Chapter 8

Knuckles and Miky had reached Tails' house and were knocking urgently on the door. After several minutes, Tails finally opened the door and asked rather rudely, "What do you guys want? I'm very busy you know."

Miky immediately countered with her own question, "Have you run into Sonic recently? He's been acting really… different lately."

"You're telling me! That jerk smashed a bunch of stuff, and said a bunch of crap. If he wants to be like that fine! It doesn't matter to me."

"Tails, do you really think Sonic would ever do anything to hurt you?" prompted Knuckles. He could tell the young fox was extremely angry and not being rational at all. "Whatever he said to you or did, you have to put it aside and help us. We think that something is controlling Sonic or has taken over him. And we need you to-"

"You need ME to use my smarts to help you solve YOUR problem as usual. Is that all I'm good for? An encyclopedia? Well you know what, figure it out yourselves!" shot back Tails as he furiously wiped at his eyes to hide the tears that were starting to form.

Reaching out a comforting hand Miky said calmly, "Tails, you're not just good for an encyclopedia. You're our friend and so is Sonic. We have to work together to help him."

"NO! Sonic is no friend of mine! Here, take this, go away, and leave me alone!" yelled Tails as he shoved Miky's hand away and tossed the Miles Electric at Knuckles who barely caught it after some fumbling. The troubled fox than slammed the door in their faces.

"Whatever Sonic did must have really gotten inside of Tails' head. I've never seen him so upset." Said Miky sadly as they turned and began to leave.

"Tails has insecurities like anyone else and if I had to guess, whatever's controlling Sonic knew about them and exploited them." Commented Knuckles as he fiddled with the Miles Electric, "Grrr… how do you work this thing?"

Miky took it and tapped on the screen a few times, "Lemme see…" After a few more taps and button pressing, the screen lit up and several icons appeared, "Got it! Now um… what are we supposed to do with it anyways?"

"Well we can use it to look up information. Let's go back to Angel Island where we can sit down and figure this out." Once they were back on the island they began to explore what could possibly be wrong with their friend.

Miky tapped her chin thoughtfully before snapping her fingers, "Maybe Eggman had something to do with this! After all he would have a lot to gain if all of us were no longer friends. He could mind controlling Sonic or maybe he replaced the real Sonic with a robot. That could explain why his skin was cold because it's metal and not skin!"

Knuckles immediately shook his head, "I'm going to come out and say right now that I KNOW Eggman isn't behind this. I think it has something to do with… Suicide Lake."

"WHAT?! Something is clearly wrong with our friend and you go with that stupid lake?!" exclaimed Miky incredulously.

"My intuition is never wrong! When I punched him and I had my hands around his throat, I looked into his eyes and it was so dark and his skin was so cold, my thoughts went right to that lake. Something there must have affected him." Argued the dread-sporting guardian. "I have a hunch that there is more to the Legend of Suicide Lake."

"But none of us saw any ghosts in that lake! It's not haunted! It's just dumb empty lake! Why are we even discussing this?! Sonic needs our help and we're talking fairy tales!"

"It's our only lead! My gut is telling me that we need to pursue this. Just keep an open mind, alright?"

Miky sighed with annoyance as she crossed her arms, "Fine… I'll try. But I make no guarantees."

"Good." Knuckles took the Miles Electric back from Miky and after a few seconds of staring at the screen he asked, "Now how the hell to do you search stuff?"

"How should I know? I've never used it."

"Chaos help us…"

After hours and hours of searching, Miky and Knuckles finally found something in the Miles Electric's archives, which Tails had often bragged was more extensive than even Spagonia University's library. Knuckles pointed out a newspaper article from decades ago, back before huge cities with huge skyscrapers were even dreamed off, "Look at this Miky! 'Missing Young Man Discovered To Have Drowned Himself in Forest Lake. No Body Recovered Yet.' This must be the first suicide to have taken place in that lake."

Miky scanned over the article with Knuckles, "I think your right! It sure sounds like that creepy old lake. They found his engagement ring along with a suicide note. Apparently he said in the note that he cheated on his fiancé with an 'evil beauty'. What does that mean?"

"I don't know but let's keep looking for more suicides." As the two continued their research they uncovered many more suicides at the lake, all of them drownings with the bodies never recovered. After counting ten suicides, Knuckles said, "Ok, I think I have an idea about what happened to Sonic. I think…" Miky looked at him, ears perked and awaiting his speculation. "I think he's possessed."

Immediately Miky's face went from curious to skeptical, "And how exactly did you come up with that?"

"Because, look at all of these suicides! That's a lot of lives ended early and a lot of restless spirits. One of the entities haunting the lake must have possessed Sonic when he fell in. That would explain why he's acting like he is and it makes sense. I'm not a medium and I don't 'see things' but I do have a 6th sense that never steers me wrong and when I sensed that whoever came to Angel Island was another person entirely."

"Oh my gosh…" Miky rubbed her temples to fight the headache that was forming as she asked slowly, "Ok… let me get this straight. You think a ghost, like the spirit of a dead person, has jumped inside Sonic's body and is controlling him?"

Knuckles nodded, "Yes. If we find out whom and why, we might be able to figure out how to get our Sonic back. You said you would keep an open mind."

"I said I would TRY but this is a little too much. Possession? What evidence do we have that supports that other than one lake that's seen a lot of death?"

"Well, I remember in the weeks following the night at the lake, he was awful fidgety and nervous. He always seemed to be listening for something and he kept asking me and Tails if he looked ok. He looked fine to us but he never seemed convinced; it was really weird. Did you notice anything else strange about Sonic?"

"Ummm…" Miky gasped as she remembered the day she had gone to pick up '1001 Arabian Nights'. "Actually, the day Sonic randomly kissed me, I went to his house to borrow a book. I knocked on the door and when I didn't get an answer, I thought he went out. I gave him a call and I could hear his communicator ringing inside so I let myself in. When I came into the living room he was laying on the floor. His skin was pale and cold and he looked almost like he was dead. I had to slap him to get him to wake up and he told me he had been having really vivid nightmares about the lake. And when he came to my house and… really started acting strange, I asked him why he was doing it, he just grinned this awful grin and said, 'Because he's watching.'"

Knuckles' eyes widened, "That's certainly odd and you cannot deny that's its compelling evidence. Especially that last bit!"

"I guess but I'm still really skeptical about this. Why would any of the spirits at the lake, if there are any to begin with, want to possess Sonic? Isn't usually evil spirits that do that sort of thing? I remember correctly, all of the suicides were all by heart-broken young males."

"Wait a minute you're right!"

"Thank you! Now can we get back to looking at logical explanations?"

"No, I meant your right about all of the suicides! Let me see the Electric." Knuckles took the tablet and began to scroll back through the articles of each suicide, "Look, all of these guys were engaged, married, or in a committed relationship! And in all of their notes they mentioned defiling their relationship with an 'evil beauty', 'the devil in woman's form', 'a she-demon'! Do you think they're all talking about the same woman?"

Now it was Miky whose eyes flew open as she gasped, "I think we need to stop looking at suicide articles, and start looking for one about a murder!"

Sonic awoke on the floor of his bedroom with a gasp which end in a coughing fit. He was flat on his back looking at his ceiling gasping for breath as he tried to move or get up but every movement sent pins and needles through his body. "Owowowow…" Sonic mumbled through his teeth. As he grimaced, his nose began to ache horribly. With great effort, the hero managed to raise a hand to his nose. It felt broken and when he looked at his hand, his fingers were covered in blood. He was confused at first before remembering smacking his face into the barrier when trying to take back his body. 'Whoa… I didn't think that would carry over…' thought Sonic as he gingerly touched his nose again and winced at the pain. He let his hand drop onto his chest and cried out slightly as the muscles seized up. "OK, ok. I gotta get up, I gotta get up." As Sonic tried to sit up, the pins and needles jolted through every fiber of muscle and in the end, all he had managed to do was roll over onto his side. He laid there trying to catch his breath and not let the horrible pain get the best of him. As his eyes began to water and he bit down on his lip to keep from whimpering, Sonic turned his gaze upwards and prayed to Gaia that he would find the strength to overcome this and win the wager for his very soul.

It was getting to be late in the afternoon when Miky and Knuckles finally found what they were looking for. Along the way they had discovered many more suicides committed at the lake. Most of them were male and one or two were females but all of them had heart-broken and had had their relationships ruined by what seemed to be the same cunning, awful woman. At last, they had a name and a face for their prime spirit suspect.

"You know, I would never say murder is the answer, but it kinda sounded like this woman had it coming." Said Miky as she skimmed the article, "I'm surprised people still got with her at all! It says here, 'Beatrice the Weasel was known for her promiscuity and for tempting committed men on purpose.' She was the town tart! You think all the guys would know to stay away."

Knuckles shrugged, "Beautiful women do strange things to men, even ones who are spoken for. But regardless I think a shotgun blast to the face was a bit much. 'A gang of local women (names not known) is thought by authorities to be responsible for Beatrice's shooting on the lake's shore.' Talk about poetic justice…"

"So… let's say you're right, about Sonic being… gosh I can't believe I'm saying this…" Miky paused and took a deep breath before finishing, "possessed. Do you think the spirit of Beatrice did it?"

Knuckles was silent for a long time as he thought and stared at the newspaper picture of Beatrice before saying slowly, "I don't think… I know. Her eyes… it's just like what I saw in Sonic…" He suddenly looked up at Miky his face serious, "We need to go back to the lake. It's where this whole thing began so I think it's the best place to look for the answer on how to end it."

"How? What answers could we possibly find at the lake?" asked Miky with her hands on her hips, "This whole notion is really stretching it. I suppose next you'll be suggesting that we perform an exorcism!"

"I don't see you coming up with anything else! This is our best lead and we have to follow it. You said you would be open-minded so are you going to help me or not?"

Miky shook her head as she began to walk towards the bridge leading off Angel Island, "I must be crazy, cuckoo, out of my mind! Let's go before I come to my senses!" With a shrug and a shake of his own head, Knuckles snatched up the Miles Electric and followed her.

"Rrrggh… AH! Come on!" growled Sonic through his teeth as he slowly pulled himself up onto his knees by using his bed for support. Every muscle in his body was protesting and he could feel his strength leaving him as he grasped at the covers on his bed to keep from falling backwards. The blankets began to slide off the bed, making Sonic dig in with his fingers to grab hold of the sheet below. Once he was stable he pulled himself up more, managing to get one foot under him. Planting his hands on the bed, Sonic took a deep breath before pushing up with all his might. It took what felt like forever, but at last Sonic was on his feet; he wasn't steady, but at least he was upright. With a shaky little laugh of triumph, he made his way to the bedroom mirror by supporting himself on the furniture. The pins and needles were now slowly fading and his joints and muscles began to loosen bit by bit as he moved.

Sonic stood in front of the mirror, leaning on the dresser it sat on and grinned, "Ha. Cheaters never win, Beauty."

The entity appeared in the glass, and with a toss of her head she scoffed, "I wouldn't get too cocky. You still have to find your friends and get them to forgive you. Plus, I don't know if you knew but, tonight is a full moon and it's already getting late in the afternoon."

"WHAT?! That's bogus! I've been lying on the floor trying to get up for the past two hours because you wouldn't let me into my body!"

"Well, it's not my fault that when I first tried to gain control you fought me at every turn. You would have had more time but instead you decided to resist."

"How was I supposed to know?! And why wouldn't I resist? I'm not going to let some random, unknown force take over my body!"

"Tick Tock." Mocked Beauty as she tapped her wrist, "You're burning daylight. I would argue less and get going."

"Fine, but I'm still going to win this bet!" threatened Sonic as he turned away. 'In this state I would never make it to Tails' house and even if I did, it would take everything I have. Maybe I can get him to come to me? Where's my communicator?' thought Sonic as he scanned the room for it. When he didn't see it, he figured it might be in the living room. Leaning heavily on the walls and furniture, the hero made into the living room where he spotted the communicator lying on his coffee table. While he wanted to sit down on the couch, Sonic knew it was unwise; if he sat down, he might not be able to get up.

Bending as little as possible, he picked up the device and called Tails. It rang and rang till it went to voicemail. Not giving up, Sonic called again, hoping his friend had simply not heard his communicator. However this hope was dashed as the call was cut short after only one ring and was directed to voicemail. As the directions played Sonic stared at his communicator and whispered, "He hung up on me… He didn't even answer…"

"Of course he did. Don't you remember all of the horrible things you said to him? I wouldn't answer either." Echoed Beauty's voice as she appeared in the shiny surface of the coffee table.

"Shut up! You said all of those things, NOT me!" The beep that signaled a voicemail could be recorded sounded and Sonic opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it. What was he to say? How could he explain this whole crazy thing in a one minute voicemail? Would Tails even listen to it? Regardless, he knew he had to try, "Tails, it's me Sonic. Look I know you're mad at me because I was a giant douche to you but I can explain. It wasn't my fault, I wasn't… myself. Its long story but please call me back or just come to my house when you get this message. I would come to you if I could but I can't. I'm sorry little bro, I really am. You have to believe when I say that-"

"MAX VOICEMAIL LENTGH REACHED. HANG UP TO SEND OR PRESS 1 TO RE-RECORD." Said the automated female voice. Sonic sighed as he hung up and sent Tails a text message repeating his voicemail. A small loading icon appeared next to the text as it began to send before suddenly being eclipsed by a red 'X'. An error message popped up that read, 'This number has blocked your text messages and will not receive them.'

"Come on Tails don't do this to me!" shouted Sonic at his communicator. Becoming increasingly upset, he dialed Miky twice, both going to voicemail after several rings. He shot her a text as well and while it went through, he sincerely doubted she would answer. Sonic began to dial Knuckles but as the line began to rang, he hung up. "If Miky and Tails don't want to talk to me, why would Knuckles? Do they really believe I would ever be that horrible to them…?"

Beauty faded onto the reflective screen of Sonic's communicator, "They obviously do. I mean think about it: if they had treated you that way would you talk to them ever again? Besides that red guy didn't seem to like you very much from the get-go. It didn't take much at all for him to kick you to the curb."

"Maybe… No. I can't give up! They wouldn't give up on me!"

"But that's just it; they already have. Face it, the sun is starting to go down and soon the full moon will rise. You lost. Your body and soul are mine. Save yourself the trouble and simply concede."

"But… I've never surrendered in my life… I never lose a bet…" muttered Sonic as he stood in his living room, staring at his communicator. He knew that he shouldn't give up, that he should keep trying to reach one of his friends or try to go to them but the thoughts and emotions that he had been pushing down this whole time were finally too powerful to ignore. "They actually think I said and did all of those things… Miky thinks that was ME forcing myself on her… Tails thinks that was ME going back on everything I'd ever said to him as a friend and as a brother… Knuckles thinks that was ME who was being an absolute jerk to him on purpose… How could they actually believe it even for a second? They know me… They know I would never… I would never… never…" Tears began to stream from Sonic's eyes and run down his cheeks as the horrible truth dawned on him.

"That's right." Said Beauty, her evil grin distorted by a tear that had landed on the glass of the communicator screen, "They didn't know you as well as you thought they did."

"No… shut up…"

"They weren't the amazing friends that you thought would be by your side until the very end."

"Stop it!"

"Admit it, as soon as this bet began you knew this was going to happen. You thought you would be tough enough to face the truth but you're not."

"Shut up!"

"You're not tough enough to face the reality staring you in face! The friendships that you loved so much and thought were unbreakable were in fact as fragile as glass and now they're gone. You have no one! You're alone, all of your worst fears have been realized, and you can't handle it!"

"I SAID 'SHUT UP'!" screamed Sonic as he threw his communicator on the ground where it shattered into a million pieces. He stood where he was, panting, the tears flowing freely, staring at the remains of the communicator. "Fine… You win Beauty… you win… Happy?" he managed to choke out as he rubbed his eyes and buried his face in his hands.

The sadistic weasel's image reappeared on the shiny coffee table as she replied with a sneer, "I'm ecstatic. Now go back to the lake so we can finish this already. I'm eager to claim my prize."