Into the Void

Sonic let out a low groan as he slowly regained consciousness. Upon opening his eyes, the first two things he saw were the floorboards and his feet. Though he was still groggy from being hit by the gas, or smoke, whatever it may be, he wanted to get up. But then, he flopped onto his front. "Huh?" Sonic's eyes widened before he rolled onto his left side and looked down at himself. He clicked his tongue and furrowed his eyebrows in frustration as he realized he was tied up with rope.

With an angry groan, Sonic slammed his head against the floor and sarcastically said, "Well, isn't this great?" 

But then, he raised his eyebrows as something else came to mind: where were the others? Sonic lifted his legs and threw his feet forward, making him sit up again. Before he could call any of their names, he found Kinger, Kipo, and Jake sitting on the floor together, each of them tied up themselves.

"Good morning!" Kinger said happily.

Sonic sighed with relief and said, "Good to see you three are okay."

"Okay?!" Jake repeated with a glare. "We've been led into a trap and now, we're in a room tied up, and that Sammy guy took our gear! You call that 'okay'?!"

"Oh, right." The hedgehog looked down at the floor, his ears pointing downward.

"I told you following him was a bad idea, and did you listen to me? No, you did not! You believed he would help us, and look where that got us!"

"Technically, I was the one who believed Sammy first," Kinger interjected.

Jake continued ranting, "This is your fault, Sonic! I hope you know that!"

"Jake, I think that's enough," Kipo said, furrowing her eyebrows at the blond.

"No, Kipo, he's right," Sonic said. "I was the one who let Sammy take the lead. It was my mistake. I should've listened to my instincts."

"Yeah, you should have!" Jake agreed, still mad.

The four fell silent before they heard a door open. When they turned around, they saw a familiar inky humanoid walk out that door and approach them. Once he got closer, they all scowled at him, for they immediately knew it was only Sammy.

"Ah, good. You're all awake," Sammy said with his hands together.

"You know," Sonic was the first to reply. "My gut was telling me you couldn't be trusted. Probably should've listened to my gut."

"Never mind that, little sheep," Sammy replied as he shook his head and put his hands behind his back.

"Sheep? What are you talking about?" Kipo asked, raising an eyebrow.

Meanwhile, Jake looked down at the floor. What he found beneath him made his eyes widen. "Uh, guys?"

When Sonic, Kinger, and Kipo looked down at what the blond found, their eyes grew wide at the sight of an inky pentagram.

As his body quaked, the chess piece looked back up at Sammy and stammered, "W-w-what is the m-meaning of this?!"

"You have all been chosen," Sammy replied, his arms up in the air. "Chosen as offerings for my lord and savior."

"And who is this lord and savior of yours?" Kipo asked, concerned.

"The almighty monarch who governs this world. He who was born of darkness..."

Quickly, it hit all of them. Sonic was the first to say it. "The Ink Demon!"

"That's right," Sammy said with a nod. "I, the demon's prophet, will be the one to summon the Ink Demon so he will set us free, and you four will be the sheep he will claim to make it happen!"