Chapter 13 WOOT WOOT. Isn't everyone reading this thrilled. I hope you have been enjoying it so far and thank you yet again to all you amazing reviewers
who keep reviewing, you lady's and gents are the entire reason I keep writing. Without further adieu. I dont own SOnic or Sega all rights and characters belong to
them. Please read review laugh and or cry, whatever feels right at the current moment LOL. On with the show.
He saw only red, Knothole had been taken and with help from his few allies very few had perished, hypnotic suggestion was among Max's favourite vampiric abilities, but they were still out there, and try as he might, review the events Max couldn't locate where his plan had crumbled. In his visions it had all been so simple, Tails was to become a vampire, eventually join the freedom fighters and when the truth came out he was pushed to the point of madness, his heart was supposed to have hardened, and he should have killed the minx, so why hadn't he. He was in a meditative position and was viewing the past through the eyes of another, and there was something askew, it was always slight but noticeable when he came to this moment, in fact mostly any moment that involved Sally Acorn, was that it he wondered, her, had she thrown off his plans. He gave out a snarl as he stood, it didn't really matter, even if his plan had changed he could still accomplish his aims, though he was nervous now, for the first time in his life he was flying blind, he recalled his childhood and quickly tossed the memory aside, it was wretched place to dwell, he would never let himself be taken back to those moments.
A brief flash came to his mind of a young and wailing child, another nightmare and this one he had recognized his own mother's death, the young child cried as he was comforted and told it was only a dream, when nightmares became reality it was a fate worse than death. He shook his head, he hated those memories, how weak he had been, how much he had tried to change, he would fail, he had given so much to try and prevent a single vision, but it never worked, he had rules he needed to follow and he hated them as he much as he hated himself. All of Knothole was now his, he could start immediately, it didn't matter if they were still out there, they couldn't beat him, he was centuries old and had centuries to perfect his abilities, he began to walk from the room footfalls echoing ominously as he descended the stairs that led to his prisoners, he would have them all equal, he would finally know peace, and then he could finally rest after far too many sleepless nights.
Sonic lay on the grass and watched the stars shining overhead, the plan was laid out, though he had been in favour of acting right then and there the others had eventually managed to talk him down and convince him to wait, he hated waiting, though now that he thought about it he could easily afford to wait, his lifespan stretched into the horizon, or it had already come and gone and his soul was trapped on the earth, thinking about it he wasn't quite sure which. He let out a sigh and let his hand lay on his chest, it was motionless, it made him sad, he thought about Sally and this just made him grow sadder still, what kind of life could he have with her now? He was dead, a walking corpse and the thought stung like a bullet, he shivered at the simile, nothing stung like a bullet, would she even care for him now, and if she did what would he do when she was gone. He would outlive her by decades at least, he was unsure he could go on so long after she was gone, uncertain what type of meaning his life would have and just as he was falling into a pit of melancholy the rustling of a nearby bush grabbed his attention. Tails walked out picking twigs out of his fur as he silently sat and lay next to Sonic and looked up at the sky, the two sat and stared at the vast array of cosmic lights for a few moments before Tails spoke, eyes never leaving the heavens. "I know what you're thinking, I'm sorry. Maybe I never….It doesn't matter, it does get better, and the others are taking it really well so maybe once this is all done we can stay. Its Sally isn't it. You're worried about outliving all the people you know and care about; I know it was one of my worst thoughts about you."
Sonic turned to look at his friends, his brother, and he saw in his eyes a sadness greater than the body of a child could ever express, how many times had the thought crossed the fox's mind that he would be here long passed Sonic and all his friends, he had outlived his family and anyone he ever met was stained by his fear of the future. Sonic put a hand on his shoulder and like a mist parting the sadness in the fox's eyes began to subside as smile went over his features and he turned to stare straight into the eyes of his brother, his friends, his hero, they stared and Sonic said a light hearted tone in his voice. "Don't go thinking this is going to turn into another hug out, there's been one too many recently." He grinned and Tails stood up to leave. "I had better leave you two alone Sonic, and be careful I'll be watching" He had an evil grin on and Sonic was confused, "you two" who was there, but before he realized the slightest change Sally walked in from the opposite side of the clearing just as Tails left through the same bush he had come from.
"Sal, geez you spooked me, whatcha doing here?" Sonic pulled himself up into a sitting position as Sally took a seat next to him plopping onto the moistened green grass in the light of the moon. "Hi Sonic, I came to talk to you. We haven't really had a chance since you told us all...well you know. I wanted to make sure you were doing alright." She laid a comforting hand on the same shoulder Tails had moments ago, he shuddered, he was positive he would never hurt any of his friends now, but it was still a little uncomfortable being this close, he gave her a smile and suddenly through himself into a hug with the princess. It was a fairy tale hug in a fairy tale setting, indeed easily an extremely romantic moment if not for one whistling fox in a nearby tree who carefully remained hidden to avoid any projectiles either would throw at him. They broke apart the hug with Sonic glaring into the woods unsure where the whistling was coming from, he turned to face Sally and gave out a little chuckle as he started. "Little guys who knows how much older than me and still acts like a little brother, I might just have to stop making chilli dogs for the both of us!" He shouted the last part and a rustling of branches showed the little foxes departure.
"Sal, I, I'm not really sure what to say, I mean I'm glad to be alive and all, but I don't know what to do, it's like there's this horrible monster just hiding in me and I don't want to hurt anyone, and if we actually beat Max I don't know what I'm going to do afterwards." His head lowered and Sally quickly picked it up by gingerly grabbing his chin and lifting his face to hers. "Your Sonic the hedgehog and you know exactly what you're going to do, you're going to run around crazy and worry me sick while I wait for you to get back, and when you do get back this is what's probably going to happen." She gave him a smack on the head and then planted a quick kiss, Sonic's face reddened and he quickly turned away as he started to speak. "Sal, I would love to be with you, but….I'm going to live a lot longer than you are and I don't want to hurt you, physically or any other way. I can't stand the thought of you getting older and me just staying like this, I mean what kind of life could I really give you." Sonic felt wetness in his eyes but brushed it away as Sally grabbed his shoulders and forced him to turn and face her. "Sonic, I'll be by your side for my entire life if you'll let me, and even if we can't be together, we can always be close friends and that will never change no matter what. You're important to me and no matter how fast you run or how long you live I'll always be right here next to you" She held her hand atop his heart, and for a moment Sonic thought he felt it beat once in his chest, He quickly jumped into a hug with her and the two would stay in that field staring at stars and comforting one another for the rest of the night.
Antoine was shaking, he was terrified, he was beyond terrified and everything, every sound made him jump, he had done it, he had managed to escape the holding cell and was currently climbing through the duct work of Robotnik's former fortress. It had been a horrible sight, they would come in every now and then and grab a prisoner, one would hold them down while the other, a deep and bone chilling shudder racked the coyote's body, he didn't want to think of it, but it was all he could think of, he kept seeing the fangs slide out as they bit into the neck of the struggling person, and then they went still, deathly still and no motion was seen nor felt. It replayed in his mind when the person would start to stir, it took a long time but they would just stand there and wait, until they got up and started looking like a wild beast and then, one of them would open a prisoners door and cut them just enough so the blood was flowing, and then the recently turned was thrown into the cage and the door locked behind them. The sight was gruesome, they had both been people Antoine had passed daily on the streets of Knothole and as one tore into the other and the blood had leaked onto the cold metal floor Antoine could feel it soak into his boots as he tried to climb the cages wall to get away from the flood of blood and guts which were tossed about, they had gotten onto his fur and try as he might the grizzly stains wouldn't come out.
He pushed the memories down as he continued through the ducts, he was the most frightened he had ever been, but he was more determined than ever before, he would escape and help his friends who hadn't been in the cages fight back and end Max's horror, he had to, he couldn't let anyone else he knew became food for Max and his deranged army, it was his duty as a Freedom Fighter. He paused as he looked through a grate and saw swat-bots walking down the lonely corridors, until he saw him Max pass right under him, he held his breath and prayed for his body to be still, for his chattering teeth to fall silent if only for an instant. Max paused directly beneath him deep in thought he let out a roar and Antoine cringed but refused to move for fear of revealing himself, Max let his fist collide with a wall and it carried straight through as he began shouting. "WHERE DID IT GO WRONG, MY VISONS NEVER FAIL? I CAN SEE THE FUTURE! I CAN CONTROL IT! THOSE FOOLS HAVE NO IDEA OF THE GOOD I'M TRYING TO DO! I'LL WIN! I NEVER FAIL I AM A God AND I WILL NEVER LOSE! He stormed off leaving a petrified Antoine, if he could see into the future the coyote thought, he pressed onwards without a second thought, he would help his friends and be the hero, it was that thought that pushed him forwards into the darkness of the tunnels, he had to warn them and no force on all of Mobius was going to stop him.