Winter Comes This Way

It was cold out. Grey and white. Visiting Mobius at the time of winter... a pleasant time filled with the joys of the upcoming holidays, and the sweet sound of boots crunching in snow. Sonic recalled past moments, enjoying this time with his many friends... most of which were now dead.

Like him.

Sonic, though, was different from the others. He was given the role as an angel... which meant he could visit Mobius as much as he pleased, and God wouldn't bat an eyelash.

The hedgehog tightened the scarf around his neck. His wings, disguised as a piece of clothing. It now tightly hugged his mouth and nose. He didn't to wear the clothing. Because he was an angel - because he was already dead, he no longer had to feel the cold, or heat of the earth. He didn't have to... but he willed himself to feel the bitter cold anyway. He wanted to feel it... to embrace it...

... because it made him feel alive again.

His glowing green eyes looked up, and watched the snow drift lazily to the ground. Slow wasn't normally his thing, but sometimes you needed to enjoy the little things in life, or else you'd go stir crazy...

Suddenly, a child darted past him, and slipped on some ice. She would have fallen, if Sonic hadn't stuck his hand out and caught her.

"Thanks mister!" She squeaked. A mouse with amber eyes.

"What's the rush?" Sonic asked.

"My grandpa's very sick... I was gonna deliver a get-well card to him... oh! I need to go!" She then ran off again.

In silence, he "read" the girl. A power that the angels had. Once he had read someone, he knew of their thoughts, feelings, memories, and other such things. It was a good way to spot someone who was up to no good. Based on the memories he had read from that girl... her grandfather was more than just sick... he was DYING...

Sonic was never one who liked tears. He could only imagine that little girl being so upset when her grandpa finally kicked the bucket... well... not if HE could help it...

Like a shadow, he followed the girl until they arrived at a hospital. Still, he trudged behind her before she entered a small room. Sonic waited.

Inside, he heard a few whispers, and finally, the cry of the little girl. Grandpa had one more day to live, it seemed. Sonic's ears drooped. Death depressed him.

The hedgehog wrung his hands, then went back out to the hospital's main lobby. He sat in a chair, closed his eyes, and waited for the visiting hours to be over, head lowering.

three hours later, the last person (not including the staff) left, and Sonic's head rose... but only because the intern was tapping him on the shoulder.

"Yes?" He asked the young-adult, hiding his face with his scarf.

"Excuse me, sir, but visiting hours are over, and we'd like to ask you to leave the hospital..."

"fair enough." Sonic replied, and left the Hospital... or at least, it's interior. The hedgehog turned a corner, away from the watchful eyes of others, and... disappeared.

Well, if a mobian were to have seen him, that's what they would have said had happened. But Sonic didn't disappear. He had teleported himself into the room of the girl's grandfather.

He walked over to the poor, suffering creature, sleeping away his last few hours. With a gentle hand, he lightly touched the old mobian on the head.

Cardiac arrhythmia. A heart disease that made the heartbeat irregular. He had suffered from a cardiac arrest, and it was much too late to fully save him... or so the doctors thought.

Sonic moved his hand to the grandfather's chest. A blue aura surrounded both the old man, and Sonic.

Suddenly, the mobian took in a huge gasp of air. His heart moniter going from a weak, off beeping to a completelly normal beeping that you would find from a perfectly healthy mobian. The blue hedgehog smiled warmly at this.

Suddenly, the old man opened his eyes, and stared long and hard at his saviour. Sonic stared back.

"I... I know you..." The old man whispered. Sonic stayed silent. "Y... your Sonic the Hedgehog... you were always in the news... when I wasn't as old... but you're dead..."

Again, Sonic smiled.

"Happy holidays!" He told him cheerily, and disappeared without a trace.

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The next day, the doctors were completelly bewildered. This old mobian... the one who was going to dye that very day, had somehow managed to restore his own heart until it was like new.

"It's a miracle!" The little girl cried happily, and hugged her grandfather.

"Yes... A miracle..." The old mobian replied, hugging his grandaughter. Had Sonic the Hedgehog really saved him, or was he just dreaming? Either way, he was happy to be alive.

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Outside, Sonic leaned against the hospital, looking out, at the sky. He pulled his scarf down, and let the cool air nip at his nose and lips. Those lips curved into a small smile. Another gift given. Happy holidays, Mobius.