Aria: Thank you to Dano the Overlander. I'm grateful for your advice,
which will be put to use. Thanks also to Red Chaos Mage. I'll keep that
in mind. ~_^!
Moving on. . . here's part two of "A Matter of Life or Speed"!
(Disclaimer: Aria Zephyr does not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any related material)
Aria Zephyr Proudly Presents. . .
A Matter of Life or Speed: An Archie Sonic Fanfiction
Part Two: Choose!
Sonic and Tails were at the edge of the city when Sonic stopped to take a break. Tails flopped down next to him and panted. Sonic stooped over slightly with his hands on his knees breathing heavily, but was exhilarated at the success of their mission. "Did. . . you. . . see. . . how. . . high. . . that. . . thing. . . went?" he puffed. "I think that Robotnik will be really upset this time!" Tails said, grinning. "No doubt!" Sonic replied.
Suddenly, a laser shot past him and hit Tails. He fell back with a loud scream of pain. "TAILS!" Sonic exclaimed and ran over to his friend. There was a small burnt spot on his chest where the laser had hit. "Tails! Tails! Wake up!" Sonic cried desperately. Tails' head lolled back lazily and Sonic checked his heartbeat. He cried out in despair and picked Tails up in his arms as the lasers came closer and nearly hit him.
He ran blindly until he reached the Great Forest once more. He kept running until he tripped over a tree root and Tails was jolted out of his arms. When Sonic picked himself up, he saw the limp body of Tails lying at the foot of a tree ahead of him. Sonic stumbled forward and picked up Tails again. The boy fox lay cold and lifeless in his arms. Sonic fell back down again and whispered, "Why? Why did they have to. . .?" His words broke off in a mournful sob.
Sonic looked down at Tails again and cradled the unresponsive body. "Tails.please don't go. Sally will lose it. Tails.you can't be dead! You can't die! You can't do this!" he cried in vain. Rage suddenly boiled up in Sonic. "IT'S NOT FAIR!! WHY TAILS?! WHY HIM?! WHY MY LITTLE BROTHER?! IT'S-NOT-FAIR!!!" Sonic screamed into the darkness. Hot, furious tears fell from his emerald eyes. He lay there for some time, letting the tears roll down his face; clasping Tails's stiffening body in his arms.
When the last of his tears dried up, Sonic heard a voice saying to him, "Are you quite finished yet?" He stood up quickly and looked around him. "Who are you and what do you want?" he demanded. "My, my. Temper, temper, my boy. I'm not going to hurt you or your little friend, but I think that that would be impossible especially considering the fact that he's dead," the voice said. Sonic jerked back as if he had been stung and glared into the direction of the voice.
"If you're wondering, yes, I know that the SWAT bots shot him. There's really no reason to cry about it," the voice said. "And, how would you know anything about that? He was like my little brother to me and now it's my fault that he's gone," Sonic said. "Oh, so that how you feel about it, hmm? This is more complicated than I thought," the voice said.
"You still haven't answered my question," Sonic said impatiently. "I haven't, have I? Yes, I suppose so. Well, if you really want to know, I'm someone who can give your little friend there his life back and he won't even remember dying," the voice said. "How do I know I can trust you and believe what you're saying?" Sonic asked suspiciously. "Well, you don't, but if you want to have your friend back, you'll just have to take my word for it," the voice replied.
"Then, you really can make him alive again?" Sonic asked. "Yes, I can, but you'll need to give me something in return," the voice said cryptically. "What's that?" Sonic asked. "Well, your speed will do," the voice said.
Sonic was shocked and stood up straight in surprise. "Why do you want my speed? I need it!" Sonic said. "Well, I don't need it, but you'll have to pay me with something for my services," the voice said. "But why my speed? There must be plenty of other things that you could want," Sonic said. "Yes, but there's no way that you could have any of them, so you'll have to give me your speed or your friend will stay dead," the voice said.
Sonic thought about this for a moment and tossed frequent looks at the still body of Tails. "Oh, come now! This IS a matter of life or death, so choose!" the voice said edgily. "Okay, okay! But, this isn't a matter of life or death; it's a matter of life or speed for me," Sonic said. He looked over at Tails one more time and then he sighed and said, "Alright, take it as long as Tails is alright." "Good! Now just hold still and he'll be back to life in two seconds," the voice said.
Sonic stood still and waited as a blue column of light surrounded him. He screamed in pain as he felt something rip out of him. When the light vanished, he fell to his knees, not only from the pain the light had caused, but also because his ankle had been sprained when he had tripped before. His breath came out in short, jerky gasps as he sought to recover.
"There, there. It's all right. You'll be just fine after a little while. And look, he's alive again, so be happy. Go on with your life, maybe we'll meet again," the voice said. "You never told me your name," Sonic gasped, with one hand clutched over his heart. "My name? Well, you can call me Taimat," the voice said.
"How am I supposed to get back to the village without my speed when I have to carry Tails and I have a sprained ankle?" Sonic asked. "Well, when you put it that way, I'll let you have a little of your speed until you reach the village. After that, you're on your own, speed-demon," Taimat said. "Yeah, sure," Sonic said, getting painfully to his feet. A small blue point of light came from inside the brush and hit Sonic squarely in the chest.
He didn't fall down again because when it hit him, it absorbed into his body. "There you go. Now hurry, you don't have much time left," Taimat said and ceased speaking. "Thank you, I think," Sonic said after Taimat. He checked Tails again and now Tails was breathing and his heart was beating with a steady rhythm. Sonic threw one of Tails' arms over his shoulders and lifted him up. It was hard because he had to hold Tails on the side with the sprained ankle in order to walk at all.
He was able to run a little, but not much. When Sonic saw the village, he called for help. Sally quickly ran out of a hut and saw Sonic standing there holding onto Tails. "Sonic! What happened to you? We were worried!" she cried as she ran over to them. "It's a long story, but Tails fell asleep and when I was carrying him, I tripped and sprained my ankle," Sonic lied. "Here, let me carry him. You go and have Doctor Quack look at your ankle," Sally said, taking Tails in her arms and off to his hut.
Sonic managed to get to Doctor Quack's hut where the duck bandaged the now swollen ankle. He told Sonic to put ice on it as much as possible to dull the pain and sent him back to his own hut. Sonic slowly made his way back to his hut and flopped down on his bed just as the first rosy sunbeams started to stretch over the horizon. He looked over at the now sleeping Tails and was soon fast asleep.
Quotes from Part Three: With. . . or Without?
"Sally, what would you do if something really bad happened?"
"Oh dear, it seems my little request has caused you more trouble than I thought."
"THEN WHY DID YOU TAKE MY SPEED FROM ME?!!"
Aria: That's it for part two, folks! Oh and. . . my muse might be dropping by in the next chapter so. . . if you see anybody new in the author's notes, that's him. That's everything! Please read and review! Ciao! *vanishes in whirlwinds*
(Disclaimer: Aria Zephyr does not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any related material)
Aria Zephyr Proudly Presents. . .
A Matter of Life or Speed: An Archie Sonic Fanfiction
Part Two: Choose!
Sonic and Tails were at the edge of the city when Sonic stopped to take a break. Tails flopped down next to him and panted. Sonic stooped over slightly with his hands on his knees breathing heavily, but was exhilarated at the success of their mission. "Did. . . you. . . see. . . how. . . high. . . that. . . thing. . . went?" he puffed. "I think that Robotnik will be really upset this time!" Tails said, grinning. "No doubt!" Sonic replied.
Suddenly, a laser shot past him and hit Tails. He fell back with a loud scream of pain. "TAILS!" Sonic exclaimed and ran over to his friend. There was a small burnt spot on his chest where the laser had hit. "Tails! Tails! Wake up!" Sonic cried desperately. Tails' head lolled back lazily and Sonic checked his heartbeat. He cried out in despair and picked Tails up in his arms as the lasers came closer and nearly hit him.
He ran blindly until he reached the Great Forest once more. He kept running until he tripped over a tree root and Tails was jolted out of his arms. When Sonic picked himself up, he saw the limp body of Tails lying at the foot of a tree ahead of him. Sonic stumbled forward and picked up Tails again. The boy fox lay cold and lifeless in his arms. Sonic fell back down again and whispered, "Why? Why did they have to. . .?" His words broke off in a mournful sob.
Sonic looked down at Tails again and cradled the unresponsive body. "Tails.please don't go. Sally will lose it. Tails.you can't be dead! You can't die! You can't do this!" he cried in vain. Rage suddenly boiled up in Sonic. "IT'S NOT FAIR!! WHY TAILS?! WHY HIM?! WHY MY LITTLE BROTHER?! IT'S-NOT-FAIR!!!" Sonic screamed into the darkness. Hot, furious tears fell from his emerald eyes. He lay there for some time, letting the tears roll down his face; clasping Tails's stiffening body in his arms.
When the last of his tears dried up, Sonic heard a voice saying to him, "Are you quite finished yet?" He stood up quickly and looked around him. "Who are you and what do you want?" he demanded. "My, my. Temper, temper, my boy. I'm not going to hurt you or your little friend, but I think that that would be impossible especially considering the fact that he's dead," the voice said. Sonic jerked back as if he had been stung and glared into the direction of the voice.
"If you're wondering, yes, I know that the SWAT bots shot him. There's really no reason to cry about it," the voice said. "And, how would you know anything about that? He was like my little brother to me and now it's my fault that he's gone," Sonic said. "Oh, so that how you feel about it, hmm? This is more complicated than I thought," the voice said.
"You still haven't answered my question," Sonic said impatiently. "I haven't, have I? Yes, I suppose so. Well, if you really want to know, I'm someone who can give your little friend there his life back and he won't even remember dying," the voice said. "How do I know I can trust you and believe what you're saying?" Sonic asked suspiciously. "Well, you don't, but if you want to have your friend back, you'll just have to take my word for it," the voice replied.
"Then, you really can make him alive again?" Sonic asked. "Yes, I can, but you'll need to give me something in return," the voice said cryptically. "What's that?" Sonic asked. "Well, your speed will do," the voice said.
Sonic was shocked and stood up straight in surprise. "Why do you want my speed? I need it!" Sonic said. "Well, I don't need it, but you'll have to pay me with something for my services," the voice said. "But why my speed? There must be plenty of other things that you could want," Sonic said. "Yes, but there's no way that you could have any of them, so you'll have to give me your speed or your friend will stay dead," the voice said.
Sonic thought about this for a moment and tossed frequent looks at the still body of Tails. "Oh, come now! This IS a matter of life or death, so choose!" the voice said edgily. "Okay, okay! But, this isn't a matter of life or death; it's a matter of life or speed for me," Sonic said. He looked over at Tails one more time and then he sighed and said, "Alright, take it as long as Tails is alright." "Good! Now just hold still and he'll be back to life in two seconds," the voice said.
Sonic stood still and waited as a blue column of light surrounded him. He screamed in pain as he felt something rip out of him. When the light vanished, he fell to his knees, not only from the pain the light had caused, but also because his ankle had been sprained when he had tripped before. His breath came out in short, jerky gasps as he sought to recover.
"There, there. It's all right. You'll be just fine after a little while. And look, he's alive again, so be happy. Go on with your life, maybe we'll meet again," the voice said. "You never told me your name," Sonic gasped, with one hand clutched over his heart. "My name? Well, you can call me Taimat," the voice said.
"How am I supposed to get back to the village without my speed when I have to carry Tails and I have a sprained ankle?" Sonic asked. "Well, when you put it that way, I'll let you have a little of your speed until you reach the village. After that, you're on your own, speed-demon," Taimat said. "Yeah, sure," Sonic said, getting painfully to his feet. A small blue point of light came from inside the brush and hit Sonic squarely in the chest.
He didn't fall down again because when it hit him, it absorbed into his body. "There you go. Now hurry, you don't have much time left," Taimat said and ceased speaking. "Thank you, I think," Sonic said after Taimat. He checked Tails again and now Tails was breathing and his heart was beating with a steady rhythm. Sonic threw one of Tails' arms over his shoulders and lifted him up. It was hard because he had to hold Tails on the side with the sprained ankle in order to walk at all.
He was able to run a little, but not much. When Sonic saw the village, he called for help. Sally quickly ran out of a hut and saw Sonic standing there holding onto Tails. "Sonic! What happened to you? We were worried!" she cried as she ran over to them. "It's a long story, but Tails fell asleep and when I was carrying him, I tripped and sprained my ankle," Sonic lied. "Here, let me carry him. You go and have Doctor Quack look at your ankle," Sally said, taking Tails in her arms and off to his hut.
Sonic managed to get to Doctor Quack's hut where the duck bandaged the now swollen ankle. He told Sonic to put ice on it as much as possible to dull the pain and sent him back to his own hut. Sonic slowly made his way back to his hut and flopped down on his bed just as the first rosy sunbeams started to stretch over the horizon. He looked over at the now sleeping Tails and was soon fast asleep.
Quotes from Part Three: With. . . or Without?
"Sally, what would you do if something really bad happened?"
"Oh dear, it seems my little request has caused you more trouble than I thought."
"THEN WHY DID YOU TAKE MY SPEED FROM ME?!!"
Aria: That's it for part two, folks! Oh and. . . my muse might be dropping by in the next chapter so. . . if you see anybody new in the author's notes, that's him. That's everything! Please read and review! Ciao! *vanishes in whirlwinds*