PoC: Ah yes…finals are finally over. And with so much coming to an end, such as this story, it's hard to believe that summer is just beginning! Not to mention that it doesn't feel like this project is over a year old. *Sigh* Time passes too quickly…
Metal: Don't dampen us with your watery-eyed reminiscing, if you please. As you know, some of us are rust-prone to sentimental tears. Now Pen, where's the disclaim-
Silver: ~My friend's got a disclaimer and it makes him twitch, he writes one every week. He gripes "Man I really made a pile of s**t, and it's just…starting to reek." He types up his plot and puts a warning up, to keep the lawsuit-makers bay. But they ask for assurance so it stays that way, so dear Pen, you've gotta say: I don't claim, I don't claiiiima, your cooopyright. No, cuz I don't work for Se-ga! Don't sue me, don't sue meeeea, for stuff that I write! No, cuz I don't work for Se-ga!
Metal: *Eye-twitch* Keep it up…keep singing and watch: One day I'll bring such a fiery pain upon you that you'll be begging Iblis for peaceful release from this mortal coil. Your ashes will be scattered to the four corners of every hair-salon and shampoo provider; it will serve as a fluffy reminder of the fate that will befall all singing puffballs under my endless reign over this insignificant globe of flesh and fur. Until that day comes, keep singing…
PoC: O_O In the words of the Whelk: Gruu…
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Mind Transcends Matter
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Making it outside the congested shaft at last offered moderate comfort for Sonic's drained group. Having been confined and surrounded by evil energy had brought out the claustrophobe in all of them, with the possible exception of Sonic who remained relatively shielded from the negative field around him. However, as the old saying goes: Out of the frying pan, into the fire. The room they now stood in was drenched corner to corner in more of that scathing, albeit deeper-hued, unnatural blue light. Despite keeping close to their guiding hero, the non-transformed members of the team were still being affected by the accursed light. To the touch alone, the navy light made their skin sizzle and their eyes water, while unwanted darkness and temptations, no matter how small, slowly took shape in each of the mobians' minds. It was not dissimilar to the painful onslaught they had faced before, but it was certainly more insidious, and thus possibly more dangerous. Sinister or seductive in nature, all stained to resist the luring lies that whispered throughout the luminescent halls.
Rouge in particular tried hard to keep level casually surveying the featureless surroundings and saying "No big deal… As long as we stay together, there's nothing we can't fa-Ah!" her gasp rang out when she suddenly failed to make eye-contact with her companions, ones that had, not a fraction of a second ago, been walking beside her. Looking up and down the passageway was pointless, as there was nowhere for them to hide even if they wanted to; the place was void of any vents or doorways that could've broken her line of sight.
"It's a trick…it's got to be some kind of trick…or is this place messing with my head again?" she shuddered at the thought, but no other explanation made sense. True or not, the bat was convinced that it would be best just to keep moving forward in hopes that she was still in range of Sonic's gentle shine. She was somewhat downcast for thinking this way, as this whole mission since her kidnapping had made her overly dependent on the whims of others. To this day, she wasn't sure how she contributed in this quest, besides by playing the damsel in distress.
"I didn't train all these years just to become everyone's burden…" she grumbled against herself, knowing that what she feared was generally factual. Nevertheless, this was not the opportune time to be regretful of anything, as she could feel something, something profoundly evil closing in on her position.
Not long after her stomach turned at this feeling, Rouge sensed a familiar wickedness materializing behind her. She them heard it for the second time today, his diseased laughter. Her limbs shook with some discouragement, and no one could blame her, for she was once again holding her ground in the twisted face of Knuckles himself. She saw him grin widely, but oddly he didn't seem all that interested in her this time.
"Care to let me by, angel wings?" his words hissed with perverse flirting "You wouldn't want me to stain that pretty white fur of yours, would you?" Here the vile echidna raised his spiked gloved up, both of which were dripping with the lifeblood of unknown victims, leading Rouge to fret slightly for their ship-bound allies.
Mysteriously aware of her deep-seated fear, the echidna toxically murmured "Oh no sweet-skin, I don't plan on peeling you just yet. I only have business with goldy-quill's captive friend. See…I usually like to bleed the 'hogs' first, but my new client says he wants a fox-hunt instead. You how it is: A contract's a contract." And so he lapped the some of the sticky red liquid up, hoping no doubt to terrify her into complying.
Rouge initially did waver, for her fear in the presence of one so warped was natural. Though she knew letting him pass would be weak-hearted, surely Sonic in all his might would easily stop the evil echidna from accomplishing his goal. But then, what if he didn't? He HAD simply vanished into thin air, so what if this place kept him from ever finding Knuckles, or even Tails? Contrariwise, here she was, face to face with the man of her nightmares. Stricken with fear as she was, she DID have a chance to stop him from claiming the vulpine's life. This was something she could do to redeem herself.
"Of course if you WANT to fight," Knuckles cast a hated smile on her "Then I'm not going to hold back, not now or after you…lose." To her disgust, he licked his lips in corrupt excitement "And this time you won't have your dark knight in whining armor around to save you. Still feeling feisty?" he baited, still gazing hungrily on her shivering frame.
Now was the time to decide…fight or cower. The choice weighed on her mind as the echidna closed in…
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*With Shadow*
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Picturing a closely knit group of wary/frightened friends, all failing to notice that one of their own had gone missing, was…suspicious at the very least. Shadow was the first to feel an off sensation, and so he turned to all his teammates to perform a silent head count. Strangely enough, though he didn't see the bat in the two times he checked, the dark one couldn't put his finger on whom or what they were missing. Though keen beyond all doubt, it was as if something coated his vision, or maybe his memories. Imagining that some vile influence might be toying with his recollection of prior events, kept the black and red hedgehog locked in discomfort.
"How could you…?" a sorrowful voice abruptly shattered his silent thoughts, a voice he could never mistake. Expectedly taking his eyes off the main group, Shadow turned to investigate. To his confusion blended with concern, there was Maria, as real as when he last saw her, dropped to her knees with her back facing him. Shadow examined her carefully to find that Maria was weeping over someone's prone body. His blood stilled when he saw who it was; Rouge, the only one of his allies he hadn't accounted for. The shock of Maria's unexplained arrival had been thinned out by this dreadful revelation, which in turn caused incredible guilt to punch holes in the lining of his gut.
In an effort to discard his own pain, the saddened hedgehog rested a hand of comfort upon his dear sibling's arm. Maria replied to this kind gesture by rotating to face him, then falling against his coarse chest fur. After a time, he saw her reddened eyes stare into his, allowing her frail hands to linger on his dark shoulders.
"Shadow…" she choked his name out woefully, so that the hedgehog was unaware that her hands had moved closer to his neck. Leaning it to hear what she had to say resulted in a sudden tightness around his throat. The ebony hedgehog recoiled, but soon realized that his air was being blocked by the forceful, and truly unnatural, grip of the young blond girl's fingers. Even as she intensified her crushing hold, Maria cried out "You let her die! You're just like you were back then; so stubborn and self-righteous! You would sooner kill someone than look out for your closest friends? You're just as bad as that murdering phantom! Why Shadow? Why do you hate everything so much…?"
Gagging for even a small gulp of air, Shadow didn't know what was ultimately more asphyxiating: Her tight grip or her crushing words. Each accusation struck deep into his heart and memories alike. His hatred and aggressiveness had apparently caused great offense before, somewhere in his still-clouded past. It's true that rage had been festering in his heart lately, but could he really be as cruel and hardened as all that? Whatever the facts were, Shadow knew he would have to fight off Maria's augmented strength soon if he wished to remain conscious, or alive.
He raised his ring-laden hands and clamped down on her forearms; using vigor equal to her applied force, but doing so caused audible and visible harm to the youngest Robotnik. Her shriek of terror loosened his hold instantly, revealing obvious bruising in the places his palms had been.
"What would you do Shadow? How far would you go?" her words continued to sting him "Would you break my arms to get your revenge; snap me in two in order to get what you want?" she asked mournfully, implying that she expected him to say 'yes'.
He knew…in the far-off recesses of his swimming mind that Maria, HIS Maria, would never say such things. But if it boiled down to simple choice, risk hurting Maria, or lose his chance for revenge and possibly his life along with it, he would always choose the latter.
Slowly, empty blackness began to fall upon him…
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*Through Amy's visions*
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It was frightening, like being tugged and pushed around by someone ten times your size. That's what it felt like for Amy as she struggled to keep her link with Sonic intact. Something terrible had started to disrupt her connection about five minutes ago, and now any remnant of the connection was all but gone. Fearing for her hero's safety, and for the safety of her good friends, the little girl called out for someone, anyone to hear her plea, again and again.
"Amy it's me, calm yourself." She heard Tikal say "You're being forced out by this place's energy. There is a large amount of danger looming over our friends right now."
Fearing the worst had now come to pass, Amy begged "Please Tikal, what can I do? How can I help Sonic?" She didn't want to think that her part in changing Sonic's fate was already over.
"Listen well…" Tikal replied peacefully enough to soothe the younger mobian's nerves "I need you to synchronize your thoughts with mine. On our own, neither of us have the power to penetrate this darkness. But together, we may just be able to help Sonic, or at least buy him time until help arrives."
Amy very much wondered what Tikal meant by 'until help arrives'. Even so, she had no choice but to trust her long-distance friend and do what she asked. She was ready and willing to act on anything she was told, for there was so little she understood on her own.
But if there was one thing she didn't have to be told, it was that their time was running out.
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*With Espio*
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Walking this far into their enemy's stronghold would've been simpler had it been lined with compressors, diamond-tipped saws, and other sorts of autonomous perils. At this point, he felt even the presence of the hazed destroyer looming overhead would've been preferable to these infuriating mind games. His only uncertainty about facing physical traps came from the possible untrained, or at least untested, company they were keeping.
Reservations aside, Espio was sure the others were struggling as much as he was without borrowing additional trouble. Whatever foulness was radiating throughout this place, it had already begun to claw at his innermost thoughts and chip away at his rock-steady composure. The chameleon withstood the invasive probing with impressive fortitude, knowing that he, having been trained to conquer his every weakness, had nothing for the evil intruder to exploit.
"Away from me…" he growled mentally, showing off his inner strength to the manipulative presence trying to worm it's way into his mind "Away I said! I'm not fool enough to fall for your trickery!" he continually rebuked the unholy prowler, causing it to unexpectedly cease it's advances on his sanity. Not deceived by the sudden withdrawal, the chameleon steadied his mind for another, more brutal assault, for he was disturbed by how…satisfied the sinister presence had been when it left him. Almost as though it had found what it was looking for.
Time passed slowly, but nothing ever returned. It then struck the lizard that flaunting his will-power might've been a bad idea. The possibility that it could've found a hole in his presumably impervious mind had grown considerably larger, owing to his careless outburst. But even if it should find a way inside, what games could it hope to play against him? Espio didn't have parents or family to engage his sympathies, and neither Vector nor Charmy held sway over his heart, so that only left…
"Espio?" Wait…that wasn't it. That wasn't the voice he was expecting to hear at all. The ninja opened his tightly shut eyes to see Sonic in all his shining glory, but oddly enough he was all alone. The air made it very hard to remember, much less think, but Espio was certain they had had more than just two members in this team before. One was Amethyst, and the others, or 'other one' was…was…out of his reach. He couldn't even recall another name or face no matter how hard he tried.
"Amethyst…" he quickly snapped to attention "Hold on Sonic! Where is Amethyst?" The stealth mobian nearly shouted, having briefly forgotten just how deep in enemy territory they still were.
"Chill out Esp. That's what I was trying to tell you." the glowing hero answered the chameleon's visible concerns "She's right here, see? But I don't know if she's doing too well." The hedgehog side-stepped to show the silent, almost catatonic vixen seated on the metallic floor. Expectedly, Espio was quick to check her condition; however this turned out to be a fruitless gesture. For no matter how he spoke to or jostled her, he couldn't get his bushy-tailed comrade to respond. Her half-opened light violet eyes looked more dead than alive; something the lizard hoped was just a trick of the sickly blue lighting.
"Listen, I'm worried about her too, but we can't stop making progress." He heard Sonic say, not sure whether that was the sort of thing Sonic would say, though this may've been an overcautious concern on his part. Still, the otherworldly mobian was right. Stopping or proceeding, either way both would mean keeping her in this horrid environment for longer. Sonic seemed to have taken this into account, as he then said "And that's why I want you to take her back to the ship. I wouldn't trust her safety to anyone else, not that there IS anyone else left."
What did he mean by that? "Not that there IS anyone else left"? Something was off, and Espio knew it. The 'Sonic' he was talking to sounded like he was keeping a secret to himself, or maybe…maybe this 'Sonic' wasn't…the real one? Just the thought of this Sonic being a copy of a copy of the original Sonic was making his head groan in pain. Unfortunately, if this evil had somehow conjured up a fake Sonic, would he have any way of fighting it off? Would it be as powerful as the real thing?
At least there was an easy/reckless way to test his theory. Activating his hidden knives quietly, Espio curled his fingers around three of the sharp objects. If this Sonic was real, then his powers should protect him from harm, but then what if all that positive chaos didn't protect him? What if his daggers needlessly pierce or even kill the hedgehog in cold blood? Looking back to see Amethyst, whom he hoped was not a phantasm either; he knew he had little time to pause and think it over.
Biting his lip to fight back hesitation, the chameleon swung around and tossed the death-dealing blades at what he prayed would be non-lethal regions. One sank into the hedgehog's left bicep; a second embedded itself in Sonic's lower abdomen beneath his liver, while the third fell to the floor with a harmless clanking. At first fear-stricken that he had harmed the real Sonic, Espio started to sweat until he saw no blood exit from the hedgehog's wounds. Gaping at his injuries with surprise, the fake Sonic dissipated in mist of dark-hued chaos energy.
Pleased that his intuition was right, Espio gently hoisted the disabled vixen onto his back. True, the encounter had left him wondering what had become of the real Sonic, but he resolved to keep faith that the golden hero was still en-route to Tails' rescue. And besides, the sight-cheating apparition of the hedgehog had made a good point about Amethyst's condition. Of course, Espio considered the chance that this Amethyst might be a fake too, and as such he pricked one of her fingers to make sure. Much to his relief, a tiny droplet of crimson dripped out and stained the white of her thin gloves.
"I'm sorry for that Amethyst… Hold on to me if you can…" He asked her, not waiting for an answer. Then clasping her hands tightly, he ran down the hall with all his might…
Though unheard by him, the fox-girl had awoken. Opening her eyes up, she spread out an ill-intentioned grin.
"Anything you say, Espio…" She whispered ominously.
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*With Sonic*
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"Whoa, when did we get here?" Sonic gaped at the latest shift in location. Instead of silvery-blue halls of corrosive energy, he was now before what looked to be a palace, or at least some odd structure composed entirely out of what appeared to be marble. How he had gotten here, he didn't know. As far as he could recollect, he hadn't passed a doorway or threshold that could've introduced this out-of-place location. To complicate matters further, he looked back to see that the way he had 'entered' through, was nonexistent. So unless he'd stepped on some kind of warp, there was no explaining his coming to this place.
But just then, a much greater worry presented itself: His friends…where were they?
"Guys? Hey! Guys, where did you go?" After getting no initial response, the impatient hero angrily slammed his foot into a nearby wall as he grumbled "Great…so much for my power keeping everyone safe." But he cut his despondent rant short, instead opting to desperately search for his lost allies "Espio? Shadow! Rouge! Ame-"
"I'm right here Sonic." A shaken voice replied. The glowing hedgehog turned to see his ally in a sitting position, obviously as startled as he was about the sudden turn of events. He made sure to ask if they were injured, to which he received a relieving 'no' in reply. Happy as he was to find someone, this didn't account for the rest of his AWOL crew. It was almost tempting to take a shot at busting straight through the stone walls, in hopes that the blue hall would magically be on the other side.
"Leaving already? But what would I do without my guest of honor?" A person spoke to him and his remaining friend, with a voice neither could ever forget. Sonic blinked hard to push back his rising anger as he turned to meet the speaker…face to face. Sure enough it was him, a hazy figure, distorting anything and everything that passed behind or around him.
"Mmm…such hatred in your heart. So much more than I was expecting…" his booming voice hummed in satisfaction as he spoke "Do you know why love and hate are equally feared and coveted by all?" His nonsensical words earned him no reply from his 'guests', but this didn't faze the mad apparition in the least, so he continued "It's the power both possess…their power Sonic…" Stepping off what was likely his throne of sorts, the being came closer "I don't think you realized how happy your coming has made me."
The hero was repulsed by the sickeningly affectionate tone the evil one took with him, as if the monster was greeting a longtime-friend. Eventually Sonic was knocked out of his disgust and back to asserting his original purpose for coming "Alright freak, don't take another step, or you'll be getting a dash-ful of Super Sonic pain!" The figure didn't seem threatened by the imposing hedgehog at all, but did comply by stopping his initial advance "Good, now tell us where Tails is! What have you done with him?"
"Oh the fox you mean?" the sinister one asked confusedly, apparently surprised to hear the hero bring the topic up "I simply warped his mind and trained him to be immune to any form of mental healing, such as your dear Tikal is capable of. Such immunity was not easy to come by, as I had to fabricate a number of complex illusions to seal his fate. But fortunately, nothing is impossible with the power of pure chaos." He revealed his wrongdoing openly, not as though he was boasting or as if he felt satisfaction, he just…said it. The fact that he would take the fox's fate so lightly sent a vengeful wave of rage through Sonic's unstable mind.
Faintly, just faintly, he could hear combination of two voices begging him in unison "No Sonic, calm yourself! He wants you to lose control! Please So…ic don…lis…o…im…"
The evil being, however, was quick to drown them out with his nonchalant confession "You know, for one who should be so strong, he broke rather easily. You should've seen the sort of agony he was in when I ripped his memories of you and his dearly beloved Amethyst out. He begged me to stop, even offered to become my slave willingly as long as I would keep his memories intact." As if to drip poison on his ears, Sonic thought he heard the demon offer a chuckle as he went on "Do you believe that? Would also then believe that I bled him to death for being such a weak-hearted guinea-pig? Perhaps you would like his empty shell back for you to bury?" His words stirred more and more wrath in Sonic until he could no longer stand it. Screaming to the top of his lungs, the golden hero charged forward to ensure an instant death for the wicked specter.
The assault was sadly short-lived as, almost instantly, Sonic was caught mid-flight in a prison barred with chaos energy.
Grunting over his captured prey, the evil one calmly explained "You forget that it was MY emeralds and facility that gave you your power, fool…as such I can strip you of it any time I please. And you would've known such, had you not been so blinded by your arrogance." The blurred monster then said something that started as murmur under his breath, but gradually rose as did his insanity "You're nothing but a ripe grape…prime for squeezing. You, a being of harmonized chaos…positive and negative…the power to change the world on a whim…yes; soon I will have control over even Chaos himself! I will have even a god kneel before me! I will-Arrgh!" Cutting off his mad speech, a gunshot had sounded. The next moment the psychotic figure gripping his presently injured arm, which was still miraculously intact thanks to the energy protecting him, prompting him to set his gaze upon a vixen aiming a unique rifle directly at his 'torso'.
"Give…him back." Amethyst spoke breathlessly at first. Forcing herself to regain her fading will-power, she then shouted "Give Tails back to us…NOW!" Her demands were firm and clearly backed by action, but the monster before her once again showed no signs of fear.
"You want your beloved back, dear one?" the hazed deceiver baited in a genuinely compassionate tone. Leaving Sonic to strain in his bonds, the monster 'spread out' his haze, a motion similar to a visible person fanning out a cloak or cape, before speaking again "Well then, allow me to ease your pain!"
Whipping his cloak of haze aside, the evil one revealed a strange person standing beside him. This person was hard to recognize, given how their face was concealed by a mask and their body coated by a strange metal/biological hybrid armoring. Sonic was perplexed by what he saw, but somehow Amethyst understood. The rifle tipped out of her hands, falling to the floor, emitting a resounding echo.
There was no reason for her to fight back tears as the name passed her lips "T-Tails…"
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End of Chapter Forty
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I was determined that this chapter would do two things: One, advance the slow-moving plot at long last. And two, be subject to a finale cliffhanger. True, I have yet to explain Knuckles' role, the evil one's identity, or several other mysteries, but this has set the stage for further developments. I know you guys hate lateness as much as I do, but I wanted everyone to comment on last chapter so I know how I was doing (plus I am still busy as hell with my new job).
DanceDream: Don't be mad, but I really was waiting for your comments too on the last chapter. I'm glad you liked it because I really am approaching this final stretch with a massive amount of hesitation (I'm worried that I'm going to screw everything up right at the end where it counts DX). So much so, that I'm back to ignoring Rise again! ARGH! Words can't describe how stressed I am. Never mind though. I can't get hesitate forever, but know that making this ending is going to be (and already is) a bumpy ride. P.S. I didn't think you were trying to show me up (but I DO suck at math XD). And as for you first story, I wouldn't think less of you, even if you did make a ton of mistakes your first time out (Lord I knows I STILL do DX). I'll be honest with you, make no mistake, but I would never beat you down with judgment. Oh and as for the songs I was inspired by? Well, they don't make much sense, but I draw a lot of abstract things from the oddest of places. Here's a nutty, but realistic, list of SOME of the OST's and songs I've drawn inspiration from: Metallica's Broke, beat, and Scarred (where I got the name for Rise only to Fall), their Unforgiven series (as themes for the angst I conjure up), The Offspring's Have You Ever (akin to the feelings of being judged and alone, Sonic's overriding theme in Reason I'm Here), Wild Arms 2 OST Last Ignition (the view of the twisted and turbulent skies), Cash Cash's Reach For the Stars (inspires Sonic's scenes of being able to rise above his trials), Zebrahead's Falling Apart (for a tougher outlook on his negative circumstances), and finally, you laugh, I kill…uh damn I wish this was in a PM, but Blue Beyond (just for the scenes of romance between Tails and Amethyst! Nothing else ah swearz! DDDX).
Ghostkid33: Wonderful! College is troublesome for all (even for people who kind of miss it, like ol' masochistic me XD). Comparing my work to Archie? That…makes me really happy! :D There's a lot of drama here for sure, but the plot is getting pretty nutty thick (I hope I reach a good resolution). Your support makes that last bend all that much easier for me to go around (okay bad analogy, but what I mean is, honest and supportive words about my work keep my writer's block away).
Serenity/ravenclaww: Did I miss another review? I hope not, but you know I didn't mean to if I did :(. Enjoy this chapter at any rate!
Infamousplot: I write too many word per chapter, I know. I still believe you can catch up in time for the finale!
Kindra Mckleen: Chaos is the sort of 'God' of this world. He's just not been mentioned thus far. It is nice to see Knuckles coming clean isn't it? Truth is, I prefer him to be dynamic over simple any day. Exacatly! That's the problem with Super Sonic's 'light'; it's corrupt. Unlike his normal positive form, he's highly susceptible to negative influence (pride, anger, etc.). Well, I wanted it to feel like they're so overwhelmed by everything that's happening that they just don't have the strength to question everything that happens (it's become too hard to tell what's real and what's fake). I like to think that his thought reading power is something Sonic can only do in this environment, as the whole group is being affected, and thus linked, by the 'pure chaos'.
knight of the windZ10Z: You might say Chaos is the my version of God looking down on the craziness transpiring below him. He doesn't say much, but he does have an invisible design and plan for our heroes to follow (with Tikal acting his will out on the surface). I wanted to make this Super Sonic a mighty sham, the symbol of false hope (hence 'Lies of the Light'). He came about in the wrong way at the wrong time, and now has fallen victim to the main baddie's trap. Knuckles is simply fulfilling his ancestor's wishes, but yeah he's turning good…sort of ;). Shadow is spot on about Espio, poor ninja man (he's steadily becoming one of my favorite characters to write about). The voice IS evil, but no worse than the freak that commands it. :) I'm continually inspired to keep this going, even on my worst days, because of kind words like yours. Don't you worry, I'll be making a sort of sequel soon enough.
Sierra Zanimalini14: I'm so glad you made it and liked the chapters! Shadow and Espio… If I had more time I'd like to drag out their uneasy alliance (but then that's what extra chapters are for ;) ). There are many fights, and many duels, but you might now what the final match up will be between (not-so subtle hint: I like Sonic and Tails to be on equal ground XD).
Super Shadix 520: Thank you for catching that. I'm really freakin' out about errors since I'm so close to finishing (which doesn't help me catch them any better of course DX). But seriously, thank you so much.
Sparkling-nexis137: Next chapter! I pray to see you this next chapter!
prowerboy: Tails has a few problems now, as we can see, but not all has been revealed about his condition (remember we left off with him being still mostly sane). Big question, is this Tails really Tails? Of course, that could mean a lot of things *evil grin*.
draco'sfairmaiden: So we meet Tails at last…or have we? XD I make everything so complicated don't I? Sonic is suffering now because of it. He should've listened to Amy and Tikal (but with those awful things said about his bro, could you honestly blame him for going a little ballistic?).
Cut Productions: So much to reveal, so little time. But actually, I'm also very excited to see how I can pull this off (I love a good stressful challenge or three XD). Espio, like the rest before him, is facing a serious threat right now, as he's obviously being pitted against his greatest weakness (Amethyst). While I don't wish to overpower my OC, I do still give her a nice spotlight when I can afford it! Silver and Metal…I really have chosen the oddest pair for random dribbles haven't I? Ah well, I want to make a lasting impression on anyone that reads this.
Until next time!