Author's Note: Whoa, another update in less than a month? Guess I've finally gotten on the roll here with this story!
Glad you're all liking this so far and thank you so much for all of your support. Happy reading!
I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog. All rights belong to Sega. I only own the OCs.
Episode 19: Ghostly Showdown.
One night on Seaside Island, everything seems to be peaceful as all of the residents of the village were fast asleep. Except on the small island not to far from the main one, which was almost completely deserted save for an inbuilt castle, there was an haunting echo of laughter, distorted with a mixture of high-pitch and deeply low.
But there was one voice where it sounded so desperate, so sad, so impatient, speaking out into the darkness of night. Then a ghostly image of a beautiful woman, who strangely resembles to Chris' mother Lindsey, only she was wearing a medieval pink long dress, her hair all bunned up, coming out from the island's cave, her voice echoing.
"My dear true love...I'm waiting...I'm waiting..." She softly cried out, reaching out for the sky...only to suddenly transform into a terrifying toothy-evil grinning monstrous ghost with haunting eyes, and her voice distorted into a deep-low one, continuing. "I'm WAITING!"
It would seem that Seaside Island was about to face a very terrible event and a curse that has been locked up for centuries.
Until now.
The next day, with a week having passed since the whole shrinking adventure, Sonic, Tails, Amy, Cream and Cheese, Ella, and even Lindsey were all on Seaside Island as the famous Thorndyke actress was called in to perform for another movie shoot right here on this island, and the Mayor of this town happily agreed to allow the producers and movie crew to film right here.
The blue hedgehog yawned in boredom as he laid on a tree branch not too far from the movie shooting, but well out of sight to avoid in accidentally being seen. The sets were all gathered just near the village with another actor near by and the village, being good enough to act like in the olden days, was briefly seen for the movie. Nearby, his friends watched Chris' mother wearing a pink long gown and a bunned-up blonde wig.
'Wouldn't it make more sense to make a tropical movie around here? Like being shipwrecked or somethin'.' Sonic thought to himself, as he found this sort of thing to be utterly boring. Worst part is, he hasn't seen Manny around which the hero of Mobius had been looking forward into seeing again, but he guessed that the green hedgehog and his parents weren't here at the moment.
"You looked fantastic in that last take, Lindsey, but I'd like to give it one more go, take it slower, and let those tears go this time." Said the Director, who was somewhat satisfied but wanted the scene to be more realistic. He then turned to the actor and added to him. "And Roger, please try to show some feeling this take."
While the director was talking, Lindsey took the moment to wave at her son and his friends who all waved back, before she went to try again for this take.
"This is boring. Think I'll go explore the island away from this set 'til it's over." The fourteen year old sighed, deciding that he wanted to do something more fun and interesting. So he leaped off of the branch and calmly wandered away from the group, putting his trust in Ella to watch over his friends, especially Cream and Cheese.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group moved up a bit further for the next scene as Lindsey, acting her role to pretend to cry in tears as she chased after Roger who was acting as a character named "Bret", since this movie is apparently based on some old story on this island.
"Oh, Bret! Please come back! Don't leave me forever!" Lindsey cried out, fully into her character, who was named Lisabeth, gazing over at the beach as 'Bret' rowed away on a large ship, which was really all just for the set of the movie.
"And cut!" The Director ordered, ending the scene.
But moment he did, somewhere within the Village inside the Mayor's Office hidden behind a wall, an unusual crystal which was glowing began to pulse. Because something strange happened on the deserted island, and near another beach where Sonic was exploring, a mysterious pink distorted wave made him stop before it vanished.
"Huh?" The hero of Mobius murmured, blinking in confusion as he suddenly felt a cold, dark, chilling feeling in the atmosphere, his stomach dropping at the creepy thing that just happened, causing him to mutter in concern. "I don't think this is part of the movie."
Whatever this strange distort wave was, Sonic didn't like it. But as he looked around wondering what just happened, he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Confused, he just shrugged and continued to wander around the more safer parts of the island despite that he so badly wanted to explore the rest of it.
"Yo, Sonic!"
"Hm?" Blinking at the familiar voice calling out his name, the blue hedgehog looked up and saw to his delight was Manny, who was flying over on his Extreme Gear, waving at him. Sonic smiled and waved back. "Hi!"
The green hedgehog smirked before doing some mid-air stunts and flipped, and then slowed to stop. He hopped off of his board and grinned. "Had a feeling I'd be seeing you again, my man."
"Glad to see you too, Manny." Sonic chuckled, sharing a fist-bump with his newest friend. "So, where've you been? I thought you went away or something."
"Oh, sorry. I was practicing over the mountains and the jungle." Manny shrugged sheepishly, prompting a laugh from himself and his fellow hedgehog, before asking. "So what brings you here, dude?"
"Chris' Mom invited us to shoot for a movie. Well, she's pretty much acting the part while the rest of us were just to watch it. But to tell the truth, I'm not a fan of those mushy, romantic drama films." The cobalt teenager explained scratched the top of his head. "So I decided to explore more of this place without disturbing all the dinosaurs."
"Well, you're wanna learn something a bit more interesting than a shooting of a movie, even though the mushy, drama stuff ain't my kinda thing either, I can show ya' something that might be a bit more of a mystery to learn." The other teenage hedgehog suggested. "In fact, this story's been around for decades. Centuries even."
"Really?" Sonic blinked, finding himself a bit more interested.
Later that afternoon, while everybody was taking a break, Manny lead Sonic back to the Village which it's villagers were setting up for a festival of sorts.
"Sure looks like everybody's doin' something special today." The blue hedgehog remarked with interest.
"It's mainly for the Seaside Peace Festival." The green hedgehog explained. "Legend says that ordinary humans would come here and some even used to live here. Though there was one couple who lived on the island close by, but it's been deserted and nobody will goes there anymore since it's off limits."
"Why am I getting a feeling this sounds just like the movie Mrs. Thorndyke is shooting for?" Sonic asked, skeptical over this story.
"Uhhhhh...Maybe because the script is based on the true story?" The young Extreme Gear Rider shrugged, a bit sheepish as he didn't even realize it.
The hero of Mobius looked at him with a deadpanned expression. "So what's the real story behind this, Manny?"
Manny flinched a little, before he rubbed the back of his head as he answered. "Well, let's just say that ghosts have something to do with it."
That made Sonic suddenly think about the strange distortation he'd seen earlier. "So what you're sayin' is that the forbidden island which is next door neighbors with Seaside is haunted with ghosts? That sounds a little bit weird."
Though to be fair, the blue hedgehog has had seen his uncle's spiritual form a few times for eight years, but he had passed it off as his imagination and while he did believe in the afterlife where spirits move on to rest in peace, Sonic never actually believed in ghosts that could haunt people and/or kidnap them to possess their bodies to cause trouble.
"I wouldn't say that if I were you, Sonic. They say that once every a hundred years after a tragedy occured five hundred years ago, or maybe five thousands or something like that, I can never remember, but anyway, after what happened then, a ghost of the dead maiden would try and find a suitable host who is supposedly reborn only in body to find her lost love and would attack if our village's Light loses it's power." The emerald hedgehog cautioned, suddenly a bit nervous.
"You mean if the electricity goes off? I'm not so sure about ghosts, but I don't believe in curses." Sonic rolled his eyes, finding this superstition way too silly.
"Well, have you ever seen a ghost before?"
"Of course not." The cobalt speedster scoffed, holding a hand up. "But I don't think ghosts would just come out and play just because this village's electricity supply has issues. When's the last time that's happened?"
"Uh...Before I was born, I guess." The young Extreme Gear rider blinked, surprised.
Sonic blinked, before rubbing the back of his neck. "Whoa. I'm surprised that blackouts are rare around here."
"Sonic!" Chris's voice called out, causing the two hedgehogs to look up and saw the human boy along with Tails, Amy, Cream and Cheese run up to them. "Hey there, Manny!"
"Hey, guys. How's Mrs. Thorndyke's shoot going?" Sonic waved back as the rest of his friends approached and greeted the green hedgehog who happily returned it.
"It's okay, though the crew members are taking a break. They said something about learning a bit more on the movie's real story." The twelve year old boy explained.
"You mean the one about ghosts? Manny was just telling me a little bit about that." The blue hedgehog asked.
"Ghosts?" His younger friends blinked, suddenly surprised.
Before either two male hedgehogs could respond to that with the teenagers sharing a glance, a voice called out a front where Sonic and his friends looked up to see a large crowd gathered with the Mayor who is a Mobian Beaver on the stage with a cloth covering something. Curious, the group got up closer and excused themselves to get a better look, with Lindsey and the rest of the movie crew also watching in interest.
"Welcome, villagers of Seaside Island of the Unnamed Village, and tourists who are wondering why we call our Unnamed Village the Unnamed Village, though in truth, nobody really knows, but that's what makes the unnamed village more interesting!" The Mayor exclaimed in excitement...
Only to be met with deadpanned and unamused silence from the crowd with a cricket chirping in the background, while Cream and Cheese both looked very confused, as did Lindsey.
"I think you might want to ask your manager or writer to re-write your script for your movie right now, Mr. Mayor." Lindsey suggested, causing Chris to facepalm himself with a ground and his Mobian friends looking at her bewildered.
"Your mother really didn't say that, did she?" Tails whispered, incredulously.
"Yeah, she did. Sometimes she's clueless." The young Thorndyke shrugged apologetically.
"Well, you can't really blame here. He just said Unnamed Village at least four times and that should be illegal." Amy pointed out, her hands on her hips in vague annoyance.
The Mayor, very annoyed, grumbled to himself. "That's it. I'm firing my speech manager." Clearing his throat, he continued. "Anyway, I am glad you are all here to celebrate another celebration of the Seaside Peace Festival. We will now reveal the display of the 500 year old painting to show to the public. As I unveil this masterpiece, please gaze with reverence."
As he pulled away the cloth to reveal the painting, everyone gazed at it in awe, while Sonic's group gaped in shock and surprise to what the painting looked like.
"Whoa!" The group exclaimed.
"No way!" Tails cried out, his eyes wide in disbelief.
"What the!?" Sonic blinked, dumbfounded.
"She looks like...!" Cream murmured.
"Mrs. Thorndyke in her costume!" Amy couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Oh my! It's a painting of me, but...how could it be 800 years old when I'm only in my early thirites?" Lindsey cluelessly blinked.
"Mom, that isn't you, it's just the costume you're wearing that's making you look just like the lady in the painting." Chris pointed out.
"Huh. Talk about a coincidence." Manny blinked, surprised as he glanced back and forth between the two, before commenting to the boy. "Your Mom does look identical to Lady Lisabeth."
"You mean she was real?" Sonic gaped with a flinch.
"Quite as real as you can get, young man." The Mayor, having heard the conversation, making the group look up at him again as he explained. "Lady Lisabeth and her lover Bret once lived in a beautiful mansion on the Stone Island which is now off-limits. One day, he was called for duty for the royal Navy, but she begged him to not leave her. Instead, she was forced to wait in their home. Tragically, nobody knows how or why she died, but some say she died of a broken heart, while others say-"
"That's it's haunted ghosts!" A Walrus in the crowd spoke up, shuddering in fear, much to everybody else's confusion and skeptisim.
"W-What!?" Tails, Chris and Amy exclaimed in fear while Cream and Cheese whimpered in fright, while Manny shuddered and Sonic just sighed again.
"Oh yeah, because of that, for years her spirit waits to find a suitable host in a body of her reborn, possess the reincarnation and cause terror should our village's power supply lose it's light!" The frantic Walrus continued.
While most of the crowd murmured in concern, the hero of Mobius shook his head in exasperation and Lindsey remarked in excitement. "Wow! That is just like the movie I'm starring in! Except, who has hired you to write a sequel already?"
"I don't think it's part of a sequel, ma'am." Ella pointed out kindly to one of her employers.
'If people are really that scared of it, why haven't they figured out how to solve that problem yet?' The blue hedgehog mentally asked himself, folding his arms.
Little did anybody know that things are about to become very spooky-literally.
That night after wrapping up filming for the day, everyone retreated to get something to eat before deciding to call it a night. The villagers went home as did Manny who promised to meet up with the group in the morning, while the visitors were resting up in the nice villa hotel. Chris had wished his friends and mother a goodnight before he and the boys settled in, and Amy, Cream and Ella were all having a girl's sleepover in the maid's room.
As for Sonic, he had just tucked Tails into bed in the room they were both sharing, while the young two-tailed fox cub had already fallen asleep and the blue hedgehog whispered. "Night, li'l bro. Sleep tight."
The hero of Mobius gently gave his adoptive sibling a kiss on the head before rubbing it, and then headed over to his own bed and it was moments later that, despite his thoughts on what he learned today running through his mind, wondering if maybe, just a slight maybe, that the legend is true.
'If that weird light I saw earlier is connected to the legend, could that mean the Seaside Island's energy supply is running out?' Sonic wondered, sitting on the edge of his bed, deep in thought. He still had his doubts, but he knew he should be more careful. He mentally sighed. 'I wish I could talk to Uncle Chuck and ask him about it.'
For a split second he felt comforting warm arms wrap around him that felt mostly solid but with a hint of a chill, as a ghostly image of his uncle hugged him.
"Sonny..." A familiar voice echoed, with a hint of sadness but also comfort.
Startled, the blue hedgehog looked behind him to see what it was, but when he did, the feeling was gone and he didn't see anyone besides the sleeping Tails. Looking around, the fourteen year old felt a little uneasy and started to think that he was in for a rough night.
"Nah, I'm just imagining things. Guess the story got me a little spooked." Sonic whispered to himself, before deciding to settle in for the night. He switched off the night-lamp and yawned, then fell asleep.
Yet no one was aware that behind the wall, the mysterious crystal flickered and blinked before it's light faded entirely and then it shattered, breaking apart entirely.
As though in a chain-reaction, the power all over the Unnamed Village was suddenly cut off and most of the electricity lights went out, leaving most people in the dark while those who used candles seemingly didn't even notice.
In the meantime, Lindsey was busy getting ready for bed herself, wiping away the make-up when she heard some sort of childish laughter.
"Huh? Chris, honey? Children?" Mrs. Thorndyke blinked, looking over her shoulder to see what was going on, but found nothing. Yet the laughing continued, which was soon followed by a mournful cry of a woman who strangely sounded familiar. She narrowed her eyes. "Alright, come out here! This little joke has gone far enough!"
But as she turned around, she still couldn't see anything, much to her confusion. "I thought I heard something. Perhaps it was just the wind."
What she didn't realize was that as she turned, the mirror rippled and distort before stopping. When Lindsey turned around to continue her work before bed however while commenting that it's been a long day, to her shock and instant fear, her reflection...had changed! While it did show off someone resembling to her, the face of the woman inside the mirror had a sinister evil look with a grin that revealed sharp teeth, pure white skin and glowing red and yellow eyes.
"Hello. I have been waiting for you...My reincarnation in body." The reflection suddenly spoke in a distorted voice, deep like a males mixed in with a woman's.
Lindsey's heart froze for a split second as she gave out a terrified gasp just as the lights all went out throughout the entire village, alarming everyone who were still awake.
"SONIC! WAKE UP!" Shouted an image of Uncle Chuck in a vast darkness, as the older blue hedgehog within Sonic's dreams looked frantic and panicky...
"AAAHHH!" Sonic screamed in alarm from the sudden nightmare, jolting upright and panted. "W-What the!?"
To make things worse, there was a sudden cold chill with an echoing sounds of childish laughter along with a distortion of a woman's added to it filling the air, and when the blue hedgehog attempted to turn the night light on, it didn't work. Blinking in confusion while wondering what was happening, the hero of Mobius turned to see Tails who had also woken up and looking quite pale, already walking towards him.
"Sonic! I keep hearing these voices! T-That wasn't you, was it?" Tails softly exclaimed, terrified.
"...I thought it was you." Sonic responded, a little uneasily. Suddenly he had a bad feeling this wasn't simply a coincidence.
The two-tailed fox cub gulped nervously with a sweat drop. "But, if it wasn't you, then t-that means..."
"Let's go check up on the others and see what they think." The cobalt teenager decided. "You got a flash-light on ya'?"
The seven year old kit nodded.
Once they got the flash-light and sticking close, the two surrogate brothers hurried to meet up with Amy, Chris, Cream and Cheese, Ella, and Lindsey. But when they did, they and the film crew found that the twelve year old boy's mother was unaccounted for and to make things more concerning, the power was out through out the entire village that even Manny came up to them. The villagers were all looking quite freaked out and worried.
So the group decided to try and locate the missing woman, searching all over the village even though the citizens were all fearful.
"Where could Mrs. Thorndyke be?" Sonic wondered aloud, his guard raised up to the highest level as he didn't want to take any chances.
"I don't like the looks of this." Tails whispered worriedly.
"This is really scary. I hope Mrs. Thorndyke is okay." Cream whimpered as she and Cheese were held close to Ella.
"So do I, sweetie." Ella muttered while attempting to comfort the frightened little five year old rabbit girl.
"Mom! Where are you?" Chris called out. "Please come on out!"
"This is starting to act like the legend, but I hope it's not true. It's giving me the creeps." Manny muttered worriedly, shivering.
"That's not funny, Manny." Amy scolded, trying to hide the fact that she was absolutely terrified.
But as Sonic and his friends called out for Linsdey again, they and the people around them with some of the villagers hiding in their homes with torches and lanterns all heard the same chilling laughter which made the group stop in the middle of the path with soft gasps.
"I-I don't like the sound of that...!" The eleven year old hedgehog girl whimpered, as she and Tails both held onto Sonic's arms on both sides in fear.
"Alright, who's there!? Come on out, whoever you are!" Sonic demanded bravely, as he noticed that nobody in the area was laughing at all and they did all look convincingly petrified.
Just then he felt something cold and wind-like brush against his legs as did both Tails and Amy, causing the trio to freeze up slightly that even the hero of Mobius was starting to get scared. Nervously looking down, to everybody's horror and shock, ghostly arms that were thin and slender-like began to emerge, forcing Sonic and his friends to gasp before stepping back as they and the rest of the villagers looked on to see tons of arms now tower over them.
To make things worse, hideous looking heads that resembled to monsters in people's fears and imaginations came along with the arms, revealing terrifying ghosts with sharp teeth and creepy googly eyes laughing in distorted voices.
"GHOSTS!" The villagers screamed.
"Run for your lives! The Meroke Crystal is dead! We're doomed!" The same Walrus from earlier exclaimed in dismay.
As the villagers ran for their lives, the ghosts began to attack and spread out their arms and preventing pretty much everyone from escaping. Sonic, knowing what to do in try and protect his friends, immediately took action and attempted to punch and kick at the ghosts. But because they were already dead, they had the power to make themselves non-solid so the blue hedgehog's attacks didn't work. Amy tried to do the same with her Piko Piko Hammer and Tails using Spin Dash, but like Sonic, they couldn't do a thing either.
"Maybe the legend really is true after all!" Sonic gulped nervously, once he and the others went back to the rest of the group.
To make things worse, the ghosts began to capture everyone as many tried to get away, but were brought into the ground and disappeared as though nothing was there. Sonic and his friends attempted to help but were forced to back off while trying not to get caught themselves even to the point of shining a flash-light at some. It did seem to work as the ghosts winced in agony by the light, and let out very loud screeches which made the heroes cover their ears. None the less, the seven of them backed up until they were all trapped in the middle, the ghosts, recovering from the lights, laughing manically.
"Stay close! Don't let them get to you!" The blue hedgehog ordered, as he tried his best to shield Tails, Amy, Chris, Cream and Cheese with Manny and the terrified Ella's help, all of them squeezing their eyes shut in helplessness, their hearts hammering in their chests and pounding loudly in their tears.
They were all terrified, even the hero of Mobius never felt so scared in his whole life besides water. If they were captured by ghosts, and perhaps become among the dead to forever haunt Seaside Island, they would never see their loved ones again and to Sonic's horror, Cream would never see her mother ever again...Mobius was doomed to fall into the hands of either Robotnik or the Iron Empire.
'Uncle Chuck...' Sonic thought, attempting to brace himself for the worst, and he and his friends all screamed when the ghosts had formed into a giant pale white hand which grabbed them all before pulling it's captured prey into the ground.
Sometime later inside a large stone chamber, Sonic, Tails, Amy, Chris, Cream and Cheese, Ella, Manny, and many of Seaside Island's residents all laid on the ground unconscious. Until the fourteen year old hedgehog began to awaken, groaning and pushed himself up, feeling slightly disoriented, chilly and more than a little uneasy.
"Huh?" Sonic looked up and saw the room, alarmed by what appeared to be a prison of sorts since there wasn't doors save for one, but it was wood and locked. "What is this place?"
By then, everybody else were beginning to wake up as well which he noticed, and, seeing his friends thankfully safe and sound, Sonic hurried over to them and knelt by Tails and Amy's sides. "Tails! Amy! Are you okay?"
"S-Sonic?" Tails murmured, before gasping in fright and sat up quickly. "The ghosts!"
"It's okay, bro. We're all here." The blue hedgehog attempted to reassure, even though he was still more than a little freaked himself.
"W-Where are we?" Amy groaned, rubbing her head, before gasping softly and immediately hugged Sonic tightly, much to his dismay. "Sonic! You're okay!"
"Ow! A-Amy, not so tight!" Sonic winced, even though he was relieved that his friends were okay. By then, Chris and the others woke up as well and the twelve year old boy called out to the hero of Mobius, who along with his two oldest friends turned see them approach.
"Is everybody okay?" The cobalt teenager asked, immediately, and was relieved when they announced that they were, but more than a little spooked. Not that he could blame them.
"I was so scared! I thought we weren't going to see each other again!" Cream sniffled, before she and Cheese both began to cry which prompted Ella to pick them up and cuddled the distraught and frightened little ones.
"There there, sweethearts. We're all scared. It's alright." The kindly maid gently rocked her two young friends.
"But, where are we?" Chris asked, looking around nervously. "Where did the ghosts take us?"
"Not sure, but wherever this is, we'd better wake these people up and get outta here." Sonic said firmly as he stood up, helping both Tails and Amy to their feet. "Then we figure out where they've taken your Mom."
Though the way he said it made Sonic even more frustrated. First Cream lost her mother, and now Chris. Then a strange odd theory formed into his mind which made his heart plummet into his stomach. It's been eight years since his uncle and fifty other people died and he has heard Uncle Chuck in that dream...
'Wait...What if there are other ghosts out there and had taken Unc' and all of those other people? What if they were never able to move on?' The blue hedgehog felt that the disappearance here and back then were similar even though the mission Sir Charles and Jules went to was on the mainland, not on South Island or even Seaside Island.
However, Manny's terrified voice brought Sonic out of his thoughts as the former backed away fearfully. "Uh...I-I don't think they're gonna let us get out that easily...!"
When the others turned to see what the green hedgehog was talking about, they all flinched in fright when they saw the rest of the captured people stand up...or rather hover in a zombie-like trance and to make things worse, their eyes and mouths changed to that of the ghosts, all grinning in a horrific way. The remaining eight almost all screamed that even Sonic wasn't immune to this.
"They've all been possessed!" Tails and Chris both cried out frantically.
"This is like out of a horror movie!" Sonic remarked with a sweat drop.
As the possessed people began to advance on them, the cobalt teenager quickly stood in front of his terrified friends while they all backed up against the wall, fearing for the worst. He couldn't fight as he didn't want to hurt the citizens which had their own souls either trapped by the ghosts, or sent to the underworld or whatever else he couldn't think of and didn't want to find out. The rest of the group all whimpered before bracing themselves for their end, and as the ghosts closed in on them, Sonic tried to hold back his fear yet knowing that this was the end while squeezing his eyes shut, wishing for all of this to be a nightmare.
"Oh, do not harm these young people, my servants. You have more than a enough as hosts." A slightly different distorted voice echoed.
Hesitantly looking up after realizing that he and his friends were okay, the group saw the possessed people move aside and all gasped in shock to see another hovering above them. One that was the first to have disappeared and now held the same face as the rest.
"MOM!? Chris exclaimed in horror, seeing that his mother was also possessed.
"Mrs. Thorndyke!" Ella cried out, covering her mouth with one hand as she held the horrifed Cream and Cheese in her right arm.
"Hello, living mortals. I bid you all welcome to my beautiful home of Stone Island." The Possessed Lindsey greeted in a very creepy manner.
"Stone Island...We're in the Mansion of...Then that means-!" Tails cut himself off as realization hit him and his friends hard.
"Yes, little fox cub with two tails. I am Lady Lisabeth, and I own this island." The ghost, identifying herself as Lisabeth, grinned.
"Why have you possessed Chris' Mother!?" Sonic, regaining some of his bravado, demanded. "What do you want?"
Lisabeth now frowned as she answered the blue hedgehog. "The soul of the woman who is the mother of your friend the little boy, sleeps inside. She has mistakenly been formed into my body that I now again gain control. This is my reincarnation and I have been waiting for centuries to claim what is mine."
"But I thought you were waiting for your boyf-I mean, your true love, Bret. Five hundred years did pass already, ma'am." Manny pointed out, nervously.
The ghost nodded Lindsey's head. "Yes, it is true. But I could not leave as my soul has become trapped here. I could not leave, or break this curse. I can only leave to find my dear Bret if and when my body has returned."
"The Ancient Crystal..." Sonic narrowed his eyes. "So you decided to kidnap Lindsey and use her body so you can go out while your friends take over everybody else just to do what they want? You were waiting for the island's power to run out. So why not possess us just yet?"
"Because you all would be useful. I know what you seek, which you will not gain. However, perhaps I can make a deal only if you are willing, blue hedgehog."
"Let us and Mrs. Thorndyke all go! We don't want to spend the rest of an eternity serving you, lady!" The hero of Mobius hissed.
Lisabeth giggled which made the group even more scared despite that Sonic tried to hold back his fears. "Very well. If you can find the new Meroke Crystal before sundown tomorrow and restore the power of the other island, and also bring the ancient Moon and Sun Tailsman to Stone Island, my servants and I will all release you and I will leave my new body. If you fail, only the eight of you shall leave alive and the rest of Seaside Island residents will all be my servants...Forever."
"Sonic...what do we do?" Amy asked fearfully, not liking this at all.
Even though the blue hedgehog felt that this was some sort of trap, he knew that in order to save everybody including Seaside Island, he had to do what Lisabeth wanted. "Guess we have no choice but to get the Meroke Crystal replacement and this Tailsman."
"But, we can we get the Crystal and the Tailsman?" Chris asked, worriedly.
"I think I know. There's a temple on top of the mountain I sometimes notice but I've never gone in there." Manny recalled, and when the others looked at him, he continued. "They say that the Meroke Crystal and something have been spotted there. But, I'm not sure if anybody's ever made it out alive yet, let alone with them."
"Then we'd better get there quick, or else Seaside Island's done for." Sonic declared, before turning back to Lisabeth and said. "I hope you'll keep your word, Lady Lisabeth. We'll find the Meroke Crystal and the Tailsman."
"Good. Now, only the three of you shall gain the treasures. The rest shall stay here." The ghost declared, waving her arm as suddenly more ghostly hands appeared and grabbed Sonic, Tails and Manny who cried out in alarm, much to the horror of their friends.
"Sonic!" Amy screamed in dismay. "Let him go!"
"Hey, let go of us!" Sonic grunted, as he and two of his friends all tried to pull themselves free, only to be pulled into the ground while screaming and the rest of the group backed away in horror, fearing that any of them would be next while the ghost of Lisabeth would pick which would go find the crystal and tailsman.
"Bring him back! You hear me!? Right now! You can't. Take. My. Sonic!" Amy screamed in distraught, before she collapsed onto her knees and cried, fearing that she would never see her beloved Sonic ever again. To make things worse, Tails and Manny were both gone as well, that she and the others lost three of their friends.
Even Cream once again cried, Cheese whimpered, Ella was stunned, and Chris felt like his whole world was crumbling. His mother was possessed, now three of his friends were taken away.
Lisabeth, seeing the pink hedgehog girl cry over the apparent loss of the blue hedgehog, gazed at the eleven year old as she briefly saw herself and for years prayed for Bret to come back to her, feeling some form of sympathy inside her very soul and the heart that belonged to Lindsey.
"Do not cry, little one. Your true love and friends are still alive." The ghost spoke, getting the devastated Amy's attention as she and the others looked back up to her. "I have simply sent them all back to Seaside Island where they will begin their quest. They have until sundown."
"R-Really?" The pink hedgehog sniffled, feeling a bit of hope.
"If that's true then...the rest of up to Sonic, Tails and Manny..." Chris murmured, though that still begged the question on all of this.
Why would Lisabeth pick the trio for Sonic's speed, Tails' intelligence and Manny's navigational skills?"
"Whoaaaaaa!" Sonic, Tails and Manny screamed as they were thrown out from the ground and tossed into the air before crashing back onto the soil outside. "Omph!"
Groaning while pulling his face out of the dirt, Sonic rubbed his forehead while Tails and Manny also recovered. "Couldn't she at least give us directions to the front door or somethin'?"
"Not ghosts..." The green hedgehog answered sarcastically.
When the two-tailed kit looked around to see where they were, he blinked in surprise and said. "We're at the foot at the mountain!"
The two hedgehogs looked up to see what Tails was talking about and gaped in surprise that he was right. They were outside of the village and near the mountain which lead up to the top that was covered in snow, strangely enough.
"What's going on? I thought she woulda made it more challenging." Sonic asked as he and the others stood up.
"No idea, but if we don't hurry now we're as good as done for." Manny stated, pointing up at the sky as the sun was already at the eight O'clock peak, meaning that they and their trapped friends had been unconscious all night since the ghosts kidnapped them and the villagers.
"Oh no! It's morning already!" Tails cried out in horror.
"Don't worry, Tails. My speed, Manny's Extreme Gear, your brains, this will be a cinch." Sonic, knowing that they had to get moving now, and while he did question Lisabeth in picking three of the top best guys for the job, reassured with determination.
"I can take us up there with my gear. Just need to over to my place for it." The young Extreme Gear rider offered.
"I can you there. Which house is it?" Sonic volunteered readily.
When Manny told him where to go, the two hedgehogs, thanks to the cobalt teenager's speed, raced over to his place to pick up the hoverboard and surprisingly enough, there were not one, but two, even though the second board looked a bit old.
"Why do you have two of them, Manny?" Sonic asked, curiously.
"It's always great to have back-up, my man." The green hedgehog grinned, taking the older board while handing over his best one to the blue hedgehog. "This used to be my Dad's board. He gave it me until I was able to buy my own, though I kept this one as a keepsake. Thought you'd might like to burrow it for the weather, but we have to be careful once we reach the top."
The hero of Mobius whistled. "Now we're talkin'! Let's do it to it!"
Hopping onto the Extreme Gears while Manny gave Sonic instructions on how to ride it despite the last time the latter was here, the two Mobians flew out of the house in impressive speed while meeting up with Tails who stood in surprise to see the hedgehogs, before his older brother offered him a hand. Nodding as time was already running out, the seven year old cub climbed on and held onto Sonic who along with Manny flew up straight to the mountain.
"Yeah! I love riding Extreme Gear!" Sonic cheered happily, smirking. "Might consider in entering the Grand Prix someday!"
"You just spoke my language, dude! We should have a race sometime!" Manny smirked, glad to have a friend who has taken interest in his lovable hobby and passion.
As the trio rode that even Tails was starting to have fun despite being nervous, eventually they saw a ruins in the middle of the mountain with snow beginning to fall. The green hedgehog told Sonic to land straight away before they descended and hopped off the boards. The three young Mobians gazed at the entrance in wonder as the inside tunnel was dark and gloomy.
"You sure this is the right place?" Sonic questioned, already getting a creepy feeling about this place.
"Well, it's the only one up on the mountain. It's a forbbiden area, so we'd better be careful." The emerald teenager responded, gulping nervously. "Not that I'd ever wanted to come here."
"We'd better get going. We don't have much time left." Tails reminded.
Sonic and Manny both nodded as they and the young fox stepped inside, hoping to find what they were looking for. They walked carefully and slowly, thankfully they still had at least one flash-light so it would make it easier to navigate their way through. But as they did, they heard more laughter filling the air and stopped in their tracks when to their dismay, more ghosts appeared and flew around the trio, laughing.
"Hey, leave us alone! We're tryin' to save our friends and the island!" Sonic snapped angrily, getting sick and tired of this, while Tails and Manny both tried not to panic or scream out in fear.
Thinking quickly, Tails used the flash-light to shine onto the ghosts who froze before flying away back to where they came from, making him and his friends sigh in relief. "Guess it's really true that ghosts can't stand flash-lights."
"Sure comes in handy." The fourteen year old praised with a thumbs up.
The trio continued to make their way through the tunnel when Sonic and his friends entered a large room that looked like a dead end, but at the far end of it stood four pedestals with two rock-like crystals and two hour-glass shaped stone objects.
"I thought there were one of each." The blue hedgehog remarked.
"Me too, but I guess that's not the case." Manny scratched his head in confusion.
"Wait!" Tails realized, making the two hedgehogs look at him. "I think I know why nobody's left here alive before. To get the Meroke Crystal and the Tailsman, we have to correctly guess which of each are real."
All of the sudden the group heard a deep growling echo the room which made them gasp in shock. Sonic, Tails and Manny looked around nervously right before something huge appeared in front of them. The trio yelped in fright and horror when they saw a giant ghost, all pale with thick pale blue lips, sharp teeth with a creepily multi-coloured tongue, small red and yellow eyes, and about the size of a bus, looming.
This was known as the King Boom Boo, who was laughing deeply at them.
"Quick, Tails! The Flash-Light!" Sonic cried out as his little brother and their friend panicked.
Once the two-tailed fox shakily held it up the giant ghost, King Boom Boo winced and moaned in agony, but it wasn't enough to really send him back. So Sonic took the flash-light and continued to aim it right at the evil ghost while instructing. "You guys hurry to figure out which crystal and tailsman are the right ones! I'll keep him busy!"
"Right!" Tails and Manny both exclaimed and hurried past the ghost, only for more to appear in front of the duo who skid to a stop. "Not again!"
"Oh no!" The blue hedgehog shouted, before glaring up at the ghost King who laughed manically. "That's it! I've had enough!"
He attempted to use his Spin Dash to attack the ghost, but unfortunately he went straight through, before the giant grabbed hold of him and Sonic screamed, struggling to free himself. To make things worse when his two friends saw what as happening, more ghosts, identified as booms, appeared to attack the Mobians.
"Watch out, Tails!" Manny shouted, pushing the seven year old cub out of the way, only to be grabbed by King Boom Boo's other hand while screaming. "Hey, put me down! I don't wanna be a ghost or be possessed!"
"Let them go!" Tails pleaded, horrified that not only his friends were all captured, but now he was the only one left to save the day. Memories of his previous failures came into his mind, his heart racing in anxiety and not knowing if he would be able to save them or not.
King Boom Boo then lifted both Sonic and Manny towards his face while the two hedgehogs struggled, as though deciding which one to pick as his first victim of the day. It then held up the green hedgehog even higher and a smaller boom floated towards him.
"Manny, no!" Sonic screamed out in dismay, realizing that the ghost was about to possess his friend.
Seeing this, the slightly younger hedgehog yelped and tried even harder, only for the ghost to enter his body and he screamed before becoming limp. Sonic and Tails both watched on in horror as their newest friend looked up, except that like the other possessed people on Stone Island, Manny's face became that of them.
"You will not leave here unless you solve my puzzle." Manny spoke in a deep monotone voice, while at the same time King Boom Boo was slightly glowing, while the giant ghost gazed at the two remaining Mobians before he turned his attention to Sonic still within his grasp. "As for you, blue mortal. You shall be my first victim if your friend fails."
"You're lying! I won't let you trick my friends!" The blue hedgehog hissed, struggling to pull himself free, when all of the sudden he felt the same familiar chilling presence from last night, except that unlike the last time, it felt more comforting, soothing, and protective. "Huh?"
'Sonny, you must listen to me! It's going to be alright.' A familiar voice echoed in his mind, faintly in the air, making Sonic softly gasp. He recognized that voice. He hasn't heard it in years, only in his memories and dreams.
'Uncle Chuck?' Sonic thought, feeling a little confused.
'The correct Meroke Crystal is the one with the blue light, and the correct Tailsman is the one with the sun on the top. Once the latter is removed, the ghosts be vulnerable as they cannot be seen in daylight.' The voice continued.
Tails, knowing that he had to do this, quickly hurried to the crystal and Tailsmans while trying to remain calm. "Uh-Uh, l-let's see! Which one is it? C'mon, Tails, think!"
"The correct ones shall be what makes us stronger and weaker. The Moon Side facing upwards, strong or weak? The Crystal's light: Red, power of good or evil?" King Boom Boo informed through Manny, chuckling.
Between what the voice of his late uncle said and hearing the hints of lies in the evil ghost, Sonic knew instantly what he had to do and shouted. "No, Tails! Don't listen to him! If you do as he says, he'll only be stronger and we're as good as dead!"
But before the blue hedgehog could continue, the giant ghost lifted him up as he screamed and began to draw him towards his mouth. Sonic gasped and struggled, much to Tails' horror.
"SONIC!" The young fox cub screamed out in dismay, before turning back to the four items and thought frantically. 'The correct ones shall be what makes us stronger and weaker. The Moon Side facing upwards, strong or weak? The Crystal's light: Red, power of good or evil? What does it mean...Wait!'
Remembering how the flash-lights make the ghosts more scared and are hardly seen except in dark places, and while red wasn't really a bad colour, a blue sky was always permanent while red indicated a disaster of sorts in some cases.
"The Moon Side indicates light...and the Crystal's light, red power of good or evil...Of course! Sunlight and Blue light!" The seven year old fox exclaimed, much to the shock of the ghosts as they saw what he was about to do.
Before they could stop him and the giant ghost could drop the hero of Mobius into his mouth, Tails, with slight hesitation but determination, snatched the crystal with the blue light and took the Tailsman with the sun on top. As he did, light shone from the two spots and forcing him and Sonic to shield their eyes. This also made the King Boom Boo to howl in pure agony while falling backwards, letting Sonic free as he managed to pull himself out and landed on the ground, and Manny, just as the ghost came out of his mouth, was dropped to the floor.
"Manny, are you alright?" The cobalt teenager quickly held the unconscious hedgehog in his arms while Tails quickly approached.
Twitching his eyes, Manny opened them to reveal that he was back to normal. "W-Wha...? Am I in heaven?"
"Nope, you're still in the land of the living." Sonic smiled, as he and his best friend/little brother sighed in relief.
Hearing this made the green hedgehog slump in relief as well. "Phew...Dudes, that was the creepiest feeling ever. I thought I was gonna die!"
Before his two friends could respond to that comment, the giant king suddenly stood up with a furious roar which shocked the group even as more ghosts appeared. Sonic narrowed his eyes and gently set Manny down.
"I'll show you!" Sonic declared, speeding over and while he had expected to go through the ghosts again, this time due to Tails removing the Tailsman with the Sun and the blue crystal, the hero of Mobius successfully managed to kick and punch them away, sending the now terrified ghosts into the walls.
"Manny, hold these and don't drop them. I've gotta help my big brother!" Tails, relieved that he actually saved his friends, handed the two items to the green hedgehog before he flew over to join the battle. He spun his tails at a couple of ghosts who freaked out and were hit. When they attempted to then merge and frighten him, instead the determined fox narrowed his eyes. "You creeps are not gonna scare me anymore! Take this!"
Using a Spin Dash once again, the fox cub bashed the formed ghost right past Sonic who was about to face King Boom Boo, only for the both of them to notice and blinked in surprise while the defeated formed ghost was dazed in defeat.
"Whoa...That little dude packs quite a cool punch!" Manny remarked with a sweat drop.
"Tails! Manny! Get going! I'll catch up!" Sonic called out, as he knew that time was running out more quickly.
"Uh, ri-right!" The green hedgehog nodded, though he was hesitant on living. Fortunately, their youngest companion solved that problem.
"Here, Sonic!" Tails cried out, taking out a ring and tossed it to the blue hedgehog.
"Thanks!" Sonic responded and began absorbing it's power while his friends ran out of the chamber with the required items. He glared at the giant ghost who grinned evilly. However, the hero of Mobius, with the power of the ring as he knew it was his only chance to at least prevent the ghost from following him and his friends straight away, performed his super charged Spin Attack, striking right into the chest/stomach of King Boom Boo.
The evil ghost roared in agony while attempting to push Sonic back, but was instead shoved right into the wall close to fake items which disappeared shortly after Tails picked up the correct ones. The wall's debris crumbled and buried the spirit.
"See ya!" The blue hedgehog waved before racing out of the room.
Not even half way out, Tails and Manny stopped while panting at the close call and the latter still feeling a little dizzy.
"Are you sure you okay, Manny?" The seven year old asked, worriedly.
"Yeah, but now I know how Chris' Mom and the other people feel at the moment and so far I'm the lucky one to get out of that nightmare first." The green hedgehog shivered.
Just then, Sonic appeared and remarked in disbelief. "I thought you guys would be out of this place by now."
"Did you stop the ghost, Sonic?" Tails asked, hopefully.
"He didn't stand a ghost of a chance." The teenage hero half-jokingly said with a smirk.
Just then, the entire temple begins to crumble and to make things worse, the chamber burst open to reveal the slightly recovered King Boom Boo, much to the trio's horror.
"What!?" Sonic exclaimed, bewildered. Then upon seeing the giant ghost beginning to literally eat the floor to catch them, he quickly picked up both his friends, the Meroke Crystal and the Tailsman while running out of the collapsing temple and Tails and Manny screaming in fear. "Okay, maybe I was wrong!"
Luckily due to speed, the group managed to get out safely and the temple's entrance collapsed before the evil ghost king could make it through, but the trio didn't want to take any chances. Once they were outside, Sonic and Manny both hopped onto the Extreme Gears with Tails riding with the blue hedgehog and both the young fox holding the Tailsman and the green hedgehog holding onto the Meroke Crystal as they all flew away.
"Yeah!" Sonic cheered, he and his friends celebrating.
"We made it!" Manny said happily.
"Ah! Guys!" Tails, cutting off from the celebration, pointed at the distance. The two hedgehogs looked and gasped in horror as the sun was just starting to set. "It's almost sundown! We'll never make it in time!"
Despite that his friend was right if they were still in a group, the blue hedgehog had an idea. "Oh yes, we will!" He then instructed their green companion. "Manny, you take the Meroke Crystal to the village since you know where it goes! Me and Tails are gonna head back to Stone Island! And hurry!"
"Right away, Sonic my man!" Manny saluted and changed course for the Unnamed Village, as he was once told that the main power supply was in the Mayor's office, which meant that it was where the now dead original crystal was placed many years ago.
"Hang on tight, Tails! We've got friends to save!" Sonic told his best friend who nodded and did so. "Here we go!"
The two brothers quickly flew towards Stone Island as fast as the old Extreme Gear allowed them.
As Manny landed in front of the Mayor's house, he leaped off of his Extreme and ran straight inside, bursting in as the town was still strangely empty. To his surprise, the Mayor himself was still here, fast asleep behind his desk.
"Yo, Mr. Mayor!" The green hedgehog cried out, startling the Beaver awake.
"Huh-what? Oh...Manfred. I thought you disappeared along with the rest the people last night." The Mayor greeted, before staring at the crystal in the teenager's hands and blinked in surprise. "Is that...a replacement Meroke Crystal?"
"Yeah, it is! And Sonic and Tails are gonna save the others while I came here to turn the power back on!" Manny responded. "Quick, you gotta show me where to put it before the sun sets!"
"Alright, alright. Follow me." Said the Mayor, heading towards the wall and pushed it open, revealing an identical crystal to the one the green hedgehog was holding, only it was black and broken, with wires sticking into it.
Knowing what to do, Manny reached over and switched both crystals. Once he did that, the power of the new Meroke Crystal glowed and all across Seaside Island, the power was turned back on and light spread across the land and towards Stone Island, and driving away the lingering ghosts who had hidden themselves inside dark areas, the spirits now flying to escape the light in fear only to vanish without a trace.
Meanwhile, still trapped inside the chamber, Amy, Chris, Ella, Cream and Cheese were still waiting as the possessed people had them surrounded, creeping closer and closer towards them, making the group that were still not possessed even more scared.
"What's taking them so long!? They should've been back by now!" Amy exclaimed fearfully, while worried about Sonic and wondered if he was okay.
"I hope they can make it." Cream muttered, shivering in Ella's arms.
"Chao, Chao..." Cheese chirped, whimpering.
'C'mon, Sonic. You, Tails and Manny have gotta be okay! Hurry, you guys!' Chris pleaded in his mind.
"Time is about to run out. Perhaps your friends have failed and are now to be doomed. Gaining the Meroke Crystal and the Tailsman is a task nobody was able to accomplish before." Lisabeth remarked darkly, grinning at the group who leaned back. "
"Except for today!" Sonic's voice shouted from across the room, startling the living people and the possessed who all turned to see the hero of Mobius himself having slammed the door open, with Tails standing by his side. "Though you didn't make it any easier to find this room again, lady."
"Sonic! Tails!" Amy and the others exclaimed happily.
The ghosts possessing the people couldn't believe what they were seeing. Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Power have returned, and in the blue hedgehog's hands since the latter gave it to him a short time ago, was the Tailsman itself.
"Y-You have-!?"
"Yep, we got what you wanted. Now, how about you let everybody go? Including Chris' mother." The hero of Mobius stepped up to the shocked Lisabeth. As soon as said this, light shone from outside and everybody looked up to see what was going on.
"Manny must've put the new Meroke Crystal in! Seaside Island's getting it's power back!" Tails realized in relief.
To make things more astonishing, the Tailsman began to glow brightly as well, much to Sonic's shock as he held it out with a gasp.
"No! No! It cannot be! I have...waited for...so...long!" The horrified Lisabeth screamed out, as she and all of her servants began to lose control over their hosts, as the light soon engulfed the room and forcing Sonic and his friends to shield their eyes, and they could hear the loud screeches coming from the ghosts until the sounds and the light faded.
Looking up, the group saw that the ghosts had not only been forced out of the people including Lindsey who all laid on the ground unconsciously, but somehow they all changed shape, no longer appearing as the terrifying monsters. Instead, they looked like troubled people who, realizing that the curse is broken, all gazed at the stunned fourteen year old before smiling softly and then flew upward, vanishing for the heavens.
The last ghost remaining was that of Lisabeth, who after coming out of Lindsey's body, hovered in her true form, now looking gentle, grateful and remorseful.
"I...I am free. The curse is broken." Lisabeth, gazing at her hands, whispered.
"This must be the real Lisabeth." Chris realized, while kneeling beside his unconscious mother.
"What's going on here?" Amy asked, bewildered.
The ghost of Lisabeth turned to gaze at the group, and muttered apologetically. "I am deeply sorry for troubling you all, young ones. I have waited for my true love Bret for so long, but my broken heart could not take it anymore. Yet I could not move on. I still waited for him. And then, the corruption of evil and jealously created the King Boom Boo, who resides in the Temple where the Meroke Crystal and the Tailsman resided."
"You mean that ghost we encountered and tried to trick us? He's the one that was behind all of this?" Sonic asked, shrugging with one shoulder.
"Yes. It was he who corrupted my soul, while guarding the temple and taking away those who seek the treasures. I wanted to see my dearly beloved once again, but he had me tricked and my body would be reborn until the time came. I was told that either I was to possess that body and become alive again, or for the Crystal and Tailsman to be taken the correct way so I could be free. But for years all have failed and his powers grew stronger. Although they only wanted to play and have a habit of scaring others just for fun, the dark powers and my jealous corrupted them until now." Lisabeth explained, before smiling gently at the two brothers. "But you two and your friend are different, Sonic the Hedgehog. You have found great courage, knowledge and right course to save us all. That I thank you."
Now glad that Lisabeth was no longer hostile, Sonic smirked with a thumbs up and a wink. "It was nothin'."
"We're just glad that we could help and now everything's back to normal, and you're free to see Bret again, Lady Lisabeth." Tails added happily.
The ghostly woman nodded, before turning to the rest of the group and informed the concerned Chris. "Your mother will awaken soon, young man. I am sorry to have taken her body."
"It's okay, ma'am. Sorry that you had to wait for so long." The young Thorndyke shrugged nervously.
"And little child with the special Chao." She continued, turning to Cream and Cheese who both blinked in confusion. "Your mother is alive and well. You two and Sonic are her and this world's only hope to prevent the evil one from returning to his full greed and power."
"Huh?" Cream looked surprised to hear this. What did Lisabeth mean by that?
Before the five year old girl could ask, Lisabeth bid farewell to the group and ascended up towards the ceiling, vanishing to the heavens to be with her true love after five centuries of waiting. Sonic and his friends watched in awe while they realized the same thing.
"Where did Miss Lisabeth go?" Cream wondered, curiously.
"She's gone home, Cream." Sonic answered knowingly, making his youngest friend look at him. "After five hundred years, she's finally going to be with the real Bret who was waiting for her to join him after he died. Now they'll be together forever."
"Waiting for so long even after a horrible tragedy...That is so romantic!" Amy beamed, before she realized what just happened and emotionally raced up to the blue hedgehog who was her true love, hugging him tightly as she cried. "Oh, Sonic! Oh, Sonic!"
"AH! A-Amy, please! Let go!" Sonic pleaded, wincing in dismay while stuck within his self-proclaimed girlfriend's grip.
"Mom! Wake up." Chris in the meantime shook his mother by the shoulders.
Finally free from the possession and regaining consciousness, Lindsey looked up to see her son, kindly house maid and their friends kneeling around her in worry. "Chris?"
Sitting up and, believing the whole incident and not realizing it was all real, the move actress asked hopefully. "How was I in that take? I hope the editors will fix up the image since I didn't wear my costume."
"This isn't a movie, Mom." Her son pointed out as he and the others, including the two hedgehogs who heard all of this, all sweat dropped.
"No offense to Mrs. Thorndyke, but talk about clueless." Sonic whispered in disbelief.
"I think she's definitely been acting in too many movies to tell which is reality or not." Amy sighed in agreement, exasperated.
A few hours later after calling out for the main island to carry everybody off from Stone Island, things have returned to normal and once Sonic and the others were awarded for bravery in saving them and ending the curse, though Lindsey still thought it was all part of another movie until she was told otherwise, but she still wasn't convinced, the blue hedgehog and Tails stood together on a beach having a private chat.
"So, Sonic, how did you know that the giant ghost was lying to me?" Tails asked, curiously.
"Hmmm...Not sure. I guess you could say that I just a strong hunch." Sonic shrugged, his arms folded to his chest. He then smiled at his little brother and said. "But in any case, you really helped to save the day, little buddy."
"I couldn't have done it without you." The young fox replied, modestly and giggled when his big brother playfully ruffled him on the head.
"Come on, Tails. You did it mostly on your own. All I did was give you a hint." The blue hedgehog pointed out, smiling happily. "Thanks for saving me and Manny, li'l bro."
"I'm just happy that everything's okay now." The seven year old beamed happily, sharing a bro-fist with the hero of Mobius.
"It's getting late. Why don't we head off to bed? Gonna need some energy to head back to Station Square tomorrow." Sonic advised.
Tails nodded in agreement as he yawned. "Yeah, we haven't even got a single sleep last night, and being unconscious after getting kidnapped by ghosts doesn't count."
"You go on ahead, big guy. I'll with ya' shortly."
"Okay. Night, Sonic." The seven year old cub waved and raced off back to the hotel, leaving the fourteen year old on his own.
While Sonic still wondered what had happened, he thought about how the dream of his late uncle somehow woke him up, and then the chilly but comfortable feelings came him support. Not to mention that the whispers felt awfully familiar. It wasn't until his eyes widened in realization.
'Now I know why I got that feeling. I felt it before on my first adventure and even imagined in talking to Uncle Chuck!' Sonic thought to himself, before sighing and formed a sad smile. For once in nearly two days, he felt the same presence, except this time he wasn't afraid.
Because as Sonic looked, he could see the ghostly image of Sir Charles Hedgehog, who smiled warmly at him and gently reached out to pat the teenager on the head.
"I forgot that you came to me when I got scared just as I reached Junkyard Zone. You helped me out when I was in the most danger." Sonic whispered, even though this would pass him off as being a little crazy, at the moment he didn't care. "Thanks, Unc'. I promise I won't go crazy like Lady Lisabeth did."
The ghostly form of Uncle Chuck nodded, looking very relieved before gently kissing the younger, living hedgehog on the head and then vanished in what Sonic imagined were sparkles. He now knew and understood the meaning of ghosts and was no longer even a little bit afraid of them. Because he knew all along that his uncle was still watching over him.
Nodding to himself, the hero of Mobius smirked and, also knowing that Cream's mother was still alive thanks to Lisabeth's acknowledgement, headed back to the hotel to get some much needed sleep, unable to wait for the next adventure that would be up ahead.
A/N: I really have to try and make these chapters shorter, but all in all, another episode has been complete. Next time(if fanfiction survives) it will be a...well, I don't wanna give out any spoilers but it's another episode I've been wanting to write for a while as we creep closer to the finale of the Cream and Cheese Arc, and move onto the next arc I've been dying to write since I started this story!
See you later!