Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Blood splattered across the pale white walls of the D.H.O.R.K.S headquarters, a special organization that investigated paranormal activity, specifically demonic entities.

A group of D.H.O.R.K.S agents wielding katanas charged at an unseen assailant before said assailant tore them apart. 

Or should I say, assailants.

The culprits behind this slaughter were revealed to be three red  imps, a bipedal wolf, and a bipedal blue hedgehog. Two of the imps, both clearly male, pointed guns at their respective targets. The third imp, a female, wielded a massive axe that she slung over her left shoulder. The bipedal wolf didn't wield any physical weapons but instead had her sharp teeth and claws drawn, ready to attack. The blue bipedal hedgehog stood beside the female wolf and also wielded no weapons, but veins of bright blue electricity could be seen coursing across his body in erratic patterns.

Amidst the group's massacre, a pair of large mechanical doors suddenly, slowly, opened up in the floor. Once the a doors were fully open, a large hovering vehicle that resembled the build of a drone, flew out from the opening in the floor. The hovercraft had two large, symmetrical circular attachments on both sides that were rimmed with dark red light. The attachments appeared to be used to the vehicle airborne. Inside the vehicle's cockpit was a mustachioed man wearing a red, leather flightsuit and goggles with red lenses. The man had a malicious grin stretched across his face as he flicked a switch on the vehicle's monitor. Simultaneously, large openings in the hovercraft began opening up, revealing several missles prepped and ready to be launched. A small screen popped up in front of the pilot, revealing that the missiles were all aimed at the imps, wolf, and hedgehog. The man slammed his now-curled up fist down onto a red button that caused all the missiles to come flying out directly towards the assailants. However, just before the missiles landed, everything suddenly came to a stop.

So. You're probably wondering: why is that incredibly handsome hedgehog about to be blown up by a guy with a mustache from the civil war?

Also, what's with the little red people and the giant, goth wolf girl? What is this place and what's with all the Men in Black agents? 

A lot of questions, huh? Is this too much? Am I going too fast? It's kind of what I do. Ya know what, let's back up. Ya mind if I take over for a bit, narrator guy? 

Umm, sure..?

Great, so anyways...

Several years ago...

Location: ???

A small green island comes into view, covered with greenery and oddly-shaped landforms. Naturally-formed loop-de-loops, bridges, and sloping hills were scattered across the landscape. Suddenly, a blue light streaked across the land. 

This is the island where I'm from. It had everything. Sandy beaches. Cascading waterfalls. Public-access to loop-de-loops!

A younger version of the blue hedgehog we saw before ran across the different landforms, including a loop-de-loop before zooming up a ramp and landing on the other side.

And I never had to catch a school bus because I could run across the entire island in less than two seconds. Also, there was no school. I know. Pretty sweet island, right?

As we zoom in, we see the hedgehog run at high speeds across the grassy land, lifting his arms up on both sides like a plane before curling up into a spiky ball and continuing his path forward. 

"Yeah!" The younger hedgehog exclaimed, uncurling out of ball before curling back into one and falling back down to the ground. 

The young hedgehog continued running before jumping up and bouncing back and forth between two brown checkerboard-patterned rock walls.

I was born with extraordinary powers and was told to keep them a secret. And like any kid...I did the exact opposite. 

The hedgehog then zoomed across a wooden bridge, still curled up in a ball, before he entering what seemed to be an interconnected area of several small, wooden houses and wooden bridges. 

He then rolled inside one, big hut where a large brown owl was roosting. The hedgehog accidently knocked into the owl's chest, startling her awake. 

That's Longclaw. She took care of me. She was basically Obi-Wan Kenobi...if Obi-Wan Kenobi had a beak and ate mice. 

Longclaw was a tall figure. She had two, long feathers coming from around her eyebrows before curling back around her head. Her eyes were a light blue and were much smaller compared to most other owls' eyes. On her chest, she wore a gold armor piece, marked with some emblem. 

Longclaw fluttered open, wondering what woke her up, before sighing as she realized it was the you-know-who, who was laughing on the floor. 

"Sonic, someone could've seen you!" Longclaw exclaimed, referring to the small blue hedgehog. 

"No one saw me. I'm too fast!" Sonic said, moving his arms up and down like he was running. "And! I wanted to bring you this!" 

From his spikes, Sonic pulled out a small flower with yellow, triangular petals. Longclaw chuckled and appreciated the gift, but as she was about to take the flower, she heard something. 

Unbeknownst to Sonic, echidna warriors, wearing tribal masks, were crouching in the trees behind him and aiming their bows and arrows directly at the blue hedgehog. 

"Get down!" Longclaw yelled. The owl guardian immediately jumped behind Sonic, shielding him with her body, before slamming the door shut behind her with her talons, just as the echidnas launched their arrows. 

Several arrows crashed through the window, one of them stabbing through the flower Sonic was going to give to Longclaw. 

Turns out with great power, comes great power-hungry bad guys. 

Several of the echidnas charged towards the house. Two of the echidnas broke through the windows, one holding a spear and the other holding a net. Sonic stared at them fearfully while Longclaw glared at them. 

And I led them right to us. 

Longclaw burst out of one of the windows, spread her wings, and took flight, carrying Sonic in her talons. Several of the echidnas launched more arrows at the fleeing pair, most of them Longclaw was able to evade. 

Except for one. 

One of the arrows shot sliced through the air before piercing right into Longclaw's side. The owl warrior immediately fell to the ground, Sonic falling with her as well. Longclaw tucked Sonic underneath her wings, absorbing most of the impact as the pair hit the ground.

Longclaw struggled to fully stand up, not only due to the rough impact but the arrow still jabbed into her side. Longclaw looked down at Sonic, a look of helplessness and fear plastered in the young hedgehog's face. Longclaw looked up. The echidna warriors charging their way; Longclaw could easily tell from their faces they weren't taking any prisoners. 

Longclaw looked down, a brown leather bag filled with rings slung around her body. The owl warrior came to a painful realization: only one of them was getting out of here. 

"Sonic. You have a power unlike anything I've ever seen," Longclaw explained. "But that means someone will always want it. The only way to stay safe is to stay hidden."

From out of a small pouch, Longclaw pulled out a small golden ring. "This is a power ring. This will allow you to travel to wherever you want to go, as long as you have a clear mental image of it," Longclaw explained. 

"Why are you telling me this?" Sonic asked, still scared. 

"Because-AUGH!" Longclaw was cut off when another arrow stabbed her, this time near her neck. 

"There's no time, you have to go!" Longclaw said, now struggling to breath and coughing up blood.

"But, I don't wanna go without you!" Sonic pleaded. 

"Oh, Sonic..." Before she could continue, Longclaw saw that the echidnas were getting closer. She knew she had to get Sonic out of there. 

She quickly threw the ring she was holding, not having a completely clear image as her mind became flooded with pain. 

"I'm sorry, Sonic. I love you. But, right now, you have to go!" Longclaw exclaimed, getting teary-eyed as she pushed Sonic into the ring. "Go! Go now! Stay hidden! And don't stop running!"

Sonic obeyed his guardian's orders and quickly sped away. Longclaw smiled before turning back to oncoming echidna tribe. She spread her wings out in order to prevent the echidnas from getting through the portal.

She was not going to let these monsters lay a finger on Sonic. 

Even if it meant sacrificing herself. 

Sonic, seeing the danger approaching Longclaw, rushed back to save her. But he wasn't fast enough. 

"Longclaw!" Sonic yelled.

Longclaw turned around, tears in her eye, before smiling.

"Goodbye, Sonic." Longclaw said, tearfully. Just as she said this, the portal closed. Sonic missed his chance to save her, accidentally knocking into a wall as the portal faded away. 

Sonic stood up, gazing up at the brick wall where the portal once was.

"Longclaw...no." 

Sonic fell to his knees as he sobbed. His heart throbbed with sadness and his lungs felt squeezed with grief. 

Longclaw was gone.

His only companion.

His only family was gone forever. 

Sonic sobbed as he clutched onto the pouch of rings Longclaw gave to him, the last thing he had to remember her by. He rubbed his eyes and rubbed his nose before getting a look at his surroundings. 

He found himself in an alley, littered with trash and wanted posters posted on the brick walls. 

Sonic slowly walked out of the alley as he stared at the sights before him. There were several beings of different shapes and sizes going about their day and tall buildings decorated the landscape. As he looked up, he realized that instead of a regular blue sky, he was greeted by a red sky with a giant pentagram right in the center of it. On some of the tallest buildings in the city were signs with the words, 'Welcome to Hell' plastered on the front. 

"H-Hell? What's Hell?" Sonic rhetorically asked. "Where exactly did Longclaw send me?" 

Unbeknownst to Sonic, Longclaw had accidentally sent him to Hell, a supernatural realm of populated by demons and sinners, when she had been meaning to send him to Earth. 

Remembering Longclaw's words, Sonic headed back into the alley to stay hidden from view, but accidentally bumped into a demon resembling a shark causing the demon to drop their drink. 

"Hey! My drink!" 

The demon turned around and was taken aback by Sonic's appearance. 

"S-Sorry, sir! 

As Sonic tried to walk away, he was suddenly grabbed by the neck and held up high by the now furious shark demon. 

"Where do ya think you're going, you little rat-or whatever you are?!" The shark demon said, slightly confused by the Sonic's odd appearance. "This suit costed me more than your worth."

"Sorry, sir. I-It was just an accident." Sonic tried to explained. 

"Oh, it was just an accident, huh?" The shark demon asked, sarcastically. "Well, that makes it all better then." 

"Really?" Sonic asked. 

"No, you brat!" The shark demon yelled. He then pulled a sharp dagger out from his pocket and  pressed it against the hedgehog's neck. "And now, you're gonna pay for it!"

Sonic gulped before an idea popped into his head. He charged up his internal electricity and electrocuted the shark demon. The demon immediately fell to the group, releasing their grip on Sonic who took the opportunity to run away as fast as he could. He wasn't sure where he going, as long as it was away from here. 

It had been a few hours before Sonic finally stopped running. The poor hedgehog collapsed onto the coarse ground. He laid himself against a tall cement pillar, trying to catch his breath. 

*HONK!*

Sonic tensed up, scared by the sudden loud noise. He jerked his head around before he realized the noise was coming from above him. Apparently, Sonic was laying underneath a highway, the cars on top creating a cacophony. 

Sonic grabbed his pouch of rings, remembering his guardian.

Longclaw's gone and it's all my...fault. If I had just listened to her and stayed hidden, she would still be alive! She's dead because of me! 

Sonic cried out, tears painting his face. He rubbed his eyes, the tears soaking into his white gloves. As Sonic's weeping slowed, he remembered the last words Longclaw spoke to him. Her final words. 

Stay hidden. Don't stop running. 

The words echoed through Sonic's mind. The hedgehog walked into the shadowy underbelly of the highway ramp laid down on the cold cement ground. He pulled a newspaper over himself to keep himself warm. Sonic grasped onto his rings as he slowly fell asleep. 

Chapter Text

10 years later...

Hell: Pride Ring

A homeless imp sat tuckered out on the streets of one of Pride's many cities. He had a puffy white beard that covered his chin and two black-and-white-striped horns growing out of his head, one of their tips being broken off. The only thing he wore was a raggedy, scratched-up gray shirt. Laying flat on the ground next to him was a cardboard sign with words "Monee Helps/Satan Bless" scribbled on it.

He didn't have what other imps would call a "good" life, but it was his life. At least he still had a can full of 50 cen-WAIT A MINUTE! 

"MY MONEY! WHERE'D IT ALL GO?!" The homeless imp yelled, scrambling onto his hooved feet. He stared down into the empty void of the tin can where his money had been originally stored.  

"HA! Thanks for the cash, old-timer!" A shorter, one-eyed imp yelled, running away with the homeless imp's with a handful of coins. 

"Hey! Wait! Come back!" The homeless imp yelled, trying to run after the shorter imp but quickly falling back down the minute he got up. His legs had gotten weaker and weaker with age; his running days were clearly behind him. 

Besides, it was already too late. The thief was too far away for him to catch up. The homeless imp went back to his spot and slumped back down, defeated. 

Suddenly, a quick gust of wind blew right past the homeless imp, startling him a little. A second later, the gust of wind returned, this time coming from the direction the thief was running.

Noticing that his tin can had been knocked over, the homeless imp set it back up again but was shocked to find that the can full of his money was once again. Even more bizarre was the fact that in the can, in addition with a dollar bill, was a small paper note that said "Stay mindful!" written in blue crayon. 

The homeless imp looked around a bit before smiling and relaxing again. He was completely unaware of the fact that the thief that had just stolen from him was a few blocks down the street, yelling for help while he dangled from a streetlight; the only thing holding him up being his red polka-dot underwear. 

"Hello? Anyone there? Can someone please get me down?" The thief pleaded, but no one heard him.

"It's high school all over again." 

https://youtu.be/HgzGwKwLmgM?si=gyNCI0dDRAiWvHm5

(0:34 to 1:17) 

Meanwhile, a streak of blue raced through Imp City, appearing to the residents as nothing more than a gust of wind. 

But this was much more than just some meager breeze.

It was actually a creature, a very quick one at that.

It was Sonic, now more grown up than when we last saw him. 

Sonic ran across the city, making noises that resembled that of a racecar with his mouth. He then sped past a food cart selling some odd food that resembled a burger, except the buns were a dark shade of green and the patty was blood red and oozing some weird purplish liquid. The sign on the cart read "Food?" which only added to the mystery behind of this creation's ingredients. 

While the owner of the food cart had his back turned, Sonic snatched two of the burgers before speeding away. While he ran, he bit into one of the burgers...before immediately grimacing and quickly spitting the chewed-up bits out of his mouth in a desperate attempt to clean his tastebuds. 

"Jeez, looks like someone's not getting that 5-star rating," Sonic muttered, having a disgusted look in his eye as he stared at the burger. 

Sonic eventually reached his destination: a small, dark spot under a freeway ramp. It may have looked kind of dingy to anyone else, but to him...it was home.

Underneath the ramp was a large dark gray tent to help blend into the shadows with a few tears in the fabric. He quickly sped towards the tent and ran right through the entrance. 

The inside of the tent resembled a kid's bedroom in that it was messy but had some semblance of order. It was filled with a stack of comic books, a beanbag chair, a broken washing machine, a boom box, and several road signs lying around. There were also some board games and an odd-looking silver mask with a creepy, smiling face plastered on the front. Two horns curled upwards on each side of the mask, parallel to each other. 

https://imgur.com/a/o3vclab 

Sonic immediately started dancing around and singing to a song he had playing in his head. He grabbed a hairbrush and used it like a microphone as he kept singing. He then flipped himself upside down and spun himself around on his head like a break dancer before striking a pose. He then zoomed around the home again and grabbed an inflatable green guitar and began "playing" it like he was a rockstar before doing some tricks with his jump rope; moving so fast that it looked like there were two Sonics holding the two ends of a rope while one Sonic was jumping when in actuality there was only Sonic doing all this. He then went back to playing his fake guitar while hanging from a tire swing as it swung him around the room. 

So what were you expecting? A dirty, little hedgehog eating berries and struggling to survive? 

Think again!

Because I am living my best life here in Hell! And what is 'Hell' you ask? Well, I'll get to that but first let me show you my crib.

I got my own personal library.

Sonic was reading a comic book about an imp with super speed, kind of like him, while he sat on his bean bag chair. He started off reading only one before using his super speed to quickly read through his entire collection. 

A home gym. 

Sonic, wearing a red-and-blue headband, was running in a broken washing machine; the circular device inside the machine acting as a hamster wheel for him.

Or in this case, a hedgehog wheel. 

And a state-of-the-art security system. 

This so-called "state-of-the-art security system" was really just Sonic, wearing a white headband across his forehead and wielding a pair of nunchucks. 

"WAAAA!" Sonic yelled, swinging the nunchucks around before he accidentally (and comedically) hit his own head. "Owwwww!'

After licking his wounds, Sonic zoomed over to a makeshift ping pong table; the 'net' being made out of empty soda cans and the 'table' being a road sign saying "Flaming Hills Next Exit". He tossed the ping pong ball up high before he smacked it away with his ping pong paddle. Just before the ball landed on the other side, he zipped over to the other side before hitting it again in the opposite direction and vice versa. He ran around the table, hitting the ball back and forth between himself.

Unfortunately, on one of his serves, he accidentally hit the ball too far off to the side, causing it to knock a small leather pouch to the floor. As it hit the ground, the golden rings Longclaw gave to Sonic spilled out of the pouch and all over the ground.

"Oh no!" Sonic ran over to the bag and quickly swept the rings back into the pouch. 

This is one of my most prized possessions. My rings. They allow you to travel to any place in this universe, well, as long you have a clear image of where you wanna go in your head. 

Sonic picked up one of the rings and examined it closely. 

I've mostly used these rings to get to places faster, though that's not really a problem for me. 

He then pulled out a map with several different planets crossed out on it.

Longclaw left me very specific instructions on what to do if I ever get caught. I just need to throw one of the rings and escape to one of the planets marked out on this map. 

One problem though, it doesn't work. 

Sonic threw the ring he was holding in the direction he was facing, but instead of opening a portal like intended, it instead just fell back onto the ground. Sonic sighed. Another attempt at opening a portal to one of these planets had once again flopped. 

For some reason, whenever I try to open a portal, the ring doesn't work. Even when I try my best to imagine the planet in my mind based on some of the descriptions Longclaw left me, the ring doesn't work. So, that's why I've gotta be really careful and extra sneaky whenever I go out. There's a lot of bad guys here that would love to steal my power. I mean, there's literally a place here called 'Greed'. 

Sonic zoomed back out of his home once again. He sped all the way up to the top of an apartment building before standing on top of a ledge, taking in Hell's surroundings. 

But, playing it safe is boring so I don't exactly follow Longclaw's rules to a T. I mean, I've been living here for years and no one's caught onto me yet. Well, except for one person but we'll get to him later. Anyways, you might be wondering what "here" is well, this is Hell. It's basically like a mega-prison for really bad people who lived and died on a place called "Earth." 

"GOOD MORNING, HELL!" Sonic announced enthusiastically, curving his hands around his mouth like he was using a megaphone. 

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" A sinner demon yelled, causing Sonic to flinch. 

"Sorry!" Sonic yelled back, rubbing the back of his head. 

Okay, maybe it's not exactly a 'looker' and sure the people here are a bit...well, very rude but once ya get past the whole 'fire and brimstone' thing, this place can really grow on you. 

This place, in particular, is called 'Pride', the greatest place in Hell. Most of the demons who live here are sinners, the bad people from Earth that wind up here. There are also imps and hellhounds, which are born and raised in Hell. These are my people, and I, daresay, am there lovable space creature. Who cares if they don't know I exist?

Sonic then sped down the building at high speeds before he arrived at another building, this one being much higher than the apartment building he was just on and adorned with two black-and-white horns on both sides of the building. There were large triangular objects hanging from the building's roof which resembled sharp teeth and a structure at the top. 

Sonic looked over to a street clock nearby. 

"Huh, two seconds early," Sonic smirked, rubbing the underside of his nose with his finger. "That's a new record!" 

He quickly sped up another building on the opposite side of the street. Sonic watched with excitement as a yellow, spiky taxi cab pulled up and out stepped a figure.

One was a red imp with some white marks splattered acrossed his face and tail and two long, curved black-and-white horns on the top of his head. He had long tail that had a pointed tip with small, black spikes that ran from his back to his tail. He had a heart-shaped marking on his forehead that looked like a skull from far away. His eyes were completely yellow except for his pupils which were black with red irises. He had large forearms and hands which were covered by black, elbow-length fingerless gloves with a decoration on the front that resembled a yellow eye with x-shaped pupils. The imp wore a tattered black coat with red buttons, one button being shaped like a skull, and two black cowboy boots. 

The imp had a smile on his face as he reached back into the cab to help another creature out of the cab...before he was shoved away by a furry hand coming from within the cab. From the cab emerged, a tall bipedal wolf with feminine features typing on a phone. 

She had long, white hair that covered most of her head and extended down to her hips. Most of her fur was white except for a few dark gray patched that decorated most her body and bushy tail. A small part of her left ear looked like it had been bitten off and her right ear had some small piercings on the tip. Her eyes were completely red, like most other hellhounds, except for her pupils which were black with white irises. She wore a small, spiked black collar on her neck and a gray tattered off-the-shoulder crop-top which was held up by several spaghetti straps that formed an inverted pentagram. She also wore a pair of tattered black shorts with a crescent moon adorned on its right side and a pair of thigh-high toeless black leggings.  

Then another taxi cab pulled up to the building. This time, two other imps stepped out, one being male and the other being female. Both appeared to be shorter compared to the other imp.

The male imp was completely red except for a few white freckles on his cheeks. He had white pointed hair and, like the other male imp, had black-and-white horns that were more pointed and shorter compared to the other male imp. He had a long red tail with two black stripes. His outfit consisted of a black suit with red buttons and white cufflings, a red bowtie, black fingerless gloves, and black pants that covered his goat-like feet. His eyes were completely yellow while his pupils were slit and completely black. 

The female imp was completely red except for a few white spots that decorated most of her body. Her two  horns were almost completely black except for some barely noticeable thin white stripes that encircled them. Her short, messy hair was completely black. She had yellow eyes with black slit pupils, long, thick eyelashes, dark red eyeshadow on his eyelids, and black lipstick on her lips. There was a small space between her two front teeth. On her right shoulder was a small black heart tattoo. The imp wore a black choker around her neck, a cold-shoulder black crop-top with the straps being held by two golden-yellow buttons, black fingerless gloves, black torn pants and black toeless footwear. 

The male imp walked up to the building, not realizing that his bowtie was flipped upside down. Giggling, the female imp walked up to the other imp and fixed his bowtie. The two smiled at each other before nuzzling their heads against each other. 

From a distance, Sonic watched in admiration as the imps and hellhound entered the horned building. 

These are some of my favorite demons in all of Pride. The tall one with the curved horns is Big Boss. Big Boss is in charge of Possum Guy, which I named because he kind of looks like a possum, and Cowgirl, because she kind of sounds like one from some movies I watched. Big Boss is also Moon Girl's dad, apparently. I know, genetics are weird. Moon Girl is that hellhound wearing those shorts with a crescent moon on it.

All of them are a part of this super-cool place called I.M.P., Immediate Murder Professionals.

Yeah, kind of weird that my favorite imps here are killers, but come on, this is Hell. Ya don't exactly come across a lot of noble do-gooders here. 

And besides, they only kill like really, really bad people, so they don't just kill for no reason. They're like anti-heroes. They're basically mini-Deadpools. 

Sonic looked farther down the street of where I.M.P. headquarters stood. On the street corner was a poorly-built wooden stand run by an imp. 

Like I said before, there is one guy who's onto me, though. He calls me the Blue Devil.

Say hello to Wacky Wally. 

Wally looked like any other imp in his body plan except his black-and-white horns were curled, he had white hair like Possum Guy, and he had a thin, long curvy mustache. He wore a white regency shirt, a gray vest, white sleeve garters, black thin boots and gray-striped thin white pants which fitted his equally sized legs, and a black Kentucky colonel tie. 

Wally wore a toothy grin, revealing his sharp purely white teeth, as he tried to advertise his merchandise to passersby. Unfortunately, it wasn't working too well for him. While the merchandise varied in type, whether it being a hoodie or a mug, one thing was constant among them: they all had some sort photo of Sonic on them. 

Well, "photo" probably isn't the right word. It was more of a crudely drawn version of Sonic that barely resembled the blue blur. One of the depictions of Sonic was completely inaccurate: looking like something a preschooler would draw.

"Come on down, folks, and get your very own 'Blue Devil' merchandise! We got T-shirts, we got mugs, we even got plushies! I say, I say, I say, get yours today!" The imp exclaimed in a boisterous Southern accent. 

"Blue Devil? What the hell is a Blue Devil?" An imp teen asked as he walked by the stand. 

"I'm glad you asked, young customer," The imp salesman said, getting uncomfortably close to the teen's face. "He's a mischievous, blue trickster using his unnatural powers to secretly live amongst us in secret. Not even Lucifer himself knows of this mysterious critter,"

The imp teen eyed Wally suspiciously and stepped a few feet away from him. "And we're talking about a real creature, right?" The teen asked. 

"Yessiree! I saw him with my own eye!" Wally assured. "In fact, I almost caught him a few nights ago!" 

A few nights ago...

This was the night. Wally would finally capture the Blue Devil and prove to all those doubters that he was right all along.

And who knows? Maybe he could make a real good profit off this little blue menace. 

The traps were all laid out right where they needed to be. He was ready. Wally would just have to wait until that Blue Menace came his wa-WAIT, WHAT THE SHIT?! 

A streak of blue light zoomed across the ground, startling Wally. He immediately jumped up and attempted to chase after the light but it was too quick. 

The light moved from one place to another at lightning speeds, the traps doing absolutely nothing to halt the light's movement. The light even ran around Wally in circles as if it was teasing him, making the imp dizzy. Wally's pupils bounced around his eyes like ping-pong balls before he blinked a few times and went back to pursuing the light. 

Unfortunately, he didn't get very far before he ironically fell into a snare of his own making. The rope of the snare instantly tightened around Wally's right foot and immediately launched him in the air.  

While Wally was still dangling from the rope, the blue light sped off into the distance. 

"I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE! I KNOW YOU'RE REAL! AND I WILL EXPLOIT YOU FOR PROFIT, I SAY, I SAY!" Wally vowed, still upside down. 

"No, you wooon't!" A young voice retorted in the distance.

Now Wally was leaning all the way over the stand's table, his eyes almost touching the teen's eyes. 

"Yeah, I think I'll be going now," the teen said, quickly walking away. "Yeesh, that dude has been doing some serious crack," 

"Wait! Come back! D-Did I mention we have sweaters?!" Wally pleaded, holding up a sweater with the face of a creature that resembled Sonic, but more horrific-looking.

Wally pouted and laid his chest flat on the stand's table before the stand started to shake before then collapsing into a pile of broken wood and rusty nails. 

"Darn, cheap materials..." Wally muttered, his speech being muffled as he was covered by the wooden debris. 

As Sonic observed the collapsed stand, he smirked and shook his head. He turned his attention I.M.P. headquarters. By the time, he looked back the imps and hellhound had already made it to their office. 

Sonic jumped off the building and darted up the horned building. While he clinged onto the building's side, he looked into a set of windows where he could see Big Boss, Moon Girl, Possum Guy, and Cowgirl having what appeared to be a meeting. 

Big Boss appeared to be explaining something to Cowgirl and Possum Guy while Moon Girl was sitting in a chair, not paying any attention at all to the conversation. 

The three imps nodded and headed into the another room. As Sonic listened closely, he could hear the sound of some sort of portal opening. 

He knew he would have to wait awhile before they came back.

A couple hours later...

Sonic was getting a little worried. Based on what their usual work day looked like, they never really took this long. 

What if something had gone wrong?

Luckily, his worries were put at ease when he heard a portal opening. The imps walked into the room again, this time carrying some weapons like guns and a blood-covered axe. Their clothes were also coated with red blood and what looked like guts. 

Sonic almost threw up after spotting this; clamping his hand on his mouth to prevent the vomit from coming out. 

He may have liked these guys, but he definitely wasn't fully on board with the whole 'killing' thing. 

Possum Guy had what looked like a liver dangling from the tip of his horns which was removed by Cowgirl as she gave him a little kiss on the forehead. Big Boss hugged Moon Girl tightly and rubbed his head against her fur, causing the hellhound's white coat to slightly get stained with red blood. Moon Girl growled at this and tried to get Big Boss off of her but eventually gave up once she realized he wouldn't budge. 

Sonic watched as the group smiled and congratulated each other on another successful mission, admiring the strong bond they had with each other. A smile grew on his face but as he looked away from the window that smile fell.

Years of being alone and seeing these demons happy with each other caused a sinking feeling of sadness to churn in Sonic's gut. 

He suddenly shook his head.

What am I thinking? I'm not lonely. I have friends. These guys are my friends.

Right?

I mean sure, they don't know I exist but...but..

No, they are friends.

As Sonic tried to push these thoughts out if his head, his grip on the side of the building loosened causing him to loudly gasp as he regained his hold on the building. The employees of I.M.P. immediately all turned to look at the window, hearing Sonic gasp. Sonic quickly zoomed back down the building, to avoid getting caught. 

"Whoo, that was a close one!" Sonic exclaimed, wiping the sweat off his forehead. As Sonic gazed up at I.M.P. headquarters, he stared longingly at the building before smiling one last time and darting away. 

Unbeknownst to him, one of his quills had fallen off of him and laid beside the horned building.

Sonic finally arrived at his home and laid down on a pile of pillows. He pulled a blanket over his chest as he raised his arms behind his head and gently laid his head upon his hands. He stared up at the ceiling of his tent, the dark red glow of Hell's night sky being apparent through the thin gray veil of Sonic's tent.

He tried to sleep but something was keeping him awake.

Something that overwhelmed the poor hedgehog's mind and churned his guts.

Sonic wasn't one to let fear control but this specific fear made him quake in his knees.

The fear of being...alone.

Alone.

The word echoed through Sonic's mind, silencing any other thoughts he had. Sonic gazed around his tent, searching for something that wasn't there. 

Something that could never be there. 

I'm not alone, right?, Sonic pondered. Big Boss, Possum Guy, Cowgirl, and Moon Girl are my friends.

Sonic tried to convince himself of this truth but it wasn't working. 

You can't convince yourself because it's not the truth, a voice in Sonic's mind echoed. 

Sonic ignored the voice. He wanted, no, desired more than anything to be with the demons/people he admired so much. He wanted to be friends with them.

For real.

He finally wouldn't be alone anymore.

However, Sonic frowned as he thought about it more.  

No. I can't. Longclaw said that I have stay hidden. This place is brimming with people who could want to steal my power for themselves. What if those demons do that to me? 

Sonic shook his head wildly. 

No! They wouldn't do that! They're not like some of the other demons here. But even they don't do that...I still can't talk to them. 

It's too risky.

Sonic's eyes drifted over to small paper drawing he drew as a kid. It showed Sonic and Longclaw standing on top of one those loop-de-loops from the island he was from. Tears leaked out of his eyes as he thought about his old guardian.

I'm...too dangerous. I got the only person who ever cared about me killed! I just get anyone I care about hurt. 

I have to be alone. 

Sonic shook his head.

Alright. Enough of all this 'alone' stuff. I-I need to get to bed.

Sonic shut his eyes close, squeezing the tears out of his eyes, as he slowly fell asleep.

Blitzo strutted as he approached  I.M.P. headquarters. A new day, a new target to kill. It had been a few months since he slept with that royal bitch and obtained that Grimoire-thingy. Since then, his business had really kicked off. 

Well, somewhat kicked off. 

Admittedly, I.M.P. wasn't as famous and, more importantly, profitable as he had hoped. 

Whatever. 

It was making enough money to get by, anyhow. Blitzo was about to enter the building when he noticed something glowing on the ground in front of him. 

The hell?

Blitzo walked closer to the glowing object. As he got closer, it looked like some sort of quill like the ones you'd see on a porcupine or hedgehog. He picked it up and twisted it around, trying to inspect it from every angle. Eventually, he decided to test something that was admittedly, very strange. 

He slowly opened his mouth and slowly extended his pink reptilian-like tongue towards the quill. His tongue was inching closer and closer until...ZAP! 

The second his tongue made contact with the quill an immense amount of electricity shot through Blitzo's body, electrocuting the imp and causing sparks to fly out from everywhere across his body. 

"Whoo, that's-a spicy!" Blitzo exclaimed, before mischievously grinning. "I gotta use this to fuck with Moxxie!" 

Chapter Text

The glowing, swirling orb of light originating from Heaven's gates slowly began to dim as day morphed into night. Pride's usually bright red sky dimmed to a dark purple, the only light that remained being the small, twinkling stars scattered across the night sky. With nighttime in full effect, the residents of Imp City, along with Pride's other residents, drifted into slumber. 

All, except for one...

"WOOHOO!" Sonic exclaimed, cruising through the now-empty streets of Imp City with his hands held out wide parallel to his body. He allowed the wind to push against himself and closed his eyes, a happy smile plastered on his face. 

The night was Sonic's favorite time. Because very few demons were awake this late, there was no need for him to worry about being spotted or having to hide. 

While Sonic did love the feeling of Pride's winds flowing through his quills as he darted across the city, even a speedster such as himself had to admit, it was nice to just take a breath of fresh air and enjoy Hell's beauty. To be normal. 

As Sonic inhaled some of this so-called 'fresh air', he immediately started gagging due to the overwhelming stench of smog and ash, among other airborne pollutants, entering his nostrils. As he cleared his throat, he paused to take a look at Hell's beauty, if you could call it that, which was mostly comprised of rotting garbage, exposed needles and other drugs lying in nearby alleyways, and the dingy colors that made up Pride's landscape. 

To a regular person, and to most of Hell's populace, this sight would make them vomit. 

But not for Sonic. 

The blue hedgehog simply smiled and continued on his way. 

This place might not be perfect. Heck, some would say it wasn't even close to average. But to Sonic, it was more than just some place.

It was home. 

Sonic continued to swerve from street corner to street corner before he reached his destination: a crosswalk that connected two sides of a street. On one side of the street was a tall, metal pole that pointed upwards before bending sideways to the left side of the street. Hanging from the metal pole was a yellow-painted traffic light. To any other creature, it would just appear as another typical sight in Imp City. 

But through Sonic's eyes...it was a starting line. 

Sonic closed his eyes, a smirk plastered across his face. Once he opened them again, Sonic found himself standing on a lengthy race track in the middle of a massive stadium. Sonic winced and covered his eyes as the stadium's bright light temporarily blinded him. 

Bright lights probably hurt a lot more when you have eyes as big as his. 

Once his eyes recovered, he was greeted with the sweet sound of applause and cheering. Curious, he looked to his left and his jaw.

Hit.

The.

Ground. 

Hundreds, if not millions, of imps and all sorts of other demons were gathered together, sat elbow-to-elbow in thousands of seats. Sonic wondered what they were cheering for but soon realized that they were cheering...for him.

He could feel his heart swelling with joy and single tear dropping from his eye. Sonic, noticing the tear, quickly wiped it away and flashed a proud smirk to the crowd. He stretched his legs and even flexed the muscles on his arms to show off his physical prowess to his adoring fans. 

Sonic's gloating was suddenly interrupted by the sound of something roaring behind him. Turning around, he spotted a bright red racecar with flames on the side coming closer to him, revving its engine. Sonic simply rolled his eyes and rubbed the bottom of his nose with the back of his pointer finger. 

"So, this guy wants a race, huh?" Sonic said, confidently. Slowly but surely, his body began to crackle with blue electricity. He crouched down, stretching his left leg and curved his left ankle upwards. He repeated this action for his other leg but stretched it shorter than the left leg. Sonic placed his gloved hands on the coarse, black concrete of the race track. Blue light coursed within Sonic's green pupils, transforming them into a light shade of blue as he stared ahead, the finish line in his sight. 

"Let's give him a race," Sonic said, smirking. 

Almost on cue, a demon waved a black and white checkerboard-patterned flag, signaling to the two racers that the race had begun. The racecar's engine roared to life and sped away, leaving Sonic in the dust. 

3 laps around the track, Sonic thought. Easy peasy.

The hedgehog smirked and sped down the track, leaving a dust trail in his departure. He easily caught up to the race car, winking at the driver and blowing a raspberry before darting ahead. 

To keep up with the hedgehog, the racecar immediately accelerated but it was still a few inches behind Sonic. It suddenly swerved into Sonic's position, trying to run him over. Luckily, Sonic noticed the oncoming racecar and quickly launched himself over the car's hood and to the other side. 

"Whoa, easy dude!" Sonic yelled.

Not listening to the warning, the racecar once again swerved into Sonic but the hedgehog was too quick and easily launched himself over the car again. 

"Jeez, didn't know we were playing by street rules!" Sonic exclaimed. 

While Sonic was distracted trying not to get hit, the racecar was able to take the lead and in a split second, passed the finish line and continued onto the second lap with Sonic right on their tail. 

"This guy isn't playing around," Sonic commented. He quickly sped up trying to get back into the lead, but the racecar was too clever. 

It suddenly swerved in front of Sonic, preventing him from passing the car. Annoyed, Sonic tried to go around the racecar. He swerved to the right and was about to go around but the car once again blocked his entrance. Every time Sonic tried to overtake the racecar, it always blocked him. 

"Oh, come on, dude! Not cool!" Sonic grunted. 

With the hedgehog behind it, the racecar easily passed the finish line before Sonic. As if to mock him, the racecar blasted a dusty plume of exhaust from its tailpipe right into Sonic's face. The hedgehog's face was instantly covered in soot, painting his usual blue face a dark coat of gray. 

Sonic rapidly shook his face to remove the soot, simultaneously maintaining his speed. 

"Alright, Lightning McQueen, see if you can keep up with this." Sonic said, smirking while his normally green pupils morphed into a light shade of blue. 

The racecar cruised along the racetrack, the finish line in its sights. The driver within the car grinned beneath his helmet: this would be easy. 

Suddenly, the sound of rapid, thundering footsteps intercepted their range of hearing. Curious, the driver glanced at their side mirror before their eyes immediately widened in shock. 

The mirror revealed none other than Sonic the Hedgehog speeding down the track while his body glowed blue with streams of electricity coursing across his entire body. In a matter of seconds, Sonic was neck and neck with the driver and their racecar. However, instead of running forwards, Sonic was running backwards! 

While his legs rapidly moved back and forth to propel his body forward, Sonic rested his head on his arms which were crossed behind back. For a few seconds, Sonic looked over to the driver and winked before, in the blink of an eye, darting over to the finish line: officially making him the winner of the race!

Cheering and applause erupted within the stadium as Sonic stood on the finish line, basking in the glory. He closed his eyes and let the applause ring through his ears. 

"Way to go, Sonic!"

"You're awesome!" 

"We love you, Sonic!" 

Sonic smiled happily, a few tears slightly poking out of his closed eyelids as he listened to the crowd's cheers. 

But when the hedgehog opened his eyes once more, everything...was gone. 

The stadium. The crowd. His competitor. The race track. Everything had disappeared. He was back in Hell. All by himself. A nearby streetlight flittered a bit before the bulb finally burned out. 

Sonic's glowing smile soon fell. The spikes on the back of his visibly curled downwards slightly. The spark within the hedgehog had burned out. 

There was no point anymore. No point in running from it anymore. 

He. Was. Alone. 

Sonic froze. A small voice echoed through his mind. You don't have any friends, loser.

And you never will.

You're too dangerous. You're a threat to everyone around you.

You can't escape it, Sonic.

The only reason you don't have friends is because. Y ou're. A. Monster.

"I really am alone," Sonic muttered. "Alone. Forever."

Sonic began to jog: moving faster and faster with each step. Feelings of loneliness and despair finally re-emerged after being suppressed for several years. Sonic's jog eventually turned into a sprint before morphing into a run. 

Memories of past run-ins with imps and other demons flashed through his mind, each memory ending badly either as a result from his or the demon's actions. The memories invaded his mind. He could hear insults ringing through his head, the words firing at him like bullets from a gun. 

"Freak!"

"Creep!"

"Get out of here, ya mutant weirdo!"

"You don't belong here!"

"You're going pay for that!"

Anger and frustration coursed through his veins, causing blue electricity to start to spark along his body. His legs became a blur as he picked up speed.

He darted from one point of Imp City to another and to another. Soon, all of Pride was lit up with a blinding blue light like the lights on a Christmas tree. The light bended in every which way, forming the shape of a Pentagram which the Ring was designed to look like. The concrete underneath Sonic's feet cracked as his feet repeatedly pressed down on it and his shoes, if you could call them that, were becoming more raggedy by the second, but Sonic didn't care. 

He was tired. Tired of having to hide all the time. Tired of being chased all the time. Tired of this power: the very thing that had damned him to an endless life of isolation and simultaneously preventing him from every creating a true connection with anyone.

Sonic growled as he continued to dart across the city. Suddenly, a memory popped into his head. It was a memory about...her. 

Longclaw. 

It wasn't a happy one, though. It was...that day. The day he ruined it all.

The day he led a group of Echidna warriors straight to their home.

The day he arrived in Hell. 

The day...he killed Longclaw. 

Something finally snapped within Sonic as tears rolled down his cheeks. 

In a fit of frustration, Sonic jumped up and let out a huge yell as an immense amount of energy erupted out of his body. The energy blasted across the city and knocking out the electricity within Imp City and the rest of Pride, turning the once sparking, spectacular Ring into a desolate, dark area. Anything not tied or rooted into the ground was flung into the air while the objects that were rooted in the ground, like telephone poles, slightly swayed to side. 

After exploding with energy, Sonic finally stumbled onto the ground. The hedgehog panted as exerting so much energy, grabbing onto his legs. 

But when Sonic took a look at his surroundings, his pupils shrunk. Cars were alarming in the distance, street lights had exploded due to the immense electricity abd the once lit-up city was completely dark. 

"Ohhh, crap," Sonic muttered. "I'm sure no one noticed that big blue explosion, right?" 

Blitzo laid on the couch, snoring, while the widescreen TV in front of him played what appeared to be an animated kid's show about little ponies learning friendship. He was dressed in his familiar attire and covered with a cozy, pink blanket while he held a small pony toy close to his body with a neon-blue hair and a completely pink body save for its black, plastic hooves. The TV's remote laid on Blitzo's chest, only moving up and down with the imp's chest as he breath in and out. Drool dripped out of Blitzo's mouth and splattered onto the fabric of the couch that had slight tears in its cushions, likely a result of Loona's outbursts. 

"Hmm, yeah, I would love to have a tea party with you, Pinkie Pie," Blitzo muttered in his sleep. 

Suddenly, a large booming noise woke Blitzo up. 

"Huh?! Who?! What?!" Blitzo exclaimed, tossing and turning on the couch before flopping onto the floor. 

The imp grogily pulled himself off the floor. His eyes were quinted and his mouth remained agape. Blitzo quickly slapped himself across the face and quickly rubbed his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up and clear his vision. 

"What the fuck was that?" Blitzo muttered, still tired. His eyes widened as he realized how dark it was. 

He knew it was night time, he wasn't an idiot, but he did vaguely remember leaving a few lights on before passing out on the couch watching the My Little Pony marathon on his TV. 

What? He may have been a killer but he was horse girl at heart.

But despite this, the apartment was completely dark. Hell, it wasn't just his apartment. 

As he looked out his sliding glass door that led out to the apartment building's stoop, the whole city looked like it just had a power outage. The buildings surrounding the apartment building had their lights off too, just like Blitzo's. 

Not that he particularly cared about those demons. He couldn't give a lesser fuck about other demons except for Loona, Millie, and maybe, Moxxie.

Thinking on his feet, Blitzo headed over to his kitchen and gathered some wax candles and placed them around the room. When Blitzo went back to the kitchen to grab a lighter, he noticed a mysterious blue light on the kitchen's countertops. The light was partially covered by some newspapers and other junk Blitzo hadn't bothered to throw out. As he pushed the debris aside, he realized the light was emanating from the quill Blitzo had just found earlier that afternoon. 

He picked the quill up to further inspect it. When he first encountered it on his way to work, he had simply thought nothing about it. Using the two remaining braincells in his body, Blitzo realized that if the quill was able to light up ike this, and judging from his experience when he licked it, it had electricity or at least some sort of power coursing through it. In addition to this, it appeared this quill was completely immune to whatever freak power outage occurred previously.

Something clicked in his head as  amazing opportunities flowed through his brain. The potential of the quill was basically limitless. There hadn't been many clients coming in recently which meant money was barely coming in, not like he was a 'financially responsible' as some would say. 

Satandamn, that billboard! I knew 20 bucks wasn't worth that text-to-speech bullshit. 

But with the quill's energy, he could potentially sell it to some rich asshole from Greed or somewhere else. Maybe pitch it as some sort of power source, who gives a fuck? There would be enough money to keep his assassin business going until this dryspell finally ended and even then, he would still have plenty left over.

His precious Loonie would have enough money for college or anything she wanted to do. Moxxie and Millie could buy whatever sex toys they wanted to live out their freaky fantasies. And for him, he would finally get the satisfaction of finally showing everyone that this "lowly, little imp" wasn't a joke. 

Chapter Text

Crap. 

That was the only thing running through Sonic's head. He was currently laying facedown on a beaten-up red beanbag chair in his makeshift home. 

Crap. Crap. 

Sonic clinged onto his face before stretching it downwards, groaning in frustration.

Oh, my gooooooodd, why did I do that?! That was so dumb!

Sonic looked over to his left side, a thick boxy TV set entering his field of vision, a large crack spread across the glass screen. A few years back he had dug the partially broken TV out of the dumpster of a tech store called Radio Hack.

He lazily drifted his hand over to the TV's remote and pushed the red 'on/off' button on the remote. The TV flipped on but its screen only displayed grainy black-and-white static. Sonic groaned and pulled himself off the beanbag. He lazily approached the TV and slammed his fist on the top of the TV a couple of times. The TV's screen finally stopped displaying static and returned to normal. Sonic returned to his spot and flopped back onto the soft, squishy beanbag chair.

The TV was playing what looked like some kids cartoon. A green anthropomorphic rabbit with absurdly long ears popped into frame. The rabbit wore a pair of orange shoes with white striped and had a cocky grin on its face. They then pulled out an electric guitar and aggressively strummed the strings on it like they were a rockstar. Then, a flashy logo appeared on screen, displaying the cartoon's name: Speedy Underground. 

"Yeesh," Sonic commented, cringing at the TV screen. "Who would watch that?" 

Sonic immediately flipped to another channel. A logo flashed on screen, displaying the channel's name: 666 News. The logo then faded away as a quick, catchy jingle played on the TV. 

Once the jingle finished, the screen displayed two sinner demons, sat at a large table while smiling eagerly at the camera. 

The two were obviously the news anchors of the program. The one on the left side of the table was a tall, thin, white-skinned female sinner demon. Her hair was light blond and neck length, cut into a fan shape. Her eyes were a light shade of red, minus her pupils which were completely white. Her head was oval-shaped and attached to proportionally-small, skinny neck. Her figure resembled the stature of an hourglass, having a large curved chest and lower abdomen while her torso was long and skinny. She had a wide smile plastered on her face, filled with completely white teeth. Her lips were coated with a vibrant ruby-red lipstick that complimented her red eyes and attire. She wore a white pearl necklace around her neck and two pearl earrings on both sides of her head. She also wore a black-trimmed crimson blouse with two black buttons and a dark black skirt.  

Her co-host, sitting on the opposite side of the table, was a male sinner demon. His hair was blonde like his female co-host but was curved towards the back of his head, shaping it into a bun. Most noticeably his face resembled a dark gray gas mask. Sonic wasn't at all surprised by this as he had run into his fair share of odd-looking demons throughout his time in Hell: he was pretty accustomed to it. From the neck down, his body was a dark gray which matched the color of his gas mask face. He wore a light gray suit, a white collared shirt, and a bright red necktie. He also wore a pair of black gloves. 

"Good morning, I'm Katie Killjoy," the female news anchor said.

"And I'm Tom Trench," the male news anchor said. "New details are coming in about a recent power outage that took out power across all nine circles of Pride." 

"Oh, crap," Sonic said as he pressed a button on the remote to increase the TV's volume. 

"Quite shocking, isn't it Katie?" Tom quipped, causing the two to laugh. 

"And that's why you're not a fucking comedian, Tom," Katie cheerfully said, causing Tom to roll his eyes(?) in annoyance. 

"Many reports are confirming that the power outage  originated from somewhere in Imp City but its source is currently unknown," Katie stated. 

"Oh, crap!" Sonic said, beginning to put together what they were talking about.

"However, authorities have discovered what resemble pawprints in the roads all across Pride, along with blue quills littered around the surrounding area," Tom interjected. 

"According to many residents awake when this power outage first occured, they reported seeing a bipedal, blue creature running through Pride's streets," Katie said. "Here is an artist's rendition based on eyewitness accounts."

A poorly-drawn blue figure resembling Sonic then popped up on screen. Below the image was a caption in a red box saying, "Crappy Artist Depiction(why did we hire this guy?)". Sonic flinched back in disgust at the rendition on screen. 

This is seriously what people think I look like. Really?

"Because of these reports, authorities have begun a Ring-wide search for this creature, believing it to be the culprit of the power outage," Katie continued. "Additionally, a $5000 reward has been announced for anyone that knows the whereabouts of the creature or is able to track it down. In fact, a $50 bonus will be offered to anyone who is able to bring it in! So, happy hunting everyone!" 

"OH CRAP!" 

Sonic scrambled to pulled himself up and began pacing around his home. The audio from the TV became muffled as he nibbled on his finger. He wasn't the type to get worried about things but this...

This was a big deal. This was the exact thing Longclaw had warned him about. 

Oh, God. Oh, God. Okay. Okay. Crap. This is bad. Like, really, really, bad. 

Sonic paced around the tent for what felt like hours before stopping himself and taking a deep breath. 

Okay, Sonic, ya gotta chill out? There's no way they'll be able to find you. Right? Right. I mean, Pride's a really big place. And we've been living here for a decade now. If no one's found out about us before  There is 100% no chance that they'll find-

Sonic's train of thought went off the rails as he heard the sound of whirling and dogs barking nearby.

Sonic cautiously approached the entrance of his tent and pulled the tent's fabric covers aside...before being flung backwards by a strong gust of wind. Annoyed, Sonic picked himself off the ground and approached the entrance once again to take a small peek outside.

The gust of wind that had just blown him away was the result of the pure black helicopter above him rotating its blades rapidly counterclockwise, swiftly slicing through the air like butter. Nearby, a group of hellhounds and some imps appeared to be tracking something. Some of the demons were wielding tranquilizer guns while the most of the hellhounds were carrying nets. 

It only took a few seconds for Sonic to realize who they were searching for.

That bounty he had just seen on the news was legit: Sonic was at the top of every wanted list in all of Hell. 

Sonic's mind raced. It would only be a few moments before they found his hideout. As much as he loved this place, even he had to admit it was the furthest thing from discreet. He snatched a saggy, child-backpack from nearby and raced around the tent, rapidly grabbing any meaningful objects he could squeeze into the small sack.

"Alright, this place isn't safe anymore. It's time to leave. But, wait, where can I go?" Sonic pondered, while tapping his foot rapidly.

His rings didn't work here so the other 'safe' planets were a no-go. Moving to another Ring would be impossible without drawing attention. Even if he could somehow discreetly get himself to another Ring, who's to say the demons hadn't learned about about him already; he would still be on the run. He'd need somewhere, in Pride, where he knew he would be safe and protected. Instantly, one place instantly came to mind. 

I.M.P. Headquarters.

The one place that provided him just as much warmth and comfort as back home with...Longclaw. 

He hadn't thought about her since last night. The memory was seared into his brain: being forced to abandon his home, the only place he knew he would be accepted in, and seeing Longclaw sacrifice herself. For him. 

It was...painful, to say the least. 

Sonic shook his head. Alright, enough with all the childhood trauma. I have to get out of here. 

"Alright, essential items only," Sonic said to himself, quickly snatching a worn-down backpack and looking around the room for what he needed to pack. 

"Okay, toothbrush, toothpaste, extra-strength hairgel, nightlight, this half-eaten cantaloupe..." Sonic said, racing around the tent and grabbing the aforementioned items, "...my lavender-scented candle, my entire comic book collection, and my beanbag chair, wait, can a beanbag chair fit in a backpack? No, no, of course not, that's stupid! Uh, a map of the sewers, uh, what else? What else? Oh, of course, the rings!" 

Sonic scrambled to get everything he could into the backpack. He stuffed the backpack with almost all of his items. 

"Okay, ring time," Sonic said, pulling out a ring from his brown bag. Before he could throw it though, his ears perked up as he heard the hunting party getting louder until they were right at his entrance. One of the hellhounds' claws poked through the tent's entrance and began to pull the fabric away.

"Shoot, they're already here. I got to go now," Sonic said, putting the ring back into his bag.

Sonic raced towards the back entrance of his tent but stopped for a moment. He turned around, staring at his tent one final time. He peered towards all his stuff, everything he had collected over the years. 

This wasn't just a tent. To him, this was his home. A place that was very close to his heart.

"Goodbye, tent," Sonic said, mournfully, before he raced out of his home.

Pride Ring

Imp City, I.M.P. Headquarters

"Sooo, what the hell is that supposed to be?" Loona asked, sat at the reception desk.

Right now, Blitzo was presenting his recent discovery, the blue quill, to his adopted daughter and coworkers.

"Well, obviously, it's a...uhm...okay, I don't know exactly what the fuck it is," Blitzo said.

"I believe it's some sort of quill, sir," Moxxie explained.

"Why'd you bring us out here to show us some boring, old quill, Blitz?" Millie asked.

"Wh-Wh-What?!" Blitzo sputtered. "Boring! I am very offended, Millie! I thought it was very special,"

Blitzo crossed his arms and pouted,  raising his head high towards the office's building and closing his eyes. 

Millie giggled at her boss' dramatic antics. While many would describe Blitzo's antics as "immature", "slightly irritating", or "incredibly inappropriate for the workplace", most of these descriptions coming from her husband, Moxxie, Millie was mostly unbothered by them. She even found her boss funny most of the time. 

I know, shocking.

"Alright, alright, Blitz," Millie said, gently waving her hands downwards in a calming manner. "We'll hear ya out. What's so special about this exciting quill-thingy?"

"I'm glad you asked, Mills," Blitzo said, snapping back into a chipper mood and tone. "It's...because of this," Blitzo said. He quickly twisted Moxxie around so that he was facing the wall, much to the imp's confusion, before forcefully shoving the quill up Moxxie's butt. The quill electrocuted Moxxie and shocked him so badly that it sent the imp flying into the wall on the other side of the room.

Moxxie crashed face-first into the wall before his body slowly slid to the floor, smoke rising from his posterior.

"WHAT. THE. FUCK. SIR!!!!" Moxxie yelled back at Blitzo.

"Whoa! Where the hell did you get that thing from?" Millie asked as she rushed over to check on her husband.

"Dunno. Just found it outside on the sidewalk." Blitzo said. "All I know is that this thing has could be a shitload of potential for our company. 

Moxxie's pupils danced around his eyes as Millie helped pull him up. As Moxxie groaned as he stood up, he stared and was able to get a good look at Blitzo's quill. The more he stared at it, the more he felt like he'd seen the quill from somewhere. He shrugged and pushed the thought away right now as a more important one popped into his mind.

"Shouldn't we ask Prince Stolas about it?" Moxxie asked. "We have no idea what this object could be or where it came from. I highly suggest we ask his highness about this; he does know a thing or two about mysterious, mystical objects."

Blitzo, who was currently sucking on the quill for who-knows-what reason, immediately spat it out. 

"Hell no! I am not talking to that horny privileged-ass bird!" Blitzo yelled. "He'll just turn the whole damn conversation into an excuse for me to fuck him. My back's still hurting from two days ago when we-"

"Satan, Blitz! No one here wants to hear about your freaky sex life you do with that prince guy!" Loona yelled, covering her ears.

"For once, I agree with Loona," Moxxie said, also covering his ears.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, fatty?!" Loona responded.

"For the last time. I am not FAT!" Moxxie yelled back at Loona while jumping up and waving his arms around furiously.

"Why don't we all calm down and get back to what's important?" Millie said, rubbing Moxxie's shoulders in order to get him to calm down. "

"Exactly. My new tie. It looks great, right?" Blitzo said, pointing to a red-and-white striped necktie hidden underneath his vest.

"No, Blitz. I'm talking about that there quill you discovered outside. I have to agree with Moxxie; we don't know what this thing could be. It might be dangerous, Blitz." 

"Pfft. When has anything in Hell ever been not dangerous?" Blitzo replied. "Beside, who the hell cares where or what this thing is? This could make us rich, or at least enough to keep us afloat during this hell of a client drought." 

"And, how exactly are we going to do that?" Loona asked, now looking at her phone's screen and not really focusing on what Blitzo was saying. 

"I'm glad you asked, Loonie," Blitzo cheerfully said, much to Loona's annoyance. "As you guys saw, this thing seems pretty unique and really powerful so I thought we just show it off to some rich, fancy asshole, convince them this is something worth emptying their wallets for, and, boom, let the money roll in," 

"That...actually sounds like good idea, sir," Moxxie admitted. "A little half-baked but still pretty good. The quill clearly has some sort of energy coursing through it and maybe one of the overlords or billionaires in Greed might want to have it for themselves. And with that extra money, you could finally pay us some decent wages,"

"Eh, we'll circle back to the whole 'decent wages' shit later," Blitzo commented. "Now, all we have to do is work on our pitch."

"Ugh, it smells like skunk's butt after it ate too many bean burritos," Sonic commented, pinching his nose. 

He was currently walking through the damp, wet, sewer pipes stretching across the underground of Imp City, carrying a bright flashlight in his left hand. He knew he could use his rings now: he was faraway from the hunting party that he could use it now without being spotted. However, he didn't want to take the risk so Sonic opted for a more conspicuous route.

Giant, golden ring portals don't exactly scream 'discreet' and, unfortunately, this was the only other option.

This wasn't the first time Sonic had ventured into the sewers. 

A couple months back, while escaping from a drunk imp, Sonic had forgotten to bring his ring pouch along but he was thankfully able to escape via an open sewer hatch. 

However, had he known what he was in for down here, Sonic would've rather dealt with the drunk imp.

Pride's sewers were a constant assault on his senses. The stenchy fumes burned eyes. The wet and squishy noises he heard in the sewer were an unpleasant burden on his ear drums. The stinky scent of garbage and God-knows-what launched endless assaults on his poor nose.

He had to constantly keep his hands clasped around his mouth to prevent himself from vomiting.

Needless to say, each minute he stayed down there, the more he could feel his nose shrivel and shrink due to the putrid smell. Add onto that, when Sonic first entered the sewers, it was like an infinite maze; he felt like he was going in circles.

Eventually though, after multiple trips down here, Sonic had successfully mapped out the entire sewer system so that if he ever needed a quick escape and didn't have his rings, he would have a backup plan. 

It wasn't a preferred plan, but it was a plan. 

Sonic pulled the paper map close to his face and shown his flashlight down on it. The barely visible writing and drawing immediately became clear as the bright light lit up every small detail on the piece of paper. 

"Okaaay, we should be on the right path," Sonic said, looking at the map. 

He proceeded forward, small splashes of murky water following each step he took. Sonic grimaced as he felt small droplets of sewage water land on his fur after each splash. 

This is gross. No, this is disgusting. Why am I going through all this effort just to go to that place? I mean, they don't even know I exist. There's probably better places to hide. The garbage dump is pretty close and it doesn't stink that bad. Plus, free food! 

Despite his inner voice, Sonic persisted. For one thing, the dump did stink that bad. Second, other than his tent, that place was the only place in Pride where he felt a sense of belonging. Mostly, in part due to its residents. 

He didn't know why but every time he was around those guys, even after a particularly rough day or when his own upbeat attitude failed, he immediately felt more...relaxed. Like he was safe and didn't need to worry. As he grew up watching them from a distance, a bond developed between them. A one-sided bond, but a strong connection nonetheless.

It was strange, and admittedly pretty corny, but Sonic viewed them like...family. While he hated the very idea of causing problems for them with his criminal status, he knew there was no other choice. 

Sonic continued trudging through the murky water before eventually standing beneath an large indent in the usually smooth curved ceiling of the sewer tunnel. He flicked his flashlight off before tucking it away in his quills, along with the map. 

"Bingo," Sonic said, smirking. He readied himself and prepared to jump up and grab the thin, strips of metal welded to the inner part of the indent. Sonic took a step...before grimacing when he felt his foot step onto something soft and squishy. 

"I really hope that's just a very wet sponge," Sonic muttered. 

Sonic twisted and turned the sewer grate above his head clockwise before he was able to freely push it upwards. His huge white eyes peeked through the opening and spotted the front entrance of I.M.P. headquarters. 

"HA! I knew I shouldn't have doubted my impeccable mapmaking skills!" Sonic bragged. He quickly checked the area, making sure no prying eyes were watching.

Seeing no one watching, he pulled himself up from out of the sewer hole and darted towards a nearby alley near I.M.P. headquarters. He flipped over a dirty-looking cardboard box and gently placed his backpack inside. 

"Alright, this'll have to do," Sonic said. Until the heat died down, he could have to lay low here for now. 

"Maybe, I'll should pay a visit to the I.M.P. crew, that'll lighten up my mood," Sonic said, smiling a little bit.

He quickly ran up the side of the building before he stopped and grabbed onto the corner of the walls and assumed the same position he did yesterday. 

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Sonic TV: the only place where you can see what your favorite imps and hellhound are up to," Sonic said, acting like he was a TV show host. "Today, the I.M.P. crew are-HOLY SHERBERT!"

As Sonic peered into the meeting room's window, his jaw dropped. Big Boss was holding up a blue quill for Possum Guy, Cowgirl, and Moon Girl to see. Behind him, on the whiteboard, were crudely drawn letters in red marker that spelled, or rather misspelled, the words: 'Pitshes for wat too do with qwill'.

Sonic quickly hid himself back behind the building as his heart beat rapidly, clinging to its concrete walls.

Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! They found one of my quills! Wait a minute, get a hold of yourself, Sonic! It might not even be yours.

Sonic peeked around the corner once more to get another look at the quill. As Boss Man held up the quill, he could see familiar blue electricity course across the quill. He quickly hid back behind the wall and bit the fingertips of his left glove.

Nope! It's definitely mine!

Sonic's mind raced as it started conjuring up all sorts of nightmarish scenarios; each one ending with him being discovered and turned into some sort of lab rat.

Needless to say, he needed to get that quill back. 

The gears in the Sonic's mind began to spin as he tried to think of a way to sneak into the building without being spotted.

He could get in through the ventilation shafts in the building but he would still need to find a way to distract the I.M.P. crew long enough to steal back the quill. Suddenly, Sonic looked back at the window and noticed that all of the I.M.P. crew had mysteriously left the room: presenting the perfect opportunity to sneak into the meeting room. 

"Huh, convenient," Sonic said.

"For the last time, Wally, you are not sponsoring us!" Blitzo yelled.

Blitzo and his crew were standing in front of their headquarter's entrance, annoyed at an imp standing opposite of them.

The imp in question was Wacky Wally, or, his actual name, Wally Wackford. The southern-sounding imp had made multiple attempts in the recent weeks  to get the assassin crew to let his small business sponsor them.

"Oh, c'mon now, Mr. Blitzo. Think about it! My company sponsoring your company. It's a win-win! I'll be promoting your services through I.M.P. merchandise and I'll even split the sales with you." Wally explained. "And you can help by spreading the word out to other assassins about my business for more sponsorship opportunities!"

However, none of this was convincing Blitzo.

"Okay, first off, the 'O' is silent," Blitzo said. "Second of all, our company is already in a shitty state. We don't need a connection with a crazy, coked-up lunatic to drag us down even more."

"I am not a lunatic! I swear on my sinful soul, the Blue Devil is real, I say, I say!" Wally exclaimed.

"Yeah, and Moxxie doesn't have a baby dick," Blitzo said.

"SIR?!" Moxxie exclaimed. "I TOLD YOU, I DON'T HAVE A SMALL DICK!

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say to try and make yourself feel better, Mox," Blitzo said, causing Moxxie to grumble in frustration.

"Sooo, is that a no on the sponsorship?" Wally asked.

"A big ole fuck no," Blitzo said.

"Welp, can't blame an imp for trying, I say, I say! See y'all tomorrow!" Wally said as he walked away from the doorway and back down the hallway.

"You're lucky restraining orders are too expensive, you cowboy-sounding prick!" Blitzo yelled at Wally.

As Blitzo headed back inside the lobby, he and the rest of his crew heard something crashing onto the floor in the meeting room, followed by what sounded like something rummaging around the room.

"What in the heavens was that?" Moxxie asked.

"How the fuck should I know?" Blitzo responded.

Loona began sniffing the air before clenching her nose with her fingers. "Gross! Whatever it is, it smells like shit!"

"Maybe it's a rat. This place ain't exactly 'well-kept'," Millie said. Just as she said this, one of the ceiling's tiles fell to the floor, as if to emphasize her point.

"Well, either way, this rat's gonna be sorry for messing up the room. I literally just had the ceiling repaired last week," Blitzo said, as he pulled out a golden-tinted pistol that resembled those found in old western movies.

"What the-Sir! Do you always carry that on you?!" Moxxie exclaimed.

"Well, duh! Don't you?" Blitzo said, nonchalantly. "Now, come on, let's go kill the bastard!"

"Wait, sir! We don't need to kill it. It's just a harmless animal," Moxxie said. "We just have to approach it carefully and delicately without-You stopped listening to me just now, didn't you?"

"Oh, I wasn't listening to you at all," Blitzo said, already halfway near the meeting room with his pistol ready. "You should know this about me already, Mox."

Moxxie rolled his eyes as he, Millie, and Loona followed behind Blitzo.

A few minutes earlier...

Sonic was on a mission. After finding a wide enough hole to squeeze through, Sonic was searching through the narrow space between the office spaces' ceilings below him and the office spaces' floors above him for one particular location: I.M.P.'s meeting room. As he crawled along the ceiling's tiles, the uneven surface bending slightly as he kept moving, Sonic hummed a familiar tune:

https://youtu.be/YBZ6GPCJcxM?si=tBOIRbt6YI0A_922 

"Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-babadum-duh-duh-dum-dudum..." Sonic sang. He finally stopped crawling as he reached his destination.

"Alright, my gut's telling me this is the spot. Now, all I have to do is be extra careful so we don't-"

Suddenly, the ceiling tile beneath Sonic came loose and fell to the floor, taking Sonic with it. The hedgehog fell face-first onto the floor; his feet still dangling in the air. Sonic groggily picked himself up and rubbed his forehead with one of his hands.

"...fall," Sonic muttered. "Man, Tom Cruise makes this look so easy,"

He dusted himself himself off before noticing the glowing blue quill on the table's edge. Sonic grinned and quickly snatched it off the table.

"You've caused me a lot of trouble, little dude," Sonic said, shaking his head and smiling a bit. "Alright, time to go!"

Before Sonic could jump back into the hole where he fell from, the door to the meeting room suddenly burst open.

"Surprise, you furry fuck!" Blitzo yelled as he kicked open the door. Blitzo aimed his gun at the supposed rat and gripped his thumb around the gun's trigger, ready to squeeze it, before he paused. 

What stood before him was unlike anything he had seen before. 

Okay, I might not be a biologi-biolo-a, fuck, a whatever-ist but I'm pretty damn sure that that isn't a rat.

Sonic's eyes shrunk as he saw Big Boss standing in front of him, holding a gun.

"Umm, meow?" Sonic muttered, nervously.

Blitzo let out a high-pitched scream causing Sonic to scream as well. The two screamed for what seemed like hours before Blitzo accidentally squeezed the trigger on his gun, causing a bullet to fire. The bullet darted across the room before making contact with Sonic's right ankle.

The hedgehog winced as he felt the bullet penetrate his fur and make contact with his bone.

"Oww!" Sonic exclaimed.

As Sonic's gaze drifted down to his wounded ankle where he noticed blood was beginning to trickle out of hole left by the bullet.

"O-oh, that's b-b-blood..." Sonic stuttered. Sonic eyes fluttered a bit before he suddenly fell to the carpeted floor, unconscious.

Blitzo stood there, mouth agape, still holding his now smoking pistol.

"Fuuuuuck me," Blitzo muttered. 

"Sir, what was tha-ooohhh, crumbs," Moxxie said as he walked in from behind Blitzo. His eyes immediately landed on the same blue creature Blitzo had just shot.

"Uh, sir, what is that?" Moxxie asked.

"Well, obviously, Moxxie, it's a-Why the fuck are you asking ME?! I don't know what the hell that thing is!" Blitzo yelled.

"Are y'all alright?" Millie asked.

"What's with all the yellin-" Loona paused her sentence as both she and Millie stared at the blue creature. "What the fuck is that?"

"Okay, will you people stop walking in here and asking me question I don't know the fucking answer to!" Blitzo exclaimed. "What do I look like: a fucking zoologist?!"

"I-Is it dead?" Moxxie asked.

"I dunno. Go find out!" Blitzo said, pushing Moxxie forward with his tail.

"What?! Why me?!" Moxxie exclaimed, backing up a little.

"Because it's in your employee contract," Blitzo explained, gesturing to a piece of paper he had pulled out of nowhere. The document looked professional but if you took another look, the words on the paper were clearly written in crayon and horrifically misspelled.

"See. It says so right here," Blitzo said, pointing to a specific section of the contract. It stated, "Any employee of I.M.P. (especially those with a name that starts with the three letters "M", "O", and "X") are to be the first ones to approach potential danger while their handsome and sexy boss stay behind to avoid the danger."

"W-Wha...Wait a minute, are you serious?!" Moxxie exclaimed.

"It's your signature, ain't it?" Blitzo asked. On the bottom of the contract was Moxxie's name written in elegant cursive.

Moxxie stared at the signature before looking back at Blitzo.

"I fucking hate you, sir," Moxxie said as he walked over to the unconscious body of Sonic.

"Be careful, honey," Millie said.

Moxxie carefully approached the body, walking on the tips of his hooves. When he finally reached Sonic's body, he tapped his left hoof on Sonic's chest repeatedly, trying to see if the creature would react. Fortunately for Moxxie, Sonic's body remained still on the ground. Moxxie took a deep breath and exhaled before he did something really risky.

He lowered his head close to the blue hedgehog's furry chest. He tilted his head to the left and slowly inched his head closer and closer to Sonic's chest until the fur on the hedgehog's chest was tickling the inside of his ear.

"Oh, my!" Moxxie gasped.

"What?! What is it, Mox?! Is it dead?!" Blitzo exclaimed, now cowering behind Millie. 

"No, it's still alive," Moxxie replied. "But it's heart is beating much faster than I thought." 

"Let me see!" Blitzo said, shoving Moxxie out of the way. He then placed his head near the creature's chest, just as Moxxie did before. 

"Shit, he's right," Blitzo admitted. "This thing's heart is beating faster than a moving bullet," 

"What are we going to do with it?" Loona asked. 

"What even is it?" Millie asked, inspecting Sonic's body. 

"Well, obviously, it's a some sort of sinner, Mills," Blitzo said, matter-of-factly. "Just some dumbass son-of-a-bitch who thought he was Mr. Big-Shot and could just wander in here without getting shot at."

"I don't know about that, Blitz," Millie answered. "I've dealt with my fair share of sinners and I ain't seen none that look like this fella," 

Millie then pointed to Sonic's bullet wound. "For one thing, I ain't never seen a sinner take a hit from a regular old gun and actually get hurt from it," 

While Millie and Blitzo were talking, Moxxie noticed the quill that Blitzo had found yesterday lying on the floor. As he went over to pick it up, he couldn't help but notice that it was the same shade of blue as the hedgehog-like creature, lying unconscious on floor in front of them. Curious, Moxxie plucked one of the quills off of Sonic's body. He then held the quill Blitzo had found and the one he had just plucked off Sonic's body at armslength to compare both of them. Just as he suspected, both quills were exactly the same!

He then took another look at the creature lying on the floor and immediately put two and two together. 

"Oh my crumbs, sir, I believe the quill you found belongs to this creature," Moxxie said. 

"Really? What makes ya say that?" Blitzo asked. 

"Look, the quill you have looks identical to the one I plucked off of this creature's body," Moxxie explained, handing the two quills over to his boss.

Blitzo inspected the quills and came go the same conclusion. "Well, fuck me! I can't believe I'm saying this but...Moxxie is actually right." 

"Okay, to ask again, the fuck do we do with it?" Loona asked. 

The group all stared at the still unconscious body of Sonic and pondered over what they were going to do next. 

"I think I got an idea," Blitzo said.

Sonic walked around the endless white area he found himself in. He couldn't see much as most of the area was foggy. However, as he kept moving, Sonic noticed a shadowy figure in front of him. The figure ominously approached Sonic, his facial figures still masked by the thick fog. 

Sonic immediately got into a fighting stance. He spread out his legs and curled his hands into fists and raised them toward the figure. However, as the figure stepped out of the fog, Sonic dropped his fists and immediately stared starstruck at who was standing before him. Just looking at their face, Sonic instantly knew who it was. It was unmistakable.

The long, black flowing hair.

The small, gray bristles of a beard. 

The figure's tall stature.

It was clear that this was none other than...

"Keanu Reeves?!" Sonic exclaimed, flabbergasted. 

"Yes, Sonic. It is I. The legendary Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves," Keanu Reeves said. Keanu stood before Sonic, his figure towering over the hedgehog. The man was decked out in a solid black suit and a black shirt. He wore equally-colored pants and slim, shiny black shoes. 

"Oh my God! Mr. Reeves!" Sonic exclaimed. "Excuse my language but-HOLY FRICK! It's really you! I loved you in Speed! 

"Thank you, Sonic. It's a pleasure to meet a fan," Keanu said, appreciatively. 

"Oh! Can you say the line?" Sonic asked. "You know, from Speed?"

"Okay," Keanu said. "But, you do know my character wasn't the one who said that, right?" 

"Yeah, but it'd still be super cool if you said it," Sonic said.

"Fair enough," Keanu admitted. "Pop quiz, hot shot!" 

"Hah! That is such a classic line!" Sonic said. "Goshdarnit, I wish I had a camera!" 

"Sonic," Keanu said, suddenly sounding serious. "There's a very important message I have for you."

"W-What is it?" Sonic asked, now worried. 

"You're.....breathtaking,"

"Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!" Sonic exclaimed. 

Suddenly, Sonic's head exploded into confetti. 

Sonic immediately woke up with a fright.

"AHH! Mr. Reeves!" Sonic exclaimed. As he looked around, Sonic realized that the white void he once found himself in along with Keanu Reeves were nowhere to be found. It had all simply been a dream.

Sonic let out a disappointed sigh before taking a look around. Sonic was shocked to find himself behind the steel bars of what seemed to be a large birdcage.

"Huh, okay," Sonic said, confused. "Not an ideal situation but, eh, I've been in worse. Wait, how did I end up here again?" 

As Sonic pulled himself up, he suddenly winced as he felt an immense pain coming from his right leg. Sonic almost collapsed to the steel floor of the cage but quickly placed both his hands underneath his body to catch himself. He steadily picked himself back up, letting his injured ankle adjust to the new pressure of his body.

Sonic looked down at his ankle. His right ankle was wrapped in a pure white bandage wrap, stained with the crimson blood that was once pouring out of his wound. Luckily for Sonic, in addition to super speed, he also discovered he had quick healing so most of the bleeding had stopped.  However, the wound was still painful and hadn't fully healed yet. 

"Wait a minute, how did I get that?" Sonic asked. Come on, brain. Jog ya memory. What happened?

"Hands up, freak!" 

Instinctively, Sonic raised his hands high in the air, his pupils widening at the new voice. The fur that covered his entire body immediately stood up, triggered by the unseen figure's use of the word "freak". 

Crap. 

Behind him, Sonic could hear a gun cocking. 

"Now, wiggle your digits!"

Wait, what?

"I said wiggle them or I'll blast your fucking brains out!" 

Sonic immediately began wiggling his fingers fearing being shot. 

"N-Now, wave your hands around like you just finished a big musical number!" 

"Sir. Stop it! The creature clearly seems scared," 

"Like I care. This jackass tried to break into my office!" 

"Blitz, let's just calm down and get some answers." 

"Fiiiiiiiine. Hey, idiot, turn around. No bullshit, ya hear me!" 

"Absolutely," Sonic quickly responded. "None of that here, sir!"

He slowly rotated his body around to face the owners of the voices he was hearing. Sonic was thrown into a loop at the identities of the voices. They belonged to none other than the members of I.M.P.: Big Boss, Possum Guy, Cowgirl, and Moon Girl. 

Ooooh, this is awkward...

Sonic's thoughts were interrupted by the tip of Big Boss' gun pressed firmly against Sonic's cheek. 

"Alright, it's time to talk, rat! Explain yourself! Why were you trying to break into our office?!" Blitzo exclaimed, pushing his gun into more of Sonic's face. 

Not at all concerned by the gun currently pressed against his face, Sonic gently pushed the gun away from his face with his pointer finger, a puzzled expression on his face. 

"Okay, first off, I'm a hedgehog, not a rat. They're two very different animals. Second of all, why don't we calm down, put the gun away, which I have to say looks really cool, and talk things out like rational people-er, demons," Sonic said, trying to bring the tension down. However, this didn't work. 

Blitzo once again pressed his gun against Sonic's cheeks. "Like you would know anything about rationality, Mr. Asshole-Who-Broke-Into-My-Office!" Blitzo responded. "My question still stands, why were trying to break in?" 

"I-I swear I wasn't trying to break in. I was just trying to get that thing back!" Sonic said, gesturing to the quill sitting in the corner of the headquarter's lobby. 

"This thing?" Blitzo said, walking over to where the quill was laying and picking it up. "What do you want with it?" 

"Umm, it's mine, I feel like that's kinda obvious," Sonic said, pointing at the large quills on the top of his head and along his back. "So, if you could hand it back to me, that would be much appreciated. 

However, Blitzo simply cocked his gun in response. 

"Or, you could keep that gun in my face, that works too," Sonic said, sarcastically. 

Meanwhile, Moxxie's gears were turning in his head until it finally clicked.

"I knew those quills looked familiar!" Moxxie exclaimed. 

"What is it, honey?" Millie asked. 

"Remember the power outage they were talking about on the news this morning? They mentioned how there was a creature spotted that was responsible for it," Moxxie explained, suddenly pointing at Sonic. "That must be the creature."

The group all turned and looked at Sonic, a sense of nervousness washing over them now. If the creature was capable of doing that, imagine what it would do to them if it got out.

"Oh, so you've heard about me," Sonic said, rubbing the back of his head. "Greeeeeeaaaaaaat." 

"Woah, that guy did all of that," Loona said, finally looking up from her phone and actually shocked. "Damn, that's pretty badass," 

"Satan...this is even better," Blitzo exclaimed suddenly. 

"What?!" Everyone, including Sonic, exclaimed in surprise. 

"Think about it, gang. This blue bitch clearly must have some huge bounty on him, so I'm saying we take this guy down to that news station, tell 'em we captured him, get the money, and finally get the respect and fame I, I mean, we deserve," Blitzo explained. 

While the rest of the crew thought it over, Sonic's nerves were rising all the way to the roof. If these guys revealed him to all of Hell, he was done for.

Finished.

Toast.

End of the story. 

He could see it now. The blinding light above him as he was strapped and bound to a medical bed. Slowly, agonizingly being taken apart. Demons in white coats putting their gloved hands where they didn't belong. 

He shivered at the thought.

"No! Please don't!" Sonic exclaimed. 

The whole of the I.M.P. turned around and stared at the blue hedgehog. 

"And why not?" Blitzo asked, a hint of uncaringness in his voice. "You broke into our office, asshole. That's called getting even." 

Sonic grappled onto the steel bars of his cage, a pleading look plastered on his face.

"Again, I technically wasn't trying to break in: I was just trying to get that quill back," Sonic replied. "You can't turn me in! You just can't! If you do, they'll take me away and turn me into their own personal lab rat! They'll take me apart or maybe something even worse! I don't know about you but I'm not keen on letting my insides turn into my outsides!" 

Sonic took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking again. "Listen, can we just keep this between us? I just need somewhere to lay low until everything dies down. I swear, I'll just stay in the alley nearby; you won't even know I'm here! Please! It's life or death!" 

I.M.P. stared at the strange creature, his pleading and begging, squirming into their minds like a worm in the soil. Well, most of their minds. 

Blitzo remained indifferent to the creature's predicament while Loona went back to looking at her phone. Moxxie looked unsure of what their next plan of action would be. On one hand, this could be a big opportunity for the company. On the other, they might be unintentionally sentencing a poor creature to death.

However, Sonic's pleading resonated the most with one imp in particular: Millie.

Millie stared into the hedgehog's glossy, wide eyes, his green irises glinting slightly due to the ceiling's dull light reflecting off of their surface.She had recieved her own fair share of looks, most conveying disgust or maliciousness. However, when she looked into Sonic's eyes, she didn't feel any of those emotions from him. His face conveyed a sense of innocence and terror. 

Not towards her, or the rest of the crew, but by the idea of being caught. To put it simply, this "creature", as the news media would put it, was just a kid. A kid that was just a victim of misfortune and circumstance. Call it maternal instinct or growing up with a ton of younger siblings, but she just had the urge to protect this poor kid. So, she reached her final decision: 

"Blitz," Millie began, "we can't turn this guy in."

"What?!" Blitzo exclaimed. Sonic's ears perked up, a look of surprise on his face. 

"Blitz, look, this guy doesn't seem that bad," Millie said. 

"Are you fucking with me? He literally took out the power across the entire Ring!" Blitzo exclaimed, raising his hands high in the air. 

"That's true, but, he looks like he regrets it," Millie replied. "Right, hun?" 

Sonic looked towards Millie and nodded his head rapidly. "Absolutely! Totally regret everything! Just filled to the brim with regret right now!" He replied quickly. 

"See?" Millie said. "Come on, Blitz, you seriously want to let that guy be caught. Even I know you're not that heartless." 

As Blitzo looked over to Sonic, he quickly noticed that the hedgehog was now displaying "puppy eyes" at him, even whimpering a little. 

"B-But, the moneys!!!" Blitzo whined in a high-pitched voice.

"Blitz!" Millie said, slightly raising her voice. 

"Alright, alright," Blitzo said, begrudgingly. He looked back to Sonic. 

"You promise to stay out of this office?" Blitzo asked, eyeing Sonic suspiciously. 

"Hedgehog's honor," Sonic said, putting his right paw on his chest and saluting Blitzo. 

"Okay then," Blitzo said, slightly disappointed, "You're free to go." 

Blitzo headed over to the cage, pulled out a golden key, and unlocked the cage's metal door. 

Sonic immediately raced out of the cage's metal door and hugged Blitzo, much to the imp's displeasure. 

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Sonic exclaimed. "You won't regret it!" 

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I will," Blitzo said, a long frown on his face. "Now, get the fuck out of my office before I blow your brains out." 

"Duly noted," Sonic said, before quickly speeding out the office, leaving a strong gust of wind behind which knocked Blitzo to the ground. 

"Damn, that fella sure is fast," Millie commented. 

"I am so gonna regret this," Blitzo said. 

Chapter Text

Sonic let out a massive yawn as he stretched his arms outward, away from his body.

"Ow!" Sonic winced, feeling a sharp pain in his neck. He grabbed his head and twisted it slightly to the right, producing a small cracking noise. Sonic let out a sigh as he stared at the crimson red sky above him. 

Suffice to say, Sonic did not have a good sleep. Far from it. His "bed" , which was just a small cardboard box, was way too small for him to sleep in the box's thin, cardboard layers offered very little support or comfort compared to his soft, cushiony beanbag chair. He did attempt at trying to make his new "home" more to his liking. Using his "supreme, artistic talent" as he put it, Sonic drew and colored on the box with markers he was able to find to make it look much more to his taste. He colored the box so that it resembled a red racecar with yellow stripes on the side which he thought would add some much needed style to his "home". 

However, even that wasn't enough to improve his mood. He missed his old home and the whole situation with all of Pride being after him certainly wasn't doing any favors. 

He wasn't the type to let things get to him, but even he had to admit things were not looking good so far. 

As Sonic slumped over and rubbed his eye, he looked over to his right and smiled slightly. The tall gray skyscraper where I.M.P. headquarters resided stood proudly over the hedgehog like a massive shield protecting him from any danger. 

Well, this may not be an ideal living situation, heck, I wouldn't even call it average, but there's is one silver lining: The I.M.P crew are now our neighbors. 

Sonic sighed in satisfaction. Perhaps, it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe now, he could actually have a relationship with his heroes. A real relationship. Maybe they could even be frie-

Sonic's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a bulky, green garbage bag crashing right on top of him. The scent of rotten food and other unpleasant stenches invaded Sonic's nostrils. As fast as he could, Sonic shoved the garbage bag off of him and gagged as he tried to get the rotten scent out of his nose. As he was pushing the bag off of him, some sort of green liquid leaked out of the bag and dropped right into Sonic's mouth, causing the hedgehog to gag even more. 

"Oh, Chaos, I think some of it got in my mouth," Sonic said, sticking out his tongue and rapidly wiping it repeatedly with his gloved paws. He scrambled out of his box and collapsed onto the ground, all the while coughing and heaving.

*Click

Sonic briefly paused his gagging to look to his right. Standing near the alleyway was...Moon Girl, who was currently holding her phone up and snapping a picture of the hedgehog currently coughing all over the sidewalk.

"FYI, you might wanna learn how to be a bit more subtle" Loona said, looking down on her phone. "Or don't. I really couldn't care less."

Sonic let out a sigh.

Oh, it's...Moon Girl. Great.

Admittedly, Moon Girl was Sonic's least favorite member of I.M.P. He liked her, don't get him wrong, especially her cool goth attire. He also respected her "I don't care what anyone thinks about me" attitude. But from what he saw, she would often come across as mean or abrasive. She would pick on Possum Guy multiple times and call him "Fatty" even though he looked the exact opposite of fat. She was also pretty mean to Boss Man, even though the two were family. 

Well, Sonic, looks can be deceiving. I mean, look at us, I'm a prime example of that. Maybe we should give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Oh, hey!" Sonic waved to Moon Girl. "Good morning!" 

"Don't care," Moon Girl said, not sincerely. 

Okay, not much of a morning person, I guess. 

Moon Girl proceeded to walk away, still looking at her phone. 

"Well, see ya later!" Sonic said, cheerfully waving his hand. 

"I hope I don't!" Moon Girl yelled back. However, instead of a wave as Sonic expected, Moon Girl made an odd hand gesture that Sonic didn't recognize. She had lifted her right arm, and curled her hand into a fist, but left her middle finger pointing out.

 Weird way to say goodbye but, oh, well.

Sonic sighed. His idea that things wouldn't be so bad was beginning to dim. That was about the warmest greeting he's gotten from the I.M.P. crew. Big Boss still hated him (a lot) for some reason. Moon Girl appeared indifferent or at least somewhat annoyed with his presence. Possum Guy still seemed pretty suspicious of him. The only member who seemed to treat him with any kindness was Cowgirl and they hadn't interacted since yesterday.

Sonic sighed but remained somewhat optimistic. 

Okay, sure. Things haven't been...the best. But I'm sure they'll warm up to me eventually. No one can resist the ol' Sonic charm. 

Sonic walked back to his box and pulled a comic book from out of his backpack, took off his worn-down shoes, and began to read. 

A loud snoring could be heard emanating from the alley. It was Sonic, his comic book draped over his face and his legs dangling out of the box. 

A blaring siren drifted past Sonic, causing his ears to perk up slightly. 

"Ugh...five more minutes," Sonic muttered, trying to hit the snooze button on the imaginary alarm clock next to his "bed". 

As Sonic slowly drifted back to sleep, the siren returned, blaring even louder than before. Sonic, frightened, jumped out his box, his arms and legs all spread out in a star-shape and a shocked expression painted on his face. 

Sonic landed flat on his chest, his chin landing hard on the concrete pavement of the sidewalk. 

"Alright, alright, I'm up!" Sonic said, slowly picking himself off the ground. "Doesn't anyone know a hedgehog needs his beauty sleep?"

Sonic looked to his left and immediately noticed the large, red fire engine parked near the entrance of I.M.P. headquarters. Realizing what that meant, Sonic snatched a dirty-looking hoodie from the nearby dumpster, quickly placed it on, and bolted towards the building's front entrance. Sonic breathed a sigh of relief, seeing the I.M.P. crew safely standing outside the building. 

Phew, they're okay. 

As Sonic slowly approached, he noticed two imps, one tall and one short, dressed in bright yellow firefighter suits walking out the doors. The short imp firefighter was carrying a handful of electric eels, the hell-fish wiggling and writhing in the imp's arms. 

"Hey, guys, you alright?" Sonic asked, walking up to the I.M.P. crew. "What happened?" 

"Well, if you have to ask, rodent-boy-" Blitzo replied. 

"It's Sonic, actually," Sonic interrupted, realizing the assassins had never learned his name. 

"Yeah, don't care," Blitzo replied, causing Sonic to roll his eyes in annoyance. "Anyways, to answer your question, what happened was that some huge fucking idiot thought it would be a good idea to shoot up my fucking office!" 

As Big Boss spoke, Sonic couldn't help but notice that he was narrowing his eyes directly at Possum Guy, a burning flame of anger lit behind the larger imp's pupils.

"The only reason I shot up the office was because you scared me half to death, sir!" Moxxie said. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Mox," Blitzo said, "it's still coming out of your paycheck."

Sonic watched as Possum Guy tweaked and fidgeted in frustration after hearing Big Boss' words while Cowgirl gently placed her hand on her husband's shoulder to calm him down.

"Now, someone please tell me that fancy book is intact!" Blitzo yelled. 

"You mean our only ticket to the other side, yeah, it's right here," Loona said, somewhat sarcastically while pulling the book out. 

As Loona pulled the book out, Sonic was able catch a small glimpse of the book's cover. It kind of looked like the type of book you'd find at Hogwarts or something. The book had a dark blue leather-bound cover, shiny golden pages laid neatly within, and gold engraving woven across the cover and spine. A light red pearl was planted on the book's spine. Weird golden markings that were placed on the book's cover. One resembled a crescent moon and the other was completely unrecognizable. It was a bunch of interconnected lines enclosed within a circle. To Sonic, it looked liked the type of scribbles you'd see a preschooler draw in their free time. 

"And that's why you're my favorite, Loonie, you get a treat now!" Blitzo said, making puppy eyes and waving a dog treat in the air. 

"'Oh, shut up, Blitz," Loona said, turning her back to Blitzo and folding her arms. 

Blitzo shrugged in response and tossed the treat up in the air, caught it with his tongue like a chameleon, and devoured the treat. 

"You're so gross!" Loona yelled, disgusted. 

"Oh, stop, I get enough of that from my therapist," Blitzo responded, sounding flattered. 

Loona rolled her eyes and opened the book. The hellhound quietly read aloud some odd language Sonic was unable to understand. Sonic watched on in wonder as arcane glowing symbols rose from the book's golden pages and before the hedgehog realized it, a circular portal had been opened up onto the brick wall on Sonic's right side. Once Sonic turned around, he gazed in awe at the portal. The portal's rim consisted of a bright red-orange flame and a crimson glow emanating from it. 

"Whoa," Sonic muttered, a small smile forming on his face. "Way past cool." 

The hedgehog took a small glimpse at the portal's interior. The rugged brick wall had been replaced by a vast, open field of solid green grass and farther along, a couple of pine trees. Sonic felt a bit of heartache in his chest as he gazed at the sight, remembering his old island home.

Huh, that's how they get to Earth. 

"Alright, gang, let's go lick some ass!" Blitzo yelled, shoving Sonic out of the way and knocking him to the ground. 

"Blitz, it's 'kick' some ass," Millie corrected. 

"Mine's better," Blitzo responded. 

Blitzo, Millie, and Moxxie all walked through the portal, each carrying their own weapon of choice. Millie wielded a silver dagger, Moxxie, a gun, and Blitzo, a long rifle. 

Before the portal closed, however, Blitzo popped back out  for a quick second and began "whispering" something into his adopted daughter's ear. 

"Hey, Loonie, sweetie, if it's not too much trouble, can you keep an eye on our little rodent problem," Blitzo said, eyeing Sonic who was picking himself off and brushing some dust off him. "I don't need his quilly-blue ass across my floor. I don't even know if the asshole is potty-trained."

"You know I can hear you, right?" Sonic said, unamused. 

"Well, duh! Why else do ya think I'm saying it out loud, dumbass?!" Blitzo yelled before turning back to Loona and kissing her on the cheek, much to the hellhound's annoyance. 

"Bye, Loonie!" 

Just as Blitzo disappeared, the portal immediately closed. Sonic and Loona then turned to each other and stared for several minutes. Eventually, Sonic decided he would end the awkward silence. 

"Sooo... your name's really Loona. That's honestly a way better name than Moon Girl. I like it! Sounds mysterious! Looooooonaaaaaa." Sonic said while making himself sound like a ghost.

Sonic waited for a reply from Loona but it didn't come. Instead, the hellhound rolled her eyes and looked down at her phone. Feeling awkward, Sonic tried to continue the conversation.

"Well, the name's Sonic: a little blue ball of super energy in one extremely handsome package. Pleased to finally meet ya!" Sonic said, extending his hand outwards expecting to  shake Loona's.

However, that handshake never came as the hellhound turned to look at the hedgehog with a raised eyebrow. Sonic's confident grin morphed into an awkward one and the hedgehog could feel sweat rolling down his face. 

"Uh, this is the part where we shake hands and become immediate best friends," Sonic said, gesturing towards his open hand with his eyes. "It's right here. My hand. Piping hot. Ready to shake. Open for business. Fresh handshakes for sale."

"No, this is the part where I walk away from the obnoxious blue rat," Loona said, briefly putting on a false grin before it sunk into a neutral expression as the hellhound walked away. 

Ugh, weirdo, Loona thought to herself. She continued to walk down the messy sidewalk, slowly moving farther and farther away from the building where I.M.P. headquarters resided. A small voice in her head reminded her that Blitz had told her to keep an eye on the blue rodent but then again, when had Loona ever actually listen to her fath-boss. 

"Okay, first off, I'm a hedgehog. Not a rat. Second of all, it's not cool to just blow someone off like that."

Loona jumped a bit at the sudden new voice but calmed down once she realized who was speaking. The blue hedgehog stood before her with a look of slight annoyance on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. 

How did he-Oh, right, the whole "speed" thing. 

Loona had to admit she was at least slightly impressed by how quick the hedgehog was able to catch up her. She looked behind and saw she was now about 7 feet away from where she had left the hedgehog and somehow he had caught up to her in less than a few seconds. 

Damn, I guess those news reports weren't exaggerating. He really is fast. 

"Hello, Hell to Moon Girl?" Sonic said, looking up at Loona.

The hellhound was snapped out of her thoughts as she looked down at Sonic. 

"Ugh, what do you want?" Loona groaned, slouching back slight in exhaustion. "Don't you have to go and do some weird shit or whatever? Preferably somewhere that's not around me." 

"Eh, not really. I've already read through all the comic books I managed to pack and I had to leave the rest of my collection behind when I went on the run. My TV and Mega Genesis are also back at home." Sonic said, scratching the back of his head before looking to Loona with a smile. "So, I guess it'll be just you and me hanging out today. Loona and Sonic: best buds! Traveling the land, kicking butt, and taking names! That good with you?" Sonic cheerfully said. 

But when the hedgehog looked back, expecting to see Loona, he was instead greeted by an cluster of air where the hellhound girl once stood. Sonic looked to his right and saw Loona walking away. Slightly annoyed, Sonic sped up and easily caught up to her. 

Relax, Sonic. Remember what you said? We should give her a chance. 

"You know you're acting pretty rude right now. If I didn't know any better, it'd seemed you don't really want me around."

"Gee, what gave you that idea?" Loona said, sarcastically, hoping the hedgehog would take a hint. 

"I know. Weird thing to think, right?" Sonic said, not at all detecting Loona's sarcasm. "So, what do we do now?" 

"Well, I'm going to take a nice, relaxing walk and would highly appreciate it if there are no annoying distractions," Loona said, casting a heated glare at Sonic.

"Well, no worries, Moon Girl," Sonic said, leaping up and putting his arm around her neck. "I'll make sure no distractions come our way." 

"It's Loona," Loona growled, while pulling Sonic off of her.

"Got it, Moon Girl!" Sonic said, oblivious to Loona's last remark. "Say, why don't we take turns saying something about ourselves? Ah yeah, I can feel the bonds of friendship forming already. Do you feel them, Moon Girl?"

"I feel like I'm going to have an aneurysm," Loona said.

"Yup, an aneurysm of friendship!" Sonic said, cheerfully.

It's going to be a long day, isn't it, Loona thought to herself. A really long day.

"And that's how I became King Arthur," Sonic said, pridefully.

"Wait, what?" Loona said, snapping out of her trance-like state. Ever since Sonic had started talking, Loona had been trying to tune him out. With varying degrees of success. Loona focused on what Sonic had just said. "Seriously?"

"Nah. I was just making sure you were paying attention." Sonic said, much to Loona's annoyance. "So, anyways, as I was saying I-"

"Please don't," Loona muttered, clamping her left hand onto Sonic's mouth. "I swear, if you don't stop talking, I am going to either have a stroke or tear your mouth clean off." 

Loona then suddenly pulled Sonic in close so that he was now staring into Loona's red eyes. "Believe me, I can do it. I've done it once. And I will happily do it again."

"Sounds good," Sonic said, nonchalantly, much to Loona's surprise. 

Geez, this guy suicidal or something?

Loona was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of grumbling coming directly from Sonic's stomach. Embarrassed, Sonic quickly covered up his stomach and chuckled awkwardly. "Oops, my bad. Looks like this little hedgehog's a little hungry. How about you? You wanna eat?" 

Loona was about to argue but paused when she heard her own stomach let out a little growl, causing her cheeks to glow red with embarrassment. Sonic smirked at the display. 

"I guess it's unanimous," Sonic said, chuckling. 

"Shut up!" Loona retorted. 

"Come on, I know just the place," Sonic said, taking Loona's hand. "Now, hold on tight!"

"Wait, why are you saying tha-WHOA!" 

Loona yelped as she hurtled through the air while Sonic ran at blinding speeds across Pride, clutching onto her hand. Loona could barely keep her eyes open as the gushing wind pressed against her face, forcing her to keep her eyes closed. The opposite could be said for her mouth which hung wide open, causing her tongue to flap wildly in the wind. The residents of Imp City could barely make the two beings out, only being able to make out a blurry flash of blue, white, and black racing through the streets. 

"HOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLYYYYYYY SHIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTT!!!!" Loona yelled. 

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnd we're here," Sonic said, abruptly coming to a stop in front of what resembled a 1950s diner. In bold neon signage, was the name of the eatery: Hell's Kitchen. Even though Sonic stopped, Loona didn't as the inertia in her body kept propelling her forward. Luckily, her grip on Sonic's hand remained firm and kept her from hurtling any further. Loona landed face-first on the ground a few inches in front of Sonic while the hedgehog, still holding her hand, approached her from the left. Loona groaned as Sonic helped pull her up off the ground. 

"Whoo, that was fun! Nothing like a good jog in the morning, right Moon Girl?" Sonic said, expecting Loona to respond but nothing came. "Moon Girl? Moon Girl? Loona? You alright?" 

Loona barely heard anything Sonic was saying as a mix of emotions Loona could barely make out swirled in her head. Confusion, anger, and excitement were the most prominent ones. A part of Loona was very pissed at the blue hedgehog for the unexpected joyride. After all, she could've died. Yet, another part of her had to admit that it was pretty fun. Exhilarating, in fact. The last time she remembered feeling this way was when she went on her first mission with Da--Blitz, Moxxie, and Millie. Even now that the run was over, she could still feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Loona gazed down at the blue hedgehog before her, an unreadable expression on her face. 

What the hell are you?

Meanwhile, Sonic's mind was spiralling. While Sonic did have fun racing through the city, Loona's blank expression was eating away at him. Sonic's stomach churned with anxiety. This was just like what happened with Longclaw. The moment he uses his power, anyone close to him leaves him.

You're a monster. 

The voice from days prior had returned and it sounded even louder. 

You hurt anyone that gets close to you. 

Stop it. That's not true. 

Yes, it is and you know it. 

Sonic didn't reply. What if the voice was right? What if...he was a monster? This was the exact reason why he had to hide.

Now, Moon Girl's not gonna talk to me anymore because I scared her half to death-

"What the hell was that, man?!" 

Sonic was swept out of his thoughts as he heard Loona shout. Loona grabbed Sonic by the shoulders, picked him up, and shook him vigorously in the air.

"I mean, that was crazy! With how fast you were going, I could've died!" Loona practically shouted. "I could've died!"

"I'm sorry," Sonic said, rubbing the back of his left arm in embarassment. "Really, I am."

Loona paused her shaking and beratement to briefly gaze at hedgehog in surprise. It wasn't a common occurrence for someone, especially here of all places, to apologize. And from what, Loona saw, the hedgehog meant it sincerely. Such kind acts were rare in the place where everyone was out for themselves. Loona sighed before placing Sonic back on the ground and dialing back a bit of her initial anger. 

"Well...don't get too upset about it. It was kinda fun to be honest," Loona said, surprising Sonic. "Come on, let go eat."

Sonic was flabbergasted. He'd never seen Moon Girl act this way before. Sonic then smiled before it morphed into a smirk. 

"Well, I do aim to please," Sonic said, rubbing the underside of his nose with his pointer finger. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, blowhard. Come on, I'm starving," Loona said, pushing open the double doors to the diner. 

"By the way, spoiler alert," Sonic said, following behind the hellhound. "Despite the name, Gordon Ramsay doesn't work here. Bummed me out when I first found out."

Loona simply rolled her eyes at the hedgehog, not at all understanding what he was talking about. 

"Alright, thanks, that'll be all" Loona said, handing the imp waitress both her and Sonic's menus. Both she and Sonic were sat parallel in a booth with red vinyl-covered seats with a variety of multicolored stains splattered across the vinyl. 

"Ooh, I'm so excited," Sonic said, ecstatically. 

"What's the big deal? It's not like the shit they call food here is any good," Loona said. As she turned back to look at Sonic, she almost laughed when she saw his face. The hedgehog was completely slackjawed. 

"How dare you," Sonic said, in a muted voice while placing a hand on his chest in disbelief. "The food here's awesome...well, not here, exactly, but the food they throw out in the dumpster is pretty alright. Plus, eating inside an actual restaurant is a part of my bucket list." 

Sonic reached up and pulled out a piece of paper from his quills. Some stuff had been written on the paper but Loona was barely able to make it out. Sonic placed the paper flat on the table so that the writing was facing him before reaching up again and pulling out a blue pencil from his quills. He then drew a straight, blue line across 'eat at an actual restaurant'. 

"The hell's a bucket list?" Loona asked. 

"It's basically a list of all the things you want to do before you die. I heard about it while eavesdropping on some sinners and I was immediately hooked by it. Take a look."

Loona glanced down at the list. The paper was completely covered by Sonic's handwriting, each listing a specific activity Sonic dreamed of doing. Some were more mundane than Loona expected, such as 'walk across a crosswalk in public' or 'request a taxi', while others were more exciting and outgoing, such as 'visiting all 7 Rings' and 'eating 100 tacos all at once'. Loona couldn't happen to notice that a majority of these items weren't crossed out. In fact, very few of the items were actually marked. 

"Hey, dude, how come some of these are unmarked?" Loona asked. 

Sonic's proud smile drooped to a sad frown. "Well, a lot of these things are pretty much impossible for me to do with this whole situation going," Sonic said while simultaneously gesturing towards his body, "especially now that this handsome face is plastered across every wanted poster in Pride!" 

Sonic slumped in his chair, letting out a defeated sigh. "One of the many perks of being me, I guess."

Loona felt a twinge of sadness in her as she looked at the depressed hedgehog. She couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the guy. 

Well, that's just life. It's unfair. It's better for him to learn it now that later. I wish I did. But still...

Loona couldn't help but feel sorry for the hedgehog. Loona had felt a similar way before...back when she was an orphan. Just like Sonic, Loona had been dealt a harsh hand in life. So, Loona, reluctantly, made a decision.

"You know," Loona said, catching Sonic's attention. "A lot of these seem pretty easy to do. If you want we could...do them?"

Sonic excitedly gasped. "No way! Are you saying...you want to...bucket list with me?" Sonic said, stars glittering in his eyes. 

"Okay, I wouldn't say that but yeah, pretty much," Loona said, nonchalantly.

Sonic's casual grin transformed into a massive smile as he proceeded to eagerly ran around the restaurant, appearing as a blue blur to the startled patrons. 

"WOOHOO!" The hedgehog exclaimed. 

Loona was taken aback by Sonic's excited response but chuckled to herself and let the hedgehog do his own thing. 

"Hey, can we make our meals a to-go?" Loona asked, noticing the waiter from before approaching. 

6. Go through one of those spinny-door thingies without getting dizzy.

Sonic panted as he pushed against a revolving door mechanism that was connected to a tall building. Sonic ran around as fast as he could, appearing as a blue tornado to any onlookers. Demons from either side of the revolving door watched in both confusion and irritation at the hedgehog. 

On the outside of the door, stood Loona awkwardly smiling as Sonic continued running in a circle. From where she stood, Loona couldn't help but overhear some of the cruel words spoken about Sonic by the crowd. 

"What the fuck is this guy doing?" One imp yelled. "We all have places to be."

"Is he drunk or something?" Another imp said. 

"C'mon, asshole, can't you be special somewhere else?" A sinner demon said, wearing nothing but a trenchcoat. "I have people I need to flash." 

The words burned with hate yet as Loona looked as Sonic, the hedgehog looked completely unaffected. In fact, he looked...happy. Better than that, he looked like he was enjoying himself. 

"The trick is to not get your arm caught in the door!" Sonic shouted. "Also, don't close your eyes or you'll get sick!" 

Loona chuckled, shaking her head. Despite the harsh words thrown at him, Sonic was still having the time of his life. 

He really doesn't care what care what people think of him, huh? 

Loona couldn't help but find a little bit of respect for the hedgehog growing within her. Just a little bit.

After about 15 more revolutions, Sonic stumbled out of the revolving door and staggered forward before collapsing face first onto the ground. Loona approached Sonic and pulled him up onto feet. 

"Hey, you alright, buddy?" Loona asked. 

"Hee-hee, my brain is full of jelly beans," Sonic giggled before grabbing Loona's hand and pulling her forward. "Come on, Moon Girl! Let's go do the thingies!"

"Uh, how about we sit down for a while? I think your brain's really fucked up right now," Loona said, slowly guiding Sonic towards a bench. 

"Hah, yeah right, me brain's still braining. I'm fine," Sonic said, not realizing that at the same time his eyes were  erratically spinning around in his head. "Now, come on, Sally, let's go save the Acorn Kingdom!"

6. Go through one of those spinny-door thingies without getting dizzy.

18. Ride a rocket ship 

"Sorry, dude, but this was the best I could do," Loona said, gesturing towards the small coin-operated machine in front of her. 

After searching on her phone for 'Free Rocket Ship Rides in Pride' and the only result popping up being 'Bitch, the fuck you talking about?', this was about the best she could find: a rusty coin-operated machine that resembled a rocket ship you'd see in a cartoon placed in front of a rundown drug store. The 'rocket' was coated with bright orange paint that was slowly chipping away revealing the cold, hard, metallic plating underneath. On the side of the 'rocket', in bold red letters, was the rocket's apparent name: 'Angel Destroyer'. 

"Are you kidding me?" Sonic asked, wide-eyed and pupils dilated. 

"I know, I know. It's pretty shi-" 

"This is AWESOME!" Sonic exclaimed, zipping into the rocket's 'pilot's seat'. 

"Seriously?" Loona said. "Really? This hunk-of-junk?" 

"Hey, don't insult my ride. Now, come on, let's juice!" Sonic said, holding his arm out and pointing in front of him while sitting comfortably in his seat. 

Loona rolled her eyes before pulling out a coin from her pockets and inserting it into the designated slot on the machine. 

The machine whirred to life as it rocked Sonic back and forth in a circular motion. The hedgehog raised his arms and shouted in excitement. "WHOO! Now, I know what Neil Armstrong felt like!"

Loona pulled out her phone and began recording the hedgehog having the time of his life. She would never admit it out loud but she was slowly growing more fond of the hedgehog. 

18. Ride a rocket ship 

20. Go to a place called an "arcade". 

"Alright, here we are," Loona said, looking up at the brightly-lit signage of Wacky Wally Wackford's Fun Time Emporium, an image of the aforementioned imp popping out of a gold-rimmed circle right in the middle of the bold lettering. 

"Well, what are we waiting for? Come on!" Sonic exclaimed, grabbing onto Loona's hand and zooming past the arcade's doors and into the building's red carpeted lobby. 

The lobby opened up directly to the rest of the arcade which was comprised of rows upon rows of multiple types of games. The bright, colorful screens of videos games lit up  the arcade like a firework show. A cacophony of children laughing and buttons clicking filled up the arcade's atmosphere. It was like fun incarnate.

"Oh my, Chaos!" Sonic gasped, his jaw slack and his eyes wide as dinner plates. "This is Heaven. I've died and gone to heaven." 

"No, you're definitely still alive...are you crying?" Loona said, noticing tears welling up in the hedgehog's eyes. 

"No. It's just liquid joy," Sonic said, rubbing his eyes. "Now, come on, Moon Girl! Let's go!"

23. Reach a high score.

Sonic tapped ferociously on the video game's plastic red button while wiggling the game's joystick around wildly. The video game Sonic was playing resembled Space Invaders but was instead titled Extermination Day. The pixelated purple and green aliens were replaced with pixelated Extermination angels and the laser gun that the player controlled was replaced with a bright red, pixelated imp character that bore a striking resemblance to Wally Wackford himself. 

"Come on, come on," Sonic muttered, his eyes locking onto the pixelated imp. 

He was now down to his second life. His previous two attempts at earning a high score had both been thwarted by the game's insane final level. The angels were coming at him faster than ever and it felt like the odds were stacked against him. However, he held onto hope. This was his moment, he could feel it. He just had to get past this last wave and then he would be home-

Sonic was instantly pulled out of his thoughts when he heard loud beeping noises coming from the screen. Glancing at the screen, his eyes shrank as he realized the imp he was playing as had been struck with an angelic spear, thus ending his second life. The screen went black before two big, red, pixelated words flashed onscreen:

GAME OVER!

Sonic collapsed to the ground and pounded his fist on ground in a dramatic fashion, like he had just witnessed a loved one dying. Sonic then brushed himself off before pulling himself off the ground and immediately getting back into the game. While Sonic was able to maintain his cool, he was still rather nervous given that he was on his last life now, his last chance. 

Sonic's predicament was noticed by Loona, who at first wanted to ignore the hedgehog. But as she watched Sonic stand back up and play the game, Loona couldn't help but be reminded of her younger self once again. She didn't know why but being around this guy was giving her a weird sense of deja vu.

Loona was reminded of the first time she played this exact same game, though the game looked more polished and well-kept back then than it does now. It was during her early years at the hellhound pound, back when she had been first adopted. Her adopters had taken her to the Emporium a few days after first beginning to live with them. She easily blitzed through the first few rounds. She lost a few lives like Sonic but just like him, she got back up again. She fought hard until she reached the final level...which she absolutely crushed!

Looking back at it now, it was admittedly a pretty minor accomplishment. However, she never forgot how she felt that day. She felt like she was at the top of the world. But, how did her adopters react to her victory? 

Why, they completely ignored her, obviously. 

And it wasn't the only time they did this. Whatever it was, whether it be a macaroni portrait she made for them or a good grade in class, her so-called parents never acknowledged her or whatever she did, regardless of how she felt about them. It made her feel...unwanted. Ignored. Like nothing she did was enough. 

Like she wasn't enough. 

Loona growled as she remembered that feeling, the feeling of being ignored. She hated it. So, she wouldn't do the same thing to Sonic. He wad just a kid after all. 

"Hey, step aside, noob," Loona said, walking up behind Sonic. 

Sonic did as instructed and let Loona take the helm. Loona immediately picked up where Sonic left off but unlike him, she didn't seem to be having any difficulty. She narrowly avoided each and every attack the angels through at her player. She blasting through levels so fast Sonic could barely keep up with her, the aforementioned hedgehog currently eating a bucket of popcorn that he pulled out of nowhere. 

Now...it was the final level. The one that did Sonic in. The hedgehog watched, biting his fingers as he watched Loona play. However, the hellhound's confidence never wavered. She easily blew through each and every angel. Until...

YOU WIN! New high score! 

Sonic watched in amazement as he saw his player name rise to the top of the chart displayed on the game's screen. 

"That...was...AWESOME!" Sonic exclaimed. "I mean, how did you do that?" 

"Eh, sometimes you're just born with skill," Loona said, confidently.

23. Reach a high score.

24. Play a sport.

Sonic stood before an arcade machine that seemed to be themed around a sport similar to basketball. However, instead of basketball, the sport was apparently called Spikeball wherein, instead of rubber, orange balls, the balls were light gray and covered in spikes. 

Huh, name's a little on the nose, isn't it?

Sonic carefully picked up the ball in front of him, trying to avoid cutting his fingers in the ball's sharp, jutting spikes. Sonic took a deep breath before, with all his might, throwing the ball upwards towards the plastic ring attached to the machine. The ball soared through the air...before immediately dropping onto the machine's installed slope and rolling right back to Sonic. Despite Sonic having pretty average upper body strength, his height was his ultimate downfall. To put it in simple terms...

Sonic was too short. 

Sonic's ears drooped before perking up once again when he heard the sound of chuckling coming from behind him. The source of the chuckling was Loona who was slowly approaching Sonic from behind. 

"Let me show you how it's done, shortie," Loona said, much to Sonic's annoyance. 

Loona confidently picked up a ball, precisely aimed it towards the ring, tossed it upwards and then...

SWISH!

The ball passed through the ring before rolling right back to Loona. The automatic point counter on the game's screen turned from '0' to '1'. 

Sonic stood there slack-jawed before regaining some semblance of composure. "That was a great shot!" Sonic exclaimed before grabbing another ball and handing it towards Loona. "Can you do it again?"

Loona smirked at him before taking the ball and once again sank the shot. Sonic repeatedly more balls over to Loona, who made every single shot with ease. With every swish she made, the points only rose higher and higher until they were in the hundreds. 

Eventually, Loona picked up one ball in particular, which felt weird to her but regardless threw the ball towards the ring. However, as the ball soared, Loona immediately noticed that unlike the regular gray and spiky balls she had picked up earlier, this balls was blue and...furry? 

When the ball was about to pass through the ring, two gloved hands shot out and grabbed onto the ring's rim, preventing the ball from fully passing through the ring. The ball then completely unfurled itself and revealed itself to none other than...Sonic! While still holding onto the ring's rim, Sonic stretched his legs out downwards so that they were passing through the ring before promptly moving his legs up and down, slowly at first but eventually accelerating to high speeds. Everytime Sonic moved his legs, the machine's point counter mistakenly interpreted it as a ball going through the hoop and increased the score quickly with each movement of Sonic's legs. 

"What? I wanted to play too," Sonic said, turning to Loona. 

The hellhound simply shook her head in amusement. Behind them, two male imps walked by the pair and briefly caught a glimpse of their shenanigans. 

"Hey, isn't that technically cheating?" One of the imps asked the other accompanying imp. 

"Gary, who the here cares?" The other imp replied. "This is hell." 

24. Play a sport

25. Have a dance battle.

"You're going down!" Sonic yelled, bright neon blue light lighting up his face. 

"The only one going down is you, blue boy!" Loona yelled back, bright neon pink light lighting up her face. 

In front of both of them was a glowing wide screen displaying multiple, different, colorful arrows pointing, each one pointing in different directions. Both Sonic and Loona stood on top of platforms, both having four panels that displayed scaled-up versions of the arrows onscreen. When the players, in this case Sonic and Loona, saw one of the arrows pop up on screen, they would need to quickly place their foot onto the panel if they wanted to gain a point. 

The two had been playing the game for what felt like hours, sweat already dripping off their foreheads. At first the pace was manageable and easy to keep with, but as the song accompanying the dance moves picked up, so too did the pace. Sonic was fast and was easily able to maneuver his feet to wherever the screen indicated. However, his mind wasn't as quick as his feet and sometimes he would place his foot on the wrong panel. Meanwhile, Loona appeared to have an advantage in that department. Being an assassin meant Loona would often need to make quick-thinking decisions. While Loona's coordination was good, her leg maneuverability wasn't as quick as Sonic, a weak spot the hedgehog took full advantage of by easily stealing three more points.

"Hah! Eat my dust!" Sonic taunted.

"Eat your dust? How about you eat my ASS!" Loona retorted. 

"Well, if you're offering," One imp said who was watching the two of them, specifically Loona. 

"Shut it, creep!" Loona yelled before throwing her phone right at the perverted imp's face, breaking his nose. 

Despite the minor distraction, Loona was able to get back into the game and make up for lost points. 

I think I might be in the...zone. Satan, that felt so cringey to say, but still, I think I might be in it. Nothing can distract me now-

Loona's phone suddenly started vibrating. 

"Shit!" 

"Oh, look at that!" Sonic said in a mocking tone while simultaneously keeping up with the dance moves displayed on the screen. "Your phone's ringing. Sounds inportant. Would be a shame to miss it, wouldn't it?" 

"Please, I'm sure it's not that important," Loona retorted. 

However, Loona's phone suddenly buzzed louder than before, seemingly refuting Loona's claim. 

Loona glanced towards Sonic who flashed her a cocky grin before going back to the game and then glanced back at her phone. Maybe she could...

Loona quickly jumped off the platform and snatched up her phone to see who was calling...only to sigh as she realized it was a scam caller. 

Great. Well, we still have plenty of time to earn back our points-

GAME OVER. Player One Wins!

Oh, come on. 

"WOOHOO!" Sonic cheered as he rushed over to Loona. "Bow down, peasant, to the Dance King!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, nerd," Loona said, ruffling Sonic's quills. While Sonic was slightly annoyed, he had to admit he felt a little warm inside when she did that. 

"Hey, good game, Moon Girl," Sonic said, extending his hand out to Loona. 

Loona hesitated at first but smiled and shook Sonic's hand. "Yeah, not too bad, hedgehog."

"I think you mean, the DANCE KING!" Sonic exclaimed, while Loona rolled her eyes in amusement. 

25. Have a dance battle.

Sonic's legs dangled over the concrete roof of the building where I.M.P. headquarters resided in. A happy smile was on his face as he admired the seemingly endless list of  crossed out items on his bucket list. There were certainly many items still left uncrossed on the list but Sonic couldn't deny that today had been awesome. As he gazed up at the now violet night sky, Sonic couldn't deny that a bit of hope was building up within him. 

"Alright, two recently-microwaved meals ready to go. And I got a little bit of dessert for ya too."

Sonic turned around and smiled as Loona brought over two white styrofoam containers, transparent steam rising out of the containers' openings. On top of one of the containers was small paper plate with white frosting. 

"Yes! Come to papa!" Sonic said as Loona gently handed the hedgehog his food while at the same time sitting down beside him to enjoy some grub. Sonic ripped open the container and gazed at the delectable food laid out before him. The food in question was a thick, long, red hot dog wedged between two green buns. Brown chili was dumped on top of the wiener and a few pieces of cheddar cheese were sprinkled on top. Sonic drooled as he stared at the chilidog, taking in its splendor. 

I don't think I've seen anything more beautiful in my entire life. 

"Moon Girl, what is this beautiful thing?" Sonic asked, stars twinkling in his eyes.

"Uh, I think it's a Helldog," Loona said, biting into a sloppy-looking cheeseburger. "Well, go ahead. Take a bite."

Sonic gently but firmly grasped onto the Helldog and bit into it...only to be blasted away by a tsunami of tangy flavors. Sonic immediately scarfed down the Helldog in one bite and savored it all. The chili was right amount of spicy. The wiener was cooked to perfection. The cheese was...well, cheesy. Sonic could feel tears welling up in his eyes but he didn't care. Why wouldn't he cry? It was like his tongue was touching Heaven itself! 

"Satan, dude, it can't be that good," Loona said.

"It is that good!" Sonic exclaimed before reaching into his mouth and pulling out some chewed-up bits of the Helldog which was now coated in saliva. "Here, have some."

"Hell no! I'll pass, thanks," Loona said, disgusted. Sonic shrugged before shoving the chew-up Helldog back into his mouth, much to Loona's further disgust. 

"Anyways, thanks for the day-out," Sonic said. "It was awesome!"

Loona looked at Sonic, slightly taken aback by the grateful tone in Sonic's voice, before smiling right back at Sonic. "Eh, no problem. It was actually kind of fun. By the way, why do you keep calling me Moon Girl?" 

"Oh, because of the crescent moon on your shorts?" Sonic said, eating some of the cake Loona had brought him. "You like it?" 

"Eh, it's one of the better things people have called me," Loona replied. 

"Really though, thanks. Today's been a nice break from the whole fugitive situation I got going on," Sonic said, gratefully. 

"Like I said, no problem, dude," Loona said. 

Suddenly, a large boom went off in the sky. Sonic screamed and immediately clutched onto Loona's body, fear coursing through his veins.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Sonic yelled. 

"Dude, relax, it's just fireworks. Also, let go of my boobs," Loona said, forcefully pulling Sonic off of her. 

"Fireworks? What's that?" Sonic asked, tilting his head to the side. 

Instead of answering his question, Loona smiled and pointed up to the sky. Sonic's gaze followed Loona's hand upwards till he noticed a small streak of light rocketing upwards through the sky. Suddenly, in an instant, the streak erupted into an explosion of bright light and painted the sky with all sorts of colors. Then, another streak followed suit, along with another and another. Each streak exploded into a burst of light, each one more brilliant than the last. Even as the light and color dimmed, small sprinkles of light fell to the ground like shooting stars. 

"Whoa," Sonic managed to make out before he scrambled up Loona's body like a monkey climbing a tree and laid on top of her head, letting his arms droop over her face and his legs droop over her shoulders. "This is amazing."

While she was at first, Loona shrugged and smiled. She'd let him sit up there and enjoy the show just this once.

Just. This. Once.

The two of them gazed up to the brightly-lit night sky, warm smiles stretched across their faces, and admired the massive sight laid out in front of them. 

Sonic let out a sigh. 

Guess I was right. Things won't be so bad after all. 

Earth: Somewhere in the U.S. 

A cocoa-skinned woman with light, curly blonde hair approached a small footprint embedded in the ground.

She wore a dark red tuxedo jacket with red lapels, which she accessorized with a golden pin in the shape of the letter 'D', a white-collared shirt, a black necktie, a pair of black pants, and black low-heeled shoes. She also wore a pair of solid-black shades that completely covered her eyes. 

She squatted down and narrowed her eyes, analyzing every single detail she could pick up from the footprint. While any average person would simply dismiss the footprint as belonging to a deer or some other wild animal, the woman knew exactly what the culprit was. 

It was a demon. 

The woman pulled out a small, rectangular camera and snapped a photo of the footprint. A pale-skinned man with brown hair wearing a similar uniform to the woman approached her from behind. The woman turned around, noticing the man's presence. 

"Found anything?" The woman asked. 

The man shook his head. "Zilch. All of the house's security cameras were destroyed in the explosion. Damn it! If people keep letting trigger-happy dimwits like that into the police academy, then this country is doomed!" 

"Easy, Agent One, let's just focus on our mission: finding proof of real demonic entities. Once we find irrefutable evidence of real demons, there's no way the higher-ups won't take us seriously," The woman said. 

"The only problem is finding that proof. We have no way of accurately tracking down these demons and I hate to compliment these bastards but they're very very good at being discreet. They rarely leave any trace of their existence behind," Agent One replied. 

"So...what do we do?" The woman asked. 

Agent One paused and thought long and hard before coming up with an idea. Although, he was admittedly very hesitant about it. 

"What if...we hire someone?" Agent One said. "Someone who knows technology. Someone who has access to the most advanced tracking technology on the planet." 

"One, there's already a problem with that. Only the higher-ups have technology like that and given our track record with them, I don't think they'd be so keen on lending their equipment to our so-called "silly operation,"" The woman said, a little bit of frustration in her voice. 

If the higher-ups believe extraterrestrial life exists, why is it so hard to believe that actual demons could exist? 

"I'm not suggesting we hire some lab rat from the higher-ups. I'm saying we hire the lab rat," Agent One stated. 

The woman tilted her head in confusion before staring wide-eyed at Agent One. "You're not suggesting we actually hire...him?" 

"I am suggesting that," Agent One said, before noticing the woman's unsure look. "Now, Agent Two, I know he might be a little...unhinged but-" 

"A little?! Didn't your dad once described him as a quote-on-quote psychological tire fire?!" Agent Two exclaimed, before calming herself down. "I'm sorry, but isn't he a bit of a wild card?" 

"I know. It's kind of crazy but he does get results. He's a master of his craft. And if we have him on our side, we'll get our proof and shove it up my dad's-I mean, the higher-ups' asses," Agent One said. "Besides, I'm sure my dad's just exaggerating. He can't be that crazy."

Agent Two thought to herself before sighing. "I guess it won't be the worst idea. Let's do it." 

"Alright then, let's call in the doctor."

Chapter Text

"MOMMY?! DADDY?!" 

Prince Stolas Goetia groaned as he awoke to the panicked cries of his infant daughter. His bright red eyes fluttered awake as he finally registered the noise. He turned to his right to face his wife, Stella, who had  completely covered herself with the bed's blankets. 

"Octavia is calling us, Stella," Stolas groaned. 

"You get up," Stella muttered, pulling on the blankets before returning back to sleep. 

Stolas sighed before pulling himself out of bed, revealing his full physique. Stolas was a tall, slender demon who had similar features to an owl like feathers and a beak. He had two pairs of red eyes which sat atop each other and surrounded with black eyelids. His heart-shaped facial disk was white which made his small, black beak much more prominent. His body was covered in gray-blue feathers except for a small plume of feathers on his chest which were lighter in color and the feathers at the top of his head and his tail feathers which were a darker shade of blue. His limbs were like thin twigs, all four of which were completely black. 

Stolas threw on a red, silk robe and walked to his daughter's bedroom. When he opened the door, the hallway's light sliced through the room's darkness like a sword. While most of the room's light pink interior was revealed, a certain little owl was missing from the picture. 

Stolas looked around the room before turning his attention to the bed and smiled, noticing a shivering mass underneath his daughter's purple, yellow star-covered blanket. 

"Octavia, are you there?" Stolas said, his voice echoing through the seemingly empty room. 

"Daddy? Daddy!" Octavia whimpered, pulling the blanket off her, carefully getting out of her bed, and bounding over to her father. 

Octavia looked almost identical to her father, minus her pink eyes and shorter stature. Her feathers were all gray, like her father, except for a few blonde tips on the back of her head. She wore a bright pink dress with white, long puffed sleeves and white stars sown across the dress' pink fabric. 

Stolas knelt down and gently picked up his frightened daughter in his arms, hugging her to calm her nerves. 

"Via, what troubles you, my dear owlette?" Stolas said, soothing Octavia with his soft voice as he held her close to his chest. 

"I had a dream! A really, bad dream!" Octavia exclaimed, in between sobs. 

"A nightmare?" Stolas calmly said, gently brushing the back of Octavia's head. 

"I was looking all over the palace! And I couldn't find you anywhere!" Octavia panicked, before tightly grabbing onto Stolas' chest. "You weren't there!" 

"There, there, Via, it's okay. You're okay," Stolas placidly said, while simultaneously using some of his magic to levitate the Grimoire, the book now being covered in a cloud of light purple, glittering dust. Stolas carried both Octavia and the spellbook over to Octavia's bed and sat down. "When you're scared and you don't know where I am, you must remember, no matter what happens to me, I will never be far away from my special little starfire."

Stolas nuzzled Octavia's face, finally bringing light back to the young girl's face. Stolas then waved his hands, making the Grimoire open up to one certain page in particular. Stolas then appeared to snatch some of the magic emanating from the book's page before stroking it across the air above him like a painter with a paintbrush on a canvas. A large portal, rimmed initially with neon blue light that slowly morphed in a light red hue, opened from the initial stroke, which Stolas and Octavia proceeded to float up through. 

~It always seems more quiet in the dark~

~It always feels so stark~

~How silence grows under the moon~

Stolas and Octavia walked across a massive, gray moon where the portal had opened up to. The royals were surrounded by the vast, purplish void of space, the only visible light being the small specks throughout the void and the bright, glowing star in front of them. Stolas carefully carried Octavia towards the aforementioned star, the owlette gazing with awe at the celestial body. 

~Constellations gone so soon~

~I used to think that I was bold~

~I used to think love would be fun~

~Now all my stories have been told~

~Except for one~

Whether it was by Stolas' doing or not, many of the orbiting planets and other floating celestial bodies, including the moon the Goetic demons were standing upon, slowly but surely were pulled towards the star, purple flames crackling around the celestial body's surface. 

~And as the stars start to align~

~I hope you take it as a sign~

~That you'll be okay~

~Everything will be okay~

As Stolas sang, an asteroid flew past the pair and into the star's surface where it disintegrated into nothing. Same went for any objects closest to the star. Even the moon Stolas and Octavia sat upon broke into several pieces, ripped apart by the star's stronger gravity. However, Stolas' soothing lullaby never faltered and tranquility persevered despite the destruction happening all around the two demons. 

~And if the seven rings collapse~

~Although the day could be my last~

~You will be okay~

~When I'm gone, you'll be okay~

Octavia felt comforted. That despite whatever happened, even if all of Hell fell on top of her, even if her dad wasn't always there...she would be okay. Octavia nuzzled against her father's chest and drifted off to sleep. Even as the sun behind her finished absorbing all the surrounding planets and celestial bodies and erupted into a bright pink supernova, Octavia felt safe in her father's arms.

~And when creation goes to DIE!~

~You can find me in the sky~

~Upon the last day!

~And you will be okay~

Stolas opened another portal, this one to Octavia's bedroom. The prince gently laid his daughter in her bed and tucked her into her blanket before softly kissing her on the forehead as not to wake her again.

"Good night, my sweet owlette," Stolas whispered before walking out of the room and gently closing the door behind him. 

Octavia sleeped peacefully knowing her father would always be there to watch over her. 

10 years later...

CRASH!

Octavia's shocked expression from the noise sunk into that of an annoyed one. 

It sounds like they're fighting. Again. 

It had only been a few months after her father's affair with that imp, Bitzo or some other name Octavia couldn't give a fuck about remembering. Despite the relatively short timespan, it felt like the fighting had been going on for years, the palace feeling like a warzone at times. Sharp words, mostly spoken by her mother, were launched by both her parents like hot magma spewing out of a volcano. 

Why did he do it? Why would he do something so...so...STUPID?!

Octavia sighed as she tried to push aside any negative thoughts swirling around in her head. She had the rest of the day to think about it. Right now, she just wanted to get through a semi-peaceful morning before going on with this migraine of a day. Octavia exhaustedly pulled herself up, revealing her tall stature. She picked up her phone from her bedside table and inserted the plug for her earphones into the device. She turned the phone on, the screen opening up to a collection of music which she hit "play" on. Octavia then put the eartips of her earphones into their respective ears so she could remain isolated in her realm of music. 

Octavia was much different from before. For instance, she was much taller yet still not as tall as her father or mother. Her lighter feathering was replaced with a darker coat, the blonde tips on the top of her head now completely gray. She had grown out her feather hair so that it was now backlength and drooped over her facial disk in the form of short bangs. Her eyelids were now adorned with light, purplish eyeshadow which glimmered in the morning light and black eyelashes surrounded her pink eyes. Octavia walked over to her dresser and threw on her usual attire: a black, wool beanie with a tinted yellow crown encircling the hat's outer rim, a magenta choker encircling her neck, a magenta long-sleeve dress with yellow stars sown across, a black feathery cardigan that she wore on top of the dress, a pair of black leggings, and black, high-heeled boots. 

The Goetian princess trudged through the usually peaceful hallways of her home towards the palace's kitchen area. The hallway was lined with rows of white vases that held within them large, monstrous-looking carnivorous plants. The left walls were lined with ornate glass windows that were surrounded on both sides with neatly arranged, long, red curtains. Octavia glanced to her right, taking notice of the several family photos lining the hall. Octavia glanced at one photo in particular, displaying a 13-year old Octavia and her father celebrating the young princess' birthday with a candle-lit cake. Octavia stared at the photo mournfully, remembering the happy memory. 

Man, things sure do change fast. 

Octavia was briefly pulled out of her thoughts as a potted carnivorous plant came crashing to the floor in front of her, followed by angry, feminine-sounding screaming likely coming from her mother just down the hall. Octavia sighed and continued her trudge towards the kitchen, simply stepping over the crushed planet. The Goetian walked through the entrance of the kitchen and ignored the ongoing argument happening in front of her. Octavia's mom, Stella, was yelling at Octavia's father, Stolas, as usual while holding up one of the family's imp servants, the poor demon looking very uncomfortable. 

Stella had very avian feature similar to her husband and daughter. However, she looked very distinct from the two of them. For instance, unlike her family's grayish feathers, Stella's were predominantly white. She had a short, pink beak and small streaks of gray underneath both of her red-pink eyes. Both her eyelids were layered with pink eyeshadow and carried long, thick, sharp-looking eyelashes that resembled a bird's feathers. A small, yellow crown sat atop her round head and long, gray-tipped, white feather hair extended down past her hip. Right now, the woman was wearing her usual attire: a two-toned white dress with black trimming on the short puffed sleeves, around her waist, and on the dress' high-frilled collar. The upper part of the dress which covered her chest began as pink but transitioned into white once it approached the collar. Also, a pair of black, handless opera gloves. 

"You want to fuck this one too?!" Stella yelled, before throwing the imp servant at Stolas. 

"No! Of course not!" Stolas exclaimed, narrowly avoiding the incoming imp. 

"You are a goddamn EMBARASSMENT!" Stella yelled, the reddish-pink schlera in her eyes burning into Stolas' soul. "I don't want to spend another moment staring at your PATHETIC! IMP-SUCKING! FACE!"

With that, Stella stormed out of the kitchen, her screams of rage and destruction of any object that stood in her way, mostly belonging to Stolas, still being heard from out in the hallway. 

Stolas sighed, his red robe sagging slightly, before then noticing Octavia presence as the owlette sat down at the kitchen table with a cup of presumedly coffee and a box of cereal. The Goetian prince's mood immediately picked up as if the earlier fight hadn't just concluded.

"Good morning, Octavia, did you sleep well, my owlette?" Stolas greeted while walking over to the fridge. 

"Is that a serious question?" Octavia asked, taking a swig of her coffee. 

Stolas awkwardly nodded, unsure of how to respond.

"What's that you're listening to?" Stolas asked, trying to lighten the situation. 

"This song is called My World Is Burning Down Around Me. It's by Fuck You, Dad," Octavia replied, not meeting her father's gaze. "It's a band."

"Oh. How charming," Stolas said, unenthusiastically. Stolas opened the fridge to pull out a slab of animal meat which he then tossed to a carnivorous plant of his that resided in the kitchen. Stolas gently petted the plant as it chewed its food. 

"Are you two done screaming for the day?" Octavia asked, already knowing the answer. 

Stella's distant screeching appeared to confirm Octavia's thoughts. Stolas looked at his daughter, guilt evident on his face. 

Via, looks so down recently. There must be something I can do to life her spirits. 

Stolas glanced towards a huge photo hanging on the kitchen's wall. The photo displayed the whole family at some sort of amusement park, smiling and being merry. An idea immediately flashed in the prince's mind and he smiled as he approached his daughter. 

"You know what I haven't done in a long, long time," Stolas said, his voice rising with anticipation. "I haven't taken you to your favorite place in all of Hell. Why don't we go to...Loo Loo Land!"

"I'm not five anymore," Octavia muttered. 

"You always were so happy when I took you to Loo Loo Land. What do you say we go there again? Have a day! Just the two of us." Stolas said, cheerfully. 

 "I'd rather kill myself," Octavia replied in monotone. 

"There we go! Anything but staying in this house," Stolas said, wincing as he glanced back at the hallway Stella had left through. "Now, I'll arrange our security,"

"Security for a theme park?" Octavia questioned. 

We're rich and we're hot. People want our money and our bodies," Stolas said, the last part being said with a bit of lustfulness. 

"Our money, maybe," Octavia said. 

"Speak for yourself, princess," Stolas replied. "Now, I'm going to call the ONLY man who can FUCK me!"

"What?" Octavia said, disgusted. 

"Who can protect me. Us," Stolas quickly corrected himself. "Being part of the Goetia family is rather valuable, you know?" 

Octavia groaned in embarassment, trying to hide her face underneath her beanie. 

Meanwhile at I.M.P. headquarters...

The only man Stolas trusted with his ass-er, safety was currently "playing" with some makeshift dolls, made from surrounding office supplies, that happened to bare a striking resemblance to his employees, Millie and Moxxie. 

"Oh, Blitz, you're such a good boss," The doll resembling Millie said. 

"Yeah, I really want you, sir," The doll resembling Moxxie said. 

"Me too!" The Millie doll said before both dolls were lifted off the desk by Blitzo who had been the one puppeteering them. 

"Let's three-way," Blitzo said, sensually, before sticking the two dolls down his pants to do God knows what. 

Blitzo's grunts of pleasure were interrupted suddenly when his cellphone began to ring. Blitzo answered the call while slouching in his large, scratched, mostly black chair. 

"WHAT?!" Blitzo yelled. 

"Well, hello, my big DICKED Blitzy," Stolas said, sensually over the phone. 

Blitzo spat out the coffee he was just drinking before slamming his 'Boss Bitch' mug on the table. 

"WHAT.."

"THE.." Octavia was saying, still recovering from her own spit-take.

"..FUCK.."

"..DAD?!" Octavia yelled. 

"Language! Everyone!" Stolas said, before resuming his calm demeanor. "I have a special request."

"Ugh, look, I just had a chemical peel so you'll have to find someone else's face to plant that feathered ass," Blitzo said.

"It's for my daughter." 

"Oh, well make sure she washes it,"

"NO! No! No! No! No!" Stolas quickly said. "I'm taking my daughter to Loo Loo Land and I was hoping you and your little friends could accompany us."

"We're ASSASSINS, not bodyguards, okay. So don't invite us to SHIT unless someone's head's gonna roll," Blitzo clarified. 

"I'll pay you," Stolas said, playing with the landline phone's wire. 

"Pay me what?" Blitzo asked, suddenly interested. 

"Money." 

"DONE!" Blitzo said, slamming his phone on the table and accidentally crushing it with his own weight. 

Blitzo shrugged it off and grabbed a red and white megaphone with a toothy smile painted on the side. 

"M AND M! GET IN HERE, WE'RE GOING TO LOO LOO LAND!" Blitzo yelled through the megaphone. 

"Loo Loo Land?" Moxxie questioned, opening his boss' door. 

"LOO LOO LAND?!" Millie exclaimed, smashing through said door's tinted window and startling her husband. 

"Loo Loo Land!" Blitzo confirmed. 

"What's the special occasion, Blitz?" Millie asked. 

"Just some security gig for the bird pervert," Blitzo explained. "Says he wants us to protect him and his daughter while they go to Loo Loo Land," 

"Ooh, this is great! I love that place!" Millie said, before noticing her husband's down expression. "What's the matter, Mox? Aren't you excited?"

"Not really. Theme parks always disturbed me. Also, sir, are you sure we're capable of pulling off a high-risk job such as this?"

"Millie, what's your bitch spoutin' again?" Blitzo said.

"I would love to go see Loo Loo Land again but I have to agree with Moxxie here. Keeping folks alive isn't exactly our expertise. Guarding a Goetia is like a prospector guarding his pot of gold from thousands of bandits,"

"Okay, so what do you guys suggest? This company's really strapped for cash right now and I'm not going back on this offer," Blitzo said. 

"If we're going to pull off a job like this, we'll need all hands on deck," Moxxie said. 

"I'm not bringing in my sweet Loonie into work today. She's sick with the flu!" Blitzo said, his eyes watering at the very thought of his daughter being sick.

"Are you sure she's not just messing with you or something? Like last time?" Moxxie said, rolling his eyes at Blitzo's dramatic display. 

Blitzo gasped. "How dare you, Mox! Thinking my dear, sweet, innocent Loonie would do something like that." 

"INNOCENT?! She called me "Fatty McFatFuck" and threw my record player out the window yesterday!" Moxxie yelled. 

"To be fair, Mox, you could stand to lose a few pounds and the music you call "the classics" sounds like two pissed-off banshees hatefucking on top of a bed of broken glass," Blitzo said, much to Moxxie's further irritation. "The point is the idea of bringing my sick daughter out into the cold, virus-infested world is complete horseshit. You know what, she's been hanging out with that blue-balled vermin a lot these past few days. I bet she got that virus from that blue bitch!" 

Suddenly, Blitzo's mention of the "blue bitch" triggered an idea to pop into Millie's head. 

"Well, maybe, we don't need Loona. There is another person we could ask," Millie said, looking out the window towards the building's alley. 

"Wait, who-NO! NO! NO! NO! I love you, Millie, but I swear to Satan if you're actually suggesting asking the rodent for help...Moxxie, back me up here!" Blitzo exclaimed. 

"Actually, I think Millie has a point. I don't know what to make of him yet but the more help the better, right?" Moxxie said.

"I'm docking your pay," Blitzo said. "I mean, do we even know if it can even fight? Did you see those scrawny-ass looking arms? They're like wet noodles!" 

"I mean, he's probably lived here for a long time. He's probably picked up a thing or two," Millie said. "Come on, Blitz. We need all the help we can get. Or do you want to explain to Prince Fancy pants why his daughter got shot while on your watch?" 

Blitzo was about to retort but paused a moment to think (for once in his life) about it. One image of a very angry Goetian prince later, Blitzo sighed in defeat. 

"Fine, we'll ask him," Blitzo conceded. 

"Wake up, asshole," Blitzo said before pulling out a bucket of ice-cold water and pouring the contents onto the sleeping hedgehog. 

"AAAHHH! NOOO! DON'T TAKE ME POSEIDON!" Sonic panicked, frantically waving his arms around before realizing what was really going on. "Oh, it's you guys. Mornin. Also, WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR?!" 

"Did you have to do that, sir?" Moxxie asked, squeezing the bridge of his nose. 

"Shut up. Anyways, listen up rodent," Blitzo said, catching Sonic's attention, "we've been given a high-priority mission and we need all hands on deck. Since Loonie's not here, we need...your help." 

Sonic went slackjawed. He couldn't believe it. The I.M.P. assassins, the demons he looked up to, were asking him, Sonic the Hedgehog, to accompany them on a huge mission. 

"Hey, asshole, wake up! Now's not the time to have a stroke!" Blitzo said, snapping his fingers to get the hedgehog's attention. 

"Oh, uh, right. Could you...give me a few minutes?" Sonic said, before turning his back around and proceeding to squeal with delight. "YES! YES! OH MY CHAOS, IT'S HAPPENING!" 

Sonic then turned back around and was greeted by the puzzled faces of the imps. 

"What was that all about?" Millie asked. 

"Nothing. Anyways, I'm in," Sonic said. "But! I do have some demands."

"Demands?! I demand that you shut your bitchy mouth up before I come over there and-" Blitzo yelled, stomping over to Sonic only to be stopped by Moxxie. 

"Easy, sir, easy. What exactly do you want, Mr., uhm, actually I don't think we've ever caught your name," Moxxie said.

"Oh, it's Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. And, listen, I don't mean to be needy but this place," Sonic said, gesturing to the alley he was currently using as his shelter, "is really not as good of a hiding place as you would think. Plus, it stinks here. Both figuratively and literally. I mean, I've began sleeping in a dumpster for Chaos' sake!" 

"I guess that explains the smell," Millie said, pinching her nose. 

"Exactly. So, all I ask, is a better place to crash," Sonic said. 

"Oh, so we're getting ungrateful now, aren't we?" Blitzo said, shoving Moxxie off of him. "Tell you what? If you do a good job on today's mission, we'll get you a new place lay low in."

"Really? Oh, thank you so much, dude!" Sonic said, rushing over to hug Blitzo but was stopped a few feet away by the outwardly extended palm of the aforementioned demon. 

"But! If you suck...we get the bounty that's mounted on your blue head," Blitzo said, grinning with delight at the idea of finally getting rid of this blue pain-in-the-ass. 

"Blitz!" Millie exclaimed. 

"Mills, this blue bitch wanted to play, so we're gonna play," Blitzo said, before turning back to Sonic. "So, Sonic, what're say?"

Sonic pondered for a moment. 

Alright, on one hand, I'll have a safe place to stretch my legs until all of Pride is off my back. Plus, bonus points, I get to hang out with my favorite assassins a lot more. Though, I don't think Big Boss is joking when he says he'll take me to the authorities. If he does that...game over. 

Sonic thought long and hard about the decision before finally reaching his decision.

I guess it's worth the risk. And what's life without a little risk.

Sonic smiled and extended his hand out to Blitzo. 

"Alright, Big Boss, you got yourself a deal," Sonic said, shaking the hand of a very reluctant Blitzo. 

"Okay, then. Alright, gang, let's go and-Wait, what'd you just call me?" Blitzo asked. 

"Oh, it's your name. Well, at least my name for you: Big Boss," Sonic explained. "You like it? I came up with it while watching you guys."

"Okay, okay, you're winning me over, kid. Wait, what was that about watching us?" Blitzo said. 

"Oh, yeah, I've been watching you guys for months now," Sonic said, nonchalantly, before noticing the trio's wide-eyed expressions. "What?" 

"I take it back. I'm gonna kill him," Blitzo said, calmly, before quickly running towards Sonic. "I'M GONNA KILL THIS SON OF A BI-"

After calming Blitzo down and a brief explanation from Sonic, the trio of imps and blue hedgehog boarded into assassins' black van, the assassins' putting on black tuxedos and black shades. Sonic also insisted on wearing his 'disguise', a ragged-looking hoodie. He was also filled in about this client that they were going to be protecting. With that, the group proceeded to head off to pick up Stolas and his daughter. The van's atmosphere was a bit tense, mostly due to the recent revelation that Sonic had been spying on I.M.P. crew for months now. As a result, Blitzo had tied Sonic heavily up in the van's seatbelts for "safety". 

"So you've really been spying on us this whole time," Millie reiterated.

"I wouldn't exactly call it 'spying'. We're all just hanging out except I wasn't invited and no one knew I was there," Sonic explained, casually, his body covered from all corners with black polyester straps. 

"Said every stalker ever," Blitzo retorted. 

"Sir, are you sure this is necessary?" Moxxie said, gesturing to Sonic's currently tied-up nature. 

"Yeah, I mean these seatbelts are getting kind of itchy," Sonic said while simultaneously scratching his fur. 

"I don't care. You could be on fire right now and I wouldn't care less," Blitzo retorted, before turning his attention to Millie. "See what you did, Mills? We've bee harboring a fucking pervert this whole damn time! I've let my daughter hang around a pervert for Satan's sake!"

"Thanks for that, by the way," Sonic said to Millie. "You know, saving me back then. You guys are real life-savers! Especially you, Cowgirl!" 

Millie and Moxxie smiled at the hedgehog's gratitude while Blitzo simply grumbled. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatev. Just be glad I haven't ripped off your head yet," Blitzo warned.

"Blitz!" Millie warned, before smiling at the hedgehog. "It's no problem, hun." 

"Likewise," Moxxie reiterated.

"Also, where'd 'Cowgirl' come from?" Millie asked. 

"Oh, that," Sonic said, "That's just my nickname for you. See, it's because you kind of sound like a cowgirl."

"I guess that's just my Wrath side showing," Millie said, rubbing the back of my forehead. "My bad."

"No, no, I think it sounds cool," Sonic said. "Also, I heard about Wrath. Sounds pretty metal. 

"Aw, thanks, hun. And yeah, only the toughest of the lot survive down there but it grows on you when you spend enough time there," Millie said. "Think you'd be interested in visiting there sometime?"

"Would I!" Sonic exclaimed, excited by the prospect of actually visiting the other Rings of Hell, other than Pride and Greed.

"Um, what's my nickname?" Moxxie asked, curious.

"Oh, it's Possum Guy cause you look like a possum," Sonic explained, causing Millie to snicker.

Moxxie took great offense to that.

"Excuse me?" Moxxie exclaimed, putting his hand over his chest and dropping his jaw in shock. 

"Hehe, you know I kinda see it," Moxxie said, still snickering. 

"Oh, ha-ha, very funny. So glad we're bonding with the creepo," Blitzo said, killing the light mood. 

"Oh, lighten up, Blitz. See, I was right. This guy really isn't that bad." Millie said. 

Blitzo hate to admit it but Millie was right. The rodent didn't seem like that much of a threat. And admittedly, kind of funny. However-

"Yeah, yeah, that's how it starts. Then the moment I turn my back, he'll grinding his blue balls all over my daughter!" Blitzo yelled. 

"Look, I promise, Big Boss, I won't try to do anything to you, Moon Girl, Cowgirl, or Possum Guy. Hedgehog's Honor!" Sonic said, raising the palm of his right hand to Blitzo while crossing his left hand over his heart. 

Blitzo took a moment to look back at the hedgehog. He stared into his eyes, trying to detect any hint of dishonesty but there wasn't any. 

Blitzo sighed in frustration. "Okay, fine. I'll trust you...for now. But our whole deal still applies. Do bad and your ass it out. Also, you're staying tied up until we get to the theme park, got it?" 

"Aye-aye, captain!" Sonic proclaimed. 

"Don't call me that ever again," Blitzo said. "Anyways, we're here." 

Blitzo drove up the cobblestone driveway of the Goetia palace. Sonic was able to snatch a peak of the palace's courtyard and was instantly enamored by the palace's extravagant and ornate exterior. Plant-like golden decorations lined the walls and windows of the palace's exterior. Perfectly-trimmed flower bushes and towering trees were scattered across the courtyard. Sonic gazed up at the towering palace, its height and elaborate design making any who stared at it completely awestruck.

Sonic let out an impressed whistle. "Dang, Big Boss, you're boyfriend's is stacked." 

"EH! Wrong!" Blitzo exclaimed, imitating the sound of a gameshow buzzer. "We're not boyfriends. I just provide a...service for him." 

"Service? What service? Are you his bodyguard? Is that why he called you specifically? That's so cool!" Sonic squealed. 

"I'm not one his dumbass bodyguards. Though the service I provide for him does require a lot of bodying. Lots and lots of bodying," Blitzo said, snickering. 

"Oh for fuck's sake, sir, please don't do this again," Moxxie said, cringing as he remembered the last time Blitzo talked about his transaction with the Goetian prince. 

"Too bad, Mox," Blitzo said. "You're my employee. It's your responsibility to listen to whatever fucked-up shit I do."

Moxxie grumbled to himself while Millie simply giggled at Blitzo's antics. Sonic smiled to himself as he watched the assassins, reminded again of what drawn him to them. The imps' and hedgehog's attention was caught by the sound of the palace's doors opening. 

The Goetian prince himself, Stolas, stepped out onto the massive stairway that led up to the palace's entrance, followed by his younger daughter, Octavia. Instead of his regular formal wear, Stolas was dressed rather casually. He wore a white shirt with red wave-like stitching on the shirt's sleeves and waistline. He also wore a pair of red knee-length shorts. Sat atop his head was a red hat in the shape of a plump apple. The apple in question was anthropomorphized, having circular eyes with wide, black pupils, white cheeks, and a small, cute smile. Octavia, in direct contrast with her father, was wearing her regular attire.

"Dad, did you really have to wear that?" Octavia said, pulling her beanie over her face and letting out an embarassed groan. 

"Why, of course, Octavia. This is a special occasion and as such, I must wear appropriate attire," Stolas declared. "Now, come along, my owlette. Our transportation has just arrived."

Octavia, reluctantly, followed her father towards the van. 

Millie stepped out of the vehicle and  pulled open the van's sliding door for the royals, which allowed Sonic to get a good view of Stolas and Octavia. 

The moment Sonic's eyes landed on the Goetian patriarch, his face went pale. 

"This way, your highnesses," Millie said, politely, while bowing to the royals. 

"My, how polite you are, little one," Stolas said. "Why don't you go first, Via." 

Octavia followed her father's directions and stepped into the vehicle first. As she stepped in, she had to crouch down due to her tall height conflicting with the van's cramped space (at least to her). While she was sitting down, she was able to see the van's driver: an imp. An imp that bore a resemblance to-

Octavia sighed. Great. Of course, it's him. Why wouldn't it be him? Dad can't get enough of this red jackass. 

Octavia had had a few run-ins with her father's friend in the past few months since her father's initial affair. Apparently, he was some sort of assassin based on what her dad had told her. And based off of her own and her father's accounts, Octavia had never reallg got what her father saw in him. 

Really? This was the guy who Dad decided to go down with? He gave it all up...gave us up...gave me up...for him?!

Octavia let out a frustrated groan as she continued to examine the van's exterior. She noticed another imp, likely the driver's friend or coworker, sitting next to the window. She also immediately noticed something odd sitting right next to her: a tied-up hooded figure that bore some animalistic features. 

Probably just some sinner, Octavia thought to herself. Though it is weird to see a sinner working with lesser demons. 

The princess also noticed the stranger was staring very intensely at both her and his father which was creeping her out. 

"Hey, no peeping, creep!" Octavia said, catching Sonic's attention. 

"H-Huh? Oh, sorry," Sonic apologized, his face still pale. 

Weirdo. 

Once Stolas finally boarded into the vehicle, leaning forward like his daughter due to the small, enclosed space,  the van headed off toward the Greed Ring. 

Stolas bore a grin on his face, excited to spend some time with his daughter. However, when he looked at her face, Stolas immediately noticed Octavia's sour expression. 

"Uhm, Via, are you...alright?" Stolas asked. 

"I am, Dad. I'm totally alright with being cramped together with a bunch of strangers inside a smelly van heading to a ripoff amusement land," Octavia said, sarcastically. 

Stolas took a moment to ponder over what to do. 

How can I make Via happy? 

Stolas' face lit up as he thought of something. He opened his mouth as he began to sing. 

Oh, ninety-nine bottles of wine on the wall.

Ninety-nine bottles of wine.

Take them down.

Pass 'em around.

Ninety-nine bottles of wine on the wall.

"Oh, Lucifer, no," Octavia muttered, placing her face in her hands. 

"Oh, I know this song," Sonic beamed as he sang along. 

Oh, ninety-eight bottles of wine on the wall.

Ninety-eight bottles of wine.

Take them down.

Pass 'em around.

Ninety-eight bottles of wine on the wall.

BANG!

Sonic's and Stolas' singing was cut off by the sound of a bullet firing from Blitzo's gun and piercing through the van's roof.

Smoke was still emanating from the gun's barrel as Blitzo began to speak. 

"I swear, another word out of you two and I'm gonna blow my fucking brains out with this gun," Blitzo warned in an intimidating voice. 

"My, how aggressive you are, Blitzy," Stolas said, lustfully, causing Octavia to groan which Sonic noticed. 

The van pulled up to the semi-vacant parking lot of Loo-Loo Land, the amusement park's front gates towering over all of the parkgoers. 

Moxxie stepped out of the van, walked over to the opposite side of the van while keeping a close eye out for any enemies, and pulled back the sliding door for the Goetian prince and princess to step out. Stolas was the first to step out and gazed with excitement at the park, a feeling not shared by his daughter. With a wave of his hand, Stolas gestured Octavia to follow him which she did but with great reluctance. 

After being cut out of his seatbelt prison, Sonic exited the van and was immediately awestruck by the massive amusement park. 

It's like when I went to the arcade with Moon Girl but multiplied by 1,000! 

"Heh, like what you see, hun?" Millie teased, walking up beside the hedgehog.

"Like it? No. I love it!" Sonic yelled in excitement. "I mean, look at it. Are you seeing this, Cowgirl? I don't even think there's a word for this. It's like if 'spectacular' and 'awesome' had a baby. It's spectasome. Wait, no, it's awecular. Eh, we'll workshop it." 

"Hehe, yeah, this place does have that affect on people. This is basically like the go-to-place for kids," Millie explained. "What? Have you never been here before?" 

That comment caused Sonic's mood to damper slightly. "Not really. I'm basically stuck in Pride cause of, you know, this whole situation," Sonic explained, somberly, gesturing to his masked face. "I've never really been able to go to the other Rings. Or really do much of anything to be honest." 

"Damn, so you've never been able to go to this place," Millie said, feeling a bit sorry for the hedgehog. 

Sonic shook his head, a somber look on his face. A look that was shared by the female imp. She couldn't imagine not ever having the chance to enjoy something like this place at all. Let alone a kid like Sonic.

"Well, this won't stand. Come on, I'm gonna treat you to the greatest Loo Loo Land experience ever!" Millie proclaimed.

"Huh? Really?" Sonic asked. 

"Yup. Strap in, Sonic. You're in for the ride of your life!" Millie exclaimed. 

Blitzo walked alongside Stolas, keeping an eye out for any potential threats but also casting an annoyed glare towards the prince. 

"Now, remember, this is work and work only. Me and my crew are not here to satisfy your perverted bird needs, alright?" Blitzo said as he and Stolas walked past many of the amusement park's attractions. 

"Hey, dad...do we have to-" Octavia stammered, cringing at the childish-looking attractions around her. 

"Yeah, yeah, hold on there, sweetie," Blitzo interrupted before turning back to Stolas, pointing a finger at him. "If you try fucking my little ass in this park, I'm gonna-" 

"You are soooo cute when you are serious," Stolas said, not paying attention at all to Blitzo's threat and booping the imp's bose, much to his irritation. 

"I'm actually gonna be sick," Octavia said, disgusted, as Sonic, Millie, and Moxxie walked up behind her. 

"Oh, crumbs! I knew it would be a lot, what do you need? Anti-acids? Ibuprofen? Morphine?" Moxxie exclaimed, while pulling out a multitude of pills and medications from his waistbag, including a pack of large, neon-green needles that likely had morphine in them.

"That was figurative, old man," Octavia said before walking away from the trio. 

"Oh, right," Moxxie said, before unknowingly tossing the pack of needles into an occupied baby's carriage. 

Sonic gasped and quickly, using his super speed, removed the needles from the carriage before the baby imp could hurt themselves. 

"Sorry, buddy, but these aren't for you," Sonic said before placing the needles in a nearby trashcan. 

"Oh, look, Sonic, it's the Perish Wheel I was talking to you about!" Millie said, excitedly, pointing to a ferris wheel that was moving abnormally fast. 

"Perish? Don't you mean Ferris Whe-AAH!" Sonic began to say only to jump in fear when an imp child launched from one of the ferris wheel's seats and came crashing to ground beside him. 

"Wooh! Pain! Again!" The imp child yelled, excitedly, running right back to the Perish Wheel. 

"Whoa, that was...so cool!" Sonic exclaimed. "Probably extremely painful but still, cool!" 

"Not the word I would use," Moxxie said, looking uncomfortable. 

"Boys, look!" Millie gasped, excitedly, grabbing both her husband's and the hedgehog's face and tilting them towards a tall, lanky dinosaur animatronic. "It's Big Woobly!" 

Big Woobly was a tall animatronic dinosaur with yellow eyes, whose suit was a sickly blue tone and wore a gray t-shirt. The animatronic's 'skin' was sagging, giving it the appearance of a rotting corpse. Thin, needle-like white teeth hanged out of the robot's open maw. The animatronic suddenly let out an unholy screeching noise, startling Sonic and Moxxie. 

"That's...deeply upsetting," Moxxie muttered. 

"Yeah, no kidding. Hey, Cowgirl, did any kids happen to die here?" Sonic asked. 

"Oh, totally. Why?" Millie said. 

"Oh, no reason. Just beginning to feel sorry for any nightguards that spend the night here," Sonic said. 

"Well, hey there!" A cheerful voice exclaimed from behind the trio, scaring Moxxie and Sonic once again. 

"Chaos, I haven't even gotten on a ride yet and I'm already having a heart attack," Sonic said, clutching onto his chest. 

The cheerful voice belonged to a performer wearing a dirty-looking costume of the park's titular apple mascot. 

"I'm Loo-Loo! Welcome to Loo-Loo Land! If y'all get hurt here, just try and sue us!" 'Loo-Loo' announced with glee. 

"Via! Look! It's Loo-Loo!" Stolas exclaimed with delight. 

"I have a question," Octavia said to the mascot performer. 

"Well, ask away, little girly," 'Loo-Loo' said, while the costume's plastic eye simultaneously popped out of its socket. 

"Is it true that this park is just a shameless spinoff of Lucifer's far more popular Lu-Lu World?" Octavia asked, smirking. 

"No," 'Loo-Loo' said, nervously. 

"This place reeks of insecure corporate shame," Octavia said, her piercing pink eyes cast a disapproving glare not only towards the performer but also the shameful business practices that formed the park's foundation. 

"Umm, why don't we check out the rides?" Stolas said, desperately trying to change the subject while leading Octavia away, the princess never once breaking her intimidating glare at the performer. 

"That chick's creepy, huh?" The performer said in their normal voice. 

"Yeah, well, wait until her dad tries to diddle your holes," Blitzo said, following the pair of royals. 

"What's that mean?" The performer asked, turning to Moxxie. 

"Don't talk to me! I know you're a pervert under there!" Moxxie exclaimed before pulling Millie away from the mascot as they followed Blitzo. 

"Oof, that was rough. Sorry about that. He's usually nicer," Sonic comforted, putting a hand on the performer's back. "At least from what I've seen." 

"No, it's okay. He's right," The performer said. "You know, you're hand feels nice." 

"Okay, just gonna take this hand off ya and-GUYS, WAIT UP!" Sonic yelled, quickly running to catch up with the assassins. 

Sonic eventually caught up to Millie and Moxxie and the trio took a moment to admire the sights and sounds that the park had to offer, well, it was mostly just Millie and Sonic who were doing the admiring. 

"You really like this place, don't you?" Moxxie asked Millie, noticing the small twinkle in her eyes as she stared at all the rides around her. 

"I love this place!" Millie squealed, a cheerful smile on her face. 

"And what about you, Sonic?" Moxxie asked. 

"Of course! I'll admit the whole 'apple' thing going on here is a weird choice but I can dig it and the FNAF-looking mascots here definitely give me the creeps. But again, I can dig it. So far, this place is alright with me," Sonic said. "Do you not like it, Possum Guy?" 

"Yeah, I'm not really onboard with that nickname. Anyways, it's not that I don't like it. For one thing, Greed just has some...baggage for me. But the main reason is that I never really got amusement parks. I was always more interested in the arts like theater and opera," Moxxie explained. 

"Boooooo! Boring!" Sonic teased, causing Millie to giggle and Moxxie to grumble. 

"Oh, whatever. Plus, look at these absurd prices," Moxxie said, pointing to an assortment of Loo-Loo Land merchandise being displayed through a gift shop's glass window. "I mean, that much for a novelty cup you use one time." 

"Cause it's Loo-Loo Land!" Millie squealed. 

"I mean, this is Greed so...it's kind of in the name. 

"Listen to your hoe and the rodent," Blitzo said walking up to the trio, holding one of the criminally-priced novelty cups Moxxie was just talking about and a baseball cap with a similar pattern to Stolas' shirt. "How about I take first watch while you two have a little fun?" 

"Ooh, yes, I'm so excited. What do you guys wanna do first?" Sonic squealed, excited to have some fun. 

"Uh, uh, uh. I said 'you two', not 'you three'. You're sticking with me, rodent," Blitzo said, pulling the hedgehog uncomfortably close to him

"Oh, what?" Sonic said, disappointed. 

"Oh, come on, Blitz, let the kid have some fun. He's earned it with what's been happening to him these last few days," Millie said. "Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on him." 

"Ugh, fine," Blitzo said, begrudgingly. Blitzo trusted Millie and knew that if the hedgehog tried anything then he would get a swift ass-kicking. The imp smiled to himself, thinking about it. 

I'd pay to watch that show. 

"Thanks for that, Cowgirl!" Sonic thanked. 

"No worries, hun. Now, come on, boys," Millie said, lifting up both Moxxie and Sonic into the air, "I've gotta show you my favorite ride!" 

"Oh yeah, which one?" Moxxie asked, curious. 

However, Moxxie curiosity immediately turned to dread as they approached Millie's favorite ride: The Lawsuit. 

The Lawsuit was a towering and endlessly twisting rollercoaster. The rollercoaster was filled to the brim with winding turns that could turn your stomach into a knot and deep plunges that could literally catch you on fire. 

"Oh crumbs..." was all Moxxie was able to mutter as Millie carried them through the ride's entrance and roughly sat them in one of the ride's cars.

Millie squealed with excitement as she sat down to join them, a feeling not shared by Moxxie who was currently quivering so much he looked like a stick of dynamite ready to go off. However, Sonic didn't seem to be bothered at all, a confident smile on his face. 

"Relax, Possum Guy, these things have safety precautions right. I did some research a long while before and they have these safety bars that you pull down to keep you from falling out of the car. See?" Sonic explained, casually, as he reach up to pull the safety bar down. 

However, as he did so, the bar immediately crumbled to dust, completely disintegrating, much to Sonic and Moxxie's horror. 

"So, that just happened." Sonic muttered, his confident demeanor now completely gone. "You know I'm beginning to understand why so many children died here...Hey, Possum Guy?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Goodbye."

"Farewell to you as well." 

Before the two could even blink, the car was launched at insane speeds, moving almost as fast as Sonic himself. Speaking of the hedgehog, both he and Moxxie were screaming at the top of their lungs, tears streaming from their eyes as the two clutched onto each other. The only one who seemed to be having any fun was Millie who was waving her arms up high in the air and laughing. 

"WOOOOHOOOOO! THIS IS AMAZING! YOU BOYS HAVING FUN?!" Millie shouted with delight. 

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" was all Sonic and Moxxie were able to say. 

"I KNOW, RIGHT?! WOOHOO!" Millie yelled, cheerfully. 

After the ride...

"There, there, let it all out," Millie said in a soothing voice while patting her husband's back. 

Moxxie was currently hunched over, clutching onto the sides of a trash can like he was afraid the trash can would leave him. His head was fully engulfed by the trash can's cover as the poor imp vomited what felt like everything he'd eaten over the past few months. 

"Ha! Weak-BLEGH!" Sonic tried to say, but vomited just before he could finish his sentence. 

The hedgehog was currently standing in the same position as Moxxie, hunched over and heaving into his own trash can which was right next to Moxxie's. As he hadn't even had anything to eat yet, Sonic felt like an  empty soda can being crushed by its owner over and over again to see if there was anything left behind. 

"Easy, boys, easy," Millie comforted. 

The next stop on the trio's tour of Loo-Loo Land was the petting zoo. The park's petting zoo was home to many specimens of hell's fauna, some much more dangerous than others. Sonic watched in amazement at all the wacky yet oddly beautiful animals that surrounded him. The most striking to him however was a towering crimson-colored hell wyvern. The wyvern noticed the small hedgehog and slowly crept towards him like a bird. It then lowered its head, meeting the hedgehog's eyeline and studied the hedgehog with its glowing green eyes with just as much curiosity as the hedgehog. It then let out a brief gust of air out of its nostrils, startling Sonic and causing Sonic to cautiously stepped back. Millie approached Sonic from his left side and gently grasped his left arm, slowly lifting the hedgehog's hand towards the wyvern's snout. 

"It's okay, it's not gonna hurt you," Millie said in a calming voice, directed at the wyvern but also towards Sonic. 

Millie gently placed Sonic's hand onto the creature's snout. Sonic allowed his hand to rest upon the tall beast's bumpy yet smooth skin and the wyvern was equally relaxed as well, even letting out a subtle purring-like sound. 

"So cool," Sonic muttered causing Millie to smile. 

Tempted to touch the creature as well, Moxxie approached the pair and cautiously reached out his own hand towards the wyvern's snout. His hand eventually made contact with the reptile's skin but suddenly...

SNAP!

The wyvern chomped onto Moxxie's hand, causing the imp to let out a girlish, high-pitched scream. The wyvern then whipped its head up and shook Moxxie vigorously in the air like a ragdoll!

"Oh, shoot!" Sonic exclaimed. 

Millie gasped before pulling out a red-tipped, black dagger and running towards the beast. "GET YOUR CLAWS OFF, MY MOXXIE!!" Millie yelled before following it with a battle cry. 

After a quick visit to the park's paramedics, Moxxie was back on his feet, so to speak. However, he now wore a pure white cast on his brutalized left hand. 

"And...there we go!" Sonic said, after writing a short message on Moxxie's cast. The pair had decided to take a break on one of the park's many grimy benches while Millie went out to get some ice cream.

The message read, "Stay strong, Possum Guy!". Sonic also drew a small possum next to the message, holding a 'Get Well Soon' balloon. 

"Uhm, thanks?" Moxxie said, unsure of what to make of the message. 

"No problem," Sonic chirped. 

Millie walked up to the pair, holding a cone of ice cream for her, her husband, and Sonic. 

"Thanks, Cowgirl," Sonic said as Millie handed him his own ice cream cone. 

"And how's my big, strong man doing?" Millie said, handing Moxxie his own cone before sitting on the bench beside him. 

"I think my ribs might be cracked but other than that, I'm alright," Moxxie said as Millie gave him a kiss on the cheek. 

"Good to hear it," Millie responded. 

Didn't know Hell had ice cream here. Y'know, considering the whole 'fire and brimstone', Sonic thought to himself before shrugging the thought off and taking a lick of the ice cream. 

"Hmm, that's pretty goo-OH, CHAOS!!!" Sonic exclaimed as he clutched his head in pain. Sonic fell to the ground, frantically rolling from side to side as his head was hit with an endless blizzard. He was incapable of crying to relieve the immense pain as his tear ducts were completely frozen solid. 

"Ooh, sorry about that, hun," Millie said, guilty. "That type of ice cream is made from the milk of a Wrath beast. It's only able to be eaten hellborn and imps are able to eat these types of ice cream. Like me and Mox over here." 

However, as she turned around to find Moxxie shivering, his normally red skin now morphed int a light shade of blue and snow was actually accumulating on top of his head. 

"Okay, maybe some imps," Millie said as she licked her ice cream. I hope Blitz, his bird boyfriend, and his daughter are having a better day than we are. 

Octavia was in unimaginable amounts of pain right now.  

Well, not physically but mentally, she was in agony. 

Not only was she dragged to a knockoff amusement park but she was also dragged to her least favorite attraction: Fizzarolli and Friends, a 'live' musical performance 'for the kiddies' featuring an assortment of distorted and messed-up mascot characters and the robotic version of a famous clown that had no right being featured in a audience made up of kids. Of all the creepy characters, she found the clown to be the most unappealing. 

But that wasn't the worst part. 

No, what really peeved her was her dad. 

He didn't even ask if I wanted to come here. He's not even trying to spend time with me. This whole damn he's just been flirting with that red dickhead!

Octavia was so furious that she didn't even notice the performance ending, not that she would've cared. 

Stolas clapped enthusiastically. "Oh-ho-ho, how delightful!" Stolas exclaimed. 

However, unbeknownst to the Goetian prince, an imp wielding a curved dagger slowly crept up behind him, ready to kill the prince. Luckily, Blitzo intervened, blasting the top part of the imp's head completely off with his gun. 

"My, what good aim you have, Blitzy," Stolas complimented, seductively. 

Octavia finally had enough. 

"Ugh! I can't do this anymore!" Octavia yelled before storming out of the small circus tent. 

Stolas struggled to let out any words as she ran off. "Octavia!" Stolas called. 

Blitzo was about to follow after the royals but stopped when he overheard the glitchy giggling of the Fizzarolli robot, causing Blitzo to groan in frustration.

Not this chuckling cocksucker again. 

"I-Is that Blitzo I spot up-up there?" The robot chortled in a robotic voice. "I guess the kiddies are still running away from you, huh? AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"The 'O' is silent now!" Blitzo yelled, annoyed. Damn it! Why did my shitbag of a dad have to name me like I'm a fucking clown?!

"A-Awh! Just like your audience always was when ya tol-told your lazy jokes he-here AHAHAHAHA!" The robot mocked while simultaneously dancing around on the stage.

"Bitch, I make more money killing people than you do being a cheap-ass, robo-ripoff of an overrated, sellout, JESTER!" Blitzo shouted. 

"O-oo-ooh-ooh, someone's salty. Real or not, though, people love me! Does anyone love you...B̷̢́Ľ̴̦Ḯ̵̙T̵̙̕Z̶̯̐Ó̶̡?" The robotic jester asked in an unusually deep voice. 

"No. But, I am good with guns!" Blitzo said before pulling out his sniper rifle and loading it. "DANCE, BITCH!"

Blitzo rapidly fired the weapon at the laughing robot, the bullets slicing through air. However, the robot easily evaded the bullets by using its flexible joints to cartwheel away from them, all the while laughing at the imp's aim. 'Fizzarolli' then rapidly cartwheeled towards Blitzo, cartwheeling so fast that his metallic body sliced through the attraction's wooden benches like a buzzsaw. Blitzo struggled to lock onto 'Fizzarolli's propelling body and before he could do, 'Fizzarolli' had coiled his pliable legs around Blitzo, like a snake does to its prey, before flinging the imp high up and through attraction's fragile fabric roof, tearing a hole in it. 

"FUUUUUUCK MEEEEEEEEEE!!!" Blitzo yelled as he erratically flew through the sky. 

"TORCHES! I SAY, I SAY, GET YOUR INCONVENIENT TORCHES HERE!" Wally Wackford, or 'Wacky Wally' as Sonic called him, said as pushed a cart full of, as stated, inconvenient, green, flaming torches.

A cart that Blitzo proceeded to unceremoniously crash on top of upon his descent. 

"OW, I say, OW!" Wally screamed as he was launched to side. 

One of the torches accidentally landed a little too close to the Fizzarolli and Friends circus tent and the whole tent was immediately set ablaze. It wasn't long before the pulsing green flames spilled out uncontrollably across the entire theme park, preceding the bloodcurdling screams of employees and parkgoers trying to escape the flames. 

"Eh, this'll be fine," Blitzo said, nonchalantly. "Now, where did those two richfucks go off TOOOOOOOOOO!" Blitzo exclaimed as he was flung sky-high by the now-unraveling robotic limbs of a now-disheveled and withering 'Fizzarolli'. The robot's outer layer was slowly turning to ash as green flames were caught on the robotic jester's colorful clothing. The jester tweaked and twitched slightly as it laughed, predicting where exactly his former coworker would land. 

"Hey, guys, do you hear that?" Sonic said, hearing the far-off sound of Blitzo screaming. 

"Quiet! I'm locked on my target," Moxxie said, his eyes honed in on said target:

A wooden cutout of a cartoon apple with white-gloved hands and feet and a large red-and-white target on its rear end. 

What're you looking at, you little red shit?

The apple's open, bucked-tooth cartoonish smile appeared to mock Moxxie, fury boiling underneath the imp's red skin. His anger was only further perpetuated by the patronizing imp carny running this booth. 

Moxxie fired his gun, the gun being painted to resemble the face of a clown, launching a small cork from the gun's muzzle. The cork hit the target, however instead of dropping down like normal, the apple remained standing. Its smug smile made Moxxie seethe with rage. 

"Another!" Moxxie said, slamming another wad of cash down on the table like in previous rounds

Millie had initially intended for this short venture to relieve some tension between the trio after the string of mishaps this park had brought upon them. 

Also, she absolutely needed that adorable-looking purple plushie of...something that the booth was offering as a prize. 

However, it felt like this attempt was in vain as her husband was currently blowing a fuse and Sonic appeared to be completely disinterested. Millie sighed as she stared at the blue hedgehog.

Poor fella. First guy's time here is turning out to be a worst time than when my pa decided to wear jorts. 

Millie cringed as she remembered the horrifying sight and the months she spent trying desperately to bleach from her eyeballs. 

Suddenly, a loud noise interrupted the trio's playing. 

"SHIT!" Moxxie cursed as he accidentally squeezed the trigger on his toy gun, launching the cork right past the target. 

"Oop, that's gotta sting. Sorry, sucka!" The carny mocked. 

"Damn it! Who was that?" Moxxie exclaimed. 

His question was answered as a tearful Octavia came running past the trio. 

"GO AWAY!" Octavia yelled. 

"Isn't that the prince's daughter?" Millie asked. 

"Someone should go after her, she could end up in danger," Moxxie said. 

"Don't worry I'll go get her," Sonic said before speeding off after the Goetian princess. 

"We should probably follow them, just to be safe," Moxxie said.

"Okay, but first," Millie said before grabbing Moxxie's toy gun and aiming it at the wooden target. "I'm getting that plushie!" 

However, before she could shoot, Blitzo abruptly dropped in, pun not intended, and crashed right through the booth's roof, crushing the sleazy carny. 

"What the-Sir?" Moxxie said as he and Millie came to check up on him. 

"The hell happened to you?" Millie said, pulling Blitzo up.

"Oh, nothing. Just dealing with some unfinished business," Blitzo said, before pulling out his classic golden pistol and pointing it towards the flames. 

Said "unfinished business" was the Fizzarolli robot, slowly creeping towards the imps. Its clothing and outer suit were almost completely burned away, revealing the cold metal shell underneath. Half of the robot's face was melted off, revealing a wide, red, robotic eye leering at the trio. 

"Hold on, step aside, lovebirds," Blitzo said while aiming his gun directly at the robot's head, "Let Daddy Blitz handle this."

Blitzo fired his gun however, instead of the bullet piercing through the robot's head, the jester easily caught the bullet between its sharp teeth, the force of the bullet causing the robot's head to spin completely around. 'Fizzarolli' giggled before spitting out the bullet.

"Oh, what a mouth," Blitzo commented causing Moxxe to stare at him confused. 

The robot then curled into a ball form before revving up and shooting itself towards the assassins. The imps narrowly avoided getting sliced by the self-spinning robot as the robot continued rolling around, crashing through the booth and causing a massive green explosion. 

"Yo, princess, wait up!" Sonic yelled to Octavia as he ran. 

"Leave me alone!" Octavia yelled before running into a building. The building's entrace resembled the toothy smile of some humanoid creature. Bright neon signs displayed the words "Funhouse". 

Sonic chased Octavia through the entrance. He was almost about to catch her when...

WHAM! 

A swinging ball with robot Fizzarolli's face imprinted on it whacked Sonic into the Funhouse's wall. 

"Owwwww!" Sonic exclaimed, his blue quills covered in pieces of drywall.

As he slowly crawled out from the hole in the wall, Sonic gazed in confusion at the odd sight of the Funhouse's interior. Blue eyes on the building's walls leered at the hedgehog. Rotating spiky columns hanged from the ceiling. Translucent tubes filled with bubbly purple stretched across the floor and ceiling. Blue human-like hands stuck out of the floor reached out towards the ceiling. 

"Whoa, did I get knocked into a Picasso painting? Nevermind, there's no time to think about that. I gotta find the princess, she could be in trouble!" Sonic said before speeding off. 

Sonic sped in and out of each of the Funhouse's room, searching for Octavia. 

"Come on, come on, if I was an emotional teenage bird princess, where would I go?" Sonic asked himself as he kept running. 

Thankfully, though, he wasn't too far away. Sonic finally found Octavia sitting in an apple-shaped cart that was slowly rotating along a trackway in the middle of the room. As he approached, he immediately noticed the distraught look on Octavia's face. 

Sonic's look softened as he walked up to Octavia's cart. 

"Hey, there," Sonic greeted, catching Octavia's attention. "You...a mind if I sit down?" 

Octavia glanced at Sonic and quickly rubbed away the tears in her eyes. "Sure," Octavia muttered. It's not like anyone cares what I think anymore.

As Sonic sat down, he tried to think of something to say, something to help make Octavia's mood improve. 

"So, uh...are you okay?" Sonic asked. 

"Do I look like I'm okay?!" Octavia yelled, causing Sonic to shrink back. 

"Um...no," Sonic said as Octavia curled back up. "You wanna talk about it?" 

Octavia was stunned by what she just heard. This sinner...a demon that would seemingly gain nothing from it...wanted to know what was making her so upset. Even more surprising was the concern in his voice, like he was genuinely invested in her feelings. 

"Why do you care?" Octavia asked, clearing her throat. "If you think getting me to open up to you will give you free ticket under my skirt then you're dead wrong." 

"What? No way. I swear, I'm not some pervert. Can't a guy just be concerned about how someone's doing?" Sonic asked, giving a comforting smile. "I promise you, I'm here to listen and talk. That's all."

Octavia was once again bewildered by the hedgehog's response. Acts of kindness like this were completely unheard of down here in this inferno. 

"You are being...unusually nice," Octavia said, sounding slightly creeped out. 

"Eh, it's what I do. Now...what is the problem here, Miss?" Sonic asked, putting on a German accent and  wearing a pair of abnormally large eyeglasses that he pulled out of his quills. 

Octavia unintentionally let out a small giggle, a rare sound for the teen princess. 

"Well, if you really want to know...it's my dad," Octavia responded. "He kept going on and on about how she wanted to spend time with me but this whole damn time all he's been doing is flirting with your red asshole of a boss." 

"Oh, you mean Big Boss." Sonic replied. 

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Octavia said, before she started sniffling again. "It's just...he promised me he would always be there for me. But now...everything's changed since he met that red dickhead. He cares more about him than he does about me."

Octavia then proceeded to cry once again while Sonic watched on with a saddened expresion. He put away his glasses before pulling out a piece of tissue paper from his quills and handing it to Octavia. 

"Thank you," Octavia sniffled before rubbing the tissue against her teary eyes and leaking nose. 

"Listen, princess, I can't exactly give you the best advice since the only therapy sessions I've had up until now have been with myself, but I'm thinking you should talk dad about all this," Sonic suggested. 

"Like any good that would do. Didn't you hear what I said before? He doesn't care," Octavia muttered.

"Well, that's what you think. But...maybe that's not the full story. Trust me, I know what it's like to be misunderstood," Sonic said, somewhat sadly as he remembered accidental run-ins with Pride's inhabitants as well as his current criminal status. "Just give him a chance."

Octavia stared at Sonic for a moment, making direct eye contact with the hedgehog. Perhaps, he was right. Or maybe he wasn't? Honestly, Octavia had no idea. As she contemplated, Stolas finally walked into the room and breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that his daughter was okay. 

"Via!" Stolas exclaimed, before approaching the cart she was in and immediately noticing Sonic's presence. "Oh, um, hello?" 

"Hey," Sonic said, before proceeding to make his way out of the cart. "I'll leave you guys to chat a little." 

Sonic walked out of the cart and over to the room's entranceway, allowing him to still keep a watch on royals. However, as he looked at the pair, he noticed several dangerous-looking imps approaching the royals from the sides and above. 

Sonic sighed before stretching his legs and cracking his knuckles. Welp, time to do some bodyguarding. 

Stolas took off his Loo-Loo Land hat and sat down in the cart beside Octavia. 

"Octavia, I take it that you are not having fun?" Stolas asked, softly. 

"I didn't even want to come here!" Octavia exclaimed. 

"I'm sorry, sweetie, I...thought you loved it here," Stolas said. 

"When I was a kid and my parents didn't hate each other," Octavia said, turning to look at her dad, "and my dad didn't flirt with some weird, red dickhead the entire time. 

Stolas looked down, ashamed. "Oh, Via..." Stolas began. 

The two were interrupted by the sound of a loud thud on the top of the cart's metal roof. The sudden noise caused Stolas and Octavia to jump slightly, the latter scooching slightly closer to her father. The noise was followed by an imp wearing raggedy clothes falling to the ground beside the cart, startling the royals further. Sonic leaped down from the cart's roof and briefly stared awkwardly at the two birds. 

"Oh, don't mind me. You two continue your conversation. Just pretend me and these jerks aren't here," Sonic said. 

The imp weakly raised his hand up before Sonic jumped up and brought his elbow down hard on the imp, causing them to groan in pain. 

The royals were startled at first before Stolas found his words again. 

"Via, I-I'm sorry. Truly, I am. I'm sorry...for everything happening right now. I know it's a lot. I-I should've listened to you. I'm sorry," Stolas stuttered. 

"I just wanna go home but home doesn't even feel like home anymore," Octavia said, blue tears streaming down her face. "You ruined it." 

Stolas felt the immense weight of Octavia's words bear down on him, making his guilt even more unbearable. 

"Via, you have to understand-" Stolas began before he quickly pulled Octavia back towards him, away from a knife-wielding imp who was trying to stab the princess. 

Sonic grabbed the imp by the shoulders and threw him to ground before leaping up and punching him repeatedly in the face. 

"THEY'RE. TRYING. TO. HAVE. A. FATHER-DAUGHTER MOMENT. RIGHT. NOW. AND. YOU'RE. RUINING. IT!" Sonic yelled, each word corresponding with a punch to the face. 

"Via, you must understand," Stolas continued, "your mother...and I...I've just...we've never felt...I never felt...she's always been...I've never been...we weren't in...I-I'm sorry, I just don't have the words."

Stolas clutched his face and sighed as Octavia looked up at him, also unsure of what to say now. 

"Are you gonna run off with him?" Octavia asked, tearfully. "And leave me behind? Go off where...I can't find you? 

"What? No! No, no, no, never. I would never do that. Never," Stolas said, pulling Octavia close and embracing her within his arms. 

Octavia breathed a sigh of relief and nuzzled against her father's chest. She knew now more than ever that her dad would never forget his promise. 

"Aw, that's cute," An imp said who was watching the two embrace. "Now, GIVE ME YOUR BATH WATER!" 

Sonic kicked the imp in their groin, causing the imp to crouch to the ground in pain. 

"Gross, dude. You're gross," Sonic said, looking disappointed at the imp before he walked over to the two royals. "You guys ready to blow this popsicle stand?" 

"Yes, indeed," Stolas said, picking Octavia up and carrying her bridal-style out of room with Sonic in toe. 

As the three were approaching the attraction's exit, an imp wielding a sharp dagger jumped down from the ceiling, landed on top of Sonic, and pinned the hedgehog to the ground. 

"Augh, hey! Not cool, man!" Sonic yelled as he desperately tried to crawl his way out from underneath the imp. 

However, the imp kept Sonic pinned to ground and in Sonic's futile attempts to get free, his disguise was being stretched and was slowly getting torn apart by the imp's sharp claws and hooves. By the time Sonic realized this, it was already too late, his hoodie was completely shredded and his blue fur was completely revealed. 

"Oh, shoot!" Sonic exclaimed, before the imp grabbed him by the throat. 

"No way, you're that blue menace I heard about on TV," The imp said. "Oh-ho-ho, with you plus those rich fucks, I'll be ric-" The imp exclaimed before he was suddenly turned to stone. 

"What the-" Sonic questioned, before looking up and immediately met the sharp crimson gaze of Stolas' eyes. "Okay, your majesty, I see you, I see you." 

Sonic knocked the now-stone imp off of and then lightly kicked the imp in its frozen face. 

"Jerk!" Sonic exclaimed before turning to the prince. "Thanks for the save, your majesty!" 

"Um, yes, you're quite welcome," Stolas said, sharing a look of confusion and slight fear with his daughter as they stared at Sonic. 

Sonic looked at the pair with a questioning look before finally realizing why they were staring at him. 

"Right, I think some explanations are in order. 

The trio walked peacefully through the blazing battleground that was once Loo-Loo Land. In the background, Blitzo, Moxxie, and Millie were all fighting off the robo-Fizzarolli. 

Awe, man, I wanted to fight an evil robot, Sonic thought to himself as he watched the trio fight. 

"So, you're that blue creature we've heard so much about?" Octavia said. "I honestly thought he'd be taller."

"Yup. That's me," Sonic said, sounding slightly nervous. "Listen, please, your royalnesses, can we please keep this between us? I'm kinda trying to stay on the down low." 

"Worry not, young Sonic. Your secret is safe with us," Stolas assured. 

"Wait, really?" Sonic asked. 

"Well, of course. You did protect us from those unsavory characters," Stolas said, smiling. 

"And you helped me out," Octavia said, appreciatively. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"No probs, princess," Sonic said. 

"So, what would you like to do now, Via?" Stolas asked as the trio walked out of the flaming theme park and out onto the parking lot. 

"Ooh, can we go to Stylish Occult? They sell weird taxidermy there," Octavia said, excitedly. 

"Umm...okay?" Stolas said, slightly unsure, causing Sonic and Octavia to chuckle. 

"Thanks, Dad. You're okay sometimes," Octavia said. 

"Thank you, Via. Thank you," Stolas said as the two birds nuzzled up to each other. 

A loud explosion in the distance interrupted the heartwarming scene, followed by loud screaming. 

"Umm, Sonic, shouldn't you go back and check on your cohorts? Make sure they're alright?" Stolas asked.

"Eh, I wouldn't worry too much about them. Knowing them, they'll be here in 3...2...1," Sonic said. 

Almost on cue, the screaming reached its crescendo as Blitzo, Moxxie, and Millie came crashing down to the ground. However, just seconds away from their impact, Sonic rushed in and easily caught all of them, carrying them with surprising ease in his arms. 

"Way to go and ruin another good thing, sir," Moxxie muttered, weakly. 

"That clown bitch had it COMING!" Blitzo exclaimed.

Millie turned to Sonic. "Sorry, your trip here was bust, Sonic."

"Are you kidding? This was awesome!" Sonic exclaimed, much to Millie's surprise. 

"Seriously?" Millie asked. 

"Yeah, I mean we did come pretty close to death a few times but I would be lying if I didn't say that just made it more fun!"

"Good to hear," Millie said, before passing out. 

"Glad to hear we're having such a wholesome moment right now," Blitzo said, sarcastically. "Now take me to a hospital. I think there's blood in my lungs."

Earth

"Ya think he'll listen to us?" Agent One asked. 

"Well, hopefully," Agent Two replied. 

The pair's conversation was cut off by a towering, black, fortress-like semi-truck pulling up to the front of D.H.O.R.K.S headquarters before coming to a stop. Suddenly, a panel on the side of the truck's trailer facing D.H.O.R.K.S headquarters shifted before opening up, the backside of the panel transforming into a flight of stairs. Suddenly, a tall mustachioed man appeared from the left side of the doorway. His attire was completely black, consisting of a black trenchcoat with red piping on the inside, a dark gray tunic, black trousers, pointed black shoes, and a pair of small rectangular shades. On his wrist, he wore an advanced-looking wristwatch with a sleek, black screen. His handlebar mustache, like his slick, combed-back hair, was a light hazel brown. The man smirked as he carefully stepped down the stairs and approached the two D.H.O.R.K.S. agents. 

"So, are you the two delightful folks who, for the last three days, consistently called me to come see your little Podunk operation you have running down here?" The man asked. 

"Uh, yes, sir. Sorry for intruding on your privacy," Agent One apologized. 

"Oh no, it's no trouble at all. I love when fans of my work insist on calling on me to play show-and-tell with me," The man said, slightly annoyed. "That was sarcasm, in case you two neanderthals were incapable of picking up on that." 

Agent Two angrily groaned while Agent One spoke up. 

"Listen, sir-" Agent One began. 

"Doctor. Dr. Robotnik. It would be much preferable to me if you started talking to me by my name," Dr. Robotnik replied. 

"Wait, your first name's 'Doctor'?" Agent One spoke up. 

Dr. Robotnik looked at One with an unamused expression. "You know, I can't tell if you're joking or not. Though, considering you two's subpar intellect, I wouldn't be surprised." 

"Are you calling us dumb or something, smarty-pants?" Agent Two said, angrily. 

"Easy, Two, easy. We need him," Agent One said, calming the woman down. "Now, about our operation here. Doctor, do you consider yourself a religious man?" 

"Not exactly. Despite what those nuns taught me at the orphanage, I never truly believed in God. After all, why would God cast a being of superior intellect, such as myself, down into a world crawling with oafs and complete idiots? Or curse me with no one on my level to share my intelligence with?" Robotnik explained. "Though, I do suppose the idea of a powerful being watching over this blue ball would be quite interesting."

"Well, what if we told you that while we don't have proof Of God themselves, we do have irrefutable his counterpart: Satan or Lucifer or whatever you want to call him." Agent One said. 

"Well, I would send you and your partner to the asylum and laugh as you both get dragged away in strait jackets," Robotnik joked before sounding serious. "Because if you two imbeciles brought me here just to show me some shotty Youtube video about 'real' footage of demons then I'm leaving right now."

"Sir, we're telling you the truth! Just come inside our building and view our evidence. We're positive you'll believe us," Agent Two spoke up.

Robotnik turned around and smirked at the woman. "I like your spirit, missy. Okay, I'll entertain your little pretend game."

Both agents let out a sigh of relief and gestured the doctor into the building. "Come with us, doctor."

Before Robotnik followed them, he tapped the screen on a wristwatch he was wearing and spoke into the watch.

"Stone, prepare the lattes. It's going to be a long night."