(So. Bored. I have nothing to do. I'M GOING OFF THE RAILS ON A CRAZY TRAIN! No. I'm not. Pandora lies.
Last time on In the Dark… (I really need to change this story's title…Review on suggestions!)
After visiting Tails's grave, Sally, Amy, and an injured Sonic continue to research the elusive Light Stones. Unfortunately, it seems the press has found out something is amiss in Mobius's recent peace, and Sonic hopes it won't cause too much of a problem for him. Luckily, the research has paid off; and the trio finds themselves at G.U.N.'s headquarters pursuing a lead. However, Sonic is forced to retell everything since the battle with Eggman to General Tower just to get his hands on the Stone, which pushes him to his breaking point. To make matters worse, General Tower gave the Stone to someone else, which may mean Sonic has to go through the same torture of telling his story over again. Will they succeed in finding the second Light Stone? Will the same brutal battle that proceeded in finding the first Stone occur again? How long can Sonic hold on? Read on to find out, or go back to Chapter 8 – Healing to read more about the last chapter.)
"Come with me," Dark hissed in my mind. "Give in to the darkness…"
"NO!" I shouted at him. "You can't win, you soulless imposture!"
We were both weakened, yet strong in our minds. Dark had enough power to give me a hard time, but I could fend him off. After a good fifteen minutes of fighting for control, Dark finally gave up for the time being. My whole body relaxed and I sighed with relief.
"You okay?" Sally asked. She and Amy had stood by the entire time to keep a lookout for people who might disrupt us.
"Yeah," I said, breathing hard. "Just fine." I stood, grimacing. "Let's go."
The girls looked at me, concerned, and we left the alleyway and went back inside.
We headed back to the lobby, where we found the man we were looking for leaning against one of the pillars. Colonel Higgins was less severe-looking than most of the other soldiers, despite having an eye-patch over one eye. His one good eye looked kind and was a bright blue. He had dark skin and short, messy black hair that stuck up at all angles. He was young too, hardly old enough to even be in the military, let alone a colonel. He wore a military uniform with a number of badges pinned to it. He also had his ears pierced, with one small gold ring through each one. When he saw us, he straightened and smiled.
"You must be the three I was told to talk to," Colonel Higgins said. "General Tower told me all about your little problem…" He looked at me. "…but I suppose it's not that little, is it?"
I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders when he said he knew what was going on. I wouldn't have to tell him, and Dark didn't have a reason to get upset. I smiled a little.
"You guys like adventure, right?" the colonel asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"Well, maybe you can help me then. I do have the Light Stone, but I buried it to keep it safe. The general doubted its power, but I knew it had more than he knew. So I hid it."
"Do you remember where?" Sally asked.
"Somewhere in Knothole Village," he replied. "In the ruins of the main headquarters."
"Smart," I said.
"So if you wanna come and help me find it, that'd be great," he said.
"Definitely!" Amy chipped in. "Thanks for letting us use it!"
"No problem," Higgins said. "Think I could get it back when you're through with it?"
"Possibly, but no promises," I said with a smirk. "Things tend to get destroyed in my possession."
Sally rolled her eyes.
"I know the feeling," the colonel chuckled.
"So what are we waiting for?" Amy asked. "Let's go!"
"Hold it," I said. "Do you really think I should be going? After what happened last time?"
"You don't have to actually look for it," Sally said. "But you can watch."
I nodded. "Sure. See you there." Without warning, I raced off toward the ruins of what used to be my home.
Minutes later, we were all standing in the dust and rubble of the headquarters. Well, Sally, Amy, and Colonel Higgins were. I was sitting in a tree, lying against the tree trunk, hands behind my head. Despite looking relaxed, a lot was going on in my mind. An argument had broken out between me and Dark over Eggman. I couldn't tell you who was winning. I waited for hours while they searched and eventually got impatient.
"Do you guys want me to help?" I called down from my tree.
"No, we got it," Sally said.
"We've been searching almost all day!" Amy cried. "I don't think it's here."
I sighed and climbed down from the tree. "Stand back," I said. The three of them stepped off the ruins. I started running around the ash and rubble-covered ground, the wind whipping up the debris into a tornado-like cloud. Pain shot through my side and I grimaced, but I pushed myself until the pain was unbearable.
"Stop, Sonic!" Sally cried. "I see it!"
I skidded to a stop, fell to my knees, and clutched my side, breathing hard. Amy rushed to my aid while Sally walked through the dust towards the glowing orange Stone, with sat atop the old, torn Freedom Fighter flag.
"Don't touch it!" I cried, remembering something I read in a book about it. But it was too late. As soon as Sally picked it up, there was a flash of light. We all turned away from it and shielded our eyes. An arrow of light shot out of the Stone and pierced me like a dagger, but I felt no pain. Instead, the same black smoke that had appeared when we found the first Stone seeped out where the light had hit me. I cried out, the smoke leaving a burning sensation throughout my entire body.
The book I read hand said that the Light Stones would locate the source of evil as long as it was within a 300-yard radius. The most evil thing here was inside of me, so it targeted me and was ready to draw out the evil.
"Get out of here!" I shouted. "All of you! Go!"
The colonel, Sally, and Amy reluctantly retreated. A few feet away from me, the smoke materialized into Dark, and I changed back to normal. Dark looked weaker, with his side stained black with his dried blood. This fight wasn't going to take long, considering what shape the both of us were in.
I stood, wincing. "I'm not fighting you again. I mean, it's obvious neither of us are going to get very far."
Dark glared at me. "Well, it's not like I had a choice," he snapped. "But I still have more power than you." He put his hand out in front of me and sent another of his dark energy blasts at me. I easily stepped out of the way and it hit a dead tree behind me.
"Is that all you can do?" I taunted. "Pathetic."
"It's better than what you can do," Dark sneered.
"Last time I checked, I wasn't the one beaten up by a girl," I smirked.
Dark growled and lunged at me, but I avoided him by taking two steps to the side and he ran into a tree. He cried out – if it was in frustration or in pain, I couldn't tell – and spun around to face me, staring daggers at me.
"Amy, I'm getting sick of this guy," I said. "Mind beating his head in like you did last time?"
"My pleasure!" Amy said, stepping out from behind a tree, her giant mallet raised. Dark stumbled backwards but tripped over a slab of concrete and fell. Amy started pounding him like he was a giant nail that wouldn't go into a block of wood. I could almost feel his pain, but it was too funny to pity him. Only a few seconds after she started, Dark obviously had enough because he changed back into his smoky self and went back into my body. For some reason it hurt less when he re-entered, but I knew nothing had changed because I changed back into my Dark form. I looked at my darkened skin and the aura around my hands and groaned.
"Don't worry," Sally said, stepping cautiously out into the open. "We'll find a way to rid you of him."
"What – who – was that?" Colonel Higgins asked, also rejoining us. I'd almost forgotten he was there.
"That," I said, "is the entire reason we need these Stones."
The colonel nodded in understanding as Sally pocketed the second Light Stone, which was now only faintly glowing.
"I don't suppose you know where the last Light Stone is, do you?" I asked Higgins.
He shook his head. "Nope, sorry."
"Man," I said, shot. "And I was hoping it'd be easy."
(Okay. I'm done. I had to end it there so I could post it today. So I REALLY need ideas, because I'm running out of them. A fan by the name of aquayzar777 suggested **POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT** Tails Doll owning the last stone, and I would like to incorporate it but am finding it hard to come up with a plan for it. So I want to know your thoughts on it and your ideas. ALL IDEAS WILL BE CREDITED!
Okay, so…read, review, favorite, and follow I guess! RRF&F. Stay tuned for Chapter 10, which I probably won't be able to post tomorrow because I go to my grandparents' on Thursdays for most of the day, soooo…yeah. Hope you all enjoyed this! Not the most exciting chapter, because I couldn't find time to incorporate my original idea into it, but oh well.
Goodbye, all you random readers!)
~SonicTheHedgehog-Nerd