A/N: Hey everyone! Yeah… I'm really ashamed that I haven't updated in over two months. Thanks for the reminder guys. It's funny, but it has been so long I had to re-read the past three chapters to remember where I was and how I wanted to continue. Hehehe, well… hurray for summer!

Chapter 22: Crawling in the Dark

A pitter patter of water continuously blared in Dice's ears. However, it did not feel like a sound. The noise was mute, intangible. Almost a fantasy, though her subconscious knew the clatter was there. Whether it was in her head or real, the water pattered one drop at a time. Slowly, repeating over and over and over again.

Her body was completely numb, not feeling the slightest sensation. She could not feel the earth below or the cold air which once cut deep into her skin. Wind no longer blew through her fur, washing her doubts away. At least, she could not feel any wind. Maybe the gentle breeze was there, whispering, attempting to awaken the fallen warrior. But, she could not hear it. Only water.

Plop, plop.

The wounds which she knew were lethal did not disturb her thrashed body anymore. Blood may still be seeping out her chest and pouring on the grey soil, but she was unsure. Nothing seemed real anymore. Her soul was detached from her body. Completely numb. Emotions and sensations which once plagued her now seemed far, far away. All that remained was a ghostly sound of liquid.

Am…I dead?

The thought rang through the empty abyss, which the warrior now rested. It did not even seem to come from Dice, herself. A question, commonly asked during a life-death experience. Is this what the darkness was? Was she on the verge of death? Her mind waited for an answer to echo in return. However, nothing came to console her doubts.

Even the incantation. The words, which constantly tormented her. Ordering her to fight, to kill, to destroy. Telling her to go on. To live. To exist. Gone. Fading into nothing. As each droplet softly echoed, the words weakened, disappearing. All that Dice knew and solely based her life on was vanishing, waning to a point of nonexistence. Emptiness. That was all her mind recognized. An empty shell filled with no purpose. The repetitive drops dripped into her mind and then seeped out, along with her memories, her hopes, her dreams. Even her heart and soul, her will to continue living. Fading, fading…

Plip, plop.

A translucent jewel of blue trickled amidst the black ominous void. She saw a shade of blue: shiny, crystal clear, blue drop in front of her, leaving small blue rings. Upon trying to focus her thoughts on the unknown substance, the droplet faded, and she suddenly doubted the ripples existed, thus considering the loss of her sanity. Though somehow she knew the color was there. Her mind's eye distinguished sparkles of blue resonating across the darkness. The rings grew in size and number, lighting the shadows, revealing a cobalt silhouette.

Sonic? She thought. This time, she knew the voice came from her mind. The echoes sounded familiar, intangible and yet recognizable.

Nay. Thou art more ignorant than thou thinketh. He shall die, as will they.

The numbness remained, but free thought soon awakened the fallen warrior. A sensation of weakness pulled down on her with immense weight, giving the appearance that Dice was bowing, face first, on the ground to this entity in front of her.

Wrong, you're wrong!

Nay child. They shall, unless though understand thy destiny and purpose. Haha. Thou do not remember. It was thou who sent Sonic to this time. It was thy accident. And now, thou must live with thy self and his death. He shall die unless thou come to realize…

More alive, Dice was surprised that this silhouette was responding to her thoughts. Both of them obviously were not speaking a loud. It was more of an ethereal connection floating between them. She was busy in thought, denying the figure's earlier statement. Sonic and the others could not die. …Could they? The blue hedgehog was her hero. He would not fail her, or anyone else.

A hero. The term was meaningless now. Floating in an infinite emptiness, nothing seemed important anymore.

Who… are you?

Hahaha. Thy real question is: who art thou?

Wha-?

Who are you?

…I am Dice! Of course I know who I am!

Nay child. What art thou? What is thy purpose? Thou cannot save anything if thou cannot save thy self.

My purpose! I thought I once knew but… now I'm not so sure.

Of course thou know. Answer me, what is thy purpose?

I will blindly dedicate and sacrifice everything for just a second's worth so that… so I can obey my master.

Nay, nay child. That be ridiculous and without true purpose. Dedication and sacrifice has no meaning without thy understanding. Thou thinketh thou art a servant… a slave? Working for thy master emerald?

Dice gasped at the silhouette's response. The figure laughed, echoing through the darkness. It began to fade, slowly disappearing on the horizon.

Wait!

Dice began running, chasing the figure. Despite the faith in herself that she was real, she doubted she was actually running. This... place did not feel real, like a nightmare, and yet somehow she knew this was not a dream and that person understood something she did not. If she was not a slave, then what was she?

Wait! Who am I? Tell me! All those years of destruction… was it unnecessary? Wait!

The abyss, stretched for eternity. Emotions slowly crept back into her heart. Which sensation was it? Fear. Fear that she would lose this voice. Fear that all those deaths… were her fault. Fear that… Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles…would die.

Ha ha. Nay child. Thy true question be not 'who art thou,' but 'WHAT art thou?'

The voice echoed and then vanished. The water… the pattering noises… the blue silhouette…all disappeared. Now, she was alone but refused to stop running.

Wait! Please...What AM I?

Tears trickled down her cheeks and reflected across the shadows, replacing the old droplet noises, with a new intangible sound.

Dice sprinted forward, until she tripped over from an immense force. A searing pain leaped on her leg. A feeling? A sensation? Here, in this abyss? She turned on her back to see black ooze crawling up her limb.

Aaaaah! Ah! Aaaah!

She banged it on the ground, inching backwards. Flailing her legs altered nothing. The darkness, the evil continued rising without a sign of resignation. Pure fear and panic smothered her, as she shrieked hysterically.

Aaaah! Not again… I won't give up my sanity this time! Let go you bastard!

She screamed in her mind, echoing constantly. A twinge of terror bit at her heart, thinking her red-eyed alter-ego would come to claim her as a result of this evil ooze. Her horror nurtured the darkness eating away at her legs. Dice fell back, her head hitting the darkness.

At that point, fear drove her to think the unthinkable. She could ask her darker side for aid. Hysterically waiting for the incantation, she desired with extreme force to escape. Every time those words resonated in her mind, it gave her renewed strength. She longed for true courage and wished determination would return to her. Though, the gift of power meant sacrificing her freedom. All those years without her own thoughts to guide her, were unbearable. If the darkness consumed her, the evil entity would return anyway. However, at this point in time, all that mattered was to escape the darkness, at any cost. But, was that what she truly wanted? To live with ultimate power and without fear at the cost of freedom?

Another silhouette could be seen in the way that her head lay tilted in the darkness. A red outline carved out its shadow. Dice desperately turned on her side, sprinting to her feet. The evil ooze dragged her down with extreme force. She clutched her thigh, hoping the evil would stop growing. Tugging constantly, inching forward. At last, she recognized the black shape.

Shadow! Please Shadow, help me! Shadow, Shadow!

Panting hysterically, the sensation of her pulsing heart edged back into her body. Dice tripped forward, and soon began to crawl towards Shadow's silhouette. Digging her nails through her gloves and into the darkness underneath her, Dice yanked herself forward. The darkness was above her hips now.

Shadow! Don't leave me! Please, help me!

The voice of her mind trailed off and continued shaking. The air in her lungs had troubles escaping due to a lump in her throat. Her voice was reduced to a whisper: raspy, weak, trembling. Quivering…

Please…Shadow don't… please…don't leave me…

The red lines outlining Shadow's familiar spikes evaporated, whisping away from her into nothingness. Tears welled in her eyes. Shadow told her that he would destroy the evil inside her. Now, when she required his aide the most, the hedgehog vanished, as if forsaking her.

In defeat, she stopped crawling, in curling into a ball, letting the evil consume her. Sinking, sinking into the shadows. The pain constantly gnawed at her sides. Slowly, the evil ooze crawled over her face, masking her eyes. Why would her torment not end? Her past, her duty, the future of her friends haunted her. All consumed and twisted with death. The guilt was horrible enough, why did this evil have to devour her now, when her final moments were nigh?

The thought of guilt sparked in her mind. True, she always felt horrible and remorse over her actions for the past events, but she never truly felt guilty. Eggman was her scapegoat for so long; it was his fault. He tricked her. The past had never been her fault. Or at least, those words were what she told herself to keep going. However, he forcing her did not retain any meaning now. The fact remained: she murdered the innocent. All of them. Every last one.

Her denial was over.

It was my fault. No one else's. My hands; they are too stained with blood to possibly give me the privilege of aide. No one will help me now… after all I've done…

The darkness crawled over her. Seeping into her eyes and mouth, suffocating her. All she wanted now was for everything to stop. Her heart was longing for the grave. Without her, the universe would after long last, breathe easier.

The ooze enveloped Dice, but suddenly began to sting with immeasurable pain.

Aaah!

The thoughts scattered and evaporated. All that remained was instinct and panic. She flailed back and forth, managing to release her head and arm. Pain bit at her sides. Screaming and panting, Dice tried to shake free. Until, a bright light, glowing intensely, surged through her hand. It shot out her palm, and pierced the darkness. It recoiled in pain, releasing Dice, only to throw her far across the abyss.

She screamed, looking at a chaos emerald which painfully poured out of her palm. Standing to her feet, she nervously shook the glowing hand, and tripped backwards. The shadows beneath her cracked like glass, as she looked at the dropped chaos emerald. Six other emeralds were positioned around her body, which were now glowing an eerie green.

The shadows continued cracking apart and then shattered beneath her.

Aaaah! Ah, aaaaaah!

She fell. Falling, falling into darkness. The pain subsided, but not the fear. It felt like an eternity, plummeting farther and deeper into the shadows. Still, the incantation did not come. It refused to help her when she needed it, just like everyone else…she deserved it. .

At last she reached the bottom of the fall. Smashing into her body. Her real body. Not an imitation or a fantasy. The shock of the fall awoke her genuine eyes. Several moments passed until they focused enough for Dice to see around her.

She found herself limp, inches above the blood-stained earth. Her body was crushed and weak, elevated by a sheet of metal wreckage. She now knew for certain; she was bleeding. Immensely for that matter. It smothered her fur, her face. It trickled over her nose and dripped one drop at a time on the soil.

Gravity pulled down on her. Compressing, pounding, in hopes that it would make Dice and the ground one entity. Fatigue suffocated her numb body. It was impossible to look straight ahead due to the pure exhaustion on her eyeballs. She gazed down, into the puddle of blood.

A reflection could be seen within its depths. A face of utter sorrow. The complexion was pale, weak, muddy. Huge black circles enclosed the countenance's eyes. Blue eyes. A pool of emptiness, seeking an end. The black ears flopped down, for they were too frail now to stand on their own. Overall, her bloody face was immensely wilted in a gradual fatigue from loss in confidence and lack of purpose and others' love.

Is this how pathetic I have become?

Her eyelids gradually twitched closed in resignation, allowing the darkness to consume her again. However this time, Dice was aware of her location, and could still feel the weight of gravity on her. The weight of guilt and deception clouded her mind, until at last the blue silhouette returned to Dice.

Thou thinketh thou have seen enough torment, yes?

Dice ignored the comment, tired of the voice's riddles and idiotic accent.

So when and how will I know?

Know enough torment? Nay, child. Thy life be consumed in deceit and death, yes? Though, thou can never see enough to comprehend. Never. Thou cannot understand till thy identity be made clear. Haha. Thou still doubt thyself. Thou cannot save them until thou save thyself.

The voice paused, waiting for Dice to respond. However, the fallen warrior did not bother to. Nothing mattered anymore.

Thy spirit be crushed. Thou do not yet see.

How much further do I have to go?

…Until thou know and accept thy purpose.

And how much longer until I finally know?

The figure paused, almost in a state of pity. Dice, however, did not notice and continued thinking out loud.

'Cause I am looking…

Tears poured out her fatigued pupils.

And I just can't see…

Thou art right. Thou have seen enough torment. Thou questions shall be answered. I be the spirit of the master emerald. Though I be tainted with evil, a portion of me remains pure. Thou see me, pure. Thou art not my servant. Thy chaos emeralds be my servants, not thou!

Then, what I did… all those people I killed was…was my fault?

Please, thou wait. The sword thou carry be not the chaos blade. It be not the key. It be a tool, thy tool. Thou be the key. Thou be the chaos blade.

Dice looked up, deep into the figure, without nudging her head. What did she mean?

The servers art thy seven chaos emeralds. Thy chaos of power, enriched and powered by the heart… thy heart. Thou contain the heart, the source of power. I be the controller, unifying thy chaos. I be thy heart. I be a part of thou. Robotnik tainted me, thy heart, making thou evil. He tricketh thou into murdering and destroying. Thou thoughteth it was right, for thou be confused. Now, Robotnik has stoleth our power. Thy power. Thy chaos. Thy heart. Thou must get it back. Thou must restore thy chaos, thy emeralds, and the balance of thy order. If not, thy friends shall die. Thou cannot save them if thou cannot save thy heart and self. Save me, thy heart.

At last, the silhouette revealed itself. A black and white being stepped out of the blue outline.

It was Dice, as a child. Her eyes were huge with sparkling cobalt blue. A weak smile reached the corners of her face. She wore a dress identical to Tikal's. In her arm, the spirit clutched Sonic and Shadow stuffed animals. Both were tattered, but heart warming. The spirit placed the Sonic plushie up against Dice's nose.

It not be thy fault for those deaths. Thou been tricked. Lying in darkness and bathing in guilt saves nothing. Thou seeketh thy freedom? It be granted. Though know this, thou have never been my slave, thou have only followed thy heart. This time, follow thy good conscious. Waver between good and evil no longer.

Tears streamed onto her muzzle, as Dice gazed into the Sonic-plushie's fake eyes.

Thy only way to save thy heart, thyself, and thy friends be to either purify me or to destroy me. But, be warned, if thou destroy me, thou shall be destroyed as well. Thou, now, understand?

You... are my conscience and the one who created me?

Aye.

I cannot die… unless you die?

Aye.

I understand. I will not fail you… or anyone else.

Let my words no longer torment thou.


A/N: Sorry for the weird… "thou"s and "thy"s and stuff. Had to be done.