I'm sorry but I'm stupidly far behind in my writing. I seriously have nothing else written for next week (but I know what shall happen). As well, this chapter is also extremely long, although nothing terribly exciting happens. Why is it that the further I go into any story, the longer the chapters get? Never mind. Enjoy!
Three flashes are what Pit saw that night.
Flash!
The first one was of Wario touching Sonic in very private places…Sonic seemed to want Wario to stop, but every time he made a move to try and force Wario off he was hit, forced to lie down, and then fondled in a new place.
Flash!
The next one was of Sonic scrubbing while in the shower; he used a lot of soap and washed himself again and again, trying to get more than just the semen and blood off of his body.
Flash!
The final one was of the figure from his other dream having sex with Sonic. The figure moaned and rubbed his hands all over Sonic's body, while Sonic simply had his head turned to the side. His eyes were glazed over, like he wasn't even acknowledging what was happening to him. The hedgehog laid there like a rag doll, while the figure had fun with his toy.
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Pit woke up in the middle of the night again, unsure of what to think of the dreams. He had seen everything like he was watching a movie. The angel closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but all he saw instead were the three flickers over and over again. Pit mumbled, sat up, stretched, and then walked downstairs.
He wasn't the only one awake, either. Ike was sitting alone in the dining room, his cheek in his palm, thinking. Pit walked to Ike's table and sat down beside the mercenary, "Why is it that every time I'm up at two A.M. someone else is too?"
"Oh, hey Pit." Ike smiled at the angel before letting his gaze drop back to the table.
"Something wrong?" Pit asked, putting a hand on the mercenary's shoulder. It seemed colder than normal.
"Sort of," Ike sighed, "I was just thinking about what you said before, Pit…about the shadow in the shower and everything, and the message on the mirror? You lied to me then, didn't you? About what he wanted…he was Sonic's rapist, wasn't he?"
"Well, he helped Wario. I still don't know who he is though."
"Why didn't you just tell me the truth?"
"Because the five of us were afraid of what could happen to Sonic…I mean, the guy tried to kill him. And Sonic would hate us forever if we called the police; the story would be shown around the universe. We wanted it private, just between us Brawlers…"
"Sometimes keeping it private isn't always a good thing," Ike muttered.
"You're not saying we should get the authorities involved, are you?"
"No, it's just that…" Ike sighed, "Promise you won't tell?"
"Cross my heart," Pit replied, drawing an 'x' on his chest.
"Well…back when my father was alive and I traveled with his mercenary group, a wandering solider came upon us. He wished to follow us to the next town, and my father agreed, considering it was dangerous to be alone in those mountains. He was very friendly to the members of our group…and extremely friendly to me, if you catch my drift."
"He raped you?" Pit whispered.
"No; I was fortunate enough not to have that happen. But it was a close call…once when I was out collecting firewood by myself, he attacked me…he pressed me against a tree and stuck his hand down my pants…I never felt so filthy before. He placed a hand over my mouth so I couldn't call for help, but once he tried to take off my clothes I came to my senses, bit him hard and escaped. Once I reached the campsite I got someone else to go off into the forest, and I made sure to stay away from the guy for the rest of the trip."
"Oh…I'm sorry, Ike. At least you got away." Pit wrapped an arm around Ike's shoulders.
"Sort of. I never told my father about the incident – hell, you're the only one I've ever told. I had nightmares for weeks after about the solider tying me down and touching me…I hated myself for what happened and blamed myself for the incident. Eventually I realized that I was thinking the wrong way and that nothing was my fault, and only then did the dreams stop. I must have only been nine or ten back then. I haven't thought about the solider for years…not until now."
"Why is that?" Pit asked.
"Because of what happened to Sonic…think about it, Pit. I was scared of everything for weeks after I was…molested…but that's just it; I was only touched. I know I was younger than Sonic back then, but the incident was much milder. But if it affected me like that…how bad do you think it is for Sonic?"
The angel was quiet for a few seconds, "Oh…I never thought about that. I know it hurt Sonic, but…I never thought how badly it could have affected him."
"All I'm saying is that even if we catch Wario, the Sonic we know is gone. He's not going to be the same after what happened. I just hope he's doing alright…"
"Me too," Pit replied. The angel left immediately after that, thinking to himself that something seemed off about Ike's voice…
XXXXXXXXX
"That was awesome, wasn't it?" Shadow dangled his little foam dragon on a wire in front of Sonic's face. They had just returned from the theme park and had got a few souvenirs, "Hello…?"
"Knock it off," Sonic replied, tossing his foam lion off to the side.
"Alright, fine…" Shadow bent over to pick up the lion so they wouldn't step on it in the morning. Sonic couldn't help but stare at Shadow's form…was he really in love with the black hedgehog?
"Oh yeah…look what I have!" Shadow held up a pink and white, sparkly stuffed unicorn.
"No way…" Sonic blinked in shock, "You actually found one?"
"Yep…meet Sassy! Now Galaxy has a friend!" He tossed the pink unicorn next to the blue one, "Anyways, you've got another therapy session tomorrow morning…wait it is morning…scratch that. Well, time for bed." Shadow picked Sonic up and tossed the blue hedgehog onto his bed, beside the stuffed animals.
"Hey!" Sonic tried to sound annoyed, but it was actually pretty funny.
Shadow chuckled and crawled in next to the blue hedgehog. Sonic sighed, wondering if Shadow would even want to be near him if he found out that Sonic possibly loved him.
The thought completely disappeared from Sonic's mind when he woke up terrified. The strange, black-blue hedgehog was hurting him again instead of Wario. They both did the same things in his dreams – they raped him – but what was mainly different with the two monsters was that the strange hedgehog was more violent with Sonic than Wario was. But it was so strange…where did he come from, and what happened to Wario? Why was this guy hurting him now? And why did he feel even worse about himself because of the guy?
That was what the hedgehog demon did; make him feel worse. Mock him, taunt him, humiliate him…and continue telling Sonic that he was no hero. He even spoke about the park incident, just to hurt him. But why?
Bloody hell. Like Sonic needed anything else to make him more confused and add onto his shame.
Sonic held Galaxy close and snuggled into Shadow's chest, and he allowed himself to cry while Shadow whispered comforting words into his ear.
XXXXXXXXX
"Oh, Sonic…don't listen to them! What about your friends? Shouldn't their opinions matter more than anyone else's?" Dr. Nam had already heard earlier from Tails what had occurred at the park, and from Shadow that Sonic's nightmares had returned worse than before. Once again, Sonic was holding Galaxy close and crying. He hadn't needed Galaxy for a couple of days…he had been getting better, but now…
"You-you were wr-wrong Nam…my-my l-life is a-all about s-sex. I c-can't even s-sl-sleep without ha-having sex!" Sonic hugged Galaxy close, still sobbing.
"Did you hear me, Sonic? Why are you listening to them?"
"How-how did they kn-know that I h-ha-had sex b-b-before?"
"They were drunk! They didn't know anything!"
"Liar! They kn-knew some-something!" Sonic grabbed a tissue and wiped his eyes, but soon everything was blurry again because of more tears, "I hate myself! Why do I keep trying to deny everything when it's obvious he's right?"
"Are you talking about Wario?"
"Well, I…I don't know." Sonic sniffed and wiped his eyes again.
"Then who are you talking about?"
"Some…well…instead of Wario hurting me in my dreams lately, it's…it's been another hedgehog."
"Another one? Do you mean Shadow?" Sonic shook his head. "Then who?"
"I don't know his name. All I know is that he hates me and my friends and likes to fuck me."
"Can you describe this other hedgehog for me, please? I want to hear everything you know about them; personality and looks."
Sonic took a deep breath and spouted out what little facts he knew about this strange demon. Dr. Nam looked down at his notes, puzzled for a few minutes. "This is interesting, Sonic," Dr. Nam said, looking up at his patient, "I need some time to come to a positive conclusion but…hmm…"
"Don't you have any ideas?"
"Not really. This is pretty big…I'll go through this in detail later."
"Ok…" Sonic sniffed and loosened his grip slightly on his unicorn.
"Time to try cognitive therapy with him again. Poor Sonic…I'm surprised he can't even see in the slightest that this wasn't his fault. I'm starting to run out of ideas to speak of!"
"Ok Sonic…" Dr. Nam sighed and flipped to another piece of paper, "Whose fault was it that you were raped…Wario's or yours?"
"Why do you keep asking me that? It's still mine no matter how many times you say it isn't!"
"Let's try another scenario, ok? You know that during that storm Wario didn't come near you, correct?" Sonic nodded. "Why do you think he didn't touch you?"
"Because somebody else was around me."
"Right! Now, why would he have refrained from raping you because someone else was around?"
"Because…because you're supposed to have sex in private?"
"Well, yes, but why would he want it to be in private?"
"Uh…so he can have me all to himself?"
Dr. Nam inwardly sighed, realizing this idea wasn't going to go anywhere either, "No Sonic, that's not it."
"But it's true!"
"Perhaps, but can you think of another reason he'd want you all alone with no other Brawlers nearby?"
"So we wouldn't be interrupted?"
"Why would you two be interrupted?"
"Because people don't want to see us doing it…"
"Ok, think of it this way. Say if another Brawler came into your room and saw you tied to your bed, Wario on top of you and you pleading for him to stop, what do you think that Brawler would do?"
"…Shut the door and leave us alone?"
"Not quite…"
"Oh, and then go downstairs to tell everyone else that Wario and I are lovers?"
"If you liked what was happening to you then you wouldn't want Wario to stop, and in this scenario you do. So, what would that Brawler do?"
Sonic simply shrugged.
"Did you think that maybe they would force Wario to stop?"
"Maybe…"
"Ok, so they got Wario off of you and now he can't touch you. The Brawler asks you what happened. What do you reply?"
"Wario was just giving me what I deserve."
"They ask you why you deserved this."
"I don't know. I just do."
"What do you think that Brawler would do?"
"Agree with Wario, say that I deserved it, and then let Wario go back to humping me again?
"No Sonic, they wouldn't do that."
"You're not making any sense."
"Look, think harder this time. Say, if once the Brawler gets Wario off of you, they see that you are bleeding from the places Wario was touching you. Who do you think they are going to blame first?"
"…Wario?"
"Correct! So, put the two together. If somebody saw Wario hurt you, then who would be in trouble?"
"Wario."
"So then you can conclude that Wario had to have you alone, for if somebody saw him hurt you he'd get in trouble, not you. Because he's the one getting in trouble, it's his fault that this all happened. Do you see that?"
"…No."
"Why not?"
"He didn't usually leave physical marks on me."
"What if you were bleeding from your…'entrance' again and the Brawler saw Wario forcing you into sex?"
"How would they know it was forced?"
"Sonic, remember; here you're tied up, hurt, and pleading for Wario to stop. All three are good signs that the person doesn't want sex."
"…Oh…"
"So, if you don't want sex and Wario does, and he forces you into having sex, and you're hurt…whose fault is it that you're hurt?"
"Mine."
"How so?"
"Wario has to have a reason for having sex with me."
"Maybe it isn't one that involves you."
"That doesn't make sense! People don't just go around raping others for no damn reason!" A few more tears ran down Sonic's cheeks.
"Maybe all Wario wants is power, and you were there, or perhaps he simply wanted sex. Sonic, it's impossible that we'll ever know his real reason."
"You said you'd find out what the reason was! You promised me!" Sonic's jade green eyes were filled with pain, "If this wasn't my fault then why did it happen? Is there even another reason, or are you lying to me as well? You know this is my fault, don't you?" Sonic began to cry harder.
"No…never for one moment did I ever think this was your fault. Nobody does. Look, do you think it was your fault?"
"Yes."
"When you told Knuckles your story, did he think you deserved it?"
"…No…"
"When he made you tell Tails, did Tails think you caused yourself to be raped?"
"No…"
"When Shadow found out from me and the other two what happened, did he place the blame on you?"
"No…"
"And what about Amy? Did she hate you and shun you once she found out you had been raped?"
"No…"
"So if five out of the seven people who know what happened think it wasn't your fault, why do you believe it is?"
"Because none of you saw me while it was happening! I don't deserve to have them as friends; not after I caused myself to lose my virginity to some guy twice my age!"
Dr. Nam simply shook his head sadly and looked at Sonic, "You may not think you deserve them now, but you earned their respect before all of this. You can't simply wipe the slate clean and ignore everything that happened before. They love you and have stood by you all this time. They haven't given up now, and they never will."
Sonic was quiet for a moment, and then he slowly nodded, "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Think of everything they've done for you. Sometimes it makes you wonder what you'd do without them."
"That's easy. I'd kill myself." Dr. Nam simply stared in shock while Sonic explained, "They want me to get better, so it's the only reason I keep trying. But it's so hard I just don't know if I can…I'd have given up ages ago if it wasn't for them." Sonic shuddered, "Right now they need me, and the world needs me. But when they don't, there's no point for my existence anymore."
XXXXXXXXX
"Ok, the house is on some island…uh…" Link looked at the instructions and the map again, "We're really close now, actually."
"Cool," Kirby replied, bringing the warp star closer to the ocean water. Pikachu and Link were sharing a ride; Pit and Meta Knight were flying right beside them.
"I just hope Sonic's ok…and awake," Meta Knight said.
"Pft, it's noon their time…he should be up…" Pikachu shrugged and then gripped Link's shoulder when Kirby headed back up to the sky.
XXXXXXXXX
"Are you saying that you want to kill yourself?" Dr. Nam whispered.
"Sort of…well, I…they still want me…I'm just tired of trying to survive with so much pain. It's hard. It's really, really hard. Sometimes I get so sick of it I want to give up."
"Do you think you will?"
"Not yet…I know they don't want me to die, so I'll keep going."
"That isn't enough, Sonic. You can never live your life for someone else. Just because this one thing happened doesn't suddenly make your life not worth living. You know what? Here's what I want you to do for tomorrow: write down a list of the ten best things that happened to you and the ten worst that happened to you, then bring it back here. It doesn't have to be in any particular order, as long as you have ten on each side. Then we'll see what happens."
"Well…alright."
"And I promise to you I'll get back to you on both your new demon and Wario's motive. Ok?"
"Ok…" Sonic had stopped crying, well, at least a little. He didn't feel a heck of a lot better, but there was still some relief.
He picked up Galaxy and was about to leave the room when Dr. Nam called, "Wait Sonic; can you send Tails in here? I want to speak with him."
"Sure…but why?"
"Just something I want to discuss. It won't take long."
"Alright…" Sonic walked out of the room, a little curious as to what Dr. Nam wanted.
XXXXXXXXX
"Ok, for fuck's sake I'm landing. I swear we've gone off course," Kirby snapped, taking a quick nose-dive to a nearby island. While Kirby was used to doing such tricks on his warp star, Link and Pikachu were not. They clung to the pink puffball for dear life.
"Good; it was time to take a break anyways," Pit sighed and flopped to the ground once he landed, "My wings are so sore…"
"Ok, let's see…we took a right here and a left there…" Pikachu pointed to the spots on the map, "Oh, here's our problem, Kirb. We weren't supposed to go through that tunnel…"
"Aw, fuck. We're going to have to backtrack at least an hour," Kirby moaned and face palmed.
"We still have plenty of time…ready to get going you two?" Link called to Meta Knight and Pit.
"Hell no…my wings feel like they're going to fall off!" Pit sighed and lay flat on the ground.
"We're too tired. Give us a break," Meta Knight added and flopped beside the angel.
"Fine…we'll eat lunch and then you guys can hold onto the warp star and glide the rest of the way," Kirby replied, folding up the map.
"Can your star hold all of that weight?" Pikachu asked.
"Sure, but it will be slower than before…not terribly moves-just-slightly-faster-than-grade-nines-in-the-hallway slow, just…oh, you get it. Let's eat."
XXXXXXXXX
"Thanks for coming, Tails. There's a lot to talk about…" Dr. Nam was pacing back and forth in the room.
"Anything for Sonic…what's up?"
"Tails, Sonic just told me he doesn't even care about himself. The only reason he doesn't want to kill himself anymore is because of his friends. He knows that at least you guys want him to live, so he tries to get better."
"But…if he thinks that way…he's not going to get better."
"I know." Dr. Nam sat down on the couch opposite the one that Tails was standing by, "From the stories I've heard from all of you, I can see that he's usually such a spunky little guy."
"He was always so positive…he seemed to have a spirit that could never break. I just don't understand how he can hate himself so much…" Tails sighed and absently picked at a loose thread on one of the couch cushions; he was still standing, unsure how long this would take, "Do you think it's because of those guys at the park? We were so stupid in bringing him there…"
"No; that was still a good idea. He was happy while he talked about it; the only time he got sad was when he got to that part. Otherwise, he really enjoyed it. You'll have to take him out more often."
"We just won't stay out as late."
"Precisely."
"So, what is it that you want to talk about?"
"Did Shadow tell you of this new demon of Sonic's?" Tails nodded. "Well, I've been thinking about this, and I think I know why Sonic's feeling so down about himself."
"Why?"
"This no longer has to do with Wario, his memories or those drunks at the park. This has to do with himself. I think he's conjured up his own nightmare, putting into it everything that he thinks is wrong with him – that he can't stop himself from being raped, that everyone thinks he's worthless, and that all he's good for is sex. He's got a look alike of himself attacking him…Sonic is putting so much blame and guilt on himself that's he unknowingly become his worst enemy."
"You mean he's lost confidence in himself as a friend and hero."
"You're correct. And he's going to keep believing these things unless he's shown otherwise." Dr. Nam took a deep breath, "Tails, you have to call the Base, tell them what happened and make Wario pay for what he's done."
"I know I should…I want to, but Sonic begged for us not to tell. Even having five others know is pushing his limits."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Sonic hates having to depend on anyone or anything," Tails sighed and slumped down onto the couch Sonic usually sat on, "And yet now he's relying on pills, Galaxy and all of us to help him. He cries every night remembering everything that has happened…he just wants to forget it, and talking to the Brawlers will just bring back more horrible memories for him. Especially of Wario; Sonic must hate him."
"Sonic doesn't hate Wario a fraction of how much he hates himself. He still thinks it's his entire fault he was raped. Self blame in one of the most common things that happen to rape victims, and Sonic's probably the worst case I've ever seen. I'm trying cognitive therapy with him, but so far…he won't work with it. Right now he can't seem to get the idea even slightly in his head that this is Wario's fault; not his."
"So what does calling the Base have to do with this?"
"I think Sonic needs to hear first-hand from Wario that he didn't cause the assaults. Until then, Sonic is going to believe he's done something wrong, and he'll never put this behind him."
"Ha! Do you actually think that son of a bitch is going to tell Sonic that he's innocent? He'll just laugh and hurt Sonic even more. Sonic's heart is so unstable…I never thought he'd ever have his will destroyed like this. If just a few more bad things happen…I think Sonic is going to completely lose his mind. Poor Sonic is absolutely terrified of everything and everyone. We always have to make noise when we walk around the place so he knows we're there. Sometimes we'll just be sitting around, perfectly fine, and then all of a sudden he'll burst into tears. It's…it's…" Tails looked down at the ground, "I shouldn't say that about him…"
"Nobody can hear us, and I won't say anything."
"It's frustrating sometimes. He's hard to live with. I know you warned us he would be, but…I'm so afraid for him. The way this is going, it doesn't seem like he'll ever be able to move on and actually find somebody to love him. He wasn't interested in the idea before, but now I think he's going to shy away from such things for the rest of his life. I just don't want to see him alone forever while everyone else has families and stuff…" Tails shook his head, "Ok, so maybe I'm looking too far ahead in the future. But the idea is still there."
"I see what you mean, but don't be too worried. Most victims are able to move on and live just fine…but Sonic can't live for someone else."
"So…I call the Base, get Wario arrested, and then we make him tell Sonic it wasn't his fault, and by doing so Sonic will get his confidence back and everything will be butterflies and rainbows again. Right?"
"Well, he won't get better that quickly, but it will give him some relief from his hardships. Yes, you need to call."
"Pft…it would be easier to call Eggman and ask him to lose to Sonic in a fight so Sonic can feel better about himself. Heck, that's more likely to happen as well," Tails replied sarcastically.
"Tails, please try. If Sonic keeps thinking this low of himself he's never going to get better…he may even try committing suicide again. He really wants and needs the reason behind his rapes. Just try…for him."
"Ok…I will. I don't think it will work, but I'll give it a shot."
"Sonic might be angry at you to start out, but once you get the answer he'll thank you. See you tomorrow, Tails. And remember to call me if anything changes with Sonic."
"Of course." Tails went back into the living room and to whatever board game they were playing now while the psychiatrist left the house.
"One last piece…damn it! Stupid 'Perfection'!" Shadow threw the last piece down on the table just as the timer ran out, popping up all of the little yellow plastic pieces.
"Well, you were closer than the rest of us," Amy laughed.
"Tails, want to give it a shot?" Sonic asked, waving him over. He had placed Galaxy next to Sassy on the coffee table, and both unicorns looked like they were watching the game.
Tails' mind was still debating over whether to listen to the therapist or to Sonic, and he played the game like a robot…surprisingly enough, he actually made it just in time before his work was all popped up.
"Wow! You're the first person I've ever seen who could do that!" Sonic patted Tails on the back, "You're a 'Perfection' champion!"
"Huh? Oh yeah…"
"You're certainly occupied." Sonic tipped his head slightly to the side, showing concern, "What's up, buddy?"
"Nothing…I'm just thinking, is all." "Perhaps there's a way I can make him realize that he's not at fault?"
"Alright…what else can we do?"
"There's 'Life'…want to play that?" Amy dug through the games and pulled it out.
Everyone picked their little car and began to play the game. A half hour later, they were still going through…
"Ok, can I have another car? I have too many kids!" Shadow's black plastic car was filled with the pieces representing children, and he just landed on a square that said, 'Congratulations on your quintuplets!'
"For crying out loud Shadow, pace yourself!" Everyone laughed and Knuckles handed over an empty green one. Shadow stuck out his tongue jokingly and then dumped the little children into the new car.
"Your move, Tails. Youngest first!"
"Yeah, yeah…" Tails spun and moved four spaces, "Oh goodie, a life card…"
"What did you get?" Sonic asked.
"Apparently I have invented a new kind of plane…oh, the irony…whatever; fifty thousand for me."
"Cool…here you go." Amy was proclaimed the banker, mainly because she was the only one everyone was certain of that wouldn't cheat, "My roll…great, I have to change houses now…and mine was the best one!" Amy sighed and dug through the cards.
The doorbell rang, and everyone's gaze turned to the door. "Maybe Dr. Nam forgot something…" Sonic muttered, and he stood up and ran to open it.
XXXXXXXXX
"Ok, I'm really sorry I got us all lost and we had to backtrack. But I did get us here, thank you very much," Kirby sighed.
"I just hope someone's home…" Pit sighed and stretched his wings; that was a long flight!
Eventually the door swung open, and a blue hedgehog stood in the doorway. His eyes widened when he saw the five Brawlers there.
"Hey Sonic, we need to –" Meta Knight trailed off at the hedgehog's expression, and Sonic's eyes just got bigger and bigger. He started to shake, and his eyes were shining with fear. He slammed the door shut and they could hear him run away.
"What was that all about?" Link asked, confused.
"He certainly didn't seem happy to see us…" Pikachu looked at the door, completely stunned.
In a moment it opened again, and Tails was standing there, "Oh, so it's you guys! Come on in…Sonic, get down here! They're your friends!"
"No! Make them go away!" Sonic's voice came from somewhere upstairs, and he sounded scared.
"What?" Tails mumbled. He then turned back to the Brawlers, "Hang on a second…Shadow, go fetch Sonic!"
"I'm trying!" Shadow called back down, "But he's gripped the bedpost so hard I can't pry his fingers off!"
"Hang on Shadow…I'm coming to help!" Knuckles ran up the stairs.
Amy appeared from the living room doorway, "What's going on?"
"Amy, these are some of the Brawlers…Link, Pit, Meta Knight, Kirby and Pikachu." Tails named everyone off and pointed to them in turn, "I don't why they're here, though."
"We need to speak to Sonic…we found out what happened, you know, with Wario…did Sonic tell you?" Pikachu asked.
"Yeah; he told us only a couple of days after he returned. We have him in therapy and everything, but he's still…disturbed," Tails sighed and motioned for the Brawlers to follow him and Amy into the living room, "I'm sorry I didn't call you guys, but Sonic begged for us not to say a word."
"It's ok," Link replied, "But we want to fix things now."
Just a few minutes later, the shouting and thumps from upstairs became louder, and finally Shadow and Knuckles managed to drag Sonic into the living room. The blue hedgehog was struggling to make the others let go of him, and they had a hard time making Sonic sit down in a chair close to the couch. Knuckles and Shadow stood beside Sonic, while everyone else either sat on the couch cushions or armrests.
"What the hell do you guys want? Just leave me alone!" Sonic burst out.
"Sonic…we know what happened to you….with Wario," Pit said.
Sonic's eyes went wide, "But…but how?"
The five Brawlers took turns explaining the entire story, and Sonic's face became more worried with every word. Once Pikachu said they told everyone at the Base, Sonic snapped, "Why the fuck did you do that? I didn't want anyone else to know! Do you know what they must think of me now? You fucking jerks!"
"Sonic, please let us finish!" Meta Knight interrupted, and Knuckles squeezed Sonic's hand, silencing the hurt hedgehog.
The Brawlers went through the rest of the story, and Link finished off, "Sonic, Wario needs to pay for what he's done. Don't you have anything at all that's from him?"
Sonic's head was down, so nobody could see his expression. His shoulders were shaking slightly, but he didn't say a word.
"Please, Sonic; think! Maybe he gave you a little talisman or something? We can't open the portal without your help," Kirby said.
"What about the cuff? Perhaps he gave you something that goes with it? Or maybe you even found something he wanted? Help us help you, Sonic!" Pikachu pleaded.
"Do you want to help me? Do you really, really want to help me?" Sonic whispered; his voice low and angry.
"Yes, we do! Come on; will you just think?" Link asked.
"I've already thought enough. The only way you can help me is getting the fuck out of here and staying the fuck out of my life." Sonic now looked up, and his eyes were filled with rage, "I don't care what happens to Wario. He's made me into used goods now, something that nobody would ever want…"
"We want you!" Amy interrupted, "And they want you!" she pointed to the Brawlers.
"You know what I really mean! Who the hell would want to make love to a little slut like me? Wario's damaged me beyond repair now!" Through his rage Sonic's eyes were beginning to tear up.
"You may think you're impure, but you aren't! Wario may have taken your body, but he can't take your soul unless you let him!" Meta Knight replied.
"You're allowing Wario to hurt you. You're safe here, Sonic. It's all over…" Shadow said softly, rubbing Sonic's back.
"You're damn right it's all over," Sonic snapped, and he started to cry, "All of you; get the fuck out. I don't ever want to go through those nightmares again. Don't you have any clue how damn hard it is for me to live? I don't even care about myself anymore…I'm bloody worthless."
"No you're not! Think about how amazing you are! How many people can save the universe?" Kirby asked.
"Everyone here in this room, and more than two hundred others outside of it," Sonic replied.
"That's like two hundred fifty in a universe of trillions. You have some amazing skills that you just can't waste. Please Sonic, you're a hero. We all care about you, no matter what has happened," Pikachu said, trying one final time to get Sonic to help them.
"No," Sonic sobbed, "I don't fucking care abut Brawls or anything anymore. I just want a chance to be able to start over and hopefully move on. I can't even sleep at night because Wario haunts my dreams. The last thing I need is to see him for real." He looked at each Brawler in turn through his tears, "Now all of you go away. I…I don't want to see any of you Brawlers again. I don't even want to hear about you guys again; being shown as heroes when I am no longer one!" Sonic leaned his arms on the armrest and buried his face into the fabric.
The only sound in the room for about a minute was Sonic crying. Eventually Pit sighed and stood up, "We should just leave. Thanks for letting us talk to him anyways."
"At least you tried," Tails said, speaking to them at the door while the Brawlers picked up their things, "I'm going to try as well. If I get anything from him, this time I swear I'll call, regardless of what Sonic says."
"Thanks Tails," Pikachu replied, shaking the fox's hand, "By the way…where's Kirby?"
XXXXXXXXX
"Sonic?" Kirby whispered, slowly walking closer to the chair. The puffball had waited until the other four left the room before moving closer to the hurt hedgehog.
Knuckles and Shadow smiled sadly at Kirby, but they let him come closer. Amy moved to stand beside the echidna, but said nothing against Kirby's movement.
Kirby slowly took Sonic's hand and gave it a small squeeze, "I just want you to know that…even if you don't think you are…and no matter what's happened…you'll always be a hero to me." Sonic didn't stop sobbing, so Kirby wasn't completely sure if the blue hedgehog heard him, but the puffball knew he shouldn't linger any longer. He silently mouthed, 'thank you,' to the others before turning to leave the room.
Tails was standing by the front door, and the other Brawlers were already outside and waiting for the puffball. "Kirby, hold on a second. Don't go home just yet. Give me a chance to have Sonic change his mind. I have an idea…don't leave."
Kirby nodded, knowing there was no point in returning to the Base empty-handed anyways, "Ok, when should I return?"
"Tomorrow morning. Here's a bit of cash so you guys can buy yourself something to eat or whatever." Tails handed a small plastic wallet with a dolphin on the side to Kirby, "It's not much, but it's something."
"Thanks, Tails. Sonic's lucky to have a friend like you." The puffball gave one final wave before leaving the house.
Once the Brawlers left, Tails went back to the living room. Not much had changed, except that Amy was holding Sonic and allowing him to cry on her shoulder, while the other two sat on the couch. Nobody else said a word.
"Hey guys, I'm going out for a bit. You know how to reach me," Tails said, breaking the silence.
"Ok," Knuckles replied, and Shadow nodded. The two hedgehogs on the chair gave no sign that they heard the fox.
Tails slowly made his way outside and walked away from the house. After some time, he came to a tall oak tree; bigger than any other tree in the area by at least a couple feet.
"This is perfect," Tails whispered, running his hand over the bark, "I just need to get Sonic here before sunrise tomorrow. He'll probably wake up again from his demon tonight anyways…perhaps we can talk then."
XXXXXXXXX
Sonic was in a strange bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror above the sink. He then looked down at the white costume neatly folded and placed on the counter. It was an angel costume, and he was supposed to put it on…
"Come on, Sonic. What's taking you so long?" Sonic shuddered when he heard the voice call out to him. It wasn't Wario; it was…that other guy…
The strange blackish hedgehog from before came over and knocked on the door, "Everything alright in there?"
"Yeah, just fine," Sonic called back. He bit his lip and slowly grabbed the first piece of the costume. It was the top, but was nothing more than a long white piece of cloth with two loops on the smaller ends to stick his arms through. Sonic slipped it on and used the clip on one loop in order to hold the thing up. The next item was…a skirt? Sonic shook his head in disbelief. Whoever this hedgehog was, they certainly had strange tastes…
"That's right Sonic…put it all on." The figure was still outside the door, laughing like he knew what Sonic was thinking. With trembling fingers Sonic managed to wrap the skirt around his waist and tie a knot for the drawstrings over his left hip. After that came the wings, which looked more like butterfly wings and covered with fake white fur, but at least they were easy to put on, considering they had elastic shoulder straps. Finally came the halo, which was just a gold plastic loop attached to a headband.
Sonic opened the door, still slightly trembling, and the other hedgehog looked up and down his body. The blackish hedgehog nodded with satisfaction, and placed one ice blue fur covered hand just above Sonic's right knee, "Very good, L.A.," he whispered, running his hand up Sonic's thigh. He stopped with his hand on Sonic's rear and gave a small squeeze, "But you seem to be missing something…"
"Missing what?" Sonic whispered, fighting the urge to kick this monster away from him.
"This." The figure laughed and held up something small and made of silk. Sonic was confused for a moment, but once he realized what the dark hedgehog was holding he backed away.
"What the…? I'm not wearing that!"
"You don't have a choice, L.A. You're my little sex slave, and you have to do whatever I ask of you. Besides, you could say I lust for slaves who wear silk panties…"
"You pervert! No! I won't!" Sonic slapped the other hedgehog's hand away, "You're disgusting."
"Correction, L.A.; you're disgusting. You're the one that will suck me off…"
"No! I won't do anything like that! Never again!" Sonic stepped back and was about to slip off his wings when a punch to the stomach knocked him off balance.
Sonic went down to his knees, gasping for air. The dark hedgehog grabbed Sonic's head quills and forced the emerald colored eyes to look into his own blood red ones, "Listen to me, L.A. You don't have an option. You belong to me. Now you shall submit to me or I shall force you to submit to me."
"No…"
The dark hedgehog slapped Sonic hard across one cheek, "Submit!" He backhanded Sonic on the other cheek, "Submit!"
"It's my body! This is my choice!" The other hedgehog snarled and continued to pound the blue one.
One final punch knocked Sonic over, and he could feel blood beginning to run down the side of his head. "No L.A., it's not your choice. Look around. Who's going to save you? Nobody can save you now. It's too late; the damage has been done. Now you can either submit to me or lose what precious little dignity you have left."
"What dignity?" Sonic moaned, "You took that away from me since day one."
"At least you never had to face the world without your powers, Sonic. You still have those."
"What good are powers if they can't even protect me from you?" Sonic forced himself to get up, at least to his hands and knees, "And why should I keep them if getting rid of them means I would no longer have to go through this torture every night…"
"Because, L.A.," the dark hedgehog whispered, tilting Sonic's chin up so he could stare into those sad eyes, "If I lose you, I shall go after one of your friends."
"You won't. Liar."
The dark hedgehog laughed, "It's not just about you and what you've done to me, L.A. Your other pesky little forest animal friends also took part in my entrapment. My partner wanted revenge just on you. Wario isn't into this, but I'm going for the whole deal."
"What are you talking about? This…this is real, isn't it? You really knew me."
The dark hedgehog chuckled, "Mephiles is my name, and this is my game…now, you shall bow down to me, or I'll come after you and your friends." He brushed Sonic's cheek with two clawed fingers, "How fun that would be…"
Sonic felt so strange. For some reason, he knew this guy was serious. And real, so very real…he had to submit. He took a deep breath and looked up at Mephiles, "I'm all yours."
"It's 'Master', fool."
"I'm all yours, Master."
Mephiles laughed and got down on his knees. He grabbed Sonic's head quills and yanked harshly to the left, forcing Sonic to fall on his side. Mephiles then went down to Sonic's legs and slipped the silk garment onto the blue hedgehog. Sonic shivered and tried hard not to make a sound. Mephiles rubbed his hand on Sonic's thigh, pushing the silk fabric into the blue fur, "Now that's being a good boy. Come on now; stand up."
Sonic shakily got to his feet, while Mephiles stood up right away. He linked his hands under Sonic's rear and pulled the blue hedgehog close to him. He squeezed and caressed Sonic's body, and even kissed Sonic's cheek a few times, "We're going to have such a good time, L.A."
Sonic hated this; unlike his other dream, this was far from feeling right. Mephiles was pushing for his needs and desires, not caring about the other. Like before, all of Sonic's emotions were carefully sealed away for the time being. But he had one question before everything began, "What does L.A. mean?"
"It means Little Angel," Mephiles whispered into Sonic's ear, moving his hands so he was now touching Sonic's bare bottom, "You're the little angel of pleasure. Where ever you go, you'll give people pleasure. Especially me…I took your virginity, but here you are again, looking absolutely innocent. Too bad I'm going to steal that innocence from you as well…" He took Sonic's hand and led him to a huge king-sized bed; the only piece of furniture in the room. Mephiles pushed Sonic down so the sapphire hedgehog was on his knees in front of him while he sat on the bed. He spread his legs apart and forced Sonic's head between, "Come on, L.A.…you know what to do."
With that organ pushing against his lips, Sonic relented and allowed Mephiles to have his way. The dark hedgehog moaned and kept thrusting inside Sonic's mouth, and Sonic was beginning to choke at the movements. This was terrifying…it was like knowing he was going to lose his virginity, even though that already happened.
"Sonic, suck it…suck it like a lollipop…" Sonic obeyed the order like a robot. There was nothing left of the blue hero – just a dark, empty shell that had seemingly lost everything.
The semen soon filled his mouth, and Sonic was having trouble breathing with Mephiles' organ still inside. Coughing, some of the fluid fell out and dripped down his chest. Even though after swallowing the mouthful and wiping up the remains and eating it too, just like he had been taught, Mephiles wasn't satisfied. He had rubbed himself and grown hard again while watching Sonic eat, and he decided to give the hedgehog a punishment.
He held erection in front of Sonic's face, grabbed Sonic's right hand and placed it on the organ, "Get pumping, L.A. You're being punished, for angels are supposed to be perfect…" He laughed at Sonic's confusion, although he trailed off once Sonic began to rub.
Sonic had never actually done this before. Wario had always been the one who had pumped and made the semen splatter all over Sonic's face; not himself. But now that he was doing it, it felt awful – it was like trying to eat something disgusting with no one forcing you. You were really just hurting yourself.
His eyes shut when Mephiles came, and the warm fluid quickly covered his face. Sonic took deep breaths while the semen slowly ran down his face and settled around his lips.
"Eat every last drop, L.A. Be good now…" Sonic nodded slowly, wiping his hand over a spot and then licking it off. Mephiles was quite enjoying this show. This was going to be so much fun…
Once Sonic finished, Mephiles reached under the blue hedgehog's arms and lifted Sonic into his lap, "You're beautiful, my little angel. So sexy…it's nice that we can do this together." He lightly grabbed Sonic's halo and flicked it off to the side. He pulled down the wings and took those off too. The last thing he pulled off was the top, and after throwing that away he rubbed Sonic's chest, toned from years of running although hidden under his fur, "A pure little angel, tainted by a dark demon. Funny how things work, eh?"
He reached under Sonic's skirt and grasped the silk underneath. He had only forced Sonic to wear it for this reason…how fun it would be to take it off. Mephiles drew out the process of taking the garment off, wriggling the fabric slowly down, and moving his hands underneath Sonic's rear so he could squeeze and pull at the same time. Eventually he flung the panties away and went back under the skirt.
Sonic was shaking, but didn't make a sound. He felt even dirtier than before – probably because of the costume, and having it taken off of him…it was like some sort of barrier that had protected him from Mephiles.
The sapphire hedgehog squeaked when Mephiles forced a finger inside Sonic's entrance. Mephiles smiled knowingly and slowly began to push in deeper. He then inserted another finger and then a third…Sonic was whimpering and squeezing Mephiles' shoulders hard. Mephiles didn't care though; he was causing a lot more pain for the blue hedgehog than what Sonic was doing to him. He took his time with moving around inside the overly tight hole, stretching it. Then he began to thrust inside, trying to get his fingers deeper in. But it was hard; the pain made Sonic clench up, tightening his entrance up so much that Mephiles could barely move. After a couple more thrusts, Mephiles gave up and pulled out, ready for the real deal. Sonic didn't sigh in relief of give any sense of relaxation; he had gone through this so many times he knew what was going to happen.
Mephiles turned around and laid Sonic on the bed. He crawled on top of his victim, untied the skirt and tossed the garment away. Sonic was trembling in fear, already knowing what was going to occur. Mephiles looked at Sonic, checking out his beautiful body. Just like that first night, he looked innocent and pure, like he had never had sex before. Of course, that was way off…but that was ok. Mephiles didn't mind reusing something if he had been the one who had used it the first time. The dark hedgehog couldn't wait one more minute. He kissed Sonic's cheek one final time before pushing inside.
Sonic cried out when his entrance was stretched once again. His body was trying to take on the penetration, but couldn't do it. Sonic could feel the tissues tearing and the blood beginning to flow. Mephiles didn't give a single sign that he cared; he just continued to pound inside Sonic's aching body. Damn, Sonic felt so good…why was it that no matter how many times he raped L.A. he always felt fresh and untainted?
"You'd make a good whore, L.A. You could sell yourself off as a virgin again and again and nobody could tell the difference. How the hell do you stay so freaking tight? Must be from all that running…it builds up good endurance, too." Mephiles smiled and thrust in harder.
The pain was nearly unbearable. This one time, Sonic couldn't ignore it. There wasn't any armor protecting him from the cuts and bruises, and there were no shields protecting his heart from all of the knives being stabbed into it. He was alone in his misery, alone in his nightmare of which there was no escape.
"Look at you," Mephiles panted, looking down at Sonic, "Some hero you are. Can't you stop this, L.A.? Oh wait, you can't because you don't have any powers to fight back with." The dark hedgehog laughed, although it seemed raspy through his pants of lust.
"I hate you," Sonic whimpered, "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you…"
"Correction, Sonic; you hate yourself. I know that if you had the chance to go back in time and lose your virginity to someone else you'd take it in a heartbeat. But you know what, Sonic? You know what? Why'd you keep it in the first place? I mean – oh gods, fuck talking, I just want you…" Mephiles gasped and let out another moan as he thrust deeper inside Sonic. He brushed against that spot in the blue hedgehog, who whimpered from the pleasure.
Mephiles didn't bother talking any more; he was completely focused on making love to his victim. He pounded into that spot as hard as he could, trying to make Sonic feel even worse about himself. But the pleasure only helped cover up the pain for Sonic – it didn't make him feel good enough to be turned on by it. At least there was a small win over Mephiles.
It wasn't much longer before Sonic felt Mephiles' warm seed beginning to drip inside of his tight hole. At first there was only a little, then a bit more, and then the wave of semen rushed inside, filling every space that wasn't taken up by Mephiles. The dark hedgehog moaned and waited until he was finished before pulling out, letting some of his seed free to run down between Sonic's legs.
"Best little angel anywhere, Sonic. Such a nice, tight fuck." Mephiles sat up, looked at the ceiling and sighed. He seemed to want to linger longer, but didn't have the time. He stood up and brushed himself off, "Well, see you tomorrow, little angel."
"Tomorrow?" Sonic whispered, "What do you mean 'tomorrow'?"
"I'm coming back to see you again and again…I've got all the time there is. That is, until I figure out a way to get myself back to your world. Then we'll have the best of times together." He laughed and caressed Sonic's cheek one last time, "I've been waiting so long for this, Sonic. And when I find you, I'll make sure you'll be mine forever."
XXXXXXXXX
Sonic's eyes opened wide. It was still dark out, and all he saw was blackness. That and Mephiles' mocking face, over and over again…he had to get away.
Sonic could hear the dark hedgehog's laughter sounding throughout the room, cruel and cold. "Shut up," Sonic whimpered, "Shut up and leave me alone!"
"Something up, Sonic?" Shadow whispered sleepily, reaching for Sonic's hand. Sonic pushed the black hedgehog away.
"No, no…this is all wrong! Everything's wrong!"
Shadow sat up with a start, "Sonic, what's with you?"
"Get Mephiles away from me! Shadow, help me!"
"Get who away from you? What's going on?"
"Just, no...no!" Sonic clambered out of bed and raced out of the room. Shadow followed the blue hedgehog, trying to catch up to him. He soon lost sight of Sonic in the dark, and Shadow slowed down, trying to figure out where Sonic hid. For fifteen minutes there was no sign of Sonic anywhere, but then Shadow reached the kitchen. The place had been ransacked. Somebody had furiously looked throughout the place, found out where the knives were hidden, and then taken one…
"Oh hell no," Shadow whispered, dashing upstairs to wake the others up.
XXXXXXXXX
Sonic didn't bother limiting the cuts to just his palms and wrists. He made them everywhere. It's not like his friends didn't know what he did anyways.
But if they knew, why was he out here, on a grassy hill far away outside so they couldn't see Sonic hurting himself?
Another two cuts on his left arm and then three on his right. Five more wounds on his wrists and his chest.
But he was cutting himself the most in a new place – on the inside of his thighs. That was the place where he felt the most tainted. Instead of trying to hide his mental pain by hurting himself, now he was trying to get rid of it entirely. He was trying to get the demon out from under his skin by giving it a way out.
He was lightly bleeding from everywhere; not a single place he could see on his body was unscathed. And even some of the places he couldn't see were damaged…like his entrance. That one spot on his body made him feel more horrible than anything else possibly could, but it already hurt so much from running out here that cutting himself near there wouldn't make a difference.
"Why can't I get rid of you? Why won't you just leave me alone? Why won't you tell me what I've done in order to have you inside of me?" Sonic slashed himself on his thigh again, knowing that the last thought had a double meaning.
"What am I doing wrong? Why can't I stop this?" Sonic shouted a few questions out into the night, although he knew nobody could answer them.
It quiet for a few minutes, and then Sonic brought the knife to his arm and made another cut on it. He was so focused on his cutting that he didn't even notice that somebody was watching him. The fox sighed, and then slowly walked towards his blue friend and sat down beside him. Sonic flinched, knowing Tails must be thinking that he was weak. So much for being a good role model.
Tails, however, didn't say a word or reach for the knife. He simply sat there quietly, watching Sonic self harm. Once the hedgehog finished a couple more cuts, he let his hands rest in his lap. Only then did Tails lean forward, grasp part of the handle in his hand and pull. Sonic let Tails have it, and the kitsune twisted halfway around and lightly tossed the blade away. Then he turned back to face Sonic, still silent.
Sonic couldn't even look at his friend. He felt so deeply ashamed of everything he'd done; the cutting, the yelling and the sexual favors…all things he never dreamed of happening. He was supposed to be somebody everyone looked up to, not a whore who cut himself trying to get better. Sonic didn't even know what to say, so the two simply sat there in silence. Slowly Tails stood up and offered his hand to Sonic, "Come with me."
The hedgehog took the hand, and the fox led him down the hill and back to one of the forests. They walked silently hand in hand for some time, until the two reached a tall maple tree. It had to be at least ten meters taller than any other in the forest.
"Do you see that tree, Sonic?" Tails asked.
"Yeah…" Sonic replied. He was still bleeding, although his injuries weren't life-threatening. He wanted to live, no matter how painful and hard it would be.
"I'm going to walk around that tree trunk," Tails said, "And when I come around from the other side, I'm no longer Tails. I'm no longer even one person; I'm two – Wario and Mephiles. Yet because I will be two people, it's impossible for me to move very far from that tree, and I won't be able to touch you. You will be completely safe from harm. And once I become those two, you're going to talk to them. You're going to ask them any questions you may have and tell them anything you wish for them to know. Once you are finished, Mephiles and Wario are going to walk around the tree again and I will become Tails once more. Do you understand?"
"Well…ok…" "What's Tails getting at here?"
Tails nodded, and then he walked in silence to the tree. The star and moonlight lit up the fox's shining yellow fur, making it seem almost magical in the night air.
Tails placed his left hand on the rough bark of the tree and began to circle it. He walked around the entire perimeter once with his hand on the trunk, and then stopped in front of the tree to turn around and face Sonic, removing his hand. Tails then stood quietly there, waiting for Sonic to begin.
"This…this doesn't make any sense. I can see you're still my friend. What am I really supposed to do? Just talk like Wario's actually there?" Tails didn't respond.
The two stood quietly facing each other, waiting for something to happen. The longer they stood there, the more it seemed to Sonic that Wario and Mephiles were actually listening. Perhaps this idea really would work…
Sonic took a deep breath, "Wario, I…" Sonic gulped and hesitated, for he could almost sense Wario's presence there. Tails was no more than five meters in front of him – or was it Wario?
The fox didn't move; he simply blinked and waited.
"Wario, I just want to know why you lied to me so many times. Why couldn't you give me a reason for raping me? I just…I just don't understand what I've done wrong. I mean, I treated everyone the same, and they didn't do this to me.
"And…and why did you want to rape me? I mean, if you hated me, why didn't you do something else like beat me up or something? Why did you choose rape above every other torture method?"
Sonic's head went down, and he whimpered, "Why did you make me do such things? I never thought I would become somebody's sex slave…I feel absolutely filthy. I scrub and scrub, but I can never get rid of that feeling that I've been used. I've done so many terrible things…" Sonic looked at his bloody arms, "Look at me, Wario. Look at me! Can't you see what I've started doing because of you? All of those painful memories are crawling beneath my skin and I just can't get them out! Like that one time when you made me pick a letter, and whatever I did you found something in my room to hurt me with? Like when I said, 'C' you placed me over a chair and spanked me, and when I picked, 'M' you grabbed a marker and wrote, 'slut' all over my face? I was in the bathroom for two hours washing that stuff off! And I remember what night it was; the twelfth night.
"Damn right I remember! I remember every single little disgusting thing you put me through! And no matter how hard I try, I can't forget! Every day I remember and every night I relive it! Didn't you ever think for one second what was going to happen to me? I'm not a rock! I have feelings that can be hurt! And you went beyond hurting them! You…you turned me into an absolute wreck. Look, here I am crying. I don't usually cry…but now I can never stop.
"Why did you make me go through so much pain? I hurt…everything hurts. My body, my mind, my heart…I can barely keep going anymore. It's hard. And now I have to drag my friends down with me through the most horrible things that nobody should be forced to experience. Just…why, Wario? Didn't you think I at least deserved to know what I did to deserve this? I mean, come on! And you even have more secrets…like Mephiles. Why are you hiding everything from me?"
Sonic began to cry hard, and he dropped to his knees. Tails didn't move; he simply stood there like a statue. Once Sonic got over his crying fit, he still looked at the ground when he talked, although his voice was raspy from crying, "Mephiles, I want to know who you are and why you hate me and my friends. I don't have any memory of you, yet you hate me with a passion. What did I do wrong? And why are you saying you took my virginity? That was Wario, not you. Are you two friends or something? I know you're a part of this somehow, but…maybe you helped Wario with the cuff? Did you watch us have sex? You want to have sex with me, don't you? You think I'm a slut. Well, join the fucking club. You and your fucking sick fantasies. I'm not your little angel. Do I look like an angel or a hero? You make it pretty damn clear I'm not either of those!
Sonic took a deep breath, "Why do you haunt my dreams now, raping me instead of Wario raping me? And why are you saying you'll take my friends if I don't obey you? Maybe you're mistaking me for someone else. But why do you want to have sex so badly? If it causes so much misery, it can't be good…
"That's another thing for both of you; why is sex so important to you that you'll hurt me just to have it?" Sonic's voice began to choke up, and his eyes began to fill with tears again, "Didn't you ever see how much pain I was in? You hurt more than just my body. I hate myself. I've done so many disgraceful things that I…" Sonic looked down at his bloody cuts, "I now hurt myself. I'm not even really sure why. It makes the pain go away, but…I think I also do it because I deserve it. But I'm not sure what I've done to deserve it. Why did you guys have to go to so much trouble to have me? Was it because I was a hero and you hated me? Or because I was a virgin and you wanted to destroy that innocence? I mean…I didn't want to give up my virginity to just whoever happened to come by. I was taught you need to give it someone you love and trust…it was something precious. What the hell did you guys learn? That it was ok; that others don't care who they give it to; that a slut like me doesn't deserve that choice?
"It just isn't fair! I wasn't ready! Don't you remember that night in January, when everyone was sitting around the fire, and it was late and we were tired? So the conversation starts getting sexual…and I get asked who I've had sex with, and when I said, 'nobody', I explained that I wanted to wait a few years until I matured some more and everyone agreed it was a good idea, including you? So what the fuck? Did you just decide that it was bad and that all heroes should sleep around? Sixteen…I mean, it's still ok and normal if you're a virgin then. I wanted to wait a couple of years…" Sonic sniffed, "But, now…why did you suddenly decide that I shouldn't wait? What have I done wrong?
"I…I want…I want to make things right. If there's something wrong with me, I want to fix it. You've corrupted me…I've done so many bad things. Not just having sex with you, but more things to myself. All I can think about is sex. The idea follows me everywhere like a shadow. Every night I think I still should be having sex with you. I know I don't deserve to be treated like a sex toy, but I sure feel like that's all I am. You told me that's all I'm good for, and you showed that to me. All of my friends tell me otherwise and showed me the other side of the story…so why am I only listening to you?
"That's a good question…why am I only listening to you?" Sonic looked up and glared at Tails, who didn't even flinch. Sonic slowly stood up, and his voice grew angry, "Both of you have lied so many fucking times. Why couldn't you be lying this time? Maybe you're both wrong and my friends are right. As for yesterday…they were drunk. They're wrong too. All plain wrong. This…I sound like a lunatic. It seems like I'm having one-sided conversation because I am having a one-sided conversation! You guys just used me, told me crap and left. You didn't care whether or not it made sense – as long as you were able to fuck me it was good.
"Were you planning on me killing myself? I almost did that because of you! I did so many things believing I was getting what I deserved. All I heard for so fucking long was how this was my entire fault. And it happened while I was being raped. You taught me fucking shit. You taught me how to pleasure your cock, and how to beg to be fucked. You taught me to swallow semen without becoming sick and how to 'enjoy' being spanked. All along, that's what you said you taught me. All of that got permanently planted into my skull. But now, when somebody comes in and tells me what I've learned is all wrong, I have a hard time believing it. It took me a month to finally see.
"How could I have been so blind? Both of you are nothing but deceiving, filthy, horny liars. Everything you've told me was twisted to fit your own desires and needs; not my own or the truth. You may have taught me to do those things, but what you actually and truly taught me was that I should believe I'm worthless and how to hide a horrible secret from others."
Sonic began panting heavily, from a combination of anger and lack of air from speaking so much, "Yes, I did do those sexual things, and I may be a filthy whore, but I wasn't before all of this happened. I was just a young teen trying to get used to all of these changes happening to my body and mind. Everyone starts out as a virgin and is taught to refrain from sex for a long while, until they know they're ready. I wasn't ready when you stole that innocence. Everything seems so…wrong…since I lost it. That innocence was like crutches to help me move and get used to sex and everything, and you took them from me before I was ready to walk on my own and I collapsed. Now I can't get back up. How are you supposed to stand when you feel so bad you can't accept support?"
By now, Sonic was yelling, "Well, it's damn fucking time I force myself to stand and take that support! I hate you! I still want to know why you did this to me, but I know it wasn't because I did something to deserve it! Nobody deserves to be raped like they deserve to be kidnapped or abused. The only ones who do deserve it are those that do those things! You're the ones who need to be beaten and starved. Mephiles, I may not know who you really are, but as long as you think I'm your sex toy, you're on that list. I've had enough! You may have destroyed the Sonic I once was, but now I'm destroying the one you've made me become!"
Sonic's voice quieted, and his voice was choked up, "This Sonic will be sadder, and hurt for some time, but also older and wiser. He will be part of the original Sonic and part of the Sonic you made me become, but no longer will I hurt myself or hate myself. I swear on all the stars that this will never happen to me again. Never."
"The rapes…that was your fault Wario, wasn't it? I never did anything wrong. I never could have stopped you. You threatened me. You beat me. You molested me. You raped me. I didn't do any of that stuff. It was you! This is your entire fault! It was you! Not me; you! You! You! You!"
It felt like the world had been lifted off of Sonic's shoulders. The guilt and blame that had been present for so long had vanished. Sonic dropped to his knees and began to sob harder. How could he have treated himself so lowly? He had hurt himself so many times, both physically and mentally, thinking he deserved it. He never had done anything wrong. Not a single damn thing.
Through his tears, Sonic was able to see Tails turn to the left and circle clockwise around the tree before kneeling beside the hedgehog and hugging him. Sonic was the one who saved the day and made everything better; usually nobody had to take on that role to save Sonic. Sonic was sobbing once again into a friend's shoulder, desperately needing someone to make everything better.
"Tails…how could I not see? Why was I blaming myself for so damn long? Since day one I had been wondering what I exactly did to cause this…and I only felt worse as time went on. Why did I never place all of the blame on Wario?"
"Hard to say, Sonic…I think you were just looking for a reason to explain what was happening, so when Wario offered you one you accepted it."
"If they were lying, then…why don't I feel better about myself? Why do I still feel like a slut?" Sonic sniffed and cuddled close to Tails, "I mean, not so much anymore, but I still feel dirty. How long do you think it will be before everything goes away?"
"Sonic, to tell you the truth," Tails took a deep breath, "I don't think you'll ever get better."
"What?" Sonic whispered, looking Tails in the eyes.
"I know that sounded harsh, so let me explain…this is going to haunt you and cause you pain for the rest of your life. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do about that." Tails noticed Sonic was listening to every word, so he continued, "But what you can do is learn to forget. You don't have to forgive Wario for what he's done. But you can forget. Someday I know you'll be able to put this all behind you, and you'll be able to do anything you want without thinking about this. But if somebody came flat-out and reminded you…you would be sad. Soon, I think the rapes will simply become a dull ache in your heart, and then they'll fade to nothingness. In time, this will be nothing more than a bad dream.
"But you know what? The only way that will happen is if you tie all loose ends up. You need to know why Wario raped you in the first place. And that means going back to the Base, facing all of the Brawlers there, fighting your way through wherever Wario is hiding, and then taking Wario straight on."
"Tails…could I really…?"
"You're Sonic the Hedgehog. You can do anything!"
"Not by myself, I can't…will you come with me?"
Tails laughed softly and then sang, "We can make it, if we all stick together…"
Sonic continued on, "We won't give up, not ever!"
And then together, "And everything's gonna be alright! We all bring out the best things in each other. Together we are stronger than anyone else could be on their own. Can't stop us 'cause together we are strong!"
"Ha! I remember playing that game! Oh, fun times…" Sonic laughed.
"I also recall us sitting around and cursing repeatedly because that glitch screwed the game up and we kept running somebody off of the edge…and it took us ages until we found out…"
"But you fixed it! Teamwork really is wonderful!"
Both friends laughed and hugged each other even tighter.
"Tails, you're coming with me, right? I'll never be able to go back to the Base alone!"
"Of course…I'm always there for you."
"Thanks Tails…for everything. Not just for coming, but…allowing me to see again. Maybe now I can finally start getting truly better. What you've just done for me…I can't even describe how grateful I am. You're like my own personal angel."
"There's one last thing, Sonic," Tails said while they started to walk back towards home, "Forget about trying to force yourself to stand on those crutches. If you think I'm an angel, then you're one too. Even if you've fallen, you can get back up. You just need to relearn how to fly."
