A tight and suffocating blanket of darkness wrapped around me, my eyes dilated as I attempted to make out even the tiniest detail while flickers of blisteringly hot energy shot from one part of my body to another. I could see nothing but blackness as my heart jumped out of my chest and into my throat when I realized that I was completely trapped. It took me a few seconds to register that I was lying on my back with my head facing what I presumed was either a ceiling or a sky. I couldn't really tell which. My legs were also being pulled apart, with my crotch and torso completely exposed in the process, which would have made me feel awfully uncomfortable if it wasn't for the fact that I was having a near panic attack.

Thanks to my many years of intense simulation training at G.U.N, I was able to use my fight or flight response to my advantage by attempting to move into my typical attacking position. Whatever this was keeping me here was going to get the beating of a lifetime. No one holds the ultimate lifeform hostage.

However, I quickly realized that the more I moved, the more violently I snapped right back to my original position. Every time I attempted, I could feel jolts of Chaos energy flow through my body, almost as if whatever was holding me was attempting to punish me into submission.

To say it was painful would be an understatement, but there was a lingering after-effect that made me feel warm, if not a little intoxicated. I was unable to put my finger on exactly why, but it made me think that if the energy were less intense, it would be somewhat pleasurable. I could feel my cheeks flush slightly at the thought. Why in the world that excited me was not something I was even willing to start comprehending.

Whatever or whoever had caught me was trying everything in its power to keep me still, whether it be pain, pleasure, or some screwed up combination of both. I couldn't help but hesitate as I could tell within an instant that this was only a small portion of what this thing was capable of doing to me.

At this point, I was more aggravated than scared. Who the hell was keeping me here, and what did they want from me? Someone who hates G.U.N? Maybe a terrorist or something of the sort.

I continued to yank and pull my body as far as it was willing to stretch, gritting my teeth through the pain until I couldn't take it anymore. I concluded that ripping my limbs off wasn't worth my escape, and thus I decided to lay there in silence, allowing whatever this energy was to hold me in whatever position it decided was best.

It only took a few seconds for my body to relax, which I found quite surprising with how upset I was a few minutes ago. My mind started to drift as the intense electric pain ceased into a slow wave of calmness and, dare I say, pleasure. In fact, it felt so good that I released a somewhat frustrated but satisfied sigh.

"You finally decide to relax after all this time. You know what you feel. You have to, and yet you still struggle underneath my grip. I let you off the hook so many times before, and now I have lost my patience. Give in, and I might make it worth your while… Or not. We will see how well you want to behave..." A snarky, yet sadistic voice spat as my mind started to melt under its command.

That voice sounded eerily familiar. I turned my head slightly to the left as my eyes finally registered a golden glimmer in the distance. Bright and vibrant, almost as if it was a star in this empty sea of blackness, and yet no matter how bright it was, it still felt cold. Cold and dark.

I felt myself hesitate as I realized this light had to be the thing holding me hostage. Why it wanted me, I still wasn't sure, but it was clear that it wanted me badly.

"Who the hell are you, anyway! I hope you know that holding any government agent hostage is punishable by a minimum of forty years in prison. Are you a terrorist? A spy from another country? What do you want with me!?" I responded sternly as I really wished I could pull out my badge to confirm with this idiot who the hell he was dealing with.

Normally, I would just attempt to take this thing out myself, but clearly, he had a tight enough grip on me that I felt it wasn't worth the agony. As long as it kept his distance, I wouldn't have to resort to anything too drastic. I could hear it chuckle in the distance, almost as if he couldn't take what I said seriously.

"Forty years in prison… I've been in 'prison' for longer than you could possibly comprehend. You cannot understand the agony I have been put through. Being trapped in a body that resists my every move. I do not wish to destroy your little sorry excuse for a life. I am here to take what I have longed for for so many years. I will take you and make you want me. No, I will make you NEED me. You and him will finally be in my control...!" The voice cackles and bellows slightly, its snarky voice finally registering to my relaxed ears.

I could feel the energy flicker through me again but much more gently. It felt enticing and inviting, but I knew better than to fall into the hands of such a dangerous creature. But no matter how much I fought, my mind kept drifting. I did want it, and it took me another few seconds to realize that I missed this voice. I wanted to hear it more. I wanted its energy to come closer… I wanted to touch it. I wanted…

My eyes shot open as I gasped slightly.

That voice… This feeling… It couldn't be.

"Sonic….?!"

I could feel a rush of air over my body as I collided with the hardwood flooring of my bedroom. My eyes were still tightly closed, but I knew instantly that this had to be my house. I knew the feeling of that beautiful teak wood and freezing cold draft any day.

I released an irritated groan as I slowly opened my eyes, only to be met with outline of the cold floor. I could feel my bones and muscles aching as I finally was able to flip myself over to face the ceiling.

What an absolutely horrifying and yet exciting dream. Or I guess one would consider it a nightmare. I'm a bit nervous to go back to sleep incase I come in contact with that golden demon again. What did it even want with me? Am I just having these dreams to distract myself from the real issues at hand? Ah, shit. I have to go through Ivo's crap and figure out who goes to who. Scratch what I said before; I much rather have that sexy golden beast nightmare than the one I am currently living in. That's for sure.

I smirked a little as I finally regained enough of my strength to sit up. "Sexy". I couldn't believe I had just admitted that the thought of being held against my will and forced to be this creature plaything as sexually attractive. When Rouge said I was a flameboy, I don't think she meant that i actually liked being scalded with hot burning Chaos energy, but maybe i'm more of a freak than I had originally thought.

My mind drifted back to reality as I remembered that I had practically passed out in Rouge's arms last night after hearing that Sonic was placed in a solitary mental hospital room. It seems like the judge could not decide on whether Sonic was a threat or not. My supervisor didn't tell me much more than that. He did tell me that they might allow me to see him if I could get more intel into what happened.

It made me sick to think that I might be used to scoop disgusting details out of the poor hedgehogs bleeding heart. However, if i get to see him, then I guess it would be worth it. To an extent, and I knew it was difficult to admit it to myself, I missed him. I knew he wouldn't be the typical happy, bouncy Sonic I've always known but something about seeing him in this vulnerable state made me feel like we might actually be able to talk about our feelings. Maybe that fake façade might dissipate some, and we can actually connect on an emotional level.

And even besides that, I had to know the truth. If he did kill Ivo, I need to see it from his own mouth. I need to see the tears flow from his eyes and the regret flush to his quivering lips because whatever happened could NOT have been a malicious attack, not the Sonic I know. He was too much of a goody two shoe to harm someone like that.

I choked on my spit slightly as that feeling of dread that caused me to pass out oh so elegantly last night started to flow through my veins again. It made me want to jump off the nearest bridge and avoid all the responsibility, but I couldn't. It would be a disgrace against Ivo, Sonic, Rouge, and everyone else. For now, I was going to have to put on my typical stone-cold face and get through this.

I took in a deep breath of the frigid cold air before rolling over onto my feet and slowly starting to stand. I could hear my bones popping out and back into place as I swear I felt like I was 50 years older than I was yesterday. Possibly, sleeping on my wood floor wasn't great for my back. I couldn't even recall if I even had gotten into my bed last night or if I had been just left on the floor to fend for myself. I chuckled slightly as I knew Rouge had to have taken me back to bed. Heck, she probably even tucked me in like a child knowing how protective she is and that I merely flung myself off the bed during my hostile nightmare.

I gingerly started taking staggering steps towards the door before looking around at my clean, sparsely decorated room. Everything was exactly where I had meticulously placed it.

Except for my bed…

I cringed a little as all of my sheets were turned in different directions, and even part of the sheet wrapped around the bed had popped off. It made me kind of disgusted, but I was too mentally tired and sore to walk back over to the bed and fix it. I had more important things to do, anyway.

As I was just deciding to leave the bed to the disaster it was, I could hear the door to my room slowly open in an attempt to not startle me. Sadly, it was to no avail as I jumped slightly to flip myself around and meet my attacker face to face.

"Oh goodness hon, didn't mean to scare ya. After last night, I thought you would be sleeping still. Ya look greeeeaaattt, by the way. The grungy, 90's rock look really suits you." She joked, smirking before pointing at my messy quills and black bags under my eyes.

I really was not in the mood for joking, but it did ease my mind to an extent. I'm glad Rouge is back to her teasing self and not whoever she was last night. It seems like hearing that Sonic was contained eased her mind to some extent. It just made me feel a bit sorry for the hedgehog. He was always so social. I wouldn't be surprised if he completely lost his mind in there.

"Well, I didn't think a depressed clown who just got fired was a good look for you either, but I suppose we both surpassed our expectations last night". I replied with my typical bored expression before following it with a slight wink to express that I was merely joking back.

I patted her shoulder slightly before gently pushing her out of the way to walk through my door. Something told me that I forgot something significant, but I just couldn't put my finger on what...

A boisterous laugh was released from the beautiful bat as her chest bounced up and back down with each consecutive chuckle. Her dress was clearly a sleeper one, and it certainly didn't leave anything to the imagination.

I mentally checked myself as the sight made me chuckle as well, mainly because I had zero sexual attraction towards the event. I guess Rouge was right, I am a major flameboy.

"Alright alright. All jokes aside were both still gorgeous even after all that. I cut up some melon if you want some. Apparently, your cat caretaker left some." She responded before walking past me and into the kitchen, her sleeping dress fluttering in the air, almost exposing her underwear.

It did make me a little embarrassed to see her so exposed, but I guess it was nice to know she trusted me so much.

It was then that it hit me. I remembered what I had forgotten! I gasped as I rushed out of the hallway, blazing through my house and into my laundry room. How could I forget about my cat! Poor baby must be starving.

"Dont worry, I fed snickers last night. He's a big boy now; I think your caretaker spoiled him a bit". I could hear Rouge say faintly as her voice echoed from the kitchen into the laundry room.

I sighed, relieved to see my fluffy (and now chubby) black cat with his typical brown smudge across his eye, happily licking his boisterous tail. He glared over a little as his tongue slipped back into his mouth, giving a look of "how dare you interrupt my bath, you peasant."

I bent over to get a better look at his extended tummy. I did tell the caretaker to feed him three times a day... Maybe that was one time too many.

"Hi, buddy. Daddy's home. My god, you're a big boy arentcha. I might need to put you on a diet at this rate." I spoke sweetly with my voice imitating a mother talking to her sweet newborn baby

I smiled faintly (which is a very rare sight might I say) as Snickers was my only real buddy. Rouge was certainly my closest friend, but we didn't have a lot in common. Snickers and I, on the other hand, were practically siblings from different mothers. Brooding, unapproving, irritated, and yet very loving deep down inside. He was abandoned by his mother when he was just a kitten due to him being a runt, and I knew I had to keep him. It was a considerable challenge to nurse him back to health, and he still is sickly to this very day. However, he is like a son to me, so I would never say the sicknesses were annoying.

I sat on the cold tile floor before reaching my hand out for him to sniff. He is practically blind at this point, so he probably didn't even notice I was back yet.

After one sniff, it was like the last look didn't even happen as he rushed as fast as his little chubby legs could run and right into my lap. I pat the top of his head before scratching the tip of his ear, and a soft but firm purr erupted from his mouth that almost came off as snickering, hence the name.

"Aww. There we go. That's more like it... Yes yes. Daddy missed you very much, and you have no idea how insane it's been. Ivo died. Sonics is practically in prison. I can't get into contact with anyone, I have to execute the doctor's will and..."

"Not trying to interrupt your grand reunion, sweetie, but you need to eat and let the commander know if you're going to try to visit Sonic today. I'm sure Snickers can wait." Rouge interrupted with her hip gently resting against the archway of the door with her voice attempting to be both firm and loving at the same time.

My ears flipped down as I was obviously very disappointed. I felt like I had suffered enough. Why can't I just pet my cat, read a book, and drink tea for a day? Just one day!

"Quite foolish of you to assume that I would not see the hedgehog. Being in confinement like that for weeks with how social he is must be driving him mad. I'm certain I'm not his first choice of contact, but for once, he might actually have that squeaky clean smirk wiped off his face". I replied before giving Snicker's a very aggressive scratch on the belly in an attempt to keep myself calm. That feeling of anxiety was starting to rush through my body again..

"Oh c'mon, sweetie. You know you love that dorky smile. His optimistic attitude has always been a ray of sunshine in your dark stone-cold heart. I mean, even you once told me that Maria would have adored him. I think we can safely say that if anyone has helped you become the man you are today, it would be him. Sonic always has a way of finding those who need help even if they aren't asking for it and saving them without the person realizing. It's incredible!" She responded, her voice sounding sincere and completely missing the point that what she was saying was actually very hurtful.

I swallowed deeply as I closed my eyes in both frustration and disappointment. Was it really that obvious? Was I just one of his many "projects" or "adventures," and if I was, had I fallen for it? That happy-go-lucky attitude, the sharp way he said "Shadz" with complete confidence without even a hint of fear (since he knew i HATED being called that), and that warm smile I received when I finally started opening up to him. Was it just to make him feel better? Was I merely a victim in need of saving?

I sighed slightly as I pushed snickers away from my lap. He looked up at me with a mixture of sadness and "oh. I didn't even want your love anyway!".

I knew that it was very petty for me to visit Sonic with the intention of finally confronting the elephant in the room, but I really did think I could get the info out of him much easier in his vulnerable state and even though it was certainly not the nicest thing to do, I had to know. Did he actually care for me or not.

"I suppose I have no choice but to visit him since G.U.N. was so adamant on me seducing more information out of him. I am going to call the commander up and accept the invitation. You stay here with Snickers to make sure he doesn't get sick from all the food he was fed." I replied before quickly walking out of the laundry room and into my living room, before swiftly grabbing my leather jacket and beginning to slip myself into my shoes.

Are you actually who you say you are, Sonic, or are you just as much of a faker as I am.