Chapter 6: Set the Stage. Set It Off.
Sonic
Aside from a lone streetlamp, the eroded road faded into the surrounding shrubs and sand in the darkness. As I slowly approached the lamp, my shoes clapped rather loudly against the asphalt and the light flickered eerily. I was alone, save for the wind nipping at my ears. A greatly disturbing trace floated on the air, flitting in and out of perception as I stepped into the halo defined by the lamp. The second my foot entered the light, it dimmed considerably and continued to flicker. Yet, I plodded directly into the center of the ring and stopped, facing my body to the ocean despite the land breeze. After a few moments, a chilling gale ripped by, sending shivers careening down my spine and prickling my quills. Just after, the light bulb within the lamppost burst. Darkness immediately pounced on me, the sound of the bulb shattering making me jump. The blackness made me even uneasier, and I knelt down in a racer's stance and pawed the ground anxiously. Suddenly, a loud crack sounded and I jerked upright, ears erect in search of the source. An ear-rending scream followed, one that I had only heard once before though not nearly as loud. It took me a split second to realize whom the voice belonged to before another crack silenced it.
The other time I had heard it; the scream was grief-ridden and anguished… This time, it was absolutely panic-stricken, and the fear that laced the wave stung and reverberated in my eardrums.
"SWIFT!!!" I answered the distress call and sprinted down the road in the direction of her cry. As I neared the site, I pumped my legs faster and faster, looking behind me in anticipation of flames since I was running so hard. Such was not the case… I slammed my heels into the ground to stop myself, spinning my arms in reverse circles to keep my balance. A cursory look around revealed two things: Swift was no longer here; and someone was hurt. A spot of blood was the only telltale sign of a struggle in the sand. The crimson liquid stained the ground quartz burgundy. No trail led from the smudge, so I inferred that it must have been Swift.
This time her healing wasn't a lucky charm.
However, the spot smeared to the northwest a bit, so I surmised that she had been dragged off in that direction, but if I was wrong, I'd search the whole damn island. Abruptly, the wind shifted and my nose was filled with the scent of vanilla and peppermint, soothing the tempest in my mind.
"Swift…" I muttered, turning my nose to the source and finding the direction of the smudge correlating with the wind. "I will find you; I promise." I took off into the wind.
Many other, male, scents soon clouded Swift's scent, but all grew stronger until I slowed in front of a dilapidated and decrepit old warehouse. The ashen wood, I noted as I crept forward, was rotting in many places due to the added moisture in the air from the sea and the broken windows revealed the inside to be pitch black.
The boards underfoot creaked no matter how lightly I stepped. Despite that, I padded softly into the warehouse, finding it empty. I came to a stop in a patch of moonlight that had leaked through a window, allowing my eyes to wander. When it looked like I had come up empty handed, I looked down at my feet to find myself standing in a puddle of blood. I lifted up one shoe and then jerked my head forward to discover a huge amount of blood trailing across the floor, out of a door that had been broken off of its hinges, and onto the sand pathway that headed to the beach.
No one could survive losing that much blood! I anguished within, but my feet festered to get to her. All of my focus centered on that one thing as I removed myself from the world and concentrated solely on following my feet. As I navigated the dense brush that had overgrown parts of the path, my movements grew more and more deliberate and forceful as my mind meandered over the thought of what had caused Swift to lose that much blood. Suddenly, the beach was upon me and the shrubs cleared, opening to empty sand and a calm ocean, full moon reflected on the surface.
"Swift!" I whispered hoarsely, taking a few timid steps forward, feeling slightly overcome with fear of what I might discover. "Are you out there?" I received no answer but a stroke of heat lightning over the ocean. Approaching the water's edge, I peered into the waves at my distorted reflection to find two lumps on the ground to my left behind me. Mentally shaking myself for convincing myself I wouldn't find her so much that I had refused to be more than brief, I nervously ambled over to them. Finding the first one to be black, I pushed it over gently to find Shadow knocked unconscious, beaten, but not bloodied. Then, I looked to the second one. I didn't have to flip her over, Swift was face up on the ground. As I neared, I noticed the large blood streak beneath her, but couldn't find any marks on her upper body. Just as I glanced down to her legs, something hit me over the head with a resounding crack, and I fell forward as red and yellow stars erupted against a swirling black frame…
Screaming bloody-murder, I turned over and spun out of bed, landing sprawled on the floor with a thump. Breathing heavily, I turned my head to the door, to find it wide open. A few seconds later, Shadow strode past the door with a large stack of folded clothes in his arms. A second later, he backpedaled into the doorway, clothes still in his possession.
"Did ya hit your head?" He cocked his head at me curiously; smirk playing at his lips.
"Maybe." I placed my fingers on the back of my head and gently prodded, wincing as I found a tender spot.
"You screamed like a girl." Shadow chuckled, causing the tips of my ears and my cheeks to burn.
"Says the male hedgehog doing his laundry." I grinned deviously, jerking my head at the very top item on his stack, a pair of lime green panties. Shadow's cheeks turned bright red.
"Imprudent pig." Shadow sputtered furiously. "You should know that I'm being civil and kind to my sister, despite the fact that she nearly killed me with all of her chiding, by doing the chores she would usually take care of, thank you very much." He snorted, tossing his head to get a stray onyx quill out of his face.
"Does that include your laundry?" I laughed.
"For your information, Sonic, I am currently putting away Swift's clothing. Do you agree to this, or should I disregard Swift's orders to tell you where she is expecting you to meet her this afternoon?" Shadow said smugly. I instantly clamped my mouth shut with an audible snap. "Your answer?"
"I agree." I muttered, eager to learn the new information, but regretting not pursuing Shadow further.
He's just one of those people who is fun to make angry… just back out of the way when it happens…
"She's out on the beach waiting for you." Shadow smiled lightly as he spoke. "You should be able to see her when you walk out on the deck. Oh, and be sure to grab some food off the counter. Can't have breakfast going to waste." He added in an omniscient tone.
"What time is it?" I groaned as I pushed myself off the hardwood floor.
"Eleven o'clock. Someone was a sleepy head." Shadow shook his head.
"Thanks." I said, stepping carefully around him and out the door, nabbing my Soap Shoes along the way.
"No problem." He smirked back and fell back into his duties again.
I navigated my way through the long hallway to the flight of stairs that led to the kitchen. I bounded up them and crossed the open living room and dining room to reach the counter of the kitchen to be greeted by the mouth-watering smell of bacon. I gently lifted a paper napkin over a plate to discover that my nose did not lie. Beneath lay two pieces of juicy-looking bacon. I snatched both up and stuffed them in my mouth, then strode back downstairs to the master bedroom, chewing as I walked.
No one occupied the massive master suite, it seemed as I walked in. And so without any discretion, I plopped myself onto the pastel and puffy quilt to slide on my shoes. Within seconds, I stood back up and hurried out of the sliding door and onto the deck.
A wave of salty air rolled over me the instant I stepped outside and I greedily inhaled as much as I could before having to let the air go. As I edged out of the shade of the upper deck, the sun welcomed me to a new day, burning away the crimson stains against my retinas, and warming my fur. I shaded my eyes with one hand and looked out over the beach, searching. Just when I thought I would have to look another way, a flicker of navy blue caught my eye directly in front of the house. The sight set my heart aflame, and a smile grew on my face. I instantly started down the stairs, careful enough not to lose my balance. Then, I strode across the tapered boardwalk to the sand, this time not paying any attention to the foliage that bordered the walkway. With a few last deliberate steps, I padded onto the sand, leaving the shelter of the hedges to be fully enveloped in light. I squinted a bit as I trudged towards the blue blob, counting my paces. When I reached about thirty, I could see details: her black tank top, her gray shorts, the green towel with red and yellow shells decorating it beneath her, the black book with silver writing on the spine held open in her hands, the poetry darting across the peach pages, the way the sun glinted off of her bracelets. I stopped a foot or so behind her, her scent hitting me full force thanks to the sea breeze that swept forward. I realized she had taken my advice, disobeyed Shadow, and ceased using the deodorant, at least for the moment. Vanilla and peppermint slammed into my nose, drowning me in a feeling like being home at last, as if I'd finally discovered where I belonged. Swift tensed noticeably the moment I was within several yards, but now she simply waited, knowing I was near, but not responding just yet. I shook myself out of the musing vibe and refocused, reaching out and lightly brushing her shoulder. Swift tilted her head up to look at me, giving me a rather demure grin. I smiled back and flopped into the sand beside her, watching as she closed her book and placed it in the sand.
"Good morning." I whispered, leaning my head forward.
"Morning." She replied bashfully, her cheeks flushing light pink.
"What's on your mind?" I moved back to give her a little room, to which she instantly looked grateful for.
"You know that thing? With Sally arranging-?"
"Yeah. What of it?" I quizzed, wondering where she was going with it. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked after pondering the thread for a moment.
"We should fix this." We said together. Locking her chocolate orbs in my gaze, we remained silent for a moment or so after that statement. Then, I burst out laughing at the serious look that had formed on her face.
"What?" A light smile played at the edges of her lips at my laughter.
"Let's go." I stood and started to walk away.
"Wait, Sonic!" Swift shouted after me, wrapping her belongings in the towel and slinging it over her shoulder, rushing to my side.
"When?" She breathed, not necessarily breathless, but startled.
Just enough time for me to go back and get my things from the other side of the island. How about-?
"Five minutes." I said eagerly, antsy to hit the road. Swift groaned softly, but darted in front of me and flew into the house.
Shadow
Swift careened into my room a split second after the door from the deck slammed into the wall behind it.
"Hey! Be careful, Swift! We don't own this house." I shouted, grimacing at how bad the damage sounded.
"Sorry." She winced. "We're leaving."
"Now?" I leapt to my feet and started for the door.
"Well, four minutes and forty-five seconds." Swift's forehead crinkled for a second while she calculated, and then returned to normal.
"Didn't take him too long to get antsy, huh?" I asked as she fell into step with me. Swift shook her head and took off again, heading for her room. Within a moment, she threw a single drawstring bag packed with only the most necessary of her items into my hands as I walked into the entrance of the hallway, perfect synchronization due to our deep mental connection.
When did he decide this? I projected.
"One and a half minutes ago!" Swift yelled from the depths of her room. A second later, she tossed a duffel bag at me, which I caught neatly. I kept a hold on it and tossed it over my shoulder with the drawstring bag. Swift reappeared seconds later and dashed past me, while I walked slowly to the front door. I used my three and a quarter minutes to trudge to the entrance of the home. Sonic nearly collided with me as I placed the bags by the front door, earning himself a sharp glare. Sonic tore back down the hallway, throwing his bags behind him. I narrowly caught them, all the while avoiding smashing the rather expensive-looking vase that perched atop a black wooden table. Swift's mind lightly brushed against mine in brief warning and I imagined a smirk on her face. Snarling as I pushed Sonic's bags roughly against Swift's, I stood just in time to catch Swift as she threw herself into me, her arms encircling my neck as I grabbed her waist to slow her. When I found her sufficiently safe, I adjusted my hold on her and hugged her tight. She released me a few seconds later and I followed suit.
"Please be safe." I muttered, gazing into her caramel irises.
"Same." She replied shortly with a meek smile. "Don't get into too much trouble without me." Swift chuckled.
"Shouldn't I be more worried about that with you?" I tilted my head to one side with a reprimanding air.
"No, Felon." She smirked, referring to my many misdemeanors on the planets before this.
"Okay, okay. You got me." I put my hands up innocently.
"Bye, Shadow." Swift gave me a quick hug as Sonic burst into the hallway. "Love you."
"Goodbye, Swift. Love you too." I weakly smiled at her before turning to Sonic. "Sonic." I said sharply, but with a soft core, clapping one hand on his shoulder, effectively saying all that needed to be. Sonic's emerald eyes sparkled in understanding and he nodded almost imperceptibly. Sonic hoisted his two bags, both larger than Swift's by comparison, and threw one arm over Swift's shoulder as she lifted her two bags with furtive grace. They exited and disappeared down the stairs. Moments later, our 2001 black Tahoe pulled out of the garage with Sonic at the wheel. He braked for a second and to wave at me with Swift, and then pulled onto the road.
I'm glad you two were sensible enough not to try and hoof it to California with luggage. Running's great in battle, but not in long distance traveling for an extended period. I'm sure that, if you two wanted, you could sprint the world within the day. I pressed against Swift's mind as our connection thinned.
Yeah, you probably could too. It's also better to be incognito right now. We're pretty good magnets for attention. Swift replied, her thoughts beginning to become more faded.
That's for sure. Are you going to be able to get tickets?
As if anyone wouldn't pull a few strings for one of the Ultimate Lifeforms and Sonic the Hedgehog.
True dat. Happy flying.
Be careful and I'll see you in a few weeks.
In order to cease prolonging the inevitable, I snipped the connection then. However, her presence remained like a part of my being, a lifeline to me so I would know if she was in danger or wounded, a sort of double-edged mechanism for the pessimist, which we both were. We never thought of what would happen if either of us died, but we knew the other did privately. The consequences would be unimaginable.
Call you when we land! Swift repaired the connection for a split second to make her promise, then clipped it again. I shook my head and grinned, stepping back into the house. As I closed the door and turned to face the hallway, I felt a bit empty, reminiscent of the days I spent on ARK without Swift and in isolation, though the feelings were not completely clear. So, I decided to take a trip to the kitchen. Once I arrived, I tore into the freezer and devoured what was left of the chocolate ice cream, then took a seat in the living room to watch whatever happened to come on screen as I randomly mashed buttons, coming up with Transformers. After a few minutes, I became rather restless. Without hesitation, I shoved the rest of the ice cream into my mouth and trudged up the stairs to a makeshift computer room. The laptop we possessed sat waiting on a large wooden desk in standby mode. I roughly pulled the chair out and sat down, brushing the touch-pad lightly. The screen awoke at my touch, casting a white glow behind me with the intensity of the light from it. Slipping on a headset not unlike the one to the Xbox, I logged onto a communications program and toyed with the settings while loading the actual course. When it finished loading, I clicked on the headset and watched a window with a miniature picture of Silver the Hedgehog, connection status bar, and sound detector on it pop up.
"Shadow the Hedgehog." Silver's nasally voice caused a disturbance in the green line onscreen, making it go up and down like a wave. "Long time no speak." He stated in a rasping voice, like he was running somewhere.
"Yeah, Silver." I replied shortly. "You being chased or something?"
"Something like that." Silver panted into his headset. Footfalls thundered in the background, punctuated by shouts and screams.
"Bad timing?" I questioned, wincing a touch.
"Much." He gasped and there was a rustling sound followed by a muffled scream. I waited in sickly silence while screams continued to rip through my ears.
"You alright?"
"For the moment." Came the weak reply. A jet roared over Silver, muting everything.
"What happened?" I shouted over the howl.
"Just a little shrapnel in my leg. That's all." Silver snuffled. I grimaced at the thought.
"I need you here, on New Earth." I broke up the pleasantries. A siren picked up a lonely wail near him.
"For what?" He shrieked hysterically, desperation on high.
"Well, I'd prefer it if you didn't die. That might help our cause a teensy bit." I rolled my eyes, though I knew he couldn't see.
"Who's going to lead while I'm gone?" He shouted back incredulously.
"You still haven't gotten her, have you?" I asked quietly, listening to Silver's strained breathing as he chewed on that one.
"No." Silver replied sullenly.
"What do you know?"
"They managed to find her body and they have it sealed away. Apparently, Phoenix is trying to reawaken Solaris…" I imagined Silver cringing. A flame burned behind my eyes at the mention of Solaris, the thing that had inflicted so much unnecessary pain on us all…
"You still there?" Silver questioned my silence.
I almost wish I wasn't.
"Yeah." I remembered all too well this time around. On certain occasions, it was better not to know, it seemed. Shaking my head to rid myself of the flood of images that ensued, I closed my eyes to wait for Silver's response.
"I'll come." He said quietly.
"When?" I sighed in relief.
"As soon as I can manage. After all, I'm in the middle of a war here." Silver chuckled his reply.
"Good. We'll be waiting for you here." I clicked on the 'x' above the window, silencing Silver.
Sonic
As the airplane lurched straight into the sky, I nervously shifted in my seat, pulling the strap of the seatbelt tighter and tighter. I cast a quick glance to my right to find Swift fidgeting and expressing uncharacteristic nervousness. Her ears were laid back in anxiety, but I felt sure she could hear my heartbeat drumming in my chest, my life beating away from her perspective.
Diverting myself from that eerily intriguing prospect, I clawed at the armrest on my left as the plane tore through turbulence. Menacing clouds flanked the plane on either side as it pierced the thick blanket that cloaked the airport. Just when I thought I would leap up and force the pilot to take us back down, I felt someone's hand close over top of my right one. I turned my head quickly to find Swift smiling at me. I instantly calmed down, upturning my palm and squeezing her hand. Though this action caused a bunch of cameras to flash, I kept my hold on her hand.
After all, if she's not worried, what do I have to be scared of?
I grinned back, creating a new wave of flashes as the plane leveled out to cruising altitude.