Just wanted to do something different here, but half of this chapter will be 3rd person and the other half will be first person. Why am I doing this? Because I want the story to be told on the outside of Sapphire's mind as well as the inside! Warning complete.


Ch29: Psyche of Mephiles

"Sapphire... I can't believe she's really doing this," Gaige said after Sapphire passed out. "Don't worry, Gaige..." Elise sighed in worry. "We just need to hope and pray that she'll be alright... but we should probably tell the others to meet back up in the castle this time... after that explosion, I'd be surprised if Eggman came back to get me." "Good thinking. Besides, they're all probably worried sick about you by now," Gaige smiled at the princess.

It took at least half an hour, but the whole team eventually met back up in Elise's castle in the center of Soleanna and restored order to the worrying residents of Soleanna. After explaining what the plan of action was to get rid of the threat of Iblis and Mephiles to the castle workers, everyone agreed to it and didn't bother trying to stop the princess's ambitions. After all, they knew that Elise had to hold back her tears her whole life and it actually hurt her at times.

"I still can't believe that Sapphire would go to such great lengths..." sighed Amy when she had met up with Silver in the resort area. "Neither can I... but I know that she'll be okay. She's a tough one, probably more than I am..." Shadow admitted. Sonic found him in Kingdom Valley trying to find Mephiles and immediately followed the blue blur back to the castle upon hearing that Sapphire had Mephiles within her.

"So you're this Shadow character that Sapphire mentioned?" Blaze asked when she began to talk to the black hedgehog. "Yes... And I owe her a whole lot after what she did for me," Shadow said with a small smirk. He'd heard of Blaze himself from Amy a month ago and was quite interested in meeting the fiery girl that was from a different dimension. "Not to be rude but... you look a lot like Mephiles... it's kind of strange." "That's because he took the form of my shadow. Something that I certainly didn't expect to happen."

"What I didn't expect was being able to see Gaige again. After all, I never got his name back then, just a face. Now I know what I was missing out on!" Amy smiled when she ran over and hugged Sapphire's cousin. "Er... you're saying you're into me now?" Gaige gulped, not hating the hug, but surprised all the same. "Sapphire has Sonic's heart, so you're the next best thing!" "Um... wow. That's quite a feat for my cousin to do... you know, have you like someone else other than Sonic..."

"Are you saying you don't like me?" Amy asked in worry. "Oh no. In fact, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't into you the moment I laid eyes on you!" Gaige smirked, not wanting to tell her about his past... lord knows that way too many knew already! "YAY! Finally! Someone that returns my feelings of affection!" Amy cheered as she kissed Gaige in front of everyone. Sonic and the others looked away and to Sapphire's unconscious body. It had already passed the halfway point so they could only hope Sapphire was doing well against the dark force that was Mephiles.


"Oi... this is taking forever..." I groaned after walking through a strange hallway that I knew was made by Mephiles. How did I know it was made by him? Nonstop flames, saws, and bottomless pits and me not having any kind of powers whatsoever! I knew that Mephiles would be tough to face, but I didn't know he would resort to trying to kill me with traps in my own subconscious!

After what seemed like almost a whole two hours (even though I knew it was less than that with Chaos's help... she was actually still in my subconscious while I was in my subconscious... pretty strange) I finally found the end of the hallway and entered a door that led into pure darkness. The door slammed the moment I walked inside and it disappeared without a trace.

"I can sense your fear, Sapphire," Mephiles mocked me from the shadows. "Fear? What fear? I'm not afraid of you, just annoyed!" I said truthfully. Sure I was nervous seeing him, but I wasn't fearful so long as I had Chaos on my side. Mephiles cackled in the dark and his visage soon appeared right in front of me. Only it looked much larger for some odd reason.

It's a trick. He's using his powers to appear larger to you, Chaos said in my head. I smirked and stood my ground, not daring to question my only ally in my current state. "If you think that using trickery is going to make you win, failed experiment, you are sadly mistaken!" I smirked as I actually punched Mephiles in the chest even though I aimed in between his legs.

"Gah! You're going to regret that move, Sapphire!" Mephiles growled lowly as Chaos told me something else. He's holding onto your powers inside his body. Wait for the right moment and grab onto him in a death hug. I'll get your powers back from him then. "Heh. Come at me, Mephiles. I'm about to show you how love is much MUCH stronger than pure hatred," I smiled with a wink.

This of course angered Mephiles to the point where he charged at me like a locomotive. The moment he would've hit me, I ducked under and grabbed hold of Mephiles from underneath him, locking him in a hug. "W-What the..." Mephiles gulped as I just stood there. "Just relax," I smiled, not knowing if he would feel my powers returning. "What are you doing? Unhand me!" "I'm giving you something you probably never experienced: a hug."

"H-Hug? What kind of tomfoolery are you plotting?" Mephiles asked. (Chaos...) I thought to her. (Don't take his powers just yet. Let's see how this plays out...) Okay... just don't let go of him... she said back. "No trick. No cheat. You think that hate is what you are? Well guess what? I know a lot of other people who said that at one point in time but found something much stronger: love."

"L-L-Lo-... Oho! You're trying to fool me into lowering my guard so you can strike me? Think again!" Mephiles growled. "Trust me, Mephiles. I could've taken my powers back from you the moment I started hugging you," I admitted. "What?!" "You don't know this, but my aqua powers? It's from Chaos, the guardian of the Chaos Emeralds. With her powers, I could've gotten my abilities from within you in under five seconds of hugging. But I told her to hold on. To see if you had any sense of decency in your troubled heart."

"D-Decency? Decency?! Iblis and I were tortured and wracked with for some stupid wish and you think I'd have any decency left?!" Mephiles exclaimed as he began to struggle. "And I'm sorry for what Elise's father did to you," I sighed. "But that doesn't mean you have to take it out on everybody, Mephiles. One person doing wrong doesn't mean that all people are wrong. Hell, look at Shadow." "What about Shadow?! He served his purpose and he won't ever be loved!"

"Shadow already has love in his life, bub. He has Rouge as his partner, he's a respected government agent, and, according to Chaos, he's starting to get feelings for Blaze, the one that actually wants you and Iblis to form into one again as her Sol Emeralds' Guardian, Solaris," I explained in full. "W-Wait... Sol Emeralds... I know those things... I thought they were gone and in a different dimension?" Mephiles said, actually NOT sounding like a villain in a sentence.

"Well, Blaze is the Emerald's guardian and you sent her to do your dirty work. And she knew about you beforehand on top of all that! Yet she still listened to you. What does that tell you? Does it not just scream that she wants Solaris back in his former glory of the Sol Emerald's guardian?!" Huh?!" I asked him repeatedly. Chaos was silent during all of this, but I could hear her gasp when I exclaimed the last two questions.

"S-S-Someone... wants us back? Even if we caused destruction... they'd want us back?" Mephiles actually said in a shocked tone of voice. "Blaze, Sonic, hell, even Silver all want you to return to the way you were. I'm not saying that what Elise's dad did was right. In fact, I find it quite cruel. But that doesn't mean that people hate you for what you and Iblis are. You're two halves of a greater whole. A freaking Sun God! If you believe anything that I say to you, just know that, no matter if you're good or bad, you still have people that want the true Solaris back. One that is guardian of the Sol Emeralds and defender of Soleanna."

I didn't expect what would happen to happen, but Mephiles's crystal form actually began to turn into what appeared to be a pure white! His red eyes became replaced with light blue instead and I felt my powers getting poured back into me from Mephiles himself! It was as if I'd actually talked sense into him! "Mephiles..." I gulped as I released him. "Don't call me that... anymore..." he said, in a much calmer, more casual voice. It sounded like Justin Beiber's voice back home, but a with a slightly deeper tone. "Call me... Sola... Sola is the conscious mind... Aris is the one I must speak with now..."


I woke with a jolt in the room as I felt Mephiles... er... Sola's energy leave my body completely. "Whoa! Sapphire! You alright?!" Sonic exclaimed, right by my side. "Y-Yeah... that was rougher than I anticipated... but I did it... I talked sense into him..." I smiled wearily as Sola actually appeared right on the floor in front of everyone from a ball of light rather than a shadow on the ground. "M-Mephiles?" Silver gulped. "No," Sola said simply. "I must speak with Aris..."