This is the next chapter to Forgiveness. Hope you enjoy!
Sorry for the lack of updates, but school is really rough. But you'll be glad to know only three chapters are left of this story! At the most, only four chapters are left in this book of the trilogy. This is really a grand thing for me to finish, one of my last goals as I am 15. I turn 16 Feb. 15. D
Sanctuary should be updated soon, so look out for that! And you'll notice the next chapters will probably all have Breaking Benjamin lyrics. I'm going to their concert in March. D Can't wait.
Anyway, on with the chapter!
Chapter
5
Breathe
"...You
took the breath right out of me
You left a hole where my heart
should be
You gotta fight just to make it through
Cause I will
be the death of you
This will all be over soon
Pour salt into
the open wound
Is it over yet? Let me in..."
Breathe
by Breaking Benjamin
The rest of the night seemed to drag by.
The anxiety of the coming day hung in the air, smoothering Sonic as he paced around the clearing, his mind racing with several thoughts at once. The coming day would decide the outcome of the rest of Sonic's life. With that, and Knuckles's doubt about joining him, hanging above his head, Sonic could hardly breath. He knew that if Knuckles left, he wouldn't win. He would probably die in the battle against Metal. Either way, it didn't matter. Once dead, the pain would be gone, and Sonic and Tails could both wait for Knuckles beyond death.
The thought was creepy, but accurate.
He walked along the edge of the cliff, the sun just above the waves, glinting on the water. He stared at the fire red rays, reflecting brightly off the waves smashing against the shore below. He imagined how the battle would play out tomorrow, and he wondered how he would fight to save Tails. He knew, somewhere along the line, his actions would mess up the future, sending parts of what happened into turmoil. But he really couldn't care less. All he worried about was saving Tails. The other outcomes, they could deal with them later.
Looking away from the ocean, Sonic's green eyes focused on Knuckles, staring out at the house from his place near the bushes. From where Sonic stood, Knuckles violet eyes gleamed from the sun, and for a moment, Sonic caught something in his gaze the hedgehog had never seen before.
Fear.
Fear was glinting in his powerful friends eyes. Sonic narrowed his eyes, blinking in slight bewilderment. Never before had Knuckles had fear evident in his eyes. This was a side of Knuckles that Sonic had never seen, the fear, and he felt he wa intruding on a private moment, so he looked away, feeling awkward. He knew if Knuckles was afraid, he should be, too. But, even when he tired, Sonic couldn't bring himself to feel fear. He wasn't afraid. He was ready to fight, or die trying. There were two options Sonic could take, and he knew that was it. The breeze stirred the fur along Sonic's quills, and a chill rushed through him, sending his fur on end.
Had it been the breeze that chilled him, or his strange lack of fear?
Either way, Sonic knew what he had to do. He looked back to Knuckles once more, the red echidna still watching the house. Sonic watched him for several moments, wondering where it would go from here. He wondered if he and Knuckles would make it out alive, and if Knuckles was going to be with him at all. Sonic looked back toward the sun, setting on the waves out in the ocean. What if this was the last sunset he ever saw? What if he died tomorrow, alone, trying to stop what already happened?
Another chill crept up his spine, and yet Sonic still felt no fear.
Sonic was suddenly tired of the silence, tired of the quiet air surrounding them. He felt sudden frustration boil in his blood, and he clenched his fists, turning around for the third time. He watched Knuckles a few moments before taking a single step toward him, and stopping. He crossed his arms, shifting his weight to his hip, narrowing his eyes at Knuckles. He sighed loudly, frustratedly. Something flickered in Knuckles eyes, and his ear flicked toward Sonic, but there was no other motion to show he acknowledged him. It didn't matter. Sonic was going to speak anyway.
"So what are you going to do?" Sonic asked, his voice just above the waves below. A moment of silence followed his word, the only sound the wind blowing through the leaves. Knuckles didn't look away from the house, and for a moment, Sonic wondered if the echidna was going to answer. Then, Knuckles's voice traveled to his ears from across the clearing.
"I don't know." The answer a blunt, short, and Sonic felt his patience trickling away already.
"What do you mean, you don't know?" Sonic replied, his frustration evident in his voice. "We've got less than 24 hours, Knuckles. I need to know. Now." He paused a moment. "Are you with me, or not?"
The red echidna blinked twice, his violet eyes still focused on the house. Then, he turned to Sonic, his violet gaze set.
"I can't, Sonic," he told the hedgehog, shaking his head. His voice was strong, but the pain showed in his eyes. "You shouldn't do this. I will not watch you get killed. And I...I won't see Tails die either." He paused a moment, looking at the ground, and for a moment, Sonic wondered if he really was talking to Knuckles the Echinda, and not someone else. "If you go, you will probably die. No, you will die." He looked back up, his gaze narrowed. "If you think I could just stand by and watch that, you're wrong."
Sonic stared at Knuckles for a moment, his emerald eyes narrowed slightly. It wasn't alot that Knuckles let his true care for his friends show, and when he did, Sonic found it a moment to pause and let it sink in. But this time, more than Knuckles concern had to sink in for Sonic. His words nearly shocked Sonic, and he felt the words fully take effect on him. He would be alone in the battle tomorrow.
Sonic swallowed hard, his outlook suddenly very bleak. But to his surprise, no horror or fear smacked Sonic, and once more, he was left emotionless, empty, as if the thought of saving Tails was still all that kept him alive. He looked down at his feet, biting back the anger and betrayal her felt. If this was going to be the last time he talked to Knuckles, so be it.
"Fine," Sonic said bluntly, not daring to meet Knuckles's eyes. "Fine." He turned away, arms dropping to his sides. "I'll go alone. I'll save Tails by myself." He swallowed hard, then closed his eyes, tilting his head down. "So I guess you'll have to find Shadow, tell him to take you back to the present." Silence met his words, and Sonic tensed slightly, anger beginning to creep to the surface of his emotions. He turned around, facing Knuckles who stood near the bushes, looking away from Sonic. "Just leave...Be a coward and leave."
After a moment of silence, Knuckles looked up to Sonic, his viole eyes burning. "I'm no coward, Sonic," he warned, his voice low and dangerous. "I just know my limits, how far I can go without it being a total waste." Sonic narrowed his eyes. "You're going to simply kill yourself."
"Maybe then the future will change, Knuckles." Sonic paused, growling slightly. "Maybe you'll forget all about this, all about deserting me."
"Damn it, Sonic!" Knuckles shouted, and in fury, sending his fist straight through the bark of a tree with a loud grunt. The bark of the tree crunched, and a large gapping hole was left in the tree. Sonic wasn't fazed, and simply glared at Knuckles. "You just...You don't know when it's hopeless! It's over! We can't go any farther!" He gritted his teeth, shaking with anger. "We can't win. We can't. Tails will not come back, Sonic. Something will happen, something will keep it from changing." Sonic looked away, shaking his head.
"I won't believe that, Knuckles," Sonic explained calmly, his eyes emotionless. "I can't. This is all I have left." He finally looked back at Knuckles, blinking. "For years, Tails has been my brother. And it's my fault, Knuckles. It's my fault he died." He paused, looking away again and clenching his fist. "I can't live with that. I can't. I never showed how much that kid meant to me, how much his friendship meant." He looked back up, his eyes glistening. He felt the pain, fresh within him, as if the wound had reopened, bleeding and gaping as it had before. "And I hurt him. I hurt him, and I can't live with that." For a moment, Sonic thought he would lose control again, but to his amazement, he didn't. He clutched at his emotions, keeping them controlled. He squinted his eyes shut, fighting the pain. "I'm going to stop it from happening again...to apologize..."
"Whatever happened, Sonic, I'm sorry," Knuckles said, his voice calm once more. When Sonic looked up the echidna's violet eyes were troubled, uneasy, but focused on his decision. "But we can't do it. We can't."
Sonic glared at him, turning away. "Then you leave. I'm staying right here. I'll either save him...or die trying. There's no other option for me." For a moment, there was silence, then the rustling of bushes. Sonic didn't bother to turn around, sitting down next to the cliffside, swinging his legs over it and staring down at the water.
"I'm sorry, Sonic." Knuckles voice carried from the other side of the clearing. Still, Sonic didn't turn around. "I can't watch you both die...I can't. Maybe you'll...you'll change your mind and come back." Sonic didn't reply, so Knuckles continued, and the rustling of bushes mixed with his voice. "Goodbye, Sonic...and good luck."
And just like that, Knuckles the Echidna left, leaving Sonic alone to fight another neverending battle.
For several moments, Sonic couldn't breathe. His breath caught in his throat, making it impossible to exhale. He simply stared at the water below, fighting the shock and betrayal and anger that grew within him. When he finally could breath, Sonic gasped, still not moving, filling his lungs with fresh air. He continued staring at the water, not blinking, not moving.
It took several seconds to feel the tears dripping down his face.
But Sonic didn't attempt to wipe them away. He remained motionless, letting the tears fall from his face, crashing onto the water below. He didn't understand. He couldn't understand. How could Knuckles do that? How could he simply not care, and leave, without even trying to fight?
To Sonic, none of what he said made since.
Again, Sonic couldn't breathe. Maybe the shock of what happened was doing it. Or maybe the broken friendship that stretched before him. Maybe it was only Knuckles and Tails that kept him alive. He struggled to breath, and when he finally inhaled again, he nearly fell over from the pain coursing through him. For the first time since Knuckles left him, Sonic finally moved. His head dropped into his hands, his elbows onto his knees. He gritted his teeth, closing his eyes, and wondered why, wondered how?
He had never found it so hard to breathe before in his life. His had never found it so hard to simply fulfill that task. Knuckles and Tails were all he had, and now, he had nothing. That fact was what made it hard for Sonic to inhale and exhale. He took another shuddering, difficult breath, and more tears fell from his eyes. He felt empty, unwhole. His heart skipped a beat painfully, and Sonic wondered why it kept beating, why it wouldn't stop. It felt so empty, so cold, like it wasn't even there. But it still kept beating, pulsing inside him, keeping his living.
And Sonic hated it. All of it.
The breathing, his heart, all of it. Life itself. He wanted to die then, the pain too much to bear. But when he wanted it the most, his heart just wouldn't stop, just wouldn't give it to him.
Both Knuckles and Tails had left him, taking his heart with them, tearing it apart.
Sonic finally gained control of himself, and lifted his head from his hands, still struggling to breath. The sun was gone, swallowed by the ocean, and the moon rose overhead, dipping the land below in silver. Sonic looked up at the crescent moon, his eyes glistening still.
He cursed it all.
Silently, Sonic looked toward the house, and watched as the final light in the house flicked off. His past self and Tails were asleep. Tomorrow...Only one day...The day that would decide whether Sonic walked away with his life...or died where he would stand, fighting.
He layed down on the ground, watching the house, wondering why everything had to be destroyed. And before he knew it, his eyes slid closed, and he drifted into a restless sleep.
--End of Chapter--
