice would go unheard and Sonic would be gone.

"Maybe after the press is gone, do you want to go out?" His voice cracks once more as he begins to have a random coughing fit, one that sounds deep and sinister as it hits the air painfully with his heart monitor, creating a dreadful harmony that seems to always pass an evening shadow over the room. Gently I place a hand under his back to raise him, his body so fragile compared to mine that it feels like he'll just snap under my fingers. Very gently, I pat his back as the fit passes; leaving him breathless and tired enough to close his eyes and break his gaze from the window.

"Sonic…. I—"

"Please…. I want to go outside…."

He gives me a pair of mournful eyes, his chest rising and falling steadily beneath my touch. I can feel his heartbeat trying to escape from the body it was in; one so weak and peril from what it once was. It needed to be set free. I could feel it in its maze looking for a way out…

"Sonic…," I say his name once more, very softly, all the while shaking my head. Already I can feel tears burning out of my sockets. A sob chokes me inside the throat. "Y-you have to stay here… y-you can't… you—"

"I want to walk. I want to breathe the air… A-amy…. Please…"

I have never heard Sonic plead to me before. Not once. Tears roll down my eyes as I look down on him this way. I cannot help but cry deeply, keeping my hand behind his back and having my hand clasp where his heart is trying to escape. I want to take it and hold it close. I want to kiss it, I want to walk with it, I want to run with it… but it's locked away. I don't have the key… I can't reach it.

With a sniffle, I exhale a stifled whisper. "O-okay."

. . .

..

. . .

Around nightfall, we can hear the press leave with disappointed voices; moans of another fail throughout another day coming to a fading close trapped inside the hospital's streetlights, left to float and fade into visible darkness. All around, from floors below, the deep content sighs of those who were sick or resting pass into a silent and merciful slumber, babies from the nursery across the maternity ward giving calming mumbles and visitors from the emergency room's waiting area giving soundless cries. The hospital breathed a many emotions, one made completely of silence. I watched with great caution as Sonic began to sit up, looking at me in pain as if to ask if I would help him change into something warm for outside. I did what I could, making sure to not have him moan in discomfort or hiss in pain. I looked at the pillow, studying with glazed eyes at the faded patches of fur lying behind in large clumps. I turn away. As I gently brought a sweatshirt over Sonic's head, I can see and feel how thin he is. I didn't even realize how small he became until this moment; now. After all the nights I've been with him, I couldn't bear to believe that my Sonic was slipping away.

With a t-shirt, sweater and a big blue blanket brought with him to keep him warm, I slowly bring one of his arms over my neck and begin helping him up. But with an opposed force, he gently nudges me away, using his arms and all of his strength to get himself standing on his very two feet, now and again, shifting as if he's about to fall.

"S-Sonic? Are you-?"

"Yeah, I'm alright…," he mutters, a small smile imprinted upon his face.

Slowly and deliberately, we walk side by side down the hallway. I keep my eyes on him, like he's a baby almost; in the need of constant care and attention. He pretends not to notice. From all around, we can hear the hospital lights slowly beginning to shut off, others dimming. We pass a large grand window down after we take the stairs, Sonic breathing heavier as if he was on the verge of a heart attack. Outside, we can see the highway, red and white fireflies speeding along across the stars in an energetic haste for home. We can hear the tires' breaths, the streets grunts… Sonic stops briefly, watching with a solid envy in his eyes.

"They're going so fast," he says.

We soon make it to the exit, Sonic looking up with a bright smile on his face. The air is a good eighty degree heat, but Sonic's muscles shiver from underneath his blanket. He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes fleetingly with the city life around him. Sonic never did enjoy the city. I knew he would have preferred something quieter, like open country or a beach. Suddenly, as I am lost in the sky from above, I feel my hand being taken by another; a snowflake.

"W-what?"

"Hold on tight."

Without warning, and without a word of opposition, I can finally feel us become one with the world.

It's a feeling I haven't felt in what seems like so long. My arms fly around his neck when they can, burying my face deep into his back and feeling the wind pull at my hair in pure bliss. I can no longer feel my heart beat, or his, for that matter. I can no longer hear anything around us but the sound of his feet going "click click click click" with the ground; the soles of his old shoes embracing the dirt and grime of what they have not felt in so long; constant collision and a multitude of different surfaces. I could remember what Sonic used to do and what he wouldn't do. I could recall a day when Sonic the Hedgehog didn't run, and know that such a day did not exist.

"Hey, Amy?"

"Hm?"

"What do you think it'll be like in Heaven?"

I look at him, eyes shifting from the television talking about another possible terrorist attack, and a teenager murdering her mother as to what she called self-defense. The sadness in the world, in constant motion…

"… why do you ask?" I say, tilting my head with worry.

"Just a thought."

There's a small, delicate silence.

"…. I imagine Heaven like one of your runs," I say, a tad bit of embarrassment showing upon my cheek. "Something exciting."

"Hm," he simply says, looking back out the window.

"What do you think Heaven'll be like?"

I hear a cheery laugh escape his lips. With an energetic smile, as if I could just see him jogging in place, he says, "Another Robotnik fight."

He suddenly stops, heaving breaths of air and dropping to his knees. My eyes grow wide and I begin to panic. I look around. We're at the edge of a peer, the ocean below us shifting calm waves of gratitude towards the moon. Below us, wooden chestnut boards weak with years of age crackle and squeak beneath my feet. I get to my knees, shaking him gently, saying his name and hoping that I won't suddenly lose him. "Sonic? Are you okay?"

He's still for a moment, then a slow nod is felt and seen through the hallow darkness surrounding us. I look around once more. I wonder why we're here.

"Sonic, you shouldn't run! Didn't the doctors tell you not-?" I'm suddenly cut off.

I can feel a pair of lips with mine; warm lips and two strong hands cupping my face and stroking my cheeks. My eyes are wide one moment, and then begin to slowly close. I can feel the cold air chilling over us, but gentle warmth being exchanged between us both. I can feel him trying to kiss me harder, more passionate; hungry, but I have nothing to return for it. What I feel, what I am feeling…. what he is feeling…. it doesn't seem to match up. Tears slip out of my eyes. I think about what is happening. This can't be happening… I begin to cry quietly.

He releases, looking into my eyes with a concern and a weakness. I can tell that he's crying just from the way his voice sounds. Never in my life have I heard him cry before. "A-Amy…. I'm sorry…."

The walls in my throat begin to squeeze together. I wrap my arms around him, nuzzling and burying my head into his feeble chest. My hands dig deep inside his fur, holding him tightly in the clasp of my palms. I let off a choked sob. This can't be happening….

"D-don't say goodbye! Don't say goodbye to me! You're going to stay here! You're going to live… S-sonic, you're going to live…." my voice echoes into a never-ending range of grief, the world around me stopping at the point where I can no longer feel where I am. I'm acting selfish without knowing. I want him all for myself, to stay with me forever. I don't want him to die…. I'm starting to think like the others; Sonic the Hedgehog can't die….

Though here he is, shaking under my hands… the both of us separated by the dolphin tank of death, where I can only watch as he shifts into another world; leaving me here to suffer with what he's giving me. He cries with me, something I thought I would never experience ever; something I hoped to never experience with him.

"I-I'm not saying goodbye, Ames….," he whispers. "We'll meet again… s-some place b-better…. "

I could feel his heart slowly begin to break under my hands. There was nothing more he could say than what I've been waiting for all along…

"I love you, Amy."

My face met with his once more, pressing my lips to his with all that I could offer. With his arms tightening around my body, I could feel our tears merge and our hearts beat at an unsteady rate; his weighed down by cancer and mine weighed down by sadness.

"W-where will you go?" I ask, looking up into his eyes as if searching for the answer through them. But there was a cloud. A fog with a small dim flashlight in the distance. I couldn't see a thing.

He looks down at me, laughing a little at my question. He rests a hand gently over my chest. "Where ever the sun hits."

I cannot help but cry even more.

I spent a week longer with Sonic. What we went through together was his last run and the last time he was ever able to talk for me. The rest of the week was drenched with rain clouds, the window closed and the curtains shut. There was no light until I felt his hand slip from mine. He passed the morning the clouds were conceded and the sun began to rise.

Now every morning, I pray for a little bit of sunlight.

Author's Note: Something I felt like writing. Haha. It just came to me. Please read and review if you wish. I understand if most think this story is a bit cliche.

I own none of the characters. Sonic the Hedgehog and other related characters (c) by SEGA. :)

Tootles~

-DarkShelby101