Disclaimer: Don't you think if I owned the series things would be a lot darker and make a lot more sense? And that I would have employed someone other than Steve Urkel to voice the triplets? I think you see my point. I don't own them, I just own my own warped ideas, fiction, so on and so forth.
Author's Note: I can hear all of you in fanfic land screaming "Finally! An update!" at me. I apologize. Finals and all that fun joy that goes with it. Now I know I've made plenty of you nervous about the Manic/Shadow situation, and I will simply say this: even if it does happen, said romance is not the main point of this fic. So even if it does occur (which I'm still debating), it would be a back-burner issue instead of an in-your-face kind of a thing. Because honestly, since when have any of you known me to write lovey-dovey sappy-faced sickeningly-cotton-candy-sweet fluff? Really? And can any of you seriously imagine either of them giving dopey goo-goo eyes at anyone? Maybe I'm weird; I can't see that kind of sappy-ness coming from either of them. In any case, enough of my rambling! You're here to read and enjoy the fic, not read my blabbering. As ever and always; read, enjoy, review, and laugh as needed. n.n
Ray sat near Sonic outside one of the entrances to the Hidden Palace, rubbing down an old shield so that it shined like gold in the sun. True, it had been a long time since the Floating Island had had any dealings with dragons (at least a good century or two according to the histories written by previous Guardians), but the Guardian family-line had seen fit to keep several flame-resistant shields just in case. 'Worse than pack-rats… Guardians don't get rid of anything, and then they go and call them "heirlooms" so they can't.' He couldn't help shaking his head at that. Ray had long since given up trying to get Knuckles to pare things down a bit so they were much more manageable. 'I just like things to be more spare… And Sonic is twitching again. ADD, I swear.'
Not even bothering to look up from the shield he was working on, Ray said, "You're getting about at fidgety as your brother."
"Can you blame me?"
Ray gave a snort of amusement at that. "Not really. Him, maybe; but not you… You have a little thing known as 'common sense' and you're freaking out about a dragon. Perfectly understandable. Your brother? I have no idea what the heck his problem is. He's been freaking out since he came back from that run-in with 'Shadow'."
Sonic's eyes were trained on the forest as he crossed his arms and began drumming the fingers of his right hand on his arm. "I've never seen him like this," he grudgingly admitted.
"There's a first for everything," Ray replied as he eyed his reflection. "Could be that this 'Shadow' really got to him somehow. The teleporting maybe? And he said himself that a person who could teleport is bad juju…"
Sonic gave Ray a bemused look for a second before he broke down and laughed. When he collected himself he grinned at the squirrel. "Not exactly in those words if I remember right."
"Close enough," Ray retorted. "Point being: Shadow freaked your brother out. Is that good enough reason for all of us to be nervous about him? I don't know. You know your brother better than I do. Hell, to all of us he's pretty much a mystery. If there's one thing I've learned, it's this: no point in trying to figure anyone out until they're actually willing to be honest and open. That applies to your bro and Shadow both."
The hedgehog frowned at that, his green eyes troubled. "And you think Manic isn't?"
"Pft! I think your brother has a lot to hide," Ray snorted as he finally looked up to meet his friend's eyes. "Your brother has about as much to hide as Espio or Mighty- and that's saying something. If we're using a black-and-white scale, your brother is definitely a shade of grey. I don't doubt that there's something going on with him, and that normally he has no reason to freak out about anything; but you have to admit that he isn't exactly what you'd call forth-coming. Case in point: his empathy. He didn't say a word about it until Espio out-ed him. So yeah, I'd say he isn't being completely honest. Keeping that in mind, it wouldn't surprise me if he's hiding the main reason that Shadow freaks- oooooh boy… Pissed chameleon is pissed."
True to Ray's sudden proclamation, Espio was stalking toward them in a high temper; red and black shadows raging across his skin in rapid-fire succession. Before either of them could say anything, he snapped out, "The dragon is almost here. We have a few minutes. Sonic, get the others on patrol and regroup at the Palace." Judging by his tone he would have preferred to keep his words more clipped, but had opted for being clearly understood instead.
Sonic opened his mouth to protest Espio's tone, but stopped himself when he saw the subtle shake of Ray's head warning him off. "Go. You've got a better chance of getting to the others first," Ray stated, the subtext of what he meant blatantly obvious to the hedgehog. Don't go starting fights when we can't afford them.
Sonic nodded to them both and darted off, streaking past Mighty as he went. Was there a similarity between Manic and Espio? Was Manic actually hiding something about why he was scared of Shadow? He didn't like either thought, and that brought a bigger question to mind: Did he really want to find out if Ray was right?
...
Sonic ran as fast as his legs could carry him, quickly taking tally of the others as they returned to the Hidden Palace. 'If only I could find- There he is!' He came to a screeching halt in Manic's path, forcing the thief to come to a stop.
"Sonic, what's up?" Manic asked, not doing a very good job in his attempt to hide his anxiety.
"The dragon's finally been spotted. We've been asked to regroup at the Palace. Pass it on to anybody else you run into."
"Who have you already found?"
"Vector. Espio was the one that told me, and Mighty was right on his heels. Ray, Knux, and Sonia were on guard duty."
"Which leaves Charmy."
"I'll find him," Sonic assured him.
Manic hesitated for a moment, but nodded. "Watch out for Shadow," he cautioned, "He likes to sneak up unexpectedly."
"Will do." As they separated, the question of how much Manic was hiding ran through Sonic's mind again. '…Doesn't matter. He hides his past by habit- he's even admitted that. All it takes is asking him; and now is not the time to ask!'
He continued on his way, over and around several hills and streams until he found the bee. Charmy was slowly sneaking toward a pillar of smoke that was stretching into the sky, intent on the source and getting closer. 'Smoke…? Not good!' Darting forward, Sonic hissed to the bee, "Charmy! We need to get back to the Hidden Palace now!"
Looking back and forth between the smoke and Sonic, Charmy whispered back, "But… we know that the dragon isn't the only one coming to the Island. If we can just get close enough to see who's with the dragon, then we can tell everyone else…"
Sonic regarded the bee silently for several seconds, those big blue eyes practically begging him to allow even this small contribution of knowledge about their enemy. Running a hand through his quills, he muttered, "Spraint… Alright, but as soon as we see or they catch sight of us, you grab on to me and you don't let go." Charmy nodded and the two of them crept as close to the source of the smoke as they dared. A large bush provided adequate coverage for the both of them and they crept in on hands and knees, but Charmy crept closer when Sonic stopped. "Charmy! Get back here!"
"I'm okay, they won't see me 'cause I'm smaller."
"Charmy!" Sonic hissed vehemently. 'Damn it all, this kid is going to get us both killed!' Rather than waste the opportunity by giving away their position, regardless of his concerns, as soon as Charmy came to a stop Sonic peeked from the bush to get a look at what they were up against. The first thing to greet his eyes was the sight of the biggest dragon either of them had even heard of. She was setting fire to the tops of the trees nearest to her and fanning the flames with her wings with a nonchalance that made the situation even more horrific.
"Sh-she's big," Charmy whispered in quaking terror to Sonic.
In Sonic's mind the bee was perfectly justified in his terror. It would just be stupid to not be scared of a dragon that could eat both of them in one bite. "We need to go," he hissed, trying to put up a brave front for Charmy's sake. He knew, if not for the kid, he would have bolted in an instant.
"I- I can't move," Charmy whimpered, his wings shivering.
'Crap. Panic. Not good.' "Come on Charmy, we need to get going. We can't let her see us."
"I- I- I can't move. I'm scared. I don't think I can fly…"
"Ssh! Keep it down. Just… Come here and I'll get us out of here. I promise. Just come here," Sonic whispered, extending a hand toward the bee.
Charmy's terrified gaze looked back at him pleadingly. "I can't move," he whimpered.
"Just try. C'mon Charmy… You're the youngest Chaotic. You don't get to earn that title if you can't contribute more than anybody else expects! It isn't that far… Just to me and then we'll go. Okay? Just try to get to me."
Charmy took a deep breath and tried to inch back to Sonic, but in his panic he snapped a branch of the bush. They both froze in horror as the dragon ceased her blaze and whipped her head around to focus on their hiding place. Tears started welling in the young bee's eyes as his fear overwhelmed him. "I can't- I can't make it. She's gonna kill me… I'm gonna die… I- I- I don't wanna die- I DON'T WANNA DIE!"
"Spraint!" Sonic snapped out as Charmy wailed in panic. He lunged forward and scooped up the bee before he spun on his heel and bolted out of the bush, deliberately weaving so he'd be harder to hit. As he ran, he heard the dragon take a deep breath. 'Oh no… Oh Goddess above, NO… No, no, no, no, NO!' Within seconds he was running at a speed just below the sound barrier, hoping against hope that he could out-run a determined dragon's flame.
The first gout of flame took them all by surprise. The Chaotix had regrouped for the most part, but Sonic and Charmy were still missing when it happened. Manic had joined the others almost as soon as he and Sonic crossed paths, but he had a hard time repressing the urge to go back out when he saw the flames. 'Where in the hell are they?' Manic wasn't the only one worrying; his sister and the Chaotix were with him just inside one of the many entrances to the Palace and they were all watching the forest for any sign of Sonic and Charmy.
Almost as if in answer, there was a sudden sonic boom in time with a second blast of fire. Long before they saw Sonic, they heard him as he bolted their direction. "SPRAIIIINT! !" Another blast of flame hit the section of forest their eyes were locked on a second before the blue speedster leapt through with a dazed Charmy in his arms. "A LITTLE HELP HERE?" he squawked as he bolted into their midst in a cloud of smoke.
"Sonic, what-" Knuckles and Sonia began in unison.
"Dragon," he squeaked in one of the least dignified tones he'd ever used in his life as he passed Charmy to the echidna, "Really… BIG dragon…"
Before anything else could be said, the dragon in question crashed through the burning trees with the ease of a wrecking ball. Almost against their will, their eyes traveled up… and up… and up the black dragon's body and neck to take in her monstrous head. Charmy fainted in the Guardian's arms.
"Your friend wasn't kidding 'bout the size of that thing," Vector said in a horrified whisper to Manic.
There was no question about survival; unless something drastic was done, they were all going to die. Knuckles felt his heart sink into his stomach as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. 'How in the hell are we supposed to face down a dragon of that size? There's no way! Unless…' He shook his head emphatically. He didn't want to resort to the Floating Island's greatest secret, the Emeralds, unless he had no other choice. 'But what choice is there?' The thought of having to resort to such drastic means made him feel as if the Island had been tugged out from underneath his feet.
"I know that dragon…" Manic muttered breathlessly, his eyes wide. The others turned to him in disbelief, which became slack-jawed shock as he bolted out of hiding.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR EVER-LOVING MIND?" Mighty yelled after him, "DO YOU WANT TO DIE?"
"Manic, come back!" Sonia pleaded desperately.
Manic didn't answer, ignoring all of them as he ran toward the dragon. There was no time to explain. It was either do or die; and he knew that no dragon in existence could ever identify someone by sight if they were focused on setting fire to things. 'Damn dragons and their third-eyelids!' Coming to a stop before her, he yelled up at her in a stream of fluent Mercian that left the others staring at him in slack-jawed wonder. "Liidara! So mahtyi chal kyat aremsön-"
Mighty's expression made it all too clear he wondered whether or not reality was stable. "Es- Espio… Did he just say…?"
"Yes, he did," Espio stated grimly. "He just called that dragon 'the love of his sister'."
Before any further commentary could be made, Manic bellowed out, "-Tahl, Aremsön Daemon Drakonis, Dahnalia! Liidaraaaa! DAMN IT, LISTEN TO ME!" Several things happened in that instant: the dragon swallowed back the fire she'd been building; Knuckles's eyes went wide at the echidna name Manic had spouted off; and Espio and Mighty's eyes met in pure shock.
"He knows…" Mighty murmured.
"…Tahl," Espio finished.
Her third eyelids flicking out of her vision almost immediately, Liidara locked her eyes on Manic. "Manyi?" she breathed in disbelief.
"About... damned time," Manic snapped raggedly, forgetting his accent in his frustration. "You mind telling me what the HELL you're doing working for the Great Blubber-Ass?"
Her wings cinching in closer to her body in chagrin, Liidara replied, "I needed to find you. To know what happened to Tahl."
In that instant, Marietta stood from her hiding place between Liidara's shoulders and snapped out, "Something happened to-?" And then her eyes widened as she recognized Manic. "Y- you knew Tahl? But- HOW could you know Tahl?"
"Gee, let's think about this!" Manic snarled, "It's called she was only my adoptive sister for about as long as I can remember!"
"Your accent…" Marietta murmured in confusion, "A-aren't you supposed to have an accent? You are Manic, right? Crown Prince Manic Sarashi Devonian Jules, right?"
"And you're, if I'm not mistaken, Marietta Tia'ras- maid to the puffed-up idiot known as Lord Bartleby Montclair Condammer. Or, as anybody who knows even anything about Mercia would know you, the Mercian Rose. Do you want to get past the pleasantries and explain what the crap is going on?"
"Marietta?" Sonia squawked at the same time as Espio yelped,
"Rose?" The two of them snapped their heads around to look at each other.
"You know her? But how-" they said in unison.
"Espio?" Marietta said in disbelief, "But you were- And Patros- and- How did you escape?"
"Long story," Espio replied curtly.
Manic's ears flopped to the sides, his expression unenthused, but relieved. "Great… Just great… Tahl and her damned connections strike again! Not that I'm complaining, granted, because it means we all get to live another day, but this is yiffing ridiculous!"
"Manic," Sonia warned, only to be ignored as her brother plowed on.
"Okay. I can buy that Liidara came here looking for me to find out what happened to Tahl. That makes sense. But as for you, 'Oh Rose', why would you come out of retirement?"
"I was hired to kill Kleptomaniac; nothing more, nothing less."
Manic was silent for a second, looked from her to his siblings, and then immediately burst into a fit of unrestrained laughter. "Alright! That's it! For the record my life is officially screwed up! The only thing that could possibly make this entire situation even MORE screwed is if-"
And that was precisely when Rouge caught up with Marietta and Liidara. On spotting Manic as she came in for a landing, with all of the venom she could possibly muster, she spat, "YOU."
"Speak of the yiffing devil!" Manic laughed almost hysterically as he leaned against one of Liidara's arms. "Now the entire situation has reached maximum screw-up capacity! Thank you, oh wonderful karma; you've proven a bito until the end!"
"Manic… Who…?" Sonia asked, vaguely motioning to the bat and having given up trying to get him to stop cursing in the confusion.
"Ladies and gents, allow me to introduce my, not so lovely, ex," Manic stated with a mocking bow to Rouge.
"Your WHAT?" Sonic and Sonia squawked at much the same pitch.
"And furthermore, for those wonderful people who've yet to figure it out- Crown Prince Manic and Kleptomaniac are one and the freaking same. Anybody obsessed with killing me now? No? Didn't think so." Knuckles shifted Charmy to one arm and face-palmed as just about everybody else stared at Manic in disbelief.
Marietta finally collected herself enough to quizzically state, "How is that possible? You're too…"
"Pft. You honestly think that I couldn't play myself as rock stupid if I wanted to? Think about it. Manic. Kleptomaniac. Klepto-Manic. All you need to do is add an 'a' and put 'Klepto' in front of my name. It's really not that hard to figure out if you get past me acting like a moron."
"But…" Marietta frowned, "But what about the threat against Bartleby?"
"You threatened Bartleby?" Sonia snapped at Manic.
"Let me clear some things up," Manic stated, "First off- he deserved it. Secondly- I didn't write the damned note… or leave the corpse on his porch. Third- I'd have to be yiffing stupider than the love-child of a doorknob and a box of rocks in order to let my sister get married to a bastard that would let her brothers be sold to a lunatic." The rage from both Sonia and Marietta was almost palpable, even if a person wasn't empathic.
At the last, Knuckles couldn't help the faint scowl that crossed his face. If Manic was telling the truth, then he couldn't help but agree wholeheartedly with him in his sentiments as to Bartleby. After all, how could he in good conscience let Sonia get married to someone that would sell out her brothers? 'I'm going to have to talk to him later…'
"Huh," Shadow said from where he'd suddenly appeared next to Rouge. "I suppose this situation has become a lot more complex than any of us expected?"
A wide-eyed glance from Knuckles was directed at the dark hedgehog in response to the sudden flare of chaos energy. '…My father is going to be livid. He's angry enough that I have the triplets here, but this… If he's not racist against hedgehogs already, I have a bad feeling that he's going to be.'
"YOU can stay THE HELL away from me!" Manic snapped as he immediately put Liidara between himself and Shadow. Rouge's venomous glare shifted from Manic to Shadow in an instant, only to be ignored.
Giving a sigh before everything could continue on in complete chaos, Liidara laid down where she stood and fixed her eyes on Knuckles. "You are the Guardian?" she asked. At his cautious nod, she stated, "I think, courtesy of Manyi, that you've nothing to worry about from us. If anything, I suspect we have become… unexpected allies."
Knuckles let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding and said, "If that's the case, then put out the fires on my Island. I don't want to live on a cinder."
"Fair enough."
Qet was making good time, inasmuch as was possible considering the load he was carrying. Sabbat was securely nestled between his wings and had his arms wrapped around the bird's neck so he wouldn't slip; Ka'eh was in the pea-hawk's arms bridal style. 'I… hate… carrying… this… much…' Normally Qetzenthala would take the hint that he was pushing his weight-limit when his thoughts were as stop-start hitched as his breathing. 'Can't… afford… to know… my limits… Damn it!' Being what he was, he naturally didn't weigh too much for his body size. Both Sabbat and Ka'eh on the other hand had solid bones without any air-pockets- 'Strike one on weight control'- and both, Ka'eh especially, were living walls of muscle- 'Strike two on weight control'.
Were they facing normal circumstances, he wouldn't have dared trying to carry them all the way from Robotropolis to the Floating Island. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the three of them were the only ones available for the Tryst captured and Baenya on eir way to inform Arajia as to what had happened, that had left the three of them- one of the best fighters in their 'family', a bird that was good at rapid-fire aerial acrobatics, and a little telepath to give them an edge they wouldn't otherwise have. It was just too damn bad that they hadn't had time to scrounge up a better method of transport. '…Being air-cavalry sucks.'
"Are you sure you want to carry us the entire way without stopping?" Ka'eh asked for what felt to Qet like the umpteenth time.
"Doin'… just… fine…," he gasped out, pumping his wings for all he was worth. The ache of his second set of shoulder-blades was settling into a rhythmic throb that worked in time with his wings. Even his sternum where the muscles were anchored was beginning to ache. 'Damn my genetic make-up! Why couldn't I be part goose? They're power-flyers! Noooooo… I had to be half-hawk and half-peacock- neither of which are built for long power-flights. Just speed.' Never mind his refusal to factor in the extra weight that was forcing him to work harder; if he thought of his difficulty in terms of the adoptive siblings he carried instead of a failing of his body build, he knew he would have already given up before having even gotten half as far as he had.
"We should really find some place you can land," Sabbat stated matter-of-factly.
"Said… I was… fine," he snapped back.
"Qet… I can read your mind. Remember?" Sabbat shifted very carefully so as to not unbalance the pea-hawk's delicate flight-path. "You're exhausted and you can't keep flying like this much longer."
"Qet- listen to the kid. Land. We're not going to make it there tonight, there's no way. Robotnik's second party won't get there for at least a few days. We can afford a rest," Ka'eh stated as she gently prodded at the shoulder for one of his arms. "You're not Tryst. You can't keep up this kind of flight for much longer."
Qetzenthala gave a growl of frustration. He hated it when Ka'eh and Sabbat echoed each other. They'd been doing that a lot lately. It kind of reminded him of all the times Manic and Tahl had united against him when he got to be a little too over-the-top. 'Funny. Annoying, but funny.' He knew they were right, he knew they were, but he didn't like it. "A bit… farther… Then I'll… land. Okay?"
"For yiff's sake, you are not Manic, Tahl, or Tryst! Stop trying to power-house your way through this," Ka'eh finally snapped.
"Scrap," Qet hissed back, resorting to the canine's old name from when they were little, "I… can not… give up. We're almost… there… And Manic… needs… back-up. Okay?"
Cinnamon-brown eyes glared at Qet as the part-wolf bared her fangs, "Land. NOW. Pushing yourself to the breaking point won't do anyone any good. It won't do Tryst any good. Manic can handle himself. So land; or so help me, brother or no, I'll cut off your damned air supply until you faint."
Qet gave a ragged scoff that contained just the slightest touch of avian screech. 'I've gotta be more exhausted then I think if that's happening… damn it.' "This… high up? You'd… really… risk that… this high up?"
"Qet, I was adopted and named by a people that aren't supposed to exist. I think I could figure out a way to make sure we don't die if I have to drop you. Don't make me have to do it. LAND."
Giving a gusty sigh that contained more relief than he wanted it to, Qetzenthala stopped pumping his wings and kept them steady as he began the spiraling descent. As he lazily let the air-currents and the extra weight of Ka'eh and Sabbat gently pull him downward, his silvery eyes swept over the Floating Island. 'Just ten more miles of air-space and I would have reached it… Goddess… my heart hurts.'
Tryst was in pain; had been in pain for almost a full day and a half now. In a detached way, he had to admit that the echidna was inventive, if a bit sick and twisted in her head. By now he was certain she had nothing even remotely approaching sanity. Then again, he'd come to learn over his life that 'sanity' had an ever-shifting definition depending on who was asked. Certainly, some would argue that his defiance was insane. Most would have caved the instant she had thrown him into the room where Robotnik and the others that Nack had collected were milling around. He'd crashed into a mirror on the wall only to land on a table right below it that had broken in half on impact.
A smaller number wouldn't have caved at that point, but would have held up until he'd been dragged into the torture chamber he was in now- all metal walls, ceiling and floor with bright fluorescent lights dotting the edges and a camera in the farthest corner; racks of weaponry and torture implements; what looked like an operating table in the center; a few meat-hooks on the metal plates of the walls here or there… Yes indeed, the majority of those who could have withstood his sudden entry to the bastards' 'meeting room' would have fallen into a quivering heap of terror on seeing the room. He'd had the guts to tell her that he thought she'd found her element- and gee; wouldn't some wonderfully helpful doctors in white coats at the happy farm be happy to give her a good solid dose of therapy free of charge?
Any that could have handled just seeing the room would probably have caved the moment she started using the serrated blades. That had been pretty damned painful. When that hadn't gotten him to start screaming out all the information he'd overheard, stolen, and anything and everything she'd wanted to know about who he was working with, she got even more inventive. The sadistic bito dragged him to a wall, stretched out one of his wings, and then punched a few more holes by hanging him on the meat-hooks. Oh, that had hurt, but he'd still refused to cave. So she hung up his other wing- and still he'd refused to talk. That was when she'd gotten her most inventive stroke of genius and raised the metal plate the hooks were attached to.
Again: pretty damn painful. Anybody else, anybody sane, would have caved and started telling her anything she wanted to know. She wasn't sane. She seemed to think his semi-crucifixion was hilarious. He'd told her that she redefined the terms 'just plain wrong' and 'touched in the head' simultaneously. She'd left him hanging in the dark for almost a day and a half now. No, she wasn't sane, no matter what definition you used. Tryst was pretty sure that anybody else would have called him insane for being so damned stubborn. The lights in the ceiling flickered on. The door opened. Miss Crazy herself was back and ready for more.
'Sanity' was a fluid word; the definition depended on the person… He could have left at any time; pulled himself off the wall, picked the lock on the door, walked out… could have gotten out and escaped. It would have been easy. But he stayed. He stayed. As long as he stayed, they'd be focused on him. They wouldn't go after Manic and Manic's blood-kin. They wouldn't go after his brother if he stayed. 'Sanity' was fluid; changeable; impossible to pin down because there were as many definitions as there were people in the world… Sanity… No, Tryst was pretty sure that he himself was insane on some level. He didn't care.
Giving a grin past the dark blood lacing down his face and dripping from his chin, his Irish accent split the air, "'Ello, 'Great Lady Whore'. Come f'r Roun' Two?"
Do I even need to say it anymore? There be the button. Review, and I'll try to get some writing done so I can get the next chapter up more quickly.