Heart of a God, Soul of a Warrior

Home Once Again

As Sonic felt himself speeding up through the ground, he eventually popped up from one of those holes that Abyss usually appeared from. He gracefully landed on both of his feet, doing a bit of a pose too. Getting out of the pose, Sonic looked around, happy by the sight of him being home. I can't believe I'm home. It's been three years- his thoughts stopped him realizing how long he had been underground. I've been Dark Gaia for three years already?! his mind raced. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen his friends in that long. Heck, he never knew he could travel to the surface and he just found out today!

What surprised Sonic was where he ended up at: Spagonia. Why would I be here? Sonic questioned himself as he walked into the city. It was all still the same even from the first day he and Chip arrived in it. Some of the civilians even got surprised when they saw him again, for some thought he was dead when really he was alive, but secretly a god. Memories jogged back into his mind, like finding out that the professor was kidnapped, fighting Abyss in Mazuri, meeting up with Annabelle at the university, and beginning the quest on piecing the planet together. Sonic wanted it to end where he got to return home.... but this was much different.

He caught his reflection in a nearby window and took a quick peek at it before continuing his walk. Sonic was back to being his normal, speedy blue self, but his ears were still curved and his tail was slightly longer. Not as long as the draconic tail he was given in his other form, but quite long to where it would wag back and forth. He even started to question if he would get the patterns that his minions had back in the Underground at night. If that was the case, Sonic would have to find a way to hide them from his friends to avoid spilling the beans. "Welcome back Sonic," he told his reflection. Then he continued onwards.

This was when he realized why he teleported here. It was the beginning of the world adventure with Chip. The beginning of an adventure that he thought would be his last. Now that he could travel back, Sonic couldn't wait to see what other adventures he would go on next. First thing was first: he needed to find his friends and prove to them that he wasn't dead, but where were they? Laughter came from behind him. Sonic, nervous, hid behind a building. As he peeked around his hiding place, he noticed Shadow. He was laughing. And there was Annabelle right next to him. Sonic could feel a bit of his jealousy rise, but tried to not let it out.

"I'm surprised that you would actually go see that film with me!" Annabelle told Shadow as they laughed. "Well of course. I'd watch anything with you around Annie," Shadow replied. Sonic watched them both head towards the university. "We still need to prove that Sonic is alive and let the whole world see!" she also added. "Don't you miss him?" Shadow, looking at Annabelle, sighed, then smiled. "Of course I do. After all, he's my biggest rival. If he was around, I'd challenge him to another race," Shadow explained to Annabelle, making her happy. Three years..... and I've never heard Shadow talk about me like this, Sonic thought in shock.

Annabelle, after telling Shadow that they should go find the others, kissed his cheek, making him blush. After that, they scooted off to the university. Sonic spun back around, with his jealous coming back. As it built up, he didn't feel like himself. Instead the patterns around his eyes appeared and his eyes began to glow a pitch black. He stopped and realized what he was doing when he spotted himself in a shattered piece of glass from below. His ears drooped as his eyes reverted to normal. I can still transform.... Sonic thought, realizing that if enraged enough he would let his true colors show. If that was the case, he wanted to see if he could still use his magic.

Sonic found a garbage can next to him, and the lid was next to it. He channeled his power into the lid, causing it to levitate in front of him. It plopped back into the garage can, satisfying Sonic. Looks like my magic hasn't changed too, Sonic also thought looking at his hands. A purple flame came from one of them, showing that he could still bend the iconic purple flames the original Dark Gaia had. This also had him curious if he could change with his powers in general asides from getting enraged. He tried it a few times, but eventually did when a swarm of purple fire surrounded him.

He looked back at the shattered glass, seeing himself back in his smaller god form. Abyss, Chip, and Lucius were right. Sonic did had to hide this from everyone, including Eggman. He didn't want them to see him as a monster of the darkness. With some flicks of his hands, he reverted to normal, the bracelet still present. The jewel on it still glowed in the sunlight, making Sonic think of his friend who was now also his counterpart. "You've got this Sonic," he told himself as he left his hiding place. "There's no turning back now."