Chapter 2

Sonic was prepared for what was to come.

Most of the last year had been spent honing his body and mind to prepare for the challenges ahead, like Elder Nomur had instructed. It took a lot longer than he'd like, but he was taking no chances.

He is the Champion of Mobius. The one who will journey to the demon realm of Mareth, and guarantee the safety of his friends and family, even though he'll most likely never see them again. He wipes away a tear at the thought as he enters the courtyard and sees Elder Nomur waiting for him.

"I'm ready."

The Elder nods and begins to walk away, Sonic swiftly following him.

The walk to the tainted cave is long and silent. Elder Nomur does not speak. There is nothing left to say. The two of them journey in companionable silence. Slowly the black rock of Mount Ilgast looms closer and closer, and the temperature of the air drops. Sonic shivers and glances at the Elder, noticing he doesn't betray any sign of the cold. Despite his age of nearly 80, he maintains the vigor of a man half his age. Sonic was glad for the man's strength, as assisting him across this distance would be draining, and the hedgehog must save his energy for the trials ahead.

The entrance of the cave gapes open, sharp stalactites hanging over the entrance, giving it the appearance of a monstrous mouth. Elder Nomur stops and nods to Sonic, gesturing for him to proceed alone. Sonic nods back and enters.

There's no turning back now…

The cave is unusually warm and damp, and his body reacts with a sense of growing warmth focusing in his groin, his manhood hardening for no apparent reason. Sonic was warned of this and pressed forward, ignoring his body's growing needs. A glowing purple-pink portal swirls and flares with demonic light along the back wall.

"This must be it." He says to himself. "It's now or never."

Cringing, Sonic pressed forward, keenly aware that his body seems to be anticipating coming in contact with the tainted magical construct. Closing his eyes, Sonic gathers his resolve and leaps forward. Vertigo overwhelms him and he blacks out.

...

The hedgehog wakes with a splitting headache and a body full of burning desire. A shadow darkens his view momentarily and his training kicks in. He rolls to the side across the bare ground and leaps to his feet. A surprised looking imp stands a few feet away, holding an empty vial. He's completely naked, an improbably sized pulsing red cock hanging between his spindly legs.

Sonic flushes with desire as a wave of lust washes over him, his mind reeling as he fights the urge to ram his own cock down the imp's throat. The strangeness of the thought both surprises and frightens him.

This is gonna be harder than I thought.

"I'm amazed you aren't already chasing down my cock, hedgehog." The imp mocks. "The last 'Champion' was an eager whore for me by the time she woke up. This lust draft made sure of it."

The imp shakes the empty vial to emphasize his point. Sonic reels in shock at this revelation - he just entered the demon realm and he's already been drugged! Sonic trembles with the aching need in his groin, but resist, righteous anger lending him strength.

"You little shit!" He growled. "You'll pay for that!"

In desperation, the hedgehog leaps towards the imp, watching with glee as his cocky smile changes to an expression of sheer terror. The smaller creature is no match for Sonic's brute strength as he pummels him mercilessly. Sonic picked up the diminutive demon and punts him into the air, frowning grimly as he spreads his wings and begins speeding into the distance.

"FOOL!" The imp shrieked. "You could have had pleasure unending... but should we ever cross paths again you will regret humiliating me! Remember the name Zetaz, as you'll soon face the wrath of my master!"

"Bring it on, then!" The blue one shouted after him. "I ain't afraid! This is what I trained for!"

The imp says nothing and instead flies away like the coward he is, making the hedgehog smirk in satisfaction.

Sonic's pleasure at defeating the demon ebbs as he considers how he's already been defiled. He swears to himself he will find the demon responsible for doing this to him and the other 'Champions', and destroy him AND his pet imp.

Sonic looks around, surveying the hellish landscape as he plots his next move. The portal is a few yards away, nestled between a formation of rocks. It does not seem to exude the arousing influence it had on the other side. The ground and sky are both tinted different shades of red, though the earth beneath his feet feels as normal as any other lifeless patch of dirt. Sonic settles on the idea of making a camp here and fortifying this side of the portal. No demons will ravage his beloved hometown on his watch. His friends were counting on him.

It does not take long to set up his tent and a few simple traps. The hedgehog will need to explore and gather more supplies to fortify it any further. Perhaps he will even manage to track down the demons who have been abducting the other champions!

His campsite is fairly simple at the moment. His tent and bedroll are set in front of the rocks that lead to the portal. He has a small fire pit as well. He has a number of traps surrounding his makeshift home, but they are fairly simple and may not do much to deter a demon. The portal shimmers in the background as it always does, looking menacing and reminding the hedgehog of why he came.

It's light outside, a good time to explore and forage for supplies with which to fortify his camp.

"I suppose I should go." He sighed. "I won't accomplish anything by just standing here."

Sonic tentatively steps away from his campsite, alert and scanning the ground and sky for danger. He walks for the better part of an hour, marking the rocks he passes for a return trip to his camp. It worries him that the portal has an opening on this side, and it was totally unguarded.

Not a second after he thought about the portal, Sonic finds himself shocked to see his campsite in front of him, even though he literally just left it behind him.

The portal's glow is clearly visible from inside the tall rock formation. Looking carefully Sonic sees his footprints leaving the opposite side of his camp, then disappearing. He looks back the way he came and sees his markings vanish before his eyes. The implications boggles his mind as he does his best to mull over them.

Distance, direction, and geography seem to have little meaning here, yet the hedgehog's campsite remains exactly as he left it. A few things click into place as he realizes he found his way back just as he was mentally picturing the portal!

"Perhaps memory influences travel here, just like time, distance, and speed would in the real world!" Sonic exclaimed excitedly.

This won't help him at all with finding new places, but at least he can get back to camp quickly. Sonic sighs, determined to stay focused the next time he explores and learns how to traverse this gods-forsaken realm.

"Ok, now that I know how to get back, let's try this again." He says as he heads off again, determined to find new terrain.

The blue blur walks for quite some time, roaming the hard-packed and pink-tinged earth of the demon-realm. Rust-red rocks speckle the wasteland, as barren and lifeless as anywhere else he's been. A cool breeze suddenly brushes against his face, as if gracing him with its presence. The hedgehog turns towards it and is confronted by the lush foliage of a very old looking forest.

Sonic smiles as the plants look fairly familiar and non-threatening. Unbidden, he remembers his decision to test the properties of this place, and thinks of his campsite as he walks forward. Reality seems to shift and blur, making him dizzy, but after a few minutes he's back.

"Hmm." He hums to himself. "Surely I can travel this way to any terrain I find rather quickly. Let's test it."

Sonic starts walking again, thinking about the forest, until suddenly, he's ambushed by an imp!

"Holy shit!" Sonic cries out in alarm.

The imp is short, only a few feet tall. An unkempt mane of shaggy black hair hangs from his head, parted by two short curved horns. His eyes are solid black, save for tiny red irises which glow with evil intent. His skin is bright red, and unencumbered by clothing or armor, save for a small loincloth at his belt. His feet are covered by tiny wooden sandals, and his hands tipped with sharp claws. A pair of tiny but functional wings occasionally flap from his back. He's in perfect health as he stares hungrily at the hedgehog.

"Ooh, a new champion." He hissed. "Mmm, and you smell of virginity too. Oh how I love the virgins. Their screams make me hard."

"Oh hell no!" Sonic growled. "You keep away from me, you creep!"

The imp laughs at the blue hedgehog's demand, making him growl in anger. On instinct, he rolls into a ball and spindashes at the imp, knocking the creature off his feet in surprise. Smirking, Sonic revs up another spindash and hits the imp again.

Hissing the imp quickly gets up and attacks back, slashing at the champion with his claws.

"Ack!" Sonic hisses as the imp is successful with slashing his side. He growls at the creature and swiftly roundhouse kicks him, sending across the clearing. The imp hisses and staggers back up.

"Just give in already, hedgehog." He hisses. "I promise I'll make it worth your while."

"Never!" Sonic growls, quickly spindashing him again.

The imp is seriously hurt now, close to death almost. One more hit should do it. Sonic smirks and revs up his spindash again, making this a nice long one. He suddenly shoots at the creature like a rocket, hitting him dead on.

He smiles in satisfaction as the imp collapses and begins masturbating feverishly. Sadly, he realizes his own needs have not been met. But of course, he could always rape the poor thing...

Sonic quickly shook his head, horrified with himself for even thinking that way. He growls at the imp.

"Don't get in my way again." He hisses.

"Oh trust me, I won't." The imp pants, never stopping his stroking for even a second. "But it won't be me that you have to worry about anymore. There are many creatures in this realm that would love to fuck such an azure beauty as yourself."

"I'd like to see them try."

And with that, said azure beauty began walking away.

"Oh, wait!" The imp calls back.

"What?" Sonic hisses back, turning around to face him. "Don't make me come back and finish killing you."

"Blue champion, there is a tradition in our land that all creatures respect." The imp explains.

"And what is that?"

"When a creature is defeated, they must give their opponent a gift." The imp reached into the pocket of his loincloth and held out some gems and a bottle of something. "Six gems and a bottle of incubi draft for the champion who defeated me."

"What does it do?" Sonic asked curiously as he accepted both.

"The gems are currency in our world." The imp explained. "The incubi draft, there are three things that you can do with it. Sell it, trade it, or drink it. If you drink it, you will turn into an incubi."

"Yeah, no thanks." Sonic shook his head as he placed the items in the brown pouch he brought. "I like being a hedgehog. Don't feel like being anything else. I'll either sell it or trade it." He looked back at the imp. "Thank you for these gifts."

"But of course. It is of tradition. Farewell blue champion. Continue on your quest, whether it's successful… or if you end up like the rest."