Hello, my wonderful friends! I missed you all so much! ...Even though I only didn't hear from you in a week. For Ri2 it was two weeks!
And, Ri2, for the LAST TIME, Knuckles and Fliara are not actually biologically related. Knuckles found Fliara's egg abandoned on Angel Island when he was 12 (in my stories he's 24) and took care of Fliara, and the two grew up together, and became like brother and sister. They are not actually related, but their bond is no less because of it.
I've told you more times than I can count, Ri2! How could I possibly say it clearer? No offense, though. You're a great friend! And I was really relieved to get your review, I thought you had forgotten about me!
Oh, and as for Isu, I explained the Drake thing in chapter three. You should read the closures. They explain lots of stuff. And Sonic is going to be struggling against death for the next day or so. Yay!
To Samantha, I am very glad that you understand that Sonic's OOC-ness is made to torture him, but I also realize I went a little overboard with it in chapter five. I'm trying to support his fear with moments of thought such as the ones in early chapter five and early chapter three, but I admit I went way overboard! And Sonic is this frightened because there is NOTHING, I repeat, NOTHING he can do to fight these monsters. He's helpless. He hates it, but the pain and dark and fear is too much for him. He breaks down. And the ghosts attacking him have the power to fiddle with his mind and cause reasonless fear. Don't worry, from here on out the OOC won't be so overly extreme, but Sonic will suffer unimaginable pain and torture in other ways. And I didn't totally make Sonic too OOC. He's still loyal and persistent, and all in all his good hearted self, but he's also hurt and he's also scared, and this has gotten rid of his overconfidence and obnoxious ego, the things that I hate about Sonic. I'm trying to make Sonic's situation sound serious, in such a way that it would give him reason to be this frightened. Any suggestions on how I could give Sonic a more explicit reason to be this terrified would help.
And to Leeve, I already knew what an okapi was. I was going to say, but you ruined it. (Pouts.) And why didn't you put Fliara in your Monty Python story? I think she would have made a good knight who says 'Ni' or maybe the black knight. You know, the one that gets his limbs cut off... yeah, that's a funny part.
To phantom, and everyone else that reviewed. Thank you kindly, these reviews keep me going, and I'm glad that I'm doing so well. Although this chapter turned out quite the piece of crap in it's first draft, and it needed a lot of work. It's also the second to last chapter with emotional parts before the story takes a huge turn. So, here it is. And I think that I did well!
To Behindtheshadow, thanks for reading this, but you didn't review... (pouts)
The group walked as fast as they could down the street, not wanting to run because it would draw attention to them. Fliara was not even flying, and everyone was silent, not daring to mention the horror they had witnessed that morning.
Fliara hurried her friends inside Amy's house (It was the nearest place.) making sure that everyone was fine. Everyone then sat down, Knuckles deciding he wanted some answers on the past event.
"So that-... that ghost? T-That was the thing attacking Sonic?" He asked in Fliara's general direction. The dragon nodded.
"I believe so, Knux. I had no idea that it was that powerful, though. We sure have our hands full with this one. That is, if we make it." The dragon sighed and sat down, holding a hand to her aching head. Silence flooded the room. It was not like Fliara to be so negative. Tails shifted his weight, uncomfortable at his dragonish friend's lack of optimism, which had marked her personality for so long. The fox walked up and patted Fliara's shoulder.
"We can beat it, Fliara." Said Tails. "After all of the battles this team has been through, we're not going to back down to a little ghost." Tails said. Fliara's eyes snapped open and she gave the fox an annoyed glare.
"Don't be naive!" Snapped the dragon. Tails flinched away, surprised. "This thing is powerful, and dead serious. If we mess around or have an attitude like that, Sonic won't stand a chance, and neither will we! And what's worse, these spirits will be that much closer to their goal!"
"And what's that, Ms. Know-it-all?" Snarled Shadow. Fliara turned to give the hedgehog a meaningful scowl. The black hedgehog shrugged and looked away, but his accusation still hung in the air.
"That much I don't know. It could be the usual world domination thing, or maybe they're just out for power and entertainment. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." The dragon answered, turning back to her former position.
"And when exactly will we get to it, then? We have no leads as to what this thing is, what it wants, or how it plans to get it." The black hedgehog answered. Fliara sighed and stood up, brushing some dirt off of her thighs. Shadow had a point.
"I could try another tarot reading." She said, when Alexi scoffed and turned to the dragon.
"On who? Sonic? Face it, he's not going to be any help for a while." The leopard criticized. (One of her favorite things to do.) Fliara sighed heavily, knowing that Alexi was right. The dragon nodded, and walked over to Amy and Sonic, looking at the poor blue hedgehog. He lay, unmoving in Amy's arms, wide-awake, as he had since the 'attack'. He had not released Amy's arm quite yet, but his expression had calmed slightly. He had not spoken or moved or made a sound for what seemed like an eternity.
Fliara hated to see her nemesis like this. Fliara wanted to be enemy to someone she could pick a fair fight with, not a broken shadow of a hero, marked no longer with bravery and strength but failure and fatigue. She was angry with the ghosts and Sonic as well, but in reality could blame no one but herself. It was kind of her fault. She was the one that had made Sonic return to the apartment in the first place.
"Is he going to be okay, Fliara?" Asked Amy calmly. The dragon took another look at the pale hedgehog, who was breathing heavily. She did not feel like telling Amy her answer right now.
"I for one want to know how and where we're going to find and fight this thing." Said Knuckles. Fliara put her hand to her chin, a habit she had when she was thinking.
"I think I know how we can find out." Fliara said, taking her backpack from the ground and taking out a book on ancient shamans.
Fliara and the others were soon crowded around the book that she had spread on the floor, opened to a page with a picture of a daemon shrouded in black fog and it's neighboring page filled with beautiful calligraphy. The illustrated demon was none other than the same kind that attacked Sonic. The team now had a lead. Fliara picked through the script, looking for useful information.
"I thought I recognized those spirits." Fliara said, scrolling a finger down the page, looking for specific data. She stopped at the third paragraph, smiling slightly at her success. She began reading the literature, and her friends listened intently. "These 'hunter spirits' are the most powerful servants of Dan-Chilack, the most deadly spirit ever to attack the good forces of the world. They may appear at any place at any time, and can only be driven off by a few methods, some spiritual, and some not. The downside to these servants was that they could only hunt one victim at a time, but usually succeeded with acceptable agility, making them indispensable units of dan-chilack's demonic army. Few remain, and are dormant without orders from their mutually dormant master. They are the last remainders of the demon army after the spiritual battles." Fliara said.
"What in the world were the 'spiritual battles?'" Asked Rouge, bewildered.
"Your guess is as good as mine. It sounds important, though." Fliara flipped to another page, this one depicting a battle scene between hundreds of dark monsters and bright, winged warriors. Most appeared to be bird or moth-like, while others had the appearance of other creatures. Shadow seemed pleased to see one with spikes, while Tails was happy to see a dog-like warrior. Weather it was a fox or wolf could not be determined. "I think it was a battle over the fate of the world. It was between light and dark shamans, but it was actually a very small battle and apparently no one else on the planet believed it to be any more than a pointless quarrel between old crazy shaman." Fliara said, looking across the artwork. "But according to this book, the fate of the world was at stake. And Dan-Chilack was the leader of the dark army" the dragon mused, placing a finger on the half of the page containing the dark monsters.
"So the things that attacked Sonic are servants to someone named dan-chilack?" Asked Knuckles. He scoffed. "Sounds like bogus to me. Besides, those things are way too powerful to be servants."
"And besides, Why would they be attacking Sonic? Or anyone? The light shaman locked their 'master' away. Who would they be getting orders from?" Questioned Rouge, equally suspicious.
"I know." Fliara said. "So there's only one solution." The dragon mused.
"What's that?" Asked Knuckles, skeptical.
"Dan-chilack escaped."
Dan-Chilack had been a powerful shaman in his early days, but when he began to use his powers for evil, he was assassinated by the shaman's guild before he could do any damage. But, his powers had become so great, that he returned as a threatening demon, intent on dominating the world. He forged the 'demonic army' out of his dark magic and attempted at world conquest. He was defeated by eight Shaman, some young some old, and locked away for centuries.
It had been two hours since the incident at the apartment. Sonic's condition had not improved much to Amy's dismay. She had been trying fruitlessly to stir him from his paralyzed trance of fear, but he had not woken, simply staring into space with a frightened expression. Amy had, however, managed to keep him warm, which was a troublesome feat due to the fact that Sonic had stopped producing his own body heat after the attack. The blue hedgehog still had not let go of Amy's arm.
Amy sighed and tried again to get Sonic to respond, talking to him and stroking his quills.
"Please, Sonic, stop it... come on, wake up, I'm here, Tails is here, everyone is here, nothing is going to hurt you... please, Sonic..." Amy begged, desperate for his recovery and well-being. Fliara could not help but overhear, and she again felt guilty.
Even if the dragon had never liked Sonic, she had deep respect for the love Amy and Sonic shared and never wanted to disturb it. But if it had not been for Fliara, Sonic would never have gone to the apartment, and he would not be in such danger. Fliara wondered if Amy understood the extensive severity of Sonic's condition. The dragon could see such sorrow in her friend's eyes, and it hurt. Fliara never liked to make mistakes, she tried so hard not to. The dragon sighed. Her entire life of training and still she was a fool. How long would it take until she was a hero?
What Fliara did know about the situation was that Sonic had been attacked by one of the hunter spirits of Dan-Chilack, who had indeed escaped, and was attempting at his comeback. There were no more Shaman in the world, (except for Fliara, and she wasn't a very good one yet) So who could fight him this time? And more importantly, these hunter spirits were too powerful. They couldn't be physically injured, and Fliara wasn't experienced enough in extermination or destruction spells to get rid of them. If Dan-Chilack could not be defeated, it was only a matter of time before Sonic's soul was devoured entirely and then the spirits moved on to another hero.
Fliara also understood Dan-Chilack's plot. His hunter spirits were going to try and kill every hero one by one, starting with Sonic. Fliara felt a pang of envy that Dan-Chilack had thought of that spiny blue pincushion to be more than a threat than she was. The demons would usually have killed their target by now. It was a miracle that Sonic had survived even this long. It wasn't long before the spirits would get frustrated and attack with unfathomable zeal; maybe not even Amy's protective aura could save him then. Fliara sighed. But maybe they wouldn't have to. Sonic had been nearly killed. Those soul-suckers had nearly sapped him dry; the "blue blur" was now clinging to life with such desperation that Fliara was amazed.
Even in his terror, Sonic had become strong in ways he hadn't been before. Sonic, in Fliara's point of view, was nothing but a pig headed undeserving thoughtless bastard and nothing more. An overconfident, stuck up, shallow moron that didn't deserve the respect he got from the community. He had the authority to help the world's more complicated problems and he didn't. If he said that people should work harder and do something with their lives, they would listen. The last time Fliara had suggested that the fans of Sonic stop wasting their time obsessing over him and start fighting to make the world a better place, (like a real hero would do,) she got too many tomatoes thrown at her than she ever wanted to see again.
But after the attack, Sonic had obtained humility, insight, (to small extents) and his ego had taken quite a blow. If Fliara had any say in the matter, these were just the things Sonic needed... but not like this...
Sonic had nearly been killed, nearly had his very soul ripped from his flesh.
Sonic could be dying. And it was her fault.
Fliara was shaken from her thoughts when Amy suddenly shouted:
"Sonic stopped breathing!" The pink hedgehog shouted, horrified. Fliara sprung to her feet, willing to help in order to make up for her mistake. But, Fliara stopped dead in her tracks. She had no idea what to do in the scenario that someone stopped breathing. She had never been taught. Amy however, her knowledge in medicine prevailing, sprang into action, and began breathing air into Sonic's lungs, rubbing his chest to help stimulate the muscles. The pink hedgehog was shockingly calm, but upon deeper inspection Fliara could see fear in Amy's eyes. Not fear for herself, but for Sonic.
"Sonic... Sonic, please..." Amy begged, fighting desperately to start him breathing again. It seemed to go on forever, Amy breathing into his lungs, everyone surrounding the two in panic. Finally, after a total of two minutes, Sonic sprung to life, coughing and sputtering. Amy immediately seized him in her arms. The hedgehog coughed and struggled, but finally settled into a normal cycle of breathing. Immediately afterward, Sonic collapsed, and seemingly fell asleep, closing his eyes.
Fliara knew better than to guess that he was sleeping. He was still in the fearful trance. The coma-like state from which he may never awake. His soul, a great quantity of it, had been... damaged... and Sonic was clinging to life with an unfathomable vigilance Fliara didn't think possible. The dragon was starting to regain faith in herself and her nemesis. It was good to have an enemy again.
A collective sigh of relief passed through the room. Rouge collapsed onto the nearby couch, sighing.
"That was too close. I can't take much more of this... " the bat said. "It's too hard on the adrenaline-" Rouge stopped when an almost unbelievable sound began to come from Sonic's direction.
Amy was crying quietly into Sonic's chest, unmoving from his side. Fliara again was consumed by guilt, and looked to the wooden floor. Amy must have realized the probability of Sonic's survival. Tails looked distraught, not understanding Amy's sorrow. He walked up to her side, trying to help.
"Amy? What's wrong?" Asked Tails. "Sonic's okay! You saved him!" Tails said, attempting to comfort his friend. Amy pushed him away, which startled the yellow fox, and turned to Fliara.
"He's going to die, isn't he?" Amy asked. At first the dragon did not want to look up from the wooden floor, but soon Fliara looked up at Amy, guilt eating at her.
"The odds are not on his side... I-... I would give him till morning, but if he doesn't wake by then, I- ..." Fliara did not finish her sentence. Amy cried silently, holding Sonic and the other heroes stood silent in remorse. Even Alexi seemed to express a small amount of pity. (A huge step for her.) As the silence spread throughout the room, everyone's thoughts strayed to the subject: what if Sonic died?
Knuckles would miss his friend, but otherwise be next to unphased. He would get over it eventually, but... that did not stop the idea of losing a friend painful.
Rouge had the same outlook as Knuckles, but she would mourn for both him and Amy, who everyone knew this would be the hardest for her to accept.
Tails couldn't imagine the thought of his best friend, his hero, Sonic the hedgehog, dying, so he didn't.
Fliara was solemn. Who would she race against now?
Shadow and Alexi gave no indication as to what they thought, but each knew the other's thoughts on the opinion of Sonic's death. (I will not give away the plot twist for those of you who do not know it)
Amy did not think about Sonic's death. She didn't dare think about it. So she thought of what would come after; Sonic's revenge.
"Fliara." Said Amy, placing Sonic back in the chair he sat in. "I want to know more about this dan-chilack. What he wants, and most of all, how do I kill him."
Fliara sat on the ground, book before her, as her comrades sat around her in a semicircle of surrounding chairs and couches. Amy sat, cradling Sonic, in a comfy chair, Tails knuckles and Rouge sat on the Sofa, while Shadow had brought a chair from the kitchen. Alexi stood by the dark and shadowy corner of the door.
"Dan-chilack... Dan-chilack..." repeated Fliara, sifting through her shaman book again. She finally came to a page, which depicted a wide, circular stone building with a tower in the center and two and a half pages of script on the subject. Fliara sighed heavily and began to read. "The labyrinth." Said Fliara, "Was the stronghold of Dan-chilack, it's inside tunnels a gigantic maze, full of traps. In the maze were seven rooms, containing devices that would open the door to the next section of the maze. These devices were guarded by Dan-chilack's dark magic, in which he used the opposing warrior's greatest fear against them" Read Fliara. "If the warrior succeeded in conquering his or her fears, they could pass into the room and control the device, opening the gate for their comrades. Not every gate needed to be opened, for the warriors could take a different route, but when a gate was opened, it meant the warrior would have to stay behind to keep the gate open. The workings and positions of the gate meant that at least five warriors had to succeed in defeating their fear or the shamans would never reach and defeat Dan-chilack. The warriors that did not defeat their fear were held prisoner by Dan-Chilack until the day of victory. A small band of light shaman during Dan-chilack's attack, when they entered the labyrinth and it's seven chambers, completed this feat. The final warrior confronted Dan-chilack and won, saving the fate of the world and locking away the demon for the next five centuries. The labyrinth disappeared as fast as it had came." Fliara then turned to a map, and placed her finger on what looked like plains. "According to the book, and if Dan-Chilack is really back, the labyrinth is here." She said. The heroes looked puzzled, and Knuckles picked up the book, examining the map closely.
"That's impossible." Said Knuckles. "That's right where we are right now. If the labyrinth were there, it would have to be right in the middle of the ci-"
A silence fell upon the room.
"How big is it, Fliara?"
"About one square kilometer. Why?"
"I think it might have just sprung out of the ground a few blocks away."
Yep, the plot has been revealed. Just two more chapters before we enter THE LABYRINTH! Where all of the REALLY creepy stuph happens. And yes, Sonic could be dying. I don't want to kill him off yet, though... decisions, decisions... Oh well. In Fliara's words, I'll cross that bridge whenI get to it. Anyway, next chapter is going to be preparing for the battle and is the final outcome to whether Sonic survives or succumbs to the ordeal of having his soul nearly ripped out of him. And It's fun, making Sonic a wimp. Umm... I would like a fan-character for the SHORT role of angry FBI agent. This is Optional. If I don't get one, I'm making it an angry red fox.
I also apollogize for the corny-ness of this chapter. It will get better in a little while, after a chapter of explaning and then a chapter of Fliara getting angry, which immediately afterwardsfollows withthe labyrinth. Toodles!