Do You Believe in Ghosts? Extras

Bonds of the Frozen Hearted

The cold was unbearable. But he couldn't outrun it. And the screams inside his head made him feel as though his ears were going to bleed.

Dead, dead, dead. The word bounced around in his head, even louder than the screams. It resonated in his fractured bones and his broken mind.

He stumbled, something wretched and hateful welling up inside him. He caught himself against the side of a building, ice spreading up the walls from his touch. He choked on a sob, claws digging into his subconscious and squeezing.

"Sonic?"

He turned as a group of the living peered out at him, their faces hopeful. The evil thing inside him reared its ugly head and he couldn't stop as he jumped towards them, their screams of terror cutting off as he tore his claws across their throats.

"For me to live," he snarled, whispers surrounding his words, "you must die!"

~

Tails flew over the outskirts of the city in the Tornado, his ears twitching every which way at the strange sounds coming from within. He'd bundled up in a heavy coat, but the cold still managed to bite through the layers and make his teeth chatter.

"Come on, Sonic," he whispered. "Where are you?"

Maybe he was in the city helping people get to safety and warmth. Tails reasoned it would be better if he landed and searched on foot, and he could help others out along the way.

So he circled around and landed the Tornado at the edge of the city, hopping out and jogging down the street. He could hear screams, but he couldn't see any Mobians around.

"Sonic?" Tails shouted, his voice echoing eerily through the buildings. "Sonic!"

He yelped and turned around at a cry behind him, his ears pressing flat to his head as his gaze caught on the Mobian standing in the middle of the street. It stumbled forward, its limbs twisted and its form transparent. It let out a garbled stream of words, reaching for him. Tails scrambled backwards, his tails too stiff from the cold for him to take flight.

Then something jumped out of the nearest alley, raking bloodied claws through the Mobian's form. It shrieked, a horrible, piercing sound, and Tails felt blood spill from his ears, but it was so cold that it instantly froze into his fur. He hardly dared to close his eyes, watching in horror as the Mobian ghost dispersed with a terrible cry and whatever had attacked it stayed hunched on all fours, shivering uncontrollably. Tails squinted, his tails bushing out as he realized.

"Sonic?" he asked timidly. He was so, so cold. "Sonic, is that you? Are you okay?"

Sonic's head whipped around, his eyes wide as he looked Tails up and down. The fox gasped at the hedgehog's entirely green eyes, blood frozen to his lips and chin and staining his chest and hands. His joints jutted out too far, and his head tilted awkwardly to the side as if it wasn't sitting properly on his shoulders.

"Murdered, murdered, murdered," the blue hedgehog croaked, his body twitching uncontrollably. He took a stumbling step towards Tails and the fox couldn't bring himself to move.

"Sonic?" he asked again, his ears pressing flat to his head. Tears welled up in his eyes. "What's happening?"

Sonic's whole body convulsed, cracks and pops sounding as his limbs twisted unnaturally. He made a terrible sound, a mix between a sob and a scream. Tails took a step backwards, then another. It was Sonic. He knew it in his heart, even if what he saw barely resembled his best friend.

But what had happened to him? Barely two hours ago he'd been fine. Maybe...maybe if Tails had been there sooner, he could have helped, could have saved Sonic from whatever he'd been turned into.