Chapter 14: The Balrog

Sonic looked at Super in shock. "Wh...what? No, Super!"

He held Super, who lifted his head. "S...Son...ic..." he said weakly.

"Hang on, I'll save you."

"N...no. It's...it's too...late for me...defeat...Dark...he's...not who we...think he...is..."

Sonic frowned. "What do you mean?"

The golden hedgehog looked at him and coughed; blood came out of his mouth as he stopped breathing, and then vanished. Sonic gasped as tears fell down his face and he felt a pain in his chest. It was like a part of him had died. He transformed into a wolf, and howled in grief. Once he was done, he growled angrily and turned back to normal. Concentrating, he brought all of his forms out.

"We must avenge Super," he told them. "Dark and the others must pay."

"I agree with thee," Excalibur said. "Super was a valiant warrior."

Darkspine nodded. "Most likely Dark did this. What did Super mean when he said that Dark isn't who we thought is?"

Sonic shrugged. "I don't know. We saw Dark in a pod in the room the Wisp was in, but I have no idea what's going on. Let's just focus on our main mission: defeating him. What do you think, Werehog?" The wolf looked at them and nodded. "Come on; let's head back to the base."

They all nodded and ran off. As they were about to exit Dark's base, a massive explosion blasted them back. Dark stood there before them, chuckling.

"I see you've found the Wisp," he said. "And Super. It's a shame to see him dead by my hands!"

He laughed, and Sonic could see that he had crystals on his body and his eyes were flickering between pure white and reptilian green. However, he overlooked it and glared at him. "Why did you kill Super?"

"He was a nuisance; always trying to stop me. But not anymore. You and your forms will serve me, Sonic. I have plans for you, and you can't stop me, even if you are immortal."

Sonic chuckled and shook his head. "I don't think so, Dark. You may be as powerful as me, but I created you, and the other forms of mine."

"Except the ones that I did," Dark told him. "Now, enough talk. I'd like you to meet another form that I created."

He snapped his fingers and closed his eyes. Instantly, the room started to shake violently as something moved towards them. Sonic and his other forms looked around in shock as a loud thudding made its way closer. Then, a loud roar was heard, and the room was getting hot as fire started to appear.

"What's going on?" Sonic asked.

Dark chuckled and smirked. "Don't tell me you don't know. You encountered it when you came here, and another time when you were on a quest. Or have you forgotten?"

Sonic's eyes widened as he remembered. He closed his eyes.

What is this? the Wisp asked him.

"A Balrog," Sonic said to him. "A demon of the ancient world. I'll tell you how I know of it another time."

The roar grew louder as smoke and flame appeared, and out of it rose a mighty Balrog. It looked at them and snorted. Sonic's eyes widened in shock, but he smirked. If he defeated this Balrog, then he could transform into it. His other forms got into fighting positions, and he nodded. They attacked at once, but the Balrog roared and swung its whip as an arc of fire blasted them back. They all landed on the ground, struggling to stand.

"How doest we defeat thine enemy?" Excalibur asked its other self.

Sonic thought about it. "A combination attack," he said. "Excalibur, you attack its feet. Wisp and I will aim for the head as Werehog and Darkspine go for the chest."

They nodded; it sounded like a great plan. The five got into a fighting stance and lunged. Sonic did a homing attack on it as the Wisp turned into an eagle and flew towards it, scratching the Balrog with its talons. The wolf, as well as Darkspine, jumped up and attacked the chest as Excalibur drew its sword and swung at the Balrog's legs. The Balrog roared as it was attacked and fell back, then flapped its wings and flew into the air. It hovered their a moment before swinging its ax down, swatting them like flies.

Sonic and his other forms hit the ground and groaned in pain. The Balrog roared again as it growled angrily. Shadow and flame whipped around it as it sent a massive fireball towards them. Sonic's eyes widened in shock.

"Move!" He yelled to his forms.

They did so, but were too late. The ball of fire hit them and they screamed in pain. When the smoke cleared, they were all badly burned. Dark looked at them and laughed as the Balrog snorted.

"You fools are weak!" Dark laughed. "This Balrog is of my own creation; even you can't beat it! Give up!"

Darkspine groaned and looked at him. "Never," he said. "We will never lose to you."

Dark laughed, but was shocked to see the wounds on their bodies healing. Once they were healed, they all stood up. Dark's eyes widened in shock.

"We can heal with Chaos Powers," Sonic said as he stood up. He smirked and looked at his forms. "It's time to fuse. All of us."

They nodded and all held hands. A bright light shone, and all of them merged together. When the transformation was complete, Dark was frightened. The being that stood before him was eight feet tall. It had no pupils, and its fur was a blue/purple color with white streaks. A long snout had replaced its face as it grew razor-sharp fangs. Claws burst from its hands and feet as they merged into tentacle-like paws. Golden armor covered some of its body and it had a third eye on its head, resembling the eye that the wisp had. Two antennae had replaced its ears also. The hedgehog drew its sword and looked at the Balrog.

"What are you?" Dark asked.

It looked at him. "I am the Wisp, Darkspine, Werehog, Excalibur and Sonic combined."

The evil hedgehog growled as he looked at the being. It was powerful, and he could sense the aura around it. Dark laughed. "You think that you can beat the Balrog by fusing together with the forms you have?"

The being looked at him. It growled as its aura grew stronger, and lunged.