"Blood... I thirst for blood! I must write stuph that contains blood!"
"Calm down, komodo!" Shouts Shadow, soon hitting me in the head with a frying pan. I immediately fall down, unconscious. "Ugg... well, since komodo is acting so weird, I'll do the intro!"
"Over my dead body!"
Shadow hits me over the head again.
"Umm, you see, these are what komodo calls ONE-LEGGED-RABBIT chapters! ...She calls it that for two reasons. One; their usually sappy and adorable, two; they hop around in little, pointless, depressing circles and eventually fall over twitching while they can't get back up until they're hit by a car, at which their innards splatter all over the roa- ...Sorry. But, we FINALLY enter the labyrinth here, and there's some humorous action going on-"
"Whoot, action!"
"You're supposed to be incapacitated!" Shouted shadow, annoyed. I nod understandingly and again start to act... err... incapacitated. Whatever that means.
"Hey, Shadow, how can you use a word that I don't even know the meaning of if I'm writing this shi-"
"Silence! And there is also a dragon-emotional scene. One of those big, dramatic speeches they like so much. It will be enjoyed by all. She also has some Sonic misery in here. Yay."
"YAAAAY - don't eat the fish!"
"Shut up!"
Sonic, Amy and Tails sat down at the table, eating breakfast and listening to Knuckles, who had been talking non-stop all morning. You could tell the red echidna was worried about his sister. He was picking up all of the backpacks prepared for the labyrinth attack and distributing them amongst Rouge, Shadow and Alexi, keeping two for himself. The backpacks had a label on them depicting whom it was for. There wasn't one for Sonic, because Fliara thought that he wouldn't be coming.
"Okay, I think I have a few ideas where Fliara could have gone." Knuckles said, handing out maps. "She's probably so mad at us because we always side with Sonic. ...Why am I so tough on her all the time!" The red echidna sighed heavily. Sonic scoffed under his breath, but Amy caught him and gave him a strict glare. He rolled his eyes. He could personally care less about the dragon.
"Don't feel bad, Knux. Maybe Fliara just went back home to get some stuff from her place or something." Rouge suggested. Knux shook his head.
"No way. Did you see how angry she was? Who knows where she is?"
Shadow took a step forward.
"Well it's not like Fliara to run out on a battle. She knows how important it is we beat Dan-Chilack, and it's almost noon. Maybe she's at the labyrinth." Shadow said. Knuckles shrugged.
"She knows we'd look there first. I don't think she wants to be found." Knuckles said. "She's really mad, guys. We better find her, before she does something rash." Knuckles almost laughed at himself. Fliara? Rash? That was an oxy-moron.
"Well it doesn't matter. We're going to drag that little reptile back here if we have to knock her unconscious!" Alexi snapped. Knuckles glared.
"You lay one finger on my sister and I'm gonna-"
"Knuckles! Fliara can take care of herself! She'll show up, she's just mad. We should go to the labyrinth." Said Rouge. The red echidna shook his head.
"Not a chance! We have to find her! She's the only one who knows about this black magic stuff. Without her, we might as well be trying to put out the sun." He lectured. Silence was heard form his friends, but they knew he was right. "So it's decided." Knuckles said, looking at his friends. "We go looking for Fliara."
"I want to go to! I know Fliara better than they do!" Tails said, pointing to Shadow and the others.
"You agreed to help and watch Sonic." Knuckles said. Sonic promptly sat up, insulted.
"H-Hey! I'm not some baby! I don't need-"
"Right, you're just a sixteen-year-old who can't walk." Said Alexi. Sonic glared.
"Seventeen." Argued Sonic, sinking back into his chair... "And it's not my fault."
"Just stop it!" Shouted Knuckles. Everyone froze. "We don't have any time to spare! We have to find Fliara and get to the labyrinth before the police try and go in there!" Shadow nodded.
"Who knows what could happen to them in there! The longer we take the more innocent people that could get hurt."
"Killed, Shadow, killed. Dan-Chilack isn't going to just 'hurt' people, you know." Alexi pointed out.
"Never mind. Let's go. We have to find her, fast."
The echidna, leopard, hedgehog and bat left, leaving the three youngest of the group behind. Sonic grumbled incoherently and poked at his breakfast with a fork; he had already eaten, but Amy insisted he have a large portion; he hadn't eaten anything yesterday. He had been hungry, but talking about that damned lizard had gotten him all flustered, spoiling his appetite. He had never liked Fliara, ever since the day she showed up. She always had to be so wise and superior, so humble and perfect. Could she ever make a mistake? And she always thought that she was so much better than he was. She hated him back, because he was a hero and she wasn't. She was nothing but a jealous want-to-be.
"Sonic?" Amy asked, seeing how flustered he looked. "You aren't hungry?" The blue hedgehog looked up at her.
"No. Not right now." He answered, setting down his fork. He tried to stand up, forgetting about his weakness, and almost fell over. However, he quickly caught himself by grabbing the arm of the chair. He collapsed back into the chair, and was immediately depressed when he recalled that he couldn't move, shrinking back into his seat and staring sadly at the ground. Amy sighed in pity.
"You'll feel better later, Sonic. It's okay." Amy said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Sonic stared into space, not responding. An uncomfortable pause was heard throughout the room.
"I'll clear the table." Said Tails, picking up the plates and walking to the kitchen. Amy turned to the young kitsune in response
"Thank you, Tails." Answered Amy. She then stared down at Sonic, who seemed to be miserable and frustrated. She sighed. What could she do?
Suddenly, a thought came to her, and she smiled. The pink hedgehog snuck an arm around his waist and put another arm under his knees, picking him up and carrying him to the living room.
"H-hey! What are you doing?" Asked Sonic, nervous. Amy could feel his quickening pulse through his ribs, which were pressed into Amy's stomach as she carried the small blue hedgehog.
"You'll see." Answered Amy. "I think it will help."
"Oh where are you, Fliara?" Knuckles mumbled to himself, looking up and down the street as he ran through the town, looking for her. "Fliara!" The red echidna called, gazing around frantically. At no sight of her, Knuckles sighed and kept on moving, worrying about his sister. He raced down the barren roads, empty due to the hysteria of the labyrinth, and turned a corner, exiting the City Square.
As he slowly disappeared from view, a small red dragon reappeared from her hiding place behind a rooftop air-vent, and made her way back to the edge of the one-story building she had been sitting on. The cold-blooded comrade sighed; she just couldn't face Knuckles now. She didn't feel like it. The red dragon was still mad, and might do something she would regret. Fliara resumed her perch on the side of the building and looked down at the civilians commuting the Town Square below her. The roads were empty, but people crowded the sidewalks and bartered at the food stands, their mumbling discussions lost in the background murmur of the city.
Fliara took out a slice of dried mango and munched away, whishing she could be as content with herself as the people below her. The dragon twirled the stick of dried fruit in her claws, sighing heavily.
They always took his side. Even her own family. Which was really only Knuckles and even he would always pick Sonic's side in an argument. If she couldn't trust her brother, who was there? The dragon took another bite of the fruit, trying to keep her thoughts clear. She couldn't think about Sonic now. Her thoughts wandered, back to her childhood, back to the time she spent with her big brother on Angel Island...
Fliara had never knew or seen her parents; Knuckles had no idea how her egg had shown up on the island. As far as he had told her, he just found it one day and that was that. No note, no message, no idea as to what she was doing there. Knuckles had this big theory that the master emerald had created her, and that she was some big, powerful creature, like chaos, that was going to be the stuff of legends one-day. Fliara used to believe that, but not anymore.
The dragon returned the fruit to her pocket, and looked back at Station Square, sighing at the sight. All the people, the beach, all the homes and trees and animals... Fliara started to wonder if it even mattered. Eventually, all of this would be gone, and no one would care that it ever existed. Even if Fliara was the strongest, wisest, most powerful hero in the world nothing can stop the fact that one day none of it would matter. She sighed. Did her efforts have eternal value or no value at all? Now that was a question that had been bugging her lately.
Fliara sighed and stood up, standing on the guardrail of the roof. She took a tall jump into the air and flapped along, trying to get these doubting thoughts out of her head. There wasn't much time before she was going to have to face them all anyway.
Knuckles moaned; he knew it was hopeless. Fliara was nearly invisible when she wanted to be, and even if she was found catching up to her was nearly impossible. Fliara had trained endlessly since she could walk to be strong and wise. She learned from mistakes. And had made them often- she was such a nosey little thing when she was little! She actually wandered into a porcupine den one time! Knuckles chuckled to himself. It had taken hours to get all of the quills out. If he wasn't mistaken, Fliara still had a scar from that event. He had been very worried about her, though. At the time, she had been no bigger than knuckles' hand!
Knuckles shook his head. Those days were over. Fliara wasn't a little kid anymore. She could take care of herself now. She really didn't need her big brother to tell her that she 'shouldn't fly so high up' or should 'be careful around sharp objects'. Knuckles sighed. Maybe she didn't need her big brother at all.
Suddenly, a streak of orange shot overhead, and Knuckles looked up, surprised. That had to be Fliara! He ran after the orange blur, eager to talk with his sister.
"I-I can't!" Protested Sonic from where he sat, looking up at Amy sadly. How could she expect this from him?
"Come on, Sonic, just one little step, I'll catch you if you fall!" Amy said, as she stood in front of him, a couple of steps away. Sonic shook his head in disbelief.
Amy had carried him out to the City Park; "to get some fresh air" she had said. She had then walked to the center of the field, and placed Sonic in the grass, walking a few steps away from him and then asking him to try and walk towards her. Every time Sonic denied, and refused to move, after all, how could he? Sonic didn't understand Amy's intentions and didn't want to. Amy stared down at him, disappointed, feeling bad that he didn't even want to try. That wasn't like him. She sighed and picked him up, carrying him over to the side of the field. Sonic was relieved, thinking she was finally going to end this foolishness and take him back home. Well, back to her home anyway. Which really was the only home Sonic had now; the ghosts destroyed his last one. He might as well call Amy's house home. After all, She wasn't about to let him stay anywhere else; she was too worried about him right now. Sonic snuggled into her arms and waited, expecting her to carry him 'home'.
Instead, Amy set him on the bench, and took a few steps backward. Sonic moaned, and hung his head in his hands.
"Amy, you know I can't, and I know I can't! Would you just leave me alone?" He moped, staring at the distant tower of the labyrinth, standing like some alien meteorite far in the distance, rising above the surrounding skyscrapers. He shuddered, disliking the appearance of the building, even from far away, where it was nothing but a light blue silhouette in the distance. Sonic's thoughts were interrupted when Amy held her hand out an arm's reach from Sonic. The blue hedgehog starred at it quizzically.
"Just try, Sonic. Come on, I'll help you up." Amy offered. Sonic again refused. Amy leaned forward and grabbed Sonic's hand, pulling him to his feet. At first it looked like Sonic was going to fall but he caught himself, leaning into Amy's arm, slowly gaining balance. He still wobbled quite a bit, though.
"A-Amy!" Sonic protested, trying to go back to the bench.
"Oh no you don't. Just take one step, Sonic, that's all." Amy said. Sonic looked up at her, and gulped nervously.
"Just one?"
"Just one." Repeated Amy, as Sonic clung to her arm for support. Sonic sighed shakily, and gingerly lifted a foot, only to immediately place it back own again after nearly loosing his balance.
"I-I can't!"
"Calm down, Sonic. Just try." Amy said. Sonic sighed, took a deep breath, and quickly took a step towards Amy. At first he seemed okay, but he quickly fell after ward, Amy catching him. Sonic instantly moaned and pushed Amy away, sitting down in the grass.
"I told you I couldn't!" He protested sadly. Amy sighed and slowly draped her arms over his shoulders, feeling guilty and at the same time disappointed in Sonic. Not that he hadn't been able to, but that he didn't want to try...
"We could try something easier." She suggested, shrugging. Sonic groaned in frustration and leaned into Amy, exhausted.
"What's the use? I can't walk." He grumbled, angry. Amy sighed in pity and gave him a firm hug. Sonic gladly cuddled into her embrace; after all, it wasn't her he was mad at.
"Then we can go home. Just one last thing I want to try." Amy said, standing up, and lifting Sonic up with her. Sonic's feet remained on the ground, but Amy's arm supported him by his waist, while his arm dangled over her shoulder, and the other fell at his side. He glanced up at her, confused. "Just take a couple of steps. I'm practically carrying you; it'll be easy." She said. Sonic looked up at her doubtingly, but managed to take a couple of steps without having to struggle for balance. Amy was actually holding him up and all he had to do was move, but Sonic felt better anyway; he was actually making progress. As he kept taking the small steps, Amy slowly removed her arm from his side, giving him less and less support. Sonic didn't seem to notice and was eventually taking some small steps entirely by himself, but once he realized that Amy had let go, he panicked. He stumbled over his own feet and fell over, Amy just barley catching him before he hit the ground. Sonic wrapped his arms around Amy's neck and buried his face into her shoulder, a tear of frustration falling down his cheek.
"I told you that I couldn't." The hedgehog said hoarsely. "I just want to go home, Amy. Can we please just go home?" He begged, exhausted and drained. Amy stared down in pity and disapproval. She was pushing him to do what he had begged to do; fight. She was giving him what he needed to heal and fight back. He had actually done it; he had walked for a few steps all by himself. But he didn't want to be pushed. He didn't want to work hard towards it. Amy was worried. It was as if he just wanted to withdraw into her arms for the rest of his life. Amy shook her head. No. That wasn't her Sonic.
Maybe Sonic did want to fight back, but... It was complicated.
Fliara liked challenges that would take a long time to solve, like storing up for winter or getting strong enough to lift a certain boulder on the mountainside or something.
Sonic disliked those challenges to hell and back; he wanted tasks that could be done right now. Difficulty wasn't a problem, but as long as it could be done fast. That's another reason Sonic hated training. It would always take so long to get better. He was content with how he was.
Fliara herself hated those small, fruitless tasks. That was another reason that the two never got along.
Amy sighed and hugged Sonic back, ruffling his quills. He squirmed at the odd, but stimulating sensation.
"Sonic, if you want to get better, you have to keep trying at this. You were doing great." Amy said, brushing and smoothing the now un-orderly quills. Sonic gave an odd noise of annoyance, somewhere between a groan and a whimper.
"No I wasn't. I just want to go home, Amy... can we please go? I'm ...I'm tired." The blue hedgehog complained. A yawn followed his sentence; and he snuggled into Amy's embrace, looking quite comfortable. His eyes closed and his breathing slowed as he began to drift off to sleep. Amy sighed, but smiled none the less. She wasn't going to get anything else out of him. She stood up, carrying him, and started back home. Maybe he did deserve to rest.
Knuckles slowed down a little, panting from exhaustion. He was so close to Fliara now that he could hear the familiar "flit-flit-flit" or her wings. How long was Fliara planning to fly up there? Sure, the dragon loved the sky but this was a little much, even for her. The red echidna looked to his wristwatch, seeing that it was 10:30. There wasn't a lot of time until they had to start heading to the labyrinth. This wasn't like Fliara at all. Knowing her she would be pacing back and forth, counting the minutes and training extra hard. She must be really mad.
He shook his head and looked up to see that Fliara had no intention of slowing down. He took a deep breath and shouted to her.
"Fliara! Please come down!" Knuckles begged. Fliara's slipstream faltered as her wings twitched, but otherwise she didn't move. "Fliara!" He complained; jumping over a park bench he almost ran into. The dragon looked back at him, and apparently decided to stop. She swung her feet below her and spread her wings to catch the wind; flapping them a little to slow her decent even more, and eventually was hovering over the ground with small jerky movements of her wings. She then snapped her wings to her side and dropped to the ground, her knees absorbing the blow as they bent. It was her classic way of landing. A quicker method would be to land on the ground at full speed and begin to run.
Knuckles sighed as he caught up with her, and slowed to a walk, stopping just behind her. He put a hand on her shoulder.
"Fliara, what's gotten into you?" The echidna questioned, exhausted. Fliara was panting slightly as well. The dragon turned, her muscular tail swinging behind her; hugging close to her. Anything different and it might dismember people from the knees down, due to the freakishly sharp tail-spade. The dragon didn't look angry, but did look solemnly quiet as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, her claws resting on her elbows. Her bangs fell in strands in front of her hard, slate eyes, and she brushed Knuckles' hand off of her shoulder.
"You know the answer and I know you know the answer." Fliara answered, giving a brief, angry nod. Her wings twitched, something that only happened when she was angry, and her tail swished back and forth in the dirt with annoyance. Knuckles sighed and scratched the back of his head.
"Hey, about what happened back there, with Sonic and everyone... I'm sorry if you think it was unfair but you were being kind of mea-"
"And he was being kind of stupid!" Fliara snapped, turning around and sitting down, the soles of her feet pressed together and her knees up by her shoulders. Her clawed hands rested on the ground. "Why do you guys always pick his side! You always agree! Even if you know he's wrong!" The dragon's wings shuddered; like a bird ruffling it's feathers in annoyance. "It makes me sick! Does he have that much of an influence that even when he's pathetic and injured-"
"Fliara! ...Sonic's my friend!"
"And I'm your sister!" Fliara argued eyes wide. "But apparently that doesn't mean anything, so why is 'friend' any better!" The reptilian looked away and set her feet on the ground, resting her elbows on her knees. Knuckles sat down next to her. He was, for a few seconds, out of words...
"Sis- ...listen, I don't like being the bad guy here. And I'm not the bad guy." Knuckles paused to let Fliara intrude if she wanted to. She didn't. Knux continued. "You're family, nothing's going to change that, and I will always be on your side. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna abandon my friends. I mean, you wouldn't be mean to Tails just because I didn't like him."
"Maybe if he was acting like an idiot and deserved it." Fliara grumbled. Knuckles moaned.
"You're not giving me a lot to go on here."
"I'm not trying to!" Fliara partially laughed. But it was not a laugh of joy. Knuckles sighed and looked up at her.
"What did Sonic do that was so wrong anyway?" Knuckles asked.
"He thinks this is going to be easy. He doesn't want to do any work. He doesn't realize that we are, more likely than not, going to die in there." Fliara said. "He's beyond overconfident, Knux. It's going to kill someone some day. I don't want it to be me, or you, or Tails, or Amy, or any of you guys!" Fliara said. "But one of these days he's going to make a mistake. And if he's not prepared for that... if he doesn't realize his own mortality... he could be putting thousand of needless lives, including his own, in danger. It's that foolishness, that... that... inconsiderate thoughtlessness... it makes me sick, Knux." Fliara said. The red echidna nodded, understanding.
"Well, maybe a certain blue hedgehog feels the same way about a certain red dragon." Knuckles sighed. Fliara turned to face him, eyebrow raised in question.
"What do you mean?" She asked, curious. "I'm nothing like him." Knuckles laughed.
"He constantly complains on how you always have to be so perfect and humble and rub it in all the time. He doesn't like how you're always right. He thinks that you're too confident that you'll always be right."
"Me! Overcon- ...no!" Fliara stammered angrily. Her wings twitched in annoyance. Knuckles laughed, and patted her on the shoulder.
"It's not that bad. You're really good at staying focused and knowing the severity of the situation- you're not overconfident. But you do kind of like to carry a superior air wherever you go. It drives him crazy."
"Well he drives me crazy with his carelessness. He has no acceptance for responsibility."
"And you have no acceptance for making mistakes. You beat yourself up, and other people, over it too much, Fliara." Knuckles sighed. "At least... what I'm trying to say is that everyone's got their faults, Sis, some more than others have. But there's a good side to everything. You just got to look for it. Not everything is all holes and errors, and you have to nurture what's right and edit what's wrong, gently, without changing who they are. Fliara, if you could just wish away Sonic's faults, you'd break him. He wouldn't be our Sonic anymore. If Sonic could wish away your faults, you wouldn't be my little sister anymore. I don't want to loose either of my two best friends." Knuckles said, giving her a friendly punch in the shoulder. "Sonic will never be more important to us than you and neither will you be more important to us than him, everyone's equal. You're both people and nothing either of you say about each other is going to change that. Sonic was just hurt; we didn't want you to hurt him anymore. And maybe sometimes we give Sonic more credit and you not enough, but it's just a habit, one we'll try to change. He's been around longer. But you're still important, Fliara. We love ya like crazy. After all, what would our lives be like without our hyperactive little red dragon?" Knuckles asked, playfully shoving her. Fliara had to smile.
"You don't mean that."
"Sure as hell I do! Now get your tail back over to Amy's house so we can get ready for the labyrinth." Knuckles said. Fliara stood up, happier on the inside than she'd been since eating four cups of noodles straight. (Cup-a-noodles noodles. See Legata's adventures in Tri-gun land) She grinned up at her big brother.
"Sure thing! As a matter of fact..." the dragon said, beginning to walk down the path.
"...I'll race ya!" Fliara said, beginning to run. Knuckles shouted in protest.
"Hey! No fair! Get back here, you had a head start!" Laughed Knuckles. The two raced and laughed back to Amy's, not unlike the old times they spent on Angel Island, growing up together.
1..., 2..., 3...
Aww!
All these emotional sibling moments! How did I write this crap? It's like signs all over again!
Notice the word SIBLING. Those of you who are thinking about Flinux, it because you CRAZY AND SICK-MINDED! They are brother/sister. You say otherwise, I eat your spleen. Oh, and by the way, no chapter break for you. Yeah, I know what you're thinking; THIS CHAPTER IS INSANELY LONG! Well it is! ...And it's a one-legged rabbit.
Amy walked through the door, closing it quietly behind her. However it was a difficult task, considering she kind of had her hands full.
She was still carrying Sonic, who had refused to try and walk by himself ever since the incident at the park, and had fallen asleep halfway back home. He was overall acting kind of pathetic and it was starting to worry Amy; Fliara had said that the ghosts would hurt Sonic both physically and mentally but Amy hadn't wanted to believe it.
She gently lay Sonic down on the couch; not bothering with a blanket because it was practically noon and it was plenty warm outside. Amy then walked through the living room to the kitchen, to see Tails making a tuna sandwich. The yellow fox turned to her, surprised.
"Hi, Amy. Where'd you take Sonic?" Tails asked, unknowing of Amy's efforts to get Sonic to walk. The pink hedgehog shook her head.
"To the park. I was trying to get Sonic to practice walking, but..." Amy paused, and looked away. "He was doing fine for a second, but once he realized that I wasn't carrying him anymore... " Amy trailed off.
"He froze up?" Estimated Tails, spreading some mayonnaise on the bread.
"Exactly." Amy answered. She walked to one of the wooden chairs by the kitchen table and sat down. "I know that we have to bring him to the labyrinth, and that I'll be there to take care of him, but... " Amy shook her head. "He's just so weak right now. I don't think he could stand it in there. From what Fliara's said, it sounds awful. It could tear him to pieces." She looked up at Tails. "I don't want anything to happen to him. He needs rest. He needs to heal, to get better. And if I take him to the labyrinth, he might not have time to do that. He might be scarred for life; he would never be my Sonic again." Amy rested her head in her hands. "That's what I'm afraid of."
Tails paused from his sandwich and patted his friend on the shoulder.
"Sonic may be weak now, but he's still our Sonic. And nothing can ever-"
"AAAAAAAAH!" A scream interrupted Tail's sentence, and the two promptly stood up and ran to the living room, knowing instantly that it was Sonic.
The little blue hedgehog was sitting upright, shivering, and looking absolutely terrified. Amy ran to him, and took him up in her arms, stroking his spines affectionately. Sonic looked around, quite scared.
"Nightmare?" Asked Tails. "Again?" Sonic nodded quietly but otherwise remained in Amy's arms. "This is bad. I can tell. He's practically having these nightmares ever time he falls asleep. That can't be a good sign."
"I know, I know." Replied Amy, a little too preoccupied comforting Sonic, who seemed no more interested in Tails' words than the sofa. The little blue hedgehog clung to Amy; after the nightmares and the attacks and the pain it was as if she was the only good thing in the world. He was a little too frightened to think of giving his other friends credit at the time.
"Maybe he should eat something." Suggested Tails. "It could help him get some of his strength back."
"Unless it can make the nightmares go away; I don't want it." Answered Sonic quietly, burrowing his face into Amy's shoulder. She stared down at him for a second. The pink hedgehog put a finger under Sonic's chin and forced him to look up at her.
"Only you can do that, my Sonikku." (ACK! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I USED THAT WORD! HOLY CRAP!) Amy gave him a quick kiss. "I can't fight all of your battles. You have to keep trying to walk and keep trying to ignore the fear. Then the monsters will leave your dreams. I promise. But I can't do it for you." She partially laughed. Sonic frowned. He didn't see anything funny. He squirmed inside her embrace, uncomfortable.
"Are you sure?" Sonic asked.
"Absolutely." Answered Amy
"Sandwiches are done!" Called Tails from the kitchen (how'd he get over there so fast?)
"I FOUND FLIARA!" Shouted Knuckles, bursting through the door, panting heavily. A happy red dragon followed him.
"No fair, Knux, you cheated! You only won because you took that short cut!" Fliara complained, giving Knux a friendly punch in the shoulder.
Sonic looked from Amy, to Tails, (who again had magically appeared for no reason) to Knuckles, to Fliara, then to Rouge, Alexi, and Shadow. (who I've decided are here. Yeah. I'm lazy)
"So-"
And then the authoress got so bored with the emotional crap she'd been writing for the past week that she skipped scene 23 entirely and went straight on to the sight of the labyrinth. After all, she had lots of barnacle cuts on her palms for when she fell into the ocean and typing hurt. Ow.
"So that's the labyrinth?" (REALLY crappy way to start out the scene) said Knuckles, gaping at the building before him. Similar amazement was given from the rest of the group.
The outer stone wall of the labyrinth was huge, black and ominous, looming tall over the surrounding one-story buildings and making the beanpole skyscrapers look silly in comparison to the buildings sheer bulk. The small furry heroes could not see all of it, the wall tore and hid through half-destroyed buildings and eventually disappeared in the distance. A gargantuan, spindly tower stretched from the center of the building into the sky, disappearing into the clouds, making the skyscrapers look small.
"Think about it; that hunk of rock is just one part of a square-kilometer circular building, all jam-packed with demons and evil and endless corridors." Said Shadow, folding his arms in front of his chest.
"Did your homework, eh?" Mocked Alexi. Shadow shrugged.
"Along the lines, yes."
Sonic seemed uncertain, and backed away from the huge black building, looming in the distance. It was at least 20 meters away.
"Oh, Sonic, don't go getting cold feet now." Said Tails, turning to his hedgehog friend, who was leaning into Amy for support; he still couldn't walk on his own but he could at least carry some of his own weight.
"I- I'm just a little nervous."
"After al the fuss you made about getting left behind!" Accused Shadow. Sonic shrunk into Amy's arms, embarrassed.
"I-"
"It's okay to be afraid. Fear is also one of the most useful things in the world. It lets you know when to take something seriously. As long as you don't let your fear control you, you are brave. That is bravery, conquering your fears, not ignoring them." Said Fliara. Everyone froze. That was a little mature fro Fliara. And not only that, she defended Sonic. Fliara winked, her claws forming into a makeshift thumb's up. "Now, with that lesson learned, let's go kick some serious demon but!"
The surrounding heroes gave out a cheer, (except for Alexi) and followed, walking towards the police-car barriers and Do-not-cross tape. Suddenly, an angry-looking fox jumped in their way, holding up a F.B.I. badge.
"Just what do you think you're doing? This is a restricted area! Unless you can show me some identification, I aught-a arrest you!" Snapped the red fox, tapping his foot impatiently. Fliara ignored him, and looked beyond him at the gaping, cave-like entrance to the labyrinth.
"How many people have gone in there?" Fliara asked. The F.B.I. agent was a little taken back.
"I said show me some identification!"
"Would this do?" Said Fliara, stepping aside to show the agent the better known heroes. He took a step back.
"...Okay, okay, I know who you are. But why are you here? This is still a restricted area; you can't go in here without a permit!"
"I'll show you my permit you little" began knuckles, holding up a fist. Rouge elbowed him in the stomach and smacked his fist down.
"Keep your temper!" She scolded. But still, the fox was starting to get on everyone's nerves.
"I said, how many people have gone in there?" Asked Fliara, not liking to be ignored. The agent looked at her.
"Like five. But that doesn't change the fact tha-
"Let's hurry." Said Fliara, walking towards the building. The F.B.I agent jumped in front of her.
"What do you think you're doing? Go back home! We have the situation under control, an-"
The agent was soon silenced with a quick boot-to-the-head from Rouge. He went into a gleeful spat of giggling, then fell to the ground, twitching slowly. Rouge kicked him again for good measure.
"That was SO annoying..." Rogue shuddered, stepping over the unconscious guard. They were lucky that the other policemen didn't see them. The group followed Rogue and Fliara, crossing over the barriers (Sonic needed Amy's help.) and walking over the hard pavement. Knuckles jogged up to Rouge's side, grinning jokingly at her.
"Hold you're temper, eh?'
"Oh, be quiet."
The team entered the labyrinth through its huge, intricate entrance, with gargoyles watching over them and snakes coiled around the pillars. Sonic felt a shudder pass through his body as he entered the building, and had the oddest feeling eh was being watched. He turned around and looked outside. He didn't see anything unusual.
"Sonic, do you want me to carry you again?" Asked Amy, noticing that he had stopped his new habit of leaning into her, Amy supporting his weight, while he would trod along rather successfully. Sonic looked over at her.
"No, I 'm okay." He said, cuddling into her supportive embrace. He stared once again at the exit, which slowly disappeared from view after the group took a turn deeper into the labyrinth. The sky could no longer be seen.
And it was terribly dark.
DUN! DUN! DUN! Yep, that's the chapter. Review. Now. I want reviews from BehindtheShadow, leve, Isu, Ri2, phantom, Angel, amberspike, Samantha27, Spadehand, Ted, electragirl and Nick. I'm not kidding. Stop laughing at me. That's everone who's still reading, that's who I expect to review! But I don't know what happened to Spade, Sam, Nick, Ted and Electragirl. They're like... gone...