((OP: Reawakening))

bluedudewithatude:

*Today was indeed different. Very, very different. At least, for this blue hedgehog. He spent most of the day running; enjoying the wind in his face and watching the area he ran through just… go by. It filled him up with the usual feeling… this. Unplaceable feeling that just made him feel good. It just felt great to be free. It always did. To run anywhere and any place he wanted to in the blink of an eye. 

He ended up stopping in a meadow; a place he rarely visited. Probably because compared to the other sights he could go see, it was unnervingly dull. After coming to a stop and seeing the weather was rather nice in that area, he lets out a yawn and plops himself down on the grass. Head arched up by his own arms behind his head, eyes closed as the calming breeze came across… It was nice to slow down every once in a while. And he did that more than others seemed to realize. And this was one of those times. 

The wind and the feeling his running today gave him made him feel fantastic. No cares in the world bringing him down; and just…relaxed. Completely. It’s in this state of mind that Sonic could feel his consciousness slip. Deep, deep into slumber. 

But he never had a chance. The blue hedgehog was woken up, even as just on the border of sleep he was, by a familiar noise of that Warp Ring, as others called it. His eyes jolted open. Was someone from another zone coming to see him? Say, Zonic, for example? He finds it in him to use his reflexes to sit back up, and ends up watching a blue hedgehog, like him, crawl through.* 

—!! 

*He knew this hedgehog. Straight from another zone, alright. The injuries, his attire. This was Thing. The beaten, and in his mind; delirious, hedgehog who he could swear was another Sonic. And the hedgehog went running for him. Something was different. Very different. 

It was kind of easy to tell what was different, as well. He heard a groan. Yes, a groan of pain when Thing crawled through. He had only briefly talked to Thing, but he never seemed to be suffering from his wounds. Ever. Always sickeningly happy. And it just irked him. 

Now, Sonic ends up stopping just a few inches away from this other hedgehog. And he gets noticed right away. The hurt hedgehog flails his arms, and calls to him. And Sonic takes that as his action. 

He runs to Thing’s side; helping the hedgehog up, and maybe if his wounds were too severe, to the hospital later; and it’s clear in Thing’s voice that he was… exactly like him. 

Sonic was right. He WAS another Sonic. And it looks like he just came to again.*

Mecha Sally…? Sorry, pal. You’re askin’ the wrong person for that. 

Are you alright…? Do you want me to take you to a doctor…?

(As the person he sees draws closer, the hedgehog’s eyes widen, immediately recognizing this as another version of himself.

(He winces and shudders at the other Sonic’s touch, but bites down on his teeth to save himself the emasculation of squealing in pain, silently thankful for his aide.)

Good gods… do you have any idea what happened to me? What are these bandages from? How did I get there, in that place… with Amy and—

(More memories click into place. The dark cell. Cold, metal arms. Pain. Hunger. Loneliness. Closed spaces. Blood.

(The pain hits him like a tidal wave. Every single one of his wounds; every sever that wouldn’t heal, every chemical burn, every slice too deep, every night of bad food on an otherwise empty stomach, the endless nights sleepless from claustrophobia and the fear of being tied down and hurt again. He cries out and collapses awkwardly against the other hedgehog, shivering in pain.)

H-help—

(Source: thing-thehedgehog)