AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is the tenth chapter of my "Final Battle" story. I really hope you like it. This one's a bit short, but it's got a lot in it. Anyway, read and enjoy.
"Why didn't you tell us he was telekinetic?" asked Sonic impatiently.
"What?" asked Nate, taken aback at the question. "Who?"
"Dragon," said Sonic shortly.
"Because that's crazy?" suggested Nate.
"I saw it with my own eyes," said Sonic. "He held me to the floor while he carried their bodies out. I saw them all. They were all floating at least three get above the ground. He can move things with his mind. Why didn't you tell us this? This is something we needed to know!"
"Because I didn't know," argued Nate. "I didn't know that. If he's always been able to do that, then he's real good at hiding it, because I had no idea he could do anything like that." Sonic was silent for a minute before responding.
"Well, we don't need to worry about that right now," he said. "We need to focus on what we're gonna do to save Amy and Shadow. And avenge Tails." Sonic could barely say the name without leaving a hint of a cry in his voice. But Nate didn't see any tears in his eye. All he saw was rage. Pure anger that burned in his eyes. Sonic was pissed off big time and Nate knew that the person responsible should probably try hiding in a hole for the rest of their lives if they wanted to survive. And hiding like that may not even be enough to get away from Sonic's revenge.
"I'm sorry about Tails," said Nate quietly. "And you're right. We need to plan. I'll call the other two and you go find out where Robotnik's hiding." Sonic nodded and walked away.
Ten minutes later, Griffon and Unicorn were walking through the door and heading for the couch.
"Now, it might be the drinks I had, but I thought I heard you say 'telekinetic' over the phone, Phoenix," said Griffon as he plopped onto the couch next to Unicorn.
"I did," said Nate casually. "Dragon's a telekinetic."
"Well, as crazy as it sounds, you can't rule out anything with Dragon," said Griffon with a sigh. "And that would explain why we found the couch in the kitchen."
"Yeah, and the dents in the walls that looked like someone had had a child-throwing competition in here," said Unicorn.
"Yep," said Nate quietly.
"So we're gonna take him down," said Griffon. "Have we found him yet?"
"Yep," said Sonic as he entered the room. "An old, abandoned war base a couple miles outside of the city."
"Do either of you have any tools we could use?" Nate asked the assassin couple on the couch.
"Yeah, I hid a couple weapon stashes around here a while back," said Griffon. "Never thought I'd need 'em. I could go gather them up. Take me twenty minutes."
"Good," said Nate. "Then we have a half hour to get to the base. Go." Griffon got up and left them in the apartment.
"So, what's the plan here, Phoenix?" asked Unicorn.
"Wing it," said Nate shortly. "We can't plan against Dragon. He's too smart. The only way to keep him from predicting our moves is to play the whole thing by ear."
"That still sounds like a bad idea," said Unicorn.
"Got a better one?" asked Nate. Unicorn shook her head. "Good, right. Now, we need to get ready to leave as soon as Griffon gets back with his guns."
Dragon had spent the last fifteen minutes looking for Tails. He knew that he hadn't left the base because the guard bots at the entrance hadn't seen anything yet and they were still in one piece. He knew that Tails had to be somewhere in this base. That's when he noticed the door that he was walking toward. It was opened to a crack. Then he saw something that alarmed him. The muzzle of a gun. Or rather, he thought it was a gun. Or something similar. He was just in time making a good telekinetic shield when the gun went off. The bullet was launched at the shield that Dragon had produced and ricocheted off it into the wall. Dragon grabbed the shooter behind the door with his mind and launched them out of the room with the wave of his hand.
Tails was pulled out of the doorway and slammed into the wall. He felt the gun being pulled out of his hand and saw it float in front of his face. The dog reached out to it and clenched his fist. The gun was immediately pulled apart, unfired bullets and pieces of metal clanged as they hit the floor.
"You actually almost had me there, Tails," said Dragon with a smile. "I think you may be hanging out with Phoenix too much. That seems a little too much like his tactic. Hide and shoot. Hey, just like how he tried to kill you."
"Shut up," snarled Tails angrily. The dog waved his hand and Tails was thrown into the ground on his chest, slinged arm breaking his fall. Tails screamed aloud from the excruciating pain from his shoulder.
"Tails, what do you think is gonna happen when Sonic gets here?" asked Dragon calmly without looking down at Tails.
"Sonic is gonna kill you and Robotnik and save me, Amy, and Shadow," said Tails through gritted teeth.
"What if he fails? What happens then?" asked the black dog. Tails was silent. After a while, Dragon decided to answer for him. "You die, Tails. I'm gonna kill you. But that's not the point. My point is a question. What are you dying for? Why does Robotnik want you dead?"
"To get to Sonic," said Tails quietly.
"Exactly, so, what are you dying for?" asked the dog.
"What are you getting at?" asked Tails suspiciously. The dog let go of Tails and he got up on his knees.
"You're going to die because of the fight between Sonic and Robotnik," said Dragon calmly. "Does that seem right to you?"
"What do you care?" asked Tails angrily. "You're a killer. What did the people you've killed die for? Am I more important than them? Why do you care if I die or not? Why does my safety matter to you?"
"Because you're fourteen and you have so much potential," said Dragon. "You're only a kid, yet you're a genius and an expert mechanic, you can throw knives like a pro, and you've saved entire planets and civilizations on several occasions."
"So what's your point?" asked Tails. Finally, Dragon looked Tails in the eye. Tails saw something in them that he had thought impossible. Something that the assassin had actually laughed at only an hour ago. It was pity. The dog that stood in front of Tails, that had probably killed so many people, felt pity for the two-tailed fox in front of him.
"Your death here wouldn't benefit Sonic in anyway," said the dog quietly. "Is it really worth it to die here? And waste all that potential you have?"
"You say that as if I have a choice," said Tails.
"Because I'm giving you one," said the dog, taking his eyes off Tails. Tails widened his eyes in surprised confusion. "Telekinesis, Tails. It's a wonderful gift to have. Essentially, everyone has it, but rare is the capability to use it. Almost no one has the mental capability to use it anymore. Before, in times of old of Mobius, there were few who trained themselves to use it and other psychic abilities.
"During my travels as an assassin, I stumbled upon the ruins of a small, ancient society that prided themselves on the use of psychic abilities. I studied the art they had designed, experimented on my own brain, stimulating it with various procedures. I practiced and tested and experimented for two whole decades before I finally achieved a result. And then I was locked up because I got caught during the job I pulled with Phoenix and the others. Prison was the perfect opportunity to expand my abilities. Eventually, I used my improved skills to break out of prison and here I am.
"The reason I'm telling you this is because I want to pass on my skills. I need an apprentice. And your beautiful, brilliant, clever mind is the perfect candidate.
"I'm asking for you to think about the offer. I'm going to ask you later and I want an answer. The choice is to either die here with your friends or to come with me and learn my art. I implore you to think about this objectively, unaffected by your bias against me, but based on your interests alone. Not your friend's interests and not for the greater good or that whole philosophy. Think about how this will affect you. Decide which is the best way to go and tell me your decision. But I leave you with this. Your friends already think you're dead. Do you think it's better to let your friends die with or without having to watch you die again?" He turned around and left Tails on his knees, alone in the dim, silent corridor. Tails watched him drop something behind him as he walked away. It was his sling. Tails ran to pick it up and he put it on, feeling a lot more comfortable with it.
But that didn't change the feeling of self-conflict that the dog's words had evoked in Tails. He couldn't believe he was actually considering abandoning his friends to go with that insane killer. But the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to go with it. Tails was fascinated by the dog's power and the scientist in him wanted to study it, experience it, learn more about it and the megalomaniacal part of him wanted his own piece of that cake. He couldn't begin to imagine what would be possible if he could do the things that Dragon could teach him.
"No!" said Tails aloud sternly to himself. He couldn't believe that he was thinking about leaving his friends. But he also thought that this was an opportunity he couldn't miss.
But how do I know if this guy is being sincere? Tails asked himself silently. How do I know that he's not trying to kill me?
Because he could have killed me here and it wouldn't have made a difference, Tails argued to himself. If he wanted to kill me, he could have done it here. And he's right that I have a lot of potential. I have a brilliant mind. And Telekinesis is mental power. I could be more powerful than him. I really need to go for this. This is once in a lifetime.
Tails knew that it wasn't like Sonic was going to die here. Sonic would win this fight hands down. And after that, what would happen? Things would stay quiet. There wouldn't be any more action, anymore fighting, anymore anything except a normal life. He needed something else after all this was done. And he and Sonic hadn't been on the best of terms lately. It wasn't like they were fighting, but they weren't as close as they used to be. Tails and Sonic didn't spend as much time together anymore. And Sonic already thought he was dead.
"Dead," said Tails aloud. He stood up with a start as he remembered that Sonic still didn't know he was alive. He started running to find the hedgehog and tell him he was fine. But he stopped after a couple paces and asked himself if this was the best thing to do. If he did leave, Sonic never need know that he ran off with a killer. Sonic could go on thinking he was dead until Tails decided to reveal otherwise to him. But how would Sonic react to that? How long would he be gone? How long would Sonic have to believe that Tails was dead? And what about his parents? He couldn't just up and leave them to think he was dead. Doing that to Sonic was bad enough, but to his parents and his friends? Tails walked over to the wall, leaned his back against it, and slid down to a sitting position. He put his head in his hand and started thinking everything through again. What was he going to do?
Sonic ran as fast as his legs could carry him out of the city. Usually, when he ran like this, it made him feel relaxed. It cleared his mind and helped him to think. But all he could think about right now was killing Robotnik for Tails. His head was filled with nothing but hatred. He didn't even feel grief or sadness. He didn't have room in his head for those emotions right now. It was too full of anger and rage.
Sonic had waited for a while back at the apartment while Nate, Unicorn, and Griffon got a good head start. But now he was getting closer to the building where the man who killed Tails was residing. The building looked run down and older than his parents. There were two guard bots at the front entrance, but they were no match for Sonic. They didn't even see him coming. He spin-dashed them into pieces and broke down the door at the same time.
The inside of the building was dark and silent. It was dimly lit by light bulbs that Sonic thought should have been put in an ancient history museum a long time ago. The silence was broken by the sound of two metal doors sliding shut behind him and sealing the entrance. He was trapped in. Then he heard something that actually alarmed him. He heard the small, soft, dull thud of something hitting the door.
A large white van raced down the long road toward the old building. Nate was driving the van and Griffon and Unicorn were in back, locked and loaded for action. Griffon's collection of weapon stashes had been enough to turn the van into a small, mobile armory.
"Hey, Griffon," Nate called out. "The entrance just got sealed shut by a metal door. Take it down!" Griffon climbed into the passenger seat and pulled out a strange looking gun. It looked like a pistol, but Nate suspected that, by the size of the barrel, it would qualify as a small cannon.
Griffon leaned out the passenger window, aimed at the door, and fired. A small, white ball was launched out of the gun and hit the door, flattening on impact, with a small, soft, dull thud.
Sonic dove for cover as the door was blown into the room. It hit the ground with a loud crash and a white van drove in through the doorway. Griffon climbed out of the passenger side. He had on a white leather jacket and a pair of jeans. He also had a knife strapped to his belt, a pistol in a holster strapped to his thigh, a shotgun and an assault rifle slung on his back, and a grenade launcher in his hand. Unicorn stepped out of the side door. She was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and a thick, tight, white turtleneck tank-top with a light blue denim jacket. She had two very large pistols in her hands, a very large assault rifle slung over her back, two more pistols strapped to her thighs, and a frag grenade strapped to her belt. Nate walked around the van. He was wearing a long-sleeved red shirt and blue jeans. He had one pistol strapped to his belt and a shotgun in his hands.
"You got anything else in there?" asked Sonic.
"Yeah, tons," said Griffon. Sonic was never one for guns, but he made an exception here. He climbed into the van and picked out two pistols with holsters he could use.
"Let's go," he said, putting the pistols in the holsters.
"Go where?" asked Nate. As if on cue, a door slid open in the opposite wall, revealing an elevator. Sonic shrugged and led the way to the elevator.
Tails woke with a start. He looked around at where he was, unable to remember. It was a dark hallway. He had no idea how he got there. He jumped as he heard a small explosion from somewhere under the floor. Then he remembered where he was. He remembered the choice that was offered to him by the dog. He remembered the argument he had with himself over what to do.
"Whoa, I must have fallen asleep," he said to himself aloud. "I've gotta go find Sonic!" He jumped up and ran, twin-tails propelling him forward. He still had no idea what he was going to do about Dragon's proposal. He still thought it would be a good idea to go along with it, but he also still didn't like the idea of leaving his friends and letting them believe he was dead while he went and trained under the teachings of a psychopath.
Tails found a flight of stairs and ran up them. He ran on down a hallway at the top and came to a stop at a balcony at the end of the hallway. He looked down from it and saw a large, empty room, on the end of which Robotnik sat in a large throne that was on a raised platform. Shadow and Amy stood on either side of him, bound at the hands and feet.
A set of doors opened at the other end of the room and a figure raced out of the doorway.
"Finally, Sonic," said the large, round man at the other side of the room slowly and happily. "You're mine." Sonic bolted across the room, but stopped short of the platform when he saw the two people standing on either side of Robotnik, bound at the hands and feet.
"Now, now, Sonic," said Robotnik with an evil grin. "Let's not rush here. Not when your friends' lives hang in the balance. Let's think of them first."
"What do you want?" snarled Sonic angrily.
"Your hide above my mantle," said Robotnik calmly. "Surrender and I will kill you all quickly. Don't and I'll make you watch me torture your friends to death. And then I'll do the same to you."
"Don't do it, Sonic!" yelled Shadow. The black dog that Sonic had met at the apartment walked out from behind Robotnik's throne and punched Shadow in the stomach. He doubled over gasping for breath.
"Let me show you why you should just surrender now," said Robotnik. He waved his hand to direct the attention of the hedgehog to the dog. Dragon grabbed the bent-over Shadow by the shoulder and forced him upright again. Then he placed his right index finger over Shadows left pectoral. He traced his finger down the right side of Shadow's torso and a line of blood followed the finger. The lined expanded and blood ran down his chest. Shadow screamed aloud from the pain. Then the dog ran his hand over the line of blood and the wound closed as his hand ran down it.
"This dog can carve up your friends like a Christmas ham and leave them alive," said Robotnik. "And in agonizing pain. Your choice now, Sonic. Surrender and you all die quickly. Fight it and you all die very slowly and painfully."
"Kill him, Sonic!" screamed Amy. Sonic looked at her, then to Shadow, then to Robotnik. Finally, he looked down at his feet.
"I give up," said Sonic quietly. He whispered the words, not believing that they had actually come out of his mouth. He had let everyone down. He let Tails down already, along with Knuckles, but now he was dragging Amy and Shadow down with him. And then there was the planet. Who would stop Robotnik from world domination now? He had finally been beaten.
"Take this," said Robotnik passing him a sealed capsule that was shaped like a pen. Sonic caught it and opened it. There was a syringe inside.
"What is this?" asked Sonic.
"It's a sedative," said Robotnik. "Take it and I swear you won't know what happens after that. You won't ever wake up."
"Right," Sonic whispered to himself. He took the syringe in his hand and stuck the needle in his arm. "It's... only dying."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ooohh, another cliffhanger. What's gonna happen to Sonic? Will Tails choose to leave his friends? Find out next time. It shouldn't be too long until i have a new one up. I am on a roll and my schedule just opened wide up, so I am writing like crazy! Anyway, hope you liked the chapter, review, tell friends, favorite, alert, and remember to always ask a mongoose if he has rabies before you give him your car keys. Seeya!