Chapter Text
A slight draft, almost imperceptible, blew through the underground where a dejected Sonic stumbled about mumbling to himself. Only able to pick up on small scutterings from the local bug or two. The flashlight had given out ages ago as the hedgehog traveled what felt like countless miles. Only shadows within the pitch black greeted him. It was suffocating. He couldn't turn back at this point even if he wanted to.
"Where did I land myself? It's endless! I feel liked I've circled Mobius a couple of times now..."
Sonic felt so incredibly demoralized with no signs of progress or even a differing path. He threw himself haphazardly against the wall and pulled at his quills. Displaced rocks spread around and dust dispersed amongst them caused the disgruntled hedgehog to break out in a fit of sneezes.
"How could anything survive down here!? I've never felt so bad for worms before. Maybe I should've stayed where I first fell... Tails is a pretty smart nerd; he could probably navigate down here." Sonic complained while rubbing his nose.
"Well, no use in whining." He reminded himself but before he could get back up a sharp murmur purred into his ear.
"Lonesome?"
A loud clash rang harshly throughout the cavern. The startled Mobian had jumped up shocked and collided with low hanging rocks.
"Ouch! What the- Where did that..." Sonic yelped with a sharp intake. Disoriented, he cradled his bruised head. The injured hedgehog was stunned with pain and could only focus on the intense throbbing. After a few moments of recovery, he felt around his head and quills for blood but there seemed to be none. Still, it was quite the bump or even a full-blown concussion. Sonic couldn't tell, he hadn't yet regained his barings. He was now injured, hungry, and tired. It was quite the predicament.
"Great. Wonderful, just what I needed." The hedgehog yelled sarcastically, still resting his pounding head against his arms.
A disembodied voice laughed remorselessly and was taking great delight from the worn hero's pain. The hedgehog was far too dazed to notice and hadn't yet registered the intruder. Refusing to move as to not disturb his bruised head, Sonic laid back on the ground in defeat.
Before he knew it, the tired adventurer had fallen asleep with his chest rising and falling rhythmically. He breathed in and out softly, dozing away.
...
It was darker than dark. Like his previous nightmare, flashing bright lights shrouded his view and a familiar color entered his peripheral. Yellow. An alarming yellow with fierce sanguineous spirals for eyes. It was a clear and evident sign of imminent danger. This was not something the legendary hero could overcome or escape either. Frozen like a deer in headlights, Sonic stared wide-eyed at the evil in front of him. Before he could comprehend it, the golden figure was behind him peering over his shoulder. The unwelcome visitor's intimidating presence brought destruction and the chaos energy surrounding him pierced Sonic's skin in an agonizingly painful manner.
"Super..." The blue hedgehog choked out. Despite not seeing the creature's face, he could feel the same sadistic grin as before. He could sense the hunger for violence and power waiting to be unleashed. It was clear to Sonic that the chaos monster behind him was forcibly restraining himself. This vicious being was hell bent on maiming and killing anything in its path. It was an unstoppable force like a natural disaster. It was Super Sonic. A harrowing plague the quilled venturer was forced to host and was seemingly everlasting. This was highly unusual for an entity like Super Sonic but it could only be a catastrophe waiting to happen. He did not particularly enjoy light-hearted banter. Sonic only hoped he could escape this encounter in one piece.
Neither figure moved for a moment, only stray electricity sparked and swirled around them. The merciless yellow demon inspected his helpless prey before remarking in a sickeningly sweet way, "I see you're having... difficulties, Sonic. You'll be seeing more of me... No point avoiding it." Licking his lips, Super widened his fanged smile.
"Let's have some fun together, shall we?"
Sonic shivered in response to the disturbing taunt. The blue hero tightly shuts his eyes attempting to awaken from the hellish place he's currently in. Unfortunately, he tries to no avail. He wasn't leaving so easily, and he presumed it was due to his adversary in gold. He was trapped for now.
Sonic steadied his shallow breathing and composed himself. Perhaps he could try to reason his way out of this situation. He wasn't entirely certain of his malevolent counterpart's intentions and whether his life was immediately at risk or not. The murderous beast hadn't yet shown aggression but Sonic knew it wasn't that straightforward. He wished he could decipher what was happening but he dared not look at the chaos demon head on. It could be a simple nightmare or the actual chaos manifestation he loathed. Sonic wasn't one to gamble his life on it. Could Super Sonic even kill him in a dream? As he was thinking, he felt sharp claws prick his arm and he jerked backwards in response.
"We're already in your head, bozo! And you're not leaving until I allow you to, got it?" The yellow creature cackled and bared his razor-edged teeth. The chaos energy progressively spiking with each laughter before settling again. Super casually strolls around Sonic and yawns before coming to a sudden stop.
"Here's the deal. I could definitely kill you with the snap of my finger but... that's hardly worth it. You're stuck in this dingy old place underground just like I am!" The powerful monster plucks a quill from the hero's head and carelessly examines it. Sonic flinches and growls feeling anger swell within him. He was sure the demon was getting a kick out of this.
"Why don't we help each other out?" Super indifferently states flicking away the blue quill. The evil incarnate scrutinizes the blue hedgehog anticipating an answer. Sonic glares back and snarls suddenly prevailing over the tense fear gripping atmosphere.
"Hell no! I'm not that much of an idiot. Over and over again, you prove that you can't ever be trusted. Not to me, not even to the one person that had faith in you, Ebony! You only deceive others." Sonic retaliated without considering the consequences of his words.
Super Sonic's smile faltered and pure hatred flickered over his features for a split second. A wave of pure unadulterated fury waiting to explode. The murderous double debated whether he should bother with the pathetic blue hedgehog. He decides to suppress his malicious instincts and follow through on his ploy. Afterall, patience is a virtue not a vice.
"We'll meet again real soon and then I'm certain you'll reconsider it..."
...
Sonic jolted forward from sleeping and reeled back with a brutal headache. He palmed his forehead hoping for the dull pain to subside when he abruptly remembered his nightmare. He groaned realizing the ongoing trend will be nightmares everytime he sleeps. Despite leaving the horrid place from his sleep, he felt as though he was still in a nightmare.
"Everything sucks."
The exhausted hedgehog forced himself to stand but faltered a bit. He despised it but that vile demon was right, he was struggling a lot. He didn't know how long he could last. He missed his friends a lot. He wanted to see his best friend, Tails. He wanted to reunite with the rest of the freedom fighters as well. He took them for granted and now he could only think about things he desperately wanted to avoid. He couldn't let them down! He had to survive if not for himself, for the people that needed him. Leaning against the cave wall for support; he clenched his fist and grit his teeth. He wasn't going to willingly surrender to his destructive chaotic side or the hopelessness of the situation. Even without energy, he felt reinvigorated and determined to escape.
Yet despite this, Sonic found himself speculating over his yellow doppelganger's ominous words. He couldn't stop reliving the uncomfortable scene.
What was the deal with his counterpart? What was he trying to achieve? Was he in even deeper trouble than he imagined?
The hedgehog wasn't sure what to make of the situation. The whole thing was bizarre. He was already doubting himself. Sonic didn't think of himself as naive but since this was an uncommon occasion, would he truly be a fool to trust- No, that was like trusting the devil himself. Always a bad idea in the longterm. Sonic silently fidgeted with his dirtied gloves while thinking his possible options over. Without intervention, he was in a tight spot. He also didn't know what Super was capable of since he only just resurfaced. He naively thought he had more time but of course, Super had to show up at the worst time. Letting the gold demon take control was a sure-fire way out of this purgatory but it came with a heavy cost. Sonic could not afford that and if it meant perishing down here to keep everyone safe so be it. He wondered if the twisted monster made of chaos energy would vanish as well. That was a nice thought.
The hedgehog recalled he mentioned Ebony absent-mindedly. Why did she ever trust him? The stupid demon ended up betraying her after all. Sonic couldn't ever imagine wanting to be friends with such a wicked person. What happened in the time they were 'friends'? Sonic was stumped, but it hardly mattered. That 'friendly' version of Super was nowhere to be found. He sincerely doubted it ever existed but maybe there was hope.
Sonic realized he was starting to feel brutally slow and sluggish. His body felt extraordinarily feeble. Curiously enough, he wasn't tired or sleepy. He felt a sudden surge of paranoia and inexplicable fear. His heart began racing and his chest felt abnormally tight. This was a bad sign; he didn't know where these feelings were coming from. Sonic felt vulnerable. Especially because of the impenetrable darkness concealing his vision. He was essentially blind folded. He decided to crouch down and wait out the mysterious happenings. The cavern had been inaudible but now he could scarcely hear several unknown voices whispering unintelligible things. Did he finally crack? Was the solitude finally getting to him? The blue hedgehog's spines bristled.
This was unimaginably bad.