x
"I'm pretty sure she's not coming back, Patch."
The group stood at the entrance to the castle as they said their usual goodbyes. A young fox stood closest to the opening with a large, green book under one arm. He was facing a coyote wearing an eyepatch with his free hand on his hip.
"It's been over a year, so quit complaining. You could've dusted this entire castle a hundred times over in the time that you've been whining."182Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1SJCyNCyI
"Why don't you do za dusting, zen? I'm sure you could whip up a spell to clean it."
"I'm not a fantasy princess. I don't do cleaning magic."
A walrus with cybernetics now caught up to them, emerging from the shadowed hallway behind the group. "Then why not ask the princess to do it?"
The female chipmunk in front of him twitched as a clear sign of anger. Her arms were crossed this whole time but now she threw them down in rage.
"I am not dusting this pig-sty! There are too many other problems with this old place. Are we ever going to address any of the other issues? Perhaps the rat problem? Or the leaks upstairs?"
The one previously referred to by the yellow fox as Patch seemed to be thinking hard this whole time, but he suddenly looked up. "Oh, or za ghost problem!"
A loud sigh from the fox immediately made the coyote regret bringing that up. His ears flattened to his head.
"There are no ghosts, Patch. Ghosts aren't real."
"Zen why are zey a problem?"
"A 'problem'?" the fox's face lit up in a prideful smile. "It's been too long since we've experienced one of those. Ever since Scourge was locked up, haven't you noticed? All the 'problems' seemed to go away with him!"
Patch tilted his head and regarded the fox with a fearful expression. "Uh, Miles? You are beginning to be scaring me."
The chipmunk girl rolled her eyes dramatically. "Chill out, Patch. He does this all the time."
"Yeah, so what there are rats and leaks? The real rat was Scourge. And he's a prison rat, now." Miles laughed at his own joke, but the others just stared at him as if he had grown a third tail.
"A rat, you say?"
The new voice made everyone turn to the entrance. Whoever was standing there caused them all to grit their teeth in hatred. All except Miles. He began to sweat in fear.
"Scourge! Good to see you, uh, how did you get out of prison?" the fox boy asked, visibly sweating once he had seen the quiet look of determination on the other's face. A look of minor confusion soon mixed with it.
"You mean wind of the break hadn't reached here?" he asked, stepping into the castle. The Suppression Squad all assumed protective stances, minus Miles of course. This action seemed to jar the viridian king's memory as he blinked very quickly and started watching them all over Miles's head. "I broke out. That was a long time ago. Then I struck a deal with Blue- Uh, is this an act? I thought you hated my guts."
In a very ironic way, the yellow fox, despite boasting about how well off they have been since Scourge was captured, was now acting as if he had no idea what he was talking about. Tactics for his survival that he had acquired over time. However, the fox cub simply stared at him silently instead of replying.
"You aren't wanted here," Alicia, the chipmunk princess, spoke. She pulled a whip out of a belt hanging around her waist. Boomer, the walrus with cybernetics, readied a canon of sorts. Patch withdrew his sword and Miles just continued to stand there.
"I see that," Scourge remarked. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a strange red gem.
Miles's eyes widened when he saw what he had. "Is that a chaos emerald?"
Scourge laughed as if his incorrect assumption were amusing. "You don't know your gems, do you? This is a ruby. The Phantom Ruby."
"Za who-wha?" the coyote said.
The green hedgehog frowned in disappointment. "Of course you wouldn't know what that is. Here, I'll demonstrate."
Although the gem was dim, when Scourge squeezed the ruby in his hand, it glowed a deep scarlet. He then held it out in front of him. When he did so, a beam shot out of the gem. All four members of the SS leapt out of the way, just in case it was a laser that might hurt them. However, all it did was strike the floor, and a portal appeared there. It looked like one that might generate between two star posts. Everyone looked back at Scourge.
"I might have overheard how you need someone to clean house. This portal I have created should help me do just that."
They soon caught on to what he was trying to do. "You want this castle to yourself, right? Well, there's no way we'll willingly go into that portal, so you can just forget it," Alicia told him after a while.
"Yeah, I wasn't really expecting you would. But don't worry! The Phantom Ruby can help with that as well." Before they could react, blocks of red began appearing around them each, caging them inside an impenetrable wall with tiny gaps only large enough to stick a finger through. Scourge put the Ruby back in his jacket pocket and showed how the power now flowed through him for a short time. He swiped a finger in the air and the portal disappeared from where it stood in the middle of the room and then reappeared facing upwards on the floor beneath Alicia. She promptly fell through it into the zone on the other side.
"Ugh, I liked her the least," Scourge said, narrowing his eyes at her as she fell deeper within that space. He then looked up and around at the others. "Who's next?"
Immediately Patch sunk to his knees within his cage and slipped a hand underneath the wall of red as far as he could. "Come on, come on," he muttered to himself.
What is he doing?
"Hey, would you like to lose a hand to go with that eye?" Scourge asked. It was a threat, but it came out all strange since he was also just so confused as to what he was trying to do. However, it still seemed to get his attention as he promptly retracted his hand.
The kingly green pineapple walked to Boomer and, without looking at it, caused the portal to move from Alicia's cage to his, swallowing him up in an instant with the help of gravity.
Patch peeked through a gap with his one eye. "Where was he on your favorites list?"
"Do I need to say? Anyway, when you guys get there, expect to be captured by these dudes looking like the old castle guards. I kind of told them to be expecting you, so." Scourge snapped and a portal sucked Patch in as well.
Miles braced for a similar fate, but the red blocks imprisoning him and the others melted away. He was visibly shaking as he stood there, now free.
"And here's your opportunity to join me. You know, I've always appreciated your 'loyalty'. It was the only thing of this zone I could really get behind."
Miles gulped and gripped the green book he had been holding this whole time to his chest. "I-I'd rather die than join you." He stepped into the portal left behind where Patch's cage had been.
Scourge's eyes widened. The portal closed. "Wow, the boy might actually be growing up." He then looked over his shoulder and called out, "Alright, Fiona. You can come in, now."
Fiona the Fox appeared in the entrance behind him carrying a couple of beige suitcases. She lugged them inside and stood them both up, brushing her hair out of her face and straightening her posture. She was smiling, and it looked a million times more real than her usual smiles. Scourge saw this and rolled his eyes. "Now this is a crib fit for a queen. This place brings back so many memories."
"Yup, but I've gotta check some things first before I can start feeling comfortable," the viridian hedgehog told her, walking deeper into the castle.
"Uh, hello?" Fiona said. Scourge turned around. "Can't you take your suitcase at least? Dragging both of them along is way more than I can handle."
"Fine," he sighed, taking one of the fully extended handles from the red fox and tugging his suitcase with him.
Arriving at the throne room at the end of the hall, Scourge let go of his suitcase and ran to the throne. He shivered at the thought that people other than himself had sat here more than himself lately. He pushed those thoughts into the farthest reaches of his mind and bent down, reaching underneath the front of it and lifting it up. It rotated on a hinge and revealed the dozens of small gems stored in the secret compartment. It was all still there. A sudden giggle behind Scourge made him jump.
"Checking on your little stash, huh? I thought you swore never to touch the stuff again," Fiona remarked, covering her mouth with her one free hand.
"I did," Scourge clarified. He slowly let the throne back down. He crossed his arms and got that forlorn look he usually got whenever he was recalling painful memories. "If I hadn't used the anarchy beryl, I wouldn't have come down from it during my battle with Sonic and been so easily overpowered." His eyes widened suddenly, and he reached for his bare head. "My c-crown..."
Fiona took a step forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. We'll get you a new crown. We can make you a new one." She reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the Phantom Ruby.
"We can make anything."
---
Do I really have to say that? And where do I stand in that scene, anyway?
Shadow nearly dropped his copy of the script in an unfortunately placed puddle collecting on the sidewalk when a sudden elbow poking his side frightened him.
"Hey, we're almost at the school theater... Are you okay?"
The dark hedgy glared at her. "I'm fine. But why are you so eager to see me to my doom?"
"It's Sonic's doom, not yours. And why aren't you eager to see him to his doom?"
Shadow was watching his feet to make sure he didn't accidentally step into the many pools of rainwater. His shoes were primarily metal on the bottom, after all. They could rust... More than they already had at least.
"Wha- Why would I? We're partners, I- Wait..."
Hadn't they already gone over that? It was then that Shadow looked up and noticed Honest's cat smile. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.
"Funny. Real funny. Can't you be grave for two seconds?"
Honest just smiled bigger. "Hmmmm? Why? We're gonna be in a play!"
"Not just a play, a tragedy!"
"Everything's going to work out in the end, have some faith," Honest said, shrugging.
"I'm sorry, I can't," Shadow told her, looking back down. At this point, they had reached the building but were just standing beside the door.
"I know, out of everyone, that if you say everything's gonna be alright, it's going to be alright, but still- It's Mephiles. Have you even read the script?" Shadow shook the flimsy paper script in front of the blond cat's face. "This sounds like a fanfiction author wrote it." Honest's mouth just hung open to show how extremely confused she was.
"And that's because it was, right? Wrong! 'Cause I know for a fact that you haven't written a play."
Honest laughed nervously. "Y-Yeah, you're right. That's his writing. But does it say anything worrying other than 'Sonic falls to his knees, the spear retracts, and he dies'?"
Shadow feels the blood drain from his face upon hearing that. "Is that what that page he took says? What can be more worrying than that?"
"Oh, no, I have no idea what it says, I haven't actually read it."
"Then how do you know it's going to be alright?!"
"It'll be alright," Honest told him again, this time even more forcefully than before. She pushed open the door to the theater and led Shadow down the center aisle. "I think everyone's backstage." They went into a doorway to the right of the stage and immediately heard other students' voices.
"Hello?" Honest asked.
"Hey!" Amy Rose stuck her head out from above the steps leading to the stage's level. Honest and Shadow went up to meet her. She was already in her outfit for the play. It was a pale reddish color, was a lot longer than her usual dress, and had lots of lace. "Check out my acting."
Both Honest and Shadow tilted their heads at a 45-degree angle as she assumed a sophisticated pose with one of her hands in a fist pressed to her chin. "For Sonic's sake, I must go," she said in a very dramatic manner. Amy's expression then brightened as she turned to them. "It's great, right?" They both nodded slowly.
For Sonic's sake, they had to act to the best of their abilities... At least until his death could no longer be avoided. Then, they would have to go against the script, right? But the last page of their scripts was unknown to them since Mephiles took them all. All he told Shadow was "Once you get to that point, it should become painfully obvious what you must do." And Honest wasn't any help! Wait, didn't she have a plan?
"Hey, Honest. Didn't you come up with a plan during the lunch meeting Monday?" Shadow asked, turning to Honest beside him. Amy just continued to generate flowers around her head in front of them.
"Lunch meeting Monday... Oh! You mean the Session?" Honest asked as if Shadow were the one using abstract terms here.
"Y-Yeah, sure. The Session... Anyway, didn't you come up with a plan then? Maybe... while I was arguing with Mephiles?" Yeah. Maybe he had just missed it since he had been so preoccupied at the time.
Honest put a hand to her chin and stared up at the ceiling. She let out a long "hmmmm" before replying. "Well, there was Rosy's intimidation and Rouge's spying... But other than that, I won't know what to do until we can unlock the final act and see what the obstacles are."
"So you are just winging it," Shadow said, the color draining from his face in fear.
Honest looked angry as she squinted at him and jabbed a finger into his chest. Figuratively of course. This wasn't one of those moments in fighting games where, as a finishing move, one of the most vital organs in the body is removed just by simply reaching inside of the opponent's chest. I find no need to bother with such senseless gore. "You're aware of the extent of my knowledge and power, so it doesn't make any sense why you would doubt any of my actions in a situation like this."
"But you keep saying you don't know what's going to happen. That's the extent of your knowledge. The extent of your power must not be very far because you won't even attempt to postpone Sonic's demise." Amy's smile had long since transformed to an agape frown, and she continued to diligently listen to them with this same face. Honest's eyes still said "I am holding you accountable for your tasteless actions", but her voice had now taken on a much calmer, calculative tone.
"'Attempt'? I did postpone it; for four chapters: the Session, the Confrontation, the Justification, and now the Reclamation. I'm postponing it as we speak. Don't you dare accuse me of not caring about Sonic's well-being. You don't even have any basis for that accusation. You're just projecting your own feelings onto me. It's easier to blame someone else instead of yourself."
When Honest saw how red Shadow's face was getting, she knew it was due to her riling him up. So, instead of continuing to point out his flaws, the blond feline sighed, smiled a cat smile, and began to speak in a warmer tone. "Hey, treat this play as a way to prove your strength as an individual. Strength to save the people whom you deem important."
When all Shadow did was state darkly, "You don't deem Sonic important," Honest sighed much more dramatically and spun around three hundred and sixty degrees with her arms outstretched and her head bent back at an angle.
"I told you not to accuse me of not caring about Sonic's well-being!"
Suddenly Honest stopped and looked towards the stage area. She began to smile and grabbed Shadow's arm, wrenching him up the steps.
"Hey, Sonic!" They found the blue hedgehog in his cage from yesterday. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor with his copy of the script in his lap. He looked up when they approached and he heard Honest's greeting. "Please explain to Shadow just how much I care about you."
When Sonic looked over at Shadow, he noted his annoyed expression and stood up, leaving his script lying on the floor. He pressed his face between the tightly packed bars and Shadow jumped backwards about a foot in fear.
"She cares about me just enough. Just enough to not let me die in here, I think."
Honest closed her eyes triumphantly and gestured towards the imprisoned pineapple. "See? Shadow doesn't think I care about you, but I think he's just venting his frustrations." Said moody hedgehog promptly turned around and crossed his arms.
"Frustrated? He thinks he's frustrated? Look who's in the three-foot diameter wire cage," Sonic said. He didn't look frustrated, though. Honest was sure he was, though. Episode 20 of Sonic X came to mind. Compared to Shadow's behavior, however, Sonic appeared rather calm.
"He didn't let me go home, Honest," Sonic stressed, sounding as if he were pleading her to do something. "He let me go to lunch with you Monday and Tuesday, but that was it."
Honest had been thinking this whole time, but now she suddenly perked up. "See, Shadow?" The crimson-striped pineapple turned back around, looking dejected. "Mephiles could've killed Sonic overnight while he had him here, but he didn't. His plan is to kill him at the end of the play, and he's sticking to it. Doesn't that give you some hope?"
Shadow seemed to weigh that information in his mind a bit. "I guess..."
"Yay!" Honest exclaimed happily, raising her fists to the sky. She put them down quickly and started back down the stairs. "I gotta go get changed into my costume."182Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDezQLzE6GA
