By
Sakura Courage Solo
-
Chapter 2
"Changing..."
-
After about an hour of sitting there on his knees in the bathroom floor and disbelief, Manic's now empty stomach finally settled, and he started feeling hungry.
"Oh man, not now... "
He murmured, wishing so hard right now that this was all one horrible, terrible nightmare that he'd just wake up from. He knew different though... this was real, no matter how much he hated it, and wished it wasn't.
Manic finally pulled himself up from the floor, figuring he should try Ketchup again... he seemed to enjoy it so much at dinner, perhaps it would substitute for blood... for now.
He started toward the refrigeration unit slowly but surely, his legs stiff after having sat on his knees for such a long time.
He passed by his siblings on the way to the kitchen, watching them a moment as they slept peacefully there, with no idea of what their baby Brother was becoming.
Manic looked to Sonia on the bottom bunk, watching her as she stretched a bit with a good dream, her neck clearly exposed.
Her neck... Manic's eyes lit up a bit as he looked at her slender neck, her jugular vein throbbing a bit more than usual with the pleasure she was experiencing in whatever good dream she was having.
He suddenly felt more hungry, having this near uncontrollable urge to ever so gently sink his teeth into his Sister's neck, just to get a taste of her delicious blood...
Manic then smacked himself, breaking his mind from such thoughts. He wasn't about to put the bite on his own Sister. He'd never be able to live with himself if he put her through what he was going through...
He shook his head and went to the refrigerator, pulling out a bottle of ketchup and grabbing a straw. He sighed, going to his seat the the front of the Van and turning on the television, but kept it quiet so as not to wake his siblings.
The green Hedgehog leaned back, trying futilely to get his mind off of what was happening to him as he opened up the ketchup bottle and stuck the straw in, starting to drink the red contents up. It actually wasn't half bad, or at least he thought it wasn't, as he sat there watching an old, black and white movie.
Manic sat there a good while, eventually finishing off the whole bottle of Ketchup and turning off the TV. He yawned, finally deciding to get some sleep. He got up from his chair and scratched his back a little, heading for his bed, and... pulling off the covers, dragging them with him as he headed for the closet. He wasn't even thinking about what he was doing, all this simply coming naturally to him as instinct as he opened the closet, standing on his hands for a moment before he folded his legs over the bar that was used to hang clothes on, Manic now hanging there by the backs of his knees.
He then took his blanket and wrapped it tightly around himself, the green Hedgie smiling a bit as he finally felt content to an extent, and he soon dozed off there, up-side down in the closet.
-
Hours passed, and little to Manic's knowledge since he was in the darkness of the closet, the sun rose outside as morning came. He simply continued to sleep peacefully in his place though, feeling too comfortable and content right now to wish to wake.
That's when voices could be heard just outside the closet, the sounds stirring the green Hedgehog as his older Brother and Sister looked about for him on the other side of the door.
"I can't believe he's disappeared again! "
Sonia exclaimed in a panic, Sonic trying to get her calmed down. Manic blinked a time or two, coming to full coherentness and glancing around, then muttering to himself,
"Um... okay, this is way wierd... why am I sleeping while hanging up-side down in the closet... ? "
Just outside the door, Sonic's ears twitched as he heard Manic's murmured words. The blue Hedgehog looked to his pink-quilled Sister and said,
"Sonia, there's something in the closet... did you hear it? "
Sonia blinked and shook her head no, having been a bit too far away for the quiet sound to reach her ears. Sonic tilted his ears a little in curiosity and went to the closet, his Sister following behind him.
He opened the door, Manic yelping a little with surprise inside and falling off the bar. Sonic and Sonia looked at each other in total confusion, the two of them then turning their attention back to their little Brother.
"Manic... why were you sleeping in the closet? Hanging by the backs of your knees, no less? "
Sonia asked, Manic sweatting a good bit as he tried to think of an excuse. Sonic reached his hand forward, taking Manic's and helping him up as he said,
"Manic, I'm really starting to worry about you, man... you've been acting mondo strange since the other night... "
"Come on, Manic... we're your Brother and Sister. You can tell us... "
Sonia added, Manic really wondering if he should... he then shook his head, too scared of what his siblings might think of him if he told the truth as he replied,
"I... I know I'm acting wierd, but I dunno why or what's wrong with me... "
His pink-quilled Sister gently reached forward, patting his shoulder as she said,
"Maybe we should take you to a doctor... "
"N-no! "
Manic yelped, taking a couple of steps back. He knew a doctor would figure out he was a Vamp if no one else would.
"I'm... I'm okay! I'll be fine! I think I just need some time to get over what happened or something! "
"Come on, Manic! We're worried about you! If you don't go to a doctor for yourself, will you at least go for us? "
Sonic told him, taking another step toward his Brother. Manic shook his head, looking terrified suddenly. Yes, he was terrified. Terrified that his Brother and Sister would find out the truth, and what they might think of him afterwards.
Manic's body started to shiver like Jell-O again, and in his fear, he moved to the side quickly and ran around his Brother and Sister, going out the door of the Van as quickly as he could and headed off into the city in an attempt to escape, keeping his covers around him to try and keep off the sunlight.
Sonic wasn't hesitant to dash off after him, but as we all know, Sonic may be the fastest, but Manic is the craftiest of the Triplets. Regardless of his speed, Sonic would have a hard time catching his baby Brother, assuming he COULD catch him.
Manic ducked in and out of alleyways at complete random, hoping to confuse his Brother. The green Hedgehog had every oppertunity to enter the sewers, manholes dotting just about every alley and street, but Manic knew that was WAY too obvious. Sonic would definitely think to look for him there.
He then came up on an old, uninhabited house at one edge of the city. Manic didn't hesitate to move inside, hoping to perhaps lose Sonic somewhere in there, or maybe Sonic wouldn't even think to look there if he was lucky.
Manic ran around to the back door, as he feard Sonic may see him entering the front door. He jiggled the handle, seeing it was locked.
"Blast... "
He murmured, then taking a step back and bringing up his leg, giving the door a hard kick. It fell right in, Manic sweatdropping slightly, having not thought the door would fall in on the first kick. He then shook his head, remembering he saw in a movie once a long time ago that Vampires had supernatural strength.
Manic moved into the house immediately, mentally noting how sturdy the place seemed for how old it looked. He then heard Sonic calling his name outside and moved upstairs, looking for a place to hide.
Outside, Sonic called out to his Brother again.
"Manic! "
He called, walking at normal pace now.
"Manic, where are you? You can't run forever, man! Especially from me! Geez, I know I saw him come this way... "
Sonic started searching the area, figuring Manic was hiding somewhere by now, if he knew him as well as he thought he did.
As he searched the area, soon moving around behind the abandoned house Manic was in, he noticed the back door was missing. He almost smirked.
"Must've forced his way in... "
He said to himself as he walked up to the door and poked his head in, looking around. No sign of Manic... yet.
The blue Hedgehog walked inside now, his emerald green eyes searching the area carefully. He then looked to the dust covered floor, seeing footprints in the dust where someone had recently walked. Manic was deinitely here, or at least had been in the last few minutes.
Sonic followed the footprints to the staircase and went upstairs, glancing around a bit.
"End of the line, Manic! I know you're up here! "
Manic wasn't about to show himself though, currently right under Sonic's nose... or above it actually, as he sat quietly in a large, old fashioned, chandelier-like light fixture.
Sonic had no idea whatsoever of his chosen hiding place though, continuing to look around on the second floor level.
That's when all the shades suddenly went down in the windows, seemingly by themselves, and plunging the entire house in shadows. The blue Hedgehog jumped a little with surprise, knowing even Manic couldn't pull something like that. Someone else was pulling strings here.
Manic knew one guy who probably could though, and poked his head out from behind the wooden rungs of the fixture to get a look.
"Who's there? "
Sonic demanded as he looked around, trying to get his eyes adjusted to the shadows. He failed to anotice a dark figure ever so silently creeping up behind him.
'Oh, no! It's that Vamp that bit me before! '
Manic thought in panic as he stood up in the light fixture and yelled,
"Sonic, behind you! Run! "
Sonic immediately turned, finding himself staring right in the eyes of the same black Fox of a vampire that had turned his Brother. The Vamp grabbed him roughly before he could react, in the same iron grip he'd had Manic in two nights before. Sonic struggled futilely.
"Ah, another pure hearted one for me to snack on, and right in the pleasure of my own home to boot! Yes, you will make a fine drink... "
The Fox said as his fangs slid down, ready to drink Sonic's blood as he had Manic's. Sonic's emerald eyes widened in fear.
"You're a Vampire? L-let go of me! Let go! "
Sonic yelled, struggling even harder now, but it was no use. The Fox started to move in...
"Hey, leave my Brother alone! "
Manic yelled as he suddenly leapt from the light fixture and onto the vampire, surprising him and making him lose his grip on Sonic.
Sonic fell back as the Fox lost his grip on him, and having been right at the top of the stairwell when he was grabbed, the blue Hedgehog tumbled down it, finally landing with a sickening thud at the bottom, barely concious.
"Guh... M-Manic... ? "
He muttered in pain as he looked up the stairwell, seeing Manic and the Vampire going at it at the top. He tried to get up, but in the fall down the stairs, he had twisted, possibly broken his leg and couldn't stand on it, only able to watch helplessly as his Brother fought.
When Manic saw his Brother in danger, Manic attained the courage to fight back against the menace that had turned him into one of it's own, and now, having every strength that his opponent had, the battle was more even.
Manic threw a punch the Vampire's way, but the tables were turned in that move as he grabbed the green Hedgehog's arm as it was extended and used it to throw him. Manic rolled along the floor after the throw, but managed to stop on his feet and stood, dodging to the side just in time to evade a bum rush from the Vamp. He then moved in, grabbing the Vamp from behind and deciding to fight fire with fire, baring his fangs and trying to make a bite on him.
The Vampire snarled and struggled to get Manic off of him, not succeeding, but keeping moving enough to evade from the Hedgehog biting him.
Finally, Manic decided biting the guy wasn't going to work right now. He decided to put his new supernatural strength to use again and held on tight to the Vamp with one hand, while using the other to punch him in the face hard. The Vamp yelled in pain and reeled back, then snarled and finally managed to shove Manic off of him.
"You surprised me this time, but I'll be ready next time... "
The Vamp said, figuring it best to reatreat this time as he suddenly disappeared, somehow teleporting away. Manic never remembered hearing or reading anything about Vampires teleporting, but he figured it was a thought best revisited later.
Manic sat down there on the carpet, breathing a little heavily and looking down at the bruises he'd attained in the fight. Those were gonna hurt for a while... he then noticed Sonic coming upstairs, holding the banister with both hands and hopping up one step at a time on his good leg.
"Manic... "
Sonic whispered in surprise as he looked on at his Brother, who sat there with his fangs out in plain sight. Manic slid back away from him on the floor and put a hand over his mouth, hiding his fangs shamefully as Sonic spoke again in disbelief.
"Y-you're a Vampire... ? "
-
End Chapter 2
-
So, how did you all enjoy chapter 2, eh? No reviews yet, but meh, that's cool. I'll probably have at least one new chappie up tomorrow. Please read and review people! n.n