Green Hill Zone was beautiful this time of day, with the usual events going down... A blue hedgehog running, his fox friend in tow, all the while fighting Badniks. In the horizon, a rabbit ran to her home, a little blue creature with wings behind her. The rabbit and creature headed to the house, entering the house, while the creature chose to stay outside. The small Rabbit went inside, a happy aura on her mind, sitting down at the table. "I'm home, mother!" This rabbit was known as Cream, and her friend outside was named Cheese. Her mother, Vanilla, was tall and cooking some breakfast.

"Welcome home, Cream," Vanilla said, "I'm making you some breakfast! What would you like, dear?" Cream requested, "May I please have some pancakes?" Vanilla gave a warm smile, and said, "Why, of course, I-I-I-I'll ma-ma-a-ake you some pa-pancakes, dear!" It seemed fairly strange that Vanilla was seemingly stuttering, but Cream thought that it could be possible that her mother might just be having an off day, though she did seem worried, deciding to check on her. "Mother...? Are you alright...?" Cream asked. Vanilla simply nodded and said, "Yes, sweethea-a-art... Just stay ca-ca-calm..."

Cream, staying wary of the way her mother was acting, took a few steps back, walking into the living room to check on Cheese and Chocola. Cheese seemed a bit energetic, but Chocola was being incredibly quiet, occassionally shifting his eyes to Cheese. "Hello, you two! I just wanted to check on you to see how you were doing!" Cream said happily. Cheese began happily conversing through Chao sounds, as Chocola stared at his hand, which was covered in a black goop. Suddenly, almost as if something snapped inside Chocola, he leaned forward and tried to grab Cream to bite her, before Cheese got in the way, getting bit in the cheek. Cheese started crying out, clutching his cheek.

Cream, obviously shocked, grabbed Chocola, who seemed to be confused as to why Cheese was shrieking in pain. "No! We don't bite each other! That's very bad!" Cream set Chocola down, heading to the kitchen, carrying Cheese in her arms. Vanilla had finished up breakfast, setting it on the table. "Alright, Cr-Cream! I hope you enjoy! I worked hard on it for you!" Vanilla walked to the corner, holding her arm, like she was in some kind of pain. Cream, taking notice, got up and walked over to her mother to check her arm. Upon staring at the arm, Cream noticed a bite mark, shocked.

"M-Mother... When did you... Get this...?" Cream questioned, concerned for her mother. "C-Chocala... B-Bit me... while you were away... I-I...." As Vanilla spoke, however, the sound of chairs being banged around could be heard. Alarmed, Cream turned her attention to the living room, approaching with caution. As she looked around, she stared up, seeing Chocola on the ceiling, bending his neck to stare at her. He was dripping in darkness, one massive eye in the darkness over his face. Chocola let out a growl and pounced down, trying to grab Cream. Cream immediately started panicking, trying to get the feral Chao off of her, holding him. Vanilla grabbed Chocola in a moment of desperation, trying to keep him away from Cream.

"CR-CREAM... RU-RUN!" Vanilla shouted, a solemn look on her face, as Chocola started biting at her, the same blackness on Chocola spreading to Vanilla. "I-I WON'T L-LEAVE YOU, MO-MOTHER! J-JUST LET ME HELP YOU!" Cream screamed, her eyes welling up, reaching out for her mother. Vanilla, knowing it was too late for her, shoved Cream away to give her a chance of escape. "T-T-Take... c-care... Alright, dear...?" Vanilla stared at Cream, urging her to leave. Cream, despite being hesitant, decided she had to go, grabbing Cheese and running out the front door. "I-I-I'll b-be safe, m-mother..." Cream said, her voice quivering. "I-I promise you..."

As Cream rushed away, Dr. Eggman caught a black goop, putting it into a container. Sonic began to dash down the hills, his two tailed fox buddy, appropriately named Tails, trailing behind. "You're too late, Sonic! I have found what could very well be my best weapon yet! I shall now harness it and turn all of the critters into robots! You've eaten your last chili dog!" Sonic scoffed, smirking. "Well, bring it on, Egghead! When I'm done with you, your mind will be scrambled!" Eggman, frustrated, opened the container, shouting, "PREPARE FOR YOUR DEMISE, HEDGEHOG!" As Eggman pointed forth, the darkness turned around, splashing on him, and covering him as an attempt to subdue him. "N-NO! NO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! ATTACK H-HIM, N-NOT ME!" Sonic and Tails watched, mortified at Eggman being consumed. The darkness, now controlling Eggman, slashed at Tails's arm, causing him to yelp in agony. Noticing the darkness on his arm, Tails and Sonic took off, hiding.

"T-Tails, wh-what is this stuff?!" Sonic questioned, visibly terrified. Tails attempted to scan it to find out, but he couldn't get a reading. Obviously Tails knew they shouldn't deal with this if they don't know what they're up against. "S-Sonic, stay here! I'll try to st-study this thing, and find out how we can stop it together!" Sonic, shocked, tried to plead with Tails, worried about the risk of losing his pal. "Wh-What?! T-TAILS NO! I CAN'T L-LOSE YOU! THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING, ANYTHING I CAN DO!" Tails sighed, handing Sonic a pair of goggles and a wrench. "The only thing I need... is for you to promise me you'll stay safe... I'm going to study this and try to help..." Before Sonic could stop him, Tails flew away, heading to his lab.

Sonic stared on at his two tailed friend while he flew into the distance, feeling dread. He put the goggles on, searching for any survivors in the area. Tails, meanwhile, had arrived at his lab, billowing through the door and setting his equipment on the desk. He wiped some of the black sludge off his cut, putting it into a container. As Tails got to work, however, he heard what sounded like chirping inside of his lab. Tails, a little startled, looked behind himself. There didn't appear to be anything there, but the minute he turned back around, he saw a Flicky, corrupted and staring him in the face, chirping. Tails, afraid, grabbed a screwdriver, mumbling, "Pl-Please... Stay st-still... You can d-do this, Miles... It's just you... vs it..." The young fox would begin to hear more chirps, looking around as more white eyes appeared in the dark. He was outnumbered, and he knew it, desperately rushing to get into Cyclone. Tails sat in the seat of the massive mech, aiming the blaster on the front at the hoarde of Flickies, which began to get gradually more vicious towards the young fox, swarming around his mech. Tails fired the blaster, knocking some away, but the flickies began to tear into the mech's systems, tearing apart the circuitry and inner workings, causing it to shut down, leaving Tails open for corruption. The flickies began to swarm Tails, and he could do nothing but shriek, desperately trying to fight them off, to no avail.

Cream, meanwhile, had taken the time to fly to Tails's house with Cheese, her ears tired from flapping constantly. As she grabbed the handle, she felt something was watching her, looking back, seeing a hooded figure of some kind in the distance. Cream rubbed her eyes, confused, but the figure disappeared from her view. Confused, but shrugging it off, Cream nervously opened the door to Tails's lab to try to get his help, greeted with a destroyed lab, with Tails now standing and staring, his back turned. "M-Mr. T-Tails...? I-It's me, Cr-Cream... I-I request your help... M-M-My mother.... has b-been attacked b-by Chocola... I-I got Ch-Cheese, b-but Chocola bit his cheek... D-Do you... have a-anything to help...?" Cream shook as she spoke, fearful of her mother. Cheese, meanwhile, looked worried about the lab and what Tails was doing. "Oh, alright..." Tails said, in a happy tone. Cream was relieved at first, but she started to feel discomfort when Tails started shambling towards her, dragging his feet on the ground. As Tails stepped into the light, it was revealed what had happened to him. His body was scratched and bruised from the battle against the Flickies, and he had a blaster fused into his arm, thanks to the slime corrupting his hand. Tails started to chuckle eerily, saying, "You want my help? Alright... Here's some advice..." Tails mumbled, as he aimed the blaster arm at her. "Just let the darkness consume you... and all will be well..." Tails's grin seemed unnaturally long, his laughter sounding distorted and bitcrushed. Cream and Cheese, mortified, started to take multiple steps back from the once noble fox, who was now a bitter monstrosity.

As Tails lunged in to turn Cream into the same monstrosity he had become, the sound of the door being slammed open was heard, and as Cream looked, she and Cheese were grabbed, and were being moved away from Tails. As Cream looked, it appeared the figure was Sonic, who was now wearing goggles, running away from Tails. Tails, enraged, and now on the chase, shrieked, "GET BACK HERE, YOU COWARD! LET US TAKE OVER!" Sonic kept moving faster, as Tails stayed in hot pursuit. Cream was terrified of Tails becoming this monster, while Cheese was incredibly panicked. As Tails reached, something hit him, knocking him away in time for the three to escape. As Cream looked, she saw what seemed like the same hooded figure walking over to Tails, and grabbing whatever it was that hit him. Sonic eventually came to a halt in the city of Sunset Heights, where Cream and Cheese dismounted. "Hey, Cream... Good to see you made it out..." Sonic sighed, seeming shaken, having seen both his mortal enemy and best friend contort into cursed monstrosities that no mere human would be able to simply comprehend. Cream, worried, thought about her best friend, Amy Rose, and decided to go check on her. "I-I'll be ri-right back, Mr. S-Sonic! I n-need to go check to try to find Amy!" Cream stuttered as she ran off, venturing into the city with Cheese, who was starting to look sick, coughing heavily. "Don't worry, Cheese... We'll get through this together... I promise... We can do this..." Cream noticed a pink quill on the ground, excited. "A-Amy?!" Cream said eagerly as she ran down the street. "I-It's good to... s-see... you..." Cream slowly started to look at who she found, that being a corrupted pink hedgehog. However, it didn't appear to be Amy, or at least not the Amy she knew. This hedgehog happened to be wearing a green dress, with an orange skirt, and her jaw unhinged as she began to smile. Cream, terrified, mumbled out, "Y-You aren't A-Amy... Wh-Who are you...?" The hedgehog shuffled towards Cream grinning, staring at Cheese. As Cream shut her eyes and braced for the impact, she heard the sound of the hedgehog being smashed and sent through a window. Cream opened her eyes, looking around, just barely seeing a figure on the rooftops making an exit. "Wh-Whoever... S-Saved me... Th-Thank you..." Cream said, shakily walking while holding Cheese in her arms. "L-Let's go, Ch-Cheese..." Cream sighed, walking to another part of town, unaware that something was following her from behind. As she walked, she stared at the destroyed buildings, like people desperately tried to escape this, like they knew what was coming. The Chaotix Detective Agency was empty, and as Cream walked through it, she looked at the desk, seeing a note on it. Confused, she picked up the note and stared at it. The note read, "Hello, everyone. To those of you wondering, we are not available right now, in the midst of this nightmare invasion. We have chosen to flee while we can, and get out of here. We can only pray the ones reading this can flee while they have the chance. Your fellow detectives, The Chaotix." Cream, terrified, attempted to dial someone, but she recieved no call from anyone, and upon further inspection, it seemed the wires had been cut off.

Cream, now in more of a panic than before, ran outside, carrying Cheese in her arms. As she did, she noticed Tails, running away from him. Knuckles, meanwhile, was spying on Cream, staying wary in case she happened to be an infected. Cream showed no signs, but Cheese seemed a lot sicker than before, coughing black sludge, and trying to stay calm. Tails eventually grabbed Cream, throwing her at the wall and smiling, ready to infect her. Knuckles, seeing this, immediately ran up behind Tails, punching the fox away, and grabbing Cream and fleeing. They ducked behind some trash cans as Tails looked around, jaw gaping open as he stared around, before giving up and running off to hunt down other people. Knuckles, Cream and Cheese, after Tails left, decided to carefully tread back to safety, Cream feeling terrified, and Knuckles feeling resentful of the thing that took his friends and many people into its clutches.

"Come this way, child... and we shall find shelter from this wretched place..." Knuckles said, a tone of hatred for this corruption. Knuckles pressed a keypad, allowing the 3 into the base. As they walked in, they got a lay of who was currently alive as of now, having been saved in time. The Chaotix appeared to be ok, but fairly scratched up, there was Gemerl, who was fairly damaged and deactivated after trying to find Cream but getting ambushed by darkness, Mighty and Ray, 2 who they didn't know much of, but presumed they were from another world, Sticks, who was theorizing out of fear of what this thing was and why it was coming after them, and Omega and Silver, the being only a head, and the latter being bruised and battered. "All of them have been going through a nightmare through this hellhole... We're residing here and trying to prepare... In the meantime... We can only hope..." Knuckles sighed.

Cream, still holding Cheese, looked back, running back outside to go search for others that she may find. As she ran deeper into the city, she found a forest, hearing sparking sounds and servomechanics. Cream walked into the forest, hearing the sound getting louder, finding a blue, robotic hedgehog resembling Sonic. his feet were ripped off, his metal was dented, and one pupil was glitching. The fact that he was still working was practically a miracle. Cheese stared at Metal Sonic's sparking body as he tried to move, damaged heavily. As he looked, Cream saw a hooded figure walking towards her, Cheese and Metal Sonic. The figure looked at Cream, speaking for the first time to her, saying, "Let me fix him up... I'll fix his mechanics..." Cream allowed the figure to get to work, and as they did, they eventually fixed his damaged body, building him to be better and stronger, sighing. "All done... Stay safe, kid..." The figure turned to walk away, but as they did, Cream would notice something on the figure's back. It was a giant hammer, red and gold, which Cream recognized immediately. "...Amy...?" The young rabbit asked. This caught the figure's attention, as they halted. The figure looked over to Cream, pulling the hood off to reveal the face of Amy Rose. Amy had a giant scar across her eye, and she looked tired, rubbing her eyes. "Amy... you.... you saved my life...?" Cream said, eyes wide, as she looked at her friend. "That's right..." Amy mumbled, before hearing the sound of glitching laughter. "...And I'm about to do it again... get behind me..." Cream shakily stood behind Amy as Blaze and Tails, two corrupted abominations, started to wobble towards them, soulless smiles on their faces as they reached. Amy glared into Tails's empty eyes, grabbing her hammer and slamming it against Tails, knocking his head off his body. Tendrils sprouted out of his decapitated head as he began to crawl, getting back on his head, but his head was facing the wrong way.

"A-AMY, WH-WHAT DO W-WE DO?!" Cream panicked, trying to hold off Blaze, Cheese trying to help. Cheese felt like someone was pulling the sides of his mouth as the sludge spread up his arm and body. Metal Sonic decided to assist Amy, punching and kicking Tails. The two corrupted characters approached the survivors, only for gunshots to ring out, Tails hissing as some bullets pierced him. He and Blaze immediately fled, retreating to recover. They turned to look, seeing a motorcycle driven by none other than Shadow. "Get on... if you wish to live..." He said, stern. Cream and Amy got on, along with Metal Sonic. However, Cheese did not get on, sitting on the grass, his eye glowing white, looking up at Cream, who looked back. "...Cheese...? Wh-What are you d-doing...? C-Come on!" Cream stuttered in worry, trying to talk to her friend. "C-Chao... Ch-Ch..." Cheese mumbled to himself, the darkness taking over his mind. It partially took over his vocal chords, but he used the last bit of strength to speak. "C-Cream... G-Go... wi-without... me... I-I only... w-want you to b-be safe..." Cheese said, smiling as tears ran down his eyes. "C-CHEESE NO DON'T! I-I CAN'T-" Cream shrieked, as Shadow drove away, Amy holding Cream tight as Cream protested in tears. "K-Keep her safe... for m-me..." Cheese said, being pulled fully into the darkness, disappearing.

Shadow, Amy, Metal Sonic and Cream would drive down the street in the town, heading back to the hideout. "S-So what's g-going on here?!" Cream questioned, still shaken up by losing her friend and her mother. Shadow sighed, going into depth, saying, "This godforsaken malady has been tormenting people... We don't know where it's come from... but if it gets you, you're dead..." Horrified, Cream asked, "D-DEAD?! B-BUT T-TAILS REATTACHED HIS H-HEAD! H-HE HAS TO BE IN THERE! CH-CHEESE WAS RESISTING TO TALK TO M-ME!" Cream was very clearly shaken up by the madness that happened. "Well, maybe the mind is fighting back in an endless struggle, but the body is distraught... So maybe not dead... but rather, husks..." Shadow said to her. As they drove, they heard the sound of a loud roaring, and massive footsteps. "...Oh... my... god..." Amy said, horrified as to what she saw. It was Big the Cat, huge and corrupted, chasing them down as they sped up, going to the hideout, driving into the hideout immediately. As they did, Cream panicked, getting the door, closing it and locking it as Big started bashing the door, trying to get in. Sonic walked out of a room, having arrived, noticing Amy. "Amy?! You're alive?!" He said in shock, to which Amy responded by saying, "Hi, Sonic! Isn't it great we're together?" Sonic sighed, mumbling, "I'm just glad you're alive, Amy..."

Cream stood there, noticing a portal opening above Knuckles. "Uh... Mr. Knuckles? There's a portal above you!" Knuckles looked up out of confusion, before it sucked him in, sending him to what can be assumed to be somewhere else. The same thing began happening to the other survivors one by one. Ray tried to help Mighty out, but he fell into the portal too. The last to fall into a portal was Cream. "CREAM! GRAB MY HAND!" Sonic yelled, grabbing her hand. However, the door began to break, Sonic realizing the two had to go through the portal. They were the only survivors having not gone through a portal yet, deciding to drop in, falling into another world as the corrupted characters bashed the door in, searching around. As Cream and Sonic screamed as they landed on some land. The two stood up, Cream looking around. The land seemed very unfamiliar, as Cream looked forwards, seeing a building. "Mr. Sonic...? Where... Are we...?" Cream asked, seeing a strange man with thin limbs walk up to it, unaware of what would happen next...

[TO BE CONTINUED]