It was December at last. The first day of December had arrived in Diamond Dust. The forecast was for snow to land soon in Diamond Dust, something which was normally in the zone. It snowed around this time of the year. The temperature would drop a lot during this time too.


Sonic was spending the day in his room. Not fancying going out in the cold, the hedgehog wanted to stay in the warmth and relax. He had mostly played video games for the day, catching up on some progress in one of the roleplaying games he had been meaning to complete a hundred percent on.


It had occupied him during the long, quiet day. During a break from playing the game, he texted Tails, asking what his winter plans were and what he was up to during the day.


Sonic hadn’t received an answer from his brother so he believed the fox might be busy doing whatever it was he was doing. He never liked to pry in Tails’ business anyway, it was not his place to say anything about his life or what he did with it. After all, the fox now was growing up and was learning to stand on his own two feet, something which had made the blue hedgehog very proud of.


Though, he never minded the rare occasions of where Tails would retreat back to Sonic’s for whatever reason. Sonic was always more than willing to aid his brother through anything and everything.


Hours later and it became the evening. Sonic saved his game and switched off the console, and then the TV. Stretching his arms out in the air with a moan, he yawned afterwards before then standing up from his chair.


He hadn’t eaten all day. Chaos, time to fix that. Immediately. So, next top; the kitchen.


Heading down the stairs from his room, the hedgehog crossed over the living room and then entered the medium sized kitchen. It was plain looking, nothing special, but he had all the things he needed in it to make meals, store drinks and other things. His home hadn’t been very sophisticated, never liked one. He hated homes with loads of rooms and too much space. Never knew what to store in the rooms.


No, where he was now was good enough for him. A bedroom, a spare bedroom in case somebody stayed over, along with a living room and kitchen? Suited for Sonic. Just enough space for him to feel like he’s not out of sorts.


Switching the light on, it lit up the neatly kept kitchen before his eyes. Another yawn escaped him as he walked to the fridge, pulling the fridge door open. He searched inside for a drink to have, though he didn’t feel like a sugary one. So, water it was.


Out comes a bottle of water and then the fridge is closed.


Now, he heads to the living room. Switch on the light in there and then the TV. Sit on the sofa, open the bottle and then just chill. Nothing to worry about, nothing to do.


He always felt at ease the most when he could properly relax. Saving the world from Eggman and his henchmen were always a tiring job. Not that he minded it so much, but it would leave him feeling exhausted. It felt nice not having to chase after him for a while. He doubted it would last, but at least he was able to catch the much needed breather.


Local boring news. Something about somebody stealing a lawn mower from a shop, Sonic was baffled. Then, they reported the weather, and the forecast was for snow to come within a couple of days. This was old news, they all knew this but the hedgehog understood how they needed to mention more than once for the people who were only now just catching up.


But the next piece of news sent him into a spiral of frenzy.


“And now, we report in Red Gate City to reveal to you that we have word on the whereabouts of the infamous Infinite. The one who crushed Sonic so easily in the beginning of the war and army leader of the Eggman Army.”


The screen revealed a cat woman who wore a smart outfit for the report, voice calm and collected.


Oh, no. No, no, no. Sonic’s heart began to race during the onset of the news.


“But, he was defeated by said hero in the end, thank goodness.”


A picture came up on the screen to show Infinite’s last known sighting. Sonic began to feel sick to his stomach. How dare that jackal show his face again, how dare he!


“The police were alerted to a jackal who sported long silver hair, and stood around three foot. His mask was cracked but looked a lot like the one worn by Infinite himself during the war. He was last seen near the Red Gate train station, believing to had been heading towards the trains and then vanishing shortly afterwards.”


The footage on the screen showed exactly what she was saying. Where had he gone to then and why? Wait, oh no, was he going to come back to finish what he started? What if he was going off to find Eggman?


Or kill him?


Oh no, no, no! He was just beginning to finally work through the trauma of it all too, and now Infinite shows his ugly head! This couldn’t be happening, this shouldn’t be happening!


Sonic gasped, pressing a hand against his mouth, eyes watering. He was quaking where he sat. Shaking his head, he didn’t want to believe this was real. None of it. He truly wanted to believe this wasn’t happening.
Infinite couldn’t be alive. He couldn’t, he couldn’t!


He just couldn’t be! They had found him--! But he was found--! Chaos, oh, this had to be a dream. A dream! A dream!


“Whether or not it is the real Infinite we shall see. Stay tuned for more news. Alicia Rowes, Diamond Dust Local News.” and then it was back to the reporters on the main setting.


Off goes the TV. Sonic jumped up from the sofa and dashed to the kitchen as quickly as he could. When arriving to the sink, he threw up violently in the sink, mind flashing before him of images, sounds, all the things he really wanted to forget about. It was all rushing back to him.


The six months of hell. The blood, the smell of metal, the beatings, the lies being fed to him, drowning, Chaos, he couldn't take it! Not again! Not another round of bad memories and sick feelings!


Minutes later, he spat out the last bit of silvia from his mouth, panting heavily. He stared at nothing as the memories continued to play in his mind, like some sick joke on him, like they wanted to remind him of the pain and how much he felt like a failure.


It was his fault the war started. It was his fault his friends had been injured. It was his fault how people died, how they lost their homes, how everything went to damn hell!


Him, him, him, him!


It was all him!


Him!


...Him. He was everything wrong.


“It’s all my fault. I deserved everything I got.”


The hedgehog then fell to his knees, breaking down into tears. It was going to be another long day.