Losing Marbles

"Sonic, I told you we should have gone through the bridge!" Tails cried, as Sonic felt the ground rumble and shake under him with every step he took. "This place is an active volcano, we won't make it out in time!" The cave ceiling began to fall apart, dropping blocks of marble into the lava pool for them to use as stepping stones.

Sonic looked over to Tails and smirked. "C'mon, you know better!" Sonic exclaimed, swinging from a pendulum meant to crush him. "It's a shortcut. We'll be out of here in no time!" Sonic looked back ahead, and his eyes widened. He skidded to a stop mere centimeters away from a long, gurgling pit of lava. A lone green block was waiting ahead of him, with vines growing along the edges. Tails flew directly over the lava as if it was nothing. "You're kidding, right?" Sonic groaned. "Tails, gimme a lift."

"It seems risky…" Tails argued, with a face representing complex analytical thought. "I can only fly for so long, and I can't even see to the end of this lava pool." Tails floated over and landed on the ground next to Sonic. Sonic's heart sank in dread as Tails slowly walked over to the big green block. "Perhaps we can use this as some sort of boat. It might be the only way forward."

"There has to be a way around! C'mon! Let's go back!!" Sonic panicked. Sonic spun around to face the way they came in, but saw it fall into nothing more than a heap of stone and rubble. Lava was starting to seep through the cracks of the scattered remains. Sonic sighed. "Fine… fine… let's go."

"C'mon, Sonic! We're going to melt alive!" Tails cried frantically as he and Sonic pushed on the block. The vines began to break off one by one. Then, they stumbled onto the block as it fell into the lava pool. It began to float around in the current. It didn't feel secure, but it would work.

"It's… pretty slow," Sonic observed.

"Yeah, it is..." Tails agreed as a block of marble fell right next to their block, nearly splashing lava all over them. Tails shielded his eyes. "Aaah!"

"So… how long are we here for?" Sonic asked. His foot began to tap involuntarily and his hands began to fidget with themselves. "I think I can feel my skin against my flesh. When do I get to move?" Tails gave no response. He was still shaken up from nearly being melted alive. Sonic sat down, bored and frustrated by the lack of any sort of action. They were in an erupting volcano, it should have been more exciting.

As they continued, the torches on the walls began to dim, until eventually the only real light was from the lava river they were sailing across aboard S.S Slow-Motion. The temple began to fall apart around them, but they were so deep underground that sunlight was a distant memory and nothing more. There were no signs of an end to this constant waiting. Tails was waiting in fear, while Sonic was waiting in absolute boredom. And nothing felt worse than how boredom felt to Sonic.

Minutes later, his patience had grown thin, and it was surely about to snap in half. He was close to jumping ship and taking his chances bouncing between walls with the Triangle Jump. He hadn't already because he ever so slightly doubted his ability to continuously jump from wall to wall to get out of this place. There was a speck of daylight up ahead. He could see an opening.

While gauging the distance between the walls to ensure his fantasy that he could reach with the Triangle Jump, he caught sight of something peculiar. It could have been his eyes playing tricks on him, maybe trying to make sense of an abstract pattern of marble, but he could swear… that he could barely see the front part of a statue bearing his likeness.

Sonic sat there, confused. He was dwelling on the sight so much, that before he knew it, Tails was yelling something at him. "Sonic! Snap out of it!" Sonic shook his head, and looked around. The marble blocks were beginning to fall faster with less room in between, and lava spouts were blasting up everywhere. "This doesn't look good. If we stay any longer, we'll either be melted, crushed… or both!"

Sonic and Tails backed away from the edges of the block they were on. They felt everything start to shake. Then, a lava spout formed underneath them, rocketing them upwards.

"Hold oooooonnnnn!" Tails shouted as Sonic looked upwards. They were headed straight for the roof of the volcano. If they stayed on the block, they'd splatter between it and the roof. So Sonic grabbed Tails by the arm and jumped off the block. "Sonic, no!" Tails cried, shutting his eyes. Sonic ran around falling pieces of land that formed a makeshift loop-de-loop, jumped between many blocks, and made one final leap from a platform that was making a direct dive into the lava. Tails opened his eyes, and looked behind them. "That was… incredible!" Tails exclaimed.

"It's not over yet!" Sonic shouted, kicking a large boulder into a crack that light was seeping through, shattering both rocks open and letting the light shine through a large hole they could escape through. The kick killed all of his momentum. "I'm gonna need your help here, Tails!" Sonic began to fall, but Tails began spinning his tails to fly Sonic and himself forward. They emerged from the hole, back at the surface.

Sonic and Tails soon landed on the surface. They both took a while to catch their breaths. "That was insane!" Tails cried between breaths. "We weren't gonna make it, but then… you…!" Tails looked over to Sonic, who remained quiet. Usually, he would be celebrating such a feat. But he was only looking into the pit as the lava rose ever higher. "Hey, you okay?" Tails asked.

"Yeah… let's just keep going," Sonic sighed. He turned away, and gestured for Tails to follow him. He then ran off into the distance. Tails looked at him confusedly, then followed.