It's the Holy Day of Sonic's Creepy Mirror, everyone. Brace yourselves. This one is extra... medium length.

Writing this particular chapter took an iron will, fierce determination, and a lot of shouting from my (very unofficial) beta reader so. There's that. I can't wait to, y'know, get the ball rolling. I don't like exposition. I don't wanna be that guy.

As always, y'all's support is a big motivator for me. Reviews = Happiness, joy, motivation, clear skin, watered crops, you know the drill.

And now, for the third installment of "Calling the Police on a Mirror, Which is a Thing I Wish I could Do at This Point"

A booming "What the hell?!" shot from the direction of the now demolished crates. Shadow, busying his palm with his face, sighed.

"There's an energy field of some kind," the hedgehog explained through gritted teeth. "Punching it won't do anything."

Tails, ever the mediary, added on before actual steam erupted from Knuckles' head. "It just needs to be neutralized somehow. After that we could use a punch to bust down the door."

"...fine."

As Knuckles scrambled his way out of the heap of splinters and illicit property damage, Shadow stared down Tails. He was going to wear a rut into the ground if he kept pacing like that. While all three itched to move on and get to the blue blur, it appeared that the blur's own brother took the stress the hardest.

Shadow contemplated the best method of approach. Tails needed enough peace of mind to think clearly, Knuckles needed a moment to chill, and Shadow... well, he needed to find a way to get the three of them out of there. Fast.

"Let's try an energy based attack," he finally suggested.

To Shadow's relief, Tails snapped from his frenzied reverie, eyes lighting up in response. "Maybe a chaos spear would work!"

A nod from Shadow acknowledged the proposition and, gesturing for Tails to back up, he tensed his fingers, palms tingling from the energy he sent towards them. When the pricks concentrated just above the flesh, he flung his hands forward, shoulders hiked, knees bent.

The following burst of light blinded the rest of the group. Shadow, meanwhile, simply blinked and straightened himself, a bored look on his face.

When the light dimmed, a vague sheen on the metal indicated the continued presence of the barrier.

Shadow groaned. "Damnit!"

"Hey, it's alright," Tails started, but Shadow already pivoted away from the door and stalked off. So much for that plan.

Tails sighed. Something wasn't right about that outcome. When he turned around, his eyes caught the gem in the hedgehog's palm. A thought occurred to him.

Knuckles, however, voiced the idea before Tails had a chance. "What can you do without the emerald?"

Shadow turned towards the other two and narrowed his eyes. "Emeralds enhance my abilities, not grant them." An offended tone dusted his words. "Why?"

Knuckles shrugged, but he said nothing, fascinated with a spot on the far wall.

Tails knew exactly what his friend was doing, of course. As he observed Shadow's stalking back towards the barrier, he contemplated an idiosyncrasy that the hedgehog shared with his blue counterpart; both responded better to challenges than commands. For the former, this applied tenfold when he sported a bruised ego.

Indeed, a clink denoted the end of the gemstone's journey from hand to floor, followed by a familiar static crackling in the air, a burnt smell tickling the noses of the room's occupants.

A flash of white glove and ebony fur drove the spear into the barrier, this time without a bright flash following the act. All whipped towards the door as, miraculously, the glow sliding around the surface of the metal crumbled off.

"Huh," was Knuckles' eloquent response. "Didn't think that would actually work."

As the three approached the exit, Tails trailed back towards Knuckles, allowing Shadow to increase the distance between them. "Did you mean the barrier breaking or Shadow getting offended enough to show off?" the fox asked.

He shrugged. "Both."

The two jumped when a voice barked from ahead of them. "Are you coming, or should I kick this door down myself?"

Tails eyed the exit for a second before deflating.

"Y'know, I forgot that we could probably just open it once we got rid of the interference..." he mumbled.

"Don't sweat it," said Knuckles, patting his friend's shoulder as he passed the kit. "It's probably locked, and we don't have time to figure out how to unlock it." Once near the door, he added, more to Shadow than Tails, "Now, if you don't mind, let's actually get out of here."

Shadow stepped away from the exit, eyes narrowed, as Knuckles approached with a raised fist. It rocketed forward and slammed straight into the metal.

Not even a dent.

"What!?" Knuckles cried.

Shadow rolled his eyes. "You really expected to knock it down with that?"

"Just, uh, try again maybe," Tails cut in. He didn't really know what to say; a punch from Knuckles should've knocked the door straight off of its hinges.

Knuckles, his frustration palpable, wound up his arm for another hit, only for Shadow to hold up a hand. He shot him a glare in response.

"Now what?"

"Since the barrier is gone, it won't interfere with chaos control. Let's try that instead."

Tails' brows furrowed. "But I don't get it. Why was it there at all? It had to come from somewhere."

"It doesn't matter," Shadow said. "Our priority is getting to Sonic. The source of our previous deterrent is inconsequential."

"Or maybe it isn't! Whatever—whoever—put up that energy field obviously doesn't want us to get to Emerald Coast!" Tails marched over to the door and squinted, eyes inches from the metal. "The door isn't even reinforced. The fact that Knuckles' punch didn't do anything is just weird."

When the room's other occupants continued their blank stares at the back of the his head, Tails sighed. "Looks like I'm right." He pulled away from the door and turned around. "The charge is gone, but there's enough of the field left over to absorb impact. We're still stuck."

Shadow shook his head, irritated. "Which is why if—"

"No, Shadow! We won't get anywhere near Sonic if we try again."

Even Knuckles seemed skeptical of that logic. "Why? You saying we'll just end up in a another room?"

"Yes, Knuckles. If it happened once, it could happen again, and if it does we'll lose all of our progress."

"Whatever." Shadow hissed, cracking his knuckles. "Let's just do something besides bicker. Any ideas?"

Tails glanced back at the door. He couldn't spot a latch or knob of any kind, so a shove in the right direction would swing it open if they passed the field's dispersion threshold.

"We just need to overwhelm the barrier," Tails informed the group. I just don't know how we're going to do that. Their party's strongest member barely halved that value, much less surpassed it.

Silence blanketed the room as the three considered their options.

—

What are you waiting for?

There stood Sonic, fingers poised over the smooth granite, water lapping at his sneakers. His will to continue evaporated moments before glove met stone.

For the first time, he started to remember what happened that afternoon.

His hand crawled from its position over the granite and, at a snail's pace, returned to his side.

"You gave up that shtick fast, y'know." Sonic twirled the artifact in his fingers, hip cocked and eyes locked on the sunset. "What happened to 'won't even notice I'm there'? Got bored?"

As the acknowledgement of a separate entity continued to solidify in Sonic's mind, so did the weight of their presence, like a pool of water collecting in the back of his skull. He wondered what that meant for him if he didn't figure out a way out of this mess soon. Still, Sonic couldn't find it in himself to be scared. He was tired of being scared. He wanted to do something.

Until he discovered what that something would be, he settled on stalling for time.

The twirling morphed into a toss from hand to hand, a judgement of the artifact's weight as it landed in each palm. Pretty hefty for such a fragile thing.

"So, I get why you hated being in there—" Sonic flinched when he felt the water crawl forward ever so slightly from that pool, but stopped only a moment, just long enough to will the feeling away. "—but you're out dude. You did it. You won. Ten points for Gryffindor, buddy. What are you even doing now, trying to get rid of any souvenirs from Mirror Prison?"

The voice, of course, ignored him, occupied by another conundrum. Your vision should be fuzzy by now. I don't get it.

"That's a weird way of asking why I don't wear glasses."

What? Chaos, what a headache. The criteria for 'creepy voice that's probably an ancient spirit or something' apparently didn't include witty banter. Pretty much every other antagonist could do that.

Much to Sonic's distress, their confusion failed to deter the spread of control. Vision's great, sure, but his legs threatened to give out at any moment. Time for a different approach.

Giving the artifact one last toss—into his left hand, this time—Sonic held it up to no one in particular and asked, "So, you're not gonna tell me why I need to break it?" He waggled the mirror for emphasis.

I can't believe you can still talk.

Ignoring how utterly terrified the implications of that statement made him, Sonic shrugged. "If not, can I just throw it? That'd be swell." He wound up, arm poised to lug the mirror a good thirty feet out into the ocean. "I'm gonna go ahead and do that."

Turning a blind eye to his problems appeared to be the day's central theme, as Sonic was about ninety-five percent sure that he'd fall flat on his face if he completed the maneuver. Weird voice didn't need to know that, though.

As it turned out, that weird voice saved him the trouble, speaking up before his arm accelerated. You're throwing away your only chance for survival.

"Oh ho, so that's it~!" he sang. His feint worked, it actually worked! The smugness inside Sonic only increased when, to his delight, the presence was at a loss for words, all too aware of their blunder.

Using this as an opportunity, Sonic brought the mirror up to his face and tried desperately to remember how they got out.

The two of them grabbed the mirror—might be a little difficult to acquire both pairs of hands now—and Sonic closed his eyes, ending with... a caved-in Emerald Coast? Had to be symbolic. If they accomplished the feat mentally, then maybe thought would work just as well to send them back.

Well, might as well try while he could still stand.

Grasping the handle with both hands, Sonic screwed his eyes shut, ears folded back as he willed the voice to go back.

That won't work. You don't have the mental capacity with me here.

"S-shut up," he stammered, concentration tying his tongue. What, did he have to visualize a path for them? Head to neck, neck to shoulders, shoulders to hands, hands to gloves maybe, then into the metal they'd go. Sounded great.

...Nothing happened.

Are you daft? You're not even going to be yourself in a moment.

Sonic shivered. "W-what, into oxymorons?"

You've served your purpose. Let me take over.

At this, he paused. Not in shock. Not in fear.

No, Sonic the hedgehog was pissed.

Sonic threw the mirror on the sand, not caring that he stumbled and almost lost his footing outright from the force of the throw. "Okay, enough of this destiny bull. What am I this time? Chosen one? Distant being from another world? A candlestick? Gimme something to work with besides 'you've served your purpose,' creep."

The voice had this 'speaking at sporadic intervals" theme at the moment that, unfortunately, meant a pointed lack of response to Sonic's demand.

He rolled his eyes. "Unbelievable."

Sonic realized only then the extent of his fatigue as, in the absence of conversation, his panting boomed in his ears. False confidence really tuckered a person out. Well, he'd deny any claim his confidence was false, but... he needed to know what was going on.

In a final attempt to get them to say something, Sonic sighed, shook his head, and added a strained "Please?"

A scoff tickled his ears. Finally, a modicum of respect from you.

"Well, what can I say? I haven't been all that great a host to our little party."

The voice opted not to acknowledge him. What a surprise. Instead, they switched into a brand new... 'gently scolding' mode...? Sit. You're about to collapse.

Sonic wanted to object to yet another round of their commands, but his quaking knees told him how supremely bad of an idea that would be. So, he plopped down on the sand, heedless of the spray the altitude granted his face.

Where would you like me to start?

"Oh, we're doing twenty questions now? Sure." Sonic hummed as he rested a cheek on his palm. "What do you want?"

You.

"Maybe explain that in a way that doesn't get you a visit from Chris Hansen?"

The voice ignored the jab (or didn't understand it, who knows.) Years ago, you demonstrated for the first time an inherent mastery over the chaos emeralds.

Sonic blinked. "Uh, what?"

You performed a miracle that granted you immense power.

"...You mean I went super?"

He felt the voice's weariness from the jargon. Yes, you... went super.

Digesting their words, Sonic scoured his memory for the specific event they referred to—a difficult feat, what with his so-called 'lowered mental capacity.'

Time eater? Too recent. Ark? Not exactly the first time it happened. For a moment he considered Station Square, but a memory of a certain island nagged at him, suggesting a time before even Perfect Chaos that beheld his golden form.

At that point the tide crawled in far enough to wet the fur on Sonic's knees. He scurried away. Too much salt. And water. Definitely too much water.

"West Side Island?" he finally asked, more to himself than to his companion. "That right?"

Correct.

"Aight. What's so special then? Miracle this, mastery that. You're invading my brain for pretty much no reason and I don't like it."

There's a reason.

"Shoot."

That miracle is only possible for a figure prophesied by the echidna tribe. When you transformed, you fulfilled the prophecy.

"...um, hold on. What?"

—

"This... isn't working...!" grunted Tails, arms threatening to collapse under the strain. The door refused to budge.

"It was your idea!" Knuckles quipped back.

As it turned out, their best bet was to just push at the door all at once ("Constant application of force will add up to more than brief collisions," Tails explained. Oh, how he regretted ever suggesting that. His arms killed him.)

Thirty more seconds of sheer agony ensued for the trio until, thank Chaos, the hinges creaked under the pressure, wanting to give.

"H-hey! Guys! I think it'll—"

—

Sonic resisted the urge to groan. Prophecy. Great. He remained quiet for a moment, only to grumble a minute later, "You've got to be kidding me."

It is a prophecy foretelling—they continued, of course they just continued, why did he expect anything else—the emergence of a being whose soul has a trace of the god's power in their depths. According to legend, the soul of the being is timeless, while their vessel appears periodically throughout history.

Actually a god somehow, check. Chosen one, probably check. The 'vessel' talk got a double check for sheer creepiness alone. All Sonic needed was one extra cryptic phrase and he had a recipe for a migraine.

Can you guess why we look alike now?

There it was.

"No, not really, and to be honest I don't care enough to try." Sonic flopped onto his back and glared up at the sky. Not the kind of stargazing he had in mind earlier. "I mean, isn't your reflection...? Supposed to look like yourself...? That's the whole point, right?"

Why would a god—

"If you say 'assume the form of a mortal for prayer' I'm going to bash my head in on a rock, just for you."

Still, be it the revelation post-threat that he couldn't sit back up, the water licking at the soles of his shoes, or really just the fact that Tails found the mirror at all, Sonic decided to play along, just for a while.

"Okay, fine," he huffed. "Why would they?"

They wouldn't.

"Actually explain that so help me I—"

You'll what? You can't even move.

Sonic's eyes widened. "What?" The sitting up part, he was aware of, but...

He tried to twitch his fingers, flick an ear, Chaos, do anything, but remained still, body finally and totally catatonic.

"No." Sonic started to shiver. "No no no no what—"

Your resistance led to this.

"What the hell are you doing to me?!"

—

The door swung out.

Thus, the line collapsed into a dogpile. Needless to say, Shadow was not pleased with his role as a glorified mattress for the other two.

Tails, with an odd sense of deja-vu, peered down at said glorified mattress. "Um."

"...You have five seconds."

—

That's the question I was hoping you'd ask.

What Sonic said: "Shut up."

What Sonic really meant: "I've connected the dots and realized that you're actually, in the most literal sense, possessing me—like actually possessing me—and that's probably one of the worst things that's ever happened to me. Please, for the love of all that is good, maybe don't do that."

Whether or not the goddamn parasite understood the full sentiment of his words, Sonic didn't know. He was a little preoccupied with the whole 'I can't move' dilemma.

Think back to the legend. A timeless soul, appearing again and again through the reincarnation of a mortal... how does that apply to us?

His mouth refused to move. Probably just lost that, too.

Here's a hint: I'm the timeless soul.

And then he sat up.

No, they sat up.