I watched as the orange echidna walked towards us. Looking into his orange eyes, I felt a pang of familiarity. Then, for the briefest second, his eyes changed to green, the same green that....
"No way," I breathed, getting Lilith's attention. She followed my gaze, also seeing the brief eye colour change.
"Is that.....Iblis?" she asked, sounding just as surprised as me. Unable to speak, I simply nodded as Iblis moved closer. He was close enough that I could feel his flames, filling that space that had once been empty.
When he stopped in front of me, everyone noticed him. I looked up into his eyes, only now seeing that, even as an echidna, he still towered over me. After a brief moment of staring into each other's eyes, we gave each other a large, brotherly hug.
"It's been too long brother," Iblis whispered. I could feel his oh so familiar flames coursing through my body, giving me strength. When he finally released me, we both heard five bears at another table, who appeared to be watching us, trying to hold in laughter. From what I could hear from their whispering, I began to clench my fists.
"Something funny over there?!" Iblis boomed, flames slowly circling his feet. The bears must not have noticed, seeing as they were still laughing, but Iblis was turning into a lava titan, the largest and strongest creature that he could spawn in the ruined future. Grinning, I too changed into my crystalline form.
"Care to tell me the joke. My brother and I would love to hear it," I taunted, quickly glancing behind me. Sam, Magenta, Viola and Jason where trying to hold in laughter, Scarlett and Miranda smirked, Skyfire stood with folded arms while Cynder backed away. Lilith was standing beside me, a threatening look on her face.
"Your.....uh oh," the bears mumbled, now looking at us. Iblis and I chuckled at their frightened faces as they scattered, cursing under their breath as they sprinted out of the food court.
"Well, that was fun," Iblis said, chuckling. His laughter was contagious, as me and Lilith laughed with him. When we returned to normal forms, I slapped my brother a high five.
"Haven't lost our touch," I laughed.
"So, what do you guys want to do now?" Lilith asked.
The park we were hanging out in was beautiful. We stayed near one of the swing sets overlooking the lake, Magenta, Viola and Cynder having fun on the swings, Sam and Jason pushing the two triplets, while I sat on the grass next to Lilith, Iblis lying next to Scarlett and Skyfire lying next to Miranda, both of them deep in conversation. The sun was setting over the lake, turning the water mesmerising shades of purple, red and orange.
"That was definitely a fun day," Lilith sighed, giving a yawn and accidently resting her hand on mine. "Oh...sorry....I was just..." she stuttered, blushing slightly.
"Relax. I don't mind," I chuckled, my eyes half closed and a smile on my face. I quickly glanced at Iblis, seeing him absently playing with Scarlett's ponytails. I was half expecting the rocker girl to make him stop, but instead, she seemed not to notice. Correction, she must be enjoying it, judging by the small smile on her face.
"It's just...you know...awkward moment," Lilith stuttered, her cheeks turning a brighter pink.
"It doesn't need to be," I whispered, clearly taking her by surprise. I looked to the two triplets on the swings, listening to Magenta shouting in childlike joy while Sam pushed her, laughter showing he was enjoying it. Jason was pushing Viola gently, the two of them with quiet smiles on their faces. Cynder had jumped off her swing, going over to Skyfire and Miranda.
"I think Scarlett has a little crush," Lilith whispered, her eyes telling me to look. I sighed, content, when I saw Scarlett sitting there, Iblis gently rubbing the small of her back.
"I'm guessing she isn't the only one," I whispered. She looked me in the eye, the setting sun shining in those beautiful pools of light grey. She didn't look surprised or embarrassed in the slightest.
"How did you guess?" she whispered, her cheeks a light shade of pink.
"When you said you trusted me, despite knowing who I was and what I'd done," I whispered back.
"Everyone deserves a second chance if they're given one," she said, letting out a small yawn.
"Hey guys, who's up for a campfire?" Sam shouted, jolting the two of us from our little moment. Said brown fox was carrying some wood, Jason behind him setting it up. Everyone else was gathering around, watching Skyfire snap his fingers, igniting a small flame in his hand.
"There's not really much to tell. Nothing exciting, just a normal life until we decided to move here to Station Square. Not as big as Westopolis and closer to the ocean and Mystic Ruins," Skyfire said, giving us a short version of his and Cynder's life story.
"Guess I'm the only one here with the tragic past," Miranda sighed, curling her knees to her chest. "My mom was a vampire, and my dad was a regular echidna. When I was born, my mom lost her immortality, and I was born a half vampire, having the speed, strength, pale skin and fangs. My dad had blue eyes and my mom had red ones, so I guess that's why I have violet eyes," she said, presumably not too keen on telling her tale.
"I lived a normal life until my fifth birthday. It was just the three of us at home, when some thieves broke in. I was in another room, so when I heard shouting in the living room, I walked in. Someone pointed a gun at me, and just as it fired, my mom protected me while my dad fought them off. She died in my arms....and my dad blames me for it. He said that if I had never been born, my mom would still be alive. I just stayed in my room, only leaving to go to school and go out. Sometimes he'd come in and beat me, usually when he was in a very foul mood," Miranda sobbed.
"It used to be so bad. At school I'd be made fun of and I used to cut my wrists, at least until I met Viola. From there, my life actually grew bearable," she cried, curling up into Skyfire's chest, letting the hedgehog comfort her.
"I never thought anyone's father could be capable of something like that. She shouldn't have to stay with him," I whispered to Lilith.
"I know. But none of us would be capable of dealing with her father...." Lilith said, just as Miranda's name was yelled.
"My dad...." Miranda whimpered, only making Skyfire hold her tighter.
"He'll have some of his drinking friends with him," Lilith gasped, this only strengthening my resolve.
"It won't matter. He won't stand a chance," I growled, looking to Iblis, then to Skyfire. As much as we'd started out on the wrong foot, I was starting to respect that hedgehog and his power.
"Come here you little....." yelled the grey echidna as he came towards us, only to be interrupted by Skyfire standing up between him and Miranda.
"Back off," Skyfire growled, wings unfurled and opened threateningly. I could now see five more Mobians approaching.
"She's my daughter. I'll treat her as I see fit," Miranda's dad spat, now backed up.
"Then you're unfit to be a father," Skyfire snarled, diving headlong into the echidna with a battle growl. When one of the other Mobians, a bear, surged forward, Iblis attacked, sending him and the bear crashing to the ground.
With speed equal to Sonic and Shadow, I landed a punch to a fox's jaw, barely dodging a kick. I could hear Scarlett coming to help me, catching the fox in the face with her ponytails. In the fire's light, I could see the red marks where they'd hit.
Jason and Viola worked like a good team, Viola using her butterfly wings to help Jason get the drop on a panther. Sam moved like a ghost, appearing behind a hedgehog while Magenta somersaulted, landing a downward kick to the hedgehog's head. Cynder was fighting another cat, firing waves of dark pink energy.
"Scarlett, tell the others to get out of here. Leave this to me, Iblis and Skyfire," I ordered, barely dodging a kick. Without arguing, Scarlett shouted, sprinting off with the others. "Brother, don't hold back!" I shouted, feeling the black mist move up my body. Now in my demon form, I launched my fist forward, punching the fox in the nose while kicking the hedgehog in the gut.
"Finally," Iblis mumbled, instantly in his titan form. With a mighty roar, he bulldozed right into the remaining three assailants. We watched as Skyfire fought it out with the grey echidna, green energy in his hand. Leaping back, he fired a deafening sound blast, stunning the echidna. Without hesitation, Skyfire launched consecutive sonic blasts, resounding through the area like thunder.
"If you hurt her, I won't hesitate to let lose," Skyfire growled, his eyes turning dark purple for just a brief moment as he walked off, leaving the echidna embedded in the tree trunk. Transforming back, Iblis and I followed.
When we caught up with the others at the park gate, they didn't bombard us with questions. Instead we walked off in silence, Iblis putting his arm around Scarlett while Skyfire comforted Miranda. He said something that made Miranda hug him tighter, whispering something that sounded like a "thank you".
"You were really brave," Lilith whispered, walking beside me. I put my arm around her shoulder, hugging her close.
"It was nothing. They had it coming for the way they treat people," I whispered back, looking into those beautiful grey eyes, seeing them well up with tears. "Don't cry. It all turned out okay, and things will be better now," I whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes.