Chapter 2

It was pitch black and it was freezing cold. The sound of water lapping up on a shore could be heard. But wait; there was something else in the darkness. Hands, dozens of them were grasping, clawing, and caressing his body. He shuddered violently but the hands were still there, their touch icy and firm, yet at the same time, weightless. "Sonic…" came the whisper. He tried to turn towards the voice but there was nothing but black all around. "Sonic…" whispered a different voice. This one was higher in pitch, possibly a female. "Sonic. Sonic. SonicSonicSonicSonic." Now there was dozens, maybe even a hundred voices. All whispering at once, "SonicSonicSonicSonicSonicSonicSonicSonicSonic…" Male, female, young, old, there was an endless variety overlapping and blending together. He wanted to put his hands to his ears and block out all those voices but he couldn't move. "SonicSonicSonicSonicSooonnnniiiiccccc…." Out of the chorus, one ran out clearly. "SonicSonicSoooooonnnniiiiccccSonicSonicSonicSonicSoooonnnniiiicccc…" It sounded far off in the distance and echoey yet clear as day. His heart was pounding in his chest, panic was starting to take over for some reason as every instinct he had was screaming for him to wake up; wake up before it was too late. "Soooonnnii-"

"Gah!" gasped Sonic as his eyes snapped open. He struggled for a moment, feeling weight pressing all around him. When he sat up, it occurred to him he had buried himself under a mountain of blankets last night due to being cold. Sonic sighed in relief as his disturbing dream began to fade away. By the time he had retrieved his gloves, socks, and sneakers from Miky's drier, he couldn't even remember what the dream was. After some breakfast, Tails bid Sonic and Miky goodbye and went back to his house to work on some inventions. Sonic stuck around for a little while longer and the two just hung out.

While they were eating lunch, Miky suddenly leaned forward and said seriously, "So, Sonic, if you don't mind me bringing it up, you never told us if you saw something in the lake."

In response the blue hedgehog chuckled as he locked his fingers behind his head and leaned back in his chair, "You know, for someone who doesn't believe in ghosts, you sure are eager to see or hear about one."

"Well, I never got the chance to ask because you fell in. I saw you jump though, right before you fell. And you screamed too."

"To answer your question, no. I didn't see a ghost. I saw my own reflection distorted by the ripples and the moonlight." Replied Sonic simply. He thought for a second about those moments before he plunged into the lake and nodded to himself; sure that's what had happened. "I thought it was at first glance and that's why I was a little startled. When I think about it, it's a little embarrassing…"

Miky noticed Sonic's cheeks redden a bit as he looked up at the ceiling and she suddenly felt a twinge of embarrassment herself, "I'm sorry Sonic. If I hadn't been insisting that we all go throw pebbles into that stupid lake, you wouldn't have fallen in and nearly drowned. I just wanted to prove that legend was nothing but silly superstition."

"I'm ok aren't I? Its fine; no harm, no foul. Although you won't get me back out there to do it again, I guarantee you. But, I will tell you this: I have seen a ghost before."

Miky scoffed, "Yeah right!"

"No, it's true! I've seen ghosts in dark, creepy pyramids and all other kinds of spirits."

"Other kinds huh? Like what?"

Sonic smiled slyly as he asked, "Ever heard of the book '1001 Arabian Nights'?"

Miky shook her head, "Uhh… no. Why?"

"Well, than have I got a story for you! Ok, so I was kicking back on my couch reading that book, '1001 Arabian Nights', right? And I feel asleep." Began Sonic as he pulled his chair closer to Miky's, "I wake up and I'm all like 'Man, what time is it?'. And I pick up this ring that was randomly on my coffee table and all of a sudden, there's this flash and these wisps of smoke come out of it!"

"Whoa! Why? What was it? How did it get there? What happened next?" asked Miky eagerly as she scooted to the edge of her seat.

"What happened next? A frickin' genie came out! That's what happened!" replied Sonic.

At once Miky's curious look gave way to a playful glare as she laughed sarcastically, "Hardy Har Har. A genie? Really? Do you really think I'd believe that?"

"What? I'm not kidding! The genie's name was Shara and we went into the book to save the stories." Insisted Sonic, "I still have the book and if you read it, you'll find that yours truly lends more than just a helping hand in a bunch of the stories."

"Pffft! No way!"

"I'm serious! I'll find the book and let you read it."

"Ok, but first, finish your story so I have a point of comparison. If it's different I'll know it's a prank."

Sonic arched an eyebrow and grinned as he crossed his arms, "Point of comparison? That's a pretty round-about way of saying you totally think this could have happened and you want to hear the rest."

"Just continue already." Said Miky as she grinned too while poking Sonic in the arm, "So what did the genie do when she came out of the ring?"

"Glad you asked. She said…." Sonic continued telling of his wild adventure in the storybook world of the Arabian Nights. At first Miky remain skeptical and interrupted occasionally to question or poke fun at him, but as her friend went on, she interjected less and less. Soon she was just as captivated by the tale as she was with any other of Sonic's heroic adventures. Her eyes would grow wide every time he describe the horrid creatures occupying the different chapters, she would laugh at the Arabian Nights versions of their other friends and she would gasp in concern and sadness every time the flaming arrow came up.

By the time the story was done, it was late afternoon and Miky no longer doubted the truth of the tale and was begging Sonic to go home and find the book so she could read it. He agreed but naturally, couldn't help but constantly point out the fact that she had been so sure the whole thing was bogus. After sharing a few more laughs over this, Sonic bade Miky farewell and went home. He searched for the book for about half an hour before realizing he was starving. Deciding he would find '1001 Arabian Nights' the next day, the blue hero made himself some chili-dogs for dinner and settled in on the couch. To fill the silence, Sonic turned the T.V. on to some random channel. It happened to be the news and the top story for the evening was a 12 car pileup on a free-way in Westopolis. Once he had finished eating, Sonic flipped through the channels, half paying attention to what was on them, before eventually drifting off to sleep.

"SonicSonicSooooonnniiiiicccccSonicSooooonnnniiiicccc." There it was again. That chorus of whispering voices with the one far off voice that came through clear as day. It was still pitch black and cold as the Arctic. He could feel his legs walking forward, towards that voice calling his name over and over, "SoooonnniiiiccccSonicSonicSonicSoooonnnniiiiiccccc." He couldn't even see the end of his nose but as he walked, he felt like he was weaving through a huge crowd of people. They brushed up against him and moved aside to let him pass as he continued forward. "Soooonnnnniiiiiiccccc" called the voice. It was louder now, he was getting closer. Suddenly, he stopped. Something wasn't right. His instincts told him that he had to turn around and go the other way and not take another step closer to that voice. He didn't know why but he knew better than to question his gut. He took a few steps backward before turning around and walking back the way he came the voices saying all the while, "SonicSonicSonicSonicSoooooooonnnnniiiiccccSonicSonicSooonnnniiicccc."

But now something was different. The crowd didn't want to let him pass; he had to push and shove to get by. All of a sudden he wasn't making any more progress. The invisible mass of people had formed a solid wall in his path and weren't budging. Then, out of the darkness, he felt an icy hand lash out and grab his left arm. He yelped in surprise as its grip tightened like vice and didn't let go. Another hand grabbed his right arm as two more latched onto his ankles. Fear began build in his chest as the voices suddenly sounded more stern, almost scolding, "SonicSooonnniiiiicccSonic." It felt as if there were hundreds of unbreakable, freezing grips grasping him and to his horror, they began to push and pull him towards the voice, "SooooonnniiiccccSonicSoooonnnniiiicccc."

"No, no no!" he cried as he tried to dig in his heels.

It was no use as the voice got louder and began to drown out the other voices, "SooonnniiiicccsonicSooooooonnnniiiicccc."

His breathing quickened as he fought harder and his heart raced, "No! Let me go!" Hardly aware, he started hyperventilating as the glint of moonlight beaming down on Suicide Lake became the only thing visible in the darkness. "NO! NO OH PLEASE NO!" he gasped, his voice a high squeak. As they drew ever closer, his eyes widened in terror as two hands began to reach up from the depths.

"Sooonnnnniiiiiiccccc." Said the voice as the hands reached out for him. The hands and the arms they were attached to were nearly skeletal with soggy strips of blotchy gray flesh hanging from the bones which had a sickening, slimy sheen due to green-ish yellow pond scum from the bottom of the lake.

As the stench of rot and death reached his nose, he began to scream at the top of his lungs, "WAKE UP! WAKE UP DAMMIT YOURE DREAMING, IT'S JUST A DREAM! JUST WAKE UP! FOR THE LOVE OF GAIA WAKE UP!"

He was mere feet away from the edge of the water as the voice called out once again, its arms outstretched and reaching for him, "Sooonnnii-"

"AHHHHHHH!" screamed Sonic as he bolted up right on the couch. He patted himself down, assuring himself in a hoarse whisper, "I'm ok, I'm ok. It was just a dream. Just a dream…" He sighed in relief as his racing heartbeat began to slow and his breathing went back to normal. The blue hero wasn't usually one to worry about things like nightmares but this was the second night it had happened and both times it was about the lake. Sonic's logic told him that it was because he had almost drowned that day and he was still shook up about it. But, his gut was telling him a whole different story. His gut told him there was more to this than just working through a traumatizing experience. Something wasn't right, the dreams felt too real. Each one felt like a struggle for his life and if he gave in, something terrible would happen.

Sonic sighed as he rubbed his temples, trying to make senses of his conflicted feelings. For a moment considering telling his friends but while they had all seen weird and unexplainable things, they always looked to the logical before jumping to the crazy. After a moment's more of thought, Sonic shrugged and shook his head. He was just being paranoid; there was nothing to worry about. He HAD almost drowned and it WAS a very scary experience so what did he expect? "I'm only Mobain after all." Sonic mumbled to himself as he stood. His mind made up about the ordeal, Sonic went to freshen up and get on with his day.

After a long, refreshing shower and changing into fresh gloves and socks, Sonic sat at his kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal and contemplating what he should do that day. His communicator buzzed urgently as a call came in. Sonic picked up and asked, "Hello?"

"Hey Sonic, my radar just picked up Eggman flying towards Angel Island." Replied Tails, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Really? Like a giant robot or something?"

"No, according to the readings, just his little Egg Mobile."

"That's odd… We should check it out. I'll grab Miky and head over. Give Knux a heads up too." Said Sonic as he began to head for the door.

"Will do. See ya soon." Sonic dashed over to Miky's place and explained everything on the way to Tails' house. Once there, it was an extremely short flight up to Angel Island where Knuckles was waiting impatiently.

"Are you sure he's somewhere on the island?" Said Knuckles as he knocked his fists together.

Tails nodded as he pulled out the Miles Electric and opened up the radar,
"I'm positive. All of Eggman's stuff gives up a unique electronic frequency that I've learned to track. According to this he's in that small forest over there." Tails pointed to a cluster of trees not far from the altar.

"That's Angel Wood." said Miky as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "I remember it from when I stayed with Knuckles. There's nothing in there except lots of little animals."

"So why would he be in there?"

Sonic shrugged as he led the way into the wood, "Well we won't find out by just standing here. Let's go." They entered Angel Wood and began to look around. It was a lovely place with wildflowers growing on either side of the path and the sunlight streaming through the leaves in a dappled pattern. However, all four of them could sense something was not right.

"It's quiet in here… way too quiet." Commented Knuckles as he looked warily around.

Miky agreed, "Yeah, where all the animals? I don't even hear birds!"

The Miles Electric beeped as Tails announced, "We're getting close the signal. Wait… It's coming towards us!"

"Which way is he coming from?" asked Sonic as his ears went up and pivoted about his head, listening for Eggman's approach.

"Dead ahead!" Everyone shifted into a battle stance as the bushes in front of them began to rustle vigorously. After a few tense seconds, the leaves parted and a small gray rabbit fell out.

Knuckles relaxed and glared at Tails, "A rabbit? You got us all worked up over a rabbit!?"

"W-w-what!? No that can't be! I just calibrated the radar last week!" sputtered Tails as he checked the settings and looked around in disbelief.

"Sure it wasn't last YEAR?" quipped Sonic as he rolled his eyes. The rabbit sniffed the air anxiously and bounded towards Miky, jumping into her arms and snuggling against her.

"Awwww! Well Tails, I don't think we're going to find Eggman here. There's only this scared little bunny rabbit. There there." Cooed Miky as she petted the frightened critter.

"I don't understand… He should be right on top of us… What am I picking up?" muttered Tails as he continued to fiddle with the Miles Electric.

Knuckles suddenly grew serious again as if a new thought had just occurred to him, "Wait a minute. That rabbit is the only animal we've seen in here. It's dead quiet and nothing else is around. So… what is it so scared of?" The rabbit's ears suddenly shot up and it leapt out of Miky's arms in a panic just as a small net shot out of nowhere and landed on Miky, entangling her hair.

"DAMMIT! Get back here you fluffy nuisance!" shouted Eggman. At first everyone was confused because the evil scientist was nowhere to be seen but a small BOOP was heard and the visage of the villain in his EggMoblie slowly faded into view.

"AH HA! A cloaking device! That's how we didn't see him! I knew my equipment was on point!" proclaimed Tails triumphantly, "Just why exactly are you prowling around with a cloaking device Eggman?"

"Not to mention chasing poor defenseless animals around!" added Miky accusingly as she yanked the net from her long hair.

"If you're planning something evil on MY island," Knuckles cracked his namesakes so loud it even made his fellow heroes flinch, "You better think again."

Sonic now stepped forward, "So spill it Eggman! I thought you didn't use animals for your robots anymore."

Eggman stood in his EggMoblie, arms folded as the sun glinted off his glasses, "HMPH! Do you really think I'm just going to tell you my plans just because you demanded it!? I don't think so!"

Knuckles growled angrily as he started forward, "Why I oughta-!"

"Hold up Knux." Said Sonic as he put up his arm to stop him, "If Egghead doesn't want to tell us that's fine. It's probably some dumb plot that would never work anyways. We'll just kick his butt and send him packing. Sound good?"

The others nodded in agreement as Eggman began to fume, "WHAT!? It is not 'some dumb plot'! I'll have you know that I've been nabbing animals all afternoon with my ingenious cloaking device! They may make lousy power sources for robots, but they're great for my robots to use as target practice! They'll never miss again! HOHOHO… hohoho… ho…" Eggman's mad laughter trailed away as he noticed the four heroes snickering and giggling. "What are you laughing at!? I'm threatening the lives of innocent creatures! That's not funny, its, its, its evil! I'm EVIL!"

Sonic was still chuckling as he retorted, "Yeah Eggman, you're evil alright. But you're also easy to outsmart!" The heroes fell into another bout of laughter as he added, "Besides, no amount of target practice is EVER going to give those junk heaps of yours have even half-decent aim!"

"Arrgghh… Fine! Be that way! I'm still taking these animals!" Sonic and his friends stopped laughing and shifted into fighting stances. Eggman's mustache drooped slightly as he weakly threatened, "And there's nothing… um, you can do to… stop me? Uh oh…"

The four leapt at Eggman who hit the reverse on his EggMoblie and tried to get away. Sonic dashed ahead of him and with one kick, he sent the hovercraft flying back towards Miky who caught it with her telekinesis and pulled Eggman out, suspending him in the air kicking and protesting while the EggMobile fell to the ground. Tails jumped in and began to tinker with the electronics while Knuckles tore open the hull, releasing all of the animals who scattered and hid in the wood as fast as they could go. When all of the animals were free, Tails had finished and hopped out with a mischievous grin. Miky plopped Eggman back into his hovercraft as Knuckles picked the whole thing up. He tossed it in the air where Sonic homing attacked it into the sky, Eggman's screams of terror and defeat trailing behind it.

As they watched it travel upward, Sonic noticed Tails' sneaky little smile and grinned himself, "I know that look Tails. What did you do?"

"I made some modifications to the thrusters and stabilizers." He replied simply, "It should kick in right about… now." Right on cue, the thrusters on the EggMoblie activated and sent the villain blasting to and fro, screaming comically all the while. He did loop de loops, spins, zig zags and other crazy and sickening maneuvers before finally blasting up into the sky and disappearing into the stratosphere with his yelling fading away the higher he went. The heroes watched the spectacle with joy and when Eggman was out of sight, they collapsed into near hysterics. After they had their laugh, everyone said good bye and parted ways to get back to whatever they were doing that day.