The God's Pest: a Sonic.EXE tale

After several hours of running, Sonic skids to a halt in the ruins of the Spring Yard Zone, a former Robotnik base masquerading as a fun park. 

"I think I've ran far enough away from that freak..." Sonic says to himself as he looks around his surroundings. "Well...I guess this Gaia-forsaken Zone will have to work for tonight..." Sonic walks around, looking for anything to use as a blanket. He soon spots a torn banner on the ground next to a broken bumper. Sonic grabs the two hemispheres of the Bumper and manages to pry them from the central spring with a loud BWING. He sets one hemisphere aside and lays the other on the floor as a makeshift pillow. The tired Hedgehog grabs the banner and lies his head on the Bumper hemisphere, eventually drifting into a restless slumber. 

After a while of running, Tails finds the exit of the catacombs and enters the Marble Zone proper. "I'm free, thank Chaos!" The twin-tailed fox takes a series of deep breaths through torn lungs before taking in the familiar yet foreign surroundings of the flaming ruins. Tails approaches a nearby stream of lava, the burning semi-fluid slowly flowing through the various channels and tunnels of the zone. Tails notices a platform floating over to him and, when the time is right, leaps onto it. Tails notices that the lava stream seems to disappear, until he quickly realizes that it actually goes down a wall! Tails frantically looks around for a way out, but doesn't find an obvious route. "Sonic says never to fear the fall...so...HERE WE GO!" Tails revs up a Spin dash and races off the platform just as it drops off the ledge and under the lava below. Tails lands on stable ground, idling for a second as he recovers his energy. Once Tails recovers his energy, he continues his escape from the Marble Zone. "I've got to find Sonic...but where would he be in a time like this?" Tails asks to himself as he walks along the smoldering ruins. That's when it hits him all at once and Tails yells out: "The City! He'd go to the city to save as many people as he can!" Tails smiles wide for the first time in a long time, charging up a Spin dash and racing out of the Marble Zone.  

Sonic wakes up in an strange setting, one unlike any Zone he's been to before. The Blue Blue quickly jumps to his feet, assuming a defensive position as he scouts the surroundings. The space around him was hellish, with a crimson red sky with what looked like faces shifting into and out of existence constantly. As for the ground, it was a pitch black color which light could not illuminate. Sonic swallows his fear and prepares for whatever challenge this strange zone might bring. 

"Alright, Faker, just get out here already! I know you're behind this!" Sonic yells as he races forward, glancing around constantly as he dashes though the nightmarish landscape. Sonic doesn't hear any response however, which only further agitates him. Sonic skids to a halt, looks up at the sky, and yells: "YOU HEARD ME, GET OUT HERE AND FACE ME!" Sonic balls his fist in anger, waiting for any kind of response. X doesn't answer Sonic's cries, but another person does, a person far closer to the Blue Blur's heart. 

"S-...Sonic?" A female voice asks from behind. Sonic quickly spins around to see the mutilated face of Amy Rose. 

"Ames...?" Sonic asks hesitantly, staring at the mutilated corpse of his friend. 

"I-I knew you'd return!" Amy yells as she runs over and embraces Sonic, tears forming under her one remaining eye. 

"That imposter really did a number on you, huh?" Sonic asks, returning the embrace in kind. Amy was about answer, when an all too familiar laughter echoes through the barren environment. Amy suddenly goes limp and is pulled out of Sonic's arms and into X's clutches. 

"Like what I did to your girlfriend, Sonic?" X asks, Amy frantically trying to control her body and get out of the demon's grip. 

"You evil BEAST! I'll make you pay if it's the last thing I do!" Sonic says as he jumps at X, only for X to disappear. Sonic lands on the ground and prepares to take off running, but is stopped when he hears a cacophony of screams and groans from behind him. Sonic turns around to see hundreds of corpses flying after him, some of his friends, some of himself, and some of creatures he'd never seen before! Sonic shakes off his confusion and dashes away from the hoard of bodies. Some of the corpses speed up and try to dive bomb Sonic, the hero quickly jumping into the air and Homing Attacks the cadavers back into the ground. Sonic hits the ground running, but the hoard begins to catch up to the Blue Blur. Sonic then gets an idea as his body begins emitting a blue and pink energy. "Here's a special straight from the Starfall Islands!" Sonic yells as he encircles the hoard of dead bodies in a Cyloop. The corpses are sent flying into the sky before crashing into the ground around Sonic. Sonic skids to a stop, a confident smirk on his face. "That was a pretty snazzy performance!" Sonic says to himself before he hears another voice scream: 

"Sonic, look out!" Amy yells from beyond Sonic's view. 

"Amy!?" Sonic asks, looking around for his friend, only to feel two claws sink themselves into his back and exit though his chest. 

"Game over, Sonic..." X says as he yanks his claws out of Sonic's body. The Blue Blur falls to the ground, his last moments spent watch X turn towards a frightened Amy Rose. 

"NO! LEAVE HER ALONE!" Sonic yells as he wakes up, jumping to his feet as he frantically looks around him only to find he's back in the Spring Yard Zone. "A Nightmare...no, that was a vision for sure..." Sonic muses to himself as he wipes the sleep from his eyes and stares up at the sunrise. Sonic feels his determination growing ever stronger, the flames of justice burning ever brighter inside his heart. The Blue Blur closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before saying: "Don't worry, Ames, it'll be alright...I promise..." Sonic opens his eyes and begins running through the Spring Yard Zone.