~Chapter Three: Just How it Is~
Sonic hadn't emerged from his room since he'd stepped foot inside, missing dinner in the process. Not that it really mattered, he'd gone days with no food before and been perfectly fine. Besides, he didn't feel like seeing him down in the dining area, especially since he'd seemed keen on starting a conversation with him. Plus, Sonic knew the Smashers. No doubt what he'd done had been spread across them like wildfire at this point, and he just didn't want to deal with the drama. So in his room he remained, bored out of his mind and missing his guitar so very much.
'I could always borrow one from the music room...' he thought as he checked the time. Eight at night. Surely there wouldn't be any Smashers loitering in the main mansion, right? Deciding to risk it Sonic crept to his door and reached for the knob before he heard a couple of Smashers talking outside.
"So what do you think happened between them?" that was Marth talking.
"I think it's obvious," definitely Fox. "Didn't I always say that they'd break up because of their age gap?"
'That wasn't the fucking reason,' Sonic bitterly thought.
"Did you see that scar on Sonic's chest?" Marth inquired. "Do you think that may have had something to do with it?"
That arguably made Sonic angrier than the previous comment. Were they... were they insinuating that Mario of all people had injured him like that?! Sure, there were those theories floating around that Mario was a sadist or some shit like that, but anyone who'd met the guy could easily tell you that wasn't the case. You'd think they'd know that after being in so many tournaments with him. Besides, Sonic didn't like thinking about how he got that scar... all that blood and Gadget desperately trying to stop the bleeding as they were surrounded by Egg Pawns raising their guns to fire...
"Who knows?" Fox replied. "But there's only one way to find out."
Three sharp knocks on the door and Sonic growled under his breath, slowly backing away from the door not wanting to talk to Marth and Fox about his relationship woes. Seriously, didn't they have better things to do with their time? Like not speculate why two of their fellow Smashers broke up with each other? Yeah, let's start with that one. Thankfully Sonic heard Marth and Fox wander away when he didn't answer the door, and sighing Sonic flopped down on his bed, all interest in going to the music room completely lost. Frustrated, he retreated to the bathroom to get ready for bed.
His reflection gazed back at him as he brushed his teeth, and Sonic frowned as he took in his appearance. Specifically, how much scrawnier he looked. Now, Sonic had always been lanky, but...
...He really had gone a lot of days without food, hadn't he?
Shaking his head Sonic finished up in the bathroom and crawled underneath his warm, inviting sheets, hoping that a good nights sleep would make him feel just a little bit better.
/~/
He was trapped.
The only sound Sonic could hear was his quick, panicked breathes as his eyes swept over the solitary confinement cell he had been placed into. The cold, claustrophobic cell that had nearly driven him to insanity. No, no, he'd escaped from here! Why was he back here again?! He'd defeated Infinite, defeated Eggman, saved the world...
'Why?!'
"Did you enjoy your hallucination, Sonic?"
Beads of sweat trickled down Sonic's spines as his eyes met the single gold one peeking out from the mask the jackal wore. He levitated just outside Sonic's cell, observing him carefully. Sonic clenched his hand into a fist. "What do you want, Infinite?"
"Just checking in to see how you enjoyed your hallucination. Quite realistic, wasn't it?"
A chill ran through Sonic but he kept his brave face. "What hallucination?"
"Do not act stupid. We both know that you will never manage to escape this cell. So I created a lovely illusion that you had, showed you what you wanted. Realistic, was it not?"
Sonic violently shook his head. "No... no, we defeated you. I was there. Eggman ripped the Phantom Ruby out of your chest, an' me an' Gadget destroyed the mech it was in. You lost."
Infinite simply let out a low chortle. "You cannot deny that you are afraid. Curled up in your cell wondering if this is the day you would die."
Sonic heard screams from down the hallway, from another cell. He remembered how he'd always hear screaming coming from other prisoners, either because they were losing their minds or they didn't want to face the reality that they'd been captured. Then a bang and the screaming ceased, a deathly silence following. He shuddered. He'd experienced that too many times as well.
"You cannot escape me Sonic, for I am infinite..."
/~/
Sonic sat bolt upright, heart racing and frantically glancing around. Where was he, where was...
Oh, right. The Smash Mansion. Sonic let his heartbeat return to normal, he was fine, he wasn't in any danger...
His stomach was growling though. And his hunger combined with the nightmare he'd just had brought back some... choice memories... from his time spent trapped on the Death Egg. Throwing his covers aside Sonic slipped into his shoes and crept to his door, opening it as quietly as he could and peeking out into the hallway to make sure no Smashers were around. Once he confirmed that the hallway was empty he stealthily made his way through the dorm and out the door, his eyes set on the main mansion. Surely there would be something leftover in the fridge, right? And since the mansion was most likely empty at the moment aside from the Hands... he could get to the music room as well.
The mansion at night always had an eerie atmosphere about it. Sonic wasn't afraid of the dark, but with no lights on and no sounds coming from the children Smashers playing or gossip circles, it did make him a tad uneasy. Like he was a naive protagonist in a horror film that didn't know what fate was about to befall him.
'I need to stop being so overdramatic.' Sonic thought as he pushed open the door to the kitchen and flicked on the light, the sudden brightness making him squint for a moment before his vision adjusted.
And there it was, a shining beacon in the middle of the kitchen. The fridge - the perfect place to find a midnight snack. Sonic opened the silver door and the contents inside were bathed in light as Sonic scanned the shelves for anything interesting. Rule in the mansion was if something was leftover from dinner it was fair game to anyone unless you wrote your name on it. Sonic could still remember the epic battle between Ganondorf and Meta Knight when the former had eaten the latter's curry. Good times...
Sonic eventually settled on a bowl of rice and added soy sauce and sesame oil for flavor. Tossing it in the microwave Sonic leaned against the counter with his arms folded, trying not to think about his nightmare. Trying not to think about what happened on the Death Egg. Trying to ignore the growling in his stomach as he lay on the cold metal floor, his hands and feet in shackles he couldn't escape from and he hadn't had any food in six days and...
The beeping from the microwave snapped Sonic back to reality and he hastily grabbed his food and a fork before returning to resting against the counter, savoring the taste of the rice and promising himself that he'd never take food for granted again.
After finishing off the rice and throwing the bowl and fork into the dishwasher, Sonic made his way to the music room and pushed the door open, flicking on the light and smiling as his eyes fell on all the musical instruments. His gaze focused on a single guitar in particular though - a blue electric guitar that he gingerly lifted off the wall and cradled in his hands.
"Hey, old pal."
He had a lot of memories with this guitar, the one that started off his interest in music way back in Brawl when he was only sixteen. Holding the guitar again at the age of twenty - er, twenty-three if he was counting those lost years - was a bit surreal to think about. Sonic sunk down in one of the chairs and positioned his fingers above the strings. It had been so long since he'd played...
"Sonic?"
...And apparently he'd still have to wait as his head snapped up at the sound of the intruder before he narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing in here?" he spat, even though his heart cried out for him to say something nicer. Major disconnect there.
Mario let out a heavy sigh. "I heard commotion," pausing, he added, "Is this just how it's going to be between us now? You being aloof and indifferent while I try to communicate with you like a normal human being?"
"I'm not human," Sonic pointed out. "And the jury's still out on your species as well."
"That's not what I mean, Sonic!" Mario cried out. "Look, I don't know what happened in your world because you won't tell me, but I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry because I know that Eggman was involved somehow and maybe my judgement was wrong on what you should or shouldn't have done. I just..." Mario trailed off, trying not to let his emotions get the best of him. "I was just trying to protect you."
Sonic's heart and mind battled with each other as his heart told him to see things from Mario's perspective while his mind told Sonic that Mario was being a condescending jerk who had no right to apologize. In the end his mind won, and he let out a haughty laugh. "Sorry's not gonna cut it this time, Mario," Sonic seethed, and Mario flinched at how venomous his name sounded on Sonic's tongue. "An' you wanted to protect me? Well, I can protect myself thank you very much. I think I've proven that."
"That's not what I meant!" Mario snapped, his patience wearing thin. "What I meant was that I care about your well-being. Obviously, we were in a relationship. I just wanted to look out for you."
"Well here's some helpful advice," Sonic spat, placing the guitar down on the ground and standing, marching over to Mario and harshly poking him in the chest. "Don't care about my well-being, and don't assume that I can't handle somethin'. 'Cause I can, an' if you'd let me finish off Eggman maybe we could still be in a relationship an' none of this would have happened!"
"Sonic, what happened?" Mario pleaded, desperate to get some sort of answer out of his ex-boyfriend. "Please just tell me how you got that awful scar."
Sonic glared at Mario. "No." he growled, before he stormed out of the music room and sped away before Mario could catch up with him.
He found himself out in the secluded garden where Snake was buried and groaned as he dropped his face in his hands. He really hadn't meant to be that hostile, but all those negative emotions had crashed over him and made him so angry.
'What is wrong with me?'
He curled up on the ground and blankly stared at the grave of his old friend until he eventually fell asleep.
Replies
TheGameNguyener: Well, the fated meeting happened... and boy did things get out of hand quickly. Sonic's in conflict with himself thanks to... whatever he went through... and as for Mario, he's still fighting for Sonic because he wants to believe that he can reach through to him. It's sad, really. Thank you for the review!
Infinite's Ruby: Well... yeah, that's pretty much exactly what happened, isn't it? I will admit though, I do have fun writing their interactions like this, so... I apologize in advance. Thank you for the review!
AN: Authors Note could not be found as she's currently screaming like a pterodactyl over all the game news that came out this week involving Mega Man 11, Team Sonic Racing, Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee, along with the upcoming demo for Mario Tennis Aces. We are sorry for the inconvenience, please try again later.
~Not-Steel
