For how Long will the Red Rose Grow

Midnight Break-In

Shadow had been thankfully discreet about Sonic's condition as of late. He'd given out more or less the same excuses as Sonic whenever someone asked him to reach out to his blue rival. However, that also meant he was more involved with the whole situation as a whole, and inadvertently making Sonic's condition worse.

Sonic couldn't tell him that, though.

Sonic had been going a bit stir crazy as of late. It had been a solid two and a half weeks since they had dinner with the rest of their friends and Shadow found out. Sonic hadn't really left the workshop, just taking the time to go easy and kick back for a break. Well, how much of a break he could considering his situation.

He felt more or less the same regarding the weight on his chest, however the fits had been more frequent and a slight bit more aggressive. Tails once again reminded him that he was still in the early stages when Sonic went on and on about how he was sure he was dying. The only good part about this was that Tails was getting decent research on a disease that was supposedly mythical.

The Chaos Emeralds still helped ease the pressure in his sternum, and helped him breathe a little deeper. When he held them, he almost didn't remember he'd had this debilitating disease for over a month. He almost forgot he'd had the disease at all.

But like all good things, they didn't last.

Eggman came raiding one night, jostling Sonic awake from his delightful dreams of Chili Dog Valley and causing him to fall from his bed. Of course it had to be in the middle of the night, and of course it had to be the loudest break-in ever. The azure hedgehog shot to his feet much to the dismay of his chest and bolted downstairs as fast as he could. He was smart enough to grab his phone, and even smarter to pull up Shadow's number. While he was the last hedgehog Sonic should be seeing, he's the only one Sonic trusted in case he broke down into a fit of flowers. With a quick press of the green call button, Sonic darted to the door leading to the Tornado's hangar.

He noticed Tails scrambling down the stairs in a panic when he had his hand on the knob. He twisted it open and let Tails barge in first, while he waited on Shadow. The line rung and rung, until finally Shadow picked up.

"Hello?" He asked in a tired voice on the other line.

"Shadow! Thank Chaos you answered!" Sonic cried. "Eggman's here! He's after our Emeralds! We need you!"

There was silence on the other side, all up until Sonic heard the sound of Shadow rushing from his bed. "I'll be there as soon  as I can!" He shouted, slapping his phone loudly as he went to hang up. He missed, however, and Sonic had to press the button to end the call.

"Hurry! And come through Tails's hangar!" He added before pressing the hang up button. All he could do was hope Shadow heard that last part.

He threw the phone on the kitchen counter and ran out after Tails, his quills prickling with aggression. "Eggman!" He shouted as loudly as his vine-constricted lungs would allow. The action shot a bristling tickle down his throat, awakening the petals that had been laid to rest for the night.

Eggman was there in his Egg Mobile, letting his robots do all the intrusive rustling through Tails' things. "Hedgehog!" He spat, his brow wrinkling and nostrils flaring in anger. He pressed a button concealed by the slope of his mobile, causing some of the robots to turn their hostile gazed on Sonic and Tails.

Tails grabbed a wrench, brandishing it angrily as Sonic dipped into an offensive stance. He knew he couldn't do much, but he couldn't show weakness in front of his nemesis. "Call off your goons!" Sonic growled, glaring up at the rotund man hovering above the biplane. "And leave us alone! Waking a hedgehog from his beauty rest is a terrible idea, y'know."