The Battle Within

Crimson Nightmare

Sonic opened his eyes, nurses ran about the room that he had been placed in. A florescent LED light shinned brightly above him making him squint. He couldn't move and the pain was almost unbearable.

"He is awake, give him more sedatives."

A nurse ran over to the mask that seemed to envelope his face. She nodded and turned her attention to an IV bag that hung on a glistening metal pole. The room smelled of cleaning supplies and the air had a depressing aura to it. She inserted a needle that spewed a liquid into the bag.

"Okay, we need to remove the bullet..."

Sonic felt his vision beginning to go blurry. He was so tired. He wondered where Tails was. If he was okay. Was he alive? Suddenly he drifted off into a endless dark cycle of asleep.

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Sonic opened his eyes. The sunlight reaching it's grasp through the window and filled the room with it's light. It was warm and the bed felt cozy. Sonic yawned and stretched. His back popping like freshly popped popcorn. He looked to the side where two ears and a head of yellow faced the wall opposite of him. Sonic covered himself back up in the covers. This was too good to be true... Right? He touched Tails's shoulder.

"Tails?" He said whispering.

The yellow fur ball turned, his eyes open but still dazed as if he had just woken up moments prior. A smirk covered his face as he spoke.

"Good morning Sonic." He said in the cute little voice he always spoke with.

Sonic grabbed him, pulling him close.

"I thought I'd lost you, you got hurt. Horribly. It was all my fault."

Sonic felt tears swell up behind his eyelids as Tails caressed Sonic's face gently.

"Well I'm here now."

Sonic smiled enjoying the moment. He could smell a familiar smell of chemicals but couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.  Suddenly he felt a pain in his side.

"Ow!" He said touching his side which was wet. He looked down to see the sheet colored with a blood red. He began to panic. He looked back at where Tails had been moments before.

He was gone.

The bed where the fox had laid had been replaced with streaks of blood. No sign of the fox anywhere. A trail of blood lined the floor out towards the door. Sonic got up out of bed, his side in excruciating pain. He balanced himself up using the wall and objects around him. The sun had shifted, and an eclipse had taken form as red dim light replaced the yellow. He made his way across the bed. The crimson colored blood was thick and sticky under his feet. It was warm and felt like stepping in hot clay. The room was dark and the liquid seemed to glisten like crystals. He grasped the door handle, pulling it open slowly.

A long corridor with no end faced him. Blood gave way to a path all the way down. Still glistening in it's dim redness. Closed doors lined the hallway on either side and went as far as his eyes could see. He shuffled, his feet making little red prints of blood on the floor. He walked up to the first door and opened it.

Tails sat down reading a book smiling.

"Cool airplane!"

Sonic reached out to try and grab the fox's attention but something held him back.

A door opened somewhere and a blue hedgehog came strolling into the room where Tails sat peacefully.

"Hey buddy!? What you reading?"