Delphine and all other characters not otherwise mentioned are copyright Delphine Kiminsu. Jared Matte is copyright himself. Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails are copyright SEGA Enterprises LTD. Bunnie Rabbot is copyright Archie Comics Publications INC. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Back Home Running Part 8 --Delphine Kiminsu lenore stared intently at the monitors, willing the figure on the screen to move. He stayed still and quiet, although Elenore had the strangest feeling that he was very aware of the situation. She switched off the monitors, quickly uploaded a virus that would shut down the camera and would probably take Peter at least an hour to fix, and left the control room. Moments later a boy with crimson red eyes walked into the room, removed the virus in the blink of an eye, and turned the monitor back on. Elenore walked into the small, unfurnished steel room, and looked at the figure lying on the floor. She glanced up at the camera. She knew it was not working, but she was nervous. "Hello?" she asked quietly. The figure slightly moved his head in her direction, but said nothing. "Are you all right?" "Hmph," was the only reply. She sighed. "Please, talk to me... I... I don't know how to..." She struggled with herself, desperatly looking for a way to make sense of what she was doing. Spying was one thing. Getting caught at it was totally different. The figure sat up and looked at her. "You got somethin' to say to me?" "Mr. Hedg--" "Cut the act, use my real name." She blinked. "Okay... Sonic..." She sighed. "I don't even know what to say. I... I want to get you out of here..." Sonic looked up at her. "Yeah, right. You're trying to get me to tell you where Knothole is." "I..." She choked up, completely unsure of what to say. "If you really want to help, then untie me and unlock the doors." Elenore sighed. "I can't do tha--" "Then just leave." Elenore looked down. "I'm sorry." She stood up and walked to the door. She looked over her shoulder at Sonic, a look of sorrow on her face. "I wish I could help." "Uh-huh." Elenore closed the door behind her and sighed. "What do I do... what do I do..." "Elenore Starga?" She looked up. A young man, dressed in light tanish, slightly worn clothing, walked up to her. "Are you Elenore Starga?" "Yes. What is it?" "Related to... Eric Starga?" She blinked. "Who are you?" "I know why you're here. It's okay, I'm on your side." His crimson eyes scanned the area. "We cannot talk here. Come with me." He turned on his heal and walked down the hall. She hesitated, then confidently followed him. "I don't believe we're walking the whole way. We have a Pegasus. We don't NEED to walk." "We're not walking the WHOLE way, just a part of it." "You think it's EASY to fly? It's the equivalent of a human doing the fifty-yard dash or something, only constant." "You get used to it, though," Eva said quietly. Comet glanced at her. "Quiet. We're trying to pick on him," Comet answered with a wink. "You just said that out loud," Delphine laughed. "Oops. Sorry." "Women..." "Excuse me?" Delphine put her hands on her hips. "Did I say that out loud?" Jared asked. "Uh-huh." "Eh heh heh, whoops." "Whoops? Hmph!" Delphine crossed her arms in mock anger. "I'm only kidding," Jared said with a grin. "Oh yeah? Well I'm not!" She said with a smirk, showing that she was joking. Eva whispered into Comet's ear, "Are they dating?" "Who, Del and Jared?" Comet said with a quiet laugh. "I wouldn't call it that. They definitely like each other, and that's all I can say." Eva nodded. When Alconer had resupplied the four of them, Eva had insisted she go with them -- with Comet. Comet had instantly agreed, telling Delphine that Eva needed to come with them. After a moment's debate, she had said yes. Eva has nothing but the clothes she was wearing. She was wearing black boots, blackish-gray pants, a shirt and cloak(clasped around her neck with a black jewel) of the same color. Her hair was as black as her skin. She raised her eyes from the ground, and looked at Delphine, envying the colors. A light green jacket that went a little below her knees, white shirt, blue jeans -- compared to Eva's drab gray and black -- was rather an eye opener. She sighed, lowered her gaze to the ground, and hid her hands in her sleeves, using the cloak like a kimono. Dimitria walked on the other side of Comet, absorbed in her own thoughts. She had hardly spoken a word since they had parted ways with Martinus and Eric. Eric Starga Dimitria thought with a sigh. There was no telling how old he really was, or how much he really knew... Martinus was clueless, as he usually was about these things. What was Eric's true agenda? *Eric knows more than he lets on, but he's on our side* came a 'voice' Dimitria wasn't familiar with. *Jared?* *yeah... sorry, I'm still experimenting with this* *that's all right* She looked up, and took note that he wasn't looking at her. Whatever information he had, he was telling her, and only her. *what do you mean?* *I caught him talking to someone by radio or something the night before we left. he has someone spying on Peter* *why?!* *does it matter? he's an enemy of Peter's, which makes him our ally* *everyone has their own agenda... but, perhaps you're right* Dimitria glanced at Comet. She seemed to be talking to Eva. *have you any idea what Eva and Comet talked about back there? Eva seems... different, in a way. I don't know how to put it* *I think I know what you mean. but I don't know what they said* Jared glanced at Delphine. She seemed to be deep in her own thoughts. Comet glanced at Delphine. *I didn't say it made a lot of sense. this is just what Eva told me* *so you're from a different universe, and when you were born, some people sent you here because you were the last living white pegasus, and there are people who want you dead because pegasus hide is valuable in some Universe in another Dimension? what exactly have you two been smoking?* *it's the truth,* Eva told her. *that is what has happened back on Duran. Comet may be the last living white Pegasus in all of Creation* *kinda scary* Comet said. *then why is Eva here?* *I was brought here because now they've started on the black pegasus' . we're not as valuable, but... somehow I ended up here, and Alconer changed me into a human to protect me. there is no possible way for me to return to my true form.* She sighed. *but, I can help protect Comet if they ever find her* *it seems to me that someone doesn't want pegasus' around* Delphine said, privately, to Comet. *we do have certain powers* Comet said uneasily. Delphine glanced back at her. "None too surprising," she murmured to herself. "Hm?" Jared asked. Delphine looked at him. "Oh... nothing. Just talking to myself." "...okay." He shrugged and looked forward again. Delphine sighed and cast her eyes downward losing herself in her thoughts. "You know, we've all been far too quiet since we left," Comet said. "I think we need a conversation." "I've had enough conversation for now," Delphine said quietly. Comet snorted. "Perhaps we should rest. We have been walking for quite a while," Dimitria added. "She's right," Jared said. Delphine nodded. "Okay, we'll rest for a while." The five of them stopped under a tree. Delphine dropped her pack onto the ground, then sat next to it, took out a book, and started reading. Dimitria took her cloak of, and, using it as a pillow, lay down under the tree. Comet shook her head. "Tsk. Shouldn't we eat or something?" Jared smirked, took off the pack Alconer had given him, and opened it. "I don't know what the heck's in here, but you're welcome to it." Comet pay down in front of the pack and nosed around. "Hm... I smell... ick, meat... lettuce too... must be sandwiches. Yuck. ...oranges... I can't get through the skin, nope... ah-ha, apples! There are apples in here. Could someone get one out for me?" Eva sat across from her and took an apple out. "Thank you." Eva took out an orange for herself, carefully peeling it. Jared shook his head, then went over and sat next to Delphine. She was too absorbed in the book to notice, but he didn't mind too much. "Delphine," Dimitria called. Delphine looked up out of her book. "What is it?" "How long would you say it would take to get back to Knothole?" "... a little bit more than two weeks, I'd think. But that's entirely on foot." Dimitria nodded. A laugh escaped her. "What is it?" Dimitria pointed up at a cloud. "It's a rabbit." Delphine looked up. "It looks more like a fox." "It's a rabbit." "No, it's a fox." "I was cloud watching before you were born. It's a rabbit." "Actually, it looks more like a monkey," Jared interrupted. Delphine glanced at him, then looked up. "A what?!" Dimitria asked with laugh. "Actually, it does. No, it, really does." "What in hell are you three talking about?" Comet asked. "Important things," Delphine said. "Really important things," Jared added. "Really, incredibly, terribly important things," Dimitria finished. Comet rolled her eyes. "Okay, whatever. Aren't any of you hungry?" "Not particularly," Dimitria told her. Delphine and Jared both shook their head. "Just don't go eating all of it," Delphine said. "We have a ways to go and we don't know how often we'll come upon food." "If worse comes to worse, I'll just eat the grass," Comet said. "But it has to be healthy grass. Unhealthy grass tastes like crap." "... got grass?" Jared murmured to himself. Dimitria chuckled. "And how do you know what crap tastes like, Comet?" Delphine asked with a smirk. "It's just an educated guess," Comet sneaked her way around it. "Oh, sure. "Quiet before I throw something at you." "You don't have any hands." "I'll make Eva do it for me." "She wouldn't do that. Right, Eva?" Eva looked at her. "Well..." Delphine grinned. "Oh fine." She looked over at Jared, who was amusing himself by looking through her books. "What are you doing?" "Hey, don't worry about it. I can't read any of them... oooh, except THIS one. 'Delphine's private journal, keep out!'." "Give that back!" Jared held it just out of reach. "Page one. 'Today Comet and I--" "JARED!" She leapt across him and grabbed the book, ultimately ending up on him. "I knew I'd get you in my lap sooner or later." "You jerk!" She lightly punched his chest and pushed herself away. "Hmph." "You know, you're going to have to teach me to read Atlantian soon, or I'm going to have to entertain myself with your diary." "It's a journal. And you're not getting anywhere NEAR it." She put it back in her pack, along with the other books, and closed it. "No touching." "No swimming, no fishing?" She blinked. "What?" "There's this pond in my old town that was so polluted there was a 'No swimming No fishing' on it." "You're a nut." "And proud of it." Dimitria shook her head at them and closed her eyes. "We should get going in a minute anyway. We have a long way to go." "You're telling me," Comet muttered. "So, we is it that is so important we can't talk out in the open?" The boy stayed in the shadows. "Kaserine is coming." Elenore blinked. "Who?" "Kaserine, the Detrimental... you do not know of her?" "No. Who is she? Why is she coming?" "She is coming to try and create an alliance with Peter. You have to keep that from happening." "Who IS she?" "Elenore..." He stepped out of the shadows, showing his face. "You..." she gasped. "Please, just make sure he doesn't ally with her. And... be careful." "I, I will." He walked past her and out the door. She leaned against the wall and hugged herself. "What am I going to do..." She stood up and walked up several flights of stairs, to the top of the building. She walked over to the edge and looked down. Peter had been attempting to cut down on the pollution; he was starting to use some sort of power source unknown to her, and possibly unknown to the planet. Elenore sighed. She knew that he wasn't purely evil, just a little confused. He had had a horrible childhood, among crooks, druggies, and the homeless. He hadn't once in his life felt the touch of a compassionate human hand, or a comforting voice. No one had ever loved him. How could one be capable of love if one did not know what it was? Elenore wanted to change that. She wanted to change the way things were; to change him. Eric had sent her there to spy -- but maybe, she could do a little bit more. "Elenore?" She looked over her shoulder, and smiled. "Hi." "What are you doing up here?" Peter asked her. "I just needed somewhere to think, that's all. What is it?" "There's someone I want you to meet. She's agreed to help us in this war in return for sanctuary." what kind of person would want sanctuary with us? wouldn't they go to the Freedom Fighters? Elenore thought. She plastered a smile on her face. "All right, where is she?" "I'll show you." Elenore followed him down to the Control Room. In front of her stood a woman standing at about six feet. She was wearing loose, white, silk clothing. White leather boots. Her silvery-white hair was tied back, put several strands refused to stay in their place, and she had bangs. "Elenore, this is Kaserine, our newest ally." Elenore felt a cold, hard lump in her stomach. But she forced a smile on her face. "Pleased to meet you," she said as pleasantly as she could muster. Had she not spent all those hours training herself to control her emotions... she was not sure what she would have done. "Of course," Kaserine said with a pleasant, albeit chilling smile. Peter started talking about what they would do in the near future, and Elenore let half of her mind drift, while the other half paid close attention to what Peter was saying. She would need to know what was going to happen. He had some and warned her, she had to give him that. But he had been too late. Not the first time that had happened. She sighed as she remembered Leila. She had been her friend, and his... girl friend. Elenore had always been jealous, but she had never wanted THAT to happen... She mentally waved it away. There wasn't much time to think about the past. "...therefore ridding us of the Pure." the Pure? "They will not get in my way, not this time." "This time? They haven't been alive very long..." Peter asked. "Hmph. Their ancestors, then. They were also Pure. This new generation has the same power of the others, but they haven't the knowledge, the wisdom, and ultimately the strength. I will easily remove them." I wonder... is she talking about the Kiminsu girl? "Good. VERY good." "Pssst!" Delphine looked up. Eva, Dimitria and Comet were asleep. It was night-time, three days since they had left Alconer. Jared was nowhere in sight. "Del! C'mere." Delphine put the book down and walked into the surrounding woods, towards the voice. A hand grabbed her arm. "That'd better be you, Jared." "It is. You wanna go for a walk?" She looked up. It was a clear, bright night; the full moon was out, and every star sparkled brightly. "Sure." They started waking around the woods, silently, afraid to disturb the peaceful silence of the forest. Night insects chirped constantly. Nocturnal birds hooted every once in awhile. "Jared?" "Yeah?" "Do you need to talk?" "I... yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I... I don't know. Things are just..." "Confusing. I know. I don't know what to think of all this. I wish we had stayed at H'mblesh longer. There may have been more information there." "Not that they would know too much about it," Jared said with a smirk. Delphine smiled. "Speaking of which... I really should start teaching you the language. It's actually simple, once you get the hang of it." "Well, we should go back..." They were facing each other. "Yeah, we should. I could teach you the basics before we go to sleep." They stepped closer to each other. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea..." They kissed. "C'mon, sleepy heads. You've gotta wake up. Because if you don't, we'll leave you here. And then you'll be all alone, with just the two of you... no, wait, they'd like that." "I heard that," came a muffled reply. Delphine turned over onto her back. "You can wait five minutes." "You went to bed the same time we did last night. You should have been up at the same time as everyone else. What did you do las- never mind, I don't wanna know." "COMET!" Delphine jumped up and grabbed Comet's head. "Get those sick thoughts out of your head!" Comet giggled. "Gee Del, why are you so mad? I don't understand." "I oughta... oh, you!" Delphine pushed her away and went to pick her bag up. "We stayed up so I could teach him a little bit of the Atlantian language, okay?" "Okay, okay. Heh, but it was funny, wasn't it?" "No." Delphine went and shook Jared. "Hey, it's time to go. You awake?" She heard a sigh. "And just when it was getting good." He sat up. "Just gimme a minute to wake up." She smiled and stood up. Elenore sat in front of the monitors, staring at the one that showed Sonic. He was still being held captive, still alive. She wasn't entirely sure what their plan for him was. They wanted to send him to Earth -- Earth! -- but she didn't know why. Or how. Maybe they had an APT, -- Advanced Portal Transporter -- but there was absolutely no way to be sure. Kaserine. A Detrimental. So? What was the importance of her being a Detrimental? What did it mean? It was so confusing. Nothing made sense. "Elenore?" She jumped, then looked over her shoulder. Kaserine walked into the room. "I just came to see if there were any changes in his attitude." She gestured towards the monitor showing Sonic. "No, he's just been lying there, like he has since we captured him." "How very odd." Kaserine sat in a seat next to Elenore. "One would think he would have given in to us now." "Yes," was all Elenore could think of to say. She had suddenly remembered what the Detrimental were capable of. "You are afraid of me." "I know what you are." Kaserine nodded. "Do no worry. I am not here for you." "...what do you want with Peter?" "We each have our own agenda. I know not of yours, and you know not of mine; we are even." Elenore blinked. Did Kaserine know what she was doing here? Or was she only avoiding the question? "Are you going to hurt him?" Elenore asked quietly. "I wouldn't dream of it. As a matter of fact, I need him. He is vital towards my cause." "I see." "Do not get in my way, Elenore. The results would be... disastrous. For you... and your brother." Elenore's eyes widened, and she turned to stare at Kaserine. Kaserine smiled and winked. "Just a bit of advice. Well, I have business to attend to. Shall I see you later?" With that, she walked out of the room. Elenore sat back in her chair, and stared at the monitors. "Oh my God. What am I going to do?" A week and a half passed, and on schedule, Delphine and her friends came upon Knothole -- or pretty close to it. "What are you going to do when we get there?" "I suppose I'll have to patch things up with Sonic. He should be over himself by now." By now Jared had an admirable grasp on the Atlantian language. Dimitria had told Delphine everything she knew about the Royalty, and Delphine had started teaching Dimitria the Atlantian language. Eva and Comet had an agreement between each other that the other three were not aware of. They were not expecting what was to happen next. Delphine looked up ahead. "I thought I heard someone call..." "Hey! Del!" Devon saw them from the top of a hill. "Guys!" He ran down, being careful not to trip. "We're back. Didja miss us?" "You wouldn't believe. We have a problem." Delphine furrowed her brow. "What's wrong." "Peter's captured Sonic, and we haven't been able to get him back. People are starting to lay blame." He swallowed. "On who," Delphine said quietly, not even really asking, not even needing to ask. "You." "What?!" Jared exclaimed in outrage. Devon shook his head, and removed his sun-glasses. "Oh man, not just Del. You, me, and Lisa, too. Because we're humans." "What in hell?! What does that have to do with anything?!" "It has everything to do with it," Delphine said quietly. "Devon, we have to get away from here, before things get violent. Where's Lisa?" "She's in the lookout, waiting for me. I... I don't know what to do," he admitted. "It's all right, Devon. We'll take care of things. Come, Delphine." Delphine nodded at Dimitria. "I don't suppose I can get you guys to stay here?" "Hell, no!" Comet said. Delphine grinned. "All right. This could get dangerous real fast, so be careful." The six of them ran to the lookout. "Lisa, I... LISA!" Devon ran forward, pulling out a gun. A pig and a silver hair fox had attacked her. She was lying on the ground, bleeding. They stood over her, coming in for the kill. "LEAVE HER ALONE!" Devon shot into the air, scaring them into running. He ran over to Lisa and knelt beside her. The others ran up, staring at the scene. "Devon..." she sobbed. He pulled her body up so she could rest her head on his shoulder. "It's okay." It was all he could think of to say. "We have to get out of here. We really, really have to get out of here." "Don't panic. I want to find out exactly what's going on." Delphine turned to Dimitria. "Dimi, take Devon and Lisa to your hut. Comet, you and Eva go too. I need to see this for myself... will you come with me, Jared?" He nodded. "Please be careful, you two," Dimitria said. Delphine nodded, and the two ran into the woods towards Knothole. Dimitria touched her finger to her forehead. "Please God, protect them," she prayed in a whisper. Then she turned to Devon. "Pick her up and follow me. She will be okay." Devon nodded and obliged. Comet and Eva followed as well. "Oh my gosh," Delphine whispered to Jared. "Look at this!" "I see it. I HEAR it. This is insane." Almost all of Knothole were gathered in the center of the village. "I say the humans are the ones who caused this whole thing! Humans have cause us nothing but trouble! Why would they stop?" There were several cheers. "Y'all're wrong!" Bunnie exclaimed. "Delphine and the others have done nothing wrong!" "Ha! Then where is Sonic?" "Peter captured him! Y'all know that! Delphine had nothing to do with it!" Bunnie said, exasperated. "Then why did she leave?" "Sonic chased her out!" Tails screamed at him. "He can't handle the fact that Sally is dead!" Silence. No one spoke. "How dare you speak of the Princess that way?" "She is not the Princess anymore," Tails said coldly. "She's dead. Sonic is supposed to be in charge now. But since he can't handle it, Bunnie is in charge." Bunnie stood behind Tails, her hand on his shoulder. "You..." He laughed. "You are just a child. You do not understand the ways of things. You will, though, soon enough." The lizard looked up at Bunnie. "But you... you should understand. Humans have never done anything good for us." "Delphine helped us ever since she joined us. She has never done anything against us." "How do you know she was not working for the inside?" "Y'ALL KNOW NOTHING! Y'ALL ARE JUST A BUNCH OF IDIOTS!" Bunnie took Tails by the hand and walked away, sifting through the crowd. "Well," the lizard said, taken aback. "She will understand. She is just confused. She was tricked, as we all were." "Oh crap. A lot of crap. Let's get the hell out of here, Del." "No problem with that." The two turned and ran. "This is screwed up!" A voice exclaimed. Probably Devon's. Delphine and Jared had been seen as they were running, and were chased through the forest and into a marsh before the villagers lost them. It was night by the time they got to Dimitria's hut. it was built in a large, strong tree, and there was a rope ladder leading up to it. A lamplight shown through the window. They were wet, cold, tired, hungry, nervous, and angry all at once. "Calm down. They will be back soon enough." "What if someone saw them! Maybe... maybe they were..." "Devon! Stop it!" "Sorry... I'm just..." "Worried... so am I." "Well, worry no longer. We made it back safe and sound," Delphine said as she walked in the door with Jared behind her. "Oh, man! Cripes! What happened to you guys?!" Devon exclaimed. "We went to Knothole. We watched the maniacs rise up against us -- particularly me, which I've had just about enough of, thank you very much -- and then we proceeded to leave. Someone saw us, and seeing as we rather didn't feel like being killed, we ran. We finally lost them -- in the marsh, of all places. We're cold, and tired, and I want to take a nap. I think that covers it." "Calm down," Jared murmured from behind her. "I'm perfectly calm. Mad as hell, yeah, but calm." Jared touched the back of her arm. She sighed and bowed her head. "I'm just tired. This has been one hell of a day." "One hell of a month," Jared said with a small smile. She smiled back. Dimitria took her by the arm and led her away. "C'mon, you get your own room. Devon already knows what room he and Jared are sharing." "Uh, there're two beds, right?" "Oh, yeah, you know how much I want you." Devon rolled his eyes. "Of course there are. I'll show you." He paused. "Hey, where'd you get the sword?" Elenore blinked awake, and looked at the monitors. She had fallen asleep, and it was still her shift. lucky thing She blinked sleep out of her eyes and looked at the monitor showing Sonic. Kaserine was in the room. "What the hell?!" Kaserine looked down at Sonic. He was lying on the cell floor, asleep. "Odd. Very odd." She untied his arms and legs, then stepped back. "Wake up, Sonic Hedgehog. Sonic blinked awake, then sat up. The first thing he noticed was that a young human woman was standing in front of him. The second thing he noticed was that his feet and hands were free. The third thing he noticed was that Kaserine was holding the ropes that had bound his limbs together. "What the hell?!" "I don't think Hell has anything to do with this. You, on the other hand, have a great deal to do with my plan." She took a small device out of her pocket, and pressed a few buttons. Sonic whirled around at the noise he heard behind him. A large bluish, purplish round hole was there, in the middle of the room. Elenore stared at the monitor. She wanted to do something, but she would never get to the room in time. "What--" He turned back to Kaserine in time to realize he couldn't stop her from pushing him into the portal. The last thing she heard from him before the portal closed was a string of curses. "Well. I suppose I should inform Peter of the good news. Sonic Hedgehog has been taken care of. Elenore sat back, hard, into her seat. "Oh dear God, what do I do?" The End of Running. Back