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4[[quoteright:350:[[Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battle_mind.jpg]]]]
5
6->''"...You are now at war within your own mind and body."''
7-->-- '''Uncle Iroh''', ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''
8
9One of the basic building blocks of storytelling is a character's inner struggle, their efforts to balance their base urges and lofty ideals. This is not conducive to [[StuffBlowingUp high octane explosions]] and [[FightScene fist fights]], nor is it easily transmitted in television even by serious series. However, toss in {{demon|icPossession}}s, MindControl, and a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind, and you'll get a Battle in the Center of the Mind.
10
11What ends up happening is you get the mental equivalent of a no-holds-barred psychic showdown between the evil force trying to take over and the owner or his/her allies. The evil force can be of various natures, including: {{Demon|icPossession}}s, [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Ghosts]], an [[AIIsACrapshoot evil computer virus]], other humans via MindControl or the self with an EnemyWithin or SuperPoweredEvilSide. What the possessing force wants is either a full SplitPersonalityTakeover, or (if external) to maintain control.
12
13Opposing this force is usually the "host" or person that is being affected. Occasionally, their mind is too weak and addled to oppose the invader, so a friendly telepath or mystic will insert an ally or two to try and rout the bad guy. They will fail. However, the act of them trying and yelling ''"[[IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight I know you are in there somewhere!]]"'' and going in to save them from the evil presence in their mind is usually enough to get the host to kick their unwanted guest out of their mind if not completely obliterate it when it [[HeroicResolve threatens their friends]]. The thing is, no matter how powerful the invader, it can't beat a determined victim's home brain advantage.
14
15The fight itself will usually use highly symbolic weapons (a chef's ladle now doubles as a {{BFS}}), [[PsychicBlockDefense defenses]] (a security blanket can now [[DeflectorShields block]] KiManipulation) and even imaginary allies (summoning up an army of ComicBook/{{Superm|an}}en to help you out), turning into something similar to a ShapeshifterShowdown.
16
17For those on the outside, it's usually obvious that the character is FightingFromTheInside.
18
19----
20!!Examples:
21
22[[foldercontrol]]
23
24[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
25* ''Manga/AlienNine'': The climax of volume 3. Even after the Sunflower is physically removed from her head, Yuri still has to fight to get it out of her mind.
26* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'':
27** At one point in the Millennium Falcon arc, [[spoiler:Schierke has to go inside Guts' mind using AstralProjection to snap him out of the influence of his [[EnemyWithin inner beast]] the first time he uses the Berserker Armor]].
28** During the Elfheim arc, [[spoiler:Farnese and Schierke have to journey through Casca's dreamscape and fight the monsters that roam it alongside a three-legged dog version of Guts in order to reassemble the broken pieces of Casca's mind, culminating in a showdown between Dog Guts and the manifestation of the Hawk of Darkness at the very center of the dreamscape]].
29* ''Anime/BlackRockShooter'' has the titular "otherselves" as apparently "censor" mechanisms that remove pain and frustration from their human selves. The problem is that the effect "bleeds" out and the titular Black Rock Shooter is removing what she considers to be pain and suffering in other people's heads. The finale is Mato; Black Rock Shooter's human self; taking control of her Black Rock Shooter function, splitting from, and then beating down her KnightTemplar tendencies which take the form of Insane Black Rock Shooter.
30* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
31** Ichigo vs. Hollow Ichigo during the Arrancar arc in order for the former to properly control his Hollowfication. In the anime, it's fleshed out a bit more, making him re-experience his fights with Byakuya, Jin Kariya and Kenpachi (in this case an expansion of the respective manga scene), before fighting Hollow Ichigo.
32** Later, Ichigo has one with [[spoiler:[[EmpathicWeapon Tensa Zangetsu]]]], which eventually turns into [[spoiler:Ichigo vs. the combined form of Tensa Zangetsu and Hollow Ichigo]].
33* The manga adaptation of ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'' has [[TheHero Ryu]] and [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Fou-Lu]] [[SplitPersonalityMerge merge]] into [[PhysicalGod Infini]] and then mentally duke it out for control of the creature. This is a ThirdOptionAdaptation from the game, where Ryu either resists the merge and fights Fou-Lu's Tryant dragon with his allies, or he accepts the merge and Fou-Lu takes control of Infini, [[CurbStompBattle easily wipes out Ryu's friends]], and proceeds to destroy the world.
34* ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'': The sleep demon Enmu's power is to step inside your Mental World through dreams. If your spiritual core in the subconscious part of that world is destroyed, it leaves you mentally crippled and a shell of your former self.
35* In ''Anime/DigimonGhostGame'', the ''final battle'' is one of these. [[spoiler:Regulusmon and Gammamon fight for control over Gammamon's body (which was originally Regulusmon's), and, through assistance from Hiro, Gammamon eventually proves victorious, maintaining his control over the body, with Regulusmon being made to adhere to Gammamon's rules, though they can still manifest through Gammamon.]]
36* [[spoiler:Fubuki Shirou]] of ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' had a bad case of this in season two. While earlier on he was fairly stable maintaining [[SplitPersonality his personalities]], slowly he [[SanitySlippage loses control]] of himself to his other personality, [[spoiler:and at some point Atsuya successfully took total control of Shirou]]. [[spoiler:But after he [[SplitPersonalityMerge merged]] with Atsuya, this no longer became a problem.]]
37* In the end of season 1 of ''Anime/{{K}}'', between Shiro and [[spoiler:the Colorless King, who he's caught trying to body-snatch him again]].
38* ''Anime/KnightHunters'': In ''Weiß Kreuz Glühen'', Berger draws Crawford into his own psychic mindscape to fight him. Crawford, however, manages to turn it around on Berger and pull both of them into the center of ''his'' own mind -- and unlike in Berger's, in Crawford's mind, they aren't alone.
39* The final episodes of ''Anime/LupinIIITheItalianAdventure'' take place mostly inside the minds of the main characters, as they, ''and'' the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, are forced to beat [[spoiler:Leonardo Da Vinci]] in a way that demonstrates their best abilities. For example, Jigen and Goemon have to use their physical prowess at gunplay and swordplay respectively to take him down, but Fujiko and Lupin have to rely on their wits to outsmart him. Where the real NightmareFuel kicks in though is what happens when you '''can't''' beat him, because [[spoiler:Da Vinci]] will just erase and absorb your subconscious to fill it with his own.
40* Done backwards in ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'' when Akito engages in a virtual battle with the ship's computer to delete its memories. In this case deleting the computer's memories was the heroic thing to do, but the computer wasn't aware of this and fought to protect itself. Both Akito and the computer chose to virtually represent themselves as Gekigangar III, the titular giant robot from ''Nadesico's'' ShowWithinAShow, combining this trope with FearfulSymmetry.
41* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
42** Chapter 493 has [[spoiler:Naruto vs. the embodiment of his hatred at the Waterfall of Truth]]. The scenery doesn't change, however, indicating that it's more of a hallucination than going to the center of his mind.
43** Shortly after that, [[spoiler:Naruto fights the Kyuubi (Nine-Tails) within his mind. Yes '''that''' Kyuubi. The one that he has had no control over and been terrified of most of the series]].
44** [[spoiler:It also turns out to be a subversion. It may have been a battle in Naruto's mind, but that didn't make it any ''less'' real. Naruto using named attacks instead of unnamed also lends credence that he could do almost anything he did in the battle in the real world.]]
45* In the ''Franchise/{{Nasuverse}}'', reality marbles make the landscape in your mind into an actual battlefield to teleport your enemy to.
46* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' has Negi fighting Evangeline (or at least a being created from his memories of her) inside his own head as part of his test for learning BlackMagic. Unusually, he realizes what's going on almost immediately, though it still doesn't really help him.
47-->'''Negi''': Okay, calm down. This is probably all happening inside my own mind. So that isn't actually Evangeline I'm fighting, but rather my mental image of her. [[TheDreaded My... mental... image...]] ''there's no way I can win!''
48%%* Crops up in ''Anime/ParanoiaAgent''; Or is it a LotusEaterMachine?
49* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion'' has the cast fight [[spoiler:inside Homura's soul gem, to stop her transformation into a witch]].
50* Happens between brother and sister Masamune and Tsubaki Nakatsukasa in ''Manga/SoulEater''. The conflict between the two souls (Masamune being able to possess Tsubaki, which she allowed in order to confront him) is shown as a physical battle between the two, each using their own weapon forms. Souls get Mental Worlds elsewhere in the series, but this is the only actual battle so far. Curiously, Black Star's attempt at mastering the form possessed (and corrupted) by Masamune ultimately involved not a similar fight but a conversation.
51* Ranmaru from ''Manga/{{Tokko}}'' has to do this after an encounter with [[BigBad Taishi]] results in him losing control of his [[SuperpoweredEvilSide phantom]].
52* In ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows'', Keima Katsuragi has some of the most extreme (and funny) wars in his head over various video game related subjects. One involved an enormous space war complete with ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' and ''Franchise/StarWars'' references, fought by armies of himself. Though it's probably his imagination.
53[[/folder]]
54
55[[folder:Asian Animation]]
56* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'': In Season 2 episode 38, the Supermen go into Careless S.'s mind to get rid of some extra [=CPUs=] that have been installed in him and are making him more annoying to them than helpful. The episode's climax has them fighting the [=CPUs=], which are represented as {{Palette Swap}}s of Careless S.
57[[/folder]]
58
59[[folder:Comic Books]]
60* ''Franchise/TheDCU'':
61** ''ComicBook/TheHumanTarget2021'' features an issue of what on the surface is [[ComicBook/HumanTarget Christopher Chance]] sitting down for a civil dinner with ComicBook/MartianManhunter, mixed with a quietly intense and [[MindScrew rather trippy]] psychic battle. Chance is investigating a murder mystery where J'onn is a suspect, and as J'onn is aware of it, he invokes his {{telepathy}} on Chance and triggers his various traumatic memories to get him to back off. However, we learn through these memories that Chance [[PsychicBlockDefense had already been trained how to resist it]] by a psychic from Titan (the same place of origin as Saturn Girl), and [[PokeInTheThirdEye he ends up finding information he needs anyway by prying into]] ''[[PokeInTheThirdEye J'onn's]]'' [[PokeInTheThirdEye memories]], including [[spoiler:his secret affair with Fire of ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational]]. During all of this, [[YearInsideHourOutside Chance is passing the salt]].
62** The Reboot version of the ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' had a memorable one, when [[PsychicPowers Saturn Girl]] enters [[IncredibleShrinkingMan Shrinking Violet's]] mind to help her free herself of the control of the cursed Emerald Eye of Ekron, which is using her body to attack the rest of the team.
63** ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
64*** In ''ComicBook/DemonSpawn'', ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and one-time villain Nightflame fight into Supergirl's mind an illusory, hellish psychic landscape called Innerverse that represents Supergirl's dark side.
65---->Finally, the drama within her reaches a fever pitch... thoughts are pushed and pulled back and forth within her mind at ever-increasing speed... and, at last, the landscape can take no more and erupts with fantastic fury...
66*** In ''ComicBook/SupermanFamily #206: ComicBook/StrangersAtTheHeartsCore'', Kara fights her old nemesis Lesla-Lar, who is trying to take over her mind. The battle takes place in Supergirl's head.
67*** During the ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' storyline, an enemy called Sheko invades Supergirl’s mind to read her memories and judge her, but a memory of Supergirl's mother Alura stops her and forces her out of her daughter's mind.
68*** In ''ComicBook/TheThirdKryptonian'', the villain Amalak uses a mind-probe to invade Superman's mind and discover Kandor's location. However, Superman's strong-willed enough to fight back, and he's even able to exploit the mind-link to figure out why Amalak hates Kryptonians.
69*** In ''ComicBook/TheJungleLine'', Superman gets infected with Bloodmorel spores which cause, among other things, terrible hallucinations. ComicBook/SwampThing finds Superman lying unconscious, goes into his mind to help him and finds him fighting nightmare monsters. At the beginning, Superman mistakes him for another enemy, but Swamp Thing convinces him that he is a friend, and he must stop fighting if he wants to beat the disease.
70*** In ''ComicBook/AdventuresOfSupergirl'', Psi tries to throw Supergirl into a neverending sleep by trapping her in an endless maze of nightmares, dream battles and utopian fantasies. Supergirl fights off and rejects illusion after illusion until she manages to find Psi, and demands to be released.
71* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'': In ''ComicBook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck: "[[Recap/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuckTheDreamOfALifetime The Dream of a Lifetime]]"'', Donald has to fight the Beagle Boys in Uncle Scrooge's dreams before the Boys find out the combination to Scrooge's vault.
72* Issue 8 of ''ComicBook/FlashGordonZeitgeist'' has this with Hans Zarkov.
73* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'':
74** ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'': The series played with this one in the 2001 annual, involving [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]]'s separate personalities (Goliath, the cold unfeeling reason, and Yellowjacket, the impulsive showoff) who hated each other's guts getting dumped into a psychic landscape that was supposed to represent the original's mind after they were [[LiteralSplitPersonality physically separated into two people in the real world]]. Initially, they started fighting for control, even trying to force Janet (who was back together with him at the time) to choose which one would live. Only after they both accepted the previously ignored third aspect (the human combination of both) were they put back together, keeping him from dying.
75** ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'': During Paul Jenkins' run on ''ComicBook/Hulk1999'', one of Bruce Banner's Hulk personalities, the 'Beast', a near-mindless monster, threatens to take over completely, so Bruce journeys into his mind and recruits the three main Hulks -- Savage Hulk, Joe Fixit, and the Professor -- to defeat it on his/their home turf.
76** ''ComicBook/ImmortalHulk'':
77*** The ''ComicBook/AbsoluteCarnage'' tie-in is one of these... sort of. A symbiote is trying to take over the Hulk, but finds its way stymied by Bruce's unique split-personality, as Bruce and some of the Hulks debate what to do. Again, sort of -- Bruce is the only one interested in talking, the Savage Hulk would rather yell at Bruce over his failed relationship with Betty Ross, Joe Fixit's more concerned with his looks, and [[spoiler:Devil]] Hulk thinks what's going on is a waste of their time.
78*** Issues 38 and 39 have some Hulks up against the Leader. [[spoiler:It doesn't go well when the Leader takes the form of Brian Banner. Savage Hulk attacks Devil Hulk, who is trying to protect Bruce, allowing the Leader to tear him to shreds and make off with Bruce.]]
79** ''ComicBook/NewMutants:'' The first time the team meets Legion, they get dragged into one of these, which is the reason David's been unresponsive since childhood; two of his alters have been duking it out with the mind of the terrorist who helped cause his DID in the first place, who got sucked into David's mind when his powers activated. Then it turns out the guy has actually been ''helping'' David, trying to restore his mind as amends, and it's the alters who're fighting back because they'd rather remain individuals.
80** ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
81*** In ''ComicBook/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', Ben Reilly, taken over by the Carnage symbiote as Spider-Carnage, fights it within his mindscape for control of his body.
82*** ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan2013'' #9 features a showdown between Otto Octavius and Peter Parker, [[spoiler:who, after his death in Ock's body in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott'' #700, exists as a 'ghost' in his own body via all his memories given consciousness]]. Otto begins to [[spoiler:purge Peter's memories through one of his devices in order to get rid of him, but Peter fights back, forcing Otto to go in and eliminate Peter himself from his brain. Otto is victorious and wipes Peter from his mind. Or at least he believe this...]]
83*** {{Averted|Trope}} in their rematch. Peter is ready for round two, but Otto simply gives up instead of fighting.
84*** Again, more later, in ''ComicBook/DeadNoMoreTheCloneConspiracy''. Peter has regained his body and Otto needs to return to his old body (cloned by the Jackal). Thanks to the fact that his cloned body comes complete with Peter's memories, Doc Ock hops back in and battles Peter for control and wins.
85** ''ComicBook/{{Thunderstrike}}'': When Eric is possessed by the Bloodaxe, he battles its personification on the psychic plane before it completely takes him over, [[spoiler:though it costs him his life]].
86** ''ComicBook/XMen'':
87*** The first encounter between Charles Xavier and the Shadow King was one of these. From the point of view of everyone around them, it was two men glaring at one another across a restaurant, until one of them just slumps over dead, Charles having blasted Amahl Farouk to pieces.
88*** The only way to save a person [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong infected by the Brood]] is to kill the parasite's mind; unless you are a very good telepath you won't be able to save yourself. HeroicResolve won't solve the matter -- it is necessary for the help to be able to arrive in time in the first place. (Or, you need to be Wolverine. Or Rogue with Wolverine nearby.)
89*** A low-key example from Uncanny X-Men #382 (July, 2000). A telepathic villain called Dirge is attempting to posses the mind and body of Gambit, and tries to weaponize Gambit's past traumatic experiences to have him surrender. He projects images from Gambit's past, and image's from Gambit's past thoughts. He first uses Gambit's guilt over his role in the massacre of the Morlocks. Gambit points out that he was manipulated into that role, and betrayed by his ally (Mister Sinister). So he was more of a victim than a culprit. Then Dirge tries to cause him to despair, over his then-recent painful break-up with Rogue. Gambit points out that if Rogue can not appreciate his genuine feelings for her, that is her loss and not his own. In other words, Gambit feels no reason to despair or to give up his life. Dirge quits trying and just leaves.
90** ComicBook/{{X 23}} is drawn into one in ''The Killing Dream''. A demon attempting to recruit Laura to his service tells her that as a clone she has no soul. When she refuses and denies this accusation he fatally wounds [[spoiler:Julian]] to force her hand, offering to spare [[spoiler:him]] if she accepts a place as leader of his armies. Laura once again denies him, so the demon [[TakeAThirdOption offers her another option]]: Prove him wrong. When she agrees to this the demon drags her into a hellish landscape within her own mind, presenting her with images of all the death she has caused and will yet cause to break her will. However Laura encounters her inner self, who reveals that she wasn't ''born'' an emotionless killing machine but that it took the conscious effort of the Facility to break her. [[spoiler:This revelation, and the memory she is shown of defying her orders to spare the young son of Martin Sutter (actually the son of one of her creators, Zander Rice, through an affair with Sutter's wife) when sent to kill the entire Sutter family, shows Laura she ''is'' more than just a weapon and gives her the power to escape the demon's influence, saving both herself and Julian.]]
91* ''ComicBook/PS238'': The villain of the Las Vegas arc attempts to use her TouchTelepathy to MindControl [[InsufferableGenius Zodon]], leading to this. When [[FlyingBrick Julie]] touches them she gets sucked into the battle too. This turns out to be a turning point for her: her own buried self-confidence shows up and gives her a pep talk, allowing her to not only help Zodon win the fight but finally get over her [[YouAreNumberSix issues with her generic power set]] and embrace her heroic destiny.
92* ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'': The final battle is like this. [[spoiler:A part of Ramona still wants to be with Gideon. [[BigDamnHeroes All the other parts want to beat the crap out of him, though]].]]
93* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' comic ''Perchance to Dream'', Captain Jean-Luc Picard is forced to infect himself with an alien telepathic weapon known as the Chova that has already infected most of the ''Enterprise'' crew; based on past records of the Chova's use, it can be defeated by those with multiple personality disorder, as multiple personalities would overwhelm the Chova due to it only being able to attack one personality at a time, rendering it inert so that the cure can be passed on to others. Picard is selected due to a detailed mind-meld with Sarek, the probe that gave him the memories of Kamin, and his traumatic experience being assimilated by the Borg. When the Chova infects Picard, the four personalities are able to defeat the Chova, but Locutus attempts to take control of Picard's body for himself, forcing the other three to band together and overwhelm Locutus before he can destroy them.
94* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'':
95** ''ComicBook/StarWarsLegacy'' features a power struggle of two Sith Lords in each other's minds. Lightsaber fights are blank compared to what they can achieve in that state.
96** ''ComicBook/StarWarsInfinities -- Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'': Yoda uses his powers to make Darth Vader confront his sins -- which means having to fight spectral copies of Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and potentially other Jedi whom he killed during his rise to power. [[spoiler:Vader wins, and kills Yoda.]]
97[[/folder]]
98
99[[folder:Fan Works]]
100* Because MindRape was a staple of ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'', fanfics tends to break out this one quite often. Red Witch's ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4076944/1/Down_the_Dark_Path Down the Dark Path]]'' plays it straight after Shane was tortured with the Mindnet. ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1195951/1/Isnt_Life_Strange Isn't Life Strange]]'' and ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/348456/1/Chrysalis_Trial_by_Fire Chrysalis]]'' use it as well. {{Subverted|Trope}} in those fics as the Rangers affected lose -- ''badly.'' [[spoiler:It's played straight in both later, though.]]
101* While [[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind journeying into Socrates' mind]] to repair a faulty transmitter chip in ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'', the protagonists find it along with his dark side, who then fights Hobbes. It's a somewhat downplayed example, as the emphasis isn't on the battle but rather Calvin and Andy trying to repair the chip.
102* Happens twice, technically, in ''Fanfic/CatchYourBreath'':
103** [[spoiler:When the Three Tails was sealed into her, one of Kei's split personalities was fighting him (to stop him from escaping), Kei herself was fighting the MindControl seal Madara put inside her, while the second split personality was controlling the body and fighting external threats.]]
104--->[[spoiler:Kei -- the Dreamer -- says, "Running interference. The compulsion affects the dominant personality -- the kunoichi you both know. She is stalling. As for the Tailed Beast, the Three-Tails activates hindbrain impulses toward destruction and rage in order to weaken the seal, personified and confronted by Id. I am neither, and have been forced to act in their stead until the situation can be resolved."]]
105** [[spoiler:OR ''Battle in the Collective Centre of Nine Minds'' as the shared Tailed Beast [[{{Pun}} mind]][[ShoutOut skype]] could be called -- where Shukaku and Isobu have their (mock) [[BehemothBattle fight]].]]
106* The FinalBattle of ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' climaxes with one of these when [[EldritchAbomination Chthon]] attempts to possess Harry. [[spoiler:Though calling it a "battle" is [[CurbStompBattle a stretch]], as once Harry's parents (Lily manifesting through the Phoenix) arrive and help him see through Chthon's lies, Harry [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu burns Chthon out of his mind and reality]]]].
107** Chapter 2 of ''Ghosts of the Past'' features Harry getting into two of these with Voldemort. The first is merely written as a psychic duel, which Harry has an early edge in due to raw power, until Voldemort counters with much more skill, and his willingness to use Harry's friends as leverage (meaning that Harry has to hold back). Later, Harry enters the MentalWorld Voldemort is controlling his PeoplePuppets from, and [[IAmNotLeftHanded stops holding back]], forcing Voldemort to retreat.
108** Harry and [[spoiler:Rachel Grey/Maddie Pryor]] get into another, pretty epic one, in Chapters 9 and 10. Because they're fighting in the Nevernever, a region that amplifies and does funny things to psychic powers and magic, and since they're both Omega-class psychics, it causes a global scale PsychicNosebleed effect, almost kills some elderly psychics, drives others mad, and results in a WorldGoneMad in the part of the [[EldritchLocation Nevernever]] where they're fighting.
109* The FinalBattle in ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfAnElderGod'' happens simultaneously in the mental and physical planes against [[spoiler:the dead [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Outer Gods]]]].
110* The ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' fanfic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/88640/chapters/120134 Darkness]]'' climaxes in John, who has gone utterly insane, [[spoiler:fighting an EvilTwin]]. On the outside, of course, he's gone into a coma.
111* This is used in the ''Roleplay/DCNation'' universe after Raven's attempt to restore some of Troia's lost memories end up getting Raven, Troia, Nightwing, Flash, and Arsenal [[http://community.livejournal.com/jla_watchtower/923182.html in a brawl with Dark Angel]], leading to one of Arsenal's best lines:
112-->'''Arsenal:''' All you're telling me is that I've pissed in your Cheerios more than once, and I did it beside Donna. Lemme tell you, those are two things that make me a very happy little camper... And hey, extra bonus for me at the end of it? I pissed you off when I didn't even mean to! Little ol' me. [[BadassNormal A guy. A dude. A very attractive but semi-normal human fleshbag.]] Man, I'm good.
113* The [[GuileHero dwarven]] [[WisePrince noble]] [[MagicKnight protagonist]] of ''Fanfic/DragonAgeTheCrownOfThorns'' had more than one of these, twice against actual psychic attacks by the Archdemon. The latest one had rather severe consequences for both the prince and the whole world because the Old God actually [[spoiler:evolved because of contact with the exile's MagnificentBastard-level intelligence]].
114** Kallian Tabris also goes through something like this at one point, only [[spoiler:it's a projection of her soul, taking Faren's form (the dwarven commoner, her love interest), that does the actual fighting]].
115* The ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2402970/1/Equal-Romance-02-Obscure-Ways-to-Devotion Equal Romance 02: Obscure Ways to Devotion]]" features Kim forced to use a combination of magic and technology to send herself into Ron's mind after he contracts malaria on a mission and is left in a coma, with his parents planning to pull the plug. Despite having recently been in an intense fight with Ron due to OutOfContextEavesdropping, Kim is able to see enough of Ron's memories to realise what he was really thinking, [[spoiler:and is able to convince him to take a chance on life again, although she then has to apologise to him all over again as he doesn't remember what they experienced in his mind]].
116* In the ''Fanfic/FacingTheFutureSeries'', under the influence of Vlad's MindControlDevice, Danny has a battle in his subconscious with the manifestation of his ghost half. He's able to combat it using his subconscious before managing to get through to him. [[spoiler:This results in him getting control of his [[SuperMode True Ghost Form]].]]
117* This happens in the climax of ''Fanfic/GettingBackOnYourHooves''. [[spoiler:After [[BigBad Checker Monarch]]'s EngineeredPublicConfession, she [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]] and casts a mind spell to trap Trixie and her friends in [[NightmareSequence their worst nightmares]] in order to break them. Thanks to a lucid dreaming trick that Trixie [[ChekhovsGun taught them earlier]], the girls are all able to see the [[AGlitchInTheMatrix flaws in the dreams]] and take control of them, before forcing the [[MindHive pieces of Checker's consciousness]] attacking them out. Said pieces [[OneWingedAngel fuse together]] and try to destroy them, but they [[ClippedWingAngel easily defeat it]]. They then travel to Trixie's dream, where she's being attacked by the main part of Checker's mind, and give her the strength and encouragement she needs to fight back and finally defeat Checker.]]
118* ''Fanfic/AGrowingAffection'' has a battle between Naruto and the Kyubi [[spoiler:while Naruto is sedated by the Akatsuki and they are unraveling the seals on the demon. The weakening of the seals allow the Fox to create a clone/fragment that can slip through the cage and fight Naruto]].
119* A big part of the fight with [[spoiler:Future Cell]] in ''Fanfic/HonorTrip''. Cell tries everything in his power, including TalkingTheMonsterToDeath, and harassing his captor [[ItMakesSenseInContext by beat-boxing a taunt]].
120* ''Fanfic/HouseOfSummers'': In the very first scene, Rachel Summers engages in a telepathic battle with Mastermind and Psylocke. Jean Grey joins to protect Rachel, and accidentally has a glimpse at her memories.
121-->Jean looked back at Rachel, torn between wanting to help, and respecting her friend's wish to go at it alone. But she could see that Rachel was breaking. She had mere moments left. She could die on the astral plane. She was not going to allow that to happen.\
122"I'm sorry, Rachel." Jean said as she joined the psychic battle.\
123"No, stay out!" Rachel pleaded, practically begged. She erected walls around her mind that kept Jean out for merely a few seconds. The effort Rachel was exerting in the battle was too much to keep a telepath as powerful as Jean out.\
124The physical world around her disappeared the moment Jean was able to break through into Rachel's mind. A flash of blinding light greeted her and what she saw brought her to her knees.
125* ''Fanfic/ImperfectMetamorphosis'' has (so far in the story) four characters sharing a same body because [[spoiler:[[BlobMonster the jelly monster]] can absorb other characters]]. It doesn't help that one of them came with a SuperpoweredEvilSide. There is one between [[spoiler:the host]] and the villain when the villain is discovered.
126* ''Fanfic/LastChildOfKrypton'': Shinji fights [[EldritchAbomination Leliel]] in an illusory dreamscape to save Asuka's mind.
127* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}''/''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes2006'' crossover fanfic ''Legion of Lawndale Heroes'', psi-active cadets at the MilitarySchool known as the ''United States Academy of Extranormal Studies'', or '' 'USAES' '', can receive certification in the ''Astral Special Tactical Response Operations (ASTRO)'' course for out-of-body and psionic combat. As part of their training, cadets learn how to create a specific 'mental persona' (much like [[Literature/HarryPotter a Patronus]]) to do mental combat in and manifest their powers during that combat.
128* In ''Fanfic/LyricsOfSorrow'', Soma fights Dracula to take back his mind while Julius and Chrono battle his body. He then has to take on Chaos once more.
129* ''Fanfic/MariaCampbellOfTheAstralClocktower'': Sirius, the spirit possessing Rafael, has trouble fighting Maria in the real world with Rafael's weak body, so it draws her into a dream world where it can manifest its full power as a monstrous Dark Spirit of pure rage and vengeance. Except Maria is a reincarnate from ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', this isn't the first time she's been in a Hunter's Dream, and now she has full access to her remembered power. [[HoistByTheirOwnPetard Whoops]].
130-->'''Maria:''' You are my prey... AND I WILL SLAUGHTER YOU LIKE THE BEAST YOU ARE!
131* ''Fanfic/MikesNewGhostlyFamily'': To claim his revenge against Mike Schmidt for giving his ghostly victims a happy ending and for giving Nightmare suggestions on how to worsen his tortures, William Afton, who EscapedFromHell and turned himself into [[DemonOfHumanOrigin Nightmare Springtrap]], possessed Mike and entered his dreamscape to attack and mutilate his soul directly. However, since Mike was a lucid dreamer, he was able to fight back against William thanks to having a complete control over his world of dreams. [[spoiler:Enough to make him unbeatable inside his mind and turn tables against the murderer before subjecting him to a ColdBloodedTorture.]]
132* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10610004/1/The-Mind-of-the-Doctor The Mind of the Doctor]]'', the Doctors battle against the dark side of them who has been freed by the War-Feeder.
133* [[http://gekizetsu.net/sn/fic.html Gekizetsu's]] series ''The Month of Open Doors'' begins with ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'''s Dean Winchester locked in a room in his own mind by ''something''. A rather strange battle in the centre of the mind plays out over the first arc, ''As Fools Shine On''.
134* This happens to Han Solo in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' fic ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/2717781/1/My-All My All]]''. In the fic it's a sequel to, Han was brutally tortured and raped. Somehow, his attacker seems to have transferred her essence into Han's body when Leia killed her. Han ends up having to battle it out inside his mind to not only get rid of her, but put his own struggle to rest. Luke uses a risky force technique to enter Han's mind, though Han kicks him out the first time. Luke is able to watch what is happening, but the fight is all up to Han.
135* ''[[Fanfic/ThePartyNeverEnded The Party Never (or Hasn't) Ended]]'' features Twilight Sparkle having to help Pinkie Pie in one of these against Nightmare. Then Pinkie Pie helping Rainbow Dash. [[spoiler:[[{{Determinator}} Then Pinkie Pie by herself]]. And it is awesome.]]
136* This happens a couple of times in the ''FanFic/PonyPOVSeries'':
137** First, during Pinkie Pie's reharmonizing chapter, Angry Pie (a SplitPersonality representing all of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Pinkie's anger]]) attempts to pull a SplitPersonalityTakeover by absorbing all the other pieces of Pinkie's mind. Pinkie is only able to defeat Angry by [[spoiler:performing a SplitPersonalityMerge with her Pinkamina personality and then forcing the merge on Angry as well]].
138** This is also the conclusion of the Trixie storyline: [[spoiler:Twilight [[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind enters Trixie's mind]] to free her of her discording, and is confronted by Trixie's EnemyWithin, Loneliness, who fights her at every turn. Eventually, Twilight gets through to Trixie, who accepts her help, and together they destroy Loneliness.]]
139** This also pops up at the end of Bright Eyes' entry of the ''7 Dreams/Nightmares'' collection: [[spoiler:she's dragged into her MentalWorld by an entity claiming to be her EnemyWithin Cruel Eyes, but is actually the Shadow of Discord's eldest brother [[UnPerson D___t]], who's trying to [[GrandTheftMe absorb her soul and potential concept]] in order to reconstitute himself. With the love of her friends and family, Bright Eyes is able to defeat D___t, being sure to destroy his Shadow even after mortally wounding him in order to make sure he stays gone.]]
140* ''Fanfic/QueenOfAllOni'': Throughout the story, we get [[GhostInTheMachine glimpses inside of]] [[VillainProtagonist Jade's]] mind, where we watch as Hero (the [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Aspect]] representing Jade's heroic nature) gather together as many uncorrupted Aspects as he can into a LaResistance aimed at regaining control of Jade's mind from [[SuperpoweredEvilSide The Queen]]. They eventually launch an attack on the ship representing Jade's consciousness, but before Hero and The Queen can fight each other, the trope ends up being subverted -- in the real world, Jade is captured by the EvilSorcerer Lung, whose attempts to break Jade to his will end up driving her insane, which cause the mindscape to literally fall apart, forcing the Aspects to focus on their own survival. [[spoiler:When Jade's mind is restored, The Queen captures Hero, ensuring her continued dominance of Jade's mind, until the main story's FinalBattle, when Father (the Aspect representing Jackie's influence) leads the remaining uncorrupted Aspects against the Queen and Paranoia (the Aspect representing Jade's SanitySlippage).]]
141* In ''Fanfic/SixesAndSevens'', Kenneth Crichton can use his vampiric connection with Emily to enter her mind and manipulate her, but eventually Emily realizes the link goes both ways and she can enter his mind instead. This leads to a confrontation where they both attack each other, and while she's bitten again she also subdues him and scares him off.
142* ''Kind of'' happens in ''Fanfic/ASparkOfGenius''. [[spoiler:Boston Brand finds Xander meditating at Rama Kushna's temple and has no idea who he is. Instead of appearing before him and, you know, ''asking'', he decides the only way he could figure out who he is is by going into his mind and reading his memories. Boston promptly gets sucked into Xander's mind, wherein [[LiteralSplitPersonality his many personalities]] take turns kicking his ass. The goddess herself has to intervene and take away Boston's memories of Xander, or else Xander would have actually killed him.]]
143* ''Fanfic/TheSpectacularSpiderManLostInGotham'': In the chapter "Fear No Evil", [[spoiler:Spider-Man is accidentally dosed with Fear Toxin. He falls unconscious and faces everyone in his life that he feels he's failed, with all of them blaming him for their problems. He nearly gives in to his fear before Uncle Ben's memory appears and gives Peter the pep talk he needs to fight through the toxin]].
144* In ''Fanfic/TheSwarmOfWar'', the Overmind has one against Ahzek Ahriman. Turns out, even one of the most powerful psychics in the galaxy cannot match a world spanning HiveMind.
145* ''Fanfic/TalesOfAResetMind'': ''Part Nine'' is about Nico and his emotions fighting against the creatures that escaped from the Subconscious.
146* ''Fanfic/TalesOfTheOtherverse'': When [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] falls into a coma during the "A World Without Heroes" arc, [[ComicBook/XMen Prof. Xavier]] goes into her mind to try to piece it back together.
147-->Softly at first, then with more confidence, Xavier allowed his thoughts to merge with Kara's. When the storm hit, it took him by surprise. Gasping with surprise, he gripped his chair as the storm of Kara's emotions rushed over him, threatening to drag him down.\
148Xavier anchored himself, assuring that, despite the violence of Kara's emotions, he would be able to return to himself. He then took the mental equivalent of a deep breath and plunged in.\
149He was no stranger to Kara's mind. After her initial resurrection, he had spent hours working with her, many times without her knowledge. Attempting to ease the merger between body and soul. Though in his case, he preferred to think of it as a merger of body and mind.\
150Images swirled around him in a kaleidoscope of colors and patterns as he swam through the turmoil, attempting to reach the core of her being. Each mentalist had his or her own method of perceiving thoughts. In his case, he translated those thoughts into images and sounds. From his own perspective, he was physically swimming through a sea of chaos.
151* ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji'':
152** Shinji and Asuka [[spoiler:fight Leliel together in the psychic plane]].
153** Asuka's battle [[spoiler:against Arael consists of Asuka putting up her psychic shields and barriers up while Arael blows them apart, and trying to endure the mental onslaught until she is able to blow the monster up in the physical plane]].
154* ''Fanfic/TowerOfBabel'': Kainé and Tyrann eventually end up fighting each other over the control of Kainé's body.
155* ''Fanfic/TruePotential'': In order to release [[spoiler:Yagura]] from Tobi's control, Naruto has to travel inside his mind and fight an avatar of Tobi, [[spoiler:as well as the Sanbi]].
156* Chapter 12 of ''Fanfic/UnbreakableRedSilkenThread'' provides an almost literal case where Heather is forced to contend with her old former self [[spoiler:in the guise of her mother]]. To say she had a negative impact on Heather would be an understatement.
157* ''Fanfic/VariantStrain'' has Peter doing this against [[spoiler:Hank]].
158* ''Fanfic/ViridianTheGreenGuide'': Katsuki recruits Shinsou, who can brainwash people, to undo the brainwashing quirk All For One inflicted on Ogawa. While the battle is seen from Katsuki's POV and thus we don't see a mental world, the strain put both on Shinsou and Ogawa is easily visible, especially since Ogawa's vitals spike a few times.
159* In ''Fanfic/TheWeaverOption'' the intense training and mental conditioning of the Callidus Temple suppresses the original personality of [[spoiler:Sophia Hess]] and replaces her with the loyal Elena Kerrigan. However on hearing that Taylor Hebert is alive and famous, [[spoiler:Sophia]]'s personality is awakened by her pure rage and the two minds end up fighting it out. [[spoiler:Sophia]] loses, badly, but Elena is stopped from killing her as that would kill their ''soul'' as well; instead the two [[SplitPersonalityMerge are fused into one mind]].
160* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/39587901/ What If... Wanda Cast The No Way Home Spell?]]'', after Wanda helps Peter confront the Green Goblin, she engages in one to enter Norman Osborn's mind, luring out the side of his personality that's truly Norman and then forcing back the Goblin aspect (personified in the mind as an ''actual'' goblin rather than just Norman's usual body or someone in a suit).
161* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' fanfiction ''Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf'', Rose is kidnapped and MindRaped by aliens who want to use the remnant of the Time Vortex in her mind. To prevent them from finding the information they need, she ''rips apart her mind'' from the ''inside out''. The aliens, instead of giving up, sort through the rubble (described as a beach, each grain of sand being a memory) for months. [[OhCrap Too bad]] [[PhysicalGod they forgot to figure out how to control the time energy once they released it]].
162* In ''Fanfic/WithThisRingGreenLantern'', Hector Hammond is so engrossed in attempting to crush Hal Jordan inside a telekinetic cage that he doesn't realize he's broadcasting telepathically. Realizing Hammond has created a mindlink to his unprotected mind, Hal uses his Ring to turn himself into psychic energy, speeds up the mindlink before Hammond can shut it, and knocks the mentalist out.
163-->He concentrated on compressing the green walls about his foe, and withdrew his telepathic extrusion...\
164...or tried to.\
165Again, Hector Hammond tried to close down his mind link. It could not be done. The thing remained open, like a telephone that couldn't be hung up, or a pipeline open at both ends.\
166The metaphor hit him like a tidal wave and he tried to shut everything down. Too late.\
167First the Lantern was in the cage, then he was out of it. Hammond saw the walls collapse beyond what a cockroach could have comfortably fit into.\
168Then he felt a pressure in his own mind. A pressure which rivalled any to which he had subjected a foe. The mentalist's defenses went into operation, but it was a bit late. After all, when an enemy has transformed his body into an analogue of mental energy and sped up the telepathic pipe into your mind, such an action is closing the gate once the horse has bolted.\
169<NO!>\
170A flash of green light permeated his mind.\
171Hector Hammond slumped even more in his chair, completely and totally unconscious.
172* ''Fanfic/WithThisRing'':
173** Through using magical LSD, the Paragon gets into [[spoiler:Black Adam]]'s mind and intervenes in a showdown between [[spoiler:Theodore Adam and Teth Adom]], with the winner to get the gods' blessing and the loser to have their soul eaten.
174** The Renegade doesn't intervene immediately, but comes back almost a year later to find the two personalities in constant conflict, the body practically helpless yet not unconscious. [[spoiler:With Circe's help, he enters the mindscape, stabs the avatar of Theodore Adam through the torso, and Circe seals Theodore away.]]
175* ''FanFic/TheWorldOfTheCreatures'' takes place in the mind of the [[SelfInsertFic author/protagonist]]. It acts as the setting for a MassiveMultiplayerCrossover Fic where various characters from different franchises face off against an idea-eating monster.
176* An interesting version occurs in ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/119688/1/you-obey/the-interrogation You Obey]]'', where it is the protagonist who initiates the battle.
177* In ''Fanfic/YuGiOhTheThousandYearDoor'', Diana has a small battle in the center of her soul to free herself from the Shadow Queen's Mind control.
178* Multiple battles occur in the ''Manga/DeathNote'' fanfic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9644493/1/Zenith-Darkness-Reverie Zenith, Darkness, Reverie]]'', as the protagonist and [[spoiler:Kira]] attempt to determine which personality should be granted control of the body, the Death Note, and, by extension, [[FridgeHorror the world]].
179[[/folder]]
180
181[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
182* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsLegendOfEverfree'': Twilight Sparkle is plagued for the whole movie by Midnight Sparkle, her EnemyWithin remnant from the previous movie. She's scared of using her newfound telekinetic power, in case it could free her. At the climax of the movie, Twilight finally faces and defeats Midnight Sparkle inside her mindscape with the support of her friends, taking control of her magic for good.
183[[/folder]]
184
185[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
186* In the psychedelic western ''Renegade'' (a.k.a. ''Film/{{Blueberry}}'') based on the graphic novel, the hero takes peyote and gets into a spirit battle with the villain. The forces of good are [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience golden]] [[AnimalStereotypes reptiles]], while the evil side are [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience black]] [[AnimalStereotypes bugs]]. After defeating the villain, the hero watches a recreation of a [[TraumaInducedAmnesia forgotten tragedy]] and comes to terms with it.
187* ''Film/TheCell'', in which Music/JenniferLopez has to unravel the enigma of a serial killer's mind from within.
188* In the film of ''Literature/{{Dreamcatcher}}'', one of the characters is possessed by an alien being. In his mind, he locks himself in a warehouse of his memories and tries to bar the alien presence from getting inside.
189* ''Film/{{Dredd}}'' shows why it's ''not'' a bright idea for a random, untrained person to try their luck fighting an actual psychic like this. Anderson enters Kay's mental world to interrogate him, during which he tries to first kill her, then rape her. Both attempts fail, and she has a projection of his boss castrate him with her teeth.
190* ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' makes good use of this in sequences throughout, especially at the end when Voldemort's duel with Dumbledore results in a draw and he attempts to possess Harry. Voldemort imprints Harry with the memories of all the loved ones he has seen die by that point at Voldemort's hands, before Harry turns it back on him by noting that he truly pities him for his inability to feel love or the joy of friendship.
191* In ''Film/Hero2002'', Magistrate Nameless makes a show of attempting to arrest Long Sky at a Chess Court in his prefecture. They pause mid-fight, Nameless paying the resident (blind) [=GuQin=] master to continue playing. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUevedfnrmc This he does]], as they fight out the remainder of the battle in their minds. When he breaks his instrument with the sheer intensity of his playing, the fight plays out for real and Nameless defeats Sky in a matter of seconds.
192* ''Film/{{Inception}}'' is built around this trope. Virtually the entire plot takes place inside a dream, battling defensive figments called 'projections' while trying to plant the Idea in the subject's mind. [[spoiler:To make things worse, the specter of the protagonist's dead wife haunts his steps.]]
193* In ''Film/TheLastWitchHunter'', Chloe invades Ellic's mind to cut off the spell he's chanting and they have a literal knife fight in the middle of his memories. Justified by YourMindMakesItReal.
194* From the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
195** In ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', a {{cyberspace}} variant occurs shortly after Ultron wakes up and he and J.A.R.V.I.S. have a software war, complete with dueling code. A rematch of sorts happens in the third act when [[spoiler:Vision]] first clashes with Ultron and [[spoiler:Vision cuts off Ultron's access to the Internet, trapping him in his physical form]].
196** In ''Film/DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness'', [[spoiler:838-Xavier goes deep into 838-Wanda's mind to free her from 616-Wanda's control. Sadly, it doesn't end well for him; 616-Wanda wins with a JumpScare amidst a self-made cloud of red mist behind him and [[NeckSnap snaps his neck]]... and the poor professor also has his neck snapped ''at the same time in real life''.]]
197* ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'': In the climax of the final film, Shinji and [[spoiler:Gendo]] have a mental battle in the [[spoiler:Golgotha Object in the Anti-Universe]], represented as two Toku actors on stage, also fighting in familiar settings like the classroom and Misato's apartment.
198* In ''Film/Revolver2005'', Jake -- who has {{claustrophobia}} -- battles his [[MindScrew ego]] when he gets trapped in an elevator. What follows is a scene that looks straight out of the last episode of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''.
199* ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows'' features an example similar to ''Hero'': [[spoiler:When Holmes and Moriarty have completed a game of chess and Holmes reveals the full extent of the damage he's done to Moriarty's ambitions, Moriarty walks up to him in full TranquilFury, pausing to give Holmes a last light on his pipe. As this happens, Holmes begins a SherlockScan to analyze the fight that's going to start in a moment and make his plan of attack, only for Moriarty to smile at him and continue the analysis; both play out the complete battle in their heads, and both foresee an inevitable NoHoldsBarredBeatdown that results in Moriarty beating Holmes to death and throwing him off the balcony. With no situation in which he can defeat Moriarty and both of them well aware of it, Holmes goes for the one thing Moriarty didn't predict in their mental battle; a TakingYouWithMe attack.]]
200* ''Film/XMenApocalypse'':
201** There is a psychic slug-fest between Professor X and Apocalypse. The latter is clearly the stronger one, able to both fight physical opponents and Xavier's mind attacks in real time.
202** [[spoiler:There is another one between Jean Grey and Apocalypse]] which is [[CurbStompBattle resolved quickly]] and is followed by a [[spoiler:telekinesis battle]], which is over almost as fast.
203[[/folder]]
204
205[[folder:Literature]]
206* The [[AntiClimaxBoss standoff]] with the Volturi in ''Literature/BreakingDawn'' can be interpreted as this, as Bella [[spoiler:uses her vampiric ability to [[AntiMagic block out powers]] to protect Cullen allies from Jane's ability to [[AgonyBeam telepathically cause pain to others]]]].
207* ''Literature/BruceCovillesBookOf Ghosts II'': This occurs in ''Soul Survivor'', where the ghostly narrator and the man who initially allowed him to stay begin fighting for total control of "their" body.
208* In ''Literature/DaystarAndShadow'', Robin's fight against a MindProbe involves hiding in a cave inside his mind and trying to block it off with bricks, while the probe is represented by fire. Robin and the probe attack each other with various weapons and animals, with Robin receiving psychic assistance from Shadow.
209* Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
210** ''Literature/{{Thud}}'': When Commander Vimes [[spoiler:is chosen as the Summoning Dark's champion, its attempts to take him over are represented as it entering a city (Vimes's mind) and being thrown out by a Watchman]], representing the bit of Vimes that watches himself: [[spoiler:the Guarding Dark]].
211** This shows up in ''Literature/AHatFullOfSky'', where the Nac Mac Feegle help Tiffany confront the hiver that's taken over her body by luring it into the part of her mindscape where she's most powerful, a mental representation of her home country.
212** Granny Weatherwax has a moment like this in ''Literature/CarpeJugulum''. (Vimes and Granny have a lot in common...)
213** Rincewind has a Hissy Fit In The Center Of The Mind in ''Literature/TheLightFantastic'', when he berates the Great Spells of the Octavo for ruining his life, and he later subdues the Eighth Spell by figuratively hauling it out of hiding within his psyche.
214* The ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novel ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNewAdventuresTimewyrmRevelation Timewyrm: Revelation]]'' by Creator/PaulCornell is largely set inside the Doctor's mind, which is under attack from the Timewyrm. Different parts of the Doctor's mind are looked after by five of the six past Doctors (Sixth isn't there for reasons we learn later), and there's an area where the six "embryonic" personalities of Doctors-to-come wait to be born.
215* Dandra and Tetkashtai get one during the climactic battle of the second book in ''Literature/TheDragonBelow'' trilogy. Though it is less of an invader vs. invaded than two splinters of one personality duking it out to see which will be dominant.
216* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
217** [[spoiler:Lasciel]] was doing a pretty good job of screwing with Harry Dresden until he realized that even [[spoiler:a fallen angel]], or rather the copy of one, is at his mercy when it's in his head. [[CurbStompBattle Pwnage ensued]].
218** Also Harry vs. [[spoiler:Leonid Kravos]], slugging it out in Harry's dreamscape at the end of ''Grave Peril''.
219** Molly fights an epic one against [[spoiler:the Corpsetaker]] in ''Literature/GhostStory''. Apparently, the center of Molly's mind looks like the bridge of the [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries 1960s Enterprise]], complete with a crew of Mollies wearing miniskirt uniforms and mimicking the behavior of the original characters and an epic fighting music soundtrack. There's even one wearing a RedShirt! Not to mention the ''miles'' of incomprehensibly intricate battlefield outside of the bridge. The fact that [[spoiler:Corpsetaker gave up attempting outmaneuvers and just started smashing everything until she overpowered Molly says a lot about how good Molly is at this illusion stuff]].
220** In ''Literature/ColdDays'', we see Harry get into several of these, including one with [[spoiler:Mab's boss]] which, if he lost, would mean his execution. And another when he battles against [[spoiler:Sharkface, an Outsider]].
221* In ''Literature/TheElricSaga'' story ''The Blood Red Game'', humans and their allies escape an imploding universe and want to settle in another. When they do, they encounter aliens. Said aliens would issue a CurbStompBattle in a physical fight, but they agree to play their "Blood Red Game" -- which is this trope -- to allow humans to settle. Losers become catatonic or insane.
222* Creator/GeorgeRRMartin's "The Glass Flower" has pretty much turned this whole concept into a story. He calls it 'the game of mind'.
223* In the final book of ''Literature/GreyKnights'' trilogy, Alaric fights a battle for his soul with a daemon while trapped in his mind, which the daemon has already taken over. [[spoiler:He ends it by TakingYouWithMe, but survives.]]
224* The Novel ''[[VideoGame/GuildWars2 Guild Wars]]: Edge of Destiny'' has an interesting example. After being engaged in a fight with [[spoiler:the EldritchAbomination [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Kralkatorrik]]]], [[InsufferableGenius Snaff]] enters the [[spoiler:dragon's]] mind to prepare it for the FinishingMove and finds himself [[spoiler:in a raging storm (a metaphor for Kralkatorrik's anger)]]. He eventually manages to [[spoiler:[[HijackingCthulhu calm the beast]]]] and leave it behind in a catatonic state making it vulnerable to an attack. [[spoiler:However, they [[DoomedbyCanon failed anyway]].]]
225* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'', when [[spoiler:Voldemort decides to jump into Harry's mind during his battle with Dumbledore to try and get Dumbledore to kill Harry. Harry's first realization that he's been possessed is described as ''"He was gone from the hall, he was locked in the coils of a creature with red eyes, so tightly bound that Harry did not know where his body ended and the creature's began: they were fused together, bound by pain, and there was no escape."'' the pain of his grief for Sirius' recent death -- or, more specifically, ThePowerOfLove -- eventually drives Voldemort out]].
226* In the climax of ''Literature/ISitBehindTheEyes'', Emily and the Entity possessing her clash souls, conjuring up images from Emily's imagination to fight with. The strength of their emotions affects the power of their attacks. [[spoiler:However, as Emily is secretly TheSociopath, she can not summon any genuine emotion, rendering her attacks utterly useless. Her soul is also extremely fragile, allowing the Entity to destroy it with one blow.]]
227* Something like this is a major form of combat in the ''Literature/InheritanceCycle''. Various magic users battle each other by attempting to break into each other's minds, then using this to predict what the opponent will do and countering it.
228* In Sergei Lukyanenko's ''Literature/NightWatchSeries'', the battle for dominance between Vampires apparently works like this. To an outsider, however, it looks like a glorified staring contest.
229* In ''Literature/OnStrangerTides'', the confrontation between sorcerers [[spoiler:Leo Friend and Benjamin Hurwood]] concludes when the former attempts to re-write his own memories to bolster his own self-confidence, and therefore his power. The latter undermines his enemy's attempt to rewrite history in his own mind, crushing his opponent's psyche by exaggerating his recollection of a traumatic humiliating event.
230* How Rob of ''Literature/AnOutcastInAnotherWorld'' interprets his own struggles to keep Leveling High in check. Whenever it attempts to overtly influence him, Rob’s struggles to resist its temptations are imagined as him physically assaulting the mental construct until it’s beaten into submission and quiets down.
231* ''Literature/PilgrennonsChildren'': In ''Pilgrennon's Beacon'', Dana uses her BrainComputerInterface to play a VR game that most people need a headset for. She fights the evil supercomputer Cerberus, which runs the game, drawing on [[ThePowerOfHate her most horrible experiences]] to force two of the heads to kill each other and contaminate the third with her humanity.
232* The ally-assisted version was used in the book ''Literature/PrinceOfTheSidhe'', when King Aedh of Eiru (Ireland) gets drugged by the book's villain. We see Aedh's mindscape (which is just as confused as he is), and get things from his point of view when the titular character comes to Aedh's assistance in his own unique fashion.
233* Julia spends most of ''Literature/TheRagwitch'' trying to find a way to make some headway FightingFromTheInside the titular monster. Towards the end, this culminates in a real battle when [[spoiler:she, Lyssa, and the personalities of the king and the original witch who was subsumed into the Ragwitch]] fight for continued existence after the Ragwitch finally realizes that Julia hasn't been as helpless as she thought. A dragon and hordes of {{mooks}} are involved.
234* ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'' - ''Magician'': Tomas, one of the main characters, finds a suit of cursed armor that fuses him with a godlike being, who wants to repulse the invaders (Tsuranii). Said godlike being was one of a race that created the bloody elves as their personal slaves, to the point that an elf can't disobey any word said in their language, and who are fiercely protective of their world. Now, if Tomas standing in the middle of a storm of pure mental fury from a dragonlord whilst quietly saying, "I am Tomas" isn't an incredibly badass version of this, nothing is.
235** That "godlike being" is actually a Dragon Lord, or Valheru as the elves call them. They weren't really godlike, as they all got slaughtered except one[[note]]The one whose armor Tomas finds, Ashen-Shugar[[/note]] when they challenged the Lesser Gods of Midkemia[[note]]Midkemia has Lesser and Greater gods. The Lesser Gods were also fighting the Greater Gods during the Chaos Wars, and the Valheru barely made a dent in either side even with the ArtifactOfDoom Lifestone boosting their power.[[/note]] during the Chaos Wars, but they're still far more powerful than any human or elf except the highest levels of magician.
236* In ''Up Jim River'' from the ''Literature/SpiralArm'' series, the scarred man suffers a mental breakdown caused by conflict between his ten {{split personalit|y}}ies and ends up fighting a battle in his mind. [[spoiler:Nine of his personalities team up to destroy the tenth, which was suicidal and trying to cause the scarred man to die.]]
237* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' MirrorUniverse novel ''Dark Mirror'' by Diane Duane, Deanna's mental defenses are represented by children's building blocks (when she was being taught to use her powers she heard the term "mental block" and misunderstood). The mirror-universe Deanna batters ineffectively against these blocks, while our Deanna calmly walks into her opponent's mind as though it was her own, because unlike her counterpart, she can admit that, in a way, it is.
238* The ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' Literature/DarthBane novels use one of these to [[spoiler:settle the legacy of the Sith. The inevitable battle between Bane and Zannah takes place when he tries to take over her mind. While Bane was better with the saber than Zannah was, she proved a superior sorceress. There is still a small trace of him left in her, though]].
239** Chronologically much later, in the ''Literature/NewJediOrder'' novel ''Reunion'', Jedi Knight [[ActionGirl Tahiri]] gets sucked into one of these by her EnemyWithin, an artificially implanted [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Yuuzhan Vong]] personality who is trying to pull a SplitPersonalityTakeover on her. It turns out that neither of them can win, since they've become so tightly linked that destroying one would destroy the other; to save their sanity, they end up doing a SplitPersonalityMerge instead. The whole thing is represented as a sort of really trippy lightsaber duel with injuries carrying over to both combatants.
240* The ending of Creator/RobertSheckley's ''Literature/TheStatusCivilization'' involves one of these. [[spoiler:The Earth civilization brainwashes children to make them responsible members of society -- and this brainwashing includes strong urge to report on oneself in case of committing a crime (or even being in a situation where you can be a suspect) and to commit suicide in case these lessons are ever remembered consciously. Barrent was sent to Omega because he confessed in a crime he never committed, returned to the Earth and had to fight these old urges that took form of the worst memories he got from Omega.]]
241* The climax of the second book in ''Literature/TheTraitorSonCycle'' has the ghost of [[spoiler:Harmodius]] break into the mind palace of enemy sorcerer. The two duke it out there and eventually [[spoiler:Harmodius kills Aeskepiles' soul and takes over the body]].
242* ''Literature/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfOtomeGamesIsToughForMobs'': In the ''Marie Route'' AlternateTimeline, there's an attempt at DemonicPossession of Marie by a VengefulGhost in her sleep, portrayed as taking place within a dream. Once Marie is fully alert to the threat, it looks like Marie is turning into a HumanoidAbomination in her dream... [[BaitAndSwitch only for]] Marie to let out a spoiled cry for her KnightTemplarBigBrother to help her, and for him to come in with GlowingEyesOfDoom and kick the intruder out [[BatterUp using a baseball bat]].
243* Any fight scene in the ''Literature/UnwovenLiteraryUniverse'' due to the [[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind premise]].
244* In ''Literature/VeryBadDeaths'', an oversensitive telepath is forced to confront a serial killer. Despite only one of them having psychic powers, this is a genuine battle, as Alan's thoughts are so vile as to be weaponized.
245* In ''Literature/VoidCity'', Squidly, the sentient SoulJar of Empress Vampire Lisette, attempts to invade Greta's mind. Greta defeats it by calling up a mental image of her adoptive father Eric, whom she hero-worships and who is invincible in her mind.
246* In the ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' [[Characters/Warhammer40000ImperialGuard Imperial Guard]] novel ''Cadian Blood'', Seth [[spoiler:in a LastStand against a daemon. When the daemon kills him, he dies laughing and saying the look at the daemon's face made the fight worth it]].
247* This happens several times in ''Literature/TheWitchlands'', as Esme tries to break into Iseult's mind to steal some information and Iseult attempts to resist, usually by forming a shield made of a multiplication table. Nevertheless, Esme usually wins.
248* In the sixth ''Literature/YoungWizards'' book, the autistic wizard-to-be Darryl is subjected to this constantly - his "Ordeal" (a battle with the Lone Power to prove fitness as a wizard) has gone on for ''three months''. The reason for this is that [[spoiler:he's an abdal, a physical embodiment of God's power, and the Lone Power (Satan) fears the amount of power he'd have if he ''did'' make it as a wizard]]. Eventually Nita and Kit get into the kid's head to help him break the cycle.
249[[/folder]]
250
251[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
252* ''Series/The100'' has this occur after Josephine's mind [[BodySnatcher is implanted in Clarke's body]], the two fighting in a "mindspace" made up of each other's memories and populated by avatars of their own subconscious worries. The twist is that, since Josephine's mind is stored [[BrainUploading on a backup drive]], even if Clarke kills her inside the mindspace, she can just re-upload herself, good as new, whereas if Josephine kills Clarke, [[EvilOnlyHasToWinOnce Clarke's dead for good]]. Though, if the battle continues long enough, it will cause enough brain damage to kill Clarke's body, taking them both down with it.
253* Throughout ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Angel}}'', Angel is presented as struggling with the vampire instincts of Angelus, the vampire demon who terrorised Europe for over a century before gypsies cursed him by restoring his soul and putting Angel in control of their shared body. The episode "[[Recap/AngelS04E15Orpheus Orpheus]]" features Angelus (temporarily back in control after the curse was broken) being trapped in a mystical coma while Angel's allies are attempting to restore Angel's soul, which results in Angelus encountering an aspect of Angel in their shared mind, the two subsequently engaging in battle with this shared observation;
254-->I've been waiting a long time for this.
255* Used in the penultimate episode of the Shadow War arc for ''Series/BabylonFive''. As the tide of the battle begins to turn in the younger races' favor, Telepath Lyta Alexander gets used by the both the Shadows and Vorlons to mentally assault Sheridan and Delenn with their racial philosophies.
256* In ''Series/{{Blindspot}}'', in episode 4.09 "Check your Ed", to avoid [[AmnesiacDissonance terrorist-old-personality-before-the-mindwipe]] "Remi" from taking over instead of newly-constructed-FBI-agent-personality "Jane", the team resorts to a {{technobabbl|e}}y method which results [[spoiler:in "Remi" fighting with "Jane" inside their shared brain via flashbacks, metaphors, gunfire, explosions, a zombie version of Remi's dead brother Roman and imagined versions of the team members providing support. In the end, [[SplitPersonalityMerge her personalities merge]] and she keeps all her memories in her "good" identity]].
257* ''Series/{{Diablero}}'': In season two, Lupe engages Keta in one in order to teach her [[spoiler: how to use her full power as the avatar of Coatlicue]].
258* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
259** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]", the Doctor and the Master tap into [[HilariousInHindsight The Matrix]] (a psychic computation matrix) and have a battle of the wills--the landscape in the Matrix is created by their brainwaves, so the Master can basically create an entire world through his will and makes the Doctor suffer various tortures in it, nearly killing him.
260** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E1TheThreeDoctors The Three Doctors]]", the Third Doctor and Omega have a mental battle in which Omega is represented by a goblin-like creature.
261** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E12NightmareInSilver Nightmare in Silver]]", where the Doctor and Mr. Clever battle for full control of the mind, although they use a physical game of chess in place of a psychic battle.
262** There's one of these going on throughout "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks Asylum of the Daleks]]". [[spoiler:Oswin Oswald was converted into a Dalek like the rest of her crew, but she was able to resist the brainwashing that came with it. All her scenes in her escape pod take place in her head, and the Daleks trying to break in is actually the Dalek programming trying to make her mentally into a Dalek. The ''Carmen'' music and the souffles are her reasserting her humanity.]]
263* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' made this into an art form with John's confrontations with Harvey-Scorpius. This resulted in one of the best episodes anywhere ever: a Looney Tunes style cartoon showdown, including all the old favorites (painting a wormhole on a wall only for someone to drive through it...).
264* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': In the second part of "Don Juan in Hell", Frasier conjures up Lilith, Diane, Nanette and his mother who battle each other for Frasier's affections. Frasier realizes that they're all responsible for his inability to stick with relationships, even with women perfect for him.
265* ''Series/GothamKnights2023'': Harvey fights his alternate self for control over his body in "Poison Pill" while they meet inside of Harvey's imaginary office, and he wins... for now.
266* ''Series/{{Highlander}}: The Series''' Duncan [=MacLeod=] has two of these:
267** The first one while under the effects of a "Dark Quickening", between his noble self and the evil he has absorbed through centuries of beheading evil immortals.
268** The second one against the demon Ahriman.
269* The finale of ''Series/KikaiSentaiZenkaiger'' features this, as the [[BodySurf body-surfing]] [[spoiler:Creator of Worlds]] has possessed [[TheHero Kaito]] at the time Kaito finally confronts him.
270* ''Series/Legion2017'':
271** [[TheHero David]] and [[BigBad Farouk]]'s first proper meeting in season 2 eventually results in a playful fight in which the two of them literally wrestle for supremacy inside David's mind. Farouk escalates by drawing a katana out of nowhere, David escalates by transforming into a tank, Farouk escalates again by becoming a tornado, and the two are eventually forced to end it on a draw.
272** In the season 2 finale, David and Farouk (back in his own body at last) engage in a full-blown psychic duel that sees their minds clash as giant ghostly figures on the horizon. Initially, they fight with swords, flails, spears, and rocket launchers, but in a matter of seconds, it turns into a ShapeshifterShowdown featuring dinosaurs, fighter planes, sharks, tentacled monsters, cyclopes, and giant spiders.
273* ''Series/RedDwarf'':
274** "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonVIGunmenOfTheApocalypse Gunmen of the Apocalypse]]" has the main characters enter Kryten's subconscious to help him fight off a computer virus.
275** In "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonVTerrorform Terrorform]]" when the crew face off with Rimmer's self-loathing monster and later when Rimmer's resurrected self-confidence defeats his inner demons, saving the crew.
276* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
277** During ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'', Tommy spent several episodes stuck his Ranger suit, then unable to turn his invisibility power off so [[RealLifeWritesThePlot that his actor could visit his family]]. His first episode back involved him becoming visible again, but putting himself into a coma in the process. He then had to fight his [[GotTheCallOnSpeedDial previous Ranger identities]]. After ''barely'' getting past Zeo Ranger 5 and the White Ranger, he had his ass thoroughly kicked by the Green Ranger, but still refused to quit -- at which point they allowed him to wake up and restored his Dino Gem into the bargain.
278** A similar example happens in ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'', where RJ struggles to control his newly-awakened wolf spirit and keeps turning into a werewolf as a result. After fully becoming the Wolf Ranger and just when he thinks he's finally in control, it happens again and it takes the other Rangers [[spoiler: and Flit the fly]] to try and snap him out of it. This leads us into RJ's mind where he faces off against his werewolf self and wins.
279* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'': Jerry dates a girl who is extremely attractive, but with a terrible personality. He describes the process of deciding whether to break up with her as “my brain playing my penis in a chess game.” Subsequent scenes show two Jerrys in a brain and penis costume playing chess. The episode ends with the brain Jerry checkmating penis Jerry, and Jerry dumps the girl.
280* Happened a couple of times in ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', memorable examples being Dr. Weir facing off with Oberon in her mind to allow her teammates to escape the other Replicators, Teyla fighting off the Wraith queen's attempts to probe her mind, and Sheppard fighting himself (sort of) in his own mind.
281* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
282** In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS3E9Warlord Warlord]]", the mind of a ruthless dictator forces itself into [[spoiler:Kes]], but she manages to fight him off mentally.
283** In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E19FrameOfMind Frame of Mind]]", Riker seems to bounce between being aboard the ''Enterprise'', preparing for a play about a man locked in a mental institution and scenes where he's actually living the character's experience, and his sense of which is real is constantly being challenged. It turns out that [[spoiler:it was ''all'' an illusion, and he was sedated in an alien lab being mind probed the whole time; the illusions were his subconscious mind's way of processing what was happening, and his actions within these illusions were, in essence, his brain fighting back]].
284** In season 3 of ''Series/StarTrekPicard'', a new Soong-type android containing the minds of both Data and [[EvilTwin Lore]] inevitably comes to this. It is notably lacking in action, with Data surrendering and even handing over his memories to Lore. [[spoiler: Said memories cause Lore to effectively ''become'' Data, just as Data intended.]]
285* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
286** During the season six finale, [[spoiler:the wall around Sam's memories of being in Lucifer's cage is destroyed, shattering his psyche into pieces -- "normal Sam", the Sam who spent a year [[TheSoulless without a soul]], and the Sam who remembers Hell. Normal Sam kills and absorbs soulless Sam, but the third Sam has no interest in fighting and begs Sam to stay in the dreamscape and spare himself the memories of what happened. When that fails, he allows Sam to absorb him]].
287** A similar storyline occurred mid-season nine; [[spoiler: Sam has been possessed by a renegade angel and trapped in a hallucination in his own mind while the angel uses his body, forcing Dean and Castiel to allow Crowley to possess Sam's body so that he can tell Sam what is happening to him and help Sam expel the angel]].
288** Played with in season eleven; [[spoiler:Castiel has allowed Lucifer to possess him on the condition that Lucifer help defeat [[TheAntiGod the Darkness]]]], and the Winchesters try to make contact with him to get him to fight the possession. [[spoiler:Like with Sam, Crowley enters the vessel to talk with Castiel on their behalf]], but he actually refuses to fight back, so the only "battle" that takes place is [[spoiler:[[CurbStompBattle Lucifer kicking Crowley's ass]]]]. The fact that the possessee appears to be clinically depressed and has PTSD doesn't help matters.
289* ''Series/TruthSeekers'': A humourously off-screen variant: [[spoiler:In the finale, Elton channels Astrid's spirit into the Ellexatron in order to wrest control of it away from its current occupant, Alaura.]] We can only hear them grunt, wince, and insult one another through the machine, but it is clear that they are experiencing their confrontation as a physical fight.
290* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': In "Dream Me a Life", Roger Simpson Leeds is repeatedly forced to [[DreamWalker enter Laurel Kincaid's dream]]. It follows the same pattern each time: they are in a room filled with candles and Laurel begs Roger to help her in keeping something, seemingly a monster, out. On the first few occasions, Roger refuses to help. When he enters her dream again, however, he realizes that he is not supposed to keep it outside but to let it inside the room. It turns out to be the spirit of her husband, who died ten years earlier. He wants Laurel to accept his death and live her life again instead of remaining [[EmptyShell catatonic]]. The next morning, Roger cheerily approaches Laurel and invites her to breakfast. She then speaks her first words in ten years.
291* In ''Series/UnitedStatesOfTara'', [[spoiler:Tara held a conference in her head with her various alters in order to draw up a contract between her and them.]]
292[[/folder]]
293
294[[folder:Music]]
295* "The Trial", the climax of Music/PinkFloyd's 1979 RockOpera ''Music/TheWall'', features the main character put on trial in his own mind and convicted by a monstrous imaginary judge.
296* Kitananx made a song CALLED Battle In The Center Of The Mind.
297* "Heaven Tells No Lies" by Music/{{Helloween}} invokes this in the chorus:
298--> I'd need a shotgun in my dreams tonight\
299To terminate my rotten side.
300* Music/PoetsOfTheFall's "[[https://youtu.be/xfvtPTvuFTA Drama for Life]]" describes struggling and reaching a détente with one's own potentially destructive creative impulses, represented alternately by an agitated "madman" or a rampaging bull running loose in the singer's head.
301* Music/ImagineDragons' music video for "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wtfhZwyrcc Believer]]" depicts frontman Dan Reynolds overcoming emotional and physical pain as a boxing match between Dan and Dolph Lundgren.
302[[/folder]]
303
304[[folder:Roleplay]]
305* In ''RolePlay/YuGiOhEastAcademy'', Sigmund has one against his partner spirit Freed. However, it's inside ''Freed's'' mind rather than his own.
306[[/folder]]
307
308[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
309* ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}'' sees one of these happen if someone becomes Harrowed. Their soul wages war against the manitou in their body, in a setting based on the character's worst nightmare. The winner gets to control the body.
310* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
311** Illusion spells ''phantasmal killer'' and ''weird'' work a lot like this trope, in that they create a personalized ImaginaryEnemy that can kill the targets who fail to resist their terrors.
312** In ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'', recurring nightmares occasionally attract the attentions of a group of [[EvilOverlord darklords]] called the Nightmare Court, who, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin as their name suggests]], try to play it up until they reduce the ailing victim into a comatose wreck. Needless to say, any adventure involving them is about kicking their [[SuperpoweredMooks ennui]] out of the head of the dreamer while sorting out his issues.
313** The ''TabletopGame/DarkSun'' {{sourcebook}} ''The Will and The Way'' introduced "harbingers" and "constructs" -- mental forms that tweak and help to focus telepathic combat powers (the question whether both sides see the same is avoided, since on Athas psionics is well-codified). So you end up with mental attacks and defences put into images such as a giant scorpion trying to undermine a wall or flames trying to burn through a beetle's carapace.
314* A possible occurrence in the "Zorandar" setting from Hero Games' ''Lands of Mystery''. If you get captured by one set of enemies, they'll try questioning you telepathically. Resist, and the telepathic struggle is gamed out as a one-on-one fight between your interrogator and you. If you lose the fight, the interrogator gets the answer to whatever question set this in motion. If you win, you wake out of the mind trance to find your interrogator has just suffered a brainfry (and if you can't figure out that this is the perfect time to escape...).
315* The Sidereal charm Meditative Battlefield Escalation in ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' works this trope somewhat in reverse. Instead of an invading force attacking a defender's psyche, the Sidereal creates an entire battlefield in their own mind and draws their enemies into that. Then they have supernatural Fist-fights in the center of their own mind.
316[[/folder]]
317
318[[folder:Theme Parks]]
319* This is the entire premise of the ''Theatre/{{Fantasmic}}'' show at Ride/DisneyThemeParks, with several Characters/DisneyVillains invading the imagination of Mickey Mouse.
320[[/folder]]
321
322[[folder:Video Games]]
323* In ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'', the purpose of Alice's nightmarish return trip through Wonderland is this.
324* ''Franchise/BatmanArkhamSeries'':
325** This happens thrice in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' when Batman gets drugged by the Scarecrow, resulting in massive InterfaceScrew and a FissionMailed before entering a twisted world based on his psyche. However, Batman fights it off due to HeroicWillpower, to the horror of Scarecrow. The final time Batman is surrounded by unconscious mooks when he comes to his senses, suggesting there was a physical fight as well.
326** It also happens in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' with [[spoiler:the Mad Hatter and Ra's al-Ghul]]. And just like the previous game, there was a physical fight happening at the same time.
327** Then one last time in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'', [[spoiler:which involves Batman fighting off the last memories of the Joker and sealing them away]].
328* ''VideoGame/BattleMoonWars'' has this in Tohno Shiki's mind while he lies unconscious, fighting internally against [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Nanaya Shiki]]. Unfortunately for him, he also visualizes Akiha and Satsuki in this mindscape and thus is unwilling to fight at first. Insert friendly telepath encouragement as Sion uses Etherlite to join in and help him out.
329* In ''VideoGame/BladesOfOthersides'', Kona is ''constantly'' fighting one with his SuperPoweredEvilSide. Which side is presently winning affects which form he's in in the physical world.
330* ''VideoGame/BleachBraveSouls'' turns this into a ''gameplay mechanic'': Some characters gain "Resurrection" forms, achieved by reaching Level 200 with them and then winning a boss battle against either [[MirrorMatch themselves]] or a significant person related to their story in [[Manga/{{Bleach}} the anime or manga]]. Fittingly, the button to engage this battle has a picture of [[FusionDance White Zangetsu]], who fought Ichigo like this.
331* The final battle in ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2'', where Isaac fights [[spoiler: Nicole and the Marker]].
332* In ''VideoGame/Drakengard2'', Nowe fights one of the boss battles in Manah's mind after she has her VillainProtagonist [[HeroicBSOD BSOD]].
333* In ''VideoGame/DungeonsAndDragonsOnline'', the quest 'Finding the Path' involves protecting your mind (embodied in a glowing orb) against the assault of Dreaming Dark creatures, before confronting the cultists in real life.
334* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', [[MadGod Sheogorath]] takes you to his personal vacation spot: the mind of [[TheCaligula Pelagius the Mad]] and will only agree to leave if you humor him and combat Pelagius' various psychoses with the help of his artifact, the Wabbajack.
335* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
336** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', sleeping at Doma Castle with Cyan in the party will cause the party to be taken into Cyan's mind, where they can battle a demon called Wrexsoul that is feeding off his survivor's guilt.
337** Also, the final battle of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' [[spoiler:happens inside Cloud's mind. He destroys Sephiroth in one strike]].
338* One of the main gimmicks of ''Gachitora!'' for the Playstation Portable is the ''Soul Nude Battle'' system - basically, while regular enemies are fought with GoodOldFisticuffs, your students' traumas are fought with [[BreakThemByTalking dialogue]] symbolized by literal fights. [[LeaveMeAlone Social outcast]]? He'll make you sure [[BarrierWarrior to not be bothered]]. Suicidical IdolSinger? She'll use [[MusicalAssassin her talent to fight you]]. Family problems caused by [[AbusiveParents monster parents]]? Watch out for his [[MakeMyMonsterGrow literally inflated Ego]]. Young girl working [[BrokeEpisode to pay a massive debt]]? [[MoneyMauling Watch for the giant beam-shooting purse]]. SchoolNewspaperNewsHound accused of faking a story? Beware of [[PhantomZonePicture his new scoop]]. [[HollywoodHacking Hacker]] with NoSocialSkills? Be ready to fight [[DigitizedHacker a bunch of computer screens]]. Pressure of being a not good enough teacher? You'll literally kick [[EmotionalPowers the negative feelings]]' ass. AlwaysSecondBest? Beware of [[AssumedWin the #1's celebration party fireworks]]. BigBrotherBully? [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith Give him a well-deserved beating]]. [[BatterUp Ex-baseball player]] accused of a forced suicide? [[FinalExamBoss Hoo boy]].
339* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': Raiden Shogun's second story quest features this between the Shogun and [[spoiler: the real archon Ei]] in Makoto's realm of consciousness. The battle seems to last a few moments for the people in the real world but for the fighters it goes on for centuries before [[spoiler: archon Ei]] wins.
340* ''VideoGame/{{Ghostrunner}}'': The final level happens in a cyberspace area within the Ghostrunner's cyborg mind, as the Ghostrunner battles to take control of his mind from the BigBad.
341* Whenever Team Orochi and their Awakened counterparts interact in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV'', it is framed this way. Interestingly, the pre-battle dialogues indicate that Yashiro's, Shermie's and Chris's two personalities are actually on good terms with each other, and they battle each other only to define which of the two personalities is more fit to carry on their plan to bring Orochi back. Case in point --
342--> '''O.Yashiro:''' Mind and body... split to gather the spirit needed to resurrect Orochi... The circumstances differ from before, but the way forward remains clear.\
343'''Yashiro:''' Right. Me, the body; you, the spirit... Whoever wins, we share the same desire. Now let's do this! Let's grant the wish of our clan!
344* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'':
345** In the [[VideoGame/GodOfWarI first game]], during the final battle, Ares invokes this on Kratos, forcing him to see an illusion of his family die. Even if Kratos "wins", he fails to save them since Ares simply rips off the Blades of Chaos and uses them to cut down the illusions of Kratos' wife and daughter.
346** ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'', after Atreus begins tapping into his godly powers, he collapses from his belief that he's a mortal. Freya explains that Kratos' "true nature fights within him" and Mimir tells him that a mental contradiction can express itself as an ailment. despite Kratos going "ToHellAndBack" to get the cure, his son can only be cured by knowing what he really is.
347* ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'': [[spoiler:The battle against Mordremoth. Since Mordremoth's whole body is the Maguuma jungle, it can't be fought conventionally. Defeating it requires the protagonist to enter its mind and fight distorted memories of their companions and a manifestation of Mordremoth's mind.]]
348* If the player presses the B Button during a certain important event in ''VideoGame/TheHalloweenHack'', [[spoiler:Varik enters Dr. Andonuts's mind and discovers the reasoning behind his insanity... and then he winds up fighting Dr. Andonuts' personal demons as well as the doctor himself]].
349* ''VideoGame/TheIncredibleHulkUltimateDestruction'' has a boss battle in Bruce Banner's subconscious, where the Hulk takes on Banner's underlying hostility and malevolence, officially dubbed "Devil Hulk".
350* ''VideoGame/Injustice2'':
351** Scarecrow is a playable character that appears as a demonic ragdoll monster with magic powers and a huge metallic scythe. However, in cutscenes as well as the start of matches, we see he's really just a spindly scientist with a bag on his head; the one that does the battling is an hallucination born from his Fear Gas, essentially making every fight with Scarecrow this trope.
352** In the Story Mode, this takes a more traditional form as, after Harley Quinn beats Scarecrow, he uses a different fear gas to [[spoiler:make her hallucinate that she's in an abandoned amusement park, back with the Joker (who was killed by Superman before the first game), who wants her to go back to being evil and kill Batman. She resists the temptation and beats the Joker hallucination instead]].
353* Happens no less than ''three times'' in ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'':
354** Two demons vie for control of a little girl's body. You have to pick which one you'll support, and then it's a kung fu battle inside her mind.
355** Near the end of the game, you can attempt to wrest control of TheDragon away from the BigBad. You control the ghost of the Dragon's past self and fight its current incarnation.
356** When you confront the BigBad himself, he attempts to overwhelm you with despair. Naturally, this means you have to fight some freaky glowing swordsmen named "Despair" in an AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield. You also get to rely on the PowerOfFriendship for encouragement, which takes the form of your allies running up to the "Despairs" and, um, exploding.
357* Late in ''VideoGame/JeanneDArc'', [[spoiler:Jeanne]], Gilles, and Richard are whisked into an abstract representation of [[spoiler:Roger]]'s heart, bound by chains by the [[LegionsOfHell Reaper]] [[SevenDeadlySins Ira]]. The three of them must battle Ira's cronies to destroy his power over [[spoiler:Roger]]; eventually, a manifestation of [[spoiler:[[NotTooDeadToSaveTheDay Liane]]'s]] spirit joins the three heroes to assist them, particularly because [[spoiler:her death]] [[HeroicBSOD is what caused]] [[spoiler:Roger]] [[FaceHeelTurn to submit to the Reaper]].
358* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
359** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'', when Riku fights off Ansem.
360** And there's another one in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', [[spoiler:Sora vs. Roxas]].
361** Special mention too that [[spoiler:the Awakening seems like a semi-physical place, since Donald and Goofy mention Sora disappearing from the scene]].
362** Happens yet again in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' with [[spoiler:Ven vs. Vanitas]] and [[spoiler:Terra vs. Master Xehanort]], and with [[spoiler:Aqua]] pitching in during the TrueFinalBoss fight. [[spoiler:The secret ending suggests that Terra and MX spent years vying for control of the new Xehanort's heart.]]
363---> [[spoiler:'''[[GrandTheftMe Terra-Xehanort]]:''' You body submits, your heart succumbs -- ''so why does your mind RESIST?!'']]
364** Unfortunately, the next game in the series, ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'' strongly implies that that last battle in the center of the mind from Birth by Sleep only lasted for a year rather than the several years we were led to believe, and we have yet to learn what happened to the loser.
365*** Cranked to a new level in the same game, where it turns out [[spoiler:Riku had been fighting off the Nightmares within Sora's dream imaginings of the Sleeping Worlds. His boss fight with Ansem also takes place in the "Darkness within Darkness" of Sora's dream. Then, in the TrueFinalBoss fight, Riku fights off the Armored Ventus Nightmare within Sora's Heart]].
366* In ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'', one of the annual Mr. Store familiars for 2013, the Angry Jung Man, drops psychoanalytical jars that let you copy and explore the psychoses of various non-player characters, such as the Crackpot Mystic, the Pretentious Artist, and the Suspicious-Looking Guy.
367* The finale of Arcueid's and Archtype Earth's plots in the "Current Code" version of ''VideoGame/MeltyBlood'' is this between them.
368* In the climax of ''Videogame/Metro2033'', [[spoiler:the protagonist is mentally fighting the Dark Ones, who are trying to stop him from annihilating their home -- all while the protagonist is on the highest point of Moscow's Ostankino tower as it's crumbling. Failing the fight results in the protagonist falling to his doom from the mental blow]].
369* ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'':
370** Happens in ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'', as Ness has to fight his own Nightmare (which is the evil part of his mind) at the end of his [[DreamLand dream world]] known as Magicant. By defeating it, Ness' true potential is released.
371** {{Averted|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings'', as that Magicant is [[spoiler:Maria]]'s dream instead of Ninten's. Likewise, a fight with Lucas' Nightmare was removed from ''VideoGame/Mother3'', which has no Magicant.
372* The FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/MotherRussiaBleeds'' is a hallucinatory battle against [[spoiler:the mental manifestation of the drug that they're addicted to. In order to get the best ending of the game, you have to beat it ''without'' using Nekro, representing the protagonists overcoming their addiction through sheer force of will.]]
373* If you decide to attack the Mindflayer Elder Brain in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights: Hordes of the Underdark'', it will suddenly trap you inside an illusion where you are waking up from a dream. If you accept it, you get a NonStandardGameOver. If you reject it, you will be attacked by monsters within the dream and upon defeating them you will return to reality and the Elder Brain will beg for mercy, allowing you to make a deal with it or deal the killing blow.
374* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon of ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2: Mask of the Betrayer'' [[spoiler:has you and possibly a companion battling the Spirit-Eater itself for control of your soul]].
375* The final battle in ''VideoGame/Nioh2'' [[spoiler:consists of Otakemaru trying to take control of your body after you foiled his attempt to possess Tokichiro by intercepting his spirit. Throughout the battle Tokichiro is purifying you, which manifests as his Guardian Spirit Masaru showing up to take swipes at Otakemaru.]]
376* A rather weird one in ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle'' where Henry, while unconscious, fights against Mimmy, a manifestation of Travis' various fetishes (being a {{Moe}} RobotGirl), which is apparently brought on by Travis "[[CaughtWithYourPantsDown watching]]" anime in the other room.
377* ''VideoGame/OmegaLabyrinthLife'' features special, character-specific dungeons that are made to be taken solo, explicitly created from their subconcsioun thoughts, featuring gimmicks that are related to the character's skill-set, personality, and inner demons. The bosses are even called their Shadow Selves.
378* The final battle of ''VideoGame/{{OMORI}}'' features one between Sunny and Omori that culminates in a FissionMailed. You can choose to either give up or to continue fighting: [[spoiler:doing the former will result in the [[DownerEnding Bad]] [[DrivenToSuicide Ending]]]].
379* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': Primrose confronts the final boss at the end of her story, who proceeds to ask her what she'll do after she gets her revenge against the men who killed her father and [[VengeanceFeelsEmpty what she'll have left to live for.]] This question shakes Primrose to her core, requiring the player to fight a mental representation of her final boss as well as two marionettes who represent her father Geoffrey Azelheart and Primrose's deceased friend Yusufa.
380* ''VideoGame/OctopathTravelerII'':
381** With Temenos in your party at night, you can challenge [=NPCs=] to coerce information out of them, fighting them on an endless plane of inch-deep water. The battle ends as soon as the NPC [[BreakMeter runs out of shield points]].
382** Hikari has a mental battle against his curse in his mind during the final boss at the end of his story, when it tries to persuade him into needless violence again during his battle against Mugen. The battle takes place in a darkened throne room. Hikari is ultimately able to overcome his curse and use this dedication as his source for his [[LimitBreak Latent Power]].
383* Anyone in the ''VideoGame/{{Penumbra}}'' series who gets infected by the Tuurngait gets one of these, although you only play through Philip's. He and Red both win their battles, retaining a measure of self-control (and, in Philip's case, splitting off his own infestation from the HiveMind to make it an easier-to-manage EnemyWithin.) Everyone else who appears in the series lost and got [[TheAssimilator assimilated]].
384* Happens near the end of ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' when you have to enter a mindtrap and [[spoiler:meet three of your most important previous "incarnations" inside. If you manage to take them over or merge with them, you gain their memories and a lot of XP. If you fail the merger you have to destroy them, which gets you no memories or XP. The success of the merger is determined by stats and conversation options, one can only be taken over if your willpower is above a certain level, while another is much easier to convince to merge if you can gain his trust by convincing him that you and him are the same person.]]
385* ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers'': Marill's brother, Azurill, is locked in a nightmare and unable to wake up due to a legendary Pokemon that can infiltrate and attack other beings in their dreams: [[spoiler:Darkrai]]. With the help of an ex-con Drowzee, the hero and their partner are transferred into Azurill's mind to figure out the cause of the problem.
386* The battle against [[spoiler:The Dark Prince]] in ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones'' turns out this way. After some platforming, you end up with him and you, the solution being [[spoiler:to stop attacking and walk away]].
387** [[spoiler:Although annoyingly, even if you attack, he can't kill you. All that happens it that you need to walk through an army of Dark Prince clones.]]
388* ''VideoGame/PsychicForce 2'': The final battle in Emilio's story mode sees him fighting his dark side in his mind. [[spoiler:[[DownerEnding He loses]].]]
389* Raz in ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' fights (and helps defeat) the {{Freudian Excuse}}s lurking in people's brains -- such as a painter's anger (which manifests as a bull), a former insane asylum warden's split personality (which looks like [[NapoleonDelusion Napoleon]] and against whom he is constantly trapped in a war game), and even [[spoiler:the BigBad's and his own father issues, which manifest as an enormous butcher and a taunting zombie ragdoll, respectively]].
390* The interior of [[spoiler:the Mothership]] in ''VideoGame/TheReturn'' apparently displays [[spoiler:Burgmund's]] thoughts. Or actually ''is'' his mind.
391* Near the end of ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'' "Culture Shock", Sam falls under the hypnotic sway of disgruntled former child star Brady Culture. After snapping himself out of it by a blow to the head from the security system at Bosco's Inconvenience Store, Sam finds himself in his own mind. There, he has to dispose of a host of Brady Culture clones that [[HypnoticHead represent Culture's hypnotic influence]].
392* The ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' franchise has several examples:
393** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'', you find a young girl ([[spoiler:actually the reincarnation of the Heroine]]) whose mind has been infested by a demon that is devouring her from the inside-out. You have to dive into her mind in order to kill the demon and save her.
394** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIF'', exclusive to the Reiko route, after beating [[BigBad Hazama]] in his Demon God Emperor form, you go inside his mind alongside Reiko and learn more about his [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds past and motives]], and ultimately fight the manifestation of his insanity, fittingly named Warped Mind.
395** Every boss fight in ''VideoGame/Persona4'' is this until close to the end of the game. Although it's more like "Battle In The Center Of The Collective Unconscious".
396** The Palaces of ''VideoGame/Persona5'' are twisted manifestations of a person's corrupt desires. In these cases, the "center of the mind" is a Treasure that the Phantom Thieves set their sights on stealing in order to force someone to have a change of heart.
397** Not quite the same, but not quite anything else either: In ''[[Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei Maken X]]'', Kei's consciousness (using Kei's form) spends most of the game standing on a glassy-looking disc in her brain yelling/screeching at her body, now possessed by the Maken.
398* ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'':
399** When Painwheel attempts to reject Brain Drain's mind control in her story mode, the battle is visualised as a MirrorMatch against a Painwheel-bot coloured to resemble Brain Drain. This battle also transports the scene from Maplecrest to [[EldritchLocation Nightmare Crest]] - a twisted version of the Maplecrest stage where the surroundings are black and muted, the leaves are frozen in mid-fall but the sky is red with rapidly-swirling purple clouds.
400** Fukua is (in-universe) a clone of the protagonist Filia, and whose story mode consists of her battling all the other characters in Filia's dreams as she sleeps. Fukua's final opponent is Filia herself inside Filia's mind, and the fact that the fight also takes place on Nightmare Crest suggests that the dream has just become a little too real.
401* In ''VideoGame/Splatoon2 Octo Expansion'', Agent 8 [[spoiler:fights Agent 3 in their head as an OptionalBoss after getting every Mem Cake. After the fight, Agent 8 feels "like the freshest Octoling ever" and gets the Golden Toothpick headgear]].
402* In ''[[VideoGame/{{Splatterhouse}} Splatterhouse 3]],'' Rick fights the final boss, [[spoiler:the Terror Mask]], in an AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield that represents his psyche.
403* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'': [[MultipleEndings If you go for the good ending]], this is the final battle. Given how different Emil's and Ratatosk's personalities were, though, the player was probably [[{{Foreshadowing}} expecting something like this to happen]] (although it's a lot less confrontational than you might expect -- whichever way the fight turns out, the two accept each other).
404* In ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 2'', it's implied that Devil's last fight against Angel takes place inside Kazuya Mishima's mind. Angel is not faced by anyone except for Devil himself, and the two are seen fighting over Kazuya's mind in the game's opening intro. Since Angel disappears after this game, suffice to say, she loses the struggle.
405* ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal Black'' takes place entirely in Needles Kane's head, handily [[HandWave handwaving]] the more extreme-concept characters like Dollface or Charlie Kane.
406* The Kalecgos encounter in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft: Burning Crusade''. The players are supposed to free the good dragon from a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent dreadlord]] that is controlling him.
407** An odd example where ''you're the invader'' is in the fight with the monster [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu of dubious quality]], Yogg-Saron. During the fight with him, portals into his mind open up, where you are to disperse projections visions of an important event in Warcraft lore so that you can access his brain. Of course, he knows you're in there, and he will attempt to [[SanityMeter whittle down your sanity]] and put you under ''permanent'' MindControl, so you have to inflict damage on Yogg-Saron's brain as soon as possible and leave quickly.
408** In ''Literature/{{Arthas}}: Rise of the Lich King'', Arthas winds up in a rather one-sided battle when he dons the helm of domination; he's in a room in his mind with Ner'zhul, the orc Shaman that became the Lich King, and a cowering child that represents the last of Arthas' humanity. After all is explained, Arthas runs his humanity through without hesitation... [[ICanRuleAlone and then does the same to Ner'zhul when he approaches to congratulate him.]] It doesn't end here, though, as it's revealed in the game proper that the fragment of Arthas' humanity survived as [[SignificantAnagram Matthias Lehner]], who kept Arthas just human enough in the depths of his heart that he held the VillainBall instead of annihilating all life on Azeroth as easily as he should have been able to.
409[[/folder]]
410
411[[folder:Visual Novels]]
412* The sixth arc of ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' involves a duel between [[spoiler:Shannon and Kanon]] that is a thinly-veiled version of this, with [[spoiler:Beatrice]] sitting on the sidelines. The seventh arc reveals that this has been the state of affairs within [[spoiler:Sayo Yasuda]]'s head for a good year or two prior to 1986. Once [[spoiler:Beatrice]] is forced off the sidelines by Battler's return, the entire duel is scuttled, however.
413* Dom's battle against Hex's attempt at turning him into a weapon via mind control spans several chapters of ''VisualNovel/TheCrownAndTheFlame'' Book 3.
414[[/folder]]
415
416[[folder:Web Animation]]
417* ''WebAnimation/HololiveERROR'', mainly in the animated manga, turns out to [[spoiler:primarily be set ''in'' one of these, albeit downplayed due to there not being any actual fighting. One side of Shino Misora doesn't know that the world she's in is fake, [[LaserGuidedAmnesia generally has some severe amnesia about the events of the past]], and simply wants to live a happy school life with her friends, the other ''does'' know and is rather abrasive about it. Not to mention the mysterious third Shino that appears in Chapter 19, who drags the main Shino back into [[LotusEaterMachine the Perfect World]] once she finds out that she was DeadAllAlong and ''[[InTheDreamingStageOfGrief does not take it well]]''. Ultimately, it ends with Shino coming to peace with her situation, fixing the forest-related issues in Aogami, and living a happy life with almost ''all'' her friends, real or made up.]]
418* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' (more specifically, Church and Tex) took a trip into Caboose's mind while he was semi-possessed. Interestingly, the actual fight against the evil force is done against a backdrop of the actual Red Vs Blue war ... with a few unique ideas of who's involved.
419-->'''Sarge:''' [[TalkLikeAPirate Arrr, I be havin' a southern accent. Arrr!]]
420[[/folder]]
421
422[[folder:Webcomics]]
423* ''Webcomic/The10Doctors'' features [[spoiler:all ten Doctors versus Dalek Tor (a Dalek version of the Doctor) in a battle for the Tenth Doctor's mind. Features Doctor quotes, Nine with a baseball bat, and a mega-merge Doctor who looks ''awesome'']].
424* Part of the GrandFinale of ''Webcomic/{{Archipelago}}'' - while TheCavalry battles a {{Robeast}} and her friends fight the [[OneWingedAngel upgraded villain]] in the physical world, Credenza has to defeat him in the dreaming world.
425* K in ''Webcomic/{{Blip}}'', when she was in rage. First she [[http://blip.rampagenetwork.com/629/ kicked out her friends,]] then for lack of semi-real targets [[http://blip.rampagenetwork.com/639/ imagined and destroyed]] a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Pirate Transvestite Robot]].
426* A variation occurs in ''Webcomic/CharbyTheVampirate'' when Tony has to use his Alp powers to enter Zeno's mind and help him fight the spirit possessing him. Turns out that Zeno has pretty much given up the fight already and is of no help, so Tony changes tactics and get the spirit to not only force him out but to enter his mind instead. A big mistake, as it gave Tony a massive homefield advantage.
427* Happens between Artie and Joel in ''Webcomic/{{Concession}}'', but ultimately spills over into the real world. Doubles as a {{subverted|Trope}} IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight as unfortunately, that part only works for a little bit.
428* ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'', several times. The titular character's main strength is his mental abilities. And it's established that on the psycho planes, a being's physical size is directly proportion to how powerful their minds are.
429* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Ellen has [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2018-03-19 a short]] [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2018-03-21 battle]] with Sirleck to prevent him from leaving her body at an inopportune moment which is portrayed as her restraining the possessed version of herself.
430* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': In "Seeker of Thrones", Allison has [[DealWithTheDevil agreed to take help from Incubus]] to unlock the powers of the Key of Kings she's carrying. As the story goes on, she becomes increasingly drunk with power -- until she finds that "she" is trapped inside a symbolical representation of her mind with various aspects of her personality, and the one that's in control is not "her" but a huge, sociopathic [[EnemyWithin representation of her "drunk with power" self]]. Incubus claims he's not doing any of this but it's just her mind, though it sure seems a bit unusual. Finally, Allison gathers all the other aspects of her personality together to form another Allison as large as the one controlling her body. [[spoiler:{{Subverted|Trope}}: she doesn't use this body to fight her dark side but to kiss her, whereupon they presumably become reintegrated... and she regains control but loses her powers.]]
431* Liquid's battle against the Ghost of Big Boss for control of his body, in ''Webcomic/TheLastDaysOfFOXHOUND''.
432* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
433** Haley's "mental constructs" have a habit of bickering amongst themselves, at least until she makes them all sit down and shut up.
434** The struggle between Durkon and [[spoiler:Vampire Durkon]] is presented this way, although it's a battle of wits and willpower rather than a direct brawl.
435* Shows up in ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' when the titular carbosilicate amorph is infected with nanites that hack into his brain. When Schlock pulls out his plasma cannon, the nanites are initially unimpressed:
436-->'''Nanite:''' Look, we told you already... that thing won't work in here. It's just a metaphor.\
437'''Schlock:''' But a meta for ''what''? I have a pretty good immune system...
438* Torg from ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' faces one of these during the [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/060404 "Wayang Kulit"]] StoryArc. In this case he's fighting all of his major past and current LoveInterests. Bit of a subversion, in that killing them only makes things go ''worse'' for him.
439* ''Webcomic/UnOrdinary'': [[spoiler:John]]'s violent rampage through Wellston finally ends with him screaming at his former self and attacking him within his own mind, the problem being that he's turning his powers on himself in the real world too. He has to be dragged back to face reality by Sera.
440[[/folder]]
441
442[[folder:Web Original]]
443* ''Literature/TheQuintessentialMarySue'': [[VillainProtagonist Mary-Sue]] defeats the Faceless One and forces them to restore Mary-Sue's childhood memories that they had suppressed and [[FakeMemories replaced]]. Immediately thereafter, Mary-Sue understands that [[spoiler:she had done horrible things for the sake of revenge and power, because with her memories her original personality comes back too. This original personality confronts the current one within their mind, and calls out Mary-Sue for treating everyone else as playthings, saying that the current personality has only existed for five years and acts like it, completely lacking in empathy for other beings or [[CondescendingCompassion tolerating their imperfections]]. The current personality can only give a lame comeback, at which point the original says, "You're a whore, and I'll hate you forever," then sings a BrownNote that kills them both]]. Unfortunately, Mary-Sue comes back from this later as if it had never happened.
444[[/folder]]
445
446[[folder:Web Videos]]
447* In ''WebVideo/{{Thresher}}'', this is what it turns out the nameless protagonist is actually involved in. [[spoiler:He loses.]]
448* In the climax of ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee'', [[WebVideo/BadMovieBeatdown Film Brain]] and [[WebVideo/BennettTheSage Sage]] face off against [[spoiler:Ma-ti]] in Spoony's mind.
449[[/folder]]
450
451[[folder:Western Animation]]
452* The last episode of Disney's ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'' to have Mozenrath in it ended with Mozenrath attempting to possess Aladdin's body after his own suffers total organ failure from overuse of dark magic (which turns out to apparently be the source of his interest in Aladdin through most of the series). After he stops being afraid, Aladdin uses the Power of Love to curbstomp Mozenrath's ass. This would have been a fitting end for the series BigBad, but being a Disney cartoon, he gets better at the end to menace Agrabah another day.
453* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' provides the page quote. In Season 2, Zuko undergoes a severe fever and enters a [[AngstComa coma]], wherein he has vivid dreams in which his uncle and sister appear as dragons and argue over his life choices. Iroh says that this is "not a natural illness" and the whole thing is apparently caused solely by Zuko's [[spoiler:premature HeelFaceTurn]].
454* ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' has an episode with Lydia entering Beetlejuice's mind and helping the nerdy weak Beetlejuice conscience to fight Beetlejuice's Id Prankenstein.
455* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', Timmy and imaginary friend brought to life Gary battle in Timmy's mind.
456* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' has a variation where the battle takes place in a third party's mind. Gideon summons enigmatic 'dream demon' Bill Cipher to steal the code to Grunkle Stan's safe where he keeps the Mystery Shack's deed in exchange for helping Bill with "Something I've been working on. We'll work out the details later." Using a magic spell found in Journal 3, Dipper, Mabel, and Soos go after Bill in Stan's mind. After their interference causes Gideon to break off the deal, Bill and the three fight. Interestingly enough, neither side wins- Bill becomes impressed with the Pines Twins and Soos' cleverness and decides to let them live, and drops off a vague warning before vanishing.
457* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibleHulk1996'', Banner was possessed by a demon; Green Hulk and Grey Hulk joined forces to kick him out of their shared body. Several episodes also showed the two Hulks fighting for control when Banner hulked out.
458* In the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS2E5And6OnlyADream Only a Dream]]", the Leaguers have to engage in a fight with Dr. Destiny in their minds while Batman tracks him down in the real world.
459* Superman going inside Brainiac 5's mind in the second SeasonFinale of ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes2006'' stirs him to fight the brainwashing. There was also a FusionDance involved.
460* The last episode of ''WesternAnimation/MightyOrbots'' has the heroes physically entering the body of their archenemy, the titanic supercomputer Umbra. This results in them finding themselves in his mindscape and having to fight off manifestations of his evil thoughts.
461* The episode of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?" features an interesting example. Due to a nightmare-inducing parasite infecting the Mane Six [[spoiler:that Luna created as ThePenance for her actions as Nightmare Moon]], Princess Luna has to go through a series of them to try and catch it. [[spoiler:After failing to do so and it being released into the collective subconscious of Ponyville, Luna has to create a shared dreamscape for the entire town so they can collectively fight it off, and each resident contributes part of their regular dreams to this shared realm. It's basically a city-wide battle taking place simultaneously in every resident's dreams and in Luna's.]]
462* ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'':
463** This happens in the episode "T.K.O." When the titular SuperpoweredEvilSide tries to attack K.O.'s (and technically his own) mother, his fist freezes in place because K.O. is FightingFromTheInside. After a moment, K.O. manages to regain control of that arm just long enough to punch his ''own'' lights out instead; he then fights his counterpart inside of his mind while unconscious.
464** When K.O. goes inside his mind again in "You're in Control", T.K.O. attacks him, fighting him for a bit [[spoiler:before ultimately agreeing to help him]].
465* ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'''s Episode "Mean Green Teen Machine" has the Ghostbusters fighting three very destructive reptilian ghosts inside their minds.
466* ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'': Filburt trying to work up the courage to propose to Dr. Hutchison is represented by a DerangedAnimation sequence of him playing whack-a-mole with mental versions of Widow Hutchison, Tiger and Filburt himself, all who repeat his insecurities and worst fears regarding the proposal back to him.
467* In season 4 of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', the episode titled "The Aku Infection", Jack gets infected by a piece of Aku's essence and is slowly changing into a version of Aku. At end of the episode when it seems like Jack is lost, the spirits of his parents appear to him in his heart and remind him of all the good he has done and the people he helped. Each victory and each ally gave jack strength with him finally destroying the dark essence that had entrapped his soul and spirit, allowing him to break free.
468* Princess Tekla from ''WesternAnimation/ShadowRaiders'', who fought Lamprey when the latter took over her body.
469* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' faced down [[spoiler:the symbiote]] this way.
470* The symbiote asserts its dominance this way during its introduction in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', manifested as the symbiote and a giant Spider-Man costume struggling over Peter Parker. As surreal as it was, it was arguably one of the series' better fight scenes...
471* The ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' episode "Nevermore" takes place in Raven's head. It's a scary place.
472* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'', Splinter goes up against Rat King this way... and ''loses.'' [[spoiler: It takes Leonardo and ThePowerOfLove to get Splinter back.]]
473* ''[[WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Total Drama: Revenge of the Island]]'': After [[{{Jerkass}} Scott]] clocks him with a club during "Grand Chef Auto" [[SplitPersonality Mike]] has a showdown in his brain, with his 4 other personalities. He wins.
474* In the fifth season finale of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'', the fight between Henry Killinger and the Investors is depicted at first as a lightsaber duel heavily in the style of the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequel films, with lots of acrobatic twirls and {{Flynning}} as they destroy the scenery with inhuman speed and agility. Then, other characters enter the room and they see Killinger and his opponent standing a few feet apart, unmoving, in a PstandardPsychicPstance.
475* ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'' was fond of this, and would make elaborate battles in a mindscape shaped by the combatants, making the grandest, most awesome (and trippy) affairs out of scenes that were basically two people glaring at each other in the comics. The most notable instances would be Professor Xavier versus the Shadow King, Jean Grey and Rogue versus Ms. Marvel's [[SharingABody transplanted personality]], and Professor Xavier going toe-to-toe with [[EldritchAbomination Dark Phoenix]] in Jean's mind (a duel only shown through a series of effects-laden panels in the comics).
476* In ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'', Miss Martian and Psimon have a psychic battle of this sort. M'gann is invisible and Psimon is still psychically protected, making it difficult for the fight to be cut short mundanely.
477[[/folder]]

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