"Shadow? Are you all right?" The tender voice spoke kindly to him as a gentle hand brushed the top of his brow. He cracked his eyes open to see a blinding light shining down into his throbbing eyes, but nothing shined brighter than the face by his side. 

"I'm so sorry for this," she said lamently, cupping his hand into her own. "All the tests keep hurting you...and it's because of me. You shouldn't have to suffer for my benefit. No one should."

The black hedgehog tried to sit up, but couldn't. It felt like a terrible weight was on his entire body, keeping him pinned to the metal floor. Even breathing was taxing; however, he refused to remain silent. "Maria," he started, "you deserve a chance to be happy, to live your own life. If I can save you, then it's worth it." 

The physically fragile girl smiled at her precious friend whom was created just for her. She took a hankerchief to his cheek, wiping off the beads of sweat that escaped his fur. "I'm thankful for everything you do, Shadow....but....not everyone can be saved, and I don't want you blaming yourself if I'm one of them."

Shadow's eyes shrank as flashes of her being gunned down blipped in his mind. Her beautiful blonde hair dyed red as the blood puddled underneath her. He tried franctically to move, but still couldn't, despite all his strength, whatever it was keeping him down, it was formidable. 
"I won't fail, Maria," he declared, digging his claws through his gloves into the metal floor, "I won't fail you or anyone else." 

His thoughts trailed to Sonic, whom he promised to help, to protect. That hedgehog's smile that was permanently imprinted in Shadow's mind began flickering between the carefree grin of the confident hero and the expressionless empty face of a broken soul. 
"He's gone, Shadow." Maria stated mournfully just as the blue blur's scream blared in the distance. She looked to the direction of the cries emotionlessly, as if she had heard them a thousand times already. "He was gone the day you found him." 

The Ultimate Life Form clenched, and against all forces beyond nature, began to sit up. He could feel the weight compiling against him, doubling with each inch he took. His muscles strained, his veins were almost visible through his fur, yet despite the pressure, he perservered. The weight of guilt he carried was far heavier than this invisible mass could ever be. He was the Ultimate--nothing was beyond him.

"Maria believed in the impossible," he declared, "though I could never understand her optimism, I know it's not something one loses. Sonic has that. He is the impossible.....but you.....you're no Maria."

The visage of the pale girl darkened, flickered, and warped while toxic black mist began fuming from her body. "Perceptive as always....but I know better than to ever underestimate you, Shadow." 
She stood up, and with the flick of a wrist, a red curve blade appeared in her hand. In her hollowed eyes, a sickening look of satisfaction resonated, and the more Shadow stared into them, the more he saw another image--hidden within the pupil. It was Sonic's face, frozen in dispair. Seeing that terrifying expression was all the black hedgehog needed to harness his will and rage, to summon a great amount of energy from within, and inact a large chaotic blast to force back both the imposter and whatever force had been weighing him down. Panting, he stood up with ease and glared at the fake Maria, whom immediately resumed her persona before he could attack, "Shadow?" She cried in her innocent voice. He held back his fist, unable to bring himself to strike her despite him knowing full well she was a fraud. He sighed and stood tall, looming over his enemy in a threatening manner, "Remove this illusion," he commanded, clenching his fist with a spark of chaos energy to further intimidate her.

She giggled slightly as she stood up and brushed off her dress. Looking at the sword, she tossed it to a side without regard, "I guess I won't get to use this after all," she said disappointedly. With a smile, she walked gently to the window and placed her hand on the glass, the reflection of Earth shining through. "It was fun, you know...but all good things must come to and end. No matter how hard you cling to them." With a swish of her golden hair, she looked back to Shadow, her sinsiter expression not matching her sweet voice, "Feel free to try your best. I'm sure that will be fun, too." 

The window then shattered with the vacuum sucking everything out, and yet the Maria was undettered. Shadow wasn't about to trust this creature, but she had no reason to keep him there any longer since he had seen through her act. Letting the seeping air take him, he allowed himself to be propelled into space, catching one last glance of his dear sister before plummeting. Eventually, he saw a glimmer of golden light falling just below him. This glittering form became clearer as he neared until he realized it was himself from years ago, when he and Sonic had used their super forms to save the Earth from the impact of the ARK. His instincts drew him to navigate his free-fall towards the fading hedgehog. With the heat of the atmosphere scorching his fur, he pushed forward until he was able to grab his past self's hand. The light blinded him, with the moment he reopened his eyes, he found himself back on the Death Egg. He had been propelled through several quadrants into another area of the station. His body ached all over as his head throbbed from the illusion-based nightmare he endured. The bitter taste of the Phantom Ruby's energy still lingered, but he was in control. In a flash of red and yellow, he dashed upward and forward to return to the cell where he and Sonic had been separated. 



PARALLEL
While Shadow was dealing with the illusion, Sonic was trapped in a different type of Hell. 



With his escape cut off, he immediately tried to fight back. To stand his ground and protect what part of himself Infinite couldn't break. The jackal laughed at his spin dashes, mocked his punches, and easily avoided each kick by seeping in and out of the darkness. All of his efforts were useless, but he refused to give up. "I'M NOT GOING TO FALL FOR YOUR MIND TRICKS!!!" He yelled as he kept canvassing the small cell for a glimmer of his enemy. "COME OUT AND FACE ME!!!" 

Unrestrained, ominous laughter was his response and it filled him to the brim with unparalleled fear. He could feel his knees shaking, his throat tightening, and sweat beginning to perforate through his fur. 

"HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! It seems you've gotten a little bit of your spark back in my absence. Good. It will be entertaining to snuff it out again."

Before Sonic could take another step, red bonds formed around his wrists and ankles, making him collapse with a hard thud. He wriggled and yanked as hard as he could, but the energy restraints were as formidable as they always were. Nevertheless, he kept trying, hoping to somehow overpower them. Then, from the corner of his eye, a boot slammed into his face, skidding him across the metal floor. The jackal ambled towards him and proceeded to strike another fierce kick into his stomach before pushing him on his back and pressing down on his crotch with his heel. A small stream of blood trickled above Sonic's brow as he grimaced at the blows he took. "It's gratifying to see you this way. How I missed it," the mercenary declared.

He kneeled down and wiped his finger across the new wound. Removing his mask, he licked it passionately, relishing in the taste he had been long deprived. "Hmm....rich as ever." 
His eyes then traced down the blue body to those plump treasures hidden within the peach fur of the hedgehog's chest. He glided his hands over them and began fondling Sonic's chest seductively with agressive strokes. It was like old times. The exchange between them that always began with abrasive foreplay before the ravaging. "STOP IT!" Sonic demanded defiantly, still under the delusion that he could somehow escape this situation. 
Eventually, the jackal found the nipple he was searching for and proceeded to tug on it roughly, causing his pet to wince. 

"You're still sensitive, I see. Does this apply to all of you?" He laid down on top of him in a relaxed manner, allowing his full weight to press against the smaller frame. While pinching Sonic's nose and pressing his hand against his throat until his mouth cracked open in desperation for air allowed the jackal to invade his mouth with his own, where a waltz of passion began. Round and round they swirled, the heat of the saliva mixing in each other's mouths. Sonic squirmed, but couldn't pull away--not in this position. He gagged as the long canine tongue reached the back of his throat, teasing all corners of his oral cavity before the intruder had his fill.

"You taste just like I remember," Infinite cooed as he pulled his lips away from Sonic's gasping mouth. Caressing over his arms, he yanked off the hedgehog's bandages, exposing the self-inflicted claw marks. "And look what we have here. Some of your own handywork? Hahah....I always knew you liked it--the suffering, the anguish. You were made for this." 
With that, Infinite slid down and returned his attention to those delicatable breasts that he yearned for. Without wasting another second, he clamped his jaws into the peach chest, the sound of skin tearing barely audible over the captive hero's cry as he kicked and writhed while his master kept his arms pinned. 

"This pain," Sonic thought to himself, "....it...."

Lost in contemplation, his body once again reacted on its own, with his legs spreading to welcome the canine inside of him. Infinite chuckled at the display after removing his serated teeth from the tender flesh. "Like riding a bike," he stated hautly. Grabbing Sonic's legs, he folded the hedgehog in half with his rearend in the air before declaring with a wicked grin, "I won't keep you waiting." Pressing the tip of his large equipment into the small tight anus, the hole that had not seen any excitement in months, was excrutiating! Sonic couldn't help but scream as he felt it wedge into him centimeter by centimeter like a spike being hammered into an orange. He began to hyperventilate while he dared to look at the face of his master looming over him. Tears rolled from his eyes at how after everything he went through and how all the hardships he endured to get his life together were for nothing--he was back to square one, being subjugated and powerless. He was back here, again.

"You never left," Infinite said inexplicably. Sonic grunted, cried, and moaned as he tried to wrap his head around what the jackal just uttered. He wondered if he was thinking out loud or did Infinite somehow read his thoughts? It's not surprising since he could usually guess what Sonic was thinking in the past, but this felt different. With the cylinder penetrating deeper, it was impossible to concentrate any further. Each thrust set his insides on fire, and yet, he couldn't surpress the inevitable arousal it caused. No matter how hard he fought it, he was exposed. The jackal clasped the smaller member in his hands the moment it emerged and began rubbing its tip with his thumb. "I was wondering when it would make an appearance," the jackal chimed, "I knew you'd miss me." 

"Ahh....can't....", Sonic muttered as he glanced to the corpse slumped over against the wall, "...can't be real....hah....ah....in...my head...."

"What's reality but what we perceive to be real?" Infinite stated as he inserted his full length into his hedgehog in one mighty thrust that threatened to knot him. 

"AAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH", the hero yelled while the jackal continued to work, pressing and stretching the hole slowly. 

"This pain is real, isn't it?" The mercenary said coldly. "Why question the simple truth that the fear is telling you?"

Sonic's eyes welled with tears as the knot finally penetrated him, his own equipment throbbing in the iron grasp while he felt the same vibration within, "Living or dead. Real or not. It's all the same...."
Infinite rolled his hips, popping his knot in and out until he began to climax. Digging his claws into Sonic's thighs, he rammed him so hard that blood squirted from the rim of his anus. The two released themselves at the same time, to the jackal's delight and to the hedgehog's agonizing horror in a chorus of ecstastic moans and pleasurable gasps.

"Do you believe me now?" 

The hero was completely limp. His mind and body had just relived a trauma he thought he'd never experience again. The nightmares he had been running from were back, they were real, and he was trapped once again in them.
Infinite cupped his face in his grip while he hovered above, their noses inches from each other. He licked the tears playfully before rubbing his thumb over Sonic's lips, "Well?" He stated with an ere of sadistic charm, "What do you have to say?"

In a small breath with half-closed eyes that could barely stayed focused, Sonic mumbled respectfully that which he was educated to do, "....I....I love it..."