Luff: And here is episode seventeen!
S. Chensu: We know it's not very long but there is one /major/ event which will affect the plot quite a lot.
Luff: So it is worth it.
S. Chensu: Anyway, as usual, we don't own the Sonic characters. We only own Marie, the story and the place.
Luff: Now that that's done, time for reviewer replies:
Dragon Master Naya- Yes, something bad is going to happen, just don't kill us for it! And yes, we can see what you mean by the Jaws' theme playing. Although it would ruin the plot if Jaws did come along and eat one of them.
RichaCo- We're glad you feel excited about it, so are we! The story is finally getting into the swing of things! We can't tell you what's going to happen but hopefully it'll be exciting! And you'll find out a little bit more about the place in episode 18.
Yugi- Ooh don't, you're making us embarrassed! 'Gripping' and 'excellent'? Are you reading the same story? And detail? This is one of the shortest chapters yet! The only reason it's that long is because we spent so much time describing the place. And not even that well… Luff hasn't done much of her story but she'll have the chapter done by the weekend hopefully. And Sonic says "Yeah this is perfect" in SA2 too, when you get an A at the end of a level.
????- I love the poem, great use of rhyming and the way the sentence is carried onto the next line, makes it flow very well. Obviously the poet feels… Sorry about that, S. Chensu's English Literature brain got in the way. But nice poem. I think I know who you are (Yugi) and please don't kill Bakura! He may have been a bit playful at ice-skating but that wasn't his fault! And Ryou (shudder) is not pathetic! Yugi is! At least Ryou isn't four foot tall!
S. Chensu: There, done. Onto the episode!
Episode seventeen: Cracks alert!
They walked along in darkness until they saw flickering torches ahead. As they got closer, the brightness increased and soon they could make out where they were. The cave was so high that they couldn't see the top and there were holes and stalactites littering it. It was dry though and there was a layer of dust on the ground. It had obviously not been disturbed for many years and the air was musty too. Torches hung on the walls, seeming to burn with an infinite flame and they cast ever-moving shadows on the area. These shadows made the group themselves look sinister, like they were constantly moving. In the gloom, the group could see that the cave split into various paths, which must go to other parts of this strange place.
"How come no one's ever noticed a place like this before?" Tails asked.
"It doesn't look like anyone's been here for a long time…" Eggman commented.
"Yes, it's all dusty. I wonder if anyone lives here?" Marie pondered.
"Who would live here? There's no light, no food, no water…" Knuckles exclaimed.
"Well we don't know that for sure. Whoever does live here though has obviously got a big ego." Rouge pointed out.
"Yeah, remember that arch? All those carvings on it… I wonder what those pig things are though?" Marie said.
"They must live here too. Do you think they're friendly?"
"I don't think they are. I mean, if they were friendly, they wouldn't hide themselves…"
"Maybe they're just shy…"
"That's not very likely though Marie, is it? They probably eat anything which is unfortunate to stumble into this place."
"I just hope we don't meet any of them, whether they're friendly or not. The less hassle we have finding Sonic and Shadow, the better." This reminder of why they were here seemed to make the group more aware of where they were.
"Which way do you think we should we go?" They looked around and spotted the paths.
As the group stood in the cave discussing the various paths, Rouge had fallen into silence, too busy thinking to herself.
Should I tell him how I feel? I'm so confused and it's like I can't talk to him because he won't understand… She sighed in frustration. But it does concern him and if I don't tell him I'm only going to regret it. She nodded her head as she made her decision. She looked at Knuckles who was staring at her with concern. Does he have to look at me like that? This is going to be hard… She shifted her weight and leaned towards Knuckles.
"Knuckles, I think we need to talk." Rouge said and they stood a little apart from the rest of the group.
"What do you want?" He asked.
"I think we need a break from each other." She whispered. Knuckles looked up sharply.
"What do you mean?"
"Knuckles, I love being with you but sometimes I wonder if I can return your affections. I don't think I'm ready for the relationship you want." She explained. Knuckles stood quiet for a few moments and Rouge looked at the ground.
"So you think we should break-" But Rouge interrupted him.
"Only for a couple of weeks…" She said quickly.
"Will you not interrupt me?" He glared at her and she looked away. "You want us to break up?" Her eyes widened at his misunderstanding.
"No, that's not what I meant at all Knuckles!" He continued to talk though, ignoring her.
"So you just used me eh? And now you're going to throw me away?" His voice had risen.
"Knuckles will you shut up? Do you just ignore what people say on purpose? I haven't been using you; I just need time to think about what's happening." She was shouting to match his volume. This attracted the others who stopped talking to listen.
"Why are you lying? I thought after all this time we could be honest to each other… Oh yeah I forgot, you just want me to disregard what has taken place between us!"
"What are you talking about? I never said that, and anyway, how have I used you?"
"You pretended you loved me just so you could fuel your own pompous attitude!" He had gone red with anger and as his eyes flashed, she felt tears start to prick her eyes.
"Why can't you understand what I'm trying to say? I don't want us to break up, I just need to be alone…"
"Well you can have as much time alone as you want because I never want to see you again!" Hearing this, Rouge gasped and turned on her heel, running as fast as she could.
Knuckles glowered after her for a few moments before he walked off in the opposite direction. Tails, Marie and Eggman stood in silence for what seemed like hours, shocked by what had happened.
"Do you think we should go after them?" Marie asked.
"What's the use? We have to stick together, no matter what has gone on between them two." Tails replied.
"I think we should go straight ahead so we can search a wider area." Eggman suggested. They walked forward and out of the gloom appeared an arch. Eggman, who was in the front, crossed it first. The others went to follow him but they couldn't.
"What's going on?" Marie asked.
"Why can't you get through?" Eggman turned back to them and crossed the arch again. Tails walked forward slowly and put his hands out. They connected with an invisible barrier and no matter how hard he pushed, he couldn't get through.
When Eggman walked through the arch, he succeeded but Marie and Tails were still stuck.
"Maybe we're not meant to be together…" Eggman remarked.
She also told me that everyone would be split apart… The conversation between him and Shadow suddenly flashed in Tails' mind. This is what he meant… He thought as he looked at Marie and Eggman. "I think you're right Eggman. You go that way and me and Marie will find another path. Good luck, whatever happens…"
"And the same to you two too." Eggman replied before continuing down the path.
"Tails, I'm scared. And not just about this but I'm worried about Knuckles and Rouge too." Marie whispered.
"I am too Marie. We can only hope for the best…"
"I mean I'm worried that it might happen to us." Tails turned to her sharply.
"Why do you say that?" He frowned, why did she compare them to them? They weren't together, as such.
"Everyone who knew them two could tell that they were in love and now that this has happened…" She tailed off.
"Well, if there is one thing I always try and do, it's keep my promises. So I promise to you that I will never forget you, whatever happens."
"And I promise the same thing plus I swear that I will try to understand what you mean." They hugged to seal their new pledge.
"We had better find the paths for us." He said and they looked around.
They found a set of stairs leading downwards and Marie stood at the top of them.
"I feel that this is your road Marie." Tails said. She nodded her head and taking a deep breath, she walked down them. Tails remained where he was until she had gone and sighed. "I suppose now I have to find my path." He suddenly realised that there was a brick road behind the set of stairs and he walked forward slowly. When nothing stopped him, he steadied his hands and set off resolutely along it.
The cave remained empty for a few moments before two people appeared in the middle of it. They couldn't be distinguished in the murkiness as they talked.
"So it has finally started…" One murmured.
"But when will it end?" The other whispered. One ran off after Rouge while the other strode down the brick path. The only thing they left behind that could tell anyone that they had been there was a single, black feather. It shined in the light as the torches continued to burn, providing little brightness to the darkness of the underworld.
Luff: Nice and short.
S. Chensu: This is what we meant by the episodes getting shorter. Most of them will be around this length, apart from the ones with Sonic and Shadow, which are about double the length.
Luff: Which is still pretty short. But as we said, we're putting them up quicker so that should make up for it.
S. Chensu: Before we go, an important note on how the story is going to change. As you may have noticed (if you've just read the above episode, which you should have done if you're reading this), the group have now been split apart.
Luff: So the next lot of episodes are done with two from two characters before a Sonic and Shadow episodes. For example:
Episode 18: Sonic and Shadow
Episode 19: Tails
Episode 20: Eggman
Episode 21: Sonic and Shadow
S. Chensu: Note that this is not the actual episode plan. Apart from episodes 18 and 21 are Sonic and Shadow ones. As you can imagine, this means quite a lot of episodes.
Luff: So until next time, review and enjoy life!