UlTTrRa SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ:
LoVe'S bUrN
By: UlTtrrAa ShAdDow
Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters...but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!...Enjoy the brand spankin' new chapter!
You can close your eyes to things you don't want to see, but you can't close your heart to things you don't want to feel."
Third Person POV:
"Twenty Ooooone!"
Tails and Cream simultaneously moaned as Amy slammed down a deck of cards and began laughing gleefully. To pass the time at Tails' workshop, the trio, after watching an entire series of movies had decided to play card games. It was either that or watch another one of Amy's sappy-love story flicks.
"Bah, I give up, this is the twentieth time she's won at this game, I'm gonna go outside and get some fresh air," Tails said, discarding his playing hand.
"I give up Miss Rose, you're too good," Cream admitted politely.
"Well, wanna try your luck at Charades?" Amy asked, arching a competitive eye brow.
"Would I?"
The young preteen fox slowly stepped out onto his'front yard' which was an airplane runway that had a marvelous overview of the ocean. A light wind ruffled his fur as he gazed at the sea with arms akimbo; nowadays, it seemed as if everything had returned to normal;
Amy had taken some therapy classes where she had learned to fix her speech impediments, and now her speech was even crisper and sharper than before. Yep, it looked like everything was back to normal…
The golden fox frowned slightly; everything seemed to have been returning to normal…until Doctor Eggman had tried to take the world by force yet again. Tails sighed, he missed Sonic terribly, but whenever Eggman was cooking up a scheme, Sonic was always there with his foot in the door.
For once the older blue hedgehog refused to let Tails accompany him. Sonic claimed to have wanted to try out his new upgrades of the chaos emeralds, but ultimately, Tails knew that it was one of those, 'it's too dangerous for you to go,' things.
But if his best bud wanted him to stay at 'headquarters' and monitor the situation, then Tails would do his best and fulfill his duties. That was just how loyal the little guy was.
The young fox snapped out of daydreaming once he heard the door behind him creak open. Both Amy and Cream popped out of the door with piles of items in their hands.
"Hi Tails!" Cream chirped, waving at him, and unfolding a red and white plaid blanket.
She caught the blanket in the wind's soft current and spread it upon the blue-green grass. As the young rabbit plopped herself upon the blanket, Amy spilled various junk food items and games onto the blanket.
The pink hedgehog turned to gaze at him and smiled, "We thought it'd be a good idea to have a picnic. Wouldn't you think Sonic would like it too when he returned?"
Smiling, Tails cocked his head slightly, "I definitely think Sonic would like it! As long as he has food, he's happy."
"Maybe he would like some Peach Cobbler!" Cream suggested.
"I like Peach Cobbler!" Tails chirped, suddenly becoming animated.
Both Tails and Cream stared at Amy, who blinked, then laughed, "Okay, okay, I get it! I'll make Peach Cobbler! Tails, would you be a dear and collect some fresh peaches from a tree?"
Tails and Cream exchanged excited glances as they licked their lips in anticipation of devouring the tasty treat, " Yum!"
"Wanna help me gather the peaches, Cream?"
"Okay, I'll go get the woven basket!"
Tails took to the air as Cream disappeared inside of the workshop. Once the beige rabbit returned with a basket that was a fourth of her height, Tails situated himself before a peach tree.
"Ready?" he asked, gazing at the small rabbit below him.
"Ready!"
Just as he began plucking and dropping palm-sized peaches, a spark of green light appeared beside the golden fox.
"Eh?" Tails, as well as Amy and Cream gazed at the emerald rays of light materializing before their eyes and appearing out of the light was a group of people.
"Sonic!" Tails cried joyful.
"Tails!" Sonic smiled, then he frowned seeing something was incorrect with the picture, but before he could figure it out…he, as well as the others plummeted to the ground.
"…Ah he was flying!" Sonic declared.
Shadow, Rouge and Daisy gave him death glares; meanwhile Scythe felt it appropriate to voice his opinion.
"Good one dumbass!" Scythe glared murderously.
"Hey! How was I to know that he's hovering in midair?" Sonic cried.
"Are you guys, okay?" Amy asked, approaching them.
She stooped lower to help Sonic up, then made eye contact with Scythe, "…Oh, who are you?"
"The mean bean over there is Scythe (Scythe turns to look at Sonic and frowns.) and the cute shortcake is Daisy."
"Nice to meet both of you," Amy smiled, "You both must be friends of Sonic's!"
Daisy nodded her head vigorously while Scythe gazed at Amy as if he had stepped in a wad of moldy gum. Cream slowly made her way over toward the silver-eyed hedgehog who glared venomously at her. But instead of being afraid, she smiled, "Hi!"
Scythe frowned, 'Aw damn! I can't even frighten little children anymore! Hanging around these creampuffs is turning me soft…..'
Daisy looked at Scythe and laughed, "Nice try, but maybe she can see past the scary face like I can!"
Scythe turned to look at the yellow hedgehog with an unreadable expression, "What does that mean?"
Before Daisy could give her answer, Sonic mashed his through the horde of friends until he stood before Amy, gazing down at her with large green eyes, "D-do I smell…CHILIDOGS?"
Smiling, Amy nodded her head, "Yep, and there's plenty of more foods in the kitchen! Come on, let me show you."
Sonic whooped following Amy, "Well then COOK IT UP! Shadow; get the hell out of her way! She's trying to get to the kitchen!"
Shadow remained stationary until Rouge halfheartedly pulled the ebony hedgehog towards her. Sonic whooped and hollered until he disappeared from sight. Shadow slowly made his way over to the white bat that sat at the ledge of the grassy cliff. He sat in the area she signaled for him to sit with a light pat.
Just as the dark hedgehog sat down, Rouge leaned her head against his chest. Shadow heard a soft sigh as he wrapped an arm around her back.
"…Couldn't you just stay like this forever?" Rouge asked gently.
"…No, then my joints would lock up."
Tickled by his humor, Rouge laughed, she elevated her gaze so she could look into deep red eyes, he arched an eye brow as he saw the white bat color slightly, "What?"
Rouge's couldn't help but burst into a full laugh, "I can't believe I'm with someone so perfect! You're gorgeous!"
"Hmm," Shadow thoughtfully turned to look into the sky.
Rouge's laughter died down into a content smile, "And yet you think nothing of it…"
"How can I? When I see someone as lovely as you daily," he replied, turning his gaze to her.
Laughing, Rouge found herself nestled into one of Shadow's soft, light kisses.
"Lunch's ready!" Amy called.
The handsome couple slowly broke off the kiss and turned to join the others who were clumped around the blanket where food was being set. As soon as the last of the plates were set, they all dove in laughing and jesting, enjoying the presence of each other.
The Sahara Base...
Slowly, circling the perimeters of the base was the red echidna. He took slow, dignified steps, and yet, he wandered around the base aimlessly.
Perhaps he was awaiting Shadow's return, because he knew that it was only a matter of time before Shadow would have to come back to the base and face-off with Eggman.
Just as Knuckles made a turn around a left corner, he suddenly felt an unholy pain surge through his body, and as he grabbed his chest grimacing, he crumpled on the floor. Knuckles gnashed his teeth as he felt streams of pain rack through his body. The echidna began gasping for air and tried to pull himself off of the ground, but found that he lacked the strength to do so.
'Wha…What's happening to me? I feel so weak…Can't…handle…much more of this..'
Just as the echidna was starting to loose his grip on consciousness, the pain left just as suddenly as it had appeared. Knuckles sat up silently, trying to process what had happened. Still breathing harshly, he wiped the cool sweat from his head, "What was that…about? Is this a side-effect of Eggman's---"
Then he heard something in his mind, a voice ringing as clearly as a bell.
'Forgive me….Knuckles, for I am weak…'
Angel Island...
The sky above the island had turned the dull, bleak color mal-intentioned auras were. Thick clouds hid the sun, the bright starof the sky, and lying on her back, staring numbly into thin air was the ancient monarch.
The island had begun to sink into the ebony-colored sea, and the echidna princess had no strength or desire to pick herself up from the ground. She felt the water beginning to lap around her face, but she made no movements, the only thing she could do with her limited strength was just to gaze.
Eggman had beaten her and taken the Master Emerald without breaking a sweat. She had failed her duties to protect the Emerald…and she had failed Knuckles.
As the water began to soak her hair, Tikal began to think: what would Knuckles think of her now that she had allowed the Master Emerald to be taken?
She clenched her eyes shut tightly as tears swelledin her eyes, 'He'd hate me! he'd never respect me after this…I don't deserve to live after this…'
The memories of what happened were still vibrant in her head…
"Dr. Eggman?" Tikal asked, feeling her nerves beginning to leave her.
"Correct, and now I offer you two choices: surrender the Master Emerald or face severe consequences."
Backing away slowly, Tikal gazed skyward at one of Eggman's hovering contraptions, she trembled; it wasn't as if she hadn't' fought before, but whenever there was trouble on Angel Island, Knuckles was always there to fight alongside of her .
And now…he wasn't here to help her…
The Doctor smiled at the ancient monarch, it seemed as if she had backed off, allowing him to take the Emerald as easy as pie. And besides, the girl was literally shaking in her boots, there was no way she'd give him opposition.
"Wise choice girl," the Doctor purred contently, "The Emerald shall be well taken care of."
Without another word, the doctor headed straight towards the Emerald. Silently, Tikal watched as the Doctor began to try to snatch the Emerald from its podium.
Images of ago long suddenly flooded her mind, she grabbed her head and cried out as she remembered her people fighting and spilling blood over the very same stone Eggman was about to waltz away with. Images of death and destruction, and fire and pain, enveloped her mind.
These were the images that had molded her into the withdrawn, eerily quiet princess she had become. Something had sparked all these painful memories of her being too weak and too emotionally unstable to take up the reigns of her kingdom.
Centuries ago her life had evolved around this jewel, and even though she was too afraid…or too weak to become the future ruler of her people, her father gave his daughter both dignity and self value in becoming the guardian of the Master Emerald; it was the best gift he gave his daughter, because no matter what, she always had the Master Emerald, which, in a sense offered her a secret comfort.
Besides Knuckles, the Emerald was the only thing she could count on; in fact, it had been with her before she had even fallen for the handsome red warrior. And now, her lack of backbone allowed an evil man to take one of the few things that kept her sane; the Master Emerald.
Tikal backed away, letting tears roll down her cheeks and past quivering lips; what would her people think of her? Or her father?
The people of her past would probably scoff and laugh at her for proving them right about being the weakling they thought her as. Her father would probably be heart broken, finally seeing his daughter for what she really was, a coward…But what would Knuckles think?
Aqua eyes widened…Knuckles…
The only person she truly loved…
Even if the only experience she had in love was running away from an arranged marriage with an arrogant, lustful fiancé… she knew that without a shadow of a doubt, she loved Knuckles…the only boy who had been kind to her with only friendship in mind.
She had to defend the Master Emerald not only for him…but for herself, so she could prove to her people once and for all that she was not a total failure. Soft, aqua-hinted eyes were engulfed in fiery-red abysses. She took to the air and swooped at Eggman like a falcon.
"I AM NOT WEAK! I SHALL NOT BE DENIED!"
The Princess crashed into the metal bulk, and sent the Doctor spiraling in the air.
Once the doctor regained control over his hovercraft, he turned his gaze turned the monarch who stared at him with furious eyes, "You stupid girl! Very well then! You have sealed your fate with such a brash move!"
Eggman unleashed a barricade of machinegun bullets upon the princess who ducked and smashed into the hovercraft yet again. Eggman yelped, searching for the princess who suddenly seemed to disappear.
"Where in the world…is she?" Eggman asked, scanning the area.
Slowly, he turned to his rear to see the Princess, slowly rising to meet him face to face. Before he could turn his weapons to face her, with monstrous strength, she began to rip the device limb from limb with hands that her people claimed were fragile and weak.
"Are you crazy? What are you doing?" Eggman gasped.
But little did he know that she was in a completely different world, fighting monsters of the past that she never had the courage to face, "I AM NOT WEAK! I AM NOT WEAK! I AM OF WORTH! I AM PRINCESS TIKAL! AND NOW, I SUMMON THE HEAVEN'S JUSTICE!"
Rays of blue light crashed and tore into Eggman's machince, sending him plummeting towards the ocean. Once Tikal saw that he was out of view, all her anger and strength left her as she quickly descended to the ground and collapsed.
Gasping, she slowly rose her gaze towards the Master Emerald, and a new feeling, a new joy began to grow inside of her; she had proven those doubtful skeptics wrong. She not only had the courage to defend the emerald, but she was successful.
Slowly, Tikal rose to her feet, and at first,unsurely approached the Emerald, but then, the feeling of joy overtook her and she began to sprint, laughing all the while, "I…I did it…I stopped him….I am not weak…I am not weak…I am…a good guardian…father was right! I am a good guardian! I did it! Father, Knuckles, I did it!"
She reached the Emerald and hugged it; it welcomed her by pulsing warmly. Tikal threw her head back and laughed, "I did it, friend! I did it! I protected you and proven myself worthy as a guardian! I did it! I did---!"
The sound of a machinegun firing sounded and cut the princess off mid sentence. She gasped slightly, feeling a burning pain in her midsection.
She looked at her abdomen to see blood covering her once defined stomach. She then looked at the Emerald to see that it was splashed red. At the touch of blood, the emerald blinked repeatedly.
Before Tikal could say another word, another legion of bullets were fired, and she dropped to the floor with a cry, gasping from pain. Eggman slowly walked passed her gasping, with smoke still rising from the barrel of his gun, "Foolish girl! No one shall deter my plans, come hell or high water!"
He walked passed her and stood gazing at the winking Emerald, " Now then, how shall I take it back to my hovercraft? That woman did a number on it…"
Tikal slowly opened opaque aqua eyes and they fell upon the Emerald, she smiled slightly, recognizing its signal patterns, "…It's…okay friend….I cannot die…I am…an immortal…gu…ar..dian…but I can feel pain…greatly…s..e…n..d…Knuckles…then d..is..pel y..our…po..w..er.."
The Emerald flashed a deep red momentarily, mirroring the fine color of Knuckles' coat, then itturned completely black. The Island began to rumble as it started its descent into the ocean. Eggman gasped slightly, then regained his composure, "This makes it much easier to bring the Emerald to the Hovercraft."
Just as Tikal began to loose consciousness, she muttered, "Forgive me….Knuckles, for I am weak…"
Tikal opened pale eyes into the bright sun; the water had risen much higher from the last time she was conscious. The water had stung her eyes as it was beginning to cover her snout. She frowned slightly, awaiting the water to overtake her.
Once she felt the water steal the last of her oxygen, she slowly opened her eyes, staring at the fading blue sky. Slowly, the world around her was getting darker as she sank deeper into the black sea.
'Good bye…world…'
She felt herself beginning to submerge into unconscious.
'Don't give up, my daughter, it is not your time yet to come home and join your people, now wake up, guardian of the Emerald! Wake up and breathe the air of life!'
Tikal woke up, feeling something heaving her out of her watery tomb. She gasped and coughed up water, looking up at her hero, the face belonged to her...
"F-Father?" Tikal called weakly.
Her father's soft smiled slowly dissolved into a younger, handsome face; the owner had warm amethyst eyes, "Knuckles?"
"I'm here Tikal, you're safe…"
Tail's Workshop...
After the great feast they had for dinner, the girls had decided to take a bath in one of Tails' new saunas he had created. By now the sun had set and the beginning of night was marked by the twinkling stars.
Under the great moon's eye sat three feminine figures simmering in bubbling, hot opaque water. Rouge sighed gently as she slowly sank into the water, "That fox boy is surely a genius!"
"Yeah," Amy agreed, face flushed from the heat, "He sure knows how to use his geek skills wisely!"
Both Amy and Rouge tittered lightly, Cream popped out of the water playing with two dolls, " Aah! Help me! Save me! Save me!"
Rouge arched an interested eyebrow, "Cream, what are you playing, honey?"
Cream gazed over her shoulder at the older female, " I'm playing 'Mermaid Adventures' again."
Amy smiled, " Hey, what happened to playing 'Sonic Adventure' with all the cute figurines I bought you?"
"I played that with Mister Scythe already," Cream said happily.
"…"
Rouge and Amy exchanged glances as Cream continued, "Yeah! It was really fun! In the game Mister Sonic was tied on a stick and barbecued, Mister Shadow was shipped off to Australia, and Mister Scythe himself became the supreme ruler of the world!"
"And what happened to Rouge and Amy and Cream in the game?" Rouge asked.
" Rouge and Amy fell in love with the handsome tyrant as every girl in the world did and became his servants! And Cream got to play with Tails!" Cream chirped happily.
"…"
Rouge and Amy exchanged another look at each other as Cream continued playing her game of, 'Mermaid Adventures.' Both girls looked up as they heard feet slapping upon the pavement; it was Daisy's petite form that appeared before them wrapped in a single towel.
"Ah, there she is! Come on in Daisy, the water's fine!" Rouge called, waving at the young girl.
Slowly, Daisy made her way over towards the sauna, " Okay, I'll be in just a minute."
Both Rouge and Amy were relaxing in the sauna with their eyes closed, enjoying the bubbling heat. Frowning slightly, the young girl still held her towel wrapped around her slender, rather straight figure.
'Dang it, why can't I have a fuller figure like them?' Daisy thought glaring at them slightly.
Just as she began to remove her towel and join the other girls, a wisp of green light appeared right behind Rouge, "See Shadow, it's that simple; you lock onto someone's location, and bingo-bango, there ya go!"
A deeper voice spoke, "Ah, so that explains why we appeared here, but I thought I keyed in upon Rouge…where is she?"
Four pairs of eyes fell upon Daisy who gasped and instantly tightened her grip upon her towel, not to mention that her face turned six shades of red.
"…Oops," Sonic said dumbly.
"…" was both Shadow's and Tails' response.
"…Straighter than I thought," was Scythe's.
Rouge slowly opened an eye, " What's wrong, Daisy?"
Daisy pointed a trembling finger behind the white bat and both Amy and Rouge turned to look at the males who in turn, looked at them.
"Ah! THERE Rouge is!" Sonic cried.
"…………"
In a matter of seconds, Shadow, Sonic, Tails and Scythe found themselves running from three screaming, angry females who torn through the workshop right on their tails.
"COME BACK HERE!"
"WE'RE NOT THROUGH WITH YOU GUYS YET!"
"CALL ME 'STRAIGHT' WILL YA?"
Just as Rouge, Amy, and Daisy reached the front law of the workshop, they all skid to astop to see that the boys had indeed stopped running.
...Had they just signed their death warrants?
Before any of the females could react, they paused and gasped, understanding why the males had halted in their tracked. In front of them stood a red echidna with a bowed head holding an unconscious female echidna in his arms. His knee-length quills swayed gently in the wind as the moonlit-figure in his arms perspired crimson droplets of blood.
In fact, the male echidna was standing in a puddle of blood…
To be continued!
Chapter Theme: 'Hero'-Mariah Carey-(Yeah! Go Tikal!)