K.O. – -unconsious on the floor clutching a copy of Shadow The Hedgehog and an iPod shuffle and smiling creepily-
Knuckles- -shakes head- That's a shame.
Tails- I'm not sure what to call this: an iPodmnia, or a Shadoverdose.
Shadow- Its a combination. She didn't even get the chance to use either of 'em.
Sonic- Ok, can we just go out and bury her in the backyard or something? She's starting to creep me out.
Carolyn the Hegdehog- Surprisingly enough, I'm good at English. Shocking, I know, considering how many spelling errors I make.(or rather the document file thingy makes by putting two words together)
Chaotix Extremist- Tomo will fit in very well, as you know. And I don't I have an addiction for Knuckles...at least...I don't think I do...
Sonic- ITS NOT TRUE! SHE HAS A KNUCKLES FETISH!
K.O.- ...Sonic. Do we need to take another visit to the Magic Cave Of Sonadow Wonderment?(I'm a huge Sonadow fan so don't get the wrong idea)
Sonic- NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ANYTHING BUT THE ANAL BUTT LOVE! I'll be a good boy...
Raine Wolfwinter- Hmm...I must admit to you. It would have helped a bit more if Raine was actually a boy, but I can still make this work. By the way, do you think you can give me your email so I can send you the info?
Sariyu-Chan- First off, I'M SORRY! My eyes have been diverted towards schoolwork and community service hours for high school or whatever, and I haven't been able to check if anyone changed their names. And second, Largo wasn't always/isn't that dumb. Everyone else, at the moment, is just smarter, really. Later on you'll see why he's the way he is. Until then, enjoy his zombie hunting stupidity.
Shadowkiller27- You might have to hold off that game for a while. I have to hurt Lite for eating Cream's present, THEN have to deal with him whining that they can't use real guns. It could take a while.
Kyo's Wife Neko- Like I said, I knew it was too short. But you shouldn't complain. You know me personally! And you will always look over my shoulder when I write the next chappie!
emily-fire-element- Thanks, I try. And you know who Shadow said that to?
Shadow- DON'T YOU DARE SA-!
K.O.-CHEESE!
Shadow- ...I am NEVER going to live this down...
And, if Anthony Bault is reading this, can I talk to you about that idea you sent me a while ago? I'm pretty confused regarding it.
Anotherthing: I sent out a bunch of emails to people about their OCs, but no one except for Chaotix Extremist, ShadowKiller27, Carolyn The Hedgehog, and Twilight-Link have emailed me back about it. People, I need to know what's going on! Otherwise, most characters won't appear!
You guys are all aware what the genre is right? Romance/Action/Adventure? Well, all we've really seen is Action/Adventure. Could this be...-gasp- THE START OF ROMANCE? KEEP READING AND FIND OUT!
RECAP: "The Key was not so smothered. They were not given any headband, but they were kept away from children during their childhood and grew up without friends, as the leaders and priests did not want their soul to be tainted and to help focus on the task given to them. The Key is to bond with the Elemental Spirits, like me, so the Gates Of Heaven could be opened to the Angel. But they must prove themselves worthy to the Spirits before bonding, which you have done Airie. The Key also has one distinctive feature about them, besides the color of their body. One lock of their hair is high-lighted a different color than the rest of it, such as black hair and a blue stripe. Your human hair color, I believe?"
Gaga snuggled into the sheets of C.K.'s bed. (A/N: I bet you all thought I was gonna start with Airie, didn't cha?) After his ruff day, what with the vampire goats and Largo and junk, he was glad to be home. He was worried about C.K. though. She said she be home by the time he got back from the Demon World. He didn't go look for her though; he knew whatever she was doing was important to her and her friends and that he shouldn't intrude.
Actually while I'm telling you this, C.K at the moment is mentally swearing heavily at 4Kids for in the belief that they cut out what was to possibily to her one of the most important events in Sonic X history, but we'll get to that later. Now, Gaga.
He, by now, had nearly fallen asleep. He was finally going to get some well earned sleep. Unfortunately, he forgot Largo was still in the house. He was quickly reminded.
"You! Chao!" Largo yelled as he grabbed Gaga under his arm and out of C.K.'s room. "I am in need of your assistance!" Gaga gasped, then squirmed out of Largo's grasp. "What happened!" he asked.(A/N: Gaga thinks Largo turned sane after looking at the book) "I need to know the Chant Of Rebirth." Gaga cocked his eye. "Why would you need to know that?" "I need to know it so I can summon forth my presently non-existent comrade so we may defeat the zombie threat!"
Silence. Gaga fell to the floor crying.
"What's wrong?" Largo asked. Gaga tried pointing at him. "You...you...you idiot! You really have a way of making things worse for people, don't you!" Largo knelt down and picked Gaga up. The way he was, Largo would never be able to summon forth Cameo, unless he could get Gaga to stop crying and help him. But how would he get Gaga to help him? Largo felt that there was a distinct possibility that Gaga didn't like him.(A/N: Very good, Largo) There was something Largo knew though, and although he hated to do it, he had to.
"Gaga." He said firmly. "You want to protect my friend C.K., correct?" Gaga nodded, sniffing. "Well then, why not help me bring my companion to life? I can assure you, he will protect her when you can't. He will be a vigilant eye, watching over her. He will see her every move, not onebreath will she take without him knowing. I promise you this, in return for your assitaince."
Gaga lowered his head in thought. Sure, he WANTED C.K. to be safe when he wasn't there for her, and although this gave him a great opprotunity to fufill that desire, he didn't want to be like a stalker! If it wasn't for that, he'd agree.
"He won't be...all over her like a...a stalker...will he?" Gaga asked reluctantly. "Only if you so wish it." Largo said. "...Fine." "Good. Let's go."
Airie stood there in utter silence, unsure of what to think. She was...she was some kind of a catalyst? That's the way it sounded from how Water Tails said it. According to him, she was this 'Key', born to 'aid the Angel', or something. It was insane! And what was that race called? The Twilight? Airie remembered how her mother used to call her 'The Key Of The Twilight'. Had her mother somehow been in on this? Did her father know, too? If they did, why didn't they tell her before it was too late? So many thoughts ran through her head, she felt as though she could faint right on the spot.
"...C.K." she said after a long silence. "Please tell me...that 4Kids editied this thing out of the original Sonic X before it came to the States for whatever stupid reason that went through theirheads." C.K. looked at her boots. "I...I really wish I could, but...no, they didn't. This was never in the Japan show."
"Oh, I see. ...Lite?"
"Y...yeah Airie?"
"Could you hand me that pillow I was laying on before?"
"Uh...sure..?" Lite handed her the pillow.
"Thanks." Airie said right before she burried her face into the pillow and screamed. She would always do this back home when something really shocking or bad happened to her. But this was different. This wasn't like 'I-flunked-the-math-test' or something like that back home. This was a real life-or-death situation. It was bad enough being stuck in a TV show, but knowing that she was some kind of a key (A/N: Pun not intended)used in freeing an entire race really added pressure she didn't need.
When she finished screaming to her heart's content, Airie set the pillow aside and walked out the door. Knuckles started to follow her, but C.K. grabbed his hand, shaking her head, telling him 'no'.
Water Tails sighed. He knew that something like this would happen if he did as Gabriel said and take the direct approach.
"In here, Gaga." Largo said, while he and Gaga entered the spare room that Largo had prepared earlier. Gaga was very impressed. Largo did everything in his power...without destroying something! He thought it would never had happened.
"Do you have the remembrance?" Gaga asked. "If you mean 'something belonging or related to the deceased or non-living one' its right here." Largo waved around two sheets of paper, which he handed to Gaga. On one of them was a purple chameleom with the headscales highlighted different shades of green. He was wearing all black; he had a black hoodie with the word 'NINJ4' scrawled on it, black cargo pants, and punk boots. Gaga saw this to be Cameo, as his name was beneath the picture.
The second one, however, was someone Largo had never mentioned. It was a pure white echidna girl, wearing a green sweater skirt, with what looked like large, lime-green circitry on it. On her head was a white bandana, which was mostly covered up by one piece, green shaded goggles. It melded perfectly into her hair, which had a caption next to it that said 'Julie-Su cut'. Her name wasn't there, if she had one at all. Gaga felt, although just for a moment, her piercing gray eyes bore into his own.
"Who's this?" Gaga asked. "I do not know." Largo replied. "I took the drawing of Cameo out of one of Airie's notebooks for the remembrance, I had no other choice. But I wanted to make sure that this would work, so I also took that one to try first."
Gaga was, once again, shocked. Life creation spells hardly ever work, and when they do, most usually backfire. Doing an expeirment firstwould ensure the outcome.
Largo took the echidna girl picture and placed into center of the spell marking. "Are you ready Gaga?" he asked. "I just hope this works..." Gaga replied. (A/N: The reason the chant is different than it was in the last chapter is because Gaga was aiming on bringing one person, C.K.. If he said it the normal way(the way shown), it would have brought out any random person)
"Live Life, Thou Shalt Not Die!"
"For Millions And Millions Of Years!"
"Hail,Wandering Soul Of The Lost!"
"Strong Are Thy Sails In The Wind..."
"...As Thou Glidest Over The Rivers Of White Flame..."
"...That Lead From Purgatory!"
A blinding light burst from the under thepicture. Gaga and Largo shielded themselves from it. After a little bit, Largo felt the light die down. He squinted his eyes open just a little bit, and that was all he needed to see his success.
Lying where the picture once was, there was the same echidna girl. She was curled up in a ball, hugging her knees. Slowly her eyes opened, and she stood up from the ground and moved out of the circle. She put her hands in front of her, and bowed slighty to Largo and Gaga, never saying a word.
Largo smiled. "Perfect..." With that, he grabbed the picture of Cameo, and placed it in the center.
Airie had flown all the way back to the forest where she first met Sonic and Knuckles. She sat down by a lake she found, hugging her knees. All the events that had happened in the past few weeks...were they all planned to happen? Was this the only reason she was alive? Airie wished that it wasn't true, she wanted this to be a lie. She wanted someone's shoulder to lean and to cry on for the moment. She could always go toC.K. and Lite, whowould alwaystell her it would be alright, but she didn't want to hear those words from them. Not this time anyway.
Airie heard something crack behind her. She got up quickly,but as she reached for her chakrams on her belt, she realized that they were back at the studio. This was a sign of panic. Airie had no expierence in fighting hand-to-hand, only with weapons. Small bits of tears came to her eyes, and she whimpered a bit in fear.
Her surprise when a certain blue hedgehog came out from where the noise came.
Sonic was rubbing the back of his head, and looking at his shoes. He sighed, and said "Look Airie...it was a really stupid thing for me to do...reading your diary and all..." He shifted his feet, unsure of what to say. It was an uneasy thing to do for Sonic The Hedgehog to apologize. "And...if you want you can hit me or something, I'd...I'd probably deserve it" He clenched his hands at his sides."What I'm trying to say is...I'm...I'm sor..!" He looked at Airie directly, seeing her crying. "...ry?"
At that moment, Airie lost control of her body, and launched herself towards the unsuspecting hedgehog with enough force to knock him backwards. But Sonic reamained firm, while Airie cried heavily into his chest. As confused as he was by this, Sonic continued to let Airie cry on him. For a split second, he thought he felt his cheeks lighty burn from blushing, but he quickly shook the thought out of his head.
"Airie..." Sonic asked calmly. "Did...did something happen while I was gone?" He felt Airie nod in his chest fur. He placed a hand on her head, causing her to look up at him. Sonic smiled and wiped away some of her tears with a finger. "Just tell me, ok?" he said with a small chuckle.
Airie looked at him, stunned for a moment, but lowered her head. "Ok..." she whispered. "But can I finish crying first?" "Go ahead." "Thanks."And she told him everything.
"...The half-lings...no, the Twilight prayed for guidance out of the discrimination of their kind..."
"...They received a prophecy; two children, born of their own mixed blood, would save them..."
"...They would forever be known as the Angel Of The Twilight, and the Key Of The Twilight..."
When Airie had finished, it was dusk. She and Sonic were still at the lake, sitting by the water's edge and staring out at the sun's reflection.
"Water Tails really said all that?" Sonic asked. "He did. And with a straight face, no less." Airie said. "This is going all wrong. Its like I've lost my free will or something." Sonic cocked an eye. Aire sighed. "Have you ever felt like...like you have no control over your future? Like your whole life's been planned out for you? It...its just not fair, y'know..?"
For a moment, Sonic was in deep thought, but then he let out a large laugh. Airie looked at him like he was crazy. Sonic leaned back, the laugh turning into a loud chuckle. "That was a good laugh..." he said still chuckling. "Oh, sorry. Its just..." he burst out laughing. Airie glared at him. "Look, speak to me directly if you have something to say!"
Sonic sat straight again and put a hand up in defense. "I know, I know, I'm sorry. But, you have to understand, no one's life is set out for them. How else can a person live if they don't follow their own path? Could they still have their own style, learn fromtheir own mistakes, make their own friends, have their own will? No! Besides..."
Sonic grinned and gave his trademark thumbs-up and wink. "It takes the fun out of living!"
Airie was speechless for a second. Sonic did have his moments, but she would never have thought he would have been able to tell her what she needed to hear the most. She returned the smile and looked back out to the lake. "...Thanks Sonic." she said quietly. "I really needed this. I mean, I really, REALLY needed this." "Eh, no problem." Sonic said patting her on the back. "Its what I'm here for. And remember, whenever you need someone to lean on, just gimme a yell."
"I'll keep that in mind." Airie said, the laughter returning to her voice. Sonic was glad she was laughing again. From the way things had been these past few weeks, it was a pretty rare thing to happen. He felt...no. He knew that she would be laughing everyday now.
"AIIIIIIIIRIIIIIIIIIIIIE!"
Sonic and Airie both turned their heads. Someone started calling for Airie behind them, and as the someone got nearer, Airie could tell it was Lite.
"Airie!" he yelled as he gasped for air. "You gotta come back NOW! Its Largo! He-!" Lite cut himself off when he saw Airie and Sonic sitting close to each other. His expression became very strict as he squinted his eyes and crossed his arms.
"Something happen that you wanna tell me about?"
"Ugh, Lite..."
"Airie, what's he talking about?"
"Its nothing..."
Lite shook his head. "What am I saying, this isn't the time!" he yelled. "But Airie! Largo did something incredibably stupid!" "...And is this different from any other day how?" "You don't understand!" Lite cried. "This is completely different!" As he told Airie and Sonic what Largo did, Airie's eyes were wide, with either rage, shock, amazement, fear, or most likely a combination of the four.
"Largo did WHAT?"
Once returning to the mansion, Airie proceeded to beat the living crap out of Largo. Everyone was there, even Knuckles, who returned Airie's chakrams to her. According to him, when Chris and Cream got back and saw what Largo had done, they called back at the studio ASAP.
"I brought them to life." Largo said while Airie bopped him on the head. "We needed reinforcements! Cameo was the perfect choice."
"So why did you go and bring out Tekela!" Airie yelled pointing at the white echidna girl who was playing with Cream. "She was the expeirment." Largo said. I needed to be sure it was absoultely safe before proceeding with Cameo." He motioned over to Cameo, who was lurking in the most shadowed place he coud find. Airie threw her hands up in frusration.
"Gaga, why would you do this?" C.K. asked the weeping chao. "I...I didn't want too..." Gaga sniffed. "But...Largo tricked me...he's a lot more clever than we give him credit for..."C.K. looked at Largo and sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're right, Gaga. But don't let him take advantage of your powers like this again, OK?" "...OK. I'm really, really sorry..." C.K. picked him up and gave him a little hug. "Hush now, its alright..."
Sonic turned to Airie. "Airie, I've been wondering. Just who is Tekela? I knew who Cameo was, I mean, Largo wouldn't shut up about him when we got back, but I've never seen her before." Airie put her hands behind her head. "She was a character in a webcomic I was gonna put on my site when the plot developed. Me 'n C.K once came up with a kind of Code Lyoko and Fruits Basket crossover with you guys. She was supposed to be a kind of server to enter the digital void."(A/N: Me and my friends have done something like this, so don't steal the idea)
"So basically, she's a robot? Is that why she doesn't breathe?" Sonic asked. "Yep."Airie said. "I just don't know what we can do with her though. She can't fufill her only purpose here, and there's no other reason for her to be here." "Can't Gaga just undo whatever he did to bring her here?"Sonic asked. "Ah..." Airie started. Sonic had a point. She turned to Gaga, who was still in C.K.'s arms."Can you, Gaga?" Airie asked.
Gaga, who had stopped crying replied "No Miss Airie, I can't. When a life is made with the Ortus Macula, there's no way to undo it, unless the one summoned loses the will to live, gives up their lives for a noble cause, or simply dies of natural death. Its not in my power."
"That so? Oh, well." Airie shrugged. "I guess its like when we first got here. We just gotta get used to it." She looked around for a moment. "Hey, where's Knuckles and Water Tails?" Sonic pointed to out in the hall, where Knuckles and W.T. were talking. Airie saw W.T. hand Knuckles something, to which he nodded. Knuckles walked away over to Airie and the others, and W.T. closed his eyes in deep thought.
"He told me me to give these to you." Knuckles said handing Airie what W.T. gave him. In his gloved hand was a beautiful round sapphire, glowing with purity. Tied to it was a note. Airie heasitantly took it and read the note aloud:
'Miss Airie-
'I apologize that you had to learn about your duty like this. It was never mine or the others' intention to harm you. We want to do exactly the opposite. I am aware that this comes as a great shock to you, as it did for most of the past Keys, but I am certain that you will do fine. Gabriel is working as hard as he can to find the Angel. We will inform you when she is found.'
'That stone in your hand is the symbol of our pact. Keep it with you at all times, for it contains a great and terrible power. If just a single fragment of it was to touch the ground, there is no telling what disaster would occur.'
'That stone will also inform you of when you are near its equal. When that day comes, you must follow it, to where the next pact shall be made. My comrades and I wish you luck on your journey.'
'-Water Tails'
"So...wait. There's MORE of them!" Airie exclaimed. "That's what it says..." C.K. said looking over the letter. "But...who's Gabriel? And this 'we' he was talking about?" "I dunno, but I'm gonna find out! Water Tails!" Airie said stomping over to where he stood. "Just what the hell is going...!"
Water Tails was no where to be found.
"...on?" Airie finished. "Where'd he go!" "I don't know." Knuckles said. "He was standing right there when I talked to him. Airie slapped her face. "Ugh...I am WAAAY too exhausted to be dealing with this..." she moaned.
"Well, Airie." Sonic said. "What are you gonna do? This sounds pretty important. I don't think you could just back out of this." Airie kept her back turned to them for a long time while she thought. Sonic was right; she couldn't back out. She had to do this, no choice allowed, no questions asked. But nothing said she couldn't do it her own way.
"...Yeah, I think I am." she said with a serious grin. "Its like C.K. being the Gate Keeper, my fate can't be avoided. But I'll still be able to do it my own way. I don't know a whole lot about what's going on, yet I know I'll find out, and until then I'll still live my life the way I want. I won't just forget my duty, but I won't take it as my first priority in life until I know what it means. Besides..."
Airie turned and smiled with a new passion in her eyes. "If I go by the rules, it takes the fun out of living!"
It was a dark, cold, and lonely place where Water Tails and his companions resided. Before his arrival, the other nine awaited in the darkness, only seen by their shadowed forms. They remained silent, like in sleep, no light to awake them.
A blue aura appeared in front of them, Water Tails the source. His face was very serious, very unlike a 12-year-old boy, but he kept it as he bowed his head towards his comrades. Some of them gasped at the light, even more so at the marking on his cheek.
One of the figures came closer to examine the mark. "The Mark Of The Seal..." it said in a deep masculine voice. "The Key has returned, Water Tails?"
"Yes, Gabriel." W.T. replied. "It was a bit of a shock for her at first, but I am confident that she will do well."
"'She'?" came an awedfemale voice. "Wow! There hasn't been a female Key for, what? 1500 years?" "Calm yourself, Carolyn." the one called Gabriel said. "We must look at the situation at hand. Water Tails, did you give her the Sapphire?" "Yes, I did." W.T. said. "I gave the instructions on handling at. There isn't a doubt in my mind that she will fail."
"Let us hope so." said a small female voice that came from one of the three smallest firgures. "I pray that this time it will not end the same way, yes..." "Don't worry, TinkTink!" said a simliar voice from another small firgure. "We'll do whatever is nessecary to prevent that, right RingRing, yes?" "Of course BellBell!" said the last small figure. "That day won't repeat itself, I know it, yes!"
"In any event..." W.T. said. "It would be for the best to prepare for the next seal." "You are right." said Gabriel. "Shinwa!"
One of the figures, a slim female by the shadowed look, came forward. Gabriel handed her another round stone, like the Sapphire, only violet."Your stone...the Amethyst..." he said."You know what to do. Try not to scare her away, now." Shinwa nodded, but before leaving, she gestured her hand a bit.
"Ah, yes, you are right." Gabriel said somehow understanding her. "Water Tails, please do tell us the Key's name."
W.T. took a deep breath. "...Airie Keys. That is her name."
"She's named after the isle chain?" said a flirtatious male voice. "No wonder you think she'll succeed! She must be one lucky girl! Soo…do we get to see 'er or what?" W.T. sighed and waved his hand in front of them. In the dark abyss came a small circle, and it showed a close-up viewof Airie, laughing and joking with C.K. "That's her…" W.T. said pointing to Airie. "In our form, anyway..."The voicewhistled. ''Where can I get the full body picture?" "...I hope you don't mean that the way I think you do, Alastor." Gabriel said in disgust. Alastor chuckled a little.
"Now Shinwa, go and prepare for the Key." Gabriel said. Shinwa bowed, and the shadowed form of her body faded in with the darkness around it.
W.T. stared at where Shinwa once stood for a moment. "...Gabriel." he said suddenly. "Do you think...that the Key will be able to handle Shinwa? She only found out about her duty today, and I have no doubts that the shock has not subsided."
Gabriel looked at Airie in the portal, laughing, and sighed. "We can only hope so, Water Tails."
We can only hope so...
No, seriously, IS THIS WHERE THE ROMANCE STARTS! Oh, forget it, no one will answer me anyway. Anyway, you guys wanna see how Knuckles planned out what would happen next?
(I mean no offense to cosplay or anyone who does, but men dressed up as anime girls who wear very...revealing outfits scares the crap outta me)
Shirt Guy Knuckles- Episode 3: Cosplayer Zombie Hoard Bloodbath
-----
Little did we know that the jewel Water Tails gave to Airie would unleash unspeakable horrors...
Knuckles- The water from the jewel must have exploded the ordnance in his pack on impact!
Airie- Hey, isn't that the city's water supply cracking?
So, we went over to grab Sonic(the Mystery Machine broke down so we couldn't drive)
Knuckles- -dressed as Fred- Hey, what's that over by Sonic, gang?
Airie- -dressed as Velma- Jinkies! It looks like hole in the fabric of space time!
Lite- -dressed as Shaggy, note the fuzzy chin- Zoinks!
We didn't quite know what was going on, but we knew we needed guns. Big guns. Lots of guns...
Knuckles--wearing Matrix sunglasses-C.K., load up the 'Blow Things Up' program.
C.K.- -looking at the gun assortment-Woah.
We found Sonic pretty quickly...but we also found somethings that no man should ever see.
Airie- Sonic! We gotta get you to a hospital!
Sonic- -'carmelized'- I'll pull through, but look at that!
Knuckles- Dear God, its...a grotesquely fat male Tokyo Mew Mew cosplayer!
Cosplayer- (censored for your protection) BOOYAH!
Knuckles- We can't let him near the Omiket!
Sonic- There's a Sailor Bluto too...
But it was easier said than done.
Knuckles- Good God, the rift's spewing out hundreds of them! The stench...its overwhelming...
We fought for what seemed like an eternity against a never-ending horde of morbidly obese, scantily clad cosplaying men. Such costumes as other men should never, ever have to see...
Lite- Fix the bayonets!...Knuckles, here comes the Wedding Peach group!...I need more ammo!...I can't take the horror!
Knuckles- Suck it up. -blam blam-
Cosplayer- -doing the Mill dance while ablaze- COSPLAY IS LOV...!-urk-
-----
Knuckles- -happliy sitting at his comp-
-inside chatroom-
K.O> uh...knux?
knux> k.o.?
K.O.> what the hell was that?
knux> my proposal for the next chapter. i improved your weak saucy story
-K.O. goes back to look-
K.O> aghhh! my eyes!
-K.O. jabs a pencil into each eye repeatedly-
knux> i see that you like it better than my last one. here, let me finish that love scene...
K.O.> for the love of civilization, will someone PLEASE TAKE THAT COMPUTER AWAY FROM KNUX! AAAAAAGH!
