This one is a bit different than the rest, more or less an experiment. So if i dance the OOC line, thats why. It was both a challange presented to me and something Ive been meaning to experiment with for a while. So I present it to you for judgement.
Numb
By Shade the Raven
Hurtling down from the heavens, the raindrops crashed against the ground in sheets of sadness and depression, choking any form of cheer or positive energy with a drenching hand. And one puddle and stream at a time, her bright red boots tore through the storm as she ran deeper into the night. However cold and unforgiving the downpour was, the tears falling from Amy Rose's bloodshot emerald eyes overpowered all other energy hand over fist. Even the rumbling thunder in the clouds above could not pierce the sobs and choking cries racking her body. I don't understand…it…it was never supposed to happen like this… was the only real coherence that sped through her mind trailing blue.
The moon had been shining full a few hours ago as Amy was on her way back home from a long day of work, working out and brief periods of shopping. Even if the sky was only threatening rain at the time, it did nothing to cloud her exuberance. To her, it was almost perfect… almost. There was still one vital piece of the day missing from her side. Someone to enfold in a warm embrace as she chatted about sweet nothings, someone to demonstrate not only her culinary skills, but also the grace and compassion that came with her very name. And being who Amy was, one name and only one name stood out in the light; Sonic the Hedgehog, hero to the masses, savior of the planet, and conqueror of her youthful heart. Sure, his was a spirit that tended to resist her tender wants, but those evasions and retreats from her arms did nothing to curb her pursuits. In fact, the young flower actually found the cobalt cruiser's devotion to his ideals rather charming in an odd sort of way. To Amy, it showed her just how faithfully noble Sonic could be to a belief, so she could only dream of how he devout he would be to her once he came around.
Rounding one of the many urban corners to her house this particular evening, the sounds of the winds changing echoed the approach of her cobalt crusader. Instantly, her heart began to increase its pace with every step she imagined he took towards her. And soon enough, her bright emerald eyes spotted the fastest thing alive approaching from down the street. Waving towards him, Amy caught Sonic's attention as he skidded to a halt just outside the reach of her bone-crushing hug. Not that it stopped the young Rose as she leapt forward to ensnare her blue knight "Hey, Sonic! I'm so happy to see you! How was your run?"
"Hey Ames" was all the male hedgehog replied with. No happiness, no annoyance, no irritance. His voice as flat as the barest of plains, and just as void of life. Certainly not the shining example of heroism and justice she'd grown to love. "What's wrong, Sonic?"
Shaking himself from her iron grip, the cobalt cruiser brushed a free hand down his quills "Meh, it's nothing. Guess I'm just kinda… distracted."
"Distracted? With what? What is it Sonic?" she pressed in like a leopard circling its prey. And never one for sticking around for such deep or insightful conversations, he deeply wished to simply brush the matter off as he began to walk on and away from young Rose. "Really, it's nothing you need to worry about."
"Come on, Sonic. You can tell me anything. What's going on with you?"
He'd felt his spines stand on end and hands clench without thought. But what happened next was a moment in time that could never have been predicted. With a newfound growl seeping into his throat, Sonic quickly turned to face her, anger riding clear on his lips. Still his arm swung wide, and the palm of his gloved hand collided hard with the soft cheek of Amy Rose.
The force of the blow knocked the young hedgegirl onto her hands and knees as the raindrops began to finally fall from the sky. Though the sting coursing through her skin was subtle compared to many of her other unfortunate adventures, no other injury could compare with the debilitating shock of this moment. Instantly, the emerald eyes of her crushing knight went wide as he too realized what had just happened. But what started as a moment of cheerful curiosity had now dissolved into betrayed pain and the sounds of her breaking heart fueled her feet as Amy Rose took off into a full sprint deeper into the storm. No screams of apology or regret followed her from the dying light, only the sounds of a night that seemed to personify the feeling.
Amy:
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless
Lost under the surface
I don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure
Of walking in your shoes
Sonic:(caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
Sonic: (caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)
I've
Become so numb
I can't feel you there
I've become so tired
So much more aware
I'm becoming this
All I want to do
Is be more like me
And be less like you.
He stood there, unable to move, unable to even think. All Sonic could do was stare at his palm and the tingling sensation slowly fading from it. Even as the falling water pulled his quills closer down to the ground, nothing dulled the mocking sting from his palm, a testament of something he never thought would happen. Had he, the fastest thing alive and center of heroic fame, actually caved in under the pressure and snapped back at his most diehard fan? Had he actually slapped young Amy Rose?
"No… I can't believe it…" His voice emerged as unsteady as the pouring currents across his back. Indeed, his conscious mind did not wish to accept that the hedgehog's actions were anything more than some perverted reflection of a buried instinct. But the truth is, ever since the incident with Dark Gaia, Sonic had felt… different. He couldn't quite place where this new sense of the world had come from, and it seemed that these new sensations were taking more and more hold as time had passed. It was like the sun had taken on an entirely different hue, casting new shadows on the world. Yet more than that, Sonic had seen an entirely different side of himself. Strong, wild and merciless, the aquan hedgehog suddenly sampled what it was like to have Knuckles' unbridled strength paired with Shadow's unrelenting temper and indifferent attitude towards those around. It was enough almost to rattle his normally unwavering nobility to the core. All it took was that one final pressure point. And unfortunately for her, inquisitive pressure was one of Amy Rose's strongest points.
"I…can't…TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!" Sonic howled at the top of his hedgehog lungs as his feet kicked into overdrive, in the opposite direction of the young blossom. As much as his conscience demanded that he race after Amy to try and earn her forgiveness, he simply couldn't face those tear-filled emeralds. And it was quite possible he never would be able to again. So that just left a blind run into the power of nature and the song that gave testament to years of pressure, even if the words never made it further than the splashes of water on rock and puddle.
Sonic:
Can't you see that you're smothering me
Holding too tightly
Afraid to lose control
Cause everything that you thought I would be
Is falling apart right in front of you.Amy: (caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow),
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
Amy: (caught in the undertow ,just caught in the undertow)
And every second I waste is more than I can take.
I've
Become so numb
I can't feel you there
I've become so tired
So much more aware
I'm becoming this
All I want to do
Is be more like me
And be less like you.
Sonic: And I know
I may end up failing too
She ran for what felt like eternity itself, through the currents of rain and tears, until only the darkened clouds and rumblings of thunder hung overhead. She ran until there was no strength left but the racking sobs that made her ribs ache and forced her to whimper even more. In one night, it felt like Amy's life had been ripped from that most important of meanings. The one person she trusted most in this world had finally revealed his other side, just as everyone else around her seemed to do. So, where did that leave this purest of blossoms?
With such heavy and tragically dark thoughts behind her eyes, the weeping flower had almost no perception of where her feet were taking her until she ran headfirst into a pillar as dark as the night and just as unforgiving under the burdened branches of a lone oak. Crimson eyes suddenly snapped open as the obstruction turned to see whatever it was that had disturbed his normally quiet thoughts and was greeted by the most unexpected of surprises. Hands clutching at her heart, eyes bloodshot from tears and fur drenched from the prior storm, young Amy Rose looked nothing like the normal bright carnation she usually was. But before Shadow the Hedgehog could fathom a question as to the moments madness, he suddenly found himself short of breath as two strong arms wrapped around him and a weeping muzzle was buried in his chest. Every emotion between concern, confusion and downright anger tried to contort across his face until cold logic came to order. How does the coldest of hands deal with a weeping blossom? Sighing internally, the ultimate life-form went with the only response that seemed to fit a depressed persona and let his own soft hug wrap around the flower with eyes closed and brow furrowed in the abstract moment.
Amy: But I know
You were just like me
Both: with someone disappointed in you.
The views of both city and nature alike streaked past until there was no more ground to cover. Now, there was only the steep drop of a cliff face in his path, and the crashing of the waves below were a sad compare to the roaring anger tonight had brought. Sonic could almost palletize what was coming, the looks of shock and surprised resentment from the rest of his friends. Tails wouldn't quite understand why his blue brother had lashed out the way he did, and Knuckles would probably return the gesture with a spiked one-two combo to the jaw. Cream would most likely break down in waterworks at the fall of an idol, fate only knew what Shadow would do, and Rouge would likely just give that look of sheer disappointment and walk away. Hell, even ol' Eggman would be shocked…
So now here he was, Sonic the Hedgehog, once the world's knight in shining blue, now just as fallible and vulnerable as the rest of the populace. What was he supposed to do now?
"Guess there's only one thing left to do, and that's what I do best" he said to himself as he stood at the ragged edge of the world.
Or what he thought was to himself "And what is that, Sonic? Race through life's challenges without concern or fear?" the voice came from behind him, smooth and noble. The blue blur allowed a small grin to shield the true nature of the night as he turned to face graceful violet fire "Yea, that sounds about right. What are you doing out in the rain, Blaze?"
Nodding back towards the storm, small embers danced in the feline's hand "I was training out here when I saw you speed past. But you looked almost…sad. Nowhere near the you I normally see. So I chased you down."
Oh, if you had any idea… he wanted to say, but no words formed on the subject. Sonic did not wish to damm himself to such rejection just yet. So, the hedgehog focused on the next point of interest "You? Chased me down? How the heck did you do that?"
On cue, the noble indigo guardian encased her feet in flame and skated around him in a true demonstration of feline dexterity "It's a trick that I learned from Shadow. Now I can keep up with someone much faster than me normally, as long as I can concentrate."
"Oh really?" Sonic taunted, cocking an eyebrow in her direction, which received a sly kitten grin in return "So, you can keep up with that faker, but can you match the fastest thing alive?"
Sure, this was ludicrous, perhaps even cold. Sonic had spun from depressed hero to cocky challenger in the span of a chili dog, but how could he turn down the dare? Beyond that, what would he gained if he turned back now, besides a mallet imprint on his skull? No, what the cobalt cruiser needed now was time, as ironic and improbable as that was to hear his mind say. Time to compose some form of reason or rhyme to why he was the way he was as of recent. All he could hope now was that it was time enough for the flower that once blossomed only for him would find it in her heart to forgive him. But, first thing was first, as Sonic took a coiled position next to Blaze, ready to test her newfound skill as only he could. "Lets see what you've got, firefly."
Though even as they ran side by side across the night's landscape, no smile could hold onto the hedgehog's lips, only the image of Amy's bright expressions shattered in one motion was visible. And so Sonic did what he did best, leaving a trail of tipped grass in his wake. Amy-chan… I'm sorry…
Both:
I've
Become so numb
I can't feel you there
I've become so tired
So much more aware
I'm becoming this
All I want to do
Is be more like me
And be less like
I've become so numb
I can't feel you there
Amy: tired of being what you want me to be
Sonic: I've become so numb
I can't feel you there
Amy: tired of being what you want me to be
This is how I picture each side dealing with the same moment. Maybe Im right, maybe Im wrong. But its what I see.
Review at your leisure.