2. Love
The world was ending, and no, no one was exaggerating. But everyone wished that they were. Everyone wished that it simply wasn't true. If anything, they wished—they hoped and prayed—that it was a dream, a nightmare, a night terror, anything but this.
Sally was no exception to that. As she gazed around at the sights surrounding her—the panic and utter mayhem—she found her breath becoming shallow. How could this happen? How could something so horrible strike Mobius? The moment the thought ran through her mind, Sally felt like slapping herself in the forehead. It wasn't like the world had been in perfect condition before the—this. This mayhem. This complete and utter chaos.
But there was still at least some hope left, wasn't there? There had always been hope for Mobius, and it had been personified in the form of a speedy blue teenager… a teen who, in order to save the world, had to risk his own life again and again and again. Why did it always have to be him? Even though he was standing right in front of her, it felt as if he was worlds away.
"It will be okay Sal, I promise." He was lying, she knew it for a fact, and it killed her. It tore her apart. She didn't want to lose him. Not him.
"You don't have to do this." She finally told him after a long period of silence, doing her best to swallow back the lump in her throat.
He was quiet for only a moment, if even that. "Sal, you know that that'snot true. I have to do this."
"Have to?" She hated that word. She hated it more than every evil in the world. "Sonic, you…" But she didn't know what else to say to him. His mind had already been made up, and it had been since day one.
So not knowing what else to do, Sally let her head hang, doing the best she could to contain the tears. Why did he have to? Why did HE always have to? Wasn't there anyone else who wanted to be the hero? Was there anyone else that could be the hero? Why was it always him? It just wasn't fair… it never had been, and it never was going to be.
Silence reigned for what felt like an eternity. "Sal, everything will be okay." When his arms wrapped around her, she found that tears had begun to plague her vision. "I promise."
But she knew that he was lying again. She knew that it wasn't going to be okay. Nothing would ever be the same. He'd… he'd be… finally, Sally swallowed and whispered in the strongest voice she could muster, "I love you Sonic the Hedgehog."
He replied with a whisper much like hers, "And I love you Sally Acorn. Always have, always will."
Then the two pulled away from each other. No parting kiss would be shared, for they knew the memory would become bitter and rusted. So instead, Sonic nodded once to her and told—ordered—her, "Run."
It was all he had to say.
She turned and ran as fast as she could, tears freely traveling down her face by that point. He watched her for awhile, then once she was a safe distance away, did the same. He rushed around the machine, the blasted Quantam Dial, as fast as he possibly could, holding his breath as he gritted his teeth together. Nothing would stop him from reaching his goal. Nothing would ever slow him down. He was Sonic the Hedgehog.
And as Sally ran, her breath broken into pathetic sobs and her vision blurred beyond recognition, she wondered to herself. Was this really the last she'd ever see of him? Was this really the end of Sonic, the hero of Mobius?
She didn't have the time to ask. A force that felt like a thousand pounds threw the princess down into the snow, which was followed almost instantly by a deafening BOOM! Though she was sure that she knew what it was, she couldn't help herself from thinking, "What on Mobius?"
It felt as if she had been lying in the snow for forever by the time she looked up. And when she did finally get up and glance back, she was unsurprised to see that the Quantam Dial and Sonic were gone.
I'm going to be trying my best to update this everyday. Hopefully, I can find time to keep up...
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