Chapter 25: Nightmares, Night Terrors

One foot after another, never taking a moment to brace himself or catch his breath, Sonic ran as swiftly as he could. Jumping across chasms, flying through snow banks; even Sally had been amazed with the speed he was moving at. He had been going so fast that—to Sally's surprise—he had started panting as he rushed across the snow, and to be honest, it had started to worry her. Why on Mobius was he pushing himself so hard? Was he that determined to get out of the mountain range so fast? Sally didn't know. If it hadn't been for the fact that his chaos powers were so disturbed in the mountains, she knew he would have chaos controlled out of the mountains within the blink of an eye.

But because that was impossible, Sonic had to rely on his signature skill once again to get them home. It didn't bother him in the slightest bit since he loved it, but in a way, it bothered Sally. He had just participated in a race with a spirit of Mobius—a spirit for crying out loud—and now, he was racing as if there was no tomorrow; as if his life depended on it. Why on Mobius was he pushing himself so hard? Was there something bothering him? Did he hate the cold that much?

Sally pondered upon it for a long time, but she never got the chance to ask him because by the time she gathered the courage to do it, Sonic suddenly cried out. "There!"

The princess looked up to what he had seen and raised her eyebrows in surprise. The compound they had spend the night at earlier? Though she was a little bit surprised to see it, she had known deep down that he was going to want to come back to that place. And to blunt, she had wanted to go back to visit it too. If there was a chance that Geoffrey was still there… well, she was still very tempted to punch him in the face. She really was.

It took only a few seconds after spotting the compound to reach it, and as soon as they were there, Sonic opened the door. He didn't stop to knock, and he didn't put Sally down until they were inside. For a few moments, he stood there with an angry and concentrated expression as he glanced about, looking furiously for the skunk. Then without so much as an invitation, Sonic walked further inside the compound, quickly followed by Sally.

After taking about ten steps inside the building, a series of loud and frantic shouts greeted the two. "Intruder alert, intruder alert!" And soon after, several of the compounds inhabitants dashed inside the room, carrying their heavy armor and weapons as they had been earlier.

When Sally glanced at Sonic, she could see him roll his eyes. "Always light on the artillery, I see."

When the workers laid their eyes on two, their expressions instantly lightened and they lowered their weapons. Some of them sighed as if they had been disappointed with the lack of action they were receiving, while others sighed in relief. Most of them turned to walk back to whatever they were doing (probably playing video games; Call of Duty, by Sally's guess), but one walked towards them. Sally couldn't tell what kind of animal it was—probably a cold dwelling animal, though—but she knew by the way it walked that it was a male.

"Nice to see you two again. You sure did finish up your errands quickly, hm?" Sonic merely nodded in response. The man took in a deep breath and nodded as he continued. "I'm assuming that you're here to talk to Hershey and Geoffrey. Am I right?"

Sonic nodded again, but it was Sally who took a turn to talk. "We need some answers. Even if he's been ordered not to say anything, we really just want to know if everyone is all right."

The man stood there for a long time. Then, sighing, he nodded. "All right. Come this way." He turned on the spot and headed back down the hall, and with a quick exchange of glances, Sonic and Sally followed him.

It didn't take long for them to reach their destination. The room they entered was large and filled with computers and several workers as well. Most of them were off at the other end of the room, their eyes glued to a TV where an "intense" Call of Duty tournament was being held. It was rather loud thanks to that, but it wasn't anything that bothered Sally too bad. It wasn't like she had had to hold a meeting with loud noises in the background before…

"They left shortly after you two left for your mission, and before you even think about it, I wouldn't suggest tracking them." Sally blinked once, turning away from the group of players and to the computer that the worker had sat down by. Sonic was standing there with folded arms and a slightly irritated expression as the worker pulled up a document on the computer. "They wrote this before they left."

Before Sally even had the chance to lean in and glance at any of it, Sonic started reading it out loud. "We apologize to Sonic and Sally for leaving so suddenly, but we have urgent business that we have to attend to. If we had the time and the means, we would explain to you two about what exactly is going on, but since neither of those two things is in supply at the moment, we can't. And even if we could, the orders we have received from our 'higher ups' are keeping us from relaying any spec of information to you two. However…" And suddenly, Sonic's ears perked up and his spirit lightened in an instant. "We can tell you this: the Freedom Fighters Bunnie, Rotor, and Antoine are indeed safe and alive! We do not know where they are or what physical condition they are in, but we know for a fact that they are alive!"

"Though we do not know much else, we wish you well on your journey, and we hope to be seeing you two on the news soon. Kick Eggman's butt for us! Sincerely, Hershey and Geoffrey." Sonic swallowed a big gulp of air after that (since he had recited the entire thing in one breath) and turned to Sally. For the first time since the air temple, he smiled. "Sal, they're alive!"

Excitement also filling Sally, she smiled and turned to Sonic. "I can barely believe it!" She exclaimed, "But I don't know how we're going to rescue them, much less find them." Her shoulders slumped at her own comment and she sighed, a slight smile still on her face. "But it's nice to know that they're okay. Right?" Sonic nodded in agreement, and the man spoke again.

"Hershey and Geoffrey also told me to tell you two that you're welcome to spend the night here." He told them, standing up out of the chair in the process. "And if you're staying, you're also welcome to dinner too. If I'm right, we'll be having chili dogs tonight."

Though Sally opened her mouth to speak, she knew Sonic was going to beat her to it. "Heck yeah we'll stay!" Both Sally and the worker laughed at his outburst, but he merely smiled his signature grin as a response.

Still laughed and smiling as he walked off toward the doorway, Rod spoke. "Well, I'm glad that you're so excited to be spending the night here. We'll be having dinner in about… a half an hour I believe. Afterward, I'll be more than happy to show you both to your room, if you like."

Sonic and Sally smiled at him, and Sonic spoke. "Thanks…"

"Rod."

"Thanks, Rod." Sonic said, nodding at him one more time before he walked off down the hallway again. Once he was gone, the two turned back to the computer screen and stared at the screen and the message—their glimmer of hope—on it.

After Sonic had consumed at least half of the chili dogs at dinner (shocking the vast majority of the Mobians there), both Sonic and Sally had been led to their room by Rod, who they learned was a Husky. In comparison to the rest of the institution it was a small room, but it had at least six beds throughout it, each decorated in its own unique bedspread. They were all also surprisingly large.

When they entered the room, Sally found herself staring at each bed for a long time, pondering on which one to take. That one looked rather tall, and that one had an oddly colored blanket… none of them really appealed to her, expect for the one that was closest to the bed Sonic had claimed. It had purple blankets and pillows, which were decorated in flowers of all sorts. Some of them she could name, and some—

"Sal, stop trying to classify the plants, they're not even real." How on Mobius did he do that? Sally nearly flushed at Sonic's words for some reason, but despite that, she walked towards the bed. She jumped up onto it once she was close enough, pleasantly surprised with how soft it was. It was very nice for something so far out in the middle of nowhere…

"We'll be having a Call of Duty tournament almost all night, if you want to come." Sally turned to glance back at Rod, while Sonic simply sat on the bed in his signature one-leg-crossed-over-the-other-and-his-hands-tucked-behind-his-head position. "If not, feel free to sleep."

Sally smiled at him, and Rod left once again. With that, Sally turned to look at Sonic, who had already pulled off his snow boots. When had he done that? She shrugged to herself and did the same, placing the boots neatly to the side of her bed. She was still wearing her winter attire (and Sonic was doing the same) since the compound was still a bit cold. Not to mention the fact that she was still shivering every once in awhile because of the lingering chill…

"Sal?" Sally's ears perked up suddenly as she was pulled from her thoughts, and she turned to look in the direction the voice had come from. She was unsurprised to see that Sonic was sitting right next to her on her bed, wearing an oddly thoughtful expression.

Sitting back onto the bed so she was more comfortable (and a little closer to Sonic), Sally spoke. "Yeah?"

Sonic took in a deep breath and sighed as he looked her in the eye. "Is it dumb that I'm mad about Geoffrey and Hershey leaving?"

Sally's eyes widened and she raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Of course not! Why on Mobius are you asking such a silly question? It's perfectly fine for you to be mad."

Shrugging, Sonic sat back into a more comfortable position. "I know, I know. But you know me. I'm supposed to be the 'laid back' one. Grudges aren't really my thing, and as angry as I am at that dirt-bag, I don't want to be mad at him." He sighed, shaking his head at himself. "I must sound really stupid right now, huh?"

The girl merely shook her head and smiled. "Not at all. In fact, I think it's… rather mature of you. Noble, even. It's a good thing that you're trying to forgive him."

The blue hedgehog smiled at her. "And what about you? What do you think of that skunk right now?"

Sally shrugged, "I want to strangle him. I'm still… a bit angry at him, if you want to put it that way."

"I can respect that." Sonic sighed, closing his eyes for just a moment. "And I don't blame you for it either. It must have been pretty awful; the raid on Knothole."

Sighing, Sally's ears fell. "It was."

His eyes opening again, Sonic sat up on the bed, looking at Sally in the eye. "I'm sorry, Sal."

She shook her head, "Don't say you're sorry, Sonic. It wasn't your fault."

"I know." He said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Doesn't mean I don't feel bad about it anyway." Carefully, he kissed her forehead. "But don't worry… we'll rescue them. And if we need to, we'll even get some help doing it. I bet that Tails can…" And then, suddenly, his eyes grew wide. "Sal, we never told Tails."

"About Geoffrey?"

"About anything!" Sonic exclaimed, "That Knothole was destroyed, or that Geoffrey betrayed us… we've been out here doing whatever we want, and we've barely even given that a second thought."

Sally hummed. "You're right." Her brow furrowing, Sally growled to herself. "I can't believe we forgot about that."

Sonic sighed, "I know." And then, folding his arms, Sonic put on a serious expression. "We really need to tell him what's happened. It isn't fair to keep him out of the loop."

Nodding in agreement, Sally pulled Nicole out of her pocket, exchanging a glance with Sonic before looking down at the tiny computer. "I'll call him." With the click of a few buttons, the computer had dialed Tails's house, and for a few moments, it was nearly dead quiet as it rang. The only sound that was present was the buzzing of the lights above them…

"Hello?" After a few moments, the cheerful voice of the young boy echoed from the computer. "Sonic? Sally? What's up?" Tails asked, his expression on the screen displaying his obvious confusion and wonder going on in his mind.

Taking in a deep breath, Sally glanced at Sonic. He was wearing a thoughtful expression and a furrowed brow, and before Sally could say anything, he spoke. "We just, uh… wanted to call and talk to you Tails. Give you some updates on a few things."

The boy's ears perked up at that. "Great! Did you guys get the sixth emerald?"

Sonic simply nodded, and Tails's smile widened. "Plus, we ran into some old… acquaintances along the way."

"Really? Who?"

The blue hedgehog took in a deep breath and sighed. "Geoffrey and Hershey."

The fox's eyebrows rose in surprise, and he temporarily moved off screen (was he working on something?) before saying, "What were they doing way out there?"

"We don't know, but…" Sonic sighed another heavy breath, "Geoffrey's not exactly highly favored by either of us right now."

Tails raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why's that?"

Sonic exchanged another long glance with Sally, his brows furrowed together for a fraction of a second. "It's a long story, Tails. A really long story."

"I've got time to talk, Sonic." Tails countered. "I'm willing to listen."

Another sigh followed, and Sonic spoke. "Alright. But get ready to throw something at Geoffrey's head when you're done."

And sure enough, once the story had been completely relayed by the two—the raid on Knothole, the kidnapping of the Freedom Fighters, Geoffrey's betrayal, being rescued by him and Hershey—Tails was wearing an expression of pure disgust. He looked like he was ready to throw up and yell at the skunk at the same time, and for a moment after Sonic had finished his story, he had believed that Tails was going to start his very own rant of how angry he was. Instead, though, he only shared a few words. "I can't believe him."

The blue hedgehog struggled to find the right words in response. "Me neither. I still don't know what we're going to do about the whole situation, other than rescuing the Freedom Fighters. Finding a starting point in this situation is a bit… difficult, at this point."

Tails nodded in agreement. "Especially since we have no idea where Eggman could have taken that many people. He may have the resources for taking care of several bases and hundreds of thousands of robots at once, but he isn't exactly what I'd like to call a people person. How would he even feed that many people, much less take care of their other basic accommodations?"

Sonic took in a deep breath. "Exactly…" And for a while, he was quiet. "Do you think he roboticized any of them?"

The other two's forms went rigidly stiff as soon as he had spoken, and silence took over once again. "I… I don't know, Sonic." Tails finally said after an entire minute of listening to the buzzing of the lights, "I really don't know."

Sonic simply sat there after that, and though it was subtle, both Sally and Tails could see that his spirit's had dropped. His face fell a bit, the light in his eyes dimmed, and he slumped more in the bed. "But we will be able to rescue them, Sonic. We will." He merely sighed and nodded in response.

"I know."

From there, the conversation consisted of several "good lucks," "you can do its," and a very enthusiastic "I'll be watching the news!" And after the traditional goodbyes were issued and Sally and Tails hung up, the hedgehog and the chipmunk-squirrel hybrid sat there in silence for a few long minutes on the bed.

"Sonic?"

"Yeah, Sal?"

"Everything's going to be okay."

Sonic took in a deep breath and turned to her, an expression of exhaustion on his face. "I know." Then, furrowing his brow, Sonic spoke, his spirits beginning to lighten up. "Holy cow. Here you are, Sally Alicia Acorn, trying to cheer me up, Sonic the Hedgehog of all people. The world has just gone mad."

She simply offered a soft smile in reply, kissing him on the cheek. He grinned at it, and very quickly, his face lit up again. "If anyone can do it, Sonic, it's going to be you."

The grin quickly transforming into his cocky smirk, Sonic stood up off the bed. "You better believe it, Sal! And you're going to help me with it!" He exclaimed, making her giggle in response. "But first, let's go whip some butts on Call of Duty."

Sally rolled her eyes as she too stood up off the bed, following her boyfriend down the hallway. "You're such a boy."

He merely laughed a devilish chuckle in response.

Though a mother board processed it as dark, a mind would have recognized it as darkness. They were two entirely different things, especially diverse when viewed by a Mobian and Robian. Dark was the absence of light, and it was a simple as that. At best it was a scientific term, and in its simplest, a way to describe other colors. Darkness, however, was much worse. It was loneliness, fear, the pure and utter truth that somewhere in the dark, there was a creature stirring, ready to attack. Dark was dark. Darkness was fear.

But in his current state of… mind, if he could call it that, Jules couldn't feel it. The fear that was so easily associated with darkness meant nothing to him at that moment, and it never was going to. It hadn't for a long time. From the eyes of a Robian that had once been a Mobian, he could recognize the fear and he could believe that he was scared, but it didn't feel like he was actually scared. The physical aspect wasn't present; the clenching up of his muscles, the rise in body temperature, the shaking… it simply wasn't fear. It was him trying to convince himself that he could be scared.

And it wasn't enough. It hadn't been enough for those few hours of chaos several weeks ago, those first few days after he had been captured, and the total darkness that had swallowed him for weeks on end afterwards. No matter which angle he observed it, it wasn't enough to convince himself that he was still… alive, or that he was still going to be able to see his wife again, or his brother, or his son, or the king, or anyone.

Though it was a useless gesture, Jules sighed and shook his head. He was sick of being kept in the dark—literally. More than anything, he wanted to know—he needed to know—if his wife was okay, if his brother was okay, and if his son—

His train of thought froze in place, and he stopped to linger on that subject. He hadn't seen his son in years. Sure, he had seenhim on the TV saving the world and doing what he did best, but he hadn't actually seen his boy in far too long. After such a long period of absence, it was almost as if the boy didn't exist anymore. Like he was only a fond memory or a far off dream; a fleeting thought that lasted for only a moment before disappearing for good. It made him sick.

Well, not sick, but empty. Lonely and sad. Cold.

He sighed again, shaking his head as he lay down on his bed. Though he couldn't actually sleep, it felt nice to sit back and stare at the, well, darkness. He didn't know why it did, though, but in a way, it made him think. Reflect. Dream. Hope…

Maybe one day, he'd see them all again. Hopefully. Maybe.

"You're stupid. You're really stupid. You know that?"

The blue hedgehog opened his eyes, taking in a deep breath as he looked up at her, her arms folded. She didn't look mad like he had expected her to, but… she looked sad, really. Hurt, maybe. Why? Sonic furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to speak, "Sa—" But the moment he did, water rushed into his mouth and a moment later, into his lungs.

His heart skipped a thousand beats and he tried to scream, but it only made the situation worse. The blur of water covering his eyes soon accompanied his lack of oxygen, and as he began to thrash about, he heard her speak again. "You're just really stupid."

The room he was in suddenly faded to black—whatever color it had been before, he couldn't remember—and the water around him seemed to thicken. Without another thought, he turned to look back at her again, but instead of seeing Sal, he saw a blue metallic hedgehog. His heart stopped, and without stopping to think, he opened his mouth again. "Da—" But instead of water rushing into his lungs, a force of a thousand pounds threw him back, knocking whatever breath he had left in him out.

Before he could even think of blinking, he crashed into some unseen force so hard that he nearly blacked out. Instead of passing out, though, stars danced across his vision, and in the background he could hear the unmistakable cackling of Dr. Eggman echoing throughout the room. And again he heard Sally speak, "You're so stupid."

Closing his eyes for only a moment, Sonic growled. He had to get out of here. Spending a few moments to feel the surface behind him, Sonic gritted his teeth together, doing his best to push away from the wall. For a moment he was floating forward, gazing into the darkness, his arm reached out to anything he could grasp—and suddenly, something grabbed him by the throat and threw him back into the wall. Hard.

Fireworks were set off against his vision, and his wind pipe was crushed by cold metal (though it really didn't mater at the moment since he couldn't breathe anyway). When he opened his eyes, he was met by two pairs of eyes—the eyes of Robians—cold and unfeeling, as always. "You're so stupid. You really are so stupid."

His mind racing as he took turns staring at both of them—the blue hedgehog on his right, and the chipmunk-squirrel hybrid on his left—he failed to recognize the sharp claws aimed at his chest. When he did spot them, however, it was far too late. They pierced him all at once, and a pain like none filled him. He opened his mouth to scream, but the harsh remembrance struck him once again, and instead, he took in more water, if that was even possible.

"You're so stupid, Sonic." She told him again as he looked at her, his eyes instantly traveling to the gaping hole in her robotic body, "You just don't get it."

His vision gradually beginning to blur and his heart racing even faster, Sonic gritted his teeth. He took a moment to glance at the robotic hedgehog, and then back to Sally again, and towards the hedgehog once more. She continued to taunt him as the maniacal cackle went off in the background, and somewhere even farther back into the distance, Sonic could hear a softer voice cry out, "Sonic! Wake up!"

It was too much. It was all too much; the laughing, the taunting, the drowning, the pain, not being able to scream—and suddenly, there was another sting in his chest. He cried out again—tried to, at least—and his eyes instantly shot at the blue hedgehog. His eyes were cold and unfeeling, and when he spoke, it sent shivers up and down his spine. "You've disappointed me, son."

The hedgehog's heart skipped another thousand beat, and before anything else could happen, the two Robians pulled their arms back again, their hands in the forms of sharp metal claws. They threw their hands at him, and all the while, Sonic could hear that voice in the background growing louder and louder, "Sonic, wake up! Sonic!" And just as the onslaught was about to reach him, Sonic finally opened his mouth and screamed out loud, sitting up off his bed.

His heart was racing, he was panting, and there was sweat racing down his brow. And yet, even though he was awake, he could see it everywhere he looked. He could hear them taunting him in the blackness, he could feel the force of the water crushing his lungs and his body, and the metal pressed right against his wind-pipe. He felt like he was suffocating. Like he was going to collapse at any given moment. Like he was still drowning.

"Sonic," The blue hedgehog jumped at the sound of Sally's voice, but the moment he turned to her, the darkness dancing around him melted away. She looked as normal as could be (excluding the worry and fear on her face, which in a way was actually pretty normal), which instantly sent a wave of relief through his body. "Are you okay?"

Sonic spent no time thinking. He responded with a lightning quick nod and faked a laugh. "Of course I am! Just a bad dream."

Sally's ears flopped down at that, and she sighed. "You were screaming. I don't think you've ever done that before in your sleep."

Screaming? Despite the fact that that little tidbit of news did worry him slightly, Sonic shook it off and smiled. "I'm okay, Sal. Don't worry about it."

"Okay…" Sally took in deep breath, sweeping her bangs out of her face as she looked at Sonic again.

Offering a soft smile in reply, Sonic nodded at her. "Really, Sal. I'm fine."

Nodding once, Sally sighed and leaned towards him. She gave him a quick peck on the lips before standing back, smiling at him the entire time. "Then have a good night's sleep, okay?" He nodded in response, "I love you, Sonic."

"Love you too, Sal."

And with that, Sally quickly rushed to the doorway, turned off the light, and rushed across the room and got back into her bed. For a few moments, Sonic sat still in the dark, his mind racing the entire time. He lay back down after awhile, wondering and reflecting on the nightmare. What had brought it about? Why on Mobius had he had such a dream like that? He nearly shivered at the thought of it, and though he wouldn't have admitted to it in a thousand years, the thought of anything, really, in the dream becoming a reality terrified him. To see Sally in such a state or to see his father being controlled again… for some reason, it made the taste of failure seem so much more possible.

Stop being such a wimp, dude! You're Sonic the Hedgehog! You're the—

"Shut up." Sonic growled under his breath, the voice in his head freezing at the very first uttered syllable. "Just… shut up." He whispered, pulling his pillow over his head. "Shut. Up." And from there, the room became as silent as could be, and after a few long minutes, Sonic fell back asleep.

Yay! :D A new chapter! I had a ton of fun with this one! ^^ Woo-hoo! And look-one more emerald to go! :D

Thanks to jtcr, Chicket the Chickadee, ShadowEmpress76, and brave kid for all the reviews! They mean a lot to me! ^^ I hope you guys will be looking forward to the next chapter!

Oh, and I hope you all had a good "end of the world" yesterday. ;) And have a Merry Christmas! XD