Prower's Castle-Corridor 23B
Knight Island, American coast
OCTOBER 23RD 1922 8:20PM
Jules Needlemouse
"Right, well that's the toilet tent...where do we sleep?"
"OH? Oh hahaha(!) Oh look out everybody, I'm about to blow my trousers off at Eddie's sarcasm(!)"
"What, you mean THAT'S the whole tent?"
"Eddie...this isn't just a tent! This is a WorldRanger StormBuster 4! You could go anywhere in that!"
"Yeah, and we probably will as soon as the breeze lets up."
"Hey hey, don't knock it! You'll be glad of this when the bomb drops!"
"Wot?! You think THAT'S gonna withstand a 20-Megaton nuclear blast?!"
"Well, YOU'LL be sleeping in it tonight, so we'll find out, won't we?"
Jules was not able to understand the concept of what he was seeing and hearing, but the sound of roaring laughter coming from the group seemed to signal to him that it was a rather funny concept to those who COULD. After finally managing to answer the almost endless questions of the mob surrounding him, Master had managed to keep the close-to-rioting mob docile with what he called Television. It was, at it's most basic, a large plastic box with a glass screen on it. And from this wonderous invention came something like a miracle to the young hedgehog's brain; two men in a field bickering, one hairy and pathetic, one bald and violent, on the screen as if they were inside the "Television" itself. Almost every man and woman were sitting in front of the thing, staring deep into the glass screen, completly mesmerized by the entire soncept they could see before them. Jules, however, had his mind set on a different task at hand, namely his lollipops. He remembered that he and Master had rushed ahead while William was talking to Charles and had been playing with the lollipops on a balcony somewhere. Having been reminded where they were, Jules was setting out to find them. He passed his father on the way, seeing that William has failed to understand what had happened that night and was simply drinking heavily to try to cope with it. Master was sitting next to him, his expression one of annoyance and saying "Well, I'M driving him home tonight..." from his face alone. Dewitt was talking with Charles, he too trying to cope with what exactly was happening.
Jules ignored them and started his way towards the balcony where his sweets were kept. While Master had carried him to the balcony himself, Jules still remembered the way and thusly could easily retrace his steps. Far from the bright party, the corridors of the rest of the castle were dark and barren, showing cobwebs and odd slimy walls, the lighting dim and unsetteling, not helped by Jules' slight fear of the dark. Inside his small, developing mind, the darkest creatures of the deepest pits of nightmares were waiting just out of reach, glaring at him with their bright yellow eyes and stained teeth, their tounges slavering and salivating inside their tombstone-esque fang filled mouths. It began to creep out little Jules even more from the lack of true noise, the murmering of the "television" now just a murmer in the distance and only the crackle of the torches and the smooth thumps of his own footsteps close to hand. For a second, he swore he could see one of the monsters edging in the corner of the room, eyes trained on him as if the monster could jump out at any second and slay him, to rip off his limbs and eat them as he slowly watched and bled out, but chose not to so he could catch him at the most poor timing.
Eventually, paranoia and juvanile fear completly overtook Jules' mind and he started to run. He broke out into a sprint, hearing the vicous monsters on his tail and seeing their deep, hairy forms increase in size from the shadows behind him. The grasping, blood-stained claw of one of the monsters grabbed Jules by his leg, almost tripping him up, but Jules violently kicked the monster away and sprinted with all his speed for the nearest door. With a terrorfied shriek, he rammed through the door and fell to the floor, skidding to a stop near a wall, that wall connected to a balcony overlooking the sea. Jules, scared out of his mind, slowly dragged himself to his feet, looking out over the balcony overlooking the dark, moonlit night, tears streaming down his eyes and a few sobs escaping his throat every now and again.
"H-Hello?" came a sudden female voice out of the corner of Jules' vision, "Are you okay there?"
Jules quickly and suddenly turned his head to the left to see who was there. Who was there was a pink female hedgehog, her quills arched down like a bobcut and a three-part fringe covering one of her eyes. Her eyes were a radaint, glowing green with ruby red lipstick and her gold ring bracelets sparkled in the moonlight. She was dressed in a beautiful bright red ball gown, covered in creases and roses, with one placed in her quills and another around a band on her stomach, to contemplate her heeled shoes, also a bright ruby red. All in all, she looked rather pretty (not a factor to Jules, of course), but to Jules something looked...off about her. Closer inspection revealed a horrifying amount of scars and marks on her face and legs, notably a large scar across her face and some marks on her ankles that seemed to indicate a sort of cloth wrap was once tied tightly around her legs. Her face was pained and fragile, her skin soft, yet hardened with the aforementioned bruises and cuts.
"Who're you?" Jules asked out of fear.
"I..." the figure seemed to pause over her words, then sighed wearily, "Is anyone following you?"
"Just...the monsters..." Jules sniffled, tears slowly welling in his eyes.
"Monsters..." the woman said, sighing again, "I'd say monsters don't exist, but to say that...what with I'VE been through...it just wouldn't sit well. At least you're not with company."
Jules was understandably creeped out by this, "Why? You're not gonna do...anything to me or something?"
"Oh, NO..." the woman sobbed, "I've seen enough to turn me away from that for the rest of my life, trust me. I'm Amelia, by the way."
Jules' mind suddenly became a wash with multiple, still-forming memories of the past hour. The tears, the questions, the ruckus that followed, he even got a snippet of the files William had in his suitcase while he was drinking. This was the Amelia that William and Dewitt were tasked to find and bring to safety. Jules quickly become confused from this, his small, juvenile mind unable to understand why they wanted her. He slowly approached Amelia and climbed up onto her lap. Amelia looked somewhat confused in response, but let him lie there, holding a packet of round, red lollipops in her hand.
"Amelia?" Jules asked at last, quietly fearing an enraged response from the woman, "Are you the one dad is looking for?"
"Your dad?" Amelia asked.
"Y-Yeah! He came looking for someone. She looks pretty," Jules said back, "Like this!"
Amelia looked at the smart child, taking the photo and list he had suddenly had in his hands. She studied the picture, then the list. The picture was an exact replica of one that was taken of her during a time she'd rather forget and showed her in full, albeit in a slightly different outfit. The list read out her name, her age, some specifications and one last detail that made tears well in her eyes from looking at it. But what clinched it for her to start crying a bit was the signatures present on the bottom of the page:
"Mr William Needlemouse, I trust to inform you that, should you fail you comply with rescuing the girl, the antidote for your wife will not be delivered. So DO IT. Signed, Perry "Master" Martin and Delago Needlemouse."
This caused Amelia to sob a bit, throwing the papers to the floor and sputtering "Oh...so they HAVE come for me..." with a wavering, wobbly voice.
Jules was confused and upset he had made this woman, whoever she was, cry. After opening and eating one of his lollipops, he tugged on Ameila's dress and shyly asked, "W-What do you mean?"
"You want the truth, child?" Amelia sobbed, "Fine. That name is a fake. My name is not Amelia Roseane. It's Amy Rose. I'm from another dimension."
Once more, Jules' mind flashed back to Master and the Prowers opening the Tear, what they said about universal travel, and said "So...you're the one they mentioned who managed to move from...here...to...there?", his lack of jargon experience faltering him.
"From my universe to yours? Yes, that's me. I came here to...escape my life. Having been captured in a raid, I ended up in the care of my dearest Sonic...your own son, I believe. But something was wrong with him. He felt so...corrupted. So...far gone. His mind had been warped beyond what it was, he was a shadow of what he was supposed to be...I mean...look at me!"
Jules took another look at Amy's body. Her scars and bruises didn't look self-inflicted or accidental, even to the young tot who couldn't write or even chew his foot properly. The scars looked like bite wounds and slashes with a knife, the bruises inflicted from lack of blood and pipe wrenches. There was even a long, dark purple bruise along her muzzle in a faint line, with a round area around her lips.
"The abuse, the beatings, the...bondage. He just went haywire! And he's not finished, he says! What's he gonna do, pull off my arms? Reduce my legs to stumps? And with every time he attached a ball gag to me and almost drowned me, I could swear that he was gaining...sexual pleasure...OH GOD!"
Once more, Amy lapsed into a sobbing fit, unaware of what she had told that young child. She just hugged the child within an inch of it's life, finding comfort in his small body and cute appearance. Unbeknownst to her, Master had slowly followed Jules and was now watching the two in their emotional hug, a look of sadness and regret across his face. He sighed, staring at the floor and stumbling to the nearby bathroom, running the water and splashing it on his face. He stared at the face in the mirror, a face that had seen the worries of the world and had done some bad stuff in his life. He sighed and leaned against the mirror, before a sudden ringing got his attention. He looked down to his belt and saw his Multi-Versal Communicator, ringing within an inch of it's life. Master picked it up and pressed the "Call" button, bringing it up to his face.
"I know what you're calling for, you know..." he sighed, his voice once again thick with depression and disgust, "And, you know, I'm having second thoughts on your 'promise'..."
"I can detect the sarcasm in your voice..." came the hissing, unearthly voice on the other end of the device, "You think I'll just resume my sexual pleasures with Amy-poo, huh? Well, I assure you I'm not. I'm just an honest hedgehog trying to make an honest living...enjoying the company of my dearest."
"Yeah, as long as you've got a ball gag, some rope and a tissue!" Master barked back, his voice now saturated with anger, "I've made up my mind. You won't have Amy!"
"Wrong," the voice hissed, "I've still got William. As long as his wife's future resides in my grasp, he'll do ANYTHING I say. And I shall say also, Mrs. Needlemouse has been a VERY good replacement for Amy in the meantime..."
"Urgh, you're an animal!" Master bellowed, "Sod off, Delago! I'll make sure Amy'll never enter your semen-stained claws!"
"You can make her run..." Delago hissed in anger, "But you CAN'T hide her from me FOREVER!"
With that, the phone disconnected with a click. Master's face molded into a grimace again and, with the speed of a raging panther, dug straight into his pocket. Upon pulling it out again, there was a large bore pistol in his hands, with a two-tone slide and tactical rail over the barrel. The words "Desert Eagle" were engraved on the side. Master grabbed the slide and racked it back with a sharp click and then kicked open the door with the gun in hand. He stormed down the hallway, erraticly and indefatigable, towards the main room.
"I need to solve this one problem at a time. No-one orders a GOD what to do."
PROWER CASTLE - Dining Room
Off the coast of Mobius Alpha
July 9th 2013, 12:33PM
Oliver Maruice "Sonic The Hedgehog" Needlemouse, Lowell Theo Highcastle II, Kathrine Lowhouse and Blaze "Frost" Cattington
"Okay...we're ready. Bring them in."
With the now signature creak of the old, rusty locks, the doors on either side of the dining room swung open. Kathrine was situated at one of the doors, Lowell's shotgun in hand, while Frost was situated at the other end. Lowell was paraded into the room, pushed forward by Sonic, and sat down at the tableside that had the bottle of Generic Carbonated Beverage at the side. The other side was soon surrounded by the pink wind and the outline of the Amy-Ghost soon faded into existence, once again dotted with the high-pitched and cute giggling. Lowell began breathing heavily, but Kathrine and her deep-feeling back rubs calmed him down. Sonic closed both doors and then walked off hand in hand with Frost, most probably to make out in peace.
And from there, the room was silent, bar the cold coastal winds blowing against the windows, chocking the natural movement of the waters outside. From there, the room was empty bar the three now sitting at the table. All three were just staring at each other across the table, their expressions still and emotionless, bodies frozen in tension and waiting for one of them to speak. Lowell was shivering slightly, with Kathrine sitting next to him and rubbing her cheeks into his arm. The Amy-Ghost, on the other side of the table, had now faded again into a detailed being of pure light pink energy, her white smile beaming through her aura and looking rather cute while doing it; a far cry from what she was like all those years ago with Jules.
"So...you're really Amy Rose?" Kathrine asked at last, a small squeak escaping her throat.
"...Yes." The Amy-Ghost said at last, sounding calm and meditated, "It has been so long since I've seen a Sonic that once loved me like your own. But...if he wants to love that cat woman, I don't mind. I've kinda gone off him after all these years."
"Well, we've...managed to get you here because..." Kathrine said afterwards, "There's been a misunderstanding. For the past few days, you've been planting things around the house, flying into rages, messages of death on the bathroom mirrors, that sort of thing. We're here today to help you and Lowell become friends."
"Lowell?" Amy-Ghost asked, "The orange wolf?"
"Yes. You scared him half to death, relatively speaking, a few nights ago. And you keep going on and on about us helping you seek redemption and all that."
"But...b-before we can help you," Lowell stuttered, "We need to now what's plaguing you."
"Ahh..." The Amy-Ghost sighed, laying back, "That's when things get a little sketchy."
"How so?"
"I...I don't want to tell you. Trust me, it's awful."
"Hmmm..." Kathrine mused, "Well, let's start at the bottom. You said you did not love your Sonic. Now, as far as Amies go, you're a black sheep. Along with Thorn. And Ms. Rose. And Rebirth...well okay, you're not exactly a black sheep, but still. Anything you'd like to say about that?"
"I..." Amy-Ghost started to say, her shifting eyes showing she was trying to change the subject, "I think I do. It's something to do with my past and...this figure. This young figure from the future. In a hoodie and with a mug of glowing purple drink."
"Glowing Purple Drink?" Lowell said, "Sounds like Master's learning drugs! Do you have a memory of a 'Master'? That name ring a bell?"
Amy-Ghost could feel anger well up inside of her at the name of that awful waste of energy, as well as hear a small angry grunt escape her throat, but quickly calmed down when she saw Lowell start to edge back in his seat. She cleared her throat and rested her head on her arms, "Y-Yeah...him. The guy who made my life a misery. Not that he had any choice."
"Good, good, we're off to a good start," Kathrine started smiling and slowly rubbing Lowell's tail which had landed in her lap, "Now then, can you tell us how you died?"
Amy-Ghost knew deep down that the true events had been long lost to time and her ever budding anger and hatred for Master, but she nevertheless tried hard to remember what she could. She slowly stuttered out a few words while entranced in her own deep, dark and foreboding thoughts, "Uh...i-it was years ago. 1920. I tried to escape my own version of Sonic, who had...been corrupted from something. All these horrible things he used to do to me...but I can't remember them that well. Maybe it's for the best. All I remember to this day is being held at gunpoint by three people, one of their guns being much bigger than the rest. Then...I remember falling...falling forever, it seemed...before I neared the ground and the Grim Reaper catched me in his arms."
"So...you just remember falling?" Kathrine asked. Amy-Ghost nodded sadly, her once bright pink aura now fading and dulled from the power of her emotions.
"It's all I remember. When I woke up as a ghost, I didn't even know I was dead at first. Just a sort of...lack of feeling and sense, thinking I no longer existed and I felt a limbo state of okay and terrible, eternally confused."
"Sounds like Thorn after a good night's drinking," Kathrine snarked, "But never mind that; then what?"
"After I figured all that out and got myself in order, I simply waited around for many years, keeping the inside of the castle clean. I knew the ancestors of the men who killed me would return because I knew about those 'tears' in the multiverse. It's how I got here. And every night, when I fell asleep, I had that same dream of that one night. Falling...falling for the entire dream...I started playing cards in the dreams in the end."
Kathrine's face then lit up like a lightbulb, "I've got something!" Kathrine turned to Lowell, "Lowell, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"That we've been ripping off Timelock House and should really apologize?"
"...Yes, that," Kathine sighed, "And the fact that something doesn't add up. Confused or not, ghosts don't need sleep. They're already asleep, somewhat. Which makes me think that maybe somebody is forcing her asleep at night. Someone is maybe giving her another chance at this life thing. Someone may be ashamed of Ghost-Amy's existence but yet still has to help and has thus compromised."
"You're point?" Asked the now slightly-annoyed Ghost-Amy.
"Someone HAS been living here, undetected and undeterred. Maybe they destroyed the records or prevented them from being properly updated to avoid giving themselves away. Amy-Ghost...what should I actually call you?"
"You could call me Spectre."
"I would've gone with Spirit, but someone else has that," Kathrine shrugged daintily, "Anyway, Spectre, is there anything you've noticed that's odd to you?"
"Well, there IS this small hut in the front garden, "Spectre noted, "It's really small and strange, but there are odd bleeps and bloops and flashing lights. And I see people moving inside. A small shadow or something every now and again."
"Well then, there's our answer," Kathrine said, "We better check it out!"
"But what about the ghost thing? Making me okay with the things before they murder me?" Lowell asked fearfully.
"...I'm hovering right here," Spectre said, annoyed.
"...Sorry."
"Well, we'll just have to do later. We've got a mystery to chase!" Kathrine said energetically, her eyes flashing quickly with a small white gleam. With that, she was up and sprinted out of the room.
"...Your girlfriend seems to have ADHD or something, it seems..." Spectre said sheepishly.
"Nah, she's a brilliant lass," Lowell assured, slowly gaining confidence in his voice, "It's just that she gets a little excited over adventures. She got her first taste when that other universe got invaded by Dark Gaia creatures (again) and she ended up in the crossfire. Became a Werehog and everything. Or is it wolfhog? Can't remember."
"I think I remember that too," Spectre giggled, "And I THINK it's supposed to be Wolfhog. Anyway, enough about that. Now that your girlfriend isn't helping, I might as well continue this...I'm sorry I scared you half dead a few nights ago. It was just...what happened to me all those years ago flashed before me when that shot passed through me...it's not just something you can easily forget, is it?"
"No, I'll admit that," Lowell said back, his very tone showing barefacedly he was swallowing some of his non-existent pride, "And I'm sorry I shot you in the first place. I find this world too...violent for a proper greeting. I'm sure you're well versed about that."
"Yeah. So..." Spectre held out her hand, which Lowell looked at nervously, "Friends?"
Lowell slowly edged his hand towards Spectre's, unsure if a demonic possession was supposed to come his way. Luckily, that never happened and the two slowly and quietly shook hands, Lowell finally breaking the awkward silence with a simple and confident-sounding "Friends."
"Cool. Also, I wouldn't worry about the whole 'possession' thing. I can't seem to do that for whatever reason," Spectre said quickly after the handshake ended, before quickly speaking up once more, "Oh, one more thing...could you get your Sonic to...disguise himself slightly? It's just that it's kinda hard to look at him again after all the...pain and suffering he caused me."
"Oh sure, sure," Lowell smiled, steadily gaining his confidence, "You'll never believe what our Sonic's alter-ego is. SONIC! Frost? Where've they gone now?"
Lowell rose from his chair and walked rapidly down the hallway, bashing through various doors before finally throwing open the one to the lounging area. And there, resting on a sofa adorned with cushions and pillows, were Frost and Sonic, making out furiously. Something seemed...off about Sonic, for one. For a start, he was wearing a white cotton dress, arm length gloves, fake breasts and fishnet stockings, a pair of white boots nearby. His fur was a paler blue, he was wearing make-up and a long black wig that ended around his waist. His voice also seemed higher, with a few female-like moans escaping from the kiss sounds. It took a while before either noticed the two standing at the doorway, and upon doing so they stopped dead in their tracks, then slowly turned to stare at the two with beet red muzzles. Lowell was acting indifferently, possessing the same face he did at the start of this adventure, while Spectre's jaw ran all the way to the floor. Sonic was the first to speak up, stuttering a lot and possessing the female voice they had thought she had gained.
"Hi...uh, heh heh...this's gonna take some explaining..."
Oh, bugger me, this shouldn't have taken as long as it did. For the 3.4235 people reading this, I am dreadfully sorry.
