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It was because Miles was so on edge after his latest encounter with Rewrite the day before that he even managed to spot her.
The fox was nervously scanning the treeline as he walked through the jungle, the distinct feeling of being watched prickling his fur. He dreaded seeing the Sonic lookalike again. Something primal within him felt hunted, but he didn’t see any shades of blue among the greenery. He did, however, see purple.
The armadillo that walked onto the path a few yards ahead was very familiar. She moved lethargically, hands clasping her chest like she was in cardiac distress. She stumbled down the path toward Miles, an empty, haunted look in her eyes.
Miles stopped in his tracks.
He couldn’t believe it. This Mobian was one of the three who jumped him a month ago, one of the ones that he was sure was dead because of him! Was Rewrite lying when he said he killed them? But then what about those rings? It didn’t matter. Miles didn’t even care that she’d tried to beat him up before, he was so relieved to see her that he bolted toward her with a twirl of his tails.
“Hey! Thank Gaia you’re okay!” He called out. He didn’t even know her name, but that didn’t matter. She was alive!
The armadillo raised her eyes to meet his, and the haunted look in them cleared to make way for sheer terror . Miles skidded to a halt a few feet away as she shrieked.
“Get away from me! ”
Miles raised his hands in surrender, confusion quickly replacing his relief.
“Hey, i-it’s ok! It’s just me! I’m not mad at you.” He reassured her. And that was true, the moment he thought that she and her friends were murdered because of him, he forgave them for what they had done to him.
She didn’t seem to even hear him. Her eyes darted frantically around and her entire body trembled. She clutched at her chest even harder, fingers gripping fur in a way that had to be painful. It was bizarre seeing her this way when Miles was used to her being so mean and intimidating
“I-If you’re here, then he’s here too.” She whimpered, looking about ready to pass out from fear.
Miles frowned and backed up to give the obviously distressed armadillo some space.
“You mean Rew- err, that weird Sonic thing?” The fox looked around nervously, too, “I don’t know where it is, but we’re safe for now. Anyway, What happened to you? I thought you were dead!”
The armadillo finally tore her gaze away from frantically scanning the trees, and Miles was immediately struck by the look in her eyes. She looked broken . Haunted. Lifeless.
“I… I was .” She whispered.
Miles’ heart practically stopped in his chest.
“That… th-that thing, it… it came out of nowhere. It t-took Rico first. Tore him apart .” The armadillo gasped, eyes now distant as she relived the moment. “Then he looked at me. Oh god, his eyes. His eyes.”
Miles wanted to stop her. He didn’t want to hear about this, about the carnage he was the cause of. He was selfish. He was so happy to believe that maybe he didn’t cause the deaths of three people when he saw this girl alive, but now he had a feeling that he somehow doomed them to a fate worse than death.
“I couldn’t even try to stop him. It happened so fast . I felt him rip my life away.” tears welled in her eyes as she took a shuddering breath. She paused, and the ensuing silence was suffocating.
“There is… nothing else… after death.” She whispered, voice so quiet, yet rang through the air like the knell of a bell. “ Nothing .”
Another shuddering breath,
“But then, in an instant, I was back, and so were the others. And that thing was just- just standing there, staring down at me, laughing . It felt… it felt like looking into the face of god, and seeing nothing behind its eyes.”
The armadillo’s gaze returned from a thousand miles away, and looked right at the horrified fox before her.
“That thing… i-it’s not natural.” She was now becoming frantic, “it’s not right .” Her breaths came fast and fierce. “It’s going to kill us all and then bring us back over and over and over -“
Before Miles could try to calm the hysterical girl (as if he knew how), they both heard the snap of a twig somewhere in the woods. Miles jumped from fright, but his reaction paled in comparison to the armadillo’s.
She shrieked, a sound torn straight from her core, and took off running down the trail the way she came, babbling about the end times as she went.
Miles watched her go, a sick, sinking feeling in his gut. He should be happy. He should be relieved. The three who he thought he’d gotten killed were alive, but they were not well. If the other two were anything like the armadillo, then they were beyond traumatized. They were living, yes, but if Rewrite had the power to tear someone apart and then just decide to put them back together…
Miles shuddered.
Rewrite had proven time and time again that it did not care whether or not it hurt someone during the sick games it played. Then, it proved that it can and will kill others with little to no provocation. Miles had thought that it was just an evil, alternate version of Sonic from another dimension, but he was beginning to think that it was something much much worse. If it had the ability to bring back the people it killed, then there was no telling what else it might be able to do.
Miles knew this was only the beginning.
He feared for the future of Green Hills. Beyond that, he feared for the future of the world if this dangerous, powerful being decided to set its sights outside of their little community.
But…
It seemed that Rewrite was fixated on Miles. It listened to him. It chased off his bullies, felt like Miles would approve of their deaths, but then brought them back when he told it that he didn’t want that. It humored him, despite obviously being able to easily overpower a little fox kit. Who knew how long until Rewrite grew bored of playing nice.
Miles realized that he now stood between this new threat and the potential annihilation of his community. A community that didn’t care for Miles.
Even so, he knew that he would do anything to protect the people on this island. Even if that meant facing the creature that haunted his nightmares.
It’s what Sonic would have done.
It was Miles’ turn to be the hero.