A/N: Before we get this party started, I have some warnings for future content! This fic is b l o o d y. I alway surprise myself with how bloody and violent I make things when I write fantasy/adventure. Also, there will be a queer poly relationship and some suggestive material (no smut tho), so if you don't like that, don't read it, and don't leave rude comments about it. Just walk away and find a fic that suits your tastes better. Anywho, that's it! Hope y'all enjoy!

Everything had started that morning when the attempt to stage a coup had gone south. Then again, he, Sally Acorn, Rotor, and Antoine and Bunny D'Coolette were the only ones left that hadn't died or been imprisoned in the two years of Kintobor's reign. Bunny was only able to do so much with her mechanical wooden limbs, so she'd elected to stay behind. And because Antoine was a stubborn man and had been serious enough that they couldn't even get a word out of him in English, they'd let him stay behind with his wife. This left Sonic, Sally, and Rotor to somehow get past the army of guards and find Kintobor and demand his reign of terror end.

It was a stupid plan, and all three of them knew it. But they were also more desperate now than they'd ever been. More and more of their friends and loved ones had been captured and enslaved, forced into deadly work in mines and fields.

Sally's brother, Elias, had died in a sudden tunnel collapse in a sapphire mine just the day before.

Now, as they stood outside the palace, Sally stared intently at it, as though if she stared at it long enough and hard enough the entire building might spontaneously combust. Sonic put a comforting hand on his best friend's arm, and she turned to look at him. "He's not gonna get away with this, Sal," he promised.

Sally nodded, taking a deep breath in and out through her nose. "Let's go," she said, and she hurried ahead to the garbage chute, Sonic and Rotor following her lead.

There was a sheet of metal covering up the chute, and Rotor knelt in front of it, pulling various tools out of his bag of supplies and getting to work on prying it away from the bricks. Sonic crouched in a fighting stance, his eyes darting to the sides as Sally did the same, a low hum coming from the magic ring blades on her wrists.

A few minutes later, Rotor had managed to pull enough of the sheet away that Sonic and Sally could fit through, and they squeezed in, Sally first, then Sonic, as Rotor hurried away, moving towards the rendezvous point they'd agreed on prior.

Sonic and Sally crawled up the chute, slipping occasionally on the metal plating, Sonic's pulse rocketing in his chest every time he lost his grip. They'd sent him a week ahead of time to scout entrances; while he'd been disguised as a palace guard, and before he'd nearly been caught, this had been the best way in.

He didn't realize how slippery it was though, and he was tempted to just grab Sally and jump the rest of the way up. But it would make too much noise, and stealth was crucial. Even as impatient as he was, he knew that rushing this meant potentially rushing their demise.

Finally, after what felt like forever, he heard Sally gently nudge open the wooden door of the top of the chute, and he squinted in the sudden light. Carefully, Sally eased herself up and out, holding a hand out to help Sonic, who took it gratefully and let her pull him up.

Once they were both out, they ducked behind a curtain, the hallway they'd been deposited into full of windows facing towards the forest to the west of the palace. Some servants hurried by, most of them human. Very few mobians worked at the palace.

Those that did were ones best avoided.

Sally poked her head out, checking if it was clear. Then she grabbed Sonic's hand and pulled him along, running through the hallway in spurts and hiding whenever a servant came towards them.

Eventually, it wasn't just servants anymore. As they crept deeper into the palace, more guards appeared, their vigilant eyes hunting for something amiss. Some of them weren't even alive at all, but wooden puppets animated by magic. He must have a strong magician if he can create so many of these, Sonic thought as yet another one went by, this one shaped and crawling by like an ant.

As soon as the creature had passed, he and Sally continued their way down the hall, only to have to hide again once they caught sight of the door to the throne room, the entryway filled with guards, both human and automaton. Sonic heard Sally curse quietly. "What do we do now?" she hissed.

"Ah," said a voice behind them, and they both whipped their heads around to find a gray jackal with a scar down his right eye standing right behind them. "I thought I smelled vermin."

Sonic's stomach dropped as he caught sight of the red stone the jackal held in his clawed hand, the dark magic radiating out and filling his nose with the smell of sulfur and smoke. Sally let go of Sonic's hand and activated her ring blades, the blue flames raised high, preparing to defend herself as Sonic crouched down, ready to roll. The jackal chuckled darkly. "When will you rebels ever learn?" he said, shaking his head. "Vermin are meant to be exterminated."

Suddenly, Sonic wasn't in the hallway anymore, alone in a dark red space, unable to see or feel anything. "Sally!" he called out, panic coating his voice. "Sal, where are you?!" Suddenly, a silhouette appeared, coming closer until the red glow of the stone illuminated the jackal's canine grin.

Sonic crouched down, ready for a fight, his heart pounding in his chest. "Where's Sal!" he demanded. With all the people he'd lost–his parents, his siblings, so many of his friends–he couldn't bear to lose Sally too.

The jackal smirked, as if this were already a victory. "Don't worry. You'll be joining her soon enough. Maybe if you're lucky you'll die with her."

Sonic launched himself at the jackal, curling up into a ball as he flew through the air. Only instead of slamming into his opponent, he crashed into the ground, forced to uncurl before he scrambled back to his feet. The jackal had disappeared, but his cruel laughter echoed in the dark space. "You've still got some spirit," he said. "All the better when I break you."

Suddenly, more figures appeared in the darkness before him, and Sonic's blood ran cold. He knew them all; his mother, his father, even his brother and sister. And Elias, Sally's brother.

His parents had been killed early on in Kintober's reign, and his siblings, Sonia and Manic, had been split up and sent to two of the numerous work camps near the outskirts of the kingdom. They were still alive as far as he knew, but he couldn't know for how much longer. Elias's death was fresh, having been crushed to death just yesterday. Still, he was not prepared to see all five of them staring with blank eyes, blood pouring out around them.

Sonic cried out in anguish, running to his siblings. He picked up Sonia by the shoulders, her jaw slacking open and her eyes cold and empty. "No no no!" he shouted frantically. "Come on, please! Sonia! Manic! Please, no!"

"Your… fault…" croaked his brother's voice beside him, and he whipped his head around to see Manic's blank eyes staring up at him, blood bubbling on his lips as they moved. "Weren't… fast… enough…"

"Failed…" Sonia rasped, her head lolling back and away from Sonic.

Tears blurred Sonic's vision and he screamed, confusion and terror mixing and fogging every rational voice in his mind. "I'm sorry!" he screamed. "Please, no! I'm so sorry, please!"

He didn't even know what he was begging for now, but he would have taken anything but the scene in front of him right now. Wherever he looked, more bodies appeared; Rotor, Sally, Antoine and Bunny, and even his uncle, Chuck. And they all moaned the same thing over and over; "Your fault."

Sonic curled up into a ball, the coppery smell of blood filling his nostrils as he realized his hands were covered in it. He sobbed in anguish, the voices steadily getting louder and louder as that same cold laughter returned, and Sonic wondered if he wasn't just going completely insane.


Sonic woke up hours later in a dark, damp space, the sound of water dripping pounding in his aching head. Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the dim light, and he realized that he'd been put in the old dungeons beneath the palace. He felt something shift next to him and scrambled back before a familiar voice said, "Who's there?"

"Sally?" Sonic asked, tears of relief welling in his eyes as his voice shook. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, Sonic, thank Chaos!" Sally exclaimed, all but jumping into Sonic's arms and wrapping her own around him. "I was so scared!" He could feel her shaking as he returned the embrace, and both their sobs echoed in the dark space. They held each other tight, as if afraid to let the other go.

Finally, Sally pulled away, wiping her eyes. "Did he do that to you too?" she asked Sonic. "What did you see?"

Sonic shook his head, not wanting to speak of the horrors he'd seen in that… what even was it? A waking nightmare? Who was that jackal, and how did he do what he did? And what did it mean that Sonia and Manic had appeared like that? And all the other freedom fighters, why had they been there? Were his siblings dead and he just had no idea?

The idea made Sonic feel as if a horrible, tentacled creature was writhing in agony in his stomach, and he took a deep breath. "Death," he finally said. "Too much death."

He could just barely make out Sally's nod in the darkness before she hugged him again, holding on tightly to him. "Me too," she said quietly. "But it's over now." Then she let go and wandered over to the cell door, though Sonic didn't miss the worried tone in her voice, as if she didn't completely believe it herself.

Sonic could just barely make out the size of the door in the gloom, the smallest bit of light filtering in through the barred slit towards the top of the wood. Despite the somber mood, Sonic laughed. "Do they really think that's going to keep me in?" he said incredulously.

Sally smiled and moved out of the way as Sonic moved to the back of the cell, settling into a crouch. Then, he curled, revved up a few times, and took off, a huge crunch echoing through the rest of the dungeon as he smashed the wooden door to pieces. Then, he untucked and sped back to grab Sally, scooping her up in his arms and speeding down the hallway, coming to a stone staircase leading upwards to the rest of the palace. Sonic ground to a halt at the sight of at least twenty soldiers–all of them human–pointing their halberts at the two of them.

"Halt!" said one. "Come no further!"

Sonic set Sally down on her feet, and she brandished her fiery blue ring blades as Sonic crouched, ready to tuck and roll again. Sonic smirked. "What're you going to do about it?" he asked. Before they could even twitch, he sped around, grabbing each soldier's weapon and dropping them in a pile near Sally's feet.

Unarmed, the soldiers backed away from the two of them, the ring they had formed opening up. Perfect. "Let's get out of here," Sonic said, offering a hand to Sally, who deactivated her rings and let him pick her up again before he sped up the stairs.

"Let's hope we don't run into that guy again," Sally muttered, and Sonic felt her shudder in his arms. "We might still stand a chance if we–"

"Nope," Sonic cut her off. Before she could protest, Sonic was already at the garbage chute they'd entered from, and he set Sally down on her feet, putting his hands on her shoulders to get her to face him. "We were lucky, Sal," he said. "He could have easily killed us. And I'm not going to put anyone else in danger, especially you."

"I'm not weak, Sonic," Sally insisted. "I can handle it!"

"Do you realize the kind of magic he used? We could have died back there!" He didn't realize he'd been shouting until Sally startled, and he immediately felt guilty. "Sal," he said quietly. "We've lost so many people. You know that. I just don't want my best friend to be one of them."

Before she could say anything else, he opened the flap in the garbage chute and eased her in, letting her get a grip on the rim. "Find Rotor and go back to Knothole," Sonic said. "If I'm not back in a week, then run. I'm gonna go find Sonia and Manic and try and get them out. I should have done that a long time ago."

Sally lifted her chin stubbornly. "I don't want you to die either, you big pincushion," she said. "I'm not letting you go alone."

"Yes, you are, Sal," he said. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, and in her surprise, her grip loosened and she yelped as she dropped about two feet into the shaft before catching herself. She stared at Sonic with astonishment, and yet Sonic saw the apology in her eyes too. He smiled sadly, a small part of him cracking into pieces. "Go find Rotor, please," he said. "I can't lose someone else I love. I promise, I'll come back. Just please, do this for me."

Finally, Sally nodded, but she aimed one last glare up at him before starting her long trip down, as if threatening, if you die, I'm going to bring you back and make you wish you were still dead. "Good luck, Sonic," she said.

He closed the flap, took a deep breath, and sped down the hallway, trying to find an exit in the opposite direction Sally was headed to draw attention away from her. All the clocks he passed read the same time–just past three in the afternoon–and a nervous jolt ran through his body.

They'd been out for that long?

Eventually, he came to a crossroads, with three different branching hallways leading to different parts of the palace. Sonic stopped, trying to figure out which one would be the best suited to get him where he wanted to go.

"My my, you're stubborn aren't you?" said a voice behind him.

He whipped around to find a fox not much older than he was, maybe around twenty or so, with orange fur and wispy purple markings dyed into the white fur around his muzzle. He wore clothes similar to those of the jackal earlier, a simple white shirt and a long brown coat. Around his waist was a belt with a pair of sheathed daggers, one on each hip.

The fox grinned, his high voice almost purring as he said, "No wonder Infinite's got his little tail in a bunch. You know you've caused quite a ruckus escaping from the dungeon."

"Who're you?" Sonic demanded, already crouched in a fighting stance. He searched him for traces of magic, and he thought he felt something almost primal radiating from him, accompanied by a bitter, earthy smell, though he couldn't be sure. But he didn't need to sense magic to know that he was dangerous.

The fox barked a laugh. "No one of consequence," he replied. Suddenly, a glint of steel came flying at Sonic, and he barely managed to dodge before the blade embedded itself into a door frame right behind where he'd been standing.

Sonic's heart pounded in his chest as he stared at the fox, who grinned, his fangs glinting in the light of the sun filtering in through the window nearby. "Oh..." the fox purred. "A challenge."