I have only so long to finish this (I go out of the country in August) so I'll try to get this going! I hope my older readers know where this is...
Sonica the hedgefox - Don't worry, this isn't close to finished yet. After all, this is only the second chapter.We've got about ten to go, more or less. :) Please, keep reading!
Later a funeral was held outside in the gently sprinkling rain for Gabriel. It was absolutely silent. No one could speak as Gabriel's body, shrouded in a golden blanket, was carried slowly to a hole dug in the ground and carefully lowered in. Everyone put a bit of dirt in it as sort of a memorial. Soon Gabriel was buried. Flowers and other things were placed on top.
Sonic attempted to make a speech of farewell, but all he could say was, "I'm sorry." Then he turned away and hid his face. No one spoke for a long time. Then, one by one, they all filed out through the rain until there was no one left but Alene and Sonic.
"He was like a father to me," said Alene softly.
"For a short time," replied Sonic sadly.
After that, a meeting was ordered. The army had to decide what to do with Hashlar's army and Hashlar himself. Many metiyas wished Tails to be punished as a traitor. And all still wanted Sonic to claim leadership. Sonic made an announcement to the whole army.
"I will not be taking up leadership here," he said loudly over the wave of voices. The noise quickly quieted down.
"I'd like to nominate Chaos Zero instead, since he has had much more experience with this kind of thing, and I will be going away shortly."
The metiyas murmured amongst themselves but did not object. Retio now stepped up onto the speaking platform.
"We must now decide what to do with the metiyas from Hashlar's army and Hashlar himself."
He turned to Saermore. "Bring out the prisoners of war."
At the back of the huge meeting cavern, more metiyas came in, but these were surrounded by guards. At their very front, a man wearing once-ornate robes (now muddy and torn) was lead by five guards, none too gently.
Retio asked the army, "What shall we do with them?"
Many voices cried out.
"Kill them all!"
"Kill Hashlar!"
"Let the metiyas live, but kill Hashlar!"
"Throw them out!"
"Punish them!"
"Let them join! They were forced to do this!"
Retio held out his arms, and the audience quieted.
"We must make this decision as a whole. First, the other metiyas."
The majority of the metiyas were okay with letting Hashlar's army join them, because they had been slaves and were forced to fight. Also many metiyas had relatives among the different armies, and there were many happy reunions as the two armies converged.
Finally Retio held up his hands and once again silence fell.
"What should we do with Hashlar?"
A gopher suggested they get information out of Hashlar, and everyone agreed to this. Hashlar was dragged away kicking and screaming.
Finally there was the matter of what to do with Tails. There was a general undercurrent of anger toward him as he had betrayed them to Hashlar's army. Sonic explained what had happened to him, and silenced any ideas of punishment. Still the attitude toward Tails was not exactly friendly.
The meeting then broke up, and the members of the former revolution split up to go to their rooms. Many were packing, having done their job, and going out to forge a new life. There were still thousands of metiyas left, however, and they decided to form a community with Chas Zero as their leader.
But in the meantime, there was still Hashlar. Thayne had died a couple weeks earlier for unknown reasons. The guards had found him in his cell, dead with a trickle of blood coming from his mouth. No one knew why.
Retio, Saermore, Sonic, Alene, and Tails entered Hashlar's cell. He looked up at them with defiant eyes.
"You'll never get anything out of me! Never!" And he laughed maniacally.
"Get out the thumbscrews and chains, Retio," Saermore ordered calmly. "Don't forget the whips and the hot rack." Retio nodded and vanished into the storeroom.
Hashlar's eyes grew wide. "You wouldn't!"
"Yes," replied Saermore. "I would."
Hashlar's eyes darted around the cell as if looking for a way out. Retio came back with the ordered torture equipment and began to set it up.
Hashlar began to shake. "I-I d-d-don't know a-a-anything."
"I think you do," said Saermore, still absolutely calm. He picked up a thumbscrew. Hashlar was chained to the wall and could not move as Saermore came closer and grabbed his thumb.
"Now tell me. What do you know about Kerrigan?"
"He's the High Lord. And once he finds out what you've done, you all will pay!"
"I know that. Tell me something I don't know." Saermore brought the thumbscrew closer.
"He - he lives in a great citadel."
"Um hm. Go on." The thumbscrew got a little closer.
"High in the clouds."
The thumbscrew stopped. "Where?"
"How should I know? In the sky!"
The thumbscrew continued moving.
"I really don't know!" cried Hashlar. Saermore looked in his eyes and knew he was telling the truth.
"All right. How long has he set you up to do this?"
"He promised me a kingdom of my own - and I had it, until you filthy beasts took it away." Hashlar spat on the floor. The thumbscrew touched his thumb. Hashlar screamed, even though Saermore was not twisting it.
"Hey, hey! Ow, that hurts!"
"Tell me more."
"There is one other who is in favor of the High Lord."
Sonic leaned forward. "Yes? Who is it?"
"A little black hedgehog."
Sonic grabbed Hashlar. "Where is he now?"
"With Kerrigan, you idiot." Then suddenly Hashlar writhed out of his grip and with his teeth took something small out of his shirt. He bit down hard, and something cracked. It was a vial of liquid.
"Hah! No... more... out... of... me..." Hashlar's head rolled forward and he went limp.
Saermore examined the liquid, careful not to touch it. "Darn it! Poison."
"That's it for him," said Alene, eyeing to corpse with distaste.
Saermore summoned other metiyas to clean up the mess. They went back to the meeting hall.
"Sonic, that's all we're going to be able to do here," said Tails. "What are we going to do now?"
"We'll go to fight Kerrigan and save Shadow!" declared Sonic.
"Yeah!" shouted Tails. "When do we leave?"
"We'll leave in two days," decided Sonic. "That gives us time to pack up and say our goodbyes. Tails, you tell the others that we're leaving in two days."
Retio and Saermore looked faintly disappointed. "You're sure you won't stay here?" asked Retio as Tails bounded off.
"Yes. There's a... friend of mine that is in deep trouble with Kerrigan. We have to rescue him."
"I see." Retio looked thoughtful. "Then we're coming with you."
"What? No, it's far too dangerous. You have your places here," objected Sonic.
"Our place was to help the revolution. Now that's done and we can decide for ourselves what we want," said Saermore.
Sonic sighed.
"Sure, you guys can come," said Sonic resignedly.
"That's what I thought," said Retio, tossing him a grin. Saermore left the room to start packing and gather supplies.
"Oh, and Sonic..." said Retio as he started to leave. "You're really lucky. You have friends who are devoted to you and would follow you to the ends of the earth. There's something to be said for that." He left.
Sonic looked at the floor. "But why would they be willing to die for me?" he asked of the air, sadly.