(The other day I went to a Skillet concert. It was so awesome! What's your favorite band?
Last time on In the Dark…
The quest to find the last Light Stone seems to have led Sonic to a dead end. The worst person possible has the Light Stone, having taken it from the deceased Tails's workshop. Not only that, but it's inside of them, having been swallowed to prevent others from getting it. Sonic, Sally, and Amy must track down the thief, Tails Doll, in another dimension which they accidentally got sucked into. Will the perils of this new world be the death of them? Or will they succeed in getting back the Light Stone, creating a portal, and using the Light Stones to rid Sonic of his cursed Dark form? Read on for answers, or go back to Chapter 11 – Dark Alliances to find out just how exactly they wound up here.)
Sally, Amy and I walked across the barren and grotesque landscape, careful not to step in puddles of blood or on the carcasses of people and animals. I could have run ahead and gotten to the city in seconds, but I didn't dare leave them behind. The entire walk, I felt chills – and it takes a lot to make me cold – and the feeling that we were being watched. However, after what felt like hours of walking, we were no closer to the city. It was like the land was playing tricks on us and keeping us in almost the exact same spot, even though we were walking. Eventually, I gave up.
"C'mon," I said, and scooped them up so I was holding one of them in each arm and raced off, creating a sonic boom that sent vultures and crows flying.
Finally we were making some progress. The city slowly crept up on us, and soon I was running in the smoke-choked city. As we traveled into the heart of the city, I could see more and more blood staining the concrete, buildings, and windows. What was lying in the streets was too disgusting to describe. Every now and then a shadow would quickly pass us, but whoever the shadow belonged to didn't disturb us. After a while I just stopped looking over my shoulder and kept moving.
One building rose higher above the rest, its top hidden in the clouds, lightning striking the sides. I figured that building was their castle. Who "they" were, I didn't wanna know. That, I guessed, would be where Tails Doll would be heading. I didn't like the thought of having to confront him up close. I've read about what he can do to people. If everyone here was like him, or worse, this dimension was beyond dangerous.
(I just read some of the Tails Doll Creepy Pastas. Honestly, not as scary as I thought. The one I read about Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony was scarier. But I will never play Sonic R.)
Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something that wasn't a shadow move. When I looked, I saw the tip of one of TD's tails disappear down an alley. Without hesitating, I followed him.
"Sonic, what are you doing?" Sally asked in a hushed voice.
"I saw him go down here," I said. "Trust me."
Tails Doll flew just ahead of us to the end of the alley, and then turned right. When I turned in the same direction to follow him, he was nowhere in sight. I swore under my breath and decided to just go to the tallest building. After a few minutes, I stopped at the base of the building and looked up.
"Are you sure you wanna go in there?" Amy asked.
"Yes," I said, and went inside.
The main lobby was completely dark. I could make out shadows moving around swiftly, but no bodies to go with them. The carpet was so stained with blood you could hardly tell the actual color. Directly in front of us stood an elevator. There were no stairs.
Cautiously, I set the girls down and walked towards the elevator. The doors slid open without me having to press a button to call it. Hesitantly, I stepped inside and the girls followed. There was only one button on the panel; a button with a bloodstained fingerprint on it, reading the number 666. I pressed it, wondering where it would take us. Immediately, the elevator doors slammed shut and it shot, not upwards, but downwards.
The ride seemed to go on for an eternity. As we traveled deeper and deeper into the earth, the lights flickered out. Sally and Amy squeaked in fear. A minute after that, I heard a small grating noise and the tha-thump of feet landing on the floor.
"Amy," I whispered.
"Yeah?" she answered in the darkness.
"Get out your hammer. We have company."
Suddenly, one small red light appeared in front of us. A moment later, hundreds of smaller red lights blinked on around us. The larger light moved toward us while the others stayed stationary. I felt Amy push me aside and she swung at the creature. It flew back and hit the elevator wall, and right then the other red lights advanced. Amy kept swinging, and Sally and I tried fighting them off with our hands and feet, but it's hard to hit an opponent you can hardly see. I could feel the strange creatures crawling on me, and small but piercing spots of pain near where they crawled, so I guessed I was either being bitten or scratched. I could hear Sally and Amy tiring, and I could tell they were in pain. Then I did something that could risk my sanity.
For a split second, in my mind, I let down my guard keeping Dark at bay and channeled the anger he released. In a powerful blast that came from my entire body and a shout of anger, the creatures were blasted off of us and onto the walls. I heard several splats, telling me my blast was more powerful than I thought. Unfortunately, it had almost been too much, and I crumpled to my knees, a hand to my forehead. Just then, the elevator stopped suddenly and the lights flickered back on. All around us, tiny, spindly black bodies lay around us. They had four arms and two legs, sharp teeth all around a circular mouth and long, sharp claws. They also had small, beady red eyes. There was an extra-large one crawling out of a hatch in the ceiling. Sally, Amy, and I, I noticed, all had small circles of blood on our arms and legs and long, red scratches with blood just coming to the surface of our skin, staining our fur. Sally grabbed my arm and helped me to my feet. After a minute, the elevator doors slid open with a screech and the three of us stumbled out, stepping over the small bodies that spilled into the room.
The room was unlike any I had ever seen. It was dark except for torches flickering on the stone, bloodstained walls. A path of onyx reflecting the firelight led up to what looked like an alter. On either side of the path were pools of blood…literally. Small fountains of crimson flowed out of the walls in between and beneath the torches and into the pools. On the alter sat a throne that, as I realized after a moment, was made out of bones; humerus bones made up the arm rests, femurs made up the legs of the chair, and skulls made up the top of the backrest. Seated in the throne was…me?
No, it wasn't me. This guy looked very much like me; same blue quills, same red sneakers. However, there were some very large differences. For one, his eyes were completely black with glowing red pupils. Two, his eyes were bleeding. Three, his mouth stretched far too wide, and when he grinned when we came in, I saw yellowing, sharp teeth coated in blood. Standing next to him, or rather floating, was Tails Doll.
"Welcome," he said in what was a very strange version of my voice…quieter, creepier somehow. "I am Sonic Exe. The king of this world."
"And I didn't ask," I snapped.
"Ah, a temper," Sonic Exe said. "I like that from you. Tell me. Do you want to play hide and seek?"
"Play, play with us!" Tails Doll cried.
I cringed and took a step back. "Not on your life," I scowled.
"Well, you're in luck," Sonic Exe said. "I need you, Sonic the Hedgehog, but not your friends."
"You touch them and so help me…" I said through my teeth.
"Well then…I might just have to force you to play," Sonic Exe said. Then, he snapped his fingers. Out of the pools rose strange, zombie-like creatures, with dirty bodies, missing limbs, blood-covered torn clothes, bleeding black eyes with red pupils and uncharacteristically sharp teeth and claws. A low moan rose from each of them as they advanced.
"Entertain me, my Exes," Sonic Exe smirked. Tails Doll seemed ecstatic.
"Can I play, master?" he asked.
"Not yet," Sonic Exe said to the doll. "You are carrying something of too much value. You must wait."
"Aw…" Tails Doll seemed to pout.
While they were conversing, the zombie-Exes had advanced much quicker than before, and were now attacking, slashing and snapping at us. Sally, Amy and I fought them off in our usual way, with fists, kicks, and a giant hammer. I watched as Amy got bit by one of the Exes, and after the bite she moved more sluggishly, and after a couple of minutes, crumpled to the floor, unconscious. I struggled to keep my anger in check.
"Stay with me, Sal," I murmured, fighting back-to-back with her.
"I'll try…" she said. Not long after she said that, I heard her yelp. I turned around and ripped an Exe from her arm. I swore under my breath.
"I'm…fine," she said, but I could already tell that whatever made Amy fall…poison? – was taking hold of her too. I took her hand and squeezed it to reassure her and kept fighting. It wasn't too long until I felt her fall behind me and her hand go limp in mine. I dropped it and kept fighting to distract myself from the anger boiling inside me. But no matter how many zombie/Exe corpses fell around me, more just kept coming. I was alone in fighting them. Just when I thought fewer were rising from the blood pool than before, a sharp pain raced through my shoulder. I cried out and wrenched an Exe from my arm, blood staining my fur. Immediately, the poison in the Exe's teeth started to take effect. My limbs felt like they were being turned to lead, and I had double-vision. I found it very hard to hit my target.
More zombie/Exes came upon me as I was weakened further. Just when I thought I wasn't going to be able to fight them all, that it was all over for me, I heard their leader, Sonic Exe, call them off. I watched them go back into the blood pools and, as I did, I fell to my knees, then to the side, and, unable to get up, my eyes closed.
(Da end. XD Just kidding, there's more to the story. What did you think? Creepy? Weird? Awesome? Stay tuned for the next chapter to see WHAT IN THE HECK IS HAPPENING. Ugh…Just when I think I've finished I realize I have to proofread. This'll be fun.
As my reviewers have said, WARNING; Small children, do not read this at night! XD I love that.
Again. Credit to RobinsInTheSkye for the idea. Do I really need to say that every chapter now?
If you're awesome, Read, Review, Follow and Favorite to prove it! Last person to review gets an A/N shout-out! *troll face*
Byyyye my lovely monkeys!)
~SonicTheHedgehog-Nerd