'Don't You Trust Me?'
Chapter 4
((A few days later))
Tails bit his lip and flew into the canyon base that Eggman had locked himself safely inside. He looked around for a second, then smiled slightly.
"It's OK!" he yelled to the waiting others. "All clear here!"
The others – Sonic, Knuckles, and Shadow – ran into the deep hall after the two-tailed fox.
"It's really dark here ..." Knuckles muttered, running alongside the others.
"Don't worry, I got matches!" Sonic pulled out a book of matches and struck one while running. It lit up in a bright yellow-orange flame, and for a few minutes they could all see where they were.
It was a long passage, almost like the pyramids they had gone through before fighting the Biolizard, but it didn't have any hyroglyphics or tiles, just a sandy hall.
"He's probably down that way!" Shadow suggested, pointing to an almost hidden turnoff at a corner in the hall. Just then, Sonic's match went out.
"Damn!" he muttered, and the place was dark again. The only sounds heard were the soft whoosing of Tails' helicopter-like tails, and Sonic sucking noisily on his singed finger. "Man, those hurt!"
Knuckles heard him opening the book again and reaching for another match.
"Man ... there's only a few more in here, it won't last very long! But by then we'll probably be out in the light ..." Sonic said, striking another match against the back of the book. A sizzle and crackle, and the flames were lighting their way again. They moved fast, who knew how long this tunnel was?
A few minutes later, they came up into a large room. Eggman was seated up high on a platform, frantically pushing keys on an unseen board. He obviously hadn't heard them come in.
Tails turned to Sonic, "What now?" he asked.
"Hmm ..." the blue hedgehog thought for a second, his eyes roving to where the platform connected to the wall. "Aha!" he smiled triumphantly. "Me'n'Shadow'll go over to those connectors. They don't look all that strong, we can probably Home In on those and they'll break apart after a few hits ... then ..." he stopped again, thinking. "Knuckles, while we're doing that, could you dig a hole really fast? When Eggman falls, he'll fall into that hole so he's trapped, so you'll have to dig right under him, OK?"
Knuckles nodded and smiled, raising a spiny thumbs up.
"Tails ... since you're so good at mechanics and stuff," Sonic continued. "you'll need to help us with these connectors ... see how long it'll take. But before you do that ... could you go over with Knuckles to help him calculate where exactly to dig?"
Tails smiled, nodding, happy to have a job.
"OK, let's go!" Sonic said in a hushed tone, and he and Shadow crept along the dusty walls of the hollowed out canyon room. The ceiling was constantly dropping small bits of dirt on them, so they had to be careful not to sneeze, lest Eggman discover their presence. The two hedgehogs stood by the connectors and waited for Tails to come.
Knuckles and Tails ran silently under Eggman's platform, and Tails figured out where Knuckles should dig.
"Mmm ... here," he pointed to a large area of dirt right underneath Eggman, and Knuckles nodded, immediatly starting. This was one job Shadow couldn't invade on, and he smiled in spite of himself.
Tails ran over to Sonic and Shadow, and helped them figure out how many hits each it would take to snap the connectors. Three each, exactly.
Sonic nodded, and Homed In three times, bouncing back quietly to the dirt ground. Shadow took his turn, but before he hit the last connector, he checked to make sure Knuckles was out of the hole. He was. Shadow jumped up, and blasted the last one with a powerful hit.
The long bar holding the platform up creaked ominously, and all four heroes backed away quickly to where they had come in, watching to see if it would work. The bar came suddenly speeding down, and Eggman, terrified, jerked around to see who had done it.
He spotted Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles and Tails.
"YOU! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!" he almost screamed as he crashed down into the surprisingly large hole Knuckles had dug.
"Yes!" Knuckles smiled, satisfied with his work.
They turned to leave, thinking about how they could destroy this base, when a low laughter rose from the pit that the platform had crashed down into.
It came low at first, then loudly.
"What's ... he laughing about?" Shadow asked, almost nervously. "He shouldn't be laughing!"
"No, you're right ..." Sonic bit his lip, then yelled out to Eggman: "What's so funny, Eggman!?"
Eggman's response came quickly. "Hahahaa ... you fools ... I've activated the self-destruct on this base ... it'll crack ... it IS a canyon ... hehehehaahaaa ...." his laughter died down low again.
Tails shivered. "That is one creepy man, guys ..."
The others nodded, but stopped as a low, ominous rumbling ran through the base's walls, floors and ceilings – all around them. They heard the laughter again.
"Haha, you see? You'll never get away alive! Ahahaahaaa!"
"C'mon guys! We gotta go!!!" Sonic's eyes widened and he yelled to his friends. They tore out of the room and back down the dark hall they'd come in, the cracking sound following them.
"It's catching up!" Shadow yelled out over the noise. Dust, dirt, and small sand-rocks were starting to filter down from the low ceiling.
CRRRRACCK!
A huge canyon shattered the path ahead of them, and Sonic leapt over it first, not hesitating once. Tails flew over it quickly, and Knuckles took a running jump, making to the other side. Shadow followed after them, but he hadn't jumped strong enough.
He gave a sharp gasp, and fell down.
Sonic and Tails kept going, Tails now flying to keep up with the others, but Knuckles stopped.
"Huh – wha?" he swerved around, to see no Shadow behind him. He had thought he'd heard a gasp, but he wasn't sure. He ran back through the faltering ceiling to where the chasm had formed. He looked around it, but saw no one.
"He must've – " Knuckles didn't finish his sentence, and fell down to his knees, looking into the blackness of the ravine.
"Shadow! You still there!?" he called out, and a weak, surprised voice answered him.
"Yeah ... I'm right here ..."
Knuckles looked down further, his spines dropping down with him. There, hanging on a ledge, was Shadow. He held on by his two hands, but just barely. His feet had no holds – they dropped off into nothing. The only reason Knuckles knew that was because he could make their white out against the blackness of the hole.
"Hold on! I'll getcha up!" Knuckles reached out a hand, but Shadow did not take it.
"Come ... on ... Shadow!" Knuckles strained his arm. "This place isn't gonna hold much longer!"
Shadow still didn't take the echidna's claw. He bit his lip, and lowered his eyes, looking away.
"Shadow! Don't be an idiot! I won't let you fall! You've gotta TRUST. ME."
No hand.
Knuckles began to get angry. "Shadow! Don't you trust me?"
Shadow's ears perked up at those last words. He remembered what Sonic had said: 'Trust isn't that hard to reach!' He looked back up at the white glove, and the red spines hanging down. A shower of dust on his head from the ceiling brought him back to the real world. Maybe trust wasn't that hard to reach ... it was only a few centimeters away from his own hand ...
The black hedgehog took a big breath. "Yes." he struck upwards for Knuckles' spined claw. They grasped together, and Knuckles pulled.
"Help me, put your feet against the wall!" he ordered out to Shadow, who did just so. Knuckles put his other hand over Shadow's to get more of a hold, and pulled back further.
Suddenly, after a great strain, they flew back onto solid ground. Knuckles lay there for a second, winded, and Shadow got to his feet. He helped Knuckles up, who didn't refuse the hand.
"Thank you ... Knuckles ... you could've let me die back there ... but you saved me ..." Shadow didn't really know what to say.
Knuckles smiled at him, the flashing white sharp teeth catching an unseen flick of light. " We gotta get outta here, this place is gonna collapse! But, answering your comment there ... hey, that's what teammates do, isn't it?"
End of THE STORY!
End of 'Don't You Trust Me?'
DID YOU LIKE IT!? YIPPEE! I'M DONE!! ^____________^ My two fave characters!! Well ... Sonic is a fave, too, but you know!!
PLEASE REVIEW!!
Chapter 4
((A few days later))
Tails bit his lip and flew into the canyon base that Eggman had locked himself safely inside. He looked around for a second, then smiled slightly.
"It's OK!" he yelled to the waiting others. "All clear here!"
The others – Sonic, Knuckles, and Shadow – ran into the deep hall after the two-tailed fox.
"It's really dark here ..." Knuckles muttered, running alongside the others.
"Don't worry, I got matches!" Sonic pulled out a book of matches and struck one while running. It lit up in a bright yellow-orange flame, and for a few minutes they could all see where they were.
It was a long passage, almost like the pyramids they had gone through before fighting the Biolizard, but it didn't have any hyroglyphics or tiles, just a sandy hall.
"He's probably down that way!" Shadow suggested, pointing to an almost hidden turnoff at a corner in the hall. Just then, Sonic's match went out.
"Damn!" he muttered, and the place was dark again. The only sounds heard were the soft whoosing of Tails' helicopter-like tails, and Sonic sucking noisily on his singed finger. "Man, those hurt!"
Knuckles heard him opening the book again and reaching for another match.
"Man ... there's only a few more in here, it won't last very long! But by then we'll probably be out in the light ..." Sonic said, striking another match against the back of the book. A sizzle and crackle, and the flames were lighting their way again. They moved fast, who knew how long this tunnel was?
A few minutes later, they came up into a large room. Eggman was seated up high on a platform, frantically pushing keys on an unseen board. He obviously hadn't heard them come in.
Tails turned to Sonic, "What now?" he asked.
"Hmm ..." the blue hedgehog thought for a second, his eyes roving to where the platform connected to the wall. "Aha!" he smiled triumphantly. "Me'n'Shadow'll go over to those connectors. They don't look all that strong, we can probably Home In on those and they'll break apart after a few hits ... then ..." he stopped again, thinking. "Knuckles, while we're doing that, could you dig a hole really fast? When Eggman falls, he'll fall into that hole so he's trapped, so you'll have to dig right under him, OK?"
Knuckles nodded and smiled, raising a spiny thumbs up.
"Tails ... since you're so good at mechanics and stuff," Sonic continued. "you'll need to help us with these connectors ... see how long it'll take. But before you do that ... could you go over with Knuckles to help him calculate where exactly to dig?"
Tails smiled, nodding, happy to have a job.
"OK, let's go!" Sonic said in a hushed tone, and he and Shadow crept along the dusty walls of the hollowed out canyon room. The ceiling was constantly dropping small bits of dirt on them, so they had to be careful not to sneeze, lest Eggman discover their presence. The two hedgehogs stood by the connectors and waited for Tails to come.
Knuckles and Tails ran silently under Eggman's platform, and Tails figured out where Knuckles should dig.
"Mmm ... here," he pointed to a large area of dirt right underneath Eggman, and Knuckles nodded, immediatly starting. This was one job Shadow couldn't invade on, and he smiled in spite of himself.
Tails ran over to Sonic and Shadow, and helped them figure out how many hits each it would take to snap the connectors. Three each, exactly.
Sonic nodded, and Homed In three times, bouncing back quietly to the dirt ground. Shadow took his turn, but before he hit the last connector, he checked to make sure Knuckles was out of the hole. He was. Shadow jumped up, and blasted the last one with a powerful hit.
The long bar holding the platform up creaked ominously, and all four heroes backed away quickly to where they had come in, watching to see if it would work. The bar came suddenly speeding down, and Eggman, terrified, jerked around to see who had done it.
He spotted Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles and Tails.
"YOU! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!" he almost screamed as he crashed down into the surprisingly large hole Knuckles had dug.
"Yes!" Knuckles smiled, satisfied with his work.
They turned to leave, thinking about how they could destroy this base, when a low laughter rose from the pit that the platform had crashed down into.
It came low at first, then loudly.
"What's ... he laughing about?" Shadow asked, almost nervously. "He shouldn't be laughing!"
"No, you're right ..." Sonic bit his lip, then yelled out to Eggman: "What's so funny, Eggman!?"
Eggman's response came quickly. "Hahahaa ... you fools ... I've activated the self-destruct on this base ... it'll crack ... it IS a canyon ... hehehehaahaaa ...." his laughter died down low again.
Tails shivered. "That is one creepy man, guys ..."
The others nodded, but stopped as a low, ominous rumbling ran through the base's walls, floors and ceilings – all around them. They heard the laughter again.
"Haha, you see? You'll never get away alive! Ahahaahaaa!"
"C'mon guys! We gotta go!!!" Sonic's eyes widened and he yelled to his friends. They tore out of the room and back down the dark hall they'd come in, the cracking sound following them.
"It's catching up!" Shadow yelled out over the noise. Dust, dirt, and small sand-rocks were starting to filter down from the low ceiling.
CRRRRACCK!
A huge canyon shattered the path ahead of them, and Sonic leapt over it first, not hesitating once. Tails flew over it quickly, and Knuckles took a running jump, making to the other side. Shadow followed after them, but he hadn't jumped strong enough.
He gave a sharp gasp, and fell down.
Sonic and Tails kept going, Tails now flying to keep up with the others, but Knuckles stopped.
"Huh – wha?" he swerved around, to see no Shadow behind him. He had thought he'd heard a gasp, but he wasn't sure. He ran back through the faltering ceiling to where the chasm had formed. He looked around it, but saw no one.
"He must've – " Knuckles didn't finish his sentence, and fell down to his knees, looking into the blackness of the ravine.
"Shadow! You still there!?" he called out, and a weak, surprised voice answered him.
"Yeah ... I'm right here ..."
Knuckles looked down further, his spines dropping down with him. There, hanging on a ledge, was Shadow. He held on by his two hands, but just barely. His feet had no holds – they dropped off into nothing. The only reason Knuckles knew that was because he could make their white out against the blackness of the hole.
"Hold on! I'll getcha up!" Knuckles reached out a hand, but Shadow did not take it.
"Come ... on ... Shadow!" Knuckles strained his arm. "This place isn't gonna hold much longer!"
Shadow still didn't take the echidna's claw. He bit his lip, and lowered his eyes, looking away.
"Shadow! Don't be an idiot! I won't let you fall! You've gotta TRUST. ME."
No hand.
Knuckles began to get angry. "Shadow! Don't you trust me?"
Shadow's ears perked up at those last words. He remembered what Sonic had said: 'Trust isn't that hard to reach!' He looked back up at the white glove, and the red spines hanging down. A shower of dust on his head from the ceiling brought him back to the real world. Maybe trust wasn't that hard to reach ... it was only a few centimeters away from his own hand ...
The black hedgehog took a big breath. "Yes." he struck upwards for Knuckles' spined claw. They grasped together, and Knuckles pulled.
"Help me, put your feet against the wall!" he ordered out to Shadow, who did just so. Knuckles put his other hand over Shadow's to get more of a hold, and pulled back further.
Suddenly, after a great strain, they flew back onto solid ground. Knuckles lay there for a second, winded, and Shadow got to his feet. He helped Knuckles up, who didn't refuse the hand.
"Thank you ... Knuckles ... you could've let me die back there ... but you saved me ..." Shadow didn't really know what to say.
Knuckles smiled at him, the flashing white sharp teeth catching an unseen flick of light. " We gotta get outta here, this place is gonna collapse! But, answering your comment there ... hey, that's what teammates do, isn't it?"
End of THE STORY!
End of 'Don't You Trust Me?'
DID YOU LIKE IT!? YIPPEE! I'M DONE!! ^____________^ My two fave characters!! Well ... Sonic is a fave, too, but you know!!
PLEASE REVIEW!!