DISCLAIMER, THIS IS THE LAST OF THE BODY HORROR PORTION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Sanctum and Steel are wonderful characters and I hope to see more of them in the future ;w;
Please look at their DA and Tumblr!
5courgesbestbuddy
There was no cover in sight as the striped hedgehog dove out of the way of a clawed hand, his heart hammering hard in his chest as he struggled to remain calm despite how the distorted laughter managed to wiggle its way into his ears to echo in his head. "Why do you keep moving away?~ We're not going to-" the disgusting mass of alien and human hybridity spasmed before seeming to appear right in front of the panicked hedgehog.
"Oh who are we kidding?~ You've been very bad, little home project~"
With a snarl, Sanctum swung his arm upwards; the chilling blue energy crackling and following like a beacon as a wave of sharp crystalline lances shot up from the ground. Embedding themselves into the hybrid before Sanctum shot his other arm up; more lances fired up to meet their brothers as they instead took their home into the ceiling of the impossible room.
The sharp crimson orbs disappeared behind his eyelids as he lunged backward and away from the makeshift shield, a familiar vile rage rising in his being as faded echoing voices returned to the forefront of his mind.
He wasn't-
He refused to go back. No one would hurt him like that again...Never, he would never allow it.
With a pant, Sanctum readied himself as another lance settled in his hands; his breaths shaky as he slowly opened his eyes.
He wasn't there...he couldn't be...he was far away from that place-
His ears twitched, hyperware from his stressed situation; what...what was that banging noise?
Steadily, the crimson orbs looked up to the hybrid monstrosity banging on the makeshift energy barrier.
The young girl's face completely melted away to something with sparking yellow eyes and deep crimson irises. The three fingered hands clawed viciously at the crackling wall," DON'T YOU THINK YOU CAN EVER LEAVE! YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE YOUR PRISON-" The distorted voice collapsed into an indescribable wail; the dark tendrils swirling like dark raven hair as the beast reared backward and threw its weight against the wall.
A faint crack appearing in the safer mass of the sheild.
"YOU'RE ALL ALONE! NO ONE WILL EVER FIND YOU DOWN HERE! FORGOTTEN AND ERASED!"
The armored hedgehog bared his teeth at the words, taking a step back until he felt his back hit the knob of a door-
Wait a door?!
"W-what?" As he turned to look at the sudden appearance, his dark ears perked in the realization of what that other banging noise was.
Curiously, he glanced at the jiggling knob before he felt the door bend inwards from something hitting it from the other side.
"Damn it, it's bad enough there's one thing in here, I don't need another." Carefully, he glanced back to the wall; weighing his options for the best outcome he could have.
"...Damn," the genetic gritted his teeth before rounding at the door.
At least this could be a way out.
Raising his lance, Sanctum narrowed his gaze as the sound of steps moving away from the door before rushing back towards the perfectly cut metal rectangle.
With a shriek of metal and an over excited warcry, a ball of emerald green smashed through the door. The sudden appearance made Sanctum genuinely pause as Scourge landed awkwardly on his feet; stumbling with a wave of his arms.
Awkwardly, Scourge poised with his arms in the air; the ice blue locking with startled crimson," Sanc!" the scarred teen jumped a bit before cackling," Okay, maybe a long hallway leading down a scary as hell tunnel to the darkest depths wasn't that far fetched...even if the door is way cleaner than the last time-"
Scourge tensed from the lance burying itself beside his head as Sanctum loomed menacingly over him. The crimsons hellish and menacing as he snarled," Enough of this…"
"WOAH- WAIT A MINUTE, IT'S ME!" Scourge held up his hands, the scoff biting as Sanctum leered down," How do I know you're not like the things behind me?"
"What thing-" Scourge shifted forward, ignoring the wide eyed look as he practically crawled onto and slightly over the striped hedgehog," HOLY- WHAT IS THAT?!" Scourge looked down at the bewildered hedgehog.
"...Shit is that your weird illusion boss monster?" Scourge clicked his teeth as he slid back down Sanctum's front. "I got a couple of those in my weird 'room' thing too." he patted the armored chest," So-"
"You didn't answer my question."
"Well do I look all twitchy and freaky like that hot mess?" Scourge sassed a bit," Because if anything, I'm the best looking thing here~" he chuckled a bit, buffing his fingers against his leather jacket as Sanctum deadpanned slightly.
"...You're childish."
"YOU'RE CHILDISH!"
"Oh thank god, Scourge," the striped teen sighed, ignoring the sudden pout of the 'hero' that appeared from nowhere.
"Where did you come from?"
"The...door duh?" Scourge rolled his eyes slightly, crossing his arms for a moment before he recalled what he snapped at the illusion earlier.
"Well...I came from my own trap place to find yours…." The slightly younger teen sighed as he struggled to let those bad thoughts not come back full force.
Immediately, Sanctum recalled the rest of his cube induced nightmarish memory; of a far more beastial Scourge attempting to rip him free from the cubes before he was engulfed. "..." with a sharp lunge of his fist, Scourge yelped from the hard punch to his arm," WHAT THE HELL SANC?!"
"YOU RECKLESS HEDGEHOG! WHY WOULD YOU WILLINGLY TRY TO GET ME OUT OF ALL THAT WHEN YOU COULD CLEARLY SEE THE DANGER?!" The striped hedgehog snapped harshly," WHERE'S STEEL!? IS HE ALONE WITH THAT- THAT- WHATEVER HE CALLED HIMSELF!?"
Rubbing the punched spot, Scourge huffed and looked off to the side; nearly tempted to snap at the striped hedgehog. "...Well, Steel's a strong kid. And clever. Pretty sure he can handle someone with a weak ego complex." Emerald crossed his arms for a moment before his ears twitched,"..." The scarred up hedgehog frowned when he recalled the reason he was stuck in that other room instead of appearing beside him.
"...Look, seeing those cubes moving over you was-" He bitterly recalled the suffocating darkness as he was sucked into the 'early days' of his aliment," I...I didn't want you..lost."
Cerulean blue looked downward as he struggled for the words,"...I thought it was like...the bad stuff back home...And seeing you struggle to get out I just….didn't think...I don't really think that much anyway." he chuckled half heartedly.
The armored hedgehog stood still, silently taking in the words that felt oddly...honest from Scourge.
"Look, Sanc...I know recently things have been...really, really weird at home and...I know I haven't been making it easy-"
"Stop."
"No, dude, I literally was faced with all the reasons I needed in the previous room, let me just do this, alright?!"
"No," Sanctum held up his hand, his crimsons disappearing as he sighed softly before calmly opening his eyes," I would...prefer it if we had...this conversation when not in a living mirage." Scourge nearly bristled and felt his jaw stiffen in mild irritation," Because when we do have this conversation...I prefer knowing it was actually real...And not from the influence of this...horrible place."
Scourge felt himself smile a bit as a sharp tension steadily faded between the two, yet it still mildly stood as a remembrance to handle later.
"...I think I have some...things to discuss as well." Sanctum quietly let his hold loosen on his lance,"...It involve that freak show behind you?" Scourge pointed with a sly smirk, immediately regretting it when he noticed the clear grimace.
"..."
Feeling an odd twist from the look, Scourge grimaced harder.
It seemed that, despite everything, he was still just a-
No...He knew exactly who and what he was, and nobody could tell him otherwise.
Resting a hand on the striped genetic's shoulder, Scourge chuckled as he gave a wide grin," Hey, don't you worry about it. We all got our hang ups and...issues." he casually moved closer, resting his arm over the slightly higher shoulders as he clicked his teeth.
Silently giddy he wasn't pushed away.
"We can talk later in the real world when Steel's passed out from a sugar rush, right now?" he quietly squished their cheeks together, waggling his brows suggestively," You wanna beat up a monster with me?"
After a moment of silence, Sanctum felt himself crack a faint smirk and sigh," …."
"And after the monster, we can go pummel that jerkwad for sending us here."
"Well when you put it like that~" Sanctum trailed off before breaking into a faint chuckle with the emerald rogue.
An odd warmth settled in the lifeform's chest from the closeness subtly his own arm found its way around Scourge's middle in an awkward half hug.
"...This is awkward."
"Yep, we can just-"
"Handle it later?"
"Handle it later." Scourge cleared his throat as he pulled away with a faint flush in his cheeks; a rosy pink even briefly settling in Sanctum's cheeks.
With a sharp slam and roar, the hybrid slammed against the makeshift field; glitching cubes spreading out and crackling against the stubborn blue energy.
"You said you had your own illusions?" Crimsons flicked over to the smug teen, relieved at the familiarity returning as Scourge cracked his knuckles menacingly.
"Yeah, they do this weird thing of-"
"Turning your insecurities on yourself?"
"...What?"
Scourge paused with wide eyes, clearing his throat awkwardly," Or maybe just trauma? I- maybe it's just the repressed bad stuff, who knows?~" he chuckled nervously as Sanctum looked to the twisted fusion of his two worst-
"...No that's a good point." A wry smirk rested on his lips," Who knew you could make a good observation under pressure?"
"Heh, I have my moments...Wait a minute-"
"So how did you 'defeat' yours?" Sanctum asked quickly before Scourge could mull on the odd compliment,"...I told it the hard reality and broke it down until it had no power?"
"...Hard reality? You're going to need to be a bit more specific here," Sanctum deadpanned slightly as the force field cracked further from the hard hits.
"..." Grimacing awkwardly, Scourge sighed," Can we do the details later-"
"There is a LITERAL monster trying to kill us that needs to be put down, and it's a form from MY psyche. Tell me how you won against yours please," Sanctum let a lance spark back into his hand," Preferably before the wall I made collapses?"
"I literally just gave it the hard reality man, I don't know what to tell you," Scourge shifted uncomfortably. "There is more to it than that-"
"OKAY! I WENT ON ABOUT HOW I HANDLE MY NONSENSE BY MYSELF AND DO WORSE TO MYSELF SO IT COULDN'T DO SQUAT TO ME! THERE YOU HAPPY?!"
Sanctum reeled, furious at the newfound realization of what all those 'quiet moments' really were back at home," YOU WHAT?!"
"THIS IS WHY I SAID WE DO THE DETAILS LATER!" Scourge snapped in a mild fluster, crossing his arms anxiously as the hedgehog rounded on him.
Unbeknownst to the pair, the monstrosity on the other side of the field twitched and shifted; the cubes cracking and splitting the body slowly as it grew.
"You've been doing that to yourself this entire time?!"
"W-well what about you?!"
"WHAT ABOUT ME!?"
"YOU JUST IGNORE IT! THAT ISN'T ANY BETTER DUDE!"
"THAT'S D-DIFFERENT-"
"BULLSHIT IT IS!" Scourge snapped, his quills bristling," LOOK, SERIOUSLY, WE CAN DO THIS LATER-" he went rigid as he locked onto the beast behind Sanctum, who bristled and trembled in hurt rage before he caught the lack of fire. "Oh...that's disgusting.." Scourge mumbled in mild horror.
Snapping out of his enraged haze, Sanctum spun around; crimsons widening in terror at the sight of the morphing hybrid.
With a distorted wheezing groan, the beast was overcome with cubes; the reddish purple glitching over as several bumps sprouted from its spasming neck. The abdomen distended as the arms and legs lengthened and thickened. Several heads settling on the wide shoulders as it slumped forward.
The hedgehog pair went wide eyed as the Cerberus esche abomination began to take on traits upon each head. The strong middle head shifted and morphed into the very same girl it began as, ebony and red as spitting tendrils and cubes glitched over her features as she screamed. On her right, two heads shifted and twitched into a fox head with a bow and a chipmunk with a clear wild mullet; screaming hellish banshee wails as their necks extended outwards and snapped at awkward angles.
On the girl head's left, two hedgehog heads sprouted; one manic and wild with a wicked cackling laugh as the other, with an odd hat on, merely appeared disappointed and snarled lowly at the sight of the two.
Or rather….just the single green hedgehog.
Crackling and snapping, the two necks of the hedgehog heads sprouted upwards and away from the human head. The four new additions glitching and snapping around wildly before their necks settled in snake like sways.
Coiling and snapping around the human head like giddy hyenas ready to rip apart a newfound corpse.
Finally, the creature leaned backward, the abdomen splitting half way to reveal sharp serrated teeth with a singular yellow orb of a slit eye settled deep in the groove of the mouth.
Slamming the massive clawed hands down, the six mouths released a wail of agony; shattering the makeshift force field of Anarchy Lances with terrifying ease before settling into heavy breathing. Looming above the shellshocked duo.
"...I see it took my snark about not using my dad…" Scourge whispered in sheer mortification and terror as Sanctum went slack in genuine terror at the amalgamation.
"...You...gave it ideas?" Sanctum asked slowly in a mumble," Not intentionally!" Scourge attempted to defend himself as wide crimsons slowly came to settle on the scarred teen,"...Who are those heads?"
Giving a weak pair of finger guns, Scourge chuckled nervously," T-trauma!"
"..."
"...I think the illusions sorta...mixed our hang ups together-"
"OH YOU THINK SO?! IT CERTAINLY LOOKS IT DON'T IT?!"
Scourge was too intimidated to give a proper snip back as the only male head curled and swayed to look at solely him; the disgruntled scowl clear.
"...I've handled you four asshats before...I can do it again...Especially you old man," Scourge snarled lowly at the horror show.
"We're discussing this later," Sanctum glared faintly at Scourge, his irritation towards the other spiking at how 'out of the loop' he was with him..and vice versa.
"Already said we would dude," Scourge settled into a stance, smirking at the abomination before wincing mildly,"...Hey um...what ah...what's with the stomach mouth-"
"Later."
"I- guess that's for later too."
With a scowl, Sanctum rested his lance in hand, glaring at the growling abomination," We need a plan."
"Remember when Steel wanted us to play twister and you got really pissed I was able to bend and reach better than you?"
Sanctum nearly smirked as he shared a look,"...You mean the game I won?"
"Wow, your memory really is bad huh?" a genuine laugh left the scarred teen before he zipped off to the side, following the oddly put lead; Sanctum shot off to the other side.
The amalgamation trembled and released a screech as it came back to life and shot the glitching tendrils out.
Furious it allowed the hedgehogs to mutter and grumble to each other. It wouldn't make the same mistakes again.
"ANARCHY LANCE!" With a shriek, the glitching mass reeled back, the middle head turning and snarling before the large clawed hands slammed down angrily on the wave of sharp spears attempting to slam into its gaping mouth. The inner slit eyeball narrowed behind the teeth before widening from the sensation of something on its back.
The odd two left heads turned in unison, scowling at the sight of the smirking emerald hedgehog," Yo~"
With a glitching roar, the two left heads bent backwards; slightly throwing the beast off balance from the jarring snapping of teeth at the other hedgehog.
"Sanc! Twister!"
"I'm working on it, stop distracting me!" The striped hedgehog raced around the thick legs, slamming his lances behind the knees.
The monstrosity swiped downward, the right heads screaming as he teleported out from under him.
"You know...the fact you weirdos figured out how to do this is just...meh at best." Scourge snarked, zipping up between the heads," If you actually did your job right-"
"DO NOT GIVE IT MORE IDEAS SCOURGE!"
"I'M NOT! I'M WRECKING IT!" Scourge shouted angrily," REALLY?! BECAUSE YOU SOUND LIKE YOU'RE GIVING IT IDEAS!?"
"Can't I snark anymore?" the rogue huffed a bit in a pout as he spin dashed upward before the Rosy head could snap down on his smaller body with a maniacal laugh.
"Scourge!"
"UGH ALRIGHT, I'M HANDLING IT!" in a blur of sharp bright green, Scourge began to figure eight around the abomination's legs. Subtly, he reached out to grab one of the still present lances from the titan's leg.
The rush of anarchy energy tingling up his arm as he sped up the front of the beast before burying the fading spear deep into the stomach maw. Winking at the widening eyeball before he purposely dragged it against the roof of the mouth.
The eyeball teared up as the lance twisted around to keep the mouth propped open," HEY SANC! IF YOU WANNA BREAK THIS THING DOWN, GET IT RATTLED!"
The armored teen paused, deadpanning slightly," And how-"
Scourge zipped down, skidding to a halt beside Sanctum before casually leaning against him," Like I said, reality~"
"...What's more realistic than getting slammed with physical attacks?"
With a soft pat to the shoulder, Scourge quietly waved a hand in front of the edgy teen," Emotional attacks~"
"...So...Hard truths…"
"Like I've been saying yeah...Here, lemme show you how I handled it~" Scourge smirked as he zipped back over," I mean, half of this freak is mine right?"
Racing back up the beast, Scourge grasped the neck of the chipmunk head and spun around hard into the fox head," Hey, you two," the ice blues glared up at the scowling heads," I make my own choices. And whatever it was we ever had wasn't the best thing."
With a sharp series of cracks, the two heads slammed into each other as they attempted to bite at the hedgehog only for their snake-like necks to spin and twist. The heads becoming stuck as the hedgehog zipped over to the other side, purposely pausing beside the Rosy head," Hey...you just deserved better. You shouldn't have gone crazy over me...I actually hope you find someone who goes nuts over you."
The Rosy head paused in genuine consideration before the two twisted heads slammed into the snake neck, the sharp tugging making the middle human head snarl in discomfort as a clawed hand rushed up towards the emerald hedgehog," And now, you old man," Scourge snarled, startled from the sharp twang of a spear behind him sending him tumbling forward slightly as Sanctum snarled beside him," You're taking too long-"
"No, I'm really not." Scourge crossed his arms over his scarred chest," You can't keep shoving this down...Trust me."
The striped hedgehog slammed the electric blue lance into the thick abdomen, his ears drawn back as he slipped and clung to the front chest. "Scourge-"
"No Sanc."
The emerald hedgehog looked up at the last of 'his' heads, frowning," ….You don't control me, and you never had. And I know for a fact that I'm nothing like what you wanted. And ya know what? I couldn't be happier~ 'Cause I'm me~" Scourge gave a smirk before lunging at the snake-like neck.
The three swaying and twisted necks following like a homing beacon towards the hedgehog before Scourge smirked and casually rolled down the broad back.
Still attached to the front and holding his lance, Sanctum stared upward at the spasming amalgamation. Though the middle head still seemed in control.
"Sanc, you gotta hit it with the reality check you've been holding back!"
The crimson orbs widened before narrowing sharply, the maw beneath him bending inwards as the lance holding the malformed mouth open began to crack and splinter.
"Sanc, come on!"
The striped hedgehog scowled before growling under his breath, his arms tensing as his legs kicked against the abdomen to send himself upward.
For a moment, he felt his heart stop as the human face glared at him; teeth bared as it opened into a sharp scream.
Feeling something hot burning in his chest, Sanctum felt his energy flare," I matter, I am not a mistake, I will not be forgotten, and I will not be erased. If anything, I will do my damndest to ensure your memory can never damage anyone again!"
With a roar of anger he didn't realize he held in for so long, Sanctum brought down his fists on the human face; the world seemed to slow as the amalgamation toppled backward in a glitching and screeching mess.
Landing onto his feet, Sanctum took a step back from the waves of thrashing cubes and tendrils. Missing the voice calling to his side before he felt someone grab his hand and pull," Come on! A new door appeared! We must've hit it hard enough!" Scourge didn't wait for the genetic creation to answer as he pulled him towards the door.
For a moment, the striped hedgehog merely stared at the emerald teen; his heart doing an odd flutter before his hand tightened to a squeeze on Scourge's hand.
"Well, run faster then, we still have that edgy kid to handle," he laughed a bit breathlessly, elated that the bright cerulean blues sparked at the idea," Shit you're right! Can't be too bad to handle now that we know how to handle his nonsense, right?" Scourge cackled as the pair came closer to the door," This'll be easy~ I'm sure Steel got him all softened up too~"
To his surprise, Sanctum found himself sharing the excited grin as they launched themselves at the door; toppling forward in a hoot of manic laughter. Giddy at the prospect of returning to the real world after fighting their own inner demons.
And for actually getting the chance to slap some sense into the fool who thought it was a good idea.
With a resounding slam, the door closed; leaving the thrashing and flailing monstrosity behind to collapse inward onto itself in a final wail.
The infinite space silent just as it was before and always was.