Warning: This will be sad, I hope... Enjoy!

It wasn't meant to happen like this. Not like this.

Things had been going so well. So so well... Sonic the Hedgehog had defeated Eggman once again, Sonic the Hedgehog had saved the day once again, Sonic the hedgehog had got the girl, the wonderful (Y/N) (L/N), the (f/c) (a/t) that made his life so much better. Sonic the Hedgehog...

Had failed everyone.

Some context is needed, isn't it?

You see, Eggman had been working on something disastrous, something so evil it would torment Sonic for the rest of his life.

After his last defeat, the evil scientist went into hiding. No one knew what he was doing, what he was planning. No one knew that he was about to destroy the world, and this time no one could stop him. No one, not even Sonic, could have prepared for what Eggman was about to do.

It had started off as a small illness, just a simple cough. But it had spread like wildfire. Mobians started dropping left, right and centre. The disease was highly contagious, it killed you in days if you contracted it. Doctors and scientists started working on a cure immediately. No one knew where it had come from, no one would have guessed it was Sonic's arch nemesis.

Sonic and his friends would do their best to help when they could. The scientists would ask for blood donations occasionally, especially from Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles. The three heroes all had chaos energy coursing through their blood, and the scientists had thought that maybe it could help cure this strange new disease.

Boy were they dead wrong.

If only they knew what they were going to create. If only they knew Eggman had planned this from the start. If only Sonic was aware of the future. Silver had been right about there being an apocalypse, he tried to prevent it, but no one had listened.

Now he was gone. Silver, and everyone else.

Even (Y/N). Sonic couldn't save her, his girlfriend, he sometimes would even call her the love of his life. And yet, she succumbed to the disease and became...

Sonic shook his head. Inner monologing was becoming a usual past time for him since he didn't have much else to do. He was one of the only Mobians left after what had happened, Shadow and Knuckles being his only remaining friends. But even they had left to do their own thing. Knuckles was hiding out on Angel Island to make sure the Master Emerald stayed safe, and Shadow was travelling around trying to find a cure and save any others that could still be out there.

The blue hedgehog let out a sigh, lowering his head as the wind picked up and moved his quills. He wanted to help his friends, but he just... Couldn't bring himself to. It was an alien feeling to him, but he couldn't fight it, and he needed to stay in his home. It's where...

It's where he kept (Y/N).

He wasn't able to do much, merely locked her in a cage Tails had made ages ago for any villains they caught and couldn't take to prison. She was still there now, and Sonic had no idea what to do with her. He remembers the day she turned well, the fear he had felt as she stopped moving, and then started again.

The hedgehog had been holding the (a/t) in his arms as she coughed up blood. The illness had spread, and he knew he couldn't be infected (since it was his blood, he, Shadow and Knuckles were immune) but he wasn't able to stop it from spreading to her. He thought she would be safe with him; thought she wouldn't be at risk around him. But she had still gotten it.

And here she was, laying in his arms; her (e/c) eyes were surrounded by red irises, blood dribbled down her muzzle. She felt warm in his arms, but she was shivering as if she were freezing. The girl coughed more, blood spitting from her lips as the cough ripped her throat. She glanced up at Sonic, her eyes full of fear. She knew what was going to happen, she knew she was going to die. She didn't want to die.

"S-Sonic..." The (a/t) mumbled, gurgling as the blood tried to fill her throat.

"Shh... It's okay (Y/N)... It will be okay..." The blue Mobian hugged her close to his chest, "It will be alright... J-Just stay with me... We'll have a cure for you..."

"S-So-" (Y/N) managed a choked whimper before her eyes widened and her head fell back. The girl went limp in his arms, and Sonic had to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. His heart shattered as the girl's struggled breathing stopped, as the blood pooled from her mouth.

The Hero of Mobius held her close, feeling an ache form in his chest. First Amy and Tails, and then everyone else... Why couldn't he protect anyone? Knuckles had just arrived, landing behind Sonic silently. He saw the hedgehog's shaking body and walked up slowly, a hand on his shoulder.

"Sonic...?" He asked, and the hedgehog curled around the girl more.

"N-No...! We were too late...!" The hedgehog cried.

"I'm sorry..." Knuckles sighed, kneeling next to him, "The scientists still haven't found a cure yet but... There is hope."

"No!" Sonic cried, "No... There isn't... Not anymore..."

The hedgehog growled and shook his head again. Memories were another past time to him. Scenes continued to play in his mind when he thought of nothing else. Memories of Tails and Amy, Cream and Rouge, the Chaotix. Seeing them all die, seeing them all turn to zombies was... Scarring to say the least.

And then having (Y/N) transform in his arms...

Sonic was forever cursed with these memories, knowing he couldn't save his friends, and not being able to do anything for them when they died. Knuckles had tried to reassure him, tell him (Y/N) would have been happy he was there, but the hedgehog could still see that fear in her eyes. There was nothing he could do to make her feel better. She died afraid, and in pain. And then she turned into a monster.

It haunted the blue hedgehog, knowing he couldn't have done anything... And to his partner, to happen to his girlfriend. He had been thinking about marrying the girl, and now she was a zombie. He let out a sigh and stood. The hedgehog found sanctuary on his roof; no zombies could reach him there, no one could, and there was always a nice breeze.

But he was done thinking, about anything. So, he jumped down to the grass and scanned the area for any possible flesh-hungry attackers. Once he had confirmed it was clear, he walked to Tails' workshop. The place, even having only been abandoned for a few months, was already covered in spiderwebs and dust. Sonic just couldn't bring himself to clean it, to touch Tails' creations.

Inside, the hedgehog stared at the large cage that sat in the far corner. A figure was curled up in the back of the barred prison. It shook slightly, grunts and groans coming from it. If Sonic willed it, he could almost imagine the person inside was alive.

But that was no surprise, because he wanted her to be alive.

Gently, the hedgehog tapped on the bars of the cage, and the creature stopped making sounds, slowly turning its head to glance at him. Glowing (e/c) eyes bore into his soul, and Sonic had to gulp down a lump in his throat. The creature stood and slowly made its way over to him, limping slightly with a broken leg. He remembered causing that injury to the monster; it filled him with grief every time she walked.

"Hey (Y/N)..." Sonic mumbled, gripping onto the bars of the cage, "Are you in there? Can you hear me?"

The hero tried this at least three times a day, hoping, praying that the (a/t) could somehow overcome this beast and shine through with some sort of life. Some sort of memory. But always her eyes stayed blank, her jaw moving only to try and bite him. Her hands reached for him, but it was never for a hug. She wished for his blood, his flesh, and it killed Sonic as he stepped back; watching what had once been the love of his life try to claw her way to him, try to murder him, eat him, turn him.

"Please (Y/N), I know you're there. Some part of your brain has to be alive for you to be able to move... Be able to see and smell me... Please, I know you're in there." Sonic almost cried, his ears pressing against his head.

It sounded true, right? If one was able to move and make sounds, surely that meant their brain was alive... Right...? Sonic had thought so, he still believed it, no matter what the doctors and scientists had told him. It couldn't be the virus, it couldn't be the chaos energy acting like a bug in the system, it couldn't be true. They just had to be alive to some extent.

But the girl still pushed against the bars, reaching for him, her now dulled (f/c) fur looked mattered and dirty. She looked like she could use a bath. Sonic sighed to himself, before grabbing a pole from next to the cage and holding it up, "Guess it's time for a walk huh..? I know you like those..."

Sonic held up the pole, making sure the hoop on the end wasn't knotted, before feeding the pole through the cage and hooking it around the girl's neck. He always felt strange doing this, treating the zombified Mobian as a sort of pet. But he wanted to try and trigger her memory, so he spent as much time with her as he could. And this is why he couldn't help the others; he felt obliged to help her instead. He couldn't imagine doing anything else.

Maybe he was mad, Shadow had called him mad, repeatedly doing the same thing with the same results. Is that mad? Or just determined? Sonic didn't care. Pushing the girl back as gently as he could, he opened the cage and let out her. Of course, she tried to reach for him, but the hedgehog used the pole to keep her at a safe distance. Seeing her dull eyes, hearing the deranged cries as she tried to claw him to shred was heartbreaking, but he knew it was the right thing to do.

They started walking, one more or less being forced by the other, but it was for the greater good... Right?

Sonic chewed on his cheek, leading the girl back to his house. There, he opened the door and lead her inside. The girl had calmed down sort of, still reaching for him but also sniffing around for any other meat she can sink her claws in to. Sonic didn't know if zombies could starve, so he would feed her raw meat he had stolen from the deli a month ago.

Once they were inside, the hedgehog stuck the pole into a socket on the wall and dug into his deep freezer. The power had gone off about a week ago now, and the meat was starting to smell. He was sure (Y/N) wouldn't mind though, her tastebuds were... Dead. Grabbing some raw meat, he turned to face the (a/t). She was still sniffing the air, staring at the red beef in his hand now. Drool ran down her jaw and she started growling and snarling, reaching for him once again.

Sonic gave a small smile, before stepping closer and holding the meat out for her to grab. He'd done this enough times to know how to avoid being grabbed himself. Once the (f/c) Mobian snatched the meat, Sonic jumped back and watched as she hunched to the floor and chewed into the raw beef. Her snarling and chewing became background noise as Sonic stared at her, once again feeling that terrible ache return to his chest.

Her (h/c) hair was stringy and looked messy, some of it looked like it had fallen out. It looked like it was due for another brush. So, Sonic grabbed the brush he kept on the counter and walked behind the girl. If he could block out all the dark parts, he could picture his girl sitting on the floor, simply crying after a long day, and needing some comfort. Brushing her hair had always made her feel better. Sonic knew that, he loved doing it for her.

He hoped it would bring back memories, he prayed it would work. The last few times he thought it had, as she would freeze whenever he brushed her hair and sit still. It was a sign, Sonic would tell himself. It meant she was remembering, or that she still loved it.

Gently, he reached out and took a section of her hair. The girl jerked slightly, letting out a growl, but kept chewing on her food. Sonic let out a sigh and started brushing her hair. The knots were thick, but he worked a few of them out. Pieces of her hair curled through the brush, falling from her head, but Sonic knew it was normal for girls to lose a lot of their hair when they brushed it.

He used to have to vacuum his carpet just so he wouldn't have a second layer of (h/c) hair laying about. A chuckle escaped him; those were good times. But his good mood changed when a large clump of hair was pulled from the girl's scalp, leaving a bald spot. Sonic stopped short with his brushing and stared at it, reality seemed to slap into him, and just as he stumbled back, (Y/N) turned and lurched at him.

The hedgehog felt onto his back, staring up as the zombified (a/t) clawed at his legs and tried to bite into his shoes. He pulled his feet away and got to them just as quickly, dropping the hair-covered brush in the process. (Y/N)'s ears perked and she turned to stare at it, growling and sniffing the air once again. Once she was sure it wasn't alive, she turned back to Sonic with a growl and tried to grab him again.

Sonic only sighed, his ears pressing against his head, "I think that's enough socialising for you..."

He grabbed the pole, leading her back outside, wondering how Shadow was with finding a cure. He really should get in touch with him, and maybe try to get in touch with Knuckles as well. See how they're both going. Maybe talk to someone about what's going on. He was definitely going mad.

Was he in denial?

No... No, he was just hopeful, right?

The hedgehog locked his zombie girlfriend away, crouching to the floor in front of her cage as she tried to grab him. He stared at her, tears blocking his gaze as he fell back onto his behind. Eventually, he laid down in front of the cage, curling up to sleep. The girl snarled and growled, snapping her jaws as she tried to reach his head, but he was just out of her way.

Finally, silence took over the building, the zombie having given up and returned to the corner of the jail cell. Sonic only sighed, doing his best to sleep, hoping he'd dream of (Y/N) when she was alive, hoping he'd wake up and find out this was all a nightmare, hoping Shadow would arrive with the cure.

Darkness enveloped him, and the Hero of Mobius entered a dreamless slumber.