(Last time on In the Dark…
Sonic, Sally, and Amy have successfully escaped the dreaded Exe dimension, though coming out a little worse for wear. They've managed to get what they came for; the third and final Light Stone. However, it didn't come without a price. Something seems to be wrong with the Stone, but so far, the group has ignored it. This could be their fatal mistake… Go back to Chapter 13 – Recipe for Disaster to read about their escape, or read on to see what exactly is going on.
I'm changing whose point of view the story is in…for now. See if you can tell who's narrating the story. I'm rewinding it a bit, adding more detail to the last part of the previous chapter (because I was low on time when I wrote it), but re-writing the part in the other person's POV.
Here we go, the much awaited next chapter!)
I watched as the Chaos Emeralds slowly circle around Sonic, the Light Stones lying at his feet. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed one of the Light Stones, which had been darker in color than the rest, turning black. The Stone looked like the inside was filled with dark smoke. One by one, the other Light Stones faded to black, and then the Chaos Emeralds. This wasn't good.
"Uh, Sonic?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly.
Sonic's eyes opened, his concentration broken by my voice. His eyes widened in panic when he saw what was going on, but it was already too late. I had a feeling I wouldn't see those green eyes in a minute…
The Emeralds spun faster around him, emitting a bit of black smoke and light that seemed to be pointed toward Sonic. He dropped to his knees with an ear-splitting scream, clutching his head, but the next moment he bent backwards, his back arched, a whirlwind of black smoke spiraling out of his chest. His eyes were opened wide, completely white and glowing brightly. He was still screaming. The smoke flew out the windows and any crack they could get into. Amy and I stumbled backwards, away from him. Something told me all our efforts had been for nothing.
"Sonic!" Amy and I cried, not that screaming his name would do any good.
What few lights had been on upstairs now flickered out. I heard seven soft plunks as the Emeralds hit the floor, their faint glow going out. It was suddenly absolutely quiet in the room except the ominous ticking of a clock, and it was pitch black in the room, no light from the outside seeming to get in. A moment later, I heard shuffling, and then Sonic's eyes opened, being the only light in the room. But they weren't the same eyes I knew. They weren't the warm, green, ambitious eyes that have seen so much and told me we were safe in even the hardest of times. They didn't hold that distant, longing gaze I was so used to, or that look that could warm anyone and give them hope. Instead, there were no pupils, no irises. His eyes were white, glowing, and cold, and they gave me a sense of fear I had never felt with him. When I made out Amy's petrified face, I could tell she felt the same way I did.
The soft glow of the Emeralds returned; dim through the blackness of the gems. A sly grin spread across Sonic's – no, Dark's – face and he took a step toward us.
"Well, well, well," he said in a cold voice, very different from the cocky voice that was supposed to come out of that body. "You two pests, the ones who tried helping him try to defeat me." He tilted his head up slightly, smirking. "Perhaps I should thank you. You helped him collect the very Stones I needed to gain power. Thanks to my good friend Sonic Exe, the Light Stones were corrupted, and that spread to the Chaos Emeralds, whose power transferred to me." He sounded almost bored, yet amused. "A shame though. I enjoyed watching you suffer in that dimension. You will be the first to die." An orb of swirling purple, black, and slightly red light formed in his palm.
"C'mon," I hissed. I grabbed Amy's wrist and scrambled to my feet. I practically had to drag her away from him.
"You can't run, and you can't hide, so why resist?" Dark taunted.
To a certain degree, he was right. The house was too small to run through, but maybe we could hide. We just have to get out of the light…
I darted into another room, where the dim light of the Chaos Emeralds didn't reach, Amy stumbling behind me. I nearly tripped over a bed, and I realized this must be Tails's bedroom. My throat closed up with tears, but I forced them back. I dove into the closet and pulled Amy in with me. As quietly as I could, I closed the door most of the way. I heard footsteps and peeked through the crack in the door as Dark walked in.
"I know you're in here," he said. "Don't play me for a fool."
"We have to get those Chaos Emeralds," I said under my breath to Amy. "Maybe we can change them back somehow."
"Yeah, but how?" Amy hissed. "He'll corrupt the whole world. Plus, he wants to kill us!"
"We'll just have to be fast," I whispered. I looked through the crack again and gasped, seeing Dark coming straight for us. It took all of my willpower to wait until he was just close enough, but then I opened the door as quick as I could, hitting him in the face and knocking him back behind the door.
"RUN!" I cried, and took off toward the other room, Amy on my heels. We bolted for the Chaos Emeralds, but suddenly we were knocked forward by a blast from Dark that sent a sharp pain up my back. I didn't look behind me, but I could hear him coming nearer.
"Naughty, naughty girls," he said, but he sounded angry that we had tried to best him. "Think you can beat me, eh?" I could hear him charging up his next attack, but while on my hands and knees, I crawled forward as fast as I could and grabbed the Emeralds closest to me. I also managed to grab one of the Light Stones.
"Amy!" I cried. She knew what I wanted her to do.
"But…I can't…hurt him!" Amy cried. "I know he's still in there!"
"Amy, listen to me, that isn't the Sonic we know," I hissed. "But if you insist on thinking that, just remember all the times he's stood you up but you never got the chance to pound him!" I was desperate. I didn't want to hurt Sonic any more than she did, but did we really have a choice in the matter?
At my words, she froze for a moment, then took out her hammer and stood. "Why you little—" She swung at him, but he put out his hand and her hammer stopped and vibrated just centimeters from his hand, like she'd hit something. From where her hand hit, a wave of black energy spread out in a sphere around him, then disappeared. It all happened very quickly. Amy looked shocked that her hammer didn't hit him. A moment after that all happened, I remembered what I was doing and scrambled to get the rest of the Emeralds and Stones. When my back was turned, I heard Amy squeak in surprise and I looked over my shoulder to see that Dark had grabbed her by her throat, lifting her a few feet off the ground. He looked at me and smirked.
"One blast and your little friend is gone," he hissed. His eyes were filled with hatred. "So don't move, and drop what you're holding."
I was torn. After Tails's death, I wouldn't be able to stand losing Amy, who was the closest thing I had to a sister. But I also couldn't afford to lose the Emeralds and Stones if it meant changing Sonic back. I just glared at him, hoping my fear didn't show.
Amy's hammer was slipping in her hand, but she adjusted her grip and held firm. She knew I couldn't choose, so she worked up the strength to smack Dark in the arm, where Tails Doll had cut him only minutes, but what seemed like hours, earlier. He screamed in pain and dropped Amy, clutching his arm. Amy dropped her hammer and ran over to me, scooping up the rest of the Emeralds that I hadn't picked up.
"C'mon!" she cried, and bolted toward the staircase. I ran after her, determined to get out of here as fast as possible. By the time we had opened the door, Dark had recovered.
"Oh, no you don't!" he cried, and shot a blast straight at us. We dove into the staircase, not looking to see where it hit, and ran as fast as we could down the steps and towards the front door. Amy purposely kicked up the edge of the rug at the base of the steps. When we neared the door, Dark raced down the steps, but wasn't looking where he was going and tripped over the rug, falling on his hurt arm. Once again, he cried out, and Amy and I took the opportunity to race out the front door, virtually unscathed.
However, the world outside took our breath away.
The sky had turned completely black, like night, but with a reddish tint. The whole city looked gloomy, but shadow people danced in the streets while Mobians ran for their lives. All around us were the screams of terrified citizens, the crying of petrified children, and the laughter of the Exes that had been released into our world. Amy and I walked quickly away from Tails's house, Dark's screams turning into maniacal laughter.
This was the start of the new Dark Ages.
(DUN DUN DUUUUUNNNN! Yes, I purposely waited a day to post this. Mostly because when I first started writing this chapter, I started laughing cause I realized I had no idea what to write and gave up for the day. I'm already over halfway done with this story! I'm kinda sad…So, what do you guys think is going to happen next? Any ideas? Anybody? Anything?
Also, I'm looking for tips on how to get more reviews. I've already gotten almost 2.5k views, and I'm so stoked about that, but I have no idea how to get reviews. And I mean like, almost a dozen a day, getting hundreds of reviews over all. Anyone got tips on that? I'd really appreciate it; it'd motivate me to become a writer when I get older. Also, I appreciate writing tips.
Okay, I'm done. GAH CURSED PROOFREADING NOW. (Well, I'm done proofreading now, so HALELUIA.) Adios, all you….random….bookworms.)
~SonicTheHedgehogNerd