Chapter 14: Child's Play

The rain was still pouring, the lighting was still striking, and the fury in Sonic was still raging. In fact, with each moment it was growing stronger and stronger. For hours he had not spoken directly to Sally, but mumbled angry words towards almost anything he could think of. Sally had not been listening, for she had been too busy on Nicole to make sure they were heading in the right direction. For some odd reason, they had been walking instead of running. If the next temple was so close, why didn't Sonic just carry her? She didn't know why, but she didn't question. Instead, she silently followed, shivering in the rain.

Sonic was gritting his teeth, clenching his fists as he walked forward. "Why did the stupid emerald have to be in a water temple? A water temple for crying out loud! Stupid emerald." He whispered, glaring at the ground. Lightning struck only a few miles away, sending an enormously loud crack through the air. Once again, Sonic growled. "Stupid lightning…"

Sally glanced up at the hedgehog, raising an eyebrow. Was he really that frustrated, to start hating inanimate objects and forces of nature? Perhaps it would have been better if she had gone into the water temple by herself. Then again, would she have been able to solo the temple? Most of the difficult sections of the temple did require speed, and she wasn't exactly in Sonic shape. Sighing, she glanced at Nicole's screen once again. The next temple was a few miles away. If they were going to walk there the entire way, it was going to take at least two hours. Maybe it was—

An uneven section of the ground suddenly left Sally with no balance. She yelped as she fell forward, crashing into Sonic. He let out an angry yell when they crashed to the ground, and Sally winced. If any time had been a bad time to crash into Sonic, it had been right then and there. Carefully, Sally stood up. "Sorry Sonic." She told him, reaching her hand out to his.

Sonic sighed and rolled his eyes, reluctantly taking her hand. "Oh no it's fine, that's only the second time you've tried to kill me today." He growled as he dusted himself off, now on his feet.

Sally's eyes grew wide. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me princess. When I finished that puzzle you said it was wrong and you 'fixed it?' Yeah, that was it." Sonic told her as he turned around, ready to walk off.

"What the, Sonic! I wasn't trying to kill you; I just thought it was wrong! Besides, you asked me to check it!" She exclaimed, putting Nicole back into her pocket.

Sonic laughed as he turned back, "Well obviously, that didn't work out, now did it?"

Sally gritted her teeth. "I was just trying to help!"

"Well I didn't need it! And here's a news flash Sal, you're not always right!"

"For crying out loud, you asked for my help! And I know I'm not always right!" She yelled, her hands now in tight fists.

"Oh really? Then why is it that every single stupid time I say something that it's instantly wrong? And why do you have to correct me every time, huh?"

"I do not correct you every time!" She growled. Her expression had turned into a glare, and she couldn't help but grit her teeth. "And why do you always have to be so reckless? Don't you ever stop to think?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sonic yelled, a crash of thunder following shortly afterward.

"Oh I don't know, maybe it has something to do with the fact that you have almost killed me about five times so far!" Sally exclaimed.

Sonic nodded, "Oh yeah, that's when I was getting totally annoyed of you and your endless nagging!"

Sally gasped in offence, "You jerk!" She yelled as the rain grew in speed. If he was going to say such things, she was going to use her hardest words. She started to dig her nails into her hands as she spoke, "Well, at least I have a brain!"

"At least I can actually run!"

"At least I don't run head first into dangerous situations like an idiot!"

"At least I don't act like a know-it-all priss who doesn't know how to have fun!"

Sally gritted her teeth, "Well at least I don't leave all my friends without even saying goodbye!"

That had definitely been the wrong thing to say, because his expression was more than just anger or annoyance now. It was pure fury. Gritting his teeth, Sonic yelled at her. "You think I wanted to leave! Do you honestly think I was happy about leaving all the Freedom Fighters? DO YOU THINK I WANTED TO LEAVE YOU?"

Sally yelled back, "THEN WHY DID YOU?"

Sonic growled and for a second, she didn't think he would answer. When he did, his words were like knives. "BECAUSE I WAS SICK AND TIRED OF YOU!"

His words literally made her fall back, stumbling on her own foot. Had he really just said that? Of course he had. She growled, gritting her teeth. Despite her best efforts to ignore the pain, his words hurt her. She knew that she had to say something, but she had no idea of what to say. After moments of silence, she yelled out the only thing she could think of. She closed her eyes and yelled as loud as her voice would permit, "YOU, ARE, AN, IDIOT!" Lightning flashed after she finished, and the thunder soon followed.

When she opened her eyes, she saw that he too had his teeth gritted with his hands in fists. He was glaring, and it didn't surprise her one bit. Why wouldn't he glare? The weather was matching the mood, as the sky was raging a terrible storm. The rain was pouring so heavily that Sally was still shivering, despite her anger. Despite the sounds around them it was silent. Slowly, they put their hands back to their sides and weakened their glares. They averted each other's gazes, not knowing what else to say. What was there to say? At that moment, any other words would have only deepened the pain.

It seemed like an eternity before the silence was broken. Sally sighed, glaring at the grass by Sonic. "I have an idea. Let's not talk to each other for as long as possible."

Sonic was quiet for a second. "For once Sal, you have a good idea." He told her, his voice filled with pure spite.

It was dead silent for a moment, but a strike of lightning soon changed it once again. Without a thought of the storm, Sally took Nicole out of her pocket. She turned on the map and observed it for a few moments before walking off. The hedgehog followed her, not bothering to say anything. In that moment, it seemed as if the two would never speak again. Although their glares were long gone, their frustrated gazes were still present on their faces.

They walked for a long time. The wind eventually picked up, and it only made Sally shiver more. She wondered for a moment if Sonic was shivering, but she quickly remembered that she wasn't going to talk to him. It made her feel a little lonely, but she continued on anyways. Despite the rain, the lighting, and the thunder around them, the two continued onward.

After a mile or so, it became apparent that they were too tired to even reach the next temple. Instead, Sally began to look around for some sort of a shelter. She knew that there were no towns nearby, so she looked for anything like a large rock, or something remotely warm. Of course, with her hair in the way and the rain everywhere, the possibility of her sighting something like that was not very likely. Wordlessly, she wondered if Sonic was going to find something.

It was as if he had read her mind because that next second, Sonic walked ahead of her. She followed, doing her best stay silent despite the cold. For a moment, she thought that he was leading her off to some random tree, but soon she saw the one thing she had been hoping for. Somehow, there was a cave hidden in the surroundings of grass and trees, lying next to a small pond. The hedgehog went on, and Sally followed. Before she knew it, they were standing in the cave, shivering and soaking wet.

Sonic stepped in first, then shook his body like a wet dog. Sally entered the cave to the unpleasant surprise of being hit with the water, bringing even more frustration into her heart. She squealed, and when she glared at him, he glared right back. They held the stare for what seemed like forever. Finally, Sonic turned away and walked as deep into to the cave as he could and sat down on a small ledge. He put his elbows and his knees and was silent.

Sally growled and folded her arms, sitting down as she glared at the entrance. The wind was still howling and the rain was still pouring. Although it seemed like it was a powerful storm, she was sure that it wasn't going to last for long. At least… she thought so. Did she? For some reason, she starting second guessing herself. Shaking her head, she took Nicole out.

She typed in some commands; opening an app Rotor had created. For a moment the machine did nothing, and then it did a silent prediction on the storm's duration. As she had first thought, it was only going to last for a few more hours. Then it would be clear skies until the next one came in. She raised her eyebrows. Another storm? What was that about? She shrugged, putting the little computer back into her pocket. Sighing, she glanced back at Sonic.

He was still in the same position, probably glaring at the wall. Sally bit her lip, then turned back. She didn't want to fight to with Sonic. That had been the last thing she had wanted. After everything that happened before he had rescued her, the last thing she wanted was to be alone again. The raid on Knothole, Nicole's memory being erased, the fire… so much had happened. She had thought for sure that she would have been alone, but Sonic had been there for her afterward when he rescued her. But now…

Suddenly, she realized how much it hurt. The loneliness without Bunnie, Rotor, Antoine, Nicole, or the other Freedom Fighters returned. The shock of Knothole being destroyed was remembered. And when she remembered how Sonic had fixed Knothole, the hedgehog himself entered her thoughts. Then the pain of their fight filled her. The pain of both of their fights had filled her. First she remembered the fight that had happened a few minutes ago, then the one that happened over two years ago.

As the image of the moment when she slapped his face entered her mind, she broke into tears. She had been so stupid! It had been her own dumb choices that had left him to leave her for so long. If she hadn't put him on the spot and asked him that question, none of those horrible things that had happened would have actually occurred. And now, she was sure she was going to lose him again. She didn't want to lose him again, not for a third time! The year in space had been bad enough, and the distance of more than two years had been even worse, but to go through that again? There was no way she could have handled it.

Sally buried her face in her hands, sobbing. She loved him so much. That moment when she had seen him on the tree had been the best thing that had happened to her since who knew when. She had been reunited with her hero, and she had thought that all would have been well. But of course, it hadn't, and it wasn't going to be. He was for sure going to leave her. She continued to cry, making Sonic's ears twitch.

The hedgehog turned around, raising his eyebrows. She was crying? A pang of guilt filled his heart as he heard her sob. He didn't mean to… he didn't want her to… The hedgehog swallowed, turning back. That had been the last thing he had wanted to do. Although she hadn't told him what, he knew that something bad had happened to her before he had saved her from the fire. She had been in so much pain, and all she had needed was a friend. Now, he had acted like a complete jerk and said those things.

Sonic put his hand on his head, gritting his teeth. What an idiot! Why had he said that he left because he was sick of her? The hedgehog shook his head, then glared at the back wall. Why hadn't he thought before he had spoken? Now she was crying and it was his fault. He desperately wished to apologize to her, or at least talk to her, but what was there to say? Sonic didn't know, and as he glanced back at her again, pain filled him. Although he had promised himself that he wouldn't admit it, he cared for her. He cared for her so much, but it seemed that all he could do was hurt her.

Biting his lip, the hedgehog put his elbows back on his knees. He let his hands rest on his chin, and he silently thought about what was to be done. They had three emeralds and the next one was only a few miles away. Would they be able to retrieve the next one in their condition? The pain from two and a half years ago fresh in his heart, the hedgehog looked down at the ground. How much he desperately wished that he could take back those words he had said. If there was any way at all, he would have erased them from existence, and replaced them with much kinder and calm words. With words of how he really felt.

Did a heart have to be so fragile?

Oh no! D: How sad! Sadly, Sonic did take his anger out and Sally. What's going to happen next?

If I had more free time, I would be able to upload so much faster. But alas, homework is what holds me back... oh well! I hope you guys liked it! :) Or didn't. Review please!