Chapter 11

He slowly opened his eyes with a weak groan. Everything was blurry at first but after a few blinks he realized he was staring at the bottom of his own shoe. 'But how..?' he thought. He tried to move but it was painful. He was so weak; it felt like most of him wasn't even there. Still, he had to try and move. He dug his fingers into the pebbly ground and pulled himself forward. It was slow going but he pulled himself past his ankle and when his looked up, he could see himself more clearly. He was lying on his back, eyes closed. His cerulean blue quills were soaked, dripping wet and he didn't appear to be breathing.

With a pained groan, Sonic reached out and grabbed his own hand but it phased right through. 'This is so surreal…' He crawled forward more until he was on top of himself, staring into his own, unconscious face 'Man, this is so weird… maybe if I…' Sonic rolled over and lay down on his back. He matched his legs to his body's and gasped as they froze up, almost like they had locked in place. Sure enough, when he tried to move them, they remained stationary. He started to lean backwards, wincing as more of him froze. It was if he strapping himself back into his body. He matched his hands and was laid flat on the ground. Not sure what to expect, he slowly turned his head to the side and closed his eyes. The locking sensation came and his eyes flew open. Sonic sat up slowly, staring at his hands, unable to believe that he was finally back in his body. He looked around to see his friends lying on the gravel shore, unconscious. One by one, he crawled over to them and waked them up, each of them just as shocked to be alive as he was. For a few moments the four of them stared out at the ruins of the lake, trying to comprehend what had just happened. All of the water was completely gone and the lake bed was full of craters. Suicide Lake was now no more than a smoking hole.

A few days later, after getting some much need rest, the group went back and, led by Knuckles, said a short prayer meant to banish any and all evil from ever existing there ever again. When they returned to Sonic's house, the mood was light and peaceful. Everything and everyone was back to normal. As they talked, Miky suddenly said, "Hey Tails, you never did explain how you knew to come to the lake and help us."

The young fox shrugged as he sipped a glass of lemonade, "Well, I'll admit, she really had me at first but after I calmed down, I knew that something was wrong with Sonic so I decided to do a little digging to find out what. I eventually uncovered Beatrice's story and connected the dots as to what her plan was."

"Which was?"

"It took a whole lot of research to piece it together. You see, when Beatrice was killed by the shotgun blast to the face, it destroyed her beauty and that carried on into the afterlife. By draining the life from her victims, she regained her former beauty but only for a short while. The longer she went without a victim, the more ugly and decrepit she became. Than we come along. Beatrice possessed Sonic and started to sap his energy and grow strong. If she had succeeded in consuming his soul, she would have become a super-powered spirit with the ability to manipulate anything she wanted to in the living world; not just the lake she was connected too. She would have even been able to manipulate Sonic's body however she saw fit and go on to do Chaos-knows what!"

Sonic shuddered, "So that's how she was planning on dealing with that. Creepy!"

"If you had all this figured out, then why did you turn me and Miky away when we came to ask you for help?" asked Knuckles, "We sure as heck could have used it."

"I know, it's just that when you showed up, I didn't know what I was dealing with yet. I knew it had to do with the lake and since we were all there, I didn't know if whatever was affecting Sonic was affecting you guys too. That's why I gave you the Electric, just in case you were on my side. By the way, I want that back."

Miky scratched her head and laughed nervously, "Ha-ha, of course! If I can remember where we left it…" Tails face palmed and groaned with a shake of his head.

"Don't worry Tails, isn't time you came up with a Miles Electric 2.0 anyways?" teased Sonic. With a sly smile he turned to Miky and asked, "Sooo Miky, what's your take on the afterlife now?"

She frowned and crossed her arms, "I still think it's bogus."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed the guys in shock.

"Hahahaaha! Just kidding! You should've seen your faces! Hahaha!"

"So you do believe!" declared Knuckles as he shoved her lightly, "It took you long enough. Guess I was right about it taking a ghost popping up in your face. Maybe now you'll think twice about disregarding myths and legends."

The red-haired raccoon merely shrugged, "Depends on what it is. I finished 'Arabian Nights' Sonic and I'm still a little iffy about whether or not that actually happened."

"That makes two of us." Added Tails, "I mean really, imagine ME in a turban. Nope. That's all I have to say."

Knuckles nodded, "Better make it three, because I am a way better treasure hunter than Sinbad. Pfft, 'adventurer of adventurers' my foot."

"What, it really happened!" protested Sonic, "Does this mean I shouldn't tell you about the time I journeyed to Camelot, wielded a talking sword, and saved the whole kingdom?"

"Ok I KNOW that is made up!" said Miky as she pointed accusingly, "Amy told me you made that up to get out of a date with her!"

"Oh my gosh she told you that?! That's not how it happened! It happened like this: I was at my favorite chilidog stand and I had just gotten two fully loaded dogs when all of a sudden this cyclone appeared!"

Everyone groaned, "Oh come on! Do we look like we were born yesterday? Just stop Sonic."

"No, no I'm dead serious! This cyclone came out of nowhere and sucked me up! I almost drooped one of my chilidogs! So it drops me and there's all these bad guys and…" The others playfully booed Sonic as he tried to tell the story until he finally gave up and sat down in an exaggerated huff. They all laughed and enjoyed each other's company for the rest of the afternoon, glad and grateful to be friends. As they parted ways at dusk, Miky, Knuckles, and Tails all knew in their hearts that no matter what, they would always be friends and nothing could break them apart.

That night, as Sonic climbed into bed, he reflected on the harrowing ordeal they had just gone through. Soon his eyes became heavy with sleep, and he smiled: there was not a shred of doubt in his mind that his friendships would stand every test fate could possibly throw at them. No matter what he would stand by his friends and his friends would stand by him. That night, Sonic slept soundly; no nightmares, no tossing and turning, just a peaceful night's rest filled with good dreams.

The End.