Wow, it's been a long time since I updated. But don't worry; this fic is far from being abandoned. Inspiration has just been running a bit low lately. Still, I managed to fix that problem by watching more SU on Youtube :) Yep, I'm pretty sure I've seen every episode now. Anyway, on with the show!

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Fear

After 'Sonia's Choice'

Manic woke with a start, eyes darting erratically around the dark interior of the van. Desperately, he tried to control his breathing, which was coming in silent, shallow gasps. He could feel his heart hammering against his chest, and hear the sound of blood pounding in his ears. The noise seemed to fill the air, making it heavy… suffocating.

He wasn't sure how long he stayed that way, silent and rigid under his sheets, before the fear slowly began to recede. The visions that had been flashing through his mind faded, and he relaxed into the soft bedding beneath him.

Strangely, he found himself thinking that he should have expected this. It wasn't as if he was immune to nightmares – neither were his siblings. In fact, the terrifying dreams were beginning to turn into a common occurrence. If anyone had been keeping an eye on them, they would have noticed that it was no longer an unusual thing to find at least one hedgehog lying awake after midnight.

But that wasn't the point.

He should have expected this, because nobody walks away from nearly being roboticised and is completely fine – despite how unfazed he may have seemed afterwards. His relief at being rescued and reunited with Sonic and Sonia had pretty much filled his emotional capacity once he was free. And it was only hours later – when he really had a chance to think about the situation – that the fear and doubt began to set in.

They'd had a lot of close calls – Robotnik would have been doing a pretty lousy job if they hadn't – but that one had been a bit too close for comfort. He thought back, realising once again just how close, and shuddered. Yep, that particular memory wasn't about to be forgotten any time soon.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and decided to make the most of the few hours left before dawn; sleep was hard enough to come by as it was. Still, he found himself fighting his drooping eyelids, but exhaustion eventually won out over fear.

However, just before he slipped back into the awaiting darkness, he made a desperate plea that he would not dream any more tonight. Because he wasn't sure what state of mind he would be in if he looked down at himself again, and saw only red, unblinking eyes reflected in metal hands.

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If anyone else has seen that episode, you'll know hat it really was a close call. Anyway, I have some ideas in mind for some more oneshots, but I don't know when I'll get around to typing them up. I really do want to make updates more frequent, but I'm just about to start my next school year so I guess I'll just wait and see :) Reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome.