(I don't own Sonic and the gang, they are owned by SEGA and Sonic Team)
"Huh?"
I had just woken up.
I looked around and everyone was asleep.
I tried melting my way through the restraints.
To my surprise it worked.
I cracked open the glass.
I got Shadow and Sonic out before the alarms went off and we took off running.
"Maria! What happened, we thought you were dead when you passed out?"
Shadow looked at me wide eyed.
"Guess not."
I smiled.
To my surprise all of his security was really easy to get past.
'So close to being out!'
We were right there at the exit when…
GRAOGH!
I turned to see the monster from my dreams.
"Not again…"
I whispered.
Shadow and Sonic got in front of me.
"No, don't, he'll kill you!"
I screamed.
"Come now. Have a little more faith in us."
Sonic smiled.
(With Shadow)
"I see. This must be a nightmare she has a lot."
Alpha looked at me.
I was shaking in my chair.
"A nightmare she has a lot?"
Shadow asked.
He turned to look at Sonic.
"Did you know she has nightmares a lot?"
Sonic shook his head.
"Well, she knows what's going to happen and she's bracing herself."
Alpha looked at me suspiciously.
(With me)
"No. Not again. This isn't possible. How does this keep happening to me?"
I asked my head in my hands.
I wasn't crying.
I had gone through this too many times to cry about it.
I woke up again.
"It was a dream. Again."
I looked around and everyone was still asleep.
"Shadow!"
I whispered.
"Wha… oh, it's you."
He hissed.
"We thought you were dead."
He looked at me with an expression full of loathing.
(With Sonic)
"She has passed my first round."
Alpha said pushing a button.
"What do you mean first round?"
Sonic struggled against the restraints even more.
"I mean, when you two died it didn't reduce her to a sobbing blob of wimp so she has to move on to the next round."
Alpha smiled looking at his computer monitor.
"So this is her second worst fear besides you both dying. How pitiful."
He shook his head still smiling.
(With me)
"So my being alive hurts you somehow?"
I growled.
"Yes. Your being alive hurts me quite a bit. I'll have to deal with your endless obsession over me. It's very annoying. I can't do anything without consulting you. For years now I've been acting like I'm your friend because I'm nice and I do want to keep my job but you've tried to kiss me twice. That's just creepy. I can't even date anyone without you getting all jealous."
Shadow rolled his eyes.
"I am not jealous of all the idiots, Breeze isn't an idiot, you date. Go on, date 'em if you want. See if I care."
I slumped into my seat.
"I have seen you care. And frankly I wish you wouldn't."
He snarled.
"Alright, I won't care."
I again melted through the restraints and broke through the capsule.
I broke Shadow's capsule and leaned over really close to his face.
"Jerk."
I whispered.
(With Alpha)
"Ha, ha, ha! She reacts so well to your taunts!"
He laughed.
"Whose taunts?"
Sonic asked.
"Shadow's! It's really quite humorous!"
Alpha continued to laugh.
Jwan was at the perfect angle to see the screen.
"She is so gonna kick your butt, Shadow."
She laughed.
(With me)
I melted through his restraints but after they were gone I just kept melting.
"Agh! Go on, kill me. It'll get me away from you!"
Shadow mocked.
"Fine! I will!"
I had forgotten I still had a gun in my pocket, Ray 02.
I had it right up to his throat.
"Just before you pull that trigger I have a few things to say. Your endless crying the last three years, in vain. The millions of times you saved my life, in vain. Nothing you've done for the past five years matters once you kill me, cuz you did it all for me."
Tears streamed down my face.
"That's not true!"
I hollered.
"Yes it is. The truth is, you fell in love with some one that doesn't exist. And now all the time and effort you've put into making me love you back is down the drain."
He continued to smile in the face of death because he was seeing me in pain.
The very thought made my knees weak.
I fell to the floor and cried.
(With Jwan)
"Ah, good. Something got to her."
Alpha sighed.
"What are you doing to her!"
Shadow screamed seeing tears roll down my physical face.
"Ah, you're breaking her heart without even trying, how sad."
Alpha smiled maliciously.
"Stop this! This isn't fair!"
Jwan said.
"Silence!"
He pressed another button and Jwan went into torture mode.
(With me)
"That's not true! Shadow would never say that!"
I shook my head.
I heard a faint laughter and I opened my eyes.
I was back in my capsule and everyone, except Xipho and Breeze who were asleep, were looking at either me or Jwan.
"How did you enjoy your torture session?"
Alpha laughed.
"Jwan!"
I couldn't melt my way through the restraints.
This was reality.
"Don't worry. You will all come out soon to have a bit of sleep in the dungeons before I kill you."
Alpha gave Jwan a bit more time on the gas then released us into the dungeons.
"Are you okay?"
I
asked Jwan.
"No, I don't have any coffee."
Breeze growled.
"Not you, you didn't get tortured. In fact you fell asleep while I was being tortured."
I snarled.
"So? You weren't doing anything."
It actually made a bit of sense.
I went back to Jwan.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay? You weren't exactly having the best time with verbal abuse."
She looked worried.
"I'm good."
I smiled.
Even though the truth was, I was still a little weak in the knees.
I sat next to her.
None of us, except Breeze and Xipho, could get any sleep.
"You feelin' okay, Jwan?"
Shadow asked sitting next to me.
"Yeah."
She smiled.
"What about you Maria?"
"I'm uh, fine."
It was weird having to switch from evil to good like that.
Jwan and I talked about my dreams once Shadow had left.
"It must've hurt. I don't know what I would do if Carlos said something like that to me."
Jwan said making pictures in the dirt floor with a twig she found.
"I'm fine now."
I looked at Shadow who had apparently been looking at me.
He looked away quickly,
"I don't think so."
Tikal sat next to me.
"Why aren't you talking to Knux? You two do everything together."
Jwan was still focused on her drawing.
"He's calling me a traitor for that thing earlier when he said my death would be less painful."
She rolled her eyes.
None of us were really worried.
Truth was, we'd been in some sticky situations.
And none of those bad guys had to use a manual.
I mean, we were pretty freaked out, until the manual thing.
We were pretty sure we were gonna make it out alive.
And if we didn't, Jwan would bring us back.
Or, maybe I would.
But not Breeze.