~Chapter Seven: Clean~

Darkness. An endless sleep they could not wake from. Pictures - fragments of a life they couldn't identify. A yellow fox, red echidna, pink hedgehog, too many blurred faces to count.

A small yellow rodent. A mustachioed man in a red cap. A bright flash.

Sound. Humming, quiet at first, growing louder and louder and-

He gasped as his eyes shot open. Panting, his eyes frantically darted around trying to identify his surroundings. The angry purple sky was the first thing that registered, along with the mismatched scenery. The second thing that registered was the fact that his head was resting on something warm and soft and that someone was running a hand through his quills soothingly.

"Wha-?"

"You're okay Sonic," a very familiar voice assured him. "Take as long as you need, we're not going anywhere."

Sonic blinked. "M-Mario?" he paused for a moment. "Why am I in your lap? What... where...?"

"Just take it easy Sonic, you've been through a lot. What's the last thing you remember?"

Sonic blinked as he combed through his memory. "Uh... we were all on a cliff, there was a hoard of Master Hands..." Sonic's eyes widened and he shot bolt upright. "Pikachu! I... I couldn't save..."

As if on cue Pikachu leapt into Sonic's arms, affectionately nuzzling against his muzzle. Relief swept through Sonic as he tightly embraced the Pokemon, fearing if he let go the little mouse would be taken away again. "You're okay..."

"Do you remember anything from... when you were trapped?" Mario quietly asked. Sonic - still holding to Pikachu - thought for a moment before tilting his head.

"I kept seein' fragments of my life but they weren't familiar at all. I'd lost all sense of who I was, but there was a light every once and awhile that gave me clarity. An'... you got through to me. How did you do that?"

Mario shook his head. "I'm not sure. Dharkon said he was in full control but he said you were fighting for control. I don't think it was entirely me Sonic, I think the light you're talking about may have had something to do with it. Do you remember anything else about it?"

"I don't. It felt... comfortin' though. I think... we need to find the source of that light. It was tryin' to help me, an'..." Sonic's eyes widened. "There was somethin' else. I felt another presence tied to mine, it was faint but there." Sonic looked up at Mario. "Now it's my turn to ask some questions. First, where are we?"

Mario paused, cautiously eyeing their surroundings. "Honestly? I'm not sure, all of our worlds seemed to have been combined together to create whatever this place is. We were calling the other place the World of Light, so I suppose the World of Dark would be fitting."

"'We'?" Sonic questioned. "The others are okay?"

"Only some," Mario clarified. "I'd say we've found about half of us so far, but my group was separated when Incineroar attacked us."

Sonic inhaled sharply as he tried to take in the new information as quickly as he could. "Is there anythin' else I should know?"

"Us Smashers were fortunate enough to retain our physical forms. Others... weren't so lucky though. They're here... but as spirits. I don't know if they'll be able to reunite with their bodies." Mario hesitated. "We found Amy and Blaze. They should still be with Peach at the moment. I'm sorry."

Ice filled Sonic's veins. "What about Tails? Where's my little brother?"

"If he's here we haven't found him yet. Just like we haven't found Luigi." Mario braced himself for Sonic to take out his anger on him but to his surprise that didn't happen. Instead Sonic's face was blank as he absentmindedly pet Pikachu.

"You said you were separated from the others?"

"Uh... yeah." Mario confirmed. Sonic nodded, perching Pikachu between his ears.

"We should find them then. There's strength in numbers."

Mario watched as Sonic began to walk away and couldn't shake the feeling that Sonic didn't want to be alone with him. Shaking his head at the stubborn hedgehog, Mario began to follow Sonic's retreating form.

/~/

Night fell faster than the small group expected, and even with Mario's flames it was too perilous to continue when they were still in a dense forest surrounded by thick fog. Sonic begrudgingly agreed with Mario that they should probably stop for the night even though he still wanted to keep going. Pikachu went foraging in the woods for nuts and berries while Mario started up a small campfire.

It wasn't ideal, but it was the best they could do until they were reunited with the others. Pikachu curled up into Sonic's lap to sleep while the hedgehog stared into the fire, looking pensive.

Mario wasn't sure if he should ask Sonic what he was thinking about or leave him be. The silence between them was thick with tension - something that made Mario's anxiety flare up. He knew he should probably say something but he didn't want to say the wrong thing and end up in a worse situation than they were already in. Then again, aside from Pikachu they were finally alone and this was an ideal scenario for a proper talk to happen.

"Sonic? Uh..."

Sonic's eyes lifted from the dancing flames. "Yeah?"

Mario opened his mouth to say something but his words died on his tongue. His heart hammered as he stuttered out a few noises that resembled words before burying his face in his hands, ashamed.

Sonic sighed, gently gathering the napping Pikachu in his arms and placing him on the ground. "Look, I know you wanna say somethin' so just spit it out. We're stuck with each other right now an' even if I don't like what comes outta your mouth, I can't exactly risk goin' off on my own. So go on." Sonic folded his arms. "Do your worst."

Mario took a moment to gather his thoughts before starting, "So... things are awkward between us."

Sonic blinked, tilting his head and giving Mario a bewildered look. "Duh? We impulsively slept together an' admitted we still loved each other, of course things are awkward!"

"Then we should probably fix that!" Mario threw up his hands in frustration, finally allowing his annoyance to get the better of him. "Why are we even still fighting anyway? I thought we were past this after we talked!"

"Well I'm not the one who suggested we should still be friends when there's still feelings involved! Did it ever occur to you that maybe I wasn't okay with bein' 'just friends' an' maybe wanted to try an' fix things if it was possible?"

Mario gaped at Sonic. "I thought... you were done with wanting a relationship with me."

Sonic groaned, massaging his temples. "Chaos Mario, I regret breakin' up with you okay? It was a stupid, impulsive move an' I have a difficult time expressin' certain emotions an' then everythin' in my world happened an' I couldn't handle that much stress seein' you again. An' I made some stupid decisions an' now here we are."

Mario was silent as he absorbed Sonic's words. He honestly had no idea that Sonic regretted their breakup, he'd just accepted it as something he'd have to live with for the rest of his life. As he was thinking of a response a roar echoed from deeper in the forest and Sonic sprang up, ears swiveling to pick up the direction it came from. Pikachu had also woken up, cheeks sparking and crouching down into a defensive position.

For a moment there was nothing but eerie silence. Then the sky lit up in crimson and violet as a creature with a swine like appearance snaked its way into the sky, letting out another roar that echoed across the whole forest.

AN: Wow, look who remembered the password to their account

No but really, this chapter has been sitting half done since the last chapter came out. My inspiration was wearing really thin and a lot of other things in my life took priority over fanfiction. I am genuinely sorry it took so long for any new content, and if any of you are still here thank you for waiting so long. I can't promise faster updates, again, my personal life takes priority, but I can promise that this fic will be finished, no matter how long it takes. Thank you.

~Steel