Believe in Me (Sonic the Hedgehog x Reader)

16

Dragging Sonic between them, (Y/n) and Knuckles exited the tower with Tails trailing behind them, finding the others finishing off a group of Badniks just outside the entrance.

"What happened?" Rouge demanded.

"We need to get out of here," Knuckles growled. "Omega, come take Sonic." The former Badnik stomped over, easily scooping Sonic off the ground. The hedgehog groaned unhappily, cracking one dull eye open and reaching towards (Y/n). She glanced helplessly at Knuckles, though the commander was busy barking orders to the rest of the Resistance. 

"Get moving," the echidna said finally, taking the lead at a fast jog. The rest fell in behind him, weapons out.

They made it to the edge of the city with surprisingly few interruptions, Infinite not among them. Apparently he'd been momentarily warned off by Dark Sonic. 

(Y/n) dropped to her knees the instant they were out of range of the strange energy Infinite had created. She braced her hands on the ground and promptly vomited, clear bile dribbling from her lips. Tails collapsed on the ground beside her, his hands shaking. 

"We're in pretty bad shape," he said, exhaustion tainting his voice. "Omega should go ahead and get Sonic back to headquarters. I've just gotta...rest my eyes..." He dropped his head, his eyes closing. Knuckles muttered something under his breath, grabbing the fox and tossing him over his shoulder. 

"(Y/n), are you okay?" he asked. She looked up, wiping her lips and nodding. She forced herself onto shaky legs and nodded again, prompting the group to start moving again. "Tails was right, though, Omega. Go ahead and get Sonic to headquarters." Omega made an acknowledging noise, turning and taking off towards headquarters, the rest following at a slower pace. 

"So?" Rouge prompted. "What did Infinite do to Sonic?" 

"I don't know," Knuckles said lowly. "We'll talk about it later." Rouge fell silent, apparently content with his response for the moment. 

After what seemed like hours, they arrived back at headquarters. Espio braced (Y/n) against him, limping through the door before lowering her onto a chair. Sonic was nowhere to be seen, though Omega was in the control room. 

"He drained him, didn't he?" Shadow said as soon as the door slid closed. 

"I'm not sure," Knuckles said. "It all happened so fast. It didn't seem like it had an immediate effect on Sonic, but it certainly took its toll once he powered down." 

"Powered down?" Rouge said. "Like...Super Sonic?" 

"Dark Sonic." The room went quiet. 

"How is that possible?" Espio asked after a moment. "The real Chaos Emeralds were present, were they not? And, in Infinite's possession, it may be difficult to become Super Sonic." 

"I don't know how he did it," the commander said gruffly. "But I have been noticing he's been...temperamental for a while now. Angrier, more impulsive." 

"More impulsive than usual?" Rouge asked skeptically. 

"He threatened to kill Infinite, even before he went...Dark," (Y/n) finally chimed in, her voice rasping. "I don't think Sonic would ever threaten to kill someone, even on a good day." 

"It's his mind," Shadow said, tapping his temple once. "Infinite has found a way to get inside Sonic's head to manipulate his emotions." 

"That's not possible with the Phantom Ruby," Knuckles said. "I thought it played on visual brain functions." 

"With the Chaos Emeralds enhancing him, he was able to physically control (Y/n)," the dark hedgehog pointed out. "And he's taking the Chaos Energy from anyone who possesses it."