Sonia: Legends Of Eternal Darkness

A groan is heard and a mutter is made as two pairs of eyes opened up slowly. The cat and dog duo, Matthew and Scruffles, have been s.u.c.k.e.d into Sonia's mind when they attempted to keep her from being s.u.c.k.e.d inside her own mind. The two were unwittingly separated from their master, and need to find her before the Nightmare Demon take over her mind with them trapped inside!

"Do you ever think sometimes that you're just randomly being yelled at by a mysterious voice..?" Scruffles gruffly asked her canine friend.

"I have no idea on how to answer that... spiritual questions are not my forte," Matthew replied as he sat up and shook his legs to wake them up. An array of bubbles slowly float past the cat and dog making them look up. The duo were lost in a world that has the feeling of a coloring book mixed with a Disney movie with glosses of vibrant, bright colors, happy sets of characters, and a sun with a smile on its face as it greets the cat and dog. Scruffles looked at the sun in a confused manner and simply rubbed her eyes just to check if she wasn't seeing things. The two were sitting on a giant lily-pad and were surrounded by frogs that began to serenade the two.

"Uh.... Hey dog-breath?" Scruffles asked, "Before I start hallucinating and probably regretting to huff four doses of burning catnip uh.... How's about we start looking for Sonia so we can get out of here?"

"Already ahead, my feline friend," Matthew commented as he sniffed the ground for at least a trail or a few clues. Matthew scoured and searched as he walked onto a dirt path. Scruffles trailed behind, feeling every object in sight, but gets startled once some of the objects yelp and come to life before her eyes.

"I would advise you not to touch anything," Matthew stated with a small laugh as he continued searching, "but I think you have that covered."

"Yeah well, why don't you keep that big b.u.t.t of yours moving before I have the urge to tear up your- oop!" Scruffles commented before she suddenly bumped into Matthew's behind, making her take a few steps back. The black cat walked around to see Matthew staring deeply at a snail as if his nose was pointing at it. Scruffles poked Matthew a few times to check if the world wasn't getting to him. Matthew bounced up and down, trying to signal Scruffles to look at the ground. Scruffles decided to play along and look at the snail for a while. The cat and dog focus deeply on the little worm as it inches across the ground while being carefree. Scruffles suddenly gets interested as the snail squirms over to a leaf as time-by-time it glances at the two large creatures. About two hours pass as the cat and dog watch the snail as it happily goes about its business.

"Weren't we doing something important?" Scruffles slowly spoke without paying attention.

"By Jove, I'd say so... but this snail is fascinating to stare at... its almost... hypnotic..." Matthew slowly replied. Scruffles' tail swished back and forth in the air while Matthew's tail wagged during their snail observation. Another hour passes and the snail finally reaches a leaf and is about to climb on it. The bushes around the three creatures rustle and move, and a young child comes out wearing a flowing white gown, a flower crown, and orange hair fashioned in a familiar hair style. The girl saw the cat and dog observing the snail, and curiously picked up the little mollusk. Scruffles and Matthew shook their heads from their hypnosis as the saw the girl pick up the snail and look at it crawl around on her cupped hand. The girl giggled softly as it the snail moves around her hand. Matthew looked deeply at the little girl and made a small gasp as he recognized the girl. He whispered to Scruffles, "Look at the girl. Doesn't she look oddly familiar?" Scruffles looked at the little girl deeply as well, but didn't really see much of a resemblance to anyone she knows.

"Ehh... not really," the cat replied blankly, but Matthew grabbed her head and had her look at the girl more intently until she could see what he saw. The little girl saw the two animals staring at her, and she bent down slowly and looked at Scruffles. The girl then put the snail on Sonia's nose, making Scruffles shudder as it crawled up her nose.

"Gaaa-aaa-aaa-aah, it's getting in my nostrils! Get it off!" Scruffles reacted, making the young girl giggle more. The girl then waved at the pets, wanting them to follow her along the trail of happiness and glee. Matthew looked at Scruffles and stated, "Did you recognize her? That was Sonia!" Scruffles was too busy trying to get the snail slime off her face to even reply. Matthew simply took the snail off of the cat's head and placed it on the ground, and then slapped Scruffles' face in order to calm her down.

"Thanks," Scruffles began, "but THAT GIRL was Sonia? Why does she look like a ten-year-old?"

"Maybe, just maybe, this is her joyful subconscious," Matthew explained as he began to follow the young Sonia with Scruffles walking next to him, "And if we're here, then the real Sonia is lost in another part of her mind! But the question is... how do we get to the other areas of her mind, and where will the offending apparition strike next?"

"Wherever it is, I don't see WHY it wouldn't attack here first," Scruffles commented, "This place SCREAMS wreck your childhood before it wrecks anything else." The cat and dog reach Sonia as she stood happily and stared at them. She then gently rubbed their heads, assuring that they could trust her, and then decided to pick up Matthew and cuddle him like a baby. Matthew blushes in slight embarrassment, and pats Sonia with her soft paws. Sonia giggled and kissed Matthew's forehead and carried her home while Scruffles followed behind.

The trio spent an array of hours playing in many childlike games. From playing traditional outdoor games such as "Duck, Duck, Goose," and "Leap Frog," they also played with a few of Sonia's friends. Some of whom knew the girl prior to the girl's big move to Orujinshinaka. Matthew recognized these other kids and felt himself feeling as if he was only a small pup again, as he barked with joy while playing with everyone. Scruffles looked at them all in slight jealousy but mostly suspicion.

"Something doesn't seem right around here..." Scruffles' thoughts contemplated, "The dog has never been this happy, and not just because I never knew his past with that ginger. And yet... there he is... having a good time without me... Ah, what do I care? He's just a dumb dog. Why would a sophisticated cat like me be friends with a dumb dog?" Scruffles suddenly snapped out of her thoughts as she felt a slither brush past her tail and go into the bushes. Scruffles turned and saw the rustling bushes, and was about to signal Matthew, but decided to leave him and investigate the mystery noise. Scruffles rummaged through every bush and plant, pushing past any happy creature in her way. Whatever was rushing through the bushes began to move faster, making chase as Scruffles kicked her hind legs into top gear and ran as fast as she could in order to catch the mysterious noise. Scruffles ran across the bushes, and right before her eyes, everything went from luscious and beautiful to dying and scary. Without warning, a branch suddenly knocks Scruffles in the face, causing it to screech and trip and slide across the dirt. Hearing the screech from afar, Sonia and Matthew perk over to the bushes. Matthew sees cat footprints on the ground, sniffs them and runs as he tracks Scruffles while giving the young Sonia a ride.

The two run across the bushes, but then screech to a halt when something hits the ground harshly. The two observe and find a squirrel that is the age of a baby, dead on the ground with a broken neck, blood slowly tearing down from its eye sockets, and its body and tail twitching in pain. Sonia gasped and quickly looked away as she silently cried. Matthew, on the other hand, was snapped out of his joyful trance.

"Oh no..." Matthew quietly spoke then began his chase to Scruffles. Sonia held on tight as they ran through the forest. Animals of all kinds were dying, screaming fatal screams, and even becoming violent as the two run across the forest. Plant life either died before their eyes, or attempted to attack Matthew and Sonia as they search. A tree is then in their path. It was an old tree of that has stood the test of time and has not been affected by any of the evil that has suddenly been spreading. Sonia's eyes widened as she began to climb the tree. Matthew tries to get her down, but she sets him aside and climbs high into the tree's leaves. Matthew sighed and began to climb as well, but because he wasn't good at climbing trees, he was stuck. Just then, the sounds of voracious animals grew closer, making the dog back up against the tree in fear. A couple of branches and vines slowly grabbed Matthew and lifted him up the tree before the animals could get him. Matthew is then lifted to the top of the tree, where he finds Sonia and Scruffles staring at the sky.

"Scruffles! Are you alright?!" Matthew pleaded. Scruffles stared at the sky but faintly replied, "Y-yeah... but look at this..." Matthew walked up to the two and looked up at the sky, then gasped. What they saw was the cheery, yellow sun gloom and become depressed... the sun's eyes grew red as it lost its meaning of life. Literal tears fell down upon the earth from the sun, causing the happy forest to burn... and all of the life that lived upon the land began to scream in agony as their fleshes burned into a fiery crisp. Each life that died caused the embodiment of Sonia's happiness to die inside, little by little. The young Sonia could feel her heart impede sharp pains as her tears fell down her face. Scruffles and Matthew watch as the girl grabbed herself, crying for the pain to stop and the nightmare to end. There was nothing around to help save their young master, and they had no available gear to assist them. Matthew and Scruffles slowly walk to her and comfort the dying girl as the flames began to surround the happy realm and the sun grew from cheerful yellow to blood red. Sonia hugged the two animals close as tears shed from all of their faces. Scruffles nuzzled Sonia's c.h.e.s.t only to feel a metal object against her nose. The cat slowly poked Sonia's c.h.e.s.t, making the little girl wonder why the cat is doing that. Sonia then put her hand inside her gown and pulled out the amulet, Mystica, making Matthew and Scruffles yelp in shock.

"THE AMULET!" Matthew and Scruffles cried out. A crazy idea rushed into Matthew's mind.

"Sonia! You can use your amulet to get us out of here!" Matthew explained quickly, "Quick! Say a few magic words and we all can teleport out of here!" Sonia, however, could not... for she did not know how to use this mystical artifact. Sonia cowered and hugged her knees tightly, feeling alone... feeling pressured... feeling that her life was beginning to end... which was true as her face was slowly being covered by her veins, and her vision was getting blurrier by the minute. A sharp pain rushed into Sonia, making her yelp and w.h.i.n.e in pain... She hugged herself tight and shivered while her body grew colder and colder.

"C'mon Sonia... you can do it," Scruffles pleaded as Sonia slowly died, "I know we don't usually get along... but you have to try... please... We'll always be your guardians... we'll always be the ones you love... through thick and thin, pain and misery; you're like your own fantasy princess hero. I don't usually go all mopey because I think it'll make me sound cheesy... but... you're my hero... and ever since you took me in... I've... looked up to you..." Sonia slowly looked up at Scruffles and saw tears from the black cat's face. For one who's always so snarky and cynical towards the girl, it was a surprise to see Scruffles break down to even Matthew. Sonia slowly crawls to Scruffles and hugs her gently, making the cat hug her tightly... feeling Sonia's childhood innocence embed itself into the cat's soul... an aura of magic surrounded both Sonia and Scruffles. Just then, an embodiment of the Nightmare Demon loomed its giant shadow over Sonia, Matthew and Scruffles. As its fiery blue eyes stared deeply at them, Matthew stood in its way and growled, ready to attack. The dog was then knocked out of the way, causing Scruffles to cry out for him. Sonia's eyes glowed pure white as her gown shimmered from the magic.

The demon grew a very sharp claw from its pulse-pounding arm and thrusted it fast to Sonia. But the girl turned around swiftly, and with the palm of her hand, she knocked the demon back in one fell swoop. The demon was knocked into the sky, and then suddenly knocked further when Sonia charged herself at the demon. Once the demon regained its balance, it fought back at Sonia, swiping its claws at her, entrapping her in dark shields that caused her to yell in pain as the dark forces within the shield attacked her. However, Sonia was able to break away, turn some of the dark energy into glowing, pure life, and blasted a large hole through the Nightmare Demon's c.h.e.s.t. The opening then grew into its own version of a black hole, imploding the evil creature as it got s.u.c.k.e.d into the pure energy. The hole reacted violently and exploded, causing the invader to be maliciously obliterated not into black dust, but white crystals, each purging some of the land around her to its former state. However, the damage was done, and the embodiment of Sonia's happiness did not have enough power to restore the rest of her mind.... Sonia then floated down to Matthew and Scruffles as some of her body returned to normal. The girl felt her energy being partially restored and hugged the two animals tightly.

"That demon is still out there..." Scruffles noted with a gulp, "If there's more Sonia's out there..."

"Then there are definitely more of those demons trying to ravage Sonia's mind..." Matthew noted, "We have to stop them before it's too late... or else Sonia will die..."

"And we'll be pushing up daisies before you know it," Scruffles added. The two pets looked at Sonia's happiness embodiment, hoping that she will come to help. The young girl slowly nodded, agreeing to help the two pets. A sudden portal is then opened up in front of the trio. The portal was mixed in colors of red, purple, black, and white... all that could take the trio anywhere in Sonia's mind, but are also being plagued by the nightmare demon. The earth around the trio began to rumble and shake, causing the trio to stumble.

"Well standing here ain't gonna make things better!" Scruffles yelled as she ran to the portal, "C'mon!" The cat jumped in the portal and the others followed. The earthquake caused old, magical tree to fall while the rest of the world slowly fell apart. Back in the dark abyss, Sonia's body twitched as she felt her mind become more conflicted, her happiness wad damaged, her light slowly dimmed when her happiness was attacked, and the girl's skin slowly cracked in pain...