It had been four days since that altercation -or at least it seemed like it, since the fake sun had gone down four times- and Sonic was left feeling cold and restless.

He wanted out, that was certain, even with how he felt every time his captor touched him. The problem remained, the birdcage was impenetrable. The bars were alive, the swirling motives tightening when he tried to slip through what looked like a big enough space. More than once he had been forced to shove his head into a pillow and scream in frustration, or fight and curse loud enough for his captor to hear him when the limb he stuck outside the bars was suddenly trapped by the swirling crystals that made up the walls of his prison.

The master of this dimension was not helping.

Mephiles was almost always around, only gone for a few hours each day for whatever time gods did in their spare time. Besides those few hours of freedom Sonic found himself in the constant presence of the creature. The elder seemed to be around every metaphorical corner, watching him over a book with a tiny amused smirk that made the cobalt hero want to gouge his eyes out. Mephiles, as it turned out, was unable to keep his hands for himself, and Sonic often found himself holding the sapphire robe tighter around him each time the other was around.

It didn't stop the soft, inviting hands ghosting around his thighs or the small of his back, caressing the short blue fur and making him shiver and moan, nor the warm, enticing breath on his ears, tickling him gently with a tenderness he'd never felt. Sonic hadn't been able to escape his captor's touches, or his own, furiously beating heart each time he was gathered in the ebony and teal-striped arms of the ancient being, or a pair of lips rested against his neck, nibbling his skin softly.

Worse than that, Mephiles had taken to forcing him to spend the night in his arms, something Sonic had valiantly refuted...at first. The first time he tried to kick the other away the darker one had grabbed him and pinned him down on his belly before going to sleep on top of him, regardless of his frantic flailing. When this happened the Blue Blur had been terrified, thinking that his captor was going to forcefully mate with him; Mephiles quickly found himself on the receiving of a blue foot, the kick not as devastating as it would have been with their owner's signature red and white shoes, but still enough to break his nose.

With a shattered nose, a hurt pride and a screaming, panicking mortal in his arms, the immortal had learned much from that incident. It had taken three more nights of this for his unwilling pet to be reassured that no, even if he was being constantly groped and fondled by the older male, he didn't have to fear that.

At least, for now.

(Sonic also refused to admit that he'd felt warm and comfortable during those nights spend wrapped in his enemy's embrace. That would never happen until the day he stopped breathing.)

The only thing he remotely found positive about his situation was the fact he didn't have to do a little dance and shout for the immortal to appear each time he wanted to go to the bathroom. That would have been horribly embarrassing, and the young hero would have died on the spot. The creature had showed him a single red crystal embedded in the southern section of the wall, the artifact capable of teleporting him to a small, ornate chamber with no door or windows that held everything he needed for his daily business. There was even a blue toothbrush by the sink when he first used the scarlet crystal.

Mephiles' attention to detail was staggering; the room, made out of purple minerals, had a tall ceiling and possessed a sense of openness -that is, until you noticed the lack of entrances or exits. Everything was finely carved and held a elegance that reminded Sonic of their creator, but while his breath was taken away at the beauty of the crystal world, he'd quickly become used to it.

Too bad that the deity had forgotten to install a bathtub. Sonic had been taken off guard by that, and to his consternation when he'd asked the creature Mephiles had just shrugged and gave him a secretive, leering smile. The blue hedgehog had been too troubled by the being's actions to continue the conversation after that.

Something had told him he shouldn't press the matter further.

Unfortunately for Mephiles, there was one matter he was definitively going to keep poking with a stick until the deity finally relinquished.

"Come on! I'm withering away over here!" The irritated hero exclaimed as he prowled back and forth in front of the older male, disliking the lack of emotional reaction from him. A part of him wanted to smother the smug bastard with a pillow, but a smaller, but more sane part of the speedster's mind recognized that there would be no way out of here if he did go through with his murderous thoughts.

"I beg to differ, little bird. You seemed incredibly entertained with stealing my book earlier this morning." The time god responded calmly, unconcerned of his pet's irate as he lay stretched out on a pile of pillows, eyes closed and body relaxed, a complete opposite of the blue mobian standing over him.

"That's because I'm bored out of my mind!" Sonic hissed, almost sighing in relief as the teal and ebony male finally sat up, peering up inquisitively. Noting just how aggravated the youngster was, the Time Eater smoothly rolled up to his feet.

"Truly?" Mephiles questioned idly as he brushed off invisible dirt, arching a elegant eyebrow at the fuming hedgehog. "We could always do a repeat of what happened after I got my book back."

Fawn cheeks reddened to the point of putting tomatoes to shame at Mephiles' words. Sonic had not forgotten what happened once the older male had tired of chasing him around. The darker half of Solaris had practically pinned him down and kissed him breathless, fondling his body and caressing his mouth with his tongue until the poor cobalt hero had melted into a docile puddle of want -and then, worse of all, Mephiles had forced him to sit on his lap like some kind of pet until he finished the said book he'd been reading.

It had been the longest hour of Sonic's life, regardless of the hand tenderly scratching the back of his sensitive ears. He'd never understood why he hadn't tried to move away once he'd gathered his bearings. Maybe it was Mephiles' silk grip on him, or maybe it was the comfort and protectiveness of being in another's arms, someone he knew was strong and he knew he didn't need to shield from the world.

Yes, Mephiles was powerful.

...it didn't save him from Sonic's ire however.

The sapphire male was just too restless; he'd been confined here for too long; simple touches and sweet whispers into his ears wasn't going to quell his anger anymore. He was the Blue Blur; he was meant to run. No prissy little godling was going to stop him from doing what he'd been born to do.

"There's no middle ground here, Mephiles." Sonic snapped as he glared at the elder, unyielding. "I've been here for four days already -I need to run." The desperate hero exclaimed, a hint of dismay worming it's way into his voice. While Sonic did not notice it, his captor certainly did, reptilian eyes narrowing on the raving male. "You can't keep me here forever, it's just not right -mmph!" A squeak left the young mobian as Mephiles was suddenly in front of him, hand shouting out and wrapping around his small waist as the immortal pulled him close enough to seal their lips in a sensual kiss.

Sonic melted immediately into the embrace, hands flying up to clutch the older male's shoulders. The immortal claiming him took care to caress his lips with his tongue before progressing inside, his captive offering no resistance as he explored the younger's mouth as his leisure. Sonic mewled into the kiss, feeling as if his face was about to burst from embarrassment as the reptilian eyes met with his own, amused by the sound he'd unwillingly let out.

A part of the Blue Blur that was still coherent wondered if he had to expect surprise kisses at every turn. It most certainly seemed like it.

The kiss ended too soon for his liking, as the obsidian creature pulled away carefully, his lips inches apart from his own, a thin trail of saliva connecting their mouths. They gazed at each other in hunger, the grip around Sonic's waist tightening slightly as they held the stare of their companion. Sonic was reluctant to glance away, not wanting to lose anymore of his dignity.

"Alright." Mephiles breathed out softly against the fawn lips of his companion, enjoying the small tremor that traveled his pet's slender form. "I'll let you run around my dimension, little bird." He purred, tongue darting out to lick the swollen fawn lips, loving the small moan his prey let out at the sensual touch. "Jus be careful, my pet."

Sonic swayed slightly as Mephiles gently stepped back, the obsidian male running his fingers through the short fur of his hips just before he pulled away.

Green eyes blinked dazedly, widening in surprise as part of the birdcage's vine wall slowly unfolded, the slim blue crystal tendrils opening to form a long, narrow staircase that reached the crystal world below. Sonic glanced at Mephiles who merely smirked, watching the blue hedgehog with amusement. His grin stretched as the cobalt beauty yelped, feeling the light blur robe suddenly vanish from his frame to be replaced by familiar red shoes he'd sorely missed.

The Blue Blur felt a sense of need surge forwards the moment he felt his precious equipment appear on his person; he barely shouted a goodbye before he shot out of the birdcage with surprising speed, bright laughter bubbling out of his lips as he blasted through a sea of crystal spires and into what seemed to be a thick forest built out of emeralds. Within moments the crude purple towers and the birdcage were long behind him, replaced by a mirage of coloured crystals.

All the while Mephiles observed with a entertained smirk, enjoying the show as the sapphire whirlwind tore through his land.

Unknowing of the eyes watching over him Sonic continued his quest for speed, howling and whooping with joy as the overexcited hero crossed miles within mere seconds. The land spread out around him, a multitude of tones and colours that shone under the burning false sun. It had been a while since the hero felt this alive; a few more days without running, and the little mobian knew instinctively that he would have started crying when Mephiles opened the birdcage.

The long wait was made up by what he was exploring. This world was simply amazing, unlike any Zone he had ever visited. Sonic wasn't blind as to not notice the lack of life, but the shimmering crystal world still left his mouth hanging open as he ran through it, making transparent grass undulate from the great winds he produced.

The cobalt youth sighed as he continued to explore the large expanse of twisting, crystalline landscape, amazed of just how beautiful this dimension was. He'd seen a lot of strange and incredible places over the years, but this took the cake.

The happy hedgehog quickly noted something however as he slowed down, the hype of getting his shoes back fading after a solid hour of running and overtaken by curiosity. The grounds around the birdcage were sharp and ridged save for one lone path that led to a plains of swaying crystal grass; looking back at his cage, he noted that the blue structure was hidden by tall spires of purple crystal that curved inwards. Just looking at the wall -because it was anything but one- Sonic knew it would be a death trap to try and travel through without using the small path.

He'd sworn he saw some of the small crystal formations move when he ran through it. Had Mephiles created some kind of guards for this place? What was he expecting, a army? Sonic's mind swirled with questions as he stared up at the giant building, noting just how menacing it was with it's spikes, smooth walls and dangerous pitfall traps next to the vast, colourful landscape.

...from down here, it kinda looks like a castle...

Shivering, the unwilling captive turned away from the jagged purple spires and blasted off across the plains, choosing a mountainous terrain fashioned out of dark green crystals he could see in the distance as his next stop.

Things however never went well for the unfortunate mobian, however.

(For the record, he really shouldn't have picked what seemed to be one of the most inhospitable areas of the transformed White Space.)

Just as he was running through a narrow cliffside, the lack of friction combined with the smoothness of the crystal mountain caused him to slip and tumble. Normally that wouldn't affect him save a broken pride, but since the narrow path was so smooth, the speedster practically slid off the side, where a deep crevice awaited for it's next victim.

The blue hedgehog yelped as he tumbled down the cliff, his head slamming against the pristine green crystal with enough force to make him see stars. The pain of impact left him too dazed to pick himself up in time before he fell through the narrow hole, and by the time he thought to sink his claws into the hard crystal as to slow down his inevitable end, he knew it was too late.

His mind blanked at the approaching danger, because he was Sonic the Hedgehog and he didn't trip well not since childhood and he was going to die skewered like a sausage and Mephiles was going to find his body and laugh at his pathetic rotting carcass and-

He flew right off the edge and down the chasm covered in sharp, black crystal spikes.

"Fuck!" Sonic shrieked as he saw his impending doom approaching, his body locking up as fear overtook his mind. The sapphire hedgehog knew he had no way of stopping it. The crystal walls of the cliff were too smooth and he was too far away and the spikes looked ridiculously sharp and he was oh so fucked- "Mephiles!"

Suddenly, he wasn't falling anymore.

A pair of arms grabbed him, stopping his descent. Sonic's heart caught up his throat as he clung to his saviour, wide green eyes still on the jagged spires below, transfixed on what could have happened. That had been too close. Far too close. He huddled closer to his unexpected saviour, stifling the choked mewl as he imagined himself getting skewered by the spikes.

"What have you been doing, hedgehog?" The ebony male holding him tenderly whispered into his lowered ears, making him stiffen and swallow loudly, suddenly realizing in what position he was. "I said be careful...you clearly don't seem to know what the word means, do you?"

Because he was never going to live down the fact his arms and legs were wrapped tightly around Mephiles' torso like a over affectionate monkey trying to kill it's owner with a death hug, the said immortal looking down at him with a smirk that was far too sly and pleased for Sonic's taste.

"Drop me."

"Never."

I had family problems to deal with, so sorry if the update came so late. I'm working on updating all of my active stories this weekend, save Broken Stream. That one will be updated next week.