Chapter 4 – Drifting Souls

"Rise and shine, boys."

"Whuuuu…." Tails moans. Sonic is still out cold. Amy doesn't look impressed.

"I made breakfast. Come on, wake up."

"WHAT!?" Sonic leaps to his feet. "Did you say breakfast?"

"Come and get it! Sausage and eggs, and lots of 'em."

Both Sonic and Tails' mouths begin to water.

"I didn't know you could cook, Amy!" Sonic remarks, unknowingly licking his lips in anticipation.

Down in the basement, Thorn still rests. Failing to make it to the couch the night before, he lies passed out on the floor. Not even the smell of freshly cooked delicacies can tear him away from his deep slumber. Rayl is in a similar position. Having dozed off on the porch so late into the night, she sleeps right through the rise of the bright morning sun.

Neither Thorn nor Rayl open their eyes until nearly noon. Thorn is the first to wake. Feeling quite disoriented, he makes his way up the stairs.

"Oh! Is that Thorn coming up?" Amy notices.

"Gee whiz, those two have been sleeping for quite a while, haven't they?" Tails says in a concerned tone. " I guess travelling across dimensions would be pretty tiring, huh?"

Thorn reaches the top of the staircase, saying nothing. He heads outside.

"Uh, Thorn?" Amy calls out to him. He doesn't even notice her.

"Geez, what's wrong with him?" Sonic jokes.

"Rayl. I need to talk to you about something."

No response. She appears to be in an incredibly deep sleep, tossing and turning about.

"Rayl!" He runs up to her and begins to shake her body in hopes that she'll wake.

"N-No!" Rayl screams, shooting up in terror.

"Holy… are you okay?"

Rayl attempts to catch her breath, unable to speak. Eyes wide open, gaping mouth and all, she clearly didn't have a pleasant sleep.

"Rayl, it's okay, take your time."

"I… I'm fine." She finally manages to respond.

Sensing that what she's saying isn't quite true, Thorn gives her a minute to fully regain herself.

"This place is doing something to us," he says, "and it's not good."

"We can't stay here much longer if my theories are anything to believe… I thought we'd have more time." She takes a deep breath. "But this dimension is already taking a huge toll on us."

Thorn lets out a sigh. He thinks about things for a moment, then comes to terms with something within himself. His expression transforms from one of concern, to one of a fiery courage.

"Rayl. No matter what we go through, no matter how hard it gets, no matter how much pain we must endure… We owe it to every single survivor to do everything we can to protect them."

Rayl seems genuinely surprised at this sudden outburst. Thorn continues.

"I used to be afraid, but I don't care if I die here anymore. If we give up prematurely, then we'll never truly know what could have happened if we didn't. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather lose my life valiantly than live on with the regret that I didn't do enough."

"Thorn…"

"I'm going to be honest with you, I never really believed it was possible. I'd already resigned myself to failure before I even got here."

Is this true? Rayl can't believe it.

"I… I'm so sorry. I ran away from my life, from the person I loved, from you. I hate myself for it, I truly do. I was so scared that I ran away from everything." He looks down for a second but regains his passion almost immediately. "But… you know what? I wouldn't take it back, not for anything, because I've met you here, and you've given me the drive to push on."

Rayl is astonished. "But what have I done here that inspired you so much? What have I done that the Rayl you knew wasn't able to?"

Without missing a beat, he answers. "You showed me true bravery, Rayl. Against the odds, despite everything, you still mustered up the courage to come here by yourself with a plan to save everyone. You're twice the person I could ever hope to be, and you've taught me a valuable lesson. So I'm going to really try this time. Not just for me, not just for you, and not just for the other you, but for everyone I've ever known. As long as we can help it, we have to keep trying, for them."

Not knowing what to say, Rayl runs into Thorn's arms.

"We've both been through a lot, haven't we…"

A couple moments of silence later, Thorn remembers something.

"Rayl, do you know where your dimensional leap machine is?"

"Yeah, of course. That's how I got here, after all… Do you not know where yours is?"

"Uhh…"

"Thorn! Are you serious!?"

"When I came to, it was nowhere to be found! It wasn't my fault, I swear!"

"You should have told me earlier… This could be very bad… Not only will you not be able to return to your own world, but if someone else gets their hands on it…"

"Wait, why wouldn't I be able to return to Beta-182?"

"The dimensional coordinates… I don't know the dimensional coordinates for Beta-182. The dimensional leap machine has an emergency return button so your machine would always be able to return to its home dimension. Without your machine, though, there would be no way of getting back home."

Thorn begins to sweat. "Oh no…"

"Well we're going to have to find it. Thorn, we have to begin searching right away."

"But the assassination is in two days! We need to start planning, don't we?"

"Shoot, this isn't good. If only we had more time…"

"Rayl, I think the search is going to have to wait until after we save the King and Queen."

"You might be right, but if something happens…"

"There's no time to worry about this, we have to get moving! You came here for one reason and one reason only! That's what we have to focus on right now."

Rayl closes her eyes and lifts her hands to her head. She can't think straight. Her mind is racing with all the possible scenarios in which things go wrong. She starts to shake her head.

"No! This can't be happening!" she screams.

"Rayl! What the hell are you doing!"

"Everything always goes so wrong; no world is safe now! I shouldn't have made the dimensional leap machine, I shouldn't have come here, I-"

"Listen to me, Rayl! What's gotten into you!?"

She covers her entire face with her hands and begins to sob.

"I-I shouldn't have played god… I should have known something like this would have happened…"

"You couldn't have known! If anyone's the idiot here, it's me! I lost your machine, because I didn't know how to handle it properly! You did nothing wrong, your plan was going perfectly until I threw a wrench in it!"

From inside the house, Sonic, Tails and Amy can hear everything. They know that now isn't the best time to talk to them, that the two should work it out themselves.

"You can't say that! I was careless, I shouldn't have made you go. I shouldn't have come up with that plan to send you here so I could-"

"What the…"

"Huh?"

"You're speaking as if you're the Rayl from Beta-182…"

"Are you sure? I…"

"You talked about sending me here! I don't even exist in your world, how is that possible!?"

Rayl begins to shake.

"I don't know… Thorn, I don't know what's happening… Please, help… me…" she says, then faints.

"Rayl!"

Hearing that last shout, Amy decides to rush outside.

"What happened!?"

"I don't know. She was acting strangely, then just fell unconscious!"

"We need to get her inside."

Amy and Thorn carry Rayl into the house, lying her on the couch.

"Whoa, is she okay?" Sonics asks, clearly worried.

"I don't know… this doesn't make any sense. Have we already spent too much time here?"

"What do you mean?" Tails inquires.

"Rayl always thought that if one were to stay outside of their dimension for too long, they would die. I had no idea it would only take a couple days!"

"Stay calm, Thorn. Nobody's dead yet." Sonic assures. "Are you sure that's why this happened to her? I mean, you seem to be doing all right. You guys have been here for about the same amount of time, right, haven't you?"

"I believe so… but if it's not that, then why?"

Rayl begins to open her mouth.

"Thorn…"

"Rayl! Are you okay!?"

Her eyes don't open. Is she talking in her sleep?

"It's dark in here, Thorn…"

"Creepy…" Tails shudders.

"I knew everything… I'm sorry I lied to you…"

"Rayl! Can you hear me!?"

"The Rayl from the Alpha Dimension… I knew… That's why I sent you…"

Thorn's jaw drops. Is this the Rayl from Beta-182? But how?

"Go through with the plan… do whatever she tells you to… after that, I will tell you what comes next…" She continues. "I gave in purposefully… my soul drifts between planes… I'm still alive in here, but… once they collect enough souls… not just our world, but all worlds… will be destroyed…"

"How are you doing this, Rayl!? Answer me!"

"I have to go now… my energy is spent… you will hear from me again… goodbye, Thorn…"

"Wait!"

Rayl doesn't speak again. She remains on the couch, unconscious.

"Rayl…" Thorn falls to his knees. "You're okay."