82. Can You Hear Me?

She found him buried in the forest, one arm wrapped around his stomach, the other resting on the tree next to him as he threw up.

"Hu—"

And oh, her heart stopped beating, lungs catching as her gaze met him. She'd searched for him all day, all week, even. Since the last mission, he'd been nonexistent in Knothole. Sure, the Freedom Fighters caught glimpses of him here and there, but they were fleeting, short-lived, and accompanied by fake smiles few could see through.

"Ug—"

As always, he was sure of himself. "I'll be okay, Sal." He told her the day they stood in Knothole's small, yet over-filled graveyard, his words jump-starting her heart, forcing her to look up. Dressed in a mournful ensemble of black and white, emerald gaze distant and cold, he'd never looked so little like Sonic the Hedgehog. "Honest. He's not the first person we've lost."

But this time it was different, she noticed, swallowing as her eyes washed over him. It wasn't like when they buried Tommy, Johnny, or any of the others. This—it was—he—

For goodness' sakes, it was Uncle Chuck.

It was kin, Sonic's own blood. Beyond that, it was the end of a symbol, the death of one of their greatest strengths and inspirations. He'd been there for everyone, done something for everyone. He'd sparked Rotor's and Tails' love for technology, made more adjustments and modifications to Bunnie's mechanical limbs than could ever be counted, comforted Sally whenever feelings of inadequacy reared its head, and even managed to encourage and humble Antoine more than once.

But for Sonic, he'd been the father-figure he'd needed so much when his parents disappeared, the reassurance everything would work out, the proof Eggman's plans weren't fool-proof. He'd been everything to the hero.

And he was six feet under.

"Besides." Sonic eventually said, voice wavering so subtly, anyone less familiar with him wouldn't have noticed. "He wouldn't want us to sit and cry over him." He told her, forcing a smile as he turned to her. "He'd want us to have a party with tons of chili dogs, you know?"

But oh. With the heavy bags under his eyes, his smile and words did nothing to convince her. And surely, they did nothing to convince him either.

"HURK—"

She didn't spare another thought, a single word. Wordlessly, rapidly, she closed the distance between them, watching as he coughed and brought his hands to his lips, eyes closing as he shuddered.

"I'll be okay, Sal. Honest."

It was only when she was close enough to reach out and touch him that his ears perked, causing him to look up. "He-hey Sal," he greeted with wide eyes and a frantic smile, gaze whipping back and forth between Sally and the ground by his feet. "Fancy meeting you here."

Swallowing, Sally's gaze wandered to the ground before returning to Sonic. "Yeah." She said, brow creased. His eyes were bloodshot, and laws almighty, the bags beneath them were so dark. She—

"I was just—" Sonic stuttered after a moment, pulling a hand behind his head as he chuckled. "I was just taking a walk. You know. Good to get out every once in a while."

Sally nodded, "Every once in a while." And Sonic mirrored her action. But no. She wasn't going to let him run circles around the issue, even if that's what he wanted to do. So with a deep breath she reached forward, gingerly placing her hand on his cheek. As expected, the hedgehog jumped. But when he saw the look in her eyes—the sheen of welling tears and way her brow upturned—his body relaxed.

"What was it?" She asked, voice wary and quiet.

Exhaling, the hedgehog stood a little straighter. For an instant, it seemed as if he was going to shake it off, smile, and declare he was fine. Just a stomach bug. No big. But the smirk didn't return, and his gaze instead fell.

"I…" He whispered. "I couldn't sleep. I was tired and hungry and stressed, and I thought man, I could go for one of Uncle Chuck's chili dogs. Maybe I'll stop by and grab…" The breath in his throat caught, and his voice hitched. "And grab something real… real…" And all at once, he fell apart.

Sonic lowered his head. He closed his eyes. And though he shook his head and grit his teeth and did everything he could to stop them, the tears flowed free.

"I just wanted to stop by and say hi. I didn't even think."

Sally didn't speak. Rather, she moved closer.

"I was halfway out the door when I remembered that he… he's… that his funeral…"

The moment his lungs gave, her arms were wrapped around him. And with nothing left inside to keep him standing, he threw his arms around her, buried his head into her shoulder, and cried.

*Pokes head from beyond the abyss.* Hello? Anyone out there? Cool cool. It's me, Espionage247. I have returned from beyond the grave of fanfiction writing after... how long has it been? Nearly... nearly four years? Jeez louise. D: That's a really, really long time.

But hey howdy hey! :D It's me again! It has been a long time for sure! After a lot of large doses of life (as well as some pretty heavy depression and anxiety), I'm here to provide some more Sonsal goodness! :) I was actually inspired today by the coolest thing ever. I went on deviantArt just to browse, and what do I see in my notification box? An comic adaptation of my favorite scene in my fic Fragile, drawn by CatbeeCache and comissioned/requested by JayFoxFire and THE-Julian-Cabrera. Needless to say, I've been freaking out a little bit today. XD

So here I am, and I would certainly like to finish all my fics! That being said, I will give a warning right now that I have no idea how consistent my updating will be. All my homework and issues are still pretty prevelant, but after such a cool happenstance, my excitement for such things have been rekindled. :D And who knows? Maybe that long-awaited sequel to Fragile will be happening soon. :D

This one was a suggestion by Cellie. I actually struggled with it for quite some time, but I finally figured out where to go with this. :) If you're still out there reading fanfics, thank you for the idea! :D