(Rouge's POV)
Well so much for getting that bonus in my paycheck.
My legs were kicked up and resting lazily on top of the airship's piloting controls, while I lounged back and soothed my mind by sifting through some old catalogs that I'd brought along to cure any excessive boredom during the trip. The ship itself was flying smoothly through an uncharted galaxy, coordinated to land on Earth in just a few days. And being that I wasn't manually searching for my destination like I had been with the Egg Carrier, I was able to finally relax and leave the navigating to the automated system.
I'd failed my mission, and there was nothing I could do to change that. So what was the point in stressing over it?
My inner hunger was triggered when I came across a page in the magazine where a human female was gently flicking at an amulet that dangled along the muscles of her darkly tanned neck. I squeezed the edge of the paper between two fingers and chewed on the lumpiness of my lip.
"Maybe I'm not as cut out for this whole secret agent job as I thought I was," I mused to myself out loud. "I'll admit it, I handled this mission rather poorly. I'm almost too ashamed to show my face back at HQ. I've sort of lost the drive to take this kind of thing seriously anymore. Not that I didn't try, or care for that matter. But now that it's over and someone else took the reins, I find I simply can't be bothered.
"This kind of thing wouldn't have happened if I'd just stuck to treasure-hunting, when the lives of prissy little girls weren't at stake, and my biggest concern was about the shiniest jewel I could find. Why did I even retire my thieving days again?"
A vision of a certain scarlet echidna's face bloomed in the midst of my tangled thread of thoughts. I found myself smirking deviously.
"Ah, of course. It was so I wouldn't have to deal with that air-headed Knuckles every time I lusted after the Master Emerald. But it's not like it was something I could control. What kind of hunter turns down any and all opportunities to nab the sexiest jewel in the entire universe? I sure wish he had seen it that way."
My mind delved deep into a state of pondering. "Although, I kind of miss our little antics. Our occasional one-offs were interesting, too. He was pretty amusing when he fussed about me stealing his precious little Guardian gem. Or any gem for that matter. Our strength and agility usually cancelled out but it was fun for what it was."
I then rotated the catalog so I could examine the paper jewel again, this time from all angles.
"Although it's never too late to revert back to old habits...I suppose..."
The temperature in my face instantly rose as memories of the old days went crawling by. I found myself sighing haphazardly, my eyes briefly twinkling with mischief.
"Oh, Knuckles, brawling with you was always such a lovely way to pass the time. In fact, I sort of miss it...and you, in a way. A very weird way, might I add."
And then I heard the sound of snickering from beneath the motherboard.
Snickering.
...Snickering?
I shifted my knees to the side and looked down.
"What the...did I just hear someone...-"
I was suddenly greeted by a pair of neon yellow eyes and a wide, toothy grin. And whatever the monstrosity that possessed the abnormal eyes and mouth was, it somehow thought it was a good idea to scurry out from under me right as I stamped my feet down in shock.
The poor thing ended up with both my boots slammed into its jaw. But now that it was out in the open, I could see what it was.
What he was.
And I was suddenly more terrified than I had been before upon realizing the all too familiar face.
Bokkun wailed out loudly in pain as I moved away from him. He stumbled to his feet, grimacing at the pain.
"Wow! Thanks for damaging me, you crazy bat! A big bravo to you!" he hollered. "With that kind of force, I think I just lost the ability to see colors!"
I crossed my arms, the uneasiness suddenly making way as sheer annoyance settled in.
"Bokkun! Who do you think you're calling crazy?! You're the one stowing away in here!"
He merely whimpered while rubbing his head with both stubby hands.
"Yeah at least I have enough sanity to not talk to myself when I'm alone..."
He suddenly veered away in horror as I readied my foot to squish him again.
"Yeah well looks like I wasn't alone after all, thanks to you, you little creep! What are you doing here, anyway?! You're an Eggman crony and I'd really prefer if I didn't have you tracking your filth into my airship! You have some nerve just showing up here uninvited, eavesdropping on me and disturbing my peace!"
He cowered back into his hiding place, having been reduced to a quivering ball of indigo flesh.
"I'm not filthy...I'm clean as a whistle, I promise, Eggman sees to it that we're all sterile! And I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention at all! I didn't even mean to scare you! Please don't throw me out! There's nothing but empty space around us for miles on end and I'll die out there!"
I lifted a brow. "Is that so. Are you trying to bargain or tempt me?"
He gasped. "W-What?! Bargain! I'm trying to bargain, Rouge! Don't get any murderous ideas. I know this is really a short notice thing, or...maybe no notice at all, but I quit working for Eggman. He mistreated me too often and took me for granted and I just about grew sick of it. I want nothing more to do with that old lump."
His face suddenly poked out from beneath the shadows and he smirked playfully at me. "Instead, I figured two lumps were the better alternative!"
He then screamed when I picked up my chair and prepared to slam it down on his pathetic little jester head.
"Okay okay I'm sorry, it's too soon for humor! I get it! The real reason I hid here at the last second was because I had no where else to go. I promise, wherever you're headed, as soon as you board the surface I'll be out of your hair in no time! You'll never have to hear about me again!"
I rolled my eyes. "I still can't believe this is happening. If I keep you here it means I'm stuck with you."
And yet somehow, upon realizing how desperately he needed me at that particular moment, I couldn't help but cave. I don't know what came over me.
"I'll tell you what. If you can be as scarcely annoying as possible I won't toss you out the door and leave you behind to suffocate or die of starvation. But we're adding this to your tab. You're already in my debt, in case you forgot. I mean surely you recall that locket with your little secret inside, right? I do still have it. It would be a shame if it were to suddenly end up in the hands of all your peers, for them to open it and mock you with its delicious contents. All these years of successfully keeping your true love hidden will have been wasted. So for the next few days, you better treat me like a goddess and nothing less."
Bokkun must've felt bold right then, because he hovered out from under the controls and stared at me, apparently unfazed by my demands.
"I'll be happy to stay out of your way, Rouge the Bat. There's no question about that. You sort of scare me, after all. But as far as that locket goes...that's all water under the bridge. I don't even like Cream in that way anymore. However, it appears the tables have turned. You're now the one with a secret crush, and I'm the only one who knows."
Even though a wave of nervousness kicked in, I managed to play it cool. "Oh, so you suddenly think you have something you can hold over me. Well, the joke's on you, you little shrimpy sad clown. I don't have feelings for Knuckles in a way that would make him redder than he already is. Boy would that be something to laugh about."
Bokkun shook his head. "Uh-uh, nope. I ain't buyin' it. You want to talk about red. Well if you don't like him, how come every time you mention him your cheeks flush?!"
I lifted a hand and subconsciously brushed it along the side of my face, feeling the heat melt through the fabric of the glove. My eyes glared acidic daggers at the former messenger.
"You wanna talk about red. You'll be red by the time I'm through with you!"
Cue supposedly comedic chasing of a little devilish chunk of slime, with lots of screaming, crying, and laughing.
"Don't deny the truth! You like Knuckles, you have a big crush on him! You wanna kiss him!"
This was going to suck.
"That's enough! I'll throw you out into space and your accusations will die with you!"
"You should only feel threatened if it's true!"
Yep.
"BOKKUN YOU SHUT YOUR BIG BLUE MOUTH!"
"YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM YOUR LOVE!"
This was definitely going to be a long trip home.
(Sonic's POV)
Earth was rapidly approaching. Every second the sphere of blue swelled larger and larger until it had completely filled the frames of the windows. We were nearing the oceans, sweeping closer the land. We were closing in on civilization, among which the Tower family resided still buried in grieving behind closed curtains.
Amy sat silently with her eyes fixed on the view before us. She was now cradling a blanketed Rachel Tower in her arms like an infant. The human girl lay twined inside her cocoon, her body and face relaxed as her conscience drifted somewhere far off in a deep slumber. She'd been asleep for hours, but none of us bothered to wake her. It was unclear how much rest she had gotten while in Eggman and Shadow's clutches, but even then rest must've been dreadfully difficult to acquire. I could only imagine how they treated her, and what conditions she was left to thrive in. So we let her soak her health and energy back in. She'd need it very soon when she was surrounded by her loved ones after many months of being gone, so she could lift her arms and wrap it around them at long last.
I smiled to myself. My contentment was once again emerging from within its wraps. Knowing that we were so incredibly close to reaching Earth after having successfully obtained two chaos emeralds AND rescued the world's most famous hostage, I felt accomplished. I felt at ease. The fight had not yet ended, but I was fairly certain that the worst of it was over. Eggman and Shadow had no chance of recapturing Rachel so long as I was around, and even if they somehow managed to, they'd never be able to get as far as they did before. Not with us in tow.
Thank the stars for the Chaos Emeralds' power. Because of it we were able to get to Earth much quicker than when we had left, whereas Eggman's Carrier would come treading after us at a snail's pace with its significant lack of power. Sure, it gave them time to come up with an elaborate plan. But that would all be futile when they arrived and dealt with us, along with the wrath of Rachel's grandfather, who had been permanently pissed off since the day she left, not that I, nor anyone could blame him, and had an army of trained men to back him up.
Tails voice shook me free of my thoughts as he called to us from inside the cockpit.
"We'll be entering Earth's atmosphere very shortly, so make sure you're all securely seated! I'll be contacting Commander Tower at least an hour prior to landing to let him know we're here!"
At the sound of this, I turned over to send Amy a look carefully blended between caution and excitement, only to find Rachel stirring in her arms in an adorable, child-like manner. Amy sighed and gently shrugged the human off her lap and into the corresponding seat, while gingerly fastening a seat belt around her sleeping body.
I nodded to her. "You've done really good, Amy Rose. We all have. Be proud."
Amy tightened the leather straps and then looked at me, grinning sweetly. "Rachel's gotten a lot warmer since we left, you know. I'd say she's almost at normal body temperature now, if not just a bit higher. She is slightly sick, after all..."
I nodded again. "I wouldn't worry about it. Her temperature might take a while before it regulates. As for what caused all of this...well...we'll bombard her with our questions later. I still wonder how she could've possibly absorbed enough Chaos Energy to have it flow through her veins. Here I thought a thing like that was impossible."
Amy stroked Rachel's dry and tangled mass of brown hair, combing her fingers through softly through the buds and knots.
"We all did, Sonic. I don't think a case of something like this has ever been recorded. There's definitely something different about this girl. She's certainly a special one, isn't she? A scientific marvel."
I continued watching Amy's fingers work through her hair whilst expressing a noise of disapproval.
"But...I don't think Rachel wants to be special, or a scientific marvel. She's just a kid, and that's all she wants to be. That's all she feels entitled to be. I can't say I don't understand why. She deserves a life of normalcy, surrounded by people who care for her and shower her in positive vibes."
Amy giggled. "I suppose you're right. I was just trying to make light of the situation. And even if she is a kid inside and out, she sure does sleep like a baby."
Her hand then pulled free from the human's locks. "I need to stop, before I get too attached. We'll be parting ways soon."
I found myself smirking at this.
"No need to sulk, this is in fact a very good thing."
Suddenly, Knuckles snored loudly, like gravel in a blizzard, in the seat behind me. I cringed, and Amy's emerald orbs widened as we were both caught off guard. The rosy hedgehog then suppressed a giggle.
I eased my tension almost immediately. "And I mean that in more ways than one."
(Shadow's POV)
"So I take it you've administered a final decision?"
I shot the Doctor a hazy glare, my previous train of thought quickly derailing and the accompanying steam going haywire.
"You wish I were that simple."
He only shrugged, his lustrous, rubbery pink nose twitching back and forth.
"It's not even a matter of simplicity at this point. It's now been a few days of you just sitting here silently, occasionally leaving to go find some another corner to brood in."
I looked ahead, towards the solar system in front of us. I disregarded his mockery. After all, he really had not a single clue.
"You act as if I should know right away how I'd like to spend a very wide remainder of my life. It's either a matter of leaving the one living person I care about to struggle and fend for herself in a post-apocalyptic world run by the likes of you, or taking her under my wing from here on out until her dying breath."
And then Eggman laughed at me, clicking at some of the multi-colored plastic in front of him.
"Shadow, you do realize only one of those choices requires responsibility, if that's your main concern," he said matter-of-factly. "Though, I get the feeling it's not."
I sighed, attentively focusing on the prisms of light around the Egg Carrier.
"No matter what happens, if Rachel is miserable, which she will be, I will ultimately feel like I'm the one to blame."
Eggman huffed in response. "All the more reason to wipe away your memories and cease the ability to feel, hedgehog. Point blank. It's been a painful ride, and its time the rollercoaster docked. Don't you agree?"
My mind dropped into its color-stained depths.
Only a little. Mostly dramatic, and angsty, confusing and aggravating as all hell. The most painful part, apart from being stabbed whilst protecting a human who hated me, was releasing her. And that was of my free will.
And yet, the source of this limitless turmoil had me by the throat. A human, a human girl who had little to no significance and a mind like a locked safe had brought me down to my knees. I felt I had to be with her...as if I needed to be. And without her, something terrible would happen to one of us if not directly affecting both parties, on both physical and emotional levels. Something told me that even after I cleansed my blood and circuitry of all these haunting worries by bonding my energy with the Chaos Emeralds, I'd always be left to wonder. There would be a distant stab of guilt reminiscent to the one I had felt back when I still mourned the loss of Maria. It was going to happen all over again. I had to stop it in its tracks and prevent history from repeating itself. I just wished I knew how.
"If I choose to keep her and shelter her away from the new backwards society you'll govern...I might be able to make her happy somehow since she'll possess a certain freedom no one else of her kind can say they have."
I crossed my arms. "But then again, it might not seem like freedom to her. And maybe the only way she can achieve happiness is through being with the rest of the Tower family, even if its in chains."
I paused. "On the other hand, she enjoys their company because she's been raised to do so, and depends on them for refuge, for safety and guidance, and that's something the adult relatives provide for her. I would think her younger counterparts aren't but mere nuisances. So the adults will eventually die off. But me, I do not age. And so long as I take care of myself, I cannot die either. And I can protect her easily and provide her with the necessities her mentality needs to grow and be healthy."
My thought process drifted off in the opposite direction yet again. "But Rachel probably feels most comfortable among other mortals, being that she is one herself. Also, she will grow old and die. That is inescapable just as it is for all humans. I would be potentially robbing her of every life experience she has set herself up for. Acquiring friends, stepping into the world independently, making a use of herself-"
"Falling in love."
I turned to look at Dr. Eggman through my peripheral.
"Getting married."
My brow furrowed. "Knock it off."
"Waking up every morning in the arms of a man who loves her, feeling cherished in his presence, spawning his children, aging together at an equal pace."
I found my temper rising into literal heat.
"I know what you're doing. You can stop playing mind games now."
"I finished playing games sixteen years ago, Shadow," Eggman replied all too casually. "I'm telling you exactly what will happen. Rachel is a decently attractive human with a pure heart. She'll win someone over. In my world of reign they'll make something of their misery. Haven't you ever heard, love triumphs over all?"
I glared down at my lap.
"Any feelings I have for Rachel are purely platonic. There's no point to your teasing."
"I don't recall platonic relationships ever involving mouth-to-mouth action," Eggman said slyly.
"Come off it. She hates me, Doctor. My existence makes her sick to her stomach. To her I'm nothing more than overpowered vermin," I declared venemously. "I've been wanting to assert the fact that I care about her more than I let on, and more than she'll ever understand, for a long time now. It didn't work when I saved her the first time, or the second time, or even when I bargained over her potential freedom a third time. So when she tried to escape from here, I was insulted. Devastated. I couldn't stop myself. I've explained this numerous times."
"That's all sweet in a very twisted sort of way, but Shadow, I think the most you've ever proved your affections was when you released her, as stupid as it was," the elderly, deranged scientist admitted. "She probably holds more respect for you now than ever before."
My fists curled into sharp knots.
"And now you want me to kill a member of her family," I seethed. "It'll all be for nothing."
"Not necessarily. It will have been helping me pave my way to having ultimate, limitless power, with the core of my threats relying on a weapon that you served no purpose in helping me construct, even when that was our deal from the start."
The ridges of my eyes lifted.
"...did you say relying?"
"The death of one person is meaningless, Shadow," he said, ignoring my inquiry. "It's even more meaningless when they've done nothing to contribute in a way that makes their name heard all around the world. They disappear, their voices and faces are forgotten. They are scraps of nothing. That's how they enter the world and how they shall leave."
He then turned and shot me a very serious glare.
"And if you decide you don't want to aid me, I assure you it will not end well."
I returned the gaze with my own balance of ferocity.
"Humor me and try to kill me all you want. So long as you don't harm Rachel, I don't care what you do. And even if you tried I wouldn't let you, and by simply attempting such a thing, I promise it wouldn't end well for you either."
"But that would mean you've decided to keep her after all. You would be protecting her from me, disregarding anyone else who is in danger. Isn't that the same thing?"
He then shook his head and smiled.
"There are worse things she can be brought to endure. Like remaining alive and witnessing everyone she loves perish before her eyes. And that, above everything else, would be your fault. And the best part is it is absolutely no sweat off my back. I'll get my satisfaction from knowing that I made the human you love even more miserable than you could ever make her yourself and she'll hate you with more passion than she could ever hate me."
His teeth bared and he fought back a deep cackle.
"So what's it going to be, hm? Make a decision, yet? All for one and one for all?"
I felt a bit defeated by his proclamation.
If I decided to annihalate a relative of hers, she'd hate me and classify me as a cold blooded murderer. If I stood back and did nothing, everyone she loves would die, and figuratively it would be at my hands. Eggman would be sure to tell her that. And I would then be a cold-blooded murderer. So it was more along the lines of kill one instead of kill all.
My face rose and fell as different worries shivered their way along the outskirts of my cerebrum. I breathed heavily.
I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't.
A cloud of heavy thinking ensued, along with different angles of uncomfortable shifting. I ran over the many different outcomes that followed with each decision, none of which appealed to me in the slightest.
And then, my raging mind settled down to glowing embers. I flipped my thoughts inside and out, twirling it to reaches I had previously not been able to comprehend. If my brain was a daemon, I'd have punched it in the throat by now.
And then I reached a conclusion.
There was only one way we could end this ordeal. I wanted to avoid the worst case scenario, which involved death and havoc. I wasn't looking forward to a showdown. But alas, no matter what I chose, someone was bound to die, someone was bound to be harmed or, in the very least, unhappy. There was only one thing I could do now that would give me a chance of achieving even a little bit of redeeming quality.
I then narrowed my eyes and nodded once.
"Alright. I know what I want to do," I stated, feeling the Doctor burn holes into me with his hidden irises.
"Full speed ahead, Doctor. We can hurry and get there sooner than anticipated if we try. I know we can.
Let's catch them using the element of surprise. Let's go enslave the human race, and then make Rachel Tower mine forever."
(Travis' POV)
When a person delivers bad news, there are two ways to go about it. Two very different, contrasting ways, both of which aim to achieve a similar outcome.
There's the way of coaxing the listener by showering them in sweet and supportive gestures, explaining the situation calmly and carefully explaining what is wrong. And then the other method, the way of swiftness, where the bearer simply states the curdled information and allows you to digest it and then ask your own questions if you so desire.
My parents, somehow, managed to combine these strategies, and it didn't pan out the way it should have initially. They entered our room. I had been shuffling through our collection of old video games, while Emma was drawing something morbidly relevant to Rachel's absence just like she always did.
It basically went like this:
"You remember when Grandpa invited you to stay with him for the weekend in Westopolis? That was fun, right? You enjoyed yourselves if I'm not mistaken. That's how it should be. He likes spending time with the two of you and loves you very much."
And then suddenly, like carnage flourishing from a mist, "It'd be wise to see him more often. Your grandfather has cancer and isn't expected to live much longer."
Neither me, nor my sister had any sort of evident reaction to this big reveal. They told us about twenty minutes prior to now, and were currently rambling on like headless chickens about what he had been told by his doctor and the exact diagnosis and how long we had until he was to expire. But their explanations fell on deaf ears. My sister continued drawing her scribbled version of our sister drifting amongst little dashes and dots for stars, while I sat back and read the font on the back of my game cases, completely shutting them out and avoiding eye contact.
Though it took them long enough, it was my mother who first noticed that I wasn't paying them any attention. She fell silent, and for whatever reason, decided to target me instead of my twin. I guess because she came off with a less steely aura as she playfully prodded at her sheets of paper with worn down colors.
"Travis, aren't you going to say anything?"
I didn't respond. I pursed my lips and squinted at the tiny white letters I was reading.
"I'm talking to you, young man."
I sighed. "Yeah, and I wish you'd stop."
Suddenly, there was the sound of stomping closing in on me, and before I had time to react, the rectangular piece of plastic was pried from my hands and flung across the room, hitting the wall behind Emma. She simply ignored the loud impact and hummed a song to herself in an eerie manner.
I looked up at once and was met with the raging oceans of my mother's eyes, who then grabbed hold of both my shoulders and shook me violently.
"What's the matter with you?!" she nearly shrieked through her clenched jaw, her irises bleeding through me like the surging sea. "A year will pass and Rachel still might not be back. If you're going to sulk and be a brat the whole time then I don't want you and your attitude tainting my house!"
Each word out of her mouth was a stab to the chest, but her malice wasn't thick enough to barricade my own building anger.
She'd cracked.
"We're devastated, Travis! All of us! It isn't just about you! Do you think I planned on losing a child this way, only to have no idea what it is she's enduring every day we're not with her because she's not even on the fucking planet?!"
I recoiled a little, my own stress beginning to hammer.
"This kind of incident has never happened to anyone else," she continued. "We're helpless. We have no one we can turn to. We sit around and wait expectantly for a miracle. But until then, the last thing this should do is tear us apart. It should bring the family closer together. I love you and your sister and want to hold you tighter to me than ever before. And now I'm losing a father-in-law and the last thing I want to lose, when I have nothing left, is your attention, and affection, and your sense of caring! Don't be selfish anymore!"
"Since Rachel's been gone I've lost any ounce of remorse I had left in me, Mom," I finally retaliated, appalled by her hypocrisy. "And don't act like you're the most sentimental person to ever grace the world with your presence. Grandpa's dying and the last time any of us saw him, you showed him nothing but resentment for keeping a secret that was only meant to protect us!"
I felt my eyes brim with tears but blinked the accumulation away.
"Since Rachel's been gone...we haven't been a family...and I refuse to think we're in any way complete without her. Our bonds are brittle. All we've done is crumble, and if she never comes back, we'll shatter completely."
Mom's eyes lost their swirls of fury and the waters calmed. I could see the hurt in her face and it was clear she could see mine too. Her temper regulated along with her breathing.
She stared at me, as her eyebrows turned down and her trembling pink lips moved to say something else. But her voice was interrupted by the ring of a cell phone.
The tune sang from within my dad's denim pocket. He'd been watching the scene without intervening and still stood between the threshold. He shuffled his fingers through the fabric of his pants and pulled out the wailing device, but not before checking the name that filled out the planes on the screen.
"Abraham Tower. It's my father."
Emma, from the other side of the room, peered upwards from between her caramel curls.
"Grandpa...?"
She looked at Mom as worry and concern suddenly dawned on her. She had been completely oblivious, possibly not retaining any information since she had been so concentrated on her artwork.
"Is grandpa...sick?"
Mom released her grip on me and strode across the room to plant herself next to my sister, twining her arms around the child and shushing her with sincere reassurances.
Dad answered the phone and greeted our Grandpa in a calm yet partially insecure manner, as if he feared the old man had more disappointing news to share with us.
"Hi father, how's-"
His face contorted with confusion.
"Woah, woah, slow down I can barely make out what you're saying. There's a lot of background noise."
Mom sat with Emma pulled to her chest, rocking back and forth and breathing deeply. Her swollen eyes fell upon the disarray of canvases splashed along the carpet, irises darting between each and every last depressing picture that dear sweet little Emma conjured up as her way of dealing with the sorrow. It managed to distract her, but as for me, I had my attention fully diverted to the one-sided conversation I was overhearing between my father and grandfather.
"Wait, why are you driving? Is that even safe for you in your...condition?"
I blinked, my hands interlocking and pulse quickening. Something important was happening right now. I could feel it.
Dad's whole face suddenly grew from every edge. His eyes widened, mouth dropped, bones rattled beneath his flesh.
"...Are you absolutely certain."
Now both Emma and our mother were looking his way too.
"Father this-"
he paused, accidentally swallowing air from his excitement, and used that instant to compose himself.
"O-Okay. I can remember the address. We're on our way right now."
He spun around and exited the room in a hurry, his words fading into the living room.
Mom stood at once, her arms disconnecting from my sister. "Wait, David, what's going on?" she said, chasing after him.
Emma and I glanced at each other in puzzlement before looking back at the empty doorway, where voices were overlapping and echoing from the other room.
"How long!" Dad exclaimed, his shock wavering through the door, followed by a squeal of joy from Mom.
"Have they found her?!" she practically screamed. "Oh, please tell me they have, please, please! Tell me they have!"
Dad either didn't receive an answer to his question or felt he had no need to respond to the one he was given, because he instantly hung up the phone. I then heard the sound of a loud, unnecessarily wet smooch, and knew it was an exchange between my parents.
"Sweetheart, we have our daughter back."
And then my mother made an inhuman noise, unable to contain herself. She gathered her dignity and sanity together immediately and shouted at everyone to get in the car.
I would've gladly obliged had the overflowing relief and happiness not caused me to collapse right there. I still remained awake. For the first time in forever, a huge smile broke out across my face.
Emma hooked her arms underneath the crooks of my elbows and shuffled out.
"Come on, Travis! Don't sleep now! We have to go! Rachel's here! She's waiting on us!"
"Rachel's here..." I said in a slur...as the world around me melted into a state of surrealism.
I said it again, to solidify those two words that I'd been itching to say for so long.
"...Rachel's here."
And I continued to chant them all the way out the door.
Everything would go back to normal.
I knew it would. It had to.
(Sonic's POV)
The X-Tornado had successfully broken through the atmosphere, the dim skies were growing lighter and closer to a bright aquatic color, whilst the sun burned above us like a white ember with an unforgiving lens flare streaking out and bleeding into the misty clouds.
It wasn't long before we could make out the outline of our country.
It wasn't long before we could make out the silver and blue camouflage of Station Square residing peacefully in the crisp winter daylight.
Tails shouted to us, "Preparing to land! Everyone be ready!" with very hoarse and strained undertones.
I somehow could hear Knuckles stirring behind me above the screech of wind bustling our airship. He woke up and groggily snorted out the last of his sustained rest, yawning obnoxiously. I could feel his shoes pointing against the back of my seat.
The echidna moaned a bit. "Eyahhh...what'd I miss...?"
(Travis' POV)
We were barreling down the dewy streets, racing up inclines and sliding down slopes like it was a ride at a theme park. The car swerved to the left, and then to the right, moving down a chaotic path through the city's maze.
"I can't believe we're meeting her at Sonic the Hedgehog's house! I can't believe he took it upon himself to venture out into the uncharted reaches of space to retrieve our little Rachel! I can't, oh gosh I just can't believe!" Dad exclaimed, his hands working the steering wheel as if he was choking water out of a rag.
"I can," I said happily, looking out the window at all people jabbing gloved fingers our way from outside the various restaurants and stores, all covered in frost. "He is a hero after all."
"Our hero, now," Mom said. Her cheeks were sticky with salted moisture.
"Yeah well I wish our hero had an easier way of getting to his residence!" Dad yelled in frustration. He was getting impatient, and we all knew why. Mom tried her best to soothe the tension just like she always had before.
"This may seem like it's the hard part, but at least it was easier than usual to get out of the house. Thank goodness the reporters have dispersed."
Emma giggled from her seat, the sun setting her hair ablaze in rust. "Yeah, they might have given up, but we sure didn't. Right guys? Can I get a hallelujah?"
Instead we all gasped as the van edged sharply to the side, evading a passing car. The sound of the horn trailed away along with the car, and the driver who shot us with obscene hand gestures. My sister and I momentarily looked back.
Our mother crossed her arms and glared sideways in disgust with her husband's sloppy driving. She quickly remembered why we always traveled by taxi and never left it up to my father to take the wheel. And they said women drivers were crazy.
"Let's make our new motif to get there in one piece. We've made it this far, I'd hate for us to die now," she said with stale humor.
"Seriously dad, if you're not careful you're going to hit other cars and send them flying," I agreed, imagining the cartoony notion of a bunch of vehicles catapulting away like papers in the wind.
Emma nodded. "Yeah, Dad, there are other lives at stake here. This isn't a video game where everything is pixelated and doesn't matter."
"EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP AND LET ME CONCENTRATE!" Dad yelled. His foot slammed into the gas pedal until it was parallel with the floor. The engine revved, propelling us forward and out of the city's limits. We shot through the suburbian outskirts like a drunken arrow and then onward, growing closer to our destination.
(Sonic's POV)
Rachel lay splayed in the space between my arms and chest, still sleeping. Still breathing, more importantly. My fingers pressed gently into her warm skin, and she mumbled in response, stretching one leg forward and nearly nailing Knuckles right in the skull. The echidna, who'd moved seats so he could keep the human in his sight along with the rest of us, scoffed as if he were insulted.
With a single chuckle I pulled her away so he'd safely remain outside her line of fire. I took one last look through the windows, and could see the orange patches of scenery and gray metallic buildings inching into view as we lowered ourselves farther down into the sanctity of Station Square.
(Travis' POV)
Mom and Dad were now shouting at each other in a fit of desperation, squabbling over which direction we should take or if we were even going the right way.
But they didn't need some map or pretentious atlas to detect the large mansion and runway right in front of us. They missed it, but my sister and I did not, and we also noted how the distance was not very far. We exchanged a look of triumph.
And then we noticed a jagged smear of blue descending from the open skies, dipping downwards past a horizon of clouds and retreating the path of the rising son.
(Sonic's POV)
I could see the runway growing in size.
I could see an expedition car zipping down through the winding road that led to our front porch. It quickly stationed itself near a decaying garden and a bunch of pale figures emerged from the vehicle.
The fleshy blobs went hurdling towards the runway, keeping close to the outer edges.
I grinned as the Tower family scurried into their positions, heads turned up as they watched us land.
(Travis' POV)
It was here.
She was here.
After so long...
She was finally here.
(Sonic's POV)
And then the wheels touched the surface of the Earth. We came to a slow, rolling stop.
(Rachel's POV)
My sleep had began in a feverish quake of rampaging dreams. Back to back, one after the other. Some were of memories I wished to forget, others of memories twisted and spun so that they sported different outcomes and existed in an alternate universe. And then some were incidents that would never happen. Like Shadow and my Grandfather making amends and deciding to end their rivalry with a handshake.
I knew I could never be comfortable with a mutual friendship between the two differing sides, and I imagined they wouldn't be either.
The dreams themselves were extremely vivid but I found myself exploring them lucidly, interacting with the people and places involved and having the idea that "Yes, I'm dreaming, and yes, it's alright to do whatever it is I'm about to do."
But sometimes, I'd catch glimpses of this small, irregular form of brown, usually lingering at the rims of my vision so it was never fully in focus. It looked like a collection of different shades of brown, moving in a humanoid manner.
He or she was a recurring aspect of my sleeping playground. But I never found myself interested enough to actually pursue the form in question.
I noticed the colors that I was seeing now, the neon tints and bright lights of an amusement park slightly in relation with Twinkle Park but with a touch more fantasy, suddenly dimming down into black.
It was quick and painless. The moment in the dark didn't last long enough to frighten me.
Soon I was awakening to a face looking back at me with wide, watery eyes.
Huh?
It was a woman. A beautiful woman...and at first she was a stranger. But her features were igniting something within me.
A sense of trust, relief, and happiness.
At first I thought it was another one of my dreams, until I heard the woman speak my name, and the voice made my mouth fall agape.
Mom.
I reached a hand up and traced a finger along her cheekbone, as if to validate what I was seeing as reality. She shuddered in response, flashing a warm smile that made my heart tingle.
It seemed far too exceptional to be true. I had to still be asleep, or hallucinating.
But when I tore my gaze away from her I noticed the rest of the faces standing together behind her back, and my eyes followed their perimeter. One by one I could pick apart who they were, and what their names were.
Dad. Emma. Travis.
My head lolled to the side and I looked directly up, only to be met by the friendly eyes of my azure savior.
Sonic the Hedgehog.
I wasn't sure how long I'd been asleep, but I felt like gelatin, and my mind worked as if each thought had to tread its way through the sticky plasma before it finally clicked to me what was happening.
I could see blue skies around us. Birds passing and casting small shadows, the naked tree branches twitching as a cold breeze rolled over.
And then a choppy, sort of whirring noise shortly followed. It grew louder and louder.
My hair began to billow all around me. I was suddenly scooped into the arms of my beloved mother, and I instantly relished in how it was such a soft, warm place to be.
I kept my gaze panned towards the sky, and noticed the overcast of black settling on us.
The blades on the helicopter spun so fast that they appeared like black, hummingbird flower petals. On the side of the aircraft were the letters GUN.
The wind grew harsher, pushing the cold into me.
For once, I wasn't scared to melt into my only source of comfort. The only desired comfort I had. I huddled closer to my mother like a needy child, with no shame left in me to care about how silly I must've looked.
It was hard to absorb, but this was really happening.
I heard my name called a few more times, each by a different member of my family. Their voices were dancing around me in carousels as dizziness overwhelmed me.
I thought I felt a sickness building. But instead it was joy.
And tears.
I cried into my mother's shoulder, endlessly, for as long as I needed to, and felt alive once again.
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A/N Alright so, the next chapter SHOULD follow shortly after this one, as it was meant to be one large chapter with everything crammed together. I've been super busy, and my 18th birthday is in eleven days. So go me, but also shame on me! At the same time!
I'd like to thank all of you who have reviewed. I might have messaged a few of you, because your kindness really sways me and helps me truck along. I'm not the best writer in the world but I can damn well try to be my very best and you all bring that out of me. Right now, it's 10 AM and I pulled an all-nighter. I'm going to sleep and wake up and consume food and then repeat.
There is an author named Blitz the Hedgehog who served as a great shoulder to cry on (Just kidding) She more or less helped give me advice on some of the decisions I made regarding updating the story, and has been very supportive. She has a story called Kingdom of Chaos, which I took upon myself to read a chapter of, and in doing so I learned she's both a good source of motivation and a phenomenal writer. So thank you, deary. I suggest anyone who's unfamiliar with her check out her story. Whether it's up your alley or not, you have to respect the style in which the story is told. I'm not even a SonAmy fan and I like it! Brava.
So it's all coming together now. This is the third to last chapter...maybe second to last if I regard the final chapter in the installment as an epilogue. Reviews are appreciated, I'd really love some criticism.
Also, I'd like to share with all of you something that's a silly idea I've had. We're all familiar with Sonic '06, right? We don't like it, right? In fact it's regarded by many people as 'coming off as bad fanfiction.' I've considered re-writing the plot to be more solid and delivering, and publishing it as a story. I wouldn't be surprised if it's been done before. I have the opening cutscene written down in doc manager so don't be surprised if I post it on the site for kicks. I take it seriously but not too seriously.
Anway, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed yourselves!