Hey all readers, I'm really really sorry I haven't been updating in such a long time, I mean, I feel like I just lied to all of you because of my promise to update once a month, but I'm only doing this installment like 7 months later...I'm so sorry guys! :"( Anyways, same as usual, hope you enjoy the story, and see you down below! Cheers!
~Chapter 12~
"Oof!" Mirius grunted as her was swept off his feet, with Maria laughing behind him. "You've gotten better, I must say," she remarked, casually halting Mirius' hand a mere centimetre from her face. Rolling, he leapt to his feet, settling himself back into the stance she taught him, relaxed and fluid. She smiled at him, before suddenly taking quick steps forward, strikes smoothly flowing after each other, met with counters and traps, all of which she slipped, measured blocks and jabs to dissipate the force and effectiveness of the moves. Opening his defences, she tapped his chest with her fingers, before blocking his arms aside and tapping his side. "Here, and here," she said, calm as ever while she flowed through his moves, her arms diverting and stealing energy to tap on him with her fingers, indicating holes in his defences.
"Not bad, not bad at all! I think now, we can progress to oh for the love of Solaris will someone answer the accursed bell?" she cried out as the insufferable bell rang again for the third time. "For Solaris' sake!"
"I'll go, I suppose, although it's N.I.C.O.L.E's job," Mirius said, trotting up the stairs before opening the door, heading for the gate. "Oh, hi Silver," he said, seeing Silver coming out of the kitchen with a glass of water. "You can go downstairs and see Maria if you want," he said, forestalling his question about her state of life or death. Silver's eyes widened, and he spun around, looking for Shadow. Mirius ignored him, headed to the gate.
When he reached it, he saw the characteristic swirl of nanites that preceded N.I.C.O.L.E with a floating watering can, and he smugly grinned at her, before pulling the gate open. "Yes, who is this—oh."
He came face to face with none other than Percival, and he quickly ushered him in, closing the gate.
While standing in the crimson blaze of the dusky sky, waiting for someone to answer the door, Percival had been thinking. Especially about what had happened yesterday. His mind drifted back, going all the way back to the note asking him for dinner.
He had found the note pinned to his desk, the highmage requesting him to attend a simple dinner with her. So, he had gone, at the twentieth minute of the eight hour, because the darned clocks in that place couldn't show time in a form that wasn't considered archaic, just because it was a place of preservation. It was to be a private affair, so he had gone alone, summoning light to illuminate the passages he took, the unused stairways that he hurried through.
Finally, climbing the secret stairway that led directly to the highmage's office, he entered, dusting off cobwebs and the odd spider from his long white quills. She hadn't been surprised; that particular passage had been infested with spiders, until she threw lightning bolts down the stairs, incinerating most of the pests. But still, a few tenacious dwellers stayed there, and she hadn't the time to clean it up, so she mostly sprayed a couple of squirts of some spider repellent that the alchemy department had created. It didn't seem to work, and it repelled humans more than spiders.
"Close the door, will you? I don't know where the Solaris-be-damned draft comes in from, but it's rather annoying," she said, rising from her desk, where her new research on Chaos Energy was currently in development. Turning, she walked into her reception room, where the small table had been—finally—cleared, and a small feast awaited them, candles ornamenting the table. She strode to the door first, pressing a hand to the ancient oak, and closed her eyes, murmuring under her breath.
A silver wash of light spread over the door, wavering over the whole doorframe and settled into a smooth, flowing glow, before fading from sight entirely. "You did come alone, did you?" she asked Percival, still not turning around. He sighed. "Yes, of course. I know the importance of this meeting, as you too do."
They ate by candlelight, silent as one contemplated the subject they would discuss, while other, the safety and wellbeing of said subject. Eventually, they finished, and reclined in their seats, glasses of juice—the highmage insisted on that; no alcohol please—in their hands, and the highmage began to speak.
"Have you told Mirius yet?"
"Told him about what?"
"Told him about his heritage; its past and its responsibilities."
Percival sighed. "No, not yet, sister."
The highmage snorted. "And you would still have him wandering around the outside world, without much serious training, to prepare him for what comes? How do you think he will survive, if any should wish him harm? We have already observed the effect that the apparent power of Solaris can have on us, and so do you honestly think that he can survive should the enemies we face earnestly want him dead? He was your mistake, but you're still responsible for him!"
"He isn't a mistake!"
The highmage sighed. "Then why haven't you taken him in yet, and made him yours? He has lived all this while without your protection and guidance. It is indeed fortunate that he has got a partner like Shadow. But we both know that strength of arms will matter very little, if one with sorcery should want him dead."
The highmage drew breath to speak, and Percival cut in. "I gave him one of the Histories."
The highmge was paused in mid-breath, stunned speechless. "What?! Why?! Why in the name of all things holy and sacred would you give him one of the Histories for?!" The Histories were the compilation of magic and its uses and past. There was only one copy of each book, and now, he was telling her that he had given it to some teenager outside the walls of the Tower.
"Its power will protect him!"
The highmage calmed down, forcing herself to take deep breaths at the infuriatingly logical argument. "Yes, and if it is stolen? Or if he loses it? What will we do then?"
"It can't get stolen! Besides, you know we can track it, the magical signature it gives off is far too distinct."
"Besides that, how did it protect him when he was being violated in prison?"
Percival shut up. In the gloom of the room, his eyes seemed to reflect light as they glittered with moisture, glimmering with an inner darkness. Finally, he spoke.
"Sister, you know I would never do anything to endanger him. This was simply unforeseen, and couldn't be accounted for. Do you know that if I could, I would have never let her take care of him, and would have instead taken him under the care of the White."
"Then go, and teach him. Teach him to protect himself, to protect those he loves. He has a good heart, but you must give him the power to do so."
"Why do you care so much about him anyways?"
"Because…because he is related to me too. He's my nephew, for crying out loud."
She sighed. The day was wearing on her, and she could feel the weight of the burdens she bore. She knew she was powerful, but how powerful was she compared to The Shadow? And for how much longer? She was already old, worn down by the responsibilities of her duties, and now she would likely have to prepare for war. How much could they do, really, in the face of such adversary? The church, The Shadow, and the state. And there was the darned staff, the ancient relic of sorcery long past, the staff of her, Percival's, and now Mirius' ancestor, the founder of the White. It had shown her visions that her time was near gone, that she would hand down the responsibilities to a successor. She didn't want to die, the way that all her predecessors had gone about handing down the staff, but she realised that she had no choice. The soft constant whistle of breath told her that Percival had dozed off in his seat, and she rose, heading for the scrying room.
"Good evening, milady, what brings you here?" the White on charge for identifying strange uses of magic asked, smiling at the pleasant surprise. The highmage smiled back at him, nodding in acknowledgement of his greeting. "I wish to use the chamber for a while. Privately, if possible."
"Certainly. If you need anything, just call, and I'll be there." With that, he swept off, headed on some business. She peeked out from the door, ensuring he was gone, before sweeping her hands over the still waters, shivering in the chill of the room. Ripples of water disrupted the surface, as she focused her power on the carved marble pool, silver light building around her. Chanting softly under her breath, small clouds of fog frosting in the air from her breath, she slowly focused her thoughts, aligning them with the pool. The water rippled gently, taking on colour and shapes. Dimly, she saw Mirius fast asleep in Shadow's arms, and a small smile broke out on her face. Lucky boy, she thought, shifting her thoughts.
Staring into the water, she summoned her power for one of the most demanding skills magic offered: the art of prescience. Staring into the water, she took a deep breath, before exhaling it all out, letting the magic she gathered up flow into the pool, twining it like thread, before it wove itself into the fabric of the spell.
Slowly, then faster, she let the magic pour out of her, spilling like water from her hands in thick silver sheets of light. Deep in the waters, she saw shifting images, and she murmured protective spells; the gift of prescience wasn't without dangers. It was a peek into the future through a different dimension, and that dimension had dwellers that were not necessary friendly. It was the dimension of demons and wild magic, uncontrolled and whimsical beings of powers unchecked, and some of their abilities were just absolutely unheard of. Strangely enough, Mirius had managed to befriend one of them, a fire demon, a feat she hadn't thought was possible.
Peering into the pool, she sought for irrevocable markers, certainties in the fluid nature of the future. She saw Mirius holding a white staff, glimmering with silver magic, and she saw him kneeling over an indistinct body. She saw bloodshed, fires, collapsing buildings, all around her as gunshots rang all around her, lightning and thunder ringing all around her, and she saw Mirius hurling fire into crowds with…were those improvised clubs made of wood and nails? All of these visions spiralled back into an image: Mirius and Shadow embracing while Sonic and Tails were in an…intimate act.
Suddenly, the pool sputtered, splashing hot steam out as a shadowy figure materialised in the centre, a hand grabbing the side of the pool to pull itself up. She gasped, before her instincts reasserted themselves. "Back!" she cried, thrusting her staff into the apparition, watching the blaze of silver light sear the figure. Thrusting out her hand, a blaze of silvery light streaked from her fingers, hammering into the figure, pushing it back into the other dimension, sizzling against its skin. Raising her staff, she brought it down onto the creature. "Away, demon!" A sharp snap of magic cracked through the whole chamber as it was shoved back into the other dimension, before a flood of silver light sealed the opening between dimensions.
Shaking, she collapsed into the strangely comforting marble bench. She had barely managed to seal it away, because it was so much weaker in this dimension than in its own home plane. Another stark reminder of how much she was declining, and the grim reality that Mirius would be the one to preside over the last days of the White. Taking a deep breath, she rose, striding out as confidently as she could appear. She could not afford to seem weak, not with the fate of the land that she and all the White before her had protected for the past six thousand, three hundred and seventy-two years.
The door to her chambers banged open, and Percival slowly opened his eyes, to see his sister throw the door open, striding through the doorway, before the door slid closed by itself, the lock turning. "We must hasten our plans. I have consulted the future, and it does indeed seem that bad times are ahead. So, in my capacity as highmage, I tell, no, I order you to go to Mirius' residence, and tell them I am coming to teach him. Personally." Percival winced. If she was teaching fighting magic, he wanted to stay as far as possible from her. She had gained an infamous reputation in the past for devising many uses of magic for fighting, and he had experienced most of them in his sparring with her. The training grounds had never been the same again, after she had fought him in her Test, which determined the capability of a person as a White. "Sister, surely you wouldn't want to leave the Tower…"
He halted as he saw the murderous look in her eyes. "Tell me, did I become highmage to stay cooped up in my ivory tower every day? Did I learn the greatest arts of White Sorcery to hide it with me, never to use it?" Percival wilted under her chilling stare, folding his hands into his lap. "No, you did not. Very well then. I shall tell them tomorrow."
Silver trotted down the stairs, only to bump into a sweaty and red-faced Maria. "What's taking Mirius so long?" she demanded, leaving the ivory hedgehog speechless with the harshness of her voice, her breath coming in quick gasps. "Er…er…er I don't know," he said, quickly disappearing to hide from her perceived wrath. That was strange, Shadow said she was nice, he thought, bumping into the ebony hedgehog as he thought about that. "Everything, alright?" Shadow asked the paler-than-white Silver. "Err not really?" he muttered, picking at his gloves.
Blaze had given up on ringing her own doorbell, and jammed her key into the lock, wrenching it carelessly, before helping the door on its way with a hefty boot. "Solaris-dammit, where the hell are you, Silver?!" she yelled at the empty house, flicking the light switch. Solaris, was she annoyed. She had barely made it out of orientation, and already she felt like setting someone on fire. Oh, and how wonderful; she still had a shift at the hospital tonight. This programme she was on was wearing her down; she already plotted her timetable, and would get barely three hours of sleep tonight. But it was completely necessary to get into a career of doctoring, and although the head nurse had made her an unofficially official nurse, she still barely had the qualifications. And this course was extremely competitive. She held an edge with this attachment to the hospital, but she also had to get the grades, and her grades would probably be in the gutter if she didn't study. She suppressed a yawn, dumping her bag on the floor, before leaving for the hospital. Silver could clean the house, she supposed, her mind straying to her technically adoptive brother/ mini-crush? She already knew it was going to be weird, having talked to her (I'm just going to use the term 'brother' because it would take too long to write all that out ^_^) brother's previous admirer, which he spoiled with his usual naivety, which was adorable yet also so annoying. Sighing, she looked at the lights of Central City, glowing as the cab sped to the hospital.
Sonic was in a bit of a spot. Specifically, he had just opened the fridge, and the eggs had fallen out and splattered on his feet, leaving a stinking mess on the kitchen floor. He had wanted to make dinner, before Tails had to go home, but he still didn't know how to cook and now, he apparently couldn't open the damned fridge either. Sighing, he closed the door, before taking a big jump into the kitchen bathroom, rinsing off his feet, hoping that Tails wouldn't enter the kitchen.
"Eww! What's that smell?" Tails cried out, wandering into the kitchen in search of Sonic. He knew that something was amiss, having maintained the cleanliness of the home for so long, until his father had found an excuse to demand him to go home. He heard nervous giggling from the bathroom, and found Sonic rinsing his feet, the egg residues leaving gooey trails on the floor. "Tails? Sorry about that, I promise I'll clean it up," he said, swishing his feet in the water to remove the egg trails. "But, do you want to go out for dinner?" Tails smiled. "Is this your idea of a date? Because…I'd love to! But can we have a little fun first? I haven't had any time to relax this whole week."
Sonic grinned at him. "Oh, we'll have soo much fun, so, in your bedroom, now."
Percival sat down on the couch with a grateful sigh. His legs were sore from walking all the way from Bygone Island to Shadow's house, as it was the closest stable portal that the White had to this place. Nevertheless, he was all business in three minutes, delivering his message.
"The highmage will be coming to personally train you, and will probably stay in your home, so please, treat her nicely. She's getting kind of old," he said, Shadow frowning at that. He sensed that Percival wasn't telling them the complete truth, but he accepted it. It was obvious the strange guy cared for Mirius, and wouldn't do anything to purposely harm him. Still, he could, by neglect, cause harm to come to Mirius, and Shadow wouldn't accept that.
"Have you been reading the book I gave you?" Percival asked, and Mirius embarrassedly shook his head, no he hadn't. "Well, make reading that book a priority, alright? Practice what the book tells you to, and experiment if you want. But now, I also came to give you a lesson. Is there a metalworking furnace here?"
Shadow was puzzled. Why would Percival need a metalworking furnace? There was one in the laboratory upstairs, but he wasn't about to just let him use it without answers.
"Why?" the question burst out of Shadow's lips, and Percival turned to him, smiling a little. "Why, for the lesson, of course." Shadow rolled his eyes, before tracking his way up the stairs, his feet squeaking on the polished wooden steps, Mirius and Percival following. Silver glanced up, before sneaking up behind them. He was indeed very much interested in this magical business, seeing how he had some abilities, so to speak.
"Well, today, I suppose I will be teaching you how to make magical artifacts," Percival said, producing a bar of copper from within his robes. "Now, I believe you have some familiarity with this subject, having read it in the Histories within the chapter Metallurgy, so you should be able to tell me the metals that can conduct magic, hmm?" Percival said, looking intently at Mirius, who looked up, before reciting word-for-word, the exact definitions listed.
"Platinum group metals and gold conduct the best, especially with iridium having no loss of magical power. Silver, copper, and iron conduct in decreasing magnitude, and iron tends to lose its magical properties after a while," he said, eyes focusing back on Percival.
"Good, good!" Percival congratulated, while Silver and Shadow half-heartedly clapped, watching the lesson. "Now, here I have arguably the cheapest viable conductor of magic, and we shall now proceed with the actual lesson: learning how to apply this to uses."
"First, we will have to shape it into a useable shape, tool, anything. Anything in particular that you'd like to make?" Percival asked, watching Mirius toy with the bar of copper. "I suppose I could do with a simple wristband thingy?"
"You mean a bracelet?" Percival asked, brows furrowed slightly.
"I think that's what it's called, yes," Mirius replied, placing the bar of pink metal on the table top.
Percival bent over the furnace, fiddling with the knobs, murmuring curse words under his breath. "How does this work?" he muttered, before Shadow kindly stepped in, and flipped the switches for him. "Oh, right, right…" he mumbled, turning the heat up and stepping back from the oven.
"Seeing as we don't have a mold, we will have to cold-work the metal," Percival said, tapping another bar of copper on the table. "However, it should be rather easy, especially with magic. Watch carefully," he said, letting go of the bar of copper and levitating it before his eyes. The bar started to bend, slowly, but surely, shaping into a circle. Percival's eyes stared intently at the band of metal, silver flickers of light glimmering within the depths of his eyes, as he magically worked the metal.
When he had completed the bracelet, he floated it into the furnace, before closing the door, and set the timer for ten minutes, turning to face Mirius. "Well, that was the easy part done, and the difficult part is next. Why don't you try it out, while my one heats up?"
Mirius stared at the band of metal, trying to bend the metal into a perfect circle, as Percival's had been. He seemed to keep getting kinks in the metal bar, such that it never turned a perfect circle. "Go slow, it's hard at first, but you'll get it," Percival gently encouraged, watching the metal band slowly form. The slim piece of copper finally touched ends, and Percival smiled, levitating it into the furnace as well.
"It will get hot enough to fuse the two ends together by applying pressure, but not hot enough to melt the copper. However, we will wait for it to cool before working it." He stared intently into the furnace, while Mirius flipped through some pages in the History, going over the metalworking chapter. It seemed more blacksmithing than magic, although from some of the arcane symbols engraved into the metal in the diagram, he couldn't really be sure.
The sharp ding! of the timer pulled him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see Percival float out the two bands of copper, a shimmering heat haze around them. "Alright, so you will want to wait for them to cool slowly first, but as we are operating on a rather tight schedule, I suppose we can quench them in water. It'll make the metal harder to work, but with the magical tools we have, it should be simple."
The lesson continued for another half an hour, Percival teaching him how to layer the magical wards into the metal into a powerful force, each individual symbol linking to others, forming a barrier against harm to the person wearing it.
"This is a general protection spell that we are placing on this bracelet. Also, please don't use blood to imbue items with power unless they are really important; we usually just use magic-infused crystals to hold the magic. Your blood is as magical as you are, so please, don't go around wasting it on everything you see. Imagine the consequences if some person got hold of a sample of your blood on a magical item? DNA traces will certainly pick up your signature, and you'll probably get carted off to a holding cell." Percival warned grimly, eyes hard with certainty.
Soon enough, Mirius had finished the bracelet, and his hands hurt, as did his eyes, his back and his ass. He had sat stock-still for the past one and a half hours, unmoving as he shaped the bracelet. And oh Solaris, did he find new places to hurt in. His fingers were criss-crossed with scars from the multiple times his scalpel had slipped, and he could barely stand without falling over. His finished, polished band of metal lay on the table, and Percival picked it up, inspecting it.
"Well done," he said at long last, amazed by the quality that that was displayed in his first attempt. "I believe that we can even perform a transmutation on this thing," he said, drawing looks from all three hedgehogs. "You can what?" Shadow asked, eyes wide with disbelief. Percival just grinned. "It's useful, I'll admit, but really draining on the power. But I'll give it a shot."
Holding the band of pink metal in his hands, he closed his eyes, a faint silver tinge gathering around him, slowly building in intensity. Flickers and stabs of silver lights flared around him, before a blazing column of silver light spilled forth from his hands, exploding out before turning back onto itself, pouring into the pink metal, the fierce glow causing the three hedgehogs to shut their eyes.
And abruptly, the light plunged out of existence, leaving faint gleams of silver light around Percival, before fading completely. In his hands was a silver-blue band of much, much heavier metal, the wards glowing faintly as the precious, magical metal soaked up the ambient magic radiating from Percival's hands.
"Iridium," Mirius whispered to himself, reaching out to touch the warm metal, glowing with an inner light.
"Yeah, yeah, iridium is great and all, but I need to sit down, so kindly take the damned thing, thanks," Percival snapped, swaying from the effort. Mirius caught him by the arm, and Percival silently marveled at the strength he possessed; it wasn't possible with such a physique. He let himself be slowly lowered down onto the chair, before closing his eyes, strengthening himself by sheer willpower alone. "I suppose I should return to the Tower now, and if I'm not wrong, Gerald should be home in half an hour," Percival muttered. Drawing on the last reserves of his strength, he pushed himself out of his seat, before shuffling to the door, Shadow following him.
When the two of them reached the driveway, Percival turned around, eyes scanning the surroundings. Satisfied, he turned to Shadow, leaning in close, voice a sharp whisper.
"Do not repeat what I am about to tell you to anyone, ever. And especially not to Mirius. Do you understand?" he whispered to Shadow, his voice harsh and soft.
"Yes, I do."
"Take care of Mirius well. He hasn't had a proper person to care for him for a very long time, and if you break his heart, I will personally find you, and kill you. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, I do but…why all this secrecy?"
"It's because…I'm his father."
Shadow was stunned speechless. That explained all the similarities between the two hedgehogs, although, it didn't really account for everything. "How…when did you have him? And why didn't you take care of him?" The unspoken question "Why are you such a horrible father?" hovered between them, and Percival took a deep breath, choosing his words carefully.
"Well, when I was younger, I made some…stupid mistakes, in a motel in Central City. I had been…seeing this girl, and we had both ended our high school days. So, after our final exams, we had just become legal, and we decided to go for a drink, to try out. So, we went to a pub in Central City, got so smashed, and then, next thing I knew, I woke up in bed with her, in some motel. She called me two days later, saying she was pregnant, and I originally had been delighted."
"Then what happened?" Shadow asked, eyes glimmering with curiosity.
"Then, I had to take my Test, and I was called back to the Tower. I couldn't really visit her, and she thought I was purposely ignoring her, and our relationship soured. She only consented to carrying Mirius to full term because I convinced her that an abortion was murder. After that, she never wanted anything to do with me anymore, and found a new man in university. She hadn't wanted to give Mirius to me either, choosing instead to leave him at the steps of Mobius High School, where he attended primary school and everything."
"Why didn't you take care of him?"
"Oh, she filed a restraining order against me in Mirius' name, and then made him stick his thumb on the paper."
"Who is she?"
Percival looked around nervously, eyes darting around. Shadow's ears pricked up, catching the sound of an engine headed to the home, recognizing the distinct sound of Gerald's hydrogen powered engine.
"Meet me at the back, after Gerald comes home. It seems pretty important and secret."
Percival nodded, before darting around the thick foliage, disappearing into the backyard. Shadow sighed, and turned to go back into the house, looking for Mirius. Hopefully, Gerald wouldn't be onto them skipping classes, but then again, he wasn't a doctor for nothing.
Sonic opened his eyes, groaning slightly. He was so tired, his seed splattered across his body and the sheets, mixed with Tails' own essence. He sat up, head pounding, breathing in the musty smell of cum, and looked at Tails, curled up on the bed, with a severe case of bed head. Glancing across the room, he saw the clock, hour hand at four, and he looked over at Tails, rubbing his face to wake him up.
"Nnghh…Go away, mom…five more minutes…" Sonic smiled at that, before leaning in to kiss Tails on the lips, hands roaming down Tails' body, converging on his member. "Miles, wake up, or I'm gonna start pulling," Sonic whispered into Tails' ears, gently rubbing on the soft member. Tails' eyes snapped open at the feeling of hands on his crotch, and he kicked at Sonic, legs futilely trying to push Sonic away. "Hey, quit it!" he laughed, as Sonic rubbed the head with his fingertips. "Horny hedgehog!"
A small grin appeared on his face. "Well then, since you said so…" he murmured as he sped up his ministrations, fingers dancing over the slicked organ, translucent fluids leaking from the tip. "Oh Solaris…noooo," Tails moaned, breath dropping to a husky whisper as his primal nature took over, bucking his hips into Sonic's hands.
Already so drained from his previous session, Tails quickly blew his load into Sonic's face, a thin dribbly liquid, before collapsing back into bed, exhausted. "C'mon, time to go for dinner, then we can go and do work," Sonic chirped, while Tails lay in bed, summoning up the strength to roll off. Sonic shook his head, and rose, lifting Tails up before striding over into the shower, and dousing Tails with cold water. "Hey, quit it!"
Finally washing the smell and stains of jizz off his fur, Sonic dried himself, Tails following suit, before they threw on some clothes. "Technically, this is a date, but really, I don't care, because these are kinda meaningless to me, with you beside me," Sonic smiled at Tails, who returned the smile. "All that matters to me, is you. But, still, I can make this as memorable as possible," the blue speedster said, before waving down a cab. "Let's go to…hmmm…Central City!"
Gerald Robotnik was furious. He hadn't pegged Mirius to be a person to skip school, and suddenly, with Shadow, the entire gang disappears to Solaris-knows-where. He held his cool until he opened the front door, before bursting into a furious tirade.
"WHERE, IN THE NAME OF SOLARIS, HAVE YOU BEEN, SHADOW ROBOTNIK HEDGEHOG?!" his voice thundered through the house, Silver and Mirius cringing at the force of it. Shadow barely flinched, taking a step forward to Gerald.
"I thought it was sufficiently important for me to leave school immediately due to an emergency, and we had to–"
"Don't bullshit me, Shadow. What emergency could cause you to urgently leave school?"
Shadow sighed. "This kind of emergency," he said, before taking the Holy Bible that decorated the fireplace, and threw it at Mirius.
There was a blinding flash of light, and the book fell to the ground, the embroidered symbols curling as they turned into ash, the faint stench of smoke in the air.
"What the hell just happened?"
"Tails figured it out. Outside of school," Shadow dryly replied, before taking Mirius' hand, leading him to the dinner table, Silver following them. "Do you understand now, Grandfather?"
They ate in silence, Silver not daring to meet anyone's eyes as he stared into his plate, pushing the food around as he tried to guess what was going on in their heads. A touch of telepathic power allowed him to slip inside Maria's mind, where he saw confusion, shock and apprehension flickering around her mind. Mirius finished quickly, and excused himself from the table, running up the stairs, and disappearing somewhere in the house. Shadow sighed, and followed him, handing his emptied plate to N.I.C.O.L.E.
"Silver, why did you come here today?" Gerald asked, his voice reflecting intonations of curiosity, as he studied the young white hedgehog. Silver picked at his gloves, before answering.
"Well, I kinda came here to apologize to Mirius, cos I was kind of a dick…"
"Kind of a dick? What does that mean?"
"It's a long story, maybe he can tell you some other time? I kinda should get going…"
"Relax, Silver, tomorrow is Friday, late day, so it's okay."
Silver gulped, eyes darting to the floor. "Okay, so it started when…"
Shadow caught sight of Mirius, but he ignored his boyfriend for the time being, heading for his boyfriend's dad instead. Percival sat patiently on the veranda at the back, turning at the presence of Shadow.
"So who is this she?"
Percival leant in, eyes flickering around the place.
"His mother is…Rosemary Prower!"
Shadow rolled his eyes. "That wasn't quite the dramatic reveal I was hoping for, but I'll take what I can get. But… are you certain? Tails' mother? Why?"
Percival huffed in annoyance. "My love life isn't your issue! Your issue now, is to protect Mirius, and make sure he never finds out, until I think it's alright for you to tell him. Oh, and by the way, as a heads-up, the highmage will be staying with you for about a year or so, until other, suitable arrangements can be made. She's his aunt, just so you know." With that, he disappeared into the lengthening shadows, stalking into the twilight gloom.
Shadow slowly walked up the stairs, to the swimming pool at the back. Gerald had planned for the pool to be off dirt or soil, and to keep the bugs away, a simple force field sufficed. It was thus on the second floor, a rather novel idea which the neighbors eventually picked up, having enough of inflatable rubber pools that burst or leaked.
He reached the top of the stone steps, and could see Mirius holding onto the parapet of the carved border the surrounded the pool, staring into the distant setting sun. It was dim, yet Mirius made no effort to light the place up, and interestingly, he did not seem to have noticed Shadow. Sighing quietly, he padded over to Mirius, before wrapping his arms around his waist, and burying his face into the soft fur on his back, parting the slightly puffy quills that fell from his head. Mirius started, before calming, and raised an eyebrow at the sudden intrusion.
"Anything you care to tell me?" Shadow whispered into his back, and Mirius smiled faintly.
"Today's Thursday. And it's been two weeks since… that day." He trailed off, still smiling faintly at the memory of 'that day', whatever it was.
Raising an eyebrow, he regarded Mirius, wondering what could stir such conflicting feelings in him. Eidetic memory or not, he still had to figure out what made him so—ah.
Pulling Mirius around, he looked deep into Mirius' eyes. "It's the day we confessed our feelings for each other, right?"
"Smart boy. Then again, I doubt I would've chosen a dummy to be with forever," Mirius murmured, before his eyes grew downcast again. "And, of course, with all these new revelations that seem to happen around me, I just realized I got church to attend on Saturday."
Shadow winced. "Small problem, huh?"
"More than you know. I really need some time alone to study my new abilities, and what limits I possess, but with school…" He trailed off, sighing quietly.
"Oh, the highmage is coming to teach you personally, for the next year or so," Shadow said, eyes tracing Mirius' gaze, wishing he could peer into that mind and sort out his problems for him. Mirius grimaced at that. "Ah, more work for me, then."
Feeling suddenly weary, he sat down at the edge of the pool, drawing his shorts up so they wouldn't get wet. Shadow sat beside him, still gazing at him, and he couldn't help but feel a little envious. Shadow had the benefit of trainers in G.U.N, while he was stuck here, puzzling out his life. He sighed as he remembered his stuff all still in his house. He hadn't had the time, nor the heart to start bringing his stuff over to Shadow's home, but he supposed he had to, one day. And these blasted boxers that he wore because there wasn't anything else that Shadow could lend him… Solaris, he was cranky.
"Maybe a swim would help you clear your mind?" Shadow offered, and Mirius couldn't help but laugh at that suggestion.
"Shadow, maybe you forgot, but I don't swim. I drown. Spectacularly."
"It's about a meter deep. Come on, it'll be fun. And it'll take your mind off matters."
Mirius' lips twisted into a smile. "It'll be fun…because you can see through my clothes? Alright, alright, I'll do it. But only because you said so."
Shadow grinned at him, and turned on the heater, before slipping off his shirt and pants, tossing them onto a nearby table. Mirius followed suit, and gingerly touched his toe into the now warm water, while Shadow slipped into the water effortlessly, cutting across the pool with a liquid grace, that made Mirius stare in envy.
Taking a deep breath, he envisioned a barrier of magic that extended before him, and slowly walked down the steps of the pool. The water retreated before him, pooling at the back, and he eventually reached the floor of the pool, the water held back by magic. Shadow swum up to his magical barrier, and Mirius got a good look at the bulge between his legs, before chastely looking away, but having his eyes inexorably drawn back.
"Oh, stop with the magic, and just have fun. I'll save you if you drown. Somehow."
Mirius gritted his teeth, before dismissing the barrier. At once, the water rushed back in, to surround him and making him feel almost weightless. He almost shrieked in fright, before he felt Shadow's arms on his back.
"Relax, you can still stand on the floor. Now, just take deep breaths…that's good."
"How come…you aren't this nice to the rest of our friends?"
"Because you're special."
Mirius let himself be gently guided to the bubbling font in the center of the pool, where hot water cascaded down on their heads, making his white quills clump together, and he felt Shadow's hands go to work, rubbing out the aches of the day, while murmuring sweet nothings into his ears.
All this was interrupted by an "oh, damn" as Shadow espied someone at the entrance. Mirius' eyes opened, and Shadow swum around, brow furrowed in annoyance.
"Damnit, was hoping for some privacy," he growled, and Mirius followed him, bouncing along the pool floor, like an oversized jellyfish bobbing along the ocean's waves.
"Oh, it's Silver," Shadow muttered, and Mirius eyes widened in surprise. Had they been seen? Hopefully not too much had been seen, although he was sure Silver wouldn't tell anyone if told not to. He just wasn't sure how he was going to face Silver ever again.
"I didn't know you had a pool! This is so cool!" Silver squealed, and Shadow had to roll his eyes.
"Really?"
"Can I join?"
Shadow glanced to Mirius, who nodded somewhat reluctantly, and replied, "Alright."
"But I don't have clothes or anything though," Silver realized, but Shadow just waved his arm at him. "I have spares."
Slipping off his clothes, he took three steps back, before jumping into the pool, splashing everyone in the pool.
"Oh my goodness," Mirius muttered, the shock of water almost entering his lungs causing him to cough and sputter, before sitting up on the underwater ledge that ringed the font. Silver splashed over to them, before Mirius slapped his hand over the font, directing the water blast right into Silver's face.
"Arggh!" Silver shrieked, the water blasting into his nose and mouth, and he fell back under the water, where he bobbed back up, gasping for air. "That was mean," he said, before Mirius put his hand over the font again, causing him to dive underwater, and swim away.
Shadow chuckled quietly, before slipping under the waters, stealthily chasing Silver, who was himself trying to sneak up on Mirius. The water barely bothered his eyes, as he was the Ultimate Lifeform, but he could see Silver floating to the surface to blink rapidly, before sinking back down. That could be a helpful advantage, he thought, while following Silver, who was trying to get around the font as quickly as he could, while going unnoticed.
Mirius sat near the deep end, which allowed his long legs to dangle into the water, and he closed his eyes, letting the waves buffet him, running along his body, pushing him off the…pushing him off the ledge? His eyes snapped open, to feel telekinetic-powered waves of water lift him off the ledge and into the 2 meter mark area.
"Oh no no no NO NO NO!" he shrieked, clinging onto the ledge, but the waves were relentless. He spied Silver's grinning face behind the font, and he cursed silently, scrabbling for a good grip on the smooth stone-tiled ledge. He suddenly saw Silver's expression change to shock, and felt the waves weaken, as a scream was heard. He had no time to figure out what happened, as he floundered in the deep water, and the waters covered his head.
Silver was splashing around, one hand over his crotch. Shadow had snuck up from behind and pulled his undies down, and the turquoise article of clothing was bobbing over to the deep end, where it started sinking.
"Oh Solaris, no!" he cried, before seeing Shadow push off the wall, darting past him, headed for Mirius. "Right…Mirius can't swim…oops."
Mirius had managed to gulp in a breath of air before he sank, but as he ran out of oxygen, things started to become less and less lucid, until the point that he was starting to barely care. He had hit the bottom, and tried to bounce up, but had not succeeded in reaching the surface.
He watched as a turquoise article of cloth bobbed down to where he was, and lazily identified it as a pair of briefs, only to see a dark shape hurtling towards him. It was strangely familiar, although the mind-numbing effect of the deep water, and the lack of oxygen made it seem just out of his mind…before everything went black.
"One chicken bolognaise and a chili baked cheese rice with sausages, please," Sonic ordered, drawing an eye-roll from Tails. "Hey, it isn't a chili dog, is it?"
Tails giggled. "No, but I suppose that you could eat something else… also, we can go get drinks from that new café we saw earlier, right?" Sonic thought for a while, before nodding. "Yeah, should be okay… well, let's do dating stuff. What do you want to become in the future?"
Tails laughed. "You know what I want, Sonic. C'mon, a different question."
"Alright… what are you working on right now?"
"Hmm… a three layer capacitor, which stores enough power for my refractor-induction electron beam…you fell asleep, didn't you?"
"Hmm? No, absolutely not…well, maybe I did. Next question, unless you want to ask me one?"
"Sure…hmmm…would you give up all your money for me? Your speed? Your life?"
"Woooooow…deep questions, huh? Hmm…yes, maybe, yes."
"Maybe?"
"Alright, yes…don't use the puppy eyes on me, Tails. Cheater."
"Second question…Do you have anyone that you kind of like, other than me?"
"Uh, what?"
"Serious."
"Err…well, I kind of had an attraction towards Shadow and Mirius…wonder if they'd like a foursome?"
"Don't be gross. How about Silver, or anyone else?"
"Err Silver yes, and about no one else."
"Jeez."
"What? You can't expect me to jack off to nothing, right?"
"Holy cow, too much information for these ears, alright? Although the thought of you doing that is quite…interesting."
Sonic grinned. "I can tell," he smiled, an aura of seduction hanging heavy about him. To which Tails simply rolled his eyes at.
"Oh, right, I forgot to ask, what time are you expected back at home? I don't want you to be beat up because of me, lil buddy."
"Ten thirty. Is it too early? I don't want him to find out that we're hanging out…or actually going out on a date! This is way too surreal, like, I still can't believe you and I are going out! On a date!"
"Oh don't be silly, Tails, I'd go out anywhere with you. But, you wanna go make a better use out of our time now?"
Tails smiled back at him. "You bet! But dinner first though."
Shadow hauled Mirius out of the water, and Silver followed, still fully nude. Laying Mirius down, he put his ear to Mirius' mouth, fingers running down the side of Mirius' neck to find a pulse. Finding nothing, he put his hands together, and drove them deep into Mirius' abdomen, watching him vomit out water, and he repeated the process. Silver watched, while trying to inconspicuously put on his undies. Shadow grew increasingly worried, as the minutes passed, and yet Mirius showed noo sign of waking up.
"Wake up, Mirius, wake up!" he cried, pushing harder, and suddenly, in a retching spray of water, Mirius sat up, coughing and spluttering. "Are you alright?" Shadow asked concernedly, almost on the verge of tears, while Mirius threw up more water, before collapsing into Shadow's arms. "I'll be…fine… I think."
"Thank Solaris," Shadow cried, and Silver inched his way out of the pool, feeling all the awkward vibes. "Thank Solaris," he muttered, slipping out into the house compound, only to be greeted with a piercing scream as he walked half-nude into Maria.
Alright, so announcements on this story. Yes, it will be completed. Yes, I will still work on it. But I got promos, and I have to study, so I might next update in December or something. I'm really sorry, but I won't end this story, so consolation, I suppose? If you have any idea, criticisms or feedback, please, rate and review down below! It would mean the world to me, even if they are just guest reviews! So, thank you all for supporting this story, and happy pride month/feminist month/birthday/anniversary/day/night!
(There was a reason why I made Maria so pro at fighting ;))
