Sonic Hill 2: DX
Chapter 13: Cryptic Enigma
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"What's the Lakeview Hotel like?"
"Hmm…" Miles leaned back as memories of those lovely moments between him and his blue hero flooded his mind again, drowning out the situation they were in right now. "It's very beautiful…I don't even know how to describe it, really."
The tone of his voice made Shadow's tenseness subside. Miles really sounded happy for once. That happiness cast a shadow of depression, but it was happiness nonetheless.
"We checked into the place…the reason we came to this town was because it had Sonic's name in it. Funny, really. After reading about it we decided to go, and it was one of the best decisions we've ever made." Another smile cracked on his white-furred face; his eyes focused on the ceiling. "Well, besides having civil union of course."
"Of course." Shadow said, feeling a slight pang in his heart as he heard that for some reason. He ignored it and went on. "What room did you two have?"
"Um…312." Miles said. "I had gotten a promotion in my job as a protagonist in Station Square.""Protawha?'
"Nothin' important, just another stupid cubicle job. But anyway, Sonic and I eventually raised enough money to go on that vacation we planned on. And it was great. 312, 312…that was one of the best rooms in the whole hotel. Third floor, which had the largest and most expensive rooms. I remember, the best things about it were the windows; you could see almost all of Lake Toluca from your room. And man…just like in Rosewater Park, it's so beautiful, specially at sunset…"
"Must have been great." Shadow said, aching with a restrained sadness. He had never seen a sunset before, or anything really before he woke up here. Nothing he could remember, anyway. "I hope you can find him again."
"Me too…" Miles sat up and wrapped his arms around his legs, pulling them close and looking at the hedgehog. "I…I just don't know…"
"What?"
"I was at his funeral and everything…I don't understand how he could be alive."
"It doesn't matter." Shadow stated, sitting up and walking up to the mattress the fox sat in to sit next to him. "He's here…I know it. You just have to find him."
"Could he really be in that hotel?"
"I think so."
It was then that Miles did something Shadow had never expected him to do: pulled him into a warm friendly hug. "Thank you Shadow. I…I dunno what would have happened if I hadn't met you."
"Same here." Shadow said as he hugged back, feeling comforted by the fox's warm fur. "I think we've waited long enough. And Sonic is probably getting tired of waiting too. So let's get out of here."
The fox nodded and stood up, stretching his arms and picking the shotgun up off the floor. Shadow pulled the handgun out of his pocket and picked up the handbag, handing it to Miles. The fox seemed to want to hold it for him since they left M6 hours earlier. That ache in his arm was just a dull throb now…but it seemed like nothing compared to the gash on Miles's back. Shadow still wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but the fox didn't seem to want to talk about it. He was okay with that – he'd be alright as long as Miles was okay.
"Um…keep your guard up." The fox said, knowing very well Shadow intended to but saying it anyway. Cautiously, he pushed the door open and let out a sigh of relief when the radio's static never came.
The F corridor was the polar opposite of the E corridor when it came to monster population. After examining it, they had only found one item of use – a key with the letter 'N' written on it. The 'N' Corridor was at the end of the M Corridor on the second floor, if he recalled. Miles could have sworn the hospital didn't look this big on the outside, but that didn't seem to matter. Still tense from the battle earlier, Miles and Shadow crept back down the maze of corridors till they got back to the C Corridor, where they took the elevator to the M Corridor.
The N Corridor Key worked, of course, and the door opened revealing another area, looking pretty much the same as all the others; dirty, broken, dark, and not remotely like any hallway in a normal hospital. Another nurse walked towards them, its broken skinless legs moving abnormally across the floor. Seconds later, a burst of shotgun shells buried itself into the nurse's chest, killing it. Miles stepped over its body with Shadow not too far behind, and then began checking the corridor like they had the others so many times before.
The labyrinth-like hallways were all locked tight, and the metal bars leading from the P to Q corridors were closed and locked, so the duo couldn't pass. Next to the bars though was a pair of flashy looking double doors, which proved to be unlocked, unlike everything else. They pulled the doors open and walked into the new room, seeing a kind of room they'd never expected to see in a mental hospital.
Dinning tables with mostly empty plates lined the room. Some plates still had half eaten and currently rotting food with utensils buried deep into them as if someone stopped in the middle of eating. Extravagant red tapestries hung down on the ceiling in the corners. A large chandelier was in the center, brightening everything up with a decent amount of light. What seemed to be the center of attention was the large black grand piano on a raised floor in the middle of the room. No dirt or decay covered the walls, making it look extremely out of place compared to the rest of the hospital. Aside from the food, the room looked completely clean and untouched till now.
"…" Shadow threw his arms up in the air. "I'm not even going to ask."
Since Shadow wouldn't dare question it, Miles did. "What the hell is this doing in a fuckin' mental hospital?"
Shrugging, Shadow advanced towards the grand piano, stepping up onto the platform it was on and looking at the keys. Miles followed, eyes focusing on the piano alongside Shadow's. There was a musical score on the top of it, made not of paper but from what looked like some sort of stone. It was old and withered—just like most of the writings they had found so far in the town—but the notes were still legible, while the lyrics were washed away completely. On the top of the score it said the song's name.
'Love Psalm'
"Heh, nice name." Miles said, losing interest already and turning to examine something else. But his teammate was too focused on the score to notice.
"Can I play this?" Shadow asked.
Miles looked at him like he was crazy. "You can play a piano?"
"Yeah, I think so." he grinned.
"Is there anything you can't do?" Miles laughed for a second, then got a serious look on his face again. "Come on though, there's no time for games."
"It's music, not a game." Shadow said, sitting down at the instrument. "Besides, there's something written here."
"Huh?" Miles leaned back in for a closer look. Indeed, there was something carved into the front of the piano.
'An endless tune lie within one's breast
A psalm that defies that of love's test'
"What's that supposed to mean?" Miles raised an eyebrow. The inhabitants of the town appeared to have a fetish for bad poetry before things even got weird.
Shadow shrugged, putting his hands on the keyboard and playing the simplistic melody carved into the stone score. Miles stepped back and sweatdropped, feeling weirded out yet awed at the hedgehog's actions. He really did play well, which seemed so ironic it was laughable.
He remembered Sonic used to try and play the piano…he wasn't very good at it, but he never stopped trying. It was things like that that made him love the blue hedgehog even more – Sonic was never bothered by the things he couldn't do, and never let it get the best of him. If he really wanted to do something, he'd do it. Not many guys are like that—
Miles pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind again, trying not to get lost in thought for the hundredth time that day. As if the music was what accompanied that thought, Shadow finished playing the moment he pushed the thoughts away and gave him a cheesy grin. The musical notes echo died out in the hallways beyond.
"What do you think?" Shadow looked as if he was mentally begging him to say he did well, and he really did. Miles clapped, being rewarded by an even bigger grin.
"Good work, but we should—"
He stopped in mid sentence as a strange sliding noise was heard from below. For a terrible quarter-second long period of time he thought that Pyramid Head might be nearby, but the soft noise ended way too abruptly to be that of the monster's giant knife. Shadow let out a small yelp as the piano began to play the Love Psalm again, except this time without him even touching the keys. Miles noticed that the piano was actually moving, backing away from the hedgehog by some hidden mechanism. It only moved a few feet before it stopped, and the wooden panels beneath the piano began to move instead. They slid back, creating a small square hole in the ground.
"What the…?"
"Just as I thought." Shadow said, kneeling down and looking into the hole. "It was another puzzle."
"Heh…" Miles turned the flashlight back on and revealed the hole's interior. There was a ladder that seemed to stretch down into the first floor, maybe even deeper than that.
"I wonder where that leads to…" Shadow said curiously, Miles looked at him.
"I'm going in, you stay here."
"Why?"
Miles stopped, wondering why he'd just commanded that. It was probably dangerous, but it's not like it would be any less dangerous up here. He just had a bad feeling something might happen if Shadow went in there…he shook it off though, realizing that they were both safest if they stuck together. "Okay okay, you can come, just let me lead the way."
Nodding, Shadow pulled out the handgun and looked down the hole. Miles moved closer to it and began to climb down the ladder, Shadow not too far above him. They climbed down the claustrophobic hole for a lot longer than they expected to – at least a minute, but they reached the bottom floor easily enough.
The corridor was so narrow that they couldn't stand side by side and make it through. Cold stone walling rubbed against Miles's shoulders, and he felt fear for the fact that if something charged at them, they wouldn't be able to turn around very easily. Gripping the shotgun tightly, Miles crept through the tight corridor. At the end was a rusty looking door, not too different looking from the one in the basement's basement. Miles glanced at Shadow—who was only a few inches behind him—and grasped the handle, turning it slowly and opening it into another tight sealed room.
"I wonder what this room was used for…" Miles stated, his voice magnifying and echoing off the walls.
Shadow didn't respond. Miles looked around to see he was still there—barely visible thanks to his black fur, which camouflaged him in the darkness. The fear that rose again in his mind fell once more. The hedgehog was looking around too, not seeming to have anything to say. Miles turned back to examine the room again. It was empty, except for a strange object in the middle of the floor.
His footsteps echoed just like his voice did as he walked up to the object and leaned down, realizing it was a small rag doll. Picking it up, he noticed it looked very very familiar. Its 'fur' was yellow-ish orange, with white fur covering the chest and canine-like face. Reaching behind it, he felt two small tails on the rag doll's rear, confirming with that unique trait that it was a doll of himself.
'What the fuck?'
-Clink!
The ground rumbled, startling Miles and causing him to rapidly scan the small cell over again. His eyes bugged out as sharp, bloody spikes slid out of the walls. Before he could even make a move, the walls were quickly closing in on him. Time seemed to freeze, and he could barely think fast enough before the spikes were already inches from his flesh…
-SLAM!
"Aaahh!!"
Miles fell to the floor, right on top of Shadow who held his arms tight. Both panted heavily, staring at the place Miles was standing on a second earlier, which was now nothing but a concrete wall. It took a few seconds for him to realize it, but he was still alive.
"You okay?" Shadow asked from beneath him, his voice sounding strained.
Miles eyes were still wide. Somehow, Shadow had moved at lightening quick speeds and pulled him out of the cell before the spikes crushed him. "Y-yeah."
Maneuvering around, the fox rolled off of Shadow and pinned himself between the wall and the other male, trying to figure out how to stand back up. Shadow made it easier by sitting up himself and using one of his hands to lift himself up, standing and holding his hand out to Miles. Miles accepted it and Shadow pulled him back onto his feet.
He stayed silent, just staring at the hedgehog dumbfoundedly. Eventually, words formed at his lips again. "You saved me…"
Shadow smirked, his voice sounding surprisingly calm considering what had just happened. "I noticed."Shock still crowded Miles's young mind, pushing the fear and worry of the past events to the back and shamelessly presenting itself to his conscious. "Um…thank you."
"No problem." The hedgehog said casually. "You're the reason I'm still around too."
"Yeah…"
"What is that anyway?"
"Huh?"
Shadow pointed to the rag doll in Miles's hands. "That."
"Oh…" Miles looked back down to it, forgetting it was there earlier. Considering that freaky doll had almost killed him, he didn't exactly like that it probably wouldn't have any real use in the future. "That's what I found in the room…"
Miles then noticed something about the doll he hadn't before – there was a small hole in its rear, looking like it was cut open intentionally. He stuck his finger into it (he sense an interesting mix of both hilarity, embarrassment, and awkwardness in doing so). His finger felt around the dolls fuzzy insides until it touched something solid. "Wait a second, there's something in here."
"What?" Shadow asked, leaning in and examining it closer. Miles pulled a gray metal ring out of the dolls behind and immediately checked the inner rim, seeing that strange handwriting on it like in the other two.
"Wow…looks like coming down here was a good idea after all." Miles looked at the hedgehog, smiling again. Not only had Shadow saved his life, but he had also been the one that had figured out the piano puzzle and got them down here to find this ring in the first place. Only two more left…
"Come on, let's get back upstairs." Shadow said, gesturing for Miles to move down the corridor and back to the ladder. Miles did so, taking the long ladder back to the piano room. He felt so relieved to leave the small space – not only for himself, but for Shadow too. That strange aura from the near-death experience was wearing down a little. Reminding himself that that wasn't the first time he was almost killed, in some ways, made him a bit more relaxed. In others it just made him a lot more uptight. Thinking about it was so surreal…
At first, they didn't notice what was different about the P Corridor, but it soon became apparent that the metal gate was now open. It hadn't been a minute ago…Miles had guessed maybe it was just jammed or something, or a monster broke through. It didn't matter though, because if it were anything dangerous they'd simply blow its punk ass to hell. Besides, the gate being open meant they could now enter the Q Corridor.
A giant wax doll stood erect in the center of Q3, quickly drawing attention away from everything else in the room. Shadow had assumed that it was another work of one of the patients, and Miles agreed. They did not leave the room empty handed though, for Miles had taken the strange emerald green key lodged into the doll's cartoonishly large head. Now they were in Q4, the only room left in the Q Corridor unlocked.
There was more handwriting carved into the cell's interior wall.
'she is an angel no one knows only I can see the LADY OF THE DOOR they cannot walk her BRIDGE OF THREAD they fall from the weight of their crimes like bloated and ugly corpses their sins she devours them sin and sinner alive she saves me she is an angel'
Shadow didn't even comment on it, and Miles wondered why. He turned to the hedgehog to see he wasn't staring at the wall, but instead what lay on the mattress to their right. A key, but not just any key. The words 'PARKING GARAGE' were written on a tag looped around it.
"Miles, you know what this means?" Shadow grinned, and Miles grinned back. The concerns of the raving text on the wall disappeared, along with the concerns of collecting the other rings.
"You bet!" Miles grabbed the key and looked to the door. He hadn't even considered it yet, but it was pretty likely there was a car or two in the parking garage of the hospital, and more importantly an opened exit. Even if they couldn't manage to drive it, they'd at least get out of the hospital. If he recalled, the door to the garage was back in the C Corridor…
Turning, they jogged out of the room, heading back to the M Corridor. Excitement pumped through their veins as they quickly reached the elevator. They tried not to get too excited, doing so could always end up disastrous, but if the garage was opened traveling around the place would even be a lot easier. Stepping into the elevator, Miles pressed the 1st Floor button and the soft whir of the cables lowering the elevator was all around them.
-Bzzzzzt!
In unison, they jumped, terror entering and exiting their bodies in less than a second. The radio's static blared again, but they didn't even have to examine the elevator to know that there couldn't possibly be any monsters in there with them.
"What's going on?" Shadow asked.
"I dunno." Miles said, on the verge of panic. Tens of terrifying thoughts shot through his mind, all of which were considering if there was a monster somehow nearby or in the elevator with them. "It's never done this before."
Holding the radio out before him, Miles and Shadow glanced at it wondering what was going on. They raised an eyebrow in unison as some perky, Sitcom-like music began to play over the static, followed soon afterwards by a perky male voice and screaming and clapping from an audience.
"Hi there everybody!" the radio voice shouted, full of enthusiasm. "Thank you for tuning in, and welcome to—"-The next line he said was shouted along with the ecstatic audience-"'Trick…or…Treat!!!'"
Shadow and Miles exchanged weirded out glances. Over the now slightly quieter static, the audience cheered once more.
"This is the game where you either answer these three questions correctly and win a great prize, or answer them incorrectly and suffer a horrible horrible death! Our lucky—or should I say unlucky—challenger today is…Miles Prower!! Are you ready to play 'Trick or Treat'!?"
Miles's blood ran cold.
"Good!" the man cleared his throat, and after a second of silence spoke again, still in that disturbingly perky voice. "Time for question number one!: Up in North Sonic Hill, not too far east from the peaceful neighborhood of Old Sonic Hill is the town's second known hospital! But oh no, this isn't that mental hospital Brook Haven from downtown, this is for normal citizens of town who are injured and slash or sick! The question is: What is the name of this hospital!!? Is it…
A: Arachnid Hospital
B: Sonic Hill Hospital
Or C: Eden Medical Center!?"
There was a long pause, the only sound being another song playing; this one sounding similar to the Jeopardy theme Miles hated hearing on TV. He felt extreme nervousness overcome him – it felt ridiculous, but the questions really did seem to be directed towards him. Problem was he didn't know the answer. He knew it wasn't Sonic Hill Hospital, so it had to be A or C…
"A: Arachnid Hospital." He answered, taking a wild guess. Eden Medical Center didn't sound at all familiar, but this one did. He hoped to God that he was right, because from what the host had said a minute ago about getting an answer wrong…
"Correct or Incorrect? We don't know! You must answer by pressing the buttons on the Trick or Treat Box!"
Shadow crossed his arms, feeling rather foolish just standing there listening to the radio like that. Apparently the questions had no need to be answered right then and there, which meant they didn't have to answer them if they didn't want to. At least, he hoped not.
"Now time for question number two! In South Vale lies a very beautiful and peaceful park on the edge of the lake; yet another great tourist attraction in this wonderful town of Sonic Hill! What is the name of this park!? Is it…
A: Lakeview Park
B: Castro Park
Or C: Rosewater Park!?"
Miles smirked; that was about the easiest question regarding the town that someone could have asked him. Relieved, he replied. "C: Rosewater Park."
"Correct or Incorrect? We don't know! You must answer by pressing the buttons on the Trick or Treat Box!" the voice repeated. "Sonic Hill is considered a very…special town."
"Tell me about it…" Shadow muttered.
"But there's a lot more to its past than most people would ever know! Washed away but still forever there in 'history' is the date of which Sonic Hill was founded, that only some residents know themselves. The third and final question is: When was Sonic Hill officially founded by the American Government!? Is it…
A: October 24th, 1986
B: August 21st, 1793
Or C: July 13th, 1808!?"
"Shit…" Miles whispered. He knew A was definitely incorrect, but he really had no idea…
"C: July 13, 1808." Shadow said, surprising the young fox.
"Correct or Incorrect? We don't know! You must answer by pressing the buttons on the Trick or Treat Box!" the increasingly annoying voice shouted for the third time. "Well, that's the last of our questions for today! If you think your answers are correct, head to the third floor storeroom of the Brook Haven Mental Hospital and input them into the Trick or Treat box to win the grand prize! But, remember, if you get them wrong…Muahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Thanks for joining us on-" the audience shouted along with him again-"'Trick…or…Treat!!!'"
With a click, the radio shut off.
"…"
Miles and Shadow just stood there in a silence blaring with confusion.
"What the fuck was that all about?" the hedgehog asked.
"No idea…" Miles said distantly as he pocketed the radio. "How did you know when the town was founded?"
"I dunno, it's one of those things that I just…know." Shadow shrugged. "I can't remember much about my past…but I do know a few things about this town and the basic stuff, like where the Lakeview Hotel was, remember?"
"Yeah…" Miles said. He was really hoping Shadow would begin to get his memory back if it was possible, maybe if the hedgehog did he could answer some questions about what happened to this town since he came there three years ago. In the meantime, the thing he had to wonder about was that prize. Maybe it was a rather gluttonous and foolish thing to do, but it was slightly interesting him…"Do you think we should go check out what prize that guy was talking about? I know it was just a stupid game show broadcast, but…he knew my name…"
Shrugging, Shadow stated. "This is no time for games." He was intentionally mimicking what Miles had said to him in the piano room earlier, but the fox didn't seem to notice his sarcasm as usual. Honestly, Shadow was interested too.
The elevator stopped then, and they realized that it had been running this entire time, which was strange because it shouldn't have taken that long to go from the second to third floor. Answering their question in a muted confusing sort of way, the doors slid open, not revealing the C Corridor but the S Corridor instead. They had stopped on the third floor, only adding to their constantly growing confusion.
Stepping out of the elevator, Miles gripped the shotgun tightly and looked down the hall. He was still slightly shaken up from that doll cell earlier, and the radio show didn't help matters any further. If they were on the third floor, they might as well check out that storeroom and see if what the host had said was bullshit or not. They didn't run into any trouble on the short way there, which was always good. Once they reached the storeroom door in the third floor main hall, Miles opened it and stepped in.
In fact, the Trick or Treat box was there. It was rather large—more like a case than a box— taking up a few feet of space in the center of the room. Even stranger, Miles hadn't recalled seeing it when he entered the room earlier…
"Look." Shadow pointed at the side panel on the case, where there were three rows of three buttons across it. Each button in the rows of three were labeled A, B, or C. "I guess it wasn't BS after all."
Stepping up to the box, Miles examined the buttons closer. Cautiously, he pressed the A button for the first row, and the C button on the second row. He moved his finger to press the C button on the third row, but stopped, remembering what the radio host had said.
'"…either answer these three questions correctly and win a great prize, or answer them incorrectly and suffer a horrible horrible death!"'
A cold shiver went down his spine. Maybe it just wasn't worth it…but Shadow had said he knew the answer. Miles didn't really doubt the hedgehog's intelligence, but the main thing he was worried about was whether he had gotten the first question correct…
A strange impulse to just find out what was within the box sped through his brain abruptly. Clenching his eyes shut, he pressed the button. Rather than feeling his own demise overcome him, he heard a soft comforting click. He opened his eyes to see he had answered the questions correctly – the case was unlocked.
"Phew…"
Shadow didn't give him the chance to open the box and bask in his own glory. The hedgehog grabbed the lid and pulled it open, revealing more than one object inside.
"…fuck yeah!" they shouted in unison.
Within the Trick or Treat box were three boxes of shotgun shells, two handgun clips, another first aid kit, and two miniature portable safes. The ammo mostly was just what they needed to continue on. That meant thirty-six total handgun bullets in the weapon counting the six left in it, and twenty-three shotgun shells - a lot more than they had ever had at a single period of time thus far. They switched the half-empty first aid kit they had found before with the new one, meaning if they got injured at least they wouldn't run out of healing supplies. The contents of the miniature safes only stayed a secret for a short period of time before Miles took out the emerald colored key and tried it on the safe's lock. It worked for both of them, unlocking them and revealing two objects that intrigued them, yet disappointed them for they probably wouldn't need to use it in the future. Within the first safe was a large green emerald, followed by a similar one in the second safe, except the second one was dark blue. Very interesting, Miles hadn't recalled ever seeing a blue emerald before…
Miles placed both emeralds within the handbag, not wanting to just leave the treasure in the hospital. Perhaps it was greedy, but anyone would take a unique item like that if they could. Maybe if they escaped, he could sell it or keep it or something…
He shook his head as he had done many times before, feeling a slight bit of shame for thinking of stupid things like that at the moment. None of that shit mattered right now. What really mattered was getting to that parking garage finally.
"It's a good thing we came in here." Miles said to his comrade. "This ammo should last us a while."
Shadow nodded, pocketing the two handgun clips. The bullets would only take down a few nurses, but from what he had experienced earlier, it was very useful against the straightjacket monsters, and having extra ammo was always a good thing anyway.
"You ready to get the hell out of this place?" Shadow asked, eased knowing that the end was in sight.
"Hell yeah!" Miles exclaimed with a grin as he loaded up five more shells into the shotgun.
Leaving the third floor storeroom for the final time, Miles and Shadow began to head towards the parking garage.