"Caving in to Anger"
Authors: Robert Brown and Francis Tolbert
Disclaimer: This story uses characters created and copyrighted by Sega of
America, Inc. and Archie Comics (except where noted, in which case
they were created and copyrighted by us or by another and we have
permission to use them). The authors hereby give permission for
this story to be downloaded and/or printed at 1 copy per user as
long as (1) no changes to the story are made without our express
written(not e-mailed) permission and (2) no attempt is made to
profit from this story. If either or both rules are violated, it
will be considered a violation of copyright law.
Author's Note: I'm starting to wonder if there's something wrong with me.
See, I've actually run out of things to talk about. Nothing much happening
in my life, or in Francis' for that matter. Well, they say no news is good
news. I just hope the trend continues. Till next time, Happy Reading!
Cast of Characters(in order of appearance)
Princess Alicia Rose Hedgehog***
Prince Juice Hedgehog***
Queen Sally Alicia Hedgehog
Angela Shi-rat***
Nadia Osaya***
Donovan Osaya###
Lily###
The Owl###
Nicholas###
Rouge
Amy Rose
Tanis Shi-rat***
Rosie Shi-rat
Darrin D'Coolette***
Charleen Oster###
Bunnie D'Coolette
Antoine D'Coolette
Miles "Tails" Prower
Miles Prower III***
Sarah Prower***
Princess Sondra Acorn-Prower
Metal Sonic
Lissette Lexford***
Desirée D'Coolette***
DJ Osaya###
Queen Sally Alicia Hedgehog
King Sonic Hedgehog
#38
It was a quiet fall evening at the palace in Mobotropolis. It seemed
that the cooling of summer's heat had also cooled off some tempers and allowed
everyone to enjoy the tranquility that such a night could breed. Well...
almost everyone that is.
"I cannot believe you!" Alicia yelled, her entire body shaking in rage.
"Why can't you leave me alone?"
"Hey, I'm only saying this for your own good," Juice said with a smirk
that their father had made famous. "Why don't you just admit that you can't
handle it?"
Alicia ground her teeth together as she mentally chanted a calming
mantra that Bunnie had taught her. It had only taken her a few days to
recover from her injuries sustained in retrieving the Chalice, thanks in large
part to the Chalice itself. But once she had, her mother had imposed a unique
and rather interesting punishment. "Since you feel like you can handle
everything yourself," she said with the full air of a queen, "I'm going to see
if you can. Starting tomorrow, you will report to Sanctuary to learn your
Princess lessons from Rosie, just as I did and just as your brother is being
taught Prince lessons. But since you are so much older than he is when he
started, your studies will be advanced so that you can catch up to him. You
might not think this is a punishment, but you have to keep up with all of your
other training too.
"Now, this punishment will only last for as long as you want it to. The
moment you can't handle anymore, say the word and it stops. The only problem
with that is that you have to publicly announce to the entire city that you
couldn't handle it." Alicia had been mortified by her mother that day but had
been determined to prove to her and everyone else that she was up to the
challenge.
That had been a few weeks ago, and now Alicia had to admit she wasn't so
sure. Bunnie's training had intensified the most, making her, Desirée, and
Angela fight alone against multiple opponents so that they could fight if
cornered like Alicia had been when retrieving the Chalice. She had also begun
to train them in wrestling, just as she had done with the Freedom Fighters.
Every training session left Alicia sore and worn out, but it didn't end there.
Bunnie had decided to attack them all when she wasn't training them like she
did to her daughter, forcing them to react quickly or get hurt. Even the boys
weren't spared that treatment, to Darrin and Juice's chagrin. Darrin had even
been attacked while on a date with Charleen!
Alicia's flight training from her mother had begun taking a different
direction. Instead of working on pure strength, Sally had decided to increase
her daughter's stamina, making her carry weights as she flew all around the
palace and Knothole, sometimes from one to the other. Fortunately, these
sessions only occurred on the days that Bunnie wasn't officially training her,
but that didn't stop Bunnie from attacking Alicia during one of them. But
after Alicia had nearly given Bunnie a concussion with one of the weights she
was carrying, Bunnie had agreed not to interfere in another's training again.
But even with all of that, she had to spend two hours every morning with
Rosie for her lessons. Rosie may be a Shi-rat now, but she was still a hard
taskmaster when it came to those lessons. No dozing off, no distractions, no
vacant gazes. Even if the material was absolutely mind-numbing, Alicia had to
stay awake and alert. She couldn't help but wonder how Juice made it through
his lessons, but was afraid that if she asked, it might seem like she couldn't
handle it.
Juice watched the emotions play across his sister's face with no small
amount of worry. It was obvious to everyone that she was approaching her
breaking point, if she wasn't there already. If she didn't admit it soon, she
was going to make herself sick...or worse. But Juice knew the only way to get
her to admit to it was to make her angry enough. So now he went for the final
blow. "With how you're handling all of this, I'm glad I was born first. You
obviously aren't cut out to be queen."
Alicia's calming mantra seemed to snap in her head, along with the rest
of her temper. Without thinking about what she was saying, she spat a curse
at Juice that left no room for interpretation. As soon as it left her lips,
she covered them in horror with her hand. "Juice," she whispered, "I--"
Juice stared at his sister like he'd never seen her before. "What did
you just say?" he asked slowly, feeling like his ears were burning.
Alicia backed up until she reached the door of the room they were in.
"I'm sorry!" she yelled, flinging open the door and dashing down the hallway.
"Alicia, what's wrong?" Angela called after her. She had been coming
to check on the siblings because she'd had a feeling something bad was going
to happen. And from the look on Alicia's face, her feelings were right. She
hurried into the room and saw Juice on his knees, tears shimmering in his
eyes. "What happened?" she asked as she knelt next to him.
Juice looked up at Angela with an expression so sad that it nearly broke
her heart. "I think I pushed her too far this time," he whispered as she
pulled him into a loving embrace. "By the Almighty, I only hope she can
forgive me."
"She will," Angela whispered, running her fingers lightly through his
quills. "She will."
Alicia, in the meantime, had stalked off to her bedroom, angry at her
brother and at herself. If it hadn't been so late, she would've gone to her
track and ran off her frustrations. But because it was, she'd just have to
settle for a nice, long shower. Stripping off her clothes, she turned on the
hot water and went in the shower, just standing under the spray for a moment
to help release her tension.
Once she felt her worries melt off her, she began to wash, choosing a
new fruit-based bodywash she had bought from the marketplace the other day.
She'd used it once before, and she liked how it kept her fur soft. The only
thing she couldn't quite get over was the lime green color it took on when she
lathered up. But it was a small price to pay.
Once she was done washing, she rinsed the lather from her body and
prepared to wash her hair when she stopped in surprise. The lather had rinsed
from her body, but the green color did not. Shaking her head, she rinsed her
body off again, only to find the same result. "What's going on here?" she
wondered, wiping furiously at the green to try and pull it from her fur.
After a couple minutes of trying, Alicia shut off the water with a snarl
and leapt out of the shower. She grabbed a towel and dried herself off,
hoping that the color would disappear when she was dry. It didn't happen
though, and all she discovered was that every single strand of fur on her body
was now a shade of green, even on her face.
Alicia threw the towel on the floor in disgust and stomped into her
room. Immediately, a bright green note on her bed drew her attention. She
snatched it up and read it. "Good day, Princess," it began, "this is just a
friendly reminder to never drop your guard, even when you think you're alone.
What if it had been poison in that bodywash? Remember, as my mother has
drilled into all our heads so many times, we must maintain constant vigilance.
From, The Prankster(version 2).
"P.S." it continued. "The dye will fade normally in about three days.
I'm also assuming you didn't grab a robe or towel on your way out of the
bathroom, so you'll have to forgive me for missing the show."
Alicia blushed so badly that her whole body glowed pink from under her
greenish fur. She hadn't even thought that whoever did this might be waiting
in her room to see his handiwork. And from the note, it was obviously Darrin.
"This day just keeps getting worse and worse," she moaned, sitting down on her
bed.
Then, in a fit of anger, she tore the note Darrin had left to shreds,
tossing them every which way. "I have to get out of here," she thought,
throwing her jogging outfit on and flinging open her window. Without thinking
of the consequences, she took off, flying out into the night and whatever
direction felt right.
Elsewhere in the palace, an alarm went off in the rooms of the Osaya
family. "What's going on Computer?" Nadia asked, sitting down at the main
console.
"My cameras have detected someone or something flying out of the
princess' room," the computer reported. "I think you should take a look at
it."
"Put it on the main screen," Nadia said. When the image came up, she
adjusted the magnification and the focus until she could make it out clearly,
which caused her to gasp. "That looks like Alicia, but why is she green?"
"I do not know," the computer responded, thinking Nadia was talking to
it, "but I can hazard a guess that the Prankster has returned."
"You're probably right. Patch me through to Donovan, we need to find
her before she does something foolish."
Inside the security room, one of the workers received the call from
Nadia and handed it over to Donovan. "What is it Nadia?" he asked while
scanning the screens in front of him.
"The computer just showed me footage of a green-furred Alicia flying
out of her bedroom window," Nadia explained. "We need to find her before
she gets too far."
Donovan scoffed at what Nadia was saying. "Tell the computer to adjust
its sensors or something. Something's obviously wrong with it. Again."
"Donovan! Take this seriously, would you?"
"Look Nadia," Donovan said before she could continue, "forgive me if I
don't see the problem. Until I see it with my own eyes, I'm not going to
worry."
"Look," Nadia said, her voice chilling a few notches, "I know you don't
trust the computer, but I know what I saw! Why can't you trust me at least?"
"Nadia, this is not the time--"
"It never is! Fine, you go back to your work. I'll find Alicia." And
with that Nadia cut off communication and stormed out into the hallway.
Donovan looked at the communicator in his hand for a moment and then
threw it against the wall. "What are you all looking at?" he snapped, making
the workers jump. "Get back to work."
Alicia flew through the Great Forest at her top speed, avoiding trees
and other obstacles as best she could, but more often than not getting clipped
by a branch. Finally, when her anger drained from her, she came to a rest
against an aged oak. "Not your best move Alicia," she scolded herself as she
slumped down into a sitting position. "If you can't handle some taunting,
maybe you're not able to handle all this."
Alicia brought her knees up and rested her head against them, trying to
catch her breath. But as she was sitting there, a muffled chuckle could be
heard from the branches overhead. Her head snapped up at the sound. She
looked carefully but couldn't see anyone. "I must be imagining things," she
thought, until she heard some branches rustling. "Who's there?" she called,
springing up to her feet.
"No one special," a female voice called down from overhead. "I'm just
someone trying to figure out when they started using pink wrapping on green
beans."
Alicia tilted her head as she tried to figure out what that meant, until
she realized that it was referring to the pink jogging suit over her greenish
fur. "Show yourself!" she demanded, peering up into the branches.
A female squirrel hopped down a couple branches until she was in plain
sight. She was garbed in a black Chinese martial arts outfit with white
sleeves. "Yeah, I guess it would be hard to see me at night," she said while
nonchalantly adjusting her shades with a gloved hand. "But then, you wouldn't
know anything about that, would you? I mean, you stick out like a tacky
Christmas tree."
Alicia growled low in her throat. "Why don't you come down here and
say that to my face? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"
"No, and I really don't care. And I don't want to come anywhere near
you; I might catch the colorblind bug or something."
Alicia bared her teeth in anger. "Maybe I should come up there and
teach you a lesson."
"Ooooooo," the squirrel said in a fake scared voice while waggling her
fingers in Alicia's direction.
"That's it!" Alicia yelled, flying at the squirrel at high speed.
The squirrel seemed a bit surprised by this, but quickly dropped to the
ground as Alicia streaked past her. She said some incomprehensible words as
she hit the ground rolling. Inline skates popped out of the bottom of her
boots as jets extended from the back of her heels. As Alicia banked around
for another attack, the jets activated and she took off, kicking up a cloud
of dust as she skated away.
"You're not getting away that easily," Alicia yelled, kicking up her
speed to the max she could. She was able to catch up to the squirrel easily
enough, but just before Alicia got a hold of her, the squirrel would dodge
out of the way without any effort.
The chase continued for quite a while until Alicia had absolutely no
idea where she was. But she was getting more and more frustrated as her
quarry continued to elude her grasp, not to mention the taunting that had
continued nonstop. Finally she saw her duck into a cave and Alicia smiled.
"You won't escape me now," she thought, speeding into the cave.
The squirrel stood only a few yards inside the cave, a smirk on her
lips. Just as Alicia's fist was about to connect with her face, the squirrel
bridged backward, making Alicia miss her by mere inches. She straightened up
and skated out of the cave before Alicia could maneuver around to follow. A
well-placed jumping punch to the stones at the mouth of the cave caused the
entire opening to collapse, trapping Alicia inside. "Well, that's taken care
of," she said with a sigh before turning to leave. But the sudden appearance
of a graduation gown clad badger made her jump in surprise. "What are you
doing here?"
"I came to check on the condition of the future queen," the badger known
only as "the Owl" said, "after I heard about her ordeal today. Lily, please
explain why you trapped her in that cave."
"It wasn't my idea," Lily insisted. "Amy Rose told me what to do. The
clues she got from her abilities led me straight to her, and I was told to
'explain my thought to the one who wishes to run like the wind.' We all know
that the princess has wanted her family's speed, so when I saw her and got the
strangest urge to lead her here, I followed it."
The Owl stared at Lily for a good long time before sighing and nodding.
"Very well, I will not doubt the seer's abilities. Speaking of which,
shouldn't you be getting back to Nicholas before he gets some bats in his
belfry?"
"Yes I should," Lily said, speaking some different syllables which made
her jet skates change to rocket boots. Sparing him one glance in farewell,
she activated her boots and flew off into the night.
The Owl walked up to the blocked cave and placed his hand on one of the
boulders. "That makes two now, my queen," he said softly before turning and
walking away.
Alicia pounded her fists on the rocks and threw her body weight against
them to try and free herself. "Hey, this isn't funny!" she yelled. "Let me
out!"
But no one answered her cries. She tried her communicator, but the
amount of rock separating her from freedom was enough to stop any signals from
getting out or in. "Damn it!" she swore, stopping just short of hitting her
head against the rocks. She turned around and sat against the boulders, angry
and depressed at the same time.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the cave, Alicia noticed a
deeper patch of darkness against one of the walls. When she checked it out,
she found it to be a long tunnel that extended well past her range of vision.
"I can't get out that way," she thought, looking at the rock slide that
blocked the entrance, "but this tunnel has to lead somewhere. Might as well
find out where; better that than sitting here and hoping to be found." She
walked slowly down the tunnel, keeping her hand on one of the walls so that
she could support herself if her footing gave way.
After a time, she noticed a greenish light illuminating the far end of
the tunnel. Picking up her pace, she hurried toward the light, hoping that it
signalled the way out. But when she reached the end of the tunnel, her hope
turned quickly to paralyzing fear. What lay before her was not the way out as
she had hoped. Instead, stretched out before her in a low-ceilinged cavern
was an underground graveyard, complete with tombstones. The greenish light
was coming from what appeared to be fireflies but were in fact will-o'-wisp's
that darted and played among the graves.
Alicia backed up against the wall, her eyes wide and her whole body
trembling. This was her worst fear brought to life. She had always been
terrified of graveyards like these, refusing to go anywhere near them, much
less inside them. She had been to Desirée's family's sacred site more than
once for some training with the other girls, but it had a completely
different feel to it. The same could be said for her family's tomb. But
while they were calming and serene, this place was dark and eerie.
Alicia edged around the graveyard, staying on the ground as she searched
for an exit tunnel in the circular cavern. But the only opening she came to
was the very one that she had come in by. She made sure by edging around the
cavern in the reverse direction, only to find the same result. "This can't be
happening to me," she mumbled, scanning the low ceiling for some hole that she
might be able to fly through, if she had the courage to fly through the
graveyard to get to it.
Alicia sighed as her search ended in failure yet again, and she turned
her gaze back to the graveyard reluctantly. Her mind told her something was
different, but yet refused to accept just what that was. It wasn't until she
noticed the earth in front of the headstones shifting that she realized what
was going on. "No," she moaned, pushing herself back against the wall in the
vain hope that she could somehow pass through it.
As she feared, skeletal hands covered in rotting flesh broke free of the
earth that contained them, soon followed by the decomposing bodies that the
hands were attached to. Alicia had to swallow the scream of fear that tried
to erupt from her throat, praying to the Almighty that the zombies could not
see her. And it seemed to work. The zombies milled around aimlessly, not
paying her attention in the least. "Just stay still Alicia," she told herself
as she tried to slow the rapid beating of her heart. "Don't move until you
figure out how to get out of here."
She had managed to calm her heartbeat a little when she felt something
land on her shoulder. She reached up to brush it off, but froze when she
actually touched it. It was definitely a hand; a rotting, putrid, nearly
nothing but bone hand. Screwing up what remained of her courage, she slowly
turned around to face whatever was connected to that hand. A zombie that had
once been a bear towered over her, leering down at her as ichor oozed from the
many lacerations on its face.
Alicia let out a scream of mortal terror and struck blindly at the
zombie. One of her flailing arms struck the undead creature in the chest and
knocked it into the wall where it collapsed into dust upon contact. Alicia
stopped her screaming and stared at the pile of dust for a moment, confusion
briefly overtaking her terror. But that only lasted until she noticed that
another zombie was shuffling toward her.
Fighting down her fear and revulsion as best she could, she dodged a
clumsy punch the nearest zombie threw at her and kicked it back into one of
its cohorts, causing them both to crumble. "They're not so tough," she
realized, and that realization gave her a much needed boost of courage. She
walked forward into the graveyard proper, taking care of any zombie that even
looked like it might attack.
She was making good progress, until she kicked a zombie and it fell.
While she was staring at it, wondering why it didn't crumble away, it lurched
up to its feet and came after her again. A spinning backfist literally
knocked its head off and the body turned into dust like it was supposed to.
"These things are getting harder," she realized, having to hit the next zombie
three times before she destroyed it. "There must be something at the center
that's either making them strong, or that they're protecting. Might just be
the way out. I've got nothing to lose."
Alicia sprinted for the center of the graveyard, avoiding as many
zombies as she could while fighting off the ones who got too close. Finally,
she arrived at the center of the graveyard and pulled up short. The things
before her were definitely undead, but they weren't zombies. Their bodies
seemed intact, but their skin looked like hardened, grey leather. Their teeth
were sharp and pointed and their tongue were long and disgusting. But what
unnerved Alicia the most was their eyes. Not dead and glassy like the
zombies, these creatures had a spark of intelligence and hate in their eyes.
And all that hate was directed completely at her.
Alicia froze with indecision for just a moment, but that was all the
creatures needed to attack. With no conscious thought, Alicia assumed a
fighting stance and watched their lumbering approach. All the training that
Bunnie had forced on her allowed her body to move independently from her mind,
taking down her far slower opponents with little to no difficulty. Much
later, she wouldn't be able to recount what she did. All she knew was that
when she was done, she was the only one standing.
Alicia slowly relaxed from her stance as her mind took control. "A true
martial artist never lets her thoughts distract her in a fight," she
remembered Bunnie telling her recently. "She knows exactly when and how to
strike without having to think."
"Looks like she was right," Alicia whispered, feeling a little proud of
herself. She looked around to see what these things could have possibly been
guarding and found an unmarked, open grave. As she approached it, she saw a
staircase leading down, further than the will-o-wisps could illuminate. "No
other way to go," she told herself, steeling herself before heading down into
the inky darkness.
She had only gotten a few steps down when she heard a shuffling noise
behind her. She glanced backward and found to her horror that the creatures
were getting up. Not even giving them a chance to reorganize themselves,
Alicia ran down the stairs as fast as she could. She was running so fast that
her eyes never got the chance to adjust to the darkness fully and she stumbled
when she reached the bottom, falling into and through a door. She sprang to
her feet and slammed the door shut, leaning her weight against it while she
fought to lock it.
Once the door was safely locked, Alicia let herself collapse on the
floor of the new tunnel she found herself in. The walls were lit with a soft
green glow from the phosphorescent fungi that grew there. "I am going to get
to the bottom of this," she swore. "I don't care what it takes."
While Alicia rested on that cavern floor to recover from her ordeal,
Donovan was trying to find a way through his own ordeal. He was trying to
forget about the arguement he'd had with his wife and concentrate on his work,
but it was proving to be a task nearly beyond his ability. He hated fighting
with Nadia, but sometimes it seemed inevitable.
Donovan was torn from his thoughts by Nadia storming into the room and
sitting down at the communication console. "Princess Alicia, respond," she
said into the microphone, pulling the headset on. "Alicia, respond! This is
Nadia, can you hear me?"
"What's going on?" Donovan asked, walking over to stand next to Nadia.
"I've searched the entire palace and she's nowhere around," Nadia said,
adjusting the frequency and trying to call Alicia again.
"Maybe she's in Knothole or she just doesn't want to be bothered."
"I checked all her hiding places, and even contacted Lupé because she's
in Knothole on a vacation. She hasn't seen any sign of her, and I believe her
when she said she's looked everywhere. Besides, have you forgotten what the
computer showed me?"
Donovan felt his anger spark again. "Nadia--"
"You!" Nadia yelled at the young pig that was watching the monitors,
making her jump in fright. "Load up the tape from the security camera with
the best view of the princess' window for the last two hours and scan through
it."
The pig looked at Donovan for approval who gave her an irritated nod.
"Calling up the video now," she said, trying to maintain her professional
demeanor while keeping her voice from trembling. The main monitor flickered
for a moment before showing a recording of the grounds outside Alicia's
window. Some lines appeared on the screen as the girl pushed the button to
fast forward it at ten times normal speed.
Nothing much happened at first, but then a pink and green blur streaked
by the camera. "Hold it," Donovan said, his eye narrowing slightly. "Rewind
that and play it again slowly." Everyone in that room watched carefully as
the tape was rewound and played again. But then they could all see a green-
furred Alicia throw her window open and fly off in her pink jogging suit. "It
looks like there's a new Prankster around," Donovan muttered.
"I told you I saw it," Nadia said with a triumphant smirk. "Just admit
it, the computer was right this time."
"Every dog has its day," Donovan admitted reluctantly. "Besides I don't
think it's anything to worry about. She's probably just upset about the prank
Darrin obviously played on her."
"Upset or not, she should not be out there alone," Nadia pointed out.
"In the state of mind she's in, she'll be an easy target if the Fallen Ones
find her."
"I can't argue with that. All right, I'll contact the others and get
everyone on it. Then I'll join one of the search parties."
"Oh no you won't!" Nadia said, rounding on her husband. "After you get
a hold of everyone, you will go back to our rooms and wait for Tanis to show
up. I don't care if I have to drag him out of Sanctuary by his ear, I will
get him here and the two of you are going to have a talk like you used to have
before this whole thing began. Am I making myself clear?"
Donovan glared at Nadia, but had to look away in the face of the
pleading glare she was giving him. "You win," he said finally.
"Good," Nadia said, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
"Start contacting everyone. I'm going to go follow up on a hunch. I'll keep
in contact if I find anything." She gently turned Donovan's face to her and
kissed him on the lips sweetly. "You know I love you, right?" she whispered.
"I know," Donovan said, "and I love you too." Nadia smiled a sad smile
before walking out. Donovan watched her go until, with a sigh, he began the
process of setting up the search for Alicia.
Outside in the Great Forest, somewhere between where Alicia was and the
palace, it was an idyllic autumn night. Beautiful, peaceful, quiet. At least
it was...until the peace was shattered by a huge body being knocked forcefully
into a tree. Nicholas gritted against the pain, keeping his arms up in front
of him defensively, preparing for the assault he knew was coming. The beating
he had already taken had torn his cloak up and left a trickle of blood
staining the streak of white fur that ran down his head and back, standing out
sharply against his otherwise black fur. His clothing, when in one piece,
looked just like Lily's did.
A sharp kick hit his defenses, forcing him against the tree again, his
head whiplashing from the impact. "You know," drawled a sensuous voice, "you
should just give up and let me take the kid. Nothing's worth the beating I'm
giving you."
Nicholas glared at the white bat in front of him. She was dressed very
provocatively, a tight black bodysuit with a pink heart covering her rather
generous bosom. Long white gloves and high-heeled boots with pink cuffs
completed the ensemble. Her black wings barely stood out in the dark night,
but her bright aqua eyes glittered easily. But he didn't care about any of
that. All he cared about was waiting for his one shot.
"I guess we'll have to do this the hard way," Rouge said with a long-
suffering sigh, her light pink lips curving into a playful pout. "Well, it's
your funeral." Quicker than Nicholas could see, Rouge spun into a roundhouse
kick aimed at his neck.
But Nicholas knew that it was coming, just as she tried in every fight,
and it was the moment he was waiting for. Nicholas dropped to his knees to
avoid the kick and sprang at Rouge while her back was turned, wrapping his
arms around her waist with her arms pinned at her side. He started to apply
pressure, making Rouge gasp in pain.
"Hey, I didn't know you were the grabby type," Rouge said, trying to
wriggle free. "But I think I'd prefer your hands up a little higher."
Nicholas continued to squeeze as if he hadn't heard Rouge and started
to arch back to bring her over in a German Suplex. Rouge was ready for it
though and drove the heel of her boot into Nicholas' shin while flaring her
wings backward, making his grip slip just enough for her to drop out of it.
She brought both of her knees up and thrust her feet into Nicholas' chest,
knocking him back into the tree again.
Nicholas forced himself to his feet as a loud creaking sound filled his
ears. The kick the Rouge had aimed at his neck had cut through the entire
tree, and that tree was now tipping forward onto his head. He dove to the
side just in time for the tree to miss him, but now he had another problem.
The tree lay between him and Rouge...and Amy Rose. He quickly pulled out a
metal cylinder and extended it into a bo staff.
"Now to collect my prize," Rouge said, flying over to a nearby tree and
looking up into its branches. "You might as well come down kid!" she called
up. "Don't make me come up there and get you!"
"Go away you old hag!" Amy Rose screamed down, shaking her fist at the
bat while holding onto the tree with the other.
"Old hag? Kid, you need your eyes checked. But it doesn't really
matter, now does it?" But just as she was about to glide up into the tree, a
small grey object landed in her hand. Her eyes widened as she recognized it,
and she just managed to get her eyes closed before the flash grenade exploded,
which would have seared her eyes beyond repair.
But even with them closed, it took a few minutes after the flash of
light faded for her sight to clear, and it was just in time to see a metal
fist flying at her face. She arched over backward and did a handspring to put
some distance between her and her new attacker. "Oh no, not you too!" she
moaned, recognizing Lily. The sound of wood splintering made them both cringe
slightly as Nicholas broke through the tree and landed next to Lily in a
fighting stance. "Great, if it isn't the boyfriend to the rescue."
"He's not my boyfriend!" Lily snapped, a little too quickly.
"And it's no wonder why not," Rouge said with a smirk. "After all, why
would he want to be with someone who looks like you do? I mean come on, no
one would be that desperate."
Lily growled and launched an attack with her robotic fist. Rouge dodged
the wild attack and grabbed Lily's forearm. With a casual smile, she used
Lily's own momentum to swing her around and throw her into Nicholas. They
landed in a tangle of limbs and clothes in a rather compromising position.
Lily pushed herself off of a slightly scowling Nicholas slowly, a light blush
coloring her grey cheeks.
"As much as I'd love to stay and continue this," Rouge said, spreading
her wings and hovering a few feet in the air, "I can see the two of you are
otherwise occupied. But hey cute stuff, if you want to play 'grabby' with a
real woman again, you know where to find me." And with a wink at Nicholas,
she blew a kiss at him and flew off into the night.
Lily got ready to activate her rocket boots to follow Rouge but Nicholas
stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Our top priority is the child," he said
in a firm voice.
Lily stared at Nicholas a while before she sighed and her shoulders
drooped. "So just where is--" she was cut off as Amy Rose launched herself
from the tree into her arms. "Never mind. Are you all right?" she asked
tenderly.
Amy Rose nodded and smiled up at Lily. "I'm fine. Thank you for coming
back to save me."
"Did you do what had to be done?" Nicholas asked, trying to make a hood
out of the remnants of his cloak.
"Of course I did," Lily said, sending a glare at the back of Nicholas'
head. "And just in time too."
"Good," he said, putting his hood on and positioning it to hide his face
in the shadows. "I'll need you to get me a new cloak in the next village."
"All right. Listen Nicholas, about what she said--"
"None of that is any concern to me," Nicholas said, speaking over her.
"Nor should it be any concern of yours. Now let's get moving."
Lily nodded and followed Nicholas as he walked out. She felt a little
bit upset that Nicholas still wouldn't discuss their relationship, even going
so far as to deny they had one. But she stopped being hurt over it a long
time ago. She put a determined expression on her face, buried her feelings
again, and continued on their path.
As they tried to find their way, Alicia stood at the edge of a gaping
chasm. A thin suspension bridge traversed the distance. Stalactites and
stalagmites, sharp and deadly, glistened dangerously from all sides with some
unknown liquid on them.
Alicia just shook her head. "I don't know who's responsible for this,"
she thought angrily, "but I refuse to play their game any longer." She used
her power to levitate a few inches off the ground with every intention of
flying across the chasm. But as soon as she was off the ground, a violent
wind sprung up out of nowhere, swirling through the chasm with all the force
of an F-5 tornado.
Alicia dropped to the ground and fell back in fear. When her feet hit
the ground, the wind stopped as if it never was. "Fine!" she yelled,
flinching as her voice echoed. "I'll play your game."
She walked angrily to the bridge and started across. She had gone no
more than a few feet when she heard a sound that made her stop and look back.
The first wooden slat of the bridge had fallen off and crashed against the
chasm floor. And as she watched, the second one fell off and followed the
first. She turned around quickly and ran across the bridge at her top speed,
trying to ignore the sound of wooden boards breaking, and the fact that it
was getting closer.
She was only four steps away when the slat she was on gave way. She
planted her foot on the next slat and dove for the edge of the chasm, landing
hard on her stomach. But she was safe, and that's what mattered. "What is
going on?" she yelled at the top of her lungs with only her echo to answer
her.
She rolled over to her back and sat up, staring at where the bridge had
just been suspended. "If I'd had my brother's speed," she thought, "I
would've been across that bridge before the first slat even thought about
falling."
A memory tickled in the back of her mind when that thought finished.
"Why does all this feel familiar to me?" she thought, closing her eyes and
trying to call it up. After a few moments she shook her head. "Whatever it
is, I don't remember right now. I'll figure it out sooner or later, but I
can't just sit here."
While Alicia searched for a way to continue her journey, a different
journey was being undertaken by a very holy mouse. Tanis sat in his study,
surrounded by many books of ancient knowledge, and the scrolls of Iridal
Shi-rat and Tanak' Acorn spread out in front of him. "What am I missing?" he
asked himself for probably the hundredth time. "The answer's probably right
in front of me and I can't see it!" He slammed his fist into the table,
sending the piles of books tumbling to the floor.
"You want to know what I see?" Rosie said from the doorway, making
Tanis turn around. "I see a husband driven to distraction by an obsession.
That's right Tanis," she continued, not letting him speak, "you're obsessed
with this. So much so, that I just found out you haven't been having your
regular talks with Donovan. Nadia was just here looking for Alicia and told
me all about it."
Tanis looked down, having the grace to look and feel ashamed. "You're
right," he said. "I am obsessed with this. Which is why the sooner I figure
it out, the sooner I can put it behind me."
"No you don't," Rosie said, walking over and grabbing his hand. "You
are going to go talk to Donovan right now. And I don't want to hear any
arguments either. You need this talk just as much as he does. I'm not going
to watch my husband work himself into an early grave!"
Tanis tried to use one of the many arguments he had at the ready, but
the intense look of worry and love in his wife's eyes stopped him cold. "All
right," he said, and his voice took on the aged quality it had had before they
were youthened by the Almighty.
Rosie leaned over and kissed him softly. "I love you," she whispered,
not bothering to brush away a tear that fell from her eye.
Tanis hugged into his wife for a moment. "I love you too," he whispered
back and then stood up. "I don't know how late I'll be back, so you don't
have to wait up for me."
"Like I wouldn't anyway?" Rosie asked with a smile. She watched Tanis
go and then sank down in his chair. She picked up the two scrolls that were
causing her husband so much grief and looked at them. "Maybe I should give it
a shot," she thought with a shrug. "It couldn't hurt."
As Tanis was heading to the palace, so was a young couple. "I hope you
had a good time," Darrin said, squeezing his girlfriend's hand affectionately.
"Did I ever," Charleen said with a bright smile. "I never knew I could
have this much fun just walking around with someone. But then again, I've
never known anyone like you before."
Darrin blushed a little and kissed Charleen on the cheek. She turned
her face to his and stole a quick kiss from his lips. They stopped walking
and turned to face each other, her arms going around his neck as his hands
settled on her waist. They slowly inched their faces closer together, their
eyes fluttering closed as their breathing quickened in sweet anticipation.
"Alicia!" someone yelled, making them jump apart. "Alicia, where are
you?"
"That's Mom!" Darrin said, recognizing the voice. A look of fear
flashed through Charleen's eyes and she took a step behind Darrin as his
mother came into sight.
"Oh Darrin," Bunnie said, running over to her son and his girlfriend.
"Have you two seen Alicia anywhere?"
"No, I haven't seen her all night," Darrin said.
"I haven't either," Charleen said timidly. "Is something wrong?"
"She flew off a couple hours ago and no one's seen her since," Bunnie
explained. "We're all trying to look for her now."
"Do you need my help?" Darrin asked.
"No, we've got it covered," Bunnie said, hurrying away. "Enjoy the rest
of your date!"
Darrin watched his mother go and then turned to Charleen. "You're going
to help, aren't you?" she asked before he could say anything, her eyes
downcast.
"I'm sorry," Darrin said softly, trying to pull Charleen into another
hug. "I just won't be able to relax until I know she's home safe."
Charleen pulled away from him and turned her back to him. "Is it too
much to ask that we actually finish a date?" she sighed, looking down and
fiddling with the skirt of her dress. "Or is it that you'd rather spend your
time with her?"
"Don't be like that," Darrin said softly, turning Charleen around to
face him. "Alicia is like a sister to me, nothing more. The fact is, I
pulled a prank on her before our date, and if that's why she left it's my
fault. If she gets hurt, I'll be the reason why."
He placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face so he could look
into her eyes. "You're the only one in my heart," he said quietly. "Never
forget that, OK? Besides, your eyes are green enough without the jealousy."
Charleen blushed under his stare and broke their gaze. "You'd better
go," she whispered. "And I'm sorry."
"No need to be," Darrin said, kissing her forehead, then each cheek in
turn. "I would promise that we'll finish our date next time, but everytime I
do, we don't."
"So now that you won't, maybe we will," Charleen whispered.
Darrin smiled and hugged her for a moment before running off to join the
search. Charleen walked off toward her "home," nervously twisting the
material of her dress between her fingers. Nervousness. Yet another thing
she wasn't supposed to be feeling. And just before, she had truly experienced
the fire of jealousy burning within her heart. And before that....
But why? Why now? She had emulated those feelings many times in the
past when the situation called for it, but this time it was for real. Some
part of her knew she should tell her father about this, knew he'd be able to
set things right. But a voice deep within her cried out not to do it, and
against her better judgment she listened to it.
As the search for her grew, Alicia stood facing a high cliff face.
"This shouldn't be too hard," she thought, and in the very next thought
dismissed that idea. She flew up a couple inches, waiting to see if any winds
appeared. When nothing happened, she shot up to the top of the cliff and
alighted there.
Before her, in the wall of the cavern, set a rough hewn stone door. A
little bit in front of the door was a bump on the ground that rose to only six
inches in height. When she looked more closely at it, she noticed that it was
some kind of button. "I guess I step on it," she said, suiting actions to
words.
The button depressed about halfway and the stone door slid up halfway to
reveal a brightly lit passage beyond it. But as soon as she stepped off of
it, the door slammed shut. "I should've known," she muttered, shaking her
head. "Now what can I put on this that will keep it open?"
Nothing up there offered much help, so she looked over the side. All
the way at the bottom stood a boulder easily twice her weight. "Nice for
someone to leave that there for me," she said with a rueful smirk. She
floated down and tried to figure out the best way to take hold of it. To her
unbelievable luck, two handholds were carved into the top of the boulder.
Letting out a loud laugh, she grabbed hold of the boulder and flew it slowly
up to the top. Thanks to the training from her mother, the flight was a lot
easier than it should've been.
Alicia flew over to the button and dropped the boulder on it. The door
rose open fully and stayed open. Alicia smiled and headed for the door, but
stopped when she saw what lay past it. A ten-faced, green gem that was large
enough to be held with both hands was sitting on a rock pedestal that was just
about head height. It was flawless, and seemed to glow with its own light.
"That can't be what I think it is," Alicia said in awe. "It just can't be!"
*You have passed my three challenges,* the gem said, pulsating with
light as each word was spoken. *To earn your wish, you must now answer my
riddle.*
"It is! You're the Gem of Enchanted Dreams!" And everything now fell
into place. Her greatest fear, her greatest want, and her greatest asset. It
was the same formula that Bunnie faced when she made her wish. "How could I
not have seen this?" she wondered aloud.
*Do you accept the challenge?* the Gem intoned patiently.
"I've come this far, so I've got nothing to lose."
*My thunder comes before my lightning.
My lightning comes before my rain.
And my rain dries all the ground it touches.
What am I?*
"After everything I went through, you couldn't give me an easy one?"
Alicia demanded, not expecting nor receiving an answer. She thought about the
riddle and what she could possibly apply to it. "It doesn't make sense," she
grumbled. "Everyone knows that with any storm rain comes before lightning
which comes before thunder. How could anything do that in reverse?"
She rubbed her temples and was surprised to notice that her fur was back
to its normal greyish-blue color. "When did that happen?" she wondered,
feeling her residual anger drain away. "I should've known that he wouldn't do
anything permanent. Still, it does feel good not to have my anger bubbling up
inside me like a volcano ready to erupt."
Freed from its anger, Alicia's mind seized on what she had just said. A
volcano rumbled the ground with a thunder-like sound, then the ash clouds that
spewed from its crater often sparked with lightning in the highly charged air,
and finally the lava rain was hot enough to burn or dry everything it touches.
Could that be it? There was only one way to find out. "A volcano!" she said
in a clear, firm voice.
A thunderclap sounded, shaking the ground she stood upon. *Correct.
Now you can make your wish.*
Alicia stepped forward and held the Gem in her hands. This was her
chance, her one chance to make everything right. But then she remembered, a
wish on the Gem of Enchanted Dreams, it had to be a selfish one. Sighing, she
knew there was only one thing she'd ever wish for for herself, but she had to
word it properly. Any loophole could, and would, be exploited.
She thought long and hard about what wish she should make. She thought
about what she truly wanted, above everything else. And it was speed, the
speed of her family, of her father and brother. But if she wished for that,
the Gem could very well turn her into a boy to get it, and she really did not
want that to happen. No, there had to be another way.
And that's when it hit her. Her father and brother were not the only
ones with speed in the family. Her mom, even though she rarely used it
nowadays, had had nearly as much speed as her father back in the days of the
Freedom Fighters. But where his speed came from genetics, hers came from
the magic of the Deep Power Stones. Maybe that was where her wish should
lie.... "I wish that I had inherited both running speed and flight ability
and speed from my mother."
*Your wish is granted,* it said, floating from her hands back to the
pedestal.
"Did I make the right wish?" she thought in a moment of panic. "I hope
so, there's no way to undo what I've done." Just then, the cavern started to
collapse as Alicia knew it would. "No time like the present!" she yelled,
revving up her legs. She couldn't help the joyful cry that escaped her lips
at the feeling she got when revving up her legs like this, but there was no
time to really enjoy it as she needed to run out of there and quickly.
Alicia ran off, and soon found she had a problem. She wasn't used to
running at this speed, so her timing was way off. What she meant to be a
small dodge turned out to be a wide curve that she had to struggle with to get
back on course. Somehow though, she managed to escape the cavern before it
collapsed in on itself. Unfortunately, it was at this time that she also
discovered she wasn't able to stop herself and plowed face first into a tree.
"Ow...." she moaned, sliding down the tree until she fell flat on her back.
Alicia lay there for a moment until her vision cleared. "Maybe I
should've wished to be able to stop," she moaned, rubbing her forehead and
nose.
As she pushed herself up to a sitting position, a badger silently
watched her from the shadows. "Looks like you'll now need even more training,
my queen," the Owl mumbled so that she couldn't hear him.
Alicia felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and her heart
beat a little bit faster. She spun around, knowing that she was being watched
somehow. After a minute, she let a small smile play on her lips. Gently, she
kissed two of her fingers and blew it toward the shadows before flying off
toward her home.
The Owl watched her go for a moment, his eyes blinking in disbelief.
Then, heaving a sad sigh, he pushed a button on a remote he held and
teleported himself away.
At the palace, the search teams were gathering in front of the throne
room, each with a forlorn expression. "I am guessing no one of you had any
luck?" Antoine asked.
"Not one bit," Tails said. "My kids and I searched all over for her
from the air."
"Yeah, we couldn't find any sign of her," M3 said, looking a little
down. "And we searched everywhere."
"And believe me," Sarah said, her tails swishing so much they made her
hair-quills blow in the breeze they generated, "we mean everywhere."
"We believe you," Sondra said to her kids. "I ran all the way to
Knothole and back with Juice and Metal Sonic and we couldn't find any trace
of her."
"We even split up to cover more ground," Metal Sonic added. "You know,
maybe it's time I got an upgrade. The prince was able to outrun me without
hardly trying."
"I'm just worried about her," Juice said quietly. "Were you able to
turn up anything Angela?"
"Nothing," Angela admitted, her ears drooping down slightly from
exhaustion. "I used my magic and Lissette used her science to try and find
her and we both came up empty."
"If something's blocking us both," Lissette said, shaking her head and
making her ponytail bounce, "then it's either really powerful or she just
doesn't want to be found."
"You don't think she could be...." Darrin started before Juice grabbed
him by the uniform and shoved him up against the wall.
"Don't even voice the rest of that thought," Juice snarled before being
pulled away by Angela and Desirée.
"I'm sorry Juice, I didn't mean...."
"I know Darrin," Juice said, and he seemed almost to deflate while
everyone was watching. "It's just...I don't want to hear anyone talk like
that. It's like if someone says it, it'll be true."
"Oh come on sugarhog," Desirée said, trying to lighten the mood. "You
know as well as I do that Alicia ain't gonna go down to nothing. If she can
survive an attack by all the Fallen Ones, nothing can take her down."
"You're right," Juice said, shrugging them off. "So what do we do now?"
DJ looked at the doors to the throne room with a slightly scared look
on his face. "You're right DJ," Desirée said. "We have to go in there and
tell her parents that we can't find her yet." She grabbed Juice's arm and
pushed him forward. "You go first."
"Gee thanks," Juice mumbled, throwing open the doors. His mother and
father sat on their thrones with as neutral an expression as possible, but he
could see that their eyes were haggard. "Umm...."
"Have you found Alicia yet?" Sally asked, speaking to prompt Juice into
talking.
"No, we haven't," Juice said, his eyes focusing on his feet.
Sally closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh. "No one could find her?
Not one of you?" When they all answered in the negative, she gripped the
arms of her throne for support. "Please, tell me she's not...."
"She's not," Angela said quickly. "Even though I can't sense where she
is, I know she's still alive."
Sonic laid his hand on Sally's and entwined their fingers together.
"OK, here's what I want to do. Get some food in you, get some rest if you
need to, and then we'll try again. Only this time, Sal and I will be out
there with you."
"You can't!" Antoine protested. "If the Fallen Ones catch you--"
"I don't care Ant," Sonic said with the tone of voice that none of them
had heard since his final fight with Robotnik. "I sat by the last time my
daughter went out on her own and she nearly got killed. The Abyss will take
me before I do it again!"
Antoine and Sonic locked in a test of wills that everyone else seemed
less than eager to interrupt. But interrupted it was when the doors were
thrown open again and someone walked in. "What's going on here?" Alicia
asked, making everyone stare at her. "What?"
"Alicia!" they all yelled, stampeding at her.
"No!" she cried, holding her hands up in a futile gesture. But she
was overwhelmed and ended up at the bottom of a very loving, but rather heavy,
dogpile. "Umm guys!" she squeaked out. "I can't breathe down here!"
Everyone blushed to some extent and clambered off her, those closest to
her pulling her to her feet. "Sorry about that Sis," Juice said, speaking
for everyone there. "And...sorry about the way I was coming down on you
earlier."
"I'm the one who should be sorry," Darrin said, scuffling his feet a
little. "I shouldn't have pulled that prank on you. Can you forgive me?"
"If anyone should be forgiven, it's me," Sally said, coming to stand in
front of her daughter. "I pushed you way too far, just to try and get you to
admit you couldn't handle it. I should've known you would react the exact
same way I would; working yourself to exhaustion just to prove you could."
"No Mom," Alicia said quietly, "I'm the one who was wrong. I knew I
couldn't handle it, but I just tried to make you proud. And Juice, Darrin,"
she continued, looking over at them, "you were only doing what you thought was
right to help me, even if you could've done it differently," she added with a
wry smile. "But you were all right. I can't handle it, and this is me
publicly admitting it."
Sonic walked up and gave his daughter a huge hug. "That's my Baby
Blue," he whispered in her ear. "And no matter what, know that your mom and I
are always proud of you."
Alicia blushed at the baby name that her father had given her but hugged
him back anyway. "Thanks Dad," she said, smiling as she let her head rest on
his shoulder.
Everyone else took their turns at hugging her and telling her they were
glad she was ok. A few asked her where she had been, but she never gave a
straight answer. She didn't want anyone to know where she had been or what
she had done. It was going to be a surprise when the time was right, maybe
enough of one to tip the scales in their favor one day. But that day would
only come if she gained control of it, and she swore to work on it everyday.
Early the next morning, Tanis finally returned to Sanctuary. He had
spent all night talking with Donovan, and though neither one had slept a wink
that night, they felt better than they had in months. So it was with a light
heart that he returned to Sanctuary.
As soon as he saw Rosie though, he felt like his heart had dropped to
his feet. "Rosie?" he asked, rushing to her side.
Rosie looked up at him with eyes that were red from crying. "Oh Tanis,"
she whispered, hugging him close, "I'm so sorry!"
"Sorry?" Tanis asked, confused. "But Alicia came home safely. What is
there to be sorry about there?"
"It's not that," she whispered. "I...I've managed to translate the
scrolls."
"You have? But how? I tried every way possible to--"
"Not every way," Rosie said. "I found how to do it, but I'm sorry I
did."
"My love, you're not making any sense right now."
"Tanis," she said, pulling back enough to look up into his eyes, "the
code for her scroll was in his, and his was in hers."
Tanis looked like Rosie's words had struck a physical blow to him.
"You have to be mistaken," he said, his voice trembling. "You have to be."
"I wish to the Almighty I was," Rosie said, gesturing toward her
translations. "But the proof is right there."
Tanis closed his eyes as his body started to tremble. There could only
be one explanation, but it was one he couldn't get himself to admit. For two
scrolls to hold each other's key, the two who wrote it had to be very close.
No, that wasn't true. They had to be intimately in love. (
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