Sonic the Hedgehog : " Of Foxes and Sorcery " by Aaron Lye

Letters , responses , notes and any form of e-mail can be sent to the 
following address :
E-mail : vicl@pacific.net.sg

Miles Tails Prower , Sonic the Hedgehog and other related characters are 
based on the characters created by SEGA , Archie Comic Publications , and
the Sonic the Hedgehog Saturday morning series created by DIC and Sega of
America . Other characters that appear or are mentioned in this story are
original creations of their respective authors.

"Cast" of characters used in this story ( in random order )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miles Tails Prower
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sally Acorn
David Prower         - courtesy of Shawn Wolski
Elrond Prower	   - David Pistone
Sarah Prower	   - David Pistone
Snively
Matthew		   - Aaron Lye 
Knuckles the Echinda
Peter   		   - Aaron Lye
Angela		   - Aaron Lye
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Miles Tails Prower was very much alone . Not alone in the sense that
he had no company . As a matter of fact , he had many good friends , the
best being Sonic and his brother , David . No , he was alone in the sense
that everyone in Knothole treated him and him alone differently . Of all the
members of Knothole , Tails was easily seen as the youngest and the most
requiring protection . He was treated as a child from the moment he set
foot in the Freedom Fighter base . Of course , when he first set foot in the
base , he WAS a child .

That was a few years ago . Although still young , Tails very much
wanted to help in the fight against Snively . However , dreams always
had to give way to reality . Of all the residents of Knothole , the furry
fox was probably the one who offered the least . Sure , he could fly , but
so could Dulcy , and she could carry more than her own weight . She was
good at attacks too , although her landings could do with some improvements.
Tails offered little , and it was obvious that everyone still treated him
like a five year old . Never was he allowed to go on missions with the rest,
every single time , he would be left back at the base on the pretext of 
guarding against intruders . Yeah , right . Tails had seen through that
excuse the first time Sally told it to him . It just wasn't fair . Antoine
never wanted to go on missions , yet they always made him . And here was 
Tails , willing to go , yet never allowed .

One day , all that changed .

It started as an ordinary day . Tails woke up to find the bunk beneath him
empty . The fox yawned as he flew down from his bed , and set to finding
his cyber brother . Imagine his surprise to find Knothole almost deserted .
Walking up to Bunnie , he asked what was going on . Bunnie was in a cheerful
mood . " Morning , sweetie . Sally's gotten everyone out doing stuff . 
David's with sugar-hog doing some recon work . They should be back in the
afternoon . " Noticing Tails' sudden crestfallen appearance , she continued,
"Something wrong , hon ?" 

He was already walking away as he answered . "It's nothing , Bunnie . 
Thanks ."

Tails kicked a stone , sending the granite chip flying into the bushes . 
Recon work . Stuff . What did that leave him with ? Zlitch . No friend ,
no brother , nothing to do . Just a long morning for him to be ALONE .
So engrossed with these thoughts was Tails , that he did not notice that
he had already entered a section of the Great Forest he had never been 
before . When he finally looked up , he gave a gasp of surprise . He was
lost . The forest here looked different , the trees darker , the foliage
thicker . The little fox was on the verge of panic . He walked around 
aimlessly , desperately searching for some sense of familiarity , when he
walked right into a sleeping wild tiger . Aroused from its sleep , the tiger
appraised the young fox with a menacing eye . Fearing the worst , Tails 
fled , knowing full well that the tiger was not far behind . Running as
fast as he could , Tails soon came to a dead end , surrounded by shrub too
dense to cut through in the short space of time he had . In his panic 
stricken state , the fox had totally forgotten how to fly .... . Turning to
face his attacker , he braced himself for the inevitable , hoping against 
hope that it would be quick . 

It never came . The tiger was three feet away when it was struck by a blast
of electricity . The stunned tiger fell in a heap , right in front of its
prey . A relieved Tails looked in the direction the aid had come from , and
saw a lone ferret , holding a short staff . The ferret spoke with a 
concerned tone , " You OK , kid ? "

Tails nodded , vocal chords still too shocked to speak . The ferret 
continued , " Good . What's your name , son ? Never seen you in these parts
before ... "

The two-tailed fox managed to gather himself enough to speak . " My name is
Miles Prower . People normally call me Tails . I'm from the town of 
Knothole , and I'm los-" 

The ferret interrupted the fox . " You said you're who ? Miles Prower ? "
The ferret seemed to study the young fox's tails for a moment , then
continued , " Do you know your parents'names ?"

Tails was puzzled over this question , but obliged his savior . " Elrond
and Sarah Prower . Why do you want t- "

Again , the ferret interrupted . " Come with me . I think there is someone
you should meet ."

The mysterious ferret led the way to a small entrance in the ground . Tails
and his guide climbed down a set of rungs and entered a door at the
bottom of the pit . Walking a short distance , the two entered a small
cavern , filled with ancient items . The minute they walked in , a large
figure draped in a black cloak appeared , and looked as if it were about
to attack . Upon seeing the ferret , the figure calmed down noticeably . 
It spoke , " It's you , Peter . Did you get the item I requested ? "
"Yes , master ." came the reply , and the ferret handed a small herb to
the black cloak . Turning to take to proffered item , the cloaked figure
finally noticed Tails . It stood , staring as if awe-struck at the young
fox , then managed a soft whisper to the ferret . "That's ...."
The ferret smiled , " Yes , master . This is Miles Prower." The cloaked
figure sat heavily in a chair , as if in emotional distress . Tails found
the courage to speak up . " Sir , do you know me ? " The figure looked up
, then removed his cloak . To Tails' shock , he was staring at an aged
orange-brown two tailed fox . The fox spoke , " Indeed I do . I am Matthew
Prower ... your grandfather ."


********

"Tails-honey ? You there ?" Bunnie had been looking high and low for Tails,
to no avail . Suddenly concerned , the cyber bunny went to consult Rotor 
on Tails' sudden disappearance .

********

"Peter , leave us . Go take the day off . I need to be alone with Miles ."
The aged fox dismissed his assistant , then turned to address Tails .
"I thought I'd lost you , boy . When I recieved news that Elrond and Sarah
were roboticized , I feared the worst . I rushed quickly to Bluebrook , 
hoping against hope that I would be in time to save my heir , you ."
Matther Prower looked paternally towards Tails . " I cannot tell you how
glad I am that you are safe ." Tails seemed confused for a moment , then
asked . " Whaddaya mean 'heir' ? You're no king . " 
The older Prower smiled at Tails . "You and me , Miles , we're special .
Everyone thinks the extra tail is caused by a dormant gene gone active .
Your parents too . I never told them the truth since they were normal 
foxes . But ,they're all wrong . The second tail is a symbol . A symbol that
you have a quality . All with the second tail can control the forces of
magic if trained . You see , Miles , I am a Guardian , and my charge is the
eighth Chaos Emerald -- the Emerald of Sorcery . You , my grandson , are 
destined to be the next Guardian of the Emerald."

A shocked Tails absorbed all this information . Miles Tails Prower , a 
wizard-to-be .....

He managed to speak , " I thought there were only seven emeralds , and that
they were not on the mainland ...."

His grandfather replied , "Not true . This , the Emerald of Sorcery is the
eighth . It was given to me by another Guardian who told me the truth of
the emeralds . From what I learnt , it's a good thing I have this emerald .
It is more powerful than the other seven combined . And , that incompetent
echinda can't even look after the others properly . If this emerald ever
fell into the wrong hands , the results would be catastrophic ."

******

The WorkerBot in Snively's command center spoke . "Sir . Stealth Bots have
reported that the fox they were observing from Knothole was attacked by a
wild tiger . The reports indicate that a variation in weather patterns 
caused a freak accident in which the tiger was hit by a bolt of lightning.
The fox was then joined by a ferret , and they proceeded to an entrance
about 500 meters north from their meeting place . A hypothesis indicates
that it could be the entrance to a Freedom Fighter outpost . What are 
your orders , sir ?" The Bot said all that in a mechanical monotone .

Snively replied in his irritating voice , "Send in some SWATbots.Tell them
to shoot on sight."

******

"You see , Miles , I am old . Within a few weeks , I would not have been 
able to protect the Emerald any longer . It is very fortunate that you
came when you did . I had totally given up hope . Now I have time to
train you before I leave ."

So engrossed with his talk was Matthew , that he did not notice the SWATbot
team behind him . Nor did he see them raise their weapons . By the time 
Tails yelled a warning , it was too late . Matthew had taken five direct
shots .

"GRANDPA!"yelled a stricken Tails . A bleeding Matthew whispered to Tails ,"
It would seem my time is up . I will....hold ....them as long as I can .Go
into that room," indicating another door ,"the emerald is there .... it
will....know...what to do.....Goodbye , Miles ....Don't let...them get the
Emerald.Use it .....the emerald will know......" With that , Matthew Prower
, once Guardian of the Emerald of Sorcery , unleashed a wall of flame in 
front of the approaching SWATbots . 

Using the cover his grandfather provided , a furious Tails rushed to his
destination . Once there , he beheld the beauty of the eighth Chaos Emerald.
It looked like a large jewel . The gem was not of one color , but a mass
of swirling colors . Tails ran up to the gem , and held on to it as hard as
he could . Without word or warning , the emerald suddenly shuddered and
Tails was enveloped with the same swirling colors found in the gem . When
he was finally released from the miasm of colors , the two tailed fox felt
something different about himself . The fury he felt over his grandfather's
murder encompassed him and he snarled viciously , releasing the emerald , 
and sent a wave of multi colored energy crashing into the door and the 
surrounding wall , which gave way like paper blown away in the wind . The 
enraged young fox walked out to meet his enemy head on , not even noticing 
that the emerald he had held just a few moments ago was now a dull gray ...

Shrugging off the laser shots that were fired at him like dust particles ,
courtesy of the magic that had taken control of him ,the once gentle Miles 
Tails Prower unleashed the same magic wave at the SWATbots , shattering them
to pieces . Still unable to contain his anger , the fox disappeared from his
grandfather's domain , only to reappear outside the closest SWATbot fortress
. Summoning all the energy he could , bolstered by his unending fury , the 
fox sent a massive charge coursing through the fortress , which collapsed 
from the sheer amount of energy passing through it .

With that final blast , the exhausted fox crumpled into a heap outside
what had once been a Robotnik/Snively stronghold .

*****

"Whaddaya mean he's GONE ?!" Sonic demanded . "You were supposed to look
out for him ." 
An uncomfortable Bunnie had no idea what to say , but was reprieved when
Sally entered the room . " OK guys , just calm down . I've sent word to the
other Freedom Fighter groups to look out for him , and Dulcy's out searching
too . All we can do now is wait..."

Sonic , as usual , had something else to say. "Man , I hate WAITING!"

*****

Tails woke up to find himself in a large waiting room . He could see 
through the window that he was inside a town of some sort , and found
himself wondering if he had just dreamt the whole thing up . He held up a
paw tentatively and thought of the magical wave that he remembered . A
small blasted unleashed itself and fried the fruit basket on the table .
"Now , now , if you wanted stewed apples , you could just have asked .
There was no need to do that ." A cheerful voice spoke behind him . Tails
turned to face the newcomer , and saw a two-tailed squirrel standing there .
The squirrel continued , "You are Miles Prower , grandson of Matthew Prower?
My name is Angela . I am Guardian of the Ninth Emerald of Control. You are
in the Guardian town of Ghyl'cana . We found you unconcious next to that
robot base ... nice work , what you did , by the way .... and brought you
here . You will only be here shortly , until I explain things to you . This
town is hidden from the rest of Mobius & only those of two tails can access
it . Sit down ." Angela took a seat at the head of the table , and motioned
with a paw towards the burnt basket , which obediently disappeared . "You
, Tails , were destined to be the next Guardian of the Emerald of Sorcery . 
However  something unexpected has occurred . In your rage over your
grandfather's death , you absorbed all the power of the Emerald , leaving
it valueless . In the history of the Guardians , this has only occurred
one other time . There are no untoward effects , however . Normally , 
Guardians stay at Ghyl'cana for five years , learning the art of sorcery ,
and the technique of protecting the emerald . In your case , this is
unneccessary ."

*****

The WorkerBot noticed the flashing light on his monitor , and read the
incoming communication . Seeing the importance , the Bot spoke to Snively ,
"Sir , we are recieving a distress call from Fortress 65 . A SWATbot is
using a remote transmitter . The preliminary reports indicate that a 
small fox , a Freedom Fighter , appeared to have teleported in , -- "

*****

Meanwhile , the Knothole Freedom Fighters were listening to the same 
message , having picked up the communique , which was broadcast on all
channels , " and sent a massive energy wave through the superstructure of 
the base . The fortress is totally destroyed . Now transmitting black box 
data ." Sonic , Sally and Rotor watched with interest , and all gasped with
shock when they saw the last thing they expected on the screen . The fox
was Tails .....

*****

"I want a full ScienceBot team to solve this riddle ! Get to it !" The 
normally calm Snively was on the verge of exploding with anger . "I'll
get that fox . I HAVE TO ! ", he thought to himself.

*****

"With the absorption of the emerald's power , you have gained
full control over the emerald's capability . All you need to know before you
leave is the rules of conduct of a Guardian & the capabilities of the 
emerald you absorbed . You are required to use the power of the Emerald for
the good and welfare of Mobius . In your case , you can best use the
emerald to aid the Freedom Fighter Movement . However , you must remember
that you are still new to sorcery and that the power of the Emerald is not
unlimited . Finally , don't be surprised if you can't manage the feat you
did to destroy that fortress for some time . Rage has a tendency to 
amplify the power of the emerald , but sometimes it is too hard to control
and innocents might get hurt in the crossfire . Use it wisely . You have
just been given a tool more powerful than any the Freedom Fighters have
seen before . Now , follow me . I will give you a quick lesson on rules of
conduct ..."

The fox-mage known as Tails smiled . He could now be a true Freedom
Fighter......

*****

Sonic the Hedgehog : " Of Foxes and Sorcery - Part II" by Aaron Lye

"Cast" of characters used in this story ( in random order )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miles Tails Prower
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sally Acorn
David Prower         - courtesy of Shawn Wolski
Snively
Knuckles the Echinda
Angela	         - Aaron Lye

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tails sat in a room with Angela , listening to her talk about the rules of
conduct of a Guardian . " Above all , the power of the Emerald must be
used for the good of Mobius . Even in your case , you are still a Guardian .
Although you do not guard an Emerald , you guard its power . Therefore , 
you are to guard that power as long as possible . The emerald has its
limits , and cannot grant immortality . When the time comes , you must
transfer the emerald's power to another , but that is a discussion for 
another time . " The talk continued , covering the things he should and
should not do .

Angela continued to another topic . " It is widely believed that there are
only seven emeralds , and that they are guarded by a vicious red creature .
That , however , is not true . Knuckles is only one Guardian , although
quite a unique one . He refuses to use the power of the Emeralds he guards
to protect them , preferring to rely on his own abilities . We tolerate his
actions because they have worked till now . Anyway , there are many Emeralds
, all with different uses . All , except the ten Emeralds of Control , are 
spread out throughout Mobius , to prevent all Emeralds falling prey to the 
same force . Like the proverb says , we don't keep all our eggs in one 
basket . Your power is that of the emerald of sorcery . All emeralds have 
that power , to an extent , but yours is the focal point of that power . 
My Emerald is the Ninth Emerald of Control . Nine others , along with me ,
protect these ten emeralds , and we are the leaders of the Guardians . 
Like our emeralds signify , we control the Guardians . "

Angela paused for a moment to catch her breath . " Let's proceed , shall
we ? Before you go , I have to test the extent of your capabilities . See
if you can project the same energy wave ." Angela raised a paw , and a
shimmering energy field appeared in front of Tails . "You can target that."
Tails thought of the emerald , willed himself to summon it's magic . He
targeted the field with his paw and the wave lashed forth . It impacted
with the field ... and nothing happened . Angela looked at the field .
" Hmmm....looks like you need practice . That shot wouldn't have taken out a
hummingbird ." Seeing the disheartened Tails , she continued ," This is 
normal . You'll improve . Like I said , rage has a tendency to amplify
the emerald's power . Let's try something different . Project a wall of
fire . " The tests continued , with various forms of magic being cast by the
young fox , all of which did not meet his expectations .

At the end of the session , Angela spoke up . " It appears that I was 
wrong . You still need training . "

Tails spoke up for the first time since Angela started talking . " But ,
I don't wanna stay here ...."
Angela looked at the orange-brown fox . " Give me a moment . " She turned
away , and seemed to be in telepathic communication with someone else .
A few minutes later , conversation complete , Angela faced him . " The
Council has granted me permission to follow you home to Knothole , to stay
with you , as your trainer and mentor . I will teach you all you need to
know about wizardry . Is this ok ? "

Miles Prower agreed willingly .

*****

"How could Tails do that ? It's not possible . He couldn't have perform 
such a feat !" Sonic was asking questions faster than any of them could
answer . Sally interrupted the confused hedgehog . " The only person who
can answer that is Tails . And as soon as he gets back , we will ask him."

"So , why don't you ask him now ?" A strange voice spoke from behind them.
Sally , Sonic , Rotor and Bunnie turned to see Tails standing with an 
older squirrel by his side . 

Sonic spoke , " Who the heck are you ? " 

The squirrel turned to face the hedgehog . The hedgehog seemed hypnotized
by the effect of her staring directly at him . " My name is Angela . I am
Keeper of the ninth Chaos Emerald of Control . "

The four Freedom Fighters gaped . " The NINTH ? " 

" It is a long story , which I am sure Tails would be glad to fill you in
on . "

And so he did , telling them all that Angela had relayed to him . For the
most part of it , the four were awe-struck .

But , it was enough for the moment for them to know one thing .
Tails had found his place in life . 
He could now be a true Freedom Fighter .

*****

EPILOGUE

Snively watched the preparations getting underway . Soon , he would trace
that fox , and wipe him out , him and all the rest of the Freedom Fighters.
Preparations complete , Snively , heir to the legacy of Robotnik , gave
the order that would result in the loss of hundreds of innocents .....

" Commence search . "

*****

Sonic the Hedgehog - " Of Foxes and Sorcery - Part III " - by Aaron Lye

NOTE : Several sections of this part of the story have references to
violence and may not agree with some people .

"Cast" of characters used in this story ( in random order )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tails 
Sonic 
Sally
David Prower - courtesy of Shawn Wolski
Bunnie
Rotor
Antoine
Angela - Aaron Lye
Snively
Dulcy
Several minor characters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REMEMBER : READ ON TILL YOU REACH THE WORDS " THE END " !! IF YOU
DON'T SEE THEM , THE STORY'S NOT COMPLETE .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The village of White Rock was peaceful . Recuperating from Robotnik's
reign , but peaceful . The adults went about their daily lives , while
children played in the streets .

Then , that peace was shattered . On the horizon , a great black mass
appeared . Using binoculars , the villagers gasped at what they saw :
Hundreds of SWATbots advancing in their direction .

The villagers hardly had time to prepare before the SWATbots arrived . Half
the villagers were killed or injured with the initial strike . The rest
fought valiantly , but had no proper weapons to use . The survivors of
the decimated village were rounded up and interrogated . " TELL US THE
LOCATION OF KNOTHOLE , BIOLOGICAL ORGANISM . " The terrified villagers had
heard of the Freedom Fighter base and their work at freeing them from 
Robotnik , but the location of it was not widespreadly known , for obvious
reasons . 

Those who could not or did not supply the bots with answers were shot .

All along the rim of the Great Forest , the exact same scenario was 
occurring .

*****

"EMERGENCY !! This is the town of Rock Spire on the rim of the Great Forest
calling all Freedom Fighter bases ! We are under attack by an army of 
SWAT***----- " The message broke up in a burst of static . Sally stopped the
log and faced the Knothole group . " That message was received almost an
hour ago . Since then , 75 % of the towns and villages on the rim of the
Forest have also sent out distress calls . Whatever it is that Snively's
up to , he sure means business this time .... The other Freedom Fighter
bases closer to the rim have sent out forces to aid the villagers , but 
none have reported back since , and I am fearing the worst . By now , the
attacks should have subsided , and I think we should organize a medical
relief team for the survivors . Get all available personnel , we'll need
everyone ... Our first destination is the village of White Rock , which
was one of the first few to get attacked . "

" Tails bro ? You there ? We're going on a medical mission & could use your
help , buddy ... " Sonic popped his head in through the door of Tails' room.
Before the two-tailed fox could reply , Angela , his "mentor" spoke up . 
" Leave us alone , hedgehog . Tails is busy and is not to be disturbed now."
It was clear that there was no love lost between Sonic and the two-tailed
squirrel Guardian , nor did Angela have any patience for the Sonic . Sonic ,
not wanting to provoke anything , just left . Tails didn't say anything , 
and continued with his practices .

"Sal , Tails ain't coming with us . He's *busy* ... " Sally acknowledged 
with a nod . She herself was too engrossed with the medical preparations to
even speak . She motioned for Sonic to help her , which he obliged .

*****

Preparations complete , the Knothole Freedom Fighters left for the village
of White Rock , confident that Angela and Tails could watch the base in 
their absence . The sight that greeted them at their destination was too
horrifying to describe . Not one building was left standing , and most of
the fallen ones were burning . Every tree and plant in the village had long
since been turned to ashes , and the broken bloodied remains of the 
villagers , children and adults alike , lay strewn about the streets . Who
knew how many more were burning with what was once their homes ? It was 
total carnage , a testimony to what Snively was capable of ...

Bunnie forced herself to look away , unable to bear the sight any longer .
Antoine made a strange noise and rushed back into the forest , presumably
to regurgitate whatever it was he had had for breakfast . When he returned ,
he looked positively green . Sonic just said , " Man , it's a good thing
Tails ain't here to see this...." Not one of the Freedom Fighters had
expected this level of destruction . 

They set about the task of looking for survivors , but not expecting to
find any . Sally activated Nicole , and used the portable computer to 
scan for life-signs . She was genuinely surprised to find some faint life
signs about a hundred meters to the north east of her position . She called
the rest and rushed to the source of the lifesign , followed closely by the
rest , and overtaken by Sonic(by not that much...) . 

They arrived at the spot to see several injured adult ferrets lying on the 
ground , moaning softly . Sally quickly scanned the injuries while the rest
prepared sedatives . One of the ferrets looked at the group standing over 
him , and whispered something . " It....it's ....a...a...t...tr...tra-- " .
Before he could finish , each freedom fighter was enveloped in a blue light
and lifted off the ground . " A restraining field .. " thought Sally 
angrily . No one had noticed the seven specially equipped Stealthbots that
had quietly snuck up on them while they were busy tending to the ferrets .

Not even Bunnie or David could break free . As a matter of fact , the
restraining field seemed to have deactivated the cyberfox . She felt a
twinge of worry when she saw that .

Having "bagged" their captives , the Stealthbots prepared to fly off . They
seemed to take just long enough for the Freedom Fighters to witness several
SWATbots walk up and shoot the hapless ferrets ....

The Freedom Fighter's captors flew them back to Robotropolis . It was
easy to know when they reached , for they started coughing from the 
polluted air of Robotropolis that they were forced to breathe , out of
necessity . 

They were put into a holding cell , dropped in like cargo , from a roof
hatch . The hatch and the cell door were secured , and the whole room , 
except the floor started glowing a dull green . There were , however , 
more pressing problems than contemplating on Snively's choice of interior
decoration .

Immediately , Sally was beside David . " Rotor ! Come take a look at
David ! " The walrus obliged , and opened up David's cranial unit ( head ) .
After peeking inside and a few 'mmmm's later , Rotor supplied an answer .
" Apparently , our cyberfox tried to fight the restraining field , and
pushed himself too far . The result : An overloaded neural net and severed
connections from his main processor to his bodily functions . It's a small
problem , which I can fix .... if I had my workshop and my tools ... "

Sonic was quite mad over being captured . He demanded from no one in
particular , " How on Mobius did Snively know where to wait for us ? "
Sally supplied him with the answer , " I don't think he did .... my
guess is that there was one of those "traps" in each attacked village..."

Sally sighed . " Bunnie , see if you can force that door . " " My pleasure ,
sugar . " Came Bunnie's enthusiastic reply . The rabbit applied all the
force her cybernetic arm could on the door of the holding cell , but to no
avail . " Sorry , Sal . The door's way too tough . Maybe if y'all pitched in
, it could work ..." 

Sally thought for a moment . " OK , it's worth a shot . Everyone , grab one
of the bars . Maybe we can force that door open together .... "

Not one of them had even touched the bars yet , when an irritating voice 
floated in . " I wouldn't if I were you .... " followed soon after by
Snively . 

Sonic quipped in . " And WHY , might I know , shouldn't we , Big Nose ? "

" Those doors were specially treated with a sustained roboticizer beam to
give them mild roboticizing capability , so unless you want roboticized
hands , don't touch the door .. or the walls for that matter . " Snively
surveyed the captives , then seemed to blink in surprise . " Someone's
missing ... where's that two-tailed fox ...that Tails ? "

"Somewhere safe ! " Sally nearly yelled . Snively himself started shouting ,
" TELL ME WHERE HE IS !! I WANT THAT FOX ! " No one answered him , but
Sonic had a question . " Why's he so important ? "

"You should know that better than me !! He destroyed my fortress ! I WANT 
THAT FOX ! " Snively was still screaming . " THIS WHOLE OPERATION WAS
CREATED TO GET HIM ! I WILL NOT LET IT FAIL !"

When there was still no answer , Snively surprisingly seemed to calm down .
He said , " No matter . The little terror will probably try some sort of
rescue operation once he finds out about your capture ... and I'll be
ready for him .... " With that , Snively walked out , leaving his
captives worried and wondering about what he had in store for the little
fox ....

*****

The multicolored shard of magical wave energy burst forth from Tails' paws 
and struck hard into Angela's energy field , which visibly shimmered at the
impact .

The two-tailed squirrel seemed pleased . " Now you're getting it , Tails !
That was much better than before  Remember , when you want to use the
emerald's power , focus your mind on it . Normal Guardians would focus
their eyes on the emerald , but since you absorbed your emerald's power ,
you have to think of your emerald , of it's glow .... then you can fully
utilize it . Now try it once more . "

Tails followed her instructions . This time however , something went wrong .
The magic wave reversed back into Tails , putting the hapless fox into a
state of shock . Angela immediately lashed out with a light blue energy
cloud , which enveloped Tails and dissapated the backfired magic .

The stunned two-tailed fox found his tongue . " Wha...What happened ? "

Angela replied with an almost maternal tone . " You didn't focus , Tails .
You have to concentrate on the emerald as well as the projection of the 
magic . Don't worry , you're not the first Guardian trainee to make this
mistake ... "

At that moment , Tails' computer terminal beeped and flashed the message :
" INCOMING BROADCAST " . Tails walked up to the terminal and activated it ,
expecting to hear from Sally . Imagine his surprise when he saw Snively's
face on the screen . 

"Attention , people of Knothole ! This is to inform you of the plight of
your fellow Freedom Fighters . At this moment , I have captured almost all
your leaders , " the camera switched to a view of the holding cell and Tails
gasped . Snively continued , " They will be roboticized within 24 hours . 
DO NOT ATTEMPT A RESCUE ! YOU WILL SURRENDER TO ME IMMEDIATELY ! " With 
that , the image faded off the screen . 

Tails was extremely distressed . " He pleaded , " Angela , I have to go 
help them ... " but the squirrel stopped him . " You are in no position to
do such a thing . You wait here . I will go get help for them from the
other freedom fighter bases . " The instant she finished saying that , she
dissapeared in a haze of yellow light , leaving Tails alone in his room .

The minute Angela left , Tails flew out of the building and headed for
Robotropolis ....

*****

Meanwhile , Sonic was pacing up and down the length of the cell , ignoring
everyone else's pleas for him to just sit down and stop making them giddy .
A while ago , Sally had asked everyone for ideas on escaping , but for once,
they were at a loss . Most of them could not even touch the walls or the
door , and Bunnie alone could not force it open . And having David out of
commission was no help as well ....

*****

At the edge of Robotropolis , a small figure lurked in the shadows , with
only his two large bushy tails giving away his position . 

Tails thought to himself , " There's NO way I'll get in without being 
seen ... " With a jolt , he remembered his new abilities . He closed his
eyes , focused his mind on the emerald's power , and willed for himself
to be transported to the prison cells . A blue flash enveloped him for
a moment , then light returned to normal .

Tails opened his eyes , and to his dismay , noticed that he was still at
the same spot . " Just great .. " he thought to himself , and raised a
paw to scratch his head . He yelped in surprise when he saw that his 
paw was no where to be seen ! He looked around frantically , and saw
that not one part of him was visible . 

Then , he understood . He had somehow mistakenly activated an invisibility
spell ! Tails cheerfully proceeded to the prison block . 

As he walked past the guards at the prison , he felt a wave of fatigue 
sweep across his body . Must be the strain of keeping up this invisibility..
he thought . He rushed through the main gate and snuck a peek at the 
prison records , hoping to find his friends before the invisibility spell
failed all together . Locating the cell they were held in , he rushed 
there . And not a moment too soon . For the moment he reached the cell 
door , the spell gave way , as Tails did not have the energy to sustain
magic for that long yet . 

The captured Freedom Fighters seemed more shocked than glad to see him .
Sally yelled , " Tails ! Get out of here ! It's a trap ! Snively wants you !
Get ou-- "

With a horrid sense of deja vu , Tails was enveloped in the same blue 
restraining field that had captured the Knothole Freedon Fighters and
was picked off the ground . Alost simultaneously , Snively and a contigent
of SWATbots entered from a door to the right . 

For a brief second , Tails glowed with the magic of the Emerald of Sorcery ,
attempting to break free , but he was too drained from keeping up the
invisibility spell earlier to put up more than a token resistance .

Snively laughed , " So...this is the dangerous creature that destroyed my
base ! Where are your powers now , you - "

Before he could finish , a crackling bolt of red energy lanced out from 
behind Snively , to everyone's shock , and hit the Stealthbot that was
restraining Tails . The bot shuddered for a moment , then deactivated , 
freeing the two-tailed fox . Everyone turned to see Angela standing behind
the contigent of SWATbots .

Using the moment of confusion Angela's sudden appearance had caused , Tails,
gathering all the magical energy he could muster at the time , and the 
Guardian squirrel both lashed out simultaneously , with Angela's red bolt
deactivating the SWATbots , and Tails' magical wave stunning Snively . 

With the crisis over , Angela gave Tails a reprimanding look . " I guessed
as much that you would disobey me , and it would seem that it was a good
thing that I came after you ! "
She paused for a moment . " You know , normally , Guardians who disobey the
Guardians of Control get a discommendation .... but I think I can overlook
it in your case ... You see , Guardians are also meant to be courageous ,
loyal and brave . And , by risking your life to save your friends , you 
have shown that you possess these qualities . And for this , I commend ,
not discommend , you . " She ended with a smile .

Sonic interrupted the whole affair . " Yeah yeah ... can you get us out
of here first , then have the mushy stuff ? " 

The two-tailed squirrel turned to face the imprisoned hedgehog . " I will
if you ask NICELY . " and she actually waited .

Sonic , having no other option , did as she asked reluctantly . " Angela ,
could you *please* get us out of here ? "

The squirrel smiled , " Very well . It looks like there's a decent , polite
streak in you after all , hedgehog . All is not lost ." With that , she
motioned with her staff & the door was enveloped with a yellow light for
a moment , then dissapeared . 

Sonic wisely kept his mouth shut , even after that remark Angela made about
him . After all , he did have common sense ...

*****

The Freedom Fighters and Angela gathered in Rotor's workshop . David Prower
was lying on the worktable & the walrus inventor had his fingers inside the
cyberfox's neck . Using a bonding tool , he was reconnecting David's
processor to his body . " One.....last.....connecting....fiber.....there !
Good as new ! "

True enough , David Prower emitted a few beeps as his processor regained
control over the cybernetic and biological organism that was Tails' brother.

The first thing David Prower recieved when he re-opened his eyes was a
few warm "welcome back"s and a hug from Tails .

All was well again in Knothole . However , the same could not be said
at the rim of the Great Forest....

Sally was in the Reconstruction Hall , contemplating about recent events ,
when Sonic walked in slowly ( a first for him ! ) carrying a datapad .
He offered it to her , saying simply , " The results are in . "

Sally took it , braced herself , and looked at the screen . After a 
moment , she let the pad drop onto the table . An uncomfortable silence
ensued . When she finally spoke , she did so weakly .

"One hundred fifty three ...... that monster slaughtered one hundred and
fifty three living , breathing creatures to lure a fox ..... "

For once , Sonic the Hedgehog had nothing to say ....

THE END

Author's note : Feel free to use Tails as " Tails the Trainee Guardian " or
you could just ignore this whole story and stick with " Tails the Fox who
flies with his tails " 


Thanks for reading !


Sonic the Hedgehog - " The Persecuted " - by Aaron Lye
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Cast" of characters used in this story ( in random order )
-----------------------------------------------------------
Tails 
Sonic 
Sally
Bunnie
Rotor
Antoine
Angela - Aaron Lye
Tayla  - Aaron Lye
Tasha
Jennifer - minor character
Nicholas - minor character
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© 1996 Aaron Lye
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TIMELINE : Three weeks after the events in "Of Foxes and Sorcery III"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REMEMBER : READ ON TILL YOU REACH THE WORDS " THE END " !! IF YOU
DON'T SEE THEM , THE STORY'S NOT COMPLETE .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part One : Sanctuary

The creature ran . It ran because it knew it had to . It had been injured
physically and mentally , and had long lost all sense of direction and
perspective . It raced around the Great Forest aimlessly , with no purpose
, nor with any destination , ignoring the shrub and brush that cut it , and
the stinging vicious insects  . All it knew was that it had to find a safe
place . 

It had to ....

Safety was essential ...

The creature applied its Power . Using the Signals , it raced east of
its position , without knowing why . The Signals pointed there ... the
Signals were right ... They never failed ....

They would help it reach sanctuary ...

Along the way , the creature's shaken memory managed to recall some
incidents . It had been in a large dark place , surrounded by metal ...
It had been .. attacked ... it had tried to use the Power against the 
creatures of metal , but the Power had no effect on them . Those things had 
tortured it ... it was lucky to have escaped at all ...

Without knowing , the creature still lost in thought , had reached the
place the Signals had spoken of ...

Suddenly aware (to an extent) that it was not alone , the creature feared
that the the things of metal had found her . It fell to the ground , 
stricken by fear . To the creature's horror , it felt a robotic implement 
scoop it off the ground and carry it off somewhere . The creature struggled
 , but was too weak to offer any resistance ...

It was then that the creature noticed something strange .. it was the 
feeling of flesh against flesh . A normal hand was carrying her legs !
That was not possible . It could clearly make out the cold touch of metal
supporting it's upper half ...

Her fuzzy senses managed to make out a few words that were being spoken
to it . It was a female voice .... telling her to keep still ... it was
safe ...

The creature relaxed .

The Power had not failed .

It had reached sanctuary ..

Part Two : Secrets

Bunnie Rabbot placed the injured rabbit on a bed in Knothole's medical
facility . She had been taking a stroll around the base with Sally when
out of a sudden , this dazed rabbit had walked right into Knothole and 
collapsed right in front of her . The rabbit had struggled a bit when she
picked her up , but seemed to settle down after Sally had tried to calm 
her . The two were now waiting for Bookshire to finish examining her .
Several other freedom fighters had noticed the commotion and had joined
them in the infirmary . 

Sonic , as usual , couldn't keep his mouth shut . " Man , and Bunnie thinks
she's had bad hair days... "

Everyone pointedly ignored the hedgehog .

Sally seemed anxious as to the condition of the rabbit . " Well , Bookshire
? How is she ? "

Bookshire looked up long enough to talk to the squirrel . " Not too good ,
Sally . She's taken at least two laser shots , courtesy of SWATbots . 
There are also some bruises and cuts , no doubt from her walk through the
Forest . However , there are some traces of several unexplained internal 
injuries . I can't think of what could do such things . I can't really do 
much . Although I can keep her alive for another 24 hours , if her condition 
doesn't improve , she will die . " He activated the life support system , 
before continuing with some scans .

All the freedom fighters both looked like they were the ones with the 
injuries . Even Sonic looked a bit depressed . 

It was then that Sally had a brainstorm . She spoke hopefully to Tails , who
had been standing at the back all the time . " Is Angela around ? Maybe she
can do something .. "

Tails shook his head , " She went out a few hours ago , she said she'd only
be back tomorrow . Too late to help the rabbit , I guess . "

"Can you contact her ? " Sally refused to give up that easily .

"Sorry , Aunt Sal . I can't do that yet . " Tails looked rather sheepish .

Sonic seemed to have an idea . " You think you can help the rabbit , little
bro ? "

The two-tailed fox seemed a bit uncertain . " I might , Sonic , but you
know how *good* my abilities are ... "

"It's her only chance , Tails . You have to try , bro . "

The fox obliged , and closed his eyes . A stream of white light slowly
pulsed from Tails' paw , and enveloped the young rabbit . Bookshire 
activated his scanner , and seemed surprised , but pleased .

He spoke . "Keep going , Tails . It's working . "


After a minute , the fox started to falter . The stream started to thin ,
then it vaporized completely . An exhausted Tails sat down , breathing
heavily . "I'm sorry ... that's all I...I could manage .... "

Sonic patted the young fox on the back . " You did what you could , bro .
I'm proud of you . " Tails just smiled .

Bookshire seemed elated . " Tails did it ! He managed to heal most
of the serious injuries . I can take it from here . She'll be fine by
tomorrow . "

Relieved , the freedom fighters left Bookshire to do his job .

*****

The next morning , Sonic , Sally and Rotor gathered in the infirmary to 
welcome their guest . 

Bookshire approached the rabbit , and used a hypospray to inject her with
a stimulant to wake her . 

A few seconds later , the rabbit opened her eyes . For some unexplained
reason , the rabbit did not seem bewildered , or confused , like most
injured patients who had just been awakened . In fact , she seemed totally
at ease . 

The rabbit spoke . " Thank you , Bookshire . " 

The startled raccoon took a step back . Sally spoke up . " How did you
know his name ? "

The rabbit looked at the squirrel for a moment . " It is an .. ability , 
Princess Sally . My kind calls it the Power . "

Sally looked confused . " Ability ? "

It was then that she heard a voice in her mind . The voice belonged to the
rabbit . *The ability to do this* , it said . 

All the freedom fighters gasped . Apparently , all of them heard it too . 

Rotor spoke up , " Telepathy . To contact the mind directly . To read the
mind ."

The rabbit replied , " Exactly . My name is Tayla . I was from a town east
of Robotropolis , where many of my kind used to live ... until we were
captured and roboticized just yesterday . We had managed to use the Power
to decieve Robotnik , then Snively , into seeing nothing where our town
stands , but yesterday , it failed ... I am now the last of my kind . " 
Before anyone could ask , she said , " And , no , the Power has no effect 
on the robots ."

The room fell silent after this short speech . Tayla looked at all the
people in the room , presumably scanning them . 

Sally broke the silence . "What happened to you ?"

Tayla seemed to think for a moment . " Some details are fuzzy . I remember
being brought to Robotropolis , then escaping . I was shot at by SWATbots ,
then tortured by them . Somehow , I managed to escape , but even then I
still felt torture .... I don't understand ... it was like someone 
helped me escape , then proceeded to continue torturing me ... "

Sally interrupted her . " Why don't we take this conversation outside ?
You seem fine enough to walk . " Tayla agreed and they proceeded out of the
infirmary .

Sally asked , " Does your kind have any enemies ? " To which , Tayla 
replied , " Indeed we do . We call them the Persecutors . We don't know who 
they are , or where they're from , but they control forces greater than our
own , and the Power only has limited effect on them . For centuries , they
have persecuted my kind , for no reason whatsoever ... " Tayla trailed off.

It was then that Tails walked up , and he seemed pleased to see Tayla up
and about . " Hiya , miss ! You feeling better ? "

Tayla looked at the young fox , and seemed confused . " You helped me ...
you healed ... my injuries ... why ? Why did you do it ? What use is it
to you ? " She seemed strangely angry .

Tails was puzzled . He had not expected this response , and only managed
to stutter . " Uh...I...um.." then gave up .

The rabbit stared harder at Tails . " No...wait ... you are different ....
you are , yet you are not ... I do not understand ... how can this be ? "

To the freedom fighters , it seemed that the rabbit was talking gibberish .
Tails was getting exceedingly frightened by the strange behavior of the
rabbit . Maybe his magic had done more than just heal her....

The rabbit calmed down . "I'm sorry , Tails . I have mistaken you for 
another . "

Sally was poised to ask another question , but Tayla stopped her . "I'm
afraid I cannot explain . Please do not ask me . "

The princess obliged . Suddenly , behind them , a bright yellow light
blazed . It would seem that Angela had just returned ....

The squirrel appeared soon after & Tails immediately ran up to meet her .

It was then that Angela met Tayla . Recognition passed between the two , 
followed by pure hatred .

Tayla spoke in a dark tone . " Persecutor ! " 
Angela matched it , only louder . " Mind-reader ! "

Angela continued . " What are you doing here ? Your kind should have all
been roboticized ! "

Tayla countered , "and yours should have been wiped off the face of this
planet ! "

Angela started speaking even more vehemently . "Why you impudent mind
reader .... it would seem you need another lesson .. wasn't yesterday 
enough ? "

Tayla then seemed to understand . "It was YOU ! "

"Of course ... who did you think ? Revenge truly is sweet ..... "

Tayla was shouting now . "We have never done anything to you or your kind !
You swept down on us like eagles and started this torture ! We can no longer
take this ! "

Angela was unrepentant . " So that's why you allowed yourselves to be 
captured ? Your kind inflicted horrors on my clan in the first place ! We
only retaliated ! "

Sonic tried to seperate the two , but Angela swept up one paw and unleashed
a bolt which sent the hedgehog flying half across Knothole , at the same
time barking a sharp " Keep out of this , hedgehog ! " .

Bunnie rushed to see if Sonic was alright , and was relieved to see that
the blue guy was only stunned .

Tails started to plead with Angela , but the squirrel Guardian ignored him ,
continuing her heated argument with the telepath . 

Tayla then seemed to stare straight at Angela . A moment later , the 
squirrel screamed in agony . Tayla continued to bear down on the squirrel ,
who had now fallen to the ground and was writhing in pain , clutching
her head . 

Miles Prower , not knowing better , came to Angela's rescue . A small
magic wave emitted from a paw , and stunned the rabbit temporarily . 
It was however , long enough for Angela to regain her composure . 

The squirrel looked furious . " Now it's my turn ! " In a flash of 
yellow , the two vanished from the center of Knothole , only to reappear
inside Angela's hut . The onlookers followed . 

What they saw inside shocked them . Angela had Tayla bound by a magic
restraint , and was proceeding to burn her at selected spots . The stench
of burning fur and flesh wafted out of the room .

It was when Angela proceeded to other forms of torture , that Sally acted .
She rushed to the entrance of the hut , only to be deflected back out of the
room . Comprehension dawned on her . " A magic forcefield . " she observed .

Tails had been observing this all the time , his world falling apart in
front of his eyes . His mentor , the Guardian he looked up to was 
mercilessly torturing a hapless individual ... this couldn't been happening
...

It couldn't ...

A sense of injustice swept over Tails , followed closely by anger . He
had to help Tayla ... 
The rage he felt when Matthew Prower had been killed was returning ... and
with it the amplified power of the Emerald .
A vicious snarl escaped from his throat ... to the alarm of his fellow
freedom fighters . Miles Prower then sent a massive burst crashing into
Angela's force field , which buckled , and the enraged fox stepped into
the room . Even in his uncontrolled state , Tails managed to unleash just
enough magical energy to have knocked out the Guardian of Control for a few 
hours....

The burst impacted .... and didn't so much as scratch the squirrel .
The shock of that unexpected result snapped Tails out of his rage-controlled
state . However , it was now Angela's turn to go berserk . She retaliated
with a burst of red energy , which impacted against the two-tailed fox
and knocked him out of the room . The hapless fox crumpled in a heap outside
the hut .Alarmed , Sally quickly rushed to Tails , and checked his pulse . 

She tried again , then dropped Tails' limp hand . When she looked up , her
eyes were filled with tears . The rest of the freedom fighters didn't need
her to say anything . They knew what had happened . 

Miles Tails Prower was dead .

*****

The freedom fighters were both furious and sad . Tails was just a kid . This
shouldn't have happened to him . But , they knew that they were powerless
to do anything ....

Then , without warning , two blazes of yellow light appeared in front of 
Angela's hut . They could still hear Tayla's moans of agony as Angela 
proceeded with forms of torture none of the Freedom Fighters had ever
heard of before . The twin beams formed into two cloaked figures , a 
two-tailed wolf amd a two-tailed fox . 

The fox spoke hurriedly , " I am Nicholas , and this is Jennifer . We are
the Guardians of the First and Second Emeralds of Control . We have detected
an exceedingly large amount of Control sorcery being expended in this 
vicinity . Do you know anything about this ? "

Rotor composed himself enough to fill up the two Guardians on the situation.
After hearing that , the fox went into the hut , simply walking through
Angela's barrier . An argument ensued , followed by a blaze of yellow . 
In the meantime , the wolf tended to Tails . After examining the young fox,
the wolf spoke , " It is all right . He is not dead . In her hurry , Angela
only placed him in a state of molecular stasis . He only APPEARS to be
dead . It is a simple procedure to re-awaken him . " The wolf performed a
short spell , after which the dazed Tails regained conciousness , much to
the relief of his friends . Sally was still crying , but this time for joy ,
and hugged the little fox . Sonic would have been doing the same , if 
he hadn't been lying unconcious on the other side of Knothole , with
Bunnie trying fruitlessly to awaken him .

Tails was still in too much of a daze to say anything when the other 
two-tailed fox came out of the hut carrying Tayla , who looked a mess .
He turned her over to Rotor , who brought her to the infirmary for 
treatment , the second time in two days . The fox turned to the group of
Freedom Fighthers and spoke , " Angela has been sent back to Ghyl'cana ,
where we will conduct an investigation . You will be informed of the
proceedings . " With that , the two dissapeared the way they came .

*****

Two days later , Tails was sitting at the edge of the pool where Sonic
got his power rings , sitting and mulling over recent events . He threw
a small stone into the pool , making sure it didn't hit the power ring
apparatus , and watched it create waves that rippled the surface of the
pool . After the waves cleared , Tails noticed two reflections behind him .
He turned and saw Angela and an unfamiliar middle-aged rabbit . He recoiled
instinctively , and started to edge away from Angela . She had tried to
kill him ... HOW COULD SHE ?

Angela started to speak to the frightened fox . "Tails , I'm sorry . I 
never meant for you to get hurt . The last thing I want is for you to be
killed ... " Angela seemed truly remorseful .

Tails spoke in a small voice . "Then why did you do that ?"

"Tails , remember what I said about rage when we first met ? " Angela
questioned him . What she had said was still fresh in his mind . She had
told him , "Rage has a tendency to amplify the power of the emerald , but 
sometimes it is too hard to control and innocents might get hurt in the 
crossfire . "

The two-tailed fox nodded . Angela continued , "Well , it would seem that
I have to learn some of what I teach too ... " With that , she hugged the 
little fox .

"I'm sorry , Tails . How about forgiving me ?" Angela really looked
depressed . 

Miles Prower didn't have the heart to say no . "Sure . " and he returned
the hug .

Angela smiled slightly . "I will be on probation for five months  , which
I will have to spend in Ghyl'cana . Only after that can I return to 
Knothole to instruct you . " She motioned towards the rabbit next to her ,
who nodded at Tails . " This is Tasha , the Guardian of the Seventh Emerald
of Control . She will be your mentor during this period of time . OK , 
Tails ?"

"OK."

"I have to return to Ghyl'cana now . See you in five months . Oh.. and tell
the hedgehog I'm sorry . " With that , Angela dissapeared .

The rabbit spoke for the first time since they met , "C'mon Tails-dear ,
Ah've gotta talk with ya friends 'bout somethin' . "

Tails obliged , at the same time noticing the rabbit's accent .

*****

Sonic , Tails , Sally , Rotor and Tayla ( with reluctance ) gathered in
Tails' hut and were listening to Tasha .

"Ya see , when Angela referred to the horrors them telepaths had done ta
her 'clan' , she was referring ta her family , not the Guardians . 
Apparently , several centuries ago , some rogue telepaths used their Power
to destroy the mind of one of Angela's ancestors . Since then , her family
has made it their aim to exact revenge on the telepaths for doing that .
They had no idea that the rogues had no contact with Tayla's people .
By coincidence , it would seem that many of Angela's ancestors were of 
two tails , and became Guardians . "

" This went undetected by the Guardian Council all this time , mainly 
because to avoid attention , Angela's ancestors used their Guardian
abiities only in small amounts to 'torture' the telepaths . We only
noticed this when Angela used so much of the Control Guardian abilities
the other day . All this information , we got from Angela , except the
stuff 'bout the rogues , which we recieved from the Mobian Archives . "

The rabbit turned to Tayla . "Ya see , Tayla , it was all a misconception
by your people and by Angela's family . I apologize , on behalf of the
Guardian Council , for the actions of Angela and her ancestors . If you
wish , our Council is willing to compensate ... "

The telepath was shocked at by the turn of events . She had not scanned
the rabbit out of fear that the Guardian would retaliate like the
Persecutor .

All that pain and suffering over the centuries ....

All because of a misconception ....

She couldn't believe her ears ....

"No compensation is required . " was all she said .

Tasha then continued cheerfully . " Well now , that's all settled . If you
don't mind , Ah would very much like to tour this lovely town of yours .. "

Sonic thought to himself , " This Guardian sure is nicer than Angela ...
I could get used to this ... "

Just as Sally was about to show the Guardian around Knothole , someone
knocked on the door , which opened to reveal Bunnie .

"Sorry Ah'm late . Had ta do somethin' ... " She stopped when she saw the
Guardian , who seemed just as surprised . 

Tasha spoke first . " Bunnie ? "

Bunnie found her tongue . " Aunt Tasha ? "

THE END

Aaron Lye 
vicl@pacific.net.sg
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE : Feel free to use any of these characters in future fan-fics . (
Tasha , Tayla ) Please note however that Angela is out of the picture for
the moment , and any stories about her must be set five months after
these events .

Happy writing !

Sonic the Hedgehog - " Visions of Truth " - by Aaron Lye
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Cast" of characters used in this story ( in random order )
-----------------------------------------------------------
Tails 
Sonic 
Sally
David Prower -  Shawn Wolski
Bunnie
Rotor
Antoine
Angela - Aaron Lye
Tayla  - Aaron Lye
Tasha  - Aaron Lye
Matthew Prower - Aaron Lye
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© 1996 Aaron Lye
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TIMELINE : Immediately after "The Persecuted"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REMEMBER : READ ON TILL YOU REACH THE WORDS " THE END " !! IF YOU
DON'T SEE THEM , THE STORY'S NOT COMPLETE .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Bunnie , it's really you ! I'd thought I'd never see you again !" Tasha
exclaimed . " How long has it been ? Ten years ? "

Bunnie found her tongue . "Aunt Tasha , Ah...Ah never knew you were a 
Guardian ... "

Tasha smiled , " That's 'cos Ah never told anyone ... 'cept my parents ,
they kept it a secret too ... for obvious reasons ." 

The cyberbunny spoke , " Is that why ya wore pants all the time ? 'Cos of 
them two tails ? "

Tasha nodded . Sonic chose this moment to interrupt . "Whoa . Back up a bit.
The two of you related ? "

Tasha replied , " Yeah , Sonic . Bunnie's my sister's daughter . " She 
continued , "Well , ain't this a fine family reunion ? We sure have a lot
of catching up to do ! But first , Ah'd still like that tour of Knothole ..
ya don't mind , do ya Sally ? "

" It's no problem , Tasha . " Sally assured her , before taking her on the
requested tour .

*****

"Robotnik did that ta ya , didn't he ?" Tasha motioned to Bunnie's 
cybernetic implants . A glass filled with a purple liquid materialized in
Bunnie's replicator , and the cyberbunny handed it to her relative .
"Yeah , sugarhog saved me before I was fully ... changed . "
Tasha had a funny smile on her face , " Sugarhog ?" 
Bunnie realized her mistake . "Oh , Ah'm sorry . Sonic's sugarhog . "
When the smile didn't leave Tasha's mouth , Bunnie added hastily . "..and
don'tcha start thinking funny .... it's just a nickname . Sonic can be
really sweet sometimes , but he's Sally's .... not mine ."

Tasha took a sip from her glass . "Oh well ... he is quite a nice boy , 
even if I do say so mahself . "

Bunnie made a funny noise and mumbled . " You haven't seen the rest of his 
character ..."

"What was that , dear ?" Tasha questioned .

"Nothin' , Aunt Tasha ."

Bunnie then remembered something . "Oh yeah . Sally's inviting us over for
dinner . Would you like to go ?"

"I'd love to , dear . That's really nice of her , isn't it ?"

The two rabbits walked out of Bunnie's hut and proceeded to Sally's .

*****

Someone knocked at the door to Sally's place . Since Sally was busy , 
Tasha opened it to let Antoine , one of the other invited , in . Sonic
and Tails were already waiting inside . Antoine was carrying a brown
bag , and he spoke as he entered . "I do not know what cuisine ze Princess
is making , therefore I am taking ze chance and bringing ze
white wine known as chablis , and of course sparkling grape juice for
ze Tails ."

After a bit of lively conversation , Sally entered from her kitchen and
informed her guests that all was ready .

"You mean you cooked , Sally-dear ? You've never done that before . "
Bunnie noted . 

Sally smiled , "First time for everything , I guess . Besides , I did really
want to try out that cookbook Antoine gave me . And since I felt that I
shouldn't serve replicated stuff to guests ....this was the best 
opportunity ." 

The group proceeded to the dining room . Sonic eyed the fare that the
squirrel had prepared . 

"Hold up a bit , Sal . Where'd all the chili dogs go ? "

The squirrel in question remarked , "Chili dogs aren't the only food on
Mobius , Sonic Hedgehog ." She went on to describe the exotic stuff she
had prepared . 

They sat down , and Sonic poked at the blue cheese and asparagus terrine
that was their appetizer , and looked like he wanted to make a face .
Judging from the way Antoine looked at the hedgehog , she thought she
could nearly hear him think "uncultured swine" . But then , this was
expected from Antoine ....

*****

Apart from Sonic , the rest enjoyed Sally's cooking , judging from the way
they thanked and commended her as they left . Sonic walked back to his
hut with Tails . The two-tailed fox commented , "Boy , I'm stuffed . Aunt
Sal sure can cook , huh ? "

"Uh...right."

They soon reached Tails' hut . Sonic saw him in through the door before
proceeding to his . "G'night , little bro . Hope you didn't eat too much .
You could get a nightmare or something .... or is that just a myth ?"

Tails just smiled .

*****

The blue hedgehog was so exhausted that he fell asleep as soon as he got
into bed . 

*Sonic opened his eyes . He was standing in the middle of Knothole , 
except that everything seemed without depth or reality , and was warped
or crooked . He felt trapped , a sense of anguish . Then he saw an
aged two-tailed fox that looked exactly like Tails . It spoke with an
eerie echo accompanying it . " Why ? Why do you let him fall ? "
Suddenly , he was in Tails hut , looking at a Tails cloaked in black . 
Tails spoke in a dark tone . " The time will come .... " Sonic turned
to his left and saw a normal looking Tails . This fox looked anguished .
"Help me .... " it pleaded . A bright flash , and Sonic is in a cavern ,
staring at a multi-colored Chaos Emerald . He watches as the Emerald's
color fades slowly , and watches as the Emerald turns the color of night.*

Sonic woke up , shivering with fright from the very disturbing dream .
It had seemed so real ....

*****

Even though fast asleep , Sally tossed and turned . 

*Sally is standing in what once was the Reconstruction Hall , and is now
a mass of rubble . She is holding Nicole , who has a message displayed on
it's screen . "It will happen..."
A figure appears in front of her . It is Angela , cloaked in white . 
She spoke . "When it does , you will know . You will know that the time 
has come .... you must beware ... "
Suddenly , she's in Tails' hut , staring Tails . He spoke , " You know
me . " The figure warps , and reforms into a Tails cloaked in black . 
It speaks in a dark tone , "You know me , yet you do not ." A figure
appears behind Tails . It is an aged two-tailed fox who is the spitting
image of Tails . It spoke with an eerie echo . " You will be the 
instrument . " A bright flash , and Sally is in a cavern , staring at
a multi-colored Chaos Emerald . She watches it fade away , and sees it
slowly turn black . As it fades , she hears the words spoken by the 
aged fox . " You will be the instrument ..."*
Sally screamed , and nearly fell out of her bed in fright .

*****

Bunnie was curled up in a fetal position on her bed , and seemed agitated .
*Bunnie is in the roboticizer . She looks helplessly out the glass , and
pounds hard on the glass , her cybernetic implants doing no damage . She
sees a semi-transparent Tails cloaked in black standing at the controls . 
It speaks in a dark voice , "You will fall victim .... " A flash appears 
inside the roboticizer just next to her and she sees a normal Tails 
standing trapped and afraid inside it . He pleads , " Help me.... " The
Tails in black depresses a button , and a red wave envelopes the trapped 
Tails , who cries out in agony . Bunnie witnesses as Tails slowly , 
very slowly starts fading . As he fades , she notices the black cloaked 
Tails lose its transparency , and become solid . It speaks, " Victim ....
the time will come . "

The black cloaked fox depresses another button and a red flash envelopes
Bunnie . Before she feels anything , a bright flash appears , and she's
in a cavern , staring at an aged two-tailed fox standing next to a
multi-colored Chaos Emerald . The Chaos Emerald seems to fade in color ,
being replaced with by a black Emerald . The fox spoke , " Do not let
my heir fall .... "*

Bunnie woke up , crying for no apparent reason .

*****

Tasha was having problems sleeping . Something seemed wrong . She glanced
over at Tayla , who was sharing a room with her , and noticed her tossing
and turning around . Tasha guessed that Tayla was having a nightmare .
Suddenly , she felt a force invade her mind , but she did not panic . She
had enough experience with telepaths to know that in times of distress ,
like in bad nightmares , telepaths tended to project those thoughts ,
or dreams to their surroundings . What made her panic however , was the
dream that Tayla was projecting .

*Tasha could see Tayla clearly . She had fallen on the ground , and seemed
injured . The telepath's eyes darted warily around , as if frightened of
something she could not see . Suddenly , Tasha saw a Tails cloaked in 
black appear out of nowhere and advance on Tayla . This Tails spoke in a
dark tone , " The Persecutor is no more , but the persecuted remains 
persecuted . " Tails strike out at Tayla with a black wave of energy , 
sending the telepath flying . He speaks , " You will fall victim . " 
Tasha gasped , understanding what was happening . The black cloaked
Tails disappears , and Tasha runs over to find Tayla . The telepath is
in a bad condition . Suddenly , a flash brightens the area , and a normal
Tails appears , looking helpless and saddened . He speaks . " The time
will come when I will fall ... " Another flash envelops Tayla and Tasha ,
and they are in a cavern . Tayla's injuries seem healed , and they are
facing an aged two-tailed fox , standing next to a multi-colored Chaos
Emerald . Tasha gasps in recognition . She was looking at Matthew Prower ,
Tails' deceased grandfather .... and the Emerald .....

Matthew Prower spoke . " You will prove yourself when the time has come ...
You are the link ... You must not let him fall ... "
Tasha saw the Emerald's color fade away , then turn the color of night .*

Tasha came to at the same time Tayla woke up screaming . She understood 
the vision ....

*****

Sally looked grim as she sipped her coffee . " I've checked with all the
residents here . None report any strange dreams last night . We're the
only ones . " She was speaking to Tasha , Tayla , Sonic and Bunnie .

Bunnie spoke up . " It would seem that we have something ta do with all of
this . " 

Tasha explained . " What you've told me about your dreams made me suspect
that the Emerald of Sorcery is trying ta tell us something . There are
several similarities in each of your dreams ... same people and such , but
the most consistent thing is the Emerald . Ah have no idea what it is , but
it involves Tails ... and us . We must be extra vigilant for extraordinary
occurences . The Emerald knows something will happen . Ah would rather if 
Tails did not find out about this for the time being . No point in him 
worrying unneccessary . As long as we keep an eye out , he'll have no 
problems . "

Tasha concluded . " There must be no mistakes . One slip-up could cause
more to happen than you think .... "

THE END
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If this story made you confused , it's ok . It's meant to do that .
All these puzzles will be resolved in a future story in this series .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 "Trials" - A Sonic the Hedgehog Fan Fiction Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Cast" of characters used in this story ( in random order )
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sonic
Sally
Tasha  -  Aaron Lye
Other characters play minor roles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© 1996 Aaron Lye
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TIMELINE : Two weeks after "Visions of Truth"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REMEMBER : READ ON TILL YOU REACH THE WORDS " THE END " !! IF YOU
DON'T SEE THEM , THE STORY'S NOT COMPLETE .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*You will be the instrument....*

Princess Sally couldn't get that chilling phrase from her dream out of her
head . She had been playing that dream over and over in her head since she
had it two weeks ago , and still did not understand it . She was sitting in
her living room , sipping a strong cup of java , looking out of the window
at the view of Knothole and its residents surrounded by the Forest .

As she looked around , she saw a blue blur race towards her hut . A moment 
later , Sonic entered looking strangely excited . 

"Sal , come with me . I think I've found something you'd really want to
take a look at ."

The hedgehog picked Sally up and raced out of Knothole .

*****

After a few minutes , they reached their destination . Sonic had brought
her to the entrance of a cavern in a mountain that was a few hundred 
kilometers away from Knothole . 

"You wanted me to look at a cave ?" Sally asked dryly .

"Check out the inside , Sal ." Sonic shot back .

The two walked into the cavern . It was surprisingly narrow and was 
obviously dark . Sally took out Nicole and instructed the computer to
increase the brightness of it's screen enough to provide illumination
for the cavern . With some light , the two managed to walk faster , since
there was no danger of bumping into something unexpectedly . 

The two walked on a bit , then as they turned a bend , Sally saw a light
coming from the end of what she now knew was a tunnel . As they approached
the end , Sally gasped . They had entered a larger cavern , illuminated as
brightly as any building in Knothole . Looking at the ceiling , Sally 
could make out large lights which reminded her of very bright halogen
bulbs . This was impossible , she thought .

She turned her attention away from the ceiling and looked around the 
cavern . She gasped at what she saw . In six niches along the sides of the
cavern sat six ancient-looking scrolls , firmly tied with twine . The
squirrel took a quick glance at Sonic , who was now grinning wildly .

She approached the scrolls carefully and activated Nicole to scan the 
area for any dangers . Assured there were none , she picked up one of
the scrolls and opened it . The paper was fragile and the ink had faded ,
but Sally could still make out what was written on it .

She whispered , "Sonic , this scroll must be at least two thousand years
old ... it's a recording of the coronation of the first king of Mobius ... 
but what is it doing here ?"

Sally put down the scroll and picked up another . Opening this one , Sally
saw that it was written in a strange language . She used Nicole , hoping
that the computer could provide a translation . As Sally waited , she
remarked , "Who could have built such a place ?"

"Analysis complete , Sally ." Nicole monotoned . "Item dated as fifty years
old . Language used : Human language , classified as Chinese . Text 
describes occupation of a region of territory known as "South East Asia"
during a time known as "World War II" . Do you wish specifics ?"

"No , Nicole ." Sally said . "What is something from Earth doing here ?"

She focussed her attention on the next scroll . To her surprise , the 
scroll was blank . An analysis by Nicole indicated that the paper was
over five thousand years old .

Two of the remaining scrolls were between 3000 to 4000 years of age , 
written in an ancient Mobian language . The last scroll however , was an
enigma . Nicole could not recognize the language nor analyze it's age .

After looking at them , Sally spoke . "I think we had better take these
back to Knothole . This place is hardly safe , and I've no idea how they
stayed safe here all this time .... "

With that Sally gathered all six of the scrolls and placed them inside
a large pouch she had been carrying .

*****

"This was a great find , Sonic . They'll make great additions to our
archives ." Sally was very cheerful back at Knothole .

"What's a great find , Sally-dear?" came a voice from her doorway . 
At first expecting to see Bunnie , the squirrel corrected herself when she
saw Tasha standing there . 

Sally took a bit of time explaining what had transpired , and then showed
the six scrolls to Tasha .

"Well , these are indeed a treasure , Sally . Records from ancient times
as well as from another planet and....oh my....this was with the scrolls ?"
Tasha motioned to the scroll that Nicole could not analyze . 

"Yes . You know it ."

"Of course , dear . You have no idea what a find that scroll is to us !
That scroll is written in an ancient Guardian language , and describes 
the ceremony in which the Guardians were entrusted with the Emeralds ....
..Our copy was somehow lost .... and the only other copy was with the
Watchers....the race who gave us the Emeralds ... Sally you MUST take
me to this cavern ! " Tasha ended .

*****

Five minutes later , Tasha , Sonic and Sally were once again inside the
brightly lit cavern , and Tasha seemed awe-struck . She gaped at the 
surroundings . Suddenly , she seemed to notice something . Walking to the
back of the cave , the three saw something that they had missed earlier ...
hewn into the rock was an opening the exact size and shape of a Chaos
Emerald .

Trembling , Tasha reached into her cloak and withdrew a palm-sized red
stone , her Chaos Emerald of Control , and inserted it into the crevice .
For a moment , nothing happened . Then , all of a sudden , a bright green
beam emitted from above the door and impacted with Tasha's forehead .
The beam didn't seem to do any damage and looked a lot like a scanner
beam rather than a weapon .

A few seconds later , the beam shut off and the wall in front of them
vanished . They walked through and were amazed at what was before their 
eyes .

They saw a large cavern , with blue shimmering walls . The cavern was
so large they could not see the other side of the cave . They could hear
a waterfall in the distance , but what caught their attention was an
blue emerald the size of a house that was firmly planted in the center of
the cavern . Tasha was too overwhelmed to say much . "The legends were 
true ... the Great Emerald ... "

Sonic questioned , "Great Emerald ?"

To which Tasha replied , "The Great Emerald was supposed to have been the
first Chaos Emerald , all our Chaos Emeralds , as well as the larger 
Master Emerald , were all supposed to have been cut from the Great Emerald .
It was believed to have been only a myth .... but this certainly proves
otherwise.... "

Sally took a step closer , when a figure seemed to materialize in front of
the trio . She stepped back , and the three saw that the figure was an
exact duplicate of Tasha .

When the figure spoke , it sounded as though it were a chorus of voices .
"Proceeding further is unallowed for the unauthorized . Identify yourselves
."

Tasha spoke up . "Ah am the Entrusted . Ah am Guardian . Ah protect that 
which is Red , which is Seven , the Emerald of Control ."

The figure paused for a moment . "You are recognized , Guardian of the
Seventh Emerald of Control . You may pass . Who are these others ? "

Tasha continued . "This is Sally Alicia Acorn , princess of Mobius , heir 
to the throne . And this is her ... um .. mate , Sonic . "

The duplicate-Tasha spoke . "Her authority is not recognized here . If she
wishes to pass , she must prove herself worthy ."

Tasha paused for a moment , then spoke to Sally . "There is a great risk
involved , Sal . You must pass four tests to satisfy the Emerald . 
According to what I know , I can help the two of you get through these
tests . Do you want to take them ? "

Sally didn't even blink . "Of course . The things we'd learn in there
makes it worthwhile .... "

"Will do , Tash." Sonic piped in .

Tasha spoke to her duplicate . "They accept , on the condition that Ah aid
them ."

"It is agreed . They must pass four tests . Be warned that to date no
one has survived these tests ..... "

With that , the three were enveloped in a blue flash . 

*****

The three reappeared at the end of a long tunnel . Tasha spoke .
" Our legends call this the Trial of Physical Capability . You have to 
defeat a myserious creature ... even I do not know what form this creature 
will take ... "

An ethereal voice floated in . "The Trial of Physical Capability begins ."
A seven-foot tall lion , clad in medieval armor materialized in front of
them , brandishing a rather mean looking sword . The lion suddenly seemed
to distort for a moment , before charging at them .

Tasha brought up her paws and unleashed a bolt of lightning on the lion .
To everyone's shock , the bolt impacted harmlessly against the creature .
The lion slashed his sword at Sonic who deftly stepped out of the way .
Luckily too , for the impact of the sword split the rock behind the 
hedgehog into two . Sonic thought , "Just great ! We can't hurt him , but
he sure can hurt us ... "

Tasha tried other forms of magic , and Sally even took out the small phased
energy pistol she was carrying and fired a few shots , all to no avail .

"It's no use ! Ah can't understand it ... " Tasha was saying .

It was then that Sonic had a brainstorm . He immediately dashed over to
Sally and picked her up . As he did , he yelled to Tasha , "Teleport 
yourself to the other end of the tunnel ." He waited just long enough to
see Tasha disappear in a yellow blaze before picking up speed and leaving 
the lion to eat his dust .

He arrived at the end of the tunnel at the same time Tasha materialized .
They quickly exited from the tunnel out into what seemed to be open
forestland . They could hear the lion roaring as it catched up with them .
They immediately raced behind some dense foliage to hide and watch what the
lion would do . 

They saw him approach the exit , and the moment he stepped out of the 
tunnel , the lion vanished .

Tasha seemed impressed . "How didja know ?" She asked Sonic .

"Call it a hunch . "

The duplicate image of Tasha appeared . "You have succeeded . On to the
next trial ."

*****

The three materialized inside a room with a table and some chairs .
Tasha spoke , "This is the Trial of Intelligence . Ah should handle this .
Questions asked here were meant for the Guardians . "

A bespectacled squirrel appeared , exhibiting the same distortion as they
had witnessed the lion display for a moment . The squirrel spoke .
" The Trial of Intelligence begins . Who will answer ? "

"Ah will . " Tasha answered .

Tasha was all ready for questions concerning Guardians ... but this was
not to be .

The squirrel ordered , "List all prime numbers between 1 and 32767 ."

Tasha gaped for a moment , then answered as best as she could . She did
fine until she reached 100 , then stumbled .

The squirrel's eyes seemed to glow red . "You have 10 seconds before you
fail this trial .... 9 ...."

Sally thought fast , then activated Nicole . "Nicole , compute all prime
numbers between 1 and 32767 and display as holographic output . Nicole
obliged and the holographic screen flickered before taking on it's
signature translucence . Tasha continued , reading off the screen .

The squirrel turned to Sally . "This is not...." , but Sally interrupted .
"You said she was to answer , you never said we couldn't help ."

The squirrel paused , and it's eyes stopped glowing . It spoke . "You
have done well . You have shown intelligence . The second trial is
passed ."

The three dematerialized out of the room .

*****

Sonic , Sally and Tasha appeared at the next trial . Once again , Tasha
filled them in on what was expected . "This is the Trial of Perception .
It is a trial of trust . One of us will see what the trial really is like ,
while the other two see false images . We have to decide who's is the 
one to trust ...."

The ethereal voice floated in . "The trial begins ... " A bright flash , and
then Sally gasped in fear . She was standing on a precipice , overlooking
a deep chasm . She stepped back in fear .

Meanwhile , Sonic was standing beside a large lake , and Tasha could see
a vast green meadow , filled with flowers .

Tasha looked at her companions , and saw Sally looking afraid , which 
really looked silly from Tasha's perspective , as Sally was staring at
a rather beautiful patch of roses . Sonic on the other hand , seemed 
nonchalant .

Tasha asked them what they saw , and they responded . This seemed to be 
the hardest decision they had to make so far . They were all thinking when
Tasha had an idea . She called to the other two . "Pick up a small stone or
some heavy object . " They complied , each managing to find a small rock .
Tasha threw hers directly in front of her , and saw the rock go right 
through the ground . The view was partially blocked by the grass , but
Tasha could distinctly see the same distortion they had witnessed earlier 
occur again , and she made that known to the other two .

Sally threw hers into the chasm , and to her surprise saw the air ripple
into waves as the rock fell . 

Sonic then threw his , and sure enough , he saw the ripples as the
water parted where the rock entered .

Now knowing what was real , they swam across the lake in no time .

The minute they got across , they once again vanished .

*****

They reappeared in the blue cavern they had started at , only this time
right in front of the large blue emerald . 

The Emerald spoke to them , pulsating with light as it did . It spoke
with the same ethereal voice they had heard throughout the trials . 
"You are better than expected . This is the final trial , the Trial of
Illusion . Your question is : Who am I ? You are allowed two chances , as
this is considered very challenging .... "

Tasha immediately spoke up . "It is obvious that you are the Great Emerald ,
origination of the Chaos and Master Emeralds ."

The Emerald pulsed . "Am I now ? Am I the Emerald you think I am ? "

Sally then spoke to the emerald . "You are not an emerald . You are an
illusion . I think you are a mere computer."

Tasha seemed shocked at what Sally said . 

The emerald pulsed , "And what brought you to this conclusion ?"

Sally continued , "First , my computer has registered that there is a 
powerful holographic generator in this cavern , which I believe was used
to create all those trials we faced . The distortion also gave it away .
Then , in the trial of Intelligence , we were asked a question that seemed
like a question only a computer would ask . Need I go on ? Oh ... yes ,
your holographic generator has a misaligned emitter which is causing the
distortion . It's a simple matter to fix it .... " 

Sonic gaped . "You mean you knew all this time ... "
To which she quickly replied ,  "No , I suspected it all the time , 
because of the distortions and all that , but whatever that is was 
blocking Nicole's scans . It's only now , when it's using a large amount
of processing power to keep up the large image of that emerald and the
extra large cavern , that Nicole could punch through the interference ."

Tasha absorbed what Sally was saying . "Then ... the Great Emerald is 
really a myth .... Ah've been hoaxed .... " The truth hit Tasha hard .

The emerald shimmered for a moment , then vanished , along with the
blue cavern , revealing a much smaller cave , with a house-sized 
spacecraft in the center . 

A voice came out of the craft . "Your race is better than we originally
thought , good enough to validate future contact with us ."

Sally understood . "This entire charade .... was simply to gauge whether
we were ready ? Then those scrolls were just hoaxes ... a bait ?"

The craft continued . "The only scroll we placed there was the one
from Earth , the rest were there long before we came .... We had
nothing to do with them . "

Sally questioned . "How did you know so much about the Guardians ?"

To which the voice replied , "When we arrived , we noticed the door with
the emerald crevice , hooked up to a telepathic scanner , presumably for
security identification for whomever had built it . We modified it , and
used it to scan the mind of whomever could open that door ... your Tasha ."

"You said it was already there ?" Tasha spoke up .

"Yes."

"Then , there is a chance .... "Tasha trailed off .

The craft spoke to Sally . "We will meet again . Until then , Sally 
Alicia Acorn . Farewell ."

With that , the vehicle flew up and shimmered for a moment , turning
nearly transparent . Sally presumed they were phasing out so as to get
through the rock . True enough , the craft passed through the roof as
though it were not there .

Trials over , the trio proceeded back to Knothole .

*****

Back in Sally's hut , the scrolls sat side by side each other , awaiting
people to read them .... that is .... all but one . No one noticed the
scroll with no words start pulsating with an eerie glow ....

THE END
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Enjoyed the story ? Write to me at prower@pacific.net.sg !


"Touched by Darkness"  -  A Sonic the Hedgehog Fan Fiction Story 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Written by : Aaron Lye
E-mail : prower@pacific.net.sg
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cast of Characters 
------------------
Tails
Sonic 
Sally
Tasha  -  Aaron Lye
Bunnie
Tayla  -  Aaron Lye
Other characters play minor roles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Timeline : One day after the events in Trials 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sally tossed and turned in her bed , disturbed by whatever it was she was
dreaming .

*Sally was in a cavern facing the multicolored Emerald , and watched it 
fade away slowly . The aged two-tailed fox appeared and spoke in it's
eerie voice . "You are the instrument . The time draws near when he will
fall ... You have failed , Sally Alicia Acorn .... "*

The princess jerked awake , shaking from what the dream represented . Even
with her precautions , somehow she had done something that would cause what
the dreams spoke of ....

Putting on a robe , she walked over to consult Tasha on this recent
event .

*****

The Guardian rabbit took the two steaming mugs out of the replicator and 
handed one to Sally . It wasn't everyday she got a visit in the middle of
the night from the squirrel . 

Sally described in detail what she had dreamt , and Tasha listened intently.
After the princess had finished relating the story , Tasha spoke . "Ta my
knowledge , we have done nothing that could possibly cause such a thing
to happen . You know what Ah think , Sal ? You're just over-worried 
about this whole thin' , and it's causin' ya to have nightmares . Just
calm down , dear . It's probably nothin' . Go back ta bed . "

*****

Sally spent the rest of the night in a dreamless sleep , which was 
fortunate . When morning came , she checked up with the rest who had 
the visions two weeks ago , and when she found out none of them had any
more of those visions , she felt positive that her dream was just due to
stress .

With that out of the way , Sally spent the morning copying the information
on the scrolls they had brought back into Knothole's main database . She
reached over to pick up the last scroll , and upon opening it realized it
was the blank scroll . She set it aside , assuming that the ink had
simply worn off . After all , it was over five thousand years old , and the
oldest of the scrolls they had retrieved .

*****

Tasha knocked on the door to Tails' hut . "Tails , ya ready for today's
lessons ? "
The two-tailed fox looked up at Tasha and asked , "Tasha , do you think
I could take a day off today ? For a long time now , I've been doing
nothing but practice being a Guardian . Angela never let me take a break
from it , and I'd really like some time off . "

Tasha replied willingly , "Sure thing , sugar . Have fun . We'll start
some lessons again tomorrow ."

*****

Sally had just finished typing in the last line of the scrolls into the
database , when she heard a light tap on her door . She turned around
and saw Tails standing there . She greeted the young fox .

"Hi , Tails . No lessons today ?"

"Yeah , Aunt Sal . Tasha's given me the day off . What you doing ? "

"Well , nothing you'd be interested in . I've just finished typing in
some ancient stuff into our computer . We got them from this cavern Sonic
found the other day . " Sally explained .

"You mean you found some ancient items ? Can I see them ? I promise I'll
be careful . " Tails asked .

Sally obliged , and brought Tails over to where she had left the scrolls .
The fox seemed excited about looking at something that old . Sally smiled .
She never knew Tails had an interest in antiques .

Tails pointed to one of the scrolls , "Why's that one blank ? "

To which Sally replied , "It's over five thousand years old , Tails . The
ink must have worn off or something . I put it through a high resolution
scanner to see if there was even a faint trace of what was written there
before , but apparently the equipment's not sensitive enough . "

Suddenly , without warning , Sally heard a loud crash come from another
part of Knothole . It sounded quite a bit like a tree falling , so she
didn't pay much attention to it , until Sonic came speeding up .

"Major problem , Sal . Come take a look ." Sonic spoke quickly . 

Sally turned to Tails . "Tails , you stay here and keep an eye on the
scrolls . They are very valuable , so make sure they don't fly away or 
something . I have to go with Sonic for a moment . "

Sonic looked at what Tails was doing , then recognized the scrolls . 
Sastified , he sped off , followed closely by Sally .

Tails watched them leave , then continued looking at the scrolls . The
blank one in particular caught his attention . Sally had said she could not
tell if there was any residue of the ink that was on the scroll with her
equipment . Maybe he could use his magic to bring the words back ? No 
harm done , he thought , after all , there's nothing Sally could do for the
scroll after all .

Tails closed his eyes , and thought of the Chaos Emerald . He focussed his
mind on the empty scroll and thought of ink , of words .

His paws started glowing blue , and the energy transferred itself to the
scroll . The effect was dazzling and unexpected .

The scroll flared blue briefly , but when Tails opened his eyes , he
saw that there were still no words on the scroll , to his dismay .

There was something strange about the scroll now , the fox noted . It
had started to glow , but strangely it glowed the color black . A shiny
dark black . Tails suddenly felt afraid , and tried to drop the scroll .
But , to his horror , he could not release the scroll . He had no control
over his arms . He saw the blackness flow from the scroll , into his hands
and envelop him . The fox cried out in fear , but no sound emitted from 
his throat .

*****

Tayla sat in her hut , sipping a cup of tea , when all of a sudden , she
felt a cold wind blow . At that same moment , she heard a voice in her mind
. The words that the voice said sent a chill down her spine that felt even
colder than the wind that had just blown past ....

*It has begun....*

*****

Sally stood in the rubble that was once the Reconstruction Hall . Rotor
was examining the remains of the building , while David Prower used his
sensors to scan the area . Bunnie was using a portable scanner of her
own , trying to tell if anyone had been inside during the time this had
happened . A moment later , Bunnie had shoved aside a rather large peice
of roof to reveal a dazed but otherwise unhurt Antoine underneath the mess.
As she took him away to be treated , Rotor walked over to Sally .

"I can't understand it , Sal . The building may have been old , but there
was no way a small wind like that could have blown this building down ...."

David Prower interjected . "I think you're wrong , Rotor . I've finished
scanning the remains , and I've found something interesting . When the
building was first built , the only material available was wood , and the
underground supports were made of wood . A large amount of termites has
apparently been eating through the supports for some time now , thus
causing the structure of the building to weaken . That's how your 
building fell . " David concluded .

It was then that Sally felt a sharp shock inside one of her pockets . She
fumbled around inside the pocket , and fished out Nicole . She dropped the
computer onto the ground with a yelp , and the rest soon saw why . Nicole
had apparently overloaded , and was emitting several small electrical
discharges . 

Sally activated a remote control and ordered Nicole to shut down . The
computer responded , shutting down the main power cells , leaving only
the backup power to operate it's RAM . Sally picked up the small computer ,
and activated the system diagnostics routine . To her shock , she saw that
Nicole was diverting virtually all it's power to the display screen , 
leaving none for the other systems . She shut off the routine , but
Nicole didn't respond when she tried to shut off the display . Just
before it's power supply ran out , a garbled message appeared on the
screen .

*It has happened...*

With a jerk , Sally remembered her dream . It was happening ...

*Sally is standing in what once was the Reconstruction Hall , and is now
a mass of rubble . She is holding Nicole , who has a message displayed on
it's screen . "It will happen..."
A figure appears in front of her . It is Angela , cloaked in white . 
She spoke . "When it does , you will know . You will know that the time 
has come .... you must beware ... "....*

That section of her dream had just been played out in reality in front
of her . It had already happened . What they tried to avoid had come to
pass . Tails was now in grave danger ....

Sonic seemed to realize it too , as he sped back to Sally's hut .

*****

Sonic and Sally entered the hut to find it empty . The place had been
overturned , and five scrolls lay scattered around the hut . Sally quickly
looked for the missing scroll , only to find it gone .

It had happened exactly as the vision had said . She was the instrument .
The instrument of Tails' downfall .... She had brought those scrolls 
back with her ... she had let him look after them alone .... she was
the instrument ....

Sonic , too , realized his role in this . He remembered the question the
aged fox in the dream had asked him . * " Why ? Why do you let him fall ? "*
it had said . Now he knew . He had seen Tails with the scrolls and had 
left him alone , not realizing the true danger ....

Sally looked at Sonic . Their visions had come to pass . At that moment ,
Tasha rushed hurriedly in and said one sentence .

"We've made a mistake..."

*****

Tasha remembered Tayla's vision too . As she played it over in her mind ,
she felt growingly sure that somehow , part of that dream , was directed
at her . Matthew Prower had spoken to both of them , saying that one of 
them was the link ... and Tasha was sure he meant her .... somehow she
was destined to save Tails .... she was the link ...

Tasha suddenly remembered something else . The dream had also said that
Tayla and Bunnie would fall victim . Tails .... or whatever he had
become would do something to the two of them . Alarmed , the Guardian
called to Sonic and Sally to follow her and they rushed to Bunnie's hut .

The hut was a disaster . Furniture was strewn about and parts of the
roof had caved in . Knowing they were too late , the trio hurried over
to the hut which Tayla shared with Tasha .

*****

The sight they saw there shocked the group . The two rabbits were suspended
in mid-air by something invisible , and they saw Tails standing in front
of them . Or at least , something that looked like Tails . The two-tailed
fox's outward appearance was identical , up to the color of his fur and 
such . It was however , the look on his face and his voice that let them
know that this was not Tails .

The creature spoke , in a voice that Sonic and Sally knew as the dark voice
that the dream Tails had used . "Victims....you are the first in a line of
many..." He was speaking to Bunnie and Tayla .

Suddenly , the creature once known as Tails cried out in pain for a
moment , and the observing trio saw that Tayla was staring at the fox .
Without warning , the fox regained his composure , even while Tayla was
still bearing down on him , and lashed out with a black wave of energy
that twirled around the telepath . The wave seemed to swirl around her ,
and warped her body . Tayla cried out in pain at the trauma she was 
forced to endure , and slumped into unconciousness .

Tasha then brought her magic to bear , but even before she could unleash
a spell , the creature inhabiting Tails turned and unleashed a similar
black wave at Tasha . It entwined around her in a similar fashion , but
she fought back with her own magic . Red energy met black and the two
warred . However , Tasha was obviously outmatched . The creature spoke .
"Fool Guardian .... I was practicing this art long before you were born ...
The Control Emeralds may control all the present emeralds , but they never
controlled one .... "

Tasha's eyes seemed to widen in recognition , but she was still valiantly
trying to hold out against the onslaught of the black energy .

Sally took out her phased energy pistol and fired a shot at the creature ,
hoping to stun it or something . The shot impacted with Tails' body and
the startled creature stumbled back for a moment , long enough for Tasha
to break free . 

Using the creature's momentary state of confusion , Tasha cast a quick
spell . A blue aura surrounded Sonic and Sally . Tasha explained , 
" Ah have to go get something . This aura will keep you relatively safe 
from him for a while ." With that , Tasha disappeared .

True enough , the blue aura kept the two of them safe from the black
energy . Seeing that he was not doing any good , the fox turned back to
Bunnie . 

The rabbit moaned softly , "Why Tails ? Why are you doing this ?"

The creature blinked , then suddenly , the grim visage disappeared ,
replaced with the more familiar look of Miles Tails Prower . He spoke .
"Bunnie , I....I'm not doin...doing this ...I...cannot....he...help this
...help..me.."Tails finished , before the creature once again took 
control of Tails' body .

A sense of deja vu over the words "Help me" washed over Sonic and Sally .
How often had they heard that in the visions ? 

It was then that Sally had a brainstorm . "Sonic , try to appeal to 
Tails . Tell him to fight the creature ."

The two of them started talking , hoping to get through to Tails . It seemed
to have some effect , as the creature seemed to be fighting to keep
control . "

As the creature warred internally , five blazes of yellow light appeared
next to Sonic and Sally , and they saw Tasha with four other Guardians .

Tasha addressed the creature on Tails . "We thought we were rid of you ,
Jacer , but it seems we were mistaken . This time however , we will be
more careful..."

The creature seemed defiant , even while trying to keep control of the
body . "No...your emeralds never controlled mine...."

Tasha replied smugly . "We know." And out of her cloak , she pulled out
a large five-sided sparkling blue sapphire , with a depression engraved in
each facet of the jewel .

She spoke again , "Remember the Sapphire of Focus ? If not...." She motioned
to one of the other Guardians , then continued ," maybe you remember this.."

The Guardian took out a green emerald , as Tasha spoke , "The Emerald of
Light..." and the Guardian inserted it into one of the depressions .

The creature in Tails looked horrified , "NO!!"

Tasha continued , "The Emerald of Power..." and an orange emerald was
inserted . 

"The Emerald of Peace...." a blue emerald went in .

"The Emerald of Longevity..." a pink emerald was placed .

"and the Emerald of Control." Tasha then inserted her own red emerald
into the remaining slot .

The sapphire hummed softly , and started shining brightly . A second
later , a bright blue wave of energy was unleashed from the gem , and
headed for the creature in Tails .

The creature in Tails yelled , and lashed out with the black energy ,
which was engulfed by the blue wave only seconds before it impacted with
the creature . Tails' body writhed as if in agony as the wave enveloped
him . Before long , the onlookers saw a black cloud come out of Tails 
and form into a scroll shaped object . The wave from the sapphire left
Tails' body and followed the scroll , and Tails dropped to the ground .
The wave of blue intensified , and the scroll was turned to ashes ...

The wave shut off , and the Guardians retrieved their respective
emeralds before leaving , taking the sapphire from Tasha as they left .
Tasha quickly went to tend to Bunnie and Tayla , and was happy to note that
their injuries were not as serious as she had feared . Sally was immediately
beside Tails , and the first thing the fox got upon regaining conciousness
was a big hug from Sally and a pat on the back from Sonic .

*****

Tasha was inside Sally's hut with the owner of the hut , Sonic and Tails .
"His name was Jacer . He was one of the first few Guardians . He controlled
the most dangerous emerald of all ... the Emerald of Anger . It was meant
to help control evil-doing on Mobius by helping to control the emotion of 
anger  , but somehow it warped the Guardian of the Emerald instead to 
become evil . You could say that the emerald backfired on us , causing 
Jacer to become disenchanted with the Guardian Council . He took it out on 
several Guardians , severely injuring them , before we managed to stop him
with the Sapphire . It turned him into a scroll ... the reason Ah didn't
recognize it was bacause the ink indicating what it was had faded...
and he was meant to go into our high security archives as a reminder
to future generations of the mistakes their ancestors had made . He somehow
managed to escape from the archives .... All he needed was a signal that
a suitable host was available ... that signal was Guardian magic ... which
Ah believe Tails tried to use to return the ink to the scroll ... and
well .. you know the rest."

Sally nodded in understanding , as did Tails . Sonic yawned . For all her
good points , Tasha sure knew how to drone on and on....

*****

That night , Sally , Sonic , Bunnie , Tayla and Tasha slept peacefully .

*He/She was in a cavern , facing a multicolored emerald , watching it
slowly gain back it's bright color . An aged two-tailed fox appears next
to the emerald , and speaks in a normal voice .

"He is safe....."*

The five smiled simultaneously . All was once again fine ...

THE END ... AT LEAST FOR NOW !
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Enjoyed the story ? Let me know at prower@pacific.net.sg !
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