Hello, all. It's Rouge here.

What I'm about to show you shouldn't be taken lightly. See... I went to spy aboard the Death Egg. I am the one who first discovered that Sonic was alive. And that he was being tortured. It's all over now, thankfully. Here we are, a couple months later, and Sonic has permitted me to share a very personal collection of journal entries that he wrote while imprisoned on the Death Egg.

The hope is to redouble efforts against Eggman in the future, because we know he'll return; he always does. Sonic wasn't fond of this idea originally, but he has told me that if he thinks it will encourage people to keep fighting Eggman, if it will nurture that spark, then it's okay to go ahead and do it. Even then, I could sense Sonic's reluctance to share what are probably some very personal moments.

So I waited.

And then, a week ago, Sonic approached me, having thought about it and come to his own conclusion. He told me to have it published. Right then, he and I started working together to fill in the blanks between his entries. So whatever details might be missing from Sonic's writing, we recreated together as closely as he could remember.

This is the result. I share it with you now with Sonic's full consent. Please, if you read this and you've been complacent in the ongoing fight against Eggman, consider fighting back. The chaos has been quelled for now, but he'll be back. He always comes back. And when he does, we will need you.

-Rouge

SONIC FORCES: THOSE SIX MONTHS

Day 1, 6:43 AM

Ah man, am I tired for someone who can't sleep! If my eyes are so heavy, then why'd I wake up?

I need a rooftop. A rooftop and a warm breeze. Or a cold breeze. Or… any breeze…

Sheesh, I don't even know what day it is. It's been at least a few since that run-in with Infinite. Maybe even a couple weeks. What a mess that was. I'm still sore, and I can't tell if it's from that, or…

Anyway, this isn't really Day 1, but it's the first day I figured on doing this, so that's what we're gonna go with. Day 1 of Sonic keeping a journal. Apparently.

Chaos, what's gotten into me?

I don't know if anyone'll ever read this, but right now I'm just telling myself they will. Because if they do, that means I wasn't alone here. I wasn't all cut off from everything like I thought I was. Does that make sense? I mean, I'm trapped! Not like I haven't been trapped before, but something about this is different. The air is cold, and there's a different quality about it. I'm up high somewhere. Space, even? Nah, that wouldn't make any sense. Either way... I'm alone.

Yeah. I'm being held here, out of the way of anything that matters. It's been made real clear to me that this sense of oppression isn't attached to anything worthwhile.

Listen, I'm not trying to be cynical. That just ain't me. But sometimes it's not cynicism. Sometimes it actually is because there's nothing to be optimistic about!

Okay, can't think that way.

…Like, I spend time on my own all the time, when I'm exploring and such. But I still pass people on my runs and stuff. I see new people and new places, and I experience stuff. And I know I always have the option to swing by and visit Tails or bug Knuckles or whatever. But here, I'm completely alone.

I can't take it anymore, seriously! I'm going stir-crazy in here. I need to run, I need to fight, I need to talk to someone, I need to do something to not feel the way I feel right now. Chaos, I am so completely screwed. Hope this don't look too pathetic coming from Sonic the Hedgehog, but I need a little help, here!

Huh. You know, I really do need a little help here.

Last time I tried to do everything my way, Eggman took advantage of us and it almost got Tails turned into a robot, all because I didn't trust the kid. I still feel lousy about that. I won't make that kind of mistake again. I have to trust my friends. Not like I can get outta here anyway, and if I could, where would I go? There's nowhere to go. We're in the sky and unlike some lucky people, I can't fly. This is beyond my control right now, and I guess I gotta figure out how to be okay with that.

My only choices are to sit here and wallow, or to have faith that someone will do what I can't right now. So, I'm gonna have faith.

And in the meantime, maybe there's a thing or two I can learn, being on this side of things. This is obviously something of Eggman's, after all. And my enemies are here… If I keep my ears open, maybe, by the time I get out of here, I'll have learned something that can help. Eggman, Zavok, Shadow… there's something weird about any actual living beings I've encountered here, except for maybe Eggman, but that's just because he's always weird, maybe?

Either way, there is something weird going on, for sure. I don't know what to make of it. It's like they're not all there, or something.

But honestly, I'm in a weird state of mind right now too, being trapped like this. Maybe it's just me.

Right now, I hurt. My hands are bound in this weird blue glowy thing, like handcuffs. It's hard to write, but not impossible. Not like I can't use my hands, it's just that they're pulled all close together. What is that, anyway? It's real light blue, like I said, and it glows and it's warm.

Sometimes, when I try to see if I can wriggle out of it, they go from warm to hot, like a warning. Like it's sentient!

Chaos energy? Could it be?

But I haven't seen the Chaos Emeralds in ages. Eggman seemed to figure out they've never helped him in the end and has resorted to other measures. So I don't know what this stuff is.

Speaking of 'other measures,' honestly, I'm a little spooked here. He and the others have been giving me hell the last few days. I mean it's one thing when I can fight back, but my hands are bound, and being stuck in this cell, I can't really take advantage of my usual speed, either.

…Or you know, what I just realized is, maybe it's not that I can't. Part of it is that I'm afraid to, aren't I? Because if they know how fast I can accelerate even in here, they'd make sure my feet are bound too. And I don't like the sound of that. Nope, not at all.

So I'm keeping that card face-down for now. Hah.

No matter what, I'm gonna get through this. I got folks waiting for me and probably trying to help me as I write this. I won't let 'em down. I won't let the world we're fighting for down either.

And, you know what? All that aside? I won't let myself down. You think you finally defeated me, Eggman? Take another look, because this ain't over until I say it is.

…Yeah. That feels like the right note to end this on.

If someone out there is reading this, it's probably long after all this has happened. But even so, the idea of someone reading this, believing in me, being with me in spirit, here… it helps. So if you're out there, have faith, yeah?

Thanks, guys. Cross your fingers for me.

It's gonna be okay.

Sonic out.

1-1-1

A/N (it's long so feel free to skip this nonsense)

Hey, DC here!

To preserve the authenticity of Sonic's first-person in this story, I'm gonna try to minimize author's notes – and if I DO need to have them, they will always be at the bottom of the chapter, never at the top, so as to avoid pulling you out of the story. This is Sonic's story, not mine.

This is a fast-paced project with a lot of emphasis on presence, and paralleled by real-time (it will be approximately 6 months in the making, the same amount of time as Sonic's captivity). Don't miss out. ;)

As far as Forces, I have mixed feelings about the game's story – and about that one line in general, I mean who'd have thought 'Sonic got tortured' would ever be something canon, right? – but despite the lack of expansion, it was alluded to more than once. Look, it's not like I think it should have been shown or anything. I just think we should've heard a word or two about it from Sonic, or hey, even just a quick cutscene with Tails asking him, "Are you okay?" and Sonic going, "Eh, it's been tough, but I'll pull through." It wouldn't have had to be anything warranting a rating higher than the E10+ that Forces was given.

THAT SAID – there's still a LOT worth saying about Forces. As I said, mixed feelings, but overall, I think it was a big step in the right direction. Look at all the characters! Can't tell you how much that contributed to the game's atmosphere. Knuckles, Amy, Espio, Vector, Charmy, Silver and co. on the resistance side.

As someone who has always written all of them into my stories (with the exception of Silver), it felt like… home. And the serious undertones hiding beneath the lighthearted, don't-give-up, power-of-friendship overtones just made it feel like a damn Sonic game!

Sonic's characterization wasn't anything mind-blowing, but compared to a few games in recent-ish memory (as some of you know, I started to fall off the wagon around Sonic Colors), it didn't do anything wrong, either. He seemed like himself! My only complaint is the lack of depth. It's not like he needs to be super 'deep,' it's just that, well, the way he is portrayed came off as just a TEENSY bit shallow. That said, I felt like that was more a presentation issue, and not actually Sonic himself. But – if there was one tiny way that Sonic's six-month stay on the Death Egg was addressed, it was his aggression. Look at his animations in the fight with Zavok! And more than once he spoke of 'payback.' Revenge isn't usually what you hear from Sonic, even in the games written by these writers, so I'm inclined to think it meant something.

I still feel like the plot was a little too avoidant of its more serious elements, and wonder if those lines about torture in particular should have even been there if they weren't gonna lead to much of anything. But if nothing else: high octane fanfiction fuel!

So: expect me to be around again. :) :) :)

Can't tell you how short or long this story will be. It's an exercise in curiosity, a gentle probing into the facets of Sonic Forces that the game itself was too shy to explore. I'm gonna write something that, believe it or not, could mostly fit into the appropriate expectations for a Sonic game.

So… if a few of you are still around from the earlier days (hi there!) this is different from what you usually read from me. And, if you want more of the 'expected,' while I'm here, I am going to finish Red Mirror, the sequel to Survivor's Resolve, so if any of you folks remember that, head on over and take a look at the newest update. ;)

Okay… like I said, there will NOT be many author's notes, which is probably why this one ended up long as heck. Sorry. See ya next time!