Section 10: The Downward Spiral
Matt turned to face Knuckles stricken body releasing his psychic hold on Sonic who had to slowly peel away from the wall before he could drop down to the ground "Still some fight in you then Knuckles? Well then let's go for round 2, not that you could even scra..." Matt felt a slight lack of energy but dismissed it "Weird. Anyway, not that you could even scratch ME!" He blurted. His head began to hurt but Matt turned his neck to look at the pack which was sparking electricity out of a massive rupture on the pack which Knuckles made. It was then that he saw that all of the administration needles had retracted. Knuckles placed his hand on Matt's shoulder in sympathy "I'm sorry I had to do this Matt" He looked back in hatred "Wh...What have you don...DONE!!!" Matt screamed and fell to the floor flailing in agony, his head felt like it was about to explode and his body burned. He struggled to get on his hand and knees but slipped back to the ground. He then started to cough and splutter, spraying the chaotic blood across the floor. The constant screaming he made forced Amy to take refuge in Sonics' blooded arms and Tikal wanted desperately to help but Tails who had managed to limp over with the others held her back to keep her safe. After yet more screams of pain and frantic lurching Matt finally settled and calmed and his body returned to normal, he lay flat on his back.
Cautiously everyone slowly stepped closer to Matt "Is he dead?" Amy was unable to stop her body shaking "I don't know" said Sonic gripping her hand tightly. "...AAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGG!!!!!" Matt began the same horrific screeches causing everyone to leap back even further with fright "STOP IT! AAAARRRGG NO! NO!" Unlike before Matt was only clutching his head tight with his hands and he started to go manic, wildly crawling and slipping on the floor like a wounded animal "NO! MOM! DAD! D...D...DON'T DIE! PLEAS...AAARRRGG!" "He's gone completely off the rails" said Tails "YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!" As they watched Knuckles suddenly realized what was happening "No Tails don't you see. Having the chaos emeralds taken from him without properly stabilising them must have had a severe effect on his mental state, I think they must be restoring it to it's original state" Tikal's eyes widened with teardrops forming "So if he is remembering his parents, then that means..." She couldn't finish as Matt started to cry in his manic state and his ramblings changed "WHY?! AAARRRRG TIKAL! WHAT DID I DO?! I CAAAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU! ARG KNUCKLES! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! URG TIKAL PLEASE COME BAACK! AAAHHH I CAN'T TAKE IT!!!"
With that he suddenly came to a halt on hands and knees staring at the floor breathing heavily. He looked up to see Shadows body lying on the floor "NO! SHADOW!" He stumbled to his feet and sprinted as fast as he could "MATT! WAIT!" yelled Tails who was also waving his hands to the others to follow him. Matt slid to a halt next to Shadow "Oh my god. Please no, you can't, I...I'm sorry, I'm sorry" With tears in his eyes he cradled Shadow in his arms before hearing a faint whisper behind him "Matt. Is that you Matt?" He gently placed Shadow down and turned to see Tikal fighting back tears while holding out her right hand. Matt stood up and started to slowly walk towards her but the speed of his stride kept increasing until he ran straight into her arms. The pair were locked in a tight hug which was also the final push Tikal needed to release her tears "Matt. I'm so sorry, this was all my fault" "Don't be silly" Matt's grip tightened "If I had just listened to you none of this would have happened" Inside though Matt couldn't help but give Knuckles an intimidating stare over Tikal's shoulder. Tikal leaned back so she could look Matt in the eye "Let's just say we both had a part in this" Matt smiled and wiped a tear from his eye "If it's with you then that's the only way I would ever want it" Tikal no longer cared about the terrible things Matt had done and Matt remembered the feeling of true happiness as they grew closer and kissed each other on the lips repeatedly and passionately, right in front of everybody else. Tikal parted their lips and whispered in Matt's ear "I love you Matt". Matt consciously made sure he spoke loud enough so that everyone could hear "I love you Tikal". For the others seeing them back together warmed their hearts.
"PROJECT:OBLIVION ACTIVATION T-MINUS 10 MINUTES. ZERO HOUR PROTOCOL IS NOW IN EFFECT" the computers voice echoed through the hanger as yet more sirens and lights activated around them. Sonic approached Matt and Tikal "While I'm happy for the two of you let's not forget why we're here. Matt what is zero hour?" Matt's face dropped "Zero hour is when there is no going back. It's a deadlock on the space ripper. WE CAN'T STOP IT!" Tails ran in to join them "We have to stop it Matt, or else the entire city is going to..." Matt interrupted and finished his sentence "Drop into the void universe. Into oblivion. But like I said it's a one way process now" Matt turned his head to look down the corridor leading to the machine "Unless..." Matt shivered but knew exactly what the solution was, he turned to the others "I can re-direct it to somewhere else, somewhere completely clear of life" The entire group let out a cheer but were cut short "BUT" said Matt sharply "What do you mean BUT?" said Amy in kind. Matt diverted all of his attention to Tikal and place his palms upon her cheeks "Tikal I need you to promise me three things OK" Tikal felt confused but agreed "Promise what Matt" He smiled "#1 Run the opposite direction to where I run. #2 I will speak to you in one week. I want you to come back to where the machine is at that time. And finally #3" He paused and moved in closer "Have a fantastic, amazing, happy life" He kissed Tikal once more on the lips before sprinting through the door and locking it so fast that not even Sonic had time to react. Everyone else understood what he said immediately but Tikal only understood once Matt had run out of sight "NO! MATT YOU CAN'T" She ran as fast as she could towards the door and pounded it with her fist in vain "YOU CAN'T DO THIS! WE'LL FIND ANOTHER WAY! MATT! COME BACK! PLEASE! COME BACK!!!" Knuckles softly crept up to her side and looked through the door window while he wrapped his arm around Tikal's shoulder "Tikal. You promised to run the other way. You're not going to break your first promise are you?" Tikal remembered and nodded her head as she turned with the others to walk back up the ramp to the surface.