Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Prisoners ❯ Call Me Anything ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Tikal dragged her feet across the metal flooring, trying to decide whether she should be in panic or deeply saddened. She'd awakened to find herself in a dark cellar, with nothing but a slip of paper on the iron door with the letters inscribed, "TIKAL". She supposed it was her name.

Hours would fly by without a sign of another living being. She was alone, perhaps forgotten.

The strange thing however, Tikal mused, was not her imprisonment, but her lack of memory. She couldn't even -remember- being imprisoned. And she'd been left that way for who knew how long. She sighed, sitting on the cold hard ground. Everywhere was cold, and it was beginning to sink into her fur.

After what seemed like forever, the door to the tiny room creeked, and slowly pushed open. She'd been tempted to look, but her body was just too taxed. A low, nonchalant voice broke the still air, "Stand up."

Tikal stood. Her eyes quickly roamed the figure of her apparent captive. It was a tall, purple cat girl, probably not much older than herself. Stone-set eyes held the echidna's tongue in its place. The cat girl was carrying a large bag in one arm, and a chart in the other.

"Now..." The girl began, looking down at the chart. She pulled a flat, square device out of her bag and placed it on the ground, then stepped back. "Step up here."

"Um... Excuse me, but..." Tikal began as she stepped onto the square, "May I ask what is going on? Who are you?"

The girl did not answer, only watching the flashing symbols on the machine until they came to a stop, then she proceeded to scratch down information on the chart. "Step off."

Again, Tikal did as she was told. She almost asked the question again, had the girl not given her a stern glare.

"Stand up straight." The cat demanded, pulling an almost circular instrument from her bag. From it, she pulled out something thin and long, from the ground up to the echidna's head, and then as quickly as she'd done it, she'd pulled away and the thin strip snapped back up. She again began scribbling things down on the chart. Her eyes lifted to Tikal's face for a second, then fell back to the chart. "Your name?"

Tikal stiffened, her eyes shifting about the room. Her mind thought back to the piece on paper on the back on the door. "Tikal..." She said uneasily. When she glanced back at the other girl, the cat was already set to leave. Tikal dashed past her, blocking the doorway. "Please wait!"

The cat girl hissed and tried to shove her out of the way, but Tikal was persistant, setting her feet firmly onto the ground.

"Please wait!" Tikal cried again, this time, her eyes shining with unshed tears. This seemed to take the other girl aback, for she stood still, gaping and wide-eyed.

"What are you doing?" The cat inquired hastily.

Tikal shook her head vigorously, her voice came out in breathes, "Where am I? Please... tell me something..."

The cat girl opened and closed her mouth wordlessly, before she was finally able to shove the girl aside. She stood stiff in the doorway. "...My name is Blaze.... I will come back for you shortly."

Tikal could only watch helplessly as the metal door whirled shut, leaving her alone once again.


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That night, or what felt like night, Tikal dreamt of strange people surrounding her in a candle-lit room. The tiny flames grew larger, and larger with each breath she took, until her vision was clouded by flames, and only the sound of the men talking filled her ears. The fire burned her skin, pierced her eyes, made it harder and harder to breathe, and then, there was nothing... Nothing, but the cold walls, the cold floor, a sing door, and herself.

She awoke to the feel of someone patting her sides. Her blue eyes lifted, her vision still hazy, "Blaze?"

"I'm sorry. For shoving you earlier." The words came out awkwardly, and the hands were cold and clumsy. Tikal couldn't immediately remember when she'd been shoved, but she nodded in understanding anyway.

Meanwhile, Blaze's mind ran in circles, 'How could this be possible? How can she still cry like that? How did she find her emotions? Perhaps... they had not treated her yet.... No, they were all treated immediately after captivation.... So why this one...?'

"...aze? Blaze?"

"O-oh." Blaze averted her eyes and frowned, "What is it?"

Tikal sat up, ruffling the blanket Blaze had laid over her, "I don't remember anything... Do you know anything about me?"

The cat paused, pondering over the question, and decided it couldn't hurt terribly if she were honest, "Very little."

"Oh!" The orange girl clasped her hands together happily, "Then please, can you tell me? Do I have a family? Where am I from?"

Blaze shifted her eyes nervously, she found it weird that this girl would even want to know these things. Wouldn't she much rather know how she'd been captured, or why? What they were going to do with her? "...No, you have no family." It wasn't a lie, Blaze told herself. "And you are descended from a primitive echidna tribe off the outskirts of our continent."

It did not occur to Blaze that her answer came off as cold, but it did not seem to ruin the mood. Tikal simply nodded and looked to the ceiling, "It's too bad, I can not remember anything for myself. But... I'm glad you're here, Blaze. I believe what you tell me."

'But you do not know me.' Blaze wanted to counter, but kept her mouth shut. She figured it best, if she said as little as possible. Her yellow eyes gazed at the strange clothing this Tikal girl wore. Really, how could such a kind girl come from such a deprived and primitive race? That other echidna, Knuckles, had behaved like a foul beast the entire time she was examining him. He had to be held down by iron bars before anyone even came close to him. But this girl...

Blaze shook her head. 'No, even the most estranged of animals has their oddballs... This girl will make no difference... In anything.'

That's right, this girl was just a savage...