Can I Have This Dance 4
Chapter 4
While Sonia spent the day getting ready for her dream night, Sonic and Manic prepared for the mission. She even went so far as to invite Mindy over to help with her hair and make-up.
"Wow Sonia, you look amazing. Bartleby's going to love it," Mindy declared after helping to get Sonia's hair into a beautiful twist with curls cascading down and around her left shoulder. She finished by tying Sonia's silvery mask with icy blue feathering around her eyes.
Sonia turned. "Bartleby? How'd you know I was going with Bartleby?"
"Sonia, he's only your fiancé. Who else would you be going with?" Mindy asked sarcastically.
"He's not my fiancé anymore, Mindy. You know that." Sonia had told Mindy shortly after her friend joined the Resistance with her father. Mindy repeatedly attempted to convince Sonia to change her mind.
Mindy sighed. "And why is that again? It makes no sense to me. I mean you know Robotnik would never roboticize Bartleby. Bartleby can get away with murder as far as Robotnik's concerned."
Sonia shook her head. "We don't know that for sure. Robotnik's a jackass. If he knew Bartleby was with me and didn't turn me in… chances are good Robotnik WOULD roboticize him or use him against me. Or me against him. It's just… and Sonic and Manic hate him. For the sake of our harmony, I can't do it. Möbotropolis is counting on the three of us to get rid of Robotnik. If I went back to Bartleby and they found out…
"Sonia! They're your brothers! If they care about you then they would support it. If they wouldn't support you… Sonia, what kind of brothers are they?" Mindy's logic soundly defeated Sonia's argument. "And Bartleby has gotten away with worse than not giving you to Robotnik. And we both know you belong together."
Sonia hugged herself, an expression of sheer despair on her face. "I know Mindy but that part of my life is over now. Tonight is just letting it go out with a blaze of glory. I'll be able to move on afterward."
Mindy unwrapped Sonia's arms and replaced them with her own. "No you won't. You're miserable Sonia. Only your brothers don't see it. What does that tell you?"
"I'm fine Mindy, really," Sonia insisted. "I know what I'm doing. This is the right thing."
Mindy could see that Sonia was not going to be convinced right now but it was close. Maybe the ball would put her over the edge.
"Hey sis, you almost ready in there?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah, we want to see you before we have to go," Manic added. "Cyrus wants to see how you look too."
Sonia stood up while Mindy went to let them in. Their jaws hit the floor at the sight of their sister.
"Wow sis! You look great!" Sonic declared.
Manic looked over his sister. "I don't know bro. There's something missing."
Sonia remembered then the gift from her mother. She reached for the box on her vanity. "How about this." She opened it to reveal a beautiful crystalline heart pendant necklace. "Mother gave it to me yesterday when I was getting my dress."
"Mother!" Sonic and Manic shouted in unison.
Sonic placed hands on her shoulders. "You saw Mom? Why didn't you call us?"
"There was no time," Sonia replied as she put on the necklace. "Just enough time to give me this…" And a little advice. I wonder what she meant. "She said she wore it to her own debutante ball when she was my age."
Manic continued looking. "Nope, still not done yet. Ah, I got it. How about this?" He produced a beautiful diamond and gold tiara. "And before you ask, I didn't steal it. I bought it from a friend of mine."
"Who stole it for you," Sonic added what they all knew was true.
Manic stuck out his tongue. "At least I didn't steal it. But a princess needs a crown. Doesn't she?"He placed the tiara at the correct place in her hair. "There, now you're ready. Doesn't she look great Cyrus?"
Cyrus was standing quietly behind his friends. He was drawn to Sonia but as beautiful as she was,"Sonia, are you sure you can't help tonight? We need you. You're the best pilot we have."
"Cyrus, I'm sorry, but I will be of better use distracting Robotnik. With him and his flunkies concerned about finding me, you'll be able to safely get the Predator out of Robotropolis with the captured Freedom Fighters."
Cyrus looked away. "So this friend you're going with. He'll treat you right?"
"Of course he will. Bartleby is nothing if not a gentleman," Sonia assured him. She wished she knew why Cyrus looked so sad about her going to the dance. "Don't worry. I'll be fine." Perhaps her friend was simply worried about her safety.
"Besides, she deserves this," Mindy said. "After all she's only been preparing for it for eighteen years."
A knock at the front door announced the arrival of her escort. Right on time. She hurried to the door only for Sonic to stop her.
"Idiot, what if he was followed? Let me check first," Sonic opened the door an indiscernible crack."Anyone with you? Behind you, near you?"
An impatient grunt answer followed by a confident, "of course not. Let me in if you don't mind."
Sonic opened the door. "Whoa Bartleby what's that get up?"
Bartleby scoffed at the hedgehog. "This was the uniform worn by my great-great-grandfather when he was a general in the military." On a stick he held in his left hand was his simple white mask. His eyes fell then on Sonia. His breath caught in his throat. He'd nearly forgotten how beautiful she was. "Ahh, my beautiful swan." He bowed at his waist and took her hand in his to kiss it.
Cyrus clenched his fist. That look in the other male's eyes. That was not one of friendship. It was one of love. A look he often had for Sonia himself but she was oblivious to it for some reason. He looked at Sonia and the pieces of the puzzle came together. He knew why now. It wasn't fair.
Sonia curtsied. "Shall we go?"
"We shall my dear," he offered his arm and led her out of the safe house to a carriage drawn by two white horses and driven by a cloaked figure.
Mindy watched with satisfaction as her friends pulled away. "Don't they make a lovely couple?" She asked.
"Don't be stupid," Sonic stated. "They're just friends. Sonia would never go back to him in that way. She knows better."
Mindy frowned. "Well, I best be off. I need to get ready too. I got an invitation naturally. Toodles."
Cyrus watched after the carriage as it disappeared down the road. A hand touched his shoulder."Cyrus, we should get going too. We have a mission to take care of." Sonic reminded him.
Cyrus nodded. "Let's go Sonic, Manic."
The palace already had a line out the door as nobles of all ages gained entry. Most guests were girls Sonia's age and their escorts or dates or their fathers (who would introduce them to the single noblemen once in the ballroom). Everyone wore masques and formal garb in the theme of different costumes.
"It's so elegant Bartleby, you did such a wonderful job getting it ready," she praised her ex-boyfriend. Her arm in his, head on his shoulder, it was so easy to pretend things were as they used to be.
The pair was the first guests there. With Bartleby being the one in charge, it was his duty to welcome the other guests alongside his date. The stick on his mask made it easy to remove it as needed.
"Ahh, Bartleby, quite a packed house tonight," Robotnik said coming over.
"Yes Doctor Robotnik, good thing the ballroom is so big or we could have a fire hazard," Bartleby laughed.
Robotnik chuckled before asking. "And who is this lovely creature on your arm? Bartleby, have you found a new girlfriend already?"
Bartleby shook his head. "No Doctor. This is my cousin, Sara. She's from out of town."
Robotnik bowed politely. "Welcome to Robotropolis. I'll be honest Bartleby. I didn't know you had a cousin."
"Umm, his mother was my aunt on my mother' slide," Sonia explained fluidly. "They didn't get along so we didn't see each other often." How she longed to put this bastard in his place.
Robotnik accepted the explanation to Sonia's surprise. She was sure he would catch her. She didn't see the sly wink from Bartleby as he clutched her closer. "Well, why don't you two go enjoy thedance? I can surely play host for a while." Seeing Bartleby hesitate, he shoved the mink out of the way. "Go brat, that's an order!"
Bartleby offered Sonia his hand. "Since his lordship insists, care to dance?"
"I'd love to cuz," Sonia replied, accepting his hand and allowing herself to be pulled onto the dance floor.
A discreet motion of the hand from Robotnik signaled for the band to begin a slow, romantic waltz.
Sonia was perplexed by the song change but figured Bartleby must have planned it. He led her around the dance floor, her fluffy tulle hem just barely brushing the floor, swirling around as her as he spun her a few times. When he brought her back to his chest, he whispered the lyrics to the song in her ear. A song pleading for her to return his intense feelings. How badly she wanted to.
Sleet approached the despot. "The Predator is on its way back from its maiden voyage. Full of rebels."
"Good, is the facility ready for taking care of them?" Robotnik asked.
Sleet nodded carefully so as not to knock off his skull mask. "Yes sire. Wow, who is that with Bartleby?" As if he didn't know.
"Oh just his cousin," Robotnik said in a knowing tone.
Dingo cocked his eyebrow. "They're dancing pretty close for being cousins. Ow! What was that for Sleet?" He asked after his partner smacked him in the head.
"That's not his cousin you moron. That's Sonia, but we're letting her think we don't know that," Sleet explained.
"Uh why?" Dingo asked confused.
Robotnik gestured at the couple. "Because of that."
Watching his crush dance so closely with another, her head on his chest and his arm lovingly around her waist, at the small of her exposed back, Dingo felt a strange emotion. His lips unwillingly began to tremble. Dreams were always hard to give up.
"Okay Cyrus, the Predator is inbound. Twenty seconds to go time, you ready?" Sonic asked as they manned a set of computers for the purpose of watching for uglies.
Cyrus grabbed the controls and watched the screen as the ship approached the city. "Ready Sonic. Here we go."
The romantic music continued for a long time. Sonia was convinced now that Bartleby had chosen this music on purpose.
"Sonia…" Bartleby began, once he was sure he had the mood just right. "I've missed you… so much…"
"I've missed you too Bartleby. Why did things have to change? We were so happy…" Quiet tears leaked onto his jacket and he couldn't continue, sure he knew the answer anyway.
"Don't cry my dear. I'll go get you some punch," he led her safely to the far side of the ballroom.
He went over to the refreshments and poured two glasses of the deep red drink. He massaged his temples. "What was I thinking? I can't ask her. Not when it makes her so sad." He picked up the drink and turned, not paying attention to his surroundings. Upon turning, his arm made contact with a yellow-clad breast and the drink in that hand dropped all over the girl he'd knocked into. "I am so sorry miss," he grabbed some napkins to clean up the mess.
"Don't worry about it Bartleby," said the girl. He looked at her red-hair and realized it was Mindy."How's it going?"
"Not well, Mindy. I can't ask her. She won't say yes and it'll just upset her," Bartleby said. "I can'tbear to make her cry."
Mindy grabbed his arm. "Bartleby, if you don't ask her… it'll get worse. She's miserable with her brothers. They don't listen to her problems like we do. When she dares to complain they just say she's a spiny, annoying princess. She has no one to talk to and I can only visit her so often. They don't like me much either. They just tolerate me because I'm her best friend." Mindy began crying, lamenting the situation.
Bartleby patted Mindy's back. "I won't be able to do much better. If they merely tolerate you, they absolutely despise me."
"Bartleby, you can comfort her better than you think you can. I think just knowing you love her will help. Please…" Mindy pleaded.
Sonia watched Bartleby with a new young lady. He was patting her back, touching her, flirting with her. Her heart felt sick. Maybe he was finally giving up on them. As it should be. It was impossible for them to be together now.
"Sonia?" Came a familiar voice. "Is that you?"
Sonia jumped looking around as a well-dressed masked tiger approached her. She knew that tiger."Stripes?" She looked around to be sure no one was watching.
The tiger lifted his mask. "Sonia!"
Sonia put a finger to her lips. "Shhh, if Robotnik finds out I'm here the party's over."
Stripes nodded. "Gotcha. I am glad to see you." The tiger lowered his mask back into place. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I was invited. I am of age this year and its tradition…" She stammered. "Would you like to dance?" If Bartleby was going to move on then so would she. And she did like Stripes.
Stripes eagerly accepted and the two moved to the dance floor.
Bartleby felt his heart break when he saw Sonia start dancing with another man, a tiger. "There's just no hope Mindy. None." He said before returning to the job of greeting guests.
"Bartleby!" Robotnik exclaimed. "Why aren't you dancing with your princess?"
"I can't do it… I just need to accept that she and I…" He moaned with anguish.
Robotnik looked at Sonia dancing with Stripes. He was about to do something when a SWATbot came over. "Report: Predator hijacked! All prisoners escaped."
Robotnik roared. "What! You mean all that work on that thing for nothing! Why didn't you tell me sooner! Bartleby, you go get your dance partner back. You don't give up so easily understand me. I must see to this problem."
"So, are you still with the Resistance?" Stripes asked.
Sonia nodded. "Of course I am. What about you? Is the fight going well for you?"
Stripes sighed as he pulled her close. "Sonia, I've told you before. You can't fight Robotnik.
Sonia frowned and pulled away. "What? But I thought you learned your lesson! Don't tell me you're still making deals with Robotnik!"
Stripes shook his head. "Sonia there's more to it than you know. More than I can tell you. If you would open your eyes, you'd see it yourself."
"All I'm seeing is a jerk who can't learn from his mistakes!" Sonia declared.
"Then you're as blind as you were before! Sonia, I recognized you. Disguise and all! Do you really think you're fooling Robotnik right now?" Stripes pointed out. "He's not that stupid. Now if you'll excuse me, I actually have a meeting with the man. When you figure out you're wrong, please come find me."
Sonia watched him leave. Yeah, like she'd ever move on with a jerk like that. She looked around to see Bartleby coming her way.
"Sonia, are you alright? I was looking everywhere," Bartleby lied.
She looked at him. Dancing with Stripes had felt so wrong. Dancing with Bartleby felt so right. She looked toward the exit. "I should leave Bartleby. I don't belong here." She wiped away tears she didn't want to cry and turned to leave.
A hand grabbed hers and pulled her back. Bartleby couldn't hold back anymore. Lovingly, he kissed her lips as an experiment. To see her reaction.
Sonia was surprised by the kiss but didn't resist. She had missed this feeling. It pushed everything Stripes said out of her mind. Those soft lips felt wonderful against her own, and the taste was so incredible. Without any prompting, she deepened the passion of the kiss.
Several minutes passed before the kiss ended. Sonia looked up at him. For a moment she wanted to take him back. Then she thought of her brothers and the Resistance. She pulled away before he could stop her again and ran out of the ballroom.
Remembering his godfather's advice, Bartleby went after her. He found her just outside the palace, in the courtyard sobbing. Mindy was right! This was day two of two that he'd found her sobbing like this. The Sonia he knew was happy and vivacious, rarely cried saying it solved nothing.
"Sonia," he started. "Why are you so sad? Please tell me what's wrong."
"Bartleby I want to be with you!" She screamed. "But we can't! It's too dangerous! Don't you see? If we're together, and Robotnik catches you with me. He'll think you're a traitor and he'll roboticize you! And I can't ask you to wait for me. Who knows how long this war will last? And my brothers…my brothers hate you! Our medallions will only work if we're in harmony and the Freedom Fighters are counting on us. I love my brothers but I hate the fighting and I miss you but I can't be selfish…"She wept.
"Selfish my darling? What's selfish about wanting someone to love you?" Bartleby asked drawing her to him. "I want to be with you too. Please. We can find a way. Love can always find a way. Your brothers don't have to know and Robotnik typically leaves me to my own devices. I'll be fine."
Sonia considered the idea. She wanted to be with him so badly. "I guess… we could see each other on down times. But my brothers couldn't find out. It would make us fight, and then our medallions wouldn't work. And I couldn't stand it if you were roboticized because of me." Some stray tears fell down her cheeks
Bartleby kissed the tears away. "No more worries, no more fears, no more tears my darling. I love you. Please, say you'll be my wife."
Sonia couldn't fight it anymore. She remembered her mother's advice. Her head told her it wasn't wise but her heart told her this was right. She kissed him. "I will."
AN: Yea! Chapter 4 done. We see Stripes is back. Sonia is officially back with Bartleby. And Robotnik's Operation Predator has failed thanks to Sonic, Manic, and Cyrus.
