Characters thus Far:
Marvelous St. Vanderburgh - Alternate dimension pink puff with a personality disorder.
Miles 'Tails' Prower - Will probably never look at Amy the same ever again.
Vanessa St. Vanderburgh - Is she a Villain, or just plain psychotic? It's hard to tell.
Sonic the Hedgehog - Seems to have matured a lot in such a short time. Or has he?
Amy Rose - You already foresee something bad happening to her again. You just know it.
Marvel awoke with a searing pain in her head. She shot up, almost out of impulse, but couldn't move an inch. Her body felt like it had been thrown into a blender on high, then smashed into a torpedo tube and launched into the depths of the sea. Quite descriptive. A moment later, she could make out a few white objects moving back and forward on the opposite end of the room. Looking directly above her, she was blinded by a series of high-intensity lights. The kind doctors used when they had patients strapped to an operating table. Much like how she was strapped down now. When she realized it, she felt something sharp prick her upper arm. Looking over, she saw a figure in blue scrubs and a white coat leaning over her. And in her arm, the blood drawing device that was responsible for the sharp prick. Staring down the barrel of a gun was nothing but child's play to the pink hedgehog. But when she was staring down the long end of a needle; now that was something that she found petrifying. Not petrifying enough to keep her tied down, apparently; for as soon as the duck faced quack in the coat removed the device from her arm, he met the full force of the girl's boot to the chest. The two nurses behind him were subsequently toppled over, and the traumatized pink hedgehog snapped her restraints and soon found herself posted in the corner of the ceiling. If she were a masked superhero in red and blue spandex, she'd have no problem hanging to the wall. But after realizing she lacked this trait, she immediately fell back to the floor, but not before plowing into a metal cart, spraying medical tools everywhere.
Springing back to her feet, the frantic pink hedgehog watched as the doctor on the floor screamed for help, and a moment later, two guards came rushing into the room. "S-security! Stop her! Hold her down!"
"Hey you! Hold it right there!" The two canines approached her. However, the girl was in no mood to go back onto that gurney and get pricked again. So she did what any other girl in her position would do.
"No way, Jose!" Marvel yelled, grabbing the guard by the wrist and flipping him onto his back. Without missing a beat, she somersaulted into the air, grabbing the second officer by the head before coming back down and throwing him into the nurses, who were just so unlucky as to have gotten back on their feet.
With her rampage growing, Marvel dashed out of the open door, scaring an elderly patient, before bolting down the hallway. One of the downed guards painfully reached for his radio as he and the others recovered from the attack. "All units! Be on the look-out for a crazy, pink hedgehog! Emphasis on the word crazy! She's to be considered dangerous! Apprehend her at once!"
Sonic and Amy waited at the front desk of the hospital as the clerk checked the computer for the name they had just given her. "Ah, here she is." The elderly bird said, adjusting her glasses. "7th floor, room 319."
"Thanks." The blue boy said, heading towards the elevator. Amy wasn't so excited to be in a hospital, but that wasn't the only reason. She still wanted to know why she was there to see her. She and Marvel had never gotten along, since the first night they had met. But after the bizarre events of the night before, it seemed a little less than coincidental that they'd be paying her a visit. As they entered the elevator, Sonic pressed the 7th button and waited for the doors to close. As soon as they did, the pink girl beside him let out a long sigh. "For crying out loud, why do you keep doing that?" Sonic asked her, annoyed.
"Because I don't want to be here." Amy pouted, crossing her arms.
"I didn't ask you to come, either." Sonic shot back.
"Yeah, well, I wasn't going to let you come see her by yourself!"
"And that's because?"
"She's a slut! There's no telling what she'd do if the two of you were suddenly alone!"
"Just because she dresses that way doesn't mean she's a bad person. And how do you even know what that is? Aren't you still a bit young to be saying things like that?"
"I'm old enough, thank you!"
"You're not welcome." Sonic said, realizing his painful ride with Amy was finally drawing to a close as the big, red number above the door reached seven. As the little bell rung and the doors opened, Sonic's eyes widened as he watched another pink hedgehog come barreling around a corner, knocking over a nurse with an IV drip and heading in their direction. It wouldn't have surprised him that much if it weren't for the fact that she was being chased by a handful of security guards blowing whistles and waving nightsticks.
"Hey…You! Sop… that girl!" One of the guards said, clearly out of breath. Obviously Marvel had done something to warrant her immediate capture, but handing her over would defeat the purpose of coming to talk to her. So Sonic did what any other reasonable adult would do. He pressed the button to the top floor, and stood to the side. Amy had yet to figure out what was going on, on account that she wasn't even paying attention in front of her. She would soon regret that, as she was suddenly sent crashing to the floor, the other pink girl wrapped in a mess on top of her from the dive she had just performed into the closing elevator doors. Sonic winced as he watched the two of them collide, but even more so at the sound of the security guards slamming into the other side of the door.
"Well, that was a freebie." Sonic grinned.
"Ow, bugger…" Marvel rubbed her head. "Hey, you're that Speedy fella'!" She glanced up at Sonic.
"Yeah, I am. But the name is Sonic."
"UGH! GET OFFA ME!" Amy screamed, kicking the other girl off of her. As they stood up to face one another, Sonic could swear he was watching a mirror act. Both girls displayed the same look of disgust as they stared at one another. "You…" Amy growled.
"Oh great…" Marvel copied.
"Um, can we skip the looming cat fight?" Sonic announced, pushing a finger to Amy's forehead and shoving her away. "There's something I need to ask you…uh…"
"It's Marvel, remember?"
"Well, Marvel. You were with Tails last night at the Carnival, right?
"You bet!"
"And as you probably know, there was a certain 'incident' at the Carnival last night, right?"
"Uh…" Marvel stopped for a moment. "What ever do you mean?"
"I move fast. So forgive me when I say I can see other things moving fast too."
"You mean you saw all that?" Marvel looked surprised.
"No. You just happened to destroy the chili-dog stand just before I could get my hands on one. You could say I was a little aggravated."
"Oops." Marvel said, hitting herself on the head.
"But beyond that, when all the dust settled, I got worried and went looking for Tails, but I couldn't find him anywhere. I was hoping you knew something about where he is. He usually answers his phone, but he's not picking up. And when I went by his house, he wasn't there either."
"Oh…yeah…" Marvel said, hanging her head. The truth was, she didn't even realize it until Sonic had mentioned it. When she was knocked out by Vanessa, it seemed probable that the girl would have taken him hostage. "I was with him…but then…I don't really remember what happened after that."
"Oh, yeah. Rotor found you unconscious in a pool of water. The way it looked, you got hit by a loose electrical wire or something. So he called an ambulance and you were brought here."
"I see…" Marvel concluded. She was sure Vanessa was up to something. Why else would she even need to kidnap Tails? Unless, of course, she wanted to do what Marvel couldn't bring herself to do. Whatever the case, she couldn't waste time. She needed to find her sister, and fast. "Well, thanks for the chat, mate, but I have to take my leave now."
"Yes, please." Amy mumbled.
"But before that, can you do me a favor?"
"What?" Sonic asked.
"Can you hold your finger out, like you're pointing it?"
"Like this?" Sonic said, doing as the younger girl asked.
"Yeah! Now move it over a bit. Right here." Marvel grabbed his hand and positioned it right in front of Amy. "That's perfect. Thanks!"
"Why am I doing this?" Sonic looked confused. However, Marvel just jumped into the air and onto the light fixture on the ceiling; hanging herself upside down.
"You'll see."
As they neared the top floor, Sonic could already hear the loud stomping noises coming from the other side of the door. As the elevator doors slid open, Sonic was left with his finger pointed at Amy, and a plethora of guards charging in a heavy sprint to finally catch the pink nuisance. Taking the blue boy's cue, they jumped into the elevator, and tackle the defenseless Amy to the ground. Meanwhile, Marvel swung from the ceiling and into the hall, dashing away. Charging over yet another elderly, Marvel ran full speed into the window at the end of the 17th floor hall and shattered it as she jump to the outside. Sonic didn't question whether or not she'd survive the fall, but reveled in the fact at just how insane she was. It brought a smile to his face. "I wish I had a girlfriend like her."
Her decision would soon come back to bite her harder than the little shards of glass in her blouse did, as Marvel realized the ill-placed construct directly beneath her. Why someone would build a bank right next to a hospital is beyond her. Why they would build a bank with a roof completely made of glass was even more disturbing. Either way, she sighed, realizing that her hasty exit might just hurt a bit. That was, at least, until she saw that the most perfect of perfect opportunities was about to break her fall.
Tails shook his wrists, sore from the hours upon hours of bondage by the older fox girl sitting with her legs crossed atop the decorative bookshelf. For the most part, he was just glad to be free. But that freedom may have cost him more than he was willing to pay. "You've kept your end of the deal." Tails said, not expecting the dominatrix to really be honest. Vanessa simply smiled. "What I want to know is why you chose to tell me all this now? And what you meant by all of my counterparts are dead. How did something like that even happen?"
"Victims of circumstance."
"But how?"
"I should tell you, for your own good. But I want to watch you suffer some more and prolong my fun."
"I don't see how any of this is even funny in the first place!"
"Life on this planet is so simple." Vanessa shot him a solemn glare. "It's nothing like back home."
"Was it really so different?" Tails sensed the girl's mood change again.
Vanessa crossed her arms and let out a long sigh. "I couldn't possibly expect an idiot like you to understand."
"Will you quit insulting me for once today!" He grew angry.
"What? You don't like being teased? You got picked on as a child, didn't you?"
"Just drop it already."
"Ooooooh, I hit a raw nerve. I must be right."
"Look, what does it matter if I got bullied as a kid or not?"
"Is that the worst thing that ever happened to you?"
"Nothing I want to remember."
"You must have been so sad and lonely when your parents disappeared, huh?"
Tails' expression darkened at the mention of the girl's words. Clenching his fists, he took one step towards her, before he felt a sudden sharp pain in his leg, and he dropped to one knee. Looking back up, he saw Vanessa's tail touching the wall behind her, an obvious sign that she must have had extensive knowledge of electrostatic discharge principles to be able to strike him from that far away. "How...how do you know about what happened to my parents!?"
"I know everything there is to know about this world. About your parents, and about you. Your childhood memories, That night light you had when you were 10, even your deepest little secrets. And let's not forget about that little incident 5 years ago..."
"Don't say another-!" Tails wanted nothing more than to lunge at her. However, she snapped a finger, and a second later, he was stunned with another paralyzing wave of electricity that dropped him on all fours. Vanessa twirled a finger through her short bangs and giggled.
"That hurt? That make you angry? Good. That's just a small taste of what we've had to endure our entire lives. Got it good here, don't you?"
"That's not true at all!" Tails immediately dismissed. "I've had my share in life...we all did! What gives you the right to say that none of it mattered?!"
"Have you really? You think you know?" Vanessa questioned him. "Have you ever seen the lowest part of your soul? Do you know what it's like surrounded by the darkness in other people's hearts?"
"I've seen enough..."
"Like when? like with your parents? The same parents you were told disappeared and presumed dead? To your surprise, they were alive and well."
"I know that...but it wasn't just about my parents. I missed out on so much in life because of that! I grew up not knowing what a real family was like. I spent years and years on a battlefield, fighting in wars that no child should ever have to participate in. How else was I supposed to think back then? What was I supposed to do?"
"Hmph." Vanessa clutched her sides. " I suppose you and I are more similar than I thought."
"Similar? The two of us?" Tails stared at her. Though her reference was situational in origin, Tails couldn't help but take a more physical look at it. They were different in every way possible, but he couldn't help but think that the two of them kind of resembled one another. While she was no dead ringer for him, certain aspects of her appearance reminded the twin tailed fox of himself. Most notably, her eyes. They were different in color, but he figured there was still something familiar about them.
"You regained what you had thought you lost. A family. Feelings of loneliness and abandonment suddenly didn't matter anymore. You could make up for the lost years of your life. But that's not something we can do."
"W-why is that?"
"Because of you." Vanessa's tone suddenly changed, staring at him with eyes so cold it sent a chill down his spine.
"Me? How is any of that my fault?"
"Yet another thing my stupid sister failed to tell you."
"Aside from the whole 'I'm from another dimension' thing, there's more?"
"Didn't you ever wonder how we seemingly know so much about you?"
"Maybe she knew me in your world, I don't know."
"A huge understatement. Have you ever made a mistake so grave, that you wished you could go back in time and erase what you had done?"
"Of course…I'm sure everyone has had moments like that."
"Well that's exactly what happened with you."
"But I never time-traveled. At least, I don't think I have. The whole Idea of time travel is just a theory at best! I mean, traveling between dimensions is one thing, but…"
"You're right. You haven't traveled through time. Yet."
"And I eventually will?"
"The entire reason I'm who I am today is because you eventually will."
"You? What does my traveling in time have to do with you?"
"The same you're traveling in time has to do with my sister. She already inadvertently explained that much to you, but you're probably just too stupid to have noticed."
"That story…" Tails thought about it. He remembered when he and Marvel had the conversation out in the rain, and the story she told him about man whom she had met. A fox, much like himself. In fact, the way she described him sounded very similar, but she never mentioned anything else about him. Including one key feature. "Sure…she told me about a fox that she had met as a child. But that person, it couldn't have been me. I mean, I don't wear body armor. And I don't even know how to use a crossbow. Not to mention she didn't say anything about him having two of these." Tails said, pointing behind him.
"And you're no adult either. Of course, people change as time goes on."
"That's ridiculous."
"What's ridiculous is that you still haven't pieced together the puzzle yet."
"You said I'd be listening to what you had to say!"
"And you have. I wanted you to understand only the heart of the matter. And from the information I just provided you, I think someone of your genius can figure out the rest."
"Or you could just say it. I think you've wrung me around long enough! Can't anyone just tell me something without making me guess!?"
"Then this chapter would be entirely too short."
"This isn't some story on the internet! What chapter are you talking about!?"
"Nothing."
"Just get to the point!" Tails became aggravated. "What was it that I did!?"
"Sometime in your near future, a certain event takes place right here on Mobius prime. An event that will throw all the other dimensions into complete chaos. And not shortly after, a two-tailed fox was said to have arrived in our world."
"Then, that fox..."
"Mobius Prime's Miles Prower. In other words, you."
"So what happened to my world? Why did I just leave?"
"Because your dimension was destroyed."
"What!?" The fox boy yelled. "D-destroyed!? But...but how!?"
"Your friends, your family...all gone. But that wasn't the worst of it." Vanessa's grin reappeared.
"What could possibly be worse than that!?"
"The fact that you were the cause for its destruction."
"That's crazy!" Tails roared. "There's no way you can be telling me the truth! Me!? Why would I even do something like that!?"
"It's not what you did that you should be worrying about. It's what you're going to do."
"But why would I...I don't understand...I would never want to...why!?"
"The answer to that...I can't possibly tell you. But whatever it was you did, you must have really screwed up if you had to travel in time to kill yourself."
"Wait, WHAT!?"
"You heard me. And what my sister told you that day was probably the only honest truth she ever told you. As it so happened, a version of yourself came to our world from the future. A version of yourself that originated here. But once he made it there, the negative energies throughout the multiverses corrupted him, in turn, infecting every Miles Prower ever born into existence. Each one armed with a trigger that would effectively destroy their dimensions should a certain event happen. He just couldn't allow that. It had already happened once, so he would make sure it didn't happen again."
"So that person Marvel mentioned, it actually was me…?" Tails murmured, not sure he could believe everything he was hearing. "But that would mean…"
"You are the one that's killing every other version of yourself."
"But why would I do that!?"
"You parade around like you're some kind of force for good. Like you're a hero. But the truth of the matter is, no one is ever completely good at heart. All it takes is one push in the wrong direction."
"I'm really the one? I'm responsible for...Is all of this true? Can't you tell me why!?"
"Like I said, I can't tell you. Because I don't know. Something that happens in the future, your future, causes you to turn. And that event is ultimately what caused everything in my world to spiral out of control. And to stop that event from happening is the sole reason why Marvelous is here."
"And I'm just supposed to wait for this so called 'turn' to happen?"
"The only person who could possibly figure out what caused it to happen is you."
"I'm supposed to figure out why I traveled through time and space to kill myself in another dimension!?"
"Yes."
"Why doesn't anything ever make sense!?"
"There are random springs in the ground, buildings that have ramps, and highways that go in loops. I don't see any cars trying to drive in that shit…what does makes sense?"
"Your argument is valid."
"What you should understand, is that your life, and your future, rests in your hands. And if you can't figure it out, then you're going to die, just like the rest of them did."
"And just how am I supposed to figure that out!? What am I even supposed to do!?"
"I thought you'd never ask." Vanessa jumped down from the bookshelf and placed her hands on her hips. "If you want a shot at surviving the witch hunt, then come with me."
"And I'm supposed to trust you just like that? What if this is a trap?"
Vanessa stretched her arms over her head as she walked to the large, wooden double doors in front of the room. She glanced back at Tails and sinfully smiled "Then this is the end of Miles Prower..."
The pedestrians inside the bank hit the floor as soon as they heard the loud boom of the shotgun from the masked robbers standing in the entrance. "Gentlemen!...please, remain calm." The leader of the gang said calmly. "As you can already tell, this is a robbery. And we will be needing all of your money, as well as your valuables."
Motioning for his flunkies to begin victimizing the people, the leader raised his mask slightly, revealing the bruised face of the weasel underneath. He took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up. He took a puff and raised his head towards the ceiling to exhale. "I love it when a heist is this simple."
However, while looking through the large, glass ceiling, he managed to see something interesting. A side window of the hospital next door suddenly burst, and a small, pink and black object falling in his immediate direction. What the HEEEEEELLLLLLL?"
Everyone on the ground floor of the lobby was suddenly showered with pieces of glass, as virtually the entire ceiling collapsed. Except for the ring leader of the robbers, who was showered with something else. He didn't even have time to finish letting the lit cancer stick fall from his lips before his face met with a very familiar heel. The weasel crashed to the ground, clutching his snout and yelling madly. "For fuck's sake! What the hell! Ahhhhhhh man! I'm gonna kill you ya' fucking bit…oooooooohhhhhh…" he suddenly stopped cold, looking up at the pink hedgehog standing directly over him with a very, very irritated expression.
"Now you weren't going to finish that sentence, were you?"
"No! O-of course not! Forgive me! I-I-I didn't mean it!"
"I thought so." Marvel said, reaching down and grabbing him by the collar of his trench coat. "Hey…I know you..."
"N-no. We've never met before! I've never seen you before in my life!"
"Yeah you have, boss!" The other weasels said in unison, cowering behind one of the bank tellers. "She's that crazy bitch from before!"
"YOU IDIOT!" The leader roared, realizing that his fast-mouth'd flunkies had just signed all of their death wishes. As he glanced back at Marvel, who he could now see the fire burning in her eyes, and a sadistic grin creep over her face, he knew it wasn't going to be a quick and painless death.
One by one, the broken masked weasels crashed through the glass entrance of the bank, and out into the street, almost being run over by several vehicles. They were soon reunited with their boss, who was sent barreling into the adjacent wall across the street before sinking all the way down and onto his knees. Just then, he felt the strong grip of the girl wrap around his collar again, as he was swiftly hoisted up to meet her eyes. "Listen! I-I'll give you anything! Money! Jewels! Anything you want! Just please, please don't hit me again!"
"Oh, you're going to give me something all right." Marvel narrowed her eyes.
"Anything you want! I swear!"
"Oh, I already figured that." The girl tightened her grip. "I know all about you guys. And who it was that hired you to pull off that little stunt you did months ago."
"Y-You do?" The weasel said, surprised.
"Oh yeah. And now you're going to be a good boy and take me to her. Now."
"I can't do that! You don't know this bitch! She'll kill us!"
"And what makes you think I won't?"
"Look, girlie! You can act all tough, but you aint gonna kill nobody! You're supposed to be some kind of good guy or something, right?"
"That's okay." Marvel said, throwing the goon onto the asphalt. She cracked her knuckles and cocked her head to the side. "I'm tired of the goody-two-shoes act anyway."
"Wh-why! What are you going to do to me!?"
Marvel laughed to herself, before spreading a wicked grin. "What I was trained to do."
