Bullet Nick, MarioMario54321, poka, bk00, Novus Umbra, Koollolly, The Writer's Freedom Project, IHeartSonAmy, cheese15624, Samantha27, Mana the Cat Magician, zeldaskeeper, Alyssacookie, Ghostkid33 : Eeek! Thank you all so much for your reviews!

Now, a must make another disclaimer: by request of Bullet Nick, this chapter will be done in first person, Sonic's POV. Now, I have very little experience writing in first person, but Bullet Nick and I talked, and we think, considering the circumstances, that the story will flow better if written that way. So forgive me if it sounds weird or a little off; I'm not used to writing in first person.

As a random note, I got my inspiration from two places: Sonic X Episode 20 (if you've seen it, you know why) and by actual experience: I literally shut myself in my own cramped closet, just to see how it would feel. I only lasted about a few minutes, though. But it honestly helped! Onward march...

...xxx...

Chapter 2: Desperate Times

...xxx...

There was only one thing that crossed my mind the instant the darkness and silence settled in: I had to get out of here. There was no way in heck that I was going to be stuck in this prison for one more second, let alone the rest of my life. Ha, yeah right.

Without wasting any more time, I started kicking violently at the walls of the cage, hoping they'd bend or break or something! They just had to, because I was not going to rot in here! As the pain kept shooting up my still sluggish legs, though, it became too painful to keep kicking, as the drug was still having a mild effect on me, and it was hard to move my legs. My muscles still felt like jelly, like someone had softened and weakened them. But still - I wasn't giving up!

Now using my stronger, more unaffected arms, I pounded my fists on the walls, searching for some sort of weak spot that might bend under the pressure. But still - the steel held fast, and didn't even dent a little under my powerful blows.

No! It didn't matter what it took, I was NOT going to be stuck in here!

Fighting off the panic that was soon setting in, the next thing I tried was my spin dash, but with the shape of the box how it was, I could barely move and get into that position. My trademark attack was still doing nothing, though, no matter how hard I pushed and bounced against these cursed walls, they held fast, and held me captive.

NO! No, no, no, no, no, no, no...

Flinging myself back upright, I rapidly spun in a circle in desperation - but a wall was what greeted me, slamming into my nose. I turned - a wall. A turn - a wall. A turn - a wall.

Walls, walls, walls, everywhere, cramping me, squeezing me, restricting me, crushing me...

Oh gosh, I was going to die! Right here, right now! I was going to die! This would be the end of me, Sonic the Hedgehog. I couldn't make it through this, I couldn't do this. It was too much, too much... too restrictive...

NO! Get me outta here!

I felt my body curl into a spin dash again by pure reflex, and start slamming into the walls, bouncing off them and against the opposite wall, like a mad game of pinball. But I still made no headway, no progress, and the cage didn't even so much as move... nothing was MOVING... but I couldn't stop... I had to keep trying to get out of this... prison. I kept bouncing off the walls until the shock and inertia became too agonizing, and then because of the pure anguish I had to stop... and came back to my weak feet, shaking violently and breathing heavily.

My chest and heart felt like they were being wrung out, being squeezed in a vice. My breaths were now coming so fast that it was painful to keep the rhythm of inhaling and exhaling. Oh jeez just let me die, please... I can't take this... I can't... it was awful, awful...

I kept sucking in air, not knowing if it would be my final breath or not. Surely, surely, I couldn't die here, not now, I was only 15, with so many things I'd never done... I couldn't-

I was going to die.

My breaths were now coming so fast, even I could barely keep track of them. But it was painful, oh so painful - I'd never been in so much agony in my entire life. Not being able to move, not being able to run, to get away, to be free...this was torture, pure torture, worse than anything I've ever been through. By far.

I tried once again to push at the steel walls, using my hands this time, trying to get them away, to get out of here, but my fingers ended up curling into a fruitless grip, and the friction didn't prevent them from sliding downwards along with the rest of my body, resulting in a terribly cramped position at the bottom of the cell.

My nose was now forced upwards, pinned against the wall that was now crushing the rest of my face as well. My quills were cramped downwards, their sharp points pricking into my back, slicing the flesh and probably drawing blood. I tried to soften them to ease the pain, but I was just so tense that I couldn't even think about relaxing. My knees were now pressed against my heaving chest, every breath just making me more cramped as I took in much needed air...

ARGH! Get me outta here!

A single sob escaped my throat involuntarily - but that was the only sound in this cursed cell, save for my labored breathing. And now even my eyeballs were welling up, feeling cramped as tears filled them, until finally being released to drench my muzzle in bitter saltiness.

Oh gosh... this was too much, too much...

I wanted out... I wanted my freedom, I wanted to run... no, I needed it. Goodness, if I didn't get out of here now, I really was truly going to die. At 15.

Breathe, Sonic.

What in the world do you think I'm doing? I screamed back at my head. Holding my breath? I'm dying here!

Sonic, you need to get a grip.

I already am in a freaking GRIP!

You need to calm down, or you won't get out of here.

Calm down? You want me to calm down! I'm being freaking squeezed to death in here, I can barely move, I'm going to die, and you want me to calm down?

My legs started kicking practically on their own, needing to move, to stretch, but every movement just made me feel more confined, more constrained, and more in pain. Oh... I was really going to die in here, take my last breath in this godforsaken cell, and never, ever get to run again, feel the wind, race the thunder...

No, Sonic... you have to stop. You're going to make it out of this.

Part of me knew that I'd have to stop freaking out... or I was truly going to die. And I... would not let myself die, succumb to this blasted cage, this awful torture created by the evil Eggman. I would not let myself be defeated, be weak. I was not going to let him win. But I was going to have to use my head for once, and not just my body.

But still, every nerve, every cell was protesting against this box, this wicked, cursed box... and my trembling fingers were now burrowing into my knees, the fur bending in painful protest. I could feel some of my strength come back as the drug wore off - but that couldn't be a good thing - it'd just make me even more jittery than I already was.

Relax, Sonic... you have to relax.

Relax? Oh.. how can I when every cell screams in absolute terror and panic, needing to be free? When had I ever had to force myself to do something that I didn't want to? No, I'd always just been free, free, free, free...

Focus.

Right... but how could I when my mind felt like it was being flung into panic? I wracked my brain, trying to sort out my scattered thoughts, looking for some remembrance of how I usually relaxed, but I'd never had to consciously do something like this before. I'd always relaxed when I felt like it.

I took a deep breath, somehow remembering that should help. Remember... who was it that tried to teach me this stuff? Oh yeah, Amy. That's right... the girl had once tried to show me how to breathe deeply, saying it'd calm me down. At the time I hadn't listened, not caring, but... now, it might actually work. I needed it, to fight against my panic.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Close your eyes and clear your mind.

I inhaled deeply, and felt the air travel through my throat, sailing down into my lungs and expanding my chest. Never had I payed so much attention to breathing, to anything... but it was either my breaths that would take over my thoughts or the squeezing, restricting, crushing walls...

Sonic.

Right. Breathe in... breathe out.

Slowly, slowly, oh what an awful word, I found my breathing gradually calm down, back to a normal, every other second pattern. Slowly, my body loosened up, but it couldn't exactly relax and stretch out, as there was nowhere for my aching limbs to go. But still... slowly, I could open my eyes so they wouldn't be squeezed shut. Still... there was no light to greet my now revealed pupils, nothing to distract me, entertain me in the slightest.

There was just darkness, and silence, save for my breaths and my still-rapid heartbeat.

So what could I do?

Focus on the walls that are mere inches from my body, restricting me...?

No, don't focus on them. Think on something else.

But what?

Anything.

Okay... running? I cringed.

Are you just a glutton for punishment? No, don't think about what you desire most, that you can't have. Think about anything else.

Ugh, it was just so frustrating... not getting what I wanted, when I wanted it...

Focus.

Focus... focus...

Well... I wouldn't have to be in here too much longer, right? I mean, I had no idea how long I'd been in here, though it honestly felt like forever. I'd forgotten what it felt like to not feel so cramped... but... there was no way that Eggman would keep me in here forever. I mean... even Eggman's not that cruel, right?

I bit my lip, and decided not to keep wondering about that. Still, the doctor sure had sunk to a new low with this. My worst nightmare, for sure. Oh man, once I get outta here, me and Egghead's got a date. And it ain't gonna be pretty.

Yes, outta here. It just couldn't/wouldn't come fast enough, though. But surely, either Eggman would crack and let me out, or... oh yeah, my friends!

The others. Right... they'd soon be along to free me, right? Surely at this very moment they were working out plans, schemes to get me the heck out of here. Yeah, Amy must have run off to go find them, and they were working out stuff at this very instant, and any minute now, the door will open, and I'll be able to run, run, run, run...

I let out an impatient sigh. Guys, any time now, you can come. Seriously, don't wait up now.

My, what would they all think about me getting captured? Having to do all this rescuing, without me. Must be tough and unusual for them.

Tails - oh, the poor little fox. Man... he sure does depend on me a lot, doesn't he? He's probably worried sick, and working overtime on some sort of plan. The little genius... surely he'd figure out something, a way to enter Eggman's base, a way to get me out of here. Yeah... Tails would always come through for me... wouldn't he? Yeah, he was the one thing I could count on in this world. He sure had come a long way since we'd first met. Man... he'd grown up, slowly getting more independent and mature as the days went by. Tails cold handle this one.

Feelings of pride flooded my still anxious heart, and I just now noticed that a smile had somehow come onto my face, although it almost seemed out of place, considering where I was... but I wasn't going to dwell that. No!

So... back to my friends. Knuckles. Ah, the knucklehead. How would he react, knowing I'd been captured? He'd probably... do what? Grumble at being dragged away from that stupid rock of his. But... he would come. Cause, he really did respect me, didn't he? Really did care about me, in some brotherly way. Yeah, despite being a total grump, Knuckles would always come with us on our adventures. Oddly enough.

Huh.

This is strange... this whole thing. Stopping to think, reflect. I... it's not my usual pass time. Odd.

I tried to shake my head to clear my thoughts, but my quills just ended up raking against my back. I took another deep breath, trying to calm myself and soften my sharp quills. When they didn't oblige, I reached behind my head to readjust them so they pointed upwards and were crushed against the side wall, relieving the pain off my back.

Huh, I must look like Shadow with my quills like that.

Wait, what?

DUDE, where in the world did that thought come from? No, now, Shadow and I... do not look a thing alike, okay? Not a thing. Nuh-uh. We're total and complete opposites. Why, he probably would never come free me if he knew I was in this cage. He'd probably laugh and leave me suffer, the punk. Argh, what a...

I sighed again, trying once again to clear my mind and stop thinking all these odd things, things that were deep in my mind that I'd never let surface, always pushed down, always ran from. I had to stop thinking.

But what else is a guy to do right now? There was literally nothing else to do. It's all dark, quiet, and cramped. Where I can't move and -

Okay.. back to my thoughts. Moving on, then, to the rest of my friends, we have... Amy.

Oh no... not goin' down that route. Nuh-uh.

Sonic... what else are you going to think about?

Nuh-uh, I said. I refuse.

Sonic... the walls, the silence, the darkness, the pain, the restriction... those are your only other options.

...my heartrate immediately increased, pounding painfully in my ears as I came back to the present. No, oh gosh, I really was trapped in a tiny box, wasn't I?

Sonic - think, distract yourself!

I... I... Okay. Amy it is, then.

Amy. The pink hedgehog, my stalker, an odd friend...

Why... why was she such a puzzle to me, anyway? Why was she so... hard to think about, to capture in my head? And why in the world did she have to be so freaking clingy all the time? Why did she like me so much? I mean, yeah, I'm an attractive guy, if I do say so myself. But why did she persist and insist on following me and sticking with me absolutely everywhere? I... I just don't get that, that... devotion, that commitment. It doesn't sit well with me. I don't understand why someone would willingly give up their freedom and chase after someone, set their mind and heart on something, and let themselves be bound like that. Maybe.. though... I could be a little nicer to her. I mean... if she really does like me that much... maybe I could... no, not date her, oh gosh no, but... maybe be a tad nicer.

I dunno... can I move on now?

But I mean, honestly. You think a girl could take a hint by now that I really don't like her, and am not interested whatsoever...

Sonic-

NO! Nuh-uh. I don't, okay? You can't convince me, so save it! I have no feelings for Amy Rose.

Sonic-

We've had this talk before, man.

No we haven't. You always shun it. You won't even let yourself think of her. You're always running away, not just with your feet, but in your head.

ARGH, will ya shut up?

Jeez, I needed to run right now more than I'd ever needed anything. I craved the wind, the freedom, the blur, the rush, the adrenaline. I needed it now, and badly. See... this is why I don't let myself stop and think... once I do, I start going nuts. Crazy, I tell ya man, thinking about all this insane... stuff. Shadow? And Amy... I mean, really. Me liking Amy? Yeah.

Right. Like that will ever happen.

Thinking is such a drag.

I tried to extend my arms a little, but was just met with cold, hard steel pushing them back. Jeez, I couldn't even stretch at this point.

And... I really had no idea how much longer I was going to be in here for. I just knew that I was going to have to sit here and do the impossible, for me: sit around, do nothing, be bored, feel cramped, stare, think, and wait.

Could there be a greater torture for Sonic the Hedgehog?

...xxx...

I do believe that Sonic has a form of claustrophobia, mild or no. Yeah... poor guy. It hurts to torture my favorite character like this... but sometimes, the worst situations reveal stuff that otherwise never else would be. In here, Sonic is forced to actually think. So don't think I'm doing this just as a sadistic torture exercise - there really is a point to this story. Hold on peeps, this isn't over yet.