Crap. It's been a little over a month since I've updated. Sorry! So much for my 'no longer than three weeks' rule... :P
Dave the Gay, The Reader, arianahewitt, BlackButler181, thanks for the reviews!
I own Amara and this story. Sega or Archie own the other characters.
Chapter 6
Sonic's P.O.V.
Tikal steps ahead of me and addresses the figure in front of me. "Kreed, tell your men to lower their weapons. Surely you remember Captain Sonic and our peace with him?" He better remember, I give his tribe gold once a month!
"My apologies." Kreed looks at me while lowering his spear, the others following suit. "I did not recognize you at first."
"No, you were just looking for a reason to show off." Knuckles steps up besides me, a smirk on his face.
"Well well well. Look who we have here!" Kreed removes his leaf-covered headgear, revealing a violet echidna around Knuckles' age. "Long time no see Knuckles! Too bad you can only see half of me." He gestures to Knuckles' eyepatch with his own smirk.
"Still a funny guy. I bet the ladies are still all over you like they were when we were younger." Knuckles says sarcastically. The other figures snicker and remover their headgear as well, all of them echidnas. Kreed glares at Knuckles before grinning and walks over to him.
"I thought I would never see you again. I am glad to be wrong." Kreed shakes Knuckles' hand.
"It's great to see you too, Kreed." Knuckles smiles. Rouge steps up besides Knuckles and loudly clears her throat. "Oh alright." Knuckles rolls his eyes at her. "Kreed, meet Rouge, my girlfriend, and Rouge, this is Kreed, my childhood best friend."
"A pleasure." She winks at Kreed and sticks out her hand.
"The pleasure is all mine." He takes her hand with a smile and kisses it.
"Alright, Kreed." Knuckles warns. Kreed chuckles and releases her hand.
"So," Kreed looks at me. "What brings you and your crew here?"
"Sonic and his crew rescued me from Rengash. They were bringing me back." Tikal answers.
"Also, my crew wanted to see your village." I add. I am usually the only one to go to the village when I drop off the gold, since it barely takes me any time with my speed, and from the way I've described it, they saw this as an opportunity to finally see the echidna tribe, the Peace Keepers, and their village.
"I see. Well, as a token of our gratitude for rescuing Tikal, allow us to escort you there." He looks at Knuckles with an arched eyebrow. "If you want, that is."
"Lead the way, Kreed." I gesture in front of me. He begins to walk, Tikal right besides him. As he talks with Tikal, I can't help but to notice the relief of her safety on his face. I look behind me at Knuckles and see his suspicious look as he eyes the pair. I slow my steps until I am besides him.
"Easy, Patches. They could be good friends." I tease. He rolls his eyes. "You sure you want to come? You still have the chance to back out you know." I say, serious now. Knuckles was banished from the village ten years ago. After I hired him to be my master gunner six years ago, Knuckles told me about his tribe and his old life there. Feeling bad that he hadn't seen his younger sister in four years, I offered to let Tikal come back with me when I made my drop-offs and let him spend time with her. That night I earned his unwavering loyalty and friendship, things that have proven to be useful time and time again.
I still remember their reunion. I talked to Tikal alone, telling her that her brother was back on my ship and that she was more than welcome to come back with me and visit him. The joy on her face was well worth it. That, and the look on Knuckles' face after seeing his sister for the first time after four years. It was one of the few times I've ever seen Knuckles cry.
Ever since that first visit, I'd bring Tikal back with me and let her stay as long as she'd want. It was usually a few days though, but I could see the longing to stay in her eyes. She'd never admit this to anyone, she's too loyal to her tribe, but I can tell she enjoys being away from her village. Like her father, however, Tikal puts duty before personal wants. I know Knuckles is aware that Tikal is the next likely candidate to being the emerald's guardian, but I think he is waiting for Umdir to either resign or pass away before he does anything about it.
If anything, I feel sorry for Tikal. She loves her father greatly. She understands and forgives Umdir for putting the Master Emerald first. Then there's her brother, who she also loves dearly. He wants her to be angry with Umdir too, but she can't. After realizing this, Knuckles backed off her, throwing bitter comments about Umdir here and there. Some day Knuckles will have to deal with all the problems he has with his family. I just hope it ends well-enough.
"Yeah. I need to see for myself that Tikal gets back safely." He says. However, I know he misses his old home and that he wants to see it again, but I don't point it out.
"You think Umdir will let you stay?"
"Don't know." He shrugs. We stay quiet and continue our trek to Orchid Valley, where the village is located.
The Peace Keepers guard a giant green emerald, known as the Master Emerald, and seven smaller emeralds called the Chaos Emeralds. They believe the Master Emerald is responsible for keeping the balance of good and evil in the world and that without it, complete and total chaos. The Chaos Emeralds are what they call, 'the servants of the Master Emerald'.
Umdir was chosen by the Master Emerald to be the only one within the tribe who can consult with and use the magic within the emerald. He is also the one who guards it 24/7. This is where things get complicated. Umdir has always, and still does, taken his duty seriously. Not once has he ever left the Master Emerald's side since it chose him as its guardian. Not when he got married, not when his children were born, and not even to see his wife's burial after she died from an unknown illness.
Since he could remember, Knuckles has always disliked how dedicated Umdir was to the emerald. 'He shouldn't of had a family if he planned on spending the rest of his life guarding the Master Emerald' Knuckles told me. As a kid, Knuckles always wanted to spend more time with his father, and he would ask Umdir to do just that, whether it'd be going fishing or even doing chores. Umdir always told him no, however, and that he has to guard the emerald.
As the years passed, Knuckles started to ask less and less, and he started to grow angrier with every decline Umdir made. Lily, Knuckles mother, had always managed to keep Knuckles' anger at bay, telling him that by Umdir protecting the emerald, he was also protecting them. While he doubted his mother's words, Knuckles contained his anger, just because of how happy Lily was. She loved Umdir deeply, and would tell Knuckles when he questioned if she really was happy, "I knew what I was getting into when I married your father. I regret nothing.' He even held his tongue when Umdir told him that the chances of Knuckles getting the honor to guard the emerald next was good. Knuckles hoped with every fiber of his being that it would not happen though. He didn't want that life.
His control only lasted until he was fifteen, however, when Lily died from an unknown illness. Umdir failed to show up at her burial, pushing Knuckles past his point of self-control. He stormed to the hut where Umdir was and yelled at him, releasing all his pent-up thoughts, and I mean EVERY thought, from why Umdir even had a family if he couldn't even be there for them, to he doubted if Umdir even loved Lily. Umdir lost his self-control too after Knuckles said that last one and punched Knuckles. Knuckles launched himself into the fight after that. Umdir of course won the fight, but from what I've gathered from Knuckles' vague description, he put up an impressive fight for a fifteen year-old.
Bruised and slightly bloodied, Knuckles looked Umdir straight in the eye and told him that he was leaving, to get away from him and to make sure he wouldn't be the next guardian and end up like him. Knuckles believes Umdir meant what he said next, but I have my doubts. Umdir is his father, regardless of his lack of involvement in Knuckles' life, and Knuckles had to have gotten his temper from somewhere, after all. Umdir called Knuckles a coward and a disgrace to the tribe, and to never come back. By this time, a crowd had formed from all the racket Knuckles and Umdir's fight had caused, ten-year-old Tikal right in front. Knuckles gave a crying Tikal a goodbye hug, knowing the tribe would look after her, and he left without a glance back.
And until today, he never returned.
We step out of the thick jungle and into a clearing, where the village is located. I don't care how many times I've seen this, the view always amazes me. A river of clear blue water runs to my left, the huts that tribe members visit a lot are in the clearing, and the homes of the echidnas are built into the treetops of the jungle. As we near, echidnas stop what they are doing and look at us in curiosity, whispering among themselves.
"Tikal is back!"
"She is safe!"
"Is that Knuckles too?"
"He certainly looks different."
"Captain Sonic," An unrecognizable yellow echidna walks up to me. "Chief Zarruk is waiting for you and your crew at the Master Emerald's hut. You may leave your things here." The echidna's eyes flick over to Knuckles, obviously remembering who he is. Putting down his pack, Knuckles ignores the look and follows Tikal and Kreed to the hut. We all put our packs down, excluding Espio, and we follow also. We walk to the center of the clearing, where a medium-sized hut is. We enter and my gaze is immediately drawn to the giant green emerald in the center. The tribe's chief, an older dark grey echidna named Zarruk, stands in front of it and next to a dark orange echidna I come to recognize as Umdir. I have only seen Umdir once, and that was during my first visit here. Knuckles is the spitting image if Umdir, with the exception of having Lily's purple eyes and his larger-than-normal knuckles.
"Captain Sonic, a pleasure to see you again and to finally meet your crew." Zarruk nods to me.
"Always a pleasure to be here." I half bow. A throat clears. We all look back.
"We," Amy sets her hand on Amara's shoulder. "are NOT a part of his crew. Sonic kidnapped us." She glares triumphantly at me, thinking she will be saved now.
"Oh?" Zarruk looks at me.
"Yes I did." I nod in confirmation, giving Amy a sly grin. Her confident look wavers. "Chief Zarruk, I present to you Miss Amelia Rose, Prince Scourge's future bride, and her friend Amara Vipsin."
"His bride?" He observes Amy. "Captain Sonic, you cease to amaze me. This is quite an accomplishment." He shakes his head with a smile.
"It was a lot easier than I thought it would be." I reply.
"Wait, aren't you going to help us?" Amy asks Zarruk with eyes wide.
"Why would I? Obviously Captain Sonic is taking good-enough care of you, and because of you, he will be receiving a handsome amount of money from that cursed Royal family."
"What? But..." Amy's shoulders slump in defeat, realizing there's no hope of escaping here either. The sight gives me a twinge of guilt. I haven't seen her like this before; she has been nothing but stubborn and determined since the very beginning.
Umdir speaks up, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Thank you, Captain Sonic, for returning my daughter safely." Umdir smiles as Tikal walks up to him and gives him a reassuring hug.
"Anything for a friend." I smile back. "You will not have to worry about Rengash or his crew anymore. They are dead." I inform them.
"A shame about the wasted life, but they chose that road to walk on." Umdir dips his head in respect of the afterlife.
"I bet you're pleased you don't have to consider Rengash's ransom, but then, you probably already knew your choice." Knuckles coldly glares at Umdir, not bothering with the polite way to speak. I can't really blame him though, he had to be well-spoken the first fifteen years of his life. He really went crazy with the slang terms after he left. He almost spoke like a typical pirate. I quickly stopped him from doing that.
Umdir's blue eyes lock on Knuckles and returns the glare. "I thought I told you to never return."
"I only came to make sure Tikal returned safely." Knuckles crosses his arms.
"Why should you care? You abandoned her ten years ago." Knuckles' eyes flash with anger.
"I've seen her at least once a month these past six years!" Shock flashes across Umdir's face. Knuckles slowly turns to Tikal.
"You never told him where you were actually going, did you?" Tikal looks away, head bowed. Knuckles hurt expression turns cold. "I see. You didn't want to disappoint dear father by visiting your disgrace of a brother." Knuckles glares at the floor, missing Tikal's pained-filled glance at him. Rouge walks up to Knuckles and cups his cheek.
"You'll always have me though." She tells him softly. Knuckles gives her a small smile and wraps an arm around her waist, holding her close.
"If you'll excuse my interruption," I look at Zarruk and Umdir. "but Knuckles has been a part of my crew before you met me, and I ask your permission to let ALL of us stay the night here. If it is too much a problem, then we will all leave now." I say firmly, making it clear I go where Knuckles goes. I see Knuckles shoot me an appreciative look from the corner of my eye.
"Nonsense. You have saved Tikal and you are a friend. You may stay the night." Zarruk looks at Umdir, who is watching Knuckles.
"One night." He nods.
"Great. Tonight, we shall have a feast for all that you have done for us." Zarruk smiles at us.
"Thank you very much, Zarruk." I half bow again. "I also have your gold here." I gesture over to Espio. Espio steps up and hands Zarruk a large sac.
"Thank you. Now go and enjoy yourselves. I will send a couple of my people to help you get ready later this evening." We all exit the tent, leaving Zarruk, Umdir, and Tikal.
"Now what?" Tails asks. We stand there for a few moments.
"Can we go swimming? Please?" Charmy jumps up and down, pointing at the river.
"No." I answer flatly.
"Uh, yes!" Amara glares at me. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I am in desperate need of a bath." Amara grabs Charmy's hand and marches toward the river.
"Swimming sounds good." Rouge shrugs and follows them.
"I will get some soap." Kreed jogs off. Before I know it, everybody is going to the river, leaving me behind.
"Ugh." I rub my face and reluctantly join them. We follow the river until it reaches the edge of the village, that way we don't contaminate the water that people might use for dish washing or drinking water.
"CANNON BALL!" Amara and Charmy suddenly burst out of the treetops, swinging on a vine, and they fall into the river. I jump back as water splashes everyone.
"Charmy!" Vector wipes the water from his eyes. Charmy grins and makes a face at him. "That's it! I'm comin' in!" Vector wads into the water as Charmy tries to swim away from him, laughing. Everyone else goes into the water, even Shadow. Kreed returns with the soap and my crew take turns taking their 'baths'. I find a tree and get cozy laying underneath its shade.
Just as I'm about to fall asleep, I hear someone walk up to me. "What? Too cool to swim, Sonic?"
"I don't like swimming. Now, what do you want?" I ask Amy, keeping my eyes closed. I feel her sit next to me.
"The river is too cold for me to stay in, so I thought I'd come and bug you after I was done cleaning myself." I hear her smirk.
"How thoughtful." I say sarcastically. "I'd be careful though, I still might make you train tonight." I smirk. I honestly did not expect her to ask me, of all people, to train her how to fight. "Wait a minute, the river is too cold for you? This has to be one of the nicest-feeling rivers I know!"
"It could be cold today! You haven't even touched the water!" She argues.
"This place stays 70 degrees year-round, and I've also touched the water before." I say smugly.
"Fine. Obviously I'm not used to doing these kinds of things." The sadness in her voice makes me open my eyes and look at her. She sits with her knees up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. She is still sopping wet, water dripping off her short hair, and her lavender dress clings to her slender frame.
Feeling my eyes on her, she turns to look at me. As she turns, I tear my gaze from her body to her face, only to be drawn right back in. Her cheeks are tinged pink from the 'cold' water, and her sad jade eyes look at me, little water droplets sparkling on her eyelashes. The last time I saw eyes that mesmerizing was...
A memory of blue eyes flashes in my mind. No no. I'm not going there right now.
"I know what you think of me, and I'm not as stuck up as you think I am." Amy says softly. I snap out of my thoughts and cock an eyebrow at her. She looks at everybody else, who are still playing in the river.
"I never asked to be raised in the rich life. Growing up, all I ever wanted was to be like the other kids. I even begged my parents to let me go to regular school rather than be home-schooled. I didn't have any friends and I thought going to school would get me some. The morning my first day of kindergarten started out swell. Everyone was nice, and I saw many kids who seemed like they could be good friends. Then my teacher did attendance. Once everyone found out I was Amelia Rose, Duke Lucas Rose's daughter, everything went downhill. All the kids gave me cold looks, either ignored me or never left me alone, and they called me names like 'rich girl'. This was all before recess.
"Once recess came around, word quickly spread to other and older kids about my presence. I was sitting in the corner of the playground by myself, playing with my favorite doll, when these two older boys came up to me and snatched my doll away. They played Keep Away with it and laughed at me, taunting me with 'where's your rich daddy now?'" Amy's eyes water from the memory. I can feel myself getting riled up. I don't even know if she's telling the truth, I just know I hate bullies.
"Then this magenta hedgehog with long brown hair came up and snatched the doll from one of the boys mid-throw. She yelled at them with so much anger, you would've thought she was my sister or something. They mumbled apologies she forced them to say to me, and she gave me back my doll after they left." She smiles with fondness.
"That day was bittersweet. It was the worst day of my life, but it was also the day I met Amara. Since that day she has stuck by me, defending me whenever she sees fit. Amara was the only one in school who didn't care what kind of lifestyle I lived, and her family was, and still is, one of the poorest families in our town! Because of her, I continued to go to school, just so I could hang out with her more. She exposed me to a lot of the normal things average people do, but I still found myself wishing to be like the normal families.
"The most time my family spends together is, at most, two days a week. My father is one of King Marcus' advisers, and my mother owns all the tailoring shops in the town. With those jobs, they barely have any time for me, and when they do, it's just awkward. They don't know enough about me to have all the normal conversations a family does. They're good people, as far as I know, but they're just never there." She rests her head on her knees.
"I'm sorry about those kids bullying you, but if you hate the rich life so much, then why the hell are you marrying Scourge?" I point out, not sure if I'm buying her story. Rich people can be very manipulative.
"Because he is kind, smart, funny, and, not that it's important, very handsome." She defends herself. "Also, of all the girls he could have chosen, he chose me."
"Why does that surprise you? You are the daughter of one of the richest dukes in Pallertha."
"He is a prince. He already has a lot of money, so it can't be the reason why he's marrying me. I'm also not one of the prettier girls, so he must have chosen me for my personality."
"'Not one of of the prettier girls'? What, do you think you're ugly?" I ask incredulously.
"No, but I don't think I'm anything special either. The only memorable thing about me are my eyes. I'm just average when it comes to looks." She shrugs. I shake my head.
"Amy, you have something that those 'pretty girls' don't have. Something that I'm sure they'd kill for." She raises her eyebrows in surprise.
"I do?"
"Yes. You have natural beauty. You can simply put on a dress and go to a ball and still look lovely. Those girls may look beautiful when in public, but it's not who they are. Those girls have to paint their faces on and force their bodies to look like they want it to, hiding their true looks. You don't. So don't wish to be like them, you'd be many levels under what you used to be otherwise."
"Really?" She looks at me doubtfully, a smile threatening to appear.
"Don't think I'm saying this just to make you feel better." I suddenly feel heat rushing to my cheeks, and I look away to hide it. "I just really hate those fake, painted girls." I shrug casually.
"Right." I hear her sigh heavily.
"Hey Sonic, your turn to wash." Tails calls out to me.
"Alright." I get up, glad to get out of that awkwardness, and grab the soap from Tails. I stay in the shallow river bank and wash the dirt off of me and my clothes.
"We're going to go get some lunch." Silver tells me once I finish up.
"Okay, let's go." Kreed leads us to the food hut. I feel Amy's eyes on me. Maybe Amy isn't exactly like most rich people. I feel like everything she told me was true and her actions so far are not what I expect, but I still need to be cautious. There have been consequences for being too trusting.
Amy wouldn't be the first caring rich girl though...
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