The Warrior by Scandal, Patty Smyth.
~~~

He always preferred the more reclusive life. The peace and quiet. Tweeting birds and dancing Chao. On the occasion, he'd want more. He expected as much when a certain reckless hedgehog showed up on his island- a larger than life personality to match. But he had great responsibilities which prevented him from leaving when he wished.

Which was fine.

So fine in fact he was more than happy spending yet another day resting against the Master Emerald. A Flicky resided on his red shoe and often chirped a little song. The Master Emerald shrine had two layers, where the outer edge of the bottom was covered in draping moss and the top filled with trickling water. He always found it intriguing how the liquid would move in such a peculiar way.

Sometimes it was like it was alive.

The flicky abruptly seemed frustrated and flapped their little wings, shooting over to pull at the echidna's cowboy hat. He grumbled and waved a large mitt, far too comfortable from the Master Emerald's radiant heat (sometimes, he found, it would be cool if he needed that too).

"Hey! Alright alright, I'm up." He huffed, crossing his legs and clipping his belt around his waist.

A mitt went to the Master Emerald to help him stand, but he tensed from the sudden coldness pouring from it. He scrambled up and kicked a piece of hay (previously between his teeth) and eyed the magnificent jewel curiously.

"What's wrong?"

A quicker breeze (accidentally reminding him of a dear friend) and he turned towards the sky. The sun was, somehow, already setting and clouds began to thicken, no doubt ready for a storm. He crossed his arms and frowned just as a few thuds thumped from within the grande forestry. He readied for a fight immediately, triangular teeth baring in a growl.

"Is it him?" He asked the Master Emerald, gaining silence.

"This friend of yours needs your help."

"From himself."

Knuckles the Echidna cleared his throat and rolled his shoulders, shaking the reminder off. He didn't understand what 'Tikal' had meant, and she'd only shown herself once or twice since- refusing to discuss further. From what he could tell, she didn't even seem that knowledgeable on what the danger concerned, but the terror in her eyes was enough for him to keep it in mind.

Of course, Knuckles shouldn't have been surprised when his best friend emerged from the woods, a little blue Chao clinging to his ear. Knuckles should've known it had something to do with Sonic the Hedgehog.
It always did.

He was ready to give a lecture, fist in the air to shake, but froze when purple eyes watched Amy Rose step to the speedsters side. He hurriedly began descending the shrine's stairs, making louder stomps when the two didn't notice him.

"Long time no see."

Sometimes, he wished Sonic didn't teach him to have such a loud mouth. His following words fell quiet when he zoned in on the unconscious two-tailed fox laying within Amy's arms. He barely acknowledged jumpy Chao following the three with raised arms and shrunken eyes.

Odd, but-

"Chao Chao." Cheese whimpered.

"Kn-Knuckles."

The echidna hurried upon Amy's strained voice. She should never sound like that. She should be smiling and hugging and jumping about. And what gave with Sonic's silence? The one time he actually wanted to hear the Blue Blurs voice and he was met with nothing.

"What happened?" He asked, resting a large mitt against Amy's back and guiding her to the shrine.

"I-I don't...."

He frowned and looked to Sonic on the pink hedgehog's other side. "Is Tails alright?"

Amy shook her head and her eyes appeared more present. "He got hit. We don't know what with exactly, but I removed the dart-."

"Dart? Hit? What-?"

"Gun came." She continued. "They had darts and o-one of them got Tails."

"How long?" Knuckles moved away and pulled hung moss aside, clearing an arch into his home beneath the shrine.

Amy observed for a moment, but Sonic silently led her inside. Like Tails was the most expensive vase, the blue hedgehog delicately brought his brother to the muted red sofa, shrugging off the brown backpack after. Mostly a one floor space, a rickety ladder ascended to the loft bedroom above. Amy watched Knuckles step to the small kitchen at the back and nervously wrung her hands together.

The guardian had a very cosy space. Lanterns hung from above and candles took up most of the shelves and tables. He had a punching bag and large wooden chest beside his circular bed upstairs. A radio (specially crafted by Tails due to Angel Islands location) resided beside the sofa and many bean bags.

If there was any place comfortable enough for Tails right then, it was here.

Knuckles shut a cabinet behind him, startling Amy back into focus, and crouched beside Sonic (who smoothed out Tails' fur atop his forehead). The echidna waved the shocked pink hedgehog over and snapped open his medical kit.

"We're gonna wash out whatever that dart had and then you guys will tell me what the hell happened."

"Chao!" Cheese chirped, eyes unnervingly screwed on the blue hedgehog he clung to.

"Right." Amy took a deep breath and crouched at his side for aid.

"Heard Eggman came back. Is it true?" The guardian slowly removed the bandages, handing them to Sonic who silently rid of them.

"Unfortunately. Bet he's having a field day with Sonic becoming an enemy of the world."

Having propped Tails up with a tube going from a water bottle to his mouth, Knuckles froze. Sonic was always full of surprises, huh?

"What?"

Amy watched the speedster in question cringe, now able to truly become concerned for his prolonged silence. "I uh...Towers seems to have the idea Sonic can't be trusted. He missed a bunch of reports on Badniks sightings and Breezie just keeps adding to it."

"Is he daft?" Knuckles frowned, tending to the small wound where the dart once sat.

"He's paranoid. Eggman coming back has us all a bit...." Forest green eyes found a lighter emerald.

Sonic had his hands to his eyes.
His eyes were so pale.
And those teeth and claws....

Perhaps too quickly but Amy dropped her gaze to the fox before her. "Like I said, he's thrown us all through a loop."

"Yeah but anyone knows the worst thing you can do is shut yourself out from the world." Carefully, the echidna lay Tails down with the tube removed and new bandages.

"Well, he should be alright. I doubt Gun wanted to, you know, do more than put him or you guys to sleep."

Amy squeezed the fox's leg and stood. "That's what we thought. But I think they were made with Sonic in mind too."

"Would explain how it had such a quick effect." Knuckles watched the aforementioned hedgehog sit beside his brother again, holding his hand.

With a hum he pulled Amy aside and lowered his voice. Cheese followed and snuggled within the heroine's arms. "So, what exactly happened back there?"

Amy only looked so utterly spooked once before. Years ago, when facing Metal Sonic. She was so pale and her quills stood on end and she looked like she could collapse.

"I don't...exactly know."

The pair looked to their teary eyed blue leader.

"You see, I found Vanilla's and Cream's house empty. So, I told the Chaotix and then those two. Gun showed up and demanded Sonic go with them. Th-they were gonna arrest him, Knuckles. But we needed to find Vanilla and Cream and...."

"Chao Chao." Cheese whimpered.

Amy inhaled. "I-."

"He said you found him." Knuckles' arms crossed and Amy felt a small ray of hope.

"Right!" She smiled, making Sonic jump.

"We were gonna come here anyway, so you could decipher what he's been trying to tell me. He was there when Vanilla and Cream were taken- he has to know who did it!"

"I'll try. Whatever I can do to help save our friends."

"It's not just them. The Chaotix think they're tied to the other missing cases."

"Others? Yikes. All the more reason to do something. Although, that's harder with you guys hiding out here."

Amy's ears folded back. "I doubt Mobius is safe for us right now."

Knuckles huffed and poked her head with his thumb. "Good thing everything doesn't rest on our shoulders. I'll call Rouge and-."

"Not Rouge. Or any of Team Dark. I-I know they'll want to help but we can't get them in trouble. This is our mess. We shouldn't have even came to y-."

A large mitt went to her shoulder. "Enough of that. Let's wait for Tails to wake and come up with a plan."

Amy gratefully smiled. "Thanks, Knuckles."

"Now." He whirled and marched over to Sonic, crouching on a knee.

"I'm still missing something, aren't I?"

"This friend needs your help."

He gulped. Was Sonic...?

"Could do with one of your terrible jokes right now. Or a corny speech- I'll try my best to not make fun of you."

Amy stood behind and Knuckles didn't even have to look to feel her worry radiating off her face. Tails had told them about this before. What had he called it? Sonic wouldn't even whisper under very certain circumstances. Ah.

Selective muteness.

The guardian's shoulders sagged a touch and Amy placed her hand over Sonic's and the fox's. With her coughing, the echidna hurried to set his mitten over them all.

"He's gonna be okay, Sonic." The heroine comforted. "We got here in time."

"But he needs his brother when he wakes. We...we need our friend, too."

"You can tell Knuckles what happened. He won't judge. And if he does, Amy Rose is here." She winked.

Sonic's eyes shut. He felt so...terrible. He hated it. Guilty and embarrassed and ashamed and frighteningly angry. It was even more terrifying because it had been years since he'd fallen mute. He was fine. He had been for ages.

And now his friends were left to pick up the pieces.

Well, he refused to settle for that. He wasn't their burden. This was his mess and he couldn't be a damn coward about it now. Who did he think he was for him to go silent at a time like this anyway?

"It was me."

Purple and forest green eyes shot cartoonishly wide.

"What was?"

Sonic's head lowered in a drowning sea of remorse and humiliation.

"Chao Chao." Cheese zoomed from Amy's free arm to hug a peach chest.

"Tails threw himself in front of me. Only 'cause I...I just didn't listen. It's my fault."

But, he was Sonic the Hedgehog and damn it, he refused to buckle now.
He was fine. He was always fine.

No one could keep him down for long.
Not even himself.