Author's Note: I know this isn't much, but I was in the middle of the first fight with the Erazor Djinn, and this interlude came up out of nowhere. Caution—I have not finished the game, nor have I ventured into this fandom before, so there may be errors in content.
Aside from that, enjoy!
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The Djinn slammed his massive blade down to the polished, marble floor where Sonic had been standing only moments before. Harsh, acid smoke and steam clouded the air around the blade's polished steel, and yet despite the weapon's impact the floor remained as unaffected by the battle as ever.
Sonic didn't even notice the ground as he landed, still running, still laughing arrogantly at his huge opponent. "Was that it? Come on, Erazor, y' missed me by a mile!"
His opponent, a sickly violet Djinn, turned an even deeper shade of purple. His hard face contorting in fury, he soared backwards while the hedgehog followed, both adversaries facing each other. "Impudent rat! You're no match for me, you will die!" He thundered. Sonic laughed as arrogantly as he could again, dodging nimbly to the side as another smashing blow nearly sliced him in two.
A delicate, pink puff of light appeared unobtrusively, floating behind him. While it flew as quickly as it could to keep even with him, a faint, feminine voice squeaked from its direction. "Sonic, be careful! You've just got to wait for the right moment, and taunting him isn't helping anything!"
The hedgehog dove to the side, narrowly avoiding a wild vertical strike. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!" He muttered back through a wide, pasted-on-smirk, eyes riveted on his titanic opponent. "After all, the bigger they are, the harder they fall!"
"Oh, Sonic…" Shahra sighed in a mixture of exasperation and worry, before she returned to the ring she had appeared from.
Sonic didn't reply to that, concentrating on leaping over his adversary's next blow. Again he landed running, hiding a grimace of pain behind a confident smirk. He would rather die than admit it, and he probably would, but he was starting to tire. It seemed as though he'd been running non-stop since the moment he entered this palace, and he'd been nicked and singed countless times since. Then there was that constant, precise agony that he'd grown so skilled at ignoring, that burning pin-point of fire delving deep into his chest at all times. Aimed directly for his heart, it was clawing its way with tiny little tongues of flame to rid him of his life that had given this djinn such trouble…
"Ha!" Sonic shouted suddenly, leaping up and rushing towards the Erazor Djinn's head. Curling into a ball, he twisted himself through a complex mid-air maneuver that resulted in an saw-like attack, causing his opponent to stumble and clutch his head. By then Sonic had already rebounded away, landing on the impeccably polished floor before the Djinn, needing only to take a couple of steps back to absorb his momentum. "You done already?" He taunted.
"You…" The Djinn seethed, his tone full of menace.
Sonic smiled defiantly back, folding his arms. "You know, if I were you, I'd just give up. I'm faster than anything, and you obviously haven't been able to defeat me yet, so—WHOA!" The hedgehog became a momentary blur of blue and red as he dove wildly to one side, dodging a savage attack. Taking advantage of their positions, Sonic somehow changed his direction in mid-air to rush at the Djinn's face again. Ignoring the howl of rage and pain his adversary bellowed out, Sonic danced back out of range, smirking back up at him.
"Sonic, he's going to charge. Be careful!" Shahra whispered worriedly, her voice somehow carrying through the clamor his opponent was making.
"No problem, I'm on it!"
And he was. He had to be—he was the only one who could defeat the Erazor Djinn and return this strange world to its rightful state. If he didn't, this would fall apart. Then his world would find itself in trouble, and the Djinn would win. Everyone would die—Tails would die, Amy would die, Knuckles would die, Shahra would die… Sonic felt a pang in his chest that had little to do with the murderous plume of flame gnawing constantly at it. He didn't want any of his friends to die, but Shahra had traveled with him most recently, and he still hadn't fulfilled the promise he had made. Of course, if he lost he would probably die long before anyone else did, so he wouldn't have time to worry about them, but he did want to keep his promise.
Sonic rubbed his nose thoughtfully, creating a mask of cool confidence while his opponent scanned him briefly for an opening. The hedgehog wasn't even in an aggressive stance, but having seen his previous speed, it was clear he didn't need to be in one. The blue rodent's speed was his life. Sonic could feel it humming in his bones, pounding in his pointed ears, making his feet twitch as though eager to run again… He was ready for this fight, and he was ready to run forever.
Without warning, the Djinn snarled and lunged forward into a thunderous charge. In the blink of an eye Sonic was dashing forward to meet him, leaping up into the air, twisting in mid-air to dodge the Djinn's defenses. The Djinn's massive blade flailed and slashed uselessly at thin air, only millimeters behind where Sonic had been, before Sonic's attack reached its target and the Djinn fell back with a wordless roar. Sonic laughed again, landing on the ground to resume running while his opponent dragged himself into the air, once again facing him and matching his present speed.
Sonic watched his opponent with his perpetual smirk, trying to predict what his next attack would be. Alertness was critical: a single hit could mean life or death in this fight. In spite of his façade, he was all too aware of how critical every second was. That's why he was the fastest hedgehog around: because he needed to be. He didn't have time to be afraid. Fear had to be left behind every time he started running, like some discarded rag that was thrown away. An untimely swerve could dash Sonic across these polished, marble floors like an unfortunate insect smeared across a glass window. A flinch could leave Sonic finding a blade run through his pale abdomen, dripping blood along the weapon's silver edge. A single mistake—a hazard Sonic had had to become used to since he had first begun to run, and even more so when he had entered this strange, dangerous world.
The flame in his chest throbbed again, but Sonic ignored it. His life was in danger. Everyone's life was in danger. Shahra's life was in danger. He didn't have time for comfort or pain. That much was clear.
The glassy floors reflected the subtle quickening in Sonic's determined stride, showing also the appearance of a grim smirk that had settled over his face. He was Sonic, the Hedgehog. He was the fastest thing alive in any land—no matter how twisted, no matter how far. Sonic knew he wasn't invincible, but for everyone's sake, he would have to be.
He could not lose this fight.
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