Hello everybody! I'm so sorry for not updating this story in a long time for those of you who have been waiting ever so patiently for this. For those of you who did wait this long, I thank you for your patience with me. When I first started writing this, the new quarter of my college was almost beginning, and starting it took a lot more of my time. As a result, this story was completely taken out of my mind and replaced with school work. And when I did have time to write stories, only new ideas for new stories came up. Yes, this particular story idea was not cooperating with me in any way possible.
So while this is an update, I have to admit that they won't be as frequent as you and I would like them to be since I'm busy working on trying to complete my new one that's based around the Kingdom Hearts game. I am very excited about it and would really like to finish that up before anything else. If you want to read it, it's called, "Scotch on the Rox". While it does sound like a strange title, you have to read it in order to understand what it means.
Anyway, that's enough about my rant and apology. I'll let you all go ahead and read this new chapter for this story. A little warning though; this happens to be a short chapter. For those of you who know me, short chapters are very uncharacteristic of me. However, I could not think of anything else to write for this chapter without having it feel like that it's only being unnecessarily dragged on just so it can look bigger. Then again, the old saying says that bigger isn't always better. I just hope that it reflects with this chapter to all of you readers.
Now without any more senseless nonsense from me, I'll let you all go and start reading. Just don't forget to leave a review after you're done. I always read them and take them into consideration considering that they are constructive criticisms or mistakes that have been pointed out to me. Flames, as usual, are just going to go ignored by me. And don't forget to go and read my Kingdom Hearts story for those of you who are interested in it and have the time. So until the next update to this or any of my other stories everybody!
And before I forget or if I don't catch anybody before this, hope that you all have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Chapter 3: Living in the New Life
When Sonic had regained consciousness, he immediately noticed that his vision was as clear as if he had been awake during the entire transitional ordeal from past world to present. He also noticed that he was still in the same place he last remembered to have been at, and that was inside his own dead body that he was still manipulating. He also noticed something that he had not been doing when his vision had turned white. He took note that was right now kneeling next to Tails who was still lying on the ground looking as shocked as ever at the whole ordeal that had taken place in his previous four minutes before death.
Heh, I guess things start at where it normally would after the new timeframe takes place, he thought as he quickly regained his bearings and remembered the situation from earlier. I guess it makes sense, but I can't really say that I understand it. Where's that ghostly guy when you need him to explain something? Anyway, I better pull myself together and make sure that Tails here isn't hurt any more than he was by that guy.
"Hey, it's time to snap out of it, Tails!" the reanimated hedgehog stated out loud in a playful tone as he started to snap his fingers in front of the fox in an attempt to gain his attention. All he received as an answer from the other was a blank stare that showed absolutely no life. He then tried again in that same playful tone of voice, "I know you can hear me from wherever it is you're hiding in that head of yours. Come on; don't go slapping me in the face with the poor shocked victim card here."
A couple of seconds later, the two tailed fox finally responded by blinking his eyes rapidly and staring up at the hedgehog he had known to be dead a few minutes ago. It looked like that the transgressions of the last few minutes did indeed bring him into a slight state of shock. Then suddenly with little to no warning, the fox gave him a big hug despite the blood on his chest spreading onto the other.
"Thanks for saving me there, Sonic!" the two tailed fox thanked the other as a smile quickly made its way onto his face. Apparently, the previously shock-like attitude was just his brain's way of putting everything together into an understandable mass of near unbelievable information. "I still can't believe that you're able to make all those things happen with your tricks now that you're dead."
"Are you telling me that you actually remembered me doing all those weird things?" Sonic exclaimed with wide eyes at how his buddy had managed to remember what had taken place over the past few minutes. "I thought your memory of it would be erased now that you're alive again and in this new future I just created. I don't think people normally remember something from a timeframe that doesn't exist anymore."
"Well, I was conscious when you were busy trying to play god and create a new living future for me in hopes that I can live again," the two tailed fox responded as he let go of the embrace and looked thoughtful for a moment. "I was able to witness just what was going on the entire time, so it should make sense that I'm able to remember something from a time that has now been erased. I got to admit that the whole thing was pretty cool, and it was great to see my now would-be murderer get freaked out by your then dead body."
"Still, I'd rather that you didn't have to remember any of that at all," the other responded with a frown on his face that reflected his somewhat regretful feelings. "You're still a kid for crying out loud! You shouldn't have to witness or even remember something as gruesome as my murder let alone yours. Don't you know how traumatic it would be for you in the future when you look back on this? Not many guys your age are able to come back from that without any sort of emotional scars and social abnormalities. They tend to grow up into antisocial people or even psychotic murderers if it's that bad."
"Do you honestly think that I'm like the average every day kid who lives in his own personal bubble believing that everything is fine in the world around him? Trust me; having seen you lying dead against the wall was traumatic enough for me. Me being killed and then revived by you just helped to put me back on my mental track. And speaking of revivals, how are you right now moving around in your own body as if you were never shot at? You're supposed to be dead after having a bullet go into your heart."
"So that's where he ended up pumping me with lead," Sonic mused as he finally figured out just where he had been shot at. "Don't go asking me about that. It's not like I have all the answers here. That other ghost guy that was with us might know why, but I don't think he's here for us to be asking questions now.
"And speaking of which, I think it's about time that we got out of this crazy park," the cobalt hedgehog continued on as he looked at the still unconscious form of the murderer and the blood on the wall where he was killed. He could not help but let a shiver of uneasiness escape upon seeing his murderer still alive and threatening to wake up from his slumber at any given moment. "I'd really hate it if he came to and killed you again. It was already a hassle to save you the first time, and I don't think freaking the guy out with my presumably dead body is going to work the second time around."
"I still can't believe that you could actually save me while you're supposed to be dead after I've been killed myself," Tails mused as he nodded his head and began to walk alongside the hedgehog out of the park. "I've always figured that if there ever came a time that I had to be rescued, it would either be by doctors or my friends that were still alive. I guess there are just some things in this world that are completely unexplainable."
"Hey, detectives of my caliber should always be prepared to help out anybody in need no matter how bad the situation looks or turns into. That also includes helping someone after our death if it comes to it. That's just how the best of us manage to work. We do better while in the middle of the unexplainable."
"Besides showing me that you're just being plain cocky, that made absolutely no sense at all. Even if you were prepared for death, there's no humanly possible way that any normal person in any normal situation would've been able to help anybody out after they die. It just doesn't make any normal sense.
"And besides, weren't you supposed to be back home at half past nine?" the two tailed fox continued on as he tried to change the subject. "You said that you were almost done filing your reports when you last called at nine. I got worried when you didn't show and decided to come here in case you got sidetracked. And I don't mean sidetracked as in having your hands full catching a criminal."
"Sorry, but I got held up at the office for a little while longer because of some lazy dolt dumping all of his unfinished work on me," the cobalt hedgehog shrugged as they both reached the end of the block and turned the corner without looking back. "I meant to call you again after that, but it was an overload that had to be done before ten, so you can imagine how tied down I was. And if you don't mind me asking, why did you choose to come here of all places to go looking for me? You know that there have been lots of reports of suspicious activities going on around here during the night hours."
"Well, I figured that you might've been playing around here while trying to straighten out your thoughts," the other responded with an innocent shrug of his shoulders. "You used to do that sometimes when you were in high school. I was worried about you when it was a quarter before ten and you still weren't home."
"You worry about me way too much, you know that? Don't forget that I'm a part of the police force, so I'm able to take care of myself pretty well in the case that some crazy guy wants to pick a fight with me. I don't think they would've hired someone who could be construed as irresponsible and always needing someone to chaperone them."
"Yeah, you sure did a good job proving that when you got yourself shot and killed by some random person before coming back to life. That really shows how you don't need anybody following you around at all hours of the day."
"Alright, that's enough of the death crap here. I don't want to be talking about that or why I'm even alive while I'm supposed to be stone cold dead for the rest of the night. That can all wait until tomorrow. In the meantime, let's just hurry up and get home so I can wash all this blood off my fur.
"I still can't believe that you're actually taking this whole ghost thing as well as you have been," Sonic continued on as they turned another corner and saw lines of houses on either side of the street with some having their porch lights on and illuminating parts of the street. "I was freaking out myself when I first found out I was dead and able to do all these weird hocus-pocus stuff that you only see in those old cheesy ghost movies. I thought that you would've at least started screaming your head off like crazy when you first woke up dead and saw yourself getting killed all over again."
"To be honest, I think this is just my body's way of being shocked," Tails responded with a sigh as a slight rumbling was heard coming from the sky just before being accompanied by a sudden bright flash of light from a streak of lightning. "I can't even try to relax no matter how calm I make myself sound; and I just have to keep talking to you about anything even if it starts to become a bit redundant."
"Well, knowing how you are sometimes, I guess that's something that would make sense for you," the cobalt hedgehog stated as he looked up at the sky just as a bright flash momentarily illuminated the dark sky. "Gee, a sound like a storm's going to be crashing in our neighborhood soon. Thank god we're home's nearby. I'm sure the water's going to bring our unconscious 'friend' back to life if he isn't already. I prefer to be out of his sights by then before he tracks us down and kills you again in our house."
"That and your blood that's still at the spot where you died should wash away since it's still fresh," the two tailed fox added as they reached a white brick house's driveway and began walking across its healthy green lawn. Clearly, this was their home since they walked across the grass without a single care in the world that they could be scolded for trespassing. "Thank god the weatherman said there'd be a big storm rolling in tonight. I hope that guy gets shocked to death after being soaked through."
"Whoa, that's a bit of an extreme way of thinking for you there," the other stated with a low whistle as they stepped onto their front porch that had a couple of lawn chairs and a small plastic table off towards the side. At that exact moment, rain started to lightly fall and coat the ground, yet they were both well protected by the cover their porch had provided. "It could be good if he's still alive and ended up getting caught doing something else illegal. That way, I could question him on both what he did and why he tried to kill you. Anyway, could you hurry up and open the door? You know how much I hate the rain."
"Oh, quit acting like such a baby, Sonic. You've got to learn how to have a better tolerance with rain. It's not even something that could have a remote chance of hurting you. And you call yourself a detective? I'm sure that you've been in the rain before when looking over a potential crime scene."
"That's because I was forced to for the sake of my job. I had to swallow my pet peeve if I wanted to keep my job and pay the rent for this place. Other than that, I don't want to be under the rain and getting my fur soaked through."
With a grumble of annoyance that seemed to also reflect a good amount of amusement, Tails took a key out of the white gloves he had on and put it into the doorknob. After jiggling it for a little bit, the door opened and they both entered just as another loud rumbling pierced through the sound of rain pattering against the concrete.
"Before you ask me for anything, I'm going upstairs to take a shower first," Tails quickly said as he walked into the house and up the set of stairs that were situated right in front of him. "I don't want to stand around with all this blood still on my fur any longer. I'm starting to get really grossed out by it."
"Believe it or not, that's what I was about to suggest," Sonic called up the stairs to the other just before he heard the sound of the bathroom door closing. He then muttered to himself with an amused roll of his eyes, "As if I'd ask go and you to do something while still covered in blood. What kind of a person do you seriously take me for?"
Being that the entire two story house only had one bathroom with a shower built into it; the cobalt hedgehog was forced to wait his turn while his best friend was busy cleaning himself off. He decided to wait in the living room area just to his left and snatched the day's paper off of a hallway table as he passed by it. He then leaned next to the rain-splattered window and began reading the paper, careful at to not let any of his fur that was still slightly damp with blood to mar the white walls. The last thing he wanted was more cleanup work after the hectic night both he and the two-tailed fox had.