This is a fanfiction, and as such, most of the characters in the story are not mine. Most characters are © Sega, and are not used with permission.
Chapter 1: Pain
"Aaaarrrgghhhh!"
"The pain, the searing pain!"
Dazed, stumbling through the darkness…
"Aaaaahhh!"
"Please stop."
Clutching his chest, his heart cried a vicious wail.
"Nnnnggaaahhh!"
Vision was a mess, clouded, shrouded, masked in darkness.
"Help me! I need help!"
Another bite rocked through him.
"Nooo!"
Another scream in the night.
The trees rose to the nightmarish sky like long spires of some twisted planting, and sought to torture the stars that dared to shed any light on the plains save the garish glow of the ground. Even in the dark light, the giants cast warped shadows over the rocky ground, crisscrossing over each other in an archaic mesh, as if each tree had it's own light to cast a shadow just for itself.
Below, a small figure by comparison, staggered over that terrain, under the giants, through the shadows.
Each step seemed almost random in how the foot fell over the ground. Some steps were made one at a time, very slow until the full weight was put on them, and they slammed into the ground; others came in a chain of staggers that triggered the next as the lost soul needed to constantly adjust to keep from falling to the dirt.
The figure stumbled right into one of the evil towers, slamming into it with a horrendous "whap". The recoil sent it to the dirt, with the fall, a renewed sharp pain ripped into the back and through the chest.
"YEEEAAAARRGHH!!!"
With great trouble, the lost soul turned over onto its chest and lifted up on its hands and knees. The legs on this living table almost faltered when the pain struck again. The right hand clamped onto the searing pain, followed by another scream. Crawling towards the nearest tree, the beast used it to rise to its feet and to try again. With slow deliberate steps, the shadow continued on, lost in torment.
How long had it been? It felt like years since the last memory that did not involve dark twisted trees, or a sky made of a living nightmare, or the burning in the chest.
The stranger wandered even deeper into the woods, looking for a way out, a clearing, a path, or any piece of evidence of previous visitors who knew their way better. Alas, there was little relief in this place; the forest extended for an eternity in all directions except into the ground and into the sky, but there was no point trying to go in either.
The first break in the vicious terrain for many months was not a kind one; along the ground was a rare disruption of the terrific mundane, a swirl of blackness that traced an erratic path through the ground. The black water flowed fast, but like everything in this place, made no noise on its own.
The vagabond eventually reached the bank of the flow that was more like ink than water, but it was water, an evil water, but water nonetheless. For the weary body, a touch of water to the parched lips would be good, a brief respite in this horrid environ.
Lying on the stomach, the lips reached down to the lapping waves of the current and touched it. The water had no taste or feel, but it still felt good.
Looking down, an image presented itself to the stranger, the first clear sight in a long time. The picture was clear and perfect, unlike the being gazing into it, haggard and masked by darkness. It was not a mirror of himself that he saw; no, he was the dark and twisted reflection in the water, and what he saw was real. A familiar face, a real face, one with real eyes, and real ears, and a real nose and a real mouth; it was an image the shadow had not seen in ages, nor could it remember the true face until now.
Sonic gazed at the water, in awe of the perfect image of himself.
It was as if the trees were trying to block his movement; Sonic stumbled through the forest, unable to find his way through the twists and turns. For an eternity he fought his way though the dark trees, and the pain that ripped at his chest, looking for home.
Almost like a light at the end of the tunnel, or a hand from a generous passerby, Sonic found himself gazing over a striking picture of a golden land. A flood of great joy and relief washed over the hedgehog when he finally reached his goal after slogging though an ethereal torture.
He walked through the village, it was a dark and haunting copy of the Knothole he remembered, but for all that has happened; it was beautiful.
"Hello? Sally! Anybody?!"
No one answered, the whole village seemed vacant. Sonic looked around, and noticed a strange glow coming from some of the windows.
{Is everyone asleep?}
Sonic looked around, and headed towards his hut.
He looked around inside, but nothing was where he left it, none of his stuff was here. In his hut was a bureau of clothes, which definitely didn't belong since he didn't wear clothes. Also in the hut was a small kitchenette, including dishes, pots and a hot plate; this was equally out of place since he never cooked. Off in a corner was a handful of farming implements, worn from use, but clean from lack of recent use.
{Who is in my hut?}
The shadow looked over to his hammock and found it occupied. As he walked over, he noticed a strange glow coming from the lump under the sheet, an eerie fiery esper that contrasted the darkness of the room.
Sonic was in front of the stranger in his bed; a female rabbit, only a few years younger than he, wearing a long white nightshirt. As she tumbled a bit in the swinging bed, she was talking in her sleep in a thick southern accent.
"Back off, bitch." Bunnie turned some more. "He's mine."
{What is going on here?}
Sonic left the bed and found himself outside again. Stumbling around a bit more, Sonic found Sally's hut.
The person in question was still awake and lying in bed, reading over some surveillance reports collected over the past couple of days.
"Nicole, show me the overlay from the power station in sector 4-9-0-2."
The small computer responded as usual to Sally's instruction. "Processing."
"Sally." Sonic found it odd that Sally didn't notice him when he entered, but he didn't really remember how he got in, he was just in.
"Sally, it's me, Sonic."
The hedgehog tried to run up to Sally; but when he took one foot forward, his chest exploded in pain. Sonic screamed in an inaudible wail and crumpled to the floor. Fighting against the agony, Sonic tried to pick himself from the floor, but was only able to lift his head and get one hand reaching to the bed.
"Sally… It's me…"
Sally paid him no mind, but instead yawned. "Nicole, show me the numbers regarding the power output."
"Sally, my sensors show that you are becoming very tired; you should get some rest."
"I'll get some sleep when I feel like it."
"Under your current condition, you require sleep; I also require recharging, my power level is at 20%"
Sally sighed. "Alright, I get the point."
Sally flipped over the covers and swung her legs over the side. Sonic noticed the pink nightgown that reached to her ankles; but what drew his attention was a bulge at her waist.
Sally seemed to struggle a bit to get out of bed, a result of the excess weight she had, and she held it with her left hand as she approached her bureau. Sally laid Nicole inside a plastic cradle and a small red light on the side lit up. Instead of returning to bed right away, Sally hesitated, then turned to a picture that was stood up next to her bed.
Picking up the picture, she turned it towards her, and Sonic could make it out.
"Sonic, why did this happen? Why did you leave me?"
Sonic struggled to get up from the floor. "Sally, I'm right here."
The princess paid him no mind. "You'll never even get to see our child. It'll be only a few more months now, I can only hope that peace will soon be with us. I don't know if I can do it alone, let alone if Robotnik is still around."
Sally gazed at the image, completely ignorant of the tortured soul of her lost love knelt in front of the door.
"I don't think I ever told you how much you really meant to me. After Robotnik attacked, I had lost so much; more than just my position as princess, I haven't seen my father since that day. When I first met you, you were alone and crying like a baby; you also lost your parents to that monster. I already had experience with loss; my mother died when I was 4, so I knew how to handle it."
Sonic could remember the day he and Sally met.
"I remember sitting on that fallen log and talking with you; I listened, and you bawled. We were talking for hours, and by the end, you had stopped crying. I was glad that you had cheered up. At the time I thought I was just doing my job as princess; little did I know how much it would mean to me. I taught you how to live with the pain; but as we became friends, it was you who taught me how to be happy in spite of it."
Sonic could see the almost vacant look on Sally's face.
"I don't know what it is like on the other side, or if you are at peace, or if you sleep with the doubt of my well being, but I pray that you are waiting for me. I wish I could follow you now, but until our child is born and is ready to embark on this world, I cannot leave. Please be patient, my love."
Sally laid the picture down on the bureau, and slowly got up, burdened by the weight at her core. Sonic also rose to his feet, burdened under the pain that ripped at his core. The princess wasn't quite ready to turn in, tonight was one of those nights that her grief plucked at her heart more than others. It was an eerie thing that she did on those nights; she'd walk out to the woods, to the cemetery, and find the grave where Sonic laid silent. She would sit before it, sometimes for minutes, sometimes until moments before sunrise would wake everyone else; she would sit down and rest her hand on the dirt, like she was laying her hand on her love, not lost, but present, just silent.
Fully standing, Sally made for the door in a slow pace. Sonic was also to his feet, and stretched his arms to meet Sally as she came; but she would come too far. Her body did not stop upon reaching his hands, or his arms, or his body; she walked clean through, not even pausing to feel Sonic's breath, for there was none.
Sonic stood in terror, Sally was behind him, and walking out the door, leaving him behind, again.
"Sally…"
In a mighty shrill of pain, Sonic's heart exploded again, as a bullet meaner than the two that cast him here shredded his soul.
"Sally! Come back!"
Sonic wanted to chase her, and though he knew not how, but he was once again outside in the middle of the small village.
This time, the village bore an evil, dark glow, there was no sign that anyone was about except for shadows. The village was empty, everyone had left, only Sonic remained in this dead place.
"No! Don't leave me alone! I'm sorry that I failed! Please take me back!"
Pain…
Sharp stabbing pain…
From the empty shell of Knothole, Sonic set out into the woods again, he had to find Sally; somehow, he had to see her, and for her to see him.
Each step was as arduous as it was before he found his old home again, a home that had not been his for a long time.
For months the tortured soul wandered, walking in twisted circles that punished his feet as much as the strikes through his chest. Deep down he had a haunting feeling, that he knew where to find Sally, that somehow she was alright; but the trees conspired against him, blocking his path and keeping him stuck in the forest, like it needed the specter so desperately to exist. Each time Sonic felt he knew the way, there was a tree before him; and when he tried to go around, he felt a tug that told him he went in the wrong direction.
For some months more he wandered, lost and alone.
