Sonic's dream

The blue hedgehog woke up fully clothed in what he wore that day, but it wasn't in a pitch black room like last night. He was in some garden like area, covered with pretty flowers everywhere. He looked around to see a small fountain made of stone, and there was a statue of a love heart at the top. He walked to it and smiled.

"I suppose it's an appropriate dream considering how good I'm feeling," Sonic said to himself.

"Yeah. I thought I'd give you something nice, unlike last time," Sonic heard a voice say.

"Lucas..."

"Hello there, my old chum!" Lucas said chirpily as he stood next to Sonic.

"We're not chums."

"And why is that?" Lucas asked.

"Because you're kind of a dick," Sonic answered.

"Oof. Your words, they wound me," the giraffe replied sarcastically, holding his hand to his chest where his heart would be. "Why can't you let us be friends?"

"Because I don't want to be friends with someone who wants me to embrace a part of me that I never knew existed," Sonic said.

"And why is that?" Lucas inquired.

"Because... you're right. If I give into it, even a little bit, I will like it. Too much than is good for me. But no matter how much I like that power, I will never be like you," Sonic said.

"Sonic, from what I see in you, and I have no doubt that you'll agree when I say this, but you won't become like me if you embrace the darkness. You'll become a much bigger beast. Imperfect, but unstoppable. Cracked, but no chinks in your armour. Weak in the heart and mind, but strong in the body. You will lose the things that make you who you are and become something even better and stronger. Come on, you can't tell me that's not a good thing," Lucas said.

"How do you know what's inside me?" Sonic asked.

"Um, hello! I can hack into people's dreams. That's how I know. And if you don't believe me, see for yourself. Look in the water."

Sonic followed Lucas' word and looked down into the water. He saw his own reflection twist as his fur became darker and his eyes became pale white.

"It's nothing new. I saw this once already," Sonic said.

"Keep watching," Lucas replied.

Sonic sighed and obeyed, silently wondering what his reflection would do next. He saw that his darker form was more up close, but then he saw it walk away. He heard a voice grunting and it sounded eerily familiar to Sonic. The reflection of his darker self then returned and held a figure close to him. Sonic looked and saw that it was himself.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Sonic demanded.

"Keep your eyes on the show," Lucas said. He saw his darker self grab the back of his normal self's head. Sonic could see that he looked extremely disheveled, and suffered from all manner of injuries; teeth missing, nose broken, cuts and bruises, a black eye...you name the injury, Sonic's face bore it. In excess.

"What does this mean?" Sonic asked.

"This is your conscience, Sonic. The reason you look so beat up is because that's how much your darker side is winning. Now, shut the fuck up and keep watching. You're getting to the good bit," Lucas said.

Sonic groaned and kept watching. He saw his darker self punch his good self in the stomach, bringing him to his knees. Sonic grunted a bit, and he felt a pain in his stomach. His darker self picked his normal self up to his feet. He then raised his right hand and all his claws grew from the fingertips. His darker self then stabbed his good self in the chest, dragging it all the way up until it crossed the scar Sonic had on his chest from the battle with Eggman.

That was until the darker self used both hands to rip apart the scar, along with the gash he had made. He plucked Good Sonic's heart out of his chest, and then crushed it in his hand, licking up the blood as it dripped down his fingers. Bad Sonic then started to laugh maniacally.

Sonic fell back on his ass screaming after seeing the grotesque display, and he felt his own chest where the scar was, only to find it was ripped open completely, and his heart was missing. He then heard Lucas laughing.

"Where is my..." Sonic began, only to see Lucas holding the blue hedgehog's heart in his hand, gently tossing it up and down so he caught it each time.

"Sonic, if you just give in, this won't happen to you. Ever. You can have keep yourself safe, and your friends... well, I'm sure they'll be much happier when they have to run away from you and never see you again," Lucas said. He then threw Sonic's heart on the floor and stomped on it, causing all the flowers and grass around them both to wilt, and the water in the fountain started turning blood red, and the fountain itself started crumbling to pieces. Sonic fell backwards, his vision giving way to pitch black darkness.

"If you keep on as you are Sonic, everything around you will fall. Unless you give in to your inner darkness, you'll never be able to protect anyone. Now, I bid you adieu."

Then finally, Sonic closed his eyes as he felt the cold breath of death overtake him again.

Back to reality

Sonic's eyes opened and he instantly rose up from his bed, breathing heavily. Obviously this motion had awoken Amy, as she got up and asked the blue hedgehog what was wrong.

"Oh, nothing. Just had a bad nightmare and..." Sonic said, trailing off at the end.

"And what?" Amy asked.

"Look... I've been lying to you. I've been lying to everybody, and for that, I'm sorry. I haven't been feeling so good lately," Sonic admitted.

"Well, I can help you feel better again," Amy said, rubbing her hand on Sonic's chest. He gently took her hand and held it in his own.

"It's not that. Hell, just being next to you feels so good," Sonic said, making Amy laugh before he continued, "I have been battling this thing inside me for a good week now, and in my dream, I found out it was winning."

"What are you talking about?" Amy asked.

"That Lucas kid? He has the power to hack into people's dreams, and twist and shape them to his own will. He showed me how badly my good side was beaten up. It looked like I was in a war. And then there's my dark side, which looks as healthy as a horse, and is as psychotic as I am fast."

"Sonic, just because Lucas showed you this darkness, it doesn't mean it's going to happen," Amy said, trying to comfort Sonic.

"It will," Sonic said.

"Why?"

"Because I broke the promise I made today," Sonic said as he got off the bed. He walked into the bathroom and leaned his head against the mirror.

"What promise?" he heard Amy say from the bathroom door entrance.

"Well, it turns out I have a mom. And a brother. And a sister, too."

"How come you didn't tell me?" the pink hedgehog asked.

"Because I only found out today," Sonic answered.

"Ah. So, what was this promise you made exactly?" Amy asked.

"I promised that, despite the fact I would give in, that I wouldn't let it control me. I think it's taken control already, and the next thing it's gonna take away from me is you. I can't afford to lose you, Amy. Not after all the shit we've been through already," Sonic answered as his pink hedgehog girlfriend walked over to him.

"Sonic, you'll be fine. I know you have goodness in your heart, and no matter how much bad there is in you, it'll never overcome that. And it certainly won't change who you are here," Amy said, pointing to the scar on Sonic's chest before poking it and making him chuckle.

"So, are you mad that I didn't tell you about it?" Sonic asked.

"Not mad. I'm only a little bit pissed about the whole thing. Mostly I'm angry that I haven't met your family yet," Amy joked.

"Well, I would bring them around, but I don't know where they are. So, let's get dressed, go out, get some food, then come back here. Sound good?" Sonic asked.

"Depends on the time. Let's see... it's 2:15 pm. That means it's 15 minutes until the last lesson, which is math," Amy said.

"So, yes?" Sonic inquired.

"Yep."

"Oh, and thanks. For this. I swear, I'd be lost without you," Sonic said. Amy walked up to him and kissed him softly, which he returned.

"You're welcome. Now let's get dressed before someone catches us."

With Shadow and Rouge

Shadow and Rouge had arrived at Shadow's dorm room which he shared with Blaze. They knocked on the door to see if the purple cat was in there, and they were both pleased to get no reply.

"She must be at the cafeteria. Or the Chili Out," Shadow said aloud as he pulled his key out to unlock the door.

"Yep. Are you sure you'll be okay doing this in a different room?" Rouge asked as Shadow had let the white bat walk through.

"Course I am. It was your idea, after all," Shadow replied. The black and red hedgehog then sat on his bed and put his backpack on the floor as Rouge sat on Blaze's bed.

"So, are we gonna do this?" Shadow asked after a long while.

"Yeah. You bring the books with you?" Rouge asked. Shadow pulled them out in response.

"Remember, this is for memory purposes. You will not write anything, okay?" Rouge said.

"Okay."

"The first question is, from left to right, what are the names of the presidents on Mt Rushmore?"

"Um... hang on..." Shadow said as he flicked through the pages before stopping. "Was it George Washington, Thomas Jefferson. Theodore Roosevelt then Abraham Lincoln?"

"It was! Next question: how many people signed the Declaration of Independence?" the white bat asked.

"I think that it was only John Hancock who signed it at first on July 4 1776, but then on August 2 1776, all of the members of Congress signed, so it led to an extra 55 signatures. So, 56. Is that right?"

"It is Shadow. Congrats," Rouge said, kissing Shadow on the cheek.

"I have a question," Shadow said.

"Go ahead."

"Why the fuck am I learning history if math is our next lesson?" the black and red hedgehog asked.

"Because you need help on your history. You're doing really well in math," the white bat answered.

"Ah. I get it now. Thank you, Rouge," Shadow said.

"You're welcome. Well, I suppose I can ask one more question before we're late for class. Again," Rouge said, earning a chuckle from Shadow.

"You are the teacher in this scenario. Ask."

"Who were the first five Presidents of the United States? Obviously, I want you to say them in the order that they were in."

"I think it was George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, then James Monroe," Shadow answered.

"It was. Now, let's run like fuck to our lesson!" Rouge exclaimed, making Shadow laugh. He put his books back in his backpack and unlocked the door, waiting for Rouge to come through before he locked it again. They both got to their lesson as quick as they could.

"Damn. What floor is it on again?" Rouge asked.

"Senior. So, the top floor. Fucking hell!" Shadow shouted, making his white bat girlfriend laugh. They both decided to take the stairs.

"Thank you for doing this with me, Rouge," Shadow said as they dashed up the stairs.

"You're welcome. It's the least I could do for you," Rouge replied. "And remember, no letting anyone else know about our studying, okay?" the white bat continued as they reached the sophomore floor.

"I don't think it'd both of us studying so much as it is me learning stuff from you. But either way, you have my word," Shadow replied as they picked up the pace. They got to their classroom with mere seconds to spare, seeing everyone else sit down. They went in with smiles on their faces, ready for anything as always.

I thought I'd clear some things up with the Shadow/Rouge part of the story. Also, yay for 3,000 views! Also also, for those of you who still favourite and follow this and my previous stories, I'm not ignoring you, it's just that I don't have time to reply to you all. But if you leave a review, I'd be more than happy to reply to you. Anyway, until next time dudes!