Disclaimer: All characters except for the Lyrehs, Emyain, and Freya are copyright by Sega and Archie.
Author's note: This was my first try at Knothole fanfiction. It's a sort of Halloween story, inspired in part by an interesting fact about Halloween I read in a book on Celtic mythology, which went something like this: 'The glittering otherworlds of Celtic Mythology are invisible realms. Some are sparklingly heavens and some are brooding hells. The veil between the visible and the invisible worlds is gossamer thin and easily torn. Common gateways to the otherworld are by water, across narrow bridges or beneath mounds and wells. On the eve of Samhain, OCTOBER 31, all the gates to the otherworld open and wondrous spirits emerge from under the hollow hills.'
A million thanks to K.M. Hollar for starting it off! She wrote the first page or so, as this was a competition entry, years ago. Her part finishes at the next horizontal line.
"It crept closer and closer to the unsuspecting campers," Sally said, the flickering firelight casting shadows on her face and glistening in her eyes. Tails, seated across the campfire from her, was all ears, and almost all eyes, too. "They never heard a sound," Sally continued, her voice ominous, "because the thing moved without touching the ground ..." Tails leaned forward, eyes locked on her face, hanging on every word. "It was a ghost?" he asked fearfully. "Yes," Sally replied, enjoying the look on his face. "It glowed white, almost as bright as Super Sonic, but it didn't flicker. It drifted like smoke toward their tent, transparent hands outstretched-- "
"You're scarin' him," Bunny Rabbot said from her sleeping bag a few feet away. She was propped up on her robot arm, ears pricked. "If'n he gets hisself night-mahs tonight, he's a-sleepin' with you." Sally nodded, almost as absorbed in her story as Tails was. "Anyway Tails, it kept coming. One of the campers started to wake up-- "
The three of them were camped five miles from Knothole in a place known as Raider's Peak. The peak itself was far away, up in the mountains, but it was clearly visible from that part of the woods. The soil all around was thin and rocky, and the trees were scattered like sprinkles on a cake, occasionally in clumps. Rocks thrust out of the ground in many places, bare white, and orange. Streams trickled out of the mountains, providing life for the wiry trees. The three Freedom Fighters were camped beside one such stream. They had hiked all day long and thought they were tired; until Sally began the campfire stories.
"It was right over them. The guy who woke up saw it and yelled out loud. The other guy was like, 'Shut up and go to sleep', and he's like, 'No, no, it's gonna get us!' And then-- " Sally paused for emphasis. "The ghost POUNCED!" At that instant there came a nerve-jangling screech from the woods behind them. Tails, already on edge, dove behind Sally and cowered down. Sally and Bunnie both jumped. Bunnie clutched her chest and said, "Oh mah stars! It was juhst a screech owl. Sally girl, you'd bettah cut the scahry stories. They's startin' ta get too in-tay-ence." Shaken, Sally and Tails both agreed and crawled into their sleeping bags. Neither of them had wanted to carry the tent (and Bunnie had come against her will and better judgement), so they were really 'camping out'. They all lay and looked up at the stars for a few minutes. Then Tails asked, "What happened to the campers?" Bunnie, who was lying next to Sally, kicked her in the leg. "Oh," the squirrel said hurriedly, "uh, they both jumped up and shot the ghost to death because it was a robot in disguise. The end."
Tails, seemingly satisfied, rolled over and was quiet. Sally glared at Bunnie, who winked at her and burrowed into her sleeping bag. Sally, not about to fall asleep after all that, fixed her gaze on the stars overhead. It was so clear; the milkyway was like a silken banner stretched across the sky, with big diamonds sewn in for good measure. Maybe if she looked long enough she would see a falling star. Too bad Sonic's not here, she thought wistfully. Tails wouldn't have gotten scared then. Him and Sonic are buds.
Tails and Bunnie ceased their restless stirring after a while, and Sally knew they were asleep. For some reason she kept thinking of the story she had told. "If I wanted to really scare him," she thought to herself, "I could have told one about how Metal Sonic comes back for revenge. No, strike that. It'd scare ME too badly." She rolled over and faced the creek.
"Aunt Sally!" Her eyes snapped open. She had dozed off. "Sally, wake up!" It was Tails. He was leaning over her, his breath in her face. She sat up sleepily. The sky overhead had turned from black to deep blue, and the stars had moved. It was somewhere around midnight. Tails was sitting up, his ears pricked straight up, eyes like dinnerplates. "What's the matter?" Sally asked him. "Nightmare?" He shook his head. "N-no. Look over there, up the creek." He pointed. She turned. Fifty feet away the ground sloped up into a stand of tall evergreens. They had considered camping there until Bunnie had discovered the plentiful poison ivy. At first Sally's bleary eyes made out nothing unusual. "I don't see anything," she told Tails. He grabbed her arm, his body stiff with fear. "Look hard! See? See it?" She rubbed her eyes and looked again. A small light was moving in and out among the trees. A firefly? Something shiny catching the starlight? No. It pulsed, growing larger, changing from yellow to blue and back to yellow.
Sally felt her heart freeze in her chest. What WAS that? She reached over and shook the lump that was Bunnie. Her voice had snagged on something in her throat, and no words would come out. Bunnie stirred. "What's wrong?" she asked sleepily. Sally gulped. Tails' grip on her arm was cutting off the circulation. An invisible rubber band was stretching between him and home. Soon it would snap and send him flying toward Knothole. She could feel one of her own. Her voice came un-snagged "Bunnie, there's a--a--a--" What should she say? Ghost? Flashlight? Laserbeam?
She couldn't take her eyes from the glowing thing, whatever it was. It was drifting aimlessly in and out of the trees. Bunnie sat up and followed their gaze, blinking sleepily. Then she too gasped and stared. The light, still pulsing in a shapeless mass, began to expand. It grew upward and downward forming--what? Was it what it looked like? A figure surrounded by a bright blue light? It was transparent, like a projected hologram; they could see the trees on the other side of it. It had arms and legs and a head. It was looking around, its ghostly eyes sweeping the woods. Its eyes were darker than the rest of it, but they were all that was visible of its face. It turned and looked straight at them. Frozen in terror, they could do nothing but return its stare. It lifted a pale arm and pointed at them. "Intruders!" it roared, its voice hollow and distant. "You are on private ground! Go away, far away, or you shall be terminated!"
There were three rubber-sounding snaps, and all that remained of the Freedom Fighters were their knapsacks, sleeping bags, campfire, and the smell of burning tennis-shoe soles.
The cloaked figure sulked stealthily through the shadows, crouching back against the walls where it was dark and scampering rapidly past the beams of light which radiated from the houses. Now and again it peered into one of the windows seeking a face it would recognise. It wore no shoes and had bare, cat-like feet. Its right leg had been robotisizised up to the ankle.
It was a few hours after Sally, Bunnie and Tails' encounter at Raider's Peak, and the first light of dawn was lightening the sky and slipping over the hillsides and trees making them glow with a gentle sapphire light. After the three had returned to Knothole, unnerved by what had happened and longing to flee to their respective huts where they could feel safe and secure, they had briefly discussed the idea of going back now to retrieve their things. Nicole had been in Sally's backpack as she had left her regular boots at home in favour of wearing shoes more suited to hiking. None of them felt like the journey, they were all too tired to repeat the day's hike; the fear of the supernatural figure also deterred them from returning. Sally eventually agreed to at least wait for daylight before returning for her computer. That decided, they had said their goodbyes and gone home.
At last, the cloaked figure found what it had been looking for. It wandered slowly towards the hut, straightening its clothes and clearing its throat. Suitably prepared, it rapped loudly on the door. There was no response. The figure rapped loudly again, growing impatient. What it had to discuss was urgent and could NOT wait.
The second, slightly louder set of knocks roused Sally from her deep, exhausted sleep. She rose, rapped a light blue dressing gown around herself and wandered sleepily towards the door. She thought it must be Tails, come to complain of nightmares and wore a calm, reassuring expression as she opened the door.
"Hello?" she greeted the hooded figure. She was till half asleep and more than a little surprised at the stranger's appearance at this time of night.
"Good morning, Princess," the figure said, bowing slightly. "My name is Emyain, and I came from Raider's Peak. The Lyrehs have stolen your things."
"What!" Sally cried in anger. Questions filled her head. Who or what were the Lyrehs? How did this stranger know about them? "You had better come in," Sally said, finally.
She flicked on the light, and Emyain headed for the couch. Sally was pulling the door closed when a large black shape running on all fours bounded through the remaining space and sat on its haunches beside Emyain. It was a black panther, with silky fur as dark as coal and eyes as green as glowing emeralds.
"Ah - " Sally began.
"Oh this is Freya, my black panther," said Emyain, removing her hood at last. "She's tame, I raised her from a cub."
"She's beautiful," Sally said, gazing at the creature in awe. Emyain made mumbling noises, affectionately rubbing her knuckles against Freya's shoulders. The animal purred in pleasure. Emyain herself was a small grey fox with pale turquoise eyes and long black hair as dark and silky as her pet's.
"About the Lyrehs?" Sally began, drawing Emyain's attention.
"I am an outcast from their world," she said, turning to face Sally who was now seated opposite.
Sally was startled by what she saw, but tried not to stare. Emyain's eyes and muzzle were - different. Her eyes consisted of an iris and pupil, there was not white around the edges, and her muzzle not pointed like a fox's but more pear shaped like - like a cat's... Emyain sensed her surprise.
"You can see why. My mother was a panther, an evolved Mobian like you, and my father was a Lyreh. For that we are hated by all Lyrehs, as they despise all Mobians. Also my mother was not my father's only wife. That was my half brother you saw last night, his mother was an overlander. He took a great risk to warn you away," Emyain told her. "That glow you saw surrounding him was the result of a gateway being created between your dimension and ours. Mobius is hated because it is a real world, unlike Lyrehtis. It is a place made of thoughts and imagination, the greatest pleasures and the deadliest dangers. Most say it is a creation of the Mobians, forced into being by the sheer power of belief, hopes, and fear. It is a beautiful place, yet they fear it is only a shadow of Mobius, something to wonder about for a time, but then forget about in the blink of and eye. They fear they are dependant on Mobians, without their fears, hopes, and pleasures they feel Lyrehtis would cease to exist. They resent Mobius' control over our world, they want it to be a real world of earth fire water and air like this one. A world as indestructible as yours," Emyain explained.
"Well I must have my things back," Sally said. "I had - important equipment - in my backpack."
"This is not going to be easy. When we go I'll have to try to contact my brother before the other Lyrehs see you. They'll defend their world and your belongings ferociously, so I recommend you get together a superb team of fighters to help you."
"That shouldn't be hard. How many can we take?" Sally replied. "As many as you need. You'll need all the help you can get!"
There came another knock on the door. Freya's ears pricked up at the sound, and she padded slowly behind Sally as she went to answer the door. Tails stood shivering on the doorstep. His eyes widened in horror as he caught sight of the panther. He stood rooted to the spot, fixed in terror.
"Freya! Come back!" Emyain called to her pet. The animal sighed and padded back to the living room.
"W - what was t - that?" Tails stuttered, eyes still wide in fear.
"Oh Tails, honey, she won't hurt you. She's tame. What's the matter?"
"I had a bad dream," Tails wined.
"Aw, honey, come here," Sally said, soothingly hugging him. "You want to tell me about it?"
Tails shook his head. Somehow his scariest dreams always seemed so lame and silly when he told anyone about them, and here in the warm, friendly atmosphere of Sally's house, his fear was slowly fading anyway. Sally lead him into the living room and sat him down next to her. Even Emyain's pet did not seem so fearsome now he could see what it was, rather than just a pair of glowing green eyes which was all he had seen at the door. The animal had been lying over its owner's feet, slowly licking one paw, but when Tails sat down it padded over to him, sniffing his knees.
"She likes you," Emyain commented. "Stroke her. Don't be afraid."
Gingerly, Tails stretched out a paw and laid on the cat's head. Freya purred appreciatively, so he stroked her head gently.
"It's too early to wake the others yet," Sally sighed, glancing at her watch. "You want something to eat or something?"
"Please, I could use a cup of tea," Emyain replied.
"Okay. Would you like some warm milk, Tails?"
"Yes please, Aunt Sally," he replied. Sally disappeared into the kitchen to prepare the orders.
"How did that happen to your foot?" Tails asked.
"It's a long story," Emyain sighed. Tails frowned. That's what everyone always said to him when they couldn't be bothered to explain something to him. But Emyain continued. "First, I need to explain where I came from..." She told him of the Lyrehs and their world created by imagination, and he listened in silence and wonder.
"Once , when I was walking in the woods, I discovered one of the Adi Falls, which are enchanted waterfalls which allow Mobian's thoughts and fears to enter our world. I wandered over to investigate, but something leapt out from behind the rocks, and shot my ankle as I ran way. My mother told me later that I had been shot by a SWATbot, and it had robotisised my foot."
"Many Mobians fear that Robotnik will invent mobile robotisising weapons for the SWATbots," Sally said, coming back from the kitchen with two steaming mugs.
"Guess I learned that the hard way," Emyain sighed.
Sonic was banging loudly on Sally's door, five hours later. She had dozed off next to Tails who was still fast asleep, with Freya laying over his feet.
"COME ON SAL everyone's been up for hours!" Sonic yelled, thumping on the door, and waking up Emyain.
"All right, all right, I'm coming!" Sally called, stumbling for the door. Sonic stood outside, impatiently tapping his foot.
"What goes on, Sal? I thought you weren't coming back for two days!"
"We had to leave... Rather quickly," Sally replied. "How'd you know I was here?"
"I saw Bunnie. Whaddya mean you 'had to leave rather quickly? Huh?"
"We were practically forced away from Raider's Peak by the residents," Sally explained, slamming the door behind Sonic and heading up the stairs.
"Residents? I thought that place was deserted, Sal?" Sonic said following her up.
"Look, Emyain can explain this better than I can, so go ask HER!" Sally cried, exasperated by Sonic's barrage of questions. She slammed the bathroom door in-front of him. Oh fine, he thought, I was only asking! Not knowing who Emyain was, he thumped back down the stairs the wait for Sally to emerge. Emyain herself was in the kitchen fixing herself another cup of tea, so Sonic didn't see her when he wandered into the living room, and found Tails and Freya asleep. He sat down opposite the two, wondering who the cat belonged to. He didn't have to wait long to find out.
"Oh, hello," Emyain said, from the kitchen doorway.
"Hi there!" Sonic responded. "Who are you?"
"My name is Emyain. And you are Sonic, right?"
"Yeah, that's me," Sonic told her. "Sally said something about you being able to explain why she had to come back from Raider's peak so early?"
"I suppose I can," Emyain replied, and told him a similar story to the ones she had told Sally and Tails.
"Well, whatever it takes to get Sal's things back, I'm in," Sonic said when she had finished. Upstairs, they heard the door open and shut.
"I knew I could count on you, Sonic Hedgehog," sally said, gratefully. Tails moaned softly and opened his eyes.
"Hi there big guy!" Sonic greeted him.
"SONIC!" Tails smiled, waking up properly. At his feet, Freya rose to all fours and stretched, yawning widely. She nuzzled Tails' hand softly and he stroked her again.
"Found a friend?" Sonic commented.
"Yeah, this is Emyain's pet panther!" Tails said. Of course Sonic knew this already as Emyain had told him, but he pretended he didn't.
"Hey, she's cute," he said, coming over and tickling her on the chin. She lifted her head and purred in pleasure. Sally came in a collected up the dirty cups.
"What did you leave behind at the peak, Sal?" Sonic asked her. "There was no way I could have fitted Nicole into my hiking boots securely, so she was in my backpack," Sally said. Sonic groaned.
"What else was left?"
"Just our camping things; some clothes and provisions," Sally told him. "I don't understand why the Lyrehs took those," she said to Emyain.
"Well they hate having 'Mobian's rubbish littering up one of their sacred places' so they removed it. I imagine they'd be interested in your computer, but the rest of it they'll probably just burn up or dump somewhere on Mobius," Emyain told them.
"Emyain already told me everything," Sonic said to Sally. "So when are we going?"
"So when are we going?"
"As soon as everyone is ready. Go and tell Bunnie, and Dulcy to meet me in the war room immediately," Sally replied.
"Right away, Sal!" Sonic said, and raced out of the door.
"Can I come, Aunt Sally, huh, can I?" Tails begged. Sally frowned, and Tails' face dropped. "Pleeeeeaase!" he whined, trying to look as cute and pleading as possible.
"Don't look at me like that," she said, smiling slightly. "Look this could get really dangerous and I don't want you to get hurt. It's best if you stay in Knothole this time." Tails put a big effort into looking downhearted, although he'd known Sally would say this all along. It was the same every time the Freedom Fighters had a new mission.
"The others are on their way to the war room Sal!" Sonic said, letting himself in. "Hey there, big guy! What's eatin' ya?" he called cheerfully to Tails.
"Sally won't let me come," he grumbled. "Aww, Sal let him come - Pleeeeeaase!" the hedgehog begged. Sally grinned.
"No, I have already told him he can't come this time. It's too dangerous."
"Ah, come on Sal, he's nearly eleven! He's not a kid anymore," Sonic complained.
"With all due respect, princess you may need all the help you can get," Emyain added.
"Would you people stop ganging up against me!" Sally cried. "The answer is NO! Look, if he stays behind just one more time, he can come on our next mission, I promise."
"You promise!" Sonic and Tails echoed in union.
"Yes, I promise!" Sally sighed.
"Yeah, all right!" the pair cried slapping each other a high five. "We'll hold you to that, Sal!" Sonic warned. There came a knock on the door. Sally answered.
"What's taking so long, Sally-girl? Ah was told ter come immediately!" Bunnie demanded.
"We'll be right there," Sally said. "Sonic and Emyain, come with me. Tails, go back to your hut."
"But Aunt Sally!" Tails began.
"Now!" Sally ordered. Tails sighed, and twisting his tails around one another he took off and flew towards his hut. Satisfied by his apparent obedience, Sally and the others headed for the war room.
Meanwhile, instead of going directly to his own hut, as Sally had told him, Tails wandered over to Sonic's. The door wasn't locked - it had not even been closed properly the last time Sonic had gone through it - and now it was flapping about in the wind. Tails ducked inside, an instant before the elements slammed it shut behind him. Tails spied Sonic's rucksack strewn on the floor next to his bed. That probably meant he planned to take it with him on the mission. Good. Tails wandered over to Sonic's bed, crouched down and crawled underneath it to wait.
About half an hour later, a sonic boom warned Tails that the hedgehog had returned. He curled up against the wall where it was darkest so he wouldn't be seen, but in such a way that he could see what Sonic was doing. Sonic rummaged around in his room, tossing items into his bag, a power ring, a torch and some bottles of water. Suddenly he come over to the bed and looked underneath! Tails cringed, trying not to cry out in surprise and be discovered. Sonic grabbed a small black object from just in front of one of Tails' tails, while he held his breath, not daring to make even the slightest sound. Sonic moved away from the bed, and Tails heard him zipping up the bag. At first Tails feared he would he was going to take it then and leave, but luckily he wandered into another room. Breathing a sigh of relief, Tails crawled out from under the bed and began pulling himself into Sonic's bag. He moved fast, knowing that Sonic would return any minute. It was a very tight squeeze, but soon Tails was inside, with the zip partly undone to let in more air. He heard Sonic come over, then he was lifted swiftly up into the air and thrown about from side to side as Sonic struggled to get the backpack in his back. He (sonic) could not understand why his bag was so heavy with only a few things inside. Well, he had no time to figure out why that was now; he was already late for meeting the others. Tails' stomach lurched as the bag jogged around on Sonic's shoulders as he sped out of the hut.
"Sonic, you're LATE!" Sally said, sternly when he arrived.
"Yeah I know. I'm sorry, Sal," Sonic apologised.
"This is not a good start," Sally muttered under her breath. "When I tell you a meeting time you come on that time, not ten minutes later!"she told Sonic.
"What real difference will ten minutes make!" Sonic grumbled.
"Yes, but it's the principle that you - "Sally trailed off. It was clear that Sonic wasn't listening as he was already wandering off ahead - in the wrong direction...
"It's THIS way!" Sally yelled in frustration, stamping away in he correct direction. The others followed in a subdued silence.
The hike back to Raider's peak was as long and demanding as it had been yesterday. The group where exhausted and footsore by the time they reached their destination and Tails was sore all over from being bumped around on Sonic's back. It was hot and stuffy in Sonic's bag, and several times during the journey he had considered giving himself up. He knew Sally would be angry and yell at him, but at least then she might make Dulcy take him back home where he could have a long cool drink of something with ice.
"So what happens now?" Sally asked, sitting down; grateful for the rest.
"I will try to contact my brother," Emyain said. She sat on a bare patch of ground, knees tucked in slightly against her chest , elbows resting on them, and the rest of each arm crossing over her knees. She rested he head on her arms and closed her eyes. The others looked at each other, not understanding how this would help Emyain speak to her brother.
Suddenly, a large thin shaft of light appeared in the sky, in the same place the glowing figure had appeared the night before.
"Is that supposed to happen?" Sonic asked, uneasily. Emyain's eyes snapped open.
"No!" she said. It was both an answer to the question and an exclamation of terror. She stared transfixed at the widening rip in the sky, eyes wide with fear. "They're coming! RUN!"
"Who's coming?" Sally asked, alarmed.
"The Lyrehs!" Emyain cried, running off, stumbling over the uneven terrain. The sky looked as though it was cracking apart and something was coming out of the split. It was vaguely fox like in shape, and glowing all over presumably from standing in the gateway between dimensions that it had created. Another was following closely behind. The Freedom Fighters had made no move to escape, they needed their things back and they were prepared to fight for them. Instead they stood watching , mesmerised by what was happening.
The Lyrehs said nothing, and after about five of them had escaped from the split in the sky, they attacked. Inside Sonic's backpack, Tails froze, as a hand reached in, grouping for a power ring. Carefully, so Sonic didn't feel him moving, Tails pulled one out from underneath him and slipped it into the hand which pulled it out.
The Lyrehs appeared to be taking the worst of the fight, they were no match for Bunnie's immense strength, or Sally's fighting skills. Dulcy was attacking from above, lashing her tail down at the Lyrehs and knocking them away like bowling pins. A golden flash of light surrounded Sonic and he joined the fray, now able to swat away Lyrehs as though they were nothing more than flies.
He was trying to get closer to the crack in the sky to see what the Lyrehs over there were up to. They appeared to be pulling some kind of weapon out with them. Actually, what they were doing was adjusting the alignment of the weapon, targeting it directly at the fighting freedom fighters and Lyrehs. A bright light blue light flashed over the targets stopping Sonic in his tracks. Literally. It had paralysed him - his mind screamed at his legs to move, but they wouldn't respond. The others were similarly stuck, the ray had even effected the Lyrehs who were caught in the blast. Tails was petrified inside Sonic's bag. He had been in the process of climbing out, sick of being thrown about like a kangaroo on a trampoline, then he'd seen a bright light outside, and now he couldn't move.
Even more Lyrehs were emerging from the crack in the sky now, whole teams of them. They were all dressed simply in plain black vests like a sort of uniform. The bright glow surrounding them thinned and vanished as it had from the attacking Lyrehs. They approached the paralysed victims in groups of three, and simply picked them up. The freedom fighters all tried to fight against them , to struggle out of their grasp, but their limbs refused to obey. All they could do was wonder where they would be taken and what the Lyrehs would do to them.