Lost in His Darkness and Depth
Inspired by @son1c's post about No-Place Shadow. Thanks for giving me the chance to write this :)
It starts with a twitch of his ear.
Sonic and the rest of the crew are sitting on the main deck, listening to some old legend Black Rose had pulled out of her back pocket. Batten and Sails are positively engrossed, leaning forward as Rose describes in great detail the jagged, dark rocks that line a lagoon even darker. Dread sits cross-legged on top of a barrel, propping up his head with a spiked mitt as he observes the scene below him. Catfish is splayed out on the deck next to him, passed out cold, half a coconut in hand.
Sonic is attempting to pay attention to Rose’s tale as she reaches the climax of her story, gesticulating wildly and causing Sails to jump in his seat at the sudden movements. Despite his efforts, however, he can’t seem to focus. He swears something is nagging at his brain, twitching his ear, tearing him away from the story at hand. He just isn’t sure what.
He stands abruptly, scratching absentmindedly at his ear, walking towards the bow of the ship. Batten swivels an ear in his direction, but he doesn’t notice. The nagging is stronger now, a tugging in his gut that is getting stronger by the second. Maybe he ate a rotten sea dog? He shudders, leaning over the banister in case his stomach decides to violently evacuate his body. That’s when he hears it.
For a moment, he’s confused. Surprised anyone is singing loud enough for him to hear in the middle of an endless ocean. Then the confusion in his mind promptly melts and trickles down into his chest and solidifies into an emotion so strong his legs nearly give out. Fear? Despair? He can’t quite pinpoint it, but if there’s fear, then there’s trouble.
Someone behind him is yelling at him, calling his name. He doesn’t care. It’s muffled as if he was underwater, and all he can hear is the song. Somebody needs his help, and he’s not about to stand by and do nothing. He hops up onto the bow, looks down at the glittering blue water beneath him, and is promptly yanked backward by his scruff.
He falls onto the deck below with a thud and tries to spring back up, only to be stopped by two red arms wrapped around his chest. Captain Dread. Animosity boils in his stomach. He knew this knock-off Knuckles was no good. Selfish and full of himself, keeping Sonic from helping others. Dread shouts something in Sonic’s ear, but he isn’t listening, and he doesn’t care. He curls into a ball and spins hard, throwing Dread into the rest of the crew. They all look at him like he’s gone mad. They don’t know him. He saves people. That’s what he does, and that’s what he’s going to do.
So he turns and runs, jumping off the bow of the ship and towards the sea below.
“Let me tell ye a tale,” Black Rose says, grinning mischievously. “The legend of the Ire of the Sea.”
Sails whoops, pumping a fist in the air. “Ho-ho! I love this one!”
Sonic raises an eyebrow. “A story? Now? What about, y’know, getting me out of No Place?”
“Oh, ye’ve got time for one tale,” Batten dismisses with a wave of her hand. “Yer going to want to stick around and hear this. Rose’s the best at putting on a show I’ve ever seen.”
With a great sigh, Sonic slumps to the deck in defeat, legs splayed in front of him. Sails and Batten plop down next to him. Out of the corner of her eye, Batten sees the Captain take a seat on a barrel, eyes narrow. Black Rose cracks her knuckles and smiles.
“Long ago, before the world flooded, before any ship had ever set sail on these seas, there laid a city. A city so small and so deep underwater, ‘twas nigh impossible to find. A city inhabited by merfolk, of all shapes and sizes. They called it… ‘No City.’”
A snort escapes Sonic’s nose. “Seems the creators of this world weren’t very good at naming things.”
A chorus of shushes answers him.
Rose continues, undeterred. “The city was a utopia for all who dwelled under the surface, merfolk and sea creatures alike. But the city was not simply that, no! ‘Twas a means of protection, for the water inside the town was pure, while the moment one set fin outside the border, they could taste the pollution in the deep. And while most merfolk could survive outside the city with naught a problem, there was one young lass who could not. Her name?” Black Rose’s eyes glitter like gemstones. “Maria.”
The crewmates shiver as a faint gust of cold wind blows across the ship.
“Maria’d been terribly ill her whole life,” Rose laments. “Her body wasn’t built to withstand polluted waters. Could hardly swim on her own, the poor lass. Fortunately, she had a friend kind enough to support her. A young siren with quills of black and stripes of red.”
Batten doesn’t fail to notice how Sonic’s eyes widen ever so minutely at this description.
“Maria and the boy were inseparable. Where she went, he was sure to follow. Like brother and sister, the two of ‘em were. Unfortunately…” Rose pauses dramatically, “...naught lasts forever.
“Nobody knows why the surface dwellers attacked, only that they came for blood. Massive ships—ones that could sail beneath the sea’s top, no less—broke through the border, shattering the threshold between the unsullied water of No City and the foul, filthy water from beyond. Citizens fled in terror, only to be shot through with harpoons by their assailants. Maria and her brother tried their best to hide, to no avail. And as Maria was pierced through her gut with not one, but two harpoons, her brother was forced to watch.
“There were rumors in No City, rumors about Maria’s young siren friend and how he had come to be. Some thought he was created artificially by the makers of the city. Others thought he was a creature from above. Some wondered if he was even from this realm at all, for his eyes glinted like a kaleidoscope and his markings glowed like embers and his voice was that of an angel. One thing was for certain, though: he was not a force to be trifled with.
“On that fateful day, the entire ocean ran red with the blood of the surface dwellers. They say the young mer was so filled with grief and rage at the loss of his sister that he slaughtered every living thing that dared cross his path, and the scent of the bloodbath drove him to madness. His inhuman strength allowed him to grab the enemy vessels with his own two hands and drag them down, down, down to Davy Jones’s Locker. And after there was no one left, neither merfolk nor surface dweller, after he was finally, horribly alone, he let out a scream of anguish so long and loud it still echoes throughout the devastated ruins of No City to this day.
“From that moment fore, he swore revenge on all who live above the sea. He wanders the ocean alone, his song a murderous croon that, if heard, can lure even the most strong-minded sailors to their certain death. So beware, ye who cross into waters where he’s been spotted, lest ye succumb to the siren song of—”
Black Rose is interrupted as Captain Dread shouts Sonic’s name. Batten turns and sees the blue hedgehog headed toward the bow of the ship, eyes glazed over and limbs stiff. And then Batten hears it, ears swiveling in Sonic’s direction. A soft hum over the horizon, a soured lullaby.
Her eyes widen in realization, ears flattening against her head, and she grabs the Captain by his shoulders. “It’s him,” she says, voice high with alarm.
Dread’s eyes go wide as well, then they harden, amethysts sparkling with challenge. “Sails!” Dread roars, catching the young fox’s attention. “Grab earplugs from below! Be quick about it!”
Sails is staring at Sonic, ears twitching, eyes beginning to gloss. Dread stomps over and picks him up, shaking him like a bucket of bolts. “Get ahold of yerself, matey! We need all hands on deck! This is an emergency!”
Snapping out of his trance, Sails yelps, and scrambles below deck to fetch earplugs. “Earplugs! Aye aye! Comin’ right up!”
Black Rose runs over to Batten and Dread, hands covering her ears. “What do we do, Cap’n? We can’t just let Sonic—”
Dread tsks, grabbing a pair of earplugs from Sails as he comes back up. “Yer right. We can’t, and we won’t.”
That’s all the warning the rest of the crew gets before Dread barrels forward, grabbing Sonic by the scruff and suplexing him to the floor.
The two struggle on the deck as Sonic yells and scratches and bites, doing everything in his power to get Dread to let go, but Dread wraps his arm around Sonic’s torso and holds fast.
“What’re ye waiting for?” Dread shouts at the rest of the crew. “Help me pin him down!”
Batten rushes forward to help, Rose and Sails close behind, but before they’ve hardly grabbed Sonic he curls into a tight ball and spins, hurling Dread straight into Batten, who grunts as she stumbles backward and falls straight onto her companions. Stunned, she rubs her forehead and stares at Sonic. His eyes are crazed like a wild animal, and his quills are flared defensively. His fists are clenched at his sides, and he’s breathing in short, shallow breaths, almost hyperventilating. Then he turns and he’s gone in a blur of blue.
Everyone is dead silent. Batten can hear her heart thump beneath her ribcage. Then the Captain growls under his breath, “That bilge-sucking scabby sea bass… I’ll flay him limb from limb.” He leaps to his feet and pulls his crew to theirs, raising his voice so they can hear through their earplugs. “Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen! We be going hunting!”
“Hunting for Sonic, Cap’n?” Sails asks, wringing one of his tails nervously as the rest of the crew scrambles to get the ship moving.
Dread grins, golden tooth glinting. “Nay, matey. Hunting for Bermuda, the Ire of the Sea.”
Sonic doesn’t even register that he’s supposed to be afraid of water until he’s miles away from the Angel’s Voyage. The hydrophobia fell away as soon as he jumped ship. He doesn’t even notice how his shoes have flared to life and are keeping him from sinking below the surface of the sea. No, all he can focus on is the song thrumming in his veins and in his brain, the way it’s calling, pleading to him, come to me, help me, save me, please. He wants to tell the song that he’s running as fast as he can, he’s coming, he promises. He forces his legs to run faster, he needs to go faster, what if he’s too late? He can’t be too late, he’d never forgive himself. Faster, faster, faster.
As his shoes kick up mist behind him and he races across the ocean, the song gets louder, more desperate. It seems to be begging him, where are you? Where are you?
I’m here, he calls, I’m here. At least, he thinks he calls. He can’t hear over the roar of the ocean in his ears and the song that’s pulling him forward, pulling him towards it, to the poor soul who needs his help.
As he runs and runs, the sky above slowly darkens, giving way to night. The water beneath him deepens and warm blue seas give way to icy black. Huge jagged rocks stand in his way, and he has to swerve hard to avoid ramming straight into them. Mist curls around the stones like wispy grey limbs, hungry for freedom from the depths of the bitter sea.
Sonic is nearly there. He can feel it. The song is like a pulsing, beating heart now, vibrating in his bones. I’m here, he calls again. I’ve come to save you, he says. He listens for a response.
The song that answers him is different now. It is brimming with grief and loss and fury so strong he can taste it on his tongue, acrid and despondent. You are far too late, the song purrs. There is nothing left to save.
No. No, no no! Sonic came as fast as he could, he ran as quickly as his legs could carry him, he swears! Why wasn’t it enough?
The song laughs, a hateful sound, a sound coming from right below him. Sonic peers down, and glowing blue eyes meet his own.
A hand shoots up from the water, wraps around Sonic’s leg, and pulls him under.
Immediately, he’s snapped out of his daze and gripped by sheer panic. Frigid seawater envelops his body and floods his nose and throat and out of instinct, he inhales, only to cough violently as more salty water replaces air. Dark, gloved hands yank at his ankles, pulling him deeper, and he frantically flails his arms to try and get free. There’s almost no light, clouds obscuring the moon, and the deeper he’s dragged down the less he can see, and if he can’t see then how in the world is he supposed to fight?
As Sonic claws at the hands gripping his legs, he is distinctly aware that he is running out of air. He thrashes and kicks, and the hands let go, only to grab him by the arms and bring Sonic face-to-face with his foe. Blue eyes flash murderously, and red stripes glitter in the fading light. Sonic’s heart twists with shock and dread.
