Hello one and all! I have returned from the void of inactivity! Sort of.
I have come back to this fated app to share what was originally intended to be a one-shot story that I wrote almost a year ago, but depending on response I may remake it or add more chapters! Guess we'll have to wait and see...
Anyways! So this is an au where Sonic actually was tortured on the Death Egg during those few months in forces, which as you can imagine would make the story a bit dark. But I wanted to tell it regardless, this is also why an OC is involved.
Please keep in mind that this is not my most recent work, so it may be hard to read at times but I still hope you guys enjoy!
Warning! This story contains some graphic scenes depicting slight blood and violence. Reader's discretion is advised.
The nearly earsplitting screeches of grinding metal echoed down the long narrow path to deafening hellspawn, their desperate shrieks pleading for mercy to the ear canals of any living being who was present within the inner bowels of the suffocatingly dark void. One by one, dismal fragments of once blazingly blinding sunlight flickered to life. It seemed as though they were almost magnets that had been pulled by the will of the darkness to the intolerably disgusting ceiling tiles.
Behind lonely greasy rusting bars of iron splinters, the shadow of a once bright soul shifted hastily within the confines of the void. A slight icy breeze breathed what little life it could through the tightly clenched jaws of the prison, if one had to madness to claim it was that anymore. Almost no flicker of light filtered through the once silky slab of glass the clearly neglectful owner had persistently insisted was a window. Nets of silky white cobwebs decorated the faces of the stone bricks that lined the pane.
The once shining stars that lay just beyond the grasp of reality were often gazed upon by exhausted and soulless emeralds that longed with willful heart yet decimated soul to join them. In a claustrophobicly tiny corner where debris dusted concrete bricks were forced to meet their maker, the faint rustling of iron-clad chains plagued the delicate air of the otherwise deafeningly empty chamber. The once peach-covered wrists of their captor were coated in a thick dark bath of shining crimson liquid. It leaked in small streams from the utterly gruesome holes that the shoddy iron shackles had torn from within the being of the now distorted figure.
The wrists of the aforementioned unfortunate creature belonged to a nearly completely broken spirit of dirty royal blue stature. A hero that had fallen head over broken knees at the unforgiving hands of the devil himself, forced to watch everything his heart had ever yearned for burn to the ground in the fiery pits of hell to which they would never return. Sonic opened the severely sagging lids of his exasperated eyes, only to reveal two pale and lifeless emeralds that gazed upon everything that was within the realm of what was still known with daggers of disdain and fear.
Chilling drops of icy water dripped unforgivingly from the drooling metallic pipe that perched proudly near the confines of the midnight roof. The disgusting liquid washing away the scars of its crimson counterpart drop by drop, leaving an unbearable wave of pain in its wake. Small waves of chills traveled down the fragile bones of the fallen hero, giving the darkness the pleasure of having his being shake, but only for a fleeting moment.
The petite echo of the chains that scraped against the waterlogged concrete slabs beneath his aching feet stained the air with unrelenting metallic shrieks. But it was not these mere simple unpleasantries that seemed to bother the hedgehog. What truly cut into his core more than the sharpest of icy silver blades, was the daily mental torture that was inflicted upon him by none other than the very one who brought him to his lowest breaking point.
The memory of the daily dose of doom was burned into his brain with the searing hot metal poker of reality, or what he now perceived was reality. After spending who knows how long questioning his sanity within the confines of an increasingly smaller chamber on a daily basis, the hedgehog had all but given up on trying to distinguish what was real anymore. Not even time seemed to hold a presence within his small scrap of sanity, for the shining stars of freedom always seemed to stay the same. Their cycle never changing in stature as they had once done on his home planet during the beautiful show of stardust and light they had loved to put on each and every night.
No. That distant, now lost sense of familiarity seemed like a lovely dream spell of near impossible proportions, far from the constricting grasp of unfogiving virtual reality. The suffocating plague of neon red lies that seemed to seep into his line of sight became the new 'normal' persay, not to imply that he at all enjoyed his sanity being violently stripped away from him little by little.
Nevertheless things seemed so different every excruciating day yet so much in the same likeness of the past. There had been no reason for the smoldering coals of hope to still be burning softly within his soul, but for some inexplicable reason, they had. Today they seemed irrefutably brighter than they had in the past month, yet the hedgehog could still not deduce why.
The daggers of fear soon pinned that thought to the back of his subconscious when the pour soul realized what time it was. Like mentioned earlier, he had no way of knowing, but the one way he did had come in the form of earsplitting screeches of metal grinding against the crumbling concrete that adorned the never ending prison halls.
Claws of metallic hell scratched at the surface of the iron clad bars which sparsely decorated the fallen saviour's cell. Unforgiving ruby red orbs of artificial substance drilled holes into the depths of his soul with harsh brutality. The dull emeralds of the captor stared back in utter indifference and defeat however, as if he simply did not give a care as to whatever he was about to be scolded about by the glorified shiny toaster standing outside his bedroom door.
"Prisoner 62391, your presence has been requested by the doctor."
The utterly unbearable robotic tone lectured him as the metal claws contorted into one utterly literal twisted key. Not one moment later the bars of iron scrappings gave way to a rush of musty air that imploded onto his facial features. "Please follow me or consequences will ensue." The robotic slave finished with nothing but a hearless pause.
Sonic did not utter a single word in response, only furrowing his brow at the sickeningly cold machine as if to say, "Are you really this stupid?" The robot spat out it's monotone warning a second time before Sonic quietly let out an exasperated sigh out of his exhausted lungs. Then he held up his toothpick arms with the iron shackles adorning them, rattling impatiently as they did so.
Somehow the robot seemed to get the sarcastic message through his sensors and cut the restraints free from their gruesome captors. Oh, the rush of adrenaline. Immediately after the shackles had released their iron grip, the warming touch of life suddenly rushed through his fingers with the most comforting embrace he had felt in what seemed like a lifetime.
The blue blur just couldn't resist the subconscious motion of closing his eyes in pure pleasure. And to any outside observer, it may have looked like the shining glow of life had returned to his eyes for the most fleeting of moments. That was, until it was stripped away from him by the cold, unforgiving jaws of the robotic soldier that he was unnervingly reminded to have been held captive by.
The shackles melded from shards of iron were replaced by shining chromium counterparts that clicked into place as if to hide the atrocities that their cousins had left behind. A thing band of neon azure energy stretched between the two bracelets with fizzling crackle of highly dangerous electrical energy. The azure hero held his wrists up in front of his sagginf features for quick inspection, actually eventually earning a slight touch of humor beneath his labored breath.
"Wow. Classy duds. This crap surely makes me feel more welcome in this hellhole. Hey can you do a favor for me and give my word to the doc for golden ones next time? I mean, I am his guest after all." He retorted. Somehow a scrap of broken humor had managed to survive the torrent of broken spirit shards that constantly rained down inside of him, but it would soon die just as quickly.
The metallic menace reared up and delivered a point blank blow to the back of the poor soul, the unmistakable sadistic glow of artificial crimson illuminated the broken features of Sonic's figure. The defeaning crack of a bone filled the musty air with an added sense of fear for any creature whom happened to be unfortunate enough to witness yet another routine rain check.
"Prisoner 62391, you are in violation of captives code. Move along or your punishment will become more severe."
The robotic tone echoed through his ear canals like the earpiercing shriek of nails on a chalk board. His nearly blurry field of vision was briefly filled with a constant ringing that nagged, with the strength of his mother, at his mind as a reminder of his unfortunate consciousness.
He knew he had to get his proverbial keister in gear quick or twinkle toes would keep his annoying routine up with more fun ways to send the same twisted message. Fortunately, it seemed that the metal head had only temporarily knocked the breath out of his lungs, for with a few more labored versions of their counterpart and a quick twist and click of the back, he was able to stand up straight. For the most part.
The chilling feeling of his metal claws pushing into Sonic's back was enough to make him lurch forward with a start, guiding his once cherry coated chargers down the dusty prison hall with annoyance laced in every fiber of his soles. A few times his grayed out emeralds briefly glanced over his shoulder at the badnik whom served as his superior. In any other circumstance there would be robotic wires sparkling all over the floor like a firework show, with a cocky grin to put the cherry on top of a nice sweet victory.
The fact that this simple pawn had dominion over him in the moment made his peach furred cheeks go hot to the touch with pure anger and thrist for revenge. Now that was a strange word to come from within the hero's mind. All the more reason he wanted to escape the deathly cold grasp of his enemies.
Speaking of which, the buckling of a shining metal door called his attention back to what now lay in front of his gaze. The sickly cold silhouette of a sadistic scientist layed strewn across the chromium armor of the tech that presented itself within the futuristic computer room. The aura he presented was all too familiar, making the hero choke back what would've been the largest sigh in existence.
"Geeze Eggbrain, nice job with the welcoming committee. I've had warmer treatment at the top of Mount Prisma." He toyed, the chilling grasp of the pawn finally letting up as he receded back into the darkness of the void.
The scientist only stared from underneath the faint illumination of his tech for the longest moment, his sadistic smile not faltering in the slightest. In fact, it eventually got so uncomfortable that the azure adventurer felt the subconscious urge to speak once more.
"Uhhh, I have to admit I'm surprised though. After months of hiding behind your pieces of scrap metal you finally decided to look me in the eye...coward." He mumbled the last bit. However, it was almost as if the doctor heard what he didn't have the nerve to say to his face in his condition for the dark silhouette emerged from it's perch and took a few steps closer.
Sonic swore he could've felt the disgustingly warm sensation of the evil scientist's breath on his face by the time his feet had finally decided to stop moving. But what he did next would no doubt only give life to more questions in the hero's overwhelmed mind. "You better shut your trap if you hope to live long enough to see the next day." He unforgivingly growled.
Then, a dismal robotic-like humming noise emerged from within the bowels of the other dark path to certain hell. In almost the blink of a normal eye a blood red ruby glow seeped into the air and suffocated the remaining bits of oxygen to death with hostility and a tainted aura. The illuminated features of the captor of said inhumane jewl of pure power and untamed wrath.
The doctor grew unnervingly silent once again as he moved his stout body back to the indents in the laminated floor he had made from so many long hours of anticipation. The other smaller sillouette of darkness floated closer to take the doctor's place. "Well well, it seems the little dog has not yet lost it's annoying bark. Your last chance for redemption and safety ends here foolish child. All of your worries could be over at the mere snap of my pointed fingers. Or the hellspawn hidden within the bowels of this ship will open up their jaws to swallow you whole."
See, just in case the evil speak was unclear, it meant join them or suffer more under their cowardice and metal slaves for years upon years. But despite his knowledge of what would surely be handed to him, the azure hero would proudly stand and take it if it meant not giving in to the staining reality of his worst night terrors and hunting down his own friends in the dark cloak of night.
"You talk a lot for someone who can't seem to breathe without that mask Darth Vader. You can beat my body, torture my spirit, and so help me bring me down to my burning knees, but if you can't see past your own misguided illusions of lies then why should I have any reason to join with you pathetic cowardice of a misunderstood child." He spat, the liquid nectar of his hate staining the ground with an acidic bite and burn like those of the flames within the celestial sun.
Drawing in many short and agonizingly painful breaths from the air around him the hedgehog tightened up for what surely was to come. Not a word of retaliation left from within the lips of the jackal for several long moments, an only assumed to be blank expression hidden within the confines of his quite revealing disguise. He floated there for an excruciatingly long amount of time, as if he were a viscious predator waiting to sink its teeth into the soft flesh of the unsuspecting prey.
Finally, a slight flick of the wrist from the sadistic scientist set off the panic alarm from within all creatures that dared to face his intimidating stature. The world around the fallen hero then merged into the illusion of a bloody red atmosphere that which nothing could pierce except the demonic tone of the shadow in front.
"So be it."
The once cherry coated runners that adorned his feet were suddenly stung with a piercing shock of chillingly icy cold water. The crimson cubes that lined the delicate particles in the atmosphere melded into the fibers of the most deadly yet terrifying substance to have ever adorned the planet below his now waterlogged and soggy socks. However, when the azure adventurer shifted his slightly panicked gaze up to the slaves of Satan once more, they had vanished as if nothing but drops of mist in the early morning light.
Second by second his fate seemed more imminent and seemed to be screaming in his face to figure a way out, but Sonic's brain had stopped working the moment he had first been struck down by the insolent sadistic jackal that now demonically laughed over his soon to be watery grave at the hands of substanance that wasn't even real. Inch by inch, the water froze. Thankfully yet unthankfully, the chromium plated shackles adorning his wrist did not short out in the liquid when it reached the neon blue glowing energy. It was times like this when he had to admit, Eggman had good weapon design.
The defeaning sense of panic that had originated from within his exasperated soul now rose with boiling intensity as his body leaned closer and closer to drawing his last liberating breath of life. He waited. And waited. That breath never seemed to come within the depths of the icy could torture chamber. The blue blur could not remember what unrecognizable outside force had prevented his fate, for he had just about given up hope of the word safety when his chargers crossed the threshold of death's door.
The bloody crimson stains in the atmosphere seemed to now urgently blink in unison, screeching cries of alarm following their every action like a child copying their parental counterpart in an act of recreation. The dismal, lifeless emeralds of the blue hero decided to reveal themselves to the world one final time before slipping into the realm of unconsciousness and suffering.
A dark shadow slipped over the brightly blaring alarm lights like a blanket, encasing the once peach wrist of the hero in a firm yet comforting grip of estuary. The unknown force ripping his lifeless body from within the depths of the artificial sea of death with a single sweeping motion. Quickly mutilating the metal blockades within its reach, the figure scooped up Sonic over its shoulder and lept out of the escape hole before the unrelenting captors would make their return.
Leaping one more bound over the side of a railing, they set the lifeless body down and sliced open the once shining chrome enslaving shackles with the flick of a diamond edged blade. The girl finally removed her midnight cotton hood with her snowy white gloved hands to reveal the face of a traumatized violet fennec fox. Her blazing blue orbs were lined with worry when the hedgehog did not wake up within a few brief moments of landing.
When he finally did however, it would in no way require the words graceful or relieving. He quickly sat up, violently coughing up water and hissing from the searing pain from within his bloodstained gloves. When he finally tore his gaze from the ground and set it on her however, his back became automatically magnetized from the metal wall.
"Don't worry Sonic, I'm here to help you." She claimed in a soft yet gentle tone as she could finally flash a relieved smile. "Nice to know I hadn't missed the party." She smirked as she helped his jelly legs to regain their footing again.
"Who sent you? Who even are you?" He asked, leaning on the metallic barrier when his feet refused to stand straight. Oddly enough she only answered one of his questions right off of the bat.
"My name is Clarity," she started, grabbing his hand and silently urging him to follow her with a small hiss. "And the people who sent me seemed to know an awful lot about you." She finished, finally skidding to a stop in front of a ruby red and yellow space shuttle that had been neatly docked near the airlock gate.
Giving a quick little tap, much like the stature of a secret passcode kids might use with their friends, the door was opened before them, revealing the faint silhouette of a two tailed fox with shining blue orbs and a red echidna with mysterious violets. The hedgehog stared in a pure state of expressionless and emotionless feeling, they stared back with what could only be expressed as pure disblelief and sheer uncut joy. But the unbelievable state of their friend, bloody scars, bruises, and scrapes, made them just want to burst into tears crying burning salty tears for hours.
He no longer looked like the hero they once knew. The only thing that could make it to theirs and Clarity's mind was the thought about what would've happened if they had come one second later. Finally, the two tailed kitsune stepped forward and said something to break the thick, uncomfortable silence.
"Sonic, you're alive."
To be Continued...