Sonic Hill 2: DX

Chapter 25: The Lakeview Hotel

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The wooden paddle silently pushed across the cold murky water, slowly bringing the boat and its carrier across the lake. Miles couldn't help but feel nervous; he hadn't forgotten what he had read about the legend of the lake in the prison. Lots of people, possibly hundreds, drowned to death here over years of seemingly random incidents caused by unknown forces. In the back of his mind he felt fear that he might soon be joining them.

It was so quiet too. So damn silent that even the most palpable noises, such as his own slow respiration, seemed magnified tenfold.

-Creekcreek!

His eyes darted across the waves, fruitlessly looking for the cause of that abrupt noise. It sounded like something…something…

-Creek!

Sweat formed on his brow as he looked down to the water below him. For a split second, he could have sworn he saw five long bony fingers dragging across the oh-so-thinning wood. But the image that shot an arrow of fear through him disappeared right away. It was nothing, he knew. Really.

Miles shook his head for the millionth time; he couldn't let fear take him over like this. Fear was the death bringer; he wasn't going to let it win. If he had run away when he was afraid in the beginning, he could have never even had a chance at finding his love. He was afraid, very afraid, of what lie ahead, but it couldn't be worse than what he'd already experienced anyway. Still. Fear can't kill you, but…

After all this, he had so (oh so) much to fear. (nothing right every things so scary here youve gone through so much but your almost there miles your almost there)

It'd be better not to worry. He was already halfway across the lake. Following the distant light seemed to be leading him in the right direction. He was very glad it was there to draw him towards the shore, for if it wasn't he'd probably of been lost for hours. It was so damn foggy that he still could barely see more than five feet in front of him. Once he thought about it, it was quite amazing that the light could be seen all the way from here.

After another five long minutes, Miles saw the dock aloof the fog. Pretty soon afterwards, his boat reached it and stopped next to the wooden pathway. Right when it did, he hoped out and onto the solid surface. He surprised himself in how much better he suddenly felt. That short jaunt had scared him; after all that darkness and chaos and insanity, just a normal quiet moment scared him. Ironic. Sanity felt like it was slipping away, being replaced by another fleet of questions. He hadn't even really thought about it till now, but what would happen if he finally got out of here? If he found Sonic, would everything just go back to the way it had been three years ago? Or would this seriously effect him? All this horror and sadness…all this…

(too much for me to handle its getting to me but i wont give up i wont let them win i will get out of here i will find you sonikku i will i promise)

His aching feet stepped across the wood, only moving a few steps before he looked to where that guiding light had been. To his surprise, he found a strangely familiar looking object hung up on a lamppost beside where he stopped the boat.

Another emerald, this one red with a light pink aura, sat there. It was only the second one he'd found since the town got back to normal (or at least as normal as it could be), but that meant about six emeralds in total so far…that seemed like too much of a coincidence. There weren't many multicolored emeralds on the planet if he recalled, especially ones this big. They must be worth a serious fortune…if not useful to him somehow. Miles picked up the emerald and put it in his carrying bag along with the other few larger items he'd placed in there. There was no time to just stand there and gawk at something that really wasn't important. He was closer to Sonic than he'd been in three years, and he wasn't about to just turn away.

Less than a minute later, Miles was there. The dock had only gone a few yards before it reached the soft dirt of the shore, and pretty quickly he reached the short set of stone stairs that lead up to the hotel's back court. And now, Miles stood before the building, staring up at it.

A weak, reassured smile formed on his lips. "Heh, this place hasn't changed at all in three years…"

He'd been fighting, running, and working so hard to get here. And finally, it all paid off. The Lakeview Hotel was probably the building that—from the outside at least—looked the least different from how he remembered it. Even through the fog, it still looked so beautiful, standing high above the fox. It looked basically like a large three story mansion, kind of. Big, beautiful, and less modern day looking than most hotels. A nice red roof, beautiful green garden, clean windows shining along the walls with chintz drapes over most of them. It was still the great composed structure it was when he and Sonic visited the place so long ago. Things being that way made him feel even more reassured. Sonic, his love, was waiting for him here. He knew it.

"I'm coming for you, Sonikku…" he whispered softly. Head held up even higher than it had been in years, Miles Prower entered the Lakeview Hotel.

The back hall of the place was shaped like a T. While a hallway of that shape was not unnatural to him in the town, it did look a lot better than any of the others he'd been through. Long, velvet carpets covered the floor. A few cabinets and paintings and various other elegant things were lined along the walls. Not too far in front of him were two sets of double doors, both about ten yards apart from one another. If he recalled, both those doors led into the hotel's lobby.

Where the right side of the hall began was another set of double doors, though he couldn't see it from here. They led into the Lakeshore Restaurant. Sonic and he had eaten there a lot, whenever they weren't out partying or enjoying the various attractions of the town or something. It served great food, and Miles's favorite mint candies. He remembered there was a female fox that worked there. Alia something. She was beautiful, Miles admitted. He might be gay, but he could tell if a woman was beautiful or not, and she surely was. Sonic had always teased about him and her being a cute couple, and she would just laugh at his stupid antics.

Letting out a sigh, Miles silently wondered if she was still alive. And if she was alive, where she had gone. Everyone in the place seemed to have just…disappeared.

The doors on both ends of the T lead into other corridors of the hotel, which surrounded the lobby. The right side of the first floor was the staff only area, and the left one was for the guest halls. He couldn't exactly remember if it was the same layout on the second floor, but it was similar. The third floor was all for guests though.

He took a few steps forward, stopping when he saw something on one of the cabinets. A large piece of paper similar to the ones he'd seen earlier. Picking it up, he found out he was right in his assumption: it was a hotel map.

There was something written on it, over the room 312 on floor three:

'Waiting for you'

It was Sonic's handwriting.

Miles's eyes widened. 312 was the room they'd stayed in, which meant…

"Sonic…?"

A grin appeared on his face, a very happy one. That proved it. Sonic was here! Only two floors up, and down the hall. Fast as lightning, Miles ran down the T's left hall and through the guest corridor door. Taking an immediate right, he ran up the stairway, spiraling upwards two steps at a time. The lobby stairs would lead him to the third floor also, but not as quickly or as directly as these ones would.

Like a knight in shining armor running to save the 'princess', Miles charged up the steps, waves of excitement hitting him in a similar fashion to how the waves of several negative emotions hit him earlier. And pretty soon, that excitement turned back into disappointed sadness.

"No!"

Ahead, blocking the entrance to the third floor corridor, was a barred gate. The fox grasped onto the bars and almost cried right then and there. He should have known. It couldn't be that easy. It never was. From where he stood, he could see the door to room 312 standing not too far away, teasing him, mocking him.

'I'm right here!' Miles imagined the door saying. 'Everything you want, and you can't catch me! Hahaha!'

He glared at the door like a starved man looking through a window at a huge banquet of food. Banging his head on the bars, he let out a frustrated and saddened groan. While the bars were locked closed, there was a keyhole, meaning there had to be a key somewhere around here. Not that surprising, really.

Feeling aggravated and heartbroken, Miles turned around and began to walk back down the steps.

"Tails!!"

Miles jumped and whirred around, half expecting to see Sonic's standing on the other end of the bars. But he wasn't. It was Sonic's voice, but he was nowhere in sight. Meaning he must have been calling from the other end of the door to room 312…

"Sonic? Are you there!?" Miles called, running back up to the gate and desperately hoping for a response. It was all he needed to keep going. "…Sonic?"

But only silence sheeted the hall.

'N-no…' he thought, ears drooping sadly. Was he just hearing things? Or maybe Sonic…Sonic…

The town really seemed to like to screw with his mind. Dismayed, Miles turned to walk back down the steps once again. If Sonic really was there, maybe he was locked inside or…something. Hell, he didn't know. But what he did know was that if he planned on getting to that room he'd need to find the keys to that gate. They must be somewhere around here, most likely on the staff only area. But for now it was probably best to check the whole place out. First thing should be the Lakeshore Restaurant, since he knew the layout of that place. Besides, he was horribly hungry. He hadn't really even noticed till now—whenever fear, excitement, and adrenaline mixed in, things like food seemed to be forgotten—but his stomach was a swollen pit of hunger, feeling like it was eating itself inside out. He couldn't even remember the last time he ate something…wait, yeah he could. It was when he ate at that gas station yesterday, or whenever it was…

The tables of the restaurant were all lined up, just as he remembered. Red velvet crepe covered the clean wood; nice cushioned seats encompassing each of them. In the right corner of the room was a black grand piano, almost the same kind as in the hospital…usually during dinner, a young pianist—a quite handsome male tiger—would place soft, mellow tunes on it to calm the guests nerves. Big clean windows lined the walls, all looking out onto the foggy porch outside. It was easing, seeing some things really hadn't changed.

Miles couldn't help but move closer to the piano, just to take a wishful trip down memory lane. Sonic tried playing on it a few times…of course, he was still bad at it, but it was cute and funny to watch. Tiredly, the fox rested his arms on the side of the piano and let out another woeful sigh.

His heart almost jumped out of his chest when suddenly a deep note roared from the instrument, followed quickly by a bunch of other random notes. Putting his hand to his chest, he looked over the piano at who had been pushing the keys. His fear disappeared and was replaced surprised amazement when he saw a pink hedgehog sitting there.

"Did I scare you?" Amy asked innocently, sounding calm but almost worried.

"Yeah." Miles admitted. No point in hiding the shame.

"I'm sorry." She stated. "I always wanted to play the piano."

Miles raised an eyebrow: that was not something he'd ever have expected her to say. Not only that, but he didn't understand how the hell she could have gotten here. Did she trek through the museum, the prison, and the labyrinth too? All by herself?

"Yeah, it's okay." Miles said. The little girl hopped off of the seat and walked past him, stopping and sitting at one of the small white circular tables.

"You came to find Sonic, right?" Amy asked serenely. "Well…have you?"

"No…that's why you're here too huh?" the fox said as he walked up to the table too and sat down across from her.

"Yeah. I thought he'd come here. He said he loved this place so much…he's here isn't he? Do you know where he might be? Please tell me, I'm tired of walking." Amy pleaded hopefully. Miles realized, if all this running around had made him physically exhausted—and it did—it must have been ten times worse for a little girl like her.

"I wish I knew…" the twin-tailed fox replied with a sigh. "How did you get to here anyway?"

"Um, I walked." Amy said as if it were plain obvious. Reaching into the bowl in the middle of the table, she grabbed a fresh peach out of it. A soft crunch emitted when she bit into the juicy fruit and continued talking with her mouth full. "It took me lots of time, but I finally made it here a few minutes ago."

"But…the bridge, it was destroyed…" Miles looked down at the floor.

"What?" Amy raised an eyebrow, giving him a skeptical look. When Miles didn't reply, she asked. "…Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah…" the fox looked back up to her green eyes. "How did you know Sonic was here, Amy?"

"He said it in his letter."

"Letter?" Miles asked, surprised. Had she gotten a letter too? "What letter?"

Amy began to dig through her dress pocket, eventually producing a piece of paper and holding it out in the blue-eyed fox's face. "Wanna read it?"

Reaching across the small table, Miles took the letter from her hand.

"Don't tell Rebecca, okay?" Amy whispered quickly.

"Rebecca?"

"She's our nurse. I took it from her locker."

Miles's blue eyes stared down upon Sonic's neat handwriting on the paper.

'My dearest Amy,

I'm leaving this letter with Rebecca to give to you after I'm gone. I'm far away now, in a quiet beautiful place. Please forgive me for not saying goodbye before I left. Be well, and don't be too hard on the sisters. And Amy, about Tails, I know you hate him because he doesn't visit me often anymore, but please give him a chance. I know he might be a little mean sometimes, and he doesn't like being seen in public, but underneath he's a really sweet guy.

Amy…I love you like you were my very own daughter. If things had worked out differently, I was hoping to adopt you. But I'm sorry, I can't now.

Happy 11th birthday, Amy. Promise me you'll grow strong and healthy.

Your best friend forever, Sonic'

A small squeaky noise was heard, and the fox looked up to see the pink hedgehog standing in front of the window, drawing a picture of a young kitten on the glass. Outside, he could still see the fogged up porch, and something about it serving as a background for her picture was really beautiful and relaxing. He couldn't really tell what it was though. Amy's drawing was actually pretty good, and something about that eased him.

"Amy…" Miles began curiously. "How old are you?"

"Um…I turned 11 a couplea' months ago." Amy said, giving him a smile and then going back to her drawing.

Miles looked back down at the letter, his eyes wide. "So…Sonic didn't really die three years ago…he really could be here…is this the 'quiet beautiful place' he was talking about?"

"Me and Sonic talked a lot about Sonic Hill." He heard the little girls voice say, not answering his question exactly. "He even showed me a buncha pictures. One was of this hotel, and I saw a few of you too. That's how I knew you were Tails. And I saw you at the Station Square hospital a few times too. Didn't you see me?"

"No…" the fox replied. "But maybe I just wasn't paying attention…or I forgot…"

The girl sighed. "He really really wanted to come back here. He loved this place lots. And he said you promised him you'd come back here with him someday. That's why I'm here. Maybe you'll get it more if you see the other letter."

"Other letter?" Miles asked quickly. Getting out of the chair, he asked. "What other letter?"

Amy reached back into her dress pocket and started digging around. "The one Sonic…huh?…oh no!!"

"What?" Miles asked. Amy looked at him with an extremely distressed look.

"I must've dropped it!" she cried, sounding like she was moments from freaking out. "I've got to find it!"

Suddenly turning and running, Amy ran past the fox towards the double doors. Miles's eyes followed her and he held his hand out as if to try and grab her. "Amy!"

-SLAM!

Chimes shook and shingled as the door slammed behind the little girl. The fox's ears lowered, and he looked back down at Sonic's second letter. "I don't understand…what really happened to you, Sonikku? Are you still alive? I thought you died three years ago, but…"

He trailed off, still confused as hell. They were the same questions that he'd been repeating since he'd gotten the first cryptic letter three days ago. How could he be alive? How did he get here? And, eventually, what had happened to this town?

Sighing, Miles looked around the room. He was starving, and after all this he finally realized he really desperately needed to go to the bathroom too. Actually, he was kind of surprised he didn't piss himself somewhere along the way here. Or maybe he did…he didn't remember. Looking around some more, he decided first he'd head to the bathroom, then get something to eat—anything. And then begin searching for that key…