AN: A little detail I noticed in M&S Tokyo 2020 is that around Bowser and Eggman, Sonic is his normal cocky self but when the villains aren't around and he's just with Mario and Toad most of the attitude is gone. Just a subtle little thing that I found cute.
~Pixelated Panic~
Every time the game world flickered a surge of panic went through Sonic. As he and Mario traveled to the last venue where Bowser and Eggman had challenged them to a marathon he couldn't help but scowl. The world around them was literally disappearing and all they could think about was winning? They were insane.
He stole a glance at Mario who took the lead, and even in his 8-bit pixel form he could tell Mario was tense as well. The background faded once again and Mario stopped, looking back and forth.
"Mar?" Sonic called out softly, taking a few steps forward. "You good man?"
"No."
The blunt, honest answer should of surprised Sonic more than it did. But he and Mario were close and even though their expressions were stuck in one place he could feel the nervous energy radiating off of him. He wanted to put a comforting arm around him but with the way his body was it was impossible. So he opted for the next best thing, lightly bumping into him a few times to emulate a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Yeah, I'm not either. I feel like we're the only ones takin' our situation seriously."
"I can't do this to Weeg again."
"What d'you mean?" Sonic asked with a couple of eye blinks.
"He just rescued me from King Boo again. He's had to do that four times, and then with what happened in the World of Light..." Mario trailed off and Sonic could almost see the sadness in his pixel eyes. "So much stress is put on him when I'm in danger. And if we don't make it out of here..."
The unfinished sentence hung heavily in the air between them. Sonic could relate - Tails had been through enough as well and didn't deserve to have him vanish on him yet again. Stupid Eggman and Bowser for making their brothers suffer like this. If Sonic could his hands would be balled into fists. "We'll get out of here," he said. "After everythin' the world's thrown at us, a dying battery in a game console ain't gonna stop us, right? An' then we'll show Bowser an' Egghead what the bonds of our friendship can really do!"
Sonic could visualize the cheeky eyeroll and grin Mario would have normally given him. Still, he could tell that Mario had calmed down the tiniest bit and Sonic pressed forward with his speech. "'An at least we have each other an' Toad wherever he ran off to. I swear on Light Gaia that we'll get outta here safely."
"I see why your friends look up to you," Mario mused. "Grazie. I needed to hear that."
"No prob Mar." Sonic would have liked to go in for a hug but opted for a playful bump instead. At that moment the world flickered again and Sonic blinked a couple times. "Now c'mon. We gotta hurry."
Feeling remotivated, the two hurried off in the direction of the stadium where their enemies were waiting for them. The gold medal wasn't going to win itself and they would find their way home.