1of colorSonic the Hedgehog: Blood Pact

Copyright info: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog or any other character used in this story. If I did, though, you can bet there'd be a super cool Sonic game with SatAM characters for the Wii (and since they already used "Sonic Heroes", I'd call it "Sonic Legendz".)

Author's Note: This chapter was an absolute monstrosity to write. I ended up doing, like, a million different versions of each and every scene. As well, writer's block and computer problems compounded things. All in all, this has been the hardest chapter to write since chapter 3, and I apologize profusely for its tardiness. Hopefully it will be worth the wait. Thank you all for your patience, and enjoy. :)

Continuity info: This takes place in the Archie comic's continuity immediately after the infamous #134("Say You Will", featuring what Dan Drazen aptly titled "the slap heard 'round the fandom" and Sonic and Sally splitting up…again…). Everything that happened after that issue is disregarded. The events depicted in this story act as a substitute for the events that take place at this point in the comics.

Where once was light
Now darkness falls
Where once was love
Love is no more
Don't say goodbye
Don't say I didn't try

-"Gollum's Song", Emiliana Torrini

Chapter Eight: A Beautiful Illusion

By Blue Eyes Shining Dragon

Within the deepest, darkest part of the Great Forest, a place very few people ever went, and even fewer returned from, there was a web. Larger than any other web on the face of the planet, it stretched on for miles, its strands as thick as the tree branches they were stuck to. Through the pouring rain, dozens of Arachne scurried across the web, some coming, others going, all constantly active. At the center of their activity, the nexus point that all parts of the web stemmed from, was a sword. The complex markings that adorned its hilt identified the blade as the legendary Sword of Acorns. Mysteriously dry despite the storm that raged around it, the sword glowed with an eerie light that hinted at its true nature, for within the blade rested the power of the Source of All. It was this power to which the Arachne were now ferociously loyal, and it was this power that gave the cosmic force a voice that the ninjas could understand and that only those the Source was connected to could hear. "To me, my warriors." it spoke, causing the spiders to all gather at the web's center.

"You have served me well since my Child placed me in your care," the sword said, much like a parent speaking to its young. "Even as I speak to you, your kin march toward what is most likely their death in order to protect me. For this loyalty, I am grateful."

Though none of the Arachne voiced it, the Source could sense the growing unease in their hearts. It was the same feeling that had dwelled within the three Arachne sent to the temple, though they had swallowed that fear to do their duty, and the Source knew their brothers and sisters ultimately would as well. "Now, however, a decisive moment is at hand. I will need all of you in order to ensure things go right. Can I depend on this?"

Without hesitation, all one-hundred-forty-seven spiders nodded simultaneously. "Good." the Source replied proudly. "Then listen well: split into seven teams."

With an almost mechanical precision, the Arachne followed their orders, and before long had gathered into seven groups, though some were slightly less numerous then others. Once they had succeeded, they again heard the voice of the Source speak to them. "Excellent. Close your eyes...", and once more they obeyed without hesitation, "...and look upon where you must travel."

To each group, a different place appeared within the blackness of their closed vision. A green and grassy plain...the blazing maw of an open volcano...a mountain top that seemed to pierce the clouds...the wave-rattled shore of a beach...the lightning-illuminated outskirts of Robotropolis...a crater that seemed to stretch on for miles...and the deep, dark depths of a cold and murky cave. "Your minds now know where to find these places. Travel to them, and take with you a single thread of the web." the Source continued its instructions. "Ensure the strands are unbroken when you arrive at your destinations, for they are crucial to my plan. Once you have arrived, await my signal. Do not do anything else until then; the action I may be forced to take is one of desperation, and must be avoided if possible. You will know what I mean, and what to do, when the time comes." Allowing its followers to absorb its instructions, the Source then asked, "Are you ready, my warriors?"

Another unhesitating nod. "Then go, and hurry. I sense that my Child is weakening...we must be prepared for the worst."

The seven teams immediately headed off in the direction of their targets, each and every one of the spiders spinning an all-but-invisible thread behind them as they went. Merging into the shadows of the forest, they seemed to vanish into thin air in seconds. With no further need to speak, the Sword of Acorns returned to being the silent center of the web. Within its steel shell, however, the Source of All wondered if the strange sensation pulsating through it was what mortals described as fear. Its form had been wounded greatly by the destruction wreaked across the planet by Eggman, its powers growing weaker as the planet from which they stemmed slowly decayed. Its once all-seeing clairvoyance was blinded, and all the knowledge of the future the Source had once possessed was gone with it. Now, the weakest it had ever been in the entirety of its eons-long existence, the Source was making a stand against the one being that could potentially destroy it once and for all. "Do you see now, Aurora?" it asked the heavens above, wondering if the Goddess could hear, "Do you see what you have done?"

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Hopelessly out-numbered, fighting against enemies vastly stronger than himself, covered from head to toe in cuts and bruises, Knuckles the Echidna was hard-pressed to think of a time he had felt more...alive. After sitting on the side-lines a whole year, the guardian was overjoyed to be in the thick of combat again, even though the augmented abilities he had once possessed were no longer able to aid him. Even as he felt pain shoot through his arm as his fist collided into the stone-hard face of one of the thousands of gray-scaled beasts he and his companions now fought against, the echidna was thoroughly exhilarated to see the fruits of his labor. His arduous training, though not entirely compensation for the loss of his Chaos-enhanced strength, was proving to have been quite worthwhile as yet another beast fell to his attack. "I'm telling you guys," Knuckles grunted as he moved on to the next foe, "this is almost too easy!"

It was, of course, a joke. Of all things the chaotic clash in the halls of the temple of Daxis was, "easy" was not one of them. Even with each of the Freedom Fighters doing their best to fend off the attacking beasts, identified by the Arachne as "Daboro", it was a losing battle at best. Only the narrow size of the hall had kept the team alive, for it prevented the creatures from bringing their full numbers to bear. "Not to intrude on Knuckles' fantasy life," Julie-Su shouted as she leapt over an attacking Daboro, firing into its back with her laser rifle, "but I don't think we're going to last much longer like this!"

"She's right!" Hershey responded, forcing her way through several of the grey-scaled monsters to reach Geoffrey. "We need a new plan other than 'pray we don't get eaten' here, Geoff!"

Firing off arrows from his crossbow in a desperate flurry, the skunk nodded. In truth, he was attempting to form just such a strategy at that very moment. Retreat was not an option: the only way out was through whatever spell the Arachne had used before, and the skunk knew it would take too long to regroup, link together, and exit again before at least one of them was taken down. Similarly, any attempt to get Tails to shuttle the group across one by one would end in failure, for the hallway was too small; Tails' passengers would likely be snatched by the Daboro. Yet brute strength was only going to take the team so far; even the Arachne were showing signs of fatigue as they continued fighting off the unrelenting monsters. In short, it seemed like a no-win situation. "I am not going to let my team die!" Geoffrey mentally resolved as doubt began to creep into his mind.

In the fire that rose in his heart to defend those he cared for, a spark was struck within Geoffrey's mind. A plan had finally been formed; a shaky one, but a plan nonetheless. "You! Kunai-boy!" the skunk shouted out, hoping to grab the attention of the specific Arachne he was hoping for.

Sure enough, one of the spiders, though Geoffrey was unsure which one, flipped over to him from the front of the fighting. "What is it?" he asked.

"Are you the one that got us in here?" Geoffrey asked, all the while still firing arrows off whenever the opportunity arose.

The ninja seemed unsure how to answer at first, but eventually nodded. "These guys have a tenuous grasp on identity..." Geoffrey thought briefly, before leaning in close and whispering instructions into the Arachne's ear. "Do you understand?" he asked once he had backed away.

This time, the spider did not hesitate to nod. "Then go! GO!!!" Geoffrey barked.

As the lone ninja darted off to the back of the hallway, the others turned to watch in confusion, though none were so foolish as to forget what they were doing. "I really hope he gets back in time..." Geoffrey silently prayed.

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"Goodbye..."

That was all Sally found she could say to Sonic before turning away from him to run off. She did not know where, nor did she really know what she intended to do once she got to wherever she was going, but Sally did know one thing: if she stayed where she was, she would break down, and that was something the princess knew she could not afford to do. Daxis had to be stopped. Mobius had to be kept safe. That was what ultimately mattered, not Sally's own feelings. Yet even as her resolve steeled, even as her feet propelled her forward as fast as they could, Sonic's words tainted her thoughts like poison. "That I could ever feel anything for a controlling, vindictive ball-and-chain like you besides disgust..."

Those were not the words of the dark servant of the Order of Daxis Sally had been ready and able to fight. If there was one person Sally knew inside and out, could recognize in every situation, it was Sonic. For once, it was an ability she wished she did not have. Knowing that was the way Sonic felt for her now...it should not have hurt as much as it did. The rational part of Sally's mind knew this. Even if it was the real Sonic speaking, the squirrel had already determined that, if it was time for their bond to be severed, then it was time. "I accepted that even before all this started..." Sally reasoned, still pushing herself onward. "...didn't I?"

No. The more she thought about it, the more Sally realized how untrue such an acceptance was. When she had gone to the Lake of Rings the night before-and it was hard to believe so much had happened yet not even a full day had passed-, there had been hope. Hope that, somehow, she and Sonic could solve their problems. Even as she tried to accept that things had changed, that she would have to simply move on, she had clung to that hope. The princess did not need to wonder why: because Sonic had always been there. As far back as Sally could remember, the hedgehog had been at her side. To accept a tomorrow where he no longer was saddened Sally deeply. Before, such a future would have seemed impossible. She and Sonic had known each other almost their whole lives! Nothing, not time apart, not other suitors, not even a war that seemed to go on without end had changed the way they felt for each other. How, then, could Sonic turn away from her now?

One unpleasant memory blended into another, and in her mind's eye, Sally saw the image of Sonic's hateful glare replaced with a bewildered, regretful expression. Soon enough, a hand-her hand, Sally knew-flew across that very face with such force as to nearly knock the unsuspecting hedgehog off his feet. "It was me..." Sally realized wistfully as the hallway opened up into a room. "I drove you away..."

Seeing that there was no further to run now that the hall was at an end, Sally came to a breathless halt; the princess had been so caught up in her thoughts, she had not realized just how far her already-exhausted body had run without stopping. The crystals that had formed the hallway's sides had changed. No longer the small panels like the ones in the Master Emerald chamber, they had changed into large, jagged prisms that jutted out of rocky walls and emanated a dozen different colors into the otherwise-dull gray room. Briefly, Sally's melancholy was pierced by curiosity as to what purpose the room served, but it was quickly dwarfed as the full weight of Sally's realization began to sink in. Leaning against the nearest wall, her already-tired body pushed to its limit by the exhaustive run, the squirrel slowly slumped to the ground. "Daxis has to be stopped. Mobius has to be kept safe. This is all that matters." the rational part of her mind spoke up again.

No matter how true that sentiment was, it did little to quell the feelings of guilt, sorrow, and hopelessness that had been Sally's tormentors since her arrival in the temple that surged with renewed fervor in her heart. A future without Sonic's love...it was unthinkable. Yet it seemed to be the inevitable future that now loomed over the princess like a shadow that grew with each second. That she was the shadow's creator, however...that was the worst part. New tears brimmed in Sally's eyes, even as she dug her fingers into the wall and commanded her legs to lift her up. "Tails...Mom and Dad...Elias...Bunnie..." Sally started muttering as she began to rise up once more.

Over and over again, she spoke their names, trying to focus on the people they belonged to. Friends, family...they needed to be protected. Sonic alone was not enough to force her to forget who she was and what was at stake. "It still hurts, though..." the creeping sorrow that threatened to overwhelm Sally hissed as the squirrel's knees trembled but refused to buckle.

At last, Sally stood on her feet. No sooner had she done so, however, then a familiar red glow began to fill the room. "Oh no..." Sally whispered fearfully, whipping her head around to look at the center of the room. From above, three writhing tendrils of glowing crimson light crawled through the roof. "Stupid stupid stupid!" the panicked squirrel berated herself. "You got distracted, and now..."

Before Sally could even finish the thought, she found herself overtaken by the tentacles. Raising her arms in self defense and closing her eyes, prepared for the worst, the princess was surprised when the tendrils passed over her harmlessly. Surprise soon turned into terror, however, as a chill ran through her body. For a brief flash, Sally saw Amodeus' scowling face looking straight at her, and in her mind she heard his scratchy voice. "I've found you..." it growled.

The tentacles quickly retracted back into the roof from whence they came, vanishing as quickly as they had arrived. Sally, disoriented but still standing, looked at the retreating strands of light and knew. "I have to get out of here." she warned herself.

Moving to arm's distance from the wall, Sally placed a hesitant hand on its stony surface. Given her previous attempt, the princess was more than a little hesitant to try warping through the temple again, but it seemed the only mode of transport available. Closing her eyes, Sally attempted to focus as she had before, but found her thoughts consistently clouded as visions of Sonic, red eyes blazing in hatred, green eyes glimmering in confusion, flashed through her mind. Her eyes shot open, and the squirrel took a few steps back in both surprise and frustration. Though she tried not to, Sally found her gaze drifting to the hallway where she had come from...the place where she had last seen Sonic. The storm of emotions that had retracted in fear began to slowly rise up again, and for a brief moment Sally even considered going back to the hedgehog. Ultimately, however, she knew what had to be done. Taking a deep breath, closing her eyes again, she resumed her mantra. "Tails...Mom and Dad...Elias...Bunnie..."

Hand again outreached to the wall, thoughts clearer than before, Sally slowly began to pass through the rocky surface. Just as her hand slipped through, however, the squirrel was violently jerked away and found herself flung to the other side of the room. Yelping in surprise and pain, Sally fell face first onto the ground. "Tut tut...", a voice Sally had hoped never to hear again taunted on the edge of her fading consciousness, "you didn't think you'd get away that easily, did you?"

Standing triumphantly over her fallen prey, Lilith grinned in satisfaction. When Amodeus had mentally contacted her to inform the bat of the situation and the princess' location, she had still been looking for Sonic. When the old goat had gotten...insistent..., she had consented to take care of the Child, since Amodeus himself was drained from using the seeker spell. "Once I take care of you," Lilith thought contemptuously as she picked up the unconscious Sally by the scruff of her neck, "I can make sure you'll never hurt my Blue again..."

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"Goodbye..."

That was all Sonic found he could say as the Child of the Source ran off. "Get up!" his mind urged a non-compliant body. "You have to go after her!"

Sonic knew that. Where the hedgehog was no longer sure, however, was the area of why. Did he want to capture her for the Order...or was there something more to his desire? The answers had all seemed so clear when he had first stumbled upon the princess, so why was he having so much trouble understanding them now? "You're a Freedom Fighter from Knothole Village, one of the best there is, and you...you're my..."

"Shut up..." Sonic whispered, "You're...you're lying..."

The hedgehog felt ill then. Vision blurring, dizziness washing over him, it was as if his entire world was whirling around him. "You're my friend...my best friend."

"You're the enemy!" he hissed, desperate to silence her voice as it continued to ring throughout his thoughts. "You and your kind...desperate for control, choking the life out of this planet to get it..."

Those words...he spoke them as confidently as he could, yet somehow they felt wrong to the hedgehog. A sharp, stinging pain suddenly shot through his head, like his very skull was trying to burst out. Teeth gritted, holding in an agonized scream, Sonic drew his hands to clutch his throbbing temples. Stumbling on uneven footing, he could hear her...over and over again...and each time he did, it sounded a little more like she was telling the truth. "No..." the hedgehog growled defiantly, even as the pain that gripped his mind intensified to all-but-unbearable levels. "It's...not..."

The sentence died in his throat as a burning sensation seemed to tear across Sonic's torso. It felt almost as if a branding iron was pressing down against him. "Relax...pain is often the price paid for freedom..."

"Lilith...?" Sonic half-spoke, half-coughed as the bat's ethereal voice echoed in his ears.

Overwhelmed by the flood of sensations, the hedgehog fell to his knees, breath heaving and ragged. The feel of burning had subsided to a dull ache, but the vice-like headache continued to tighten its grip. Feeling as if on the brink of death, Sonic's head slumped downwards, forcing his eyes to gaze upon a surprising sight: running from the lower left corner of his stomach to the upper right corner of his chest was a scar. "How long has that been there...?" his groggy mind wondered.

Her razor nails dug into his flesh, reaching across in a diagonal path. It felt as if a fire was lit inside his very soul, yet the hedgehog did not scream. He could not.

A flash of something half-remembered, half-dreamed passed through Sonic's vision.

A hand struck his face with surprising force. Anger, confusion, and disappointment welled up in Sonic, each with equal measure.

Yes...he remembered...he and the Princess...but how? Why?

Looking at the castle from the outskirts of Knothole, he sighed. "How come, just when things are lookin' up...they all fall down?" he asked quietly.

Memories. These visions...they were memories, buried within his mind.

"Well, hello there..."

He was surprised when a gorgeous silver bat climbed on top of his toppled form. "Um...hi there..." he offered lamely, "Sorry for, uh, bumpin' into you before..."

"Oh that's no problem!" she giggled back. "By the way, my name's Lilith..."

It was like watching the pieces of a puzzle fall into place. Yet everything that lay beyond the pieces he had seen was a blank to the hedgehog. Wracking his mind to try and put them together into a cohesive whole, another vision came to him, a memory...yet this one felt different, somehow. It felt larger...more powerful...

"I'm sorry..." he whispered, "but you're wrong. For me...for her...we'll make things work out. Somehow."

Sonic spoke those words even as the bat circled him slowly. "Why settle for her", she asked, leaning in so that she was face to face with the hedgehog, "when you could have so much more?"

Brushing Lilith aside, Sonic prepared to leave, regretting already that he had let things go this far. "I have all I want already..." he said icily.

"What about freedom?" Lilith asked.

He stopped at that. "She tried to take that away from you tonight," the bat continued, "Do you really think she won't try again? That she hasn't been trying all this time?"

Hesitantly, Sonic turned to face her again. For a moment, he thought he saw a glint of crimson in her eyes as he faced her, but it vanished too quickly for him to tell. Either way, he could not deny that she had honed in on a fear that had started out small after he left Knothole and had only grown during their brief time together. He had never thought about the future before, where his relationship with the Princess was going...all that had mattered was that being with her made him happy. Now, however...

"You can't go risking your life in battle if we're going to have a real future together!"

The Princess' angry words sprung to mind immediately. Was that the future that awaited him if he stayed with her? Was the only way to hold onto her love to become chained down to a life he did not want? Almost as if she were reading his thoughts, Lilith, who was slowly working to close the gap between them again, spoke up. "Her life is predicated on control, but you...you live for the moment, without fear or doubt. Control is the last thing you want in your life.

"Maybe...", Sonic replied unsteadily, "but that doesn't change how I feel..."

"Oh, I know how she makes you feel, Blue," Lilith answered, now nose to nose with the hedgehog, "and I can make you feel that way too. The only difference is..." Leaning in to his ear, she finished in a hushed, alluring whisper, "with me, you can always be free."

The sound of her voice sent shivers of excitement down Sonic's spine. Even as part of him screamed to leave, to get out before he did something he would regret, the hedgehog found the part of him telling him to stay sounded stronger. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" she asked, still cooing in his ear. "To feel like you do with her, and not have to worry about what comes after?"

There was no answer at first. Sonic was unsure what to say as he tried to make sense of the many conflicting thoughts and feelings stirring up inside him. "Just a simple yes or no, Blue..." Lilith prompted.

Closing his eyes and just letting her words reverberate inside him, Sonic finally gave his honest response. "Yes..."

"Then come with me." the bat offered, surprising Sonic with the change in her voice; before, it had been confident, strong...alluring...but now, it was far gentler, compassionate. Taking a few steps back, hand extended in offering, she spoke, "I can give you that, and so much more..."

Another glint of red that Sonic only half-saw passed across Lilith's eyes. Another wave of excitement shot through the hedgehog. Despite a nagging, doubtful voice deep, deep inside of him telling him not to, Sonic found his hand clasped around Lilith's.

"The Pact is sealed." she said, joyfully yet menacingly as well.

A red glow wrapped itself around the two at her words, but at that point Sonic did not care. The feeling surging through him at that moment...it was incredible, like being held down by a thousand chains only to have them snap all at once and flying across the sky. Eyes closed to allow it to sink in, Sonic felt it creeping through him, blotting out everything else...memories, feelings, thoughts...not gone, but muted, covered in a terrible shadow. Yet he did not care. He was free. Finally, finally he was free of it all...

The vision receded, yet that sensation...that of a great and terrible weight vanishing...remained. Even aware of the deception that had birthed it, a part of Sonic still wanted to stay as he was if it only meant holding onto that feeling. To continue living in that beautiful illusion...maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Yet...he could not. He could not simply forget the feeling the Princess' words had left in him, the part of himself they had stirred. The thought of her again triggered a vision of memory. Like the one before, Sonic could sense its importance...but this time he felt something else as well...something warm, comforting...

Hiding beneath a desk, Sonic watched his uncle greet the King. The five-year old hedgehog had met the monarch many times before, as he often came by to speak with his Uncle for various reasons, all very Kingly Sonic was sure. Today, however, there was someone else with the King, the person who had driven the young boy into hiding. Clutching close to the King's leg was a child dressed in silky blue, a girl. Unsure of what to make of this strange creature, Sonic chose to observe her from a safe distance. He watched as the King knelt down, forcing the girl to release her hold on his leg. "Now listen closely, my dear," he said kindly, patting her shoulder. "I must discuss very important things with this gentleman. Feel free to look around his workshop, but don't touch anything and behave yourself, understood?"

"Yes daddy..." she answered timidly.

"That's my little Bean," the King spoke with a smile that practically glowed. "Now, run along and enjoy yourself."

"I will."

With that, the two hugged each other warmly. The King then rose to his feet and the mysterious girl began to wander off, but not before Sonic's Uncle called out to her, "Oh, and if you see my nephew, be sure to let me know; I've been lookin' for him all morning."

"'Kay," the intruder responded with a slight curtsy.

A mischievous smile spread across Sonic's face as he watched the girl walk off from the two adults, who quickly became engaged in another conversation that was undoubtedly bursting at the seams with kingliness. At last, his prey was alone...unprotected. "Time to do it to it!" he whispered to himself encouragingly, crawling out from under the desk only to dash off and await his chance to get the drop on the little girl.

Sure that he had not been spotted, Sonic now stood with his back pressed against the wall. Having memorized every inch of his Uncle's workshop (or at least that was what his infantile arrogance believed), he knew that if the intruder continued the way she had been going, she would end up here soon. Listening carefully for the sound of her footsteps, he prepared his brilliant plan for action: he would leap out and scare the snot out of her. Click-clacks echoed nearby, signaling her approach. Doing his best to suppress his laughter, the boy went to work, jumping from his hiding spot to right in front of the girl with as loud a "BOO!" as he could muster.

Unfortunately, the girl in question was, in fact, several feet away, and so the effect was lessened quite a bit. Impatience, it seemed, had once again gotten the better of Sonic, who had reacted to the echoes of the girl's steps too soon. For a moment, the two simply stood there, he still in his jump-scare pose, she seemingly unsure what to make of this odd new arrival. Eventually, however, the silence and stillness were both ended when the girl smiled, and began to laugh. "You're funny!" she giggled, leaving the young hedgehog frustrated and flustered.

"Am not!" he defended childishly.

"Are too!" the girl laughed back.

"AM NOT!" Sonic retaliated again, louder this time.

The girl could not answer this time, she was too busy laughing. Temper rising, Sonic stomped his feet up and down as fast as they could go. "I'll show you!" he shouted, though he had no idea how he was going to do so.

Before he could finalize such a plan, he noticed the intruder was no longer laughing. Looking at her, Sonic saw she was staring, amazed, at his feet, still moving up and down at incredible speeds. "Wow..." she whispered absently, absorbed in watching the feet move.

Stopping, Sonic found his anger fading quickly, replaced instead by a flushing sensation in his cheeks and a simultaneous boost in ego. "Oh, yeah, that!" he feigned a casual tone. "Pretty cool, huh?"

The girl simply nodded. "So...what's your name?" she finally asked.

"Me? I'm Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog!" he answered triumphantly with his hands placed at his hips heroically, all thoughts of this girl's previous strangeness to him long gone. "Who're you?"

"Oh. My name is..."

"Sally."

Returned again to the vantage of the present, Sonic spoke the name as if it were the most sacred thing in the world. It was the key. With it restored to him, the rest of his true memories followed suit like a tidal wave. Tails...Uncle Chuck...his parents...Knothole...all of it. The fiery red that had corrupted Sonic's eyes mellowed into their normal grass green, the color of his fur lightened to its true shade, and the shadowy shroud that had covered his mind vanished. In their place stood Sonic the Hedgehog, restored at last. "Sally..." he repeated, voice hoarse, "Oh, Goddess...Sally, I...how could I..."

He remembered everything. Including his choice. His foolish, arrogant, selfish choice. Looking down at his chest, Sonic saw the scar left behind from his induction into the Order was still there, a reminder of his horrible mistake. Pounding his fist into the ground, he shouted and screamed and raged, letting emotions that had been left to stew inside him for far too long loose in a single furious display. Rising to his feet, slamming himself into the walls, he continued like that for as long as his weary body would allow. When it was all over, when his venting was finished and his energy was spent, Sonic stood, arms limp by his side, staring at the ceiling with ragged breath. Taking time to recompose himself, the hedgehog's gaze soon fell to his front, looking ahead. His own personal problems would have to wait. Something far more important lay in that direction. "Hang on, Sal..." he whispered, "I'm coming..."

To Be Continued...