Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in the Sonic universe whatsoever. This is a fanfiction in said universe, done without permission for the sole purpose of the enjoyment of myself and others.

BREAKING THE CYCLE

My name is Sonic the Hedgehog.

Long as I can remember, Running was always just what I did, what I was best at.

But for the first time, I'm not running to something...

I'm running away...

Only a select few know this, but deep within me, there is a hidden duality. There are two of me, of all of us, really... Every day we select the path we shall take, infinite shades of light and darkness. Every living thing harbors in the depths of its soul, good and evil, constantly vying for control over every action we take.

Hard to imagine, isn't?

Many think of me as the greatest hero the world has ever known...

But as a wise man once said, the closer one approaches the light, the greater one's shadow becomes...

As the days months and years passed, I grew faster, stronger, better...

And it always fell to me to save the world, from greater and greater danger.

It's happened more times than I can count, Robotnik seeks to control the world, launches his attack, and I fight through so much to stop him, he is captured, escapes and it all begins again.

Over and over, into eternity, the cycle grows more and more perilous, for me, for my friends, for the world.

And yet, there has always been one, dark, untouched path...

I've seen it every time we fight to the finish...

I am asked many times, how I can see, how I can perceive the world around me as I fly along the ground at my maximum speeds as Super Sonic.

The answer is, I can't... I can only see my actions before they are made...

Imagine for a moment, that somehow, for a brief time, instead of our two halves conflicting, battling and arguing...

They could be unified...

As I find myself forced to call upon the power of the Chaos Emeralds, I feel it happen...

All the thoughts, feelings and fears that echo in the darkest recesses of my mind fade into silence.

No good, no evil, only the race.

It is all at once, liberating, enlightening and terrifying...

For in order for myself to become totally aligned with myself, I must peer into the darkest depths of my soul, and face all that I have held back, hidden and restrained...

Once I am Super Sonic, I move without thought, without control, like my body knows what to do without any instruction from my mind. I see the paths we walk, but that exist only in our minds. I see the path of where I am, and watch it branch out into the endless possibilities resulting from endless choices and actions.

All I have to do is see it...

I find the path that leads to victory, and It all unfolds before my eyes as I had seen it happen in my mind's eye.

But, even the ones that end with my triumphing over evil once again look all too familiar...

It all plays on over and over, and the path comes back around to where I stand at the moment of my choice...

"He will return, he will try again, and with all the infinite technology at his disposal, he will persevere until my body can chase him no longer..."

And then I see it, in the corner of my eye...

That path...

I know it all too well, having arrived at this fork all too many times, yet somewhere, within myself I know it is wrong, that it leads only to destruction...

So I have ignored it, and fought him, battle after battle, year after year, only to end up right where we started in the beginning.

But this time...

I suddenly realize the terrible truth...

Sometimes, in order to do what is right, we must do the wrong thing...

I've always had the power, but something has always held me back...

And for once, I can't help but look at the one remaining path...

As it all spirals around into itself, here lies one way out, one way to escape, and bring about the finality I know I desire...

"You know it's the truth..."

"He will not stop..."

"You always have been the only one that could stand in his way..."

"Yet your fears have stopped you..."

"Every...

"Single...

"Time..."

And before I know what I am doing, with no thought, feeling or drive...

My foot steps upon the path...

And what happens next flashes through my vision every time I close my eyes from then on...

I fly to the cockpit of his machine, and with the mere desire of it to do so, the outer shell crumbles, revealing Eggman at the controls...

And yet, there is no fear, no remorse...

He knows it as well as I do, the cycle will continue onward until his goals are achieved...

But he is wrong...

For today, this time, it all stops, the spiral spins no more, and for the first time since our rivalry began...

I am the one in control...

My hands thrust into the cabin, and find themselves around his neck...

All of the sudden, the silent assuredness in my mind explodes in endless voices of protest. Voices, friends, foes and unknowns alike all scream out for me to stop, to turn back...

I close my eyes and try to drive the thoughts out, to make sense of it all...

And all this time, my grip tightens..

The cacophonous voices grow louder, more intense, closer...

And I can only squeeze all the harder...

Louder and louder, harder and harder...

Then, loudest of all, a massive CRACKཀ

And everything is silent once more...

Robotnik's lifeless body falls to the floor, the blood from his internal wounds flying from his mouth, onto my hands...

I reflexively move to brush it off...

Then I hesitate...

And leave it, smiling proudly at it like a badge of honor...

I feel dizzy, like I'm not myself...

Did what I saw, really just happen? In a flash, did I truly throw away all I held dear, my free freedom, my hopefulness, my future?

And my eyes fall to the blood on my hands...

No...

I did not throw it all away...

For the first time, I reached out, and I claimed it...

And from that day, I ran...

Not towards a hopeful opportunity, not to a foe or danger that threatens all I hold dear, nor to anything at all...

I merely run from all I have known...

And it is all too liberating and glorious...

THE END