I AM SO FREAKIN SORRY! I've been gone for so freaking long I'm no longer considering myself reliable in the hands of the Sonic fan fiction kingdom! I can explain though! MY HORRIBLE COMPUTER SUCKS!!! For some retarded reason my computer doesn't allow me to enter It's like the only website it won't accept. So I had no choice but to wait for a new computer because my parents wouldn't allow me to use theirs. Eventually my brother got a computer that allowed fan fiction to go through and I'm borrowing his computer. So here I am! Hope you all aren't to mad that I was gone so long. I really REALLY wanted to update too! If you all don't remember what took place during the course of the story then you might want to skim through the other chapters for a refresher.
Chapter 24: The Lightning Theme
Smokestack stared out into the open air through the window of his ship. The message Bokkun had delivered to him still rampaged through his mind. So much so that he barely noticed the jewel thief tapping his shoulder from behind. However, when he finally did he decided to respond.
"What?" He asked his voice full of noticeable malice. Malice towards what, Rouge really didn't know.
"You know as a professional jewel thief and a 13-year-old sex icon it has come to my attention that throughout this entire scandal it has never been clear as to how you could hate such a cutie pie like Tails." Rouge pointed out.
Besides Big and Froggy's snoring in the back seat the cockpit appeared to have all of a sudden stricken with silence. After about a minute of tension Smoke eventually answered.
"… Have you ever heard of the Diox Clan?"
Meanwhile at the 3-way villa – Green Hill zone- 5:00 amTails flew the borrowed biplane across the ocean contemplating the situation they were in. The fox felt a horrible feeling in his chest. It was a feeling that he had felt before; one that told him something terrible was to come.
It was at that moment that a mental image of Sonic's death came to mind yet again. Tails winced as he was reminded of that awful dream Darkness had poisoned his mind with. Tails was not a stranger to nightmares considering that back on the island he had a nightmare basically every night about his past. However, that one particular nightmare where Darkness had urged Tails to slaughter an entire clan of warriors that were only trying to protect their families.
It only made Tails feel worse that at that time he had actually enjoyed slicing those men apart. Tails chuckled to himself getting Sonic's attention.
"Hmm. Something funny?" The hedgehog asked oblivious to the insanity building up inside Tails.
"Sonic… why does slitting your wrists cause death?" Tails asked in a whisper.
Sonic didn't know how to respond to such a random and creepy question.
"T-Tails… please don't… don't ask me stuff like that…"
"Why!" Tails said that as if he was demanding an answer not asking for it.
"Well… uh… "
"Is it because like all the other pathetic people on this planet you're afraid to face the harsh reality of life? Live your life to it's fullest they say. Be happy and grow up to be someone who can 'change the world' they say. Is there even a point?"
Sonic became silent.
"No matter what anyone on this planet does to help 'change the world' the outcome always ends with death. Whether it be natural causes, murder, or suicide it always ends in death. Deep down everyone knows that it's true… but … they continue living as if the matter didn't even exist." Tails didn't know where his words came from. The way he spoke was as if he wasn't a 4-year-old at all.
Sonic remained silent as he watched Tails slam his fist on the ships panel.
" I wish… I wish I could act that way. I wish I could ignore the harshness of the world and be happy… like you…"
Sonic closed his eyes and thought. The kid was very intelligent. The way he thought and spoke was very observant and extensive for someone his age. However, he was also way to negative.
"Tails… I don't ignore the harshness of the world…I protect the peace of the world from it so that everything won't be as depressing and hopeless as that little speech of yours." Sonic spoke with a slight hint of anger in his voice. It wasn't anger that was directed at Tails but rather at Tails' impulse.
Tails was a very intelligent little kid but intelligent or not words like that don't come from 4-year-olds.
"Y-You're right…s-sorry for…what I said." Tails didn't know it but half of what he said came from Darkness' own mouth at the time he said it. However, since he didn't know that to be true all his mind told him was that it was all his fault.
Sonic was still silent but he was shouted at himself in his head loud enough to wake a heavy sleeping hobo fifty miles away from him.
'WHAT THE HELL KIND OF ROLE MODEL AM I! Damn it! If only we knew anything; ANYTHING AT ALL about Tails' past…but we don't…I wonder if…'
"Hey Sonic!" The fox shouted in a surprisingly chipper tone. "We're coming up on a continent!" The kid spoke as if what he said earlier had been completely erased from his mind.
"R-really. What is it?" Sonic asked a bit taken a back.
"The map scanner on Scorch's ship says that it's called 3-way Villa."
"3-way Villa? Oh yeah I've heard of it! That's that huge continent that's 1/3 Green hills, 1/3 Ice cap, and 1/3 dessert. Never been here before. I wonder how big it is! Aw man I can't wait to land so I exercise these feet!"
While Sonic was getting excited Tails was getting that oh so familiar feeling of trouble brewing in his chest.
"S-sonic. Somethin' bugs me about…" Tails began before the excited hedgehog interrupted.
"Which area are we landing at first?" Sonic asked looking over Tails' shoulder.
"Uh…the Green Hill zone…but Sonic I…"
Suddenly their radio crackled and while it did both of them began to wonder who turned it on.
Neither of them did.
'Intercepting…Hellooooo…This is Igneous Rock speaking…'
"Igneous Rock!" Both Sonic and Tails shouted. They immediately recognized him as the first of Eggman's commanders to have fought them back on Angel Island.
"What's he doing on the radio?" Tails asked.
"Shhh! Listen!" Sonic whispered.
'I'm trying to send out a word to your mamma…I'm gonna totally screw with her tonight! WHOOO HOOO! And there ain't jack you can do about it because I am known as HE WHO SMOKE'S BITCHES!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!'
Sonic and Tails' sweat dropped. He wasn't very smart when they first met him either.
All of a sudden they heard another voice in the background.
'Calling all reinforcements! Please help me!' Shouted a scared voice of a G.U.N unit general behind Igneous.
'What! Are you seriously still alive? The hell is wrong with you! DIE you military bastard!'
'Ahhhhhhhrrrrggggh!'
Then the radio went silent.
Sonic and Tails looked at each other wondering what the hell just took place and why they had intercepted a G.U.N base's radio transmitter when suddenly Sonic looked up.
"Hey Tails?"
"Yeah Sonic?"
"How high to trees usually reach?"
"…Why would you want to know?"
"Oh, because we're about to crash into one."
Tails turned his attention back to the front of the plane and nearly paniced as he saw a tree come up close to their windsheild. He immediately hoisted the plane upward barely missing the tree.
"Why didn't you just tell me the tree was there instead of asking me that dumb question?" Tails asked while turning towards Sonic.
"Okay, sorry. Next time I'll remember… TREE!"
Tails wasn't paying attention again and he was once again caught off guard. However this time he was to late and they rammed right into the tree. It immediately spring boarded them downward and they hit the dirt with a loud thud.
Eventually they found themselves sliding backward down the dirt hill crashing into various bushes and wild animals as they did.
"WHOO HOO! BACKWARD BOBSLED!" Sonic shouted. Tails at first was frightened but he soon joined Sonic in his shouting too. After all if Sonic wasn't scared why should he be?
They slid backward until they landed in a pond and scattered the frogs and lily pads inhabiting it away.
"Okay funs over! Everybody out!" Sonic and Tails hoisted themselves up and jumped out of the cockpit and onto the grass. After that they turned to look at the damage done to the ship and the pond.
"I don't think any kind of insurance is gonna cover this." The hedgehog chuckled.
Tails smiled and turned to face the enormous green hills overlooking the area.
"Wow this place sure is beautiful." He said clearly amazed.
"Hey, Hey, we can sight see later. Right now we've got to find out if anyone is here." Sonic said. Tails nodded and walked toward some bushes and pushed them apart.
"Down there!" he said with a sense of accomplishment.
"Huh?" Sonic asked confused as he ran up to the tiny genius.
"I saw a village down there earlier while we were crashing. There it is! See it! It's huge!" The fox was clearly excited.
"Yeah it is! Well then come on." Sonic grabbed the boy's hand and they were off.
Green Hill Zone: Patella Village-5: 15 amWhen the two eager heroes reached the village they find it surprisingly empty.
"Hello! Anybody uhhh…" Sonic began.
"Wait Sonic! I can hear voices coming from that huge temple over there!" Tails said as he grabbed Sonic's arm and pulled him toward the direction he was referring to.
When they reached the temple they were surprised to see the entire village residence standing right there on the courtyard.
"Oh I hope she'll be okay."
"She isn't going to die is she?"
"I hope Strobe hurries up with his analysis."
They overheard the crowd's worried pleas and cries for help and began to wonder.
"Is someone dying?" Tails asked with a noticeable sadness in his voice. He had had enough death for one lifetime by now.
"I guess so. It must be someone important to for them all to be up at 5:15 in the morning and crowded around the temple like this."
The sun was barely beginning to rise when someone finally exited the temple.
It was man who looked about 18 wearing a black cloak around half of his body, which Sonic thought was strange. The half of his body that was shown was the left side and it had some interesting features. The man had a yellow eye and what looked like a purple lightning bolt on his cheek. He wore a white jacket, white pants, a huge yellow belt, a purple t-shirt with yellow lightning bolts on it this time and strangely enough he had violet colored hair.
"It's Strobe!" Everyone shouted out in excitement. The man known as Strobe just stared at them looking ashamed of himself. When everyone noticed this they all quieted down and waited for him to speak.
"Do not sound so excited comrades. The princess…the princess is alright…for now…but she will die in less than two hours." Strobe said with a large amount of regret in his voice.
Everyone gasped and a large amount of wailing and cries of concern began to flow across the scene again.
"Isn't there any way to save her!" A random person from the group yelled out.
Strobe nodded.
"Well then what's the problem? Save her!" Someone else shouted.
"I-I can't. You see in order save her I need a special mix of ingredients for a miracle medicine that can only be made here. I have everything necessary but one ingredient. It's an herb. A special herb that's located not only at the end of the green hill zone but it's secluded beneath green hill zone's basin and crevasses, the most condemned and dangerous part of this area."
Everyone listened contently not believing what was taking place.
"Going there would not only take more time then the princess has left to live but it's basically suicide. We don't need any more lives taken from us." Strobe finished explaining.
Everyone was silent for a few more minutes until basically everyone began to shriek and panic. Strobe stood there quietly while everyone screamed for a miracle.
"Hey! Maybe we can get it!" Shouted a certain two-tailed fox.
Everyone in the crowd turned to face them and noticed their presence for the first time.
"Who are they?"
"Intruders!"
"Are they mocking us by saying they could actually get the herb!"
"How dare they!"
Everyone began speaking as if Sonic and Tails were criminals already. Eventually a numerous amount of angered men came up to them with swords in hand.
"Who are you and what business do you have with our village?" One of them asked astonishingly calm.
"Hey, Hey! Don't be so blood thirsty! We only came here because of an accident and overheard your little ordeal. We were offering to get this so called special herb to help out your princess." Sonic explained.
"You expect us to believe that two outsiders would just all of a sudden appear out of no where and offer their services to us without even finding out as to who we are first. You're gonna have to do a lot better than that." Said another man.
"Yeah well I…" Sonic was at a loss when Strobe spoke up.
"It's called being generous. Lower your weapons please. They mean you no harm." Strobe informed them.
"B-but sir."
"Now, now. We don't need anymore trouble then what we already have." The lightning themed man said as he jumped off the temples' front, flipped in the air and landed in front of Sonic and Tails.
"Wow! Nice jump!" Tails said amazed.
"Thank you. Who are you?"
"I'm Tails and this is Sonic, Sonic the hedgehog." The fox spoke up. The crowd went silent as if a bell went off in their heads that said 'It's the hero of Mobius! He'll save us!'
Everyone immediately gathered around Sonic and Tails and began shouting at them a mile a minute.
"Are you really!?"
"You can save her!"
"Please! Make sure she's okay."
Sonic's sweat dropped as he began to ponder how these people could have such tremendous mood swings so quickly.
"I'm sorry for their behavior." Strobe spoke up.
"Don't worry about it! I'll be back in a flash!" Sonic was about to take off when Strobe stopped by saying.
"Don't you even wish to know what it looks like or how to get there first?"
Sonic stopped and turned around looking a bit embarrassed.
"Oh yeah. That'd be nice."
Green Hill Zone: Patella Village- 6: 17 amTails stayed behind while Sonic went for the herb. He stayed inside the temple with Strobe and the princess. Her name was Princess Patella, as she was named after the village by her late father.
Tails watched as Strobe nursed the sick princess the best way he could. The way he took care of her provided a very comforting atmosphere. She lied on a small cot sweating bullets and was surrounded by many medical tools.
"I'm so sorry to be troubling you like this Strobe. I always hate to be a burden to you." She said with a soft and weak voice.
"Don't speak. You must conserve energy. " He informed her wholeheartedly.
She nodded and breathed deeply then relaxed. Tails noticed that the princess was about Strobe's age and height. She wore a kimono that was embroidered with pictures of red, yellow, orange, and purple flowers. Not only that but she had wavy black hair and pretty blue eyes.
Tails thought they looked well together but he didn't really have much time to worry about that considering an hour had passed and Sonic still wasn't back. The people outside were getting worried. Sonic was the fastest thing alive. They thought he would've been back by now. After 10 more minutes Sonic finally burst through the door holding the crushed herb in his hand.
"Sorry I took so long. I thought it was gonna be a breeze but I… sorry it's crushed too… and…" Sonic tried to apologize the best way he could but Strobe just took the herb from him and began the mixture.
"It's alright hedgehog. Thanks to you we have what's necessary to save her life." He reassured.
"Umm… okay… is… is this medicine really all that special?"
"Yes actually. One sip should do the trick but I'll let her drink it all in order to be safe." Strobe lifted the princess' head up and fed her the drink. Sonic and Tails watched with awe as the princess was laid back down to rest.
"Thank you Strobe. You and that hedgehog are saints." She smiled.
"Me? A saint? Heh Heh, well I uh…" Sonic rubbed the back of his head when Tails interjected.
"No, she's right Sonic." The fox grinned and Sonic blushed and chuckled nervously. "Hey Strobe shouldn't we tell everyone. They seemed really worried before." Tails reminded him.
"Oh yes! Yes of course." Strobe stood up feeling extremely proud of himself as he exited the temple and informed everyone outside of the fantastic news. A second later Sonic, Tails and Patella all heard huge bursts of joy and happiness.
"I say we celebrate." The princess spoke up all of a sudden. " Things have been so dull around here lately and everyone has been so worried. I'd say everyone here has deserved a break."
"Sure I'm game." Sonic smiled proudly. It was amazing. An hour on one island and they were already heroes. Sonic must just have that affect on people.
3-way Villa: Green Hill Zone- 7:45 am
"I'll have another round!"
"Drinks over here!"
"Isn't this great!"
Everyone was happy and having fun again now that it was assured their princess would live. Everyone was inside the huge temple having a huge party while the a few select people stayed with the princess in her room to have a less wild but still fun celebration.
Among them were Strobe and the guests of honor, Sonic and Tails.
"I can't thank you enough for helping me." She thanked the two adventurers once again.
"Again it's no problem." Sonic said trying not to be too modest.
"And Strobe I'm especially grateful to you for not giving up on me." She said to him.
"…"
"… Uh Strobe…" Tails tried to get the silent cloaked teen's attention. Tails reached over and tapped his shoulder. Strobe looked up and looked at the fox.
"What? Oh! Yes, you're welcome Patella." He said meekly.
Tails noticed Strobe had been acting weird as time went on. He barely spoke at all and when he did speak he would always mumble something about regret. He always stared at his watch and his facial features grew sadder and more depressed when he did. Tails decided to ask when if something was wrong while Sonic chatted with the princess.
"Hey Strobe, is something bothering you. You seem pretty sad." The concerned fox asked.
"What? Oh…yeah…"
"Aren't you happy your princess is alive?"
"Of coarse I am!" Strobe said almost defensively. "It's just…" Strobe all of a sudden looked at his watch and almost freaked out.
"What is it?" Tails asked confused.
"Uh…nothing… it's nothing… Princess Patella!" Strobe spoke up all of a sudden. The princess faced Strobe.
"I must leave for a while. I'll show myself out." Strobe got up and left.
"Oh… okay… I was really hoping you would…" The princess started before Strobe left. She sighed then faced Sonic again. Tails turned toward the door then decided to follow him out. He got up and left without saying a word to Sonic.
After a few minutes of silence the hedgehog all of a sudden decided to gain a big head.
"Hey Princess, you like Strobe don't ya?" Sonic said all of a sudden.
"Well of coarse I do. He's a very nice person and I respect him for saving me." She said not really getting what Sonic was saying.
"That's not what I meant. I meant… well… you know… more than a friend."
It took her about two seconds to realize what Sonic was talking about before she blushed furiously. What could she do? He was right and she wasn't about to deny her love for him.
"… Well… yes… honestly… but uhhh…"
"Yeeeeeeesssssssss" Sonic said a bit smugly.
"I don't think he likes me all that well. You saw the way he left all of a sudden…"
"Oh please. Don't start that 'I don't think he likes me all that well' stuff. I've seen that before and the person you think doesn't like you always ends up marrying you."
"… Well… that does sound nice but… well…" She stammered.
"But what?' The sly hedgehog asked. He didn't know much about love but he was a great judge of character and even greater at teasing.
"… N-nothing… you may be right." She was just nervous and Sonic sensed this.
3-way villa: Green Hill zone- 7:55 am
Tails followed Strobe outside to the courtyard and hid behind a bush to keep out of sight. He watched as Strobe looked around and pulled out a small communicator. Tails gasped when he saw it because he was sure he had seen it before.
"No way… we… we can't be that unlucky." Tails watched as Strobe had his conversation.
'Commander Strobe Lightning! Have Sonic and our little future kitsune killer arrived yet.'
"Y-yes… Dr. Eggman." Strobe answered with an emotionless voice.
"Excellent! The wars going perfectly, as planned of coarse. The G.U.N central unit of this area is down and Karst should be on his way to pick the fox up." Eggman said with a clearly satisfied tone in his voice.
Tails began to back away in order to tell Sonic but he just couldn't. He felt so cold all of a sudden. It was uncomfortable and frightening.
"I… I need to tell Sonic… b-but… I feel… I feel… f-frozen…"
Back inside the temple"That's it. Tails has been gone too long. I'm gonna go look for him."
"Are you sure he's not just exploring the area?" Patella asked. Sonic didn't answer her as he zoomed out the temple too fast to see. The first place he reached was the courtyard and the first thing he saw was a note on the ground.
The hedgehog acting like the curious 11-year-old he was picked it up, unfolded it, and read it to himself. The more of the note he read the more angry he got. He just couldn't believe it!
"… Karst Ice? That bastard got Tails!"
"It would appear so." Strobe's voice came from behind prompting Sonic to quickly turn around.
"Whoa! Don't sneak up on me like that."
"Sorry… "
"… Damn it! I was only a little ways from him and that bastard kidnapped him! DAMN IT!" The angered hedgehog slammed his foot on the ground in frustration.
"… They couldn't have gotten to far… I… I'll tell Princess Patella that we're off to find him."
"Y-you're coming with me?"
"After what you did for the princess… it would be to my eternal pleasure to assist you."
"Wow… thank you… I'm really grateful for your help."
"Don't be."
"… W-why?"
"… We'd better get going. I'll be back in a minute." Strobe went off to inform the princess who quickly made him promise to return as soon as he could.
Back inside
"Please! Just tell me you'll be alright!" She wanted desperatly for him to stay but his bound will couldn't allow it. It made him fell terrible inside.
"I wish I knew the outcome of the events that were to come... but sadly I don't. So much might change in one day and I can't tell if it was meant to be for the better or for the worst."
"So... your saying... that you won't..."
"I will be back... and hopefully... by some miricale I'll be on the same terms again." Strobe got up and left before she could ask what that meant. Something in her gut told her that something terrible was about to take place.
After Strobe promised wholeheartedly he met up with Sonic outside.
"Now then… is there anything on that note that may point us in the right direction?" Strobe asked while straightening himself out.
"Actually yes. Karst goes on and on about how Eggman's operation is going to take place somewhere in the mountains. I'm no stranger to this kind of gloating. He defidently wants us to follow him."
"Hmmm… the mountains … they're located northeast which means that location is our best bet."
"Yeah, we should get going before whatever they're planning gets started." Sonic immediately grabs Strobe's hand and heads off at an extremely fast rate toward the mountains.
Unknown to them a certain jaguar had been hidden behind the bushes watching the two ponder and worry.
"Heh heh. Guess ol' Two-Tail' is just now getting into the action. Guess I'd better do my own half the plan." Hang Nail sat there and laughed to himself for a second before remembering his ambition.
"Hmmm… I bet Slips and Silt are real proud of me. Don't worry you guys, despite ol' Eggman's plan I'll make sure I'm the one who kills that fox… for all three of us."
MeanwhileSonic and Strobe ran side by side now. Strobe had insisted on it claiming that because of his lightning theme he'd be able to keep up with Sonic. Sonic didn't know what he meant by 'lightning theme' but he just assumed he was talking about the way he dressed.
"I'm sorry about what happened to your friend… I truly am."
"Yeah well it isn't your fault. If anyone should be apologizing it should be me for dragging you into this mess." Sonic said.
"Oh you shouldn't feel apologetic to a peasant like me. A guy like me would never make it to the level of appreciation that people have for you. You'd probably even stand a better chance with Princess Patella than me."
'So he does love her back. I knew it! I knew it!' Sonic grinned and turned back to Strobe. "Come on man! You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. I bet she really likes you more than she lets on."
"… Hmm… thank you …but... " Strobe and Sonic reached a huge grassland and Strobe stopped which prompted Sonic to stop as well.
"Hey man. Something wrong?" Sonic asked noticing Strobe's depressed face.
"…I…"
" A-are you okay?"
"… I'm sorry."
"Huh?" Sonic took a step forward and immediately found a gun pointed to the side of his head. He turned and saw one of Eggman's robots. Then he looked around and saw plenty of robots appear suddenly from behind their cloaking devices; all of them pointing guns at Sonic.
The hedgehog looked around in disbelief than at Strobe.
"Lightning theme…? You're one of Eggman's commanders aren't you."
"…Yes… regretfully."
"So you know where Tails was taken!"
"Yes."
"Tell me!"
"I can't. I am bound to Eggman's will. Therefore we share the same goal. I'm sorry Sonic… but it's time for you to die.
Once again I am very very very very very sorry for not updating for so long. If I could've done anything about it I would've in a heartbeat. Now that access to FanFiction is back to me I will be able to put more chapters up soon.