So Long Goodnight (Sonadow)

Chapter V - Act II

Sonic's POV:

My body was too weak to move. It was the first thing I noticed as soon as I opened my eyes, laying down on cold nothingness. Darkness was everywhere, yet I could clearly see my body as if I was under a limelight of some sort.

Am I dreaming again?

I couldn't get the proper timing to tell Shadow about it, but from every dream I got from naps and sleeps, he always appeared. Each would be just the same as the others.
This would be the fourth time this happened and regardless of the amount of sleep I get, the length of these dreams would always be longer than reality.

I would be laying down, motionless for a matter of time I couldn't measure until I hear a set of footsteps drawing nearer to my direction. That would cause me to regain my motor senses and by the time I would stand up, Shadow would be there as well, standing several feet away from me.
He would have the same pensive glare he always wore in front of everyone else. His arms would not be crossed as usual, but his stance was very much the same. Just like every replay, as if it was the dream's compulsion, I would find myself stepping forward to approach him.

Just as when I was already nearing him, a familiar voice would call me out from behind, "Faker, stay away from him! That is not me!"

I would be taken back every time, terror would cloud my mind – causing me to turn back, only to see my very own rival, struggling desperately from the darkness as if he was being consumed by it, "Shadow? What's goi-"

Pain. A very familiar one. It would be everything I would feel. The same pain that took my life once. The kind of death only three individuals could ever recall.

"No, no, no!" I would hear him scream at the top of his lungs whilst clawing his way out from the shadows, his voice ragged as the cry came out over and over from his throat.

I hated seeing him like that.

Have you ever experienced pain so bad you couldn't shed a tear? When everything was just too sudden that you might've forgotten what being hurt meant. My eyes would then fall to where I could feel the agonizing sensation.

Chaos energy with indomitable power, compressed and piercing through my chest, burning every fiber it caught from its line of sight – heh, he would get me each time, "M-mephiles..."

From the previous dreams, I would fall on my knees, then Shadow would manage to get out from the emptiness where he was shackled and would rush in front of me without any second thought, "Shit. Hang in there, Faker. We'll get you out of here."

But my body would be too limp to respond back at him, so I could only give him my arrogant face to show my gratitude for having my back, albeit too late.
Keeping my eyes fixated at his form which would start to be surrounded by his negative energy, I would only feel my body getting cold while having this constant flow of warm fluid dampening my fur.

"Hang in there," my eyes would finally close by the time he uttered that phrase, only to wake up to reality once giving his final plea. "Stay with me."

That would always be the case, but I had a feeling that this dream would be different from the others.

Gaining back my consciousness after a series of footsteps, my shoes clicked against the ground as I kicked my legs forward to stand up.
Shadow was there again, quite a jog away from me, his crimson glare was the same as how as I observed it when we spent the afternoon together – firm gaze yet softer than normal, the kind of look he had never showed anyone else for as long as I could guess. Arms crossed unlike what I encountered in the previous dreams.
I looked down on my feet and waited for myself to walk towards him naturally, but it seemed as if I had full control of the dream this time. I let out a slight chuckle, delighted from the changes so far.