Chapter 5

The thing occupying Sonic's body was strolling through the forest, admiring everything around it as if the surroundings were so new and fascinating. It slowed for a second and cocked Sonic's ears as if it could hear something far away. With an irritated groan and a roll of Sonic's eyes, it said, "I hate it when they turn into sniffling children; so distracting." With, that the thing walked on, trying to think of where it should go next. It sat down underneath the shade of a tree and took a deep breath as it looked up into the sky. Slowly, the awareness left Sonic's emerald green eyes, leaving them empty and void of any emotion or sign of occupancy. His body slumped backwards against the tree trunk like a ragdoll and was still.

Sonic angrily wiped away his tears, knowing if he was going to figure out a plan to reverse whatever that thing did to him, he needed a clear head. He stood and examined his surroundings. It was still pitch black with not even a shred of light. Suddenly, everything around him grew cold and mist materialized out of nowhere. "Hello there… Sonic." Said an all too familiar voice. The blue hero whirled around to see the decaying female that had haunted his dreams standing in the mist with an arrogant grin on its face.

"What are you? Where am I and what did you do to me!?"questioned Sonic aggressively as he shifted into a battle stance.

"My my, so many questions." She replied as she casually walked toward him, "And so rude too. A little 'Welcome back to the world of the living!' would have been nice."

Sonic's anger softened slightly as he considered what he had just heard, "'Welcome back to the world of the living'?" he snapped his fingers as a thought occurred to him; "You're the same thing that I dreamed about after a fell in the lake! The thing that was always calling me and trying to yank me in!"

"If you recall, you also saw me in the lake. Remember?"

At first Sonic was confused but he soon recalled seeing her horrifying face in the ripples of the lake, "Unfortunately I do. So what are you exactly, some kind of ghost or demon? Who are you?"

"I prefer powerful and malevolent entity. But if you must call me something, call me…" she paused for a moment, twirling a thin strand of her sparse green hair in her bony fingers, "Beauty. Yes, that'll do just fine."

"Beauty? That's awful ironic." Retorted Sonic. He didn't usually like to make such cruel jokes but this thing in front of him had terrified and violated Miky. It was all he could do to not homing attack her right in her decaying face.

The entity frowned and with an angry toss of her head began to walk away into the darkness, "Well it won't be for long!"

Still wanting answers, Sonic ran after her shouting, "Hey! Get back here! You never told me what this is and where I am!"

"You want to know where you are? You're on MY turf; the realm of reflections. You're going to hang out in here while I take your body for a little spin. And just for that crack, something particularly nasty is going to befall that red-headed slut!" hissed Beauty as she suddenly appeared in front of Sonic in a burst of mist.

As frightened as he was, the insult to Miky gave him courage as he shoved his face back into Beauty's, "You're not going to do another damn thing to her! Give me back my body and go back to wherever hell you came from!"

A cunning smile spread across the entity's face as she said with mock sweetness, "You want your body back? Well, I could offer you the usual wager."

"The usual wager?"

"Every time some fool whose energy and power I desire stumbles across my lake, I take control of their bodies and use them until they have nothing left to give me. Unless, they win a little bet I propose to them."

Sonic folded his arms and replied with great skepticism, "And what is this bet?"

"I take control of you and I mess up your life as much as I see fit. I turn all of your friends and family against you, make your loved ones hate your guts. Then, I give you back your body. If you can gain forgiveness for whatever unspeakable acts you committed before the full moon rises, I leave you alone and wait for the next sucker. But if you fail…" here she cackled evilly, her grin spreading wider, "Your energy is mine!"

"But that's not fair! You attacked Miky before you told me all this!" protested Sonic.

"Eh. I saw an opportunity and I took it. So do we have a deal or not?" Beauty extended her grisly hand, the water-logged strips of flesh nearly sliding off her fingertips.

"So if I win, you'll leave me and my friends alone?"

"That's right. I'll go back to the lake and wait for some other loser." Even though he was already pretty far up the creek, the hero in Sonic couldn't help but be fixated on the fact that if he won, this monster would simply move on to someone else. While no one would blame him for wanting to just take care of himself, Sonic knew that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he allowed others to experience what he was going through.

With this in mind he said, "How about we raise the stakes?" Beauty retracted her hand, a puzzled yet interested look on her face. "If I win, you go back to the lake and never harm another living thing. EVER."

She scoffed, "Why would I agree to something like that?!"

"Because." Added the cerulean hero as he gestured to himself, "If I lose, you get me. The whole shebang: body and soul." The intrigued look on the entity's face sprang back as if the thought had never occurred to her. "Think about it. Nowadays that old lake is nothing but an urban legend. My friends and I had to be the first to visit in years. And out of those few people who stumble upon the lake have the kind of energy you're looking for?"

"Not many." She admitted.

"Exactly. I don't know about the other people you've body snatched but mine is pretty sweet. I'm the fastest thing alive. Imagine how many victims you could get if you went to THEM. It'd certainly be way more than if you were waiting for them to come to YOU." Sonic now extended his hand, "So how about it? Do we have a bet?"

"Answer me this first: Why? Why are you so confident you'll win that you'd risk your body AND your soul for some strangers that you'll most likely never meet?"

Sonic exhaled and shrugged, "I'm a hero, I can't let anyone else go through this. Now do we have a deal or not?"

Beauty grinned once more, "Very well. If you can gain the forgiveness of your friends before the next full moon, I'll return to the lake and never bother another living soul again. BUT, if you can't, your body and soul are mine forever!" She reached out and grasped Sonic's hand. A stinging sensation that burned like fire raced up Sonic's arm causing him to gasp in pain. He gritted his teeth as it rippled through the rest of his body making his muscles go numb. Suddenly he felt woozy and weak and collapsed to his knees.

He looked up at Beauty and had to do a double take, "What the-?!" The entity standing before him had changed. Her clothes were no longer ragged and sopping wet which revealed that she was actually wearing a charming, flowing baby blue dress that touched the floor with violet sashes around the arms and torso. The skin on her arms and hands was beginning to heal and knit itself back together. It was still a hideous gray, but was smoother and the bone was visible in less places. "How'd you-!?"

Beauty chuckled as she spun, "Ah, this was always my favorite dress!" She knelt and pinched Sonic's cheek, yanking as she said tauntingly, "Thanks for that little pick me up as well as a nice chunk of memories. I can't wait to visit… oh what's his face. Tails! Yes, him. We're going to have all kinds of fun!" Beauty pushed him away and began to vanish into a cloud of mist, her chilling cackle echoing around Sonic as he struggled not to pass out.

'I have nothing to worry about,' he thought to himself as everything began to fade in and out, 'My friends will know something is up… They know I would never… never… hurt…'

Life flooded back into Sonic's body as it sat up right, with a gasp. Some leaves had fallen from the tree he was sitting under, covering his lap slightly. Brushing them off, the entity got up and after getting her bearings, steering Sonic's feet towards Tails' house. Beauty grinned and a matching sneer came to Sonic's face; she was in control, she was ready to wreak some havoc, and she eager to win the bet.