Hey guys! Here's the final chapter! Hooray - At long last!
~Xoxomtmodnarxoxo
The 22nd. To the staff it was the busiest day in their current calendar. For Lindsay, it was Judgement Day.
She had a plan. A plan to disrupt whatever event they were plotting against her. But her timing had to be accurate. So Lindsay sat upright in the bed with the broken cast covering her leg, focussing on her thoughts. Maids came and went with meals, blankets and other essentials. But that didn't distract her.
It wasn't until twenty past six until she heard it, until she felt it. An almighty explosion erupted nearby which shook on the side of the building where she lay captivated. Curious, she sat up and leaned forward, listening in to any useful information. Lindsay heard one or two Guards swear from outside and then more commotion, footsteps, shouting, and then silence. Something was happening; something that she could use as an alibi. Perfect.
Lindsay focussed on the double doors of the bedroom… and heard a Guard marching outside. This was her only chance.
"Help!", she shouted at the top of her voice, "Help me! Is there anybody there?"
There was a pause, and then the double doors open. There stood a Guard with a pistol, looking at her anxiously.
"What?", he demanded, "What is it?"
"I think there's somebody in the closet over there!", Lindsay hissed, "I was taking a nap when I noticed the door was slightly open and I heard noises coming from inside. I think it might be the culprit who made that explosion happen earlier"
"Jesus", the Guard commented, "That's helpful that you've told me. We've had no leads to whoever's done this so far. It's a real mess out there. Are you okay, though?"
"Yeah, I'm fine", she answered, "I'm just confused, what's going on?"
"I'll explain later", the Guard replied and whispered, "Listen, sit tight, I'll go in there and check it out for you. If there's nobody there I'll help you get out of here to safety"
"Ah", Lindsay whispered, "You're amazing!"
The Guard gestured to her to be quiet and tip-toed towards the closet. He opened the door slowly and cautiously, and then aimed his weapon inside the walk-in closet. Lindsay tore off the broken plaster cast and grabbed the ornament that was placed on her bedside table as a decorative object. She tip-toed slowly towards the Guard, and aimed the ornament at his head. The Guard, totally oblivious to what was happening behind him, shook his head at the empty closet.
"There's nothing in here", he announced, "Here, let's get you-"
Lindsay struck the Guard's head with the hard ornament, causing him to fall to the floor with shock. Lindsay struck him again and again until blood was glistening on the wooden ornament and the Guard's howls of pain and dismay slowly died down until he no longer attempted to fight back. The Guard lay on the floor, blood slowly seeping out of his ear and nose. Lindsay breathed out. She grabbed the Guard's pistol and slowly made her way to the double doors of the bedroom. Now that she had some protection if anybody got in her way, she could progress to the next part of her plan.
The hallways were eerily quiet when she stepped out of the bedroom for the first time. Due to her staying for a brief period with Sonic in the past, Lindsay knew the basic route to the ground floor of the Palace. She overheard many Guards swearing and shouting in the distance and another indescribable noise occurring. It simply wasn't the right moment of time to linger in the hallways; she had to get out and collect Mei before anything dangerous would happen. Her time was too precious to waste. Lindsay began to hobble down the hall, cursing at the pins and needles in her supposedly 'broken' leg. Broken leg, indeed! Just wait until she could get her hands on that bastard, Sonic! She would definitely break his legs the next time she saw him, and maybe his arms and neck, too. And not only that, she would finally learn what the whole secret behind Mei would be. That had been her main concern out of this entire situation, for example, why did they want Mei to lose weight? Why were Blaze and Vanilla acting so strangely? Why did they try to keep Lindsay out of the way the entire time? Could it be that they were actually planning to kill Mei?
"No", Lindsay muttered to herself, "Don't be stupid, Lindsay, of course they won't kill Mei! What a ridiculous thought. Vanilla and Blaze: murderers - the idea!"
Then again, the whole theory in her mind was beginning to spiral out of control. But that didn't really matter, for she was going to find out tonight what the entire conspiracy was about. And if they didn't tell her or give a clue, she would shoot them right there and then. Yeah, that was a good idea. A great idea to get her point across: To get answers and answers now.
Lindsay forgot to be cautious and jumped when she heard another thud near her. She gave a small cry of shock and her arm accidentally flew out and knocked an ornament off of a nearby table, the ornament fell and landed on the marble floor with a noticeable 'thud'. Lindsay held her breath. She heard a voice nearby stating, "What the fuck is that?". Lindsay froze. Was that Stan's voice she had just heard? Did she dare turn the corner of the hallway and see for herself if it was her friend, not her mind playing tricks on her…?
No, she had come this far, she couldn't waste anymore time. It was a risk she had to take. Besides, Lindsay could catch up with Stan later. Mei was her first priority.
There were more voices. And then several gunshots. Lindsay scurried towards the main staircase fearfully. There was no way she was going to get involved with this mess! She tip-toed down the stairs, and then suddenly crouched down when she saw a few guests wandering in the main hallway towards the ballroom, gossiping and laughing, completely oblivious to Lindsay hiding from them. Once the guests had re-entered the ballroom, Lindsay stood up again and slowly descended down the stairs and towards the ballroom. Lindsay didn't care that she was wearing a dirty t-shirt and torn jeans where the other guests were wearing formal suits and elegant gowns. Lindsay didn't care that her face was streaked with sweat, tears, and blood whereas the other women had their faces made-up immaculately, looking poised and beautiful. Lindsay didn't care that she looked crazy whilst she grasped a pistol in her shaking hand. All she cared about was getting her daughter back safely.
She stepped into the ballroom which was filled with elegantly-dressed guests, an orchestra providing classical music, a buffet table, and right in the centre was a small Mobian dressed in white sitting on a lone chair with a number of guests surrounding them, showering the Mobian with compliments and praise. Behind the mysterious Mobian was Tikal who was smiling, nodding, and speaking to the guests. Lindsay stared at Tikal and then at the small figure dressed in white. It only meant one thing.
The small white figure was Mei.
Lindsay looked around the room. She noticed Vanilla, Cream, Blaze, Knuckles, and also Sonic's siblings to which she had met only once before; Sonia and Manic. There were a few other faces she saw who she recalled but didn't fully recognise, and they were all dressed formally and socialising with the other guests, unaware that she was standing at the threshold, watching them all. It wasn't until she slowly shuffled into the room that they noticed her presence. Many guests stared at her, bewildered, as predicted by Lindsay, as she stared straight back at them, the pistol shaking in her grasp. The grand ballroom grew eerily silent. Tikal was the first to break it as she let out an exaggerated gasp and automatically covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes staring at Lindsay with disbelief.
"But, it can't be", Tikal whispered, "You're suppose to be… I mean, you-"
"Be quiet", Lindsay announced quietly. She held up the pistol, "I'm here to take my daughter away from you all and if any of you get in my way, I will shoot you! Do you hear me? I will shoot you until you die!"
"No!", Tikal cried, "Stay away from her! You can't-"
"Oh, but I can", Lindsay answered, "I'm taking Mei away from you lunatics. She's just an innocent child - how dare you use my child for your evil ways! I'm not having any of it!"
"Where's the Guards?", one guest timidly whispered. Lindsay ignored them and made her way towards Tikal. Tikal began to tremble as she rested her hands on Mei's shoulders.
"No!", Tikal exclaimed, "Believe me, you really don't want to look!"
"Out of my way!", Lindsay demanded.
"But-"
"Now!", Lindsay screamed and shot a single bullet near Tikal. The bullet didn't actually hit the trembling echidna but Tikal let out a fearful cry and obediently let go of Mei. All the other guests jumped slightly and gave out startled cries; all of them too afraid to stop the female hedgehog as she stood in front of her daughter.
Lindsay paused to look at Mei's outfit. It was like a white frock with matching gloves-
Like in her nightmare.
- and a veil covering her entire face. Mei sat still in the chair, not responding to her mother's violent behaviour; quiet and poised. Lindsay couldn't stand it any longer and reached out to Mei, and pulled the veil away from her face. Mei's face seemed normal at first but when the light around them adjusted on Mei's face, Lindsay noticed various markings on her cheeks. Unusual markings. Not make-up, the markings looked as if they had been carved into Mei's face. Lindsay dared to reach out and touch one of the markings. One marking was, indeed, not make-up; the marking was embedded into the skin.
The markings were scars.
Lindsay reeled back, horrified. She gagged at the sight, and then peered at Mei's face again. The markings didn't seem to make sense; there was a strange-looking 'F' and a large 'X' carved on one cheek, and on Mei's other cheek there was a pointy 'B' and an upside-down, pointy 'U'. Lindsay stared at them, horrified, and then at the silent guests surrounding the two hedgehogs.
"What…?", Lindsay whispered and then began to shout, "What the fuck is this? You've scarred her! You've cut my baby up, you sick twisted fucks! How could you- what possessed you all to do this to an innocent little girl? You've scarred my baby for life!", nobody answered her. Lindsay shouted once more, "ANSWER ME, YOU FUCKING LUNATICS!"
"It's part of the ritual", one Mobian commented.
"What ritual?", Lindsay howled.
"It's the ritual of the sacrifice", the Mobian - also known as the Foreign Commissioner - answered, "You're daughter is going to be put into an arranged marriage with my son when she's older"
Lindsay couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"An arranged marriage?", she screamed, "That's no reason to cut up her face, you fucking bastard!"
The guests began to chuckle at her comment. Lindsay began to breathe fire.
"STOP LAUGHING!", she howled at them all.
"Lindsay, didn't you know?", Vanilla asked, "As part of a traditional arranged marriage between two powerful families, the bride must have traditional markings carved on her face-"
"Bu-but she's just an innocent little girl!", Lindsay shouted hoarsely, "Why would you do this to her?"
"I'm sorry, dear", Vanilla remarked, "It's tradition; it has to be done. That's what the Foreign Commissioner and his people believe, and we have to do what he says"
"So, my daughter is a bride?", Lindsay demanded. The Foreign Commissioner fidgeted awkwardly.
"We see her as a virgin sacrifice", he explained, "But it's a significant role to play as far as our religion is concerned. She is chosen to be a virgin sacrifice for my son and she will remain perfect and pure until she is of age. Mei will come with us after tonight to my country where she will be brought up and will be taught to be respectful, elegant, poised; the perfect wife for my son where she will be expected to marry him and produce a son for him when she turns the age of fourteen. She will make our countries powerful again! She will be the perfect sacrifice! This sarifice will bring both our countries together and make us more powerful than ever! Long live Mei!"
The guests around him cheered happily and many repeated with joy, "The perfect sacrifice!", and, "Long live Mei!"
"A Vir-", Lindsay spluttered and stopped and stared at Mei. Mei scratched at one of the scars, hissing at the pain from the scars. Tikal timidly scolded her.
"It's painful, Tikal!", she whined, as a single tear rolled from her left eye and down towards her scars. The tear mixed with the scars and soon the tear had a mixture of blood in it as it continued to slowly roll down her cheek. Lindsay stared at the bloody tear -
… Tears of blood…
- with disbelief. She then stared at the other guests. They were all cheering happily at the idea of Mei being the 'perfect sacrifice' and chuckled at Lindsay's shaken state -
… They're going to laugh at you…
- whilst she tried to re-gain her thoughts. It was just too confusing; what did they mean by 'Mei will come with us after tonight'? -
… They're going to take away your most valued possession…
- and what exactly did the markings mean?
"The markings", Lindsay suddenly demanded, "What do they mean?"
"Well, you see", one guest explained, "the 'F' stands for 'possessions', the 'X' means 'sacrifice or gift', the 'B' here means 'female', and the upside-down 'U' means 'power'. I know it's all a bit confusing, my dear, but it is tradition in our religion to carve these particular markings on a girl should she be chosen as a virgin sacrifice for a powerful family"
"But-but", Lindsay stammered. One final thought popped into her mind -
… They're going to drive you crazy…
- and with that Lindsay gave a horrified howl and sank to the floor, instantly dropping the gun. She crouched into a small ball and howled tears of shock and horror, screaming loudly if anyone attempted to come near her. So, this was the conspiracy that was put together behind her back. Only she didn't expect the conspiracy to be that horrific or barbaric. A virgin sacrifice! They were all mad! Absolutely crazy! It was as though they had no sympathy for Mei at all! Lindsay didn't want to believe that this was happening, but it was. Everybody was celebrating the idea of an innocent young hedgehog sacrificing her freedom and her innocence for all eternity. It didn't make sense at all. They were all monsters!
Lindsay covered her eyes with her hands slowly and breathed in and out heavily, praying that she wouldn't vomit right there and then. It didn't seem to matter, for the guests hardly paid any attention to her nervous breakdown.
Then all of a sudden she felt warm hands resting on her shoulders. Warm, reassuring hands. She clung to them desperately.
"Come on, Linds", the familiar voice told her, "Let's get you out of here"
The person coaxed her out of the ballroom and down the hallway towards the kitchen. Lindsay suddenly didn't care that the person helping her down the hallway was Sonic, she was just relieved to get out of the ballroom where the unbelievable monstrosity was revealed to her. She clung to him and wept. Sonic carried her to the kitchen and gently placed her down on one of the high chairs beside the kitchen units. Lindsay stared at him through her tears.
"I'll get you a drink, Linds", he offered, "Stay where you are. Oh, God, this is all my fault"
"What?", she whispered, "What do you mean?"
"I'm sorry", Sonic whimpered and then he began to cry, "I'm so, so sorry for everything!"
"What. Did. You. Do?", Lindsay demanded fiercely. Sonic poured her a glass of water and offered it to her. She didn't bother to take it from him. He placed the glass on the kitchen unit.
"It was me", he explained, "I didn't think it would - I mean, I needed to find a solution to sort this country out. The Foreign Commissioner has got money and weapons and the support that we desperately need in this current economy, and I-I-"
"You what?", Lindsay persisted.
"I stupidly offered Mei", Sonic admitted, "She was the only thing I could offer him, and-and… it seemed reasonable at the time. I didn't mean to harm her or you in any way, it's just… we need their support, Linds"
"You allowed them to cut up her face?", Lindsay asked, "It was you who was behind this the entire time?", she shuddered, "I-I…", and didn't say another word. She hid her face in her hands, shuddering with grief. Sonic rested a hand on her shoulder.
"I can only imagine how your feeling", he explained, "I remember how my own mother reacted when Sonia had the same thing done to her; completely messed her up, but she got over it in time…"
That was the thing; Lindsay felt as if she would never get over it. She recalled how Sonia was kept off of school at one point due to an 'illness' and returned with faint, familiar scars on her face a few months later. Nobody asked, Sonia didn't explain what the scars meant; it was easier that way. Lindsay then recalled meeting her again years later one time when they went shopping together, and how Sonia desperately tried to cover her scars up with make-up, but they remained noticeable. Despite this, Sonia was still a very popular student, though she had lost a lot of her confidence after having her faced scarred.
Lindsay didn't want this to happen to Mei. No mother would want this. She hid her face in her hands once more. Sonic allowed this to happen all because of power and money. It highlighted his insensitive and greedy nature. The idea sickened her to the core.
"Oh, Jesus", she whimpered and sobbed uncontrollably. Sonic nodded slightly, and then suddenly remembered. He knelt down so that he was at her eye level, and placed his hands gently on both sides of her face, so that she was forced to look at him.
"Listen", he informed her, "I've got this cheque a-and I'm giving you and Mei money to get out of here and to start a new life, a-and I just want you both to be happy and… I-I'm just trying to start fresh, that's all", he produced the cheque, "Take it. Take it and then we'll get Mei and you can go off and start over. Never mind me. Just go when you've got Mei and do whatever you want with the money"
Lindsay stared at the cheque. It was a large sum of money, a very large sum of money, but it suddenly didn't matter. Nothing seemed to matter now. It was as if her life wasn't worth living, knowing that her daughter was scarred and possibly indoctrinated at the same time. She stared at the cheque in silence. Sonic waited a few moments before he eventually gave up and went over to the sink to get himself a glass of water. Lindsay then stared at him.
"I can't express how sorry I really am", he explained as he turned the tap on, "I'm really trying to make it up to you… I feel like a monster…"
"It's okay", he heard a soft voice say behind him. He turned around and saw Lindsay stepping towards him slowly, a pained expression on her face. He didn't know what to do.
"You had no other choice", Lindsay whispered, "You needed to make this country great again, and Mei was the only possession you could offer the Foreign Commissioner. You were only thinking of the people in this country… and I understand"
"You… what?", Sonic dared whisper. Did she really mean it? Or was she lying? He had no way of telling.
"It's fine", she reassured him, "I just wish you had been honest with me instead of keeping it from me, that's all"
"I thought the truth would have destroyed you", Sonic admitted, "I thought you wouldn't have been able to handle it"
"I can't handle it because I found out in the worst way possible", Lindsay explained, "If you had told me sooner I would have been prepared fully for it"
"I-I'm sorry", Sonic croaked, "So sorry. For everything"
"It's…", Lindsay answered, "It's okay. Really"
Sonic began to weep and Lindsay responded by hugging him. Surprised by this, Sonic slowly put his arms around her and continued to weep.
"Thanks for the cheque", she whispered.
"Yeah, it's… it's fine", he answered.
"You said never to mind you", she continued, "What did you mean by that?"
"After what I've done?", Sonic asked, "I doubt you would ever want to see me again!"
"I'm angry", she explained, "But you have rights to have custody over Mei, and I have to accept that"
"So, you mean…?"
"Once we get Mei and we get out of here and then whenwe've got our new life in order you can see her whenever you want", she promised. Sonic felt her hug him closer. Lindsay must have meant it.
"Yeah, tha-that's okay", he told her, "More than okay, actually!"
"This experience has been good for the both of us, in a sense", Lindsay stated softly.
"What do you mean?", Sonic asked, "Like, it's changed things between us?"
"I mean like you've realised your faults and that you're trying to put things right again by offering us money to start a new life, yeah?"
"Yeah", he admitted.
"Well, for me the experience has made me realise how uptight and selfish I really am", she admitted. Sonic suddenly felt a small sharp point pressing on his back. He frowned. What's that?, he thought to himself.
"Sadly, I'm the exception", Lindsay explained, "I'm not willing to change. Sorry"
"What-", Sonic began and was immediately cut off as Lindsay viciously stabbed a sharp kitchen knife into his back. He cried out in pain as she pulled the knife out slightly and stabbed him once again. Lindsay stepped aside, and Sonic instantly fell to the floor. His body twitched as blood spurted out of his wound and onto Lindsay's clothes. She stared at him, the knife in her hand glistening with blood. This time, Sonic was definitely dead. There was no possible way he would have survived such brutal stabbings. His body stopped twitching, blood surrounding him.
Lindsay slowly turned around and left the kitchen. The idea of Sonic changing after everything he had done seemed too good to be true. That's why she did what she did. But now that he was out of the road, there was only one more thing she had to do. God only knew why she was going to do it but it seemed to make sense from her point of view. Her life wasn't worth living. The voice she had heard weeks ago were telling the truth; everybody had driven her to insanity in the end. What was the point in trying to fight against them now? It was certainly too late to save Mei. The Foreign Commissioner and his friends already had Mei in their clutches, Lindsay couldn't stop them now. There was no point in trying to be a hero for her daughter. She felt defeated. She was defeated, in the end.
Whilst thinking this, Lindsay reached the main entrance to the ballroom. The guests were entertaining themselves by performing a waltz and, again, didn't notice her until she stepped into the room with the bloody knife. The guests stopped abruptly and stared at her curiously. Lindsay stood upright so that everybody could see her. She waited until the entire room was silent. Only Knuckles had the courage to speak out loud as he ran to her side.
"Jesus, Lindsay", he commented, "What happened? What did you do?"
Lindsay slowly turned round to stare at him and then back at the other guests. They froze, watching her every move.
"The King is dead", she giggled, almost insanely, "Long live the Queen"
And with that, she suddenly raise the knife to her throat, dug the blade into her skin… and abruptly sliced her skin. Lindsay fell to the floor, blood pouring out of her neck. She remained unresponsive.
The guests stared at her limp, bloody body. Knuckles cried out loud and began to sob furiously, hiding his face; not wanting to dent his reputation as a tough guy.
"Such a shame!", one guest commented. The Foreign Commissioner rested one hand on Mei's shoulder.
"Never mind her. Never mind Sonic", he declared, "After all, we still have our souvenir", and smiled down at Mei.
Mei stared impassively at her mother. If she wasn't trained to be obedient for the Foreign Commissioner, she would have reacted towards her mother's suicide to a great extent. But that was the problem - she couldn't react or feel. The experience had left her feeling isolated and deprived from behaving like a 'normal' child. Besides, it wasn't right for a 'special' girl like herself to act in such an inappropriate manner. It wasn't allowed. Because she had to be obedient, she had to be perfect. Because she had been trained to do so for so long.
So for now, the Foreign Commissioner, Vanilla, Tikal, and her guests expected her to remain quiet and sit upright; poised and obedient. Just like a 'perfect bride'. So she did.
As if nothing ever happened.