Everyone Has a Dark Side...
Sonic panted as he awoke from the nightmare. It was the same one every time. He's strolling along with Tails, and then out of nowhere he's at some human kid's house, asking him if he wants to "play." Play being used very lightly, as there was blood, gore, and... he shuddered. He hated the dream. He knew he would never do something like that, and yet... it felt right. He didn't know why, and it purely scared him. He knew it was a primal instinct, that he could do... something to that effect if his life was threatened, but that kid hadn't done anything to him. Anything. He was a normal kid (He assumed) with a normal life (He assumed) AND HE MURDERED HIM IN COLD BLOOD. He had to talk to someone. Soon...
The next morning...
"Tails? Can... Can we talk?" Sonic asked. He hadn't slept after the nightmare. He had had maybe three hours of sleep, but it didn't show. He was used to not sleeping after all the shit Eggman had put him through, but Chaos had to take the cake. Near the end, with Amy and the Egg Carrier and finally the final battle, it was four days before he actually got any sleep. He slept for nearly a week. "Sonic? Sonic? SONIC!" "Huh?"
"Sonic, you wanted to talk." Tails replied. Shit. He realized he had been lost in thought. It happened often when he was very tired. He had rambled for hours while on the Chaos epis- "SONIC!" Damn, he did it again. He better start talking before... He shook his head to clear it. "Yeah."
"What about? You haven't been getting a lot of sleep, have you?"
"Hah. Talk about an understatement."
"I'm sensing that it's a little more than you just not sleeping well..."
"What clued you in?"
"The fact that I practically can see you thinking. I was thinking I smelled smoke, anyway."
"You can take that retort and shove it up your-"
"You're having nightmares."
"How did you-"
"You get more distant and kind of bitchy."
"Tails!"
"What? You say sh-stuff like that all the time."
"You are ten years old. When you're my age you can talk like that."
"Fine."
"Now yes, I've been having a very disturbing, recurring nightmare."
"About..."
"..."
"Sonic..."
"I..."
"Sonic, Tell me."
"I... I can't."
"Sonic..." Tails reiterated, getting more forceful.
"No, never. I don't want to talk about it."
"Sonic, fucking tell me." Sonic looked at Tails, purely shocked. Even though he occasionally swore when working, a rare "damn" was the worst he ever let slip. Sonic took a deep breath, and replied:
"I've been having a very bad nightmare, where I... It happens like this, every time. I send a disc with a hacked game to a kid. That game is very unnerving. And then, when I... Kill you, and Knuckles, and, oddly, Eggman, I kill the kid... so, so, horribly... gory... bloody..." He trailed off.
"Oh, my god... Oh. My. God..." Tails was speechless. "I... Can see why you didn't want to talk..."
"Why do you think I'm having these dreams?"
"Could it be residual energy from Dark Gaia?"
"No... That was years ago."
"Two."
"Years. That's plural."
"SONIC."
"I'm a smart ass. Deal with it."
"Well... Shadow's more accustomed to this... err.. subject. Black Arms and all that."
"No, I don't want anyone else to know this."
"I understand."
"I'm gonna try to get some sleep. Can I crash here?"
"Yeah, sure. My room's trashed, but do you really care?"
"Ha! Have you seen my house?"
"True."
"Sleep tight."
"Heh. I hope."
(Later...)
Sonic was standing in a pure void. Nothing but black in all directions. He took a few steps. They echoed. "Hello? Anyone?" Hello... hello... hello... The echo was very unnerving. Then... "Heheheheheheheheheheheh..."
"Who's there?" Sonic looked around frantically.
"Have you run your fingers down the wall..."
"What? Who is that?"
"Have you felt your neck skin crawl?" It did, just then.
"What the fuck?"
"You feel a little anxious... when it's dark... Mwhahahahahaha!"
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Fear of the dark... Fear of the dark..."
"SHOW YOURSELF, YOU COWARD!"
"There is a phobia... that someone's always there... HAHAHAHAHAAAA!"
"I swear-"
"Oh, shut up. I'm just having a little fun."
"Wait, that voice."
"Don't you want to play?"
"I think our definitions of "play" differ greatly."
"You're no fun."
"Show yourself."
"Turn around."
Sonic obliged. As he turned around, and saw it. It looked almost exactly like him. Except it had no eyes. It just had red dots where the eyes were supposed to be. It also looked like it had blood running from the eyes.
"You... You're that thing!"
"You... You're right! Ahahahahahaaaa!" It laughed maniacally.
"What the hell are you?"
"I guess you can call me... Exe."
"Ecksey? What kind of name is that?"
"No, dumbshit, Exe. E-x-e."
"Still not a great name."
"Oh, blow it out your-"
"What are you doing here? What am I doing here?"
"We're in your subconscious."
"Why are you here?"
"I'm part of you. Don't you get that? I'm as much a part of you as your arm, or your leg. We're inseparable. I'm that little voice in the back of your head that tells you to drive a spike through Eggman's head. I'm that voice that says to destroy the world, not to save it. I was there when you felt discouraged about Chaos and wanted to quit. I was the one that said to let the ARK crash. I told you to let Metal win, and to give up against the Black Arms. I said to let Solaris succeed."
"Solaris? Who is-"
"I said to give up against Dark Gaia, to give up against Eggman, I am the dark. I am the void, the black, the nothing. I am not anything, yet I am not nothing. I am your primal instincts, you primal fear, I am you before you were you. Well, I'd tell you more, but you're waking up soon. Goodbye."
Sonic jerked awake, and knew he'd never sleep again.