Violet Dreams

Part II

Chapter 48: Fear

"It is said that wrath is the last thing in a man to grow old."

Location: Emerald Desert

Sand and dust jumped upwards into the scorching hot air like pillars. The blue hero tumbled and jerked through the sand, until finally he stumbled to a stop against a lonely palm tree. Groaning heavily, Sonic rubbed his head, and then glared up into the sun beaming down from the blue sky.

Not too far off in the distance, he could see the beast he had fought five years ago slowly escaping its prison.

"This place doesn't feel very apocalyptic..." Sonic mumbled to himself, wiping the beads of sweat collecting at his brow. "Only thing terrifying about this place is the heat! For Chaos' sake! There has to be some water out here! Or a chilidog atleast!"

His voice echoed across the expansive wasteland, then once again everything became silent. A gust of wind swished the sand around at Sonic's feet as he begun walking, trying to find a way back to his friends.

"Exactly what I need in a situation like this...to get lost," he moaned, unsure of where he was.

A cloud of dust followed close in the blue blurs wake as he sprinted through the barren terrain, following him ever so closely. Suddenly the hero launched forward even faster, aimed towards a stronghold in the distance.

In the blink of an eye, Sonic had blazed his way towards the abandoned GUN HQ that Eggman had destroyed long ago. Scrap parts from old Egg Pawns lay idle across the gigantic complex, remaining unscathed by the test of time. The blue hero glanced around after skidding to a stop in the courtyard, where he found skeletal remains of soldiers and prisoners strewn about.

"Jeez, there must'a been something important here for ol' Egghead to cause this amount of damage," the blue hero remarked, walking around the base. "But I wonder why I was sent here? There has to be a reason."

"Destiny has a funny way of setting things up," an aloof voice called out. "Wouldn't you say, hedgehog?"

Sonic spun around ferociously, his eyes locking onto the figure atop the look-out tower. A white cloak wavered against the howling desert wind, a savage sandstorm making it's way across the expansive wasteland and towards the stronghold.

"I should've known I'd find one of you scumbags here!" Sonic howled, his fists balling up in anger.

"Indeed you should have, boy blue," Gantz retorted, and jumped to the ground, his cloak disappearing with his descent. "You've really ignited some interest in our group, y'know. There's no chance in hell he'd let the opportunity go, to gather data on you!"

"Why exactly would Galaxy need to collect anything from me, when he could just face me and let me kick his ass!"

"Oh, how adorable," the man retorted with a snicker. "I thought you would have learnt by now that our leader isn't Galaxy. That foolish man has gone batshit insane! Rather, you've caught the attention of a God, my friend. Now, don't you feel special?"

A wide, toothy grin spread across Gantz's lips at the pissed off expression on Sonic. "The way I see it, you all have a screw or two loose!"

In a flash of light, Sonic rocketed across the courtyard, his fist charged with ribbons of blue energy. A dome of cerulean erupted around the mortal enemies, ripping the wall of the complex apart with ease. From the debris, the blue hero came shooting through, rolling along the sand dunes.

Sonic huffed, holding his wrist as his glove fell apart and dropped into the sand in scorched pieces. Wiping more sweat from his forehead, the blue hero once again dashed towards the Dusk agent.

"Is the heat getting to you already?"

Sand shot upwards as Gantz vaulted away from Sonic, pillars of flame lurching high into the sky behind him. Quickly side stepping, Sonic rolled away from the blazing spires and once more dashed towards his opponent, desperate to put an end to the fight as soon as possible.

Another column of flame swallowed Sonic, tossing him into the sky, allowing Gantz to deliver a crushing kick to his gut. Embers glistened upwards from the blow, and the blue blur shot down into the ground. The agent reeled his fist back, a veil of flame engulfing him like a phoenix as he shot down towards Sonic as though he were a flaming meteor.

Sonic, on the other hand, bounded away from the ground in the knick of time, avoiding the fiery collision. Sand jumped up into the sky, solidifying into glass near instantaneously from the intense heat radiating away from the Dusk soldier.

"You're a lot quicker than the last time we met, boy," Gantz commented flatly, but quickly begun to laugh. "I guess I'll just have to quit with the warm ups and get straight to the main event, eh?"

An aura of flame suddenly jumped around the soldier, super heating the sandy ground into glass. The blue hero grimaced from the overbearing heat pulsing off the man before him, but still he darted across the courtyard once more. A ball of cerulean wind screamed to life in the hero's palm, which he then heaved into Gantz's chest. The tanuki bounced and tumbled back across the sandy battlefield and exploded through a building to the north. Sonic revved his legs and shot through the obliterated wall after his prey, narrowly escaping the chaotic sandstorm tearing at the bases walls.

"Heh," Gantz chuckled darkly, staggering to his feet, the flames cloaking his body incinerating the bones near him. "You see, I'm not here to kill you, hedgehog. I'm here to test you. Metal Sonic sent back something very, very interesting when you killed him...footage of a being remarkably similar to you. But, I wondered, how could that be? You've never displayed killer instinct like the beast we saw. So, I concluded that there was something inside of you...something waiting to be unleashed. The others, well, they urged me to just let the curiosity go. But, I couldn't. C'mon, boy, show me what you have hidden up your sleeve! Entertain me!"

A chill ran up Sonic's spine. "What the hell are you?"

"Your worst nightmare."

Bursting flame suddenly erupted through the halls of the base, the pit of hell seeming to open up beneath them. The headquarters shook and trembled, and with a final, twisted laugh, the flames Gantz controlled ruptured the floor, eating away at everything within. Sonic yelped and jumped away from a wall of flame, avoiding the tanuki's fist as it shot through the heat. However, another column of fire shot at Sonic from behind, threatening to eat him alive. The blue blur slammed his eyes shut, and curled into his ball form, shooting straight through like a bullet.

Sparks glistened up into the ceiling, and Sonic rolled onto the floor in a pool of blood. Beads of sweat dripped off his face to the ground, turning into steam. Slowly he urged himself back to his feet, despite his shaking legs. But Gantz had already closed the distance, and grasped the hedgehogs throat.

"C'mon, I know you have more spunk than this!" He shouted, his eyes alit with fury.

Sonic craned his head back, and with a deep breath smacked his face into the Dusk soldier, earning him a blood curdling scream of pain. Stumbling back to his feet, Sonic collected a mass of wind in his palm and swung his arm into Gantz's chest. A cyclone of blue energy swallowed the soldier, carrying him across the corridor and into the cell block ahead.

He could hear the man scream as he descended into the depths of the structure, and then he heard nothing. "That can't be the end..."

And sure enough...

It wasn't.

The building shook, its frail walls beginning to glow white with heat. Sonic gulped, dashing towards the exit, but wound up too slow for one of the few times in his life. With a mighty detonation, the prison complex had been swallowed up by a wave of fire, then shot up into a cloud of energy, ripping the GUN stronghold apart.

A mushroom cloud reached high into the sky, stemming from where the base once occupied. The sandstorm had been neutralized, and then, as the heat died out Sonic smacked into the crater the ball of flame had created. His body had been scorched, patches of his fur having been singed off. Steam rolled off of Sonic, his last glove now only a tattered cuff around his wrist. His shoes had been torn in numerous places by the heat just the same. His body smoked, carrying the scent of burnt flesh into the sky, but yet, he still drew in a breath.

Sonic heaved in air, lung full after lung full. Slowly he opened his eyes, wincing as he did so, finding that the ground had been gouged apart, allowing sand to cascade into the crater. Spires of glass that were once clouds of dust twisted up to the sky, when suddenly they all shattered in unison. Another wave of fire scorched the ground, but this time it didn't disappear, it moved towards Sonic as if it were alive.

"What...in the name of -" Sonic mumbled quietly, sliding onto his backside to scoot himself away. Where did he go...?

"You sure are resilient, boy," the rapidly approaching column of flame bellowed madly, which Sonic quickly realized to be Gantz. "Now I know without a shadow of doubt there's something inside that body of yours. Go on, let it out and play...I'm eager for some fun!"

"Fat chance, meat-head," Sonic snapped, wiping the blood from his chin. "Is that all you can -"

Each fighter turned their attention up into the sky, where they found a blue bi-plane flying through the clouds. A wave of relief washed over Sonic, realizing his brother was still safe. The blue hero quickly, but painfully, jumped up to the edge of the crater, earning a disgusted scowl from Gantz. Upon landing on the ground, he tumbled to the sand in pain, though he continued waving his arms madly to gain his allies attention.

"I guess he can't see us," Gantz called out with a rotten grin, his face illuminated by a ball of fire in his hand. "What... a... shame."

Sonic's eyes grew wide with cold realization, watching the comet of flame hurtle through the sky towards the Tornado. The blue blur screamed frantically into the air, tears brimming at the corners of his eyes.

"TAILS!"

A ball of smoke and fire hung in the sky, as the desert became peppered with shrapnel from Tornado. The flaming wing piece of the biplane struck the sand beside Sonic, but he didn't so much as budge. Then, he began to sob, and collapsed to his knees, his hands punching and grasping the sand in agony. Sonic hunched over, crying out to heavens for his younger brother.

"No..No...no...no.. ...why...? NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"

"Heh, I never expected you to be so weak, hedgehog," Gantz said with a wicked smirk. "Has the piss and vinegar finally drained out of you? Is this all you can muster? What a let down..."

Putrid, black energy begun smoking away from the weeping hedgehog, the sand around him starting to spin. The air around his body seemed to intensify and kink his quills upwards, giving him a much more feral and terrifying appearance. His tears leaked to the sand, evaporating once they hit the ground. He heaved for air, while his heart beat began to pick up at a rapid pace. The ground then gave in, collapsing under the pressure of the hedgehog's new found power.

"Still, nothing compared to the man you remind me of..." The Dusk agent grinned, watching as Sonic vanished from thin air.

However, this hadn't been unexpected. The Dusk soldier was fully aware of the transformation the hedgehog was succumbing to, and he was ready for whatever came his way.

"Though, you certainly could pass as his child!" Gantz barked, trying to shake the nostalgic feeling from his head.

A flash of light swirled into existence at the centre of the crater, pushing away wave after wave of sand. To ensure his safety, Gantz jumped out of the wound on the earth, and watched from above as the hedgehog began changing. A long, serpentine tail of black energy smacked to the ground, followed by a hellish roar. The light disbanded in a vortex of power, revealing the new creature to the Dusk soldier.

Sonic's face was now covered by a black, skull-like helmet. Two white and red horns arched out from his temples, while spines jutted down his back. Once more Sonic roared, his voice distorted and evil. Another shockwave shot away from the hedgehog, and finally two violet orbs were set ablaze behind the helmet, followed by a black flame that engulfed his hands.

"That's what I wanted to see," Gantz murmured with glee.

In a blur, the blue hero appeared in front of Gantz, swatting him across the desert floor. Puffs of sand shot upwards every time he smacked against the ground, but he managed to flip around and skid along the dirt, eyeing the horizon eagerly for his opponent. However, a cackle sounded, and the monstrous hedgehog flashed past the Dusk agent. Sonic reeled his arm back, a swirling mass of black energy collecting around his fist. With no time to counter, Gantz swung his own fist, flames jumping against the ferocity of the orb collecting around Sonic's hand. When suddenly the attacks erupted, shooting each fighter bouncing through the sand. But, Sonic was quick to recover, and once more appeared in front of Gantz like a demon. The Tanuki sneered and back stepped, avoiding the powerful tail swipe from his hunter.

"It seems you've lost your ability to be strategic with that power boost...what a shame."

The soldier quickly inhaled, and then exhaled a titanic jet of flame at the demon. Sonic screeched in agony, clawing at the helmet as it began to melt around his face. But, this only served to anger the hedgehog, and fuel his rage.

With a great roar, the demonic hedgehog zipped through the fire, causing Gantz to gasp. Sonic heaved his fist back, allowing particles of light to compact around his entire arm. Before long, a bone-like structure crawled down his shoulder and formed another balled hand around the hedgehog's own just before impact. Rings of wind burst out from around the fighters, and suddenly Sonic drove Gantz down into the ground, splitting the desert apart. A fracture shot through the ground, causing the desert to crumble apart into a gaping hole.

Both Gantz and Sonic tumbled into the depths, bouncing off of falling rubble and debris on their way down. They kicked and clawed at one another, fighting desperately to take the life from the other before they fell to their doom. A chunk of rock suddenly broke loose from the cavern wall, colliding with Sonic and pinning him to the ground in the shadows. Gantz, on the other hand slid back, panting tiredly. Though he couldn't see a thing, there was no presence of the monster his opponent had become.

Dropping his fists, Gantz stumbled to one knee, the exhaustion finally catching up to him. But, he had no time to rest. Especially not now.

The rock over Sonic began cracking, as did the ground they stood on once again. Waves of purple and black light expanded through the cracks, ripping apart the cavern, allowing magma to spew down the walls of the trench, illuminating it with a satanic glow. Suddenly the rubble on top of Sonic had been vaporized, and there he stood once again. Steam spewed from the nostril holes of the blue hero's helmet, magma dripping all around him.

He truly looked like a demon out of the deepest pit of Hell.

"Now I see," the Dusk soldier noted tiredly. "This isn't your own power...no, it's much stronger than that. You were given this by someone...something, rather. But who?"

The beast screeched with a distorted voice, the horns turning gold, while two bat like wings sprouted from his shoulders.

"You definitely aren't normal."

In the blink of an eye, Gantz found a gauntlet of energy smack into his body, heaving him against the wall. Then, two horns dug into the heated rock behind him, as Sonic's face drew near. He could feel the warm breath move along his skin, and watched as puffs of steam pulsed through the nostrils of the mask. Magma began dripping past the horns, oozing to their feet.

"Not normal at all."

Suddenly fire and heat gathered at Gantz's hand, and in a flash he drove his fist into the beasts belly, creating a scorching hole in it. Another fist smashed against the monsters chest, and an assault of punches drove the beast back into a wall. Finally, the tanuki grabbed hold of the smoking, golden horns and heaved Sonic's face into his knee. The beast screamed, it's helmet chipping and dissolving. Another fist found itself lodged into Sonic's gut, this time it heaved him up into the air, blood dripping from the fractured helmet and onto Gantz's boot. The tanuki delivered a knee into the demon, then kicked him up into the wall, watching as magma and rock washed over Sonic.

Another unholy scream echoed across the small cavern, and Gantz watched as the pieces of Sonic's armour broke and fell to the ground. A pleased grin found its way onto Gantz's face, and he jumped towards his prey. He grappled the beasts horns, and swung the devilish hero out of the cavern and into the sky. A flash of fire streaked past the dazed hedgehog, giving life to the Dusk soldier above. Gantz swung his arm into the sky and cackled, embers quickly spinning into an orb in his palm. The more power it gained, the more the attack began to look like a ball of magma.

"Say goodbye, kid," shouted Gantz, as he tensed his arm and through the attack.

Rings of flame swooshed outwards behind the orb, as it screamed through the sky and collided with Sonic, carrying him into the ground. Fire, dust and smoke shot outwards into a dome around the beast, seemingly vaporizing him.

As the blast died out, the exhausted Dusk agent fell to the ground. Propped on one knee, he stared through the smoke for any signs of life, and as it cleared, no one remained.

Another growl behind him suddenly caught his attention, and with a terrified gaze, he spun to meet Sonic behind him. The beast roared with such aggression, one might think it was no longer the lovable blue hero. The gauntlets around his arms crumbled to the ground, along with half of the helmet. However, Sonic screamed with power, digging his horns into Gantz's chest, pinning him into the ground as an orb of black light spun into existence at the beastly jaws of the mask.

Wind blew against the fighters, and everything went quiet.

Then, the orb detonated, erupting around the two in a blast dwarfing a nuclear bomb. Gantz screamed from within, but only momentarily. Soon his pleas and cries of pain were drowned out by the pure display of power, and as quickly as it had come, it vanished into a column of light that pierced the sky, fizzling away.

The battlefield cleared, and Sonic fell to his knees beside the scorched body of his hunter, his body leaking blood. He heaved in breaths of air, his chest on fire. Finally the hero tumbled onto his back, staring into the sky. His eyes closed for a brief moment, but shot back open in fear.

Above him, Gantz had managed to muster the last of his energy into his only remaining arm, creating a blade of fire. The sword plunged down towards Sonic, whom without even thinking lurched to the left, a ball of wind bursting to life in his palm, which he then plunged through Gantz's chest.

Blood splashed across Sonic's face and body, as he stared into the blank eyes of his attacker, watching him topple back onto the desert floor.

With a pained groan, the speed demon struggled back to his knees to crawl away from the bloody corpse beside him. The desert trembled again, an earthquake tearing apart the ground just as a flash of light swallowed Sonic up, carrying him to safety.

Gantz's dead body ttumbled down into the depths of the earth, forever lost to the world.