The Fight Inside
The war within me pulls me under.
The fight inside is breaking me again.
Sonic panicked. Where he was, exactly, he couldn't tell. Though, he did know it was simply, unexplainable. It was out of the ordinary. The 'ground' he laid on didn't exist, but, he didn't fall. He lay on simply the dark abyss beneath him. The laws of physics completely ignored in this place. Stars shot around him; or maybe it was his imagination – or the longing to get away from this place.
Finding it meaningless to just lay down and ponder where he was, Sonic pushed himself up. Gravity seemed much lighter here. Or was it because of his clouded head? Emerald eyes scanned the darkness around him. Faint streaks of gold stained the darkness, however, the gold was unable to fully consume the blackness that made up the entire abyss.
"Hello?" Sonic called out. He wasn't expecting an answer, he just needed to know if his voice worked.
How did he get here? Of all places, how did he wind up in this unknown? Sonic continued to walk through the endless void. Slowly, his mind began to recover. Slowly, the small figments of his memory began to piece themselves together to form the entire picture on his minds puzzle. He was fighting Doctor Eggman; again, when the Chaos Emeralds surrounded him. He remembered feeling three emotions at the time.
Confidence.
Joy.
Anger.
Sonic recalled the feeling of the Chaos Emeralds energy as it seeped into him like many times before. He remembered it feeling much colder than other times. He could still remember the first time he acquired his super form. Warmth all about him, was the only way to describe the feeling. Or, perhaps it was the feeling of being on top of everything? He didn't quite know right now, but, he did know that everything seemed so, simplistic when he was super. Then, what made this time so different?
Frustration built up within his head. The need to simply run filled Sonic up, and sure enough he gave in. Sonic shot off through the abyss in an unparallelled speed. Nothing was holding him back. It was if friction didn't exist in this dimension. He had to find out where he was.
It had felt as though he had been running for hours upon hours, when Sonic began to notice several things all at once. First, he was actually feeling fatigue, unlike all the other times before. Second, tall, rock columns began to ascend upwards from all around him. Some distant, some very close. Sonic came to a jog, eager to catch his breath. Ahead, he could see a chamber, or was it a cage? It was formed of pure, undeniable light. Nothing else. No physical matter accompanied the element. Golden light. Sonic walked closer to the cage, oblivious to what it held.
Perhaps it was beast of myth? Or maybe he was in a ludicrous dream, and he'd find himself? Questions continued to pop into Sonic's ever-fading sanity. He drew closer to the cage, beginning to feel the sheer warmth it was giving off. Maybe this was real. Maybe he had been transported to some alternate dimension, where only he, and whatever was in this cage, existed. Sonic began to make out a figure within the cage.
The figure was without a doubt a hedgehog. Six quills rising upwards as if a fan had blown directly beneath. The figure had divine golden fur, which seemed to give off a fiery, yellow aura. The golden hedgehog slumped against the opposite end of the cage, completely motionless. Completely dead. Sonic thought of it like a zombie, or even a puppet.
Finally, the blue hero, Sonic, had made it to the cage of light. The blue hero grasped two bars, and peered inside. He noticed first, that the bars gave off an indescribable warmth. The feeling rushed through his body, instantly curing him of his doubts and fears. Sonic stared at the being within the cage. He thought he could hear faint sobbing coming from the being, but he wasn't sure.
"Hey, are you alright?" Sonic questioned sympathetically.
The sobbing stopped. Slowly, the head of the almost, god-like being drifted upwards. Soft, yet furious ruby eyes stared up at Sonic. The being had a look of absolute power, and at the same time, undeniable mercy and justice. Who was this person? Emerald eyes stared at the being for what seemed an eternity. Sonic knew this person. He wasn't quite sure how, but he did. Maybe he was an ancestor he had once come across?
No. That was impossible. Sonic's only family hadn't been heard from since after he was born. Then, maybe this was – no, it couldn't be, that would be absolutely absurd.
But, it seemed entirely possible. This being, had the same look in his eyes that Sonic had seen in his own every day. A look of pride. A look of justice. A look of sincere heroism. Maybe Sonic was dreaming after all. Of course, that would be the only explanation.
"What do you want?" The being replied viciously.
Sonic blinked, his mind zipping back to reality – or, what was left of it. The blue hero looked both ways, trying to figure out if it was indeed him that the figure was talking to. Of course it was, he was the only one there.
"Uh, is something wrong?" Sonic questioned, unable to find any other words suitable.
The being grew silent. His divine, ruby eyes pausing to scan the blue hero. Sonic could see a hint of fury in those eyes. One could only wonder what had caused such rage. The golden aura around the being suddenly shifted to a dark red as the being shot from his spot, and pressed his face against the bars, straight to Sonic's.
"Something wrong?" The being repeated harshly, "How could you ask such a ridiculous question?"
"Listen, buddy," Sonic retorted, still in shock, "I'm trying to help you!"
"Oh, yes, of course." The being snorted, "You're trying to help me by trapping me inside this place. Never paying attention to what I am. Never realizing where your power comes from. You think it comes from thin air? Or those shiny gems?"
Sonic was speechless. This being's personality was absolutely unexpected. Those eyes of justice and courage from before, remained, but where was the hero behind them? Isn't that what this person was? Obviously not.
"Of course, a simple mortal such as yourself is blind." The being continued, backing away from Sonic now, "Do you remember the first time you ever became super? Or, me, in other-words."
"You?" Sonic mumbled in confusion.
"Yes. Me!" The being replied with a growl, "Do you remember that day?"
"Of course." Sonic nodded, "I was fighting Eggman."
"Do you remember how you defeated him?" The being asked, his temper dying down, "Or, for that matter, do you remember how you defeated any of your greatest threats?"
"Now that you mention it..." Sonic recalled, "Only two..."
"That's what I thought."
"You still haven't told me who you are." Sonic replied quickly, "Or, what, you are."
"Isn't it obvious?" The being replied, standing in front of Sonic again, staring him in the eye, "I'm you. Well, your super form. I'm the same person you are, but completely different."
"How come I came to this... place when I was just fighting Eggman?" Sonic questioned, "Last I remember, I was about to turn super."
"Exactly."
Sonic's head was beginning to spin. He still had absolutely no idea where he was. He did, however, know he was talking himself, or, his super form to be exact. Was he truly this person whenever he fought off a threat? Also, why could he only remember the ARK incident and the Chaos incident? Questions darted through Sonic's head, but one seemed to stand out most at the moment.
"Then why was I brought here?" Sonic finally asked.
"I never brought you here." The being, Super Sonic answered, "I'm just as surprised as you are."
Then, without so much as a warning, the entire void began spin. The darkness enveloped everything. The golden flashes above Sonic disappeared, and gave way for splotches of crimson light. The cage of golden light washed away, and Super Sonic disappeared. It felt as though he was being sucked into a vacuum. What was left of reality began to piece back together. Life ceased to spin around Sonic. He was left on a platform.
Visions of every time he had used his super form floated beneath platform. He saw every time he defeated a threat. Every time he had called upon the Chaos Emeralds for help. Then, a flash of light appeared above Sonic, catching his eye.
The blue hero looked upwards, noticing seven rays of light extending down from the void above. He picked out the seven colours of each beam; scarlet, cyan, blue, green, yellow, grey and purple. The beams of light stopped at the base of the platform, and then seven different objects solidified from the light.
Seven emeralds.
The gems began to hover around Sonic ominously. His eyes danced across the perfect surfaces of each gem, taking in his confused expression on each reflective surface. He had no idea what was going on. Everything seemed like a blur from this moment on. Why was he brought here?
Darkness slowly crept over the light of the perfect gems. Slowly eating away the light that they shone. Until finally, the divine, godly colours of the emeralds were blotted out by blackness. The black gems began to crack. Fumes of light relevant to the emerald seeped through the cracks, and disappeared into the air.
A single ray of golden light formed ahead of Sonic, forming a door. Sonic could see a perfect picture of the Planet earth floating in the doorway. However, that's when the seven black gems shattered, releasing a plague of darkness. The black disease washed over the golden doorway, eating it up. Sonic then noticed a black figure. It seemed like a perfect replica of Super Sonic, but instead of the divine yellow fur, this figure had jet black, almost nightmarish fur. Everything on this new being was black, except for the demonic purple eyes.
These eyes were horrific. The phantom made its way over to Sonic, cackling each and every step. Sonic trembled, wanting to run. He wanted to run as fast possible to whatever haven of solitude he could find. But his legs didn't seem to work. The phantom drew closer, and then finally made it to Sonic.
Monstrous laughing filled the abyss. It rang through Sonic's ears. The phantom then grasped Sonic's shoulders, staring him in the eyes. The phantom opened its mouth, revealing a two rows of dagger like teeth. Its jaw seemed to be able to open past any normal persons extent. Sonic trembled.
The phantom pulled Sonic closer, its burning touch scorching Sonic's skin like acid. He could feel his very form begin to peel away. Wings of darkness erupted from the phantoms back, and black feathers floated around the two. Sonic cried out to anyone could save him. No one would hear him. The phantom emitted a screech like nothing he had ever heard. He could see his face in the phantoms eyes. He could see his dying body in the face of this demon.
The sensation of all his pain shot through Sonic. The sheer grief of every wrong decision he had ever made erupted into consciousness, sending his mind into overdrive. The phantom disappeared suddenly. Leaving a fall of black feathers in its wake.
However, Sonic felt an unbearable sensation in his chest. It burnt, yet, throbbed with unexplainable pain at the same time. Sonic glanced down, finding a massive hole in his chest. Blood dripped from the gap, and he could hear a faint thumping sound all around him. The pain within him began to erupt into a flush of agony. Tears streamed down his face as he toppled to his knees. Sonic cried out to the heavens.
Blood dripped to the ground. Pooling beneath his white gloves. Staining them forever crimson. Sonic's emerald eyes glistened with tears. The blue hero bit his lip out of pain, and terror.
What was going on?
Then, everything spiralled again. Golden light wrapped around Sonic like a blanket of security. Warmth shot through him, freeing him of any sensation of pain. His thoughts of terror and fear were replaced with thoughts of courage and confidence.
Finally, the void around him sunk away to the current battlefield. Eggman stood before Super Sonic in his latest creation.
Super Sonic stared ahead with a smirk. A small, menacing voice echoed in the back of his head.
"You won't get away next time. Your luck is almost up!"
Sonic shot into battle. Putting everything that had happened behind him. But he still had to wonder, how much time did he have before his Super Form never came? Instead, something more demonic replaced? Was this just a sheer amount of luck that the Chaos Emeralds transformed himself into this hero?
He'd just have to find out next time.
What I fear and what I've tried,
Words I say and what I hide.
All the pain, I want it to end
But I want it again..
The fight inside is coursing through my veins.
And it's raging...
I'm still the same, pursuing pain.
Is it worth all that I've gained?
We both know how this will end,
But I'd do it again.
The End
Authors Note~ Basically, this one-shot has two inspirations. One, the song, "fight inside" by RED. And, two, my old story, "Sonic the Hedgehog: Pure Chaos". This is just basically summing up my beliefs on Sonic. I truly believe that he, and Super Sonic can be divided up into two separate individuals. Then, there's Sonic's "demons". There's everything Sonic has regretted, deemed evil, or simply had grief over, and that represents "The Phantom".
Moral of the story: We may all have our demons – but we also all have our own "Super Sonic" within us. We just have to find it.
If you guys have any questions, comments or remarks, please feel free to let me know! :D