Here's another chapter for New Year's Eve. Please Review. I do not own anything except the plot and OC characters.
Chapter 9: Hot and Cold
He couldn't believe it. Why was his darker self around now? He should have been hibernating. If he lost control now, his friends could end up paying the price. The hedgehog was pulled out of his thoughts when the nature creature erupted from the lava in front of him and was forced to jump onto another rock. Some lava landed on his fur causing it sizzle and smoke.
"You can't be here. I thought you were going to stay out of my business." thought Sonic as he shot fire at his enemy.
As he thought, none of his attacks had any effect whatsoever. "You're a fool. No heat can harm me. I can withstand boiling lava."
"He's right you know." whispered his darker half.
"You're not helping." thought the hedgehog.
"I can help." Sonic doubted that. "Don't worry. I won't control you this time. It wouldn't be healthy if you couldn't anything on your own without my help. I grow stronger the more you grow stronger."
He didn't like the sound of that. His other self was already plenty strong and now he was saying that he wasn't actually that strong. Still he didn't have time with his games as he kept jumping around to avoid Slither. The nature creature had no problems with going through the lava to attack him. It wasn't that same for him. If he were to fall into the lava, he doubted he could survive even a minute. His injuries were also hindering him, keeping him from going too fast. The hedgehog was certain that more than one rib had been broken. He couldn't be sure how bad his wounds were and there was no time to check.
Dark Sonic continued, "Let me help. Take Starlight's advice into account."
"Starlight's advice?" thought Sonic.
"Cold is a weakness. You can use that against them." said his darker self.
His response: "In case you have forgotten, my powers involve flames."
"Think outside the simple confines limiting you." Their was a mocking tone in his voice. "Flames imply heat. Heat implies temperature. Temperature can be cold. Cold leads to ice."
"I still don't follow." His other self made an annoyed sound.
"You can make it cold. Your power revolves around fire so you can manipulate it. Manipulating flames means you can control heat. Try manipulating the heat out of your surroundings to make it colder." explained Dark Sonic.
The hedgehog barely avoid a strike from Slither's claws and nearly fell into the lava. It sounded ridicules. Even if it was possible, he had no idea how to pull it off. He never tried to control heat. The flames always came easy to him so he never really thought about it. It was all instinct for him. To try to control the temperature required serious thinking which he didn't have.
His darker self sighed. "Do I have to do everything for you?"
"If you have something to say, just say it." demanded Sonic.
"Focus on the heat. Make an image in your head that represents that heat." The hedgehog was really doubting his advice. "For example, think of it as a hot disk you can't eat. Place that dish in the freezer. Think about how the heat is being sucked out to be replaced by cold."
Sonic didn't think it would actually work, but he went with it. Desperate matters required desperate means. Even if he couldn't seen anyone from where he was, he knew they were probably all exhausted. He couldn't be picky with the help he got even if it was from an unreliable source and sounded completely foolish. It was hard to focus though. The nature creature refused to let up. There was a mad glaze in his eyes. His deep respect for the leader of the Metarex was what was making him rush at him with no restraint. He had no regard for his orders to not harm the hedgehog. Managing to get to higher ground farm from Slither's reach, he immediately focused on the image.
"Coward. Get down here now." screamed the nature creature as his claws dug into the rock to climb after him.
Like he would actually do that. "It's not working."
"You're completely useless." Sonic was going to argue how his advice wasn't helpful when he continued, "Feel what I feel."
Instantly, he could get sense of the temperature of his surroundings. It was as if the module for controlling a temperature in the room was at his fingertips, but instead of a room, it was for the entire planet. Turning the dial, the hedgehog felt the surroundings being to get colder.