Sonic found himself back in the tunnel. As his vision cleared up, he saw Sonja hugging Tatters close. Sonic's eyes softened. He felt he shouldn't say anything. This was between Sonja and Tatters.
"When she took me away," Tatters whined. He had a frown on his face and sad eyes. "She put me down here to rot..."
"How are you still here, then?" Sonja asked.
"I'm not..." Tatters whined, choking up. He tried to have a smile on his face the whole time. But it was faltering. "... I'm not human..."
"What are you... talking about?" Sonja laughed, as though this was another one of Tatters's jokes. She didn't know what to make of this.
"I'm a robot..." Tatters sighed, smiling peacefully. "I was created by Marilyssa to bring everyone here SMILES and laughter. Because she knew the end was near..."
"What end?" Sonja asked, unwrapping her arms from around Tatters.
"I think it's best you find that out yourself..." Tatters said, walking further into the darkness. Sonja thought he was about to leave when, he turned around and beckoned her with his pointer finger.
Sonja drifted forward. Sonic followed, walking slowly into the darkness. Tails followed, and Buck after him.
It grew colder as they continued. They tried to stay in a group, this time Tatters taking the lead through the maze of empty corridors. He emphasized each time they rounded a corner that they should follow him no matter what. If they were to stray too far from him, something terrible could happen. He never told them what.
As they walked through another corridor, Sonic found that, in his peripheral vision, there was no wall. Instead, a dreamy, starry, otherwise black spacescape. He wanted to look at it, though no one else noticed it.
"Don't look at the house, Sonic..." Tatters warned, ominously.
"What house? I don't see a house..." Sonic replied, confusedly.
"There's a house in there... I can't tell you what happens if you look at it... or it will happen..." Tatters mumbled. Sonic felt the urge to look deeper into the starry void.
To look deeper into the starscape, go to Chapter 69
To look away, go to Chapter 70