Last Safe Haven
Sonic woke to find himself alone, he quickly sat up, trying to work out whether what had happened really happened, or whether he just dreamt it all. He was in that odd underground cave, and there was Terra cooking some wild boar, and. 'Wait wild boar? Yummmmmm' Sonic thought as he walked up to Terra slowly.
"About time you woke up! I've been up long enough to catch this thing and it's almost cooked too." Terra indicated the wild boar. "You look a bit out of it. Are you okay?"
"Did we really... Y'know... Earlier?" Sonic asked rather innocently. Terra turned to him.
"I hope you're not regretting it already." She stated quite bluntly before turning back to the cooking.
"No not at all! I just didn't expect something like that from myself is all." Sonic recovered, Terra nodded before she turned again. "I see you're still in your dark super form." Terra's eyes flashed their ocean blue depths for a second before she replied.
"I see that you are too. Or didn't you realise?" Terra stated as she turned back to the food, grinning. Sonic looked at his arms and saw the black of them, his jaw fell open in shock. He looked up at Terra with blue eyes.
"You helped me gain control in just a few hours! Thank you so much!" Sonic yelled in joy and planted a kiss right on her lips. Terra's eyes flared open wide in surprise before narrowing in happiness as she returned the kiss. "Is this almost done? I'm starving!" Sonic stated merrily. Terra smiled at him.
"It's done." She stated before clicking her fingers and a bag appeared in her hand, out of which she pulled out a knife and started cutting up the boar.
"How the fuck do you do that?" Sonic asked in awe, staring at the bag she was holding.
"I think the Elders called it... Chaos Closet. I told them it was unoriginal and they told me it's how closets got their name!" Terra smirked at remembering this and tossed a piece of boar to Sonic. "Ah, good times. Good times." She mumbled before taking a bite out of the ribs she was holding.
"What happened to your village?" Sonic asked out of the blue. Terra's ears flattened at the question. "I'm sorry, that was tactless." Terra looked up at him, right in his eyes.
"Don't worry about it. They're probably still there now. I hope." Terra stated. "There are people more powerful than me there after all." Terra mumbled in false hope. Sonic looked surprised at that information and went to hug her. She returned the hug and started to gently weep for her lost relatives on Sonic's shoulder. A few minutes later she picked her head off Sonic's now wet shoulder and stepped back, grabbing more to eat. "I'm sorry about that, I didn't had a chance to talk about it to anyone before that." Terra commented. Sonic shook his head at her.
"Don't be sorry. At least you're not alone now." Sonic told her as he came and hugged her from behind. Smiled and took a bite out of his piece of meat. "Oi!" Sonic exclaimed, spinning her round to see her looking at him with big 'forgive me' puppy dog eyes. Sonic just went into a grumbling rant that Terra couldn't quite catch and took a large chuck out his meat. Several minutes of silence later they had finished eating. "Well I took the saying by the horns and... Kicked it up the arse!" Sonic exclaimed happily.
"Normally the saying is cow and we ate that thing between us. You didn't eat it all by yourself." Terra stated as she cleared away the part of the carcass they didn't eat and placed it under a nearby tree. Terra turned to see Sonic with his ears flattened on his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to burst your bubble like that. I just do that sometimes, well most the time."
"I noticed... I think I sorta like it though babe." Sonic admitted as he blushed. Terra giggled at him.
"Did you really just call me that?" She asked him in a gob smacked voice. Sonic looked a bit shell shocked.
"Oh sorry! Don't you like being called that? I didn't really think!" Sonic stumbled over his own words. Terra smiled at him happily.
"It's not really your strong point is it?" Terra asked. Sonic just looked at her confused. "I don't mind you calling me that. As long as I can come up with a name for you as well... Sometime." Sonic smiled at her, before suddenly looking like he was irritated.
"Hey. Thinking is one of my strong points." Sonic commented defiantly, Terra smirked at him.
"Oh of course it is Hun." Terra commented as she hugged him and patted him on the back. "Now shall we leave? We've done what I brought you down for."
"To seduce me?" Sonic commented cheekily. Terra gave him a very dirty look.
"That is not why I brought you down here... Even if I was hoping..." Se trailed off before using her own power to make herself fly up towards the exit. "You coming blur?" Terra asked as she turned. Sonic leapt into the air and followed immediately after her. As soon as they were through the entrance Terra paused and looked at him. "I trust you remember the way?" Terra asked Sonic. Sonic nodded mutely. "Okay we can go through faster. Just be careful not to knock the side of the walls while you fly down or the boss will have my head if there's another cave in." Terra started flying at a fair speed for a none Hedgehog and after a time span of mere minutes they reached their destination. Terra released her dark super form and looked at Sonic. "I suggest you do the same." The brown Echidna looked at the blue Hedgehog and nodded. The both of them appeared in the dark room again. "Feel as awkward this time?" Terra asked cheekily.
"Definitely not." Sonic retorted, kissing her in the dark. The lights switched on and a rather irritated looking human glaring at him.
"What do you think you're doing?" The man asked angrily, glaring at Sonic. Sonic just looked at him blankly.
"Don't you know what kissing is?" He replied a bit too innocently making it seem like he actually meant the question rather than as just a sarcastic remark.
"Yes I know what it is! Why are you doing it to my Terra!?" He snapped hostilely.
"Well you see, when two peop- oomph. WhayaduinTerra?" Terra had clasped her hand over his mouth mid sentence.
"I'll be going out. I'll be back for my next shift!" She called out as she dragged him outside. The human just watched them both angrily.
"You best be!" The human cried out the door they left out of into the streets as he closed the door. Terra finally let go.
"Why did you do that Terra?" Sonic asked, confused. Terra looked down to the ground.
"Just don't mention what we did to him. Please?" Terra asked politely. Sonic nodded, though he didn't fully understand why.
"Why are there no people here?" Sonic asked looking round. He was used to the busy busy streets.
"Ah well, you see. This is what you'd call the 'rough area' so not many people dwell here if they can help it." Terra replied, looking back to the door that the human had retreated into.
"Hey Sonic!" A voice shouted from not too far away. Sonic quickly turned to see Amy.
"Amy! How have you been! I haven't seen you for weeks!" Sonic shouted in glee as they hugged each other. There was noticeable annoyance on Terra's face but she let it slide because the hug only lasted a second. She looked up at Shadow who was giving the two the same look and smirked.
"Long time no see... Shadow? Or was it Phantom?" Terra announced to Shadow, who looked up at her and seemed to finally realise who she was.
"You're that woman I fought with." Shadow stated.
"Way to state the obvious there Shadow." Amy's comment floated across making him glare at her. Shadow turned his attention to Sonic.
"We need to leave this city. We've already extended our welcome and the outside world could do with our help ridding of the doctor." Shadow stated, ignoring Terra's stare. "If you need to get anything sorted out before we leave I'd suggest you do it now rather than regret about it... Later." Shadow stated as he looked towards Terra, and Terra looked at him. "No, that would be silly. He needs that kind of thing." Terra crossed her arms and frowned. "Yes that's exactly what I'm suggesting." Terra looked at him concerned this time. "Ah... I see... Then you should probably tell him, he might be able to help." Shadow commented.
"Uh Shadow? Who you talking to?" Amy asked. Shadow grabbed both of them by the shoulders.
"Come on girls. We're going that all you can eat buffet nearby. My treat." Shadow announced as he steered them by the shoulders. Quickly glancing back at Terra and nodding.
"Sonic... I-" Terra mumbled.
"Come with us. Run away from the creepy human." Sonic stated. Terra looked down to her feet.
"I can't. I'm sort of... Bound to him." Terra stated, pulling up her jeans and ruffling the fur on her leg a bit to reveal what looked like a black tattoo round her leg.
"If it's some kind of dodgy thing I can get Tails to fix it. And if it's legally he probably can too..." Sonic expressed, desperate for her to understand that he could save her.
"No, it's not like that. It's a Chaos mark. I was without place to go in this city, no family, no money and he took me in. But first I had to pledge complete loyalty to him and perform a Chaos ritual that made me bound to him until he sees his debts as fulfilled." Terra stated, exasperated, tears starting to fill her eyes. Sonic walked up to her and pulled her chin up, making her look right into his eyes.
"I shall fix this." He simply said. Before walking into the door that they had walked out of. Terra waited as he entered. Sonic found himself face to face with the exact person he wanted to see the second he made it through the door. "I want you to release Terra." Sonic demanded. The human looked at him quite blandly.
"How much you offering?" The human asked as he sat down in a nearby chair, indicating the one on the opposite side of the table. Sonic remained where he was.
"I'd rather stand." Sonic stated.
"Suit yourself. Now I'll ask again. How much are you offering for my precious Terra?" The human asked. Sonic felt his rage peak at the way he worded himself, but Sonic kept his cool on his exterior.
"How much would you want for her?" Sonic asked. The human frowned and leaned back.
"Tell you what, I'm feeling generous. If you can come up with one million in two days you can have her." The human stated as he lit a cigarette.
"One million?!" Sonic chocked. The amount was more than he had ever seen, let alone ever had.
"I suppose it depends on how badly you want your girl." The human stated. "Every two days it'll go up by one million. Best get a move on!" He waved Sonic out his sight. Sonic left the building disheartened, but not without hope. He had heard Slayde had won a fair bit at the casino, and if he could just get some of it he could probably bet on himself in some fights. Terra ran up to him as soon as he made it out of the building.
"What did he say?" Terra asked. Sonic looked at her sadly.
"That I need to come up with one million in two days." Sonic announced dejectedly. Terra looked saddened "But I won't give up!"
"Don't worry about me Sonic, just go on your adventure. I knew what I was signing up for when we did what we did." Terra expressed with a sad look on her face. "I'll just go get to work." Terra made a beeline right for the door, but Sonic moved in the way.
"I will find the money." Sonic stated stubbornly, making Terra smiled.
"I hope so. Now I need to go until you do. See you soon, blur." Terra muttered sweetly as she walked through the doorway and closed the door behind her. Sonic's ears drooped. He wanted a goodbye kiss. Sonic turned from the door and started walking in the direction the others had left in.
"How do I make that kind of money?!" He exclaimed while walking down the street, suddenly he heard someone shouting him again. He looked over to see Amy standing in a doorway. Waving for him to come in. Sonic walked into the doorway and was greeted by one of the most versatile all you can eat restaurant he had ever seen! On the buffet table there were all sorts of delicacies coming from all over the world.
"Why so glum?" Amy asked as Sonic sat down with a plate full of food. Sonic however had just put something in his mouth with his fingers and started vigorously chewing.
"His girlfriend is bound to a man by laws more ancient than gravity itself." Shadow stated as he poked a squid looking thing. "Is this really edible?" Shadow asked Amy casually, Amy nodded. Sonic was looking at Shadow like he was insane. Sonic quickly swallowed what he was chewing making his eyes water.
"How the hell did you know that? I only just found out!" Sonic stated in irritation. Shadow slowly and carefully put the squid in his mouth and spat it out into the nearby bin. Before turning to Sonic as Amy rolled her eyes at him.
"Your girlfriend would appear to have some low level of telepathy. She can beam concentrated thoughts directly into someone's mind... Hmm... Wonder how much she can read... Anyway. She told me while I was having what seemed like a one sided conversation." Shadow commented as he picked up something that didn't looked remotely edible. "Amy? What the fuck is this?" Shadow commented as he held it in front of her.
"Oops! That was meant to be on my plate! I like trying new things unlike you Mr. grumpy gills." Amy retorted as she grabbed it off him and put it in her mouth. "Yum, not too bad."
"I think I'll take your word for it..." Shadow trailed off as he looked at her in amazement.
"Well I need to come up with a million rings. Any ideas?" Sonic stated, looking miserable.
"Oh, I made a million rings from five hundred before by betting on Shadow. Of course, they've edited the betting system now so it's much harder to do that. There are maximum bets depending on the ratio and person involved... You could ask Slayde. Last thing I knew he had about two or three million of his winnings from the casino left." Amy commented as she watched Shadow squeamishly wade through all of the food on his plate. "Shadow, you might be the ultimate life form but when it comes to trying new food you're just like every other guy." Amy pointed out, earning her a glare for Shadow and Sonic alike. Ebony giggled before the glares were turned to her and she put her head down and started eating again.
"So erm... Where is Slayde?" Sonic asked as he got another forkful and stuff it into his mouth. Amy looked to Shadow.
"Truth is we don't know. We left him at the hut we was training in to recuperate, but apparently he was well enough to fight his way back out of that beast infested forest. Ask Amy. She's the one who somehow worked out that you was here." Shadow stated as he pulled something out and grimaced at it before chewing rather noisily with a look of disgust on his face.
"Seriously Shadow, you're fine with eating a newly caught fish raw and yet you turn your nose up to what people spent decades perfecting." Amy commented. Sonic stared at her expectantly and she looked at him and frowned. "Sonic. My gut tells me he's with Rage. But how could he be? Rage is in an elite training environment where it's very hard to visit, let alone stay for a night! Either way though. We have an appointment to see Rage at 3 pm tomorrow. So we can ask him then."
"So... Wait?" Sonic asked in despair. Amy looked at him and rolled her eyes.
"I never said that. Stupid Hedgehog. No, go look! But if you can't find him or a way, there's a sliver of hope for you!" Sonic looked at Amy gob smacked. She'd never called him stupid before.
"Okay guys! I'm going to leave! Se you all tomorrow!" He shouted as he dashed out.
"Bye Blur." Shadow shouted at him, Sonic stuck his middle finger up while running. "Hehe." Shadow grinned as he turned back to his plate and sighed at the mound of strange food that awaited him.
Slayde could feel warmth and wetness round him. And something was clamped onto his face and was pushing breath into him. He opened one of his eyes in case the liquid he was in stung his eye, or worse. He found himself in a clear, blue tinted liquid. He instantly recognised what it was and opened his other eye. He could see people sitting round outside the tank, they were all talking and not looking towards him. He looked up looking for a way out, but it seemed that the top was sealed. He tapped on the glass and the person slowly turned round. Slayde rolled his eyes at the doctors slow reactions. The doctor, a yellow ferret, quickly dashed to the control panel and drained the liquid to let Slayde out. As soon as Slayde got out the tank he was swarmed by half of the medical team.
"You wasn't set to be conscious for two days!" The doctor commented loudly. "Yet there isn't a scratch on your body!" Slayde shooed away some of the people swarming him.
"How long have I been in there then?" Slayde questioned, keeping an eye those closer to him.
"Seven hours!" The doctor expressed in awe. Slayde nodded.
"Wow that stuff really does heal you fast. I didn't expect myself out for at least a day." Slayde commented as he started picking up and putting on his clothes that were left on the side.
"You can't leave yet! We need to examine what healed you so fast!" The doctor exclaimed. Slayde continued walking.
"I didn't ask to be brought here, so I shall not be allowing any experiments to be conducted on myself thank you." Slayde bluntly stated, and with that he exited the room.
"Onee-chan!" He heard to his left. Turning his head he saw Rage walking away from him, Prosha was tugging on Rage's arm and looking in his direction. Rage slowly turned and looked at Slayde in shock.
"Hey buddy! You wasn't meant to be unleashed on the world for two days!" Rage commented. "How come you're out so quick?" Rage questioned, his suspicious look coming out again.
"Apparently I'm made of tougher stuff than they thought." Slayde commented as he examined his the back of his hand while walking towards Rage.
"Is that another scar?" Rage asked as he pointed at the back of Slayde hand.
"Yeah, it is. It's shaped like a crescent moon." He said as he pointed to it with his left hand. "And this one is shaped like a bolt of lightning." He pointed to the back of his left hand with his right. "And you all know that this one simply looks like a claw mark." He stated as he pointed to the set over his left eye as he arrived next to them. "I'd rather not point out the other ones because it'd mean I'd have to undress again and I just got the clothes back on."
"You have more?!" Rage shouted in shock. Slayde nodded.
"I have seven, including these three." Slayde commented casually as they started walking down the corridor together. Rage looked at him gob smacked. "To be fair Rage, I could have gotten six of them before I even met you considering this is the first time you've seen me without gloves. I must say, I quite like it. May stay like this."
"Yes, but did you?" Rage retorted. Slayde paused for a while.
"No?" Slayde muttered in uncertainty. Rage smirked at him.
"Thought not." Rage commented cockily. Slayde stuck up his middle finger at him, which seemed surprisingly more effective without gloves. "The top guy, who has the most sway out of anyone else here, managed to get you suit constructed. God knows how he did it." Rage told Slayde as they walked, Slayde had no idea where they were going.
"His name is Aurthan Onee-chan. You're just jealous he's better than you." Prosha interjected in a happy voice. Rage looked at her with an irritated face.
"I am not jealous. If I was jealous of everyone stronger than me I'd also be jealous of Sonic, Shadow and even Slayde here. Not to mention several others in this group and even you with your stupid techniques." Rage retorted. Prosha blinked at him for a second.
"But you are jealous of Shadow, Slayde and me." Prosha stated innocently. Rage face palmed.
"Shut up... Please...?" Rage seethed, his urge to slam his head against the wall in frustration obvious.
"So where we heading now?" Slayde asked cutting across the very pleasant conversation while smirking at Rage. Rage frowned at him.
"We're heading to pick up that suit I was talking about." Rage stated. Rage pointed at the next door. "It's just in there." Rage pointed out as Slayde went on ahead and entered. The scientist looking Rabbit turned and looked at him. The Rabbit was snow white and was wearing a lab coat. One of his ears stuck up the other one was drooped.
"Ah it's you! You wasn't meant to be out-" The Rabbit started.
"For two days, I know. I've been told by everyone." Slayde finished for him, the Rabbit looked at him analytically for a second before laughing.
"You seem to know your stuff." He commented as he walked to the back of the room as if searching for something.
"I beg your pardon?" Slayde asked confused. The Rabbit looked up and stared at him for a second, a hard stare. Before turning back to what he was doing and talking.
"You're blocking me from being able to touch the surface of your mind. Blocking the deeper parts isn't much of a feat, as most people do it subconsciously. But blocking the types of thoughts that swim round and change so frequently is difficult. Very difficult. Most people just wear their hearts on their sleeves, so it's interesting to know what they're thinking. Plus most people's mental barriers are so weak I could break through them if I wanted t-aha! Found it." The Rabbit stood holding one of the suits that Rage was wearing. "It should be fit perfectly to your measurements. You'll need to let the psychic bond through if you want to control it properly though. One it's bonded with you it'll grow with you. It's a work of art to be honest, I'm glad I had a help in it before the creator died."
"What part did you help on?" Slayde asked as he took the suit from his hands. The rabbit looked at him amused.
"Can you not guess?" The Rabbit asked as he looked into Slayde's eyes.
"I think I can, yeah. Thanks for this." Slayde thanked as he walked outside the door.
"The one named Rage still hasn't given up on trying to find out who you are." The Rabbit called before Slayde opened the door. Slayde nodded before he exited.
"Got the suit now?" Rage asked as soon as he stepped outside. Slayde looked back at the Rabbit and half smiled, half smirked at him before the door closed.
"Yeah I have." Slayde replied. They started walking as Rage looked at him funnily and then whispered.
"That guy's a bit strange isn't he. It's like he can read your mind." Slayde look at Rage funnily.
"Erm, yeah... It does seem like that." Slayde commented before changing the subject. "Where do I get changed?" He asked Rage it was, however, Alpha who answered.
"We're just heading there now. Rage wants to perv on you as you get changed." Alpha commented casually. Rage glared at Alpha heavily.
"It's not like that and you know it." Rage shouted at Alpha before calming down. "I want to see those scars you were talking about." Rage commented, his anger still seeping through in his voice. Rage walked through a door and Alpha stood outside with Prosha. Slayde paused for a second before realising that this must be where they were talking about so he followed Rage in. The room was one big communal shower area, the area in the middle was covered in benches with a few lockers. Obviously to allowed people to shower without worrying about what they could lose. Slayde immediately took off his top and dumped it on one of the benches. He paused as his right hand traced something on his left shoulder. Rage looked at it intently. "Is that... A snowflake?" Rage questioned as he pointed pointlessly.
"Mmhmm." Slayde mumbled in reply as he started taking of his jeans. Rage looked to his right shoulder to see another scar.
"And that a sun?" Rage asked. Slayde nodded his head as he took off his boxer shorts. Rage shamelessly stood there staring at Slayde's scars as Slayde started to pull the suit onto his legs. "Where are the others then?" Slayde sighed and turned round slowly and Rage's eyes popped open. "That's a mountain! But what's the other..?" Rage trailed off as he tilted his head trying to get a better look at it.
"It's a gust of wind Rage. May I get changed in peace now?" Slayde questioned as he pulled the suit over his scars and put his arms in.
"What... Are they?" Rage asked in curiosity. Slayde rolled his eyes.
"Your education in Chaos is severely lacking. The ones on my body represent six of the seven elemental Chaos." Slayde informed as Rage gawped at him.
"What's the claw one over your eye?" Rage mentioned. Slayde's left hand snapped to his scar and touched the bottom of it, his eyes widened as he looked like he was thinking about something very important.
"I'd rather not talk about it to be honest Rage." Slayde commented as he let his hand drop. "Maybe some other time." Slayde added. Rage smiled and nodded. Slayde put his usual jeans and top back over the suit. "What do we do for fun round here then?" Slayde asked. Rage indicated the door and Slayde followed. They got out of the door to find that Prosha and Alpha had gone. "That's odd." Slayde commented, Rage's brow furrowed and he quickly ran off, forcing Slayde to run to keep up. "What's up?!" Slayde shouted to Rage.
"I think I know what's happened. I should never had let her out my sight!"Rage yelled back as they came round a corner to see Alpha being beaten up against a wall by the blue Echidna and Prosha being held by Scourge.
"I see you have arrived Rage." A yellow hedgehog announced as soon as the two came round the corner.
"Why are you doing this you bastards?" Rage roared. Dash smirked and swapped places with Scourge on holding Prosha.
"I think it's about time we settled this, don't you?" Scourge announced. Rage growled.
"How?" Rage asked rather harshly. Scourge smirked.
"Well you see. Each of the top three get to pick something that they want. Top wasted his on a special bacta tank, but I got myself my own room, specifically for me and my fights. We shall fight in there." Scourge explained before pointing to the door that was just next to them. Rage immediately went inside, as did Slayde. Scourge smirked and enter himself. "This entire room will go under the gravity, so I would not suggest anyone to come in here who cannot... handle it. Let's say, 25000?" Scourge asked smirking. He knew full well that Rage wouldn't be able to cope with that weight as he hadn't trained enough for it yet. Slayde silently sat down on the floor.
"Just get this started already." Rage growled angrily while cracking his knuckles. Scourge smirked as he flipped a switch on the control board which activated the room control for the gravity of the suits. The strain on Rage was obvious immediately, and although he had the Chaos energy to cope with the suit his body wasn't strong enough to take it so he fell to his knee.
"Wish to give in already?" Scourge mocked. Rage pulled himself to his feet with a look of fury in his eyes. Rage tried to charge at Scourge, but stumbled instead. Scourge was quickly at his side. "This really all you got?" He asked as he pushed him over, kicking him in the side of the head so hard he passed out. Slayde strolled over to Scourge and Rage, picking Rage off the ground and carrying him to the side. "What do you think you're doing?" Scourge snapped at Slayde. "I don't want to go near your pussy ass new guy."
"Would you class yourself as a bully?" Slayde asked as he walked back towards Scourge. Scourge looked at him like he was insane.
"What you talking about?"Scourge demanded, blatant confusion coming across in his voice.
"Because I would, you see. And it's not nice to bully." Slayde stated as he held himself in a defensive fighting stance. Scourge smirked at him.
"Ah, I see. So you, the new guy who has never used or likely even heard of these suits before today. Thinks that he is stronger than me? The third to top fighter?" Scourge mocked. Slayde just looked at him calmly. Scourge started laughing like a fool at Slayde. Slayde just frowned at him.
What's so funny?" Slayde asked while raising his eyebrow. Scourge stopped laughing and just smirked.
"I'll be right back." Scourge stated before leaving the room, as soon as he opened it the gravity returned to normal, Slayde went over to Rage to check how he was. Besides a small cut on the side of his head he was visibly fine, that and the unconsciousness of course. Scourge suddenly come bursting through the door again with people following him, including his gang that had hold of both Prosha and Alpha. They all went and lined up at the side of the wall with the door on it.. "If you could please move away from that wall new guy. I decided to get witnesses in so that people can laugh at you for how weak you are." Slayde just shrugged at him, making his temper flare. Scourge hit a few buttons and something clear and not unglass like descended from the ceiling separating the room into a tiny viewing area and almost full fighting area. "I guess if you're as tough as you say you are I'll just crank this right up to 29 thousand." He looked over to Slayde intimidatingly but found that Slayde was cleaning his claws. "Oi you! Pay attention while I gloat!" Slayde looked up slowly.
"Sorry, I was just getting bored of waiting for you to get this fight started." Slayde stated detachedly Scourge's eyes flared with rage as he flipped the gravity switch and started charging towards Slayde. Slayde looked up slowly and took the charge head on, stopping Scourge in his tracks. "That all you got?" Slayde questioned mockingly before pushing Scourge onto the floor. Slayde stood there and waited for him to get up.
"You cheeky little bastard, I'll deal with you." Scourge spat at him, Slayde just shrugged at him nonchalantly. Scourge threw a punch at Slayde's face which was caught by Slayde lazily. Slayde looked at the arm for a second before swiftly twisting it round. A loud crack was heard followed by a whine and harsh snarl as Scourge retreated, left arm limp. "You fucker! Ow, shit!" Scourge screamed as he clutch his forearm, part of it obviously broken.
"Next time... Don't under estimate someone you don't know." Slayde stated impassively as he walked towards the door, the sheet moving away almost knowingly as the gravity dropped to normal levels once again. He quickly stood next to Rage. "Could you tell your goons to let go of my friends?" Slayde asked, but no sooner than he had looked at them had they instantly released them in a form of natural reaction. The two seemed fine apart from minor injuries that looked like they had been gained in a small scrap. They both exited the door as Slayde picked up Rage and walked out with him.
Sonic was running round frantically, as had he been for hours, and it was now 2. It seemed that he would not possibly find the money unless he asked Slayde. Which he didn't really want to do. Being in some ones debt was never a good thing, and so much would be an impossible amount to get out of, even if he did have a feeling that Slayde would be sticking round for a long time. He had a possible half hour before the others were heading out of the city walls to wait to see Rage. He had tried a couple of casinos but all hedgehogs had been barred -no doubt Slayde's and Rage's fault- so he truly had no idea what to do. He looked down to what he had managed to collect from doing various odd jobs for people and frown at it. Three hundred rings was hardly going to cover the costs that he needed and without the money Terra was doomed to a lifetime of servitude. As she had been since coming to this damned city. Sonic sighed a heavy sigh. He honestly didn't know what to do anymore. Though he did realised he should probably find Shadow and Amy now just in case he couldn't find them before they left, yet at the same time he really didn't want to rely on people. His pride just wouldn't for allow it.
He was in a painful situation, so he sat down on a wall in front of one of the buildings to think.
"It's not like you to give up." A feminine voice came from behind him. He looked round to see a black version of Amy.
"Ebony right?" Sonic checked, she nodded. Sonic sighed as he played with a piece of paper in his pocket. "I know, but what can I do? There seems to be no way to make that kind of money that fast unless I go running round outside the city, and even then, searching for that many rings laying round would take several days if I did it none stop! I have little over a day to get the money to him, else it'll go up and up and up."
"You still shouldn't give up. From what I've heard, Slayde doesn't seem to care much for money. So providing he hasn't thrown it away already he'll give you it without wanting to be paid back." Ebony told him, Sonic didn't look convinced.
"Even if he didn't, I would feel honour bound to pay him back somehow. So I just, don't know what to do..." Sonic trailed off. Ebony looked at the blue Hedgehog sadly.
"If you don't accept it you may end up regretting it. Just come and talk to him when we go to see Rage later." Ebony requested. Sonic looked up to the artificial sky.
"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Sonic agreed before looking down at her, he then gave her a puzzled look. "What makes you so confident that he's there?" Sonic questioned her. Ebony shrugged and smiled at him.
"Because Amy said that he would be." She replied simply. It wasn't really logic you could argue with for some reason.
"Where are those other two anyway?" Sonic asked, looking round briefly for the two, whom seemed to be nowhere in sight.
"Oh, they're on one of the tallest buildings, Shadow's trying to improve her sense of balance by making her run round the edge..." Ebony explained slightly awkwardly because even she knew that Shadow's training methods were weird. Ebony looked over to the outskirts of town. "We'll be leaving soon." She stated before melding with the crowd and walking towards the outskirts. Sonic continued sitting on the wall, staring into the crowd where she had vanished for about five minutes before he caught himself daydreaming about Terra and what they did. He pulled an envelope out his pocket and looked at the writing that had been scrawled on the front before stuffing it back into his pocket.
"There's still hope." He told himself as he jumped off the wall and walked through the crowd, trying to catch up with Ebony.
"Shadow, I'm glad that you helped get my balance and centre of gravity better, but did we really have to do it like that?" Amy asked, worry in her eyes.
"Come now Rose, we both know that if you fell you wouldn't be hurt anyway. I'd have caught you." Shadow told her. Amy sighed, he had made her jump at the end anyway.
"Yes I know, and you did catch me when we got close to the ground. But you could have got me sooner." She half scolded him. The two were now roof hoping in the suburban district. The buildings were small enough here that Amy had no problem falling and catching herself, though the fall would still kill a normal person.
"Maybe, but then you wouldn't have been able to appreciate the full free fall." Shadow replied calmly. Amy had stopped bothering trying to argue when Shadow had a reason for doing something, even if it was a stupid reason. It was like talking to a brick wall.
"We're not far from the edge of the city are we?" Amy questioned. Shadow shook his head, they were heading East, towards the gate. "Oh yeah, the meeting with Rage. I had lost track of time." Amy stated, continuing her run with Shadow.
"Now to find out is Slayde is there." Shadow stated before he accelerated, Amy barely keeping up.
"Ebony! Sonic!" Amy called out as her and Shadow approached. "You're here already!" She mentioned.
"Yeah, was starting to lose hope, but Ebony set me straight." He looked to Shadow as if that meant something, causing Amy to raise her eyebrow at the two of them in suspicion. "Now I take it we need to leave today?" Sonic asked. Shadow nodded. "Then I best hope Slayde is here, or I'm screwed." Sonic put it simply. Shadow looked at his hand moving round in his pocket, playing with something, and smirked.
"Okay, ten minutes to go." Shadow stated, walking towards the guard house. Noises could be heard but no words be made out from where the group was standing. "Okay, good!" Shadow called behind him as he exited the hut. The gates started to move open slowly. "Come on everyone." Shadow ordered as they walked out into the rain, for it had once again started. Seemed the pollution of the planet was simply too much. They had to stop it from continuing.
"How did you get them to open the door?" Sonic asked, he was surprised they let people out so easily. Shadow pulled out a piece of paper.
"I have permission card from Tails to leave and enter at any time, gate and with whomever I want. I'm surprised you don't have one." Shadow informed him, giving him a suspicious look.
"Well I might be, just might, supposed to be in a hospital bed right now..." Sonic trailed off with a grin. "Funny how things like that can skip your mind." Sonic chuckled, Shadow gave him the hint of an approving look. Amy however didn't look impressed.
"Sonic! What if they needed you in there for longer to monitor things or something?!" She shouted at him. Sonic's ears folded back.
"Rose, just leave him. He's obviously fine if he can run round like a fool in love. Wait did I say like? I meant since he is running round because he is a fool in love." Shadow announced with a grin, earning a glare off Sonic. Amy sighed, not bothering to argue again. The group looked up to see a several metal buildings not too far away. It looked like a town of metal.
"Our destination?" Sonic asked. Amy nodded to him, Shadow was too far ahead to talk to. It took them a minute or so to make it to the small base. The door was open, and they headed straight inside out the rain.
The place was busier than imagined, various Mobians running this way and that, trying to reach somewhere or another. A familiar battle scarred grey Wolf appeared, everyone seemed to be giving him a wide birth as they ran by. "Ah, so you all came. This way if you please." He asked them. They all followed behind him, none of them getting hit by the passing crowd, presumably because they were with who Shadow could only guess was either the head of the place or the strongest one there. He led them to a room that no one seemed to be entering or leaving. His hand was scanned at the door allowing the door to open. Inside were several people, three of them were scientists, but sitting down there was also a small Hedgehog, a young grey Wolf, Rage, and of course Slayde. "There you go." He commented as he left the room, leaving them inside.
"Yo." Slayde stated, Amy walked up to him slowly and slapped him, leaving him rubbing his cheek.
"Don't you dare 'yo' me! I've been worried sick! Where the hell were you when we got back? How on Mobius did you get here?!" Amy scolded, Slayde flattened his ears and looked quite 'cute'.
"Shadow, could you please tell your girlfriend to stop shouting at me." Slayde muttered. Amy stopped immediately and went red. Shadow however just looked at him.
"She is my apprentice and good friend Hedgehog. Nothing more, nothing less." Shadow replied. "But she does have a point. How did you get here?"
"Well you guys just vanished, so I thought I'd come and see my good friend Rage here. Anyway, you don't seem too surprised that I'm here. So either I'm predictable or Amy's getting stronger faster than she should be..." Slayde mumbled the last bit so no one except Shadow and himself heard it, though Rage looked at him curiously. Shadow gave him a look that quite obviously meant 'we need to talk later'. Slayde subtly nodded to him.
"You're just predictable." Rage commented, Slayde completely ignored him.
"So what brings you here on this rainy afternoon?" Slayde asked.
"I think Sonic should go first." Shadow announced, pushing him forwards. Sonic stumbled and fell flat on his face, earning a snigger from more than one person in the room. He quickly stood up and glared at Shadow. "It wasn't just me." He told him as he folded his arms. "Get on with it."
"I need to borrow some money." Sonic mumbled to Slayde. Slayde nodded.
"Sure how much?" He asked as he started pulling money out.
"A million rings..." Sonic trailed off. Slayde didn't even blink as he stuck his hand out, full of notes.
"There you go." Slayde motioned. Sonic just stood there staring at the money.
"As simple as that?" Sonic asked. Slayde laughed at him, standing up, he placed the money into Sonic's hand.
"Of course as simple as that. Who needs money anyway?" Slayde commented as he sat back down. Sonic looked confused, yet very very happy.
"Thanks a-!" Sonic started before Slayde cut across, a slightly irritated look on his face.
"No need, just go and take it to whatever you need it for, and make it fast. I presume we're leaving soon." Slayde mentioned, a look of realisation appeared on Sonic's face as he zoomed out of the facility. Everyone was quiet for a few seconds, the noises of the scientists in the background.
"You are of course correct." Shadow stated. "We need to leave soon, otherwise we may end up staying even longer and realistically we need to get to work on restoring all of the stuff that the Doctor has destroyed."
"Something seems wrong though. Why is Sonic in such a panic to swallow his pride? Is there a girl involved?" Slayde asked, there was shuffling in the room as Amy crossed her arms and Rage crossed his legs, then Shadow smirked. "I hit the nail on the head, didn't I?"
"Pretty much." Shadow confirmed, nodding, smirk still on his muzzle.
"Men have an awful lot of pride but they are forever being taken in by lust." Slayde mumbled like it was an old saying. "Now then! I guess we're leaving as soon as possible?" Slayde stated as he rubbed his hands together, strolling forwards into the middle of the three. "Good thing I've got provision ready then." He mentioned casually as he place a hand on Shadow's shoulder and the other hand on Amy's shoulder.
"You've what?" Shadow questioned as he shrugged the annoying Hedgehog off his shoulder. Slayde and Rage smirked.
"We know that we'd be leaving soon so me and Rage managed to get it arranged with this lot here." Slayde answered as he indicated the building round him. "They're really quite nice people once you get to know them."
"You've been here a few hours." Shadow pointed out, Slayde laughed.
"Rage hasn't." Slayde said simply, nodding towards the Hedgehog in question, who smiled and waved. A look of annoyance with a hint of gratitude appeared on Shadow's face. "Besides that I beat their third strongest fighter, so I was granted something that I wanted."
"Fair enough. I do know that we need it anyway. I was planning on asking Tails right after seeing you. So I guess you've saved me a trip. I thank you." Shadow commented appreciatively, Slayde nodded in return.
"So then! We need to get Prosha in bed. Alpha, you keep an eye on her. The rest of us need to get ready. Sonic will be back in a few minutes if he continues to live up to his name. It's best to leave before anything else tries to stop us!" Slayde announced, speaking really quite fast as he walked back to the table and sat on it, he turned back to see Amy and Shadow looking at him. In fact all eyes were on Slayde. "What?"
"Don't you think you should go and say goodbye?" Rage asked him, hand on his shoulder. Slayde paused. Then sighed.
"I'm no good with goodbyes..." Slayde mumbled, pulling Rage's hand off his shoulder.
"Then maybe it's time to change that." Shadow cut in. Causing Slayde to look up at him in surprise before he sighed.
"You're both right of course. See you in a minute." Slayde told them as he built power up. Rage grabbed his shoulder.
"You can't teleport back in!" He shouted in worry. Slayde rolled his eyes and Shadow looked at Rage as if he were stupid.
"The shield makes you have to use ten times more energy to teleport in, or out for that matter. Meaning that you have to picture going ten time the distance, but! If moving ten times the distance lays outside the bubble then you will simple end up there anyway. Incredible mechanism makes it so you can only get in if ten time the distance to get in is also within the bubble. We're two kilometres away from the bubble, and the bubble is thirty two kilometres big. Therefore if I wish to get within the bubble I have to teleport slightly over twenty kilometres away. So if I go thirty to be safe, I'll be round about one kilometre inside the bubble. Now then. Chaos Control!" Slayde shouted, before Rage could try and stop him again, disappearing in a flash of yellow.
"Isn't Chaos Control normally green?" Amy questioned, staring at the spot that Slayde had just vanished from. Shadow chuckled causing everyone in the room to fall silent, even the scientists who could simply tell that was odd.
"No, no, not at all! It's normally green for me simply because I have overused the green Chaos Emerald and it just sort of stuck. Call it a slight taint or 'stain' on my energy if you will." Shadow explained. Amy nodded in understanding, no one else seemed to have the foggiest but were all nodding and smiling anyway. Shadow rolled his eyes at them all. "I'm not in the mood for explanations beyond that." He told them all causing slight looks of disappointment and also making the scientists get back to whatever the hell they were doing in a room full of random people and a bacta tank full of, well..., bacta.
"So if we're all ready to leave, that just leaves those two to get back." Rage commented, Prosha gave him a stern look.
"You're not leaving me behind are you?" She asked in the cutest voice she could manage.
"Yes." Rage muttered as harshly as he could manage, and although his reluctance and sadness betrayed him to the adults in the room Prosha stood up in a huff, not old enough yet to see through such an obvious attempt at deceit.
"Fine then!" She shouted as she stormed out of the room. Alpha in toe, just before he left however he commented.
"Don't you think that was a little too much?" He asked as he disappeared round the door. Rage sighed as he let go of the breath he wasn't even aware he had been holding.
"And you told Slayde off for being bad at goodbyes." Shadow commented, the black and blue Hedgehog ignored him, looking at his feet. After a minute of silence he shrugged.
"I'm a hypocrite, so sue me." He finally replied. Shadow just stood there, arms folded.
"That was seriously the best you could come up with in all that time?" Shadow asked him in a slightly amused voice. Rage shrugged again. Obviously not in the mood to talk.
"Shadow, just leave him." Amy told him as she put her hand on his shoulder, he turned to her and looked her in the eye. After a second he nodded and started walking out the door.
"Come on you two, we're going to go and check that we have everything we'll be needing." Shadow commanded as he walked out the door. Amy and Ebony followed almost immediately after, but not before Amy gave Rage an apologetic look. Rage sat in silence for several minutes while the scientists worked on their research behind him. He let off one more sigh.
Slayde reappeared in another flash of yellow in front of a familiar house. He stared at the door for a little while, unsure about whether this was such a good idea or not. Slowly he walked to the door, placing his hand at a poise ready to knock. He then realised he could hear voices from inside, frowning, he pressed his ear against the door. Slayde was pretty sure that he recognised the voice, yet for some reason just couldn't place it, raising an eyebrow as he pulled away he knocked on the door, a fuss was made inside before the door opened about a minute later.
"Oh, it's you! Thank god for that." Eleanor told him as she opened the door fully. "I'll go make tea!" She announced merrily as Slayde peered at the sofa to see Tails sitting there.
"Hey Slayde." The Fox stated casually. Slayde looked at him gob smacked.
"Should you really be making house calls like this? If someone hostile towards you saw you come in they might attack the house!" Slayde scolded him. Tails looked at him awkwardly.
"Well I really needed to give you something. Just in case all else fails." Tails informed him. Slayde's curiosity had now peaked as he looked at Tails with interest.
"And what would that be Tails?" Slayde asked. The two tailed Fox quickly pulled out a rucksack from next to him, and out of it he pulled a machine.
"I presume you know what it is?" Tails questioned him, Slayde motioned him to pass it to him. After a few seconds of careful observation Slayde nodded.
"Yeah, I know what this is." He replied as he passed it back. "How did you manage to get one? Did you build it?" The Hedgehog asked him as he watched Tails put it back into his bag.
"Yeah, I did. I found some old plans within some of my old vaults that never came to fruitation. After learning a bit more about the Chaos Emeralds from making not just one, but two fake ones I managed to find a way to do it. Though I can't be completely sure how it will work, I am confident that it shall." Tails informed the Hedgehog. Slayde nodded.
"What's it being powered by? Something like this won't work without a power source related." Slayde asked, the two tailed Fox looked awkward.
"You probably know what it's powered by. The last one left." Tails replied to him, Slayde nodded again.
"Yes, I did feel some sense of belonging... Yet I think the big question is why are you giving it to me rather than Sonic." Slayde asked him. The Fox looked away awkwardly before sighing.
"Well there are two reasons. The first being that Sonic's walking down a dangerous path, and I don't know where it's going to lead him." Slayde nodded, fully appreciative of his position in that matter, despite the fact that he was sure that Sonic would find his way in the end. "And the other is that I doubt he would even know what it is anyway. I've heard things about you, you're almost as smart as Shadow. Which takes some doing." Tails gave his answers. Slayde looked at the Kitsune, troubled.
"Why did you not ask Shadow?" Slayde questioned rather more abruptly, causing Tails to frown.
"I don't trust him still." The Kitsune replied simply. Slayde could hardly argue with that, yet it still didn't make complete sense.
"You trust me more, or you trust him less?" Slayde asked curiously, Eleanor had come back and was looking at Slayde confused.
"What do you mean Slayde? They're the same thing." The Rabbit asked, Slayde continued looking at the quiet Kitsune.
"He knows what I mean, because they are not." Slayde told her. "Which is it?" He asked again. "I'm not bothered, I just want to know." He added.
"I trust him less." Tails finally replied. "You have given me no reason to trust you, but neither have you given me a reason to distrust you. Take this as a chance to prove yourself if you wish." Slayde nodded.
"I thought so. I'll keep it safe and not tell anyone about it unless the time is right." Slayde promised him. Tails seemed a little reluctant to give it up now however. "You have my word Tails." Slayde added as he held his left hand out. Tails stood and gave him the bag and its contents.
"Thank you for the hospitality Eleanor. But I'm afraid I've over stayed my welcome." Tails told her as he pulled on a cloak and opened the door. He took one last look at Slayde before he walked out of the door.
"I made him a cup and everything." She mumbled to Slayde.
"Don't mind him, he's a busy man." Slayde reassured her. "Now I'm afraid that I've got bad news." Slayde started.
Sonic stood in front of the familiar door, money in hand. He had no need to hesitate and yet he was. Which was simply because Sonic suspected that the human would not hold up his end of the bargain. He walked in and saw the human sitting there, smug as ever.
"Given up already? I expected more of a Hedgehog." The human commented to Sonic. Sonic just slammed his money onto the table.
"You'll find it's all there." Sonic told him bluntly. The human raised his eyebrow at him, immediately he grabbed it and started counting, he was done after just a few minutes.
"This isn't possible, it has to be some kind of trick." The human denied, looking at the Hedgehog with hostility.
"And yet there it all is, clear as day." Sonic stated, hitting his finger onto the table on each syllable of 'clear as day', getting slightly annoyed.
"No, she's mine. She's my best worker. I shall not give her to anyone." The human shouted. "And out of all of them, she's the best in the other areas too." He taunted. Sonic slammed his fists onto the table in rage, causing it to break in half.
"You shall release her and keep your word. Or I swear..." Sonic trailed off, he could feel dark energy seeping through his pores, trying to cling to his fur once again.
"You'll do what you scum? There's nothing you can do." The human retaliated. Sonic sighed a breath of pure anger and walked out the room. Sonic knew that this would happen as he pulled out an envelope. He looked at the envelope that Shadow had passed him under the table labelled 'In case you feel there's no hope.' Sonic had presumed it was something dark, otherwise he would have said it in front of Amy. Slowly he opened the letter and folded it open.
'If you're reading this, Sonic, it either means that you failed to get the money together, failed to swallow your pride and ask Slayde, or the one I'm hoping it isn't, the human broke his word. What I've wrote in here, is a last ditch move that you should only use if there are no other options.
The laws of Chaos are picky, but very very binding. If he won't release her willingly you can't force him to either. However, and this is a dangerous path that even I would avoid, if you are to kill him then you shall inherit all of the people bound to him, every single one of them will be ready at your command. Unfortunately, if you inherit them this way, you cannot release them, as such you will also gain control of their children, and maybe even their children, then they will all be bound to you for as long as you live until they are finally passed to whomever you leave them to upon your death. Only then, through that kind of passing on will they able to be released.
I tell you this only because you are not an evil person, and even if you suddenly found yourself with thousands of people at your every whim you would still do the right thing.
I hope I did not give my hard earned faith to the wrong person.
Good luck faker.'
Sonic let off a small smile. Shadow really isn't as bad as everyone says he is. He turned back with renown vigour, as his fur coat turned black and he opened the door again with a malicious grin.
"Breaking your word? I didn't expect anything less of a human..." Sonic trailed off as the door shut slowly to screaming.
"I think I'm actually going to miss this place." Terra stated as they all finished the loading up of the cart. Sonic looked back to it.
"I don't think I am." He returned, the Hedgehog seemed to be really quite cheerful, suddenly Shadow came up to him and pulled him aside by his arm. Terra just stood there and watched, bemused.
"I was wondering if you had to use the note?" He whispered in quite a serious tone, Sonic looked slightly disappointed.
"Yes, I did. It was for the third reason that you guessed." Sonic muttered back, quite annoyed that things didn't turn out differently.
"Ah, so the best reason then." Shadow replied, the blue Hedgehog looked at him confused.
"But you said that was the reason that you hoped it wasn't." Sonic stated, confused. Shadow nodded.
"Yes, because it means that my lack of faith in humankind was correct, as always, but it was the best for you because it meant that you had to have either found the money yourself, which would help you with true appreciation, or that you swallowed your pride and allowed Slayde to give you the money. Making you a better person indirectly either way. Just opening it right away wouldn't have given you either of those experiences." Shadow explained, Sonic nodded slowly, half getting it.
"So basically you think that I opened the envelope for the right reasons at the right time?" Sonic clarified. Shadow smirked and nodded before walking back to the group. Sonic smiled to himself as he walked back to Terra.
The lot of them took one last look to the city that they had been staying in, some longer than others.
"See you Aragot." Slayde shouted as the lot of them started walking. "Ready for an adventure guys? I sure am." He told them merrily as he went jogging ahead.
"This chassis is made of Chaosanium right?" Rage asked mischievously as he pulled the cart along.
"Yeah, and the wheels." Terra replied, quickly looking them over.
"Then I'm not getting left behind!" He called out as he sped up with the cart, running after Slayde faster than any Mobian-made land vehicle would be able to.
"Those idiots doesn't even know where they're going." Shadow commented at the trail of dust, this side of the city seemed particularly dry considering the clouds.
"Do any of us?" Amy asked, shrugging, as she ran after the two, Ebony in toe.
"She has a point there you know." Sonic commented as he sped up holding hands with Terra. Shadow sighed and looked round, just him and the air. He rolled his eyes before letting off a slight smirk and running after them.