It was a warm Autumn day; the treetops were colored orange with bright leaves, and people were in a good mood to party. Pumpkins were placed outside the front doors of every home, the candles lit with the carved faces aglow. The village was lively, upbeat, and brimming with a festive spirit.
Halloween season had come, and today was a good day to rejoice in it. On the east side of town, in the pub known as Seventh Heaven, Tifa Lockhart was dusting the counters and fixing the fake cobweb decorations that rested on the wall. She was dressed for the party, wearing her revealing purple dress with high heels, and she had the bottles ready for her and Cloud.
She heard a whistle and turned to see her adopted son, Chris Thorndyke, walk downstairs, wearing a black-white outfit meant to be a skeleton costume, given the ribcage and bones seen on the front and back of the outfit.
"It's a spooky month, a spooky month!" Chris squealed and started to dance with his hands out wide in front of him.
"Can't wait to see Skid and Pump, dear?" Tifa asked with a smile.
"Yes, mom." Chris replied, "And I can't wait to go trick-or-treating on Halloween."
The black-haired fighter/bartender smiled and hugged Chris with a happy smile. It had been several months since this bright young boy had come into her life, since she'd adopted him, and they'd formed a strong bond. Even Cloud had become quite the father. Tifa pulled away and gave Chris another smile, then she picked up the camera from the table.
Just before Tifa could turn it on, she and Chris heard a knock on the door. The former went to answer it and opened the door, finding nobody else outside. Tifa frowned with confusion, wondering if it was her imagination or someone was pranking her.
"Hey, what's that?"
Chris came over and picked up a large envelope near the doormat. Tifa shut the door and looked at the envelope with her adopted son, grabbing a pair of glasses to look at it more closely.
"Now that's strange..." Tifa remarked, "It's addressed to Seventh Heaven, but nobody in particular, it doesn't seem to have a return address. Is this some sort of gag from across the street, a mysterious invitation?"
RIP-RIP-RIP! Chris tore into the envelope before Tifa could comment further, even as she cautioned him. However, the young boy had opened it and pulled out a piece of black-red paper. Chris unfolded it and sat down at the table with Tifa. Their eyes widened as they saw the eerie red symbol on the top, followed by the eerie words etched onto the paper;
'Let's play a game.' -EXE
"Who's 'EXE'?" Chris wondered out loud.
"Is it short for something?" Tifa asked.
Just then, the lights flickered, and cold chills filled the room. The paper suddenly started glowing a frightening shade of red, and so did the envelope. Chris and Tifa yelped in horror and threw the paper toward the trash bin along with the envelope. Tifa grabbed a lighter and attempted to burn the paper, only for the lighter to vanish from the palm of her smooth hand.
Ominous, disembodied laughter filled the bar, sending shivers down Tifa's back and giving Chris the creeps. Before they knew it, a bright red glow engulfed Seventh Heaven, and Tifa threw herself onto her adopted son in a protective manner, even as she wound up burying Chris' face in her cleavage.
Tifa squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for whatever was happening. Then everything seemed to settle. She opened her eyes and let go of Chris, seeing he was still with her. Chris, shaken by what had just taken place, hugged his loving adoptive mother with a slight whimper. Replacing her worry with a smile, Tifa gave him another light hug.
Once they'd eased each other, Chris and Tifa looked around, seeing themselves in a lush green land with palm trees, totem poles, loop-de-loops, and... a very red sky full of dark red clouds. An ominous breeze hung in the air, not helped by the sight of blood on a rock close by.
"Stay close to me, Chris." Tifa instructed.
"I-I'm here..." Chris whimpered, "P-P-Please don't leave me..."
Tifa patted his head lovingly, "Shhhh, it's okay, sweetie. Just stay close to me and we'll be fine."
"ARE YOU READY TO PLAY?!"
Chris screamed and hugged his mother for comfort. Tifa rubbed his neck gently while eying the area firmly and fiercely, searching for the eerie voice. She heard a buzzing sound and looked up, thinking she'd just spotted someone watching from atop a cliff. Tifa looked at Chris with concern, and then she began to wander around the area with her adopted son by her side.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, and someone laughed from somewhere else. Tifa felt her foot touch something and looked down to see a ravaged skull. She looked over at Chris and held her close to herself, providing the boy some more needed comfort.
Eerie shadows crept over the surrounding landscape, slowly encompassing Chris and Tifa by the second. Another haunting chill made its way through the environment, giving the young boy and the Avalanche fighter the sense they weren't alone. They were being watched, every minute, every second, and they weren't safe.
Whatever that thing was, it had been very sadistic if it was going to target Chris and bring Tifa into the mix, probably to cause her more pain watching it torment the poor boy.
"YOU CANNOT COMPREHEND HOW GOD IS INFINITE!" The voice declared, "BUT THIS IS MY DOMAIN AND YOU ARE PART OF THE GAME! NONE OF YOU CAN HIDE FROM ME; YOU COULD NEVER HIDE FROM GOD, AND I ENJOY WATCHING AS FEAR ENGULFS YOU!"
"D-Do we run?" Chris whimpered.
"It's probably what it wants." Tifa told her adopted son, "We can't run from all of our problems... we have to fight."
"Can you use your meteor power and your dolphin abilities?"
"Maybe."
A shrill, cruel, bone-chilling laugh echoed around the landscape, and lightning exploded high above. Chris whimpered. Tifa stood her ground, placing herself in front of the young boy. Despite giving him a couple combat lessons, the intrepid Lockhart knew that he was still timid and scared, primarily due to the trauma of losing his parents to Sephiroth.
Hearts pounded with intensity, and another laugh carried; Tifa and Chris looked around, prepared to see their tormentor for themselves. And the laughter got louder, going from shrill to demonic. The red sky exploded with a shade of orange lightning, and the thunder became louder too.
Their blood ran cold, goose-bumps cropped up along Tifa's arms, a few emerged on her shoulders, and she clenched her fist until her knuckles felt red. Chris trembled, feeling his every breath become more shallow, and his pulse skyrocketed. The shadows got darker and more frightening, and the sky became engulfed in darkness with bright red clouds rolling in...
Horrifying laughter filled Chris and Tifa's ears, and they turned around, watching as a blue hedgehog with black-red eyes, sharp teeth, and gloved claws approached them. The monster howled with glee and stuck out its tongue with a hiss, gnashing his sharp, monstrous teeth.
Chris hid behind Tifa, who stared down the horrific entity, glaring at the horrific hedgehog horror intensely and fiercely with her arms spread protectively.
"You have to deal with me if you want to hurt my son, you damn monster!" Tifa told the entity, "I don't know where you came from, but that 'letter' that brought us here was meant for Chris, wasn't it? And whatever that game is that you're talking about, I can tell it involves pain and suffering. And you're the one who sent us that letter, didn't you?"
"Who wouldn't invite a nice boy to the game?" The creature replied, "And seeing you come with him is a nice bonus..." Tifa shivered as the entity started caressing her face with claws, "You are so pretty, so fresh... Maybe after I'm done with your boy, we can play a little more?"
"Just who or what are you, you bastard!" Tifa snapped, "I probably don't even care, especially since you're threatening my son!"
The hedgehog grinned madly, "Oh. You can call me... EXE. SONIC EXE!"
He inched closer and licked Tifa's cheeks, "And you taste good; we're gonna have a very interesting game by the time I've finished with your boy here, and we all know how much kids love games. Right?"
Chris screamed with terror and ran. Tifa punched Sonic EXE, hitting him in the eye, and then she ran after her son. They ran through the lush landscape, which they decided to call Green Hill, looking around to see when their tormentor would attack. Haunting laughter echoed through the area, accompanied by whooshing sounds and high-pitched snarling.
It was a total nightmare, Tifa admitted it, and so did Chris. She picked up the young boy in her arms, hugging him tightly and protectively holding him. Chris was pale and shaking badly; his eyes were wide and darting around wildly, looking for a sign of that horrible monster...
EXE teleported in front of them and lunged with a snarl. Tifa ducked and hugged Chris, narrowly avoiding that horrible monster's attack. Chris lay on the ground, huddling with fear, and Tifa stood up straight in front of the boy with determination. Sonic EXE snarled ferociously, eyes gleaming with menace, and he flew at the protective bartender/fighter/adoptive parent.
"MOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" Chris wailed, tears flowing from his eyes.
She heard her son's cry; she saw the gleam in the demonic hedgehog's face. Tifa placed herself between EXE and Chris, throwing herself at the former. She ducked a slice from his gloved claws, and then she punched him in the face. The hedgehog warped around her, throwing its arms around the fighter in a chokehold.
Tifa gripped EXE's wrists, and she felt something graze her shoulder; she heard her son scream with horror again. That thing, that monster, it was trying to bite her. She ducked, throwing the hedgehog over her head, and slammed him into the ground.
"YOU EVIL BASTARD!" Tifa screamed, "DO YOU DAMN REALIZE THE PAIN THAT MY SON'S BEEN THROUGH, DO YOU HAVE A SHRED OF HUMANITY IN YOUR HEART?! I'M NOT LETTING YOU HURT CHRIS, YOU HEAR ME? YOU'RE! NOT! HURTING HIM!"
EXE snarled and shot up, kicking her in the leg, then he grabbed the terrified Chris and held him up with a menacing glare at Tifa.
"MOM!" Chris wailed as lightning exploded.
"CHRIS!" Tifa's eyes widened, welling with tears, "NO, DON'T HURT HIM!"
"Oh, but we're having so much fun..." EXE snarled. And then, he bit Chris' hand.
Chris cried in pain, Tifa screamed with horror, and EXE laughed maniacally. A few drops of blood fell onto the grass from Chris' hand. The sinister hedgehog grabbed the boy's head, staring at him menacingly, and then he stared back at his horrified mother. Tifa stood, taking it all in, gasping and crying.
She'd cared for Chris since the day she found him after he lost his parents, protecting him from the likes of the one who'd murdered his family. She'd become a mother to him, she loved Chris dearly, and she tried so hard to protect him. Now, he was about to be hurt badly by a horrific hedgehog demon. She was going to lose him.
'No.'
Her son was not going to become that thing's victim. She'd promised Chris' parents that she'd protect their son, her adopted son, with her life, and she could not fail now.
Tifa heard EXE laughing again and Chris wailing for his mother. The Avalanche resistance fighter stared at the monster, her tear-filled eyes shaking as anger boiled forth, and she shrieked with fury. She ran towards the red-eyed hedgehog just as he was getting ready to torment Chris some more.
With a cry of rage, her eyes bloodshot and watery, Tifa punched Sonic EXE as hard as she could, knocking him over and breaking his hold on her son. The shapely bartender-combatant took a moment to examine Chris' wound, providing the young boy some comfort. She glared back at the monster and made a run towards him with fiery determination.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Tifa threw her fist upward, and a watery aura shot up with her hook, complete with a dolphin. She struck EXE across the jaw, delivering what may have been her most powerful Dolphin Blow yet, and the hedgehog stumbled back with wide-eyed surprise.
Chris watched from a distance as his loving mother went to town. Tifa kicked her leg up, hitting EXE in the side of the face. She grabbed the dazed demon by the arm, glaring at him with anger.
"You are not going to harm my son again!" She said fiercely.
WHAM! Tifa head-butted Sonic EXE and twisted his arm hard enough to snap it, then she kicked him hard enough to break his leg. Tifa punched the monster across the face with several Dolphin Blows, breaking the entity's nose and bruising his eye. She didn't hold back; her love for Chris strengthened her, and seeing harm come to her son was where she went all-out.
She threw EXE onto the ground, then waved her hands in a wide arc and threw her arms to the air while proclaiming, "METEOR SHOWER!"
In seconds, a volley of meteors rained down upon Green Hill and blasted EXE. The hedgehog vanished in an explosion as a meteor hit him. When the dust settled, he was bruised and bleeding, coughing hard, and barely standing with a broken leg.
Just before he could make ANY moves, Tifa dashed towards the monstrous being and rotated her arm rapidly, warming up for the special final move she'd been working on. That abomination was almost defeated, and it was time to end this. Tifa closed the gap and kicked EXE across the torso. She let her fist fly, unleashing her special attack: one Super Dolphin Meteor Strike!
A wave of watery energy slammed into the hedgehog-looking entity, followed by a large dolphin that struck him hard to send him flying into the air. Then a massive meteor came hurling towards EXE like a missile as a dolphin flew in alongside it. And just before the hedgehog could react, the dolphin-meteor combo made impact and the explosion shook the environment.
The dust settled, and Tifa walked back to Chris' side, hugging him gently, and they looked up, seeing that Sonic EXE had been obliterated. Chris hugged his mother, sobbing softly, thanking her for saving him from another mean monster. Tifa smiled sweetly, feeling relief wash over her, knowing Chris was safe.
Up above, the red sky rumbled and began to darken. A bright light surrounded Tifa and Chris and Green Hill vanished. When they opened their eyes, they were back in Seventh Heaven, and that creepy letter from EXE that brought them to his world was gone.
"I'm so happy it's over..." Chris said, wiping a tear from his eyes.
"So am I, Chris." Tifa said, she looked at his still-injured hand, "Now, how about we get that wound tended to before we do anything else?"
Chris hugged his adoptive mother as the sun shone through the window, gleaming off Tifa's long black hair, and the bartender gave him another comforting hug. Then, they worked to clean Chris' wound, and Tifa wrapped a bandage around his hand to conceal the tooth marks left by Sonic EXE and ensure it healed...
The End