OK, so this chapter is almost all internal monologue. I'm trying to introduce the 'inner voice', without doing it as an after thought.

IOPENASH: I love Antoine as a character. I'm trying to show the real side of him, rather than perpetuating the hate.

TWAN: Ok, The story is about to go south, (if you didn't guess), so hopefully he goes even crazier

The cramped quarters seemed to shrink, closing in on him. Antoine huddled in the corner, trying to understand what was going on. He locked himself in his room, trying to reign himself in. His thoughts erratic, uncontrolled.

Merde, Merde, Merde! Je vais en perdu la tete. Je ne sais Pourquoi !

There was another voice, quieter, which answered him from the dark.

You know why, don't kid yourself. Just look deeper.

He had never felt like this. This anger, it just surged from within himself. He had no idea why he felt this way. The fresh, fist sized holes in the drywall were a feeble attempt to vent this new feeling. The desperation led him to frantically pace around the room. From nowhere, a moment of clarity seized his mind.

Ant hadn't prayed in so long, he decided that it was better now or never. But how to start? He fell to his knees, and tried remembering how the prayer went. He decided to wing it.

Notre Pere, help me. I confess that I am filled with hatred. Believe me; I don't know why I feel like this. I don't want to know why. I just want the strength to overcome it. He reflected, and added an extra line.

Don't make me end up like him.

The voice came again to spoil the party.

That's insulting, and besides, it wouldn't be all bad.

Before he could retort, there was a knock at the door. Without waiting for a response, the person at the door entered. It was the last person Ant wanted to see.

"Hello kid." Solman wore a sly grin. "Talking to yourself?"

"Actually I was praying." Antoine got up, and dusted himself off.

The old Lieutenant nonchalantly took a few steps foreward, into the desolate room. He looked around, and let slip: "Same thing, really."

"Are you going to berate me, or do you have something to tell me?" Antoine was in no mood to joke around, especially not with him.

We do agree, he is an ass. The second voice said.

"Just stopped by to inform you that your, mission, has been delayed a week." The news was good, and bad. Now he had more time to himself.

"What?"

"Yeah, you have one week until you take the refinery. I would suggest that you actually get to know the men. You know, before you get them killed." With a pirouette, the old fox left.

Antoine waited until Solman was out of earshot. "Fuck." He was proud of finally using that word.

Wow, didn't think you had it in you. Good job! Once again, the inner voice spoke up, with just a hint of sarcasm.

Shut up. Antoine sat down on his bed. What are you? Are you some kind of ghost, haunting me? Antoine felt weird asking himself this.

You mean who. And the answer is obvious. I AM you. You just neglected me, and now I'm here to help. The response chilled Antoine to the bone.

Help?

Yes. It doesn't matter what others say, or what we think. You are still considered a coward. But now you have a chance! You're finally feeling the hate! You can channel it, and achieve anything!

You sound just like… The cogs in Antoine's brain began to grind, trying to move.

Patch? Can a mental voice be smug?

Are you him? A combination of Shock and wrath.

No! That's ridiculous, this is YOUR head. But I will admit that I liked that guy. That is part of what I'm trying to tell you. You remember your time on Moebius.

Yeah, it sucked. I was away from my wife, and everyone was so… selfish.

They were royalty! They ruled their world as kings, so what if they worked for Scourge, they had real power. What are you, a bit player in the world? You know your potential, but you ignore it. Patch showed up here, and he almost took the whole kingdom! Think of what you could do! But you keep getting held back. Antoine sensed disgust in the voice.

By what?

Ethics, Duty, Honor, those things. Patch doesn't have those, and look at him!

He's a lonely and pathetic sociopath. What makes you think I'm made out for power? I'm not sonic, I don't have super speed. I'm no ruler. Antoine stood up, he walked over to the sink and splashed water on his face. He was unperturbed by the fact that he was arguing with himself, more concerned with where the conversation was heading.

Are you stupid? You don't recognize true strength when you see it! A long pause. Sonic is only successful BECAUSE of his super speed. He doesn't have the guts to do what it takes to get what he wants. Out of the freedom fighters, who's had the most radical change? YOU. Who was forced to live a lie in another dimension? YOU. Who has to overcome the fact that you are hated by most people because of your last name? Not Sonic, not Tails, but YOU. You have so much inner strength; you have so much hate that I can't stand seeing you waste it like this! But don't worry; it won't be too long until you see the light. Eventually you'll come to me, begging for me to forgive your ignorance, and I will. Because after all, I'm you, and I'll always be here.

Ant didn't know how to respond to that, unfortunately, he agreed with some of it. Antoine backed away from the sink, and got ready to meet the troops. But he didn't feel right. He asked one final question.a

Are you my ego? My conscience?

I'm just your inner voice, I'm your guide on the journey to success.

Does ever one have one? An inner voice, I mean.

Nope, just you.

What? How can that be? All he got in response was the truth.

Because you're fucking crazy! A laugh, and then silence.

Tell me what you think of the 'inner voice'.