Nightmare or Vision?
Author's Note: Just another one-shot, based on Sonic Forces in an another what-if story, which includes the IDW comics and Spoilers of Issue 31(this is real since I saw the first preview of it and it just ruined it for me, so I'm going to ignore it once I find out about Issue 32 and then stop reading them and pretend they don't exist) and most likely the rest of the comic series. So to avoid spoilers and wait until Issue 31 and 32 to come out(the latter most likely set for next month), do not read.
Other than that, enjoy!
I don't own any rights to Sonic the Hedgehog.
"No...No...No, please..." Sonic whimpered in his sleep, tossing and turning as he rested against a tree in the Fields. His heart raced, his breathing becoming too quick and faint, imagines of the nightmare that seemed to go on forever filled his mind which frightened him. Sweat began to form on his face and slide down. "Who...who am I? S-Sonic the Hedgehog?"
"Sonic? Sonic, are you okay?" A familiar young boy's voice called out, sounding very worried and scared.
One that Sonic actually recognized. So much so that, finally finding the light within the darkness and seeing the image of the shillouette of a fox cub with two tails, racing over towards him, the hedgehog's eyes blinked open before fully opening as he gasped sharply and jolted upright. Sonic panted, his heart still racing as he looked around, a bit disorientated but thankfully he remembered...everything.
In front of him was the same two-tailed fox who gazed at him worriedly, along with a pink girl hedgehog and a red echidna. They were all in the plains of a nice sunny day, the grass being fresh and green and he felt as though he'd only just been sleeping here for a little while. Sonic gulped when these people muttered his name, and despite what he just witnessed, he remembered them instantly.
"Tails...Amy...Knuckles...What happened?" He hesitantly asked. Sonic did remember taking a nap at this very spot after he and Tails saved the world from the Zeti on the Lost Hex, and then...months later, Eggman found the Phantom Ruby, creating a fake army of clones from almost every monster and villains Sonic had faced, and even a close ally like Shadow. Even Zavok he faced on the Death Egg after being imprisoned on it for six months was a fake.
Then there was the war during that time, a Rookie saved him, he joined the battle to get 99% of the planet back, meeting his alternate self, winning, Sonic himself going around the world to finish the job, Eggman losing his memories after his latest defeat and taking on the nice persona Mr. Tinker, before being found by Dr. Starline who restored it, Eggman creating the Metal Virus which effected almost all of the world's population and turning them into Zombots, the blue hedgehog being affected as well, the Deadly Six returning, Zavok turning into a giant with a Chaos Emerald, Sonic and Silver both using the Chaos Emeralds after getting them back to become Super which cured Sonic and soon the rest of the world...
The Warp Topaz combined with the overloaded power of Chaos Control exploding, swallowing Sonic who would then crash land into Blaze's world and then came the most horrible part; Sonic had lost his memory permenantly, taking on the name Mr. Needlemouse for a while before Blaze let him burrow the power of the Sol Emeralds to get him home which engulfed him in flames, he saved everyone but was told that he would never remember anything from his past ever again. He had decided to rejoin the resistance despite this, and hanged out with Tails like old times, the new mysterious villains to fight and then things took a turn for the worst.
It wsa then that Tails' voice jogged Sonic's memory and then...he woke up here and now, much to his utter relief, he remembered everything, like it all had been a bad dream...
"You were sleeping for half an hour since we got back from the Lost Hex and you looked like you were having a nightmare." Tails explained.
"Half an hour? Wait...that can't be right. It's been a year since you and me were on the Lost Hex." Sonic stated, feeling a bit of a dread and panic. "You know. The War, the Phantom Ruby, the Metal Virus...!"
"Hey, calm down! You're acting all crazy here!" Knuckles shouted, grabbing hold of his friend's shoulders and shook him to have Sonic get a grip.
"Sonic, you were having a nightmare." Amy reassured.
"Everything's okay, Sonic. There are no wars or viruses or any phantom rubies around." Tails added.
Sonic froze, gazing at his friends in shock. Had it really been nothing but a long, fear-inducing nightmare? Or was it...a vision of the future that was somehow gifted to him during the time when he and his friends had to stop the Time Eater? It looked and even felt so real, that he shakily placed a hand onto his head to reassure himself that all of his memories were intact. He felt torn, confused, uneasy and...frightened.
"...I don't feel so good." He moaned, getting a queasy feeling in his stomach. This worried his friends as they shared alarmed and worried glances, wondering if the nightmare has scared him so much. Frankly, both Tails and Amy found the War and the unusual Metal Virus parts Sonic had mentioned terrifying.
Sonic had to fight back the urge to throw up, memories of the nightmare or vision was still clear as day, and what terrified him the most was...his loss against Eggman, letting him go as Mr. Tinker which lead to the creation of the Metal Virus, losing his memories like his enemy did except there was nothing to help Sonic get his memory back until finding himself here just half an hour after defeating Eggman on the Lost Hex. Guilt began to rise up in his chest, paranoia, and panic came along with it. He didn't know what to do.
For the first time in his life, he felt...so lost like a scared young child.
"Sonic?" Knuckles muttered, bending on one knee to try and figure out what was going on, and was shocked when his friend looked up at him, his emerald eyes full of tears.
Unable to hold it back despite feeling more than a little humiliated, Sonic threw himself into his friend's chest, his arms around the older teenager, and sobbed on the echidna's shoulder. Knuckles' eyes widened in sheer bewilderment, as he, Tails and Amy who were just as shocked and even more worried, witnessed the usually optimistic hero break down in such a way.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Sonic sobbed, guilt over what happened to world, to his friends who he almost lost today forever, and the terrifying ordeal he witnessed in his sleep swallowing him whole. "It's all my fault!"
Not sure what to do other than try and comfort him, Tails over and hugged his surrogate big brother as well, as did Amy who restrained from going into a bone-crushing hug and instead gave him a much more gentler and comforting one. Knuckles, feeling awkward in this situation, reluctantly did the same and rubbed the distraught blue hedgehog's back.
They stayed like this for a long while, waiting for Sonic the Hedgehog to calm down.
Two hours later, after Sonic finally settled, but still felt uneasy and nauseous, the four friends decided to visit Cream and Vanilla to see if they could help since Sonic refused to see any doctor. He pleaded his friends to not go, and despite that a crowd may be too much given his condition, he requested for the Chaotix and Team Dark to come over, the blue hedgehog explaining he needed to tell them something extremely important as he was still uncertain about his nightmare simply being that or a sign of a warning.
Sonic was seated in an arm chair, for once not in the mood for running which worried everyone even more. Amy, Cream and Cheese were seated on a couch, Knuckles sitting on the other with Tails, and while it took a while, the Chaotix and Team Dark, hearing the urgency from Tails' message that Sonic need to tell all of them something, had finally arrived and stood or took seats around the group of Team Sonic and two members of Team Rose.
Amy and Cream helped the latter's mother to bring in some tea and cookies, though Sonic opted out due to his upset stomach. Instead, he was given Mint Tea to settle it.
"There you are, Sonic This will help with the nausea." Vanilla kindly offered the cup to the grateful teenager who took it.
"Thanks, Mrs. Vanilla." Sonic replied sincerely to the very kind and gentle mother of one of his friends, and blew the hot liquid carefully before taking a sip. It was bitter and he definitely tasted the mint, but he didn't want to end up losing his lunch, especially in the motherly rabbit's house. He can handle it. The gross taste(in his opinion) of the Mint Tea was nothing compared to what he and his friends have been through and definitely nothing compared to the nightmare or vision.
Plus almost instantly, the nausea began to slowly settle once the tea's liquid landed in his stomach.
"Feeling a little better, dear?" Vanilla asked, and Sonic nodded with a soft smile.
"So what is it that you felt the need to tell all of us that made you have an upset stomach?" Shadow questioned, impatiently.
"Well, this started after Sonic woke up from a nightmare which left him spooked." Knuckles shrugged, his arms folded to his chest.
That confused everyone that hadn't witnessed Sonic's episode, making them have different reactions, with Charmy stating. "I never heard of anybody getting sick from nightmares."
"You called us here just to talk about a nightmare?" Shadow asked in disbelief.
"Sonic's stress levels have reached a maximum of 65%, dropping and growing as we speak." Omega stated, scanning Sonic's body tempreture and things like that.
"It must be a very awful nightmare, Mr. Sonic." Cream said, feeling very worried, with Cheese, who was in her arms, echoing her thoughts.
"I dunno, Cream. It...felt too real to simply be a nightmare. Like it was happening, or maybe I was seeing things that could or will happen in the future." Sonic muttered, uneasily.
"Can you tell us what you saw that made you very concerned?" Espio requested, frowning deeply at this.
Sonic nodded, and explained how the dream began, from the war which had Eggman take over the planet by 99% with only 1% being protected by everyone else in the room, explaining everything in much detail as possible, winning the war, then the Metal Virus and then just moments after that was destroyed, Sonic himself permanently losing his memories before Tails woke him up.
Needless to say everyone was deathly silent over what the hero had seen in his sleep, sharing expression mixed with fear, worry, concern, and deep thoughts. Cream and Cheese were frightened, Tails shivered, Amy, Vanilla, and even Rouge both covered their mouths in horror, Knuckles looked uneasy, Charmy looking hysterical, Vector sweat dropping with his mouth opened in shock, Omega being silent, Espio and Shadow both looking shocked and deeply concerned with frowns.
"I never heard of a Phantom Ruby, but for Eggman to use it's power to conquer the world...and then create this Metal Virus that turns people into what you call Zombots...it leaves me uneasy." Shadow admitted. Worst part was for the Ultimate Life-Form, he could actually see it happen, especially since how Sonic saw him become a Zombot.
"It is very concerning. What makes you think it was a vision of an apocalypse coming and your permanent memory loss, Sonic?" Espio questioned.
"No idea." Sonic shook his head, gazing at his reflection in the cup of tea. "Except, maybe with the whole Time Eater thing made me see all of that. Or maybe it already did happen and...I don't know. I was sent back in time, maybe?"
"You mean like your future soul time-traveled back to today which made you get your memories back?" Tails theorized.
The blue hedgehog shrugged. "Maybe. It's just...After what I saw, I don't want it to happen in real life. What if the Phantom Ruby is real and Eggman would find it to cause all of this, and...I accidentally trigger the Metal Virus and end up losing my memories for the rest of my life?"
Sonic shivered a little, closing his eyes at the very thought of losing his memories, and his future/dream-self being so disgustingly calm about it which shook him to the very core of his heart.
"I...I don't wanna forget any of you guys." Sonic muttered, taking another sip of his tea to calm his nerves.
"You would end up like I did, except...there would be no way of you getting your memories back." Shadow muttered, knowing what his rival was feeling. The younger hedgehog slowly nodded at him.
Charmy gulped nervously. "That's gotta be the worst nightmare ever."
"I don't even think it is just a nightmare, Charmy." Sonic sighed, tightening his grip on the cup slightly. "This is something we can't ignore. If Eggman does find the Phantom Ruby...it's all over."
The blue hedgehog shifted a little in his seat, remembering how his carelessness caused those events he saw. It hurt because he saw how...cocky and uncaring he had been right up until his friends in the nightmare or vision became affected by the Metal Virus, his poor choices leading to the situation getting worse. A lot of times he could handle fights on his own, and sometimes they had been fun.
But seeing what may actually happen made him realize that his desire for freedom and fun and not thinking about other people's feelings would cause absolute disaster. Being too overconfident that would cost him a heavy price. Fresh new tears began to form, memories of almost losing Tails, the temporary deaths of Amy and Knuckles before life was returned to the planet, and the memories of the vision/nightmare, seeing everyone who lost friends or loved ones due to his actions forming in his mind and made him feel extremely guilty.
'How could I be so selfish and careless? What kind of friend and hero am I?' He thought, disgusted with himself, and feeling so horrible. He knew then that, as much as he craved for freedom and adventures, the world will never be truly free as long as Eggman was around.
Wiping away his tears, Sonic looked up to all of his friends and allies, attempting to mask his guilt with a pleading look in his eyes, and a firm expression on his muzzle, saying. "More than anything, I can't do this alone. I'm gonna need your help, from all of you and if it is the future, we have to do everything we can to prevent it. So please, I'm begging you. Can you help me with this and stop Eggman from taking over the world?"
All of Sonic's friends shared glances, seeing how serious he was about this, which, given the unusual nightmare that did sound like a prophecy that would soon become a reality, everyone nodded with similar looks.
"You can count me in, Sonic." Tails declared.
"If Eggman thinks he's going to take over our home, he's got more eggs in his brain than we thought." Amy stated.
"I'm not so sure whether this is true or not, but it's better to be safe than sorry. So, you can count on me, Sonic." Knuckles responded.
"We'll take the case and help ya' with this, Sonic!" Vector declared.
"Agreed. It is best to make sure and prevent such disaster." Espio nodded.
"I don't wanna turn into a Zombot, and there's no way I'm letting that bad man take over the world, either! I'm in!" Charmy added.
"I don't like the sound of what you saw, Sonic. So as an expert of secret spy skills, I'm your girl for job." Rouge added.
"Affirmative. Dr. Eggman must be anhillated." Omega said.
Shadow nodded, "It is best to stop Eggman now while we still have a chance."
"We can help you too, Mr. Sonic!" Cream added, with Cheese agreeing.
"And so will I. You have my support, Sonic." Vanilla said, placing a comforting hand onto the teenage hedgehog's shoulder.
Sonic smiled in relief, glad that things were starting to look up. "Thank you. Couldn't ask for better friends like you guys."
While Sonic had no idea if the nightmare was just that or a vision, he knew that not only he had to prevent it with the help from his friends, but at the same time, he had to change for the better, for the sake of everyone he cared about, and for the sake of the world.
It was his duty as a hero.
Months later, as Sonic and his friends had formed the true Resistance just in case, they had carefully kept an eye on Eggman's latest scheme with the aid from GUN, stopping his other evil plan along the way while watching out for any signs of the Phantom Ruby and Infinite. Tails by then had built a Phantom Ruby device despite that he didn't know of it's illusionary energy.
To their luck, as Sonic and Tails scanned around the Angel Island, they picked up an unusual signal to which Knuckles, keeping an eye on the Master Emerald as well as tabs on the situation, called them to come over quick. The duo made it just as an unusual portal in front of the giant gem began to close and the Guardian stared down in shock at the ruby large gem with black markings on it emerge. Sonic and Tails raced up after hoping out of the Tornado 1 and stood by their friend's side. When they saw the Gem itself, Sonic's heart dropped.
"Is...Is that...?" Tails trailed off, shocked as he remembered how Sonic described the gem in front of them.
"Sonic, is that-" Knuckles began.
"It is...!" Sonic replied, uncharacteristically shaky upon seeing the horribly familiar gem, taking a couple steps back in fear. "It's the Phantom Ruby! It's real! The nightmare...it was showing me the future!"
"Sonic, calm down!" Tails pleaded even though he was close in having a panic attack himself, while Knuckles looked on in disbelief.
Realizing that he was going into a meltdown, Sonic shook his head to snap himself out of it, and inhaled before exhaling to calm down. He smiled gratefully at his younger friend who nodded.
"Okay, so the Phantom Ruby is here. Now what do we do?" Knuckles asked, shrugging with one shoulder.
Sonic knew the answer to that one, and simply told them firmly, glaring at the evil gem that appeared out of nowhere. "We destroy it. That thing's too dangerous to be in anybody's hands. It's gonna be risky in getting rid of it, but I don't want Eggman or Infinite or anybody else to get their grubby hands on it."
"Is that you thought it would be a good idea to find the Chaos Emeralds for the last few months?" The red echidna asked, curiously.
"I couldn't think of a safer-ish way to get rid of this thing. Even though it might be the case of causing a huge explosion, I end up caught in it, sent to another dimension as the best case scenario and...maybe end up losing my memories as a cost." The blue hedgehog replied, uneasily.
"Maybe you should send it to another dimension where nobody can find it and only the three of us would know." Tails suggested. "We have no idea how dangerous it will be and if what you said is true, we still need the Emeralds to find your other self and get him home."
While Sonic felt uncomfortable with that idea, as someone else evil may use it to their gains, it was a safer option, and he didn't fancy on being sent to another dimension himself and be rendered with amnesia in the process.
"I don't like that idea, but you're right, Tails. We don't have a choice." Sonic replied after a moment or two of silence.
After another few moments and relieved to have found the Chaos Emeralds for this, Sonic and his friends carried the Phantom Ruby away from the Master Emerald before placing it on the grass in a safe distance before taking away as far as possible but also close enough.
"Stand back, guys." Sonic ordered, and both Tails and Knuckles, the former worried about the blue hedgehog, did as they were told. Sonic then closed his eyes and focused hard, mentally channeling the Chaos Energy to harness the Emeralds' powers. It wasn't long before they spun around him and, feeling the familiar energy soar inside his body, the young hedgehog let it overtake him and with a burst of energy, he transformed into Super Sonic, fur all golden, and eyes ruby red.
Super Sonic glared at the Phantom Ruby in disdain, determined to keep it away from this world and every other world that had life in them.
'You were the cause of so many horrible things that were about to happen. I don't know where you came from, but obviously someone else tried to use you. Never again! I'm gonna send you into a place where it's empty and no one will find you or use your evil power. I command you, Phantom Ruby, to begone!' The golden hedgehog thought, holding out his hands and focused on his burrowed power, levitating back to a safe distance just in case.
"Chaos Control!" Super Sonic chanted, glowering brighter in his golden aura.
Focusing on teleporting the evil gem away, Super Sonic willed it to vanish into an empty dimension far, far away from everywhere else. The golden light surrounded the dark red and black crystal which began to lift into the air, his heart hammering as he prayed for it to just go away without causing such destruction or sucking him in along with it. He was scared, but he tried to push his fear aside, yet it was becoming more and more difficult. Memories of him seeing himself being sucked in by the Warp Topaz that exploded and permanently costed him his memories of his life resurfaced.
'Don't flow the Chaos Power into the Ruby. Just send it away, and have me stay here.' Super Sonic thought, focusing really hard. Maybe he should've asked Shadow to come with, just in case. He couldn't ask Silver because the time-traveling hedgehog was in the future right now.
Much to his relief, the Phantom Ruby turned into light before vanishing into dust, sent far, far away as he wished. Waiting hesitantly for those nervous few minutes in case some kind of portal would open up and suck him in, Sonic finally relaxed and allowed himself to drop gently onto the ground, falling onto his knees and hands, panting as the Emeralds' power left him, their job done for the time time, and as the Chaos Emeralds circled around him, they flew into seven different parts of the world to be hidden once more.
"Sonic!" Tails and Knuckles cried out, racing over to their friend, and knelt by his side.
"Are you okay?" Knuckles asked, concerned, placing a hand onto the blue hedgehog's back.
Sonic didn't respond straight away, but after a moment to catch his breath, he looked up at the red echidna with a tired and relieved smile, giving him and Tails a thumbs up, before saying. "Well...The Ruby's gone. That's phase one in changing the future all set. We'll meet up with the...others for...phase two after I've...rested a little."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Tails asked, worriedly.
"Yeah. I'll be fine." Sonic replied, smiling warmly at his adoptive little brother, before pulling him into a hug which surprised the young fox. "Tails..."
He then pulled Knuckles into the group hug, adding. "Knuckles...Thanks a bunch, guys. You're both my best buds and bros. I can't think of a life without any of you or everybody else. I love ya's."
Tails smiled emotionally and returned the hug, while Knuckles smirked and gave the blue hedgehog a thumbs up. Sonic's smile grew, tears forming in his eyes and while it was embarrassing, he decided to let them slide free to show off just how happy he was to have pulled this miracle off with the aid of his friends, happy that he was still here, his memories still intact and one step closer in preventing such disasters.
Eight months later, thanks to Team Dark and Team Rose, Team Sonic foiled Eggman's most dangerous scheme after learning that he intended on using a powerful artifact to take over the world, and with Sonic finally deciding that it was time for the evil doctor to be locked away for good, destroyed all of his designs and robots, which, somewhat regrettably, included Orbot and Cubot since would break their creator out before locking him up in the Asylum at the deepest parts so that way he would never escape.
Afterwards, Sonic's 'Classic' self arrived via his own dealings with Robotnik and the Phantom Ruby. 'Modern' Sonic and his friends searched around for the Chaos Emeralds while getting to know the younger Sonic who got along with his older counterpart as well as Tails, and Shadow's group found and locked up Dr. Starline in another Asylum due to Sonic telling him that having the evil Playtupus close to Eggman would only trigger the Metal Virus. Ultimately, the black hedgehog agreed. After a week of searching and sharing a tearful goodbye since things have been quite peaceful since both Eggman and Dr. Starline were locked up, along with the two thugs in another prison under GUN heavy guards, Sonic helped 'Classic' Sonic to get back home.
With all the immediate and dangerous threats now settled at long last, the world was still in it's peaceful state and despite that the Deadly Six were still around, they had no way of arriving from the Lost Hex at all which meant that Sonic's world was safe and finally free.
As such, Sonic raced around for another brief adventure to enjoy the new sense of freedom, visiting friends he hasn't seen in a while before finally arriving home two weeks later, relaxing in the Green Hill Zone at his favorite spot underneath the tree. It was still hard to believe that a dark vision of the future would have actually helped him to prevent it from happening, but he was glad that he paid attention to it, and now felt a lot more closer to his friends than ever before, spending more time in actually listening to their feelings and sympathizing them.
"This is living. The real world is way past cool. No War, no Zombots, no memory losses, no dangerous evil villains...I love my life." Sonic remarked to himself, taking in the pleasant feeling of the wind gently blowing against his face and quills, it could easily put him to sleep.
"Good morning, Mr. Sonic!"
Blinking at a familiar young girl's voice calling out to him, Sonic looked up and a pleasent smile lit up as he saw Cream and Cheese race over with a picnic basket.
"Hiya, Cream. How're doin', Cheese?" Sonic greeted with a wave. "You guys goin' on a picnic or somethin'?"
"Mm-hm! Cheese and I are going with Amy and Tails over the Park. You want to come with us?" Cream replied and asked.
A bright, excited smile grew and while the blue hedgehog knew that he was in for Amy's obsession with him as usual, a picnic sounded like a great idea which lightened his mood even more. Plus it was a beautiful day, and you couldn't ask for a better time than this.
"Sure, I'd love to." Sonic replied, standing up which made his youngest friend and her best Chao friend cheer happily, hugging him which made the blue hedgehog laugh before returned the hug.
As Sonic followed his two friends to met with their respective best friends, the blue hedgehog carefully but excitedly carrying Cream and Cheese and the baskest to meet with Tails and Amy, he felt like his life, maybe a bit boring without some action but he can easily find it wherever he went, has gotten even better and more peaceful.
He couldn't ask for a better life than this.
THE END.
A/N: Again, not my best one-shot, but after seeing the preview of Sonic IDW Issue 31, and *Spoilers Alert* Sonic to permanently lose his memories(that's what I can feel it will most likely happen, or we have to wait for another two years until the new Saga ends which results in Sonic to hopefully get his memories back) pretty much made me not want to read them anymore, so I'm going to pretend the IDW comics never happened.
Plus I never liked Sonic Lost World or Sonic Forces anyway, but I felt the need to do this for a much better and happier ending.
See you later!