Shivering. Shaking. Sonic had no control over his body whatsoever. His head was pounding, his joints and muscles ached, and though he resonated with such incredible heat, he couldn't seem to alleviate the freezing sensations that made him curl up tightly. He covered his mouth and swallowed hard as the nausea threatened to return his breakfast to the surface. 

Infinite had always cared for his wounds properly, and as a reward for his obedience, he has been receiving three nutritional meals a day for some time now. Although they were rather bland, it was a big improvement over the miniscule helpings of stale bread and stinky cheese he feasted on for weeks at a time before. He was even granted a cot with proper linens and his cell was always sterilized thoroughly by the guard bots after "serving" his master to elimiante the growth of bacteria in such a confined space. 

So the big question was, "How did I get sick?" he thought to himself during a coughing fit. He always hated catching colds, and the flu was even worse! Sure, he could heal rather quickly and recuperate from an illness faster than anyone else, but being confined to a bed while his immune system did all the fighting went against everything he stood for, and now that his entire life was essentially a confined existence, it felt even worse! 

Covering his head in the thin sheet, he began to review how his lifestyle took such a drastic change in the last five months. 
At first, he obeyed for the sake of survival, but then his feelings changed as he started to do whatever he could to make the situation bearable. The more comfort he was awarded, the more he complied and the stronger these feelings grew for his captor. The aim to please, the desire to be in his company, the hunger for his touch. Whether he evolved or deteriorated, he couldn't decipher, but this was who he was now. He hasn't felt the sun warming his fur in ages, the wind brushing through his quills or the fresh air caressing his lungs in such a long time that he had forgotten such frivolous freedoms and didn't seem to miss them anymore. 

Yes, he lives in a cold isolated cell; sure, his movements are limited, and though Eggman had lost interest in torturing him, Infinite has had his way ever since. This might not be the most ideal way of living, but he's adapted to it, embraced it, and wants to do everything he can to please the jackal whom had somehow become so precious to him.

The jackal, his warden, his master...his lover? Their intimate moments were always so extreme, often violent. There was seldom an experience where he didn't scream in agony or break down in tears during their times together; however, he discovered there was a compromise. Though it took a while, he had learned to find pleasure in the pain, and the tears that fell slowly became a simple biological reaction rather than an emotional outcry for what was happening to him. His master was cruel, yet kind; demented, yet considerate. It was like he was two different people. Rubbing his watering eyes, Sonic took a moment and studied this, thinking of how he; himself, was before and realized he was esentially the same. Both he and his jackal were two incomplete halves. "Maybe that's why he feels this way about him?" he theorized.
However; everything he'd been through had changed him and his body to such an extent that now he had to face the consequences. Getting sick without a reason was proof enough; or maybe, there were plenty of reasons and he just ignored them. 

"Come on, Sonic! You gotta get over this, FAST!" he said as he rocked back and forth, trembling, sniffling, and wheezing. The last thing he wanted was for Infinite to come to his cell with erotic anticipation only to find him blowing snot bubbles. Even if it wasn't entirely off-putting to his master, Sonic couldn't even process what it would be like to have intercourse while feeling so sick. How gross and embarrasing it would be to barf while reaching the climax?! HOW ENGRAGED WOULD INFINITE BE?! The thought of facing the jackal's wrath doubled his anxiety and made him feel even worse. He pulled the sheets tightly around him, wondering if he could smother the fever out. 

"Healthy thoughts. Healthy thoughts," he kept saying aloud. However, the more he shaked and the tighter he curled, the worse he felt. His injuries from his last time with his master had yet to heal. Through raspy breaths, he could see red permeating through some of the bandages as the wounds inevitably reopened due to his straining muscles, "NONONO!" he yelped while pressing on the painful sites. 

His body was betraying him again! 
Before, the humiliating arousals from his torture sessions with Infinite cut his pride to ribbons. His first fall from grace. Now, he was essentially falling apart and was unable to stop it. "No good! NO GOOD!!!" he screamed while he tried to rewrap the bandages tighter. "I CAN'T LET HIM SEE ME LIKE THIS!!!" 

In a panic, he kicked off the blanket and limped to the sink, his ankle still throbbing despite the brace. He pulled all of the stained bandages from his arms and began rinsing the wounds thoroughly with cold water to stop the bleeding. It felt like icy knives were stabbing him, causing goosebumps to form all over while his quills to stood on end. He gritted his teeth as he dunked his chest under the faucet, making him shrill but withstanding until the water spiraling down the sink stopped appearing red. Though the pain in his wounds did gain some relief, the dampness in his fur only elevated the inescapable chill that sank into his bones. His teeth now chattered uncontrollably as he flopped back on his cot, carefully bundling up in the sheets with the hopes that maybe sleeping would rid himself of this ailment. 

"Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. GO TO SLEEP!" He kept repeating. The plan was sound, but accomplishing it was another matter entirely. His throbbing headache, the constant shivering, and the growing soreness in his throat made dozing off nearly impossible. He was so tired, but he couldn't turn off his senses. As he lay there, waiting for a miracle, hours trickled by, and with them, he began feeling worse and worse. He felt hotter, heavier, as though the germs were killing every healthy cell in his body one at a time execution style. "Did that little cold bath do this?" he considered, realizing that exposing himself to such temperatures, even on just portions of his frame, could have created a domino effect. "--stupid..." he uttered quietly before exhaustingly shutting his eyes and finally lulling into an uncomfortable slumber. 

Time went by in the blink of an eye before the sound of approaching footsteps suddenly jarred him awake. He knew the sounds of his master's boots by heart, and while he usually welcomed him with open arms, right now, he was terrified. He knew what Infinite expected to find, and in his present state, there was no way he could live up to his standards. It had been quite some time since he was genuinely frightened of the jackal's unpredictability and infamous rage, but his fever compounded his fear and added a series of irrational thought to the mix. 

"Should I hide? --THERE'S NO WHERE TO HIDE!!" Sonic panicked as the strides of deep thudding grew closer, "COME ON, SONIC! THINK!!!" 

With no other option, he manuevered himself into a position that caught his master by surprise. 

Standing outside of the cell, Infinite was greeted by Sonic's tail stretching as high as he could make it stand while his legs were parted extremely wide and his face was buried in his pillow, hoping to conceal his bloodshot eyes, flushed face, and ever-running nose. It was essentially an open invitation to coitice, though the exaggerated stance made it appear more humorous than enticing.

"And just what are you doing, hedgehog?" he questioned while removing his mask and entering the cell. Sonic could feel his stare boring down on him, but as nervous as he was, he was more focused to holding back the need to cough and supress the rattling sounds in his chest.

"Oh I just thought since you have been so busy that you'd like to cut right to the chase," he claimed as softly and casually as possible with an anxious giggle. 

There was a long excrutiating pause that made the hedgehog's mind race a mile every millisecond. "Did he buy that? Why isn't he saying anything? Is he interested or deterred? Should I have said something more romantic? Will he? Won't he? I think I'm going to puke." 

Finally the stillness broke as the jackal inserted two fingers into the blue anus of his willing pet, making its owner wince and wiggle since the fever had made him even more sensitive than ever before. He bit into his pillow, hoping that he could handle more than just a pair of digits to satisfy his master. Infinite poked in and out, stroking the tight moist insides and pressing firmly against the supple walls. Each movement made Sonic moan with both pleasure and discomfort. He began feeling dizzy as his body hotter and colder at the same time. The spinning room made his stomach turn, prompting him to quickly shut his eyes in the hopes of staving off the urge to vomit. After a few moments of enduring the titillating prodding, he felt a strange displacement, like the world shifted around him. 

"Did I pass out?" he wondered before cautiously cracking his eyes open.

"Get up," his master commanded sternly. Peering up, Sonic discovered they had been teleported into the infirmary. "Did you hear me?" he resounded impatiently, prompting the blue hedgehog to spin around and seat himself on the bed, while trying to avert his tell-all face from the all-seeing jackal.

Infinite's glare was menacing and unforgiving as he kneeled down and began examining the wounds he had bandaged the day before, which were now exposed and sopping wet. 

"O-Oh, I had a l-little accident is all," Sonic tried to explain automatically, fighting to keep his trembling voice in check, "it's no big deal."

The jackal then looked at the other areas where the bandages had been removed until his gaze met Sonic's. With an expressionless face, his dual-colored eyes pierced into his captive like a single beam of light in the dark. The blue blur couldn't help but squirm as he was now at a loss for words. He physically felt terrible, the worst he had ever felt in his life, and concealing it was getting harder to do by the second. At this point, he wished his master would just have his way with him and get it over with as quickly as possible rather than sit here with that icy stare building a pyramid of anxiety within him. 

"You think you can lie to me?" he snarled as he ominously stood above his pet, his brow furrow and fists clenched while his aura manifested his anger and disgust. "Do you think I'm a fool?" 

The blue hedgehog sank downward, becoming meek, petrified, and awkward as he tried and failed time and again to find the right words. Infinite demanded perfection. Anything less was always met with brutal punishment, and that was something Sonic had done everything in his power to avoid. Quivering, a congested cough escaped him, bringing with it a shocked expression that he let it slip. He nervously looked up to his master, genuinely afraid of what he would do. 

Suddenly, Infinite moved closely to him, prompting Sonic to gulp and slam his eyes shut while he expected pain to follow. Instead, he gasped and winced for no reason while receiving something he wasn't expecting. The mercenary gently placed his palm on the hedgehog's sweltering forehead, resting it there for a moment before tracing down his face to brush across his flushed cheeks. The blue blur was astonished, his mouth agape as the tenderness flowed over him. His fever had reached such a level that he was a little dilusional, being unable to process simple rational thought or understanding what was happening. 

"Stick out your tongue" Infinite ordered as he guided his chin upward. Without hesitation, Sonic did as he was commanded, "AHHHH", being the automatic response as his master peered into his mouth. The jackal growled softly before letting out a sigh and removing himself from in front of his pet, who sat there with his tongue hanging out in a confused state of bewildermen while his master swaggered to the cabinets in the corner of the room. Within a couple of minutes, he returned with two cups, both of which he handed to the ailing blue hedgehog, "Take these." Sonic didn't bother asking what they were, he just obediently choked down the three pills from one cup before gulping the water in the second, although everything going down his throat hurt more than he could bring himself to admit, he forced down the bitter medicine without fail. 

With the snap of his fingers, Infinite utilized the Phantom Ruby dry off his damp blue fur and replace the bandages with fresh new ones. This made Sonic wonder why he went through the long and arduous task of treating him bit by bit the day before. Was he admiring his handywork? Relishing in the pain that came from the treatment? Or was it something more intimate, a bonding experience for them both? Whatever the reason, it felt good having his wounds properly dressed once again. 

"Lay down," his master then instructed, which once again, his pet complied in an instant. 

Placing his hand over Sonic's, he could feel him still trembling. His body was still suffering from cold sensations despite being dry. Attentively, the jackal pulled a thick blanket over him and tucked him in warmly before ensuring the pillow behind his head was situated just right. The blue hedgehog was in awe at how well he was being taken care of! Never could he have imagined his master, this wicked, cunning, powerful individual, to be so attentive and kind to him when he has always attested that the weak deserve to perish. Sonic could feel his eyelids growing heavy, a side effect of some of the medication. However, he fought it as best he could, desiring to stay awake and with his jackal. 

"In-fin-ite..." he uttered, his throat aching the point he could barely whisper. 

"Rest, dear one," he said soothingly as he began massaging Sonic's chest with menthol cream, a smell that he personally despised due to his sensitivity to such potent scents. Nevertheless, the cream helped to open the hedgehog's congested nasal cavities and give an overall warming sense the more he breathed. During the process, he was careful to avoid his teeth marks on those delicate peach breasts, knowing that any contact with the topical application would result in severe burning and discomfort.

"Thank you...and....I-I'm sorry," Sonic strained out with saddened eyes, feeling like a burden for being in such a condition. Infinite studied those eyes keenly, knowing full well what was going through his pet's mind. He lean in and rubbed their cheeks together, "Shhh, it's all right. You're not at fault, but I'm disappointed in you for not being forward with me."

Sonic moaned in self-loathing anguish, hating that he let his master down. How he wished he could make it up to him, but as of right now, he was useless. 
He had no purpose. 
He was no longer a hero. 
No longer a shining example to others. 
No longer an unstoppable force of nature. 
And now, he wasn't even good enough to satisfy his beloved. 
Tears enveloped his eyes and streamed down his face, which Infinite felt drip onto him. He looked on his pet's bright red face from the corner of his eye, witnessing the grimace shear into his pitiful expression as he was mentally kicking himself. The jackal sat up, and with his clean hand, he caressed Sonic's brow, followed the contours to his muzzle, and briskly wiped away the tears.

"Crying won't make you get better," he said bluntly, the comment sounding more cruel than he intended as it just made his pet's face contort even more. He was suffering, and while normally this was something Infinite sought, imposed, and relished, this natural form of pain was unnatural to him. 
He laid down on top of the blankets next to his hedgehog, pulling his head in close in a tender embrace before altering his previous comment with more sincerity, "I want you to feel better."

With that, Sonic smiled gently and relaxed, letting himself be carried away into a deep sleep in the strong arms of his master.