another path i must now walk on [pt4]

EARTH

Nine yelled wordlessly as the Void spat him out, an expulsion of frustration. His mechanical tails twitched of their own accord.

He couldn't help it. He had been so powerless in the dark. His tablet had been wrenched from his belt almost immediately, leaving him spinning in the Void with no possible solution at his fingertips. His tails had tangled together so he couldn't even try to fly, but he'd had a feeling he wouldn't have been able to regardless. The force of the Void was like nothing he'd ever experienced before - not even the paradox prism. It whipped him around like a washing machine, ripping away any practical use of his senses.

And then it retreated around him, spitting him out as a child would a piece of broccoli.

He tried to orient himself, rolling in the air to face downwards. Below, a vast, flat surface the colour of wine stretched almost as far as the eye could see, rimmed at the corner of his vision by large, green cedars. A lake? Far below Nine, a cobalt speck contrasted with its rusty backdrop, heading straight towards the water.

"Sonic!" Nine yelled, a split second before his friend vanished beneath the claret surface with a tremendous splash.

Nine wrestled with the air, trying to point his head towards the ripples and untangle his tails. His mechanical tails still weren't responding properly, and his furry ones were buried amongst them. He managed to pry them apart but couldn't get them spinning fast enough to pull himself out of the dive, and splashed down a few seconds after the hedgehog.

The impact of the fall punched their air from his lungs, which refilled with icy water as soon as he tried to take a breath. Nine twisted around again, pointing his head uptowards the light, and spun his tails. He broke the surface coughing and spluttering, his heart thumping at a thousand miles per hour. He didn't have time for this! Sonic had not re-emerged at all - Nine needed to get down there now!

Cont in next post