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Pyre-Vulpimorph — Blood and Rings 01 by-nd
Published: 2011-02-16 15:53:43 +0000 UTC; Views: 2045; Favourites: 11; Downloads: 10
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Description
Author's Notes:
Blood and Rings is based on the Sonic the Hedgehog universe and is my attempt to detail Tails' life before he meets Sonic in the games.
Sonic and all related IP belongs to SEGA/ Sonic Team
No copyright or trademark infringement intended.
Series rated "Web-14" for violence & mild language.
Blood and Rings
Chapter 01
One day, Miles woke up.
He was cold, wet, and numb. Steady rain pelted his body. The fox kit struggled to move, but his limbs had trouble responding.
"Mommy...? Daddy...?" he moaned.
Sand and rocks shifted beneath him as he struggled. His head was ringing like a fire bell, and his tiny muscles ached and burned. The boy's vision began to focus, and he could see he was on a deserted beach. The sun hovered over the horizon, even as the dark clouds above continued to pummel him. The only sounds he could hear was the wind, the rustling leaves of the palm trees around him, and the ocean waves crashing against the shore.
Miles curled into a ball to try to conserve his body heat. He shivered and shuddered at the wind and the rain. He felt so cold. He didn't know where he was, or why he was alone on a beach in the rain.
"Mommy?! Daddy?! Anybody!" he cried.
Nobody answered.
The tide was coming in, and the ocean water surged past him, knocking the boy out of his ball form and carrying him up the shore – only to drag him back. Miles desperately clawed for anything he could latch on to; he slipped off a rock, and only stopped when he dug his arms into the wet sand. The fox kit coughed up seawater.
"Helllp!"
He was disoriented, and he rubbed the saltwater out of his eyes, trying to see where higher ground was. Miles crawled as fast as his body would let him to the nearest palm tree, but he was much too slow to escape the next wave. The water scooped him up, and the boy collided with several rocks on his way up the shore. The water peaked, then mercilessly dragged Miles back down. The fox smacked into yet another rock, but its shape held his body in place even as his tails waved in the receding water. Miles' mouth suddenly tasted like wet rust. Miles lay draped over the rock, too weak to move. He could hardly feel his limbs.
"Mommy... daddy... help."
The next wave surged past him, but Miles clung to the rock or dear life, even as the water went over his head. When the water receded once more, Miles knew he couldn't stay there any longer. His body was cold, battered, and numb, but by force of will he peeled his limbs off the stone and crawled up the sandbank. The water caught him again, and he bashed into one more rock before coming to rest in the sand. Miles was senseless, and his limbs refused to work any longer. One last wave scooped him up, and gently deposited the boy at the top of the sandbank, as if sorry for its earlier ruthlessness. But the damage had already been done. Blood loss and hypothermia were pulling him down into sleep, and he somehow knew he wasn't going to wake up again. Miles whimpered at his cruel fate, abandoned on a nameless shore, not knowing if anyone knew or cared he was there. Tears streamed down his face into the mud he lay in.
"Mommy... daddy... where... are you... why..."
A golden shimmer of light caught his fading attentiveness. A circular object Miles had never seen before appeared before him. It was a ring, about the same diameter as Miles' head, and curiously, it floated a few inches off the ground, spinning lazily on a vertical axis.
What?
Miles stared at the alien object. It just hovered there, rotating nonchalantly as if nothing else mattered in the world. It was strangely soothing to look upon as he slowly slipped into unconsciousness. It even seemed to radiate a warmth than made him forget he was dying. Miles wondered if he could just touch it before he completely slipped away. He signaled his nearest hand to move, and two of his fingers managed to twitch. Just forcing his fingers to jerk took unimaginable effort. One twitch at a time, those two fingers and his thumb dragged his lifeless arm towards the golden ring. After what seemed an eternity, Miles' left hand was positioned directly beneath the floating ring. That simple act took every last bit of energy he had, and the boy could not summon the strength to lift his arm. The ring was so close, and yet so terribly far away. Miles silently wept at the fact that he could not perform such a simple task as touching an object not three inches above his hand. Miles inwardly knew he was leaving this world forever. All he wanted to do... was touch it.
Then, the ring began to flicker and fade.
No... wait... come back! Please!
Miles struggled as he had never struggled before, his mind consumed by the desire to just lift his hand and touch the ring. Dead nerves fizzled back to life, frozen muscles warmed in spite of the rain. Miles hand trembled as his arm strained against the cruel force of gravity.
Two inches.
Miles lay on the very edge of death, and he knew he this one and only chance to touch the mysterious object. The fox's eyes were already glazing over, but the last few coherent thoughts in his head were utterly consumed by the golden ring. If he failed now, eternal sleep would be his only reward.
One inch.
It hardly occurred to the boy that it was pointless anyway. Death awaited him whether he succeeded or not, but some mis-aimed sense of pride compelled Miles to spit in death's face before it took him. But, his arm weakened. His hand drooped. His breath escaped him. Suddenly, Miles despaired as the ring, now translucent and barely visible, sputtered its last few times.
REACH!!! Miles screamed inside his mind.
He touched it. Miles actually touched it. On its last and final flicker, Miles grabbed the golden ring. Its connection to this world restored, the ring flared in Miles' eyes, out-competing the brightness of noonday sun. Miles spasmed and screamed out loud as alien heat and electricity surged into his wet and naked body, threatening to cook him alive. The golden ring seemed to dissolve in Miles' hand, brilliant motes of light absorbing into Miles' flesh. The sensory overload was more than he could bear.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"
As quickly as it began, the surge was over, and the ring was gone. Miles now lay on his back with the rain pelting his face, feeling more than a little sizzled. His brain was completely scrambled, and couldn't comprehend what had just happened. But, his body was as unresponsive and before, and weariness overcame him.
The fox kit smiled. He had done it. He had touched the ring. And it was glorious.
All that was left...
… was darkness.