Chapter 6 – Footsteps in the Sand.
A/N: I take time out here to speak to a couple of my reviewers:
Komodo342 – A nerd suffering boredom – SACRALIGE! Nerdhood is the antithesis of boredom; that's the whole point of being a nerd – you've always got something to do, like searching the web for a new web comic or cataloguing bacteria according to ribosome size. That said, I suppose Red Dwarf wasn't much seen in the good ol' USA so I'll let you off that one, as long as you review this chapter for me . Don't worry, it's not as mushy as the last chapter and I promise, it's the last chapter to do with romance for a good long while (that stuff's so hard to write about properly).
Ri2 – Yes, Rowland is my surname, my first name's Isaac. Unfortunately, I never actually played Sonic Heroes but I'll take your word for the spooky castle bit. However, they were in teams of three in that game, and having your mates around always helps stop you feeling nervous .
After pummelling, grappling and sprawling their way over the Snowstorm at least three times, each pair trying to compete for the fastest time of the day, the eight took a swift respite in the shelter of Eskimo Joe's. After a lot of cajoling and gentle persuasion, Vanilla finally relented and treated her daughter and Amy to an ice-cream each on the promise that no-one else would hear about the little incident on the ghost train; Vanilla was under no illusion what her work-mates would say if they heard that on the grapevine. As they tucked in, Knuckles approached the table, having been sent with Shadow to collect the rest of the order,
"Right, a tea with one sugar for you Vanilla, there's your cola Sonic, Shad's coffee; I'll leave that there, I just wanted mineral water, you two are sorted, ah yeah, this must be yours Tails". The fox accepted his milkshake and took a generous suck through the straw; licking his lips, he listened intently as someone realised they'd been left out.
"Knuckles", Rouge tapped her nails on the table, "forget something?" The echidna grinned and gestured as Shadow struggled towards the table; Rouge's eyes widened as she saw what the black hedgehog was carrying.
"Well I did say I'd treat you" he said by way of explanation as, with a sigh of relief, Shadow deposited the heavy bowl on the table; inside it was a colossal scoop of tutti-frutti ice-cream that seemed to be making a bid to escape the sides of its ceramic prison. Rouge blinked, for once stuck without a witty comeback – this had come like a punch from the blue and no mistake.
"Knuckles", she picked up the ridiculously tiny plastic spoon it came with and tried to even think about making a start on this monster, "you are a star; how did you know I liked tutti-frutti?" The echidna rubbed the back of his head as Shadow spoke up,
"Well, we kinda guessed, you being a fruit bat and all, that you'd appreciate this distinct flavour", the black hedgehog watched on amused as the bat started to demolish the giant ice-cream, "looks like we were right".
"You bet", Rouge grinned at the reactions of the others to her unexpected present, "well, I'll never finish this on my own; grab a spoon and dig in everyone". There was a rush to enjoy this unexpected bounty; as she ate, Rouge winked at Knuckles and tapped his spoon with her own,
"I was only kidding this morning you know".
"Just as well I wasn't then isn't it?" Rouge ran the conversation through her head and suddenly stuck her tongue out,
"Are you saying I'm not gorgeous?" Knuckles shook his head at this transparent obstinacy from his partner,
"Depends; how many miles do you reckon we'll have to run to burn off that little lot?" Rouge looked down and started,
"Not too far the way this lot are going at it", she plunged back in to try and rescue some of her sweet dessert, "hold fire you lot; I want some of that, it is mine".
"You snooze you lose slomo". Rouge winced at the comment from Sonic and her need for revenge clicked up another couple of notches.
After the sweets and drinks were finished and the bill settled, there was another consultation of the map; they had to find something not very strenuous to 'let their dinner go down' as Vanilla put it. As his green eyes scanned over the paper, Sonic saw the answer to two of his problems all at once – that was definitely not very energetic and Amy would love it. The only flaw in that plan was the fact that if he suggested it, his ego would take an almighty beating and he was under no illusion that once they had the chance his friends would tease him about this for weeks if they were feeling generous. Well, she made a sacrifice for me, only right I do the same;
"Hey I know", Sonic took a deep breath and slowly pointed to the Tunnel of Love, "why, er, whydon'twegothere?" Despite his best efforts he went red as the others finally managed to convince themselves that Sonic, Sonic of all people, had just suggested the Tunnel of Love. To his eternal relief and gratitude, Vanilla was fractionally faster off the mark than the rest,
"You know", she pretended to scrutinise the map closely, "he's right as well; this is the only place that fulfils the criteria we need, unless anyone fancies Kiddie's Corner?"
"Um, no, there's fine", Knuckles was looking at Sonic askew; what's his game, he's up to something, but what? "well, let's go then". All eight Mobians left Eskimo Joe's; all a little mystified as to what was going on with Sonic's sudden, uncharacteristic choice of fun.
Vanilla led them as they walked casually towards their next destination; Sonic could almost feel the desire of the others to determine his modus operandi wash over him like a tide. Amy was a little apart from him and seemed to be talking to Shadow quietly, though he couldn't hear what she was saying as they approached the entryway to the Tunnel of Love. Just as it hove into view, Vanilla turned and spoke up loudly,
"Right, time for the responsible adult bit; if anyone needs to go, do so now". Tails nodded and scooted off to the conveniences nearby and, to the blue blur's horror, Amy and Rouge joined him. Oh boy; he knew exactly what was coming next; as soon as his only shield was out of sight he fell under the paralysing glare of several questioning gazes. He knew the question, but the spokesperson surprised him slightly,
"Okay Sonic", it was Shadow who addressed him, the other hedgehog having trouble concealing a huge smile as his previous suspicions looked set to be confirmed, "spill". Realising stalling was ultimately pointless, he sighed and scuffed one shoe, looking at the ground as he mumbled his explanation,
"Amy told me she, ah, didn't like, er, spooks, so I figured going on the ghost train must have been hard for her; I should have, umm, sat it out with her, but, I went along anyway", he raised his flushed face, a little relieved that no-one had burst out laughing yet, "so, er, I owed her one and, this looked like the best way to set things right; if she can do something scary for me I can do something embarrassing for her right?"
"Oh my God", Knuckles reeled forwards, face thunderstruck, "Vanilla, get the others, call the ambulance, we've got a sick hedgehog here", here we go then; Sonic braced himself – he'd resigned himself to this the second he'd pointed out where to go next, "he's been bitten by the love-bug; stay away, it's contagious". Cream back-pedalled and crossed her arms,
"No, I can't get that, I haven't been immunised against that one yet, Mummy help!" She sprang back behind Vanilla as the elder rabbit smiled at the shamed Sonic,
"That was a big thing to do Sonic; you lot shouldn't make fun of him – especially you Knuckles; from what I heard earlier you and Rouge had to torture each other to discover your feelings". It was Sonic's turn to snigger as the echidna looked at the floor; perhaps fortunately it was at this stage of the proceedings that the absent trio managed to return to the main group.
"Sorry we took so long", Rouge's trained eyes took in the situation in an instant, "anything exciting happen?"
"No" Vanilla assured her, perhaps a little too forcefully as Knuckles mouthed 'tell you later' to his girlfriend. Tails, who had also caught the sign from the echidna, glanced at Cream; the rabbit smiled knowingly back at him. There was a serene silence as they finally rounded the turn and approached the Tunnel of Love.
"Have a good ride".
"What", Vanilla turned at her daughter's sudden declaration, "you're coming too?" Tails pulled a face as he and Cream backed away from the ride.
"Nah, why would we want to go into something like that; we're sitting this one out". Sonic folded his arms and shook his head warningly,
"That's what you think buster".
"No, that's what I know", at a nod both he and Cream suddenly lifted off, out of reach of Sonic and Shadow, who had been attempting to sneak up on them, "we're not going and you can't make us".
"Sounds like a challenge to me" Rouge declared as she spread her wings and took to the sky, a devilish smirk on her face as she played aerial chase with the duo; they had, however, been expecting something like this and stayed together to frustrate the bat's attempt at capturing them. As the game passed a minute, Vanilla rolled her eyes and shouted up to them all,
"You three, stop it for a second".
"Only when you say we don't have to go" two voices shouted back down; that was enough for Shadow. Keeping one eye on the aerial tussle, the black hedgehog silently signalled Knuckles and the echidna moved slowly into position, eyes to the sky as he waited for the perfect time to spring. Nearly, ohh, so close and, yes! Nodding suddenly, the guardian charged; Shadow cupped his hands and let the echidna catch a boost into the air – Knuckles caught the wind and streaked towards his target like a missile. Tails never saw him coming and was netted by the echidna.
"Ahh, no fair", the foxboy struggled as Knuckles glided gently to earth, "Cream, fly away, get safe".
"No chance"; without Tails there to help, Rouge had the edge of experience in flying and swiftly captured the airborne rabbit. The pair resigned themselves to defeat as Knuckles and Rouge exchanged a high-five.
"Okay, you got us, but we gave you a run for your money".
"I'll admit that", Rouge agreed whole-heartedly – she hadn't expected that to last anywhere near as long as it had, "but you're our prisoners now, so march!"
"Don't we get a last request?" Tails pleaded as he was led away to the Tunnel; Amy sniggered at the fox's forlorn expression,
"Not for this, no".
"Didn't think so, but it was worth a try". Well, I suppose it's not so bad; better than Kiddie's Corner; if a part of either Tails or Cream was actually looking forwards to this neither admitted it as the gatepost suddenly reared up before them, a fleet of white swan boats tethered nearby.
Sonic watched as Shadow and Vanilla disappeared inside the pink tunnel, the back of their swan boat lost as it rounded the first bend. The dog servicing the ride smiled as he beckoned both himself and Amy forwards,
"You two next then; jump in". Sonic clambered aboard first, wary as this ride was on water and he still hadn't been able to completely get rid of his aversion to the substance; too many bad memories of small, submerged places causing him no end of grief for water to be completely forgiven for all its ills. Still, as the boat finished rocking and Amy sat down on the cushioned seat, he realised he was in no danger here; he doubted there was enough room to slip down the side of the boat even if his belt did come loose. As the craft rocked forwards, he turned to hear Amy's excited voice,
"Sonikku, this is perfect; thank you so much". He smiled over at her, internally bracing himself for the fifteen or so minutes of torment he'd have to sit through on this ride.
"It's nothing Ames; you sat with me on Shiver's Revenge even though you didn't like ghosts, so I owe you one". The pink hedgehog smiled at him, placing her hand on top of his in a mirror of what had happened barely hours ago,
"Thanks Sonic, I appreciate it; I know this isn't your idea of fun". The hero tried to act casual as he shrugged, trying to show this was all just water under the bridge, but as the first hint of pinkness became visible around the bend he winced a little. He looked over as Amy yawned and stretched as much as was possible,
"Tired Ames?" he asked jovially as he tried to suppress his own yawn,
"Yeah", she put a hand over her mouth as the soft, rocking motion of the vessel she was in attempted to lull her to sleep, "I didn't sleep well and, um, I'm drowsy". Sonic chuckled as she struggled to keep her eyes open,
"Here", he rubbed his shoulder and buffed it up, "lean on this; it's a fully qualified head rest". Amy shuffled a little closer to him and he saw the tiredness in her eyes; it was enough to remind him that the previous night hadn't been the best night's sleep he'd ever had.
"You sure?" I can barely stay awake.
"Yeah", Sonic assured her as the sleepy atmosphere began to work its magic on him, "just relax and go to sleep Ames; you look like you need it". He felt her place her head gently on his shoulder; he doubted it was more than thirty seconds before she was breathing gently and rhythmically in bliss. Typical; Sonic smiled as he flicked one of her errant spines back behind her head; all that and she goes out like a light. Not that I blame her; it's warm and comfortable; Sonic's eyes flickered; the water's making the boat rock, it's comfort, comfortable; he sank lower in his seat, head leaning against Amy's, thoughts becoming increasingly clouded; the water's lapping, sounds like a dre, a dreaamm. Not two minutes after boarding the Tunnel of Love ride, Sonic Maurice Hedgehog and Amy Rose were both sound asleep.
This time, all was still; had she reached her goal now? Was there no more reason to run? The glow was nearby, the same one corner preventing her seeing her summoner. She could not move, her physical body was paralysed, unwilling to respond to her demands for movement. Her body would not suffice, she strained forwards with her eyes, with her senses, with her mind, trying to reach for something…
A long way away, from its eternal prison, something reached back.
"Heeeeeelllllllllppppppp mmmememmeeeeee". The same dull rumble, not a plead, more of a demand for aid. Her mouth could not move, her lips and tongue could not form the question that bedevilled her; she thought of it and moulded it with her mind.
"Where are you?" Silence; had her question been heard? Had the mysterious entity that forced her to present herself for its scrutiny expected to be questioned? The rumble began again; no more questions now.
"Yooooouuuuu wiiiilllllll ssssseeeeee the waaaayyyyyyy". The glow was receding, leaving her alone in the darkness once more.
Deep in the subterranean catacomb, the being pulsed with an emotion it recalled as excitement; meaningful contact had at last been established with the recipient mind. The path was known, all that remained was to show the recipient the path that had already been trodden.
Sonic was jerked rudely back to wakefulness as a sudden gasp of alarm filled his ears; pulling himself into a sitting position he glanced to the left.
"Amy", his emotions swung violently from confusion to concern as he saw the hedgehog girl; she was reaching forwards blindly, fingers grasping empty air; her breathing was quick and ragged. Sonic was seized by a sudden fear as he caught sight of her face; she was white as chalk under her rose fur and her eyes were unfocused, but it was her expression that caught his gaze in a steel vice. It was a terrifying mix of fear, regret and concern that spoke of indescribable loss and the shame of not being able to recoup that which was taken. It was this dread gaze that forced Sonic's hand; he couldn't sit and watch this, he had to do something.
"Amy", Sonic reached over and gripped one of her arms gently; he barely suppressed his own gasp of shock as he felt the iciness of her skin even through his glove, "Ames, take it easy, it's cool, just, just relax". Huh, what, I, I'll find you…Sonic? She turned to face the blue hedgehog, mind recalling a measure of clarity as she tried desperately to separate the dream from the reality.
"S,sonic", she shook her head as he regarded her with a concerned eye,
"Yeah, the one and only", his tone lacked the usual light-heartedness that accompanied one of his jokes, "are you, no that's a stupid question, what's wrong?" Amy put a paw on her forehead as she took deep breaths, trying to recall what she had seen in her mind's eye even as she answered the blue hedgehog by her side.
"I, er", Amy realised she couldn't tell him what she'd just seen; how could she – 'yes, a big red glow asked me for help and said something about leaving an address later' – she doubted it would sound convincing however she phrased it, "I had a bad dream", she gave a wan smile, "don't worry, it's nothing". Sonic shook his head, face serious,
"No, it's not nothing Ames", he removed his hand from her arm, flexing it to try and restore some of the lost warmth as he took a close look at her pale, drawn complexion, "not meaning to be rude but you look like Death, you're skin's like ice and", he smiled slightly as she failed to hide a huge yawn, "you're completely exhausted". Pointless denying it; Amy nodded sadly as the rest of her body belatedly reported in; her nose was stuffed up, she felt like someone had clogged both her ears with cotton wool and everything from the neck down felt listless and dull.
"I'd be lying if I said I'm a hundred percent". That's the truth; Sonic quickly made his mind up about what to do next; ah well, I was always faster than the Blizzard anyway.
"Ames, I reckon after this ride's over, I better run you home", he carried on quickly before she could appeal against this decision, "you need to get a hot bath, a couple of paracetamols and an early night". He's right, I need to deal with something like this; I need to think and figure out what the hey is going on.
"I think you're right Sonic, I don't feel very well", she suddenly favoured him with pleading look, "but I can take a taxi, no need for you…"
"Ames, I'm running you home and that's the last word. I'm going to make sure you get to your apartment as soon as is possible and anyway", he favoured her with a slight smile, "what's the point in me staying if you've gone?"
"Twinkle Park at Christmas?" she pleaded but he quashed the argument instantly.
"You know what I meant Ames – there no point me staying here without my partner, they'd find me out and I'd be ask to leave anyway or pay up". You coward! – what, it's true – that's not the reason and you know it – yes, but I'm not saying it – I can't believe you sometimes. Amy's face fell a little at his reasoning but, she told herself, he was still leaving to make sure she was alright and she owed him some thanks for that.
"Alright Sonic, you win", as he raised an eyebrow she favoured him with her special smile; the one that made him melt whenever she favoured him with it's benevolence – even when she was ill and pale, she could still manage to look radiant in his eyes. The warmth from the previous night stole its way back into the blue hedgehog's body and he found himself returning the smile almost unwittingly,
"Don't mention it Ames". Even as he said it, Sonic became aware of a sudden chink of light at the end of the tunnel and realised with a strangely heavy heart that their time left in Twinkle Park was now measured in minutes rather than hours.
Their boat bumped gently into the rear of the swan vessel docked at the exit of the ride and killed its forward momentum completely. Amy gingerly rose into a half-crouch and picked her way clear off the side of the boat with Sonic not far behind her. The rose hedgehog caught sight of Shadow and Vanilla as they waited on a bench not far from the exit.
"Hey guys", Sonic waved over before turning to her, "go wait with them Ames, take a seat. I'll tell the others as they get off, cool?"
"You got it Sonic; see you in a minute". He gave a thumbs-up as she walked over to where the other two were sitting, giving a weary nod as she saw both examine her gait and her face closely,
"Yeah, I know I'm not going to win any beauty contests any time soon". Shadow stood to let her sit down; she looks awful, must be some kind of bug. However, before he could voice any concerns, Amy had jumped the gun,
"Sorry guys, but I'm really not feeling so good; I'm gonna have to call it a day here". Vanilla felt the younger girl's forehead and nodded in agreement, inwardly wondering if something was going around and if so, how best to deal with it if Cream came down with it.
"What are you planning; early night?"
"Yeah, I reckon I'll have to sleep it off", can't tell her the other reason I need to sleep, "Sonic's going to run me home".
"Really?" Shadow was intrigued – had Sonic admitted something in that tunnel?
"Yeah; without me he'll have to pay to stay in"; obviously not; the black hedgehog repressed a sigh as he realised that was classic Sonic at its finest. Vanilla tutted slightly under her breath before reaching into her handbag and producing her keys,
"Okay, I'm sorry to hear that Ames",
"You and me both"; the pink hedgehog gave a reluctant smile as Shadow hid a smile behind a false cough,
"Tell Sonic to run to mine when you're home", she offered her front door key as Amy saw the logic behind that idea, "he can wait there for us and he'll be able to use the Tornado to get his presents home safely".
"The fact you've got cable also won't be missed" Shadow muttered as he shot the blue hedgehog a glance with his red eyes as he greeted Tails and Cream. After a brief second of talking, Cream approached the larger group, Sonic obviously waiting with Tails for Knuckles and Rouge.
"Mr Sonic said you two were leaving", the younger rabbit pulled up next to the others and looked up at Amy sadly; Mr Sonic hadn't been lying either, her 'big sister' really didn't look well at all. Noting her saddened face, Amy somehow managed to kindle a tiny speck of happiness out of her inner mire of confusion and doubt; she managed to smile half-convincingly and speak in her normal, bubbly voice,
"Don't worry Cream, I'll be just fine; you concentrate on having a good time with everyone else", she reached down and gently tweaked the rabbit's nose, "your mum's going to keeping an eye on you for me; if I get any bad reports of you looking down in the mouth I'll be round to have a word". Yay, that's Amy - she's going to be alright; Cream smiled and flew up to return the tweak,
"I'll have fun, and I'll keep the photos for you".
"Good, now if I were you", Amy cast a glance backwards that Cream followed, "I'd vanish before Sonic finds out you called him Mr." The rabbit grimaced as she realised her slip; she'd been getting better at avoiding the dreaded M-words but still had occasional lapses in concentration. Shadow also noticed the other four approaching and, as they came within earshot, hid a smile and called over,
"You two", he obviously meant Sonic and Tails, as they were both trying hard not to laugh with the pair of guardians glaring all kinds of promises of pain at them should they fail to keep quiet, "what's so funny?" Tails managed to give a coherent answer as he jerked a thumb at Knuckles,
"Ask the great romancer over there"; the echidna averted his gaze, beginning to burn up as he felt the full weight of an explanation silently demanded by the other six Mobians. He gathered his courage, took a deep breath and was thrown right off track as Rouge answered for him. The bat was an expert in these matters; she combined the right tone of nonchalance with just a hint of cool to take the heat out of the situation.
"So he had his hand on my knee, so what?" It would have worked on most other crowds, but then again, Sonic had never belonged in a normal crowd,
"Nothing wrong with it, but I'm just amazed you've got a knee left at all…"
"Don't you have somewhere to go?" Knuckles spoke without thinking and immediately drew himself short; he turned to Amy and apologised profusely, realising that Sonic had been right as he did.
"Sorry to hear about that Ames", Rouge offered a conciliatory hand as the pink hedgehog forgave the hot-headed echidna, "give us a ring when you're feeling better; I'll have to hit the January sales with you; I'll show you how to pick up a bargain at all the best places".
"Thanks Rouge, I'd like that" Amy assured the bat as she hugged Tails gently, the kit promising her that he'd drop all her gifts off the next day. Sonic appeared at her shoulder as she said her last goodbyes and slowly headed for the park gate with the blue hedgehog. Though she was sorry to miss the rest of the day and even sorrier that by leaving she might have been causing the rest of her friends to worry about her, deep down she felt a little relief that soon she'd be in a private place, free to try and plan for whatever these dreams and visions meant, and how she could help this mysterious thing that was trying to contact her.
Sonic's estimation had been right; the roads had been gritted since the morning and, though wet, the tarmac was runnable. Amy arrived home sooner that even she had anticipated as Sonic simply breezed through the traffic as though it wasn't there, dodging the few cars that were present with grace and agility as she held herself still in his grip; if she slipped she could unbalance her ride and that could have been disastrous. Luckily this wasn't the first time she'd been carried by Sonic, so keeping herself in the right position was a breeze and in no time at all she was placed on the ground next to her apartment block.
"Here we are Ames", Sonic looked up the building as she shook herself to stay awake for just a little longer, "need a hand to get to your room?"
"Nah", please Sonic, just go now, I'll be fine but I need to crash; "I reckon I can handle twenty or so stairs, I only live on the first floor". The blue hedgehog's face fell as she said that but, as the pale sun caught her pink fur fully, he realised she looked a little better than she did not so long ago. He shrugged casually and patted her shoulder,
"All right, I'll leave you here. Give me a call if you need anything, got it?"
"Loud and clear; you got Vanilla's key?" Sonic produced it from his pocket and twirled it around his finger, smiling at his trick,
"You bet, now get yourself in bed with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate". Amy rolled her eyes and waved him away; Sonic first took his cue and then took off, whipping her hair backwards as she watched him go. When she was sure he could see her no more, she let out a sigh of relief and walked inside, fumbling for her own keys as the strange tiredness that had descended on her earlier in the Tunnel reappeared and threatened to pull her under.
Never had the stairs leading to her apartment seemed so many or so tall; she almost had to literally drag herself up to get level with her door. Fortunately, her key slid neatly into the lock and clicked the door open, allowing her to enter her home and push the door to, the lock automatically sealing itself behind her. She didn't even mange to take off her coat, the need was so great; she simply tottered forwards, reeled into the door of her bedroom and stumbled inside. Her great, beautiful bed rose up to greet her as she collapsed forwards onto it, asleep almost before her head touched the pillow.
The cavern filled with a sudden red glow; the recipient mind had become accessible again. There was no need to wait any longer; the path must be exposed to the recipient. This state of imprisonment would soon be repealed and freedom once again attained. And with freedom, came the chance of memories fallen becoming memories enshrined once more. Contact was made…
Not on the ground this time; suspended, floating in the air, rising high above a great desert. She saw all and moved like a great eagle, the sands revolving for her examination as she scanned for something, something she didn't know exactly what but the itch, the burning thirst for this knowledge was consuming her. She had to search unceasingly, no rest until it was found, no shelter until what was known could be learned again. Over the barren waste she flew, the vague silhouette of mountains slowly rearing up in the distance as a landmark for her to gravitate towards.
Her eyes were the keenest; something on the sand held her encompassing gaze for a second and she held it immobile in her vision. A path, clearly demarked by deep, deliberate footsteps in the golden desert soil preceded her way as she heeded the call. Onwards, onwards she forced the winds to carry her faster, the need growing ever more desperate as the footsteps led to her goal. The sand rushed past her winged form forcing her self on no tiredness taking root in her form as it hove into view. The end of her journey, she could feel it as she slowed her heedless rush, hovering overhead as her vision informed her; the footsteps that had led the way came to the mouth of this small, bottomless void and then vanished, leading her into the darkness. She could not descend, her range of movement did not allow it, but as she observed, something from the darkness was rising to meet her; deep within the nether abyss a tiny speck of light flickered into life. Red light.
"Coooommmmeee toooo mmmmmeeeeeeee!"
"Hey guys", Sonic quickly changed the channel as he heard a key enter the front door; a primal survival instinct told him with all the subtlety of a half-brick in a sock that if the others discovered he'd been watching the Christmas special of Pokemon his life wouldn't be worth living, "how was the Blizzard?"
"Not too bad" Tails answered carefully; he didn't want the hedgehog to think he'd missed out on much, "it wasn't as fast as running with you". That's my brother; Sonic deduced from the fox's tone of voice that Tails had just been through one of the times of his life but was hiding it for his benefit.
"Nice try", the hedgehog's disembodied voice came from the living room as he lifted himself off the settee after lifting the sleeping form of Chocola off his lap and placing him gently to the side, "you had a blast didn't you?"
"Yeah", Knuckles hung Vanilla's coat up in the shoe cupboard as Sonic joined the group, "how's Amy?" The blue hedgehog answered as the rest of the group looked on, curious to know how their friend was faring,
"She said she was going to crash for the night; I'll phone tomorrow and make sure she's okay". Thank you Sonic; Rouge shivered in anticipation as she realised this was it; casually placing her coat in the cupboard alongside Vanilla's, the bat began innocuously enough,
"That was a brave thing to do Sonic, giving up your day to make sure she was all right". Hmm, that's a bit suspect from you; Sonic was apprehensive about this but had no idea just how cunningly baited the trap he was in danger from actually was. Keeping his guard as high as possible the hedgehog replied cautiously,
"Not really, just something I'd do for a friend".
"Oh really", Rouge gave a coy smile as Knuckles raised an eyebrow at her unusual behaviour, "are you sure it's just friendship?" Right, so that's your game is it Rouge; Sonic returned her cool smile with one of his own as he realised what she was trying to do to embarrass him.
"Perfectly sure thank you". Just one last thing to go; Rouge opened the hedgehog up,
"So you treat all your friends the same?" That was unexpected and faint unease surfaced in Sonic's mind but Rouge had him cornered; there was only one thing he could reasonably say in front of all the others,
"Yes, of course I do".
"In that case", the bat looked a little aggrieved as she managed to somehow keep a smile off her face, picturing Sonic's reaction to her observation, "why didn't we all get jewellery for Christmas?"
You sneak; Sonic felt his jaw drop and his face burn as Rouge explained to the others, smirking as the hedgehog squirmed like a worm on a hook,
"Didn't any of you see Amy's new ear piece? The one that looked like a rose? Where do you reckon it came from, Santa Claus – no, it was our shy little hero over there", she pointed at Sonic and, noting the way he was reacting to this unprecedented announcement decided to sugar the pill a little, "it's a nice piece as well, you've got a good eye for the sparklers Sonic".
"Thanks" he said through gritted teeth as Knuckles seized on this information,
"Oh no, it's gone too deep, he's a lost cause; the love bug claims another victim", he mimed taking a hat off his head and holding it over his chest, "farewell Sonic Hedgehog". Sonic smiled ruefully and shook his head this comment; he should have known Rouge was gunning for him after last night and that particular present had just been an accident waiting to happen. The best thing to do was just play along,
"Well if I am lost to the love bug", he grinned at Rouge again, "it makes you wonder where I caught it from doesn't it?" She goggled at the inflection and crossed her arms but before she could react, Tails sprang into action; the fox had been reminded of the way Sonic had teased him over that picture and went in for revenge.
"Well, going by the facts I know I'd say you caught it off Amy last night under the mistletoe", you slime; Sonic's face dropped into pure horror as seven questioning, almost disbelieving, glances ranged in on him.
"You", Cream was having trouble comprehending this, "you and Rosie kissed!" There was no way out; he had to go down in flames with his ego,
"Er, yeah, we did". Sonic flinched, expecting the gales of laughter to crash into him and scatter his self-confidence to the four winds.
"About time"; Sonic had been prepared for almost anything but that – he looked around agog to see Shadow breath a sigh of relief, "took you long enough, slowpoke".
"But…"
"No buts", it was Knuckles this time; the echidna was smiling but there was no malice or cruelty behind it, "we've all seen it Sonic – come on, dropping out of a trip like that? That's not something you do for just any kind of friend is it?"
"Um…" Tails himself stepped forwards and punched his elder brother lightly on the arm, shaking his head at the hedgehog's apparent incoherence,
"Come on Sonic; it's not that big a deal really".
"Not for you maybe", relief poured out of the blue hedgehog as he realised he'd got away with it; no-one here was going to make fun of him for this, "but I, heh, I can't tell Amy, not yet, I just…" Knuckles gave a sudden laugh and slapped his thigh as he saw his own internal struggle mirrored in the hedgehog's face.
"Remind you anything Rouge?" The bat saw the same thing and nodded, smiling as Sonic and the others watched on confused,
"You said it; just take your time Sonic, you'll find the right second eventually". I'm spared, praise the Lord; the first hints of cockiness found their way back to the hedgehog's manner as he answered the former treasure huntress,
"Let's just hope it arrives at a more opportunistic time than yours did; I don't want to have to be reduced to screaming before I'll spill my guts". The bat stuck her tongue out cheekily,
"It was worth it".
"I bet". Vanilla clapped her hands to break up the word duel,
"Okay you two, that's enough", she turned to the kitchen and pointed at the table, "help me get the food out and we'll have a last meal before you all have to leave".
"Sure thing" all seven chorused; there was a rush of hands to help lay the table and gather the condiments as Sonic was filled in on all the excitement he'd missed; as he listened, he conscientiously catalogued and remembered every morsel of delight he could. As the friends ate and talked, Sonic pictured Amy recovering from whatever she'd contracted and smiled; in his mind she was tucked up in bed and sleeping off whatever pestilence had caught her off-guard.
The reality, however, was rather different.
I remember it said I would see the way; Amy scrawled her thoughts down randomly on the piece of paper she now held; she had woken from her scrying dream after not three hours of sleep and hadn't been able to rest since. She was feverishly trying to recall and record everything she had seen and heard in these visionary dreams so far, scribing them down to try and see some kind of pattern, something that could help point the way to whoever was calling for help. She was bone tired but some insane force of will had possessed her body and she was unable to sleep until she had exercised it fully, finding the pattern that these dreams would unlock. The pencil in her grip swayed unsteadily as she noted down the most recent and, for now, most important dream so far. I was flying, following a set of footsteps over a desert, tracking them down; they were near a mountain – she finished, remembering that she had finished seeing the tiny spot of redness from the mouth of the tunnel. Was it the entrance to the tunnel she had been running down in her previous visions? Why was the same red glow always present? She kneaded her forehead with the knuckles of one hand – the dreams themselves just suggested that she had to go down a tunnel to reach the mysterious red thing, but the last suggested something else. It was there, elusively hovering just out of range of her exhausted mind as she felt her eyes begin to flutter shut once more. Her mind gave one last effort to solve this riddle; a tunnel in a desert, but I've never been in any desert, and the last time I was under ground was…
Amy was mostly a visual person; when she pictured something with her mind it was usually in colour and crystal clear – the other four senses usually had a very small input into the image she was trying to create. Therefore, she later found it surprising that, rather than a sudden flash of colour in her mind she actually heard a perfectly audible click as her mind made the necessary connection. The last time I was under ground was…
Click.
…just before these dreams started!
The pink hedgehog snapped her eyes open, shaking from head to toe as she realised it made sense. Burning with expectation, she stood up and quickly crossed the room to find what she needed. As the atlas tumbled open, she flicked through the pages until, with a trembling finger, she traced the picturesque printed page down, covering the area she suspected with a thrill of both horror and triumph. Triumph because she was now sure of where the resting place of this creature was.
Horror because she remembered what had awaited her down in the darkness last time – a base of Eggman's and the impassive, impenetrable shell of a Mobian that was Seraph. She shivered as the memories coursed through her; she had hated the journey to rescue Rouge but had managed to go through with it both because the others had been with her and she had needed to save her friend. This time I'll be alone, and I'm not even sure what this thing is; as she replaced the book and sat back down, the pink hedgehog held her aching head as the realisation that the decision of what to do next rested firmly in her hands. As she thought, her mind began to drift and before she could consciously do anything to stop herself, she was away once more.
"I know". She was above the tunnel, mineshaft, she corrected herself as the memory surged through her like an electric charge, looking down at the small area of revolving red light as it flickered like a candle flame in the deeper darkness.
"Coooooooommmmmmeeeee tooooo mmmmmmeeeeeee". The same insisting plea, the call for aid, it left her no choice. She nodded once and felt the grip that held her above the portal to her fate release, her summoner had the confirmation it needed and now let her go, drift back to restful dreams. As she floated away, she cast one final glance back to the floor of the desert she recalled the footsteps that pointed the way to her destination.
The footsteps in the sand were her own.
A/N: So the way is shown and the gauntlet thrown down. What will our intrepid pink hedgehog do next? Watch this space…