~{NIGHTMARES}~ || A Sonic Movie Oneshot ||

||NIGHTMARE||

He had to open his eyes. By sheer will, Sonic forced his eyes open. He was back at the Transamerica building, and his adoptive parents were right in front of him. Falling in front of him. He snapped himself out of his daze, letting his feet connect with the building he was parallel to. True to his name, Sonic sped up. The terrified looks on his parents' faces were enough to motivate him for the rest of his life. He reached out for one of the falling rings next to him, but his movements came out sluggish and delayed. He was running out of time, and he needed that ring fast. He reached behind him to pull out one of his own quills, to extend his arm span and just grab that ring. But he couldn't. His body wouldn't let him.

He looked down at Tom and Maddie, watching in horror as they hit the ground. He followed suit very soon, but when his body hit the floor the world around him morphed into darkness. Sonic still felt as if he was falling, even though he was now upright.

"Sonic! I can't believe you- You pushed us off a building!" Tom's voice filled his ears before Sonic could even see him. his tone was one of anger, laced with disappointment. Sonic opened his mouth to argue, but no sound came out. He could see the outline of what seemed to be Tom, and next to him stood Maddie. They had their arms crossed as they stared down at the hedgehog.

"Do you really hate us that much, that you'd try to kill us? After all we've done for you?" it was Maddie's turn to speak. The air reeked of fury, causing Sonic's eyes to well up. He felt the tears spill over his cheeks while he stared in the direction the voices were coming from. 

His parents took turns ridiculing him, telling him how much he put them in danger while all he could do was watch. The voices began to blur in an out, sounding muffled and far away. The next thing Maddie said struck a chord within him.

"Just LEAVE! We don't want you here!" Maddie's voice echoed out through the empty void Sonic was actively falling through. Just as the shadows began to leave, as they sounded farther and farther away, Sonic finally caught his voice.

"NO-!"

The hedgehog woke up in a cold sweat.

He slowly sat upright, making sure to touch the frame of his bed to reassure himself that the room he was in was completely real. He was awake, and he was fine. Sonic let out a shaky sigh as he peeled himself from the sweaty sheets, unconsciously making his way to the attic trapdoor. There was no way he was going back to sleep. It could be three in the morning for all he cared, so he headed down the ladder and made his way to the kitchen. If he was quiet, no one would know he was awake.

Sonic found himself looking through the fridge for something to eat. He spied a can of whipped cream in one of the shelves on the door and decided that was going to be the ultimate midnight-distraction snack. He wasn't short enough to need to stand on the benches anymore, but he often sat on the counter when he was bored or alone. Tom would usually scold him with the phrase 'tables are for glasses, not asses' but they both knew Sonic wouldn't stop, and they both didn't seem to care.

So here he sat, on the kitchen counter with a can of whipped cream in the middle of the night. The cream came out and filled his mouth, taking Sonic's thoughts away as he relished in the sweet taste. He turned the metal cylinder over in his hands, reading the dumb slogan and the contents of the container. He skimmed over the ingredients, none of it really sticking in his head.

A light switched on upstairs, and Sonic heard a door quietly open and close again. He couldn't be bothered to put the cream away before one of his parents saw him. Soon enough, Maddie rounded the corner to the kitchen. She was completely unfazed at the hedgehog siting on the counter, and she flashed him a tired smile before browsing the fridge like he had earlier.

"Where's the whipped cream?"

He smiled and held it up to her in response. Seems like sugar filled dairy in a pressurised can wasn't just his comfort food. She sat on the counter next to him, leaning on the cupboards behind them both. Sonic silently handed the can to her, staring at the wall in front of them as she spurted some into her mouth and handed it back to him.

"What's got you out so late?"

"Hedgehogs are nocturnal." He shrugged.

She giggled quietly at that, knowing full well how heavily Sonic sleeps during the night. A short pause came from the hedgehog as he swallowed a mouthful of cream.

"I had a nightmare again."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really." His voice came out more strained than he had planned. Sonic's eyes welled up slightly at the memory of his parent's faces burned into the walls of his brain. He was seventeen; Almost a legal adult, his voice has changed, he was taller. He wasn't a kid anymore. He shouldn't be crying over something that happened over four years ago. But here he was, sitting next to his adoptive mother on the bench, eating whipped cream out of the can and almost in tears.

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, just silently passing the can of cream back and forth. Sonic fiddled with the straps on his gloves. They weren't the same ones he'd grown up with, no. Those had been destroyed when he'd accidentally set the stove on fire two years ago. He'd been devastated, but the next day Tom had come home with a new pair of ski gloves, because they were the closest thing he could find in resemblance. Sonic had cried that day, tears of pure happiness. They still felt new to him. the gloves were durable, and they had a sleek design that he had loved instantly. Maddie placed a hand on his shoulder, smoothing the fur there. He reached out and pulled her into an awkward side hug.

"It was about you again. And Tom." She gave him a reassuring squeeze before turning to face him, pulling her legs up onto the counter and crossing them. Sonic did the same, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. She slipped her hand into one of Sonic's, but this time it was his turn to squeeze it gently.

"Do you remember that time in San Francisco when I pushed you off the building?"

"Yeah?" She responded quietly. Maddie knew exactly where Sonic was going with this, but she let him continue at his own pace anyway. He paused again, before sighing as the emotions inside his head finally won.

"I didn't even think about what could've happened if I didn't catch you, I-" He paused to let the hot tears stream down the tan fur on his cheeks. Sonic grit his teeth and let his gaze fall to the floor. He couldn't bare to look at Maddie right now. "I could have killed you. I should've been faster- I shouldn't have cut it so close I just..."

"Sonic," Maddie started quietly. "That wasn't your fault. You saved us, and if anything, you ended up coming out of it worse off than we did. You could've never known that robot-whatever had something up his sleeve." She let go of Sonic's hand and brought it to his face, wiping away his tears with her thumb. She gently stroked the fur there, cupping his cheek with her hand. "We've chosen to forget that, sweetie. You did what was best at the time, and we love you for it."

Maddie smiled reassuringly, gently lifting his chin so he could make eye-contact with her.

"That was four years ago. Everything's okay now, you can let up. You don't have to be so hard on yourself."

Sonic sniffled rather loudly, then let out a wet chuckle.

"Okay."

Maddie slid herself smoothly off the counter, checking her watch as she did so. It read 4:34 AM. She held her hand out to help Sonic off the bench, even though they both knew he didn't need it. Her eyes held a silent suggestion to go back to bed. She walked him to the trapdoor, bringing it from the ceiling to form the entry to his bedroom. Sonic took a couple of steps upward before he turned around to face his adoptive mother again.

"Hey Maddie?"

"Yeah munchkin?"

"can you tuck me in?"

"Of course."