Even though the last chapter was mostly retreading old information, I thought it was necessary to have at least one scene between Silver and Julian, considering their past history. I also had to address the relative silence on the matter of Blaze's death and what Julian thinks of that. It's far from the most important chapter, but I think it serves as a nice summary of the earlier events in this story.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The boy immediately dropped his present task and stood front and center. He bowed profusely and began to apologize. "Sorry. When I see a machine I just can't help myself."
The young man who had caught him red-handed asked once more: "What were you doing with my plane?"
"Well, I cleaned it and replaced the oil and spark plugs." These words didn't seem to impress. He hurriedly added: "It should run much better now."
The young man turned to examine the plane and didn't say anything for a while.
"It looked like it was in pretty bad shape. You could've landed in the ocean if you kept it going like that much longer."
The other Mobian shuttered at the thought. "Well then," he began half-convinced of the boy's intentions, "I'd be interested to hear how a change of paint is supposed to make it run better."
"Oh…" his speech became awkward. "Well, the only dyes I know how to make are blue, black and yellow, and I figured that blue would look better than the other two. Besides, the old paint was starting to fall off anyway."
"Well then, good call," he chuckled, "as you can see, the color suits me."
There was silence. The boy knew that if he didn't say something fast, the inevitable question would come up. "So, did you make this plane?"
"Nah, it was inheritance from my uncle," he answered aloofly. "He was a real gear-head in his day. Too bad he didn't let me know how to take care of this thing before he went. Thanks for the tune-up, by the way."
"Don't mention it." The kid was befuddled. "Oh, and sorry about your loss."
"Don't be. Life's about moving forward, not looking back. He may not be here now, but you're here to tell me how to do it, if you don't mind, that is; you seem to know your stuff."
The boy was elated at this prospect. "Really? I mean, yeah, sure I will. It's just… uh…"
"What?"
"A machine like this is pretty complicated, and it's going to take me a while to explain everything: more than the time left before sundown. And, well…"
"Then you can camp here tonight if you want. Don't feel like I'm rushing you or anything. Well, actually I do like to rush, but go at your own pace: take all the time you need."
Could it be? Obviously this person didn't despise him, but the boy didn't have to debase himself by telling sad stories of his past just to garner sympathy from him, either. There was no use in questioning the situation any further: everything turned out alright, why jinx it?
"By the way, what's your name, little guy?"
"Oh, um, I'm Miles Prower, but people around here call me Tails."
"Well good job on the plane, Tails. My name's Sonic: Sonic the hedgehog."
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"You act as though you've transcended everything, as if you had the whole world figured out, but you're just a simple-minded fool," Julian's foe responded.
"My mind is simple because it makes sense. That would be nothing at all like you."
"You do not understand."
"No, I never could. So what will you do after this? You can't keep it a secret: people will know that you've been here."
"This identity has outlived its usefulness. After all, what is a Mephistopheles without his Faust? You sought to reach the peak of human intellect, and now that, for the briefest of moments, you've experienced the epitome of pleasure when you thought your agenda had succeeded, your life must come to an end. I must admit, you did serve as a useful instigator: you managed to trick the child of Chaos into releasing Iblis, and your actions today fit perfectly into my divine plan."
"Finally, a parable of yours that actually makes sense. And you perfected my own strategy to boot. You know what? I'm glad. I'm glad that you'll be out there making your own cause look bad. You'll make a better case for rational skepticism and secularism than I ever could. What the masses out there don't realize is that right now they're just like you; maybe when they see you they'll take a harder look at themselves. So go ahead, martyr me for my cause, you'll be doing me a favor. You won't win, though; if this experience has taught me anything it's that you just can't kill that little blue bugger. If there is a design to this universe, then it seems to be one based on literary archetypes: the 'noble' hero always wins. He'll stop you, mark my words."
Mephiles' nocturnal green eyes could be seen glowing in the darkness above Julian. A horizontal white crescent glimmered just below: it had been years since the dormant deity had found cause for a physical expression of pleasure.
"Tell me one last thing, Faust: does this sound familiar to you?
'Evil men know not what should be done or what should not be done. Purity is not in their hearts, nor good conduct, nor truth. They say: 'This world has no truth, no moral foundation, no God. There is no law of creation: what is the cause of birth but lust? Firm in this belief, these men of dead souls, of truly little intelligence, undertake their work of evil: they are the enemies of this fair world, working for its destruction. They torture their soul with insatiable desires and full of deceit, insolence, and pride, they hold fast their dark ideas, and they carry on their impure work. Thus they are beset with innumerable cares which last long, all their life, until death.'"
"The Bhagavad Gita, 16th chapter, I believe. There's no need to lay it on thick: you and I have different ways of doing things, and we're too stubborn to change each others' minds."
"I simply have a tendency to over-explain irrelevant matters while overlooking the broader meaning… it's a habit that I have… acquired."
"So you've told me before" he sounded perplexed, "but I fail to see the relevance."
"I'm sorry if that was more than you wanted to know. You just seemed the inquisitive type and it's a bit of a peeve of mine when people start asking me a bunch of questions."
"But I wasn't aski… there is no understanding you, is there?"
"I'm sorry if that was more than you wanted to know; I simply have a tendency to over-explain irrelevant matters while overlooking the broader meaning…"
"What are you talking about?"
"Inquisitive types like you have always been a peeve of mine. It's a peeve that I have… acquired."
"You're contradicting yourself more than usual, Mephiles. You can't acquire something that you've always had."
"Iblis isn't so much a living creature as it is a vast reserve of energy. 'Killing' it is simply releasing the energy to anyone who's willing or able to accept it: I'm the only one who meets those qualifications. Only someone who can control the soul's flames could unlock the power…"
"Yes, I know, you've told me all of this before, and it also has absolutely nothing to do with what I just said."
"We are defined by our qualities… our unique, inherent qualifications. No matter the context, we are one in the same with our qualifications. We are our qualifications."
Julian had lost his patience. "What are you talking about? If you're going to kill me just hurry up and do it already; don't waste my time with nonsense."
"Remember my Liaison? You posed a riddle about her to your… father, and I'm simply posing my own riddle about… the other one. Try to see things from my point of view, so that you can experience what you've lacked your whole life before it is finished."
"The other one?" He went over the scraps of clues in his mind.
"…I simply have a tendency to over-explain irrelevant matters while overlooking the broader meaning…"
So, one last intellectual challenge before the end? Why not? He probably won't finish the job until I play his little game, and I'm sure he won't leave until then, either. I'm probably going to have to think like him in order to figure this out. He seems to enjoy connecting unrelated ideas with one another… perhaps that's the way to go.
"…You have always been a peeve of mine…It's a peeve that I have… acquired…"
He's acquired a peeve that has always been had? Perhaps referring to human nature?
"…'Killing' it is simply releasing the energy to anyone who's willing or able to accept it… only someone who can control the soul's flames could unlock the power… I'm the only one who meets those qualifications…"
No, that can't be it.
"…We are defined by our qualities… our unique, inherent qualifications. No matter the context, we are one in the same with our qualifications. We are our qualifications…"
He was mixing words earlier, maybe that's his angle.
"…We are defined by our… unique qualifications… I'm the only one… who can control the soul's flames…we are our qualifications…our qualities…are…inherent…it's…always been a peeve of mine…I have… acquired…I…We…I…We…always been a peeve of…someone…I have… acquired…We are… one… the other one…"
It finally dawned on him. It seemed impossible, but he figured that Mephiles' thought processes lead to all but the plausible, so this must've been the answer, as highly unlikely as it seemed to his more rational sensibilities.
"Now I know what you mean," Julian said in a serious tone. "I know what you are, or specifically, who you are. I didn't see it coming, but I realize now that it must be the truth." He paused just to double-check his rationalization of the irrational. He looked his soon-to-be killer in the eyes and relaxed his tone. "It's you, isn't it?"
Finally all was revealed: the pair of crimson shoes and pearl gloves had been matched to their rightful owner: the violet outfit had faded to a colorless gray, and her fur had turned to a dull aqua. Her yellow irises were now a pale green that glowed in the dark. Her shoulders hung loosely and her head was titled at an odd angle: her gaze was glazed over and corpse-like. She was like a shade of her former self. This had been all made visible by an azure flame that she was now conjuring.
"Hello," she said in a blend of her natural voice and the vocal patterns that Julian recognized as belonging to Mephiles, "and goodbye."
"On the off chance that you can still hear me in there… there's something you should know." Julian cleared his throat. "Blaze, I was the one who killed your parents… but it was Mephiles who made your mother beg for her life. Make whatever you will from that. That's all you'll get from me, kid."
The possessed corpse didn't address this revelation. "As I've informed members of your species before: a devil cannot act against another devil. Faithless, accursed. You've laid the foundation for me: your death will let the world know who I am." The host's hand began to glow; her palm was a charred indigo and the tips of her fingers a chalky light blue with a gradient in-between. A sharp, jointed, skeletal glove formed from her hand. From the center of the palm arose a flat pike with a crystalline sheen. The shining rapier couldn't have been any more than atoms thick. As commanded, Blaze delivered the final blow.
