Wheee! I've got inspiration!
I bet you're all thinking, "It's about time, you weirdo!"
And you'd be right. About taking too long, I mean. Not about being a weirdo.
...just kidding, I AM a weirdo.
- Hazard Island -
Later that night, Amy sat alone in her cabin on her comfy couch. She was reading some random book she had propped up on her crossed legs. A lamp sat on a dresser beside her, shining dimly. It was about 10:00pm, Sonic had left her about two hours ago with the promise of coming back over in the morning and since she found herself unable to sleep for some very odd reason, she had decided to see if reading a good book would tucker her out. Two hours later...and she was still awake. Effective theory, eh?
A sudden creak in the dark caught Amy's attention. She set her book down beside her, her green eyes scanning the living room.
"Who's there?" she demanded.
There was no answer, so Amy decided it was just the faulty cabin structure and went back to her book. However, she then heard the door creaking open and jumped with fright. She hopped off the couch, crushing a pillow to her chest. The wary hedgehog flicked her free wrist and her huge hammer appeared in her grasp. She pointed it in the direction of the disturbing noise with one, trembling hand.
"Who's THERE?!" Amy yelled again, attempting confidence. "Show yourself! I have a hammer and I am NOT afraid to use it, buster!"
The lights shut off.
"Oh my go-" Amy's sentence was cut off when her legs backed up into the arm of her couch and she fell over it, her back sinking into the couch. When she looked up, a shadow was crawling along the floor from the outdoors, ominously entering the house. It seemed to sink into the darkness that the now dead lamp had created.
Amy scooted back in a panic until her shoulders jammed into the opposite arm of the couch. She held out her hammer again, shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. "Stay back!" she screamed. "I'm warning you!"
The shadow slid across the rug, reminding Amy of a snake searching for its prey. It touched the couch and, although Amy couldn't see it in the darkness, it was headed straight for her.
As if sensing the shadow, Amy rolled off the couch onto the floor and ran over to the door, slamming it shut, still thinking nothing was inside her house. After all, she hadn't seen anything come inside. She'd only seen a shadow, and who was afraid of a lousy shadow? Not Amy. Unfortunately, it wasn't just a lousy shadow...
Breathing hard, Amy staggered into the kitchen, grabbing a handful of candles and striking a match, lighting them one by one. A warm glow danced across her pale face. But the shadow wasn't finished. Now that the light was back on, you could see it wasn't just a shadow either. It was a spirit; the same weird spirit that had tried to grab her earlier, and if Amy had turned around, she would have seen it and probably made a run for it.
But Amy didn't turn around right then. She was too busy trying to bring light back into the house to ease her fright. But when she felt the feel of a hand on her shoulder...THAT'S when she turned and saw what had broke into her house. Amy screamed.
"Who are you?!" the pink hedgehog gasped, backing into the counter out of shock.
"I am Spirit," the spirit hissed. "And I'm here to take you overrr..."
"Take me...over?" Amy echoed, confused. "Is that proper English?"
"Booooo...," Spirit booed, flailing its spirit-y arms.
Amy raised an eyebrow. "That's not scary," she huffed, crossing her arms stubbornly.
"Oh yeah?" Spirit growled, annoyed. "Well, how about THIS?!" It thrashed around like it was having a seizure.
"Well, I have to admire your spirit...but that's just about all I admire...," Amy said dully, inwardly smirking at her wit.
"Ooooh...I see what you there," it pouted. "You think you're soooo punny."
"I am," Amy grinned proudly, sticking out her tongue. "And sorry you can't scare me, but I'm just not afraid of ghosts."
"Really now," Spirit drawled out, a mischievous smile beginning to form. "Allow me to change that for you." The spirit grabbed Amy by her shoulders.
"WHAT do you think you're doing?!" Amy roared furiously, struggling against the ghost's iron grip. "Hands off the material, you translucent freak! How can you even touch me?! You're dead!"
Rather then answering, Spirit opened its mouth and a horrible, bone-chilling laughter erupted from its nonexistent throat. Amy felt her own mouth being forced open by some unknown force and then it almost seemed like Spirit's laughter was escaping the ghost's mouth in the form of an odd fog. The fog hovered in between the ghost and the hedgehog for half a second before it plunged into Amy's mouth.
Amy choked on the fog immediately, trying to spit it up and out, but Spirit wouldn't let her. Her head was spinning from the stress of it all, and right before her vision went black, she heard Spirit's voice in her head:
"I said I was going to take over you, didn't I?"
...xxx...xxx...
Amy woke up the next morning lying on her doorstep. Everything was fuzzy and felt weird, like her whole body was numb. There was an odd buzzing in her large pink ears. She wanted to move, but the numbness made her feel weak and helpless. Whenever she opened her eyes, the brightness of the sun hurt her head, so she kept her eyes closed.
Amy felt something shaking her. The feel of two, warm hands on her back, rattling her body, felt so distant. It was almost rocking her to sleep. Just as she was about to settle into the comfort of slumberland, a vague voice caught her attention. The voice sounded like an echo rumbling from behind a mountain and she winced. Voices, buzzing, rattling, numbness...just make it all stop! After a few seconds of trying, once again, to push the disturbances to the back of her mind so she could slip back into unconsciousness, and failing...Amy decided to see if she could make out what the voice was saying. As she listened, she heard, at first, a far off mumbling. But the longer it took, the more clear the voice became until finally it took on words.
"Amy!" it cried. "Amy, wake up! Please, gah, Amy...wake up! For the love of Mobius!"
Something was familiar about that voice. For one thing, it was definitely not a girl. Who was on this island that wasn't a girl? Amy's head throbbed from thinking so hard. Sonic...Knuckles...Shadow...Tails...Eggman...? Was Eggman on the island. Oh gah, the thinking was hurting her brain.
Meanwhile, the voice was letting out a pitiful cry.
"Amy...jeez...I love you," it begged. "Please...don't...don't...augh, Amy...don't leave me!"
"I love you," he'd said. That narrowed it down. Only one Mobian on the PLANET told her he loved her, and that was Sonic.
Of course it was Sonic! He had said he would come back in the morning, hadn't he? Sonic wasn't one to back out on his word (often). Man, she was slow. She just wished she could open her eyes, or her mouth, so she could convince him she was alright. She hated it when he worried, because usually he was wayyy too hard on himself. Even over situations he had no control over and didn't involve him at all.
Gah. Amy wanted so much to have the strength to speak. She just wanted to talk to him, to tell him the words swirling around in her pain-filled head. "I'm not dying, don't freak out." "I love you, too." "I'm fine, Sonic. Really." "I was molested by a ghost last night." "Please get me off the doorstep, it's dirty." But she barely felt like she could even lift a finger, much less open her mouth. so instead of telling him of any of this, she let out a sad moan from inside her closed mouth to let him know she was alive. After all, that was all she had the strength to do.
A soft hand reached its way under her stomach, the other still on her back. Carefully, she felt Sonic turning her over onto her back, and then shifting his hand from her stomach to beneath her knees so he could lift her off the ground. When she felt herself being taken off the ground, she silently thanked Sonic for getting her off the dirty steps of her cabin.
At least, she hoped it was her cabin.
She wasn't jostled the whole walk over to wherever Sonic was taking her. When they got there, she heard a door open, followed by Tails' voice (her head was clearing to the point where she could recognize voices). Then she heard Sonic's, telling Tails about her predicament. Cream was apparently there, too, since she heard the squeaky, high-pitched, worry-edged voice of the little rabbit as Amy was carried inside. She felt herself being laid down on something comfy, probably Tails' couch.
"Amy, can you hear us?" Tails asked.
"Amy?" Cream whimpered. "Amy? Are you there?"
She didn't hear Sonic say anything, but judging from the fact that she no longer saw red behind her eyelids, but a cool gray, the room's lighting was dim. It was safe to open her eyes. Amy's eyelids fluttered as she cautiously tested the lighting, and then they opened, but only halfway. She realized she was lying, not straight like an arrow, but with her legs bent, one lying on the other, and one arm resting casually over her stomach and the other dangling off the end of the couch. She was slightly angles away from the couch, so she saw the room and not the ceiling. Tails and Cream were kneeling before her, concern dancing around in their blue and brown eyes. Both fox and rabbit brightened up considerably at the sight of her waking up.
But where was Sonic?
Amy's eyes scanned the room for him and finally she saw him sitting in a chair at the dining room table, his head resting in her hands. He looked devastated, and it broke her heart. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but nothing came out.
Cream spoke instead. "Amy!" she squealed, relieved beyond belief. She threw herself into Amy's arms, clutching her so tight, all the breath was squeezed out of Amy's chest. Amy found her voice.
"Cream...," she gasped, wheezing. "Need...to...breathe..."
Sonic's head lifted from his hands at the sound of her voice. As soon as his eyes met Amy's, a huge smile broke across his face. Cream tore herself away from Amy to hug Tails right at that moment, and Sonic took advantage of it, rushing over and wrapping his arms around his body.
"Amy...jeez!" he cried happily. "I was so worried!"
Amy giggled, hugging him back. "Sorry for worrying you," she apologized. I honestly don't know what happened."
Sonic kissed her cheek with much enthusiasm. "Well, whatever happened, I'm glad you're okay!" He helped her off the couch so she could stand on her feet. "Don't you remember anything though? Anything at all?"
Amy's mind drifted back to the night before. What had happened that night? Had she really met a ghost, or had it been some crazy, whacked-up dream? If it had just been a dream, then there was no point in saying anything and worrying everyone just after the last crisis ended. For cripes sake, Knuckles almost DIED. Amy decided she would keep her mouth shut for the moment.
"Not really...," she mumbled, looking at the wall behind him.
Sonic squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "Well, whatever happened, let's hope it doesn't happen again," he said, smiling. Amy blushed.
Suddenly, Knuckles burst though the front door, his eyes wild. "GUYS! COME QUICK IT'S AN EMERGENCY!" he yelled, freaked.
"What's wrong, Knuckles?" Tails asked, his tone sounded concerned.
Knuckles grabbed Tails by the shoulders and started shaking him violently. "ROUGEWASATTACKEDLASTNIGHTWEGOTTAHURRY!" he babbled, all his words slurring together so that nobody could understand him.
Tails' eyes were rolling around in his head. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sonic said, holding out his hands. "Slow down, Knuxter! What happened?"
Taking a deep breath, Knuckles composed himself. "Rouge was attacked last night!" he said, shuddering. "Come on! We have to help her!"
"WHAT?!" Amy shrieked. "Rouge was-?" She didn't finish her sentence, but instead pushed her way past her friends, making a beeline for the door. Halfway there, she stumbled from her instability. She would have fallen to the floor, but Sonic caught her before she did, helped her maintain herself, and since he knew she didn't want to waste any time, sped her all the way to Rouge's cabin. When they got there, the door was open, so they rushed inside without knocking.
Sonic placed Amy on her feet once they were through the doorway and then Knuckles came up behind her, grabbed her arm, and dragged her all the way into Rouge's bedroom. He was saying something about a bag and a rope, but Amy was too panicked to really pay any attention. Everything was going so slowly, like time was being affected by chaos control. They got to Rouge's bedroom, and the moment Amy's eyes found the bat, she shrieked.
Rouge was lying on the bed, on her stomach like she had collapsed there. There were bruises all up her arms and she had a black eye and bloody lip. Beside the bed was a chair with rope hanging loosely around it. A bag lay on the floor and the room was trashed.
Amy stumbled over to Rouge's limp body, gripping the bed for support. "Rouge, what HAPPENED?!"
Rouge coughed turbulently. "No idea, sugar," she whispered hoarsely. "All I know is I was on my way to bed when something really heavy hit me in the back of the head. Next thing I know, I 'm waking up in a chair, tied up, gagged, and Knuckles is frantically pulling a bag off my head."
Knuckles huffed. "If I ever find who did this...," he growled.
"Did you see anything?" Amy asked.
"Nah," he frowned. "Not really. I know if I hadn't shown up when I did, Rouge would have probably died or somethin' because I saw someone jumping out the window when I opened the door, like I'd caused them to run off."
"What did you see? Who was it?" Amy pestered, slightly unnerved.
Knuckles shrugged. "Dunno. I wasn't really looking. I was more interested in saving Rouge before the bag suffocated her." He took Rouge's hand and helped her sit up.
Amy got to her feet. "I think I'm gonna go home now...," she stated, her eyes blank.
Sonic turned to her, his brow creased with concern. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Amy reassured him. "I just need to...go get my first aid kit so I can tend to Rouge's injuries. I'll be back in a little bit. You can come over later if you want."
"Sure!" Sonic grinned jovially. "I'm visiting Tails today, so I'll visit you after I leave."
"Cool," Amy nodded. "Call me when you're coming. Love ya!" She rushed out of the house.
...xxx...xxx...
Amy didn't stop running until she was safely behind the locked door of her house. She then pressed her back against the door and slid down to the floor, bringing her knees up to her chest.
"Oh my gosh," Amy whispered vaguely. "Rouge...did I do this?!" She crushed her fists against her mouth as the tears rolled down her cheeks, soaking her gloves.
"What have I done...what have I done...!?" Amy bawled helplessly. "I'm a monster! A MONSTER!" She hid her face in her arms, her shoulders shaking intensely.
"I'm so weak...I let that stupid ghost possess me last night, and now Rouge almost died..." The girl wiped her eyes, but it did no good. "I can't believe what I...what I've done..." Something was telling her it wasn't her fault, that the ghost had overpowered her, but she pushed the thought away. She could have - should have - been stronger. She could have fought back. She should have run for the hills as soon as she saw Spirit in her house instead of making fun of it.
This was all her fault.
...xxx...xxx...
The rest of Amy's day appeared before her in black and white. She nursed Rouge, bandaging her up (while trying to ignore the nagging guilt pulsing in the back of her mind) and then made her a nice lunch before she left. Sonic met her on her way home and they spent some time together, but Amy felt like she was forcing herself to be happy, to make him laugh, to pretend everything was alright. If he suspected, he didn't say anything. He probably had, so Amy was glad he didn't say anything. After Sonic left, Amy decided to just go to bed. Maybe if Spirit came back and she was asleep, it'd leave her alone.
Amy had been lying in bed trying to sleep for three hours with no result, but she was determined not to give up.
"Come on, Amy," Amy hissed threateningly to herself. "Fall asleep. So it's only six in the afternoon. So what? Fall. Asleep!"
"You know, there's a mental institution just a couple miles away if you feel your talking to yourself is becoming a problem."
"OH GAH." Amy threw off her covers and fell off her bed out of shock. When she peeped back up, she saw Spirit hovering on the other side of the bed looking smug.
"YOU!" Amy accused, staggering to her feet and pointing at Spirit angrily. "You used me to hurt Rouge last night! Right? How could you! She's my friend! Ugh, I can't believe you! What, were you some kind of psychopath when you were alive?"
Spirit crossed its ghostly arms. "Actually, I was a psychologist when I was alive and by the looks of it, you could use one."
"You hurt my friend!" Amy yelled, unrelenting. "You're the one who needs a psychologist!"
"You're right," Spirit sighed. "I did hurt your little bat friend. But..." It shrugged loosely. "Oh well. That's just what I do." The ghost smirked evilly. "And anyway...your little fox friend is next."
Amy gasped, backing into the wall. "No!" she cried. "Not Tails!" The hedgehog summoned her hammer and held it out in front of her. "Don't you even try!"
Spirit floated towards her. "You can't stop me, Amy," it said, reaching for her.
Amy hurled her hammer at the ghost. "NO!" The hammer smacked into the ghost, sending it flying backwards a few feet, but it kept coming.
"You can't stop me..."
"Yes I can!" Amy grabbed the window and lifted it up. "I can escape!" She started to climb through it but Spirit was suddenly right behind her and had taken her by her arms and swung her around. Spirit shoved her to the ground so hard she slid a couple feet before bumping into the wall with her head.
Spirit shut the window. "You can't run, Amy," it grinned wickedly. "You can't stop me."
"I KNOW!" Amy shrieked, frustrated. "You've said that three times already!"
"Then why fight me?" The ghost was floating towards her.
"Because I can at least try!" Amy summoned another hammer and threw it at Spirit. Then she summoned another and threw it, too. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"
Spirit lunged for her, laughing so hard the room filled to the top with the same weird fog from before.
"I win, Amy...I told you that you couldn't stop me..."
"NOOOOOOOO!"
Wow...I didn't like this chapter at all. Wayyy too spooky. And weird.
Then again, this IS a Halloween story (and Halloween was, like, six months ago...lol)
Well, PEACE OUT! I just watched Billy Madison by Adam Sandler (:DDD) and so now I am sooooo happy :))))
Night!