A/N: Hey guys, once again I want to prefice this with another apology but you all knew that updates would be few and far between during this exam period that I am currently going through. But I managed to get this chapter out, so that's something. However, there is another, more exciting reason for why this took slightly longer than usual but I don't want to spoil the surprise so make sure to read the A/N at the end of this chapter to read about my big announcement. Until then, enjoy the chapter :)
Chapter 6
Leviathan
The sun was just peeking over the horizon, the trees and bushes that had been drowned in darkness the night before ready to lap up the incoming rays of encroaching light. Sonic raised his head, yawning loudly as he stretched his limbs and smacked his lips together. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before scanning the scene in front of him. The embers still glowed faintly underneath the charcoal in the middle. He looked around the small group, his eyes passing over Tails, Blaze, Knuckles and then Tikal who all still lay asleep on the sand around the fire. His muscles hurt, the uncomfortable sandy ground didn't prove to be as comfortable as first thought the night before.
'Today's the day,' he thought as he twisted his head to look at the poorly fabricated mess of different sized logs tied haphazardly together with rope on either size that they called a raft. Sonic wondered if it would even float, let alone be enough to get them back to the mainland but his concerns were dispelled when he felt the body of the golden fox next to him riffle around.
"Sonic?" Tails whispered questioningly as he slowly began to sit up, rubbing the crusty sleep out of his eyes.
"Go back to sleep, buddy. It's only dawn and we're gonna need all the energy we can get," he said soothingly, running his hand through Tails' fur. Tails purred softly, nuzzling in closer to the sapphire hedgehog.
"But Sonic," Tails replied seductively, moving his face slowly upwards so it was only inches away from Sonic's.
"Yeah?"
"The others are all asleep still," he whispered again into Sonic's ear, nibbling slightly on it. "This is the last time we will get an opportunity to be all alone for a while," he continued as Sonic started to get the idea.
"We've got about an hour until they wake up, don't we?" He winked, understanding what Tails was getting at. Sonic slowly closed the gap, closing his eyes and tilting his head as he pressed his lips against Tails'. He licked the fox's white teeth, waiting for entrance into his mouth which Tails hurriedly obliged, relishing in the feeling of Sonic's tongue against his own.
Meanwhile, just next to them Tikal quickly shut her eye. She was awoken by the quiet talking and quickly pretended to be asleep as not to disturb the two. The echidna shuddered, clenching her eyelids closed as tightly as possible to block out the image of what she had just witnessed. She kept trying to tell herself that she was okay with what was happening, that she wanted to help the two but it was still extremely hard for her when she saw it happening first hand.
"Sorry to break this up but no, we're not asleep," an intruding voice suddenly broke through the silence. Tikal chanced another glance as she slowly peeked her eyes open and saw Knuckles slowly sitting up. She breathed a sigh of relief, mentally thanking the echidna as she saw the two teenagers break apart, frowns on both their faces.
"Come on Knuckles, that wasn't nice," Blaze yawned as, she too, slowly sat up.
"Thanks Knuckles," Tikal smiled at him as she too sat up.
"Somebody had to say it," he joked, a wide, goofy grin plastered on his face. Sonic and Tails both backed up slightly from each other, crimson staining both of their muzzles from being caught by all three of their companions.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Blaze growled angrily at Tikal. "You think those two are still gross? What happened to a change of heart?"
"N-no, it's not like that. I meant-"
"You meant that it's against Chaos' will, didn't you?" Blaze spat.
"Blaze, it's not like that at all. It's just still a little hard for me to watch is all," Tikal tried to defend herself, but instead dug herself deeper in a whole as Tails felt a wave of anger smash into him, eroding away his outward nice façade towards the echidna that he had promised Sonic he would try to keep.
"Why is it hard to watch? Sonic and I had to deal with you and Knuckles sucking face all the Chaos' damn time back at school!" Tails yelled.
"Tails, not cool," Knuckles shook his head and jumped to the echidna's defence.
"Don't take the lords name in vain like that," Tikal snapped back, almost like an uncontrolled reaction.
"I thought you renounced Chaos," Blaze jumped at any opportunity to try to blow holes in Tikal's story. Anything to get Knuckles to stop defending her.
"I'm sure it was just a slip of the tongue," Knuckles assured the cat and fox, but to no avail.
"Oh sure, she can have a slip of the tongue but when I have one…"
"ENOUGH!" All four of the teenagers instantly ceased their arguments, clamping their mouths shut as they looked towards the angry cobalt hedgehog. His chest heaved heavily, nostrils flared as he glanced down on all four of them.
"What are you guys doing? We are supposed to all be friends, not at each other's throats! We are about to go and try to stop a war, guys. A freaking war! That is so out of our league but we are gonna try anyway because, whether we like it or not, we were the cause of it. All of our friends and family, along with a bunch of other innocent people are being killed because of things we did, no matter how misguided the reasons for others to fight are. How can we try to save everybody if we can't even stop the war between ourselves?"
An awkward silence descended upon the group like a fog, extinguishing the last small warm glows of the embers. They all shifted uncomfortably on the sand, the weight of Sonic's outburst weighing heavily on them all.
"Sorry," Tails mumbled, rubbing his arm as he looked over towards Knuckles and Tikal.
"Yeah, sorry man," Knuckles added.
"I apologize for causing any strain between you guys, I just wanted to help," Tikal added. Slowly, all pairs of eyes shifted towards Blaze who still wore a scowl on her face, staring at Tikal. This echidna is not only trying to steal her new boyfriend, but also her friends and make her seem like the enemy. Blaze couldn't find it in herself to forgive Tikal, not even in the slightest, but she knew that not saying anything would only lead to more disturbances.
"Yeah, whatever, I'm sorry for getting mad too, Tikal," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Knuckles shook his head, but decided against speaking up. The peace, however temporary it would be, was enough to help clear all their heads and calm them down.
"Well, with that settled, let's get going. Back to Mobius!" Sonic announced.
…
The turquoise ocean around them stretched out as far as the eye could see, merging perfectly with the horizon and the azure sky above them. Gentle surging waves lapped against the rotting wood of their small raft, their curling fingers brushing over each splinter in the wood. The sunlight glinted and reflected off the smooth surface, the rays contorting like golden waves dancing through the warm afternoon air. The breeze glossed over the ways, causing small showers of white foam to spray over the teenagers like glass. The seagulls above their heads squawked, letting the wind brush their feathers as they glided along the horizon.
Tails looked beneath the waves, trying to study the sand underneath but the immeasurable depth of the water contorted the contents underneath. The shadows of fish swam around quickly underneath him, the constant surging of the water making the actual bodies of the fish illegible to the naked eye. The banality of the calm ocean seemed almost entertaining to Tails as his mind wandered to the mystery of what was lurking below them, just underneath the surface.
Sonic lay next to Tails, shielding his face from the sweltering heat with his hand. His smacked his lips, trying to stimulate silver to drench his dried-up tongue. The five teenagers had been drifting on the raft for the past day and a half and the small number of rations that they had acquired had all but diminished, leaving the ravenous group starving.
"I can't believe you dropped our last paddle," Blaze spoke up, picking her head up off Knuckles' chest and glancing at Tikal.
"C'mon Blaze, it wasn't her fault," Knuckles immediately chimed in to her defense like clockwork.
"Don't defend her. She was the one on paddling duty when she threw it overboard," Blaze raised an accusing finger.
"I told you, I fell asleep and it must have rolled off into the ocean," Tikal retorted.
"If you were feeling tired you should have woken one of us up and got us to take over. It was my turn next I would have gladly taken over your shift," Tails added, lifting his head up slightly.
"I tried but you told me that it wasn't your turn yet," Tikal complained, getting slightly frustrated that she was constantly being ganged up on by both Tails and Blaze.
"Guys, enough!" Sonic raised his voice, his suddenly violent movements rocking the rickety raft, adding further strain to the vines that strung the pieces of wood together. "I'm so sick of having to break this up. We can fight later but for now we need to stay united."
"Whatever," Blaze moaned as she closed her eyes and laid her head back on Knuckles' chest. Normally, she would be greeted with the soothing massage of his hand brushing the hair on the back of her head but no such comfort came this time as Knuckles' opted to let his hand rest in the water. He enjoyed the cooling sensation of the water on his wrist.
"Okay," Tails replied bitterly as he turned his attention back to the water. However, something seemed wrong. There was another, slightly larger shadow amongst the fish than there was before. But this one was different. It was growing steadily larger, as if there was a more grandiose creature hidden below the surge that was climbing towards the surface.
"Guys," Tails spoke up, a warning inflection in his voice.
"Not now Tails, we can't afford to keep fighting," Sonic interjected.
"No, it's not that," he replied, the fear evident in his voice. "I think everybody better hold onto something!"
"Wh-" Knuckles opened his mouth but suddenly a large, serpent like creature smashed through the surface of the water, leaping through the air. As it breached the surface, the water exploded as water rained down from them. The large waves left in its wake smashed the raft, causing it to tilt. Blaze was knocked by the force and went sliding head first into the water.
"Blaze!" Knuckles called out, searching the briny depths frantically for any sign of the cat. However, Sonic, Tails and Tikal all had other priorities on their mind. They all sat in awe, staring at the gigantic creature. The beast they were confronted with had a long, thin body covered in scales that curled up around itself. The end wasn't visible as its body disappeared into the depths. It opened its elongated mouth, showing the many rows of sharp, serrated teeth as it let out a gut-wrenching roar that shook the very waves themselves. Sets of white whiskers grew from its face and sets of webbed fins from further down it's body.
"Wh-what is that thing?" Sonic gasped.
"I think it's… the fabled leviathan," Tails breathed, a mixture of awe from seeing the same creature that he had read old tales about and fear swelled within him.
"You can marvel at it later; we need to get rid of it now!" Sonic bellowed. He turned to see Knuckles who had since grabbed the flailing hands of Blaze who was struggling around in the water. He grunted as he hurled her back up onto the raft, both of them panting heavily as Blaze spurted water out of her mouth and lungs.
"What are we going to do?" Blaze coughed as she looked towards Sonic. Sonic shrugged his shoulders, beads of sweat staining his brow as he tried to think of a plan. Before he could decide on an appropriate course of action, the leviathan growled again before it submerged itself under the water, hidden from the sun's rays.
"Where did it go?" Tikal asked.
"It's… it's underneath us!" Tails cried out as he saw the slithering shadow of the snake-like beast swim underneath the raft.
"Everybody grab ahold of the side of the raft and hold on!" Sonic shouted as he gripped the long, his fingers submerged in the water and knuckles growing white from the intensity that he was holding on. There were a few seconds of eerie silence, the only sounds being heard were their hearts beating fast inside of their chests until suddenly an ear-splitting crack rang out across the ocean.
Right across the middle of the raft, a large crack began to run through as the raft as it split in half, right down the middle. The beast sprang up from the shadows and flew through the air before plunging back into the depths nearby. Sonic and Blaze hung onto one end of their raft, the majority of their bodies submerged as the other three clung onto the other raft.
"Tails! Hang on!" Sonic called out as he let go of the splintered piece of wood that he clung to and started to swim over to the flailing, fearful fox. Tails eyes widened in fear as he saw the fin of the creature protrude the water, slicing the liquid as it started on a collision course with Sonic.
"Hurry Sonic!" He called out. Sonic looked behind him, noticing Blaze frantically trying to keep up with him as she swam behind him and not far behind her, the pointed fin.
"Blaze, swim faster," Knuckles commanded as he reached out his hand, fear coursing through his veins. Just moments before Sonic and Blaze reached the two, the creature submerged from the water again. However, this time one of the vines that sloshed through the water got caught, wrapping itself around the monster's tooth. The beast roared as it towered over the group, lifting its head further and further out of the water.
Sonic reached out and tried to grab Tails' hand whilst Blaze simultaneously did the same for Knuckles as Tikal just closed her eyes in fear, hugging the wood that supported her. Suddenly, the raft, along with Tails, Knuckles and Tikal was ripped out of the water. Sonic called out in agony as his hand barely missed Tails', their fingers only a hair apart before it came back down into water.
"Sonic! Blaze!" Knuckles and Tails called out as they felt themselves being flung through the air, tossed about by the serpent who violently thrashed its head about, trying to dislodge the vine from its tooth. The trio held on to the piece of wood for dear life, clenching their eyes shut tight as the begged for this torment to be over.
Blaze and Sonic treaded water, watching helplessly as the leviathan spun them around above its head. Suddenly, the force acting on the vine became too much and it snapped. Tails, Knuckles and Tikal screamed out in fear as they felt the wind carry them as they were sent flying across the ocean and over the horizon.
"Tails!" Sonic called out as he frantically began swimming in the direction that he saw his friends fly, knowing that any attempt he made would be hopeless. The leviathan, angered by the pain it received in its tooth, bellowed as it plunged back into the shallows. As it dived back down, deep into the murky depths below, it's large tail emerged from the water and followed the arched pattern of its body.
"Sonic!" Blaze called out frantically as she swam over to Sonic, grabbing his foot in an attempt to pull him back from the beast's trajectory but it was no use. All the pair could do was scream in pain as the tail smashed down onto the surface, and into the two teenagers, knocking Sonic out instantly.
The world around Blaze turned black as she passed out and began to sink. The slowly fell, down below the surface and into the mysterious, unwelcoming depths below… The last thing Blaze could see as her senses began to fade was a smaller shadowed figure coming towards her before her eyelids fell shut and her mind grew blank…
A/N: Well, there you have it. Are Sonic and Blaze dead in the water, drowned by the blunt force of the leviathan's tail. Are Knuckles, Tails and Tikal dead from the impact from being flung across the horizon? And what exactly is the leviathan and where did it come from? All these answers, and more next chapter. However, I think you all just want to know what my big announcement is. But first, the question of the day...
QotD: What do you think about the seperation of Blaze and Sonic with Knuckles, Tails and Tikal? What could come of this? Are you sad that the group has been seperated so early? And do you think they all survived (I mean obviously Sonic and Tails did, but what of the other three)? And, are you excited for my big announcement?
Okay, so basically, the reason why this chapter took extra long, apart from study, was because I have been working on a big chapter. It's similar to one that I did last story that was met with great success so I decided to do a second one. That's right, I'm officially announcing that this story will feature Sontails: The Musical 2! I've been spending some time planning what type of songs I want to write, which characters get to sing them and which songs they I will parody to get the right feel. So over the next few chapters Iwill be leaking more and more information as it becomes available but, for now, all I can tell you is that the musical chapter will feature 12 new songs and will be the 13th chapter of this story. So stay tuned and let me know if you're excited for this!
Next time on Sontails: War of Faith - Chapter 7: Friend or Foe