The Gang's All Here

24: How Couldn't You Tell?

Sonic stood in shock.

"Well?" Mephiles said, still angry. "You are very lucky that Manic loves you, otherwise I'd knock you unconscious!"

"Mephiles, what exactly happened?" Fleetway asked. It was extremely rare he'd see Mephiles angry, especially angry enough to threaten others.

Mephiles turned to Fleetway. "Manic is depressed."

"Well, I knew he wasn't in that great of a mood all day, I could smell it. But why would Manic be depressed?"

"I don't know, but that isn't the point. Manic called Sonic, the closest person to him at the time, to try to talk about his mental state. But instead of trying to understand the situation, or at the very least console Manic, Sonic said that he wasn't bothered by it!"

Fleetway, Scourge, and Shadow looked at Sonic in disbelief.

"You're a monster," Fleetway said to Sonic.

"I remember now. This was the conversation Manic told me about."

Scourge turned to Silver. "Wait, you knew?"

Silver nodded. "Shadow and I found out by accident that Manic was depressed. We've been trying since then to keep his spirits up."

Shadow added, "We both actually can relate to what Manic's going through."

"Okay, then can't you... I don't know, fix him?" Fleetway asked. "How do we help him cheer up?"

"I don't think that's how it works, Fleetway." Mephiles answered.

Shadow spoke up. "Look, we're trying, but the best thing we can do is give support, talk to him, and give space when he needs it. We're not miracle workers."

Silver thought of something bad. "Shadow, where's your gun?"

"What?"

"Where's your gun? Do you still have it with you?"

Shadow was confused by the question. "Why would you need to know that?"

Silver hadn't told anyone about stopping Manic from stabbing himself.

"Shadow, Manic is suicidal. He's tried to off himself already, and he's a pickpocket. Where's your gun!?"

Now understand the severity of the situation, Shadow checked for his gun.

Morbidly worried, he said, "It's gone."

There was a loud sound of gunshot from outside.

Everyone went quiet.

Then, they all scrambled to get outside.

"Where do you think he went?" Scourge asked.

Shadow, Sonic, and Silver went in one direction. "He said he was going home, his house is this-

"I smell him, he went this way, let's go!" Fleetway said as he went the opposite direction, Mephiles following.

"Why would Manic go that way?" Shadow asked.

Scourge trusted his brother and followed after him.

Still not sure to believe Fleetway, Sonic Shadow and Silver decided to follow along.

'This can't be happening.' Sonic thought, beginning to tear up. 'This can't be happening. Manic couldn't have shot himself, right? I would've had a sign or warning or something that he'd go that far, right?'

They ran down the street until they turned a corner.

And there they saw a green hedgehog's body in a large puddle of red liquid.

"Oh... Oh no... He's... The blood..." Mephiles could hardly speak before fainting from shock.

Fleetway was by Mephiles's side immediately, trying to wake him up. It was bad enough that Manic was gone (right after they'd all been reunited, no less), he didn't want to lose anyone else.

In that moment, everyone felt bad.

Silver felt hate for himself. 'He actually did it. Why couldn't I have come outside sooner? I should've known he'd take Shadow's gun, I should've stopped him...'

Shadow felt guilty. 'This is my fault. If I weren't so damn paranoid, I wouldn't have brought my gun with me. How could I forget that Manic was a pickpocket?'

Fleetway wanted to cry. 'How could I not smell how upset Manic was? My nose is stronger than a wolf's, and people always smell weird depending on their emotions. So how could I not tell that Manic was miserable?'

Scourge felt his cycle of grief come over him yet again. 'No... Not Manic... He, I... I didn't want this for him. If I hadn't been so stupid and had stayed his friend, maybe I could've helped him with his problems. Maybe he could've avoided depression all together. I never deserved Manic, but now I can't fix things. Why did I have to be so stupid?'

Any thoughts that Sonic was about to have was halted when he was then electrocuted.

Once he hit the ground, everyone else turned, but it was too late. They all soon fell to the ground, also having been electrocuted.