Hi! Gabriel here! Welcome to my first fanfic! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

This fanfic is based on Speedy1236's picture "Canoe Trip". Check it out on DeviantART!

Also, check out Speedy's stories. If you're a Sonic fan, like me, you won't regret it!

Leave a comment! I'd love to know your opinion about my fanfic!

Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles 'Tails' Prower, Knuckles the Echidna and Dr. Eggman (mentioned only) belong to SEGA.

With all that said, enjoy the story!

It was a shiny day on Mobius. Birds were chirping, flowers were blooming, and there was a cool breeze blowing in the air. What's not to like in days like these?

That same question hovered around Sonic the Hedgehog's mind as he stood under a tree with his eyes closed, his arms crossed at the back of his head, and a peaceful smile on his face, enjoying this wonderful scenery after foiling another one of Dr. Eggman's plans. Not long ago, the mustachioed man appeared with another giant robotical machine, willing to, as always, take all of the Chaos Emeralds to himself, so that he could rule over the world. But the blue hedgehog used the abnormal speed of his to easily turn said machine into scrap metal. No wonder why he is said to be the Fastest Thing Alive.

Sonic snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a voice calling his name. He opened his eyes and found the source of said voice: not too far from him, there was a twin-tailed fox with red and white shoes waving his right hand. It was his best friend, Miles 'Tails' Prower.

Sonic got up and returned the wave. "Hey Tails! Long time no see!"

"I heard that you foiled another one of Eggman's plans…" Tails wondered.

"Yeah!" the Blue Blur confirmed. "Egghead showed up with another of his giant toys to take the Chaos Emeralds. He yelled the same things he always says to me, but in the end it was the same as ever: all bark and no bite!"

They do a fist bump. "Great job, Sonic!" the boy cheered.

"Thanks!" Sonic said.

"Now that Eggman is down for a while, I thought: why don't we do something different?" the fox asked.

"Sounds good to me!" the hedgehog answered. "What do you have in mind, buddy?"

"I thought about a canoe trip on a river that's not too far from here." Tails said.

Just by hearing it, Sonic's smile melted off his face and he felt his heart skipping a beat. It takes a single word related to water to ignite his fear.

"Okay, uh… Y-You know… Um…" Sonic stuttered. He was really uncomfortable with the idea. His breathing was becoming unsteady and images of him drowning were playing in his mind.

Seeing how nervous his friend is, Tails tried his best to comfort him. "Sonic, I know that you don't feel safe around water, but the reason why I suggested it is to help you conquer your fear."

"I know and I appreciate it, b-but…" the hedgehog said, still a little bit unnerved.

"Don't worry, me and Knuckles will be there by your side." the kit said.

Sonic just stood still, wondering if he should go or not. He had to go there if he wanted to conquer his fear. But then again, there is a possibility that he may drown during the trip…

The Blue Blur shook his head. He had to go there. He had to. He couldn't let those paranoid thoughts take over his mind.

"Okay, buddy. I'm going to that trip!" Sonic said with newfound determination.

"That's the Sonic I know!" the Twin-Tailed Genius cheered.

"So, when will we do it?" the hedgehog asked.

"How about we do it tomorrow?" Tails suggested.

"Fine by me. See ya!" Sonic darted off, feeling much more relaxed about that trip, but deep inside he was still a little worried about it.

As he left, Tails couldn't help but feel concerned about his best friend. "I really hope this trip will help him."

Later that night, Sonic was on his bed, already without his shoes, socks and gloves. It was around 12:00 AM. He couldn't stop thinking about that trip he's going to do. True, Tails and Knuckles would be there with him, but he didn't feel easier at all.

Why can't I shake this fear away?

Maybe if I go to sleep...

Yeah, that's it.

And so he did. A few minutes later, the hedgehog fell asleep. However, as he kept snoring louder and louder, he was unaware that his surroundings were slowly changing.

His bedroom kept spinning faster and faster until he wasn't on it anymore. Instead, he was in some kind of blue void. No grass, no trees, just an empty place covered in blue.

Sonic opened his eyes slowly. "Huh? Didn't I turn off the lights?"

As soon as he finished that sentence, he could feel his back getting… wet.

Oh, man. I got a bad feeling about this. The hedgehog thought, as he slowly moved his right hand around him, hearing a familiar -and unpleasant- noise.

He rose into a sitting position only to find out that the entire place was filled with… water.

He stood up faster than the eye could blink. "Gah!"

His eyes widened and his breathing started to speed up. The water barely covered the sole of his foot, but just the sight of a huge body of this liquid was enough to put him in such a panic state.

The hedgehog tried to calm down. Okay. I will not freak out… I will NOT freak out…

Then he got shocked when he noticed that the water was moving. He tried not to panic, saying to himself that it's just the wind. But that's the problem: There wasn't any wind whatsoever! It's like the water was moving… by itself!

Then, four giant tentacles rose up among the water. They were entirely made of that liquid, and the mere sight of them almost gave Sonic a heart attack! One of those tentacles tried to smack him, but the hedgehog easily dodged. The other three tentacles quickly tried the same, but Sonic was faster, dodging them with no problems. That doesn't mean that he was less terrified of them, though.

The Blue Blur ran as fast as he could away from those tentacles, his speed letting out a shockwave in the process. He saw that with the corner of his eye, and hoped that managed to slow them down a little.

However, shortly after that, four more tentacles emerged, forcing Sonic to make a sudden stop. He turned to his right, but more tentacles appeared. The hedgehog took a U-Turn, but the tentacles kept emerging.

Then, he found out that he was surrounded by those tentacles. No matter how many directions he chooses, more of them would emerge. Suddenly, all of those tentacles encircled him and formed a giant circle-shaped wave and splashed on him-

Sonic woke up with a scream and was breathing rapidly. He checked his surroundings and found out that he was in his bedroom. It was just a nightmare, but it felt so real. He was so scared that his hands were trembling and he was drenched in sweat.

The blue hedgehog let out a sigh of relief. He then closed his eyes and began taking slow and deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. His breathing was really unsteady, and his heartbeat was at dangerously high levels in his chest.

"Chill, Sonic." He muttered to himself. "It's okay… You're fine… Don't be scared… Just breathe… In and out… Slow and deeply."

He kept breathing until he was calm enough to go back to sleep. Maybe it was a good thing to take these breaths during the trip.

Tomorrow, he was going to be put to the test.