Chapter 6

Tails looked up from he was working on as a knock sounded at his door. He put aside his tools and answered it to find Sonic standing there. "Oh hey there Sonic! Wanna see what I'm making?"

"Sure." replied Sonic as he stepped inside. He looked around the living room casually as they crossed through to Tails' lab. Once there, Tails held up what appeared to be a camera with two LCD screens on either side and various meters on the top next to the handle. "What the heck is this?" asked Sonic.

"Well, after being at that lake and not seeing any spirits I thought, 'Hey, maybe there were spirits there, we just couldn't see them.' So after doing a lot of research on paranormal science, I came up with this!"

Sonic scoffed and rolled his eyes as he turned away to look at another gadget on the table, "How's that brick going to find anything?"

A look of confusion flashed across Tails' voice at his dismissive tone, but not wanting to think his best friend could ever truly not like one of his ideas, he continued, "Well, I know it's a little bulky, it's just a prototype. Basically, it films in night-vision, thermal, and with a lot of work it films electromag-" CRASH! Tails whirled around to see Sonic standing near another worktable with the smashed remains of a device at his feet.

"Sorry I dropped it." He replied dryly as he stepped over the mess and walked away.

"It's ok… Accidents happen…" muttered Tails as he stared at the sparking scrap on the floor, biting his lip and clearly trying to not to get angry. "As I was saying, it also films electromagnetic fields which all living things give off a teeny tiny bit but ghosts radiate them. I believe it's because-" SMASH!

"Oops. My bad." Said Sonic nonchalantly as he stepped on the ruined gadget as he crossed back to the table Tails was at, "What are you going on about now?"

The young fox glared at Sonic, a look of disbelief on his face as he gestured to the mangled tech on the ground, "Really?! I can understand dropping it but did you really have to step on it!? I could have salvaged that! What is wrong with you today?"

The blue hedgehog shrugged as he reached for the ghost hunting camera, "Eh. Here I'll make it up to you by helping you out with this thing."

"No! Don't touch it!" shouted Tails as he stood in front of it, "You've broken enough of my stuff today."

"Come on, I just want to help!"

"NO!"

Sonic came to with a gasp. He was lying in the darkness but when he jumped to his feet, he could see several pockets of light scattered around him. He rushed to nearest one, a curved circle shape hole and peered through, As soon as he stepped into the light, his body automatically shifted to match the scene he was observing. In the real world, his physical self was standing on tip-toe to reach over Tails' head and grab a big camera looking device. In the reflected version, Sonic couldn't stop one hand shoving Tails away and the other grabbing the camera.

"This is what she meant by reflected world!" realized Sonic out loud, "All of these windows are reflective surfaces in Tails' lab. That why every time I step in them, I have to copy what my body is doing!" the trapped hero could see the anger building in his little bro's face as he tried to snatch the camera back but the heinous entity in Sonic's body exploited the fox's short stature and held it above his head. "Come on Tails, you know I would never do that to you…"

"Give it back Sonic! Why are you doing this?!" shouted Tails as he tried to reach up for the ghost camera.

"You tell me shortie. You're the nerd." Replied 'Sonic' as he moved away and examined the camera, "Listen if you're trying to make a paper weight, you don't need all these other bits." Tails gasped as the blue hedgehog he had looked up to for years ripped the side screens from the video camera's base and chucked them over his shoulder like garbage. He then dropped it roughly on the table and the various, sensitive, delicate pieces inside could be heard breaking and rattling around the casing. "See? Perfect paperweight."

"It wasn't a paperweight! It was highly sophisticated piece of video equipment and you RUINED it!" screamed Tails as he finally lost his temper. "Why are you being such a, such a, such a BULLY!? I thought you were my best friend!"

"Maybe I'm tired of being friends with a nerdy little, two tailed, FREAK!" retorted Beauty, the vicious insult coming out in Sonic's voice. She grinned as Tails immediately wrapped his namesakes around each other, thus making them appear as one.

"Stop!" yelled Sonic as he struggled to move independently. It had been years since he had seen Tails self-consciously try to hide his namesakes. It hurt his heart to remember how much it took to convince his little bro that his extra tail was nothing to be ashamed of and it was actually useful and cool.

Tails tried to hide the shake in his voice as he said quietly, "You always said my tails were awesome, that it made me unique and I shouldn't be ashamed of them…"

"And I meant it! I've always meant it!" Sonic fought harder as his physical body was looming over Tails, staring him down. With a great deal of effort, he managed to uncurl his fists and flex his hands. Sonic was panting heavily as he mustered his strength and tried to at least turn his torso.

"Ever heard of something called 'Lying'? You were just so pathetic what else was I going to say? On occasion this little arrangement has turned out to be useful but do you want to know something?" Tails' eyes widened in fear as if he knew what was coming next.

"NO! Tails you know this isn't me!" the blue hero was using every ounce of strength to move, hoping that maybe, if he could just move, he could stop what was happening.

The malice was clear as day on Sonic's face as the evil entity in control began to say, "I only became your friend out of pity!" Tears sprung to the shocked fox's face as if all of his worst nightmare were coming true in front of him. "That's right; you were hoping you'd never hear me say it, weren't you?"

"That's enough Beauty!"

"You've always known deep down inside that I've never really liked you. That's why you try so hard sometimes to be like me; so that maybe I'll hate you a little less."

"Stop it, just stop!" Sonic's own face was now covered in tears, partially from the amount of effort he was putting forth but mostly from seeing the hurt in his little bro's face. He had always known about this insecurity Tails had and it was unbearable to see Beauty twist it around to her advantage.

At last Tails managed to speak, his voice choked with emotion, "You're supposed to be my big brother… you're supposed to be my best friend… All those things you used to tell me… Everything I've ever done since I met you… I thought… I thought…"

"You thought wrong." Replied Beauty simply, unable to hold back a huge, devilish grin as she enjoyed every moment of the young fox's pain and her smirk only widened as she could feel Sonic's turmoil as well. "You're smart and all but if you think that we were ever REAL friends; you must be pretty stupid."

"STOP!" shouted Sonic at the top of his lungs as he yanked himself sideways. There was sensation that ripped through the backwards world like a pane of glass shattering as he fell to the ground. His movements were no longer tied to those of his physical body.

"STOP!" yelled Tails at the same time; completely unaware of what was transpiring just on the other side of the reflective surfaces in his lab. "If that's how it is, FINE! We're not friends anymore! And you're definitely NOT my big brother! I don't need you! So get out of my house and never come back!" The anger was clear in his eyes and voice but Tails' face showed the sadness, hurt and pure devastation he was feeling.

Freed from having to mimic his physical body, Sonic noticed dozens of windows of light scattered around him and he peered through each one discovering they all had a different angle and perspective of Tails' lab. He dashed to one and peered through more closely. From what he could tell, it was the reflection from a computer screen. "TAILS! TAILS LOOK OVER HERE! LOOK, IT'S ME! THE REAL ME!" cried Sonic as he banged on the window. His blows didn't even make a sound and his yells were trapped inside with him. Much to his frustration, he was still just an observer as Tails shouted for him to go away and never speak to him again. With an annoyingly nonchalant shrug, Beauty began to steer his body towards the door. To Sonic's shock, the window he was peering through shrunk and disappeared. As his body crossed back through the house and went out of range of some reflective surfaces and came within view of others, the windows changed size and position. At last, the front door of Tails' home slammed shut as Beauty erupted into a bout of maniacal, almost hysterical laughter that he could hear in his own voice on the outside and in Beauty's witch-like cackles in the darkness of the reflective world.

In the outside world, Beauty wandered through the forest, trying to find her way back to Sonic's house. Nothing was looking familiar as the sun began to set; as she circled what she was positive was the same tree with a bush at its base for the fifth time. As she walked she thought about the bet she had made with Sonic. At first she thought he was going to cheat somehow considering he was confident enough not just to risk his life but his body and soul as well, however, he was just as helpless as all of her other victims. She breathed deeply, using his lungs, enjoying actually breathing fresh air. The longer she occupied and used Sonic's body, the stronger her spirit became, and the weaker his got. Usually this effect would be temporary but Beauty had a feeling that this would last a lot longer.

At this Beauty couldn't help but grin as she remembered that cold chill that ran down her spine earlier in Tails' house. Whatever her gracious host had been up to, he had shattered the bond between his spirit and his physical body. It had taken every ounce of control she had not to shudder or grimace at the shock of it. However this pleased her because it meant that this righteous hero was far stronger than she originally thought. 'Once I win this wager and his energy, I'll be free to do whatever I please. Nothing in the spirit or the physical world will be able to stop me and I'll keep my beauty forever.' Her grin spread wider as she finally found the path leading back to Sonic's house. 'Now I only have to get some more memories and energy out of that fool and his life will be ruined before the sun sets tomorrow…'

Sonic was sitting on the ground, his knees pulled up to his chest and his head bowed. Where ever his body was, there were no reflective surfaces so he found himself in the dark. He couldn't stop thinking about how Tails had reacted. "Tails knows me; we're brothers. How could he not realize that I wasn't myself? How could he believe for even a second that I would smash his inventions or call him a freak?" Sonic sighed as he looked up into the darkness that surrounded him. He wasn't feeling too hot; he felt tired, almost weak. "Breaking free must've taken more outta me than I thought…"

"I'll bet. I have to say that was most impressive, even if it was a really dumb move." Said a mocking voice. Beauty faded into view accompanied by the cloud of mist. Her appearance had improved greatly; her arms and hand were completely healed and covered with a soft cherry red fur. Sweeping behind her was a thin fluffy tail and her light green hair had almost completely returned. However, it was still stringy and thin in places. Beauty's face had only healed slightly around the edges but mostly remained horribly decayed. "If anything, it only proves how much power you really have."

"YOU!" exclaimed Sonic as he jumped up. He noticed Beauty's slight makeover and pointed accusingly, "How the heck are you doing that!?"

She merely laughed and replied, "The more I use your body, the more beautiful I become. Don't worry though, I'll leave you enough energy to try and grovel to your friends after I'm through with them. That is, if you can get back into your body."

"What do you mean?"

"While we were in your FORMER best friend's house," Beauty smiled as Sonic flinched at the word, "I felt you break your connection with your body. It was quite a shock; I've never seen someone do that before."

Sonic threw up his hands in frustration, "Would it kill you to just tell me instead of beating around the bush?!"

"Basically, I when forced you out and into your reflection, it was your spirits connection your body, like a tether. With it, if I let you, you could slip right in. Without it, you have to force your way in and believe me, that takes a lot of energy. Hopefully you'll have the strength."

"What!? How was I supposed to know that!? How do I reconnect!?" exclaimed the shocked blue hero.

Beauty shrugged and said with a wave of her hand, "I don't know and even if I did I wouldn't tell you. It serves you right for trying to interfere and cheat by alerting your little freak show frie-"

The evil entity was suddenly interrupted as Sonic jabbed a finger in her face, "Tails is NOT a freak! Call him that one more time and I'll- AHH!" Sonic yelled in pain a Beauty's hand shot up and grabbed his wrist, her dagger like nails digging into his flesh. The stinging sensation returned as he felt weak once more.

As he sank to his knees, Beauty hissed in his ear menacingly, "Do that 'one more time' and I'll drain you dry right here, right now and leave your restless, husk of a soul to wander alone in darkness forever; bet or no bet!" She released him and stood, her hair, now much fuller with a slight sheen bounced up and revealed that more of her face had healed. She had a pronounced, thin muzzle and narrow, piercing eyes indicating her species to be a weasel. "Tomorrow I'm going get that foolish looking echidna from your memories to hate your guts and then it's your move." She then turned and began to storm away in a huff, the misty clouds forming around her feet and knees.

"What happened to you?" Beauty stopped dead in her tracks, her still slightly tattered ears shooting up. "What horrible thing happened to you when you were alive that made you so evil, manipulative and cruel in death?"

She didn't even turn around as she hollowly replied, "Do you really want to know? Nothing. Nothing happened to me. I was beautiful and I used it to get what I wanted. But there were those who were jealous and couldn't handle it…" There was a moment of silence as she brushed a semi-healthy lock of green hair behind her ear away from her face and slowly turned. Sonic gasped in horror as he beheld a gaping hole in the right side of her face. The edges were jagged and pointing inward as if that area had imploded. Her right eye was gone and blood dripped out of the crater in a steady stream with little fragments of bone and chunks of flesh here and there. "Those bastards took away my beauty! They took away my face! They ruined my life! Even in death, I can't have my face back! But the joke is on them because I'm going to be beautiful again! They'll pay, all of them will pay!"

"So you're making me and my friends pay because somebody got back at you for using them!?" exclaimed Sonic. "I almost felt sorry for you! I thought you were a good person at one point and maybe I could appeal to that! You're just doing this for the fun of it!"

"So what if I am? But does that mean I deserved a face full of buck-shot!? Does that mean I deserved to die before my time!? People like you and your friends always act like so righteous, like you could do nothing wrong, like you're so perfect! Well, everyone had flaws. I just expose and exploit them. Have fun picking up the pieces when I'm done, 'Mr. Hero'!" spat Beauty as she vanished in a flash of mist.

Sonic couldn't believe what he'd just heard as he paced back and forth angrily. Why did this happen to him? How did he wind up in this mess? All his life he had tried to do nothing but good and this is how fate had repaid him. "WHY DOES THIS CRAP HAVE TO HAPPEN TO ME?!" he screamed into the emptiness. It seemed that no matter how times he played the hero, took the high road, or placed others before himself, he always got the short end of the stick. Sonic rarely had a selfish thought but now his mind was full of them. Why did he bother? Why did it have to be his job to stop the world from falling apart? Why is it even though he did his best to be a good person, evil flocked to him? Why did evil seem so intent on taking away the people he loved and punishing him? Weren't bad people supposed to be punished and good people rewarded? Sonic gave a furious shake of his head as he sat down, trying to calm himself and conserve his strength. He was going to need every ounce of it if he was going to get out of this.