On the same night Manic asked Tails to help him find Sonic's Sapphire Medallion, they went back to Farrell's restored house to make a plan,
also, it was the perfect excuse to sit around and play video games, since this is the first time he could relax during the whole ordeal.
The Green hedgehog returned from a short trip uptown, and walked through Farrell's kitchen with a 6 pack of White Ox beer, and a few large containers of orange juice in his backpack. He knew Tails didn't drink alcohol so he respected that and went with OJ instead.
As he grabbed some snacks from the fridge, Manic looked into the living room to see his mentor sitting at a long table with some friends from the neighbourhood, and he shuffled a deck of cards. He nodded at his son when they made eye contact, then Manic cradled the snacks and went downstairs. Whenever he stayed at Farrell's house, Manic would clean up the unfurnished basement, rearrange the furniture and keep his mini fridge well stocked. It was rare he had guests over, but Farrell didn't mind the company.
"You got that game set up, bro?" Manic asked as he shut the basement door and came down the carpeted staircase.
The fox gave a thumbs up "Yeah, but the colour and contrast are kinda messed up. I've tried my best with this thing but it just won't focus. Damn, If I had my tools, I could fix it... how old is this TV?"
Manic set the snacks on a large table "About as old as everything in this house, which is to say: old as shit. I knew I should've bought a new TV and console before I gave all that money to Thompson... oh well, at least we got this"
Tails hit the power switch on a Nintendo 64 while Manic poured him a tall glass of OJ, then the Mario Kart logo popped up on screen.
"That's what I like to see!" Manic called out as he stuffed the beer and OJ inside his mini fridge.
He handed the glass to Tails and sat on the other end of a long, beige couch, picking up his controller. He slept many nights on this couch over the past 5 years Farrell's had this house, but tonight this was Tails' spot. Manic had a basic mattress and box spring ensemble in the other room so that's where he'll be sleeping.
"Let's go, man! Wario all day!" Manic said as he navigated through the main menu
"Yoshi's my guy. Haven't lost a race using him yet"
Manic cracked open his beer "Well, you haven't played me while I'm fueled up on White Ox! Nobody beats the boss!"
About an hour later, the basement door opened and shut quickly while the duo were in the middle of their championship race. Soft footsteps followed and B.B appeared at the bottom of the staircase, two large bags in hand.
"What's up, dudes!" the tiny crow said
Manic quickly waved him over "Hey, Beni. We're about to finish up this game. Get comfortable"
"Is that Mario Kart? On a tube TV?"
"Yeah, man!"
B.B put his bags on the table "We're back in 1996, apparently... whose winning?"
Tails lifted his hand for a second "I am"
Manic frowned "Hey, I beat you in Mushroom cup"
"Well, it's still 2-to-1. If you can beat me on this cup, then we'll have a tie breaker race. But, the chances of that are looking slim for you"
No less than a minute later, Yoshi's kart crossed the finish line first, earning a loud groan from Manic in response.
"God DAMNIT!"
The fox raised his fists "And still Mario Kart champion!"
B.B revealed a box full of short, plastic liquor bottles "You guy's fancy trying some cocktails to celebrate?"
Manic started walking towards the back room "I don't usually mix liquor with beer, so let me get my medallion to help me handle it"
"What's a matter? Can't stomach it on your own?"
"It's not that. The Gem keeps me from getting too wasted, saving everyone a headache in the process"
B.B raised an eyebrow "So, you're cheat-drinking. Nice. What about you, Tails? Care to try a glass?"
"Eh - I'll try one. But please stop me if I bring up my ex girlfriend Fiona. I got drunk with Knuckles one time and spilled some rather personal secrets with him"
Manic put the Jade Medallion necklace on and his face illuminated green as he peered out of the room "I wanna know about Foxy Lady!"
Tails shook his head "Nah-uh. That one hits too close to home. Let's just chill out for a bit"
B.B handed the fox a bottle, then passed another to Manic across the room, and somehow stuffed the rest inside the mini fridge in the corner, grabbing one for himself. The green hedgehog wheeled a tall office chair into the room and sat on that, while B.B took his spot on the couch. They clinked their bottles together upon opening them and took a drink at the same time.
Tails cringed "Oh, man, that's rough!.."
"Lightweight" B.B laughed
"I'd say this is almost the perfect mix, but it could use an extra shot"
As the conversation continued, neither Tails or B.B noticed Manic fell asleep shortly after that first drink. His chair slid out of view and they were playing Mario Kart by the time they noticed Manic was out.
B.B looked behind the couch at his snoring friend "Damn. Manic used to be able to handle a lot when I first met him. Now look at the guy"
"He's probably feeling how tired his body is. I know that Medallion heals him, but I think even that needs a recharge even now and again"
The duo said nothing else and went back to their game, leaving Manic to sleep in his chair.
When his eyes opened, he knew he was dreaming. The area around him was dark, like a tunnel. He reached for the Medallion but it was no longer hanging around his neck.
Just a dream. Brain playing tricks on ya again. Nothing to worry about.
"I'm not so sure about that"
He looked up into the blackness "Starr"
As she came into focus, purple and green neon lines traced a platform around the elementals while she stepped closer. The neon lit the area slightly, just enough for the hedgehogs to see each other. Her eyes had that same magenta glow from before, but now only her iris illuminated. Her matching dress fluttered as ice cold wind picked up, drawing a shiver from Manic. He looked over the edge of the platform and scoffed as he saw nothing but black.
"I guess it's not too crazy to assume this is your doing" He said, icy breath now visible
She smirked "Looks like I got a new power"
"Okay, so you can invade my dreams like Freddy Kruger. Are you gonna grow ten foot long arms and try to kill me? Or am I missing something?"
"Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing here"
Her right hand quickly turned palm side up and suddenly, 3 Neon Men spawned from the traced platform they stood upon.
"You gotta be shittin' me!..." Manic growled
She made a brushing motion with her hand and her creations leaped forward, forcing Manic to dodge and counter-strike when he saw an opportunity. He blasted the Neon Men with devastating efficiency and they each dissolved into pixels after one strike.
"You got a better trick than that?"
Starr grinned and levitated off the platform, spawning more men and lifting more platforms around the area. Within seconds, Manic was completely surrounded.
"Good answer. No, that was good... (exhale) alright, let's get to work, guys, boss lady is watching"
Manic ducked under punches and ran towards the nearest platform to give himself some space. He watched Starr raise and lower platforms as she ascended higher in her neon arena. One mis-timed jump and he'd be falling into a void.
This is one crazy ass dream...
He lept forward and climbed the platforms as fast as he could, hoping to catch Starr and stop her, but she stayed just out of reach. They ascended at least 15 levels before she just vanished into the blackness.
"C'mon, don't be like! Thought you wanted to kill me!"
Manic pulled himself onto the final platform and jumped head first into the void. He was surprised when his surroundings changed into a suburban street and he fell onto the sidewalk. The skyline was black and the high rise buildings only displayed red lights.
She's playing games. This ain't real.
He stood up, brushed himself off and looked around: to the left was a tall hill with townhouses and business towers lining the street. To the right was an endless downward street that only got darker. Manic chose to trek uphill and see what faced him next. He looked into the windows of each house he passed, being met by glaring eyes from mysterious people. Dead people.
Keep it together. She's trying to scare you. They're just illusions.
He kept his glance toward the top of this hill street and ignored the banging on the windows from each house. The moaning of the dead sent a chill down his spine but he kept his composure.
Finally, he reached the top and stayed ready for whatever came at him next. But nothing did.
Instead, a large blue building sat on the corner of the intersection he stood at. It was also the only building with no peering eyes in the windows, so he took a deep breath and went in. He pushed the door open and expected more Neon Men, but who he saw sitting at a table was more surprising.
"Falke?"
The short Wulf House recruit looked up, just as surprised to see Manic as he was.
"What is this?" Falke asked as he jumped out of his seat
"Whoa, relax, kid. I'm not here to hurt ya. I'm just as confused as you are"
"Is this purgatory? I know I'm not alive, anymore"
Manic sighed "This started off as a dream - my dream, but I don't know what the hell's going on. Starr's in control"
"How?"
"I don't know. She's inside my head, somehow... I didn't think dreams worked like this"
"You haven't been or seen this place before? Because I thought you could only dream of places you know or seen"
Manic looked around "Can't say I've been to this dump. Did you just wake up here?"
"Yeah. Not long ago. Everything's just been black until now"
"I've got an idea. Let's explore the area and see if we can find some answers. I'm not in the mood to spend the next thousand years in wonderland"
Falke nodded and followed close behind the green hedgehog outside. The ghastly eyes peering at them startled the wulf, but Manic is done being scared.
"Enough of your shit, Starr! Get out here and finish this!"
They would receive an answer in the form of a girl screaming their names and banging on glass. They turned to the source and saw Cassia looking out a basement window, forcing them to run over.
"Stand back, I'm gonna boot this window!"
Manic loaded up and smashed the glass to pieces with one swift soccer kick. He climbed inside, helped Falke in and both felt the female hedgehog's arms wrap around them.
"Falke, I can't believe you're alive!" Cassia exclaimed
"Well, actually, I don't think that's the case, unfortunately"
"Gee, good to see you, too" Manic said sarcastically
"Please tell me you guys know what the hell is going"
"I fell asleep and started to dream, all I know is that Starr is controlling this" Manic said
Cassia's eyes widen "...I think the same thing is happening to me too"
"What? Starr's in your head, as well?"
"...I think she put us to sleep so she could get us here"
The dark apartment fell silent for a moment, then Falke spoke.
"If you two are dreaming in the real world, how am I here?"
Manic puts it all together "The dead people in the windows, the ones Starr evaporated! That's who I've been seeing"
Falke stiffened up "So, I am dead"
Cassia grasped his shoulders "We're gonna fix this, alright? If she can spawn you here, there's gotta be a way we can bring you back into the real world. She didn't actually kill anyone, right? She just sent them somewhere else!"
Manic knew Cassia was trying to convince Falke and herself that was true, but he knew better.
"Look, we won't get anything done babbling about Einstein theories. We're in a shared dream, that's the reality. Let's go track down Starr and get a solution-"
The familiar green lines that created the Neon Men from the arena suddenly spawn a new monster. But this one was twice the size of the first incarnations. A mass of green scribbles make up the body, and it's right arm was simply one giant razor blade. Manic already knew this one was the deadliest.
He pushed his friends toward the door "Move. Now!"
Cassia ripped the door off it's hinges and took Falke's wrist while Manic knocked a tall wardrobe in the monster's path. He ran behind the couple, throwing items in the way before the beast fully materialized and took off after them.
"You know where you're going?" Manic asked
"Nope. You?"
"Nah-uh. Just don't stop"
She took the guys down a brown waxed hallway, then up some stairs and pushed open a tall grey door, hoping to find an exit to the street. Instead, they rush through a steamy sauna lined with dark oak benches and walls. Manic looked behind and saw the beast smash through the door with one swing of his blade.
"We gotta get outside!"
"There's no windows!"
The trio quickly scrambled out of the sauna locker room and down another waxed hallway, but every door they pushed was locked.
"Fuck it, we're gonna have to fight this thing!" Manic growled before looking to a washroom "There! You guys hide in the stalls and wait til I lure him in! We'll triple team the bastard!"
Cassia and Falke complied and ran inside a wide stall while Manic screamed at the beast to face him. He flipped around the hallway avoiding the long blade, landing counter strikes but they have no effect. The beast whipped the blade around and it sliced through Manic's forearms as he blocked his throat. He groaned, then shoulder-blocked the washroom door open and called for his friends to help.
The female hedgehog punched the stall door with her metallic arm and it struck on the beast, giving them a chance to attack while it's samdwiched between the wall. The broken stall leaned against the beast like a ramp, so Manic climbed on top and stomped as hard as he could.
"Eat shit, you dream-demon!" Manic roared as he delivered more blows
His arrogance was immediately stopped the second he felt the blade pierce his torso and pull back out. Cassia screamed as Manic fell off the ramp and into a corner, cradling his large wound.
The beast pushed the broken stall away and forced Cassia inside the other stall with Falke. It raised it's blade toward them but Manic spat blood at the beast, so it turned it's attention back to him.
An inaudible sentence came from the monster and it began chopping away at the green hedgehog as he cried out. The pain felt real and slowly his screams died down,
then the dream was over.
"Bro, wake up!" B.B shouted
Tails tossed another cup of water at the green hedgehog and finally Manic opened his eyes.
"What the FUCK! Oh, thank god, that was just a dream!..." Manic said, noticing he was lying on the floor
"What the hell were you dreaming about, man? You were flipping around like crazy!"
He checked himself for wounds but found none, then turned to his friends "Starr got into my head! Almost killed me with some green piece of shit!..."
Tails helped him stand up "I would say that's crazy, but I just saw you rag doll off your chair and move like a spider, so I believe you"
"I gotta call Cass, no way this was a coincidence"
He grabbed his phone and dialed her number, hearing her voice after one dial tone.
"You saw all that shit I just saw, right?" He starts
"Yeah, I did. I thought I was going crazy for a second... she's definitely got her powers back"
"That antidote didn't do shit!... we gotta find her, like RIGHT NOW! She's just gonna keep doing this, Cass!"
"How are we gonna find her, she's gotta be miles away by now!"
Manic groaned "I don't know!... god damnit, I know what she's doing. We gotta get back in there..."
"Manic, we almost died in there! I don't think she's just gonna let us run around dreamland again"
"Unless we find another way to reach her right this second, this is the only way to stop her. I know it's scary, but if the kids in Nightmare on Elm Street can do it, then we can, too! Plus, we can save those people Starr erased. Including Falke.. I owe him for saving my life at the Galla"
Cassia remained silent for a few moments before answering "...fine. I'll go back. But, we have to come up with a plan before we go back in. She could totally read your mind in there"
Manic grabbed his Jade and Crystal Medallions "Yeah, you're right. Let's do this quickly and get back in there"
After 2 minutes, both hedgehogs agreed on the plan and hung up, ready to act. Manic put both Medallions around his neck and felt twice as much energy pulse through him.
"Alright, gentlemen. I'm going under again, and I might not come back. If I freak out again, I want you to leave the house. I don't wanna hurt you guys"
Manic put his hand on Tails shoulder "In the event that I don't come back, I'm giving you my game collection. You're clearly a better Mario Kart player than I am, and I respect that"
Tails raised a brow "Umm thanks?"
He slapped the fox's shoulder twice "So supportive"
B.B extended his arms "You forgetting about someone?"
"Ah shit, yeah, POPS! I'd better talk to him before I go"
The tiny crow shook his head as Manic ran upstairs. After a quick chat, the green hedgehog made his way back downstairs and laid on his mattress, eager to face what ever Starr had waiting for him this time.
It took 2 minutes before he was sound asleep once more, leaving B.B and Tails to watch over him.
His eyes opened once again and he found himself lying on a medium sized mattress in the centre of a wide room. He immediately recognized this as the basement bedroom he had when he was a kid, and every detail was the same. The concrete walls, the unfinished hallway walls and the window he used to sneak out through on friday's. He knew he had a better grasp of things in this dream.
Manic got out of bed, walked down the hall and got upstairs, although this is where things get fuzzy. He ignored the same dead people watching him as he pushed through the crowd and got outside. The sky shines a baby blue shade but the sun isn't visible, just another of Starr's illusions. He finds Cassia and Falke in a parking lot talking amongst themselves before he joins.
"There you are" She greeted "I'm ready to take this bitch down, whatever it takes"
"I just wanna get rid of her so I don't have to worry about going to sleep for the rest of my life... oh, and to bring solider boy and the others back to the real world" Manic said as he put his hand on the wulf's shoulder.
"Thanks, Manic. Means a lot"
They look over to the right and a large chain link fence opens by itself, revealing a path to a very dusty scrap metal yard.
"Guess that's our invite. Let's not keep her waiting"
Manic led the trio into the scrap yard, kicking up sand as he marched forward. Falke held Cassia's hand for support and they finally reached the main building, a tall but rusted chop shop with the mechanics bay door wide open.
"I was afraid you guys wouldn't wanna come back to Neverland" Starr said as she appeared inside the garage
"Well, we're not scared of some optical illusions. And I'm damn sure not afraid of the dark" Manic responded
The Neon Beast walked through the bay door, looking very different. Instead of a bulky figure, it was now tall and slim, but no doubt just as dangerous. Manic kept his eyes on the target, eager to try his luck once more.
Cassia stepped forward "You gotta let these people go. All the ones you stole from Mobius when you dusted them. Please"
Starr turned her head "Now you ask me nicely?... I suffered because of you and Manic, he stole my life from me! I just wanted to be normal but he made me like this! The way I see it, those people are collateral"
Falke cleared his throat "Ma'am? I understand why you're angry, I honestly do... but taking innocent lives? Hurting somebody who never done you harm makes you no better than the ones you say are responsible. Please see reason-"
"You're only saying that 'cause you're one of those poor bastards"
"I'm saying it on behalf of the people who've had their loved ones taken from them. Starr. Listen to me. The Wulf House is gone, there are no bad guys left. I am begging you to let us go"
The magenta hedgehog tries to stay angry but the guilt is too much for her. She leans against a wall and hides her eyes so no one can see the tears fall. Cassia and Falke relax a little, but Manic keeps his attention trained on the Neon Beast.
"Okay! Okay... I'll do my best to restore them. But give me some time, I'm still figuring this out-"
"NO!" The Beast roars
Manic clinches his fists "That's all I need to fuckin' hear"
They charge at each other but Starr creates a barrier between them. They bang on the translucent wall but it won't budge. As much as he wants to fight the beast, Manic knows this is the best result.
"We're done. No more games, no more dream-stealing. It's over" Starr emphasized
Manic nodded "First time I've sucessfully talked things out"
The beast smashed his fist off the barrier one last time "You and me, for real"
Manic squinted as facial features started to materialize on the beast. He didn't know his name, but he wouldn't forget Scourge's evil smirk anytime soon.
(Scourge woke up with the Sapphire Medallion still in his grasp, and a new inspiration to capture the other two Medallions)
Back in the dream, the scrap yard started to slowly fade to black and Cassia disappeared first, followed by Falke. Manic looked at Starr before it was his turn to wake up.
"You're gonna keep your word, right?" He asked
"I said I'll try my best"
"Hey, how did you get into our heads like that?"
"I guess I can mess with whoever has those Medallion's, seeing as that's where my power came from"
Manic thought about this for a moment "...That guy's got the third Medallion, doesn't he"
Starr only nodded, then she turned her back on him
"Hey Starr, I want you to know I'm s-"
"Don't. It'll be a long time before we can have that discussion.. just do your thing and forget about me"
Manic woke up clutching both of his Medallions, then Tails and B.B came over.
"You alright?" Tails asked
He nodded "A lot better. The kid's gonna leave us alone, maybe even bring back those folks she dusted. I don't know. Trying to grasp all of this is making my head hurt... I need a beer"
As the trio get back to drinking and playing video games, a few flashes of magenta pop up all throughout the Metropolis streets, and a few lucky civilians are restored exactly where they were dusted.
Starr looked over the city, knowing she'd done her part. It was up to the restored to find their way back home.