"Is this a bad time to mention I'm thinking of looking for other work?"
Sonic kept his hand tightly pressed to Sally's shoulder even as blood oozed out between his fingers. The two of them were crouched beneath her thick wooden desk, glass from the broken office window decorating the carpet all around them. "It's not exactly the ideal moment for that discussion," the detective answered, voice raspy, one hand clasped tightly around her trusty revolver, the other joining Sonic's in pressing down on her gunshot wound. "But especially under the circumstances, I can't say I blame you."
She peered up, only catching the shadows of her assailants as they loomed over the broken window. "Hey, if this was all it took t'scare me off, I wouldn't have become your secretary in the first place," Sonic said with a grim chuckle.
Sally cocked the revolver as the shadows moved. "Then what?" she asked.
"I guess..." Sonic's fingers pressed down a bit harder. "I guess I'm worried I'm holding you back."
Immediately he found himself fixed with a disbelieving gaze from Sally; even with one eye screwed shut from pain, her reaction was clear and striking. "You've been an invaluable asset to me on just about every case I've ever worked," she said; there was strain in her voice, but the sincerity was clear. "How can you think that?"
"Because I always act first before thinking, and you're the one who gets hurt!" he answered immediately. "We're literally only in this mess right now 'cuz of me!"
The assailants' footsteps drew closer. Sally turned her head instinctively towards them, but quickly refocused her gaze on Sonic. She lifted her free hand off the wound. "Sal-!" Sonic hissed, but he quieted immediately as she placed her bloodied palm on his cheek.
"There's a longer version of this discussion we're going to have after we deal with these bozos," she told him, "but you need to hear the short version right now." She pulled him just a bit closer. "You are my partner, understand? No matter what. You make mistakes like anybody else, but I wouldn't trade working with you for anything. Understand?"
He gulped, a shiver traveling up his back. Part of him wanted to retort, but the icy fire in Sally's eyes made him keep silent. It made him believe her. So he simply nodded. "Good," she said.
They could hear the sinister chuckle of their approaching enemies now. "We can handle this," Sally whispered, and Sonic could see her muscles coiling up to strike. "Just follow my lead and back my play, alright?"
And in spite of everything, Sonic had to smile. "Alright...partner."
((This one went for a few rolls in my head before landing in the form it ultimately took; using the Hooligans as the would-be assassins to Detective Sally in particular helped to really bring the whole thing together. I had genuinely considered setting this in the Noir-themed Zone from the Archie Comic, but I honestly didn't have enough interest in that Zone to find the idea doable, so I decided to take my own spin on things instead.))
“BOUND FOR FREEDOM, YEAR SEVEN, DAY FOUR: “Horror”
"An Excellent Day For An Exorcism”
Sally could feel the temperature plummet as she entered the room. At this point, it was hardly a new sensation, but it never stopped being a discomforting one, especially because the squirrel was decently sure it got a little bit colder each time. She closed the door behind her, encasing herself in almost total darkness.
"It's good t'see you, Sal...."
Her shoulders tensed on instinct as she heard that voice...a rasping echo speaking in a mocking impression of familiarity. "I told you before," she said as calmly and evenly as she could, "you don't get to call me that. Only he does."
Sally approached the only other person in the dark room with her. A hedgehog, tied up in a straitjacket and bound to the walls with a series of leather straps wrapped around his occasionally-convulsing body; the eerie glow surrounding him was the only source of light in the room. Just a week ago, this had been Sonic...her closest friend. Someone who meant more to her than almost anyone else. But now...his blue fur had darkened to a sinister purple, icy patches of silver spreading across the quills like sickly veins. His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, no longer their gentle green but instead a burning mix of orange, gold, and red. A long lizard-like tongue hung between his thick black fangs, a trail of vapor slithering out of a mouth that seemed permanently fixed in a cruel smile. "Is today the day you're going to let me speak him?" Sally asked, taking a seat in front of him, careful to keep the long white robes she wore straight.
The hedgehog looked her over slowly. "That depends on you," he...it...said. "Did you finally come properly prepared this time?"
"I've been doing a lot of reading since we last spoke," Sally answered, reaching into the collar of her robe, "and I believe the answer...is yes."
She revealed a golden necklace cast in the silhouette of a bird, wings spread, a sun-like circle atop its head. The hedgehog hissed sharply as the relic became visible, lurching back a bit. Yet those searing eyes did not waver. "So I see..." it growled. "I am impressed...few are left who remember these old relics." It leaned forward, putting them nearly nose to nose; its breath smelled like sulfur and vomit. "But relics alone will not help you. You dress yourself in their clothes...but you do not hold their faith."
Sally held the necklace up again, and again the hedgehog recoiled, but not as far this time. "That may be," she said firmly. "But you know that won't stop me." She moved the necklace around her neck in a figure-eight pattern. "Mephiles the Dark...let this moment be an oath. By the sign of Solaris, by the wisdom of the first promise, I swear to cast you out."
Even as its body began to thrash around in its bindings, the hedgehog laughed, a shrieking scratching noise that seemed to be comprised of dozens of different voices at once. It sent a shiver up Sally's spine, but she did her best not to let it show. As scared as she was...as tired as she was...Sonic was counting on her.
And no matter what happened...she would not leave him.
((There were a lot of routes I considered going for this prompt, in particular a Zombie Apocalypse scenario given that's actually happened in official "Sonic" material, but for whatever reason this "Exorcist"-style scene was the one that really latched on to my mind and refused to let go. I'd originally thought to have Sonic simply possessed by a Boom Boo a la Amy in "Sonic X", but the notion of Mephiles Specifically being The Devil here proved compelling to me so I kind of fused the ideas together; getting to make use of Soleanna's religious/ritualistic imagery was a fun bonus too.))
I am woefully behind but wanted to finally complete another piece for sonally week, inspo and reference from Cyberpunk Edgerunners (recently rewatched and brought to tears yet again)
The memory of those words rang strongly through Sonic’s mind as he walked through the streets of New Mobotropolis. They weighed his steps, keeping him from the brisk pace he usually enjoyed.
“I appreciate everything you’ve done to…to save me, but…you heard Rotor. I can’t be saved. This…this is what I am now.”
He looked to the soft glow of the moon in the sky, and it reminded him of those eyes. Sally’s eyes, unmistakable even when locked within a shell of glass and lights. Looking more full of…despair…then he could ever remember having seen in them before.
“There is no telling when I might…lose control again. We need to neutralize that threat now, before it…before I…can hurt anyone else ever again.”
The hedgehog’s quills bristled as the hospital came into view. It had been a few days now since those terrible words had been spoken…since he and Sally had seen each other. “I think right now, a bit of space is for the best,” Dr. Quack had said, and though patience was the farthest thing from Sonic’s strong suit, he cared deeply enough about Sally’s well being to obey for as long as he could. But in all that time, Sally’s words had continued to play and replay in his mind.
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