Sonic: The Loop That Shouldn't Exist

Shadows of Myself

The wind rushed past Sonic's ears as he sped through the familiar loops of Green Hill Zone. But today, the vibrant colors of the flowers and the familiar buzz of the waterfall felt... off. Like someone had muted the brightness just a notch — or maybe it was his own perception, warped by the creeping glitches he couldn't shake.

His mind replayed Tails' warning about fragments of other realities bleeding through their world, and Amy's uneasy feeling about memories changing. But nothing could have prepared him for what happened next.

As Sonic rounded a bend near the giant checkerboard cliffs, the world fractured — not with a glitch or a flicker, but like reality itself tore apart in front of his eyes. The colors smeared like wet paint, the ground beneath him cracked and rippled, and a cold wind swept through the zone, unnatural and biting.

Then, out of the distortion, a figure appeared.

It was him. Or something that looked exactly like him — but twisted.

This Sonic wasn't the familiar, cocky blue blur everyone knew. His fur was a darker, almost metallic shade of blue. His eyes glowed with a cold, hollow red light. There was no smile — only a sharp sneer.

"Who... what are you?" Sonic demanded, skidding to a stop, ready to bolt or fight.

The other Sonic smirked. "I'm what you left behind. The version of you you forgot."

Sonic's heart skipped. "Forgot?"

The shadowed Sonic stepped closer, his voice low and gravelly. "You're trapped in a loop, aren't you? A never-ending cycle where everything resets. But I remember. I remember every broken moment, every erased memory. Every lost chance."

Sonic's eyes narrowed. "Why are you here?"

"Because I'm the part of you the loop tried to delete. The glitches, the fragments — that's me leaking through. The part that remembers the timelines you were supposed to forget."

Sonic clenched his fists. "You're just some glitch. A corrupted copy."

"Call me what you want," the shadow Sonic said with a bitter laugh. "But I'm real. More real than you'll ever be. I'm the consequence of the loop's lies."

The world around them shimmered, and Sonic felt a cold dread seep into his bones.

"Why now?" Sonic asked, voice shaking slightly.

"Because the loop is breaking," the shadow said. "Because someone's trying to rewrite everything. And I'm here to make sure it all ends."

Sonic took a step back. "I don't want to end. I want to fix this."

The shadow's red eyes flashed. "You're too late. The loop's already fracturing. And soon, nothing will be left."

Suddenly, the shadow lunged forward, faster than Sonic could react. They clashed — blue against dark blue, light against shadow — each strike sending shockwaves through the warped Green Hill.

The fight was brutal, but Sonic realized this wasn't just a battle of speed or strength. It was a fight for identity. For existence.

At one point, Sonic found himself pinned against a crumbling tree.

"Why won't you just accept the loop?" the shadow snarled. "It's the only way to keep this world together."

Sonic gasped. "I'm not a prisoner to a broken game."

The shadow hesitated — just for a moment.

That moment was enough. Sonic twisted free, bolting away as the shadow snarled in frustration.

He didn't stop running until the world snapped back to normal — or at least, as normal as it could be. The sky was bright again, the grass lush, the rings glittering.

But Sonic's chest heaved. That shadow wasn't just a glitch. It was a warning. A part of himself he'd never wanted to face.

Back at Tails' workshop, Sonic paced nervously. "I met him. The dark me. The one who remembers everything I don't."

Tails looked up from his machine. "And?"

"He says the loop is breaking. That it's killing everything — including me."

Tails frowned. "Then we're running out of time."

Amy joined them, her expression serious. "If the loop breaks, what happens to us?"

"No idea," Sonic said, eyes hard. "But whatever it is, I'm not letting my world — my friends — disappear."

Tails nodded. "Then we need to find out who's trying to rewrite the loop. And fast."

The three looked at each other — a team united by uncertainty, but ready to fight for their fractured reality.

And somewhere, lurking in the shadows of the broken world, the dark Sonic watched, waiting for the moment to strike again.