MerendinoEmiliano: Thanks, I'm trying to give our protagonists a clear view.
I guess Mr. Foxfire has gotten bored. I will miss the dynamic reviews he provided.
/*-*/
Sonic was once again standing in the room with the Star posts, Tails siting right next to him. Sally had a look of mild disdain on her face, mixed with a hint of regret.
Sonic still needed to apologize for that flower incident. She didn't seem to realize he hadn't known about the whole "Flower Language" thing. Of course, he probably should have done some research or at least asked about the whole language thing instead of jumping full throttle.
He looked at Tails, who had become a little cold to him. Sonic was really having a hard time keeping up these relationships. Still, he could try and make up with his little buddy.
"Hey… Good job on the last emerald." Sonic tried, admittedly stumbling with an awkwardness, "You're really impressive Tails."
"Thanks, You are too." Tails muttered flatly, looking up to put up a small smile. Sonic smiled back, but it was pretty obvious that Tails was uncomfortable.
Rotor cleared his throat, "We have the Red Emerald coordinates, The Gate is pulling up." The star Posts began to spin, opening the sparkly gate.
Sonic cleared his throat, "Maybe I should get this one?"
Tails flashed a look of betrayal. Sally shook her head, "He can handle this."
"It's the Emerald of Power, and my little buddy isn't that strong." Sonic explained, holding out his arms to prove a point.
Tails growled, "I've got this." He ran into the star post before Sonic could register what was happening.
Sally growled, "We don't need a glory hound right now, just focus on your task." She seemed to soften after that. But now it was Sonic's turn to feel a little upset.
"Fine, I'll get these emeralds, But if something happens to him, I'm holding you responsible." Sonic growled, through grit teeth. Each Emerald had a trial or test to them. Power was the simplest, but also the most restrictive. There wasn't really a way to out smart it, or out will it. You were either strong enough to push through the walls and barriers, or you weren't, and you'd get stuck.
Elias stepped in front of Sally, "Watch it! I won't take to kindly to-"
"Yeah-yeah, Rotor, is it ready or not." Sonic stretched his legs.
Rotor, who had been frozen from the little argument turned back to his desk, "Got it… Uh, putting in the coordinates for the…. Yellow emerald, Um… are you ready."
"Lets go." Sonic starred strait ahead.
The star posts began to spin once again, opening up with a flood of sparkles.
Sonic bent his knees and bolted through. Sonic was greeted by a world of white. The plain seemed to be made of light. Sonic closed his eyes, and could see light even through his eye lids. Still, he could make out shapes as he stumbled, now that light was reduced.
Sonic walked forward, noticing what appeared to be a small rock in his path. Not the Emerald. Sonic continued forward, where there was a fork in a pathway. The one on the right was bright, while the one on the left was darker. This was the emerald of light, which meant… More blinding lights.
Sonic took the right path, and even with his eyes closed, the light was getting bright and hard to distinguish. Sonic held out his hands, and felt his way along the wall. It was amazing that even though the area was so bright, it wasn't actually hot or miserable. In fact, it was kind of cool, like a spring morning.
Sonic almost tripped over something, and he lowered his hands to feel around. There appeared to be a stair case, with ascending stairs. Below him, was walls and a stairwell down. Judging by the fact that he could see the area down, that told him the light wasn't reaching there. Which it meant the pathway was up. He used his hands to stabilize himself as Sonic crawled up the miserable steps.
The light was so bright that he was getting a headache, even with his eyes closed. Still Sonic felt forward, using his hands, and trying to cover his eyes with his arms, and sort of fixing the issue. He could see the bones in his arms, but he could also look around somewhat without feeling like he was going blind.
Sonic Crept forward, and began to walk towards what appeared to be a massive main room. He trudged forward, even as the light seemed to go through his whole body, but he felt around. There was a pedestal, and as he rose up it, he felt it! The beautiful gem.
Fighting the pain that was going through his skull, he picked it up and… the world went dark. The only light, was the soft, friend glow in his hands. Sonic blinked as his eyes adjusted from blinkingly bright, to near opaque dark.
Sonic descended down the stairs, and made his way back to the warp area, to jump through the Star posts, skidding, and holding the yellow gem in his hands… to find panicked faces.
"What's up." Sonic asked, loosing the cheerful smile before counting the faces. One was missing. Sonic felt the terror swell inside his heart, "Where's Tails?" His voice was panicked and angry at the same time, but he couldn't help it.
Sally licked her lips and remained quiet. Rotor spoke up, "He didn't come through yet. That's why we called you back-"
Sonic turned to Rotor, "GET ME THERE NOW!" Rotor got the message, and immediately turned around and began to type into the computer.
Amy came through the doorway, "What's going on?"
"Sally Lost Tails!" Sonic snarled. He was trying hard to keep any composure, but Stoicism was never his strong suite.
Amy covered her mouth, "He's lost in a Special zone?"
Sonic shouted at Rotor, "Where is my portal?"
Rotor slammed the enter key, "Alright, sorry. It's starting up now, go i-"
As the Star Posts spun, Sonic bolted through them, no time for waiting for a count down or something.
He skidded to a stop on the Burgundy Stone, the world wrapped in a Red hue. The sky was a peach color, and all around were burgundy and grey walls. Sonic ran forward, before feeling the ground beneath his feet tremble.
Sonic ran behind a wall that made up the gateway. A yellow flash of Fur made Sonic perk up, and he saw his little buddy run behind a rock that was inside what appeared to be a castle courtyard. The castle was uncannily like castle Acorn. Sonic still kept himself hidden.
The ground trembled, as did his little buddy. Then It appeared. A large grey stone Golem. It's chest and eyes glowed red, and it moved sluggishly, but it was still massive. The Trial of the Red Emerald. A test of Strength.
The Golem marched straight towards Tails, regardless of how well the little guy was hiding. The Golem raised it's arms, and Sonic bolted as fast as he could to grab Tails and get him out of the way. The little guy was shocked at first, but stayed until Sonic pulled him out of the courtyard.
Sonic set his little fox buddy down, "That was a close one."
Tails growled, "Why are you here?"
"You didn't come through the Star Gate, and we were worried that-" Sonic started, still relieved that his little buddy was alive.
Tails barked, "I'm fine! I just haven't found the Chaos emerald yet, and this Golem has been slowing me down. Go back, I can do this on my own." Tails snarled, his tails bushing up to indicate his displeasure at Sonic's appearance.
"Tails, that Golem is the chaos emerald." Sonic explained, Frowning, "That's why I wanted to get this one. Each emerald has a trial that you have to pass to earn each one. This is the Emerald of power."
"So it's meant to test my strength? Fine, I'll take it down, you go back." Tails muttered.
Sonic shook his head, "No, we can take it down together."
Tails barked, "I don't want your he-"
A sudden smash forced the two apart, and the Golem looked at the two, before settling on Sonic. Sonic turned around and ran, causing the Golem to pursue, but it gave him enough time to get momentum, and turn around to spin into the Golem's chest. A crack appeared on the red glow.
Sonic frowned that wasn't good. This guy was tough. Tails flew over head, and Sonic ran around the Golem, causing him to turn around, exposing the red glow. Tails got the message, and dove in, curling into a ball and slamming into the chest again, causing the crack to grow, and a few pieces of stone to fall off.
Unfortunately, it also seemed to anger the rock beast, and it swatted it's arm, slamming into Tails, causing the little fox to go tumbling and rolling across the ground. Sonic felt his heart tighten at the motionless Fox. Sonic felt his sorrow turn into a blinding rage, and ran forward and slammed into the Golem's chest, causing more chunks of rock to fall.
Sonic flipped backwards, using his right hand to skid to a halt, and immediately restarted his run to gain momentum. He circled around feeling so angry, and regretful. He should have never let them send Tails into this place. Sonic doubled back around. This would be the one.
He curled into a ball and soared through the air, smashing into the stone chest, causing the last bits of armor to crumple. Unfortunately he also dazed himself from hitting his head too hard. The Golem's rock fist slammed him into the ground, and it towered over him yet again.
Sonic frowned, realizing he was pinned. He struggled, trying to push with his arms. The Golem's other fist rose, and Sonic braced for a definitely not fun punch…. When the eyes of the Golem dimmed, and it began to crumble into a pile of rocks.
Sonic pushed off the boulders on him to find at the center of the rock pile…was Tails, holding the Emerald, while glowing red, and panting heavily.
Sonic smiled, and ran forward to hug his little buddy, "You did it!"
Tails returned Sonic's hug, but it felt… a little cold.
"I told you I could." He muttered, taking a deep breath.
Sonic scooped up his buddy, and ran out to the portal, back into the star post room. They tumbled down into the room, Sonic wrapping his arms around his little buddy to shield Tails from the fall. The Star posts were smoking as they stopped spinning.
Sonic was panting, looking down at his little buddy. Tails Looked up at Sonic, before pushing him away.
Tails muttered, "Good job." And with that he walked off. What was wrong with him? Sonic couldn't get it, but it was making him mad. Tails was upset, and He couldn't figure out why. Was it because Sonic was helping him? Sonic only wanted to keep Tails safe.
Sally chose the worst time to speak up, "See, all is well that ends well."
Sonic sat straight, his teeth gritting so hard, he was pretty sure they were going to crack. She had set Tails up for this role. If it weren't for her, Tails would have been sitting back while Sonic ran through the special zones. "You did not just say that." Sonic growled, feeling his fist start to shake, "You did not just say that."
Sally took a step back, and that calculating, cunning mind began to do it's work. Sonic recognized it.
"You are the very reason Tails almost got crushed. I wanted him to stay back, but no, You had to get those emeralds quick. What if something had happened to him or me? What if he was left alone in there?" Sonic felt himself get panicked at that thought. What if Tails had died.
Before Sally could respond, a large red flash appeared on the smaller monitors, indicting an Alert.
Sonic stood up, and Sally was already out the door. Sonic wasn't in a rush. He could get to the HQ in an Instant. As he stepped out of the warp room, Sonic saw Tails running back towards the Command center. The Fox had such a determination in his eyes.
Sonic ran along side him, "Hey, you did really good."
Tails didn't answer, he just ran through the door way into the HQ, where the white Fox was on the screen.
"Stay…Danger… Save my Team…." His voice was crackling and the screen was full of static, like it was encountering interference. Sonic couldn't make out much, but he saw movement. Brown fur… What was that?
He The screen was too blurry to make out a solid shape, but the sudden complete loss of connection confirmed that it was not friendly.
Sally blinked a couple times. Everyone looked to her for advice and orders. She took a moment with a breath, "Let's get going. We are going to help the Arctic Freedom Fighters."
Sonic nodded.
Of course, that meant that they were taking a train... why? Sonic sat in the back of the storage car. This train was mostly used for supplies, but Because Sally was coming along, they had to take this instead of going on foot. Rotor was also coming, along with Tails and Amy, so Sonic probably couldn't have gone full throttle, but still…to be stuck in there, without anything to do.
Tails seemed to stop being mad enough to cuddle up to Sonic as the air temperature had another fit, and dropped. Sonic cuddled up to his little buddy, and almost fell asleep. Tails was soft from all of the fur, and warm. Sonic looked down at the Fox, sleeping peacefully on his chest, and he honestly felt a slight tinge of guilt. Tails was growing up, And Sonic still treated him Like he was a kid.
Sonic had only ever truly wanted something with all his heart twice, and Tails was one of them. Tails was a gift from the heavens, as he had seen it. The Little- the guy was so special to his heart. His weird little brother, with a weird big brother to match.
Sonic smiled, and stroked Tails' ear. His eyes wandered up, and saw Sally, shivering as the storage car seemed to turn into a refrigerator. Sonic realized he had to stop being so petty, "Sally, come on. Sit over here and Tails' keep you warm."
Sally nodded and sat next to them. Sonic pulled one of the tails on to Sally, and she smiled at him. "My hero." She said with a mocking, joking tone.
Sonic smiled back at her, but felt a little awkward when she rested her head on his shoulder. He couldn't help it.
"What's wrong?" Sally asked, in a serious and interrogating tone, "You tensed up, I know something is wrong."
"Nothing, just a little awkward." Sonic scooted over, which of course Sally noticed.
"I… get it." Sally sighed. The awkwardness hung in the air.
Rotor stood up, "Look I suck at relationships, but you two need to talk. Can you please keep something bad from happening."
Sonic shook his head, "There's nothing to talk about Rotor. We are just taking time."
"Too much time." Sally stated, looking Sonic in the eyes, "Come on, I want to try again, I think we can make it work."
Amy Tugged Rotor, "Hey, Lets give them some space." She flashed a strange look of concern at Sonic, and the two exited the train car.
Sonic shook his head at Sally, "I'm not ready." He wasn't exactly sure how to explain it to her, but there was fear and pain in his heart when he was around her.
Sally growled, clearly frustrated, "When will you be ready? I want to start again, because I'm tired of going without you. Do you… not feel the same?"
"Of course not." Sonic replied, though some of it was a lie. He didn't feel a burning passion, but rather a warm flame, "I do still-"
"Then why won't you give it-" Sally was interrupted by Sonic, who felt his patience snap. Maybe it was from fear and being cornered, maybe it was from anger at her trying to rush things(Ironic, he knew).
"BECAUSE I AM TIRED OF BEING PLAYED!" Sonic shouted, his neck feeling constrained from blood flow. Was he being honest, or was his mouth trying to cover for his clouded mind? He didn't, but his mouth wouldn't stop, "How many times am I going to have to sit by your side just for you to run off with a spy who will sell your kingdom, or a monkey who will run around the world for its women. You don't care, you'll get bored and find some other guy to follow you like a lost puppy."
Sally recoiled and sucked in a breath, as though he had punched her. Tails' fur had bristled up from Sonic's outburst, and he looked at Sonic with a mix of concern and fear.
Sally recovered, "I do care about us. I know I have had some issues with…sticking with you. But you are the same way, so don't act like I'm the only one with commitment issues. I do care though." She tried to reassure him.
Sonic's mouth had another thought, "Then why am I the only one who loses something."
Sally seemed confused, and little hurt, but the mouth continued to move.
"I Gave a piece of me to you every time. And Every time I got less back. Did I go off and find a girl? Yeah, I went for Fiona, and Bunnie, and Mina at one point. But that was after the break up. Yeah, I was terrible. I wanted to take that piece I gave you from someone else to not feel so bad, and I hurt people in the process." Sonic growled, "I'm not doing that again. I want to heal, so leave me be."
Sally was frozen, metaphorically of course. Tails began to emit a low vibrating sound, as though trying to cheer Sonic up.
Finally Sally, spoke, "Alright… We'll give it some more time. But I'm not giving in. I'll win your heart back. That's a promise." She was never one to surrender. Part of Sonic wished she would.
Sally let the other's back into the room, and judging by their awkward faces, they'd heard everything.
When the Train came to a stop, Sonic jumped out, and they donned winter gear. The storms had been picking up, and they trudged through with winter coats and boots.
Sonic did make as they wandered, however. They marched what was supposed to be halfway to the Arctic freedom Headquarters… no resistance. No Dark Egg Legion, no Badnicks.
Sally finally spoke that though, "It's too quiet. There aren't even patro- Get down!"
Sonic and Sally dove behind one of the icey dunes that had amassed.
Sonic peered over the hill and saw… a Dark Legion tank, and two Personnel carriers . Their cannons were strait forward in neutral, and they had a red paint on them.
They weren't moving… weird.
Sonic finally stood up.
"Get down." Sally Ordered.
She was right to believe that rushing one of them was a bad idea. Those cannons stung pretty bad, with lasers and all. But the way they were sitting…
Sonic zipped forward, and skidded to a halt in between the three. He was standing on something. Sonic kicked up the snow… and saw a metal arm. It was disembodied, and what ever had attacked here hadn't let the legionnaires keep their augmentations.
Then He looked more closely at the Ice covered tank. It wasn't red paint.
Sonic gulped. As he worked his way around them, he heard sparks from torn up machinery… except for one.
It had a glowing red button light on the turret… indicating…
The door sudden burst open and Echidna legionnaires ran out, "We got you- " There was an Echidna in heavy snow gear. He had a mechanical eye, and two metal dreads. He also had a robot arm. He was probably the leader.
Sally and Tails rushed out.
The leader growled, "Lower your weapon." Sonic didn't have-
The leader turned to his men, "Now!"
The Echidna looked at each other, and lowered their blasters.
Sally and Tails stopped running, and approached slower.
"Captain, are you sure? They are enemies of-"
The Captain growled, "If Eggman wants him dead, he can come up here and deal with him. I'm after a different target. Are you Sonic the hedgehog?" The Echidna asked as Sally pulled up to Sonic's side.
"That's me." Sonic put up his cocky attitude.
The Captain clasped his hands together, and bowed, "We need your help."
/*-*/
Fiona Slumped as the two guards came and stood at the doorway of her cell. They pressed a button, and the bottom of the door opened. A metal tray with Biscuits and something fried passed through. A fork sat at the side of the tray.
Fiona groaned, and walked over to the edge of the shade, and used her foot to drag the food over to her. She tore into it, and the meal was surprisingly good. Not as good as freedom, but she was working on that.
Next, the door opened, and she was dragged out to the shower rooms. She was tossed to the floor, and she picked herself up, preparing to undress, wishing for some privacy. The two guards watched as the black top and shorts hit the floor. Oh, she bet they enjoyed those moments, where a smoking hot girl was naked right in front of them.
Of course, they weren't going to do anything. Mobian laws were ironically working in Fiona's favor, so the worst she had to deal with was ogling. Still, if they decided to cover for each other…
Fiona couldn't afford to worry about that thought. She just walked into the shower, washed up, and found herself back in her cell, having to deal with the two guards smug grins.
Still, something was different. A chilly mist, a cool breeze. Fiona had enough sense to know that the winds were changing yet again.
/*-*/
Johan bounded forward. Someone powerful had dared to cross into his newly established territory. He had taught every Saxon at home the importance of settling these issues.
Odacer sat on his knees as Johan dragged the prisoners forward. The Various children in training, from young chiefs, to lowborns, needed to learn this lesson.
Johan drew his sword, "Never let an insult go unpunished. If you do, your foes will get bolder, until you have nothing left."
Johan's sword made the prisoners jerk as they realized what was about to happen.
"If you want to be respected, show the world what you'll do to those who cross you." Johan took the sword, and jammed it into the prisoner's eyes, blinding all but the last one.
"Now go and tell your master to never underestimate me again." Johan growled, cutting the prisoners free. The priests and godis all nodded in approval. Johan knew how to send the perfect message.
Now, Johan once again had to repel those who dared call themselves his equal. He could, however, tell that one of them was pretty strong. A good foe to test his strength.
Johan stopped lumbering as a familiar scent reached his nose. It was altered slightly, but the basic scent matched it. Garden Defender.
Johan bore his teeth, and continued forward to face this foe.
/*-*/
The climactic showdown, will occur next chapter.
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