Chapter 19
Sonic barged into the living room and grabbed Scourge by his jacket.
"What are you doing here?!" Sonic yelled.
"Same thing as you, idiot!" Scourge pushed Sonic off and smoothed out his jacket. "Trying to stay dry." Scourge saw me cautiously stride into the room. "Oh, look who's back! Ready for Round Two?" Scourge smirked and punched a fist into his hand. I paled a bit.
"Don't you dare touch him!" Sonic lunged at Scourge, who attempted to fight back, but both were held back by Knuckles and Rouge.
"Hey, no fighting!" Knuckles yelled at a struggling Sonic.
"We're all gonna be stuck in here for a while, and we don't want to have to deal with you two the whole time." Rouge said. "So kiss and make up until the rain stops."
"...Fine." Sonic and Scourge said simultaneously. Knuckles nodded at Rouge, and the two let go of the hedgehogs. Sonic glared at Scourge.
"If you so much as lay a finger on him," Sonic said through gritted teeth, "It will be the last thing you do." Scourge simply grunted in response before walking over to the fire place.
…...
After a long, uncomfortable time, the door opened.
"Here's dinner." Arthur announced as he stepped into the room. A few members of a wait staff came behind him, carrying silver trays. "Sorry, we would have you in the dining room, but we actually have guests."
"There's more people here?" I asked.
"My father's hosting a dinner for six of his clients or something." Arthur said, motioning us to sit down around a coffee table in front of the couch. "He manages several businesses, so I think he has the CEO's over for a company meeting of sorts." The wait staff set the trays on the table. On top of them was a plethora of food. Freshly cooked veggies, assorted fruits and cheeses, and a plump turkey to top everything off. A pile of plates, napkins, forks, knives, and spoons were set off to the side. My mouth started to water. "Help yourselves. If you need anything, just pull the cord on the wall over there." Arthur pointed to a small rope the fed into a hole in the wall. "One of the butlers will join you shortly." Arthur waved before walking out of the room, followed by the staff.
Our group just stared hungrily at the food, not wanting to ruin the beautiful layout.
All except Scourge that is. He walked right over and ripped a leg off the turkey. He took a large, and rather rude bite out of it. He turned to look at us. We all stared back in shock.
"What?" He said between bites. "He said help ourselves." He took another bite before walking off. Our group turned back to the, now slightly less filled, but non-the-less beautiful platter.
"I almost feel bad, ruining something like this." I said, finally grabbing a plate and loading it up. Everyone else did the same, serving up a bit of everything. I sat down and looked at my plate. Where to start? I decided to dig into the main course first, the turkey. I cut a piece and popped it into my mouth. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as a cascade of succulent flavors washed over my tongue. I opened my eyes again and hungrily popped another bite into my mouth.
…...
By the time we were finished, it looked like we had licked the tray clean. I sat back on the couch.
"Someday, I'm going to eat like this all the time." Rouge said, as she yawned.
"Fat chance." Knuckles yawned as well. I rubbed my eyes.
"...I feel so... tired." Sonic said, sitting down next to me.
"Turkey has a chemical in it that makes you sleepy." I explained, barely able to keep my eyes open. "And we kinda had a lot of it." A soft snoring turned our attention to the side of the room. Scourge had somehow fallen asleep, leaning up against the wall.
"That's the first good idea he's had all day." Rouge said, as she laid down on the couch and shut her eyes. "Don't mind if I do."
"I just need a good nap..." Knuckles spoke with a slur, as his eyes struggled to remain open. He rested his head back and let sleep wash over him. I looked at Sonic, who looked at me with half-lidded eyes. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. I put my head on his shoulder, as he put his arm around me, and we both fell asleep.
…...
11:00 p.m.
My eyes snapped open. Something felt... wrong. I turned to shake Sonic awake, but he was up as well. He looked at me.
"You feel that too?" Sonic asked as he looked around the room. I nodded, feeling uneasy. I felt my hands trembling, though I wasn't sure why. I felt as though something... was watching me. The feeling passed as quickly as it came on. I saw Sonic visibly relax, his quills lowering.
"What was that?" I asked, scanning the room for the cause of our unease.
"I'm... I'm not sure." Sonic replied. I stood up and started to pace the room, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
"...Could you keep it down?" Rouge asked, her eyes squinting. "You walk really loud."
"S-sorry." I said, turning to look at her. She sat up and blinked a few times.
"What time is it?" She asked.
"About 11:00." Scourge said from across the room, making us all jump.
"How long have you been up?" Sonic asked.
"A while. Enough to see your pet have a panic attack." Scourge said, looking back at the fire in the fire place. Sonic glared, but tried to keep his temper.
A loud bang from outside the room startled everyone. Knuckles jolted up.
It sounded like a gunshot.
The room went deathly quiet as we all stared at the door, paralyzed. It wasn't until someone screamed that we dashed into action. We hurried and made our way to the door, and followed the sign.
Dining Room →
…...
"Is everyone okay?" Sonic asked, rushing into the Dining Room.
"Yeah, we're fine, Mrs. White just passed out." A weasel in a green suit was fanning an elderly looking owl wearing a white dress. "...Who are you?"
"They're some of my other guests Reverend." Mr. Boddy spoke up. He was sitting in a chair, looking a little shaken himself.
"We heard a gun! What happened?" Knuckles asked.
"Someone just tried to shoot Mr. Boddy!" The weasel said, pointing to a bullet in the wall, not too far off from where Mr. Boddy was sitting. I stared at the hole for a while, before four other people burst into the room. "The other guests went off to do something, leaving just me and Mrs. White. That's when someone fired the gun!"
"Is that true?" I asked Mr. Boddy. He nodded.
"Was that a gun?" A tough looking crocodile in a yellow army uniform demanded. A slightly elderly peacock shuffled her way into the room, looking a bit timid, followed by a bespectacled fox in a purple suit, and a black cat in a red dress. She looked... familiar. She looked into the room, and stopped when she saw me. She gave me a sexy smile.
"Oh, fancy meeting you here." She said, leaning against the wall. The cat from Station Central! I immediately blushed. "Where's your 'girlfriend?'" She asked, walking over to me and placing a hand on my chest. I stammered, but couldn't get any words out.
"Focus Scarlet! We're here to investigate a gun shot, not flirt with the... whatever-it-is." The fox said, eying me up and down. The cat rolled her eyes and walked away, giving me a wink as she left.
"Seriously? He's not even your age!" Sonic said, looking wide-eyed at the cat.
"Okay, are we going to talk about this, or the attempted murder of Mr. Boddy?!" I blurted out. The room went silent.
"...What?" The peacock asked. Her face grew pale, and her large tail feathers stiffened.
"Someone just tried to shoot John!" The weasel said, helping the owl up to her feet.
The room erupted into questions.
"When?"
"Is he okay?"
"Who shot him?"
"Someone in this house." Scourge said, looking out the window. The room went dead once again. "The road's flooded." Scourge turned around. "There's no way anyone could have gotten in or out when the shooting happened."
The six guests started to look at each other.
"...Who did it? By the show of hands?" The black cat, who I assumed was named Ms. Scarlet, said jokingly.
"Now Scarlet?" The crocodile said, sounding annoyed.
"Oh calm down James!" The cat said huffily. "And quit calling me by my last name!" The crocodile crossed his arms.
"...Well," I said, cutting in. "It looks like we have a murderer among us."
"And he or she will strike again." Scourge said. I turned to look at him.
"He's right." I continued. "The criminal didn't kill Mr. Boddy, so I can assume they will want to try again."
"We'll need to interrogate all of you," Scourge said.
"Sweep the house for any clues," I continued.
"And keep an eye on each of you." We both finished. I nodded, before we both stared at each other in somewhat shock.
"Were we just... working together?" I said, rather confused.
"...No, you were just copying me." Scourge said flatly.
My group stared at me and Scourge for a while before breaking the silence.
"...So, where do we start from here?" Sonic asked.
"One or two people need to stay and interrogate, and the rest of the group needs to look around the area for any evidence." I said.
"Why don't you interrogate." Knuckles said. "You can work with Sonic. He'll keep you safe.
"Fine by me." I said. Sonic nodded. I turned towards the weasel. "Excuse me, mister Reverend..."
"Reverend Green." The weasel said.
"Reverend Green," I repeated, "Did anyone move anything after the shot?"
"No, not to my recollection." The Reverend replied.
"Okay, could I have you and the rest of the guests go away for a while?" I said, shepherding the guests out of the room. Everyone but our group of new detectives left, leaving us in silence.
"...Okay, so, first things first, you guys search this room." I said. "Sonic, you come with me. I think I have some extra tapes we can record with."
…...
Okay, so, I'm going to break off for a bit. What you need to do at this point, whoever is listening, is look for the tape marked "Interrogation 001." That has all of the information on it to continue my story. Once you're done, play this tape again.
…...
Interrogation 001
…...
11:10 p.m.
"Hello Ma'am." Josh said pleasantly. "Your name?"
"Mrs. Peacock." The peacock said, rather shyly.
"...That's your last name?" Josh asked.
"I know, the irony of it all, you don't need to tell me." The peacock had a slight Indian accent, but only enough of one to know that it was there. She spoke perfect English otherwise.
"Sorry, didn't mean to pry." Josh said softly.
"Anyways, how do you know Mr. Boddy?" Sonic asked.
"He owns the company I work for." Mrs. Peacock simply stated.
"And what is that company?" Josh asked.
"Syntekron Corporation." She again said simply.
"Which deals in?" Josh pressed on.
"Advanced computer and mechanical sciences." She said.
"Thank you. In the future, please explain this all at first." Josh instructed. "It'll make the process go a lot faster."
"I didn't try to shoot him!" The peacock suddenly pleaded.
"We aren't saying you did!" Sonic said reassuringly. "We're just gathering evidence. You aren't in any trouble."
"Now, Mrs. Peacock, I'm going to ask you a very personal question." Josh said. He started out slowly. "I'm not saying you did, but if you were to shoot Mr. Boddy, why would you?"
"But I didn't!" The Peacock replied in a scared tone.
"We know, you didn't." Sonic said. "Just answer the question."
"I had no reason to! He was a kind man, I loved him!" Mrs. Peacock sounded like she was about to cry.
"Alright, that's all we needed to hear." Josh said.
"So I can go home?" She asked hopefully.
"I'm sorry, but we can't let you go just yet. The roads are flooded first off, and second off, we just need you here so we know you're safe." Sonic said soothingly. The peacock nodded, stood up, and walked out of the room, her blue dress trailing ever so slightly behind her.
"A little up front, don't you think?" Sonic asked.
"It might have been, but it was mainly to see her reaction." Josh said. "I wanted to see how she would respond."
"And how did she respond?" Sonic asked.
"I don't know... she's hard to read." Josh said.
"She's what?" Sonic looked at Josh, confused.
"Remember back at the carnival, how I kinda analyzed Blitz's actions and assumed he was hiding Emerald on him?"
"Yeah."
"I picked it up from my brother. Raising him on my own, I had to figure out when he was lying and when he wasn't. People have certain little quirks, but that lady..." Josh hesitated, trying to find the right word.
"She's all quirks." Sonic finished. Josh gave a shrug.
"We'll just have to see." Josh said.
"See what?" Sonic asked. "That interview accomplished almost nothing."
"No, there was something, her work. Let's have Scourge delve into that if he can, see if Syntekron has some connection to the case. If it does, and it is enough to give her reason to kill, then she'll at least have a motive." Josh concluded.
"I just can't believe she works at Syntekron..." Sonic said, shaking his head.
"Why?" Josh asked.
"They're this huge company. They have the biggest search engine in the world, and are always coming up with these strange products. They even have a social site, Syntek+. It's really hard to get a job there, but the pay benefits I've heard are awesome." Sonic explained.
"Hey, we have something like that back on Earth, but we call it Google." Josh exclaimed.
"No kidding!" Sonic replied.
"Nope, and they're even coming up with a- whup!" Josh picked up the tape recorder. "Looks I left this on by mistake. We need to save tape for the rest of the intervie-"
…...
End of Interrogation 001
…...
Knuckles, Rouge, and Scourge carefully examined the dining room. They had long since sent the guests out to do interviews.
"I just can't believe someone would be so stupid!" Rouge commented as she checked the bullet hole in the wall.
"What do you mean?" Knuckles asked tiredly, carefully feeling the walls for any other signs of violence.
"Well, it's pouring rain outside! Still!" Rouge gestured towards the window. "There was no way the killer would be able to escape, the roads are all flooded!" Knuckles took his attention away from his job and looked out the window. What looked like a mini flood was raging outside. Anyone trying to leave would be swept away by the current, never to be seen again.
"Maybe they just weren't thinking straight." Knuckles said, continuing down the wall. "They were probably so filled with hate and anger that they didn't really notice anything outside."
"That's the other thing." Rouge said. "Mr. Boddy seems like a really nice guy. I broke into his house and tried to steal his Chaos Emerald, and he just shrugged it off... according to that kid Sonic's with."
"Josh." Knuckles corrected.
"Right, Josh. It just doesn't make any sense to me. What could this guy have done to drive someone to kill?" Knuckles shrugged. Rouge turned to look at Scourge, who was leaning back in a chair, eyes closed, hands behind his head. "And what do you think your doing?" Rouge asked. The hedgehog smirked.
"Pissing you off." He replied, without opening his eyes.
"Hey, I know you hate everything, but at least try to act like you care!" Knuckles said grouchily.
"I do care." Scourge said, sitting up and crossing his arms. "Care enough to notice something that you guys didn't." Rouge sighed and turned to face him.
"What?" Rouge asked.
"How many bullet holes are there?" Scourge asked.
"Just the one. Is that everything?" Knuckles replied. "We've established that point a while ago." Scourge snickered and shook his finger.
"Then why didn't Mr. Green or Mrs. White see the killer?" Scourge asked.
"What do you mean?" Knuckles asked.
"Think about it." Scourge stood up and walked to the back of the dining room table, the end furthest away from the bullet hole. "In order for there to be only one bullet hole in this room, the killer would have to be standing right here."
"I still don't follow." Knuckles said.
"I do." Rouge said.
"What?!" Knuckles was frustrated. "Come on, what's this big secret I'm not getting?"
"Think about it!" Rouge said. "If there was only one bullet hole, the killer would have been in the room, and Mr. Green, Mrs. White, and Mr. Boddy would have been able to identify the killer."
"But the best Mr. Green could do was to say 'someone' just tried to shoot Mr. Boddy." Scourge said, grabbing a small wooden rod from a floral centerpiece in the middle of the table. He stuck the rod in the hole and turned to face the opposite side of the room. He brought his face close to the rod and pointed.
"What are you doing?" Knuckles asked.
"Looking at the angle the bullet entered the wall. Check behind that plant." Knuckles stared at Scourge for a bit longer before walking over and grabbing the vase the plant was resting in.
"Uh, guys, you might want to come see this!" Knuckles said as he set down the plant. Scourge and Rouge both walked over to see what he was looking at.
The second bullet hole.
…...
Interrogation 002
…...
11:15 p.m.
"Your name sir?" Sonic asked, putting a pencil to a piece of paper.
"Colonel James Mustard." The crocodile replied in a militant manner.
"Colonel Mustard? Really?" Josh asked, crossing his arms, looking more suspicious than ever.
"Yes sir!" The crocodile replied somewhat hesitantly, not quite sure how to respond to Josh's reaction. Josh rolled his eyes.
"...Acting colonel?" Sonic asked, not quite sure why his brother was so irritable.
"No sir, I was discharged just last month sir." Mustard responded once again in a militant tone.
"And what have you been doing during the month you've been off duty?" Sonic asked, making a quick note.
"Job hunting sir. When I was discharged my pay-check went with it." The crocodile reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small box, looked inside, threw the box in the trash and pulled out another one. "Mind if I smoke?" He asked as he removed the plastic from the outside.
"I do actually." Josh spoke up. The crocodile nodded and stowed the box back into his pocket.
"Sorry sir. Didn't mean to offend you sir." Mustard said.
"Okay, cut the crap." Josh said standing up.
"Josh...?" Sonic looked worriedly.
"I tried to be patient and play along. But don't you think you're taking this a bit too far, dragging me and Sonic into all of this?"
"What do you mean?" The Colonel asked.
"This whole charade! You, the peacock, Mr. Boddy, all of it!" Josh said.
"I'm an honest man!" The crocodile said gruffly. "Why would you think I would lie about trying to kill my friend?"
"Oh, I dunno, your names for one! Colonel Mustard, Mrs. Peacock, Mrs. Scarlet, Mrs. White, Reverend Green, and I bet that fox was Professor Plum, am I right?" Josh looked somewhat tired and annoyed.
"How did you know his name?" Mustard asked wide-eyed.
"Okay, you have two choices here." Josh put his hands on the table. "You can either drop the mystery dinner act now and you can leave, or we can continue to interrogate you and waste everyone's time." Josh sounded calm, but a sharp edge could be heard in his voice, making the Colonel shift uncomfortably in his seat. Josh suddenly staggered back, as if he were pushed, and held his head. "...I...I'm sorry Colonel, I don't know what came over me. I apologize for the way I acted, that was out of line. I forget, you guys probably don't have CLUE here."
"CLUE?" Mustard asked.
"Nothing!" Josh quickly covered up. "I'm sorry, y-you're free to go now." Mustard sat for a moment more, staring at Josh before heading out the door.
"Josh, what's going on? You just snapped." Sonic stood up and walked towards Josh.
"I don't feel so good..." Josh rubbed his temple, his head throbbing. Sonic helped Josh over to a chair.
"You've never been so irritable before..." Sonic said. "And now you have a headache all of a sudden. What's going on?"
"I don't know..." Josh put his arms on the table and put his head on top of his arms. Josh closed his eyes. "My head's pounding..." Sonic stared at his little brother before rubbing his own head a bit. Josh looked up. "You got a headache too?"
"...Now that you mention it, yeah. A small one, but it's there." Sonic rubbed his head again. "I'm just a bit confused, I just don't see why Mrs. Peacock or the Colonel would want to kill Mr. Boddy."
"The Colonel is angry that his funding was cut off." Josh said simply.
"...What?"
"The Colonel is a smoker. That's a pretty expensive habit, especially considering he already went through a pack today." Josh slowly stood up and walked over to the trash. He pulled out the cigarette box and set it on the table. Sonic picked it up and studied it.
"...So the guy doesn't get his smokes. So what?" Sonic asked.
"How expensive are they?" Josh asked, setting his head back in his arms.
"...I don't know, pretty cheap for a cigarette I guess." Sonic shrugged. "I don't smoke, so I don't know how expensive they are."
"If it's less than $10.00, then this guy is buying cheap." Josh said.
"We don't use dollars." Sonic reminded Josh.
"Right." Josh sighed. "So, you don't know if the price is cheap?" Sonic shook his head. "Who else here smokes?"
"Besides the colonel? I dunno, Scourge maybe?"
"Well put that one up on our "things to ask Scourge" list." Josh buried his head in his arms.
"Come on, you need to rest." Sonic said, pulling Josh up. "Let's head back to the Parlor, you can sleep in there."
"But the murd-"
"I'll worry about that, let's just get you rested." Sonic said.
"...Okay. Make sure you stop the tape." Josh said.
"I will-"
…...
End of Interrogation 002
…...
"Nothing in the kitchen." Rouge reported, meeting up with Knuckles and Scourge in the hallway.
"Well, there aren't any other doors." Knuckles said.
"I wouldn't be too sure." Scourge said. "Listen." He knocked on the wall. It sounded hollow, like when you knock on a door.
"There's something on the other side." Rouge pressed her ear against the wall.
"Yes, thank you Captain Obvious." Scourge rolled his eyes. Rouge shot him a dirty look before closing her eyes and listening.
"...It's a short room, possibly a hallway." Rouge said.
"That's impossible, there aren't any more rooms or hallways in that direction." Knuckles replied.
"Maybe it's for maintenance, like plumbing or electricity." Rouge said. "I've robbed a few mansion that try to keep any pipes, wires, and fuse boxes somewhere only the staff can reach them."
"How many is 'a few?'" Knuckles asked, crossing his arms and looking at Rouge scornfully.
"Oh get off it!" Rouge shot back. "I'm a treasure hunter, I hunt where the treasure is, is that a crime?"
"Hmm, breaking and entering, last I checked, YES!" Knuckles yelled, getting in Rouge's face.
"Glad to see you two are getting along so well." Sonic said, walking past the two and supporting a doubled-over Josh.
"What's wrong with him?" Rouge asked, looking at Josh with confusion and a slight touch of concern.
"I don't know, I'm just taking him back to the parlor to rest." Sonic said.
"Sonic... can I sit down for just a minute?" Josh asked tiredly.
"We're almost there bud." Sonic replied kindly. "Just a few more steps." Josh tried to take another step, but collapsed. "Josh?!" Sonic quickly kneeled down, concern and panic clear in his face.
"I-I'm fine." Josh replied weakly. "I just lost my balance." Josh tried to stand up once again, but fell down. Sonic gently picked Josh up and started carrying him to the Parlor.
"We're almost there bud." Sonic said quietly. "Just hang tight."
Josh suddenly let out a scream. Sonic jumped, making him almost drop Josh.
"Come on, let's hurry!" Sonic said. As their group got closer and closer to the door, Josh's screams of pain became louder, agony becoming more and more apparent in each shriek. As Sonic neared the door, Josh broke into a cold sweat, as he gritted his teeth to try to stop screaming. However it held to no use, as the screams became shrieks, echoing across the room at an almost deafening volume.
Then, it all disappeared. All of Josh's screaming stopped, as if someone had pressed mute on a television. Sonic looked at Josh to see that Josh looked calm and confused.
"...Do you feel okay?" Sonic asked.
"...Yeah... just fine actually." Josh said slowly. Sonic carefully stood Josh up. Josh nodded at Sonic, telling him that he was okay. Then the two stepped into the room.
They stopped cold in their tracks. As the rest of the group filed in, they too stopped. Everyone was staring at the table.
Something was different.
On the table were two board games. One was rather large, and had what appeared to be an overhead shot of a mansion, with eight rooms. On the side of the board, in big, bold, white block letters was the word "CLUE." The other was a small wooden board, decorated with ornate spirals around the edges, and a small sun and moon in the upper right and left hand corners. In the middle was the letters A-Z, the numbers 0-9, and the words "yes" and "no." Resting on top of the board was a small disk with a hole in the middle of it.
"What... are those?" Rouge asked, looking at the two game boards with curiosity.
"They're... They're from where I live." Josh said, walking over to the table. "That's called CLUE, it's a mystery solving game. And that..." Josh looked at the small wooden board with disdain. "That's called an Ouija board. They're evil little things."
"What makes them so evil?" Scourge asked, sounding somewhat excited.
"They supposedly open a window into the world of the dead, making it possible to talk to spirits. I don't know if I believe it's true or not, but I do know that bad things befall those who use it." Josh said, crossing his arms, his gaze never leaving the wooden board. Sonic walked over and stood next to Josh.
"Something funny's going on here." Josh continued, looking at Sonic, then looking back at the wooden board. "I don't know what..."
"Well, why don't we ask the spirits?" Scourge said, walking towards the Ouija board.
"No!" Josh yelled, blocking the way. "That thing is evil!"
"Come on, it's just a game!" Scourge said, pushing Josh out of the way.
"We don't know that for sure! That thing doesn't belong here! Plus, think about it, why is it even here? You guys don't make these on Mobius!" Josh insisted.
"All the more reason to try it out! I might not get another chance to!" Scourge said, examining the small disk, then setting it back on the board.
"Okay, fine, do what you want!" Josh said, turning to leave. "See if I care if you curse us all, or send some kinda poltergeist into the man-"
"Is it supposed to move on its own?" Rouge asked. Josh stopped in his tracks.
"...What letters is it stopping on?" Josh asked.
"H... E... L... L... O..." Knuckles read.
"See, he's friendly!" Scourge said, as he reached down to grab the disk.
"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Josh said, quickly turning around. Scourge quickly withdrew his hand. "Don't touch anything, don't touch the board, don't touch the planchette, don't even stand close to it, just everyone back away." The group did as Josh told, taking a few steps back from the table. Everyone except Scourge that is. He simply stood where he was, sneering.
"Scourge, I'm telling you, nothing good comes from playing that game." Josh said.
"Sounds like my kind of game." Scourge said, kneeling down.
"Don't!" Josh said quickly, lunging towards Scourge. The green hedgehog simply knocked the boy away. Sonic growled and started to move towards Scourge, but Josh held up his hand. Sonic hesitated for a moment, then crossed his arms. Josh nodded and stood up. "Scourge, you don't know what you're dealing with! This is all beyond us, I say we just throw the board into the fireplace and let it burn."
"I'd listen to him if I were you." Sonic said warningly.
"Like I said before, it's just a game! What's the worst that could happen?" Scourge reached down to touch the planchette. Josh quickly lunged toward the green hedgehog, tackling him to the ground.
"Quick, someone throw that thing in the fire!" Josh yelled, struggling to keep Scourge on the ground. Knuckles and Sonic crossed over to Scourge and helped pin his arms and legs down, while Rouge scooped up the board and flung it into the fire place. Scourge groaned and stopped struggling.
"Fine killjoy, have it your way." Scourge rolled his eyes. Josh slowly got up, and Knuckles and Sonic both let go.
"Maybe this time you'll-"
"Josh, it's not burning!" Rouge called out, staring into the fire. Josh stared at Rouge for a moment before scurrying over to the fire place.
The board indeed wasn't burning. It seemed to instead give off an eerie green flame, as the planchette on the board started to move once again.
P-L-E-A-S-E-I-W-I-S-H-T-O-H-E-L-P
"See, that thing is evil!" Josh exclaimed, pointing at the board. The rest of the group crossed over towards the fire and took a look.
"Who are you?" Scourge asked.
"Would you shut up!" Josh yelled turning towards Scourge. "Don't provoke it!"
A-F-R-I-E-N-D
"See, it's friendly!" Scourge said.
"Okay, you listen and you listen good." Josh said, pushing his way towards Scourge, getting in his face. "All that thing ever brings anyone is misery. You want to mess with dark magic? Fine!" Josh said, pushing Scourge. "But don't say I didn't warn you!" Josh pointed at Scourge with a fiery look in his eyes, causing Scourge to squirm a bit. Josh staggered back a bit and held his head, much like he had during the interview. A look of confusion crossed the young man's face, before turning into a look of reserved anger, not at all like the one he had mere seconds ago. He slowly turned and walked towards the couch. Sonic, looking concerned and a bit confused himself, followed him.
"Josh...?" Sonic asked quietly.
"Something's horribly wrong..." Josh said quietly, taking a seat on the couch and leaning forward. He brought a fist to his lips, making him look like he was in deep thought.
"What do you think it is?" Sonic asked, sitting down next to him. Josh slowly shook his head.
"I don't know." Josh replied. Josh looked over to the fire place, where Scourge, Rouge, and Knuckles were staring at him. When they realized Josh was staring back, they quickly pretended to look somewhere else. Josh softly chuckled before turning back to the table in front of him.
"...Ever since we set foot in the mansion, you've been acting a bit off." Sonic said. "Are you angry about something?"
"Not as far as I know. I just get so angry sometimes, and I don't know why..." Josh said. "It's almost as if I'm someone else..." Josh slowly turned back to the fireplace, this time staring at the small green flames. Josh quickly shook his head. "No, I don't believe that. I don't want to believe that! There is no way someone is taking over my body!" Josh said defensively.
"What else do you think it could be then?" Sonic asked.
"...We could ask the Spirits." Josh offered. "They seem pretty smart." Sonic nodded. Josh held the hand with the ring on it out in front of him. Sonic grabbed it.
"You rang?" The Yellow Spirit asked before the world faded away in a burst of yellow and green light...
…...
Sonic and Josh saw both the Yellow and Green spirits standing before them. The world had somehow divided itself in half, one side being the blank world of the Green spirit, and the other being the amusement park of the yellow.
"Sounds like quite the mystery you guys have." The Yellow spirit put a hand on his hip.
"We have that pretty under control, thankfully." Josh said. Sonic noticed that Josh sounded much more upbeat than he had in the mansion. Josh seemed to notice it to. "...It's funny." Josh said. "I feel like a weight's been taken off of me..."
"Weight?" The Green Spirit pondered, her ears twitching slightly.
"Are you having random changes in emotion?" The Yellow Spirit asked.
"Yeah. Does it have to deal with you guys?" Josh asked.
"Not us, but with Chaos Energy." The Green Spirit replied.
"You know what I mean." Josh said, rolling his eyes.
"What does Chaos Energy have to do with anything?" Sonic asked.
"Josh, do you remember when I was talking to you about why you should not turn into 'Super Josh?'" The Yellow Spirit asked, turning to Josh.
"Yeah, you said my body couldn't handle the energy." Josh said.
"The sudden headaches and pains you get are the result of your body trying to reject the Chaos Energy, much like how your body will try to repel a virus." The Green Spirit explained.
"Why hasn't this happened before, like when I found you two?" Josh asked.
"Your body call only handle certain amounts of it, much like how you can gain small amounts of a bacteria without getting sick." The Yellow Spirit said.
"So, what happens when I actually come in contact with the Red Emerald?" Josh asked.
"You will be in great pain, worse than any you've felt before." The Green Spirit said.
"You body will try to fight the foreign source, but when it doesn't find anything..." The Yellow Spirit trailed off, and rubbed the back of his head.
"...My body will start to attack itself?" Josh finished. "I've taken enough Biology to know how this works... kinda."
"So what does that mean?" Sonic asked.
"If I touch the Red Emerald, my body will start to eat itself from the inside out." Josh said, shuddering.
"Then I'll just collect the Emeralds from now on." Sonic offered.
"While kind, it would not have the same effect as when Josh touches the Emerald." The Yellow Spirit said.
"The ring on Josh's finger allows him to safely store the extra energy we have gathered into it, allowing us to remain in control of our urges to seek out emotions to fuel us." The Green Spirit said.
"What does that mean?" Josh asked. "You make it seem like you're leeches or something."
"When not residing on you ring, we give in to the surplus of emotion we have been filled with, turning into carnal, vicious beasts." The Green Spirit said. "We seek out and latch onto those who are filled with the emotion we crave."
"Like Blitz." Sonic said.
"Exactly." The Yellow Spirit nodded. "If you, Sonic, were to simply pick us up, we would probably disappear moments later, trying to find someone with a strong enough emotion to satisfy our hunger."
"Well, what can we do then?" Josh asked. "If I can't touch the Emeralds, and Sonic can't hold them, we're sunk! Eggman's already won."
"...Well... there is... one option." The Green Spirit said slowly. "But it is not ideal."
"It is very dangerous." The Yellow Spirit said.
"Do we really have a choice at this point?" Sonic asked.
"...No, I suppose not." The Yellow Spirit said, sounding a bit sad.
"...Okay. Josh, you come here and stand with me." The Green Spirit said, walking towards the thin line that divided the two areas of the Spirits. "Sonic, go stand with Ilo."
"Ilo?" Sonic asked, looking confused.
"That is my name." The Yellow Spirit said, walking over to face the Green Spirit. "She is Pelko." Sonic walked over and stood next to Ilo. He turned and faced Josh, who was standing right across from him.
"So what are you going to do?" Josh asked.
"Put your hands up like this." Pelko said, holding her two hands up as if she were pressing on a wall. Ilo did the same, putting his hands palm to palm with Pelko. Josh and Sonic mimicked them.
"Guys, what are you doing?" Josh asked again. A sudden loud click, almost like the sound of a giant lock engaging, accompanied by a small flash between Josh and Sonic's hands caused the two brothers to jump. However, even though their bodies tried to distance themselves, their hands didn't move. They were locked in place.
"We're going to have you share some of Sonic's body." Pelko said.
"What do you mean?" Josh asked.
"Since your body can't handle the force of the Chaos Emeralds, if we merge your body slightly with his, you will be able to deal with the Energy." Pelko explained.
"So, we're going to share a body?" Sonic asked, looking a little freaked out.
"No! Well, yes, but... Just wait, you will see what she means." Ilo said. The two walked off, as the world around Josh and Sonic darkened.
"Wait, is it going to go completely dark?" Josh asked, sounding somewhat panicked.
"What's wrong?" Sonic asked, as the world grew darker and darker. "Are you afraid of the dark?"
"Yeah, it's one of the reasons I have a hard time with haunted houses." Josh said, sounding embarrassed.
"Don't be embarrassed bud, it's okay." Sonic said. "Just remember, I'm right here."
The world finally fully darkened out. Nothing could be seen. Josh started to squirm, and whimper.
"Hey, hey!" Sonic called out soothingly. "I'm right here, it's okay." Josh started to calm down a bit.
"Keep talking. The sound helps fill the darkness." Josh said, his voice slightly wavering.
"Okay, well, what do you want to talk about?" Sonic asked.
"...How about the mystery. Let's compare notes, see what we know."
"Fine by me." Sonic said. "So, what do we know."
"Someone tried to shoot Mr. Boddy. We don't know who though." Josh started.
"The only people who were in the room at the time of the shooting were Reverend Green and Mrs. White." Sonic continued. He gasped a bit, as energy seemed to shoot through him, and go into his hands. Josh gave a small yelp as the energy entered into him.
"Right." Josh said. "...Wait, if they were in the same room, wouldn't they have seen the killer?"
"That's what I was thinking." Sonic said. "I think the killer was somewhere else, maybe outside or in another room. But that's just me, what else do we know for sure?"
"The only people outside the room were Mrs. Peacock, the Colonel, Professor Plum, and Ms. Scarlet." Josh said.
"How do you know he's a Professor?" Sonic asked.
"There's too much of a pattern going on. It's almost exactly like the board game you saw in the Parlor with the Ouija board. It's called CLUE, and basically, you have to figure out which room the victim, Mr. Boddy, was killed in, with which weapon, and by who."
"And the 'who' was one of six people?" Sonic ventured.
"Yep." Josh said. Another wave of energy passed through the two. "Okay, that's going to get annoying really fast."
"Yeah, no doubt." Sonic replied, laughing a bit.
"So, did the appearance of the two board games trigger my sickness do you think?" Josh asked.
"I don't see why not." Sonic said. "But that means someone would have had to use Chaos Energy to get them."
"You think someone had access to the Chaos Emerald?" Josh said.
"There's no other way they could have brought the two games to our world." Sonic said.
"But it's impossible, the Spiri-" A stronger wave of energy made Josh yelp again. He composed himself before continuing. "The Spirits said that they need all seven of them to transport something between worlds. Plus, how would anyone here know about the board games?"
"Do you think someone from Earth came here?" Sonic asked.
"I really don't know Sonic." Josh said. "It sounds like the only solution, but something just seems wrong about it." A strong surge shot through the two of them, causing Josh to collapse a bit. "They're getting more frequent." Josh grunted as he stood back up.
"Why doesn't it sound right?" Sonic asked, trying to take Josh's mind off the pain.
"I don't know. Everything seems too... convenient." Josh said. "The killer missed Mr. Boddy because he was out of the room. Then two board games appear in the Parlor. I don't know how, but I'm pretty sure the murderer has something to do with the board games." A stronger jolt went through the two, causing Josh to fall over this time.
"Now I see why our hands need to be locked together, we'd be pulling apart if they weren't." Josh said, slightly out of breath.
"Yeah," Sonic said, kneeling down to join Josh. "No kidding."
"Why does it have to be so dark?" Josh moaned a bit.
"Relax, I'm right here still." Sonic said.
"I know that, that doesn't make things any less creepy." Josh said. Another wave passed through, causing Josh to grunt in pain. "Are you just immune to the pain, or are you that strong?"
"It's not really hurting me..." Sonic said. "It feels like... I don't know, like something's leaving me."
"Well, whatever's leaving you, it's coming into me." Josh said, as another shot of energy coursed into him. "Your life force I'm guessing." Josh grunted.
"How bad does it hurt?" Sonic asked, his voice full of concern. Another shock went through the two, this time causing Josh to scream slightly. "That bad huh?" Josh laughed slightly.
"How can you make jokes at a time like this?" Josh asked Sonic teasingly. Another shock caused him to double over and yelp.
"Anything to get your mind off of things." Sonic said, as yet another jolt passed into Josh.
"They're-YAH-getting faster!" Josh grunted, as two more bolts passed into him. "Why do you hafta be so strong?"
"Thanks... I think." Sonic said. Three more shocks passed through the two, causing Josh to fall over. "It's okay, I think it's almost over!" Sonic said as reassuringly as he could. Josh didn't respond, as bolt after bolt after bolt coursed into him, one after another. Josh grit his teeth as he tried to remain upright. Sonic wanted to do something, but he couldn't move his hands from Josh's. He sat there, helplessly, as he listened to Josh's grunts and wheezes. Soon, it was a continuous flow of energy. Josh shut his eyes.
"This... really sucks!" Josh grunted, trying to remain composed.
"Just let it out!" Sonic said.
"Let what out?" Josh asked.
"Scream!" Sonic said. The black void was filled with a guttural cry, as Josh opened his mouth to the sky. The world flashed once more.
…...
Josh's eyes quickly snapped open, as he sat up. He and Sonic were back in the Parlor.
"You okay?" Sonic asked. Josh turned to look at him. Josh smiled.
"Yeah. Much better." Josh replied. He no longer felt the anger that the Red Emerald brought to him. He felt at peace.
"Woah!" Sonic gasped. "Dude, your eyes!" Josh squinted, confused. He looked around the room for a mirror, and found one. He walked toward it and looked at his reflection.
Looking back was himself. Except for his eyes. His eyes were a bright green.
Just like Sonic's. Josh smiled.
"I like 'em." Josh said, turning back. "I always did like your eyes." Sonic smiled.
"Guys, you may want to come see this." Rouge called over from the fireplace. Sonic's smile dropped, as he looked at Josh. Josh nodded, and the two walked over.
The Ouija board was still in the fire, but now there was something else. Five small figurines, each about the height of your thumb.
They looked exactly like us.
JJ: OOOOOOOooooh, that took FOREVER to write! I had writer's block so bad. But it's gone now! Unfortunately, while trying to move that block, I kinda had to rearrange everything in the place I write. (It was a big block. Took forever to get it out the front door and into the trash.) So, because of that, I seemed to have... er... misplaced Josh. I'll try to find him by the next chapter.
In the meantime, I've got another small bit of news! I've already got two other stories planned out! I will continue to write MBK, (I already have the final battle planned out and everything! It's gonna be HUGE!) but I'm also going to start dabbling outside the area of Sonic the Hedgehog. I'm actually gonna bounce around from topic to topic, since I don't really have a favorite anything right now. I love everything! Anyways, the first one you're going to see is related to the Professor Layton series, and the other one, is based on Pokemon. I have some "clever" ideas that might make you look at each series in a whole new way.
Well, until then, this is JJ, signing off...
I think I found Josh's left foot.
