No, I'm not dead. At least not yet. It's been a while since I've updated, so I figured that I should actually work on the story. Its past the main event, and I'm really not sure where to go with it. I'm trying to develop Torth in a more three dimensional characters. You see, he's not all about beating up robots and being monosyllabic, he can talk and does have feelings. He just doesn't share them often. Also, I know Sally seems wierd in this chap, but I've always had trouble working with her, as she's a character in the comics who always changes her mind about her personality. I also was trying to make her seem brittle and emotional, so it was even harder.

Review it, if you would, and maybe give suggestions as to where you like me to take it. I've got several directions I could go: Where did Eggman get his Shadow clones? What exactly is Torth? What is the Eye of Terror? There are other directions, but I've got these as the main ones. Examining Torth and the Eye will be more passive and give for time for school interaction and everyday life, whereas checking out the clones will be more fighting and battle. Let me know which you'd prefer and I'll see what I can do.

Not sure how long the next chapter will take. Depends on my life and how often I remember to write.

Oh, and before I forget, which would you prefer: Longer chapters less often (What I've been doing before), around 5000 words every 4-6 months; or smaller chapters more often (What I did with this one), around 2000 words every 2-3 months.

Again, reviews make me happy, please write, even something short lets me know that people do ready the results of my blood, sweat, and tears.

Chapter 10

Questions to Answers to Questions

Sally's POV

It had been nearly a month since the attack. In that month, roads had been repaired, building rebuilt, power grids fixed... Everything was back to normal, or at the very least, close to it. There was still the odd building still needing a fix, but those repairs were minor and were far down the list. Everyone had pitched in since then. Sally was walking down on of the downtown streets, not really paying attention to where she was heading. There was so much that had happened. The stress of the attack had been to much for her father, he had been forced to step down. She was elected to lead, but instead, her long lost brother Elias, who had been traveling for the past several years, decided he should return and take charge. This had worked out much better than anyone expected, since Elias's compassion and love for the city were much preferable to her Father's iron-handed tactics. Despite the damage from the attack, the long awaited computer network had been built, allowing for faster response times in emergencies. The program, N.I.C.O.L.E, had shown a bizarre tendency to act on her own, and several engineers said she was on the threshold of sentience. Sally was keeping a close eye on the program as a whole, since the idea of an AI reminded her too much of the robots Eggman was so fond of. Also, the month had seen the engagement of those two highschoolers, Silver and Blaze. While they weren't old enough to be married, they both loved each other and spent their days together. Sally sighed. Deep down, she was jealous of those two. Her love life hadn't been the greatest so far. She'd dated Sonic, but she'd screwed that one up big time. She'd dated a foreign prince, but that hadn't worked out so well, since he lived far away with his people. Knuckles had asked her out for the dance, but now he had been promoted and was horrendously busy with Guardian duties. Darn. She'd gone on this walk to escape from her thoughts, but her head seemed stuck in them.

Trudging along alone, Sally didn't take notice of her surroundings. When she finally looked up, she saw the part of town she was roaming was the old town, the poor districts. These areas had escaped the worst of the attack, so were relatively unscathed. That mobian's speech to Knuckles had helped the town here, as taxpayer dollars flooded in for a beautification campaign and many charities focused their work on the people here. Their work wasn't finished by a long shot, but it was helping. As she walked by an alley, a flitting dark shape caught her eye. It was gone by the time she looked, but when she passed the next alley and it appeared again, she grew suspicious. The third time she hastened by and she stopped just shy of the forth. She waited a second, then sprang around the corner Nothing was there, other than the garbage cans of the stores along the street and a dumpster. The voice from above caught her by surprise.

"You simply aren't fast enough to surprise me, princess." Craning her neck upwards, she saw the mobian sitting on the pipe that stretched across the alleyway. It was for the cables of the computer grid, but right now it was more of a perch. The mobian tucked his wings close and leaped down to the ground. She almost panicked, but didn't when she recognized him.

"Torth. What a surprise. I didn't know you still skulked around here." Torth only shook his head at the sarcasm.

"Say what you will, I've knocked out four muggers, a rapist, and three purse snatchers and carted them to the police station so far today, and it's not even supper yet." Looking Sally in the eyes, the foxbat's gaze was steel. "I've saved hundreds of lives in the last month, lives that would have ended if I didn't 'skulk' these streets." Sally was taken aback by the determination in his voice and the conviction of his tone. She remembered what Knuckles had told her about Torth, that he'd grown up alone on these streets. Wait... not alone...

"Where's your cohort?" She asked. "I thought you two were inseparable." Torth smiled. "He's been watching you back the moment you entered this area. He contacted me about 20 minutes ago and I came at once." Sally frowned.

"You've been following me for 20 minutes?" She said, unbelieving. "I just spotted you!" Torth shook his head.

"No, I let you see me so you would stop. I was wondering what the Acorn princess was doing in this area, so I figured I should get the answer from the source."

"You could have just asked!" Snapped Sally. Torth shrugged.

"This worked out fine as well." Sally fumed for a second, then sighed as she relaxed. At least Torth wasn't someone who would spread rumors. If anything, he was the best to dump her feelings on since he'd stay quiet.

"It's complicated. I guess I just wanted to clear my head." Torth cocked his head.

"A little dangerous to do deep thinking where people pop out of alleys with knives." Torth's expression betrayed nothing, his face a blank mask. Whatever was going on behind his eyes was a mystery to Sally. Torth's manner of speaking was almost joking, but it had a fake air to it, like it was nothing more than a distraction so he could catch people off balance.

"I know, I know. I just forgot where I was going, is all. There's just been so much happening lately, it's difficult to keep up. I mean, with that attack, my father collapsing and Elias now heading the council... It's all so confusing." Torth cocked his head slightly and spoke softly; seeming to sense that she was fragile at the moment.

"No one ever said that having a life of responsibility was easy. If it were, too many people would accept one. That you've lasted this long is a testament to your force of will, princess." He stood there, watching her quietly. Sally wasn't sure how to take in what he said. It wasn't really advice, or encouragement, or anything, really. But it did help a little.

"Thanks, I think... Though I don't think you know everything about being in a position like mine." Torth almost smiled, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"More than you think, princess. I just have a more direct method for dealing with problems. I may not have to deal with the social situations and politics that you do, but I have to deal with knife wielding thugs, thieves, and killers on a nightly basis." Sally nodded slowly. What Torth had said before made more sense now. He had a responsibility to the people around here, to keep them safe from harm. She had a responsibility to the people fo the city and her friends to keep them safe. That's what he had been trying to say.

"I get it now. Thanks for that." Torth simply nodded and turned.

"I'd best go. There's no telling what sort of scum are wandering around for me to deal with." As he was about to leap, Sally spotted something, shocked, a small scream escaped her before she could catch herself. There was a knife! A full sized knife sticking out of Torth's back! The foxbat turned his head back, noticed where her gaze was, and finally saw the knife.

"Damn it! Can't believe that I didn't notice that!" Reaching behind him, Torth firmly grabbed the knife and pulled sharply. The knife slid from his back with a slight grating noise, like it was scraping against bone. Once it was free from his back, Torth jammed it into the wall between two blocks, forcing it half its blade deep in the mortar. Sally was still staring, almost in shock both from the knife and from the complete lack of concern that Torth was showing. With the knife gone from his wound, the hole quickly closed itself, not even a single drop of blood escaping from it before it sealed itself. Sally stared in astonishment. A wound like that should have crippled, maybe even killed Torth but he hadn't even noticed it and the wound had healed in les then a few seconds!

"What... What are you!" Sally was barely able to get the words out. Not even Sonic hyped on power rings healed that quickly, and he certainly would feel a knife in his back. Torth back towards her.

"To tell the truth, I'm honestly not sure. Fast healing, unbreakable bones, a physiology that would be the death of any analyst, a connection to the powers of Chaos that even a Guardian would be envious of, and power enough to level an entire city. The only answer I have is me. I am me, princess and that's all." With that, Torth vanished from in front of Sally, disappearing faster then she could see. One moment he was there, the next he wasn't.

Sally leaned against the wall, not at all understand anything that had just happened. What exactly was Torth, if he was able to survive something like that in perfect condition? At least, she thought, he wouldn't tell anyone of the mess she was right now. She didn't want to have to deal with all of that on top of everything else. Torth's words also echoed in her head. "No one ever said that having a life of responsibility was easy. If it were, too many people would accept one. That you've lasted this long is a testament to your force of will, princess." It was interesting to hear anything like praise coming from someone like Torth. She'd never really met him before, but he seemed to be trustworthy, at least for now. Turning around, she saw the knife still sticking out of the wall. Pushing herself back onto her feet from where she was leaning, she took a good look at the knife. Rather non-descript, but it was a good knife, at least as far as she could tell. She grabbed the hilt and pulled it out of the wall. or at least she tried to. The knife was stuck fast. Planting her foot on the wall, she pulled harder. This time, the knife came out, along with a good chunk of mortar. Pulling to mortar off the blade, Sally saw that there actually was blood on the knife, but it didn't look normal. Deciding that examination of the blood was best saved for a time when she was clearer-headed and in a more professional setting, Sally tucked the knife away in one of her vest pockets. Besides, she had to figure how to get home from here!