Chapter Twenty-Five

Author's Note: Let's give a big round of applause for ScarletEbon! This person heeded my pleas for fan-art…and it happens to be good fan-art! The design for Tahra is stupendous! Go to fanartdotnet and check the Sonic the Hedgehog/Sonic X section. I'd like to see some art from the rest of you. But for now, it's time for…sigh…another Sonic chapter. It seems like you're all Shadow/Amy fans here.

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"Who gave you permission to enter here?" the well-dressed middle-aged echidna, obviously one of the Cardinals and deans of the Academy, roared when Tahra and Sonic entered his room. He had been filing some papers when this disturbance to his work occurred. The following exchange was in Brymbaal, so Sonic could not understand a word they were saying.

"Excuse me…you're one of the Cardinals, no?" Tahra asked.

"Of course I am! I'm a very busy echidna, and have no time for those who did not get an appointment. The matter would have to be of concern to echidnas everywhere before I'd listen to a word you say! Begone before I call the guards."

"Is that any way to speak to a blood relative of the Emerald Light's high priestess?"

The Cardinal seemed shocked. Standing before him was some hedgehog who was dressed in a very strange and unkempt manner. He scoffed at her statement.

"Prove it, if you think you can."

Tahra simply smirked and said "If you won't listen to what I have to say, we're all going to die," in near-perfect Echidna. The Cardinal seemed impressed.

"A hedgehog with perfect fluency in the Echidna tongue…perhaps you do have some relationship to the high priestess of the Emerald Light. State your business…it better be important."

"My name is Tahra…my grandmother is the high priestess of the Emerald Light, and I am also been fated to wield Splendra. This hedgehog here has is Excalibur's fated wielder. Unfortunately, he can only speak in the tongue of humans."

"…A hedgehog who can't speak his own race's language? That's a pity…but back to the matter at hand. There has been a problem recently…this city has recently been under siege by an army of strange demons. They are minions of a powerful fiend named Kifdra-Xu-Deen. He was a powerful archfiend whom one of our old heroes sealed away. The events of the past few months must have shattered his seal. What's worse, he has somehow managed to…gulp shatter Splendra."

"WHAT!" Tahra exclaimed. "How the hell did this guy manage to do that!"

"Its power must have waned so much that he was able to break it."

Sonic was trying to listen in, but couldn't understand the exact words, but he could tell something was very wrong, judging by Tahra's sudden outburst of shock.

"Tahra?" Sonic asked her.

"What?"

"Maybe you can be…um…my translator. I'd like to be a part of this little conversation you're having, but I can't understand what you two are saying."

"Well, I suppose so," Tahra replied before turning back to the echidna Cardinal and addressing this matter. He nodded, which Sonic understood. The next part of this exchange went between Sonic and the echidna, with Tahra as the mutual translator:

"So, what's this thing I have to do for you echidnas?"

"There is a great archfiend named Kifdra-Xu-Deen. He was sealed away ages ago, but the recent cataclysms have shattered his seal, and now he is wreaking havoc on our kind. He has being laying siege on this citadel for the past several days, but you arrive during a lapse of his activity."

"Does he have any connection with the Judgment?"

"There is none that we are aware of. He always liked doing things his own way, and does not like taking orders without a good reason. We're pretty sure this fiend is working for himself. Thankfully, we just so happen to have the very blade that sealed him away before. We Cardinals are willing to lend it to you for the duration of your little jaunt. Besides, you'll need all the sword-practice you can get if you want to wield Excalibur effectively."

"Great. Anything else we need to know?"

"Yes…this will require that you enter the fiend's own realm. He cannot be destroyed in this world, only driven out. His lands are dangerous and filled with his minions. Even the very atmosphere can be potentially toxic. The sword will be able to protect you, but should you lose it, you may very well die."

"Heh…that little matter certainly makes things a lot more interesting. I think I'm up for it!"

The echidna chuckled. "Your bravado surprises, and in a certain way, pleases me. The office of the curator for the Academy's collection is just down the hall. He's one of my fellow Cardinals, but I am the highest-ranking. He'll lend you the sword if you tell me I allowed it."

"Thanks buddy. You won't regret picking Sonic the Hedgehog for this job!"

-- -- -- -- --

"Man, I'm glad you could get us these sweet dormitory rooms on such short notice, Tahra!" Sonic quipped as he hopped onto one of the beds in the room. "I never knew knowing relatives of clergy had so many perks!"

Tahra seemed happy that Sonic was happy. "The Emerald Light is the major religion of the non-human races of the world. It's pretty loosely organized, and my grandmother hates it when people use their connections to her as ways to get extra stuff. But I suppose this is for a good cause."

Sonic decided to change the subject. "I wonder…how do all these different people distinguish themselves from the humans? There has to be some all-encompassing call-sign or something. The different races can't be THAT divided."

"Unfortunately, the caste system gets in the way. So, I guess we don't have anything like that."

Sonic was tempted to launch into one of his cheesy morality speeches, but felt like it wasn't the proper time. Besides, something else was on his mind as well…something that had been gnawing away at him for quite some time. He had been itching to say it, but never had the courage to.

"Tahra…I've been thinking lately…you know we're friends and all…"

The girl simply smirked. Here we go…Sonic's finally gonna say it. I'll just make like I don't know.

Sonic continued. "We've been friends for a while, y'know?"

"You can't argue with that logic."

"And sometimes…friends feel like becoming…well, more than before."

Man, he really likes to drag things out…

"And…I feel like we've gotten to know each other enough…"

Tahra seemed annoyed. Yada, yada, yada…is he going for dramatic effect or something?

"That maybe we could…"

Okay, here we go…three…two…one…

"…Be a couple?"

Tahra smirked again. Liftoff…we have liftoff, she said to herself. She rose from her own bed, sat down right on Sonic's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Well, all right. We can't let Shadow and Amy have all the fun, now can we?"

Sonic seemed very nervous. Bad memories of Amy's pursuits returned to his thoughts, but at the same time, he liked the attention a lot.

"Tahra…this is really unlike you."

"Sonic…you like me a lot. I like you a lot back. We feel exactly the same way about each other."

Sonic was now starting to get scared. "You're not thinking of…"

Tahra seemed shocked, and knew exactly what Sonic was thinking of. "What? That? I'm not THAT crazy for you yet. But I am enough to do this…"

Before Sonic could react, he found his lips locking with Tahra's, and her entire body on top of his. Sonic hadn't expected for Tahra to be so direct and forceful in her approach, but at least he had taken the initiative, however feebly it seemed. He decided to enjoy this time. But the moment only lasted for a few seconds before someone opened the door.

In their surprise, Tahra flopped off from on top of Sonic. Now both could see that Tails was the intruder. He seemed shocked at the few moments of Sonic and Tahra's little make-out session.

"Uhhh…I think this is a bad time…" the kitsune said nervously. "You two continue…I'll just close the door." He did so, or rather, decided to slam the door closed. Sonic and Tahra looked at each other.

"Do you think Tails..?" Tahra asked.

"Nah…he was definitely caught off guard," Sonic replied, "But we should keep things toned down a bit. Who knows what the others will think? Tails got a first-hand look."

"Let's not think about that…I'm sure he wanted to tell us something."

"Sure…judging by how suddenly he came in…sorry about that, Tails! You can come in now!"

Tails came back in, a little more apprehensive this time.

"In all my life, I've never seen anyone do that before. But, anyway, have a look at THIS!" he plopped the book on the other bed, and soon, all three were reading over the page that Tails had marked. Tahra was scratching her head over the nature of the text. Sonic didn't even bother trying to understand it.

"Um…I don't think I know what this is supposed to say," Tahra said. "Would you mind translating for Sonic and me?"

"I'll just summarize: what we're really up against is a creature called the Meteor Parasite. He's apparently been manipulating the Judgment and the Black Arms all this time. I don't how this monster has been doing it, or why, but this creature is the true enemy here."

Sonic was rightfully ticked off by this. "So that must be who those four demons serve…I can't wait to get my hands on this…whatever this…ergh THING is!"

"From what little I know about it, this creature is responsible for the ruin of the hedgehog empire. It may even be able to destroy us all if something isn't done."

"Isn't it always that way?" Sonic quipped. "Then why the hell are we sleeping every night if every moment we do nothing the enemy gets closer and closer to its goal?"

"Sonic…you and Tahra are mortal, for all your power. You still need to rest your minds and bodies any chance you can if you want to stand a chance. Even Shadow and Amy, who qualify as Ultimate Life Forms, are resting at night…at least that's what I've heard…"

"You sound like my grandma…" Tahra said to this. "She was always a big nag…"

Tails didn't respond to this, but closed the book and started out. "You two get to bed now…and no more fooling around." Tahra rolled her eyes.

-- -- -- -- -- --

Tahra's alone at the circus. Colorful tents surround her. She's five again, and the tents seem to reach the sky. Mommy and Daddy aren't around, just the sounds of animals in their cages. As she wanders around, it suddenly starts to rain, and her light blue dress is getting wet. Desperate for shelter, Tahra searches for shelter in one of the tents.

She stops to see three men looking at something. They're still in the clown costumes. One of them, the smallest, hears Tahra come in and turns around. The clown's face is painted white, with red on his lips, nose and eyes. He is wearing a blue and red polka dotted shirt and green and yellow overalls. His shoes are much too big for him. His two companions were dressed in similar outfits, with other colors.

"Hey, what're YOU doing 'ere, little girl? How'd you find us?"

"Um…I'm lost, mister clown. I can't find my mommy and daddy."

"Hey, boys…this here girl's lost! Why don't we take her with us…the cops wouldn't dare try anything if we got ourselves a hostage!" Tahra shuddered. These clowns weren't being funny, that was for sure. She started to back away

The two larger clowns nodded in agreement with their boss, and one of them blocked her exit while the other pulled out a gun and pointed a gun at her head and chuckled. "This ain't no gag gun, girly…with one pull of da trigger, I can make sure you'll never see your mommy and daddy ever again! Do as da boss says, and maybe you'll see 'em again."

Tahra, out of sheer fear, didn't make a move or a sound. One of the big clowns grabbed her, the other grabbed a safebox (which she later learned was full of money) and all three dashed out of the tent. As soon as Tahra was out in the open, she screamed for help at the top of her lungs. The clown carrying her immediately stuck the gun against her head.

The three quickly bound Tahra's arms and legs and gagged her, tossed her into the back of the car. She could hear the sounds of security guards obviously searching for her. Apparently they saw the clowns getting away and gave chase on foot.

The leader started cackling at the futility of the guard's pursuit. It was a high-pitched and wild cackle, like a hyena's laugh. As he spoke, the leader couldn't stop laughing.

"Hehehehehe! Look at em, boys! Ha-ha, they're never gonna catch us now!"

The laughing kept going on and on…it was beginning to sear itself into her mind…and finally the sound of a gunshot…

Tahra awoke suddenly in a sweat. As she looked around in the blackness, she could hear Sonic's breathing from the other bed. She held her head, trying to shake off the vision. This was not the first time she had it…and yet it still scared her out of her wits. She reached down under her bed and felt around. When she had found her shoes, she began to take off the leather straps that bound the two white rings on each one. As Tahra clasped them, a feeling of peace and warmth flowed over her, bringing her back to sleep. She slept peacefully for the rest of the night…