A/N: When I saw the theme title, I knew exactly what I had to do.

Without further ado, let's move on to the reviews and what matters most: the prompt!


3 Reviews

Guest

Yup, it's not just a reference to Proving Innocence, but it's a what-if scenario that shows what happened if Chris did end up getting caught by GUN!

CreativeKitty975

Now that you mention it, This Way Out could totally be one of the Whumptober prompts! I would just need to figure out where to put it.

(Also my upcoming project list is outdated, so after I post this, I'm gonna update it.)

thor94

Yeah... Chris is gonna need a lot of help after this challenge is done.


Day Four: Hallucinations
Prompt: Hallucinations


"Come on, just a little more to go," Knuckles urged Chris as they climbed a hill in Mushroom Hill Zone.

"I-I'm trying," Chris tried to say, before he yelped and staggered to the side. "C-Caterkiller…"

"There's no Caterkiller here," Knuckles told him, looking around to be sure.

"O-Oh…" Chris said. "S-Sorry… I think it's playing up again…"

"That's why we gotta get back to the outpost as soon as possible," Knuckles said.

Chris and his friends had been visiting Angel Island before a sudden attack from Eggman forced them to make a change of plans. But this time, no one had been counting on Eggman's use of the Phantom Ruby, a gem that seriously complicated matters during the Phantom War thanks to its nature of creating practically tangible illusions for different people – seen by some, but not always by all.

Eggman had stormed toward the Master Emerald with his giant robot, and Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all teamed up to attack it while Chris stood back. It was a very tough fight, especially since Eggman was utilizing the Phantom Ruby the whole time. They saw things that weren't really there, but fortunately, since all seven Emeralds were present, Sonic was able to turn super and deal Eggman's robot the finishing blow, forcing the doctor to flee.

However, in a freak accident, the Phantom Ruby shattered into dozens of pieces that flew everywhere. One of them flew into Chris' left side, much to the horror of everyone. Neither Sonic nor Tails were doctors, and Knuckles had limited medical knowledge, but he did know how to treat injuries from his time spent alone on the island.

However, there were a few stragglers on the island that Sonic and Tails were dealing with, while Knuckles was getting Chris to safety. He had managed to stop the bleeding, but to his shock, the skin closed up around the Phantom Ruby shard.

It was inside him.

And he was seeing things that weren't there.

Even though he was in agony when he was first punctured by the shard, when his skin concealed it within him, the pain magically stopped, leaving only a small bruise and some dried blood that easily came off.

Chris had some difficulty following Knuckles up a steep hill, but it seemed like the echidna was very used to heights and steep slopes, because he was handling it like an expert.

Suddenly Chris heard something behind him, and he whirled around to see a stray missile flying straight toward him and Knuckles. He darted out of the way, nearly losing his balance in the process. But when he looked up again, the missile was gone.

"Another one?" Knuckles asked, looking up at him. Chris shakily nodded his head.

"C'mon, the faster we get to the outpost, the sooner we can get you treated," Knuckles said as he started walking again.

"O-Okay," Chris said as he kept up with Knuckles. "I-I just realized something…" Knuckles glanced in his direction. "Every time I see something that's not there, the part of me where the Phantom Ruby shard is gets hot."

"Huh…" Knuckles thought aloud. "Maybe it's reacting to something…?"

"I'm not sure…" Chris said somewhat absent-mindedly.

"Although I can't possibly see how this would be the real Phantom Ruby… Back in the war, there were a bunch of prototypes. We had to destroy a lot of them, which is how I know it could shatter. So that's why I have a feeling this isn't the real one."

"Just like the Chaos Emeralds can't shatter?" Chris asked.

"As far as I know," Knuckles said. "I think the ancient echidna texts might have something to say about it, but a lot of it is lost in translation. Although, I would love to get around to figuring out a translation. The more I can learn about–"

"Look out!" Chris exclaimed. He looked up in fear before tackling Knuckles to the ground. The impact caught the echidna by surprise, and both of them rolled halfway down the hill.

"What'd you do that for?!" Knuckles exclaimed, sounding a bit annoyed as he stood up. His initial shock died down a moment later as Chris stood up, trembling. "Was it another one? What'd you see?"

"I-I…" Chris looked back up at the top of the hill. "I saw one of the giant mushrooms falling right toward us, clear as day!" His voice was trembling. "I-I'm scared…"

Knuckles was not normally the type to offer comfort to people the way Sonic and Amy and sometimes Tails were. However, he did have a workaround, because he looked up from his thoughts a moment later.

"All right, I don't know if this will work, but… I want you to close your eyes."

"…What?"

"You can't see any of the illusions if your eyes are closed, right?"

"I… think so…?"

"So close your eyes and I'll guide you back to the outpost."

"O-Okay…" Chris was hesitant before he closed his eyes.

"All right," Knuckles said, placing one hand on the human's back. "Start walking forward. The hill is a bit steep, so keep that in mind. You don't see any illusions, right?"

"I don't so far…" Chris said quietly.

"This just might work then," Knuckles said, a small smirk playing across his muzzle. "Bet Eggman didn't think about what would happen if people close their eyes when they're exposed to the Phantom Ruby. I think we just found a weak spot in his plan!"

"I hope so…" Chris said. He wasn't in the mood to talk much. He just wanted the Phantom Ruby out of his body so he could see normally without flinching or getting irrationally scared from anyone else's perspective.

But as long as he kept his eyes closed, at least until he got to the outpost, he figured he would be okay.


A/N: That concludes day 4! I was kind of quick to choose the title as the prompt here. "Sensory deprivation" sounded like it would have been tough since I wouldn't know what to do with it in a short time, and same goes with "You're still alive in my head". I almost chose "Hypnosis" since that sounds like something I could easily do with Chris, but I saw "Hallucinations" and thought of the Phantom Ruby, and that's where this drabble came from.

Tomorrow's theme is "Sunburn!"