Fish just in; 'Omega laboratories' has nothing to do with 'Omega' the robot. I made up the company before Sega introduced the robot's character. Yeah, that's right, the bastards copied me! And one day I WILL sue!
Anyway, onto the origin of this chapter...
I figured, "hey, I haven't done a scene in Sonic's P.O.V for a while in this story, so, why not?" I tried to stress how having a hundred demon chihuahuas trying to tear your legs off was kind of traumatic, and I guess I fit in a small amount of mush.
Actually, Sonic thinks very little about Amy in this chapter in comparison to the others. What can I say? I thought it was an improvement.
Knux fans will be very happy at the end of this chapter. I can guarantee it. Again, thanks for reading and I would LOVE to get some reviews!
Everyone: Merry Chupacabra day.
(Sonic's P.O.V.)
I closed my eyes, but all I could see was blood and teeth and those horrible, bug-like monsters.
They had been all over me. Swarming, biting, clawing... they were going to eat me alive. I can still feel their fangs sinking into my skin, how it stung as they lapped up my blood and my tears. I think they liked the taste or something. I feel a soft hand stroking my wounds, and I know its Amy. She's sitting here, holding me, so gently. It's like I'm made of glass, and she's afraid that she'll break me if she holds on too tight.
I wish that she'd hold on tighter. I'd feel safer that way. I just know it.
It still hurts. I know that I'll be okay, but that doesn't stop the pain. I should be fine, actually, and in ways I am, just tired... and scared. I don't understand why it's okay for Tails to be afraid and for Fliara to be afraid... while everyone seems to get mad at me when I get scared. Except for Amy. I think she likes taking care of me. In truth, I like being taken care of. But that's not the point...
They were everywhere. It hurt. There was blood... I hate blood. It was terrible. I really didn't think I would escape. I thought they were going to kill me. No one can tell me what to think about it, because they haven't been nearly eaten alive by a swarm of dog-scorpions, have they? No. They can't tell me not to be afraid. It hurt. It was scary. I can't even move my right leg anymore. Amy says it will get better, but I'm not sure I believe her.
Fliara's awake now. She hasn't said anything... Poor Knuckles. Poor Tails. I wish we never came here.
...I'm so tired. I roll onto my side so I'm facing Amy, and try to move closer to her. I really wish she would hold me tighter. It's so cold in here. ...I think she started to wrap me up in a blanket, but I can't be sure. I'm falling asleep. I hope I don't have nightmares.
I fought trans-vis-script-phobia! Whoot for me!
Alexi watched the two hedgehogs wordlessly, her slitted pupils dilating and shifting in interest as the pink one took Sonic up in her arms and gently sung him a lullaby. The blue leopard's ears flicked back and forth, listening to the words and melody.
It was a curious thing, love. Ah, yes, Alexi had seen much of it. It interested her. And of course she could see how it began, why and how it was made, and what it usually led to. She understood it, like many things, down to its fine details and up to it's simplest explanations. However, she had never felt love for very many things, and could not quite recall the last time she looked upon something with care.
The leopard chuckled lightly, staring down at the two hedgehogs. It would be easy, nearly effortless, to snuff their lives like candles and listen to their souls cry out for each other in turmoil. It wouldn't be the first time. But she knew very well that she wouldn't. She didn't really want to. For many reasons. This hedgehog, the blue and now the pink because the meaning she held in his life, were important factors of her existence.
She stared over at Sonic. If he knew for a second where he had come from, how he came to be, he would be quite surprised. Alexi again laughed to herself, picking her fanged teeth. He could not help that his origin was so vile, he didn't even know about it, and Alexi doubted Shadow remembered... And maybe that was for the best.
The dragon and the bat were still upset about the echidna's death. Pity, Knuckles could have done many great things in his life. (Alexi defines 'great' as 'big and death-explode-ey')
The leopard, nothing else to do, closed her eyes and let her thoughts wander into the many paradoxes scattered at the end of her conscious.
"I can't believe he's gone." Rouge said quietly to herself. "Just like that- gone. It's not right."
Fliara's slate eyes, hardened with rage and bitter vengeance, no longer had their majestic sheen. The dragon's claws twitched slightly; a sign that she was wound up like some toy mouse- anyone who dared to touch her would risk getting their head cut off. The dragon's thoughts were non-existent, as her eyes took in the darkness and her blood boiled within her.
"...Knuckles didn't deserve that." Shadow said, flicking away some pebbles scattered on the cobblestone floor. "No one deserves that."
"Well, no-brainer there! He was (censored for your moral safety) eaten alive!" Alexi scoffed. Her dark chuckles rolled to silence, and there was a brief pause. "You know what? I take that back. Omega laboratories; they deserved to be eaten alive." She concluded.
Shadow looked over at the leopard that had devoured his thoughts for the past year, and could, quite easily, picture her taking a drink of some alcoholic beverage at that moment. And Shadow was sure that she would have; had not alcohol be effect-less on her. She'd need to drink about 5x more than her stomach could contain in order to get any form of high off it. So what was the point? Shadow felt his spirit sink at Alexi's predicament. A past of pain, no future, and no way to drown the memories. It made him feel like crying.
She could have been such a beautiful person... she was so strong, and literally invincible, ...she could solve the world's problems quite realistically. And yet, she was a monster... she laughed at the death of her victims. She was exactly what she was supposed to be: a suicidal monster with no way to die and every way to kill. She had no circumstances. She could very well kill them all at this second and leave. Shadow was sure that she was thinking about it.
She broke the rules of karma and balance. She did not have to obey the laws of the world, of death and life and revenge.
She could, quite literally, do whatever the hell she wanted. And she did.
"We should get to sleep. We still have about 6 hours of night." Fliara said expressionlessly. The dragon then curled up, her long tail draped over the rest of her body and her wings shielding her from view.
The rest of the heroes, agreeing, also went to sleep.
Three hours later, a certain bat sat wide awake, unable to sleep as tormenting thoughts bombarded her mind.
Rouge stared up at the stone ceiling. It wasn't fair. Why? He shouldn't of had to die... it wasn't fair... She punched the wall in anguish. Knuckles should have lived...
He was a brother, a guardian, and a friend... he had too many responsibilities to die! It wasn't fair! The bat rested her face in her hands and sighed heavily. True, she had been taking it better than Fliara, but it was eating her up, and something about it was persistently bugging her.
This was like the feeling she got when Shadow had been presumed dead. There was something... not right about it. Like it wasn't supposed to happen. That time her suspicions had been correct, Shadow was indeed alive. But Rouge knew that this time she was wrong. How could Knuckles have escaped, anyway? And Tails... was Tails dead as well? Fliara said no, but how could she be sure? Rouge regained her composure and sighed.
If Knuckles and Tails were indeed dead, it only proved that Dan-Chilack was not to be taken lightly. If he were allowed to continue, then the world would perish indefinitely.
Rouge was stirred from her thoughts when she heard a strange noise, coming from down the hall. The bat snapped to attention, springing to her feet, and was about to wake the others, when...
Something clicked, in the back of her mind, something odd, and she was compelled not to wake her friends. She stood there, uncertain why she was standing there, listening to the surreal footsteps come closer. She readied into a battle stance, as her ears flicked back and forth, struggling to come up with a sonar picture over the excess sound. It did her no good.
Suddenly, something lunged from the darkness, landing in a heap in front of the startled bat, who gave an immediate shriek as she saw what lay before her...
(Okay, Here's where I demand that you guess what it is. Think about it REALLY hard. I think it should be obvious.)
"Knuckles!" Rouge exclaimed, sinking to the red echidna's side, and helping him to his feet. The red echidna smiled up at her, and gave her a gloved thumb's-up.
"Thought I was done for, didn't you?" The violet-eyed guardian mumbled, wincing from the pain in his arm. Rouge looked over him; he was covered in numerous but not serious scratches and pierce wounds, save a deep gash on his arm. The bat stared down at him, wordless, before slapping him soundly across the face. The red echidna fell down to the ground, surprised, and stared up at the bat, dumbfounded.
"How dare you make us worry like that! How dare you! I thought you were dead!" The treasure-hunter yelled, waking the surrounding heroes. "I... Knuckles, I though you were dead..." the bat repeated hysterically. Knuckles stared up at her, surprised. Suddenly, the bat burst into something between laughter and sobs and pounced upon the red echidna, clasping him firmly in a hug. "Don't you EVER do that again, you knucklehead!" She shouted, squeezing him tightly. Knuckles laughed and patted Rouge's back.
"Hey, I won't." He answered, looking over at the rest of the heroes, who were waking up.
Fliara, barely awake, took one look at the magenta-eyed marsupial and gave an inaudible shout, tackling Knuckles to the ground.
"Knuckles! You're alive! Dear god you're alive!" The dragon shouted gleefully. Before Knuckles knew it, he had been tackled by nearly every member of the group, save Amy who was far to busy keeping Sonic upright and Alexi who was far to busy quietly smiling in the shadows.
There was much rejoicing.
"How did you survive? Those monsters... they were terrible!" Sonic questioned enthusiastically, slightly squirming in Amy's embrace. The red echidna shrugged and chuckled as Fliara rolled over in her sleep; the dragon had simply not been able to stay awake, and thusly collapsed on the spot. He fondly ruffled his sister's hair.
"I really don't know. First I'm trying to keep those things from eating me alive, then, they all just scurry away, like they had somewhere better to be." He said, taking a drink from the soda Shadow had offered him. Amy had tended to the red echidna's wounds, (Sonic had gotten kind of jealous.) and the red echidna was now fine. "I don't know why they left, but they did."
"Which direction did they go?" Asked Shadow, looking at a map of the labyrinth (a very crude and inaccurate one, but a map anyway,) and plotting out their course. Knuckles shook his head.
"It was kind of dark. It sounded like they scurried in every direction, though." Knuckles said. Shadow paused, and looked up from the map.
"Like they wanted to get away?" The black hedgehog suggested. The surrounding heroes starred up at him.
"What are you saying?" Asked Sonic, shifting around in Amy's arms. The black hedgehog stared down at them.
"I'm thinking that maybe... they ran away from something bigger?" Shadow suggested tonelessly. Rouge frowned.
"It's quite possible. That would mean that something very big is following us. Something dangerous." The treasure-hunter concluded. She paused to let the words sink in. "Is that true, Shadow?"
"It could be." He mused. There was a moment of silence throughout the hall, and no one dared to break it for quite some time.
Suddenly, as if to purposefully ruin the aura of dread, Fliara gave an adorable yawn and rolled over in her sleep, curling up to save warmth. Knuckles laughed.
"She's got the right idea. We should all sleep. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow." The echidna laughed, lying down. The others agreed, and took out the various blankets and sleeping bags. Shadow hesitated.
"What if this thing is waiting for us to sleep?" Shadow suggested. Alexi chuckled darkly.
"Then it would have got you before Knuckles showed up. I'll stand guard anyway, if you're going to start crying on me." The leopard scoffed, wandering into the darkness to scout the halls for monsters. Shadow, his dignity dented, grudgingly took out a sleeping bag. Sonic smirked.
"Is the ultimate life form scared?"
"Oh, zip it."
Sonic shrunk away from Shadow's threatening tone, and curled up contentedly in Amy's arms. The entire group followed Fliara's wordless advice and went to sleep, although finding it difficult due to the unsurpassed joy in their hearts at the fact that their friend was alive.
None had nightmares this night.
It's a chapter. You love it. Now review.