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Gadget looked around. This place seemed familiar. It almost reminded him of-
As the place continued to come into focus, Gadget could make out three blurred forms that he eventually recognized as himself, Sonic and Infinite. He ran towards the three, but he stopped a short distance away. None of them seemed to notice him, but he couldn't bring himself to come closer.
"Impossible. I cannot be defeated."
Oh, how Gadget wished he had done something. He couldn't even remedy the situation now, being stuck in place as he was.
"Wrong, loser! The things that can't be defeated are heart, soul, and the bonds of friendship. Three things you and your counterfeit cronies lack."
When it had first happened, Gadget hadn't been sure what Sonic was doing. Now, through the lens of an outside observer (to his own memory, nonetheless), he could see clearly that Sonic was gloating over Infinite. That had never seemed like Sonic's style, but Gadget assumed six months of torture would do that to someone.
Suddenly, Infinite started floating away, and the fear hit Gadget like a ton of bricks. He momentarily forgot he was watching a memory; no, he couldn't lose Zero, not again. Damn you, legs, why won't you work-
Gadget awoke suddenly in a cold sweat. He immediately hopped off of his bed, he needed to make sure Zero was still here, he had to make sure it was only a dream and nothing more...
He opened the door to Zero's room and found him, presumably asleep, on his bed. Gadget let out a quiet sigh of relief; it had only been a nightmare, Zero was still here.
So why was he still scared?
It's probably just the leftover fear from the nightmare; if he got back to his bed-
"...Gadget?"
Well, damn. Of course, Zero was a light sleeper; he was bound to wake up when Gadget opened his door. Might as well get back to bed-
"...Are you crying?"
Was he? Gadget felt on his cheek; huh, he was. Still, no matter-
Zero started to get out of bed. Gadget waved him off and came over to him, laying down next to him. Zero was concerned. "What happened?"
"[Had a nightmare.]"
Zero was slightly taken aback; usually, Gadget talked to him. If he was signing with them alone, this must have been a really bad nightmare. He held Gadget close. "It's okay."
Gadget sighed and tried to get comfortable. Admittedly, it was a lot easier to be comfortable in his boyfriend's arms, but his thoughts were still racing. What would he even do if he lost Zero again? Losing him once was hard enough, but losing him again after all this time-
He felt Zero squeeze his arm, bringing him back to reality. "Remember what you taught me to do when I was still having consistent nightmares: deep breaths, focus on the here and now."
Gadget took a few deep breaths and found he was already relaxing. What was he so worried about? Zero was right here, and he wasn't going away anytime soon. Right here, right now, he was in Zero's arms, and nothing could be better.
Within seconds, he was asleep.