Sonic Runaways

Sonic and Rouge sat in the after-hours night club, Sonic staring out the window at the mall area as the bat paced around. "We have to go back there, Ariem sounded like she was in trouble," Rouge sighed drunkenly. "And you… you were so rude to her! She was just trying to help you!"

"I'm sorry for setting a boundary? I guess?" Sonic spat, turning to face her. "I don't like talking about my problems with a complete stranger in the corner telling me how to feel."

"And that's the issue! Men like you always keep your feelings sealed off like some precious little jewel. For all the defensive prickles on that hide of yours, you're afraid to even open up to a licensed therapist," Rouge scoffed, lipping her finger.

"She is NOT licensed," Sonic replied. "No way in hell."

"Either way, Eggman is definitely involved. You're just gonna leave Ariem to fend the empire off by herself?" Rouge asked, staring into his eyes. She smiled, as Sonic pouted. "Checkmate, boy. You're a lot like Shadow, you know. So standoffish until it's time for action."

"I guess I did have a few dreams where Eggman attacked me with a weird hand monster," Sonic groaned, hopping off the windowsill. "Maybe… fighting them again could help me get my groove back!" Sonic balled his hands up into fists, and smiled. He turned to Rouge. "It's been slow lately, too slow. I'm in on this plan!" Rouge giggled.

…

Sonic tossed and turned on a sleeping mat, trying to keep his eyes shut while listening to an ambient track he found on the internet. Rouge stepped in, balancing two teacups on a fancy plate. "I figured you'd have trouble getting some shuteye, so I made you this," Rouge sighed. She handed Sonic a teacup. It was barely hot.

"I expect a tea party when Ata's the host, but you?" Sonic snickered. Rouge's wings rose.

"Shut up, Sonic! That's no ordinary tea, and this is no amateur china set. The jewels studding the base are very rare… They're said to open your third eye. The effects they have on the mind blur the line between our world and Maginaryworld, the dimension of dreams." Rouge said, tracing her teacup's rim. Sonic smiled, and shook his head.

"Whatever you say, professor," Sonic replied. He took the cup and sipped his tea. "Hey, is that blue raspberr—?" Sonic's head fell back, and he hit it on what felt like a water bed. He stared up at the bright blue sky above, feeling tiny fish brush along his arms and legs. Gripping his hands and looking down at where his sleeping mat was, he found he was on a chilidog-themed pool floatie.

In the ocean.

"Can't swim! Can't swim!" Sonic cried, splashing around.

"Calm your nerves, Sonic. This is just a dream," Ariem said, emerging from the water and smiling at Sonic. "You are not in any real danger, not that you would be if this was the waking world…" Sonic glanced to a signpost on the nearby coast. 4'1 deep.

"Great. Look, I'm sorry for bailing before, Ariem," Sonic sighed. "I didn't want to deal with such a heavy dream, especially considering I didn't think any of this was… real?" Ariem giggled. "I guess Rouge remembering is evidence enough. Speaking of, where is everyone?"

"I thought a 1-on-1 session here in Blizzard Coast would be valuable, especially considering your thoughts on today's subject," Ariem replied. "You have trouble swimming, correct? You live a cozy life on the beach now… wouldn't you like to learn?"

"Ehh, sure?" Sonic groaned. "The whole thing makes Eggman's underwater schemes a drag. But hey, that's why I run on water, right? Still, if you're willing to teach me…" Sonic leaned back on the floatie, but just as he did, a stray quill poked through, popping it from right under him!

"Exactly! I thought we could start with something light, before moving onto more sensitive topics. How about some exposure therapy?" Ariem suggested, as Sonic surfaced and tensed up in the water. Sonic tried to get a word out, but his teeth wouldn't stop chattering. He slowly stopped shaking when he realized… he was okay, he wasn't drowning.

"Hey, this works?" Sonic asked, slowly paddling towards a crab-shaped pool floatie. He grabbed onto it. "Ha! Swimming's easy!" A strike of lightning in the distance. Sonic looked over, surprised.

"Having fun in the water, Sonic?" Eggman's voice asked from above, just like in the nightmare Sonic had before. "Well then, we can't have that. For all your bravery, you know you can't swim out of the kiddie pool…!" The water began to rapidly splash around, sending Sonic every which way as his heart beat out of his chest. He realized he couldn't come close to touching the ground!

"Sonic, are you okay?" Ariem called, floating above the waves.

"Fine, I'm fine, I—!" Sonic shouted, before being grabbed by a giant balloon claw. He was dunked under the water, held down against a coral reef. Opening his eyes and flailing his arms around, he came face to face with a pool floatie crab… that had a mustache??? It had a name written on its underside in gold ink, Dr. Crabulous!

Ariem tried to swim down and assist Sonic, only to be sent hurdling back by a monster wave. "Sonic! Don't panic. If you do, you'll wake up… and we still have a bit left to learn, eh?"

"Remember, this is a dream. The laws of reality don't apply here, so use your imagination!" Ariem's voice exclaimed in Sonic's head.

Sonic grinned, before chewing into Doctor Crabulous' claw and sucking an air bubble out of the tear. As the claw deflated, he was able to burst out of the water in a blue spire. Sonic rocketed into the bright sky with crystalline water droplets all around him. He fell down onto Crabulous, bopping him in the eyelid and shooting into the air again like he was in a bouncy castle. "Yahoo!" Sonic cried, waving his arms around in circles. When he hit the water, he was prepared to sink… but to his surprise, his arms were now acting like rudders! He hand-ran all the way back to Crabulous on the surface of the water, tearing another hole in the Boss Badnik. He swung back and hit again, and again! Before Crabulous exploded, reduced to nothing but a sheet of charred and torn plastic.

Ariem watched in awe, before Sonic zipped over to her on the shore. "Maybe Eggman shouldn't have sent us a 'blow-up' robot, huh?" Sonic chuckled. "I'm kinda proud of that one, not gonna lie..."

"And I'm proud of you. You fought hard, and overcame your fear of water," Ariem replied, pointing at Sonic's chest. He looked down at a swirling collection of glitter, and a necklace with a strange orb appeared. "That is a Dream Orb. It's a little treat I give out to those who overcome a Dreamscape's trial. It allows you to Dreamweave, or in other words, make your dreams come true in the real world!"

"Sweet! Thanks, Ari," Sonic replied, clutching the Dream Orb gently with a smile. "I will admit, I had some reservations about this whole dream-therapy thing. But you have a really good gig going on here, helping people's dreams come true and all that jazz." Ariem averted her eyes, with a blush.

"Oh, well, yes. It's all I could ever hope for," Ariem mumbled, running her finger through her ear. "But Eggman seeks to take it all for themselves. Sonic, I hope you know that crab-bot was not part of the plan at all. I don't know how, but lately, Eggman has found a way to… interface… with the Reverie. Forcefully. The empire has been sending Badniks to each corner of every Dreamscape. Reverie Haven is safe, but not for much longer." The atmosphere turned gloomy across Blizzard Coast, Ariem and Sonic looked up as orange goop began to rain from the stormclouds above. The sun was blocked out by… something.

"That's alright, I can wake up and stop whatever Eggman's doing in no time," Sonic grumbled, taking on an action stance and preparing to pinch his cheek.

"No, it's not an option," Ariem sighed, shivering in her blanket-like garb. "Eggman isn't a part of your world anymore. Their consciousness has already been uploaded to the Reverie. If something must be done, it MUST be done in this realm, but…" Ariem looked Sonic in the eye, afraid. "It would not be wise. Sonic, I don't think it's a good idea to confront Eggman."

"Why not?" Sonic asked, feeling as though the breath had been taken out of his lungs. He stepped back. Ariem hesitated.

"Because Eggman is the reason you need to come here at all," Ariem said. Sonic jolted awake, hyperventilating. He scanned the room. Rouge was out cold on the couch, moonlight filtered in through the blinds. He tried to catch his breath, holding onto his neck. The Dream Orb… it was right there.

"So that settles it. This dream business is for real," Sonic gasped. "I wonder if this thing actually—-" Sonic heard Rouge snort and snore, rolling over slightly. He realized he should probably keep his voice down. He stepped out into a back alley, the cold nighttime air nipping away at his skin. He heard waves splashing in the nearby Emerald Beach. "I have… a good idea!"