Chapter 2 – Whispers Of The Mind
Knuckles and Espio made there way out of the palace and down to the hospital. The sun was starting to get low in the sky but it was still very light. As they approached the hospital they saw Amy sitting outside on a bench.
"Hi there Amy." said Espio with a smile.
Amy looked up at the voice.
"Oh hi Espio. Knuckles."
"Hi Amy." said Knuckles.
"Are visiting hours still open?" asked Espio.
"You'll have to be quick. There is only about half an hour left." said Amy.
"You go on Espio. I'm going to sit here for a while." said Knuckles.
"Erm…ok Knuckles." replied Espio as he walked into the hospital.
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Espio walked past the front desk, stopping only to find out which bed Tails was in. He found his way to his room and opened the door.
"Hey Tails. Just thought I'd pop in and…." Espio began before he noticed that Tails wasn't there, "Hmm…wonder where he went?"
Espio closed the door and wondered on a bit more. He walked down several corridors before looking at his watch.
"Oh well. This place will be closing soon, better go." said Espio with a sigh, "I'll visit Tails later."
Espio turned to leave, walking through the critical ward on his way out. The ward was pretty empty. Nothing bad had happened in the last three years since Sarath's defeat and so the ward was mostly full of people with illnesses. He blinked as he walked past a room. Suddenly he stopped. He turned back and looked in through the slightly open door. Inside Tails was sitting in a chair looking at someone on the bed. Espio recognised him, it was Eldin, Tails' friend.
So that's where he went thought Espio. He shook his head and left without a sound.
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Outside Knuckles sat down on the bench next to Amy. She was looking at the sky.
"So what you been up to Amy?" asked Knuckles leaning back on the bench.
"Oh nothing much. Looking after Tails, a bit of relaxing, a bit of stargazing…"
"Stargazing huh? Well that's….unusual." said Knuckles.
Amy looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"Well I suppose it is. However, I found I like it."
She looked up at the sky again.
"Did you know that in a day or so we will have a complete planetary alignment?" she asked.
"Err no I didn't" replied Knuckles.
"I'm not surprised. Not many people do. You can see it just there."
She pointed up at the sky and Knuckles followed her finger. The sky was beginning to darken now that the sun had just dipped below the horizon. In the sky Knuckles could see several dots of light. They appeared above each other making an almost perfect line going straight up.
"Hmm…..well that's……nice." Knuckles said searching for the right words.
Amy smiled slightly. She knew other people didn't take much interest in stargazing and she also knew some people thought she was weird for doing so. She didn't care though. She liked it and that was all that mattered. She looked back at the sky and her expression changed.
"Do you see that?" she asked to Knuckles.
Knuckles looked back at the sky where Amy was pointing. To the side of the alignment there was another small dot of light. It hadn't been there before and it was moving slowly. Knuckles nodded slowly.
"Yeah I see it. What is it?"
"I don't know. I have never seen it before. If it was a star it wouldn't be moving. I'll have to keep an eye on it. I'd like to know."
Knuckles looked at the sky again. He shrugged and looked down. Just then Espio came out of the hospital.
"Oh hi there Espio. You see Tails?" asked Knuckles.
"No. He wasn't in his bed." replied Espio.
"WHAT!" cried Amy.
Espio smiled at her.
"Yeah, I found him sitting next to Eldin's bed. I left him alone."
Amy shook her head.
"That fox is one of a kind." she said.
"He sure is." said Knuckles.
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Sonic woke up and stretched. Next to him lay Sally. She had an arm around his middle and a smile on her face. He looked at her and smiled. It was the first time he had seen her smile since her father died. He slowly moved her arm and got out of bed. He put on his sneakers and cloak and walked over to the window. He drew the curtains and let the sun shine in through the glass doors. He opened the double doors and a warm breeze blew into the room. The scent of roses and fresh bread filled the air. Sonic loved this early morning smell. It reminded him of his younger years in Knothole. He walked out onto the balcony and looked down. It was still quite early but already there were a few people mulling around below. The gardeners were out trimming the grass and the palace guards were already on duty.
There was a soft moan from back in the room. Sonic smiled and walked back in. Sally was shifting around on the bed. Sonic walked up and sat down next to her. He brushed his hand through her hair. Sally stirred again.
"Rise and shine Sally." he said quietly.
Sally slowly woke up and smiled at him.
"Hi Sonic." she said sleepily.
Sonic bent over and kissed her before sitting up again. Sally slowly sat up in bed and kissed him back. Sonic got up and walked back to the window. A few moments later Sally joined him. They both looked out on the city.
"It's today isn't it?" asked Sally.
"Yes it is." said Sonic smiling, "I hope they enjoy themselves."
"They will do. You'll be with them after all."
Sonic nodded. Today he was taking Alicia and Miles out into the countryside. He was planning a bit of quality time with them. Sally put her arms around him as they stood in the early morning sun.
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Amy signed her name on a small dotted line. She handed the pen back to the nurse who had given it to her.
"Thanks you ma'am." said the nurse, "Ok you're free to go."
Tails smiled and got up off his seat. He walked over to Amy and the nurse.
"Thanks." he said grinning.
"Take care of yourself Tails and remember to check in with us every week so we can see how those burns are healing." said the nurse.
"Will do. Come on Amy lets go."
Amy rolled her eyes and headed for the exit with him. They exited the hospital and where met by a sudden burst of heat. The sun was high in the sky and there were no clouds to block it out. Tails stretched and sighed.
"Oh man! It's good to be outside again. You don't know what it's like in there."
"Actually I do but never mind." replied Amy.
Just then there was a familiar voice.
"Well hello there sugah fox!"
Tails shook his head as Bunnie came into view from around a corner. She smiled and walked up to them.
"Ah was just coming to see you." she said with a laugh, "But it looks like ah'm too late."
"Good to see you again Bunnie." said Tails giving her a hug, "It's been a while."
"It sure has sugah. If ah remember correctly it was a good few months ago."
"Yep. Just over two months ago at the grav circuit."
Bunnie turned to Amy.
"And how are we doing?" she asked.
"Pretty well Bunnie." smiled Amy, "You been busy?"
"Well actually ah have." said Bunnie, "Ever since ma restaurant went planet wide my life has become very busy. Too many darn form and stuff."
Bunnie let out a sigh and Amy giggled.
"Speaking of food, I'm starving." said Tails, "The stuff the serve in there isn't very appealing."
"Tails! Will you stop complaining about the food!" said Amy.
"Sorry Aimes but its true. The food is pretty awful. I mean last night they served up something that looked like it had just come out of….."
"That's enough!" said Amy waving her hand in front of her, "Please don't. Just don't."
Bunnie watched the pair of them. Sometimes they could be highly amusing. This was one such a time. She couldn't stand it and finally broke down into laugher. The two of them stopped and looked at her. Bunnie sat down on a bench and tried to steady herself. Finally she stopped laughing and looked at them.
"Ah'm sorry. But…but sometimes you can be real funny." said Bunnie smirking.
The pair of them groaned. They got that a lot.
"So what about some food?" asked Tails.
Bunnie nodded.
"Come on back to my place. I'll fix you something up."
Bunnie turned and headed towards the city. Tails and Amy looked at each other and then followed.
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"So then. Are we ready?" asked Sonic.
"You betcha dad!" said Miles giving his father the thumbs up.
Alicia rolled her eyes and groaned.
"Do you have to talk like that?" she asked.
"Oh yeah." said her brother giving her a cheeky grin.
"Daaaaaad!" moaned Alicia.
Sonic looked down at Alicia and groaned.
"Alicia…..can't you be………..more tolerant?" he asked.
Alicia just looked at him and humfed. She did this a lot and it really got on Sonic's nerves.
"Oh stop that." he said.
Alicia just humfed again and rose her nose into the air. Miles sneaked up behind her and poked her in the back. Alicia cried out and spun around. Miles collapsed on the floor laughing. Alicia glared at him.
"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!" she cried.
"Oh knock it off!" he said before quickly adding, "Both of you."
Miles and Alicia looked at him and then looked at their feet. Sonic shook his head.
"It's ok." he said raising their heads.
Miles and Alicia smiled as they looked up.
"So are we ready then?" asked Sonic again.
Miles and Alicia nodded and smiled again.
"Ok then. Let's go."
Sonic picked up a small rucksack from the floor and walked forwards. Miles and Alicia followed him. They walked out of the palace and down into the city. In recent years Sonic had been spending more and more time just walking around the city. He had become a common sight and was now regarded as just a normal Mobian rather than the king. A few people still bowed as he went past but most smiled at him and waved. Sonic liked this informal way of things. He liked being king but after a while you got bored of the special treatment.
Sonic and the kids walked out of the city and into the countryside surrounding the city. Sonic started to hum.
"So dad. Where we going?" asked Miles.
"Hmm….oh right. I thought we'd take a little trip to the Emerald Hills. They are very nice you know." replied Sonic.
"Ooh the Emerald Hills!" cried Alicia, "I've always wanted to go there."
Sonic looked at his daughter. Her eyes had lit up and she was beaming.
"Alright then. Well if you're that keen grab on. It juice time." said Sonic.
Miles and Alicia beamed at him. They each grabbed an arm and Sonic shot off into the distance leaving a large trail of dust.
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"Hope you're all REALLY hungry." said Bunnie as she emerged from the kitchen.
She was carrying a large bowl of rice pudding. Tails smiled. He loved Bunnies cooking especially her deserts. Bunnie set the pudding down and served it up. Amy was puzzled. She had never had this before. She pushed it around with her spoon for a moment and then tasted a mouthful. She raised an eyebrow as she tasted it and then smiled at Bunnie and took another spoonful.
"This is really good Bunnie." she said, "Really good."
"Well ah'm glad you like it." replied Bunnie.
She looked over at Tails. Somehow he was managing to eat it even with his hands bandaged up. He looked up for a second.
"Yeah it's really great." he said quickly and resumed eating.
Bunnie shook her head. Just then she remembered something.
"I was wondering. Did either of you two see that weird light in the sky last night?"
Amy looked at her and nodded.
"I did. Tails was still in hospital."
"What light?" asked Tails finishing his pudding.
Amy told Tails about the planetary alignment and the light she saw.
"Alignment you say." said Tails, "Interesting."
"Ah didn't know about that Amy." said Bunnie.
"Well it's not really well known. I only know because I regularly stargaze." replied Amy.
"Oh ma stars, stargazing. I used to do that back in Knothole."
"So what did you see Bunnie." asked Amy.
"Well sugah. I was sitting on the roof of ma restaurant in Mobotropolis having a little drink." said Bunnie letting out a small giggle, "I was just watching the stars when I saw one moving. I thought it was the alcohol but obviously it wasn't."
"Interesting eh Aimes. I wonder what it was?" said Tails.
Amy only nodded and stared at the wall.
"Amy?" asked Tails.
Amy shook her head and looked at him.
"Oh I'm sorry. I just slipped into thought there." she said, "I don't know why but it gives me a strange feeling."
"Uh oh! That's generally a bad sign coming from you." groaned Tails.
"What do you mean?!" said Amy.
"Well it is. Every time you've had a bad feeling something has happened." urged Tails.
"Well if you're so sure why don't you…."
Bunnie burst out laughing again and almost fell over backwards in her chair. Amy and Tails stopped arguing and looked at her. Bunnie managed to compose herself and managed to stop laughing.
"Ah'm sorry." she giggled.
Tails and Amy groaned.
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Sonic skidded to a halt on a patch of grass.
"Well here we are." he said.
Miles and Alicia let go of his arms and looked around. They were standing in a slight slope at the bottom of the Emerald Hills. Nearby a small river ran by. Alicia looked around gleefully.
"Oh it's so beautiful." she said.
"Sure is." said Sonic, "So what do you kids want to do?"
Miles and Alicia looked at each other and nodded.
"Explore!" they both cried.
Sonic was amazed. They had actually agreed on something.
"Ok then, lets go." he said.
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Sally opened the door to her wardrobe. Inside hung a variety of dresses and other garments. She reached inside and pulled out a very pale red dress. It was so pale a colour it was almost white. She looked it over and then nodded to herself. She walked over to a mirror and posed in front of it. She spun holding the dress close to her.
"Hmm….yes that will be just right." she said to herself.
She turned away from the mirror and started to hum. Very soon the humming became a full blown song.
"No matter where I am at all,
There's one thing you should know.
And that is that I love you,
I dearly love you so.
But when things are looking grey and dark,
And I am feeling mighty sad.
All I do is think of you,
And things don't seem so bad.
La la la lala la la la,
La lala lala la.
La la la lala la la la,
La lala lala la.
And when you're standing by my side,
I feel nothing can go wrong.
In fact I feel like I can just,
Burst into a song.
So when it comes to the final end,
You will not have to fear.
'Cos I will be there by your side,
My sweet blue hedgehog dear."
Sally clutched the dress close to her and closed her eyes as she did another little spin. She stopped and opened her eyes. Just then there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" asked Sally.
"Your majesty." came a reply.
It was a palace guard.
"Just a second." said Sally.
She lay the dress down on the bed and smoothed out the one she was wearing. She adjusted her tiara and fuzzed up her hair a bit more.
"Ok come in." she said.
The door opened and a royal guard stood there.
"Your majesty. There are some guests here to see you."
"Guest? We weren't expecting anyone. Who is it?"
"Miles Prower and Amy Rose your majesty."
"Oh! Well show them in."
The guard disappeared and then appeared again.
"Miles Prower and Amy Rose your majesty."
He stood aside and Tails and Amy walked in. The guard bowed and walked off. Sally walked up to them.
"Well what a surprise. I wasn't expecting you." said Sally.
Tails smiled at her.
"Well we weren't expecting it either. But then something came up." he said.
Sally looked at him puzzled.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"It's me you should be asking." said Amy.
Sally turned to her.
"Ok then what?" she said with a small laugh.
"Well I don't really know how to explain it. Do you know there is a planetary alignment coming up in the next few days?"
"Yes I do." said Sally.
"How?" asked Tails.
Sally looked at him and smiled.
"Nicole told me." She said and patted a small pouch at her side that Nicole sat in.
"You still carry her around eh?" said Tails.
"Oh yes. She comes in handy some times." said Sally turning back to Amy, "Yes what about it?"
"Well……….ah geez it probably isn't anything but I feel a bit tense about it." said Amy shaking her head.
"What do you mean tense?" asked Sally.
"Well…….nah sorta well……tense. You know."
"Well what do you want me to do about it?" asked Sally.
"I don't know. I just thought you should know. As Tails reminded me whenever I get odd feelings something bad usually happens."
"Hmm…..that's true. Bit annoying but true." replied Sally nodding.
"Is Sonic around?" asked Amy.
"No. He took the kids on a trip to the Emerald Hills." said Sally.
"That place huh?" said Tails smiling, "Sure is nice around this time of year."
"I was thinking of going with him but decided against it." said Sally.
"Why's that?" asked Amy.
"Well, Sonic could use some time with the kids…alone. And someone has to look after thing here."
"I see." said Tails, "So Amy what you wanna do now?"
"I would still like to tell Sonic." said Amy.
"Well let's take a trip then." said Tails with a smile.
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A monitor blinked into life and a message appeared.
Targets located entering sector 12. Applying weather control. Confirmed. Time to target acquisition 17 minutes. Time to alignment 12 hours.
The monitor blinked and then went blank, throwing up the darkness that had been there before.
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Alicia bent down and plucked a flower from the ground. She added it to the bunch had had already and stood up. She closed her eyes and sniffed deeply at the flowers. A beautiful scent filled her nose followed closely by a large amount of pollen. She raised her head, her nose snuffling. She let out a loud sneeze and fell over backwards. She landed with a thud on the ground.
"Oooh! My nose! Ah….ah…….AHCOO!"
She got up and walked slowly over the hill. On the other side Sonic sat leaning against a tree. Miles was throwing a ball around nearby.
"Daaad!" cried Alicia as she approached.
Sonic groaned to himself. What had she done now? He got up and looked at her. Her green dress had large brown and green grass stains down the back and one side.
"Oh Alicia. What did you do?" asked Sonic.
Alicia explained. Sonic rolled his eyes.
"Alicia, you know you have hay fever." he said.
"Yes but flowers smell so nice." she said.
"I know but you shouldn't sniff them too deeply."
"I'm sorry."
"It's ok Alicia."
"Dad?" said Miles coming up behind them, "It looks like its going to rain dad."
Sonic looked up. Surely enough, dark clouds had started to gather.
"Oh boy. Let's find some shelter kids." said Sonic extending his arms.
The children grabbed on and Sonic tore away.
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"Ok then Amy lets go." said Tails as he and Amy walked out of the palace.
"Right Tails. Shouldn't take long to get there."
"Shouldn't no. The Emerald Hills are pretty close."
"Well let's get movi…."
"Wait!" came a cry.
Tails and Amy turned round to see Sally jogging slowly towards them. She had changed her outfit dramatically. She now wore a light red sweater and a pair of black trousers.
"Woah!" commented Tails as she approached, "Nice outfit."
"Oh be quiet." said Sally irritated, "Even a queen has to have some different clothes sometimes!"
Tails smiled and shrugged.
"Sorry. Just a bit of a shock. I haven't seen you in gear like that for years."
"So you decided to come eh Sally?" asked Amy.
"I did. I need some time out and about. I told Knuckles I was going, he can look after things for a while."
"Well if you're sure let's go then." said Tails.
The three of them turned and headed down towards Mobotropolis and then out towards the Emerald Hills.
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Sonic skidded to a halt. The rain had started coming down and they were all wet. Sonic looked around for somewhere to shelter. Finally he saw a small cave and tore inside and down the passage. He stopped a little way in and the kids let go of him.
"I don't understand it." said Sonic, "It never rains like that in the Emerald Hills."
He looked down at the children. Miles was shaking himself off and looking very undignified while he did. Alicia was ringing the water out of her hair.
"Oh will you look at my dress!" she cried out, "It's soaking."
"Well at least we are dry now. This cave was a good find." said Sonic as he looked around.
The walls gave off a strange dark glow. The glow although black still lit up the area well.
"Hmm…..now where is that torch." said Sonic as he rummaged through his rucksack.
He found it and turned it on. There was a strange moaning sound as he shone the light on the walls. They seemed to shrivel up and fall back. Sonic was puzzled. He looked outside.
"Still raining. Come on lets go find somewhere to sit. I'll cook us up something." he said.
"Yeah!" cried Miles and beamed at him.
They set off into the cave and soon came to a small cavern. The walls glowed with the same black glow. Sonic sat down on a small rock and got out a little camp stove. He turned it on and then went about getting out some pans and food.
Meanwhile Alicia was walking around the cavern. It was quite large and was divided into several sections by large rock formations. She walked round one of the sections and continued on. She brushed her hand along the wall. It was cold to the touch and she quickly pulled her hand away and curled up slightly as if she had just touched something disgusting. It was then that she saw it, she screamed.
Sonic heard the scream and within a split second he and Miles were standing there. Alicia was standing there shaking and looking at a raccoon's dead body as it lay on the floor. She turned and ran to Sonic.
"Daddy! I don't like this place!" she cried softly as she clung to him.
Sonic began to back away.
"Yes…..I think we should go." he said to her.
Just then there was a rustling of wind and a dark mist surrounded them. Sonic glanced around frantically. What was going on? The mist closed in and Sonic felt it touch him. He screamed as he felt his flesh almost burn at the contact. Miles and Alicia also screamed. Sonic felt the mist start to enter him and then suddenly it stopped and seemed to pull back. Sonic felt himself go limp. He collapsed to the floor. Miles and Alicia had already collapsed and they both lay there unconscious. Sonic looked up slightly as there was a flash. The last thing he remembered was the floor vanishing and then feeling cold metal beneath him before he passed out.