Chapter 11: What I've Done

It had all happened too quickly. And she hadn't been prepared.

Oh but how she cursed herself for not being prepared.

The fire spread rapidly. The embers threw its body at more flammable objects. Dry hay, buckets and stores of food. Everything was made out of organic material of some sort, so everything was just as vulnerable.

Dulcy fitted into her fierce role of fearless freedom fighter, and hurried all the families out of their homes. More freedom fighters came carrying buckets of water and threw it over the roaring fire. Animals were running around screaming. Their cries clawed at the air that was filling with deep black smoke.

There was no sign of Lupe and her escorts. And a hole sat in the ground from where a pole once sat. The pole Outcast had been tied to.

The princess stood in dire disbelief. Sonic wasn't here. Where was Knuckles? And Lupe?

She felt useless in the throes of sudden disaster. But it was not the fire that troubled her the most. It was the arbiter.

Outcast had vanished and had most probably escaped while everyone focused on the fire.

That was bad.

Outcast knew the location of Knothole. He knew how to get here! And now the secret would be out!

Knothole was doomed.

Back at crisis point, Bunnie slipped and fell while carrying a bucket of water. The liquid splashed out across the acrid grass, too far from the flames to do any good. She beat at the air with curses.

The air was sick with fear.

"You'all scared I know," Bunnie called out loudly to the crowd, "but me'an Dulcy will find that little devil, and when we do, we'll kill him!"

The crowd weren't appeased. The animals were scared. For some, Knothole had been their only home. Some were born here. Others had known the bad times of Motoprolis and didn't want to see the scenario ever unfolding again.

"We're doomed!" Cried a mouse.

"Where's Sonic?" Shouted another.

"Sonic should be dealing with this!"

"Get Sonic the hedgehog!"

The noise was appalling. It escalated, higher and higher with the fear and confusion.

It was then that Sally got a grip on herself and her steel façade took over her numb features. Sonic would act. He wouldn't stand there, mouth gaping.

She had a job to do. She was princess, leader of Knothole!

"Okay everyone!" She walked through the crowd, gesturing with her arms as she spoke. All eyes were on her. "We're all scared, but being scared isn't going to pack our bags for us or solve any problems. Sonic is not here."

It was as she dreaded. More voices. More arguments.

"Not here?"

"Where is he then?"

Fear and inundation quickly changed tides and became shock. Even hate.

"I don't know where he is," Sally exclaimed truthfully, "but I'm sure he'll return. But right now we need to focus. We need to help ourselves, and so will Tails and my other loyal freedom fighters. In the meantime, I suggest we start packing. We may not need to leave, but what use is there in fighting? I will not risk lives."

"What about our defenses that we worked so hard on?" Amy Rose said as she barged her way through the throng of villagers, "don't they work?"

Sally nodded. "They work, and they'll hold any intruder off but not forever. We can slip away while they're distracted by our gunfire."

"And where shall we go then, huh?" Amy persisted. She seemed to be speaking for the crowd. Behind her, scores of animals nodded their heads in agreement to her words.

That, Sally did not know. Oh how she wanted, needed her mate. She knew deep inside that she relied too much on him. Now was her chance to stand up on her own two feet, but all the attention made her nervous and dizzy.

"Well go south. It'll take us past the Badlands and away from Nutley. There are mountains there and a safe place called Faux forest."

Still, many were not happy. Sally looked at the crowd with searching eyes. An otter holding two crying kittens. An old fox with a leg missing. A hefty bear with a steel claw, a survivor from bad times.

What else was she supposed to do? Tell them to stay? To hope for the best?

Bunnie took her hand and led her away from the heat of the attention. Dulcy now had to deal with the Knothole inhabitants.

"Princess Sally," Bunnie said when they were out of ear shot and standing behind a smoking pile of rubble that was once a trades wagon, "you probably know all this, darlin', but this is bad. This is very bad."

"I know." She brushed some red hair out of the way and tried to put on a brave face.

Sally knew that somehow, she had to reach Sonic. She had to tell him of their current tragedy. He had to know.

I need you Sonic.

She read over his letter for the fortieth time. She rested her chin on her knuckles and said quietly to herself, "you had better, Son. Or I swear I'll kill you."

The lantern on her table in the sitting room was burning low. It gave off dark shadows on the walls, frightening her a little. Outside it was dark and cold.

She put ink to paper and began to write. She was writing a letter of her own. She hoped with all her heart that Sonic would read this.


The night was deep and impenetrable. It made Knuckles think of his home. The home he had left behind. But all of them had made the same sacrifices. They were in alien land, journeying to the pits of pollution.

Shadow sat huddled over their small fire. The slender twigs were all they managed to acquire. Sonic lay asleep, using Knux's bag as a pillow. Shadow nodded over to him. "Will he be all right?"

"A good night's sleep can do a whole lot of good." Knuckles answered straight away. "But tell me, why are you coming with us anyway? What do you want?"

"Revenge." Shadow spat into the hungry flames of the fire.

Knuckles went quiet as he listened to the spit and cackle of the flames gnawing on the wood.

Shadow suddenly wanted to keep a conversation going. "Say something."

Knuckles looked up, astonished at the dark hedgehog's act for comfort. "I don't feel like taking. Aren't you tired?"

Silence descended. Shadow peered back at the flames. Then he said, "tell me about the Doctor. Why does he want to destroy Mobius so much and those living in it?"

"Nobody really knows." Knux said at length, mentally deciding whether to bother lapsing into gossip with him, "some say it's simply because he's a human. Human nature they call it. Can you imagine a world full of man? And not animals?"

Shadow shook his head.

"Anyway," the echidna stretched and leant closer to the warmth of the crackling fire himself, "they say it was hate that started it. Robotnik could never love. Maybe it was because there wasn't anymore of his own kind. Maybe it was because he was born evil. However some say that hate doesn't appear overnight. It seeds itself. It sprouts and climbs from within the dark, damp subtleties of cowardice and anger."

"So… you think the Doctor became bad over time?"

Knuckles shook his head. "No. I think he's just evil. All of mankind is. And they spread it. Spread it like a disease you can never purge." He sat back, then added, "Sonic's carrying the blue chaos emerald in his bag and a power ring. He is nuts bringing those with him. I don't like what he might have in mind."


The next day, it drizzled slightly with rain, then it edged off. But they did not want to stay any longer than they had to.

"Sonic, how you holding up?" Knuckles asked thoughtfully.

"Great." Sonic breathed in the fresh smells of the forest, "Knux, you ever thought about becoming a doctor?"

Knuckles took the sudden remark as a compliment. "No, but thanks anyway Sonic."

The ground started to rise up when they left the woodland and started to cross open grassy plains. But these plains were dotted with broken hills that looked they had been in a battle and the valley itself was wrought with scars. Knuckles noticed this to, but kept to himself about it.

Then, as if someone had pulled a trigger inside Sonic's head, he fell down, causing Shadow to almost crash into him.

Air as thick as smoke blew through him, chilling his bones. The throat of his soul contracted in silent pain.

"What the hell is wrong with you now?" Shadow asked without anger.

Knuckles trotted back up to them, his eyes glistening in confusion.

Sonic gulped and sat up. "I feel… I feel something…"

"What?"

"I… I don't know… it was like a dream… I feel danger… fire… I saw the destruction of Knothole…"

"What?" Knuckles repeated loudly. "What do you mean you saw it?"

With an effort, Sonic forced himself to say, "no, sorry, I haven't seen it, but I feel it in my heart."

"Well that makes no sense."

Sonic stood back up and looked at his comrades as if to reassure himself of their presence. "It's just this feeling… I've had bad dreams before…"

"Must be this trip." Knuckles said. "It's been hard on all of us but we've past the half-way point. We're going to be entering the Badlands soon. Then the Wayland."

Sonic didn't affirm his explanation with a smile. He looked behind him, as if seeking to see Knothole far, far in the distance.

"Sonic." The echidna said lightly, "Knothole is fine. Don't worry. The sooner we deal with this place at Wayland the better, and then we can all go home."

"Yeah, you're right." Sonic rose a hand to rub his forehead and walked on.

All three smoothed out into motion. Shadow whispered behind Sonic, "it's strange. We haven't encountered any badnik patrols yet."

"Oh, I'm sure you will." Knuckles responded brightly, "so let's keep our vigilance, shall we?"

If Sonic had turned round and looked to the west at that moment, he would have seen the beginnings of the smoke rising, far, far away in the boundaries of the Great Forest.


Dulcy discerned the mountaintops, hillsides and forests with eagle eyes. Deep in her heart she knew where Sonic had gone. She remembered what Outcast had said that day while tied to a post.

The weasel who had started it all.

"Our great Messiah holds his home and fort to the Wayland."

"The Wayland is massive. Tell us where in the Wayland."

"North. North of the Wayland past the rocky fissures. In the mountains!"

They must have gone there.

So that was where Dulcy headed.

Her wings barely flapped in the high altitude just below the clouds. The warm air currents kept her afloat without too much effort on her part.

The precious message handed to her via Bunnie, written by Sally, was tied and secured in a pouch around her neck. She had to find Sonic.

He had to know.

For there was little he could do now, for Knothole, sadly. Even now as she flew, Dulcy knew more animals were dying. She wished she had stayed to help. But at least Sonic would be aware of the tragedy and perhaps head back.

That was if he was even still alive.

Out here in the open wastes badnik patrols were constant. The Badlands were crawling with arbiters. And with that wound of his, Sonic couldn't go far.

But didn't he have Shadow and Knuckles with him? For they too disappeared and no trace of them was found. Even Lupe and her kind had gone, not even leaving pawprints to follow.

Dulcy had flown right over the rocky ravines, past the entrance to the City of Dwelter and on towards the Badlands.

And it was because Sonic and his comrades were in the open plains that she saw them starkly against the green of the land.

By now, Dulcy's heart was so heavy, she did not rejoice.

She lowered herself towards them, dropping her wings back and uncurling her hind legs and forefeet.

She saw Knuckles lift his head up and bark a warning to the others when he saw her coming towards them.

All eyes were on her.

Dulcy landed a good dozen yards away from them, so that they weren't caught in the turbulence of her landing, or in case she fell too quickly.

She straightened herself out, folded her wings tightly against her spine and sat up on her thick haunches.

Knuckles and Shadow came trotting up to her.

"Dulcy, is that really you?" The echidna asked huskily, "why the heck have you come here? Do you know how dangerous that was?"

"Badniks miles away could have spotted you." Shadow continued.

Dulcy grunted at them, unaffected by their appalling welcome. "I'm here to see Sonic the hedgehog." Her tough flanks rumbled and Shadow, a little unsettled, stepped away.

"You're a reptile!" The dark hedgehog gasped.

"Yea', so?" The dragon asked austerely.

"Shadow," Knuckles said, "she's Dulcy the dragon. She's a freedom fighter. We can trust her."

Sonic joined them, and he smiled up at Dulcy. "Hey! Long time no see! How's Sal?"

The dragon looked down at him, conscious of the other two standing and waiting to know why she had come.

"Sonic, I bring bad news."

The hedgehog's compelling smile vanished from his pale features. "Excuse me?"

"Come. Let us talk alone." The dragon nudged him back where he came with her snout while Knuckles and Shadow remained where they were.

Knuckles crossed his arms across his chest and mumbled to his sullen companion, "I don't like this."

The huge dragon walked away with Sonic until they were out of earshot. Then they could see Dulcy handing Sonic a scroll.

Knuckles tensed, desperate to know what was happening.

"Why did Sonic come with us?" Shadow's voice was deep and dark, "That wound of his prevents him from tapping into his true abilities. So why is he coming with us when he can do little to help?"

Knuckles moved his shoulders up and down in a shrug. "You observe quite a lot don't you? Well, I can see why he'd want to come along. I think that day in Knothole, something made him believe that weasel. He knew something about Wayland. Maybe he wants to settle an old score with Robotnik, now that he actually has a chance to see him, if this fort in Wayland is real."

"Yes," Shadow persisted seditiously, "but have you ever thought that he opted for a one way ticket?"

Knuckles stared at him as if a mushroom had suddenly sprouted on top of Shadow's head, "what are you insinuating?"

Shadow shrugged. "Just a thought."

"Sonic would never do that!" Knuckles confirmed passionately, eyes wide at the mere assumption Shadow had produced, "how selfish are you? Just because he's the hero and you're what… the sulky dark snake that reminds us of our fates? He's not like that! He has a home to go to! A partner! Don't you ever mention this again!"

"But he's permanently crip…"

They were interrupted by an angry cry. A cry that sent the chills down Knux's spine and made his fur bristle outward. He hadn't heard such a prostrated noise in a long time. It was the sort of sound a parent made when they found their kitten dead, or the sound an animal made when death was but round the corner.

Sonic was on the floor; fists curled up tight, eyes pinched shut. "No… no… it can't be…"

"There was no warning…" Dulcy wept, curving her long neck down so that she could nuzzle her nose against him, "Knothole is lost."

"Why? How!" Sonic picked up the letter and forced himself to read it over again in his head. Sally had also sent him a peony with the note. A peony was symbolic to the animals of Knothole, and when a peony was distributed between mates, (a female giving it to the male), it meant that the female was pregnant. It was her way of saying, 'I hold the secrets of the womb. We have made life.'

"I'm sure a lot of them escaped," Dulcy went on to explain, "but the metal creations of Eggman was too soon. They knew exactly where we were."

"I'll kill Robotnik!" Sonic crushed the note into the palm of his hand, tears stinging his eyes. He wished to could run. He wished he could rocket faster than the speed of sound and return to Knothole.

"They counted on me…" He drew in a deep breath, "and I wasn't… there…"

"No one blames you, Sonic." Dulcy said gently. "It was Outcast. He escaped… and…"

"And Sal?"

Dulcy shook her head. "I don't know where she is. Last time I saw her, she was going to escape with the others. That's all I know. Sonic… it was a massacre."

Sonic rose to his feet and screamed.

Not too far off, Knuckles and Shadow flinched at the noise.

"Well get back there then!" Sonic snapped at Dulcy, tearing the letter up in his hands and leaving the bright pink peony on the floor at his feet. "Save her! BECAUSE I CAN'T!"

Dulcy looked at him, eyes coated in bewilderment and sorrow.

"I can't! I can't run! I can't do anything!" The cerulean hedgehog looked to the west.

And he saw the smoke. Thick and black. It looked like a long ebony snake was reaching up to kiss the heavens.

"What… what have I done?" Sonic's heart broke into a thousand shattered pieces. Pieces he would never be able to pick up again. "What have I done?"

Dulcy looked away, the tears rolling down in rivulets. "I must return to that place, Sonic. I shall find Princess Sally. And you? What shall you do?"

Sonic could not meet her eyes. At his feet lay the peony, crushed and broken.

"Sonic?"

The hedgehog started back towards his friends. He tried to hold his limp up, tried to mask it, but he could not.

"The Wayland." He growled at Knuckles and Shadow. "We going to the Wayland and we're not going to stop until we get there!"

"That's insane." Knuckles said, noting at once the change in Sonic's appearance and expression, "it's still two days away."

"You don't understand. Knothole…" He couldn't get the words out. He thrashed forward, pushing Knuckles out of the way. "Let's go! I'll leave you all behind if I have to!"

Shadow looked from Knuckles to Dulcy.

The dragon sorrowfully turned away and flew back in the direction where inky black smoke was towering before the heavens.