Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Inked in flame ❯ Chapter the third: Flowers of Dusk ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Hey! You probably want to know just who the fox and the hare are, what the deal is with the Arridian guild, and who sent those flowers to Amy. Well, want for a little bit longer, will you? That comes later on! And speaking of on, on we go! Oh and: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Rouge, Jet, Wave, Storm, Big, Vector, Charmy and Espio all belong to the SEGA corporation.

Chapter the third: Flowers of Dusk

Tails awoke with a start. That same dream… He wondered what it meant, or if it meant anything at all. He pressed his gloved hand to his forehead and groaned. Everything was still fuzzy and swimming. He had spent all last night upgrading the Tornado’s auto-targeting system. He looked at the clock. It was only 6 o’ clock. He had only gotten two hours sleep. He rolled over and put his pillow over his head. Even though it was only 6, the birds were still singing.
“Ugh. I have all the best technology, including a transforming plane, a rocket and a fully customised submarine, but I still haven’t got double-glazing!” he cursed. Hang on, he thought. I have got double-glazing. I got it after the Amy alarm clock incident. He looked back with a smile, remembering Sonic’s face after Amy had played the love song tape at full volume outside the window at five o’ clock to wish him good morning. But, if Tails had double-glazing, why could he hear the birds?
“Good morning, Tails! Did you sleep well?”
Tails jumped.
“C-Cream! What on Earth are you doing in my house?” Tails gasped.
Cream smiled down at him. She was wearing his favourite apron, which had the words GENIUS AT WORK emblazoned across the front.
“Mother wasn’t up, and I was lonely, so I came round to say good morning! It’s really not a good idea to leave your spare key in that flowerpot.”
“And you’re wearing my apron…because?”
“Well, I decided that you might be a little annoyed that I had come round so early, so I decided to say sorry by making you breakfast in bed! Mother says that you should always eat three proper meals a day, because growing scientists need their food!” Cream said matter-of-factly.
“Well, thanks Cream, but if you’re in here, then who’s cooking?” Tails asked. Cream sniffed the air. Tails did the same. He could smell a burnt aroma.
“Cheese! Here, let me give you a hand…”
Cream dashed off into the kitchen. Tails smiled. It was just like Cream to make a scatterbrained decision like leaving a chao to cook. It smelt like the eggs were burning. From his bed, Tails could hear Cream comforting Cheese, and bringing the eggs under control. That was one of the things he liked about Cream. She never had a bad word to say about anyone. No matter what you did, she never insulted you or told you off. Even if it was a really idiotic thing. Whenever Knuckles was tricked by Eggman, Cream always said that it was only because he was very trusting. When Amy was being overly persistent, Cream always used to say she was just being determined.
“Sorry Tails, the eggs are a little burnt, but everything else is okay. Why don’t we go into the living room and eat?”
“That sounds like a plan!” Tails grinned, following her out of the room.

“Ouch! My feet hurt!”
And once again, she’s whining. Didn’t I tell her to put some shoes on? Tch. She never listens to my advice, thought the fox.
“Can’t we stop and rest? My feet are going to fall off!”
“I told you to put on some shoes. It’s your own fault for not following my advice.”, He stated in a bored voice.
“You aren’t wearing shoes!” She pointed out.
“Yes, but that’s because I’m a fox. I naturally have much tougher feet than you. And besides, they aren’t complaining.” He pointed down at the tiger and the hedgehog climbing the mountain below them. He lifted himself up onto a ledge, then waited for his companions.
“Okay, so I screwed up! But can’t we take a rest?”, the hare panted, pulling herself onto the ledge.
“Yeah, a rest might be a good idea…”, gasped the tiger, climbing onto the ledge and helping the hedgehog up afterwards.
“No. We only have a little way to go. The target is in sight.”, the fox said.
“Whoever made you the leader, anyway?”, the tiger asked, a hint of a growl in his voice.
“No-one. But I’d hate to think of you without a babysitter.”, the fox stung.
The tiger stood up, and settled himself into a fighting stance.
“Back that up, why don’t you?” the tiger growled.
The fox drew himself up to his full height, and got into his fighting stance. The hare and the hedgehog looked at each other. The both knew that the tiger was about to get a big shock. Standing up, the two combatants were both taller than the average human. The tiger’s white fur stood out against the grey mountainside, and his stripes were like black strokes of lightning across his body. His judo uniform was bound tightly, so it emphasised the huge muscles of his chest. The fox growled, making a deep, rumbling sound that sounded as if the mountain was falling down. His deep blue coat made his movements seem like he was part of the mountain, and his dark grey stomach and muzzle seemed dark and dangerous as his body tensed for battle.
“Hmm. What’s up, tiger? Lost your nerve?”, the fox mocked.
The tiger launched forward with all his strength, travelling the distance between them in less than a second. He spun backwards, transferring all of his weight into his heel, which was on target with the fox’s head. He stopped with a thump. The fox had raised one hand and caught his foot. The tiger looked at the fox, and gasped. The fox was smiling. He wasn’t struggling at all. He was finding this easy! The fox then, with a single movement, threw the tiger all the way across the ledge.
“T-This can’t be! How could you be that strong? I’m going to kill you!” the tiger roared.
He launched forward again, as the fox drew his claws. The hare closed her eyes. She knew what came next. The faint whoosh. The rush of air. The sickening sound. The sound of his feet landing on the ground. The startled gasp of his victim. The soft thud as they hit the ground. The last, agonised cries of death as they closed their eyes for the last time. The stunned silence of their comrades. And the deep laugh of the fox. She had heard it all so many times. She looked up, and gasped in surprise. Instead of the tiger’s body lying motionless on the floor, with the red liquid spreading from a grievous wound on his stomach, she saw the tiger standing and screaming in pain, clutching the three deep gashes on his shoulder.
“So, tiger. I’m giving you a choice. Either you can fight on or surrender. If you surrender, we bandage that shoulder and carry on up the mountain. If you fight on, I’ll kill you on the spot. Which will it be?”, the fox said.
“I… surrender. But I won’t accept your aid. I am not going to be travelling with you any longer.” the tiger replied.
“Neither shall I. I…I’m scared of you. Of what you can do. I go with him.” the hedgehog mouthed quietly.
“And you?” the fox asked, looking at the hare.
“I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
“Fine. Then, at this point, it seems appropriate and fitting that our group parts. Farewell!” the fox announced. He then sprang from the ledge, travelling up in a great bound. He landed on another edge, and bounded once again. Within a few seconds, he was gone from view.

“Oh please, Mr. Sonic, can I have your autograph?”
Sonic grinned as he signed his name yet again. This was living! He couldn’t go anywhere without being tailed by screaming fans. Parties, book signings, shopping mall openings… He got invited to them all, just for doing what came naturally to him. He just couldn’t understand why Tails didn’t step into the limelight once in a while.
“How could I work with loads of people bugging me?”, the fox had replied when quizzed. Oh well. He just doesn’t know what he’s missing, Sonic had concluded. He bowed his head in thought. There was something wrong with that fox.
“SONNIKU!”
Sonic jumped in fright. Amy was getting so much quicker these days.
“Sonic! There you are! Hiding after last night!” the pink hedgehog exclaimed. Sonic raised one eyebrow, making several of his female fans swoon.
“What do you mean, hiding after last night? Did you go crazy? Well, crazier than usual?” Sonic asked.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, DID I GO CRAZY? Err, what I mean to say is, didn’t you bring me those flowers?”
“What flowers? I didn’t bring you any flowers!” Sonic replied.
“B-But…This bouquet…” said Amy, bringing the flowers out from behind her back.
“Huh? I recognise those… Gotta go!” Sonic said, dashing off at massive speeds, once again triggering a Mexican Swoon from his fans. Amy watched, and wondered.

Up on Angel island, Knuckles was getting concerned. The energy was getting closer. It was just beyond the mountains now. He tried to make out its power, and what threat it posed to him. He furrowed his brow, focusing, searching, trying to define the presence . I was as old as he was, and just as powerful, if not more. But, it wasn’t a threat to him, even in the tiniest amount. What was going on? The world was getting so confusing these days. Everyone was either for or against you, and it was too big a threat to ignore. He tensed his arms suddenly. What was that? A kind of whooshing sound, like a pair of wings. But… If there was anyone there, he would have sensed them! What was going on? His thoughts were interrupted as a heavy impact to his head sent him spiralling down the stairs to the shrine. He looked up, the world foggy and undefined in his dazed eyes. He saw a figure standing over the Master Emerald. He tried to run at the figure, but his foot caught on a rock. He toppled over, flying through the air as the ground rushed up to meet him, then all collapsed into blackness…

“Now what do we do? Without him, we don’t even know where we’re headed!” the hedgehog exclaimed, her green spines clattering against her armour. The hare was sitting down on a rock, looking at her feet. Had he been able to do that all this time? Was she just slowing him down?
“I dunno. I thought we would just part ways when we got over the mountain, but…” the tiger mused.
“Well… I’m going to follow him. He’s been helping me for a long time now…He at least deserves my loyalty.” the hare announced.
“Well…I guess…”
“Tch. I’m going to visit an old friend of mine. We go way back.” the tiger said.
“Well… nice to have met you. I’ll see you again. Someday.” the hare, starting her way up the mountain. It would be a long, hard slog to the top.

“….head! Wake up, you idiotic echidna!”
Knuckles felt someone slapping him around the face. He opened his eyes, trying to make out the fuzzy shape above him.
“Huh? Knucklehead, are you awake?”
He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked to his left, and, much to his surprise, found Rouge sitting next to him.
“What happened? Who made off with MY emerald?” Rouge asked, a shout coming into her voice.
“I… I thought you did! I heard your wings!” Knuckles exclaimed.
“Now you listen here, Knucklehead! I did fly round to steal that emerald, but when I got here, the emerald was gone and you were taking a little nap at the bottom of the stairs!”
Knuckles furrowed his brow. If it wasn’t her, then who?
“Grrr! That emerald belongs to ME! I’m going to find the punk that took it and tear them a couple of new holes! And you can keep out of my way!” Rouge ranted, storming off in a fit of temper. Knuckles just sat there, and wondered what had hit him.

“Okay. Thank you for your information. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible pending enquiries.” Vector put down the phone and sighed. This was going to be a hard case. All he had found out from witnesses was that the thieves never wore gang colours. That made the Arridian Guild harder to find than normal gangs. He had also found out that all the gang members seemed to be trusted individuals, and knew each other by name. That meant that there was no weak link to put pressure on to reveal the gang’s location. Something that disturbed him more, however, was the news that each and every member was immensely strong. It seemed that the Arridian Guild only admitted those who had extensive experience in combat. There were rumours that the leader of the gang could tackle a gang of 100 men single-handedly and win. He couldn’t find them, he couldn’t break their trust in each other, and he couldn’t out muscle them. How was he going to stop a gang like that? He sat back in his chair and considered his options. A grin spread across his face. He got up and walked into the hallway.
“Come on, boys! It’s time to go on patrol!”

Tails sat back in the pilot seat of the Tornado. He needed to make sure that his modifications were compatible. He started the ignition, and smiled as his baby shuddered into life. He took off from the runway, feeling the wind ruffling his hair. There really wasn’t a better feeling than this. He started on the tests. Wiping his brow, he shifted the stick sharply to the right, and began his barrel roll. That completed, he went into a loop-de-loop, ending in a figure-of-eight. He looked down, and saw all the people milling around in Station Square. They seemed so insignificant from up here. He steadied the plane, and turned toward his workshop. He took the plane over the workshop, the bottom almost brushing his roof. He tried to land on the runway, but his worst fears were realised when a splutter of black smoke came from the engine. He engaged the landing gear, and managed to land the plane. Overall, the test had been a failure. He needed to replace a part in the plane’s motherboard to make it compatible with the auto-targeting system. He sighed. He didn’t have that part in his workshop. It looked like he would be paying yet another visit to Station Square Junk Shop.

“Did you get it?”
“Y-yeah boss! I g-got it, j-just like I said!”
“Good. No one saw?”
“Only some s-stupid echidna, and I soon stopped him.”
“Ha ha. The only thing in the world that can possibly stop my plan, and it’s under my control. My plan is in motion. Now we just have to wait for the rodent to take the bait. Muhahahahahahaha!”

Things are starting to get hairy. What will Vector do? And who stole the emerald? Things are really starting to hot up!