Visitation Rights

I sat on the surface of the planet. It was hard, rough, and the ground crumbled ‘neath my feet, when I walked.

The air smelled...toxic. Unbreathable...noxious fumes emanating from fissures in the land.

I’ve seen the oceans, they’re filled and polluted with oil...nothing lives in it. Nothing has ever lived in it for years.

I run through the forest, through the trees, I see the remains of a small community.. there are many huts laying about.

Scanning the ruins, I caught a blip. Then two...no, three...oh, five blips! I walk towards a medium-sized hut, I’m hearing people talk inside...

The last of the Freedom Fighters were sitting around a table, reminising about their fighting days, so long ago.

“Just think guys! Almost 5 decades ago, we were fighting Ro’but’nik!”

Sonic laughed loudly, then started to cough, revealing just how old he has become.

“I can’t believe we’ve got nothing do to anymore...”

Sally glanced over at him, then at her friends: Antoine, Tails, and Knuckles, they all were showing great signs of aging, Sonic’s being the most. He’s been sick for quite some while now.

Knuckles tilted his hoary head towards the door, he heard somebody moving outside. Then he lifted his aged, creaky body out of his chair, and started to walk towards the door, that was now slightly ajar.

Tails watched him, as he plodded to the door, his gloveless hands shaking. He was mumbling to himself as he walked.

“Who in the-the world is out there at-at this time of night?”

Knuckles reached out and opened the door...there was an odd Mobian at it...

“Who are you?” he asked...

I stand at the door, seeing a red echidna standing inside of it...he appears to be very old, he’s leaning heavily on a cane, and his eyebrows are as white as the ring around his neck.

“You-You’re a Guardian, arn’t you?” I whispered, astonished in my aussie voice...

A large smile then crossed through his wrinkled features.

“Yes. I am-or- I was at least...many years ago...my Grand-daughter now is the guardian...my I’ve had many adventures back then...”

An old ground squirrel came up behind him and tapped him on his shoulder, cutting of his little speech.

She motioned for me to come inside out of the winter’s harshness. I followed her to the round table in the middle of the room, and she handed me a cup of hot cocoa.

I sat sipping the sweet, chocolate drink, while she watched me. Neither of us spoke, but we studied the other intently.

Then after the longest time, she finally spoke to me...

“Why are you here? And who are you?”

I then stood up, and before I could answer her, an elderly blue hedgehog came up and looked me over, cautiously.

He touched my long black and white tail, then with his finger, he traced the white stripe up to my head, whereupon a great shock of white hair sat, curled up into an intricate bun.

The old man drew back his hand sharply and hissed at me.

“Geoffrey! But you-you’re 80! 80 years old! You look too young to be 80!”

I stared at him, incredouslely...

”80. You think I’m...”

I giggled a bit. Then I laughed right out loud.

“You think I’m Geoffrey? Oh, Goddess! I’m only 22, but my father is Geoffrey St. John, maybe that’s why you think I’m him. But I promise you old man, I’m not him, I’m his daughter, Delia.”

I smiled at him, and pulled out a computer, there I acessed a file of which showed the old man running. As he was much younger, of course.

My eyes went large...my tail went stright out in fear.

“You-You’re Sonic the Hedgehog arn’t you!”

I backed up, and pressed against the wall,

‘The door!’ I thought, franticially. ‘NO! The old fox...he’s in front of it! ... The window...no...they know why I’ve come...to get THEM...’

I grabbed the mug, and broke the top off of it. It was sharp and jagged, ready to cut.

“Stay-Keep away from me!” I screamed loudly at them. “I said keep away from me! KEEP AWAY!”

My heart rate soared, I was seeing double...they were starting to come closer...and closer, with their claws extended, and blood-shot eyes, hungry for flesh.

Sally stood beside the table, watching Delia act like the crazy person that she is.

“S-Sonic? Is she alright? Let’s get her to try to lay down on the couch here.”

The squirrel’s starting to come towards me again...but she’s stopped again, and she speaks to the old man hedgehog.

‘D-Delia, is smelling alright. Let’s get her to lay down on the table here!’ She says maliciously.

I’m running to the wall, clawing furiously at it.

‘I CAN’T GET AWAY! I CAN’T...I’M TRAPPED!’

“NOOOOOOOO!” I yell, tourted that I cannot get away from my consipators...the one’s that wish me harm and pain. I fall to the floor, crying and sobbing uncontrobabbly now...

“WHY? Just shoot me and get it over with! SHOOT ME!”

I lunge out at the old lady, crying...and I look at her. Her face blends out into brown and gray nothingness...swimming around in my consiousness.

I cannot see anything straight now, my tears are blurring my vision. The last thing I saw...was a light hand, ungloved, blue. Resting on my shoulder, patting me, trying to get me to calm down.

The -HEDGEHOG’S- hand was upon me now. He would surely kill me for what I’ve done...but why? I pull my right hand up to my head...it’s my crossbow, and it’s loaded now too.

TWANG, SHIKT

The old lady looks down at the girl’s body...there is a pool, of red, warm blood spurting from her head. It’s from where the crossbow hit her. In the temple of her forehead.

“Why did she do that? Why? ... I don’t understand this girl Sonic. Not one bit. Should we bury her? Like the others?”

He says nothing, but shakes his head in approval at this.

The old guard, he dosn’t like to be digging their graves, but he does it anyway. Why do all these young people die, when they come to see them? Why? He has dug out at least 18 graves for these kind of cases now. They come, eat or drink something with them, claim they are someone’s daughter or son, then they go frightened...crazy is a better word for it. They go insane, and end up killing themselves, while threatening to kill them as well. And then he comes out and digs their grave. There is a great plot of land that he works with...it was where Dulcy used to come down when she flew them back and forth to Robotroplis.

Ahh...such nice dreams, those seemed to be. But he has to keep on his mind the task at hand. He continutes to dig, deeply and throughly, plowing through the dirt, hauling loads of it away from the site.

“Why must I be doing all zees work? I am nearly 70...I should not be doing zees work. Non! I will not be doing any more of zees work!”

He stands back, looking at the grave that he is digging...and then he looks over at the young skunk, who killed herself not ten hours earlier.

“Why do zey do zis? To zemselves non less...it is verre crazzie why zay do zis. We must be finding zome answers to zis puzzling thing. I shall ask zee Queen about it! Zat’s what I’ll do!”

I stir awake...the bow only hit me...grazed me by my temple. But it ripped through the first few layers of skin, enough to be seen as going through it. ‘Good. I want to be able to report back on their status to him. He likes it when I give him a full report...uh-oh. The guard’s coming back, need to get still again.’

They put the skunk in her grave, with a solemn service for her. It was nothing much actually, just a few words, and a wish that her soul will go up to heaven or the other place undistrurbed. She was lowered into her grave, with Antoine’s and Tails’ help. Then Sally and Sonic laid a white sheet over her lifeless body, and they said the few words for her. And then they left her to rest, and go to the great beyond on her own...The girl hauled herself out of the grave, shaking off the dust, and inlaid dirt from her fur.

“Man! That was horrendous! I’m never faux-killing myself again! Never in all my life...”

She stopped, she saw that same old echinda...he was standing by the door, looking out into the night; watching the stars, she assumed, by the way his muzzle was pointed skyward.

“Blast! I don’t want to give the old man a heart attack! ... What to do now? Sniv said to go around the back way of the huts, they’ll never think to look there. And to cover the grave back up. And...I don’t want to kill the poor bugger. He’s...He’s just in my way now.”

She closes her eyes for a moment, she has to follow what Snively told her to do. It was very harsh rules that she followed...but she -has- to follow them, by the letter.

Tails was out walking around, trying to keep himself busy. He, along with everyone else was wondering where Knuckles was...maybe he went back up to Angel Island.

“Hmm? What’s this here...”

Tails had found Knuckle’s body. He was under a pile of leaves, cut across the throat, rough and jagged. It had killed him instantly, or so he thought. Knuckles moved his hand weakly, he had lost so much blood by that time. And with the Master Emerald gone...

They buried Knuckles later that day, they tried to save him, but he was a lost cause already. He said it was fine, and that he knew it was his time. He knew that already...he knew that before they all had met the young skunk. Sonic knew as well, but he had told no one about it; thinking Knuckles was pulling his leg when he had told him.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone, Sonic? Why not tell me about things like that, we could have prevented it from happening, you know that very well...” Sally was asking him later that night, before they went to bed.

“I know that Sal, I should have. But...it sounded so odd when he told me about it.”

“What did he say? I’d like to know.”

“Well...What he said was this.”

‘I’m going to die by the hands of our enemy...I’m not sure when. But it will happen when I know that Angel Island is safe, and so are you. When I am no longer needed, this is when it happens. When I am gone, all will be right with the world, and all will be reunited together.’

“Like I said Sally, that’s really weird isn’t it? I still don’t know what he meant by it...it makes no sense.”

Even later that night, about 12 midnight, I came back to headquarters.

‘I hope Sniv’s there...I don’t want to lay outside again tonight... That was horrible. Sleeping under the stars. Supposed to be nice when it’s nothing but torture for me.’

I rubbed my head, and walked inside, glad that the doors opened of their own accord, meaning he was in for the night. I walked past many Robians, and robotic clones of the Freedom Fighters, and of the Chaotix. I walked past Incubation rooms, cells with Mobians inside of them, wailing out as usual, I paid them no heed. I walked past the room, with the Freedom Fighter, called Uncle Chuck, inside of it...he was digitized and placed into a computer program, Snively uses him to crank out Port-O-Bot Robotisizers, and to infiltrate what’s left of both organizations headquarters.

“Snively! Where are you?”

“I am in here, my sweet darling...”

I smiled when I heard his voice, I hated him so. But if I showed anything but adoration for him, he’ll beat me till I can’t stand. So I put a genuine, yet fake smile on my face, and went in to meet ‘My Darling’.

Snively was an old man now. No hair whatsoever, his small figure made even smaller by his bowed shoulders, and his back is so very weak. He shuffles when he walks, and he takes great care not to scream a lot...It weakens what left of his vocal cords.

He gives me a great smile when I enter, not a “I’m happy to see you smile”, but a “Come here you mangy dog, I love you so much that I want to beat you into pulp” kind of smile.

I smile back at him, and I lean over and give him a hug, still smiling that demented smile. I fancy the thought of crushing him while hugging him. It’s so easy...just an extra squeeze here and there...and ‘poof’ he’s gone! Dead, oh so Dead!

I think about it, and I ponder, what will happen if I do that? I go ahead and do it anyway. I lean over and give him another hug, and I squeeze so very hard.

SNAP

“Heh-heh...goodnight, Snively. Goodnight...forever.”