"So, she let you have the emerald, just like that?" Tails' voice sounded on the communicator.
"Yep, I found it soon after. The red emerald is mine, but Eggman has the blue one, and there's no doubt Rouge and Shadow will find one of their own. Do you have any emeralds?"
"No, not yet, but we think that there's one close by…" Tails answered.
Sonic began to feel nervous. Finding the emeralds in time would be harder than he thought, and it was getting tougher to stop himself from using his negative chaos powers. The blue hedgehog didn't want to tell Tails he'd resulting to using his powers in the desert; he wanted to avoid getting another lecture and panicking his friends. A few moments of silence passed as Sonic thought to himself.
"We've got it!" Tails exclaimed, snapping the hedgehog out of his trance. Sonic stopped on the spot.
"Good job, Tails! That's two now. I'm on my way to Water Palace. Whenever I face its direction my emerald gets brighter, so there must be another one there!" Sonic announced.
"Okay, but be careful of Eggman's traps, there might be some left over since our last adventure there," the fox warned. "And don't be tempted to use the chaos shield when you get in the water."
"I won't, I promise," Sonic said, he couldn't help but think that he might break that promise.
Their contact ended, and the hedgehog sped ahead to Water Palace, another area he hadn't been in for a long time. The thought of having to run in water again made him uneasy, and having to resist the urge to use his powers worried him even more. The possession of more Chaos energy made it even harder to hold back the need.
The hedgehog entered the zone at top speed, sensing the Chaos Emerald's energy stronger, which meant he was closer.
"I was right; there must be one here. Now I just need to grab it and get out of there before someone else takes it!" he said with determination and pushed on ahead. It was all going well. H leant forward, streamlining his body for extra ease of speed, but this all changed when he hit the water.
Don't do it, Sonic… don't use the shield. You can hold your breath, you can make it. he thought to himself.
After being stuck in a desert for so many hours, he thought he would enjoy being in water or at least feel a lack of fear, but he was wrong. His nature of hating and fearing water would not leave him, no matter what. Perhaps he should have gone to see that therapist like Tails had once suggested. There was nothing wrong with fear, it just give him a disadvantage at times like this.
The uneasy hedgehog saw the green mixed with purple flash up around him, causing him to stop on the spot; his powers were activating against his will. This was the sign that Sonic needed air; it was time to get out of the water, or at least get some breath from a bubble or two. His muscles began to lock up, and his lungs got desperate for air; it was time to get out. The hedgehog moved on, resisting the urge to use the powers to get some air.
The desperate hero found a slope that brought him upwards and out of the water. He shook himself off and took a few deep breaths.
"Th-that was a close call," he coughed, then looked ahead to see more water. "Oh no… I think the emerald is in there… I have to go back in."
Sonic took a deep breath and propelled himself forward, diving back into the water.
There it is! He thought, feeling alert. He could see the emerald, it was so close. All he had to do was grab it and leave again. His hand grasped the jewel, it was certain, he obtained his second emerald. Along with Tail's emerald, that made three. They were about half way there. It was all going well, until Sonic felt his foot press down on a pressure plate.
SLAM!
A cage fell down on the hedgehog at lighting speed, trapping him on the spot, with no air. Sonic felt as if his heart stopped at the shock; there was no way he could get out of this trap easily. With sight blurred by the water and his oxygen levels depleting, it was nearly impossible to work out how to escape. In a rush, he felt around for a latch or a lock he could pick.
It came to a life determining decision; run out of oxygen and certainly die, or use his powers to gain oxygen, escape, and possibly die. It was a no brainer.
I knew I'd have to break my promise! Sonic thought in frustration, then let his powers start up naturally. The purple spherical shield appeared around him and faded into a green colour as it was bombarded with water from all around. Sonic took in a deep breath, a much needed one. He could see again, the world around him was a tint of green, but it was better than being blurry. The energy that he expelled to create the shield destroyed the bars of the small cage. It was too little to contain the ball like guard. This was Sonic's chance to get out of there!
He left the water and deactivated his powers as soon as the tip of his ears hit the surface. H then collapsed onto the smooth, marble like ground, the water darkening and dampening the path around him. When he caught some of his breath back, he held his hand up to his wrist, feeling thankful that Tails made the device water proof.
"T-tails… I have it… my second emerald," Sonic said, sounding exhausted. It took a lot to tire out the blue hedgehog, but when water, one of his greatest fears was involved, it wasn't so challenging to exhaust him.
"That's great!" Tails exclaimed. "But, you don't sound very well, what's happened?"
"I… hate… water…" Sonic grumbled. That's all Tails needed to hear to understand the situation.
"And you kept yourself from using your powers? That's amazing!" Tails said, assuming Sonic had kept to his word. There was a slight pause before Sonic said,
"Yeah…" while expelling a deep breath of air. Tails mistook the pause for Sonic's need to catch his breath, but it was really because Sonic was deciding whether to lie or not, and he lied.
"Well done Sonic. We should be in possession of our second emerald within twenty minutes. I'll update you when we have it," he said. Sonic nodded, forgetting his friends couldn't see him. "I'll speak you then."
"Oh… yeah, sure… bye Tails," Sonic said, sounding flustered. The conversation ended.
Shamefully, the hedgehog turned to leave by finding the driest route he could take out of the city.
I'm very busy with school work, so I tend to forget about this story. If I don't update this for a long time, and you want to see a new chapter, just PM me to remind me to update.