A/N: I feel like crap. No, worse than that. Like dog crap. Mono sucks so hardcore, and everyone else is like: Don't worry Rox, it only takes two months to fully recover. I'm about to cry, I'm covered in my own mucus, I haven't been able to swallow painlessly for two weeks, I feel like my head is ice cold while my body's on fire and sometimes my head is on fire and my body's ice cold. It's not bad enough to go back to the hospital, don't worry, but I'm so weak that I'm thinking about using my old wheelchair to get around school. As it is, going down one flight of stairs feels like slicing open my lungs. I honestly felt better in the hospital when I was supposedly worse, so how does that work?
But then a lot has happened. I had that cross-state volleyball tournament that took forever and a day, and right afterwards I was like: Cool, I get to work on the chapter, I got down with this lovely bug. So this chapter is so late it needs to be fined...achoo! Excuse me, now while I go wipe the mounts of mucus off the keyboard why don't you enjoy this chapter? I doubt you can, but try.
And by the way, let's give a hand to my lovely partner, who didn't yell at me though all the shit I had to do was making me on edge about it. I was like: I know I said I'd be done but... And she didn't once yell at me! Not once! I feel so bad but it's not like I asked for this, I mean come on! But I seriously give her a round of applause because I don't think I could have been so patient. She's like the human calm bomb, or whatever.
Azngirlchibi: That's all I get? A round of applause?
Me: Well...do you wanna see me naked?
Azngirlchibi: No....no I don't.
Me: My body's all I got. Sorry. Wait, you want my boyfriend? He's almost house broken.
Azngirlchibi: ....You know what? Forget it.
Haha, enjoy the chapter! Achoo! Ah GROSS! DAMN IT!
"We all wear masks Spiderman. But which one is real? The one that goes over your face, or the one that is your face?"
-Green Goblin from The Spectacular Spiderman Series
"Children are fascinating creatures, aren't they?" The doctor asked himself with a rhetorical tone in his voice, the lenses of his glasses flashing while he watched the two green hedgehogs' every movement, their features captured by his own tracking invention.
He focused in on the small boy, the one with a come-and-get-me grin and eyes filled with only color. From here he seemed so small, so weak and helpless and devoid of anything worthy at all. He was holding onto the hand of his little sister, and even though he knew it to be true, he could not imagine those intertwined fingers could harness such incredible power. He did not look like a 'phoenix' at all, as Tails had so vividly described it, but a little boy looking for his mother.
Of course Robotnik had trouble relating to anything the little boy was related to. Prophesies, mythical creatures that could rebuild themselves from the ashes, not a shred of that was scientific. Though he had seen some brought to life, he was skeptical to anything that could only be proved with sight. He gave another sigh and let his eyes train on the boy a moment longer before he shook his head, continuing on with his thoughts.
"They have grown so attached to that filthy pink rat so they don't even see where they begin and she ends; they're so blind they don't even see themselves in danger. They consider her in danger just for being out of their sight, anything beyond that they can't even comprehend. Absolutely fascinating." He rubbed the end of his moustache with his mind reeling, his mouth slacking open. "She should know more than everyone that there is such a thing as being too close to someone. Then again, as I recall, she was always incredibly stupid when it came to learning from mistakes." He only paused for a moment. "Especially ones of that nature."
The silence was eerie, spouting seeds of doubt into his mind. Hadn't he himself underestimated her in the past using the same mockery to distract him? Hadn't he received hammer blows to the face because of past encounters that seemed so one-sided as far as she was concerned?
That Amy Rose had always been able to take those mistakes and use them as a weapon, her broken heart a harpoon, her rage a sword that was unbendable, her love a guided arrow. She claimed to fight for all things love and so many times he had not understood the severity of its power over her.
Well, this time would be different in more sense than one.
The doctor leaned back, content to watch his plan unfold. "You always used to say that love will always save the day Miss Rose," he spoke directly while a smile crawled over his features. "We'll see if you were right soon enough."
They kept walking until they saw a magnificent oak tree reaching towards the heavens before they stopped, and Tails felt his hand squeeze hers a little more urgently, as if he would wake up to realize their reunion was just a cruel ruse.
I couldn't take another dream…this time I know you're really here.
Cream looked at him and smiled so tenderly that he thought he would melt into a puddle at her feet. They looked up, watching the branches stretch across the white of their sky, growing with every second. Then a petal fell, and as Tails opened his hand and caught it, he noticed its purely innocent shade of pink. He looked up with an idea forming, noticing that more petals had started to fall, the petals of a perfectly formed cosmos flower…
Cream nudged against him, her whiskey eyes filled with light. "She couldn't wait for you, after she died. But she left part of herself here, so you would always know that she didn't want to leave and she'll always be hoping for you to come."
At this, Tails closed his fist around the petal to turn to her. "What are you talking about?" he asked while their fingers further intertwined. "I thought this is the place you went to after you die. That's why I'm here, isn't it? And why you're here with me." He blushed and looked down in thought. "If there was a heaven in hell, we know where I'd go."
The ends of the branches were growing little buds, blooming because of the fox's presence. Cream sighed, her smile replaced with a concerned frown. "This is the place you go to after you die. But it's not where you'll be going…" she rested her head on his shoulder, sending shivers down his arm. "This is the holding place. We're caught between the afterlife and…well…life…"
Tails blinked, his eyes focused on the plant before him. "You mean we're in limbo?"
At that, Cream flinched. "It's complicated. You know how Knuckles keeps saying 'being dead is what you make it'?" She felt him nod and continued. "For him, this place is limbo. But for Shadow, this place is all he'll ever see."
Tails pulled away, shocked, but never letting go of her hand. "What are you saying?" he asked slowly, unable to comprehend. "Shadow can't ever get out of limbo?"
At that, Cream looked back up, where the tree had stretched beyond sight. "No. He won't even be judged until he wants to. It's hard to explain…but…do you remember back on Chris' world? Where people all had to get together to fly on one big plane to get somewhere?" He nodded again as she rubbed her thumb against his knuckles, comforting him. "And people would wait at the airport for the people they loved before they left? And we saw people who held signs, who had names painted on them so the person could find them?"
Tails felt a lump form in his throat. "So this place is like a giant airport?"
She nodded this time, something like sadness taking over her face. "You're only allowed to move on when the person you gave half your heart to gives it back. Or, in some scenarios: the person who has taken the most from you…"
She took a breath. "If you were murdered, you're not allowed to leave until you confront your murderer and you're able to put your soul at peace." She took a step towards him. "If you died alone, without giving your heart to anyone, you have to wait till you find peace here." She pointed all around them, her cheeks coloring. "I've seen two people find their way out of here because they met here. I've seen glimpses of people who have just walked right through because the person they loved was already waiting for them."
Tails was taken aback, surprised such a thing so grotesque as death could be described as something so redeeming. "What happens when you're able to leave?" he asked though he could have easily guessed the answer.
"You get judged. You get to leave." Cream responded in a hollow tone, her ears drooping down a little. "Until then, you stay here for all eternity."
Tails watched her with every single good intent. "Do Knuckles and Shadow know this? All of this? They seemed pretty sure this was the only heaven or hell when I asked them."
Cream shrugged. "Like he says. Being dead is what you make it. Everything I've seen and everything I've heard just might be my way of moving on. Maybe this place is all there is, but I'll disappear into my own heaven because my wish is to go forward with someone I love. Who knows? Maybe all this I'm telling you has happened because this is how I'm passing on. Maybe I'll get into my heaven and I'll have you with me but you won't really be there. Maybe we'll have replacements for us wherever we go, maybe you have the desire to just stay here and when I go I'll leave a part of me behind so you'll be happy too."
Tails tried to grasp what she was saying but found her words were all too unscientific. Too illogical, how could he ever have a replacement for her? How could she have a different idea of passage than he did? If they all moved on in their own way, had their own heaven, how was he supposed to stay beside her? He hugged her close to him in a flash, determined not to let her go. She buried her face in his chest, before muttering silently.
"There is another way." She whispered so that he heard her clearly. "A way for us all to be judged together, to go the same place, to keep going forward in the same direction." As he started to agree, her words came first. "There has to be someone with a pure and holy soul that delivers us. Someone who will guide us through together, lead the way."
Tails looked up as a petal fell on his nose. His heart inflated. "Cosmo…"
Cream nodded, tears in her eyes. "When she came. She took everyone. Her sister, her mother…Dark Oak…they all ended up living in peace after she took their hands and just walked on." She laughed, it sounded unsure. "She's waiting for you; she left this tree because this is where she left. I think the worst part of it is that she wanted to guide you. She feels like she's leaving you behind, again."
Tails watched the petals form patterns in their large quantity, watched them ease onto the ground with unbearable grace. "We have to wait for Nathaniel?" he guessed, only to be surprised when Cream joined their free hands and squeezed them so hard he felt the strain though he wasn't even alive.
Her lips moved, her words deafening, the only thing Tails could hear besides his racing heart. "Not Nathaniel…" She leaned in and kissed him, whispering in the aftermath. "Not if he can help it."
"Hey Nathaniel," Naomi panted while she tried to keep up, waiting till he slowed so she could join by his side. "Can I ask you a question?" She tried to join his long strides when their arms touched, and she was surprised how warm he was, a fire inside that was catching on quick. He nodded and she grabbed his hand to keep from being left behind.
"What's the scariest thing in the whole world?" she asked, thinking about last Halloween. How she and Amy had been frightened to death by mischievous neighbors hiding in shadows, playing innocent pranks, while Nathaniel had merely been annoyed with each surprise, his head tilting as if to say 'is that all'? Naomi remembered thinking that her brother was the bravest person in the whole world.
Naomi blinked. "Cause you're not afraid of spiders or vampires or Frankenstein or werewolves or anything like that…"
Nathaniel turned to her with a sly smile. "Spiders can be crushed. Vampires can get killed by the sun, Frankenstein is just plain stupid, werewolves only last for a full moon…" he slowed down even more as he thought. "Monsters like that are dumb, they're not even real. Why would I be afraid of something that isn't even alive?"
Naomi thought for a minute, wondering when in the world her brother had changed so much. Usually the relationship between them was obvious to outsiders: he was the strong, beautiful and intelligent one while she was the one who was always left behind. But she never truly felt it was like that until that moment, her heart stretched with envy.
Then she remembered his magic and it all turned to remorse. "So then…what are you scared of?"
Nathaniel answered back almost disinterestedly. "I'm afraid of being without Amy, and you. I'm afraid that my magic will do bad things and I'll hurt you again like I did before. I'm afraid of you being afraid of me. I'm afraid of that man who kissed Mama, because he makes her act like I'm not here." He finished before looking at his sister with the saddest smile she had ever seen. "But I'm not afraid of monsters."
For a moment it was deathly quiet. Then Naomi tightened his grip on her hand and smiled brilliantly. "And I'm not afraid of you."
A/N: Short and sweet. Damn, I'm gonna have a lot to live up to in the next chapter.
Anyway, wish Aces better with me! After an awesome chapter like this, you can't let her be sick. It's like, illegal!
Anonymous Reviews:
cari: Err... if you're still here... It's updated?
Ytin: YES! I'm so clever! LOL. Sorry 'bout the delay. If you've gone through Ace's rant up there, you'll know what's happened. I'm glad that you've read up to chapter thirty with us... I know it's a lot of work going through all that. Yeah, I've actually tried to read through it all, to scan it for any loose ends we've forgotten XD Anyway, hope you're still here to read this chapter - you can't miss this XD
WardOrange StoneMonkeyGadget: ... This doesn't happen to be Gadget, does this? ... Nah. Anyway, typos seem to stick to my writing like flies. CAN'T GET RID OF THEM! ARGH! I'm pretty much "tongue-in-cheek" when I complain to other people about their typos XD Thanks for reading!
kitsunepowaa: YES! SONIC UNLEASHED FOR THE WII ON THE EIGHTEENTH! I'm so excited, LOL. Ack, I didn't think people would actually cry in the last chapter... I think I'm glad that they did. If that doesn't sound totally evil or anything XD Thanks for reading!
Cake the Crab: I don't know why I like killing characters so much. When was the last time I wrote something without killing off the characters? LOL. Well, I thought it was a fitting end to Tails, so I'm relieved to know that you're fine with it. Emotion and poetic is what we like to aim for! XD Thanks for reading, and glad that Naomi and Nathaniel hasn't fallen into your bad books!
Saint of Me: Thanks, that's pretty much what we want to get across. Knuckles makes anyone laugh... He's known for it XD Thanks for reading!
All the best!
The Queen of Aces
azngirlchibi