(((ok, I think I have the whole story pretty much laid out in my mind. The only issue I have to deal with: I have absolutely NO idea how it ends, but then again, that's how I usually am. I like to keep my options open and we'll burn that bridge when we get to it.))
Shadow: -shuddering- metaphors...
Oh, and if you haven't noticed, ffnet ditched my farce, so if you'd like to read it, email me. ALSO, ffnet no longer supports asterisks, wavy-line thingeys, underscores, at-signs or anything else that makes my work MINE.
Sonic: no more faces, huh?
Right. And my little scenechange figures are bye-bye. Anyway, my asterisks are replaced byhyphens and you'll just have to live with it. I am.
Knuckles: AND ONE MORE THING!
Sh: grapes, right?
K: nuu! Aeyvi has an announcement proclamation notice thing -whispered- go ahead, Aeyvi-kun -little closed-eyed happy-face-
Sigh, she sighed. I wish those people weren't so fucking difficult. When my site's up I SWEAR I'm moving everything and you'll see it there (along with pictures of my chars.) BUT ONTO MY ANNOUNCEMENT! Periodically, (as recently I have done) I will post notices and updates in my bio and in reviews on my own work, especially since I haven't been ALLOWED to post anything for a week or so. -gives ffnet manager people a big double-birdie- and this is an outrage ESPECIALLY since I am a PAYING CUSTOMER G-DAMNIT -refuses to take the Lord's name in vain and crosses herself- (my characters do it and it doesn't mean I have to)... anywhelp, this chapter will be very nice indeed, especially with a white or blush wine, preferably a rather sweet riesling, but I'll accepta white merlottoo.
Espio: ...what?
If you think I own any part of Sonic enterprises incorporated and company you're all officially diagnosed with Down's syndrome. Have a pleasant evening.
Chapter 5- Dear John...
I really wished I hadn't been in the room at the moment when Aka's cell rang. Her red cell. The cell of which only one person had the number to. The voice.
Kai looked at me with this weird wide-eyed-eyebrow-raised expression, her earflaps snapping open. Yes, she felt the same as I did, I could tell. Even though Kai's a little...um...strange, we get along. We can understand each other. It's like there's us two...and Aka. Not really a threesome of assassins, just two hitgirls and miss holier-than-thou. Anyway, the cell kept ringing...
"Sir." She said all professional and military-like. I almost laughed, but I like my head where it is.
"Aka my dear, how are you doing?" the tone of that guy's voice just makes me sick to my stomach. You never know when he's pissed at you until your team mate is ordered to kill you.
"uh...fine."
"Good, good...Aka, you know you're my favorite...and you're doing an excellent job. I know you could have Princess Acorn dead tomorrow...but..."
Uh-oh. A 'but'.
"Sir, please understand! The bodyguard-"
"...is no longer your concern."
Oh yeah. That girl was sweatin' bullets.
"W...wh...what do you mean?"
"Aka, Aka, Aka... I just said you were my favorite! Do you really have that little trust in me?"
"N-no, sir. Of course not."
"Good..." He purred. I hate it when he purrs. "I have something more your genre, Aka, something that might be more of a challenge for you..."
"Go on..."
There was this tense pause. You could have cut the air with a butterknife.
"I want you to obliterate the entire Fairchild line... but keep the two heiresses alive until I give you further instruction. The plane ticket will be under your door tomorrow morning. Your flight leaves at nine."
"Sir, yes sir. Mission accepted." I could see her obvious disappointment.
"Now, Aka, the current mission will carry on without you. This task is yours alone. Are you sure you're up to it?"
"Of course, sir."
"I want Poe to take out the princess, but only after Kai finishes the bodyguard. Pass it on, won't you?"
Those brown eyes stabbed right across the room at Kai. If looks could kill, she would be a nine-month old corpse at that instant. Come to think of it...ewww...
"Sir, yes sir."
"Have fun, my darling. I know you will."
And I guess he hung up because she threw the phone against the wall.
----------cries because she misses her little flowery thing...-
Boy, Sonic can be a pain sometimes. Ok, that's a given, but today he was intolerable! Ugh, why do I hang around him so much? How did I ever look up to him like that? Ok, he's my bestest buddy and I'm not downing him...oh, wait...yes I am. Damn. I'm confused again. Ok, anyway, I was piloting my outdated gyrotating elevation module (now dubbed the Tsunami, thank you, Sonic.) and heading straight for Angel Island for who knows WHAT ungodly purpose, whilst Sonic took full advantage of the surround-sound stereo I installed and playing Jet louder than normal eardrums can endure.
"COLD HARD BITCH! JUS' A KISS ON THA LIPS AN' I WAS ON MY KNEES-"
"TURN IT DOWN! THE EAR IS A DELICATE ORGAN!"
"WHAAAAT?"
I shut the damned thing off, giving him hopefully one of my more daunting glares. He pouted.
Ok, here's what I don't understand: I'm twelve. He's nineteen. I'm the adult and he's the child. Why?
"LOOK! We're here!" Sonic shouted, pointing.
"Whatever you have planned, I am NOT involved. You hear me? NOT INVOLVED. NEUTRAL."
"Whatever." He opened the hatch and let himself out before I had finished the landing sequence...to which I growled...and sped off in search of Knuckles. God save poor Knuckles.
I followed as fast as my fluffy tails could flutter (ah! Alliteration! I'm a poet an' I don't know it!) and we soon fell upon the large and technologically advanced structure that was Knuckles' redesigned abode. I envy him. Of course, Sonic burst rudely through the door without knocking or ringing or at least saying "Hey, I'm going to burst suddenly and rudely through your front door, don't kill me!" which he would, probably, right after urinating himself in shock. I mean, if I were Knuckles, I'd be pretty spooked if I spent every day in quiet solitude and someone suddenly burst through my door. Ah, then he'd hopefully act on instinct and knock the living daylights out of him. I could only pray...
"KNUX! DUDE! I gotta letter for...uhh..."
The house was strangely quiet... and dark. All the shades were drawn and there were a few empty liquor bottles lying about. On the center of the small coffee table there lay a photograph. Sonic went further into the house in search of him while I ventured to see what the picture might depict. Big surprise, it was Tarsa. Actually a picture of them both sitting on a hospital bed, bandaged and grinning at each other. Cute. She was perfect for him. As I held the picture I couldn't help but feel a stab of sympathy. Poor guy... Two months with no word... he probably thought she'd moved on. His self-esteem had been dropping considerably in the past months. I guess that's what happens when you get a girlfriend, though I wouldn't know. (Don't want to either. Complicated creatures...)
"He ain't here." Sonic said, appearing from the bathroom.
"Isn't. He isn't here."
"Didn't I just say that?"
"sigh."
He looked around for a moment, hand to forehead in a distraught posture. No one to guard the Master Emerald. He must either be pretty depressed or extremely hammered. I envisioned him stumbling about the island somewhere, God forbid he had thrown himself from the cliff in despair. I doubted it. But it all depended on exactly how much he had to drink.
"Go search the island. If he's not here, I'll start up the shield and we'll go looking for him down below." I stated. He nodded a little nervously, trotting out the door and sprinting off towards the treeline.
I had a pretty good idea where he might be if he wasn't here.
-----------cries some more-
Two months previous in the sky over an ocean...
My heart was pounding in my ears. I could feel the adrenaline rushing from my brain, causing my limbs to twitch with excitement. Finally... Finally...I'm ready for this... I know it...
All the intense training I had undergone, all of the tests and trials, the simulations... sure, it wasn't my prime directive or anything. I guessed they'd fill me in on that later. But right here, right now, I was lucky to be strapped to my seat because I was about ready to blast off without the pod.
I squealed with glee as I heard them begin the countdown, squirming in my restraints. Twenty-seven... twenty-six...
"Maria! Maria! I'm gonna do it! All by myself!" I shouted into the receiver on the side of my head.
"I know, Shadow. I'll be watching you. Remember to keep an eye on your air supply. If you're too excited..." she warned with a worried-mother tone.
"Yeah yeah, I know I know. Respiration tends to be more rapid under a stimulus, but I got, like, two weeks-worth of O2! I'll be fine!"
"I'm trusting you on this... remember to brace yourself. It's going to get up to at least three and a half G's during liftoff..."
"Mariaaaa..." I whined.
Twelve... eleven...
"Keep a clear head. I'm going to close connection until after liftoff. Be careful!"
I heard the beep verifying that communication had been closed. Eight...seven...six...
"Shadow?"
"Three...two...one! IGNITION!" I screamed, grasping my harness tightly and clenching my eyes in anticipation. This is it. This is it. I'm grown-up now. This is it.
The pod shuddered forcefully as it wrenched itself from the lunch pad. I was thrown against the padding of the seat by the extensive gravitational pull, and the large window in front of me was temporarily filled with bright fire. My little feet pounded the floor of the pod rapidly as I found myself unable to breathe for a few moments. Fear and excitement both chilled and enthralled my fragile brain as I watched the vastness of space fling itself at me. My eyes widened and I gasped for air as I shot into the blackness...
"Shadow, she wants to know what you'd like to drink. You'd said you were thirsty earlier..."
My eyes popped open and I involuntarily jerked in my seat, gaining my bearings on reality. What was that? As dreams often go, this one was fleeting and I was unable to recall any of it. All except...
"Uhh... water's fine I guess." I rubbed my face, trying to regain feeling in it. If my fur weren't so dark, I might have looked pale. The more I chased after the dream, the further it fled from my mind. Maria... who's Maria? Was she my mother? No... no. I don't have one. That's impossible...
I had been granted the isle seat, thank God. Tarsa, who had never before flown in a plane, got the window seat. She had been glued to the window for the first three hours, but as it started to get dark, she settled down and dozed off. Karpa had been reading from Mary Stuart's "The Crystal Cave." I'll have to get her to let me borrow it one day. Something in my mind clicked. Maria. Something about books... and Maria... Maybe I was remembering pieces of my past. Whatever the case, I was too spent at the moment to bother with it. My head ached from the uncomfortable seat and the position my neck had been bent at for an indiscernible period. I hate airline hospitality. And this was only the first time I had been subjected to it.
That reminds me...
"Karpa..." I hooked a finger on the binding of her book and lowered it, giving her a serious look in the eyes.
"What? What's wrong?"
"We need to talk."
She removed her small spectacles and frowned at me softly. I continued.
"I need to know exactly what you're plans are here. You know I'm not settling down. No matter what you do."
She nodded slowly, a little disappointment creeping into her fair face.
"I need to know how long this is going to last. Now, I'm sure you've been thinking about it. And all I have to say is... well, I do."
She blinked in confusion. "you... do what?"
"I..." this was difficult. I was a changed person since I met her. A change for the worse, I believed, but in some aspects also for the better. I had to get this out in the open. There's just no avoiding it. It's what I felt.
"I lo..." Ok, this was hard. I didn't want to say it. Everything I was protested against it. But... but... not everything in my life has to be logical does it? Just say it and get it over with.
"I love you, Karpa." This said in a hurried low voice. I sat back again, folding my arms and feeling warmth spread across my face. I prayed she didn't see me blushing...
She was silent for a very long moment. I don't think I've ever been as nervous in my life. It's like I just cut the red wire and I was waiting for the bomb to either go dormant... Or explode.
I gasped as I felt her arms wrap tightly around my shoulders. I couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.
"Hmm? We there yet?" Tarsa croaked, stretching and blinking tiredly at us.
"No, you can go back to sleep. Still another four hours to the first stop." Kapra informed her. She drew back a little, an arm still across my shoulders. She was smiling, generally smiling at me. Not the provocative smirk or deviant grin she usually cracked, but an honest smile and a shine to her beautiful pale eyes... She felt the same. She felt the same. Oh God... thank you...
Tarsa had settled back in her sleeping position and already had begun to snore softly. Karpa chuckled as she leaned closer to me, kissing me ever so delicately. I felt my heart jump a beat. I kissed back a little less gently, raising a hand to glide across her cheek... I did. I really loved her. Is that so strange? Is it so hard to believe? The question that remained, of course, was...
Could I spend the rest of my life with her?
And... exactly how long was that?
-o- -sobs piteously-
Two months later in a bar at Station Square...
Thank the merciful Lord for alcohol.
As I felt my senses numb over, I had to appreciate the strong, bitter and welcoming flavor of the tequila as it stung in my throat. Ahhh, there it is. Blessed blessed drunkenness. I didn't have to think about women or the stupid fucking emerald or Sonic or Ma... Oh, lordy, anything but Ma. Glad she can't see me now. My agenda for the evening was to get wasted and go to bed with some nameless person... preferably female. Much preferably.
"Sweetest goodbye" came over the bar radio and it resounded throughout the pretty-much empty bar. Gawd, not that song... I was doing so well... Time to go before I start to fucking bawl like a gawdamn woman.
"Hey... man, how musch I owe ya?"
"A twenty'll do. You ok getting home, Knux?" my good friend Tony the rat asked. I wasn't going home...
"Yeah, man. It ain't far." I grabbed the keys to Tempest II and slid off the barstool. Wow, I never knew walking could be so hard to do...
"Knux, hold up, I'll call you a cab."
"Whaddabout my fucking bike? I ain't gunna leave it out there. You're crazy." And with that, I staggered out the door.
o:o (used to be the two squigglies with an asterisk in the middle. Change scene and time but same character focus.)
I didn't know where I was going. I was just riding. Wherever the Tempest wanted to go, I guess. It's amazing how well I can steer, even under the influence. The street was completely deserted. The asphalt was now my personal playground...
Just when I was beginning to have a little fun, there was this loud clap of thunder overhead. Aww, gee, thanks, man. Thanks a lump. The rain, of course, began to pour. I swore slurredly a few times before turning for the nearest exit. Hell, I didn't care if I was lost. What would it matter?
The street I was going down looked familiar. Sycamore... Where did I hear that before?
"5910 Sycamore, building 13..." I skidded to a stop, slipping on the wet street and earning myself a painful crash. I didn't need that leg anyway. Crawling out from under my bike, I gazed up, blinking against the rain, at the apartment building. Fifth floor, third window to the right. There was a small crown-of-thorns plant in the window. Those things are tough to kill, but she hadn't been there to water it in two months... So it looked a little yellow. You let it die, you stupid bitch...
I actually forgot it was raining for a moment. I stood with a little difficulty, picked up a rock, (it may have been an acorn, I didn't really notice) and tossed it at the window. I don't know what I was expecting to happen. I guess I was kind of hoping she'd open the blinds. I just wanted to see her face...
I picked up something else and threw it harder. Damnit, if I have to break that window I will...
Nothing. Gee, big surprise, right? Still, I was extremely drunk and it didn't all make sense at the moment. I wanted her back. I wanted her back bad. I didn't want to think about the fact that maybe she had found someone better, someone richer and 'prettier' and smarter and...
And there it goes. I sobbed, then screamed at that fucking empty window.
"YOU LET IT DIE!"
Don't ask me why I felt such remorse for the neglected plant. I don't think that's why I was so pissed and depressed at the moment. I hate that feeling...
"Knuckles!"
"T...Tails?"
Sure enough, the kid had found me. Damnitall. Now he's going to think I'm off my fucking block. I turned to look at him, swaying a little. Act sober! Act sober! Aww, geesus.
"We thought you were... Well, I'm just glad I found you! Are you ok?" the poor kid was worried sick.
"Yeah, yeah, a-course. Why wouldn't I be?"
Just then the idiot came bounding up, then stopped to pant for a minute. Jackass...
"You weren't on the island, so we looked in all the nearby bars. When we didn't find you there we came here."
"Why would you be looking for me?"
"We assumed you were drunk." Tails said, pretty bluntly too.
"Lemme alone, man... I'm fine."
"Bullshit." Sonic stated. Also rather bluntly.
"Come on, Knux. Let's get out of the rain. The ... 'Tsunami' is right over here..."
I decided to humor the little fucker. In starting to walk, I realized I had a limp. Damn leg... If it's broken I'm gonna be super-pissed...
They sat me down in the thing and Tails looked my leg over. Sonic popped up like he remembered something and pulled a beaten-up letter from behind a seat.
"I got a letter today, man."
I perked up. Tarsa?
"Yeah, but it's addressed to a mister Munster..."
"Munster? What?"
"...a mister Herman Munster..."
If I weren't so hammered I woulda' reached over and clapped that bastard upside the head a few times, but to tell the truth, I didn't even care.
"It's from Tarsa though, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm getting to that." He held it away, tearing it open and unfolding the letter.
"She has the worst penmanship..." he squinted at the thing, then gave an "ah!"
"Here... it says: 'Dear John...'"
"WHAT?"
(((just in case you didn't know, a "Dear John" letter is the age old girlfriend's "I'm breaking up with you, it's not you it's me" speech. Tra la laaaa! I quite enjoyed making this chapter I did! It's wubulus and funderful! Ok, review and I shall be happy as trees!))
Sn: trees...happy trees...