Sonic Hill 2: DX
Ending VI: Chao
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Miles stopped for a moment to catch his breath when he reached the door. He was hoping the answers would come soon, and was almost sure of it. The lengthy corridor should have been far over the lake by now, but it was Sonic Hill, so that did not matter. What did matter was what lies ahead – and since the heavy steel double doors in front of him looked just too forbidding and unsettling to pass by, he decided to open them. What lie on the other side, he hoped, would be the answers.
And he sure got them.
His jaw dropped in utter shock as his mind took in the room beyond the double doors. It was large and circular, supporting a whole crapload of computer monitors and control panels that lined the walls. Joining those were hundreds of tiny lights, which constantly blinked on and off for no apparent reason, along with a very large assortment of colors he hadn't seen ever before in the town. All together, they gave the place a very cartoony feel.
On the opposite end of the room, a small blue robotic-looking creature stood on a stepstool, pulling a bunch of levers and staring at the monitors surrounding it. From what he could see from where he stood, Miles could make out the figure of himself and Shadow standing in the town's foggy streets in one of the monitors. To that, his eyes widened in horror, a horror that grew as he noticed the other things the strange room had to offer. About ten meters to the right there was a couch where a bunch of similar blue creatures—these ones looking much more organic and fluid-like—sat, playing on a Sega Dreamcast on a big screen television. His and Shadow's figure were also on that TV, him in the lead with the hedgehog following behind as they ran through the hospital area.
Staring down at the floor, Miles felt a single teardrop slide through his dirty fur. He opened his mouth to say something, but was surprised to hear his own considerably higher voice speak in a foreign tongue—what sounded like a very rough Japanese. He managed to stop himself, clear his throat, and speak again with his normal voice, in English this time. "So…it was you all along…"
The small creatures were finally alerted of his presence and whirred around, their jaws dropping too as they saw him. He recognized what they were – Chao, like the ones he'd seen in Station Square and other places. Cute little blue creatures they were, as he had remembered. He and Sonic had played at one of the Chao Gardens once years ago…
"Ack!" one of them cried distressfully. "W-what's he doing here!?" They all began to speak at once after that.
"—Ah crap!—"
"—I told you this would happen!—"
"—He's a lot shorter than I expected…—"
"—WE'RE GONNA DIIIE!!—"
"—We're in trouble now!—"
"—I shoulda figured…—"
Miles tore his eyes away from them and looked at the Chao standing on the stepstool ahead. Its head turned all the way around to stare at him creepily with its lifeless swirly eyes. "Hi! I'm Omochao! I'm here to help you!"
For a moment, Miles seriously considered and even had a hard time restraining himself from putting the handgun to his head and blowing his own brains out at just hearing that, but he managed to regain his senses and decide not to. "I'm sorry I bothered you…I thought…I thought maybe…"
"We're sorry." One of the Chao frowned sadly as she—or maybe it was a he? He couldn't tell, they didn't seem to have sexes anyway—hopped off of the couch and got in an innocent angelic pose. "But how the fuck did you get in here!?"
An unrealistically large sweatdrop formed beside the blue-eyed fox's head. "I could ask the same."
Another Chao out of sight decided to answer that one. "We always hang out here and play video games and stuff!"
"Video games?"
Another: "Yeah! We're playing Sonic Hill 2: XD right now. Wanna join!?"
"It's DX you idiot!" A chao in the distance shouted.
"Erm…no thanks…" Miles reached for the handle behind him, but before he could the Chao on the stepstool smashed his cute squishy little fist onto a button and a click was heard. The fox could barely hold in a scream when the handle wouldn't budge. "Hey! Why won't you let me leave?" he asked in a more annoyed than afraid voice.
"Sorry." Omochao said, an insane grin on his face. "But we can't let you go and tell people about us. That would be Bad! To be Good, hold down the A button and tap—"
"—So I'm stuck here forever!?"
"Yup." The little chao nearest him said with a smile.
"Shi—err, crap…" Miles whispered, on the verge of another repetitive angst-trip. Before he could begin, one of the creatures shouted out and broke his train of thought.
"Hey!" the chao on top of the couch exclaimed, holding up a large CD case. "I got Soul Calibur! Wanna play!?"
"YAH!" all the chao exclaimed.
"In order to start the system, press the START button!"
In unison, the Chao looked at Miles, just telling him with the look in their eyes what they intended to ask. And the devastated fox actually considered it. He really liked that game, though he hadn't played it in a long time. He really kicked major ass as Ivy…
"Eh…okay." Shrugging, he walked across the room and sat down on the couch, grabbing one of the cloud-colored controllers and glancing at the many little beings around him. They all smiled innocently back at him. If he was going to be stuck in a room for the rest of his life, perhaps this was one of the best scenarios there could be. With a somewhat content sigh, he stared at the screen.
Smiling warmly, he began to play.
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There's a monster that lives beneath your bed
Oh, for crying out loud…
It's a futon on the floor, he must be flat as a board
There's a creature that lurks behind the door
Though I've checked there fifteen times, when I leave then he arrives every night
Tell the monster that lives beneath your bed
To go somewhere else instead, or you'll kick him in the head
Tell the creature that lurks behind the door
That if he knows what's good, he wont come here no more
Cuz you're kickin' his butt at the count of four!
Goodnight, demon slayer, goodnight
Now it's time to close your tired eyes
There's devils to slay, and dragons to ride
If they see you comin', hell, they'd better hide!
Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight…
Goodnight, my lil' slayer, goodnight
Tell the monster that eats children that you taste bad
And you're sure you'll be the worst he's ever had!
If he eats you, don't you fret, just cut him open (with an ax!)
Don't regret it, he deserved it, he's a cad
Tell the harpies that land on your bedpost
That at the count of five, you'll roast 'em alive!
Tell the devil that it's time to meet his doom
He should go back to Hell, he should shake in his shoes,
Cuzthe mightiest scariest creature is you!
Goodnight, demon slayer, goodnight
Now it's time to close your tired eyes
There's devils to slay, and dragons to ride
If they see you comin', hell, they'd better hide!
Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight…
Goodnight, my lil' slayer, goodnight!
-inst.-
I won't tell you there's nothin' beneath your bed
I won't sell you that it's all in your head
This world of ours is not as it seems
The monsters are real, but not in your dreams
Learn what you can from the beasts you defeat
You'll need it for some of the people you'll meet!
Goodnight, demon slayer, goodnight
Now it's time to close your tired eyes
There's devils to slay, and dragons to ride
If they see you comin', hell, they'd better hide!
Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight…
Goodnight, my lil' slayer, goodnight!
Goodnight…
"Goodnight, Demon Slayer" - Voltaire