Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Inked in flame ❯ Chapter the...:Brimstone Pilgrims ( Chapter 12 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: TheVulpineHero1 
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Non Anime: Sonic Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 09.09.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 275 | Status: Work In Progress
check this out
Non Anime: Sonic Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 09.09.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 275 | Status: Work In Progress
’s time for Inked in Flame again. If you’re reading this because it’s the most recent chapter and didn’t read any of the other chapters, START AT THE BEGINNING. It would be slightly unlikely (as in very unlikely, as in get your ass back to the beginning) that you’ll pick up the story from this chapter alone, or be able to glean much real story knowledge from this chapter. This story is like blu-tack. You can pull it apart into lots of little pieces, but you need all of it to stick that poster to your bedroom wall. Either that, or get some form of sticky tape.
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Brimstone Pilgrims
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Sonic smiled, almost sadistically, as he felt the power welling up within him. This was the power that he needed to exact his revenge. Then, suddenly, he gasped in pain. His hands were in agony. He felt the heat rising within his palms. The white flames wreathing his hands were burning him! But, if he was golden and powerful, he was in his super form! He wasn’t supposed to feel pain! He swallowed, and re-focused his mind on Arid. This was the monster that had killed his love, that was causing all of his friends pain. As he grew steadily more enraged, the flames covering his hands grew and spread, covering his entire body in a burning white cloak. He felt the flames within his mouth. Looking down, he could feel the pain, but wasn’t being burnt or taking damage. His mouth re-formed into the smile that had been there mere moments before. Arid stared on, unaware of the power and rage flowing through the hedgehog. Raze lay on the ground, silently cursing. It was time for the real fight to begin.
“What? Now Sonic is missing as well? First Raze, then Eleanor, then Sonic…Still, they can’t have gone far.” Knuckles exclaimed.
“I know. There’s only one passage we haven’t checked, and they must be down that one. We should be prepared for anything, though.” Ai mused, turning to face the rest of the group. They had all gathered in the central foyer, and had just reported their respective news.
“Why? I mean, what have we got to worry about? With all of us, even that Arid guy doesn’t really stand a chance. Plus, he’s got himself two more-than-ordinary hedgehogs and a furry mass murderer to worry about. He should have more than enough on his plate, even without us.” Hadrian reasoned.
“Hmph. I don’t like the fuzz-ball, but he does quite a job of finishing his enemies. I think that if he was going to come out of there carrying Arid’s pelt on his shoulder, he’d have done it by now. Compared to him, Sonic and Eleanor are small fries. Easy meat. Something’s gone wrong.” Shadow said ominously.
“Exactly. We have to be prepared. Anything could happen. Anything could have happened already.” Ai said quietly, shaking her head.
“Then…Be prepared.” Shadow said grimly, walking alone down the corridor.
Sonic surged forward like a typhoon, knowing he already had the advantage. He was seeing the world in slow motion, a sub-conscious use of Chaos Control making his world crawl by at less than a tenth of normal pace, but letting him move freely. He ghosted up to Arid in the blink of an eye, grabbed his arm and snapped it back. In Sonic’s view, the foxes’ face contorted in a vile manner for what seemed like eternity. Then, the fox turned, moving no quicker than a snail, and glared at the hedgehog menacingly. Sonic pushed his golden, flaming arm forwards, into Arid’s face. The fox spiralled almost gracefully to the floor. The thud when he hit echoed and reverberated until it sounded almost like a crash of thunder. Slowly, ever so slowly, the fox whipped to his feet. Sonic could see the momentum, but there was no speed. Laughing, he surged forward again, determined to make the murderer pay. He smashed face forward into Arid’s chest. The old fox groaned in agony, as Sonic started spinning in the wound, trying to get to the heart and snuff it out. Then, something completely unexpected happened. The grey Chaos Emerald fell from Arid’s pocket. It brushed against the hedgehog. Then, in no more than a split second, the hedgehog’s entire body was ablaze in pain. His vision turned blurry. His arms cracked back towards his sides. His legs contorted as he fell towards the ground. He looked through fading vision as the golden glow covering his body ebbed away as if being drunk in by the Chaos Emerald. Then, still in slow motion, Arid saw his chance. Slowly, gracefully, the old foxes’ sharp claws burst from his hands. They made a strange ringing sound, like the unsheafing of a sword. Sonic marvelled at that sound- that slow, graceful, yet incredibly dangerous ring. It astonished him and fascinated him. The way it seemed to ripple through the air, then burst forwards towards him, so that only he could hear it. Was this sound just for him, or was it for someone else? Was this his bell tolling? He pondered the matter silently as the claws inched ever closer to his gut. Despite the impending blow, Sonic was quite calm. What was the point in struggling? Now, he just felt at peace. He continued to feel at peace as he looked up into Arid’s eyes, which were glinting with triumph. Silently, Sonic wished him good luck. He only wished to share in the feeling the old fox felt. Then came a different feeling. Something sharp, and cold against his gut. Sonic looked down to see the foxes’ claws had reached his stomach. They made a small depression in his skin, like little craters, as they pressed against his stomach. For a while, they pressed upon him. Then, there came glorious moment of release, as the claws broke through, slipping into him, making rips in him. Sonic watched them disappear inside him, as if he were absorbing them. His stomach had lost all that remained of it’s stomachness. Before, it had been soft, but tense, and it was rounded, making itself into a little bit of a circle, completely smooth and without bumps. Now, it was completely different. It was now loose, almost rippling as the claws ventured deeper inside him, all softness and tenseness lost, scattered and destroyed by the claws within him. Where there had been perfect smoothness were now gaping holes, making bumps and lumps in his skin. He gasped as he felt the coldness of those steely claws against his innards. And all the time, Arid’s eyes were staring at him, consuming him. Then, the fox pulled back, and there came a different sensation. The claws slid silently outwards, leaving his stomach as quietly as they had come. They had changed colour, Sonic observed, as the exited- they were now a deep, battle red. It was almost like he was giving birth to the claws, as if they had been a part of himself that was leaving him, running away. Then, the claws slid out completely, scattering blood upon the floor. They again made a strange, yet oddly beautiful ringing sound as the ripped through his skin into the outside world. Then he fell backwards. It was a strange, majestic feeling. For a second, he felt weightless, as if the law of gravity no longer applied. He was a king, and the forces that made the world had no effect on him. Then, so gently he hardly even knew it, he started falling backwards, tilting, spiralling through the empty space between him and the floor. With a strangely subdued thump, he hit the floor. In an instant, he felt himself being levered up again. Arid was holding him by the neck now, lifting him, raising him to Arid’s shoulder height. Then, with careful aim, Arid’s claws set in motion once more. This time, they were higher, aimed towards Sonic’s core. The hedgehog sighed as Arid’s claws cut through the air towards his chest.
There was a sickening thud. The claws stopped just in time. They were pressed against Sonic’s chest, ready to plunge through his heart at any moment. Raze had just stood up, and had thrown a piece of the floor which he had ripped up at Arid. The grey fox snarled, and let the hedgehog fall to the floor. He turned to face Raze, eager for the true battle to be resumed. The two foxes leapt through the air towards each other, playing a deadly game of chicken. Raze flew through the air resolutely, determined not to stray from his path. Arid did the same, although a ghastly smile now played upon his lips. The two came closer and closer, claws extended, ready to strike a fatal blow. Then, just before they collided, Arid dropped, then grabbed Raze’s leg as he sailed past. The grey fox swung it over his head and tried to smash Raze down on the floor whilst keeping hold of his leg. For a second, a look of shock flitted across the blue foxes’ face, but was quickly replaced with a smile. Raze caught himself on his hands, then, twisting his body and gathering momentum, he flipped into the air, breaking Arid’s grip. Then, Raze grabbed the old foxes’ shoulder, and pulled himself towards him. At the crucial moment, Raze brought his knee forwards, connecting with Arid’s jaw with brutal ferocity. Then, he landed gracefully behind Arid. The old fox let out a growl and ran towards him full pelt, surprising Raze. Arid brought his arm up to Raze’s neck and extended his claws, aiming to ram them through the blue foxes’ neck. Raze grabbed his arm and span him around. Arid recovered quickly, then started to rain powerful blows upon Raze. Raze responded with equal enthusiasm, and matched the old fox blow for blow. Eventually, they broke away, appearing to have reached a stalemate.
“Tch. You’ve gotten better, Raze.” Arid commented.
“I know.” Raze smirked.
The old fox began to move towards Raze when a streak of gold cut across him. Then, almost a second later, the old foxes’ jaw snapped to the side, almost breaking under the impact. Standing a little way away, with streaks of fading gold running down him like raindrops down a window, was Sonic, bleeding copiously from his wounded stomach, and clutching Eleanor’s mace. The old fox grimaced. Even he knew that with two against one, he was bound to be defeated.
“Raze. Station Square, noon, tomorrow. Alone. Bring the emeralds. Your little pals can play with Rogue.” the fox said, clutching his jaw. Then, without warning, he pulled another emerald from his pocket, and muttered the words “Chaos Control!” and was gone.
Sonic stared down at himself, the old rapidly fading. “Why? I was so powerful…How could I lose to Arid?” he asked, staring at Raze.
“Because power is no substitute for skill.” rang the foxes’ melancholy voice as Sonic’s vision went black.
Several hours later, and with the help of a handy heal unit, everyone was chipper and free of injuries, and were resting at Cream’s house. However, they were far from alright. Sonic, having been healed of his stomach wounds, had went off on his own, doubtlessly to mourn. Tails had almost gone after him, but Raze had stopped him with a shake of his head. More than anyone, the blue fox knew that the hedgehog needed time- more time than they had. Raze himself had fallen into a melancholy mood after Ai had told him of Ivory’s death at the hands of Arid. There was a subdued tone to the whole assembly. Hadrian, despite his recent introduction to the group’s dilemma, knew better than to ask what came next.
“What do we do now?” Knuckles asked, showing once again that he had all the tact ad delicacy of a fruit-fly.
“I show up at Station Square tomorrow, and finally pay Arid back.” Raze said.
Ai sighed. She knew that this was something that Raze had to do. It was Raze’s problem, and Raze would deal with it on his own. But, she wished that for once in her life, she could help him.
“Cream? What are you going to do?” Tails asked quietly.
“I don’t know. I just wish that this would all be over…” Cream sighed, her eyes drooping with exhaustion. Tails could see in her face that she could hardly stand all the mental fatigue brought on by the recent battles.
“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to, Cream. I don’t want you in danger.” Tails said.
“But…what if something happens to you, Tails? What then?” Cream asked sadly.
“Hmm…What then, indeed…” Tails muttered, too low for Cream to hear. He didn’t have any relatives. Would anyone really miss him if he died? He sat down, and pondered about it. What about the person who had paid Raze to be his bodyguard? It seemed so long ago now that he had almost forgotten.
“Raze? How much exactly are you being paid for this job?” Tails asked.
“Enough.” the blue fox said quietly.
“Can you give me a figure?” Tails asked.
“…no. I was asked not to.” the blue fox replied evasively. Then, he stalked out of the room and out of the house.
“Shadow? I’m scared.” Amy whimpered, holding onto Shadow’s arm.
“I wish I could sympathise with you, Amy. But, it’s been a long time since I was scared.” Shadow answered morosely.
Jecht was sipping lemonade silently. He was still in shock. He had never had one of his comrades die before. Vanilla looked on at the assembly, and sighed. There was such an aura of sadness in the room. Vector, Charmy and Espio had went back to the sacked remains of the Arridian Guild hideout, to collect evidence and identify bodies for relatives. The house was so quiet now. It seemed a hundred years away from what was mere days ago, when Raze and Shadow had been taunting each over, Cream was fussing over Tails, Amy was being Amy…Vanilla missed the noise. Now, there was only the sound of sadness.
“Grr…That’s enough! We can’t just sit here and do nothing! There are things we need to do!” Ai shouted angrily.
“Like what? We can’t do anything. Face it. Whatever happens tomorrow, we’ve lost. Eleanor is gone.” Jecht spat.
“Exactly. We need to give her a proper send off…Do things right. The same goes for Ivory, too. They died fighting a good fight, and they deserve the dignity of a good funeral.” Ai said to the group.
“That’s right. We need to take some time to remember the ones who didn’t survive. We owe it to them. I’ll call the funeral directors now. We can get them in for tomorrow morning, if we’re lucky. That way, when you guys fight, you can fight holding them in your hearts.” Vanilla said, picking up the mobile phone.
“Hmm…Holding them in our hearts, huh? Excuse me for a second.” Ai said, dashing out of the house.
“You’re exactly where I though you’d be.” Ai said, talking up to Raze. The blue fox tilted his head a little in way of acknowledgement, then went back to thinking.
“Raze? Can I ask you a personal question?” Ai asked tentatively.
“You’re going to anyway…”
“That’s the spirit. Who do you think of when you fight?”
“What?”
“Give me a decent answer.”
“No-one. When I fight, I think of what my next move will be, what I’ll do next, how my opponent might counter, what I should do if they do counter, what I should do after that…I don’t have time for sentimentality.”
“Really?”
“Don’t piss around with me, Ai. You know I mean what I say.”
“Fine, can I ask another question?”
“If you must.”
“You aren’t being paid for this job, are you?”
“Hmm?” Raze murmured, turning to face her. “What gives you that impression?” he asked, his interest piqued.
“The way you’ve acted. Normally, you’d be going on about how you don’t get paid enough for this sort of thing and how you want to get more money from your next job.” Ai said, smiling.
“Really. Well, since you obviously know me better than I know myself, perhaps you’d like to tell me what I should have for lunch tomorrow. Oh, wait. I’ll have to finish pulling chunks of Arid out of my teeth before I order.” Raze said sarcastically.
“This was never about money. I don’t know how or why you got Tails and his friends involved, but all you really wanted was for the whole thing between you and Arid to be over.” Ai probed.
“You surprise me how quickly you work things out, Ai. Still, this is something I need to do. If I don’t, I’ll be following that git for the rest of my life, which isn’t shaping up to be too much longer at the moment. Which is why…”
“Yes?”
“Nothing. You’re better off not knowing. Not until you’re ready.”
“Tell me! Please?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“S hut up!”
Sonic looked over the bay and sighed. Several hours had passed since he had left his friends, and yet, he still couldn’t comprehend it. How could this be? He would never see Eleanor again. Never see her smile. Never hear her voice, never feel her skin, never know what would have happened had she survived. Then, his mobile phone rang. For a moment, he considered tossing it into the sea. But, with a deep sigh, he pressed the button, and Tails’ voice cracked down the line.
“Sonic! Are you okay?” the fox asked.
“….I don’t know.” Sonic lied. Of course he wasn’t okay.
“Listen, we, uh, wanted for Eleanor, to, y’know, have a good send off. After all, she was one of us…at least, for a while…” the fox said uncertainly.
“A funeral? Count me in. She…I…We deserve it.” Sonic said wistfully. This wasn’t what she had deserved…
“Plus, Raze and I came up with some theories as to why the Chaos Emerald sapped your power…”
“Why is that, then?” Sonic asked. Even if it hadn’t sapped his power, he still couldn’t have saved her.
“Well, that form you were in was powered entirely by negative energy- anger, sadness…that kind of thing. The Chaos Emerald absorbed all the negative energy you were using.” Tails said confidently.
“Is that so…” Sonic murmured. Raze had been there…Why hadn’t he saved Eleanor?
“That’s what we think. We christened the form ‘Demi-Super Sonic’. Oh, and it turns out that one of Raze’s old friends died too. They’re gonna have a funeral for her as well. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”
“I’ll be there.” Sonic said. Arid was fighting Raze, and Raze was losing. It was Arid’s fault.
“Okay. The last battle is tomorrow at noon. Raze says to leave Arid to him, so he can pay Arid back for Eleanor, Ai’s parents, his parents, Ivory, and all the other people who Arid’s hurt. He says that some guy called Rogue will fight us in the meantime. He cordially asks you not to die while you’re fighting him.”
“If Raze doesn’t finish it, Arid’s mine.” the hedgehog said ferociously. Then, he hung up, and went back to his thoughts.
Night came and went too quickly. Sleep was fleeting for everyone. The pressure of the battle mounted on each of their consciousnesses. This was the final battle, the last stand. No one had any doubt of the result of a loss. They would all die, and Arid, Eggman and the Arridian Guild would never be stopped.
At breakfast, Raze made it clear that he wanted to speak by tapping on the side of his glass using his fork. However, this backfired slightly as Vanilla simply assumed that he wanted more toast. After explaining her mistake to her, Raze accepted the offer of toast and carried on addressing the group.
“Right. I don’t like you, and if any of you like me I don’t give a damn. Arid narrowly escaped yesterday, after killing two people. He escaped by using Chaos Control, which Tails tells me is only possible with one of these Chaos Emerald thingies. Tails also tells me that if you get seven of these Chaos Emeralds, you can enhance your power by several hundreds times, gain the power of flight and blahdy blahdy blah. Anyway, I’m assuming that Arid now has five of them, or is at least building up a collection. We have the grey one, and the red one seems to have gone AWOL. He told me to bring the Chaos Emerald to our showdown today.” Raze said.
“Uhh…You aren’t actually thinking of bringing them, are you? Why not just leave them at home?” Knuckles asked, a half eaten slice of toast dangling from his mouth.
“Because he’ll just teleport away again if we don’t, and set the fight for another time. Besides, I fight better if there are stakes involved.” Raze smiled.
“What’ll we do?” Sonic asked, his voice listless.
“Arid has a second in command named Rogue. He’ll take you on.” Raze said.
“So, uh, what about the funerals?” Ai asked tentatively.
“Eleanor was our friend. Her funeral should be something we all attend. Ivory, however, was our enemy. Therefore, I won’t mind f no-one else turns up.” Raze said, his voice fractionally lower than usual.
“What happens if…if…” Tails started, glancing at Cream over his shoulder.
“We don’t come back? Then I guess Arid’ll have delivered his last piece of injustice to the world. Oh, and if any of you die, I’ll kill you.” Raze laughed.
“But what if you…y’know…die?” Ai asked, her worry plainly evident upon her face.
“What, and let Arid win? I plan to live till I’m at least 100 just to spite the bugger. And, when I finally feel like popping my clogs, I’m gonna see Ivory in whatever comes next and laugh in her face because I won the bet.” Raze said, unable to prevent a note of sadness showing in his voice when he said this.
“I…I wanna see Elly again.” Sonic said.
“You will. One day. I’m rarely wrong about these things, Sonic. I can feel it, right up in the tips of my ears. You’ll see her again. But, till then, eat your breakfast. You’ll need your strength.” Ai said, comfortingly.
Eleanor’s funeral was a dour affair. There seemed to be a cloud hanging over the party as they stood, listening to the priest’s words. They all stood, silently, not daring to look each other in the eye. Sonic, however, looked only at the coffin, wherein rested the veiled remains of his love. Raze, despite all his efforts, shook with anger as the priest said how Eleanor was a special person who had been taken well before her time. Amy held onto Shadow’s arm, giving the occasional muffled sob. Shadow, like Jecht and Hadrian, stood, firm and respectful, knowing that this was an injustice that only they could rectify.
“Ahem…Would anyone like to say a few words?” the priest asked in a somewhat doddery voice.
“Yes. I would.” Sonic said, firmly. Tails looked at him, almost asking whether Sonic was sure or not, but decided against it.
“I…I’m going to read a poem. For Eleanor.”
‘Traveller, both far and wide,
You marched blithely on, caring not for time
Looking, but not seeing,
and missed what you did seek.
Now, you travel there instead.
Marching blithely on, leaving us behind.’
The words rung in the stifled air of the graveyard, pattering every surface with grief. The wind seemed to play around the headstones and trees, singing a strange, wordless song of grief. The coffin was lowered slowly into the grave.
They regrouped back at Cream’s house. Ivory’s funeral was scheduled for later in the day. They all prepared themselves- putting on extra layers of clothes, equipping their most powerful armaments.
“Geez. Is that your biggest gun, fairy? I would have preferred it if you’d brought the wand.” Raze said sarcastically as Shadow loaded a pistol.
“No. THIS is my gun.” Shadow said, hefting the Shadow Rifle and tossing the pistol to Ai.
“Cream? I want you to stay here. Without Cheese, you can’t fight.” Tails said.
“O…Okay. I’ll stay here.” Cream said morosely, knowing from Tails’ face that it would be useless to argue.
“Yes, Cream. Stay here. We can bake cakes for when they come back.” Vanilla said, winking.
“I’d like that, Vanilla. Are we all ready?” Raze asked.
A collective ‘YES’ was shouted.
“Then, I don’t want any of you dying on me! Move out!”
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So, you have read one of the very last chapters of Inked In Flame. Reviews, comments, food, all are welcome. Until next time…
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Brimstone Pilgrims
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Sonic smiled, almost sadistically, as he felt the power welling up within him. This was the power that he needed to exact his revenge. Then, suddenly, he gasped in pain. His hands were in agony. He felt the heat rising within his palms. The white flames wreathing his hands were burning him! But, if he was golden and powerful, he was in his super form! He wasn’t supposed to feel pain! He swallowed, and re-focused his mind on Arid. This was the monster that had killed his love, that was causing all of his friends pain. As he grew steadily more enraged, the flames covering his hands grew and spread, covering his entire body in a burning white cloak. He felt the flames within his mouth. Looking down, he could feel the pain, but wasn’t being burnt or taking damage. His mouth re-formed into the smile that had been there mere moments before. Arid stared on, unaware of the power and rage flowing through the hedgehog. Raze lay on the ground, silently cursing. It was time for the real fight to begin.
“What? Now Sonic is missing as well? First Raze, then Eleanor, then Sonic…Still, they can’t have gone far.” Knuckles exclaimed.
“I know. There’s only one passage we haven’t checked, and they must be down that one. We should be prepared for anything, though.” Ai mused, turning to face the rest of the group. They had all gathered in the central foyer, and had just reported their respective news.
“Why? I mean, what have we got to worry about? With all of us, even that Arid guy doesn’t really stand a chance. Plus, he’s got himself two more-than-ordinary hedgehogs and a furry mass murderer to worry about. He should have more than enough on his plate, even without us.” Hadrian reasoned.
“Hmph. I don’t like the fuzz-ball, but he does quite a job of finishing his enemies. I think that if he was going to come out of there carrying Arid’s pelt on his shoulder, he’d have done it by now. Compared to him, Sonic and Eleanor are small fries. Easy meat. Something’s gone wrong.” Shadow said ominously.
“Exactly. We have to be prepared. Anything could happen. Anything could have happened already.” Ai said quietly, shaking her head.
“Then…Be prepared.” Shadow said grimly, walking alone down the corridor.
Sonic surged forward like a typhoon, knowing he already had the advantage. He was seeing the world in slow motion, a sub-conscious use of Chaos Control making his world crawl by at less than a tenth of normal pace, but letting him move freely. He ghosted up to Arid in the blink of an eye, grabbed his arm and snapped it back. In Sonic’s view, the foxes’ face contorted in a vile manner for what seemed like eternity. Then, the fox turned, moving no quicker than a snail, and glared at the hedgehog menacingly. Sonic pushed his golden, flaming arm forwards, into Arid’s face. The fox spiralled almost gracefully to the floor. The thud when he hit echoed and reverberated until it sounded almost like a crash of thunder. Slowly, ever so slowly, the fox whipped to his feet. Sonic could see the momentum, but there was no speed. Laughing, he surged forward again, determined to make the murderer pay. He smashed face forward into Arid’s chest. The old fox groaned in agony, as Sonic started spinning in the wound, trying to get to the heart and snuff it out. Then, something completely unexpected happened. The grey Chaos Emerald fell from Arid’s pocket. It brushed against the hedgehog. Then, in no more than a split second, the hedgehog’s entire body was ablaze in pain. His vision turned blurry. His arms cracked back towards his sides. His legs contorted as he fell towards the ground. He looked through fading vision as the golden glow covering his body ebbed away as if being drunk in by the Chaos Emerald. Then, still in slow motion, Arid saw his chance. Slowly, gracefully, the old foxes’ sharp claws burst from his hands. They made a strange ringing sound, like the unsheafing of a sword. Sonic marvelled at that sound- that slow, graceful, yet incredibly dangerous ring. It astonished him and fascinated him. The way it seemed to ripple through the air, then burst forwards towards him, so that only he could hear it. Was this sound just for him, or was it for someone else? Was this his bell tolling? He pondered the matter silently as the claws inched ever closer to his gut. Despite the impending blow, Sonic was quite calm. What was the point in struggling? Now, he just felt at peace. He continued to feel at peace as he looked up into Arid’s eyes, which were glinting with triumph. Silently, Sonic wished him good luck. He only wished to share in the feeling the old fox felt. Then came a different feeling. Something sharp, and cold against his gut. Sonic looked down to see the foxes’ claws had reached his stomach. They made a small depression in his skin, like little craters, as they pressed against his stomach. For a while, they pressed upon him. Then, there came glorious moment of release, as the claws broke through, slipping into him, making rips in him. Sonic watched them disappear inside him, as if he were absorbing them. His stomach had lost all that remained of it’s stomachness. Before, it had been soft, but tense, and it was rounded, making itself into a little bit of a circle, completely smooth and without bumps. Now, it was completely different. It was now loose, almost rippling as the claws ventured deeper inside him, all softness and tenseness lost, scattered and destroyed by the claws within him. Where there had been perfect smoothness were now gaping holes, making bumps and lumps in his skin. He gasped as he felt the coldness of those steely claws against his innards. And all the time, Arid’s eyes were staring at him, consuming him. Then, the fox pulled back, and there came a different sensation. The claws slid silently outwards, leaving his stomach as quietly as they had come. They had changed colour, Sonic observed, as the exited- they were now a deep, battle red. It was almost like he was giving birth to the claws, as if they had been a part of himself that was leaving him, running away. Then, the claws slid out completely, scattering blood upon the floor. They again made a strange, yet oddly beautiful ringing sound as the ripped through his skin into the outside world. Then he fell backwards. It was a strange, majestic feeling. For a second, he felt weightless, as if the law of gravity no longer applied. He was a king, and the forces that made the world had no effect on him. Then, so gently he hardly even knew it, he started falling backwards, tilting, spiralling through the empty space between him and the floor. With a strangely subdued thump, he hit the floor. In an instant, he felt himself being levered up again. Arid was holding him by the neck now, lifting him, raising him to Arid’s shoulder height. Then, with careful aim, Arid’s claws set in motion once more. This time, they were higher, aimed towards Sonic’s core. The hedgehog sighed as Arid’s claws cut through the air towards his chest.
There was a sickening thud. The claws stopped just in time. They were pressed against Sonic’s chest, ready to plunge through his heart at any moment. Raze had just stood up, and had thrown a piece of the floor which he had ripped up at Arid. The grey fox snarled, and let the hedgehog fall to the floor. He turned to face Raze, eager for the true battle to be resumed. The two foxes leapt through the air towards each other, playing a deadly game of chicken. Raze flew through the air resolutely, determined not to stray from his path. Arid did the same, although a ghastly smile now played upon his lips. The two came closer and closer, claws extended, ready to strike a fatal blow. Then, just before they collided, Arid dropped, then grabbed Raze’s leg as he sailed past. The grey fox swung it over his head and tried to smash Raze down on the floor whilst keeping hold of his leg. For a second, a look of shock flitted across the blue foxes’ face, but was quickly replaced with a smile. Raze caught himself on his hands, then, twisting his body and gathering momentum, he flipped into the air, breaking Arid’s grip. Then, Raze grabbed the old foxes’ shoulder, and pulled himself towards him. At the crucial moment, Raze brought his knee forwards, connecting with Arid’s jaw with brutal ferocity. Then, he landed gracefully behind Arid. The old fox let out a growl and ran towards him full pelt, surprising Raze. Arid brought his arm up to Raze’s neck and extended his claws, aiming to ram them through the blue foxes’ neck. Raze grabbed his arm and span him around. Arid recovered quickly, then started to rain powerful blows upon Raze. Raze responded with equal enthusiasm, and matched the old fox blow for blow. Eventually, they broke away, appearing to have reached a stalemate.
“Tch. You’ve gotten better, Raze.” Arid commented.
“I know.” Raze smirked.
The old fox began to move towards Raze when a streak of gold cut across him. Then, almost a second later, the old foxes’ jaw snapped to the side, almost breaking under the impact. Standing a little way away, with streaks of fading gold running down him like raindrops down a window, was Sonic, bleeding copiously from his wounded stomach, and clutching Eleanor’s mace. The old fox grimaced. Even he knew that with two against one, he was bound to be defeated.
“Raze. Station Square, noon, tomorrow. Alone. Bring the emeralds. Your little pals can play with Rogue.” the fox said, clutching his jaw. Then, without warning, he pulled another emerald from his pocket, and muttered the words “Chaos Control!” and was gone.
Sonic stared down at himself, the old rapidly fading. “Why? I was so powerful…How could I lose to Arid?” he asked, staring at Raze.
“Because power is no substitute for skill.” rang the foxes’ melancholy voice as Sonic’s vision went black.
Several hours later, and with the help of a handy heal unit, everyone was chipper and free of injuries, and were resting at Cream’s house. However, they were far from alright. Sonic, having been healed of his stomach wounds, had went off on his own, doubtlessly to mourn. Tails had almost gone after him, but Raze had stopped him with a shake of his head. More than anyone, the blue fox knew that the hedgehog needed time- more time than they had. Raze himself had fallen into a melancholy mood after Ai had told him of Ivory’s death at the hands of Arid. There was a subdued tone to the whole assembly. Hadrian, despite his recent introduction to the group’s dilemma, knew better than to ask what came next.
“What do we do now?” Knuckles asked, showing once again that he had all the tact ad delicacy of a fruit-fly.
“I show up at Station Square tomorrow, and finally pay Arid back.” Raze said.
Ai sighed. She knew that this was something that Raze had to do. It was Raze’s problem, and Raze would deal with it on his own. But, she wished that for once in her life, she could help him.
“Cream? What are you going to do?” Tails asked quietly.
“I don’t know. I just wish that this would all be over…” Cream sighed, her eyes drooping with exhaustion. Tails could see in her face that she could hardly stand all the mental fatigue brought on by the recent battles.
“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to, Cream. I don’t want you in danger.” Tails said.
“But…what if something happens to you, Tails? What then?” Cream asked sadly.
“Hmm…What then, indeed…” Tails muttered, too low for Cream to hear. He didn’t have any relatives. Would anyone really miss him if he died? He sat down, and pondered about it. What about the person who had paid Raze to be his bodyguard? It seemed so long ago now that he had almost forgotten.
“Raze? How much exactly are you being paid for this job?” Tails asked.
“Enough.” the blue fox said quietly.
“Can you give me a figure?” Tails asked.
“…no. I was asked not to.” the blue fox replied evasively. Then, he stalked out of the room and out of the house.
“Shadow? I’m scared.” Amy whimpered, holding onto Shadow’s arm.
“I wish I could sympathise with you, Amy. But, it’s been a long time since I was scared.” Shadow answered morosely.
Jecht was sipping lemonade silently. He was still in shock. He had never had one of his comrades die before. Vanilla looked on at the assembly, and sighed. There was such an aura of sadness in the room. Vector, Charmy and Espio had went back to the sacked remains of the Arridian Guild hideout, to collect evidence and identify bodies for relatives. The house was so quiet now. It seemed a hundred years away from what was mere days ago, when Raze and Shadow had been taunting each over, Cream was fussing over Tails, Amy was being Amy…Vanilla missed the noise. Now, there was only the sound of sadness.
“Grr…That’s enough! We can’t just sit here and do nothing! There are things we need to do!” Ai shouted angrily.
“Like what? We can’t do anything. Face it. Whatever happens tomorrow, we’ve lost. Eleanor is gone.” Jecht spat.
“Exactly. We need to give her a proper send off…Do things right. The same goes for Ivory, too. They died fighting a good fight, and they deserve the dignity of a good funeral.” Ai said to the group.
“That’s right. We need to take some time to remember the ones who didn’t survive. We owe it to them. I’ll call the funeral directors now. We can get them in for tomorrow morning, if we’re lucky. That way, when you guys fight, you can fight holding them in your hearts.” Vanilla said, picking up the mobile phone.
“Hmm…Holding them in our hearts, huh? Excuse me for a second.” Ai said, dashing out of the house.
“You’re exactly where I though you’d be.” Ai said, talking up to Raze. The blue fox tilted his head a little in way of acknowledgement, then went back to thinking.
“Raze? Can I ask you a personal question?” Ai asked tentatively.
“You’re going to anyway…”
“That’s the spirit. Who do you think of when you fight?”
“What?”
“Give me a decent answer.”
“No-one. When I fight, I think of what my next move will be, what I’ll do next, how my opponent might counter, what I should do if they do counter, what I should do after that…I don’t have time for sentimentality.”
“Really?”
“Don’t piss around with me, Ai. You know I mean what I say.”
“Fine, can I ask another question?”
“If you must.”
“You aren’t being paid for this job, are you?”
“Hmm?” Raze murmured, turning to face her. “What gives you that impression?” he asked, his interest piqued.
“The way you’ve acted. Normally, you’d be going on about how you don’t get paid enough for this sort of thing and how you want to get more money from your next job.” Ai said, smiling.
“Really. Well, since you obviously know me better than I know myself, perhaps you’d like to tell me what I should have for lunch tomorrow. Oh, wait. I’ll have to finish pulling chunks of Arid out of my teeth before I order.” Raze said sarcastically.
“This was never about money. I don’t know how or why you got Tails and his friends involved, but all you really wanted was for the whole thing between you and Arid to be over.” Ai probed.
“You surprise me how quickly you work things out, Ai. Still, this is something I need to do. If I don’t, I’ll be following that git for the rest of my life, which isn’t shaping up to be too much longer at the moment. Which is why…”
“Yes?”
“Nothing. You’re better off not knowing. Not until you’re ready.”
“Tell me! Please?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“S hut up!”
Sonic looked over the bay and sighed. Several hours had passed since he had left his friends, and yet, he still couldn’t comprehend it. How could this be? He would never see Eleanor again. Never see her smile. Never hear her voice, never feel her skin, never know what would have happened had she survived. Then, his mobile phone rang. For a moment, he considered tossing it into the sea. But, with a deep sigh, he pressed the button, and Tails’ voice cracked down the line.
“Sonic! Are you okay?” the fox asked.
“….I don’t know.” Sonic lied. Of course he wasn’t okay.
“Listen, we, uh, wanted for Eleanor, to, y’know, have a good send off. After all, she was one of us…at least, for a while…” the fox said uncertainly.
“A funeral? Count me in. She…I…We deserve it.” Sonic said wistfully. This wasn’t what she had deserved…
“Plus, Raze and I came up with some theories as to why the Chaos Emerald sapped your power…”
“Why is that, then?” Sonic asked. Even if it hadn’t sapped his power, he still couldn’t have saved her.
“Well, that form you were in was powered entirely by negative energy- anger, sadness…that kind of thing. The Chaos Emerald absorbed all the negative energy you were using.” Tails said confidently.
“Is that so…” Sonic murmured. Raze had been there…Why hadn’t he saved Eleanor?
“That’s what we think. We christened the form ‘Demi-Super Sonic’. Oh, and it turns out that one of Raze’s old friends died too. They’re gonna have a funeral for her as well. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”
“I’ll be there.” Sonic said. Arid was fighting Raze, and Raze was losing. It was Arid’s fault.
“Okay. The last battle is tomorrow at noon. Raze says to leave Arid to him, so he can pay Arid back for Eleanor, Ai’s parents, his parents, Ivory, and all the other people who Arid’s hurt. He says that some guy called Rogue will fight us in the meantime. He cordially asks you not to die while you’re fighting him.”
“If Raze doesn’t finish it, Arid’s mine.” the hedgehog said ferociously. Then, he hung up, and went back to his thoughts.
Night came and went too quickly. Sleep was fleeting for everyone. The pressure of the battle mounted on each of their consciousnesses. This was the final battle, the last stand. No one had any doubt of the result of a loss. They would all die, and Arid, Eggman and the Arridian Guild would never be stopped.
At breakfast, Raze made it clear that he wanted to speak by tapping on the side of his glass using his fork. However, this backfired slightly as Vanilla simply assumed that he wanted more toast. After explaining her mistake to her, Raze accepted the offer of toast and carried on addressing the group.
“Right. I don’t like you, and if any of you like me I don’t give a damn. Arid narrowly escaped yesterday, after killing two people. He escaped by using Chaos Control, which Tails tells me is only possible with one of these Chaos Emerald thingies. Tails also tells me that if you get seven of these Chaos Emeralds, you can enhance your power by several hundreds times, gain the power of flight and blahdy blahdy blah. Anyway, I’m assuming that Arid now has five of them, or is at least building up a collection. We have the grey one, and the red one seems to have gone AWOL. He told me to bring the Chaos Emerald to our showdown today.” Raze said.
“Uhh…You aren’t actually thinking of bringing them, are you? Why not just leave them at home?” Knuckles asked, a half eaten slice of toast dangling from his mouth.
“Because he’ll just teleport away again if we don’t, and set the fight for another time. Besides, I fight better if there are stakes involved.” Raze smiled.
“What’ll we do?” Sonic asked, his voice listless.
“Arid has a second in command named Rogue. He’ll take you on.” Raze said.
“So, uh, what about the funerals?” Ai asked tentatively.
“Eleanor was our friend. Her funeral should be something we all attend. Ivory, however, was our enemy. Therefore, I won’t mind f no-one else turns up.” Raze said, his voice fractionally lower than usual.
“What happens if…if…” Tails started, glancing at Cream over his shoulder.
“We don’t come back? Then I guess Arid’ll have delivered his last piece of injustice to the world. Oh, and if any of you die, I’ll kill you.” Raze laughed.
“But what if you…y’know…die?” Ai asked, her worry plainly evident upon her face.
“What, and let Arid win? I plan to live till I’m at least 100 just to spite the bugger. And, when I finally feel like popping my clogs, I’m gonna see Ivory in whatever comes next and laugh in her face because I won the bet.” Raze said, unable to prevent a note of sadness showing in his voice when he said this.
“I…I wanna see Elly again.” Sonic said.
“You will. One day. I’m rarely wrong about these things, Sonic. I can feel it, right up in the tips of my ears. You’ll see her again. But, till then, eat your breakfast. You’ll need your strength.” Ai said, comfortingly.
Eleanor’s funeral was a dour affair. There seemed to be a cloud hanging over the party as they stood, listening to the priest’s words. They all stood, silently, not daring to look each other in the eye. Sonic, however, looked only at the coffin, wherein rested the veiled remains of his love. Raze, despite all his efforts, shook with anger as the priest said how Eleanor was a special person who had been taken well before her time. Amy held onto Shadow’s arm, giving the occasional muffled sob. Shadow, like Jecht and Hadrian, stood, firm and respectful, knowing that this was an injustice that only they could rectify.
“Ahem…Would anyone like to say a few words?” the priest asked in a somewhat doddery voice.
“Yes. I would.” Sonic said, firmly. Tails looked at him, almost asking whether Sonic was sure or not, but decided against it.
“I…I’m going to read a poem. For Eleanor.”
‘Traveller, both far and wide,
You marched blithely on, caring not for time
Looking, but not seeing,
and missed what you did seek.
Now, you travel there instead.
Marching blithely on, leaving us behind.’
The words rung in the stifled air of the graveyard, pattering every surface with grief. The wind seemed to play around the headstones and trees, singing a strange, wordless song of grief. The coffin was lowered slowly into the grave.
They regrouped back at Cream’s house. Ivory’s funeral was scheduled for later in the day. They all prepared themselves- putting on extra layers of clothes, equipping their most powerful armaments.
“Geez. Is that your biggest gun, fairy? I would have preferred it if you’d brought the wand.” Raze said sarcastically as Shadow loaded a pistol.
“No. THIS is my gun.” Shadow said, hefting the Shadow Rifle and tossing the pistol to Ai.
“Cream? I want you to stay here. Without Cheese, you can’t fight.” Tails said.
“O…Okay. I’ll stay here.” Cream said morosely, knowing from Tails’ face that it would be useless to argue.
“Yes, Cream. Stay here. We can bake cakes for when they come back.” Vanilla said, winking.
“I’d like that, Vanilla. Are we all ready?” Raze asked.
A collective ‘YES’ was shouted.
“Then, I don’t want any of you dying on me! Move out!”
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So, you have read one of the very last chapters of Inked In Flame. Reviews, comments, food, all are welcome. Until next time…