Fever Dream Part 1

His eyes opened. A familiar scene. He'd been here many times before. His legs were moving him forward at an alarming rate. He tried to stop. They wouldn't stop. He wasn't in control of his body. His eyes darted, back and forth. Green grass, checkerboard patterns in the brown earth. Trees all around him, tall and sturdy, the ideal place for animals to make their homes. Yes, he'd seen this place many times before. But something was different. Something in the air… it was… ominous. Like an impending threat that he was powerless to stop. A new feeling to him. Faster. Faster. All he could think of was running faster. His legs transitioned from a circular blur to a figure eight formation. His surroundings passed by him at a quickening pace. Faster. Faster. He couldn't stop running. Faster. Faster. And then, he stopped. Everything was still. Something on the horizon caught his eye. He looked up. A shadowy figure. He tried to talk. No sound came out. All he could do was stand, motionless, staring at the figure in the distance. Until… It began walking towards him. Slowly making its way to him. Its pace quickened. Thump, thump, thump. Where was that sound coming from? Thump, thump, thump. There it was again. The shadowy figure was mere feet away. Thump, thump, thump. Was it his heartbeat, or the mysterious figures footsteps as it inched ever closer? He couldn't tell. The figure stopped, inches from his face. He could feel its breath, yet he couldn't make out who, or what, it was. "Who are you?" The words were not his, yet they had come from his mouth. The figure backed away. "Me?". Something began happening to its head. It began twitching. Then suddenly, spikes erupted out of the back of its head, in a gooey black mess. One by one, six spikes emerged. Where a dark, black surface had once been, a face began forming. Its body began melting and forming into a familiar shape. Black faded to blue. And then, it stopped. He took a few steps backwards to get a good look at the creature, the first time he could control his actions in what seemed like ages. It was like looking in a mirror. Then, it spoke, yet it didn't open its mouth. "I'm you". Silence came over him. It was strange. Then, it's mouth widened into a gaping black hole and a deafening noise erupted from the creature. Its head began rotating, black goo spewing from its mouth. Its arms widened as though to give an embrace. But then, letters began forming in between his hands. T. I. M. E. F. O. R. A. C. H. A. N. G. E. The creature continued screaming. He put his hands over his ears "WHAT IS GOING ON!?" He screamed. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!". "THERE IS NOONE TO HELP YOU HEDGEHOG." Said the creature. "IT'S JUST YOU AND ME". A flash of green. His eyes opened. A pink figure stood over him. "Sonic? Are you okay? You were screaming in your sleep. C'mon, let's get you some medicine. This sickness is really taking its toll on you darling". It was Amy, his girlfriend. "I had a weird dream Amy". he said when they reached the kitchen. "Oh? What was it about?". Her eyes widened as he told her about the strange Green Hill and the shadowy figure. "And there was a flash of green, and I woke up", he concluded. "That's weird. Probably just one of those dreams you get while you're sick", Amy said. "Yeah, you're probably right.", he agreed. Amy walked over and put a thermometer in his mouth. She walked over to the counter and poured some medicine in a small cup. "Knuckles has this gunk that you've got, and so does Tails. Poor things, cooped up at home all day. Tails is working on a cure but, of course, being sick isn't exactly expediting the process. I just hope he's getting the rest he needs. And Knuckles obviously isn't taking a break from guarding the Master Emerald. I told him to rest but *sigh* you know him. So hardheaded." The thermometer beeped and Amy walked over to check its results. "102.8. Let's give you your medicine and get you back to… hang on a second-", she paused. He looked up from the table. "What is it?", he questioned with a sickly croak. "You're eyes… they've changed.", she answered. "What do you mean?", he asked. "See for yourself.", she said. She held up her phone for him to use as a mirror. As he looked at himself, his jaw dropped. His once coal black eyes had changed to an emerald green. "W-w-what happened!", he shouted. "Honey, don't yell like that while you're sick, you'll lose your voice. I'm not sure, but maybe it's an effect of the sickness? I'll check with Tails and Knuckles ok?", Amy said. "Drink your Nyquil and we'll get you back to bed. I'll turn something on the T.V. for you to watch." "Okay." he responded as he downed the fowl liquid. He walked to the bedroom and got under the covers. Amy put on his favorite movie, Fast and the Furious, gave him a kiss on the forehead, and stepped out to call his friends. As much as he loved the movie, he was tired, and he slowly fell into a deep sleep.

His eyes opened. An awful smell reached his nose as he took in his surroundings. Once more, he was running but this time, he had control over his actions. He went up and down double-helix roadways that carried a mysterious blue liquid. He knew this place. He had been here with Tails. He was in the Chemical Plant, and he couldn't stand it. He had always hated this place. Eggman had destroyed a lush forest to build it and enslaved the animals that lived in it to do his bidding. He had taken out the robots his first run through and put a stop to the production of the harmful chemicals, so he couldn't understand why it was back up and running. The same ominous feeling lingered here, although not as strong. Then suddenly, he heard a scream. A familiar scream. It was Tails. He skidded to a stop. "TAILS! WHERE ARE YA BUD?! I'M COMIN'!" He shot off in the direction of the scream, jumping from platform to platform until he reached its point of origin. There he was, crouched on the ground, tails wrapped around him, gripping the sides of his head. "What happened buddy?", he questioned. "There was this monster. An awful, black gooey monster. And then… then it was me. It made an awful noise and there was a flash and I-I-I've never been so scared Sonic." "It's ok buddy, I'm here". He put his hand on Tails' shoulder. "Hey, calm down, breathe deep. Look at me". Tails looked up at him, and met his gaze with sky blue eyes. "Thanks for being here for me Sonic". His last word lingered in the air as his vision faded. His eyes opened. "AMY!", he screamed. "What is it babe, what's wrong!", she said as she darted into the bedroom. "Tails, call Tails! NOW!", he yelled. "Okay, okay, I'll call him". She picked up her phone and dialed him. It rang a couple of times before he picked up. "Hello?-", the young fox said in a weak voice, almost as sickly as his. "Sonic wants to talk to you hun." She said, handing the phone to Sonic. "Tails, buddy I just had a wild dream". "Oh, me too.", answered Tails. "What was yours about?". He began telling Tails every detail about both nightmares he had as well as his eyes changing color. Tails was silent for a good amount of time. "Are you okay?", he questioned. "Sonic, I… I had the same dream. I was in the Chemical Plant, and some monster approached me. It began transforming into me and making a deafening sound. There was a flash of blue and it was gone. Then you came up to me and we had the exact interaction you just described. I'm gonna check the mirror". All was silent as he left to check his reflection. When he came back, he seemed more scared than he had before. "Sonic, my results reflect yours. My eyes are the same shade of blue as I saw in the flash before the creature vanished. This is no ordinary sickness that Eggman has given us. The scientific implications of dreams changing things in the real world, its… I can't even begin to fathom how much effort it would take to develop a virus capable of altering dreams' limitations to that extent. Not to mention the fact that we interacted in real time, in our sleep!". "You've gotta give the Egghead credit, he knows what he's doing.", he said. "He sure does. You get some rest and I'll phone Knuckles to come over. I'll run some tests on him and try to keep him from having the same experience as us." "Alright bud, just don't work too hard. Remember, this sickness is no joke.", he answered. "I'll be fine, you just get some healthy food in your body and rest as much as possible", replied Tails. "Alright, talk to ya later". He hung up the phone and handed it to Amy. He rubbed the bridge of his nose as he walked over to the couch and put on a soft blanket. "You heard the kid, you need to eat something healthy. That means no chili dogs for now. I'll make you some soup, okay?", said Amy. "Yeah, soup sounds good right about now. I'm gonna watch some T.V.", he replied. "Okay hun, just get some rest.", Amy said. She walked off into the kitchen to begin preparing his soup. As he sat there on the couch, watching T.V., he began to drift off once more…. 

His eyes opened. He was running again, yet still in control. He was far more alert this time and instantly recognized his surroundings as Angel Island. The vines and the greenery everywhere unmistakably belonged to the tropical paradise. He ran along for a short time, until he heard the deep voice of his friend Knuckles shout, "Come back here you coward! Fight me like a real man!". He course corrected towards the shout, bouncing off the tops of trees and sliding on vines until he reached the red echidna. "Hey, Knucks.", he said as he approached his friend. "You okay?". "Sonic? Uh, yeah, I'm okay I guess. There was this big black monster that-" "Yeah, yeah a monster that transformed into you and started screaming and you saw a flash and it was gone.", he interrupted. "The same thing happened to me and Tails. This is all a dream. When you wake up, your eyes will be the same color as the flash you saw before the creature disappeared. As a matter of fact, you and I are having the same dream right now". "You mean we're interacting for real right now? Like we're both gonna remember this conversation when we wake up? And my eyes are gonna be purple? I liked my black eyes.", replied the echidna. Knuckles looked up at him with amethyst purple eyes. "It looks like it, yeah.", he answered. Knuckles looked down and started to say something. Then he stopped, as if he was frozen in time. He knew what had happened. Knuckles had woken up. He started to walk towards him but before he could take a step, the world faded around him and he opened his eyes. He looked to his side. Amy was cuddled up under the blanket beside him, his hand in hers. He broke free of her grasp and rubbed his eyes. Amy looked at him. "Oh, you're awake!", she said, sounding weaker than she had before he had fallen asleep. "The soup is simmering on the-" "Knuckles.", he interjected. Amy's eyes widened. "Him too?" she asked. He nodded his head. There was a knock on the door. "Come in." Amy said with a cough. Through the door stepped Tails, followed by Knuckles, each sporting their new eye colors. "Hey guys," he said, "Come sit on the couch". "There's no time, Sonic", Tails responded, "I tried to get Knuckles before he fell asleep, but I was too late. He came over once he woke up and I ran some tests on him. As silly as it may sound, my studies show this could be fatal, or at the very least permanently damaging. We may be sick, but we've got to get the cure from Eggman". He stood up off the couch. "I'm starting to feel better anyways. Let's go crack this egg boys". "I'll get my hammer.", Amy said. Tails looked into her eyes, studying them for a moment. Finally he said, "No. You've been coughing since I came in. Severe coughing is one of the leading symptoms of this virus. You stay here and rest. Try not to fall asleep, but if you can't stay awake, that's okay. We'll be waiting here with the cure when you wake up". Amy didn't protest. "Let's roll men", Knuckles said. And just like that, they were off towards Eggman's nearest base.