*With Sonic, real time, in a cave in the Frostbite Dimension*
NO. YOU MUST FAIL. I CAN NOT ALLOW YOU TO PROCCEED.
A sharp pain rocketed through Sonic's brain, forcing the hedgehog to the ground. The hero clutched his head and groaned as he tried to make the feeling go away, but to no avail.
"You are torn between darkness and light, Sonic the Hedgehog," The voice echoed. "The question is, which one will prevail inside of you?"
With that, a large, purple lizard stepped out from the shadows. Grey and black armor covered the dragon with a glowing aura around his shoulder pads, and he bore a helmet with horns coming out the sides and leaves attached to the back, snaking down to his neck. A large, black cloth was wrapped around his waist, cloaking his legs down to his knees. A large, gleaming sword was attached to his back, which emitted a glow that contained both darkness and light. The lizard's piercing green eyes bored into the Fastest Thing Alive.
"My, Grandma…" Sonic laughed painfully, still trying to subside the pain. "What big horns you have."
"I am Obsidian Prime, old ally of the family of Blaze the Cat. I have been sent to guard this delicate ingredient from any harm upon orders of my queen's soothsayer!" The dragon began.
"Hey, could you just fax my friend the rest of this story and get to the part where I get the ingredient?" The Blue Blur asked.
"I obtained this sword, many years ago…" Obsidian continued, ignoring Sonic's interjection and pulling out his weapon. "…when two beings, a war hero and a king, were sucked into the blade, turning it into a container for both evil and good…dark and light. My queen keeps these forces in check, as well as myself, so that these forces will never over power each other and either scorch the universe with light or drown it in darkness."
"I.N.G.R.E.D.I.E.N.T."
"Now, for my mission."
"Yay…" The hero groaned.
"I need to protect these valuable objects from falling into the wrong hands. You need to prove to me that you're of pure heart and intentions and that you have not been corrupted by the evil within if I am to allow you to proceed."
That means don't kill him, The pure being inside of Sonic stated. Don't hurt him if possible.
"Do my best," The hero murmured, standing up, trying to ignore the pain. "Alright. Let's get this over with."
"No patience. Symbol of darkness."
Sonic sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Not very polite either. You're not doing too well right off the bat," Obsidian added, drawing his sword. "Although I do understand that you are pressed for time. You do only have about three hours before your deadline."
With that, Prime lunged at Sonic. The hero back flipped away from the swift guardian just in time, and the blade hit the ground with a thunk, sinking into the stone ground. Obsidian pulled the sword from the ground like a knife out of butter and stretched his arm out, which began to shine with a dark black and purple.
"Dark Revengeance!" The lizard commanded in a slightly deeper voice.
A large, mist-like hand shrouded Prime's palm. Prime swung it down towards the Blue Blur, but Sonic was able to barrel roll to his right and avoid the hand. To his surprise, when the shadow-like palm was lifted, a crater in the shape of the palm was left behind.
"I'm NOT giving you a high five," The blue hedgehog stated, still ignoring the pain in his head.
"Void storm!" The guardian called.
A large, black rift opened up before the blue hero and began to suck things into the endless void, slowly gaining in strength with every passing second. The Fastest Thing Alive leaped behind a large rock, gripping the stone as to not be sucked in.
"Impressive, although you have taken no steps in defeating me." Obsidian stated, closing the rift.
Use his abilities against him, The pure being stated.
The hero leaped out from behind cover, dodging blasts of energy from the ingredient protector. Landing in front of a spire, Sonic waited for another beam of energy to come his way before jumping aside, shattering the naturally formed rock pillar. All around the rest of the cave, the hedgehog continued to do this, making the cavern shake violently.
"You dodge my attacks, yet you do not strike back. Purity is there, but can you use it to win?" Prime questioned, obliterating another pillar.
"Hope so," Came the reply.
After the last stalagmite was destroyed, the hedgehog ducked behind a stone crevice.
You need one last strike from him that contains immense power in order to defeat him.
SHUT UP! SHUT UP, INSOLENT FOOL! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DEALING WITH! YOU ARE OUTMATCHED!
What are you doing? Get away from me!
Everything inside the Blue Blur's mind went quiet. Suddenly, Sonic roared in agony, grabbing his head ad sinking to his knees. A white and dark aura began to slither over his entire body, meeting at the center of his torso.
"You desire peace and a positive outcome, yet your two forces that you've kept in balance for years are now tearing you apart. If you cannot control these inner beings, you will fail your mission and be destroyed in the process," Prime called. "Which will prevail?"
Sonic gritted his teeth, leaped out from behind cover and hurdled the lizard, making the guardian stab the unstable roof of the cave above him, sending the ceiling crumbling down on top of him. The hero landed a few feet away, realizing that the pain subsided once more.
YOU MAY HAVE STOPPED ME FOR NOW, BUT I WILL HAVE CONTROL OF YOUR BODY SOON ENOUGH.
Thank…you for that…Your evil counterpart was…strangling me.
Obsidian Prime emerged from the rubble, using his sword as a crutch to heave himself up. "You've defeated me without throwing one punch. Your use of intelligence, tactics and peace have brought you victory. Remember this lesson. You now have my assistance as well as my permission to acquire your ingredient. Though your personality contains traces of darkness, your intentions are that of a hero's."
"Kinda am a hero, but whatever," The hedgehog stated, brushing past the guardian. Picking up a fistful of Ajax, the Blue Blur carefully poured the last needed ingredient into the container, shoving it back into his coat pocket after he sealed it back up.
"I will now assist you on your journey," Prime stated, leaning against a stone wall.
"Sorry to disappoint, but journey's almost over. Just need to get back to cure Amy and blast these Robuttnik monsters with the cure."
"Then I shall accompany you as you make your way back to your home."
Just then, the entrance to the cave collapsed in a heap of rock and rubble. Amidst the darkness, two eyes shone from the wall and a deep rumble echoed throughout the cavern.
Sonic threw his hands up in exasperation. "Yeah! Of course! Are you guys trynna compete with Amy for the Most Persistent Stalker award?"
"No. I will not allow evil to impare your quest further," The lizard stated, making his sword glow once more. "I shall open the cave entrance, but you must go if you are to make it in time."
Thrusting his arm forward, the dragon's palm glowed a deep purple before the rocks that blocked the exit were obliterated out into the open, allowing a cold and brutal wind to sweep through. As soon as the path was cleared, a green figure formed at the cave opening, blocking the way out once more.
Sonic lowered his eyes and gritted his teeth before barreling out of the cave, smashing through the body of Toxic and bolting out into the open, once free from the cave, the Fastest Thing Alive pulled out his trans-dimensional disc and opened a portal back to Mobius, jumping through to the other side.
After the hedgehog was gone, Obsidian slammed his sword into the ground, causing another cave in. His eyes shone with a menacing aura as he pulled out his blade and took his stance before the newly reformed Toxic and The Plague, who surrounded him entirely since it was in the walls of the cave. His sword became hot to the touch as he raised it high into the air, turning the tip of the sword downward and making his weapon glow with a dark color. Roaring as loud as he could and mustering all of his strength, he slammed his blade into the ground, causing the floor to crumble beneath his feet. The floor gave way, and soon he and Toxic were freefalling in a black abyss, waiting to hit the ground.
*In Mobius, five minutes earlier*
Sonic tumbled out of the portal, rolling to a stop. Finally, he was back home, and with all the ingredients to boot. All he had to do was make it back in time, but he didn't know what direction home was, or even more importantly, how much time he had left.
"Yo, Tails? Got that ingredient you wanted. Can you gimme a beat on where I have to go to get back home?" The hero asked.
After a few seconds, his friend was online. "You're back! Quick! No time to lose!"
"Whaddya mean?"
"I mean that Amy only has thirty-five minutes to live! I've pinpointed your location on the Mobian map. You're on the other side of Mobius! You'll have to sprint back here!"
"Wait! I can just…" Sonic trailed off as he pulled out his dimensional disc, which had been crushed when he tumbled out of the portal. "Yeah. Never mind. Just gimme directions!"
The hero sped off towards home, being guided by his best friend the whole way. Speeding through cities, country-sides, mountain ranges and briefly across a lake, the hero was making excellent progress.
But of course, things just couldn't be easy.
Four large, stone walls shot up around the hedgehog and encased him in a cube. From the ground, The Plague rose up once more, but instead of the usual smirk and confident, bad guy walk, it's face was contorted with anger and hate with a defensive, threatening walk. Toxic was on the other side of the hero.
"You give us big chase," The stone beast stated. "Supposed to be easy job. Please master. You make hard. Now with deadline close, we hurry and kill you before anyone else"
"Your journey ends here, hedgehog," The green monster hissed. "We will not allow you to make that cure and save your friend. She will die along with you."
"Sonic, I've dispatched Knuckles to help you get out of there! He'll be there in ten minutes! Just hold out until then!" Tails crackled.
A black mist began to wrap around Sonic's body once more, snaking up his arms and legs. "I've had enough of you two. You've blocked me at every turn, but now? Now you've just made me mad."
Control your emotions.
OBLITERATE THEM.
Taking a few deep breaths, the blue hero was able to calm down a little, and the mist faded once more. However, his expression didn't change. After rolling his head around and cracking his neck, the hedgehog made his move. Speeding towards The Plague, Sonic flipped over the monster and grabbed it's head, launching it into the rocky cube that encased him. Landing on the side of the wall, the Blue Blur quickly ripped off The Plague's left arm and fired it towards Toxic, nailing the slime ball right in the chest. Propelling himself off of the groaning stone beast, Sonic leaped into the air before pile-driving into Toxic's head, splattering green goop everywhere. The hero grabbed ahold of the gooey being's legs and slammed it into the wall, making it look like someone sneezed on the large rock encasing.
Don't sap your energy. You still have to make it back to save Amy.
NONSENSE. DEMOLISH THESE FOOLS.
Curling into a ball, Sonic began shooting around the cube like a pinball, bouncing and sliding off every corner of the square, all the while making sure to get some good hits in on the two creations.
He was having a blast. Didn't wanna stop.
Sonic lost track of time. He became so entranced in his flawless fighting that he almost didn't hear Knuckles break down one of the solid rock wall with his fists. Landing near his echidna friend, Sonic was panting lightly and gingerly fist bumped Knuckles, which with his hands, was always a risk.
"Sonic! By my calculations! Amy only has twenty minutes to live! You have to hurry and get those ingredients back here!" Tails echoed through the intercom as Sonic dodged an attack from The Plague.
"I got this," Knuckles called, fending off Toxic.
"You think you can handle both?" The hero asked.
"No, but I can stall them, and that's what you need to get that antidote together. I'll be fine! Just get going!" The echidna grunted, slamming his fist into Toxic face, only to see it reform with more green slime. "Dang, you're ugly!"
With that, Sonic sped out of the cube.
"I'm on my way, Tails!" The hero announced.
"Great! I have everything prepped and ready for your arrival! Just be s—"
Sonic blacked out.
*Within Sonic's mind*
No! What are you doing? Stop this!
The Blue Blur groggily stood up, still in his spot between the light and dark Sonics.
NEVER! YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO GET THIS FAR. I'VE DONE MY BEST TO MAKE SURE YOU'VE FAILED, SONIC, BUT I WILL NOT SIT BY AND WATCH YOU SHOVE ME BACK INTO THE BACK OF YOUR MIND, NEVER TO EMERGE AGAIN.
Fight him! You need to wake up! Amy is counting on you! Everyone is counting on you! If you fail, the consequences will be far more severe than you could ever have imagined!
Sonic clenched his jaw and began to focus. He was in a rush. Couldn't be sidetracked now. Slowly, he felt himself being pulled back into the real world, but it was hard. It wasn't long before his vision started to fade.
Yes! That's it! Fight him!
YES. FIGHT ME. GO AHEAD. GO BACK TO YOUR WORLD.
As the hero's vision faded, it was hard to tell, but he thought he saw a faint smirk on his darker form's face.
Then, everything went black.
*In Mobius*
Sonic woke up to an awful pain. Every fiber of his body was aching. His legs, arms and chest were scratched up from where he had fallen after he black out. His quills were a mess and a large gash was across his forehead.
He had no idea how long he'd been out for. It felt like minutes, but…who knows?
He had no time to lose. The Fastest Thing Alive scrambled to his feet, patting the container of ingredients to make sure it was still there in his coat pocket. He was in such a hurry, he had forgotten to shed his winter clothes after he got back to Mobius.
Sonic made a B-line for Mobiocity, where the home base was. Everything was chaotic, but the hero paid no mind to that. He would deal with those issues later. Right now, he had more pressing matters to attend to.
Dashing through the streets, Sonic arrived at the HQ and barged in, making his way towards the medical room. Once arrived, he called for Tails, but looked around and only saw Amy. Amy, who was hooked up to wires and tubes and machines.
Amy, who looked awfully pale.
Amy, who didn't seem to be breathing.
Amy, who upon being checked for a pulse…
Tails emerged from the room next door with watery eyes and a large, pained frown as he looked at his blue friend. "I'm…I…"
Sonic turned around to see his best friend before shifting back to the pink hedgehog, dropping the canister of ingredients and grabbing Amy and pulling her in for a hug, sobbing uncontrollably.
No hug was given back.
Amy Rose condition: Deceased
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