He swam beneath the ocean depths, Lara at his side, both in scuba gear.
The key would soon be in their grasp, all they had to do was find the cave and nab the artifact that awaited inside.
It didn't seem that bad, he knew how to swim and was not afraid.
That fear had faded away and was well behind him.
The hedgehog could not look back too much in fear that his phobia would return. But with the shapely brunette with him, he would be ok.
"You ok, Sonic!" Lara asked.
Sonic nodded.
The two of swam through the darkness, nothing in sight yet.
Where was the cave with the key, why was it so hidden in darkness?
Something moved through the mist, heading straight for them, from a distance it looked like a small fish. But as it approached, it looked like a huge shark.
Sonic and Lara stopped, arms at their sides and only their legs moving as they stood still, floating in the water as the creature got closer... and closer!
Then out of the darkness, a monstrous serpent emerged, red eyes glowing and its scales gleaming. It hissed and barred its fangs, glaring at the intruders.
"SEA DRAGON! VERY DANGEROUS!" Lara shouted, brandishing a spear.
Sonic charged, prepared to attack the snake with a homing attack. If he could do it on land, he could do it underwater.
Unfortunately, the strength wasn't there. The speedster struggled to fight but the darkness was bearing down, swallowing him.
The snake roared, grabbing Lara with its octopus-like arms, ensnaring her. The hedgehog tried to use his speed, but the traction wasn't there too.
"SONIC! WHERE ARE YOU? SOOOONNIIIIIC?" Lara yelled as she was consumed by the murkiness.
The hedgehog's fear got the better of him and he began freaking out as shadows began moving in on him, a hundred sea monsters eager to take a bite out of him.
"This is why I didn't like water," The hero whimpered, his courage gone.
The last thing he heard was Lara screaming for help and the roar of sea monsters and the world began to fade around him, a huge serpent reared up and lunged at Sonic, engulfing him within its maw...
—
Sonic awoke with a start and sat up in bed, sweating and gasping with shock. That had been one intense nightmare and thank golly it was all just a dream, he looked outside the window and saw that it was morning.
Wiping the sweat off his forehead, the hedgehog looked at the clock and saw that it was 8 A.M. He was alone in the bedroom, Lara must've gotten up before him while he was still asleep.
Was breakfast already served and did Tom have chili dogs prepared?
Leaving the room and out into the hall, he smelled the scent of food which meant breakfast had been served. But this breakfast smelled like... chili dogs!
The hero grinned, what a way to start off his day and to make him feel better after that terrible and nasty dream.
Heading downstairs and into the dinning room, he found only Tom waiting for him, still wearing his usual butler's suit.
"Good morning, mister hedgehog." The butler said, "I take it you slept well."
"Don't even get me started, pal." The cobalt hedgehog replied sarcastically, "You're not gonna even believe what crazy dream I had."
He noticed the tray with two chili dogs on the table with to a glass of milk, "By the way, sweet job with making me a nice breakfast."
"What was that 'crazy dream' you just had, Sonic?"
"Oh, uh, Lara and I were scuba diving under the sea, looking for the last Ratakyan key, darkness surrounded us and we were attacked by sea monsters. We tried to fight them only to find ourselves helpless and basically got eaten."
"I'm sorry to hear that, sir." Tom said, giving Sonic his most sympathetic face, "But I can assure you, it was only a dream. My suggestion you don't think about it nor worry about anything while you are in the pool with Miss Croft."
Sonic thanked Tom for the advice, he finished eating and drank his milk. After the blue blur let his breakfast digest, Tom told him that the others were waiting outside and that he should put on his bathing suit. "I don't have a swimsuit." The hero protested.
Tom winked, "Not to worry, Lara and I have you covered. Follow me, Lara and I already have a swimsuit ready for you."
—
When Sonic saw the swimsuit Lara had selected for him, his face turned red and he rolled his eyes, it was a red speedo with a white cross.
Shrugging, the hedgehog changed into his swimsuit and walked out with an annoyed look. "Why a speedo, Tom?" Sonic asked the butler, "Why?"
"My apologies, sir." Tom said humbly, "It wasn't my idea, it was all Lara's. She's a fan of the show The Speedo Patrol about a group of this muscular, speedo-clad lifeguards and her favorite character is Jack Lane/Speedo Boy."
"You've really gotta be kidding me."
"I'm not, its a TVseries which ran from 1988 to 1993 before coming back a few years ago. There's a movie based on the show coming out soon."
"And she's a fan of the show and likes to see guys in speedos?"
At this point, Sonic was face palming and lowering his head, feeling embarrassed that Lara wanted to see him in a speedo.
"You ok, Mr. Sonic?" Tom asked, looking concerned.
"I'll be fine." The hedgehog replied miserably, deciding to make the best of the situation, "Its time to get my swimming lessons done. Besides, we gotta get that underwater key as four keys are required to get the statue."
"That's the spirit, my dear boy. Now its time to get over your aquaphobia."
Replacing his disappointment and the frown upon his face with bravery and a positive smile, Sonic left the changing room, going straight for the back door that would lead into the backyard where the pool was located.
The blue hero took a few deep breaths and wiped the sweat off his forehead, reminding himself that he would be ok, he had friends to support him, not to mention that Lara was not only his girlfriend, she was attractive too.
And speaking of Lara. The second Sonic set foot outside, his jaw dropped, eyes widened and his nose started to bleed as he drank in the sight of Lara Croft wearing a two-piece Union Jack bikini waiting for him with a hand on her hip, letting her hair down.
Behind her was a 4 meter swimming pool. A towel lay next to her, green grass decorated the yard and lawn chairs sat on different sides of the pool.
My gosh! The blue hero thought, wiping some blood off from his face as the nose bleeding stopped, This is the most exotic scene ever. I've seen plenty of women in swimsuits in the past, but Lara in a bikini beats 'em all.
"G'day, Speedo Boy!" Lara spoke, emulating a Scottish-Australian country girl, "I'm your swim instructor, Rosy Jane aka Swimsuit Sal, and today you're gonna be takin' swimming lessons with me so you can get over your fear of the water and have no more problems regarding the water."
Sonic raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Um, Lara?"
The shapely archeologist giggled, "Oh, sweetie. Don't take it too seriously, while we're going to do swimming lessons in just a bit, I thought I'd lighten the mood up a bit by, well, ya know, pretendin' to be a certain character from the Speedo Boys. Tom told ya about it didn't he?"
The hedgehog rolled his eyes, "Yes, but I'm embarrassed that I have to wear a speedo. Its like a dude wearin' a freaking bikini, why can't I have swim trunks?"
"Its ok, Sonic, its not a big deal, you can wear swim trunks later. For right now, just try to put up with the bleedin' speedo." Oskar called, he was sitting in a lawn chair close by on the blue hedgehog's left, kicking back, wearing a blue tank top along with kawaian shorts and not worrying about a thing.
Sonic caught sight of Tails wearing black swim shorts as the two tailed fox sat on the edge of the pool nearby, kicking his feet in the water with Sarah by his side, wearing a revealing red and white one-piece swimsuit.
Both foxes smiled at the blue hedgehog encouragingly, holding hands and sitting next to each other.
This filled Sonic with warmth, comfort and confidence, knowing he had friends and family there for him, even during the darkest of his days, whenever he was alone or if he was scared of the unknown.
Right now, as he prepared to face his aquaphobia, Sonic started to feel even more confident about being able to swim and getting that last key.
"You ok? Ya seem to be spacin' out as if ya got somethin' on the mind."
Lara's voice brought Sonic back to the present, especially due to the fact his mind had just wandered off, the hedgehog had been thinking of days that had long gone by and what would happen soon such as getting that last key and lots of other things happening.
"Hmm? What? Huh?" The hedgehog grunted, shaking his head, "Oh yeah, right. Sorry, still here." Lara walked up and took his hand, "Good to know, now, do you feel confident?"
The blue hero chuckled, "C'mon, Lara, I'm always confident in myself."
"Are you ready to be a swimmer, shall we get started now?"
Sonic froze. His legs started to shake, a chill went up his spine and the blue hedgehog nearly fell over only for Lara to catch him and dragged Sonic towards the pool, "Oh no. We're getting in the pool and, by the end, you'll be having fun. In fact," The Brit winked seductively, "We could play in the pool all day…"
"Lets not get too ahead of ourselves when it comes to having fun, Lara." Oskar called out, "Besides, we can't spend too much time playing in the pool, can we? You may never know when a squad of bad guys might break in and make off with the Ratakyan scroll and the keys we have.
"In fact, there's a high chance Montana Jane might know where underwater key is and could be on a scuba expedition to get it right now. Think about it."
"Mr. Bessington has a point, Lara." Tom agreed, "We don't have much time on our hands despite the fact we're sacrificing a bit of time over Sonic's inability to swim and his fear of the water.
"After we're done here with your swimming lessons plus our limited fun in the pool, we must go after that artifact as soon as possible and then go to the location where the Yujunaka Statue lies hidden above or under ground."
"Oskar and Tom are both right." Tails chimed in, holding Sarah closer to him, "If we suddenly have a pool party and put off going after that last key for way too long, that's going to be a major issue as our enemies will launch a raid on the mansion and get away with the keys.
"Then after they get the last key, whoever gets his or her hands on the statue might even use it to make enough money to a point where he or she could be more richer than the Croft family and have all the bragging rights in the world. That will definitely not be really good news for all of us."
"If that dirt bag got the statue," Sarah exclaimed, "There's a big chance she could make her family a million times rich and humiliate Lara..."
Even worse, Sonic thought, the thought of a bigger danger coming to mind, If Eggman got the statue, assuming its more worth than the Chaos Emeralds, he'd probably use it to become super rich, make his big theme park of doom and build a huge army of robots.
"There's nothin' to worry about as long as one of those scenarios become a reality." The blue blur spoke aloud, hardly surprising his girlfriend and their pals, "Especially when ya got Sonic the Hedgehog. So what are we waitin' for, lets get in the pool and do it too it."
"That's the spirit, go at 'em." Tails gave Sonic an encouraging thumbs up.
"Hope you enjoy the pool Sonic!." Sarah chimed in, "At least try to have fun."
The blue hedgehog looked at Lara and said, "After you."
Hardly surprised by the gesture, the teenage archeologist took a deep breath and leaped off the edge into the water, tucking in her legs into her body while shouting "Cannonball".
Sonic sat down on the edge, putting his legs in the pool and using them to check the temperature before Lara surfaced.
"What's the hold up, Speedo-Boy?" She demanded, "Get in the pool."
The brave speedster blushed, he'd almost forgotten about the fact that Lara had made him a speedo and nearly dismissed it. Heck, he'd just started to imagine himself in yellow swim trunks.
Tails saw Sonic's face turn red and was laughing, "The look on your face!"
"Get over here, you...!" Lara swam over to where Sonic sat, grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the pool.
By the time the frightened yet brave hero tried to say anything, he was already in the pool, trying to hold on to the shapely archeologist by her own hands which was almost tough due to the fact they were swimming.
When the blue blur tried to grasp Lara, she moved behind him and had Sonic lay down on his front and held him as they floated in the middle of the pool.
"L-L-Lara?!" The hedgehog stammered, his legs kicked wildly and his arms flailed, leading to him squirming, kicking and splashing in the pool. This was because his nervousness and fear had finally gotten to him.
Sonic had tried to bottle it up, but he couldn't seem to take it, panic mode had activated. "SONIC, CALM DOWN BEFORE I SMACK YA!" Lara shouted, pinching the blue hero's ear with enough force, Sonic stopped squirming.
"Relax yourself!" Lara said, holding Sonic with her hands on his sides as if she was holding a kid while giving swim lessons. Heck, Sonic was acting like one because of his aquaphobia and the way he was behaving.
Nonetheless, the hedgehog did as Lara was told, he calmed down and relaxed his body as Lara told him that the key to swimming was to be relaxed and not be scared, otherwise if you weren't relaxed, you'd sink and wouldn't make it.
"So that's probably why I've been so afraid of water and unable to swim my entire life," Sonic chuckled, scratching his head and starting to catch on. "To be honest, when I was growing up, I didn't get any swimming lessons and a trip to the ocean or lake was very rare."
Lara kissed him on the cheek, "But now, we're making up for not taking those swimming lessons when you were a kid. So, lets we keep goin', you're startin' to look and feel less afraid of water."
"You know we're just getting started, right?" The hedgehog replied.
"Answering with sarcasm, eh?" Lara playfully pinched Sonic's tail, which caused him to yelp, "Yes, we're just getting' started."
"Mind if we join you two in the pool now?" Tails called out.
"Not yet." Lara answered, she turned back to the blue hedgehog, "Where were we? Oh yes, I just taught ya that relaxation is part of swimming. Otherwise, if you're not relaxed... Well, you get the big picture already."
Lara shook her head, "Anyway, time for swim practice." She let go of Sonic, who straightened up and paid attention to Lara. "You watching?" She asked.
Sonic nodded.
"Excellent. I'm gonna swim backwards and forwards. Backstroke and front stroke, ok?"
"Good luck, Lara."
Lara leaned backward and moved her arms in and out, kicking her legs as she swam backwards towards the nearest ledge close to the one Tails and Sarah sat upon as Oskar, Tom, Sonic and the two foxes watched.
Halfway there, Lara rolled over and started swimming on her front, kicking her legs and rotating her arms until she touched the edge of the pool before pushing off and swam back towards the royal blue hero.
"That..." Sonic breathed with amazement, having been watching the entire time, "was absolutely graceful and incredible."
Lara kissed him, "Now you try it. Part of swimming lessons is watching how people do it and then give it a shot."
"Go on, Sonic!" Tails said encouragingly, "Do what Lara did."
"You can swim, sweetie." Sarah chimed in, "We know you can do it."
They're right, Sonic thought, I can. Lets do it too it. Think of something, something like a finishing line, chili dogs, something that'll help you. Remember what Lara did, Sonic. He took a deep breath, kicked his legs, rotated his arms and began swimming towards the ledge.
Sonic rolled on his backside so he could swim backwards. Halfway there, he rolled over so he was on his front. When Sonic got to the ledge, he tapped it, turned and swam back the way he came, Lara and the others were impressed by what they were seeing.
"Well, how am I doing so far?" The hedgehog asked as he stopped next to Lara, moving his legs and holding out his arms to keep himself balanced as he floated upon the water.
"Exceptionally well." Lara said, she embraced Sonic and kissed him on the cheek, "That was amazing, you swam to the ledge and straight back."
"Sonic, catch!" Sarah shouted, tossing a red and white colored rubber object into the pool. As it landed next to Sonic, he recognized it as an inner tube, given all the times he'd watched kids play in the water with friends and family.
"What's this for?" The hedgehog asked, causing Lara to giggle. "Its to help you swim." She replied.
"I'm not a little kid."
"Just use it. Besides, Tails and Sarah had on standby the whole time."
"Why didn't I notice that?" Sonic asked.
"Lets get back to swimming lessons and not get sidetracked." Lara changed the subject and had Sonic get in the inner tube… by lifting it above him and placed it around him.
At first, the inner tube got stuck around his upper body due to Sonic's muscular stature and being in the water. After enough struggle, Lara squeezed the ring-shaped object down to the hedgehog's waist where it fit fine.
Rolling his eyes and shrugging, Sonic decided to go with it, he didn't want to upset his girlfriend or any of his buddies. He was already doing fine in the water, so might as well try to keep going, no stopping or holding back.
Besides, who wanted the fastest thing alive to hold back or stop?
While Sonic was all for relaxing and settling down a little, he couldn't just try to stop moving, there were so many adventures waiting for him out there.
The hedgehog took Lara's hands, ready to continue. Lara leaned backward and Sonic leaned forward, both kicked their legs and started to swim around the pool with the blue hedgehog basically being a propeller as he kicked his legs faster, splashing up water left and right as Sonic and Lara's pals watched.
Sarah kissed Tails on the cheek and whispered, "You up for some fun?"
Tails smirked, "Thought you never asked. Why don't we join him and Lara?"
Just as Sonic and Lara stopped swimming and floated motionlessly in the pool, the hedgehog was about to say something when Tails and Sarah jumped in the water and caused a splash that soaked both adventurers.
Tails hugged his big brother and commended the blue hero on finally overcoming his fear of water.
Lara swam over to hold Sonic's hand and kissed him on the cheek.
As his friends watched, the hedgehog took a deep breath and dove underwater, kicking his legs and moving his arms inwards and outwards.
The hedgehog felt a tap on his shoulder and saw that Lara had joined him, smiling sweetly. The pool was super deep, but Sonic didn't care now that he could swim. Amazingly, the hero knew how to hold his breath underwater.
Because he was over his aquaphobia and now used to being in water for the most part, Sonic wondered if he was at the bottom for specific periods of time now, that stupid imaginary countdown wouldn't start up.
Sonic realized the truth about that countdown timer in his head, he had been super worried about his oxygen supply whenever he was underwater which almost did lead to him having a panic attack and losing consciousness a lot.
Sonic took Lara's hand and they swam around the depths of the pool together, moving their legs up and down, left and right.
After two minutes, Sonic and Lara stopped and turned to face each other, smiling sweetly as the flames of passion in their hearts burned like wild.
Wrapping their arms around one another's necks, the two adventurers melted into a romantic underwater kiss before breaking the surface.
"Awwwwww!" Tails and Sarah exclaimed happily, holding hands together as they witnessed the romantic and heartwarming scene unfolding right there. Oskar smiled, watching from his chair.
Tom wiped a few tears from his own eyes.
The tears were from a bit of happiness as he was thrilled that the young girl he'd known since she was little had finally found her true love.
Sonic and Lara broke the kiss and climbed out of the pool, sitting on the edge and kicking their feet in the water, holding hands. "So," Sonic said, "Now that my aquaphobia's not a big deal now, what about that last Ratakyan Key?"