PoC: PenFullofChaos819 approves of the free distribution of fan works and material, and has no licensed rights to any Sega-patented character seen in or mentioned in his tale.
Metal: …It's quiet.
PoC: Yeah. It's been like that ever since Silver left to run some errands.
Metal: …Now I don't have anyone to insult or subject to physical torture…
PoC: …*Punches himself in the face using Metal's hand*
Metal: Nice try, but I only enjoy harming unwilling, profoundly stupid teenagers…
PoC: *Applies ice to newly-formed bruise* That reminds me. How come you willingly harm adults and teens, but, all things considered, treat little kids pretty well? Like how you used to treat Amy when you kidnapped her?
Metal: No…no reason… I uh…I only did that under Eggman's orders so…
PoC: Young 'uns just catch your fancy huh?
Metal: …You're disgusting.
PoC: No no no! That's not what I was-I ah…meant to say… Maybe you secretly like them is all.
Metal: Alright you perverse scumbag, I'm giving you 'til the count of ten to get your sick-minded self out of my sight, before I pump your guts full of photon pain! 1…2…10!
PoC: *Dodges lasers whilst dialing Silver's number* How did I survive before Silv came along?
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Unseen Injuries
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She had tried to calm down, to stop the tears from flowing freely. Didn't she know better than to cry at moment like this? Besides, what big girl cries about anything? She comprehended this but still couldn't stop. What a pitiful sight indeed. Good thing Sonic wasn't around to see her like this.
Regardless it made Maria very distressed to see Amy holding back choking sobs of total, but yet unexplained, grief. It couldn't have been anything she had told her, could it have been? If so, who knew Amy would be so worried about HER cousin's peril. Yes she had said how she worried about the possibility of something happening to Sonic too, but that had simply been a concerned 'what if'.
"Amy look I…" Maria cringed as another wave of bawling crashed into her ears "Sonic will be okay, and I'm sure Julian is fine too. He's been in sticky situations before, so um…please stop crying 'kay?" Her comforting words didn't do a thing, or maybe they just made things worse. How could Amy be so selfish? Here she was telling the pink hedgehog all about how she escaped on her Crab-Watcher after a person, or at least what she THOUGHT was a person, came by and claimed to have stolen the emeralds and kidnapped Julian, and all Amy could do was tear-up uncontrollably. It was nice to have some consideration, but this was too much.
"AMY! Stop that this instant!" Maria shouted 'fiercely', only sounding as mad as a worried mother "I'm glad that you care so much, but please, crying like that won't help either of us."
Amy meanwhile was so mad at herself. Now her wildly dramatic display had upset Maria, MARIA of all people! And, of all times, when she had been in the middle of talking about something bad that happened to her cousin.
Fighting her sobs as hard as she could, Amy spoke up about her behavior "Maria I…I-I don't know why b-but…*Sniff* I feel it. I feel it in my heart. Something horrible has happened again! It's just like when my vision about the storm came true, only t-this…this is a lot worse! I'm so scared for S-Sonic and Amethyst a-a-and T-Tails!" She had to stop there for a second. Heartache and sadness once again flooded her mind as she spilled out countless tears.
Maria didn't understand, but she was somewhat aware of how sensitive Amy was to her gift of foresight. Amy had told her about all the odd incidents that she'd gone through lately; from the sudden loss of Sonic's autograph to the creepy dreams she'd been having. Moved beyond any concern for herself, despite how much she feared for her dear Julian, Maria leaned over to hug the crying hedgehog girl.
Amy didn't make any move against the kind gesture, and eventually managed to return it at one point. She doubted that even Amethyst would be as loving or understanding as Maria at a time like this. Though in accepting this kindness Amy was able remember what the vixen had taught her about burdening others, and thus dried her eyes once the hug was through.
"I'm sorry for being such a baby…" Amy pinched her own lids shut to prevent any further tear-flow "Everything is just so scary lately. It's like the world's falling apart or something."
The blond girl had to concur with that. Never in the past had anyone had the nerve or the power to overthrow Robotnik so easily and with so little effort. This is why Maria had originally wanted to ask Amy to get help from Tails. Truthfully though, he might be in just as much danger as her family was. What could they do now that all their heroes were missing?
Out of nowhere, the human girl heard a sudden stomping noise, like someone had leapt up onto the Watcher. Frightened, she turned to witness Amy standing tall and firm while raising a finger to the open sky. What shocked her more was the tough face she had on, despite still having a few lingering teardrops on her cheeks.
"B-But Sonic wouldn't give up in a situation like this! He'd be a big kid and do something, even if he got separated from Tails, right?" Amy proclaimed confidently. She then turned back to give that same 'cool wink' that the speedy brothers were known for and added "You said your cousin got captured at your home? Well, like Rouge used to tell me: Bad guys always leave a trail for you to follow. Let's go back there and see if we can't track down the meanie that took him!"
Finding a suitable reaction was nearly impossible. Was this really the same girl that had been weeping aloud a moment ago? How could anyone shift around so fast? Not to mention the insanity she was proposing; that is, attempting to seek out a dangerous and probably way out of their league man of evil. Where did this girl get her spunk and foolhardy pluck from?
Though logic defied it, and fear discouraged it, Maria couldn't help being strangely empowered by her positive thinking. Keeping a cool head and common sense was good yes, but she knew that if they really wanted to do something, they would need all the courage, false or real, they could get. And anyway the second choice was to sit and pout while leaving everything up to their 'heroes', something that Maria knew she couldn't do any longer.
Gathering up her own burst of energy, Maria verbally joined Amy in her crazed plan "Then what are we waiting for? Crab-Watcher! Prepare for take-off!" the machine acknowledged this by setting controls up properly to switch to it's 'flight mode'.
Now jetting through a crisp wind, both of the young women kept their focus on the road ahead, not letting even reasonable doubts enter their heads.
"Shadow…" Maria did mentally pray "Please watch over us and our friends."
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*Near the Derelict Ruins*
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The dead trees nearby disintegrated in small gusts of increasingly freezing air. No passing spectator, were there any, would've paid any mind to the small group that had assembled around a tiny glowing candle of flames. Even if it had not been for the unforgiving cold, the faces of these mobians were each a dispiriting sight.
They had their reasons though. Unspeakable things had happened to all of them so fast and without warning.
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Flashback
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Darkness…a stench, a guise, a complete sensation of deepest darkness. It was as though death itself had breathed into the stagnant air, choking and suffocating everything positive within reach. Terrifying as this was, none could fathom the sort of dreaded torment that now clouded the heart of the entrapped vulpine. However, all were at least able to imagine the pain depicted on his now-masked face. For though the mysterious device had swallowed most of his yellow-orange features, his still-visible jaw was clenched hard as solid rock while the vessels on his neck and arms pulsated at a furious pace. The cruelty was beyond comprehension.
To salt this bitter wound, the shaded abomination spoke directly to the blue one of the paralyzed trio "Hear me Sonic. You serve a great purpose in my plan, but you needn't volunteer yourself to be useful." Here he rested a hand on the dead-silent Tails' shoulder "You want this one returned unharmed? Of course you do, so here is my sole offer: Bring to me what emeralds you possess and come find me." He paused to thrust at them a violet colored…something. It almost appeared to be a map with an undecipherable legend "No tricks will avail you this time, as your fluffy friend here is more than willing to obey my commands should you attempt to, ahem, 'rescue' him."
Hatred, a rare and deadly emotion, built up inside Sonic's pained chest. He didn't care how vile and twisted his thoughts were; if he ever got a grip on that hazy demon, he'd not stop attacking until that monster suffered a tremendously gruesome demise. Nothing else would do for what he's done to Tails.
"I bet you'd like to see what my new puppet can do…" he sinister creature was enjoying this; he was ENJOYING the terror and horror he was causing. Sonic didn't know whether to be thankful or spiteful when he heard the evil man continue "Not today though. He requires some 'conditioning' to face all three of you competently. Before then, I suggest you do as I've commanded, or this one will become a live demonstration of the term 'self-sacrifice'!" he then, in a whirl of his own distortion, took himself and the fox into the tainted-skies above.
"Until next time, my good friends…"
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Flashback End
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Having finished recalling these not so distant events, one of the lowly companions, a chameleon with the least depressing mug of the whole lot, rose from his crouching position, accidently shifting several pebbles into the dwindling fire. He looked to either side and saw two of his three allies sitting opposite from each other. One, a young feminine white bat, gazed deeply into the flames, as though she was scared to take in anything else. On the other side was the foreign hero hedgehog, his expression more blue than the quills on his spine.
The fuchsia lizard wisely chose to leave both alone, instead opting to seek out the third and newest 'ally' of their team. To his misfortune, the darkness that descended with the chill air allowed the recent arrival to practically dissolve into the background. Espio found it somewhat embarrassing that he, a master of disguise and stealth, was struggling at his own game. Thankfully this befuddling didn't linger long, as he was in his element, and he did soon locate the dark one. Having come much nearer, Espio could see the stark red stripes of fur that lined the edges of the spiny beast. He didn't know much about Shadow the hedgehog, particularly due to his supposed 'death' and his previous solitary habits, but figured he wouldn't be much livelier after his sudden reappearance.
"It's rude of you to stare and say nothing." Shadow's 'dull grey' words carried well above the wind's howl. The chameleon turned defensive, having felt threatened by the former tyrant's tone, but backed down a tad once he heard a forced chuckle escape Shadow's mouth.
"I guess that's rich coming from the hedgehog who recently tried to kill your friend. I understand…I'd be suspicious too." Espio had to hand to the guy; he sure didn't hesitate to say things like they were. His bluntness didn't hide the colossal contrast to his 'Maasawd' persona. Masked, he was simply cruel and concise, as 'Shadow' he sounded more considerate and honest. His prior bouts of confusion and despair were too replaced by words full of wisdom and understanding.
Espio drank these details in while offering no noticeable reaction to his findings. It was part of his criminal past to stay 'poker-faced', especially in the presence of a shrewd and mighty mobian like this. Realizing his social skills, or lack thereof, weren't smoothing the tense greeting over, Espio did his best to converse normally "I don't know if I can trust you yet. I can conclude that you aren't just out to kill us anymore." What an award-winning epic failure that was. Rife with suspicion and oozing with mistrust, nothing short of hostile could describe his biting reply.
Shadow took note of this and let out a deep breath "Your disdain is just and your concerns rational. By the way, I am sorry for what happened to Tails…." Before he could complete his thought, Shadow felt the stiff hold of Espio's scaly fingers wrapped around his throat. The dark mobian could also feel the flat edge of short silvery dagger-like weapon rubbing unnervingly close to his skin.
"You have no right to speak that name!" his angered voice rattled with a serpentine hiss. Espio thought he was the calm, sensible one, the big brains and sober voice of reason the team could turn to in times of trouble. But hearing Tails' name, his casual name no less, was sickeningly dishonorable coming the former 'Maasawd'. Deep in the wrong side of his cold heart, the purple mobian wished he could exchange this scum for his vulpine…friend, though he even now hesitated to call Miles that. On his noble side, he knew that none of this was Shadow's fault, and that Tails had willingly chosen to risk himself. Nobody was to blame except for the monster that had taken him.
Ashamed nonetheless of his poor discipline, Espio released Shadow and swiftly holstered his kunai. He was surprised that Shadow hadn't decided to pummel him for acting so out of terms.
Not even bothering to peer back at him, Espio said plainly "We need to regroup with Vector and inform him of the situation. We change nothing by staying here." He then walked a pace or two forward, but halted briefly to include "If you really want to apologize to someone, try talking to him. Try explaining to Sonic why his brother is gone."
Shadow said nothing in reply, as he watched Espio vanish into the night.
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*With Tactichaos' team*
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Ludicrous and borderline blasphemy it was to think that one of his ideas actually worked for a change! Better yet, they were making great time thanks to his nigh suicidal promise that his house/ship could float. No bragging or unneeded ego-stroking was required to keep Vector happy now. He was too busy relishing in one of his first acts of deliberate ingenuity. To add icing to the cake, the ship was remarkably easy to maneuver in this formation, which greatly smoothed the ride over. Beautiful as it was, the haste of their journey ensured a sooner than expected arrival to their destination, thus cutting the crocodile's blissful mood down to more sober levels again.
"Next stop, ol' Rob's home base!" Vector announced. Then with a spin of the wheel, he proudly ended his spotlight with a bang; quite literally as the ship smashed into dry land's edge right after he had spoken.
During this shake up, not a one of his crew had so far offered much in the way of complaints or comments, owed likely to one being still asleep and the other lost in thought. This reminded Vector of the lack of rude Espio-insults or currently missing obnoxious Charmy-gibberish. What was the point in being impolite and boorish if there's no around to irritate?
Just then the cabin door swung open followed by a voice "Now Vector I mean this in the nicest way possible, but do you think you could try being a little less…vocal with your updates?" Amethyst's groaning sufficed to bring the big reptile the less-than-amused audience he'd asked for. Getting on her nerves wasn't as much fun as the other two, thanks in part to how kind she had been to him over this trip's course.
"Maybe a little snip-snip treatment would raise him to tenor range? Girl foxy, do you wanna hold him down for the operation or should I?" what a relief to hear that deranged bee spouting out his typical inappropriate jargon. Now there was the fool he didn't mind bugging the tar out of. Nothing beats the 'friendly' sharing of a caustic kind of love.
Sadly, he knew the in-fighting must wait for now, having remembered the importance their job was, not without a little coaxing from a vixen's patented death glare of course, got down to business. Pulling up what data he could about the island revealed their location to be approximately five miles short of Robotnik's doorstep. The rest of the team peered over the graph, leading Amethyst to note how dense the forest surrounding the base was. Left no other choice, walking the trip would not exactly be out of the question. Still, she did spot one possible weak point in the natural barrier, and so brought her finger over the exact gap.
"I bet we could fit the ship through here. Though I don't know how handy that detour would be if we had to make an emergency getaway." She advised, hoping the large lizard would take her words with an ounce of common sense. To her dismay and mild amusement, the croc donned a huge grin born of a well-inflated ego.
"Don't worry your pretty little head miss! This beauty of mine has a real neat trick up it's sleeve in case we get cornered or chased down! Actually I kind hope we do have trouble so I cent test it out!" Assuming that didn't shake one's faith, the legendary 'cocky Vector smirk' certainly could do the job. Having proven successful with one of out of countless project flubs didn't provide any concrete reassurance. Nevertheless, Amethyst knew leaving the ship behind was the worse option of the two. Although this web of careful planning might turn out to be nothing more than paranoia, none of the trio debated the use of additional caution.
Amethyst did soon agree that Vector's plan was, in spite of his erroneous past, passable enough to follow and so the three put it into action. She only prayed that Robotnik didn't spot their curious transport and mistake them for enemies. Holding that thought, the vixen admitted to being somewhat glad that Tails wasn't present, for he wasn't exactly diplomatic around the good doctor.
"He's much better off with Sonic and the others." Sighing lightly, Amethyst tried to get her mind off him quickly, lest all her brain power be wasted on 'worry/panic mode'. Nothing would come of her fears, just as it had always been. No doubt he was going to call her soon to tell her how easy the rescue was, and then tease her for getting all jittery. Though it did strike her as bothersome that he'd forgotten to call her, perhaps he was being his usual busy self and blitzed that little detail. All the same there was a small chance that…just maybe…something bad…had…
These doubts itched at her until she pulled out her cell phone, giving it a long, somber stare.
"I wonder…if it'd be okay to call him first?" she pondered in silence, not wanting the boys to catch how nervous she was. She scorned herself for not trusting him fully, especially after the countless times he'd begged her to stop being so fearful. But even so, what was the harm in being sure?
After much contemplation, she slipped the phone back into her pack and sealed it up tight "He never gives me any reason to doubt, so I'm going keep my faith in him." Amethyst laid the rest of her clouded thinking aside to steel herself for the rest of the trip.
"I'll give you as long as you need. I trust you with all my heart."
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End of Chapter Thirty-one
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This can be treated as a prologue of sorts for the last leg of my story. I estimate about ten to twelve chapters remain.
DanceDream: Pressure comes from stress, and many things can wig you out besides a blood-pumping brawl :). Wow an accidental reference? I'm quite pleased XD. ._. It did and it wasn't at all funny at the time… Sonic and Tails are getting rained on right now, but you know what that means for them later ;). No pain no gain as they say. It is sad, but Tails is a fox right? Maybe he can just deceive his way out of this one…or maybe not. Still, it's a nice thought right? :) Thank you so much. Really, it means a lot to me. I can't believe how long it's been too. I remember back when it was just you, Ghost, and Serenity. Man does time fly or what?
Ghostkid33: Ouch… I mean yeah there are a few plot holes but ouch… Ah I know you mean well though so I'll try not to take it too hard (this is just for fun after all XD).
Serenity: Hope to see you next time!
Kindra Mckleen: Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. I'm past worrying about that now since I've got too much else to deal with. Hey at least I don't vanish for months without a warning right (yes I've said that before, but I have to feel good about something don't I XD)?
knight of the windZ10Z: If Tails gets hurt, Sonic kills. I've always felt that Tails should've been the one to push Sonic into his 'Dark form' and not that little shite Chris. I mean really that would just make sense. Anyway, so I think Sonic would've gone evil for a split second had he not been so down.
Sierra Zanimalini14: A lot is happening now as you can see. Next chapter should be less depressing than this one, but hey tragedy is another calling of mine XD.
Super Shadix 520: I fret over my lateness no more. I've got my priorities ahead of FFN, but don't think that means I don't care. You guys are awesome support.
Sparkling-nexis137: I know it's sad right? :'( Tails is too awesome to have this happen! Then again, at least you know he and Sonic have that good ol' 'character shield' to keep them safe (or DO they? Can you trust the words of a trick Pen? Get it? Trick PEN! Heh-heh...alright so it wasn't that funny DX).
draco'sfairmaiden: Well as you can see Amethyst doesn't know yet, worse than that she's in high-spirits (I'm just evil aren't I XD). I'll get to Sonic soon, as this really does mostly concern him.
Jakeroo123: I encourage you to give it chance as always.
killingkathy: You're counted among us now. This is chapter is mixed bag of chips with angst in the first portion, drama in the second, and humor/friendship in the last. Hopefully that means you'll find something noteworthy!
Until next time.