(( Yeah, I know my last chapter was really short. Nobody's reading anyway, so it really doesn't matter. I guess I'm writing for myself now.))
I do not own anything sonic-related.
Chapter 18- Back to You
Li'l Nikki climbed out from under the rain cover that had hid her in the back of the black pickup truck for the last two hours, heaving her backpack after her. Luckily, the owners hadn't seen her as they strolled into the casual country diner.
She lugged the bulky, pale-pink pack onto the aqua counter, sighing heavily with fatigue.
A doe waitress saw her, smiling cheerily as she came over, leaning on the other side with a notepad and pen.
"You look tired, sweetie. Want a soda? We have floats and malts too, if you'd like…" the doe asked.
"Coffee." the child stated. "And some cream if you have it." She rubbed at an eye with the heel of her hand.
The waitress' eyebrows rose at this, she clicked her pen. "Right away, ma'am." she replied with mild sarcasm. She was used to "big kids." Always in a hurry to grow up.
Nikki just needed to stay awake for a few more hours. Just till she got some money and found the bus.
"…promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep…" she recited the old saying she heard her father- and often her uncle- say at moments like these.
I have to get home…get home and wait for mom… I did a bad thing… she'll know what to do…
She thanked the deer as she was served her steaming brew and cream. She stirred and sipped hastily, and didn't look up as the door jingled open… and a bat stood in the doorway.
-0-
The foghorn sounded, causing Aka to jolt upright, gasping and damp. She threw aside the dusky blanket, standing. She staggered, feeling a sudden, intense dizziness. Saliva pooled in her mouth. She swerved, found the small toilet and rushed to it. The lemur came through the door as she coughed helplessly into the bowl.
"That's a nasty bump on your head, there, Yoko. We'll have you to a hospital in another week or two, promise."
She snarled over her shoulder at him, long hair sticking to her face and neck. "My name is not Yoko!"
The lemur looked at his boots, hands in pockets, then at her again, eyebrows raised in the kind of disinterested way he might have addressed one of his shipmates. "It'd be easier if you just told me your name, ma'am."
She turned back to the dingy little metal toilet, feeling her empty stomach contract again, forcing bitter liquid into her throat.
He patted the doorpost, letting her know he was leaving, and then returned to his duties.
-
She zipped her suit, looking to the tattered shirt they had dressed her in with distaste. She may have not been worthy of life, but no warrior could die gracefully in something that reeked of sailors.
She made her way up to the deck, swaying with the movement of the vessel. There was a storm tossing them about, and she shielded her eyes against the spray as she stepped out into the driving rain.
She then promptly strode to the edge…
and dove off of it.
-0-
The tired trio got out of the SUV, stepping into the little country diner, looking forward to a warm meal.
Espio looked around, nodded. "Inconspicuous enough. We should be alright here."
Kai looked to Poe as she removed her coat to lay it over the back of the booth seat. "No sign of… out friend?"
She shook her head. Apparently she had been the only one of the original trinity to have caught a glimpse of this mysterious "head assassin."
Kai leaned in close to the raven across the table, whispering urgently. "You know at least a little of what to expect, then…"
She nodded slightly.
"Go on, then…"
Poe glanced uneasily toward the counter as a child staggered in, throwing her book bag onto it and sighing. She leaned in closer, resting her forearms on the wooden surface.
"She's a woman, about Aka's height and build. She had pointed ears, like a fox or a cat. Her fur was almost pink, but more like red… or lavender. Somewhere between those. I remember her accent the most, though…"
"Coffee. And cream, if you have it." The child demanded. Espio gave her a curious glance from his place beside Kai, then returned his attention to Poe's recollection of their pursuer.
"Sounded French, to me. French and something else. I don't know accents very well, but that's what it was like. I'd recognize it anywhere."
"And her face?" Espio inquired. Poe shook her head.
"I was eavesdropping on the Boss. I only saw her from the back through a crack in the door. I wish I could tell you more."
"Trying to steal from the master thief? You should know better," a silky, familiar voice purred. "I'm the best tracker you'll ever meet, you little bitch. You can't run from me. You can't hide. There's nowhere I wouldn't have found you."
The child looked up slowly from her cup, regarding the woman with large fear-filled eyes.
Espio stood. "We should move to another table."
The other two agreed.
-0-
Shadow took the folded paper with the card key in it from the receptionist, slinging his bag back to his shoulder and heading for the elevator. He was deeply buried in what appeared to be thought- from the onlooker.
He was actually operating on auto-pilot. His mind was buried in the numbness of aftershock.
He looked at his hands, after the elevator started moving. His gloves were missing. He acknowledged, somewhere in his mind, that he had thrown them away. Why..?
Red red red. Lots of red. Lots and lots of red.
He tilted his head, smiling dreamily as the memories returned to him behind deadened eyes…
The screams sounded so musical to him… it was like playing an instrument. Break a bone, and you got another note. He had laughed. It was amusing. It was funny as hell.
And the knife… the shiny, shiny knife…
The knife brought the red. He liked red.
He had tasted it from the shiny knife, and it had tasted good.
He giggled drunkenly to himself, still looking at his hands. His happy little moment was broken when the elevator stopped with a short tone. It wasn't his floor…
A woman stepped in with him, giving him a cursory polite smile as she pressed the lobby button.
"I was going up."
"Oh, sorry. I guess I didn't see the-"
Her eyes widened as a hand was clamped to her mouth.
The doors opened to the fifth floor, and Shadow hoisted the strap of his bag to his shoulder, licking his fingers as he strode down the hall. The doors slid shut and hid the red.
His eyes took on that dreamy, dead look again as he removed the key from its slip.
He stopped suddenly, eyes going wide. He looked to the door at his right. Something… something itched at him from behind it. It itched at the backs of his eyes… it itched inside his ears…
The door swung violently open, the post where the lock had been shattering from the force of his shoulder.
The woman looked up, and he saw red.
Silky black swan wings arched angelically over the body she held lovingly in her arms. She had been stroking the blonde hair as she slumbered, her head against the apparition's shoulder. She was smiling back into like red eyes knowingly.
"You've been a busy boy, haven't you?" her sharp fangs appeared in a demonic grin. "You've been a very busy boy since last we met."
He nodded.
"I'm glad you came…. I've been so worried about you… and I'm glad to see you're back to your old ways… but this time, it's not only humans, is it?"
He shook his head, face still expressionless. He liked the red in her eyes.
"No… they all need to pay, don't they, Shadow?"
He nodded again, a smile tugging at his mouth.
"Especially her…" she looked down and stroked the pale hair again… and when Shadow first looked… he saw someone else in the demoness' arms…
"Muh…"
"She's only sleeping now…" she tilted her head in a motherly sort of way, grazing her cheek lightly with the back of her midnight hand. "She made a silly mistake. Many silly mistakes."
No… no, it's not her… it's…the other one… He wanted to be angry. He wanted to be so outraged… but all he felt in its place was despair… and a sort of homesickness. He was very lost now.
Itshell laid Karpa down on the couch as she stood, folding her pale hands neatly on her stomach, patting them softly. "She has something of yours, Shadow."
"I know."
"You need to take it back."
"I… huh?" he frowned at her in confusion.
She held up the large knife on flat palms. "In her chest. It's rightfully yours, isn't it? You sought it out, didn't you? She got in your way. It's really yours."
He nodded, taking the knife. It was his… how true… he needed it.
-0-
Lumina's eyes widened, and she collapsed to he knees on the alabaster steps leading up to the temple. Emris was at her side, holding her arm worriedly.
"We must make haste…" she stated urgently, breathless.
"Yes, she's back…"
((Ok, I tried to get every tiny storyline in there, but I missed Nack. It's like 2AM and I could give a shit anymore. Nobody really cares, so fuckit.))