So here we are, the final chapter, still an epiloug but this concludes the fight, actually not a ton of fighting as I try to stay away from it
but I like the ending, its well, you find out. A huge thank you to everyone who kept me writing by reviewing I wish I could send you
all a box of cookies, I hope you enjoy it and I very much want to hear what you thoguht of it. I dont own Sonic Sega or any characters.
The sonic boom was heard and time seemed to slow, Tails could only watch as Max moved towards him, a look of madness, hate, and rage burned behind his eyes, he moved like a wave of flame and in his wake the ground blackened and was torn, his approach came faster than anyone could have imagined, and it still was not fast enough as a blue blur moved to intercept. Max and Sonic caught hands and flash burst forth, as two objects of a speed unimaginable met, blood splashed from one of Max's wounds and his voice came forth as a snarl as Sonic held off his advance. "Give me the Fox! It's over, you've won, just give me the fox SO I CAN CUT OUT HIS HEART!" Max pushed and flung Sonic to the side and continued his charge, he stood right atop the fox, but Tails revved his Tails and shot like a bolt delivering a kick to the side of Max's head, blood gushed from his mouth, as he slowly picked himself off of the ground, rasping breaths filled the air. He pointed an accusing finger at Tails swaying lightly being pushed about by the breeze as he raged. "YOU, BASTARD! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! I MADE YOU AND I CAN DESTROY YOU WORM!"
He surged forwards again, his speed was reduced further and his lip was split and he left a trail of blood from his charge, but he met Tails again who delivered an uppercut using his Tails for added force, Max refused to fall again, stumbling backwards he was met with an onslaught at the combined assault of Sonic and Tails, he dodged left and felt the hedgehogs spines rip into his left side and was delivered another kick to the head, he collapsed onto the ground blood pooling out around him as he looked at the sky. He saw the faces of the dead, the faces he had killed, and his rage for the fox was redoubled as he unleashed a terrible roar and through himself to his feet and charged again, blood coming with every gasp for the air which he didn't need, and body shaking he was held in place again by Sonic, and Mikes voice rose as he spoke to him. "Max, look what you've done, I don't know if it was all an act, I don't know who you are but you need to stop, what will more bloodshed accomplish!" Max turned his gaze on Mike and Mike only saw the briefest flicker of recognition, then he saw the lightbulb come on behind the weary blackened eyes and Max let out a smile, teeth were missing and his own blood had turned them all red, and then it was heard, like a ripping in the sky, a bullet pierced Max's gut and he coughed more blood onto the hedgehog who had held him in place, Mike turned away a sad look on his face and a lone tear rolling down his face as he turned away from the one who had been a friend. Max let go of the grip and stumbled back a pace, placing his hands on the wounds, blood went between his fingertips and he felt numb, he looked up into all the faces around him, as he collapsed to his knees, blood continuing to drip out of him onto the hardened ground, he blinked a look of surprise on his face as he collapsed onto his back, rasping out several breaths more.
Tab had come down from her position, it had hurt her deeply to have killed Max, but the person she saw wasn't any Max she had ever known, and as she walked down she joined the circle that had formed around Max's body as they stared down at the bleeding mess, gasping for air which he could never use, and they all felt pity for the creature in front of them. Blood gurgled from his mouth and made a terrible sound but he spoke, blood dripping out of the wounds he spoke, his eyes were sad now, beaten, and showed a lifetime of loneliness and pain and yet still he spoke the words which had burned at him for centuries. "I..I'm a monster…..I…don't know where it all went so wrong." He coughed and more blood came out, Tab put a hand on his shoulder to steady him and his eyes met hers, he had hurt her he realized, he had hurt them all, the pain he had caused in this world was unimaginable, and still she tried to comfort him. "Tab…You…are too good for this world…..I'm….S..orry" His eyes met the fox, Tails, he had caused him to become a vampire, to become what he himself hated about himself, what kind of life might he have had if I had never interfered he wondered, he started to speak to the fox and after more blood had worked its way from his lungs he started.
"Tails….what I did….can not be..forgiven….I was….the" Tails held up a hand and shook his head as he replied. "I already guessed, the second Antoine told me you could see the future I guessed you had set all this in motion, and your voice, it always sounded too familiar for me, I know what you did, and…I can't forgive you for it, but I can't hate you either, because of you I found Sonic, so maybe you did do one good thing." Max let out a sigh as his eyes drifted upwards to the clouds, so white and serene, completely oblivious to all that he had done, he wished he could walk among them, he wished for forgiveness, but he knew it was a pointless dream, he had fallen too far, done too much, and caused far too much suffering, he looked at Sonic and got out some more words voice only a little louder than a whisper. "I…Damned You..to….this, do you hate me?….life can….never..be simple for one of….us" Sonic just shook his head and looked away, he felt terrible and he finally asked the question that had plagued his and indeed all of their minds since this had begun, why? The ferret let out a saddened chuckle as a tear ran down his face, they had a right to know he thought, so with his final breaths he told them a story, a story of pain and suffering, sorrow and loss.
Born to a farmer Max had been plagued daily by nightmares, horrible visions and premonitions of the death of everyone he knew, and every time he met a new person a vision would fill that night's dream and he would be alone, the death surrounded him, followed him like a pitch black cloud for the entirety of his life, his father had died when he was six and his mother at age eight, the farm had been burnt to ash and his mother with it, and the entire time he had pleaded to her not to use the stove, or his father not to go to war, but they hadn't listened. Alone at age eight he lived on the streets for a number of years until, beaten and starving he sought shelter one night in an abandoned manor and found it to be anything but, a vampire colony had found him, pinned him down and took turns draining his blood, and he had screamed the entire time until he finally passed out. Waking into a world of pain and blood he had refused, refused to join the horrible colony that had made him a monster and one night fled, sleeping in caves by day and running by night he soon hunted small animals for blood, but he was careful never to take more than he needed, and still every night the dreams tormented him, he had no one and his dreams showed only a monster, what he would become, and day in day out he had tried to fight it, until one night he had a dream. Thinking back he was uncertain, perhaps it had only been a dream, but after lifetime of visions, dreams confused him, in it he saw peace, a world of vampires who like him refused to feed, and with everyone the same, wars had at last ended, that which had taken his father was no longer present, and he saw himself in this world finally at peace, a smile on his face, and from that day forward he pursued the dream with all the vigour in him and went about turning it into reality.
In time he learned to focus his visions, just enough so that he could see events, and he believed them to be the path he needed to follow, he had ventured far and found himself in villages from time to time, and it always ended the same, they found out and ran him out shouting curses, screaming hate and trying to burn him, and every time he fled. He had tried to help, he had worked hard, donated most of his money to anyone who needed it, and spent time praying for forgiveness, but he never got an answer, and finally the event which had sent him headlong down the path had occurred. In a small village with a name which no one but him remembers he saw her, she was beautiful picking flowers in the moonlight and he knew at once he was in love, he knew from the way she walked and the laughter in her voice that he could spend his life next to her, he had been nervous and hid from view until one night she had called to him. "You watch me just about every night and never come to talk to me; a lady could become sad thinking she was not attractive enough!" Max had rushed from his spot and assured her it was not the case, and every night the two would sit in the moonlight and watch the pond which shimmered like silver, till at last she to professed love, and then it came, the fateful day he revealed his greatest secret to her, and she had been shocked at first, then flung her arms around him and kissed him all the same, his day was more joyous then any before it. Then the village eventually learned of his secret and like the dozens of times before he expected them to run him out, but when he came home from that day he found a sight worse than all others, his beloved's wife's throat slashed and the message "Vampire Whore" written on the walls in her own blood. It was a betrayal of everything he had ever cared for, of everything good in existence, and his tears that day had soaked his wooden floors straight through, he spared none of the village in his rage, he had razed it to the ground, and when he was finished nothing stood but a pile of ash and single cross where his beloved had died, he moved on, a cold black flame burning from that day on, and he had went back to his plans and followed them to the point he found himself in now, dying, bleeding neath white clouds and a clear blue sky.
Those who stood around him had tears in their own eyes, a life so hard and cruel was unimaginable, and worst of all for Tails because in it he saw so many parallels, it was a life he could have fallen into if not for Sonic, if not for Rotor and indeed all his friends, a gust of wind blew hard and a stone fell from rubble and released a thunderous crash, they all jumped at the sound and turned to its source, finding nothing they turned their eyes back and saw the ground bare save a pool of blood and trail which led off to the left, Max's body was gone. Max was limping, clutching the blood which tried to fall from him, trying to keep some inside, he was finished, he collapsed onto the ground and a final image was in his vision as he his eyes slowly drooped, his beloved stood there a smile on her face and she reached out a hand to him, Max tried to reach out, tried to seize that which he wanted most in the world, and he saw his spirit leave his body and hold her, saw the two float off together, to live a life of joy forever more, and at last Max felt it, he looked once to the clouds and slowly shut his eyes as his final thought flickered out across his mind. Yes, it is finally time to rest. The wind blew once and his fur ruffled softly in wave like pattern on the breeze.