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CoC 1: Fire and Ice- Ch. 9: Sonic's Choice

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It didn't take long for Sonic and Ariana to arrive in the ruins of Station Square. Sonic set Ariana down at the edge of the once-proud metropolitan, and they looked around. The buildings had been reduced to blackened rubble, which barely distinguished it from the black wasteland surrounding it. Sonic's ears twitched.
Sonic: Hey, Ari... Do you hear anything?
Ari: No. What's there to hear?
Sonic: The silence is creeping me out. I mean, shouldn't we hear Fire and Ice fighting?
Ari: They're not fighting right now. Haven't you noticed? When they have a common enemy, they temporarily put aside their differences and fight it.
Sonic: Gee, I sure wish they could do that all the time, not just when they have someone trying to stop them. It would sure make our job a lot easier.
Ari: Yeah... *looks sad and slightly nervous*
Sonic: Hey, don't worry. Everything's going to be okay. I'll fix this.
Ari: *smirks* *gestures to the ruined city* You mean, this?
Sonic: *sighs* *rolls eyes* (annoyed) You know what I mean.
Ari: *smiles* Yeah, I do. You shouldn't be worried either.
Sonic: What makes you think I'm worried?
Ari: In a stressful situation, the first thing you lose is your sense of humor. You, my friend, have lost yours.
Sonic: I have not!
Ari: You're also tenser than I've ever seen you before.
Sonic: (sigh) Yeah, I guess. I'm just worried about our friends is all.
Ari: So what are we waiting for?
Sonic: Absolutely nothing! Let's go!
Ari: There's the upbeat, optimistic Sonic I know.

The two friends continued through the desolate city until they got to its center. Fire and Ice Chaos were waiting there with Sonic's friends. Each was in a cage of ice. They all looked up as Sonic and Ariana approached, and their eyes widened.
Tails: Sonic! Ari!
Between Fire, Ice, and the cages and Sonic and Ari were the yellow, purple, green, and white Chaos Emeralds. Sonic's Chaos sense went crazy, as did Ari's. All seven Chaos Emeralds were together in one place. The ringing in their ears was louder than it had ever been. Not so loud they couldn't hear over it, but it certainly was annoying. Fire and Ice glared at them. Sonic and Ari could feel their scathing and icy looks. For a crazy second, Sonic considered dashing to the Chaos Emeralds, turning Super, busting his friends out of their cages, Chaos Controlling them away, and taking on Fire and Ice the way he had Water Chaos.
Ari: *gasp* No!
Sonic, thinking that the scream had been directed at him, looked at her, to see her wide, emerald eyes fixed on the cages. He followed her gaze and couldn't stop a gasp from escaping him as well. The ice cages were on fire. Their captive friends seemed to be cooking. They were sweating, and their fur was singed. The fire went out and everyone visibly relaxed except Fire and Ice. The cages, despite being made of ice, looked completely unaffected as if nothing had happened. Fire and Ice continued to glare at the two hedgehogs, more intensely than before. The message was clear: if either made a move for the Emeralds, their friends were toast.
Ice: I'll make this clear, Sonic the Hedgehog. Place your Emeralds next to ours. Comply, and your friends go free. Refuse, or try to take the Emeralds, and your friends die.
It was an impossible choice, a lose-lose situation. Either he gave Fire and Ice the Emeralds and let them become undefeatable and free to fight until they had destroyed everything, or he stopped them and sacrificed his friends. Neither choice was acceptable. He found himself looking to Ari.
Sonic: Ari... what should I do?
She shook her head, just as torn as he was. Torn between promises, duties, revenge, her friends, her family, the past, and the present.
Ari: Sonic... this is your fight... and it's your choice. But if they absorb the energy of the Chaos Emeralds as well as the Master Emerald's... they'll be unstoppable. And Shadow and Silver... they may not survive.
Sonic hadn't thought about that. So whatever he did, friends of his could get hurt, even die? That just wasn't fair. He took out the red Chaos Emerald and looked at it.
Sonic: (thinking) Can I really let my friends die for these? ...No, I can't. Shadow and Silver are tough. They'll pull through somehow. But my other friends won't stand a chance if I don't give these up.
Resolved, Sonic walked towards the other Chaos Emeralds.
Tails: No! Sonic! Don't do it!
Fire: Silence!
Cream: Don't tell us to be quiet, you creep!
Knuckles: You can't just let them win, Sonic! Come on! Use those Emeralds and kick their sorry butts!
Espio: Don't sacrifice the fate of the world for us! You must do the right thing!
Charmy: Hey! I don't wanna die!
Vector: Charmy!
Charmy: I mean, give them a wallop for me when I'm gone!
Vector: Don't worry about us! We'll be fine!
Sonic: *closes eyes* Sorry guys. But I... I can't let you die. Not for the Emeralds.
Amy: Sonic...
Blaze: Much more than the Emeralds are at stake here! You mustn't let them have that power!
Ice: Cut the sentiment and give us the Chaos Emeralds.
Sonic: Just promise you'll release all of my friends.
A small gasp escaped Ariana.
Fire: Of course. Now do it!
Sonic placed the red Emerald on the ground with the others. Then the cyan, then, finally, the blue.
Ice: Now back away. Slowly.
Sonic did as he was told, and the ice imprisoning his friends melted. They came stumbling out. Sonic ran to them. Amy threw her arms around him while the others looked at him sadly.

Sonic: Come on. Let's get out of here.
Knuckles: You're running? We can't just let them get away with this!
Sonic: We won't! I won't! But now we have to regroup. Come on!
Sonic and his friends started running from the center of Station Square. Ari, however, stood her ground.
Sonic: Ari! Come on! Let's get out of here!
Ari: (to Fire and Ice) You haven't upheld your end of the deal.
Everyone froze, stunned by this accusation.
Ari: You said you would release all of Sonic's friends. But you haven't released Shadow and Silver!
Sonic and his friends gasped. None of them had realized that Sonic was also bargaining for Shadow and Silver when he had bargained for his friends. Fire and Ice apparently hadn't considered this either. Then, however, Fire smirked.
Fire: You, child, are in no position to tell us what to do. We have the Chaos Emeralds now. You said it yourself. We are unstoppable now. We don't need these mortal bodies anymore, but in order for us to take form, we must burn through them completely. And impressive as it is that they have withheld for this long, they are almost at their limit. No, we shall not release them. What are you going to do about it. The Chaos Emeralds are right there. You could use them. Your friends are no longer endangered. Of course, you would probably kill Shadow and Silver, but they'll die anyway, so what does it matter? Or could you not live with the blood of two more innocents on your hands?
Ari hung her head.
Sonic: Ari! Don't listen to them! Let's just get out of here already!
Ari's hands curled into fists and trembled as the Chaos Emeralds lifted off the ground and began to circle around Fire and Ice.
Sonic: Ari! Come on!
Ari lifted her head. Her irises were glowing, blazing emerald green.
Ari: No! It won't end like this! It can't! I won't let it!
Overcome by the feeling that Ari was about to do something incredibly stupid, Sonic ran toward her.
Amy: Sonic!
Wave of energy pulsed out from Ari, knocking Sonic on his back. Emerald green energy leaked from Fire and Ice and gathered around Ari.
Knuckles: That's a part of the Master Emerald's energy!
Sonic: Ari! What are you doing?!
The Master Emerald energy was drawn into Ari and she became outlined in an emerald green glow. Slowly, deliberately, Ai raised her hand and fired a bolt of energy at Fire and Ice. They flinched as if they had been hurt, but no damage seemed to have been done.
Ice: Fool. You will simply expend your energy as you did on Angel Island, and this time, we will be sure to kill you.
Ari: I don't think so.
She snapped her fingers. More energy left Fire and Ice. It curled around her right and was then absorbed.
Fire: (slightly scared) How?! How is this possible?!
Ari: *smirks* I'm a Child of Prophecy.
She brought both her hands in front of her and fired a massive blast of energy, only to absorb more right after. Fire and Ice actually looked like they had been hurt. Fear showed in both their eyes. Sonic, meanwhile, couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Sonic: Ari... This can't be her! She's not like this at all!
Espio: Ariana has lost all control over herself.
Fire and Ice fired a blast at her, but she created an emerald green shield around herself, completely dispersing the attack. She replenished her energy. Then she suddenly cried out in pain.
Sonic: Ari!
Tails: Sonic, let's get out of here!
Sonic: We can't just leave her! I think she's hurt!
Tails: She's out of control. She could hurt you.
Sonic: ... Tails?
Tails: Yeah?
Sonic: Get the others out of here.
Tails: What?
Sonic: You heard me. Leave. Run. Get out of here.
Tails: What about you?
Sonic: I'll catch up to you. And I'll have Ari with me. You'll see.
Tails: Alright... Let's go, everyone!
Tails and the others ran from the center of the city. Sonic turned around to face Ari, Fire, and Ice. By now, the Chaos Emeralds had disappeared, having been absorbed by Fire and Ice. Ari was on one knee. She was still using the Master Emerald's power, but now it seemed to be hurting her.
Sonic: Ari!
He ran toward her and grabbed her shoulder. As soon as he touched her, he felt some of the Master Emerald's energy leave Ari and flow into him. His irises began to glow emerald green. The sensation was totally new to him as he had never absorbed energy from the Master Emerald before. It felt like the Chaos Emeralds' energy, but much less wild. More energy flowed into Sonic, as if Ari's body was trying to get rid of it, but Sonic soon found that his own body didn't like this energy very much. At some point, the energy was released from him in a wave. Sonic was fairly sure that was what happened when someone couldn't absorb any more energy, which was strange because he had absorbed far more than this from the Chaos Emeralds.

Several energy-releasing waves later, Ariana slumped to the ground and her eyes stopped glowing. Sonic caught her.
Sonic: Ari? Are you alright?
Ari: Sonic, I... I lost control. I kept absorbing energy, but it was too much for me. I couldn't stop myself, and I...
Sonic: Chaos Overload...
Ari: Yeah... I was just... so angry, I...
Sonic: I told you, Ari. You gotta smile and have fun with it.
Ari: You've never lost control like that?
Sonic: Once, when I got really angry, but I'll tell you about that later. Right now, let's get out of here.
Ari: Yeah...
Sonic picked her up and started running towards where Tails and the others had gone, but a blast landed in front of them.
Fire: You two aren't going anywhere!
Sonic: Shoot... We may have to fight our way out.
Ari: Sonic...
With trembling legs, she got down and stood.
Ari: ...run.
Sonic: What?! Ari, you can barely stand!
Ari: I can distract them. You get out of here.
Sonic: No! I'm not leaving you!
Fire and Ice readied another blast.
Ari: Go! *shoves him away from her*
Sonic: No!
Sonic grabbed her hand, determined not to leave her behind. Then, a crazy idea came into his mind. He could still feel some of the Master Emerald's energy inside of him, so maybe... He pulled Ari closer to him.
Sonic: Chaos Control! He began to feel himself warping. But just at the last second, he felt Ari pulled away from him.
Sonic: Ari!
But it was too late to stop the Chaos Control. Sonic disappeared.

Ariana struggled against Ice, who had been the one to pull her away from Sonic. She saw Sonic disappeared and wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Sonic was safe for the time-being, but she was probably dead. Ice threw her to the ground and flames burst into being all around her. She felt burns form all over her and her fur singe. It hurt like you couldn't imagine, but Ari was determined not to scream or cry. She refused to give Fire and Ice the satisfaction. Then, it stopped. Ari waited a moment for the next form of torture to start. When it didn't, she shakily stood up to face Fire and Ice, which was apparently what they had been waiting for. Ice extended his hand and ice formed around her. She was completely immobilized. Only her face was uncovered. Cold seeped into her limbs. At first, it was a relief from the unbearable heat, but then she began to shiver. She was too cold now. They would probably leave her like this to freeze. Then, Fire walked up to her. He put a hand of the ice.
Ice: Don't touch that! You could melt the ice.
Ari: (dryly) Oh, continue touching it. Please.
Fire: *frowns* *removes hand* I admire your resilience, Ariana. Really, I do. But this is getting ridiculous. We just can't seem to kill you. Everytime we think we've gotten rid of you, you just come back a few years later. It's a little infuriating, really.
Ari: *smirk* Maybe it's because the good guys always win.
Fire: Judging by your position, I'd say that was incorrect. Sonic, of course, is going to keep playing the hero, which means he'll inevitably come back for you. And when he does, we'll crush him like the bug he is, all while you watch and weep for the last of your family.
Ari: My family?
Fire: Oh, I'm sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself.
Ari: (thinking) Does he mean Sonic is like family to me? I didn't really think about it, but... yeah, I guess he is.
Then the rest of what he had said hit her. They were keeping her alive... so she could watch Sonic die. Despite her best efforts, a single tear fell from her eye.
Fire: There we go. There's the tear we wanted to see. It looks like we've found your breaking point, child. The people you care about are your weaknesses. And the hedgehog is the biggest living one of them all.
Wow, I actually looked at my draft while writing this. That usually doesn't happen. I'm also not usually this lazy over the week. And I had such a nice backlog of work too... Anyway, sorry about submitting this so late in the day if you were expecting this sooner.

Sonic and all official character © SEGA.
Ariana and all fan characters © me.

Enjoy!
© 2015 - 2024 SkystormChaosCore
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