Chapter Four
Author's Note: Due to a lack of a small, but vital detail, the intended image of one character was not as I imagined. This omission was corrected as of 11/02/05.
Cadmus woke up several hours later, being stared at by a strange fox wearing spectacles. Instinctively, he leapt off the surface he was laying on, and put up his fists. The fox smiled. "You have all the spunk of my old friend. Glad to see you're okay."
"Who…are you?" Cadmus asked the fox as he let his guard down, knowing that the fox meant no harm.
"My name is Miles Prower, but I prefer to be called Tails." The fox then showed Cadmus his two tails, his distinctive trademark. "I've been hiding here for many years."
"From who?" Cadmus asked, but deep down, he already knew the answer.
"From Sonic and Knuckles," Tails answered. "If either of them found me, they'd kill me. That's why I'm hiding."
Before Cadmus could say anything more, a female pink hedgehog,entered the room with some food. She wore a dark grey tank top, a red hairband andloose blue jeans. Around herneck was a small gold ring on a brass chain."Here it is Tails…great, he's awake! Hello there."
"This is Amy. She pulled you out of a trap…I have to bug the surrounding area so I'm not found out. Consider yourself lucky. Amy thought YOU were Knuckles..."
"You knew…the Prime Arch-Echidna?" Cadmus asked with surprise. He had always thought the Prime Arch-Echidna was always the way he was.
"Oh sure, he and I, and Sonic…adventured together." Tails replied. "He was a bit old-fashioned, but he was a nice guy. Really strong too."
Cadmus was flabbergasted. Everything he had learned in school regarding the Prime Arch-Echidna was being thrown down and stomped on with a very large boot. He couldn't help but stare blankly into space, with his jaw hanging open.
"Oh…I guess you don't know what happened." Amy said as she noticed this. She chuckled a little, and gave the food, which consisted of a gelatinous blue substance, to Cadmus.
"Eat this. It will help you recover." Amy said. Cadmus took a sniff, and reeled back in disgust.
"What the hell are you trying to do? Poison me? This stuff is fouler than a skunk that just rolled around in rotten eggs! You're expecting me to eat THIS?"
"I'm no fan of it either, but believe me, it works." Amy replied. "Just hold your nose."
Cadmus looked at the object, then back at Amy. He took the object, held his nose, and ate it in one gulp. It slithered down his throat in a very unpleasant manner. He shivered from the feeling.
"Okay…I've eaten it…what now?" Cadmus asked. "I guess you want to know about me. My name is Cadmus, hailing from the Prime Echidna City. What I was doing is none of your business."
"Amy…get another one." Tails said with a somewhat evil smile. Cadmus didn't want to go through that again.
"Okay! I'll talk! I was searching for a prisoner I had taken. He had been taken by a black and red hedgehog…"
Tails leapt up and whooped. "Yeah! Wohoo! Shadow lives! Oh, Cadmus, you don't know how happy you've made me!" Tails, out of joy, leapt upon Cadmus and hugged him.
"Excuse me…but you're hugging me." Cadmus said as he struggled to remove the huggy fox from him. Tails realized his improper action and quickly ceased embracing the echidna.
Tails tried to make himself look more prudent again. "Sorry…but this news is wonderful. The hedgehog who took your prisoner is Shadow, a good friend of ours. Do you know which way he went?"
"To the north...that's all I was able to tell." Cadmus replied.
Amy clenched her fist and pointed out the door. "Well, what are we waiting for, Tails? They must be headed to the city! Let's get over there and catch up to them!"
Tails shook his head. "We'll do that in the morning, Amy. We still have one more test to do. Come on. Care to see, Cadmus?"
The echidna nodded pensively, and followed Tails and Amy through several rooms, until they stopped at a strange chamber. Next to a console was an isolated chamber with several strange wires hanging on the walls.
Amy went into the chamber, while Tails walked over to the console. He turned to Cadmus. "Cadmus, can you hook Amy up with those wires over there? They mark which wire goes with which body part."
He nodded, and stared at the wires for a minute. After a minute of thought, he began hooking up the nodes to Amy.
"Are you sure you'll be okay, Amy? This looks like it could hurt." Cadmus said with no hiding of concern.
Amy smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." She patted the echidna on the head, which he somewhat resented.
Cadmus left the chamber and locked the door behind him. Tails flipped a few switches, then spoke into a microphone.
"Amy, you ready?" Tails asked into it. Amy, on a video screen, nodded and gave a thumbs-up. Tails flipped a few more switches and pressed some buttons. "Okay, Amy, now here's what I want you to do. Concentrate, and think of all the things that happened…Cream…Big…Sonic…Knuckles…remember all of them…use their memory…use your emotions! Remember!"
Amy closed her eyes, and seemed to enter a deep trance. Cadmus chuckled a little. "You really expect that to do anything? Come on!"
"Just watch," Tails responded. Cadmus did watch. He saw Amy begin to strain a little, and he glanced at a monitor with a strange bar. It started low and fluctuated a little bit.
"See…nothing." Cadmus said to Tails. But no sooner had he spoken than did the bar start to rise. He glanced at the screen, and saw Amy really shaking. In amazement, blue energy began to crackle around her, and her body began changing colors, shifting from pink to golden yellow, and back again several times. Tears were coming to her eyes.
Amy was giving it her all, trying so hard. It was something that she had the potential for so long ago, but was never able to do it. She remembered Cream, Big and all the times they had together…she remembered Knuckles and Shadow…and finally Sonic. But no feelings of love for him crossed her mind…only hatred. It was three days before she blacked out…she remembered…
"Sonic?" she asked. "Is something wrong? You don't look well."
Sonic was standing near a rock wall, with a look of cold wrath and boiling insanity in his eyes. He tromped toward Amy, his fists shaking from anger.
"Won't you ever leave me alone, you brat? I'm sick, and I'm tired of you always following me! Why won't you get that into your head, you idiot!" As he finished that phrase, he was right up next to Amy. With a twinge of sadism in his eye, he punched Amy in the face, knocking her down.
"I don't love you! I never have and I never will!" Sonic yelled as he kicked the poor girl while she was still down. "I have it…I'll end the annoyance once…and for all!"
Sonic grabbed Amy by the leg and dragged her toward a nearby cliff. She tried to break free by clawing the ground, kicking Sonic in the leg, but to no avail.
The cliff was several hundred feet above shallow water. The ocean rolled with a particular storminess that day. With a great deal of effort Sonic began to spin around, ready to throw her like a hammer. Round and round he went, trying to get enough speed to toss her over.
"Goodbye and good riddance, Amy!" Sonic cried maniacally as he let go. Amy sailed over the cliff and toward a nearby sharp rock. She screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping for a miracle. One did come. A mysterious figure saving her in the nick of time…and before she could thank the mystery person, it disappeared. All she could hear was Sonic's laugh, mocking her, when he thought she was dead…
"Sonic…" she muttered. "You…will…" and then with one final scream, she let all her emotion fly out with a single word…"PAY!" The energy she had gathered enveloped her, and a feeling of vertigo passed through her.
Cadmus was absolutely mind-boggled. When he could see again, Amy had changed. Her quills were curving up and sticking out, and they had changed from pink to golden yellow. Her eyes had turned a color similar to his, and the energy she had stored was coursing around her.
"Amy! You did it!" Tails said into the mike ecstatically. "You've gone Super! Wow! I am so amazed! Wow!"
Amy didn't hear it, and only saw a faint image of Sonic laughing mockingly, and pointing at her.