Chapter seventeen: "Sometimes life just sucks"
Shelia blinked, and opened her eyes to stare blankly at the straw ceiling above
her. She sat up quickly, and regretted it just as quickly. Her head ached fiercely, and as
she learned rather painfully as she flopped back down on the hard cot, she had a small
bruised cut on the back of her head with a thin bandage wrapped over it.
God, she hated waking up like this.
Suddenly, Sally and the raccoon doctor from before were looming over her, looking
worried. Shelia just stared at them, squinting as the doctor shone a light in her eyes, and
grumbled sourly when the raccoon examined her face and head.
"Is she all right?" Sally asked finally, and judging by the look on the doctor's
face, it wasn't the first time she had asked.
"She seems fine." The older female said frowning, "Why don't you ask her yourself,
she is conscious now as you can see."
Sally frowned back at her momentarily. No doubt the doctor had been rather angry at
the princess for going against her suggestions. While Shelia had been out, there had been an
argument between the two. The Amazons were an aggressive people, even their doctors...
Sally pushed that aside for now, and looked down at Shelia. "How do you feel?" She
asked, softly.
Shelia glowered up at her, not feeling at all in the mood for talking. "How do I
look?" She answered grumpily.
Sally was rather taken aback. Shelia was usually such a congenial animal, but Sally
supposed she had a reason to be in a foul mood at the moment. "You don't look too bad..." She
said.
Shelia just frowned, then after a moment mumbled, "Well, I feel pretty bad."
Sally sighed. "Shelia... I'm so sorry I made you do that. I was being selfish, and
stupid. I should have never let you get out of bed. I'm sorry."
Shelia's frown softened. "It... It wasn't your fau--"
"Yes, it was!" Sally interrupted. "I made you do it. I just wanted to win so badly...
It was foolish. And incredibly selfish. Something a leader like me should have never have
even thought of doing. My people are supposed to come first, always... And I just seemed
to forget. I'm so, so sorry."
Shelia smiled weakly. "... I'm okay, really. Just a bump on the head is all."
Sally sighed again, and smiled back. That's better. She didn't know how long she could
have put up with a foul-tempered Shelia. She must have been getting it from Knuckles...
"... Did I win?"
Sally blinked. "What?"
"Did I win?" Shelia repeated the question, looking up at her as she lay on the bed. "The
event. Did I win it? I don't remember."
Sally frowned again. "Well, no."
Shelia closed her eyes. "Great." She mumbled sourly.
Sally tried not to laugh. Yes, Knuckles was definitely rubbing off on her. Speaking
of Knuckles... "Shelia, did Knuckles leave for the Floating Island last night?" She asked,
calmly trying to change the subject, to put the vixen in a better mood.
By the look of Shelia's face when she opened her eyes again, she had picked the wrong
subject. Now she looked like she was going to burst into tears.
"Yes." She answered simply, trying very hard not to break into a sob.
'Not again...' Sally thought. She had all ready let Shelia cry on her shoulder once
when Knuckles had left her the first time, and she did not look forward to doing it again. Shelia
was sweet, but the girl need to get a hold of herself and quit fainting and crying every time
her man left her side. She had to admit it though, before, Knuckles had hurt her badly, leaving
her when she needed him the most... But now what was up? Sally at least thought that Shelia was
somewhat over her parent's death, and now it turned out that her sister was still alive. Plus,
it wasn't like she would never see Knuckles again. She lived on the island now, with the troops
at Fort Acorn, and probably saw him everyday. He'd come back for her, or she'd go back on her
own. Why was she blubbering about it? Unless... Something happened between them that she didn't
know about... Why had Shelia been out in the forest like that? Her curiosity piqued.
"Shelia... Did something--" She began.
"Sally, do you love Sonic?" Shelia asked suddenly.
The princess almost fell out of her chair. She had not been expecting that! "Well... I,
uh... Why do you ask?" She stuttered.
"... I don't know." Shelia said softly, "I just wondered... I mean, you... You and
he are 'together' aren't you?"
Sally thought about that for a second. "Well... Yes." She answered finally.
"And you've been together for a long time, right?" Shelia continued.
Sally nodded slowly, her confusion growing. "Where is this going, Shelia?" She asked.
Shelia frowned, then looked away. "Well... I just wanted to know, if you ever told him
that you loved him." She asked softly.
"... Shelia, what is this all about?" Sally asked.
"... You didn't answer my question..."
"... You didn't answer mine..."
They stared at each other in silence for a moment. Shelia looked up at her, unblinking,
her eyes half filled with tears, and Sally looked down at her stubbornly.
Finally, Sally sighed. Maybe she owed it to her to give in first. She looked away before
answering softly. "... No, I've... I've never told him."
Shelia was surprised, and slowly leaned up and rested on her elbows to watch the
princess with interest. "But... Do you... I mean, love him?"
Sally thought about that for a moment, too. "I... I wish I could." She said finally, in
a voice much too meek to be her usual.
Shelia tilted her head, growing more interested. "What do you mean? Why can't you?"
She questioned.
Sally was still looking away. "... You wouldn't understand. It's... Complicated. I want
to, I mean... But right now... I can't."
"How come?"
"... I'm the Princess." Sally said, almost bitterly, "I have a war to run. I don't
have time for that kind of thing."
Shelia was practically appalled. "But... How can someone not have time for love?"
"I told you that you wouldn't understand. It's not what I want all the time. If I
want to have a future for this planet... I have to put things off. Even... Love."
Shelia quieted for a moment, and watched the back of the pretty squirrel's head,
thinking. But finally, she couldn't help herself. "You mean to say, that in all those
years you and Sonic... Never... Said anything about it?"
Sally had to laugh softly. "Sonic isn't exactly a very verbal guy. There's other ways to
say that you love someone without just coming out and saying it... He knows that I care about
him, and I know he cares about me. That's all we need... For now."
Shelia looked down. "Oh..." she said softly. "I just don't think I could do that."
Sally turned to look back at her from the corner of her eye. "What do you mean?"
"... Keep all my feelings in like that. For years. How do you stand it? I think I'd
go crazy." She said.
Sally smiled weakly, and tried to casually wipe her eyes. "It's not the hardest thing
that I have to do everyday."
Shelia smiled back at her, slowly sitting up fully. "I wish I was as strong as you,
Sally." She said.
"You've said that before. You should stop wishing." Sally said, bluntly.
Shelia was still smiling a little smile. "You're right."
They sat again in silence, this time almost contentedly, until Sally broke in.
"You're turn."
"Huh?"
"I answered your question." Sally said pointedly, "Now you answer mine. Why did you
ask me all that? And don't give me any of that 'I was just curious' crap. Something happened
between you and Knuckles, didn't it?"
Shelia looked pained again. "... Yeah..." She said softly.
"Well...?" Sally pushed.
"Well... I... Before he left... Well I..." She tried not to sniffle, "I told him that
I loved him."
Sally hadn't been expecting that either. But now it all seemed to be starting to make
sense. "...And, what did he say back?" She asked.
Shelia closed her eyes and a single tear escaped and trickled down her nose.
"Nothing..." She whimpered. "He just ran off..."
Sally's demeanor softened considerably. She wouldn't admit it of course, but deep down,
that had always been another reason while she had never poured out her feelings to Sonic, the
ever present fear of being unreturned in her emotions... Sure, she knew Sonic cared about her,
but... Well, he wasn't one for commitment... But she really hadn't expected that kind of behavior
from Knuckles. He was so calm and collected and responsible, if a little shy at first! She had
thought for sure he was head over heels for Shelia!
But there the innocent vixen was, heart-broken again.
* * * * *
A small group of rather odd looking humans sat around a circular, checkered game board,
fissured in two by a green crystal game piece jammed into the center.
They were all silent momentarily. There were four of them, one man, and three women. The
man was tall, handsome and young, with shoulder-length white hair tied back with a ribbon. He
was dressed in a prim white suit, a scarf folded neatly into his coat and kept in place with a
clear crystal pin. His gray eyes were wide with shock, something very unusual for him.
A short woman sat beside him daintily, dressed in fine green silks and velvets laced with
strings of lime-colored pearls. Her hair, oddly enough, was dark green, and curled about her
shoulders and down her back in gentle waves. She was anything but gentle however. Her shining
emerald eyes had a darkness, a cold evil behind them, despite her smile.
On the other side of her, sat a red-headed little girl dressed in a short frilly pink
dress with great big red bows in her hair around two small buns, leaving the rest of her hair to
fall down to the small of her back. Her normally overly enthusiastic and innocent demeanor had
faded, and tears had begun in her round eyes.
Sitting across from the little girl, somewhat away from the others, was a tall, skinny,
rather frightening looking woman, dressed in a very tight-fitting black shiny dress, cut in a
very low 'v' in front that reached her belly button, and just barely covered her adequate
breasts. Her spiky, dark amethyst hair was tied back in a fashionably messy pony tail, but her
long bangs fell over her electric violet eyes, which were now wide with disgust.
However human-looking they seemed, they were not at all human. They were neither human,
nor animal, nor plant. They simply were. Spirits some called them. The embodiments of all the
emotions, forces, goods, and evils of the world. Legends, and yet they lived.
"... What... What have you done?!" Rona, the woman in black, spat suddenly, breaking
the silence.
Kayoss, the woman in green, simply smirked at her companions sweetly. "Whatever do you
mean?" She asked innocently.
Venus, the little girl, crumbled down beside the broken game board. "You'll ruin
everything!" She sobbed softly.
Ace, the man in white, frowned just barely. "She's right darling. You shouldn't have
done that. The city was not to return until--"
"Oh shut up!" Kayoss hissed, rolling her eyes. "You and your stupid plans! For once
you should quit following their orders! After all, I am in charge here."
Rona scowled down at the smaller emerald-haired woman. "Is that so?"
Kayoss' eyes narrowed dangerously. "This is *my* island. You are only here because the
stupid Guardian brought you here."
Rona matched her glare evenly.
Venus was still crying. "You broke my gaaaaamme!"
Ace patted her gently on her red-head. "Don't worry sweetie... You can always just make
another one."
"Oh yeah..." She sniffled, looking wistful. "But.. I wish Kaminai was here. She's so good
at fixing things."
"They're coming soon... Hopefully." Ace said.
"Hey! This game isn't over yet!" Kayoss growled.
"I think you've caused enough trouble for today, darling." Ace said slowly.
She eyed him viciously.
He returned with his own cool, slivery gaze. Venus frowned up at her as she held her
game protectively. And Rona, as always, was against her.
'Damn.' Kayoss thought, 'I was just trying to have a little fun, and all these jerks gang
up on me.' She turned and stalked away to the other side of the huge spherical room and resumed
her position on her pedestal. She smiled evilly. Perhaps when Rakar finally got here he would be
on her side. Until then she'd just have to play her own little game...
* * * * *
"It's... It's..." Julie-Su stuttered, as she stared at the towering white and green
buildings that lay in front of them, seemingly have appeared from nowhere.
"It's Echidnaopolis!" Archimedes exclaimed, flabbergasted.
"B-but... But it can't be!" Knuckles stammered, not believing his eyes.
"It is!" Julie-Su yelled, practically laughing. "It's Echidnaopolis, back on the island,
after all those years! Finally I'll be able to go home!"
Knuckles was still simply staring in shock. "It can't be!" He repeated, "It's... Its
impossible! It was destroyed!"
Julie turned back to give him a confused stare. "Destroyed? What are you talking about?"
She asked.
"...It... It was destroyed... A long time ago... Was... Wasn't it?" He said slowly.
"Uh... No." Julie replied.
"Archimedes, tell her! Wasn't it destroyed?" Knuckles asked the ant on his shoulder.
"Uh..." Archimedes mumbled, looking downward.
"Well?!" Knuckles asked, sounding strangled.
"Um.. WellIgottagochecksomethingseeyoulater!" Archimedes said in a rush, then
disappeared.
Knuckles stared at his empty shoulder, confusion almost overwhelming him. He looked
up, to try to get an explanation from Julie only to find her gone. He blinked, then realizing that she
had run into the mysterious city, ran after her.
He caught up with her in the middle of a wide paved street between the huge buildings.
She was staring upwards in awe, an almost reminiscent look in her eyes.
The damage seemed minimal for such a quake, but the city stood, most of it at least.
Towers shot up into the sky like huge, white glass trees, shining in the sun, gilded
metallic spires stabbing the clouds, broken bridges between the buildings, cracks along the
sidewalks, and floors and floors of windows, some shattered, up and down the edifices
reflecting the brilliant glow of the towers and... Despite the destruction, it was strikingly
beautiful.
There were echidnas running everywhere, and towers, vehicles, roads, everywhere... It
made Knuckles nervous. He didn't like being nervous.
"Isn't it great?" Julie said. "Back home!"
"Uhh..." Knuckles said, swallowing.
"Halt intruders!" Someone shouted suddenly.
Knuckles and Julie looked down from where they were gazing at the tower-tops to find
themselves surrounded by dozens of echidnas in uniform, all pointing guns in their direction.
* * * * *