He was surrounded by darkness.
He had felt a seering pain, and was devoured by light, but now, there was nothing but cold, empty darkness.
Where am I?
Am I…dead?
"Well, duh. I don't think anybody could've survived that sort of explosion at a close range."
Sonic the Hedgehog turned to where the voice had come from, and found himself staring Death in the face.
Death was a lot….shorter than he had imagined.
She was a small white hedgehog, probably the same age as Cream, wearing a black party dress and matching shoes. She stared at him for a moment before she went back to writing something on a clipboard.
"Um….who are you?"
Without looking up, the hedgehog responded, "I'm Death, who'd you think I am?"
Sonic blinked. This girl, this KID, was supposed to be Death? One of the most feared beings on the planet?
"Ok, Sonic the Hedgehog. Age 15, death by explosion, no surviving relatives, everything checks out." The girl looked up from her clipboard and motioned to Sonic. "Well, come on. You don't want to float around here for the rest of eternity, do you?"
"Uh…Where exactly is here?"
Death sighed. They all asked the same questions, didn't they? "We're in The Void. It's a plane of existence between the worlds of the living and dead. It's the only thing separating them, and the only place with access to both, with proper transportation. I just make sure you get to the afterlife safely and don't float here forever." With that, the girl known as Death began to float away from Sonic.
So it was true.
He was dead.
But he couldn't just move on and accept it, could he? He had so many questions. What happened to Eggman? What were his real plans? Did he plan on killing him from the start? Was Amy ok?
Amy…
"Well, come on! The sooner we get out of here, the sooner you can be judged."
Death's voice snapped Sonic out of his thoughts. It reminded him where he was, and for now, he was going to have to do whatever this girl told him to until he could figure out what was going on.
Wait…
What was being judged?
"Sonic the Hedgehog, you have been brought forth to the Afterlife Judges to determine your place in the land of the dead. How do you plead?"
Sonic was confused. He was in a large courtroom, facing a panel of judges so tall; he couldn't even see their faces. He didn't know what to say or do. For once, everything was moving to fast for him, and he wasn't sure what to do next.
"Uhh….not guilty? I guess?" He watched and listened as the faceless judges whispered to each other, determining his fate.
"Sonic. You have spent your whole life dedicated to the protection of innocent people, and you lose your life doing that. The people of earth regarded you as a hero. We've made mistakes before, however, so we need to know why. Why did you spend your life risking it for people you've never met, when you could have easily let somebody else risk their neck to save yours?"
Sonic sighed. This question had come up a few times when he was alive, and he still didn't know the answer. He wasn't sure what would happen if he said that, though, so he decided to answer as best as he could.
"I'm…not really sure. All my life, I've been protecting people. I just can't stand to watch Eggman or anybody else hurt innocent people. I was born with a gift, and I figured it could be used to help people. I never really thought about why I did it, but I can't stand to see people in trouble. I guess that's why I'm here in the first place….I didn't think about what I was doing, and I just rushed off because I knew Eggman was up to no good. If I had thought about what I did beforehand….maybe I'd still be alive…"
The faceless judges were silent, absorbing what Sonic had said. Then, they began to whisper for another minute as they decided Sonic's fate.
"Sonic the Hedgehog, we deem you worthy of entering the afterlife. You may procede."
Procede to where? Sonic was confused again. Where was the afterlife, and how did he get there?
But he didn't need to know how. Everything around him began to fade away, like it was melting. The cold, unfeeling courtroom where his fate had been determined was being replaced by…the Mystic Ruins?
Sonic couldn't believe it. He was in the Mystic Ruins!
He was home!
Sonic just stared in disbelief at his surroundings. This was impossible! How could he be in the Mystic Ruins if he was dead?
And then it hit him.
The Ruins were whole. It was a minor detail, but it was enough to tell him that he was not in the Mystic Ruins.
It was enough to tell him he was still dead, and he was never going to see his home again.
Sonic sighed. He had known that he was dead. But he had been clinging onto a sliver of hope, secretly praying to wake up from his nightmare and be in the hospital, Amy at his side.
He slowly wandered through the 'ruins', seeing other souls like him. They seemed….adjusted, like they had all accepted their deaths and moved on. The dead were living on as if nothing happened to them at all.
But he couldn't just….accept his death! There were still things he hadn't done yet that he'd never have the chance to do!
He'd never be able to stop Eggman once and for all.
He'd never be able to beat that faker Shadow in a race.
He'd never see any of his friends again.
He'd never be able to tell Amy that….
That he did love her, and he had only been trying to protect her. He'd never be able to tell her he was sorry, and that he wanted to be with her.
Forever.
Sonic slowly walked to the cliff where Tails' workshop would have been; absorbing everything he had seen and heard. When he reached the cliff, he sat down, and did something he hadn't done since he was five.
He cried.
All the anger and confusion and sadness he'd felt since the explosion was released, and he didn't care who saw him.
He didn't know how long he stayed like that, crying and hating himself and Eggman. He probably would have stayed like that forever, until…
"…Shadow?"
