SSH - Chap. 9

     Harsh, vicious, and malicious laughter tore through that hollowed room as Eggman threw his hands high above his head, chortling with glee as he stomped one foot on the ground, raising his voice as he punched a fist into the air, “Finally! I have done it! I have killed the famous Sonic the Hedgehog!!!! AHAHAAHAAAA!!!”

There was quite a bit of silence as Eggman continued to laugh, laughing at his nemesis’s ultimate and final downfall.

Many of the captors hanging in their bonds against the wall let their heads fall to their chests, tears unbound dripping from the corners of their eyes. Many of the more injured had blood dripping from their wrists, falling through the air, to splatter on the concrete floor, causing several separate pools of darkness all across the ground, the reflections of saddened creatures showing back at them..

With Sonic gone….What would happen now? What would Eggman do to them all!? W-…

Suddenly, almost everyone who wasn’t hurt to the point of not having enough strength to do so lifted their faces to Eggman, whose loud words cut through everyone’s grim thoughts like a deadly dagger that flashed in the night,

“Oh….By the way….I almost forgot.”

Mephiles suddenly looked surprised as his head snapped up towards Eggman’s, he straining to hide his growing confusion as Eggman smiled, showing his teeth as he addressed the prisoners around, “There’s one extra thing I must do before I decide what to do with you worthless wretches.” Mephiles spoke then, crossing his arms as his claws tapped slowly on the upper part of his arm, “What are you going on about?”

Eggman smiled again, “I failed to tell you Mephiles….but there wasn’t much I could say. He just….had to join our little party.”

Knuckles suddenly snapped, his head turning sharply as he spat at Eggman, “Who ELSE have you recruited into your party Eggman!?”

Eggman closed his eyes with a dark chuckle, “Stupid Echidna. I didn’t recruit him, oh no. He came of his own accord. In fact…” Eggman opened his eyes and threw his voice over his shoulder without turning, “It’s time to reveal yourself.”

Everyone turned towards the side of Eggman, even Mist and Shadow, the two being the most heavily injured of the pack so far….

The only sound heard was the silent tip tap of boots hitting the stone floor as a figure approached from the darkness, only his body silhouetted in the midnight blackness of the back of the room. Someone spoke silently, their voice quivering violently, that voice turning out to be Amy’s, “No….It’s impossible…..

S-….Sonic?”

Amy jumped with shock as a different voice than her heart secretly hoped for hit her, a long chuckle coming before the approaching figure came closer, “Oh…….I don’t think so babe. Your….Your FAR from it.”

Everyone gasped with shock, and many were gasps filled with complete confusion. The figure’s body was outlined still with a dark shadow, but as the figure’s snarling face slowly revealed itself, you could now clearly see who it was.

He was a hedgehog. There was a massive amount of reason in which Amy called him ‘Sonic’ at her first glance.

He WAS a hedgehog, but surely not Sonic.

Instead of being that familiar blue color, his fur was a deep green, sickly and unappealing to the eyes. His narrowed gaze concealed a pair of eyes, as blue as the daytime sky, flashing menacingly from behind a pair of dark red sunglasses that were balanced snugly on the bridge of his nose. He showed his fangs in a sneer as he pushed them slightly up his nose some more, but only to where they were half covering his eyes.

He walked slowly, and mimicked many of the same exact traits as Sonic. He walked the same, looked the same somewhat, but did not act the same, oh no. Exactly the opposite.

Amy’s soft smile turned into a grimace of disgust as his face showed itself more, a smile of sarcasm spread on his creamy muzzle, the same as Sonic’s. He had the same smile…..but that smile was so different in too many ways.

He was wearing a pitch black jacket that hung loosely over his shoulders, opened and leaving his chest exposed. Long flames licked over the tops of the jacket’s shoulders, and the sleeves had jagged rips in the material, some strands of fabric lazily fluttering as he came closer and closer. What could also be visibly seen were two long scars that ripped up his chest, showing the sign of some strong person raking their claws along the wretched hedgehog’s body. The hedgehog didn’t seem to mind though, and actually, he let the scars show as much as he could allow them to.

His jacket was unzipped for this purpose, and strongly showed that it would stay that way. The belt that was also attached to his jacket hung loosely by his arm, bumping it as he walked. He wore boots that were black as well, with that same nasty green color leaking up the sides, coming into an oval patch on the top, with a silvery piece of metal over the top, along with a silver button on the tongue of the shoe, just where it met his ankles.

He laughed again through his clenched teeth, showing sharp fangs that he let show more than he should have. He slowly removed his sunglasses from his eyes as he closed them, coming to a stop in the near center of the floor, not even glancing at anyone, or bothering to open his eyes again for that matter as he sneered, placing his glasses on his forehead, letting mock up Sonic ears poke out from behind them.

“Never thought I’d be setting afoot back into Eggman’s joint. Seems…..different than I expected.”

Suddenly his eyelids snapped open, his dark gaze passing over everyone’s as he laughed, smiling and continuing to show his teeth as Rockfire stammered, his eyes opened with a mixture of fear and shock at the nearly EXACT copy of his drowning friend, “W-….Who are you!?”

The hedgehog stepped a bit closer to the prisoners, crossing his arms as he smiled yet again, that sneer never wavering or lifting from his face,

“The name’s Scourge. Scourge the Hedgehog, and I think you’d be better off not to forget it anytime soon.”

Mephiles made a small grunting noise in the back of his throat as he sighed, speaking lower than anyone but Eggman could hear, “Great. More Sonic lookalikes.”

Eggman ignored Mephiles’ comment as he chuckled, waving his hand in Scourge’s direction for emphasis, “I think some of the ones present should remember Scourge hm? Or then again….maybe not….”

Scourge, who had been looking up, let his flashing gaze snap upwards again, his former sneer melting into a snarl of anger as someone weakly spoke, their voice so small that it could barely be heard without straining to hear it, “Y-ou….Your just another pathetic…….cl-clone of Sonic…”

Everyone held their breath, and Dream had to even bite his lip to keep from out bursting as Scourge hissed through clenched teeth, approaching Mist at a fast jog, letting his face come so close to the one who spoke that their black noses touched, “Is that so? So what do you think you’d call yerself then, huh?!”

With that remark made through his fangs, Scourge let a gloved finger prod hard into the white fur fluffed up around Mist’s neck, causing him to whimper in pain and raise his head a bit, his eyes dancing with pain as he snarled with as much strength as he could muster, “I’d call myself the same, only I’m…..not evil scum. I can see you are at only a glance, working for…..f-for Eggman  and all…”

Shadow finally brought his head up, as he was letting it hang limp against his chest as he was alerted by a sharp scream from Mist, who’s fangs glinted in the dim light as Scourge smiled, letting his fingers curl around Mist’s upper arm in a viselike grip, purposely allowing the tips of his fingers to dig into some of the openings of the wounds that littered the poor creature’s arm, “So, You think I’m like Sonic eh Hedgehog? Think I take pity on your pain!? Think I care about the helpless, worthless things like you that stain this earth? Well you have another thing coming if you think that…..friend”

Mist groaned hoarsely in pain as Scourge released him, letting his last word roll off of his tongue with a mock silky tone, further exposing Mist’s shame and humiliation of being the one who was being tortured the most……emotionally and physically.

Scourge made a small clicking sound with his tongue as he growled, rubbing his now blood dripping hand on the edge of his jacket, the dark crimson of Mist’s blood staining it a deep red, but he didn’t seem to care, “Tsk Tsk….Another one who speaks before they think about who they’re talking to. I tell you now, I am Scourge the Hedgehog, and you are sorely mistaken if you think that my sad look a like is anything like he ever was….and never will be ever again.”

Mist’s eyelids flickered as his jaws hung open in a hazy stupor, he letting his head drop limply to his chest, the wounds now simply pouring blood, pink flesh exposed under Mist’s formally creamy skin, which was now barely recognized on his left shoulder as it pulsated with pain, sending daggers of agony through Mist’s body, rendering him completely helpless to any tortures than the evils so desired to place upon him now.

Scourge was helped to another dose of anger as Rainjha snarled, anger and rage dancing in her eyes as she spat at Scourge, who casually let his head turned towards Rainjha was hanging just beside Dream, who’s face was paled into a look of disgust, horror, and outrage, “Seems like we have another poorly adapted copy of Sonic. Won’t you guys EVER give this cloning thing a break!?”

Eggman smiled and shook his head, “Oh but your mistaken vixen.” Rainjha hissed with rage at what Eggman called her as he continued, Scourge letting one fist rest against his hip as the other hung by his side, the glove still stained all over with Mist’s blood, “But you see….Scourge is not simply a copy, clone, or what other names you desire to give him. He is the darkness composed of Sonic, a greater form from Dark super Sonic, which could only be brought about within the heroic hedgehog himself. All that sickly sweetness that Sonic contained is turned upside down in Scourge, making that turn into nothing but delightful evil, anger, inhumanity, a sadistic attitude, a lovely lack of pity and patience, and a lovely new color to boot.” Eggman’s expression never changed as he continued, “So you see, He is exactly the opposite of Sonic in every kind of way, and I plan to have Scourge replace the role of your late friend, completing many evils that Sonic had the chance, but failed miserably to enact.”

Rainjha ignored Eggman’s words as she spoke sarcastically, her lip curling with disdain, Whatever Eggman. But….ignoring the fact that another ‘copy’ of Sonic has entered this room….” Scourge snarled and balled his fists at Rainjha’s comment, she turning to Mephiles now, who had a look of simple agitation on his face at this point. Dream looked crossways at Rainjha with confusion as her tone came completely off the subject of Scourge as she spoke to Mephiles, snarling with disgust and sarcasm, “It really looks like we know who’s in charge HERE. You REALLY have the ‘top hand’ in this situation Mephy. I could really tell that you wanted to kill Ani right there a little ago, but why didn’t you?”

Anita let a look of disgust come on her face as she shrieked, “Hey!”

Rainjha chuckled and continued, everyone looking at her in confusion, “Fatso over there couldn’t even get control over us, he’s so pathetic, But….he got YOU to listen to him!? Man…..you even went for the weakest of the experiments. Cheap.”

Mist raised his head a bit as Rainjha referred to him as the weakest. Again.

Scourge laughed viciously under his breath as he stepped closer to the scene, standing just to the side of Eggman, closing his eyes as he sneered, “This is gonna be good. Didn’t expect to see the other hedgehog here, but this may be an advantage to me anyways. Robotnik didn’t even ask for me to come here….though Scourge never needs an invite.”

Scourge opened his eyes again and showed his fangs in a smile as he let his vision wrap over the show, the others looking on with horror, Eggman standing there with no surprise on his face….and Amy being the only one who was turned away from everything, as she silently wept in the corner.

Mephiles threw his claws to the side in rage as his gaze narrowed, a malicious snarl ripping from his throat as he pressed a claw against Rainjha’s throat without any pity, hissing into her face, “How DARE you speak to me that way! Don’t you think for a moment that I won’t hesitate in taking your life. I finished my deal with Eggman. Sonic’s no longer here to watch, but I’ll make your death so slow and painful that he will turn over in his watery grave!!”

Rainjha coolly locked eyes with her accessor as she snarled, “Go right ahead Mephy. You’re the only one I know of that would be as much of a coward as to kill a helpless, other than maybe that Sonic poser over there.”

Then, Everyone gasped with shock, and Alexis let out a hiss of surprise as Mephiles brought a fist high over his head, a massive orb of pulsating energy wavering over his body as he howled with rage, veins popping out in his neck with his rising blood pressure, with what ‘blood’ was contained inside of his body, “You made your choice. Die with the other failed experiment known as Sonic the pathetic HEDGEHOG!”

Then, the completely angered Mephiles brought his balled fist around, his own claws puncturing his skin with the force of the pressure he was putting on his hand by drawing out so much of the shadowy energy, it bursting out in a shockwave from his fist as it connected harshly with the side of Rainjha’s shoulder, sliding over the front of her chest with an equal force, causing her metal restraints to shatter into nothingness as if they were nothing but cotton. Alex hollered out with rage and pain as she saw her best friend’s body buckle, the fox being sent crashing to the floor, her head just missing colliding with the ground as she landed on her side, pain written in waves over her face as he rolled over a bit, landing on her side slightly as her tail was splayed out behind her, ruffled and matted. Her upper body was rimmed with blackness as she lay still, her black hair covering most of her face as Mephiles laughed in a maniacal state, “Take this as a warning to those who are left living in this room. A warning to you all, to all that will perish under my claws, as well as the hand of Eggman, and Scourge the Hedgehog!!!!”

Alex’s eyes were almost beginning to well with tears as she let out a short and small cry, Mist and Spark staring at their friend’s limp form on the ground, “Rainjha! No!”

But…..Mephiles made a fatal error that he didn’t know about, and because of Eggman’s failure to tell him about it, he never knew before it was too late.

When Rainjha, Spark, Mist, Sky, Alex, and the others were cloned from an unconscious Sonic that Eggman had managed to capture at the time and steal the Chaos Emeralds from, he being only able to imbue one power into each copy, Rainjha was chosen to hold the purple Chaos emerald: Darkness.

Now, Rainjha, being of the dark element, is able to absorb that of her own element to an extent, as well as Mist being able to absorb water based attacks, and Alex withstanding heat temperatures at a height that no normal creature could withstand. Now, Mephiles is imbued with the same element, and that being said, that was the element of choice that he used in bringing the vixen down.

Now, with a shocked look spreading over his face, and one of relief over everyone else’s, Rainjha groaned and slowly turned over, coming onto her knees as her body pulsated with dark energy, the shadows bouncing off of her shoulders and the purple energy wrapping in wrings all over her body, hitting it, and then dissipating into the air.

Mist gathered enough energy to catch a sudden gesture that Rainjha suddenly gave him, hissing under her breath as she faked a hurt appearance, letting a mock look of agony come on her face, “Mist…the water. Use it to short out the machine holding…..holding Amy. Be quick about it if you can.” Mist’s flickering gaze that was coming in and out of focus as he saw the pools of water all over the ground near the tank, where Sonic had landed in.

And he also saw with sadness that the last bubbles were now bursting on the surface…..

Mist slowly closed his eyes hard as Rainjha’s head snapped up, her gaze burning with anger at Mephiles, who stepped back a bit with shock and rage, her voice dripping with venom, “First of all….”

Before anyone could even blink, or breathe, Rainjha suddenly jumped to her feet, not bothering to consult the wounds that were on her ankles and her wrists. Somehow, that shadowy mass gave her enough extra energy to rise to her feet without wobbling, coming forward in a split second and letting her balled fist collide with Mephile’s cheekbone, smiling viciously as she did so. Eggman jumped a bit with shock, and Scourge only sneered with silent laugher as Mephiles was sent hurtling towards the back wall, his head hitting the surface with a resounding and sickening crack, with his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he collapsed to the floor. Rainjha shook her hand as pain from hitting him so hard stung her fingers, “No one calls me a freak in a sense like that.”

Everyone’s jaws hung open in shock as their eyes followed Rainjha, who deftly stepped around Mephiles’ limp body, who had a slow trickle of blood coming from the corner of his now unconscious mouth.

So much success he had with that aspect.

Rainjha seemed to glide over the floor, so fast was her haste as she swept past Eggman, who snarled with rage as she winked at him slyly, “Second…”

As Rainjha made her way to the far end of the room, Mist had been summoning what was left of the energy he had reserved in his body somewhere. His teeth were gritted in a firm line as he groaned to himself, Dream nervously glancing at him as he struggled, “Come on…..Come on….” Slowly but surely, a small plume of water came up from the dwindling pool that was there to begin with as it wavered in the air, Mist almost loosing his concentration when he heard Mephiles’ head bash against the wall.

Then…..In a sudden movement, all chaos ensued, and several things happened at once, either one after the other, or at the same time.

Mist managed to send that minute jet of water flying, right into the central control box of Amy’s glass dome. She shrieked in fear and covered her face in defense as yellow sparks burst forth from the inside, electrical mechanisms fizzing and popping as the dampness seeped into the delicate innards of the device.

Then, as the machine seemed to groan with the excess liquid, the glass popped off of it’s bearings with a sharp snap, followed by a low hissing sound as the glass surface slid up, offering Amy a space large enough for her to escape from. The glass seemed to slide up just as Rainjha leapt several feet into the air, holding her folded hands out in a streamlined shape in front of her as she disappeared into the water’s dark surface, causing a large jet of water to come spewing up as she displaced it with her extra body mass. Eggman could be seen, absolutely SEETHING with anger as Rainjha’s head popped up again, water pouring from her jaws as she coughed and strained her neck, rolling it on its joints as she allowed her systems time to adjust to the new climate. She spluttered a bit before speaking again, shaking water from her face and then blowing it off of the tip of her nose, “No one, and I mean NO ONE insults Mist like that! It’s only me, and Betty, and even that pushed the line too far….”

Suddenly, again too many things happened at once to take in as Amy pressed her body against the floor of the dome, squeezing herself under the gap that was made in the glass as Tails’ voice almost overlapped the enraged one of Eggman’s, “Rainjha! What about Sonic!?” “After her you fool! Grab Amy Scourge!”

As Eggman said this, Amy slid around him, taking off at a fast sprint as she made her way over to the captives. While she did this, Eggman then turned around, reaching his arms out in an attempt to grab at Rainjha. She rolled her eyes and smirked at him, sticking out her tongue at the madman before disappearing under the surface of the water again with a small ‘sploosh’.

Eggman balled his fists as his face reddened with anger, and if possible, smoke would probably have begun coming out of his ears at that point.

Scourge paused for a moment, laughing hoarsely at the proceedings, rolling his eyes and smirking before trying to even try and intercept Amy’s efforts, “Once again, they come to ol’ Scourge for help.”

Amy was quick on her feet, as she had time to stretch her legs after being unchained for that long. She wasted no time in making her way over to her friends, and she swiftly grabbed her large hammer, that had been laying up against the wall where she was formally chained.

Since he was in the most pain, and about to pass out with exhaustion, the hedgehog chose to release Mist first. With a hoarse battle cry coming from her jaws, Amy lifted her hammer high over her head, her bangs being swept into her blazing eyes as she brought the mallet down hard, breaking the bonds on both Mist’s hands and feet, all at the same time.

She just barely had enough time to catch Mist as he lurched forwards, unable to support his own weight for long when his feet hit the floor. Amy lifted him up into a standing position, and she lifted his head so he was looking at her through flickering eyelids, “Hang in there Mist….don’t go on me now…”

Suddenly, Amy let out a shrill scream of surprise as a hand came down hard on her shoulder, sweeping her aside as if she were nothing, sending her body colliding into Knuckles’. Mist had to press his good arm against the wall for support as he brought his head up, so weak that he could barely open his eyes. But rage pulsated through him as he stared dead into the eyes of Scourge, who smiled and gave Mist a nasty look, “Don’t you try and be the hero weakling. It’s already too late for you.”

Then, it seemed as if a new burst of strength flooded every nerve in Mist’s body, and a new light entered his eyes. The two pieces of ice that were his eyes flashed harshly in the flashing light of the room, with sparks still coming from the broken machine, and smoke beginning to flow forth from it, “No.”

Scourge scoffed, cracking his knuckles as the light flashed blindingly off of the frames of his sunglasses, “What’s that supposed to mean, hedgehog?”

Then, Abby, Knuckles, Shadow, Anita, Daggeron, Scythe, and Rainbow, those being closest to the hedgehog, all jumped with shock, and Abby even letting out a scream of surprise as Mist jumped forwards, hissing with rage as he balled his fist that was covered in blood, sending it crashing into Scourge’s jaw, so hard that his sunglasses flew from his face, “No! If you think it’s too late for ME your SORELY MISTAKEN!” Scourge’s face was now smeared with a mix of Mist’s and his own blood as he toppled over, collapsing to the floor, his glasses sliding across the ground and coming to a stop at Shadow’s feet. Shadow muttered to himself, “He may be like Sonic, but what a fool he is to think he is any better.”


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While all of this Chaos was happening above…..it was a totally different scene down in the depths….

Rainjha no longer had to hold her breath anymore as her body was able to adjust to the differentiating way of taking in oxygen. In a way, she was a shape shifter. Now she had the small flaps on the side of her neck, custom for use in fish and other marine animals, Gills. It felt so different breathing this way, with the odd feeling of water rushing into your mouth, and then being ejected again through the side of your neck.

Now she was allowing the water to come in through her jaws, sometimes closing them and letting it flow in through her nostrils. Despite the darkness of the water, it was surprisingly rich with oxygen, after being just filled to the brim, so she really had no trouble extracting the air from within the molecules and such.

Rainjha kicked her legs and pushed her palms out in front of her, trying to reach the bottom of the pit before…..before it was too late. It seemed as if the thing was bottomless, though it really wasn’t, and it was only her frantic imagination playing tricks on her. Her long black hair was swept over her shoulders and into a flowing and waving mass as she continued her journey to the bottom, small bubbles coming from her nose and open mouth every now and then.



The first thing that alerted Rainjha to the sudden appearance of the floor of the abyss was the flashing of Sonic’s ring that now lay at the bottom. She let her legs come in front of her as she stopped herself before touching down, causing the ring to float up a bit when she moved the water a bit. She grimaced as she saw the ring, and tried not to focus on it as her eyes darted frantically from side to side, in a desperate attempt to find the dying hedgehog.

Then, a small spew of bubbles came from her clenched teeth as she caught sight of him, spurring on her rapid kicking of her legs, her gaze narrowing as she swam forwards. And she knew that if she wasn’t already immersed in water, there would be wetness in her eyes….

Sonic was lying on his back in the water. The shattered remains of the shackles around his ankle were gone, and the blood from it was whipped through the water as the fox approached. Sonic’s eyes were closed now, and there was no sign of him moving or attempting to swim upwards that Rainjha could see, and then again, Sonic had no hope of swimming, because he could not.

Rainjha made it a point to first remove the shackles around Sonic’s hands, which were still bound behind his back. She used her claws to slice through the chains holding his wrists together first, then allowing the rest to follow as the chains and such fell to the ground, Sonic’s arms beginning to float up slightly to his sides.

Then, Rainjha took in another great amount of water, in what would be a deep breath above the liquid. She came close to Sonic and grabbed his open hand, holding it fast as she wrapped that arm around his chest, pulling him up off of the tank’s floor with a small grunt of effort. Since Sonic was completely limp, this would prove quite difficult in hauling him to the surface.

She let the water flow through the open flaps in her neck as she pressed her heels against the floor and kicked off, gritting her teeth as she pulled up the hedgehog with her. Only once in a while would a few small bubbles come from Sonic’s nose, and that worried her. She had to get him up, and fast.

She did her best to hold his jaws closed with her shoulder as she struggled to only pull up her and his body weight combined. Sonic’s legs were hanging down like dead weights, and that only hampered Rainjha’s movement even more.

The only sound she could hear was the sound of water rushing by her head as she slowly made her way to the surface, stretching her jaws suddenly as she began to see the top of the water rippling above. She needed to quickly transact from underwater breathing to air breathing before emerging to the surface.

Up….Up…..Up they went….closer closer…….




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By the time Rainjha’s head came to the surface, everyone had been released from their bonds. Rainjha was….well, quite surprised to see Eggman on the floor in a heap with Mephiles and Scourge, and later found out what happened while she was submerged….

Well, this is what happened then.

Soon, Amy was quickly able to release almost everyone from their bonds, except Tails, who she was about to release, when she heard a vicious hiss from somewhere behind her.

Anita had been trying to hold Shadow up, as he was almost as weak as Mist, with blood continuously coming in a stream from his jaws. While she was doing this, Eggman turned on the spot, coming at her and Shadow with arms outstretched and a snarl on his face. Needless to say she was shocked to see that Fatso could cover so much ground so fast…..

However…..It wasn’t as if Anita was without an idea.

As Eggman approached, still slow due to his excessive weight, Anita slowly placed Shadow on the floor, gently speaking softly to him, telling him to sit as still as he could so as not to injure his jaw anymore.

Shadow narrowed his gaze as Anita cracked her knuckles, her long tail swaying slowly back and forth. Shadow cocked his head slightly, muttering slowly under his breath as he paused to spit out another clod of blood that had formed on his tongue, What is she up to now?

Eggman stopped in front of Anita, rolling his eyes from behind his goggles as he chortled, Anita stepping in a full circle around the fat man before stopping herself, “Oh ho ho ho! What do you expect to do to me, cat? Insult me to death?”

Anita chuckled and closed her eyes, her teeth showing in her snarl/smirk as she stopped dead in her tracks, opening her eyes and locking her gaze with Eggman’s, “Fatso, you only wish that is the only thing I will do to you. Sonic was right. You DO enjoy yourself a tad too much.”

As Anita paced in a circle around Eggman, flexing her fingers at her sides, as if she was in an old western movie, Abby hollered from behind, who was slowly helping Rockfire out of his bonds, “Ani don’t! Eggman’s too powerful for you!” Anita snarled and rolled her eyes, “Oh yeah. I’m SOO scared!”

Knuckles crossed his arms as Rockfire dropped to the ground, Scythe and Daggeron grabbing him under his arms to keep him from falling over as Spark checked his wrists and ankles, to make sure he was alright, “That girl is two nuts short of a nutcase.” Anita then hissed, “I heard that Knux! Don’t think I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Eggman chortled, “Like I’m afraid of a silly little kitty cat!”

Anita didn’t make any response to Eggman’s somewhat dry insult as she suddenly shocked everyone into almost complete silence, except for the sound of Amy busting people out of their chains with her hammer.

Anita suddenly did a short hop into the air, snarling audibly in the back of her throat, that snarl turning into a cry of rage. As she lifted her body into the air, she turned a quick 180, allowing her arms and tail to tuck in tight to her body. Her arms were folded against her chest as she spun around once, twice, three times. On that third spin, she kicked her leg out hard in mid-air, letting her knee lock in place as her exposed heel came around in some kind of karate move, her foot slamming right into the side of Eggman’s bulgy head.

This spurred on a snort of disbelief from Alex as Eggman toppled over, falling down onto the floor beside Scourge, who was on his back with his jaws hanging open, one eye turning a deep purple from where Mist slugged him mere moments ago.

As Eggman fell, so did Anita, she sticking the landing smoothly and pivoting on her heel once before bringing the other foot down again, stopping herself dead on the ground as she faced Shadow, who’s jaws were hanging open. He was stunned.

Anita turned and snapped one finger, spitting venom at Eggman as she yowled, “And THAT’S for messing with my friends! That’s for hurting Mist, Shadow, Rainjha, and for drowning Sonic! You better think twice before tangling with ANITA THE CAT AGAIN!”

Then Anita rubbed two hands together with satisfaction as she blew on the tips of her claws, wiping them on her arm as Shadow spluttered, “When did you learn to do THAT!?”

Anita smiled slyly, helping Shadow to shakily rise to his feet once again, “I’ve had more time on my hands than you think Shadow the Hedgehog.”


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Now that brings the story back to Rainjha and Sonic.

Rainjha grunted loudly with the effort as she hauled Sonic’s body over the side of the tank, he flopping over with a loud squelching sound as he rested on his side, facing away from her, and to the astonished group.

Amy cried out in shock, “S-Sonic! You found him!!!”

Rainjha coughed up water as her body readjusted to the air, the gills slowly disappearing as the last stream of water in her lungs flowed from them, allowing her general access to the normal oxygen that she was supposed to breathe. Pulling herself up and over the tank was easy enough, but with her dwindling energy, it was hard to release herself from the nasty water, she and the limp hedgehog both sopping wet with the stuff.

Then as Tails was finally released, he screamed, coughing as smoke began filling the entire room with a hazy black mist, “Rainjha quick! This place is about to blow!!”

Rainjha rolled her eyes, stretching her shaking arms out and grasping the edge of Sonic’s shoulder that was farthest from her, rolling him over until he was on his back. Amy had her hands over her mouth as everyone stood weakly around, watching Rainjha with confusion as she spoke over the hissing of the breaking machines, “Rain! W-What are you doing!!?”

Rainjha muttered loud enough for the hedgehog to hear her as she tilted Sonic’s head back, opening his jaws for him, “I’m trying to save his life! What does it look like!?”

A steady stream of water came from the corner of Sonic’s open mouth as Rainjha tipped his nose back a bit more, looking up a Mist quickly with a steely glint in her eye, “How ironic, huh Mist?”

With everyone standing there in either pain, shock, stupefaction, or any kind or form of combination of the three, Rainjha took a deep breath, bringing her head down over Sonic’s. A collective gasp ensued then as Rainjha proceeded to attempt to resuscitate the hedgehog, pinching the end of his black nose to hold the air in his lungs as her lips met his, she blowing her own breath into his lungs. After raising her head again, she locked her fingers together, pressing several times on his chest, counting silently to herself as she did so, pressing an ear against his chest once in a while to check for a pulse. She proceeded to try this two times, with a couple of the onlookers looking like they were about to fall over, and Amy fuming inside so much that her cheeks were flushed a deep red.

Rainjha narrowed her gaze as nothing happened, and Sonic didn’t respond what so ever to her efforts. Then, she let out a shriek of surprise as a piece of scaffolding fell dangerously close to her, and back at the group Amy, Tails, and Dream pushed everyone back as Knuckles suddenly rushed forwards, angrily using his fists to break through shrapnel and debris in his path. He had a dark grimace on his face as he made his way to Rainjha, who was on her knees now, panting as she wiped her jaws on her arm, panting to Knuckles as she could see with her perefrial vision that Alex and Mist were shakily approaching her. Rainjha jerked her head towards Sonic, muttering to Knuckles, “Here, take this. Make sure everyone gets out.”

Knuckles simply nodded and lifted Sonic in his arms as if he were nothing, quickly hop-stepping backwards as a bar of metal fell in front of his feet. As Knuckles slowly attempted to step backwards, a blast of hot air, dust, and smoke covered the others’ view of Rainjha, Mist, Alex, and Sonic.

Swiftly, both Alex and Mist fell to either both or one knee in front of Rianjha, who’s ears were plastered firmly against the base of her head, with her long black hair stuck to her face in many places from the water’s dampness. Rainjha snarled, panting with her shoulders shaking with weakness, “Go. I can handle this. Don’t let anyone turn back.” Rainjha suddenly locked her gaze with Alex’s, who was searching her friend’s face rapidly for any sign of her coming with them, “Alex. You know what to do.”

Alex gave Rianjha a swift nod, trying not to let tears overcome her as she and Spark turned swiftly on their heels, jumping over and around fast falling debris.

Then Rianjha suddenly turned her softened gaze towards Mist, who at this point was nothing less than a wreck. Two shadowy forms began appearing over Rainjha’s shoulders, some of what remained of what was left of the energy inside of her, “Man…You know I didn’t mean it.” Mist had a half smile on his face, twisted with pain and anguish as Rainjha tilted her head a bit, the blobs growing larger and more intense, as well as the expression of complete exhaustion on her face, “Go now. Before it’s too late Mist.”

Mist then shook his head, the tuft of hair between his eyes smeared with blood as tears glistened in his misty eyes, “Wait…R-Rainjha…Y-You don’t mean…” Rainjha closed her eyes, the blobs finally coming from her shoulder blades as she put her full weight onto her knees now. She spoke sharply and cut off the saddened hedgehog, “Just trust me. Go now Mist. Go!”

Mist hesitated for a long time, his hand wavering in the air until his gaze locked firmly with Rainjha’s sharp one. With a short nod and a whimper of indecision, Mist was forced to rise to his shaking legs, turning on his heel and dodging a falling beam of wood, and trying not to be singed by numerous sparks flying here and there as he followed the group, disappearing into the smoke and out of sight.

Suddenly, Rainjha jumped with shock as a raspy voice hit her eardrums, that voice coming from Eggman, who had come too at this point, with both Scourge and Mephy struggling to rise, Mephy the worst off than any of them, “Why can’t YOU go with them, vixen?”

Rainjha hissed with anger as she saw those two blobs beginning to return to her and melt into her body, giving her that last bit of strength back that she had used to protect her fleeing friends, “I can,…but I want to make sure you go down with me.”



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Some of those present swore that after that night, it was the BIGGEST explosion, or implosion rather, than any of them had seen in their all too short lifetimes.

It seemed as if the raging inferno was licking at the group’s heels as they made a mad dash for the exit, which proved now to be not the vents, but a massive hole blown in the wall. They could all feel that massive wave of hot air hitting their backs, and they could tell without looking that the machine had finally had its massive meltdown.

They all leapt forwards, many falling on top of one another, and everyone escaping in a massive heap as the building roared with its anger, sending fire plumes spurting angrily into the sky, licking at the stars like ravaged wild dogs in search of their next meal, whatever that may be.

Pieces of metal, wood, glass, and every other material that would be used to make that wretched building and all of its contents were sent flying from the explosion, as if the fire was rejecting the pieces from inside of its gullet. Each person of their respective species, Hedgehog, Echidna, Rabbit, Fox, Wolf, Squirrel, Chao….they all pressed their noses into the mud and held their arms over their skulls in fear and protection as the building exploded in several places, massive sections in the walls collapsing in a mass of dust and ash. Several screams and cries of anguish ripped through the air, muffled by the sounds of the crackling and roaring of the fire and flames that ran like a plague up the side of the building, engulfing it entirely with its massive bulk.

Later the small, or maybe not so small, group would sadly discover that this would not be the last of their enemies. They were like a bad dream that always just kept coming back……

And everyone present that made it out was injured in their own way. Everyone had bleeding wrists and ankles, but some of the group members were scarred with different wounds…

Everyone was managing to stand on their feet now, the flashing from the fire reflecting off of their faces…

And the ones who didn’t make it……

The ones who were no where to be found in sight, were Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Rainjha…..and Sonic’s body.

Shadow was standing beside Anita, his face smeared with the blood from his still bleeding jaw. His eyes were closed as tears of shame, pain, and anger rolled from them, with Anita’s face buried in his shoulder as she sobbed, shaking her head as she muttered, “No…No it can’t….they can’t….” Shadow only knew to place his violently shaking hand on her shoulder, gritting his teeth as he turned his face away from the brutal scene….

Cream was standing dumbfounded with Abby and Rainbow…her hands over her mouth as she sobbed audibly, her cries mingling with the moans of agony that the others let out….

Rockfire, Daggy, and Scythe stood off to the side of Shadow and Anita, the three staring unblinking at the fire’s rage with tears glimmering in their eyes….

They were all at a safe distance….but that still didn’t mask the pain that everyone was harboring inside….

Dream was standing some distance away from Mist, his eyes glazed over with horror as he could feel the scars on his face open again and begin to bleed, the nasty wetness covering the side of his cheek as unheeded tears rolled down his face….Silver was in the same state….simply…..stunned…

Were…..were they simply….gone? Demolished? Taken over by the raging explosion?

Mist was probably the worst off of them all at that moment….

His face was completely distraught, blood smeared all over like war-paint. His arm was almost to the point of a mangled state, five puncture wounds in it, all but two of them ripped open ever more by Scourge’s prompting. Then that blood had run so far down his arm that the crimson liquid was now slowly dripping off of the tips of his gloved fingers, his injured arm convulsing and shaking every now and then with unconcealed agony. He had black ashes all over him, as most everyone did from brushing against the wreckage in their haste to escape…..

And Alex stood on shaking legs just beside the hedgehog, the small hair band that held her locks in a ponytail long broken. Her hair now rolling over her shoulders in waves. It was a bit odd seeing the cat with her hair down, but no one seemed to really notice it much…..

Her ash covered face was twisted as she suddenly turned away from the sight, in complete anguish over her friend’s disappearance into the unknown recesses of the lab. In complete shock to everyone close enough, or attentive enough to see it, Alex turned and made a dash towards Mist, throwing her face into his shoulder seeking his comfort as she sobbed, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably with pain and sadness. Crystal-like tears dripped down her face and were blown off of it into the air as her hair came over one eye, hiding a bit of her anguish as Mist closed his eyes, pressing his face so hard into his own white, blood splattered chest that his mouth disappeared into his fur, tears unbound flowing from his eyes as he slowly shook his head, the same as Shadow, only able to place a quivering hand on Alex’s shoulder….in what little comfort he could give with the dwindling amount he had in his body then…

Then……

Everyone’s heads snapped up at a sudden ravaged coughing that they heard from the smoky air, from directly in the middle of the building’s core…..

It was Rainjha.

She was alive!! Alive!

She was limping on legs that could barely support her weight anymore, the heat from the explosion long evaporating the water that lay still on her skin….now her long wings were exposed, littered with small holes from the flames hateful spite. They hung limply as she tried to raise them a bit, but was so weak that she could hardly keep her eyes from shutting altogether. She was covered in ashes, and burn marks all over. Her hair was ragged and in her face, with her sagging ears barely poking out from the black forest of hair….One fang poked out from her closed mouth as she sighed through her nose, then opening her jaws again to pant, still limping as Alex suddenly almost knocked her down, hugging her lightly as she sobbed into her shoulder with relief….

Soon everyone was back together in that group, walking as far away from the building as possible for the moment, their blood, ashes, and debris littering the snow….staining it with the signs of destruction, and ultimate Chaos. Nothing but Chaos.

But….where was Tails,….Amy,….Knuckles…..And….Sonic?

Well…..

Just as the group came to a small clearing, still in the full view of the flaming building, they all gratefully collapsed into the snow to grasp their bearings once again. The middle of the small clearing harbored a patch that was full of soft snow, like a small snowdrift, covered with whole bunches of rabbit-ear moss, the softest of its kind.

It was almost as if it were made for them as the group was stunned to see three exhausted figures suddenly materializing through the floating smoke…..

A small fox hovering in the air, almost about to crash to the ground…..

A young hedgehog who limped with pain, it written all over her face like a book….

An Echidna who limped himself, one eye swollen and closed shut with a small unseen film of blood…..

And a male hedgehog lying limp in his grasp, his head lolling to the side closest to the Echidna’s chest, completely unmoving…..unresponsive….

And the living proof that the malicious group of Eggman, Mephiles, and Scourge……




Had accomplished their goal…..



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……………………….

……………………………..

……………………………. ………


“S-Sonic…..No……”


Knuckles gently placed Sonic’s limp body onto that fateful pile of moss and snow, his body sinking into it a little bit, and then simply resting on top. Sonic’s eyes were gently closed, with his right hand sitting over his chest, and the other laying limply on the surface of the blanket of snow..

As Knuckles slowly backed away from the hedgehog and joined the circle of friends, they all sat on their knees with their feet stuck into the mounds of snow….

They were in a clearing that thankfully hid most of the remains of the building from their view, and only the orange and yellow flashes from it could be seen through the gnarled pine trees now. The very very small clearing was surrounded with aged pine trees, each adjourned with hanging ornaments of dying pinecones and dripping ice cycles…..The evergreens’ needles were gently blown to and fro as the grey night sky was a misty hue, it not even recognizable as either day or night any longer. As if in a grim and sad response to the scene below, the clouds above were lifted from their small burdens as small snowflakes gently began falling from the sky, like little villagers that were parachuting to their homes on the forest floor…..

All was completely silent, a dusky silence that muffled all audible sounds from any hearing range. The snow was steadily falling, slowly…..steadily…..and sticking to everyone’s faces….covering everyone with a thin layer of ice.

All fur was dotted with white spots, and even that somewhat peaceful sight calmed none of the feverish and beating hearts of those present, who all felt as if their hearts had been torn to shreds.

Only a bit of soft moonlight floated down from the heavens and onto the scene, most of the full moon and twinkling stars covered with the clouds that showered the saddened group with their offspring.

Now……

Dream’s wavering and small voice broke the silence, his already light fur turned lighter with a thin layer of snow on his fur, “Is…..Isn’t there s-something….w-w-we can d-o?”

Tails sighed heavily, trying not to look directly at Sonic’s still form, but only succeeded in keeping himself from wailing in anguish, “I don’t….think so. He’s….he’s too far gone.” Shadow shook his head, closing his eyes, “There is…..nothing more that can be done here.”

Knuckles punched a fist deep into the snow, bloodying it with his raw wrists, “Aw….C-Come on! Can’t……Can’t we use the chaos emeralds or something….to bring him ba--…”

Knuckles was sharply cut off as Amy stammered, glancing at the glowing emeralds that lay a few feet away, buried in the snow, launched from their prison in the explosion, “No……He’s already been brought back with their life-giving energy once…..It…W-won’t work….again!” Amy’s voice dwindled off into a sob of sadness as she buried her face into her palms, feeling her salty and almost frozen tears leak through between her fingers.

Everyone shook their heads in disbelief, all of their falling tears hitting the snow and almost at once turning to ice……

If it was in any other space of time…..you would almost half expect for some kind of sad music to begin playing softly in the background….and in fact….it did. Everyone was thinking in the backs of their minds, the saddest song they could think of, and Sonic’s favorite…..

His World

Even now, since everyone was thinking of the same violin music…..it was as if that music was playing in the background now….even though it really wasn’t.

Everyone had different expressions…..different thoughts…..different words…..but all of the same sadness that came with such a dreadful loss.

And everyone. Everyone. Had a different thing to say, a simple few words….

First Tails was on his knees, his two tails wrapped comfortingly around his legs as he rested his palms on his knees, tears rolling down his face as he gritted his teeth in a high-pitched voice, “Sonic…..my best friend…..”

….Shadow with his face turned away, his teeth gritted as firmly as he could muster as he spoke over the blood in his jaws, “Sonic…..my rival….”

….Mist with pain all over his face, he sniffing as he shakily wiped tears from his eyes, “Sonic…..one who helped change my outlook on life…..”

….Anita had her head resting on Shadow’s shoulders, tears rolling down her cheek as she spoke in a wavering voice, “Sonic…..like a big-brother…..”

…..Rainjha with her palms pressed hard into the snow, her hair swept into her face as she cried, “Sonic……someone who brought care back…..for me…..”

…..Rockfire who was unable to hide his shame and anguish growled, “Sonic….made every moment a laughter filled one…..”

…..Spark closed his eyes, electricity crackling around his cheeks with emotion as he sobbed, “Sonic….believed in me and trusted me…..such a turn-coat that I was…..”

…..Cream with her own face buried in Tails’ shoulder spoke in her normally high pitched voice, “Sonic…..helped bring my mother back to me…..”

…..Scythe and Daggeron spoke simultaneously, closing their eyes with tears flowing unbound, “Sonic……such a close friend…..gone…

…..Dream cried out with his nose tipped to the sky, “Sonic….the hero I never got to meet…..”

….Rainbow sighed as she glanced at Abby, who spoke after her, “Sonic….a new new friend….” Abby nodded, “Sonic…..one who stood by me through my new arrival….”

….Knuckles pressed his fist even further into the snow as tears rolled down  his cheeks, “Sonic….forever a rival…..and a friend….”

…..Silver with his legs spread apart a bit in the snow, his ears drooped with anguish, “Sonic…..not the Ibliss Trigger…..but the preventer of it….”

……and…..Amy….

She shocked everyone by slowly crawling forwards on her knees, kneeling beside Sonic…who had a look of restful peace on his face…..

Her voice quivered as she placed a wavering hand under his head spikes, lifting his limp head up gently as his skull lolled back, his nose dipped upwards with his mouth closed as Amy smiled weakly, tears glimmering like miniature crystals in her eyes, “Sonic……the one I loved…..and now know…..loved me in return.”

Everyone thought in their minds that Sonic had some….some life still left in him…..though he was dangerously wavering on the brink of death, in an unconscious state….

Now Amy lifted his head gently, speaking in a voice that she felt was not her own, but one that was bursting forth from her heart, “Sonic….you may not be able to hear me…..but what ever happens…..I will always be by your side. I……I love you Sonic….”

Amy let out a small sob that she struggled to force down her throat again.

Everyone was still in respectful silence….unsure of what else to do as Amy still knelt on her knees, holding Sonic with his head cradled in her lap….

And she came forward and kissed him, her tears flowing off of her face and onto the side of his, which was unmoving and still. She closed her eyes and felt her heart sink, knowing that Sonic…..Sonic was gone. And would never feel a thing.

Then Amy lifted her face from his…….gently raised his limp body…..

And………

She hugged him.

She knelt with her feet frozen in the snow, Sonic in somewhat of a kneeling position, though he being limp with his head resting in a, what seemed to be, a lifeless stupor on her shoulder. Amy sobbed with anguish as she pressed her face into his own shoulder, hugging his body lightly as she cried, hearing the other ones sobs ringing in her ears along with her own. Then she sobbed, “I’m…I’m so sorry Sonic….”

Snow was still gently falling on everyone as they cried….their tears falling in time and tune with the music that rang in their subconscious minds…..and along with the small snowflakes that gently took their journey’s to the ground…..

And then………






Amy’s eyes came slowly open as she felt hot breath on her ear…..and then a voice filled with pain as she also felt water drip down her shoulder….water from the tank…..

No…….I’m the one that is sorry.

Then, with Amy in a shocked silence…….and everyone else’s eyes locked with the still figure of Sonic’s limp body…..

They almost though that they saw his eyes flicker open for something of a split second, he in a final attempt to raise his violently shaking head…….

……and Amy could feel his limp palm suddenly come down lightly on her right shoulder, his hand cupped around it with the last bit of strength he had left…..tears….water….blood…..everything was on Sonic’s face as the only thing moving on him that could be seen were his face contorting with sadness, and his eyes squeezing tightly shut, the skin between them wrinkling with the effort……

….Then Sonic’s barely audible voice that was dwindling harshly rang out through the clearing like the chiming of a bell…….it high pitched, quavering, and laden with nothing but pure shame and anguish as he choked out in one breath that was garbled with inhaled water…….

I’m…..S-Sorry…..So…s-s-so….So….soo…..sor……..





….ryyyyeee………

That last strained word came out in a hiss of pain as Sonic tightened his last able grip on Amy’s shaking shoulder………


And then……

…….Sonic’s head fell down again onto the young female hedgehog’s shoulder……..

…..his eyes closed once more…….

……..and his hand suddenly lost it’s wavering grip……and all the energy it had left……


……and fell from Amy’s arm…….his fingers and hand falling down to the drift……….



…….with the long tips of Sonic the Hedgehog’s gloved fingers trailing in the snow.