Author's Notes:
1- I do not, in anyway possible, own any of the Sonic Characters. They are owned by Sega. I do, however, own any characters in this fanfic that are not mentioned in any of the games (ex. Midnight). No stealy
2- This is my first fan fic, so be nice about the reviews, ya? If you have pointers, they will be accepted, but keep it insult free, ya?
3- I luff Espio. Plain and Simple. Oh, btw, it's rated M because it gets pretty adult and descriptive in later chapters. Do not fear, for I will warn you before hand if you feel the need to skip it, just because I luff you. Not as much as Espio, but it's close
4- Last note. This has taken me 3 attempts to get this damn chapter right, so you better like it!
Chapter I
The Encounter
I was running hard. The muscles in my legs were screaming with protest, but I didn't dare stop to catch my breath or rest. But what was I running from? With a backpack clutched in my left fist, another bag slung over my right shoulder, and a sword shifting about restlessly in its sheath, I continued to run, no longer thinking logically, just following my instincts. But where in the hell was I planning on going? Where am I now?
Glancing over my shoulder now, there were flames rising from a house, probably mine, and large, rounded robots came pouring around it, all locked onto me and hot on my trail. Floating overhead was a large man in some sort of machine. How the hell am I supposed to out run that? Forgetting to look ahead, a root that poked it way from the earth caught my foot, causing me to crash face first into the dirt. The man laughed manically and drew closer, now exiting the machine to stand over me.
"You have no where to run." He sneered as he smirked down at me, bending down to be nearly level with my face. His breath was putrid, to the point that I was about ready to gag, and the flames behind us reflected from the dark tinted glasses that covered his eyes. "Tell me, Midnight, what are you going to do?" He asked, knowing I had no options. But wait a minute… My name isn't Midnight…
"What do you want from me?" I said. It wasn't my voice though. It was female, ringing loudly over the crackling flames that were now being doused. I glanced quickly to where the flames were coming from, and now, where they were standing was a pile of rubbish. My heart sank. My house was gone. "What did my family…? No, what did I do?"
It was all the man standing over me could do but fall over laughing. He threw his head back and his body shook with laughter, and for a moment, I had a chance to slice at his exposed throat with my blade. But as though he could read my thoughts, he looked back down at me. He bent down to be level with me again, and opened his mouth to say something when…
"Espio! Espio, wake up!" Vector was gripping my shoulders and shaking me gently, just enough to snap me back to reality. I shook my head a little, trying to figure out what just happened, and sat up. I was in my room, in my bed, in the Team Chaotix "Headquarters". I put a hand to my forehead, which was throbbing madly. "Jesus, Espio, you scared me half to death! You were moaning and tossing about in your sleep, and I almost thought you were possessed or something!" Vector looked truly worried, and Charmy, who hovered right over his shoulder, was watching me, confused.
"I… I was?" I could finally find my own voice, which was still deep. So, I was back in my own head again. But whose head was I in just a few minutes ago? I closed my eyes, recollecting the dream like a faint memory. That man that stood over that girl. It was Eggman, no doubt. But what was he up to? Whose life was he set out to destroy now? "Eggman…" I said softly, mostly to myself, but they heard.
"What? What? What about Eggman? Was he in your dream?" Charmy was buzzing about, unable to stay still, like usual. "From the looks of it and the sounds you were making, I think he was killing you!" He smiled good-naturedly and laughed, while Vector smacked his forehead. "That's a good way to make him feel better, Charmy…" He muttered under his breath.
"No… He wasn't attacking or killing anyone. He was just talking to me face-to-face… But it wasn't really me and… Ugh!" I threw my hands down from my forehead. This was difficult to explain, but I tried again. "I was in someone else's head… A girl named Midnight… He burned her house down and probably killed or captured her family. And I felt everything she felt and…" I sighed and gave up, deciding that I might as well figure this out before I tried to help someone else understand it.
"Espio…" Vector began slowly, "Eggman was killed, or nearly killed, by Shadow when he found out he was a clone created by Eggman (1). He couldn't have done anything from his grave or the hospital…" As he said this, I realized how dumb I was sounding. Vector looked even more worried, like I was going insane and was about to kill myself, and Charmy had actually stopped buzzing around for a moment to think.
"I know that…" I said softly, leaning back and closing my eyes. Again, the fear that Midnight had felt washed over me, and I sighed. "But it was just so real." I shook my head and looked at each of them with a dismissive look. I need a moment to gather myself before I said anything else. Vector nodded and dragged Charmy out of the room, leaving me to think this over.
"So…" I said to myself, assessing the little facts I had. "Eggman has killed or captured a family, and the alleged survivor's name is Midnight." I groaned and threw my head back, slamming it against the wall. I was completely numb to the pain, the only pain I felt was the throbbing my temples. "Why did Vector have to wake me up before I found out what his cause was?" I sighed softly and shook my head, kicking my legs over the side of bed and standing. Throwing on a pair of baggy jeans and a white men's tank top, I walked out, deciding to ignore the problem unless it came up again.
I must have looked like hell itself as I came into the living room, where Amy, Sonic, Shadow, and Tails was, because as I entered, all their smiles vanished, and they all looked worried. "Espio, you okay?" I could tell the voice belongs to Tails, the orange-ish fox that was always sitting in Sonic's shadow. But lately, with all the complicated inventions he has been crafting up, he could easily surpass Sonic whenever he wished it.
"Yeah… I'm fine." I didn't sound very sure, probably because I wasn't. That dream was so real, it was like I left my own body to join someone else's. Just for that moment. I scratched the back of my neck as I glanced from face to face, the worry not fading even slightly. Finally, Shadow grew tired of staring at me and snorted, "If the guy said he's fine, stop staring at 'em like he's some freak out of a circus!" His voice was quiet, yet clearly heard by everyone, because they all nodded and went back to talking to each other, occasionally turning to look at me. I sunk into a chair and watched as they talked, not feeling up to putting in my own two cents. Actually, I didn't feel like doing anything but going back to bed with the hopes of seeing more of that girl's life unfolding more, but I knew that wasn't going to happen.
"…so I've installed some security cameras and things like that around the area, so you don't have to worry about any more intruders coming without you knowing, Vector." That was Tails speaking, I knew, even though my eyes were closed and I was hardly focusing. Vector thanked him after that, and all fell silent. Opening one eye, I could see they were all staring at me again, and I began to grow agitated. It was like I was on display.
"What are you staring at?" I growled, sitting upright and glaring at each person, stiff with anger. Everyone looked away as they met my gaze, knowing it wasn't right to stare to begin with, and finally, Amy spoke in everyone's defense. "We're just worried about you, Espio; you aren't acting like yourself…" What she said made me think for a moment. That was probably true, because I didn't feel like myself either. I felt like I was still stuck between my own life and Midnight's. I sighed and shook my head. "Don't worry about it. It's my problem, not yours." And with that, everything fell silent again, and I sank back in the chair.
(1)- I'm basing this off the Shadow The Hedgehog game. One of the endings is that Shadow finds out that he is a clone of the real Shadow, the ultimate being (or something like that), and kills (or attempts to) Eggman. Kk
